Luck. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Luck. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo...

Luck, who needs it? Well, sometimes we all do. Especially when you can’t hit the side of a barn door, and your HP’s are dropping  faster than you can say long-sword. So, if you’ve a mind to, you could integrate these into your game with possible bane, and boon results, for those who are playing along and listening to what the locals are telling them. What’s considered good luck in one village might be considered tempting fate in another. Slip the superstitions into any rumour table and watch the fun begin. 

What passes for Good Luck/ Superstition/ in these parts

1)A lock of goblin hair in your pocket will make you sneeze when one their kind approaches
2)Hanging a horseshoe-gnome upside down from your bridle keeps your horse from going lame
3)Your undershirt, worn inside-out keeps you warm, both day and night
4)Carrying a dead thief backwards into your house makes sure you’ll never be burgled
5)A forked twig held in your hands while walking through a graveyard will dip over the grave of a Vampyr
6) A dried Halflings foot brings good luck while trying to be stealthy (not so lucky for the Halfling though)
7) A bottle of nails and rusty spikes in your backpack gives trolls a terrible stomach ache should they get too close
8) A ring around the sun means you will find gold in three days
9) A piece of stone in your pocket helps against gargoyles
10) A small acorn kept in your cheek lets you talk to squirrels
11) A flagon of wine a day, keeps the healer away
12) Not shaving after your first ogre kill
13) Tapping your sword on the ground before the first melee of the day
14) No talking about fumbles or crits while the combat is in progress
15) A necklace of orc teeth protects against colds and flu
16) To predict if a treasure chest is trapped: Suspend a bent copper coin held by a piece of thread over chest. If the coin swings in an oval or circular motion the chest is trapped. If the coin swings in a straight line the chest is alright to plunder.
17) Putting your helmet on the bed post
18) A pinch of Cockatrice dung in your drink guards against poison
19) When in a tavern, always order one more beverage than needed to honour those adventurers who fallen by your side
20) When sleeping in a dungeon, sleep north-south

21) Last one to fill the lantern for the day should spit on his boot to ensure it stays burning while in a fight
22) To protect against a wandering monster hang a cloak from the most northerly entrance or exit of the dungeon room
23) If the first dragon you ever see is dead, consider that good luck forever
24) If an angry giant walks away from you
25) A six limbed mandrake in your backpack protects you from homunculi
26) Wearing an iron spike around your neck protects you from the fey
27) Counting Tunnels underground: One’s Bad, Two’s luck, Three’s health, Four’s wealth, Five is sickness, Six is death...
28) If your nose itches you are smelling ghosts
29) To cure a sword wound, stand at a crossroads and say, Wound, Wound, leave my side, take the next one passing by
30) Wearing a dried toad around your neck helps against a Medusa’s gaze
31) Getting a haircut on a Holyday prevents against head wounds for the year ahead
32) Wolfs bane over your front door guards against lycanthropes
33) An imp, cut in half, and left of the pillow of a sick person, will draw out the illness
34) Red Sky at night, Rangers delight. Red Sky in the morning, Rangers warning
35) A wish made upon seeing the first goblin of the spring will come true, but only if he isn’t killed before you complete the wish
36) Counting Stirges: One for sorrow
Two for joy
Three for a letter
Four for a boy.
Five for silver
Six for gold
Seven for a secret, never to be told
37) If a severed Zombies head comes to rest at your feet consider yourself blessed
38) Using a skeletons hand and forearm as a back-scratcher ensure you wont be back-stabbed
39) A sip of the liquid from a vanquished water-weird prevents against drowning
40) A dried elf’s ear in your pocket helps you hear noise better

What passes for Bad Luck/ Superstition/ in these parts

1)      Never burn wood from a coffin

2)      Never fire a found blooded arrow

3)      A drowned elf floats face up. A drowned dwarf sinks.

4)      Dropping a weapon means death may be coming to pay a visit

5)      Any adventure that starts on a seven-day is doomed to failure

6)      The gift of a dagger from a friend means you are soon to be betrayed

7)      Shaving a dwarfs beard

8)      To dream of a Lizardman means you have an enemy within the group

9)      Never light three of anything with the same piece of tinder. I.e. no fires, lanterns, pipes, or goblins

10)   Never kill a crow; it is the soul of a dead adventurer

11)   Walking backwards into a cave is to seal your fate

 12)   If you sneeze on a first day, you sneeze for danger;

               Sneeze on a second day, kiss a stranger;

               Sneeze on a third day, sneeze for a scroll;

               Sneeze on a four day, get struck by a troll;

               Sneeze on a five day, sneeze for sorrow;

               Sneeze on a six day, see your sweetheart tomorrow.

               Sneeze on a seven day, and a devil is coming to drag you off to hell...

13)   Listening to a bard sing his songs backwards, leaves you open to demonic possession

14)   Thirteen letters in your name and you have evil in your veins...

15)   Leaving a sword in the rain means you will soon be struck down

16)   Don’t leave your leather boots on the tavern table

17)   Storing a dead body in a portable hole

18)   Shaving a Halflings feet

19)   Not responding to a chain scroll

20)   If a hag pees on you, your skin will blacken and fall off

21)   If you drop a weapon, death is coming from the direction it is pointing

22)   Never use a broken bow string for anything else

23)   Climbing a repaired rope

24)   Walking between a Frost Giants legs

25)   Never sing while on guard duty

26)   Never sheath a sword for someone else, they must do it themselves

27)   Share a bed with a dog, and you’ll suffer worse than just fleas

28)   Giving or receiving an empty coin purse

29)   To kill a fairy

30)   Washing your armour guarantees rain

31)   When a wolf howls death is close by

32)   When you nail an orc’s head to a door, upside down. All the luck will run from it

33)   When the smoke from your campfire clings to the ground, stormy weather is sure to follow

34)   You must get out from your bedroll the same way you got in

35)   Unless you were born in the Year of the Manticore it’s unlucky to wear chainmail

36)   A Black Dragon crossing your path

37)   Whistling underground

38)   A ‘Conniver’ is an expression amongst dungeoneers meaning a person who brings nothing but bad luck to the party

39)   Seeing one’s doppelganger

40)   Plucking multiple hairs from a witches chin