r/cairnrpg

I'm not sure if there's a misunderstanding on my part, but I've been skimming through the Barebones Bestiary and I read the following about the Banshee :

" - Incorporeal spirits that linger long after death to haunt the living.

- Unharmed by cold, heat, or the elements. Iron weapon damage is enhanced."

Now, are we talking about iron weapons used against the Banshee? If so, would there be any way to describe/justify how a pretty normal weapon could inflict damage to what is essentially a type of ghost (assuming they've managed to get in hitting range without passing out due to the wailing) ?

So I basically understand the core resolution mechanic: the player wants to do something difficult but not impossible, you decide which of their 3 stats is most applicable, they succeed if they roll under it.

I'm used to playing games with modifiers and DC's, so this takes some adjustment but I'm fine to learn. The lack of DC's makes sense to me and I can adjust, but my real problem is the lack of modifiers I think.

A really common play pattern at my table would go something like, a player asks to do something, I call for a skill check, they then ask if they can get a bonus for leveraging some piece of kit, fact about their character, or something like that, and if I feel like it's both useful and applicable, then I'd grant them a bonus to the roll to reward the creativity.

I guess my question is, can I just do that? Do you guys do that? And if so, what does it look like at your table

Hello!

According to the rules, wearing a Shield, Helmet, Gambeson, and Plate gives a theoretical total of 6 Armor.

​Since the Armor cap is capped at 3, you hit the maximum defense without even needing Plate. This feels a bit off to me.

​How do you all handle this interaction in your games?

Link to blog post/pdf.

My submission to the 2026 Appendix N Jam, Caliban's Cruelty

https://preview.redd.it/b3ulefl97meh1.png?width=500&format=png&auto=webp&s=721c651eb63a8f43c91fe88244e9ce9feff3e9d8

https://itch.io/jam/appx-n-jam-2026/rate/4802753

The rules say a scroll disappears after use. However, I would like to leave a trail of used scrolls as clues to one of the mysteries in my homebrew. Particularly, I’d like the players to know that a scroll was used (rather than some other in game effect) and which scroll it was.

I’m looking for ideas on creative ways to do this. The only thing I’ve come up with is to have a fragment of paper with the scroll name on it remain. Do you have a fun solution to this?

Thanks!

Wondering if anyone has ever run a pirate (or seafaring campaign or adventure and how would you handle this rules wise. :) I’m interested in writing an adventure and want ideas on how to facilitate water travel

I've never played Cairn but I'm reading it out of curiosity and I had a question.

I feel like most of the scars in the table are actually positive, increasing HP and attributes. I think this is how characters can increase their various abilities but it does not really make sense to become, for instance, physically strronger from a wound, does it ?

How do you explain the scartable to your players ? And if you use alternative rules, what do you do ?

Hi, it’s me again. Some time ago I asked about the lethality of your games.

This time I want to ask about how long in real life does a regular combat encounter takes in your games. By regular I mean:

* An encounter that it’s mainly solved by trading deadly blows
* and, it ends when one party is defeated (routed, surrendered, unconscious, killed, etc.)

I**’m only interested in sample time durations from actual play.** I’m also interested in knowing wether you feel it was too fast for your taste, too slow, or just the right timing.

Asking this also in the Mausritter forum because despite very similar rulesets, I got very different questions last time.