Cover art by Harry Hughes.

With Blessing to Live, the first free adventure for Tables & Tablets (T&T) now released, I want to achieve two things in this devlog:

1. Create a Tablet (how spells are cast in T&T) that can be used in Blessing to Live -- given I couldn't fit it on the original one page.
2. Walk through designing a Tablet, in real-time -- that is, at the time of writing this introduction I haven't thought up any of the Tablet's results -- all I know is that I want it to be called...

Disguise

Click here if you just want to see the Tablet.

I want Gretchen (pictured above) to optionally have a Tablet which changes the nature of the one-shot adventure, from exploration to infiltration; in other words, I want the PCs to be able to disguise themselves as bees to sneak into the cave (a hive for giant honey bees).

What are Tablets? Tablets are made of stone & contain bound magic (see above). Creatures can produce the spell from a Tablet by "entering a battle of minds & wills" against the bound magic. The more intelligent the caster, the better they manipulate the bound magic. T&T is not designed around having a dedicated magic-user class -- in fact, there are no classes. Tablets are limited resources that get riskier to use with each casting; to counter this, the results are impressive, even delve-changing. In fact let's look at one:

Since a lot of creatures have only a few hit points, the damage that Burning Hands can put out on a high roll means it could wipe out a whole encounter; or, it could kill the caster on a series of bad rolls.

It would good of me to follow my own guidance for Designing Tablets, which is on page 36 of the Ruleset.

"Begin with the personality of the bound magic."

It would be exciting to jump into the positive results -- the spell effects the players actually want -- but I've found from experience (8 Tablets in the Ruleset & 3 in the Intro Dungeon) that figuring out the bound magic's personality first really helps to come up with consistent & interesting spell results.

If the bound magic can disguise creatures, then maybe they want to stop people from having fixed identities... or remake all creatures in its own image? The former makes more sense for the positive spell results of being able to disguise yourself as something else, the latter gives me ideas for the negative results (the low rolls) where the caster, or maybe everyone trying to be disguised, partially becomes like the bound magic. The more I think about it, I want this Tablet to also work for objects, given the limited number of Tablets that exist & me wanting as many creative uses as possible.

Following the structure of previous bound magic's descriptions, let's say:

This works for both creatures & objects (maybe a reach for objects), explains why a caster who rolls well can make the bound magic do what they want, & hints at what might happen on a bad roll. Later on, this should make coming up with the Tablet's Appeasement quite simple.

"How effective the higher results are should be balanced with how deadly the lower results are."

We've had our starter, now it's time for the main course. We'll deal with result 2 later, for now we can come up with:

• 5: the great results, only possible if the caster's INT positively adds to the roll, after factoring in Magic Defence & Disturbance; this result is where the caster should be able to do something amazing & memorable
• 4: the good result
• 3: a mediocre result that's still not detrimental
• 1: a bad result
• 0: the worst result, only possible if the target has a Magic Defence or the Tablet has been Disturbed

For Disguise, I want the best result to be that not only are the targets of the spell made to look like something else, but they actually are (in a limited way), for a time, that thing; specifically, for Blessing to Live, I want the PCs to be able to be transformed into giant honey bees & explore the hive unsuspected (including being able to fly around).

Result 5

So with that, 5 is: "All targets, chosen by the caster, in sight nearby, are disguised as a creature or object the caster has touched in the last week. The disguised target can be made larger, but not smaller. Lasts for 1 day. Targets gain the defences [this will change, sorry] & movement of a target (if a creature) but none of their abilities (e.g. a Dragon's breathe fire).".

I've leapt into the deep end here, & am happy with what I've come up with. This definitely is now what a first crack at one of a Tablet's results used to look like, but now that I've designed over a dozen I have a good feel for how they should be written -- in other words, all of the bad, improbably, poorly designed draughts of earlier Tablets are still in memory.

Let's break this down:

"All targets, chosen by the caster, in sight nearby"...

Tablets are rarer than spellbooks in other systems & each Tablet requires a PC to invest one of their limited inventory slots to bring with them. Given this, & given that casting can go really bad, the effect of the highest result should be awesome & therefore have no limit to the number of targets; the caster can transform all of his friends, or enemies* as long as they are nearby. At first I put "in sight" but what I really want is the caster to not have to worry about using this to help their whole party, & a flimsy door shouldn't affect that.

*against enemies, the T&T ruleset leaves it in the hands of the Referee on how to adjudicate this: subtract the highest Magic Defence among the targets, work out the results vs. each target, something else?

As for the number of targets, I think I want all of the good results to allow the caster to target as many things as possible. It would be a bummer if they had a limited number that happened to be one or two short of the size of their party. As for the lesser results, I think it could also be frustrating if the caster intended to disguise the party but only a few were affected. It should be how effective the disguises are that varies. Anyways...

"...are disguised as a creature or object..."

As I already worked out, I want this spell to be able to disguise creatures or objects as other creatures or objects, which leaves lots of scope for deception, unique situations in combat & shenanigans. Personally I would also rule that "All targets" means that the caster can target both creatures and objects & disguise them all as the same thing -- leaving it down to players to think of a situation where everyone looking the same would be beneficial.

"... the caster has touched in the last week..."

I think this here is what makes the Tablet scale with the party, thinking beyond Blessing to Live. They'll start off disguising themselves as barstools & Goblins, then one day they might be temporary Giants or Dragons. If it's a creature touched in the last week, did they have to be alive at the time? -- these are details I'll leave down to individual Referees.

"...The disguised target can be made larger, but not smaller..."

Since there's a Miniaturise tablet & thinking that the bound magic wouldn't count making yourself tiny & unseeable as a disguise, I think this is a fair & balanced addition.

"...Lasts for 1 day...."

Again, this is result 5, the big time, it should be powerful, memorable -- not a fleeting opportunity where the party desperately attempts to make something useful of this good fortune, or feel the need to race through content.

"...Targets gain the defences & movement of a target (if a creature) but none of their abilities (e.g. a Dragon's breathe fire)..."

This satisfies being able to fly around as a giant honey bee, & works at higher-level play, without being a full-on shapeshifting Tablet; after all the targets are meant to be disguised.

[some thinking...] what about attacks? Given what I just wrote, I don't want PCs to be able to use a creature disguise's attacks, but they might not have access to their regular attacks. Maybe they shouldn't get the target's defences then (which would suggest that the spell's targets really do transform) if they don't get the disguise's attacks. Perhaps the targets of Disguise become really convincing versions of what they're being disguised as; the can beat their new-found wings but can't produce poison or breathe fire; in fact, they should now have a Defence of 0 (leaving Magic Defence what is is) -- after all, the route of disguise is often to avoid combat. Let's rewrite:

Let's work downwards, meaning the next is result 4. A low level PC with 0 INT can achieve this result, provided they're a) lucky & b) in a situation where there's nothing to subtract from the result.

Result 4

"All targets, chosen by the caster, nearby... Lasts for 1 hour..."

This is the same as 5 as I want to factor in the caster's intentions when they cast the spell. The duration is shorter, partly because in this lesser-disguised form I expect a lot of parties not wanting to remain like that for too long, it also justifies still being able to appear as a lot of things & still gain their movement.

"...disguised in a convincing imitation of a creature of object... Targets can move... but awkwardly & limited..."

This is where things start to differ. My intention here is to give enough of an idea, without getting too wordy & specific. Perhaps at my table I'll describe this level of disguise as looking like a really well-made, costume, constructed of the same materials as the original, but for other tables that might not work; the key here is that it's not quite as good, especially if moving around.

Otherwise 4 is riffing off of 5.

Result 3

"...adopt the appearance of a creature or object.. this disguise can be detected upon close inspection... Target's movements mimic that of the disguise..."

This is the worst of the good results, & so the disguise is the least convincing. At my table I would rule that creatures that get a passing look at the disguised party, from a distance, will be fooled; otherwise this level of disguise will draw attention.

"...targets are limited to their own movement..."

You might be thinking, like me, that so far the results have technically give the party the ability to fly. This has the caveat that the caster has to have touched a flying creature in the last week, so if they want to soar the skies as a fleet of dragons, they still have to have made contact with one. Also, if a high level party did do this, what would the reaction in the world be? Would there be panic witnessing this? Would the party be attacked? If the party choose small birds, do they have the same stamina as real birds to be in the air for so long?

Following my own advice, I'll save 2 for later; this is the result which will change the nature of the dungeon delve, or equivalent -- benefitting neither the players or monsters one-sidedly.

Result 1

Next then is 1. This will be the best of the bad outcomes. This is where the bound magic has really gotten one over on the caster, but doesn't have full control of itself to permanently make their life a misery. Should this affect everyone & everything targetted? It definitely shouldn't be a way of changing or destroying mundane objects -- if PCs want to do that it should require tools, effort, time & noise.

Long-term, the results of the Tablets will be discovered & known to parties. Thinking about play at the table, I wouldn't want one of the PCs who should be targeted -- so as to get in on the deceptive caper -- to not want to get involved for fear that a bad roll by the caster is going to negatively impact them too. So, I think the caster should be the only one affected by the bad result -- after all, they are the one who brought the Tablet, making them the risk-taker.

What if.... what if the caster, on a 1, had some feature of the disguise applied onto themselves by the bound magic? I don't want the caster to take damage, since this isn't a damage-dealing spell, but let's say the caster wants to disguise the party as Giants, what if on a 1 they adopt an ill-fitting feature of a Giant, one feature per target they tried to disguise.

If they tried to disguise 3 people (including them), for a time: their skin turns a similar colour to that of Giants; their hair grows long & thick, resembling a Giant's beard; long horns, like what might protrude from a Giant's head, sprout from the caster's back, large & obstructive.

It's going to require some creativity, but I think it will work. Lastly, I need to apply some mechanical drawbacks too. Given Disguise is all about laying low:

"The bound magic fulfils the requested disguise, but applies it all to the caster..."

Here the deception of the bound magic begins.

"...The caster has features of the chosen disguise applied to themselves, one per intended target..."

Since the Tablet deliberately doesn't scale with the number of targets, the mechanical drawbacks of getting this result doesn't scale; the number of disguise effects applied to the caster does, purely for the fun of the description, which I suspect which likely be a source of playful embarrassment, aimed at the caster. If a player wasn't into this kind of thing, then the delve presence drawback at least suffices mechanically.

"...the caster rolls a size larger die against delve presence for the rest of the delve."

I'm pretty happy with this as it reflects in the mechanics what I want: the caster now sticks out, when they tried to blend in. Increasing the caster's die against delve presence alone gives the party two options: roll a larger die, since you always roll the highest in the party, or the caster has to hang back & let the others scout ahead.

Result 0

Time for the bad. This is where things might get permanent. In a few other Tablets, like Animate Dead, the caster can develop visible signs left on them from these bad results -- assuming they survive. The Disguise Tablet won't harm them, but it should still be detrimental. Thinking on the theme of deception... perhaps the caster should be encouraged in some way to act deceptively, or be forced to.

I already know that I want the Tablet is be appeased by the caster acting deceptively, so I don't want much overlap with that. What if the bound magic manifests something in the world, based on the caster's desire? or counter to it? How would the party interact with this? how would deception come into it?

OK, maybe there is no effect. Maybe it just fails... What if the PCs (& players) don't know that the deception is deeper. The delve is changed in an unpredictable manner: maybe delve presence (their intuitive sense of their detectable impact in the dungeon) lies to them, perhaps the value of treasure is confused; if the Referee had a list to choose from, getting this result again another time would still be a fresh experience.

Player facing

An experienced player would suspect that the result of 0 is too easy, too gracious of the bound magic.

Referee facing (this will become much shorter soon)

The above weren't easy to come up with. Thinking up a possible idea isn't the hard part, it's whether it passes the checks in my head: will this be hard to track?* will this likely arise during the adventure? will this impede role-playing?**

*I had an idea of torch timers becoming slightly shorter without PCs knowing, but this would require a good deal of tracking by the Referee. Or that maybe the dungeon exit would appear impassible, but this might not come about for multiple hours, or sessions, later.

**I thought about making the PCs social interactions always appear to others like the PCs were trying to deceive them; this fits in with the Tablet's personality, but could easily get frustrating for a group trying to speak in character.

"Result 2 is an opportunity to change the nature of the dungeon delve in some way."

There was a 2-day gap here. I had a hard time thinking of a dungeon modification that was both repeatable (what if a caster landed on a 2 again?) & would affect all delves in some way -- not just if the party was sneaking or if there were enemies around.

The final result is the one where the battle of minds & wills between the caster & bound magic ends in a stalemate. Like other Tablets, getting a result of 2 on Disguise should modify the rest of the delve in a way that is in no one's favour, except for the bound magic.

"Appeasing should encourage the behaviour in the caster that the bound magic wants to manifest in the world."

Here the bound magic gets what it wants. Its will is exerted in the world, & the caster may come to act this way unprompted.

Fitting on one page...

I'm happy with the results, but they are too wordy. I want the Tablet to fit on one page. There's a simple solution, which is to pull out what's common amongst multiple results & move out the disguise examples.

The d4 options for result 0 will also move into its own table.

& there we have it. I hope the process I take to design one of these Tablets is interesting & that the influence Tablet seeps into your world, nudging at the PCs' morals & personalities.