Lord Dracull

It's a new year, but the same ol' campaign, and it started out with a doozy! Though a few players didn't make it, there were just enough to keep everyone from dying horribly. Barely.

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
  • ???, Priestess
• Llarm Paphyra, Elvish Polydoctorate
  • The Metal Man, construct
• Airsen Birdmaster, Airwalker (stayed at Falach a'Bhaile)
  • Erik Stein, Dwarven Vaultguard
• Loriel Straight Arrow, Elven Ranger (temporarily away)

As the group was finally leaving Falach a'Bhaile, they were stopped by a pudgy, panting gnome, who handed them a letter; they quickly read through it:

To Whom It May Concern:
We, the Undersigned Lords of the Western Plains, bid you Greetings. We require the services of an Investigative Party, one capable of protecting itself, while also discerning the Truth. We have set out Barrister to select a group of cunning and capable adventurers, such as yourselves.
Should you accept our offer, we are willing to pay handsomely: not only may you keep any goods attained during your investigation, but we are willing to invest G5,000 in your preparation, and at least double that amount upon the completion of your duties, and depending on the outcome of your efforts.
The task we set forward is this: The surreptitious investigation of Lord Dracull of the western Wild Plains. His actions have begun to disrupt the smooth political operation of land neighboring his own. Furthermore, his life has been suspiciously long, and though he has been married a number of times, he has yet to produce an heir. Several lords suspect his success has been fueled by Dark Magic. If it is found to be so, the Church would be pleased with the destruction of such a reprehensible creature - as would we all.

The letter was signed by Lord Vincent Aldervat, Lord Evan Elpus, Lady Christiana Vascelles, Lord Tomas Cordova, and Lord Dunstan Kirkhill.

Additionally, there was a second letter, and a sealed envelope. The second letter was from Lord Cordova, and read:

To Whom It May Concern:
I beseech you, whatever comes of Lord Dracull, see that no harm comes to my daughter, Lady Dracull. Please deliver the sealed letter to her; it is for her eyes only. And spare no cost in protecting my Consuela; I will gladly refund any expense you incur. Money means nothing over the safety of my family. Respectfully, Lord Cordova

Unfortunately, as Rig was reading the second letter, Caranthir tore open the envelope, realizing his mistake half way through. After some discussion, the party decided they might as well finish opening the letter, as long as it was already damaged, and hope to repair it later. The letter, written by the same hand as the second letter, read:

My Dearest Consuela,
If you can find it in your heart, please forgive me. I pray daily that no harm comes to you because of my own hot-headed, stubborn pride. I know that our last interaction ended in harsh words; I am afraid our passionate Majastan blood prevails over your mother’s clear head far too often. Nevertheless, I beseech you to trust these adventurers; I have instructed them to protect you at any cost.
Your loving father, Tomas Cordova

One-shot: Rise of the Beastmen: The Generals

Near the end of the Age of Men, mages began magically combining men, dwarves, and even elves with beasts. Generation after generation of beast-men were created. Some, like halflings, were quite peaceful, and served as farmers, or other peaceful work. Others, like goblins, were savage creatures, employed as laborers or soldiers. As the original, somewhat more lawful mages died off, their secrets were aquiered by others. The peaceful combinations were left on their own, while the more feral beast-types were combined and combined again. Though countless combinations were created, certain archtypes seemed to be the most successful: goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, orcs, orgres, kobolds, gnolls, and so on; the beastmen known and feared today. These armies gathered materials for their masters, ransacking villages and pillaging farms. As beastmen were released or escaped, more and more wild beastmen roamed free, which meant the armies increased to fend them off, which meant more beastmen escaped, and on and on. As the second generation of creature-splicing mages died off, a third generation arose. Hungry for power, these mages has none of the restraint of their old masters. The new masters created monstrosities, horrors of necromancy and unholy power, powerful and untamed. They reached too far, and the edges of their control began to slip. But still, power-mad, they churned out beastmen...

The Three Truths

Happy New Year! Well, in this world, anyway. The world of Mor-Thir has a few months yet.

Anyway, on to the main event. As far as the story of Mareten, Mor-Thir, and beyond is concerned, there are three sets of truth: "truth", truth, and TRUTH. And what, you ask, is the difference? Well, keep reading!

"Truth"

History may never change, but the stories about it certainly do. Some stories are ancient, so old that they have lost something in translation; other stories are passed along from bard to bard, and gain a few details along the way. Still others are pieced together from ancient texts, snippets of poetry, and nigh-on-incomprehensible journals, and are more guesswork than eye-witness accounts.

While there is a note of truth in many old stories, take them with a grain of salt - if you find facts that counter an ancient story, it's likely your facts are correct. Don't dismiss the ancient tales out-of-hand, but... don't assume they are exactly accurate, either.

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.