An Abominable Fancy

Death of Beowulf by JR Skelton Beyond the Wall has a "Cheat Death" rule: A dying character may spend a Fortune Point to stabilize at 0 hit points and not continue taking damage every round. The rules also say: All damage taken before reaching zero hit points represents narrow escapes, minor cuts and bruises, and painful, but not debilitating, wounds. Once a character reaches zero hit points, however, he is out of the fight, either unconscious or nearly so. It is at this point that we can call a character seriously wounded, perhaps with a grave sword wound or a nasty blow to the head. He’s not dead yet, but he is in serious trouble and desperately needs the help of his companions. And: Characters who have reached 0 hit points need help immediately. They will continue to lose hit points at the rate of 1 per round unless they receive medical attention. Should a character’s hit points reach -10 he is dead. So that works. But, after reading  +Lloyd Neill 

My party is traveling north, from their home village of Herebury to the town of Stoat, to pick up a suit of armor and a few new PCs. I wanted the journey in between to have some color, but didn't want to drag it out with random encounters and side missions. I assigned each player a village, and asked them to describe it briefly, along with a local NPC. I asked a second player to then elaborate on either the village or the NPC. A third player then rolled a check against Charisma to see how the party faired. Here are the villages that resulted: Town: Oxley Once known as Oxcross, Oxley is known for its livestock who graze the fields east of town. It's proximity to the Thousand Acre Wood makes it home to a good number of hunters and trappers, who protect the town and its herds from wild animals. Oxley has been grooming their cattle for generations to yield the best tasting beef in the region. They also have a formidable leather working tradition. Most of the local hunter