The Scarlet Horde: Bearfolk

More goodies for Scarlet Heroes! Will one show up in my solo game? Only time will tell!

Bearfolk

 "Five day march on a loaf of bread

The last of winter's fat we shed

Blades bright shining in the sun

We war until our duty's done"

-- Bearfolk marching song

The origin of the Bearfolk is a mystery to all, even the ursine warriors themselves. Never questioning their existence, the Bearfolk roam the world, selling their skills as mercenaries. Each fall, those Bearfolk not engaged in war gather together for a great feast and telling of tales, before settling into small, secluded communities to weather the colder months.

Bearfolk, much like humans, may be any class. In addition, they receive the following traits and benefits:

Trait Points: Bearfolk receive a single point in the trait "Ursine Senses", used to sniff out friend or foe, find a trail, or decide if the jam has gone off.

Southpaw: Fantastically strong, even a lazy swat from a Bearfolk can stun a stout man. When the full force of their strength is put into a swing, a Bearfolk's unarmed attacked do 1d6 damage.

 

The Scarlet Tales of Zellsa the Indecipherable.

Know, oh thou assembled! In the third reign of the Childlike Empress, but before the sacking of golden Jhadur was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms stretched across the world like bright gems in a cloth of emerald and sapphire, cinnabar and gold. Hither came Zellsa the rogue, of greedy eye and hungry hands, to plunder the wealth of the earth with soft tread of his sandaled feet…

A New Beginning

Well, the unfortunate has happened. The folder containing my oracles and character sheet for Scarlet Heroes has vanished. Fearing it to be a victim of the Great Tidying Up of Wednesday, I’ve printed a new set of Oracles, and have opted, since this is the unfortunate season of new beginnings, to roll a new character!

First and foremost, we’ll generate his attributes. I’ll take the time honored method of going straight down the line and just seeing how the dice fall.

STR   13   +1

INT    15   +1

DEX   17   +2

WIS    08   - 1

CON   14   +1

CHA    09    --

Strong, agile, healthy as an ox and with all the sense that nature gave a stump! Unable to really decide on a race or class, I turn to the Quick Character Creation section of the book and grab my faithful D20…

11! A Human he shall be! With a Dex like that, I think I’ll make him a thief. Compulsive, a bit gullible, he’s able to get the job done but falls victim to his own shortcomings more often than not! I note down starting Hit Points, Fray Dice and Attack Bonus. For his initial trait we’ll go with the tried and true “Stealthy Burglar”. A Baggins he is! On that note, let’s work up a name. For this I’ll be using Zenopus Archives’ “Holmesian Random Names” chart. A toss of the dice gives me two syllables to work with, while further rolling produces “Zell” and “Sa”. Zellsa the thief is born!

Next comes his three free trait points. Stymied, I turn once more to the quick character creation chart, and trust to fate!

30: Charlatan

92: Tireless Endurance

52: Knows Many Harlots

Who-boy! I’m starting to get a better picture of Zellsa now. A thief, a paramour, and an oft-unsuccessful charlatan. How he’s stayed out of prison this long is anyone’s guess. All I’m left with is gear. Once again we go to the dice, and I get… 110GP. Zellsa is not a poor man, but he could do better.

A bit of shopping and scratchwork, and Zellsa is done!

Zellsa, Thief 1 (0/2XP)

HP: 4/4

AC:   7

AB: +1

STR   13   +1

INT    15   +1

DEX   17   +2

WIS    08   - 1

CON   14   +1

CHA    09    --

Traits:

Stealthy Burglar           3

Charlatan                     2

Timeless Endurance     2

Knows Many Harlots   1

Gear:

GP—45     SP—4     CP—

Enc— 28/100

Short Sword (+3 [1d6+2])

Dagger (+3[1d4+2] 15’/30’ (-2)) 

Backpack

Leather Armor (AC 7)

Silk Rope (50’)

Iron Spike (3)

Lantern

Flask of Oil

Armed and educated, now Zellsa’s adventure can begin!

In the mood to cover that classic trope of Dungeons and Dragons, the Dungeon, I flip back to the solo play dungeon section of the rulebook, and determine its type.  Tossing a D10 and D12 for type gives me…

08: Temple

11: Sacred Tomb

Next up, we roll a D12 to determine dungeon size…

5: 1D10+5 for a grand total of 9 locations!

Zellsa, fool that he is, has decided sneaking into the necropolis and looting the resting place of some religious order sounds far superior to honest work! But what sort of things might one find in the tomb? Luckily, we have a chart for that! Nine tosses of the faithful giant D20 renders…

03: Bathing Room

19: Vestry

10: Minor Shrine

07: Kitchen

11: Pilgrim Quarters

01: Acolyte’s Cells

05: Garden

10: Minor Shrine

02: Altar Hall

Not exactly what I think when I picture a sacred tomb.  Obviously, this is a place within the necropolis that’s important to its religion, so much so that pilgrims sojourn here.  Hm… What sort of religious order am I dealing with? First off, let’s see what color hat they wear! For this, I’ll roll a D6, with 1-2 being Lawful, 3-4 being Neutral and 5-6 being Chaotic. A quick roll and I get…

1, A lawful order!

But what manner of lawful order, gentle reader? A lawful order whose tomb is a site of pilgrimage. We’ll go with the tomb being attached to a small chapel, then! But to which god is the tomb sanctified? Chaotic Shiny to the rescue!

Navra, the Goddess of Victory, Archery and Creation, is surprisingly plain, with tanned skin, waist length, rippling black hair, and eyes the color of jade. She is average height and slender, and almost never frowns. She usually wears armor and a helmet dyed grey-blue and pale orange. She is also associated with solstices and sacrifice. She is often worshipped by commoners. Her surprisingly numerous followers can be primarily distinguished by their daily prayers. There are a small number of temples to her at crossroads. There are many myths involving her unhealthy relationship with certain mortals. She is the sister of Ineandon. She is known to sometimes place obstacles in the way of virtuous mortals.

And why, gentle readers, is this tomb so special? Well, considering that Navra’s portfolios are Victory, Archery, and Creation, we’ll say that this is the resting place of a great hero of Navra, a woodsman bearing a bow crafted by Navra herself.  It’s this bow that’s caught Zellsa’s eye. Why? For that I’ll turn to the Diablo II supplement forAD&D. We’ll call the item level 3 of 20, and a roll to determine its powers gives… 21! A Prefix and Suffix!

Normally, I’d roll for base item type, but since it’s a bow, we’ll just roll to find out what kind of bow it is. Rollin’ the bones!

19: Composite Bow.

Next I roll Prefix and Suffix. Each is a D60+30. A quick pair of rolls and I get…

Prefix: 85— Fine (+1 to Hit; Doubles damage on a natural roll of 19-20)

Suffix: 78— of Lightning (+2d6 Electrical Damage)

Fitting for a weapon crafted by a divine bowyer.

So! We’ve got ourselves a new character, a dungeon and loot for the end, should Zellsa be brave and lucky enough to claim it!

Will he be that lucky? Tune in later this evening to find out!

The Devil's Armory: Diablo II Style Weapons

I collect an odd range of RPG products. If something catches my eye, I'll pick it up even if I don't have the proper system. One thing I acquired early in my gaming career is a copy of Diablo II: The Awakening. This sourcebook/adventure module, for the 2nd edition of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, included kits based on the classes from the Diablo II PC game, along with spells, monsters, and an adventure to whip the tar out of the titular antagonist himself.

Most importantly, however, a series of tables to generate gear after the fashion of Diablo II's random items was included. Prefixes and Suffixes are stacked with various types of gear to generate artifats obscene or profound While you can still find an HTML version of the generator over this way, I thought it'd be fun to roll up a few items and convert them over to my current fascination, Scarlet Heroes. Ready? Read on after the break!

Painted in Scarlet: The Patchwork World

So my nephew, fine lad that he is, has shown an interest in tabletop RPGs.  And I, being the cool uncle that I am (no, really, I swear!), offered to run Scarlet Heroes for him to get a taste of D&D. As I've mentioned elsewhere, I am a lazy, lazy man. So rather than come up with a custom world, I decided to save time partake in an experiment: Create a setting as someone his age might have in the early nineties, using those books and boxed sets an older brother (or cool uncle) might have on their shelf.  Here's what I've come up with so far...

Play begins in Thunder Rift, I've lifted a few modules from elsewhere to fill in some gaps (B7: Rahasia, for example, B3: Palace of the Silver Princess for another), bu Thunder Rift forms a nicely contained playground for the nephew to get used to the system with. Eventually, I'm sure, the brave and noble nephew will grow tired of the Thunder Rift, or he'll sneak through one of the many Ningaublin rifts to the world outside. What will he find there? Well...

The Gray Box. Enough of a setting to hang my hat on, open enough to do what I want and not worry about stepping on anyone's canon. Out in the Trackless Sea, one might find X1: The Isle of Dread,  And beyond that, people speak of a strange coast, upon which rests a strange city:

A bit closer to home, beyond the eastern edge of the map rests many a strange kingdom, an excuse to break out my Gazetteers (especially Principalities of Glantri).

Adventuring on the surface world is all well and good, of course, but everyone knows that the best adventure awaits the deeper you go, and if you go deep enough, well....

Many a strange and fanciful sight to be seen here in the Hollow World, and wouldn't you know it? The Immortals have replaced the Faerunian pantheon. Oh dear...

So there you have it. A cluttered world that makes a certain sort of sense when you step back, stick out your tongue, and cross your eyes. Adventure Modules, with a bit of tweaking, supply many a quest, and when the nephew has exhausted those, well... There's always a rumor and a whim, or perhaps a friendly Ningauble to show him the way to other settings. For extra monsters, there's always the Monstrous Compendium Annuals.

Now, I wonder where I put my Dark Sun boxed set...

Painted in Scarlet: Mhengyon

Mehngyon
No. Appear:	1	Morale:	10
Armor Class:	-1	Hit Dice:	20
Attacks:	2 Claws OR Breath Weapon
Damage	1d8/1d8/special	Skill Bonus:	+6
Move:	Fly 120', Special	Treasure:	Special

To ask Mehngyon of his people, the great serpent will claim there is only Mehngyon. Multiple sightings, all within the same day, lead to claims that there are several such entities in existince, or, more worrisome, there is only one, possessing great powers.

Scholar by vocation, Mehngyon swims the Boundless Mists, that murky sea of dreams linking all humanity. By delving in to one sleeper's dreams, the great dragon is capable of emerging elsewhere in the world, giving rise to the rumors there are many of his kind.

Collector by nature, Mehngyon prowls the Boundless Mists, gathering up dreams both interesting and profane. Such dreams are the only sustenance Mehngyon requires, though he delights in cakes of honey.

Within Mehnyon's mouth lies a portal to the Boundless Mists, and when threatened, the great serpent will spew forth a cloying cloud of iridescent, abalone mist. This mist occupies an area 20 feet on a side.  A number of creatures whose total Hit Die equal  Mehngyon's caught in this mist are placed into a magical slumber lasting a day and a night.  Gentleman that he is, Mehngyon will oft remain to ensure no harm befalls the sleepers.

Thriving on the dreams of others, Mehngyon has no need for treasure. However, his scales are studded with numerous pearls, the precious baubles often shed after a good scratch. These gems range in value from 4 to 100GP, depending on size, and are well prized by practitioners of the arcane arts for their use in various occult rituals.

I am, by most standards, not that old. Reasonably an adult, I grew up well into the twilight years of my preferred gaming systems' lifespan. I missed several of the seminal icons that framed most members of the OSR's opinions on what D&D should be.  But, I also had several of my own. So, in an attempt to balm my ego after a recent birthday, here's some notable examples of what molded my views on what fantasy should be:


Rankin/Bass' "The Hobbit" (1977): We had a VHS of this when I was growing up, and I've watched it dozens of times. Well before I read the book, I had committed the basic story to heart, and it influenced my childhood doodles and writings.
Lesson Learned: Each adventure should feel grand. Dragons should be terrifying. Elves should be alien.

Rankin/Bass' "Flight of Dragons" (1982): Yet another VHS staple (notice a trend here?). The mundane and the magical, an explanation of fantasy, even if the science is a bit silly.
Lesson Learned: Talking animals are cool. Wizards should be mysterious, powerful, and colorful. (This dovetailed with The Hobbit, as I settled on Gandalf the Gray meaning he was a wandering wizard, unlike the four brothers from Flight of Dragons. Silly me).

Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Barsoom" books: I was a voracious reader as a child, and my parents were yardsaling pros, so I always tagged along to rummage through stacks of books. Burroughs' showed me a vast, exotic vista, painting pictures I can still see clearly. I have a soft spot for tales of heroes and daring-do thanks to this.
Lesson Learned: An appreciation for exotic vistas and strange peoples.

Karl Edgar Wagner's "Night Winds": Wagner's Kane... A grim counterpart to Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian.  I started with yet another yardsale find, the short story collection "Night Winds". No single lesson learned from this, but it influenced how I view giants, dark magic, and impressed on me just how miserable it is to be immortal.  (On a side note, my father would later give me a box of his own books, Conan the Barbarian for the most part. Hard to explain

Fred Saberhagen's "Book of Swords": Sci-fantasy at its best, in my opinion. Set in the future, where man has regressed to a feudal society and magic runs rampant, the gods vie for power in a game of chance using 12 magical swords.
Lesson Learned: Make your magic items unique.

Pirates of Dark Water: A cartoon, about the alien world of Mer and the young pirate-prince questing to save it. The series was never finished, but it reeked of the sort of sci-fantasy trappings I'd come to love.

Stephen R. Donaldson's "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Ur-Lord and Unbeliever": Wow, where to start... A cynical spin on the fantasy genre, with a protagonist that was more antagonizing than the villains.  I read the first trilogy in the early nineties, and recently read the second. Tragedy, doubt, melancholy, Donaldson showed me a world and was the first author to really give a sense of looming melancholy in a story I'd read.  I wouldn't feel that same sort of melancholy until years later, when I watched Ralph Bakshi's "Wizards".
Lesson Learned: Further influencing my view on Giants. The general feel of the world.

The Legend of Zelda / Crystalis: Two Nintendo Entertainment System titles that I played through a dozen times. Adventure games, drawing you on through a fantastic world (in Crystalis' sense), that sprawled out, just waiting for you to explore its nooks and crannies (Zelda). Again, no lessons learned here, just impressions and feelings.

Krull/Beastmaster/Gandahar/The Dark Crystal/Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics: No single lesson gleaned from any of these. They just melded together into a sense of tone and scenery.

EDIT: A good friend reminded me of another bit of trivia I'd forgotten.  Choose Your Own Adventure books. The paperback ones with the white binding.
 

There's several more bits of media that influence a young me (HG Wells, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, more video games than I can shake a stick at.), but those are the ones that stand out the clearest in my mind. It wasn't until recent years that I fell into the influences other people so often claim (Bakshi's Wizards, Heavy Metal Magazine, Moebius, etc.). So, all one of you that reads this blog, what was YOUR formative media?