Toto's Traveling Tavern! Also Gastropomancers

slightly blurry photo of a drawing.

A massive snail trudges across the horizon, a platform with rope ladders hanging from a platform on it's side. On the top of it's shell, a spiraling dome sits with a long staircase leading to the platform below. This is Toto's Traveling Tavern, and he's come to sell you drinks and perhaps a ride.

This is my entry for a tavern mapping contest in one of the discord servers I'm a part of, but I really wanted to write a background for it, so here's my attempt.

Kotilo

The massive snail on which Toto's tavern is built, fondly named Kotilo, travels about the northernmost parts of Maamilla. The Kihagai Tropics acts as a terminal for the it, as it likes to feed from the massive leaves found on the trees growing there. Kotilo isn't the only snail of its kind, they are found aplenty in the Kihagai Tropics, Toto was just the only one mad enough to attempt the feat of building a moving tavern, not to mention the task of taming such a creature. Kotilo has been alive for almost 11 years now, however, and Toto knows they don't have much time left, he is looking for someone to find a replacement for Kotilo, so he can grant it a pleasant retirement. He would do it himself, but he's not willing to leave his buddy alone.

Toto

Toto is a Gastropomancer, which is the reason he was able to make an agreement with and direct the movements of Kotilo.
Toto - HD 3 Gastropomancer
Attack 12 Defense 9 Move 11 Morale 13 Save 9 Stats 10, 9, 15, 10, 13, 13
Spells Speak with Gastropods, Snail Pace, Escargot Pearl.

From Here

Gastropomancer

Perks:

You have a snail shell that is stylistically strapped onto your back. It takes up one inventory slot, but can hold up to five.

Drawback:

Instead of Magic Dice, you have Mollusk Dice, which are d4s instead of d6s, and are removed from the dice pool on a 3-4 rather than a 4-6.

Cantrips:

1. Given 12 hrs. you can eat ~300 lbs. of plants or rotting materials. Only usable once per day.

2. You can float up to the top of an area of water as long as you aren't overencumbered.

3. Snails and slugs are naturally attracted to you and will come out from hiding if called to.

Spells:

You automatically get 'Speak with Gastropods' at first level, roll your other spell normally.

1. Speak with Gastropods | R: - | T: self | D: [dice] minutes

You can talk to gastropods and they can talk back. Gastropods are lethargic and slow, and tend to only know things pertaining to their immediate surroundings, such as which head of lettuce tastes best.

2. Spontaneous Generation | R: touch | T: object | D: -
You hand another creature a nonmagical object, They must willingly take it from you. The maximum size of the object depends on how many dice are invested: 1 [Dice]: pebble-sized, 2 [Dice]: grape sized, 3 [Dice]: Bucket sized, 4 [Dice]: person sized. Up to [Sum] rounds later, you can choose to have the object permanently turn into snails or slugs, perhaps 1 large one. They are slimy and gross.

3. Corrosive Slug | R: touch | T: - | D: [dice] minutes

creates an acidic slug that deals [Dice] damage each turn unless it is removed and the slime is washed off, can also corrode most organic surfaces it is placed on.

4. Snail's Pace | R: 10' | T: creature/object | D: [sum] rounds

Target must save or be reduced to Move as Snail for the spell's duration.

5. Sticky Skin | R: - | T: self | D: [dice] minutes

Your skin excretes a sticky mucus which can be used to climb walls or grab objects, your skin must be in direct contact with the object to stick to it.

6. Wall of Cabbage | R: 60' | T: point | D: [dice] rounds
creates a wall of thickly packed leaves 10 ft. across per [dice], 10ft. high and 5ft. thick. Anything inside of the wall is trapped for the duration.

7. Slug Form | R: - | T: self | D: [sum] minutes

Your biology becomes as that of a slugs for the duration, you can stretch out your body to squeeze through gaps as narrow as a keyhole during this time, and are immune to bludgeoning damage.

8. Blight Life | R: touch | T: [sum] ft.² organic matter| D: [dice] hours
You suppress growth in an object, causing it to rapidly decay for the duration, at the end of the duration, it rapidly springs back to life.

9. Escargot Pearl | R: - | T: self | D: instant

you lay [Dice] rations worth of white caviar.

10. Slime Line | R: touch | T: point | D: [sum] hours
You create [Dice]x50ft. of a length of slime that can support your weight as you do rigorous activity.

Emblem Spells:

11. Love Dart | R: 100' | T: Creature | D: [Dice] minutes

Fires a Calcareous dart out of the caster's arm, dealing [Sum] damage, and causing an effect as Charm Person for the duration

12. Stasis | R: - | T: Self | D: [Dice] days
You form a calcium shell over your body in a rapid process, you remain sealed in this shell for the duration. During this time, you are sealed off from the outside, and do not require food. The shell cannot be broken by standard weapons.

So someone else had this idea before.
Artist

Mishaps:

1. MD only return to your pool on a 1 for 24 hours.

2. Take 1d6 damage.

3. Random mutation for 1d6 rounds, then save, permanent if you fail.

4. Deafness for 1d6 rounds.

5. Blindness for 1d6 rounds.

6. Roll a d6 for each item in your inventory, on a 1-3, it immediately erodes/rusts/rots.

Dooms:

1. You turn into a slug for 1 day, you can see poorly and can smell, but can't hear.

2. You turn into a slug for 3 days, you can see poorly and can smell, but can't hear.

3. You turn into a level 1 Pile of Snails (see below).

From Here

Class: Pile of Snails

For each Pile of Snails template you possess, you get +1 Defense and -1 Move.

Starting Gear Parasites, Shell, a lot of Teeth.

Starting Skill (1d3) Land Snail, Freshwater Snail, Sea Snail

[A]: Gastropod, Hivemind

[B]: Slime Trail

[C]: Mucus, Stasis

[D]: Regeneration

Snails

Though you were once part of a human, you are now a mere snail. While you do have a mental concept outside of your immediate surroundings, you can not understand complex thoughts like mathematics. You are unable to hear, but can see poorly and smell normally.

Hive-mind

The snails you are made up of share a telepathic connection, and can communicate with each-other no matter where they are at any given time. Every point of damage causes a snail to die in a tragic way. Single Target Save or Die effects instead deal 1 damage to them. Other single target effects affect all of them. Whenever you would take lethal damage, instead of rolling death and dismemberment, instead a number of snails equal to the damage taken die.

Slime Trail

By going ahead and moving across a surface, you create a trail of slime that can act as either a lubricant (grease spell), or as a slime which other creatures or objects can stick to as a glue.

Mucus

Your mucus has minor healing properties, by crawling about on an injured creature, you can remove 1 fatal wound.

Stasis

By entering your shell and sealing off the opening, you can enter a state of stasis, during this time you do not have to eat. You can still be killed if your shell is broken.

Regeneration

When you are brought below 0 HP, roll 1d4. The result is how many snails die, the rest regenerate over a period of 12 hours.

From Here