Crazy? I was crazy once (GLOG Class: Mad Scientist)

In lieu of reworking the sleuth I have decided there are not enough wizards in this setting

MAD MAN MAGIC MAN
Start with: loose silverware, straitjacket and/or fancy hat, jokebook full of Schemes, schemebook full of jokes
-1 Save vs possession per template
A - 4 Vices, Reagents
B - Spell Coupling
C - Humorist
D - See Spirits or Selective Blindness

Reagents
You scrounge up [level] slots of reagent during downtime. (These are highly controlled substances: your level represents your ability to synthesize and stabilize, or procure illicitly.)

You can cast your vices as spells by spending reagent. Roll a d6 for each slot spent. For each die that rolls 1, 2, or 3, you get the slot back. (it's just MD you carry around)

Anyone can use reagents this way. You're just the plug.

Spell Coupling
You can couple your vices together: when one is cast, the other is cast for free.

Vices uncouple on a 1-in-6 during downtime. When they do, gain a new vice.

Humorist
You can balance a person's humors to remove a vice from them. This takes an hour and a slot of reagent.

The removed vice is captured in a "potion", which you can drink to gain the vice, or destroy to summon an angry spirit (as grenade).

Coupled vices take twice as much time and resources to remove.

Selective Blindness
If you would see horrors beyond comprehension, you can instead choose not to see them.

[design notes: i think a good wizard pushes the magic system to its limit. This one is not that, but i think it's offset by every spell talking and having history with one another.]

[The tone turned out much friendlier and more prosocial than I initially planned (i.e. making your spells kiss and have babies, having a "heal" on C template) but in retrospect that's about right for a glogzard in gothic horror. I like when non-support classes have support mechanics because it saves me having to write a cleric]

[Also, there's enough grimdark "insanity" mechanics-- so help me god, this one's going to be about funny little guys]

Dynamics (classes for 2+ pcs)

In place of a class, you may start with two dynamics. Each dynamic is shared with at least one other character. (distribute starting items between both characters)

Dynamics level up and gain templates like classes. Everyone in a dynamic contributes equal XP towards its progression. You decide which of your dynamics to put XP towards.

Sleuths
Start with: magnifying glass, pipe, limp
A - In all fields of knowledge, one of you can answer exam questions on a 5-in-6.
B - You are both in pursuit of a Great Mystery.
C - You cannot compromise evidence or destroy information.
D - You know exactly what your partner is about to say or do, even when you are miles apart.

Foils
Start with: épées, loveless engagement, criminal record
A - Each partner gets a different duelist technique.
B - You get +1 attack/turn when fighting back-to-back.
C - You can Save to riposte any attack on your partner. If you fail, you take the hit in their place.
D - Once, you can bring your partner back from the brink of death with a kiss.

Spellbreeders
Start with: two random spells, sack of kibble (3 slots), butterfly net
A - Each partner gets +1 MD.
B - If you cast a spell at the same time as your partner, they combine to produce a new one. They decay back into their components after casting.
C - When you combine spells, you choose between two or more potential offspring spells to cast. (The gm has to give you at least two.)
D - When you combine spells, you keep the new spell in addition to all its components.

Faithful
Start with: book of prayers, flask of gin, durable leather boots
A - One of you is immune to blasphemy. The other is immune to prayer.
B - You deal max damage to undead.
C - You and your partner can swap immunities and alignments 1/day.
D - You know the names and HD of each angel or demon you meet.

Runaways
Start with: crossbow, silver ring, torn wedding dress
A - When one of you escapes, the other does too.
B - You can forgo an attack to guarantee that your partner's lands.
C - You and your partner fit together in any space larger than a briefcase.
D - Your movement can't be slowed or stopped by anything, including sleeping curses and solid walls.

Hunters
Start with: matching scars, absorbing novella, harmonica
A - Treat your teeth and nails as daggers.
B - You can secretly and wordlessly communicate with your partner via knowing looks and nonverbal cues.
C - You can deal d6 damage to your partner to attack again on your turn. You can do this any number of times.
D - You can howl to summon your partner and/or d6 wolves (or wolf equivalents) to your side 1/day.

rosewaterjelly

Dalmatians

not like this at all

For a brief period in history, God lived on the earth. Leading by example, He built the first house, grew the first plants, and slaughtered the first cow. The proper way of doing things was demonstrated, and everyone was fat and happy.

Next, He turned his attention to the arts. He sang the first song, penned the first poem, and carved the first sculpture. The proper way of doing things was demonstrated, and everyone was beautiful and clever.

Finally, He wrote down everything He knew about the sciences, which was everything. The truth of things was made certain, and everyone was wise and well-read.

But sages continued to enter the house of the All-Knowing, asking inane questions and seeking prophetic knowledge (which could have been theirs if they'd bothered to read the damn book). Leave my home at once, He raged. Those who do not sow are not fit for the fruit. The sages went home, and found their wives, their mothers, and themselves with children.

* * *

Dalmatian-- sesame seed birthmarks; Church-instructed
HD 1; AC as monk; Dewclaw 1d6

The name "dalmatian" comes from the warrior tribe who constitute God's apocalyptic supersoldier army in the late Certainties. They are direct descendants of God, sans opposable thumbs. They're born randomly and rarely, only slightly more common in hamlets amidst the Almer foothills, then immediately handed over to the Church. (Their deformities make them useless to rural families.)

The Almer folk have been in decline for a generation and a half, yet more dalmatians are born each year. This is considered a mixed blessing, as spotted infants can be sold to the Church for a decent sum.

Each dalmatian is trained in a very narrow field of science which becomes their expertise. They can answer any question about their expertise with encyclopedic knowledge bordering on precognition, except for those that start with why? (They are often at odds with contemporary intellectuals, who are very-- perhaps overly-- concerned with why?)

d20 expertises

1. Forest management 
2. Psychoanalysis 
3. Osteology 
4. Mycology
5. Hagiography
6. Forensics
7. Meteorology
8. Imaginary numbers 
9. Carpentry 
10. Shaylese military history 
11. Massage
12. Optics
13. Nephrology 
14. Heliophysics 
15. Demonology (Mammon to Orobas)
16. Wildlife photography
17. CSS styling
18. Geometry (up to six-sided polygons) 
19. Stenography 
20. Wolves

Uneducated dalmatians don't get any special intelligence ability: they tend to burn out and pivot to erotic portraiture. 

When one dies, a terrible windstorm ravages the area for eight days.

like this
but w/o thumbs

Double-sided Torchflower

For a horror-themed basementcrawl. Here's the proof-of-concept:

oooo so slick so pretty

I think hexflowers are fun in concept but in practice I don't care much to simulate realistic weather patterns.

What I think has more potential is the flip: the first time the lights go out, you swap to an alternate random encounter table. Note: 

• You can turn the lights out on purpose to flip at will. (You can use this to escape the slasher: basically a 1/crawl random encounter reroll)
• The other table is more dangerous/weird/rewarding. It's less of a dungeoneering clock (for that I prefer possession) and more of a choice between incomparables.
• There's no way to flip back: once you experience the dark, the vibes are off until you see sunlight again.

Anyway, I doubt I'll use the flower over a pair of lists, but if you want to try it out:

1. Chandelier: Tries to fall on you.
2. Organ words; Warm wet; Hands: These are unsettling architectural features.
3. Slip: The door leads somewhere it shouldn't.
4. Lost: The way back leads somewhere it shouldn't.
5. Memory: A childhood memory, arriving unbidden. I made this with family-trauma-having gothic heroines in mind.
6. Ghost: Of the wandering variety.
7. Thunder: From below.
8. Burning metal: Door handles, fixtures, candle sticks-- everything hurts to touch.
9. Hungry room: Tries to eat you! AAAAAA!!! 
10. Hell door: Very convenient if you want to talk to the devil.

The Alignment Penteract