E-Dawn Volume 17: June 2005 Edition
Spoiler
Alert: This journal contains spoilers for the Legend of Earthdawn Volume
1 quest: The Heart of Heroes.
PC RECAP
Pugsli’s Spy Report #4
Doddul 7
Boss,
We returned to the Crusader’s
Rest. We all successfully performed the Greeting Ritual after coming out of the
Scythan ruins. We rushed to Grathus, who although weakened by the spine horror,
seemed to be in good spirit. He promised to hunt down the Mountain Key for us
in the Scythan ruins. Meanwhile, we needed to wait at the Crusader’s Rest for a
few days while they searched. We decided to take a Hunters of Scytha mission to
take on some gnashers. We met a Troll Cavalryman who had been working for the
Hunters of Scytha named Avragar Goldenhorn. His chosen mount was a granlain,
and a sturdy lance and trusty troll sword were his weapons of choice. He was
going on the same Hunters of Scytha mission as us. We asked him if he would
like to go on a quest to save the Passions. He accepted…Sucker.
-P
Doddul 8
Boss,
We entered a hilly region near
the Scythan Mountains. We had tracked down the horrors to here, following Pat
and Sch’ella’s lead. The gnashers were nothing compared to the Quickrazors.
Still, an easy 200 Silver pieces was definitely worth the trip.
-P
Doddul 9
Boss,
We returned to Crusader’s Rest
and got our reward. We then trained until Grathus finally found the Mountain
Key.
-P
Doddul 15
Boss,
Grathus summoned us and gave the
Mountain Key to Pat O’ Reilly. We decided to leave for Bartertown and search
for the Hunter Key in the Throal Mountains.
-P
Doddul 21
Boss,
We hitched a ride with “Johnny
C.” again. He upped the price to 30 Silver pieces per person or mount. Not
surprising since we were asking him to transport an obsidiman, a huge troll, a
dyre, and a granlain this time around.
-P
Strassa 2, 1519 TH
Boss,
We arrived at Bartertown. Damn
it, we missed the big New Years party by a day!
-P
Strassa 4
Boss,
We left Bartertown. We had
talked to Drudge, who had formed a new group of adventurers called “Revivers of
the Passions.” They were doing the Hunter’s Key quest. We decided to go do the
Air Dancer Key quest. Avragar was insistent on us going to Ustrect and doing
this quest. Well it is his key after all. -P
Strassa 18
Boss,
A group of humans equipped with
warhammers and whips attacked us. Their leader twirled his whip around and
confused most of us, then declared that Oviare was their target. As a believer
in Lochost, the Iron Legacy had targeted him for elimination. They were almost
successful. If it had not been for Avragar and Thunder defending him and Pat
breaking the confusion, surely Oviare and Ninheim would have perished. -P
Veltom 4
Boss,
A
group of jehuthra, made of crystal, attacked us. In addition to their normal
powers, they seemed to know some First Circle elementalist spells including
Earth Darts. They were shattered by our cavalryman attacks. -P
Veltom 5
Boss,
We
arrived at Cellesis. The party decided to split up. Oviare and Sch’ella stayed
in town while the rest of us traveled to Kaer Cellesis. -P
Veltom 9
Boss,
At
Kaer Cellesis, we went to the library and talked with Ray and Marissa about
Ustrect and Arrakal. Marissa was convinced that the ancient troll citadel of Arrakal
was in the jungles of Ustrect. She also told us about a Living Legend Cult
called the Raisers of Ustrect who were known to be seeking Arrakal. They lived
at the Ironmonger moot, about four days away from Kaer Cellesis. -P
Veltom 12
Boss,
We
returned to Cellesis and found Sch’ella and Oviare. Sch’ella informed us about
the chase for Khan and Toke involving almost all the drakkars of the fledgling
alliance. This meant that most of the greatest warriors of Cellesis and the
Ironmonger moot were not around in this time of crisis. We then returned to
Kaer Cellesis en route for the Ironmonger trollmoot.
-P
Veltom 14
Boss,
We arrived at Kaer Cellesis and
stayed the night.
-P
Veltom 16
Boss,
We met a couple of Ironmonger
guards. We convinced them to let us pass. They warned us about a civil war
brewing in the Ironmonger trollmoot between Yorvak Ironwill Bronzeclaw and
Fergis Earthsinger Darkcloud. Yorvak was the leader of the trollmoot, but
Fergis was the leader of the Raisers of Ustrect. They had never seen eye to
eye, but it had worsened recently.
-P
Veltom 18
Boss,
We arrived at the Ironmonger
trollmoot. Our cavalrymen dismounted since their mounts would not fit in the
confines of the trollmoot. We first talked our way past some more troll guards
and went into Fergis’ cave to talk with him. During the greeting ritual, he
embroidered a white and blue web on his embroidered robe. He was obviously
horror-marked. He talked of the coming troll migration to Ustrect and implored
Avragar to come with them. However, before that could happen, he would have to
eliminate Yorvak. We rushed to Yorvak’s cave to warn him; again talking our way
past many troll guards. We warned Yorvak about Fergis being horror-marked and
his plans to attack him. Yorvak decided to retreat pushing a secret mechanism
and revealing a drakkar being completed by Vul’tan Blackhammer Ironbender. He
and his remaining men went to the drakkar. They planned to find the rest of
their trollmoot’s drakkars and return to the Ironmonger moot and kill all the
traitors. He offered us a ride, but we had to return to the moot entrance to
get the Oviare and Avragar’s mounts. We told him of our plans to kill the
horror that had marked Fergis and save the Raisers of Ustrect. Yorvak said he
would leave it to us. If we failed, he would kill the Raisers of Ustrect to the
last troll. We hastily talked our way past the troll guards. At the moot
entrance, our cavalrymen remounted, and we began our mad dash to Cellesis, with
a massive troll migration behind us, and crystalline enemies before us.
-P
Veltom 20
Boss,
The troll border guards demanded
that we return to the Ironmonger moot. We acted like we had acquiesced to their
demands, then turned round and shot and charged them. The suddenness of our
attack surprised them, and we defeated them easily.
-P
Veltom 22
Boss,
We returned to Kaer Cellesis. We
had to warn the Kaer’s remaining residents of what was headed their way. We
organized a retreat from the Kaer, gathering up belongings and books from the
library for the trip down the mountain.
-P
Veltom 24
Boss,
We returned to Cellesis, which
was under attack by crystal jehuthras. The battle was fierce, as over ten
crystal jehuthras attacked the town and us. Several guards were killed and Pat
O’ Reilly too by an Earth Dart shattering all over him, and several buildings
suffered heavy structural damage. I revived Pat O’ Reilly with a Last Chance
Salve. We warned the people of Cellesis about the troll migration. They refused
to budge any further. They had survived a civil war, attacks by trollmoots,
attacks by horror constructs, and more. The Death Sea would flow red with lava
again before they would leave their town. Stupid perhaps, but it is hard not to
be impressed by such tenacity. Thunder hired on Rastalos Deftwing to assist us.
Marissa had found a map in the Kaer Library with some general directions to the
Citadel of Arrakal and decided to guide us there. Mareth tagged along to
protect his sister. An obsidiman warrior named Granite had come to Cellesis to
train under Slate as well as return home, and had fought well in the battle. He
took the attack of the crystal jehuthras on his person badly and decided to
join us on our quest to kill the threat at its root. It was going to be a hard
march to Arrakal. We had to beat the hard marching trolls there. If the trolls
got there first, the horror could start creating the crystal trolls that
Thunder feared, or send the trolls throughout Barsaive’s trollmoots, spreading
its taint to all troll kind. Marissa figured with us already on the lowlands,
we could beat them despite their superior speed since the Twilight Peaks still
blocked their passage.
-P
Veltom 26
Boss,
We entered the jungles of
Ustrect and searched desperately for Arrakal. We saw a glimmer in the fading
sunlight from the sunset and went towards it. We camped for the night, not
wanting to enter Arrakal in the darkness.
-P
Veltom 27
Boss,
We could see the troll migration
coming as it uprooted trees in their path, cutting a swath through to get to
the Citadel of Arrakal. We were running out of time. We broke camp and entered
the Citadel. At first, it looked like any ordinary ruined city, but then we
entered the crystalline part of the Citadel. A crystalline web lattice that
covered everything replaced the city streets. It was filled to the brim with
crystal traps, crystal jehuthra, and crystal entities. The horror was trying to
wear us down, and bide time for the trolls to arrive. Thunder was the first to
feel the crystal spike trap as he strode forward first. After that, Mareth and
I lead the way, using our superior reflexes to set off the traps, and hopefully
dodge them. The first crystal entity we faced managed to use their gruesome
crystal spike attack on both Thunder and Oviare before Mareth finally finished
it off. The attack turned a person’s own skeleton against them, creating
crystal spikes inside the body that came out, slicing the skin. When he was
defeated, a blue eye popped out from the wall and blinked at them. Fortunately,
Rast managed to dispel the crystal spikes in time. Oviare left the Dyre in that
room, realizing that it would not fit in the narrowing corridors and summoned a
Spirit Mount. Marissa stayed in that room as well. Meanwhile, five crystal
jehuthra had rushed down the corridors and attacked the rest of the party. They
managed to hit me with a Frost Web and take me out of the fight. We managed to
beat them back though. The second crystal entity we fought severely wounded
Oviare with some spells. When we defeated it, another blue eye popped out and
winked at us. That is when the horror started talking to some of us about
turning on each other and bringing it Avragar. The blue eye seemed to be horror
marking us. We continued to plunge deeper into the crystal fortress. A couple
of crystal spiked pit traps opened up below Mareth, he dodged the first, but
fell into the second one. Thunder managed to pull him out. A couple more
crystal jehuthras jumped out and used Frost Web on me again, but Rast dispelled
it. We were unfortunate enough to run into another crystal entity at the same
time. Mareth drank a Healing Potion, and we went in and did a coordinated
surprise attack on the thing. It managed to use its gruesome crystal spike
attack on Pat, and me and we had to wait for Rast to dispel the effects. It
nearly killed us both. We managed to kill the crystal entity and another blue
eye blinked at us. I searched the room after the crystal spikes were dispelled
and found a medallion, boss. I doubt Pat noticed since he was in too much pain
from the crystal spikes and Rast was just too busy threading and casting. I
will bring the item back to headquarters next time we are in Bartertown.
Meanwhile, Thunder and Sch’ella had defeated the crystal jehuthras. Most of the
party regrouped in the middle of the crystal labyrinth.
Pat
and I stayed behind, trying to heal ourselves with potions and other healing
aids. We were a mess after the crystal spikes hit us. I could hear troll
footsteps to the south, which meant the troll migration was arriving. There was
no more time for rest, it was destroy the horror now or face nearly an entire
trollmoot worth of trolls. I told Pat what I had heard and we rushed to join
the rest of the party. I flew over the pit trap, and Pat deftly climbed over it
using crystal protrusions on the wall as climbing aids. I could hear the sounds
of battle to the south. I wondered if Marissa and Oviare’s dyre were all right.
I turned north to the sound of rocks shattering against crystal walls and saw
fist-shaped rocks raining down upon most of the party. Thunder was dead, his
body was crushed by stones, impaled by crystal spikes, and the crystal spikes
had inverted his whole body from inside to outside. Granite and Sch’ella were
unconscious. Ninheim was attacking the horror with his flaming, black sword.
Rast was hitting it with a Blizzard Sphere. Avragar had been stopped in his
tracks as a massive stone hand had risen up and grabbed his Granlain. Oviare
had charged in on his Spirit Mount, delivering his last charge as his spirit
mount was banished by the smashing rocks. I could hear the troll footsteps
getting closer. Ninheim muttered
something about the crystal pattern being strongest here. The crystal dungeon
was the horror, and this was the horror’s heart. Pat and I attacked the horror’s
massive crystal body, me with my sword and dagger, and him with his medium
crossbow and Flame Bolt. Fergis screamed at me from behind, “What are you doing
to my master! You will regret this.” I did not have to turn my back and look to
know he was threading a spell. That was when the horror cried out in pain and
desperation, “Noooo, it cannot be. I was so close to my troll army, so close to
my plan’s success. With my last breath I curse you…” A troll voice I recognized
as Fergis said from behind, “ Where are we? Arrakal? How did I get here?” We
had saved the Raisers of Ustrect and stopped whatever the horror was planning.
We took Thunder’s belongings as well as the elemental earth coins congealed
from the blood of the crystal entities and the horror. That was when the
Citadel of Arrakal started to shake at its very foundation and we ran for our
lives. The crystal part of the Citadel collapsed, killing a few trolls who did
not make it out in time. The trolls, Mareth, and Marissa decided to stay at
Arrakal and hunt down any surviving crystal jehuthras and begin their
exploration of the rest of the Citadel. The rest of us decided to return to
Cellesis and plan our next move.
-P
Veltom 27 response dated Charassa 8
P,
The loss of Thunder may cause
further discord in the group. Be very careful. Recruit the obsidiman warrior to
the cause, and eliminate the obsidiman wizard. He is a threat to our goals. Use
Oviare’s thirst for revenge because of Tweak’s death to our purpose. I
patiently await the arrival of the item.
-R
RULES UPDATE: AREA EFFECT SPELLS
Area Effect spells no longer
have the capacity to Armor-Defeat IMB. As a game balance instrument, it has
been very helpful. Only targeted spell attacks have the capacity to
Armor-Defeat, meaning magicians must choose between hitting multiple targets
for less damage individually, but on many people, or attempting to target
individual opponents for potentially more damage. It is also a huge help in
balancing other effects like Explosive Flame Arrow. Since that talent knack’s
use cannot result in Armor-Defeating hits, archers have to make that choice as
well between more targets or potentially more damage on one target.
RULES UPDATE: Thread Weaving
If the Thread Weaving Test fails
when attempting to weave a thread to an item, the character may try to thread
the item again up to the Thread Weaving talent rank times instead of once
before having to gain a higher rank in Thread Weaving to attempt to thread.
For example, a character with
two ranks in Thread Weaving attempts to thread a brooch. His first Thread
Weaving attempt fails. By the rules in the Earthdawn rulebook, he is
required to attain a higher Thread Weaving talent rank to attempt the thread
again. Under these rules, he may make a second attempt without improving his
talent rank. If the character’s second Thread Weaving attempt fails, he must
increase his Thread Weaving talent rank by one to try to weave the thread
again.
RUMORS
Cellesis Rumors and NPC Updates
The Ironmongers are not alone in
their obsession with Ustrect. Several Raisers of Ustrect are within Cellesis
itself as well.
Calhoun and Teefa were married
late last year. They have not left Kaer Cellesis yet where Calhoun’s house is.
Marissa and Mareth still live at
their house in Kaer Cellesis.
Rast’s Aerial Arms
crushed the competition and has become the premier alchemy, enchantment, and
weaponsmith shop of Cellesis.
Ni’Bawn’s Steam Paradise
has been a huge success. Name-givers have come from as far as the Spiral Towers
to take a dip in the refreshing steam baths. Slate Greystone is still the main
bodyguard of the establishment.
Nybik rebuilt the Traveller’s
Lodge. Ceren and Lily are still the main barmaids, although Ceren is away
with Bonehead on the drakkar “Bonehead’s Revenge” currently chasing
after Khan.
Spock, and Kirk are still after
Khan on the Enterprise.
Most of the Ironmonger and
Blackfang drakkars were also employed in the chase after Khan.
A civil war has been brewing for
a long time between Yorvak and Fergis. The source of their feud is a
disagreement over the future of the Ironmonger moot. Fergis believes in
reestablishing the Ancient Troll Kingdom of Ustrect anew and Yorvak favors a
continuation of the old ways.
NEW CHARACTER BIOS #7
AVRAGAR GOLDENHORN (BRANDON)
Race: Troll
Discipline:
Cavalryman
Circle:
Fourth
Homeland:
Vivane
Character
Background:
Avragar is one of the last
living members of the Goldenhorn clan. Goldenhorn family tradition tells that
the clan was once a prominent noble family that could trace its roots back to
ancient Ustrect. The Goldenhorns did not have faith in the Citadel of Arrakal
and hotly cried out in protest, stating that they should build their shelters
deep within the bosom of the mountain stone. Their arguments fell on deaf ears
and in a final act of protest; the clan elder and his supporters sawed off
their horns and exiled themselves from Arrakal. The clans, now bereft of any
real power it may have wielded, sought refuge with their highland cousins but
were turned away. The remnants of the clan scattered during the Scourge.
Avragar’s family ironically had sought refuge in the citadel of Vivane.
Although there is no longer any
remaining evidence to substantiate or disprove their claim, it has been a
source of great pride for the clan for generations. While the family had little
money, they always conducted themselves in a noble fashion as best as they
could. It is a family custom for members of the clan to apply gold foil to
their majestic spiraling horns. Goldenhorns always have the best equipment they
can afford and take meticulous care of their belongings.
Avragar is a lowland troll of
massive proportions. Born and raised in the Barsaivian Quarter of Vivane, he is
fluent in the Theran language, both spoken and written, as well as the
traditional troll language and the language of the Throalic dwarfs. While he is
a Vivanian, he holds no love for the Therans, nor does he despise them. He
yearns for Vivane Province to be free and independent of both Theran
oppression, and the scourge of the undead, and is willing to fight to achieve
his goal.
As a Cavalryman adept, Avragar’s most loyal
friend is his faithful steed, a powerful granlain he calls Thunderstroke, who
is just like a member of the family. Avragar follows his own code of honor and
does not kill unnecessarily, yet horrors and their minions, as well as undead
and worshipers of the mad passions will find no quarter. He is much more
approachable than a highland troll and he is quick to mirth, but he is proud
and a slight against him is not easily forgiven. Avragar takes any insult
against his golden horns as an insult to his katorr; any slight towards
Thunderstroke or dispute of the clan’s ancient lineage is viewed as an insult to
his kat’ral. He holds Ustrect as the pinnacle of troll culture and
secretly wishes to bring back its former glory, thus any ridicule of that
kingdom is viewed as an insult to his katera, a slight to all
troll-kind.
Long-term Goals:
Free the Vivane Province from Theran occupation and the undead armies. Restore
Ustrect to its former glory.
GRANITE BLACKHEART (PK)
Race:
Obsidiman
Discipline:
Warrior
Circle:
Fourth
Liferock:
Blackheart
Character
Background:
Granite Blackheart has
fought in many battles across Barsaive. He received his disfiguring scar while
fighting as part of the Liferock Rebellion during the Second Theran War when
part of his face was literally turned to glass after a direct hit from a
Firecannon. He barely survived. The Therans tried to finish the job, sending in
a team of Theran spies and an assassin to kill him in his bed in Darranis. The
spies located Granite, and the assassin went in for his proving mission.
However, Granite awakened in time and killed the assassin before he could
complete his mission. Unfortunately for Granite, the Questor of Garlen came in
to check on him only to see him strangling a young human boy of about sixteen
years of age. She shrieked and immediately ran to the town guards for aid.
Granite fearing more assassins ran for his life. The Theran spies worked
quickly to strip the assassin of his hooded mask and weapons. When the town
guards returned, they saw a dead human boy dressed in black clothes. The angry
guards began a house-to-house search for the obsidiman. He barely got out of
Darranis alive, when a t’skrang river pirate smuggled him out of town in
exchange for “a favor to be Named lat-err.” Thus, Granite became known as the
“Stone Strangler,” framed for a crime he did not commit. He deserted the
Liferock Rebellion since his continued presence would besmirch their honor. He
began his long journey home to the Twilight Peaks and the Blackheart Liferock
where he could hide out. Meanwhile, in Thera, the Theran spies told the boy’s
father of his failure. The enraged Theran noble demanded revenge and offered a
reward for Granite’s death of 800 Silver pieces. Bounty hunters and Theran
soldiers from the Theran Behemoth now hunt for the obsidiman warrior.
Long-term Goals:
Remove the Theran presence from Barsaive forever. Revive the Liferock
Rebellion, which fell apart after Omasu’s death in the Battle of House
T’kambras.
CHARACTER GRAVEYARD #4
Thunder Jones was
turned inside-out by Ago’astia’s Death Spike attack in the last battle at the
Citadel of Arrakal.
UNUSUAL RACE/DISCIPLINE COMBINATIONS #14
The
wizard is common IMB. I have seen all sorts of wizards, with human wizards by
far being the most common and many dwarf, elf, troll, obsidiman, t’skrang, and
windling wizards too. I have never seen an ork wizard though, so that is this
month’s unusual race/discipline combination.
Ork Wizard
Advantages:
The +1 Toughness Attribute bonus is helpful since the Wizard is a below average
Durability (4/3) Discipline. For book wizards, the +3 Strength Attribute bonus
can be an advantage since the boost in carry capacity allows them to carry more
books on hand and use their Book Memory talent to improve on that library.
Otherwise, it is neutral, especially for experience wizards.
Disadvantages:
The lack of a Perception bonus hurts the character, especially when paired with
a –2 Willpower Attribute penalty. This means spell attacks are not especially
penetrating and have reduced damage. The –1 Dexterity Attribute penalty can be
a problem because of the lowered Physical Defense it can cause, but the
Movement as Dexterity +2 allows the character to stay far away from close
combat, somewhat negating this disadvantage. The –1 Charisma Attribute penalty
is also a disadvantage for some wizards, especially academic book wizards who
argue about magical theory or focus on Interaction-based spells like And His
Money. Otherwise, it is neutral, especially for experience wizards.
Attributes (66
purchase points):
DEX: 12-1=(11):
5/D8
STR: 7+3=(10):
5/D8
TOU: 13+1=(14):
6/D10
PER: 16=(16):
7/D12
WIL: 16-2=(14):
6/D10
CHA: 12-1=(11):
5/D8
Commentary: An
ork wizard really has a ton of problems being a book wizard. They are not
statistically cut out for it to being with, and gahad has a tendency to
erupt for an academic wizard involved in arguments. Still, playing a bookish
wizard ork whose temper flares up during gahad can be an interesting
character to play. The experience wizard is definitely more attuned to the ork
race. Allowed to roam freely and embrace new experiences and gahad, this
fits the ork race a lot better. Either way, the ork wizard faces a difficult
road because of his Attributes making him ill suited to this Discipline.
Statistically, increasing the
character’s Willpower Attribute by 2 points increases Willpower to step 7.
Increasing the character’s Toughness Attribute by 2 points increases his
Toughness step to 7. Increasing the character’s Perception Attribute by 3
points increases Perception step to 8, and Spell Defense by +1. Following this
makes the character’s Attributes look like this at Eighth Circle:
Attributes
(Eighth Circle):
DEX: 12-1=(11):
5/D8
STR: 10=(10):
5/D8
TOU: 13+1
[+2]=(16): 7/D12
PER: 16
[+3]=(19): 8/2D6
WIL: 16-2
[+2]=(16): 7/D12
CHA: 12-1
=(11): 5/D8
For
skills, you will need the Academic knowledge skills and the Research skill for
the book wizard character concept. The experience wizard needs skills for
surviving urban and rural environments like Streetwise and Wilderness Survival.
The experience wizard also likes to travel a lot, so skills that assist in
traveling like Read and Write Maps, and Navigation can be of use. With the
character’s average strength, he might also wish to have a mount for assisting
in travel and carrying gear. Animal Bond and Animal Handling are useful skills
in that case.
For
multi-Discipline, the book wizard character concept has a natural link to the
troubadour Discipline because of the argument aspect, but with the gahad
and bad temper, he could also take up the warrior Discipline, whose talents the
character only uses when his gahad flares up. The experience wizard has
some natural links to the scout Discipline, which expands the wizard’s ability
to perceive the world and heightens his experiences.
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