35.12 River Temple

This is just a snippet from the upcoming update to Wolves Upon the Coast Grand Campaign.

A moss-bearded structure emerges from the river-bend, seemingly constructed beneath the waters and permanently submerged. Beneath the vegetation, stone unbitten by tools shows no signs of wear despite the river’s passage.

1
Dense sodden vegetation betrays no animal nests - the interior free of any such lodgers. The eastern and western walls have small basins of stone, each vomiting long tendrils of plant matter. Each basin holds water - a small brass tube cunningly hidden within the wall once gurgled water pumped from the river.

2
A wide set of stairs fill the floor of this chamber. Emerging from the ghostly plants, pale with light-starvation, are carven figures of aquatic aspect, eyes piscine, bedecked with tentacles and selectively polished to imply a slimy texture.
From below, the sound of water lapping against stone and echoing can be heard.

Rooms below here are flooded up to the knees - movement is halved, and strikes are at -3 to hit.

3
Stairs slippery with half-rotted river weeds lead to a wall untouched by plants. From the stone emerges the torso of a statue. A huge belly gives way to a pair of three-fingered arms, a tusked head with six eyes and no nose, the mouth open wide. Behind the figure, scenes of supplication are rendered in the stone, showing the faintest remnants of paint. All are executed with incredible skill, as if the stone were shaped as clay. Water laps against the stone, cold enough to chatter teeth.

Within the mouth of the statue, delicate human bones, carbonisation and a scorched ring. Those with knowledge of anatomy recognise them as the bones of a hand. A tiny tube of brass glitters at the back of the stone throat.Any putting their entire hand within the mouth awaken the statue, who bites off the hand and deals 1d6+1 damage. Flames dance behind the locked teeth, incinerating the hand before the mouth opens and the statue is still once more. Cleaned up, the ring is revealed to be made of glass talons. (Unnamed,&T)

4
This chamber is divided in two by a floor-to-ceiling mesh of gold wire. Stirring up the water in the southern half, a creature paces. Something like a bull, bedecked in armour-plates of stone carven with waves and stars. If no sacrifice was made to the stone-god in 3, it charges trespassers, the gold wire tearing around it and running from the horns in streamers.

HD 7 // AC as Heavy // Damage 2d6 // If a character forgoes their attack, they may make a Dodge Save to avoid it’s charge - it continues for 2d6’, and if running into a wall takes damage equal to the amount of distance left untravelled.

5
Between the creeping plants hang chains green with the bronze-disease, each terminating in a manacle wide enough for a human neck. Just above the waterline, scratches in the otherwise smooth, rounded stone.

6
Rising from the water, a basin of stone inlaid with coloured tile forming a mosaic depicting the floor of an ocean, filled with aquatic creatures. A tube of glittering brass emerges from the base of the basin, curving in an elegant swans-neck. Beside this, a small hole in the floor of the assemblage. A nodule on the tube can be rotated - doing so releasing a gout of blackened sludge from the tube. Touched, this sludge stains the skin a lurid purple. Any so stained are marked for sacrifice - the people of Noos will attempt to capture them if the purple area is seen.

7
Climbing from the waterline, pale vines heavy with cream flowers make this chamber feel even smaller. The sweet, musky smell of the flowers is thick on the air - those lingering here must make a Physique save to avoid becoming drowsy, taking -3 on all rolls. Those continuing their stay past this point fall asleep, most likely drowning in their drugged stupor.

8
A single figure stands in this chamber, wearing Heavy armour of bronze scales and a helm resembling the jaws of a fish closing over their face - the full set worth 500sp. Within the armour the figure has translucent flesh and strange organs. They wield a Two-Handed Axe of stone inlaid with mother-of-pearl patterns, worth 350sp. The walls are covered in shields of wood-and-hide and thin spears topped with heads of glass. The figure may only be harmed by the spears upon the walls. They guard the entrance to 9.

HD 5 // AC as Heavy // Damage 1d6+1

9
The eastern edge of this chamber bears a relief of a walled city upon a coastline, the inhabitants welcoming large figures wading in from the sea bearing nets. Within these nets appear to be animals of the land, faces miserable and limbs sticking out between the mesh. Beneath the sculpture, just above the waterline, a square plinth of lead atop a pillar of stone. If a land animal is sacrificed upon this plinth, the secret door to 11 appears, allowing access.

10
The walls are all painted and show minimal water damage. The northern wall depicts scenes of humans being chased, captured, dismembered and eaten by blue-furred humanoids, faces leering huge. The western wall shows glittering insects of bronze dispatching the humanoids and liberating the humans. The southern wall depicts the humans dwelling in a huge coastal city of stone, the bronze insects watching from afar. The eastern wall, rendered in a different style, depicts a huge black wave consuming the city.

11
Within this heretofore sealed chamber, an ancient horde (Temple II):

• 182 Atlantean Coins, worth 20sp each. Designs feature formulae and bearded figures, unlabelled.
• A Demonface Coin, depicting a horse with a broken snout.
  • The demon within manifests as a wretched child, struggling beneath the weight of their huge horse-head, the snout broken and crunching with speech. It can teach Locate Object, Speak with Animals and the Slaying Spell. If given a prince to consume, it can summon a Rat King.
    
• A silver mask depicting a jellyfish-like creature with shrunken, humanoid eyes and a visible brain. Worth 800sp. If worn, Noosfolk not of the temples will not approach.
• A heavy knife of cold-forged iron, untouchable by rust. The spine of the blade has an inlay of aquamarine. Worth 500sp.

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Warding

A continuation of the system outlined here and used within Wolves Upon the Coast.

The base Warding save represents an innate protection against ill magics. These are supplemented with the use of protective charms.

Unless noted otherwise, a character may only benefit from one such charm a day although many may be carried. Uses involving the application of a charm after the fact do not count for this limit. (Ex: A character may be daubed in the blood of a Bear and re-roll a save using an unguent of Betony. They would not benefit from the blood of a bear and wearing a garland of Betony.)

Plants are only effective for 2 weeks after being picked unless specifically turned to a power or unguent as per the description.

• Blood - The stuff of life, and charged with energy.
  • Bear - The blood of a bear, worn as a second skin, forgoes fear and domination. +4 Warding vs Mind-Altering spells.
  • Bird - The blood of a bird smeared over the face guarantees freedom from magical chains and bindings. +6 Warding vs Mobility-reducing effects.
  • Cat - Taken from a black cat with nary a speck of white, and daubed at the arm-pits, groin and neck, a counter-charm. +2 Warding.
  • Child - An extreme rite reserved by the Druids. The life of one for the protection of another. +6 Warding.
  • Dog - Douse the hands and lips in the blood of a hound and know your form and freedom. +3 Warding vs Body-Affecting spells.
  • Fish - The alien blood of fish, rubbed into the scalp, confuses and repels the spirits of the land. +2 Warding vs land-bound spirits.
  • Horse - A bath of horse-blood marks a warrior as ready to die by weapons, not sorcery. +3 Warding vs mortal magic users.
  • Whale - The blood of the deep, rich in evil and malice, drunk til the belly rejects it and vomits it back out as pink foam. +4 Warding.
  • Wolf - Drinking deeply of wolf-blood with companions creates a bond against enchantment. +1 Warding per companion also drinking of wolf-blood to a maximum of +5.
• Betony - A purple flowering plant. Worn as a garland, it protects against the spirits of the dead. Chewed and eaten at dusk, it protects the imbiber against sorcery until the sun next rises. It can also undo paralytic magics if applied to victims as an ungent.
  • +4 Warding vs Ghosts. +6 Warding vs Spells at night. Re-roll Save against Paralysing magic at +4.
• Casting-Away - The casting away of weapons, shoes and humans is a charm to pre-empt related misfortune. Splitting open the skull of a magician grants +3 Warding for the duration of a journey.
• Chanting - Chanting the names of saints, the titles of a singular god or the names of a pantheon grant a modicum of protection. This must be done for 3 concurrent rounds to have an effect, granting +1 Warding. Such Chanting can be done for d6 rounds +1 per point of Constitution above 10.
• Cold-Stones - Flat heavy pebbles painted with the geometric magic of the Pictish druids. Ran across the brow of one beleagured by magical ailments, they are said to alleviate symptoms. Carried in the pocket, they provide some small luck.
  • Re-roll Save against Disease/Poison magic at +6. +1 Warding.
• Cowslip - Yellow flowers and a stem said to prophecy the seasons. A tea made from the petals protects against ailments natural and otherworldly.
  • +2 Warding vs Disease/Poison magic.
• Dragon Arum - A flower from southern climes which stinks like rotting meat. The oil squeezed from the fleshy petals protects against serpents and sea-monsters. Cooked, the leaves are an abortifacient.
  • +6 Warding vs Serpentine or Sea-Monster effects. If a petal is aboard a ship, re-roll the first River/Sea-Monster encounter per journey.
• Dogs - What has not been said of loyal companions whose senses extend beyond human sight, human hearing and human sensitivity? A ghost-white hound protects the heart, a red dog the mind, and a dog raised in a church the soul.
  • +2 Warding vs Fear effects. +2 Warding vs Mind-Altering effects. +1 Warding. These benefits can be concurrent with other charms, although only one dog may be benefited from.
• Elecampane - Bright yellow flowers, open to the world and drinking it in. Those in Albann know it as a sign of elves, and leave it well alone. Eaten, others know it to fortify healing magics and protect the lungs.
  • Warding automatically fails vs Elves. +2 to Healing rolls from magical sources. +4 Warding vs Inhaled effects.
• Eye Talismans - Blue, white and black, the circles ensnare one another and form a mirror for malignant gazes and glares.
  • +2 Warding vs Gaze-based magic. Successful saves cause the sources to also make a Warding save.
• Faces - The face of a monster seen, slain and recreated in paint upon a shield grants +1 Warding against any who have not seen such a creature. This benefit can be concurrent with other charms.
• Gargoyles - Leering figures and depictions of evil greater than the terrors that stalk the earth, or so it is hoped.
  • Supernatural beings make a Morale Check. On failure, bearer takes +3 Warding vs them.
• Hazel - The hazel-tree affords protection to those who shelter beneath her branches. Some small nugget of this is remains within the nuts she spreads upon the ground, which protect against all things that creep upon the earth.
  • +4 Warding for those beneath the branches - this benefit may be concurrent with other charms. +1 Warding vs all and an additional +3 Warding vs legless beasts.
• Hawthorn - Known for its pungent smell, this stink permeates across realities. This stench unweaves and undoes the magics of the dead. Destroying a Hawthorn is a cursed act.
  • +5 Warding vs Spirits and Undead. -6 Warding for 2 years.
• Heather - The highlands of Fortu are purple and white with heather. Ale made of the purple is said to give luck and courage in equal measure. The white, which grows only where no blood has been shed, is said to be a charm against violence when worn.
  • 1 Warding or +2 Warding vs Fear effects. Automatic Save once against damage-dealing magical effect - but the sprig is destroyed.
• Hellebore - Flowers in many colours, none to be trifled with. The black purges the mind and body, explosively. The white numbs pain and distances the imbiber from reality. The green is said to be a cure for sadness, although this is just a cruel joke.
  • Re-roll Warding vs Mind-Altering effects at +6 - regardless of success, bed-bound with violent diarrhoea. No effect. Physique save or painful death.
• Herb Paris - A leafy plant producing but one single berry. Crushed and smeared on the brow, it prevents the mind being bewitched. Eaten whole, it is poisonous.
  • +4 Warding vs Mind Altering effects. Physique save or painful death.
• Holly - The prickly rich-green leaves of the holly nestle rich red berries in the deepest winter. Wearing the leaves in the hair protects against enchantment. The berries, worn in a bunch, repel lightning.
  • +2 Warding. +6 Warding vs Lightning-based effects.
• Horses - The work of an animal does not end in death. The skull of a horse with a name makes for a cumbersome protective charm. If still enrobed in flesh, the head is a dire curse.
  • +3 Warding. 1-in-6 chance of splitting per successful save.
• Horseshoes - A perennial charm of fortune.
  • +1 Warding. If purchased for this purpose, no effect - they must be found, or stolen.
• Ivy - Creeping vines bind buildings tight and worm through the smallest gaps. Those within are protected from magics flung towards the building.
  • +3 Warding for all inside. This benefit can be concurrent with other charms.
• Meullein Candle - A candle made of these leaves gives a low, guttering flame. Those within the meagre light of such a candle are protected from the machinations and enchantments of witches.
  • +6 Warding vs mortal magic users.
• Oak - A wood of stout reputation and deep strength. A shield of oak stops magic as well as blades. A pocket of acorns protects against all comers, and a leaf around the neck cuts through illusions.
  • A shield of oak may be sacrificed to add +6 to a failed Warding save. +1 Warding. +4 Warding vs Illusions.
• Penises - Invaders from the south bore charms of winged penises - the laughter they caused said to distract malign forces.
  • +1 Warding. +2 Warding if a ribald joke is made using the charm.
• Pocket Figures - Carved figures of saints, gods and heroes are widespread and multivarious. Each has a story, and are said to protect from that which they overcame.
  • Heroes and Saints grant +2 Warding against that which they overcame in their stories. Gods grant +1 Warding against things within their dominion, and against anything they opposed.
• Rosemary - Blue flowers and green-needles sprout from this storied plant. A garland of flowers worn or a twig carried protects against invisible things.
  • +4 Warding vs Spirits and incorporeal beings.
• Rowan - The orange-red berries of the rowan are each marked with a five-pointed star - an indicator of their potency. Ground to a paste and smeared on a shield, they protect the wielder.
  • +4 Warding til the paste dries entirely (~2 Hours).
• Rue - Blue-green leaves also known as witchbane, and for good reason. A bundle of leaves can be burnt, those inhaling the smoke protected against magic.
  • +3 Warding vs mortal magic users. Those breathing this smoke are unable to cast spells. Lasts 4 hours.
• Sulphur - A mineral eager to burn and release it’s terrible stink, all those breathing in the pungent smoke fall to retching but are purified of foul enchantment.
  • Re-roll Warding at +6. Physique save to not lose d6 rounds to vomiting.
• Verbena - The purple flowers of the Verbena, worn in a pocket, distract malign forces.
  • +3 Warding. After a single successful save, the flower withers and becomes useless.
• Writing - The written word, whether latin script or ancient runes, has a magic of its own and can protect against other forms. Markings in common materials give +1 Warding against exactly what they describe. Markings in sea-beast ink and monster-blood taken from a 5HD+ creature grant +2 Warding against a category of threat. Runes in crushed diamond mixed with royal blood may grant +3 Warding forever more, power condensed into a single phrase or marking.
  • Sea-beast ink and monster-blood may be used to create tattoos, which grant +1 Warding permanently. This benefit can be concurrent with other charms. Up to two such tattoos may be worn, but the second must be sourced from a higher HD creature than the first.
• Yarrow - White and lilac flowers, pounded to a poultice and spread upon the back, are said to instil bravery enough to face down the unworldly.
  • +6 Warding vs Fear effects.
• Yew - Another storied tree, the berries used to avoid capture - the eaters escaping into death. It has authority over the dead, and demands they remain asleep. Shields of yew carry this charm with them.
  • +4 Warding vs effects from the undead beneath a Yew tree. +3 Warding for a yew-shield bearer.

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Glut-Amon

A face stolen from a baboon, eyes replaced with four empty sockets of stone jutting out like goggles. A black furred body with arms which drag upon the ground, ending in long paired claws set with moss. Beneath the wiry fur scales slough free.

Within those empty sockets gleams a darkness suggestive of flame.

It appears behind dreamers and monks, and reaches over the shoulder with its loathsome arms. It offers answers and solutions. Those accepting are taken back to its lair in chains when they next sleep, the body left behind in perfect torpor. There the mind toils in pointless tasks - refilling a holed bucket with the sand that pours from it.

It cannot be banished, only ignored until it leaves of its own accord.

HD 6* / AC as Chain / Damage 1d6+1
*Supernatural HP

–

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History or Archaeology

I have a friend (thanks Will) who is an archaeologist. We were discussing the difference between history and archaeology, which he summed up as:

• History is mostly looking at the past through textual sources.
• Archaeology is mostly looking at the past through material culture.

Neither is mutually exclusive, and obviously both have something to offer the other. I think we can apply a similar division to games, their design and the conversation (d*scourse) around them.

• Designers who are interested in games-as-they-are-written (or designed).
• Designers who are interested in games-as-they-are-played.

Personally I fall very much into the second camp, but I suspect being able to describe yourself as one or the other is a good way to improve conversations. A lot of time is spent arguing about the Truth of something when instead you could explain you’re working under a different methodological framework. Now you’re doing a cross-disciplinary investigation (or, ‘having a conversation’) and might be able to learn or teach or discover something new.

I think similar can be said about sorts of role-playing games - by widening the gap between different types of game, we can paradoxically increase the connections and comparisons between them.

Importantly, this isn’t a value-statement. Equally, it’s okay to not be interested in one of the categories - that said, deliberately engaging in the less-interesting approach seems like something worth doing time to time.

Of course, given how my interest tends towards earlier games, using these history terms is very funny but entirely coincidental.

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Making Your Own Sword

Imagine a system as a mine. Within this mine is ore. You can dig it up.
Imagine your game as a furnace. You can smelt your ore here, and end up with metal.
Imagine the page as an anvil. You can hammer yourself a sword from all the metal you’ve found. The sword will change over time. You’ll have it with you, wherever you go. With a good enough sword, you don’t need to go to the mines.

I could give you this sword, and you could use it - but it might not fit your hand. I made it for me, after all.

Imagine a book as a burial. I return my sword to the soil, where it will oxidise and return to ore. You might dig up that ore.

A mine without ore is a hole in the ground. The value of a mine is where it is, not the hole itself.

48.01 Iric of the Jar

A snippet from the forthcoming Wolves Upon the Coast update.

In the forest, a vessel is being prepared. It is a full 10’ across, made of clay enriched with ash made by burning the bones of Giants. Threads of gold and silver are woven throughout. Atop it sits Iric (3HD, Leather, Sword) clad in a voluminous multi-coloured robe.
To those who seem cautious or fearful, he explains in Norse that he has found this vessel and intends to await the owner to determine it’s purpose.
To those who seem mercenary, he offers work - the vessel requires a glaze of storied blood. For each Human or Giant Animal body with greater than 3HD, he trades one of the following:

• One of two fragments of chisel from lost Uruk, and directions for using them to cast Passwall.
• A set of platinum tongue-sheaths, and directions for using them to cast Speak with Animals.
• A head-sized lump of quartz with lights dancing within. Thrown into the water, it attracts a Sea Monster. The beast eats the quartz before terrorising the area for weeks. If exposed to a storm before being thrown, it explodes within the belly of the beast, causing 8d6 damage.
• Four of twenty oily, corroded brass coins, each worth 50sp. They depict ziggurats.

After 20HD worth of bodies have been brought to him, he casts Magic Jar, stripping naked and climbing into the vessel, sealing it behind him with a lid of gold. In a voice resonating from the vessel, he asks to be cast into the sea. In reward for doing so, he leaves them any unclaimed rewards above and his material components - they have left in his robe.

Iric is able to cast the following spells - in human form, he has the noted number of components. Once in the vessel, he transcends the need for components, and can cast all once per day. Animate Dead (1), Colour Spray (2), Hold Person (1), Lightning Bolt (2), Water Breathing (5).

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