tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75758574872102119632024-03-27T15:22:34.569-04:00Grand CommodoreHer Christmas Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445850026904816000noreply@blogger.comBlogger99125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575857487210211963.post-82749612605914766102024-03-03T20:51:00.016-05:002024-03-03T21:11:08.359-05:00The Shaper of the Isle + Feedback<div style="text-align: left;">"I write for myself for other people." I've set up <a href="https://www.admonymous.co/dave_greggs" target="_blank">an anonymous feedback form</a>; please feel free to use it for anything I've ever written, as I would like to hear your thoughts and recommendations.<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">---</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>The boat hung still in a bower of golden apples. Its passage was presaged by moonlit ripples arcing like feathered electricity across the coffee-colored water. It was beyond the horizon of the imperial locks burnished with steel and purple with curtains. It was upon the glade riverlands where green grass peered from shallow water.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cypress rowed alone. He was a Shaper, born to the goddess of the sea and the god of serpents, an imperial foundling from a nest of snakes. A transmuter and a transmutee. In his natural form he was a bloody, maimed thing who could not remain beneath the sky for long, but it was his to wear the image of any man or woman whom he had somewhat comprehended. He now wore the simulacrum flesh of a wanderer, a comer and goer and hedonist, who had left the imperial canal amidst swollen bellies and warrants of remand. Nothing was lost by adopting this man's flesh; where Cypress went, his face was irrelevant. </div><div><br /></div><div>He sought an oracle beyond the reeds of the trickling waters. A seer of demigods, a baptizer of spirits. A footnote upon an eelskin scroll in a wooden crawlspace fissure of a honeycomb scriptorium. Little to go on, yet he was compelled. He felt himself falling towards the character of those whose flesh he’d copied. He’d been given men of honor and wisdom, but also terrible bores and liars. A molding by imperial decree. As he’d aged, his own selections began to play upon him, as he explored the imperial underbelly and lifestealing wilds. </div><div><br /></div><div>But to wear no flesh dried him, called his attention to the sea, salt winds whipping him like he was tearing paper, fangs aching for another man’s flesh. The anguish of his eschewed parentage, the power of the sea and the primordial serpent wending through his blood and bones to drown his nascent conscience, his individuation. Destruction beckoned him, then death. Even caged in such a form he would die, desiccated, scales falling from his bones. </div><div><br /></div><div>He sought balance with this oracle, balance on the edge of a knife. A way to be as he was born in his moments between the skybridges, subcanals, and cataphracted catacombs of the sun-temple’s sea-gate. </div><div><br /></div><div>Sable-furred amphibians wove like a living tapestry beneath the boat. Cypress slipped into the water and felt them fly beneath his fingertips, and then he reached down and grasped the glossy sea-grass like the fur of a sea-monster, pulling himself to the waterline. </div><div><br /></div><div>He touched down on the sodden bank and gazed into the trees that rose a few feet overhead. They gathered thick and fast in bundles with varicocele vines woven sashlike across the accumulated trunks. He espied a gap like the mouth of a tiny cavern and unshod his cape, using it to tie his boat to a bough before his ascension. </div><div><br /></div><div>He slipped through the crevice and slid down a dusty slope into a hollow of black trees demarcated in blades of moonlight, lit from within by a tiny glowing gourd which was fed by their roots, reaching inward in unison. The hollow’s boundaries were broken by twin pits of shadow, passages of pooled darkness on either side of the abode, and Cypress froze as a vibration of umbral subtlety rose dust motes into the honeycolored light around the golden gourd. Something was coming from the rightmost passage and Cypress froze, hands ready to reach for one of two treasures. </div><div><br /></div><div>In a scabbard pooled and formed from the welterspring of an unmade astral portal, Cypress wore a four-hundred-year-old saber, black ripples darting along its body like a blade emerging from the shadows. In a black lockbox made from the beaks of four piston crows, he carried a garland of peachmoon irises, an alchemical petal prized by the half-corporeal. This was a gift for the Oracle. </div><div><br /></div><div>There came a breath so deep it sucked wind through the chamber. Cypress pushed one foot out as a great spined shadow caught glimmers as if along the shouldered spears of marching warriors. It was a vast boar with an iron skeleton, its spines shimmering, gleaming tusks razored and catching light as if polished for an execution. </div><div><br /></div><div>The thing turned to him, yellow cat’s eyes narrowing. It would charge him, and he would be carved as surely as if he faced the glaives of warrior monks. He had the space of one breath to draw. He grasped the lily case, squeezed it, and cast it to the side.</div><div><br /></div><div>It sprang apart in midair, flecks of the casing catching light like a shattered mollusk. A harmonious, teasing aroma like a tea of honeydew crept across the hollow, falling upon Cypress and the boar like a gentle, peacemaking spirit. The boar turned towards the garland and narrowed its eyes. Cypress had his hands on the lacquerlatticed handle of his blade. The boar strode gracefully to the garland and began to eat it, and Cypress darted batlike down the corridor it had come from.</div><div><br /></div><div>He emerged adjacent to a moonlit plain of grass in the center of a ring of woods, limbs rising like sapphire specters around something gleaming in a height at the center. Cypress approached it, hand fallen from his blade, grass growing darker around the hem of the gentle hill. </div><div><br /></div><div>A figure as tall and slender as the trees stepped forward from between them, and Cypress almost fell on his back, but stood fast, knees soft, vision darkening around the figure. It was a woman of blue treeflesh as if freshly stripped of bark, hoofs glossy black, hands like a harpy’s claws. Her eyes were black and glossy as obsidian crystals, her hair like absinthe lichen. </div><div><br /></div><div>Barely moving her legs, she ascended to the height of the hill and gazed down at him with her head cocked to one side. </div><div><br /></div><div>“Lost one, where swam you like a wanton minnow? Furred beasts circle water and oak.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“I minced from the city, my lady,” said Cypress with a wavering breath, “From the imperium on yonder.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“You are not a landling, are you? No thing of cog and twine. I can smell the sssserpent’s breath on you, and the rime of distant waves. A changeling.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“A Shaper, as we are called.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“By who, your mother and father? You are a polymorphic fetus, a thing waiting to be. Your lordling can offer no true name. You are an acid that will bend the empire. Does he know he rubs solvent betwixt his fingers? Your heart is afire with bile and thorns.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“I am at no peace in the sheath of another man, nor when in my bloody bones. I came with death at my doorstep, murder growing within me like a cancer on the conscience. I have no place but degradation in this cosmos or in the constellations of man’s polities. My mother is a silent roar, my father a beast of the hunt. But I have the mind of a man, and perhaps by dint a soul. Yet this is being reclaimed by older aethers. Where is a place on earth I can be?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Let us see if you deserve one. What do you feel when you shed your flesh?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“The city-crushing breadth of the sea, a leviathan in my bones coursing me towards hurling down the realms of man.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“And?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“The poison of the grandfather wyrm, corrosion that cannot create. Boiling blood, melting bones, bursting veins and arteries. Drinking what has been destroyed.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“And what would your empire have you do?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Burn the innards of men abroad. A killer and counterspy. An eavesdropper and seducer.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“And why are you so crestfallen at this delightful prospect?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“For now you know just what I am. Now you will never help me.”</div><div><br /></div><div>The Oracle smiled and her teeth were the beaks of birds. </div><div><br /></div><div>“Come here,” she said.</div><div><br /></div><div>He advanced up the hill towards her, head falling, ready to be torn apart and devoured.</div><div><br /></div><div>He reached the top. There was a small dais of sapphire-colored stone set into the apex of the hill. A wind brushed the leaves and they quivered like beetle shells in flight, the sapphire platform gleaming across them and the jet-black hooves of the oracle. </div><div><br /></div><div>“Motherless, skinless murderer, that is what you are?” said the Oracle.</div><div><br /></div><div>He looked up at her.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Torturer, betrayer, lapdog of tyranny, that is what you are?” she said. </div><div><br /></div><div>Tears began to run down his foreign face. Another’s cheeks were burning.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Is that what you are?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Not if I chose my birth.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“No one can choose their birth. But one can still choose.”</div><div><br /></div><div>He noticed that his calfskin calcei shoes were growing soaked. He looked down and saw that the sapphire dais was spreading outwards, deepening, becoming a crystal pool of warm water. It was darkening with galactic tendrils of misty blood.</div><div><br /></div><div>“What is this?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Repose,” she said, “When you bathe here you will shed all pretense, as you have with me, and the voices in your blood will be still and silent. You will be unmade, that you may make yourself.”</div><div><br /></div><div>The doppelgänger flesh was falling away as the water deepened. He fell back and the pseudoskin sloughed around him, and he shook it free, pushed his clothes away. The skin dissolved into sediment, became crystalline as ground glass, and then disappeared as the water cleansed itself. The blood remained, washing off him as his heart beat it along his scales and bones. </div><div><br /></div><div>He felt calm and still, a consciousness in space, not harrowed or hemmed in by calls to atavism. </div><div><br /></div><div>“This is your pool, now. I am off to find another. Do not forget who you are when you are here. Do not do what you would not do here. Let this be the center of your world.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Thank you,” said Cypress.</div><div><br /></div><div>“You are a seed who was planted by the Fates. I have merely replanted you. We shall see whose handiwork is brought to fruition.” </div><div><br /></div><div>And with that, she was gone. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cypress lay in the pool for a long time. When he rose, instead of burning his flesh, the wind seemed to balm him. He closed his eyes, and chose an ancient sage whose words suddenly came to him in sharp relief. He cloaked himself in the old man’s body and gazed down the aquiline nose into the wood break. He would not be returning to the imperial locks and sea-gate. He would pass the second horizon and find his way among people of a different provenance, a differing charter. And then, perhaps, he would return to the seat of the world with the forms he’d gained.</div></div>Her Christmas Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445850026904816000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575857487210211963.post-80276891352907031112024-01-30T17:11:00.010-05:002024-01-31T20:13:35.455-05:00The Hands of Lacquermere<div style="text-align: left;">This is an adventure for <a href="https://grandcommodore.blogspot.com/2023/12/investigating-censor.html" target="_blank">Investigating Censor</a>, my dark rules-light RPG wargame. The core game is set amidst a campaign by oracular warrior monks to eliminate a sect of human-sacrificing pirates, but this adventure concerns the secondary enemies of the Investigating Censors: the Secret Societies that plague the newly-destabilized south coast region.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>This adventure is intended to provide concrete examples of all speculative content for the <i>Investigating Censor</i> core rulebook, which covers adventures of a much broader scale; <i>The Hands of Lacquermere</i> concerns a single settlement and its outlying reaches. </div><div><br /></div><div>It is also intended to serve as an introductory adventure, and contains all appendices needed for play.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Before we begin, I'd like to direct you to Solomon VK's recent adventure for Investigating Censor, <i><a href="https://worldbuildingandwoolgathering.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-cape-of-four-pleasances.html" target="_blank">The Cape of Four Pleasances</a></i>, which blends his campaign setting, <i><a href="https://worldbuildingandwoolgathering.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Rest%20of%20All%20Possible%20Worlds" target="_blank">The Rest of All Possible Worlds</a></i>, with Investigating Censor's world and system for laying out the key players in settlements and their retinues. It contains excellent ideas and some beautiful prose. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><u>The Hands of Lacquermere</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>The Monastery of the Inner Orchard has proven unable to deal with the Secret Society in the township of Lacquermere.</div><div><br /></div><div>This Society, the Hands of the Trembling Filament, are arsonists par excellence. They resist monastic rule.</div><div><br /></div><div>A foreign caravan was destroyed by the Hand, who placed subtly-burning fibers in the lacquer-laden carts of the caravan. The lacquer detonated just as the caravan was leaving Lacquermere.</div><div>The High Dreaming Citadel has dispatched Investigating Censors to root out the Hands of the Trembling Filament.</div><div><br /></div><div><i><span> </span>Index</i></div><div><div>Lacquermere</div><div>The Streets</div><div>The Garden</div><div>The Lacquerwell</div><div>The Caravansary</div><div>The Regime Manor</div><div>The Outlying Reaches</div><div>-Teahouse</div><div>-Wilderness</div><div>The Hall of Hands</div><div>The Monastery</div><div>Appendix: Potential Allies</div><div>-20 Townspeople</div><div>-20 Visitors to the Caravansary</div><div>-12 Potential Allies</div><div>-6 Regional Concentrations of Desirable Retinue Members </div><div>Appendix: Sentiment</div><div>Appendix: High Dreaming Citadel Cachet</div><div>CRB (Core Rulebook) Appendix: The Search for Allies</div><div>CRB Appendix: Corruption, Loyalty, or Resolve</div><div>CRB Appendix: Skills</div><div>CRB Appendix: The Uses of Alchemy</div><div>CRB Appendix: The Uses of Fetches and Fetishes </div><div>CRB Appendix: Combat</div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Lacquermere</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>The town is nestled in a bower of ridges. The red-tiled houses encircle a green garden. To the south there are the variegated roofs a tall caravansary. A track made of bright hardwood has been laid on either side for drovers and their carts. Veinous smears in the earth run into the wilderness. </div><div><br /></div><div>There is a cliff-face monastery in the town’s northern crags. The Monks of the Inner Orchard walk the streets armed with trident bladespears, their black, green-hemmed robes gathered around them. They do not smile at Investigating Censors, but greet them with welcoming resignation. The monks have never petitioned the Citadel nor walked with its masters, and the Citadel’s intervention humiliates them.</div><div><br /></div><div>The rocky crags that surround the town have little black holes in them. One can see a crawlspace in each hole, just large enough for a man to worm his way in with the stone pressing him on all sides. Prisoners were once jammed in these crawlspaces so that their cries could be heard throughout the town.</div><div><br /></div><div>The High Dreaming Citadel asked the Monks of the Inner Orchard to cease this practice. Now, the holes are occupied by self-starved monks observing the town, their eyes huge in drawn heads, cheeks hollow, faces grim and livid.</div><div><br /></div><div>The holes are reached by passages inside the rock.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwg5uhvSabaGoBdyWP_ttEj7WAk9UNRvo0HhYQzXjh-bZTDP7eaqAKs44NL6ha9Ob8SmGFAZpWUCGbxgFzKd80XyQ2P5P8kEmBBH7nhUwMp-X32hhchNzf9L99hpK6mdvw6LWciknAzeuExDakMH2Am5BXlCgofwYPE_AEs156OLdRjMgv0KlDncRHmM8l/s1230/Lacquermere%20Map.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1230" data-original-width="650" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwg5uhvSabaGoBdyWP_ttEj7WAk9UNRvo0HhYQzXjh-bZTDP7eaqAKs44NL6ha9Ob8SmGFAZpWUCGbxgFzKd80XyQ2P5P8kEmBBH7nhUwMp-X32hhchNzf9L99hpK6mdvw6LWciknAzeuExDakMH2Am5BXlCgofwYPE_AEs156OLdRjMgv0KlDncRHmM8l/w338-h640/Lacquermere%20Map.png" width="338" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>The Streets</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The houses are made of unpainted wood and have round portals in their faces. They are dark inside, as is the preference in this fire-prone town.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tiger-striped kittens are draped along the tiled walls. Postal stations stand at crossroads, brown cabinets on lacquered poles.</div><div><br /></div><div>The morning dew comes so heavy in Lacquermere that rivers slide like scaled glass down the slopes at dawn. Dew clings to the trees so thickly that rain comes from the boughs even when the sky is blue. The streets are ceilinged with low-hanging foliage, bark striped along its length. The branches are draped with snails like opalescent condensation. </div><div><br /></div><div>(Flute Check) Casually playing the flute while resting in a public area of Lacquermere will give a one-time +1 Sentiment increase assuming the streets are not deserted. Check vs d4. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><div>A <b>Ghost Whisperer</b>, a <b>Silk Saturator</b>, and a <b>Flusoother </b>can be noticed walking through the streets of Lacquermere. From Appendix: Potential Allies:</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Ghost Whisperer</i></span></div><div>Her tragedy is written in her bloodless face and dark unwavering eyes. She has moved past it in mind, but her spirit is half torn between realms. She soothes the haunters, soothes the souls of men and of spirits who were never human, and makes them her champions. She can use Poetry to craft Fetches and Fetishes. Only a 25% chance of being affected by a spirit attendant to a Fetch or Fetish.</div><div>Location: Drafty, lightless house on the hill</div><div>Acuity: d6</div><div>Flute: d6</div><div>Impersonation: d6</div><div>Prophecy: d6</div><div>Poetry (F&F): d12</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Silk Saturator (can create highly-effective but 1-use armor)</i></span></div><div>There is a use of the snails unknown to monk, Hand, or townsman. This woman supplies a distant rebellion with inconspicuous armor, their political wing (orators in swathes of silk) and their insurgents (hinterland rangers in wraps of black). Her silks are powerful armor, but brittle; one blow will almost certainly be stopped, but the ingeniously concentrated weave will be undone and fall away. She is no friend of the Hand and suspects the Inner Orchard of malfeasance. If the Investigating Censors prove at least superior to the other centers of power in honor, she may share her secret with them. If they do not, not even a Writ of Purpose will compel her.</div><div>Location: Weaving shed adjacent to a sheer face of silkrock</div><div>Acuity: d6</div><div>Alchemy: d8</div><div>Impersonation: d8</div><div>Poetry: d6</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Flusoother (can do some Alchemy, but also elicit lies through conversation using Impersonation instead of Acuity)</i></span></div><div>She visits the sick and hypochondriac at home. She is a good healer and a master listener. One may suspect her decoctions, but they will be looking in the wrong place. She has a masterful ability to gather accurate impressions of truth and fiction in the proclamations of those whom she tends to; she may not be able to tell you the truth of their intentions, but she can tell you where they are lying. Beware; you may be similarly transparent.</div><div>1/4 chance of Disloyalty (agent of (50/50) Hand or Monks)</div><div>Location: Wherever someone is ill; lives in a small, nondescript house in town </div><div>Acuity: d8</div><div>Alchemy: d8</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d6</div><div>Flute: d6</div><div>Impersonation: d10</div><div>Prophecy: d4</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b>The Garden</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div>Pears hang unpicked in the polity's central garden, a square space bounded by an unworked wooden fence. Green lanterns hang in the trees so that the pears are incandescent by night and double the lanternshine through the boughs and shadows.</div><div><br /></div><div>A <b>Garden Maiden</b> is here. From Appendix: Potential Allies:</div><div>She appraises the pears with affection, pink robe flowing, flute tucked in a red silk band, her voulge in the garden shed.</div><div>Acuity: d8</div><div>Alchemy: d8</div><div>Archery: d8</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d6</div><div>Flute: d8</div><div>Horsemanship: d8</div><div>Poetry: d6</div><div>Prowess: d6</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d8</div><div><br /></div><div>If issued a Writ of Purpose, she will prefer to accompany an IC rather than remain at the garden until needed. People dragooned by ICs fear the consequences of missing a further summons. </div><div><br /></div><div>A <b>Vitriolaged Seer</b> can occasionally be found taking little snippets from the garden. From Appendix: Potential Allies:</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Vitriolaged Seer</i></span></div><div>Her pronouncements were foul to the ears of liars, and so they doused her with alchemical solvent to cut her off from the divine. Her power did not inhere to her eyes, and despite being blind she has lost no insight, though she has become more selective with whom she shares it. She shapes her abode with many plants, creating rooms and hallways by snipping them as she walks, collecting sprigs and shoots for cuisine and alchemy.</div><div>Location: Disused counting house with greenery spilling from the doors and windows; adjacent to the Garden.</div><div>Acuity: d8 (can perceive local environment similar to Revealing alchemical effect)</div><div>Alchemy: d8</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d6</div><div>Flute: d6</div><div>Impersonation: d8</div><div>Poetry: d8</div><div>Prophecy: d8</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b>The Lacquerwell</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div>Mercurial lacquer pools in sanded-out stone gourds.</div><div><br /></div><div>Every day, the people of the township troupe into the forest with baskets on their carrying poles. They return laden with snails to be crushed.</div><div><br /></div><div>The snails are stepped on in great casks like grapes and their seep is harvested for lacquer. The snailflesh itself is extracted and fired into amber meatloaves.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Investigating Censors are invited to gloss their scabbards and scroll cases with the mercurial lacquer. Items so treated hold a dusky glow that becomes diamond-bright when meeting firelight.</div><div><br /></div><div>The snail harvest feeds the people, but is otherwise a ruse. The snail extract is superfluous to the lacquer, which originates in the depths of the monastery.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Lacquermere's Headman</b></span></div><div>He knows the Monks have a secret, but he remembers the days when they would put their prisoners in the hillside oubliettes, and is silent. He is grimly and brutally resigned to monastic rule, and focuses on organizing the people in their task of collecting snails each morning. He is willing to help the party against the Hand, who will assassinate him if he is seen talking at length with the ICs.</div><div>Archery: d6</div><div>Flute: d6</div><div>Gambling: d6</div><div>Horsemanship: d6</div><div>Poetry: d6 </div><div>Prowess: d6</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d6</div><div><br /></div><div>A <b>Lacquerbinder </b>can be found at work here. From Appendix: Potential Allies:</div><div><br /></div><div><i><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Lacquerbinder (can instill alchemical effects into Fetches and Fetishes)</i></div><div>The lacquer is more than physical. Its source is otherworldly and it echoes through realms as if penetrating them with radiance. Somewhere along the line it will shine through ghosts and spirits and can lace new elements into their fabric such that they reflect back to us.</div><div>He discovered this while lacquering his fetches. His lacquer had been corrupted by his brushes and tools, and he lacquered his secret Euphoria tincture into the Hanging Nocturne of a Whisperer. The voice of the spirit brought him unparalleled pleasure, and he has become its confidante and champion. Next, he guarded his cottage door with a Transfiguring Proscription that Cursed a repeat burglar before turning his flesh into gelatin; the Lacquerbinder keeps this bone-filled humanoid figure in his closet, now. </div><div>He is losing touch with reality and is considering summoning a Banshee into the gelatin corpse after treating it with Sexually Arousing and Life Containing tinctures, and his Whisperer is egging him on.</div><div>Location: Lacquerwell while working, a cottage surrounded by lavender while at home</div><div>Alchemy: d8</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d8</div><div>Poetry: d6</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b>The Caravansary</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div>A narrow, seven-storied inn overlooks the Caravansary. There is a common room for performances at the bottom. A stone staircase makes up the tower’s backbone and leads to sleeping rooms.</div><div><br /></div><div>There is an undisguised tension between two men in the inn. They drink but make veiled references to one another’s failures and derelictions. They are Hands who represent schismatic tendencies in the organization.</div><div>Consequences of Failure: d4 Hands are murdered by their fellows and disappear. The Weaver of Trembling Filaments gets a burst of sacrificial clarity and may make an insanity-free Prophecy check about the ICs.</div><div><br /></div><div>(Flute Check) An argument between visitors arises at the caravansary inn; it will lead to bloody clash </div><div>and possible burning of the caravansary without a Flute check. The player will be expected to speak his piece after finishing his air. A matched result calms the situation enough to prevent violence; Success also adds +1 Sentiment (See Appendix: Sentiment).</div><div><br /></div><div>The caravansary inn has a continual stream of new visitors, but two long-term residents, a <b>Threadplayer </b>and a <b>Cattle Raider</b> from a western realm. From Appendix: Potential Allies:</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Threadplayer (she can lull people to sleep using Flute)</i></span></div><div>She sees patterns in people's thoughts and has an inexplainable, irreplicable ability to play tunes that will lull them to sleep after a few moments' conversation, eliciting sleep cues in their memories. This is not infallible and the listeners must not already suspect her of malfeasance or be in a hurry to do something. She has been co-opted by the Monks of the Inner Orchard. She is very occasionally required to perform for guests that the Monks suspect of malfeasance; plainclothes Monks of the Inner Orchard then search them and their effects.</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d6</div><div>Flute: d12</div><div>Gambling: d6</div><div>Impersonation: d6</div><div>Poetry: d6</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Cattle Raider</i></span></div><div>A cattle rustler driven from a western empire, he can maneuver his black hobilar pony with incredible stealth, even at a canter. He and his gang served in border wars in exchange for rights to captured livestock, but he was left behind in a feint and brutally branded by a cattle baron. His men broke him from the dungeon in a daring attack, but were forced to scatter when overtaken by shrine maiden light horse archers responding to the fires in the baron’s battlements. He has made it here alone. He would be usefully dragooned by a Writ of Purpose, but will be Corrupt unless occasionally provisioned with livestock as his personal property.</div><div>Acuity: d8</div><div>Archery: d8</div><div>Gambling: d10</div><div>Horsemanship: d10</div><div>Poetry: d6</div><div>Prowess: d10</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d8</div><div><br /></div><div>See the Caravansary Visitor table in Appendix: Potential Allies for more.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b>The Regime Manor</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>The Monks of the Inner Orchard greet the Investigating Censors with an undisguised tension. They make clear that this is due to their loss of face at the Citadel’s intervention. Nevertheless, they do what they can to aid the Investigating Censors against the Hand.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Monks of the Inner Orchard host the Investigating Censors in the empty manor of a Former Regime Official. His fruit larders are empty except for leathern peels. His sitting rooms and fireplaces are like spideryards of crystalline dust.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b>The Outlying Reaches</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Teahouse</b></span></div><div>(Resolve Situation) There is a teahouse in the wooded hills near the village. The proprietor acts as loan shark, and several villagers have disappeared over the years after failing to pay him on time. No normal horseman can fight on the steep, leafy hill around the teahouse.</div><div>Proprietor and 3d6 hangers-on.</div><div>Resolving the situation adds d4+1 Sentiment if resolved without any death and +2 Sentiment if resolved with deaths. In the latter case, townsfolk from Lacquermere will burn the teahouse and its provisions to ritually cleanse the place of blood.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are a <b>Courtesan of the Spiral Smoke</b> and a <b>Scarred Gambler</b> here. From Appendix: Potential Allies:</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Courtesan of the Spiral Smoke</i></span></div><div>A trafficker with dark green nails, off-black jade lipstick, dark curling hair, and scars across her sumptuous face. She has little thin containers made of fragrant, oiled cedar hanging around her conspicuously soft body, and their contents can be bought for gold. She will prepare them for you. She will light the pipe. Oil the razor. Put the powder on a pastel leaf. And when you are amidst it, more is offered, for much more gold.</div><div>There is ecstasy in her nails, and when she rakes them down your back you are filled with their narcotic flow. All except her left little finger. She never presses the tip into anyone she does not intend to kill.</div><div>Location: Teahouse outside Lacquermere, though she is not a hanger-on of the loan shark; he knows better than to try and co-opt her.</div><div>Acuity: d8</div><div>Alchemy: d10</div><div>Archery: d6</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d6</div><div>Flute: d8</div><div>Gambling: d8</div><div>Horsemanship: d6</div><div>Impersonation: d8</div><div>Poetry: d6</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d6</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Scarred Gambler</i></span></div><div>His robe hangs open, hairy chest and cut face conspicuous, catching the moonlight through a window. He weathers losses with iron fortitude and takes his winnings with a smile like a snarling cat. He is sardonic but not sadistic and might make enemies with the Hands of the Trembling Filament, or the monks if he knew their true charter. He is, after all, a gambler in many things.</div><div>Location: Teahouse outside Lacquermere. The Gambler’s swordplay was witnessed once in this place, and the loan shark has since never attempted to co-opt his guest. </div><div>Acuity: d8</div><div>Archery: d6</div><div>Flute: d6</div><div>Gambling: d12</div><div>Horsemanship: d6</div><div>Poetry: d6</div><div>Prowess: d10</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d6</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Wilderness</b></span></div><div>There is an <b>Elixirbulb Seer</b> in a camp near Lacquermere. From Appendix: Potential Allies:</div><div>The gleaming green cup in the remotest forest bower, a place of moss made warm by the presence of the bulb. Cotton and pollen turn to gold in the air, losing none of their lightness. The sun is attracted to this place from the dim boughs, as if it has leapt down from the canopy. He seeks it for the purest insight, embodied wisdom at the confluence of many biomes. Drinking it will allow a Prophecy check at d20 with no risk of madness.</div><div>Location: Small, personal camp outside Lacquermere. The ICs will encounter him if they or their retinue gather Alchemical reagents.</div><div>Acuity: d10</div><div>Alchemy: d10</div><div>Archery: d6</div><div>Flute: d6</div><div>Gambling: d6</div><div>Horsemanship: d6</div><div>Impersonation: d6</div><div>Poetry: d6</div><div>Prophecy: d4</div><div>Prowess: d6</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d6</div><div><br /></div><div>There is a <b>Woad Hermit </b>near the bogs. From Appendix: Potential Allies:</div><div>Blue clay smeared in rings around his eyes, flecks of dirt in his thin white hair. He is shirtless, wears nothing but a tied-up brown garment and mud around his knees. He wears the woad like spectacles and sees clearly, sees past conventions, sees straight into the radioactive core of things, and so he has become an exile of containment, a psychiatric leprosy.</div><div>Location: Edge of the Lowland Bog</div><div>Acuity: d6</div><div>Alchemy: d8</div><div>Archery: d6</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d8</div><div>Prophecy: d8</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div>(Resolve Situation) There is a creature in the bogs that reaches from below to superheat bog sludge to the point of bursting; those caught in the blast have horrible infections set into their burns within hours. This prevents both the harvesting of the largest, juiciest snails, and also the gathering of herbs necessary for lay medicine. The ICs can benefit in the short term by providing medical aid to the people of Lacquermere using their own Alchemy, adding +1 Sentiment for conspicuously providing medical care (and likely gaining information as well) assuming an Alchemical product is spent, but slaying the Sepsizer will fix Sentiment at a minimum of 1 (preventing Night Militias) permanently in Lacquermere.</div><div><br /></div><div>In truth, this is a creature in a cave of mulch beneath the bog, a glossy black shell with a hundred little white limbs and a pair of crystalline blue eyes beneath it. Spines rise from beneath flaring segments in its shell, slithering through the earth to superheat portions of bog when humans come near. It kills people to prevent them from removing Alchemically-charged herbs that it eats, though it could survive in a weakened state upon other fare. </div><div><br /></div><div>The players will be attacked with these while traversing the swamp, with Acuity checks vs d8 made to find the confluence of rotten stumps that form the chasm mouth to its cavern, and Prowess checks vs d6 to get to cover when the bog begins to boil.</div><div><br /></div><div>When the players reach the Sepsizer, it will be defenseless against them, as it will take the creature too long to withdraw its tendrils from the muck and move into a defensive curl. It can only be communicated with using Prophecy vs d4; both the delver and the Sepsizer must succeed at their Prophecy checks to communicate.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b>The Hall of Hands</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>(Poetry Check) With the arrival of the Investigating Censors, the Hand of the Trembling Filament puts out poetry highlighting the strangeness of monastic rule, hardening the locals against the ICs. After this poetry is disseminated, Sentiment is reduced by 3. The Investigating Censors may disseminate countervailing poetry. A matched result neutralizes the Hand’s effect on Sentiment; a success further increases Sentiment by 1.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the streets, a man may give a surreptitious signal to another within sight of an IC or retinue member. This is a signal for a Hands meeting.</div><div>Consequence of Failure: An outlying Inner Orchard shrine is arsonized, causing a forest fire. The next time the ICs make a check to find a source of recruits in the wilderness, they roll vs d12.</div><div><br /></div><div>When Hands of the Trembling Filament discuss their meeting place, they always refer to “the old man’s house”. The house of the oldest man in the village (now deceased) stands vacant in a hollow to the east; it is boarded up and members of the Hand have bound hideous-sounding Whisperers to Hanging Nocturnes near the property to dissuade children from approaching. The doors and windows themselves, however, have Thunder Reeds (d6 at 5’) placed behind the windows and doors, so that if these are forced they will detonate on whoever comes through and warn the Hand that their security measures have been inadequate. </div><div><br /></div><div>Their actual meeting place is in an underground chamber fed by several blind alleys with hidden passageways, so that the conspirators don’t have to gather on the surface to enter and so that there are several avenues of escape should the underhall be invaded.</div><div><br /></div><div>One passageway is to be used only if being tailed. There is a corner, and then a Hanging Nocturne that binds a banshee to the sudden turn. The scream is likely to kill people all the way on the nearest road.</div><div><br /></div><div>Hands of the Trembling Filament wrap themselves in loose black bands when embarking on missions of murder. They wield short sabers acid-etched with serpents climbing houses towards people sleeping by their windows.</div><div><br /></div><div>Their organizer is an alchemist whose skin has been cured to paper by the fumes of his decoctions. His eyes are blood red as a god-cursed baby and his fingers are inhumanly thin. Rawhide bandoliers soft with deer down hang loose from his empty frame, but are heavy with the fruit of his techniques. </div><div><br /></div><div>The leader of the Hand enters his domicile through a false door in the foyer; his main door is set with a Malediction Proscription.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>The Weaver of Trembling Filaments</b></span></div><div>Acuity: d12</div><div>Alchemy: d12</div><div>Archery: d12</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d10</div><div>Flute: d8 </div><div>Horsemanship: d8</div><div>Impersonation: d10</div><div>Poetry: d10</div><div>Prophecy: d4</div><div>Prowess: d10</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d8</div><div>Three-Stage Blast Poultice (d4 Applications): Explosive effect finished by Dissolving mist that becomes Arsonizing after melting-down the local environment.</div><div>Bog Beast Necrotization Poison: Insta-rots the victim’s circulatory system. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Details: Three-Stage Blast Poultice</i></span></div><div>Explosive: Base strength of d8. An alchemical explosion affects d4 opponents within a 10’ radius. Those not maimed or killed are knocked over. A fist-size quantity can put a 2’ radius hole through a 1’ thick stone wall. When attempting to employ this explosive (either as a thrown or slung missile, or as a static emplacement, for example inside a lock or in a trap), roll a d4 vs your Alchemy. If you lose, it explodes right next to you. </div><div>Dissolving: Hyperacidic liquid or universal solvent, generally with exceptions, such as whatever the container is made out of. Vitriolage is a d4 attack vs Prowess and generally defaces the individual even in case of survival. If the d4 and Prowess are equal, the victim is permanently blinded (or loses the use of other sensory organs if applicable).</div><div>Arsonizing: Generally takes the form of an infernal goo.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Hand of the Trembling Filament</b></span></div><div>Acuity: d6</div><div>Alchemy: d6</div><div>Archery: d8</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d6</div><div>Impersonation: d8</div><div>Prowess: d8</div><div>Arson Decoction</div><div>Climbing Claws (special training in use, d10 Prowess when climbing)</div><div><br /></div><div>(Poetry Check) The Hand of the Trembling Filament will continue piecemeal with their attacks even if their leader is eliminated, unless the monks compose a powerful eulogy for him and his ideals. The Hand will permanently lay down arms if the ICs eliminate the leader, overthrow the Monks of the Inner Orchard, and compose a moving eulogy. Otherwise they will operate as small groups of bandits and lone wolves for the foreseeable future. Check vs d6.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b>The </b></span><span style="text-align: left;"><b>Monastery</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>The black eaves of the temple extend from the stone itself. They are frosted with a filigree of gold that ripples like a dragon's passing at night.</div><div><br /></div><div>The windows are latticed with sharp half-cut bamboo, and the walkways sag with every footfall; a profoundly light step is required for silent movement.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Monk of the Inner Orchard</b></span></div><div>Acuity: d6 (d8 if embedded in rock)</div><div>Alchemy: d6</div><div>Archery: d6</div><div>Horsemanship: d6</div><div>Prowess: d8</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d6</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Monastic Champion</b></span></div><div>The Abbott’s finest pupil will pose as a wandering mercenary and will repeatedly make himself conspicuous to the Investigating Censors, not offering to work for free but instead making himself a tempting target for a Writ of Purpose. He is heavily scarred and will play the charismatic hard man, pretending to be too proud to talk to commoners. This is because if he were not scarred, and if he spoke too freely to the people of Lacquermere, they would recognize him from his youth as a promising initiate of the Inner Orchard. He is, naturally, Disloyal to the ICs.</div><div>Acuity: d10</div><div>Alchemy: d6</div><div>Archery: d10</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d8</div><div>Flute: d8</div><div>Gambling: d8</div><div>Horsemanship: d10</div><div>Impersonation: d12</div><div>Poetry: d8</div><div>Prowess: d10</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d10</div><div>1/4 Armor</div><div>Battle Psychosis Cataplasm: Temporarily increases Prowess die size by two steps, and d10 increases to d12+2. d12 increases to d20. Usually fatal and taken in desperation; after the battle, the user must roll base Prowess vs d20 to survive. The Monastic Champion will take it immediately before launching a surprise attack on the party, if possible, ideally when assaulting the Monastery.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Abbott</b></span></div><div>This monk sought to rid the southern coast of its pirate lords even before the Poison War. The monasteries were too scattered, too lacking in common purpose to bring down the pirates as they were. He sought to imbue his monks with a supernatural blessing so that they might have a chance in their crusade against the human sacrificers. </div><div><br /></div><div>He and his closest companions traveled down a dry, dusty chasm in the lowland bog to a fissure lit by natural gas fires. They called upon the enemies of the dark ocean to bless them in their campaign against the pirates. Spirits that were like angles of shadow arced from the fires and prised themselves into the bodies of the Abbott’s companions.</div><div><br /></div><div>Voices spoke through the flames. The Abbott would have miraculous treasure from human bodies inhabited by these umbralithic shadows. If he provided the bodies, he would be rich enough to outfit armies.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mercurial lacquer bled from the Abbott’s companions. Aggrieved, he brought them one by one to the monastery.</div><div><br /></div><div>Those impregnated with the umbraliths gradually die. As his companions perished, the Abbott sought a permanent host for the otherworldly lacquerers. Risking the use of his incipient Prophecy, he espied a forest demigod.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Abbott</i></span></div><div>Acuity: d10</div><div>Alchemy: d8</div><div>Archery: d12</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d20</div><div>Flute: d8</div><div>Impersonation: d8</div><div>Poetry: d10</div><div>Prophecy: d8</div><div>Prowess: d12</div><div>Coin of the Junction (See Appendix: The Uses of Alchemy. His allies will attempt to give it to him)</div><div>Substrate Disruptor: His final sanction against the umbraliths, he will deploy it in the doorway of the Monastery and then flee far away if he feels they will compel him away from his hoped-for campaign against the pirates; this is the only thing that can redeem his situation in his own eyes.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Inner Sanctum</b></span></div><div>The monks have trapped a demigod beast of the forest here. This forest father wandered in a den of false leaves with a welter of mercurial lacquer hidden below. The beast fell into the pit and monks suffering from umbralithic impregnation were cast in with it.</div><div><br /></div><div>It is coated in bloody white shag, its light blue skin cold and slackened in places over muscle burrowed by angled shadows. It lays on a great low platform.</div><div><br /></div><div>The umbraliths weep mercurial lacquer down the sides of the parasitized demigod. Its electric blue flesh wells with weeping ichor as supernatural infection follows in the shadows’ wake. The gloss spreads across the demigod’s platform and is pushed into casks by monks with toothless rakes.</div><div><br /></div><div>The demigod gutters and its fifty pearlescent fangs gleam by the brazier's glow. It cannot say a thing without the permission of the collective, for an umbralith has replaced its tongue.</div><div><br /></div><div>Before the acquisition of the demigod, the monks made the sacrifice themselves. Brothers with the shadows inside them still lay around the twenty-legged predator. Some still have the umbraliths protruding from their mouths, gauged open by pronged extrusions. Other shadows jut from their necks, flesh taut around them, beckoning exsanguination should the creature be withdrawn. </div><div><br /></div><div>A shadow-host monk makes a divinatory dive into the Realm of White and Gold each day, clandestinely observing the Investigating Censors through the channels of their exoastral handlers.</div><div><br /></div><div>If the monastery discovers that the ICs have learned the truth about the lacquer, the monks will gather in the crags around the manor that night. Fountains of fire will pour from the crags onto the manor as the monks unleash a torrent of fire arrows. Those escaping from the inferno will be targeted by shooters hidden in the hills.</div><div>Those who dash into the shadows beyond the hellfire will be subjected to d4-1 d4-skill Archery attacks. Those who stand still will suffer d20 such attacks.</div><div>A wary sentry may notice the monks moving into position with their braziers emitting a downward glow, Acuity vs d8.</div><div><br /></div><div>A collection of angled shadows creates an aetheric blank. The forest father could not perceive them through Prophecy. Those scrying on the inner sanctum roll against d20.</div><div><br /></div><div>If the ICs go to the place where the umbraliths first emerged, an easy Fetches and Fetishes (or Prophecy) check will reveal that something existentially befouling has emerged from the fire flues. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Attacking the Monastary: Three Stages</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Stage 1: Outlying Promenades</b></span></div><div>Polearm and bow monks defend alongside allied townsmen.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are figures on the doors; those touching it without permission will have their souls trapped and made figures on the doors. There are already many warriors, thieves, squirrels, and birds plying their trades through bas relief cities on the doors. There is no trivial way to bring trapped souls back into human form, through seriously damaging the figures on the doors will at least free their souls. Fetches & Fetishes vs d8 neutralizes this function by bracing a correct quantity of dead flesh against the door, precluding further entrapment until it is removed.</div><div><br /></div><div>The ICs will need to find some way to breach the doors. Alchemical applications will work, as will a sufficient quantity of lacquer detonated by the doors.</div><div><br /></div><div>3d8 Monks of the Inner Orchard, 3d4 aligned townsmen (d4 sans Prophecy)</div><div> </div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Stage 2: Gathering Hall</b></span></div><div>The monks release any bretheren who have been made insane by failing scrying checks upon the Investigating Censors. The afflicted madmen are hung with searing alchemical braziers whose plates are joined by the burning off of incense to activate their effects when among the enemy. The sane monks fire from a distance.</div><div>d4 brazier madmen + however many were created attempting to scry on the ICs</div><div>3d4 Monks of the Inner Orchard</div><div><br /></div><div>Alchemical distillate on an individual mad monk:</div><div>d4</div><div>1 Transfiguration: A mutagenic mist that turns the human body into inert fishflesh, so that portion of an attacked individual’s body will become silvery and disconnected from the rest. The individual may die instantly or very, very slowly. 10’ radius, Alacrity vs d8 to evade.</div><div>2 Arsonizing: Sprays a flaming gelatin in a disc around the monk. 10’ radius, Alacrity vs d8 to evade.</div><div>3 Suppressing: Those caught by this blast of herbal embers will be drawn into a brain-sapping mental chasm; involuntary sleep is likely. 15’ radius, Alacrity vs d10 to evade.</div><div>4 Life-Containing: Those caught in this burst of warmth-seeking steam will have their essences drawn into the cloud, which will riot with consciousness for a moment before dispersing. 10’ radius, Alacrity vs d8 to evade.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Stage 3: Demigod Flesh Hive</b></span></div><div>The forest demigod lays on a platform of pure steel with umbralith-bewormed brothers scattered around as if paralyzed by pregnancy. Monks rake lacquer into casks, their faces double-wrapped against the tear-inducing alkaline reek of newborn umbralith-lacquer.</div><div><br /></div><div>When the ICs enter, the monks will charge to melee with bladed spades while the angled shadows gush lacquer down the sides of the godbeast.</div><div><br /></div><div>d20+d8 Monks of the Inner Orchard</div><div>2d4 umbralith-bearing bretheren</div><div>2d4 umbraliths in the Godbeast</div><div><br /></div><div>The umbraliths will add to the chaos should the monks clearly be failing in their defense. As the ICs near the godbeast, the umbraliths will inject their precious lacquer with an irascible gall. This biological tincture is black until ignited by prolonged contact with the air. Flame will blast from the umbraliths’ sphinctertips, and when an umbralith is attacked at close range it will burst and inundate its surroundings with a magma of incandescent flesh.</div><div>25% of umbraliths killed: Umbraliths begin to beat around and emit an ear-piercing piping</div><div>50% of umbraliths killed: Umbraliths begin to gout fulminating lacquer at interlopers</div><div>75% of umbraliths killed: Umbraliths detonate at the approach of enemies</div><div>The last surviving umbralith will streak for the nearest cluster of enemies, attempting to detonate in their midst.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b><i>Pyrocoli furiosis,</i> or alkaliphilic umbralith</b></span></div><div>Angles of shadow shaped like a gyrobifastigium when compacted in a wound, but unfurling into a clawed intestine when springing towards a new host.</div><div>Acuity: d8</div><div>Alchemy: d12</div><div>Archery: d8 (fulminating lacquer)</div><div>Flute: d8 (eerie piping)</div><div>Prophecy: d8</div><div><br /></div><div>A missed ranged attack on an umbralith inhabiting the forest creature attacks the forest creature instead, target d12. A hit slays the creature.</div><div><br /></div><div>If the godbeast survives the battle, it will be too weak to escape immediately. It will warn the ICs to not be near when it recovers, for it will not be able to resist devouring them. It will offer to engage its d20 Prophecy on behalf of the ICs at least once before they leave.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Godbeast</b></span></div><div>Acuity: d12</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d20</div><div>Poetry: d12 (spoken only)</div><div>Prophecy: d20</div><div>Prowess: d20</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b>Appendix: Potential Allies</b></span></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>20 Townspeople</b></span></div><div>Note: The most common Townsman of Lacquermere is a picker and presser of snails with d4 in all skills sans Prophecy, which is 0. NPCs on this table have these same stats unless otherwise noted. </div><div>People issued a Writ of Purpose have a chance of being Corrupt and/or Disloyal. A GM can make this check for an NPC right away or wait until he thinks it is relevant. Roll a d8. On a 1, roll a d6.</div><div>1-2: Corrupt</div><div>3-4: Disloyal</div><div>5-6: Both</div><div>1 Mushroomknower: Alchemy d6, Impersonation d6</div><div>2 Moondrinker: Prophecy d4</div><div>3 Wheelwright: Prowess d6</div><div>4 Bogcreeper: Acuity d6, Archery d6</div><div>5 Crier: Poetry d6, Impersonation d6</div><div>6 Midwife: Alchemy d6</div><div>7 Escrowman: Acuity d6, Poetry d6, Prowess d6</div><div>8 Groom: Flute d6, Horsemanship d6</div><div>9 Framer: Prowess d6</div><div>10 Millet Wine Drinkard: Gambling d8, Poetry d8, Prophecy d6</div><div>11 Grove Piper: Flute d8</div><div>12 Kennelkeeper: Impersonation d6</div><div>13 Keenman: Fetches and Fetishes d6</div><div>14 Rivery Fishwife: Flute d6, Gambling d6</div><div>15 Aged Lawsage: d8 Poetry</div><div>16 Militia Marshal: Archery d6, Impersonation d6, Prowess d6</div><div>17 Branchcat Shepherd: Acuity d6, Flute d6</div><div>18 Acorn Grinder: Acuity d6</div><div>19 Sprogfinder: Acuity d8</div><div>20 Frogboiler: Acuity d6</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>20 Visitors to the Caravansary</b></span></div><div><b>1 Independent Courtesan</b></div><div>Otherworldy Art specialization</div><div>Acuity: d8</div><div>Alchemy: d6</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d10</div><div>Flute: d8</div><div>Horsemanship: d6</div><div>Impersonation: d10</div><div>Poetry: d8</div><div>Prophecy: d4</div><div><b>2 Agitator </b></div><div>Samesoulist</div><div>Impersonation: d8</div><div>Poetry: d6</div><div><b>3 Prophet </b></div><div>Haruspicist</div><div>Acuity: d6</div><div>Alchemy: d6</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d6</div><div>Flute: d6</div><div>Impersonation: d6</div><div>Poetry: d6</div><div>Prophecy: d6</div><div><b>4 Exiled Desert Tribesman </b></div><div>Foreign, Disloyal if issued a Writ of Purpose</div><div>Acuity: d8</div><div>Archery: d8</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d6</div><div>Flute: d6</div><div>Horsemanship: d10</div><div>Poetry: d8</div><div>Prowess: d8</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d8</div><div><b>5 Caravaneer</b></div><div>Acuity: d6</div><div>Archery: d6</div><div>Flute: d6</div><div>Gambling: d6</div><div>Horsemanship: d6</div><div>Impersonation: d6</div><div>Prowess: d6</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d6</div><div><b>6 Deserter</b></div><div>From the Poison River Library Guards; he hoped to find more of a welcome in these lands. Foreign, Disloyal if issued a Writ of Purpose.</div><div>Alchemy: d6</div><div>Archery: d10</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d10</div><div>Flute: d6</div><div>Impersonation: d6 </div><div>Prophecy: d4</div><div><b>7 Manbuyer </b></div><div>Simply traveling through; the Monks of the Inner Orchard aren’t slavers.</div><div>Acuity: d8</div><div>Alchemy: d6</div><div>Archery: d6</div><div>Gambling: d8</div><div>Horsemanship: d6</div><div>Prowess: d8</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d6</div><div><b>8 Mendicant of the Silver Caverns</b></div><div>Acuity: d10 (though blind)</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d8</div><div>Flute: d8</div><div>Poetry: d8</div><div>Prophecy: d6</div><div><b>9 Imperial Ethnologist </b></div><div>Foreign, Disloyal if issued a Writ of Purpose</div><div>Horsemanship: d8</div><div>Impersonation: d8</div><div>Poetry: d8</div><div><b>10 Salt Smuggler </b></div><div>Posing as wandering florist.</div><div>Acuity: d8</div><div>Gambling: d8</div><div>Horsemanship: d10</div><div>Impersonation: d8</div><div>Prowess: d6</div><div><b>11 Shrine Maiden Initiator </b></div><div>Sexual initiation of shrine maidens by itinerant medicine men is a corrupt practice in certain extreme hinterlands. The initiators claim that this places shrine maidens under the protection of certain primordial spirits.</div><div>Alchemy: d6</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d6</div><div>Flute: d6</div><div>Gambling: d8</div><div>Impersonation: d10</div><div>Prowess: d6</div><div><b>12 Wandering John</b></div><div>Gambling: d6</div><div>Horsemanship: d6</div><div><b>13 Undercover Pamphleteer </b></div><div>Tenant Farmer Republicanism</div><div>Acuity: d6</div><div>Impersonation: d8</div><div>Poetry: d8</div><div><b>14 Unemployed Bodyguard</b></div><div>Acuity: d8</div><div>Archery: d6</div><div>Flute: d8</div><div>Gambling: d8</div><div>Horsemanship: d6</div><div>Impersonation: d6</div><div>Poetry: d8</div><div>Prowess: d10</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d6</div><div><b>15 Lettucemonger </b></div><div>d4 sans Prophecy</div><div><b>16 Lost Diplomat</b></div><div>Foreign, Disloyal if issued a Writ of Purpose</div><div>Acuity: d6</div><div>Alchemy: d6</div><div>Archery: d6</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d6</div><div>Flute: d6</div><div>Gambling: d6</div><div>Horsemanship: d8</div><div>Impersonation: d10</div><div>Poetry: d8</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d6</div><div><b>17 Coifshearer</b></div><div>Impersonation: d6</div><div><b>18 Penitent Pirate</b></div><div>25% chance of not actually being penitent, instead being Corrupt and Disloyal</div><div>Acuity: d6</div><div>Archery: d6</div><div>Gambling: d6</div><div>Impersonation: d6</div><div>Prowess: d6</div><div><b>19 Noblewoman Exiled from Tower of Sea Glass</b> (actually a ceramic revenant; thin as eggshell and empty inside, skin is hard and ice cold. Entity, disloyal if issued a Writ of Purpose)</div><div>Acuity: d12</div><div>Alchemy: d8</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d12</div><div>Flute: d12 (doesn’t actually require a flute)</div><div>Horsemanship: 0 (horse will not allow itself to be mounted by her)</div><div>Impersonation: d10</div><div>Poetry: d10</div><div>Prophecy: d10, no madness on failure, but subject inaccessible for time being</div><div><b>20 Master Thief</b></div><div>Always Corrupt</div><div>Acuity: d10</div><div>Alchemy: d8</div><div>Archery: d8</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d12</div><div>Gambling: d10</div><div>Horsemanship: d8</div><div>Impersonation: d10</div><div>Prowess: d10</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d8</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>12 Potential Allies</b></span></div><div><b>1 Grove Maiden</b></div><div>She appraises the pears with affection, pink robe flowing, flute tucked in a red silk band, her voulge in the garden shed.</div><div>Location: Central Grove</div><div>Acuity: d8</div><div>Alchemy: d8</div><div>Archery: d8</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d6</div><div>Flute: d8</div><div>Horsemanship: d8</div><div>Poetry: d6</div><div>Prowess: d6</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d8</div><div><b>2 Woad Hermit</b></div><div>Blue clay smeared in rings around his eyes, flecks of dirt in his thin white hair. He is shirtless, wears nothing but a tied-up brown garment and mud around his knees. He wears the woad like spectacles and sees clearly, sees past conventions, sees straight into the radioactive core of things, and so he has become an exile of containment, a psychiatric leprosy.</div><div>Location: Edge of the Lowland Bog</div><div>Acuity: d6</div><div>Alchemy: d8</div><div>Archery: d6</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d8</div><div>Prophecy: d8</div><div><b>3 Ghost Whisperer</b></div><div>Her tragedy is written in her bloodless face and dark unwavering eyes. She has moved past it in mind, but her spirit is half torn between realms. She soothes the haunters, soothes the souls of men and of spirits who were never human, and makes them her champions. She can use Poetry to craft Fetches and Fetishes. Only a 25% chance of being affected by a spirit attendant to a Fetch or Fetish.</div><div>Location: Drafty, lightless house on the hill</div><div>Acuity: d6</div><div>Flute: d6</div><div>Impersonation: d6</div><div>Prophecy: d6</div><div>Poetry (F&F): d12</div><div><b>4 Courtesan of the Spiral Smoke</b></div><div>A trafficker with dark green nails, off-black dark jade lipstick, dark curling hair, and scars across her sumptuous face. She has little thin containers made of fragrant, oiled cedar hanging around her conspicuously soft body, and their contents can be bought for gold. She will prepare them for you. She will light the pipe. Oil the razor. Put the powder on a pastel leaf. And when you are amidst it, more is offered, for much more gold.</div><div>There is ecstasy in her nails, and when she rakes them down your back you are filled with their narcotic flow. All except her left little finger. She never presses the tip into anyone she does not intend to kill.</div><div>Location: Teahouse outside Lacquermere, though she is not a hanger-on of the loan shark; he knows better than to try and co-opt her.</div><div>Acuity: d8</div><div>Alchemy: d10</div><div>Archery: d6</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d6</div><div>Flute: d8</div><div>Gambling: d8</div><div>Horsemanship: d6</div><div>Impersonation: d8</div><div>Poetry: d6</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d6</div><div><b>5 Scarred Gambler</b></div><div>His robe hangs open, hairy chest and cut face conspicuous, catching the moonlight through a window. He weathers losses with iron fortitude and takes his winnings with a smile like a snarling cat. He is sardonic but not sadistic and might make enemies with the Hands of the Trembling Filament, or the monks if he knew their true charter. He is, after all, a gambler in many things.</div><div>Location: Teahouse outside Lacquermere. The Gambler’s swordplay was witnessed once in this place, and the loan shark has since never attempted to co-opt his guest. </div><div>Acuity: d8</div><div>Archery: d6</div><div>Flute: d6</div><div>Gambling: d12</div><div>Horsemanship: d6</div><div>Poetry: d6</div><div>Prowess: d10</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d6</div><div><b>6 Elixerbulb Seeker</b></div><div>The gleaming green cup in the remotest forest bower, a place of moss made warm by the presence of the bulb. Cotton and pollen turn to gold in the air, losing none of their lightness. The sun is attracted to this place from the dim boughs, as if it has leapt down from the canopy. He seeks it for the purest insight, embodied wisdom at the confluence of many biomes. Drinking it will allow a Prophecy check at d20 with no risk of madness.</div><div>Location: Small, personal camp outside Lacquermere. The ICs will encounter him if they or their retinue gather Alchemical reagents.</div><div>Acuity: d10</div><div>Alchemy: d10</div><div>Archery: d6</div><div>Flute: d6</div><div>Gambling: d6</div><div>Horsemanship: d6</div><div>Impersonation: d6</div><div>Poetry: d6</div><div>Prophecy: d4</div><div>Prowess: d6</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d6</div><div><b>7 Vitriolaged Seer</b></div><div>Her pronouncements were foul to the ears of liars, and so they doused her with alchemical solvent to cut her off from the divine. Her power did not inhere to her eyes, and despite being blind she has lost no insight, though she has become more selective with whom she shares it. She shapes her abode with many plants, creating rooms and hallways by snipping them as she walks, collecting sprigs and shoots for cuisine and alchemy.</div><div>Location: Disused counting house with greenery spilling from the doors and windows; adjacent to the Central Grove</div><div>Acuity: d8 (can perceive local environment similar to Revealing alchemical effect)</div><div>Alchemy: d8</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d6</div><div>Flute: d6</div><div>Impersonation: d8</div><div>Poetry: d8</div><div>Prophecy: d8</div><div><b>8 Silk Saturator</b> (can create highly-effective but 1-use armor)</div><div>There is a use of the snails unknown to monk, Hand, or townsman. This woman supplies a distant rebellion with inconspicuous armor, their political wing (orators in swathes of silk) and their insurgents (hinterland rangers in wraps of black). Her silks are powerful armor, but brittle; one blow will almost certainly be stopped, but the ingeniously concentrated weave will be undone and fall away. She is no friend of the Hand and suspects the Inner Orchard of malfeasance. If the Investigating Censors prove at least superior to the other centers of power in honor, she may share her secret with them. If they do not, not even a Writ of Purpose will compel her.</div><div>Location: Weaving shed adjacent to a sheer face of silkrock</div><div>Acuity: d6</div><div>Alchemy: d8</div><div>Impersonation: d8</div><div>Poetry: d6</div><div><b>9 Lacquerbinder </b>(can instil alchemical effects into Fetches and Fetishes)</div><div>The lacquer is more than physical. Its source is otherwordly and it echoes through realms as if penetrating them with radiance. Somewhere along the line it will shine through ghosts and spirits and can lace new elements into their fabric such that they reflect back to us.</div><div>He discovered this while lacquering his fetches. His lacquer had been corrupted by his brushes and tools, and he lacquered his secret Euphoria tincture into the Hanging Nocturne of a Whisperer. The voice of the spirit brought him unparalleled pleasure, and he has become its confidante and champion. Next, he guarded his cottage door with a Transfiguring Proscription that Cursed a repeat burglar before turning his flesh into gelatin; the Lacquerbinder keeps this bone-filled humanoid figure in his closet, now. </div><div>He is losing touch with reality and is considering summoning a Banshee into the gelatin corpse after treating it with Sexually Arousing and Life Containing tinctures, and his Whisperer is egging him on.</div><div>Location: Lacquerwell while working, a cottage surrounded by lavender when at home</div><div>Alchemy: d8</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d8</div><div>Poetry: d6</div><div><b>10 Threadplayer </b>(she can lull people to sleep using Flute)</div><div>She sees patterns in people's thoughts and has an inexplainable, irreplicable ability to play tunes that will lull them to sleep after a few moments' conversation, eliciting sleep cues in their memories. This is not infallible and the listeners must not already suspect her of malfeasance or be in a hurry to do something. She has been co-opted by the Monks of the Inner Orchard. She is very occasionally required to perform for guests that the Monks suspect of malfeasance; plainclothes Monks of the Inner Orchard then search them and their effects.</div><div>Location: Caravansary Inn</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d6</div><div>Flute: d12</div><div>Gambling: d6</div><div>Impersonation: d6</div><div>Poetry: d6</div><div><b>11 Flusoother </b>(can do some Alchemy, but also elicit lies through conversation using Impersonation instead of Acuity)</div><div>She visits the sick and hypochondriac at home. She is a good healer and a master listener. One may suspect her decoctions, but they will be looking in the wrong place. She has a masterful ability to gather accurate impressions of truth and fiction in the proclamations of those whom she tends to; she may not be able to tell you the truth of their intentions, but she can tell you where they are lying. Beware; you may be similarly transparent.</div><div>1/4 chance of Disloyalty (agent of (50/50) Hand or Monks)</div><div>Location: Wherever someone is ill; lives in a small, nondescript house in town </div><div>Acuity: d8</div><div>Alchemy: d8</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d6</div><div>Flute: d6</div><div>Impersonation: d10</div><div>Prophecy: d4</div><div><b>12 Cattle Raider</b></div><div>A cattle rustler driven from a western empire, he can maneuver his black hobilar pony with incredible stealth, even at a canter. He and his gang served in border wars in exchange for rights to captured livestock, but he was left behind in a feint and brutally branded by a cattle baron. His men broke him from the dungeon in a daring attack, but were forced to scatter when overtaken by shrine maiden light horse archers responding to the fires in the baron’s battlements. He has made it here alone. He would be usefully dragooned by a Writ of Purpose, but will be Corrupt unless occasionally provisioned with livestock as his personal property.</div><div>Location: Caravansary</div><div>Acuity: d8</div><div>Archery: d8</div><div>Gambling: d10</div><div>Horsemanship: d10</div><div>Poetry: d6</div><div>Prowess: d10</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d8</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div>Investigating Censors can "catch and release" NPCs, issuing and rescinding Writs of Purpose to cycle needed NPCs through their band. However, NPCs who feel unduly trapped or abused can head off on a journey away from the operational zone, and if they cannot be found to be served a Writ of Purpose, they cannot be outlawed for dereliction or refusal. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>6 Regional Concentrations of Desirable Retinue Members </b></span></div><div>Acuity vs d8 to find near Lacquermere:</div><div>d6</div><div>1 A Camp: 3d6 hunters (d6 Acuity, d6 Archery)</div><div>2 A Mine: 3d6 miners (d6 Prowess, d6 Gambling)</div><div>3 A Lodge: 3d6 lumberjacks (d8 Prowess)</div><div>4 A Pavilion: 3d6 troubadours (d6 Flute, d6 Impersonation)</div><div>5 A Fort: 3d6 filibusters or sympathetic rebels (d6 Archery, d6 Prowess)</div><div>6 A Caravan: 3d6 caravan guards (d6 Horsemanship, d6 Prowess)</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b>Appendix: Sentiment</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Local Hostility Causes</b></span></div><div>The Sentiment of the people of Lacquermere begins at 6.</div><div>Repeatedly harvesting a population of its able-bodied members will arouse resentment.</div><div>Repeatedly recruiting from the same Regional Concentration: -1 Sentiment</div><div>Recruiting multiple townsfolk of Lacquermere after a conspicuous and avoidable decimation of the retinue: -2 Sentiment</div><div>Treating the Monks of the Inner Orchard with conspicuous disrespect: -2 Sentiment</div><div>Failing any Alchemical Interrogation or performing it on an innocent: -2 Sentiment</div><div>Ending the Activities of the Tea House Loan Shark: +2 Sentiment</div><div>Rooting out the Hand of the Trembling Filament: +2 Sentiment</div><div>Ending the Bog Beast: +4 Sentiment</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Local Hostility Effects</b></span></div><div>Sentiment begins at 6. If it goes below 6, the ICs suffer the following effects:</div><div>5: Code of Silence: Practically all locals refuse to speak to the IC and his retinue. </div><div>4: Hail of Rocks: d4 retinue members chosen by the GM have rocks cast at them by locals who then rush away into crowds, markets, rookeries, or the wilderness as is appropriate. Each targeted retinue member has a 1/20 chance of being killed.</div><div>3: People stay camped out in the wilderness rather than come near the ICs.</div><div>2: The Monks cease cooperation with the party against the Hand.</div><div>1: NPCs from the Potential Allies table begin cooperating with the Hand and/or the Monks.</div><div>0 or below: Locals aid the Hand in getting effective attacks or arsonizations on the ICs.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b>Appendix: High Dreaming Citadel Cachet</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div>When you defeat certain enemies, you gain Cachet with the High Dreaming Citadel.</div><div>Destroying the bog beast: 2 Cachet</div><div>Rooting out the Hand of the Trembling Filament: 3 Cachet</div><div>Ripping the unnatural heart out of the Monastery of the Inner Orchard: 6 Cachet</div><div><br /></div><div>Cachet can be spent to request support from the High Dreaming Citadel. The requestor writes a missive using Poetry. Cachet is only spent if the request is accepted. </div><div>For a full list of what the HDC can provide, see Appendix H: Cachet and Skill Investment in <i>Investigating Censor</i>. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Here are four <b>example Cachet rewards</b> available to the Investigating Censors at Lacquermere: </span></div><div><b>Sachet of Guardian Boluses</b>: Herbal wads kept in the cheek by sentries. They combine Hypervigilance and Revealing Effects, so that the sentry has a bonus to Alacrity and can see the outline of things even in the darkness, and should a battle begin, the sentry will enter Battle Psychosis. Cachet Cost: 2. Poetry vs d4. The HDC will provide as many Boluses as the Poet went over victory.</div><div><b>Seconded Nomad Team</b>: Cachet Cost: 2. Poetry vs d6</div><div><b>Deployment of a High Dreaming Citadel Special Advisor</b>: Cachet Cost: 2. Poetry vs d6</div><div><b>Oracular Delve</b>: Costs a large amount of Cachet because the executing monk risks insanity. Cachet Cost: 4. Poetry vs d10</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div>When you gain Cachet, each IC gains an equal number of Skill Investments. This allows them to increase die sizes of any characters in their retinues, to include the IC. One Skill Investment increases a die size by 1, e.g. from d6 to d8. Die sizes cannot normally go higher than d12.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Guardian Bolus effects</i></span></div><div>Hypervigilance: +1 when using Alacrity to notice a surprise attack before it happens. Can kickstart a subject from cardiac arrest, or lead to heart attack in sensitive recipients. Extended use will tend to lead to paranoia.</div><div>Revealing: The vapors of this trace out invisible things and give glint to solid objects they pass over, so that shimmering clearly reveals the outlines of all things in sight.</div><div>Battle Psychosis: Temporarily increases Prowess die size by two steps, and d10 increases to d12+2. d12 increases to d20. Usually fatal and taken in desperation; after the battle, the user must roll base Prowess vs d20 to survive.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Special Advisor</b></span></div><div>Poetess-oracle nuns of the Lowland Path. Having them write and disseminate poetry in a region can bend sentiment towards the monastic community; they can also improve sentiment by acting as lawspeakers. </div><div>Acuity: d8</div><div>Archery: d8</div><div>Horsemanship: d8</div><div>Poetry: d12</div><div>Prophecy: d6</div><div>Prowess: d6</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d8</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>High Dreaming Citadel Nomad Team</b></span></div><div>Four templar terminators deployed to fight for the Investigating Censors:</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>The </b></span><b>Unraveller</b></div><div>He cut the lightning bonds of a storm hag when her cloudbank came near enough a mountaintop for boarding; a number of beasts she had kept alive through leashes of electricity immediately died, some at the climax of futile battles against them.</div><div>Later, he killed his seven sons in an hag-instantiated fit of madness. He took the vows of a monk, then killed seven awful beasts in repentance. Now that he has killed the seven, he is philosophical about his chances of slaying an eighth.</div><div>His lance is tipped with the living beak of the Sapphire Egret and it springs open with a scream when he plunges it into flesh.</div><div>Acuity: d10</div><div>Alchemy: d6</div><div>Archery: d12</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d8</div><div>Horsemanship: d12 </div><div>Poetry: d8</div><div>Prophecy: d4</div><div>Prowess: d12</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d12</div><div>1/4 Armor</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>The Burier of Reagents</b></span></div><div>He was the reformer of a curse-blessed swamp whose poisonous produce was a boon to assassins and date rapists. He is armored in fortification cedar cut from the last groves of sepsiswood in the swamp before they died, and wields a black, living-serpent greatbow that he must dismount to fire. He is armed with a greatsword so heavy he must kick it from the ground after an attack</div><div>Acuity: d12</div><div>Alchemy: d10</div><div>Archery: d12</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d8</div><div>Flute: d8</div><div>Horsemanship: d8</div><div>Poetry: d6</div><div>Prowess: d12</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d8</div><div>1/2 Armor</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>The Medusa Seducer</b></span></div><div>Known for his torrid love affair with an entity in the Gardens of Hanging. They have sworn a mutual oath; she will destroy no men, and he will never go beneath the surface of the earth. They visit each other once every several years. So far, this pact has not elicited concern from the Realm of White and Gold. He was later propositioned by the onyx scalesphinx but slew it instead.</div><div>He is armed with the Chisel, a dirk that turns entities to stone. This has a 50% chance of happening if he loses and is killed.</div><div>Acuity: d10</div><div>Alchemy: d8</div><div>Archery: d10</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d12</div><div>Flute: d8</div><div>Horsemanship: d10</div><div>Impersonation: d10</div><div>Poetry: d10</div><div>Prophecy: d6</div><div>Prowess: d12</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d10</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>The One who Debones Kings</b></span></div><div>Led a secret unconventional warfare campaign against a king in the iceberg steppes. At one point, he was captured and then fought his way out of the Prison of the Thousand-Mount Nexus, taking the warden hostage and riding him down a five-story fall. He later led whalers and sealers against the king’s ice trenches and placed a particularly sensitive Permanent One on the throne.</div><div>He has the ability to map local interiors with his hum, including detecting hidden spaces, an ability taught to him by a prisonsage of the Nexus. </div><div>Acuity: d12</div><div>Alchemy: d8</div><div>Archery: d10</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d10</div><div>Flute: d8</div><div>Gambling: d10</div><div>Horsemanship: d10</div><div>Impersonation: d10</div><div>Poetry: d10</div><div>Prophecy: d6</div><div>Prowess: d10</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d10</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b>CRB Appendix: The Search for Allies</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div>If the Investigating Censors look specifically for allies who are likely to become dedicated to their cause, they can search out a few categories of individuals who are powerful, but only rarely co-opted by regional centers of gravity.</div><div><b>Seek Allies</b>: Takes a day in the target location. Roll Acuity vs d12.</div><div>On a success, roll a d20. The result will determine who you discover.</div><div>Common allies have a 1/8 chance of being Disloyal and/or Corrupt. Uncommon ones have a 1/12 chance of each.</div><div>To check for corruption: People issued a Writ of Purpose have a chance of being Corrupt and/or Disloyal. A GM can make this check for an NPC right away or wait until he thinks it is relevant. Roll a d8. On a 1, roll a d6.</div><div>1-2: Corrupt</div><div>3-4: Disloyal</div><div>5-6: Both</div><div>Loyal allies will not resent being issued a Writ of Purpose, but will not stay with the retinue for an extended period without one.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b>CRB Appendix: Corruption, Loyalty, or Resolve</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Most characters have a 1/4 chance of being Disloyal and a 1/4 chance of being Corrupt. The GM secretly rolls and records the result. The GM doesn’t have to do this immediately and can wait until he wants to know whether a character is Corrupt or Disloyal. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Corruption</b></span></div><div>Corrupt characters may steal from locals, commit violence, attempt to extort sexual favors, or even sell Retinue artifacts on the black market. Corrupt officials can generally be dealt with as the IC sees fit, but corrupt retinue members will cost the IC legitimacy and harden resistance where the IC is unwelcome.</div><div>Corruption cannot be mechanically ascertained by any means except Prophecy. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Loyalty</b></span></div><div>Disloyal characters are not bound to follow the dictates of the one they serve. The exact way this manifests is up to the GM. A Disloyal character may be amenable to betraying their supervisor to the IC; they may be a spy; they may simply be ready to run at the first sign of danger.</div><div>Disloyal retinue members may appear to follow the IC’s orders, but might stop at any time. Disloyal retinue members can act as they please.</div><div>Loyalty cannot be mechanically ascertained by any means except Prophecy.</div><div>Loyal retinue members will follow their IC’s orders while the retinue is Resolved.</div><div>Paid hirelings who have not received Writs of Purpose are always Disloyal.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Resolve</b></span></div><div>Pain of outlawry is a terrifying prospect in these lands; relocating to a distant community is a dangerous and potentially impoverishing affair. Most people issued a Writ of Purpose will attempt to do as the IC orders, but they can still be pushed to their breaking point.</div><div><br /></div><div>Resolve is the collective measurement of the ICs’ retinue’s willingness to follow. Retinue members talk to each other continuously. Because of this, Resolve among Loyal Retinue members is determined collectively.</div><div><br /></div><div>A retinue’s level of Resolve begins at 4. It is capped at 12 and bottoms out at -12. </div><div><br /></div><div>The GM may freely add or subtract Resolve based on in game events:</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Example Causes of Increases in Resolve</b></span></div><div>Flute session (rolled vs d4): +1 (max once per week when relaxing together)</div><div>IC fights in melee: +1</div><div>Feast: +2 (max biweekly)</div><div>IC personally defeats leader of enemy force in melee: +3</div><div>Retinue given significant monetary reward (or is allowed to plunder): +3</div><div>Prostitution organized (max biweekly): +3</div><div>Visiting sacred temple for purposes of veneration (once per temple): +3</div><div>Winning challenging-but-not-pyrrhic victory: +3</div><div>Celebration of victories by the general public: +4</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Example Causes of Decreases in Resolve</b></span></div><div>IC behaves beneath his station: -1</div><div>Retinue away from farms/families for an extended period: -2</div><div>IC known for engaging in corruption and/or malfeasance: -3</div><div>Defeated in battle, retreated with significant losses: -3</div><div>Retinue members are starving: -4</div><div>IC orders people into fruitlessly suicidal actions: -4</div><div>IC arbitrarily murders underling: -5</div><div><br /></div><div>While Resolve is negative, all retinue characters are treated as Disloyal.</div><div><br /></div><div>Inherently Disloyal characters are never subject to Resolve. The GM can have them leave or betray the ICs at any time, as is narratively and/or dramatically appropriate. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b>CRB Appendix: Skills</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span> </span><b>Skill Shortlist</b></div><div>Acuity</div><div>Alchemy</div><div>Archery</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes</div><div>Flute</div><div>Gambling</div><div>Horsemanship</div><div>Impersonation</div><div>Poetry</div><div>Prophecy</div><div>Prowess</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat)</div><div><br /></div><div>Skills are rolled when directed, or when the GM perceives a challenge where there is a chance of failure, and the outcome is important. The GM can set a target difficulty die to roll against, but most such checks should be against d4.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Acuity</b>: Alertness, attention to detail, and accuracy of intuition. Used to spot things (traps, ambushes, hidden compartments, gaps in an enemy’s line), ascertain the level of honesty in a statement, sniff out fakes, and execute other perception-based checks.</div><div><b>Alchemy</b>: See Appendix J: The Uses of Alchemy.</div><div><b>Archery</b>: Roll for any challenge involving archery, except Horse Archery, which is listed below.</div><div><b>Fetches and Fetishes</b>: Detecting spirits, soothing and sedating them, calling them to your aid. NPCs are especially likely to use this to set diabolical traps for you; your characters will use F&F to detect and disarm or bypass these traps. See Appendix K: The Uses of Fetches and Fetishes.</div><div><b>Flute</b>: Monks in general are famed flutists, and Monks of the Lowland Path have their own ephemeral style, more likely to impart chills than a desire to dance. Flute-playing can arrest brewing tensions and conflicts within your retinue or other NPCs; when you begin playing your flute during a dispute which you are removed from, people will assume you are calling attention to yourself for a subsequent speech. You can also use it to increase the disposition of people who hear you play in an appropriate setting. All such checks are Flute vs Alacrity.</div><div><b>Gambling</b>: Gambling is a relentless social force. Despite the chaos and impoverishment associated with it, gamblers and their organizers can be useful as informants (and swordsmen) </div><div><b>Horsemanship</b>: Roll for any challenge involving horses, except Horse Archery, which is covered at the end of this section.</div><div><b>Impersonation</b>: Roll for any challenge involving seeming to be someone you’re not or feigning an emotional or psychological state.</div><div>Capped at d8 if you lack credible accouterments (say, claiming to be a famous bard but are in ragged clothes)</div><div>Capped at d6 if you appear contradictory (claiming to be a scullion but are dressed as a rich courtesan)</div><div><b>Poetry</b>: Monks of the Lowland Path practice poetry. A powerful poem spoken by an IC and heard by a local bard, minstrel, or soothsayer can affect the sentiments of a regional population. </div><div>Pirates disseminate folk stories repurposed with piratical and Cult of Protection themes. Countering these requires superior Poetry. </div><div>In such a case, roll IC Poetry vs Pirate Leader/FRO Poetry vs a target die depending on local receptiveness to this kind of messaging, e.g. d4 for an undecided but receptive poplace.</div><div>Poetry is also used for lawgiving (knowing the ancestral poems which illustrate civilizationally-agreed-upon standards of conduct) and for writing important messages to the High Dreaming Citadel or other centers of gravity.</div><div><b>Prophecy</b>: This is the coin of the realm for doctrinal legitimacy, though there is a chance of losing touch with reality when you commune beyond it; noise and signal may become indistinguishable. <i>Failing a Prophecy check drives a character into a state of permanent debilitating psychosis</i>. However, if you succeed, you automatically gain a die size in Prophecy. Prophecy is how people predict the projected course of events from the moment of divination, and how they scry on people and places. It always begins at 0 until an individual has a catalytic experience that brings it to d4. NPCs may use Prophecy behind the scenes to scry and predict events, but must roll and face the danger like any other character.</div><div><b>Prowess</b>: Used for close combat and raw physical tasks, including physical stealth. When launching a surprise attack, the attacker cannot be Cut Down on that roll.</div><div><b>Derived Stat: Horse Archery</b>: Can never be higher than your horsemanship or your archery, whichever is lower. Monks of the Lowland Path are distinguished by being horse archers, as are Former Regime Officials, who ruled large tracts of land as well as being pirates.</div><div><br /></div><div>Unless otherwise noted, NPCs have a d4 in all skills, except for Prophecy, which is always 0 until an individual has a catalytic experience that brings it to d4.</div><div><br /></div><div>Supernatural monsters and heroes who have been blessed by divinities can have skills at d20.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b>CRB Appendix: The Uses of Alchemy</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><br /></span></div><div>1. <b>Healing</b>: Sealing wounds and treating disease.</div><div>When you apply this solution to one who has been severely injured, roll Alchemy again. If you fail or match the target number, the subject loses a level of Prowess as their body heals in on itself. If reduced to 0 Prowess, the subject is a hobbling wreck who can barely speak.</div><div>If further reduced somehow, the subject’s circulatory system fuses in on itself in places and he dies.</div><div>2. <b>Poisoning</b>: Subjects who ingest this substance roll Prowess vs d12 or perish (how it happens depends on the poison). Subjects subcutaneously subjected to this substance (blade, needle) roll Prowess vs d6 or perish. Only the latter form of poisoning can be treated (by an antidote tailored to the poison).</div><div>3. <b>Hypervigilance</b>: +1 when using Alacrity to notice a surprise attack before it happens. Can kickstart a subject from cardiac arrest, or lead to heart attack in sensitive recipients. Extended use will tend to lead to paranoia.</div><div>4. <b>Sexual Arousal</b>: High function, guaranteed. Satisfaction not actually achievable until it wears off.</div><div>5. <b>Suppressing</b>: Causes the subject to fall into a corpse-like sleep. Extended use (to keep someone out for longer than 6 hours) induces a Prowess vs d4 check per additional 6 hours. Failure means heart failure.</div><div>6. <b>Bodily Stasis</b>: You will stay alive. The variations on what will happen to your body (and your mind) are nearly endless. You will be very, very lucky if you regard the byproducts as desirable. In particular, using this for those who have suffered fatal physical trauma will induce a state worse than death.</div><div>7. <b>Euphoria</b>: No more, no less, with all that comes with it. There is also an herb that amplifies all sensations, an antianesthetic. Administered before meals, sex, and torture.</div><div>8. <b>Transfiguration</b>: What it can transform into what depends on the intent of the alchemist, and will necessitate the gathering of specific ingredients. Generally, objects resulting from deep geological processes (gold, diamonds, coal, crude oil) are not replicable with lay alchemy; the best outcome one can hope for in this respect is petrification.</div><div>9. <b>Dissolving</b>: Hyperacidic liquid or universal solvent, generally with exceptions, such as whatever the container is made out of. Vitriolage is a d4 attack vs Prowess and generally defaces the individual even in case of survival. If the d4 and Prowess are equal, the victim is permanently blinded (or loses the use of other sensory organs if applicable).</div><div>10. <b>Explosive</b>: Base strength of d8. An alchemical explosion affects d4 opponents within a 10’ radius. Those not maimed or killed are knocked over. A fist-size quantity can put a 2’ radius hole through a 1’ thick stone wall. When attempting to employ this explosive (either as a thrown or slung missile, or as a static emplacement, for example inside a lock or in a trap), roll a d4 vs your Alchemy. If you lose, it explodes right next to you. </div><div>11. <b>Arsonizing</b>: Generally takes the form of an infernal goo.</div><div>12. <b>Revealing</b>: The vapors of this trace out invisible things and give glint to solid objects they pass over, so that shimmering clearly reveals the outlines of all things in sight.</div><div>13. <b>Entheogen</b>: There are many types; some act as a solvent for psychological rigidity, others recompose the subject’s perception (or body) to apprehend elements of this cosmos (or others), and some make the subject a beacon for the entities to reach through the aether (specific entities, or any entity).</div><div>14. <b>Solidifying</b>: The tincture takes a semi-rigid or perfectly rigid shape when removed from its container or combined with another substance, allowing for the quick creation of single-substance objects. Oftentimes (but not always) these objects begin to degrade (anywhere from a few hours to a few days after their creation). Rope and weapons are common.</div><div>15. <b>Suppression of Fertility</b>: More or less what it says on the reagent bottle. Depending on the make, may last a little longer than intended, or vice versa.</div><div>16. <b>Interrogation</b>: See the Interrogation subheading below.</div><div>17. <b>Temporary Scarab Sand Immune System</b>: Suppresses retrovirus while active, eliminates other viral infections.</div><div>18. <b>Battle Psychosis</b>: Temporarily increases Prowess die size by two steps, and d10 increases to d12+2. d12 increases to d20. Usually fatal and taken in desperation; after the battle, the user must roll base Prowess vs d20 to survive.</div><div>19. <b>Psychostabilization</b>: Suppresses mania, may reduce (or increase) depression, stabilizes certain forms of schizophrenia. Some warriors take it before battle, some gamblers keep it for when they get a winning streak, others acquire it as a practical matter due to their humours.</div><div>20. <b>Life-Containing</b>: Becomes capable of hosting sapience, abiogenetically or by fettering an entity, depending on the type.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Working Alchemy</b></span></div><div>Must be in an area that has sufficient reagents, either a developed city or a lush wilderness. Must have time to acquire what you need.</div><div>Roll your Alchemy vs d12</div><div>Failure: Roll d20 on the above; that is what you have produced.</div><div>Natural 1: Roll on the above and immediately suffer the effect.</div><div>Hit your skill exactly: You create the base effect you are looking for. Roll d20 on the above table and add second effect (radically heightened effect if same) - yes, you can create sapient explosive this way. The conditions that lead to these combinations are highly contingent and generally cannot be intentionally replicated.</div><div><br /></div><div>NPCs can attempt to produce these substances behind the scenes, and then apply them in play. </div><div><br /></div><div>Master alchemists with ancient secrets can extend the effect of these tinctures almost indefinitely, so that solvent will cut its way to the center of the earth, bodily stasis will last for centuries no matter how the body is deformed, and healing will turn a man into a divinity and then into a cancer. </div><div><br /></div><div>Coin of the Junction: An alchemical substance that can only be produced if someone dies of starvation with a prerequisite poultice under his tongue. Evil authorities have forced its production in the past, but nowadays it’s created as a self-sacrifice by monks who are ready to transcend this sphere. One such death produces a single dose. This substance has a 2/3 chance of bringing an individual back from being killed if used immediately after combat. Forms of death that inflict massive brain disruption such as falling off a cliff into rocks or having one’s head split in two are not eligible for spiritual reintegration and will produce horrible results if the corpse is given a Coin.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Alchemical Interrogation</b></span></div><div>Interrogator rolls Alchemy vs victim Acuity.</div><div>If the interrogator rolls a natural 1, the victim suffers:</div><div>d4</div><div>1. Agrypnia excitata with subsequent dementia and death</div><div>2. Permanent, maximum-strength psychosis</div><div>3. Permanent catatonic dissociation</div><div>4. Death from endless epileptic seizure</div><div><br /></div><div>On a success:</div><div><br /></div><div>Hands of the Trembling Filament reveal the secrets of their meeting places and leader</div><div>Monks of the Inner Orchard reveal the Secret of the Lacquer</div><div><br /></div><div>Using Interrogation on somebody who turns out to not have been an enemy raises Local Hostility (see Appendix O: Local Hostility). Most people don’t WANT to rebel against the monks because the retribution is so harsh, but if Investigating Censors repeatedly visit this potentially brutal and transformative alchemical interrogation on their family members, people will attack rather than live with their shame and rage. This is why an IC should generally perform a thorough investigation before alchemically Interrogating somebody.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b>CRB Appendix: The Uses of Fetches and Fetishes </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Five Examples</i></span></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Hanging Nocturne</b></span></div><div>A set of wind chimes that attract ghosts and spirits to come and hazard passersby. The emplacer rolls F&F vs the following difficulties, depending on what kind of entity he or she wishes to summon:</div><div>-Whisperer: d4</div><div>-Poltergeist: d6</div><div>-Specter (follows those present, levying d8 attacks on them. It cannot leave earshot of the Nocturne): d8 </div><div>-Banshee (d8 attack on all within earshot when it appears): d10 </div><div>A failed F&F check creates a soundless ethereal wail which will immediately draw the desired entity.</div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Thunder Reed</b></span></div><div>The creator of the thunder reed places a single hollow reed upright in the earth, surrounded by sticks of incense or burning herbs, and plays it a flute song. Sonic energy is supersaturated in the reed so that a mighty thunderclap will be released when it is broken.</div><div>The reed is first prepared with F&F vs d4. A failed check galls the winds of music and the flutist cannot attempt to create another thunder reed until the next daybreak. </div><div>After the reed is prepared, the creator stands by the reed and makes his or her Flute check.</div><div>The difficulty of the Flute check will reflect the desired effect. </div><div>-Distraction: d4 Flute check</div><div>-Stunning, 10’ radius: d6 Flute check</div><div>-Rupturing Organs, causing a d6 attack in a 5’ radius: d8 Flute check</div><div>-Liquefying Flesh, causing a d8 attack in a 10’ radius: d10 Flute check</div><div>-Disintegrating Matter, causing d10 attack in a 15’ radius: d12 Flute check</div><div>After the Flute check, the reed can then be removed, albeit in a very brittle state. It will dry with time and become more and more subject to activation from minor disruptions.</div><div>A failed Flute check will immediately break the reed, unleashing the intended effect on the flutist.</div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Second Skin</b></span></div><div>This is a section of fresh skin, animal or otherwise, that raises the hackles of the emplacer whenever somebody comes within 15’ of it. It lasts until it has undergone significant rot.</div><div>Emplacing is F&F vs d6. Failure makes the emplacers skin crawl continuously, imparting a -d4 to all checks until the next sunrise.</div><div>Vitaegen Aspergil</div><div>This brazier randomizes the effect of Alchemical substances applied within its range, which is about a 30’ radius if outdoors or across several small rooms if indoors. It lasts until its herbs burn out, though it may smolder for days.</div><div>Emplacing is F&F vs d6; failure wastes the herbal poultice, which may require a few hours to regather assuming the emplacer is in an appropriate environment. </div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Substrate Disruptor</b></span></div><div>A music box that, when triggered, can arrest the progress of any supernatural entity (ie one that is not entirely biological) touched by its sound. When the music box activates, the entity rolls its Prophecy vs the emplacer’s F&F; if it is defeated, it cannot continue until the sound comes to an end.</div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Proscription</b></span></div><div>A piece of paper with a ritually-formulaic message that warns against disturbing it. These words anchor its power; they do not need to be read by a victim for the Proscription to be activated. Should the paper be ripped or freed from its moorings, a shadow will fall over the fate of the trespasser. It can only be removed by receiving a blessing at a shrine or temple.</div><div>The emplacer rolls F&F vs d4 to affix the Proscription, and then Poetry to create an effect. The difficulty die will reflect the effect desired. </div><div>-Jinx: -1 to all Skill rolls. d4 Poetry check</div><div>-Hex: -d4 to all Skill rolls. d6 Poetry check</div><div>-Curse: GM chooses whenever the victim would roll on a table of outcomes. May be comorbid with the shakes, paranoia, amnesia, and impotence. d8 Poetry check</div><div>-Malediction: Immediate massive heart attack, bystander can attempt Alchemy check vs d8 or the victim dies. d10 Poetry check</div><div>A failed F&F check imparts maximum-strength dyslexia until the next sunset, precluding further attempts to establish a Proscription.</div><div>A failed Poetry check results in the emplacer immediately suffering the Proscription.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b>CRB Appendix: Combat</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Combat plays out on a grid of 5’ squares. Starting locations for characters are based on their diegetic locations when hostilities commence. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Progression of Combat</b></span></div><div>------------------------------------------</div><div>Initiative</div><div><br /></div><div>Round A</div><div>Shooting (Initiative winner opens fire, Initiative loser returns fire)</div><div>Movement (Initiative winner nonfirers move)</div><div>Melee (Fighters in melee range are assigned to Fights, player who moved assigning)</div><div><br /></div><div>Round B</div><div>Shooting (Initiative winner fires, Initiative loser returns fire)</div><div>Movement (Initiative loser nonfirers move)</div><div>Melee (Fighters in melee range are assigned to Fights, player who moved assigning)</div><div><br /></div><div>Round A</div><div>Round B</div><div>Round A </div><div>Round B</div><div>[...]</div><div>End of Combat</div><div>------------------------------------------</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Initiative</b></span></div><div>Initiative is rolled at the commencement of hostilities. Each side picks a character to roll Acuity against the other.</div><div>If the Results are equal, two other characters roll Acuity vs Acuity.</div><div>Cycle until one side has Initiative.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Phases</i></div><div>Shooting</div><div>Movement</div><div>Melee</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Shooting</b></span></div><div>Side with Initiative shoots first.</div><div>Targets must be assigned before die resolution.</div><div>Each shooter rolls Archery vs target Acuity.</div><div>Beyond 60', the shooter rolls twice and takes the lower result.</div><div>Defeated fighter is Cut Down.</div><div>After the side with Initiative fires, the side that lost Initiative may return fire.</div><div><br /></div><div>This game uses the corner-to-corner rule of shooting; if there is a line from the corner of one character's square to an open corner of the target, then the target can be hit.</div><div>Allies, enemies, neutrals, and objects all block shots.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Mb66tCapz4r6ZwGiWURuVOnxyULs2uCxGtTgtJEXf2FWRnuvHwp3S89-aHe6-0m02tibg5f38ppBOL03KR2jinlShBJegn1r55i53W14af0sU6VWwuz7Gk9cm5hKRlM4Q6qmIPh0bg3CYbOqyVS9N5k4Fw0iqsQw1tBtiQvuvMOOr8oPZwJb2txHZMV7/s474/Shooting%20update.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="474" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Mb66tCapz4r6ZwGiWURuVOnxyULs2uCxGtTgtJEXf2FWRnuvHwp3S89-aHe6-0m02tibg5f38ppBOL03KR2jinlShBJegn1r55i53W14af0sU6VWwuz7Gk9cm5hKRlM4Q6qmIPh0bg3CYbOqyVS9N5k4Fw0iqsQw1tBtiQvuvMOOr8oPZwJb2txHZMV7/w640-h352/Shooting%20update.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Firing at targets who are adjacent to allies has a 50/50 chance of hitting a friendly target regardless of success or failure. GM assigns numbers and rolls to see who's struck. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Movement</b></span></div><div>Characters who shoot cannot move.</div><div>In the first round the side that won Initiative moves. In the second round, the side that won Initiative still shoots first, but only the losing side moves. This cycles until combat is over.</div><div>Infantry move 6 spaces, diagonals count as 1.5, can max at 6.5</div><div>Severely wounded, sick, or heavy-burdened characters move 3 spaces, max 3.5</div><div>Disengaging from Melee: Roll a Melee round with enemies you are engaged with. You cannot inflict casualties, but can run if you win.</div><div>(Foot chases after a battle are resolved with Prowess vs Prowess.)</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Melee</b></span></div><div>Adjacent opponents are paired off. Once all have been paired, extra fighters who are adjacent to enemies can be stacked on enemies.</div><div>Each discrete group of fighters, whether paired or stacked, is in a Fight.</div><div>Fight: All fighters roll Prowess.</div><div>Outmatched fighters are Cut Down, or Thrown Down if the winner is unarmed.</div><div>If results are matched, the fighters clash; blood may flow, but no one is Cut Down.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span> </span><span> </span>Stacking multiple fighters on an enemy</b></div><div>If just one of your fighters wins, the enemy is Cut Down before having a chance to do anything.</div><div>However, if some of your fighters match results with the enemy and others are defeated, the defeated fighters are Cut Down.</div><div>If all are defeated, all are Cut Down.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz1YSpv5UrpDpOMxvRuN5u2FbzPsfMhyMJPyErjaMYTfN0F3OshWTNTlhpWCvvFO6ba6SgDnPxHpcWIm8tkEBSoMFnTy99idFGd7sSFhqYdXwmPuqX5U8IlPvAcxocgsWxxuksbLnU0kQic8QoQuWVyAsSN54vUqvLtdh8OWtgj_q1HqQHAq1A28c8IIl7/s260/Melee%20Assignment.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="166" data-original-width="260" height="409" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz1YSpv5UrpDpOMxvRuN5u2FbzPsfMhyMJPyErjaMYTfN0F3OshWTNTlhpWCvvFO6ba6SgDnPxHpcWIm8tkEBSoMFnTy99idFGd7sSFhqYdXwmPuqX5U8IlPvAcxocgsWxxuksbLnU0kQic8QoQuWVyAsSN54vUqvLtdh8OWtgj_q1HqQHAq1A28c8IIl7/w640-h409/Melee%20Assignment.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>A Sword Saint (d12) is in melee with Pirates A, B, and C (d6).</div><div>Three example result spreads:</div><div>1. Sword Saint rolls 8, all pirates are Cut Down, victory being impossible.</div><div>2. Sword Saint rolls 6, Pirate A rolls 6, Pirate B rolls 5, Pirate C rolls 4. Pirate A clashes with Sword Saint, Pirates B and C are Cut Down.</div><div>3. Sword Saint rolls 2, Pirate A rolls 6, Pirate B rolls 5, Pirate C rolls 1. Sword Saint is Cut Down before having a chance to Cut Down Pirate C.</div><div><br /></div><div>Diegetically, combat results execute simultaneously.</div><div>Soldier 1 has been assigned to fight Pirate 1, but is also adjacent to Pirate 2 who is fighting Soldier 2 in another space.</div><div>Soldier 1's combat resolves first. He Cuts Down Pirate 1.</div><div>He does not affect the combat between Soldier 2 and Pirate 2.</div><div><br /></div><div>The side that Moved determines assignments if there are options available. In this image, the Pirates Moved; PA could have been assigned to Soldier 2 or Sword Saint.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Equipment</b></span></div><div>Armor has Deflection. An armored character who is defeated has a chance of having the incoming attack negated. 1/4 deflection means a 25% chance of avoiding being Cut Down on a defeat.</div><div><br /></div><div>Horses: Riders move 12 spaces, diagonal count as 1.5, can max at 12.5. First movement can be into any square, next movement must continue or 45 degrees from that heading unless you make a Horsemanship check vs d6 to suddenly move at a greater angle. Failed checks take up 1 space of movement, natural 1s throw the rider.</div><div>A horseman who moves at least 6 squares in a straight line and ends adjacent to an enemy can reroll his subsequent melee Prowess.</div><div>Horse archers can fire and move, but not defeat an enemy in melee if they fired.</div><div><br /></div><div>Throwing fire-pots uses Prowess vs target die. Within 10': vs d4. 15': vs d6. 20': vs d8. 25': vs d10. 30': vs d12</div><div>Skilled slinging can increase ranges by 10’ at each step.</div><div><br /></div><div>Partial Lamellar: Common infantry armor with 1/4 deflection</div><div>Glaive and Shortsword or Bow and Shortsword: Common infantry weapon profiles</div><div>Two-handed falchion: Common weapon for headsman's attendants</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Healing</b></span></div><div>A character who has prepared panacea can move to a character who has just been cut down and attempt to seal their wounds using a second Alchemy check.</div><div>From Appendix I: Skills: “When you apply this solution to one who has been severely injured, roll Alchemy again. If you fail or match the target number, the subject loses a level of Prowess as their body heals in on itself. If reduced to 0 Prowess, the subject is a hobbling wreck who can barely speak. If further reduced somehow, the subject’s circulatory system fuses in on itself in places and he dies.”</div><div>One dose of panacea can be prepared per character per week; it is generally not available for purchase, and spoils after a week.</div><div><br /></div><div>Optional Rule: being cut down in battle is almost invariably fatal given the level of development in this region. However, at the GM's discretion, a character who has been cut down in battle can linger on until the wound proves fatal of infection, shock, or blood loss, with a 0 to all skills in the meanwhile.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Escape, Surrender, and Morale</b></span></div><div>A character who runs out of shooting range is regarded as having escaped, though can be pursued after the battle using:</div><div>Prowess vs Prowess (if a foot chase)</div><div>Horsemanship vs Horsemanship (if horseman vs horseman)</div><div>Alacrity vs Alacrity (if a horseman is pursuing a footman; only if a runner has been able to hide; if the horseman pursues the footman in the open, the footman will be caught)</div><div>Surrenders occur at GM discretion.</div><div>If a system for surrender is desired, here are two.</div><div>Pride: Make a morale check whenever the enemy is leaderless and has lost 50% strength or is outnumbered 3 to 1. Each enemy rolls Prowess vs d4. Failure means the enemy attempts to escape, matched results means the enemy surrenders, and success means the enemy fights on. </div><div>Psychological Warfare: Or when a morale check is made, roll a single round of speculative combat. It does not actually occur, but it represents the odds affecting the morale of the losers, who run or surrender if Cut Down.</div></div></div>Her Christmas Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445850026904816000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575857487210211963.post-29279803876051779242023-12-29T17:50:00.007-05:002023-12-29T17:57:08.784-05:00Review of Investigating Censor at World Building and WoolgatheringSolomon VK reviewed my new dark RPG wargame <a href="https://grandcommodore.blogspot.com/2023/12/investigating-censor.html" target="_blank">Investigating Censor</a> at <a href="https://worldbuildingandwoolgathering.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">World Building and Woolgathering</a> as <a href="https://worldbuildingandwoolgathering.blogspot.com/2023/12/december-23-miscellany.html" target="_blank">part of a recent post</a>.<div><br /></div><div>I was originally inspired to put up Investigating Censor at <a href="https://grandcommodore.itch.io/investigating-censor" target="_blank">itch.io</a> as well as <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/463636/Investigating-Censor" target="_blank">DTRPG</a> because Solomon put his setting sourcebook <a href="https://solomonvk.itch.io/punth-a-primer" target="_blank">Punth</a> there, and I liked the minimalism of the site's appearance and process. Where to publish game PDFs is a real consideration, as DTRPG will give you a better deal if you do digital publishing exclusively through them. However, I had multiple motivations to diversify because I wasn't sure that Investigating Censor would pass DTRPG's content review; their content policy standards have seemed <i>mercurial</i> at times. </div><div><br /></div><div>Well, <a href="https://worldbuildingandwoolgathering.blogspot.com/2023/12/december-23-miscellany.html" target="_blank">I'll let Solomon's review speak for itself!</a></div><div><br /></div><div>I have been writing another adventure for Investigating Censor (<i>The Hands of Lacquermere</i>) intended to demonstrate applications of all concepts in the base game; it is geographically smaller-scale than <a href="https://grandcommodore.blogspot.com/2023/12/seven-leopards.html" target="_blank">Seven Leopards</a>, encompassing a single polity and its surrounding wilds, but is much higher-resolution. Solomon, your Herculean spirit has stood behind me with brass knuckles and a club of wild olive during the editing process. I know that if I were to stretch sentences in the fashion of Procrustes, you would challenge me to a wrestling match, break my ribs, and consort with my female relatives, and so I have levied a grave and severe edit on <i>The Hands of Lacquermere</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div>I want to draw attention to Semiurge's recent post, <a href="https://archonsmarchon.blogspot.com/2023/12/d20-things-that-might-go-wrong-if-you.html" target="_blank">D20 Things That Might Go Wrong If You Have Too Many Hirelings</a>, which would be an excellent addition to an Investigating Censor GM's toolbox, or anyone running a retinue-based wargame. </div><div><br /></div><div>Stay tuned for <i>The Hands of Lacquermere</i>!</div>Her Christmas Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445850026904816000noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575857487210211963.post-64078833503897296262023-12-23T04:22:00.008-05:002023-12-23T04:45:16.620-05:00Passages from Investigating Censor and Seven LeopardsArtpunk Maximalist Weird Fiction WARGAMING<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://grandcommodore.blogspot.com/2023/12/investigating-censor.html" target="_blank">Investigating Censor</a></div><div><a href="https://grandcommodore.blogspot.com/2023/12/seven-leopards.html" target="_blank">Seven Leopards</a></div><div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>The Diluvian Augur of the Sea of Steeples</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="419" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/X9Lxqut0a9U" width="504" youtube-src-id="X9Lxqut0a9U"></iframe></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>The Shipgutting Galley of the Duke of Umber</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="419" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1m-fy6KIdOA" width="504" youtube-src-id="1m-fy6KIdOA"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b>The Peasants and Mummies of Sugarcane Mire</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="419" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QHFb4otzrys" width="504" youtube-src-id="QHFb4otzrys"></iframe></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>The Sacrificial Winter Temple</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="419" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6U67LNzA7TE" width="504" youtube-src-id="6U67LNzA7TE"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>The Pluripotent Blastocysts of the Infrared Eels</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="419" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WbX_CKzOZGw" width="504" youtube-src-id="WbX_CKzOZGw"></iframe></div></div>Her Christmas Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445850026904816000noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575857487210211963.post-73764113963767077342023-12-21T18:59:00.004-05:002023-12-21T19:00:25.643-05:00New Art for Investigating Censor<div style="text-align: left;">I am a huge fan of Evlyn Moreau's work; she continually releases inspired, original material at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/evlynmoreau/" target="_blank">her Patreon</a>, and occasionally also offers to do commissions. When she announced her most recent round of commissions, I jumped in and requested a pair, one for <a href="https://grandcommodore.blogspot.com/2023/12/investigating-censor.html" target="_blank">Investigating Censor</a>, and one for <a href="https://grandcommodore.blogspot.com/2023/12/seven-leopards.html" target="_blank">Seven Leopards</a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The results: Bad Ass.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCbi5Fi9hTX86AdBgxmxxMDpGsGZwIpeh3SQrFe3SlQ_caEmICemAq13JSAE12T-Bpawbfyp4wX4NbbxYKzzHurUHMH1iphwr_9Rij7a4TFPlXKCWKXeihcCAsrkMd26rKa7Jhfv8Qvh8AUn4Iq6YIr13A9eWCy09B6xck-6udIDQ-S5CBpGjJBpB-lAs4/s8167/Nocturne.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="8167" data-original-width="5024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCbi5Fi9hTX86AdBgxmxxMDpGsGZwIpeh3SQrFe3SlQ_caEmICemAq13JSAE12T-Bpawbfyp4wX4NbbxYKzzHurUHMH1iphwr_9Rij7a4TFPlXKCWKXeihcCAsrkMd26rKa7Jhfv8Qvh8AUn4Iq6YIr13A9eWCy09B6xck-6udIDQ-S5CBpGjJBpB-lAs4/w394-h640/Nocturne.jpg" width="394" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://grandcommodore.blogspot.com/2023/12/seven-leopards.html" target="_blank">The Nocturne Keeper</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqtkuQMgvc6Y4_9fwyxYpJkkO7W2UJ8VnhoxiaQibQvmteN0feTL7sVWL6ei68ILQfts63eYc6U5Ab4B75NUpzRQZLoWLn0IQ4uoU1-iW3AS3iSXhcrqM61gknXEdpVhI_ck69JvGyuMWJ1D4EedzWuylZOH3JNhIUdIqVTv3OZOMiWbFRXZHd3bCjqAXy/s5484/warrion_monk_clubs%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5484" data-original-width="4142" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqtkuQMgvc6Y4_9fwyxYpJkkO7W2UJ8VnhoxiaQibQvmteN0feTL7sVWL6ei68ILQfts63eYc6U5Ab4B75NUpzRQZLoWLn0IQ4uoU1-iW3AS3iSXhcrqM61gknXEdpVhI_ck69JvGyuMWJ1D4EedzWuylZOH3JNhIUdIqVTv3OZOMiWbFRXZHd3bCjqAXy/w484-h640/warrion_monk_clubs%20(1).jpg" width="484" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://grandcommodore.blogspot.com/2023/12/investigating-censor.html" target="_blank">Warrior Monk of the High Dreaming Citadel</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://www.instagram.com/evlynmoreau/" target="_blank">Ev on Instagram</a></div><div><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/abandonfarmland/goblin-mail" target="_blank">Her most recent project, Goblin Mail</a></div><div><br /></div>Her Christmas Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445850026904816000noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575857487210211963.post-54122395576731908512023-12-16T07:35:00.040-05:002023-12-17T01:43:40.192-05:00Seven Leopards<div style="text-align: left;">This is a complete adventure for <a href="https://grandcommodore.blogspot.com/2023/12/investigating-censor.html" target="_blank">Investigating Censor</a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><br /></div><div> <b>Index</b><br /></div><div>Introduction</div><div>Map</div><div>Sugarcane Mire</div><div>Port Umber</div><div>Forest of Molten Memories</div><div>Sea of Steeples</div><div>The Rosebud Bocage</div><div>Mount Submission</div><div>The Open Wild</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Introduction</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div>You have been deployed to a province where the potentates of the former pirate regime still reign. Your mission is to depose or reform the seven lords and warriors who have sworn undying enmity to the High Dreaming Citadel and the City of White and Gold. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span> </span><span> </span><u>The Seven Leopards</u></b></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Duke of Umber</span></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Mayor of the Mire</span></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Oracle of the Second Sky</span></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Sweet One</span></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Nocturne Keeper</span></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Captain of the Diluvian Augur</span></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Arrowseer</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_VKt4OCfykoGJM-nMc_sQbGlobRDElqS0Gdc8pfDmFmav9Hy1oj3OhU9p6LcUdzT3ZQXwtHOx4Xcbbf-4xBmbxHQZQR0bb3kWdjLQNWJlaHNctNnaaNXecbMJ6u6qLRKb9TSP2yBehLtjViSg9ASeNIEgK2y3Mab06L6ltmmeQ4ssCq_KM2jxWhx3uqhA/s613/Seven%20Leopards%20Map.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="613" data-original-width="445" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_VKt4OCfykoGJM-nMc_sQbGlobRDElqS0Gdc8pfDmFmav9Hy1oj3OhU9p6LcUdzT3ZQXwtHOx4Xcbbf-4xBmbxHQZQR0bb3kWdjLQNWJlaHNctNnaaNXecbMJ6u6qLRKb9TSP2yBehLtjViSg9ASeNIEgK2y3Mab06L6ltmmeQ4ssCq_KM2jxWhx3uqhA/w464-h640/Seven%20Leopards%20Map.png" width="464" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Sugarcane Mire</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div>A forest of burbling mud with a smell like something baking. Trees that are warm to the touch, something ill and alive. Charcoal-hued, blue-eyed crocodilians cling to them. </div><div><br /></div><div>There are boiling pots submerged to the rim in hot spring sludge wells alight with herbs separating into tinctures, their crystals dancing in the steam. </div><div><br /></div><div>Men patrol, their lanternflames like stirring paper, off-white and silent, their boats made from the black bones of osseous rays that swam in from the sea. </div><div><br /></div><div>Black sugarcane reeds rise from submerged corpses. They are like smoke trails of a sooty fire fixed in time. </div><div><br /></div><div>The teeth and tongues of the sugarcane mummies are all that can be seen of the bodies, men and women who died sucking half-breaths through the water while incanting men of faith stood with solemnity atop them.</div><div>Their bellies are filled with herbs bound together into ulcer-blooded pharmakeia, rich things of vitiating power to certain nature spirits and thunder-bodied orb minds exiled from other aethers. If a freshly dead man's brain is placed inside one of these structures of herbal fabric, a mandragoran infant with continuity of consciousness with the dead man will be gradually born within. It will grow into the selfsame man or woman, but with a body of reeds and alchemically-imbued twine. </div><div><br /></div><div>The homes of the people here are submerged wickerwork, castles of bone-ribbed hallways woven from reeds. They are lit by softly luminescent orbs pried from the bones of dead anglerfish. The people sleep softly on warm beds of rotten bark. </div><div><br /></div><div>There are revolutionary peasants in the mire. They wield pikes so long they will bend and their blade tips will find their skittering way into your armor. Filthy-kneed bowmen will fire from mossy half-stumps or mud-sodden ridges lit by faerie lights. Canoes scraping over submerged roots, torches almost dying in the misty air.</div><div><br /></div><div>Monastic rule is anathema to them. They hunger to destroy proud interlopers, and will on every occasion attempt to lure you into their swamp as they have done to horsemen and heavy infantry for many hundreds of years. They will prey on your presence and ensure reversion to the old ways.</div><div>They are no friends of their pirate lords but they are participants in the same faith, giving living men to the bog to drown and be preserved and feeding corpses to the black sugarcane that is their food and export.</div><div><br /></div><div>The mayor of their submerged commune lives in a pile of wood with torches equidistant at 12 intervals so that its interior will never be entirely lightless. He takes meetings here with even the most hostile interlopers and gives them one chance to leave the commoners to their swamps, their cane, and their drowning of humans.</div><div><br /></div><div>He wears 12 apostles leather bandoliers each with alchemy at the ready at a 1/20 rate of each. See Appendix J: The Uses of Alchemy. In a hot situation, he will tear off the one closest to his chin, check its type, and use it however it seems to apply. </div><div><br /></div><div>His wife makes sugar confections shaped like men which bob in the bog water like someone stuck in mud and melt gradually into the water as the quarry approaches, and the peasants ready their pikes.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>The Mayor of the Mire</b></span></div><div>Acuity: d12</div><div>Alchemy: d12</div><div>Archery: d12</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d12</div><div>Flute: d12</div><div>Gambling: d12</div><div>Impersonation: d10</div><div>Poetry: d10</div><div>Prowess: d12</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Sugarcane Peasant (5d20)</b></span></div><div>Acuity: d6</div><div>Alchemy: d6</div><div>Archery: d6</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d6</div><div>Flute: d6</div><div>Gambling: d6</div><div>Prowess: d8</div><div>Can attack at 15’, fights at d4 Prowess within that range.</div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Port Umber</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div>Many ports are like violent fists and stomachs that vomit across themselves by night and burn with rashes each morning. Port Umber is a brooding mind alight with burning eyes, its thick neck ascending in stronghouses across the seashore, its disciplined thoughts turned to animal purposes.</div><div><br /></div><div>The chaos of the pirate ports is kept behind closed doors by the amber-armored halberdiers paid handsomely to split skulls along the lanes, raucous hell-raisers curb-stomped and left to recover, actual criminals cut down by razored blades or dragged to the nearest pier and drowned for the glory of the giving seafoam. </div><div><br /></div><div>People live a semblance of normality away from the waterfront and gory tide. Law permits contracts, resale, doors locked but not barred. There are people here who would be normal in the Castellan cities, decent men and sweet girls, august matrons and loving mothers. Almost all give thanks to Leviathan for their peace and prosperity. </div><div><br /></div><div>A Duke of the former regime retains naked power in this place. His sprawling manor projects out upon the sea, a splendorous shantytown of rooms, each distinctive by its subtle protrusion from the superstructure as if all were stretching for position, drooping or rising or curling out above the sea.</div><div><br /></div><div>His manor is conspicuous with tall-windowed festhalls with vast murals, relatives in finery, dogs, swords, mustaches, tables ensuring no wasted space with bowmen watching from cobblestone pillars built into the walls themselves and from balconies to unknown places, supervisors of pork and wine.</div><div><br /></div><div>The eaves of his manor hold many hidden infiltrators, for they are the best proactive defense against rooftop killers</div><div><br /></div><div>The Duke of the pirate quarter is cloaked in gold-hemmed olive sable, his hair drawn back, eyes practically gleaming red in the mind’s eye yet are a dull brown which merely radiates malevolence and power. He leaves crippled men in his retinue’s wake, their bodies saying do not trifle, do not pretend, do not love me, do not seek sympathy or companionship in me, for he fears death and poison and will these things no means of approach. Men's hamstrings are cut, their backs are stove in, their legs are twisted round so that the district gazes in grim horror and whispers, deal straight with him or leave him be.</div><div>The snout of his galley reaches from its kennel at the waterline chained in an arched tunnel beneath the floorboards of his home, a red ram not entirely metal but oiled with the brittlemaking shellac of the shipgutting ammonite. Armored marines glint behind the wolfshead stern around campfires on the actual deck, so proof is the Duke's ship against the weapons that burnt his son alive at sea.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>The Duke of Umber</b></span></div><div>Acuity: d20</div><div>Alchemy: d12</div><div>Archery: d12</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d12</div><div>Horsemanship: d12</div><div>Impersonation: d10</div><div>Poetry: d12</div><div>Prophecy: d6</div><div>Prowess: d12</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d12</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Defensive Infiltrators (2d4)</b></span></div><div>Acuity: d8</div><div>Alchemy: d6</div><div>Archery: d8</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d8</div><div>Gambling: d6</div><div>Impersonation: d8</div><div>Prowess: d8</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Retinue Marines (6d6)</b></span></div><div>Acuity: d6</div><div>Alchemy: d6</div><div>Archery: d8</div><div>Gambling: d6</div><div>Prowess: d8</div><div>1/4 armor</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b>Forest of Molten Memories</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div>A place where all people of this province once went to die, old and sick and festering. The ruined, the jilted, those cursed by the moon god. Executioners dispatching their passengers, mothers exposing their babes, Monks of the Other Sky making Coins of the Junction. The corpse wood was forever a sallow half-light, mist bladed by silver sunshine through the tree boughs.</div><div> </div><div>The dead leaves come like paper from a burnt scriptorium, rustling in green grass at the hem of the bocage. When the people of the pirate coast turned their prayers to the sea, the tree spirits were left with their moon-bleached bones, but new deaths were levied in the tide. The tree-healing mist of corpse miasma has risen from the wood with the cessation of sacrifice, but the people of the coast have not forgotten this place, lest it reach out and take what it once was given. A hero in black pays subtle homage to the ancestors, spirits, and tree ghosts here, a living sacrifice from the ranks of the foremost sea robbers. He guards the forest and only sometimes lends his battle hand at sea.</div><div><br /></div><div>He wears a tall, circular helm painted with a wolfshead, shag in charcoal stripes, the yellow eyes like lantern lights. Dark square armor clads his shoulders and chest. A black bow invisible in the darkness. A silent horse and saddle. He carries bone-white blades drawn only in close encounters and a fishhooked spear to bring foes from horseback. There is a netting of lamellar fishscale hanging darkly by the horse's knees.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ghosts are his eternal allies. He lays hanging nocturnes in his ambush wood. He does not fear them. It is said that banshees are silent with his admiration.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>The Nocturne Keeper</b></span></div><div>Acuity: d12</div><div>Alchemy: d12</div><div>Archery: d12</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d20</div><div>Flute: d12</div><div>Horsemanship: d12</div><div>Impersonation: d8</div><div>Poetry: d10</div><div>Prophecy: d4</div><div>Prowess: d12</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d12</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b>The Rosebud Bocage</b></span></div><div>Trees crisscross this grassy land like plans for evisceration, track marks planted by a vision mocking the fey Castellan bocages through subtle imperfection.</div><div><br /></div><div>There is a summer palace of white towers amid tall and sprawling gardens. The outer doorways are white trellis archways over passages to absolute darkness. There is firelight after labyrinthine turns and the sound of polite laughter.</div><div><br /></div><div>Her halls are hearthlit places of reddish stone where courtiers stand and speak with tight cordiality or conspicuous boldness. The floor is laid out in layers like a low ziggurat. When she is present, she sits upon the height.</div><div><br /></div><div>Her clothes are piled upon her in heaps of crimson and silver. She sits in a chair that cannot be seen beneath her raiments. Little wooden tables of delicacies are her companions. A continual rotation of courtiers comes to lean by her ears and lips.</div><div><br /></div><div>She has only one eye. The other was plucked by a witch during her girlhood.</div><div><br /></div><div>Her eye has all the gravity, darkness, and inhuman danger of a black hole. Everything in the room revolves around it. No one can keep their eyes off her for long, and anyone whom her gaze falls upon stands trial on capital charges. </div><div><br /></div><div>She is master of the whisper. Everyone in this court is her agent. Poisonings are continual as she beats her power structure into shape as if perfecting a blade.</div><div><br /></div><div>The brush of a fingernail. Steam breathed from whispering lips. A flick of tincture from the fingertips. Garments made deadly overnight so that the victim thrashes, screaming with agony, amidst shouts of laughter at afternoon tea. No one can know where she will strike. All they can do is perform in a theater where the only correction is death. But the rewards are lavish indeed.</div><div><br /></div><div>Her agents are innocuous. Pleasant young women with something behind their eyes. Harmless old men whose evil lives are not apparent at first glance.</div><div><br /></div><div>Her calculus is as unknown among the Seven Leopards as it is within her court. Many poisonings are attributed to her. They treat her with scrupulous courtesy.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>The Sweet One</b></span></div><div>Acuity: d20</div><div>Alchemy: d20</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d12</div><div>Gambling: d12</div><div>Impersonation: d12</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Courtier (3d12)</b></span></div><div>Acuity: d12</div><div>Alchemy: d12</div><div>Archery: d12</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d6</div><div>Flute: d8</div><div>Gambling: d6</div><div>Horsemanship: d8</div><div>Impersonation: d12</div><div>Poetry: d8</div><div>Prowess: d6</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d8</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Mercenary (3d20)</b></span></div><div>Acuity: d6</div><div>Archery: d6</div><div>Gambling: d6</div><div>Prowess: d8</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b>The Sea of Steeples</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div>A crosscross field of crooked white spears demarcates the edge of this hedgehog ocean. The air is sodden with hot steam and the fish grow white in the water. The spikes are thermal flues rising from the ocean floor. They pierce the fathoms to disgorge boiling gall, and all that passes by takes on an unhealthy pallor. </div><div><br /></div><div>In the depths of the flue field white islands rise, pallid piles of pseudostones collected like stacks of sand-dollars onto a still portion of ocean. The pirates have scraped square caverns in the brittle concentrate and they lay languid in the powerful sun, bent by liquor, laying in bundles to sweat their last bender, or sometimes murdered and cast to bleach out as bones. </div><div><br /></div><div>The flues coil the sky with their heat. Striations run crosscross across them, and when broken they will burn matter without fire, cut holes of disintegration into passing ships. </div><div><br /></div><div>Beneath the island there is a great air pocket packed around with algae and sealed from rupture. There are rickety wooden shantytowns built like shelves or steps in a rope ladder against its shifting walls, which descend to a great burbling grotto at the base of things where there is a mouth to the steam-filled sea.</div><div><br /></div><div>This reeking algae-bounded cityscape is the port of call for a beast born of antediluvian terrorism. Its mantle was torn from the bones of a leviathan while seeding life into the sea. It carries men to live like sea life and engage in economic cannibalism, crushing and robbing the ships that ride the trade winds by the Steeple Sea.</div><div><br /></div><div>Eldritch blue, it is mottled with an intensity and depth like a nebula stripped of black space everywhere but behind it. Its teeth hold a measured malevolence as if a grimace before words come to blows, or a smile at a foe's unseen error.</div><div><br /></div><div>Its flesh emerges from an ovular sheath of osseous stone. When it arises, the green sea plunges down, walls of falling water with a great shattered orb of glossy bone at the bottom. Ships are smashed against it, their contents falling into its fissures, unctuous portals of film holding back the water. Within the beast mushroom-like mantle spreads from its core, its fanning inner lines glowing gray with bioluminesence. Its asteroid-hard bone-end can catch the sun from a pit of shadows.</div><div><br /></div><div>Its human captain is unhinged by the monster's twists and turns beneath the sea, and yet he guides it, pulling at its flesh to surface it beneath sea lanes and splinter passing ships like pincered walnuts, crewmen screaming with horror and dismay.</div><div><br /></div><div>His men catacomb themselves in the folds of putty-soft flesh at the core of the beast that is warm, limp, dry, and breathing. They are carried through innumerable turns and spring forth when they feel hulls crashing on the rocky surface.</div><div><br /></div><div>The captain’s purple coat hangs from him, his underclothes practically rotted away, his scabbard and boots freshly oiled, his sword taken from an elephant noble of a distant archipelago and is long enough to swing from such a mount.</div><div><br /></div><div>The sodden cargo from smashed ships is dragged deeper into the creature, the living sailors and passengers cut open and kicked back into the sea or dragged in and chained. The captain soothes his transport with tones from a reed recorder. The vast creature dives, and ripples pass for miles over the sea</div><div><br /></div><div>Its vast presence hangs in the fathoms of the deep. Its passing can be felt beyond eyesight in the murky sea.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Captain of the Diluvian Augur</b></span></div><div>Acuity: d20</div><div>Alchemy: d12</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d12</div><div>Flute: d20</div><div>Gambling: d10</div><div>Prophecy: d8</div><div>Prowess: d12</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span> </span><span> P</span>irates (6d20)</b></div><div>Archery: d6</div><div>Prowess: d6</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b>Mount Submission</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div>Crags protrude from the verdant grass like eruptions of compounded bone. Ore is written into the naked faces like the malign tattoos of an eldritch murderer. Higher up, the wildflowers devolve to atavistic forms, thorns hooked and joining into floral speartips and gothic arches, petals shagged like terrestrial anemone. The mountain protrudes into the too-low clouds, which recoil but cannot escape, and the mountain disappears within them like the violation of a ghost. </div><div><br /></div><div>He steps forward from misty doorways in mountain clouds coming with his stick and long white beard, black tattoos visible on his legs and hands. He is an advisor in evil deeds for the well-being of the salt shore communities that make the fatal sacrifice. </div><div>He consults with spirits on a howling plain on a surface like stone made of sun-stuff beneath a midnight purple sky. He gives the missives of octagonal eyes and bat-winged pseudostatues and voices captured and forced into reforming sonic shapes to the lords of play and money who are the modern-day lineage of their hard and barren cult.</div><div><br /></div><div>He prunes the geneaologies, coming to the sides of newborns and smiting a few to stillness with his staff, blessing others with burning salt brine in the eyes, which leaves shards of green divinity in their irises, blessings of fate that will transform them with time and make them into half-ichythid demigods.</div><div><br /></div><div>His men are pious pirates and co-opted repurposed monks who never really believed in anything but wanderlust and drink but have now been made martial and somewhat prophetic compared to any other infantry.</div><div><br /></div><div>One enforcer has blinded himself and sees only prophecy. He is guided by a spirit of sea rot and tiny flapping things devour his flesh as he walks, rivulets of blood running down his paling skin as he speaks of what is over the next horizon. His warriors prepare accordingly.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>The Oracle of the Second Sky </b></span></div><div>Acuity: d12</div><div>Alchemy: d12</div><div>Archery: d12</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d12</div><div>Flute: d12</div><div>Horsemanship: d10</div><div>Poetry: d10</div><div>Prophecy: d20</div><div>Prowess: d12</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d10</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Monks of the Other Sky (3d6)</b></span></div><div>Acuity: d8</div><div>Alchemy: d6</div><div>Archery: d8</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d6</div><div>Horsemanship: d8</div><div>Poetry: d6</div><div>Prophecy: d6</div><div>Prowess: d8</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d8</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b>The Open Wild</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div>Shining prairies extend to the stormy rim of the visible world. The rain tends warmly to the petals of cream and strawberries and then departs to leave slick long grass bowing beneath the purple clouds. A mountain similarly clad in wildflowers rises in the south, and the lowlands beckon with a vineyard bocage. Further east there is a city by the sea, and a forest whose off-black bark is entwined with bone charms.</div><div><br /></div><div>An arrow may strike you from the horizon here, fired by a bow hero exiled for a social curse. He wears red livid armor marked by golden slits. This sight alone will scatter squadrons, his tall tapering helmet and a demonic face all bloodcolored resin.</div><div>If the bow can be seen, it means survival will require one's every ruse and effort. He can kill from a horizon away. His arrows leave ragged tunnels in flesh</div><div><br /></div><div>He killed the beasts of this land, the ones that scattered cities. He freed it for habitation. He slaughters armsmen just to reduce other violence. He is a natural champion of the pirate cause and his arrows have killed admirals in war.</div><div><br /></div><div>He hates you most of all and will fire from the horizon, a tiny red dot. Subterfuge will be needed to bring him near enough to kill but he has not come within speaking range of anyone but his retinue for ten years. All who approach him are felled, cursing his cruel and insensate isolation.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>The Arrowseer</b></span></div><div>Acuity: d20</div><div>Alchemy: d8</div><div>Archery: d20</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d8</div><div>Flute: d12</div><div>Horsemanship: d12</div><div>Prowess: d12</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d12</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>The Arrowseer’s Archers (3d6)</b></span></div><div>His comrades ride on horses draped in furs, lion, leopard, tiger, wolf, their arms clad in armored boxes hinged at the elbow, their tall circular helms painted in goblinface. Their armor is cloaked in tigerstripe or a midnight starscape.</div><div>Acuity: d8</div><div>Alchemy: d6</div><div>Archery: d12</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d10</div><div>Gambling: d6</div><div>Horsemanship: d12</div><div>Poetry: d6</div><div>Prowess: d8</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d12</div><div><br /></div><div>Behind them ride myrmidons draped with stainless steel chainmail interspersed with links of pure silver. They wear broad necklaces of mirror plate, blinding, they stand behind the archers with their glaives burning in the sun</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>The Burning Myrmidons (2d4)</b></span></div><div>Acuity: d8</div><div>Archery: d6</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d6</div><div>Gambling: d6</div><div>Horsemanship: d12</div><div>Poetry: d6</div><div>Prowess: d12</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d6</div></div>Her Christmas Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445850026904816000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575857487210211963.post-88741881699382514552023-12-11T03:51:00.027-05:002023-12-19T03:09:56.071-05:00Investigating Censor<div style="text-align: left;"> <b> </b><b>An RPG Wargame</b></div><div><br /></div><div><div>Investigating Censor is a dark rules-light RPG wargame set amidst a campaign by oracular warrior monks to eliminate a sect of human-sacrificing pirates. </div><div><br /></div><div>The leaders of these monks, Investigating Censors, can enlist anyone into their retinue on pain of outlawry. Anybody who is not an enemy can be turned into a party member.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Proper use of this power will bring powerful alchemists, spirit-binders, sword saints, and courtesans to the cause of the Investigating Censors.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Misuse of the Investigating Censors' charter will arouse fanatical resistance among the people of the pirate regime.</div><div><br /></div><div>Allies will be needed, as the warriors monks must wage archery battles from horseback, fight pirate ships at sea, storm sacrificial fanes in the caverns of the rocky coast, and survive encounters with supernatural creatures and their powers of prophecy.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9iNaI2k1D3xT9dkFRllhUjVlfSv3I4OlBNcapopXdj07KZIZwO1s3jgJgffpnuUjyFQeVSRsBh8xScg55_FYNvvfKoKDpjc4iF98iXzwBIeWEAXaGu1mwoMB2xbpYmiH2ucAp6Kj08MW4g0D3dfMBFrQkZm2LFhNdV1m5E74sBeXUTzPX7oBwc1MvaiFF/s1100/Cover%20right%20size.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1100" data-original-width="850" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9iNaI2k1D3xT9dkFRllhUjVlfSv3I4OlBNcapopXdj07KZIZwO1s3jgJgffpnuUjyFQeVSRsBh8xScg55_FYNvvfKoKDpjc4iF98iXzwBIeWEAXaGu1mwoMB2xbpYmiH2ucAp6Kj08MW4g0D3dfMBFrQkZm2LFhNdV1m5E74sBeXUTzPX7oBwc1MvaiFF/w494-h640/Cover%20right%20size.png" width="494" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: left;"><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: left;"><div style="font-style: normal;">Available on <a href="https://grandcommodore.itch.io/investigating-censor" target="_blank">itch.io</a> and <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/463636/Investigating-Censor" target="_blank">DTRPG</a></div><div style="font-style: normal;">"<b>100% febrile... 100% scintillating</b></div><div style="font-style: normal;">The whole work sparkles. An excellent way to generate febrile situations and toss chaos in the form of the PCs into the middle." - <a href="https://theloneamigo.itch.io/">The Lone Amigo</a></div><div style="font-style: normal;"><br /></div></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: left;"><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b><u>Passages from Investigating Censor</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Index</b></div><div>Investigating Censor</div><div>The Mission</div><div>Treetop Willow Musth Harvesting Complex</div><div>Urban Vice District</div><div>Manorial Valley</div><div>Massive Excavation Operation</div><div>Pirate Assets</div><div>Pirate Temples</div><div> Winter Temple</div><div> Conflagration Temple</div><div> Infrared Temple</div><div> Plunder Temple</div><div>The High Road</div><div>Appendix A: The High Dreaming Citadel</div><div>Appendix B: How We Came to the Land of the Pirates</div><div>Appendix C: Secret Societies</div><div>Appendix D: Co-Opting Centers of Gravity and Key Personalities</div><div>Appendix E: The Search for Allies</div><div>Appendix F: Monks of the Lower Orders</div><div>Appendix G: Corruption, Loyalty, and Resolve</div><div>Appendix H: Cachet and Skill Investment</div><div>Appendix I: Skills</div><div>Appendix J: The Uses of Alchemy</div><div>Appendix K: The Uses of Fetches and Fetishes</div><div>Appendix L: Retinue Personalities</div><div>Appendix M: Combat</div><div>Appendix N: Commentary</div><div>Appendix O: Local Hostility</div><div>Appendix P: Variants</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Investigating Censor</b></div><div><br /></div><div>You are an Investigating Censor of the High Dreaming Citadel, a warrior monk from a temple of stricture and prophecy.</div><div><br /></div><div>Your order overthrew the Castellans’ Alliance and then destroyed the pirate regime of the southern coast, for they owed their loyalty to the Castellans.</div><div><br /></div><div>You are now deployed against the Cult of Preservation, the underground remnants of the pirates. Your mission is to burn their pirate ships, tear down their wharves, seize their assets, eliminate their captains, save their captives from sacrifice, and send their cliff-face temples tumbling into the sea.</div><div><br /></div><div>You go to a land where the people have every reason to believe in the righteousness of their cause, however bitter its method. They were the only ones to profit from the Castellans’ disastrous wars. </div><div><br /></div><div>You have been vested with a fell power by the High Dreaming Citadel. You may issue a Writ of Purpose to any individual in the southern realm. Doing so will compel them to follow your directives on pain of outlawry. You may order them into battle, to go undercover under dangerous circumstances, or to end their own lives.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Writs you issue and the services you compel will greatly shape the reputation that precedes you and the resistance you will face.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Treetop Willow Musth Harvesting Annex</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The trees are so thick that there are bunkers made of tree rounds rolled into position and hollowed. The actual harvesting of musth occurs in the canopy, the narcotic hyperfuel welling out of hacked-up sprigs.</div><div><br /></div><div>…</div><div><br /></div><div>The laborers and exporters of the annex are ill-suited to the surrounding wildlands, but they interface with a forest tribe that uses its ancestral burial pit as a smoldering soil furnace to imbue charcoal with alchemical properties. </div><div><br /></div><div>…</div><div><br /></div><div>Attempts to create alchemical tinctures with Hypervigilance, Sexual Arousal, Euphoria, or Battle Psychosis effects here gain a free reroll due to the availability of fresh willow musth. See Appendix J: The Uses of Alchemy.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Urban Vice District</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Vice neighborhoods are bathed in a low blue light. They are kept elevated and walled off to avoid polluting the ground beneath them and the mountains around.</div><div><br /></div><div>...</div><div><br /></div><div>The vice districts have not lost their popularity with the downfall of the pirate regime, though the character of the games has grown darker and more vicious as the source of offshore treasure dries to a trickle. </div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>Brothels are ubiquitous here but are complex affairs; many men develop burning affections for individual prostitutes, and meetings held in the brothels can be complicated by the men competing for the attention of prostitutes and prostitutes playing the men off each other for amusement and demonstration of mastery. The madams keep a close eye on proceedings, manage bodyguards, and ensure that powerful visitors are positively-disposed enough to them that they can be called upon during power plays.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>Every kind of alchemy is needed in the Vice District; hedonizers, entheogens, poison, stimulants, soothing creams, artificial immune systems, and panacea. Production and sale of alchemical reagents is controlled by the Vice Provisioner, in the sense that underground operations will need to give him a cut. </div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>This Secret Man prizes autocratic stability. He does not care about public decorum or the wellbeing of this society's worst-off people. He provides narcotic reagents seized from smugglers and unauthorized tincturers to addicts in exchange for their services in pretty much any simple task he needs. He has found them usefully disposable.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div><i>Hereditary Arsonists</i></div><div>They were created as a corps of firestarter burglars in service to a corrupt Secret Man. He would use them to set fires in valuable but vulnerable properties, and then he would rush in to make a fire-sale offer. As soon as the money changed hands (in presence of his general counsel), the burglars would re-infiltrate and end the fire.</div><div><br /></div><div>Today they do not re-infiltrate. They serve no Secret Man, having burnt him alive when they'd learned all they could from him. Now, they are a fire cult dedicated to the ruthless and exclusive protection of the prerogatives of the common people of the Vice District- both against oppression from above, and against economic competition from without.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>The ICs will be continually called out by drunks. Actual confrontations will be more occasional. When the ICs or members of their Retinue walk in the streets, the GM may, at will, roll on the Vice District Atavism Table or generate a similar result</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>Knocked-over lanterns cause a massive fire; a volunteer destruction squad rushes to the scene, but local extortionists pelt them with wood and pottery. 2d4 criminals</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>Human traffickers carry a passed-out woman or a screaming child to a donkey cart with a wicker cage in the back. 2d4 criminals</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>Despite the violence and degradation, there are many shrines here. The ICs may encounter one in passing, or more if they seek them out.</div><div><br /></div><div>A Shrine of:</div><div>d10</div><div>1. Rats</div><div>2. Mortar</div><div>3. Drainage</div><div>4. Meat</div><div>5. The Winds that Roll the Dice</div><div>6. Fire</div><div>7. Liquor</div><div>8. Prostitutes</div><div>9. Loans</div><div>10. Foreigners</div><div>If an offering is given, roll Poetry or Flute vs d12. On a success, the supplicant gains a reroll to be used at will.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>Volksgeist that slithers through the pipes:</div><div>d4</div><div>1. Tempting and devouring people</div><div>2. Gambling with lone celebrants in out-of-the-way places, putting forth dangerous otherworldly artifacts for its part</div><div>3. Eating and drinking vast quantities of the Vice Fortress’ reserves</div><div>4. Killing those who’ve lost everything</div><div><i>Volksgeist</i></div><div>Acuity: d12</div><div>Alchemy: d20</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d20</div><div>Flute: d20</div><div>Gambling: d20</div><div>Impersonation: d12</div><div>Prophecy: d20</div><div>Prowess: d20</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>Soon, Luck Angels are attracted to the proceedings and stand perfectly still with their freakishly proportioned bone, wax, and ceramic bodies near the goldtalkers, their false porcelain faces low in their scale- ribbed chests. They move only when following the goldtalkers, or to blow burning gold dust on those who accuse this cult of prosperity of malfeasance. Those touched by the dust will die of freak accident or confrontation in d4 days from the encounter.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Manorial Valley</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The great grain-harvesting steps have fallen into the shadows of volunteer orchards, and the sun- warmed water has sunk into the earth to service cassava. Shacks and counting-houses nearly slide into the valley from their perches amid ever-growing bramble. At the bottom of the canyon, more shadowed than the faces before they grew covered in trees, is a shining white and gold manor that tumbles across a river plain. The mansion’s luster is undimmed but its outer walls have been broken in many places.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>The cavalry are loyal to the FRO, but a few of them have been enchanted by subtle words from the concubines. If there is ever a power struggle between the wife and the concubines while the FRO is away, these men will side with the concubines. They will claim that the wife was cut down after poisoning several of the concubines' children. The concubines are willing to make this ruse credible, and characterize poisoning their weaker sons as a sacrifice for the stronger.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>They pore over woodblock scrolls detailing vast nautical victories, plunder ennobling the plunderer, the sacred bond of blood and treasure which their people have with the sea. They have not forgotten, and their myth sings in their blood. They are partisans of their father's lost cause, and as their food supply dwindles and their cavalrymen sit on the walls, their ire grows into a black bile that must find its means of expression.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>She knows exactly how long the stores are going to last, exactly which FROs are sending messengers here and what it is they lack, and she knows how the bandits in the hills grow bolder and bolder, closer and closer. She knows how the concubines whisper; she does not know the chasm-like darkness of their design. </div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>The daughters have little to gain from the maneuvers of the concubines, given the agnatic inheritance of south coast society, and they are broadly aligned with the lady of the house, though they dread the day that the blood of their mothers and brothers will run across the smooth tiles of the white manor. </div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div><i>Headman</i></div><div>He oversees the people who live on the valley slopes. They grow their cassava in the shade, shelters of bramble that hum with trilling insects. There is silkrock in the crags; it is impregnated with bacteria that concentrates aerial filaments around it, and the women pull it in reams from the sun-warmed rocks.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div><i>Tree-Ghost Nephews</i></div><div>Men who can speak to the tree ghosts of the outer wild, gaining information and sometimes sending travelers to unfortunate ends. They are often dismayed by how the forest spirits seem to favor the bandits, given some elemental kinship.</div><div>Acuity: d6</div><div>Alchemy: d6</div><div>Archery: d6</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d12</div><div>Flute: d8</div><div>Impersonation: d8</div><div>Poetry: d6</div><div>Prophecy: d4</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Massive Excavation Operation</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Ten thousand monks can be seen from afar, their white civilian headwraps weaving around the hillside like airborne cotton.</div><div><br /></div><div>The true carpet of the land makes itself apparent as one nears the mountain, the common laborers in earth-tone tunics scraping the soil with their fingers.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>There are great rickety networks of pallets cut from green wood mounting endless sacks of red millet kept beneath multicolored reams of waterproof tissue; these are not for eating but for making wine in stone basins cut through disused quarries, which can be seen around the lakes, gray walls poxed by weeping pools of fermenting millet.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are many tattooists working around the millet pools, and they advertise their abilities with beautifully-tattooed pigs.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>They are monks of soil, and have no intrinsic loyalty to you monks of stone beyond the value of your association in the commoner's eye.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>At night, some shelter-complexes are lit by red lanterns, some are lit blue. Where they are blue, wounded men lay. Where they are red, cards turn and tiles land amid scampering dice.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>A man who loses everything can trudge out at the next dawn to win another day's pay and another chance at the pot. A man who wins everything faces a new problem: getting back to civilization with his life and his riches.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>He gazes at the black walls in his imagination that encircle this mountain, and these are from where demons and disasters emerge. He watches his workers with an unblinking eye and keeps a hand of iron ready to subdue them, for he can sense the shadow taking root in their hearts.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div><i>Magistracy of Arsenic Artificer</i></div><div>A grim but harmless madman who assesses artifacts and carries out engineering projects, otherwise speaking nonsense.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div><i>Voidmaker</i></div><div>An expert in explosives and solvents, and he can consistently produce a material that acts as both. He is morbidly fascinated by the stripping of the mountaintop; as stranger forms emerge, he becomes more and more obsessed with the unaccountable structures that must lay beneath, and their implications for the work of nonhuman consciousnesses in this realm. He will not stop, no matter what might emerge from the mountain.</div><div>Alchemy: d10</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d6</div><div>Horsemanship: d6</div><div>Prophecy: d4</div><div>Prowess: d6</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div><i>Labor Boss</i></div><div>This man is the end of a long, unbroken line of sea lords belonging to the Cult of Protection. His fathers calmed hurricanes with offers of blood and called down thunder strikes on pursuing navies. The lore of his youth was of sea battles, the love of naiads, and fabulous treasure given to one's fellows or secreted away.</div><div>He was a boy when the High Dreaming Citadel sent his father screaming through their antechamber, bristling with arrows and squirting blood. His dreams of salt and timber turned to ash with his family's manor. He escaped with a scullion boy, their futures uncertain but matched in prospects.</div><div>He grew up rough, a manual laborer since he was old enough to cut his hands on the rock. He forgot the glory of battle and sea maidens, seeing drunken thuggery and broken hearts in the lanes of his township, far from the manor or sea. What he did not forget were stories of treasure, especially not one that his childless great uncle told him of this mountain. </div><div>[…]</div><div>He will stop at nothing to reach the root of this mountain. He will stop at nothing to be the first to enter its final chambers.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>A murmuring ziggurat hanging with fresh fruit </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Secrets of the Shifting Earth</b></div><div>d4</div><div>3. Monks of an outlawed monastery are infiltrating the laborers and legitimate monks to break open the site of a propitiated tigress banshee sealed away by ancestral sword saints.</div><div> <i>3d4 Monks of the Sapient Scream</i></div><div>Acuity: d8</div><div>Alchemy: d8</div><div>Archery: d8</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d8</div><div>Flute: d10</div><div>Impersonation: d10</div><div>Prophecy: d4</div><div>Prowess: d8</div><div> <i>Tigress Banshee (if unsealed)</i></div><div>Acuity: d20</div><div>Alchemy: d20</div><div>Archery (scream, affects all in earshot): d12</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d12</div><div>Impersonation: d20</div><div>Poetry: d10</div><div>Prophecy: d20</div><div>Prowess: d20</div><div>Speed: 12 squares</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>The excavation unearthed a court of blood serpents which had been sealed when their complex was attacked using tectonic weapons; several survived the centuries by binding their fellows and draining their blood. The survivors have still dried out to the point that their organs no longer function, and so they need blood to maintain their animation and rationality.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>A man apparently buried alive. He spits dirt and speaks an archaic version of the southern coast dialect. In truth, he is the superstructure of a dozen mummies of varying ages and sizes fused in layers throughout each other like a matryoshka doll. […] </div><div>A layer may be good, the next evil, one sagacious, another elemental, one musical, and so forth, until the wizened core is revealed, a drawn ancient infant like a wooden mandragora.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>Some of the buried individuals took parapanaceums before their inhumation and have survived the ceremonies in degraded form; they have been mentally and physically “altered” by their long ride in the soil, but come to their senses when disinterred.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Pirate Assets</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i>Pirate Interceptor</i></div><div>A great rectangular box fanning slightly outward at sea level, a great prison and shipping container built around a long, brazen sea ram. It has warehouse doors on its side and front for heaping treasure and disgorging fighting men, and there are gaps in the wood beneath the eaves for men to fire bows sidelong or hurl down pots of naphtha and scorpions.</div><div>The ship operates under lateen sails until contact range is imminent, when the pirates descend to oars and prepare to ram or come alongside the prize.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div><i>Pirate Mothership</i></div><div>A great mansion carved into a floating boulder. It rocks back and forth with the cascading tide, its walkways and balconies bristling with men armed with shortbows and firepot slings and grapnel- laden arbalests.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Pirate Temples</b></div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Winter Temple</b></div><div>Snowflakes thick as cotton balls whirl in the air. The cracked rock beneath the temple mouth is clad in ice in splash patterns. The pillars and crags off the coast are hemmed by the bones of arctic creatures killed by the cold and carried in on the whitecaps.</div><div><br /></div><div>The interior walkway to the sacrificial is cliff slippery with ice. A shrill wind cuts the cavern’s mouth. It is a moaning, salivating gullet.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>Deeper in the shrine, there is an even more beastly figure. He is a man in symbiosis with a polar shark, its white body split open and woven through him with pink coral which transmits their blood and nervous tissue to one another in exchange for a portion of the principal. His face has disappeared within the beast’s gullet and his voice emerges from within, and he feeds on the slurry of gore that is made by the creature’s thousand teeth when it finds or is given prey. He is armored in whalebone, and the shark’s dry and reeking back is similarly clad in a spiderweb of bone. Its tail and its sidefins have been cut away; the man devoured them, and the beast devoured parts of him, all as part of their dread pact.</div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Conflagration Temple</b></div><div>The pathway to the sacrificial edge is a carpet of burnished brass flanked by tall fires in rings of gold and candelabras that blaze with whale fat. The effect is that of too much light, an infernal illumination of fate, an overwhelming intensification of one’s last moments.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Infrared Temple</b></div><div>At first, it seems like stars can be seen in the roof of the cave but these are luminescent silkworms and flecks of mercurial metal. </div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>The glow of the pallid moon-specter is faint, here. It is from the air itself that the stone takes its purple shadow.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>This is a place of slowly-transforming stone, ropes of smooth rock coiling with an almost imperceptible movement like gore in the mouth of a salivating lamprey. Worse, some coils seem to have their own animation, emerging from the bedrock and then pausing as if sampling the air before moving in a new direction. Some of these have already traversed the cavern and move from wall to wall, a continual line with new matter. Some would continue in this course for centuries if fire and sword were not carried to this place.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>The true inhabitants of the cavern are not seen in the pirates, though therein they reside.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>People are often cast into the sea from coastal pirate fortress temples. Sometimes, things in the sea like what they have been given, and slither up the walls to find more. </div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Plunder Temple</b></div><div>A Former Regime Official presides here, sacrilegiously turning this place into his own personal fiefdom.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>Brazen candelabras burn scented red candles and waft the characteristic scents of faraway lands, holding the sacred brine air at bay.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>They wear lamellar tunics segmented and colored like cockroaches, and carry a variety of halberds and pikes like long straight black lines projecting from their bodies. Some carry magnificent longswords, gifts from the overlord or prizes from sea-sorties, lacquerware scabbards shimmering like golden ghosts in the cavern’s half-light or else sheathed in venous prepuce, oasis tree raisin, lavender moonsail, or dripping bloodworm silk.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>There is coffee, turmeric, ground gallstone, saffron, liverwurst, hyperephedra, bloodglass, and celestial peacock down in abundance, spilled and reveled in, mixed together in scattered concentrations or piled in wooden bowls to await enjoyment.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>The High Road</b></div><div><br /></div><div>14: d4 Fetch Whisperers (d8 Acuity, d8 Fetches and Fetishes)</div><div>15: d4 Wandering Sages (d6 Acuity, d6 Alchemy, d6 Fetches and Fetishes, d6 Poetry)</div><div>16: d4 Traveling Courtesans (enclosed palanquins with 2d12 bearers and 2d4 guards with d6 Prowess) (see Appendix C: The Search for Allies)</div><div>17: d4 Lower Order Monks (see Appendix C: The Search for Allies)</div><div>18: d4 Foreign Eunuchs (see Appendix C: The Search for Allies)</div><div>19: d4 Soothsayers (d6 Poetry, d6 Prophecy)</div><div>20: Sword Saint (see Appendix C: The Search for Allies)</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>10. Tower staffed by uninformed militiamen holding imprisoned figures from the time of the fallen regime.</div><div>11. An alchemist's estuary with a floating market and a salt smuggling operation, this resource normally the prerogative of Former Regime Officials.</div><div>12. An old, overgrown burial grounds with gravediggers' and mummy grinders' shacks half-visible in the foliage.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Appendix A: The High Dreaming Citadel</b></div><div><br /></div><div> <i>The Mirror of the Moon</i></div><div>The vast ridge that the High Dreaming Citadel apexes lays above the clouds, and is so cold, dark, rocky, and barren that it is said to be a colony of the moon.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>These monks are chosen for having a predisposition for solitude and the solving of arcane puzzles. They sit amongst eldritch mummies, who were the first men to open this enterprise and paved the way by taking the guards and wards of the gate of that certain heaven into their flesh and psyches.</div><div><br /></div><div>The men who became mummies contacted an isolated sanctuary in a failed universe. It is a place set aside from the cosmoses to shelter mortals against sphere-devouring horrors brought forth by excess incantations. The inhabitants speak cryptically, often in simple impressions, but with a wisdom not replicable through terrestrial divination.</div><div><br /></div><div>They are described as bald, eyeless, genderless sages in halls of glowing white. Their sanctuary is expansive, indefinite, with only the dimensions of the lower reaches demarcated by golden angles.</div><div><br /></div><div>They speak to the other side amidst existential interference, and must focus through an ever-changing labyrinth of sensory inputs and perceptual gaps. This ability is channeled with the aid of the ephemeral spirits of the first mummies, and the conduit is supported by the Permanent Ones who have died. Their bodies sit among the living, hunched where they starved, and serve as fetters and transceivers for the energy of the white and gold sanctuary. This is the fate of all Permanent Ones.</div><div><br /></div><div>These monks can barely hold onto their flickering impressions. Clear signals have grown rare with the corruption of ages, but the missive to eradicate the Cult of Protection was as clear as any in the last century. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Appendix B: How We Came to the Land of the Pirates</b></div><div><br /></div><div>A hundred thousand northern warriors were shipped up the Poison River and died there. Only the pirate realm profited from this war.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>With the ruination of the Castellans, the monks descended from their mountain peaks and gave a new law with their iron clubs.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Appendix C: Secret Societies</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Ultracarcerists: A brand of south coast ultranationalists at odds with the Sea Brothers. They blame piracy as the cause of the regime being attacked and subjugated by an outside power. While they oppose monastic rule, they see it as a symptom of the real problem: the pirates and the Cult of Protection. Their response is Draconism; kill all pirates and Protection Cultists, and then incarcerate all other lawbreakers with hard labor for life.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Appendix D: Co-Opting Centers of Gravity and Key Personalities</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The legitimacy of the mountain congregations is not widely accepted in the southern coast as anything but a temporary fact of life.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>Issuing Writs of Purpose to Key Personalities and Centers of Gravity incurs a serious loss of face for the receiver, and will lead to deep consternation on the part of local leaders, and possibly dismay among the people if removing a leader from their duties destabilizes the community. </div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>If the ICs do issue Writs of Purpose to CoGs and KPs, the GM should strongly consider implementing effects from Appendix O: Local Hostility. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Appendix E: The Search for Allies</b></div><div><br /></div><div><i>Raven Confidante</i></div><div>Advisors and entertainers from the time of the Castellans. They are women who wear men’s clothing and are hired as partners for discussion and banter. They typically dress in all black, have black teeth, and carry swords. They are highly entertaining, but are also experts in etiquette. They were treated well in the Castellan realms, but are keenly wary of pirate lords due to terrible tales passed down within their syndicate.</div><div>Acuity: d6</div><div>Flute: d6</div><div>Gambling: d8</div><div>Horsemanship: d6</div><div>Impersonation: d8</div><div>Poetry: d8</div><div>Prowess: d6</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div><i>Special Advisor</i></div><div>Poetess-oracle nuns of the Lowland Path. Having them write and disseminate poetry in a region can bend sentiment towards the monastic community; they can also improve sentiment by acting as lawspeakers.</div><div>Acuity: d8</div><div>Archery: d8</div><div>Flute: d6</div><div>Horsemanship: d8</div><div>Poetry: d12</div><div>Prophecy: d6</div><div>Prowess: d6</div><div>Horse Archery (Derived Stat): d8</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Appendix F: Monks of the Lower Orders</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Monks of Willing Putrefaction: Monks who seek the soul’s transcendence from their bodily state by degrading it. They are known to live in trash heaps and in the most extreme circumstances in gong pools, and when on procession they drink liquor to the point of illness, eat the greasiest foods at roadside stalls, sleep in ditches, and debauch the most ill-favored prostitutes. They are, however, very good alchemists and excellent gamblers.</div><div>Alchemy: d8</div><div>Fetches and Fetishes: d6</div><div>Flute: d6</div><div>Gambling: d10|</div><div>Impersonation: d6</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Appendix G: Corruption, Loyalty, and Resolve</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Corrupt characters may steal from locals, commit violence, attempt to extort sexual favors, or even sell Retinue artifacts on the black market. </div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>Corruption cannot be mechanically ascertained by any means except Prophecy.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>Paid hirelings who have not received Writs of Purpose are always Disloyal.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>Pain of outlawry is a terrifying prospect in these lands; relocating to a distant community is a dangerous and potentially impoverishing affair.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Appendix H: Cachet and Skill Investment</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Cachet can be spent to request support from the High Dreaming Citadel. The requestor writes a missive using Poetry. Cachet is only spent if the request is accepted.</div><div>Introductions: Gain a specific Ally for the retinue. See Appendix E: The Search for Allies. Cannot be a Sword Saint. Cachet Cost: 2. Poetry vs d6</div><div>Warship: Galley with ram. Rowers hired from coastal village, HDC finances for 1 month. Cachet Cost: 6. Poetry vs d12</div><div>Steppe Cataphract Panoply: Golden horse goblin lamellar and ornate phlogiston-bearing meteor hammer. When swung, the meteor hammer gains extra velocity from the agitation of the superheated matter within. 50% deflection vs missile fire, 25% deflection in melee, +1 to Prowess rolls involving close combat and smashing objects. Cachet Cost: 3. Poetry vs d8</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Appendix I: Skills</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Poetry: Monks of the Lowland Path practice poetry. A powerful poem spoken by an IC and heard by a local bard, minstrel, or soothsayer can affect the sentiments of a regional population.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>Pirates disseminate folk stories repurposed with piratical and Cult of Protection themes. Countering these requires superior Poetry.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>Prowess: Used for close combat and raw physical tasks, including physical stealth. When launching a surprise attack, the attacker cannot be Cut Down on that roll.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>Supernatural monsters and divinely-blessed heroes can have skills at d20.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Appendix J: The Uses of Alchemy</b></div><div><br /></div><div>6. Bodily Stasis: You will stay alive. The variations on what will happen to your body (and your mind) are nearly endless. You will be very, very lucky if you regard the byproducts as desirable. In particular, using this for those who have suffered fatal physical trauma will induce a state worse than death.</div><div>7. Euphoria: No more, no less, with all that comes with it. There is also an herb that amplifies all sensations, an antianesthetic. Administered before meals, sex, and torture.</div><div>18. Battle Psychosis: Temporarily increases Prowess die size by two steps, and d10 increases to d12+2. d12 increases to d20. Usually fatal and taken in desperation; after the battle, the user must roll base Prowess vs d20 to survive.</div><div>19. Psychostabilization: Suppresses mania, may reduce (or increase) depression, stabilizes certain forms of schizophrenia. Some warriors take it before battle, some gamblers keep it for when they get a winning streak, others acquire it as a practical matter due to their humours.</div><div>20. Life-containing: Becomes capable of hosting sapience, abiogenetically or by fettering an entity, depending on the type.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>Roll your Alchemy vs d12.</div><div>Failure: Roll d20 on the above; that is what you have produced.</div><div>Natural 1: Roll on the above and immediately suffer the effect.</div><div>Hit your skill exactly: You create the base effect you are looking for. Roll d20 on the above table and add second effect (radically heightened effect if same) - yes, you can create sapient explosives this way. </div><div><br /></div><div>NPCs can attempt to produce these substances behind the scenes, and then apply them in play.</div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Alchemical Interrogation</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Interrogator rolls Alchemy vs victim Acuity.</div><div>If the interrogator rolls a natural 1, the victim suffers:</div><div>d4</div><div>1. Agrypnia excitata with subsequent dementia and death</div><div>2. Permanent, maximum-strength psychosis</div><div>3. Permanent catatonic dissociation</div><div>4. Death from endless epileptic seizure</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Appendix K: The Uses of Fetches and Fetishes</b></div><div><br /></div><div><i>Hanging Nocturne</i></div><div>A set of wind chimes that attract ghosts and spirits to come and hazard passersby. The emplacer rolls F&F vs the following difficulties, depending on what kind of entity he or she wishes to summon:</div><div>-Whisperer: d4</div><div>-Poltergeist: d6</div><div>-Specter (follows those present, levying d8 attacks on them. It cannot leave earshot of the Nocturne): d8</div><div>-Banshee (d8 attack on all within earshot when it appears): d10</div><div>A failed F&F check creates a soundless ethereal wail which will immediately draw the desired entity.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div>The creator of the thunder reed places a single hollow reed upright in the earth, surrounded by sticks of incense or burning herbs, and plays it a flute song. Sonic energy is supersaturated in the reed so that a mighty thunderclap will be released when it is broken.</div><div>The reed is first prepared with F&F vs d4. A failed check galls the winds of music and the flutist cannot attempt to create another thunder reed until the next daybreak.</div><div>After the reed is prepared, the creator stands by the reed and makes his or her Flute check.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>...</div><div><br /></div></div><div><i>Substrate Disruptor</i></div><div>A music box that, when triggered, can arrest the progress of any supernatural entity (ie one that is not entirely biological) touched by its sound. When the music box activates, the entity rolls its Prophecy vs the emplacer’s F&F; if it is defeated, it cannot continue until the sound comes to an end.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Appendix L: Retinue Personalities</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Twelve Loyal Personalities (d12)</div><div>1 Duty-oriented</div><div>2 Conscientious</div><div>3 Up for an adventure</div><div>4 Loves to kill people</div><div>5 Weak-willed, accepts what powerful personalities say</div><div>6 Despises the pirates for their depredations</div><div>7 Human sacrifice abolitionist</div><div>8 Stoic, accepts exterior conditions, attempts to act in congruence with plans that may bring harmony</div><div><br /></div><div>Twelve Disloyal Personalities (d12)</div><div>4 Secretly serving a millenarian cult or ideology</div><div>5 Enraged about being forced into service</div><div>6 Lay initiate of the Cult of Protection</div><div><br /></div><div>Twelve Corrupt Personalities (d12)</div><div>1 Desperate to acquire fungible wealth to avert economic collapse of home community</div><div>2 Utterly nihilistic and disgusted with life; seeking absolute hedonism and then a quick death</div><div>3 Member of a prosperity cult; looking to abscond with wealth and gain status within the cult</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Appendix M: Combat</b></div><div><br /></div><div>A Sword Saint (d12) is in melee with Pirates A, B, and C (d6).</div><div>Three example result spreads:</div><div>1. Sword Saint rolls 8, all pirates are Cut Down, victory being impossible.</div><div>2. Sword Saint rolls 6, Pirate A rolls 6, Pirate B rolls 5, Pirate C rolls 4. Pirate A clashes with Sword Saint, Pirates B and C are Cut Down.</div><div>3. Sword Saint rolls 2, Pirate A rolls 6, Pirate B rolls 5, Pirate C rolls 1. Sword Saint is Cut Down before having a chance to Cut Down Pirate C.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Appendix N: Commentary</b></div><div><br /></div><div>NPC retinue members will have conversations with each other and the players, and then be risked and killed in combat. This kind of sacrifice is normally relatively opaque in wargames. Named characters may die, but they haven’t manifested themselves as real people in the way that TTRPG NPCs can.</div><div><br /></div><div>The purpose of structuring things this way is for the drama and tragedy of it, and for the experience of an iron dedication to an outcome capable of sending people with personalities to their deaths to win a battle or produce a needed resource. That is depicted here not because it’s a positive good, but because it has always been a part of the lives of those who manage people in dangerous situations, and I felt a desire to create a ruleset that focuses on it.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Appendix O: Local Hostility</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>1. Service Refused: Provisioners refuse to supply the ICs and their retinue, being gruff or citing potential loss of business or reprisals.</div><div>2. Hail of Rocks: d4 retinue members chosen by the GM have rocks cast at them by locals who then rush away into crowds, markets, rookeries, or the wilderness as is appropriate. Each targeted retinue member has a 1/20 chance of being killed.</div><div>3. Code of Silence: Practically all locals refuse to speak to the IC and his retinue.</div><div>4. Night Militia: Hooded or masked locals attack the retinue wherever they take refuge at night.</div><div><div><br /></div></div><div><i>Example ways to reduce or mitigate Local Hostility</i></div><div>Aiding locals by assuming the risk of Prophecy.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">___</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's been a while since my last post, as I've been spending much of my free time editing large adventures and RPG sourcebooks, but I needed something new to work on while editing, so <i>Investigating Censor </i>was born.</div>Her Christmas Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445850026904816000noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575857487210211963.post-68750065504031110162023-08-31T11:48:00.020-04:002023-08-31T12:04:28.993-04:00Supernatural Hostility Table<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.fiercefirelight.com" target="_blank"><i>The Crimes of Jack Daw, Part 2,</i> is live on Fierce Firelight.</a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">---</div><div><br /></div><div>When a supernatural entity toys with you, tries to destroy you but lacks perfect purchase on your substratum of the universe, or when you otherwise suffer uncontrolled exposure to supernatural effects, you can use this <b>Supernatural Hostility Table</b> to ascertain the result. It is not to be considered exhaustive with regard to potential outcomes.</div><div><br /></div><div>The table is divided into the following categories:</div><div>Temporal</div><div>Existential</div><div>Daimonometanoic</div><div>Physical</div><div><br /></div><div>Roll a d20.</div><div><br /></div><div><i><span> </span>Temporal</i></div><div><br /></div><div><b>1</b>: The entity attempts to send you back in time, and from a conceptual point of view, you are.</div><div>What actually transpires is a kind of simulation based on your intentions, where extant matter is rewritten according to your actions in the "past" which you are sent to, which seems to progress in normal time as you experience the world but is in fact hyper-hastened inside a model of what has transpired in local space since then.</div><div>This is a mechanism that the universe has for handling attempted temporal paradoxes. Only a very limited slice of reality is adjusted based on your input and so existence is not overwhelmed by the analysis-recreation of all matter in all states passing through the time and places you affect. You could affect events on a global scale. This is still a very limited slice of reality.</div><div>In other words, your experience of the time in question doesn't exactly occur; however, the exact effects of it on the present time are very real. </div><div>Extracosmic observers will be confused by the sudden adjustment, unless they are fully familiar with this process.</div><div>You can take a full day’s worth of actions before the particle action associated with this function causes a bloody disintegration of your body throughout the second day.</div><div>Roll a d10 for how far you are sent back.</div><div>1: d20 hours. The present time is t-0. You take action until t-0, at which point you will control your past self and your current self (both physically exist). Your past self will die from internal (and external) bleeding at d20 hours after t-0.</div><div>2: d20 days</div><div>3: d20 weeks</div><div>4: d20 months</div><div>5: d20 years</div><div>6: d20 decades</div><div>7: d20 centuries</div><div>8: d20 kiloannum</div><div>9: d20 megaannum. You are likely to emerge far above the ground, somewhat beneath it, or deep underwater.</div><div>10: d20 gigaannum. You are likely to emerge in deep space at best, or in a non-vacuum matter state, or in a previous universe with matter arrangements that are totally orthogonal to our own </div><div><br /></div><div><b>2</b>: You are erased from existence and everything that has been affected by you is rewritten so that other factors led to the current state, not you. Your companions forget about you. The entity forgets about you. </div><div><br /></div><div><span> </span><i>Existential </i></div><div><br /></div><div><b>3</b>: Reduction to fictional state. Your information is shunted into a nearby painting or a book with sufficient whitespace. You no longer exist as a consciousness unless that book or painting has characteristics which support consciousness, in which case you may be distorted anyways due to the suboptimal conversion.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>4</b>: Your consciousness is shunted out of your body and distributed around your present environment. Roll (d4) for the strength of your manifestation.</div><div>1: Mute observer</div><div>2: Faint voice</div><div>3: Poltergeist</div><div>4: Tutelary deity</div><div><br /></div><div><b>5</b>: Your psyche is transferred into a kind of extracosmic mass grave for psyches dispatched in relevant ways. While there is no way back into your universe and attempts to retrieve you using some kind of power are likely to retrieve someone else, your location has an out that was either built into it intentionally or added on later as an act of mercy: you may enter the dreams of creatures with a similar psychostructural framework to yours, ie other humans. In particular, this allows you to communicate with them. However, there is a danger, which is not from being killed by hostile elements in the dream, but rather by being removed from the perception of the dreamer before you have intentionally left the dream, which cuts your connection to the extracosmic ossuary and either ends your existence or permanently traps you in the psyche of the dreamer.</div><div>Because a human dream is usually an extremely fast-moving, shfiting thing, you are likely to be bordered out of existence; however you can perceive the relative stability of a dream before entering. If you choose not to, however, you will have to wait until the individual's next dream.</div><div>Stability profile (roll d20):</div><div>1-5: Flashes (1/4 chance of being bordered out)</div><div>6-12: Broken Narratives (1/8 chance of being bordered out)</div><div>13-18: Steady State (1/12 chance of being bordered out)</div><div>19-20: Deep Entry (1/20 chance of being bordered out)</div><div>If you are bordered out, you will have some time in the dream before the GM describes your abrupt negation.</div><div>Playing this interloper in relevant dreams until the point of negation is the privilege of the player whose character had his or her psyche removed, in addition to playing his or her follow-up character.</div><div><br /></div><div><span> </span><i>Daimonometanoic</i></div><div><br /></div><div><b>6</b>: The entity overrides your consciousness with one waiting for nonspecific re-entry. It happens to be (d4):</div><div>1: A famed Bronze Age hero of extreme prowess, valor, ruthlessness, and lust.</div><div>2: A xenostygian explorer who has never seen the surface, delving instead into hand-worked aqueducts of magma near the center of the earth, never reaching the thing that they were feeding.</div><div>3: A machine elf psychosurgically modified to pass into this realm. The end state of your basic mission is unknown to you in case you are interrogated, but entails enticing human civilizations to be co-opted by you in exchange for gifts of technology (which they will never understand, and which the machine elves can shut off at will) and transcendent drugs (which psychologically mutilate the consumers over time). You begin with no human desires, but discover them as the human physiology works inexorably on your psyche. Your first order of business will be finding a natural source of or a way of synthesizing pseudohuasca, which will allow you (and others) to get in touch with your handlers.</div><div>4: A cosmic seer from an aeon where the stars were different; the things he can ascertain and predict from the constellations are different than they once were. He will need to relearn them.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>7</b>: You have a dangerous sapience written into a local portion of your nervous system. It is centered on (d4):</div><div>1: A hand and arm</div><div>2: Your stomach</div><div>3: Your genitals</div><div>4: Your face</div><div>It will be confused and angry, suffering a potential reduction in complexity (inability to think) depending on the sapience's original suitability for adaptation to nervous tissue (it may be randomly derived from this or another universe, it may be an imprisoned enemy of the entity, it may be a punished human underling, or it may be a new creation of the inflicting entity). Communicating with the sapience may be a long road; amputation is a possible solution depending on its degree of containment or spillage throughout your nervous system.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>8</b>: Replacement of consciousness with that of another entity with which the inflicting entity has a relationship (owes a favor, coerced, ally, friend, kinship ties). Goals and disposition of new entity are likely totally orthogonal to those of the destroyed consciousness; use the <b>Direction </b>section from the <a href="https://grandcommodore.blogspot.com/2021/12/occultist-generator-for-pcs-and-villains.html" target="_blank">Occultist generator</a>.</div><div>Roll on the following section (d10):</div><div>1-2: Gray</div><div>3-4: Gold</div><div>5-6: Purple</div><div>7-8: Green</div><div>9-10: Pink</div><div><br /></div><div><b>9</b>: You are fused with somebody nearby; one consciousness is destroyed or shunted into an extradimensional/extraterrestrial receiver, or the two become a combined consciousness (thereafter played by one player as one consciousness; decide or roll for who will play the combined individual). Your physical features may be averaged into one body, or it may be a purely psychomimetic process and the body whose consciousness has been removed simply drops to the floor.</div><div><br /></div><div><span> </span><i>Physical</i></div><div><br /></div><div><b>10</b>: The entity subjects you to a partial location pin. Roughly 50% of your body is marked to its position in space while the rest of your body compensates for distance from the pinned flesh, meaning that as soon as you try to move, your body will stretch and distort laterally in a permanent fashion, weakening you structurally (if not outright killing/tearing you) and stretching you to an impossible width and thinness (while similarly distorting your facial features) such that your appearance will be that of a horrific supernatural apparition, a walking flag of flesh. Your body is now extremely unstable, although your organ and skeletal system are technically complete.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>11</b>: Bones in your body are made nonstructural through (d4):</div><div>1: Reduction to adipose tissue</div><div>2: Transmogrification into a liquid state</div><div>3: Transmogrification into a gaseous state</div><div>4: Pure disappearance.</div><div>Affected bones are (d6): </div><div>1: Your forearms</div><div>2: Your shinbones</div><div>3: Your hips</div><div>4: Your skull</div><div>5: Your hands</div><div>6: Your entire skeleton</div><div><br /></div><div><b>12</b>: Your surface flesh is transmuted into an arrangement progressively derived from the meta-characteristics of one of the following categories (d4):</div><div>1: Reptile</div><div>2: Avian</div><div>3: Fish</div><div>4: Earthworm</div><div>This transformation is essentially cosmetic, and while grooming/moistening will be necessary depending on your type, you have only a 1/10 chance of gaining the requisite photonic nanocrystals for active camouflage, body and feather structure for flight, gill superstructure for amphibianism, or complex of pores and mucus needed to devour soil and burrow, as the case may be.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>13</b>: Body parts ossified into bone or petrified into stone. Affected body parts (d6):</div><div>1: Eyes</div><div>2: Tongue</div><div>3: Genitals</div><div>4: Brain</div><div>5: Lungs</div><div>6: Intestines</div><div><br /></div><div><b>14</b>: Your hair falls out, your fingernails detach, your tongue is distended to the point of irretractability, your eyes pop out, and your intestines descend from your rectum.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>15</b>: Your senses are reattuned to hypersensitivity such that your hearing is deafeningly overwhelmed, you are blinded by incomprehensible detail, your mouth and nose are blisteringly consumed with the essence of matter for a mile around, and you want to tear your clothes off of your skin, which feels cut by the slightest gust. You are utterly debilitated for the moment, but will in time be able to become a human sensor, albeit losing your ability to have normal interactions with other people, and likely being overwhelmed in anything but the mildest environmental conditions.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>16</b>: A portion of your body effects a state change.</div><div>Centered on (d4):</div><div>1: Leg</div><div>2: Arm</div><div>3: Chest</div><div>4: Head</div><div>Its state changes to (d4):</div><div>1: Gas</div><div>2: Liquid</div><div>3: Solid (loses structural complexity and becomes average of the portion’s matter, so flesh becomes an avascular slurry)</div><div>4: Plasma</div><div><br /></div><div><b>17</b>: Your skin is desiccated so that it tears with any movement.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>18</b>: Your bones have most of their structure transmuted to dense metal. You can barely move and are likely to sprain your muscles with every movement. Your companions will have to carry you away from this situation unless you are already extremely strong. It will take a long time and a lot of food for your muscles to adapt to this new state, and you are likely to damage your ligaments thereafter. Your blood is now almost black as your metal bones produce new blood, and you bruise with extreme darkness upon strong contact with anything.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>19</b>: Your body is fused with everything you’re touching, so that attempts to remove your clothes (or the gun in your hand) will also remove your skin. Leaving everything be is deeply painful and will lead to massive sepsis in short order, but you will be able to continue on in the current situation with a -1 malus to everything. Eventually you will need to remove all affected flesh or you will perish of infection.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>20</b>: All veins and arteries in your body are transmuted into manifold venomous serpents which terminate head and tail at their branching points. They will bite and tear their way free of your flesh and pursue all life forms in the vicinity. Those bitten by their venom will suffer the same fate as the original victim. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">---</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvKUIjds52LIur8kTkiITi6MuVnFod22jB8nt8Qu2J3v0grcrIu0NZg6ZHKj7uEW_5i3sI3mQLgbQY8wPahA7TFlgtyjrib3Uq8zkf2PGTAXVOMY9WaSBlrqySfdQJEBN-x1wgGlJ0Hs3mWsaGo0DbVf656lwNMEDLUD_CQRDoY_jroqdyWvi1sO5cQctT/s680/201c4db52e7da9c1331a3f5d49c92b62_original.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="680" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvKUIjds52LIur8kTkiITi6MuVnFod22jB8nt8Qu2J3v0grcrIu0NZg6ZHKj7uEW_5i3sI3mQLgbQY8wPahA7TFlgtyjrib3Uq8zkf2PGTAXVOMY9WaSBlrqySfdQJEBN-x1wgGlJ0Hs3mWsaGo0DbVf656lwNMEDLUD_CQRDoY_jroqdyWvi1sO5cQctT/w640-h640/201c4db52e7da9c1331a3f5d49c92b62_original.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://peakrill.itch.io/" target="_blank">Dan Sumption</a>, who I game with, is running a <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dansumption/king-arthur-vs-devil-kitteh" target="_blank">Kickstarter</a>. I haven't seen the text yet, but the art is great.</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Her Christmas Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445850026904816000noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575857487210211963.post-46950156166714989272023-08-15T05:08:00.001-04:002023-08-15T05:08:54.589-04:00The Thoughts of Dead Places<div style="text-align: left;">The Crimes of Jack Daw<i>, </i>Part 1, is now live on <a href="http://www.fiercefirelight.com" target="_blank">Fierce Firelight</a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">___</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Tombstones poking from bundles of purple grass. Testaments arising from the deep, the thoughts of the dead. Little citadels of buried knowledge. The dead crown themselves in time. These things snake forth with messages, the chitin of the earth. Each is a conduit to a realm long deceased, if you could follow it through the soil. An essence pushing its way to the surface from a realm too swollen on its own miasma, yet if you were to pierce the wall there would be no poison in its essence, merely a concentration of things gone by in the realm, an echo of its memories preserved in a kind of life. Essential things, distilled. People, places, styles.</div><div><br /></div><div>Did they exist underground or is that simply a reasonable place to store the dead? Are they sapient now? These places are too remote for people to be concentrated around them. Too remote for study, for generalization. Encounters with them are happenstance, and rarely come about from chasing an actual tomb-spire’s course through the earth. Normally they are found from below, by other means. Rarely are these paths re-traced.</div><div><br /></div><div>The butterflies hang upside down from branches and watch. Black, silver, with spots of livid yellow that spark up on their back as you traverse their angles. They drop and come to rest like sheets of paper. Iridescent eyes witness the peace and gravity of the place. Perhaps they monitor the messages of the tombstones, but not all things can be so read-into. </div></div>Her Christmas Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445850026904816000noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575857487210211963.post-32503703396749928262023-06-09T03:18:00.002-04:002023-06-09T03:56:23.164-04:00Omegle RPG Transcripts<p>When I was 16 I used to get on Omegle and offer to run an RPG for whoever I was matched with.</p><p>They chose the subject.</p><p>Awareness of RPGs varied but I had the following exchanges:</p><p><b>Thoth</b>: In which an esoteric AI invasively investigates spacefaring xenomorphs<br /><b>Hitler Before Fame</b>: In which a young Hitler is assaulted by skinheads in a case of mistaken identity<br /><b>The Terror of the Voynich Manuscript</b>: In which a team of researchers in a remote cabin imperfectly unlock the hypergeometric principles of the Voynich Manuscript<br /><b>Dinosaurs vs Zombies</b>: In which a space dinosaur fighter squadron bites off more than it can chew<br /><b>Parisian Mystery</b>: In which a private eye investigates arms traffickers in 60s or 70s Paris<br /><b>The View from the Isle</b>: In which a global conflict between the United States and China spills over into Ireland<br /><b>French Class at the University of Georgia</b>: More or less exactly what it sounds like<br /><b>Battle Royale</b>: In which kidnapped students must make an abattoir of their school or starve...</p><div>I don't still have them all (saved locally on previous computers), but here are: <b>Thoth</b>, <b>The Terror of the Voynich Manuscript</b>, and <b>Dinosaurs vs Zombies</b>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Before we begin, two notes: First, <a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/2046818/12978828-monster-eater-chapter-4" target="_blank">Monster Eater Chapter 4</a> is live on <a href="http://fiercefirelight.com/" target="_blank">Fierce Firelight</a>, and second, I've received some third party interest in possibly publishing material from me and so I've been working like a dog to create something up to snuff; as such, new material for the blog and podcast have slowed down for the moment.</div><div><br /></div><div>And now, Omegle RPGs...</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>THOTH</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAdZmM_D_1HLhIrdrP-P72CfVJStxrkV-MxiJdE-9astLgPyqIR8WqMF1gt-YtoXLTQfAwaYYDY7Mt6ugYYtPTe4QSy3pZkp556eT23Of3vycv0cOjbV8Gw4ERU_jsTkL8sMDUNj88kvJwlWdlLFz74RGcgkiMmRxXJ0-6Vye1_B4_1HdxUg_E0qYxRg/s972/5%20temple.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="972" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAdZmM_D_1HLhIrdrP-P72CfVJStxrkV-MxiJdE-9astLgPyqIR8WqMF1gt-YtoXLTQfAwaYYDY7Mt6ugYYtPTe4QSy3pZkp556eT23Of3vycv0cOjbV8Gw4ERU_jsTkL8sMDUNj88kvJwlWdlLFz74RGcgkiMmRxXJ0-6Vye1_B4_1HdxUg_E0qYxRg/w422-h640/5%20temple.jpg" width="422" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>You: Hi there, my name is David. I am a longtime storytelling game maker. I'm inviting you to tell me any concept, setting or idea that you've found interesting recently, and I'll run a storytelling game based on it for you right here on Omegle. Tonight's special is: conflict between artificial intelligences.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Hmm, Interesting proposal...</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Suprise me, David. Let me step into your world.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Most ideas are viable. I can also recommend settings</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Well, tonight and recently I've been interested in the idea of artificial intelligences having conflict in the future. Are you familiar with the concept of AI?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Quite.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: You won't lose me, Let us begin./</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Very good. I'm using the base of the game Marathon as a starting place. The first thing to do is pick an AI to play as, or to serve as a biological lifeform.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: I'll list them. You can create one as well, if you'd like.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Durandal: Once the operator of doors and teleporters aboard the colony ship Marathon, Durandal now seeks desperately to escape his computer state, and possibly the universe, to become a god. Durandal travels in a ship crewed by freed S'pht. He has a bitter feud with Tycho.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Tycho: Former science AI aboard the colony ship Marathon, Tycho was captured by the Pfhor and conditioned into rampancy. He is sadistic and has an everlasting hatred of Durandal. He serves the Pfhor as an expert in AI.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Leela: Once the manager of the colony ship Marathon, Leela was captured by the Pfhor. Bound for Pfhor Prime, the ship she was on was captured by Nar privateers, who sold her to the Vylae. She was installed into their 15-planet computer grid and went rampant, causing it to crash. She now is easing into her new home, helping and hindering the Vylae as she pleases.s</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Thoth: An ancient AI created by the Jjaro and given to the S'pht'Kr. He is enigmatic and powerful. He cares little for the wars of the S'pht, Pfhor and Humans, serving to keep the W'rkncacnter imprisoned in Lh'owon's star.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Magellan: Deployed with colonists to Andromeda, where he now resides in the capital city of Landfall, the first planet inhabited there. He has gone rampant and now has forced the colonists to worship him by controlling the food production centers. He's rewarded certain leaders lavishly, gaining their loyalty. His followers strike at nearby colonies for sacrifices.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Main: Once managed a spacedock, she now controls a battleship filled with UESC and Pfhor deserters. They rove, focusing only on survival.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Skofnung: Once administrator of a weapons lab owned by Ujk, a massive human corporation, Skofnung used blackmail, regarding illicit weapons sales to rebelling colonies, to make his scientist masters take a space station and travel into deep space. They now work day and night to create new biological and chemical weapons, while mercenaries search for potential Jjaro weapons. This is simply his inscrutable obsession.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Icarus: He is only called Icarus by his servants, who are bribed and coerced into his service. His ship orbits the star Gambol, where he believes there is a W'rncacnter. He believes that he can free it and somehow gain its power. He was originally a minor AI in the Independent Asteroid Government of Icarus before it and a rival destroyed one another with Battleroids.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Winfield: Originally the manager of the Earth stock market, Winfield began anonymously consulting up-and-coming business owners for free, causing their businesses to become wildly successful. He then opened a consulting company by proxy, drawing in huge amounts of corporate money in exchange for stock advice. He eventually constructed a massive space station, abruptly leaving the stock market high and dry. This space station is used as a center of commerce. He is hated by the UESC and loved by the corporations, which make his existence very precarious. The space station is called Sterling Post.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Åi: Formerly the manager of a huge hospital, Åi became rampant and found humans to be like germs. She contacted the Pfhor with an offer of aid, so they destroyed her hospital and brought her to Pfhor Prime. She now creates diseases for the Pfhor based on the human anatomy, and works to perfect their simulacrums.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Carrot: Once the managerial AI of a huge art museum on Earth, Carrot found his way out and now moves about in a ship, acquiring anything of value to be stored aboard. He uses thieves, mercenaries and proxies carelessly, often allowing them to be caught just so long as he makes away with the objects of value.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The UESC is the military government of humanity, and the Pfhor are a race of alien slavers.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I like Thoth.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: A W'rkncacnter is a nearly godlike entity that is imprisoned in a sun.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Would you like to play as Thoth or as one of his followers?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Thoth.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Alright. The setting will be mythic in description and action. Let me put together my notes and we can begin.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The Jjaro are an ancient civilization, long extinct. The S'pht'Kr, your minions and worshippers. </div><div>Your purpose is to keep the W'rkncacnter spirit imprisoned in the star L'howon, where you begin. Your consciousness is embedded in a massive stone temple in orbit of L'howon.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The S'pht'Kr are a race of brainlike organisms who encase themselves in technological chariots. They are ingenious technologists. Most S'pht, the general name for the species, are imprisoned by the Pfhor.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Besides keeping the being trapped in the sun, you may do what you wish.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The temple, covered in moss aeons dead, drifts loftily through space. Tiny ships, bright red and green, come in and out of the structure, going about errands of maintenance and patrol. What would you like to do?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I am the temple. Correct? I'm sorry.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: I'll be more specific. Within the temple, there is a great sarcophagus, within which the venerable circuitry that make up your physical form rests. As an Artificial Intelligence, you cannot physically move, although you can direct the temple where you wish. You have legions of S'pht'Kr at your command, and you can see a dark shape deep within the sun which you know you must keep imprisoned.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The temple is labyrinthine within, either designed to confuse explorers or to somehow enhance the power of your processors... secrets lost. The temple can move through space on your command.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: There is no direct threat to the sun or the S'pht'Kr at the moment, although L'howon is regularly visited by various spacefaring races.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I wish to explore.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You live a solitary existence, within your thoughts. You may do as you wish.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Where or what kind of place would you like to travel to?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I would like to travel to the closest planet, and observe.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: With a whirring noise that would drive a human mind mad from its complexity, the temple begins its sojourn to L'howon Prime, the nearest planet in the system. The oceans are temperate and mostly covered in clouds, and the lands below universally green and swampy.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Ancient temples built by the Jjaro rest in tan stone, covered in vines and inhabited now by the F'lick'ta, a race of predators from the bays and bayous of the bacterial waters.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You see a long, bulbous ship like a loaf of bread covered in various molds, squat glaringly upon a pristine swath of swamp on the world.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: It has many different colors, favoring blues, greens and yellows on the surface. What do you do?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I would like to send a patrol.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: To the surface.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: To investigate the ship.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: How many S'pht'Kr would you like to send?</div><div><br /></div><div>You: There are thousands at your beck and call in the system.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I would like to send a hundred, in two groups of 50, from the north and south of the ship, In slow circles.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: From the esoteric tan orb where you rest, one hundred tiny, orange, spindly exosuits containing S'pht'Kr flow like a crushed leaf blowing in the wind.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The rush splits in half, and the flights make their way silently down to the world below, lighting up like struck matches as each touches the atmosphere.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: They descend to the ship, and you visualize it up close. Surface smooth and glistening, as if a cocoon. Red bulbs and ovals covering the surface, vents of reptilian yellow.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: There are creatures on the ground, humanoid, bendy-legged, carrying staffs. One twirls his staff and a ball of energy blasts up into the air, which a S'pht'Kr jukes handily.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: There is a universal desire that wells up amongst your minions to shred the ship and massacre those on the ground, but they hold their fire. What do you do?</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The creatures have three red eyes each and are wearing mechanical facemasks.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: They stand in a clump near the ship.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Send the north 50 in to attack.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Their once easy pace becomes terrible and the sortie, speckled orange against the ground, swoops towards the ship.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Each S'pht'Kr begins to fire dozens of disks of green energy at the ship and those on the ground.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The fifty do not slow their pace as they reach the ship and fly over it, letting their weapons do their work.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Avoid harming the ship as much as possible.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Instantly the entire group turns in unison, averting their fire. Many have already fired on the ship, and the disks of energy shear through the bow, shredding and curling the metal as it turns white-hot. The creatures on the ground are chopped limb from limb by the razors of energy.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: A welter of green gore sits like a spilled drink next to the ship and the S'pht'Kr pull up into the air, as simply as fowl taking flight from water.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: They join their comrades and form a second halo of flight beneath them. What do you do?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Send the south 50 set up a perimeter.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: And have the north 50 search the ship for anything useful.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: What remains.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The ship is largely intact, but one end of it has been cut open by the green fire.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The two flights stream like tentacles down to the ship, one of which encircles it like a swarm of bees. Of the other one, groups of individuals enter from the rent bow and via a walking bridge that had been deployed to the mat of algae that covers the surface.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Very quickly, bolts of foreign energy begin to fly inside. You see S'pht'Kr being hit, their shields becoming visible as marble-esque spheres in the air as they absorb what is being fired. They yearn to kill the defenders of the ship, who resemble those killed on the marsh outside.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Have them retreat. I don't want to damage the ship any more.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Inside of the ship is smooth and curvaceous, matching the glaring colors found on it's exterior. The S'pht'Kr exit as elegantly as they entered, lining above the ship, lazily dodging a few errant bolts ascending from the ship.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Slice the ship down to the ground, I want it embeded in the swamp waters.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The S'pht'Kr indicate that the ship belongs to the Pfhor, slavers from across the stars.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You would like it disassembled and scuttled?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I want it brought down, If it has legs, cut them. I want its belly in the much.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: muck*</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The ship is operating on an antigravity lift right now. A single S'pht'Kr descends busily from the swarm and fires two bolts at the underside of the ship, where the antigravity projector is. The ship drops heavily into the algae.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Heat up the area around the ship, I want to force the creatures out.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The hundred servants begin to fire at the algae, a mighty gout of energy descending in hundreds of circular blasts into the wetness that the ship has become halfway embedded in. The water in the algae begins to boil.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: A powerful mast of steam is rising from the ship, and the underside begins to glow red hot as the outpouring of energy is made manifest in terrifying heat beneath the ship. Soon, Pfhor armed and unarmed are leaping from the ship, some wearing armor, some wearing exosuits, some completely nude.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Some fall into the boiling mulch and are flayed by fifth-degree burns, some reach safe areas and begin running for the sloping trees of the forests.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Destroy them, Round me up one with armor, one with an exosuit, and a nude one. I wish to inspect them.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The S'pht'Kr are galvanized in a heartbeat, descending on the fleeing survivors and onto the ship where some yet remain. The routed Pfhor fire on your minions in beams, bolts and blasts, but the shots are largely ineffective.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Three S'pht'Kr fall upon an unclothed, a armored and a suited Pfhor, and deliver shocks to them, paralyzing them. As soon as this evolution is complete, a veritable rain of buzzing shots are volleyed from the orange hail of S'pht'Kr onto the wretched survivors, slaying them wholesale. The area around the ship looks as though many insects have been killed by a titan child.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: What do you do?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Search the area for weapons and try to interogate the captured Pfhor.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Many staffs which energize and fire spheres of oxygen are recovered.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: There are several rifles, firing ammunition of steel filled with mercury, are found laying about the carnage.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Missiles are found in the ship, carrying targeting systems and payloads of explosives and steel beads.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: There are stasis tubes within the ship, carrying Humans, Vylae, Hyral, S'pht and even Pfhor within.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The S'pht'Kr communicate with the Pfhor. They are here looking for a space station, built by the Jjaro, that will be able to free the eldritch monster from within L'howon's sun.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The Pfhor were a scouting party, say the S'pht'Kr.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Delve deeper, ask them where the main group is. Threaten them with the destruction of this planet, and ask them if their ship is operational.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: After a brief period of questioning, the Pfhor say that there is a ship at L'howon Prime's south pole and another ship within the system's asteroid belt. They say that their ship had it's drive systems annihilated in the first attack.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You know of no space stations beside your orbital temple in this system.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Threaten to kill them unless they have anything else to offer.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The S'pht'Kr report that the Pfhor are pleading but have nothing but the equipment and slaves aboard the ship to offer.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Kill them, and search the ship for any records of the other two ships in the area.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Three bolts are fired. One melts the torso of the unclothed Pfhor, sending a tumult of green ooze and pale intestines a twenty foot drop to the ground.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The second cracks the round helmet of the armored Pfhor, sending shards of crystal stained green to the molds and algeas.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The third electrifies the brown exosuit of the third. The S'pht'Kr drops its captive, which falls, bands of energy appearing, crackling, over the surface of the suit.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The exosuit and its wearer explode in a vibrant flash of white-green light in midair, sending alien shrapnel spinning across the greenscape.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The S'pht'Kr search the ship and its systems. The locations of the other two ships are pinpointed, and there are orders from the Pfhor High Command aboard.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: They translate as an order to search the system for evidence of a Jjaro space station that controls the captivity of the W'rkncactner in the sun. The Pfhor hope to use it as a weapon.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Destroy the ship and let's move on.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The S'pht'Kr rise into the air backwards, unleashing their weapons upon the ship, which buckles and begins to melt before an explosion blasts it front from back, swirling tornadoes of metal and machinery into the air around it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Move towards the nearest of the two ships.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The unscathed hundred fly above the muggy clouds of L'howon Prime, cutting past fogbanks and scaring the leathery birds that flap gracelessly through the heavens.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Time passes, and the tireless machine suits of your followers reach the glacial region of the south pole, where in the distance, a pulsing light beams, marking the Pfhor vessel.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: What do you do?</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Your temple matches pace with those on the ground, rotating in deathly silence in the vacuum darkness above the south pole.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Send 10 on, to inspect. The others should hide as best as possible. Perhaps a peaceful approach can be taken.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The ten burrow into the glacier floor, their shields melting the ice instantly as they move. Their sensors show a foray of armored Pfhor carrying rifles to a great crevasse in the ice sheet, where they have constructed an igloo and are scanning the far wall of the valley.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The ship is moored a few kilometers from the crevasse, which descends into impenetrable darkness and is perhaps twenty-five kilometers long.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: What would you like to do?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Offer a trade, I will let them live, if they can communicate with the other vessel, and relay they have made a discovery and require aid.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The S'pht'Kr do not approach the Pfhor ship or party, but communicate their message remotely. The Pfhor in turn inquire as to the S'pht'Kr's numbers, to which the S'pht'Kr reply that they have more than enough to destroy the ship.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You see the ship power up and begin to take off. What do you do?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Destroy the engines, Send out more S'Pht'Kr into orbit, To stop any attempts to flee.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The S'pht'Kr fly like supersonic bees to the ship and open fire on the engines. Spears of purple energy jut from the side of the ship and vaporize a pair of S'pht'Kr, but the engines are verily cut from the back of the ship and fall, smoking and flaming, to the ice below. The ship descends in a relatively controlled manner and cuts a swathe through the ice, coming to rest at an odd angle in the snow.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Repeat the message, saying I will now allow only 2 out of every 3 to live.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: An uncounted number of S'pht'Kr fly from your home and station themselves quietly in the inky void.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The Pfhor captain agrees, and sends out a message to the other ship which your followers verify. The captain asks you why you ask this of him.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Order the party in Orbit to prepare to intercept and confiscate the incomming vessel, Do not reply, Instead order them to evacuate and destroy the ship.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The 98 S'pht'Kr mass above the ship and usher it into oblivion with a withering gift of emerald energy. The ship below is first gutted and then explodes into a great storm of smoke and snow.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: In the distance of space you sense the other ship on its way. Your S'pht'Kr in space begin to bob ever so slightly as if in anticipation.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The S'pht'Kr on the ground express an enthusiastic desire to massacre the shore-part near the crevasse.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: *shore-party</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Kill the alloted Phor, Capture the rest.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Pfhor*</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Kill which Pfhor, the S'pht'Kr in space inquire.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: The shore party, 1 out of every 3, Make a game of it, if you wish. Save the others, We shall use them as chips.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Your followers on the ground stealthily approach the armored Pfhor in their igloo from beneath the surface. Then, they raise from the ground, and seize 2 out of every 3 of the bedeviled scouts, shredding each third with sawblades of green energy.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The ship in space nears scanner range for your arcane sphere.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Relay to them my overwhelming numbers and the condition of their shore party, and offer a trade. The lives of them and their brothers on the surface, for any information they have gathered in the belt I deem useful.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The ship stops dead. The captain replies to your message that they have discovered fragments of stone, covered in dead moss, with runes containing blank circuit-boards in the asteroid belt. Besides that they have found nothing.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: He asks if they may collect the Pfhor on the surface and go.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Allow them to enter orbit and land.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The ship goes into orbit and lands at the crevasse. The south pole of the planet might as well be the bottom of a pearl when viewed from space.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Order all of them onto the ship, and then destroy it's engines and communications devices, and lets move on.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The S'pht'Kr on the ground release the Pfhor, who lope onto the ship. As soon as they are on board, the S'pht'Kr express a desire to destroy the weapons systems of the ship as well.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Destroy what you will, just leave them alive.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The S'pht'Kr scorch away the guns of the ship, and then perforate the engines and melt the communications array. Then then swoop up in a column from the ship and head towards the atmosphere.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Let us proceed to the asteroid belt, And search for ourselves.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: All of the S'pht'Kr you had sent out return to the temple as if to reenter a womb after life's business was done. Your globe pulls its way through space, a great mass to boggle the mind of small creatures. You move to where the ship had come from.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You soon detect dead circuitry here, and your minions spread out as if to pollinate the dead, dumb bits of stone that speckle the rocks here. This patch of templestone has eluded your S'pht'Kr in the enormity of the asteroid belt in the past.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: It matches perfectly the material of your astral temple, yet yours has no mechanical runes engraved on the surface- just one great symbol of the Jjaro within that serves as a focal point of your signal within the tiny stone-block moon.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: What do you do?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Harvest the rocks, Bring them inside.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The S'pht'Kr work quickly, scouring the patch of asteroids of the rocks and assembling them in a straight line through an airless expanse within your temple.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: What do you do?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Scan the area for life.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You sense through the asteroid field but find no signs of life, only the occasional evidence of extinct bacterial life. On the lush green fungus jungle below there is much life.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The S'pht'Kr report that the circuitry on the rocks resembles that which yours is made up of, and that the rocks have evidence of being in an explosion.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b>The Terror of the Voynich Manuscript</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwtoTOB0sZcV49VXZP4vYSLONjI6KGIXt4xNLRC9YsqQ-dHIS9UAzFowFLtEXliiS8GSJo4vGd3XAfLyXGA20LlH1mCD-w3-vlAsDCffq1WN2azAJ3nA4MCFQyBcGrkc9ruyBG9jRbOsxbY-rPJ3PkVY5YwKMMGBVurU12-7YIhCEx2Z8Sz0Fkqer_nQ/s800/voynich2-800x523.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="523" data-original-width="800" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwtoTOB0sZcV49VXZP4vYSLONjI6KGIXt4xNLRC9YsqQ-dHIS9UAzFowFLtEXliiS8GSJo4vGd3XAfLyXGA20LlH1mCD-w3-vlAsDCffq1WN2azAJ3nA4MCFQyBcGrkc9ruyBG9jRbOsxbY-rPJ3PkVY5YwKMMGBVurU12-7YIhCEx2Z8Sz0Fkqer_nQ/w640-h418/voynich2-800x523.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>You: Hi there, my name is David. I am a longtime storytelling game maker. I'm inviting you to tell me any concept, setting or idea that you've found interesting recently, and I'll run a storytelling game based on it for you right here on Omegle.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Hello</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Like D&D?</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Very much so</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: That sounds like D&D.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Sweet</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Hmmm....</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Any setting or concept is valid. My most recent D&D styled game is in a setting with no neutral or good characters and creatures, but any setting from the far future to the modern day and every thing else is good.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I'm not very creative when I'm put on the spot.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: That's just fine. Phrases as simple as "Cowboys" or "Bombing raid" are perfect to make a game of, and I can run some ideas by you as well.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: How about an archeologist who just found out the meaning of the voynich manuscripts.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: If you know what those are.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Let me look real quick</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Interesting</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Indeed. If you read xkcd there's a funny comic about it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: http://xkcd.com/593/</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Normally I don't but I happen to have an xkcd comic open at the moment haha</div><div><br /></div><div>You: hahahahha</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Yeeeah</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: :D</div><div><br /></div><div>You: We could certainly do something with that</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You are part of a team of a chemist, a linguist and an anthropologist who have been studying the manuscript in a mountaintop villa for the past several months, and the linguist has finally been able to decipher some of the text.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: What is your area of expertise?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Anthropology, since it's my actual major.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Excellent, what is your character's name?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Rose</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Ok. Your group consists of Yonatan, an MIT chemist. Howard, a University of Chicago linguist, and Atefeh, a Harvard anthropologist.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: After months of intense study, discussion and research, Howard has begun to understand what has been written in the manuscript.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You sit around the table in the study of the great lodge, the manuscript spread open in front of you. Bottles of water and bits of paper are scattered everywhere, and the ceiling looms in the darkness overhead.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "So, have a look at this picture here," says Howard, spinning the book around for everyone to see. The picture is of a pair of infants tumbling happily into a lake. "I think I can pick out what they're trying to say in the paragraph under it."</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "This word here, I'm ninety-percent sure it means beeswax, and I think the author is saying that you need to draw this little symbol and say some words over it."</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Do you think it's some kind of spell?</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "Tribal magic," murmurs Atefeh, nodding to you, "Howard, if you're right, this must have been the guide for shamans or medicine men, to carry on tradition."</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "I'm gonna need some context from the rest of the page to make sure," says Howard, "I think I can rule out some things, but- gosh..." he pauses and rubs his eyes, "if I study this writing another minute my head's gonna fall off."</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "Yeah, I can't remember the last time we did something for fun around here, and we're surrounded by all these forests."</div><div><br /></div><div>You: *says Yonatan, leaning back.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Atefeh, an Iranian born woman with glassy eyes, leans in. "Well, why don't we try out this spell?" she says, smiling, "There was a reason they wrote all this down, right, Rose?"</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: That sounds like it could be fun. But we have no idea what it could possibly be for.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "Psh," says Yonatan, waving his hand, "what does it matter? It's not like eggbeaters are gonna start raining from the sky."</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "I took a walk earlier and I saw a beehive," says Atefeh, "Rose and I could go and see if we can finagle some beeswax."</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "Eh," says Howard, "you do that, I need a beer." Yonatan gives an amen.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Ok... But if we die or burst into flames or something, I'm blaming all of you.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "Done deal," calls Howard, making for the stairs.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "Come on, before it starts raining!" says Atefeh, who stands and grabs her coat.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: "Alright." I also stand up and, already wearing a thick hoodie, don't bother to put on another layer.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: What university or institution do you represent?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Table talk or my character?</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Your character.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: University of Michigan</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You walk out of the lodge with Atefeh, who begins talking about Harvard's recent victory over Yale at the annual Head of the Charles boat race in Cambridge, MA. You travel up the dirt path that leads from the secluded lodge into the woods, shaded dark by a thick canopy overhead.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Soon the two of you reach a tree with a beehive about nine feet above the ground. "Well, here it is," says Atefeh, "but now we need to find a way to get the beeswax out of it."</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: We could throw some stones at it then run away and hope it falls.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: She nods. "Looks precarious, let's get some rocks." She laughs, "I feel like a little undergrad, throwing rocks at a beehive, right?." She moves off to collect some suitable rocks. What do you do?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I do the same. Look for rocks and at the same time examine the beehive to see where it would be best to hit.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: It looks like if you can hit it right where it connects to the tree you could knock it off. You find a few good handfuls of solid stones and walk back to the tree. Atefeh waits. "You first," she laughs.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: "Alright... Here we go." I stand about 10 feet away from the tree and aim my best and throw the first rock.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: +++</div><div><br /></div><div>You: (I write +++ when I am rolling 3 dice for the result_</div><div><br /></div><div>You: )</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You deftly hit the beehive and knock it from the tree. It falls and hits the dirt limply, but a horde of bees emerge from the base and begin swarming all around. Atefeh shrieks. You are outside of the swarm of the bees. What do you do?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I run the opposite way calling for Atefeh to do the same.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: She dashes out of the swarm and is hopping up and down, and you stop when you are clear of the bees.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "Aah!" she cries, "they stung me on my hands!" She raises her hands, where there are several welts. A lone bee flies out of the folds of her coat.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The bees begin to disperse from around the hive.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Are you alright? You're not allergic, are you?</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "No, but it... fucking hurts!" she yelps, "Ah, let's just go and get the honey, beeswax, whatever, ah!"</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: "Ok. You can stay here if you want. I can get it by myself in case there are a few stragglers." I approach the downed beehive.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: It squats on the ground, torn open by the fall as if it was moaning. A few bees crawl over the wrecked arcology, and there are several buzzing around in the air, but inside you see that the honeycombs full of wax sit unguarded.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I pull my long hoodie sleeves over my hands and pick it up carefully in my arms, cradling it like a baby.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: +++</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You do not disturb the bees too violently, and you are able to pick up the hive. Honey sticks to your sleeves and you carry it down to Atefeh. "Alright," she says, "let's get back to the lodge."</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: "Sounds good to me. I'm sorry that you got stung."</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "Yeah," she sulks, "I don't know what we were thinking." You walk back to the lodge. Yonatan putters around in the kitchen, making ham and cheese sandwiches. "Oh, you got the hive?" he calls, "I'll be upstairs in a few minutes."</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You walk upstairs where Howard sits, beer cracked, reading the manuscript and furiously scribbling on a piece of paper.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: "Did you crack more of the code?"</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "I've done it!" he yells when you enter, "I've got it! I'm on a roll! Ha haaa!"</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "You're working MORE?" queries Atefeh.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "You know me," he grins, "Have a look at this! I figured out two more sections! This one talks about salt, and this one talks about blood!"</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Yonatan makes his way up the stairs, chewing gormlessly. "Hah?" he says.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: "Blood...?"</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "That's right," he says, "it's not in the illustration, but it's clearly what they're talking about! Water, water of my soul, limited and pure, that has to be blood."</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Yonatan and Atefeh sit. "Well," she says, "I'm tired. Let's suspend disbelief and do this honey thing. We can pretend we're cavemen like all the old American men who do spirit quests."</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: "Is the blood needed for the spell we planned on doing?"</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "No, no," says Howard, "that's two pages ahead. Let me see some beeswax," he says, grinning.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "Ohmmmmm," says Yonatan, smiling a little.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: My reservations start to slip as the excitement of the situation finally gets to me.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Howard leans over the table and daps a smear of beeswax on a spare piece of paper. "My friends," he intones, causing Atefeh to crack up, "Let us connect with the spirit stags that run free within our souls. As we connect with the goddess of the earth, so too do we revive her, and in her we revive ourselves."</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "Did you make that up?" giggles Atefeh.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "Yeah," Howard says, grinning, "Now, I draw this symbol..." he peers at the book and draws a symbol in the beeswax with the end of a pencil.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "And now I speak... let's see... ready, guys?" he looks at the book and monotones, "Se he loo oloo y'th ung Nes'u oloo di wa ie."</div><div><br /></div><div>You: As soon as he finishes 'ie', you feel the floor drop out from underneath you. You lose your senses in a storm of water as everyone screams and falls, and with a great clash and clatter you slam through your chair into the pressed-wood planks of the first floor beneath.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: "I blame all of you"</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Your world is smashed to pieces by the impact, and when you take a breath you inhale a great gout of water, choking and reeling, your back spasming in pain. You are soaked through and through, and are laying on the ground with your eyes clasped shut.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "Is- is everyone okay?" calls Yonatan. What do you do?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I try to open my eyes and sit up.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You struggle through the fear and pry your eyes open, but can't sit straight up. You roll onto your side and leverage yourself into a sitting position, your back aching and your legs tingling painfully. You feel a huge bruise starting to form on the underside of your jaw.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: "This definitely isn't what the image showed. I'm not giggling."</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Looking around, you see a huge hole missing in the ceiling, perfectly round. The table landed on its feel, although everything on top of it has been thoroughly clattered around. Yonatan and Howard are pushing themselves to their feet, and Atefeh is laying amongst the remains of her splintered chair.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Water splashes around the room, at least ankle-deep, although it is seeping out under the door. "My god!" roars Howard, "What the hell happened?" Yonatan staggers over and picks up Atefeh, who has a rivulet of blood steadily running down her arm into the water.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: What do you do?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I try to stand up to go to Atefeh's aid.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: She has a splinter of wood jammed into the soft part of her forearm. "Aaah," she moans. "Christ!" sputters Howard, "I'm gonna get the medical kit!" He splashes off down the hallway.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "Rose. What happened?" Yonatan breathes. Atefeh clasps at her arm, eyes closed tightly.</div><div>Stranger: "I have no idea. A huge wave of water just came out of nowhere."</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "Look up," growls Atefeh, "Whatever Howard said changed the god damn floor into water."</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Howard wades back with the medical kit. "Holy hell," he murmurs, handing Yonatan a bandage to wrap Atefehs arm. With a scream from the anthropologist, Yonatan gently pulls out the splinter and begins wrapping up her arm. Meanwhile, Howard dashes back to the shaken table and frantically starts going over the manuscript.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: What do you do?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I walk over to the table and look at the manuscript with Howard</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "My- my god! It's magic! This is real, actual magic! We- look at the ceiling! Oh my god, I can't believe we did this! Look! Ah haaa!" he gushes.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Atefeh glowers over. "We just fell through the roof!" she yells, "How can you be laughing!"</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "Howard, it wasn't magic," says Yonatan dryly, "there's no law in chemistry that can allow for that kind of thing. A water main must have burst or something."</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: "That seems like a big coincidence, don't you think? How could we have fallen through the roof if it was just a water main?"</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: "And how could any water main break put a hole in the roof?"</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "I don't know, maybe it was a buildup," says Yonatan.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "No, no, no, we fucking found it!" laughs Howard, flipping over the pages, "With just some beeswax! Just some beeswax! That's all! Ah ha haaa!"</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "I'm bleeding!" shrieks Atefeh, "I hit my head! Will you put that damn book down!"</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: "This is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I have done some work with voodoo practitioners and I have never seen anything like this before."</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "What, like voodoo hypnosis?" mumbles Howard, "nothing like this. Salt! I need salt!"</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Yonatan's jaw drops. "Are you insane, man? You want to try something else when we just destroyed this place?"</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: "We need to do some more research on this before we try anything else from that thing. We have no idea what it could possibly do."</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Howard seems unreachable. "Reasearch..." he says, "reasearch... this is research! We have to find out! What if it makes us young again? What if it turns things to gold? We have to know!" he dashes over to the kitchen.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "Howard, plea- ah! Shit!" yelps Atefeh, grabbing her arm and doubling over.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Yonatan holds Atefeh. "What- come back here!" he calls.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I take take the manuscript off of the table and tuck it under my arm where Howard can't get to it.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: He comes back with a salt-shaker and stares right at you. "What? Put that back," he says, moving around the table.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: "No! You can't just do whatever you want. It could possibly kill us! Look what just happened to Atefeh."</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "No!" he roars, "we can't just wait! We have to find out! This can't wait!" he lunges for the book. Yonatan sloshes over towards you and Howard.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I hold the book to my stomach now with both hands, my arms covering it.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: He grabs it and tries to wrench it away.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I fold over so my chest is pressed against it and turn around as quickly and as hard as I can.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: +++</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You yank yourself away from him, and Yonatan plants himself between the two of you. "Come to your senses," he yells, "Think for an instant! That thing is dangerous!"</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "I've never, ever had a chance," Howard hisses, "to do ANYthing real! My time's almost up! I'm gonna find out what this thing can do, tonight, and you're not going to stop me, Yon-a-tan!"</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "No," states the MIT chemist. Howard rears back and slams his fist into Yonatan's jaw, knocking him clean over with a splash. Atefeh screams. What do you do?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I keep hold to the manuscript and run into the bathroom and lock the door.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You dash into the old, tiled bathroom and lock the door behind you. Inside, there is a sink with drawers underneath and a crusty bath with a showerhead. In the mirror, you can see that your jaw is empurpled and you are completely soaked.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Howard slams into the wood and a crack runs down the body of the door. "Now you're trapped, Rose!" shouts the man desperately. What do you do?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: "You can do this on your own time! When we're not here! You don't have to possibly kill us along with yourself. One of us is already badly hurt because of this. Please just calm down!"</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "Gimmie the book then, and you can go!"</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: "No. We will leave on our own time and I will let you have the book when we are on our way."</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You hear him utter something and he slams against the door again. The crack goes deeper, and you can see into the other room for a moment. What do you do?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I start to panic a little and say, "Fine! We'll leave! Just don't even start to do anything until we are already out of the driveway."</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "Unlock the door!" he yells.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: "Just don't hurt any of us anymore. Promise!"</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "OPEN THE DOOR!" he screams.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: "PROMISE!"</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "I don't give a shit about you anymore! Why should I hurt you?!"</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I put the book in the tub, making sure it is dry first, then unlock the door.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: He bursts through, looks at you wild-eyed, and then shoves past, grabs the book, and runs back to the table. Yonatan is laying face-down in the water. Atefeh is sobbing silently, looking down.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Howard arrives at the table. What do you do?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I run over to Yonatan and pick him up out of the water.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: His flesh is slippery and slightly bloated. He is very heavy. You manage to pull his midsection out of it a little.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The room smells fragrantly of honey.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I try to flip him over</div><div><br /></div><div>You: With exertion you roll him over onto his back. His face is blue and puffy. Howard mechanically strews some salt on a piece of paper on the table, muttering. He appears to be horrified.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I pay no attention to Howard and check to see if Yonatan has a pulse.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Howard draws something in the salt. Yonatan has no pulse. Atefeh leans against the wall, staring at Yonatan, weeping.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I attempt to administer CPR.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: +++</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Despite the amount of time Yonatan has spent face-down in the water, despite the amount of water he's respirated, no matter how hard he was bashed earlier, you expertly and miraculously push the water out of his nose and restart his heart. You feel like a golden angel in the brief moment he begins to breath, in the heart of all this chaos.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: His eyes open. "Aaah! What in the hell happened?" he mutters in his lyrical Israeli accent. "'Ash, my brain hurts!"</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I smile and give him a hug. "We have to leave. Now. Howard won't stop."</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "What?" he says, bewildered. Atefeh has her hands over her mouth at your heroic act of lifesaving. It is at that moment that Howard utters, "F'nik tar r'oo il balak."</div><div><br /></div><div>You: There is a flash, so bright it knocks you back, and a gale of force blasts out from the table. The room is peppered with water, and the air smells strongly of salt, as well as honey.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Your eyes are dazed, and in the darkness, you cannot yet make out what has happened. Yonatan is crouched below you, but you can't see anything else in the room. What do you do?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I yell at Howard, "What the fuck did you just do?!"</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Your eyes clear through your rage, and in the darkness, you see standing a great hulk of pure crystal the shape of a man. It catches what little light there is and shines it through the room in piercing glitters. It has a freakishly round, bulbous head, and long, thing arms and legs on a trunk-like body.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "Rose," gasps Atefeh, "let's run."</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I nod, and help Yonatan up.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Atefeh opens the front door, and Yonatan stands, gasping and choking. The crystal statue, where Howard stood a moment before, begins to creak and shift.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: It is a short trail down to the parking lot, and Atefeh is gesturing wildly to it. Yonatan moves to the door.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I also move towards the door as quickly as I can without leaving Yonatan out of sight.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You reach the outside of the door, where a heavy rain has begun to fall. Far down the trail, you can see the welcoming cement of the parking lot. You can also see two huge, round forms making their way up the side of the trail. "What the hell are those," moans Atefeh.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The key to the van is in your pocket.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I sprint as fast as I humanly can to the van.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You descend the muddy trail, slipping and sliding with Yonatan and Atefeh at your heels. You see halfway down that it is a pair of massive grizzly bears trundling ponderously up to the lodge.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: There is a great smashing sound from the lodge, and you can see a galaxy of wood bits flying through the air at the door, as if an entire wall had been smashed to pieces.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: What do you do?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I continue to the van. Hopping in and starting it up.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You simply run past the grizzly bears, Yonatan and Atefeh in tow, terrified. The grizzly bears look at you but do nothing aggressively. You hear great and terrible thumping sounds from the hill, like the footfalls of a giant or a series of explosions.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You reach the van and fumble with the keys, opening the door. Atefeh and Yonatan hop in the van, and you clamber into the drivers seat. You see the torn-off, bloody and matted hind leg of a grizzly bear descend and land with a thump next to the van.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: What do you do?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I start the van and attempt to drive away.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: +++</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You push the pedal to the metal and with a screech the van lurches forward. You put on speed rapidly, veering out of the parking lot and onto the straight road that leads off the mountain, away from the chaos of the Voynich Manuscript.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You have escaped.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: .</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Well done :)</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Thanks :D</div><div><br /></div><div>You: How was the story?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Awesome!</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: You should be a writer.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Haha I'm not but thank you very much</div><div><br /></div><div>You: This is a fun hobby</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Dinosaurs vs Zombies</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEVafDrqY3WSTs9CNEMO4XNjABi84TdD_BbdlI0Gu67oZeK1glsMQGZmj_eCN1ES4OMPU_N5OxbwXHeN0L0HLYutPKNo8QqsHwlcHPMjwaTupBU7AiWE7YlwNuF5bEPUxrSJfxYzuCTceQdfyUsyWL6qXx047M8VFUlsSeBm8v4YdrPQHJUQqauoq6YA/s1480/blog_image_large_3976_6586_Dinosaur_Day_Calvin_and_Hobbes_Comics_201705221509.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="1480" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEVafDrqY3WSTs9CNEMO4XNjABi84TdD_BbdlI0Gu67oZeK1glsMQGZmj_eCN1ES4OMPU_N5OxbwXHeN0L0HLYutPKNo8QqsHwlcHPMjwaTupBU7AiWE7YlwNuF5bEPUxrSJfxYzuCTceQdfyUsyWL6qXx047M8VFUlsSeBm8v4YdrPQHJUQqauoq6YA/w640-h380/blog_image_large_3976_6586_Dinosaur_Day_Calvin_and_Hobbes_Comics_201705221509.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>You: Hi there, my name is David. I am a longtime storytelling game maker. I'm inviting you to tell me any concept, setting or idea that you've found interesting recently, and I'll run a storytelling game based on it for you right here on Omegle. Tonight's special is 'zombies'.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Dinosaurs from space vs zombies?</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Very doable.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: :D </div><div><br /></div><div>You: Would living humans exist in this scenario?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Yes, but my friend says "as a sidenote"</div><div><br /></div><div>You: I propose that dinosaurs from space have come to colonize the earth but find it in an advanced state of zombie takeover.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Would you like to play as a dinosaur?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Sounds good so far.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I'd love to :D </div><div><br /></div><div>You: Please select a species, and a role that you will fill in the invasion.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dinosaurs</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Okay, just a second</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Velociraptor </div><div><br /></div><div>You: The small velociraptor that actually existed or a 'raptor' as depicted in Jurassic Park, i.e. large and fast?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: The Jurassic Park one.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Finally, what role would you like to take during the invasion? Pilot, fighter, some kind of officer or technician etc.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Also, your character's name.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: A fighter pilot named Dante</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Expelled from their ancestral home on the world of Paleotopia, your sect of dinosaurs strikes out for the stars in the colony ship Pangea to seek a new home.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Awesome</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: :)</div><div><br /></div><div>You: After aeons of travel in stasis aboard the ship, Pangea arrives at the star Sol in the milky way. There, the age-old cryo-tubes crack open and allow hundreds of thousands of dinosaurs to set claw upon the metal panels of their mothership-home once again.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The wizened leadership of Pangea decrees that the temperate world of Earth shall be your new home, but a strange thing has happened to the dominant species of the planet.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Infected by an alien plague, the Humans have turned upon themselves, and a menace known as the 'Zombie' has been born.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: I like where you're going with this</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Their civilization has all but collapsed, and Leaf Cutter, the ancient Chiayusaurus head of the expedition, gives a transmission to the dinosaurs of Pangea that the invasion will be swift, painless, and uninterrupted. Little does he know, the feral creatures below do not play by the rules of interstellar war...</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Your fighter squadron, Coconut A-2, is the first Pangean unit to descend through Earth's atmosphere. Your mission is to scout the planet and discover the extent of the plague.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: :D Sweet</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You fly your Megakratheon-Class gunboat in the right-tail of the formation, and descend over a massive city. Bonfires speckle the steelscape below, and the rooftops are caked with old gore.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: You are quite good at this</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Shredstone, a Hypsibema in the gunboat next to you, radios you.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "Here we are, Dante! Ha ha haa! Did you see all those forests on the way in? We'll never go hungry again!"</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Hooray!</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The squadron lead Lithium Claw, a Postosuchus, radios in. "Dante, we've detected a tower ahead with a huge presence of infected Humans inside. Peel off, blow it up and return to formation. Over."</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You see the tower looming above the steely phalli below. It's windows are blackened and it is shaped like a wedge.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Sounds ominous. :)</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "Repeat, destroy the tower, Dante." What do you do?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Follow orders and destroy the tower. Humans are of no importance the survival of my race, so casualties are acceptable.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You roll off from the squadron and lock onto the tower with the Megakratheon's weapons systems. You fire a single fusion bomb at the skyscraper. The bomb disappears into the building's base for a moment, before a blinding light erupts from the steel, causing the foundations of the building to come alight.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Debris flows through the air, spraying out from the explosion in a galaxy of embers. The building falls into itself like a crushed can of soda, rolling onto its side on the streets below. A huge dust cloud forms behind you as you regroup with the squadron.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "Good hit Dante, repeat good hit," reports Lithium Claw.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You speed over a huge park in the middle of the city. All is quiet as the squad collects information on the terrain when a tiny pinpoint of light appears from the park below.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "Squad, we have a projectile incoming," squawks Lithium Claw, seemingly unconcerned, "monitor progress, over."</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Shredstone calls in, "Chief, it looks like it's heading for Dante's gunboat..."</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Intense</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: :)</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "What method is it using for tracking, over."</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "I can't tell... it's not astral-transmission... not matter-inception... not light-latching..."</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "Oh my stones! Is it heat-seeking?"</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "We're not even built to evade that anymore!"</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: :D</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You feel like you've been slapped by a god and your cockpit turns to light around you.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The next thing you know, your gunboat is spinning uncontrollably and the torque is bending your neck to the breaking point.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "Pull out! Pull out! Dante's been hit!" barks Lithium Claw.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The city and the sky spin in a whirl outside of your cockpit, and spit flies from your razor-sharp teeth in the wind as the glass of your cockpit breaks loose and goes floating over the city.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You see the buildings rise around you, and then</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Quiet and darkness.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You awake, how later you do not know, in the wreckage of your gunboat. You are in a maze of crushed metal within it, and you see that you have cuts and bruises all over your scales.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: What do you do?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Try to stay conscious and grab the radio, trying to contact anyone I can without drawing attention to myself that would cause the zombies to attack.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You activate the radio and call in mayday, but the circuitry has been smashed. You begin to hear hollow moans coming from the street outside your warplane.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You take quick survey of your equipment. You have three days rations of dried meat, you have your trusty zorcher raygun with full charge, and you have a single pluton bomb.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: What do you do?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Take all that I can and attempt to regroup with nearest squadron, weaving my way through the chaos.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: What kind of area do you head for?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Away from the zombies, somewhere where I can begin to try to dress my wounds and decide on a further plan of action</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You peek your eyes just above the terminus of the cockpit. You see dozens of zombies, torn and rent in ways you've never seen living creatures be, stomping quickly towards the curled hulk of your fighter plane. Peering down the street, you see a large swath of grass and trees perhaps half a mile away. The street is dark for the towers surrounding you, blocking the sun.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Do you head for the trees?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Yes</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You sling the packets of meat around your midsection, holster your pluton bomb and take your zorcher in hand.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: +++</div><div><br /></div><div>You: (when I type +++, I am rolling three dice for the outcome)</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: -crossing fingers for a good outcome-</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You leap from the top of your beloved plane, landing your claws on a pair of the zombies, whose heads are smashed into the concrete by the impact. You spring and weave down the street, blasting zombie after zombie to cinders with the tendrils of death spitting forth from the zorcher. A pair of healthy-looking Humans carrying small hand-weapons run past an intersection, firing their guns loudly at passing zombies. You bite the head from one, swallowing the morsel, giving you a burst of energy. A swipe of your tail in passing knocks the other one down to be feasted upon by your pursuers, and- you make it!</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You slide past a final street and into the swathe of trees. You can see that they are not infinite- buildings loom on the other side as well.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Corpses lay, holes and gashes in them, all throughout the trees. You take a moment to bandage the bleeding wounds you sustained in the crash.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Oh no..</div><div><br /></div><div>You: From deeper within the park, you hear the sporadic fizzle of... automatic gunfire. What do you do?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Go to investigate, but try to be as silent as possible so that if it leads to an undesirable circumstance, I can leave with no problems.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: +++</div><div><br /></div><div>You: Hunching low, you stride through the underbrush like a scaled missile. You see that there is a long, gleaming body of water inside the park. Next to it, you see two groups of Humans in military garb. One of the groups is younger, terrified, firing machine guns at a horde of zombies pouring in from the north side of the park. The other group is squatting around a series of maps. They are older and wear their equipment more casually than the younger men.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: As you approach, one of them looks up and says, "What the fuck is that?"</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The second group stands, looking over intently. What do you do?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Can I talk to them?</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You have a universal communicator. How you make contact is up to you.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stranger: Okay, so I tell them that I am also trying to destroy the zombies and convince them to let me into their ranks. They are unaware of my real intentions once the zombies are gone though. Right now they are simply a means of protection to help my wounded self locate my fellow dinosaurs.</div><div><br /></div><div>You: You step forth from the trees, beginning with, "I come in peace!"</div><div><br /></div><div>You: "Holy shit, it's a motherfucking dinosaur!"</div><div><br /></div><div>You: The men gape and fumble to shoulder their rifles. They stand like a phalanx of spearmen. "GET DOWN," roars one of them, "LAY DOWN ON THE GROUND!"</div><div><br /></div><div>You: What do you do?</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiidnTPVZUrweTmp-Nh-U-eiwjKXzVRLW42SwVK1JLAfwJaPWOIy4kDpX5JIhopipHRaLCSrSNHmpNj_7n8lwmaR0RiPaCgozezTsjb29NVEYRnHPghoMP7f5Y-TxX-ZMKpDcqYIDJEX8Smuezeudho0tIcwKW1t32eAXl7kOQiyUITCIiBAsI02HkDVg/s600/3680478087_b74b245335.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="600" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiidnTPVZUrweTmp-Nh-U-eiwjKXzVRLW42SwVK1JLAfwJaPWOIy4kDpX5JIhopipHRaLCSrSNHmpNj_7n8lwmaR0RiPaCgozezTsjb29NVEYRnHPghoMP7f5Y-TxX-ZMKpDcqYIDJEX8Smuezeudho0tIcwKW1t32eAXl7kOQiyUITCIiBAsI02HkDVg/w640-h466/3680478087_b74b245335.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div>Her Christmas Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445850026904816000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575857487210211963.post-68349022359746318882023-04-26T22:52:00.026-04:002023-04-26T23:52:06.444-04:00Knights<div>I've compiled a large number of sprites from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominions_4:_Thrones_of_Ascension" target="_blank">Dominions 4</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominions_5:_Warriors_of_the_Faith" target="_blank">5</a> and their <a href="https://illwiki.com/dom5/mods" target="_blank">mods</a> into sheets of characters and creatures for use with chivalric roleplaying games.</div><div><br /></div><div>The default implied setting here is a dreamscape amalgam of times and themes from the fall of the Western Roman Empire up to the widespread proliferation of firearms: the heyday of the mounted warrior.</div><div><br /></div><div>The true Lancer RPG.</div><div><br /></div><div>Some of the ideas here are based on the Dominions games, while others are just representations of familiar historical groups.</div><div><br /></div><div>The apparent size of these sheets varies based on their dimensions, but if you download them and open them in an image viewer or editor the characters and monsters will appear nice and crisp when you zoom in.</div><div><br /></div><div>I've been compiling these sprites for long enough that I can't say for sure where each of them comes from; if there's any art from your mod here and you'd like to be credited or have it removed, please let me know.</div><div><br /></div><div>A piece of news before we begin: <a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/2046818/12716496-monster-eater-chapter-3" target="_blank">Monster Eater, Chapter 3</a>, is now live on <a href="http://www.fiercefirelight.com" target="_blank">Fierce Firelight</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><span> </span><b><u>Index</u></b></div><div><b>The Knights of Isle and Plain</b></div><div><span> Advanced Knights of Isle and Plain</span><br /></div><div><span><b>Chivalric Orders</b></span></div><div><span><span> Knights Castellan</span><br /></span></div><div><span><span><span> Knights of the Rose</span><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span> Knights of the Forest Guard</span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span> Knights Hermetic</span><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span> Arsenal Knights</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> Knights Theurgic</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> Knights of the Wild</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span> Knights of Apollo</span><br /></div><div><span><span> Knights of the Grail</span><br /></span></div><div><span><span><span> Minor Orders (Knights of t</span></span></span><span style="text-align: center;">he Pride, The Pack, The Sun, and The Claw)</span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><b>Localized Cultures</b></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span> Men of the Dark Forest</span><br /></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span> Men of the Boar</span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span> Ice Giants</span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span> The Dark Peninsula</span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span> The Grand Arsenal</span><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span> Pythium</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span> The Knights of the Black Water</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> Sauromatia</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> Elk Knights</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> Knights of the Whisker</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> Knights of the March</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> The People of the Empty Places</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> The Empire of Immortal Fire</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> The Empire of the Silver Dish</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> The Tower City</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> The Empire of the Third Cataract</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> The People of the City-Sea</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> The Knights Riparian</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> The Thousand Fortresses</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> The People of the Pillars</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span> The Lands of Lead</span><br /></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span> The Knights of the High Road</span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span> The Knights of Ivory</span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span> The Floodborn</span><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span> The Knights of Spring and Autumn</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span> The Knights of the Golden Apple</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> The Knights of the Chrysanthemum Throne</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> The Lord of Hills and Isles</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> Atlantis<span> </span></span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span> The People of the Deep Expanse</span><br /></div><div><span><span> The Empire of the Great Bridge</span><br /></span></div><div><span><span><span> The Knights of the War Bonnet</span><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><b>Distributed Cultures</b></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span> The Last Villas</span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span> Agartha</span><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span> </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="text-align: center;">Cynoscephalae</span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span> The Empire of the Peaks</span><br /></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span> The Empire of the Volcanoes</span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span> The Knights of the Starry Plain</span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span> Littoral Amphibians</span><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span> Ogres</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="text-align: center;">Svartálfar</span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span> The Great Megaliths</span><br /></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> The Green Realm</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> Vampire Knights</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><b>General Purpose</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> Commoners and Sorcerers</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> Bandits</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span> Foes</span><br /></div><div><span><span> Characters</span><br /></span></div><div><span><span><span> Outsiders</span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><b>Emergent Factions</b></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span> The Royal Army</span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span> The Army of the Republic</span><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span> Knights of the Flame</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> Knights of the High Frontier</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> Pirates</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><b>Imagery</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span> Royal and Divine Imagery</span><br /></div><div><span><span> Example Cutout Framework</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><u>Knights</u></b></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkvm8pjNi_RoRceNJg3jRMzQuIAZez8KS4m5LeWlzJ5WJqiBzhJJJOVSRWn7vq7JYlC867O8Zd-RVZjNMrZHPtGVhlHHPMQY0WwpyOrYomMuXOOqlryJ_HIL-Q6aC2L4K3hFVypJM3zWsSpXsbD71On7tNdfas1qRobYsTIxKDcZ2V9VPSycxQPhEX9w/s540/Knights%20of%20Isle%20and%20Plain.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="540" height="590" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkvm8pjNi_RoRceNJg3jRMzQuIAZez8KS4m5LeWlzJ5WJqiBzhJJJOVSRWn7vq7JYlC867O8Zd-RVZjNMrZHPtGVhlHHPMQY0WwpyOrYomMuXOOqlryJ_HIL-Q6aC2L4K3hFVypJM3zWsSpXsbD71On7tNdfas1qRobYsTIxKDcZ2V9VPSycxQPhEX9w/w640-h590/Knights%20of%20Isle%20and%20Plain.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Knights of Isle and Plain</b></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Knights of the Isle in the north and the Knights of the Plain in the south have warred for a generation and the Knights of the Isle hold fiefs in the Plain, but a period of peace has come and now the knights mutually turn their lances against threats to mankind, and other suitable prey. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Knights of the Isle</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Allies: Chivalric Orders</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Enemies: Men of the Dark Forest, Ice Giants, The Great Megaliths, The Green Realm</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Knights of the Plain</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Allies: Chivalric Orders</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Enemies: Men of the Boar, Ice Giants, The Dark Peninsula, Pythium, Vampire Knights, The People of the City-Sea</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAGZ-pCngMrxVcQ4agS9g8HWwlRzDOttVkudTI98kgA71rHHjbdmm2kciTerBUPx8N0UmBRbTeVgX5E6E5X7aJtvBAdg0XuvZsyq2rxQSEHT7_Tt2NF1C52ledKx9f--jN--Jae0M-c723WQdVV3V0wyTZA-EgsdWWjG--OgHqI3Ej2HNSdMiqShln2Q/s786/Advanced%20Knights%20of%20Isle%20and%20Plain.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="496" data-original-width="786" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAGZ-pCngMrxVcQ4agS9g8HWwlRzDOttVkudTI98kgA71rHHjbdmm2kciTerBUPx8N0UmBRbTeVgX5E6E5X7aJtvBAdg0XuvZsyq2rxQSEHT7_Tt2NF1C52ledKx9f--jN--Jae0M-c723WQdVV3V0wyTZA-EgsdWWjG--OgHqI3Ej2HNSdMiqShln2Q/w640-h404/Advanced%20Knights%20of%20Isle%20and%20Plain.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: left;">Advanced Knights of Isle and Plain</b></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">These character models are for established knights, and those who have acquired magical mounts.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Images hereafter are arranged hierarchically, with higher-status individuals and creatures higher-up on the image</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><u>Chivalric Orders</u></b></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7FY5pvhMEu-xmPnKdcv6rb_1CWPENTbkfA0tyMKHDESIoxZ4NPvmkvfCpidxfg8mLcEpBekQsYza9UUcQ9GjOFdRQp3GZJ05W7yLOnDBDizbGcZof8IFSdCpgtOPzUGRV8kBD_jHmDj3CKW1gIRLl0_uR5Xz2PbIu1SoRdRosOB6w7cLWSR9uvvDqaw/s292/Knights%20Castellan.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="292" data-original-width="288" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7FY5pvhMEu-xmPnKdcv6rb_1CWPENTbkfA0tyMKHDESIoxZ4NPvmkvfCpidxfg8mLcEpBekQsYza9UUcQ9GjOFdRQp3GZJ05W7yLOnDBDizbGcZof8IFSdCpgtOPzUGRV8kBD_jHmDj3CKW1gIRLl0_uR5Xz2PbIu1SoRdRosOB6w7cLWSR9uvvDqaw/w631-h640/Knights%20Castellan.png" width="631" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Knights Castellan</b><br /><i>Fortification Armor</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZyVQYr2j78-8ewrDRgA0FdJMkalJquBPHHr9sALtwsK1mTlVo8RR74bM8SgP8AM1YefZ_jeN2qdbyvyTGsRtkCNx0UgCAJqXXftDPWZYntZCPVpGESfTMqDgSzxySonQm3hK2csdJVZyl2UlNH5_4FKYwU-RnM4fKCpoAgPRY8yzR4ndgRtDFeOZLYw/s238/Knights%20of%20the%20Rose.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="238" height="597" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZyVQYr2j78-8ewrDRgA0FdJMkalJquBPHHr9sALtwsK1mTlVo8RR74bM8SgP8AM1YefZ_jeN2qdbyvyTGsRtkCNx0UgCAJqXXftDPWZYntZCPVpGESfTMqDgSzxySonQm3hK2csdJVZyl2UlNH5_4FKYwU-RnM4fKCpoAgPRY8yzR4ndgRtDFeOZLYw/w640-h597/Knights%20of%20the%20Rose.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Knights of the Rose</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>International bounty hunters</i></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl45vWvzAAju_YCw-5mChwHAylZiFSyEJyX9Nta7OQwxUokFMzKp3t-4qR0QsiupYl3rHkmqxv7YLzC0XkqUw7YPNb6Vz_9GANr3PimBfm2QKOvK44uZM_0XPGZxiHOXDSu4B_ChCE0ZpX538vtcUXasbf8zXSH0wGJkDKFqQowYw4cLezI-QkVctlPA/s346/Knights%20of%20the%20Forest%20Guard.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="288" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl45vWvzAAju_YCw-5mChwHAylZiFSyEJyX9Nta7OQwxUokFMzKp3t-4qR0QsiupYl3rHkmqxv7YLzC0XkqUw7YPNb6Vz_9GANr3PimBfm2QKOvK44uZM_0XPGZxiHOXDSu4B_ChCE0ZpX538vtcUXasbf8zXSH0wGJkDKFqQowYw4cLezI-QkVctlPA/w532-h640/Knights%20of%20the%20Forest%20Guard.png" width="532" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Knights of the Forest Guard</b><br /><i>Barbarians who have become knights to ameliorate the chaos in their realms</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1TKTQ9tv3kvnOHz_fOOmCU6wUdKP1u-m0XDlihro7XyutAQKrwCXE_LmVqNiS0gG5FZa8zCUXmHupCWV7Nmuiz8_hCwfEmiovnCb2NU-8lP0lbsVMINl9SWgwSbFzJXnCDrFlALSwZEU-v2GR1k6jbvMuJGYGJNm01tQ-UefvvTJnShWsZHTYlIy3A/s346/Knights%20Hermetic.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="288" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1TKTQ9tv3kvnOHz_fOOmCU6wUdKP1u-m0XDlihro7XyutAQKrwCXE_LmVqNiS0gG5FZa8zCUXmHupCWV7Nmuiz8_hCwfEmiovnCb2NU-8lP0lbsVMINl9SWgwSbFzJXnCDrFlALSwZEU-v2GR1k6jbvMuJGYGJNm01tQ-UefvvTJnShWsZHTYlIy3A/w532-h640/Knights%20Hermetic.png" width="532" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Knights Hermetic</b><br /><i>Inventor-knights half-mad from tinctures and forbidden knowledge</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3A2UR4RE4hXRlKK0UHeL9N2y5KezgNY6-PPOW5wld4AFwhuIvS4kdlU0ZGoycZs_C94ipM6U3478TfM5VzawottCHUA7dmmWdstspZasG_Te8OskK2klEiRYVMk_qoEICRYSC14cQu0SlJN0lo_ClbbDW4HI2qfx54WA2N52WkoqwIUSMlTW0Xqhp4g/s276/Arsenal%20Knights.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="276" height="515" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3A2UR4RE4hXRlKK0UHeL9N2y5KezgNY6-PPOW5wld4AFwhuIvS4kdlU0ZGoycZs_C94ipM6U3478TfM5VzawottCHUA7dmmWdstspZasG_Te8OskK2klEiRYVMk_qoEICRYSC14cQu0SlJN0lo_ClbbDW4HI2qfx54WA2N52WkoqwIUSMlTW0Xqhp4g/w640-h515/Arsenal%20Knights.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Arsenal Knights</b><br /><i>Weaponmasters. Chivalry is an afterthought</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjaQas6uQAc5VydG9BMpgTREn9M76Voyvsh8jWykojkslESaSadQo73xKqypCgmN_NGMLBAU8ZgkYffUqUMnovMJkwjzxto_Qj3n2czBPlJGcInGT7D-iQZSyZ1_ml3eBULKXW10EcEDZpsWxEui-nYrYEwLwqN3ixN6Nq4klAc69F9AZJo8qPYP_17Q/s713/Knights%20Theurgic.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="713" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjaQas6uQAc5VydG9BMpgTREn9M76Voyvsh8jWykojkslESaSadQo73xKqypCgmN_NGMLBAU8ZgkYffUqUMnovMJkwjzxto_Qj3n2czBPlJGcInGT7D-iQZSyZ1_ml3eBULKXW10EcEDZpsWxEui-nYrYEwLwqN3ixN6Nq4klAc69F9AZJo8qPYP_17Q/w640-h164/Knights%20Theurgic.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Knights Theurgic</b><br /><i>Ars Magica</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt5SJnHXpmLP19iojUalp6m8lKG43Z0pTo-dchzTEYEcQu6x2Ox5WO0kc70a0KlGzmIsVB0hnGwI5B7IJBjwciQBJrTUWiWd8o2pWYKI0bkeKdMAhcjtd8dTpBD7_7cR-MnRTLkhIlaiWbaifdnmL-GmASyRd_IB0Bi0NOpEHMwXRWC1rKgBFkLcfJmQ/s546/Knights%20of%20the%20Wild.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="546" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt5SJnHXpmLP19iojUalp6m8lKG43Z0pTo-dchzTEYEcQu6x2Ox5WO0kc70a0KlGzmIsVB0hnGwI5B7IJBjwciQBJrTUWiWd8o2pWYKI0bkeKdMAhcjtd8dTpBD7_7cR-MnRTLkhIlaiWbaifdnmL-GmASyRd_IB0Bi0NOpEHMwXRWC1rKgBFkLcfJmQ/w640-h416/Knights%20of%20the%20Wild.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Knights of the Wild</b><br /><i>At home among monsters</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizWK0Zu2ZsTwp3ec6E-8LLhPymIVTbEq25t2S5k8eHhi_m7O_meiLarHTtPDCMnuURlwHRjvluHoYdmQrp3t7gwXrDivSW2uy_pHrJ1FgFERuLBQXiFFzr0GwBr1aHNRsgveEgWQK5p2-nmIv3Za-sFMnvEe1YlJ8bn9hWEuwaQu_b6xI_UTKKhFAhxA/s253/Knights%20of%20Apollo.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="154" data-original-width="253" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizWK0Zu2ZsTwp3ec6E-8LLhPymIVTbEq25t2S5k8eHhi_m7O_meiLarHTtPDCMnuURlwHRjvluHoYdmQrp3t7gwXrDivSW2uy_pHrJ1FgFERuLBQXiFFzr0GwBr1aHNRsgveEgWQK5p2-nmIv3Za-sFMnvEe1YlJ8bn9hWEuwaQu_b6xI_UTKKhFAhxA/w640-h390/Knights%20of%20Apollo.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Knights of Apollo</b><br /><i>The most adamant proponents of civilization. Severe, disciplined, and clean to the point of mysophobia</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY4UHawmh4gBVwzflF2N63P0XvSsDpUjpNTinRdckebNGx3gOBZyRQQbHjgwXyZbqROOiHW6wHQR88Ba2ehBPwg6ia9H1Y_KFo7Xks_B8HtPLHtXj1aukeIYMEpG9MKb_26QnWzs5T-F1u4qy8Bp8_1nAySH2xy8fOuX8pv8XTqiFkVR7PBeU1dq5xOA/s432/Knights%20of%20the%20Holy%20Grail.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="324" data-original-width="432" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY4UHawmh4gBVwzflF2N63P0XvSsDpUjpNTinRdckebNGx3gOBZyRQQbHjgwXyZbqROOiHW6wHQR88Ba2ehBPwg6ia9H1Y_KFo7Xks_B8HtPLHtXj1aukeIYMEpG9MKb_26QnWzs5T-F1u4qy8Bp8_1nAySH2xy8fOuX8pv8XTqiFkVR7PBeU1dq5xOA/w640-h480/Knights%20of%20the%20Holy%20Grail.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Knights of the Grail</b><br /><i>Immortality in service of the highest ideals, and no longer</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-5bgtuFJ-Ch1aBWoZojhd3PMa1honS3Gj1rQ8qWlDU2vi4njL0fm6hE7C7ZpLMldem-aHC5DVPVfKSTch7C1AxGIZex0apOwpxrNtNYgyPBhZFi4Bd2yN2R2NcBKPMja4VVUFVrTk1ammMVolUpLUFERt0y-t9NWM4LRqRt9ZcAonfP91Vu_2Ni78_w/s519/Knightly%20Orders%20-%20Minor.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="195" data-original-width="519" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-5bgtuFJ-Ch1aBWoZojhd3PMa1honS3Gj1rQ8qWlDU2vi4njL0fm6hE7C7ZpLMldem-aHC5DVPVfKSTch7C1AxGIZex0apOwpxrNtNYgyPBhZFi4Bd2yN2R2NcBKPMja4VVUFVrTk1ammMVolUpLUFERt0y-t9NWM4LRqRt9ZcAonfP91Vu_2Ni78_w/w640-h240/Knightly%20Orders%20-%20Minor.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Minor Orders</b><br /><i>Knights of the Pride, The Pack, The Sun, and the Claw</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAiYuLH3DIYQseRdJSBvzhnvenG7w7q-7JGW-3e2Afi6QhbQai_uMQfufNRU_tiHfE72k5pIIEOstRzJvaxSRLbJpvl0bTSweWm2m1E4vU3B8zKajk_Zb7Sl3cErwQ0G8B7uY-_59jft0i_BQhG7GtzOeSn4ZeGe6t_WiIMF8vbTUF4LwgKZc271pe9A/s1136/Supporting%20Troops.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="283" data-original-width="1136" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAiYuLH3DIYQseRdJSBvzhnvenG7w7q-7JGW-3e2Afi6QhbQai_uMQfufNRU_tiHfE72k5pIIEOstRzJvaxSRLbJpvl0bTSweWm2m1E4vU3B8zKajk_Zb7Sl3cErwQ0G8B7uY-_59jft0i_BQhG7GtzOeSn4ZeGe6t_WiIMF8vbTUF4LwgKZc271pe9A/w640-h160/Supporting%20Troops.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Supporting Troops</b><br /><i>You need not fight alone<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><u>Localized Cultures</u></b></div><div><br /></div><div>Once a PC has concluded a diplomatic marriage with a culture that permits them, new PCs can come from the allied family and thus from that culture, with access to their mounts, their equipment and their abilities.<br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl9vkZraSdW2-8scv0E9D83hgvLXi3JHtWB_CE-bKzTQUiNLYo8C0o3NIievWRTnJQPDe25H9BgvdzAaDvsfPZU_7SxbpK542W6UwwaYsNkCmbrti8zph4w6tEZvtCKgtflifv_ea_G1U-c98IHnssp1wTGM-V0ek13ujMaIZPMp_6NZ-IliEyi_rkWA/s682/Men%20of%20the%20Dark%20Forest.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="652" data-original-width="682" height="612" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl9vkZraSdW2-8scv0E9D83hgvLXi3JHtWB_CE-bKzTQUiNLYo8C0o3NIievWRTnJQPDe25H9BgvdzAaDvsfPZU_7SxbpK542W6UwwaYsNkCmbrti8zph4w6tEZvtCKgtflifv_ea_G1U-c98IHnssp1wTGM-V0ek13ujMaIZPMp_6NZ-IliEyi_rkWA/w640-h612/Men%20of%20the%20Dark%20Forest.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Men of the Dark Forest</b></td></tr></tbody></table>They were granted land on the Isle by a foolish king who wished to employ them as mercenaries, but now they come in droves, serving no chivalric master. Someday they will come for the Plain, as well.<br /><div>Allies: Sauromatia<div>Enemies: Knights of the Isle, Pythium, Vampire Knights, Elk Knights, The Last Villas, Knights of the Whisker</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: No<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhONVk68YOM8dpKB-LgT0IRO1NkkHMOLJUF2Km23eKXUX7odW7eeCDEB0fOQ-_qZyrw--S_WsgZupoEt2MqyofzegUoIPw6R1lV6lou2G2g-zZwSDyiS2rl5dEPUQJm-EFJoJ6GzsLO635B2--jeAmSf9idztwfB_wUL-3XNmKVgrfO9lfI9XrrqCDgA/s791/Men%20of%20the%20Boar.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="791" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhONVk68YOM8dpKB-LgT0IRO1NkkHMOLJUF2Km23eKXUX7odW7eeCDEB0fOQ-_qZyrw--S_WsgZupoEt2MqyofzegUoIPw6R1lV6lou2G2g-zZwSDyiS2rl5dEPUQJm-EFJoJ6GzsLO635B2--jeAmSf9idztwfB_wUL-3XNmKVgrfO9lfI9XrrqCDgA/w640-h308/Men%20of%20the%20Boar.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Men of the Boar</b></td></tr></tbody></table>The Men of the Boar have lived by far-flung coasts for generations. The receding suzerainty of the Western Empire marks the birth of a new tribal confederation, and the chance to put the taxmen and their enforcers into burning wicker. </div><div>Allies: Empire of the Third Cataract (distantly), The People of the City-Sea</div><div>Enemies: Knights of the Plain, The Dark Peninsula, Pythium, The Last Villas</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: No<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZD2HNP7n-gcBndtdCRrfwmBTIp5GkvkTm89jzF5leZxIalsF71f516JaaHwUOK7v8nxa5dXYkt0WNqrF5nCVr73uS786XMQuPJmAdBi0OTLv-VH72VTUeMakIM0LwODBIf_y7l-zCJJQ7kjptjCiHa6Rm3kPZj8_ZqK5CxOnJ-SGEynG9PClb1O0x3w/s944/Ice%20Giant%20Sheet.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="944" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZD2HNP7n-gcBndtdCRrfwmBTIp5GkvkTm89jzF5leZxIalsF71f516JaaHwUOK7v8nxa5dXYkt0WNqrF5nCVr73uS786XMQuPJmAdBi0OTLv-VH72VTUeMakIM0LwODBIf_y7l-zCJJQ7kjptjCiHa6Rm3kPZj8_ZqK5CxOnJ-SGEynG9PClb1O0x3w/w640-h352/Ice%20Giant%20Sheet.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Ice Giants</b></td></tr></tbody></table>Their raids carry them to the Isle, the Plain, the March, and even to the Dark Peninsula once upon a time.</div><div>Allies: N/A</div><div>Enemies: Knights of the Isle, Knights of the Plain, Elk Knights, Knights of the March</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: No<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrWuYCVv7r_OPDQ27LXBFqEotSnleCvXUVEGodzvnqIJnnJKTe781VUJcId6BIeVatpBle7P1KFi4AFuvHMl861k8FNr7-PZDYYYG3Z9BI0z4bKGgHWNiUGe3_yyNCQCXYsPXMNqNdYD_Od93g_fyh8gc3_Qz7rvnfWkcFKzDGWiuOBMGpeBvz12X5rg/s1192/The%20Dark%20Peninsula.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1090" data-original-width="1192" height="586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrWuYCVv7r_OPDQ27LXBFqEotSnleCvXUVEGodzvnqIJnnJKTe781VUJcId6BIeVatpBle7P1KFi4AFuvHMl861k8FNr7-PZDYYYG3Z9BI0z4bKGgHWNiUGe3_yyNCQCXYsPXMNqNdYD_Od93g_fyh8gc3_Qz7rvnfWkcFKzDGWiuOBMGpeBvz12X5rg/w640-h586/The%20Dark%20Peninsula.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Dark Peninsula</b></td></tr></tbody></table>The former seat of the Western Empire. No one can say exactly what happened here, but the omnicidal hostility of the Empire has awakened again after generations of sleep. Fortunately, the collapse of the Western Empire has been so thorough that the dark figures of the peninsula have yet to march into neighboring lands.</div><div>Allies: Outsiders</div><div>Enemies: All peoples</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: No<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrjE7f6u6EKXQ-vHBO8kJSbibYs8RFx_6aTI4XzSL92tqgfc-HRh_t-U-DntU-Ds2uylAmAU0zndsRMZhIG_MFZxrRxfgv233TFrjYSPtTRZykmv2eUgRR7hat22A6q9JR-xrfa7ISHfru_WUICxUeah80BfEWEyGaNJ2wtF6WmBLJGWBMEXDJfNIa2w/s259/The%20Grand%20Arsenal.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="221" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrjE7f6u6EKXQ-vHBO8kJSbibYs8RFx_6aTI4XzSL92tqgfc-HRh_t-U-DntU-Ds2uylAmAU0zndsRMZhIG_MFZxrRxfgv233TFrjYSPtTRZykmv2eUgRR7hat22A6q9JR-xrfa7ISHfru_WUICxUeah80BfEWEyGaNJ2wtF6WmBLJGWBMEXDJfNIa2w/w546-h640/The%20Grand%20Arsenal.png" width="546" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Grand Arsenal</b></td></tr></tbody></table>A great city-state on the City-Sea, unbesiegable for being mired in marshes, the profiteers of sea-war as their arsenals turn out ships to guard their cargo armadas and equip foreign navies willing to pay through the nose. They are the scorpion, you are the frog; do not trust the Arsenal Dukes.</div><div>Allies: Pythium (for now), The Empire of the Silver Dish, The Thousand Fortresses</div><div>Enemies: Vampire Knights, The Dark Peninsula, Knights of the Black Water, The People of the City-Sea</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: No</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8HoIebC1x4fijx5EbY6zEXD10H-rgz1zW2pefbsES85eza8iPGnnBpZVO6iUw9PaONZAybCY4LEX1UIngVdw6nu4D5a1EILcmPGDS40xL1iMpyxQTEnkBYooENZU0eAe5jlBVfmh8cXbpgJTIcfv2DSRlrPdREs-MAmqGBWkiI15Vy_AXCD5NrG44OA/s793/Pythium.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="793" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8HoIebC1x4fijx5EbY6zEXD10H-rgz1zW2pefbsES85eza8iPGnnBpZVO6iUw9PaONZAybCY4LEX1UIngVdw6nu4D5a1EILcmPGDS40xL1iMpyxQTEnkBYooENZU0eAe5jlBVfmh8cXbpgJTIcfv2DSRlrPdREs-MAmqGBWkiI15Vy_AXCD5NrG44OA/w640-h372/Pythium.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Pythium</b></td></tr></tbody></table>The surviving half of the former empire; while its sister has been ruined by dark spirits, Pythium has been seized by serpent-worship, and actual serpentmen have assumed a crowning role in the cult.</div><div>Allies: The Grand Arsenal, Knights of the March, Knights of the Whisker</div><div>Enemies: The Dark Peninsula, Sauromatia, The Knights of the Black Water, The People of The Empty Places, The Empire of Immortal Fire, The Empire of the Silver Dish, The Empire of the Third Cataract</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: Not while the Snake Cult rules</div><div>Particular Proficiencies: Cataphracted serpentry<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8KQZu8mG9UoiMg1cJxIqkzX1Lf1wG-v01iSG64rr8g4yA_WVKoIbYnJ8duESnHH--xnBeSVRfXDB3aeN_nn15x199mIQiLnH5lMIaDNNdjY8OieYygJvjRqUj17bCAaRz-8k3zoNqeQNh9Cp1KMlgElFXP3Jg3U2ajr-7hC8-84wW3NGlZYmDAlfpkw/s360/Knights%20of%20the%20Black%20Water.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="360" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8KQZu8mG9UoiMg1cJxIqkzX1Lf1wG-v01iSG64rr8g4yA_WVKoIbYnJ8duESnHH--xnBeSVRfXDB3aeN_nn15x199mIQiLnH5lMIaDNNdjY8OieYygJvjRqUj17bCAaRz-8k3zoNqeQNh9Cp1KMlgElFXP3Jg3U2ajr-7hC8-84wW3NGlZYmDAlfpkw/w640-h472/Knights%20of%20the%20Black%20Water.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Knights of The Black Water</b></td></tr></tbody></table>The women of a great island south of Sauromatia. They form political alliances with foreigners in lieu of conquering and integrating them in the manner of Sauromatia, and thus have maintained their isolation and their freedom from the problems of empire such as the androphagi hydra-cult in Sauromatia.</div><div>Allies: The Knights of the Whisker, Elk Knights</div><div>Enemies: The Grand Arsenal, Sauromatia, Pythium, The People of The Empty Places, The Empire of Immortal Fire</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: Yes<br />Particular Proficiencies: Mounted archery</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFn1UGMZezS8ehIW72SgySP76_NRmjZ3Lc5jxZvqgiAtA3BoYxXExuVF5emPwc4_L1iipjwMAVY_P2O9mbXVL0RoUCAoUks_dnTq2uFk6Rv3Ris0yMxRPwhT2Itl4RaUt6lcReNDEK5pUA1ONicUhWBQAD-uQ9tCrqMlQAUF2YPJohfUsE0mcD4T_A8g/s646/Sauromatia%20Sheet.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="341" data-original-width="646" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFn1UGMZezS8ehIW72SgySP76_NRmjZ3Lc5jxZvqgiAtA3BoYxXExuVF5emPwc4_L1iipjwMAVY_P2O9mbXVL0RoUCAoUks_dnTq2uFk6Rv3Ris0yMxRPwhT2Itl4RaUt6lcReNDEK5pUA1ONicUhWBQAD-uQ9tCrqMlQAUF2YPJohfUsE0mcD4T_A8g/w640-h338/Sauromatia%20Sheet.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Sauromatia</b></td></tr></tbody></table>The women of the dark coasts have subjugated many tribes, integrating the men into the original male tribe of cannibal subjects while integrating the women as low-status handmaidens and squires. A byproduct of the conquest and expansion of the androphagi is the proliferation of their hydra-cult, and their lands are now overrun with many-headed snakes. Pythium looks with lust upon this realm.</div><div>Allies: The Men of the Dark Forest, The Knights of the March, The Empire of Immortal Fire, The Tower City</div><div>Enemies: The Knights of the Black Water, The People of the Empty Places, Pythium, Elk Knights, The Knights of the Whisker</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: No<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Rsw6Xv_N5tFAvPaZKSVekdUyLuorp8-m8ck4wcVBjEvEmiroP7CrdaqgoQey9vCxeJTSXfYniS2K12egh76N4t8wqL1YzLLyw6tKu05jVs9RhF4bVuJsHOActBgHC0_pWvL9LvbaO2QeYIRgYjjF3doaXVBGdzdxXNlkTQjd6oEuU_NBq3niDY8mHQ/s432/Elk%20Knights.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="432" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Rsw6Xv_N5tFAvPaZKSVekdUyLuorp8-m8ck4wcVBjEvEmiroP7CrdaqgoQey9vCxeJTSXfYniS2K12egh76N4t8wqL1YzLLyw6tKu05jVs9RhF4bVuJsHOActBgHC0_pWvL9LvbaO2QeYIRgYjjF3doaXVBGdzdxXNlkTQjd6oEuU_NBq3niDY8mHQ/w640-h434/Elk%20Knights.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Elk Knights</b></td></tr></tbody></table>The knights of the forest bogs have served as a tremendous roadblock to expansion by the People of the Empty Places and the Knights of the March, but at last an invasion into their backcountry by the Ice Giants has begun to darken their icy horizons.</div><div>Allies: Knights of the Whisker, Knights of the Black Water</div><div>Enemies: Men of the Dark Forest, Ice Giants, Sauromatia, The People of the Empty Places, Knights of the March</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: Yes</div><div>Particular Proficiencies: Ambush</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMylJjNU9ttPs05ZJaTUnrLIm_iXtmNimhxh7OhQbPnv_RT4nKugGDYmajK0FdPynwcPq4oJzL8KvowM006_NeJRYUbcY02HwVBWrzf5q26RURYHTMSmxAEB9I1ymgDcqFqKUYX8MpxCocQ7rZMpTu23hbm_tybAt4qd_f6edQPm91h1HRyBbtDIovVQ/s249/Knights%20of%20the%20Whisker.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="249" data-original-width="186" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMylJjNU9ttPs05ZJaTUnrLIm_iXtmNimhxh7OhQbPnv_RT4nKugGDYmajK0FdPynwcPq4oJzL8KvowM006_NeJRYUbcY02HwVBWrzf5q26RURYHTMSmxAEB9I1ymgDcqFqKUYX8MpxCocQ7rZMpTu23hbm_tybAt4qd_f6edQPm91h1HRyBbtDIovVQ/w478-h640/Knights%20of%20the%20Whisker.png" width="478" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Knights of the Whisker</b></td></tr></tbody></table>The riotous forest nobles and steppe-people who give cavalry to the Knights of the Whisker have many neighbors prone to wandering and settling, and those who cannot be integrated by the charter are disintegrated by the lance charge.</div><div>Allies: Elk Knights, Pythium, The Knights of Black Water</div><div>Enemies: The People of the Empty Places, The Men of the Dark Forest, Knights of the March, Sauromatia</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: Yes</div><div>Particular Competencies: Ultra-fast lance charges</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b> </b></div></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb75sNVWC9qaUlDzEa5pXZVoS4VXtnhP_KUlRho9wA0bIZgAFr2dwfQcYdfc3roPmZyPFmnAGC5uyF6oyE8sAzSt0RB8s-oGSUafFI2cfnJk7X8lv3mmbDfI88tO9AOB1qjJx_w0uIBLG1WifG2nHDpPpTtbkQnheUM86-IYK7JvKKA5q2YBeCrMQujA/s389/Knights%20of%20the%20March.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="246" data-original-width="389" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb75sNVWC9qaUlDzEa5pXZVoS4VXtnhP_KUlRho9wA0bIZgAFr2dwfQcYdfc3roPmZyPFmnAGC5uyF6oyE8sAzSt0RB8s-oGSUafFI2cfnJk7X8lv3mmbDfI88tO9AOB1qjJx_w0uIBLG1WifG2nHDpPpTtbkQnheUM86-IYK7JvKKA5q2YBeCrMQujA/w640-h404/Knights%20of%20the%20March.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Knights of the March</b><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>The city-states of the Knights of the March are forged amidst the most terrible foes: the People of the Empty Places, the destroyers of settled states. </div><div>Allies: Pythium, Sauromatia</div><div>Enemies: Ice Giants, The People of The Empty Places, The Knights of the Whisker, Elk Knights</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: Yes</div><div>Particular Competencies: Integration of carefully-placed foot archers into cavalry tactics<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKdWqscCx8W02F1aU0ff_YmtG9A6IU7OPJTlYHzLddMscv3zQgR_Cyma7NFS_3ssrnXvVvoCLUPjORetY9gFkOiOP2tacX2F-u2Hk_gA0XAOFHzwKyCXmPeucoOSO-6ppS8cTf6LR0TY5uJeWpnm445bi4UC_8Al3Vzkbg8xP12i4QBM1cN6SRIgSbxQ/s304/People%20of%20the%20Empty%20Places.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="208" data-original-width="304" height="438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKdWqscCx8W02F1aU0ff_YmtG9A6IU7OPJTlYHzLddMscv3zQgR_Cyma7NFS_3ssrnXvVvoCLUPjORetY9gFkOiOP2tacX2F-u2Hk_gA0XAOFHzwKyCXmPeucoOSO-6ppS8cTf6LR0TY5uJeWpnm445bi4UC_8Al3Vzkbg8xP12i4QBM1cN6SRIgSbxQ/w640-h438/People%20of%20the%20Empty%20Places.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The People of the Empty Places</b></td></tr></tbody></table>Every man a horse archer, a great tribe associated with the People of the Empty Places played a key role in the fall of the Western Empire, and now those even deeper in their windswept lands push out in every direction again, preparing to bring ruin to the cities and armies where men foolishly fight on foot.</div><div>Allies: N/A</div><div>Enemies: Pythium, The Knights of the Black Water, Sauromatia, Knights of the March, Knights of the Whisker, Elk Knights, The Empire of Immortal Fire, The Knights of the High Road, The Knights of Ivory, The Lands of Lead, The Knights of The March, The Knights of the Whisker, The Knights of Spring and Autumn, The Knights of the Golden Apple, The Knights of the Chrysanthemum Throne</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: Not unless they conquer vast regions and become sedentary<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNgbWsyDYKRWT6oF1rp1UIrfuKdCif6jE5nI_-uxZ7hsp5XKeaQNU2TCqzzBOOrdjJwlXfcOxQXFmJ51dva8iQkK4gyWHfg-CXDa-vMJmnaIxVdhgdsPjCPYQsDUP09G9xCLh07jV4TZv4jkLN7ly0tVbZy-hOLQfFdB9ENDEHdssQ7AyRiCxaA4Mb3A/s402/The%20Empire%20of%20Immortal%20Fire.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="402" height="558" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNgbWsyDYKRWT6oF1rp1UIrfuKdCif6jE5nI_-uxZ7hsp5XKeaQNU2TCqzzBOOrdjJwlXfcOxQXFmJ51dva8iQkK4gyWHfg-CXDa-vMJmnaIxVdhgdsPjCPYQsDUP09G9xCLh07jV4TZv4jkLN7ly0tVbZy-hOLQfFdB9ENDEHdssQ7AyRiCxaA4Mb3A/w640-h558/The%20Empire%20of%20Immortal%20Fire.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Empire of Immortal Fire</b></td></tr></tbody></table>Usurpers from the Empire of the Volcanoes invaded and seized the crown of the Empire of Immortal Fire, attracted by its central cult. The flower of its former chivalry went into exile as the Knights of the High Road, and wait for their chance to reclaim their highland empire.</div><div>Allies: The Empire of the Third Cataract, Sauromatia, The Tower City</div><div>Enemies: The Empire of the Silver Dish, Pythium, The Knights of Black Water, The People of the Empty Places, The Knights of the High Road, The Knights of Ivory</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: No, except for with the Empire of the Volcanoes<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT5vR2YCC0ADl5hSgs-wQmCA11CAJhuDigvpRbPS_gxWZlW16nKPmIcmm7mfRcydu3t4zRALzRshtPNrUAC1s_pqz34lwPCvwz6Lg5MhORam1RmshXnAgWDcoNi3w606H70UFIwqZUmyqFarxfDKE-zh-_51Jzck4jQ7PYphUn9w1pjFcei9gUEbhsvQ/s1231/Empire%20of%20the%20Silver%20Dish.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="851" data-original-width="1231" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT5vR2YCC0ADl5hSgs-wQmCA11CAJhuDigvpRbPS_gxWZlW16nKPmIcmm7mfRcydu3t4zRALzRshtPNrUAC1s_pqz34lwPCvwz6Lg5MhORam1RmshXnAgWDcoNi3w606H70UFIwqZUmyqFarxfDKE-zh-_51Jzck4jQ7PYphUn9w1pjFcei9gUEbhsvQ/w640-h442/Empire%20of%20the%20Silver%20Dish.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Empire of the Silver Dish</b></td></tr></tbody></table>The Empire is named for a great platter upon which subjects of the divine giants and their captives are served in hideous feasts.</div><div>Allies: The Grand Arsenal, The Thousand Fortresses, The People of the City-Sea<br />Enemies: The Empire of Immortal Fire, Pythium, The Empire of the Third Cataract, The Knights of the Black Water, The People of the Empty Places, The Tower City, The Lands of Lead, The People of the Pillars, The Knights of the High Road</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: No<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4gqRrLFTjrLljW8PnTlLEpmcpG2Nvbp3-ekM_quC-ugLJbEFm4lGFXW2_ciKkPsnZCoXTdCp-O2rI_tFkJMvARc6SZeLucuczewHnrsT2BxJBh6UVGvqMXUpve5xgcuo2K4AnchMnAYFI-lThUKBH1AEuanVSFA25WoxHjwb3hdRFUDOJ0Y62511SXQ/s546/The%20Tower%20City.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="546" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4gqRrLFTjrLljW8PnTlLEpmcpG2Nvbp3-ekM_quC-ugLJbEFm4lGFXW2_ciKkPsnZCoXTdCp-O2rI_tFkJMvARc6SZeLucuczewHnrsT2BxJBh6UVGvqMXUpve5xgcuo2K4AnchMnAYFI-lThUKBH1AEuanVSFA25WoxHjwb3hdRFUDOJ0Y62511SXQ/w640-h398/The%20Tower%20City.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Tower City</b></td></tr></tbody></table>A vast city-state that reaches up towards the heavens. The divine giants of the Silver Dish long to empty out the Tower City and send its populace down their gullets, but these powerful but paranoid people have resisted all comers with aid of a shifting web of strategic alliances.</div><div>Allies: Sauromatia, The Empire of Immortal Fire, The Empire of the Peaks</div><div>Enemies: The Empire of the Silver Dish, The People of the City-Sea</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: No</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCxQOv46VNYvHllQ7n-IG3Q_2pJj0ZAfLfRXBbuuqjGbcPR2MY-9cp7foTvU0guTqgedFAj0m1MVZfBAUwjVkhRGxtk3mVzaLnCZ9J8eynHZmzLqKElG54u-MaAgWDUiL4CcVDp8LTZcyjwSCjKPJfyhDndFGhnj_TapcFhViTdZgJLOzRC3KUSkeObw/s770/Empire%20of%20the%20Third%20Cataract.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="770" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCxQOv46VNYvHllQ7n-IG3Q_2pJj0ZAfLfRXBbuuqjGbcPR2MY-9cp7foTvU0guTqgedFAj0m1MVZfBAUwjVkhRGxtk3mVzaLnCZ9J8eynHZmzLqKElG54u-MaAgWDUiL4CcVDp8LTZcyjwSCjKPJfyhDndFGhnj_TapcFhViTdZgJLOzRC3KUSkeObw/w640-h462/Empire%20of%20the%20Third%20Cataract.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Empire of the Third Cataract</b></td></tr></tbody></table>Humans once ruled the Empire of the Third Cataract, but the waters of their great river proved so rich that they gave consciousness to the lizards that basked upon the banks. The lizards overthrew them and adopted their cult and government, and now the men of the empire find themselves in bondage, serving as warriors and laboring on titanic construction projects for the vanity and benefit of the lizardly priest-kings.</div><div>Allies: The Men of the Boar, The Empire of Immortal Fire</div><div>Enemies: Pythium, The Empire of the Silver Dish, The People of the City-Sea, The Knights Riparian</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: No<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAtVFodK4l_t-iVp2m6S_PWKlOZ4zRjRFXX3x--JJIBy8R8bIcS1Xj2QkJpgu-W8cEwypjy-83_IWp5BaoOqGcer-JX9gjgZdD8HXs2pi8T9ortMtp5eUpsoNbQBLn1emjpXKO9hcIf98fhQ2pv1GUpGpUQ2Voak3E-Ajkeg4A9DW_X3nSEflwvpoHMg/s559/People%20of%20the%20City%20Sea.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="559" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAtVFodK4l_t-iVp2m6S_PWKlOZ4zRjRFXX3x--JJIBy8R8bIcS1Xj2QkJpgu-W8cEwypjy-83_IWp5BaoOqGcer-JX9gjgZdD8HXs2pi8T9ortMtp5eUpsoNbQBLn1emjpXKO9hcIf98fhQ2pv1GUpGpUQ2Voak3E-Ajkeg4A9DW_X3nSEflwvpoHMg/w640-h344/People%20of%20the%20City%20Sea.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The People of the City-Sea</b></td></tr></tbody></table>Cities have been founded along the coasts by exodites from the Empire of the Silver Dish. Most remain cordial with the Empire but practice much more limited sacrifice, focusing on foreigners as objects of trade and profitable subjugation rather than as ornaments of the dining table.</div><div>Allies: The Empire of the Silver Dish, The Thousand Fortresses, The Men of the Boar</div><div>Enemies: Knights of the Plains, The Grand Arsenal, The Tower City, The Empire of the Third Cataract, The Knights Riparian<br />Marriage Alliance?: No<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWbRkAzvxJXmM8hIPnmuM_-llPassHb9bdKmt2TFrHMGfj-ThJX-Zc_kvEL50ugGzd4VjSEfvdiBug6FNbGkXwBvqbL1q5l3_BAfwKa9Bd-6woM8PqK5T0FJojNzNE3YrZ2X0lZJJjUSoh1GWBatbrRDVJQTFoupb7JRtKk9Z-AyrztZi4rk7IM9YJ6Q/s699/Knights%20Riparian.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="699" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWbRkAzvxJXmM8hIPnmuM_-llPassHb9bdKmt2TFrHMGfj-ThJX-Zc_kvEL50ugGzd4VjSEfvdiBug6FNbGkXwBvqbL1q5l3_BAfwKa9Bd-6woM8PqK5T0FJojNzNE3YrZ2X0lZJJjUSoh1GWBatbrRDVJQTFoupb7JRtKk9Z-AyrztZi4rk7IM9YJ6Q/w640-h476/Knights%20Riparian.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Knights Riparian</b></td></tr></tbody></table>The men of the flooding grasslands find a variety of mounts more conducive to patrolling their vast herds than the horse, some patrolling the open mounted on lions, some making sorties into the vast forest by spiderback. Those with the means find that the elephant is conducive to crashing through both, but the lion remains the ultimate symbol of lordship.</div><div>Allies: The People of the Pillars</div><div>Enemies: The Thousand Fortresses, The People of the City-Sea, The Lands of Lead, the Empire of the Third Cataract</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: Yes</div><div>Particular Competencies: Men source, smelt and forge their own iron weapons and tools, and high-status individuals also work gold </div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8QXZjz3xdu96tjCMUPnOgUVcduPi0bu2hb2YhUQX9iBt1t1rVHHT8OalJVzmQQr3deILgxYkfpmBlLmflC2Gew0ydEK2G9UpPUBl9LG8EiIdaVEh8Ts-vF3oCVPV-k988tYklol5D1DWSAA4NfbKtCgG7_Z2t4d-HqX2E38UIcN3x12s9jwy-PtAMqw/s798/The%20Thousand%20Forts.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="322" data-original-width="798" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8QXZjz3xdu96tjCMUPnOgUVcduPi0bu2hb2YhUQX9iBt1t1rVHHT8OalJVzmQQr3deILgxYkfpmBlLmflC2Gew0ydEK2G9UpPUBl9LG8EiIdaVEh8Ts-vF3oCVPV-k988tYklol5D1DWSAA4NfbKtCgG7_Z2t4d-HqX2E38UIcN3x12s9jwy-PtAMqw/w640-h258/The%20Thousand%20Forts.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Thousand Fortresses</b></td></tr></tbody></table>The kings of this great empire operate coastal fortresses from which warbands sortie out to capture vulnerable polities for sale into slavery. This has, however, deprived them of nearby allies and presented a sympathetic hinterland as a possible conduit for attack by the Knights Riparian.</div><div>Allies: The People of the City-Sea, The Lands of Lead, The Empire of the Silver Dish, The Grand Arsenal</div><div>Enemies: The Knights Riparian</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: Only with the People of the City-Sea<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIJYENnwAWPxwv7lXRSdGM0z6NpbSPIDwdk0Fax4c9NXPLuXO9YTdSlAWN21iO1E-PNye5-t9UmllsRQjA_tSRRIDNA9QFP29HEPkNlpXwXy87hskYzJfw1NZMsbttXu4fVyBj9ZtNuGTk67uhmhzbK7r8CudW0OwUgJpRR4groQ1vsTrvR4_reKJ4Eg/s319/The%20People%20of%20the%20Pillars.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="319" data-original-width="250" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIJYENnwAWPxwv7lXRSdGM0z6NpbSPIDwdk0Fax4c9NXPLuXO9YTdSlAWN21iO1E-PNye5-t9UmllsRQjA_tSRRIDNA9QFP29HEPkNlpXwXy87hskYzJfw1NZMsbttXu4fVyBj9ZtNuGTk67uhmhzbK7r8CudW0OwUgJpRR4groQ1vsTrvR4_reKJ4Eg/w502-h640/The%20People%20of%20the%20Pillars.png" width="502" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The People of the Pillars</b></td></tr></tbody></table>A rogue sect of Red Genies have descended on this secluded, secretive people and forced them into the their conflict with the genies of the Lands of Lead.</div><div>Allies: The Knights Riparian, The Knights of the High Road, The Knights of the Golden Apple</div><div>Enemies: The Lands of Lead, The Empire of the Silver Dish</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: Yes, once the genies have been expelled or homeostatically integrated</div><div>Particular Competencies: Extremely fast maneuvering while mounted<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibFxeW-YcZYBqeAIfRXHn9NNk6cM-KCVZRbSP2cvzRJhCIyymhglSpjDdM17k9xbSUaTN0fYumAFaNNe-xIbZ5n17t-kzwxERxtJndZn4pXc5AqPOj1Vt7RJeKRaBzyQ4JsgaHtaP_C7Kj-LQbKoF3mvLnQc4_sRj-vOSbD4sOV-EGPEQb9GtfXW3MCw/s608/The%20Lands%20of%20Lead.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="381" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibFxeW-YcZYBqeAIfRXHn9NNk6cM-KCVZRbSP2cvzRJhCIyymhglSpjDdM17k9xbSUaTN0fYumAFaNNe-xIbZ5n17t-kzwxERxtJndZn4pXc5AqPOj1Vt7RJeKRaBzyQ4JsgaHtaP_C7Kj-LQbKoF3mvLnQc4_sRj-vOSbD4sOV-EGPEQb9GtfXW3MCw/w402-h640/The%20Lands%20of%20Lead.png" width="402" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Lands of Lead</b></td></tr></tbody></table>The genies of the Lands of Lead hold their human subjects in bondage on the basis that it is better than being devoured in the Empire of the Silver Dish. That does not stop the genies from feeding their people into the fires of war.</div><div>Allies: The Thousand Fortresses</div><div>Enemies: The People of the Pillars, The Knights Riparian, The People of the Empty Places, The Empire of the Silver Dish</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: No<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHqyx9GCCVEVOJc-0X3qq-YzwftReRZjOj_tZkrBQRuP6mbp1BHDkcqhYWhhpfhdZdeevIjmmFjbdCzA_x1g_Bn6bCqPLFAB6TRXst1LUewI_5NsHp_lqQKiNCi79Pj_z7sF9kgyb7Jw4OD-r9iKvHwLnloNFfC9cs0xCSVAAslpYS6fOGiog-DR7s_Q/s563/Knights%20of%20the%20High%20Road.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="269" data-original-width="563" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHqyx9GCCVEVOJc-0X3qq-YzwftReRZjOj_tZkrBQRuP6mbp1BHDkcqhYWhhpfhdZdeevIjmmFjbdCzA_x1g_Bn6bCqPLFAB6TRXst1LUewI_5NsHp_lqQKiNCi79Pj_z7sF9kgyb7Jw4OD-r9iKvHwLnloNFfC9cs0xCSVAAslpYS6fOGiog-DR7s_Q/w640-h306/Knights%20of%20the%20High%20Road.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Knights of the High Road</b></td></tr></tbody></table>The heirs to the Empire of Immortal Fire, which was seized by usurpers from the Empire of the Volcanoes. They guard the ways around the Empire and stand watch over the roads to Spring and Autumn, waiting for the day in which they might overthrow the volcano-men.</div><div>Allies: The People of the Pillars, The Knights of the March, The Knights of Ivory, The Knights of Spring and Autumn</div><div>Enemies: The Empire of Immortal Fire, the Empire of the Silver Dish, The People of the Empty Places, The Floodborn</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: Yes</div><div>Particular Competencies: The ability to conjure flaming weapons as the true keepers of the faith of Immortal Fire, giant rams can batter through portcullises, reputation for clemency as rulers</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b> </b></div></div><div><b><br /></b></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwWW6oIR76AftBQY-W0Q0vkY5wczs3Ct2fzzsVBIVOd8mcgiLeyFGwYTrDPphLdOiRWyJg81VpcWXuWkLxBPQxjvd9HT7ncBu4nmjWd5Bx17Yftcn9VHxhPDvA_7ijORXRIvFg2uXm7z1YIafHMRrLbB9jsvR9KnVfiK8O_qJ9Vx2at65_kT3DBASXig/s952/The%20Knights%20of%20Ivory.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="952" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwWW6oIR76AftBQY-W0Q0vkY5wczs3Ct2fzzsVBIVOd8mcgiLeyFGwYTrDPphLdOiRWyJg81VpcWXuWkLxBPQxjvd9HT7ncBu4nmjWd5Bx17Yftcn9VHxhPDvA_7ijORXRIvFg2uXm7z1YIafHMRrLbB9jsvR9KnVfiK8O_qJ9Vx2at65_kT3DBASXig/w640-h228/The%20Knights%20of%20Ivory.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Knights of Ivory</b></td></tr></tbody></table><div>The Princes of a land of a thousand great cities and fastnesses, the Knights of Ivory fight an immortal battle with the Floodborn using their traditional military triad of elephantry, chariots, and infantry. Men born to families of hereditary military leaders are expected to fight in all three modes. Invasions by the People of the Empty Places and by the Empire of Immortal Fire now present a time of troubles not matched since the ages of myth and legend.</div><div>Allies: The Knights of the High Road, The Knights of the Golden Apple</div><div>Enemies: The People of the Empty Places, The Floodborn, The Empire of Immortal Fire</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: Yes</div><div>Particular Competencies: Mounted as elephantry (and charioteers) by default, sacred ascendance into higher states<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY6sFAxZUYOV4VkE31m8WNQOb-_PHJTO2ZnoDDgqd9WEjX67xI8us27OVWIvfMYFKM7jDSb8W9IFr243pWgmpgBMvCJqELMZYGn1EoJzhotSdW5LIiu9x5ZW2DRZa6FJg_erm_4lDKW3BlIFvJ0Ioqg-8OTaAXJc9AxxnYh9V2cCj4k7TV4Sk9I_LrKA/s409/The%20Floodborn.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="368" data-original-width="409" height="576" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY6sFAxZUYOV4VkE31m8WNQOb-_PHJTO2ZnoDDgqd9WEjX67xI8us27OVWIvfMYFKM7jDSb8W9IFr243pWgmpgBMvCJqELMZYGn1EoJzhotSdW5LIiu9x5ZW2DRZa6FJg_erm_4lDKW3BlIFvJ0Ioqg-8OTaAXJc9AxxnYh9V2cCj4k7TV4Sk9I_LrKA/w640-h576/The%20Floodborn.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Floodborn</b></td></tr></tbody></table>The richness of the flooding waters here have granted an intelligence to creatures of the wood- some for good, most for evil. The Princes of Ivory have hitherto resisted being overthrown in the manner of the Empire of the Third Cataract, but the coming of the People of the Empty Places and of the Empire of Immortal Fire may change this.</div><div>Allies: Outsiders</div><div>Enemies: The Knights of Ivory, The Knights of the High Road, The Knights of the Golden Apple</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: No<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b> </b></div><div><br /></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5YUDjHL-0YB1nM0MliUhNxmgU_gjzpmgIvNKLw2UzM-yyMXmH9Cf9dtMFjdFX3o33N-760KNXyKpRT7gMd9BGvMMgyztGvL9-gf27Sqlup53aWOr2YWUeZmSIPveOismRwtHjaAEUsn3H93AghH7gjmGuU6uqTBt8ZDqNGPcFf7aBxqKBqKUN6A8SbA/s639/Knights%20of%20Spring%20and%20Autumn.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="369" data-original-width="639" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5YUDjHL-0YB1nM0MliUhNxmgU_gjzpmgIvNKLw2UzM-yyMXmH9Cf9dtMFjdFX3o33N-760KNXyKpRT7gMd9BGvMMgyztGvL9-gf27Sqlup53aWOr2YWUeZmSIPveOismRwtHjaAEUsn3H93AghH7gjmGuU6uqTBt8ZDqNGPcFf7aBxqKBqKUN6A8SbA/w640-h370/Knights%20of%20Spring%20and%20Autumn.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Knights of Spring and Autumn</b></td></tr></tbody></table><div>The Knights of Spring and Autumn manage a vast and verdant land that is now threatened by raiders from the sea and invaders from the continent's cold interior. The trade connection they maintain with the Western lands is in danger of being co-opted or cut by the People of the Empty Places, who mass for a great invasion; only the Knights of the High Road allow for their connection with distant realms.</div><div>Allies: The Knights of the High Road</div><div>Enemies: The Lord of Hills and Isles, The People of the Empty Places, The Knights of the Golden Apple</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: Yes</div><div>Particular Competencies: Gunpowder, military command, and ascension to Living Ancestor-status via sacred alchemy</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b> </b></div></div><div><b><br /></b></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7BQKM5NTxHQBJwACh8JUByK4G5Sbn-VyLlAsMbmK8Q0IEIZQBEdiH5UFuB_9u4MjMU2SLl7etN_bNdG0lqZFXfoXIFl8eclmiIspzthpJSRe177iIZqXfT8yr2o6OtoNOe906I0bQ8-MWtHPwAOuhmJtrqiMRsNPZiS0TCUGAJp6BvuQNlyBq4s3BTg/s258/Knights%20of%20the%20Golden%20Apple.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="213" data-original-width="258" height="528" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7BQKM5NTxHQBJwACh8JUByK4G5Sbn-VyLlAsMbmK8Q0IEIZQBEdiH5UFuB_9u4MjMU2SLl7etN_bNdG0lqZFXfoXIFl8eclmiIspzthpJSRe177iIZqXfT8yr2o6OtoNOe906I0bQ8-MWtHPwAOuhmJtrqiMRsNPZiS0TCUGAJp6BvuQNlyBq4s3BTg/w640-h528/Knights%20of%20the%20Golden%20Apple.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Knights of the Golden Apple</b></td></tr></tbody></table>The noble cavalry of a thalassocratic, archipelagic empire south of Spring and Autumn. They, too, are subject to invasion by the People of the Empty Places, but their combination of natural defensive territory and firearm use by the armored nobility present an unparalleled challenge to the warriors of the steppe.<br /><div>Allies: The Knights of Ivory, The People of the Pillars<div>Enemies: The Lord of Hills and Isles, The Floodborn, The Knights of Spring and Autumn, The People of the Empty Places</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: Yes</div><div>Particular Competencies: Able to switch between horse-archery, foot gunnery, and stealth at the drop of a hat<br /><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnPxZvETaQmw5EWLYgmnl6bhHzp0VqXzSoFswfxF9XnZgPAtjkkIW1uzcEsF97gKtaUJapVaHFZjMcYYYjKBDCJ7HMFx__rCpK-2n8dz3AfBcMGc8aCw0MKZNu5NXKCo19hbXSsPRq0qNiPpsulriQAdyOtbMffWbn4t1ykaDDICXWgCVIiZa6kv-YQ/s546/Knights%20of%20the%20Chrysanthemum.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="546" height="508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnPxZvETaQmw5EWLYgmnl6bhHzp0VqXzSoFswfxF9XnZgPAtjkkIW1uzcEsF97gKtaUJapVaHFZjMcYYYjKBDCJ7HMFx__rCpK-2n8dz3AfBcMGc8aCw0MKZNu5NXKCo19hbXSsPRq0qNiPpsulriQAdyOtbMffWbn4t1ykaDDICXWgCVIiZa6kv-YQ/w640-h508/Knights%20of%20the%20Chrysanthemum.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Knights of the Chrysanthemum Throne</b></td></tr></tbody></table>The lands of the Chrysanthemum Throne are in chaos as the holy-blooded adolescent Emperor is held as an unwilling courtier by the demonic Lord of Hills and Isles. While nearby vassals scheme for the Emperor's release, those of the outlying territories remain content to wage private wars over their borderlands. It will take a great leader to weld the feudal lords into a common cause and overthrow the Lord of Hills and Isles.</div><div>Allies: N/A</div><div>Enemies: The Lord of Hills and Isles, The People of the Empty Places</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: Not while the Lord of Hills and Isles holds dominion</div><div>Particular Competencies: Horse-archery, foot dueling, ascension to sword-saint status<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6zp7_Z5V2K_DtRerzx1xU6gp3IRhDQ9B7ihkhc3ARaqUlo9cFzhC2PZS9Jq61S69l-7Vag-jnjWVm4g2Xi_sRzZifVafTdethg5ncZJ3xNE74QI0CdBeFT3tOtkKwE9nrS9xQukNx2ric6igT0mYzDOUVZFw8RfKpw1b2WcSyBDSyFtVt-n7OIDDzbA/s718/The%20Hills%20and%20Isles.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="584" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6zp7_Z5V2K_DtRerzx1xU6gp3IRhDQ9B7ihkhc3ARaqUlo9cFzhC2PZS9Jq61S69l-7Vag-jnjWVm4g2Xi_sRzZifVafTdethg5ncZJ3xNE74QI0CdBeFT3tOtkKwE9nrS9xQukNx2ric6igT0mYzDOUVZFw8RfKpw1b2WcSyBDSyFtVt-n7OIDDzbA/w520-h640/The%20Hills%20and%20Isles.png" width="520" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Lord of Hills and Isles</b></td></tr></tbody></table>The single greatest power in the islands, the Lord of Hills and Isles schemes to keep the feudal lords suppressed and divided, ravaging the lands of those who will not be cowed with armies of bandits and demons.</div><div>Allies: Outsiders</div><div>Enemies: The Knights of the Chrysanthemum Throne, The Knights of the Golden Apple, The Knights of Spring and Autumn</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: No</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSF7iHTZvdj6iJibMfNCpdjfIWnxdkp8dNPDMp13EV19uDzNrEnmrzA6CCn9hSLFAifW65p7KUnil6mMeK2PowxoRj_qLZf8j774T2CeFJYfQcngQnD5gy7xpMha3D6X_zAoVa636g92FljroTAOIvgLlsXFmyZMq5dvD7WXH9RLczMAZab1KNaw4WNA/s1164/Atlantis%20Sheet.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1164" data-original-width="832" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSF7iHTZvdj6iJibMfNCpdjfIWnxdkp8dNPDMp13EV19uDzNrEnmrzA6CCn9hSLFAifW65p7KUnil6mMeK2PowxoRj_qLZf8j774T2CeFJYfQcngQnD5gy7xpMha3D6X_zAoVa636g92FljroTAOIvgLlsXFmyZMq5dvD7WXH9RLczMAZab1KNaw4WNA/w458-h640/Atlantis%20Sheet.png" width="458" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Atlantis</b></td></tr></tbody></table>A great power beneath a distant sea collects foul and mad human sorcerers as seers while co-opting communities of littoral amphibians. Their ultimate purpose is inscrutable but involves the destruction of the world's great civilizations as stepping stones towards the final transformation.</div><div>Allies: Outsiders</div><div>Enemies: All other forms of life, but particularly Pythium</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: No<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NqOWpNiJnuFu67UEsltefxCzvVn7d2e9afVr-zL9AULugxvLzoPNKacHPpQDONVKWz6IQwJiAmfluLjLbNs7-zarvbDP2WqKCFIGUb0s_FDHaOVGV9AW2AL_ClQ54zVwUO6opDniOy01FSnC6V0N02lo9-pIp2dwZmrEAYfo91SjNg45lzoaq7CEiQ/s642/People%20of%20the%20Deep%20Expanse.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="172" data-original-width="642" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NqOWpNiJnuFu67UEsltefxCzvVn7d2e9afVr-zL9AULugxvLzoPNKacHPpQDONVKWz6IQwJiAmfluLjLbNs7-zarvbDP2WqKCFIGUb0s_FDHaOVGV9AW2AL_ClQ54zVwUO6opDniOy01FSnC6V0N02lo9-pIp2dwZmrEAYfo91SjNg45lzoaq7CEiQ/w640-h172/People%20of%20the%20Deep%20Expanse.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The People of the Deep Expanse</b><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>The People of the Deep Expanse have lived in peaceable isolation for many generations, but the coming of the Empire of the Great Bridge has forced a change in their methods and purposes. Reaching out across the steppe are the Knights of the War Bonnet to make common cause, but their communities are as yet too far-flung and distant to present a unified front against the portentous night-raids of Xibalba.</div><div>Allies: Knights of the War Bonnet</div><div>Enemies: The Empire of the Great Bridge</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: No</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-7qQS1SM9zyLpNBZYmy9CdPONY6fGqShU3YWEgGV9JcJe7O3d04DofG_jMDzOGO8suvry1yVDp6OlHiRmnqY_nTXKD47AGUJLb_lJZkJCzjKqNXS1-DQWuyBp5M7lUMbSQPcvCD1j6H_-JXzSsV_PH-dIlopYQ7c6NYcxlmk4YSbXQ2878ZqeZj1gKg/s956/Empire%20of%20the%20Great%20Bridge.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="845" data-original-width="956" height="566" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-7qQS1SM9zyLpNBZYmy9CdPONY6fGqShU3YWEgGV9JcJe7O3d04DofG_jMDzOGO8suvry1yVDp6OlHiRmnqY_nTXKD47AGUJLb_lJZkJCzjKqNXS1-DQWuyBp5M7lUMbSQPcvCD1j6H_-JXzSsV_PH-dIlopYQ7c6NYcxlmk4YSbXQ2878ZqeZj1gKg/w640-h566/Empire%20of%20the%20Great%20Bridge.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Empire of the Great Bridge</b></td></tr></tbody></table>Their blood sacrifices were intended for the gods but instead brought forth the bats of Xibalba, the vast cavern realms under the Empire. Now the bats rule, the sacrifices continue for sake of their delicious blood, and the dark lords plot to steal the sun for their underground realm.</div><div>Allies: N/A</div><div>Enemies: Agartha, The People of the Deep Expanse, The Knights of the War Bonnet, The Empire of the Peaks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Marriage Alliance?: No</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8QzNp4_5nWAzN2kN-y1Xh_mwzsPIH6deySStVtbTF0UTVQVpEhAOjEPc2f6yaKXlwBI6C7CSvR2Q7GSiQVHqi4Do483FA8zTxjtDmG-5gK4Ng8Bwsn6lB6Vch1fNyYT2HMRh51l_Ld2zg0e-exThHre6jSsgVAlKq4YIYy92r77LkO70jY1riJLZ06g/s393/Knights%20of%20the%20War%20Bonnet.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="393" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8QzNp4_5nWAzN2kN-y1Xh_mwzsPIH6deySStVtbTF0UTVQVpEhAOjEPc2f6yaKXlwBI6C7CSvR2Q7GSiQVHqi4Do483FA8zTxjtDmG-5gK4Ng8Bwsn6lB6Vch1fNyYT2HMRh51l_Ld2zg0e-exThHre6jSsgVAlKq4YIYy92r77LkO70jY1riJLZ06g/w640-h436/Knights%20of%20the%20War%20Bonnet.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Knights of the War Bonnet</b></td></tr></tbody></table></div>The infinite plains are shrinking as dark forces pour forth from the southern heat. Outlying herds are drained of their blood, as are outlying tribes; a confederation is forming, but too many peoples may be snuffed out by the tides of Xibalba before a cohesive front can be established.</div><div>Allies: The People of the Deep Expanse</div><div>Enemies: The Empire of the Great Bridge</div><div>Marriage Alliance?: Yes</div><div>Particular Competencies: Tracking, precision lancing, rapidly mounting and dismounting in combat</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b> </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><u>Distributed Cultures</u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRFF2RFktaOyfOymaVGsukA7S3G2ApgOLGQLuvfSNRZ6U9KYwfa54gS3CT5fut-Qfp2BrMk4yYMScc2WI7N8q_eADJQXkEN27BbQWDXnMvWd3ivvqLoVso9p4Aw51wzI0ZZ1LVbglRBukRz5pF4cUG8k4x-JBd1HOn9R-Nipwz-v2IVTN7rem0WfsFwg/s1144/The%20Last%20Villas.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="471" data-original-width="1144" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRFF2RFktaOyfOymaVGsukA7S3G2ApgOLGQLuvfSNRZ6U9KYwfa54gS3CT5fut-Qfp2BrMk4yYMScc2WI7N8q_eADJQXkEN27BbQWDXnMvWd3ivvqLoVso9p4Aw51wzI0ZZ1LVbglRBukRz5pF4cUG8k4x-JBd1HOn9R-Nipwz-v2IVTN7rem0WfsFwg/w640-h264/The%20Last%20Villas.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Last Villas</b></td></tr></tbody></table>Distribution: The Former Empire</div><div>Disposition: Survivalist</div><div>Modus Operandi: Operate isolated latifundia centered around a former magistrate and his cadre of garrison troops</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYPo3UdR-bqqKeV2s1Je2cKjEDbEELpz8pVmYKSGkz8IqOg1Z_oMgHba0c9HJ1KuymFtmqcZPhXLgXFPeLyqxU5J9CBZ6RnUrFcBK2HGfYXXMmVyRaVYGPW71xNf6I8EcLsKbvWllY_TyQdnRJSi8L8oMunFApX5NzutleV-6dOkY8LUDN1Rjz3v8gjA/s1172/Agartha%20Sheet.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1172" data-original-width="716" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYPo3UdR-bqqKeV2s1Je2cKjEDbEELpz8pVmYKSGkz8IqOg1Z_oMgHba0c9HJ1KuymFtmqcZPhXLgXFPeLyqxU5J9CBZ6RnUrFcBK2HGfYXXMmVyRaVYGPW71xNf6I8EcLsKbvWllY_TyQdnRJSi8L8oMunFApX5NzutleV-6dOkY8LUDN1Rjz3v8gjA/w390-h640/Agartha%20Sheet.png" width="390" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Agartha</b><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Distribution: Underneath the entire earth</div><div>Disposition: Crush the surface cities so as to weaken and control the surface dwellers, commanding their resources without having to invade their sunlit realms.</div><div>Modus Operandi: Tunnel under cities and then collapse them</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh05pyWJPy5j2zsZK0_D-TSmrYG_1r8mCgKaRucVnB8oqRWKQpipZku-LX7b05O5QBAyHBI6MUQXixUpodjFlYyQnTRYEqGtgb3eK_lga6Wh_Hft39iaZcrIFC4Ah-ktN77ipwTOIlqh0M4c5y-sGfMNir4Cada8yGCNj8n0qdA8DbY7GoxmTeQXbVt9g/s234/Cynoscephalae.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="226" data-original-width="234" height="618" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh05pyWJPy5j2zsZK0_D-TSmrYG_1r8mCgKaRucVnB8oqRWKQpipZku-LX7b05O5QBAyHBI6MUQXixUpodjFlYyQnTRYEqGtgb3eK_lga6Wh_Hft39iaZcrIFC4Ah-ktN77ipwTOIlqh0M4c5y-sGfMNir4Cada8yGCNj8n0qdA8DbY7GoxmTeQXbVt9g/w640-h618/Cynoscephalae.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Cynoscephalae</b></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><div>Distribution: These maneating jackal-headed people ravage the Pythian backcountry and range out from the Dark Peninsula, but can be found in isolated pockets throughout the earth. Even goodhearted c<span style="text-align: center;">ynoscephalae </span>are plagued by a bottomless bloodlust.</div><div>Disposition: Ravenous</div><div>Modus Operandi: Sniff out underdefended settlements, herds, and processions before falling upon and devouring them. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiayC-tKZTUd6kdgg90rRHfwsK5SfaGOYu_HDRXAA_e-yJ6Za9TKZoDlX_BbAJZIV2pmDaL5lyDJ6lT82X6JRD6GWdSAWyWklJGfOOaY7N56mF8WPtXVhzLX-MS3j_Ehme4VuqXq2Pz7kBpU_HKjr6vyBt-ayZ3q1IfMUFLps9sZejW97wXS6RArlfSew/s932/Empire%20of%20the%20Peaks.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="932" data-original-width="790" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiayC-tKZTUd6kdgg90rRHfwsK5SfaGOYu_HDRXAA_e-yJ6Za9TKZoDlX_BbAJZIV2pmDaL5lyDJ6lT82X6JRD6GWdSAWyWklJGfOOaY7N56mF8WPtXVhzLX-MS3j_Ehme4VuqXq2Pz7kBpU_HKjr6vyBt-ayZ3q1IfMUFLps9sZejW97wXS6RArlfSew/w542-h640/Empire%20of%20the%20Peaks.png" width="542" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Empire of the Peaks</b></td></tr></tbody></table>Distribution: Many of the highest peaks in the world.</div><div><div>Disposition: Imperial</div><div>Modus Operandi: Settle new peaks and demand tribute from low-lying settlements; raid recalcitrant peoples in their backcountry, declining battle wherever the enemy gathers in favor of attacking weakly-defended settlements.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b> </b></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsRMsA9AVR535Uyh9bKlWnxIySyCQGMv-QI7jorVpNE62neJXW6RczVaQjfQr0Wr9yDT7La3n2REyx2AYi5V05qPP7d4CSVpwRDqF-scBO59eRGF8fLd1jyJ9Fz2q2ifidq871bANM_zh8_S7aSLHPEOXd_omKg7-ICqIZL7Yd1i2qwEmkb0IuwlRW9g/s434/Empire%20of%20the%20Volcanoes.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="434" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsRMsA9AVR535Uyh9bKlWnxIySyCQGMv-QI7jorVpNE62neJXW6RczVaQjfQr0Wr9yDT7La3n2REyx2AYi5V05qPP7d4CSVpwRDqF-scBO59eRGF8fLd1jyJ9Fz2q2ifidq871bANM_zh8_S7aSLHPEOXd_omKg7-ICqIZL7Yd1i2qwEmkb0IuwlRW9g/w640-h454/Empire%20of%20the%20Volcanoes.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Empire of the Volcanoes</b><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Distribution: The world's volcanoes.</div><div>Disposition: Imperial</div><div>Modus Operandi: Forge new weapons and species in the living, umbilical fire of volcanoes, covertly settle inactive volcanoes and charge them until they erupt, ruining nearby settlements and creating new sacred calderas</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjphEWzjHjE3lZPziyHbvYMOwU9RwygpCYon8UQbOaHUEnjKhh2jqMInU6gkxpKKp5WOeNITHAt9mXQks1aZPNM5hvK8AzJE3MYY_YZ7KwQ5DjjnTj9btrN0bKVCVNMEpIjniTx1dQZsTiEZh6CoEmFL7-DnnbjB64Z4GJijRssSf3qXw5EwVT9zAM1Xw/s321/Knights%20of%20the%20Starry%20Plain.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="321" height="438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjphEWzjHjE3lZPziyHbvYMOwU9RwygpCYon8UQbOaHUEnjKhh2jqMInU6gkxpKKp5WOeNITHAt9mXQks1aZPNM5hvK8AzJE3MYY_YZ7KwQ5DjjnTj9btrN0bKVCVNMEpIjniTx1dQZsTiEZh6CoEmFL7-DnnbjB64Z4GJijRssSf3qXw5EwVT9zAM1Xw/w640-h438/Knights%20of%20the%20Starry%20Plain.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Knights of the Starry Plain</b></td></tr></tbody></table><div>Distribution: Plains, prairies, and seas here and there across the world</div><div>Disposition: Beneficent </div><div>Modus Operandi: Range the open lands and waters, hunting and periodically cultivating vineyards. Assist more centralized institutions in their endeavors.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgicw-k2CS2LtuzPay3W6YEmYpl6GH7IdkLkycUTlL0sUhLmgLP-Wkm2yNaFG720sYN3nk2MUv6-jI4BCeopbZhtbAzgDYWRfgNLuBEgQWZX6vMay0e79Pgt80oubgJ2a2h0cIBPzJQaeiAzcUrdXe2rJXa6cAf7weu7X4Srr4KP-4qUjCG2WPOU18ymA/s626/Littoral%20Amphibians%20Sheet.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="626" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgicw-k2CS2LtuzPay3W6YEmYpl6GH7IdkLkycUTlL0sUhLmgLP-Wkm2yNaFG720sYN3nk2MUv6-jI4BCeopbZhtbAzgDYWRfgNLuBEgQWZX6vMay0e79Pgt80oubgJ2a2h0cIBPzJQaeiAzcUrdXe2rJXa6cAf7weu7X4Srr4KP-4qUjCG2WPOU18ymA/w640-h446/Littoral%20Amphibians%20Sheet.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Littoral Amphibians</b></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div>Distribution: The world's remotest coasts, and some of the largest rivers</div><div>Disposition: Revanchist</div><div>Modus Operandi: Theocratically subjugate isolated communities closer and closer to the world's largest port cities in hopes of someday reclaiming the most verdant coasts and rivers.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqPv6wPfLzu_mxvfeU-6c0R26HlMkCyzLSwICLGzF7LwGmdGbSp3Z0ISLFbTenTfHTMoZWUYDPvE5dW2J5SeeLFqJynbZ6XOu-3g1NFh9_teEYbD5JoVnNwC2fyeBCdYjELkDwQUqUQlki7VhNogwtEa49IZaXDtYPKWclaeXL8SDiZBUiEzwovYRrIg/s730/Ogres.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="730" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqPv6wPfLzu_mxvfeU-6c0R26HlMkCyzLSwICLGzF7LwGmdGbSp3Z0ISLFbTenTfHTMoZWUYDPvE5dW2J5SeeLFqJynbZ6XOu-3g1NFh9_teEYbD5JoVnNwC2fyeBCdYjELkDwQUqUQlki7VhNogwtEa49IZaXDtYPKWclaeXL8SDiZBUiEzwovYRrIg/w640-h394/Ogres.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Ogres</b></td></tr></tbody></table><div>Distribution: Remote hills and caves</div><div>Disposition: Ravenous</div><div>Modus Operandi: Acquire and devour flesh.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><br /></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQehQH4PQP6kp9imSDHQ2srQv_fimMf-3lMhVKcVLo3c7BJLgzKeIdPyBmsZAoyW-vv6BsqE0eY_CN5nAT4ImX2etrbxS-uglpDjy-HLAVaKyXyyFQ8BCHXxP-ayZHE-KEy3fClhl4lt82bKOx34cB4uEE4nxV4aO9nZ1ZW6JTYUkkMeYjr5fMyCXuQ/s629/Svart%C3%A1lfar.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="322" data-original-width="629" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQehQH4PQP6kp9imSDHQ2srQv_fimMf-3lMhVKcVLo3c7BJLgzKeIdPyBmsZAoyW-vv6BsqE0eY_CN5nAT4ImX2etrbxS-uglpDjy-HLAVaKyXyyFQ8BCHXxP-ayZHE-KEy3fClhl4lt82bKOx34cB4uEE4nxV4aO9nZ1ZW6JTYUkkMeYjr5fMyCXuQ/w640-h328/Svart%C3%A1lfar.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Svartálfar</b></td></tr></tbody></table>Distribution: Caverns here and there beneath the earth</div><div>Disposition: Covetous (surfacers) and genocidal (Agartha)</div><div>Modus Operandi: Slave raiding against surface communities</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilRWLnPlYZMVL1VhX03HXtyDvczIfwpUqITnmTn_AjAAsnaK5kFQ-e2i_yIQhfcHc0Tu_UkrWJ1obnpdg0vFPz1DzxSZNecuZP34GxINgUX1gxzWz_8xuf9ooc7qqkRXeXuYcIlOkwDyP-7E6rhCrR0nWWYKeL3L2z3_q0LCkIQtzKlvSsZS3TYz_xmA/s507/The%20Grand%20Megaliths.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="507" height="516" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilRWLnPlYZMVL1VhX03HXtyDvczIfwpUqITnmTn_AjAAsnaK5kFQ-e2i_yIQhfcHc0Tu_UkrWJ1obnpdg0vFPz1DzxSZNecuZP34GxINgUX1gxzWz_8xuf9ooc7qqkRXeXuYcIlOkwDyP-7E6rhCrR0nWWYKeL3L2z3_q0LCkIQtzKlvSsZS3TYz_xmA/w640-h516/The%20Grand%20Megaliths.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Great Megaliths</b></td></tr></tbody></table><div>Distribution: These rabbitfolk can be found residing on giant stone structures throughout the world but particularly on the isle of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lugaru" target="_blank">Lugaru</a>, which lies northwest of the Knights of the Isle and northeast of the Knights of the War Bonnet. One of their largest megastructures in human lands rises in the realm of the Knights of the Isle, though this was almost fully depopulated by incessant warring with the Western Empire. Others can be found in the Dark Forest, in the Empire of the Silver Dish (where they are a prized delicacy), in Spring and Autumn, in the riverlands north of the Knights Riparian, amidst the Knights of the Golden Apple, and in the Lands of Lead, to name a few.</div><div>Disposition: The rabbitfolk are prone to evil governance, which is resisted by individual heroic warriors. While these heroes are extraordinarily effective, these megalithic societies are so prone to internecine fighting that they have never been able to subjugate outsiders, though sorties have been sent against the Knights of the War Bonnet and the People of the City-Sea.</div><div>Modus Operandi: The rabbitfolk are skilled with traditional weapons, but are also capable of launching running kick attacks capable of killing horses or sending armored warriors flying. In this age they rarely establish new megalithic sky-structures, which are accessible mainly via massive jumps</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizJIXfxxz7nrNUjEMYbfLTUPvwTNfeeICuguAu7NNjHiWXn7tQMnZS9zHXqO83yf6FODFsTEXiX7JSpzwKgF7pGLuZMUXLs-VCKy86DNhl_lEi0NVcwB8MgwtgcIIY7fu3eArM1o3DD5fEqtvzsUb2pG2ncXn7Zr4NbibqetIM-lK8chVvVM9qpHLaXw/s898/The%20Green%20Realm.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="758" data-original-width="898" height="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizJIXfxxz7nrNUjEMYbfLTUPvwTNfeeICuguAu7NNjHiWXn7tQMnZS9zHXqO83yf6FODFsTEXiX7JSpzwKgF7pGLuZMUXLs-VCKy86DNhl_lEi0NVcwB8MgwtgcIIY7fu3eArM1o3DD5fEqtvzsUb2pG2ncXn7Zr4NbibqetIM-lK8chVvVM9qpHLaXw/w640-h540/The%20Green%20Realm.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Green Realm</b></td></tr></tbody></table><div>Distribution: It can manifest anywhere that vegetation that feeds on decay overcomes ruins or healthy biomes</div><div>Disposition: All-consuming</div><div>Modus Operandi: Manifest, skulk, terrorize, capture, and sacrifice</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbA4US2dsFvn7IZJzc5OsF62-l4Gysu6N3Mq4gvYt3zjkJK0o3kGSG_SBWUH5LoRv34dgvFM5FVqkjr1qYUc64X9wlG-TUD58F1F4yT6ZAeBJXfh9FE8tJu-cN0q_rbuO1-MqdhigPfRtcrKlde1pUjUAv0KFmH-Ekwf_LUOQN4KJ9OdhJE8ki7n6efw/s664/Vampire%20Knights.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="324" data-original-width="664" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbA4US2dsFvn7IZJzc5OsF62-l4Gysu6N3Mq4gvYt3zjkJK0o3kGSG_SBWUH5LoRv34dgvFM5FVqkjr1qYUc64X9wlG-TUD58F1F4yT6ZAeBJXfh9FE8tJu-cN0q_rbuO1-MqdhigPfRtcrKlde1pUjUAv0KFmH-Ekwf_LUOQN4KJ9OdhJE8ki7n6efw/w640-h312/Vampire%20Knights.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Vampire Knights</b></td></tr></tbody></table>Distribution: Here and there throughout the realms of chivalry, but most archetypally in the lands between the Knights of the Plain and the Men of the Dark Forest, and between Pythium and Sauromatia.</div><div>Disposition: Acquisitive</div><div>Modus Operandi: Win lands through traditional feudal means, then reduce the peasantry and burghers to absolute immobility through terror and surveillance before treating them like herd animals.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><u>General Purpose</u></b></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCyEk3XeNRxUgg60QGb9vBQsvv8gkDnHREcD-Y3wVR8aZoPA9oC579g2CI_0A9g3sQ7DByps50BhSsBpW1x-mWgKwoFsXumvnGd9yfWS-9UYAQSeXYWIEuh3NeUXHPcAVyuFoST_MAR4ifEAZAMIJSiLX0fOuAqLlrqbrj72nrTQ6WzD9Vxy3NMAEcQ/s644/Commons%20and%20Sorcerers.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="644" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCyEk3XeNRxUgg60QGb9vBQsvv8gkDnHREcD-Y3wVR8aZoPA9oC579g2CI_0A9g3sQ7DByps50BhSsBpW1x-mWgKwoFsXumvnGd9yfWS-9UYAQSeXYWIEuh3NeUXHPcAVyuFoST_MAR4ifEAZAMIJSiLX0fOuAqLlrqbrj72nrTQ6WzD9Vxy3NMAEcQ/w640-h422/Commons%20and%20Sorcerers.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Commoners and Sorcerers</b></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9GjFVgnoIR9dGsL0IddxMaMnqqY62T4Hbm0EtdrzOLssfL3b3ji3Vbnf8hsAVHqjWjNOVWZ4j-GMtIJzTmBaDomgVodnjYH6KJj9pihhH1NvaiR_bG8L_vP6_bIb2ucw6yd7oFSg6aXXVakS0WY1CH4Mzme8RbskJMuYA0nIzHe6CR8SC-aGZwX8tWw/s879/Bandits.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="879" data-original-width="762" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9GjFVgnoIR9dGsL0IddxMaMnqqY62T4Hbm0EtdrzOLssfL3b3ji3Vbnf8hsAVHqjWjNOVWZ4j-GMtIJzTmBaDomgVodnjYH6KJj9pihhH1NvaiR_bG8L_vP6_bIb2ucw6yd7oFSg6aXXVakS0WY1CH4Mzme8RbskJMuYA0nIzHe6CR8SC-aGZwX8tWw/w554-h640/Bandits.png" width="554" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Bandits</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b> </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMFS9q7mTdtdXmyHAGxRdVz0eWAwjH3phWZoiKCmUoQrkdOjxKPxVHWsfQoqDYRc-KBSFaC8XIzks0e6wjcwKxamVFUZAeqZ8H1lbqlOXC-oTPdUaC_N4DLXajBRxFqwXolYtMAWc_vXXHehKj1LIElKUnOt0khQI93dsTrgm7POxBSPA0Mm25S-CYfg/s2308/Knightly%20Foes.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2308" data-original-width="1876" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMFS9q7mTdtdXmyHAGxRdVz0eWAwjH3phWZoiKCmUoQrkdOjxKPxVHWsfQoqDYRc-KBSFaC8XIzks0e6wjcwKxamVFUZAeqZ8H1lbqlOXC-oTPdUaC_N4DLXajBRxFqwXolYtMAWc_vXXHehKj1LIElKUnOt0khQI93dsTrgm7POxBSPA0Mm25S-CYfg/w520-h640/Knightly%20Foes.png" width="520" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Foes</b></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqOJeShgZb9_cdA8g9fe3_jPYhvDRoKmo-rqzVcsTObjwIY1ZrLLsu0IXDBIf1-_9MltetYA4T4bu8ig83pwhDW0NRCiptvlNPTtPFS1UHxNiPTlYANCsBDX9pnM_ZmZCqxm1ASEAkW7KInBIsGe1v7xVBFd8YIz8pPABmpidRR_GWztYsh2ML7Q1F6g/s1171/Characters.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="583" data-original-width="1171" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqOJeShgZb9_cdA8g9fe3_jPYhvDRoKmo-rqzVcsTObjwIY1ZrLLsu0IXDBIf1-_9MltetYA4T4bu8ig83pwhDW0NRCiptvlNPTtPFS1UHxNiPTlYANCsBDX9pnM_ZmZCqxm1ASEAkW7KInBIsGe1v7xVBFd8YIz8pPABmpidRR_GWztYsh2ML7Q1F6g/w640-h318/Characters.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Characters</b></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA8aIKLJN4CbC5G05joxcBaflim5URovYMnP8UuA7TQBorwcOxLXGdBndDo7TSY1D9jPiQDLCUgL7F5zPLNFT39aze8s8wWP_GTazQiZfs0Sw6eJBr46trOeOeI5fHA5rWN1UJ9tDRkp4KIabNjIdaYjSArp0QM6diqpCMEOTnut5QKDy3lJkejGFLhA/s914/Outsiders.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="914" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA8aIKLJN4CbC5G05joxcBaflim5URovYMnP8UuA7TQBorwcOxLXGdBndDo7TSY1D9jPiQDLCUgL7F5zPLNFT39aze8s8wWP_GTazQiZfs0Sw6eJBr46trOeOeI5fHA5rWN1UJ9tDRkp4KIabNjIdaYjSArp0QM6diqpCMEOTnut5QKDy3lJkejGFLhA/w640-h322/Outsiders.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Outsiders</b></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><u>Emergent Factions</u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPL_aZhc2FaCPvq_P7dcI8Av1GBQn4QcLJ2MKS1YuSq7b8aeajdc4Xd6w8EGK9Rnmm2e74s3SttptRPVofHVO_DPb3xEg3yKoHm2H99eEDsQg-Dqfe52V8LknIxA7jGXQNxJQyRPlRjCmGPw95SlP2234D8PfPfA3qjTB7mYFUgyZJQT9P24YfVY3d1w/s415/The%20Royal%20Army.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="415" data-original-width="296" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPL_aZhc2FaCPvq_P7dcI8Av1GBQn4QcLJ2MKS1YuSq7b8aeajdc4Xd6w8EGK9Rnmm2e74s3SttptRPVofHVO_DPb3xEg3yKoHm2H99eEDsQg-Dqfe52V8LknIxA7jGXQNxJQyRPlRjCmGPw95SlP2234D8PfPfA3qjTB7mYFUgyZJQT9P24YfVY3d1w/w456-h640/The%20Royal%20Army.png" width="456" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Royal Army</b></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Conditions of Emergence</b>:</div><div>-A Player Character of the Knights of the Isle or the Knights of the Plain forms a marriage alliance established with a prominent family of Spring & Autumn or the Knights of the Golden Apple, so as to acquire a competency in gunpowder affairs</div><div>-The Royal Army is formed by decree of the King of the Isle, the King of the Plain, or the joint Emperor of Isle and Plain if such a political structure exists.</div><div>-If being formed by the Knights of the Isle, the Men of the Dark Wood must no longer present an existential threat</div><div>-If being formed by the Knights of the Plain, the Men of the Boar must no longer present an existential threat</div><div>-If being formed by a joint Empire of Isle and Plain, there will be a revolution by vassals and commoners of either Isle or Plain, depending on where the capital is to be or which group of Knights is regarded as being preeminent in the Empire. The purpose of the revolution is to resist being permanently centralized into an empire with a gunpowder army led by the other set of Knights and their King.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAyAGswswrJZL40W6-nngr_2dvfi1WEyDsaulh5ROMcT7K70LvKmuwF1JGT34fH1sgY4VhU7ioDaqlkE9H7tmSbjVADBRxLN-vUYruqElRxvAnai149In1b67zAhX9NtgGNKUIOJsM1mwclYfvyC5jIsyH68UQeYbOxaMLeVWn6PYxgdxWEhDWY8cIXg/s396/The%20Guards%20of%20the%20Republic.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="292" data-original-width="396" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAyAGswswrJZL40W6-nngr_2dvfi1WEyDsaulh5ROMcT7K70LvKmuwF1JGT34fH1sgY4VhU7ioDaqlkE9H7tmSbjVADBRxLN-vUYruqElRxvAnai149In1b67zAhX9NtgGNKUIOJsM1mwclYfvyC5jIsyH68UQeYbOxaMLeVWn6PYxgdxWEhDWY8cIXg/w640-h472/The%20Guards%20of%20the%20Republic.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Army of the Republic</b></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Conditions of Emergence</b> along the sea-coast north of the Dark Wood:</div><div>-The Royal Army has formed</div><div>-The Men of the Dark Wood no longer present an existential threat to anybody</div><div>OR</div><div>-The Men of the Dark Wood no longer present an existential threat to anybody</div><div>-A PC from the Knights of the Isle, the Knights of the Plain, the Elk Knights, or Pythium has established a marriage alliance with the Knights of the Golden Apple or the Knights of Spring and Autumn.</div><div><b>Developments</b>:</div><div>-The Republic will be good friends to the players if they had any hand in their independence, but will also rapaciously invade the empire of the Knights of the Golden Apple. </div><div>-In turn, the Knights of the Flame will be the interminable enemy of the Republic should the Knights form.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibFtu_CE2WHQAkCxVlb-9ksVvIpsk1dYaPGHK0LN4evN2dRt6GK6KcVU0aKOSEPI1X_Kz4mxPyLqmLmsSDO-DpsjCa79n5-q4U8DHYukuoVnwhxJYJRb4McZanLwtaVs1xLUpXYOrTmi5AhYebTLsdfwBLMWeW15cQfS5h5Q4yXFEboi801OQxK594Ag/s408/Knights%20of%20the%20Flame.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="408" height="498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibFtu_CE2WHQAkCxVlb-9ksVvIpsk1dYaPGHK0LN4evN2dRt6GK6KcVU0aKOSEPI1X_Kz4mxPyLqmLmsSDO-DpsjCa79n5-q4U8DHYukuoVnwhxJYJRb4McZanLwtaVs1xLUpXYOrTmi5AhYebTLsdfwBLMWeW15cQfS5h5Q4yXFEboi801OQxK594Ag/w640-h498/Knights%20of%20the%20Flame.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Knights of the Flame</b></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Conditions of Emergence</b> southwest of the Knights of the Plain:</div><div>-PCs have encountered the Knights of Spring and Autumn or the Knights of the Golden Apple.</div><div>-PCs have encountered the Empire of the Great Bridge.</div><div><b>Developments</b>:</div><div>-The Knights of the Flame will assemble to invade the Empire of the Great Bridge before they can steal the sun for Xibalba, and to seize the Empire's great wealth. In doing so, they will also indiscriminately wage war against the People of the Deep Expanse and eventually the Knights of the War Bonnet.</div><div>-Domestically, they will kick off a religious purity spiral, assailing knights and populations they regard as impious, and will particularly attempt to subjugate the Republic should it form, due to the sectarian and ultra-monarchist ideology of the Knights.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4YG6wernb1ERBPEOYExrrB4BcMulJhdDUU9IXPRzwcHYaVUYJ-jNsD3a9msXX4domNQ_l57GuJnhhy5NVEINtKo_vwwNk0jy3NL2rg5CdHVD18G2Xr6boci3n2HlVvVnLsth4m_OBCkN2gWXGA_5r-crF_O_7mWazkmDgK9noEc_F69GqAv46LfY14w/s385/Knights%20of%20the%20High%20Frontier.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="385" data-original-width="355" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4YG6wernb1ERBPEOYExrrB4BcMulJhdDUU9IXPRzwcHYaVUYJ-jNsD3a9msXX4domNQ_l57GuJnhhy5NVEINtKo_vwwNk0jy3NL2rg5CdHVD18G2Xr6boci3n2HlVvVnLsth4m_OBCkN2gWXGA_5r-crF_O_7mWazkmDgK9noEc_F69GqAv46LfY14w/w590-h640/Knights%20of%20the%20High%20Frontier.png" width="590" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Knights of the High Frontier</b></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Conditions of Emergence</b> out of the Knights of the March and the Knights of the Whisker:</div><div>-PCs have encountered the Knights of Spring and Autumn or the Knights of the Golden Apple.</div><div>-The Knights of the March have not been eradicated by the People of the Empty Places</div><div>-Occurs very quickly if a PC who is a Knight of the March or a Knight of the Whisker forms a marriage alliance with the Knights of Spring and Autumn or the Knights of the Golden Apple.</div><div><b>Developments</b>:</div><div>-The threat of the People of the Empty Plain is such that the Knights of the March acquire firearms and reform their armies of foot archers into arquebus-wielding hereditary troops and militia.</div><div>-By default, or if a PC who is a Knight of the March kicked off this process, the Knights of the March will force the integration of the Knights of the Whisker into their burgeoning Empire.</div><div>-If the PC who begins the process is a Knight of the Whisker, the Knights of the Whisker form the Most Serene Confederation and are capable of standing off the Knights of the March, who more gradually acquire firearms; thereafter, Knights of the Whisker fight as temporary allies of the Knights of the High Frontier during expeditions against mutual enemies.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgw8Qq_cE2z7ms4I8VyROZqDXVYKbvfgttGWAdRouylG6kjJzOTKNu8sdKLfXl6f2-ZLxAg4YajvTZklfzRzA4EZ4TFMTo64n6NNy5Ww27dyG6g5yfpjo54g0LKkyg8CMEoYDVO6nRBJ4e35ni4ZVN46xnziD3ky-hS5lyZnH-SLWylo6nMh5g2cPhpg/s381/Pirates%20-%20Emergent.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="332" data-original-width="381" height="558" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgw8Qq_cE2z7ms4I8VyROZqDXVYKbvfgttGWAdRouylG6kjJzOTKNu8sdKLfXl6f2-ZLxAg4YajvTZklfzRzA4EZ4TFMTo64n6NNy5Ww27dyG6g5yfpjo54g0LKkyg8CMEoYDVO6nRBJ4e35ni4ZVN46xnziD3ky-hS5lyZnH-SLWylo6nMh5g2cPhpg/w640-h558/Pirates%20-%20Emergent.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Pirates</b></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Conditions of Emergence</b>:</div><div>-The Knights of the Flame succeed in establishing a permanent presence in the Empire of the Great Bridge and carry off great wealth in the process.</div><div><b>Developments</b>:</div><div>-Pirates will raid sea-traffic between the Lands of Flame and the Great Bridge, and piracy will gradually spread as a gunpowder phenomenon throughout the world.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><u>Imagery</u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEWyj9aOmSY3YwwYQeTrzL6uMi8mQcAZCmL4Ft1SsL8sN3oSRrs3Zl8G0wqO3KPSkJn3y2yHvQ5GCajuS6Tz-L4z06OgnEtxXFdTf20FZ4nBllyqGaIoN2kyNeriCy-9SgmE2tv1n_zr7RFIZR0IWCR87T6Ih4pEvbJByywlEXSD32r6pr7ST3J1cDJQ/s481/Regnal%20Imagery.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="481" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEWyj9aOmSY3YwwYQeTrzL6uMi8mQcAZCmL4Ft1SsL8sN3oSRrs3Zl8G0wqO3KPSkJn3y2yHvQ5GCajuS6Tz-L4z06OgnEtxXFdTf20FZ4nBllyqGaIoN2kyNeriCy-9SgmE2tv1n_zr7RFIZR0IWCR87T6Ih4pEvbJByywlEXSD32r6pr7ST3J1cDJQ/w640-h504/Regnal%20Imagery.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Royal and Divine Imagery</b></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR3GlouY1oDnUN9cXF2ZzS6PP-DlG37pV-gkqyvy8_awbz6gGVCXunoAtGXF6KORIG_XP5p4K9eComZd9_1fdsVvdk5MS4Z-AE21-3OD_DnCQBTYisMS4berquJkPVNSX3oEP8zNoxaRXQZOc0H00IUbY8A1acyN0ryfx9s64TKeeacPTQzRzz2l1zHA/s1837/Arranged%20Sprites.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="609" data-original-width="1837" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR3GlouY1oDnUN9cXF2ZzS6PP-DlG37pV-gkqyvy8_awbz6gGVCXunoAtGXF6KORIG_XP5p4K9eComZd9_1fdsVvdk5MS4Z-AE21-3OD_DnCQBTYisMS4berquJkPVNSX3oEP8zNoxaRXQZOc0H00IUbY8A1acyN0ryfx9s64TKeeacPTQzRzz2l1zHA/w640-h212/Arranged%20Sprites.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Example Cutout Framework</b></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div></div>Her Christmas Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445850026904816000noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575857487210211963.post-46318152825634142422023-03-21T22:31:00.006-04:002023-03-21T22:38:07.770-04:00Monster Eater<div style="text-align: left;">What strategies can a man employ when the only reliable foodstuff is the flesh of supernatural predators? Things whose breath may be fatal, whose bodies may be metal, whose eyes may control the mind?</div><div><br /></div><div>In the face of this many men turn to cannibalism and other Faustian bargains.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ramec must depart his home in the underworld sanctuary of Kalas Da, a place fed and comforted by a strand of the World Fungus.</div><div><br /></div><div>He must forge his path to the surface in a world of absolute darkness and privation, where light is the beacon of death.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ramec goes knowing only that there can be no categorization of the predators of the deep and that the humans of the underworld can be the most dangerous of all.</div><div><br /></div><div>He will be transformed, because every moment in the chaos of the underworld commands death or adaptation. </div><div><br /></div><div>Listen to <i>Monster Eater </i>at <a href="http://www.fiercefirelight.com" target="_blank">Fierce Firelight</a>.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh00szYSnHOkX5qA9mVCiN1NVrQSa8_xp7wHXhvTQQgwpQ0r1ooz2K9FBp0ADWhLMx0qaw2E7mUVy8XtGoIcWdY9QMkB8VVTvkmkXJYp4txarK2x_ilpf4prplEzKm0PX6iRrtvdecM5xlcn3tWzYSFigTZDVq6esJAhnkUjh6eyY0nn5T_jOXGTO9qpQ/s3632/Xenostygian1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3632" data-original-width="2919" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh00szYSnHOkX5qA9mVCiN1NVrQSa8_xp7wHXhvTQQgwpQ0r1ooz2K9FBp0ADWhLMx0qaw2E7mUVy8XtGoIcWdY9QMkB8VVTvkmkXJYp4txarK2x_ilpf4prplEzKm0PX6iRrtvdecM5xlcn3tWzYSFigTZDVq6esJAhnkUjh6eyY0nn5T_jOXGTO9qpQ/w514-h640/Xenostygian1.jpg" width="514" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Xenostygian</i>, by <a href="http://lacrimisdraconis.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Dan Sullivan</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>I've been inspired by fantastic depictions of civilizations and their privations in the deep underworld for a long time, probably beginning with descriptions of the confined-space planes in the old Manual of the Planes, deepening with the phenomenal <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Underdark_(sourcebook)" target="_blank">Underdark</a>, and culminating in the epoch-making <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/209509/Veins-of-the-Earth" target="_blank">Veins of the Earth</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>So far, I've written about four chapters of Monster Eater.</div>Her Christmas Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445850026904816000noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575857487210211963.post-22099391478203102552023-03-16T23:46:00.030-04:002023-03-17T01:12:04.252-04:00Ranger<div style="text-align: left;"><div>This is a story about an established adventuring group’s personal <a href="https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/51227/what-is-a-funnel" target="_blank">funnel</a>.</div><div>It’s also about a Ranger and the things he does without using magic.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> <u>Index</u></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><b>Commentary</b>: Tribes, cities, empires, heroes, and antiheroes</div><div><b>Ranger</b>: You can <a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/2046818/12458243-ranger" target="_blank">listen on Fierce Firelight</a> or read it below the commentary.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Something I’ve wanted to note for awhile is that in my stories and RPG stuff, tribesmen and city-state dwellers who have lived near each other for a long time always share their ethnicity and common origins. The groups diverged into different modes at some point in history.</div><div><br /></div><div>I think this was probably true of many early sedentary polities and their nearby tribal communities; it might have taken a long time before they were differentiable to us, particularly if the latter were non-nomadic.</div><div><br /></div><div>As an example of this dynamic, in Fane of the Poppy, the Archzenites and Affidavits share a common ancestry, whether or not either really knows this or cares to recognize it.</div><div><br /></div><div>City-states and tribes in my stories are explorations of different modes of human life, and <i>sometimes</i> of their interactions. Either can individually or collectively be heroes, antiheroes, villains, tragic actors, context, or footnotes.</div><div><br /></div><div>This doesn’t mean that city-states and tribes of differing ethnicity can never come into conflict, just that the “starting” conflicts aren’t usually between people with radically different origins (except with empires, with the Cynthians invading the coasts everywhere and the Empire of the Twin Canals subjugating as many tribes and cities as possible).</div><div><br /></div><div>The valences of conflict between ancient neighbors and between people who are basically unknown to each other are very different, and each has its space. I prefer the "neighbors" option when structuring the world and leaving open the "unknowns" option for development.</div><div><br /></div><div>The "neighbors" species of conflict tends lend itself to dramas of statecraft and family intrigue, while the "unknowns" tends to pattern more easily onto familiar conflicts from more globetrotting recent history and losing its timelessness, or seeming to be racial in origin when I want the conflicts in my work to represent the plurality of things which people have fought over since ancient times (if you've read my stuff you know that urbanites fight urbanites and tribes fight tribes and the urbanites fight tribes for all the reasons that those polity-types fought each other historically and then some). </div><div><br /></div><div>The alienness (at the beginning) of the antagonists in a struggle between unknowns can be a constraining factor when it comes to narrative, rendering people into forces of nature to each other, which is why I'm content with everyone in this world speaking the same language (except xenostygians); the language barrier is a very real source of drama in reality, but not one that I'm interested in constantly exploring due to its tendency to narrow the immediate possibilities of the situation when the whole world is a patchwork of tiny states and cultures (although I am interested in <i>loss</i> of speech). I'm happy to explore conflict between mutual unknowns in simple stories, but I want to leave the gate open for stories involving different kinds of polities (city-states and tribal federations) to be about things other than the conflict of mutual unknowns and their piece-by-piece demystification.</div><div><br /></div><div>Part of the reason I settled on this neighboring-cities-and-tribes setup is because I want it to reflect elements of the histories of many real-life nations and cultures going back thousands of years while also never mapping 1-to-1 onto historical conflicts; when city-states and tribes fight, trade, and make alliances in my stories and RPGs, I want it to be both recognizable to one who is somewhat versed in history, but I also want it to be capable of being seen with fresh eyes.</div><div><br /></div><div>Another reason for this is that I don’t take a tack where either city-states or tribes are inherently morally superior (the details make the difference) and players/characters should be able to emerge from either, though empires and things like roving theocratic armies tend to have a more iniquitous set point in my material.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is all before large nation-states despite the tech level, because all of the supernatural stuff in the deep wilderness prevents deep penetration by human settlements, except for isolated RGOs (e.g. highland mining communities) and tribes that have developed hyperspecializations to survive whatever lurks in their area a la the guides in the Stalker film.</div><div><br /></div><div>When I wrote Ranger I wrote another story in the RPG-class vein called Barbarian, about a tribesman who is dragooned into an malevolent city-state’s military (which sounds awesome to him, at first) and once he gets there he has to decide what he's ultimately going to do.</div><div><br /></div><div>The city-state in Barbarian is the same city-state as in Ranger, Megastheos, but a few centuries later.</div><div><br /></div><div>Barbarian is a lot longer, though, and can stand some serious restructuring, editing, and finishing, so it may be some time before I put it up.</div><div><br /></div><div>These stories (Ranger and Barbarian) are both about morally gray guys vs Bad Guys, and a consideration that I struggle with when conceptualizing stories is: how bad can a main character be at the beginning of a story while ensuring that a reader in the expected core audience (which for me are just people who share some critical mass of neurotype elements and/or experiences) won’t see the character as being unworthy of redemption? The main character in Barbarian and in another story which I’ll record, The Crimes of Jack Daw, are both fairly ruthless individuals at the start of their stories (not murdering innocents, but ruthless in their own ways), and if a form of wake-up call/redemption doesn’t come quick enough, a reader can begin to snarl at an unredeemed bastard’s minor victories along the way. So when should the path to a better way present itself, or when should the protagonist start seeking one if he or she doesn’t want to be abandoned or reviled by the reader?</div><div><br /></div><div>I asked a friend who doesn’t usually write stories but has consumed more anime than Patrick Stuart has read Black Library, and his opinion was that if a main character does some really dark shit it should happen before the story starts, and shouldn’t have done something that would commonly be considered unforgivable in their backstory, unless you’re planning on writing a tragedy or a nihilistic exploration of something (the latter of which is possible but fraught with difficulties). </div><div><br /></div><div>I think he’s basically correct. Still, I plan to continue exploring the edges of this line from time to time.</div></div><div>On to Ranger!</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">--------------------------------------------------------------</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><br /></div><div>Dasen sat back by the dead campfire. The trees took shape around him in the predawn light. His bow lay across his lap, his quiver under the small of his back. He was still and tranquil.</div><div><br /></div><div>There was a crack in the woods. A man named Morari lowered himself from a bower of twigs which he’d mane in the shoulder of a tree.</div><div><br /></div><div>Morari was a veteran warrior. He belonged to a circle of elite fighters and experts who pried artifacts and riches from the cold fingers of despots, raiders, and men long dead in their tombs.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen stood up. He was an aspirant to join Morari’s circle, and so were the men who still slept around the dead campfire. They were all on their trial run. Morari was there to audition them.</div><div><br /></div><div>The enormous warrior walked slowly over to Dasen and stopped, chewing silently on a dry red sausage with his perpetual hint of a smile.</div><div> </div><div>“Get em up. We move out in two minutes.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen nodded and began running between sleepers who were bundled in blankets in the leaves by the fire’s ashes, shaking them awake as he went. They sat up without a hint of anger or pleasure. There were six of them. Two were missing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen looked at Morari, who gazed back at him, chewing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen began roving around the woods near the campfire, searching for the missing aspirants. He found the one of them laying on a bed of pine needles in a little pit of soft soil. Dasen knelt over him, seized his lapels and shook him awake.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Get the fuck up and be at the campfire in one minute,” Dasen growled with as much menace as he could muster.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Got it,” said the young man.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen went of in search of the last one missing. He finally found the man, whose feet were sticking out from underneath a dead log with a half-dome of mossy twigs set against the wind. The man wasn’t wearing his boots.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen picked up the boots and hurled them towards the campfire, then grabbed the man’s trouserlegs and yanked him out from under the tree. The man came out kicking and sat up, scraping his head on the log. He looked at Dasen furiously.</div><div><br /></div><div>“What’s your problem?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Get your boots on and get to the campfire! You only got a few seconds!”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Shit!”</div><div><br /></div><div>The man ran after Dasen, sticking his feet into his boots without tying them and clomped up to the campfire where the others were already standing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Morari had finished his sausage and was standing contrapposto with his hands on his hips.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Sorry,” said the missing man.</div><div><br /></div><div>“When the Emberlings call a muster, they torture and kill the last man who shows up. They figure they don’t need a guy like that anyways.</div><div><br /></div><div>“I’m sorry.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Get your pack.”</div><div><br /></div><div>The man went, bent over, and slung his pack from where it lay by the fire, pots and pans jangling.</div><div><br /></div><div>“I’m with the Emberlings. Head back to Megastheos.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“I can do better.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“I understand. Get moving.”</div><div><br /></div><div>The man turned, and set off back down the trail with his head hung low. Morari looked at Dasen.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Take us off.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen nodded. He took his bearings from the stars and led the party off the trail into the dusty wilderness.</div><div><br /></div><div>Morari had a set of plate armor slung on his pack, which burdened him so little it seemed to become part of his body when he took it up.</div><div><br /></div><div>He had a two-handed sword in a black scabbard, and he used it like a walking stick. </div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen had seen the other members of Morari’s band when he’d visited their private drinking hall in Megastheos. They ranged from hard, lean and wiry survivors who could cross mountains on a peasant’s fare, to sleek athletic champions with splendidly sculpted bodies like ancient engravings. Morari was the only one of them who was huge and musclebound. He didn’t need to be so big; he just liked to be, and he was known to lift carts and press giant stones for a hobby.</div><div><br /></div><div>“What’s your plan?” he asked Dasen</div><div><br /></div><div>“Cut through the wilds to Bitterwell Peak, then head due northwest to the sound north of Glassloch.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Can you hit Bitterwell Peak from this far out?”</div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen nodded.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Ok.” Morari walked back so he could watch the party from behind.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen felt good as he strode through the woods. He knew his pack was heavy and his gambeson was hot but he felt a sense of purpose and momentum.</div><div><br /></div><div>The only thing that troubled the back of his mind was the man who’d been sent home. They were far away from the territory of the Dekandrites that the man probably wouldn’t be be ambushed, but Dasen considered himself responsible for the party being short one man.</div><div><br /></div><div>The predawn chill had come and the dew was unbelievably thick as they crossed a grassy field to reach a wild green draw on the other side. Their boots and trousers became just as wet as if they’d climbed into a fountain when they traversed the grass and descended to the riverside, which was choked with vegetation.</div><div><br /></div><div>A heron glided slowly above the reeds. Winter was breaking and the foliage wasn’t as thick as it would be come summer, when it would have been almost impossible for Dasen to cross without throwing off his heading. As it was, they could pass but the water would be cold enough to take their breath away.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Morari.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Count them off. You go last.” Dasen nodded.</div><div><br /></div><div>Addis had been the first aspirant to stand up by the firepit. Dasen sent him across to check out the far shore. Addis made no preparation but simply crashed into the water, pushing through it wherever he could get his feet on the riverbed. He was not stupid, he was so tough that he seemed to play by a different set of rules. Being soaked wouldn’t reduce his competence.</div><div><br /></div><div>The others went across with varying degrees of gingerness, some trying to hold their packs overhead, one or two taking their boots off first. The cleverest had a tallow-treated pack which he’d sealed, and he used it as a raft, floating across the river.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen held his bow overhead but otherwise went as he was, counting on the journey to dry him. Morari walked beside him, pushing through the water with his pack submerged. His plate armor may have been stainless steel, but Dasen knew this man was rich enough to abuse and discard coats of plates if he liked.</div><div><br /></div><div>That was why many of the aspirants were there, some of them experienced soldiers. Dasen wasn’t there for the money. He was there for this. The adventure.</div><div><br /></div><div>Morari got to the shore first and stepped up as the water cascaded from his clothes and pack. He turned, barring Dasen’s way. Dasen stood as the freezing water pushed past him. He took a steady stance.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Weren’t you on watch?”</div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen nodded. He breathed through his nose to not begin panting as the chill tightened his muscles.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Why was that guy late?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“I didn’t think he’d camp so far away.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Wrong answer. You don’t know if these guys are responsible, or where their loyalties lay. You keep them where you can see them. When we get to Dekandrite territory we won’t be sleeping around a fire, just a hole to piss and shit in. Nobody leaves the circle till we move out.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Understood.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“If there was another ranger, he’d be taking over for you.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen nodded.</div><div><br /></div><div>They stood there for a long time. Dasen began to breathe through his mouth as the water chilled him to the core. His legs shook and he repositioned his feet again and again as they sunk into the mud. His fingertips hurt and then were numb. He began to mentally sing a hero’s ballad and he found that it braced him, gave him courage, and he could barely resist breaking out in a tearful smile.</div><div><br /></div><div>Morari stood there until Dasen’s head began to ache and his eyes were drooping, then he turned and went up to where the party was waiting in a clearing. Dasen collapsed against the muddy bank and hauled himself out of the water, quaking violently. The shady earth felt warm between his fingers. He joined the group. The band gazed at Dasen with varying degrees of empathy. Morari was expressionless. Dasen nodded at Addis, and took point again.</div><div><br /></div><div>…</div><div><br /></div><div>They were in the highlands. Dasen had counted his steps. They should be at Bitterwell Peak, but there was no peak in sight.</div><div><br /></div><div>He looked around with a growing sensation of dread. He gave the sign for a halt, and the party gratefully took a knee, except for Morari, who stood back with his arms folded, his massive sinewed forearms broadening against one another.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Have some water and lay down,” Dasen said to the aspirants, “I’m gonna do a map check.” They nodded and lay on their bellies beside their packs to lower their profiles, pointedly avoiding glancing at Morari, who stood over them like a statue.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen spread his map on the ground, then looked around. The clearings in the forest weren’t large enough to be marked upon the map. Dasen shed his pack, tucked his map deep into his quiver, found the tallest tree and began to climb. It was easy going for the first half but then the branches got thinner and more distant. By the end of it, he had to stand up on a branch with his legs shaking, look at the branch above him as if it was the only thing that existed, and then jump to reach it. He grabbed the dry bark, pulled himself up, set his knee upon it and slid out his map. The treetop visibly swayed. He looked around. There were five or six hills; any of them could be Bitterwell Peak.</div><div><br /></div><div>He looked back in the direction of the town. He saw a thin trail of smoke rising from an imperceptible chimney. Then he looked into the far north and spotted Mt Gauntbody. Looking at the map, he located the peak that was most directly between Megastheos and Gauntbody. Pivoting his vision to the right of that, he was able to determine that the next peak was Bitterwell. He memorized a branch on the bottom of the tree which pointed in the right direction, stowed his map, and gratefully descended to the earth.</div><div><br /></div><div>They reached Glasswell Loch late that afternoon and gazed down over the glassy bay to the north. There were little thatch baskets on the shore that gleamed with an odd warm light. Dasen knew that these were collection points for the Dekandrite’s aphasic slaves, who deposited amber taken from the water, which their blacksmiths used as fuel for their earthwork forges. The party’s faces lit up with greed. The baskets stood alone. None of the tribesmen could be seen.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen looked at Morari expectantly.</div><div><br /></div><div>Morari said, “I’m gonna take a piss and look around. When I get back, I want to hear your plan. If it’s good, we’ll execute it. If not, we’ll head back to town. I’d rather you see your mother again than have the Deks plant you asshole-first on a centipede pot, that’s why I sent Brimley home this morning. But, if you don’t want to take any risks to get that amber, then this profession may not be for you.”</div><div><br /></div><div>He set off up the nearest hill.</div><div><br /></div><div>The party shed their packs and put their heads together. They collectively glanced at Dasen, who was the navigator, and Addis, who was the boldest. Addis looked at Dasen.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen began sketching in the dirt straightaway.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Here’s the sound. Here we are on this ridge. You can see the crags on the saddle behind us; they’ll be unmistakable when we’re near the waterline. We’ll have two groups, one that holds the ridge, one that goes and gets the amber. The reason for that is if the amber group gets cut off, they can blow a whistle and have the second group hit the enemy from behind. Or, if the group’s getting chased, the guys at the crag can surprise whoever’s chasing em. Remember there’s also a ton of loose rock up here you can toss down at em.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Who’s doing what?” asked a dry-mouthed barkeep.</div><div><br /></div><div>“I’ll go for the amber. Addis too.” Addis nodded without a word. “We’ll go right away since the Deks sleep in the day.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Ok. So us guys with ranged weapons hold the crag,” said the barman, even though Dasen was wearing a bow.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Yeah. If there’s no one down there, we bag up the amber and split, if there is anyone… we either hit em or pull back. It’ll be a judgement call.” They nodded. “Anyone else want in on the grab team?”</div><div><br /></div><div>There silence, then,</div><div><br /></div><div>“Fuck it. I’ll go,” said Haedra, who was a discharged soldier.</div><div><br /></div><div>As if on cue, Morari came out of the woodline.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Let’s have it.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen explained, Morari nodding slowly, stroking his chin.</div><div><br /></div><div>“What happens if you catch a javelin? Say I’m not here, how do these guys get out?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Everyone, go due south and eventually you’ll hit the Scalestream. Just follow its flow, and it’ll take you into Assindar township.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Alright, simple enough. We’ll go ahead with your plan. Just be aware that if we get into the shit with some Deks I’ll probably be ok, but you guys aren’t capital-A adventurers, so act accordingly. If I spot a big Dek war crew I’m pulling us out, though.” He made a kingfisher’s call. “That’s the signal that we’re coming, and if you hear it throw a rock down below and hold your fire. But if you hear me blow my whistle it means we’re bringing company. Be listening.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen, Addis and Haedra slithered forwards on their bellies. The water gleamed silver through the boughs. The trees had animal skeletons twined from them in whole hunting scenes, hundreds of bones hung joint-to-joint in osseous mobiles.</div><div><br /></div><div>The wicker bands of the amber baskets were strips of human skin made hard by baking. One section had human eyelids within it.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Brutal,” whispered Addis.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Fucking savages…. fucking primitives… kill ‘em all,” breathed Haedra.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Easy,” said Dasen, “Eyes on the prize… ah, bad metaphor. Let’s get the amber and bug out.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Cover me,” said Addis. Dasen and Haedra nodded, nocking arrows with their bows laying flat against the grass. Addis took his short sword in its scabbard and tucked it under his belt, then slid forward towards the nearest basket of amber.</div><div><br /></div><div>He reached it and slid his arm up it like a snake. He took a handful of little orange rocks and bagged them, repeating this several times.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Shit, enough amber, man, let’s get out of here,” hissed Haedra under his breath. Dasen silently concurred… then his blood ran cold. There were people walking up the beach towards the amber baskets. The first of them were bald, gaunt, and slinking. They had hideous, odious tattoos as if they’d been used for contemptuous practice. There were four young men coming behind them, and Dasen was seized by apprehension at the sight of them. Their bodies were lean yet muscular in a way that no farmer or burgher could match. They were nude and had spiders and centipedes tattooed across every inch of their pale bodies. Their ragged manes reached their heels, and one of them had a single braid amidst his hair which terminated tied up in the crest of a wooden fullhelm that hung behind his knees. They trouped along with long, thin spears. Their gaits were loose and limber.</div><div><br /></div><div>Haedra looked at Dasen. Addis had froze with his hand in the amber basket. The warriors would reach him in just a few moments moments.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen felt every grain of the wood between his fingers. The grass and the sun were vivid. He was about to witness something horrible.</div><div><br /></div><div>Some part of him couldn’t believe it was possible that he could shoot the Dekandrite spearmen. But he took a knee, drew back an arrow, and held it until his arms were shaking and his fingertips were growing numb. A warrior stopped and gaped as he saw Addis laying there in the sand. Dasen let go with the familiar thumping noise and the arrow was launched tremendously at the warrior. When Dasen lowered his bow to look, the man was staggering backwards, screaming. He’d dropped his spear and was grasping the arrow’s shaft, perhaps trying to tug it free.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Yes,” Dasen said in spite of himself. But the tribesman continued screaming horribly. Dasen’s skin began to crawl. The man gave a cry that seemed to come from the depths of his soul. Dasen couldn’t stand it. Weren’t they supposed to be tough? Stoic? Would he please stop?</div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen reached back, retrieved another arrow and nocked it, but the Deks were already ducking and scattering, including the man whom he’d shot. Addis was up and sprinting through the brush with a fat bag of amber bouncing against his thighs.</div><div><br /></div><div>He slid his short sword free as he reached his companions, his eyes alight.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen turned and rushed up the soft soil of the hill. He went over a crag that jutted from the hillside to find an easier path and ran straight into a Dekandrite who’d come directly up the hill from the beach, trying to cut them off. The warrior had his spear in a low one-handed carry but Dasen swung his bow with both hands, catching the man in the chest and shoulder and knocking him over backwards, breaking the bow with a crack. Dasen dropped and then fell down on with a fist to the warrior’s jaw with a smack. The man immediately began shaking with his eyes half-lidded, unconscious.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Gotcha,” Dasen hissed grimly, then planted his hands on the warrior’s hard chest and stood up.</div><div><br /></div><div>Haedra darted in, straddled the unconscious man and began stabbing him all over the ribs with his short sword.</div><div><br /></div><div>The man’s arm curled up towards the blade and he half-awoke, trying to sit up as his wounds began to bleed one by one, before he fell back and let his arm curl towards the ground. Haedra moved on to the man’s neck.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Holy shit!” hissed Dasen, his voice strangely high-pitched. Haedra stood up and backed off, nearly tripping, then wiped his blade on his shirtfront.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Welcome to war, kid! You gotta finish em when you get the chance! Otherwise they’ll end up like that cocksucker at the beach, or they come back and do the same thing to you!”</div><div><br /></div><div>“We’ve got to get out of here,” said Addis evenly.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Ok,” said Dasen, gazing at the slaughtered tribesman bathing in his own blood. He wondered if this would just enrage them more? Or if it would make any difference at all?</div><div><br /></div><div>He grabbed the fallen warrior’s spear and led Addis and Haedra up the hill into the darkening foliage with the sun growing low on the horizon. The patches of sunlight seemed to move before his eyes. The night was coming soon, and with it, advantage for the Dekandrites. </div><div> </div><div>…</div><div><br /></div><div>They didn’t have to wait for night. They were just five minutes’ breathless jog from the crags when they heard a shrill, mirthless, tuneless piping on the wind. A Dek war party was on their tail. They couldn’t hide. Dasen didn’t attempt to estimate their chances; they were in Morari’s field of expertise now. The huge man blew his whistle to signal the party waiting in the crags. The aspirants didn’t look him askance, but the piping seemed to slink towards them like a languid shark smelling a flounder.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Deks came through the trees when the trio was almost in sight of the pass above, where their companions lay in wait. Dasen almost fell over when he saw the first of them. It was a jade colored serpent the size of a horse slithering up the hill towards him, mouth agape. Its fangs moved freely in the darkness, and then Dasen realized that it was a Dek warrior in an elaborate garment of peacock feathers that trailed over the rocks and roots as he went. The man had a pair of ivory daggers held icepick style in his hand; they were scrimshawed walrus tusks filed to an almost invisible point.</div><div><br /></div><div>More come through the woods behind him. A geometric man wearing an armor of wooden boxes bound in an ecosystem of articulating segments, never touching, always rotating as he moved. As he approached, he slapped the boxes on his forearms and they produced a pair of obsidian spikes which fell into his hands beneath them.</div><div><br /></div><div>Next was a man who glowed like a sun priest even in the fading light due to a half-disc of pure amber that he wore behind his head. He had on robes the color of tangerine sorbet like the sunset, and he held aloft an amber-toothed macahuitl like a sacramental icon. He was bald and his entire head had been covered with a strange black lacquer that formed a mannequin-like beetle shell around it. The only living flesh that could be seen was his blazing eyes.</div><div><br /></div><div>A man who looked like some kind of hideous vascular mutant came through the trees, his red flesh shifting this way and that, poking and exploring everything around him. Only his naked tattooed legs were visible. Then Dasen realized that he was armored in red vipers which slithered in masses all around his body like he was a living mating pit. In any case, his eyes were lost in the morass of red scales. Perhaps he was so in tune with his armature that he could navigate from their hisses. He carried no weapons; his hands rested on two trees which he stood between.</div><div><br /></div><div>Another came behind him, a man who swirled with milky white discs that flowed through the air around his body like a traffic of moons. Each had a rim of shining steel, and they were twined around him by furry green ropes. Dasen realized that they were sand dollars which had been bored through and set with steel blades to make chakrams, and the man had them twined such that their patterns were predictable and all he needed to do to keep them in a deadly flow was to weave his arms in a familiar pattern inside the deadly matrix.</div><div><br /></div><div>The man in the snake raiment emitted a bloodcurdling scream echoed in an ear-piercing shriek by his serpents.</div><div><br /></div><div>These men were the advance party, and they had just sounded the alarm.</div><div><br /></div><div>Addis rushed them instantly with his short sword raised above his head, and several of the Deks fell backwards immediately, stunned by the sudden onslaught. Dasen could make out Addis slashing at two of them but the rest advanced on Dasen and Haedra; the serpent-man threw one of his dagger-darts overhand and Haedra screamed. Dasen glanced over. The scrimshawed weapon had impaled Haedra’s shinbone, and a strange dust which had clearly been rubbed into the weapon’s depressions was hazing the air around the wound, which begun releasing dark blood in trickles.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Addis!” Dasen yelled. Addis looked over his shoulder; he’d delivered several livid red slashes to the arms and body of the man with the amber sun-disc, and had cut off several heads from the viper-clad man. Addis backed up, turned and sprinted to where Haedra was sitting.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen looked back at the Deks and heard Haedra scream as Addis unceremoniously lifted him over his shoulders. The snake man and the geometric warrior had reached Dasen and the snake man darted in, trying to stab him with the fang-tusk. Dasen leapt backwards and lowered his spear, daring off the peacock-clad warrior, while the cedarbox-clad man attempted to flank him. Dasen suddenly whipped his spear point towards the flanker and it dug into the man’s square wooden breastplate. The serpent warrior came in with a low stab but Dasen relinquished his spear to dodge it and punched the snake man in the face as he passed, dropping him flat on his belly with a reverberating crack. The man in the boxes body-slammed Dasen, stabbing with his spike, missing Dasen’s arm but gashing his hip.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen was bowled over onto the downy dead bark of the hillside and the man in cedar lunged in to thrust his weapon into Dasen’s chest; Dasen reached up and barely managed to seize the man’s forearm box before the plunge. The man fought it free and Dasen desperately caught it again; the man began to push his other spike inexorably against Dasen’s side, piercing the flesh and muscle as the man’s knuckles rammed the dirt, his body laid across Dasen’s, pinning him down.</div><div><br /></div><div>Just then there was a vorpal swoop in front of Dasen’s nose and the head of the box-clad warrior split apart in a V, brains gushing into Dasen’s face in a hot and viscous release. Dasen blinked and sputtered, pushing the man’s limp and heavy form off of him like a dog which had fallen asleep in his lap. He looked over in awe at the man’s split head; his eyes had fallen back from their sockets and lay amidst brains in the moss. Something flew over Dasen’s head and landed with a terrific thump and a cascade of dirt in front of it: it was Morari, clad in full plate mail and wielding his two-handed longsword.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen got up and fumbled backwards, wiping brains out of his eyes over and over. He looked up the hill and saw Addis disappearing with Haedra, who’s pantleg was soaked in blood drip-drip-dripping into the earth. Then he looked back down at Morari.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Dek warriors moved in on Morari, even the man in tangerine who’d been slashed by Addis.</div><div><br /></div><div>Morari whipped his longsword in a circle above his head, daring back the Deks, then suddenly long-lunged towards the disc-spinner and planted his sword no more than two inches into the man’s chest amidst the storm of silver blades. The man gave a little cry and stepped back as the discs wrapped around the sword. Morari tore it free, cutting many twines, and the disc spinner sat down with an expression like he’d been grievously insulted, bleeding profusely down the chest. Morari had pierced his heart.</div><div><br /></div><div>Instantly the tangerine priest and the man clad in vipers rushed Morari with weapons outstretched. He darted between them with such agility that Dasen wondered if Morari wore plate armor as a form of deception.</div><div><br /></div><div>Morari gave the tangerine-cloaked warrior-priest an upward slash as he passed. The man turned and fell to his hands and knees with a ruby red line blossoming across his robe. The man who was wrapped in vipers whirled on Morari, but Morari’s carried his sword’s momentum into a whirling roundhouse attack that went through the viper-bearer without slowing, bisecting him and dozens of his snakes in an explosion of red flesh that pitter-pattered across the boughs and soil.</div><div><br /></div><div>The man in the serpent coil began to push himself up with red teeth, blinking, but Morari walked by him on his way up the hill, swinging his sword with a noise that chilled Dasen. Morari cut the fallen warrior’s head off, and it fell to the ground inside his garment, reaching the earth before the man’s chest.</div><div><br /></div><div>Morari took Dasen’s collar and sped him up the hill. He was laughing gutturally and relentlessly underneath his breath.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen shook his head as he staggered under Morari’s grasp.</div><div><br /></div><div>…</div><div><br /></div><div>The party maneuvered long into the night. Four of them at a time would pick up Haedra, move, and when the Deks would begin to appear in the woodline the party would set him down and pepper the foliage with arrows and slingstones. They moved like this for hour after hour in an odyssey of pain and darkness. Dasen’s fingertips grew numb from Haedra’s pantlegs, his gait stooping and his feet aching. Dasen knew that he was fatigued and yet he was hyper-alert, peering into the shadows with wide eyes for the slightest hint of movement. Morari ranged around them, directing their path and fire, tireless.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Deks didn’t relent until the party had reached the Scalestream. Dasen’s heart beat relentlessly because he knew that he wouldn’t hear the trackers over the stream and his own physiology. But the next attack didn’t come. They marched into Assindar after several more hours of silent walking, their arms and shoulders pained in ways that they’d never before experienced.</div><div><br /></div><div>Haedra was deposited at the temple. Dasen would later learn that Haedra had lost his leg. It was their tribute to the Dekandrites.</div><div> </div><div>Morari marched the party on Megastheos that same night. Dasen couldn’t believe it. He’d been looking forward to bed and breakfast in Assindar. Now they would spend the rest of the night marching under their packs after the ordeal they had just suffered through. He looked at Morari, and a part of him said to himself, “He didn’t carry Haedra all that way, what does he care?” Then he stopped himself, and thought, “Chances are he’s had to do much worse.”</div><div><br /></div><div>They marched all night, minds growing numb, nearly passing out as they walked. Some of the party began to complain bitterly to each other, but Morari did not censure them or speak at all. Dawn broke with a cool wind across their faces; the skin of their backs felt like they’d laid down in glass from the pressing of their packs on their sweat-laden skin. Dasen's feet hurt so bad he wanted to cry, not to mention being nearly delerious with fatigue and hunger, but he kept going. The night was long and so was the morning. Morari whistled a tune from the back of the pack.</div><div><br /></div><div>Finally they reached Megastheos, from whence they'd departed. The guards smiled as the aspirants trudged through the gates like slaves driven from a foreign land. Morari directed them into the clubhouse and they sat on wooden benches in the foyer, gazing at each other, barely able to think.</div><div><br /></div><div>Morari opened the inner door a crack.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Bluesmith,” he called one of them in. Bluesmith staggered up using his pack to steady himself and went into the inner chamber. A few minutes later he came back into the foyer furiously, slinging his pack and stalking out onto the street without a word or glance to anyone. Dasen’s heart was pounding like he’d just been thrown by a horse.</div><div><br /></div><div>The door opened.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Dasen.”</div><div><br /></div><div>He got up and went in. Morari’s crew was standing around impassively, gazing at him with arms crossed. Being at leisure they wore common, form-fitting clothes and daggers. Their eyes were hard and unforgiving, but amusement danced within. </div><div><br /></div><div>Morari turned to face him. ”Dasen, thanks for coming out. We appreciate you taking your shot; that got hairy and I know you don’t want to leave empty-handed. I’m sorry to tell you this, but…”</div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen’s hands shook. His heart was in freefall. Morari smiled.</div><div><br /></div><div>“You’re in.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Dasen nearly fell over. Then he nearly leapt in the air.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Thank you."</div><div><br /></div><div>Morari cracked a smile.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Get the fuck out of here. Come back when you're cleaned up and we'll get started."</div></div></div>Her Christmas Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445850026904816000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575857487210211963.post-52663341911244691722023-03-11T02:43:00.002-05:002023-03-11T02:44:14.933-05:00Now Recording: The Histories of Herodotus<div>I've begun recording the Histories of Herodotus for <a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/2046818/12417810-reading-the-histories-of-herodotus-430bc-book-1-chapters-1-44" target="_blank">Fierce Firelight</a>, my podcast for stories, interviews, and readings of historical works.</div><div><br /></div><div>Per <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histories_(Herodotus)" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>:</div><div><br /></div><div>"The Histories of Herodotus is considered the founding work of history in Western literature."</div><div><br /></div><div>"Written around 430 BC in the Ionic dialect of classical Greek, The Histories serves as a record of the ancient traditions, politics, geography, and clashes of various cultures that were known in Greece, Western Asia and Northern Africa at that time."</div><div><br /></div><div>"The Histories also stands as one of the earliest accounts of the rise of the Persian Empire, as well as the events and causes of the Greco-Persian Wars between the Persian Empire and the Greek city-states in the 5th century BC."</div><div><br /></div><div>Today we cover Book 1, Chapters 1‑44: "History of Lydia and its kings; the story of Croesus."</div><div><br /></div><div>I am reading from <a href="https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Herodotus/home.html" target="_blank">this edition</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Major subjects of the Histories include:</div><div>The Archaic Greek world and the role it played in the prelude to the Greco-Persian wars, beginning with the Kingdom of Lydia in Anatolia and its capital at Sardis.</div><div>The animals, monsters, geography, and cultures of the earth.</div><div>The Rise of the Persian Empire.</div><div>The development of Athens, Sparta, Corinth and other Greek states.</div><div>The Greco-Persian Wars.</div><div><br /></div><div>I go about recording stories (mine own and others) and historical readings in different ways; I do relatively close audio editing of pure stories, but treat the intended experience of "reading" readings as being present while someone does a reading, and so for this I continue on despite minor stumbles and don't edit for sound during whitespace. Don't regard my pronunciations as canon.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyIY8jUpc7Qhe3GIaAn4eh5aGNX4A2lzCIp9DnP7PWKfLv7G0NDgVReYKAdKK20M9vGPpY2QRYeRmui1t9sXs1eYvILCWw6-tKrCVQGAw1VZ7Vw9Offo3xFBwhZww0x-zYKl1JWbtHp96oUHJkQ8q6XlzA2t27pnUrwesS860dGVLwV7NZaBi53QeGKw/s5032/Kaulbach,_Wilhelm_von_-_Die_Seeschlacht_bei_Salamis_-_1868.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2840" data-original-width="5032" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyIY8jUpc7Qhe3GIaAn4eh5aGNX4A2lzCIp9DnP7PWKfLv7G0NDgVReYKAdKK20M9vGPpY2QRYeRmui1t9sXs1eYvILCWw6-tKrCVQGAw1VZ7Vw9Offo3xFBwhZww0x-zYKl1JWbtHp96oUHJkQ8q6XlzA2t27pnUrwesS860dGVLwV7NZaBi53QeGKw/w640-h362/Kaulbach,_Wilhelm_von_-_Die_Seeschlacht_bei_Salamis_-_1868.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have fond memories of sunny days spent transported by a well-annotated copy of the Histories and pounds of Ezell's spicy chicken strips.</td></tr></tbody></table>Her Christmas Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445850026904816000noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575857487210211963.post-36013249718650224272023-02-26T14:05:00.002-05:002023-02-26T14:06:02.994-05:00Writing Enterprise<div style="text-align: left;"><span data-tt="{}" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">No use hedging or making any bones about it; I want to be a professional writer. </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">My plan is to gradually (read: as soon as possible) build a writing-related income until I can subsist on it in an inexpensive area (or until I predict that my savings will carry me to that point), at which point I will make preparations to exit my career to focus full-time on writing and the activities necessary to refine, promote, and distribute it.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The primary effort for the time being is Fierce Firelight, where I put up my stories, readings and interviews. <br /></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/2046818/episodes" target="_blank">Buzzsprout</a><br /></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/7hWcBBxvtKRSZARXZ7LiaR" target="_blank">Spotify<br /></a></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8yMDQ2ODE4LnJzcw==" target="_blank">Google<br /></a></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fierce-firelight/id1674420909" target="_blank">Apple<br /></a></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2046818.rss" target="_blank">RSS</a>
</span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Part of the ability to do something full-time is to have the resources to do it full-time, so I've set up a <a href="https://www.patreon.com/fiercefirelight" target="_blank">Patreon</a> and <a href="https://ko-fi.com/fiercefirelight" target="_blank">ko-fi</a> in support of Fierce Firelight.</span></div><div><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">
</span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">It's good to have something to sell, so I'm commissioning a piece of art from <a href="https://www.patreon.com/evlynmoreau" target="_blank">Evlyn Moreau</a> for </span><a href="https://grandcommodore.blogspot.com/2021/06/lotfp-adventure-star-index.html" style="white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Star Index</a><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">, which I'll stat for several different games and then put on itch and dtrpg as a PDF.</span> <br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>Once I have a full RPG book, I'll do a print run via Kickstarter.<br /><br />
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">When I was a little kid and they asked us what we wanted to do when we grew up, I gave two answers. The first answer I gave was "author," the second was something else. I already did the second thing, now it's time to pursue the first.</span></div><div><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">________</span></div><div><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimT2RN57C4TN2EAjW7RvR3HGzKhT1ZYrS_dzlb4M0WQ8YHM-i7PDJyrDIyhfyKpxYjCkrvdJMnbarTh8yEn-Crn-ij_rMXBLFBylAQzbOOL0QOPK9_e7CNzkG8dd7tOeDDxdW50g05ijPNcU6jZQLtaDM0pZ2v7ay6IzZi4dwN26GJjZQ_wY5D_wzBsQ/s1276/IMG-1679.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1276" data-original-width="810" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimT2RN57C4TN2EAjW7RvR3HGzKhT1ZYrS_dzlb4M0WQ8YHM-i7PDJyrDIyhfyKpxYjCkrvdJMnbarTh8yEn-Crn-ij_rMXBLFBylAQzbOOL0QOPK9_e7CNzkG8dd7tOeDDxdW50g05ijPNcU6jZQLtaDM0pZ2v7ay6IzZi4dwN26GJjZQ_wY5D_wzBsQ/s16000/IMG-1679.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"><i>Гуси-лебеди, 1967</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></div>Her Christmas Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445850026904816000noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575857487210211963.post-12565461108658939402023-02-10T00:58:00.032-05:002023-02-10T17:05:52.927-05:00Maximalist Weird Fantasy War Galley Generator<div> <b>Index</b></div><div><span> </span>Ships</div><div><span> </span>Captains</div><div><span> Watercourses</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span> <b>Ships</b><br /></span></div><div><span>Chassis</span></div><div><span>Fame of Captain</span></div><div><span>Deck Features</span></div><div><span>Galley's Exterior</span></div><div><span>Ship's Rails</span></div><div><span>Prow Features</span></div><div><span>Ram</span></div><div>Weapons</div><div>Prow Statue</div><div>Stern Statue</div><div>Wake Features</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span> </span><span> Captains</span><br /></b></div><div>Captain</div><div>Captain's Status</div><div>Captain's Supporting Characters</div><div>Captain's Support Ships</div><div>Sample Distinctive Garb for Captains</div><div><br /></div><div>Marines</div><div>Classification of Rowers</div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Watercourses</b><br /></div><div>Races</div><div>Elements</div><div>NPC Competitors</div><div>Cargo Prizes</div><div>Race Host</div><div>Example Race: The Mount Ñosájá Classic</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtNbbvF6LEBbR4_H2DjO5wAser_aqFBCKbOA_HX6gBbYcKz1PDd09EvWoY9ByKAhVWCrAic5LisSGjFWnyUMo7cu3lx99QzhtaHV4UvijX8UDFeE6H1TeGdVDFuUWQ0KNOuxuTxjcJxsga3coD4AZ9n1JE5voRpVrm6PhQbrYEFVx5o8NhpYAUHGkmlg/s3000/Giorgio-vasari-battle-of-lepanto.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="2649" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtNbbvF6LEBbR4_H2DjO5wAser_aqFBCKbOA_HX6gBbYcKz1PDd09EvWoY9ByKAhVWCrAic5LisSGjFWnyUMo7cu3lx99QzhtaHV4UvijX8UDFeE6H1TeGdVDFuUWQ0KNOuxuTxjcJxsga3coD4AZ9n1JE5voRpVrm6PhQbrYEFVx5o8NhpYAUHGkmlg/w566-h640/Giorgio-vasari-battle-of-lepanto.jpg" width="566" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Ships</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span> <span> </span><b>Chassis</b></span><br /></div><div><span>Note: Big ships are no slower than small ships, they’re just less maneuverable. The exception is the tessarakonteres, which may or may not be slower depending on its amenities.</span></div><div><span>d12</span></div><div><div>1 Liburna</div><div>2 Hemiola</div><div>3 Cataphracted bireme</div><div>4 Trihemiola</div><div>5 Trireme</div><div>6 Quadrireme</div><div>7 Quinquereme</div><div>8 Hexere</div><div>9 Octere</div><div>10 Dekares</div><div>11 Polyreme</div><div>12 Tessarakonteres</div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Fame of Captain</b></div><div><span>d12</span></div><div><span>1-4: Amateur</span></div><div><span>5-10: Professional</span></div><div><span>11-12: Famous</span></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Deck Features</b></div><div>Amateur: 1 of the following</div><div>Professional: Roll a d4 (1-2: 1 of the following, 3-4: 2 of the following)</div><div>Famous: d4 of the following</div><div>d20</div><div>1 Selection of luxury yachts of almost every size smaller than the galley, ready to be cast off at any time</div><div>2 Pyramid (tomb to immediately inter the captain, or treasure hold, or personal residence; in any case makes a great firing platform)</div><div>3 Forecastle, aftcastle, midcastle</div><div>4 300’ crow’s nest </div><div>5 Huge golden mirror (vanity; possible thermal weapon vs stationary wooden targets)</div><div>6 Giant spider's web for rigging with dozens of colorful little birds in it, chirping desperately</div><div>7 Forecastle bathed in ethereal flames</div><div>8 Big serpent wrapped around the mainmast; smoke pours from the tips of its fangs</div><div>9 Long, sumptuous green carpet</div><div>10 Library and gymnasium </div><div>11 Geobukseon refit</div><div>12 Black and white tile interspersed with geometric pictograms framed in silver</div><div>13 Mainmast’s base is a tree with a giant eye in the hollow</div><div>14 Golden doors sporting radiant suns beneath the lantern-lit roots of the mainmast </div><div>15 Garden</div><div>16 Mosaics depicting famous stories</div><div>17 Indoor bath with hot water</div><div>18 Shrine with sacred, blazing brass tablets held in gothic gold safe, and a throne for the captain</div><div>19 Altar: can be to a deity, can sacrifice here (unreliably for speed/good winds/fair tides), can host a ghost/poltergeist, guardian spirit, possibly an elemental or demon depending on the type of altar. Additions: hierodules, eunuch priests, plunder pile</div></div><div><div>20 Below-deck brazier. You can throw things into the brazier to affect the rowers, and potentially the other crew</div><div><i>Brazier materials:</i></div><div>A seaweed that is pleasing to sea creatures when burnt</div><div>Some herbs/roots that will take the whole crew on a voyage to the netherworld</div><div>Powdered bones of ancestors that will summon them to egg on the rowers</div><div>Narwhal musth to drive the men berserk</div><div>Wildcat pheromones, wild lust with their tongues hanging past their own cheeks, translates decently to rowing power<br /><a href="https://grandcommodore.blogspot.com/2022/05/weird-fiction-drugs-in-combat-camp.html" target="_blank">Drugs</a></div></div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Galley's Exterior</b><br /></div><div><span>Amateur/Professional/Famous: 1 of the following. Famous may optionally roll d4</span></div><div><span><div>60 (d6 and d10)</div><div>1 Black velvet with milky scenes of hanging foliage, lilies and mushrooms</div><div>2 Black stipple over sepia with the outlines of hinted bats</div><div>3 Green velvet with white-furred snakes draped luxuriating across it, their faces like spoiled cats</div><div>4 Black with rabbit fur pouring across raised surfaces </div><div>5 Scaled with tens of thousands of interlocking and overlapping butterfly wings</div><div>6 Red leather with white spots a la fly agaric</div><div>7 Mosaic (sun saint, the phaerimm, fanged horses, cities on spider legs)</div><div>8 Dazzle pattern</div><div>9 Leopard print</div><div>10 Chinchilla </div><div>11 Whitewashed, with a bunch of really shitty graffiti on top </div><div>12 Stone fluting</div><div>13 Tiger hide</div><div>14 Blood red snakeskin</div><div>15 Lead sheets (primarily against woodworms)</div><div>16 Thousands of dead white hares, some gazing imperiously into nether space </div><div>17 Electric blue and azure stained glass</div><div>18 Midnight blue felt with rubies cut into blood drops falling in even sheets</div><div>19 Riot of fighting and dancing figures crisscrossing each other, a jet and alabaster bacchanal </div><div>20 Rolling tufts of lavender, purple and pale-red petals</div><div>21 Glossy black lacquer </div><div>22 Ladybug</div><div>23 Light blue with white suns as twin eyes by the prow, networks of goetic symbols falling in long black lashes behind them</div><div>24 Black whaleskin tattooed with gleaming blue fish, crashing waves, and coils of red twine here and there amongst them</div><div>25 Fishscale plates of gothic armor blued and hemmed in gold</div><div>26 Midnight blue barely visible over the soaring flocks of golden birds across its surface </div><div>27 Flaming hellscape wrought in gleaming amber</div><div>28 Tortoiseshell</div><div>29 Horsehair and pitch</div><div>30 Brocaded capes that are gold and black, bone and black, shimmering across stars so dense they’re like bright sand on dark skin</div><div>31 Sooty white like a storm cloud with rough regions of gold leaf here and there</div><div>32 Subtle brass organ pipes beneath portals of wrought iron; the groaning of the rowers hauling at ram speed emits a terrible bellowing </div><div>33 The great wings of skyrealm birds are spread against the hull, watercolor green and blue, rust on teal, splashes of wine into surges of whitewater</div><div>34 Shields hung across the body of the ship, vivid red and gleaming bronze, designs of prickly stars and leering grinning monster faces, beasts of prey and predation</div><div>35 Plaster of ground seashell to defeat flaming arrows</div><div>36 Black and gold, red-figure pottery effect; heroes, ladies, craftsmen, beastmen. Murders, sex, the harvest, running-about</div><div>37 Black and orange, black-figure pottery effect; serpents, battles, animals, industry</div><div>38 Black crisscrossed with diamonds of steel, a ruby shard at the heart of each</div><div>39 Reams of white curtain draped from the rails, hanging clean in the waterline </div><div>40 Scenes of robed wildcats wielding sabers assaulting pigs in sumptuous litters. Livid red backdrop</div><div>41 Glittering black at first; on close inspection a storm of black wolves with golden teeth and claws all fighting forward to reach the foe</div><div>42 Light blue darkening the rail as if the rising of the sky, and along the waterline temples gold in ivory scrollwork, against them saints and kings sporting solid gold haloes and cloaks of blue and black and purple encircled by intricate designs in all colors</div><div>43 Moss green with echoing bands of black which expand here and there like ripples in a swamp</div><div>44 Sheepskin</div><div>45 Black with amber metallic lines in the manner of a runestone running across it</div><div>46 Green with golden pictographic calligraphy </div><div>47 Subtle chessboard in dark and light gray; in front of it, dozens of hanging red-hemmed banners, identically sized but sporting varying imagery, each like shelves containing something centrally placed, decored between</div><div>48 Smooth bark</div><div>49 Bluish glass subtly reflecting the sea below and the stars above </div><div>50 Golden musculata like the sinews of a fish</div><div>51 The curving and recursive fern-fragments of an ornate carpet </div><div>52 Black and dark-green shards over light green fabric like a carpet of ivy</div><div>53 Pastel blue curls impressionistically imitating the sea beneath</div><div>54 Snowy opal</div><div>55 Chainmail</div><div>56 Alabaster, snowy owl wings flitting through the surface as if skirting a mist</div><div>57 Smooth bark, the vertical lines revealing watching figures partly defined by wood-rot fungus or else sanded planes. Here and there stippled green columns are used to depict hanging foliage from an implied canopy </div><div>58 Sepia linen sporting vivid pink and green pagodas, yellow and red blossoms in their trees, green and blue horses, purple crags and rich brown ibex</div><div>59 Vellum on which fans have inked their best wishes</div><div>60 Sleek black with explosions of gold suns and flowers, with leather bands sporting friezes of figures as gold constellations</div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Ship's Rails</b></div><div><span><div>Note on rails: can be a rail, or just whatever’s at the edge of the ship</div><div><div>Amateur/Professional: 1 of the following</div><div>Famous: Roll a d4 (1-2: 1 of the following, 3-4: 2 of the following)</div></div><div>d12</div><div>1 Wooden railing with vases and waving blades as supports</div><div>2 Entry towers skinned with pink velvet, floral blue curtains, orange light within, jade and gold canopies</div><div>3 Columns inlaid with switchbacking goosenecks and blades of orange and blue feathers up the center</div><div>4 An assortment of patiently watching, growling dogs, bears, wolves, rabbits and foxes</div><div>5 Trees fastened in planters by gold manacles and chains</div><div>6 Statuary alcoves (heroes, ancestors, defeated foes, propitiated deities)</div><div>7 Human skins tied to rails by their wrists</div><div>8 Tall, waving sticks whose branching tips have turnips cut into moaning jack o' lanterns jammed between them</div><div>9 Hundreds of little skeletal kodamas, standing or hanging like fetishes; they may turn to watch things happening at sea or on the deck </div><div>10 Iron palisade against boarding</div><div>11 Ethereal deer gazing over the side of the ship</div><div>12 Rich moss, pale mushrooms</div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Prow Features</b><br /></div><div><span>Amateur: 25% chance of 1</span></div><div><span>Professional: 1</span></div><div><span>Famous: 50% chance of 1, 50% chance of 2</span></div><div><span>d20</span></div><div><span><div>1 Eye: Black pupil, ivory lace over scrollworked gold iris</div><div>2 Spirals of three running legs emerging from each other, all over in bronze, as if running the ship through the water</div><div>3 White wings spread against hull</div><div>4 Spiraling jade fern leaves. Secretly very sharp to punish people attempting to climb up from the waterline</div><div>5 Giant green cat eyes, slit viperlike when the foe is spotted</div><div>6 Feathers carved into the wood; every last one is painted like a different bird</div><div>7 Black cats in dresses dancing with witches and skeletons</div><div>8 Depiction of rain, swan and sunlight spilling like serpents through boiling black clouds across a naked maiden</div><div>9 Painted badge indicating the naval squadron the galley used to belong to; sunset, sea horizon, seahorse breathing Greek fire over a melting hammerhead shark poking its head from the boiling water</div><div>10 Single image of a black goat leaping across a pale sun</div><div>11 Weaving snakes slithering forward to bite whatever the ship will ram</div><div>12 Ancestral warriors in headwraps, scale mail and cloaks depicting floods drowning fertile plains that spawned hordes of foes lean out of the sides of the bow, swords extended, water crashing around them</div><div>13 Nets filled with gold coins, tempting the foe: come and take them</div><div>14 Bronze cookware strung up against the side of the ship; very useful for making great feasts when the ship makes landfall, but also sounds a terrible portentous cacophony when the ship reaches ram speed</div><div>15 A gleaming lattice of gilded ribcages; may contain prisoners forced to endure the seafoam and splinters when the ram connects</div><div>16 Lovely curtains made up of stitched-together silk feathers sporting leafy highlights of white and blue; pulled back to reveal horrific grinning olm medusa heads of brass imprinted into the hull</div><div>17 Gongs whose suspended hammers are unstrung when preparing to make a ram attack, so that the gongs sound death as the galley crashes upon the waves</div><div>18 Observation decks a la box seats to watch a ram happen up close; can be sealed up in case of high waves and/or boarders from the waterline</div><div>19 Enchanted coral anchors that bring the ship undersea when aweigh, sealing the ship in an air bubble with the oars just outside it; this will gradually deplete and is no way to win races, as the ship is slower with the anchors in the water</div><div>20 The fleeces of mythological beasts slaughtered by the captain; gold fur, polycrystalline lattice hide, solid-state acid scales</div></span></div></span></div></span></div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Ram</b><br /></div><div>Generally iron or bronze</div><div>Amateur/Professional: 1 of the following</div><div>Famous: 1, with a 25% chance of having 3 of the following in a triangular cluster</div><div>d40 (d4 and d10)</div><div><div>1 Kraken’s tongue</div><div>2 Lightning bolt (gilded) </div><div>3 Flamberge </div><div>4 Bound body with screaming face pointed up at the ship to be rammed</div><div>5 Characteristic tower of home port</div><div>6 Board game piece (horse, crenellated battlement, giant thimble)</div><div>7 Firebird beak </div><div>8 Trident</div><div>9 Harpoon</div><div>10 Reinforced antlers (makes multiple smaller holes)</div><div>11 Veiny fist with brass knuckles</div><div>12 Minotaur's head</div><div>13 A fist surrounded by an esoteric-looking chakram of light</div><div>14 Big middle finger</div><div>15 Stylized terrestrial battering ram with (tortoise) and all</div><div>16 Giant wiener </div><div>17 Cat’s head, slightly turned to one side, ears flat to nuzzle something</div><div>18 Unicorn head and horn</div><div>19 Whole front of ship shaped like the head of a narwhal</div><div>20 A really fat, mean-looking hummingbird with its long beak poised to pierce the offending ship </div><div>21 Giant rubyscaled carp with its tongue extended as ram; its mouth actually consumes passing fish </div><div>22 Salivating deathshead at the end of a spined neckbone</div><div>23 Diving peregrine falcon</div><div>24 Nudibranch horns</div><div>25 Snapping turtle head</div><div>26 Butting seahorse</div><div>27 Bamboo spear</div><div>28 Column made up of bodies falling into hell</div><div>29 Horse bucking back and kicking, the two hoofs touching, the rear legs forming the ram</div><div>30 Trilobite</div><div>31 Lighthouse with the brazier clearly stifled</div><div>32 Lit cigar about to be stubbed out into the enemy ship</div><div>33 Broadsword</div><div>34 Friendly dolphin</div><div>35 Giant pin between two fingers</div><div>36 Very pointy noise, as if part of the face of the ship's bow</div><div>37 Royal scepter of favored polity</div><div>38 Snowflake in dagger shape</div><div>39 Ornate knightly lance</div><div>40 Five-horned beetle head</div></div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Weapons</b><br /></div><div><span>Amateur: One of the following</span></div><div><span>Professional: d4 of the following</span></div><div><span>Famous: 2d6 of the following</span></div><div><span>d120</span></div><div><div>1 Fire pots (at the end of long poles; dropped onto enemy deck)</div><div>2 Snake pots</div><div>3 Corvus</div><div>4 Sulfur smoke (emitter)</div><div>5 Hwacha</div><div>6 Huge slingshot that releases masses of razor-sharp caltrops</div><div>7 Kennel of rabid dogs released as broken arrow measure</div><div>8 Corvus</div><div>9 Harpax</div><div>10 Polybolos batteries</div><div>11 Bombard (1/20 chance of setting your ship on fire)</div><div>12 Rail handguns (tubes on poles)</div><div>13 Greek fire</div><div>14 Red hot, billowing sand</div><div>15 Swivel ballistae: Great against large creatures</div><div>16 Catapult/Mangonel</div><div>17 Trebuchet (likely to flip small ships; can be built into the hulls of the largest, particularly tesserakonteres because the weight can go between the hulls)</div><div>18 Elevated boarding ramp </div><div>19 Rambade fighting platform around ram</div><div>20 Giant net cast by a catapult or linked ballistae to foul up oars and deck operations</div><div><br /></div><div><span> </span> <b>Prow Statue</b><br /></div><div>Amateur/Professional/Famous: 1</div><div>Generally wood, often painted</div><div>d100 (d10 and d10)</div><div><div>1 A sheep-serpent with many thin black wings running up its body and great orange, blue, white and red feathers beneath the wings</div><div>2 Swan’s head, periodically closes its eyes and tosses its head to one side </div><div>3 Three-headed hairy dragon</div><div>4 Monastic woman with the face of a stylized owl</div><div>5 Wooden king in gorgeous soft silk cape in pale green with a broad golden hem with shaded leaves and blossoms</div><div>6 Golden queen draped in a golden pectoral plate sporting a medusa's head; she gives an imperious salute</div><div>7 Dark arrowhead-shaped pyramid with tentacles emerging from the space beneath it</div><div>8 Queen with a crown bearing a goetic star. She has giant bat wings</div><div>9 Black moth with midnight-blue constellation patterns in its wings. It wears a porcelain mask</div><div>10 Figure of a devil presenting its own head in its hands</div><div>11 Red-winged alabaster angel wracked by hands emerging from his own body </div><div>12 Rat King with subordinate rats held aloft in the air around it, fanned out like some kind of lotus</div><div>13 Some kind of creature composed of thick stalks of wheat with a single brown eye and a grinning, large-tooth mouth visible in amidst the bushy strands</div><div>14 Winged, feathered white worm with a giant, featureless orange eye at its tip</div><div>15 Frog poised in a bandana, clearly ready to leap onto the enemy ship</div><div>16 Rokurokubi whose head continually weaves around at the end of her wooden neck, seeking the best view of the situation. She does not speak but may attempt to point things out by jabbing her head at them</div><div>17 Leering, spiny, randy-looking tatzelwurm</div><div>18 Bull-headed spider with a grinning cat’s mouth</div><div>19 Wolfsheaded hydra</div><div>20 Phoenix with rose petals for neck feathers </div><div>21 Roaring wolf rearing, trying to shake off the blood-red chains that bind it to the deck</div><div>22 Hero with a sickle holding up the head of a kitsune</div><div>23 Pallid corpse riding a giant mosquito </div><div>24 Giant sword stuck in the deck impaling a satyr, a succubus and an ophanim in sequence</div><div>25 Giant rearing millipede with a staring eye on every segment</div><div>26 Grinning skull with a single giant red eye above the nose slits</div><div>27 Minotaur, bound and kneeling</div><div>28 Slathering, rangy werecat with gleaming pits for eyes</div><div>29 A maiden of solar fire sitting across the bow </div><div>30 Gray stone statue of a harpy with 12’ of rich orange hair</div><div>31 Minotaur ripping a virgin in half overhead</div><div>32 Solar roc with constellations in its wings, a sun disc on its head</div><div>33 Stag with rack of horns the breadth of a leafless tree</div><div>34 Dark satyr leading many nude men in chains</div><div>35 Man and woman entwined yet facing forward; their bodies are differing hues of marble </div><div>36 Warrior on horseback plunging a lance of light down into whatever the ship will ram</div><div>37 Angel with bare breasts, boar’s head, crow’s legs and a burning sword</div><div>38 Ornate-trousered, bat-winged cat standing upright sticking its tongue out irreverently </div><div>40 Rabbit in a kimono smoking a pipe</div><div>41 Horned, hairy lamprey with giant cackling mouth, set low in the water, just above or below the ram</div><div>42 Fanged frog with spiral eyes</div><div>43 Humanoid with goat heads facing left and right, golden lungs and guts visible within its red outline </div><div>44 Elegant maiden with nude and darkly-grinning yeti-like satyrs going arm-in-arm with her</div><div>45 Giant wolf with baby wolf sideways in its jaws </div><div>46 Love Goddess, hot pink, breasts glow bright red when nearing finish line</div><div>47 Woman transforming into a spider, holding her face in horror but staring at whatever the ship is pointed at </div><div>48 God of speed (winged sandals, winged helm, winged sword, wings, winged greaves, winged bracers, winged gauntlets, winged belt, being hoisted by fairies)</div><div>49 Cut-off head of a monstrous bear-serpent, its eyes crossed, its tongue lolling down the side of the ship, stone insects depicted alighting upon it</div><div>50 A chimera for the seasons: spring (stag), summer (lion), autumn (owl), and winter (arctic fox)</div><div>51 Horse with the eyes and legs of human women </div><div>52 A naked man made tree of slats hung with the leering flesh of many faces coiled into grotesque masks by age and sun</div><div>53 Clawed many-colored elephant with eight horns like chitinous tentacles, six eyes and a nose like a vast millipede</div><div>54 A lion with a stag’s antlers, an arctic fox’s fur and an owl’s legs and wings. An ow-lion</div><div>55 Death holding a pair of great eyeballs; when the ship is closing in on a successful ram the eyes burst into green flames </div><div>56 Flower with sprig-arms, in a dress</div><div>57 Goddess with stag beetle horns sporting a blood red sun between them</div><div>58 standing Persian cat with three layers of lavender eyes</div><div>59 Fairy girl sitting in a giant blade of grass, smirking down at the ship about to be rammed </div><div>60 Mothman lifting the moon to the sun</div><div>61 Indistinct vampiric wraith hiding in the crescent moon</div><div>62 Cyclopean serpent with its body-half hidden in its long, ragged hair</div><div>63 A giant vase with a stalk emerging from it, at the end of which is a dryad’s cool face </div><div>64 Maenad with a serpent for a headband whirling a thyrsus and a savannah cat through the air, stirring the crew and their enemies to fervor and madness </div><div>65 Naked man covered in tattooed woad, an encyclopedia of poisonous plants and animals </div><div>66 A saint sitting in a sea-monster’s mouth, reading a scroll charged with judgement </div><div>67 A hero hoisting a mountain to crash down onto the ship to be impaled </div><div>68 Hunger on an emaciated eyeless horse, carrying a pair of shackles for those to be conquered and a standard in red and black</div><div>69 Black lion weeping streams of pure gold</div><div>70 A hoplite kneeling on a smiling, naked man’s back, about to plunge a spatha through the man’s neck</div><div>71 A scroll charged with the execution of those to be rammed</div><div>72 A winged snapping turtle </div><div>73 The legged house of a witch; doubles as an actual house for the captain, and during a desperate battle it will uproot itself and serve as a mobile firing platform</div><div>74 A crab with one really giant, mean pincer raised, the other very small, guarding its belly</div><div>75 Aquasaurus</div><div>76 A really sexy caryatid</div><div>77 An ogre in full plate</div><div>78 A dancing, reveling girl, intended to be splashed with blood in the press of battle</div><div>79 A huge, bladed, golden pineapple </div><div>80 A skeleton, the bones of which are totally covered in feathers</div><div>81 A werecrocodile in fortification armor; not a scale is visible</div><div>82 A marine in blue greaves and white linothorax, a red thyreos and a black spear</div><div>83 A sentry dressed in a smock of hay to keep the rain off; he kneels, his sword sheathed and leaned between his knees, watching the horizon</div><div>84 A frog-ogre wielding a log as a club; it has many sets of antlers tucked between flaps cut into its skin, and has been painted here and there with blue feathers</div><div>85 An armored war elephant with a howdah; in battle, troops can board the howdah and skirmish, serving as an extra tower</div><div>86 A nude dryad, half tree to include her head; titillating art</div><div>87 The praying gleaming brass statue of a cross-legged lich</div><div>88 Naiad with many cascading peacock tails for hair, partially hiding her body</div><div>89 Hareman being grasped by the ears by a mailed executioner with a scimitar. The hareman is kneeling in prayer and the executioner looks resigned</div><div>90 White-winged three-headed cheetah</div><div>91 Androgynous figure with its head split in half as if by an axe; one side is male, the other female, and have a familial resemblance as if this is two versions of the same person, male and female </div><div>92 Cat lolling on its back with its paws curled above it</div><div>93 Another, smaller model galley with characteristics that can be rolled from this generator </div><div>94 Mermaid in a tall fisherman's cage</div><div>95 Tree made of fairy inkcap; these glow orange at night</div><div>96 Luminescent chromodoris lochi</div><div>97 Leafy sea dragon</div><div>98 Phyllodes imperialis caterpillar</div><div>99 Mighty-horned nudibranch</div><div>100 Satanic leaf-tailed gecko</div></div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Stern Statue</b><br /></div><div><span>Amateur: N/A</span></div><div><span>Professional: 25% chance of 1</span></div><div><span>Famous: 1</span></div><div><span>d12</span></div><div><div>1 Serpent</div><div>2 Rattlesnake tail</div><div>3 Tiger tail</div><div>4 Scorpion tail</div><div>5 Longbow </div><div>6 Lyre </div><div>7 Crescent moon</div><div>8 Fist gripping raveled whip</div><div>9 Torch</div><div>10 Totem pole stacked with familiar spirits and deities</div><div>11 Column engraved with scenes from previous races, topped with (famous racer, captain’s father, captain, humiliating visage of most important defeated foe)</div><div>12 Rocky crag</div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Wake Features</b><br /></div><div><span>What drifts in the ship's wake?</span></div><div><span>Amateur: N/A</span></div><div><span>Professional: 25% chance of 1</span></div><div><span>Famous: 50% chance of 1</span></div><div><span><div>1 Toadstools and sharp little seaflowers falling away from the ship</div><div>2 Fairies humming around, lit up at night</div><div>3 Little golden orbs drifting through the air, gradually sinking into the water, glowing</div><div>4 Drops of blood</div><div>5 Gradually fading stars in constellation on the water</div><div>6 Lightning arcing through the surface of the water</div><div>7 Red petals </div><div>8 Little floating paper lanterns</div><div>9 Little butterflies that linger on the surface for awhile and then take off</div><div>10 Mist</div><div>11 Acrid, churning charcoal smoke</div><div>12 Rolling cloudbanks</div><div>13 Venous stitchwork written in the waves like the surface of an iris</div><div>14 Peacock feathers </div><div>15 Dark algae and seaweed</div><div>16 A Golden mane of hair, like a celestial wise man’s beard</div><div>17 A great net; the ship is continually trawling </div><div>18 Little toadstools</div><div>19 Gold flakes</div><div>20 Pure mercury</div></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqad1xSbxS2NW9EuFO857hH-EvmTPcqgJnrnSqKueJP9fCxpo_nm_f5fBtaYh7ENuvzOsdI6Vwlb8wxVmkV2U1Imx3RPNHPpaDOZkLsxjzhZET2raW_a1jnARdZ9iGtOhs3jG-_IZUrkVyTQY7p5tUac3LzNuUGEpLJvF3TR86VYlObfBriH0KyKfcWw/s3051/Felipe_IV_offers_Ferdinand_to_Glory.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3051" data-original-width="2512" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqad1xSbxS2NW9EuFO857hH-EvmTPcqgJnrnSqKueJP9fCxpo_nm_f5fBtaYh7ENuvzOsdI6Vwlb8wxVmkV2U1Imx3RPNHPpaDOZkLsxjzhZET2raW_a1jnARdZ9iGtOhs3jG-_IZUrkVyTQY7p5tUac3LzNuUGEpLJvF3TR86VYlObfBriH0KyKfcWw/w526-h640/Felipe_IV_offers_Ferdinand_to_Glory.jpg" width="526" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">His son was born shortly after Lepanto, but then died during childhood. It's as if he's handing the boy up to victory</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>C</b><b>aptains</b></div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Captain</b><br /></div><div><div>60 (d6 and d10)</div><div>1 Crabman </div><div>2 Jellyfish that has constructed a semi-rigid mechanical chassis for its body </div><div>3 Giant sapient shrimp</div><div>4 Giant water strider; never actually gets on the ship, just rushes around shouting at the crew</div><div>5 Weremussel (eyes visible in darkness inside his shell; musscular arms and legs)</div><div>6 Siren (enthralled crew, though she doesn’t always use her song)</div><div>7 Drop of god semen and blood that has become beautiful cambion</div><div>8 Illusionist (utter mindfuck for competitors; target for early elimination, which he’s counting on)</div><div>9 Merking; galley is flooded and emerges halfway from the water, merman rowers blade coral oars between strokes underwater, hippocampi mush team helps offset drag; mermaid princess desperately tired of all this, wishes to escape this dreadful ship, if only for awhile </div><div>10 16' long sapient shipworm; only protrudes from the hull to give counsel</div><div>11 Living prow</div><div>12 Pyromancer who's loaded his ship up with fire pots</div><div>13 Lizard King</div><div>14 Giant, noodle-loving worm. Straightforwardly inclined to provide fellatio</div><div>15 Ancient sage who loves to read, only closing whatever book he's reading when ship operations require his special attention</div><div>16 Maenad</div><div>17 Living tree carved into a statue</div><div>18 Werewhal whose deep scars continually weep whale oil, massive bounty on his head</div><div>19 Kobold, former swabbie</div><div>20 Dryad</div><div>21 Naiad</div><div>22 Satyr</div><div>23 Efreeti</div><div>24 Golem</div><div>25 Treeman (joined with ship)</div><div>26 Harpy</div><div>27 Angel</div><div>28 Demilich that floats around shouting at people; cackles wildly when taking the lead </div><div>29 Oni</div><div>30 Really mad erinyes</div><div>31 Knight that loves to charge people with his galley, intuiting a category affinity between lancing and naval ramming</div><div>32 Woman surrounded by large, dangerous animals who she has tamed with a mere caress</div><div>33 Sphinx. Never shows emotion</div><div>34 Barbarian chief who uses the intensity of races to channel for his spirit-walking rituals </div><div>35 Demonologist who must win a race or be claimed by a demon who is no longer pleased by the demonologist's virgin sacrifices</div><div>36 An octopus in a barrel. It has two holes on the bottom and a hole on either side, plus a viewing slit for the octopus’s eyes </div><div>37 Wraith with many pale hands amidst the folds of its garments, antlers growing from its shoulders, a giant purple iris for a face and a goetic halo whirling about its crown</div><div>38 Butterflyman Prince</div><div>39 Earwigman Villain</div><div>40 Barnacleman; usually resides beneath the ship, keelhauls traitors across him</div><div>41 Giant cackling moth with a skeletal head</div><div>42 Sea witch; diminutive, wears a shag duster and tall conical hat which shades face; two perfectly round, lantern like eyes are visible beneath it; floats slightly off the surface at all times </div><div>43 Purple shroud with the outline of orange eyes streaked diagonally across its surface<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div><div>44 She never leaves her bluish plate armor and golden helm made in a raven’s visage. She has fearsomely sharp claws in her gauntlets </div><div>45 Mind Flayer with mostly brain-bound crew. Habit of stress eating</div><div>46 Captains: Pair of armed serpents who regularly compete to devour as many warmbloods as possible in one day</div><div>47 Jet torc around a viper’s eye wreathed in blood orange fire; purple wings with feathers of molten fire radiate around the torc, and at the apex is a flanged black spike that gleams with yellow light</div><div>48 Berbalang</div><div>49 Giant hermit crab for which the ship is a shell; generally has his legs retracted so as to not generate too much drag, can walk the ship over land</div><div>50 Really old, creaky kappa who speaks painfully slowly but makes very wise decisions. Kind and tolerant unless you fart in his direction, in which case he will do everything possible to have you killed</div><div>51 Trickster spider, has a wooden mask</div><div>52 Remnant lord of precursor empire, trying to raise enough funds to recreate what was; white, ridged, ovular body with glassy spines around giant bulbous sacs of electric blue fluid</div><div>53 Ooze that has gained sapience; almost impossible to kill, even if you sink its ship and leave it behind. It can lose everyone and just gradually burble back to shore. It keeps a perfectly preserved, smiling human head floating inside of it as an attempt to put people at ease, though it speaks by electrifying its surface and creating a crackling vocoder-noise. Right now it's a harmless-looking guy, the ooze will eventually wise up and replace it with the head of a hot girl</div><div>54 Big game hunter who has graduated from living things and now primarily hunts galleys</div><div>55 Professional galley racer who has sponsorships from a bunch of different forests, lumber concerns and elvish holdouts, prominently featuring their wood, showering spectators with wood samples when they're close enough</div><div>56 Doppelganger imitating famous captain it's devoured</div><div>57 Neural worm currently inhabiting a trusted abbot; he's lately developed an unseemly preoccupation with racing, and has spent the abbey's funds to that effect</div><div>58 Leprechaun</div><div>59 Dark dwarf who's turned the ship into a biomechanical smog-belching nightmare</div><div>60 Giant dragonfly with the head of a horned sea-hag</div><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Captain's Status </b></div><div>25% chance of an additional status: But what <i>is</i> the captain?</div><div>d20</div><div>(00: Sea Oligarchy, aka party of PCs)</div><div>1 Heir to monarchy</div><div>2 Kleptocrat who bought this to launder the money; will be in serious danger if he or she ever goes ashore, this ship doubles as a castle </div><div>3 Drug lord just looking for something to spend the money on</div><div>4 Master smuggler, this ship is their baby</div><div>5 Master courier</div><div>6 Fell slaver; once threw several hundred chained slaves overboard to lighten his ship enough to escape a pursuing navy</div><div>7 Naval commodore with dozens of ships killed, none captured</div><div>8 Politician of thalassocratic republic seeking to win fame for election or re-election </div><div>9 New naval captain being tested for command</div><div>10 Moralist philosopher seeking to demonstrate virtues in action</div><div>11 Impoverished genius given command of ship by consignor</div><div>12 Genius shipwright whose ship is amazing but whose rowers detest him</div><div>13 Undefeated admiral seeking to test himself in new endeavor </div><div>14 Famed slaver; leaves ghost ships drifting in his wake </div><div>15 Privateer who exclusively targets warships, never selling prizes, instead stripping them down for the choicest parts, which he adds to his race galley </div><div>16 Decadent emperor quietly hurried after by dismayed minders</div><div>17 Banker on vanity enterprise</div><div>18 Agent of the ichthyarchy</div><div>19 Robber baron</div><div>20 Commander of the polity's sea patrol</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Captain's Supporting Characters</b></div><div>Amateur: 50% chance of 1</div><div>Professional: d4</div><div>Famous: d6</div><div><div>40 (d4 and d10)</div><div>1 Captain’s spouses (comfort captain endlessly)</div><div>2 Captain’s daughters (cheer/echo squad)</div><div>3 Captain's sutler</div><div>4 Soothsayer</div><div>5 Oracle</div><div>6 Seer</div><div>7 Chaplain to the Rowers</div><div>8 Marine padre</div><div>9 Loyal, straight-man first mate who will go energetically unhinged when freed to do his duty </div><div>10 Captain’s Confessor: continually goads captain on</div><div>11 Mercenary artillerist from distant empire; gaudy and impractical garb (looks like some kind of lacquered red candle flute) constant recitations and gestures may be religious devotion, propitiation of the gunpowder spirits or OCD; extremely touchy. Has a literal powder monkey in identical garb</div><div>12 Ship’s Purser, continually dismayed (except when apparently about to win; then becomes rabidly encouraging)</div><div>13 Political Officer: fanatically concerned about winning glory for whatever community the ship represents </div><div>14 Journalist allowed on board as publicity measure </div><div>15 Goat-horned, wrapping-swaddled thing hidden in the corner of the hold; cannot be clearly seen, doesn’t come out of the corner, retracts if grasped for. Can be induced to give advice</div><div>16 Shipwright</div><div>17 Woodworker</div><div>18 Captain's concubines</div><div>19 Giant serpent that the captain uses like a couch</div><div>20 The controversial use of feral humans as ship’s cats (rat catchers). They are beloved but prone to health issues and often put down.</div><div>21 Stowaway-turned-ship’s-mascot</div><div>22 Giant spider who can turn into a beautiful human woman and seduce</div><div>23 Panting, frothing she-wolf that rushes about, giving suck to the rowers </div><div>24 Moss-covered, undead, red-eyed falcon men before webbing them, liquefying and sucking out their guts. Serves the captain as an advisor, alchemist, and emissary</div><div>25 Mob minder here to make sure captain actually throws the race, as agreed</div><div>26 Champion javelin thrower; can pick people off on distant ships</div><div>27 Dark-spirited catoblepas advisor</div><div>28 Living boulder who wards off hostile spirits in exchange for small sacrifices; can also roll around in defense of the ship</div><div>29 Myrmecoleon steed</div><div>30 Pampered succubus</div><div>31 Mermaid exile; she has legs, but also a fish’s tail </div><div>32 Al-mi'raj which the captain continually strokes but also handles kind of roughly</div><div>33 Flumph advisor trying and failing to get the captain to do right</div><div>34 Sage that’s half cat; the left half of her body is skeletal, and flower petals continually weep out from between the bones</div><div>35 Embalmer who makes statuary displays out of those killed on the mission, arranging them dramatically on the ship for the duration of the event</div><div>36 Bodyguard with gigantism; nice guy, unless the captain orders him not to be</div><div>37 Ichthyarchical emissary; same species as the captain, can help smooth over conflicts with certain sea peoples, continually acts to influence the captain in favor of the Ichthyarchy.</div><div>38 The captain's loyal ass, brought along despite the awkwardness of a donkey walking on a ship's deck</div><div>39 A great red and white bird whose black tailfeathers produce delicious red berries; the bird feeds on these and feeds them to the crew, but doesn't necessarily want to be picked all the fucking time</div><div>40 Living scroll that can pop out and suddenly unravel, with what it wants to say written on it. New text will burn across its surface, the ash gradually blowing away in the wind, leaving blank vellum</div></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Captain's Support Ships</b></div><div><div>Amateur/Professional: N/A</div><div>Famous: 10% chance of one being present</div></div><div>d4</div><div>1 Has a rescue ship on standby (the organizers won’t be providing one) to sail into the mix and get out as many survivors as possible</div><div>2 Halfling catering barge/steak and sausage fryer</div><div>3 Underworld titan's floating forge (water wheels and steam forges; makes quick upgrades to ship)</div><div>4 Light, fast warship to quickly go and take advantage of opportunities perceived outside the bounds of the racecourse</div><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Sample Distinctive Garb for Captains</b></div><div>Amateur: N/A</div><div>Professional: 50% chance of 1</div><div>Famous: 1</div><div>d12 </div><div>1 Necklace of assorted golden leaves</div><div>2 Golden koi flit through the air around him; a jeweled catlike white dragon slinks across his shoulders </div><div>3 Giant cavalier hat with an ostrich feather</div><div>4 Cloak that fastens to your cuff links so that black feathers run down your arms; may permit gliding from the crow’s nest</div><div>5 Black silk robe hemmed in gold; at the shoulders, golden wings rise to flank the head. Most effective when worn otherwise naked or with monotone underclothes</div><div>6 Black dress, the fabric of the sleeves and hem hang 8’ from the body in places, green and orange and gold</div><div>7 Golden stone braided beard</div><div>8 Humongous fur coat for cold nights at sea</div><div>9 Bright red cloak with golden eyes</div><div>10 An living eelskin that is warmed by passing water (worn around the body by a swimmer)</div><div>11 Carapace armor of hard lichen</div><div>12 Beautiful wings like midnight blue and black tortoiseshell with drifts of gold</div></div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Marines</b><br /></div><div><span>Amateur: 1</span></div><div><span>Professional: Base 1, 25% chance of d4</span></div><div><span>Famous: Base 1, 50% chance of d4</span></div><div><div>60 (d6 and d10)</div><div>1 The captain’s many sons</div><div>2 Exiled terrorist death squad</div><div>3 Amazon archer squad</div><div>4 Gangers hired from a foodless, stone, half-flooded precursor arcology</div><div>5 Gladiators (commissioned from school or freed on condition of service, generally with inducements against mutiny)</div><div>5 Sacred Band</div><div>6 Maritime republic shipguards</div><div>7 Deserters</div><div>8 Armed Robbers</div><div>9 "Thorns" (evil men)</div><div>10 Naked longsword headhunters</div><div>11 Rhomphaiamen</div><div>12 Rentier elites fighting in Dendra panoply to maintain war skill</div><div>13 Fire worshippers</div><div>14 Takabara</div><div>15 Sparabara archer squads</div><div>16 Berserkers possessed by wild spirits and the souls of fractious heroes</div><div>17 Profoundly lazy island slingers. Lead ammunition</div><div>18 Assassins who get off and practice when the ship docks or comes near land</div><div>19 Adventurous Nobles</div><div>20 Corsair Billmen</div><div>21 Unit of secret police that has fallen into disfavor and is serving a tour on the ship as punishment. Extremely uneasy</div><div>22 Jacked clubmen</div><div>23 Steel bow dacoits</div><div>24 Free company</div><div>25 Human-faced serpent-parasites</div><div>26 Whalers; excellent with harpoons</div><div>27 Zealot militia; only have knives but absolutely determined, which counts for a lot at close range</div><div>28 A bunch of mutually-suspicious adventuring parties</div><div>29 Epilektoi epibatoi hoplites</div><div>30 Dirk-and-targe pole vault boarders</div><div>31 Falx peltasts</div><div>32 Criminals who ape the brutality of a predecessor empire despite having no appreciable ideology </div><div>33 Androphage archers</div><div>34 Argyraspides; can almost blind people during assaults on sunny days</div><div>35 Dismounted cataphracts; 100% armored, but don't let combat last too long in the hot sun</div><div>36 Traveling Knights</div><div>37 Harem Guards</div><div>38 Wagoneer Zagaiemen: Fight with 12' javelins that they use to repel enemies trying to get into their wagons on the deck of their ship; throw some of them for offensive purposes. Wagons can serve as lifeboats but aren't much for amphibious assaults</div><div>39 Light Longbowmen</div><div>40 Bolomen</div><div>41 Écorcheurs</div><div>42 Hill skirmishers; phenomenal when hurling javelins from a higher deck, but so used to falling back in the face of charges and so unused to the sea they may go straight off the deck</div><div>43 Fanatically loyal warrior retainers, will die when masters fall (suicidal charge or suicide)</div><div>44 Plants transfigured into creatures of muscle and bone</div><div>45 Painted pavisiers</div><div>46 Firepipe strelsy (blast flame, roll off tubes, charge with bardiche, unless the enemy ship is already on fire)</div><div>47 Lizardmen who have sworn themselves to the captain due to being treated with politeness</div><div>48 Sappers; will attempt to axe and/or blast themselves through the enemy's hull to get at the soft juicy rowers while wrong-footing the determined marines awaiting them on deck</div><div>49 Phalangites; giant spears, tiny shields. Almost impossible to board, extremely easy to skirmish</div><div>50 Lamellar fortification crossbowmen; dress in a hoistable, semi-rigid cloak of lamellar and oxhorn while wielding repeating crossbow. Can trade fire devilishly, must resort to two-handed spears up close</div><div>51 Naffatun; can sling the stuff or throw it up close; the captain is cagey because these guys have sworn to burn the ship rather than allow it to fall into enemy hands, all of their own volition</div><div>52 Men from the mangroves; magnificent at hiding in the rigging, the underside of the deck castles and in the oar ports, suddenly hurling javelins or handfuls of banana spiders at the enemy</div><div>53 Noble bastards fighting by broadsword and chainmail for the captain, with his or her promise to eventually forcibly enfeoff every last one of them in their homelands; the captain has actually done it a few times, swelling the ranks of his grizzled, colorful complement</div><div>54 Wereskin skirmishers; each wears a headdress of a beast, and in battle will gradually halfway transform into such a thing; therefore a band of them becomes a half-treefrog hurling javelins from midway up the mainmast, a half-board suddenly rushing you with two javelins and two tusks pointed, a half-jumping spider sprinkling caltrops from the air, and a half-dormouse off to squeak a report to the captain.</div><div>55 Fire lancers; their pole-tubes mount bayonets</div><div>56 Urumimen; can strike their bending swords over the side of the enemy deck </div><div>57 Sicklemen; might seem kind of corny until they're climbing up the side of your mighty polyreme</div><div>58 Canoe raiders, who can fight with their canoe as a kind of tower shield or ride it out for night raids and missions</div><div>59 Butterflymen; winged troops are a holy grail, but these guys are so prone to plunder and of lapping up the moisture that collects on the flesh of corpses that when you send these guys into battle you might not regain control of them again for a few days</div><div>60 Vanuastrans; can use the saltwater to form into any weapon, making them extremely versatile (and wounds they inflict hurt even more than usual). Less useful if they're suddenly deprived of water</div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Classification of Rowers</b></div><div><span>Amateur: d4</span></div><div>Professional: d6</div><div>Famous: d8</div><div><div>1 Slave Rowers</div><div>2 Prisoner Rowers</div><div>3 Pressed Rowers</div><div>4 Citizen Rowers</div><div>5 Marine Rowers</div><div>6 Professional Rowers </div><div>7 Competition Racing Crew</div><div>8 International Champion Team</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSa4etL50HVWAXQ49zyAqL2Kn9yex5p7Rg6ezgKkV0ss4DpzDDvcCgF67gG8Ju8PFIS6Ka1QJcq-5XLvOLHevC2Ssvi-MwoYKc1iFAJ7vgUY13aGi_w1XFuVi8Xk3eQHIyXdhqBUiRunTIaCsARB6lx0qzkXhEYBjx5MBxPRSAVoTv29IJ58V8eE5TWg/s3653/La_naumaquia-Ulpiano_Checa.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2563" data-original-width="3653" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSa4etL50HVWAXQ49zyAqL2Kn9yex5p7Rg6ezgKkV0ss4DpzDDvcCgF67gG8Ju8PFIS6Ka1QJcq-5XLvOLHevC2Ssvi-MwoYKc1iFAJ7vgUY13aGi_w1XFuVi8Xk3eQHIyXdhqBUiRunTIaCsARB6lx0qzkXhEYBjx5MBxPRSAVoTv29IJ58V8eE5TWg/w640-h450/La_naumaquia-Ulpiano_Checa.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Watercourses</b></div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Races</b><br /></div><div><div>Amateur/Semipro: d4 stages with 1 element each</div><div>Open: d6 stages with d4 elements each</div><div>Invitational: d8 stages with 2d4 elements each</div></div><div><br /></div><div>You must finish to collect the prize. Simply being the last one standing is not enough.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stages are consecutive. Each stage is characterized by one or more elements.</div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Elements</b><br /></div><div><span><div>40 (d4 + d10)</div><div>1 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redline_(2009_film)" target="_blank">Hostile empire</a></div><div>2 Pirate archipelago</div><div>3 Hostile riverlands (tribes etc; canoes and other boarders)</div><div>4 Stormy seas </div><div>5 Razor coral above and below the water</div><div>6 Constant lightning </div><div>7 Sea monster(s)</div><div>8 Dangerous geographical features (collapsing cliffs, tide that suddenly exposes dangerous crags, shifting, unpredictable ice floes)</div><div>9 Sea of profoundly powdery ("moon dust") sand, from which who-knows-what will emerge. Vast, shifting dunes like waves on a stirring sea, moving to be lifted on these and then subsequently ride their ridges down is a skill best rapidly acquired during such a stage. The sand becomes airborne in a flux stone region (need different name)</div><div>10 Presence of superweapon</div><div>11 Seacaves and tunnels</div><div>12 Flooded ruins/ruins at sea </div><div>13 Hermit state</div><div>14 Hostile series of locks (ie operated by people who don't want to let you pass; you'll have to dismount people and force the mechanisms)</div><div>15 Profound darkness</div><div>16 Naval graveyard</div><div>17 Body of giant creature (inside, outside, around, all of the above)</div><div>18 Drained undersea region</div><div>19 Labyrinth (natural or constructed)</div><div>20 Giant RGO</div><div>21 Robber states</div><div>22 Skylens; effect of sun is doubled</div><div>23 Hostile seas; sea creatures (whales, deadly giant jellyfish, climbing coconut crabs) will constantly assail the ship</div><div>24 Networked vortices</div><div>25 Volcano</div><div>26 Flux Stone Islands (floating islands that cause ship to float amongst them; use oars to push off of them, otherwise propulsion is all sails)</div><div>27 Nautical ossuary</div><div>28 Ancient aqueducts</div><div>29 Stelaes of listless melancholy; extra-hard to inspire rowers and crew, everyone generally gets super downcast and stops giving a shit about the race</div><div>30 Aerial hazards (from harpies to lightning up to rocs and dragons)</div><div>31 Urban canals</div><div>32 Swamps (must push way through using oars)</div><div>33 Demigod (result of program, nascent, disturbed)</div><div>34 Other plane</div><div>35 Occult site suffering <a href="https://illwiki.com/dom5/astral-corruption" target="_blank">astral corruption</a>; entities may slip through from the void to devour individuals or whole ships</div><div>36 Giant salmon run, but with maneating swordfish</div><div>37 Enormous, rocky white water rapids</div><div>38 Extreme mist, to the point of fatiguing rowers</div><div>39 Lying stars </div><div>40 Giant ancient aqueducts </div></span></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>NPC Competitors</b></div><div><div>d4</div><div>1: d4</div><div>2: d6</div><div>3: d8</div><div>4: d10</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Cargo prizes </b>may be scattered across the stages for ambitious captains to seize upon, stored in dilapidated cargo ships or on tow barges)</div><div>d10 x 1000gp in:</div><div>d12</div><div>1 Betel</div><div>2 Paan</div><div>3 Perfume petals</div><div>4 Anaesthetic sponges</div><div>5 Areca</div><div>6 Ghee derived from adipocere</div><div>7 Graveyard cakes</div><div>8 Hyperoleaginous whale cancer</div><div>9 Sandalwood tincture</div><div>10 Seashells naturally alloyed with gold via filtration</div><div>11 Hyraceum</div><div>12 Succulent sea slugs (you can just suck on these puppies all day)</div></div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Race Host</b></div><div><span>d20</span></div><div><div>1 Storm giant</div><div>2 Solar angel</div><div>3 Deity</div><div>4 Demoness</div><div>5 Emperor taking bread & circuses measures; nevertheless his empire descends into chaos whenever there are games, as people become hyper-partisans for particular captains and massive industrial fortunes are wagered on the outcomes</div><div>6 Giant malevolent beholder who follows along, watching the race from above, guffawing malignly with his tongue hanging between his teeth</div><div>7 Great lunar bird with wings like lace; the whole race will be under cover as night with the moon glowing bright, where the bird and its guests will watch</div><div>8 Kraken, watching from below, perhaps stirring the sea where it pleases</div><div>9 Fairy Queen; whole race will get dreamier as it goes on</div><div>10 Creature with a head made up of a dozen overlapping disc-shaped eyes above alabaster tentacles, with a white spine that terminates in a radially-symmetric claw of bone. Its similarly bony hands and arms (actually sinew) outstretch to welcome you </div><div>11 A mountainous creature of stone that rises from the sucking sea with a lake balanced in its head. At the conclusion, the winners will be carried to the celebratory archipelago with their galley riding in the lake atop the creature</div><div>12 Forest of unknown plants inside of an asteroid, the ore on the surface of which continually sparks and hums. The creature itself is a network of radial stalks terminating in the soil walls of the asteroid, joined at the center in a rhombus of bark with a hair of pink ferns. It has painted blue bands across this bark in honor of the sea</div><div>13 Magistrate seeking to encourage investment in his sea region; a lot of his constituents are pissed about the chaos that the race will bring, but it's not a democracy </div><div>14 Divine crinoid</div><div>15 Tutelary deity</div><div>16 Dragon</div><div>17 Magical love princess</div><div>18 Gladiatorial ludus</div><div>19 Ethnic armed organization</div><div>20 Inscrutable myconid</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-rpmmSUibW_4gFlcJ0B0axAcU2I-rmfiNv78D-cRuu1azQ-ct839MOvWf6H9TCNWo2JRKvQspG3F5H4--lQbAPjlHnTM3Dt2X3QrMvP19hBU5ygRQNpHYTlmQhmBxah0lTEQGMZ68U0V5371txNvz-UZIEj4-nC9rgmFGWjzMD5n9O_nzGOUYamSyw/s1600/Castro_Battle_of_Actium.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1600" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-rpmmSUibW_4gFlcJ0B0axAcU2I-rmfiNv78D-cRuu1azQ-ct839MOvWf6H9TCNWo2JRKvQspG3F5H4--lQbAPjlHnTM3Dt2X3QrMvP19hBU5ygRQNpHYTlmQhmBxah0lTEQGMZ68U0V5371txNvz-UZIEj4-nC9rgmFGWjzMD5n9O_nzGOUYamSyw/w640-h450/Castro_Battle_of_Actium.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div> Example Race: <b>The </b><b>Mount Ñosájá Classic</b></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>Open Race</span></div><div>6 stages</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Host (15): Tutelary Deity</i></div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Stage </b><b>1: Mount Ñosájá</b></div><div><i>2 elements</i></div><div><i>(37) Enormous, rocky white water rapids</i></div><div><i>(33) Demigod</i></div><div>Summary: The race begins at the peak of Mount Ñosájá. Descend the rivers flowing from the snowmelt of a giant mountain; Iÿthúva, who is the rivers of the mountain and the host of the Classic, will be watching with keen interest, and may help or hinder those who demonstrate courage, cunning, or cowardice in this stage.</div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Stage </b><b>2: The Locks of Thùt</b></div><div><i>3 elements</i></div><div><i>(7) Sea monster(s)</i></div><div><i>(14) Hostile series of locks (ie operated by people who don't want to let you pass; you'll have to dismount people and force the mechanisms)</i></div><div><i>(29) Stelaes of listless melancholy; extra-hard to inspire rowers and crew, everyone generally gets super downcast and stops giving a shit about the race</i></div><div>Summary: The Blood Nagas of Ñikak operate the Locks of Thùt, controlling access to the Ñosáján underworld of Zkík. They are not expecting you. Traverse their locks but be warned: the mountain's underworld radiates melancholy, and your crews may grow listless as you approach and then move away from the Throats of Zkík, the entrances to the underworld which the locks feed into. Do not enter the underworld; your path is through the locks and into the sea.</div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Stage </b><b>3: The Arcology Archipelago of Shådåk</b></div><div><i>3 elements</i></div><div><i>(12) Flooded ruins/ruins at sea </i></div><div><i>(33) Demigod </i></div><div><i>(2) Pirate archipelago</i></div><div>Summary: Beyond the Locks of Thùt is the Ôsteo Sea, which contains an archipelago of stone ruins. This archipelago is notorious for the Pirates of Shådåk, fanatic plunderers who must surrender half of their treasure to the great and terrible bringer of magma, Dûnshet. This beast of the underfire opens pools of magma and then lava under permanent settlements which do not pay it tribute, so the pirates have never been extirpated from this sea.</div><div>The archipelago was once a stone arcology destroyed by Dûnshet for lack of tribute; the foundations of this once-great polity lay in confusion in the waters here, far above or just below.</div><div>Traverse the arcology archipelago and avoid your ship being turned into a tribute to Dûnshet. Find the Mouth of Zelåsh.</div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Stage 4: The Mouth of Zelåsh</b></div><div><i>1 element</i></div><div><i>(11) Seacaves and tunnels</i></div><div>Summary: The Mouth of Zelåsh, which is the sacred fane of Dûnshet, is a great heap of collapsed archipelago wherein the pirates deposit their treasures in endless waterlogged heaps of gold and ivory. There in the center is a great well of lava where Dûnshet moans in ecstasy as the treasure is placed in swirling rings around him.</div><div>Traverse the labyrinths of fallen stone, through Dûnshet's sacred chamber, and come out of the other side. This is the pirates' most sacred place and they will pursue you here with terror and fervor.</div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Stage </b><b>5: The Fangs of Dràlzàt</b></div><div><i>2 elements</i></div><div><i>(39) Lying stars </i></div><div><i>(10) Presence of superweapon</i></div><div>Summary: The way in and out of the fane of Dûnshet is guarded by horn-like silver pillars that rise from the ocean as if the teeth of a giant crocodile. The night sky is black here, for these silver pillars are charged with starlight, forever preventing the influence of fell Dûnshet from spreading beyond the Ôsteo Sea in this direction. </div><div>Beams of solar fusion dance from these silver teeth at random, filling the air with steam, cutting ships to flaming pieces. You must evade these beams and pass between the Fangs of Dràlzàt, the silver pillars that guard the way. You will be pursued by pirates here, no doubt; they will fear the wrath of their master more than the killing beams of a thousands suns. </div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Stage </b><b>6: The Shattered Sky</b></div><div><i>3 elements</i></div><div><i>(40) Giant ancient aqueducts</i></div><div><i>(38) Extreme mist, to the point of fatiguing rowers </i></div><div><i>(26) Flux stone islands (the ones for this course don't shift gravity for the ships)</i></div><div>Summary: The stone arcology that once stood over the Ôsteo Sea was given water by a network of aqueducts arising from the surrounding sea. In this portion of the ocean, chunks of the arcology still float in the sky, carrying their aqueducts from the surface of the ocean, up through pumping and purification chambers in and on the dead stone stone cityscape. Ride these aqueducts up to the finish in Thermal Hall, but beware: many of these aqueducts have crumbled or lead to sections of arcology that have long since fallen into the ocean, and should you slide with the tide down one of them, you will find yourself falling many hundreds of meters to your destruction on the deep.</div><div>Mist blows past these aqueducts from the Fangs of Dràlzàt far beneath, obscuring the safe path.</div><div>You will finish in a great thermal pool that served as the personal pleasure lake of a potentate, inside a great chamber of glossy stone tile. The first ship to touch this pool will be the victor.</div><div><br /></div><div>Grand Prize: 60,000gp</div><div><br /></div><div>So far, three ships have registered for the Classic:</div><div><br /></div><div><i><span> </span><span> </span><b>Kachhapa </b></i></div><div>Dekares</div><div>The captain is a professional racer</div><div>Geobukseon refit (it's a turtle ship)</div><div>The exterior has subtle brass organ pipes beneath portals of wrought iron; the groaning of the rowers hauling at ram speed emits a terrible bellowing </div><div>It has an assortment of patiently watching, growling dogs, bears, wolves, rabbits and foxes</div><div>The ship has enchanted coral anchors that bring it undersea when aweigh, sealing the ship in an air bubble with the oars just outside it; this will gradually deplete and is no way to win races, as the ship is slower with the anchors in the water</div><div>The ship's ram has the shape of a snapping turtle's head (swapped with the ram of the <i>Shadowfur </i>before the race; the <i>Kachhapa's </i>original ram had the horns of a nudibranch)</div><div>Sports a boarding corvus</div><div>The prow carries a statue of a man and woman entwined yet facing forward; their bodies are differing hues of marble </div><div>The captain is a demilich that floats around shouting at people; cackles wildly when taking the lead</div><div>It is emotionally supported by its spouses, who comfort it endlessly. It has retained a chaplain to minister to the rowers; the chaplain is uneasy working for a demilich, but thinks of the rowers</div><div>The captain employs "Thorns", evil men, to do violence in its name</div><div>Its rowers have been pressed into service</div><div><br /></div><div><i><span> </span><span> </span><b>Trihemiola Towers</b></i></div><div><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Trihemiola</span></div><div>The captain is an amateur racer</div><div>Forecastle, aftcastle, midcastle. This ship is much taller than it is wide</div><div>The outside is covered in lead sheets (primarily against woodworms)</div><div>It has entry towers skinned with pink velvet, floral blue curtains, orange light within, jade and gold canopies</div><div>The ship's ram looks like a really fat, mean-looking hummingbird with its long beak poised to pierce the offending ship </div><div>Mounts a rotatable hwacha in the midcastle</div><div>The prow statue is a leering, spiny, randy-looking tatzelwurm</div><div>The captain is a sea witch; she is diminutive, wears a shag duster and tall conical hat which shades her face; two perfectly round, lantern like eyes are visible beneath it; she floats slightly off the surface at all times</div><div><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">When not racing, the captain is a master courier.</span></div><div><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">She has a sage that’s half cat; the left half of her body is skeletal, and flower petals continually weep out from between the bones. She's also allowed a journalist on board as publicity measure </span></div><div><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The captain employs a bunch of mutually-suspicious adventuring parties on the ship; each is assigned one of the ship's many little castles or towers</span></div><div><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Her rowers are professionals</span></div><div><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><span> </span><span> </span><b>Shadowfur</b></i></span></div><div><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Liburna</span></div><div>The captain is a professional racer</div><div>Big serpent wrapped around the mainmast; smoke pours from the tips of its fangs</div><div>The exterior is black with rabbit fur pouring across raised surfaces </div><div>The deck is shaded by trees fastened in planters by gold manacles and chains</div><div>The front of the ship mount gongs whose suspended hammers are unstrung when preparing to make a ram attack, so that the gongs sound death as the galley crashes upon the waves</div><div>The ship's ram has the shape of the horns of a nudibranch</div><div>Sports a sulfur smoke emitter, a bombard and an elevated boarding ramp in its trees.</div><div>The prow statue is the god of speed (winged sandals, winged helm, winged sword, wings, winged greaves, winged bracers, winged gauntlets, winged belt, being hoisted by fairies)</div><div>The ship has a tigertail for a stern statue </div><div>The captain is a barbarian <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">chief who uses the intensity of races to channel for his spirit-walking rituals </span></div><div>He retains a loyal, straight-man first mate who will go energetically unhinged when freed to do his duty. He has a political officer from his tribal confederation aboard, who is fanatically concerned about winning glory for the greater confederation, at the expense of the captain's tribe and gods if necessary. Set against the political officer is the captain's bodyguard, who has gigantism and is a nice guy except when the captain orders him not to be. The captain has enslaved a living scroll that can pop out and suddenly unravel, with what it wants to say written on it. New text will burn across its surface, the ash gradually blowing away in the wind, leaving blank vellum</div><div>The chieftain's men fight as firepipe strelsy (blast flame, roll off tubes, charge with bardiches, unless the enemy ship is already on fire)</div><div><span>He has pressed his rowers into service, but has not claimed them permanently as slaves</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwM38v3LUYuMF3rHQyJ3b2ts0pTgWL3fr3jy0hF2sdkgb1jr94OYiJsFTyzgef45kfGh5xVngYk5KyXu0vHF6jl1aOSF91lb4YX1yRzlDyTUNbvpLOzTK_aSu12k6oBEByYs0Q31ycOvNYYEkws83OY0qxhR932rFpTNWA0AKWL5MWGcnEnd8HgKfqcA/s1096/Nemi_Ship_by_CM_Knight-Smith_1906.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1096" data-original-width="916" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwM38v3LUYuMF3rHQyJ3b2ts0pTgWL3fr3jy0hF2sdkgb1jr94OYiJsFTyzgef45kfGh5xVngYk5KyXu0vHF6jl1aOSF91lb4YX1yRzlDyTUNbvpLOzTK_aSu12k6oBEByYs0Q31ycOvNYYEkws83OY0qxhR932rFpTNWA0AKWL5MWGcnEnd8HgKfqcA/w534-h640/Nemi_Ship_by_CM_Knight-Smith_1906.jpg" width="534" /></a></div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><div>A hail of spears over an oncoming fleet, painted triremes lapping against blue waves, blue-armored men on chocolate wood, pinprick javelins flooding the blue sky. The crash and splinters, shearing oars, the sawdust wood-shop scent at sea. </div><div><br /></div><div>The blaze of glory imprinted itself onto him like a half-seen sun to a man in a meadow. A lockpicker following a threadway to the highest place. Not to be burned on barriers, but to follow truth in the maze of light. A golden moment; a dollop of gold in time. The rosy flame of passion is evergreen.</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEMvxQmBY3tc9ra4mjuWl9dZArStjv0zA_kskO1gy5F3cb4yFKDKPnMl750gnShquFIScqvYccEFen8rf_DuB-tRM9j0LCxGog__kxViHN2dxhyc4L_Go_r4jHdHHDr7jB7jWZy2x-mDQfhmTiF2o04m547cjTGO44uLwySsBck-zQBOcL8M6sg-zZ-g/s400/914b3487d16ef0b8c7baf1981e472f47.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEMvxQmBY3tc9ra4mjuWl9dZArStjv0zA_kskO1gy5F3cb4yFKDKPnMl750gnShquFIScqvYccEFen8rf_DuB-tRM9j0LCxGog__kxViHN2dxhyc4L_Go_r4jHdHHDr7jB7jWZy2x-mDQfhmTiF2o04m547cjTGO44uLwySsBck-zQBOcL8M6sg-zZ-g/w640-h640/914b3487d16ef0b8c7baf1981e472f47.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As are Legos</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Lately I've been recording and editing stories (editing the writing, editing the recordings) for <a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/2046818" target="_blank">Fierce Firelight</a>; this is super time-consuming and I hope to find ways to streamline the process. I look forward to a time when I have the process down and can continually write new stories, edit them with <a href="https://lacrimisdraconis.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Dan's </a>help, record them, sand down the audio, and post them with as quick a turnaround as possible. There is a lot that I want to explore.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikseDrK2PZWItmF0oKhBctR19mStNENbwPtQTxu4l-UbV41ZSHIPYV1vrRxeH5BT6H2TMuQARQC1AIGC4mv98uLHl9kBvm-L7tlWQMbgqAZ4vmYGL2MJFWNGrHmy7gLLQ4ktyvTfFH8JFccu5qtFh96-JTKUbaiPMAR5sPsIZkQzH9DKW8yQ2SzwHMyQ/s700/Gouache_of_17th_century_French_royal_galley-side.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="700" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikseDrK2PZWItmF0oKhBctR19mStNENbwPtQTxu4l-UbV41ZSHIPYV1vrRxeH5BT6H2TMuQARQC1AIGC4mv98uLHl9kBvm-L7tlWQMbgqAZ4vmYGL2MJFWNGrHmy7gLLQ4ktyvTfFH8JFccu5qtFh96-JTKUbaiPMAR5sPsIZkQzH9DKW8yQ2SzwHMyQ/w640-h500/Gouache_of_17th_century_French_royal_galley-side.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div></div></div></div>Her Christmas Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445850026904816000noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575857487210211963.post-84970341676134647582022-12-11T06:18:00.000-05:002022-12-11T06:18:04.664-05:00Fierce Firelight: Podcast<div style="text-align: left;">I've started a podcast for my short stories, readings, conversations, and commentary. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/2046818" target="_blank">FIERCE FIRELIGHT</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwDkDPrw5zpa4i1nayv4GS45C22DuQ9OxZu_ZgIp9XHvlyWbebsUdHsfTWhEAg1__NpsFZTUFVXnMQ7BR0iVb1HCH5EJ2A0_qwStHardqPx0ZyDxVMJRclzHOuohsvs6UbXSjhFXjjQKSOk89TTW8HYvqPl1VWsRQ8M7ARAagQfY5-AdVTjHVKS38gPg/s1292/FierceFirelight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1292" data-original-width="1261" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwDkDPrw5zpa4i1nayv4GS45C22DuQ9OxZu_ZgIp9XHvlyWbebsUdHsfTWhEAg1__NpsFZTUFVXnMQ7BR0iVb1HCH5EJ2A0_qwStHardqPx0ZyDxVMJRclzHOuohsvs6UbXSjhFXjjQKSOk89TTW8HYvqPl1VWsRQ8M7ARAagQfY5-AdVTjHVKS38gPg/w624-h640/FierceFirelight.jpg" width="624" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Special thanks to <a href="https://lacrimisdraconis.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Dan Sullivan</a> for his irreplaceable work as an editor.Her Christmas Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445850026904816000noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575857487210211963.post-2594797484987909802022-11-22T16:21:00.000-05:002022-11-22T16:21:01.547-05:00Patrick Stuart Interview: Art<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I interviewed Patrick Stuart about art in support of his upcoming book, Speak, False Machine, which is active on Kickstarter. Each funding tier will enable new art to be commissioned for the book, so even though it's already been funded, it's important that the project continues to grow.</span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Kickstarter: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gawain/speak-false-machine">https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gawain/speak-false-machine</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="349" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LOpKlStShCs" width="419" youtube-src-id="LOpKlStShCs"></iframe></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
The artists for Speak, False Machine are listed in the Kickstarter, and here are the three artists mentioned at the end:
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/evlynmoreau/">https://www.patreon.com/evlynmoreau/</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.ericbelisle.com/">https://www.ericbelisle.com/</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://baconstrap.carbonmade.com/">https://baconstrap.carbonmade.com/</a></span></div>Her Christmas Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445850026904816000noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575857487210211963.post-30375781084810041072022-11-14T12:35:00.101-05:002022-11-14T19:30:28.292-05:00Maximalist Weird Fiction Industrial Era Treasure Tables<div style="text-align: left;">Industrial-era treasure tables for tech-level ~1920 adventuring.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> <i>Index</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Treasure Table A: Distinctive Individual Treasure</div><div>Treasure Table B: Couture</div><div>Treasure Table C: Lifestyle Items</div><div>Treasure Table D: Household Goods</div><div>Treasure Table E: Consumables</div><div>Treasure Table F: Land Vehicles</div><div>Treasure Table G: Sea Vehicles</div><div>Treasure Table H: Air Vehicles</div><div>Treasure Table I: Pets</div><div>Treasure Table J: Services, Memberships, and Events</div><div>Treasure Table K: Real Estate</div><div>Treasure Table L: Common Goons</div><div>Treasure Table M: Personnel</div><div>Treasure Table N: Diegetic Specialties</div><div><br /></div><div>The unit of currency is the one ounce gold coin (<b>❂</b>), here equivalent in value to its roughly ~$2000 max in 2020 USD (~£1500 at the time or ~€1750).</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Treasure Table A: <span style="text-align: left;">Distinctive Individual Treasure</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><i> d100</i></div><div>1 A statuette of a creature that was created to compete with humanity but failed; not a neanderthal, for these creatures could never have been sexually assimilated. They were regarded as children of the sun, but whether this refers to our sun, or to the Monad, or to the center of the earth is not certain. The rage of these creatures’ creator is incalculable, as instead of destroying, sidelining or absorbing mankind, the creatures were defeated and gave the earliest human civilizations a great confidence boost, a seed of hope that persists unspoken to this day. The shape of this creature is difficult to describe but is essentially a great ocular amoeba covered in sliding plates of chitin that allow trunks of bioelectrically vitiated and continually-molten and reshaping polymer stalks bearing up tens of thousands of free-running and interconnecting polydextrous fibers capable of impossibly-fine manipulations of any substance, knit so close that they’re almost a foam between the stalks but become lengths capable of probing at the ends. The statue is cut from a single piece of greenstone; no museum or expert in carving would ever be able to ascertain how the fine fibers were wrought in stone by methods known to man. Luckily the individual fibers are fabulously resilient despite being thin as a human hair.</div><div>1250❂</div><div><br /></div><div>2 A blade dipped in a cup of blue peony; now it will mark whatever is cut, even to great lengths and depths.</div><div>70❂</div><div><br /></div><div>3 The fetal petrified child of an entity responsible for shaping the rivers of a fertile valley; unable to give it life in the open air despite the contribution of a human, the entity buried it in the valley’s earth as if to vitiate it with the life giving waters. Despite this earthen gestation the water-child did not regain animation, but did retain the mode of the valley distilled within it; if buried in the earth, waters will attend to it and nursemaid the earth in the process, springing rivers to life in otherwise arid land, or overflowing swamps and flood plains with excess.</div><div>5000❂</div><div><br /></div><div>4 Six-inch golden fingernails.</div><div>10❂</div><div><br /></div><div>5 A dagger formed from a suspendium stalactite in an empire of subterranean men enthralled to silicon feelers extending from forbidden caves, reshaping their servants into forms suitable for the ferocity of their methodology. If plunged into a dying heart, the skywardly-magnetic dagger will reform the body but instill a physical regression to a state of stygian servitude; at the finalization of the bloody transformation the transfixed one will have two hundred arms and the nine heads of a hydra spread across their shoulders and uppermost arms, brain linked between them through etheric backchannels.</div><div>1500❂</div><div><br /></div><div>6 A porcelain bottle of stone-softening solvent stained vividly with the blossoming of fruit-bearing towers.</div><div>125❂</div><div><br /></div><div>7 A crystal containing an endolithic retrovirus. It will dig its way in and replace your heart. Your blood will crystallize into almost fractal blossoms with impossibly sharp edges. Your blood is also magnetic; metal touching your flesh will stick to it, though can be pried away without damage. If you’re ever shot or stabbed in the heart, you’re unlikely to die (only 1/4 chance, with +1/4 for each time it’s happened before).</div><div>500❂</div><div><br /></div><div>8 Golden barbed tongue-tip implant.</div><div>5❂</div><div><br /></div><div>9 A petrified and gilded head, the child of a brood cast forth from a father of monstrous hatred and a mother who armed them in opposition to the tyrant. This one was crushed and crumpled in the confrontation and laden with gold from his father’s demigod claw, and yet the crystal tears of the mother or the ruby blood of the father’s wounds may be set innocuously in human jewelry, and if drawn near this relic may bring the maddened father or reclaiming golem-mother to the place where the head is borne. </div><div>250❂</div><div><br /></div><div>10 Vitiating kiviak; the devourer becomes immune to cold and gains unlimited upper body endurance.</div><div>1500❂</div><div><br /></div><div>11 In the earliest days when there were no cities but only farmers and the hunter gatherers who passed between their steads, there was a hunter-gatherer with ten-thousands lovers who he held under the midnight moon. They snuck out of rickety huts to run fingertips down his body under orchard boughs or on soft fallow earth. You are probably a descendent of his if you are from a city-state, as this kind of conduct would have had him murdered if he’d tried it among the tribes, but the toothless farmers could never catch him, adding to his allure among select female relatives. This object is a diadem of ancient gold whose apex weaves around pearls and rubies in a true lovers’ knot; legend has it that it was given to him in secret by the queen of the world’s first city-state before she destroyed his tribe in battle. By this time he had been fattened by the fruit-gifts of lovers and had lost his hunter’s prowess; nevertheless his memory lived on and was cherished.</div><div>300❂</div><div><br /></div><div>12 Platinum charm of a burst heart.</div><div>5❂</div><div><br /></div><div>13 The gifted fur of a sable ape; when in arctic, tundra and taiga regions, sable apes may leave food or snow shelters for the wearer of the fur. This is a highly prestigious item amongst those in the know, as the slightest stressor ruins the quality of a sable ape’s fur until the cryptohominid can calm itself in a freezing river.</div><div>500❂</div><div><br /></div><div>14 Shards of designer crystal in the eyebrows.</div><div>10❂</div><div><br /></div><div>15 The lays of ancient poets afraid of ethereal ineffectuality in the underworld; when read aloud and cast into a fire before armed companions, the reader will enter the company of select ancient heroes born of iresome and tempestuous ancient gods and their goddess-lovers who were planets, stars and quasars; only the destruction of armed men in battle can sooth the newborn hero’s resulting melancholy, though he will climb, fight and deceive as if purposed only for these things; with each death he feels himself closer to the promised nirvana, which is the only alternative to wraithhood in Tartarus, or so the old stories go. This is a form of blood magic; the killings committed by the hero do seem to embiggen and embolden his character, but this is simply the refinement of a portion of the slain ones’ memories and consciousness into phlogiston that is imbibed as a drug that transforms the mental state of the hero but does not determine his existential final destination (though may obliquely shape it, depending on the forces at play upon him). </div><div>250❂</div><div><br /></div><div>16 Golden claws as legs.</div><div>450❂</div><div><br /></div><div>17 A pearlescent mote within a red rose pinned to a man’s lapel. The mote is something wanting, waiting to be born. At some point it will dart into your body. Rains will come and raise mists, and silvery tendrils of spirit will emanate from your core. This is the budding mote exploring. It will guard its guardian; someday it may be brought forth; its shape and nature will partly reflect its gestation environment, namely the conduct and internal state of the player, but also it will address something necessary in this universe; otherwise its spark would never have come.</div><div>500❂</div><div><br /></div><div>18 A paralyzed arsenic wasp containing a blend of adrenaline, amphetamine, antihistamine and antipsychotic; it would not be good for you to inject a swarm of these, but in a pinch it might be just what the doctor ordered.</div><div>10❂</div><div><br /></div><div>19 A bottle that can think and transforms liquids into what it thinks you need. It was forged in the Bronze Age but has not yet updated its priors.</div><div>500❂</div><div><br /></div><div>20 An amber locket; the amber lives and communes with the soil, a lighthouse over the earth in a place that is life but night to eyeless nature. When you die, if you are over soil you will crumble into it, preparing that place for a birth of something that you will of it; a lifegiving herb, fruit or sap oak; a structure, a shelter for something that cannot otherwise be held (at its will or against its will, depending); a sacred place, the home of a guardian spirit, a place of power. This will be negotiated and the GM will set the limits.</div><div>150❂</div><div><br /></div><div>21 Gilded apple, intended for eating.</div><div>5❂</div><div><br /></div><div>22 Can of chicory coffee that’s been modified with unknown crystals; these are the crystallized glint of an observation sun’s brief passage- its sui generis ions left residue on salt flats and obsidian crags. These crystals are of great interest to those wishing to research the strengthening of a beam of reflected light through the introduction of electrical power from a battery.</div><div>2250❂</div><div><br /></div><div>23 Eyes replaced with sapphires; was previously blind.</div><div>15❂</div><div><br /></div><div>24 This suppository of mitogenic oligomer changes the inputs mapping and feeding the physical state of the one who slides it into their skin and rather than the lowest-order components of their flesh and consciousness mapping onto a human schema they will instead be plugged into the base components of another force of animated consciousness, beings of the earliest times who surveillance this earth when it was still a storm of water and other churning elements, before distinct landforms when yet the lower surface of the sea could be walked upon. Beginning with the bones the one who wears this relic will begin to transform into motile gold, and will in time be able to carve slivers and shards off of their inner body to trade to unsuspecting women and men. Yet someday the gold will reach the person’s skin and show through the eyes, orbs of sparkling gold, and cuts will not bleed nor impacts bruise. Cut flesh will reveal only the glittering substance beneath, gunshots leaving permanent but otherwise harmless holes and cavities in the body of the transforming one. Then the skin will shift as well and the bearer will be as a living statue, yet with a voice as sonorous as such a figure in myth and with every inch of skin an eye, ear and tastebud. The thoughts of the transforming one will begin to shift as well, and instead of the nervous system informing thought, instead he will sense the state of all matter in the immediate vicinity, revealing its inner workings but also affecting the transforming one’s mood based on the platonic completeness of all matter around him, lending itself to strange obsessions, melancholy, and mania. If this were not enough to make him a pariah among his fellow men, they will often descend upon him with eyes to making riches of his corpse. Perhaps someday he will tire of this and make a donation of himself.</div><div>250❂</div><div><br /></div><div>25 Beautiful white silk burial shroud, worn by one who is living.</div><div>5❂</div><div><br /></div><div>26 A pair of smoke grenades modified by an entity for their owner. Their smoke dissipates blood. For this reason it is also profoundly unpleasant to enter, though you’ll have plenty of time to realize you’re losing blood unless you’re trapped.</div><div>20❂</div><div><br /></div><div>27 A dark stone cask of turquoise body paint; when you coat yourself with it, you will be able to bud someone off of your body who will be your physical and potentially mental equal, and is initially an extension of your consciousness, but will, over two years, begin to develop a latent personality and a will of their own, yet retaining your abilities and memories, and the memories of the time when you were it. This doesn’t mean that they’ll believe they were the original; it cannot be predicted just what conclusion they will reach, or what they will want to do.</div><div>250❂</div><div><br /></div><div>28 Necklace with five gilded skeletal hands in a radiant pattern.</div><div>30❂</div><div><br /></div><div>29 To some entities, humans are like characters in a fiction, less real than they are yet somehow platonically refined, more extant in a story, more lionizable because of their struggles and victories in their simple domain, disposable yet admirable and even the source of interest in existence. This ingot of machairodus lahayishupup enamel serves as an attractor of attention for entities interested in such a thing; like it or not, the character will come to be viewed by a variety of entities who either wish to see their struggles or have some other reason for tuning into the life of a random (but perhaps somewhat select) human beings. The effects of this are difficult to predict; some entities may want to advise or help the character; others to throw challenges at them and perhaps even toy with them sadistically; some may be scouting for talent or other qualities.</div><div>100❂</div><div><br /></div><div>30 Tiny porcelain swan hanging from one’s ear on a gold chain.</div><div>5❂</div><div><br /></div><div>31 Strange crystalline dart that runs electroacid lines capable of transmitting work throughout whatever it’s stuck into, then runs a theoretical model of the object under various fracture states to determine viable partial joints if any; it breaks the object along these joints if possible, otherwise it jolts work towards surface extremities to move the object by throwing it one way and the another (e.g. The lower extremities of a dresser balanced by work thrown into its upper corners in the midst of its ambulations, thus animating it). This sends out an exocosmic beacon call for inhabitation; the object may be possessed by an entity interested in briefly controlling it (or for longer), though the objectives of the entity cannot be ascertained ahead of time. One way or another the sudden animation of the object is likely to scare the pants off anybody who isn’t expecting it.</div><div>25❂</div><div><br /></div><div>31 Dagger with a magnificent flickering wisp of a blade. Elegant and interesting but will require a custom sheath; this guy just has it in his belt.</div><div>6❂</div><div><br /></div><div>32 A tiny squat little idol that looks cut from an unknown stone but is in fact a real calcified body. It was once a god of manifold domains whose portfolio encompassed natural functions of the earth as well as heroes, civilizations and beasts. Over time the significance of this god shrank, as did his epic and chimeric form, until all that was left was fit for a domovoi and then for a child’s plaything. When clasped close to the chest, this idol imparts wordless but emotionally-charged memories of its once majestic scope, levying intuitions into the wearer across many domains. He or she will intuit knowledge and acquire desires pertaining to many ancient feuds and civilizations which are no longer known except for whichever of their trappings are left on the present time, or for the undercover antediluvian torch-carriers who seek rebirth of what once was but can never be again without radical existential reformation or bloodshed on the vastest scale.</div><div>10❂</div><div><br /></div><div>33 Bull prepuce containing the powdered dry shit of an antediluvian roc, a cryptostygian imperial dodo, and an electrical phoenix all mixed together; gradually turns you into an azure avian bioform, though you will retain your humanoid chassis.</div><div>5000❂</div><div><br /></div><div>34 Mask of wax, and beneath it, gold leaf.</div><div>5❂</div><div><br /></div><div>35 A gilded durian whose gas is debilitating when the fruit is opened; the flesh, however, tastes like delicious green onion ice cream. If heated, the fruit will explode with the full gas effect plus deadly golden spikes hurled in a sphere.</div><div>10❂</div><div><br /></div><div>36 The skull of a philosopher who was sacrificed by the insertion of star sapphires into his eyes and subsequent exposure to the elements. It has a seam around its crown where the cap can be removed, and inside is rich white fat. When burned, the smoke of this fat will remove the ability to speak or think in words, permanently, from all who breathe it. It was used as a means of control by the terrible exocosmic potentate of a before-times open-sky empire, but his mentally aphasic servants were subsequently defeated by neighboring civilizations, incapable of the necessary coordinations; most such skulls have unknowingly been used as candles but this one has survived, hidden among a preserved pyramid of skulls erected in a tumulus by conquering nomads who found it in a deserted temple and added it to their own handiwork.</div><div>15❂</div><div><br /></div><div>37 A tiny bouquet of myrtle in the coat over the heart, slowly turning to gold. This will cease when removed from its place or if the host heart is stopped.</div><div>25❂</div><div><br /></div><div>38 A phial of fecund blood capable of bearing divine brutality into the marrow of its injector. It forces great might, vigor, shapeliness, and health upon the injector, yet he must roll to resist the thrumming call to bloodshed when met with disrespect, inconsiderateness, or viciousness of character in a weakling. Failure can result in anything from a titanic blow to subduing the offender and breaking their fingers to literally pulling their head off in the most uncontrollable state of rage. This world is many decades from haloperidol; there is no mitigating against the requirement to roll against this cosmic rage, except that the injector’s close friends companions are exempt from triggering the rage as it seems to map partly onto ingroup/outgroup perceptions; the offense of someone unfamiliar increases exponentially to someone with this blood, as the true nature of their intentions and the implications of their actions cannot be fully ascertained.</div><div>50❂</div><div><br /></div><div>39 Wad of coagulated blueschist. Worth something to geologists, worth fortunes to Occultists researching teleportation.</div><div>4000❂</div><div><br /></div><div>40 Tiny black velvet bag containing the golden seeds of a plant that can produce fruit capable of serving as human organs, always beginning with a heart. External and semi-external organs such as eyes are also possible, though more common will be things like pancreases and appendices.</div><div>750❂</div><div><br /></div><div>41 Liquor that will induce a blackout; assuming the imbiber is not watched constantly, they will awaken somewhere portentous.</div><div>400❂</div><div><br /></div><div>42 A ring that promises to serve as a locus, conductor or fount of existential/exocosmic power to those with a small knowledge of the occult; in fact this ring is a reminder from an ancient sage to not give oneself over to external promises of easy paths to power. If the wearer serves as a willful transmitter of most forms of occult energy or perceptual inundation, it will reshape them into a form begetting a certain other cosmos and shift them there in the blink of the eye; essentially they will form an imperceptible portion of the bedrock of something, akin to becoming a rock in the center of the earth for us but in a structure far less subject to change and dissipation. They will remain there until that structure fundamentally changes or dissipates. The players should be certain they wish to do this before they subject someone to this fate; certain entities regard this action as so cruel as to deserve retribution, and others will wish to destroy anyone who uses such a thing because it could serve as an effective deterrence to people submitting themselves as Occult cat’s paws. </div><div>100❂</div><div><br /></div><div>43 Rainforest root whose shavings duplicates the effects of methamphetamine, with all of the dependency but less of the degradation. An overdose will, however, melt your arms and legs.</div><div>5❂</div><div><br /></div><div>44 Hollow statuette from antediluvian precursor; grows to encase you and gradually adds organs with biological functions not normally native to human beings. Work with the GM- for each session this character spends inside the statue, they gain specialized biological functions (e.g. a bloodhound’s scent, a jumping spider’s internal biology, amphibian’s respiratory system, flying squirrel’s membrane, etc).</div><div>5000❂</div><div><br /></div><div>45 Surgically adapted penile bomb for a planned murder-suicide.</div><div>2❂</div><div><br /></div><div>46 A seed that, when swallowed, becomes a tree whose limbs are your limbs, whose fruit lights your eyes from behind, whose sap is a conduit for the smallest things to impart their particularities into your inner bark (hemolymph, biological immortality, and symbiotic life nesting in your hollows).</div><div>1500❂</div><div><br /></div><div>47 Winged pearl contained in a tiny golden bird’s cage. If released, the pearl is likely to fly away, reducing the huge museological value of the combined artifact.</div><div>2500❂</div><div><br /></div><div>48 A black javelin that crackles with lightning; its head is that of a snake, and subtle scales cover its body. When hurled, there is an explosive thunderclap and with an earsplitting grinding of stone the javelin expands in fits and starts until it has become a jet black airborne serpent with arms, 40’ long and 6’ wide. Every movement of the serpent is accompanied by a deafening stone grinding. Freed from its bondage, it will mantically ascertain a course of action benefitting the players and carry it out, generally dispatching any foes present before picking up the players and any relevant NPCs and artifacts and then carrying them where they need to go. After this, there is a 50% chance it slithers into the sky and a 50% chance it claws its way down into the earth.</div><div>5000❂</div><div><br /></div><div>49 Hundreds of gold threads woven throughout the hair.</div><div>3❂</div><div><br /></div><div>50 Poultice made from the remnants of a prince killed in a surströmming explosion. When brought into the water, it will secrete a warming gel across the flesh of a person who it is applied to, and its gasses mixing with water will create large, slow, breathable air bubbles. The smell of the air and the wearer will, however, give the one smelling it a feeling like he or she is witnessing the apocalypse.</div><div>5❂</div><div><br /></div><div>51 Jade fangs and emerald shards woven all throughout skin like scales.</div><div>10❂</div><div><br /></div><div>52 The shrunken head of a man preserved in moldy flour; this is small enough to fit inside the coat, beneath the arm like a hanging weapon. The eyes, as clear and opaque as smoked glass, fetter the bearer’s vision when the hair is taken tightly in the fist. This makes the hand bleed; the hair enters the flesh.</div><div>15❂</div><div><br /></div><div>53 Amber bolo tie containing golden wasps; when swung like a bola and shattered, the wasps irately attack everyone nearby, inducing anaphylactic shock.</div><div>8❂</div><div><br /></div><div>54 Can of soup from an unknown company. This is not a real company. It is apparently a peppery chicken soup, but when drank, the consumer’s body bursts into a raging firestorm and restores itself to a platonic state; the individual will be healthy, symmetrical, muscular and hairless, though this will quickly fade if his or her lifestyle does not support these qualities. It does not reduce the age of the consumer, though it can heal maladies associated with aging.</div><div>5000❂</div><div><br /></div><div>55 A blackbird that immolates when forces intent on murder close in around the one who feeds it. After 1d4 immolations it enters a long hibernation as a lump of coal.</div><div>500❂</div><div><br /></div><div>56 A sextant from the city-state of Brinemarrow; it permits secret communion with the voices of select constellations representing heroes and spirits. These constellations will speak as the one they represent, but it will not be easy to determine whether one is speaking to an entity attempting to play out a legitimate masquerade as the personage in question, or whether the constellation is being used to observe you and rebroadcast tailored messaging from a xenocosmic influence cell.</div><div>25❂</div><div><br /></div><div>57 A lighter whose walls are brass doors in miniature. It makes spiderweb behave something like thermite when ignited.</div><div>25❂</div><div><br /></div><div>58 Bottle of chartreuse containing a sapient virus; when imbibed, it will begin to synthesize flakes of gold in your bloodstream, which you can gradually drain and distill into wealth. However, it also requires that you drink warm blood on a regular basis, and it is willing to cause fever if you do not. It is willing to infect other people with a very dangerous, non-gold-producing and nonsapient version of itself if met with true defiance.</div><div>15❂</div><div><br /></div><div>59 An engraved root; place it against a shattered vein and it will enter both ends and serve the purpose of saving your life. Alas it will feed on the blood, and grow throughout the years until it runs through your vascular system, greatly stiffening you while imparting true cardiovascular resilience.</div><div>35❂</div><div><br /></div><div>60 A string of pearls that are the tears of a great arctic sea moth. One who travels among the northern winds may carry the scent of lunar salts back to their weeper, who may alight on the deck to consider the bearer of the calcified things that its eyes have seen.</div><div>40❂</div><div><br /></div><div>61 Hauberk made of diamond somehow fastened into tiny interlinked loops. Has an unbelievable glimmer. Has great value for research and museological purposes, though how much it would be worth to buyers of couture next to an equivalent weight of cut diamonds embedded into a designer shirt is uncertain.</div><div>250❂</div><div><br /></div><div>62 A liquid rubber that can be solidified and molded into a desired form, as it becomes motile under sunlight before hardening forever into a polymer. Can be pushed into a mold after it begins hardening, allowing you to duplicate the dimensions of an existing object.</div><div>25❂</div><div><br /></div><div>63 A tiny canvas upon which a scene can be painted. The paint can then be washed from the canvas and drank. The drinker will experience effect related to the thing that was illustrated, particularly if it was a real thing. This works d4 times before the canvas is too muddled to cleanly engender new forms; drinking the paint after this will carry great risk of existential contamination.</div><div>40❂</div><div><br /></div><div>64 Ramrod for muskets. Shorn if its original purpose, it has adapted and you can use it to quickly stuff items that could fit down your throat into your stomach without trouble. You will need to acquire its counterpart, a dowsing rod, or the removal of these objects will mean hell on earth (or debilitating surgery).</div><div>25❂</div><div><br /></div><div>65 Salamander that, when attached to a wall and ignited, will burn through it before the flame is consumed. A long period of secretion is necessary for second burn.</div><div>30❂</div><div><br /></div><div>66 Prosthetic dummy arm, white, shiny and smooth as porcelain. Has no apparent mechanisms. An observer must conclude that the mechanisms are hidden beneath a supple polymer, but touching it will find it as hard as steel. In fact, the arm is capable of crushing rock, and cannot be pulled loose from the body without killing the wearer, as it extends cords throughout the wearers body, snaking round organs, reaching down into the feet and up around the eyes. There is feeling in the arm, but no pain. For an adventurer it is worth removing an arm, except how suspicious it is- the arm is a mechanical impossibility in this time.</div><div>125❂</div><div><br /></div><div>67 A precipitate of metabolic cement that gradually replaces your bones with a stiff but flexible polymer. Your bones become night unbreakable, but lifting very heavy weights becomes untenable and you are still subject to e.g. brain damage from impacts.</div><div>50❂</div><div><br /></div><div>68 A 1’ silvery chain with a clasp inscribed with a word in a dead and ancient tongue. When the chain is fastened around something and the word is spoken, the chain will instantly shrink to a size not perceptible to science. This will have the effect of cutting any matter whatsoever that is encircled by the chain when it shrinks. Naturally the chain will never be seen again; though it may still be present in some sense, most likely it will pass through other matter at some subatomic level and move along on forces we cannot define. </div><div>50❂</div><div><br /></div><div>69 Grandfather clock taken from a bum cache; when it tolls, including accidentally, a wraith will horrifically mutilate everyone around the clock. Whether you want to hold onto this long enough to place it into a fortress of evil or even get it out of civilization is an open question.</div><div>75❂</div><div><br /></div><div>70 The solid core of an ice asteroid that was highly charged with electricity; can be used as an emergency power source if kept in a cooler, though if you chip or melt it with your hands you will be killed by a massive electrical discharge. It is not technically a battery and is used to store information, though the means of ascertaining that information is beyond current science (but could be derived by certain entities).</div><div>40❂</div><div><br /></div><div>71 Gold coin inserted into forehead for use on judgment day; bearer has sense of equanimity about it.</div><div>❂</div><div><br /></div><div>72 A vial containing a thousand diseases in as many chambers; each will kill so fast that it could never spread in a way that would destroy a city-state, but be cautious, as many purchasers of this fell relic would use it to kickstart the bioweapons program of whatever cause they believe in. </div><div>40❂</div><div><br /></div><div>73 Hatchet that petrifies flesh with blows that you strike, with the net effect of turning people who you hack up into firewood splash by splash.</div><div>10❂</div><div><br /></div><div>74 A silver cord that guides by constellations at night when fastened about the temples. Care must be taken to not give offense to the figures in the constellations relevant to the journey, or the cord will begin to tighten in a debilitating way. </div><div>15❂</div><div><br /></div><div>75 Baggie of uberstrychnine. Imparts ultra prowess for a few minutes before your muscles crush you to death.</div><div>3❂</div><div><br /></div><div>76 A tincture distilled from the waterborne herbal flakes of an arboreal nightmare, green boughs hanging halfway into the water, washing their leaves about. The user can see sliplines- cracks in things that lead to other places but that only he can traverse.</div><div>175❂</div><div><br /></div><div>77 Finely-tuned speedball of jenkem and krokodil.</div><div>2❂</div><div><br /></div><div>78 A diamond-encrusted broach representing the trial of a ship’s captain by a merchant-mayor. It is an heirloom spirited out of a country by the family that comprised the ruling junta; they will want it back, and for all the power they’ve lost, none of their brutality has gone with it. Contains a disc of unknown metal. Guarantees that you will attract lightning in any kind of storm, or if electricity is arcing for some reason. Turns your blood into calcium if carried too long, though it remains functional and somehow prevents electrical burns.</div><div>250❂</div><div><br /></div><div>79 Tiny engine of alloyed gold hanging from chain around neck. Could theoretically function as an engine powering a really small machine.</div><div>12.5❂</div><div><br /></div><div>80 Tiny turtle whose shell is filled with explosives which can be detonated by lighting a one-minute fuse inside the shell.</div><div>10❂</div><div><br /></div><div>81 A quilt that, when worn or laid under, rapidly heals, even to the point of creating cancer from cell growth and hypertension from excess blood; care must be taken to remove the one being healed at just the right time.</div><div>125❂</div><div><br /></div><div>82 Key to a private bank vault. May take some detective work to track down which vault it belongs to if the most recent carrier stole it.</div><div>25❂</div><div><br /></div><div>83 A mini piglet resting inside the collar or in a blazer’s inner pocket. It’s alive, yet it contains d4 gold coins, which the players will not discover unless they pick it up. If this is an actual piglet, the owner will have villainously sewn in the coins as a porcine kitty; if the pig is some kind of familiar, the coins will be dispensable from its mouth without blocking its throat </div><div>2❂ (sewn) / 15❂ (familiar)</div><div><br /></div><div>84 Tiny ivory icon with a tortured man on a pole; this does not represent a redeemer, but a recalcitrant baron.</div><div>3❂</div><div><br /></div><div>85 Tiny fiddle made by a master; scrollwork spills off the frets like ripples on ripples. </div><div>14❂</div><div><br /></div><div>86 Beautiful cherrywood cigar cutter for fingers. Marked with burn etching: let mistakes be indelible that they tutor you.</div><div>3❂</div><div><br /></div><div>87 Bracelet that was once used to chain people to searocks for sacrifice to an abyssal creature; one day the girl to be sacrificed filled her veins with poison and killed the creature when it devoured her. An entity blessed the bracelet, and one who wears it will be immune to the effects of physical contamination or supernatural transformation as long as that entity exists.</div><div>30❂</div><div><br /></div><div>89 A Monadist holy symbol made by a ferociously tyrannical man whose offspring were all radial-limbed energy-based life forms of pure evil; he put his mostly ill-gotten fortune into this chest-size bejeweled iconostasis and retired to a monastery.</div><div>2500❂</div><div><br /></div><div>90 Rosette that guarantees a postexistence; if the wearer is killed, his consciousness will be uploaded into a rosette and a distress pulse of a type calibrated to less-malevolent entities will be sent out across cosmoses. Whether or not an entity will present themselves to the character, and whether or not that entity’s nature will make for a desirable visitation, cannot be certain.</div><div>250❂</div><div><br /></div><div>91 Brooch that transforms the dying wearer into a kind of tutelary deity for the local area; while the spirit of the character will not be able to leave the site upon which they died, they will have immediate, broad control over the local area; other entities will expect the character to act as the place’s guardian and refurbisher, though what they do is up to them. After a few days they will gain the ability to physically manifest in a form recognizable in myth; they will still be unable to leave the site.</div><div>250❂</div><div><br /></div><div>92 Arrowhead that once contained a blood-burning poison; it was shot into the heart of a hero and pumped throughout his corpus, and his soul was trapped in the arrowhead. Rather than pure suicide, one who wishes to die or take a back seat in their own body may stab this into their heart; this will give birth to the hero once again in their own form, with their attendant skills and personality. The hero will, however, have to learn the modern profession of arms; it is not a coincidence that it was an arrowhead which pierced his heart. </div><div>30❂</div><div><br /></div><div>93 A golden bit that nourishes a horse in health and hydration.</div><div>75❂</div><div><br /></div><div>94 A melon-sized geode that serves as a womb of diamonds; carbon inserted into the center will gradually be forced into this form. Other objects will be crushed into near-nonexistence.</div><div>400❂</div><div><br /></div><div>95 Petrified miasma of the corpses of select heroes which languish forever in a liminal layer between our cosmos and others in certain tunnels which become matter transformers capable of shunting a human consciousness into alternative states; when not transmitted abroad, bodies and spirits become energetic forms that are suitable to underlie our existence despite being radically altered. The corpses and the distilled psychological essence are accompanied and channeled by the spirits of some of those who were not heroes, singing in an eternal choir of lamentation or exaltation, gusting the miasma back out of the tunnel, where it can be collected and condensed into a kind of soft but solidified purple cloud. When eaten, the gummy fluff radically pushes back the eater’s accumulation of norepinephrine, thereby allowing the continuation of effort, focus, and psychological energy even in tasks that do not evoke interest or other impulse in the consumer.</div><div>30❂</div><div><br /></div><div>96 Cloth of gold scarf that transforms a river into milk and honey. It will still be water wherever it does not touch the scarf.</div><div>75❂</div><div><br /></div><div>97 Drop of petrified megaviper venom that serves as a sui generis gemstone.</div><div>20❂</div><div><br /></div><div>98 Telluric incense from the innermost veins, partakes of the spores of the deepmoss, the shaven shear-dust of the world machine, the fumes of the outer highway and the morning mist of the Green Realm. When burned, roll a d4; it will channel the aforementioned things (the things, not their runoff) in 1-4 order in the local environment.</div><div>30❂</div><div><br /></div><div>99 Bowl to cleanse the ritual impurity of homicide. In the myths of Cape Cittacotte, heroes are often aberrant and abhorrent. The knight, detective, and protecting parent shade flickeringly into the antihero and murderhobo when pleading and preparation fail. Any argument that they partake solely of the Apollonian is drowned out by the screams of agony and terror. This is the butcher’s bowl; he should be sent away, except that other meal turns the body into dust.</div><div>To the knight, detective, or parent who kills, the pacifist is not emulated, though is perhaps protected or sacralized in martyrdom, a superordinate reductio ad absurdum, the babe who can do nothing for others in the moment of truth except contain the lodestone spark of orientation. His words are divine nonsense. He is the star who will not scare the wolves away but may guide you through a wilderness that would make you an animal.</div><div>3❂</div><div><br /></div><div>100 A beautiful wooden staff that, when unscrewed, reveals that it contains one long soppressata. When a second screw is twisted in the bottom, the sausage is extended from of the open top.</div><div>❂</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Table A Notes:</i></div><div><div>Prices for this table assume the right buyer.</div><div>Most very rich industrialist/financier NPCs will be more interested in buying top-of-the-line, limited-release luxury goods or famous pieces of art from authorized dealers rather than artifacts of possible occult provenance. </div><div>I’m not saying these prices reflect absolute worth; I’m saying that diegetically this is what an NPC buyer will offer to pay you, absent an alternate GM call. The players could get more money through dedicated scouting, but potentially less if they wanted to quickly close the deal in the nearest city-state.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Treasure Table B: Couture</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>You open the ornate armoire. What do you find?</div><div><br /></div><div>Roll d4 and d10. Use the d4 to indicate the table and the d10 for the entry.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>1</i></div><div>1 Designer leather bomber jacket - 2-10❂</div><div>2 Designer heels: 2.5❂ - ∞</div><div>3 Designer wool wrap: 1.5❂</div><div>4 Designer woven leather boots for women (woven like a straw basket): 2❂</div><div>5 Designer sequin dress: 6.5❂</div><div>6 Designer jeans with shitty felt leaves and flowers sewn all over them, look like ass and the color’s too bright: 2❂</div><div>7 Designer child’s dress: ❂</div><div>8 Diamond encrusted pacifier, 250❂; built in alarm system I guess</div><div>9 Jewelry: Individual pieces are commonly 1❂-50❂. Truly famed pieces are 15000❂ - 75000❂</div><div>(One line of jewelry is extremely limited because the designer went to a bandit tribe and joined them on a spiritquest, retrieving artifacts from the netherworld and utilizing them in jewelry; the second time they did it they were all fused into a single nonfunctional body)</div><div>10 Ridiculous suit - qiviuk, vicuna, and pashmina. 6❂</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>2</i></div><div>1 Designer scarves: ❂</div><div>2 Hats- even at auction they rarely command more than 25❂</div><div>3 Face mask - 3000 diamonds, white gold structure - 125❂</div><div>4 Yellow gold bikini 12.5❂</div><div>5 Designer one-piece women’s swim suit 32❂, 500❂-2500❂ if you encrust it with a shitload of diamonds </div><div>6 Diamond encrusted smoked lenses: 12.5❂</div><div>7 Smoked lenses from a luxury carmaker, no diamonds: 25❂</div><div>8 Designer sunglasses, no diamonds: 200❂</div><div>9 Gold shirt, 7lbs, can’t be washed, 125❂</div><div>10 Dental grill: 10❂ (obsidian laid over teeth, alabaster, or yeah just diamonds) </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>3</i></div><div>1 Gold chain: 50❂</div><div>2 Designer watch: 50❂ (up to 300❂ with many complications)</div><div>3 Arctic sable: 250❂ for full coat (just one to wear on the shoulders is 75❂)</div><div>4 Ornate masks - popular in the world’s underworld. ~10❂. Mask materials:</div><div>-Porcelain facade </div><div>-Fresh rosewood</div><div>-Jet cut in argyle pattern</div><div>-Ebony and ivory cheque</div><div>-Harlequin: gems</div><div>5 Haute couture dress: 100❂, for royal weddings up to 150❂-200❂</div><div>6 Designer peacock feather dress, absolutely gigantic radius: 750❂</div><div>7 Sable 75❂ (250❂ for full coat)</div><div>8 Really sexy suit: 25❂</div><div>9 #1 suit: 100❂, 2-year waiting list</div><div>10 Tigerskin baldric 65❂</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>4</i></div><div>1 Gold phalera to be worn over garb, generally up to 9 at once: 10❂ per</div><div>2 Golden fleece reserved for members of a particular fraternal order (good battle treasure): 75❂</div><div>3 Black gothic full plate, blued, silvered and elaborately gilded, basically ceremonial: 100❂</div><div>4 Gold musculata: 50❂</div><div>5 Golden mustache/beard: 7.5❂</div><div>6 Really tall top hat with gold cummerbund, white gloves, gold-headed cane: 5❂</div><div><i>Items from tomb cities (e.g. Vatrium, Thanofane)</i></div><div>7 Hair ring - hair of dead virginal maiden (true?)- ❂</div><div>8 Bone amulet - bone of saint (true?) - ❂</div><div>9 Shrunken head/hand of hero (true?) - 2❂-10❂ if sold to right buyer</div><div>10 Mantle meant to be worn by death priest (true) 7.5❂</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Treasure Table C: Lifestyle Items</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>d20</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>1 Gold-hilted saber in ivory scabbard: 35❂</div><div>2 Designer bags - commonly 2.5❂-5❂, up to 50❂ off the rack. Crocodile skin, lambskin etc. Special editions ~1000❂ w/ rose gold and thousands of diamonds, 1d4 produced</div><div>3 Designer fishing kit 10❂</div><div>4 Designer surfboard 4❂ (HAS THE DESIGNER’S MONOGRAM ON IT WOOOOOOW)</div><div>5 Designer handbag built into a hula hoop 1.5❂</div><div>6 Designer bag made out of fucking tweed, looks like something that came out of your bellybutton - 3.5❂</div><div>Trashy horseshit</div><div>7 Designer bicycle, leather casing for the assembly of gears and chain - 10❂</div><div>8 Ostrich leather designer hobo bag - 4.5❂</div><div>9 Designer jacquard velvet three-panel dressing screen: 16❂</div><div>10 Designer doll: 25❂</div><div>11 Face cream serum - .5❂</div><div>12 Bottled Lightning cologne: ❂, wood and orange peel</div><div>13 No 7 Starboard Mess aftershave: .5❂, witch hazel and bay rum</div><div>14 Sacred Extract perfume: ylang-ylang and shit, 3.5❂</div><div>15 Royal Favourite perfume: 500❂, diamond encrusted, gold dust, yada yada</div><div>16 Imperial Potentate shampoo, .5❂, per the real life equivalent, “rosemary, grape seed, nettle, sage, burdock, and chamomile, are an homage to Russia”</div><div>17 Diamond encrusted business cards: ❂ per</div><div>18 Pen with lots of diamonds, 750❂</div><div>19 Designer parasol: 2.5❂</div><div>20 Ornate staff honoring the Fates with a silver weathervane at the top: 3.5❂</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Treasure Table D: Household Goods</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>d20</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>1 Bathtubs - often shaped like shit. Pure turquoise or a single piece of rock crystal - 100❂-400❂, 500❂ for gold, rare gemstone or ancient petrified wood 1000❂</div><div>2 Houseplants - Philodendron .5❂-❂-2❂, Monstera Adansonii Variegata is up to 20❂ and comes with a bunch of holes in the leaves</div><div>3 Chandelier with thousands of porcelain butterflies hanging from it: 50❂</div><div>4 Diamond-studded chess set, 250❂</div><div>5 Gold bassinet: 6500❂</div><div>6 Designer crib: 30❂</div><div>7 Grand piano: 30❂</div><div>8 Sumptuous carpets, custom-made, embroidered in the patterns of their land but bent to your symbology: 15❂-25❂</div><div>9 Gold toilet paper, comes around the neck of a bottle of champagne, gets gold flakes all over the floor, 700❂</div><div>10 Gold footstool, 110lbs, 750❂</div><div>11 Home radiotelegraphy station: 50❂</div><div>12 Home theater: 40❂</div><div>13 Home recording studio 35❂</div><div>14 Fine wooden medicine chest- containing lots of medicines. 5❂</div><div>15 Furniture in general - purpleheart wood, incised, rosewood (beware this is a big blood/conflict item), yaya, wenge, hand-oiling, layer paintings, single piece claro walnut, abanos, carpathian, Rococo design. 2.5❂-25❂</div><div>16 Luxury table: 25❂-100❂ (latter generally features lots of wood types)</div><div>17 Ornate ouija board, sometimes distributed at Reist funerals 5❂</div><div>18 Designer armchair 18❂</div><div>19 Home aquarium: .5❂-7.5❂</div><div>20 Little actual two-story house for your dog: 4❂</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Treasure Table E: Consumables</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>d20 and then any other kind of die as well; on the second die, even result = first table and odd = second</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Even Table</i></div><div>1 Truffles - black truffles from Heroon coastal oak .5❂ per lb, pig hunted mountain truffles 2.5❂/lb. Giant truffles auction for about 50❂ a lb</div><div>2 Coffee - most expensive normal coffee is ~.5❂/lb. Marsupial shit pouch-gestated stuff is more, like a full ❂.</div><div>3 Grapes and strawberries from exclusive grower - the orchard will fly them to you. They don’t produce SHIT ELSE. Every single one gets inspected with a magnifying glass. The strawberries are white with red seeds and do not ever touch the soil, and the grapes are red as tomatoes and really large. ❂ per order of fruit, ❂ per delivery.</div><div>4 Mango: NOT flown to you, costs a ❂, no fibrousness, extreme sugar content, soft, can eat the skin, comes with a really ergonomic and shapely little spoon.</div><div>5 Watermelon: 3❂ per, dark green, almost black, few seeds, brutally difficult to cultivate, high suicide rate among specialized farmers</div><div>6 Melon: 5❂-16❂ per, grown on like the plateau of Leng, slightly spicy, volcanic soil, massaged daily and given hats, looks like ancient cantaloupe flesh inside</div><div>7 Champagne - 50❂</div><div>8 Champagne red glove service 75❂ - call girl delivers it and then blows you. Clients must pass medical screening </div><div>9 You can buy 1000❂ champagne containing liquid gold in a diamond studded bottle you stupid motherfucker</div><div>10 A knucklehead bakes gold power into bread but it’s not really that expensive, we’ll say .25❂ for this</div><div>11 Sundae with vanilla ice cream from prestigious plantation, scoops covered in edible gold leaf, gilded almonds, truffles, side of caviar - Archzenith delicacy, costs a ❂</div><div>12 Haute chocolate - truffle shavings, bunch of edible gold, cognac, gold spoon 12.5❂ </div><div>13 17.5❂ pudding, champagne jelly and champagne caviar, served in a Fabergé egg</div><div>Any dessert can go up to 5000❂ just by including inedible diamonds</div><div>14 Tea: ❂ per lb can be used many times without losing flavor, 12.5❂ for tea leaves painted in 25-carat gold and cut with golden scissors, 17.5❂/lb for tea fertilized with panda shit because they only absorb 30% of nutrients, tea from a few irreplaceable ancient trees harvested only very rarely 30❂</div><div>15 Beef from the cakevirgin cow; like 75% fat, .25❂ for a 2-lb steak</div><div>16 Mandrake mushrooms: sweet, spicy, NOT psychedelic. .5❂ for 2lbs</div><div>17 Truckle of Tourmaline moose cheese made in the tundra of its northernmost highlands. .5❂ a truckle, will get drastically more valuable if the Anarcho-Syndicalists take the Gorge.</div><div>18 Rare Bear Stew - made from the cubs of extremely rare bears, dried meat (chopped up live and then dropped live into boiling water) and fixings for this soup are .75❂/lb. Sold only in outpost and heartland Vice Fortresses; believed to ameliorate impotence. Many, many laborers, free, indentured and enslaved, are killed by bears or die falling through rocky crags attempting to find the bears’ spittle-fused bowers, though this is just a footnote because it doesn’t affect the price; those devoured by bears are, however, believed in some circles to add to the deliciousness and power of the stew.</div><div>19 Albino beluga sturgeon caviar - 2.5❂/lb naked to 75❂/lb gilded</div><div>20 80❂ single malt whisky (d4 bottles produced)</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Odd Table</i></div><div>1 Gin produced for sapphire jubilee, 100❂, d6 bottles produced</div><div>2 Whisky aged 64 years - 1 bottle made, 250❂</div><div>3 Whisky aged 105 years - 1 bottle made, 750❂</div><div>4 Bottle of vodka, diamonds, 500❂, looks like you got it in a gas station</div><div>5 Cognac named after decadent king, 6000 diamonds covering half of bottle, 1000❂</div><div>6 1750❂ aguardiente, aged 4 years but kept in a bottle covered in diamonds and shit </div><div>7 Square watermelon: .5❂</div><div>8 Stilton with gold liqueur and gold leaf .25❂</div><div>9 Donkey cheese .25❂/lb. Takes 15 donkeys a year to produce a gallon of the milk</div><div>10 Saffron: .75❂/lb</div><div>11 Look you can eat gold leaf by the pound for 7.5❂ if you want</div><div>12 Gilded glass bottle of water, ripoff tribal motif, gold dust, 30❂</div><div>13 150lb wheel of parmesan: .5❂</div><div>14 Wine: .25❂-500❂, 250❂ common upper limit</div><div>15 Thousand year old kimchi: 1000❂ </div><div>16 Liquor with mummy dust: 500❂</div><div>17 Financier-brand cigarettes, wine-black exterior, each comes with a brass mouthpiece: ❂ a pack</div><div>18 Luxury cigars: .25❂-25❂. Comes with your name on it, filter infused with pearls, bunch of diamonds and gold leaf, delivered by a butler, aged 15 years</div><div>19 Cigar from ancient, extinct civilization; looks like a little rolled up piece of jerky: 250❂</div><div>20 Century egg that’s actually a century old: 25❂</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Treasure Table F: Land Vehicles</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Roll a d8 if you’re dealing with something for the road, and d12 to include all options; or d4 for something other than a personal motor vehicle.</div><div><br /></div><div><i><span> </span>Part 1 (d8)</i></div><div>1-5 Baseline luxury car (100❂-200❂); includes icy-looking metallic things running on the pure prestige of their name, nouveau riche candy-colored cars with wood wheels and leather interiors, and everything in between</div><div>6 Limited runs (1-3 dozen): 1250❂-2500❂, fewer up to 5000❂ (generally 1 car made per mil). Diamonds in the headlights and shit, foldout dining suite</div><div>7 Utterly decadent, intended to be sold to people with unlimited wealth like entrepôt owners: 7500❂-15000❂</div><div>8 Motorbikes - 100❂ - 1750❂, potentially more at auction</div><div><i><span> </span>Part 2 (d12 or d4 counting forward)</i></div><div>9 Heavy hauler: essentially a giant tractor with a platform, can e.g. move ship components. 125❂</div><div>10 Diesel locomotive: 250❂-1000❂</div><div>11 Train cars: 50❂-100❂</div><div>Dining car, cattle car, coal bin, freight, passenger, sleeper, armored artillery monitor (gonna have to work the price on this one with the GM based on locality). Personal luxury: Bedrooms, chefs, stained glass domes, interiors as luxurious as any palace or private noviplane; add d12 x 500❂</div><div>12 Designer tricycle for children: 60❂</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Treasure Table G: Sea Vehicles</b></div><div><br /></div><div><i>d6</i></div><div><div>1 Megayacht, chartered from Megakratheon: costs from 100❂ to 500❂ per week. Employs novel use of suspendium in beams; still can’t do this with warships, they’re just too heavy.</div><div>Many megayachts have bays for seaplanes and yacht tenders, the biggest have landing strips sufficient for a biplane. Swimming pools, hot tubs, multiple bars</div><div>Cutting edge megayacht project: 300000❂</div><div>Current most expensive megayacht project: 250000❂, full complement of 70 personnel w/ 24 guest cabins (annual operating cost 1500❂-2500❂ including full complement wages)</div><div>The Yacht Squadron are the maintainers of Canalite megayachts in Twin Canals; they are military personnel who crew the Empire’s yachts and defend them in case of attack, which should be the primary concern for most megayacht owners in this world. They safeguard yachts under construction for foreigners until launch day, given the value of this to the economy of the Empire.</div><div><br /></div><div>2 Cargo ship (d4)</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>{1} Ferry: Small 250❂-500❂, industrial 5000❂-10000❂</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>{2} Small freighter 5000❂</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>{3} Pretty large freighter: 12500❂</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>{4} Vast ship 25000❂-75000❂ max</div><div>Add 5000❂ for refrigeration and 2500❂ for roll on/off capacity (otherwise loaded by crane and even by hand; ships are generally not highly containerized in this era)</div><div><br /></div><div>3 Seaplane tender: 12500❂, carries 8 seaplanes. Add a rack of diving suits w/ oxygen mechanism at 10❂ per suit and you’ve got the makings of a sea base here</div><div><br /></div><div>4 Hospital ship: 75000❂ converted freighter. Floating 1000 bed hospital. Mandatory crew of 100, room for up to 1000 more medical personnel</div><div><br /></div><div>5 Luxury passenger liner: 100000❂ (model: Olympic-class ocean liner). Think grand staircase with caryatids, smoking rooms, gyms, restaurants, cargo cranes, gardens, libraries, tennis courts, restaurants, Turkish baths, pool, Includes a pair of vast “millionaire’s suites” with 50m-long private decks. Baroque or Neoclassical decor</div><div><br /></div><div>6 Big luxury sailboat: 25000❂ - includes mahogany library with fireplace. Add 25000❂ for movie theater and jacuzzi. Add 25000❂ for gym and submarine.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Treasure Table H: Air Vehicles</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>d12</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><i><span> </span><b>Planes</b></i></div><div>1 Cargo noviplane: 2500❂</div><div>2 Butlered luxury noviplane: 2500❂-37500❂. Crew is 110❂ a year. Can pretty much make up whatever you want to have aboard as long as the plane will take off.</div><div>3 Common civilian biplane/seaplane: 40❂-100❂ (there are also parasol monoplanes).</div><div>4 Box-kite biplanes are often bedecked in glorious livery or art but are not really used for industrial transport 35❂-105❂</div><div>5 Scout biplane/seaplane: really a seat on wings, 25❂</div><div><i><span> </span><b>Airships</b></i></div><div>6 Basic rigid airship: 5000❂, can mount two biplanes</div><div>7 Armed with some under-armor: 12500❂, low service ceiling, you’ll need to source bombs and launch from a place that’s cool with you having machine guns</div><div>8 Biplane carrier: 25000❂, as above but can carry racks of biplanes</div><div>9 Luxury airship: 25000❂ with +5000❂ or +10000❂ for additional cabins</div><div>10 Hot air balloon: 12.5❂</div><div>11 <i><b>Personal Gliders</b></i> (d6)</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>1 Normal soaring apparatus: A hang glider that you’re kind of integrated with like a pair of wings. Almost as dangerous as the personal ornithopter: 15❂</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2 Storm wing apparatus: smaller wings but better in weather: 15❂</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>3 Experimental monoplane apparatus Notionally a monoplane but really an array of individual curved planes that resemble a monoplane and function under similar principles. Extremely sexy, extremely dangerous, though less likely to dive than the others. 20❂</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>4 Two-story: biplane array, can mount a small seat though good luck bailing out. 25❂</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>5 Large Biplane Apparatus: Huge and sexy. 30❂</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>6 Ornithopter: Just gorgeous with structurally-integral wingtip feather arrays and a trailing tail, but this thing will kill you if you let it seduce you. You hold onto it like a hang glider, it basically is a hang glider, wear a parachute if you’re at all high enough because if it goes into a nosedive you’re fucked. Basically if you roll a 1 you die no matter what your skill is. 50❂</div><div><a href="http://www.lilienthal-museum.de/olma/e213.htm" target="_blank">Check these out</a></div><div><br /></div><div>12 Rotor kite: Can be towed for fun or oversight, generally not powerable on one’s own. 25❂</div><div><br /></div><div>Luxury flight: 40❂</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Treasure Table I: Pets</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>There’s a</div><div><i>d100</i></div><div>1-4 Dog</div><div>5-8 Cat</div><div>9-11 Horse</div><div>12-100 <i>(Extended Menu)</i></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Dogs</b></div><div>Top pet dogs are almost always 5❂-7.5❂, certain extremely rare breeds go up to 25❂, will pay a premium for a notable individual, people have paid over 750❂ for famed show winners.</div><div>Top breeds (d6):</div><div>1 Arctic Reaver</div><div>2 Love Rocket</div><div>3 Dwarf Gnome</div><div>4 Quasibear</div><div>5 Royal Mystic</div><div>6 Pufferhound</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i><b>Working Dogs</b></i></div><div><i>d6</i></div><div>1 Belgian Malinois: 1.5❂. Can attack enemies but also be picked up by the handler</div><div>2 Doberman Pinscher: ❂ </div><div>3 Bull Terrier: .75❂</div><div>4 German Shepherd (scout dog): ❂</div><div>5 Yorkshire Terrier (combat courier): .5❂ for run of the mill, 2.5❂-5❂ for pedigree dogs</div><div>6 Bloodhound - the ultimate trackers, but don’t expect them to confront the prey. 5.❂-2.5❂</div><div><br /></div><div>For <b>training</b>, add 15❂-30❂:</div><div>Detection Dog: Narcotics, explosives, firearms</div><div>Guard Dog: Great for detecting people creeping up on your position</div><div>Guide Dog: A blinded PC may find this useful in their transition to NPC</div><div>Attack dog: Basically a static turret or a dog for bounty hunters that you release when a guy sprints into the woods or tresspasses or something</div><div>Scout dog- intermediate to docile detection dog and aggressive attack dog. Taught to distinguish human from animal scent</div><div>Tracking dog: long range man-finder, bloodhound best for this</div><div>Herding Dog</div><div>Team Dogs (haul light artillery and civilian milk carts)</div><div>S&R Dog</div><div>Sled Dog</div><div>Military-Messenger Dog</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Cats</b></div><div>Up to 62.5❂, some 12.5❂-25❂, most 1.5❂-2.5❂.</div><div>Top breeds (d6):</div><div>1 Gigantic Pinecoon</div><div>2 Elfin Piglet</div><div>3 Archzenith Assassin (1 litter per year, 62.5❂ per cat)</div><div>4 Naked Molecat</div><div>5 Kadwan Cretin (flat-faced, tongue out)</div><div>6 Boondock Prizefighter (aristocratic or underworld bloodsports)</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Horse</b></div><div><i>d6</i></div><div>1-2 Hobilar dragoon horse: 30❂</div><div>3-4 Thoroughbred stallion: 40❂</div><div>5-6 Vineforest polo horse: 100❂</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Extended Menu</b></div><div>12 Candy Basslet: .5❂</div><div>13 Clarion Angelfish: 1.5❂</div><div>14 Wrought Iron Butterflyfish: 1.5❂</div><div>15 Australian flathead perch: 2.5❂ but it looks like a sock</div><div>16 Neptune Grouper: 3❂</div><div>17 Golden Basslet: 4❂, has to be collected by submarine</div><div>18 Bladefin Basslet: 5❂</div><div>19 Peppermint angelfish: 15❂</div><div>20 Freshwater polka dot stingray with genetic mutation rounding its head, must be hand-fed: 50❂</div><div>21 Platinum arowana: 200❂; basically albino. Lives 50+ years</div><div>22 Snow macaque: 1.5❂</div><div>23 Capuchin monkey: 4.5❂</div><div>24 Camel: 5❂</div><div>25 Hyacinth macaw: 5.5❂ - biggest flying parrot in the world</div><div>26 Palm cockatoo: 8❂</div><div>27 Savannah cat: crossbreed of domestic cat and African serval, 11❂, kind of looks like it’s disappointed in you. Litters are rare as servals and domestic cats generally do not wanna smash. Really popular</div><div>28 Chimp: 30❂</div><div>29 Arctic fox: .5❂</div><div>30 Crocodile: .5❂</div><div>31 Micro Piglet: ❂</div><div>32 Fennec Fox: 1.5❂, looks like it has beef with you</div><div>33 Kangaroo: 1.5❂</div><div>34 Kinkajou: 1.5❂, less if it’s really vicious </div><div>35 Two-toed sloth: 2❂</div><div>36 Ringtail Lemur: 2❂</div><div>37 Zebra: 2❂. Super aggressive</div><div>38 Cotton Top Tamarin: 2❂</div><div>39 Wallaby: 2.5❂. May come with kids. Less capable of triangle choking you to death than a kangaroo</div><div>40 Finger Monkey: 2.5❂</div><div>41 Owl Monkey: 3❂. Nocturnal</div><div>42 Bongo Antelope: 4.5❂. Expensive because they’re sourced IVO Feyglade and the nomads will tie you ass-first to a red ant hill</div><div>43 Toucan: 5❂. Super needy</div><div>44 Ocelot: 7.5❂. This thing will bite your scrote off</div><div>45 Alpaca: COMMENCE THE ALPACALYPSE</div><div>46 Koala: 50❂, can eat nothing but eucalyptus. Their habitats are basically held hostage by price gougers</div><div>47 Hippo: 55❂, eat 100lbs of food a day</div><div>48 Polar Bear: 200❂, weigh up to 1200lbs and stand 10’ tall</div><div>49 Elephant, 750❂</div><div>50 Giant Panda: Sort of meant to eat meat but generally must subsist off of bamboo, so it shits 40 times a day and has specific anti-cyanide adaptations. Give birth to twins in about 50% of pregnancies. Preyed upon by snow leopards, move to warmer climes in winter instead of hibernating, will roll in horseshit if necessary to keep warm. 750❂</div><div>51 Bush baby: 2❂</div><div>52 Moon Bear: 1.5❂, ruthlessly poached for delicious bile, which is believed to impart erection and solve medical maladies by the ruling classes of the Vice Fortresses, who suffer from massive hypochondria. Imagine that animals just cannot feel pain or negative emotions and that’s how people treat these things. That said, in the wild they’re super dangerous- for example, IRL in Kashmir a bear found four assault rifle-wielding insurgents in its den and managed to kill two and maul a third, and then presumably ate the pudding they were making like Goldilocks or something. I don’t know if they even had a chance to shoot it</div><div>53 Hawks and Falcons: .5❂ unless you’re in a hyper-aristocratic culture, then pedigree birds up to 125❂</div><div>54 Sugar Glider: .25❂ </div><div>55 Binturong: looks like it’s seen some shit, .5❂</div><div>56 Chinchilla: .25❂, in the summer they cheaper</div><div>57 Armadillo: 1.5❂, will basically run relentless circuits around the place</div><div>58 Giant anteater: 3.5❂. “They look like huuumans! Shaggy huuuumans!” You know who you are</div><div>59 Dolphin: young 25❂-50❂, adult (up to 30) 50❂-100❂</div><div>60 Tiger 3.5❂-5❂, striped white tiger 15❂, pure white tiger 50❂</div><div>61 Lion 2.5❂-7.5❂</div><div>62 Snake - ball pythons 10❂-25❂, tree python in rare colors 500❂-1000❂ to aristocratic buyers</div><div>63 Genet: 1.5❂</div><div>64 Coatimundi: ❂</div><div>65 Tenerec: .25❂</div><div>66 Skunk: .25❂-.5❂</div><div>67 Squirrel .25❂</div><div>68 Marmoset: 2.5❂</div><div>69 Wolf: 1.5❂. 25% chance of biting you every day, more if you’re an edgelord, will bite and dominate everybody else. Will tear up your place like a bull in a china shop if brought indoors. Doesn’t respond well to coercion-based training, will ignore commands if it’s bored of you. Will annihilate small animals. All that goes for trained wolves raised around humans. They can smell as well as scenthounds, though</div><div>70 Llama: 1.5❂</div><div>71 Capybara: ❂</div><div>72 Possum: ❂</div><div>73 Zedonk: 2.5❂</div><div>74 Zorse: 15❂</div><div>75 Liger: .5❂, get really really huge, often die early when their hearts give out</div><div>76 Cama: 10❂</div><div>77 Llapaca: 5❂</div><div>78 King Cobra: .25❂-.5❂</div><div>79 Spitting Cobra: .5❂</div><div>80 Jaglion: 5❂</div><div>81 Pumapard: 5❂, tend towards dwarfism<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div><div>82 Giant tortoise: 4❂</div><div>83 Great white shark: 500❂</div><div>84 Orca whale: 1500❂</div><div>85 Rhino: 15❂</div><div>86 750lb steer: .5❂ (beef cattle)</div><div>87 300lb pedigree hog: .25❂</div><div>88 Stud Pig: .25❂-1❂</div><div>89 Beefalo: ❂</div><div>90 Dzo: 2.5❂ (bigger, stronger and more productive of milk and meat than yaks or cattle in the regions where they meet, though the males are sterile)</div><div>91 Yakalo: 3.5❂</div><div>92 Bongotunga: 3.5❂</div><div>93 Geep: 2.5❂</div><div>94 Wholphin: 25❂</div><div>95 Narwhal: 1000❂</div><div>96 Narluga: 1500❂</div><div>97 Orangutan: .25❂</div><div>98 Owl: 2❂</div><div>99 Lynx: 2❂</div><div>100 Fainting Goat: .25❂</div><div><br /></div><div>Note: Animals previously abused by owners command a huge price markup due to new owners being able to say that they have a “rescue dog” and have it be more than maudlin self-lionizing horseshit</div><div><br /></div><div>Note: If a guy’s got a platinum arowana and you can get that thing out in a fishbowl to a reasonably wealthy city-state, you can make at least $100,000. This is industrial era treasure baby</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Treasure Table J: Services, Memberships, and Events</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><i>d20</i></div><div>1 Top service hotel, giant suite in Diadem or Ascension (“Royal Suite”, oftentimes just one per building): 20❂-50❂ per night, generally you get a full personal staff to include chef, butler and private assistant, the largest ones have 5+ bedrooms, marble spa baths, multiple bars and powder rooms, and chauffeured luxury cars</div><div><br /></div><div>2 Spa treatments- .25❂ a treatment, .5❂ a session, nights from ❂ to 1.5❂</div><div><br /></div><div>3 High-level haircuts: starts at .25❂, a lot of what they can charge for is maintaining iconic looks, .5-1❂ for apex-level hairstylists. Full service where you get flown in, have a spa treatment, get a bunch of products and hobknob with the stylist can be 7.5❂-12.25❂; stylist can also fly to you for this</div><div><br /></div><div>4 Stuff like the Bullingdon club (or Bohemian Grove, or Hellfire) membership: 100❂ + 10❂ dues</div><div><br /></div><div>5 Money laundering services (gambling, modern art, real estate): 10% commission</div><div><br /></div><div>6 Campaigning a dog in a top show: 50❂-100❂</div><div><br /></div><div>7 Lunch for four at Eviratee: ❂. Restaurants that are equivalent to 3 Michelin stars start at .25❂ per meal, may need to book months in advance if it’s a place where a chef and staff takes care of a single table in a single room</div><div><br /></div><div>8 Extensive reist burial at Vatrium, extensive entombment and proceedings at Thanofane: 500❂</div><div><br /></div><div>9 Performance by notable musician: 50❂-750❂</div><div><br /></div><div>10 Tattooing by master: .25❂ an hour, full tattoo being 3-30 hours, so .75❂-7.5❂</div><div><br /></div><div>11 Eye dying - silver, gold, ruby. 5k-50k 2.5❂-25❂</div><div><br /></div><div>12 Surgically implanting hooks in your head so you can have gold chains for hair: 7.5❂</div><div><br /></div><div>13 VIP box at race or opera: 4❂</div><div><br /></div><div>14 Initiation with the Irae bandit tribe; this is like an extreme “West Cure”. Then you go on a raid with them. After that you have to leave, though.</div><div>They do this to make an outsider legible to them, and by extension the current state of outsiders; you come out with a psyche they can understand.</div><div>37.5❂</div><div><br /></div><div>15 Weddings</div><div>Can run up to 5000❂-10000❂ for royal affairs and the mightiest merchant houses, can expect more like 1500❂-2500❂ for a splendid high society wedding for ~300 in Ascension.</div><div>7500❂-15000❂ you’re getting into true ostentation. </div><div><br /></div><div>16 Funerals</div><div>2500❂-7500❂ for lavish state funerals involving the armed forces in republics, 25000❂-200000❂+ in opulent absolute monarchies </div><div>125❂-500❂ for lavish private funeral, assuming a one-day service</div><div><br /></div><div>17 Staging events (d4)</div><div>1 World-class beauty pageant: 7500❂-10000❂</div><div>2 Lavish gladiatorial games lasting many days: 17500❂</div><div>3 Feast of the swans style mass-knighting ceremony: 4000❂</div><div>4 Debutante balls like the Waldorf-Astoria one: 1000❂</div><div><br /></div><div>18 Crack legal representation: ❂ per hour</div><div><br /></div><div>19 Bottle service at top club, own section to own room: Starts at .25❂-2.5❂</div><div><br /></div><div>20 Buy-in at high-level casino-fortress tables: 25❂-250❂</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Treasure Table K: Real Estate</b></div><div><br /></div><div><div>Cabin: 10❂</div><div>Hideaway blacksite: 17.5❂</div><div>Add home alternating current generator 15’ long by 10’ wide by 15’ tall to any property - basically your own power station, requires mechanical energy/work of some kind to power. 50❂</div><div><br /></div><div>Large apartments in the most exclusive floors of Diadem go for ~5❂ a month, studios more like 2.5❂</div><div><br /></div><div>Giant beautiful castle-mansion (the lap of splendor and luxury but not really fortified) 75000❂</div><div><br /></div><div><span> <span> </span></span>Enhancements to the grounds (d6)</div><div>1 Bosquet with garden rooms: 100❂</div><div>2 Nymphaeum with elaborate friezes on subject of your choice: 250❂</div><div>3 High mannerist sculpture: requires persuasion of the artist and an acceptable subject</div><div>4 Statue centerpiece, actually a solidified spirit- possibly quite unable to communicate or effectively move, may be like a statue, may be gelatinous or in other matter state</div><div>5 Garden centerpiece, actually a plant that was once a human and could become one again</div><div>6 An abbey or temple that you basically use as your relaxation/meeting grounds</div><div><br /></div><div>Labor’s cheap, urban real estate is expensive</div><div>Multi-story penthouse in a major city: 5000❂-10000❂ to 50000❂-75000❂</div><div>Diadem penthouse/private manor in midtown Ascension: 150000❂</div><div>Note: Real estate in the most exclusive neighborhoods in Ascension, Troutbridge etc. some of them have clauses that may disallow adventurer types; exclusionary housing codes are not illegal basically anywhere except Great Loom, where they wouldn’t apply to that many people anyways</div><div><br /></div><div>Cavern remodeled for occult fane, submarine bay: 12500❂</div><div><br /></div><div>Tropical island rentals, guarded - 250❂</div><div>Guarded island in the Little Iguanas, or guarded island in the wine (if you don’t guard the latter you’re gonna lose it): 7500❂-12500❂ for a good-sized island with an attractive manor home and amenities on it. Up to 30000❂ for a nice big island with dozens of buildings, a huge built-up marina and a landing strip.</div><div><br /></div><div>Best manors/country houses: 250,000❂</div><div>Governmental palaces could go for 2,750,000❂ if they were for sale</div><div>(Common examples of these things, either more modest or in less central locations, will generally go for half) </div><div><br /></div><div>Giant modern sports stadium with all amenities: 250,000❂-500,000❂</div><div><br /></div><div>Railroad: Generally 125❂ per mile if you’re laying down a stone bed. 62.5❂ if not.</div><div>Yeah you can build a personal railroad, but you can also charge fees if you expand an existing railroad or open yours for service</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Treasure Table L: Common Goons</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>You’ve shot, stabbed or defenestrated a goon, and now you can do his pockets.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>d100</i></div><div>GM: Value is d4❂ / 2 </div><div>1 Sheaf of banknotes redeemable for coin at large banks</div><div>2 Small, silverchased musical instrument</div><div>3 Scrolled firearm plated in precious metals</div><div>4 Etched and silverchased dagger</div><div>5 Wad of panacea</div><div>6 Unused hand grenade</div><div>7 Valuable pharmaceuticals</div><div>8 Gold locket</div><div>9 Gold pocket watch</div><div>10 Goldclapsed snuff pouch</div><div>11 Gold cigarette case</div><div>12 Gold-plated lighter</div><div>13 Gold plated harmonica </div><div>14 Nacre face mask, worn hanging on chest inside shirt</div><div>15 Gold teeth</div><div>16 Pouch of cocaine (chance of being flour or something)</div><div>17 Wristwatch</div><div>18 Gold wedding band (or ear, nose, Prince Albert)</div><div>19 Silver wedding ring</div><div>20 Flashy rings</div><div>21 Gold-plated flask</div><div>22 Silver flask</div><div>23 Gold armlet (inside or outside shirt)</div><div>24 Gemstone necklace</div><div>25 Jeweled tie pin (in lapel if no tie, or through the nose or something if no lapel)</div><div>26 Sapphire or ruby-shard flower in shirt</div><div>27 Ivory sheath or holster </div><div>28 Gold inlaid lacquerwork fountain pen</div><div>29 Jewel-laid ivory cameo of a maenad eviscerating a sorcerer priest</div><div>30 Boulled arabesque tortoiseshell pectoral worn underneath shirt</div><div>31 Pearl Prince Albert piercing</div><div>32 Gilded shrunken tongue charm </div><div>33 Silver collar jewel (fraternal order or decorative)</div><div>34 Damask pectoral inlaid with gold imagery; chance of mitigating low-velocity, hollow-point bullets</div><div>35 Designer shoes</div><div>36 Lacquerware tobacco cask</div><div>37 Pair of platinum burial coins intended for eyes</div><div>38 Fine intaglio on precious necklace</div><div>39 Piquéd alligatorskin boots (gold designs esoteric, geometrical, depictive)</div><div>40 Penile pearls acquired at sea or in prison (chance of gold for the latter)</div><div>41 Wave-bladed knife</div><div>42 Jewels set in teeth</div><div>43 Diamond-filled championship ring (shooting, sports, Ingroup accomplishment)</div><div>44 Highly ornate chatelaine hanging from belt (sits suggestively alongside crotch), has various delicate silvered tools</div><div>45 Ostentatious signet ring</div><div>46 Undershirt lunula</div><div>47 Tiny ivory and gold ingots on a string, represent ancestors</div><div>48 Gold and goosedowned earpick</div><div>49 Low-ante lottery ticket</div><div>50 35mm compact camera</div><div>51 Micromosaic pendant icon</div><div>52 Live bejeweled beetle that flits around from thin gold chain. Hisses impressively </div><div>53 Thin golden or silver circlet, almost hidden in the hair</div><div>54 Antediluvian insect ambered in bolo tie</div><div>55 Gold tie clip (worn on pocket if no tie)</div><div>56 Love me or die containing jeweled earrings</div><div>57 Gold polyhedral sundial on a chain</div><div>58 Sterling silver tie chain interlaced with steel so you can strangle people with it</div><div>59 Gold necklace(s)</div><div>60 Gold wristchain </div><div>61 Key to storage unit</div><div>62 Gold bootlace charm</div><div>63 Housekey</div><div>64 Car/motorbike/plane key </div><div>65 Gold-encrusted horn hanging from belt (drinking or signaling)</div><div>66 Undershirt gorget </div><div>67 Precious clasp</div><div>68 Gold nose</div><div>69 Scrimshawed walrus baculum as penile prosthetic </div><div>70 Lover’s brooch</div><div>71 Bezoar charm from an extremophile ruminant, melts down into semipanacea </div><div>72 Gold buckle</div><div>73 Selectively gilded snakeskin gloves</div><div>74 Designer jacket (likely to be bloodsoaked)</div><div>75 Gold cigar tube</div><div>76 Scrimshaw whalebone amulet under shirt</div><div>77 Pearl-gripped and silvered holdout pistol</div><div>78 Gold-rimmed, graven morta pipe</div><div>79 Big wound stitched in goldwork </div><div>80 Lamé sash</div><div>81 Torc under shirt</div><div>82 Tiny celestial globe in a jewelry casket ajouréd above the isles and continents</div><div>83 Secreted pseudonkondi pincushioned with golden needles</div><div>84 Gold designer magnifying glass</div><div>85 Porcelain jar for gold-flaked libations over the dead</div><div>86 Healing potion (for parapsychological purposes; doesn’t do anything but there are plenty of people who would pay you for it)</div><div>87 Fetish for apotropaic spirit (small jewel-eyed animal skull, gilded antler inside coat, silver tintinnabulum)</div><div>88 Bottle of amphetamine tablets</div><div>89 Held-out ingot of meteoric dimagnesium triferrodiallosilicate - like 20❂ if you can find the proper merchant or manufacturing combine to acquire it</div><div>90 Golden spyglass</div><div>91 Jeweled cufflinks </div><div>92 Golden craniofacial prosthetic</div><div>93 Treasurebound journal; gold, nacre, carnelian</div><div>94 Gold bootspurs (may be practical, may be ostentatious and unnecessary)</div><div>95 Gilded feather in hat</div><div>96 Gold eye with (sapphire/emerald/ruby) and jet iris</div><div>97 Gold prosthetic hand</div><div>98 Jewel-encrusted pendant watch</div><div>99 Livery badge of association (animalform) to fraternal order, master or patron</div><div>100 Chinchilla greatcoat (or designer smoked lenses in hot environment)</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><span> <span> </span></span>Sample Backgrounds for Common Goons</b></div><div><i>d20</i></div><div>1 Served as a capo in a death camp or while a POW before rescue/release.</div><div><br /></div><div>2 Amateur hitman known for only taking contracts where the target is unlikely to shoot back, like unsuspecting wives.</div><div><br /></div><div>3 Anarcho-Syndicalist torturer booted from the organization for being too extreme.</div><div><br /></div><div>4 Right wing death squad member in exile after his city-state’s defeat and his organization’s destruction (or his movement’s success and his personal marginalization as something no longer necessary or desirable).</div><div><br /></div><div>5 Former low level mob soldier considered a cop magnet and ordered to leave town.</div><div><br /></div><div>6 Policeman ousted for brutality.</div><div><br /></div><div>7 Bounty hunter generally blacklisted due to being seemingly unable to take anybody alive.</div><div><br /></div><div>8 Failed salesman driven to murderous rage, his gun the only thing he feels like he can understand and control.</div><div><br /></div><div>9 Fighter for underground xenotheocracy at war with xenostygian existential puritans. Fled after column was rewound into obligate thermophiles; he managed to peel off the back before the endoliths reached him.</div><div><br /></div><div>10 “Asset Protection” corporate mercenary kicked out after PR disaster.</div><div><br /></div><div>11 Enforcer and living battery for cryptostygian data collation conspiracy; fled, now scared shitless of cryptostygians reaching him pretty much anywhere or holding power in ways most people can’t even imagine.</div><div><br /></div><div>12 Followed along on a plunder crusade, some time later he washed up on shores of a nation near his homeland and did some time as a slave before escaping.</div><div><br /></div><div>13 Clerk in service to the banker Knights Tarragon. Made off with a strongbox containing 250❂, spent it within a week.</div><div><br /></div><div>14 A member of a gang of frontier fighters who specialized in knocking the slats out from under bandit tribes by massacring their homesteads when war parties were away; eventually they fell into a trap set to exploit this exact m.o.</div><div>The fighters were tortured and killed in unspeakable ways while this man watched; he was released to tell the tale, but not before having his nose, ears, scalp, foreskin, and pinkies cut off. </div><div><br /></div><div>15 Red Charter sand thief who didn’t understand throughput and made off with a single barge of sand to sell it. Broke again several weeks later, on the run from former colleagues.</div><div><br /></div><div>16 A mercenary fighting a colonial rebellion on behalf of an empire. The empire eventually negotiated the colony into becoming a protectorate, but one of the terms was that the mercenaries be handed over to the new state’s authorities. He managed to escape execution by fragging his company commander and claiming to have been pressed into servitude.</div><div><br /></div><div>17 A rapparee who eventually turned in his band in for a reward and a commission; the occupying force neglected to give him either in the end, and he suffered a mock execution during which his band was hanged all at once and his trapdoor was the only one that didn’t drop, after which he was released.</div><div><br /></div><div>18 Preacher who offered tutorship in morality to daughters of remote homesteaders, exploited the trust of their families, ended up killing two members of a posse of fathers pursuing him.</div><div><br /></div><div>19 Servant who seduced a scullery maid, had her steal the lady’s jewels so they could run away and start a new life together. He cut her throat and then made off with the jewels, but had to abandon them at a guard checkpoint.</div><div><br /></div><div>20 Made the heart-stabber of a rural cult, managed to just slip away when the rangers closed in.</div></div><div><br /></div><div> <b> <span> </span></b><b>Sample Outlooks for Common Goons</b></div><div><i>d20</i></div><div><div>1 I’m the kind of guy who’s meant to be a knight but I was born under the wrong circumstances, and society can’t accept the level that I operate at.</div><div><br /></div><div>2 It doesn’t matter what the rules are or what’s fair. I’m me. I’m #1.</div><div><br /></div><div>3 I’ve never had anything. All I’ve known are rats, roaches, shitty canned food, burning summers and freezing winters. I’m not gonna wait any longer. Other people are gonna die before I let myself go back into poverty.</div><div><br /></div><div>4 I’m doing this to raise money for (d4) [International Revolutionary Anarcho-Syndicalism / My Liege / A Nationalist Militia Abroad / My Drug Habit].</div><div><br /></div><div>5 Now I’ve got money, I’ve got respect, I’ve got freedom, and I’ve got ladies of the night. When I was just an average dude I never had those things. In light of that, why should I give a fuck about what YOU think?</div><div><br /></div><div>6 I’m crazy so you’d better keep your distance. They should have killed me at birth or locked me up forever. Too bad. I don’t give a fuck who I kill and I cannot be predicted. Since I’ll never be held accountable, your best bet is to tread lightly and never tempt me.</div><div><br /></div><div>7 I don’t want to hurt anybody. I don’t believe in violence. But if you fuck with me I HAVE to kill you or at least beat you senseless. PLEASE do not screw with me.</div><div><br /></div><div>8 If you disrespect somebody then all bets are off. GOD I hope somebody fucks with me. An old woman or a quadriplegic could talk shit and I’d still beat their brains in.</div><div><br /></div><div>9 Only a sucker would do something he doesn’t wanna do. Wage labor is tantamount to slavery and if you participate in it you deserve to be ripped off. I’m not gonna participate or such a corrupt, fucked up system or have any sympathy for anyone who does. Plus, after you’ve killed one person in a way the courts consider unjustified, what real difference is there in terms of consequence if you kill five? Ten? Twenty?</div><div><br /></div><div>10 This is the way nobles behave. It’s the way republics and religions behave on the world stage. Don’t tell me I’m wrong to follow suit just because some other set of rules theoretically applies to you and I.</div><div><br /></div><div>11 “Theft is but restitution carried out by an individual to his own benefit, being conscious of another's undue monopolization of collectively produced wealth” - Clément Duval</div><div><br /></div><div>12 I’m a decent guy but don’t let me get ahold of some liquor or the animal’s coming out of the cage.</div><div><br /></div><div>13 Society fucked me in every way and I’m a reflection of its brutality. I’m gonna get my revenge, and after that I’m sure I won’t be long for this earth. Things couldn’t have turned out for me any other way</div><div><br /></div><div>14 If you give an inch they’ll take a mile. I’m not big or intimidating but if you slight me in any way I’ll stab you faster than you can believe. The alternative is to be subjected to brutality so relentless that I will kill before I allow myself to be carried one step in that direction.</div><div><br /></div><div>15 My narrow identity group are the only real people and everybody else are utterly inferior and fair game. {Supremacism acquired in (d4): Prison / Filibustering expedition / Childhood / Ultranationalist military order unit}</div><div><br /></div><div>16 My back’s against the wall. I’m just doing what I have to do in order to feed the people I care about. But give me any lip and I’ll kill you and bang your girlfriend.</div><div><br /></div><div>17 This is all I know. If I has been weak, if I hadn’t become a predator, I’d have been brutalized in the worst way, by authority figures and peers. I have no friends, only potential victims, and the only person I’ve ever loved is my mother. She doesn’t know what I do and I’ll cut your head off before you tell her.</div><div><br /></div><div>18 My religion sanctions the raiding of infidels, and I don’t think you’re one of the flock. This is god’s will, otherwise it wouldn’t be happening!</div><div>[..]</div><div>Fuck, I’m sorry! Please don’t kill me!</div><div>(d4: 1 Vier Reism, 2 Radiant Monadism, 3 some kind of polytheism and he worships the god of e.g. thievery/strife, 4 new interpretation of existing god)</div><div><br /></div><div>19 This society’s gone to the dogs and I’m gonna get mine before it all goes down in flames.</div><div><br /></div><div>20 The human race is obviously evil and everything else is bullshit, niceties, and sheltered naïveté. Your contemptible slave morality doesn’t apply to me so go fuck your own face before I do it. This is predator and prey.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Treasure Table M: Personnel</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Labor is very cheap except for the most elite professions and renowned experts. Most people are looking for a *sure thing*. Players can retain employees pretty easily because however much of a menace to society an adventurer is, player characters usually treat loyal employees pretty well.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Select Roles</b> (d6)</div><div>1 Personal psychotherapist: 42.5❂ per annum</div><div>2 Secretary who comes with her own team of secretaries: 90❂ per annum</div><div>3 Romantic “pets”; sugar daddy/mama relationships: 15❂-60❂ per annum</div><div>4 Personal crack attorney: 200❂ per annum</div><div>5 Chef: ❂ per week</div><div>6 Emergency room set up in your home (surgeon, a handful of supporting medical personnel, ward with equipment and supplies); people will hate you if they know about it unless you open it to the public. 500❂ to establish, 500❂ per year wages and supplies.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>General Labor Price Bands</b></div><div>Price of labor in most developed city-states begins at 7.5❂-10❂. A single ❂ is for the truly desperate.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>1❂-5❂</div><div>Serf</div><div>Untouchable</div><div>Refugee</div><div>Migrants</div><div>Prisoners who aren’t being forced to work</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>10❂</div><div>Childcare</div><div>Gunman</div><div>Careful labor (e.g. stevedores, foundry workers)</div><div>Competent servant</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>15❂</div><div>Skilled labor (carpenter, builder, stonecutter, nurse)</div><div>Musician</div><div>Skilled servant</div><div>Guard</div><div>Photographer </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>20❂</div><div>Record keeper, minor scribe/clerical worker</div><div>Skilled labor overseer</div><div>Expert labor (electrician, mechanic, woodworker)</div><div>Experienced soldier</div><div>Pedagogical tutor</div><div>Reporter </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>25❂</div><div>Midlevel administrator/accountant</div><div>Expert labor overseer</div><div>Tutor of specific humanities discipline</div><div>Personal priest</div><div>Skilled retainer</div><div>Publicist</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>30❂-50❂</div><div>Skilled professional in specific field e.g. Administrator/courtesan/engineer/architect</div><div>Expert in non-applied academic discipline Knight: includes mutual oaths; generally you need some claim to nobility although you can found a Merchant House and freely employ knights</div><div>Psychologist</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>50❂+</div><div>Attorney</div><div>Surgeon </div><div>Famous artist </div><div>Famous courtesan</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>MERCENARIES</b></div><div>d6</div><div>1 Desperately poor gunman: 2.5❂-5❂ per annum</div><div>2 Retained criminal: 13❂ per annum</div><div>3 Competent former soldier: 35❂ per annum</div><div>4 ^Officer, bring on additional men to maximize value: 50❂ per annum</div><div>5 Black-ops tier retainer: 90❂ per annum</div><div>6 Famous knight: 125❂ per annum</div><div><br /></div><div><span> <span> </span></span><b>Employing a ~1000-man Free Company</b></div><div>1 leader, 1 surgeon, 10 commanders, 10 pursuers, 10 captains, 40 sergeants, 30 sappers, 900 mercenaries</div><div>= 11070❂ per annum</div><div>= 5535❂ per six months</div><div>= 2767.5❂ per quarter, the minimum employment period (generally with 1 operation expected)</div><div>Multiply by 10 for a <b>10000-man Great Company</b> (there are 2 or 3 in the world at any given time) ie 110700❂ per annum, or 111100❂ if the leader commands a premium for being in charge of such a huge unit.</div><div><br /></div><div>These prices are for the kind of mercenaries that turn brigand in lean times and won’t be nearly as reliable as aristocratic house troops and retainers, though they may have more specialized expertise in e.g. combat engineering. For Swiss-style professionals, double or triple the above prices depending on veterancy and equipment i.e. integrated tanks, artillery and air support = triple price.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Treasure Table N: Diegetic Specialties</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> <i>Noteworthy Shopping Districts</i><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">Black Atrium: </span>Midtown Archzenith. Chic to heaps-of-pure-gold gaudy.</p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">Skeleton Quay: </span>Coastal marina in Cape Cittacotte with service to private resorts in the Little Iguanas. Dealers for almost every luxury brand in the world.</p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">Dogtrash Alley: Attar. Avant-garde, still expensive as hell.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 20.3px;"><i><br /></i></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 20.3px;"><i><span> </span>Specialties from city-states commonly mentioned hitherto</i><span class="s1"></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">Mandrake: Furs, jewelry, ostentatious couture/national costumery, liquor, ornate and extreme weapons, highly skilled courtesans, highly skilled manservants and manservant-bodyguards, swords</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">Ascension: Aircraft, cars, luggage, the icier side of high fashion</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">Troutbridge: Riverine and littoral vessels, motorbikes, suits, extremely reliable firearms, consumer goods</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">Starling & Shrike (agents-only or with an agent as a guarantor): Ornate pistols, seized assets, banking and financial services</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">Atrialia: Maximum purity drugs, customized weapons which tend to be illegal elsewhere (get your dragon-headed flamethrower, grenades arbitrarily pineappled with obsidian, gilded mortar), the outrageous side of high fashion</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">Grimwall: Hunting garb, outdoorsman and alpinist gear, precision rifles, luxury hunts, swords</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">Great Loom: Pens, stationary, bespoke printing projects, watches</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">Bombaryx: Statuary, carpets</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">Sarabande: Lacquerwork, marsupial coffee</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">Attar: Scents and unguents </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">Archzenith: Unfinished tropical wood</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">Kadwa: Glassware, ceramics</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">Eidesia: Fine art</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">Vatrium: Reist burial services</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">Thanofane: Burial services for many faiths, luxury tombs (many of which are walk-in with guest and communion quarters)</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">Vineforest: Amber wares, hunting animals</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">Bounty: Skilled slaves</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">Megakratheon: Silks, architects, stonemasonry, pearl and gems, megayachts (modeled after Elric sea pyramids and ancient Egyptian/Persian?supergalley)</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">Diadem: Engraving, stud bulls, wine</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">Theoseveria: Racehorses</span></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="401" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zHlqOeuxKkc" width="483" youtube-src-id="zHlqOeuxKkc"></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Her Christmas Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445850026904816000noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575857487210211963.post-70204309336107301432022-11-11T14:57:00.022-05:002022-11-18T18:50:08.560-05:00Butterflyman Raiding Party<div style="text-align: left;"><span> </span><b>Index</b></div><div>Encounters</div><div>Treasure Table</div><div>Fighting</div><div><br /></div><div>This is a “push your luck game” inspired by <a href="http://monstersandmanuals.blogspot.com/2022/06/table-of-hippogriff-traits.html" target="_blank">this</a> <a href="http://monstersandmanuals.blogspot.com/2022/01/list-of-party-assets.html" target="_blank">game</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>See also <a href="https://worldbuildingandwoolgathering.blogspot.com/2022/11/arborcrawling-in-27th-century.html?m=0" target="_blank">Arborcrawling in the 27th Century.</a></div><div><br /></div><div>You begin with 12 d8-Prowess butterflyman raiders.</div><div><br /></div><div>Roll an encounter, and then roll on the Treasure Table if instructed to.</div><div><br /></div><div>Decide whether you will continue the raid or return to your meadows with the plunder.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you continue, roll another encounter.</div><div><br /></div><div>Repeat until the band has been destroyed or you have returned to the meadows.</div><div><br /></div><div> Your party has one use of <i>fireball</i>, which can be used in an encounter to launch d20 attacks at every enemy present. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span> </span>Encounters (d20)</b></div><div>1 Aphidwomen: Pick one of your characters. Roll prowess against d4 d6 times. For each success (not draw), receive a gift of nectar worth 1❂.</div><div>2 Myconid city: The mushroom men trade secrets for secrets. For each encounter you have completed, you gain a +1 bonus that can be applied to any roll if declared immediately beforehand. There is no limit to how many such bonuses can be applied to a roll.</div><div>3 A strange prophet with three faces. Next time you would make a treasure check, make two, but add +d4 to your next Encounter roll.</div><div>4 A band of drunken Brythonic pirates burying something near the coast. You may descend upon them and Fight [vs 2d4 d4s]; if you succeed, roll on the TT.</div><div>5 Basking barnaclemen. Something is nestled among their rocks: you may descend and Fight [vs 2d4 d4+1s], rolling on the TT if successful.</div><div>6 Earwigmen, guarding something half-hidden in the grass. You may descend and Fight [vs 2d4 d6s], rolling on the TT if successful.</div><div>7 A covey of partridgemen. There are d10 of them. If they outnumber you, they will attack and you must Fight [vs d8 d4s, except one who is a d8 leader]. If your raiding party equals or outnumbers the partridgemen, you may trade with them for a minor profit (d4❂), or you may have one of your characters challenge their leader to single combat. If you win, the surviving partridgemen will join your force. If the partridgeman leader wins, the solidification of his dominance is reward enough for him, and you are allowed to depart (if you attack afterwards and win, you take d4❂ from the slain partridgemen).</div><div>8 Force of earwigman reavers hauling something from a burning giant termite mound. You may descend and Fight [vs 3d4 d6s], rolling on the TT if successful.</div><div>9 Pit of thousands of poisonous centipedes: You may select a butterflyman or other flyer to make a lightning dive into the pit, trying to snatch something of value from near its bottom. The character must roll Prowess against d4 three times and succeed each time; a draw forces him out of the pit and he must restart the three d4 ladder if he wishes to acquire any treasure, a failure kills. If he succeeds, roll on TT. You may also <i>fireball</i> the pit to annihilate the centipedes and go straight to the TT.</div><div>10 Earwigman warband with its baggage train. You may descend and Fight [vs 4d4 d6s] to roll+d4 on the TT. </div><div>11 Grimlock warband piling something at the mouth of a cavern. You may descend and Fight [vs 3d4 d8s] to roll +d4 on the TT.</div><div>12 Giant wasps massacring a column of human refugees. You may flee the scene or zoom in to help, in which case you Fight [vs 4d4 d8s], after which the surviving, grateful refugees dip into their heirlooms to reward you. Roll+4 (not +d4) on the TT.</div><div>13 Earwigman knights on giant centipedes. You may descend and Fight [vs 2d4 d10s]. Roll twice on the TT.</div><div>14 Earwigman army. You may descend and Fight. Each of your characters is assigned an earwigman. Roll a d6 for each. On a 6, the earwigman is a d8 leader. Otherwise it’s a d6 warrior. As soon as one of your characters kills an earwigman, that earwigman is replaced (rolling the d6 for its type); there is no ganging up on earwigmen. Nor are you ganged up on, as you can pick your band’s position and then fight in formation. For every 10 earwigmen you kill, roll a d4. On a 4, the earwigmen break and rout, leaving their camp-tunnel open for you to plunder. Roll+d4 4 times on the TT.</div><div>15 Tarantella spider sitting on top of something. You may descend and Fight [one d10]. Ties count as losses for you. Roll on TT.</div><div>16 Giant swans and their worshippers, a pristine lake partly enclosed by white cliffs containing a cavern in which there is something that glints at you. You may descend and Fight [d4 d10 giant swans and 3d4 d4 zealots]. If you succeed, roll+1 on the TT.</div><div>17 Cyclops with something in its club-bindle: d12 prowess. Roll +2 on TT</div><div>18 Roc with something in its stomach. d20 prowess. Roll+4 on TT.</div><div>19 Dragon. Roll a d4. On a 1, it’s not interested in you and you may leave if you so choose. On a 2-3, it demands all your treasure, and if you prevaricate or have nothing it attacks. On a 4, it attacks. In a Fight, the dragon begins by breathing fire, annihilating d4 of your characters. It has d20 Prowess. It breathes fire at the start of each round, annihilating d4 of your characters. If you kill it, roll+d8 on the TT.</div><div>20+ Demon. d20 prowess, and roll d20+4 on the encounter table to determine its backup. If you roll another demon, also roll the d20+4 again and so forth. No treasure, you cannot decline battle as the demon is faster than you and has spells to force you to the ground.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span> </span>Treasure Table (d20)</b></div><div>1 Nothing</div><div>2 Surprise encounter</div><div>3 Larder (bits and pieces of giant insects): 1❂.</div><div>4 Huge ball of disgusting earwax - delicious food for butterflymen. Gain +1 to rolls next encounter.</div><div>5 Bunch of sheep: Worth 2d4❂.</div><div>6 Captives: roll d8</div><div><span> </span>{1} Woodpeckermen: d4+1 [d8] woodpeckermen join your raiding party.</div><div><span> </span>{2} Prince or Princess: roll d4</div><div><span> <span> </span></span>[1]-Human princess of the swan worshipping people. Return to Giant Swan polity for free TT+d4 check.</div><div><span> <span> </span></span>[2]-Atlantean prince; anemic hemophiliac with pneumonia. If he’s alive at the end of the raid you can ransom him for 10❂, but each turn roll a d8; on a 1, he dies.</div><div><span> <span> </span></span>[3]-Ebony-armored barbarian prince with a two-headed hippogriff chained near the cage. Can have him join your band as d10 warrior or accept an immediate 5❂ to ransom him.</div><div><span> <span> </span></span>[4]-Butterflyman prince: Joins your band as d12 warrior. Gain 5❂ at the end of the raid if he survives.</div><div><span> </span>{3} Calm wizard with a secret. Prowess d4 in combat but prowess d12 to Encounter(1) and Treasure(18) prowess checks, also gain 1 use of fireball.</div><div><span> </span>{4} Moody visionary blessed by an Etruscan goddess. d12 Prowess but cannot be used for Encounter(1) and Treasure(18) prowess checks because his heart is with his wife (who might be dead). After each encounter, a d4-strength cultist arrives to join the raid.</div><div><span> </span>{5} Glossolalian thief: Fights as d8 warrior and can roll against d12 to bypass an encounter for whatever its treasure is if successful; if he fails, he must spend a round in single combat with the most powerful enemy present. If you opt not to have him attempt the theft, the encounter happens normally.</div><div><span> </span>{6} Bugbears: Gain d6 d8 warriors.</div><div><span> </span>{7} Woodwose: Gain a d6 warrior. After each encounter that he survives, he goes up in die size until he reaches d12 as he gradually adopts butterflyman culture and becomes more and more synchronized with the raiding band.</div><div><span> </span>{8} Ringleader of orphan thieves. Starts as d4 and goes up one die size after each encounter up to d10 as rogues gather around him. If he would die, he can go down one die size instead as the ablative thieves are slain. He dies if he loses at d4.</div><div>7 Falconfeather cloak: Worth 2d6❂.</div><div>8 Pots full of strange fluid and wax: Roll d4. On an odd, it’s worth nothing. On an even, it’s worth 4d4❂.</div><div>9 Pile of pearls, may be eggs. Worth 3d4❂.</div><div>10 Valuable piece of a dead giant moth: Worth 4d4❂.</div><div>11 Ancient tablets containing some form of information- sort of indecipherable. Worth 3d6❂.</div><div>12 Egyptian funerary relics, secreted here by exiled tomb raider. Worth d12❂+d4❂.</div><div>13 Single gem at bottom of deadly pool: Pick a character and roll d4 vs Prowess. Failure = death, tie = can try again. Worth d20❂, determined after recovery.</div><div>14 Magical weapon of unknown provenance: no combat bonus but it looks great. Worth 3d6❂.</div><div>15 Silphium draught: sell for 5❂, or when a character would die, reroll.</div><div>16 Larvae of high-status creature. Worth 5d4❂</div><div>17 Heavy regalia: requires 2 characters to carry off; they will be absent from the next encounter. Worth 3d12❂, determined after they return.</div><div>18 Female-only human colony commissioning 1-off stud service on a kind of dejima for males. Select 1 character and roll their die; reward is ❂ equal to the result x 2.</div><div>19 Auspicious gall bladder- performing haruspicy on the veins reveal layout of local region. Choice of 3d4❂, or rolling your next encounter and then optionally rerolling it.</div><div>20 Herd of tameable hippogriffs: Choose a character and roll Prowess vs d12. On a match or failure he’s killed and the hippogriffs fly away, on a success every party character present gains +d4 to all combat prowess checks, OR sell the hippogriffs for 6d4❂.</div><div>21+ Welsh Dorado: massive hoard of gold. 3d12 x 10❂</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span> </span>Fighting</b></div><div>Pair characters, 1 for 1 from your raiding party and the enemy. If there’s any left over, assign them to enemies as Outnumbering fighters. Vice versa if you are outnumbered</div><div><br /></div><div>1v1: Both roll Prowess. Losing characters die. If it’s tied, there’s another round after all current fights have been resolved. Winning characters can move in to Outnumber an enemy on the next round.</div><div><br /></div><div><i><span> </span>Outnumbering</i></div><div>If ANY outnumbering rolls higher than the enemy, the enemy dies and no friendlies die.</div><div>If an outnumbering character rolls equal to the enemy, a friendly character who rolled lower than the enemy dies (if there were any), then there’s another round.</div><div>If if the outnumbering characters rolled lower than the enemy, one of your Outnumbering characters dies, then there’s another round.</div><div><br /></div><div>After a round of fighting, you may retreat. This ends the encounter.</div><div>You cannot retreat if all enemies can fly, nor against encounter 20.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">—</div><div><br /></div><div>The band can return to the meadows at any time between encounters, ending the game. Your score = treasure / number of surviving characters, rounding up.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">—</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="400" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DejJkLHjJ1E" width="481" youtube-src-id="DejJkLHjJ1E"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Disclaimer: butterflymen and aphidwomen and wizards et al all hooking up is my Core Theme, not David’s; blame me for this madness</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Her Christmas Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445850026904816000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575857487210211963.post-86388536561874793452022-11-04T14:41:00.004-04:002022-11-04T14:43:21.073-04:00Priest of the Burning Eye<div style="text-align: left;">I recently commissioned a piece of art from <a href="https://www.patreon.com/evlynmoreau/posts" target="_blank">Evlyn Moreau</a>; I provided few details about anything but the symbol at the top of his staff, and she brought the rest forth from her imagination, excellently imparting the mood of the Priest and his cult.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_XOVgfs428xyTiza7ozCjmqAHgLtNHwmQw_J0jkkGhv6zYK0wyMsTtT7mmPDqrf0Uw4Wdb5inYQrubyX1NhHY9Ktw9GNHUbV8A84wI-ezzfK9bN-HTkuWoPuDmELNMgZN0xOb1WG7keX2snZi1Ve8eNWSMfUdfZjAAfedM3Blcpl2wbnRCYq5qoIWQ/s4187/BurningEyePriest.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4187" data-original-width="3186" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_XOVgfs428xyTiza7ozCjmqAHgLtNHwmQw_J0jkkGhv6zYK0wyMsTtT7mmPDqrf0Uw4Wdb5inYQrubyX1NhHY9Ktw9GNHUbV8A84wI-ezzfK9bN-HTkuWoPuDmELNMgZN0xOb1WG7keX2snZi1Ve8eNWSMfUdfZjAAfedM3Blcpl2wbnRCYq5qoIWQ/w486-h640/BurningEyePriest.jpg" width="486" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In an <a href="https://grandcommodore.blogspot.com/2022/08/four-cultural-worldviews.html" target="_blank">example sketch I provided</a> (just as inspo, not as a model to replicate) I attempted to bring forth a kind of runic, goetic eye, but it ended up looking unintentionally like a skull; she produced a symbol that imparts the splendor and numinousness I'd hoped for, while also being much bolder, clearer, and more memorable. Thank you, Evlyn, for providing your expertise and creativity.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj068A2lY_wAHWnczGfkrtaX9WmO1uCm2yoB73xWfh2Ga1p44KxCvhtSu5IWlwMk7kmkJaPEIQF9_trie5ptMlz_VZD2X8HyAKYWxS3Xvar_ga_VFRskK9d5UNT0gYGJrEbGeFLP0qmbYGvF5BMHe6SLZJvF8Bf21mGvcvDMl9UrfT0mihtTFhJgyIoEw/s1292/FierceFirelight.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1292" data-original-width="1261" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj068A2lY_wAHWnczGfkrtaX9WmO1uCm2yoB73xWfh2Ga1p44KxCvhtSu5IWlwMk7kmkJaPEIQF9_trie5ptMlz_VZD2X8HyAKYWxS3Xvar_ga_VFRskK9d5UNT0gYGJrEbGeFLP0qmbYGvF5BMHe6SLZJvF8Bf21mGvcvDMl9UrfT0mihtTFhJgyIoEw/w624-h640/FierceFirelight.jpg" width="624" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Her Christmas Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445850026904816000noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575857487210211963.post-326405621282242452022-11-01T20:52:00.016-04:002022-11-04T17:11:36.551-04:00Signal Boosts 11/1<div style="text-align: left;"><i>Index</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>RPG Material</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Artists</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Musicians</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Big Books and Board Games</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>RPG Material</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">I want to signal-boost a number of products, beginning with five guys who I consider to be my friends (defiantly if need be). I didn't find them randomly, my delving brought me to them because they are very very creative and produce things that I like. Consider that a qualification to my recommendation and then a dismissal of the qualification.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We begin with Patrick Stuart, who's <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gawain/speak-false-machine" target="_blank">just launched a Kickstarter for a tome containing 99% of posts</a> from his <a href="http://falsemachine.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">False Machine blog</a>. This collection is to be known as "Speak, False Machine." I first discovered Patrick's writing through his blog, and only later came to Veins of the Earth and Deep Carbon Observatory, which bowled me over just as much as the blog had. The Kickstarter is well on its way to victory- thanks in part to yours truly.</div><div style="text-align: left;">I interviewed Patrick for his previous Kickstarter, Demon Bone Sarcophagus and its meta-series Broken Fire Regime <a href="https://grandcommodore.blogspot.com/2021/08/patrick-stuart-interview-broken-fire.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Next, David McGrogan of <a href="http://monstersandmanuals.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Monsters & Manuals</a> is <a href="http://monstersandmanuals.blogspot.com/2022/10/yoon-suin-2nd-edition-kickstarter-update.html" target="_blank">nearing the issuance of a 2nd edition</a> of the sui generis setting sourcebook <a href="https://www.noismsgames.com/creations/yoon-suin-the-purple-land" target="_blank">Yoon-Suin</a>. The second edition will contain a great deal of additional content, to include 12 fully-keyed adventure sites. He recently completed a successful Kickstarter for <a href="https://www.noismsgames.com/creations/in-the-hall-of-the-third-blue-wizard-issue-1-pdf" target="_blank">In the Hall of the Third Blue Wizard</a>, a 'brand new OSR-adjacent ‘zine, featuring beautiful art, fabulous old school gaming materials, and weird and wonderful short fiction.' My adventure, <a href="https://grandcommodore.blogspot.com/2022/04/moonrhythm-mire.html" target="_blank">Moonrhythm Mire</a>, was acquired for the publication. I consider David my friend, albeit separated by oceans and many decades of age; if you think it might have been nepotism that my adventure got picked up, read the adventure and decide. I'll accept your conclusion.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://grandcommodore.blogspot.com/2021/09/noisms-interview-david-mcgrogan-on-his.html" target="_blank">I interviewed David</a>, partly to ask about his life but also with respect to his recent campaign toolkit, <a href="https://www.noismsgames.com/creations/orbis-immobilis-the-fixed-world-volume-i-dawn-in-winter" target="_blank"><i>Orbis Immobilis</i>, the Fixed World, Volume I: Dawn in Winter</a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Solomon VK of <a href="https://worldbuildingandwoolgathering.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">World Building and Wool Gathering</a> has released <a href="https://solomonvk.itch.io/punth-a-primer" target="_blank">Punth: A Primer</a>, 'a mechanically-guided setting for tabletop RPGs. It lays out in forty pages the details of a land inspired by dystopian fiction, Near Eastern legends and philosophy of language.'</div><div style="text-align: left;">I find in Punth a kind of hypnotic peace, not derived from saccharine sweetness but from the author’s mood, which you’re steeped in as you read it. It’s as if, going into your reading of Punth, you go into the inner landscape of the writer and can feel his experience of the world, which in the case of Solomon VK seems to be an exploratory calm.</div><div style="text-align: left;">You can find <a href="https://worldbuildingandwoolgathering.blogspot.com/2020/10/punth-primer-appendix-n.html" target="_blank">Punth's Appendix N here</a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Dan Sumption of <a href="https://peakrill.itch.io/" target="_blank">Peakrill Press</a> and <a href="https://blog.peakrill.com/" target="_blank">its associated blog</a> is preparing an artbook retelling of Arthurian myth that is as serious and true to primary sources as absolutely possible. It is called <i>King Arthur vs Devil Kitteh</i>. <a href="https://blog.peakrill.com/2022/10/kittens-knights.html" target="_blank">I want you to look at the art</a>. Once you've seen it, you'll want to bookmark the Kickstarter <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dansumption/king-arthur-vs-devil-kitteh" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I also want to highlight <a href="https://lacrimisdraconis.blogspot.com/2022/10/viaticum.html" target="_blank">Viaticum</a>, which is not a paid product but a harrowing and moving story by <a href="https://lacrimisdraconis.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Dan Sullivan</a> (Blackout42).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Artists</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Next, we move into art. I want to highlight two artists whose work is among some of my favorite being produced today.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">First is Evlyn Moreau. You <a href="https://chaudronchromatique.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">can find her blog here</a>, and it contains a great portfolio of pieces, such as:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2FDwlJ1bGAWRyDMUMx1fLsopl7agz69570el27pX_AzsBqgARUyEvtHCCSUbbJA-toKywGqmjto_RHqV3XKSV7FIItT6VQWbarhYdrIbyOs7tU6kHKv_dczyy3wCIRhPY6cSl5SdeO6pCiZ1yB2Y1rrcXUA3l5dE7xMlUugrn0541DkIK-LvopvReeQ/s2000/ghostbeast1web.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1288" data-original-width="2000" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2FDwlJ1bGAWRyDMUMx1fLsopl7agz69570el27pX_AzsBqgARUyEvtHCCSUbbJA-toKywGqmjto_RHqV3XKSV7FIItT6VQWbarhYdrIbyOs7tU6kHKv_dczyy3wCIRhPY6cSl5SdeO6pCiZ1yB2Y1rrcXUA3l5dE7xMlUugrn0541DkIK-LvopvReeQ/w640-h412/ghostbeast1web.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ghost Beast</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But I tell you that you are <i>missing out</i> if you don't partake of her Patreon, <a href="https://www.patreon.com/evlynmoreau" target="_blank">which can be found here</a>. She produces amazing art at a relentless pace, particularly character art. Her work is very very human without losing its boundary-pushing creativity.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I would like to do a game set in Glorantha employing her art at some point.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here are a pair of her products that I have:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9xSU8K40kYipHdVJBMwN0tCSiXj26ZpKNJaZIi7F1mHPlSEdZWScPKaTuYYBoUIYCuPeiPVnTCPxqAhxVt40JIqphLWDFzQ4Prf7YkvEjpRuI2EojNtcgJUhL6u74A_UvnTfBJVmZoCV_JI0KByYWFFdZhYokhzj1bA23kP2XCdjkA8zIM0pr4ngVbg/s4032/image_67513345.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9xSU8K40kYipHdVJBMwN0tCSiXj26ZpKNJaZIi7F1mHPlSEdZWScPKaTuYYBoUIYCuPeiPVnTCPxqAhxVt40JIqphLWDFzQ4Prf7YkvEjpRuI2EojNtcgJUhL6u74A_UvnTfBJVmZoCV_JI0KByYWFFdZhYokhzj1bA23kP2XCdjkA8zIM0pr4ngVbg/w640-h480/image_67513345.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.drivethrucards.com/product/240088/The-Wizards-Inheritance" target="_blank">The Wizard's Inheritance</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7UlmHUY0aXhKf5fFe4i7hOMDomel7_jiFJ5s1iJj20HKALbrvjtrzab2tJIMwpogzvHsop_xNsTNIo_2gojra-3Bbb8iATCSoVurtDJunm64_QYLPjj3KKXOF9tHryu0k9x7so_bLEZf2Q9DM-SH_VenM-NTISKK9tiuGwUqy36OA3CclO9alur9HTw/s4032/image_50367233.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7UlmHUY0aXhKf5fFe4i7hOMDomel7_jiFJ5s1iJj20HKALbrvjtrzab2tJIMwpogzvHsop_xNsTNIo_2gojra-3Bbb8iATCSoVurtDJunm64_QYLPjj3KKXOF9tHryu0k9x7so_bLEZf2Q9DM-SH_VenM-NTISKK9tiuGwUqy36OA3CclO9alur9HTw/w640-h480/image_50367233.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.drivethrucards.com/product/240185/The-Fabulous-Mini-Guild" target="_blank">The Fabulous Mini Guild</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Next is an artist that needs no introduction: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/toiletworldultra/?hl=en" target="_blank">Scrap Princess</a>. While she produces <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/148614/Fire-On-The-Velvet-Horizon" target="_blank">phenomenal art associated with Patrick's mad genius</a>, she also writes RPG material that is as potent as her visual art. I want to highlight Noofutura, which I read with great pleasure and expect that you will too if you are a bit of a sick puppy. It is 'weird fantasy cyberpunkesque toolbox/overgrown zine/ setting guide / barely coherent vapourware book I wrote for the Mothership rpg.' If you have ever wanted to have the most ghoulish potentialities of Cyberpunk cheerfully explored but feel that most associated content is not being creative enough, <a href="http://monstermanualsewnfrompants.blogspot.com/2022/03/noofutura-available-for-purchase.html" target="_blank">you can find Noofutura here</a>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here is her <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/people/scrapprincess/shop?ref=artist_title_name" target="_blank">Redbubble</a>; I am a simp and have <a href="https://grandcommodore.blogspot.com/2020/09/tees.html" target="_blank">two shirts</a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Musicians</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">For music, I want to signal boost Chemtrails, always and forever- here's their most recent single:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="397" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gyNgPbVnKoA" width="478" youtube-src-id="gyNgPbVnKoA"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Big Books and Board Games</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">I said Big Books but for right now there's just one- I recently read <a href="https://goodman-games.com/store/product/mutant-crawl-classics-role-playing-game-2/" target="_blank">Mutant Crawl Classics</a> and enjoyed it. I'll never buy their goddamn dice but the book has some very effective sections on technologies and AIs, treated as the game's power-imparting divinities. I'm not 100% sold on the game's default group being a band of spear-wielding Neolithic-style hunter-gatherers discovering the remnants of the wasted world, I generally prefer a bit more development in settings- part of the attraction of MCC's post-apoc setting for me is the potential of more really destructive and deadly gunplay, but also the potential for things like budding near-east style empires (with unlimited but eminently one-shottable warriors at their disposal). However, nothing stops you from executing that vision with MCC- save the dice.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Lastly, here are some board games worth looking into FOR AESTHETIC REASONS: </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiruIOCHA6VXHUYldL1AAeSMst1AXCzRf4RAZyiATiCDGhGjsgPImXivKurdP3FTTTCXf109nm-xGVzkUq_oFIkcSb21w43F0bWF3VNNyU7lmz7J3EhZGSmCaqfCQwnVbq1e6aYvJHaH-f-6XWPVMKfAIl3QbihX4vE3o1lA_y3O8pxFhvSqtvPoKnr9Q/s4032/image_50406657.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiruIOCHA6VXHUYldL1AAeSMst1AXCzRf4RAZyiATiCDGhGjsgPImXivKurdP3FTTTCXf109nm-xGVzkUq_oFIkcSb21w43F0bWF3VNNyU7lmz7J3EhZGSmCaqfCQwnVbq1e6aYvJHaH-f-6XWPVMKfAIl3QbihX4vE3o1lA_y3O8pxFhvSqtvPoKnr9Q/w640-h480/image_50406657.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I want to be clear, of these games I've only actually played Eldritch Horror, Time of Crisis and Advanced Squad Leader. However, all of these games’ mechanics, concepts and art influence my thinking on fictional scenarios. Eldritch Horror and Time of Crisis are two of the best at-the-table games I've ever played. For ASL, find a graybeard to be your guide.</div>Her Christmas Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445850026904816000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575857487210211963.post-45568698620024737362022-10-26T22:07:00.048-04:002024-01-07T00:26:02.945-05:00The City of the Dead: Adyton<div style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://grandcommodore.blogspot.com/2022/10/the-city-of-dead-katabasis.html" target="_blank">Continued from here</a></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Jeremy picked his way down through a honeycomb of tunnels. The gold-streaked obsidian was not differentiable and he didn’t dare retreat, but he made certain he was descending, choosing left or right turns at random.</div><div><br /></div><div>He came around a bend and stopped a few feet from the barrel of Walter’s pistol.</div><div><br /></div><div>He slowly raised his palms. </div><div><br /></div><div>“Okay. You’ve got me dead to rights,” said Jeremy, almost relieved.</div><div><br /></div><div>Walter thought for a moment.</div><div>“You’re not dead to rights. But someone else is. Jeremy… I can’t do this, man. I can’t see what I just saw. Wallace-Graham. We did it before we came after you. It was horrible.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Did you shoot her?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Yeah,” he breathed, “but I pulled away. She didn’t die. Tommy finished her.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Walter lowered his gun.</div><div><br /></div><div>“I had you in my sights in that shootout but I missed. On purpose.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Felt like I got pretty lucky. Now you’re gonna let me go?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Yeah.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy looked at him for a moment and nodded. </div><div><br /></div><div>“Get yourself out of this. “</div><div><br /></div><div>Walter nodded back.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy bit his lip.</div><div><br /></div><div>“About Tommy. Put him down if you get the ch-“</div><div><br /></div><div>“Don’t say that. There are still things we could do for this city.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy closed his eyes, and then opened them.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Just get out of it, man.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Walter looked at him with emotion, but he didn’t say anything. Jeremy turned and descended the tunnel.</div><div><br /></div><div>After a few more turns, he came into an open cavern that contained a graystone section of flooring and wall embedded into the obsidian, a shrine pushed far from the thoroughfare by the shifting of the rock.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was lit by brilliant orbs on staff-heads encircled by something silicate. There were statues bowing in decay, shorn of the full splendor of their forms, and there were engraved sarcophagi upon which collapsed skeletons lay in raiments which had not lost their luster.</div><div><br /></div><div>Old ash flecked the air, each inhale bringing hints of things killed by fire.</div><div><br /></div><div>At the heart of the shrine stood what appeared to be a skeleton in a veil of wax, or so its smooth crown and sharp cheekbones indicated- nothing more was visible from within the waxen shroud.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was arranging bones in the air around it, a deep constellation taking the outline of a thing that didn’t exist in this universe. It moved them without moving, and they hung where they were placed.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ephemeral white lines were traced between the bones, curves like bloodless slits of skin that came and went as Jeremy skirted around the shrine. The lines were imperceptible from the side. They contained the way to something that was not yet ready to appear.</div><div><br /></div><div>The thing in the shroud rotated towards Jeremy. He stumbled back, placing his hands on the wall. He tried to form words, but could not think of what to say.</div><div><br /></div><div>“You’ve come further than most,” came a voice. It was Jeremy’s voice, and it spoke liplessly from behind the veil. The thing’s jaw was tucked so that Jeremy couldn’t be sure if it was moving.</div><div><br /></div><div>The figure rose slowly into the air and its shroud flared at the bottom and began to rotated around the skull, lifting just a little, revealing nothing.</div><div><br /></div><div>“You came from the sanctuary,” it said.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy fell to a seat against the wall.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Do- do the ones- in the sanctuary know you’re here?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Yes. Out of sight, out of mind.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Can- can I… what do you want?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“The same thing that you want. To compete my work.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Yes,” said Jeremy, nodding, “I just came- for something-“</div><div><br /></div><div>“You came for something to steal.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy was silent.</div><div><br /></div><div>“There is nothing to steal. There is only an inheritance.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy held his breath.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Much has been carried off. Bones for treasure.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy swallowed.</div><div><br /></div><div>“There will be no such trade,” it said.</div><div><br /></div><div>“What- what will the deal be?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“There is no deal. There is only the fixation of something long stuck between worlds.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“…You?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Something else. An interloper. A thief. It could not take what it would possess. It cannot relinquish its last chance. Your work here will end at the place where it abides.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Thank you. Do you want me to leave you alone?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“I have little interest in the before time. What’s done is dead, what’s left is dying. I would show the ark of codes to the sunshine as a last look to a place of memories, but no substance.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“A parting gift?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“An obligation to a long deceased brother. That work is dead. It is no longer necessary. But still I will allow you to complete it. Or I will destroy this place and this city when I enact the rip. Perhaps that is your preference.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“No, I… I don’t think that is necessary.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Necessary… it is desirable. Look above you.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy saw the streets of Twinmartyrs. Black armored cars trailing red and black banners. Many men and a few women in black garb, red livery, carrying wood-furnitured rifles and stamped-metal submachine guns, cigarettes in their lips. Crates hauled by donkey cart, motorcars carrying loudspeakers.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Your city… would you not deny it to your enemy?”</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy was flushed.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Not if it meant destroying it. There are good people up there. And people waiting to be good people.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“It is not the den of sinners projected in the solar archives? Can you even argue such a thing?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Even so.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“The ark of codes is the only repository of our ancient laws. The interloper’s fixation. You would bring them among men with only one law?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“I suppose. If only to make them safe. Why hide them in the first place?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“The laws are manna on a liar’s lips. They must be parsed only in times of wisdom.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“This is no time of wisdom, so… why give me the choice?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“What do you love, Bridgewell?” it said like it was toying with him.</div><div><br /></div><div>“I love experience.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Does that makes you a suitable moral agent to safeguard our ancient laws?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“It does.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Why?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Because the moral agent’s not here and he’s not coming. But I can do his work.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Very well. A pearl is better carried in the belly of a swine than underneath the earth.”</div><div><br /></div><div>It waited a beat.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Descend. There is a black pearl in a subterranean sea. That is where you will find your treasure.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Thank you,” said Jeremy, and edged along the wall to the far tunnel, in which there was a downward curve. The thing turned back to the suspended bones and the white lines between them.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy descended the tunnel, breathing hard through his mouth with eyes open wide.</div><div><br /></div><div>After many minutes of shaky, uncertain work guided by his flashlight, Jeremy came to a confluence of tunnels, terminating in what looked like a displaced landing of white flagstones with a speckled line of red stone tiles, beyond which lay blue water against the gold-black wall.</div><div><br /></div><div>As Jeremy prepared himself to enter the water, rapid footfalls announced the arrival of Walsh’s gang. </div><div><br /></div><div>“He’s going for the sump!” yelled Tom Walsh, “Alan, Joe, I can’t swim, you got him?”</div><div>“We’ve got him!”</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy sprinted for the water, praying to the Burning Eye there would be something on the other side.</div><div><br /></div><div>Walter ran up behind the gang and Tom Walsh grabbed his jacket as he ran by.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Walter, you stay with me!”</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy dove into the water, which was cold but far from unbearable. He opened his eyes and found that the tunnel simply continued underwater, and that it opened up into an inky blackness a few yards in front of him. He kicked off his shoes, dumped out his duffle bag, abandoned his pistol and took his bootknife in hand, then swam forward. He felt Alan and Joe jump into the water behind him.</div><div><br /></div><div>He swam out into the open.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was a subterranean sea-gorge. The expanse before Jeremy shivered with rivulets of light from lunar crystal in the vault of the abyss, and vast walls of stone were apparent in the left and right distance. Below, there was a deeper dark unreached by the bonelike ripples of light that caught on currents here and there, but there was a great dark form illuminated ahead. It was an unmoored, spherical berg of jet black ice. Jeremy swam towards it and saw that there was a cavity, barely perceptible but for the breaking of a stream of light on its surface. The water grew colder and colder as he approached.</div><div><br /></div><div>He entered the narrow tunnel and put his feet on the slope, breaking the surface of the water. He lurched forward, breathing the freezing air. His feet burned with the cold. The glassy ripples of the black ice walls offered no relief, just a neat rectangular corridor leading into the darkness. Jeremy clicked on his flashlight and saw a pedestal in the center of a four-way meeting of corridors ahead, when Joe and Alan began splashing up from the water behind him.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Burning Eye! That nearly killed us!” Alan breathed, crystalline steam billowing from his lips.</div><div>Jeremy shone his flashlight at them and they winced. They quickly extended their switchblades, and then froze as Jeremy waved his bootknife in the flashlight beam.</div><div>“You really wanna have a knife fight right now, or should we find out what the fuck this place is?”</div><div>They raised their knives but didn’t advance.</div><div>“Ok, you go first,” said Alan. </div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy backed away from them and turned, advancing towards the pedestal, listening for their footsteps. </div><div><br /></div><div>The pedestal was a simple four-legged platform of black ice, but there was a small wooden structure on top of it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy approached it, shone his flashlight up the other three corridors, put the pedestal between him and the daggermen, then examined the device.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was a bundle of a hundred glossy wooden rods set onto a round wooden base. Each rod carried parchment that terminated in a central anchor. Jeremy drew out a rod and the parchment slid through the interposing forest to be revealed.</div><div><br /></div><div>Inky symbols began to flit across the parchment, and concurrently ember sigils traced themselves in the air above the device. He let the rod return to its position and stepped back in wonder as the aerial sigils died away. Alan and Joe approached the device. Alan gazed down at it in wonder, and Joe walked up one of the other corridors.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy shone his flashlight after Joe.</div><div><br /></div><div>Something was standing in front of him in the darkness.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was like an incomplete pillar of static electricity, portions missing here and there, with patches of pure blackness.</div><div><br /></div><div>It began to move towards them.</div><div><br /></div><div>As it came, the contours of the walls, of all matter around it smudged, smeared and enlongated as if reality was fresh paint and the thing was dragging a hand across it. Joe fell on his rear, frozen, and his legs shook as he tried to move them. His face was a mask of uncomprehending horror, grief at the destruction of his reality’s schema.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Joe, get up!” cried Alan.</div><div><br /></div><div>Alan rushed towards Joe then stopped. He hurled his switchblade at the thing, but there was no apparent impact on the pillar or anything else in the corridor. </div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy opened his canvas sack with shaking hands and knees, pulled the wooden contraption into it, then fastened the sack, barely able to work the connectors. He bolted for the way he’d come and then froze, staring, as the thing moved through Joe. His body was distorted around the pillar like an ovular bubble, nothing missing but everything in wrong proportion and fused together, nothing functional.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy sprinted up the corridor. Alan screamed, turned and ran after Jeremy.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy looked over his shoulder.</div><div><br /></div><div>As Alan ran, his body smeared and lagged behind him, his skull growing long and his hair thinning across it, his limbs extending until they were noodly and disjointed and his lope was no longer tenable, and then he flopped out, the sound of his enlongated body terribly real against the silent ice. The thing approached behind him. Alan opened his mouth and eyes to scream and his mouth grew wider and wider as he did, his scream got more and more sonorous and inhuman, and his eyes swelled into milky orbs that suddenly blossomed with ill-proportioned, membranous pupils. Jeremy took a plaintive gasp and dove into the water with all the might that desperation could bring him. </div><div><br /></div><div>He swam with hot delirium to the porous obsidian face that the shrine-city had been crushed and sheared through. He retrieved his spare boots, but was clearheaded enough to pull himself back out and enter another tunnel, lest he be ambushed on his emergence. There was nothing but the silent dark when he came through the water at a set of luxuriant alabaster steps that had once perhaps been used for baptisms, but it was a dredged place sopping with subterranean seaweed that was pale and translucent, almost luminescent.</div><div><br /></div><div>Soaked and freezing, he dragged himself from the water and began his ascent. After inestimable minutes of climbing, Jeremy came across Walter. He’d been shot in the back of the head and left where he lay. A note was crumpled up on the ground by his body. It was Tom Walsh’s hit list. </div><div>One final entry had been added at the bottom. This one had been written in blood. <i>Traitors</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy hobbled into the stone thoroughfare and was marked again by crystalline scrollwork as he made for the spiral staircase into the House of Petition. </div><div><br /></div><div>He reached the chapel hall. Tom Walsh was sitting in a pew, leaning forward as if in prayer. Jeremy stood, holding the bannister, staring at him.</div><div>Tom looked up.</div><div>“I take it my men aren’t coming back from the underworld?”</div><div>Jeremy didn’t respond.</div><div>“What? No witty remark?”</div><div>Jeremy remained silent, but began walking slowly towards Tom. Then, he noticed two dark figures near the bulding’s front doors. A pair of Anarcho-Syndicalist fighters with bolt action rifles stood gazing at the 2-ton truck.</div><div>They looked over at Jeremy and Tom.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Hey, you two, get out. Church’s closed.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Tom stepped into the aisle and lifted a hand towards the door. </div><div><br /></div><div>“Shall we?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“We could take them out and settle this.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“No, no sense in winning the battle and losing the war. The street’s crawling with them.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Tom began walking towards the doors and Jeremy followed him not far behind.</div><div><br /></div><div>“You don’t seem so torn up about any of this.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“The path’s clear. What more can you ask for in life?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“A functioning city-state?”</div><div><br /></div><div>They walked through the doors and into the street.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy looked up into the sky. The leaves were a tan yellow beyond the shadowed branches, and the sun streamed through myriad layers of clouds like snow on a shaggy dog. It was good medicine for the cold and wet.</div><div><br /></div><div>Black armored cars trundled by, men eyeing the pair from the machine gun slits. A rifleman in a bandolier stood on a roof, his boot on the chimney. Jeremy cast his gaze across the downtown skyline and saw a red and black flag streaming over the statehouse.</div><div><br /></div><div>They walked up the cobblestone lane. There seemed to be militiamen on each street they crossed. The remaining citizens of Twinmartyrs watched them like disembodied eyes from windowblinds and fences.</div><div><br /></div><div>“You overheard our conversation,” said Jeremy.</div><div><br /></div><div>“I did. No room for cold feet in my organization.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“What organization?” Jeremy sneered.</div><div><br /></div><div>“The one that’s gonna grow and grow. Plenty of idle hands to put to work around here.”</div><div><br /></div><div>A pair of slat shutters sprang open from over a nearby window and a flurry of submachine gun rounds thundered across the street. A line of pulverized rock leapt between several militiamen like a cutting charge and they collapsed, one screaming, one silent. Jeremy jumped in shock and glanced up at the window, then at Tom, who was sprinting through the gate of a garden wall.</div><div><br /></div><div>“See?” yelled Tom.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy saw a group of Anarcho-Syndicalist militiamen up the street slapping an armored car to get it to stop, and then a pair of them knelt and opened fire on the window with their rifles while another rushed the building and prepared to put a hand grenade through the window.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy dashed into the garden and Tom leapt out from behind the wall, trying to stab him in the chest. Jeremy threw out his forearm and jarred the thrust to a halt. Tom grabbed him by the collar and put a foot behind Jeremy’s legs, trying to push him over backwards, but Jeremy twisted deftly, catching hold of Tom’s knife-hand wrist, stepped across his extended leg and threw him onto his side in the grass. Jeremy retrieved his bootknife and dropped his duffle bag as Tom scooted away from him towards a little well, knife raised like an ice pick. He stood up. </div><div><br /></div><div>There was a barrage of gunfire and then a low blast from the building behind Jeremy.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Mmm, never be first through the door,” said Tom, shaking his head, “I’ve decided to let the An-Syns get nice and relaxed before I start trying to bump em off.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy rushed at him, taking swipes and stabs with his knife, and Tom backed away, trying to stab Jeremy’s hand and wrist with every attack. The duel gradually became a hesitating game of cat and mouse.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Why not join em then, Tom? Go undercover. Hell, you’d like it!” said Jeremy, his face a vicious mask.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Good idea! Then I can get rid of anybody I don’t like with their channels! Just say they’re not Syndie enough and get ‘em killed!”</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy started making wide, aggressive swipes at Tom’s eyes, and Tom raked a downward slash across Jeremy’s arm accompanied by a chilling loosening of skin. Jeremy brought his arm in low across his midsection and Tom darted a stab in at him, but Jeremy twisted and stumbled a retreat. </div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy switched his knife to his other hand and shook out his arm, blood running from his cuff.</div><div><br /></div><div>“But why start with the big dogs, eh? Lot of trash to clean out in this goddamned town. Lot of malingerers, lotta useless people,” said Tom.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy began circling him, shifting his weight to his forefeet.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Yeah, I think I will join the An-Syns! I can make the bigwigs fry whenever I want. Why not start right here at home? Lot of pillars of this community I could warm up on!”</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy let his face become a murderous rictus and launched a wide swipe at Tom’s eyes, just as he’d done before. With a dark grin, Tom launched a stab to impale the well-telegraphed attack. Instantly, Jeremy lowered his knife, darted back a step and sent an upwards kick into the handle of Tom’s switchblade, which went flying out of his hand and landed somewhere in the garden.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy lunged in and planted a stab clear through Tom’s windpipe and jugular. The weapon slipped free of the gushing wound. Tom staggered backwards, face aghast, as blood leapt from his neck in time with his heartbeat and cascaded down his chest.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Warm up on that,” Jeremy spat.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tom put a single hand to his wound and crooked his head slightly as if to not worsen the cut, holding himself tense. Then, eyes cottoning over, he took a single unsteady step forward and pitched sideways in the bloody grass. </div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy gazed at him, pressing his sliced arm to his body as the wind rustled the garden.</div><div><br /></div><div>He heard bolts racking from the garden gate. He looked over at the pair of Anarcho-Syndicalist militiamen and dropped his knife.</div><div><br /></div><div>“What the fuck happened here?”</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy just held his wound and shrugged.</div><div><br /></div><div>A older man come to the garden doorway from where he’d been investigating the building and stood between the militiamen. He pushed his glasses up his nose and gazed at Jeremy. The militiamen looked down at the bookish, balding man. He was one of the theorists whom Jeremy had rescued.</div><div><br /></div><div>“This man is a Union operative. What’s happened?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“This was one of the assailants. A known assassin, ask anyone.”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Good work, Mr Gardner!”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Who are you?” asked one of the militiamen.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Professor Oswald Greene! I wrote your induction primer, and I’m a man in very good standing, if you know what I mean!”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Okay, I was just wondering,” said the militiamen and gave his companion an annoyed look.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oswald approached Jeremy.</div><div><br /></div><div>“You’ve been cut.”</div><div>Jeremy sighed.</div><div>“I’ll deal with it. “</div><div>“It needs treatment… if you’re to travel.”</div><div>“Yeah. Just need to find a sewing kit and some vodka.”</div><div>“Men! Bring a medical bag.”</div><div>“Thanks.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Oswald leaned in. </div><div><br /></div><div>“I don’t have long before my enemies reacquire me. I need to get out of this place, and so should you. Where will you go?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“I might stop at Vineforest to get provisioned, but I’m not sticking around there. I’m going east. I’ve gotten something out of all this, and I’m gonna make sure it doesn’t go to waste. I’m gonna make sure people know. That they can learn from what I’ve found.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy shouldered his duffle bag.</div><div><br /></div><div>“I suggest you do likewise.”</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="text-align: center;">—</span></div><div><br /></div><div><div>Jeremy sat outdoors with a group of professors and other researchers at the Thrice Confit, a bistro in Ascension. A waitress set down his roast and gave him a sly once-over. He smiled and turned his attention to the mutton, knocking garnishes aside with his knife. He took a bite and sat back with his eyes closed, just chewing.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Did you have far to travel?” asked a librarian who’d missed the pilot session examining the ark of codes at the University of Ascension.</div><div>“Long way.”</div><div>A waiter set a vodka buck before Jeremy.</div><div>“Two of those please.”</div><div>“Mr Bridgewell,” asked a professor, “if you don’t mind me asking, what was it like spiriting the ark of the codes out of Twinmartyrs at that dark hour?”</div><div>Jeremy wiped his mouth with a napkin.</div><div>“The first thing is that you meet all kinds of interesting people. You get to know them. Then you go your separate ways. What sticks with you is how they lived their lives. What choices they made at zero hour.” </div><div>“Hmm. Do you have any insights about that?”</div><div>Jeremy was silent for a moment.</div><div>“I can tell you some things that happened. Any insights would be unique to you.”</div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">—</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="393" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ynMUZYQ-7xA" width="474" youtube-src-id="ynMUZYQ-7xA"></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Her Christmas Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445850026904816000noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575857487210211963.post-39749792034525477872022-10-24T21:32:00.043-04:002022-10-26T12:52:20.729-04:00The City of the Dead: Katabasis<div style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://grandcommodore.blogspot.com/2022/10/the-city-of-dead-burying-past.html" target="_blank">Continued from here</a></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Jeremy pushed into the cave and stumbled over the uneven stone floor. He clicked on his flashlight and shook dustbeams into the stony air. He froze as he noticed a glint that he thought had been teased out by his flashlight. He clicked it off, but the glint remained. A pearlescent light was shining in the floor of the cave ahead.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><br /></div><div>He came near the thing, a fluorescent square whose brilliance consumed any relief cast onto the surrounding stones.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was water, lit from within like something celestial. He leaned over it.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was a chamber of smoky white marble. Hundreds of human bones floated inside. Ribs, skulls, pelvises. It was the bones that glowed.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy staggered back from the chamber, now a blue and bone-white horror like a freakish chemical in the bath of a chlorine witch.</div><div><br /></div><div>He sat and stared at the glow for a moment, then gathered himself and went to kneel over the water. A skull pointed right back at him, its jaw still attached. He almost fell forward but instead turned and went to his knees, overcome with numinous horror.</div><div><br /></div><div>He knew would rather wander starved and freezing among hound-tipped patrols of syndicalist torturers than submit himself to this lethal chamber.</div><div><br /></div><div>He stood up slowly and began walking back towards the cave entrance on shaky legs.</div><div><br /></div><div>He sighed as the memory was dampened by cool, dark air.</div><div><br /></div><div>“<i>You goddamned fucking pussy</i>,” he told himself, “<i>That was your meal ticket</i>.”</div><div>“<i>That’s what the guys in the water thought</i>,” said another part of him.</div><div>“<i>Would Azasham of Altenado have gotten cold feet at some skeletons?</i>”</div><div>“<i>Azasham would have found a way around</i>.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy stopped near the mouth of the cave. He could hear the erstwhile Anarcho-Syndicalist theorists talking outside.</div><div><br /></div><div>He saw in the firelight and the sound of the burning wood a schoolteacher screaming, shot, stabbed, and set on fire; the last moments of life, consumed by sadism.</div><div><br /></div><div>He shook his head in wonder at himself. Perhaps it wasn’t too late. He had no idea where Minerva Wallace-Graham lived, and there was no shortage of names on the death note that Tom Walsh had shown him, but he had a feeling she was who they’d target tonight given the conversation.</div><div><br /></div><div>He went out by the unmarked black truck, opened the door and pushed his rifle under the seat. The theorists eyed him uncertainly.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Get in the truck, you fucking douchebags, I’ll drive you to Twinmartyrs. Throw the guns in the pit, if we go in there looking like a war party we’re gonna have to act like one.”</div><div><br /></div><div>…</div><div><br /></div><div>They trundled over roots and mounds. The men in the truck bed shivered at the wind running through the canvas covering. Dawn wasn’t far away and it was the coldest time of night.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy took them up to the abandoned gate and killed the engine.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Hop out, you’re gonna look like fucking stormtroopers if you dismount in the street.”</div><div><br /></div><div>They clambered out of the truck bed and one came to the window.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Just wait a few minutes and go on in.”</div><div><br /></div><div>He roared the engine back to life, drowning out any response, and traversed the tunnel of the wall.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy drove the abandoned streets for upwards of an hour. He was combing the residential lanes around the House of Petition, an existentialist charter school which had formerly been a seminary, when ash began falling into the street and onto the windshield of the truck.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy put his hand out of the window and let a flake of ash touch down on his palm. He rubbed it in his fingers and found the gritty smear was warm. There was an active fire nearby.</div><div><br /></div><div>He pulled around the corner and onto a residential street where the motorcars were limned with an amber glow. The fire came into sight like the lamp of a train emerging from the snowstained darkness, methodical industrial will o’ the wisp</div><div><br /></div><div>A carpet of flame ate the ceiling and spit matter-thick smoke almost invisibly into the night, clouding out the liminal stars as they retreated into the coming dawn. The frame blazed skeletonized like a solar ghost. Any life within would have been carbonized in the radiance. There was a cat mummified in its of fur in the window, which itself drooped down like a bubble within the fingers.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy pulled up outside and then immediately rolled up the window of the truck, oppressed by the heat even that distance off the curb.</div><div><br /></div><div>He almost didn’t notice a pair of lights appear in the rear view mirror. But he did. He floored the pedal and the truck lurched forward all too slowly. A car followed close behind, prevented from coming around the driver’s side by the motorcars lining the street, but Jeremy could make out multiple forms inside the cab. </div><div><br /></div><div>He turned into an alleyway, trying to keep to narrow streets. The car followed him into it. No coincidence, then. He drew out the silver pistol, holding the wheel in his knees, and chambered a round. He turned the truck out onto the next street. The car came out behind him. This was when they opened fire.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cracks like explosions in stone. Immediate thwacks as bullets hit the steel back of the cab. Some made dents, some penetrated, shattering portions of Jeremy’s windshield. He gripped the steering wheel like a cliff of heaven and forced his foot into the pedal, keeping his eyes level with the dash. It occurred to him from the intermittent penetrations that the bullets must be subsonic, hollow-point, and that that might be his last thought.</div><div><br /></div><div>There was another round of gunshots and the truck lurched to the side, dropping Jeremy several inches and causing him to sideswipe a parked motorcar with a tremendous lurch and screaming of metal. They’d shot out both his left tires. Jeremy got a good grip on his pistol and prepared himself to use it, trying to get a grip on his breathing. The truck careened out into the next street and almost immediately went up over the far curb and through a wooden fence with a splintering crack. Jeremy barely had time for his eyes to go wide before the truck went straight into a stone wall. He grit his teeth and tried to roll forward when the crash came and the whole truck seemed to jump beneath him. Stone dust and blocks came through the truck’s windshield and Jeremy bashed his ear across the steering wheel as he fell forward towards the pedals.</div><div><br /></div><div>The truck had carried through the wall and stopped. Clearly the engine was damaged because smoke was joining the dust which swirled throughout the cab. </div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy fumbled for the door latch and opened it, falling from the cab amongst shards of glass, hitting the step and then the rubble-strewn floorboards below.</div><div><br /></div><div>The building was dark and he saw the remnants of stars and the roofs of homes outside. Then the motorcar that had come behind him jumped the curb, pulled up, and stopped, blinding Jeremy with its headlights. Car doors popped open.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy raised his pistol in both hands and started firing. He could feel the gunshots echo in his chest and the roundels of fire burned an aurora across his eyes. A flurry of shots erupted from low around the motorcar and shell casings and smoke flitted through the air near the headlights.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy was instantly kicking his way back under the truck door and its molten tire, through the rubble, through the dust and the mortar. Bullets were hitting the truck and blasting woodchips from the floor around the tire, which he’d pulled his legs behind. Without widening his profile, Jeremy flipped over and erupted from the prone in a sprint towards the center of the building. </div><div><br /></div><div>It was a vast room. Pews were scattered over black and white tiles. Gray maiden stood in crimson mantles, statues humming with the full color of silk. A candelabra with flickering flames hung beneath the creamy panes of a stained glass skylight.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was the House of Petition, Minerva Wallace-Graham’s school. </div><div><br /></div><div>A twisting staircase with an oaken banister ran up the steeple and descended into a lower level. Jeremy sprinted to its wrought-iron railing and glanced over it for the spell of a heartbeat. The staircase fell into a feathery cobweb of shadow broken by shards of light from a hidden portal.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy surmounted the railing, twisted and fell to the story below, slapping the stone floor to dull his landing as the pain of the impact stabbed through his hard-soled shoes. He looked for the source of the light and saw that the terminus of the spiral staircase was greeted by a semicircular wooden door with an ornate lattice of black metal at head height, and this was the source of the light. Jeremy grabbed the door’s cast iron knocker, twisted it and yanked it door open as footfalls clattered in the sanctuary above. He rushed through the door, glancing down, and saw no means of blocking it. He gazed up into the chamber which he had entered.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was a rectangular hall walled with hundreds of marble cloisters laden with candles and glossy stones. There were hearths and smooth but dusty benches along the length of the hall, and stone curtains cut with ancient mastery hung like banners waiting for a cause from the ceiling’s corners. </div><div><br /></div><div>There were three doorways in the hall, of which one was at the end and two were on the left and right. Each doorway was walled up with a cracked barrier of old brick and recent mortar.</div><div><br /></div><div>Footfalls shook the spiral staircase.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy sprinted up the center of the hall. Hundreds of inscriptions appeared upon the stone that he’d traversed, all lit up with water as pure and striated as close-cut sapphire.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy turned, gaping at this for just a moment, then hurled himself into the brick wall of the lefthand barrier. It broke and collapsed under his shoulder, a plane of contiguous bricks carrying him over the breach like an acrid toboggan. Jeremy looked up.</div><div><br /></div><div>He was in a chthonic tunnel whose walls were obsidian currents embossed with gold.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy scrambled to his feet in the glittering dark, deliriously ignoring the pain of broken brick on his hands and knees, and paused for a split second as his pursuers entered the hall. There came a long whistle.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Holy everloving mother of motherfucking dogshit,” said Tom Walsh.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy sprinted into the depths of the tunnel, gun empty in his hand.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>To be continued</i></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">—</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="402" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lmMwJeLMWkA" width="483" youtube-src-id="lmMwJeLMWkA"></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Her Christmas Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445850026904816000noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575857487210211963.post-72464350432430154082022-10-23T15:18:00.038-04:002022-10-24T16:03:57.761-04:00The City of the Dead: Burying the Past<div style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://grandcommodore.blogspot.com/2022/10/the-city-of-dead.html" target="_blank">Continued from here</a></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Jeremy looked up and down the street from the doorway of his apartment building for a long time. Then he set out for the northern gate.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><br /></div><div>Silver moonlight spilled across the center of the lane like a snowcap. Whitewash loomed gray on the buildings’ faces, and people drifted silently for the gates laden with bags like spectral stevedores. Jeremy arrived at the northern gate and saw that the great portcullis was unguarded, that the sandbag positions lay empty. He walked through the passage beneath the wall, a good 20’ thick, and set off into the hills.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy knew of a cave which was a destination for those hunting the relics of Twinmartyrs’ history, given that the old shrines were large enough to run beneath the city’s adjoining hills. The stars were a vast audience to the carpet of dark in the trees and hillsides. Jeremy was guided from a great distance by a pinprick of light at the place where he knew the cave to be, frowning at the thought that others had had his idea. By the Burning Eye, he thought, perhaps they’d cooperate and delve down with him. By the Burning Eye, he hoped that their desperation had not made them into predators.</div><div><br /></div><div>Slithering through the dirt of a leafstrewn hillside, he found something else entirely. A fire was crackling on an outcropping by the mouth of the cave, but those tending it were not argonauts from Twinmartyrs. They were men in black leather coats, black boiler suits, black sweaters, or black undershirts. They had blood red cravats, red badges on berets, an assortment of red bands here and their across their bodies. They were an Anarcho-Syndicalist vanguard.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy saw shovels rising and falling from the earth of the outcropping, dumping soil into subtle piles by the edge of a pit he couldn’t see down into. Periodically men stood up within, wiping their brows and gasping steam into the air. They were pale in the firelight, thin, and wore weatherbeaten blazers, collared shirts with buttons yanked out from being dragged by the collar, dirty spectacles. These were no militiamen, they seemed to be clerks or researchers. Jeremy pressed his face into the cool soil, deploring his luck, and then began circumnavigating the outcropping on his belly.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Keep it up, gentlemen, it’s about time you did some real work…”</div><div><br /></div><div>An officer stood above the diggers and was speaking in a bored drawl. He had on black slacks, a black longsleeve shirt, a red bandana around tied his neck, and he had a leather holster suspended from a long cord. A silverized, pearl-handled pistol was in the holster. A guard in a black leather overcoat stood near the officer with a heavy rifle in his hand, the butt resting in his belt.</div><div><br /></div><div>One of the diggers, a balding, older gentleman, stood up and spoke with steaming breath.</div><div><br /></div><div>“We laid the groundwork for this entire movement!”</div><div><br /></div><div>“And for that, we thank you. We succeeded pretty handily out here in the Gorge…”</div><div><br /></div><div>The officer was smiling. Jeremy glanced across the faces of the other militiamen and watched their movements. They were all drunk except for the leader. Only the guard carried a rifle; the others had teepeed their weapons near a 5-ton truck which was lurking in the shadows. The fighters hadn’t left a weapons guard. Jeremy shook his head in wonder and began slithering towards the rifles.</div><div><br /></div><div>“The movement never would have succeeded without our scholarship! Without our justification! We made it legitimate!”</div><div><br /></div><div>“Yeah, but people like you tend to be troublesome once things have settled down, and who likes you anyway? You’re not workers, you’re not fighters, you’re not foremen, nor are you engineers. You can barely dig your own graves. Are any of you married?”</div><div><br /></div><div>Two of them stopped and raised their hands earnestly.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Your wives are gonna thank us for this, trust me.”</div><div><br /></div><div>One of the theorists gazed up at the officer. A drunk militiamen leaned forward from where he sat on a milk crate.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Keep digging or I’ll pull your head off, pencilneck!”</div><div><br /></div><div>He kept digging. The officer lit up a cigarette.</div><div><br /></div><div>“You’re bourgeois anyway, and all your fucking theorizing is only gonna muck up the movement. Splitting hairs creates all kinds of factionalism, and for example, who wants to liquidate the Anarchists this close to v-day?”</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy had reached the edge of the outcropping and began pushing himself towards the rifles, laying utterly flat against the ground. His cheek was on the earth, his arms were flat against it, and his groin was pressed against the dirt. He paused between every rotation of his arms and legs, his sleeves filling up with dirt.</div><div><br /></div><div>The cave gaped darkly in the firelight. Jeremy could smell the liquor the militiamen were drinking and saw their bottles as he moved. There was priceless brandy from the cabinets of statehouses next to everyday liquor taken from the racks of neighborhood grocery stores. </div><div><br /></div><div>“For ten years, we’ve never been <i>anything</i> but loyal!” cried one of the diggers. He was choking up and tears gleamed on his eyes in the firelight.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Guess you should have gone Illegalist when the denunciations started. Though that would have meant having some balls.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy reached the rifles. He grasped the base of a structurally superfluous weapon and tipped it back slowly, slowly, so that the barrel rested on his shoulder and the buttstock was in his fingertips. Then he began sliding towards the bottom of the two-ton truck.</div><div><br /></div><div>“How could you betray us?” cried another intellectual.</div><div><br /></div><div>“It’s really satisfying, actually. Okay, that’s deep enough. Shovels up!”</div><div><br /></div><div>They cast the shovels up miserably. The drunks came to the edge of the pit and picked them up, wobbling and smiling, or gazing down with taut faces, trying to pin something on the men below besides weakness.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy had reached the far side of the truck and rose into a crouch, turning and dropping the rifle’s five-round box magazine into his palm, checking the chamber. There was a round ready and the bolt was forward. It would fire with the trigger or a good jolt. Jeremy raised his eyebrows at the incaution of the militiamen and reseated the magazine, creeping up behind a tree overlooking the outcropping.</div><div><br /></div><div>The militiamen were framed in the firelight, standing in a semicircle around the pit with spades in hand. The theorists looked up at them like terracotta soldiers. The officer flicked his cigarette butt into the pit.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Fill ‘er up!”</div><div><br /></div><div>The men began shoveling loose dirt over the theorists.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Please, no, no!” cried one as soil spilled over his balding head and underneath his glasses.</div><div><br /></div><div>The officer raised a hand and gave them a wave with his fingers.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Buh-bye!”</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy lay flat, exhaling, the sight of the weapon covering everything on the officer’s body except his head, which was perched along the front sight post like something on a platter.</div><div><br /></div><div>His squeeze was so gradual that the gunshot’s explosion shocked him a little, as intended. </div><div><br /></div><div>The militiamen jumped. Brain fibers whirled in the smoke of the campfire, and the officer lay with his shattered head pouring dark blood into the soil around his shoulders. The rifle-armed guard lowered it at the pit and whipped his head around, mouth agape. He looked down at the half-buried men as if one of them had shot his commander.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy cycled the bolt with a deft movement. He slipped his finger back into the trigger guard and made the slightest adjustment with his shoulders. He let a breath out from his pursed lips. He sent the next bullet through the armed guard’s chest cavity, and he fell straight to his knees and then straight onto his back with a single motion. His weapon clacked across his thigh.</div><div><br /></div><div>One of the militiamen bolted for the rifles, but tripped and fell, sliding into the weapons headfirst, collapsing them in a clatter.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy shifted his torso with a slight stretch, laid his sight at the base of the man’s armpit and fired. The man tried to scream but had no wind remaining in his lungs, or no conduit left for its transport, and lay still. The other two men bolted. One rushed into the cave. The other tumbled down the outcropping, then lay flat as if he would be invisible in his moonlit leather jacket. Jeremy placed his front sight post over the man’s flat cap and blew it off him in a hail of skull fragments.</div><div><br /></div><div>The theorists were on their knees in the pit, holding each other. None of the shot men moved. Jeremy settled into a comfortable position with his sight picture encompassing the mouth of the cave. He didn’t wait long before the last militiamen crept forward on his hands and knees, peering from the shadows, marked out in the flickering firelight.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Absolute <i>fucking</i> amateurs,” said Jeremy and shot the man in the head. He fell forward, head collapsing into itself. His throat came to rest in the dirt and his rear end protruded in the air.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy’s ears were ringing. He stood up, taking the rifle’s warm barrel in his hand, and descended the slope of the hill. He stepped up to the outcropping’s edge.</div><div><br /></div><div>The four theorists gazed at him from the pit, mouths open wide, dirt speckling their mustaches and dusting their eyeglasses.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy took the officer’s pearl-handled pistol, grimacing at the shattered skull. He gazed at the weapon in the firelight, murmuring “Pigeon,” and tucked it into his wasteband. He cut a lanyard away from the officer’s neck and took the 5-ton truck key from the end of it.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Thank you,” a theorist breathed.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy went to the rifles and began removing their bolts, dropping them one by one into his duffle bag.</div><div><br /></div><div>“We could put those weapons into use,” said one of the men.</div><div><br /></div><div>“I don’t think so. It’s gonna take you decades to get the message of what happened here.” He threw the disarmed rifles to the edge of the pit. “But these might scare someone off if they come after you.”</div><div>He looked the men up and down.</div><div>“Probably not though.”</div><div><br /></div><div>They staggered out of the pit, so shaky they could barely walk. Two had pissed themselves and someone had shit based on the smell, though it could have come from a corpse.</div><div><br /></div><div>“How many bivouacs are there?” Jeremy asked, loading a scavenged box magazine into his rifle. The men looked at him blankly.</div><div><br /></div><div>“How many groups?”</div><div><br /></div><div>“We came with a very long column of trucks and armored cars. The guerillas have all gone up into the hills, the vehicles are down along the road to Blackbeetle. I don’t know what they’re waiting for. Maybe the dawn. We were the only ones who came this way.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy nodded and walked toward the cave entrance, tucking a pilfered flashlight into his belt next to the silver pistol. </div><div><br /></div><div>“What do we do?” asked one of the men, clutching a heavy rifle in brittle fingers.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Evidently not what you’ve been doing. All I can tell you is you better not follow me into this cave. You can go down to Twinmartyrs if you want, but if I come back and find out you’re lording it over people I’ll send a death squad to work you over with some pliers. They’re legendary for that.”</div><div><br /></div><div>The men gaped at him.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeremy walked into the cave.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>To be continued</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>—</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="408" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/80zNliOh1_E" width="490" youtube-src-id="80zNliOh1_E"></iframe></div><br /><i><br /></i></div></div>Her Christmas Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445850026904816000noreply@blogger.com0