This issue has:

Another boardgame by Keith Nellist - The Nights of Horror, based on the Dragon Pass boardgame;

The second part of Gianni Vacca's Timinits and Trolls rules mofifications for Tunnels and Trolls

Richard Crawley returns with a look at skirmish wargaming with the Song of Blades and Heroes ruleset

Chris Bell gives us a RuneQuest 6 version of the 7 Mothers Cult

Jane Williams delights us with a story about the Three Little Sundomers and the Big, Bad Orlanthi

Andrew Larsen gives us an adventure set in a Praxian oasis - the Belly of the Beast, with lots of Brooish goodness.

And, for the first time, I have no article in the issue!

Richard Crawley

Some years ago it was announced that the Italian company Stratelibri were to develop a range of Gloranthan miniatures and an accompanying set of skirmish wargames rules. Sadly the illness and subsequent death of the proprietor of Stratelibri meant that this never came to pass. Now, however, another Italian company has created a set of fantasy skirmish rules that have the potential to do the job that Stratelibri never did. The company in question is Ganesha Games and the game is called Song of Blades and Heroes.

Why Skirmish Rules?

As long-time readers of Rule One may be aware, I’ve some history of exploring Gloranthan battles using the Hordes of the Things fast-play fantasy wargames rules (Hott in Glorantha). “Fine”, you might well think, “I can see that bringing in a set of wargames rules might give us a different perspective on Glorantha but surely we can already do skirmishes using our favourite RPG rules?”

Well, yes, you can but the fact is that many RPG designers have gone out of their way to design games that simulate combat without requiring the use of miniatures. This does tend to mean that they don’t really support some of the things you can do more easily in a miniatures game.

Let’s face it, Runequest combats can be pretty static: “He hits me, I parry, I hit him, he fails to parry, I do 6 points of damage to his left leg…”. There’s no movement, no dramatic flow to the fight. Heroquest (version 2 especially) works harder at producing dramatic narrative but does so in a way that isn’t really suitable for a figures game and doesn’t really support the competitive gaming dynamic.

Where Song of Blades and Heroes scores is in providing a system we can use to enjoy a challenging game using perhaps a couple of dozen figures in a couple of hours. I have to say the rules have given my small and rather incoherent 28mm figure collection (those that weren’t already deployed in HOTT armies that is) a new lease of life. What is now a Vormaini raiding party was previously just a cluster of figures taking up shelf space and chiding me for having bought them on a whim. A dozen old and long-unused Tunnel Elves now see regular action as trollkin or troglodytes as the situation requires.

The Rules

SoBH starts off using very basic, simple mechanics. A miniature represents a single individual and has just two characteristics; Quality and Combat. Individuals with a better Quality score are more likely to act in a given turn and are less likely to run away if the going gets tough. Individuals with a better Combat score fight more effectively.

The basic combat system is dead easy. Each side rolls a D6 and adds their Combat score. If my score exceeds yours you either fall over (if I rolled evens) or fall back (if I rolled odds). If my score is double yours, you’re dead. If my score is treble yours, not only have I killed you but I’ve done so in such a gruesome fashion that your mates may well be daunted and run from the fight.

Missile combat and Magic work in a very similar way but take effect at a distance. Magic can be used to cause damage like a missile weapon or a magic user can transfix an opponent. Transfixed models can’t act in any way other than to try and overcome the effect.

Movement and ranges are measured using three different lengths of measuring stick. I made mine from suitably painted lengths of bamboo skewer liberated from the kitchen drawer. This system makes movement and ranged combat pretty quick. There’s no fiddling around looking up the move distance of a particular troop type; you just grab the “medium” (green in my case) measuring stick unless the figure has, say, the Long Move Special Rule. These Special Rules and the activation system are where SoBH scores particularly. Firstly, though, let’s look at the activation system.

Who Does What?

Mostly, a player will activate his figures one at a time (some special rules change this). When he chooses to activate a figure he can do so using one, two or three dice. For each of these dice that scores the miniature’s Quality score or higher he may make one action (move, fight, etc.). You can also use additional actions to attack more powerfully in melée, to aim with missile weapons or to cast more powerful spells.

However, if a player rolls two or more failures, that player’s turn ends immediately after this figure has done its stuff! This means that you can guarantee that all of your figures can at least try to act by only rolling one die for each but you’ll soon find that high Quality figures rolling several dice will run rings around you.

This system makes for interesting tactical decisions. Do I risk rolling three dice so this figure can aim, shoot, then run across the bridge or do I play it safer and just roll two and risk being caught in the open?

Special Rules

When building your SOBH warband you spend points to buy Quality and Combat. values and to add Special Rules to your figures. These are what make your Trollkin behave differently from your human militia even though they may have the same Combat and Quality scores.

SoBH provides a long list of Special Rules and individual figures typically have up to three of them. Thus, my Vormaini pirates have Fearless which makes them immune to the morale-sapping effects of the aforementioned gruesome kill. My Trollkin have Free Disengage which allows them to break off from combat without their opponent getting a free attack as they do so.

The Hero is always assumed to roll six on one die so always gets to make one action. The Assassin kills just by beating his opponent rather than by doubling him. A character with Stealth can’t be shot at if in contact with an item of terrain.

These Special Rules take a bit of mastering in some cases but are crucial in giving the game its flavour.

Building Your Warband

SOBH suggests that you spend 300 points on your warband. Stats for about 200 types of unit are included in the rule book but there’s a Warband Builder system on the Ganesha Games website and at least two spread-sheets are available that will do the calculations for you.

A typical 300 point warband will feature about half-a-dozen figures but I managed to get my goblins up to a dozen by giving them crap stats!

Using SoBH in Glorantha

While SoBH is a generic rules set, it will produce perfectly good Gloranthan games. Half a dozen figures a side would make for a nice little Lunar dart competition. Add a few more figures and you could do a Dark Troll attack on a benighted Issaries caravan. Given the right figures I could see myself gaming:

Vormaini Pirates raid Trowjang

Balazaring hunters encounter a family of smilodons

A Mostali raiding party tries to destroy stolen Dwarf technology at Harpoon

Char Un Cossacks attempt to burn Apple Lane

Elves encounter Trolls where the Garden meets the Troll Stronglands.

You’re never going to agree with my decisions on the relative fighting value of Gloranthan troop types but I thought I’d present a few examples to give you an idea of how SOBH might work in Glorantha and the kind of decisions you might take in rating your troops.

Sartarites

Let’s assume we’re looking at gaming raids between Sartarite clans or skirmishes between rebels and some Lunar garrison troops. My usual assumption is that the majority of troops will be rated 4+ for quality rising to 3+ for the better-trained or more warlike types. I’d save 2+ for the really elite types and tend to avoid 5+ as it makes for a really dull game for the player concerned unless he can boost the figures’ quality ratings using a Leader model.

As such I think I’d rate Sartarite Fyrd as Quality 4+ and give them an average sort of Combat value of 3. To be honest, you could stop there and not bother with special rules for these guys but Forester (no reduction to move distance when moving through woods) would help them against Lunar heavy troops. If you think the clan in question are less warlike and are likely to flee without a motivational leader, make them Quality 5+ but give them a Leader and make them Gregarious (+1 to quality rolls when acting as a group).

Weaponthanes or other leaders should generally be more likely to hang around and better in combat. I’d start with Quality 3+ and a Combat value of 4. Leader is an obvious addition to this.

If you wanted a warband built on a Humakti temple you’d probably want to rate all of your figures at least Combat 4 and I’d suggest Fearless (don’t take morale tests when friends suffer a gruesome kill) as an appropriate Special Rule. The leader of a Warband like this might have the Leader Special Rule but as losing a Leader requires nearby friends to make a morale check you might decide to go with Hero instead.

Lunars

If we’re gaming Sartarite fyrd against Lunar peltasts I’d be tempted to give the Lunars better Quality ratings to reflect their formal military training. So if their fyrd are 4+ our peltasts are 3+. The peltasts give us a chance to look at missile weapons. My preference would be to treat javelins as short range weapons so they get the Shooter (short) Special Rule.

Perhaps our Lunar patrol is led by a keen young Tribune? I’d be tempted to give him a 4+ quality to reflect his inexperience but boost up his usefulness with Long Move and Mounted. The former is self-explanatory whilst the latter gives him +1 in combat against foot troops and the ability to freely disengage from them too.

If the Lunars then call in the Char Un to deal with these troublemakers, we’re obviously looking at Mounted troops and I think Savage (all kills are Gruesome) is probably called for.

A Few Others

I’m sure by now you’re beginning to see how Song of Blades and Heroes has the potential to capture the flavour of Gloranthan skirmish warfare. I’ll finish off with a few more suggestions, though.

Gorp – Quality 6+, Combat 2, Slow, Poison, Animal

Krarshtkid – Quality 2+, Combat 3, Long Move, Stealth

Morokanth – Quality 4+, Combat 5, Savage.

Sun Dome Templar – Quality 3+, Combat 5, Steadfast, Gregarious.

And finally, a word about scaling. With characters like Jar-Eel and Harrek around this will always be an issue for any Gloranthan game. Personally, I’m not sure I’d bother with these super characters – play HOTT or Dragon Pass if you want to include them in your games. But if you insist, I suppose we could rate Harrek as Quality 2+, Combat 6, Assassin, Fearless, Forester, Free Disengage, Hero, Leader, Long Move, Magic User, Savage, Terror, and Tough. (Using these traits, Harrek would cost 280 points out of 300!- ed.)

A Labour of Love

Gianni Vacca

Part 1: Issue 13, Summer 2012
Part 2: Issue 14, Autumn 2012
Part 3: Issue 15, Winter 2013

Part Two: Creating Characters

Characteristics

Since Timinits & Trolls is about adventurers (they call them delvers in Umathela), the game rules will be centred on the numerical characteristics that define the player characters. Each characteristic is actually a blanket term covering any skills the delver may have in the particular field evoked by the name of the characteristic.

Starting delvers have characteristics in the 3-18 range because they are rolled on 3D6. Lucky players may have a higher starting value, though (see CHARACTER GENERATION below).

All Umathelan delvers are human. Non-human characters’ characteristics can be deduced from the creature descriptions in the CREATURES section (q.v.).

The ten characteristics are:

Strength (STR)
Constitution (CON)
Intelligence (INT)
Power (POW)
Dexterity (DEX)
Charisma (CHR)
Knowledge (KNW)
Perception (PER)
Speed (SPD)
Luck (LK)

(Note that PER and KNW are new characteristics, not part of the Original T&T game.)

STR covers any skills that involve the exertion of brute force, like swinging an axe, forcing open a closed door, lifting a heavy object…

CON covers any skills related to resisting physical attacks, wounds, illnesses, poison, and recovering from the same.

INT covers skills related to innate intelligence (as opposed to learning) such as reasoning, memorising, solving riddles or puzzles, and playing clever games such as chess.

POW is the measure of how attuned the delver is with the dwimmer-craft that the magical world of Glorantha is infused with. POW is different from the other characteristics insofar as it does not correspond to a set of skills but rather to a pool of ‘points’ used to fuel spells.

DEX covers any skills that involve physical agility, eye-hand co-ordination, and more generally precision, meaning most manual skills at the end of the day.

CHR covers all inter-personal skills, such as commanding, seducing, cajoling…

KNW covers skills related to learning and education, and more generally intellectual skills that are not innate.

PER covers any skills related to awareness to one’s environment and to the five senses.

SPD despite its name, SPD is not physical speed (as in running) but reflexive speed: this characteristic covers initiative, resisting being surprised, etc.

LK covers any skills not covered by the other characteristics.

Something that must be kept in mind is that the player is free to choose between several applicable characteristics for a given skill roll (see SKILL ROLLS below).

Delh the Delver is introduced to a high chieftain, and he’s looking for the right words to say to please him – the player is free to make either a CHR or a KNW roll.

Losing Characteristic Points

Over the course of their adventures, delvers may lose characteristic points; mostly CON (through combat) and POW (by casting spells).

Should he lose STR characteristic points and reach 0, then a delver passes out. Any further STR characteristic point lost is taken off his CON.

Should he lose CON characteristic points and reach 0, then a delver is in a coma. Any further CON characteristic point lost counts towards negative CON. When the CON reaches -10, the delver is dead.

Recovering Characteristic Points

Characteristic points (except CON) are regained at the rate of 1 characteristic point per 10 minutes spent in non-strenuous activity; this typically means nothing more taxing than walking.

Damage to CON characteristic points is recovered at the rate of 1 characteristic point per day of absolute rest (unless magic is used to speed the healing process). This mostly means that CON characteristic points may only be regained between adventures.

Monsters recover lost Monster Rating points at the rate of 1 MR point per 10 minutes spent in non-strenuous activity.

Increasing Characteristics

Increasing a characteristic by +1 costs 10 times the current characteristic rating in Adventure Points. Delh the Delver has a KNW rating of 8. Bringing it up to 9 would cost him 80 Adventure Points.

POW can only be increased by Acolytes, Alchemists, Priests, Specialist Mages, Templars, and Wizards. Delvers from other character class cannot increase their POW.

Starting Age

The starting age for human delvers is 10+3D6 years.

Height and Weight

The player can either choose them, or roll 3D6 and consult the table below:

Roll

Height

Weight

3

1.22m/4’

34kg/75 lb

4

1.30m/4’3"

41kg/90 lb

5

1.35m/4’5"

48kg/106 lb

6

1.42m/4’8"

54kg/119 lb

7

1.47m4’10"

61kg/134 lb

8

1.55m/5’1"

68kg/150 lb

9

1.60m5’3"

73kg/160 lb

10

1.68m/5’6"

77kg/170 lb

11

1.73m/5’8"

82kg/180 lb

12

1.80m/5’11"

86kg/190 lb

13

1.85m/6’1"

91kg/200 lb

14

1.93m/6’4"

102kg/225 lb

15

1.98m/6’6"

113kg/250 lb

16

2.06m/6’9"

127kg/280 lb

17

2.11m/6’11"

141kg/310 lb

18

2.18m/7’2"

159kg/350 lb

Weight Possible

This is 100 times STR. It measures how many ‘weight units’ a delver can haul around (20 weight units correspond to 1kg/2 lb).

Combat Adds

Combat Adds for delvers are computed using the following characteristics: STR, DEX, SPD, LK.

Each characteristic STR/DEX/SPD/LK point lower than 9 yields -1.
Each characteristic STR/DEX/SPD/LK point higher than 12 yields +1.

Money and Equipment

A character just beginning a career as a delver won’t have many possessions. Umathings are expected to come with the equipment that befits their character class. City-dwellers have a certain amount of money that they can use to buy their starting equipment.

Starting Possessions for Umathings

Clothing

Equipment

Tunic

Belt knife

Breeches/kilt

Fire making gear

Sandals/boots

Snares

Underwear (usually loin cloth)

Drinking skin

Warm cloak/coat

Basic camp gear

Headgear/hat/cap

Torches

Starting Money for City-Dwellers

D100

Background

Money

01-25

Umathing Townsman

D100 guilders

26-60

Malki Townsman

2D100 guilders

61-85

Transient Umathing

D100 guilders

86-95

Poor Noble

5D100 guilders

96-99

Rich Noble

10D100 guilders

00

Very Rich Noble

20D100 guilders

Character Level

A delver’s Level is a measure of how good his skills are. A delver rises in level because his skills have improved, and not the other way round as in some other role-playing games…

A delver’s Level is computed by looking at his highest Primary Characteristic (which depends on his archetype, see CHARACTER GENERATION below). If this value falls within the ranges shown below for a given Character Level, then the delver is considered to be of that Character Level.

Highest Primary
Characteristic

Character Level

1-19

1

20-29

2

30-39

3

40-49

4

Each +10

+1

Thus for a Jack-of-all-trades to rise to Character Level 2 at least one of his DEX, INT, POW, LK must be between 20 and 29.If a player character starts play by having a characteristic already in that range (which may actually happen thanks to the open-ended characteristic roll at character generation), then he is already a 2nd level character.

Level Benefits

Skill Roll Bonus

A delver always adds his level on skill rolls on one of his Primary Characteristics.

Delh the Delver is a 1st level Jack-of-all-trades: he may add +1 to all his skill rolls on INT, POW, DEX, and LK.

Talent Increases

Every time a character raises a Primary Characteristic by +1, then all Talents based on that given characteristic also increase by an amount equal to the character’s level.

Al the Alchemist has DEX 12; it is the base characteristic for his Alchemy Talent of 15. Al has gradually increased his KNW to 30 and is thus now a 3rd level Alchemist. Al spends 120 Adventure Points to bring up his DEX to 13. His Alchemy Talent (based on DEX) is also automatically brought up to 15+3=18.

New Talent

Every time a character goes up a level, he can pick up a new Talent.

Character Generation

First and foremost, the player rolls 3D6 for each of the ten characteristics, in the 1 to 10 order outlined above.

Should the player roll any triples, he keeps the value, re-rolls the dice, and adds the second value to the first one. This is open-ended, i.e., if the second roll is also a triple, it calls for a third roll, etc.

The next step is choosing the character’s archetype. This choice is restricted by the character’s cultural/ethnic background, and must hence be discussed with the game master.

There are broad archetypes, and narrow archetypes.

Broad archetypes correspond to well-known character archetypes found in fantasy fiction. They have an easy-to-grasp set of talents, and are thus suggested for novice players or for those unfamiliar with Glorantha. The following broad archetypes are available for Timinits & Trolls: Jack-of-all-trades, Journeyman, Soldier, and Wizard.

Narrow archetypes correspond to character types with much more specialised talents, and are thus suggested for more experienced players. The following narrow archetypes are available for Timinits & Trolls: Alchemist, Herbalist, Minstrel, Sage, and Thief. Both the game master and the players may devise other narrow archetypes, using the already existing ones as models. The nine archetypes presented herewith should suffice, however, for any Second-Age Umathelan player character; shamans are NPCs only (and described under Spirit Magic), and other archetypes should be easily inferred from the already existing ones, e.g., a weaponthane/housecarl is a Jack-of-all-trades specialised in combat-related Talents, an artificer is a Journeyman with Technology as his main Talent, etc.

The game is set in the world of Glorantha, which has a very rich and detailed array of cultures and organisations. As a consequence, the choice of the character’s archetype will also dictate what choice the player character will have in terms of organisation membership. Some player characters will already be members of a given organisation at character generation; some others will strive during their adventures to grow in their skills so as to be able to become members of a cult.

Jack-of-all-trades

The "Jack-of-all-trades" archetype corresponds to the typical Gloranthan delver, more so for Umathings. Jacks-of-all-trades are good in several fields, without excelling in any particular one.

Background: Any.
Requisites: None.
Primary Characteristics: INT, POW, DEX, LK.
Talents: Choose any five starting Talents.
Combat:

Jacks-of-all-trades get their normal combat adds.

Jacks-of-all-trades can use any weapon.

Magic: Jacks-of-all-trades may cast Hedge Magic spells normally.
Organisation: Jacks-of-all-trades do not belong to any organisation. They can join a Cult later on in the course of the game.

Journeyman

Journeymen are what populate the lands of Umathela: butchers, hunters, traders, smiths… A journeyman moves from one town to another to gain experience of different workshops, hence the incentive for adventuring.

Background: Any, but mostly city- and town-dwellers.
Requisites: None.
Primary Characteristics: STR, CON, CHR, LK.
Talents:

Choose a craftsmanship Talent such as "animal handling", "silversmithing", but roll 2D instead of 1D. Doubles add and roll over. Alternatively, roll 1D6+6, but in this case a double 6 won’t add and roll over.

Choose three other starting Talents.

Combat: Journeymen only get half of the calculated combat adds.
Magic: Should a Journeyman ever learn Hedge Magic, his skill rolls will always have to be the double of the expected spell level.
Organisation: Journeymen do not belong to any organisation. They can join a Cult later on in the course of the game.

Soldier

Soldiers are always of Malki extraction. Malki are Westerners who worship the Invisible God and whose society is divided in castes. Soldiers are one of these castes; they have been trained to the use of arms and armour since their childhood.

Background: Malki.
Requisites: None.
Primary Characteristics: STR, DEX, SPD, LK.
Talents: Choose a single starting Talent.
Combat:

Soldiers get their normal combat adds, +1 per level.

Soldiers can use any weapon.

Soldiers double the armour points of any armour and shield worn.

Magic: Soldiers don’t use Magic.
Organisation: Soldiers belong to the Malki Soldier caste. They cannot join any Cult.

Templar Templars are elite Malki soldiers devoted to protecting the presence of the Malki peoples in Pamaltela. Any righteous Soldier who has shown absolute devotion to Malkion, who has undertaken vows of celibacy and poverty, and who has severed all ties to the world but to the Order of the Temple may qualify for membership. Templars are taught the following Wizardry spells, each upon reaching the indicated level:

Vorpal Blade at character creation

Poor Baby upon reaching Level 2

Healing Feeling upon reaching Level 3

Too-Bad Toxin upon reaching Level 4

Zap Armour upon reaching Level 8

Wizard

Wizards are necessarily from the Malki peoples, Westerners who worship the Invisible God and whose society is divided in castes. Wizards are one of these castes; they have been trained in casting Wizardry spells since their childhood. Some Wizards specialise in a single school of Wizardry; they are called Specialist Mages.

God Learners also train some of their members to become Wizards. Although the God Learner cult originated in the West, they have less stringent caste requirements than their brethren.

Background: Malki.
Requisites: INT & DEX must be equal to or greater than 10.
Primary Characteristics: INT, POW, DEX, CHR.
Talents: Choose a single starting Talent.
Combat:

Wizards get their normal combat adds – but see below what happens when a Wizard uses a "wrong" weapon.

Wizards are limited to using weapons whose base damage is less than 3D6. If they wield any other weapon, it will only deal 2D6 of damage, and they will lose their combat adds. They will also be so distracted that they won’t be able to cast any spell.

Magic:

A starting Wizard knows all 1st level Wizardry spells. Spells beyond that level must be purchased from the Wizards’ Guild or discovered whilst adventuring.

A Wizard casts spells of a level lower than his at a reduced cost. The reduction in cost is equal to the level difference, e.g., a 4th level Wizard may cast a 2nd level spell with a reduction of 2 points of POW.

Wizards do not use Hedge Magic.

Specialist Mage: These are very specialised Wizards. They cast spells of their chosen specialisation school at half cost, but can’t cast any spells of the other schools.
Organisation: Wizards belong to the Malki Wizard caste. They cannot join any Cult.

Alchemist

Alchemists are city-based specialists who have been trained in Wizardry but with less emphasis on adventuring and propagation of the faith than fellow God Learners or Wizards. Alchemists operate within the Alchemists’ Guild of Umathela. The guild makes sure that its members charge the expected price for their services, and that the secrets of alchemical skills are never revealed.

Background: Usually Malki.
Requisites: INT must be equal to or greater than 12.
Primary Characteristics: INT, POW, DEX, KNW.
Talents: Alchemy (DEX or INT)
Combat:

Alchemists get their normal combat adds – but see below what happens when an Alchemist uses a "wrong" weapon.

Alchemists are limited to using weapons whose base damage is less than 3D6. If they wield any other weapon, it will only deal 2D6 of damage, and they will lose their combat adds.

Magic:

A starting Alchemist knows five 1st level Wizardry spells. Any other 1st level spell, and any spell beyond that level must be purchased from the Alchemists’ Guild or discovered whilst adventuring.

The cost reduction at higher levels is the same as for Wizards (q.v.).

Alchemists do not "cast" spells like Wizards do – they imbue their potions with the dwimmer-craft of the spell and store them for later use. Alchemists are taught how to prepare the following potion types:

Acid

A Level One skill roll produces an acid inflicting 2D6 hits; costs 5 POW. Ingredient cost per dose: 5 guilders.

A Level Two skill roll produces an acid inflicting 4D6 hits; costs 10 POW. Ingredient cost per dose: 10 guilders.

A Level Three skill roll produces an acid inflicting 6D6 hits; costs 15 POW. Ingredient cost per dose: 15 guilders. This is the strongest acid that can be made.

Antidotes

Antidotes are specific to a given substance that must be counteracted. Antidotes last for two hours after having been taken.

An antidote that has been made under a skill roll of a given level will counteract a substance of that same level. So a specific Level Four antidote would counteract all but 1 level of the appropriate Level Five poison.

POW & ingredient cost per dose: as cost of countered agent.

Blade Venom

This is a special type of poison, made for use on a weapon. To negate the effect of blade venom, an antidote must already have been taken.

Blade venom must carefully be applied, i.e., before combat takes place and not during it. One dose of blade venom will coat 5 arrows, 2 spear points, or 1 sword or axe blade. Blade venom is a highly volatile liquid and will have lost its potency by the end of 3 combat rounds (appr. 6 minutes).

A Level One skill roll produces blade venom subtracting combat adds from the target equal to half the number of hits taken; costs 10 POW. Ingredient cost per dose: 10 guilders.

A Level Two skill roll produces blade venom subtracting combat adds from the target equal to the number of hits taken; costs 20 POW. Ingredient cost per dose: 20 guilders.

A Level Three skill roll produces blade venom subtracting combat adds from the target equal to twice the number of hits taken; costs 40 POW. Ingredient cost per dose: 40 guilders.

This is the strongest blade venom that can be made.

Note that combat adds can go negative in this way.

Systemic Poison This is similar to the poison found in animal stings. The effect is not immediate – on average 4 minutes after injection of the poison.

A Level One skill roll produces systemic poison that makes the target lose 1D6 points from CON; costs 4 POW. Ingredient cost per dose: 4 guilders.

A Level Two skill roll produces systemic poison that makes the target lose 2D6 points from CON; costs 8 POW. Ingredient cost per dose: 8 guilders.

A Level Three skill roll produces systemic poison that makes the target lose 3D6 points from CON; costs 12 POW. Ingredient cost per dose: 12 guilders. This is the strongest systemic poison that can be made.

Spell Potion When ingested, this potion allows the casting of 1 spell once in a 2-hour period. If it is not used in the 2-hour period, it is eliminated from the body and cannot be used. Use of the spell from the potion does not subtract POW from the user as the POW is already contained in the potion.

POW cost per dose: as spell ×2 (once to give the desired effect, once to keep that effect in the potion).

Power-Restoring Potion To make this potion, an Alchemist must put in twice the number of POW points the potion will restore.

Other Potion Rules Potions spoil if left unused for more than 2 months after making.

An Alchemist may also produce substances that are not analogous to any of the known potions. The game master should determine a level of difficulty for the job, and then should ask the Alchemist to make an Alchemy skill roll at that level of difficulty.

Alchemists do not use Hedge Magic.

Organisation: Alchemists are full members of the Alchemists’ Guild of Umathela. They cannot join any other organisation.

Herbalist

Herbalists are country-based specialists who have been trained in harvesting herbs and medicinal plants, and in preparing simples (medicaments) and apothecary compounds.

Background: Umathing.
Requisites: INT must be equal to or greater than 12.
Primary Characteristics: INT, POW, DEX, KNW.
Talents: Herbalism (DEX or INT)
Combat:

Herbalists get their normal combat adds – but see below what happens when a Herbalist uses a "wrong" weapon.

Herbalists are limited to using weapons whose base damage is less than 3D6. If they wield any other weapon, it will only deal 2D6 of damage, and they will lose their combat adds.

Magic:
Herbalism works like Hedge Magic (q.v.) except that Herbalists do not "cast" spells – they imbue their healing poultices and ointments with the dwimmer-craft of the spell and store them for later use.

Herbalists create poultices and ointments having exactly the same effects as Alchemists’ potions, except that they are not liquids stored in vials but herb packets.

Herbalists do not have access to Wizard Magic.
Organisation: Herbalists do not belong to any organisation. They can join a Cult later on in the course of the game.

Minstrel

Minstrels can be literate troubadours entertaining the courts of dukes and barons in the civilised cities of the coast, travelling bands of players and minstrels earning a difficult living in the markets of Umathelan towns, or rural skalds singing spirit-raising epics when the tribe is marching to battle. Minstrels do not normally adventure in the dangerous ruins of Umathela, but many of them need the extra income brought by these scavenging forays into the unknown, and are also much sought after by delvers who cannot afford the expensive assistance of a Sage or who do not trust being accompanied by a fully-fledged Thief.

Background: Any.
Requisites: DEX must be equal to or greater than 12, and CHR must be equal to or greater than 14.
Primary Characteristics: INT, DEX, CHR, KNW.
Talents:

Disguise (INT or CHR)

Influence (CHR)

Language (KNW or CHR) – choose one foreign language

Tumbling (DEX)

Umathelan Cultures (KNW)

Umathelan Lore (KNW)

Combat:

Minstrels get their normal combat adds – but see below what happens when a Minstrel uses a "wrong" weapon.

Minstrels are limited to using weapons whose base damage is less than 3D6. If they wield any other weapon, it will only deal 2D6 of damage, and they will lose their combat adds.

Exception: Minstrels may use ranged weapons up to 4 dice.

If a Minstrel wears too much armour (more than 3 points of protection), his Tumbling skill value is cut in half whilst so encumbered.

Magic: Minstrels may cast Hedge Magic spells normally.
Organisation: Minstrels do not belong to any organisation. They can join a Cult later on in the course of the game.

Sage

Sages can be learned men from the cities, respected scholars, or simple rural folk with vast knowledge of their tribe’s legends and lore. Sages do not normally adventure in the dangerous ruins left behind by the God Learners or the Bug-Men, but some of them simply cannot resist the urge to find old artefacts or precious tomes and join adventuring parties. Some others simply seek wealth with which to support their studies.

Background: Any.
Requisites: KNW must be equal to or greater than 12.
Primary Characteristics: DEX, CHR, KNW, LK.
Talents:

Cartography (DEX)

Evaluate (KNW or CHR)

Influence (CHR)

Language (KNW or CHR) – choose one foreign or ancient language

Umathelan Cultures (KNW)

Umathelan Lore (KNW)

Combat:

Sages get their normal combat adds – but see below what happens when a Sage uses a "wrong" weapon.

Sages are limited to using weapons whose base damage is less than 3D6. If they wield any other weapon, it will only deal 2D6 of damage, and they will lose their combat adds.

Magic: Sages may cast Hedge Magic spells normally.
Organisation: The sage-adventurer is an apprentice scholar. Once he is wealthy enough, he can buy his way into a scholarly Cult, such as Ropotes the Wise.

Thief

‘Thief’ is an umbrella term for a wide array of delvers, from honest scouts to wily cutpurses. Most Thieves operate within the Thieves’ Guild of their home town. Independent Thieves quickly learn that they aren’t welcome in civilised cities and must spend the rest of their adventuring lives in the wilderness. These bandits are then actively hunted by law enforcers and guild-affiliated Thieves alike.

Background: Any.
Requisites: DEX must be equal to or greater than 14.
Primary Characteristics: STR, INT, DEX, CHR.
Talents:

Athletics (STR or DEX)

Disguise (INT or CHR)

Engineering (INT)

Evade (DEX)

Sleight (DEX)

Stealth (DEX)

Combat:

Thieves get their normal combat adds – but see below what happens when a Thief uses a "large" weapon.

Thieves are limited to using weapons whose base damage is less than 4D6. If a Thief uses too large a weapon (4 dice or more), he gets only half the rolled combat total, and he doesn’t get any of his combat adds.

If a Thief wears too much armour (more than 3 points of protection), his DEX rating is cut in half whilst so encumbered.

Magic: Thieves may cast Hedge Magic spells normally.
Organisation: Thieves are full members of the Thieves’ Guild of their home town. They cannot join any other organisation. Non-affiliated Thieves constantly risk undergoing the wrath of affiliated Thieves, as noted above. Tribal scouts do not run this kind of risk as long as they keep to themselves when in town. Tribal scouts can join a Cult later on in the course of the game.

Talents

Talent is the name given in Timinits & Trolls to any skill with a scope narrower than the scope of the characteristics – remember: in Timinits & Trolls, characteristics are actually sets of related skills.

Talents may in turn be quite broad (like Athletics) or quite narrow (like Climb Walls). The players have an open choice as to what kind of Talents they prefer. On the one hand, Athletics will enable a delver to climb walls, jump, or walk on a rope. On the other hand, the game master will certainly require a level 3 Athletics skill roll to climb a smooth surface whereas a level 1 Climb Wall skill roll will be deemed sufficient.

Since each Talent is actually a narrower set of skills, it must be based on a single characteristic, to which the result of a 1D6 roll is added.

Delh the Delver has his Athletics Talent based on DEX. His player rolls a 4. Delh’s DEX 15 plus 4 equals an Athletics Talent score of 19.

Sample Talents

Archery (DEX) – This skill replaces DEX for ranged combat.

Bargain (CHR) – This skill is suggested for ‘trader’ type Journeymen. Each level of difficulty enables the Journeyman to reduce the price of an object by 10%.

Gambling (LK) – A very useful skill in the cosmopolitan cities of the coast – less so in rural areas, where a gambler may get a taste of the very rough sense of justice of tribal Umathings.

Swordplay (STR or DEX) – This skill is suggested for Soldiers who have trained for special manoeuvres, e.g., disarming foes, knocking them out, concentrating damage on a single opponent, etc.

Technology (KNW) – This skill has been devised and taught by those delvers who have specialised in plundering whatever weird artefacts the Zistorites have left behind. A successful roll under Technology will enable the delver to discover how to use a Zistorite item. As always, the game master should determine the level of difficulty for the skill roll.

Acquiring a New Talent

Whenever a player character goes up a level, he gets to choose a new Talent.

Improving Talents

Improving a Talent by +1 costs the same amount of Adventure Points as improving a characteristic by +1, i.e., the skill value times 100.

Delh the Delver has an Athletics Talent score of 19. Bringing it up to 20 would cost him 190 Adventure Points.

Why improve a Talent? It would seem wiser to always improve characteristics (since any related Talents go up automatically with their base characteristic). Again this is a question of balancing narrower and broader skills.

Character Advancement

As explained above, character advancement is "bought" using Adventure Points. These are earned by delvers through adventuring (ie, they are handed out by the GM at the end of each gaming session).

The GM is the sole judge of how many Adventure Points the player characters should be awarded. A good guideline is 500 times the level of a delver per gaming session.

Keith Nellist

The History of the Fifth Wane is the biography of a woman called Hon Eel, also known as the Artess, and the Dancer. She succeeded in driving barbarians from her lands, bringing boons to civilisation, establishing dynasties and seducing gods. She could not overcome the ancient hatreds of the horse peoples who had once ruled Peloria, and they returned bringing death, destruction, chaos and hell to the Empire.

We have several contemporary records of the period, most notably the "Histories of the Dancer” which is a biography of Hon Eel, but also the massive and pompous "History of My Black Horse Troop” volumes VII which describes Sir Ethilrist’s return to the world, and to some extent XI and XII which describe some of the horrors and phenomena that his Troop encountered, many of which only appeared during the Nights of Horror and, thankfully, have never been seen again. The Pentans have their own memories of the event, horrific and incredible but they are verified by what was recorded in other sources.

The reign of Emperor Magnificus ended in a disaster known as the Nights of Horror, when ancient hatreds and dangerous magics combined to unleash death and destruction upon both the Empire and nomad hordes. Hardly any survived those events, and those that did were scarred by the horrors they experienced.

"What really happened? - the only way to discover is to experience it yourself." - Dragon Pass rules

Muster your armies, hear the whinnying of your steeds, howl your savage war cry. The importance is in the doing.

"Play it now, not then; here, not there; enjoy." - Dragon Pass rules

This game uses the Dragon Pass boardgame rules and counters, with some modifications and a new map to play out the events surrounding the Nights of Horror at the end of the Fifth Wane. You will need to make the mapboard yourself from the hex maps provided.

The idea for the game came to me when I was planning out a "History of My Black Horse Troop Volume VII” campaign arc with player-Heroes taking the roles of Knights, Wizards, or Demon Horses in the service of Sir Ethilrist, starting with their re-emergence from some Underworld into Glorantha and finishing with the construction of Muse Roost. I wanted to simulate the Nights of Horror and it seemed to fit the Dragon Pass rules in scale and so here it is, based largely on the Redline History. You will need the Dragon Pass game to play this Scenario. I’ve used counters from the Dragon Pass game as far as possible, but you will need to make a map board.

Nights of Horror

From the Redline History: "In the first pitched battle the Lunar outposts were overrun, the cities besieged, and screaming shamans again called demons upon the hapless farms of First Blessed.

Preliminary encounters with the regular Lunar army were indecisive and both sides hurriedly sent for reinforcements. The battle escalated as more troops arrived from the West of the Empire and the wily Pentan Chiefs revealed their dangerous allies.”

Game Length

The game continues until Victory conditions are met.

Victory Condition

The game ends when either side meets the victory condition after turn 6.

The Lunars win if they can drive all Pentan tribes out of the unforested parts of both Oraya (purple inside the Glowline and Orange outside it) and First Blessed (Pink inside the Glowline, Yellow outside)

They win a Magnificent Victory if the Emperor is still alive when this happens.

They may perform a Dance of Victory if Hon Eel is still alive when this happens.

They may Sing the Praises of the Goddess if the Yelm children escaped from the board.

The Pentans win if there are no Lunar units in Oraya.

It is a Real Victory if there are any Pentans in Oraya or First Blessed when there are no Lunar units in Oraya.

It is a Sad Victory if there are less than 4 Pentans remaining on the board.

Historical Outcome

The Nights of Horror was a disaster for both sides on the same scale as the Dragonkill. The nomads withdrew from the Redlands to Pent, slaughtering their herds where they stood, and each man is said to have had one hundred wives after that for so many men had died. The Lunar Empire, despite the destruction, enjoyed an era of peace for the external threats from both the East and West had disappeared, with only the south causing some trouble. Instead they turned upon themselves in a series of deadly Dart Wars amongst the nobility.

DEPLOYMENT

Lunars deploy first

Imperial Yelm Children at Palbar.
Orayan City Militia (10) anywhere in Oraya.
Kastoki – (13) anywhere East of the Arcos on the board.

Pentan Tribes deploy second

Anywhere outside Oraya (Purple and Orange), and East of the Arcos River

TURN EVENTS

1st Turn

"In the first pitched battle the Lunar outposts were overrun, the cities besieged, and screaming shamans again called demons upon the hapless farms of First Blessed.”

Special rules: Any Pentans killed return in any Redlands hex in the rally phase.

2nd Turn

"Preliminary encounters with the regular Lunar army were indecisive and both sides hurriedly sent for reinforcements.”

Special rules: Any Pentans killed return on the Eastern edge of board in the rally phase.

3rd Turn

"The Heartland Corps began to march up the Arcos valley to relieve the surviving Orayan cities. The barbarians slowly gave way before the march, gathering strength.”

Special Rules: The Heartland Corps arrives on Western edge of board during the Lunar Alliance phase.
Any Pentans killed return on the Eastern edge of board in the rally phase.

5th Turn

"The Imperial Army of the West, convinced at last that Fronela was permanently under its curse of the Syndic’s ban arrived in First Victory and joined the Heartland Corps.”

Special Rules: Imperial Army arrives on Western edge of the board during the Lunar Alliance phase.

6th Turn

Special Rules: Red Emperor and Hon Eel arrive on Western edge of the board.

RANDOM EVENTS

Roll 2D6:

2

Initiative Shifts – reverse the order in which player turns are being taken.

3

Giant appears on Southern edge of the board, East of the Arcos river.

4

Plague. For each fortress roll one die. If a one is rolled the fortress is hit by plague. Roll for each unit except Treasures, Dragons, Superheroes and Disembodied spirits:
1, 2 = Unit eliminated
3, 4 = Unit disrupted
5, 6 = no effect.

5

Barbarian Horde decide they want more loot. May not move Barbarian Horde counters this turn. If attacked they become disrupted.

6

Grazelanders (part of Pentan tribes) decide they want to be more traditionalist. May not move Grazeland counters this turn. If attacked they become disrupted.

7

Kastoki decide they want more loot. May not move Kastoki counters this turn. If attacked they become disrupted.

8

Black Destix appear, Lunar player chooses any empty hex. If already on the board, they are removed.

9

Blue Moon School appear, Lunar player chooses any empty hex. If already on board, they are removed. If already eliminated, they remain eliminated.

10

Arcos River Floods. The Flood starts in the Named tributary and goes downstream into the Arcos. It lasts one round. Roll D6:

Arcos River in First Blessed only.

Orostin River (joining the Arcos near Frangar)

Lenden River (in Rinliddi)

Woralian River (from Redlands)

Estoran River (through Kashis)

All Rivers.

11

2 units of Broo appear, seeking victims. Each player places one in any empty hex.

12

2 units of Scorpion men appear, seeking food. Each player places one in any empty hex.

13

Emperor’s Beard changes style. Roll D6:

Short Goatee.

Long beard tucked into belt.

Large sideburns.

Imperial Grand Dara Happan.

Beard but clean upper lip.

Small moustache the width of his nose.

ALLIANCES

Pentan Horde

Pentans score HORROR points that they must to immediately allocate to their three potential allies, and side effects of their activities:

Capturing Cities (once per city: Palbar, Dorid, Haarzeel, Frangar, Torang, Diavizzi): 10 each.

Capturing Temple of Reaching Moon once: 5

Killing Lunar units: 1 each unit eliminated.

Units occupying First Blessed: 1 for each unit each turn

Killing Imperial Yelm Children: 20

Allying Trolls: 10

Allying Dinosaurs: 10

Pentan Allies:

Ally

Cost

Notes

Trolls

30

Arrive from the northern or southern edge of the board.

Dinosaurs

30

Arrive from the southern edge of the board, East of the Arcos river.

Orathorn Magicians

60

When allied they may appear anywhere on the board.

Broos*

20

Per counter

Scorpion men*

20

Per counter

Ogres*

15

Appear within 3 hexes of Frangar.

*When the Pentans allocate HORROR points to these Chaos Things, they appear wherever the Pentan player wants, but are not actually controlled by anyone. Perhaps they were hired as mercenaries by either side in desperate times.

LUNAR HEROES

THE RED EMPEROR

The Red Emperor was a Wizard King, responsible only to his mother, the goddess of the Red Moon. He was immortal in that no natural death could claim him, though he could be slain in combat. This incarnation was fanatical, warlike, had an impressive beard, and was known to History as Magnificus.

HON EEL

Hon Eel the Artess made the history of the Fifth Wane. She defeated barbarians, seduced gods, befriended a dragon, brought maize to the people, overcame monster kings, won beauty contests against goddesses, married kings and started dynasties.

LUNAR ALLIES

GREEN DRAGON

The snake whiskered dragon of Losdolos Angsur had sporadically ravaged Doblian since the Dawn of Time until Hon Eel met it alone and spoke to it. The Dragon disappeared then and had not been seen since.

Hon Eel can call on the Green Dragon to aid her once. She needs to roll a 5 or 6. If successful the Dragon appears in any edge of the board. If unsuccessful, she can attempt again next turn. It can pick up the Imperial Children and take them with it but otherwise Dragonfights as per normal rules. If Hon Eel is eliminated, the Green Dragon will automatically appear, even if Hon Eel makes an Heroic escape.

CRIMSON BAT

The Red Emperor can summon the Bat on a roll of a 5 or 6. If successful the Bat appears on any Eastern edge of the board. If unsuccessful, he can attempt again next turn. If the Red Emperor is eliminated the Bat automatically appears, but will need to eat 3 Lunar units to sate its Hunger, as if it had not fed on Black Day.

BLUE MOON SCHOOL

Older than the Lunar Empire, this band of magicians, priestesses, perhaps assassins, were difficult to control, hard to predict, and worshipped an invisible blue Goddess who controlled the tides.

PENTAN TRIBES

To a civilised Pelorian the Pentans were all alike; sub-human, filthy, stinking of horse. The Pentans themselves were made up of a variety of horse nomad groups and tribes, some traditionalists, some rag-tag bands of exiles from Kralorela and Peloria.

These are represented by the different coloured counters. Pale Green, Yellow, Dark Green, Beige.

PENTAN ALLIES

ORATHORN MAGICIANS

Immortal sorcerers who lived in the wastes of Pent with their undead servants. They had Secret Powers that no one knew about. Everyone regrets them using their Powers.

The Orathorn magician represented by the Earthshaker counter can unleash their Secret Power once per game in their exotic magic phase. It must focus the Secret Power on any Chaotic unit within range (10 hexes) which brings the inhabitants of Alien worlds into Glorantha. The units that variously fall out of the sky, erupt out of the earth, or materialise out of thin air are placed by the Pentan player.

In this case we have:
The Black Horse Troop and Keener Than: in one stack, anywhere within 10 hexes of the Chaos unit acting as focus for the Secret Power.
Headhangers: Each counter must be placed in an empty hex within 10 hexes of the Chaos unit. They are not stacked.

TROLLS

Men of Darkness, and their misbegotten kin. Their mothers had come from Hell, and lurked in the dark places of the world, notably the Blue Moon Plateau, and the Elder Wilds. They occasionally served as mercenaries, eager to hunt men for food and sport, for they were always hungry.

DINOSAURS

Corrupted Dragonewts, or their spawn: mindless brutes, or stunted and mutated monsters. Some were bred for combat. They could be controlled and some were bred for combat.

CHAOS THINGS AND HORRORS

HEADHANGERS

Also known as Urgarugars. They feed on souls and are terrifying. They swallow their victim's head allowing them to feed on the soul and use the head's memories.

During the Random movement phase the Headhangers simply move toward the nearest intelligent unit and attack. If units are equally far apart then they move toward the biggest stack. If two stacks are the same, then magic factor total is the deciding factor.

BROO

Goatkin, they have long served their Mistress, Malia the mother of disease, and their Mother, Thed the goddess of rape.

During the Random movement phase Broo simply move toward the closest units and attack. If the nearest are equally far then they move toward the stack with the lowest Combat Factor total.

SCORPION MEN

Chaotic monster spawned by monstrous Scorpion Queens. They fed on intelligent beings to instil intelligence in their broods.

During the Random movement phase the Scorpion men simply move toward the nearest intelligent and attack. If they are equally spaced then they move toward the stack with the highest Combat Factor total.

GIANTS

Attracted by the smell of carrion, Giants arrive to wreak havoc and eat human flesh.

SIR ETHILRIST AND THE BLACK HORSE TROOP

Sir Ethilrist was a famous fighting man before he was twenty. He formed the world’s finest fighting unit called the White Horse Troop and with them invaded the Underworld. He returned with his renamed Black Horse Troop, mounted on demon horses, during the Nights of Horror centuries after he had first disappeared to plunder Hell.

Ethilrist may be approached by an emissary from either side. Some units are not acceptable as emissaries, other gain a modifier on alliance roll. Keener Than is stacked with the Troop until Ethilrist is allied, at which point he is given to the player who did not ally Sir Ethilrist. He must be placed in any hex within 10 spaces of Sir Ethilrist.

Lunars

Red Emperor, Hon Eel

+3

Imperial Yelm Children

+2

Lunar Magicians

+1

Imperial Army of the West, Heartland Corps

no modifier

Kastoki, Orayan City milita

-1

Pentan Horde

Exiles Light Cavalry

+1

Barbarian Horde

-1

Sartar City Mounted Militia, Free Army

-2

Not Acceptable as Emmisaries:
Crimson Bat
Green Dragon
Blue Moon School
Black Destix
Grazeland Pony Breeders
Orathorn Magicians
Trolls
Trollkin
Dinosaurs

BATTALIA

Lunar Empire

Imperial Yelm Children: Use Twins counter
Hon Eel : Use Beatpot counter (1)
Red Emperor (1)
Imperial Army of the West: Use Imperial Bodyguard (6)
Kastoki: Use Cavalry Corps (13)
Orayan City milita: Use Native Furthese Corps (10)
Heartland Corps: Use Heartland Corps (14)
Black Destix: Use Twin Stars (1)
Lunar Magicians: Use College of Magic (excluding Crimson Bat and Blue Moon School) (14)

Lunar Allies

Crimson Bat (1)
Green Dragon (1)
Blue Moon School (1) appears as random event

Pentan Horde

Exiles Light Cavalry (2)
Grazeland Pony Breeders (incl. Feathered Horse Queen and Horse Herds. (10)
Barbarian Horde (excluding Jaldon, but including Tribal Magicians) (10)
Sartar City Mounted Militia (6)
Sartar Free Army (Twin Spears, Swordbrothers, Bullocks, Pavis Royal Guard, Bush Children) (8)

Pentan Allies

Orathorn Magicians: Use Exiles magicians (4)
Trolls: Dark Trolls (3), Trollkin (2)
Dinosaurs: Triceratops (3), Brontosaurs (3), Pteranodons (3)

Others

Black Horse Troop

Black Horse Troop (2)
Sir Ethilrist (1)
Hound of Doom (1)
Cloak of Darkness (1)
Goblins (1)
Keener Than (1)

Chaos Things

Headhangers: (chaos) use Dragonewts(21) but with 1 -1 4 0
Broo (chaos): Use Minotaurs (3)
Scorpion men: Use Centaurs (4)

Giants

Giants (3)

Jane Williams

When we first came to this land, it was Summer, and life was good. Our warriors, proud lions that they are, hunted when they wished, and dozed in the shade of the olive trees when they wished. The barley grew, watered by the great river, and our women made bread and beer from it, and used the left-over straw to weave shades from the sun.

But sadly, the Orlanthi, treacherous wolves that they are, also lived here, and as always, wanted to steal our bread, our beer, and our women. One of their warriors came to us, demanding that we leave what he said were his clan's lands. He boasted of his deeds, and the deeds of his ancestors, puffing himself up with impossibilities as the Orlanthi do, full of hot air and pride. We agreed to a formal duel between him and our champion, thinking that the power of the Light would show his lies for what they were. But he called on the power of his god – called the Wind, and blew down our sunshades of straw, blew them into our champion, entangling his weapons and blinding him so that he was easy prey to this treacherous wolf.

So, we had to leave that place. We went to the lands of the older brother of our champion, who had lived here longer and knew better how to defend against the Orlanthi wolves. His stead was surrounded by a wooden palisade, for there is much wood here, more than in our homeland. We lived there, and grew barley, and hunted, and rested in the sun, once more. But the Orlanthi followed us. Once more, they said that these were their lands, and we must leave. Once more, the Orlanthi champion huffed and puffed of his supposedly great deeds, and once more, a duel was agreed, under the full light of Yelm. Then the treacherous wolf called on his god again, and the sun was hidden behind clouds – thick, dark clouds that dropped rain heavier than we had ever seen before. The duelling ground became mud, treacherous and slippery, like the wolf who had created it. Then he called the wind, and the strong wooden palisade, now supported only by mud, not by Ernalda's solid earth, fell. One of the heavy logs fell on our champion, and so he could not fight.

So, we had to leave that place, too. We went to the lands of the eldest brother of our line, and the wisest. He knew how to defend against the Orlanthi wolves with the power of the Sun. He told us to take the straw that had failed us, and the mud that had defeated us, and mix them. Then he called the Sun, and let its power work on the mixture to turn them to stone – or something very like stone. Bricks! With bricks, we could build dwellings and walls that would not blow away, and could support themselves. We built, and built – no more dozing in the sun. When the Orlanthi wolves next came to demand that we left their lands, their boasts were less certain, for they had never in their primitive lives seen anything like our walls, and houses, and roofs. They called the wind, and it blew round our bricks, unable to harm us. We had strong gates, and would not let them in. Finally the Orlanthi warrior used the wind to lift himself up, to fly over the walls, over the houses where the women and children hid, and onto the roof! Down he came, through the smoke hole and down to the cooking fire – and it was hot! Fire beats storm, we all know this, and what a sight he was, with his trews on fire, choking in the smoke, and with the women and children all beating him with their spoons and bowls! He flew away as fast as he could, and never again did any Orlanthi wolf dare to tell our proud lions that these were any lands but our own.

Chris Bell

This is a writeup of the provincial cult of the 7 Mothers, the Lunar missionary cult as described in Pavis: Gateway to Adventure by Moon Design Publishing, for the new RuneQuest 6th Edition rules by the Design Mechanism. This is meant to be a playable writeup, as opposed to an in-depth treatise on Lunar magic. It’s also meant to be used in conjunction the earlier Lunar Magic writeup for Mongoose RuneQuest 2nd Edition.

This will be an abbreviated writeup, as it’s not this article’s aim to devise an entirely new magic system for Lunar Worshippers. Instead, the 7 Mothers will be presented as Theist cults with unique features, enabling them to do magic that is normally impossible for traditional Theist cults to express.

Runes

The 7 Mothers as a whole use the Runes of Death, Moon and Life to express the entire cycle of the rebirth of the Red Goddess and their role in it. Further, each of the 7 Mothers has their own runic affinities as well –

Teelo Norri – Full Half, Change, Life
Queen Deezola – Crescent Go, Earth, Life
Jakaleel – Dying, Spirit, Darkness
Danfive Xaron – Crescent Come, Air
Yanafal Tarnils – Empty Half, Truth, Death
Irripi Ontor – Full Moon, Truth, Fire
She Who Waits – Black Moon, Mastery

Each Mother has their own variation of the Moon Rune, and this is the runic affinity that a worshipper gains when he or she is initiated into a 7 Mothers subcult (see RuneQuest, Page 297). This has no hard effect on game mechanics, but acts as a descriptor of how they approach the Moon Rune and can have a strong effect on a Hero’s magical development.

Mythos and History –The 7 Mothers are 7 mortal humans who resurrected the ancient goddess of the Red Moon, who has been known under many different names in god time myth. A summary of their story can be found here: moondesignpublications.com/library/religions/cult-7mothers.html. They were successful, and now they are regarded as having given birth to the most powerful goddess and empire in all of the world. As such, the 7 Mothers serve as gateways and teachers into the mysteries of the Red Goddess, serving as entrances to the wider Lunar pantheon.

Mythos and History

The 7 Mothers are the midwives and teachers of Teelo Estara, the Red Goddess. In the frontiers of the Lunar Empire, they form a cult that provides an introduction to the Lunar Way, and form a gateway through which newcomers to the Lunar Way can come to know the Goddess. The 7 Mothers cult enables non-Lunars to come to know the Goddess in easy-to-understand ways while still maintaining their old traditions and beliefs. This missionary effort has turned out to be a success, except in one notable case – Storm-worshipping barbarians of the Orlanthi peoples have always been difficult to to convert and bring into the Lunar way. Even for nations that were once Orlanthi but have accepted the Lunar Way, the conversion is often shallow at best, as was demonstrated when Argrath arose and the Tarsh peoples returned to Storm Tribe worship in earnest once liberated. However, for the most part, the Lunar Missionary cults usually have no trouble in dealing with other points of view, since We Are All Us.

Cosmologically, the Lunar pantheon is part of the larger Solar pantheon of the Pelorian basin, although there is also significant mythic crossover with the myths of many disparate cultures. Lunar mythology is eclectic and includes influences as befits the world’s largest and most cosmopolitan empire. Mythically, the Lunar Immortals are set against the Storm Tribe, based on the fundamental inclusion of Chaos, which Orlanthi mythology inherently rejects. Further, Lunar mysticism requires the subjugation and enslavement of the air. There can never be peace between the Lunar and Storm pantheons, as things stand now.

Nature

The 7 Mothers were the creators and rebirthers of the Red Goddess, and it is this role that they play as initiators of newcomers into the Lunar mysteries. Not only do the 7 Mothers act to replace the gods that a newcomer worshipper once followed, their various roles also act to replace the role a worshipper’s former gods once played in their life. However, it’s important to note that the missionary church does not forbid worship of older deities, except specifically in the case of Orlanth and his sons. Most people in the Lunar Empire are only lay members of the cult of the Red Emperor, giving worship on appropriate holy days, and keep to their old gods. The Provincial Church exists for those who wish to bond themselves to the Empire, granting them a gateway into Lunar religion. It’s also a fine set of cults for adventurers and others who wish to enjoy the benefits of Imperial citizenship and breaking out of old societal strictures.

Organization

The Provincial Church and its subcults are organized under the regional Lunar Governor in the Provinces and the temple administration. Most Lunar temples include individual shrines to each of the 7 Mothers as well as other Lunar immortals and occasionally other local gods, and always include a shrine to the Red Emperor. See Pavis:Gateway to Adventure, page 399 for more information.

Membership

Membership in the 7 Mothers follows standard Theist cult structures, but with some differences –

First, a character’s runic affinities need to be determined, as per RuneQuest, Page 297. Most people in Glorantha do not have Moon as one of their inborn runic affinities, and usually join a Lunar cult by way of initiating into a subcult whose rune matches their own affinity. In the case of the 7 Mothers, a prospective Initiate would join what is termed a Little Sister cult. For example, Harkvald, a Tarshite and recent convert to the Lunar Way, has the runic affinities of Truth and Death. This is a clean match up, and therefore allows him access to Yanafal’s normal style of Theist miracles. However, Harkvald has not undergone Akindling, which is the process of awakening the Moon rune within oneself. No Lunar worshipper can progress beyond Initiate unless they undergo the Akindling rites and replace one of their runic affinities with one of the Moon runes, based on their subcult.

When joining a little sister cult, Lunar worshippers gain Devotion and Exhort skills as normal for Theists. However, when they are Akindled and replace one of their runic affinities, Exhort is replaced by Sedenyic Philosophy, which starts at INT+CHA.

Restrictions

Worshippers of the 7 Mothers must always act in the best interests of the Lunar Empire and the Lunar Way. As initiation into a Lunar cult grants imperial citizenship, a Lunar must pay their appropriate taxes, obey imperial authority, and take orders from their high priest. However, as not all Lunar cults are military in nature, Lunars at the initiate level are free to do as they wish, so long as they are good imperial citizens and obey imperial laws and local laws. Lunar citizens have access to special Lunar courts and other privileges available only to Lunar citizens. Lunar citizens must make themselves available to their local temple for 1 week per season of voluntary labor.

Skills

The 7 Mothers cult provides training in Sedenyic Philosophy and Willpower for free. Further, each subcult provides training in the following skills -

Teelo Norri – Athletics, Dance, First Aid, Influence, Sing
Queen Deezola – Customs, Dance, First Aid, Influence, Insight
Jakaleel – Trance, Binding, Endurance, Willpower, Sing
DanFive Xaron – Fighting Style: Unarmed, Endurance, Willpower, Brawn, Athletics
Yanafal Tarnils – Fighting Style (choose), Evade, Influence, Athletics, Brawn
Irripi Ontor – Customs, Insight, Locale,Perception, Willpower,
She Who Waits – Conceal, Deceit, Insight, Perception, Steath

Magic

The 7 Mothers teaches Folk Magic in addition to its higher mysteries –

Teelo Norri – Befuddle, Heal, Glamour
Queen Deezola – Calm, Heal, Voice
Jakaleel – Curse, Spiritshield, Witchsight
Danfive Xaron – Might, Pathway, Vigour
Yanafal Tarnils – Bladesharp, Protection, Pierce
Irripi Ontor – Appraise, Calculate, Mindspeech
She Who Waits – Avert, Incognito, Phantasm

In the case of Theist miracles, members of the 7 Mothers have the spells of Awaken, Behold, Consecrate, Excommunicate and Extension available as their cult rank dictates. Further, all Lunar Cults have Elemental Summoning (Lune), Dismiss Elemental and Dismiss Magic. Further, the following Theist miracles are available to each of the 7 Mother subcults, as follows –

Teelo Norri – Harmonize, Heal Wound, Elemental Summoning (Undine – Young Elementals)
Queen Deezola – Heal Wound, Cure Malady, Elemental Summoning (Gnome – Young Elementals)
Jakaleel – Fear, Spirit Block, Elemental Summoning (Shade – Young Elementals)
Danfive Xaron – Perserverance, Aegis, Sacred Band
Yanafal Tarnils – Shield, Sever Spirit, True (Weapon)
Irripi Ontor – Soul Sight, Moonspear (as Sunspear), Elemental Summoning (Salamander – Young Elementals)
She Who Waits – Madness, Reflection, Mindblast

As usual, Sedenyic Philosophy can substitute for the usual Exhort rolls to invoke Theist miracles from Lunar Cults. This is only possible if the worshipper has undergone Kindling rites and has replaced one of their runic affinities with the appropriate Moon-aspected rune.

If a worshippers does not wish to be Akindled, then he or she can worship one of the 7 Mothers through what is known as a little sister cult. In terms of RQ6 game mechanics, he or she forms a pact and uses Devotion and Exhort as normal, and can even learn magic from allied 7 Mothers and other Lunar cults. Their magic will not be subject to the Lunar Cycle. However, only by Akindling will an Initiate’s magic be able to benefit from the Lunar Cycle and the special uses of Sedenyic Philosophy (see Lunar Magic in issue 10 of Rule One) If not Akindled, a Lunar will not be able to gain access to the special magic of allied Lunar cults or cross the boundaries of magical types, and will be treated as simply another Theist.

Gifts

Gifts, as described here, are the result of Heroquesting and the joining of Hero Cults in addition to one’s own main worship. As such, the Lunar Way provides a wide variety of special gifts to it’s faithful worshippers to prepare them for their Sevening. Customary gifts that Lunars can earn as they advance are such things as Reincarnation, Abstinence (Danfive Xaron), Change Gender, Chaotic Blessing (A gift which is avoided by most Lunars), Elemental (one of the Young Elementals), Weapon (Yanafal Tarnils) or other such gifts of the Red Goddess. GMs and Players are encouraged to work together on appropriate gifts and heroquest powers.

Lunar Magic in RQ6

Aside from changes in terminology, the way magic functions in RQ6 by Design Mechanism and Mongoose’s RuneQuest 2nd Edition are largely identical. For the purposes of Sevening, substitute Willpower for Persistence.

Sedenyic Philosophy can substitute for Folk Magic, Exhort (Theism), Trance and Binding (Animism), Shaping (Sorcery) and Mysticism. Lunar Sorcerers still need to learn individual Grimoire skills, but all inclusive Lunar wisdom as pioneered by Irripi Ontor guides them. Likewise, Mysticism is arguably the bedrock of Lunar teaching, with secret Nathic schools of meditation and combat guarded as the state Lunar secrets as they are. Strangely, Lunar inclusiveness doesn’t apply to Mysticism – no one has seen Lunar mystics demonstrate mastery over the Zolathi secrets of Sheng Seleris or the long-lost Draconic mastery of the Empire of the Wyrms Friends, although Sedenyic Philosophy still applies for other forms of magic use. Many Lunar hero cults incorporate elements of both Theist magic and mysticism, such as the worshippers of Natha.

Andrew Larsen

This scenario is based at Agape, but could be relocated to another oasis with some modification. The scenario assumes that the PCs are Praxian nomads, but with a little work, it could be adapted for non-Praxians.

A Myth with Two Sides

The Praxians tell a myth about Agape:

“Long ago, before Waha gave us his yassa, before Tada hid Eiritha from death, before we knew how to tell what evil was, Thed, the Mother of Goats, lived here, lurking in one of the caves. One day, one of Grandfather Jerboa’s children heard her moaning, as if in pain. ‘What is wrong, Thed?’ the tiny creature asked.

“ ‘I am sick. I am too weak to go and find food for myself.’

“The jerboa felt sorry for Thed, and promised to bring her something to eat. He went and gathered some chatsargana berries for her, and as he went, he told all the other animals about her misfortune. For several days, many animals came to visit Thed, bringing her food, or medicine, or just company.

“After six days, Raven came to visit Thed. But being a cunning bird, he looked around outside her cave, and noticed that there were many tracks leading into the cave, but none coming back out. It was then that he realized that Thed was eating very well indeed. He told all the animals what was happening, and they told Eiritha, and that is how we came to realize that Thed is evil and must be avoided."

But the broo tell their own version of this story:

“ “Listen up, spawn, and hear the story of our mother’s cunning. A long time ago, Thed lived in this here cave. She was not the strongest, nor was she the fastest, nor did she have the sharpest teeth. But she was the most clever. One day, as the silly little jerboa was hopping past her cave, she began to moan, pretending to be sick. The jerboa stopped and asked her what was the matter. ‘I am sick, little one. I cannot hunt for food because I am weak. Can you help me?' The jerboa went away and told everyone that Thed was sick and needed help. Then he came back, bringing with him a bunch of small berries. But there were not enough berries to make a meal, so Thed ate the jerboa instead. He tried to leap away, but could not jump far enough to escape her.

“The next night, a manul brought her an ui to eat. But Thed was hungrier for more than the ui, so she ate the manul as well. He tried to claw her, but her claws were sharper. The next night, a hyena brought her a hyrax to eat, but by this point, she had learned well, and she ate the hyena. He bit her, but her skin was too thick. The next night she ate an impala, which tried to run, but was not fast enough. The night after that she ate a sable, which sought to gore her, but she broke its horns. On the sixth night, she ate a morokanth. It fought with claw and tooth, and hurt her, but it was still not strong enough to defeat her. After that, the animals finally wised up and understood what she was doing, but by then she was well-fed and much stronger, and did not have to resort to trickery. She left the cave and went prowling for a better class of prey. Now go out and get me something good to eat."

The Ambitious Broo

There are always feral broo around Agape. The large number of animals that come to the oasis mean there is also good food to be had and it is easy for the broo to reproduce. When Storm Bull cultists come through Agape, they generally spend some time hunting down these feral broo, who are mostly too unsophisticated to avoid being tracked down and killed.

But recently a more clever broo has come to Agape, a shaman of Thed named Grubsucker. He sought out Thed’s shrine and found the right cave. He searched for the feral broo and beat them into submission, then taught them both fighting skills and magic. The result is a modest force of relatively sophisticated broo that follow him both out of fear and because he is making them strong.

Grubsucker has decided to perform the Thed Eats the Animals quest, performing it as a Practice Quest in the middle world, rather than crossing into the Heroplane. Grubsucker hopes that doing it as a practice quest will help him become powerful enough to do it as a full heroquest. This quest requires him to spend 6 successive nights eating increasingly powerful animals that come to his cave. So his band of broo go out and catch prey and bring it back alive for him to kill and eat (everything except the bones and skin). He is halfway through the quest when the PCs arrive at Agape.

The Pacification Effect

Grubsucker’s ritual produces a strange side-effect, because he is performing the quest in the exact place where Thed enacted the original myth. Animals in the region gradually become more pacified and less capable of resisting the broo threat. This effect works on both regular Fixed-INT animals and Free-INT creatures, a category that includes awakened mounts, familiars in animal bodies, and persons with a strong animal nature. This last category includes anyone who belongs to a Beast-rune cult (if using earlier editions of Runequest) or those who are rune-touched with the Beast rune (if using MRQ). At the GM’s discretion, this category may also include morokanth, baboons, durulz, and beast men. Thus worshippers of Waha, Storm Bull, Eiritha, and Basmoli may all be affected, but not Foundchild or Daka Fal cultists. However, broo are not touched by the effect.

If Fixed-INT creatures are questioned, using spells such as Speak with Beasts or the like, they explain that they feel safe and relaxed. Even pointing out predators to them does not alarm them.

The exact consequences of the Pacification Effect are laid out below in the Events of the Quest section, but in general, Fixed-INT beasts will become lazy, docile, and complacent, even when confronted with danger, while Free-INT creatures, including some player characters, will suffer a penalty to offensive skills. This second element of the Pacification Effect is designed to provide a challenge to more powerful PCs; if it is too much of a hindrance, either drop the effect on Free-INT creatures or use the Dream of Raven event.

The Events of the Quest

This section explains what will happen as each day of the quest goes on, assuming that the PCs fail to intervene. Each stage Grubsucker completes grants him a new power, although he will not keep all of these at the end of the quest. If Grubsucker is killed at any point, the quest ends. If he completes the quest, it also ends. The Pacification Effect terminates immediately when the quest ends,.

Grubsucker performs the quest by sending out minions to capture a victim for him. Each victim must be larger and more dangerous than the preceding day’s victim, and must be relatively uninjured. Grubsucker then fights, slays, and devours the animal in the Thed Shrine without assistance. Grubsucker and his minions perform the stations at night, so each ‘day’ of the quest begins late in the evening when Grubsucker completes the next station. If he ever fails to kill and completely consume his victim in the space of 24 hours, he fails the quest.

Listed below are the days of the quest. Grubsucker’s quest activity is laid out, and the effects of the growing Pacification Effect are explained. The GM will need to decide on what day of the quest the scenario begins. It is suggested that the scenario start on day 3.

Day 1: Grubsucker completes the first station when his best minion, Rotspittle, catches a small lizard for him. He kills it. He gains the ability to cling to sheer surfaces (such as the walls and ceiling of the shrine cave).
Pacification Effect: Fixed-INT creatures become more relaxed.

Day 2: Grubsucker kills and consumes a jackrabbit and gains the ability to leap up to 20 meters as a movement action.
Pacification Effect: Fixed-INT creatures become much more relaxed and docile. Predators are more easily spotted because they are less careful about sneaking. Free-INT creatures begin to be affected as well. They suffer a -5% penalty to all offensive actions (this includes attack rolls, offensive spell-casting, berserking rolls, and so on. They feel very relaxed.

Day 3: Rotspittle brings home a vulture. Grubsucker kills and eats it, and gains +20% to all perception tests.
Pacification Effect: The behavior of Fixed-INT creatures begins to be noticeable. Herd animals are no long looking around for predators, and cowpeckers do not seem alarmed by predators. Predators stop stalking and just watch the other animals; they allow humans to get quite close to them before attacking. Mounts suffer a penalty of -1 Movement. Free-INT creatures suffer a penalty of -10% to offensive actions. They begin to sleep late and some begin daydreaming.

Day 4: Rotspittle brings back a hyena, which Grubsucker defeats. He gains +2 points of armor and hyena-mottled fur.
Pacification Effect: Fixed-INT creatures move slowly, as if sleepy. They are easily led by anyone grabbing them. Predators just sun themselves, and only fight if they are attacked. Mounts suffer a penalty of -2 Movement. Free-INT creatures suffer a penalty of -15% to offensive actions and -1 to their Movement. At night, they have trouble staying awake.

Day 5: Rotspittle brings back a herd animal, most likely an impala (or a bison calf, if the Brokenhorn are Bison Riders). Grubsucker kills it but only barely manages to consume all of it in one sitting. If he eats an impala, he gains +4 Movement; if he eats a Bison, he gains +3 STR.
Pacification Effect: Fixed-INT creatures spend much of their time sleeping, though they wake when prodded. Predators lose nearly all aggressiveness and can be petted. Mounts refuse to move faster than a walk. Free-INT creatures suffer a penalty of -20% to offensive actions and -2 to Movement; they find themselves drowsing in slow moments.

Day 6: Rotspittle and several other broo kidnap a human. Grubsucker kills and eats him. The consumption process takes him much of the day, because he has been gorging for so long. The quest ends when he finishes consuming the victim and gains +2 CON. At this point, he must sacrifice 1 POW for each of the special abilities he wishes to keep permanently.
Pacification Effect: Until he completes the final meal, Fixed-INT creatures sleep heavily and only rouse briefly when disturbed. Free-INT creatures suffer a penalty of -25% to all offensive actions. They must occasionally make a POW x3% to stay awake, except when being attacked. However the Pacification Effect terminates as soon as the quest ends. At that point, sleeping animals and characters wake with a start. Hungry predators will probably seek fast kills.

The Greeting Contest

The PCs arrive at Agape, either on their own or as part of a clan migrating. Waha’s yassa forbids Praxians to fight within a quarter-day’s ride of a sacred place (such as Eiritha’s Snout), so instead, the newcomers must prove that they have a right to be at the oasis. The clan that currently controls Agape is the Brokenhorn Impalas (unless the PCs are Impala Riders, in which case the Brokenhorn are Bison Riders).

When the PCs arrive, they must undergo the Greeting Challenge (see Rule 1, issue 13 for an explanation of this important Praxian custom). If the PCs are traveling on their own, they simply encounter a Brokenhorn patrol; if they are part of a clan, the GM must stage a more formal challenge. The scenario assumes that the PCs are traveling on their own, and that they win the right to stay at Agape. The leader of the patrol is Jargal Sings-Loud. When they initiate the challenge, he will gladly receive it. He’s cocky, and will challenge them to something that lets him prove his skills, rather than something at which he has an automatic advantage. The GM should decide exactly what the challenge is, but a test of missile skills or a Riding contest might be appropriate if the GM just wants a simple skill roll. If the GM wants something more focused on role-playing, make it a boasting contest or something similar and require the player to role-play it.

Nawkaw Shaking-Tree

The PCs will arrive at Agape later in the day, and will have little opportunity other than to set up their yurts and water their animals. As they are doing so, Nawkaw Shaking-Tree stops by. He is a Foundchild hunter of the Brokenhorn clan, and he mostly wants to get a look at the new arrivals. He will initiate the Greeting Contest, which allows one of the PCs to choose the contest. If he wins, he’ll just ask for a seat at their fire; if he loses, he’ll offer to tell them about Agape. If the Brokenhorn clan has to leave Agape (because it lost the Greeting Challenge to the PC’s clan), he will explain that they couldn’t have stayed too much longer anyway, because their herds have grazed down the best grass in the area.

Nawkaw is an opportunity for the GM to give the PCs necessary information. He’ll gladly tell them the story of how Tada Buried Eiritha (if they don’t already know it), and explain the significance of the Snout to them. He can tell the Praxian version of Thed Eats the Animals, and will tell a fellow cultist that the hunting in the area is good, but that they should be careful about broo. He hasn’t seen any recently, but they must be out there. Should the players need help at some point during the scenario, Nawkaw will be willing to offer his skills as a tracker and the like, for a modest payment.

Running the Scenario

How the scenario plays out depends on when the PCs arrive at Agape. It is recommended that the players arrive on Day 2 and that the action of the scenario starts on Day 3, when the Pacification Effect begins to be noticeable. But the GM may choose to have them arrive at Agape before the scenario starts, or have them arrive later in the quest, depending on whether he wants to emphasize the search for the truth or simply have a fight with Grubsucker’s gang. Listed below are a set of incidents that the GM can drop in as needed to customize the action of the scenario.

If the GM simply wants a fight, allow them to discover Grubsucker’s gang fairly easily. If the GM wants a more of a mystery, force them to work through the strange events.

The Broo Hunt

This event is recommended for Day 3, but may occur on Day 2 or 4 just as easily. It works to alert the players that something strange is happening at Agape.

By long tradition, when Storm Bull cultists arrive at Agape, they organize a hunt for broo. If the PCs include a Storm Bull, he will know that he is obligated to hunt broo, and thus the PCs may do a hunt on their own. If the PCs have no Storm Bull, use Chatima Holds-His-Fist. If the PCs are traveling with their clan, Chatima is a clanmate of theirs, and eager to hunt broo; he invites the PCs to participate. Storm Bull worshippers are obligated to help him, while for other cults, hunting chaos is voluntary (although a Waha cultist who refuses will be shamed). If the PCs are traveling on their own, Chatima is a member of the Brokenhorns, and he invites them to test their skills. Nawkaw may be invited to participate if the players need help.

The GM may make the hunt as simple or complex as he wishes, but the following details should be worked into the hunt, either as facts the players discover on their own or as things they learn from NPCs at the oasis along the way.

Feral broo are common around Agape. Clans camped at the oasis always patrol the herds aggressively to keep them safe from broo assault.

However, for the past several seasons, there have been few broo seen. Chatima think this means that previous hunts were unusually successful, while Nawkaw worries it means the broo are simply hiding in one of the caves.

The hunt may turn up dangerous predators, such as a leaping bear for the PCs to fight, but they do not see any broo. Rockslides, or an encounter with Basmoli or Agimori, are other threats they may encounter. Remember to apply the Pacification Effect to any beast-related enemies they encounter.

A special success on a Tracking or Spot Hidden roll does uncover recent evidence of broo, such as broo dung or hoof prints. There are definitely broo present, but they cannot be located. Sense Chaos does not help find the broo, although a special success may indicate a vague sense of unease.

There are numerous caves in the area, and a number of arroyos where broo might be able to hide. The players may choose to make an aggressive search of caves in later days.

Foundchild hunters and Eirithans who make an Animal Lore roll notice that regular animals are curiously less cautious than normal, as if they feel safe. This suggests the absence of predators. This would seem to contradict items 3 and 4, and should definitely seem odd. This is the first sign the PCs notice of the Pacification Effect.

By the end of the hunt, players should have a sense that something slightly odd is going on, but without really knowing what.

A Visit to the Snout

This event is recommended for Day 3 or 4.

Eirithan characters will naturally be interested in visiting the Snout. Eirithans will be welcomed, as will Axe Sisters and worshippers of Helpwoman. Non-Praxian women will be received cautiously, depending on their cult, while male characters will be refused entrance unless they require healing and can persuade Chabi that they are deserving of it. Eirithans will be invited to join the subcult of Sariba Walks-at-Dawn. If the GM needs an excuse to introduce Chabi and the shrine, have Nawkaw or Chatima badly injured during the broo-hunt by a leaping bear or a rock slide, so that he needs to be taken to the Snout for healing.

At some point during the initiation ritual, or during the healing ritual, the character being initiated or healed will experience a vision (a not uncommon event during Praxian rituals). In the vision, the character is grazing at an oasis (not obviously Agape, but not any other oasis the character may have been to either). There are many animals around her and she feels safe and contented. But each time she looks up, there are fewer and fewer other animals around. Finally, she is alone, although she still feels safe. She notices piles of bones scattered around, and a freshly killed animal, covered in flies, but somehow this doesn’t make her anxious. Eventually as she grazes, she becomes aware of a dark presence. It is hard for her to see it, but it walks on two legs, has long claws, and a large mouth filled with sharp teeth. It leaves a trail of blood as it circles around her, but strangely she still feels no fear. Eventually it leaps on her and the vision ends.

The Eiritha Women discuss this vision very intently. They conclude that some sort of hidden menace is threatening either the herds or the Oasis. Chabi feels that the danger is a terrible predator of some sort, but others conclude that it is a warning of a drought or plague that is coming.

Seeking Information

This ‘event’ happens as players search for information. These are the sources of guidance they may find at Agape.

Chabi Jumping-Pot knows a great deal about Agape, probably more than anyone except Salu. Although she typically is cautious with her help, once she realizes that something serious is going on, she will provide any reasonable assistance she can. She knows the Praxian myths about Agape, and will tell them if they seem relevant (although, of course, she only knows the Praxian side of Thed Eats the Animals). She has no idea that there is a chaotic shrine anywhere in the area. She can confirm that nothing like this has ever happened at Agape, and she is mystified as to what it means, at least until she performs the divination (see below).

Salu also knows a great deal about Agape and its history, although his stories come from the Oasis Folk viewpoint. He knows the Praxian version of Thed Eats the Animals. He knows that one of the caves on the mesa was Thed’s lair; he doesn’t know which exactly, but he knows it was to the east of the oasis.

Old Jaru also knows the Praxian version of Thed Eats the Animals, but he has also heard the chaotic version, once a long time ago from a Foundchild shaman. If specifically asked where the broo might be hiding, he will suggest the easternmost cave on the mesa, the one that leads far back into the earth. He was in it once several years ago and found it an evil place. This is, in fact, the location of the shrine. The GM should only give Jaru’s information when it is time for the PCs to find the shrine, because learning the location of the shrine will shortcut the Kidnapping (see below). If the players do not think to ask Old Jaru, Nawkaw can provide the same information.

Chatima Shaking-Fist is ready to see chaos in almost anything unusual. But after the broo-hunt, he will be inclined to think that the danger is not broo, but something else. He will gladly come along on an expedition the players suggest to him. He knows a fair amount about broo-chaos, and can offer advice on how to deal with them, although he will always urge characters to be aggressive, to the point of recklessness.

A Divination

This event can happen at any point after the players realize something strange is going on. Since the herd animals are acting strangely, it may occur to the PCs to ask an Eiritha priestess (either the clan’s Eiritha Woman or Chabi Jumping-Pot) to perform a divination. If no one requests a divination, Chabi may volunteer to perform one on Day 5. Other cults might also perform a divination, in which case the GM will need to re-write the details of the incident somewhat.

The priestess performing the divination drinks a full skin of blessed kumiss and her assistants play animal-hide drums as they dance around a fire. The drums begin quickly but gradually slow down, like a human heartbeat slowing. The priestess drops to all fours and begins to act like a cow. Her eyes roll back in her head and in a low voice she calls out “The Goatmother hungers and is being fed." Then she lowers her head and curls up in a ball. Her assistants cease their drumming and immediately take care of her.

When the priestess returns to awareness, she will meet with the players, although she will be exhausted for much of the day. If Chabi performs the divination, she will immediately understand that the divination refers to Thed Eats the Animals, although another priestess may not recognize the reference right away. It is clear that broo-chaos is threatening Agape somehow, but it will not occur to any of the NPCs that someone might be heroquesting the myth. If players suggest that, the priestess will acknowledge that as a real possibility.

The Broo Attack

This event happens when Grubsucker realizes that the players are searching the caves for him. It might happen after the Broo Hunt on Day 3, or after the Missing Herd Beast on Day 5. Grubsucker has Dogsbody spying on the oasis to make sure the Praxians don’t interfere in his ritual. He assumes that if they are searching for broo, they will stop searching after they find some. So he orders several of his dumbest, most disposable broo to go out in the middle of day, find a herd beast or a person, take it back to a particular cave (chosen because it’s not near the shrine), and have some fun with it.

The broo have cabin-fever and are only too glad to follow their natural inclinations. So the incident begins with a Brokenhorn brave, Odakoteh Three-Spears, riding up as fast as his mount will move. He is wounded, and explains that he was attacked by a band of broo. He was able to fend them off long enough to get away, but they are still out there. If the players follow his directions to the eastern side of the camp, they will find signs of a fight, including a dead broo. It is not too hard to track them because there are several of them and one is wounded and bleeding. Tracking rolls are made at +20%. If successful, the broo are found in a shallow cave; they have grabbed a couple of wild animals (a fox and a hyena) and busy torturing and sodomizing them.

There are 4-6 of them, depending on how large the PC party is, and one has been wounded (if the party is weaker, then he’s near death and being ignored by his companions). Use the Group 2 broo and adjust their numbers as needed. The fight should not be too difficult. Players may assume, as Grubsucker is hoping, that these are the only broo in the area and that they’ve just been hiding. Smart characters, however, may observe that the cave shows few signs of being lived in, so there may be more broo hiding elsewhere in the area. But nothing in the cave will lead them back to the Shrine.

The Missing Herd Beast

This event occurs the morning of Day 5, after Rotspittle has stolen the herd beast. A Brokenhorn woman reports that one of her herd beasts vanished. One of the Brokenhorn braves, Ahiga Barking-Dog, reports that he saw a man leading the animal away last night. He gave chase on his mount, but lost the man in the darkness. In reality, he became so drowsy that he did not chase very hard, and soon gave up and fell asleep (the Pacification Effect), but he is too ashamed of this to admit it unless he is pressed hard.

He can show the players where the theft happened; it was on the far eastern side of the oasis. A search of the ground finds both impala hoof-prints and the hoof-prints of something with two legs, logically a broo. But Ahiga is very insistent that the thief was a human, not a broo. (At a distance, Rotspittle looks very much like a human, since he has gern features and no horns.) Successful Tracking rolls enable the players to follow the tracks a good distance to the east along the line of the mesa, but the trail is lost on a patch of rocky ground (unless the GM is willing to allow the discovery of the Shrine at this point).

Brokenhorn braves who are unaffected by the Pacification effect (because they are not Rune-touched by the Beast rune) may accuse the PCs of stealing and eating the missing calf. This may become a diversion from the search for the broo if the GM wishes.

A Dream of Raven

As Grubsucker’s quest continues, the chances of Raven becoming involved increase. This event happens if the GM decides the players need help or guidance.

One of the PCs dozes off, and has a dream in which he is walking along the mesa. He sees a cave with a line of animals leading into it. Perched high on a dead acacia tree is a large raven, simply watching. The raven croaks and says “I would be careful about going in there if I were you." Then he preens himself and a black feather drifts slowly down into the dreamer’s hand.

When the PC wakes, he finds a black feather in his hand. If a person holds the feather and spends an MP into it, he or she is rendered immune to the Pacification Effect for 1 hour. The feather can be shared around; it is not ‘attuned’ to the character who receives it. At the GM’s discretion, this feather may have other powers that the PCs discover later, such as making a medicine bundle more powerful or granting a single use of the Rune spell Conceal.

Conceal

3 POW points
Ranged, temporal, nonstackable, reuseable

Like Invisibility, this spell makes the user invisible by attracting the enemy’s attention to a spot other than where the character is. He remains unnoticed unless he wishes to draw attention to himself or is detected by magic. If he makes a noise, an enemy could try to attack him by ear, at -50% to his attack chance.

If the character attacks with a spell, missile or melee, he becomes visible in the first strike rank of the round in which he attacks or acts, and disappears again after the last strike rank of the that round unless engaged in melee. In any round in which the character disengages from melee, he disappears at the end of the round of disengagement.

The Kidnapping

This event triggers the climax of the scenario, early on Day 6. A gang of broo, led by Rotspittle, comes to the camp seeking to seize a human. They find a Waha brave, Mongweh Red-Feathers (or substitute a minor NPC from the PCs’ clan), who is patrolling. They ambush him and drag him away, doing their best not to seriously wound him. The result is a struggle that makes a lot of noise. Players should wake easily, except for those with Beast rune connections, who will require shaking.

Following the broo will not be hard. Mongweh is shouting, and the broo gang are leaving a substantial trail. If the PCs respond immediately, they may make Tracking or Listen rolls to follow them. The darkness makes it a little harder to see, but the noise cancels any penalty for the darkness.

The finale can be staged in a couple ways, depending on the GM’s intent. The players may find the Shrine just as Grubsucker is preparing to sacrifice his victim. In that case, Mongweh is tied up and vulnerable, but still alive. If the players take their time responding, however, Mongweh will be dead, and Grubsucker will have begun his last meal. For a truly dramatic climax, the PCs might fight their way into the shrine just as Grubsucker is finishing up the meal, but that would require the characters to take their time responding to the kidnapping (or miss a number of Tracking rolls).

The entrance to the cave is unimpressive, with nothing to suggest that it is a shrine to a chaotic god. There is a dead acacia tree not far away, which a character who dreamed of Raven may recognize.

1)The cave entrance is low, and slopes down sharply before opening into a low chamber about 7 feet high. The chamber is empty, other than a few old bones and some scraggly plants.

2) The tunnel slopes downward and to the left. The ceiling is low, so that characters greater than SIZ 13 must crouch slightly. In places, a thin trickle of water runs down the walls. There is some smoke coming up the tunnel, though not enough to cause trouble for those descending. Animal noises can be faintly heard coming from below.

3) About 40 meters down the tunnel, it opens out into a large chamber lit by a fire. A half-dozen broo are lounging, too bored to maintain a guard. If the PCs have made noise coming down the tunnel, the broo will be armed and ready; otherwise they will be caught by surprise. Use the Group C broo. If the PCs are tough, toss in the Group B broo as well.

The chamber is littered with the remains of the broos' meals, as well as a considerable amount of broo dung. The chamber stinks. If Mongweh is still alive, he will probably be shouting for help.

4) This chamber is crudely penned off from 3. Within it are a couple of injured animals, including an impala with a broken leg. The animals move listlessly, moan occasionally, and are generally suffering. Several young broo are also in the chamber, terrorizing a couple of small animals. Worshippers of both Waha and Eiritha should be horrified by this sight. An appropriate skill check, such as Animal Lore or First Aid, will determine that all the animals are pregnant with larval broo. There is no way to cure these animals of their affliction; if left unaddressed, these animals will all die when the larval broo eat their way out. From the Praxian viewpoint, the only appropriate course of action is to give these animals the Peaceful Cut and burn the corpses; nothing can be salvaged here.

5) This chamber is accessed by another downward sloping tunnel, though a very short one. This is a large, roughly circular chamber, illuminated by a firepit. At the back of the chamber is a large dung-smeared semi-rectangular boulder that serves as an altar. This is where Grubsucker and the Group D broo are to be found, as well as Mongweh (or what’s left of him).

Group 'A' Broo

This group of broo are young, and feral, having only recently spawned in the shrine, thanks to Grubsucker. Because to the properties of the cave, though, they are fast growing, so they are larger than their 1-2 months would suggest. They are also more likely to manifest Chaotic Features, but slightly less likely to carry disease, since this shrine is sacred to Thed rather than Malia. They mostly throw rocks or butt with their horns.

STR

6

CON

8

SIZ

6

INT

8

POW

7

DEX

9

CHA

4

Move: 6

HP: 7

MP: 7

D20

Location

AP/HP

1-4

Right Leg

0/3

5-8

Left Leg

0/3

9-11

Abdomen

0/3

12

Chest

0/4

13-15

Right Arm

0/2

16-18

Left Arm

0/2

19-20

Head

2/3

Armor: 2 point horns on head

Skills: Dodge 34%, Listen, 32%, Spot Hidden 28%

Attacks:

Weapon

SR

Att%

Dam.

Head Butt

9

40%

1d6

Thrown Rock

3/9

35%

1d4

Broo 1 is entirely average. He carries Creeping Chills

Broo 2 is much stronger and larger than the others, with a STR and SIZ of 12. This gives him a damage bonus of +1d6 on his Headbutt. He also has 9 Hit Points.

Broo 3 glows red in the dark

Broo 4 has no arms, but has razor sharp horns. Its Head Butt is 53% and does 1d8+1.

Group 'B' Broo

These broo are adults, but still largely feral. Some are spawn of the broo at the shrine, while others have wandered in, drawn by the shrine’s power. Grubsucker considers them expendable, although he has taught a couple of them a little bit of magic. These will be the broo he sends out as a diversion in the Broo Attack. They are armed with crude clubs and spears. Broo 8 and 10 are the most promising of this group, in Grubsucker’s opinion, and they serve as the leaders.

STR

12

CON

15

SIZ

16

INT

10

POW

10

DEX

11

CHA

7

Move: 8

HP: 16

MP: 10

D20

Location

AP/HP

1-4

Right Leg

0/6

5-8

Left Leg

0/6

9-11

Abdomen

0/6

12

Chest

0/7

13-15

Right Arm

0/5

16-18

Left Arm

0/5

19-20

Head

3/6

Armor: 3 point horns on head

Skills: Dodge 42%, Listen, 41%, Spot Hidden 38%, Move Silently 39%, Hide in Cover 36%

Attacks

Weapon

SR

Att%

Dam.

Par %

AP

Head Butt

9

52%

1d6+1d4

Thrown Rock

3/9

47%

1d4+1d4

Club

8

45%

1d6+1d4

25%

12 hp

1h Spear

7

43%

1d6+1d4

20%

12 hp

Broo 5 is a vulture broo, with a long neck and vulture-like head, and dark brown feathers instead of normal broo hide. He has no horns, and so cannot headbutt and has no armor on its head. Instead, he has a Peck Attack and a Vomit Attack. He may use one or the other in a round, but not both, and may only vomit 3 times before he needs to fill his stomach again. He also carries Black Tongue.

Weapon

SR

Att%

Dam.

Peck

8

40%

1d4+1d4

Vomit

6

45%

special

If he hits a target with his vomit, the target must make a CON x3% each round or else be incapacitated from the nausea-inducing stench. This effect lasts until the vomit is washed off.

Broo 6 is entirely average

Broo 7 is average except that he is incapable of resisting incoming magic.

Broo 8 has thick, knobby skin that gives him 3 pt armor across his whole body and 6 pts on his head. He knows Bladesharp 2.

Broo 9 is entirely average. He has a dog’s head. He carries the Shakes.

Broo 10 is abnormally agile. He has a DEX of 16, so subtract 2 from its Strike Ranks. He also has a movement of 10 and a Dodge of 50%. He knows Bladesharp 2.

Group 'C' Broo

These broo are much more promising than Group B. Grubsucker has hopes of turning them into a true fighting force. At night, he sends them out to hunt for food away from the mesa, so that the broo can eat without attracting the attention of the nomads at Agape. They are armed with fairly crude weapons, as well as shields, and know a little magic.

STR

13

CON

16

SIZ

16

INT

10

POW

10

DEX

11

CHA

7

Move: 8

HP: 17

MP: 10

D20

Location

AP/HP

1-4

Right Leg

0/6

5-8

Left Leg

0/6

9-11

Abdomen

0/6

12

Chest

0/7

13-15

Right Arm

0/5

16-18

Left Arm

0/5

19-20

Head

3/6

Armor: 3 point horns on head

Skills: Dodge 46%, Listen, 41%, Spot Hidden 35%, Move Silently 39%, Hide in Cover 38%

Attacks:

Attacks

Weapon

SR

Att%

Dam.

Par %

AP

Head Butt

9

52%

1d6+1d4

Thrown Rock

3/9

45%

1d4+1d4

Club

8

57%

1d6+1d4

26%

12 hp

1h Spear

7

53%

1d6+1d4

24%

12 hp

Shield

-

-

-

43%

10 ap

Broo 11 is a hyena broo. He has a Bite attack that he can use in place of his Head Butt. He is very good at Tracking (60%) and Hiding in Cover (56%). He knows Protection 2 and Befuddle

Bite

8

62%

1d6+1d4

Broo 12 has STR 20, and therefore a Damage bonus of +1d6. He is otherwise normal.

Broo 13 is an impala broo. He has a Move of 12 and Dodge of 61%. He carries Creeping Chills.

Broo 14 is entirely average, but he knows Bladesharp 2.

Broo 15 has a POW of 14 and knows Ignite and Demoralize. He will tend to hold back and cast spells.

Elite Broo

These are the best broo Grubsucker controls. They are better armed the others, and he has taught them reasonable magic. When the PCs enter the cave, this group are all in chamber 5 watching Grubsucker perform his ritual.

Dogsbody

Dogsbody is a hyena broo. From a distance, he looks a great deal like a hyena. He has a mottled yellow-brown coat, a hyena’s head and no horns. His front paws are more like hands than paws, while his back feet are hooves. Grubsucker uses him as a spy; he is frequently out around the oasis spying on the nomads. At a distance it requires a Special on a Spot Hidden or other appropriate skill roll to recognize he is anything else than a regular hyena.

Dogsbody can stand upright, but is most comfortable on all fours (he moves 8 upright and 10 on all fours). Consequently, although he can use weapons, in combat he prefers to bite and claw. If he is found outside the shrine, he will have no weapons or armor with him; if found within the shrine he wears a crude leather tunic on his torso (the number in parentheses on his Abdomen and Chest). He carries Thunderlung. He loyal to Grubsucker and will not flee unless the shaman is dead.

STR

14

CON

16

SIZ

12

INT

12

POW

11

DEX

11

CHA

7

Move: 8/10

HP: 17

MP: 11

D20

Location

AP/HP

1-4

Right Leg

2/6

5-8

Left Leg

2/6

9-11

Abdomen

2(5)/7

12

Chest

2(5)/7

13-15

Right Arm

2/5

16-18

Left Arm

2/5

19-20

Head

2/6

Armor: 2 pt fur on all locations

Skills: Dodge 52%, Hide in Cover 65%, Listen 53%, Move Silently 58%, Track 41%

Spells: Ironhand 2, Mobility 3

Chaotic Feature: Looks harmless (his hyena appearance)

Attacks

Weapon

SR

Att%

Dam.

Bite

8

67%

1d8+1d4

Claw

6

59%

1d6+1d4

Rotspittle

Rotspittle is a gern broo. From the waist up, he looks like a very shaggy human man. He has stunted horns, but they are hidden under a mass of brown hair. From the waist down, though, he has goat legs. He also smells like a wild animal. He wears a long leather robe that obscures his lower body, so that from a distance he appears to be human. He is a skilled hunter, and consequently Grubsucker uses him to acquire the victims for the ritual. The other broo view Rotspittle as Grubsucker’s lieutenant and obey his orders most of the time. He is surprisingly loyal to his shaman and will gladly die to protect him.

STR

13

CON

16

SIZ

15

INT

12

POW

13

DEX

12

CHA

9

Move: 8/10

HP: 17

MP: 13

D20

Location

AP/HP

1-4

Right Leg

5/6

5-8

Left Leg

5/6

9-11

Abdomen

5/7

12

Chest

5/7

13-15

Right Arm

5/5

16-18

Left Arm

5/5

19-20

Head

6/6

Armor: 2 pt leather robe (everywhere except his head), 3 pt skin, 3 pt horns on his head

Skills:Skills: Dodge 42%, Listen, 55%, Spot Hidden 67%, Move Silently 58%, Hide in Cover 60%, Track 61%

Spells: Befuddle, Bladesharp 2, Protection 3, Silence 3

Attacks

Weapon

SR

Att%

Dam.

Par %

AP

1h Mace

8

56%

1d8+2+1d4

45%

20 hp

1h Spear

7

73%

1d6+3+1d4

44%

15 hp

Shield

-

-

-

56%

12 ap

Throatbugger

Throatbugger is a regular broo, but quite stunted, thanks to a Chaotic Feature. He is not very impressive in combat, but he has a distinct talent for magic. He will stand back and cast spells and provide healing. He carries a 7 pt POW crystal on a leather thong around his neck. He recognizes that he is not a very powerful broo on his own, and will only abandon Grubsucker if most of the other broo are already dead or if Crackhorn flees.

STR

13

CON

16

SIZ

7

INT

10

POW

16

DEX

11

CHA

7

Move: 8/10

HP: 15

MP: 16

D20

Location

AP/HP

1-4

Right Leg

2/5

5-8

Left Leg

2/5

9-11

Abdomen

2/5

12

Chest

2/6

13-15

Right Arm

2/4

16-18

Left Arm

2/4

19-20

Head

5/5

Armor: 2 pt skin, 3 point horn on head

Skills: Dodge 53%, Listen, 42%, Spot Hidden 38%, Move Silently 59%, Hide in Cover 66%

Spells: Befuddle, Dullblade 2, Healing 3, Ignite, Protection 2, Dispel Magic 2

Chaotic Feature: -9 SIZ, Absorbs all 1-2 point spells (points go into his MPs)

Attacks

Weapon

SR

Att%

Dam.

Par%

AP

Head Butt

9

51%

1d6

Thrown Rock

3/9 47%

1d4+1d4

1h Spear

7

52%

1d6+1+1d4

21%

12 hp

Crackhorn

Crackhorn is a rhino broo. He is large, lumbering, and quite dangerous. He is also surprisingly smart. He follows Grubsucker, but may well try to escape if it becomes clear that Grubsucker is going to lose. He wields a very large club.

STR

25

CON

19

SIZ

24

INT

14

POW

11

DEX

9

CHA

7

Move: 3

HP: 22

MP: 11

D20

Location

AP/HP

1-4

Right Leg

4/8

5-8

Left Leg

4/8

9-11

Abdomen

4/8

12

Chest

4/9

13-15

Right Arm

4/7

16-18

Left Arm

4/7

19-20

Head

6/8

Armor: 4 point skin, 6 on head

Skills: Dodge 32%, Listen, 42%, Spot Hidden 36%, Move Silently 27%, Hide in Cover 38%

Spells: Mobility 2, Protection 2

Attacks

Weapon

SR

Att%

Dam.

Par%

AP

Head Butt

6

56%

1d10+2d6

Maul

4

53%

1d8+2d6

44%

12 hp

Grubsucker

Grubsucker looks like a typical broo, although he wears scraps of clothing. Depending on how far into the quest he has gotten, he will have various bonuses to his stats, reflected by the numbers in parentheses.

STR

14 (17)

CON

18

SIZ

16

INT

13

POW

19

DEX

11

CHA

10

Move: 8 (12)

HP: 20

MP: 19

D20

Location

AP/HP

1-4

Right Leg

4 (6)/7

5-8

Left Leg

4 (6)/7

9-11

Abdomen

4 (6)/7

12

Chest

4 (6)/8

13-15

Right Arm

4 (6)/6

16-18

Left Arm

4 (6)/6

19-20

Head

6 (6)/7

Armor: 3 point horns on head, 4 pts on body from Armoring Enchantment

Skills: Climb, 72%, Dodge 61% (71%), Hide in Cover 66% (76%)%, Listen 48% (68%), Spot Hidden 69% (89%), Move Silently 68%, Ceremony 82%, Enchant 58%, Spirit Combat 74%, Spirit Walking 81%, Summon 71%, Speak Beast Speech 82%, Speak Praxian 41%

Spirit Magic: Befuddle, Healing 3, Ironhand 3, Mobility 3, Protection 3 (known by Robblegrunt): Detect Life, Detect Spirit, Disrupt, Ignite, Silence 2, Spirit Block 2, Visibility

Divine Magic: Fumble, Chaos Spawn, Worship Thed

Chaotic Feature: All melee weapons that strike him affected by cumulative Dullblade 2 (-10% and -2 damage penalty each time he is hit)

Attacks

Weapon

SR

Att%

Dam.

Par%

AP

Head Butt

9

51%

1d6+1d4 (+1d6)

1h Spear

7

68%

1d6+1+1d4 (+1d6)

23%

12 hp

Medium Shield

-

-

-

59%

12 ap

Fetch: Robblegrunt INT 14 POW 13 7 Manifests as a floating goat skull

Magic Items: Fetishes with the following spirits bound into them:

Power Spirit: POW 11 10

Violence Spirit: POW 14

Thed Spirit: INT 10, MPs 9, target possessed gains +4 APs

2 pt Spell Power Enhancing Crystal, worn in a bag around his neck

Bonuses from Quest:

Day 1: Cling to sheer surfaces

Day 2: Leap up to 20 meters as a movement action

Day 3: +20% to all Perception-based skills

Day 4: +2 pts of Armor, +10% to Hide in Cover

Day 5: +4 Movement, +10% Dodge (if impala) or +3 STR (if Bison)

Day 6: +2 CON (he only gets this bonus if he completely eats Mongweh and completes the quest)

Running the Fight

Unless the PCs are very careful, it is probable that sounds of fighting will reach chamber 5 (remember that starting on Day 3, Grubsucker gets a considerable bonus to his Perception skills). He will dispatch Dogsbody and Throatbugger to investigate. Depending on what they find in chamber 3, they will either join the fight or retreat back to 5 to inform Grubsucker of the danger. It is likely that when the PCs reach 5, the broo will be prepared, with spells cast.

Grubsucker must devote at least 1 combat action to performing the ritual (basically, killing and eating the victim); the ritual fails if he goes more than 1 round without performing the ritual. But he can cast spells, and fight defensively, and his Fetch and spirits can fight. Thus when combat breaks out, he will cast spells to support the other broo or dodge, but he will only resort to actual fighting if the PCs get close enough to attack him directly. If the ritual fails, he loses 1 special ability each round, with the most recent going first. Additionally, the Pacification Effect immediately dissipates.

In most cases, Grubsucker’s first action is to send his Thed Spirit to possess one of his minions to help them fight. The next round, he will cast Chaos Spawn; 1d4 rounds later the Void will disgorge a Medium Acid Gorp (SIZ 17, HP 14, Acid Attack 100%, 8 damage), unless a living being gets thrown into the Void, in which case the GM may decide what emerges. Then he will send his Violence spirit against one of the PCs. Robblegrunt will cast either Befuddle on PCs or support spells on one of the broo.

If Grubsucker realizes that his forces are in danger of defeat, he will try to flee rather than fighting to the last. He is a survivor first and foremost. If he does escape, he will likely shadow the PCs, seeking to get vengeance on them for his defeat. In this way, he can become a recurring villain. If he is slain, his spirit will linger near his body (remember that shamans can autoresurrect unless their body is destroyed). If his body is destroyed, his spirit may return to plague the PCs at a later date.