Dragon's Breakfast

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When the Imperator Jorax defeated the armies of the Olmen Insurrection and brought the conspirators to bay, he swore by Velas they would not live while they stood foot on the soil of the Imperium. The leaders of the insurrection, however, outwitted the Impiriator. They withdrew to the nearby HighBridge, an impressive span across the deep canyon of the Hquali River, and technically not on the 'soil' of his realm. After consulting the priests of Velas, the furious Imperator had to concede the clever move and leave them unmolested. And so The City of Bridges was born, a haven for those on the run, who no where else to go, and where no questions are asked.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thieves%27_World

Today, 300 years after its founding, the city spans 4 bridges across the river. It is watched over by soldiers of the Despot of Huzail, inheritors of the imperator's charge to isolate the city and keep it's strong minded independence and anarchistic from 'infecting' the lands and peoples around. Any who reach the City of Bridges are given leave to stay, but must stay and never leave. All manners opportunists, cutthroats, runaway slaves, crazed wizards, scheming crime lords, mad monks, twisted half breeds, and still darker beings inhabit the towering, teetering, and labyrinth structures of the four bridges.

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Another campaign set in the Westmist campaign world, at roughly the same time as the current campaign, but at some distance removed from Westmist (on a different continent to be exact). This one will be quite a bit different than the other options, as it will probably have little 'classic' dungeoneering and monster punching. More skullduggery and sneaking about, trying to claw your ways to the top of the social and wealth heap in an extreme Dickensonian world. And some cool weird stuff (of course) like zip lines to get between bridges, magical zoos, more strange people and 'people' than you can shake a sword at. A good campaign for thieves, thuggish fighters, and malicious magic users.

Inspiration? Fritz Leiber's city of Lankhamar , Robert Asprin's Thieves World. Whatever I can get my hands on about Old London Bridge. And a bunch of other stuff I can't really seem to recall right now.

With the sudden change in circumstances and location, there was much to keep everyone busy. Kern dove deep into his plan for a Stonehell based insurrection; Bjorn worked furiously copying spells; Gurruk took it upon himself to fill their hosts larder with fresh game; Rylee ministered to their spiritual needs; and Darnorth took the chance to study the mixed stonework through the dungeon. This left Erijay and Lomar with little to do, as the expedition to recover the "Cerebral Shield" wasn't leaving real soon. So the elf proposed taking Lomar on a little tour of the party's previous haunts in the dungeon, and may find a little treasure and excitement.They were also able to convince a couple of the Stonehell Resistance to join them; Yar the over enthusiastic cleric of Saule, and Guy the moody man-at-arms. And Fin the dog.

They decided first to visit Lachesis, for both Lomar and Erijay hoped she could direct them to some magical assistance within the dungeon. In particular, Lomar wanted to have his gelatinous arm healed, and Erijay was wondering what could be done about her somewhat surly and standoffish manner. So pilfering some gold from the party chest, off the expedition went. They easily and quickly found Lachesis in her rooms, and after some pleasantries (and disappointment on the spy-mistresses part that Kern was not present), they got down to business. Lachesis could unfortunately offer little direct help. For Erijay, she suggested trying the 'Wheel of Fortune" on the first level and trust to her luck. For Lomar, she directed him to the fifth level, down around the Vrilya, to a protoplasmic "Pool of Wisdom" that may have information on dealing with his affliction. Interview over, Rufus and Tusk directed the party out of the rooms to decide what to do next.

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Erijay recalled the gifts she had purchased for the Gentlemen Ghouls, so she dragged Lomar and the others along to recover them from their hiding spot, and then off to the back door of the ghouls home. Unfortunately, she had misinterpreted a note on her old map, and they ran into a pair of hellhounds, newly spawned from the eternal fire that guarded the back door. They party tried to retreat, but the hounds chased them down. In the ensuing fight, Yar was crisped by one hellhounds breath, and once more died in the party's service. They carried his body back to a nearby dwarven funeral room, and Lomar carefully scrunched up the body on one brier and said a few words over his fallen comrade. Looping around the eternal fire this time, they came to the ghouls back door and knocked. After a few minutes, the door was opened by a ghoul Erijay did not recognize. He was very haughty and very upset, as they were interrupting a dinner party. Erijay presented here gifts of fine glassware and new clothes, and tried to sweet talk her way into the dinner party, hoping to pump the ghouls for information. Alas, it did no good, as they were all turned away and told not to come again without first sending a calling card ahead of their arrival. And please dress more appropriately.

Having hit another information dead end, they decided to head down one level and look for the "Pool of Wisdom". Taking first the main stairs, Erijay slipped on the elven cloak borrowed from Kern,and scouted ahead. At the bottom of the stairs she found the large portcullis shut, and could see with her infravision, figures moving about in the room beyond. Where once the hydras laired, there were now a pair of 10' lizards, and several Vrilya stood on the overlooking balconies. Going back to meet Lomar and Guy, Erijay studies the map again, and they headed north and descended via the elevator located there instead of taking a chance with the Vrilya. From there, they explored new ground, apparently more old mining tunnels like those encountered in the extra-dimensional mine. Cautious Lomar cast detect traps as they explored tunnels and chambers, but found nothing. They did find a small alcove filled with rusty bird cages though, and in each lay the dry mummified remains of a canary. Lomar, filled with the pity of Saule, stepped in the midst of the cages to bless the dead birds. When he did, he noticed one cage which contained a curious clockwork canary. Try as they might, they couldn't get it to activate or do anything, but Lomar was mighty pleased with his find and perched the the cage on top of his pack.

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Further exploration uncovered rooms filled with old mining equipment and debris. In one direction came a strong animal and urine smell, so they avoided that room and headed the opposite direction. They soon encounter a dead end corridor. There lay a 10' cube, with perfectly smooth sides and no sign tool marks. Curious, the elf and cleric poured over the cube, looking for clues as to it's origin and purpose. Luckily, they weren't too intent, for Lomar noticed that animal/urine smell wafting down the hallway towards them. Turning around, they saw two fierce creatures, with the body of a cave bear and the head of an owl, approaching them. Fin rushed ahead to bite one on the leg, only to be crushed and torn to pieces by the fearsome beak. Lomar blinded one with his light spell, then cast sticks to snakes from his scroll. Meanwhile, Erijay fired a few crossbow bolts, then followed up with magic missiles, while Guy stood his ground with his sword. But Lomar's snakes delivered the coup de grâce,poisoning the last of the owl bears.

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Finding nothing of interest on the bodies, Lomar deduced that these might have come from the similarly foul smelling room encountered earlier. Which meant it might now be unguarded, so off they went to investigate. Sneaking in carefully, they surprised two owl bears caught in a moment of animal lust. Which Erijay rudely interrupted with a lightning bolt, and Lomar finished up when he turned his poison snakes on the survivor. Pushing aside the smouldering and frothing corpses, they rooted through the nest. They found 5000ep (of which 1500ep they could carry out), a vial with a bubblegum smelling liquid, and a scroll case clutched in a skeletal hand. In the case was a note:

`Fredrick, the box with the items we found is buried in the alcove behind the stone cube`

Well, they knew where that was. So they headed back to the cube posthaste, stopping just long enough to grab a couple of old shovels from the mining detritus. Once there, a few minutes of digging uncovered a small metal box, latched but unlocked. Thinking this was a job for Kern, they popped the box in a pack and headed back for their HQ on the second level.

Guy, impressed by the reward offered by Lomar, offered his services as a henchman to the cleric, grumbling that at least this employer hadn't`t gotten him killed ...

Langushur is known as the "Far Shore" for good reason. Isolated from the rest of the civilized world, on the far eastern edge of the eastern continent of Easrae, the city states and towns of the region make a living from and on the sea. But always within sight of land. For as long as the memories of men allow, offshore lay a permanent bank of mist and fog. Ships that entered it never return. Always it lay, just on the horizon, a reminder that there were some places mortal men were not meant to travel.

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Until six months ago, when suddenly one morning, the people of Langushur awoke to find the horizon clear. The crew of one brave ship hoisted sail and headed east. And returned several days later with an unbelievable tale to tell. They told of a previously unknown archipelago of hundreds of islands, stretching across the eastern sea. On some could be seen fantastic ruins of a unknown age and provenance. On others could be seen strange creatures, and tribes of strange men. Landing on one island, the crew explored some ruins and found it scattered with treasures and curiosities, examples of which they scattered on the docks as proof of their tale.

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As word spread, ships from all over the Wesrae and Easrae began to flood the once backwater of Langushur. All eager to explore new lands, and to wrest from them treasure, wealth and power. On board with the crews who sailed the ships were bands of hardened warriors, desperate cut-throats, questing acolytes and mages in search of lost magics. To these lay the task of landing on the dangerous new shores . . .

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On the surface, this one is a bit like the first pitch, the "Fist of Wotan". Except rather than a big mountain to climb and explore, it's a big archipelago. Characters start out as the hired 'away crew' on board a vessel. Think 'Star Trek', but hopefully with fewer redshirts dying. At first the campaign will be directed by the ship's captain, who decides what and where the PCs explore. With some influence and prodding from the PC's of course. Eventually though, I see the PCs buying a ship and assembling their own crew to go wherever they want. Or stage a mutiny and take over the ship they're on. Whatever.

Again like "Fist of Wotan", most of the action will be away from civilization. I see the ship as the basic home base for rest and supplies. There will also be an island or bay where all the exploring ships tend to gather, and that can act as a larger town for accessing clerical healing, special services, etc. There is the option to go back to the mainland as well, but that will be limited until the PCs are masters of their own destiny's. You can also expect to discover lost civilizations, crazy tribes, and other fun folks to deal with on various islands.

What kind of game? A mix of everything. Possible intrigue among the ships captains and crews. Dungeons to loot on some islands, overland exploration, interacting with all the new folks you meet. In addition, I'm going to work in some sort of XP for exploration and discovery of new things, to give the game a bit of an "Age of Discovery" feel. I'm also thinking in terms of Late Medieval - Early Middles Ages technology and culture. So break out your cannon and cutlass.

And just to add a little mystery. What was the fog bank? Where did it come from? Where did it go? Will it be back? What happened to all the ships that disappeared over the years?

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It is Christmas, 800 AD. In the holy city of Rome, Pope Leo III has crowned the Frankish king, Charles the Great (Charlemagne), as the first Holy Roman Emperor, in recognition of his success against the heathens. On the eastern borders of what is now his Empire, Charlemagne has finally pacified the heathen lands and pushed the borders of Christendom to the banks of the Elbe.

To the west lay the settled Christian lands of Europe; to the East the darkenss of the fey realm. Between them lay the border, anything but strictly defined and fixed. It fluxes and flows as the power of Christendom and Fey wax and wane. The border region is land where miracles of the church stand against and alongside the darker magic of the fey. Where the 12 Peers of Charlemagne carry the cross against the heathen. And where opportunists from the settle West come looking for power and glory.

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This one is a little different; a pseudo-historical campaign set in an alternate northern Europe. The heathens of this world are not Saxons, Slavs and Danes, but forces of dark fey. Dark elves, witches, goblins, werewolves, etc. In Christian lands to the west, it's just like historical Europe; no magic, dull, boring, peasants in the mud type of stuff. The Fey lands to the east are essentially some equivalent of Hell. In between, in the Fey Border, the two realms meet. And it's like D&D, but with a Grimm's Fairy Tale twist (the originals, not the Disney versions).

Locations, NPCs, and so on will be lifted straight from the history books. All suitably twisted to fit into a game of D&D of course. Elves, dwarves and halflings will still be playable, just in slightly different forms. There will definitely be a new paladin class, and maybe more to suit to milieu.

There are basically two ways this could play out. You could take on the role of paladins and crusaders, out to fight the powers of the dark fey. Or vagabonds and desperadoes out to seize wealth and power in a chaotic world. Or a little of both.

The basic idea I'm stealing wholesale from Poul Anderson's "Three Hearts and Three Lions" [Fun trivia. The D&D troll is stolen directly from this book]. Throw in some old English concepts of the fey and elves, a bunch of Arthurian legends and "The Matter of France", and John Borman's "Excaliber". And whatever histories of Charlemagne and the Saxon campaigns I can read.

While waiting for the rest of the party to prepare for the trek to the Cerebral Shield of the Gann, Kern began to think about Duncal again. It had been a few weeks since they had last left the troubled heir, and given his history of trouble, Kern felt it was time to check in on him again. He convinced Erijay to join he and Bjorn for the trek through the winter snow to Sir Janus' lair. First though, Erijay had him open the metal box she and Lomar had recovered a few days before. Successfully opened, inside the found two items. A black ebony wand with the word "chinoes' inscribed on the butt; and a strange silver and gold bracelet, decorated with spiders, and with two spikes, one over and one under the hand. Taking these finds outside, the duo found a cute bunny and aimed both items at it. Erijay's wand did nothing she could see, but when Kern pressed a small gem on the under-spike, and a web shot forth at the poor bunny. Satisifed, he now started wondering how he could keep it from Lomar ...

Before leaving, Kern also gave a rousing speech to put the Stonehell Resistance Army (SRA) into action, and presented his rose hilt magic sword to Barfirth to cement that stuttering fighter's loyalty to the cause (and to himself). He also sent the SRA into town to get horses and supplies (and a new dog, Flipi, for Erijay). With that, Erijay, Kern and Bjorn headed out for the two day journey to the old drwarf hold where Sir Janus and Duncal awaited ...

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... and almost didn't get there. On the first afternoon out, they heard the sound of harness jingling on the trail ahead. Quickly leaving the trail and hiding in a nearby copse of trees, they watched as the Company of Good Cheer rode into view. They watched with bated breath, hoping their trail would not be seen. For numerous reasons, neither wanted to tangle with Lord Merdwyn's tame adventurers at this point. Luckily the Company went on, headed presumably back towards Westmist. But Kern and Erijay both had the uncomfortable feeling that the Company was looking for them. And suddenly realized they may have tracked them to Sir Janus and Duncal! So the trio rode hellbent for leather through the snow, and were relived to find the camp just as they had left it. Speaking with Hafus, they learned to their relief that there had been no visitors. Hafus also let them know that Sir Janus' morale was flagging. And Duncal was being a pain. He had rarely left his tent since the winter cold hit, and had managed to insist on being assigned two man-servants to tend to his needs. With a sigh, Kern and Erijay went to speak the Si Janus, and managed to raise him out of his funk with news of the SRA. They then went to see Duncal. Calling out at his tent, there was no answer. They called again; no answer. Fuming, Erijay thrust aside the flap and marched inside; into a cold, deserted tent. There was no sign of Duncal or the other men, and the fire pit was cold. She tore outside, turning the air blue with curses no elf maid should know. She and Kern circled the tent, and found evidence of a trail leading away from a spot where the tent had been lifted up. The trial was slowly filling in with snow, so with a few more choice words about Duncal, Erijay, Kern and Bjorn saddled up and headed off deeper into the Western War Peaks.

They followed the trail to a point where a spur from the mountain reached down to the edge of the lake, the shore of which they were following. Seeing it partly frozen, they moved out onto to ice and traveled another few miles, coming to a point where a stream flowed out of the lake. Nearby was also a frozen marsh, in the centre of which could be seen a reed boat. Kern approached the boat, and inside found the dessicated remains of a dwarf covered in furs. He reached in to push the furs aside, when suddenly the corpse sat up and lunged for him! Kern called for help as he backed away, and Erijay and Bjorn answered with a barrage of magic missiles. Which ended that threat very quickly, and the corpse disintegrated into dust and rags. Which Kern pushed aside to uncover a find woven reed mat studded with small malachite gems.

That done, the party headed over to the stream. It was shallow and easily forded, but someone had recently pulled a fallen tree across it to use as a bridge. Figuring it must have been Duncal, they crossed over, and climbed into the wooded pass that led to the south-west. After several more hours riding, the sun was setting and the trio began thinking of setting up camp. Ahead they could see a crude collection of huts next to a stream. But before they could investigate, they were interrupted by fierce howls, as a mass of orcs jumped out of ambush beside the trail. The swarmed the three, and with nets and ropes tried to the pin them down. Kern Erijay and Flipi were successful, but Bjorn was pulled off his horse and held down with a knife to his throat. 'Surrender or he dies' croaked the leader. Seeing no other choice, Kern and Erijay put down their weapons and tried to negotiate. They had no luck, until someone mentioned trading their lives for a good meal of dwarf. That got the orcs interested, and they agree to let Erijay and Kern go to get 9 dwarves in trade for their lives, and the lives of the orcs other three prisoners (who Kern and Erijay quickly realized were Duncal and the two men). The orcs gave then 3 days, and kept Bjorn as a hostage.

The orcs left with Bjorn, watching Kern and Erijay to make sure they went on their way. The two did, but set up camp about an hour away to sleep and plan. There was some of talk of actually going to find some dwarves, but in the end they decided on a sneak attack. Waiting for the next nightfall, they headed back to the orc camp under cover of darkness and invisibility. Erijay set up a blind by casting web between a pair of trees. She then laid a fireball that incinerated half the camp, followed by a pair of sleep spells to drop the remaining orcs as they streamed from their huts. Meanwhile, Ken started firing his crossbow into the confusion, and it was not long before there was nothing left to do but slit some orc throats. Kern also checked out a hut that had guarded, and inside found Bjorn, Duncal, and the two men-at-arms. All naked and hog-tied, covered in some sort of cooking sauce. He unbound Bjorn and the two men, but left Duncal 'as is' while he went to search for treasure. Finding nothing, he returned to Duncal in a foul mood, and threw the trussed-up heir over his horse and berated him all the way back to Sir Janus. The hope was Duncal might actually learn his leason and not wonder off and get captured again ...

Kern and Erijay sat Duncal down and gave him back his clothes, and a stern lecture about running off into the mountains at the height of winter and gods-knows what fate. Duncal began to whine about the party not holding up their end of the deal, this whole usurpation was taking too long, he was cold and bored here in the mountains, etc etc etc. Holding Erijay back to keep her from throttling Duncal, Kern explained there had been some minor setbacks on the way, but progress was being made with the Stonehell Resistance Army (SRA) and their task of stirring up the town against Jax.

At this point, Kern and Erijay were joined by Lomar (and his retainer Guy), bringing the news from Stonehell. Which made them all think that perhaps the best place for Duncal was back in the dungeon, in the care of the SRA.Combining Sir Janus' band with the SRA would give them a bigger force, and keep Duncal out of trouble as a bonus. Duncal just about scuttled that idea though, insisting he was not about to go in 'that hole' again. Choosing bribery over force, a deal was struck with Duncal. Agreement as reached that everything would come to fruition 'soon', and that once Duncal had been placed in charge of Westmist, he would stay just 3-4 months before taking his money and heading for "more civilized lands". Kern, Erijay and Lomar also agreed to pay him 100gp for incidentals in the interim, and 5000gp as his final fee once he was free to go. In return, Duncal would go to Stonehell with the SRA and not run again.

That concluded, they carried Duncal back to Sir Janus, and then confronted the knight with the plan. Sir Janus was not happy at first, feeling it beneath his dignity to serve amongst such rabble rousers and lower class men. He agree to the plan only in the understanding that he, Sir Janus of Lacewood was in command. Which was agreed, but Kern wrested the agreement that there would be no romantic cavalry charges to fight the enemy in the open field. Sir Janus agreed (and Erijay confirmed he was being genuine with a little ESP), and so the whole band broke camp and headed for Stonehell.

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It was an uneventful, though snowy journey, until the band had started to shift direction around the end of the Western War Peaks, to head east towards Stonehell. Above them in the thickly falling snow came a screech and the flap of wings. As everyone dove off horses and into cover, a pair of wyverns descended out of the blizzard, making for the now riderless horses. Bjorn and Eijay loosed a fireball each, crisping but not killing the two creatures. One grabbed onto Sir Janus' horse, and began to fly away. Kern fired a crossbow bolt, and Bjorn and Erijay cast a cluster of magic missile, bringing both wyverns crashing out of the sky. Picking through the smoking remains, it was clear that Sir Janus would now be walking, as his hose did not survive the fall . Nothing of interest was found, but Erijay did cut off one of the poison stingers for possible future use. Figuring this must be the pair of wyverns that had bedeviled them before, the party decided it was worth stopping for day to go hunt down their lair and look for treasure. Erijay and Kern had information that the pair of wyverns laired atop a natural stone pillar somewhere in this general area. Resting overnight and memorizing new spells, the party started to search in the still thickly falling snow for the pillars. It look half the day to find them, 100 feet high on a ridge above them. Bjorn and Erijay cast fly and headed up. Erijay hit the jackpot right away; a jumbled nest of tree trunks with coins scattered amongst the bones and offal. Bjorn arrived and began shoveling treasure into the magic chest, while Erijay poked around some more. Her curiosity was rewarded with a scroll case (containing two treasure maps) and a wyvern egg! She slipped both into her pack for who knows what ultimate purpose.

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Side trek complete, the party continued on to Stonehell. There, the remnants of Sir Janus' band was joined in an uneasy alliance with the SRA. Barfirth took his demotion to second in command with grace, and all seem set for a successful merger (especially after Lomar broke out the wine and cooking spices for a celebratory feast). Lomar, Erijay and Kern then discussed next steps, and decided heading out to recover the Cerebral Shield of the Gann should still be their goal. Before departure, however, they sent Guy into Westmist to run some errands (picking up potions from Synthini, gathering some supplies, visiting Thuridici the Sage with 1800gp from Erijay and a request to research the natural history of wyverns). Lomar and Eirjay meanwhile, slipped invisibly and separately to town on personnal business. Erijay went looking for an animal trainer to train a pair of minimerkats to use as her eyes and ears when scouting, and spent a few days in the hovel of Ona the crazy minimerkat lady, just outside the town walls . Lomar, meanwhile, headed to see Slate and check on the progress of his mechanical arm. The dwarf had it ready, but after the painful procedure of attaching the arm, it was apparent it did not work quite as hoped. Lomar, ever hopeful, tossed some more gold to the dwarf and told the engineer he would return in a month to try it again.

When everyone assembled once more in Stonehell, the party prepared for the winter trek across the Untamed Lands to find the Horn Tribe barbarians and the hidden halls of the Gann. Heading out of town, they first bargained an old man out of his riverboat, and so the party took to the water. Slipping past the fortress of Amrath in the dark (and silence thanks to Lomar), the turned north up the Great River, assuming from their map that it would take them to the foothills of the Black Spine Mountains. It unfortunately didn't, but instead led them back to the Western War Peaks from whence they'd just returned with Janus and Duncal. So they hauled the boat ashore, and struck out overland, following the edge of a dark, coniferous forest until they struck the Black Spine some days later. Following the mountain front north for several more days, they were passing through a boulder field when suddenly they were surrounded by an ambush of shaggy, wooly humanoids ...

Upon closer examination, the humanoids were actually human, covered in thick woolly cloaks. While most of the group stood warily pointing spears at the party (consisting of Kern, Erijay and Lomar, plus Bjorn and Guy), the tallest and brawniest (and smelliest) stepped forward and asked: "The Mighty Khoog demands the know your business in the territory of the Ram". Kern replied they were simply seeking some ruins, guarded by a trio of stone ape heads. Khoog seemed to recognize the description, and grunted something about the 'pit that smokes' before informing the party they must speak to the tribes chief to see if they were worthy of the information. The party was led a short distance into an adjacent valley and the winter encampment of the Tribe of the Ram. There they were brought to the ceremonial circle in front of the largest tent, and presented to the chief, Tzarn the High Ram and the shaman, Koza the Entrail Reader. After Kern repeated his plea, Tzarn ordered the shaman to perform an augury, to determine if the tribe should help the party. The old shaman called for a ram to be brought, and proceeded to eviscerate the creature and then read the entrails. Koza reported that the reading said the party must prove themselves worthy of the help of the High Ram first, and directed they be sent to recover one of the "Dead Who Walk" to be ritually purified by the tribe.

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A bit of questioning made it clear the "Dead Who Walked" were some sort of undead, found mostly higher up in the mountains. They also learned Khoog would be their guide/taskmaster, and after a night's rest, he led the party out of the valley and into the mountains. A half-days journey brought them to the foot of a glacier. At the ice's furthest extent, a stone archway could be seen, leading below the sheet of ice. Khoog pointed them towards it, saying there they could find some of the "Dead Who Walk". He, the Mighty Khoog, would stand watch while they fulfilled their quest.

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The party cautiously approached the opening formed of massive granite slabs. Inside the black gate, a wide set of stairs descended into icy darkness. They headed down, entering a 20' corridor of the same rough slab construction, which after a short distance led into a large chamber. To the left and right, large alcoves in the walls held what appeared to be bodies wrapped in grave shrouds, stacked like cord-wood. At the far end, a narrow passage led deeper below the glacier. Obviously a tomb of some sort. Lomar thought back to his religious training, and recognized the structure and burial practices as that of the primitive D'war people who once dwelt in these lands in ages long past. The D'war were best known for their worship of loathsome tentacled and slimed gods. On that cheerful thought, discussion moved on; what to do next? Unwilling to continue on without first determining the status of the bodies (dead or undead), most of the party retreated to the tunnel entrance, where Khoog continued to glare at them. Kern then slipped back into the chamber, and deftly pulled down one body. It fell to the floor with a clatter, spilling the desiccated remains of a tattooed warrior in primitive leather. But nothing else happened. Still not sure, and figuring something further ahead might trigger the rise of a 500 person zombie army at their backs, the party proceeded to haul all the bodies out of the alcoves and stacked them on the floor, keeping a half dozen which they pulled outside into the snow. Liberally covering them with oil, they again retreated back under the eyes of the brooding Khoog, and Erijay immolated the pile with a fireball. Waiting some time for the smoke to clear and the rock to cool, they re-entered the chamber. The bodies were pretty much ash, but the intense heat had also caused the stones of the chamber the split and heave dangerously.

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Waving fears of structural integrity aside, they moved towards the exit from the room. This they found narrowed very quickly to a small tunnel though which they would have to crawl single file. With little choice if they wanted to if they wanted to find some "Dead Who Walk", they crawled through, Erijay in the lead. After about 50', the tunnel opened about 7-8' above the floor of a strange chamber. On the opposite wall there was a huge skull assembled out of hundreds of human skulls, painted black. In the jaw of the skull was a throne, and the eyes glowed with a blue light. Lining the walls were seven more mummified corpses, each standing at attention with a pole held upright in their hands. Another tunnel led off to the left. Everyone carefully dropped into the chamber, but Lomar instructed Guy to stay in the tunnel and prepare a rope and tackle for a quick escape if needed. The moody retainer required little encouragement. While Kern sized up the skull throne, Erijay and Lomar went sown the side corridor. The tunnel ended at a hole in the floor, obviously predating the tomb itself based on the manner in which the stone was laid. Each dropped a coin to judge the depth, but to their surprise there came no sound of the coins hitting bottom. Erijay followed with a torch, which fell out of sight without hitting bottom. Seeing no need to tempt fate further, they returned to the chamber with Kern and Bjorn.

http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2014/127/d/d/skull_of_skulls_by_joeythatjoey-d7hiss0.jpg

Still with no walking dead in sight, the party instead focused on the glowing blue eyes of the skull. Kern climbed up and found the glow was due to a large sapphire, seemingly suspended in the eye socket. He poked and prodded a bit with a 10' pole, before using the pole the lever the gem out and across the room (where it was deftly caught by Erijay). At that point, the corpses around the walls started to shuffle forward, so the party formed ranks to meet them. Erijay cast a web spell to bind three of them, while Kern caught another in a net he'd procured from the barbarians. The rest were kept at bay by Lomar's shining faith in Saule, as least until the rest of the party started attacking them. A battle raged back and forth as the undead alternately ran away, and then returned when provoked. Meanwhile, Kern and Guy worked to push the entangled undead creature up into the tunnel to be brought back to the tribe. That done, the party started to climb out one by one, helped by a haste spell from Erijay. Kern was struck once and frozen by the creatures claws, but was saved by a cure light wounds from Lomar. Bjorn was likewise hit and frozen, followed by Lomar. Now cleric-less, the party hastily pushed Bjorn's frozen body up into the tunnel to be dragged away, while Kern jumped back into the fray to force a potion of healing down Lomar's throat, and thereby reviving him.

Back in the main chamber, they found now that the corpses they had put aside had animated and awaited them. As they fought these new horrors, the previously turned undead started to emerge from the tunnel. The first few were slain and then stuffed back into the tunnel mouth to block it, then the new threat was quickly dispatched except for one more kept as another prize. Hauling their struggling captives with them, the party rejoined Khooig and returned to the barbarian village. There a great conclave was held, a bonfire lit, and the "Dead Who Walk" were ceremoniously tossed onto the cleansing fire to be destroyed. Their quest fulfilled, Tzarn the High Ram instructed Khoog to lead the party north to the 'pit that smokes".

Kern (with Bjorn) unexpectedly choose to linger back with the barbarian tribe for some nefarious purpose, so only Eijay (with Flipi) and Lomar (with Guy) were left to follow the grim Khoog north to the 'pit that smokes'. A days' journey deeper into the mountains led the group to a barren, rocky ridge. Scattered along the ridge were some visible ruins, but two things caught the most attention. First, grey smoke pouring from a hole in the ground, and beyond that, three 10' tall stone ape head arranged in and facing towards the centre of, a circle. Khoong pointed and grunted, indicating they had reached their goal. Another grunt indicated he would accompany them into the depths.

Erijay recalled some warning from Zoloren about the ape heads, so they party investigated the smoking pit first. A circular stair led down through the smoke, so with Erijay in the led, the party descended as the elf carefully tapped ahead for traps with a 10' pole. They found themselves on the edge of a circular amphitheater, built out of white and black stones forming a spiral pattern that lead to the bottom. To the west lay a door, presumably leading out through the adjacent ruined tower they had seen on the surface. To the east the smoke continued to pour from another corridor. Heading down into the bottom of the amphitheater, Erijay poked with the 10' pole at the floor where the spiral pattern ended. Nothing happened to the white stone, but when she pushed on the black stone, a circular piece of floor shifted down and to the side, revealing a rusty iron ladder bolted to the wall of a shaft. This the party descended to a stairway which headed deeper still before opening into a corridor. This was constructed of some strange sort of stone-like panels. To the west the faint outline of pillars were seem, just at the edge of their light. The corridor seemed to continue to the east, so the party headed that way. But they were soon stopped by a yawning opening that blocked the corridor. Looking for a way across, Erijay spied an iron ring set in the ceiling, so she tossed her rope and grappling hook to catch onto it, and then proceeded to swing across the gap. Unfortunately, just as she reached mid-swing, the ceiling holding the hook opened up, dropping the elf screaming into the pit. Especially unfortunate was the presence of a massive rock hidden above the ceiling hatch, so the elf maid not only fell (through two more hatches that opened as she passed) to a painful stop after about 60 feet, but was also crushed by the rock following her.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iL_mtRtO4dk/UgoosMiQhYI/AAAAAAAABPE/PvJVlj4fSAs/s1600/Dean+Flemming+Yeffal%27s+Dungeon+Nymph+Caryatid.jpg

With Erijay calling out feebly for help, Lomar had Khoog and Guy lower him down to heal the elf, then pull them both up again. Deciding now to explore in the other direction, the party approached the pillar. In fact, there were two pillars, carved in the form of naked women, with hands held straight over their heads seemingly supporting the ceiling. Between the two was a door, flanked by a pair of torch filled sconces. Lomar had a funny feeling about this whole setup, and suggested they leave it alone. Erijay was inclined to agree, but first wanted to listen at the door to see what may lie beyond. As she stepped in front of the door, the torches lit and the two columns shifted. The statues' arms moved such that they both now pointed in welcome towards the door. "It bodes evil" stated Lomar, so Erijay agreed to leave the door and press on. After another thirty feet or so, the strange stone corridor ended and a natural cavern opened at their feet. Below a series of ledges could be seen, but before they could be investigated, the air was rent with loud hooting/howling sounds. Looking down ,the party could see some sort of ape like creatures climbing up towards them. Their bodies were elongated, and they sported six pairs of arms/legs, the rear two pairs having some sort of sticky pads to allow them to climb the shear walls. The party choose running over valor, and tried to get away, but the ape-spiders soon overtook them and jumped howling into the party's midst. Spells and weapons flew as the party fought the beastly things. Lomar was grabbed by one and crushed almost to his end in a massive bear hug. Khoog swung his axe and scored hit after hit on the ape things, but did little damage. Erijay's dog, Flipi, was clawed into a bloody pulp. In the end, the party overcame the beast, but emerged quite battered. Taking stock, they decided to head back to the surface to camp and recover before descending much further.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/001/526/120/7bb24810e65094e4346a08747841674b_large.jpg?1389735833

Next morning, feeling refreshed, the party headed down into the depths again, back towards the pit into which Erijay had fallen. This time, the party rigged up a series of iron spikes and ropes to get across. Erijay went first, then Lomar started to follow. His passage, however, was interrupted by a screaming howl from below. Out of the darkness shot a winged ape creature, which tried to claw the cleric off the ropes. It fortunately missed, and Erijay cast magic missile while Khoog and Guy flicked hand axes at the beast. Lomar dove for safety, and Erijay then trapped the thing in a web, and proceeded to finish it off with her blade before cutting the webs and dropping it back into the pit.

That done, Khoog and Guy now crossed the pit and the party moved on. The corridor again switched to rough, natural rock after a short distance, before reaching a "T" intersection. One arm extended up, presumably, based on Erijay's map, towards the source of the smoke. The other curved down into darkness. Erijay and Lomar crept forward to look, and found a round chamber with rust streaked walls. Looking down, they saw three strange creature; they had large round bodies perched on three spindly legs, and a small round head perched on an equally spindly neck, topped with a trio of long ant-like antenna. As the pair watched ,the three creatures started to get agitated and bounce up and down in the chamber. While no one was about to go down in the whole, Erijay and Lomar both decided against a prophylactic fireballing, thinking they might need that spell elsewhere.

http://enrill.net/images/play-by-posts/maps/volcano/Voronja-cave-500.jpg

This brought them back to the pit once more, and a length of rope was tied off to one of their iron spikes and lowered, and the party descended once more. At the bottom they found (in addition to a big rock and dead, webbed flying monkey) another east-west corridor of the same strange stone panels. Heading east, they came to another rusty ladder bolted to the wall, going up, and a stairwell going down. Up the ladder went Erijay, only to find herself in a narrow 30' wide room, with a natural and angled rock wall to the east. With nothing else of interest to be seen, the elf headed back down to rejoin her comrades, and they continued east into another odd room. Around the perimeter of the room were a series of dull metal panels, suspended from the ceiling about 4 inches away from the walls. Carefully the party examined them, but could find nothing that indicated the purpose.

Figuring the Cerebral Shield must be somewhere deeper, the party headed down the stairs. These ended after about 40 feet.West lay another stone corridor, and a spiral staircase descended down even deeper into darkness. Choosing west this time, a short walk led to another room. This was filled with huge piles of what appeared to be upholstery stuffing or cotton wool. From the piles came the dreaded hooting and howling, and three more of the ape-spiders emerged. These were taken out much easier than the first lot, with a combination of web, wand of cold, and good old fashion smashing and slicing. Once the three creatures lay dead, Erijay and Lomar poked through he fluff. They found a smattering of coins scattering among ape feces and old bones, and surmised that these were some sort of nests. A quick count came up with about 20 nests packed in the room, so apparently there were more of these ape things around. Low on spells and expecting Kern and Bjorn to rejoin them any time, Lomar and Erijay elected to ascend once more and camp beneath the stars.

While Erijay, Lomar and their assorted livestock and retainers tested their mettle against the Depths of the Gann, Kern (with Bjorn) had returned to the barbarian camp with a cunning plan. To somehow bring the tribe on board the campaign to push Jax/Lord Merdwyn out of Westmist and place Duncal in charge of the March Barony. This proved both easier and more difficult than the merchant suspected. Successful in getting an audience with Tzarn the High Ram, Kern laid out his pitch to the barbarian chief; help Kern and his friends and get a big reward. It turned out the chief was less interested in gold than he was in marrying off his thrice widowed sister, as well as finding new more fertile lands for his tribe and sheep. So somewhat to Kern's chagrin, he found himself betrothed to the chiefs sister, Wazara, and had pledged the tribe new lands in the March Barony in return for their help in overthrowing the March Baron. He also pledged to find a way to move the whole tribe across the territory of the competing (and hostile) tribes that stood between the Tribe of the Ram and Westmist. In the depths of winter. No problem!

http://th02.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2011/199/a/b/barbarian_by_darkredrose-d40e5vb.jpg

Negotiations complete, Kern and Bjorn rejoined their companions at the camp above the 'pit that smokes'. Along the way they picked up a warrior by the name of Jasper, whom they found wandering lost in the mountains. He agreed to join the party in their underground activities, at least for the time being.

Down into the hole again went Erijay, Lomar (with Guy), Kern (with Bjorn) and Jasper. Khoog choose to stay and guard camp for some inexplicably barbarian reason. The party first followed the plume of smoke, and soon found it's source in a large room just below the surface. A blazing fire burned at the bottom the stairs which descended into the chamber. Close investigation by Lomar however, showed it to be decidedly un-flamelike. It radiated no heat, did not burn his hand when placed in the flames, and made no sounds. Erijay crawled behind the flames to search for secret doors (none found) and used a charge from the Wand of Detect Magic to look for any magical clues. Apart from the obviously magical flame and all their magic items, nothing was revealed.

http://www.decoteco.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/moroccan-tent-ceiling-bedroom-800x350.jpg

Puzzled, the party moved on, Kern insisting that they investigate the door with the racy columns. The columnar maidens once more beckoned them in, and once Kern had certified the door trap free, it was opened. On the other side was an unexpectedly opulent room. A thick red carpet covered the floor, tapestries depicting bacchanalian feasts lined the walls, and in the centre of the room was a circle of golden pillows. Closer investigation by Lomar revealed, inside the circle of pillows, three hookah pipes (one blue, one pink, and one yellow) carved from the stone of the floor. He also found the partially dismembered and disemboweled body of a Ram tribe barbarian, plus a small box of tobacco. After some hesitation, Lomar first called upon Salue to raise the unfortunate tribesman as a zombie, then proceeded to light up the pink hookah for a puff. After receiving hallucinogenic visions of great treasure, Lomar found he could detect the greatest treasure trove within close range; which incidentally happened to be Kern, the walking bank. He then tried the other two, but was rewarded with nothing except a bad cough.

Meanwhile the rest of the party had searched the room, and debated stripping the tapestries as treasure. All activity ceased when Jasper, standing guard at the door, shouted a warning of 'flying monkey things' and the party prepared for battle. Kern went invisible with his cloak, and dropped to the floor so Jasper could shoot over his head (unfortunately, no hits scored). Erijay and Bjorn loosed magic missiles, and followed with web spells to trap the remaining flying apes. These were dispatched quickly and easily, and the bodies cut down and pushed out of the way. After a short discussion, the party decided to go deeper to search for the Cerebral Shield. They headed towards the long stairs Lomar and Erijau had investigated the day before, and first checked out the gorilla-spider nest room. It seemed deserted, but Lomar cautiously sent his new zombie ("Herbert") across first. Which was good, as two of the foul monkey things emerged hooting from the nests and tore the poor Herbert limb from limb. The creatures then fell on the party clustered in the entryway, but not before Jasper was able to lob a flask of oil at one. A quick spark cantrip from Bjorn and the thing went up in flames, but both it and it's companion tore into the front rank. More magic missiles flew (but Erijay lost hers when hit by a gorilla claw), and weapons swung. Meanwhile, the highly combustible nesting material began to burn, and the battle was ended in a cloud of smoke with two crisped and killed gorilla-spiders lying on the floor.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7162/6733041171_02f66829fb.jpg

When the room cooled enough to pass through, Kern slipped ahead invisibly and scouted the corridor on the other side. He passed an opening leading up, then came to a junction with stairs leading down and another natural tunnel going up. Going back to get everyone, he led the party down the stairs into a strange corridor. It was round and seemed to be made of bright steel. It led west, but there was also a narrow circular stairwell of the same design and construction that led down deeper . . .

Planing on running or playing a Lamentations of the Flame Princess or other game set in an early modern, English setting? Need a quick name for your beloved PC or NPC? Looking for that perfect

shady or questionable past that has propelled the character into the dangerous life of the adventurer? Well look no further. Simply roll on the below d100 table and you're on your way. If you're in a real hurry, roll once, or take your time and role 2-3 times for a mix and match.

Culled from "English Names in the 17th Century", which in turn culled the names "Vexed and Troubled Englishmen" by Carl Bridenbaugh. Based on English records, court and manorial records and so on.

1	Abbott	Edward	Captured at sea
2	Allen	George	Stole 19 sheep
3	Allingham	John	Brawl in church
4	Asplin	William	Arrested for fortune telling
5	Ayres	John	Called Lord Mayors wife a whore
6	Badd	Emmanuel	Married 5 times
7	Banister	John	Card cheating
8	Banks	William	Begat bastard, whipped
9	Barrett	Bridget	Stuck pins in Mrs Dumbrell in church
10	Bayle	John	Received book in will of John Mortimer
11	Bayly	Ralph	Swore NE migrants were rebels
12	Beale	James	Accused of extramartial intercourse
13	Beale	Sarah	Lewd living
14	Beikson	George	Nightwalker/woodstealer
15	Beldam	John	Abused parents & vexed neighbours
16	Benbury	Christopher	Southhampton brewer, bad beer
17	Bide	Thomas	Rector, no sermons given in 4 years
18	Bird	Thomas	Illegal craft work
19	Blenerhasse	Thomas	Irreverent in Church
20	Bond	Isabel	Assaulted widow Sarah Giles
21	Boone	Daniell	Dartmouth watchman, slept at post
22	Bosely	John	Oxford musician, opened dancing school there
23	Bourne	Nehemiah	Wapping, became N England shipbuilder
24	Bourne	Nicholas	Charged for printing illegal pamphlets
25	Bowyer	Clare	Her seaman husband is a Moor
26	Bromley	Richard	Illegal craft work
27	Brooke	Ralph	Wore horns in churchyard at wedding
28	Browne	Elizabeth	Fortune teller, cheated Mary Browne
29	Browne	John	Lived with wife in church porch
30	Bubb	John	Scandalous rhymes against David Dunne
31	Bull	Henry	Carter, ran down Thomas Haggett
32	Burch	William	Embezzling charge
33	Carpenter	William	Kept tobacco/bawdy house
34	Cauker	Katherine	Had bastard child, whipped
35	Chauncy	Charles	Opposed church litany
36	Chinnery	Robert	Harboured undesirable
37	Chiswicke	Henry	Sold short measure coal
38	Clarke	Peter	Eye-gouge fight with Lt Bromley Ess
39	Clarke	Thomas	Oxford, worked with Jn Boseley (dancing sch)
40	Clifford	James	Gentleman and vagabond
41	Comyn	John	Churchyard brawl
42	Constable	Susan	Common quarreller
43	Coreate	Robert	Gentleman, ran illegal bowling alley
44	Cornwall	Mary	Threatened Susan Constable
45	Cottrell	Elizabeth	Marshalsea prison
46	Crathorne	Alice	Swearer/brawler/drunkard
47	Crewe	Fortune	Libelled John Comyn
48	Culverwell	Anthony	Highway robbery
49	Culverwell	Ezekiel	Puritan vicar, expelled
50	Davies	John	Deserted press gang
51	Day	Nicholas	Rector, charged with sedition
52	Dell	Ann	Wife of butcher, unlicensed surgery
53	Devereux	John	Assaulted constable
54	Dike	Bridget	Unlicensed bone-setter
55	Drury	William	Worked as mole-catcher in Middlesex
56	Ensam	Elizabeth	Seaman husband a Moorish prisoner
57	Evans	John	Robbed Cecily Mann
58	Farmer	Katharine	Libeled Richard Miller
59	Fishpole	Robert	Drunk & incapable
60	Fitch	Gray	Landless husbandman & rogue
61	Foster	Thomas	Taught children without a license
62	Freind	James	Debtor
63	Frethorne	Richard	Sent to US as indentured servant
64	Frith	Mary	notorious brigand
65	Froward	Thomas	Librarian, burned books
66	Frynder	Reginald	Vicar, drunkard
67	Fuller	Robert	Cheated apprentice at dice
68	Fuller	Thomas	Whipped, stole wheat sheaves
69	Game	Samuel	Milked others' cows
70	Gardiner	John	Charged with dislike of church
71	Goodwin	Mary	Vagrant
72	Goodwyn	Marcellus	Duck-shooting charge
73	Goulding	Henry	Stole hens in Walthamstow
74	Greene	Thomas	Charged high rents
75	Greenham	Richard	Rioter, damaged a dwelling
76	Harris	Nicholas	Alleged leper
77	Hart	Anne	Charged for swearing/obscenities
78	Hartt	James	Consistent brawler
79	Hawkins	Isaac	Highway robbery
80	Haynes	Susan	Kept lodgings for vagrants
81	Herriott	James Esq	1 of 40 children of Scots father
82	Hobson	William	Hedge-breaking charge
83	Hogg	Miles	Age 18, 3 bastard children so far
84	Hopkins	Bartholomew	Gamester/fraudster
85	Jacie	Henry	Vicar removed for nonconformity
86	James	Thomas	Laborer/rogue
87	Jenner	Henry	Sang irreverently in church, put in stocks
88	Johnson	John	Deserted family
89	Key	Catherine	Charged with living apart from husband
90	Laney	Julius	Branded as dangerous beggar
91	Larradd	John	Assaulted widow Bon in St Giles
92	Leverett	Thomas	Refused to pay Ship Money
93	Lidsan	Thomas	Refused medical bill
94	Lilly	William	Astrologer
95	Longe	Richard	Scandalous rhymes against David Dunne
96	Mann	Cecily	Assault/theft
97	Mann	Richard	Illegal craft work
98	Massie	William	Abused rector
99	Maundrell	Robert	Libeled vicar
100	Merrett	Thomas	Bawdy thievish alehouse

http://www.theroundtablet.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/athos.jpg

Requirements: DEX9
Prime Requisite: STR & DEX

Hit Dice: 1d8

Maximum Level: none

Fight as: Fighter

Save as: Thief

Armor: Studded Leather, Leather, or other light armor; No Shield

Weapons: Any one handed melee weapon. Any thrown missile weapon.

Most fighters put their faith in weight of steel, relying on heavy armor and weapons to impose their will on the field of combat. Some, however, take a more elegant approach to combat. Swift of foot and blade, the swashbuckler relies on speed and precision, rather than a heavy blade and armor, to defeat his foes.

The swashbuckler's prime requisites are STR and DEX. A score of 13+ in both gives a +5% XP bonus. A score of 16+ in both gives a +10% XP bonus.

Special Abilities:

Fleet of Foot: The swashbuckler adds 1/2 his level (round up) to armor class.

Nimble Fighter: The swashbuckler relies as much on agility and precision as he does strength. Consequently, he may use either his STR or DEX modifier for to-hit and damage.

Fighting Florentine: The swashbuckler may fight two handed with no penalty to-hit for the primary weapon, and a -2 penalty to hit for the secondary weapon. The secondary weapon must be smaller than the primary weapon.

Rather than make the second attack, the swashbuckler may instead choose to parry with the secondary weapon. This gives a -1 AC bonus for that round.

Dashing Deeds: The swashbuckler is known for his panache in combat. Quick of sword and foot, he can do things of which the heavily armed warrior can only dream: disarm opponents with a flick of the blade, swing on a chandelier over the melee and drop behind to attack the rear, carefully make an aimed shot at a particular location on his foe, blind opponents with the sweep of his cloak, etc.

Whenever a swashbuckler makes an attack, he may choose to perform a 'dashing deed'. Basically anything flamboyant and Errol Flynn-like, he can try it. The chance of success is determined by rolling 1d6 and comparing to the following chart:

Level	Roll
1-3	2
4-7	3
8-12	4
13-18	5
19+	6 (roll 2^nd d6; fails on a roll of ‘6’)

Reaching 9th Level:

Swashbucklers do not settle down to become rulers as other fighters . At 9th level, however, the swashbuckler may instead establish an Academy, to teach others how to fight with finesse. If established in an urban or other appropriate area, the academy will attract 2d6 first level swashbucklers. They must be treated fairly and given appropriate training or they will abandon the academy for a better school. If any followers die in the swashbucklers' service, they will not be replaced.

Swashbuckler Level Progression
Experience	Level	Hit Dice (1d8)
0	1	1
2100	2	2
4200	3	3
8400	4	4
16800	5	5
33600	6	6
67200	7	7
134400	8	8
268800	9	9
403200	10	+2 hp*
537600	11	+4 hp*
672000	12	+6 hp*
806400	13	+8 hp*
940800	14	+10 hp*
1075200	15	+12 hp*
1209600	16	+14 hp*
1344000	17	+16 hp*
1478400	18	+18 hp*
1612800	19	+20 hp*
1747200	20	+22 hp *
* Hit point modifiers from constitution are ignored

Inspiration

Barrel Rider Games "Swashbuckler"; The OSR Library "Swashbuckler"; Beyond the Black Gate "Class: Musketeer"; Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG "Mighty Deeds of Arms" rule; Errol Flynn movies; "The Three Musketeers"


http://anubisstudios.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/

Requirements: none
Prime Requisite: DEX + STR

Hit Dice: 1d8

Maximum Level: none

Fight as: Fighter

Save as: Fighter

Armor: Padded, Leather, Studded Leather, Scale Mail, Pikeman's Armor (see below). No Shield

Weapons: Any firearm. Sword (short or long), dagger, club, staff, polearm, lance/pike, spear.

The fighter may live by the sword, and the swashbuckler may thrive by relying on her agility, but the musketeer knows that the cutting edge of technology is the way to master the battlefield. Masters of black powder weapons, they wield it with deadly efficiency, leaving opponents reliant on antiquated technology flat on their backs on the battlefield.

The musketeer's prime requisites are STR and DEX. A score of 13+ in both gives a +5% XP bonus. A score of 16+ in both gives a +10% XP bonus.

Special Abilities:

Quartermasters Reward: Every musketeer starts with a single firearm of his choice (pistol or musket), plus a powder horn with 10 shots of black powder, 10 round shot, and 3 feet of match cord.

Master of Arms: The musketeer is an expert at handling firearms, and is able to do so much more efficiently and effectively than the ordinary man-at-arms. As such, the musketeer does not suffer the usual penalties associated with the use of black powder weapons (see "Firearms"). Instead, the musketeers penalties are:

Misfire– Normal conditions (1 in 20); Damp conditions (2 in 20); Wet Conditions (4 in 20).

Reload– 2 rounds
Accuracy – Medium range (-1 to hit); Long range (-2 to hit)

Technological Tinkerer: Living at the cutting edge of technology, the musketeer has a deeper understanding of mechanical and technological things. When confronted with a example of technology or mechanics, he has a 2 in 6 chance of understanding it's function and purpose, repair it, operate it, or other action as appropriate and agreed upon by the DM.

Keen Shot: Almost single minded devotion to black powder weapons allows the musketeer to wield such weapons with deadly accuracy. The musketeers "to hit" with black powder firearms increases with level according to the following table:

Level	“To Hit” Bonus
1-4	+1
5-8	+2
9-12	+3
13-16	+4
16+	+5

Reaching 9th Level

Musketeers live to dominate the battle field with their new weapons, and are therefore uninterested in settling down to hearth and home. At 9th level, the musketeer will attract 2d4x10 0 level men-at-arms who wish to learn the ways of black powder weapons. These men will form the core of the musketeers' mercenary company. Any lost through combat on the field of battle will be replaced within 1d6 months. Those lost by other means are not replaced.

Experience	Level	Hit Dice (1d8)
0	1	1
2000	2	2
4000	3	3
8000	4	4
16000	5	5
32000	6	6
64000	7	7
128000	8	8
256000	9	9
376000	10	+2hp *
496000	11	+4hp *
616000	12	+6hp *
736000	13	+8hp *
856000	14	+10hp *
976000	15	+12hp *
1096000	16	+14hp *
1216000	17	+16hp *
1336000	18	+18hp *
1456000	19	+20hp *
1576000	20	+22hp *
* Hit point modifiers from constitution are ignored

New Item - Pikemans Armor

Designed to meet the needs of the musketeer, pikeman's armor consists of a solid breastplate, open face helmet and pieces of plate that protect the upper leg (tassets). It provides better protection than lighter armors (AC6), and allows more freedom of movement than traditional heavy armor such as plate and chain.

Cost: 65gp

Inspiration:

Barrel Rider Games "Shootist"; The OSR Library "Musketeer"; The Thirty Years War & English Civil War.

http://www.deviantart.com/art/It-s-a-pirate-s-life-for-me-492743027

While isolated, the cites of Langushur are more technologically advanced than many other areas of Easrae
and Wesrae. In particular, the wizards and craftsmen of the Far Shore have discovered the secrets of black powder and firearms. And a new class of warrior, the musketeer, has arisen to make use of these new-fangled weapons.

Magic users, thieves, halflings, and classes restricted to one handed weapons may use pistols. All other classes may use both pistols and muskets. Musketeers are specially trained in the use of firearms, and have certain advantages when using them as described below and in the Musketeer class description.

At the start of the campaign, the only available firearms are matchlock pistols and muskets; other firearms may make an appearance as the campaign progresses. The matchlock firing mechanism is a lit match cord, a fuse that burns slowly. When the trigger is pulled, the match is pressed into the priming pan and the powder charge ignited to fire the gun.

Firearms
Name	Cost	Damage	Range	Weight
Pistol	75gp	1d8	25’ / 50’ / 100’	2 lb
Musket	150gp	1d8	50’ / 100’ / 200’	10 lbs

Other Equipment
Name	Cost	Weight
Powder Horn Holds 50 shots	5gp	1 lb (empty)
Black Powder 10 shots	20gp	0.5 lb
Shot Bag 100 round shot	20gp	10 lbs
Match Cord Per Foot	2gp	0.1 lb
Black Powder, Barrel 1000 shots	2000gp	40 lbs

Firearms - Disadvantages

A lit match cord burns at a rate of 1 foot every 6 turns; the maximum practical lengths of match cord is 3 feet. Due to the acrid odor and light, the presence of a lit match cord will make it difficult under most circumstances to surprise an enemy. Lighting a cord takes 1d3 rounds.

Black powder weapons are prone to misfiring; the powder discharges but the ball does not fire. Misfires occur on any 'to hit' roll of 1-2 on 1d20. Damp conditions double the chance of misfire (1-4 on 1d20), while wet conditions quadruple the chance (1-8 on 1d20). The chance of misfire is halved for musketeers (1 in 20, 2 in 20 and 4 in 20, respectively). After misfiring, it takes 3 rounds to clear the firearm (2 rounds for musketeers).

Firearms take 3 rounds to reload after firing (2 rounds for musketeers).

Accuracy drops off dramatically beyond short range. 'To hit' penalty at Medium and Long Range are -2 and -3 respectively (-1 and -2 for musketeers).

Firearms - Advantages

All firearms do a base 1d8 damage. However, whenever a hit does maximum damage, the die "explodes". That is, another 1d8 is rolled, and this value added to the total damage. This continues as long as an "8" is rolled for damage.

Firearms are noted for their ability to penetrate the toughest of armor. When using firearms, ignore 5 AC points of physical protection (for example: armor, hides, thick carapace, etc) when firing at short range. Armor is treated normally at medium and long range.

The discharge of a firearm is a loud, odorous and flashy endeavor. Discharge of a firearm automatically forces a morale check for creatures with a morale of 7 or less. The first hit from a firearm will also force a morale check in any creatures. This may be the first creature hit in a group, or the first hit on an individual creature. There will be exceptions to this rule as determined by the DM.

Unlike other missile weapons, a pistol may be fired when the shooter is engaged in melee. Both pistols and muskets may be wielded as a club in melee.

Inspiration

Lamentations of the Flame Princess "Firearms" Rules; Barrel Rider Games "Buccaneers and Bilge Rats"; BX Blackrazor "Bow, Crossbows and Guns"

... while the party considered what to do next, Lomar was slowly being mentally dazzled by his new found treasure sensing ability. Standing too close to Kern was giving him vicious headache, so he retreated to the surface, accompanied by Jasper. Erijay, Kern and Bjorn were soon joined by Khoog, who came to keep an eye on their progress. Kern, meanwhile, had slipped on his elven cloak and descended the narrow spiral stairway. He noted that at each landing of the metal stairs there was a short rounded alcove. In each lay a mummified ape head, with eyes, mouth, ears and nose sewn shut. Creeped out, he decided not to disturb any of them, but continued his decent. Reaching the bottom, Kern found himself in another round steel corridor. At one end, another wider spiral metal staircase descended. At the other, the corridor gave way to a natural tunnel which split into shafts going up and down.

While Kern was busy below, Erijay and the others explored the tunnel they were in, which also proved to end shortly in a natural shaft going up and down. Hanging at the top was a platform hanging from chains, all connected to a series of gears and levers on the ceiling. When Kern returned, he surmised that the shaft connected with the one below, and that they use the platform/elevator to investigate. This they did, and with the push of a lever, the platform started to descend. At which point the party realized there were no controls on the platform to stop or reverse it. Simultaneously, there came the dreaded sounds of hooting and grunting from above that heralded the arrival of more spider-apes, two of which appeared climbing down towards them. A short but furious battle ensued, in which one monkey-thing was slain and the other webbed to the wall of the shaft. Meanwhile, through the chaos of battle, Kern noted a steel hatchway set in the side of the shaft. Once the monkey-apes were taken out, he rode back up the elevator (having found controls at the bottom of the shaft), jumping into the shallow alcove holding the door as he passed by it. After first listening for danger, he turned the door handle, but it proved to be barred from the inside. Calling out to Erijay and informing her of the issue, the elf responded with a knock spell which released the bar, and allowed Kern to open the door. He then tied off and lowered a rope, which the rest of the party climbed up.

http://www.freemanmarine.com/_GalleryFiles/Door1430/5.jpg

Beyond the door was a dead end tunnel, about 20' deep. At the end was a giant human head, ten feet tall with mouth agape. Kern cautiously approached, and noted a dark dried substance smeared around the mouth. Looking in, he also observed a cavity behind the mouth, likewise stained. Carefully scraping some of the material away with his dagger, Kern examined it closely and observed that it was dried blood. He simultaneously noted that the head was actually made of dried skin stretched over some sort of metal framework. Erijay, meanwhile, used the last charge of the wand of detect magic to determine that the head was indeed magical. Figuring they needed blood to activate the head, Kern and Erijay proceeded to recover one of the dead spider-monkeys, then slit it's throat and let the blood flow into the cavity behind the mouth. Once it was full, a booming voice rang out in the chamber: ASK YOUR QUESTION, MORTAL. Kern and Erijay quickly settled on asking for directions to the Cerebral Shield. The head proceeded to rhyme off directions and the elf (hopefully) wrote them all down correctly. Once done, Kern noted that the cavity was now empty of blood. So he went to recover the second slain monkey and proceeded to drain it's blood into the head. Alas, to no avail, as it did not respond to any further questions.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rlZxkREOuRk/T397OLDxtBI/AAAAAAAAB0I/Z0OlWPb0w2E/s1600/The-Brazen-Head.jpg

But now with a pretty good idea of where to go, the party dropped back to the bottom of the shaft and proceeded to following the directions Erijay had taken down. Kern scouted ahead in his cloak, and led the party down the wider stair shaft (which bizarrely had weapons welded to the walls at each landing) and into another narrow tunnel going east. This led to a flight of stairs going up, then one going down, before opening into another full height metal passage. Just as they prepared to head down this corridor, however, they were startled by an odd sight. There appeared a quartet of near naked human males with bronzed oiled skin, carrying between them a veiled sedan chair. On sighting the party, they stopped, and Kern tried to engage them in parley. The quartet remained unresponsive to him, however, so Erijay tried speaking to them. Still no answer, but from inside the sedan chair came a response in a deep, sultry female voice. The curtain was drawn back, revealing a beautiful woman bedecked in jewelry. Introducing herself as Ksana, the lady began to question the party to find out who they were and what they were doing in the depths of the Gann. In the back and forth that followed, the party learned that Ksana lived here with her sisters, and they had need of the party's assistance with an important matter. Refusing the answer any further questions, she requested that the party come to meet with her and her sisters so they might discuss it further. Willing to at least talk, the party agreed. The bearers lifted the chair and Ksana, and proceeded to lead the party down and up a series of shafts and stairs. Finally reaching one more vertical shaft, the bearers set the chair down in an alcove, and the Ksana emerged. The party was somewhat shocked to find that, however beautiful she may have been from the waist up, from the waist down Ksana sported the body of a centipede. She proceeded to scurry up the walls of the shaft, and the party and bearers followed, climbing a ladder set there for that apparent purpose.

The shaft led to a narrow tunnel, through which the party had to crawl single file, before emerging into a large, well lit, natural cavern. The floor was covered in sand, while in the centre of the room there sat a round stone dais covered in pillows and silks. Here, surrounded by guards in strange leather and mail armor, were four more centipede-women; Ksana's sisters. Kern took the lead in negotiations, and the party learned that the women were creations of the Gann, who had been a great wizard from another plane or world. They wished to increase their numbers, but could only do so in one of the laboratories of the Gann. And it was guarded by another creation of the Gann, the metallo-spiders. The centipede woman and the metallo-spiders were mortal enemies, each seeing the other as some abomination unworthy of the skills of the Gann. Ksana proposed that the party secure the laboratory from the metallo-spiders, and they would be well rewarded with jewelery and whatever information the sisters could provide. To this the party agreed, and received permission to rest for the night in the centipede-women's chamber, before dealing with the metallo-spiders on the morrow.

Next morning, Ksana provided two of their guards as guides, and the party descended deeper into the depths. In particular, the guards led them down the wide spiral staircase discovered earlier, going down over a hundred feet until they reached a door similar to the metal hatch from the previous day. The guards silently indicted that the party would find the metallo-spiders on the other side of the door; the party was to go through, but the guards would await them on this side. With a shrug, Kern went ahead and searched the door for traps, and then the party passed through. The two guards closed the door behind them with a clang. On the other side was a nondescript natural tunnel. The ceiling opened up into a wide shift that rose beyond the range of their lights. Further along, the tunnel ended in a shaft going down. Rather than go meet the metallo-spiders on their own ground, the party set up a defensive position here, backs to the door. And then proceeded to make an awful noise to attract their foe. After about 10 minutes, their efforts were rewarded with the sight of two creatures climbing up from the shaft; metallic creatures with long spider legs, a metallic body, covered in flashing gems and in the rough shape of a human brain. These paused for a moment, then scuttled at high speed towards the party. Erijay cast haste, then she and Bjorn fired magic missiles to slay one of the creatures. The other creature bit the elf with it's pincers, and Erijay felt a searing pain as hot liquid metal was injected into her body. Nearly spent, Eirjay nevertheless was able to stand and help finish off the remaining foe.Kern then pried the gems from both bodies as a reward for their efforts.

http://s5.photobucket.com/user/Silece/media/CyborgSpider.jpg.html

Assuming there were more than two metallo-spiders lurking elsewhere, and surprised by their powerful bite, the party choose not to advance just yet. Instead, Bjorn started the process to summon an air elemental with the censor, placing the creature in the shaft ahead of them. They then proceeded to make more noise, and once more their efforts were rewarded with another pair of metallo-spiders coming up the shaft. These hesitated before attacking, seeming to be waiting for something. Kern took advantage of the pause to try negotiating. He was answered by a toneless metallic voice; the spiders were now angry and unwilling to deal with 'flesh-creatures'. And especially not interested in dealing with the centipede-women.

The reason for the spiders pause was soon apparent, for the sounds of battle, then screams, came from the door behind the party. At that, the two spiders in the tunnel surged forward to engage the elemental, and the door opened behind the party to reveal two more metallo-spiders attacking their rear! The air elemental blocked the first two metallo-spiders, but one was able to attack the back rank through the door. Unfortunately, Bjorn was the target, and the magic user was blasted with a bite and molten metal. That was bad enough, but it also broke his concentration, freeing the elemental from his control. The elemental tried to get at Bjorn and attack him, but was hampered by the low tunnel. Instead, it took a last blow at the spiders and flew up to attempt an escape through the shaft above. This allowed the other two spiders to get in and attack Erijay and Khoog., while the third continued to attack from behind. Low and spells and already badly battered, it looked to be the end for Kern, Erijay and the rest. But in quick succession, the tide turned. Kern hauled out his pickled medusa head, and was able to turn the spider in the door to stone. Bjorn then webbed the stone spider in the door , blocking the entrance completely. Erijay caught the other two spiders in another web spell, and she and Khoog then hacked the things to bits. The fourth spider, in the stairwell behind the stone spider, scurried away, leaving the party to breath a sign of relief. They swiftly pried away the gems from the two dead spiders, then beat a hasty retreat before more metallo-spiders or the air elemental returned. They headed back to the centipede-women, who were not impressed with the party's failure and loss of two of their slaves ...

Two new spell casting classes for the Far Isles campaign; the Vivimancer and the Aquamancer. Neither of these are my own creation, but are lifted with just minor changes from "The Complete Vivimancer" and "Wizardzine #1" by Gavin Norman.

For most purposes, both may be treated the same as the standard magic user. Their prime requisite is INT. A score of 13+ gives a +5% XP bonus. A score of 16+ gives a +10% XP bonus. Both advances in level as magic users (i.e. same hit dice, spells per level, experience points).

The vivimancer and aquamancer may use all magic items typically available to magic users, with the exception of spell scrolls. Spells found on scrolls may only be added to the vivimancers or aquamancers spell book if they are included their regular spell list. Spells that are not on their list may still be cast from the scroll, but there in a 10% chance of failure per level of spell being cast, with potentially catastrophic consequences. Similar restrictions apply to magic user and elves who try to cast spells from vivimancer and aquamancer scrolls.

Vivimancer

Requirements: none
Prime Requisite: INT

Hit Dice: 1d4

Maximum Level: none

Fight as: Magic User

Save as: Magic User

Armor: None

Weapons: Dagger, staff, dart, club, pistol

The bayous and fens which separate the coast of Langushur from the rest of Easrae are resplendent with with wild and uncontrolled growth. Huge mangroves, thick reeds and vines, and dark creatures that dwell in and about the waters. The lands and waters are also thick with magic, and those who study the magical arts may learn its secrets. The vivimancer specializes in warping and controlling the forces of nature. They are, however, not sacred protectors of the balance of nature. They instead bend nature to their will and use, by mutation, transformation and warping of the flesh. The vivimancer also strives create new life forms, through cloning, vat growth or genetic manipulation

Spell List

All of the vivimancer spells are found in "The Complete Vivimancer". The list is given below. Many of the spells are new and unique to the vivimancer and are found only in the above book. However, many are drawn from freely available sources, as noted below. Regardless, anyone playing a vivimancer will get a copy of all the spell descriptions.

1^st LEVEL	2^nd LEVEL	3^rd LEVEL	4^th LEVEL
Bind familiar	Accelerated healing [t&t]	Absorb equipment	Animate vegetation or fungus
Blood rupture	Accelerated immune system [t&t]	Accelerated reproduction	Chimera I [t&t]
Bonewarp	Accelerated metabolism [t&t]	Anthropomorphism (reversible)	Clone monster
Creeping homunculus	Adapt appendage	Appendage growth	Detach (reversible)
Detect poison [t&t]	Arcane sight	Cannibalize [t&t]	Fungal zombie
Echo location	Clone plant or animal	Cannibal rage	Hive mind [t&t]
Edibility (reversible) [t&t]	Decay (reversible)	Carapace	Hive sight [t&t]
Elasticity	Drone [t&t]	Chaos mind	Immunity to disease [t&t]
Entangle [aec]	Enlarge breed (reversible)	Decode genome	Insanity
Flesh pocket	Face absorption	Divide body [t&t]	Mind slave
Flesh shape	Fungal growth [t&t]	Feign death [aec]	Plant metabolism [t&t]
Hormone control	Infravision [aec]	Fluid absorption	Plant symbiosis [t&t]
Hyperolfaction	Insect messenger	Gelatinous transformation	Polymorph others [aec]
Jump [aec]	Instinct	Genetic location	Polymorph self [aec]
Meld flesh	Leeching touch	Hibernate [t&t]	Slime blast
Muscle control	Life energy protection [t&t]	Homing instinct	Speak with plants and fungus
Mutate breed	Nauseating stench	Insect swarm [aec]	Spore blast [t&t]
Natural weaponry [t&t]	Neural surge (reversible)	Leech blast	Swarm transformation [t&t]
Ooze	Pair bonding	Mutagen	Wall of ooze
Pheromone surge	Polyvorousness [t&t]	Natural weaponry, improved [t&t]	Weltmark
Read magic [aec]	Psionic surge	Neural encoding
Reptilian metabolism [t&t]	Spider skein	Neutralize poison [aec]
Scentlessness	Staunch blood flow [t&t]	Overgrow (reversible)
Skein	Symbiotic familiar [t&t]	Paralysis
Skin transformation [t&t]	Transparency	Repel vermin [aec]
Sleep [aec]	Venom [t&t]	Repulsive scent
Speak with animals [aec]	Water breathing (reversible) [aec]	Revert biology
Spider climb [aec]	Warp Wood [aec]	Spying homunculus
Spore cloud [t&t]	Web [aec]	Synaptic trigger
Vitality surge [t&t]	Web Walk	Vats of creation [t&t]

5^th LEVEL	6^th LEVEL	7^th LEVEL	8^th LEVEL
Animal growth [aec]	Anti-animal shell [aec]	Genetic memory	Chimera III [t&t]
Anti-plant shell [aec]	Charm plants and fungus	Genetic spell encoding	Clone [aec]
Devolution [t&t]	Chimera II [t&t]	Infestation	Explosive growth [t&t]
Divide mind [t&t]	Flesh blast [t&t]	Instant adaptation	Genetic conduit
Immunity to poison [t&t]	Impregnate [t&t]	Mind mask	Genetic resequencing
Nature's secrets	Life cycle [t&t]	Parasitic implantation [t&t]	Mass devolution [t&t]
Psionic awakening	Organ transference	Regeneration, greater [t&t]	Neural absorption
Regeneration [t&t]	Repel wood [aec]	Replicate life-form [t&t]	Organ transference, greater
Transfer pregnancy [t&t]	Synaptic reprogramming	Spark of life	Regenerative pupation [t&t]
Vats of regeneration	Transformative pupation [t&t]	Vats of creation, greater	Shape change [aec]
Venomous blood [t&t]	Vats of reincarnation	Wall of claws	Stabilize mutation
Wall of Thornes [aec]	Virus [t&t]	Xenogamy [t&t]	Survival of the fittest [t&t]

9^th LEVEL
Artificial intelligence [t&t]
Cannibal holocaust
Clone self
Creeping doom [aec]
Dispersed mind
Extraordinary regeneration [t&t]
Extinction [t&t]
Genesis [t&t]
Immortality
Mutagenic zone
Progeny
Temporal stasis [aec]

[aec] - Labyrinth Lord Advanced Edition Companian
[t&t] - Theorems & Thaumaturgy

Aquamancer

Requirements: none
Prime Requisite: INT

Hit Dice: 1d4

Maximum Level: none

Fight as: Magic User

Save as: Magic User

Armor: None

Weapons: Dagger, staff, dart, club, trident, pistol

Langushur is a land by and of the sea. Over the course of it's history, it's wizards have developed specialized
forms of magic which cater to the needs of a life on the waves. Control of weather, survival in the water, handling and repair of ships, navigation, and dealing with the creatures and monsters of the watery depths are the stock and trade of those masters of the arcane arts who have business on the great waters.

Spell List

Like the vivimancer, many of the spells of the aquamancer come from the "Advanced Edition Companion" or "Theorems & Thaumaturgy". Most of the rest are from "Wizardzine #1", and a few are completely new. As with the vivimancer, anyone choosing to play an aquamancer will get a copy of all the spell descriptions.

1^st LEVEL	2^nd LEVEL	3^rd LEVEL	4^th LEVEL
Command/Conjure/Attach Rope [t&t]	Arcane Lock [aec]	Animal Growth (aquatic only) [aec]	Aquatic Adaptation (reversible) [wiz1]
Create Water [aec]	Control Buoyancy [wiz1]	Boiling Sphere [wiz1]	Call to the Deeps [wiz1]
Divine Weather [aec]	Detect Magic [aec]	Dive [wiz1]	Create Food and Water [aec]
Feather Fall [aec]	Erosion (reversible)	Gust of Wind [aec]	Dispel Magic [aec]
Hold Portal [aec]	Fog Cloud [aec]	Lightning Bolt [aec]	Enslavement of the Drowned [wiz1]
Lasting Breath [t&t]	Knock [aec]	Locate Land [wiz1]	Ice Storm [aec]
Purify Water [aec]	Locate Object [aec]	Ocean’s Embrace [wiz1]	In the Belly of the Whale [wiz1]
Read Languages [aec]	Luminescent Swarm [wiz1]	Summon Monster I (aquatic only) [aec]	Lower Water [aec]
Read Magic [aec]	Ride the Waves [wiz1]	Swarm Transformation, Aquatic [wiz1]	Shockwave [wiz1]
Resist Cold [aec]	Sea Lust [wiz1]	Tongues [aec]	Summon Monster II (aquatic only) [aec]
Rope Walk [t&t]	Speak with Animal (aquatic only) [aec]	Water Breathing [aec]	Tidings [wiz1]
Seal Hull	Tidal Force [t&t]	Whale Speech [wiz1]	Transmute Liquid to Crystal (reversible) [wiz1]
Seasickness (reversible) [wiz 1]
Seasong/Windsong [t&t]
Sound the Deeps [wiz1]
Spider Climb [aec]
Summon Familiar (aquatic*) [aec]
Unseen Servant [aec]
Wall of Vapour [aec]
Water Cannon
Water Walk [wiz1]

5^th LEVEL	6^th LEVEL	7^th LEVEL	8^th LEVEL
Atmpsphere Bubble [aec]	Anti-Animal Shell (aquatic only) [aec]	Conjure Land [wiz1]	Castaway [wiz1]
Cloudkill [aec]	Control Weather [aec]	Control Weather (Greater) [aec]	Summon Monster VI (aquatic only) [aec]
Conjure Elemental (air or water only) [aec]	Hallucinatory Island [wiz1]	Ghost Ship [wiz1]
Control Winds [aec]	Part Water [aec]	Raise Wreck [wiz1]	9^th LEVEL
Ice Sphere [wiz1]	Sirens’ Call [wiz1]	Summon Monster V (aquatic only) [aec]	Sink Island [wiz1]
Island Hop [wiz1]	Summon Monster IV (aquatic only) [aec]	Wind Walk [aec]	Summon Monster VII (aquatic only) [aec]
Secret Chest [aec]
Summon Monster III (aquatic only) [aec]

[aec] - Labyrinth Lord Advanced Edition Companian
[t&t] - Theorems & Thaumaturgy
[wiz1] - Wizardzine #1

Requirements: CON 9
Prime Requisite: CON

http://image-cdn.zap2it.com/images/admiral-ackbar-ole-miss-bigger.jpg

Hit Dice: 1d6

Maximum Level: 11th

Fight as: Cleric

Save as: Cleric

Armor: Any (but see special abilities below)

Weapons: Any

When men first arrived to settle the shores of Langushur a millennium ago, they found another sentient race already there. The calmonari are a bipedal amphibious race that have lived along the eastern edge of Easrae since the beginning of time. They stand about 7' tall, with salmon coloured skin, webbed hands and feet, high domed heads and huge eyes. Equally at home on land or in the sea, the calmonari dwell in stone and crystal villages that straddle the low tide line. They are generally a peaceful race, with strong affinity for the creatures of the deep. They generally get along well with humans and demihumans, and it is common for towns and villages along the Langushur coast to have a calmonari settlement attached or close by. Noted for their skill in working precious metals and gems into intricate and abstract forms, calmomari often adventure to gain the treasure and wealth to feed their desire for such decorative works.Due to their extensive interaction with humans, calmonari speak the common tongue in addition to their own language.

The calmonari must have great stamina to survive in the depths. The prime requisite for the class is CON. A score of 13+ gives a +5% XP bonus, while a score of 16+ gives a +10% XP bonus.

Special Abilities

Swim: In addition to being able to move normally on land, calmonari are accomplished swimmers. Swimming movement is 180' (60'). Note that a calmonari wearing any armor heavier than leather, or who is more than lightly encumbered, is not able to swim.

Luminescence-vision: Calmonari are able to see the natural bioluminescence of the ocean with great acuity. Treat as having infravision when in salt water.

Amphibious: Calmonari can breath water as easily as air. However, their skin does dry out after being out of water after some time. A calmonari may remain out of water for the number of days equal to his CON. For each day beyond this, he will suffer a -1 to all saving throws and 'to hit' rolls, and a -1 penalty to CON. One full day in salt water allows the calomnari to recover all adverse effects. If CON drops to zero, the calmonari dies.

Aquatic Telepathy: Calmonari are able to communicate with all aquatic creatures using a limited form of telepathy. Feelings, emotions, and general disposition are passed along. Complex thoughts and ideas cannot be communicated.

Aquatic Charm: Deeply empathetic with all sea creatures, calmonari may cast Charm Aquatic Creature once per day. The effects are the same as the magic user spell of the same name, but the size of creature charmed is limited to 1HD for every 2 levels of the calmonari.

Find Traps: Calmonari have a 2in6 chance of detecting traps. Come on, you know why.

Reaching 9th Level

When calmonari reaches 9th level, they may build an underwater or tidewater stronghold, and will typically attract a community of other calmonari who build a settlement around it. The stronghold will also attract 1d4 sea creatures appropriate to the location (such as dolphins, octopi, crayfish, giant fish, etc)

Calmonari Level Progression
Experience	Level	Hit Dice (1d6)
0	1	1
1900	2	2
3600	3	3
7200	4	4
14400	5	5
28800	6	6
57600	7	7
115200	8	8
230400	9	9
460800	10	+1 hp*
921600	11	+2 hp*
* Hit point modifiers from constitution are ignored

Langushur is known as "The Far Shore" for good reason. A mountainous coastline isolated from the rest of the civilized world by vast bayous and fens, the city states and towns of the region make a living from and on the sea. But always within sight of land. For as long as men have lived on the shores of Langushur, on the horizon lay a permanent bank of mist and fog. Ships that entered it never returned. Over many lifetimes of men it remained, a reminder that there were some places mortal men were not meant to travel.

http://cache.desktopnexus.com/thumbnails/1579868-bigthumbnail.jpg

Until two months ago, when suddenly one morning, the peoples of Langushur awoke to find the horizon clear. The brave crew of one ship hoisted sail and headed east. And returned weeks later with an unbelievable tale to tell. They told of a previously unknown archipelago of hundreds of islands, stretching across the eastern sea. On some could be seen fantastic ruins of a unknown age and provenance. On others could be seen strange creatures, and strange men. And treasure, examples of which the sailors scattered on the docks as proof of their tale.

As word spread, ships from all over the Wesrae and Easrae began to arrive in the once backwater of Langushur. On board with the crews who sailed the ships were bands of hardened warriors, desperate cut-throats, questing acolytes and wizards in search of lost magics. To these lay the task of landing on and exploring these dangerous new shores ...

Style of Play

The campaign will start out with the player characters acting as the hired 'away crew' on board a vessel of their choosing. As such, the ship's captain will ultimately determine what and where the PCs explore in the Far Isles. They can of course try to influence the captain, or jump ship and sign on with another captain, but freedom off choice will be limited at first. However, at some point the party will likely end up with a vessel of their own; by purchase, mutiny, boarding action, whatever. At that point, the campaign will become a wide open sandbox (or saltbox to be precise). The PC's will be free to sail and explore wherever, whatever, and however they like. There will be no prescribed story line or course of action beyond what the players decide.

The setting is Late Medieval - Early Modern, with a vaguely Age of Discovery feel. Black powder guns and pikes, conquistadors and landsknecht, pirates and cutlass, Types of adventure depends on what the players want to do. Dungeons to loot, over-land and over-ocean exploration, intrigue among the ships' crews, colonization and kingdom building? Players choice.

Rules details, character creations, and more detailed information below the break.

RULES SUMMARY

The base rule-set is Labyrinth Lord, a free retroclone of the 1981 B/X Dungeons and Dragons rules

Some specific rules are drawn from other rule sets:

- The spell list for magic users and clerics is replaced with the more extensive list in the Labyrinth Lord Advanced Edition Companion.
- encumbrance rules are replaced with those from Lamentations of the Flame Princess.
- a basic skill system is also ported from Lamentations of the Flame Princess. See link under "Specialist/Thief" below for more details.

In addition to the published rules, a list of current house rules may be found here.

House rules for black powder weapons may be found here.

Other changes/houserules are noted under "Character Creation".

CHARACTER CREATION

1) All character classes from Labyrinth Lord are available, with some modifications as noted below.

Fighter	No change
Cleric	Clerics as written are all part of the Church of the Three Virtues, a sect which is foreign to Langushur. Modified clerics of the local sects/gods TBA may also be played.
Magic User	All magic user (including specialty wizards noted below) can cast cantrips on demand".
Specialist/Thief	Thief skills are replaced by those from the Lamentations of the Flame Princess Specialist class. A summary, including new campaign specific skills, is given here. Level progression, saving throws, ‘to hit’ rolls, and armor and weapon restrictions remain the same as the Labyrinth Lord Thief.
Dwarf	No change
Elf	No change
Halfling	No change

In addition, there are a number of campaign specific classes available:

Swashbuckler	The dashing swordsman
Musketeer	Have gun, will shoot
Vivimancer	The anti-druid
Aquamancer	The sea wizard
Calmonari	Admrial Ackbar meets Aquaman

2) Characters are rolled following the rules on p6-7 of the Labyrinth Lord rules:

a) Abilities are rolled on 3d6 in order.

b) If you want to play one of the classes with minimum ability score requirements but didn't roll the minimum score(s), just take a score of 9 in the particular ability(s).

c) If the total of all ability score modifiers is less than zero, then you can discard the character and begin the process again.

d) Take maximum Hit Points at 1st level.

e) Unless otherwise instructed by the DM, new characters start at 1st level.

f) Any character that starts at higher than 1st level begins with zero experience points.

3) Equipping your character:

a) Starting money is 3d8x10 gp (Labyrinth Lord p6)

b) To simplify character creation new player characters can choose to take the “Standard Adventuring Pack”. For 10gp, this includes all the basic adventuring gear you need. Just add weapons, armor, and any other special items (holy symbol, thieves tools, etc) and you’re ready to go.

4) Other character creation notes:

a) Don't worry about alignment; We'll just ignore it.
b) Remember to allocate your extra skill point as described in the "Skills and Specialist/Thieves" summary.

Khoog refused to spend another night below ground, so he left Erijay and Kern (with Bjorn) to bed down with the centipede-women. They were joined the next day by Lomar and Jasper, and the cleric had his work cut out for him healing all their wounds. That done, exploration continued. In particular, exploration to identify a way to get in behind the metallospiders and hopefully get the drop on them. Descending the long spiral staircase, the party passed through a door just above and opposite the one they'd encountered the spiders last time. Behind it were stairs going down and a spiral staircase going up. As the party started past the spiral stairs, a pair of metallospiders surprised them from above, dropping onto Erijay and Kern in the front rank. Lomar fired his web bracelet and entrapped both, but also caught Erijay in the sticky mess. Thankfully, the rest of the party was able to destroy the two metallospiders and retrieve Erijay before any serous harm was done. Investigating where the spiders had come from, Kern climbed the spiral stairs and found a small dead end tunnel. Out of the wall protruded two small pipes, surrounded by globs of metal. Next to each was a lever. After some soul searching, Kern decide to pull a lever. And was doused in a spray of hot molten metal.

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Once Kern stopped screaming, everyone decided it best to head down the other stairs instead of poking around with the tubes any further. These stairs led to a tunnel, then an opening in the tunnel floor. Handholds led down, and Kern was about to try them out when a flying ape rose out of the pit and attacked. It was quickly slain, and Kern tried climbing down again. But only after Lomar tied a rope around the merchants waist, just in case. Lowering himself down, Kern found himself dangling above a bizarre mass of glass tubes, wires, pipes and valves. A circle of glass tubes sat in the middle of the room, each large enough to hold a person. Deciding it would be best to find a more direct (and easier to flee through) entrance, the party dragged Kern back up and returned to the long staircase. Just about to open the door, Kern now heard scurrying noises on the other side. Fearing more metallospiders, Kern pulled open the door and Erijay cast a web to block the passage above. Which, luckily, was where the spiders were lurking. But not metallospiders this time, just regular run of the mill, giant poisonous black widow spiders. With the spiders barred behind the web, the party descended even further down the stairs, and were able to walk right into the strange laboratory when the reached the bottom. They could now see that two of the glass tubes were filled with liquid. One held a humanoid skeleton with three arms and two heads. The other was a murky, opaque mess. On the west wall was a huge switch. Kern played around with the valves for a bit, and learned he could fill the empty tubes with some kind of broth or protoplasmic goo. He then went over the throw the switch, at which point the liquid filled tubes began to glow green-blue and a loud hum filled the room. Not sure if they should tinker any further, Kern shut down the power and the party headed east.

There, they encountered another steel door, which opened easily. On the other side was a huge room, with multiple floor of steel grating above and below. A strange blue glow faintly lit the whole area, and before they could proceed into the room, the mechanical voice of an unseen metallospider challenged them. And warned them to leave and NEVER return, or suffer the consequences. The party did try to engage in some conversation to figure out what made the metallospiders 'tick' so to speak. The were able to learn that the creation of the Gann which they'd been designed to run was a machine built to destroy the world! With that sobering fact, and the fact that they could not see their adversaries, the party prudently decided to retreat and forget about their bargain with the centipede-women. Time to focus on finding the Cerebral Shield and get the heck out of these depths. So they retraced their steps back to the blood-thristy head, and tried to feed it the blood of the slain flying ape to get more info. Alas, it still did not speak. Next step, Lomar tried to dispel the angry air elemental Bjorn had inadvertently trapped below. No luck; Salue did not hear his prayers. So back to the surface and a night of rest before they delved once more.

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Starting again at the head, they followed Erijays directions. They got so far, and then turned back up towards the surface. There they ran into two strange laboratories. One contained what appeared to be two steel coffins, held upright on metal racks and filled with weird foam. On one was a dial with 8 settings. Lomar crawled in one and had Guy turn the dial to 7. Everything hummed and glowed, but Lomar emerged unharmed except for a little missing hair. The second laboratory contained a chair with metal straps at arms and neck, plus a large arm dangling overhead, with various saws and drills attached. Next to it was a steel cabinet with a dial marked from 1-10 on it. Kern managed to pick the lock, and opened it to find 10 jars, most of which contained a head in some kind of preserving fluid. Human, non human, and one medusa head. Which luckily Kern avoided looking at closely and therefore avoided getting turned to stone. And which Jasper popped into a sack for potential future use. No one wanted to sit in the chair, so they headed out and went further down to try picking up the right path to the Cerebral Shield. They found themselves moving to the west, and shortly came to a rope bridge spanning a wide gulf. And swirling around it, still trapped, was the air elemental. Lomar tried once more to dispel, and once more failed. Salue must be angry with her servant! In the end, Bjorn and Erijay blasted the trapped thing from a distance with spells, and Kern with bolts from his magic crossbow, until it finally dissipated and left the way open for them to continue.

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Just past the bridge they encountered another strange lab. In this one they found two metal tables in the center of the room, and shelves with glass jars containing preserved body parts lining the walls. At the far end of the room was a metal cabinet and a big glass tank in which floated a number of brains. Kern again unlocked the cabinet, and inside found a small glass ball on a chain. Inside were three interlocking rings and in the top a hole with a plug. Also in the cabinet was a convoluted distillation apparatus, and a book. Kern gingerly opened and read the book, and found that the little glass ball was the Cerebral Shield of the Gann. He was a little perturbed to find that in order to provide mass protection against mind affecting magic, the glass ball had to be filled with the freshly distilled essence of a fresh humanoid brain. Well, might as well start with the brains in the tank. As the party started to recover the brains from the tank, suddenly ... TO BE CONTINUED

... they are surprised to see that two brains they assumed were floating in the tank were actually lurking behind it. And they had sharp beaks and nearly a dozen razor tipped tentacles. The pair of weird creatures levitated overhead , and descended down on Erijay and Kern. Kern, lacerated and impaled by a mass of tentacles, found himself lifted off the floor as the thing started to carry him out of the room. Erijay loosed a charge from her wand of cold, while Bjorn fired a trio of magic missiles. Khoog lashed out with his axe and Kern was able to winkle a dagger out of his boot and stab into the brain-creature carrying him. The two creatures still foughton, and the second now struck Erijay, paralyzing her and lifting her to be carried off. Bjorn saved the day by webbing Kern and one brain-creature in the entrance to the lab, and then using another trio of magic missiles to drop both to the floor in a spray of cerebral fluid and ichor.

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Once everyone was recovered, they turned their attention back to the tank. Behind it Kern found a large metal plate (10'x5'), steel on one side and silver on the other. After a quick gp-equivalent calculation, he decided it was not worth trying to drag out of the dungeon. Back to the tank, he tried to figure out how to get the three remaining brains safely out of the pits of the Gann, thinking they might be useful in the Cerebral Shield. In the end, he simply plopped them in a sack and carried the dripping mess to the snowy and blustery surface.

Once there, Erijay and Kern were getting ready to trek back to Westmist. But Khoog would not allow that. He had been sent to make sure Kern returned to the tribe for his wedding to Wazara, the chiefs' twice widowed sister. And to lead the tribe across the wintry wastes of the Untamed Lands to their new promised lands around Westmist. Oh right, that little detail ...

Back to the tribes main encampment they went, and after a few days of preparation and exchange of wedding gifts between the bride and groom, the day of the celebration came. After the traditional slaughter of the wedding ram and consumption of the raw heart by the bridal couple, Kern was surprised to discover he had to wrestle his new bride to determine who would be head of the household. Stripping to their skivvies and lathering up with lanolin, the two met in a circle of drunken, hooting barbarians. Kern was somewhat perturbed to see his new wife was much more muscular and stronger than he had anticipated. At a signal from Tzarn the High Ram, the match began. Time and time again, Kern grasped Wazara, only have her throw off the hold. A couple of times, she likewise had the merchant down and almost pinned. In the end, however, Kern prevailed, pinning Wazara and gaining title as head of the household.

http://www.accelerator3359.com/Wrestling/pictures/barbarian3.jpg

With the matrimonial wrestling match complete, the rest of the tribesman began setting up matches and making bets. One large brute by the name Toruga of the Double Straight Horn, challenged Bjorn to a match. The magic user accepted, but in just 10sec found himself pinned and poorer by 100gp. Erijay choose not to participate, but instead used the time to ask some of the drunken tribesmen about Kerns' new bride. Apparently she had been married off by Tzarn twice before to important allies, each of whom mysteriously died after they were no longer of use to the High Ram. Humm ...

The celebration raged on for another day, but then it became time to prepare the tribe for the trek through the winter snows. Tzarn summoned his new brother-in-law and demanded Kern provide a plan for getting the tribe safely through the winter snows, and past both the Tribe of the Bear to the north and the Tribe of the Wolf to the south. Kern mumbled something about Mr. Windy, and powerful magic and so on. Nothing very convincing, but with Tzarn nursing a raging hangover, it was enough for the chief. It took a few days, but soon the whole tribe had assembled: 150 warriors, 120 old and infirm, and nursing mothers, 130 children, and 7000 sheep. Piling their worldly good on sledges pulled by giant rams, the tribe set off, with Kern and a hand picked scouting group of tribesmen in the lead. Erijay and Bjorn hung back with the main body, keeping close to Tzarn the High Ram.

The slow trek trough the foothills and onto the plains was uneventful, but that all changed when the tribe stopped to rest at midday on the fourth day out. Kern was still ahead scouting, and Erijay and Bjorn were standing outside the High Rams tent when the witchdoctor Koza approached, accompanied with Khoog and a dozen barbarians. They all looked edgy, and Koza demanded the elf step aside so they could enter the tent and consult with Tzarn. Erijay tried to delay, and Bjorn quickly cast invisibility, and started to summon the air elemental just in case. Koza was impatient, however, and with a gesture from him, a half dozen of the barbarians grappled and, after a brief struggle, pinned the elf maid. Koza, Khoog and the others then pushed into the tent, and soon the muffled sounds of fighting could be heard through the thick felt. Bjorn ceased his summoning, and rushed invisibly inside, while Eirjay began to scream for help from those loyal to the chief. Inside, Bjorn could see Tzarn surrounded by enemies, battered and bleeding. Laying dead on the floor were the High Rams bodyguards, as well as one of the attackers. Bjorn cast a web spell, entrapping Khoog and most of the barbarians. The witchdoctor turned, cast a spell, and suddenly the three dead tribesmen rose to their feet as zombies and turned to attack the mage. That was all the break Tzarn needed, and he lowered his head and rammed into the witchdoctor with his ceremonial horns. While Bjorn fought the zombies, the chief struck Koza twice more with his horns, and the witchdoctors' battered and crushed body fell dead to the floor. The chief then walked over to the webbed rebels, and cooly drove a spear through each head, leaving only Khoog. Under questioning, Bjorn and Erijay now learned that Khoog was a grandson of the previous chief, said chief having been usurped by Tzarn. Koza had recruited him to join the witchdoctor in taking out Tzarn and ending this foolish plan to move east to Westmist. The old entrails-reader could see no good coming of such a move. Questioning complete, Tzarn finished Khoog off with his spear.

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The tribe was shaken by these events, but Tzarn now put much trust in the party, and the trek continued. More days of cold travel ensued, with little to break the monotony until the eighth day. Late in the afternoon, Kern and his scouts observed a cloud of snow to the south, obviously being kicked up by a large group of something approaching. As the tribe pulled back into a compact, defensible group, Kern, Erijay and Bjorn went out to confront whatever it was. After some time, they could see a figure on horseback leading a group of men or similar creatures. As they got closer, they could see the rider was dressed in heavy black robes decorated with skulls, and his stead was a skeletal horse. The rest of the creatures were battered hobgoblin and human zombies, obviously the dead of last seasons hobgoblin invasion. The rider (Xoltac) halted, and presumptuously demanded they party provide 'recruits' for his army or he would turn them loose on the party and tribe. The party demurred, and when the conversation began to get heated, they ended it with a quick fireball and a series of magic missiles and crossbow bolts. Once the ashes cooled, Kern looted a purse of coins and gems from Xoltecs' crisp body, as well as a weird staff made of fused human bone and a suit of black lacquered plate mail.

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Moving on, another week found the tribe on the banks of the Great River. Kern scouted ahead hopping to find the magical Starbridge spanning the river, but to no avail. He returned to the main body, and it was decided to get to work building rafts using trees from the surrounding forest. They had just started to organize the tribes labour, however, when from the woods came a loud roar and out poured a hoard or Bear Tribe barbarians ...

Pickets had detected the Bear barbarians moving through the forest and towards the vulnerable Ram tribe. While Tzarn the High Ram organized his men to guard the main body, the party (Kern, Bjorn, Erijay, Jasper, Lomar and Guy) prepared to receive the attack at the head of the column. There seemed to be some time before their attackers emerged from the thick forest, so Bjorn began the process of summoning the air elemental with his censor. Meanwhile, Lomar called down the blessing of Salue on those about to fight, and also took the opportunity to cast animal growth on one of the barbarian ram-riders nearby, thereby increasing the size of the already giant ram to gargantuan proportions. Everyone else spread out to prepare for what may come. After several minutes, a skirmish line of Bear barbarians approached the edge of the wood. There they halted and loosed a volley of spears, one of which dinged Kern in the side of the head. Jasper and Guy responded with bolts and spears, taking out two of the skirmishers. Erijay tossed a fireball at one end of the line, crisping half the remaining attackers and setting the forest alight. Then followed a charge by the giant-giant ram and the rest of the party to finish off the last few.

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The party proceeded to loot the bodies while Kern stood guard in case there were more attackers. The sounds of battle could still be heard to the rear, but suddenly a much closer bellowing sound was heard coming from the north. Kern turned to see three large black bears, two sporting barbarian riders, followed by a small group of tribesmen on foot, charging down on the party. Calling everyone out of the forest, Kern turned invisible with his cloak and slipped forward to make a surprise attack. Meanwhile, everyone else emerged from the smoking forest to engage the new foes. Erijay cast a slow spell on the bears and riders, Jasper and Guy flicked more bolts and spears, and Lomar sent the giant-giant ram and rider into combat. A flurry of spells and stabbing ensued, but the bear riders held their ground. At least until Bjorn finished summoning the elemental, which he promptly dropped into the midst of the bear riders. That, coupled with a few magic missiles, back stabbings and other shenanigans was enough to clear the field and for looting to proceed again.

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The sounds of battle died behind them as well, and when the party met with the High Ram later in the day, he reported some losses to the tribe's warriors, but otherwise all went well. Tzarn was anxious, however, to put their enemies behind them and cross the Great River. He was therefore not interested in Kern's plan to turn the tribe around to go looking for the "Hanging Tree", about which the party had learned from an old journal in the wyvern hoard looted some time earlier. "The Hanging Tree" is a massive fir tree in the Forest of the Bear, where the Bear Tribe barbarians disposed of and display the bodies of those who trespass their territory. The diary described the branches of the tree hanging with numerous human and humanoid corpses, many still dressed and equip as in life and with obvious wealth. Kern insisted to the party that such a treasure so near by could not be ignored, and in the end they agreed. Tzarn meanwhile agreed to take the tribe across the river and await the party no more than 4 days before moving on and turning his tribe loose on civilized lands.

With little time to spare, the party moved deeper into the dark, wintry forest. They found their path led them back along the route taken by the attacking barbarians, at least until the falling snow hid the tracks. However, the two day march was uneventful, and in the afternoon of the second day they approached their goal. Ahead could be seen a massive fir tree breaking through the forest cover. Around the top flew several dozen dark shapes, ravens as far as could be seen. Kern slipped forward invisibly to scout, and found a large clearing below the tree. Above he could see the bodies hanging, but nothing else seemed to be present. He called the rest of the party forward, and they gathered below the fir and tried to figure out the best way to get all the loot. In the end, Guy was given Erijay's potion of flying, and the henchman sent up the tree to cut down the bodies for the rest of the party to loot once they hit the ground. This seemed to work at first, until someone noticed the ravens were descending, circling the tree and approaching the party. Guy tried to get above them, hoping to smash a few to the ground with falling bodies, but he was intercepted on the way and had to fight for his life. The rest of the birds fell on the rest of the party. Jasper immediately shouted "close your eyes!", and whipped out the preserved medusa head to turn the flying things to stone. Alas, the head not being fresh, it did no such thing this time. The ravens descended and began to peck at everyone's eye's and heads. Casting blindly, Bjorn loosed some magic missiles, Erijay a blast from her wand of cold, and Lomar called down a curse on the flock. To the distress of them all, no birds fell in this onslaught. However, another blast from the wand, a web to pin one lot of ravens to the tree, and a few bolts from Jasper and Kern took down about half the birds. The rest flew back up the tree and out of range, leaving the party alone. Who proceeded (after some first aid and healing of course), to get on with the "cut down corpse and loot" process. In this they were successful, gathering a fine collection of coin, gems and jewelry, as well as a few possible magical items (a mace, potion and a huge tome). Kern also collected the desiccated remains of one body, obviously a lady of some importance based on the cornet and signet ring she wore. The merchant figured someone might pay handsomely for the remains, assuming he could figure out who she was and from whence she came.

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With evening falling, the party restrained Lomar form igniting the giant tree and quickly headed back east, to put as much distance between them and the tree before they made camp for the night.

Campaign Pitch #4 - City of Bridges

Westmist Session #81 - Stonehell Revisited

Campaign Pitch #5 - Saltbox

Campaign Pitch #2 - The Fey Border

Westmist Session #82 - Damm That Duncal!! Again!!!

Westmist Session #83 - Consolidation

Westmist Session #84 - The Dead Who Walk

Westmist Session #85 - Into the Pit

Westmist Session # 86 - Marital and Hallucinogenic Bliss

LotFP Character Names and Scurrilous Backgrounds

Character Class - The Swashbuckler

Character Class - The Musketeer

House Rule - Firearms

Westmist Session #87 - Finally, Something Besides Monkeys

Character Classes - The Vivimancer and Aquamancer

Vivimancer

Aquamancer

Character Class - The Calmonari

Campaign Reference - The Far Isles

Westmist Session #88 - Brains ... Brains ...

Westmist Session # 89 - Winter Wandering with Barbarians

Westmist Session #90 - Bears, Birds and Bodies