Heading Out Unknowingly - Intro

original art provided by my lovely wife, CV Pham

Since I read this awesome post at Was It Likely, I've been itching to give my house rules a radical rewrite. For what interests me more specifically in play- seeing people deal with strange situations- it just made sense!

I initially talked about some of the ideas I was forming in this post, and I intend to sort of formalise and continue with that in order to share ideas in post-form over the next few weeks.

1. Balance: a Posture-based HP System
2. Distress, FILO, Engagement, Afflictions, Weapons
3. Diceless Spellcasting using Words & Laws
4. Inventory Based Initiative
5. Feature Highlights

(As of 9/1/25: I've said most of what I had to say here; if I ever have anything else to add it will be added to this index).

If you'd rather also just read the whole thing now sans commentary, it is also finished and out now on itch as Heading Out Unknowingly.

It isn't quite GLOGosphere and I think it's not quite as true or as cool as Cottonmouth-proper, but its something I made heavily inspired by both after lurking and watching for years.

Thank you all for everything.

---

This post © 2025 by Ro Pham is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Columbos & Sherlocks: L'Inspecteur

Remember that one brief month when people were hacking Cloak and Sword games into classical murder mysteries?

Class: L'Inspecteur 

Starting Paraphernalia: relatively modest shabby clothes, a conspicuous injury or well-controlled innocent sort of vice, some sort of unconventional skill not befitting an investigator (gardening, opera, etc)

You are not an officer of the law or a professional detective. You are a little old woman who professionally tends gardens, an old priest who rides around the village on his bicycle, an elderly novelist who travels place to place for writing inspiration. Wherever you go though, you always seem to be chased by murder.

George Fort Gibbs, for G. K. Chesterton's short story "The Sign of the Broken Sword"

Who, Me?: As long as you actively keep up appearances as doddering, old, and a little daft- characters whom do NOT have Esprit for you will treat you as a nosy nuisance they wish to be rid of as soon as possible. They are willing to do any small task to get rid of you- answer a question, let you view their room, etc.- but they would never do anything as drastic as attempting to harm you, let alone kill you.

People Person: As long as both characters are in the same room you can tell what, if any, sort of relationship they have (e.g. romance, rivalry, family, held Esprit, etc). This does not work if they are obscured, dead, or wearing any sort of mask or face covering.

Connections: By considering two pieces of evidence in your mind for an hour, you can determine if they are connected or not as well as generally how they are connected. You cannot use this ability again until you uncover another piece of evidence or some other development happens with the investigation.

One More Thing: If you ask someone a question they weren't expecting or ask them at an unexpected time, they are compelled to either answer truthfully or to offer up a barely-believable lie; the kind that might be suspicious but not actively evidence of wrongdoing.

Astound the Experts: If your character makes some keen deduction, uncovers an overlooked piece of evidence, or otherwise performs some impressive detective work- any officers of the law or experts in a field useful to the immediate investigation hold Esprit for your character until the end of the investigation.

Know a Guy: Once per investigation, you may declare your character "knows a guy." This guy is an expert in some skill or field which none of the current party members or NPCs involved in the investigation possesses. They may interpret or examine a single clue or piece of evidence for the party to completely contextualise and offer expert advice on it (e.g. a forensics specialist to examine blood spatters, a clockmaker to act as an expert witness to check if the clock was tampered with to potentially disprove an alibi, etc). This "guy" can either be a recurring minor character who "happened to be in town," or a new minor bit part depending.

Detective Vision: Your character can tell if evidence has been tampered with, or if a piece of evidence is conspicuously absent. They cannot tell what is missing or how something has been altered, they merely know that "something isn't quite right here..."

Did It For Love: If anyone lies on behalf of someone else, you can instantly tell that they are lying. You don't know for who or why exactly they are lying, just that they are.

Has There Been a Murder?: Upon first visiting a town or city, roll 1d10. On a 10, a local prominent figure has recently been murdered and the culprit is still at large. If your character was already investigating a murder, somehow these murders are connected.

Stay in Town: Any chivalrous or honest folk must heed your orders to stay in town at their residences while a murder investigation is occurring; or they may appear guilty. Any dishonourable, meal-a-day sorts though may come and go as they please; but this will mark them as a guilty person in the eyes of the law.

Announcement: If your character possess some key piece of evidence that was formerly hidden (e.g. the murder weapon which was thrown in the lake, fibres from the culprits' jacket, etc) they may shake it around and make a public announcement about it. The culprit, whomever they are, are compelled to make some move to cover up their crime. This is done completely secretly, however it still done sloppily (creating yet more inconsistencies or evidence thanks to the tampering) or without alibi (the culprit acting at a suspicious time).

Oh, Really?: Whenever your character makes some form of obvious mistake (e.g. getting a time wrong, a character's name wrong, etc) any NPC whom witnesses it is compelled to correct them, even if this would divulge other information (e.g. invalidating an alibi, revealing they know a character they claimed to have never met before). If multiple NPCs are present, this ability defaults to the smuggest most egotistical one present.

J'Accuse!: Your character may publicly announce that they have solved the case. All suspects and persons involved in the case must show up at the time and location of your choosing. All present have Esprit for you until you are done presenting your case, and none of them may actively harm anyone else while they hold Esprit for you. If your character ever fails to accuse the correct culprit, they lose this ability and may never gain it again.

Howdunnit: Once ever, you may declare that your character knows exactly what happened. The GM must describe the murder, in perfect detail, leaving out no clue or tell. Now, this just leaves your character to figure out how to prove the facts of the case in a way that would hold up in the eyes of the law.

---

Since this post was part of a community event, Columbos & Sherlocks: L'Inspecteur by Ro Pham is marked CC BY 4.0

Angevine Cloak and Sword

The province of Angevine is located along the far borders of Manteu, nestled in the valleys of the Bebrye Mountains.

It is an afterthought in the minds of many noble families bickering in En Plus Paris, a territory that has changed hands between the neighbouring powers a dozen times in the many different wars which have occurred across Ganymed. Even then most of these conflicts were the boring margin notes of glamorous campaigns; with perhaps the only noteworthy event being the gallant march of General Ymlin leading his army across the frozen mountain passes and into the heart of the country (a move so bold and yet so gauche so as to be unreproducible).

To those aligned with the Cardinal and his interests however, the question of the Principalities weighs heavy on the mind.

Crespi

Just barely past living memory, the prominent D'Angevine family was all but wiped out in the Patte de Chat Massacre. Some suspect the machinations of the former Grand Duke and his tragic folly, while others blame it on a raid by a foreign power or perhaps a plot of the Dragoman. The only survivor of the Cat's Paw, Baroness Coulrina D`Angevine, never spoke of the incident while she lived; instead living a private life away from court with her close personal friend, one of the Marquesses of neighbouring Les Lances, at her estate. Both of them lived to ripe old age and died weeks apart from each other some ten or fifteen years ago, leaving no formal heirs.

However, if the rumour is to be believed, the clergymen attending the dying Baroness witnessed a miracle.

Whispering the traditional prayers of her people with her dying breaths, the Baroness' body burst forth into the first seven of the holy servitors that are the Principalities.

Had this happened once, it would have been a miracle propelling D'Angevine to Sainthood. The fact that now multiple members of the faithful in Angevine have now had similar miracles occur over the last decade or so, is what has lead the Cardinal and his flock to worry.

Mstislavovo Gospel book cover

Principality

(also called Rulers, halfangels, or to doubters: favele)

Physical Description

• Each Principality shares the same "default" appearance, sort of looking like each one uses the same soft-faced boy or young woman as their starting "base."
• Each one additionally has 1d4 unique traits to distinguish themselves. These are usually the most prominent features of whomever birthed them (e.g. a Principality born to a man with a long nose and prominent smile lines would likely have a long nose and prominent smile lines).
• Principalities do not have genitals, anuses, etc.
• The neck of each Principality is wreathed with tiny white bird wings.
• Each has a varying number of wings, usually around 2d6. The number of wings is viewed auspiciously by Angevine locals.
• At rest, the wings sort of fold up around the neck, like a priest's collar.
• The Principality may, at will, flex out their neck-wings. When they do they seem to glow with the light of a migraine aura, and you can see the sun through your closed eyes or the building you're in or if it's night. The wind also seems to rush around them, harmlessly jostling everything (like that thing in Ghibli movies sometimes? I would find a clip but I can't be assed to search for it).
• They seldom do this though, as it is fearsome. Typically it is only reserved to stir Esprit in the penitent or the downtrodden of the faith, and call them into action.

Physiology

• Principalities seemingly are born to answer the prayers of the faithful in Angevine (and only in Angevine; though outside members of the faith on pilgrimage appear to be able to produce them). They still very seldomly appear, and do not appear to every petitioner. What seems to help the odds are:
• praying specifically in the name of St. D'Angevine (dubiously heretical considering she has not formally received sainthood)
• being elderly
• being an orphan
• having a prominent frailty, disability, etc
• being a child 
• being particularly innocent- a hermit, a virgin, etc
• praying a lot for this to happen. a LOT
• going on pilgrimages or quests or other chivalric/holy things
• Principalities are born by bursting forth from the heads of the faithful.
• This literally splits their heads open. The process is excruciating and takes about three days- one for the Principality to claw its way out, one for the wound to scab over after, and one for it to heal into a feather-lined scar.
• Despite the pain, the only lasting harm to the faithful is usually the feather-lined scar, which is usually viewed as a mark of veneration.
• Principalities are born fully formed.
• (You know those depictions of medieval/renaissance babies drawn as weird little adult men? Reverse that- these are like adults who have been drawn as little babies).
• Principalities' minds are human-like, but either due to their nature or their experiences they aren't quite human.
• While they are generally a little confused and naive, the mind of a Principality is fully formed with a handful of skills useful to running and maintaining society (e.g. a Principality born knowing how to collect tax, knowing how to administer orphanages, etc).
• Principalities are not motivated by fearsomeness, violence, danger, etc. You could completely gut one and they would be completely unmoved beyond the waste it makes.
• Similarly: they are pacifistic by nature, and cannot bring themselves to directly harm another living being.
• Principalities do not need to eat or drink. Instead: they are physically maintained by holding Esprit for the faithful.
• Typically shortly after being born, this manifests as admiration and praising of their parent. However they may also may latch onto any number of holy men, martyrs, Saints, etc
• When a Principality dies, their neck wings unfurl and their heads pop off before flying off into the sunset. Amongst their kind, they claim that they are leaving their non-angelic half behind to join with the rest of the angelic host until the end of days.

Honestly all the cherub heads are giving me deja vu. Did somebody else make a post at some point with like a ton of baby heads with wings? Feels very GLOG, hope I'm not treading old ground

Compared to the other provinces of Manteu, Angevine was lacking in almost every way. Nothing but small hamlets sipping at rivers of ice-melt, rime-covered bushes of stout dark berries, and valleys lined with Patte de Chat flowers. No great armies, no wise scholars, no plentiful resources.

However, now Angevine has been blessed with a resource in the Principalities.

Due to a very dubious loophole, technically each Principality is kin to Baroness D`Angevine through their angelic birth. This means technically each one is part noble, partially of their parent's lineage, and (potentially) part angelic being. To bolster his resources for his war with the queen in the surrounding provinces and avoid the question, the King grants each newly born Principality the title of Vidame through arrangements with the local bishops.

The eldest and most fiery (relatively, in the terms of angelic pacifists) of the original Principalities born from Baroness D`Angevine is the exception, instead inheriting her barony as Baron D`Angevine L'Lèvre. However, the Baron largely operates in the region through his many advisors, and is seldom seen outside of holy days.

This all is deeply upsetting to the existing local nobility, largely Queen loyalists, who quietly seek to undermine and reestablish things properly in the region without upsetting the faithful or the peasantry. Wouldn't want to risk a revolt, schism, etc. on top of the current civil conflict.

In practical terms: the Principalities all are born to labor for the betterment of Angevine through all manner of holy functions to maintain society. They are technically subjects of the King, however in practice they answer to the Cardinal. They are also known for their charity and magnanimity, which has earned them the devotion of many poor faithful souls.

Principalities in power in Angevine also have given rise to their own unique forms of court intrigue.

• While they cannot directly harm one another, they very much can order harm upon another for the sake of a greater good. If they witness it though, they themselves immediately will die; and bringing it up too much can make them ill.
• Halfangels can commit minor violence if its in defence of the innocent. So, if one needs to fight, often they will bring around a child or an old person to defend in the fray. Often this is their parent. Also often they are not very good at fighting, because of course they aren't.
• Angevine is a land of hospitality, where every guest is expected to give a gift to their host. So violence between two Principalities often takes the form of horrific white elephant feuds. Given their pure nature, Principalities cannot neglect or turn down the gift; so to do maximum harm one might gift the other something that requires intense and laborious personal care, like a rare plant from the Academie Gramarie or a creature from far flung Noblessie.

Cloak and Sword: Oaf

The recent revival of the old Cloak and Sword bandwagon has been so great, I decided to revisit it.

glaugust post tinker tinker tinker tinker

Never could leave well enough alone, could you?

MCKEEVER, NEW YORK, IN THE ADIRONDACK FOREST PRESERVE - Anne LaBastille

Class: Tinker

Starting Equipment: the smashed up guts of a spinning jenny -or- a wad of land deeds, each with slightly misdrawn borders -or- 4d10 pieces of broken cutlery

Tinker: You can fix any simple inanimate mundane object that you can fit inside of your cupped hands. This doesn't add mass to the object, instead just spreading out whatever is there to patch it. If you need to fix anything bigger, you'll need to figure out how to get bigger hands.

Fribble: If you can successfully dismantle an object, you can innately understand everything about it. However: you can never put it back together again in that same way.

Squirm: While your character is engaged in any sort of job, quest, long task, etc.: if you drop everything on the spot and abandon your labor you and anyone travelling with you moves ten times as fast, but in a random direction / to a random location.

Twitch: As your GM is first describing a scene, if you interrupt them before they get too far in, you can announce your character is working on some sort of manual labor or creating some craft. Your character finishes whatever they are working on by the time your GM finishes / play resumes.

Wriggle: Your character can move the bones and anatomy of a willing creature around. This is painful while it lasts and makes the related body parts useless for anything else, but makes them impeccable at their appointed task (e.g. reshaping a hand into a flipper for swimming). This lasts permanently, or until that body part is burned by a hot flame.

Shuffle: As long as your character has at least 23 pounds of biological material from each target involved in this ability, they can cause any number of targets to spontaneously share a biological familial bond of your choice. This counts for any magical purposes, as well as in the eyes of the law.

Writhe: Your character can melt down a handful of any material, and use it to patch up or repair something made from the same material (e.g. repair a wooden chair with a fistful of molten wood, seal a wound with a lump of molten flesh, etc). This patch inevitably breaks after a few hours or if put under strain.

Fiddle: If you, the player, can describe something in a suitably interesting juxtapositional or poetic sort of way, your character can cause everyone looking at what they are describing in that way from there on after (e.g. if you point out the dome of the king's palace sort of looks like a turd, everyone thereafter will be able to see the turd even if they never heard your character say that).

Trifle: Your character can change any law of the land by burning an amount of money determined by your GM, with more fundamental / entrenched laws requiring greater and greater amounts of money. (There's also nothing stopping kings or councils from just like, re-decreeing the law back to how it was beforehand but they usually have to notice it changed first. Use that time wisely.).

Fidget: Describe some vulnerability of your character- physical, mental, whatever. By making a high-effort effigy of themselves, defacing it, and burying it- they can bundle up that weakness and swallow it down, burying it deep somewhere within their body. Whenever your character does this, it hides away that weakness in the same body part each time. Make all of your mortal weaknesses reside in your pterygoid hamulus or whatever. This works until that body part is struck, at which point it all bubbles back up to the surface at once. Careful not to over do and suffer the same fate as so many ego-drunk Tinkerers.

Balance: A Posture-Type HP-Less System

My post output is entirely dependent on my anxiety at being beaten to a punch vs my anxiety at engaging with a community of people way cooler than me vs my anxiety at sharing fully realised ideas as opposed to quick thoughts

Anyway all of the cool HP-less systems lately have forced me out of my lurking to share one thats been cooking in my head since this great post at Was it Likely? though I don't know if what I made counts as true cottonmouth as much as posering

-----

I currently use a First In, Last Out Initiative system. Its definitely clunkier at the table but I like the texture that it adds to confrontations, especially as it lets players support each other by interrupting slower enemies leading to those Anime-type turnabout moments or like MtG counter spell duels

To push that back-and-forthness further, I've been currently working on a sorta Sekiro-style Posture-based HP system for a spin-off version of my current house rules that (almost) completely cuts out dice and math in general play. Until I get the full version drafted up in a week or two, here is the gist:

- Successfully landing an attack on a target makes them "Unbalanced" and interrupts whatever they were doing

- Successfully landing an attack on an "Unbalanced", restrained, sleeping, etc. target lets you select a body part of theirs and damage it; resulting in injuries or death

- Each piece of Armour that a character is wearing can protect a specific body part from  specific sorts of injury (e.g. a metal helmet might protect your head from getting slashed or stabbed, but maybe not getting crushed or lightning'd)

- As an Action on a character's turn, if they are not interrupted by a faster character, they can "Steady" themselves to regain their Balance

- Certain super deadly techniques or big monsters can just skip Unbalancing or bypass Armour and just straight up injure and kill targets

- Injuries themselves can be your standard injury table stuff, or also unique status effects and such too

- The FILO Initiative system also plays a big part in team-based play. You might jump in to help protect a slower ally while they try to recover or finish off an enemy after an ally broke their poise sure- but also a LOT of character abilities can play with the timing of things to create fun defensive or offensive abilities. Even just like a single Parry can drastically change the tempo of a fight

- Another consideration of this sort of setup: Speed is king. A consistently faster target can just run circles around a slower one, interrupting them and taking them down. But a heavier armour slow boy then can soak up hits and stay in fights too? In theory anyway the naked guy with a sword is super deadly and thats a feature not a bug

- Unarmored Spellcasters in theory then would also be on the faster side. To make things more interesting instead though, casting a Spell automatically bumps you to the bottom of turn order. This prevents the sort of OP wizard scenario, and also leads to a lot of situations where everybody has to protect the vulnerable wizard as they charge up their spell

- I also intend on using a second similar set of statuses as well for tracking how overwhelmed a target is mentally as well. So a sort of "Shaken" status caused by experiencing the menacing as well

---

This post © 2025 by Ro Pham is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

OUH Version 1.2

Another big update!

- A lot of Features have been overhauled. In general: a lot of Schemery or Fighting stuff has been broken up, so that each technique is a little more akin to a Spell Word as something characters can learn through engaging with the world.

- Advancement Tracks are gone! Now levelling up is purely a matter of your character diegetically having the means and putting in the effort. This also was done in anticipation of running more open-table style games, so it's also intended to encourage players swapping characters more often.

- Various other small misc tweaks here and there also have been put in; mainly minor clarifications, typos, etc. and/or cutting down on page count. We're down to about ~20 or so pages of core content needed to hop in, and about ~74 pages in total, which I hope is pretty good.

- On the itch page itself, I've hid older versions of the documents.

https://onunnamedhorizons.itch.io/on-unnamed-horizons/devlog/726530/ouh-version-12

---

This post © 2025 by Ro Pham is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0