Thursday, April 17, 2014
The Pain, oh, the Pain!
The damage table of the Core Rule Book has been updated to dish out some more Pain. Check out the updated version at the download page!
LinCon adventure - The Killswitch
"As the darkness disperses a new scene emerges: a run-down hospital room with mint green walls, disused equipment stacked against the sides of the room. Others are here as well, each awaking on a sunky hospital bed - all looking confused. But before anyone can talk a screen at the far side of the room comes to life. A voice, distorted by some device, begin to speak:
'You are surely wondering what you are doing here, and why. You have all been selected for a job. Some of you may not like it, and that is something that must not interfere with the mission. Thus you have all been fitted with a killswitch. Turned on, it will start to kill you from inside. Trust me, you do not want the details.' "
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
The Necromancer's Legacy - part 18
As the seneschals arrive in Lao-Din they quickly learn that the grandmaster of Tono Ken is not at all well. In fact he is so ill that the seneschals cannot have a meeting with them but rather meet with his assistant, Lin Mao. Lin explains that the grandmaster is too fragile to handle the burden of his job and he himself has not the authority to be of much help to the seneschals - especially since the house is locked in a stallmate as they debate over a candidate to replace grandmaster Jaccarin. The most obvious choice, the house's only archmage Gan Krish, has refused the post outright.
The seneschals look around and by accident meet with Assabi, one of the candidates for the post, in the dining hall. Assabi has good experience from politics as she is related to the local ruling family. She has much to say about the current politics in Pantoria and strongly recommend that if the seneschals intend to aid in the grandmaster elections they do so in an official manner by speaking to the other candidates as well. She gives them directions as where to find them.
Such directions are not necessary to find the second candidate, Kanadir, who find the seneschals himself as they discuss their plans in the house library. Introducing himself, he joins them for a conversation to answer their questions concerning his view on the current situation. He claims to be the more diplomatic of the three candidates and points out that he, unlike Assabi, doesn't have any political connections which will affect his decisions as a grandmaster. He also argues that his social skills make him far more suitable than the third candidate, Femala. He is not above trying to bribe the three however, as he offers Charon access to the restricted library should he gain the title as grandmaster.
After this meeting the seneschals go to find Femala, who is in her private laboratory. They quickly realize why Kanadir considers himself the more social of the two as her quite disfigured appearance is unsettling. Femala is straight to the point with the seneschals: she claims that chosing her as the grandmaster is the logical choice given that archmage Gan Krish is not a candidate and she has the highest rank of the three candidates left. She also offer the seneschals a key to a graveyard city South of Lao-Din in exchange for their support. She does not try to argue this to be anything but a bribe and explains this is her offer and that she will answer no further questions. She does however let slip that another powerful mage lives nearby - a man named Karachen. Thriatos knows the name but says nothing to his fellow seneschals.
To have space for thinking the seneschals rent a room at the lokal imperial enclave where they can discuss uninterrupted. They quickly agree that the next step would be to meet with the archmage Gan Krish to ask his opinion about the candidates. As he lives out of town they send a messenger to tell of their arrival.
Gan Krish's manor is located a few kilometers outside the city so the seneschals rent camels and depart on the following morning. The journey is uneventful but as they arrive at Gan Krish they are greeted by demonic servants - which they all find most intriguing. The archmage seems a bit annoyed over their visit and explains that his absence from the house is due to he himself being all too busy to take the role as grandmaster and that he has seen no reason to support any of the candidates. He recommend the seneschals to support the candidate who has given them the best offer as that is what it will come down to in the end. Realizing he's being a rather poor host, he invites the three mages to dinner before they return to the city. Served by the archmage's demonic servants the four mages discuss many topics over the dinner table. Accidentally, Gan Krish reveals that his research is not entierly within the boundaries of the mages' charter, which is the reason for his remote location. Realizing his blunder he offers the seneschals a spell of his before they leave, hoping them to remain discrete about what they have learned.
The seneschals look around and by accident meet with Assabi, one of the candidates for the post, in the dining hall. Assabi has good experience from politics as she is related to the local ruling family. She has much to say about the current politics in Pantoria and strongly recommend that if the seneschals intend to aid in the grandmaster elections they do so in an official manner by speaking to the other candidates as well. She gives them directions as where to find them.
Such directions are not necessary to find the second candidate, Kanadir, who find the seneschals himself as they discuss their plans in the house library. Introducing himself, he joins them for a conversation to answer their questions concerning his view on the current situation. He claims to be the more diplomatic of the three candidates and points out that he, unlike Assabi, doesn't have any political connections which will affect his decisions as a grandmaster. He also argues that his social skills make him far more suitable than the third candidate, Femala. He is not above trying to bribe the three however, as he offers Charon access to the restricted library should he gain the title as grandmaster.
After this meeting the seneschals go to find Femala, who is in her private laboratory. They quickly realize why Kanadir considers himself the more social of the two as her quite disfigured appearance is unsettling. Femala is straight to the point with the seneschals: she claims that chosing her as the grandmaster is the logical choice given that archmage Gan Krish is not a candidate and she has the highest rank of the three candidates left. She also offer the seneschals a key to a graveyard city South of Lao-Din in exchange for their support. She does not try to argue this to be anything but a bribe and explains this is her offer and that she will answer no further questions. She does however let slip that another powerful mage lives nearby - a man named Karachen. Thriatos knows the name but says nothing to his fellow seneschals.
To have space for thinking the seneschals rent a room at the lokal imperial enclave where they can discuss uninterrupted. They quickly agree that the next step would be to meet with the archmage Gan Krish to ask his opinion about the candidates. As he lives out of town they send a messenger to tell of their arrival.
Gan Krish's manor is located a few kilometers outside the city so the seneschals rent camels and depart on the following morning. The journey is uneventful but as they arrive at Gan Krish they are greeted by demonic servants - which they all find most intriguing. The archmage seems a bit annoyed over their visit and explains that his absence from the house is due to he himself being all too busy to take the role as grandmaster and that he has seen no reason to support any of the candidates. He recommend the seneschals to support the candidate who has given them the best offer as that is what it will come down to in the end. Realizing he's being a rather poor host, he invites the three mages to dinner before they return to the city. Served by the archmage's demonic servants the four mages discuss many topics over the dinner table. Accidentally, Gan Krish reveals that his research is not entierly within the boundaries of the mages' charter, which is the reason for his remote location. Realizing his blunder he offers the seneschals a spell of his before they leave, hoping them to remain discrete about what they have learned.
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
The Necromancer's Legacy - part 17
Another week passes until the seneschals are once again summoned by the Mages' Council. They are introduced to seneschal Horacio, who serves consul Quadrata from Leupthia. The three are tasked with investigating a possible insurgency in the wizard houses of the province of Pantoria, where Horacio is supposed to evaluate the work of Seneca's seneschals.
The seneschals are then introduced to a set of secret artifacts owned by the council: teleporting mirrors which allows fast travel between the Empire's wizard houses. The secrecy is due to the possible dangers involved in using them, as the mirrors could kill a traveller if not properly prepared or if someone would manage to tamper with them. Assured that they currently are safe, the seneschals depart immediately for the Pantorian capital of Miramasa.
Arriving at the wizard house bearing the same name as the city, the mages seat themselves in the open library to discuss their plans. After a short meeting with the grandmaster Hanalam they have a basic grasp of the politics enacted by the current governor which have caused a rebellious attitude among the rural population. Hanalam urges the Mages' Council to take a firm stance in the question as he believes the situation can quickly deteriorate and there are those within the house who Think differently.
Charon and Thriatos continue their inquiry in the library where they use a pretext as looking for books on biomancy. Horacio takes it a step further and manage to schedule a meeting with one of the house's archmages on the following day. Apart from this not much work to the seneschals' favor and they travel to a nearby hotel to sleep through the night. They overhear some discussions and come to the conclusion that the citizens appear loyal to the governor while the countryside population has a different opinion.
The following morning Horacio heads to his scheduled meeting while Charon and Thriatos attempt to gather information at the local arena. The two are not very successful in their task, but Horacio has a bit more luck with his meeting. Archmage Fordina paints a rather different picture from the grandmaster, accusing the latter of causing more trouble than necessary by opposing the governor's policies. She even suspect the grandmaster of having his own political motives for doing so, but do not elaborate further on what they might be.
As the Three seneschals meet up later they decide to leave Miramasa for now and travel onwards to Tono Ken, the house of Pantoria's Eastern-most city Lao-Din.
The seneschals are then introduced to a set of secret artifacts owned by the council: teleporting mirrors which allows fast travel between the Empire's wizard houses. The secrecy is due to the possible dangers involved in using them, as the mirrors could kill a traveller if not properly prepared or if someone would manage to tamper with them. Assured that they currently are safe, the seneschals depart immediately for the Pantorian capital of Miramasa.
Arriving at the wizard house bearing the same name as the city, the mages seat themselves in the open library to discuss their plans. After a short meeting with the grandmaster Hanalam they have a basic grasp of the politics enacted by the current governor which have caused a rebellious attitude among the rural population. Hanalam urges the Mages' Council to take a firm stance in the question as he believes the situation can quickly deteriorate and there are those within the house who Think differently.
Charon and Thriatos continue their inquiry in the library where they use a pretext as looking for books on biomancy. Horacio takes it a step further and manage to schedule a meeting with one of the house's archmages on the following day. Apart from this not much work to the seneschals' favor and they travel to a nearby hotel to sleep through the night. They overhear some discussions and come to the conclusion that the citizens appear loyal to the governor while the countryside population has a different opinion.
The following morning Horacio heads to his scheduled meeting while Charon and Thriatos attempt to gather information at the local arena. The two are not very successful in their task, but Horacio has a bit more luck with his meeting. Archmage Fordina paints a rather different picture from the grandmaster, accusing the latter of causing more trouble than necessary by opposing the governor's policies. She even suspect the grandmaster of having his own political motives for doing so, but do not elaborate further on what they might be.
As the Three seneschals meet up later they decide to leave Miramasa for now and travel onwards to Tono Ken, the house of Pantoria's Eastern-most city Lao-Din.
Monday, April 7, 2014
The Necromancer's Legacy - part 16
Another day at the estate and the seneschals receive an urgent message from consul Seneca that their services are required. The consul also requests that Sarissa and Julius accompany them, but makes no further mentions about what it is that they should do except that it somehow involves undead opponents.
When te consul arrives a few days later he is pleased to see that everything has been prepared. As they set out he explains that they are heading to Haomas' Grave to return an artifact which was accidentally removed from the site. He gives a short description of the graveyard city and tasks them with handling any resistance as he must preserve his Powers until they reach their destination.
It takes the group the better part of three days to reach the graveyard city and once there they set up camp to plan their approach. They decide to use a path cleared by the Temple and then head straight for the Royal Mausoleum, which is their goal. Seneca declares that he needs to do his own preparations and that he should only be disturbed if they require his advice.
As the sun rise on the following morning they enter through the half-open gates of the city. Undead wander aimlessly at the streets but protected by a magical barrier they ignore them and continue. Eventually they arrive at the Royal Mausoleum to find it surrounded by a large horde of zombies, requiring them to clear a way through. Charon uses his illusion skills to accomplish the task and after reaching the relative safety behind the mausoleum's walls Thriatos and Sarissa turn the pursuing zombies to ash. This goes well until Sarissa manage to set fire to herself, prompting Seneca to use a healing spell and Julius to destroy the last of the undead in melee combat.
The undead seems to be everywhere but again Charon creates a distraction by commanding one of them and having it turn on its peers. They find a hidden staircase and decend into the tomb.
In the dark corridors they encounter a mummy as they are searching for light, but as it is unarmed it poses little threat to them and is set ablaze. The mummy has injuries from a previous engagement and they manage to find traces which they follow deeper inside the tomb.
Here the corridors and chambers are dark and silent, except for a rythmic pounding echoing among the walls. They follow it until Seneca declares that they have found their goal: an empty pillar on which he places a magical armor he had brought along. But the task is not yet complete as they discover the pounding was made by a group of zombies attempting to break through a nearby wall. Seneca tells his companions to prepare themselves as there is a creature below which he must combat and he expects them to handle its minions.
Accompanied by a wraith and two earth elementals they continue down a dimly lit staircase. At Seneca's command they rush the last few steps and find themselves in a vault with a sarchophagus on a platform ahead of them. Five creatures are visible in the room: a tall and extravagantly dressed character holding a staff, surrounded by four warriors in dark robes wielding two-handed swords. They recognize the character as a lich and its servants as ultors - all powerful undead.
As Seneca engage the lich the others must deal with its body guards, which prove hard to destroy. Neither Seneca nor the lich appears to be anywhere near a decisive blow. Eventually one of the ultors is consumed by magic fire and as the others are gravely injured the lich makes an attempt to escape. But a telekinesis spell misfires and the creature only partly teleports away, leaving its right arm and part of its torso still on the scene. Without the lich the ultors are quickly dispatched and Seneca searches the room. Seneca asks them to retreat as he restores the room after the lich has defiled it. He grants the seneschals the lich's staff to return to the estate and tells them a reward will be waiting.
The group return home without the consul to find Constance waiting for them. On the consul's behalf she thanks them for their services and lets them know the estate will now belong to them, provided that its current residents are allowed to stay and continue their duties.
When te consul arrives a few days later he is pleased to see that everything has been prepared. As they set out he explains that they are heading to Haomas' Grave to return an artifact which was accidentally removed from the site. He gives a short description of the graveyard city and tasks them with handling any resistance as he must preserve his Powers until they reach their destination.
It takes the group the better part of three days to reach the graveyard city and once there they set up camp to plan their approach. They decide to use a path cleared by the Temple and then head straight for the Royal Mausoleum, which is their goal. Seneca declares that he needs to do his own preparations and that he should only be disturbed if they require his advice.
As the sun rise on the following morning they enter through the half-open gates of the city. Undead wander aimlessly at the streets but protected by a magical barrier they ignore them and continue. Eventually they arrive at the Royal Mausoleum to find it surrounded by a large horde of zombies, requiring them to clear a way through. Charon uses his illusion skills to accomplish the task and after reaching the relative safety behind the mausoleum's walls Thriatos and Sarissa turn the pursuing zombies to ash. This goes well until Sarissa manage to set fire to herself, prompting Seneca to use a healing spell and Julius to destroy the last of the undead in melee combat.
The undead seems to be everywhere but again Charon creates a distraction by commanding one of them and having it turn on its peers. They find a hidden staircase and decend into the tomb.
In the dark corridors they encounter a mummy as they are searching for light, but as it is unarmed it poses little threat to them and is set ablaze. The mummy has injuries from a previous engagement and they manage to find traces which they follow deeper inside the tomb.
Here the corridors and chambers are dark and silent, except for a rythmic pounding echoing among the walls. They follow it until Seneca declares that they have found their goal: an empty pillar on which he places a magical armor he had brought along. But the task is not yet complete as they discover the pounding was made by a group of zombies attempting to break through a nearby wall. Seneca tells his companions to prepare themselves as there is a creature below which he must combat and he expects them to handle its minions.
Accompanied by a wraith and two earth elementals they continue down a dimly lit staircase. At Seneca's command they rush the last few steps and find themselves in a vault with a sarchophagus on a platform ahead of them. Five creatures are visible in the room: a tall and extravagantly dressed character holding a staff, surrounded by four warriors in dark robes wielding two-handed swords. They recognize the character as a lich and its servants as ultors - all powerful undead.
As Seneca engage the lich the others must deal with its body guards, which prove hard to destroy. Neither Seneca nor the lich appears to be anywhere near a decisive blow. Eventually one of the ultors is consumed by magic fire and as the others are gravely injured the lich makes an attempt to escape. But a telekinesis spell misfires and the creature only partly teleports away, leaving its right arm and part of its torso still on the scene. Without the lich the ultors are quickly dispatched and Seneca searches the room. Seneca asks them to retreat as he restores the room after the lich has defiled it. He grants the seneschals the lich's staff to return to the estate and tells them a reward will be waiting.
The group return home without the consul to find Constance waiting for them. On the consul's behalf she thanks them for their services and lets them know the estate will now belong to them, provided that its current residents are allowed to stay and continue their duties.
Saturday, April 5, 2014
A New Start
While "The Necromancer's Legacy" will go on for some time here at Centuria, the real life campaign is nearning an end. It will however be followed by a new one, set in the Age of Knowledge, with the goal of providing some thorough test playing of this second setting and - of course - to be fun for all those involved.
The players of the previous campaign will have the option of playing their old character (who will then be very old...) as the lords and ladies of Aladron wrestle for power and prestigue. But they will not be the only ones to scheme and as technology advances the social rules established in the previous age begin to dissolve...
The players of the previous campaign will have the option of playing their old character (who will then be very old...) as the lords and ladies of Aladron wrestle for power and prestigue. But they will not be the only ones to scheme and as technology advances the social rules established in the previous age begin to dissolve...
Monday, March 31, 2014
The Necromancer's Legacy - part 15
At the consul's estate progress is being made, but Charon is interrupted by the arrival of advocatus Hàran - a representative of the imperial administration and upholder of the law. Hàran explains that it has come to his attention that the seneschal has some debts which could cost him his position and offers his aid in resolving the situation. Charon, who has repeatedly forgotten about the affair, recalls that he received a payment demand some time ago. When investigated it is shown that the holder of the debt is an organization known as Zamatspire - a powerful guild of businessmen acting as a front for more shadowy activities. This draws the attention of Constance who has some previous grudges with the organization. Together the three head to Amoros to resolve the matter.
Arriving in the capital they head to Casino Casa, a gambling den where Charon originally acquired his debt. The seneschal has a hard time avoiding the tables, but once they gain the name of the owner they head towards his private Palace to sort things out.
The owner, one Hercus Marones, is not much for visitors, and with lions guarding his property no one feel like entering the grounds uninvited. They head back to the casino to see if they can sort the thing out by speaking to the administrators instead. However, they are met by strange news: the debt has been bought by someone else and is no longer a matter for the casino. They'll need to find the buyer - identified only by the name "Jiha". Constance is familiar with the name as Jiha is a persona in Amoros underworld and suspect the debt has been bought to be used against Charon at an opportune moment.
Asking around they hear that Jiha is involved in gambling and smuggling of exotic animals but no clues as to how to find him. Eventually they find out that harbor master Adrian Lucus is involved in the animal trade and may know how to get into contact with the elusive man. They split up as Charon head back to Casino Casa to find more clues by "socializing" and Constance and Hàran head to the harbor to find Adrian.
Eventually they find the harbor master and after a discreet interrogation they leave with a name, Jorian, and an adress in the eastern part of the city. Hàran collects a few mercenaries as backup while Constance fetch the "socializing" seneschal and they all meet outside Jorian's house.
Their meeting is civilized and while Jorian at first cannot recall the debt Charon speaks of he eventually remembers and accepts Charon's offer to pay him on the spot. After this dealing they all leave. Charon return to the wizard house to spend the night before returning to the estate and Hàran return to his regular duties. Only Constance refuse to let things be and return to Jorian's house the same night - only to find it abandoned but for a simple house keeper.
Arriving in the capital they head to Casino Casa, a gambling den where Charon originally acquired his debt. The seneschal has a hard time avoiding the tables, but once they gain the name of the owner they head towards his private Palace to sort things out.
The owner, one Hercus Marones, is not much for visitors, and with lions guarding his property no one feel like entering the grounds uninvited. They head back to the casino to see if they can sort the thing out by speaking to the administrators instead. However, they are met by strange news: the debt has been bought by someone else and is no longer a matter for the casino. They'll need to find the buyer - identified only by the name "Jiha". Constance is familiar with the name as Jiha is a persona in Amoros underworld and suspect the debt has been bought to be used against Charon at an opportune moment.
Asking around they hear that Jiha is involved in gambling and smuggling of exotic animals but no clues as to how to find him. Eventually they find out that harbor master Adrian Lucus is involved in the animal trade and may know how to get into contact with the elusive man. They split up as Charon head back to Casino Casa to find more clues by "socializing" and Constance and Hàran head to the harbor to find Adrian.
Eventually they find the harbor master and after a discreet interrogation they leave with a name, Jorian, and an adress in the eastern part of the city. Hàran collects a few mercenaries as backup while Constance fetch the "socializing" seneschal and they all meet outside Jorian's house.
Their meeting is civilized and while Jorian at first cannot recall the debt Charon speaks of he eventually remembers and accepts Charon's offer to pay him on the spot. After this dealing they all leave. Charon return to the wizard house to spend the night before returning to the estate and Hàran return to his regular duties. Only Constance refuse to let things be and return to Jorian's house the same night - only to find it abandoned but for a simple house keeper.
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