End-of-Session Procedure & Character Advancement
When the party finishes their expedition and returns to town, run through the following procedure:
Clear all injuries and conditions.
Check to see if anyone meets the requirements to advance to the next Rank.
Go through the House Points checklist and distribute Points. When awarding House Points the Referee should announce the awards in a dramatic voice.
The possibility seems remote, but imagine, Dear Reader, that find yourself playing a game of Night-Haunted Hogwarts. Further imagine that none of the 24 clan options suits your purposes - perhaps you have a favorite character that I failed to include (cutting it down to a d6 roll's worth for each house left many on the table), you don't like my interpretation of one of the existing ones, or you really want to play something off the beaten path like a foreign wizard, goblin, centaur, or elf. What to do?
In this post I'll walk through my process and see if we can distill that into some general principles that we can use as a guide for making your own material in this setting.
As I've discovered, writing tie-in material for an established setting you have to fill in a lot of blanks left by the text. A roleplaying game needs different things than a series of boarding school mystery novels does, for example. At the same time, your work needs to feel like it belongs or you lose the benefits of using the established setting in the first place. Writing tie-in material, therefore, is mostly a process of extrapolation - you're trying to surprise your audience with a sense of familiarity. In practice this mostly consists of looking at specific examples from the text and expanding outward to make a generalized type. These can be direct (Neville Longbottom killed one specific snake one time --> his descendants are famous dragonslayers and serpent-hunters) or indirect (a mirror in the Leaky Cauldron gives Harry sarcastic advice on his appearance --> mundane objects in Harry Potter world can have funny personalities that relate in some way to what they do --> the Crabbe's magical caltrops chortle to themselves whenever they think they're about to stick someone). Sometimes they are made from the thinnest of thin strands (house-elf could be said to imply other kinds of elf: by looking at house-elves what can we interpret as qualities of "elfishness" in Harry Potter and how can we apply them to different contexts).
"always"
Skills: Potions (expert) | Curses (basic) | Herbology (basic) | Stealth (basic)
+1 Courage
The Snapes are a small and rather poor clan, but all know them as bitter enemies of the One Enemy - indeed, their family words "always" are said to be a reference to how long the Snapes intend to oppose Him. Their seat is at Spinner’s End, where they own a watermill built into the brick ruins of an old pre-war muggle mechanical one.
"family, duty, honor"
Skills: Potions (experted) | Transfiguration (advanced) | Courtesy (basic) | Herbology (basic)
A wealthy, well-liked, and well-connected family, the Slughorns are related to most prominent wizarding families by bonds of blood or business. Though the Slughorns fight more wars with quill and ink than with wand or blade, clan Slughorn has always known that there can be no rapprochement with He Who Must Not Be Named.
"constant vigilance"
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| expect the unexpected! |
Skills: Curses (expert) | Potions (advanced) | Transfiguration (basic) | Stealth (basic)
The Moodies have long studied the arts of the Enemy in order to better combat them. They have a reputation for hardness, even cruelty, but it is universally acknowledged that their courage and conviction is second to none. The family is small, grim, and strict, with few dependents, but their dim halls are full of the honors and battle-trophies won by generations of Moodies.
"even death may die"
Skills: Devices (expert) | Stealth (advanced) | Curses (basic) | Divination (basic)
+1 Shadow
Though the ruins of Azkaban have long been abandoned to the dementors, the head of Clan Rookwood still holds the title of Warden of the Isle. From their coastal fortress the clan keeps watch against the horrors of that blasted island prison - a dangerous and thankless task, for no Lord Warden has yet died a natural death.
The sullen, salt-stained folk who owe fealty to the Rookwoods claim that Rookwood blood runs to madness, born of gazing too long upon things not meant to be seen, and strange tales tell of madmen and worse things kept chained for long generations in the family dungeons.
"honor to serve"
Skills: Fighting (expert) | Athletics (advanced) | Curses (basic)
+1 to Strength
The Crabbes have a reputation for brutality, having served Clan Malfoy for generations. In their secret ceremonies, however, the Crabbes recall that they once served a power older and greater than the Malfoys, and that they may do so again one day.
"blood and honor"
Skills: Courtesy (advanced) | Curses (advanced) | Fighting (basic) | Devices (basic) | Potions (basic)
+1 Shadow
House Modifier: +1 Cunning
Inspired Action – Cunning Folk
The Slytherin ethos prizes acts of great cunning, resourcefulness, determination, and revenge. You can spend Inspiration to make any roll involving Cunning (or which the Referee agrees demonstrates the positive side of the Slytherin spirit) Safe.
Flaw – Ambitious
House Slytherin's values are well adapted to this violent and insular age, but malice, self-preservation, and pride may still meet their just desserts. You can make any roll involving Cunning (or which the Referee agrees demonstrates the negative side of the Slytherin spirit) Deadly. When you do, gain Inspiration.
"sight beyond sight"
Skills: Divination (expert) | Potions (advanced) | Charms (basic) | Herbology (basic)
Dwelling in a lonely tower on a misty isle just off the coast, where the smoke-thickened air rings with crystalline chimes and the mournful wailing of gulls, the Trelawneys are a strange clan. Decent folk avoid them, yet the high as well as the low have come to consult them at one time or another, and even the haughtiest Malfoy will hesitate to raise a wand against one protected by the gift of Sight.
"we find what we seek"
 |
| Gary Young in Outlander |
Skills: Athletics (expert) | Charms (advanced) | Divination (basic) | Fighting (basic)
Gallant, perilous, and at home in the peaks and heather of the highlands, Clan Chang are the knights of House Ravenclaw. In battle the Changs are famous for their daring aerial cavalry charges, where clan warriors loose volleys of white-fletched arrows while guiding their broomsticks with their knees at full speed, while at court they are known for the splendor of their appearance and their love of ballads.
"a lamp in the darkness"
Skills: Charms (advanced) | Creatures (advanced) | Devices (advanced)
+1 to Luck
Despite their close connection to the Boy Who Lived, who counted a daughter of the clan among His closest disciples, the Lovegoods have faced suspicion and censure from more conservative families for generations. The Lovegoods honor a great many local spirits and have an odd ritual, charm, or saying for nearly everything, from how to cross a stream without angering the water-sprites to the correct way to greet a black cat met at night.
"with honor unblemished"
Skills: Courtesy (expert) | Charms (advanced) | Athletics (basic)
+1 to Cunning
Scions of a legendary duellist, dragonslayer, and author of numerous codices on the virtues of the Perfect Warlock, the Lockhart bards extol the clan’s dedication to the ethos of martial wizardry. Beneath this sterling warrior-poet reputation, however, rumors persist that the Lockharts achieved their high place in the Ravenclaw court through strategic marriages. Still darker stories tell of a Pensieve kept in a secret, mirror-lined hall in the family castle and stocked with the memories of obscure and unsavory origin.
"the wand chooses the wizard"
Skills: Wand-Lore (expert) | Creatures (advanced) | Herbology (advanced)
Close-mouthed and secretive, the Ollivanders are an ancient family. Never numerous or conventionally powerful, their status as the best wandmakers in Britain has assured the clan a certain prominence for centuries. While known for their hermit-like dedication to their craft, the grey-cloaked Ollivanders roam the backwaters and bylanes of the country seeking obscure woods and magical oddments.
"to preserve and protect"
 |
| good thing Dev Patel likes making costume dramas |
Skills: Charms (advanced) | Divination (advanced) | Courtesy (basic) | Potions (basic) | Wand-Lore (basic)
The Patil clan, as Head of Ravenclaw House, operate Crookclaw College, the largest surviving school of witchcraft and wizardry in the modern era. Supplied in large part by the family fortune, library, and collection of magical curiosities, the school is a lonely bastion of enlightenment in the darkness of shadow-haunted Britain.
House Modifier: +1 Wisdom
Inspired Action: Ready Mind
The Ravenclaw genius manifests in acts of creativity, learning, or unusually beautiful spellcraft.. You can spend Inspiration to make any roll involving Wisdom (or which the Referee agrees demonstrates the positive side of the Ravenclaw spirit) Safe.
Flaw: Too Clever By Half
Sometimes being clever just means you're better at making enough rope to hang yourself. You can make any roll involving Wisdom (or which the Referee agrees demonstrates the negative side of the Ravenclaw spirit) Deadly. When you do, gain Inspiration.
"there are no beasts but men"
Skills: Creatures (expert) | Herbology (advanced) | Charms (basic) | Potions (basic)
A reclusive mountain clan known for raising the finest livestock in the country. Rumor claims that the Scamanders understand the secret speech of beasts, so skilled is their husbandry. An absurd notion, though in all justice it must be said that the Scamanders are rather odder than is usual even among wizarding folk.
"justly proud"
 |
| bagpipes play when you walk |
Skills: Athletics (expert) | Fighting (advanced) | Transfiguration (basic)
+1 to Strength
The MacMillans are proud of their long lineage and their well-earned reputation for being loud, quarrelsome, and brave (though some say big, quarrelsome, and stupid). The clan’s riotous Christmas feasts and Quidditch tourneys are enormously popular; such a gathering is considered a failure without at least one duel.
"the wolves are among you"
 |
| Outlander has some nice costume designs |
Skills: Creatures (advanced) | Stealth (advanced) | Fighting (basic) | Herbology (basic) Transfiguration (basic)
The Lupins are a poor and rather disreputable hill-clan. Exiled to unproductive, marginal land, the Lupins are feared and despised for their howling warcry and odd pre-Roman rituals — they claim that the founder of the clan was suckled by a she-wolf and ran nightly with beasts whose speech he could understand, but also that he was among the chief councilors and warleaders of the Boy Who Lived.
"I can only die but once"
 |
| also funny to cast Eva Green to play a Harry Potter witch instead of the witches she usually plays |
Skills: Curses (advanced) | Stealth (advanced) | Charms (basic) | Fighting (basic) | Herbology (basic)
+1 Shadow
Garbed like wraiths and hailing from the wild and ancient barrow-moors, Clan Bones was nearly extinguished by the forces of the Enemy during the Great War. While the clan produces some of the finest exorcists and ghoul-hunters in the country, some say that such a close brush with death left the survivors changed, and indeed to this day the Boneses have a reputation for fatalism, black humor, and a certain over-familiarity with Dark lore.
"remember"
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| that handsome lad |
Skills: Charms (advanced) | Courtesy (advanced) | Transfiguration (advanced)
+1 Courage
The members of other Houses find it odd that Clan Diggory acknowledges the humble Sprouts as Head of House, for the Diggories are everything that one could want in wizarding nobility, wedding superlative skill to perfect courtesy. A famous story relates how during the feud with Clan Finch-Fletchley, Alberic Diggory famously sent an owl to the cave where the Finch-Fletchley band was hiding informing them of the time of his arrival and offering to carry any letters to their families after he had killed them all. The blood-feud ended when Alberic wed Jasmine Finch-Fletchley the following month. The two had fallen in love after Alberic delivered her three snapped wands and comforted her with the news of how well her brothers had died.
"our roots go deep"
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| she's so wise |
Skills: Herbology (expert) | Charms (advanced) | Potions (basic) | Wand-Lore (basic)
A quiet folk with little land of their own, the Sprouts are a curious choice for Head of House. Their castles are modest, comfortable warrens and even their great lairds and ladies often mistaken for traveling healers, peddlers, and hedge-witches. Still, those who laugh at their country speech or despise them as cure-alls for beasts and muggle children are themselves foolish - after all, was not the Boy Who Lived Himself merely the son of a humble potter? The Sprouts have more wisdom and knowledge of the deep magic than many nobler families have ever learned.
House Modifier: +1 Luck
Inspired Action: Unafraid of Toil
The Hufflepuff spirit expresses itself in acts of loyalty and endurance. You can spend inspiration to make any roll meant to help a friend (or which the Referee agrees demonstrates the positive side of the Hufflepuff spirit) Safe.
Flaw: True and Loyal
The Hufflepuff ethos values kindness, forgiveness, and humility. In these dark days, displaying that spirit takes great risk. You can make any offensive roll (or one which the Referee agrees demonstrates the negative side of the Hufflepuff spirit) Deadly. When you do, gain Inspiration.
Longbottom
"we will not be moved"
Skills: Herbology (expert) | Fighting (advanced) | Courtesy (basic)
+1 Luck
Far famed are the sons and daughters of Neville Serpentsbane, champion of the Boy Who Lived, whose hand held the holy sword of Godric Gryffindor. Though the land is stained by the Enemy’s curse, it blooms when tended by the blood of that blessed line; their enemies fly before them while their vassals and tenants prosper.
"ever steadfast"
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| had to be Maggie Smith |
Skills: Transfiguration (expert) | Charms (basic) | Courtesy (basic) | Athletics (basic)
A small and secretive highland clan known for their deep faith. Most of the folk inhabiting McGonagall land are muggles, and while any wizarding clan of note will have muggle tenants the McGonagalls are unusual in the degree of muggle-magical integration they display. Many respected members of the clan's ruling council, while highly educated in magical history and theory, display no magical talent whatsoever. Meanwhile even a simple shopman or farmer in McGonagall territory may suddenly display some sorcerous air or hidden knowledge. Doors that should lead one place instead open onto others, windows appear to reflect light from the wrong time of day, and carven figureheads on the cathedral stalls seem to move when you aren't looking. Then of course there are the cats...
"stout heart, strong bones"
Skills: Creatures (advanced) | Herbology (basic) | Fighting (basic)
+3 Strength
Huge, black-eyed, hirsute, and speaking some kind of impenetrable woods-french, the Haggrídes are a gruff and insular clan. They roam the mountain trails and the paths of the Forbidden Forest and converse with the centaurs and spiders as equals, their hands as often upon an axe or crossbow as a wand. Their hearts are full of sorrow and rage against the Enemy, for the first of the Haggrídes carried the bier of The Boy Who Lived at both his first and second deaths. Under the boughs of the Wild Wood black eyes turn towards Hogwarts Castle, and in secret moss-roofed halls great axes are being sharpened. They have not forgotten.
You may be a lesser son of greater sires, but the red blood of your ancestors still flows in your veins. You can spend Inspiration to perform a feat of great strength or become immune to all offensive spells (save for the Unforgivable Curses) for 1 round.
Flaw – Backwoods Barbarian
The subtleties and deceits of city-wizards are foreign to you. Enemies should be killed, allies should be supported, and when words must be exchanged they should be loud and to the point.
When you put yourself or your friends at risk by acting impulsively, you gain Inspiration.
