Look, we all know Jeff, let's get on with it.
Brief Introduction: The Old Frontier
The Dread Emperor rules, has ruled, will always rule from the Mightiest of Cities, Babylon, seat of the Throne, and from his Basalt Throne he stretched his hand across all the Empire and beneath his benevolent gaze, mankind flourishes.
In theory at least.
In reality, the Duchy of Brockenwold is far, far from the vital beating heart of civilisation. The frontier has stood here for centuries, ebbing and surging back and forth, cities and towns blooming and wilting in turn, no-one even knows anymore if the ruined cities in the mountains are the corpses of Imperial cities or the ailing remnants of even older ages. This is just as far as humanity can go, there is nothing worth having beyond the Brockenmoors or the Saurmachts. Some things are certain though.
Something isn't right about the Duchy.
There are (utterly spurious of course) claims that monsters roam the moors, and beasts and creatures of legend, things that cannot and should not be, roam the Eldenwode, and there are even whispers of Gods.
Someone needs to sort these out, and put the old tales to rest.
1. What is the deal with my cleric's religion?
There are two religions in the Empire, the Church of the Angels, and the Faiths of the Saints. There are most certainly, no Gods. This fact is not contested within the Empire, people just sort of... know it. Feel it in their bones, there are no celestial benefactors of divine will and power. Mankind is nearly alone.
This is where the Angels and the Saints come in. Angels protect man from the goodness of their hearts, in exchange for reverence. Saints are the creation of men, self-made heroes to keep the darkness of the world at bay, and defend the bright but feeble hearts of men from devils and demons.
Think of them something like the Catholic and Protestant Churches, roughly. They do the same thing, in theory, and they tolerate each other, barely.
There are Saints of many, many things. I have about 30 or so of them, one day I will do a post about them.
The Angels are a pretty uniform bunch. Very aloof, very imperious.
Some particularly degenerate (noble's words, not mine) foreigners (even in the Empire of All Humanity there are still, somehow, foreigners) supposedly worship gods, bright burning gods. But they are of course, delusional. Gods don't exist. At least, not any more.
2. Where can we go to buy standard equipment?
Many towns and some villages will have your basic blacksmiths who can repair and maybe even make basic weapons and arms. You'll have to go to the bigger towns and even cities to find the more competent blacksmiths to forge proper adventuring equipment. The blacksmiths of the biggest cities (which are beyond the borders of the Duchy) can make you arms and armour of the greatest art and magnitude.
3. Where can we go to get platemail custom fitted for this monster I just befriended?
You can't. Monsters don't exists.
For people of... differing proportions however, you will need custom fitted armour, and so you'll probably want to go to the more proficient blacksmiths of the larger towns. Brygge and Regensburg (the duchy capital) are your best bets.
4. Who is the mightiest wizard in the land?
Wizards are a quiet bunch, its hard to tell. Most certainly the Cardinal (who dwells near the Cathedral of Silburn) is well versed in esoteric lore, and some of Duke Hatori's men are supposedly quite proficient in the Subtle Arts, but who can tell?
In the darker corners, by those who profess the trade of Hedge-Magics, the name of Nakvisa is whispered in hushed tones. Nakvisa has yet to announce themselves to the world, however.
5. Who is the greatest warrior in the land?
There are several contenders for this title. Cazimir, the Dogskin knight has supposedly never lost a fight, though this is more than likely the fact that he never fights fair when he can help it.
Most would point at the highest ranked soldier, and left hand of the Duke, Capitan Grace, as certainly the finest traditional swordsman to enjoy prominence and a name, but whether he is the best? Uncertain.
On some of the wilder fringes, there is a new name rising, Vermont, called 'Swiftblade', but there will have to be more of this name to determine the truth of it.
6. Who is the richest person in the land?
Certainly the Duke, Don Hatori. His taxes are legendary, his coffers, more so. No one else even comes close.
7. Where can we go to get some magical healing?
Magical healing is vanishingly rare, granted only by certain Saints and particularly soft-hearted Angels. Seek out the Shrines and Temples, there are at least one in every village, multiples in towns and cities, perhaps you find some there.
The Cardinal has been known to perform healing miracles from time to time, but good luck getting an appointment with him in his lifetime.
8. Where can we go to get cures for the following conditions: poison, disease, curse, level drain, lycanthropy, polymorph, alignment change, death, undeath?
Pffft... most people don't even know those things exist. Still probably the Cardinal. Mundane curses can be broken by Witch-Finders though. They are your best bet on curses for sure.
You could go to an Alchemist or a Physician for poisons or diseases if you're brave. Very brave.
9. Is there a magic guild my MU belongs to or that I can join in order to get more spells?
No, Wizards don't even officially exist. If you want to learn wizardry, you need to find a Wizard to learn from. Or a Witch, they're a little more unsavoury though.
Hedge Magic you can learn from anyone who already knows it though.
10. Where can I find an alchemist, sage or other expert NPC?
Some villages will have one. Many towns will have one, or even more. Cities are your best bet, they'll possibly even have multiple of what you're looking for.
11. Where can I hire mercenaries?
It'll probably have to be Regensburg, the Duchy Capital. There won't be bands of them, just individuals and small groups. Politics are quiet here on the very edge of civilisation.
12. Is there any place on the map where swords are illegal, magic is outlawed or any other notable hassles from Johnny Law?
There's nothing silly like that, but security is tightest in the Towns and most of all in the cities. Regensburg is positively authoritarian, if the Duke is a street over you'd best hide from the Town Watch.
Out in the countryside however, there are other concerns. The Witch-Finders are always on the prowl, and without the close oversight of their Urban task masters, more zealous hunters might just dish out a little discretionary justice if they think you smell off.
Notably, Johnny Law is rather heavy handed in Brygge. Baron Nathair is somewhat cautious at the moment for some reason.
13. Which way to the nearest tavern?
Most villages will have at least one. The ones that don't are sad villages indeed.
14. What monsters are terrorizing the countryside sufficiently that if I kill them I will become famous?
Oh, there are lots of stories; The Beast of the Brockenmoor; Nakati, Black Goat of the Woods; the Whisperer in the Web; Tash, the Breath-Taker; the Grotlyn and her broods; the list goes on. Of course, none of them actually exist, as any proper folk could tell you. Bringing back proof would certainly spread your name far and wide.
15. Are there any wars brewing I could go fight?
Nah, the world is too old and tired for that. Maybe when his Dread Majesty finally dies a succession war might tear apart the empire. We can all hope I suppose.
16. How about gladiatorial arenas complete with hard-won glory and fabulous cash prizes?
Rare, but certainly Don Hatori is a big fan of Gladiatorial Battles. So, Regensberg then.
17. Are there any secret societies with sinister agendas I could join and/or fight?
No.
Well of course there are, but they're secret.
There's something called the Foundation, but no-one knows what it is. Don Hatori supposedly has a sect of Secret Police, but there's no proof obviously.
There are many cults throughout the world. Lady Dusts is a fairly prominent name in that regard. Many foolish people who think they have found a god, when in reality it is anything but. They only ever find out the truth when it is too late.
18. What is there to eat around here?
Pffft. Bread? Meat if you're lucky/pay well for it. Its better out in the cities though. Apparently places out on the coast of Eidolmeer have a rather good line in sea food.
19. Any legendary lost treasures I could be looking for?
Loads, the Three Swords of the Ancient Kings, the Five Links of the Sorcerer, the Cursed Pearl Blades, loads. Thing is, they're all legends.
20. Where is the nearest dragon or other monster with Type H treasure?
Well, apart from there not being any such thing as a monster...
Supposedly, deep, deep in the Sauermacht peaks, there is a Dragon...
Brygge: Town of The Serpent Baron
I warn you in advance, this thing knows no bounds in terms of disorganisation...
A town, ruled by a Tyrant, with an invisible serpent around his neck that whispers magic in his ears. If he can just crush the Resistance, and erase the last traces of subversion, he could become a god...
2 - The Slithering Priest, Donovon Lascal - Has three acolytes, and they pretend to be adherents of a Saint of Guile and Wit. They are merely sycophants of the Baron and his Parasite-Spirit, and have been granted powers by the spirit.
3 - The Three Lieutenants - Granted minor powers by the Baron, they are his right hand, and main agents in the town.
4 - The Baron's Fangs - Assassins of the highest calibre, most of the town aren't even aware they exist.
5 - The Basilisk - Dwelling beneath the castle, most of the town believe it to merely be a legend.
6 - The Whispering Deceiver - The Serpent Spirit who has attached itself to the Baron. Incredibly selfish, self-serving, and sycophantic. Final goal is to become strong enough to challenge Yig for patronage of the Serpent-men, though for now, the Baron has shackled its will to his.
2 - The Temple of the Scaled Saint - A front for worship of the Deceiver, where the Slithering Priest dwells and spreads the whispers of the Serpent.
3 - The Secret Dungeons - Where the political prisoners of the town are thrown. 2 in particular are kept in padded cells, and are pumped full of all manners of poisons, and enchanted so that they will not die from the corruption coursing through them. Every so often, the Baron sends loyal cultists to extract some of the poison running through their veins...
4 - The Seven Stars Tavern - A hub of dissenters against the Baron's rule, the Resistance. Secret as of yet. Connections to a secret underground hideout beneath the Shrine of Saint Thomas.
5 - The Drowning Posts - Where executions take place, people are tied to posts and left to sink down into muck and suffocate. Officially only used for murder, arson, and treason. Many political prisoners end up here unannounced.
6 - The True Temple - Down beneath the town, where worship of the Serpent and the Baron is conducted openly and nakedly.
2 - The Minx's Eyes - Twin gemstones named for a Minx-shaped spirit who gifted them to humanity as a ward against poisons.
3 - Many Potent Poisons - He breeds them within a pair of desperately wretched prisoners in the secret dungeons.
4 - Rod of Fangs - Wielded by the Serpent Priest, partially transforms into a serpent, and is a catalyst for spells.
5 - The Baron's Treasury - Full to bursting with years and years of harsh taxes and fines.
6 - The Snake-Skin Bracers - Allow you to see through your sense of smell, even if otherwise blinded.
He will break the whole world, if he can.
He is normally quite charming, and a dab-handed liar. You'd never suspect he leads an insidious cabal.
Knows three spells; Hypnotic Gaze, Snake Swarm, and Scale Skin.
Aside from his spear, he wields a great Butcher's Blade, which can be wielded one handed only if you have 15 or higher strength. It has a series of groves which allow it to hold twice as much liquid as a normal sword might be able to (poison in every case for the Baron).
Once per day, he can exude a poison breath, which deals 1 damage for each point which the victim's saving throw fails by. If the save result is a 1, they are instantly on 1 hit point if they wouldn't be lower.
Every other round, can replace one of his normal attacks with a special grapple, which if successful, can then consume another attack, to throw the grappled creature as a ranged weapon dealing bludgeoning weapon as a javelin, and knocking both targets prone on a hit.
If he is ever reduced to 0 hit points and not killed outright, he will consume the Deceiver's spirit, and become a Serpent Demon as a last ditch effort to survive.
2 - Huge Frame - At least a head taller than the tallest party member (usually at least)
3 - Slightly too large Incisors
4 - Ermine Cape - He really freaking hates ferrets and such animals
5 - Serpent Theme - Seems merely fuedal at first...
6 - Surprisingly thin Cheeks
2 - Butcher's Blade - Detailed above.
3 - Serpent Scale Armour - AC as Half-Plate, with no other penalties.
4 - Twin Fang Ring - Can hold enough venom for one dose, which can be delivered almost undetectably with a touch by two, needle sharp fangs.
5 - Blessings of the Serpent - The Spells and Poison Breath detailed above.
6 - A Small Pouch of Poison Vials - Mostly hidden by his clothes and cloak, it contains holders for three vials of particularly virulent poisons, though these must be administered as usual.
2 - Urguyle the Wise - A wizard of some small power, he lives on Beech Street, between two empty lots, as the houses that used to stand there burnt down mysteriously. Not powerful enough to resist the Baron alone, and as of yet has incurred no bad blood between them. This cannot last forever. Has a decent magical library.
3 - Barkeeper Yuvio - A key member of the Resistance, and Proprietor of the Seven Stars Tavern, the cellars of which are used to co-ordinate the Resistance's efforts. Brave and steadfast, will cover the other Resistance members' escape to the Shrine of Saint Thomas through the secret cellar tunnels, a ploy which has so far seen them elude suspicion.
4 - Father Remmel - Head priest of the Shrine of Saint Thomas. Has an assistant, Harren, but they are desperately underfunded due to the taxes of the Baron. Sympathetic to the Resistance, but as of now, they are unwilling to commit to openly opposing the Baron.
5 - Notary - Celebrity - Scion of an Old Bloodline: Lord Elias Sturngart - Distantly related to the old ruling family of the county. They haven't ruled in decades, and he is disinterested in the responsibility, but he has the strongest claim to the title after the Serpent Baron. Lives in the Sturngart Manor on Rose Alley.
6 - Dweller - Shaman - Purge the Guilty: Ruffick (Words-in-Stones) - Seeks to destroy those who have debased their souls (The Baron and the Priests) and the Spirit who has lead them astray. As of yet does not know who it is the town, does not yet suspect the Baron. Lives in the woods just outside the city.
7 - Agent - Secret Police - Break the Local Faith: Office Nathan Shultz - An Agent of the Corrupt Lord, and a member of the Foundation. While the CL is not yet aware of the Baron's disloyalty, Nathan is on a mission to break the faith of the locals, as part of the CL's wider initiative, and will soon come across evidence of the liberties the Baron has been taking. Staying at the Haberdashers on Ash Street.
8 - Foreigner - Brass Bastard - Take Revenge on Someone: Silas Am'Thrick - Seeks revenge on the Slithering Priest, they have bad blood between them. Silas sought his metal as part of an old downward spiral because of what the Priest did to him. Hiding in the Town Sewers, plotting.
9 - Dweller - War Veteran - The Siege of Ulm: Ered Thuringen - A veteran of the coup that crowned the Corrupt Lord, he is a stalwart support of the CL, and won't stand to see him so openly disregarded by the Serpent Baron. Living on Oak Street.
10 - Foreigner - Angel - Bury the Dead: Raphael - Seeks to release the souls of those executed at the Drowning Posts, their preserved organs won't release them. Will help only so long as their task is done. Once its finished, they are gone.
11 - Undesirable - Changling - Secure a Life of Luxury: Scrilk - Did not wish to be what it is, but it won't let that stop it from using its gifts to take what it wants. Hasn't considered replacing the Baron, thinks its too risky to do alone, currently has its sights set on Lord Sturngart, thinking that he is rich, but out of the way. Currently has replaced on the Sturngart's servants.
12 - Agent - Bounty Hunter - Inflitrate the Circle of Meira the Heretic: Hogen Grent - Meira is one of the Slithering Priest's acolytes, and leads a sub-cult in her own time. The Serpent Baron set the Bounty Hunter on them without knowing that they are one and the same, wanting all worship within his own cult. Staying at the Severn Stars Tavern.
1 - Captain Drummond - Leads the larger unit of footmen, and overall commander of the town watch. Cruel in a cold, detached sort of way. Unshakable. Keeps his left arm tucked inside his cloak at all times, since it is infact a serpent attached to his shoulder. Wields a duelist's rapier.
Has quarters on Oak Street.
2 - Captain Caid - Leader of the "Green Rain" archer unit. Disinterested in the whole cult deal, very much interested in the power it brings, so is willing to play along. Can spit caustic venom up to 20 feet.
Has quarters on Ash Street, which he shares with a girlfriend, who is in hiding from her vengeful husband.
3 - Lieutenant Farron - Leads the smaller unit of footmen, zealous and righteous. Wields a two-handed battle axe. Can hypnotise with his gaze over a minute at any time, or with a glance once per day.
Has quarters on Cedar street.
4 - The Footmen - Consisting of 2 Units, 1 of 15 men lead by the Captain Drummond, one of 9 lead by the lieutenant. All mere spearmen with swords too, almost all (80%) inductees of the Serpent Cult.
5 - The Green Rain - A unit of 12 archers lead by Captain Caid, who use poisoned arrows.
6 - Yara, the Honest Watchmen - One of the most stalwartly anti-cult members of the watch. Pretends to be merely indifferent to avoid suspicion and probable execution. Diligently gathers information about the cult, hoping to bring it down from the edges.
When they are not "on duty", they live in spartan quarters in the Secret Dungeons.
The three Acolytes are Meira, Jaimie, and Peiter, and they each know one of Donovon's spells, in the order given above. Meira has taken matters into her own hands in regards to furthering their faith, and has started a sub-cult of her own in secret. If it grows enough, she might be a force to be reckoned with.
The Acolytes live in quarters in the False-Shrine of Darian, in the Town Square, but Donovon has private quarters in the Baron's Castle.
2 - The Town Square - Set before the castle, the Serpent Baron adjudicates court cases in front of the people here, and makes announcements every so often. Well patrolled by the watch.
3 - Rattle Street Market - Though there are some stalls that are open all week, on the first two days of the week, the nearby farms will bring out whatever produce they do have. On those days, the streets nearby are congested beyond belief. The town watch doesn't go there on those days.
4 - The Cellars on Wooden Street - Owned almost completely by the Baron and rented to poor serfs who can't afford the rent and are thus utterly trapped. The cellars themselves are used to store all kinds of slightly illegal material. The serfs can't complain. The ones that try, disappear. Most Cult activity takes place here, and it contains an entrance to the True Temple, and is the main entrance to the Secret Dungeons.
5 - Rodrigo's Haberdashery - A front for the Secret Police in Brygge, the Serpent Baron does not suspect, but if he did, it would not take long for him to discover the deception. On Ash Street.
6 - The Town Sewers - Not particularly extensive, but a culvert on the western walls does run through both the Sturngart estate, and the western-most watch tower of the Baron's castle.
7 - Dice House: The Smiling Siren - The premier arena of luck outside Regensburg as the owner would say, the Smiling Siren has attracted a rather large clientel of both those who hold the Baron's favour, and those who have earned his ire and have large 'debts to the state' to pay off. Run by a weaselly fellow by the name of Hacken, he isn't particularly threatening, but his three thugs are. Lieutenant Farron has a bit of a habit here, and has racked up a bit of a debt, which the house has as of yet been understandably unwilling to attempt to collect. Hogen the Bounty Hunter has been frequenting this place too, asking around subtlety for information on his mark. On Cedar Street.
8 - Brothel: Madame Salaciea's - Not quite so seedy as others, but not great. The main selling point is the great discretion the Madame offers for guests of... unsavory appetites. Captain Caid frequents the place. Elias Sturngart makes the occasional incognito visit here. On Rattle Street.
9 - Fair: Saint Thomas' Feast - A week-long feast that began just yesterday in fact, a long table is laid for a meal in front of Saint Thomas' Shrine, and food is brought out for any and all to enjoy just before sun-down. So far this act of good will has gone unopposed. The Resistance, among others, will use it as a meeting point, and the Baron will grow suspicious of it.
10 - A Beautiful Shrine: Shrine of Saint Thomas - One of the last remaining establishments not touched by the Baron's Cult, will offer sanctuary and aid to any and all that need it, especially those not well-liked by the Baron. On Willow Street.
11 - A Statue of an Old Hero: Statue of Lucian the Dragon-Crusher - The founder of the town who supposedly wrestled control of the area from a fearsome dragon. In the Town Square.
12 - A Beautiful Garden: The Snowdrop's Waltz - A Spiral path through many pale flowers. A private meeting point for the Resistance. Just off the Town Square.
Her cult currently has 3d4 members.
Once the whole business is resolved one way or the other, treat this as an "An NPC disappears" instead.
Once the whole business is resolved one way or the other, treat this as an "An NPC disappears" instead.
14 - Ered Thuringen Surges Forth! - When this result is rolled, Ered joins forces with a party aligned against the Baron (randomly chosen from; The Resistance, The Secret Police, and Ruffick the Shaman). If this result is rolled again while he is free, they make an attempt on the Baron's life. They always fail, and Ered (along with other named characters) is thrown into the Secret Dungeon. If this result is rolled while Ered is in a Watch Cell (see below) he daringly escapes!
Once the whole business is resolved one way or the other, treat this as an "An NPC disappears" instead.
15 - Ered Thuringen is Arrested - His speaking out against the Baron can be ignored no longer, and he is thrown into a cell in the Watch Barracks. If this result is rolled again while Ered is in the Cell, he is then sent to the Secret Dungeons.
Once the whole business is resolved one way or the other, treat this as an "An NPC disappears" instead.
16 - Silas Am'Thrick confronts Donovon - In the Town Square, there is a rather explosive confrontation between Donovon and Silas. There is a 3 in 6 chance that Silas kills Donovon, who is succeeded by Meira as if she had usurped him. There is only a 1 in 6 chance that Donovon kills Silas. If Silas wins, or just isn't killed, he has to then roll a dice below what he previously scored to escape. Otherwise the town watch catch him, and he is thrown into the Secret Dungeon for the Baron's curiousity, he has never seen a Brass Bastard before...
Once the whole business is resolved one way or the other, treat this as an "An NPC disappears" instead.
17 - Caid and Elias cross paths - When this is rolled, Caid discovers Elias' more... improper tastes in women, and blackmails him for money. The second time this is rolled, it happens again, and Caid and his mistress have enough wealth to skip town, never to be seen again.
Once the whole business is resolved one way or the other, treat this as an "An NPC disappears" instead.
18 - The Bounty Hunter tracks down Meira - Meira's treachery and heresy is discovered by the Bounty Hunter. There is a 5 in 6 chance that Meira can bribe Hogen to be quiet. Each time afterwards, Hogen wants more money for his silence, and the roll must be made again, with a cumulative -2 modifier. When the roll is finally failed, Meira is sent to the Drowning Posts, and Hogen leaves town with a rather fat purse.
Once the whole business is resolved one way or the other, treat this as an "An NPC disappears" instead.
19 - The Resistance's Aims Advance - So Below.
20 - The Resistance's Aims Advance - The first time this is rolled, the Resistance covers one of their Requirements (see later). Each subsequent roll, there is a 2 in 6 chance that the Resistance makes their move. If they do, roll a d10. If they roll under the number of needs they have covered, they overthrow the Serpent Baron, and free Brygge from the Serpent Cult. If they fail, they will all be thrown into the Secret Dungeons. If they don't make their move, they cover a new need instead.
1 - Barkeeper Yuvio
2 - Father Remmel
3 - Harren, Remmel's Aprentic
4 - Elias Sturngart
5 - Ruffick
6 - Silas Am'Thrick
7 - Ered Thuringen
8 - Raphael
9 - Yara, the Honest Watchman
10 - Officer Nathan Shultz
11 - Hacken
12 - Meira the Heretic
Disloyal NPCs can be rescued from the Secret Dungeons, though after the first time someone/a group escapes, security increases so much that it is almost impossible to break out anyone else without defeating the Baron in full.
A town, ruled by a Tyrant, with an invisible serpent around his neck that whispers magic in his ears. If he can just crush the Resistance, and erase the last traces of subversion, he could become a god...
Terrors
1 - The Serpent Baron, Nathair Illiad - The cruel and imposing ruler of the town, blessed by a powerful serpent spirit who has developed a symbiotic dependency to the Baron. Dreams of ascension to Anti-Sainthood, though he doesn't see it that way, and of usurping the Duchy from Don Hatori.2 - The Slithering Priest, Donovon Lascal - Has three acolytes, and they pretend to be adherents of a Saint of Guile and Wit. They are merely sycophants of the Baron and his Parasite-Spirit, and have been granted powers by the spirit.
3 - The Three Lieutenants - Granted minor powers by the Baron, they are his right hand, and main agents in the town.
4 - The Baron's Fangs - Assassins of the highest calibre, most of the town aren't even aware they exist.
5 - The Basilisk - Dwelling beneath the castle, most of the town believe it to merely be a legend.
6 - The Whispering Deceiver - The Serpent Spirit who has attached itself to the Baron. Incredibly selfish, self-serving, and sycophantic. Final goal is to become strong enough to challenge Yig for patronage of the Serpent-men, though for now, the Baron has shackled its will to his.
Features
1 - The Baron's Castle - Has traits like the Corrupt Lord's. Serpent themeing is kept pretty subtle for the most part. Has entrances to the True Temple, and a tunnel to the Secret Dungeons underneath Wooden Street.2 - The Temple of the Scaled Saint - A front for worship of the Deceiver, where the Slithering Priest dwells and spreads the whispers of the Serpent.
3 - The Secret Dungeons - Where the political prisoners of the town are thrown. 2 in particular are kept in padded cells, and are pumped full of all manners of poisons, and enchanted so that they will not die from the corruption coursing through them. Every so often, the Baron sends loyal cultists to extract some of the poison running through their veins...
4 - The Seven Stars Tavern - A hub of dissenters against the Baron's rule, the Resistance. Secret as of yet. Connections to a secret underground hideout beneath the Shrine of Saint Thomas.
5 - The Drowning Posts - Where executions take place, people are tied to posts and left to sink down into muck and suffocate. Officially only used for murder, arson, and treason. Many political prisoners end up here unannounced.
6 - The True Temple - Down beneath the town, where worship of the Serpent and the Baron is conducted openly and nakedly.
Treasures
1 - The Baron's Spear - Master-work spear, the blade appears to erupt from the gaping mouth of a serpent; enchanted to transform into a serpent when the fangs of the serpent head taste blood.2 - The Minx's Eyes - Twin gemstones named for a Minx-shaped spirit who gifted them to humanity as a ward against poisons.
3 - Many Potent Poisons - He breeds them within a pair of desperately wretched prisoners in the secret dungeons.
4 - Rod of Fangs - Wielded by the Serpent Priest, partially transforms into a serpent, and is a catalyst for spells.
5 - The Baron's Treasury - Full to bursting with years and years of harsh taxes and fines.
6 - The Snake-Skin Bracers - Allow you to see through your sense of smell, even if otherwise blinded.
The Serpent Baron
He found the Whispering Deceiver out in the forest one day, wrapped around the neck of a beautiful woman, compelling her to catch and swallow mice whole for it. He took both for his own, and broke their spirits, they now both serve him.He will break the whole world, if he can.
He is normally quite charming, and a dab-handed liar. You'd never suspect he leads an insidious cabal.
Knows three spells; Hypnotic Gaze, Snake Swarm, and Scale Skin.
Aside from his spear, he wields a great Butcher's Blade, which can be wielded one handed only if you have 15 or higher strength. It has a series of groves which allow it to hold twice as much liquid as a normal sword might be able to (poison in every case for the Baron).
Once per day, he can exude a poison breath, which deals 1 damage for each point which the victim's saving throw fails by. If the save result is a 1, they are instantly on 1 hit point if they wouldn't be lower.
Every other round, can replace one of his normal attacks with a special grapple, which if successful, can then consume another attack, to throw the grappled creature as a ranged weapon dealing bludgeoning weapon as a javelin, and knocking both targets prone on a hit.
If he is ever reduced to 0 hit points and not killed outright, he will consume the Deceiver's spirit, and become a Serpent Demon as a last ditch effort to survive.
The Serpent Baron's Appearance
1 - Green Slitted Eyes2 - Huge Frame - At least a head taller than the tallest party member (usually at least)
3 - Slightly too large Incisors
4 - Ermine Cape - He really freaking hates ferrets and such animals
5 - Serpent Theme - Seems merely fuedal at first...
6 - Surprisingly thin Cheeks
The Serpent Baron's Equipment
1 - The Serpent Headed Spear - When it deals maximum damage on an attack, it transforms into a 3HD serpent to fight for the Baron. If killed, the serpent reverts back to spear form; the haft will be broken, but it is the spear-blade and its setting that are actually magical.2 - Butcher's Blade - Detailed above.
3 - Serpent Scale Armour - AC as Half-Plate, with no other penalties.
4 - Twin Fang Ring - Can hold enough venom for one dose, which can be delivered almost undetectably with a touch by two, needle sharp fangs.
5 - Blessings of the Serpent - The Spells and Poison Breath detailed above.
6 - A Small Pouch of Poison Vials - Mostly hidden by his clothes and cloak, it contains holders for three vials of particularly virulent poisons, though these must be administered as usual.
The Baron's Ascension
Should the Baron's plans advance far enough, or he is driven to out of desperation, the Baron can begin his ascension on the Night of the Full Moon. At the end of a lengthy ritual, which takes the whole day beforehand, and is very vulnerable to interruption, and culminates at the stroke of Sun-Down, the Baron will then be suddenly encased within a great egg. During this time, he must be bathed in the light of the full-moon as much as possible. Cloud is not enough to disrupt it, unless it is supernaturally thick, but if he is out of the light for a full 10 minutes, the ritual fails, and he will hatch still human. The egg is otherwise invincible, except to high-level magic, for the duration of the Night. During this time, if the Resistance is still active and knows of the Ritual, they will attempt to interrupt it and will be successful on a 4 in 6 chance. If the ritual succeeds however, he emerges a great, Serpent-Man hybrid with the strength of a god, or close to one. If it fails, he is human, and human forever. Therefore, he will only voluntarily undergo the ritual if he is certain he is entirely safe, since it is so delicate, and there is little margin for error.
Notable NPCs in the Town
1 - Mazdan Hobburn, the Master Blacksmith - one of the most skilled smiths this side of the capital, he forged the Baron's weapons and armour. Has no stake in the politics of the town, but obeys the call of money faithfully and discretely, if offered enough. His premises are in the Town Square.2 - Urguyle the Wise - A wizard of some small power, he lives on Beech Street, between two empty lots, as the houses that used to stand there burnt down mysteriously. Not powerful enough to resist the Baron alone, and as of yet has incurred no bad blood between them. This cannot last forever. Has a decent magical library.
3 - Barkeeper Yuvio - A key member of the Resistance, and Proprietor of the Seven Stars Tavern, the cellars of which are used to co-ordinate the Resistance's efforts. Brave and steadfast, will cover the other Resistance members' escape to the Shrine of Saint Thomas through the secret cellar tunnels, a ploy which has so far seen them elude suspicion.
4 - Father Remmel - Head priest of the Shrine of Saint Thomas. Has an assistant, Harren, but they are desperately underfunded due to the taxes of the Baron. Sympathetic to the Resistance, but as of now, they are unwilling to commit to openly opposing the Baron.
5 - Notary - Celebrity - Scion of an Old Bloodline: Lord Elias Sturngart - Distantly related to the old ruling family of the county. They haven't ruled in decades, and he is disinterested in the responsibility, but he has the strongest claim to the title after the Serpent Baron. Lives in the Sturngart Manor on Rose Alley.
6 - Dweller - Shaman - Purge the Guilty: Ruffick (Words-in-Stones) - Seeks to destroy those who have debased their souls (The Baron and the Priests) and the Spirit who has lead them astray. As of yet does not know who it is the town, does not yet suspect the Baron. Lives in the woods just outside the city.
7 - Agent - Secret Police - Break the Local Faith: Office Nathan Shultz - An Agent of the Corrupt Lord, and a member of the Foundation. While the CL is not yet aware of the Baron's disloyalty, Nathan is on a mission to break the faith of the locals, as part of the CL's wider initiative, and will soon come across evidence of the liberties the Baron has been taking. Staying at the Haberdashers on Ash Street.
8 - Foreigner - Brass Bastard - Take Revenge on Someone: Silas Am'Thrick - Seeks revenge on the Slithering Priest, they have bad blood between them. Silas sought his metal as part of an old downward spiral because of what the Priest did to him. Hiding in the Town Sewers, plotting.
9 - Dweller - War Veteran - The Siege of Ulm: Ered Thuringen - A veteran of the coup that crowned the Corrupt Lord, he is a stalwart support of the CL, and won't stand to see him so openly disregarded by the Serpent Baron. Living on Oak Street.
10 - Foreigner - Angel - Bury the Dead: Raphael - Seeks to release the souls of those executed at the Drowning Posts, their preserved organs won't release them. Will help only so long as their task is done. Once its finished, they are gone.
11 - Undesirable - Changling - Secure a Life of Luxury: Scrilk - Did not wish to be what it is, but it won't let that stop it from using its gifts to take what it wants. Hasn't considered replacing the Baron, thinks its too risky to do alone, currently has its sights set on Lord Sturngart, thinking that he is rich, but out of the way. Currently has replaced on the Sturngart's servants.
12 - Agent - Bounty Hunter - Inflitrate the Circle of Meira the Heretic: Hogen Grent - Meira is one of the Slithering Priest's acolytes, and leads a sub-cult in her own time. The Serpent Baron set the Bounty Hunter on them without knowing that they are one and the same, wanting all worship within his own cult. Staying at the Severn Stars Tavern.
The Town Watch
All three Officers have the following gifts of the Serpent: Darkvision (based on scent), slitted eyes, forked tongues, and subtle scales on their chests (minimum AC is 2 more than normal), as well as those in their description.1 - Captain Drummond - Leads the larger unit of footmen, and overall commander of the town watch. Cruel in a cold, detached sort of way. Unshakable. Keeps his left arm tucked inside his cloak at all times, since it is infact a serpent attached to his shoulder. Wields a duelist's rapier.
Has quarters on Oak Street.
2 - Captain Caid - Leader of the "Green Rain" archer unit. Disinterested in the whole cult deal, very much interested in the power it brings, so is willing to play along. Can spit caustic venom up to 20 feet.
Has quarters on Ash Street, which he shares with a girlfriend, who is in hiding from her vengeful husband.
3 - Lieutenant Farron - Leads the smaller unit of footmen, zealous and righteous. Wields a two-handed battle axe. Can hypnotise with his gaze over a minute at any time, or with a glance once per day.
Has quarters on Cedar street.
4 - The Footmen - Consisting of 2 Units, 1 of 15 men lead by the Captain Drummond, one of 9 lead by the lieutenant. All mere spearmen with swords too, almost all (80%) inductees of the Serpent Cult.
5 - The Green Rain - A unit of 12 archers lead by Captain Caid, who use poisoned arrows.
6 - Yara, the Honest Watchmen - One of the most stalwartly anti-cult members of the watch. Pretends to be merely indifferent to avoid suspicion and probable execution. Diligently gathers information about the cult, hoping to bring it down from the edges.
The Twin Fangs
Taken from the streets, extensive brainwashing has rendered them incapable of doing anything except what the Serpent Baron orders. They are his secret assassins, not even the Slithering Priest knows about them. They are brutally efficient, and have a perfect record (so far). They have extensive training and equipment, including snake-sticks, a smoke grenade, a flash grenade, paralysing poison which they apply to their weapons, and caltrops coated with a numbing chemical.When they are not "on duty", they live in spartan quarters in the Secret Dungeons.
The Slithering Priests
Sycophants of the Baron deluded enough to worship him and his loathsome spirit. Donovon pretends allegience to a Saint by the name of Darian, though there is no such saint, and he instead venerates the Deceiver. Wields the Rod of Fangs, and knows four spells: Scaleskin, Fog Cloud, Snake Swarm, Paralysis. He can ritually sacrifice one of his acolytes to regain a spent spell, which triggers a morale check from the other two.The three Acolytes are Meira, Jaimie, and Peiter, and they each know one of Donovon's spells, in the order given above. Meira has taken matters into her own hands in regards to furthering their faith, and has started a sub-cult of her own in secret. If it grows enough, she might be a force to be reckoned with.
The Acolytes live in quarters in the False-Shrine of Darian, in the Town Square, but Donovon has private quarters in the Baron's Castle.
Other Locations of the Town
1 - The Watch Barracks - Set near the eastern gate, on Oak Street, which leads back towards civilisation. One of the officers of the watch is always on duty here. Another is on patrol, and the third is off-duty, or attending court with the Baron.2 - The Town Square - Set before the castle, the Serpent Baron adjudicates court cases in front of the people here, and makes announcements every so often. Well patrolled by the watch.
3 - Rattle Street Market - Though there are some stalls that are open all week, on the first two days of the week, the nearby farms will bring out whatever produce they do have. On those days, the streets nearby are congested beyond belief. The town watch doesn't go there on those days.
4 - The Cellars on Wooden Street - Owned almost completely by the Baron and rented to poor serfs who can't afford the rent and are thus utterly trapped. The cellars themselves are used to store all kinds of slightly illegal material. The serfs can't complain. The ones that try, disappear. Most Cult activity takes place here, and it contains an entrance to the True Temple, and is the main entrance to the Secret Dungeons.
5 - Rodrigo's Haberdashery - A front for the Secret Police in Brygge, the Serpent Baron does not suspect, but if he did, it would not take long for him to discover the deception. On Ash Street.
6 - The Town Sewers - Not particularly extensive, but a culvert on the western walls does run through both the Sturngart estate, and the western-most watch tower of the Baron's castle.
7 - Dice House: The Smiling Siren - The premier arena of luck outside Regensburg as the owner would say, the Smiling Siren has attracted a rather large clientel of both those who hold the Baron's favour, and those who have earned his ire and have large 'debts to the state' to pay off. Run by a weaselly fellow by the name of Hacken, he isn't particularly threatening, but his three thugs are. Lieutenant Farron has a bit of a habit here, and has racked up a bit of a debt, which the house has as of yet been understandably unwilling to attempt to collect. Hogen the Bounty Hunter has been frequenting this place too, asking around subtlety for information on his mark. On Cedar Street.
8 - Brothel: Madame Salaciea's - Not quite so seedy as others, but not great. The main selling point is the great discretion the Madame offers for guests of... unsavory appetites. Captain Caid frequents the place. Elias Sturngart makes the occasional incognito visit here. On Rattle Street.
9 - Fair: Saint Thomas' Feast - A week-long feast that began just yesterday in fact, a long table is laid for a meal in front of Saint Thomas' Shrine, and food is brought out for any and all to enjoy just before sun-down. So far this act of good will has gone unopposed. The Resistance, among others, will use it as a meeting point, and the Baron will grow suspicious of it.
10 - A Beautiful Shrine: Shrine of Saint Thomas - One of the last remaining establishments not touched by the Baron's Cult, will offer sanctuary and aid to any and all that need it, especially those not well-liked by the Baron. On Willow Street.
11 - A Statue of an Old Hero: Statue of Lucian the Dragon-Crusher - The founder of the town who supposedly wrestled control of the area from a fearsome dragon. In the Town Square.
12 - A Beautiful Garden: The Snowdrop's Waltz - A Spiral path through many pale flowers. A private meeting point for the Resistance. Just off the Town Square.
Miera the Heretic
She is still loyal to the Serpent Baron, she just has... divergent thoughts about this whole serpent thing. She still offers praise and worship to the Whispering Deceiver, as is right and proper, but she offers veneration to the other Reptile Spirits of the world, secretly, and with a few other followers she has gathered in secret all by herself. She follows the commands of the Baron and the Slithering Priest, but she would be deeply disturbed to know that the Baron has unknowingly set a bounty hunter on her.Her cult currently has 3d4 members.
Table of Town Events
Roll once per week, or after the PCs are the cause (whether its public knowledge or not) of some disturbance in town.
1 - The Resistance is Revealed - The first time this is rolled, the Baron discovers that there is a Resistance movement at all, and posters for information about them will be posted. This won't result in anything by itself, but it will mean the PCs cannot approach the Resistance anymore, though the Resistance can and will still approach them. The second time it is rolled, the Resistance is discovered, and all members will be taken straight to the Secret Dungeons, except Yuvio, who goes straight to the Drowning Posts. The Resistance is done. Subsequent rolls are treated as "An NPC disappears".
2 - The Resistance is Revealed - As Above.
3 - An NPC Disappears - So Below.
4 - Meira's Cult Advances - The Sub-Cult doubles in size. If the Sub-Cult reaches a size of 30 or more, she attempts to seize control of the Cult from Donovon. She will succeed. The Serpent Baron will be amused by her usurpation with a 4 in 6 chance.
Little would change if Meira does usurp Donovon, she would assume his stats, and begin serving the Serpent Baron herself. If this is rolled again after she has usurped Donovon, the Baron discovers her heresy, and destroys her.Once the whole business is resolved one way or the other, treat this as an "An NPC disappears" instead.
5 - Yara's Plans Advance - The first time this result is rolled, Yara gains sufficient information to be useful to the PCs. On the second roll, she will approach the PCs about a plan she has thought up. With each subsequent roll, she uncovers something further that makes the plan more likely to succeed.
6 - The Changling's Course Advances - The first time this is rolled, the Changeling replaces a Butler in the Sturngart household. The second time this is rolled, they replace Elias' personal butler. The third time, they replace Elias themselves. Each time they advance, it becomes harder to convince them of any path other than replacing Elias.
Once the Changeling has either replaced Elias, or has reached some other resolution, treat this as an "An NPC disappears" instead.
7 - An Auspicious Omen - The Statue of Lucian undergoes a small, but notable transformation. The Dragon is replaced with a Serpent. The statue will be removed for "renovation" within a day, but word will get around. The next "The Resistance is Revealed" result is treated as a "The Resistance's Aims Advance on a 3 in 6 chance, or is instead ignored.
Once the whole business is resolved one way or the other, treat this as an "An NPC disappears" instead.
8 - An NPC disappears - Roll on the Disloyal PC table (see below). That NPC has run afoul of the Baron, and has gone. 1 in 6 chance of going straight to the Drowning Posts. Otherwise, they end up in the Secret Dungeons.
9 - Someone is left out to Die on the Drowning Posts - Randomly choose someone locked up in the Secret Dungeons, they are left out overnight to die on the Drowning Posts. At this point, the Baron knows everything they knew, and they are worth nothing more to him. If no-one is in the Secret Dungeons, treat this as a "An NPC disappears" result.
10 - The Secret Police Uncover the Truth - The first time this is rolled, the Secret Police discover all they need to order the Baron's murder, and they begin plotting. The second time this is rolled, there is a 1 in 6 chance the attempt succeeds, a 3 in 6 chance it merely fails, and the final 2 in 6 chance that the Baron discovers the attempts, and is forced to declare war on Don Hatori, expelling or killing the Secret Police in Brygge in the process.
Once the whole business is resolved one way or the other, treat this as an "An NPC disappears" instead.
11 - The Serpent Baron Uncovers the Secret Police - The first time this is rolled, the Baron discovers that the Corrupt Lord's Secret Police are investigating him. The second time this is rolled, the Baron completely destroys the Secret Police's efforts in Brygge, killing all of them except Officer Nathan, who is imprisoned in the Secret Dungeons.
Once the whole business is resolved one way or the other, treat this as an "An NPC disappears" instead.
12 - Hacken tries to collect - He has finally tired of Farron's habits of not paying up, and he has sent his goons after him. There is a 2 in 6 chance that the attempt is successful, and Farron dies in the ensuing struggle, no blame can be traced back to Hacken. Otherwise, Farron kills his assailants, and the Smiling Siren burns to the ground the following night, Hacken disappearing down into the Secret Dungeons.
Once the whole business is resolved one way or the other, treat this as an "An NPC disappears" instead.
13 - Urguyle and the Baron have a Spat - The first time this is rolled, bad blood begins to foster between Urguyle and the Baron, and Urguyle is suddenly a lot more sympathetic to the rebellious elements of the town. The second time this is rolled, Urguyle and the Baron have a confrontation, and Urguyle always loses. There is a 3 in 6 chance he dies in the fight, which will level much of Beech Street, otherwise, he is sent to the Secret Dungeons.Once the whole business is resolved one way or the other, treat this as an "An NPC disappears" instead.
14 - Ered Thuringen Surges Forth! - When this result is rolled, Ered joins forces with a party aligned against the Baron (randomly chosen from; The Resistance, The Secret Police, and Ruffick the Shaman). If this result is rolled again while he is free, they make an attempt on the Baron's life. They always fail, and Ered (along with other named characters) is thrown into the Secret Dungeon. If this result is rolled while Ered is in a Watch Cell (see below) he daringly escapes!
Once the whole business is resolved one way or the other, treat this as an "An NPC disappears" instead.
15 - Ered Thuringen is Arrested - His speaking out against the Baron can be ignored no longer, and he is thrown into a cell in the Watch Barracks. If this result is rolled again while Ered is in the Cell, he is then sent to the Secret Dungeons.
Once the whole business is resolved one way or the other, treat this as an "An NPC disappears" instead.
16 - Silas Am'Thrick confronts Donovon - In the Town Square, there is a rather explosive confrontation between Donovon and Silas. There is a 3 in 6 chance that Silas kills Donovon, who is succeeded by Meira as if she had usurped him. There is only a 1 in 6 chance that Donovon kills Silas. If Silas wins, or just isn't killed, he has to then roll a dice below what he previously scored to escape. Otherwise the town watch catch him, and he is thrown into the Secret Dungeon for the Baron's curiousity, he has never seen a Brass Bastard before...
Once the whole business is resolved one way or the other, treat this as an "An NPC disappears" instead.
17 - Caid and Elias cross paths - When this is rolled, Caid discovers Elias' more... improper tastes in women, and blackmails him for money. The second time this is rolled, it happens again, and Caid and his mistress have enough wealth to skip town, never to be seen again.
Once the whole business is resolved one way or the other, treat this as an "An NPC disappears" instead.
18 - The Bounty Hunter tracks down Meira - Meira's treachery and heresy is discovered by the Bounty Hunter. There is a 5 in 6 chance that Meira can bribe Hogen to be quiet. Each time afterwards, Hogen wants more money for his silence, and the roll must be made again, with a cumulative -2 modifier. When the roll is finally failed, Meira is sent to the Drowning Posts, and Hogen leaves town with a rather fat purse.
Once the whole business is resolved one way or the other, treat this as an "An NPC disappears" instead.
19 - The Resistance's Aims Advance - So Below.
20 - The Resistance's Aims Advance - The first time this is rolled, the Resistance covers one of their Requirements (see later). Each subsequent roll, there is a 2 in 6 chance that the Resistance makes their move. If they do, roll a d10. If they roll under the number of needs they have covered, they overthrow the Serpent Baron, and free Brygge from the Serpent Cult. If they fail, they will all be thrown into the Secret Dungeons. If they don't make their move, they cover a new need instead.
Disloyal NPCs
If you roll a NPC who has already been taken, use the next result down. If all NPCs down are taken, go upwards instead.
If all Disloyal NPCs "disappear", then there will be no-one left to stop the Baron, who will Apotheosise into a Mighty Serpent-Demon on the next New Moon (see the Baron's entry above).
1 - Barkeeper Yuvio
2 - Father Remmel
3 - Harren, Remmel's Aprentic
4 - Elias Sturngart
5 - Ruffick
6 - Silas Am'Thrick
7 - Ered Thuringen
8 - Raphael
9 - Yara, the Honest Watchman
10 - Officer Nathan Shultz
11 - Hacken
12 - Meira the Heretic
Disloyal NPCs can be rescued from the Secret Dungeons, though after the first time someone/a group escapes, security increases so much that it is almost impossible to break out anyone else without defeating the Baron in full.
The Resistance
They are a few desperate people who can see that the tyranny of the Serpent Baron will end nowhere well, and they plan and plot and hope, so that one day they might live free of his scaled clutches, or else die trying to snap off the fingers that strangle them.
The Resistance has 10 basic needs to overcome the Baron:
Needs:
1 - Weapons
2 - The Castle's Plans
3 - Information on the Baron
4 - Spiritual Aid
5 - Magic
6 - Armour
7 - Money
8 - Knowledge about the Serpent Cult
9 - Martial Training
10 - Luck (this can never actually be attained, outside of some stroke of myth)
They can cover these needs through the Event table, or through the actions of the PCs. For many of these needs, the party will probably need the assistance of another NPC, though they can supply some by their own expertise, or by the DM's discretion.
For the long-term prosperity of the town, the Resistance will also need a plan to replace the Serpent Baron, or things will get out of hand very quickly. They will neglect this for too long without help.
The Serpent Cult
The band of foolish sycophants and deluded worshippers makes up fully half the town in some capacity, though only a small percentage of that actively participates in cult activities. For the most part they are quite secretive, but a few flap their gums under certain pressures:
Pressures to spill the beans:
1 - Booze
2 - Some other drug
3 - Gold
4 - Love
5 - Violence
6 - Promises of Power
If you try to bully the wrong person, you might end up on the wrong end of the Town Watch. More than a few businesses have been torn out by the Watch because of jealous cultist competitors.
They meet sometimes in the Cellars underneath Wooden Street, and perform strange, undulating rituals. For the most part its quite harmless stuff, but with each ritual performed, the Baron's power grows.
Pressures to spill the beans:
1 - Booze
2 - Some other drug
3 - Gold
4 - Love
5 - Violence
6 - Promises of Power
If you try to bully the wrong person, you might end up on the wrong end of the Town Watch. More than a few businesses have been torn out by the Watch because of jealous cultist competitors.
They meet sometimes in the Cellars underneath Wooden Street, and perform strange, undulating rituals. For the most part its quite harmless stuff, but with each ritual performed, the Baron's power grows.
Rumours
When gathering rumours, there is a 2 in 6 chance that you'll just get useless nonsense. Other wise, you get a roll on the following chance, with a 1 in 6 chance (on the same roll) of getting either a double roll, or some elaboration. If the same result is rolled again, further elaboration is given.
1 - People keep gathering at Rodrigo's for some reason.
2 - People keep gathering at the Snowdrops' Waltz Garden for some reason.
3 - I swear, someone was killed at the Drowning Posts last night.
4 - There's an underground movement against the Baron somewhere in town.
5 - People keep gathering at the Seven Stars tavern for some reason, they don't come out though.
6 - People keep leaving Saint Thomas' Shrine, they don't go in though.
7 - Something is up with Father Remmel, I tell ya.
8 - Something is up with Yuvio, the barman at the Seven Stars, I tell ya.
9 - I've heard that Elias Sturngart's family used to rule the city.
10 - I've heard that the whole damn Town Watch are in some sort of Cabal or something.
11 - There's a strange old man hiding out in the woods, he's hiding something I'm sure.
12 - People enter some of the houses on Wooden Street late at night, sometimes less come out.
13 - You go to the Rattle Street market on a farm day, you won't see a watchman for a mile.
14 - Heard there was some guy going around telling people he's an angel or some such.
15 - Thought I saw some guy in weird armour running around the sewer system once.
16 - I think that guy living in Lonely House on Beech street might be a wizard you know!
17 - The same people keep taking the same seats at Saint Thomas' feast. Its weird.
18 - Some war vet keeps yapping on about how evil the Baron is. Come on, right?
19 - Captain Drummond has a gammy arm, childhood illness I heard.
20 - Buddy o' mine works for Lord Sturngart, they're acting all weird all of a sudden.
21 - Lieutenant Farron's eyes aren't right, let me tell you.
22 - I've heard weird noises coming from under the Baron's castle, let me tell you.
23 - Mazdan's the best damn blacksmith you'll ever meet!
24 - The Corrupt Lord has sent his Secret Police here for some reason.
25 - The Baron has hired a bounty hunter for some reason, you see him at the dice house.
26 - Meira is running some sort of secret society.
27 - Lieutenant Farron has a mistress with a rather violent husband.
28 - Lieutenant Farron has a bit of a gambling problem.
29 - Captain Caid sometimes goes to Madame Salaceia's brothel.
30 - Elias Sturngart sometimes goes to Madame Salaceia's brothel.
Grave-City of the King-Priest
| Choose wisely. |
Somewhere out on the frontiers, in another age, in another time there was a desert, ruled by kings who were gods. The tombs they built to preserve their earthly souls after death survived the world they knew, and now this one stands still, just. A few individuals and defences still hang on too, destroying those who would defile the holy corpse of the King-Priest.
Terrors:
1 - Sand-Sealed Soldiers: Trapped in sealed chambers, stood in their ranks, the sand poured in an eternal vigil. Opening certain doors will release them.2 - The Scorpion Sisters: Spirits of the desert bound to the tombs by an ill-considered deal. Like a centaur only the horse parts are giant scorpions. Guard the Promenade of Heroes.
3 - Desert Hunger Spirits: They remain clinging to the edge of the tomb-complex, held at bay by the sun disk. Their prey end up husks, withered and dry.
4 - Curse-Seals: Hold fast the great stone doors of the tombs. If broken by intruders, they release the curses that are stored inside.
5 - Guardians of the Royal Souls: Canopic-Statue-Guardians, holding the sacred organs within their chests. Imbued with divine purpose.
6 - The Many-Lords of Rot: A rival power to the King-Priest, a hive mind of worms, locusts, beetles. They would feast on the royal souls.
Treasures:
1 - The King's Riches: Much gold, animated servile statuary, gems, jewels, scepters, oh my!2 - The Sun Disk: Blazes with golden light, the power of the sun. Blasts of incandescent flame blast and repel spirits and the inhuman, at least those without the seal of the King.
3 - The Moon Blade: Blazes with a cold blue flame, the power of the moon. Harms and subdues ghosts and other such otherwise immune undead.
4 - Preserved Remains: Alchemically potent through the weight of passing centuries, academic types would pay through the nose for them.
5 - Historical Information: Requires some serious translation work, but the context it would provide historians is invaluable.
6 - Salt: Just like loads of salt. Loads of it. It was valuable back then! Still worth something now.
Features:
1 - Defeated Defilers: Blackened and twisted and contorted, held in place forever. The ghosts of some rage nearby. Some still clutch treasure in dried and oily hands.2 - Small Shrines: Here there are ancient and crooked priests who can cleanse you of your sins, if you bring a proper offering.
3 - The Promenade of Heroes: Many columns depicting and retelling the tales and legends of ancient adventurers and heroes. Offer clues about the contents of minor tombs and the grand pyramid.
4 - Scarab-People Scavengers: They too seek the treasures and wonders of the city, travellers from the roving tent-city of their people. They have trinkets for sale, and would perhaps buy ones you find.
5 - Houses of the Dead: Here the corpses of the worthy underwent their journey to eternity. Now they are cold and empty of all but the many jars and urns of salt.
6 - Titan of the King's Judgement: The Doom of Sinners, but blind to the unblemished. The weak point is at the base of the skull; it is unguarded, but hard to access.
Ancilliary Tables
The Holy Souls of the King-PriestFirst is the Soul, then the organ that it inhabited, then the head of the Guardian, and finally the power of the Guardian.
1 - The Name - The Teeth and Tongue - Jackal - Taunting and disorienting cackles and whispers.
2 - The Shadow - The Liver - Crow - A paralysing shadow, which animates and grapples you.
3 - The Soul - The Stomach - Hippo - A bite attack which grapples on a hit.
4 - The Mind - The Eyes - Ibis - Fights with a bow which fires feather arrows.
5 - The Breath - The Lungs - Hawk - Flight on great skeletal wings.
6 - The Body - The Spine - Crocodile - Armour, which it can partially shed to regenerate.
7 - The Blood - The Heath - Bull - Flaming Aspect, which intensifies as it bleeds.
Curse-Seal Effects
1 - Swarms of Locusts pour forth from the shattered seal.
2 - The one that broke the seal magically ages a year each day.
3 - Each week, one of the family of the one who broke the seal is compelled to commit suicide.
4 - Creeping Petrifciation spreads from the limbs that broke the seal.
5 - Water turns into Sand in the mouth of the one that broke the seal.
6 - The one that broke the seal is always on the verge of heat-stroke, even in the snow.
7 - The eyes of the one that broke the seal turn to scarabs which will live in the sockets.
8 - The Black Jackal of Doom follows the one who broke the seal, it hounds them.
9 - A Creeping Flame sets in the air, spilling like mist from the broken seal.
10 - Water won't stop pouring from the broken seal.
11 - The Guardians of the Royal Souls always score critical hits on the one who broke the seal.
12 - The one who broke the seal becomes deathly vulnerable to sunlight.
Sin and the Titan
The titan is a vengeful guardian of the Great Pyramid. Its empty eyes see only the sins of trespassers, and the blameless are invisible to it. Every other round it makes an attack against a sinner, determined randomly, though it has double chances to target the most sinful individual it can see and reach. It rolls to hit with only a d20, modified by the amount of sin the target has accumulated.
Each sin is counted up individually, and each sin must be atoned for individually. For each category that you have 3 or more sins of, the titan gains +1 on to hit rolls against you. If you have 10+ sins in total, the Titan hits you automatically.
Sins:
1 - Breaking a Curse-Seal
2 - Destroying one of the Guardians of the Royal Souls
3 - Stealing Funerary Gifts
4 - Trespassing in Sacred Spaces (i.e. the burial/treasure chambers of minor tombs, and any chamber on the third and fourth levels of the Great Pyramid)
Minor Shrines
First is the name of the Shrine, then the price that must be paid for atonement, finally the benefit it provides.
Each shrine only occurs once in the Tomb-City, further rolls of previously discovered shrines indicate another entrance to it.
1 - House of Names: A Tooth - Atones for all sins gained from destroying guardians of the royal souls.
2 - Pit of Unburdening: Only the pain of being thrown into the Pit (20 feet deep), and remaining there for 1 hour - Atones for all of one random type of sin.
3 - Table of the Feast: Salt for further meat, at least a pound - Merely a safe haven, laden with food.
4 - Shrine of Red Release: 1 constitution point's worth of Blood - Atones for all sins gained from breaking Curse-Seals
5 - Cells of Contemplation: A Day's worth of fasting and meditating - Reduces each count of each sin you have down to 2.
6 - Pools of Cleansing: A deep and jagged cut, dealing 1 point of damage for each hit die you have - Breaks a curse that affects your character.
7 - Temple of Judgement: 10% of all gold carried on your person - Atones for all sins gained from stealing Funerary Gifts.
8 - House of Confession: A penalty of 1 to all d20 rolls you make for the rest of the day - Atones for all sins gained from Trespassing in Sacred Spaces.
Defeated and Cursed Defilers
They are all black and shrivelled by age, their skin slightly sticky and greasy, and they are frozen in their current poses. Trying to rearrange any part of them will snap off the part in question.
Each has a 3 in 6 chance of manifesting its ghost, and a further 3 in 6 chance to have its treasure somewhere on its person. Ghosts can't stray out of sight of their body. If a defiler has both a treasure and a ghost, the treasure is almost certainly the cause of their suffering.
Each Defiler can be encountered multiple times, until it is encountered with either its ghost or treasure. It cannot be encountered again after that.
1 - Frozen in a convulsion of pain - ghost only wishes for mercy - treasure is a ruby carved like a fire
2 - Pinned to a wall - ghost fights to the bitter, bitter end - treasure is a masterwork spear-head, needs re-hafting.
3 - Face-down in the sand - ghost is a cruel thief - treasure is a pouch full of old gold coins.
4 - Curled up, feotal, wracked with fear - ghost cowers in the corner and waves a knife desperately at any who draw near - treasure is a golden ring, set with a tiny rat skull.
5 - Decapitated and dropped - ghost is headless, and swings a blade around wildly - treasure is a canopic jar with a preserved organ inside (roll on the Holy Remains to see which organ it is, though it is never the kings actual organs of course).
6 - Torn in half and discarded - ghost desperately tries to scoop its organs back inside its ruined form - treasure is a golden plate bearing mystical rites for burials.
7 - Bloated and disfigured by a scorpion sting - ghost spews poison and miasmas, it can't help itself - treasure is a cursed, lapis lazuli scorpion.
8 - Aged to a thin and broken nothing - ghost is an ancient old man, wracked with age-pains - treasure is a map of the (supposed) afterlife.
9 - Shrivelled and curled by the sun - ghost desperately seeks water - treasure is a beautifully adorned urn full of salt
10 - Nibbled and Chewed by Locusts - ghost is merely a mad swarm of ethereal insects - treasure is a scepter with the end carved in the likeness of a flying insect
11 - On hands and knees, as if desperately crawling away - ghost crawls, throwing up clouds of sand, fights more like a wolf than a man - treasure is an amulet depicting a prowling jackal.
12 - Knelt, sobbing, forever - ghost merely weeps - never any treasure.
Minor Tombs
Each tomb has a 1 in 6 chance of already having been looted floor to ceiling by Scarab People. They will be selling any of the treasure that would have been inside on a small mat just outside the entrance of the tomb.Name of the Hero buried there
Each of these tombs can only be encountered once, further rolls of previously discovered tombs indicate another entrance to it.
1 - Ash-Kin-Pal: Master of the Armoury
2 - Sen-Wos-Ret: Conqueror of the Mishaninites
3 - Ren-Qo-Tet: Chosen of the Sun
4 - Fos-Mah-Ning: Breaker of Men
5 - Sir'ik-Toh-Pah: Beloved of Gods
6 - Xer-Man-Yung: Tamer of Crocodiles
7 - Sehk-Met-Hol: 100 Man Slayer
8 - Bah-Sing-Kir: Master of the Walls
9 - Far'aq-Mal-Dur: He who crossed the Desert and Returned
10 - Ihm-Ho-Tesh: Chief Priest of the Little Temples
11 - Seer-Et-Josh: Who died too Young.
12 - Anu-Bish-Shal: Keeper of the Moon-Blade (His Tomb also has the Moon-Blade as its treasure)
The Tomb's Defences
Each tomb will have d4+1 defences.
1 - Hidden Pits with spiked bottoms.
2 - A Curse-Sealed Door.
3 - A Maddening Labyrinth.
4 - An Animated Guardian Statue, each has a measure of power over either Fire, Sand, or Light.
5 - Sand-Preserved Soldiers, each turn an exploding d4, with a +1 modifier for each turn the chamber has been open, number of soldiers crawl forth from the sand before rising to attack. More emerge each turn until all 40 have been slain.
6 - A Great Mummified Beast, thrice the size of a Man, and has either immense strength, paralysing venom, or a hypnotic gaze.
7 - Acidic Mists in precariously Balanced Jars.
8 - Spring loaded blades and Spears hidden in the walls.
9 - Trapped Monsters, kept alive by ancient magics, use your favourite random monster table, or one of flaming desert wolves, fog-breathing vultures, or a crocodile-dragon
10 - A Door locked by a Perplexing Riddle.
11 - A Huge Serpent whose scales are miniature sarcophagi for mummified snakes. d4 are released and animate each time the Serpent is hit by an attack.
12 - A Spirit of the Sands, takes the shape of a desert jackal. Contact with it withers you for 1 hit point per level/hit die you have. Is willing to talk, will permit the pious to pass, if they can prove it.
Treasures of the Tombs
(Besides your usual compliment of gold and art objects)
These are the special contents of the final chamber, alongside the sarcophagus and remains of the tomb's owner.
Roll only a d6 to begin with, but cross out each treasure you roll except 'Much More Gold', effectively pushing each lower result one number higher. If you roll higher than you have results for, use the highest available.
1 - Much more Gold
2 - A Magical Blade, it can harm spirits and glows in their presence.
3 - A Sacred Spear, once per day it can be called upon to release light like the sun.
4 - A Statue of a Horse, it obeys the one who wears its amulet, and is in all regards, a stone, tireless, perfectly obedient horse.
5 - An Amulet of a Scarab, it is a brilliant blue. The next time the wearer is targeted by a curse, the amulet takes it on instead, and becomes a dull black, and the curse is nullified. Useless once this happens.
6 - A Pouch of Sand, when a handful is thrown, it creates a great gust of hot, dry wind. Enough for 2d4 such handfuls.
7 - A strangely curved Knife, it can cut apart water like clay; where the knife has sliced, the water cannot fly back, unless encouraged by a hand like reconnecting dough.
8 - A Mummified Crocodile, if ground up and snorted, you experience unsettling visions of the crocodile stalking and eventually killing helpless prey,
9 - A Scroll depicting many old and lost Gods. Worth much to the discerning collector.
10 - Scraps of ancient wisdom on the Arts of Alchemy.
11 - A Golden Crown, those who see you in it are filled with a minor admiration, until you perform an act that would go against their faint respect for you.
12 - A Jar of Ointment. Wounds washed in it will never go septic and heal in the hour. Corpses covered in it will never rot. Enough ointment for 100 wounds, or 10 corpses.
Rooms and Guardians of the Grand Pyramid
The Courtyard of the Titan is the outer entrance of the Pyramid. Rooms 2 - 5 are on the first level of the Pyramid. Rooms 6 - 8 are on level 2, rooms 9 - 11 are on level 3, and room 12 is on level 4. Each level is Curse-Sealed, and has a number of Defences (from the minor tombs) equal its level in the corridors connecting each room.The Sun Disk crests the very peak of the Pyramid.
First, the name of the Room, then a description, finally, any noteworthy contents.
1 - The Courtyard of the Titan: Wide and open, surrounded by pillars - The Titan of the King's Judgement keeps a careful watch for sinners.
2 - Hall of History: A long hall, many murals and depictions of the King-Priest's glorious deeds - a withered old priest who will explain it all to you, at great length.
3 - The Champion's Chamber: A circular chamber, ringed with chest-high braziers, still burning, the floor is covered in sand - The King-Priest's Champion, a master swords man whose blade commands the sands.
4 - The False-Door: A great door-way, only it is no door at all, and is merely solid rock - the False Door is flanked by Animated Guardian Statues.
5 - The Corrupted Chamber: Walls are covered in rot and putrefaction, leaking from a cage in the centre of the room - in the cage is a Many-Lord of Rot, bound in place with mystic sigils.
6 - Shrine of Contemplation: A small altar, bearing a replica of the Sun-Disk, and ringed with incense burners, still full - no other contents, it is a sin to trespass in this sacred space without leaving an offering, or if you make any sound beyond your footsteps.
7 - The Pristine Pools: 5 pools, one inside a ring of the other four, cleanses curses from those who bathe in them - a white-scaled Water Spirit in the shape of a serpent desires fine music and proper respect to allow entry to the pools.
8 - The Cult Chamber: At the centre of the room is a huge statue of the King-Priest, a place to worship his departed divinity - an Invisible Sand Spirit attacks those who do not show proper respect to the shrine and leave suitable offerings.
9 - The Model Chamber: A grand table sits at the centre of the room - on the table rests a miniature model of the city, any change made to the model is physically reflected in the real city over the next hour, as if an army of invisible servants carve it away or build it up (which is in fact, exactly what is happening).
10 - The Treasure Chamber: Vast piles of wealth, stacked as high as a man - as soon as even one coin is removed from its pile, 3 Sand-Sealed Soldier chambers open.
11 - The Queen's Tomb: Plainer than you might expect, a reasonably sized sarcophagus lies in the centre of the room - the Ghost of the Old Queen dwells in this chamber, she is quite friendly, and is not angered by tomb-robbing, just very, very disapproving of it. She knows all about the Grave-City, as she helped design it. Can (and indeed, is eager to) tell you any secret about it if you stay on her good side. A bot touchy about being dead.
12 - The Burial Chamber of the King-Priest: Huge, and high roofed, many opulent murals - the King-Priest's Sarcophagus, and the 7 Guardians of the Royal Souls. Should all the Guardians be destroyed, and the King's Corpse revealed, there will be One More Complication.
The King's Corpse bears: a Royal Scepter, 6 Holy Rings, A Might Amulet, and its left hand is clad in gold and heals at a touch of the fore-finger.
One More Complication
1 - A Many Lord of Rot emerges from the shadows. It has followed you for some time now, and it demands the holy organs and flesh of the King-Priest, as revenge for an ancient wrong.
2 - The Tomb has started to collapse! There's only time to grab one thing each if you don't wish to risk death.
3 - The Corpse of the King rises, ready to interact with the party.
4 - Each individual member of the party is inflicted with a Curse as if they had broken a Curse-Seal. Curses that would pour out of a broken Curse-Seal, instead tear holes in the palms of the PC's hands, and pour forth from that with a great deal of pain.
5 - The Desert Shadows, an order of Mystic-Knights devoted to the old line of King-Priests will not rest until the Party have atoned for their trespasses and returned any the stolen Royal Souls, or been butchered to a man.
6 - A section of each of the four walls drops away, revealing a chamber each of Sand-Preserved Soldiers. They will fight until totally destroyed.
Random Encounters in the Tomb-City (2d6)
Roll every 10 minutes of searching. Do not roll at any other time, even night. The city is utterly dead.2 - Scarab-People Scavengers (roll reaction with advantage), they seek to plunder one of the minor tombs
3 - A Friendly(ish) band of high-born "Archaeologists", hopelessly inexperienced and under-equipped. They will probably die if they remain without help.
4 - A Wandering Ghost, of either an old priest, a tired soldier, or a murderous defiler.
5 - A Minor Shrine (there are up to 8 of these, rolling a duplicate shrine indicates you have stubbled across another entrance)
6 - 3d4 Bone-thin Wolves (1d4 less each time it is encountered, when no d4 are left, it is only a single, dead wolf)
7 - A Defiler
8 - An Animated Guardian Statue, each has a measure of power over either Fire, Sand, or Light. There are 12 wandering the Tomb-City, further rolls indicate only a pile of rubble.
9 - A Minor Tomb (there are up to 12 of these, rolling a duplicate tomb indicates you have stubbled across another entrance)
10 - A Rival Band of Adventurers, experienced, equipped well, and armed to the teeth. There are as many as 2 in the Tomb-City at any one time. They can change over time.
11 - A Spirit of the Sands, taking either the shape of a Sphinx, A Great Serpent, or a Giant Skeleton.
12 - A Many-Lord of Rot (roll reaction with disadvantage)
Magic Swords
Magic Swords are not forged by wizards, or built by sword-smiths, they are made slowly, over many battles, each deed accomplished with it sewn into its history, each foe slain with it forging an indelible bond with its wielder.
It is these bonds forged with its wielders that create the magic that live within the blade. Eventually, they build up so strong that they manifest strange and wondrous powers. Many are the tales told of magical blades, that could throw lighting, pass through armour like morning mist, or heal the dead with the blood it has drunk.
The more personalised the blade, the quicker these bonds emerge. It is the bond between blade and bearer that creates magic, it is best of all then, that the bearer makes the blade himself.
For these purposes, there are four components of a sword; the Pommel, the Hilt, the Hand-Guard, and the Blade itself.
Special materials fashioned into components at the wielders request bear the greatest potency, even more so if the bearer crafts them themselves.
For example;
The Pommel could be made of:
- A great jewel
- The Reliquary of a Saint's (usually finger)bone
- A Cameo of someone held dear
- A setting for a tiny piece of Art
- A written Dedication
- A Sculpture or Symbol
The Hilt could be:
- Wrapped in Parchment, bearing Scripture
- Leather from a beast slain personally
- Spell-scrolls (if you are particularly brave or desperate)
- Monster Bone
- Wood from your home
- Human skin (for the particularly depraved)
The Hand Guard could be:
- A depiction of a scene of Legend
- Fashioned into a Rune of Protection
- A Sculpture of an Animal Guardian
- Inscribed with prayers
- Bearing many Jewels
- Carved and Filigreed Monster Bone
The Blade might be:
- Inscribed with Runes or a Name
- Quenched is special liquids (particularly blood)
- Depicting a great beast or scene of legend
- Scarred by a similarly legendary weapon
- Forged of an Unearthly Weapon
- Fashioned to create a strange sound when swung
In the end, it must be the wielder's choice, and it will only make the process quicker. Eventually, any weapon could be made legendary over centuries of slaughter. It makes no difference if the weapon eventually is made up of none of its original components. The spirit of the blade remains, as long as it is not forgotten. (Side Note: The spirit of magical blades take longer to fade away than those of still-mundane blades, even when forgotten)
To begin with, keep track of the number of critical hits made with the weapon. When a particularly note-worthy foe is slain, or wound is dealt, or other deed is achieved using the weapon, roll a d20. If the result is less than or equal to the number of critical hits dealt by it, adding the number of customised components to the total, then the blade awakens, and its magic begins to bloom. The first effect to manifest is always a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls, with additional effects manifesting as further such great deeds are accomplished with the weapon. Each effect will mirror in some way, the deed achieved with it.
In the case of using a magical weapon wielded by another (such as when a character is gifted their father's sword, perhaps) then before any magic can be built up within it, the character must first build a bond with the blade equal to or greater than the bond it had with its previous wielder. Until that point, only a fraction of the blade's power can be used. Mechanically, the weapon will have a +1 bonus for to hit and damage rolls as normal, and up to one powers can be accessed automatically. To release the remaining powers, an awakening roll (as described above) must be made for each remaining power.
Example Power List:
1 - A further +2 bonus against specific foes (i.e. giants, dragons, humans, etc.)
2 - Wreathing the blade in spectral flame.
3 - The ability to hurl a lighting bolt from the blade once per day.
4 - The ability to fly back to its owners hand on command.
5 - It glows in the presence of enemies.
6 - Its bearer takes no damage from cutting edges (but not from the force of the blow as well)
7 - The bearer has rough tremor senses while wielding the blade.
8 - The blade can move somewhat by itself to deflect ranged attacks.
9 - The blade can shatter almost any solid material if the point is touched against it for enough time.
10 - Water can be directed with the tip of the blade, even into the air.
11 - The tip of the blade can unlock mundane locks.
12 - The wielder of the blade is seen as trustworthy and inspirational when holding the blade aloft.
13 - The blade is supernaturally good at tripping up and disarming foes.
14 - Shields don't seem to offer all that much defence against it.
15 - The blade can heal one wound (read; a single instance of damage) with a touch, once per day.
16 - The blade creates a deep sense of dread in those it is pointed at.
17 - The blade howls like a pack of wolves when swung, quite unnerving.
18 - Plant growth is dramatically accelerated around it when plunged into the ground.
19 - The blade spews forth mist as it is swung, which is wielder alone can see through clearly.
20 - Wounds caused by the blade will only heal if the wielder allows them to.
21 - The blade glows brightly at will, and as bright as sunlight once per day.
22 - The wielder of the blade will never lose their footing whilst wielding the sword.
23 - The wielder has an intuitive danger sense for physical harm.
24 - The wind can be directed by the movements of this sword.
25 - With a solid swing, even stone can be cut by this blade.
26 - Blood spilled by this blade flows up its length to heal its wielder.
27 - Those struck by the blade cannot cast magic while it remains unsheathed.
28 - The blade can freeze water with a touch.
29 - Once planted in the earth, no force can move it save its wielder's hand.
30 - When thrown, the weapon transforms into an animal loyal to its wielder, until the wielder takes it in their hands again.
Sometimes, weapons become cursed by wicked deeds or foul magics. These curses take incredible efforts to cleanse from blades, if it can ever be accomplished at all.
Example Curse List:
1 - Once drawn, the blade must take a life before it can be put down or sheathed.
2 - When drawn, the blade grows hotter and hotter until the wielder can bear it no longer.
3 - Those slain by the sword, are cursed to follow its wielder as mindless undead.
4 - The wielders wounds will not stop bleeding until an equal amount of blood is spilt in return.
5 - Small living things (such as grass and rats) die while the blade is unsheathed nearby.
6 - Wounds dealt by the blade are never fatal, they merely fester and rot forever.
7 - The wielder enters a berserker fury when drawing the blade, and can't tell friend from foe.
8 - Whilst wielding the blade, it saps its wielder's life force to power its magic.
9 - When wielding the blade, even the simplest wound can turn mortal.
10 - Poor weather perpetually follows the wielder of the blade.
11 - Animals of all kinds despise the wielder of the blade.
12 - A demon dwells within the blade, slowly corrupting the wielder.
Monsters of the Old Frontier: Tash, the Breath-Taker
Out there on the frontier, there are villages that house mute people. They were not born that way, no magic or wound took their voice, it was the strings of Tash.
He is built something like a human, only made up of parts like a bird. His flesh is feathered, his feet are hooked like a crows, and his face is crested with a great raven-beak. He has four arms, two set above the others, which are smaller and frailer, while the first are strong and more jointed. It wears crude clothes, of a sort.
His greatest power, and the one for which he is named, is his power to steal the breath from a person. At a distance, he can gesture with his smaller hands, and draw forth a near invisible thread from someone's throat, and from then on, they will be unable to speak, while Tash quickly bottles and stoppers it, tucking it away to keep. The breath, and the voice can only be restored by breaking the bottle.
If he gets closer to you, and you cannot stop him, he can take your breath more fully, and lethally.
He takes breathes because he has none of his own, he needs them to stoke the fires of life in his chest.
His smaller arms have two other powers. Firstly, at a gentle touch across the lips he can sew your mouth shut. Not permanently thankfully, the sutures can easily be cut if you're careful. The second power is his 'Curse of Strings', which binds you all up in near-invisible strings, with which Tash puppet-masters your movements, leaving you an unwilling marionette. Again, like the lip-sutures, the strings can be cut, and the curse also consumes much of Tash's (not inconsiderable) attention.
In darkness, Tash's sable feathers blend in almost perfectly. This is merely mundane, if extraordinarily effective, camouflage.
His deadliest weapon, even beyond the knives he carries in his greater arms, is his beak, which more than once has been seen to punch straight through plate armour, pulling out a gorey and gooey heart impaled upon it.
Tash has a second reason to steal voices as well. It is his first and greatest weakness, the human voice (and the human voice only) harms and repels him. Normal talking seems to cause merely discomfort, but louder than that, and feathers have sloughed from him, and blood burst its way from its bare skin. So far, no one has been able to discover how much harm a full scream can cause. Tash is usually cunning enough that most voices are silenced before he is revealed.
His second weakness is his dependence on the breaths he steals. He has none of his own, without breaths to drink, he would die. Probably. Hopefully.
He has in his thrall a small number of Crow-Imp creatures. They are totally wretched, nearly worthless things, their only merit that they share Tash's breath-taking power, though they must work as pairs to bottle up the stolen breathes, lest they escape, as they are too small and feeble to accomplish this single-handedly. They are also disgustingly, disappointingly cowardly. No doubt they would cravenly swear fealty immediately to anyone who did manage to slay their master.
In a clash, Tash fights dirty. Preferably from stealth, he will steal as many breaths as he can, before striking decisively from the dark. He is quite capable of fighting many targets at once at no disadvantage, his greater arms parrying and striking while his smaller ones steal the remaining breaths, sewing shut lips, and marionetting problematic targets if needs be. Above all though, Tash is not a brave warrior. If the fight turns against him, he will readily quit the field with as many bottled breaths as he can get away with, throwing some down to slow pursuit if he thinks it would benefit him.
Tash's lair is a honey-comb maze of dark and poorly lit caves in the earth, the better for him to stalk his foes unseen. Some chambers deeper down contain crude shelves, filled up with stocks of bottled breaths for lean times. Others have cages of stolen victims, regularly visited to fill up bottles. Other caves are chock full of bottles. Where they came from, no one knows.
You will know the path of Tash by these signs; bird shit, sticky brown spittle, shiny black threads, suffocated corpses.
He is built something like a human, only made up of parts like a bird. His flesh is feathered, his feet are hooked like a crows, and his face is crested with a great raven-beak. He has four arms, two set above the others, which are smaller and frailer, while the first are strong and more jointed. It wears crude clothes, of a sort.
His greatest power, and the one for which he is named, is his power to steal the breath from a person. At a distance, he can gesture with his smaller hands, and draw forth a near invisible thread from someone's throat, and from then on, they will be unable to speak, while Tash quickly bottles and stoppers it, tucking it away to keep. The breath, and the voice can only be restored by breaking the bottle.
If he gets closer to you, and you cannot stop him, he can take your breath more fully, and lethally.
He takes breathes because he has none of his own, he needs them to stoke the fires of life in his chest.
His smaller arms have two other powers. Firstly, at a gentle touch across the lips he can sew your mouth shut. Not permanently thankfully, the sutures can easily be cut if you're careful. The second power is his 'Curse of Strings', which binds you all up in near-invisible strings, with which Tash puppet-masters your movements, leaving you an unwilling marionette. Again, like the lip-sutures, the strings can be cut, and the curse also consumes much of Tash's (not inconsiderable) attention.
In darkness, Tash's sable feathers blend in almost perfectly. This is merely mundane, if extraordinarily effective, camouflage.
His deadliest weapon, even beyond the knives he carries in his greater arms, is his beak, which more than once has been seen to punch straight through plate armour, pulling out a gorey and gooey heart impaled upon it.
Tash has a second reason to steal voices as well. It is his first and greatest weakness, the human voice (and the human voice only) harms and repels him. Normal talking seems to cause merely discomfort, but louder than that, and feathers have sloughed from him, and blood burst its way from its bare skin. So far, no one has been able to discover how much harm a full scream can cause. Tash is usually cunning enough that most voices are silenced before he is revealed.
His second weakness is his dependence on the breaths he steals. He has none of his own, without breaths to drink, he would die. Probably. Hopefully.
He has in his thrall a small number of Crow-Imp creatures. They are totally wretched, nearly worthless things, their only merit that they share Tash's breath-taking power, though they must work as pairs to bottle up the stolen breathes, lest they escape, as they are too small and feeble to accomplish this single-handedly. They are also disgustingly, disappointingly cowardly. No doubt they would cravenly swear fealty immediately to anyone who did manage to slay their master.
In a clash, Tash fights dirty. Preferably from stealth, he will steal as many breaths as he can, before striking decisively from the dark. He is quite capable of fighting many targets at once at no disadvantage, his greater arms parrying and striking while his smaller ones steal the remaining breaths, sewing shut lips, and marionetting problematic targets if needs be. Above all though, Tash is not a brave warrior. If the fight turns against him, he will readily quit the field with as many bottled breaths as he can get away with, throwing some down to slow pursuit if he thinks it would benefit him.
Tash's lair is a honey-comb maze of dark and poorly lit caves in the earth, the better for him to stalk his foes unseen. Some chambers deeper down contain crude shelves, filled up with stocks of bottled breaths for lean times. Others have cages of stolen victims, regularly visited to fill up bottles. Other caves are chock full of bottles. Where they came from, no one knows.
You will know the path of Tash by these signs; bird shit, sticky brown spittle, shiny black threads, suffocated corpses.
The Curio Seller
They come and they go, at night, at dawn, settling down the great lizard just outside of town and pulling up the flesh-curtains to reveal the wares secreted within [Only some of the wares were secreted by the lizard through its esoteric glands, the others were just hidden normally]. They (mostly people say say) wear a thick, oily leather coat, strapped together, and huge boots and gloves, misshapen and probably not filled out within. Their face, is wooden, as is the rest of their head. A wooden mask of a smiling she-devil, strapped roughly to a wooden head. It sounded hollow when people threw stones at them at least.
They don't let this get them down. They merely travel from place to place, selling and trading for the misused and misbegotten detritus of history to people nearly as strange as they are.
The Curio Seller usually has 6 'slots' worth of wares for sale, and d4+1 curios.
3 of these slots are for 2d4-1 objects of slightly uncommon origin.
2 of these slots are for d4 objects of curious origin.
And 1 slot is open for a single object of truly special aspect.
You may also spend half an hour searching through the back rooms of the Curio Shop to try and find additional curios to purchase, finding d3-1 for each half hour spent searching.
The Curio Seller has 12 different wares it can sell:
1 - A scrap/fragment/whole spell.
2 - A pamphlet/notebook/codex written on Alchemy.
3 - A tome of uncommon/old/esoteric lore.
4 - A minor/major/extraordinary Work of Art.
5 - Phials of tincture/potions/elixirs
6 - A single crystal/gems/jewels of various colours.
7 - A map of the area/realm/land.
8 - A small/big/huge mirror.
9 - An initiate/journeyman/expert weapon.
10 - A piece of initiate/journeyman/expert scrimshaw.
11 - A small/medium/long totem charm.
12 - A bundle of uncommon/rare/vanishing herbs.
Where the wares have three words separated by slashes, the first word refers to uncommon objects, the second for curious objects, and third for special objects.
The Curio List
1 - A glass key of curious aspect, labelled "4" in an ancient tongue.
2 - The northern half of a star map showing strange stars.
3 - A vial of "Medusa Anti-Venom," stoppered with charred leather.
4 - A ring bearing ruby, within dances a tiny flame.
5 - A bundle of 5 golden feathers, purportedly the Thunderbird's.
6 - The supposed shin-bone of a Land-Whale, or perhaps a Land-Shark.
7 - A jar of liquid with 3 floating, jellied eyes. They follow you.
8 - A pouch of dust from the floor of the Cathedral of the Baptist.
9 - The deed to a castle you've never heard of, or can find on any map.
10 - The broken handle of a sword. Clutch it in sleep, and you dream of the blade.
11 - A pinch or two of ground unicorn horn in a silken bag.
12 - An arrow supposedly fired by the Master of the Wild Hunt. Still poisonous.
13 - The family tree of the 'Von Arngaults' emblazoned on a shield.
14 - A bottle of water blessed by the Gracious Saint Crane.
15 - A book with a pressed, scarlet flower, and a beautiful inscription (in Fae).
16 - A delicate mechanical butterfly, its wings inlaid with unmelting ice.
17 - Three exquisite silver stakes, wrapped in splendid cloth.
18 - A monocle with a cloudy jade lense, runes ring the bronze setting.
19 - A jar full of brittle, carved jet snakes, labelled; 'Burn'.
20 - A pot of particularly pungent ooze, labelled; 'Troll Musk.' Vile.
21 - A dusty bottle of... wine? Labelled; 'For the Banded Prince.'
22 - An ugly stone idol, it squats, leering, and it reeks of meat.
23 - A shred of mirror, though it reflects a strange library interior.
24 - A brass plate etched with burning, hateful symbols; a demon's name.
25 - A piece of bone, blackened and burned, inlaid with gold.
26 - A glass jar, sealed and full of golden liquid preserving a hand.
27 - A vial of blood, dressed in glittering runes and dried herbs.
28 - A shred of a white tree, it smells like tar or pitch.
29 - A locked, sandalwood box, it thumps rhythmically from within.
30 - A cameo depicting a noble-woman, inscribed in burning Infernal.
31 - A plain ebony ring, inscribed; 'This too, shall pass.'
32 - A dried and preserved heart, impaled cross-wise with two wooden nails.
33 - A golden ingot, wrapped in parchment, closed with a wax seal.
34 - A dry and dusty worm in a beautifully embroidered pocket.
35 - A tiny statuette of a praying saint, apparently life-sized.
36 - A scrap of cloth, embroidered; 'Drink of me, that I may drink of thee.'
37 - A shaman's staff, adorned with much bone, tied up with rough twine.
38 - A time-piece with many, many hands of inscrutable purpose.
39 - An urn depicting the 4 Divine Beasts of Daizuku.
40 - A map depicting a series of curious... canals? (Ley Lines)
41 - Half a book depicting many strange and wonderous works, incomplete.
42 - A sealed envelope, bearing the mark of an unknown house.
43 - An opal-adorned snuff box, hiding a key under a false bottom.
44 - A dried and leathery, imp-like corpse of a homunculus.
45 - A poultice of peculiarly pungent herbs, defies identification.
46 - A chain of alternating brass and silver links, ending with leering faces.
47 - A box of salt, engraved; 'For the last sins of Ninevah.'
48 - A shrunken, pickled head, eyes sewed shut, mouth nailed closed.
49 - A roughly humanoid statuette, wrapped in chains, engraved with curses.
50 - A golden apple, engraved; 'For the Fairest of All.'
51 - Lightning struck metal, unrecognisable, warped and twisted.
52 - Dark, dark glass, cloudy like smoke, coiling within, surprisingly cold.
53 - A series of rugged, black stone blocks, bearing runes, not quite dice.
54 - Half a brass pendent, engraved; '-urying a great fortune at the hi-'.
55 - An apparently marble, suspiciously warm, perfectly smooth egg.
56 - A wooden idol of twin, entwined snakes, wickedly sharp teeth.
57 - A halo of iridescent... glass? Crystal? Angelic, in theory.
58 - A key with human teeth, and a metal heart, which beats, improbably.
59 - A bag of thick, slightly yellow teeth, labelled; 'Do not Sow.'
60 - A glass jar, wax-sealed shut, full of roe-like ooze capsules.
61 - A set of 5 lapis lazuli and gold animal brooches, supposedly lucky.
62 - A small bottle of potent, sweet spirit. When over-imbibed, it induces long comas.
63 - A capsule of inordinately rotten... something. Not particularly sturdy.
64 - A pair of old, old hair pins, tarnished, glowing.
65 - An ancient... chart? Map? Only one or two familiar features.
66 - A set of gemstone needles in rainbow colours, and golden thread.
67 - A beautiful flower, carved from bone, clutching a ruby deep within.
68 - A code cipher, rings set in rings, and a strange central sigil.
69 - A withered and dried ring and little finger, glass nails, metal bones.
70 - A clay and silver ying-yang, bearing a solomonic symbol.
71 - A phial of saint's ashes, a particularly potent lucky charm.
72 - A finely wrought compass with a beautiful brass setting.
73 - 7 charcoal-like sticks that produce a heady smoke when broken.
74 - A charm made of the hair of priests, a defence against demons.
75 - A candle of mysterious origins, its smoke induces powerful dreams.
76 - A crude obsidian knight, with colourful feathers bound to it.
77 - A tiny, still articulated wolf-skeleton, the size of a large rat.
78 - A book of prayers, a couple of spells scribbled in the margins.
79 - A beautiful bottle of rust-red wine, apparently a Djinn vintage.
80 - A mask of pale wood with stone teeth and glass eyes.
81 - A pair of old, dull Obols like stormy skies. Offerings for the dead.
82 - A glass animal filled with a thick red syrup, and no apparent opening.
83 - A lump of carved coal, set in an ornate chain. Improbably cold.
84 - A butterfly brooch, though only one of its four settings is filled.
85 - A pendent of an eye, sometimes it blinks, sometimes it weeps.
86 - A book of wilfully blank pages, a gnashing maw on the cover.
87 - A claw hammer, carved entirely of odd blue crystal. Strangely sticky.
88 - An old, old wooden box, roughly carved, holding only dirt.
89 - A scrap of tapestry, depicting a man, a richly ringed hand held aloft.
90 - A small cat statuette, one eye closed, glass claws and teeth.
91 - An exquisite ivory drinking horn, meandered by arcane runes.
92 - An ocarina, apparently sewn together from various leathers.
93 - A somewhat abstract stone bird, talons clenching... something.
94 - A once shattered jade tea-cup, cracks filled in with gold.
95 - A curse-tablet of baked clay, and space for a name.
96 - A penance stone, unnamed, unworn, unbloodied, still potent
97 - A scarf depicting a mountain topped with a great, smoking mirror.
98 - An incense burner shaped like a wolf swallowing a bird.
99 - A blocky, abstract bronze mask of a horned demon, tongue lolling crazily.
100 - A golden disk, ringed with bone and wood, depicting a bleeding sun.
They don't let this get them down. They merely travel from place to place, selling and trading for the misused and misbegotten detritus of history to people nearly as strange as they are.
The Curio Seller usually has 6 'slots' worth of wares for sale, and d4+1 curios.
3 of these slots are for 2d4-1 objects of slightly uncommon origin.
2 of these slots are for d4 objects of curious origin.
And 1 slot is open for a single object of truly special aspect.
You may also spend half an hour searching through the back rooms of the Curio Shop to try and find additional curios to purchase, finding d3-1 for each half hour spent searching.
The Curio Seller has 12 different wares it can sell:
1 - A scrap/fragment/whole spell.
2 - A pamphlet/notebook/codex written on Alchemy.
3 - A tome of uncommon/old/esoteric lore.
4 - A minor/major/extraordinary Work of Art.
5 - Phials of tincture/potions/elixirs
6 - A single crystal/gems/jewels of various colours.
7 - A map of the area/realm/land.
8 - A small/big/huge mirror.
9 - An initiate/journeyman/expert weapon.
10 - A piece of initiate/journeyman/expert scrimshaw.
11 - A small/medium/long totem charm.
12 - A bundle of uncommon/rare/vanishing herbs.
Where the wares have three words separated by slashes, the first word refers to uncommon objects, the second for curious objects, and third for special objects.
The Curio List
1 - A glass key of curious aspect, labelled "4" in an ancient tongue.
2 - The northern half of a star map showing strange stars.
3 - A vial of "Medusa Anti-Venom," stoppered with charred leather.
4 - A ring bearing ruby, within dances a tiny flame.
5 - A bundle of 5 golden feathers, purportedly the Thunderbird's.
6 - The supposed shin-bone of a Land-Whale, or perhaps a Land-Shark.
7 - A jar of liquid with 3 floating, jellied eyes. They follow you.
8 - A pouch of dust from the floor of the Cathedral of the Baptist.
9 - The deed to a castle you've never heard of, or can find on any map.
10 - The broken handle of a sword. Clutch it in sleep, and you dream of the blade.
11 - A pinch or two of ground unicorn horn in a silken bag.
12 - An arrow supposedly fired by the Master of the Wild Hunt. Still poisonous.
13 - The family tree of the 'Von Arngaults' emblazoned on a shield.
14 - A bottle of water blessed by the Gracious Saint Crane.
15 - A book with a pressed, scarlet flower, and a beautiful inscription (in Fae).
16 - A delicate mechanical butterfly, its wings inlaid with unmelting ice.
17 - Three exquisite silver stakes, wrapped in splendid cloth.
18 - A monocle with a cloudy jade lense, runes ring the bronze setting.
19 - A jar full of brittle, carved jet snakes, labelled; 'Burn'.
20 - A pot of particularly pungent ooze, labelled; 'Troll Musk.' Vile.
21 - A dusty bottle of... wine? Labelled; 'For the Banded Prince.'
22 - An ugly stone idol, it squats, leering, and it reeks of meat.
23 - A shred of mirror, though it reflects a strange library interior.
24 - A brass plate etched with burning, hateful symbols; a demon's name.
25 - A piece of bone, blackened and burned, inlaid with gold.
26 - A glass jar, sealed and full of golden liquid preserving a hand.
27 - A vial of blood, dressed in glittering runes and dried herbs.
28 - A shred of a white tree, it smells like tar or pitch.
29 - A locked, sandalwood box, it thumps rhythmically from within.
30 - A cameo depicting a noble-woman, inscribed in burning Infernal.
31 - A plain ebony ring, inscribed; 'This too, shall pass.'
32 - A dried and preserved heart, impaled cross-wise with two wooden nails.
33 - A golden ingot, wrapped in parchment, closed with a wax seal.
34 - A dry and dusty worm in a beautifully embroidered pocket.
35 - A tiny statuette of a praying saint, apparently life-sized.
36 - A scrap of cloth, embroidered; 'Drink of me, that I may drink of thee.'
37 - A shaman's staff, adorned with much bone, tied up with rough twine.
38 - A time-piece with many, many hands of inscrutable purpose.
39 - An urn depicting the 4 Divine Beasts of Daizuku.
40 - A map depicting a series of curious... canals? (Ley Lines)
41 - Half a book depicting many strange and wonderous works, incomplete.
42 - A sealed envelope, bearing the mark of an unknown house.
43 - An opal-adorned snuff box, hiding a key under a false bottom.
44 - A dried and leathery, imp-like corpse of a homunculus.
45 - A poultice of peculiarly pungent herbs, defies identification.
46 - A chain of alternating brass and silver links, ending with leering faces.
47 - A box of salt, engraved; 'For the last sins of Ninevah.'
48 - A shrunken, pickled head, eyes sewed shut, mouth nailed closed.
49 - A roughly humanoid statuette, wrapped in chains, engraved with curses.
50 - A golden apple, engraved; 'For the Fairest of All.'
51 - Lightning struck metal, unrecognisable, warped and twisted.
52 - Dark, dark glass, cloudy like smoke, coiling within, surprisingly cold.
53 - A series of rugged, black stone blocks, bearing runes, not quite dice.
54 - Half a brass pendent, engraved; '-urying a great fortune at the hi-'.
55 - An apparently marble, suspiciously warm, perfectly smooth egg.
56 - A wooden idol of twin, entwined snakes, wickedly sharp teeth.
57 - A halo of iridescent... glass? Crystal? Angelic, in theory.
58 - A key with human teeth, and a metal heart, which beats, improbably.
59 - A bag of thick, slightly yellow teeth, labelled; 'Do not Sow.'
60 - A glass jar, wax-sealed shut, full of roe-like ooze capsules.
61 - A set of 5 lapis lazuli and gold animal brooches, supposedly lucky.
62 - A small bottle of potent, sweet spirit. When over-imbibed, it induces long comas.
63 - A capsule of inordinately rotten... something. Not particularly sturdy.
64 - A pair of old, old hair pins, tarnished, glowing.
65 - An ancient... chart? Map? Only one or two familiar features.
66 - A set of gemstone needles in rainbow colours, and golden thread.
67 - A beautiful flower, carved from bone, clutching a ruby deep within.
68 - A code cipher, rings set in rings, and a strange central sigil.
69 - A withered and dried ring and little finger, glass nails, metal bones.
70 - A clay and silver ying-yang, bearing a solomonic symbol.
71 - A phial of saint's ashes, a particularly potent lucky charm.
72 - A finely wrought compass with a beautiful brass setting.
73 - 7 charcoal-like sticks that produce a heady smoke when broken.
74 - A charm made of the hair of priests, a defence against demons.
75 - A candle of mysterious origins, its smoke induces powerful dreams.
76 - A crude obsidian knight, with colourful feathers bound to it.
77 - A tiny, still articulated wolf-skeleton, the size of a large rat.
78 - A book of prayers, a couple of spells scribbled in the margins.
79 - A beautiful bottle of rust-red wine, apparently a Djinn vintage.
80 - A mask of pale wood with stone teeth and glass eyes.
81 - A pair of old, dull Obols like stormy skies. Offerings for the dead.
82 - A glass animal filled with a thick red syrup, and no apparent opening.
83 - A lump of carved coal, set in an ornate chain. Improbably cold.
84 - A butterfly brooch, though only one of its four settings is filled.
85 - A pendent of an eye, sometimes it blinks, sometimes it weeps.
86 - A book of wilfully blank pages, a gnashing maw on the cover.
87 - A claw hammer, carved entirely of odd blue crystal. Strangely sticky.
88 - An old, old wooden box, roughly carved, holding only dirt.
89 - A scrap of tapestry, depicting a man, a richly ringed hand held aloft.
90 - A small cat statuette, one eye closed, glass claws and teeth.
91 - An exquisite ivory drinking horn, meandered by arcane runes.
92 - An ocarina, apparently sewn together from various leathers.
93 - A somewhat abstract stone bird, talons clenching... something.
94 - A once shattered jade tea-cup, cracks filled in with gold.
95 - A curse-tablet of baked clay, and space for a name.
96 - A penance stone, unnamed, unworn, unbloodied, still potent
97 - A scarf depicting a mountain topped with a great, smoking mirror.
98 - An incense burner shaped like a wolf swallowing a bird.
99 - A blocky, abstract bronze mask of a horned demon, tongue lolling crazily.
100 - A golden disk, ringed with bone and wood, depicting a bleeding sun.
Alchemy
The Grand Arts of Alchemy
According to Alchemists, all that is can be divided eventually down into 8 Dominions, through which all matter can be categorised and translated, eventually, through secret and perilous arts. The path of Alchemy is much the same as our modern understanding of science, only mixed in with perhaps equal parts magic, philosophy, and luck. The most dedicated Alchemists end up changes and warped by their secret knowledges, and those that seek the Magnum Opera, are the most twisted of all.The Dominions of Alchemy
Metal - BaseThe name of all base things that are inorganic. Characterised by heaviness, denseness, darkness. The Alchemist with the Knowledge of the Metal domain practices in many ways the most famous of Alchemical practices, the translation of base metals into gold, silver, and other precious metals. Unknown to most, these practices are common, even basic, procedures. The trick is to make it economical. The more immediately useful aspects of the Metallic Alchemist's arts, are the imbibing of properties into metals, such as conductivity to magic, or resistance to the same for example.
Crystal - High
The name of all grand things that bear not the stains of life or the indignities of formlessness. Characterised by beauty, delicateness, lightness. Crystal has many esoteric and unintuitive properties to the uninitiated. Conduction of energies beyond the mortal mind, the focusing and refining of magic, the restructuring of other materials; all these are the realm of the Crystalline Alchemist who knows when to grind, or grow, when to nurture large matrices, or rush small ones.
Liquid - Base
The beginnings of formlessness, labile boundaries and permeable to many manners of things. The most common uses of Liquid Alchemy are the most widely practised; the creation of healing drafts, and other such potions of varying effects. They can range from simple dyes, to deathly concoctions that reek of chemicals. Putties and oils also fall within the Liquid Alchemist's remit.
Aetheric - High
The ending of formlessness; so far removed from being that anything can pass through it. Yet even so it bears many effects on the realms of what is, and is necessary for life (as far as is known), and must in some small way unknown to Natural Philosophy be made up of infinitesimal matter. The Aetherically gifted Alchemist can whip up storms in bottles, or create potent vapours, or remove them entirely from an area.
Flora - Base
The unthinking mode of living flesh and organic compounds. The Alchemist who practices the lore of Floral Alchemy can grow and thus create living things with properties and uses of their desire. Remedies, poisons, drugs, pigments, food-stuffs, all these and more are among the remit of the Floral Alchemist. The most knowledgable Floral Alchemist can even reach past the limits of plants and delve into the secrets of other organic matrices, the powers of soils, certain stones, fabrics even.
Fauna - High
The thinking mode of what lives, which might even give rise eventually to the self, a much sought after goal of Alchemy. The Alchemist versed in Faunal methods can reshape flesh to suit and serve; they can change its material, adapt its purposes, enhance or dull its senses. They can even create small servants to perform small tasks.
Energetic - Heresy
The heresy of the Energetic Alchemist is that they do not deal in matter and being and modes of refinement. The Energetic Alchemist deals in the realm beyond matter to touch on the realms of energy, the base actions of thought, the movement behind the moving. Their currency is lightning, their creations brass and metals in intricate patterns to achieve the impossible.
Alchemical Actions
The Alchemy Roll
In general, most actions you can perform with your secret arts requires either a recipe, or an Alchemy roll. Alchemy rolls consist of you trying to roll beneath your Alchemy skill ranks on a d6, with a number of modifiers attached to the roll. At the DM's discretion, if the task is particularly easy or difficult, the size of the dice can be changed to better represent the challenge at hand.
Basic Alchemy
This action allows you to turn a material into another material of the same dominion. You need only pass an Alchemy check to do so.
Ascension/Debasement
This action allows you to turn a material of a base dominion into a material of its high dominion, or vice versa. Ascending a material gives a penalty of -1 to your alchemy roll.
Translation
This action allows you to turn a material of a base dominion into a material of another base Dominion.
Infusion/Cancellation
This action allows you to add (infuse) or remove (cancel) a property to/from a material. Ascending a material gives a penalty of -1 to your alchemy roll. You may not infuse additional properties to a material that has more properties than you have ranks in Alchemy.
[In this case, properties refer to special and unusual properties of materials, even those that are not common to their dominion. For example, the healing effects of a potion are a property, the poisonousness of a venom is a property, and the reflectiveness of a metal to name a few.]
[In this case, properties refer to special and unusual properties of materials, even those that are not common to their dominion. For example, the healing effects of a potion are a property, the poisonousness of a venom is a property, and the reflectiveness of a metal to name a few.]
Combination/Separation
This action allows you to combine two materials of the same dominion into a material with both of its component material's properties, or separate a material with at least two properties into two materials of the same dominion with the properties of the original material split between them as the alchemist sees fit. Ascending a material gives a penalty of -1 to your alchemy roll.
Recipe
You can of course bypass all rolls if you posses a recipe, as long as you fulfil the requirement of the recipe. You can learn recipes that you posses in the same way as wizards learn new spells. You can create recipes by passing an Alchemy roll, at your DM's discretion.
Archetypes of Alchemists
BasicDealing with lower level materials grants the Basic Alchemist a wide range of knowledge and applicable methods. Note however, that basic does not refer to the techniques and capabilities of the Alchemist, merely the states of matter with which they work. They manoeuvre the modes of matter with expert precision, and restructure, refine, and combine with ease. They seek the Universal Panacea, with which all impurity and ill-humour can be destroyed.
Specialist Dominions: Metal, Flora, Liquid
Magnum Opus: The Universal Panacea
Suggested Recipes: Healing drafts, alchemist's fire, oil of slipperiness, glue bombs.
First Negation: Skin-deep blemishes remove themselves from you. You skin is perfect and smooth.
Second Negation: All features on you become perfectly arranged, mathematically so. Its somewhat unnerving.
Biological
With a focus one the modes of matter that live, Biological Alchemists can sometimes come across as playing at god, rearranging the stuff of life in the means that suit them. They rearrange flesh as easily as speaking, they nurture and cultivate life at a whim. Life is but another tool in their arsenal, and all manner of servants follow them, fulfilling maddeningly specific purposes.
Specialist Dominions: Flora, Fauna
Magnum Opus: True Homunculus
Suggested Recipes: Temporary animal aspect potions, draft of water-breathing, tangle-weed bombs.
First Negation: Your blood changes colour, and your flesh changes texture. The changes are random, and change every few days.
Second Negation: Plant-like materials sprout from odd places on your skin, and your flesh is slightly spongey to the touch.
Aethereal
The Aethereal Alchemists
Specialist Dominions: Liquid, Aetheric
Magnum Opus: Breath of Life
Suggested Recipes: Smoke grenades, vapours of vigour, sleeping drafts, potent acids.
First Negation: You are always buffeted by a unseen, unfelt wind which only affects you.
Second Negation: You hover slightly above the ground. If you breath hard, it can be heard like wind in a canyon.
Empirical
Empirical Alchemists
Specialist Dominions: Metal, Crystal
Magnum Opus: Perfect Translation [The Fundament Forge]
Suggested Recipes: Specially treated metals, artificial arcanite crystal, conduction rods.
First Negation: Your eyes become glassy, your hair becomes metallic and rigid, your nails are iron.
Second Negation: Your bones become hard and crystalline within you, in some places they jut awkwardly (though painlessly) from your body.
Abstract
Quite what it really is that the Abstract Alchemists really do is up for much debate.
Specialist Dominions: Crystal, Fauna, Aetheric
Magnum Opus: The Philosopher's Stone
Suggested Recipes: Drafts of Elemental Immunity, Draft of Mind Erasure, Living Crystals
First Negation: Solid matter in your body becomes subtly gem-like, your blood runs thin.
Second Negation: Your blood is totally gaseous now, bleeding is more like letting air from a balloon. You breath reeks of ozone.
Heretical/Energetic
Dangerous and deviant, Energetic Alchemists must keep their heresies down in the darkness away from prying eyes.
Specialist Dominions: None
Magnum Opus: The Machine Mind
Suggested Recipes: Lightning in a Bottle, Stun Mines, Trip-Wire Bombs, Kinetic Absorbers.
First Negation: Small jolts of light dash along your veins, your teeth spark sometimes when they touch.
Second Negation: Your joints lose some of their plasticity, your muscles curl like plastic tubing beneath your skin.
Conductions: Instead of Specialised Dominions, Conductions allow you to generate energy from Dominions with an Alchemy Roll. Energy is key to following and powering Energetic recipes. You may not Conduct energy from areas you do not have a Conduction for, though when you choose Conductions, you can choose any Dominion for it.
The Alchemical Path - The Easier Way
If you want a simpler way to progress this skill, then just follow the instructions below.A character gains the following benefits at the following ranks of Alchemy.
1 rank: The character can perform Alchemy Rolls, and chooses their Archetype.
2 ranks: The character chooses one of the Dominions in their Archetype's areas to become a Specialised Dominion. They show the signs of their First Negation. They gain their Archtype's trait.
Basic Trait: +1 to Translation Rolls
Biological Trait: +1 to Infusion Rolls
Aethereal Trait: +1 to Combination Rolls
Empirical Trait: +1 to Rolls to generate Money
Abstract Trait: +1 to Ascension Rolls
Heretical/Energetic Trait: Conductions rather than Specialisations
4 Ranks: The character chooses another Dominion in their Archetype's areas to become another Specialised Dominion. They show the signs of their Second Negation.
Maximum Ranks: The character can now begin work on their Archetype's Magnum Opus. Should they ever complete it, they show the signs of their Final Negation.
The Alchemical Sephirot - The Harder Way
With each rank gained in the Alchemy Skill, the Character gains a new space on the Sephirot, beginning first with Kingdom at the first rank. Each space can only be chosen if the character already posses a space that is connected to it. Thus, the second space chose must always be Foundation, and after that, the third space can be Splendour, Eternity, or Beauty.
Once the maximum number of ranks have been attained, new spaces on the Sephirot can be gained by expenditure of time and resources equal to those needed to have attained the maximum rank, and by achieving something within the field of Alchemy that has never been achieved before.
[This will probably require some amount of DM discretion. In general, the projects to acquire further spaces on the Sephirot should be grand in scope, and novel in some regard at least. Err on the side of generosity as long as they aren't phoning it in.]
Once the maximum number of ranks have been attained, new spaces on the Sephirot can be gained by expenditure of time and resources equal to those needed to have attained the maximum rank, and by achieving something within the field of Alchemy that has never been achieved before.
[This will probably require some amount of DM discretion. In general, the projects to acquire further spaces on the Sephirot should be grand in scope, and novel in some regard at least. Err on the side of generosity as long as they aren't phoning it in.]
Kingdom
This is gained when you take your first rank in Alchemy. With it, you gain basic access to Alchemical processes and knowledge.
Foundation
This is gained when you take your second rank in Alchemy. With it, you gain a Dominion Specialisation from on your chosen Archetype's areas.
Splendour
You may purchase this Sephirot area when you gain a new rank. With it, you suffer no penalty to Ascension rolls.
Eternity
You may purchase this Sephirot area when you gain a new rank. With it, you suffer no penalty to Translation rolls.
Beauty
You may purchase this Sephirot area when you gain a new rank. With it, you gain an additional Dominion specialisation.
Judgement
You may purchase this Sephirot area when you gain a new rank. With it, you suffer no penalty to Combination and Separation rolls.
Kindness
You may purchase this Sephirot area when you gain a new rank. With it, you suffer no penalty to Infusion and Cancellation rolls.
Knowledge
You may purchase this Sephirot area when you gain a new rank. With it, you gain +1 to rolls involving your Dominons of Specialisation.
Understanding
You may purchase this Sephirot area when you gain a new rank. With it, you gain +1 to rolls concerning Dominions adjacent to your areas of Specialisation.
Wisdom
You may purchase this Sephirot area when you gain a new rank. With it, you gain +1 to rolls concerning Dominions
Crown
You may purchase this Sephirot area when you gain a new rank, as long as you have all three of Knowledge, Understanding, and Wisdom. With Crown, you can begin the long journey to the creation of your Specialisation's Magnum Opus.
The Magnum Opera
The process of creating the Magnum Opera has never been documented in history, though the results of them have popped up here and there in history, presumably created by non-human hands through their mysterious magics and powers. The ultimate dream of every Alchemist is the creation of their Magnum Opus. Some have come close. By the grace of gods, perhaps you will be the first.Once either the maximum ranks in Alchemy has been gained (if using the easier way) or the Crown has been achieved (is using the harder way), the final project can be put into motion. In no particular order, the Alchemist must succeed on at least 3 Alchemy rolls on a d10 to determine the process of creation. They must obtain the Key Reagent for the creation of the Magnum Opus (which is specific to each Opera) which probably is a great quest in and of itself. Optionally, the Alchemist can also gather up a Catalyst for the reaction, which is not necessary, but makes the final process easier. To create the Magnum Opus consumes the Key Reagent, and requires the Alchemist pass an Alchemy roll on a d12, which can be rolled twice and the better result taken if a sufficient Catalyst is present and consumed. If the roll is passed, the Alchemist must make the Sacrifice, they show the signs of their Final Negation, and their, glistening, gleaming, is the Magnum Opus. Nothing will ever be the same.
The Universal Panacea
Effect: Instant return to maximum hit points, curing of all negative effects, -1 maximum hit points permanently.
Key Reagent: The Roots of the Oolean Poppy Plants
Catalyst: Flesh untouched by Sickness
The Sacrifice: You automatically fail saving throws against poison.
Final Negation: All blemishes are gone from your body, all deviations smoothed out. You are the perfect (unnervingly and inhumanly so) example of your kind.
Effect: You are immune to all the deleterious effects caused by your environment. Inasmuch as they will not kill you, at least. Discomfort and pain are yet your travelling companions.
Key Reagent: An Angel's (or other such space-faring creature's) Lungs
Catalyst: Corpses of Creatures with Elemental Immunities
The Sacrifice: Loss of Homeostasis [you become terribly vulnerable to environmental dangers]
Final Negation: You are always cold, your breath comes out in harsh gasps, dew forms on you at all hours.
The True Homunculus
Effect: If your body is brought back to your Homunculus within a day of your death, you can return from death in a new body.
Key Reagent: Clay of the Garden of Childhood (or wherever mankind was born)
Catalyst: Doppelganger Corpses
The Sacrifice: You automatically fail saving throws against System Shock
Final Negation: Your flesh is sickly and pallid, barely holding itself together. Your mind, however, is sharp as razors, and easily (and harmlessly) removed from your ailing body.
Perfect Translation - The Fundament Forge
Effect: You can create whatever you want, no rolls necessary, gram for gram.
Key Reagent: A Tongue of the Immortal Flame
Catalyst: Vast, VAST amounts of Gold
The Sacrifice: You have the Midas Touch
Final Negation: Your skin is gold; your eyes, gemstones; your blood, a flow of rubies.
The Philosopher's Stone
Effect: You will never die of age, or age related concerns. You maximum hit points cannot be decreased.
Key Reagent: A Heart of an Immortal
Catalyst: The Blood of Many Races
The Sacrifice: Addiction to the Elixir of Life (instant, no save possible)
Final Negation: Your breath is a hurricane within you, your flesh studded with gleaming crystal, your remaining meat a wild kaleidoscope of colours.
The Machine Mind
Effect: Oh shit, its a sentient AI. Fuck. What have you done?
Key Reagent: The Recursive Connection Theory (said to be held by the Djinn Technocrats)
Catalyst: Copious amounts of Lightning
The Sacrifice: You automatically fail saving throws against Devices
Final Negation: Your veins are wires; your meat tubes, metal pipes; your flesh nets, gauze.
[Final Designer Notes]
This is designed for a system like LotFP, where skills are ranked from 0 to 6.
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