0-Level Carousing

Who wants to leave Carousing until after you finally cart 50gp each worth of treasure and coin back from your first real dungeon?

No, my friends.  After your first time staring death in the face- after you emerge, scarred and bloodied, after you've journeyed days away from your ancestral home, after finding the glittering city with all its secrets and troubles... there's only one option for you.

Every 0-level character goes carousing exactly once on the eve of filling the shoes of their future role.  This is a rare and magical night, fuelled by the terrors of the deeps, the little coin available to them, and the fresh experience of being brand new in a strange place.  Oddities abound- no 0-level character emerges from this night untouched.


I haven't talked about this before, but I'll be keeping a Roster of characters who are ready to become level 1!  Every 0-level character who isn't immediately adopted by a player will get added to the Roster.  Later, once a player character dies, that player may return to the Roster and adopt whoever they so choose.

Not only does this special 0-Level Carousing table introduce new players to the idea of carousing to level up- but also it imbues every 0-Level character with something special and interesting about them... something that makes them hard to pass up.  These aren't meant to be quest inspiration either- just flavour added onto potential PCs to help them become more memorable.

0-Level Carousing

Every surviving 0-Level character must roll on this table once, adding their luck.  The results are known before a player chooses to adopt a character!

A number of these were suggested by my twitter followers- all credit to them for giving me the idea!

Roll 1d30	Result
1	Curse of the Dry One You insulted someone in ornate robes with glowing, slitted eyes.  She reached out to grasp your arm and you spent the next few days in a cold sweat, skin sloughing away.  When you awoke on the fourth day, your left arm was replaced by a viper with a mind of its own.  Anyone who sees it is terrified and repulsed by you. If you succeed on a Personality test, you can use it to make a bite attack for 1d3 damage, plus asp poison (DC 13 - success: 1d3dmg - fail: 2d6dmg).  You can burn a point of personality to force a success on this test.
2	Mouths and Tongues An old man with one eye challenged you to an ancient game of rune stones.  As he taught you the rules, he droned on about the history of the earth.  When the light burned low, his eye kept a steady glow on the board late into the small hours of the morning. When you awaken, you possess esoteric knowledge of a foreign tongue.  When you choose your class, roll one additional time on the language chart to determine which language you learned.
3	Mother Hen You remember starts and flashes of a wild carnival, and raucous games.  When you awake, cradled gently in your arms is a football-sized chicken's egg.  You don't know what will hatch from it.  At the start of each session, roll 1d30.  On a 30, the egg hatches. The GM will roll to know what manner of creature it is (1d8): (1) Hound  (2) Giant Spider  (3) Pheasant  (4) Cockatrice  (5) Crocodile  (6) Owlbear  (7) Lynx  (8) Doppelganger
4	Face Rearranged You ran afoul of the wrong crowd, friend.  You stumbled into a muscular woman who didn't like the way you looked, and decided to fix that for you free of charge.  In addition to getting a wicked scar on your face, lose 1 point of Personality, and gain 1 point of Strength (up to 18). You may spend up to 2 Luck; each point spent this way allows you to lose 1 additional point of Personality and gain 1 point of Strength (up to 18).
5	Bed Rest A crew of thugs saw you wearing a rival crew's color.  Not a smart idea.  When you woke up, you were in some church's infirmary, under forced bed rest to recover from the beating.  You've developed a permanent limp, and also lose 1 point of Stamina and gain 1 point of Intelligence (up to 18). You may spend up to 2 Luck; each point spent this way allows you to lose 1 additional point of Stamina and gain 1 point of Intelligence (up to 18).
6	Potion Taster You hired out your services as a potion taster.  Gain 1 silver piece, and roll once on the following table. You may gain up to 4 additional silver pieces, rolling once for each silver piece gained in this way. (2d10) As a temporary effect (now ended), you... (1) Ate metal  (2) Exhaled chlorine  (3) Walked through walls  (4) Saw in the dark  (5) Turned invisible  (6) Could sense Law / Chaos  (7) Could smell gold  (8) Spoke three words of the song of creation  (9) Briefly awoke in a thick vat of pink sludge  (10) Could feel the under-worm boring straight towards you for a few moments As a permanent effect, you have... (1) Bronze skin  (2) Hair turns black -> brown -> red -> gold -> blonde -> silver -> black  (3) Eyes that glow in dim light  (4) Gills (non-functioning)  (5) All hair falls out  (6) Nails turn black  (7) Grow one horn  (8) Hunchback  (9) Body hair becomes fine downy feathers  (10) -1 Stamina
7	One Good Deed Late in the evening, a very drunk elderly woman came over to you, insisting she was your aunt, and that she wanted to leave you her deed.  She would hear none of your protests, and pressed the official document into your hands before vanishing in the crowd. You have the deed to a house, but you don't have any idea where it is, and it's not in this town.  (Thanks to @captnkiwi)
8	In This Life and the Next You really hit it off with someone very beautiful (your choice of gender).  Eloquent, upper class, fiery yet sophisticated.  You two spoke and drank for hours, and ended up in your room.  As you helped them out of their finery, your fingers brushed the knot on the ribbon around their neck.  It came untied, and their head fell off- their body falling lifeless to your floor.  You found a different room to stay the night in. You have an ornate brooch on a dark colored ribbon, worth 5gp.
9	A Prophecy of Doom You wandered into a festival, where a fortune teller stroked his beard and gazed into a crystal ball, seeking your fortune.  He fell back, shocked, and delivered a prophecy of doom!  "Fool!  Beware, for your doom shall come to you at the hands of the....!  (roll 1d10)" The creature rolled (or creatures like it- ie, owl-BEAR, etc) will always be strangely hostile to you, will always attack you first in battle, and its to-hit dice is improved by one step against you. (1) Bear  (2) Lion  (3) Wolf  (4) Serpent  (5) Goat  (6) Cat  (7) Chicken  (8) Deer  (9) Boar  (10) Spider
10	The Subtle Knife After a heavy bout of drinking, you found yourself on the rooftops with a cutpurse, engaged in a bit of tricky second story work.  Your memory of the events of the evening is fuzzy- poisoned arrows, lampblack, and the sick crunch after a nasty fall. All you have is a note saying "thank you"... and a dagger.  It whispers to you of all the murders it has committed.  Other than that, it appears to have no magical properties.  (Thanks to @rhysmakeswords)
11	A Dark Price A witch plied you with drink and promised you riches and glory if you would but give her what she needed to create her spell.  Entranced by her promises, you assented... You no longer have a shadow.
12	Sweet Tooth You were caught stealing a pie.  After a complicated local legal process involving a hotly contested bake off, you were determined the loser.  The magistrate employed a spell-bound warlock to lay a curse on you: Whenever you taste sugar, you cough up ash.  (Thanks to @sythmaster)
13	My Best Friend You remember nothing of the night before, but when you awake, an animal is following you everywhere you go.  It's completely mundane, and ordinary for its type- it just really likes you.  (Roll 1d6) (1) Dog  (2) Cat  (3) Rat  (4) Falcon  (5) Owl  (6) Pig
14	Liar, Liar A crone caught you lying through your teeth in your attempts at seduction last night.  She fixed her wicked eye on you and cursed you such that whenever a lie leaves your mouth... (Roll 1d6) (1) you cough up a toad  (2) a swarm of crickets heads for your location; they'll arrive in 2d6 rounds  (3) you drop whatever you hold in your hands  (4) you must speak backwards for the next 1d10 minutes  (5) 1d10% of the hairs on your head turn white / fall out / grow back in  (6) A crow begins following you.  When they reach 24 in number, they will attack, attempting to tear out your tongue.
15	A Gambler's Debts You tried your hand in a gambler's den, but got completely fleeced.  The house let you keep playing... but now you owe a Debt.
16	A Gambler's Fortune You tried your hand in a gambler's den, and lady luck was on your side.  You won 1d100 gp, and walked away with a smile.
17	Eye of Gold You hired yourself out as a runner for a wizard's apprentice, ferrying volatile chemicals back and forth all evening.  Late at night, after a quick pit stop at the local pub, you tripped- spilling a droplet of the liquid into your left eye.  It is now colored... (roll 1d4) (1) Gold  (2) Silver  (3) Ruby  (4) Amethyst
18	A Stroke of Luck You challenged a darkly dressed gentleman in a grinning masquerade mask to a game of skill.  The game was tight, and drew a large crowd.  At long last, when the points were tallied, it was you who was the victor!  But your mysterious opponent had vanished... You gain 1d4 points of Luck, with no maximum.
19	What Goes Around You were given a strange coin under circumstances you don't remember.  Thinking it lucky, you tossed it into a well with a wish to send it on its way.  Later in the evening, when you put your hand in your pocket, you found the coin once again...  You seem entirely unable to get rid of it for more than a few hours.  (Thanks @kwhitaker81)
20	A Vow Broken Your head is pounding.  You remember drinking heavily with a large crew of militaristic folks, singing songs, and drinking large steins of beers.  Flashes of memory come back to you- a hilltop in the rain, words shouted to the heavens, lightning splitting a stone in two...  If only you could remember the vow you made. Every so often, dark portents remind you of your failure to uphold your vow (roll 1d8).  There doesn't seem to be the faintest pattern to their appearance. (1) Your wine turns to blood, food rots, etc.  (2) Lightning strikes the nearest high point 1d12 times.  (3) A storm gathers and breaks, all over the next 1d3 hours.  (4) A black cat crosses your path and hisses at you.  (5) The next mirror you look into shatters.  (6) Wolf howls echo in your ears.  (7) Your weapon rings like the peal of a bell.  (8) The clouds form a menacing face, glaring down upon you for the day.
21	The Prodigal Child An older man stops dead in the street, turning white at the sight of you.  His face, lined with age though it is, could be a mirror for your own features.  His voice shakes as he speaks, asking you about your life and journey here.  He tearfully describes the day you were stolen away from him, never to be seen again.  When you part, he presses a coin-purse into your hands. You have two small amethysts, each worth 10gp, and a Favour 1 relationship with your well respected, long lost father.
22	Friend to the Little Folk Your carousing ended in a cozy room, warmly decorated, and kept with care by a family of halflings.  They listened to your worries and trials and tutted sympathetically, plying you with good food and good wine.  Spending the night with them eased your spiritual burdens more than you knew.  Gain 2 Personality (up to 18).
23	A Splash of Colour Your evening ended at a tattooist's, gripping the leather of the chair, and swallowing gulps of a burning liquor.  When you awoke, you found you had a massive new tattoo on your.... (roll 1d4) (1) right sleeve  (2) left sleeve  (3) chest  (4) back It shows whatever cool or heroic imagery you want.
24	Thief among Thieves You saw a figure clad in tight fitting blacks climb out a window, and scamper across the rooftops.  Not willing to ignore the flash of gold as they pocketed something, you followed.  The trip took you over roofs and clothing lines, down guy-wires and across beams over alleyways.  The thief lost you, but when you awoke, the whole experience was seared into your mind.  Gain 2 Agility (up to 18).
25	In Sickness and in Health You have no memory of acquiring the simple gold band on your left ring finger, but no matter how you try, you can't remove it.  (Thanks @coyotewitch!)
26	Not as Bad as you Thought You were singing a bawdy tune while dancing on a table when you fell, cracking your skull.  You watched from above as your companions rolled you over, feeling the warm pull of a white light above you... When you came to, the first thing anyone said was "Wow, guess it wasn't as bad as we thought!" Your lowest stat is raised in value to match your next lowest stat.  (If you have a tie, you only get one adjusted this way, but you get to choose.)
27	Back Alley Ministrations After a nasty cut in a fight, your friends brought you to a back alley cleric of some cult you don't know.  After expressing too-eager interest in your general state of health, he agreed to lay hands on you.  The process was... extreme- reknitting your flesh like clay.  You have two large hand prints sunk into your chest now. Re-roll your hit points- keep this new roll, regardless of if it was higher or lower.
28	O Brother Where Art Thou A man exactly your age keeps staring at you over mugs of ale!  As he approaches, you notice the great similarity in your features.  As you two compare stories over the night, you come to the realization- this man is your brother! Add a 0-Level PC to the Roster with stats that are the inverse of yours (18 minus your stat for each ability score).  Give him your last name.
29	Vile Relic The streets turned in on themselves- you looked up to see the city behind you, stepped through a door onto the underside of a set of stairs.  That's the last you remember of your night, but in your hands you now hold... It is a... (1d5) (1) A vile carving of a squat fish-person, with a lamprey mouth.  (2) A rod of bone, thick as your finger and long as your arm.  It ends in a spike that twitches occasionally.  (3) A mummified hand with black iron nails, ice cold to the touch, growing from it.  (4) A long staff of ironwood, with silver set into it depicting a rage of serpents devouring each other.  (5) The preserved eye of a warlock, in a vial of formaldehyde. When you... (1d5) (1) Will your energies into it, heart pounding wildly, burning 1 point of Strength...  (2) Whisper a vow to it- it will inherit your bones on your death- burning 1 point of Agility...  (3) Feed it your blood, burning 1 point of Stamina...  (4) Caress it tenderly, speaking words of love to it, burning 1 point of Personality...  (5) Release your most cherished memory into its keeping, burning 1 point of Intelligence... Then it... (1d5) (1) Grants you invisibility for the duration of a single held breath.  (2) Allows you to exhale a cloud of chlorine gas, filling a 10x10 square, lasting as long as the air is still.  (3) Places a charm of friendship on a single creature, broken when anyone speaks their name to them.  (4) Gives you functioning gills, which live for 1d3 turns, before dying and falling off.  (5) Reverses your personal gravity for 10 minutes.
30	A Fine Specimen Your night was a tale of adventure worthy of note for weeks.  You drank with the best of them, sang everyone's favorite songs, fenced a duel and graciously lost, and probably kissed a baby.  You wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go. You may gain 2 points to any attributes, distributed however you like (1 to two, or 2 to one)- up to a maximum of 18.