In Media Res

While its citizens chat nearby, your party is strapped in the judiciary rig by neck, arm, and leg. The bailiff steps on stage while the executioner waits nearby with a saw.

“The good great lord Kamin, Rod-Master of Kine Gather, conveys herewith his judgement to [party name]. This is the judgement of Lord Kamin: That you are all egregious felons, remorseless reprobates and sneaking thieves; that you have entered the city of Kine Gather, and move through the bailiwicks thereof, in pursuit of criminal aims; that you were taken in possession of a tool of criminal thaumaturgey; that you have merited death. You are permitted final remarks. Do you wish to say something?”

What do you do?




The wizard blinks at the party, the party blinks back. The lot of you have been rudely and, one would presume, mistakenly summoned to the defence of this ragged sorcerer. The angry mob, quickly recovering from the shock of this latest affront to nature, edges closer screaming "Kill the witch! Kill the witch!".

What do you do?




You wake up in the middle of the night to see the party member supposed to be on watch carrying an exact double of himself away into the darkness. They soon return to their post like nothing happened and to anyone else they would seem entirely themselves.

On rising you notice tracks indicating similar dragged loads leading from the camp, though it's hard to tell how many.

What do you do?

                                                                                                              

I enjoy starting games in media res occasionally. It cuts out the pesky preamble and jumps to the meaty bits. Stuff just happened, go go go!

If anyone has any I'd appreciate sharing them. You can never have too many.

Qadhi, He Who Felled the First Tree

Qadhi, the Pockmarked Saviour, Father of Horrors, He Who Felled the First Tree, the Kindly One

The followers of Qadhi have no misgivings about their fate. They know what lies ahead. They know the afterlife, everyone's afterlife, is a series of exquisite torments administered by Qadhi who will weave their pain into a fine tapestry of stars. The pain is not endless and the cycle must continue, everyone is fuel for the stars, ensuring they never darken.

Followers of Qadhi believe theirs is the only afterlife, all others being fantasies created by jealous gods who fear Qadhi. They too will feed the universe in time.

The laity

The common worshipper is liberated by the knowledge that nothing they do will affect their afterlife, and in death they will play an important role in the continuation of the universe.

Worshippers of Qadhi consider the undead to be a theft from the Father of Horrors. However their torment will be no greater for angering their patron so they generally don't interfere unless the undead are of such a scale as to endanger the motion of the stars. Personal interpretations will vary.

Worshippers generally value life and good health. Killing is seen as a terribly severe act so settlements where Qadhi is popular rarely see capital punishment. The sick, disabled and elderly are well cared for. The disabled especially so as it is seen as being terribly unfair to suffer both in this life AND the next. They do what they can.

Worship of Qadhi takes the form of ritual group therapy, where the laity gather in small groups chaired by a priest. Here they are helped through their doubts and fears and into cheerful nihilism. This help covers all aspects of life, as the clergy sincerely want you to make the most of what time you have left on this world.

The clergy

A cleric of Qadhi

His priests are masterful and determined (mundane) healers. They intend to preserve themselves and others as long as possible, to wrench every second out of this life as they know nothing good waits for them beyond the veil. Qadhi can wait, Qadhi is patient.

Priests typically wear as little clothing as the local climate allows, although there is no standard. Priests in the same city will often wear different outfits as personal preference dictates. Their identifying feature is the extensive scarification and piercings all over their bodies, all expertly applied and healed. They consider the ritual mutilation of their flesh to be good practise for the future, though it is not to inure them to the pain. Indeed, it is important that Qadhi can milk them for all they're worth when the time comes. So to accommodate, they place piercings where they can be used to lever, to rip and tear most easily. Hooks and holes, all placed to apply maximum suffering on removal. All in the name of Qadhi.

The clergy are well known for they evangelical ways. They will take their scarified pates and spike bedazzled ears out to the street, door to door, on the dusty road. These missionaries offer their (non-magical, capital "C" clerics are rare) healing services to fund their travels while spreading the liberating truths of the Pockmarked Saviour.

When not travelling they operate small temples that act as hospitals and ritual gathering places for the devout's therapy. It's also the best place to get a piercing this side of the Ikons.

Corpse Lions

Named for their love of decayed flesh, corpse lion's sprawling subterranean nests often tunnel into graveyards and crypts in search of your dear old ancestors.

A corpse lion hive is considered a serious menace by local settlements, so much so that entire villages have uprooted and left in the past. Once their preferred food source is expended, once the forests and graveyards have given up their dead, they come for the living to carry them off to hang in their larders to ripen.

No. Encountered: 

Source

Between one and too damn many. A single corpse lion found outside of a nest will typically be lost and isolated, often too disoriented to defend itself.

Size:

Roughly the size of a large dog, but with longer legs.

Speed: 

As fast as a house cat.

AC: 

14. Their shell is hard, their organs are simple & robust and they're as fast as hell.

HD: 

2 (8hp)

Attacks:

Mandibles and claws +2 1d6

Gummy resin goo +1 paralyse save or blinded, further successes against a blind target will disable a limb (randomise)

They like to go for the throat and inner thighs, nicking your blood pipes in order to start the draining process. Once disabled they'll drag you to one of their larders and paste you up to the wall to dry out and get a good strong stink on. If a corpse lion rolls max damage on an attack it will induce 1d3+1 bleeding every turn until someone spends a round and an intelligence test to stem the flow.

Sometimes they won't drain you and instead disable you with their gummy saliva, burrow their heads into your gut and deposit an egg sac. This process leaves you alive long enough to keep the eggs warm, and briefly enough so that you are suitably tasty for when they hatch. (The egg sac can be removed with Cure Disease or traumatic ghetto surgery)

Reaction (pg. 56 of LotFP): 

-4, unless cornered or outnumbering you 4:1, in which case they will attempt to kill you and take you back to their nest. If you are inside the nest they will perceive you as a threat and put their whole weight into removing you.

Morale:

8. 10 when defending eggs.

Notes:

They smell like old nutmeg and sound like someone trying to light a cigarette lighter unsuccessfully.

Yet more maps

I've been getting into drawing proper maps after seeing the nice stuff Simon Forster has been making lately. I went and gathered up some pencils and technical pens and here we are, the first proper map.  

Wide shot, three levels, 1 being inside the mountain the house is on. Notice the stylish balcony for when the manticore needs to entertain guests.

Close up of the fills. Still working on these, they are shockingly stressful.

The manticore's audience chamber.

The fills need some work and the cliff lines are a bit wimpy, but overall I like where this is going. I considered using a ruler for those (not so) straight lines, but then we'd lose the endearingly sloppy penmanship. Couldn't have that.

The map itself will be used soon for when the players visit the clever old manticore who knows all sorts of useful information about apocalyptic artifacts. I just hope they bring a nice enough gift..

The Ikons

A map of the Ikons mountain range, home to Vornheim and its colonies, the Latter Kairnlaw, and the freezing bleakness of the tundra.

Full size (huge) map.

Current Things of Interest:

• The undead horde spawned from a mishap at Death Frost Mountain spread further every day. Olgrave is now a haunted ruin.
• In the south, Callipyg has been taken over by The Blight, a race of sapient mushrooms that have installed their own vision of law and put the populace to work on a mysterious construction at the centre of town. Panic amongst neighbours ensues.
• Kairnlaw is preparing for another war between Prior and Latter since the Latter has been worse hit by the undead plague. 
• Pitchflint has separated from Vornheim under their new god, a 50ft giant named Batrubis.
• The Knights of Science are being recalled to their monastery in Londo. Nobody is sure what they are up to.
• The Old Man on the Hill is open for business again. Bring the hoary old manticore something nice and he’ll help you out. People are scrabbling to get his attention since his advice has become sporadic in his old age.
• The Irongate has closed due to undead, cutting off the east. Gotta keep Vornheim safe.
• The Seawall is holding off a pile of zombies, literally. Piles against the wall, soon they'll be walking over.

(this page will be kept updated as things change)

Llamalackelkloulothllimptishavakothvoutxikliklalpvanipvan, The Devourer

Deity Name:
Llamalackelkloulothllimptishavakothvoutxikliklalpvanipvan
[Lama-lak-elk-loo-loth-limp-tish-ava-koth-vout-zik-lik-lal-p-van-ey-p-van]

Titles, Aliases:
The Cycle, The Devourer, The Wheel

Domains (Purviews):
Rebirth, natural order

Image or Symbol:
A specially adapted (and highly poisonous) white laklishi lotus which found only in the great swamp. Travelling clerics normally make do with a replica carved from white wood or bone.

Colour:
White

Special Spells:
Last Meal – level 2 cleric spell.

The cleric consumes the sensory organs of a recently dead humanoid and is able to commune with their soul from within the belly of The Devourer. After eating an organ they enter a trance and see, hear or smell (if eyes, ears or nose are eaten) whatever the body experience in the last 30 seconds before their death. If the tongue is eaten then they experience taste and speak any last words the body may have spoken. Each organ requires one use of the spell. Multiple uses can be made but each must be made separately

Alternatively the cleric can eat the brain giving them full access to the subject's senses (but not memories) at the time of their death. However, if the body died a violent death the cleric will experience this and must make a save against magic or suffer half the damage the body took in their final 30 seconds. They also have a 1 in 100 chance of developing Kuru within 1d4 days, causing uncontrollable tremors and conveying a permanent -1 dexterity modifier (Kuru is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy and thus can accumulate with multiple “doses” and cannot be cured with the cure disease spell).

Forbidden Spells:
Raising the dead is considered an abomination as it steals souls from the devourer.  Spells that disintegrate the victim leaving no body to eat are frowned upon.

Rituals:
Eating the flesh of the dead, especially humans. If a body is cremated or otherwise disposed of without being eaten, their soul is destroyed. The whole body need not be eaten, an appropriate organ is normally enough.

Offerings:
Fertile laklishi lotus bulbs are considered a great gift, as would planting such bulbs in new habitats.

Special Clerical Requirements:
Destroyed souls are considered a waste (as no more can be created) but if someone dies by magical or otherworldly means and are not eaten, then their soul is trapped and the devourer will be unable to create the next age. It is the role of clerics to destroy such monsters and free the souls they have trapped.

Taboos:
Killing someone purely in order to eat them is deeply heretical.

Enemies:
Most civilized people find cannibalism an affront, and clerics of The Cycle often face prejudice. Thankfully they are almost unknown outside their swamp so most common folk would just consider them shamanic savages.

Physical Description:
Doesn't physically manifest but any bog or bayou could be considered its “body” by believers.

Attributes on scale of 1-20
Strictness : 12
Jealousy : 2
Revelations : 4
Organization : 4
Wealth: 5 The land of the great swamp is effectively controlled by the clergy as is all its natural resources. However agriculture is difficult and mining impossible. 
Popularity: 20 in the great swamp, 1 outside.

Holy city and places:
The great swamp, but any place heavy with decomposition such as sewers, peat bogs etc. can serve as holy places.

Potential Afterlife(s):
When a body dies its soul is fed to the devourer. This age ends when all souls have been eaten, at which point the devourer will burst releasing all the souls again in a new age (with a new devourer at its centre). Most ages last approximately 100,000 years and this is 138,000th age.


Notes: the people of the cycle have a low level of technology but a highly developed and connected society. Think somewhere between Australian aborigines and pre-Columbian mexica (aztecs). They inhabit a large foetid swamp to the south of civilized lands which has protected them from much outside influence.
Albinos are associated with the lotus and are often raised in the priesthood.



(Another god from a player, the deathproof Laklishilakpvanipvan AKA Alex)

The Doctrine of the Peach

Deity Name: Noam

Pantheon: N/A

Titles, Aliases: Velum, The Great Peach, The Stricken Pruner, Derrith-Non.

Image or Symbol: A tapestry of a fruiting peach tree or simply a peach

Church Name: The Doctrine

Domains: Human Endeavors: Protector of our People and Honor/Justice/Vengeance

Colour: Green, Brown, and White

Special Spells: None

Forbidden Spells: Magic is generally frowned upon, but spells that change the nature of a being or summon an unnatural creature are outright forbidden.

Rituals: The planting of peach trees dedicated to Noam is the only ritual useful to someone outside the clergy.  This is done by planting a peach pit and covering it with the ashes of a slain creature deemed to be a threat (and all fantastical creatures/beings are deemed to be threats).  All other rituals are performed solely by the clergy of The Doctrine and only inside the Temple of Noam.

Offerings: Offerings of peaches to the Temple of Noam are common place.  For those who are able (mainly Zealots of Noam) the offering of the ash of fantastical creatures is preferred.

Special Clerical Requirements: N/A

Physical Description: Noam has never been depicted or manifested. He is symbolically represented by peaches in religious art.

Taboos: Summoning, aiding fantastic beings/creatures, the consumption of fantastic creatures

Notes:
The Holy Trim leads The Doctrine and is usually the only one Noam will speak to.  The Holy Trim also rules Borah as priest-king.  The Doctrine is split into two halves: the clergy and temple warriors.  Both follow the same naming scheme and Holy Trims have come from both lines.  After the Holy Trim in order of importance are Arch Laces, Laces, Threads, and Strands.  Clergy serve the needs of the Temple of Noam inside Borah and the temple warriors guard the temple, act as Borah’s military, and certain warriors, known as Zealots of Noam, actively roam the land and seek out those who would harm The Doctrine and its people and destroy them.

Enemies: Any sort of fantastical creature regardless of its intentions, anyone who could potentially threaten The Doctrine or its people

Attributes on scale of 1-10
Strictness : Largely depends on the current Holy Trim of The Doctrine.  Typically ranges from 7 to 10
Jealousy : 10, there is only the Peach
Revelations : Again, this depends on the current Holy Trim.  5 would be a safe average.
Organization : 8
Wealth: ? As wealthy as the next city state.
Popularity: Within the city state of Borah, 10.  Outside the city state, 1.

Holy city and places: The city of Borah is the holy city of The Doctrine and the temple there, the Temple of Noam, is the only holy place.

Potential Afterlife(s): While the followers of The Doctrine do believe in an afterlife, it is a vague concept to them and rarely discussed.



(This is mostly the creation of one of our players on the god template found @ www.rolang.com)

Shields and Light

Shields should be more interesting. Shields weren't popular for centuries because they gave +1 AC.

+1AC is boring.

• You can sacrifice your shield to avoid the damage of one hit that could conceivably be blocked.
• You can try to sacrifice your shield to avoid all damage. 1 in 6 chance to block all damage, either way your shield breaks.
• Force your opponent to roll to hit again, 3 in 6 chance your shield breaks and you still get hurt.
• Force your opponent to re-roll damage. 3 in 6 chance it breaks.
• Sacrifice your shield to re-roll incoming damage. Capped at the previous total.
• Your shield doesn't give you an AC bonus, it has HP (4/6/8 small/med/large) and you can choose to put some damage on it but it breaks if it goes over (HP can be kept secret from players)
• Shields don't give an AC bonus, they reduce damage by 1/2/3 against shots it could block.

Light sources are a nuisance to track as in-game time. Players find it tedious, the GM has enough to think about.

• Light has a "fuel" rating (torch 6/ candle 8/ lantern 12). Reduce this by 1d4 every room/encounter/when you remember. Don't let the players know how much they have left.
• Light as literal time. If a torch lasts an hour, it lasts an hour of game time. A 4 hour session would need 4 torches.
• Every time you think "those lights have been up for a while" roll every encounter from then on. 3/2/1 in 6 chance they run out.
• D10 plus the number of encounters. 10/12/18+ the lights go out. 
• Every dungeon has "murk" rating 1- 20, 1 being insane and 20 being lame. When you feel like being a bastard roll the area's murk like a normal save throw. Torches go out on the first failed save, candles 2, lanterns 4.

Anyone have any other ideas?