One Shot: Rise of the Beastmen: Battle for the North

My kids, ages 7 and 9, have been begging me to play an RPG with them; having a few free days around Christmas, I finished fleshing out a bit of lore, and built a one-shot campaign for them. It, too, is set in this world, a few short years before the age of the beastmen truly begins. It's a bit long, as it was actually three sessions, stuck in between shopping, presents, and general holiday spirit.

The Emissaries

It is the year 3781, 7 years before the Wall of Mareten is completed, and 19 years before the Age of the Beastmen. The Council of Five - that is, the top diplomats of the Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, and Gnomes - called two of its last heroes to begin what may be the most important mission of the century. Beastmen activity was increasing; incursions were digging further into civilized territory than ever before. The Elves (that is, the True Elves) in the West were pressed to the breaking point; already, the southern city had closed its gates. Roads were not safe. Worse, rumors began to filter in of a danger to the North. If the Northern Tribes were conquered, their precious knowledge would be lost.

Thus, the Council summoned Gimli Thorson, Dwarvish Craftpriest, and Evindal Elaric, Elven Enchanter, to begin a perilous journey to warn the people of the north.

One-Shot: Ancient History: The Dwarves

The first in what may well be a series of glimpses into the past; a reliving of the origin of Dwarves.

Prologue: A Book Is Found

In the hidden city of the gnomes, while the others were off digging up a great scale, Llarm decided to take a look in the library. The gnomish library is, in fact, one of the greatest libraries in Mor-Thir, provided you have a Stack Guide. Llarm poked about, and with his innate Librarian skills, discovered a small secret area. Inside, he found an ancient book - not even a book, but a carefully carved slab of stone, covered in runes. Bound to it with a strap of leather was a scroll, written in Mountain Dwarf. With the help of Groin, Llarm deciphered the scroll. On it was written the following tale:

There and Back Again

The Party:

• Rig Bigny, Gnomish Beastmaster
  • Flit, the bat familiar
  • Clench, the Wardog War-Badger
  • Faufe Yitaw, Dogwere (Badgerwere?)
    • Rawf, Wardog familiar
• Caranthir, Human Leader of Men
  • Rhea Trueheart, Elvish Nightblade
  • Lucille "Luce" Burwood, Fighter
  • Elenora Garrard, White Mage
• Gróin of Norston, Dwarven Sapper
  • Zarc, Thrassian Gladiator
• Llarm Paphyra, Elvish Polydoctorate
  • The Metal Man, construct
• Airsen Birdmaster, Airwalker
  • Erik Stein, Dwarven Vaultguard
• ???, Elven Ranger

In Roundrock, while the ranger found a trainer for her ferret, Gróin went looking for henchmen. He found a priestess, whose name I forgot to write down (typical). She does, however, speak both Common and Mejastan, which should prove useful if the party were to journey further south.

The ranger attempted to hire a sage to determine just what, exactly, the strange magical globe actually was. She forked over 250 gold, but when she handed over the globe, the sage quickly handed both back. "I don't work on items that far outside my power level," she explained; the globe is immensely powerful, but beyond that, the sage had no further information. That left only hiding it away forever, or actually staring into it; with a deep breath, the ranger held the globe aloft, peered into its depths...

How does Wish work?

On Wishes

By Lucious¹

Property of Wrapport Library, Wrapport College, Wrapport, Mareten, Mor-Thir.

Wishes and miracles are strange, powerful spells, capable of manipulating reality itself.

Miracles, of course, are infrequent blessings handed out to faithful followers, and are often accompanied by divine quests, as difficult as they are mandatory. The more powerful the miracle, the more stringent the quest. The most powerful miracles, granting immortality, powerful enchanted weapons, and so on, are simply refused, or even punished, at the whim of the miracle-granting deity. Wishes, on the other hand, seem to have no oversight; at face value, it seems even the most exploitative wish could be made reality.

Retiring and New Characters

From this point on, players wishing to retire their characters may create new characters, starting at 1/2 of the experience gained since the start of the campaign. As of this blog, that is 10769 total experience points gained; that is per-PC experiences, using party majority for party splits. That means new characters will begin with 5385 XP, plus whatever extra experience they gained from frivolous spending. That will place most characters at level 3, with Airwalkers, Ectomancers, Thieves, and Spies at level 4, and expensive characters like the Dwarven Fury, most Elves, Gnomish Mage, Nobiran Wonderworker, Thrassian Gladiator, and Zaharan Ruinguard at level 2.

As the adventure continues, I will keep a running total of current starting XP. Additionally, once that reaches 20,000 XP, new characters will begin with a flat 16,000 gp, and can trade some of that gold for various magical items, as described on page 253 of the ACKS Core book; at 310,000 XP, it raises to 240,000 gp, and at 640,000 XP, it raises to 815,000 gp. Not that we're going to reach that point in a while, of course...

The Planets

There is no session today, so instead, you're going to get an extra, special (and also extra special) blog: the planets!

Mor-Thir is a popular continent (why is that? All will be revealed... eventually), but there's more to the universe than just one continent. Ignoring, for the moment (and for the sake of the plot), the other continents surrounding Mor-Thir; allow me to introduce you to the other planets in the solar system.

Now, even without magic, sages and wise men can chart the celestial bodies in the sky. Add in even a little bit of magic, and the other planets can become clear. While little is known about what inhabits these other planets (if anything), sages at least know about them.

Do You Know the Way to Falach a'Bhaile

The Party:

• Rig Bigny, Gnomish Beastmaster
  • Flit, the bat familiar
  • Clench, the Wardog War-Badger
  • Faufe Yitaw, Dogwere (Badgerwere?)
    • Rawf, Wardog familiar
• Caranthir, Human Leader of Men
  • Rhea Trueheart, Elvish Nightblade
  • Lucille "Luce" Burwood, Fighter
  • Elenora Garrard, White Mage
• Gróin of Norston, Dwarven Sapper
  • Zarc, Thrassian Gladiator
• Llarm Paphyra, Elvish Polydoctorate
  • The Metal Man, construct
• Airsen Birdmaster, Airwalker
  • Sara, Airwalker (deceased)
  • Erik Stein, Dwarven Vaultguard
• Sneakily, Spy (retired)
• ???, Elven Ranger

I forgot to get the Elven Ranger's name - sorry about that.

Moving on from the treasure cave, the group moved north to the rumored location of the great Gnomish City. Travel was easy, and the days were warm and pleasant; the area was covered in deep, lush grass - perfect farming land. They passed several farms on the way. They arrived in the area, and began to look about for the location of the city. Rig managed to locate a small burrow, and chatted with a sleepy giant python; the python pointed them slightly west, and went back to bed. Soon, they found a strangely wooded area; the nearby area was lightly wooded, but this area was very heavily wooded. After a little more searching, they found what they supposed was the entrance. The path was fairly obvious; thick trees lined the edges, and even thicker undergrowth filled the gaps between. The path was shaded by the forest, though plenty of rich, green light filtered through. They trudged along, with the ranger moving silently through the forest, acting as a scout.

Blind Ajeela

Long ago, there lived a devout priestess named Ajeela Lightbringer. She served her god with fervent devotion, caring for the poor, the sick, and the injured. Throughout her youth, she grew in wisdom and power; men, women, and children came from all over to receive healing and blessings from her. Her congregation grew to thousands, then tens of thousands, with no sign of stopping. Her life was blessed by her god; anything she set her mind to, she could accomplish.

If that was the entire story, she would have been remembered as a great saint, and likely immortalized in stained glass or painted fresco in countless chapels and cathedrals. As it is, however, few even remember her; the church erased her from their scrolls, and she vanished into legend.

Contests, Teleporters, and Artifacts, Oh My!

This was an eventful session, with a lot going on! The Party:

• Rig Bigny, Gnomish Beastmaster
  • Flit, the bat familiar
  • Clench, the Wardog War-Badger
  • Faufe Yitaw, Dogwere (Badgerwere?)
    • Rawf, Wardog familiar
• Caranthir, Human Leader of Men
  • Rhea Trueheart, Elvish Nightblade
  • Lucille "Luce" Burwood, Fighter
  • Elenora Garrard, White Mage
• Gróin of Norston, Dwarven Sapper
  • Zarc, Thrassian Gladiator
• Llarm Paphyra, Elvish Polydoctorate
  • The Metal Man, construct
• Airsen Birdmaster, Airwalker
  • Sara, Airwalker
  • Erik Stein, Dwarven Vaultguard
• Sneakily, Spy
  • Dzixud, Thrassian Assassin

As you may recall, the adventurers returned from the depths of the tower to recover. The next morning, they awoke to the sound of running feet and shouting voices; thankfully, it wasn't an attack - it was a party! In fact, it was Guard's Day, named for those who served on the wall, in the mountains, and in cities everywhere. The party met up with Llarm and Rig (though Caranthir was still in bed for his week of bed rest). There were mini-potions to buy, events to participate in, and contests to win. The group tried their hands at a few of those.

Dungeon Bash

The Party:

• Rig Bigny, Gnomish Beastmaster
  • Flit, the bat familiar
  • Clench, the Wardog War-Badger
  • Faufe Yitaw, Dogwere (Badgerwere?)
    • Rawf, Wardog familiar
• Caranthir, Human Leader of Men
  • Rhea Trueheart, Elvish Nightblade
  • Lucille "Luce" Burwood, Fighter
  • Elenora Garrard, White Mage
• Gróin of Norston, Dwarven Sapper
  • Zarc, Thrassian Gladiator
• James Morthor, Warlock
  • Doggan, Tiny-Sized Dragon familiar
  • Iodberta, Fighter
  • Frauuara "Frauline", Fighter
  • Leah Thewend, Airwalker
  • Encarna D'Cruz, Priestess
  • Alice, human child (age 10)
• Airsen Birdmaster, Airwalker
  • Sara, Airwalker
  • Erik Stein, Dwarven Vaultguard
• Sneakily, Spy
  • Dzixud, Thrassian Assassin

Caranthir and Airsen returned to Wallace to fetch their companions; since Morthor, Rig, and Llarm's players weren't present, they were left behind in Wallace. As long as they were there, they scoured the area for henchmen, and ended up hiring two: a Thrassian Assassin named Dzixud for Sneakily, and a Dwarven Vaultguard named Erik Stein and an Airwalker named Sara for Airsen. They also borrowed Elenora, the white mage, as they knew they would need some healing. As a special note, that makes Erik the third humanoid male this party has hired, beside Zarc and Faufe. There are still no human male henchmen...

Split Party: Part Two

The Party:

• Rig Bigny, Gnomish Beastmaster
  • Flit, the bat familiar
  • Clench, the Wardog War-Badger
  • Faufe Yitaw, Dogwere (Badgerwere?)
    • Rawf, Wardog familiar
    • Grerr, Wardog totem animal (deceased)
• Caranthir, Human Leader of Men
  • Rhea Trueheart, Elvish Nightblade
  • Lucille "Luce" Burwood, Fighter
  • Elenora Garrard, White Mage
• Airsen Birdmaster, Airwalker

Meanwhile, Caranthir noticed most of his companions were no longer in town; with Rig and Llarm still recovering, he and Airsen had nothing to do. They spent a few days listening for rumors; first, they heard of a small shop, with cut-rate merchandise, and picked up a Scroll of Gods, hoping to glean some hidden knowledge. They left a Potion of Anything, planning on returning for it later. Eventually, they ran into a city guard who was tasked with finding adventurers to clear out a problem on the Wall: the lower half of Mareten Tower had been closed off for centuries, but recently, something had been knocking on the door... from the inside. Eager to participate, the duo, along with their henchmen, explored the first floor of the tower. Apart from a painful magical trap and a carefully avoided pit, there was little of excitement. However, on the second floor (down), they had not explored far before a portcullis came crashing down, cutting off the exit! Airsen and Caranthir were trapped on one side, with Luce and Rhea Trueheart on the other. Hoping the paths rejoined, they continued exploring.

Split Party: Part One

The adventure today was broken into two pieces; as such, it'll be easier to post two blogs, one for each.

The Party:

• Gróin of Norston, Dwarven Sapper
  • Zarc, Thrassian Gladiator
• James Morthor, Warlock
  • Doggan, Tiny-Sized Dragon familiar
  • Iodberta, Fighter
  • Frauuara, Fighter
  • Leah Thewend, Airwalker
  • Encarna D'cruz, Priestess
  • Alice, human child (age 10)
• Sneakily, Spy

First, Morthor, Groin, and Sneakily, along with their companions, left to follow the treasure map left by the druids. A day onto the trail, they ran into a laconic young man sitting by the road. After some concerned discussion, Morthor opted to move past him. When they were a few hundred yards down the road, there was a sudden gust of wind - they'd been robbed! Of... everything! They turned to see the young man hastily dragging anything magical out of the pile of their stuff at his feet! Seeing them start to move towards him, he waved the wand in his hand threateningly. "On step closer, and I'll Wish you were on the moon!"

Weather and Holidays

I've generated the weather in Mor-Thir for the entire year; it varies by latitude, but as the party discovered, there are times it is just plain hot. So hot, in fact, that they had to travel at half speed, or risk heatstroke!

But apart from heat, what other weather exists?

Knowledge Sought is Knowledge Found

A while back, the warlock Morthor was given a letter by an old woman, and told, "Knowledge you seek? Knowledge you find!"

The front of the envelope was blank but for the world "Knowledge"; the back was sealed with wax, with a strange symbol for the stamp.

Inside was what appeared to be a page, torn from a book; page 117, as written at the top. The page contained two things of note: first, a poem, and second, a map.

The poem reads:

Knowledge sought
   is knowledge found,
An Orb of thought
   deep underground
A hidden spot
   near Gnomish Mound
Knowledge Sought
is Knowledge found

The map is reproduced to the left. It appears to be a maze, with the entrance either at the bottom of the page, or near the top, next to a group of brightly-colored houses. At the top and bottom left of the maze are two trees, each with slightly different fruit. In the middle of the map is a strange image of a brownish blob with a yellowish cone on its top, next to a blue ^ over a grey v.

Last, and perhaps most importantly, there is a section that appears to be closed off; inside is a symbol: a circle with a dot in its middle, very similar to the wax seal.

It is slightly odd that the area under the poem is blank, while the maze takes up the margin to the left; naught but ink-stains mark the rest of the page.

Druid Destruction

The Party:

• Rig Bigny, Gnomish Beastmaster
  • Flit, the bat familiar
  • Clench, the Wardog War-Badger
  • Faufe Yitaw, Dogwere (Badgerwere?)
    • Rawf, Wardog familiar
    • Grerr, Wardog totem animal
• Caranthir, Human Leader of Men
  • Rhea Trueheart, Elvish Nightblade
  • Lucille "Luce" Burwood, Fighter
  • Elenora Garrard, White Mage
• Gróin of Norston, Dwarven Sapper
  • Zarc, Thrassian Gladiator
• James Morthor, Warlock
  • Doggan, Tiny-Sized Dragon familiar
  • Iodberta, Fighter
  • Frauuara, Fighter
  • Leah Thewend, Airwalker
  • Encarna D'cruz, Priestess
  • Alice, human child (age 10)
• Llarm Paphyra, Elvish Polydoctorate
  • The Metal Man, construct
• Airsen Birdmaster, Airwalker

After a bit of puttering about, not entirely decided whether to start the session or not, we finally started the battle. Caranthir rushed in, and the other fighters joined him, slashing at the leader. The leader retreated to the center of the stone circle, just in time for the three other high-ranking druids to cast their spells: Bless, Bane, and Holy Chant (for those of you keeping track at home, anyone close enough when it went off would thus be at a -3 to attack, and -3 damage!). The other druids, meanwhile, leaped forward, attacking and revealing the pit vipers and anacondas wrapped around their arms and waists. Their weapons (and fangs) clanged off the armored fighters, to no avail.

The Journey Home, Part 2

The Party:

• Rig Bigny, Gnomish Beastmaster
  • Flit, the bat familiar
  • Clench, the Wardog War-Badger
  • Faufe Yitaw, Dogwere (Badgerwere?)
    • Rawf, Wardog familiar
    • Grerr, Wardog totem animal
• Caranthir, Human Leader of Men
  • Rhea Trueheart, Elvish Nightblade
  • Lucille "Luce" Burwood, Fighter
  • Elenora Garrard, White Mage
• Gróin of Norston, Dwarven Sapper
• James Morthor, Warlock
  • Doggan, Tiny-Sized Dragon familiar
  • Iodberta, Fighter
  • Frauuara, Fighter
  • Alice, human child
• Llarm Paphyra, Elvish Polydoctorate
  • The metal man, level [variable] construct
• Airsen Birdmaster, Airwalker

With everyone present, it was time to engage the goblins. The party rushed in, shrugging off arrow after arrow, the front line protecting the spellcasters until they could fire off a sleep spell. Two goblin archers were quickly disposed of, and the first spell took down all but one of the remaining goblin minions, though it didn't touch the leader or the champions. The next round, the champions kicked most of the sleeping minions awake, though they didn't have time to react before a second sleep spell hit them, and down they went. This time, the fighters killed those within reach, just to make sure they didn't get up again. One of Fawfe's familiars was hit, then taken down by goblins; none of the other goblins could land a blow, however, and after a few rounds of blades sliding off plate armor, the leader was slain. The remaining champions opted for a fighting retreat, though all but one was cut down. Morthor's henchwomen gave chase, but didn't manage to capture the nasty goblin.

The goblins disposed of, the group quickly went through their belongings, finding a musical instrument that belonged to a bard (a lyre, in fact), a potion, and an assortment of silver, electrum, and gold, as well as weapons and armor from the goblins. The leader was wearing very fancy-looking armor, though goblin-sized, so too small for the fighters. Luckily, it was a decent fit for Gróin, though he opted to hold off on wearing it until it could be identified. Unfortunately, the goblin that got away had made off with Leah's +1 bow. Though Rig was able to restore Fawfe's familiar to life, the goblin sword removed one of the poor beast's legs; however, that was the only damage sustained in the battle.

There was one other item in the camp - a chest-sized box with a slot, sized for money. Llarma, having already collected a mechanical man, claimed it as her own, and dropped a silver piece in. Nothing happened, so she dropped in a gold piece. After some whirring and clanking, it spat out a javelin! Fancy! Putting in two gold pieces resulted in a case of 20 crossbow bolts; it seems the machine randomly chooses a weapon worth what is inserted, with a minimum purchase of one gold piece. It explains why the goblins had such nice stuff, too; better quality weapons means better spoils.

After another day's journey, the weather changed for the worse; first, it rained all afternoon, then the next day, a tornado ripped through the area! Though it lost everyone a day's march, they were able to hunker down in a well-built shelter and weather the storm. The heat wave broke, however, and they were able to make it back to civilization without trouble. They spent a full day drying out, while a hired specialist tested the magical items they had. Indeed, the armor and shield pried from the dead goblin leader were not cursed - in fact, it was +3 plate and a +1 shield! The dwarf was quite excited. The potion was a potion of plant control; very handy. The knife, given as payment for killing the Lamia, was in fact a +1 athame. The previously-unknown scroll, written in dwarven, was a divine Scroll of Ward against Lycanthropes. Last but not least, the party managed to sell the final hippogriff baby, padding their already bulging moneybags.

They put out an ad for adventurers, and managed to pick up a priestess and a thrassian gladiator: Encarna D'cruz (lvl 1), and Zarc (lvl 2).

Though they spent an hour at the local tavern, no one managed to hear anything interesting, and a trip to the Wall Guard headquarters had little of interest. However, the local church had two favors, for which they would gladly owe favors in return: first, a village in the wild plains had driven off their missionaries, and travelers as well; the church was worried dark things were happening there. Second, a group of druids had been making trouble, destroying roads and villages. Bravely, the group accepted both missions. Helpfully, both were on the way to the gnome city, which is where Morthor was anxious to go.

They set off along the road; one morning along the way, they discovered fresh, green grass had sprouted up in footprints, right through the center of their camp; no one knew quite what to make of it. There were no other problems, however, and soon they came across tracks for the druids. Cautiously following the tracks to their lair, the party found a dozen armed mercenaries, along with nine druids: six outside a stone circle, three inside, and the last sitting in the center. They continued their chanting as the party watched, silently; after about half an hour, they hushed, and the druid in the center stood and approached them. Morthor attempted to talk them out of attacking villages, but the druid was adamant - they were following the will of nature, and returning the Wild Plains to the control of Wild Magic. He was haughty at first, but became more agitated as they spoke - no matter what Morthor suggested, the druids were absolutely certain that they were following the will of nature. Morthor stepped back and allowed Caranthir to take over negotiations, as he and Larma stepped back to cast spells...

Treasure and Experience

• Treasure from sales
  • From the Lamia: 6000ep, 4000gp, zircon (75), wrought brass (100)
  • From the Kobolds and Thoghrin: 1 box of shells (80), 2 agate (25 ea), 1 bag saffron (15), 1 tiger eye (25), 1 statue (160), 1200 sp
  • From the Goblins: Musical instrument (lyre), 23000sp, 7000ep, 1274gp, jasper (50), wrought brass (120)
  • Sale of the last baby hippogriff: 2880
• XP From Encounters
  • 20 goblins (5 each)
  • 4 champions (1 fled, 3 killed) (10 each)
  • 1 goblin leader (15)
• Total XP: 16104
• Total gp: 18724
• XP per PC: 1895 XP
• XP for henchmen: 947 XP
• Treasure per PC: 2341 gp
• Treasure per Henchman: 1170 gp
• Note: Clench gets a henchman share of XP, but not treasure.
• Note: XP and treasure was already tallied in-game.

GM Notes: Goblins just don't hit very hard. Against peasants and low-level adventurers, they can be terrifying, especially wielding crossbows and good swords, but against well-equipped adventurers, they don't stand a chance, at least not in such low numbers.

I can't wait to find out how the (rapidly-growing) party fares against these druids, though! This is the first magic-enabled battle where they didn't have the element of surprise, and the first battle against more-than-first-level character-class NPCs that the whole group is participating in. Is there a TPK in store, or another definitive rout? Tune in next time to find out!

The Journey Home, Part 1

The Party:

• Rig Bigny, Gnomish Beastmaster
  • Flit, the bat familiar
  • Clench, the Wardog War-Badger
  • Faufe Yitaw
    • Rawf, Wardog familiar
    • Grerr, Wardog totem animal
• Caranthir, Human Leader of Men
  • Rhea Trueheart, Elvish Nightblade
  • Lucille "Luce" Burwood, Fighter
  • Elenora Garrard, White Mage
• Gróin of Norston, Dwarven Sapper
• James Morthor, Warlock
  • Doggan, Tiny-Sized Dragon familiar
  • Iodberta, Fighter
  • Frauuara, Fighter
  • Alice, human child
• Llarm Paphyra, Elvish Polydoctorate
  • The metal man, level [variable] construct

This was a short session, due to a couple missing players.

Our heroic adventurers, carrying the Lamia’s head as proof, returned to the kobolds. This time, they were met by the chieftain; as happy as he was to be rid of the Lamia, he was carefully avoiding the subject of payment. Rig, sensing an opportunity, warned the chief that while the Lamia was dead, there was every chance it would come back as a horrible undead creature, and that if they were to be paid, they would gladly used their abilities to stop that from ever happening. As illustration, he used his innate gnomish ability to throw his voice, and cause the Lamia to speak, threatening to kill them all. The chief reacted strongly, and had the tribe shaman call the witch doctor, who brought out a cloth-wrapped athame. It didn’t have any specific identifying marks, just some general magical symbols on it. The party expressed some displeasure at having so little to gain from their endeavors, so the chief threw in some pretty shells, as well.

Bardbarian: Beyond the Wall Tour

An excerpt from Norston Times:

The Bardbarian is a modern marvel; with magic and music, he draws staggering number of people to his concerts. Rich and poor, young and old, filling even the Slowhaven Amphitheater; people travel from miles around to attend. His diverse band includes a bard, a mage, a dwarf, and even a bladedancer, and his music reflects that diversity, ranging from the thunder-and-lightning scream-fest of Reigning Blood, to the lyrical ballads Stromsloja Rhapsody and Hotel Annhoradwy.

The Bardbarian will be visiting Norston 8/14, and will be preforming new songs from his Beyond the Wall Tour. Tickets are 1 sp standing room, 1 ep for mid-row, and 1 gp for front row seats. Please see your local message board for details.

Bees and Ambushes

The Party:

• Rig Bigny, Gnomish Beastmaster
  • Flit, the bat familiar
  • Clench, the Wardog War-Badger
  • Faufe Yitaw
    • Rawf, Wardog familiar
    • Grerr, Wardog totem animal
• Caranthir, Human Leader of Men
  • Rhea Trueheart, Elvish Nightblade
  • Lucille "Luce" Burwood, Fighter
  • Elenora Garrard, White Mage
• Gróin of Norston, Dwarven Sapper
• James Morthor, Warlock
  • Doggan, Tiny-Sized Dragon familiar
  • Iodberta, Fighter
  • Frauuara, Fighter
  • Alice, human child
• Llarm Paphyra, Elvish Polydoctorate (more misspelling!)
  • The metal man, level [variable] construct

I'd like to point out that every single (living, non-animal) hireling is female: Luce, Rhea, Iodberta, Frauuara, and Elenora. Faufe and friends are wardogs, though smart ones.

Their business in Slowhaven previously taken care of, the party decided to make haste for the ruin, hoping to find massive amounts of treasure and whatnot. Chartering a river barge, they spent the next several days fishing and relaxing. Not a bad way to spend Brightest Day. They ran into a flock of swans in Riverbend, where Rig heard of a big fish in the lake. They disembarked at Market Lake, and weathered a storm that whipped up in the late afternoon. The next morning, they set out for Wallace, and once through the great Gate began the trek through the wilderness.

They began searching for the ruins they had heard of once they arrived in the general area, and managed to run into a giant tuatara lizard which proved none too friendly. It charged the group, but didn't manage to land so much as a nip before it was beaten to within an inch of its life. Rig gave it the chance to back down, which it accepted. It told them where the ruins were, and retreated to nurse its (considerable) wounds.

The ruins themselves were once a large trading city, with a great road (long since destroyed) that connected the Gate with the forest lands. It was split east/west by a high bank, and north/south by a wide, slightly elevated road. The party agreed to enter the north-east quarter first - what used to be a market and warehouse area. It was abandoned, but for a swarm of giant killer bees! Surprised, the party had little time to react before the 15 speedy bees swarmed them. Gróin was attacked by four bees, but managed to shrug off the sting that broke through his armor. A second bee attacked him as well, and his tough dwarf saves came through again. Rhea, the nightblade, didn't fare as well, and dropped, poisoned! Grimly, the others fended off the bees as best they could, until Morthor the Warlock cast Sleep, dropping the swarm in an instant. Elenora the White Mage quickly revived the fallen elf with Neutralize Poison, and the dwarf yanked the stinger out of himself. Ouch. The moment's pause was no victory, however - a second wave of bees emerged, ten tough guards. Clench the war-dogbadger fell, as did Iodberta. Luckily, Iodberta was able to be revived by Elenora, and suffered no harm; Clench had to roll on the mortal wounds table, but managed a natural 20, and was perfectly fine. The final opponent was the queen bee, but she could only beat ineffectively at Caranthir's tough armor. Finally, she dropped dead, and the sleeping bees were quickly ended. The group decided healing was in order, and boarded up the nest to use as a temporary hideout, discovering 3 potions-worth of royal honey. The sapper, wisely, dropped a trap in front of the door, and boarded it up with planks. He also reinforced the walls with summoned iron plate. That evening, as they party rested and recuperated, Clench leapt to his feet in alarm - something was outside! After a moment, the party heard the whoops and raspy laughter of a party of kobols. A lot of kobolds, actually. Soon, there was a scream at the door as the first kobold ran into the trap and was instantly slain. Then another. And... another. In fact, the kobolds kept coming; blasting through their moral rolls, the idiot kobolds piled their corpses high. Only 22 of the original 62 survived the encounter with the magical trap. In the morning, the well-rested adventurers opened the door (well, wall, they made a new door to avoid the trap) to a grisly scene: 40 kobold bodies, heaped in piles near the trapped door. Shrugging at the stupidity of the creatures, they resumed exploring the area. Finding nothing of interest in this quarter, they moved south - and discovered the kobold warren! The area teemed with kobolds - hundreds of them! After some discussion, they decided to attempt to hail the small lizard-creatures. Only Rig and Gróin could speak the language; Rig parlayed, and after parting with some silver, was introduced to the clan shaman. While he wasn't impressed by the group, he made no move to attack, either. After some questioning, he suggested the group rid him of a problem his clan was facing - a strange, half-woman, half-mountain-lion creature that lived in the south-west quadrant of the ruins. A Lamia! The group agreed, and crept up on the unsuspecting creature. A quick silence spell, and the creature was unable to cast Command Word; surrounded and trapped, she gulped a potion of speed, but was only able to land two blows before she fell to the rapid onslaught of the party. Threat ended, they searched for her lair, as Rig fell to dissecting the creature for its expensive insides. They discovered no small amount of treasure: 6000 ep, 4000 gp, a zircon, a small wrought brass statue, a shield +3, a Scroll of Resist Cold, written in draconic, a Rope of Climbing, and a scroll written in dwarven; they were able to decipher that it’s a divine scroll, but otherwise have no idea. One final item caused a bit of consternation: a Philter of Love, carefully placed on a pink pillow. Morthor and Caranthir had a bit of an argument over who was to keep that particular item, each wanting to keep it out of the other's hands. Hardly scratched from the fight, the group returned to the kobolds...

Treasure and Experience

• Gold from Treasure:
  • 6000ep (3000 gp equivalent)
  • 4000gp
  • bronze statue, as yet unsold
  • zircon, as yet unsold
• Gold from Sales: none
• Total gold: 7000 gp
• XP From Encounters:
  • 6 swans (5 XP ea) (parlayed)
  • 1 giant Tuatara lizard (320 XP)
  • 15 giant killer bees, 10 giant killer bee guards (6 XP)
  • 1 queen bee (13 XP)
  • 62 kobolds (5 XP) (40 killed by trap, 22 fled)
  • 343 kobolds, plus leaders (5 XP+) (avoided through parlay: 0 XP)
  • 1 lamia (2500 XP)
• XP From Sales: none
• Total XP: 10323 XP (7000 must wait until returning to town)
• XP Per PC: 443 XP
• *XP per Henchman: 222 XP
• Treasure per PC: 933 gp
• *Treasure per Henchman: 466.5 gp

*The metal man and Faufe and friends stuck around at the wagon to protect it (I imagine), so they do not get XP or gold, unless it's shared with them.

GM Notes

Kobolds aren't usually as stupid as that, but they really wanted that honey. And they rolled a LOT of ones, twos, and threes, so decided to keep on pushing, hoping either the trap would jam, or one of them would get through. Pity it was a perpetual magic trap... Meanwhile, the weather has been good - so far. The heat has kicked up, though, and the party is going to be moving much slower on the return trip. If they survive the kobolds, of course; they've done well so far, but there are over 300 kobolds, plus any leaders, in that warren!

Also, that poor Lamia... as tricksy as she was, she didn't stand a chance to the sudden onslaught. She was rushed, surrounded, and taken down in only two rounds. Next time, Gadget... next time!

And, a note on a house rule - I don't like insta-death unless it comes from a high-level monster. The lowly killer bee may immediately die upon a sting, but it has a better-than-half chance of insta-killing. Harsh! Too harsh, I think. Instead, I rule it as an immediate loss of all hit points. Neutralize poison can restore a player to life at 1 HP with no other ill side effects; otherwise, they have to roll on the Mortal Wounds table.

Leveling Up & A New House Rule

There are a few key points associated with gaining XP and leveling up that I wanted to go over.

Fighting or otherwise defeating monsters will return immediate XP, so if the party is stuck in the wilderness, they can still level up. Discovered copper, silver, electrum, gold, or platinum gives XP as soon as civilization is reached; any town, keep, or sufficiently large camp counts. Non-magical treasure becomes XP the moment it's sold (or, if sold outside of civilization, as soon as civilization is reached). Magical treasure is a bit different; if ever used in any way, it may not be converted to XP when sold. If unused, then whatever price it sells for will become XP, as normal treasure. Note, however, that "used" includes hiring a sage or sparring with a weapon or armor to discover its properties; selling magical items for XP, therefore, comes with no little risk, as you have no idea if you are getting ripped off or not. Was that magical sword you sold for 5000 gp actually just a basic Sword +1, or was it a Luck Sword with three wishes? You're more likely to get a better offer from a shopkeeper in a bigger market.

For the most part, characters will level up as soon as they hit a city and redeem their XP, or sooner if they got enough XP from fighting monsters. New general and class proficiencies can be applied at any time apart from combat - that is, immediately, or held until a need arises, which means a familiar could suddenly appear, or a character could suddenly remember she knows how to track. Clerics and other prayerful spellcasters gain immediate access to any new spells, as do spellcasters with inherited spells. Mages, Warlocks, and other such studious magic users, however, must find new spells. There are three ways for a mage to add new spells to his repertoire:

• Studying for a week at a mage college; this will teach any number of spells, up to the total the mage can cast in a day. Adding an additional 1st level spell takes a week; added a brand-new level 2 spell, as well as 2 from high Int, will take 3 weeks.
• Finding a scroll or spellbook the caster can read; the mage can copy the spell into his own spellbook for free, though it takes a week. Scrolls are used up, but not spellbooks.
• Researching a spell (new or not); this takes money and time - a library worth 4,000 gp, plus 2,000 gp per spell level researched, an additional 1,000 gp per spell level cost, and 2 weeks per spell level.

I realize this puts even more hardships on mages; so, I have decided to add a house rule: mages, and any similar classes, may use crossbows. This includes mages, warlocks, and librarians. However, they can only fire every-other round; between firing, they must re-wind their crossbow, which takes longer since they are not as skilled as others.

A Fine Week for Sailing

The Party:

• Rig Bigny, Gnomish Beastmaster
  • Flit, the bat familiar
  • Clench, the Wardog War-Badger
• Caranthir, Human Leader of Men (sorry for the misspelling!)
  • Rhea Trueheart, Elvish Nightblade
  • Lucille "Luce" Burwood
• Gróin of Norston, Dwarven Sapper
• James Morthor, Warlock
  • Doggan, Tiny-Sized Dragon familiar
  • #1 Human fighter
  • #2 Human fighter
  • Alice, human child
• Llarm Paphyra, Elvish Polydoctorate (more misspelling!)
  • The metal man, level [variable] construct

6637/6/24-6/31

Cliffport! As soon as the party arrived, they quickly scattered to find supplies, a ship, henchmen, and items. The warlock wandered over to look at the market; while he was unsuccessful in locating anything interesting to purchase, he did in fact uncover a secret; perhaps his quest for knowledge had been divined? Whatever the reason, he was given an envelope, upon which was written "Knowledge". On the reverse, the wax seal seemed to be an irregular circle with a bump in the middle. After carefully checking for magic (none on the outside, but there did seem to be a tiny magical mark inside - perhaps a watermark?), the warlock opened the letter, uncovering what appeared to be a page, torn from a book, upon which was written a poem, and some sort of map on the edge. Initial eyeballing didn't manage to match up with anything near the location of Falach a'Bhaile, the mysterious Gnomish city. Apart from the dwarven sapper, Morthor decided not to show the map to anyone just yet.

Magical Items II

As previously noted, incredibly heroic actions can sometimes imbue weapons, armor, or other items with magical power, granting bonuses or abilities to their users. Other magical items have been upgraded by less fantastic (though still magical) means; +1 shields, swords of life-drinking, and all manner of scrolls and potions are available, at a price, enchanted by mages and their hard-working assistants. Finally, some items are called from the ether by a Wish or a Miracle, often with a sole purpose in mind: slaying a dragon, capturing a demon, or driving back some monstrous force.

Story Flow

In the previous adventure I ran, keeping track of loose ends was easy - they were built right in. I'd written a story, given the players the illusion of control, and allowed the story to play out around them. Apart from a few tweaks here and there ("Oh, they spoke with him, not her - I'll just switch who shows up later."), I could nearly have posted a write-up before the session. Like a producer of a television show, I knew what was going to happen long before the audience - the players - ever did. Don't misunderstand me; it wasn't a carnival ride on rigid rails, with obvious pop-up adventures and a slowly-clanking plot that leads you to an inevitable climax. The players could choose where they went, what they did, and how they affected the world. It was, however, scripted; the Big Bad Guy had zero chance of showing up until the very end, and the players had 100% chance of finding information about him, in one way or another. Events were triggered by specific actions, and information was designed to be found. Like the plot from a well-designed video game, there were countless options, but they all ushered the players into the next episode. Which may or may not have been the episode I had originally planned to use, but it was there. It was a story on rails - well-crafted rails, judging by how much my players enjoyed it, but rails nonetheless. Not any better or worse than any other kind of adventure, on the whole, but certainly different.

Makin' Money Mashin' Mooks

6637/5/28 to 6637/6/24

As the elven polydoctorate needed two weeks of bedrest, the various members of the party looked for some more henchmen. Rig took the initiative to go looking for some help to hopefully capture some hippogriff eggs; after a couple weeks of advertising, he hired a lieutenant, an artillerist, 12 bowmen, 12 crossbowmen, turning away the dwarves, the mounted troops, and the very hopeful slingers. Meanwhile, everyone boarded at the OU (pronounced "Oh, You!"), run by a charming gnome. The warlock hired two human fighters, whose names I forgot to write down, which likely won't matter because the warlock is very hard on the hired help.

Mor-Thir's Demand Modifiers

Now, demand modifiers don't mean everything. In the grand scheme of things, they're important, but for day-to-day player business, it's only a rough guideline. Prices are only marginally based on demand modifiers; that's why they're called modifiers, and not setters. However, in the hopes that this may come in useful to someone, here is a huge table that I spent far too much time in creating! And as a note, it's really hard to get a huge table like this to look even halfway right, so... sorry if it is totally messed up. Maybe try Opera or Chrome?

In which there is tragedy and loss.

6637/5/6 to 6637/5/27

Before the Bardbarian tour packed up and headed to Wallace, Rid decided to scout out the area; he picked up a bunch of rare books for a pretty good deal, and found a very smart baby ape to train, and a giant shrew to add to his menagerie. Being able to speak with shrews and other animals makes training much easier for gnomes. Rig’s player was also excited to learn that the internet has shrew miniatures, but added forebodingly: “Tragically, I believe that Murphy's Law states that any time you purchase over ten dollars worth of Armored Battle Shrews, the party will experience a TPK before they arrive in the mail.”

Additionally, two more elves joined the party: an elvish enchanter name James Morthor (and his daughter, Alice, who is only 9), and an elvish polydoctorate, Larma Paphyra. That puts the party at:

• Rig Bigny, Gnomish Beastmaster
  • Flit, the bat Flappy Shriek-Badger bat familiar
  • Shrew Dobbs, the Shrew Twitchy Screaming Grass-Badger
  • Clench, the Wardog War-Badger
• Loronthir, Human Leader of Men
  • Rhea Trueheart, Elvish Nightblade
  • Luce Burwood, Human Fighter
• Gróin of Norston, Dwarven Sapper
• James Morthor, Elvish Enchanter
• Doggan, Micro-Sized Dragon familiar
• Larma Paphyra, Elvish Polydoctorate

Week 1: Fighting? What Fighting?

Satyrday, 6637/4/28

Introducing the Party

Three adventurers happened to meet at the Low Bridge in Riverbend; the first, a gnomish beastmaster, was in Riverbend to buy a war badger. In this case, said badger was a dog. The second, a charismatic leader, fresh out of military school, was looking for work. The third, a dwarven sapper, was in town to see Diamond John, a well-known bard, at the first concert of the Beyond The Wall: Bardbarian! Tour.

End of the the Prequel

Thus far, the stories, maps, timelines and histories have been a prequel of sorts. I've taken you, my readers, on a journey of discovery, wandering through time and geography on the continent of Mor-Thir. When I started, I had a pretty good idea of what was going on in the kingdom of Mareten, and what the map looked like, and so on. But I didn't know the whole story; often, you learned at the same time I did. Who knew that the Wall of Mareten was that big? Not me! In fact, I didn't even know how magical the towers were until I set fingers to keyboard.

Improv Generators

In any situation (not just RPGs, or even games in general, but Real Life (tm) too), being able to think on your feet is a very important ability to have. Ever watch an improv show and wonder how those people could come up with so many funny gags in such a short time - often with only a split second of preparation? Here's a hint: they had more than a split second of preparation.

"Gasp!" You say. "They cheated! It was camera cuts! It's all scripted, like wrestling and elections! I knew it!"

Whoa there, buddy! Not so fast. There are no camera cuts, or scripts (or shouldn't be, if it's a good show). No, what I mean is that they took time to think up all sorts of funny stuff, and when it fit, they just repeated it from memory. That's the key - improv prep. It sounds oxymoronic, but nonetheless, it's incredibly important.

Coats of Arms

Heraldry, of which a coat of arms is a part, has a very deep, rich history associated with it. If you've studied heraldry at all, you may be somewhat confused by the colors and symbols I've chosen below (what's up with the Kingdom of Mejasta?).

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, colors and symbols chosen for a coat of arms represent various characteristics of the person, family, or organization the coat of arms represents. For instance, the color (or "tincture") blue (aka "azure") is associated with truth and loyalty; that works out well for the Kingdoms of Mareten and the Elves, the Church, and the Wall Guards; however, green (aka "vert") means "Hope, joy, and loyalty in love," which sounds great, but doesn't belong with the Assassin's Guild. Or any of the Zaharan cities, for that matter. Symbols matter, too; crossed keys (such as on the Thieves' Guild arms) is the symbol of St. Peter, and represent the keys to the gates of heaven. The lion, like on the Kingdom of Mareten's coat of arms, means courage, which works well enough. The sythe on the Assassin's Guild coat of arms usually means hope, as in hope of a good harvest; again, not particularly fitting. Then again, not all heraldry was entirely truthful; when it came down to it, I'm sure a great number of coats of arms had little to do with the actions of their bearer...

Languages

As I've mentioned before, the various human and demi-humans of Mor-Thir speak many languages. However, I'd like to discuss where these languages came from, how they came to be what they are now, and perhaps most importantly, what languages exist.

The human tongue, usually known as Common, is descended from Nobiran, Dwarf, True Elf, and various other languages; humans are adaptable, if nothing else, and have molded their languages over the eons to fit the cultures around them. Common sounds quite similar to English, with all its various dialects. Men of Mareten still use Nobiran as a ceremonial language; it sounds quite similar to Latin. It was the original language of Men, when they landed on the eastern shore.

Expanding on Religion

I previously discussed religions quite a while ago in my post Language and Religion. However, that was a pretty brief overview, and I would like to expand on the basic names and descriptions, and include some lesser gods as well.

The Desert People

In the deep desert, nomads roam, moving from hidden oasis to secret wells, tending their flocks, always on the move. They carry all that they own with them, caravans of wealth, though easily able to protect their fortunes. At its outskirts, men and lizardmen build their cities; few cities survived the attacks of the beastmen, and fewer cities still manage to flourish in the harsh environment. However, a few great cities managed to fend off monsters and brigands long enough to survive; of these, Korcu Baskenti is the largest, and most powerful. Desert spices and exotic trade flow through the city, as well as darker trade: slaves, stolen treasure, and dark magical items.

Designing a world

Framing

The first thing on the list is creating the framework for the world. Is it a modern film-noire place, filled with dark cities and gritty drama? Or is it a high fantasy world, with fairies and dragons and magical resurrection? Maybe it's a hard science post-apocalyptic world, where mutations are deadly and food and water are at a premium.

The framework sets the basis of the world, and thus the adventures played in it. Not that any genre rules out any style of game - but be aware of how much work it will be. A horror game in a dark, gritty setting is a lot easier to pull off than one set in a happy-go-lucky post-scarcity science fiction world of high society. It's possible to make those kinds of games work, and I've seen it happen... but it's a lot harder to do, and it takes considerable effort from the players, as well as from the GM. If you have lazy (or new) players, you might want to tailor your world to them, at least a little bit.

Scheduling

I have been posting a story (or other update) once per day since I started this blog. That's pretty prolific for me; it's rare that I have more to say than a blog or two over the course of a month. However, this has been an exception. It's a whole world (well, a continent - I'm staying pretty hush about the rest of the planet, mainly because I haven't given it much thought); that means it has stories, legends, and of course maps and other wonderful bits and pieces. It's a lot of fun for me to write all those snippets of flavor, and I hope it's been fun to read.

The Fae

This is, of course, the Age of the Fae; but why? The Age of Elves was ruled by elf-kind, and the Age of Men was ruled by humans; the Age of the Beastmen was full of the nasty brutes. But the Fae do not seem to be quite as well-heard of; their place in stories is mysteriously absent.

The Fae, or Faerie-folk, are not an outgoing people. They are sly, and wild, and ethereal. Unlike the solid elves or brash humans or brutish beastmen, the Fae would rather sit back and manipulate, pulling strings in the shadows. They are wild, and yet there is a method to their madness; all Fae are bound by an extraordinary set of rules. The rules bind and free; they are loved, and hated, and all faerie-kind know them intrinsically. Fae hate iron, and cannot bear to wear it; likewise, if asked a question three times, they must answer truthfully the third time. Their promises have permanent bonds; a promise must be carried out, though admittedly only the word, not the intent.

Street of the Gods

In the city of Slowhaven is a street paved with white stone. The only access is a single road that meets the street in its exact center. A wide sign marks the street as the Street of the Gods; the 'G' has obviously been repainted many times, having alternated between uppercase and lowercase, depending on whether the painter was monotheistic or not. Not that it matters; if anyone is close enough to read the sign, their attention will obviously be elsewhere.

The Seven Scales

Long, long ago, before the First Age, when the great wyrm called Mor-Thir his home, there was a great battle, and Alehim smote the wyrm; in the end, the great wyrm was defeated. But during the battle, it shed seven scales, which were blown far and wide. As the scales were found, they were forged by the dwarves into items of power, and of war.

The first scale was found by a group of mechanics and tinkers; they wrought the great scale into an artifact of power, directing its power into a colossus to protect their cities. The scale became its great eye, through which the golem watched over the dwarves. During the dark days of the Age of the Beastmen, the giant golem was the only thing to stand between the dwarves and their doom; at the conclusion of the many wars with the beastmen, only the golem was left standing. It's eye resembles a great emerald, the size of a man; there are many rumors of the powers of the great eye, but there are few alive today who have seen the golem in battle.

Army of Mareten

Men like to boast that Mareten needs no army. That's not entirely true; in times of trouble, Mareten has called upon its people to take up arms. Every man willing to fight for his king is given an equal share of any treasure collected. It could be argued that an army of volunteers is no army at all when not at war, which is probably true. However, there is one other group of soldiers that stand ready to fight and die for their king and country, paid members of the oldest army in all of Mor-Thir: the Guards of the Mareten Wall.

The Age of Dragons

From his seat at the edge of the bazaar, an old man beckons you over, waving his long pipe. Expecting another beggar grasping for coins, you step towards him. The warm brick walls and the rug-seller's wares deaden the noise; in this tiny corner, the market is almost quiet.

"The stories're wrong, y'know," he chortles, smoke puffing from his mouth with each word. "The first age weren't th' age of th' elves, bless 'em. Oh, sure, they were th' first ones to write it all down, but who knows what happened before then, eh?" He wheezes an approximation of a laugh. "I'll tell ye - me!"

Spies, Werehumans, and Ectomancers

Continuing in the trend of describing classes, here are a few of the classes I've created, and a bit of their stories.

The Spy

Every city has a Thieves' Guild, and most larger cities have an Assassins' Guild, as well. Though from the same family as Thieves and Assassins, the Spies do not have a guild - or at least, that's what they would like you to think. Spies are an elusive bunch, using subterfuge and trickery rather than theft or murder to meet their secretive goals. Not that they are above a bit of theft and murder, of course.

Librarians

I've created a few new races, classes, and magic types for this campaign, including the wolfwere (an animal able to turn into a man, rather than the other way around), the Skinscribe (a mage who uses his tattooed skin as his spellbook), the Dwarven Sapper (who builds and destroys), and the White Mage (which uses the cleric spells, but the mage spell progression, including the ability to research new spells); however, there is one particular class of magic that has had tremendous impact on the world of Mor-Thir, especially within Mareten: Librarians.

Long ago, in times not forgotten, lived a man named Quentin Querulous. While scrolls and books of ancient knowledge were present even then, they were stored is jumbled heaps and stacked on creaking shelves. Mages kept their own books, and few outsiders were allowed to read them - if they even could. It was unheard of to own a large collections of books, simply because of the space required - many books could not sit in the same room, let alone the same shelf, as other books, simply because of the amount of magic contained within. The more books one owned, the more likely stray magic would begin arcing between them, killing anyone nearby and usually reducing the area to a glowing crater.

0th level spells

Long ago, Gnomes discovered what they call Joke Magic (PDF): spells that use so little magic that they can be fueled by ambient magic, leftover wisps of spells just floating about. Gnomish philosophers believe that these joke spells actually are powered by humor itself, and that the funnier the situation, the more powerful the effect will be. Powerful wizards and mages pale at the thought, of course; magic is serious business, and must be performed with complex rituals and absolutely no laughter at all.

Neither Gnomes nor Wizards are entirely correct. As discussed previously, magic as cast by a cleric is doled out by their deity, while magic cast by a mage is stored within, and recharged by reading their spellbooks. These spells are a bit different; they take so little magical potential that they can be powered by the ambient magic of the world, leftover wisps of past spells, funny or not; in the case of these spells, the magic within the pages of the spellbooks is easily enough.

Orrin and Lia of Grove

Orrin of Grove began his life as a simple peasant. Poor but hard-working, he and his wife Lia labored in the fields. Every evening, they would wander the nearby woods in prayer. One night, the couple chanced upon a young apple tree; every night after, the two visited the tree, tending it as they prayed and talked. Over time, it grew; every harvest, its branches were laden with fruit, providing Orrin and his wife with more than enough food. Eventually, Orrin approached the owner of the woods, and asked if he could purchase the small plot where the tree grew. The owner had no plans for the area; it was overgrown and too hilly for crops. However, he never expected a poor farmer to be able to purchase land. Laughing, he agreed to a fair price, and sealed it with his signet, fully expecting to never hear from young Orrin again.

Magic!

Preface

This is a small snippet of history about this world - but pay attention. There is more than just lore or history in here; while I call it out explicitly here, I may not be so transparent in the future. This not only explains how magic works, but also tells a little about a fellow with some magical artifacts...

Populations and Trade

This is not a story. This is, most likely, Math. If you're interested in the nitty-gritty details of building cities, then by all means, keep reading! If, however, you are only here to read stories and look and cool maps, you might want to give this a skip. Don't say I didn't warn you!

The Adventurer, Conqueror, King System has very straight-forward rules about empires, kingdoms, all the way down to itty-bitty villages. That said, it can get quite complicated quite quickly; I'm not entirely sure how someone could create an entire world with fully-populated urban areas without that being their full-time job. That said, I took some shortcuts. Short-ish, anyway.

The Great Wall of Mareten

The Mareten Wall is a staggering feat of engineering. During the Second Age, the Seer-King Brennus Aedan began it as his life's work - his life, and the lives of his children. From the First Age, the mountains reached past Wallace to the edge of the forest itself, where they continued as a long ridge of craggy foothills, through Annhoradwy Woods, all the way to the mountains in the south, against the sea. Under the direction of King Brennus, countless laborers carved stone from the mountains and moved it to fill gaps in the hills. At its conclusion, the wall was 25 feet tall and 100 feet thick, made of solid stone carved from the mountains. Earth was dug away to lay the stones on bedrock, and each stone was crafted to fit seamlessly against the others. Though the first wall was completed in his lifetime, King Brennus knew it would not be enough to stop the coming cataclysm. On his deathbed, he begged his children to strengthen the wall.

The Seven Towers

Near the beginning of the world, during the Age of Elves, seven towers were built, pinnacles of magic. They were set at important locations: The White Tower, of the north-west; the Air Tower, of the north-east; Meindwr, or the Spire, of the center; the Mareten Tower, of the east; the Wild Tower (Pointless Tower) of the south-east; the Earth's Finger (Toprac Igne), of the south-west; and the Jungle Tower, of the west.

Language and Religion

The religions of Mor-Thir vary about a theme: a benevolent god, a trickster, and a serpentine god of chaos. Most Men of Mareten worship Alehim, and none other, though some men do follow the gods of other cultures. The men of the southern deserts worship Kai-ra, the sky god; Aladeen, a cunning opportunist; or Erklik, evil god of the underworld. The Northern Tribe worship the gods of Beasts. Dwarves serve Thor, god of thunder and earth; Loki, god of tricks; or Jormungan, the evil snake, destined to eat Thor. The gnomes and the descendants of the True Elves serve Danu, mother of gods; Manannán, god of boats and pranks; or Balor, a suspiciously serpentine one-legged, one-eyed giant whose gaze destroys all life. The Fae and their ilk serve (rarely) Lleu, uplifted king; Gwydion, trickster and prankster; or Ysbaddaden, a terrible serpent. The beasts and other tribal creatures worship the Bear, kind yet strong; Coyote, spirited trickster; or Serpent, the two-tongued creature that smells of death. The creatures of chaos serve a number of demons and dark gods, too many to list here, and there exist numerous minor gods and goddesses, worshiped or served by various peoples.

The Ages of Mor-Thir

Long ago, remembered only as a distant myth, was the First Age, the Age of Elves. The ageless, beautiful elves kept the peace through magic and wisdom, ruling with benevolence and grace. Nature flourished; it was a time of tranquility, a well-tended garden with little turmoil or trouble. The first Men that landed on the shores of Mor-Thir were treated with kindness and hospitality; they too flourished under the watchful eyes of the True Elves. But as the men explored and built, the elves intermingled with Men, or withdrew to their ancient halls; eventually, there were no True Elves to be found. The end of the first age came with a shaky sigh, the last breaths of an old man. The age of Elves was ended.

How Mor-Thir Was Formed

At the beginning of the world, before time, the continent of Mor-Thir was born of ice and fire. On it lived a great snake, an evil, chaotic being. It saw that Mor-Thir was barren and desolate, and smiled. It twisted in the dust as it prowled the land, god of its domain. However, the great god Alehim was saddened by the desolation, and spoke with the wyrm: "I will give you soft moss upon which to tread, and gentle birds to sing you to sleep."

Cities of Mareten and Beyond

Mareten is home to nearly 6 million people; within its walls are men, dwarves, gnomes, decedents of the True Elves, even lizardmen and other strange creatures. The list that follows is a list of every city in Mareten and beyond; the number in parenthesis are the coordinates of the city, either on the map of Mareten, or the map of Mor-Thir. Populations are by family; for a rough headcount, multiply the number by 5, give or take. Market class determines what spells are available, and how much of various goods - lower is better.

Mareten

The nation of Mareten is the oldest surviving nation, apart from the Dwarves; even the Dwarven cities were hard-pressed during the Age of the Beastmen. But how best to explain this ancient nation? A map, of course!

Calendars and Time

Time is a difficult thing to keep track of. Oh, sure, you can say that every time a party stops to rest, it's night time, and it takes a week to travel a hex, but does anyone actually keep track of those dates and times? I sure don't. In my Savage Worlds campaign, it's set in space, so I don't have to worry about any of that. I just make something up - "Oh, it's been about a week. Sure, that sounds right."

Making Mor-Tir

The continent of Mor-Tir is home to humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, lizardmen, and various other creatures both pleasant and foul; I have a lovely map of the area, but it didn't start in nearly such a beautiful way.

Introduction

Welcome to the land of Mareten, set in a custom world created by yours truly, using guidelines set up in the Adventurer, Conqueror, King System (aka ACKS). But before I introduce you to this wondrous land I've created, I would like to introduce myself!