Superstitions
A Mysterious World
Like the primitive ancestors of humans and demihumans, most humanoids still embrace the fears and wonders of the primordial world, a world that still exists in its simplest, most frightening form. To the humanoid, the world beyond his fire is unknown. All manner of creatures and supernatural beings roam these unknown regions, waiting to harm the humanoid who wanders too far from the fire's protective glow.
Even the most civilized humanoid will often use an elaborate system of safeguards that appear irrational to non-humanoids. For example, a forest kobold of Amn waking on his left side must immediately spit three times or suffer an unlucky day.
Many humanoid superstitions are outward manifestations of racial or cultural anxieties, but others have to do with the external powers of the world — the gods, spirits, and other supernatural beings that populate the campaign world. These powers must be bribed or charmed into leaving the humanoid alone, lest all manner of bad luck and suffering result.
Humans and demihumans might consider these practices to be outmoded, primitive, or even absurd, but most humanoids consider every such ritual to be of life-and-death importance. This belief stays with a humanoid character his whole life, no matter how many years he stays away from his tribe. Every superstition has a legend behind it and comes with a ready-made ritual for attracting beneficial influences and warding off malevolent ones. Thus, many humanoid characters remain perfectly at home in their beliefs, always on the lookout for signs and omens, ever ready with an oft-practiced ward.
Humans may well be uncomfortable around humanoids for any number of reasons, and many commoner folk definitely find the latter's constant reference to unseen forces unnerving. To the humanoid, however, it is just a way of life.
In a world that is often hostile, dangerous and extremely unpredictable, such humanoid superstitions offer some measure of comfort and control. Naming a fear goes far toward conquering it, or at least reducing it to a concrete thing that may be fought. When fear sweeps over humanoids, their superstitions provide assurance that they can influence their fate with simple, time-honored rituals.
Some rituals require simple actions such as gestures. Others need the additional power of a physical charm, such as a rabbit's foot or griffon's quill. Each charm has its own function; a humanoid may carry several different types of charms to ward off fear or bad luck. These charms may be worn openly or kept hidden until needed.
To humanoids, who often feel powerless in the face of nature, other races, and even their own kind, superstitions are almost a form of personal magic. This magic does not produce impressive displays of light and sound, nor does it strike opponents with deadly force. Instead, it helps a humanoid come to terms with the unknown. Each small ritual, either positive or negative in nature, is repeated over and over as a form of cause and effect. If kiss- ing her sword once helped a female hobgoblin defeat an opponent, then she might have per- manently adopted the kissing ritual in order to continue her good luck.
Personal Superstitions
| Prime Requisite Score | Number of Additional Superstitions |
|---|---|
| 9-11 | 1 |
| 12-15 | 2 |
| 16+ | 3 |
Superstitions in Game Terms
All humanoid player characters should have two or more superstitions that can affect play during the course of their adventures and cam- paigns. The first superstition is racial or tribal, common to all members of a particular human- oid race or tribe. (Suitable superstitions are listed in the humanoid racial entries.) The second type of superstition is personal. A personal superstition can be selected by the player or rolled randomly on the General Superstitions table, located in the table section.
To determine how many personal superstitions a humanoid PC has, first find that charac- ter's prime requisite on the table below. Select or roll that many more superstitions from the General Superstitions table (as approved by the DM). Of all the PC's superstitions, one may be positive; the rest must be negative.
Superstitions have two functions. First, they provide more hooks for building a humanoid PC's personality, thus providing more fuel for good role-playing. Second, they help or hinder a character in play, giving bonuses or penalties to dice rolls in encounters in which the super- stition has manifested itself.
General Superstitions
| D100 Roll | Superstition |
|---|---|
| 01-03 | Air |
| 04-05 | Animal/Insect |
| 06-07 | Armor |
| 08-09 | Being Alone |
| 10 | Blood |
| 11-12 | Bright Light |
| 13-14 | Civilization |
| 15 | Clouds |
| 16-17 | Cold |
| 18-19 | Color |
| 20-21 | Darkness |
| 22-23 | Day |
| 24-25 | Demihumans |
| 26 | Destiny |
| 27-28 | Dreams |
| 29-31 | Earth |
| 32-33 | Enclosed Spaces |
| 34-35 | Evil/Good/Neutral |
| 36-37 | Females / Males |
| 38-40 | Fire |
| 41 | Flying |
| 42 | Future |
| 43-44 | Gods |
| 45-46 | Heat |
| 47-48 | Heights |
| 49-50 | Humanoids |
| 51-52 | Humans |
| 53-56 | Magic |
| 57 | Magical Item |
| 58-59 | Mobs |
| 60-61 | Modern Technology |
| 62-63 | Monster |
| 64 | Moon |
| 65-66 | Night |
| 67-68 | Noise |
| 69-70 | Open Spaces |
| 71-72 | Plants |
| 73 | Priests |
| 74 | Reptiles |
| 75 | Rogues |
| 76-77 | Sickness |
| 78-80 | Specific Location |
| 81 | Stars |
| 82-83 | Storms |
| 84 | Sun |
| 85 | Supernatural Being |
| 86 | Touch |
| 87-88 | Undead |
| 89 | Visions |
| 90 | Warriors |
| 91-93 | Water |
| 94-95 | Weakness |
| 96-97 | Weapon |
| 98 | Wilderness |
| 99 | Wizards |
| 100 | DM's Choice |
Using Superstitions in Play
A humanoid PC who encounters a manifestation of a superstition must make a Wisdom check at a -2 penalty. (The DM may increase the penalty depending on the nature of the manifestation. A particularly frightening superstition combined with a particularly powerful manifestation might have a penalty as high as -6.) Success or failure of the Wisdom check determines the effects on the PC, depending on whether the superstition is positive or negative.
Positive superstitions are manifestations of good luck. Using charms or gestures, the humanoid receives the benefits of benevolent forces. Negative superstitions, on the other hand, are manifestations of bad luck, ill will, and outright malevolence. Charms and gestures allow the humanoid to ward off these forces. Even if the charm or gesture works, however, the fear generated by a close call with harmful forces may cause the humanoid to suffer some lesser penalties.
Positive superstition checks are made when the PC chooses when to call upon the power of his charm or gesture ritual.
Negative superstition checks must be made every time the superstition manifests itself. Penalties and bonuses for superstitions are not cumulative. Only one type of penalty or bonus can be in effect in any given hour.
Success, Positive Superstition: A humanoid PC succeeding at a Wisdom check when a positive superstition manifests will receive a +2 bonus to all proficiency and ability checks, and a +1 bonus to all attack rolls. These benefits last for one hour and can only be gained once per day, no matter how often the superstition manifests itself.
Failure, Positive Superstition: A humanoid PC failing a Wisdom check receives no bonus or penalty. After one hour has passed, if the superstition manifests itself, the PC can make a Wisdom check, at a -4 penalty. If the check fails a second time, the PC can make one final attempt an hour later, at a -6 penalty. If this check also fails, the PC cannot try to gain the benefits Of his positive superstition until 24 hours have passed — no matter how often the superstition manifests in his presence.
Success, Negative Superstition: A humanoid PC making a successful Wisdom check when a negative superstition manifests receives a -2 penalty to all proficiency and ability checks, and a -1 penalty to all attack rolls, due to the fear a negative superstition generates (failure is much more debilitating). These penalties last for one hour.
Failure, Negative Superstition: A humanoid PC failing a Wisdom check receives a -4 penalty to all proficiency and ability checks, and a -2 penalty to all attack rolls. These penalties are in effect for one hour.
Important Note: The superstitions suggested on the General Superstitions table are presented in broad categories. They should be refined to a specific type of manifestation, a specific ritual for calling upon or warding off its effects, and an accompanying legend to make the superstition make sense.
For example, Hegral the female bugbear rolls a superstition dealing with noise. Her player decides that the superstition will be negative. It manifests itself as thunder. Whenever Hegral hears thunder, she must blink three times and spin once counterclockwise to ward off its evil effects. This superstition of thunder relates to the sound the bugbear God Of Fear makes when passing from the Abyss to the Prime Material plane in search of a bugbear to carry off.
The Superstitions
The following suggested superstitions can be used to develop the categories provided on the General Superstitions table. Dungeon Masters and players can expand this list and create their own superstitions, using these as guidelines and springboards for other ideas.
Animal/lnsect: A specific kind of animal or insect causes this superstition to manifest.
Armor: A specific type of armor, worn by an opponent, frightens or inspires the humanoid.
Cold: Sudden chills, fear of ice or snow, fear or positive belief in icy winds.
Color: Fear of a particular color, manifested in nature, on clothes, or in some other way.
Demihumans: The humanoid fears a specific demihuman race. The race is usually determined by the humanoid's racial preferences and hatreds.
Destiny: The humanoid has learned of his particular destiny from an oracle or fortune teller. Whenever this destiny seems to be occurring, the humanoid receives either a negative or positive superstition. For example, a humanoid who was told she would die by a human's arrow will be fearful in the presence of human archers.
Dreams: A specific, recurring dream haunts or inspires a humanoid.
Elements: Air, earth, fire or water causes either fear or hope in a superstitious humanoid. In all cases, the humanoid should pick a specific manifestation of the element in question (swirling air, cracked earth, uncontrolled fire, foul water, etc.).
Gods: Humanoid suffers from a fear of a particular god, or looks for signs from a particular god as a manifestation of good luck.
Heat: Fear of hot flashes, of hot weather, of temperatures above a certain level.
Humanoids: A specific race of humanoids causes this superstition to manifest. Some humanoids are even afraid of others of their own kind due to the reasons why they left to become adventurers.
Magical Items: The humanoid fears a particular type of magical item. This can be general, for example a magical wand, or specific, as in a magical wand that casts fireballs.
Monsters: The humanoid fears a particular type of monster. This superstition can manifest either when the monster is present or when the humanoid sees signs of its passage. As a positive superstition, the monster in question can be the humanoid's patron creature.
Moon: Fear or positive belief in one of the stages of the moon (full, half, quarter, new).
Noise: A noise (which must be specifically identified) giving either a positive or negative manifestation.
Plants: A specific type of plant causes the humanoid's superstition to take effect. A humanoid could be afraid of red roses, but inspired by blooming lilies, for example.
Priests: Priests of a specific alignment or religion frighten or inspire the humanoid.
Reptiles: A specific type of reptile causes a humanoid's superstition to take effect. Reptiles include crocodiles, lizards, and snakes.
Sickness: The sight of a person or animal with a specific type of illness causes the humanoid to suffer a negative superstition. If the humanoid himself gets the illness, the effects of the negative superstition last until the illness is cured.
Specific Location: A specific location or location type (dark caves, twisted forests, babbling brooks, human villages, etc.) elicits fear in the humanoid.
Stars: Fear or positive belief in a particular star or constellation.
Storms: A specific type of storm causes a humanoid's superstition to take effect. Storms can be dust, wind, rain, thunder, lightning, ice, sand, hail, snow, etc.
Sun: Fear of the sun's rays, of bright sunlight, of clouds obscuring the sun's good rays.
Supernatural Beings: A particular kind of supernatural being (or even a specific supernatural being) inspires either a positive or negative superstition.
Undead: Either undead in general or a particular type of undead creature causes this superstition to manifest.
Visions: A specific vision, which comes to a humanoid while he is awake, inspires good luck or bad when it manifests. Visions can be any image, and either frightening or positive in nature.
Weapon: A specific type of weapon frightens or inspires the humanoid if it is being wielded by his opponent.
Wilderness: A specific wilderness type scares or inspires a humanoid. Types include deserts, forests, jungles, swamps, arctic wastes, etc.
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