BLLOG Backgrounds (d100 Table + Rulings)

100 backgrounds for the Black Lotus Laws of Gaming, a GLOGhack set in a fantasy world inspired by Louisiana. See a brief setting intro here.

My planned background "rules" for BLLOG are as follows: for tasks related to your background, you won't need to roll where others might. For more difficult or potentially consequential tasks, the DM may still ask you to roll with advantage (roll 2d20, take the better). Where others might roll with disadvantage, you roll normally, etc. If you would prefer to use a different system, by all means do so.

First and foremost, these backgrounds are intended to give you new tools with which to approach the world of Eralou, opening up opportunities for interactions and solutions to problems that might not come up otherwise.

A crawgiant. By Josh Shelnutt

The Table:

1:	Chef	51:	Candlemaker
2:	Waiter	52:	Athlete
3:	Bokor	53:	Homemaker
4:	Farmer	54:	Teenage rebel
5:	Fisherman	55:	Glassmaker
6:	Pickpocket	56:	Architect
7:	Art forger	57:	Construction worker
8:	Virtuoso	58:	Music historian
9:	Aristocrat	59:	New Alores historian
10:	Chorus singer	60:	Storyteller
11:	Former zoulev practitioner	61:	Prankster
12:	Researcher	62:	Humble heir
13:	Shady butcher	63:	Loan shark
14:	Raised by mushrooms.	64:	Ramshackle inventor
15:	Born in the bayou	65:	Gator haberdasher
16:	Carpenter	66:	Local expert
17:	Tour guide	67:	Conservationist
18:	Smuggler	68:	Untrustworthy almanac writer
19:	False seer	69:	Unscrupulous mortician
20:	Failed bureaucrat	70:	Bottle-golem sculptor
21:	Marshcroak breeder	71:	Lotus ale brewer
22:	Tomb attendant	72:	Moderately successful flourist
23:	Bartender	73:	Wannabe adventurer
24:	Barfly	74:	Serpent hermit
25:	Riverboat pilot	75:	Parent of 3d4 children
26:	Boat engineer	76:	Talisman salesman
27:	Circus performer	77:	Huntsman
28:	Teacher	78:	Descendant of a saint
29:	Beekeeper	79:	Champion beignet eater
30:	Devil wrangler	80:	Former deputy
31:	Trufflemonger	81:	Got lost in the bayou, wandered out one day
32:	Crawgiant rider	82:	Maid to the royal family
33:	Swooprat (bat) tamer	83:	Courier
34:	Balloon engineer	84:	Cheese consultant
35:	Bounty hunter	85:	Fireworks enthusiast
36:	Local celebrity	86:	Misunderstood poet
37:	Local crackpot	87:	Trashtalker
38:	Failed author	88:	Very trusted merchant
39:	Surgeon-in-training	89:	Exotic animal handler
40:	Infamously bad barber	90:	Town gossip
41:	Gambler	91:	Gazette writer
42:	Subject of a famous song or painting	92:	Experimental stiltwalker
43:	Jewel thief	93:	Parade float judge
44:	Street partier	94:	Plagued by vicious rumors
45:	One hit wonder	95:	Outlandish hoax-crafter
46:	Obscure collector	96:	Perfume connoisseur
47:	Tourist	97:	Ten times failed entrepreneur
48:	Orphan	98:	Victim of a minor irreversible curse
49:	Mobster	99:	Child of the mayor
50:	Fireman	00:	Reroll twice. Both backgrounds apply.

Black Lotus Laws of Gaming (BLLOG)

Eralou is a fantasy setting inspired by the culture and folklore of Louisiana, originally created by Simon Williamson for their custom Magic: the Gathering set of the same name. (You can view the in-progress re-imagining of set here, which is the version of the world this content will be based on. Some flavor divergences here and there, but the former gives a good idea of the setting.) This post — and likely quite a few future ones — is my attempt to transfer that setting to a TTRPG, specifically a variant of Arnold K.'s GLOG, with inspiration being drawn from a wide variety of different blogs and hacks.

One of the most important elements of the setting is the black lotus. These plants are imbued with great magic, and can be used for many purposes: making food taste better, bargaining with spirits, enhancing a musician’s abilities; the list goes on. They can be somewhat rare, and are often quite valued — many would do a lot to get their hands on one. Once each year, during the festival of Plume de Val, all of the plane's lotuses bloom — magic is in the air, the great Phoenix rises, and celebrations can go on for weeks.

Some things you can expect from the setting include...

• Sentient fungi and frogs and birdfolk, oh my!
• No fewer than eight classes, including three distinct types of magic user.
• A research organisation headed by an owl from another world.
• Far too many tables, for likely completely unnecessary things, including...
• 1d20 Lies the royal family will tell you about themselves
• 1d100 Mildly magic trinkets
• 1d20 Rumours heard muttered in the bar
• 1d66 Folk saints and their feast days
• 1d100 Meals you can find in a restaurant in New Alores (the largest city around)
• A church dedicated to a long-dead angel.
• All manner of odd creatures and encounters.

By Vyacheslav Safronov

All to come in future posts! For now, have 1d100 possible backgrounds from  the setting: