Choir of Flesh has many evocative descriptions in its tables. I wanted to add to them. On pages 100 and 101 of the core book there are d20 tables for Ruined Landmark and Natural Feature descriptions, respectively. Here are my 10 additions for each table, with day and night variations for each entry.
Environmental Storytelling
There are stories behind a handful of the entries. I hope my intent of what has happened in the locations comes across in the descriptions.
Ruined Chimney - A family was immolated in their house by Purifiers here
Chalk Mound - The Choir turned a parent protecting his two children into chalk statues. Now they erode into dust when the wind blows.
Chapel of the Dancing Plague – The Dancing Plague was a real event! Most famously it occurred in Strasbourg, Alsace (modern France) in 1518. However, I got my hands on a paper in the Lancet (medical journal) called “A forgotten plague: making sense of dancing mania” by John Waller.
Waller’s article describes the dancing mania as being recorded as early as Christmas Eve in 1021. Since the twin apocalypses of Choir of Flesh occur in 1001 AD, I thought I could include a nod to this odd event in medieval history as the dates are close enough.
Abandoned Suit of Armor- This references the biblical story of Lot’s wife being turned into a pillar of salt. Lay the blame at the feet of the Choir for turning the Norman warrior into salt.
Eerie Farmstead- The peasants were assumed into heaven in a Rapture.
Copse of the Watchful Squirrels - I attempted to make squirrels scary without making them homicidal flesh eaters.
Ring of Burning Toadstools – This references the Burning Bush that Moses encountered in the Old Testament story.
Additional Thoughts
I would like some advice from you, the reader, about software or techniques to improve the layout of my tables. Currently I make them in word or excel and frankly I would like to present them in a more aesthetically pleasing manner. Please post ideas in the comments below.
In the core Choir of Flesh book, the brutal Purifiers are described on page 98 in a single dramatic paragraph and in the NPC stat block on page 198. But what we know about them is limited.
Frankly, I want more. It is stated that they act as general antagonists; fighting the Choir, the Flesh and anyone else they feel like. There has got to be more detail and interesting nuance BlackOath Entertainment has in store for us.
Also, we know that the Purifiers have taken over the city of Tours and use it as home base. What does the city look like after the twin apocalypses? Are there conflicts in the city between factions in the Purifiers? Are citizens huddled inside locked doors praying for salvation, or is there trade between neighborhoods and some semblance of civilization continuing? The Choir and the Flesh are omnipresent. Do they subtly influence encounters and terrain inside the city?
What would that look like, for example, in a random table?
These are some of the questions that go through my mind when reading and playing this game of medieval and cosmic horror.
