This E-Dawn really shows the importance of player buy-in. Kaer Cellesis was not a popular campaign and it shows as all the player characters retired so they could once again wander Barsaive. Most of them ended up with the goal of trying to get to Bartertown to see what their old retired characters were up too. Which is a potential problem in a living, breathing, and changing world. Sometimes the group just longs to go back to the past rather than make their own story. It is one of the reasons I enjoy the #SavageWorlds plot point campaign approach with one overriding goal for the campaign and then on to the next game.
E-Dawn Volume 13: January 2005 Edition
Spoiler
Alert: This journal contains spoilers for the Living Room Games
adventure Barsaive in Chaos.
PC RECAP
Agents of the Queen
My name
is Marissa. I am Mareth’s sister, and a First Circle Troubadour Initiate. It is
lucky that my brother gave me an account of what had previously transpired;
else I would have no idea where to start my first journal account of an
adventure. I politely asked Ni’ Bawn to stay and give an account of their
journey after my brother and Spock left, and she graciously accepted.
Rua 2nd, 1519 TH
25/2 1076 TE
After
Mareth and Spock left the party, we met a Theran envoy that had learned we were
going to Vivane. He requested that we find a ring in Vivane for him, promising
an outrageous 500 silver pieces now and 500 silver pieces later. After we and a
few greedy mercenaries at the inn agreed to the terms, the envoy told us to go
to the estate of Scallor Baedros and get his signet ring, giving us a poorly
constructed map of Vivane’s northeast corner. We rested the night at the inn.
Rua 3rd, 1519 TH
25/3 1076 TE
We
began our journey to Vivane along the Old Theran Road, and were immediately
attacked by a group of Landisian cavalry thieves. We repelled them with ease.
Rua 5th, 1519 TH
25/5 1076 TE
We
encountered a suspicious Theran patrol wearing armor that looked like Grim
Legionnaire Armor instead underneath Theran military uniforms. They
interrogated us about why we were going to Vivane. Mestoph Nor told them he was
hunting Khyrackus, a Named Wormskull who lived in Vivane. Their Troll leader
gave him a salute before his unit moved out.
Rua 6th, 1519 TH
26/1 1076 TE
We
entered Vivane through the Sunset Gate and moved west towards the Baedros
estate following the map. We encountered some undead clearing debris and ruins
from the streets of Vivane. They left us alone. Later, we discovered a small,
human boy skulking about the streets of the city. Kirk spotted him and cornered
him in an alleyway. The boy was frightened of us, thinking us another band of
Hartmallen’s undead. When we offered him food and water, he gratefully accepted
the gifts. His name was Lucian Naemonicus, possibly the last survivor the
destruction of Vivane by the Horror Cloud released from Stormhead. When we told
him why we were in Vivane, he decided to act as our guide to the Baedros
estate. When we finally arrived at the estate, we had to fight off a group of
cadaver men, an armored cadaver man who looked like he was wearing an iron
maiden, and a robed skeleton. We defeated them and got the ring. But suddenly,
the rest of the estate came under attack by a group of undead on skeletal
steeds, an undead cavalry unit, and defeated the rest of the undead in the
manor. The leader named Lord Goerme told us to come with him to meet Queen
Twiceborn, self-proclaimed Queen of Vivane. We entered the Queen’s chamber
filled with all manner of undead Theran nobles, and bodyguards. The Queen
requested that we leave her city immediately. Mestoph Nor told her he was
hunting Khyrackus. She gave a wicked, toothy smile, and sent a guide with him
to the territory Khyrackus occupied in Vivane. She told us we could accompany Mestoph
Nor or leave her city. Kirk negotiated a deal with Queen Twiceborn. If we
helped her defeat her enemy, Hartmallen, could we have a ship to navigate up
the river towards the Hammerhills? The Queen gave another dark smile and
brought out a piece of parchment that was signed by Kirk. She gave us two
options. One was the safer and longer route traveling north up the Arkhazid
River. The other was a more dangerous and shorter route up the Stranchis River.
We decided upon the Stranchis River route. After this we were escorted to a
ship with an undead crew and captain. Lucian decided to come with us.
Rua 7th, 1519 TH
26/2 1076 TE
We
began our journey up the Stranchis River, sailing up past Hartmallen’s base at
Sky Point, a Kila in the middle of a Horror Cloud. We knew we’d be attacked; it
was only a matter of when and where.
Rua 9th, 1519 TH
26/4 1076 TE
We were sailing away from Sky Point, when we
were boarded. Bloated cadaver men came up from the river itself. They attached
themselves to our hull like barnacles and climbing aboard the deck. We were
outnumbered nearly two to one. Fortunately our skill as adepts, and the Bone
Warden’s tactics kept us alive.
Rua 11th, 1519 TH
27/1 1076 TE
We
were attacked again by two skeletal mastryliths with cadaver men riders. They
forded the river and charged us. We used a grappling hook tied to a firecannon
and pushing it off the deck to bring one down into the river current. Vivit
Vane went tumbling into the other mastrylith’s howdah and fought the rider
while the cadaver men on our ship shot the mastrylith down with a barrage of
crossbow bolts. Vivit Vane barely made it out alive.
Rua 12th, 1519 TH
27/2 1076 TE
We saw
flames on the horizon. Vivit Vane’s home village of Rafrancher’s Claw was
ablaze. We entered the village and fought off the fiery undead and saved Vivit
Vane’s foster parents from death and hurried back to the ship.
Rua 13th, 1519 TH
27/3 1076 TE
We
traveled north by ship to Balkaria, maneuvering our way around an undead siege
on the city. Vivit’s old trainer Gerrald filled us in on the situation after
reaching Balkaria. A thousand Theran legionnaires were besieged by three
thousand undead. Worse, another undead army had crossed the mountains in the
north and were headed to Para’s Bloodyear Rock. If they defeated the Obsidiman
and came south to Balkaria, the city would fall. We decided to go north and
stop that undead army and save Para’s Liferock.
Rua 14th, 1519 TH
27/4 1076 TE
All of
us got off the ship except Kirk, who stayed behind on the ship. We traveled
north, where we were attacked by dust-like undead. These obsidiman turned into
Horror constructs used a strange power on me. They used their dust to cover my
body and control my movements, setting me against the rest of the party. I
barely survived. We met a strange human called Thunder Jones who was after us
since we still had the Theran envoy’s ring. He had been sent as a bounty hunter
to track us down. We promised to return to Lankgarden with the ring, after our
business in the Hammerhills was completed.
Rua 15th, 1519 TH
27/5 1076 TE
We
continued north going past odd hill and mountain formations that some swore
looked like hammers and anvils. About noon, we arrived at the Bloodyear Rock,
Para and Slate’s Liferock. We met the Obsidiman elders who kicked us out of
their chamber and sealed it. Meanwhile we heard the moans of the undead outside
reverberating through the cave. Rushing to the entrance, we saw 25 Cadaver Men,
the scouting party of a larger undead army. We bravely fought them to a
standstill. We couldn’t fight forever though, and when it seemed like we might
lose, all of sudden the ground shuddered. The mountains and hills came to life,
with the mountains crashing into the hills. Some claimed to see hammers
smashing into anvils. After this the ground opened up swallowing undead and
letting forth earth elementals. They rallied to our cause and helped us to
defeat the remaining undead. In addition, the earthquake caused a strange
mountain path to open up to the north.
Rua 16th, 1519 TH
28/1 1076 TE
We
traveled south to find pieces of the undead ship torn off. The earth elementals
didn’t discriminate. All undead were attacked with equal ferocity. The undead
ship with Kirk on board was forced to retreat, stranding us in the Hammerhills.
We decided to go south to Balkaria because Vivit was worried about Gerrald and
his parents.
Rua 19th, 1519 TH
28/4 1076 TE
We
found out that Gerrald and his parents had made it. With the help of the earth
elementals, the Theran legionnaires had driven off the southern undead army. We
decided to return north and use the new northern passage to return to
Lankgarden.
Rua 22nd, 1519 TH
29/2 1076 TE
We
returned to the mountain pass and went through. It took us three days travel to
arrive on the other side.
Rua 25th, 1519 TH
29/5 1076 TE
After
getting through the mountains, we considered going to the small town of Red Pot
for supplies but decided against it. We went to Ballaize by the most direct
route possible.
Mawag 2nd, 1519 TH
31/2 1076 TE
Although
hounded by Hartmallen’s undead forces, we managed to make it across the bridge
spanning the Arkhazid River and made it to Ballaize. We weighed options and
decided to not go south via the Arkhazid River to Lankgarden and instead try
the dangerous land route past Stormhead into Landis.
Mawag 5th, 1519 TH
31/5 1076 TE
We
arrived at Deltastrom, a poor village at the beginning of the Greenheart River
near Stormhead where rain always seems to keep pouring down. Everyone in the
village was depressed. We attempted to get passage down the Greenheart River,
but everyone told us that the river was impassable except by canoe or raft
until it meets the Locust River further east. And two Obsidiman aren’t fitting
on a canoe or raft, so by land was our only option.
Mawag 10th, 1519 TH
33/2 1076 TE
We
found a lone ork cavalryman under attack by Theran slavers. We attacked the
Therans and saved the cavalryman. He
explained that he had lost contact with his unit under Scorn Earthscorch, and
thanked us for saving him. He wanted to return to Cara Fahd to the north, but
we explained we were going south to Lankgarden. We also explained that he was
safer coming with us, since there is safety in numbers. He reluctantly agreed
to come with us to Lankgarden, the current base of Theran operations in Landis.
Mawag 15th, 1519 TH
34/2 1076 TE
We
returned to Lankgarden where we gave the Theran envoy the ring as well as
released Lucian into his custody, and got paid our 500 silver pieces for the
mission. After this we decided to travel north to Cara Fahd.
Mawag 25th, 1519 TH
36/2 1076 TE
We
entered Claw Ridge and went to the fortress of Wurchaz. Oviare met with Gertrude
Hatespitter and told her of our accusations against Khan. She demanded proof
from him, since he was now a part of Cara Fahd’s Navy. We decided to return to
Kaer Razelsus and look for proof of a connection between Khan and the
Nethermancer Nibaz after returning home to Cellesis.
Mawag 26th, 1519 TH
36/3 1076 TE
We went
through Vutta’s Pick Gap. This time no Broken Fang scorchers tried attacking
us.
Gahmil 2nd, 1519 TH
37/4 1076 TE
Cave
Trolls bandits accosted us, but Oviare bribed them not to attack us.
Gahmil 8th, 1519 TH
38/5 1076 TE
We
approached the ruins of Crossacre, only to find a new town in its place,
Cellesis! Apparently, they had moved out of the Kaer in order to build some
sort of exit way for the drakkar that had been rebuilt. Still, we’re finally
home.
Gahmil 15th, 1519 TH
40/2 1076 TE
The
rest of the party has left for Kaer Razelsus. I wish Slate, Rastalos, Mareth,
Vivit, and Calhoun good luck.
--Written by Marissa, First Circle Troubadour Initiate from
an Oral account of the journey by Ni’Bawn Carcini.
RUMORS
A group called the Iron Legacy has
recently surfaced in Cara Fahd; they dress up as orks and attack other orks and
trolls. They are rumored to be Questors of Dis and are actually humans in
disguise trying to bring the orks of Cara Fahd and the Trolls of the Highlands
and Lowlands to war again.
A group called the “Raisers” has
sprung up in Ustrect. Their major goal is to reform the kingdom of Ustrect
after clearing Citadel Arrakal. Nothing but Cara Fahd copycats, I say.
Wurchaz is the fortress of Claw
Ridge, and capital of Cara Fahd.
The ancient capital of Cara Fahd is
not Kyresh, but is instead a city named the same thing as the whole country.
Then what is Kyresh? Kyresh was a Citadel that was built near the ancient city,
which was breached near the beginning of the Scourge. The remnants of the seven
other original Cara Fahd clans were supposed to have been in that citadel. No
one knows whether the Broken Fangs are descended from the last of the eight
original clans or not. Gertrude Hatespitter recently bought a large amount of
scrolls from a group of t’skrang who live on an island in the Locust River
called the Kelpoya. Revealing a great deal of the true history of Cara
Fahd. Ela Pono and Vanyk Auldsinger are ecstatic about the new documents.
Gertrude Hatespitter has called for
the Qualification. The Qualification is a contest to become one of the Emdachot,
the one hundred greatest warriors of Cara Fahd. I hear the seven best warriors
will be entitled to a great treasure. This was an idea of Krathis Gron that she
was unable to organize while she was alive.
Gertrude Hatespitter has also
called for explorers and adventurers to find the ancient ruins of Cara Fahd in
the southern jungles who know Or’zat, the ancient Cara Fahd language to
help us reclaim our past.
Recently a group of Cara Fahd
Horror Stalkers has come into existence. Called the nroto they hunt the
horrors of the southern jungles.
Zarass Icethought found something
in Southwestern Cara Fahd, an ancient Citadel or Kaer covered in Or’zat.
She hasn’t left since, nor has the Zarass Chargers who accompanied her.
Something weird is going on down there, I just know it!
Supposedly the Iron Legacy is after
Zarass Icethought for some reason. They even tried to kidnap her recently.
A new town called Cellesis has sprung up in Ustrect. They
claim to be descendants of Ustrect, and even have a drakkar supposedly. Worse,
they have some powerful friends among the Trollmoots. Their goal seems to be
reclaiming their Ustrect heritage. But everyone knows all Ustrect Trolls died
in Citadel Arrakal. It doesn’t make sense to me.
Supposedly there have been some treaty
negotiations at Cellesis involving the Blackfangs, Ironmongers, and
Stonehearts. Whatever is going on up there, it bodes badly for Cara Fahd.
Bronze Eyes condition has worsened.
Recently, Llwanydo Tightstring has claimed rulership of the Broken Fangs
challenging Tarjak Stormcloud for leadership of the Broken Fangs. This puts the
plans of Treggs Heatsky and Tarjak Stormcloud marrying and uniting the Metal
Fist and Broken Fangs in jeopardy. At best it could lead to civil war in the
clan for control of the Broken Fangs at an ill-fated time with the trolls
looking more and more prepared for all-out war against us, and the Therans and
Ioposians looking for weakness in us.
NEW CHARACTER BIOS 4
TWEAK (JASON)
Human Warrior Second Circle
Homeland: Landis.
Discipline Teacher: Father.
Long-term goals: Save Landis from Theran occupation.
Ancestry notes: Of Landisian descent.
RIGEL (RICH)
T’skrang Swordmaster Third Circle
Homeland: House T’kambras
Discipline Teacher: Thyrnn Valori
Long-term goals: Save T’kambras from Iopos.
Ancestry notes: Of House T’kambras descent.
THUNDER JONES (TED)
Human Warrior Third Circle
Homeland: Travar
Discipline Teacher: LoArr-Brand
Long-term goals: Treasure-hunting and Kaer-diving, as
well as learning about Barsaive’s past.
Ancestry notes: Of Travar descent.
OVIARE FREESPIRIT (SHAWN)
Ork Cavalryman Third Circle
Homeland: Cara Fahd.
Clan: Asok’s Armbreakers.
Discipline Teacher: Asok.
Long-term goals: Save Cara Fahd from internal and
external enemies.
Ancestry notes: Of Carad descent.
PAT O’ REILLY (DALE)
Dwarf Archer Third Circle
Homeland: Bartertown
Discipline Teacher: Githral Trueshot
Long-term goals: Exploration of Barsaive
Ancestry notes: Of Throalic descent.
MERITS AND FLAWS SYSTEM
What I found online was a good
starting point for the system. The first thing to realize is that in my
Barsaive, purchase points scale upwards by +3 for each circle the group is at,
so they aren’t as precious as in other campaigns. The second thing to realize
is that way too many merits and flaws become way too much to keep track of.
Therefore I am going to limit Merits and Flaws to five each for my campaign.
Basically, each merit decreases from the total number of purchase points
received at character creation and each flaw increases the total number of
purchase points received at character creation by their point value.
MERITS
Coordinated: You have a
greater degree of coordination increasing your maneuverability in combat. 2
Point Merit for +1 Physical Defense rating. 5 Point Merit for +2 Physical
Defense rating.
Magical-Immunity: For whatever reason, the
character’s pattern is stronger than normal and can withstand spells and astral
attacks more than normal. 4 Point Merit for +1 Spell Defense and Mystic Armor ratings.
10 Point Merit for +2 Spell Defense and +2 Mystic Armor ratings.
Social-Immunity: You are thickheaded and confident in
your own abilities. 2 Point Merit for +1 Social Defense rating. 5 Point Merit
for +2 Social Defense rating.
Wall: You are more capable of standing after powerful
blows are inflicted upon you. 1 Point Merit for +1 Knockdown Step. 3 Point
Merit for +2 Knockdown Step. 6 Point Merit for +3 Knockdown Step.
Fast Recovery: You heal faster than normal. 2 Point
Merit for +1 Recovery Test Step. 5 Point Merit for +2 Recovery Test Step.
Quick: You have faster
reflexes than normal. 2 Point Merit for +1 Initiative Test Step. 5 Point Merit
for +2 Initiative Test Step.
Natural Armor (T’skrang or Troll only): The character’s scales or hide is thicker than
normal granting a +1 Physical Armor rating bonus that stacks with other armors.
2 Point Merit.
Fast Tail Regeneration (T’skrang only): Your tail regenerates in two weeks rather than 1
month. 2 Point Merit.
Tremendous Gahad (Ork or Ork-Blood only): The character gains a +1 Action Test bonus when
taking actions that act on his gahad impulses. 2 Point Merit.
Elf-Blood: The character
has the racial ability Low-Light Vision operating at 150% of normal vision
visibility (Less than the normal 200% for Low-Light Vision). 2 Point Merit.
Dwarf/Troll-Blood: The character has the racial
ability of Heat-Sight operating up to 125 yards away. 2 Point Merit.
Ork-Blood: The character has the ork racial ability
of gahad. 2 Point Merit.
Memorable Scar: The character has an attractive,
memorable scar. 2 Point Merit for +1 on all Interaction Tests the character
makes. 5 Point Merit for +2 on all Interaction Tests the character makes.
Lucky: Once per session, the character may make 1
reroll of any 1 test. The character must keep the result of the second roll. 5
Point Merit.
Wealthy: Double the
standard amount of money for character creation at that Circle (120 silver
pieces at First Circle becomes 240 silver pieces. 500 silver pieces at Second
Circle becomes 1000 silver pieces etc.) The Point Value of this Merit is the
Starting Circle of the character (Thus 1 for First Circle, 2 for Second Circle,
etc.).
Favors: The character has
contacts that owe him favors. 2 Point Merit for One Small Favor. 5 Point Merit
for 2 Small Favors or 1 Large Favor.
Famous: The character is more recognizable than
normal for good deeds. Whenever anyone
rolls to recognize the character, adds +1 Step to the test, and consider them 1
Legendary Status greater than normal up to the maximum of Legendary Status 5
for this purpose. The character also adds +1 Step on all Interaction Tests
against people who recognize him. 3 Point Merit.
Skilled: The character has more skill points than
normal. Add 3 Skill Points. 3 Point Merit.
Talented: The character has more talent rank points
than normal. Add 2 Talent Rank Points that apply to talents or talent knacks
only. 2 Point Merit.
Reduced Cost of Living: The character can live per
month on half the normal cost of living. The character’s cost of living is 50
silver pieces x Circle instead of the normal 100 silver pieces x Circle IMB. 3
Point Merit.
Magical Aptitude (Magicians only): The character may
learn one more spell per Circle than normal for his Grimoire without an LP cost
up to their Perception Step. 3 Point Merit.
FLAWS
Uncoordinated: You have a
lesser degree of coordination decreasing your maneuverability in combat. 2
Point Flaw for -1 Physical Defense rating. 5 Point Flaw for -2 Physical Defense
rating.
Magical-Weakness: For whatever reason, the
character’s pattern is weaker than normal and cannot withstand spells and
astral attacks as well as others. 4 Point Flaw for -1 Spell Defense and Mystic
Armor ratings. 10 Point Flaw for -2 Spell Defense and -2 Mystic Armor ratings. If
the character has no Mystic Armor or, this flaw would reduce it to a negative,
this Flaw is only worth a 2 Point Flaw for –1 Spell Defense rating and this
Flaw is only worth a 5 Point Flaw for –2 Spell Defense rating.
Social-Weakness: You are thin-skinned and easily
insulted. 2 Point Flaw for -1 Social Defense rating. 5 Point Flaw for -2 Social
Defense rating.
Unbalanced: You are less capable of standing after
powerful blows are inflicted upon you. 1 Point Flaw for -1 Knockdown Step. 3
Point Flaw for -2 Knockdown Step. 6 Point Flaw for -3 Knockdown Step.
Weak Recovery: You heal slower than normal. 2 Point
Flaw for -1 Recovery Test Step. 5 Point Flaw for -2 Recovery Test Step.
Slow: You have slower
reflexes than normal. 2 Point Flaw for -1 Initiative Test Step. 5 Point Flaw
for -2 Initiative Test Step.
Slow Tail Regeneration (T’skrang only): Your tail regenerates in two months rather than 1
month. 2 Point Flaw.
Vicious Gahad (Ork or Ork-Blood only): The
character’s gahad is harder to resist than normal. The DN to resist gahad is 8,
and the penalties for swallowing gahad are –1 step higher than normal to the
maximum of –5. 2 Point Flaw.
Disfigured: The character has an unattractive,
disfiguring scar. 2 Point Flaw for -1 on all Interaction Tests the character
makes. 5 Point Flaw for -2 on all Interaction Tests the character makes.
Poor: Halve the standard
amount of money for character creation at that Circle (120 silver pieces at
First Circle becomes 60 silver pieces. 500 silver pieces at Second Circle
becomes 250 silver pieces etc.) The Point Value of this Flaw is the Starting
Circle of the character (Thus 1 for First Circle, 2 for Second Circle, etc.).
Debt: The character has
contacts to whom he owes debts. The character typically owes an amount of money
equal to double the normal starting currency of their Circle (Therefore a First
Circle character would owe 240 silver pieces, A Second Circle character would
owe 1000 silver pieces, etc.). The Point Value of this Flaw is the Starting
Circle of the character (Thus 1 for First Circle, 2 for Second Circle, etc.).
This flaw cannot be taken if the character has the Wealth Merit. This flaw is best used and combined with the
Poor flaw for roleplaying purposes.
Owes Favors: The
character has contacts to whom he owes favors. 2 Point Flaw for One Small
Favor. 5 Point Flaw for 2 Small Favors or 1 Large Favor.
Infamous: The character is more recognizable than
normal for bad deeds. Whenever anyone
rolls to recognize the character, adds +1 Step to the test, and consider them 1
Legendary Status greater than normal up to the maximum of Legendary Status 5
for this purpose. The character also subtracts -1 Step on all Interaction Tests
against people who recognize him. 3 Point Flaw.
Unskilled: The character has less skill points than
normal. Subtract 3 Skill Points. 3 Point Flaw.
Untalented: The character has less talent rank points
than normal. Subtract 2 Talent Rank Points. 2 Point Flaw.
Increased Cost of Living: The character must live per
month on double the normal cost of living. The character is an extravagant,
spendthrift who buys only the best food and drink. The character’s cost of
living is 200 silver pieces x Circle instead of the normal 100 silver pieces x
Circle IMB. 3 Point Flaw.
Lack of Magical Aptitude (Magicians only): The
character may learn one less spell per Circle than normal for his Grimoire
without an LP cost. 3 Point Flaw.
Obviously, this is the first try at this; if anyone wants to
suggest new merits or flaws, or discuss these ones, talk about it on the E-Dawn
Discussion Group.
CHARACTER RETIREMENT HOME 1
JAMES T. KIRK JR. (TED)
Retires at Fourth Circle Air Sailor.
The Human Air Sailor becomes Captain of the Cellesis drakkar
Enterprise. Plots his vengeance on Khan.
SPOCK (SHAWN)
Retires at Fourth Circle Scout.
The Ork Scout becomes initiated into the Sky Raider
Discipline by his sister Sarah after she attains Fifth Circle Sky Raider. After
this becomes Kirk’s Mate on the Cellesis drakkar Enterprise.
NI’ BAWN CARCINI (JULIE)
Retires at Third Circle Warrior.
The T’skrang Warrior retires in Cellesis and starts a
bathhouse centered around hot springs there. The Bathhouse called Steam
Paradise becomes a huge success as people all over Ustrect and the Twilight
Peaks come to visit the place.
RASTALOS DEFTWING (DAN)
Retires at Third Circle Elementalist/First Circle Wizard.
After returning from Kaer Razelsus, the Windling
Elementalist/Wizard continues his apprenticeship under Merkens until he attains
Fifth Circle as an Elementalist, then starts his own
enchanting/weaponsmithing/magic shop for windlings mostly in Cellesis called Aerial
Arms that becomes a moderate success as Liaj Jungle windlings occasionally
come down to Cellesis to buy his gear.
SLATE GREYSTONE (ZIGGY)
Retires at Fourth Circle Warrior.
After returning from Kaer Razelsus, contemplates the meaning
of his “Home”. Is it Cellesis or the Bloodyear Rock? Meanwhile works as a
Bodyguard for Ni’Bawn’s establishment.
VIVIT VANE (JOSHUA)
Retires at Third Circle Warrior.
After returning from Kaer Razelsus, returns home to help
rebuild Rafrancher’s Claw and supports his foster parents.
ISN’T IT IRONIC? (RANT)
I find it a little ironic that
every starting character in the campaign is dead or retired after six months.
Even worse, all of the characters went from either Ustrect or Theran descent
from Kaer Cellesis to characters from all across Barsaive. Worst of all, they are from different corners
of Barsaive, each with their own goals and agendas. Obviously, this means we
probably won’t be continuing an active role in the Kaer Cellesis campaign,
although the storyline I’ve set out for the place will still make an
interesting backdrop at this point. Now it is really up to the players to
decide how they want the campaign to progress and try and find some sense of
unity within their party despite their various goals that lead in six
directions across Barsaive at once.
RULES UPDATE: GRIMOIRES
Basically, I’ve always had a
problem with the infinite spell grimoire. Characters have the ability in FASA’s
Earthdawn to essentially continue to increase their Grimoire dramatically
by stealing opponent’s grimoires and scribing them over to their own. To me
this way very DnD Wizard and not enough Earthdawn. One of the major problems
for me was the infinite grimoire as GM after this realization. If it works for
the PCs, it worked the same ways for the NPCs and their spells. This lead to me
lazily creating grimoires for magician NPCs like ALL Spells up to Circle 8
Elementalist. LRG added a Legend Point cost to spells to put them into your
grimoire. Conceptually this works better within the FASA Earthdawn mechanics
since it requires knowledge and experience to learn new spells and place them
into your grimoires. Still, this also inhibits magician growth dramatically. I
pondered both ways of looking at it and tried to come up with a compromise
solution, where magician characters could have a zero Legend Point cost
grimoires up to a point, but having a large amount of extra spells would cost a
lot of Legend Points. Basically, a character may possess a number of free
spells at each Circle equal to their Perception Step/Spell Circle with no LP
Cost. Thus a Character with a Perception Step of 7 could have 7 First Circle
Spells, 3 Second Circle Spells, 2 Third Circle Spells, and 1 Fourth-Seventh
Circle Spells. At Eighth Circle it would cost LP to get any spells at all.
Characters also receive a bonus free spell at Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth
Circle during advancement from their teachers. Spells beyond these free ones
cost as per First-Fourth Circle Talents per Spell Circle. Thus extra First
Circle spells cost 100 LP, extra Second Circle spells cost 200 LP, extra Third
Circle spells cost 300 LP, extra Fourth Circle spells cost 500 LP, extra Fifth
Circle spells cost 800 LP, extra Sixth Circle spells cost 1300 LP, extra
Seventh Circle spells cost 2100 LP, extra Eighth Circle spells cost 3400 LP,
and so on. What have I noticed since implementing this rule? Magician
characters now tend to choose their spells carefully, not wanting to suffer any
Legend Point costs for spells. This also means the days of the infinite NPC grimoire
are also over. Balance restored to my game on both sides of the fence.
RULES UPDATE: SPELL LEARNING TIME
A character takes an amount of time
to learn a spell equal to one hour times its Circle. Thus it takes 1 hour to learn
a First Circle spell, 2 hours to learn a Second Circle spell, 3 hours to learn
a Third Circle spell, etc. To learn more than one spell a day, the character
must sacrifice a Recovery Test for each additional Read and Magic Test to learn
spells per day as per the Earthdawn rulebook.
UNUSUAL RACE/DISCIPLINE COMBINATIONS 9
I decided to do a close up on two
unusual Swordmasters for this blockbuster issue. One of them I’ve played, the
Dwarf Swordmaster. The Ork Swordmaster I’ve seen played by others. These two
Swordmasters represent interesting role-playing opportunities, so I wanted to
highlight them both.
Dwarf Swordmaster
Advantages: The +2 strength bonus is a huge
advantage, adding almost a step of damage to the dwarf Swordmaster. The +3
toughness bonus is another huge advantage, adding a step to toughness and
allowing the character to survive a lot easier than normal.
Disadvantages: No dexterity add is a disadvantage
since this attribute is the primary one for half of the talents. The Movement
as DEX –2 penalty is also painful to a close combat focusing discipline. The –2
charisma penalty can be devastating for the dwarf Swordmaster’s Taunt and other
CHA based talents. Of course, all of this makes the Dwarf Swordmaster a perfect
choice to play a Bladesman focused on the battle aspect of the discipline
alone.
Neutral: The lack of perception and willpower adds
don’t hinder or hurt this character much.
Better perception can be helpful for the Heat Sight racial ability
though. Willpower is less of an issue for the character, as Heartening Laugh
can be a lifesaver versus terror and other effects. Make sure to put a lot of
Ranks into this talent to overcome the CHA penalty.
Attributes (66 purchase points):
DEX: 16=(16): 7/1D12
STR: 14+2=(16): 7/1D12
TOU: 13+3=(16): 7/1D12
PER: 12=(12): 5/1D8
WIL: 11=(11): 5/1D8
CHA: 13-2=(11): 5/1D8
Commentary: A dwarf Bladesman can be an interesting
character to play. A background history with the character focusing on
Craftsman; Armorer, and practicing with the weapons and armor he created in his
youth, becoming a Bladesman Swordmaster rather than a warrior as most dwarves,
and then questing to find his soulsword could be an interesting character to
play.
Statistically,
the character should improve his perception by 1 to increase it to Step 6.
After this, increasing dexterity by three points will help counteract the
Movement as DEX penalties the character suffers as well as improve it to Step
7. Improving willpower by two points will result in an increase to Step 6 as
well, although improving strength by three points improves the character’s
Damage dramatically.
For skills, consider the Sprint
skill. Two ranks in this skill will allow you to Move as DEX for 1 strain, and
is useful in overcoming this penalty. I suggest picking up a few ranks in the
Unarmed Combat and Break Bonds skills, as opposing adepts tend to like to
grapple or entangle dwarves and keep them out of the fight.
Ork Swordmaster
Advantages: The +3 strength bonus is a huge
advantage, adding a step of damage to the ork Swordmaster. The +1 toughness
bonus is another advantage, adding a bonus to toughness and allowing the
character to survive a lot easier than normal. The Movement as DEX +2 bonus
helps overcome the Dexterity penalty somewhat. The high karma step also helps
to overcome this penalty.
Disadvantages: The –1 to dexterity and charisma
causes a penalty to the two most important attributes for Swordmasters and is a
definite disadvantage. The –2 willpower penalty is painful for most ork
characters, but can be partially helped by high ranks in Heartening Laugh
again.
Neutral: The lack of a perception add doesn’t hinder
the character much. Although this can be useful for their Low-Light Vision
racial ability.
Attributes (66 purchase points):
DEX: 15-1=(14): 6/1D10
STR: 13+3=(16): 7/1D12
TOU: 15+1=(16): 7/1D12
PER: 11=(11): 5/1D8
WIL: 13-2=(11): 5/1D8
CHA: 12-1=(11): 5/1D8
Commentary: An ork Swordmaster can be an interesting
character to play, but is made tough by the penalties in many key areas. But
the role-playing possibilities of such a character are made endless, especially
with the racial ability of gahad to add a dimension to the character. With
gahad, the character can set the conditions that will trigger the character’s
ire, and cause duels. A Bladesman with an always gahad of insults about his
swordplay or any comment about warriors being better than Swordmasters would
have to prove himself fairly often versus Swordmasters and warriors or swallow
his gahad a lot. Make it even more interesting by making him a follower of Tranko
(Thystonius). Still I think the Gallant Ork Swordmaster is best since it breaks
the mold of the typical Ork Swordmaster. A couple of always gahad about insults
to a lady’s honor, or insults about ork traditions on love and romance could
make an interesting Gallant character.
He could worship Mera-a-a-arg (Astendar), and love art, poetry,
and romance. This sets up a character that is at odds with the way most ork
societies act, and possibly ostracized by his own race and other cultures.
Statistically,
the Bladesman character should improve his dexterity by two to gain a +1
physical defense bonus and increase dexterity to Step 7, and then set about
increasing strength and toughness by three to gain Step 8 in those attributes
to increase his damage and endurance. Increasing willpower by two to increase
it to Step 6 may be important to swallow gahad. The Gallant character should
improve his charisma by three to gain a +1 social defense bonus and increase
charisma to Step 6. Increasing perception and willpower by two increases that
step to 6, which may be important for low-light vision, streetwise tests, and of
course steps to swallow gahad. Still
increasing the dexterity by two adds bonuses that cannot be ignored, even by a
gallant Swordmaster.
For skills, I suggest the Bladesman
picking up a few ranks in the Unarmed Combat and Break Bonds skills since he’ll
be tangling with warriors a lot. The Gallant should pick up a lot of different
skills. Artisan Skills favor his chosen passion. The Streetwise skill helps him
know the city environment he frequents better. Charisma skills like Flirting
and Seduction fit the character well. You never know when the Lock Picking
skill may come in handy in town either.
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