Role Playing Games

Creation of the Waters and the Wastelands

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© Daniel S. Wall, September 15, 2026.

***

This is Chapter 2 of the most authoritative account of creation contained in the Stone Philosophic. A full table of contents can be found here.

***

Text

In time the great dragon awoke to the sound of a voice; “Are you not hungry?”

And he was.

So, Hetht consumed a portion of the mass below him, carving still greater valleys into the mass still spinning beneath him. In time, the great dragon satisfied his hunger and laid down again. Before he could resume his sleep, the voice returned; “Are you not thirsty?”

And he was.

But the world as yet had no water, and so Hetht cupped his great forepaws and spat in them. In the palm of his left hand, the great dragon found to his own surprise that he held a small turtle whereas a tiny fish clung to the talons of his right hand. And Hetht placed the spittle, the turtle, and the fish in the greatest depression he had made upon the mass and bade them to call it home.[1]

At first, the turtle and the fish got along well with one another, but then the fish bit the turtle and grew larger in consequence. Again, and again, the fish lashed out at the turtle, growing still larger each time it feasted. In his own defense, the turtle grew a hard shell, but still this did not deter his voracious companion. Hetht admonished the fish to play nicely and to love its brother, but the fish cried out; “I cannot help myself father. My brother’s flesh calls to me, and I hunger so.”

Seeking to end the rivalry between his children, Hetht sent the fish to the east and the turtle to the west. As each swam away from the other, the waters stretched out with them until all the great impressions in the world had been covered. And the turtle grew into the god, Ayomichi, and the fish became The Shark King. Ever enemies, these first-born children of Hetht contend with one another for control of the seas, the one by means of its wisdom and the other by the strength of its jaws.

Hetht then drank his fill from the oceans created by his progeny.

Once again, Hetht laid down to rest only to be disturbed by the voice once again. “Isn’t there something you have to do?”

And so the great dragon relieved himself, turning a portion of the world into a great wasteland.

***

[1] It goes without saying that the text here refers to the great trench, Marianis, but the great sages differ as to the source of the impression. The greatest mages of the Library Philosophic insist that this location had been created when Hetht dined upon the world earlier in the text.

A rival school of thought favored among the elves of the Sylvan Isle suggests that the depression was in fact the place where Hetht finally slept. The impression left by Hetht’s meal may be seen, according to this view, in the beginnings of the great dungeon which is said to stretch beneath all the seas and to connect all the great lands of this world. What Hetht actually did when he consumed the first meal, so this theory goes, was to pull a great tuber up and out of the ground, only to find its roots stretched endlessly in all the directions of the world. Hetht ate all of this, leaving a great tunnel complex where its roots had once been. No dwarf has ever accepted this theory, of course, insofar as it suggests the origin of their own homes are best understood in terms preferable to surface-dwelling gardeners and arborists.

 

Cosmogony

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The best account of creation can be found in the Library Philosophic, complete with commentaries from a number of credible sources. Below is a list of the individual chapters in this story along with a brief summary of its content.

I: Out of Nothing. Being an account of the creation of The Stone Philosophic by the God, Hetht.

II: Creation of the Waters and the Wastelands. Being an account of the creation of the oceans, the wastelands, and of the gods, Ayomichi and The Shark King.

I: Out of Nothing

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© Daniel S. Wall, September 15, 2026.

***

This is Chapter 1 of the most authoritative account of creation contained in the Stone Philosophic. A full table of contents can be found here.

***

Text

In the beginning there was nothing, not even Hetht, a fact which displeased him to no end. And so the great dragon brought himself into existence. There is little reason to believe that he meant to create the rest of the world, but of course accidents do happen, and something else soon followed the self-creation of Hetht. All things in this world have their origins in this something else, the afterbirth of the first Dragon.[1]

No sooner had he brought himself into this world than the great dragon flew to the east, but his claw caught a corner of his afterbirth and stretched it right along beneath him. For eight days and untold miles the great dragon flew to the east. Finding nothing of interest, he turned to the South, still dragging a corner of his afterbirth along with him. Sixteen days did the great dragon fly to the south, but he found nothing to keep him occupied. So, Hetht turned and flew west for thirty two days before changing course. Finally, Hetht flew to the North for sixty four days, the formless mass still caught in his claw. [2]

Wondering at the effort it now took to fly, Hetht looked beneath his feet and finally saw the great stretch of ill-formed mass now grown large and spinning slowly beneath him. Tired of dragging so much weight along with him, Hetht finally shook the mass from his claw, yawned a bot and stretched his wings one after another, until he resolved to shed the feeling of exhaustion that had come over him. So, Hetht laid down upon the center of the mass beneath. His sleep was fitful, and Hetht tossed and turned for ages, kicking up mountains and digging out great impressions in the mass below his body.

Thus did the world begin to take its present shape, even as it slowly hardened beneath of the fitful dragon sleeping on top of it.

***

[1] The dvergr sage, Horst Gverdigen, objects to this passage, arguing that the world could not possibly be the afterbirth of a dragon as of course any real dragon would have issued from an egg. Gverdigen does not object to the notion that this world is secondary to the self-creation of Hetht, but he does reject the specific notion that the world began as a sort of placenta.

The hrega sorceresss, Tiannon Shigire, has provided what most consider to be best answer to this argument when she noted 3 things, 1) that Horst Gverdigen is known to have disappeared fully a hundred years before one might expect a Dvergr to die of old age, and no-one alive today can rule out divine retribution, 2) it is in fact an article of faith among the priesthood of Hetht that he is the sole dragon to have been born rather than hatched, and 3) the next phase of creation is far easier to reconcile with the qualities of soft and malleable placenta than those of a hard and brittle egg,

The Cult of the Broken Shell has long argued that Hetht was indeed hatched and this world has an entirely different origin, but this is best regarded as a minor heresy of little concern to serious scholarship.

  • Melia Turee, Archivist, Library Philosophic

[2] A wise man would note that the direction of movement in the first stage of creation matches that of benign winds and whirlpools. This is not a coincidence. All right-thinking winds and currents follow the pattern of creation by turning from east toward the south. Following the pattern later established by Mizizra, a corrupt wind reveals its nature by turning from east to north.

The pattern of movement described herein is of course the basis for the common terms used to describe the direction of spinning movement. Those turning from east to south are commonly said to be turning creatively whereas those turning from east to north are said to be spinning destructively.

  • Professor, Nilgin Fozhe of the Library Philosophic

 

Malaise

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© Daniel S. Wall, July 20, 2026.

***

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTANR5VfV/

***

A Trace of Death Lingers by Joyce Maureira

Malaise is an inverse measure of a character’s will to live. The higher their Malaise, the less resilient a character will be. Those with truly high malaise will be quick to grow ill and slow to heal. They will also be remarkably susceptible to attacks from Undead. They will retain all their normal skills and abilities, but a character with a high malaise has one foot in the grave. Until she learns to love life again, a character with high Malaise may be very difficult to keep alive.

The idea here is to create a long-term problem with its own significance in role-play, one that is solvable, but not with a quick healing spell. It plagues characters who have come close to death, or experienced significant loss, been subjected to life-draining attacks, or engaged behavior contrary to their deepest convictions. Any one of these could leave a character with a weakened will to live. It does not undermine their skills and abilities, but it does leave them more fragile. Malaise provides an alternative to the loss of levels or attribute scores and the forcible alignment change of earlier editions of D&D while keeping a sense that these issues create problems not easily resolved within a single game session.

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Malaise at its Core

Squonk painted by Andy Sneed

Acquiring Malaise: Aside from rare instances of special attacks or magical effects imposing it, Malaise is usually acquired through close calls with death, the loss of loved ones, or by actions inconsistent with the established nature of a character. A character fresh off a near-death experience may find that death itself still has a little bit of a hold on them, just as they may long to join a dead spouse or some other loved one. Characters who have acted in a manner significantly inconsistent with their values and goals may find themselves questioning the value of their own life.

Malaise can also be the result of extraordinary attacks one might characterize as life-stealing, such as the bite of a vampire or the nightmares caused by a succubus. These too will weaken a character’s will to live.

Effects of Malaise: The Malaise score of a character is a penalty to any healing done to that character. It is also a vulnerability penalty, adding to the damage done by Undead to that character. A character with 1 point of malaise thus reduces the damage healed from a spell by 1 point and raises her damage from an Undead by 1 as well. A character with 6 points of malaise reduces healing spells by 6 and adds 6 points to any damage caused by Undead. Malaise can have other featurs as well, and at their own discretion, a GM may certain flesh add implications of their own.

Overcoming Malaise: A character must play a full game session with any Malaise earned before attempting to buy it off. After that, a character may buy off malaise at a cost built on a triangular sum at the end of any given game session. If 1 point of Malaise can be bought off at the cost of 1 point of x.p., then 2 may be bought off at a cost of 3 total (1+2=3), and 3 can be bought off at a cost of 6 (1+2+3=6). Thus, Malaise can be bought off slowly at a low cost or rapidly at a high cost. It is up to the player to decide which he prefers.

Certain special abilities or problems may enhance malaise, trigger tactical benefits on the basis of malaise, facilitate rapid overcoming of malaise, or drag out that process. These are rare abilities, and they are prone to high cost. In no case, will an ability ever enable a character to overcome Malaise without going through a full game session with any given Malaise penalty.

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Game-Specific Applications

D&D (1st through 3rd editions): How does one apply the concept to D&D? First we will look at the specific mechanics for acquiring Malaise, the specific effects of Malaise, and finally, the means of overcoming it.

Mechanics for acquiring Malaise: Malaise may be acquired in a variety of ways.

Death: Any character brought back from the dead automatically gets 10 points of Malaise.

Grief: The death of a loved one or dear friend, or a significant loss with serious consequences, may incur 1-3 points of Malaise at the discretion of the GM (or alternatively, the consensus of the players present).

Life-Draining Attacks: Any attack which might otherwise cause the permanent draining of a level or a point off a character’s attributes would instead result in 3 points of Malaise. (Alternatively, 1 point of Malaise could be added to the existing effect without taking that effect away.)

Moral Transgressions: Any time a character acts in such a manner as to contradict their alignment, they acquire 1-5 points of Malaise, depending on the severity of the transgression. This can replace the old first edition mechanic of simply changing the character’s alignment. How this decision is made varies. It could be the GM’s call or it could be a decision at the consensus of the players.

Near Death Experiences: A Character acquires 1 point of Malaise once she goes below 0 hit point status and 1 more for every 3 continuous rounds spent at 0 hit point status or below. (Note: if the character dies outright, just apply the death rule instead.)

Effects of Malaise: The numeric value of a character’s Malaise provides a variety of different problems for a given character.

Attacks by Undead: It is a bonus to the damage done by Undead to that character.

Death Magic: It is damage taken in the event of a successful save versus death magic. A failed save would of course make this irrelevant.

Healing Magic: It is a penalty to any healing done on the character in question (to a minimum of 1 point healed).

Natural Healing: It is a penalty to any rolls made to assist a character in healing by means of natural medicine, and it is a chance (multiplied by 5) that the wound will not naturally heal according to the normal rules on any given day.

Mechanics for overcoming Malaise: To buy off Malaise, a character must first play a full game session with any Malaise they wish to eliminate. After this, they may buy off Malaise in the following manner. To buy off 1 point of Malaise at the end of a given session, a character must spend 10% of the difference between the experience needed for their current level and that needed for the next. To buy 2 points off at the end of a given session, a player must spend 30% of that difference. To buy off 3 at the end of a given session, they must spend 60%, and so on.

***

Tunnels and Trolls (Deluxe Edition): How does one apply the concept to Tunnels and Trolls? First we will look at the specific mechanics for acquiring Malaise, the specific effects of Malaise, and finally, the means of overcoming it.

Mechanics for acquiring Malaise: Malaise may be acquired in a variety of ways.

Near Death Experiences: A Character acquires 1 point of Malaise once she goes below 0 hit point status and 1 more for every 3 continuous rounds spent at 0 hit point status or below. (Note: if the character dies outright, just apply the death rule instead.)

Death: Any character brought back from the dead automatically gets 10 points of Malaise.

Grief: The death of a loved one or dear friend, or a significant loss with serious consequences, may incur 1-3 points of Malaise at the discretion of the GM (or alternatively, the consensus of the players present).

Moral Transgressions: If the player running a character and the GM agree that the character has acted in a manner wildly inconsistent with their character and/or the best interest of their stated goals, they acquire 1-5 points of Malaise, depending on the severity of the transgression. This may not happen often, as a player is unlikely to agree to it, but it remains an option.

Effects of Malaise: The numeric value of a character’s Malaise provides a variety of different problems for a given character.

Attacks by Undead: It is a bonus to the damage done by Undead to that character.

Healing: It is a penalty to any healing done on the character in question (to a minimum of 1 point healed). Note that the in event that a character should have been healed to full Constitution, they end up with their Malaise in damage after all.

Mechanics for overcoming Malaise: To buy off Malaise, a character must first play a full game session with any Malaise they wish to eliminate. After this, they may buy off Malaise in the following manner. To buy off 1 point of Malaise at the end of a given session, a character must spend 10 adventure points. To buy 2 points off at the end of a given game session, a player must spend 30 adventure points. To buy off 3 at the end of a given game session, they must spend 60 adventure points, and so on.

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Worlds of Hurt (My Homebrew): How does one apply the concept to Worlds of Hurt? First we will look at the specific mechanics for acquiring Malaise, the specific effects of Malaise, and finally, the means of overcoming it.

Mechanics for acquiring Malaise: Malaise may be acquired in a variety of ways.

Death: Any character brought back from the dead automatically gets 10 points of Malaise.

Grief: Characters may take on Malaise for the loss of loved ones or for major set backs, as detailed in the rules for social relationships and other relevant portions of the game system.

Deep Wounds: A variety of special attacks cause Malaise as spelled out in the game rules.

Moral Transgressions: Characters may take Malaise for actions contrary to their moral values or memes as spelled out in the relevant sections of the game rules.

Near Death Experiences: A Character acquires 1 point of Malaise once they go down to 0 physical durability or below. They acquire 3 points of Malaise if they spend 1 full round in that status, and 5 points if they spend 2 rounds in that status.

Effects of Malaise: The numeric value of a character’s Malaise provides a variety of different problems for a given character.

Attacks by Undead: It is a bonus to the damage done by Undead to that character.

Healing Magic: It is a penalty to any healing done on the character in question (to a minimum of 1 point healed).

Natural Healing: It is a penalty to any rolls made to assist a character in healing by means of natural means.

Mechanics for overcoming Malaise: To buy off Malaise, a character must first play a full game session with any Malaise they wish to eliminate. After this, they may buy off Malaise in the following manner. To buy off 1 point of Malaise at the end of a given session, a character must spend 1 experience point. To buy off 2 at the end of a given session, they must spend 3. To buy off 3, they must spend 6, and so on.

Critical Hits

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A house rule for first edition, D&D.

Daniel S. Wall

Whenever a character scores a critical hit, roll a die 20 and consult the chart below. If more than one option is listed for a result, the first option applicable to the situation is the one that counts. If no listed options could apply, then the result defaults to Option ‘O.’

Note that some monsters may not be affected by options listed on this table. A goo cannot be subjected to a called shot and some monsters may be immune to stunning, etc. In such cases, the critical hit is meaningless.

Definitions

Ally: Any character, monster, or construct actively helping the principal attacker. This does not include bystanders unless they are actively attacking the same opponent.

Attack (the): The attack which scored a critical hit and landed you on this table to begin with.

Enemy: The target of the attack and/or anyone clearly allied with that target and/or fighting the principal attacker and her allies.

Attacker: The person launching the attack which scored a critical hit.

Target: The individual attacked on the critical hit.

 

 

 

Die

Roll

 Missile

Attacks

 Melee Attacks
Crowded One-on-One
Basic Attack Called Shot Basic Attack Called Shot Basic Attack Called Shot
1 A B A B A B
2 C C C C C C
3 D D D D D D
4 E E E E E E
5 F F F F F F
6 D D G G G G
7 H H H H H H
8 M I I I I I
9 F F J G G G
10 A B G G G G
11 H H H H H H
12 I I I I I I
13 A B J J A B
14 C C J J C C
15 F F K K G G
16 F F K K G G
17 L L L L L L
18 M M M M M M
19 N N N N N N
20 O O O O O O

 

Results

A: Shot counts as a kill shot (i.e. a called shot intended to kill an opponent outright in one shot).

B: Improved Odds of success on a called shot. (If the initial damage qualifies for a percent chance of automatic success, then the called shot is automatically successful. If it does not, then attack qualifies for a percent chance of automatic success anyway.)

C: The attack scores maximum damage.

D: Add 1d12 to the final damage after all relevant multiplications have already been calculated.

E: If possible, the target will bleed for 1 point per round until dead or magically healed. A viable form of non-magical healing has a slight chance of stopping the flow of blood. The chance is equal to the Intelligence of the healer +1% per level of the character, 2% if the healing character has any healing spells or relevant professional skills (such as doctor).

F: Add 1 point per level of the attacker to the damage of the attack for those rolling on the fighter attack chart, 1 per 2 levels for those rolling on the Cleric attack chart, and 1 per 3 levels for those rolling on the thieves and assassins attack chart, and 1 per 4 levels for those fighting on the magic users and illusionist’s attack chart, but every character gets a minimum bonus of  1.

G: The attacker may immediately take an extra attack on the target. If the character dies from the first attack, she may take any relevant actions she cares to take as if she did not attack on that segment after all.

H: The target is stunned for 1 round, as per the rules for a monk.

I: Knock opponent down if possible. If not, then the critical hit has no effect.

J: Give an ally an extra attack on the target (if that is possible)*. Otherwise, take an extra attack on a different enemy*.

K: Take an extra attack on a different enemy if that is possible*. Otherwise, give an ally an extra attack on the target*.

L: Chance to disarm the opponent attacked. This is calculated by making opposed attack rolls. If the character scoring the critical hit has a disarming weapon such as a trident, she may roll this at a +5. If the opponent is unarmed, the critical hit has no effect.

M: Roll an extra die 6 in damage. Opponent will also move at half rate for an equal number of rounds.

N: Until the opponent activates for their next turn, any attack scored on them will count as a backstab. If any such attacks would have counted as a backstab anyway, then the attacker add 1d6 in damage.

0: attacker adds 1d6 to the overall damage.

 

*Whenever shifting targets as a result of a critical hit, the new target must be within immediate reach for a melee attack.

Bjornwyrd

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© Daniel S. Wall, April 29, 2026.

***

“Yes, you must poke the bear with a stick. Strange as it may seem, your only hope is to enrage him. His claws are not as dangerous as his magic.”

– Kregestir, the Short Lived.

***

Bjornwyrd or regular polar bear? Hard to know!

Imagine a polar bear with all the usual might and strength of its kindred. Now add great magical abilities to its list of skills. This is a Bjornwyrd.

Nobody knows why polar bears sometimes develop these powers, but it happens. Not only do they develop great spell-casting powers, they also become especially adept at cold-based spells. The end result is a creature that is dangerous from a distance or up close.

Needless to say, these creatures are greatly feared by any with the sense to know what they are.

Specific rules for playing a Bjornwyrd in Tunnels and Trolls can be found here.

Setihím

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© Daniel S. Wall, April 21, 2026.

“That one, living up the stairs, she is a strange one, you know. With one eye blue and another green, she don’t look right. A friend visits her from time to time. He don’t have half the fingernails on his right hand, that friend of hers. The way that woman looks at you? Sends a creepy feeling all over. The way she looked at our cat too, I tell you, no-one oughtta hate a dumb animal the way she does. If little Mittens comes up missing, I’ll know who to ask. She pays her room and board alright, but I just don’t know. Sometimes a coin ain’t worth it. Makes your whole life creepy, having someone like that around. Gonna ask her to leave tomorrow, I am, if’n I can work up the courage.”

– Gavin Stinsel, Inn-Keeper

***

Illustration by David Michael Wright

 

It is said that the Setihím are descended from Angels driven from the heavens for reasons long since forgotten. A trace of goodness remains within every Setihím, a natural birthright of sorts, and yet few of this kindred can be said to embrace the values which should go with that quality. Setihím tend towards selfish conduct. Often they can be quite cruel. This kindred does not wreak havoc and plunder the land as orcs or goblins might, but Setihím do tend to bring a trace of mistery to those around them.

Were it not for their inability (or unwillingness) to fully cooperate with each other, this kindred could quickly come to dominate the affairs of men. But Setihím rarely trust or care about anyone, least of all their own kind.

Setihím typically dwell in small communities among men, isolating their own neighborhoods  through subtle barriers. A Setihím community could take the form of a small hamlet just off the road in a well-populated region of the countryside, or it could be a cluster of buildings just up a one-way ally in a major city. If nothing else works, Setihím will isolate themselves with social barriers from other peoples.

Setihím are typically aloof and unresponsive to friendly gestures from those around them. They show little affection, even among their own kindred. Indeed, it is a misnomer to speak of such neighborhoods as communities at all. It would be more appropriate to describe them as collections of individuals utterly devoid of any personal connection to one another. Apparently the members of this kindred band together for the sole purpose of keeping others out.

Setihím appear as tall and skinny humans, but every Setihím has at least one unusual physical characteristic. It may be a very prominent birthmark, a sixth finger, a vestigial tail, oddly shaped ears, or any number of unusual physical characteristics. Some few of this kindred actually possess the vestigial wings of their angelic ancestors. Vestigial wings aside, the oddities of a physical appearance among Setihím are not usually so strange as to suggest an obvious supernatural origin, but the sheer quantity of such quirks can be one means of determining when one has entered a community of Setihím. …that and the utter absence of human warmth in such a place. …and of course the absence of pets. Setihím shun animals of all kinds, and a community of Setihím will not tolerate the presence of any domestic animals. They are also scrupulously clean. It is as though the dirt and clutter of this world is unbearable to them.

For all their anti-social tendencies, Setihím are impressive creatures in their own way. The disconcerting qualities of this kindred appear to keep the interest of those around them, Whether intimidating her enemies or speaking in support of an ally, a Setihím is usually successful in achieving her intended effect.

Coyote

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© Daniel S. Wall, April 7, 2026.

***

“‘Do not open the basket!’ Lady Spider warned.

…and Coyote opened the basket.”

– Hosteen Nez, Medicine Man

***

This character has the appearance of a large coyote. Few would describe him as an actual deity, but his actions have consequences rivaling those of the most powerful deities. So, it might be best to regard him as a god after all. Despite his size, Coyote never has any trouble hiding from others. Coyote is always up to no good, but his antics often have positive consequences that no-one could have expected (least of all Coyote himself).

***

Religion: Coyote has few worshippers, but in parts of the Turtle Islands those engaged in cunning or concerned about the cunning of others will often pay respects to him.

***

Domains: Coyotes, Irony, Trickery.

Symbol: A Coyote.

Favored Offerings: Food. (Offerings to coyote are customarily made by tossing small portions of meat just outside a campsite or home-site.)