Showing posts with label campaign. Show all posts
Showing posts with label campaign. Show all posts
Sunday, November 4, 2018
New Campaign Hex Map Early Draft
So I'm slowly working on the hex map for my Forest of Fiends campaign idea which may or may not actually be a real thing one day. I'm using Hexographer which is is a very simple program. It makes getting started easy, but it's not long before you begin wishing it had more features. For most people making basic hex maps it perfectly adequate. For people who start making a crazy big map right away it leads to a lot of re-thinking your map as you go along, just saying. The map is for a semi-sandbox adventure with a coast, deep jungle filled with adventure, and finally a great cliff atop which lies (reportedly) the homeland of the fey.
Sunday, January 14, 2018
Forest of Fiends: The Old Gods & Their Weirdings
[Here's another bit of setting lore for my Forest of Fiends campaign, with actual effects on play.]
Before the hex-priests bound the empire to the Maralith Queens, the land of Pra-Kryush had its own pantheon of local deities. With the rise of the Queens their worship was suppressed, the priests broken or sacrificed, and the temples demolished. Today, little remains of their faith and even the oldest amongst the tiefling elders remembers naught but odd references. Nevertheless, the Old Gods are not dead. Without mortal worshippers to sustain them they are so faded now as to be little more than wandering wisps. Most are like dotards with fading memories of their former glory, some even forgetting their own names. Some still cling to an abandoned shrine, idol, stele, cenote, or other lonely site in the jungle. In that locale, referred to as a shrine manse, they have some small power left.
Outside of these shrine manses, there are still many remnants about, such as building stones scavenged from their razed temples with some carvings left undefiled. Here and there are troves of holy items stashed by faithful priests to keep them from destruction by the minions of the Queens. A few of the greatest and oldest temples were so steeped in holiness that no corrupted being could enter, and so they were sealed by the demon-minions and forsaken.
The names of the Old Gods are long-forgotten, even to the gods themselves, for they have gone senile. A person contacting one will experience strange visions appropriate to the deity's domains. If the person tries to resist the visions, they must make a WILL save (DC 25) against each of the deity's three domains. If they embrace the visions, or fail a WILL save against any, they will gain a "Weirding" (containing a boon and a curse) for each.
When each manse is contacted, the GM will secretly make three random rolls on the domain list for the forgotten deity's three domains. The player of an affected character will then roll 1d6 (1-2/3-4/5-6) to see which of the three affects them. The GM will note which weirding the character gains and reveal the effects when appropriate.
There are twelve domains on the list. To keep things fun for the players, I'll just reveal one domain "weirding" as an example:
Domain: Animal
Wierding: you can speak with wild animals (boon); but domesticated animals panic near you (curse)
Before the hex-priests bound the empire to the Maralith Queens, the land of Pra-Kryush had its own pantheon of local deities. With the rise of the Queens their worship was suppressed, the priests broken or sacrificed, and the temples demolished. Today, little remains of their faith and even the oldest amongst the tiefling elders remembers naught but odd references. Nevertheless, the Old Gods are not dead. Without mortal worshippers to sustain them they are so faded now as to be little more than wandering wisps. Most are like dotards with fading memories of their former glory, some even forgetting their own names. Some still cling to an abandoned shrine, idol, stele, cenote, or other lonely site in the jungle. In that locale, referred to as a shrine manse, they have some small power left.
Outside of these shrine manses, there are still many remnants about, such as building stones scavenged from their razed temples with some carvings left undefiled. Here and there are troves of holy items stashed by faithful priests to keep them from destruction by the minions of the Queens. A few of the greatest and oldest temples were so steeped in holiness that no corrupted being could enter, and so they were sealed by the demon-minions and forsaken.
The names of the Old Gods are long-forgotten, even to the gods themselves, for they have gone senile. A person contacting one will experience strange visions appropriate to the deity's domains. If the person tries to resist the visions, they must make a WILL save (DC 25) against each of the deity's three domains. If they embrace the visions, or fail a WILL save against any, they will gain a "Weirding" (containing a boon and a curse) for each.
When each manse is contacted, the GM will secretly make three random rolls on the domain list for the forgotten deity's three domains. The player of an affected character will then roll 1d6 (1-2/3-4/5-6) to see which of the three affects them. The GM will note which weirding the character gains and reveal the effects when appropriate.
There are twelve domains on the list. To keep things fun for the players, I'll just reveal one domain "weirding" as an example:
Domain: Animal
Wierding: you can speak with wild animals (boon); but domesticated animals panic near you (curse)
Tuesday, January 9, 2018
Forest of Fiends: The Homesteaders
As I continue hammering out ideas for my Forest of Fiends campaign, I'm getting to areas which I don't want the players to see or it will totally spoil the surprise. One area which will be public knowledge (mostly) is that of the "homesteaders". After the peoples of the Holy Realms overthrew the demonic empire of Pra-Kryush and drove their orc and drow allies back into the wilderness and the Everdark, there were a lot of undesirables left behind. Many were executed, with or without a proper trial, but significant numbers remain. These undesirables included half-orcs, half-drow, suspected heretics, sorcerers, shapechangers, and so on.
As the victors began to relax after cleansing their homelands, the priests of Lawgiver Tyr ruled that these undesireables could not be held culpable for the sins of the empire and brought an end to the executions. However, they were still not considered entirely trustworthy. It was clear they carried some measure of taint from the dark times. Some of the undesirables took advantage of the lull in the violence to flee to wild and desolate places or risk living in disguise. The rest were put under some form of supervision, such as apprentices to guilds or lay brothers in monasteries. As long as they remained well-behaved, devout, and submitted to their new place they were tolerated.
When the continental homeland of Pra-Kryush was officially re-opened for the crusade, most of the rulers of the Holy Realms saw an opportunity to be rid of all manner of persons. At first there were open calls for volunteers to fight, build, explore, and colonize in the new lands. But soon roundups of the undesirables began. Half-orcs, half-drow (half-elves), kitsune, gnomes, sorcerors, convicts, vagabonds, and beggars were given the "opportunity" to become homesteaders across the seas. Those with money and possessions were allowed make reasonable preparations. The penniless ones, who were the majority by far, were supplied with a few basic items and handful of coin out of charity.
So as far as the campaign is concerned, there will be affects both on the overall setting and on character creation. Any characters of the half-orc, half-elf, or gnome race or of the sorceror class (I'm working on the assumption we'll be using the Pathfinder core classes only) must begin either as a "homesteader" or with their secret disguised. Also, all homesteader characters start with the only the minimum starting money for their class.
As the victors began to relax after cleansing their homelands, the priests of Lawgiver Tyr ruled that these undesireables could not be held culpable for the sins of the empire and brought an end to the executions. However, they were still not considered entirely trustworthy. It was clear they carried some measure of taint from the dark times. Some of the undesirables took advantage of the lull in the violence to flee to wild and desolate places or risk living in disguise. The rest were put under some form of supervision, such as apprentices to guilds or lay brothers in monasteries. As long as they remained well-behaved, devout, and submitted to their new place they were tolerated.
When the continental homeland of Pra-Kryush was officially re-opened for the crusade, most of the rulers of the Holy Realms saw an opportunity to be rid of all manner of persons. At first there were open calls for volunteers to fight, build, explore, and colonize in the new lands. But soon roundups of the undesirables began. Half-orcs, half-drow (half-elves), kitsune, gnomes, sorcerors, convicts, vagabonds, and beggars were given the "opportunity" to become homesteaders across the seas. Those with money and possessions were allowed make reasonable preparations. The penniless ones, who were the majority by far, were supplied with a few basic items and handful of coin out of charity.
So as far as the campaign is concerned, there will be affects both on the overall setting and on character creation. Any characters of the half-orc, half-elf, or gnome race or of the sorceror class (I'm working on the assumption we'll be using the Pathfinder core classes only) must begin either as a "homesteader" or with their secret disguised. Also, all homesteader characters start with the only the minimum starting money for their class.
Thursday, October 26, 2017
Forest of Fiends: Temples on the Frontier
Okay, so I've been developing my jungle sandbox campaign setting a bit more. Because the effort on the coast of the ancient continent is led by contingents from the temples of several major deities I need to sketch in some basic information on them. In the beginning the temples of The Radiant Triad (Torm, Tyr, and Ilmater) provided priests, paladins, soldiers, servants, and pilgrims for the holy crusade and the faithful of did not stint in providing support of all kinds. Alas, their first fleet was wrecked on the coast in an ouragan storm and only a few survivors escaped in a small boat to tell the tale. Two smaller expeditions explored the coast more cautiously and eventually discovered the island they named Light of Fortune. After establishing a base in the abandoned town of Tahala and bringing reinforcements they quelled the ire of the local tiefling savages and pacified them by teaching proper worship of the True Gods. With the help of tiefling laborers from the newly-pacified clans the Temple of Jannath cleared jungle and built a small village named Lady of Bounty dedicated to the goddess. Unfortunately, not long afterwards the village was ravaged and mostly burned by evil fey marauders. The rebuilding is mostly complete but more settlers are needed.
Temple of Torm (God of duty, loyalty, and obedience [LG])
Our here on the frontier the clerics of dauntless Torm are led by the dashing but vain Paladin-Captain Rynaldo Lyma <male/human>, about whom the songs are many. The majority of the representatives of this temple out here are paladins but there are still many clerics and others. Paladins are always stationed at the docks to determine the quality of the souls of new arrivals. Those found wanting are sentenced to paid positions under "supervised service", mostly as oarsmen on two small triremes (the Tidecutter and Ocean of Faith) which patrol near the island, up the river, and along the coast; others work with hammer and chisel to level the rock at the island's highest point to prepare for a planned temple.
Temple of Tyr (God of justice and war [LG])
Judge-General Chessanta Turindei Urbaville <female/dwarf> is first among the clerics of incorruptible Tyr. The temple operates the only court of law out here on the edge of the world. The temple of Tyr is represented mostly by judge-priests here, but there are a few paladins. The judges work with the paladins of Torm to find fair employment for those arrivals whose souls are found to be clouded. The temple also has a contingent of mercenaries, half halberdiers and half crossbowmen, led by two Priest-Captain clerics of the temple. These defend the island, Lady of Bounty, and serve as marines on the two patrol galleys.
Temple of Ilmater: God of martyrdom and patience [LG])
The priests and priestesses of Ilmater currently have no one preeminent among them. They operate a small hospital on the island, providing healing to all who enter without prejudice or fee. Most of his clerics, however, are currently onshore ministering to the pacified tielfing clans and the colonists at Lady of Bounty. They sooth fears, heal wounds, and teach forebearance. Many have willingly gone forth into the jungle to proselytize more tieflings and more than a few subsequently gladly accepted martyrdom in his service.
Temple of Chauntea, called by some Bhalla or Jannath (Goddess of agriculture, farmers, gardeners, summer [NG])
The center of activity for the Grain Goddess is the struggling colony of Lady of Bounty. The chief priestess Henrielta Lurical <female/human> is determined to tame the savage jungle and replace it with proper, decent fields of grain and orchards for fruit. The village is well-located, with fairly good soil, a river along one side, and a spring for fresh water; it is also protected by a log stockade. However the fey of the jungle seem to hate the place and they harass it constantly. About two weeks ago it was attacked by an unusually large band of raiders who burned over half the buildings and some of the stockade. The inhabitants are mostly "volunteer homesteaders" transported from the Holy Realms and thus not fit material for farming or fighting. They are instead a mix of half-orcs, half-elves, petty criminals, beggars and vagrants, ransomed debtors, and some political exiles.
Temple of Tymora (Goddess of Luck, Adventure, Travel [CG])
Tymora is the only deity with a fully consecrated temple out here. It is led by Luck-Chanter Sanchetta Lurical <female/human>--free-spirited older sister of the chief priestess of Chauntea at Lady of Bounty. In fact Sanchetta eagerly came out here as a way to tease her stuffy (but much loved) little sister. The other temples currently make due with small portable shrines in temporary housing, which causes some resentment. The House of Tymora, however, is not a simple temple but a thriving bar, casino, and (so persistent rumors have it) brothel. The goddess is a natural focus for worship under the circumstances and her casino temple is the only major location in Tahala for fun. The clerics of the Radiant Triad are not amused by this den of iniquity but shutting it down would destroy morale and likely lead to rioting. They content themselves with stiff watch patrols in its vicinity.
Temple of Torm (God of duty, loyalty, and obedience [LG])
Our here on the frontier the clerics of dauntless Torm are led by the dashing but vain Paladin-Captain Rynaldo Lyma <male/human>, about whom the songs are many. The majority of the representatives of this temple out here are paladins but there are still many clerics and others. Paladins are always stationed at the docks to determine the quality of the souls of new arrivals. Those found wanting are sentenced to paid positions under "supervised service", mostly as oarsmen on two small triremes (the Tidecutter and Ocean of Faith) which patrol near the island, up the river, and along the coast; others work with hammer and chisel to level the rock at the island's highest point to prepare for a planned temple.
Temple of Tyr (God of justice and war [LG])
Judge-General Chessanta Turindei Urbaville <female/dwarf> is first among the clerics of incorruptible Tyr. The temple operates the only court of law out here on the edge of the world. The temple of Tyr is represented mostly by judge-priests here, but there are a few paladins. The judges work with the paladins of Torm to find fair employment for those arrivals whose souls are found to be clouded. The temple also has a contingent of mercenaries, half halberdiers and half crossbowmen, led by two Priest-Captain clerics of the temple. These defend the island, Lady of Bounty, and serve as marines on the two patrol galleys.
Temple of Ilmater: God of martyrdom and patience [LG])
The priests and priestesses of Ilmater currently have no one preeminent among them. They operate a small hospital on the island, providing healing to all who enter without prejudice or fee. Most of his clerics, however, are currently onshore ministering to the pacified tielfing clans and the colonists at Lady of Bounty. They sooth fears, heal wounds, and teach forebearance. Many have willingly gone forth into the jungle to proselytize more tieflings and more than a few subsequently gladly accepted martyrdom in his service.
Temple of Chauntea, called by some Bhalla or Jannath (Goddess of agriculture, farmers, gardeners, summer [NG])
The center of activity for the Grain Goddess is the struggling colony of Lady of Bounty. The chief priestess Henrielta Lurical <female/human> is determined to tame the savage jungle and replace it with proper, decent fields of grain and orchards for fruit. The village is well-located, with fairly good soil, a river along one side, and a spring for fresh water; it is also protected by a log stockade. However the fey of the jungle seem to hate the place and they harass it constantly. About two weeks ago it was attacked by an unusually large band of raiders who burned over half the buildings and some of the stockade. The inhabitants are mostly "volunteer homesteaders" transported from the Holy Realms and thus not fit material for farming or fighting. They are instead a mix of half-orcs, half-elves, petty criminals, beggars and vagrants, ransomed debtors, and some political exiles.
Temple of Tymora (Goddess of Luck, Adventure, Travel [CG])
Tymora is the only deity with a fully consecrated temple out here. It is led by Luck-Chanter Sanchetta Lurical <female/human>--free-spirited older sister of the chief priestess of Chauntea at Lady of Bounty. In fact Sanchetta eagerly came out here as a way to tease her stuffy (but much loved) little sister. The other temples currently make due with small portable shrines in temporary housing, which causes some resentment. The House of Tymora, however, is not a simple temple but a thriving bar, casino, and (so persistent rumors have it) brothel. The goddess is a natural focus for worship under the circumstances and her casino temple is the only major location in Tahala for fun. The clerics of the Radiant Triad are not amused by this den of iniquity but shutting it down would destroy morale and likely lead to rioting. They content themselves with stiff watch patrols in its vicinity.
Thursday, September 14, 2017
Zophiel'sTale: Meeting the Strikers, Then Demons
This post is a guest appearance by my buddy Kirk. I'm currently running a campaign based on the Shackled City adventure path by Paizo. This is the story of how his character, Zophiel, meets the rest of the group and heads off with them on their latest foray. They have dubbed themselves The Last Strikers and are slowly becoming known around the city of Cauldron. The Strikers, minus the human mage Abraham, have just raided the Cathedral of Nethys in Cauldron in search of clues about the insidious Cagewrights and their vile plans. Zophiel comes upon the party and Abraham unexpectedly as she visits the cathedral to inquire about learning some arcane lore.
Zophiel in the Wilds, Again
After a brief introduction, I watch the Strikers. Trenzen does most of the talking. He leads us through the town to visit an old mage, the library, the captain of the guard, but only after a great inspiring speech in the front of the crowd gathered outside of the Temple of Nethys. The same crowd that had gathered and I was a part of. But first, let me continue my story of how I met them.
So, as I was standing in the crowd, I see a man dressed in robes coming to the temple. From his description, I am guessing it is Abraham, one of the Strikers and a great wizard. This sends me back to my days of my youth, when I was just 25 or 26, and I saw the Elven wizards so common in my homeland. I'm a little nervous when I introduce myself and I use what humans call me, Sophie. I mention to Abraham that I saw one of the Strikers peek out then head back in again. It is just natural that we can follow and slip into the temple through same side door, unseen.
The inside of the temple is deserted, yet I know they are in here, and most of the others are gone, for I saw two giants, half-orc guards and many gnomes wearing the clothing of their temple running away. I call out “Is anyone in here?”
“We are back here!” A half orc’s voice returns. From the descriptions I got in the bath house, this must be Trenzen, the half orc archer-paladin. The half orc is busy questioning two clerics of this temple. I keep silent as he probes them while they prepare a corpse for burial. I find out that the body is one of the famous Stormblades. Trenzen handles this like a mystery. Admiration for his inquisitiveness is worthy to give him, for a half orc. That is my upbringing talking, for being in the goddess forsaken place I have learned that many are much better than they seem, while others, deep down, are very superficial. I ask about magic regents and don't get any help.
Soon we are on our way to the captain of the guard and introductions are given to me. So many names but for me, it is to put names to faces. I tell them, seeing how they are a ‘just’ force coming to power, I want to ally myself to them. I'll want tell of my past but not today, as Trenzen is so interested in what I could do. I tell him of my translation work, and tracking, both humans and animals, and being a scout. He asks me if I weave magic. I state that I do and he presses me for if I use books or not. And well, sometimes I do, but mostly I don't. Then he asks if I perform. I do not. I tell him again, what I have done in the past and how I can help. Apparently, we go in circles. And finally he asks if I can teach him some magic. We finally agree that what I know, he doesn't know and has little chance of learning. I can only surmise, that the orc in him is speaking.
We arrive at the house of the captain of the guard and Trenzen proclaims the group’s innocence. When he speaks, it's hard to follow, but in the end, he is very convincing, this is not the orc speaking this time. The logic doesn't actually confirms his original statements, though. Since it is to our benefit, I'll let it slide.
Next, Trenzen wants to warn the rest of the Stormblades. We find one of them in the Cusp of Sunrise. She tells of how the head of the temple of Nethys wanted them to go underground beneath the city to fight something called the Cagewrights. Instead it was an ambush and one of them died, which explains the death.
For the evening, they offer to let me stay with them.
The next day, we are up early. Trenzen asks if I need a horse, but I decline. I summon my spirit horse. All the day long it is with me. We, the summon horse and I, move as fast uphill as down and more than once I had to wait for the others with their slower animals. The hooves from the horse are barely seen, for one can almost see through them. And after a day’s trip, we arrive at Red Gorge. My horse vanishes when I dismiss it. But the Strikers take this in stride, that is, magic they are accustomed to, and so, it's a common thing for me to weave the elven song. We stay at the Redhead Miners Inn and I meet Kaylee, another Striker, and I compliment her on the bathhouse. I tell her the employees spoke very highly of her and of the rest. They told me of many tales of their adventures in colorful washes of finely spoken words, while I lay naked in the pool, with a mist rising around. Not the same mists of the jungle. The jungle holds mists filled with creatures and plants, magnificent beautiful and dangerously deadly.
That evening, we debate how to proceed. In the end, we decide to hire boat paddlers to take us down the Seave River to the camping spot with an idol. The paddlers sleep under the canoes and we rest around a campfire, located on a sandy beach, midway from the river to the jungle tree line. It's a short distance of no more than 50 or so feet. I set my backpack down and pull out my bedroll. I fall into a comfortable meditation quickly under the stars, for I know I am with good company. They agree to wake me for a third watch.
Shouts, orders, painful shrieks I see and hear in my non awake mind. I know I must be dreaming, but then I open my eyes and am all too well aware that I wasn't dreaming. We are being attacked! A wall of blue and purple flames encircled around us, forcing us close. There is a reason I can guess and is confirmed not a few more seconds later, when a fireball comes down from the sky and explodes right on our campfire, engulfing us. The Strikers do their thing, and I stretch my mind for a jungle creature that does this. But to the Strikers, I appear confused and panicky consider jumping over the fire, or over the ice storm that appears to possibly put out the fire circle. Or, to jump in the water to swim under the fire. Then I feel a sudden urge of goodness. That's my cue to shoot wildly at the creature that is raining fire down upon us. It will force it to dodge more arrows and disrupt its casting another fireball. I see that an arrow, one of mine hit Toni, the Striker's heavily armored warrior. I run to her and using my magic, I close some of her wounds. And I apologize profusely for having one of my arrows hit her. It's over almost as fast as it begins, with arrows and magic bolts, the creature falls from the sky. At this point, I can clearly see it is not a jungle creature at all, but a creature not from this world and some of the Strikers conjecture it was sent by a newly made adversary, the high clerics of the Temple of Nethys from the city of Cauldron.
Since the entire night hadn't passed yet, we return to our sleep, a bit more watchful of the sky and of the jungle treeline, searching for whatever could be lurking in the distance. I finally drift off to my meditation while others discuss if that creature was sent by the clerics of Nethys, something I concluded already.
The next day, I'll be on point. I summon the Elven magic to give me a clear view of the jungle and the most safe direct route to the Demon Scar. We don't want to fight anything we can avoid. A vision comes to me and I recognize the places where natural beasts would lay in wait, catching their next meal. These areas I avoid.
About mid afternoon, after the usual rains, the jungle give way to a vast desolate circular bowl void of plant life: the Demon Scar opens with a view. Down below, we see demons and fire giants roaming freely. I suggest that we can go around the rim. Before setting out, I call a small woodland spirit. It looks like a pink semi translucent bird. Definitely it is not a real bird. I ask it to scout the rim and to look for large animals or creatures and report back. When it returns it tells me that there aren't any large animals or creatures on the rim, and it also says that it found ruins where an entrance has been dug out recently.
When we get there, Jax the "adventurer" and I scout around. We make too much noise and I realize the day at the bath has softened me some. We find tracks of three of four people that have passed this way. It's too difficult to tell if they came or left. On the way back, Jax and I are much more quiet.
We decide that everyone should go into the building for they think it will be safer inside than out here. I'm not running this group, but I'd advise against it, if asked. I call a bat to fly down into the ruins and it returns to tell us of two empty of life rooms below and a collapsed tower with a watery stream running in a tunnel, below. We move inside and rest in the big room. I conjure a magic hut so we rest in comfort from the jungle humidity. That is one thing I haven't gotten use to after a hundred and some years here - the wet heat. The night passes without incident.
At the end of my watch, I prepare a breakfast for the Strikers...
 | |
| The City of Cauldron (from the AP boo) |
Zophiel in the Wilds, Again
After a brief introduction, I watch the Strikers. Trenzen does most of the talking. He leads us through the town to visit an old mage, the library, the captain of the guard, but only after a great inspiring speech in the front of the crowd gathered outside of the Temple of Nethys. The same crowd that had gathered and I was a part of. But first, let me continue my story of how I met them.
So, as I was standing in the crowd, I see a man dressed in robes coming to the temple. From his description, I am guessing it is Abraham, one of the Strikers and a great wizard. This sends me back to my days of my youth, when I was just 25 or 26, and I saw the Elven wizards so common in my homeland. I'm a little nervous when I introduce myself and I use what humans call me, Sophie. I mention to Abraham that I saw one of the Strikers peek out then head back in again. It is just natural that we can follow and slip into the temple through same side door, unseen.
The inside of the temple is deserted, yet I know they are in here, and most of the others are gone, for I saw two giants, half-orc guards and many gnomes wearing the clothing of their temple running away. I call out “Is anyone in here?”
“We are back here!” A half orc’s voice returns. From the descriptions I got in the bath house, this must be Trenzen, the half orc archer-paladin. The half orc is busy questioning two clerics of this temple. I keep silent as he probes them while they prepare a corpse for burial. I find out that the body is one of the famous Stormblades. Trenzen handles this like a mystery. Admiration for his inquisitiveness is worthy to give him, for a half orc. That is my upbringing talking, for being in the goddess forsaken place I have learned that many are much better than they seem, while others, deep down, are very superficial. I ask about magic regents and don't get any help.
Soon we are on our way to the captain of the guard and introductions are given to me. So many names but for me, it is to put names to faces. I tell them, seeing how they are a ‘just’ force coming to power, I want to ally myself to them. I'll want tell of my past but not today, as Trenzen is so interested in what I could do. I tell him of my translation work, and tracking, both humans and animals, and being a scout. He asks me if I weave magic. I state that I do and he presses me for if I use books or not. And well, sometimes I do, but mostly I don't. Then he asks if I perform. I do not. I tell him again, what I have done in the past and how I can help. Apparently, we go in circles. And finally he asks if I can teach him some magic. We finally agree that what I know, he doesn't know and has little chance of learning. I can only surmise, that the orc in him is speaking.
We arrive at the house of the captain of the guard and Trenzen proclaims the group’s innocence. When he speaks, it's hard to follow, but in the end, he is very convincing, this is not the orc speaking this time. The logic doesn't actually confirms his original statements, though. Since it is to our benefit, I'll let it slide.
Next, Trenzen wants to warn the rest of the Stormblades. We find one of them in the Cusp of Sunrise. She tells of how the head of the temple of Nethys wanted them to go underground beneath the city to fight something called the Cagewrights. Instead it was an ambush and one of them died, which explains the death.
For the evening, they offer to let me stay with them.
The next day, we are up early. Trenzen asks if I need a horse, but I decline. I summon my spirit horse. All the day long it is with me. We, the summon horse and I, move as fast uphill as down and more than once I had to wait for the others with their slower animals. The hooves from the horse are barely seen, for one can almost see through them. And after a day’s trip, we arrive at Red Gorge. My horse vanishes when I dismiss it. But the Strikers take this in stride, that is, magic they are accustomed to, and so, it's a common thing for me to weave the elven song. We stay at the Redhead Miners Inn and I meet Kaylee, another Striker, and I compliment her on the bathhouse. I tell her the employees spoke very highly of her and of the rest. They told me of many tales of their adventures in colorful washes of finely spoken words, while I lay naked in the pool, with a mist rising around. Not the same mists of the jungle. The jungle holds mists filled with creatures and plants, magnificent beautiful and dangerously deadly.
That evening, we debate how to proceed. In the end, we decide to hire boat paddlers to take us down the Seave River to the camping spot with an idol. The paddlers sleep under the canoes and we rest around a campfire, located on a sandy beach, midway from the river to the jungle tree line. It's a short distance of no more than 50 or so feet. I set my backpack down and pull out my bedroll. I fall into a comfortable meditation quickly under the stars, for I know I am with good company. They agree to wake me for a third watch.
Shouts, orders, painful shrieks I see and hear in my non awake mind. I know I must be dreaming, but then I open my eyes and am all too well aware that I wasn't dreaming. We are being attacked! A wall of blue and purple flames encircled around us, forcing us close. There is a reason I can guess and is confirmed not a few more seconds later, when a fireball comes down from the sky and explodes right on our campfire, engulfing us. The Strikers do their thing, and I stretch my mind for a jungle creature that does this. But to the Strikers, I appear confused and panicky consider jumping over the fire, or over the ice storm that appears to possibly put out the fire circle. Or, to jump in the water to swim under the fire. Then I feel a sudden urge of goodness. That's my cue to shoot wildly at the creature that is raining fire down upon us. It will force it to dodge more arrows and disrupt its casting another fireball. I see that an arrow, one of mine hit Toni, the Striker's heavily armored warrior. I run to her and using my magic, I close some of her wounds. And I apologize profusely for having one of my arrows hit her. It's over almost as fast as it begins, with arrows and magic bolts, the creature falls from the sky. At this point, I can clearly see it is not a jungle creature at all, but a creature not from this world and some of the Strikers conjecture it was sent by a newly made adversary, the high clerics of the Temple of Nethys from the city of Cauldron.
Since the entire night hadn't passed yet, we return to our sleep, a bit more watchful of the sky and of the jungle treeline, searching for whatever could be lurking in the distance. I finally drift off to my meditation while others discuss if that creature was sent by the clerics of Nethys, something I concluded already.
The next day, I'll be on point. I summon the Elven magic to give me a clear view of the jungle and the most safe direct route to the Demon Scar. We don't want to fight anything we can avoid. A vision comes to me and I recognize the places where natural beasts would lay in wait, catching their next meal. These areas I avoid.
About mid afternoon, after the usual rains, the jungle give way to a vast desolate circular bowl void of plant life: the Demon Scar opens with a view. Down below, we see demons and fire giants roaming freely. I suggest that we can go around the rim. Before setting out, I call a small woodland spirit. It looks like a pink semi translucent bird. Definitely it is not a real bird. I ask it to scout the rim and to look for large animals or creatures and report back. When it returns it tells me that there aren't any large animals or creatures on the rim, and it also says that it found ruins where an entrance has been dug out recently.
When we get there, Jax the "adventurer" and I scout around. We make too much noise and I realize the day at the bath has softened me some. We find tracks of three of four people that have passed this way. It's too difficult to tell if they came or left. On the way back, Jax and I are much more quiet.
We decide that everyone should go into the building for they think it will be safer inside than out here. I'm not running this group, but I'd advise against it, if asked. I call a bat to fly down into the ruins and it returns to tell us of two empty of life rooms below and a collapsed tower with a watery stream running in a tunnel, below. We move inside and rest in the big room. I conjure a magic hut so we rest in comfort from the jungle humidity. That is one thing I haven't gotten use to after a hundred and some years here - the wet heat. The night passes without incident.
At the end of my watch, I prepare a breakfast for the Strikers...
Monday, August 22, 2016
Simple Weather for Gaming
One thing which helps immersion in gaming, including setting the mood or tone, is weather. Some games don't really cover it, while others go into deep simulationist detail. Recently, I decided I needed some weather tables for my Neo School Hack rules. I wanted them to use either a d10 or a d12, because that's what Old School Hack uses, and I wanted them to be one-roll simple.
For me, I want weather tables to tell me two things: 1) does the weather impose any effects and 2) what is the general mood or tone for the day. So I built these 1d10 tables for the four seasons of a generic northern hemisphere temperate zone, such as you'd use for a classic pseudo-European medieval fantasy game. I think they'll work just as well for temperate North America and Asia.
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter
For me, I want weather tables to tell me two things: 1) does the weather impose any effects and 2) what is the general mood or tone for the day. So I built these 1d10 tables for the four seasons of a generic northern hemisphere temperate zone, such as you'd use for a classic pseudo-European medieval fantasy game. I think they'll work just as well for temperate North America and Asia.
Spring
- Breezy & Cool
- Breezy & Cool
- Sunny & Nice
- Sunny & Nice
- Sunny & Nice
- Sunny & Hot
- Sunny & Hot
- Rainy
- Rainy
- Rainy & Thunderstorms
Summer
- Sunny & Nice
- Sunny &Nice
- Sunny & Hot
- Sunny & Hot
- Sunny & Hot
- Sunny & Very Hot
- Sunny & Very Hot
- Sunny & Very Hot
- Rainy & Hot
- Thunderstorms
Autumn
- Sunny & Nice
- Breezy & Cool
- Breezy & Cool
- Breezy & Cool
- Cloudy & Cool
- Breezy & Cold
- Breezy & Cold
- Cold & Rainy
- Cold & Rainy
- Cold & Dusting of Snow
Winter
- Sunny & Cold
- Sunny & Frigid
- Sunny & Frigid
- Sunny & Frigid
- Cloudy & Frigid
- Cloudy & Frigid
- Cold & Light Snow
- Cold & Light Snow
- Cold & Heavy Snow
- Blizzard
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Neo School Hack: Engelings and Teuflings
Okay, so I'm back on the righteous path of my hack of the esteemed Old School Hack. This bit is a deviation from the Anubia campaign material I was developing but I wanted to do some stuff for my work-in-progress campaign world. That world features a period called the War of Angels and Demons during which demi-god beings from another dimension called demons and angels left their mark on the world in many ways--including the bloodlines of mortal beings. The classic D&D aasimar and tiefling player races fit the bill perfectly here, but I need to adapt them to Neo School Hack. Also, I've never liked the name "aasimar", because an angelic creature shouldn't have a name with "ass" on the front of it. No, it should not. Anyway, as with the previous races presented each one has racial talents which can only be taken by characters of that race. Given that these races have a bit of the hallowed/fel within them which could manifest in many ways in a mortal I gave them each six talents to choose from rather than the usual three--but they can only ever take a maximum of three from those six.
Teufling (those with demonic ancestry)
There's One Born Every Minute/focus: detect Good
Can't Catch Me/constant: +1 bonus to Daring rolls
Nether Umbra/focus, encounter: aura of deep darkness, 20' radius; 1 minute or instantaneous nullification of light spells
Venom Veins/constant: poisonous blood
Boo!/rested: suddenly contort your face in a horrific (but painful) manner; +2 to rolls frighten or intimidate
Tail of Woe/constant: you have a long devil tail (not prehensile nor strong enough to use as a weapon by itself)
Engeling (those with angelic ancestry)
Something Wicked This Way Comes/focus: detect Evil
Pure Blood/constant: +1 bonus to resisting disease
Strongheart/constant: +1 bonus to Commitment rolls
Heavenly/focus, encounter: +2 bonus to Charm
Like an Angel/focus, encounter: bright golden light in the shape of a halo or wings (pick one on taking this talent) sheds light, 20' radius; 1 minute or instantaneous nullification of darkness spells
Chicken Soup for the Soul/focus, rested: cure one disease on someone
Teufling (those with demonic ancestry)
There's One Born Every Minute/focus: detect Good
Can't Catch Me/constant: +1 bonus to Daring rolls
Nether Umbra/focus, encounter: aura of deep darkness, 20' radius; 1 minute or instantaneous nullification of light spells
Venom Veins/constant: poisonous blood
Boo!/rested: suddenly contort your face in a horrific (but painful) manner; +2 to rolls frighten or intimidate
Tail of Woe/constant: you have a long devil tail (not prehensile nor strong enough to use as a weapon by itself)
Engeling (those with angelic ancestry)
Something Wicked This Way Comes/focus: detect Evil
Pure Blood/constant: +1 bonus to resisting disease
Strongheart/constant: +1 bonus to Commitment rolls
Heavenly/focus, encounter: +2 bonus to Charm
Like an Angel/focus, encounter: bright golden light in the shape of a halo or wings (pick one on taking this talent) sheds light, 20' radius; 1 minute or instantaneous nullification of darkness spells
Chicken Soup for the Soul/focus, rested: cure one disease on someone
Saturday, January 25, 2014
White Dragonkin, the "Patient Faithful"
The White Dragonkin, or Metal Dragonkin, are native to the western reaches of the world, the lands around the elemental pole of Metal. Many also live in the Metal Desert in the southwest. The White Dragonkin are a people in exile, both physically and spiritually.
In ancient times the Great Divine Guardian Dragon of Metal spawned her immortal dragons into the world and they possessed all the lands of the west. In time they birthed mortal dragons and the dragonkin. All loved the Great White Mother and did her homage. But during the War of Angels and Demons the mortal dragons and dragonkin were inevitably drawn into the conflict. The immortal dragons saw how the Angels and Demons became as gods and goddesses against all tradition. They were powerful and the immortal dragons became envious. The Divine Dragon warned them to remain true. But one by one they arrogated to themselves similar powers of worldly divinity and demanded worship from the mortal dragons and dragonkin. The Great Mother raged and wept but could not bring herself to harm her first-born. Instead she punished them with a curse, binding them in incorporeal form to their various abodes. In fear the remaining mortals below fled into the wilderness.
Today the White Dragonkin live only in the wild places, such as the Metal Desert. All the old inhabited places are taboo, because most are the binding-places of ancient immortal dragons. So they wander as nomads on an endless pilgrimage. They make prayer and sacrifice outside the binding-places for their lost deities and curse the Great Mother for her cruelty. Thus they have no priests or paladins amongst them. Instead they rely on the wisdom and arts of many oracles in their tribes. They see themselves as true believers who know the way, patiently maintaining their faith until the day their gods are freed once more.
Despite being taboo, many of the old cities, temples, monasteries, and other places have inhabitants. There are covens of witches bound to the immortal dragons who secretly make sacrifices and magicks seeking break the curse of their particular patron. These witches are the closest thing to priests the immortals have, because they lack the mana to empower mortals as the clerics of other deities. The witches and their coven-broods scour the land for victims to sacrifice and magical things and knowledge which will further their work. Also living in the taboo places are small cults of demon worshipers. While the Great Mother has her face turned away from her children and the immortals are powerless, demons are free to seek followers and wreak havoc. Finally there are bands of heretics, usually followers of undragonly foreign gods. They reject the old ways of worship in favor of these strange gods and goddesses from far away who are nothing like a proper dragon. These heretics form small villages and towns amidst the old ruins, trading or raiding as suits them.
The nomadic faithful are not only strong in their faith but well knowledgeable in the lores and sciences of their land. They have among them many alchemists and makers of weapons which shoot fire and thunder using an arcane dark powder. They trade in the metals, gems, acids, and other natural products of their lands, as well as items and materials made with them.
Although the Great Mother turns her face from her ungrateful children, yet does she love them. When she senses among them one whose heart is open she sends an avatar to call them to her. Those who answer become her priests, priestesses, and holy paladins. These she cultivates, and sends out to battle the covens, cults, and heretics. But more importantly she guides them in the dangerous work of returning to her wayward children and preaching her worship. The nomad exile tribes hate these so-called holy followers of the Cruel Mother and eagerly execute them as sacrifices to their bound gods.
In ancient times the Great Divine Guardian Dragon of Metal spawned her immortal dragons into the world and they possessed all the lands of the west. In time they birthed mortal dragons and the dragonkin. All loved the Great White Mother and did her homage. But during the War of Angels and Demons the mortal dragons and dragonkin were inevitably drawn into the conflict. The immortal dragons saw how the Angels and Demons became as gods and goddesses against all tradition. They were powerful and the immortal dragons became envious. The Divine Dragon warned them to remain true. But one by one they arrogated to themselves similar powers of worldly divinity and demanded worship from the mortal dragons and dragonkin. The Great Mother raged and wept but could not bring herself to harm her first-born. Instead she punished them with a curse, binding them in incorporeal form to their various abodes. In fear the remaining mortals below fled into the wilderness.
Today the White Dragonkin live only in the wild places, such as the Metal Desert. All the old inhabited places are taboo, because most are the binding-places of ancient immortal dragons. So they wander as nomads on an endless pilgrimage. They make prayer and sacrifice outside the binding-places for their lost deities and curse the Great Mother for her cruelty. Thus they have no priests or paladins amongst them. Instead they rely on the wisdom and arts of many oracles in their tribes. They see themselves as true believers who know the way, patiently maintaining their faith until the day their gods are freed once more.
Despite being taboo, many of the old cities, temples, monasteries, and other places have inhabitants. There are covens of witches bound to the immortal dragons who secretly make sacrifices and magicks seeking break the curse of their particular patron. These witches are the closest thing to priests the immortals have, because they lack the mana to empower mortals as the clerics of other deities. The witches and their coven-broods scour the land for victims to sacrifice and magical things and knowledge which will further their work. Also living in the taboo places are small cults of demon worshipers. While the Great Mother has her face turned away from her children and the immortals are powerless, demons are free to seek followers and wreak havoc. Finally there are bands of heretics, usually followers of undragonly foreign gods. They reject the old ways of worship in favor of these strange gods and goddesses from far away who are nothing like a proper dragon. These heretics form small villages and towns amidst the old ruins, trading or raiding as suits them.
The nomadic faithful are not only strong in their faith but well knowledgeable in the lores and sciences of their land. They have among them many alchemists and makers of weapons which shoot fire and thunder using an arcane dark powder. They trade in the metals, gems, acids, and other natural products of their lands, as well as items and materials made with them.
Although the Great Mother turns her face from her ungrateful children, yet does she love them. When she senses among them one whose heart is open she sends an avatar to call them to her. Those who answer become her priests, priestesses, and holy paladins. These she cultivates, and sends out to battle the covens, cults, and heretics. But more importantly she guides them in the dangerous work of returning to her wayward children and preaching her worship. The nomad exile tribes hate these so-called holy followers of the Cruel Mother and eagerly execute them as sacrifices to their bound gods.
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Chronicles of the Amazing Trevor: Chapter Seven (What's the Opposite of Trevor?)
I was awakened very early the next morning, around ten of the clock, by a gentle but insistent knocking at my bedroom door. For a moment I considered just lying there...forever. After last night what was the point, really, of ever getting out of bed again. (And there was a servant available, after all.) Then I heard her voice calling my name. "Trevor", always sounded so mellifluous coming from her lips. For her alone would I rise, even though it most likely would be to let her put the final nail in the coffin of our relationship. I pulled on something presentable and opened the door. And it was indeed Katherine. She looked tired, no doubt from a long night of looking after the woman we'd rescued from the secret cell the previous day. And that on top of all I'd put her through recently. But she clearly had something important to say so I braced myself and let her speak.
"I'm sorry, Trevor."
It took me a moment to comprehend her first words, as she stood there with her fair hair shining against the dark wood of the mansion hall behind her. She went on about how she needed to leave this house with it's insalubrious effects on her, how she could not return to the temple for certain reasons, how she still had much to atone for from her monastery...but I was still transfixed by those first words. My wall of inner darkness cracked just a bit and a ray of hope peeked through.
I wasn't sure what she was on about concerning her temple, although I avoid temples as a rule, but her desire to depart the mansion found resonance. The place was becoming increasingly disturbing. First there was the secret chamber off the main bedroom with the Black Mirror, then the whispering, and now clear signs of witchcraft. On top of that came yesterday's discoveries in the secret chamber of sorcery in the attic and torture dungeon below. And there was no telling what might lurk in the still unexplored crypt down below. In addition, the posting of guards from the town watch outside the house foreshadowed a more tangible threat. Yes, much as I had otherwise grown fond of the old thing it was looking less and less like a ticket to my desired station in life.
A bit later the company all assembled at the dining table and Kevin presented some alleged gruel which was obviously warmed-up library paste with sawdust mixed in. I suspected he was trying to kill us. Predictably enough, Brute and Kull ladled every last bit of it down and declared it quite satisfactory. Given what they likely were fed as young cubs I excused their utter lack of discrimination. For my part, I finished off the last of a bottle of chateau something-or-other instead. Katherine laid out her misgivings about the manse and her desire to leave, probably to head north against the goblins. Boomtock agreed with her, adding the patently ridiculous claim that it was most likely the influence of the house which had made him so naughty recently. The discussion then ranged over the mirrors upstairs, the goblins up north, the cellar crypts, young Broderick Natal's inheritance, the watchies standing guard out front, and the disposition of the as yet unidentified woman rescued from the dungeon.
During the discussions, which became rather tedious after the wine ran out, Kevin again intrigued us by attempting to pantomime something important. This at least was somewhat diverting but not initially particularly enlightening. Eventually we were able to gather that his former master Remi Natal had fled the house in fear of his life. The by-now-rather-moldy-in-the-ground councilman had attempted to reach a summer house somewhere to hide out.
This was important news indeed.
With the integrity of the city house compromised by witchcraft the prospect of the summer house sounded rather delightful. I imagined relaxing on a wide veranda, glass in hand, as one of the new serving girls brought me a refreshing refill. Another comes up, delightful in her frilly maid's outfit and offers a plate of baked goods fresh from the oven. I was just reaching for one of her delicious warm buns when Katherine said sternly "I'm not sure that's such a good idea". I was jolted back to the dining table. Brute was standing up with that look of thoughtful determination he gets when he's about to give someone a piece of his mind--or give someone else's mind a piece of his axe. Katherine was just saying to him "I'm not sure that's such a good idea". Brute was arguing, as usual, that the best course was a direct one and was ready to simply ask the guards out front what was up.
Suddenly I felt a most peculiar sensation. It was emanating from the pouch I'd taken from the secret attic chamber of witchcraft. I pulled out the four rings set with gems which corresponded to the colors of the frames of the magickal landscape mirrors in the chamber. The red one was actually vibrating in my hand like a stunned bee. Brute noticed and we decided to go upstairs and see what me might learn. Entering the chamber of witchery cautiously we looked into the mirror. The scene in the mirror was dark, apparently nighttime, and a woman was just walking away into the desert. On an impulse I slipped the ring onto my finger.
The desert breeze wrapped me in stifling heat. I could hear the faint hissing of sand blown across the surface of the dunes. The woman was out of sight but the trail of her footprints in the sand were clear. I looked behind me and through a shimmering oval saw Brute standing in the chamber--next to me. Ah, so it was not I who was standing in the desert but a simulacrum. Perhaps it was a marvelously intricate form of illusionology. The me next to brute appeared to be daydreaming, probably because my intellect was here on this side. So was the woman here in the desert also a simulacrum of someone in Adan, the witch perhaps, or a desert native? I considered following the trail, but Brute motioned me back insistently. Returning to the chamber I removed the ring from my finger, but Brute was not satisfied with that measure and removed me bodily from the room just to be sure.
Meanwhile, Katherine and Kull had gone around to the watchies out front so ask why the mansion was under guard. The two underpaid officers of the law informed them that now that the entire ruling council was dead by assassination the authorities were were worried about the general situation. In addition citizens had reported vagrants and shifty types in the vicinity of the mansion recently. "Shifty types" indeed! Clearly they had not yet seen me in my new attire.
Downstairs Kull placed a sofa in our cart, then wrapped the rescued woman in a a blanket and placed her gently on the sofa. Kull, Uhmri, and my K. were to take here to the temple and make arrangements for her care. The semi-incompetent Kevin offered to care for here but the suggestion was an obvious non-starter. Brute and I would head for the courts make inquiries. But just as we were wondering what Boomtock was up to the gnome appeared from the cellar with an alarmingly sheepish look on his face. He admitted that he had accidentally broken "a few" bottles while messing about down there. I felt like Kull had just kicked me in the midriff. My precious vintages! The only thing making life truly bearable under the current circumstances was the mansion's real treasure: the hoard of bottled sublimity in the cool racks in the wine cellar.
I dashed down the worn stone steps, heedless of my safety, followed by Brute and Uhmri. Alas, it was far worse than the little rapscallion had admitted. Over half of the trove was done for, splashed about on the floor like the noble blood of ancient dragon kings slain by assassins.
The aroma was heady but it only increased my despair. So, now, indeed there was no real reason left to stay in the dusty old pile. I mourned the dearly departed for a few moments then rescued a few of the survivors to take with me. But then Brute and I noticed that Uhmri had not caught up with us.
As he related later, the lupine-clad one did not join us but rather followed a cool breeze coming from another passage and came to the crypts which were also below. He made his way to the barred iron gates flanked by ornamental suits of armor earlier discovered by Brute. They were unlocked and so he ventured in. A passage led to a pentagonal room. Five stone coffins were in the room and each wall had niches piled with the bones of presumably lesser personages. Water leaking from somewhere filled the room to the depth of a few inches, causing Uhmri to question the overall soundness of the structure. Brute then came down, having made some comment about "herding cats", and brought Uhmri back up to join the company. Brute and Kull also forcibly removed the gnome's magic boots and took custody of them in order to prevent further "accidents". Stout fellows! Kevin by this time had mysteriously produced delicious eggs and bacon from somewhere and fed them to the rescued woman. Clearly he'd been holding out on us this entire time. I was almost angry at him but realized that she was certainly more entitled to them than I was at that point. With all that resolved, our two groups parted and headed to the courts and the Temple of Light respectively.
Because the Temple of Light was not open that day, and K preferred to avoid it in any case, they went instead to the Temple of Law and Order--which turned out to be immediately across the street from the Temple of Light. They approached the L&O clerical staff, who consisted of uniformly humorless specimens sporting identical unattractive bowl-cut coiffures. After grilling our companions on the particulars of the case they agreed to arrange care for the victim. One of them also mentioned that the L&Os earlier sent a young paladin named Osric up to the mansion to look into things. As our group departed they noticed just down the street, which apparently contained all of the temples in the city, a group of young ladies garbed in little more than a few ribbons and scarves. They happened to belong to the L&O's complementary religious establishment the Temple of Iniquity, or the "Sinnies" as we usually called them. The young ladies were not actual anointed clerics of the temple but a few of the "lay sisters", if you catch my drift.
Kull, Brute, and yours truly meanwhile traversed the cobbles in search of the city courts. While passing a rather pleasant park, the sort of amenity one expects when in the bosom of civilization, we were accosted by a rather remarkable fellow. He wore loose pantaloons and an unattractive sleeveless tunic. His arms were covered with tacky dragon tattoos and a garish gold medallion hung from a chain around his neck. I naturally assumed he was going to ask me for some gentleman's wardrobing tips, for all the good it would do him. Instead he confronted Uhmri and challenged him to a duel to the death! Given that Uhmri was still parading around in his hand-crafted garment of deceased lupines I then thought that perhaps the fellow was incensed that anyone would dare challenge his hard-won title as Worst Dressed Citizen of Adan. However he continued his belligerent verbal posturings, claiming that Uhmri had defeated earlier challengers from something he called his "Dragon Clan" who were after some secrets of ancient mysteries or something to that effect.
Uhmri accepted the challenge. The two then took up remarkable sophisticated-looking stances, unarmed but for their fists. I was unaware that druidism had such intricate rituals. I had generally understood that their sylvan soirees involved a lot of herb-based alcoholic beverages, mushrooms of questionable type, pounding on large drums, and naked frolicking late at night. Perhaps he was of some more developed branch of the naturist philosophy, such as a Pongolean Arborologist or Adanite Sylvanist.
The two posed and flexed for a few moments, eyes locked in impressive intensity. Then Uhmri shot forward like a bolt from a crossbow and delivered a massive blow, which he later described as a "stunning fist", to his opponent's head. It should have stunned an ox. To my surprise the challenger shook it off and attempted a counter-blow of his own. At this point Brute lost what little patience he had for the impertinent fellow and joined the affray with a mighty swing of his axe. The vicious instrument bit deeply into the man's chest and he staggered back. Then, to our astonishment, the wound began immediately to heal. Well, this was clear evidence that he was unfairly using some magic to win the contest. The quickly-restored challenger leaped into the air and succeeded in a complex double-kick which struck both Brute and Uhmri. Brute was undeterred and reopened the chap's chest with another two-handed swing. This time he was fazed by the injury. He began to stagger off, blood dripping all down his already unfashionable attire, threatening to return later. Brute offered to finish the cheater but Uhmri declined, stating cryptically that "monks do not kill monks". The odd-fellow hefted his axe in contemplation then decided to let him go for Katherine's sake, remembering her earlier distress at his common-sense dispatching of defeated bandits.
With that bit of unpleasantness out of the way we were about to resume our perambulations when another bit of unpleasantness reared its ugly head. A crowd had gathered to enjoy the martial display but were much displeased by Brute's entry into the lists, apparently considering it dishonorable "ganging up". Then they actually began to fling rotten fruit and other unpleasant items. In my many years with the carnival I'd seen this sort of thing before. There was little point in trying to reason with them and point out the challenger's unfair use of a healing magick so I began the incantations for my trusty Color Spray. Brute, however, simply drove them off with a display of odd-fellow menace.
We soon arrived at the main Justice Square, which was mostly deserted. A scruffy commoner sweeping the flagstones informed us that all the judges, lawyers, and other legal types had all gone to the city's Autumn Festival--besides which the courts were always closed on Saturdays anyway. While we pondered this disappointing bit of information the rest of our company arrived. With most things closed on the following Sunsday, Moonsday would be the earliest we could return to the courts. Katherine and Brute were prepared to head north against the goblins, but I expressed my lack of enthusiasm for pointless violence and danger. Brute then wisely reminded me that Veronica was still at large in Adan. I promptly decided that hordes of vicious spear-wielding little fiends were the lesser of the two evils and agreed to accompany them. Brute went off and engaged a set of rooms at an inn for the next couple days. We would need somewhere to stay other than the compromised mansion while we wrapped up our business and finalized plans.
Suddenly the empty square was filled with flowing crowds headed for the Autumn Festival. It was the carnival parade, accompanied by happy citizens on their way to celebrate. We joined them and went to sample what the festival had to offer. Uhmri quickly availed himself of the services of a fortune teller apparently in regards to the ancient secrets alluded to by the cheating duelist with the desperately unfashionable outfit. Later we sought out a self-proclaimed "loremaster" to determine whether the various prize weapons selected from the crusader horde at the Temple of Light had any extraordinary qualities. Luckily for them he was indeed a genuine master of the arcane and revealed all. One after another each instrument of destruction proved to have something unexpected about it. Brute's new bow magically produced its own arrow when drawn properly. Brute's huge new axe had a name, "The Executioner". Uhmri's marketplace bracers turned out to be enchanted to provide more protection than met the eye. Katherine's new mace was blessed by the Light to strike down the undead. The shortsword had previously had only one owner, a cleric, and would glow when undead were near. This was far more than any of us had anticipated. I was mildly disappointed there was nothing there appropriate for a scholar of the arcane such as myself. But the new spell I had been perfecting in my off hours would likely help keep me up to par.
Last but by no means least was the immense greatsword which Kull had taken as his own. The loremaster took some time divining its secrets. He revealed that although not imbued with arcane wierding, it had a name, Right Hand of the King. It was a royal sword of king after king. From the legends I'd grown up with a boy, swords with mighty names often come with mighty trouble attached to them. I hoped the big chap would not end up in a sticky situation.
After the others left to wander about the fair, I slipped back with a few items of my own. The loremaster was just tucking into a depressingly ordinary dinner of fish sandwich at the back of his tent when I entered. I offered him a bottle of decent white wine to go with the fish and several lovely round shiny bits of the noble metal for his services--and a side order of discretion. I handed him the three other pieces of jewelry which I had retrieved--at great personal danger, as you may remember--from the witch's attic ritual chamber. He applied his considerable skills and the results were reasonably satisfactory. The red stone amulet was one which provided protection from fire and heat. The peculiar pair of metal fiddly bits turned out to be a pair of nipple clamps designed to provide female mammary enhancement (what will they think of next). The final item, the ring with a clear gem on it, remained an enigma.
As we were walking about we noticed crowds moving towards a large tent and several people mentioning "The Amazing Rovert". It took me a moment, but then I realized that Rovert was Trevor backwards! Some swine had the unmitigated gall to impersonate me and surely ruin my carefully built legacy on stage! Looking back I was a bit of a prat about it all, but at the time I was not prepared to accept that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. After attempting to plan a suitable response I lost patience and simply went to the main tent and stormed up on stage to confront him.
The cad was there all right, dressed as near to me as possible. The resemblance was uncanny. He'd even given his hair a bad dye job to match mine. But that wasn't the real shock of the evening. There next to him was his Lovely Assistant--Veronica! An expectant crowd, the charlatan, Veronica, and Katherine there in the wings watching everything. Sad to say, it all went a bit down hill from there. My magick was in top form as I cast spell after spell to amaze and confound. But "Rovert" or whatever his name was, cast and cast again in reply, struggling to save his sham of a show. Boomtock threw in a bit here and there and soon it was over. The crowd got up and left, confused and a bit angry at the unexpected display. Rovert took his sorry self off. But Veronica did quite the opposite. Rushing up, all bosoms and brass, she proclaimed that "Rovert" had really meant nothing to her and that henceforth we would be together forever--and promptly clapped a pair of shackle-cuffs on us.
I was rather non-plussed. After the chaotic scene with "Rovert", I was entirely unprepared to immediately launch into yet another emotional dust-up. I had rather expected the Big V to run off after her crestfallen romeo. But just then my cuff unlocked itself and latched onto Veronica's free wrist. I looked at Boomtock, but he nodded towards Katherine. Katherine? And indeed she was there, and looking rather pleased with herself. So, our young sorceress was becoming as talented as she was lovely. I was rather impressed. Then I noticed Veronica was still going on about how our love was forever no matter what. I felt it was time I set things straight with the Big V and the lovely K. Remembering how I'd botched things at dinner in the tavern I straightened up and declared to Veronica in no uncertain terms that I cared for another. However, I was still reluctant to bring the Wrath of Veronica down on Katherine and so avoided revealing her identity. To my consternation, Katherine suddenly blurted out "Who is this other?". After a further short exchange with Veronica the woman finally took herself off. I looked over to Katherine but she had also moved off somewhere.
The Brute came up. Apparently he thought it was time to set things right all around. With a firm but kind tone he told me that if I indeed cared for Katherine then it was time I told her so. I was just mulling this over when we noticed alarums and excursions in front outside the tent. Something was up--and from the roars it clearly involved Kull. I just hoped one of the female elephants hadn't taken a fancy to him. Katherine heard as well and came to join us. I offered K my arm in gentlemanly fashion to depart the tent. She looked pleased by the gesture, but coyly demurred, saying "Not now". Well, perhaps the air between us was clearing again.
The area in front of the main tent was a scene of absolute disarray. Carts were knocked over, banners down, and strewn about were several unconscious chaps in the same tacky get-up and tattoos as the fellow who had challenged Uhmri that afternoon. Apparently he'd gone for reinforcements. Little did he realize that when facing the mighty Kull summoning reinforcements merely increases the magnitude of one's defeat.
"I'm sorry, Trevor."
It took me a moment to comprehend her first words, as she stood there with her fair hair shining against the dark wood of the mansion hall behind her. She went on about how she needed to leave this house with it's insalubrious effects on her, how she could not return to the temple for certain reasons, how she still had much to atone for from her monastery...but I was still transfixed by those first words. My wall of inner darkness cracked just a bit and a ray of hope peeked through.
I wasn't sure what she was on about concerning her temple, although I avoid temples as a rule, but her desire to depart the mansion found resonance. The place was becoming increasingly disturbing. First there was the secret chamber off the main bedroom with the Black Mirror, then the whispering, and now clear signs of witchcraft. On top of that came yesterday's discoveries in the secret chamber of sorcery in the attic and torture dungeon below. And there was no telling what might lurk in the still unexplored crypt down below. In addition, the posting of guards from the town watch outside the house foreshadowed a more tangible threat. Yes, much as I had otherwise grown fond of the old thing it was looking less and less like a ticket to my desired station in life.
A bit later the company all assembled at the dining table and Kevin presented some alleged gruel which was obviously warmed-up library paste with sawdust mixed in. I suspected he was trying to kill us. Predictably enough, Brute and Kull ladled every last bit of it down and declared it quite satisfactory. Given what they likely were fed as young cubs I excused their utter lack of discrimination. For my part, I finished off the last of a bottle of chateau something-or-other instead. Katherine laid out her misgivings about the manse and her desire to leave, probably to head north against the goblins. Boomtock agreed with her, adding the patently ridiculous claim that it was most likely the influence of the house which had made him so naughty recently. The discussion then ranged over the mirrors upstairs, the goblins up north, the cellar crypts, young Broderick Natal's inheritance, the watchies standing guard out front, and the disposition of the as yet unidentified woman rescued from the dungeon.
During the discussions, which became rather tedious after the wine ran out, Kevin again intrigued us by attempting to pantomime something important. This at least was somewhat diverting but not initially particularly enlightening. Eventually we were able to gather that his former master Remi Natal had fled the house in fear of his life. The by-now-rather-moldy-in-the-ground councilman had attempted to reach a summer house somewhere to hide out.
This was important news indeed.
With the integrity of the city house compromised by witchcraft the prospect of the summer house sounded rather delightful. I imagined relaxing on a wide veranda, glass in hand, as one of the new serving girls brought me a refreshing refill. Another comes up, delightful in her frilly maid's outfit and offers a plate of baked goods fresh from the oven. I was just reaching for one of her delicious warm buns when Katherine said sternly "I'm not sure that's such a good idea". I was jolted back to the dining table. Brute was standing up with that look of thoughtful determination he gets when he's about to give someone a piece of his mind--or give someone else's mind a piece of his axe. Katherine was just saying to him "I'm not sure that's such a good idea". Brute was arguing, as usual, that the best course was a direct one and was ready to simply ask the guards out front what was up.
Suddenly I felt a most peculiar sensation. It was emanating from the pouch I'd taken from the secret attic chamber of witchcraft. I pulled out the four rings set with gems which corresponded to the colors of the frames of the magickal landscape mirrors in the chamber. The red one was actually vibrating in my hand like a stunned bee. Brute noticed and we decided to go upstairs and see what me might learn. Entering the chamber of witchery cautiously we looked into the mirror. The scene in the mirror was dark, apparently nighttime, and a woman was just walking away into the desert. On an impulse I slipped the ring onto my finger.
The desert breeze wrapped me in stifling heat. I could hear the faint hissing of sand blown across the surface of the dunes. The woman was out of sight but the trail of her footprints in the sand were clear. I looked behind me and through a shimmering oval saw Brute standing in the chamber--next to me. Ah, so it was not I who was standing in the desert but a simulacrum. Perhaps it was a marvelously intricate form of illusionology. The me next to brute appeared to be daydreaming, probably because my intellect was here on this side. So was the woman here in the desert also a simulacrum of someone in Adan, the witch perhaps, or a desert native? I considered following the trail, but Brute motioned me back insistently. Returning to the chamber I removed the ring from my finger, but Brute was not satisfied with that measure and removed me bodily from the room just to be sure.
Meanwhile, Katherine and Kull had gone around to the watchies out front so ask why the mansion was under guard. The two underpaid officers of the law informed them that now that the entire ruling council was dead by assassination the authorities were were worried about the general situation. In addition citizens had reported vagrants and shifty types in the vicinity of the mansion recently. "Shifty types" indeed! Clearly they had not yet seen me in my new attire.
Downstairs Kull placed a sofa in our cart, then wrapped the rescued woman in a a blanket and placed her gently on the sofa. Kull, Uhmri, and my K. were to take here to the temple and make arrangements for her care. The semi-incompetent Kevin offered to care for here but the suggestion was an obvious non-starter. Brute and I would head for the courts make inquiries. But just as we were wondering what Boomtock was up to the gnome appeared from the cellar with an alarmingly sheepish look on his face. He admitted that he had accidentally broken "a few" bottles while messing about down there. I felt like Kull had just kicked me in the midriff. My precious vintages! The only thing making life truly bearable under the current circumstances was the mansion's real treasure: the hoard of bottled sublimity in the cool racks in the wine cellar.
I dashed down the worn stone steps, heedless of my safety, followed by Brute and Uhmri. Alas, it was far worse than the little rapscallion had admitted. Over half of the trove was done for, splashed about on the floor like the noble blood of ancient dragon kings slain by assassins.
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| Hardly a bottle left intact (pic from the internet, not mine) |
As he related later, the lupine-clad one did not join us but rather followed a cool breeze coming from another passage and came to the crypts which were also below. He made his way to the barred iron gates flanked by ornamental suits of armor earlier discovered by Brute. They were unlocked and so he ventured in. A passage led to a pentagonal room. Five stone coffins were in the room and each wall had niches piled with the bones of presumably lesser personages. Water leaking from somewhere filled the room to the depth of a few inches, causing Uhmri to question the overall soundness of the structure. Brute then came down, having made some comment about "herding cats", and brought Uhmri back up to join the company. Brute and Kull also forcibly removed the gnome's magic boots and took custody of them in order to prevent further "accidents". Stout fellows! Kevin by this time had mysteriously produced delicious eggs and bacon from somewhere and fed them to the rescued woman. Clearly he'd been holding out on us this entire time. I was almost angry at him but realized that she was certainly more entitled to them than I was at that point. With all that resolved, our two groups parted and headed to the courts and the Temple of Light respectively.
Because the Temple of Light was not open that day, and K preferred to avoid it in any case, they went instead to the Temple of Law and Order--which turned out to be immediately across the street from the Temple of Light. They approached the L&O clerical staff, who consisted of uniformly humorless specimens sporting identical unattractive bowl-cut coiffures. After grilling our companions on the particulars of the case they agreed to arrange care for the victim. One of them also mentioned that the L&Os earlier sent a young paladin named Osric up to the mansion to look into things. As our group departed they noticed just down the street, which apparently contained all of the temples in the city, a group of young ladies garbed in little more than a few ribbons and scarves. They happened to belong to the L&O's complementary religious establishment the Temple of Iniquity, or the "Sinnies" as we usually called them. The young ladies were not actual anointed clerics of the temple but a few of the "lay sisters", if you catch my drift.
Kull, Brute, and yours truly meanwhile traversed the cobbles in search of the city courts. While passing a rather pleasant park, the sort of amenity one expects when in the bosom of civilization, we were accosted by a rather remarkable fellow. He wore loose pantaloons and an unattractive sleeveless tunic. His arms were covered with tacky dragon tattoos and a garish gold medallion hung from a chain around his neck. I naturally assumed he was going to ask me for some gentleman's wardrobing tips, for all the good it would do him. Instead he confronted Uhmri and challenged him to a duel to the death! Given that Uhmri was still parading around in his hand-crafted garment of deceased lupines I then thought that perhaps the fellow was incensed that anyone would dare challenge his hard-won title as Worst Dressed Citizen of Adan. However he continued his belligerent verbal posturings, claiming that Uhmri had defeated earlier challengers from something he called his "Dragon Clan" who were after some secrets of ancient mysteries or something to that effect.
Uhmri accepted the challenge. The two then took up remarkable sophisticated-looking stances, unarmed but for their fists. I was unaware that druidism had such intricate rituals. I had generally understood that their sylvan soirees involved a lot of herb-based alcoholic beverages, mushrooms of questionable type, pounding on large drums, and naked frolicking late at night. Perhaps he was of some more developed branch of the naturist philosophy, such as a Pongolean Arborologist or Adanite Sylvanist.
The two posed and flexed for a few moments, eyes locked in impressive intensity. Then Uhmri shot forward like a bolt from a crossbow and delivered a massive blow, which he later described as a "stunning fist", to his opponent's head. It should have stunned an ox. To my surprise the challenger shook it off and attempted a counter-blow of his own. At this point Brute lost what little patience he had for the impertinent fellow and joined the affray with a mighty swing of his axe. The vicious instrument bit deeply into the man's chest and he staggered back. Then, to our astonishment, the wound began immediately to heal. Well, this was clear evidence that he was unfairly using some magic to win the contest. The quickly-restored challenger leaped into the air and succeeded in a complex double-kick which struck both Brute and Uhmri. Brute was undeterred and reopened the chap's chest with another two-handed swing. This time he was fazed by the injury. He began to stagger off, blood dripping all down his already unfashionable attire, threatening to return later. Brute offered to finish the cheater but Uhmri declined, stating cryptically that "monks do not kill monks". The odd-fellow hefted his axe in contemplation then decided to let him go for Katherine's sake, remembering her earlier distress at his common-sense dispatching of defeated bandits.
With that bit of unpleasantness out of the way we were about to resume our perambulations when another bit of unpleasantness reared its ugly head. A crowd had gathered to enjoy the martial display but were much displeased by Brute's entry into the lists, apparently considering it dishonorable "ganging up". Then they actually began to fling rotten fruit and other unpleasant items. In my many years with the carnival I'd seen this sort of thing before. There was little point in trying to reason with them and point out the challenger's unfair use of a healing magick so I began the incantations for my trusty Color Spray. Brute, however, simply drove them off with a display of odd-fellow menace.
We soon arrived at the main Justice Square, which was mostly deserted. A scruffy commoner sweeping the flagstones informed us that all the judges, lawyers, and other legal types had all gone to the city's Autumn Festival--besides which the courts were always closed on Saturdays anyway. While we pondered this disappointing bit of information the rest of our company arrived. With most things closed on the following Sunsday, Moonsday would be the earliest we could return to the courts. Katherine and Brute were prepared to head north against the goblins, but I expressed my lack of enthusiasm for pointless violence and danger. Brute then wisely reminded me that Veronica was still at large in Adan. I promptly decided that hordes of vicious spear-wielding little fiends were the lesser of the two evils and agreed to accompany them. Brute went off and engaged a set of rooms at an inn for the next couple days. We would need somewhere to stay other than the compromised mansion while we wrapped up our business and finalized plans.
Suddenly the empty square was filled with flowing crowds headed for the Autumn Festival. It was the carnival parade, accompanied by happy citizens on their way to celebrate. We joined them and went to sample what the festival had to offer. Uhmri quickly availed himself of the services of a fortune teller apparently in regards to the ancient secrets alluded to by the cheating duelist with the desperately unfashionable outfit. Later we sought out a self-proclaimed "loremaster" to determine whether the various prize weapons selected from the crusader horde at the Temple of Light had any extraordinary qualities. Luckily for them he was indeed a genuine master of the arcane and revealed all. One after another each instrument of destruction proved to have something unexpected about it. Brute's new bow magically produced its own arrow when drawn properly. Brute's huge new axe had a name, "The Executioner". Uhmri's marketplace bracers turned out to be enchanted to provide more protection than met the eye. Katherine's new mace was blessed by the Light to strike down the undead. The shortsword had previously had only one owner, a cleric, and would glow when undead were near. This was far more than any of us had anticipated. I was mildly disappointed there was nothing there appropriate for a scholar of the arcane such as myself. But the new spell I had been perfecting in my off hours would likely help keep me up to par.
Last but by no means least was the immense greatsword which Kull had taken as his own. The loremaster took some time divining its secrets. He revealed that although not imbued with arcane wierding, it had a name, Right Hand of the King. It was a royal sword of king after king. From the legends I'd grown up with a boy, swords with mighty names often come with mighty trouble attached to them. I hoped the big chap would not end up in a sticky situation.
After the others left to wander about the fair, I slipped back with a few items of my own. The loremaster was just tucking into a depressingly ordinary dinner of fish sandwich at the back of his tent when I entered. I offered him a bottle of decent white wine to go with the fish and several lovely round shiny bits of the noble metal for his services--and a side order of discretion. I handed him the three other pieces of jewelry which I had retrieved--at great personal danger, as you may remember--from the witch's attic ritual chamber. He applied his considerable skills and the results were reasonably satisfactory. The red stone amulet was one which provided protection from fire and heat. The peculiar pair of metal fiddly bits turned out to be a pair of nipple clamps designed to provide female mammary enhancement (what will they think of next). The final item, the ring with a clear gem on it, remained an enigma.
As we were walking about we noticed crowds moving towards a large tent and several people mentioning "The Amazing Rovert". It took me a moment, but then I realized that Rovert was Trevor backwards! Some swine had the unmitigated gall to impersonate me and surely ruin my carefully built legacy on stage! Looking back I was a bit of a prat about it all, but at the time I was not prepared to accept that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. After attempting to plan a suitable response I lost patience and simply went to the main tent and stormed up on stage to confront him.
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| So, I meet at last! (pic from the Internet, not mine) |
I was rather non-plussed. After the chaotic scene with "Rovert", I was entirely unprepared to immediately launch into yet another emotional dust-up. I had rather expected the Big V to run off after her crestfallen romeo. But just then my cuff unlocked itself and latched onto Veronica's free wrist. I looked at Boomtock, but he nodded towards Katherine. Katherine? And indeed she was there, and looking rather pleased with herself. So, our young sorceress was becoming as talented as she was lovely. I was rather impressed. Then I noticed Veronica was still going on about how our love was forever no matter what. I felt it was time I set things straight with the Big V and the lovely K. Remembering how I'd botched things at dinner in the tavern I straightened up and declared to Veronica in no uncertain terms that I cared for another. However, I was still reluctant to bring the Wrath of Veronica down on Katherine and so avoided revealing her identity. To my consternation, Katherine suddenly blurted out "Who is this other?". After a further short exchange with Veronica the woman finally took herself off. I looked over to Katherine but she had also moved off somewhere.
The Brute came up. Apparently he thought it was time to set things right all around. With a firm but kind tone he told me that if I indeed cared for Katherine then it was time I told her so. I was just mulling this over when we noticed alarums and excursions in front outside the tent. Something was up--and from the roars it clearly involved Kull. I just hoped one of the female elephants hadn't taken a fancy to him. Katherine heard as well and came to join us. I offered K my arm in gentlemanly fashion to depart the tent. She looked pleased by the gesture, but coyly demurred, saying "Not now". Well, perhaps the air between us was clearing again.
The area in front of the main tent was a scene of absolute disarray. Carts were knocked over, banners down, and strewn about were several unconscious chaps in the same tacky get-up and tattoos as the fellow who had challenged Uhmri that afternoon. Apparently he'd gone for reinforcements. Little did he realize that when facing the mighty Kull summoning reinforcements merely increases the magnitude of one's defeat.
Saturday, August 24, 2013
The Yellow Dragonkin
Okay, so here is the third of five posts on the five types of dragonkin which I outlined in a previous post for my new campaign world under construction. The first two posts sketched out the black (water) dragonkin and red (fire) dragonkin.
Each write-up will include a couple small additions to the original
basic dragonkin race build and then some cultural-political notes.
Yellow Dragonkin (Earth)
Typical Alignment: Lawful Neutral
+5 to saves against petrification or poison
The yellow dragonkin were born amidst the mighty mountains at the center of the world and their memories dwell there still. Alas, few of them today still live in their ancestral heartland. Those still living there mostly inhabit and defend the temples and monasteries of the Divine Earth Dragon located on her sacred mountain at the very center of the world, Kularazhanura. The rest live in smaller communities scattered far away amongst the surrounding human lands. Those living far afield try to make a pilgrimage back to the sacred mountain at least once in their lives.
The tragedy of the earth dragons and their dragonkin was due to their central location, around the elemental pole of earth which was their home and their responsibility to defend. The other dragons were fortunate to strategically have their backs to a wall at the edges of the world. Thus they could focus their forces for attack or defense. The yellows were beset literally on all sides during the early Drake Wars and the later War of Angels and Demons. Eventually their leader, the mighty immortal dragon Emperor Hharuduun was cut down in battle by the archangel Mordirrian. Broken in spirit they clung to their mountain fortresses in desperation for a time. However the growing numbers and power of the surrounding humans and their patron deities gradually wore them down. In a series of one-sided treaties they gradually handed political dominion over to humans in order to avoid extermination. Most became mercenaries and hired on as heavy infantry, particularly to the Empire of the Dusk to the west. As the years went on they were joined by family members and formed settled communities.
The yellow dragonkin are particularly famous for their monasteries where masters teach martial arts to generation after generation of monks. The earth element which infuses them gives them patience and an enduring spirit. Thus the discipline and meditation of the way of the monk comes quite naturally to them. The large fortified monasteries, filled with monks hardened of body and focused of mind, defend the sacred mountain and lend support to communities all throughout the world.
Like all dragonkin cultures the yellows worship the Divine Earth Dragon which birthed their particular race. Also prevalent is a reverence for the dead Emperor Hharuduun, sometimes including worship as a demi-god. The earth dragonkin believe that his soul returned to the Divine Earth Dragon and will be reborn again as a mighty hero to restore to them the glories of ancient times.
By the same token the archangel Mordirrian is a cultural villain. The yellows hate him, any who follow him, and all the angel deities associated with him. This has often led outsiders to consider the earth dragonkin to be followers of evil. And indeed there are enough historical cases of the yellows allying with the demon lands against their common enemy to give credence to this belief.
Yellow Dragonkin (Earth)
Typical Alignment: Lawful Neutral
+5 to saves against petrification or poison
The yellow dragonkin were born amidst the mighty mountains at the center of the world and their memories dwell there still. Alas, few of them today still live in their ancestral heartland. Those still living there mostly inhabit and defend the temples and monasteries of the Divine Earth Dragon located on her sacred mountain at the very center of the world, Kularazhanura. The rest live in smaller communities scattered far away amongst the surrounding human lands. Those living far afield try to make a pilgrimage back to the sacred mountain at least once in their lives.
The tragedy of the earth dragons and their dragonkin was due to their central location, around the elemental pole of earth which was their home and their responsibility to defend. The other dragons were fortunate to strategically have their backs to a wall at the edges of the world. Thus they could focus their forces for attack or defense. The yellows were beset literally on all sides during the early Drake Wars and the later War of Angels and Demons. Eventually their leader, the mighty immortal dragon Emperor Hharuduun was cut down in battle by the archangel Mordirrian. Broken in spirit they clung to their mountain fortresses in desperation for a time. However the growing numbers and power of the surrounding humans and their patron deities gradually wore them down. In a series of one-sided treaties they gradually handed political dominion over to humans in order to avoid extermination. Most became mercenaries and hired on as heavy infantry, particularly to the Empire of the Dusk to the west. As the years went on they were joined by family members and formed settled communities.
The yellow dragonkin are particularly famous for their monasteries where masters teach martial arts to generation after generation of monks. The earth element which infuses them gives them patience and an enduring spirit. Thus the discipline and meditation of the way of the monk comes quite naturally to them. The large fortified monasteries, filled with monks hardened of body and focused of mind, defend the sacred mountain and lend support to communities all throughout the world.
Like all dragonkin cultures the yellows worship the Divine Earth Dragon which birthed their particular race. Also prevalent is a reverence for the dead Emperor Hharuduun, sometimes including worship as a demi-god. The earth dragonkin believe that his soul returned to the Divine Earth Dragon and will be reborn again as a mighty hero to restore to them the glories of ancient times.
By the same token the archangel Mordirrian is a cultural villain. The yellows hate him, any who follow him, and all the angel deities associated with him. This has often led outsiders to consider the earth dragonkin to be followers of evil. And indeed there are enough historical cases of the yellows allying with the demon lands against their common enemy to give credence to this belief.
Friday, August 23, 2013
The Aardkin (a player race for Pathfinder)
Okay, so I was perusing the message boards over at Paizo, purveyors of the most excellent Pathfinder rules and other products, and noted a posting for a 3rd party product about a player race called the Aardvolk. I was immediately excited. Finally, someone had put together a serious work on an aardvark-based humanoid race! But wait, the cover just had some werewolf looking thing on it. Where were the aardvarks? Well, it turned out to be a cruel hoax. It didn't actually have anything to do with aardvarks at all.
Choking back my tears of rage and frustration I swore that never again would the Pathfinder community have to struggle on through the darkness without an aardvark-based racial option for their characters. I turned immediately to the the tome of scholarly wisdom on the subject, the Advanced Race Guide. There indeed were the incantations and rituals I needed to bring my creation to life. And so I give you...the Aardkin!
Ability Score Modifiers:
Standard (0 RP): Members of this race gain a +2 bonus to one physical ability score, a +2 bonus to one mental ability score, and a –2 penalty to any other ability score.
+2 Constitution
+2 Wisdom
-2 Intellligence
Racial Traits:
Linguist (1 RP): Members of this race start with Common plus their racial language (if any). Furthermore, members of this race with high Intelligence scores can learn any languages they want (except Druidic and other secret languages).
Burrow (3 RP): Prerequisite: Normal speed; Benefit: Members of this race gain a burrow speed of 20 feet. Special: This trait can be taken twice. The second time it is taken, the burrow speed increases to 30 feet.
Claws (2 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race receive two claw attacks. These are primary natural attacks. The damage is based on the creature’s size (Bestiary 302).
Natural Armor (2 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race gain a +1 natural armor bonus to their Armor Class.
Healthy (2 RP): Prerequisite: The race has at least a +2 racial bonus to Constitution; Benefit: Members of this race gain a +4 bonus on Fortitude saves
Choking back my tears of rage and frustration I swore that never again would the Pathfinder community have to struggle on through the darkness without an aardvark-based racial option for their characters. I turned immediately to the the tome of scholarly wisdom on the subject, the Advanced Race Guide. There indeed were the incantations and rituals I needed to bring my creation to life. And so I give you...the Aardkin!
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| Ulalume_by_bloodhound_omega (www.deviantart.com) |
Aardkin
- Standard Points (10 RP)Ability Score Modifiers:
Standard (0 RP): Members of this race gain a +2 bonus to one physical ability score, a +2 bonus to one mental ability score, and a –2 penalty to any other ability score.
+2 Constitution
+2 Wisdom
-2 Intellligence
Racial Traits:
Linguist (1 RP): Members of this race start with Common plus their racial language (if any). Furthermore, members of this race with high Intelligence scores can learn any languages they want (except Druidic and other secret languages).
Burrow (3 RP): Prerequisite: Normal speed; Benefit: Members of this race gain a burrow speed of 20 feet. Special: This trait can be taken twice. The second time it is taken, the burrow speed increases to 30 feet.
Claws (2 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race receive two claw attacks. These are primary natural attacks. The damage is based on the creature’s size (Bestiary 302).
Natural Armor (2 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race gain a +1 natural armor bonus to their Armor Class.
Healthy (2 RP): Prerequisite: The race has at least a +2 racial bonus to Constitution; Benefit: Members of this race gain a +4 bonus on Fortitude saves
Thursday, August 15, 2013
RPG Blog Carnival August 2013: Campaign Creation
Okay, so I haven't done one of these RPG blog carnivals since about May. That's because the next theme was one I wasn't into and then I sort of lost track of where they all went. But anyway, this month's is over at Evil Machinations. There are actually a couple interwoven topics for this month but I'd like to lay out the basic method I now use for campaign creation.
I first started roleplay gaming back in 1978, so the entire hobby was so new that everyone was new to it. Now, 30+ years later, I have developed a general approach to campaigns. It consists of three parts, which I call "plot streams", "class bases", and "tinkertoys".
The plot streams are the main plot lines running through the campaign. These are not set strings of events which the characters march through in railroad style. Rather, they are dynamic sets of circumstances with lives of their own which the characters will come in contact at or near the beginning of the campaign. I usually like to have three of them running simultaneously. One plot stream is too predictable and limits player agency. More than three and a certain overload sets in; it's hard for me or the players to keep track of what all is going on.
Now usually I like to have one or two main streams and then one or two minor streams. The major streams are the ones that eventually lead to some sort of major consequences for the world if the heroes fail. The minor ones have more regional/national/metropolitan level significance. In addition, minor ones will usually have some point of intersection with a minor one. That keeps the players guessing a bit and allows for the minor to merge with the major or perhaps grow into a major one later. Any stream can have side branches which terminate somewhere and there is always room for individual small side adventures. Side adventures may be impromptu ones thrown together on the fly at the table or a small scenario written ahead of time. I like to use the small scenario type side adventures to showcase campaign world background themes.
I design a major plot stream by starting at the end. What will happen if this stream travels to its conclusion? The dragons re-establish dominion or demons invade or whatever. Then I come up with the main personalities driving the stream. It may be an individual or a group (more on this later). Each one of them needs personal motives but there can also be larger environmental effects moving things along. But to start play in the campaign there has to be a small, local manifestation of the major stream which will draw the players in. That is where I really go to work with detailing to lay out the who, what, where, when, and why of the local event. The local event must have at least one but preferably two or three leads for the players to follow up.
As the players finish encounters in a stream I am constantly re-shaping what comes next based on what happened in the last encounter. It's a dynamic process. Anytime the characters interfere with the stream, the groups and individuals driving it will react. And this is also where character backgrounds and motivations get woven into the campaign as it progresses.
The characters also start with relationships which I call "class bases". I usually run fantasy RPGs and prefer class-based systems. So for each character I establish a relationship based on the character's class. Clerics get some training from someone and will have a local shrine/temple. Rogues will have some types they used to hang out with or a guild. Wizards have a master they apprenticed with or an academy they attended. These bases provide NPC contacts for information and stream leads, sources of equipment and cash, allies or hirelings, people and places who need protecting, etc. I generally prefer to have the base be an organization/group even if it's just a small one. Organizations will contain their own strong personalities, have motives, internal conflicts and alliances, external conflicts and alliances, buildings, and such. And all of that can be designed simply by starting with the character class chosen by each player.
Finally there are the "tinkertoys". For each of the major plot streams I like to have several main personalities whose motivations and interactions drive the stream. I start with one, link it to another, then link them to one or to others and so on. For instance, person A is in love with B, but B is in a relationship with C, thus A wants C out of the way. D is also pursuing B and thus also wants C out of the way, and thus has allied with A to eliminate C (but has not revealed to C any feelings for B). And each of those persons can have family members, fellow guild members, etc. to add detail and complications.
So once I establish the major and minor plot streams, build the tinkertoy for each, and design the bases for each character all we need to do is schedule the first session and we're off.
I first started roleplay gaming back in 1978, so the entire hobby was so new that everyone was new to it. Now, 30+ years later, I have developed a general approach to campaigns. It consists of three parts, which I call "plot streams", "class bases", and "tinkertoys".
The plot streams are the main plot lines running through the campaign. These are not set strings of events which the characters march through in railroad style. Rather, they are dynamic sets of circumstances with lives of their own which the characters will come in contact at or near the beginning of the campaign. I usually like to have three of them running simultaneously. One plot stream is too predictable and limits player agency. More than three and a certain overload sets in; it's hard for me or the players to keep track of what all is going on.
Now usually I like to have one or two main streams and then one or two minor streams. The major streams are the ones that eventually lead to some sort of major consequences for the world if the heroes fail. The minor ones have more regional/national/metropolitan level significance. In addition, minor ones will usually have some point of intersection with a minor one. That keeps the players guessing a bit and allows for the minor to merge with the major or perhaps grow into a major one later. Any stream can have side branches which terminate somewhere and there is always room for individual small side adventures. Side adventures may be impromptu ones thrown together on the fly at the table or a small scenario written ahead of time. I like to use the small scenario type side adventures to showcase campaign world background themes.
I design a major plot stream by starting at the end. What will happen if this stream travels to its conclusion? The dragons re-establish dominion or demons invade or whatever. Then I come up with the main personalities driving the stream. It may be an individual or a group (more on this later). Each one of them needs personal motives but there can also be larger environmental effects moving things along. But to start play in the campaign there has to be a small, local manifestation of the major stream which will draw the players in. That is where I really go to work with detailing to lay out the who, what, where, when, and why of the local event. The local event must have at least one but preferably two or three leads for the players to follow up.
As the players finish encounters in a stream I am constantly re-shaping what comes next based on what happened in the last encounter. It's a dynamic process. Anytime the characters interfere with the stream, the groups and individuals driving it will react. And this is also where character backgrounds and motivations get woven into the campaign as it progresses.
The characters also start with relationships which I call "class bases". I usually run fantasy RPGs and prefer class-based systems. So for each character I establish a relationship based on the character's class. Clerics get some training from someone and will have a local shrine/temple. Rogues will have some types they used to hang out with or a guild. Wizards have a master they apprenticed with or an academy they attended. These bases provide NPC contacts for information and stream leads, sources of equipment and cash, allies or hirelings, people and places who need protecting, etc. I generally prefer to have the base be an organization/group even if it's just a small one. Organizations will contain their own strong personalities, have motives, internal conflicts and alliances, external conflicts and alliances, buildings, and such. And all of that can be designed simply by starting with the character class chosen by each player.
Finally there are the "tinkertoys". For each of the major plot streams I like to have several main personalities whose motivations and interactions drive the stream. I start with one, link it to another, then link them to one or to others and so on. For instance, person A is in love with B, but B is in a relationship with C, thus A wants C out of the way. D is also pursuing B and thus also wants C out of the way, and thus has allied with A to eliminate C (but has not revealed to C any feelings for B). And each of those persons can have family members, fellow guild members, etc. to add detail and complications.
So once I establish the major and minor plot streams, build the tinkertoy for each, and design the bases for each character all we need to do is schedule the first session and we're off.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
The Souls of Children
Okay, so for my new campaign world I've been mulling over the idea that all living creatures have souls and that because the various types of creatures were created by different deities under different circumstances there are different types or "flavors" of souls. In addition I've been considering that when a new creature is created, in a womb, egg, vat, whatever, then at the moment of the "quickening" a soul would come and inhabit it. I'm also mulling over whether souls reincarnate, come fresh from a source each time, or some combination of the two. And if souls come with their already alignment "baked in", then most intelligent creatures would prefer not to have their child become the abode of an Evil soul (or at least not have it be common knowledge). So if souls came with pre-determined alignments and people knew it, then that knowledge would influence their behavior.
Wealthy families could afford to have magics (divine or arcane) around the mother-to-be to ward off any evil presence. Thus, logically, over time the wealthy would tend to mostly have Good or Neutral souls. The poor, however, would be let open to whatever fate had in store for them--or actually, since Evil souls are being deflected from the wealthy, there logically could be a higher percentage of Evil souls coming to them. Thus the wealthy classes would have a factual basis (or additional excuse) to consider themselves intrinsically fit to rule over the lower classes. Naturally, parents unable to provide protection would be concerned about the alignment of their child, possibly even while it was still in the womb (or egg or whatever). Since paladins, and some others can detect the presence of Evil there would be a certain demand for their services.
And in some places this determination process would even be mandatory. A Lawful Neutral nation might simply have all Evil offspring killed at birth of avoid future problems. A Lawful Good nation might establish protected pregnancy places, probably in temples or monasteries, where mothers could stay full time during their pregnancy. Or the nation might round up the Evil-souled children and have them brought up in royal orphanages where every attempt to instill Good behavior would be made. After they were old enough to leave the orphanage they might even remain wards of the state for life, working and living under constant supervision in case their inner nature came to the fore. Both of these socio-political scenarios have lots of interesting consequences which make for gritty story-telling and building intense character backgrounds. And if the players' characters become parents themselves at some point then there's really dramatic tension in the offing.
A Chaotic society, however, might forbid any interference in the process of the embedding of the soul. Or all decisions might be left up to the conscience of individual parents. Or Evil newborns could be left exposed in the wilderness (or set adrift, as in the biblical story of Moses) to let fate take its course. Or upon reaching the age of maturity people would undergo a determination ritual. Persons of confirmed Evil disposition could be given certain supplies, equipment, and coin and sent out into exile to face whatever the gods had in store for them. Again, all of these make for good story drama and character design.
Now, I'm sure some people will complain about how these types of treatment would violate people's human rights, etc. Well, the idea of human rights is a modern one and pre-modern/traditional societies don't really have those modern types of legal rights. Those societies usually draw clear lines of what's allowed and what isn't and that's that. Here are some examples from the "Blue Laws" of the Colony of Connecticut in the 1650's:
Wealthy families could afford to have magics (divine or arcane) around the mother-to-be to ward off any evil presence. Thus, logically, over time the wealthy would tend to mostly have Good or Neutral souls. The poor, however, would be let open to whatever fate had in store for them--or actually, since Evil souls are being deflected from the wealthy, there logically could be a higher percentage of Evil souls coming to them. Thus the wealthy classes would have a factual basis (or additional excuse) to consider themselves intrinsically fit to rule over the lower classes. Naturally, parents unable to provide protection would be concerned about the alignment of their child, possibly even while it was still in the womb (or egg or whatever). Since paladins, and some others can detect the presence of Evil there would be a certain demand for their services.
And in some places this determination process would even be mandatory. A Lawful Neutral nation might simply have all Evil offspring killed at birth of avoid future problems. A Lawful Good nation might establish protected pregnancy places, probably in temples or monasteries, where mothers could stay full time during their pregnancy. Or the nation might round up the Evil-souled children and have them brought up in royal orphanages where every attempt to instill Good behavior would be made. After they were old enough to leave the orphanage they might even remain wards of the state for life, working and living under constant supervision in case their inner nature came to the fore. Both of these socio-political scenarios have lots of interesting consequences which make for gritty story-telling and building intense character backgrounds. And if the players' characters become parents themselves at some point then there's really dramatic tension in the offing.
A Chaotic society, however, might forbid any interference in the process of the embedding of the soul. Or all decisions might be left up to the conscience of individual parents. Or Evil newborns could be left exposed in the wilderness (or set adrift, as in the biblical story of Moses) to let fate take its course. Or upon reaching the age of maturity people would undergo a determination ritual. Persons of confirmed Evil disposition could be given certain supplies, equipment, and coin and sent out into exile to face whatever the gods had in store for them. Again, all of these make for good story drama and character design.
Now, I'm sure some people will complain about how these types of treatment would violate people's human rights, etc. Well, the idea of human rights is a modern one and pre-modern/traditional societies don't really have those modern types of legal rights. Those societies usually draw clear lines of what's allowed and what isn't and that's that. Here are some examples from the "Blue Laws" of the Colony of Connecticut in the 1650's:
- No food or lodging shall be afforded to a Quaker, Adamite, or other Heretic.
- If any person turns Quaker, he shall be banished, and not suffered to return but upon pain of death.
- No Priest shall abide in this Dominion: he shall be banished, and suffer death on his return. Priests may be seized by any one without a warrant. [I believe they are referring to Catholic priests here.]
- When it appears that an accused has confederates, and he refuses to discover them, he may be racked.
- A debtor in prison, swearing he has no estate, shall be let out and sold, to make satisfaction.
- Every male shall have his hair cut round according to a cap.
- A drunkard shall have a master appointed by the selectmen, who are to debar him from the liberty of buying and selling.
- No one shall run on the Sabbath day, or walk in his garden or elsewhere, except reverently to and from meeting.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
So You Want to be a Witch? (in Pathfinder)
Okay, so I thought I'd throw out the witch character I designed for my buddy Steve's new campaign using the Pathfinder rules. This witch uses the Hedge Witch archetype, making her a healer or "wise woman".
Neutral Good
STR 13 (+1)
DEX 16 (+3)
CON 14 (+2)
INT 18 (+4) Languages: Common, Elven, Sylvan
WIS 14 (+2)
CHA 15 (+2)
HP: 8
BAB +0 (Melee +1/Ranged +3)
CMB: +1
CMD: 14
Fort +3
Ref +2
Will +4
Traits:
Sacred TouchYou were exposed to a potent source of positive energy as a child. As a standard action, you may automatically stabilize a dying creature merely by touching it.
Forlorn
Having lived outside of traditional elf society all your life you know the world can be cruel, dangerous, and unforgiving of the weak. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Fortitude saving throws.
Feats:
Extra Hex
Gain one additional hex [took Disguise]
Alertness (if familiar within 10')
You get a +2 bonus on Perception and Sense Motive skill checks. If you have 10 or more ranks in one of these skills, the bonus increases to +4 for that skill.
Skill Focus (bonus half-elf feat) +3 on one skill [used on Spellcraft]
Hexes:
Healing (Su): A witch can soothe the wounds of those she touches. This acts as a cure light wounds spell, using the witch’s caster level. Once a creature has benefited from the healing hex, it cannot benefit from it again for 24 hours. At 5th level, this hex acts like cure moderate wounds.
Disguise (Su): A witch can change her appearance for a number of hours per day equal to her class level, as if using disguise self. These hours do not need to be consecutive, but they must be spent in 1-hour increments. [bonus hex from feat; added this a flavorful/finesse option--invaluable if a witch hunter shows up]
Witch Spells Per Day
- Cantrips (3/day) [DC 14]
- 1st (2/day) [DC 15]
Familiar
Weasel ("Amaren")
HP: 4
AC: 16
INT: 6
Spells Stored in Familiar
0-Level Witch Spells (Cantrips)
Arcane Mark - Inscribes a personal rune on an object or creature (visible or invisible).
Dancing Lights - Creates torches or other lights.
Daze - A single humanoid creature with 4 HD or less loses its next action.
Detect Magic - Detects all spells and magic items within 60 ft.
Detect Poison - Detects poison in one creature or small object.
Guidance - +1 on one attack roll, saving throw, or skill check.
Light - Object shines like a torch.
Mending - Makes minor repairs on an object.
Message - Whisper conversation at distance.
Read Magic - Read scrolls and spellbooks.
Resistance - Subject gains +1 on saving throws.
Spark - Ignites flammable objects.
Stabilize - Cause a dying creature to stabilize.
1st-Level Witch Spells
Cure Light Wounds - Cures 1d8 damage + 1/level (max +5).
Mage Armor - Gives subject +4 armor bonus.
Remove Sickness - Suppress disease, nausea, and the sickened condition.
Class Skills
Craft (Int), Fly (Dex), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Arcana) (Int), Knowledge (History) (Int), Knowledge (Nature) (Int), Knowledge (Planes) (Int), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Use Magic Device (Cha). [6 skill points/level]
Acrobatics 3
Appraise 4
Bluff 2
Climb 1
Craft (Alchemy) 8
Diplomacy 2
Disguise 2
Escape Artist 3
Heal 6
Intimidate 2
Knowledge (Arcana) 8
Perception 4 (6 with familiar)
Profession (Herbalist) 6
Ride 3
Sense Motive 2 (4 with familiar)
Spellcraft 11
Stealth 3
Survival 2
Swim 1
Use Magic Device 6
This version is almost complete. Steve and I put together a fuller version in Hero Labs on his computer and I'll see if I can post that when I get a copy.
By the way, if anyone can point me to a resource for doing tables in Blogger I'd really appreciate it. I really, really need a better way to present information like the list of skills and ranks above.
 |
| Healer by Drewsil (http://drewsil.deviantart.com/) |
Luriana
Half-Elf female (Ylsan/Sea-Elf); 5' 7", 135 lbs.Neutral Good
STR 13 (+1)
DEX 16 (+3)
CON 14 (+2)
INT 18 (+4) Languages: Common, Elven, Sylvan
WIS 14 (+2)
CHA 15 (+2)
HP: 8
BAB +0 (Melee +1/Ranged +3)
CMB: +1
CMD: 14
Fort +3
Ref +2
Will +4
Traits:
Sacred TouchYou were exposed to a potent source of positive energy as a child. As a standard action, you may automatically stabilize a dying creature merely by touching it.
Forlorn
Having lived outside of traditional elf society all your life you know the world can be cruel, dangerous, and unforgiving of the weak. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Fortitude saving throws.
Feats:
Extra Hex
Gain one additional hex [took Disguise]
Alertness (if familiar within 10')
You get a +2 bonus on Perception and Sense Motive skill checks. If you have 10 or more ranks in one of these skills, the bonus increases to +4 for that skill.
Skill Focus (bonus half-elf feat) +3 on one skill [used on Spellcraft]
Hexes:
Healing (Su): A witch can soothe the wounds of those she touches. This acts as a cure light wounds spell, using the witch’s caster level. Once a creature has benefited from the healing hex, it cannot benefit from it again for 24 hours. At 5th level, this hex acts like cure moderate wounds.
Disguise (Su): A witch can change her appearance for a number of hours per day equal to her class level, as if using disguise self. These hours do not need to be consecutive, but they must be spent in 1-hour increments. [bonus hex from feat; added this a flavorful/finesse option--invaluable if a witch hunter shows up]
Witch Spells Per Day
- Cantrips (3/day) [DC 14]
- 1st (2/day) [DC 15]
Familiar
Weasel ("Amaren")
HP: 4
AC: 16
INT: 6
Spells Stored in Familiar
0-Level Witch Spells (Cantrips)
Arcane Mark - Inscribes a personal rune on an object or creature (visible or invisible).
Dancing Lights - Creates torches or other lights.
Daze - A single humanoid creature with 4 HD or less loses its next action.
Detect Magic - Detects all spells and magic items within 60 ft.
Detect Poison - Detects poison in one creature or small object.
Guidance - +1 on one attack roll, saving throw, or skill check.
Light - Object shines like a torch.
Mending - Makes minor repairs on an object.
Message - Whisper conversation at distance.
Read Magic - Read scrolls and spellbooks.
Resistance - Subject gains +1 on saving throws.
Spark - Ignites flammable objects.
Stabilize - Cause a dying creature to stabilize.
1st-Level Witch Spells
Cure Light Wounds - Cures 1d8 damage + 1/level (max +5).
Mage Armor - Gives subject +4 armor bonus.
Remove Sickness - Suppress disease, nausea, and the sickened condition.
Class Skills
Craft (Int), Fly (Dex), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Arcana) (Int), Knowledge (History) (Int), Knowledge (Nature) (Int), Knowledge (Planes) (Int), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Use Magic Device (Cha). [6 skill points/level]
Acrobatics 3
Appraise 4
Bluff 2
Climb 1
Craft (Alchemy) 8
Diplomacy 2
Disguise 2
Escape Artist 3
Heal 6
Intimidate 2
Knowledge (Arcana) 8
Perception 4 (6 with familiar)
Profession (Herbalist) 6
Ride 3
Sense Motive 2 (4 with familiar)
Spellcraft 11
Stealth 3
Survival 2
Swim 1
Use Magic Device 6
This version is almost complete. Steve and I put together a fuller version in Hero Labs on his computer and I'll see if I can post that when I get a copy.
By the way, if anyone can point me to a resource for doing tables in Blogger I'd really appreciate it. I really, really need a better way to present information like the list of skills and ranks above.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
The Red Dragonkin
Okay, so here is the second of five posts on the five types of dragonkin which I outlined in a previous post. The first post sketched out the black (water) dragonkin. Each write-up will include a couple small additions to the original basic dragonkin race build and then some cultural-political notes.
Red Dragonkin (Fire)
Typical Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Energy Resistance 5 (fire)
Their world is a fiery as their breath. The red-scaled dragonkin of the fire element live in the far southern regions of the world. Like their cousins in the north, the black dragonkin, they are spirited and unpredictable. The lands of the south are dominted by the heat of the elemental pole of fire. The air is hot, the ground is hot, and so is the lava which so often flows from below. The fire dragonkin thrive in such conditions, as do the Anvilglow dvarr (dwarf) clans, firenewts, flame elementals, fire giants, and other fierce peoples of the south. The red dragonkin live mostly in converted dormant volcanoes or rebuilt tangles of ancient lava tubes underground.
Fire dragonkin politics are as lively and dynamic as a bursting volcano. Alliances of barons led by individual red dragons battle and maneuver constantly, both on the fields of war and in secret parleys. The reds revel in battle and are generally contemptuous of non-dragon races unless their opponents can earn respect through victory.
The dvarr, however, are treated as the mortal enemies of the red dragonkin. The burning south is the homeland of the fire dragonkin alone, in the same manner as the black water dragonkin of the north. The dvarr early on penetrated deep into the south in search of unique metals, gems, and minerals--and found them in abundance. In addition they discovered the secrets of lava-forging techniques which can impart qualities impossible to achieve elsewhere. The dvarr are determined to keep the riches which are the source of their wealth and power and the dragonkin equally determined to drive the thieving invaders back whence they came.
On the more temperate north coast of their lands they engage in more even-handed commerce with humans and others who live in enclaves on the edge of the sea. The region of jungles and palm groves lining the sandy shores are not to the liking of the children of the flame and so they do not begrudge the outsiders their toeholds there. The cities are a great place to trade with the rest of the world, enjoy exotic entertainments, and duel with a mix of outsiders. The cities are also potential allies in the constant swirl of changing alliances between the barons and their dragon lords.
Red Dragonkin (Fire)
Typical Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Energy Resistance 5 (fire)
Their world is a fiery as their breath. The red-scaled dragonkin of the fire element live in the far southern regions of the world. Like their cousins in the north, the black dragonkin, they are spirited and unpredictable. The lands of the south are dominted by the heat of the elemental pole of fire. The air is hot, the ground is hot, and so is the lava which so often flows from below. The fire dragonkin thrive in such conditions, as do the Anvilglow dvarr (dwarf) clans, firenewts, flame elementals, fire giants, and other fierce peoples of the south. The red dragonkin live mostly in converted dormant volcanoes or rebuilt tangles of ancient lava tubes underground.
Fire dragonkin politics are as lively and dynamic as a bursting volcano. Alliances of barons led by individual red dragons battle and maneuver constantly, both on the fields of war and in secret parleys. The reds revel in battle and are generally contemptuous of non-dragon races unless their opponents can earn respect through victory.
The dvarr, however, are treated as the mortal enemies of the red dragonkin. The burning south is the homeland of the fire dragonkin alone, in the same manner as the black water dragonkin of the north. The dvarr early on penetrated deep into the south in search of unique metals, gems, and minerals--and found them in abundance. In addition they discovered the secrets of lava-forging techniques which can impart qualities impossible to achieve elsewhere. The dvarr are determined to keep the riches which are the source of their wealth and power and the dragonkin equally determined to drive the thieving invaders back whence they came.
On the more temperate north coast of their lands they engage in more even-handed commerce with humans and others who live in enclaves on the edge of the sea. The region of jungles and palm groves lining the sandy shores are not to the liking of the children of the flame and so they do not begrudge the outsiders their toeholds there. The cities are a great place to trade with the rest of the world, enjoy exotic entertainments, and duel with a mix of outsiders. The cities are also potential allies in the constant swirl of changing alliances between the barons and their dragon lords.
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Cthulhu of the Rings: Ideas for a Mythos Take on Middle Earth
Okay, so I just read a very thought provoking post over at Farsight Blogger entitled "Cthulhu of the Rings in the Dark Ages of Middle-earth". The post is about using the Cthulhu: Dark Ages rules to run a Middle Earth game (and worth reading), but I was immediately struck by the possibilities of running a full-on mythos based Middle Earth game where Sauron is replaced by Cthulhu or one of the other Cthulhu mythos baddies. Replacing Sauron with Cthulhu means that certain other key elements need to be altered as well. So a light retouching of Middle Earth to make it mythos could include:
The Big Boss
As mentioned above, we replace Sauron with Cthulhu. Part of the Cthulhu mythos is that Cthulhu is imprisoned deep beneath the sea in R'lyeh. So for Middle Earth R'lyeh could be beneath the Sea of Nurnen in Mordor. The Sea of Nurnen looks on the map to be roughly 150 miles long by 50 miles wide. That's about the size of Lake Ontario or the Gulf of Finland and so reasonably large. Or you could put R'lyeh somewhere out in Belegaer, the Great Sea. Another is to have him somewhere under Numenor, making the revolt of Numenor against the Valar gods a Cthulhu cult uprising. Either way Cthulhu would have an insubstantial nightmarish avatar manifested in Barad Dur.
The Ring Wraiths
In the original, these were nine human kings seduced by the lure of power into taking the rings. Eventually the fell under Sauron's will through the rings and now serve even unto death. For a Cthulhu version you could keep the ring idea, but instead of becoming undead they become immortal mutants. They would look like D&D mind flayers: a repulsive humanoid body with the head and tentacled face of Cthulhu. Maybe with the vestigial wings as well.
The Orcs
In Tolkien, orcs are cruelly corrupted elves. The idea of elves (and humans) being taken and corrupted into a monstrous race fits perfectly with the overall mythos theme. But for a mythos version they probably shouldn't look like the stereotypical big green gobliny types like in Warhammer. So, you could make "orc" a general term for corrupted versions of the major races: svirfneblin (gnome), drow (elf), duergar (dwarf), derro (halfling), and grimlocks (human). That gives you some extra variety in "orcs" while working with the mythos corruption idea.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
The Black Dragonkin
Okay, so here is the first of five posts on the five types of dragonkin which I outlined in a recent post. Each write-up will include a couple small additions to the original basic dragonkin race build and then some cultural-political notes.
Black Dragonkin (Water)
Typical Alignment: ChaoticNeutral
Energy Resistance 5 (cold)
Their scales are black but their world is white. The water dragonkin live amidst the ice and snow of the far north, separated from the rest of the world by a cold, bottomless ocean wherein lies the elemental pole of water. They share their homeland with many scattered tribes of tusk-people, isbjorn, wooly tauren, and frostwolfen. The north is currently a united kingdom but with many powerful dukes eager for a chance to be next on the throne.
Black dragonkin live in cites of ice near the coast. They even make ships of carved ice which they use to fish and to raid to the south in winter. The raiding ships are made anew each raiding season with a ritual where a captive enemy is entombed alive in the ice to give the ship a soul. In war the black dragonkin favor spears and glaives for melee and javelins and longbows of whale-bone for killing at range. Most armor and shields are of hide or leather, but they also have some made from the huge scales of giant fish from the deep. The scales come in many colors and have beautiful iridescent qualities. The ice-ships are also used for the sport of hunting the mighty orca-kraken. The great black-and-white tentacled beasts provide not only glory for the hunters but ambergris, musk oils, kraken ivory, and other items of great value.
Trade with other lands includes mostly exports of the products of fishing, whaling, and trapping. Exotic furs, ambergris, oils, musks, ivories, scales, rare meats, fermented liquors, and other items go south. Sales of those products are used to buy imports of wood, metals, gems, grains, medicines, wines, and textiles.
The realm of the north is currently ruled by King Muran Wave-Rage, a mighty water dragon. But the kingdom of the water dragons is in crisis. The three sons of the king have fled the kingdom, accused of trying to overthrow their father and divide the kingdom between them. The king is said to be on the edge of death from the failure of the high priests to revive him following an assassination attempt. The sons are also accused of trying to destroy the recent egg-spawn of their father and his new queen, because those spawn would outrank them for the succession. Queen Aleria Tide-Wing has disappeared, taking the last of her eggs into hiding. There are rumors that the sons have one egg which they hold hostage. The sons and their small fleet of follwers are said to be somewhere on the north coast of the dvarr lands, the Isfold. They bargain with dvarr pirate kings and mercenary generals to raise forces to take the kingdom. With the king rumored near death the dukes of the kingdom are already maneuvering for advantage. Three who have holdings on the north coast of the human lands are negotiating alliances and recruiting monsters for an invasion bid of their own.
Black Dragonkin (Water)
Typical Alignment: ChaoticNeutral
Energy Resistance 5 (cold)
Their scales are black but their world is white. The water dragonkin live amidst the ice and snow of the far north, separated from the rest of the world by a cold, bottomless ocean wherein lies the elemental pole of water. They share their homeland with many scattered tribes of tusk-people, isbjorn, wooly tauren, and frostwolfen. The north is currently a united kingdom but with many powerful dukes eager for a chance to be next on the throne.
Black dragonkin live in cites of ice near the coast. They even make ships of carved ice which they use to fish and to raid to the south in winter. The raiding ships are made anew each raiding season with a ritual where a captive enemy is entombed alive in the ice to give the ship a soul. In war the black dragonkin favor spears and glaives for melee and javelins and longbows of whale-bone for killing at range. Most armor and shields are of hide or leather, but they also have some made from the huge scales of giant fish from the deep. The scales come in many colors and have beautiful iridescent qualities. The ice-ships are also used for the sport of hunting the mighty orca-kraken. The great black-and-white tentacled beasts provide not only glory for the hunters but ambergris, musk oils, kraken ivory, and other items of great value.
Trade with other lands includes mostly exports of the products of fishing, whaling, and trapping. Exotic furs, ambergris, oils, musks, ivories, scales, rare meats, fermented liquors, and other items go south. Sales of those products are used to buy imports of wood, metals, gems, grains, medicines, wines, and textiles.
The realm of the north is currently ruled by King Muran Wave-Rage, a mighty water dragon. But the kingdom of the water dragons is in crisis. The three sons of the king have fled the kingdom, accused of trying to overthrow their father and divide the kingdom between them. The king is said to be on the edge of death from the failure of the high priests to revive him following an assassination attempt. The sons are also accused of trying to destroy the recent egg-spawn of their father and his new queen, because those spawn would outrank them for the succession. Queen Aleria Tide-Wing has disappeared, taking the last of her eggs into hiding. There are rumors that the sons have one egg which they hold hostage. The sons and their small fleet of follwers are said to be somewhere on the north coast of the dvarr lands, the Isfold. They bargain with dvarr pirate kings and mercenary generals to raise forces to take the kingdom. With the king rumored near death the dukes of the kingdom are already maneuvering for advantage. Three who have holdings on the north coast of the human lands are negotiating alliances and recruiting monsters for an invasion bid of their own.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
The Dragonkin Races (a fantasy race build for Pathfinder)
Okay, so for my new campaign world I am positing that when the world was created it was given five elemental poles (corresponding to the five Chinese elements of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water) to hold it together amidst the natural elemental chaos around it. A divine guardian dragon was created to protect and defend each pole. Over time several generations of dragon-kind were created, finally resulting in the dragonkin (like D&D's dragonborn). Since Pathfinder doesn't have D&D's dragonborn race I went ahead and built the race using the Advanced Race Guide. Note that the colors of each elemental sub-races are drawn from the colors corresponding to the relevant element; they are not necessarily the same as the chromatic dragon types in D&D.
Dragonkin (10 RP)
Type: Humanoid [0 RP]
Size: Medium [0 RP]
Base Speed: 30' (normal) [0 RP]
Ability Score Modifiers: [0 RP; standard]
Racial Traits:
Green Dragonkin (Wood): Energy Resistance 5 (sonic)
Red Dragonkin (Fire): Energy Resistance 5 (fire)
Yellow Dragonkin (Earth): Energy Resistance 5 (acid)
White Dragonkin (Metal): Energy Resistance 5 (lightning)
Black Dragonkin (Water): Energy Resistance 5 (cold)
Dragonkin (10 RP)
Type: Humanoid [0 RP]
Size: Medium [0 RP]
Base Speed: 30' (normal) [0 RP]
Ability Score Modifiers: [0 RP; standard]
- +2 Strength
- +2 Constitution
- -2 Intelligence
Racial Traits:
- Advanced Strength: +2 Strength [4 RP]
- Elemental Affinity [1 RP]
- Energy Resistance (5) [1 RP] (see below for specific energy type for each dragonkin sub-race)
- Natural Armor: +1 to AC [2 RP]
- Bite [1 RP]
- Low-Light Vision [1RP]
Green Dragonkin (Wood): Energy Resistance 5 (sonic)
Red Dragonkin (Fire): Energy Resistance 5 (fire)
Yellow Dragonkin (Earth): Energy Resistance 5 (acid)
White Dragonkin (Metal): Energy Resistance 5 (lightning)
Black Dragonkin (Water): Energy Resistance 5 (cold)
Sunday, May 12, 2013
RPG Blog Carnival May 2013: Campaigns I’d Like to Run
Okay, so I'm jumping into this month's RPG Blog Carnival, hosted this time over at Age of Ravens with the theme "Campaigns I'd Like to Run". Recently I've been exploring some new campaign ideas and I think that right now I have three main ideas in development.
The first and most recent is a game based on WWI, but set in an alternate universe with some steampunk and supernatural elements. Mostly it would be a series of "dungeon" crawls in huge fortress complexes. But there would also be outdoor travel to new unexplored fortresses and friendly bases, as well as other types of missions to mix in other adventures besides just straight dungeon crawls. I would do the outdoor adventuring as a hex crawl, where the squad makes its way across a vast shattered landscape laced with trenches and struggles to stay alive. But I do worry that the WWI genre, even an alternate steampunk/supernatural version, is limited in scope. So maybe it would be best as a mini-campaign with the overall goal being to clear a certain set of fortresses in order to make a difference in the overall war (or perhaps to discover that ultimately nothing makes any difference and the slaughter will continue regardless). There are a number of rules sets which could be used for this game. My immediate go-to rules would be d20 Modern, perhaps with d20 Past (which I don't actually own yet). I know d20 Modern isn't popular but I find it easy to run: I ran a couple Warhammer 40,000 scenarios with it using just the core book.
Another game which I've been thinking over for a very long time is a mecha game. Now, for me "mecha" really means the flying/transforming kind as in RoboTech and Gundam. RoboTech was my introduction to mecha and that concept has stuck with me ever since. When it comes to developing a campaign framework, however, there are several things which I'm having a struggle working out to my satisfaction. One is that it is a military setting. That limits the players' ability to make decisions (well, without getting in trouble with command). Thus it could devolve into the GM (me) just running them through a series of combat missions in very railroady fashion. In proper anime style I would balance the combat missions with plenty of drama back at the base ship. There would be rival squadrons, difficult and quirky individuals in the crew, romance, food fights in the mess hall, uncooperative robot vending machines, etc. Another problem area is a more crunchy one: how to model very high-speed, three dimensional aerial combat. I've worked some ideas already on how to handle a dogfight abstractly, but I feel it falls apart a bit in modeling several separate simultaneous dogfights dispersed over a large area. There is also the question of how crunchy to get with the combat rules. In any game based around a combat vehicle, such as mecha, pirate ships, or Mad Max cars, the cool technology involved a huge part of the action. The players will probably want to wallow in all the technical bits, particularly those into optimizing their play. That's all fine, but I worry that the combat may come to resemble a stodgy miniatures game rather than the sort of fluid, cinematic, high-voltage sort of action I want. Hmm, must think more on this aspect.
And that leads into the third campaign idea: CthulhuTech. This could merge in with the mecha campaign idea because CthulhuTech has mecha. Using the CthulhuTech campaign world would lead to a game which is Cthulhu mythos flavored rather than anime. I love the whole idea behind CthulhuTech but it contains so many different campaign concepts that I want to try them all out. Actually, probably the first game I'll run is a survival horror one set in the aftermath of destruction by an army of cultists and creatures. I already wrote this one up for Gnome Stew's New Year, New Game Carnival for 2013. You can read about it here.
So there they are, the Campaigns I'd Like to Run (at the moment).
The first and most recent is a game based on WWI, but set in an alternate universe with some steampunk and supernatural elements. Mostly it would be a series of "dungeon" crawls in huge fortress complexes. But there would also be outdoor travel to new unexplored fortresses and friendly bases, as well as other types of missions to mix in other adventures besides just straight dungeon crawls. I would do the outdoor adventuring as a hex crawl, where the squad makes its way across a vast shattered landscape laced with trenches and struggles to stay alive. But I do worry that the WWI genre, even an alternate steampunk/supernatural version, is limited in scope. So maybe it would be best as a mini-campaign with the overall goal being to clear a certain set of fortresses in order to make a difference in the overall war (or perhaps to discover that ultimately nothing makes any difference and the slaughter will continue regardless). There are a number of rules sets which could be used for this game. My immediate go-to rules would be d20 Modern, perhaps with d20 Past (which I don't actually own yet). I know d20 Modern isn't popular but I find it easy to run: I ran a couple Warhammer 40,000 scenarios with it using just the core book.
Another game which I've been thinking over for a very long time is a mecha game. Now, for me "mecha" really means the flying/transforming kind as in RoboTech and Gundam. RoboTech was my introduction to mecha and that concept has stuck with me ever since. When it comes to developing a campaign framework, however, there are several things which I'm having a struggle working out to my satisfaction. One is that it is a military setting. That limits the players' ability to make decisions (well, without getting in trouble with command). Thus it could devolve into the GM (me) just running them through a series of combat missions in very railroady fashion. In proper anime style I would balance the combat missions with plenty of drama back at the base ship. There would be rival squadrons, difficult and quirky individuals in the crew, romance, food fights in the mess hall, uncooperative robot vending machines, etc. Another problem area is a more crunchy one: how to model very high-speed, three dimensional aerial combat. I've worked some ideas already on how to handle a dogfight abstractly, but I feel it falls apart a bit in modeling several separate simultaneous dogfights dispersed over a large area. There is also the question of how crunchy to get with the combat rules. In any game based around a combat vehicle, such as mecha, pirate ships, or Mad Max cars, the cool technology involved a huge part of the action. The players will probably want to wallow in all the technical bits, particularly those into optimizing their play. That's all fine, but I worry that the combat may come to resemble a stodgy miniatures game rather than the sort of fluid, cinematic, high-voltage sort of action I want. Hmm, must think more on this aspect.
And that leads into the third campaign idea: CthulhuTech. This could merge in with the mecha campaign idea because CthulhuTech has mecha. Using the CthulhuTech campaign world would lead to a game which is Cthulhu mythos flavored rather than anime. I love the whole idea behind CthulhuTech but it contains so many different campaign concepts that I want to try them all out. Actually, probably the first game I'll run is a survival horror one set in the aftermath of destruction by an army of cultists and creatures. I already wrote this one up for Gnome Stew's New Year, New Game Carnival for 2013. You can read about it here.
So there they are, the Campaigns I'd Like to Run (at the moment).
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