#零零星星 1：智末的無常教

#ZS 1: Impermanism at Wit's End

零零星星是個部落格貼文系列，專門描寫形形色色不想被我更加發展的 TRPG 點子。要看所有期數，請按貼文標題中的主題標籤。

Zero Stars (ZS) is a blogpost series for various TRPG ideas I didn't want to develop further. To view all issues, please click on the hashtag in the post title.

無常教是個折衷的民間信仰，主要靈感來源於基督教、中國和台灣民間信仰以及桌上角色扮演遊戲的特性。它並沒有教堂或聖經，但各有各地的偽經、廟宇、神殿和聖地。預設的特定地區是智末，被詛咒的城鎮，四處被沙漠包圍。

Impermanism is a syncretic folk religion, with main inspirations from Christianity, Chinese and Taiwanese folk religion, and the nature of tabletop roleplaying games. It has no churches or Bible, but local apocrypha, temples, shrines, and sacred grounds. The default locality is Wit's End, a cursed town surrounded by desert on all sides.

信仰的細節要看信徒拜的神，可是一般來說，所有的無常徒都相信現實不是自在之物，而是不穩的現象，需要不同的守護神靈來保持平衡。然而，神靈不是現實的控制者，而是現實跟創造現實的太心†之間的調解員。唯一有能力改變現實的只有太心，因為只有太心存在於現實之外—在現實之中，一切都是太心的玩偶，隨心所欲地被偏寵或拋棄，甚至連現實的整體也是。

The details of the faith depend on what gods the practitioner worships, but generally speaking, all impermanists believe that reality is not a thing-in-itself, but an unstable phenomenon that must be balanced by protector entities. However, the entities are not the controllers of reality, but mediators between reality and The Highest Heart† that created it. Only The Heart has the power to change reality, because only The Heart exists outside of reality—within reality, all are The Heart's playthings, to be favored and abandoned at will, including reality itself in its entirety.

†太心是玩家的象徵，而現實是遊戲的象徵。無常教在精神方面探索意識到自己是虛構的角色的存在主義荒謬。

The Highest Heart is a metaphor for the player, and reality a metaphor for the game. Impermanism is a spiritual exploration of the existential dread of characters becoming conscious of their own fictionality.

智末的鎮民主要拜三心誓，掌管必死性的守護神：狐煙掌管死亡的判決、刺沙魔掌管衰敗的後果、深坑婆掌管來世的穿越。

The townsfolk of Wit's End primarily worship The Heartsworn Trinity, who are patron gods of mortality: Foxsmoke governs the sentencing of death, Bramblebane governs the aftermath of decay, and Chimˋhangˋpo governs passage across the afterlife.

狐煙 Foxsmoke

又稱：行騙者的救贖主、聖浮士德、沙漠死神。

Also known as: The Con Man's Redeemer, Saint Faustus, The Desert Reaper.

形象：狐狸頭的巨僧，從長到能當拐杖的煙管抽著菸。

Form: A giant monk with the head of a fox, smoking from pipe long enough to serve as a walking staff.

d6 預兆（從凶到吉）omens (from ill to auspicious):

  1. 十字路口有無眼狐 An eyeless fox at a crossroads
  2. 行進的方向有空繩套 An empty noose in the direction you're traveling
  3. 無雨的雷聲 Rainless thunder
  4. 橫財中找到香煙 Cigarettes in a windfall
  5. 磨損的繩子被復原 A rope unfrays
  6. 霧中咧嘴笑的月亮 A grinning moon in the fog

刺沙魔 Bramblebane

又稱：清道真君、惡煞王、腐爛神。

Also known as: Sweeper of The Way, King of Abominations, The Rotten God.

形象：分散成遊蕩的怪異蜂巢思維風滾草群，偶爾集中形成巨型。

Form: Scattered into a wandering swarm of eldritch hivemind tumbleweeds, occasionally combining into one giant form.

d6 狗哨 dogwhistles:

  1. 吸收保證和平 Consumption delivers peace
  2. 你就是聖餐 You are the sacrament
  3. 沒有死亡，只有重生 There is no death, only rebirth
  4. 主體是現實的中心 The Corpus is the heart of reality
  5. 太心需要滋養 The Highest Heart must be nourished
  6. 主體需要補充 The Corpus must be replenished

深坑婆 Chimˋhangˋpo

又稱：司儀神女、死人的北極星、冥咒菩薩。

Also known as: She Who Presides, The Dead Man's Polaris, The Hellsealed Bodhisattva.

形象：在反光的檯面上出現的巫師。如果是非液體的檯面，觸摸檯面會產生細浪。

Form: A witch doctor who appears on a reflective surface. If the surface isn't liquid, touching it will produce ripples.

d6 傳說 legends:

  1. 深坑婆是第一位在智末試圖逃獄的囚犯。來世的洞穴系統是她和她的同志挖出來的。每一條隧道都能通往另一個世界，但與其離開，深坑婆決定待在隧道引導其他的幽影，發誓直到每一個靈魂得到解放時才會離開智末。 Chimˋhangˋpo was the first prisoner who attempted to escape Wit's End. The cave system of the afterlife was excavated by her and her comrades. Each tunnel leads to another world. But instead of leaving, Chimˋhangˋpo chose to stay in the tunnels to guide other phantom shades, swearing to never leave Wit's End until every soul was liberated.

  2. 在跟執咒官員打槍戰的時候，深坑婆退出戰鬥為將死的同志請求太心送下一壺水給 ta 喝。反而，戰鬥被暴風雨打亂。時至今日，戰場被不停的雨水淹沒，總有一天會吞掉智末。 In the midst of a shootout with The Accursed Law, Chimˋhangˋpo retreated from combat to ask The Heart to deliver a canteen of water for a dying comrade. Instead, the fight was interrupted by a rainstorm. Even today, the battlefield is being flooded with endless rainwater, which will someday swallow Wit's End.

  3. 因咒法而規，咒司去參加深坑婆的最後一餐。深坑婆趁機用筷子攻擊 ta，馬上被獄警槍殺處死。因此詛咒禁止向智末提供食物。因此信士如果在太心的橫財中找到食物的時候會奉給深坑婆。 In accordance with The Accursed Law, The Warden attended Chimˋhangˋpo's last meal. Chimˋhangˋpo seized the opportunity to attack them with her chopsticks, and was promptly shot to death by the guards. Hence The Curse banned food from Wit's End. Hence when devotees find food in The Heart's windfalls, they sacrifice it to Chimˋhangˋpo.

  4. 死之前，深坑婆和祂的武裝隊在沙漠的四處埋藏各種不同的藥品。祂有留下如何找出來的秘密線索，如果知道怎麼破解的話。 Before death, Chimˋhangˋpo and her posse buried hidden caches of medicine all over the desert. She left secret clues on how to find them, if the clues can be deciphered.

  5. 在幼年時，深坑婆的家人試圖以祂的生命為代價創造保護族群的莧怪。發現計畫之後，祂離家出走，被族群追到懸崖之邊。祂往下跳，失去知覺，醒過來後發現自己被困在智末。 In her childhood, Chimˋhangˋpo's family attempted to sacrifice her to create an amaranth abomination to protect their kinkind. After discovering their plan, she ran away from home, and was chased by her kinkind to the edge of a cliff. She leapt off, lost consciousness, and awoke to find herself trapped in Wit's End.

  6. 深坑婆被詛咒判絞刑。可是當活門開了之後，祂的身體從繩套中消失。執咒官員花了數轉把祂找回來，但找也找不到。似乎像是祂根本並不在智末的現實中存在。 Chimˋhangˋpo was sentenced by The Curse to death by hanging. But when the trap fell open, her body vanished from the noose. The Accursed Law spent revolutions trying to find her again to no avail. It was as if she did not exist in the reality of Wit's End at all.

更多關於智末 More on Wit's End

智末的鎮民是來自各樣時空的敗罪羊（失敗的代罪羔羊）。因為他們拒絕為別人的罪受過，他們被詛咒送到智末下獄。之內，他們漸漸會被詛咒變成惡煞，在沙漠遊蕩到死的怪獸。

The townsfolk of Wit's End are failscapes (failed scapegoats) from across time and space. Because they refused to take the blame for others people's sins, The Curse transported them to Wit's End for imprisonment. There, The Curse gradually transforms them into abominations, monsters who wander the desert until death.

d6 敗罪羊背景 Failscape Backgrounds

  1. 夢遊者：在夢中陷入智末。 Sleepwalker: Entered Wit's End through a dream.
  2. 流浪漢：不小心遊蕩到智末。 Drifter: Accidentally wandered into Wit's End.
  3. 逃犯：跑進智末。 Fugitive: Fled into Wit's End.
  4. 罪犯：被判入智末。 Convict: Sentenced to Wit's End.
  5. 末生人：智末的囚犯或執法者生出來的孩子。 Endborn: A child born from prisoners or lawfolk in Wit's End.
  6. 幻景仔：有知覺力的幻景構裝體、詛咒所創造的「模犯」。 Miragi: A sentient mirage construct created by The Curse as “inmate exemplars.”

d6 敗罪羊神態 Failscape Miens

  1. 陰鬱 Morose
  2. 緊張 High-strung
  3. 好戰 Pugnacious
  4. 輕蔑 Disdainful
  5. 後悔 Repentant
  6. 正直 Righteous

d6 惡劣的突變 Abominable Mutations

  1. 與刺沙魔合一 One with Bramblebane
  2. 被蒼蠅覆蓋 Covered in flies
  3. 像熱蠟滴的肉體 Flesh drips like hot wax
  4. 骨瘦如柴 Skeletal frame
  5. 皮膚變透明 Skin becomes translucent
  6. 臉是個大洞 Face is a gaping hole

d6 詛咒的代理 （從低到高的職位）Agents of The Curse (from lowest to highest rank)

  1. 3d6 咒警 Accursed Officer
  2. 2d6 咒士 Accursed Sergeant
  3. 1d6 – 1d6 咒監 Accursed Lieutenant (– = 死的 dead ones)
  4. 1d6 咒尉 Accursed Captain
  5. 咒長 Accursed Marshal
  6. 咒司 Accursed Warden

d6 咒軍神態 Accursed Miens

  1. 專橫 Imperious
  2. 正在休息 On break
  3. 累壞 Burnt out
  4. 醉了 Intoxicated
  5. 正在巡邏 On patrol
  6. 想害你 Out to get you

智末和附近沙漠裡的居民並不靠食物求生，而是靠絕望。因此，他們在物質上有動機永遠活在緊急狀態之中，不管意思是故意把別人置於險境或是俠義地去阻止這種行為。

The denizens of Wit's End and the surrounding desert do not rely on food to survive, but desperation. As such, they are materially motivated to always exist in a state of emergency, whether that means purposely putting others in danger or stopping it in the name of justice.

智末的經濟是指令型的，由太心指令：當太心有意的時候，祂會在現實中創造資源的橫財。有時，橫財會是特別的資源，但通常會是不特別的鉛色苦元，又稱神的貨幣。通過誠意向太心的祈禱，一枚苦元硬幣會變成你在絕望時刻需要的一樣物品。

The economy of Wit's End is commanded according to The Highest Heart: when The Heart wills it, They will create windfalls of resources in reality. Sometimes, the windfalls will be of resources for a specific purpose, but usually it will be generic lead-colored dukkhats, also known as God's Tender. With an earnest prayer to The Heart, one dukkhat coin transforms into one item you need during a moment of desperation.