Merlin Township

Merlin Township is a setting created by a few people on /tg/, which spawned from a horror thread that proceeded to be taken up by cute, horror-like supernatural happenstances. The current incarnation of Merlin Township has diverged a bit, going from being about horror-like happenings to a generally weird yet pleasant town located at the heart of Lethe County in Somewhere, USA. Threads featuring Merlin Township can be found here and here. This page is to detail the setting, including stories, fluff, and possible rules.

Look at that picture while listening to this: [1]. This is what Merlin Township feels like.

The Town

Merlin Township is a picturesque place with picturesque people. Depending on what you're looking at, this picture could be a Monet, or an Escher. Regardless of how you look at it, Merlin Township is a charming small town that has more than its fair share of oddity, and a nearly ever-present relaxing atmosphere. But despite how charming Merlin Township is, it has its share of problems. Rowdy visitors, overzealous pranksters, plain old human error, and more are there to ruin the day of an otherwise happy citizen.

Town Founders and Historical Personages

Seven founders were responsible for establishing Merlin Township along the Lethe River, in Lethe County, and are memorialized with statues in front of the Town Hall. These seven are:

• Abner Allegro Callahan, giant and possibly a descendant of Paul Bunyan. Stories about him are contradictory, at best.
• Skadi Gilling Callahan, Jotun and wife of Abner Allegro Callahan. At least seven feet tall, and an accomplished hunter, swimmer and fighter who helped feed the fledgling town.
• Odelia McKay, navigator possessing a preternatural amount of knowledge and strange machines, likely a time traveller. Some report seeing Odelia walk around the town in the present day.
• Marcellus Roland "M.R." Hendricks, who created the Merlin Town Charter and many of the public institutions, and whose vast collection of journals chronicled the early history of Merlin Township, including the devastating Reality Storm of 19Something
• Vassia Gorista, a Greek wise woman who, along with her seven daughters, founded toe precursor to Merlin's Bluebell Coven.
• TBA
• The Unknown Founder, whose life and deeds were destroyed in the Reality Storm of 19Something. Where his statue would be, there is an empty pedestal and a blank plaque.

• Lord Archibald Darling, an Englishman whose life was uneventful, who managed to make the town a welcoming place for the undead long after his own death. Passed on to the afterlife some time before the 20th century. Darling Street was dedicated to him after his passing. Although not a Founder, he was a key figure and pioneer.

Along with the founders, there were at least a few inhabitants that inhabited Merlin Township long before any human being stood foot in Lethe County.

• The Old Man, an enigmatic creature living at the bottom of Lake Morgan. It's generally reclusive, has only surfaced a few times in the history of the town, and seems to want nothing but solitude and a lack of crazy kids dumping things in his yard.
• Aunt Snarky, a 40' long Sarcosuchus that has apparently lived from 119 million years ago to the present age with no problems whatsoever. She understands English, German, Norwegian, and several American Indian languages.
• The Lake Morgan Monster is a giant freshwater squid, it never hurts anyone and have been known to save drowning people. The only downside is that it gathers items from the shore, both trash and useful items smaller than boats and puts them in its underwater cave. You can also play with it if you throw a ball to it when it surfaces on dark nights.

Notable Residents and Local Celebrities

• Kipp Ashby, disembodied voice and host of 77.7 Merlin Radio, residing in the abandoned-yet-operational Merlin Radio Station. Wise, folksy and always in-the-know, Kipp is beloved by the entire town, and is the closest thing Merlin has to a local celebrity. In addition to all this, he is also an accomplished piemaker. Part Mr. New Vegas, part Garrison Keillor. Part Nyarlathotep.

• The Callahan Girls, a group of several dozen girls who make up the entirety of the staff at Callahan's Corner Market. Despite claiming to be unrelated, they are all identical, brown-haired, freckled young women who constantly complete each other's sentences. Seen by many as Merlin's "girls next-door," the Callahans have been the subject of many stories of young-love over the years.
• The Five Living Buddhas are a group of enlightened men and women that are scattered around Merlin Township. Only one, the man living on top of the water tower and trading enlightenment for a cheap meal, has been confirmed. The rest are purely speculation.
• Horace Griswold, a man in a sharp suit with a glimmering, iridescent pyramid for a head who is the president of the Merlin Township chamber of Commerce. He takes his job protecting the interests of the town's small business owners very seriously, but when not at work is a devoted family man, an avid bowler, and an incorrigible punster.
• The Merlin Township Party Planning Committee, or MTPPC, a shadowy not-so-secret society of crimson-cloaked figures who flit about at the edges of your perception and meet in their lair deep below Town Hall to plan local parades, celebrations and parties.
• The Custodian, keeper of the clock tower in city hall. Shadowy entity with an enthusiasm for tea. The Corvids are his eyes and ears around town.

• The Corvids A murder of crows hangs out in front of the clock tower at midnight, and scatters at one. They will grant one wish, in exchange for an equivalent amount of corn. Any harmful wish costs, by default, "More corn than you could ever give." Crows, ravens and other blackbirds seem to have an affinity for those in need, and have the oddest habit of leaving you small gifts and tokens of appreciation like bus tickets, coins, winning lottery tickets and pieces of jewelry.
• Mayor Wally Oakshott is a 3' tall butterball of a man in a pinstripe suit with boundless enthusiasm and a 'hands on personal' approach to life. He can read anyone's intentions and true nature. He is often found at local watering holes in the evenings. He is unmarried, in spite of the best efforts of the Curry Girls.
• Erik Jorgenson, Town Councilman, Hero of Merlin Township. Despite Erik Jorgensen's short stature and stout build, the man is as oak-strong and iron-bound as his barrel-like shape suggests, and as fiery as the liquor held within. Jorgensen used to be known as "The Bear of the Town Council" until an actual bear was voted into office in the last election. This caused less friction than was expected, as Jorgensen took an immediate liking to the newest Council Member, become fast friends and drinking buddies with the Bear. Jorgensen proudly claims descent from the Viking explorers of yore, in who's longship he just so happened to appear in Lake Morgan forty years ago. A proud and boisterous man, Jorgensen is known for his strong politics and, when the situation calls for it, a strong shield and axe as well.

• Councilman Bear looks and generally acts like a regular grizzly bear, he can't talk, wear clothes or even ride a motorcycle. He understands English and can type slowly using two claws. He usually sticks to nodding (I like it) or snarling (No, I'd rather have ticks!) and body language to communicate. He is known for having a temper. His opinion can be swayed by gifts of live salmon, but gets quite riled if he decides that it is an attempt to bribe him for political purposes. Doc Ursus acts as translator for him when needed.

• Mr. Edgeworth (a local Town Hero) is the town's librarian that seems to always know what sort of book you'd like to read. If you ask for a book and intend to use its contents for harm (like the sort of books that teach you how to make pipe bombs from household material) he will click his tongue disapprovingly and say: "That particular book isn't available at the moment." As Chief Librarian of the Public Library, Mr. Edgworth would have access to all sorts of arcane knowledge, the complete and unabridged history of Merlin Township, and secrets within secrets that few others possess. He might have seen the writing on the wall for a while, but was unsure about how to act on what he knew.
• Miss X'ltari, a local high school student that wears a space suit everywhere she goes and claims to be an alien. Miss X'ltari's extraterrestrial status is generally accepted as fact by her teachers, peers and the Township a large, and the girl is permitted lead her school's Astronomy Club and ride on her own "Martian-American Pride" float in the Independence Day Parade.
• Madeline Trant, a local high school student who, after an unexplained incident, joined the ranks of Merlin Township's many aquatically-aligned residents. Taking everything in stroke, Madeline now works as an intern for the town's Parks and Recreation Department at Lake Morgan Park, teaching swim classes and lakeside safety to park visitors.
• Knight of Summer. Hero of Merlin. Probably a contemporary citizen in disguise, based on his unorthodox use of Elizabethan English.

• Merlin Township Party Planning Committee. About town, a group of mysterious figures in red robes and hoods flit about in the periphery of your vision, everywhere and nowhere all at once. They see all, they know all, and they are behind every single major event that happens in this little town.

• Vivian Nimue, Dean of the Invisible College and women's swimming coach. Her ability to control water is unrivaled. All of the aquatic creatures hold Vivian in the highest regard, many seem to be in awe of her and a few are nearly worshipful. The reason why can be found in the Library.

• Officer Mike, Officer Flint, Officer Bill, Officer Smith, etc One thing they have in common is that their 'work' name is always one syllable. There does not seem to be a chief of police or even sergeants. Each officer knows what the others know regarding work related matters. Not really a hive mind, more of a real-time data link.

• Captain Aiden is the Chief of the Fire Dept. He is both a handsome young man and a medium-sized Western fire drake. His most useful ability is his mental ability to suppress existing conflagrations.

• Cindy Russell is a young firefighter who isn't just a fiery redhead, she has actual fire for hair. Apparently it cannot be extinguished unless she is immersed underwater.

• Agnes Nuthatch, gossip columnist and astrologer for the Tally Ho.

• Ms. Euphemia Hekaton a hundred-armed, hundred-headed, clairvoyant. the sole writer, editor, photographer, graphic designer and publisher of the Red Eye Report.

• Vindaloo 'Vinnie' Daksha Is a red skinned 4 armed, tusked restaraunt owner who likes to sing, play music, and dance - all at the same time. He denies ever being a minor deity. "My sainted mother named me after him."

• The Curry Girls (Rahbi, Idli, Prama, Shaa, Raskshi, and Nan), Six lovely and talented ladies who are skilled at many things, including cooking. None of them are married, all of them would like to be. It seems inevitable.

• The "Well Dressed Man" (aka "Mr. Omega"), as called by the people of Merlin, this admittedly very well dressed man is reported to have been renting the most expensive room in the Commodore Hotel for a very long time. He is always polite and amiable, and seems to be extremely generous with his money, but is at the same time an exceedingly private person who does not enjoy others prying into his affairs. The only other person who might know his business is Head of Housekeeping Luci Fergusson, but she is of course smart enough to respect her guest's privacy and stay out of the gossip all together. He recently opened the Omega Pawn Shop, which enabled people to address him by something other than "Sir".

• Old Lady Tassler, the town's longest non-living resident runs a clothing shop for ghosts.

• The Cabajero Hero of Merlin. He arrived one morning, riding his cheval on the rails to Merlin Train Station. He was alive then. He spent his morning asking for the whereabouts of a certain "gringo loco", then fell in love with Merlin Town, and decided that this place was as good as any to set in. He's known for teaching kids how to ride, galloping around in Merlin Town, and for putting some badass in orphan teens he deemed worthy, living out the cow-boy life without any fear of seeing his town raided by some bad guy. He and his horsed passed away at the same time, peacefully, only to ride out of this grave, leaving his corpse behind. Since then, he's... well he's pretty much been doing the same as when he was alive: galloping around, putting some badass in teens and letting ghost kids ride on his ghostly horse. Someone once asked him a question that no ghosts or undead in Merlin Town managed to answer simply: why he didn't choose to go to Heaven. His answer? "Because I'm already there, amigo."
• Roger Timmens has managed to die heroically in every major war Merlin has gotten involved in. Three times in the Battle of Gettysburg alone.

- "I lost this here leg back in the war when I... Which war, Roge? ...Err..Balderdash. It was the one with the flag, and all the marching... That describes nearly all of them. They're all the same, someone shouts at you, hands you a rifle, and whoops, there goes your leg, just in time for the next one. Sick of it, to be honest.

- "How many stars? Say what? I mean on the flag. Fifty two? One?

Four

Alright, so we're in Worlds War II, gotcha

- Do you remember D-day at all?

Sure, I remember charging up that blasted soggy beach in the sand. Miserable time. I didn't even want to be in that one, they drafted me.

I thought you joined voluntarily every time.

Nope. Each time I die, I get a little paper with two little tic boxes that say, "Die" or "Get drafted" and a pencil. Some dipweed always scribbles out the 'Die' option, so I'm stuck in a rut a bit.

- "What do you mean you fought in the Clone Wars?

A lot of people fought in the Clone Wars! It wasnt just clones and robots going at each other. A tiny green passing ascetic stops for a moment, turn towards the chatting old men, and sadly shakes his head. "Hey don't give me that self-righteous guff! It was your job to keep the peace, your job to see it all coming! It was your lot who dropped the ball, magic man!"

• Luci Fergusson, Head of Housekeeping at the Commodore Hotel and Hero of Merlin Township. Luci is proud of her work and is considered the best at her job....well second best. Hard to compete with the ghost housekeepers sometimes. Don't have to sleep, dontcha know? She is a younger and overtly spooky version of Discworld's Granny Weatherwax. She doesn't show an incredible (or any) amount of emotion herself, but is an expert in "Headology:" reading people, knowing what they want and how to get it, and knowing how to get them to do what needs to be done for their own good. Upon discovering the threat, she might sigh, say "Well. There's that then." and deligate the day's responsibilities to her subordinate housekeepers so she could go and assist. "It has been said that the difference between headology and psychiatry is that, were you to approach either with a belief that you were being chased by a monster, a psychiatrist will convince you that there are no monsters coming after you, whereas a headologist will hand you a bat and a chair to stand on." It has been discovered by Commodore Hotel and Boarding House's management that their that Head of Housekeeping, Lucy Fergusson, has literally never taken a sick day or a vacation. This is a problem because labor laws mandate that Hotel employees need to take a day off from time to time. To these ends, they have forced Ms. Fergusson to take a week-long vacation to one of Merlin Township's Sister Cities. It turns out, however, that Ms. Fergusson was much, much more than just the Head of Housekeeping, and without her omnipresent influence and judicious application of Headology, the Hotel is in real danger of capsizing while she's away.

• Angela Reyes, another Hero of Merlin Township. Angela rarely takes her costume off. When she does, she often has to be reminded to put the wire back on her halo. Angela is a spitfire and quick to judge a person. This upsets her father, who lives out of town, but is well known for being a kindly welcoming individual. He sent Angela to live with her aunt Gabriella Reyes while he's away on business, hoping she'll learn her lesson and cool her heels a bit. Maybe makes some friends.

• Senior Suarez, the Talking Alpaca is from Bolivia. He speaks Spanish, Aymara, Guarani, Quechua, and English (with a thick Spanish accent.) If some is rude enough, he will spit a foul acidic green goo at them with with great accuracy. It does no lasting harm but it is very unpleasant and hard to wash off.

• Caleb the Chimney Sweep is an unusual man, even by MT standards. He dresses in traditional garb with a top hat. No one knows where he lives, and he seems to live outdoors and never sleep. He never talks, he appears thin enough to slide down the chimneys he cleans, and he wanders the streets followed by a herd of black cat-like creatures who do the actual chimney cleaning using their furry bodies. They take payment by raiding the customers' larder for food and drink which they share with Caleb. They do clean up their tiny sooty footprints on the way out.

• Bloody Mary People meet her, but can only remember: "There was a lot of Red...Everywhere!"

• Teagreen Grace, a popular Imaginary Friend amongst Merlin Township's children. She is childlike in form, with green hair and ram's horns, and carries with her a toy sword and bunny.

Notable Locations

Merlin Township is separated into three districts. Old Town contain all of the older homes and prominent public institutions, such as Merlin Town Library. New Town is the more commercial district of Merlin Township, and contains more modern housing. The Lake Morgan Area is mostly undeveloped countryside, but there are a few man-made structures out there.

• Old Town

The Darling Street "Haunted House" (quotations intentional) is a communal music hall dedicated to Lord Archibald Darling for his help in establishing a place for the undead in Merlin Township. It's considered a cultural hotspot, and one of the prime music destinations in Merlin Township, due to it hosting the Summer Music Festival every year. Performers, living and dead, have had their start in the "Haunted House".

• New Town

• Lake Morgan Area

Merlin Radio Station sits in the woods of Lethe County, the source of 77.7 Radio Merlin. Though there is what seems to be a decades-old sheen of dust across the entirety of the empty building, all of the recording equipment is operational and on. A box sits on the front desk, with a note stating, "Thank you for listening - Kipp Ashby" and a whole, fresh pie of the recipient's favorite flavor inside. Anyone who takes the pie, or leaves money in the box, is credited in tomorrow's broadcast as a "special prize winner" or "private sponsor".

Mechanics

ODDITY and Crunchy Bits

As you gain Oddity Points, you get mental and physical mutations. These mutations eventually go away when you're at zero Oddity, with a rate of one disappearing per week. Maximum oddity causes you to no longer mutate, but all existing mutations are locked in, and you're given permanent status as a Merlin Township resident.. I don't know about being rejected by the town if you're at Zero-Odd, per say, unless it were something like most people are naturally a little crazy and hover at around 10-Odd or so, and you REALLY have to work to bust yourself down to Zero-Odd, stone cold sanity.

What I might suggest is that higher levels of oddity imply higher levels of comfort in and acceptance by Merlin Township, which allow you to tap into latent magics or special talents, or improves your luck and happenstance while in town. How about as the oddity went up, part of Merlin becomes unlocked. I always see Merlin as a safe-house in our mind so accepting that Merlin exist will let the town open up to you

That makes a good deal of sense to me. It's less a measure of your sanity then and more a measure of how much you've accepted Merlin and its accepted you. Like reputation with a faction. At higher levels, you can receive summons to help the Merlin Township Party Planning Committee, you can safely explore more of the Public Library's spatially anomalous interior, you can start actually seeing imaginary friends and the faintest ghosts and spirits, etc. etc. etc.

The default would be ten, and Oddity would measure, more or less, the kind of mindset you'd need to be in to experience Merlin Township.Your average human Merlin resident would be 30 Oddity. Kipp Ashby would be a hard one hundred.

Then why not start crunching? A little rough character creation concept: There are six stats, each starting at one, with eight points to spread between all of them. They come in pairs:

Strength and Speed: Strength measures general physical fortitude, speed measures reflexes, dexterity, and... well, speed. Together, they measure your physical capabilities.

Rhyme and Reason: Rhyme represents creativity, lateral thinking, and mental flexibility. Reason represents logic, deductive reasoning, common sense, and general intelligence. Together, they represent mental capacity.

Laughter and Lying: Laughter represents charisma, sense of humor, and talent at speaking. Lying represents capacity for mischief, the ability to impersonate others, and talent at telling lies. Together, they represent social capacity.

"Skill checks" would be pairs of attributes, used in a certain way. Speed and Strength for a decathalon, Rhyme and Reason for an essay paper, Laughter and Lying for starring in a play, and other combinations, like Reason and Laughter being used to give someone therapy, or Speed and Lying used to sneak into a building in disguise.

Two traits would be picked at the beginning. They'd range from situational benefits, such as gaining a point of Lying against adults, to gaining Odddity beyond the starting level of 10. Oddity is pretty much >>32647282. Oddity would be gained by experiencing the very strangest sights, sounds and smells Merlin has to offer, such as the less conventional books in the town library. It would be lost by interacting with highly conventional places, such as the bank. At 0 Oddity, the only way you can go lower is if you are traumatized by a supernatural event. Negative Oddity is at odds with the generally-benevolent atmosphere of Merlin Township, and is only gained by bad experiences wit the supernatural, whether it's the death of a loved one or experiencing a haunting. Negative Oddity individuals attract the darker side of the supernatural/

Items wouldn't usually affect your attributes, other than Oddity. The items would produce largely narrative effects, like glasses that allow you to see thoughts as words floating in the air, or a knife that cuts bread perfectly, and nothing else. The items, as well as most of the traits, are up to the players and the GM to brainstorm.

All rolls are made using d6s, with the number of dice depending on what stats are involved. In a regular roll, your DM decides on a target number, and you must roll above that target number to succeed. In contested rolls, whoever rolls the lower number fails the contest.

The Heroes of Merlin Township

Merlin Township is a picturesque place with picturesque people. Depending on what you're looking at, this picture could be a Monet, or an Escher. Regardless of how you look at it, Merlin Township is a charming small town that has more than its fair share of oddity, and a nearly ever-present relaxing atmosphere. But despite how charming Merlin Township is, it has its share of problems. Rowdy visitors, overzealous pranksters, plain old human error, and more are there to ruin the day of an otherwise happy citizen. A lot of people would rather turn a blind eye to these problems, and go on thinking Merlin Township is paradise on Earth. But there are at least a few people who understand the expression, "The brighter the light, the longer the shadow." These are the Heroes of Merlin Township.

The Heroes of Merlin Township are a set of premade PCs for the setting, to serve as either someone to play or an inspiration for character creation. They can easily be inserted into a story as NPCs, as well.

• Angela Reyes - Darling Little Angel - Strength 3/Speed 2 Reason 1/Rhyme 2 Laughter 4/Lying 2

Traits:

Night Light: Angela emits a bright light at all times, enough to illuminate a room when it's dark. Doesn't hemp when she's trying to sneak around.

Childish Demeanor: Angela has all the charm and grace of a younger girl, giving her a +1 bonus to Laughter when talking to parents and children, and gaining a -1 penalty around people who hate children (those monsters).

Equipment:

"Lil' Slugger": Angela's got a bat, and she isn't playing baseball. Gain a +1 to Strength tests that require a baseball bat.

Oddity: 42

• The Knight of Summer - Probably Not a Knight - Strength 4/Speed 2 Reason 2/Rhyme 3 Laughter 2/Lying 1

Traits:

Stalwart Defender: You budge for no man, woman, or elder thing! Gain a +1 to your roll in any instance that someone tries to move or attack you, physically or verbally. You cannot give as well as you get, however. take a -1 penalty to any roll where you are attacking, moving, or otherwise physically engaging someone.

Chivalry is alive and well, thank you: Gain a +1 when defending someone in any way, insult or injury. You must come to the aid of anyone in danger.

Equipment:

Summer's Embrace: A heavy suit of metal, definitely not made out of discarded pots. You gain a +1 when defending yourself from physical attacks. Don't swim in this.

Oddity: 33