Attronarch's Athenaeum

Campaign journals, reviews of TTRPG stuff, and musings on D&D.

31 DAY CHARACTER CREATION CHALLENGE

You can read more about the challenge here and here.

Dedicated to Niko whom once lamented “man you have SW in the scene for like 10 or more years and you cannot get a supplement with pregens.”

Before I start making equipment packs for each class, I ought to classify different equipment items provided in the Swords & Wizardry Complete Revised. For that I used Necropraxis's classification of OD&D equipment as the springboard. I settled for 11 categories: one-handed melee weapons, two-handed melee weapons, missile weapons, animals & vehicles, armor, exploration gear, container, light, counter, rations & travel, and misc.

Here are items in each category.

ONE-HANDED MELEE WEAPONS

ITEM COST (gp) ENC (lbs)
Axe, battle (1H 1d8; 2H 1d8+1) 5 15
Axe, hand (1d6; missile ROF 1, range 10’) 1 5
Club (1d4) 0 10
Dagger (1d4; missile ROF 1, range 10’) 2 2
Hammer, war (1d4+1) 1 10
Mace, heavy (1d6) 10 10
Spear (1H 1d6; 2H 1d6+1; missile ROF 1, range 10’) 1 10
Sword, bastard (1H 1d8; 2H 1d8+1) 20 10
Sword, long (1d8) 15 10
Sword, short (1d6) 8 5

TWO-HANDED MELEE WEAPONS

ITEM COST (gp) ENC (lbs)
Axe, battle (1H 1d8; 2H 1d8+1) 5 15
Flail (2H, 1d8) 8 10
Lance (2d4+1) 6 15
Polearm (2H, 1d8+1) 10 15
Spear (1H 1d6; 2H 1d6+1; missile ROF 1, range 10’) 1 10
Staff (2H 1d6) 0 10
Sword, bastard (1H 1d8; 2H 1d8+1) 20 10
Sword, two-handed (2H 1d10) 30 15

MISSILE WEAPONS

ITEM COST (gp) ENC (lbs)
Bow, short (2H, ROF 2, range 50’) 15 5
Bow, long (2H, ROF 2, range 70’) 60 5
Arrows (20) (1d6) 2 1
Crossbow, light (2H, ROF 1, range 60’) 12 5
Bolts, light (20) (1d4+1) 2 1
Crossbow, heavy (2H, ROF ½, range 80’) 20 5
Bolts, heavy (20) (1d6+1) 2 1
Sling (2H, ROF 1, range 40’) 0.2 1
Stones, sling (20) (1d4) 0 5
Axe, hand (1d6; missile ROF 1, range 10’) 1 5
Dagger (1d4; missile ROF 1, range 10’) 2 2
Dart (1d3, ROF 3, range 15’) 0.2 1
Javelin (1d6, ROF 1, range 20’) 0.5 5
Spear (1H 1d6; 2H 1d6+1; missile ROF 1, range 10’) 1 10

ANIMALS & VEHICLES

ITEM COST (gp)
Mule 20
Horse, Riding 40
Horse, War 200
Cart, Hand 10
Wagon 50
Rowboat 20

ARMOR

ITEM COST (gp) ENC (lbs)
Shield (-1[+1] AC) 10 15
Leather (-2[+2] AC) 25 5
Ring (-3[+3] AC) 40 30
Chain (-4[+4] AC) 50 75
Plate (-6[+6] AC) 70 100

EXPLORATION GEAR

ITEM COST (gp)
Bell 1
Block and tackle 5
Chalk, 1 piece 0.05
Crowbar 0.2
Grappling hook 1
Hammer 0.5
Ladder (10 foot) 0.5
Pole (10 foot) 0.2
Rope, hemp (50 feet) 1
Rope, silk (50 feet) 10
Shovel 2
Spike, iron 0.05

CONTAINER

ITEM COST (gp)
Backpack (30-pound capacity) 5
Sack (15 pounds capacity) 1
Sack (30 pounds capacity) 2
Waterskin 1
Flask, leather 0.03
Lamp, bronze 0.1
Barrel 2
Chest 2
Case (map or scroll) 1

LIGHT

ITEM COST (gp)
Candle 0.01
Torch 0.01
Lantern, hooded 7
Lantern, bullseye 12
Oil, lamp (1 pint) 0.1
Flint & steel 1

COUNTER

ITEM COST (gp)
Mirror, small steel 20
Chain (10 feet) 30
Manacles 15
Lock (minimum price) 20
Fishing net (25 square feet) 4
Signal whistle 0.5
Holy symbol, wooden 1
Holy symbol, silver 25
Holy water (flask) 25
Garlic, charmed 10
Wolfsbane 0.1

RATIONS & TRAVEL

ITEM COST (gp)
Rations, trail (per day) 0.5
Rations, dried (per day) 1
Bottle of wine, glass 2
Pot, iron 0.5
Canvas (per square yard) 0.1
Bedroll 0.2
Tent 10

MISC

ITEM COST (gp)
Musical instrument 5
Ink (1-ounce bottle) 1
Parchment (sheet) 0.2
Spellbook, blank 25

Tomorrow I'll make equipment packs for the first class in the rulebook: assassins.

#charactercreationchallenge

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31 DAY CHARACTER CREATION CHALLENGE

You can read more about the challenge here and here.

Dedicated to Niko whom once lamented “man you have SW in the scene for like 10 or more years and you cannot get a supplement with pregens.”

Now that I have finished spreadsheet with attributes and respective modifiers, I must concatenate the results to get single block of text I can just copy/paste in post or on Discord. To do so I have used CONCAT in LibreOffice:

=CONCAT("**STR:** ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.B2;" (to-hit modifier: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.H2;"; damage modifier: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.I2;"; open doors: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.J2;"; carry modifier: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.K2;" lbs )";CHAR(10);"**DEX:** ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.C2;" (missile to-hit modifier: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.L2;"; AC modifier: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.M2;")";CHAR(10);"**CON:** ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.D2;" (hp per hit die modifier: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.N2;"; raise dead survival: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.O2;")";CHAR(10);"**INT:** ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.E2;" (max additional languages: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.P2;")";CHAR(10);"**WIS:** ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.F2;" (experience bonus: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.T2;")";CHAR(10);"**CHA:** ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.G2;" (max # of special hirelings: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.U2;"; retainer morale adjustment: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.V2; "; experience bonus: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.W2;")")

And here is the longer one for spellcasters (non-arcane casters just need max languages known):

=CONCAT("**STR:** ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.B2;" (to-hit modifier: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.H2;"; damage modifier: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.I2;"; open doors: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.J2;"; carry modifier: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.K2;" lbs )";CHAR(10);"**DEX:** ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.C2;" (missile to-hit modifier: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.L2;"; AC modifier: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.M2;")";CHAR(10);"**CON:** ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.D2;" (hp per hit die modifier: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.N2;"; raise dead survival: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.O2;")";CHAR(10);"**INT:** ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.E2;" (max additional languages: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.P2;"; max spell level: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.Q2;"; chance to understand new spell: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.R2;"; min/max number of basic spells understandable per level: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.S2;")";CHAR(10);"**WIS:** ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.F2;" (experience bonus: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.T2;")";CHAR(10);"**CHA:** ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.G2;" (max # of special hirelings: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.U2;"; retainer morale adjustment: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.V2; "; experience bonus: ";$'ATTRIBUTE SCORES'.W2;")")

With that I get cells that have markdown-ready stat block:

STR: 14 (to-hit modifier: +1; damage modifier: 0; open doors: 1–2; carry modifier: +10 lbs ) DEX: 11 (missile to-hit modifier: 0; AC modifier: none) CON: 11 (hp per hit die modifier: 0; raise dead survival: 75%) INT: 7 (max additional languages: 0) WIS: 10 (experience bonus: none) CHA: 11 (max # of special hirelings: 4; retainer morale adjustment: 0; experience bonus: none)

And expanded version for magic-users:

STR: 14 (to-hit modifier: +1; damage modifier: 0; open doors: 1–2; carry modifier: +10 lbs ) DEX: 11 (missile to-hit modifier: 0; AC modifier: none) CON: 11 (hp per hit die modifier: 0; raise dead survival: 75%) INT: 7 (max additional languages: 0; max spell level: 4; chance to understand new spell: 30%; min/max number of basic spells understandable per level: 2/4) WIS: 10 (experience bonus: none) CHA: 11 (max # of special hirelings: 4; retainer morale adjustment: 0; experience bonus: none)

Now to take care of height and weight. I'm using a simplified procedure by spurious. It is based on AD&D charts with corrections from Stephen Innis but quicker to roll. I whittled the table down to “just” dwarf, elf, half-elf, halfling, and human (since that's what's presented in the Swords & Wizardry Complete Revised rulebook).

What took me the longest is figuring out how to get feet'inch” height notation from just inches (turned out it is just integer value of inches divided by 12 and then add remaining inches). I'm used to SI units, not imperial, so I also made sure to convert to metres and kilograms as well.

Like above, I used CONCAT function to generate nicely formatted plain text output. Here are four dwarves (STR 3, 9, 15, and 18):

4'3'' / 1.3 m, 145 lbs / 66 kg 4'4'' / 1.32 m, 150 lbs / 68 kg 4'5'' / 1.35 m, 155 lbs / 70 kg 4'7'' / 1.4 m, 165 lbs / 75 kg

Four elves, same STR scores:

4'8'' / 1.42 m, 90 lbs / 41 kg 4'10'' / 1.47 m, 100 lbs / 45 kg 4'11'' / 1.5 m, 105 lbs / 48 kg 5'0'' / 1.52 m, 110 lbs / 50 kg

Four humans, same STR scores:

4'9'' / 1.45 m, 95 lbs / 43 kg 5'3'' / 1.6 m, 155 lbs / 70 kg 5'8'' / 1.73 m, 205 lbs / 93 kg 5'11'' / 1.8 m, 235 lbs / 107 kg

Equipping new characters can be slow and painful, especially if there are long equipment lists with many cheap items. We roll 3d6, multiply the result with ten, and that's the amount of gold coins to spend.

What I'll do instead, is create “standard starting equipment pack” for each entry on 3d6 roll (i.e. 3–18, 16 entries in total) for each class—something similar to what Necropraxis did for OD&D Fighter, Magic-User, Cleric, and Thief. I hope to make one table per class per day. The benefit of course is that such table(s) will be reusable for new characters as well. But damn, I'm not looking forward to it!

#charactercreationchallenge

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31 DAY CHARACTER CREATION CHALLENGE

You can read more about the challenge here and here.

Dedicated to Niko whom once lamented “man you have SW in the scene for like 10 or more years and you cannot get a supplement with pregens.”

As mentioned in the first post, I plan to make 260 characters for Swords & Wizardry Complete. Since that's a lot of rolling, I'm writting scripts for Inspiration Pad Pro (IPP) and creating spreadsheets in LibreOffice Calc.

First step was to create a spreadsheet which rolls 20 attribute score sets, and lists their respective modifiers:

Next step will be to concatenate results to get output like:

STR: 14 (to-hit modifier: +1; damage modifier: 0; open doors: 1–2; carry modifier: +10 lbs) DEX: 10 (missile to-hit modifier: 0; AC modifier: none) CON: 11 (hp per hit die modifier: 0; raise dead survival: 75%) INT: 13 (max additional languages: 3) WIS: 13 (bonus xp: +5%) CHA: 11 (max # of special hirelings: 4; retainer morale adjustment: 0; bonus xp: 0)

Having had enough of spredsheets, I turned to automating Arduin's Optional Character Appearance Chart with IPP.

“Regular” chart:

DIE ROLL HAIR EYES SCARS BIRTHMARKS PIGMENTATION EXOTIC THINGS
1 Light Brown Hazel None Crescent Light Tan None
2 Brown Light Brown 1” Star (5 point) Medium Tan Cyclopic Eye
3 Dark Brown Brown 1 1/2” Star (6 point) Dark Tan Six Fingered, Etc.
4 Auburn Dark Brown None Star (8 point) Milky White Double Thumbed
5 Red Grey 1/2” Triangle Caucasian Pointed Ears
6 Black Light Blue 1/4” “X” Amber Fang Mouthed
7 Blonde Blue None “Z” Pale Grey All Double Joints
8 Light Blonde Black 2” Snake Pale Blue Gills And Lungs
9 Dark Blonde Yellow 3” Bird Yellow White Webbed Toes, Etc.
10 Grey Light Green None Spider Pale Orange Two Hearts
11 Silver Green 4” Sword Pale Green Very Hairy
12 Golden Amber 5” Horns Pale Silver No Body Hair
13 Bald Aqua None Pentagram Pale Gold No Belly Button
14 Roan Violet 6” Circle Light Brown Hermaphrodite
15 Yellow Tan 7” Square Medium Brown Transparent Skin
16 Orange Gold None None Dark Brown Scaly Skin
17 White Silver 8” None Black Double Pupiled
18 2 Mixed ** Bronze 10” None Ochre Reptile Tongued
19 Grey / Mix ** Copper 1’ None Grey-Green Cat Clawed
20 * Special Special Special Special Special Tailed (d6’)

“Special” chart:

DIE ROLL HAIR EYES BIRTHMARKS PIGMENTATION
1 Purple Purple Wolf’s Head Metallic **
2 Green Orange Leaping Panther Half And Half **
3 Blue Pink Dragon Chequered **
4 Pink Scarlet Sun Disk Striped**
5 Scarlet Pupilless ** Ankh Fluorescent **
6 Saffron 2 Mixed ** Thunderbolt (d3) Chameleon Like
7 Maroon 3 Mixed ** Comet Pearlescent
8 Cyan Maroon Crown Purple
9 Magenta Cyan Heart Maroon
10 Lavender Magenta Griffon Cyan
11 Transparent Red Unicorn Scarlet
12 Tentacles White Pegasus Red
13 Quills Clear Lion Shiny Ebon
14 Feathers Metallic ** Raven Deep Blue
15 Crested Glowing ** Scythe Emerald Green
16 Horned No Eyes *** Hammer Gem Sparkled **
17 2 Mixed ** All Pupil ** Infinity Sigil Shifting Always **
18 3 Mixed ** Invisible **** Tree Lavender
19 Vipers Prismatic Flower (choice) Violet
20 Changeable ** Flaming ** Eye Prismatic

Footnotes: * re-roll on the special chart ** roll for the colour(s) *** born without eyes, sockets, and lids; 50' radar sense **** eyes are present but it looks like empty sockets

Players are allowed to roll on however many columns they want. Although I want pregens to stand out a little bit (after all, they are supposed to be adventurers), I also don't want to create 260 freaks with exotic features.

Hence I made a small table to randomise number of appearance columns that get rolled on:

DIE ROLL HAIR EYES SCARS BIRTHMARKS PIGMENTATION EXOTIC THINGS
1–7 YES YES NO NO YES NO
8–12 YES YES YES NO YES NO
13–16 YES YES NO YES YES NO
17–18 YES YES YES YES YES NO
19–20 YES YES NO NO YES YES

Here are few test outputs:

  • grey hair; dark brown eyes; yellow white skin tone; no body hair
  • 2 mixed (roan and bald) hair; gold eyes; pale grey skin tone
  • brown hair; black eyes; amber skin tone
  • yellow hair; dark brown eyes; grey-green skin tone; none-shaped birthmark
  • white hair; bronze eyes; medium tan skin tone; 1 ½'' scar

Love the second roll. I imagine it as as guy with bald top of the head and then some small roan bushes to the side. GOld eyes and pale grey complexion for that slightly sickly look. Sounds like a perfect Magic-User.

Either way, enough for today.

#charactercreationchallenge

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31 DAY CHARACTER CREATION CHALLENGE

You can read more about the challenge here.

Dedicated to Niko whom once lamented “man you have SW in the scene for like 10 or more years and you cannot get a supplement with pregens.”

This year we'll be moving from B/X rules to OD&D rules (via Swords & Wizardry Complete Revised). As part of the move, and due to lamentations of my friend, I have decided to make 260 pregens: 20 for each human class, and then 20 for each ancestry (dwarf, elf, halfling).

It is quite possible that I won't be able to finish all 260 this month, but that won't stop me for trying. Given the numbers, I'll do this year's challenge a bit differently than character per day.

First I'll generate 20 ability score sets (3d6 in order). Then I'll generate names, appearance, and traits. Then I'll equip them (1/3 spent on armour, adventuring gear, leave at least 5 gp).

Resources I'll be using are:

LibreOffice Calc and Inspiration Pad Pro (command line version) will be my digital tools of choice. In fact, I think most of my time this week will go on automating many of the rolls above so I can focus on the characters!

#charactercreationchallenge

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Adventurers

Character Class Description
Rashomon Elf level 2 A dangerous looking elf.
Llyfed Elf level 3 Thin and balding elf whom also happens to be Rashomon's friend.
Hagar the Hewer Dwarf level 1 Imagine Conan as dwarf.
Nolmbork Dwarf level 1 Portly, bald, red bearded, with an epic nose. On a mission to have a drink in every settlement in Wilderlands.
Orist Elf level 1 An elf.
Rangar the Bull Fighter level 1 Titanic, dark-skinned figure wearing bull-headed helmet and a harness with countless weapons strapped to it.
Shamar Fighter level 1 Tall and slender man with magnificent black mane and a fancy looking sword. Absolutely inept at fighting.

Coldrain 20th, Spiritday

“God damn it.” Tamren muttered.

Dear reader, this letter is intended for the named thereafter: Derennan the Dwarf, Hagar the Dwarf, Nolmbork the Dwarf, and Tamren the Helmeted. Please forward it to them at your earliest convenience.

If you are one of the named, then I have to inform you with heavy heart that a client has retained our services to ensure your untimely termination. Rest assured that that we will execute our clients' wishes regarding your passing in the finest details. We take pride in our professionalism and art.

With that being said, as mandated by the Queen, everyone must be given an opportunity to purchase their right to live. Therefore, I am delighted to invite you to bid for your life no later than ten days after delivery of this letter. Should you fail to appear, we will consider that as refusal of our offer.

With love, Zenon Coke Headmaster of the Assassins' Guild

Portraits of Nolmbork, Hagar, and Tamren have just been delivered to their house—together with the above letter. Few weeks ago Zarifa invited them all, alongside Derennan, to pose for a portrait to “award them for their bravery” in returning Barad's corpse.

Hagar's and Nolmbork's portraits accurately depicted their pensive poses with two small modifications. First, their eyes and lips were crossed out with red paint. Second, both were disemboweled, with spear stuck in their belly.

Tamren's portrait showed his stoic position accurately as well. Red frown was added to his helmet, as were three tiny eye drops next to each eye slit. There was a tight noose around his neck added as well.

“Saw this one coming.” Derennan muttered.

Shadowrath 5th, Spiritday

“We must head to the guild and get this sorted.”

Llyfed the Diplomat, Nolmbork and Ranger the Wounded and Bandaged, and Hagar the Framed spent the day negotiating terms in a stone windowless, building at the north side of Hara. Like them, so have I, the humble scribe, sworn to secrecy. What I can tell you though, is that they left the Assassins' Guild with certain ease to their gait. Soon they returned with sacks full of coin, and then they left with an even more bravado that the last time.

“What did he say? We are safe until end of Dewsnap next year?”

“So it sounded, yeah.”

Shadowrath 11th, Airday

The wounded rested until they were back into full fighting fit. New adventurer join the party as well: boisterous Shamar, accompanied by his two retainers Alf and Falf.

“We have been organising expeditions to the drug den. We are seeking evidence of a drug called the Red Dragon. So far we've been creamed a few times, but I have a feeling we are at the cusp of something great...”

And so a new expedition was formed: Rashomon, Hagar, Nolmbork, Orist, Rangar the Bull, Shamar and his two retainers.

The party reached den by end of Shadowrath 11th; they went down as night fell.

They went straight to their left, through the chamber with a mountain of rotting orc corpses, past the junction with stairs leading down, and right at the junction with a looong corridor leading north.

“Watch out!”

The passage suddenly turned cold and a number of incorporeal skeletal hands emerged from the walls. They tried to reach adventurers, but luckily missed. Well, mostly missed. Two grabbed Nolmbork and he dropped down to the ground as brick.

Illustrated by kickmaniac

Party retreated, dragging the fallen dwarf with them.

“He is still breathing!”

“What do we do now?”

“Slap him a bit!”

“It isn't helping!”

“Let's get out...”

Noticeably slower now that they were carrying a fully armoured dwarf, the party took nearly an hour to get out.

“Can you believe it? Can you hear him snore? Incredible!”

Indeed, Nolmbork seemed like he was having quite a pleasant dream.

With little left to do, the party found a safe spot some thirty minutes away from the den entrance and camped for the night.

Shadowrath 12th, Waterday

“Let's go different way this time!”

The party headed straight through the archway, then left at the junction into the large chamber with bunk beds and altar with three crossed swords, then left through the secret doors, past the junction and to doors reinforced with iron bars and thick bar running across it. There was a large padlock on the right hand side.

Ultimately the party decided to head south, through the chamber with hanging cages, and into the secret room with a burning torch in a single sconce. The large wolf they killed last time was still rotting here.

Everyone stood in the circle as one of the adventurers pulled on the torch. As before, two loud clangs could be heard and a large wolf materialised in the room. The creature was hacked to pieces before it could even react. Rashomon was the one whom had delivered the killing blow.

From that moment the party had spent nearly three hours discussing what to do next. They pulled on the torch many times—to no effect—tried getting it out of the sconce—to no effect—and exclaimed how flabbergasted they are—also to no effect.

Finally, Orist or Nolmbork spoke up and suggested the party checks the cage room. Maybe something moved there? Nothing. Maybe let's go check the locked doors then?

Lo and behold!

The bar and padlock were gone!

One of them pushed the doors open...

And a lavishly decorated room presented itself!

Sumptuous purple curtains lined all the walls. Large wooden chest with gilded elements stood on the plinth in the centre of the room. Fabulously looking suit of plate mail was propped in the north-west corner. Two crossed swords and a purple shield were hung on the north wall. A small round table with eighteen candles, few still burning, was in the south-east corner.

After making sure nothing was waiting in ambush for them (as well as precautionary shooting of curtains, just to check for yellow mould), the party threw themselves at the treasure with childlike glee.

Chest was indeed safe and untrapped. It was chock full of coins, as well as few shiny gems. Suit of armour was dwarven platemail of unknown origin, but obviously of the finest make. Two swords had unfamiliar writing on them. That was soon elucidate by a simple spell known as Read Languages. One was called “Lucky” the other “Doomed.” The shield had a barely visible dragon motif.

As the party was investigating the good, Rashomon stood guard at the south side of the room. It was him whom had noticed that candles were slowly going out, one by one.

“Folks, I think we should get out soon!”

Indeed everyone got out with the valuable as quickly as they could. Hagar and Rangar, being the strongest members, carried the chest. Rashomon quickly grabbed “Doomed,” arguing that it could be named so because it brings doom to others. As soon as he grabbed it he was hit with visions of doom and gloom and nearly lost all the will to live.

But it was not everyone who got out! Shamar stayed behind, together with Alf and Falf, to cut out as much of curtains as they could. They looked too valuable to leave behind!

“Last candle is to go out! Run!”

The trio carried seven heavy rolls of top quality cloth. Shamar was the last to charge out as doors slam shut behind him, an iron bar flew out of the wall, and padlock emerged from the bar itself, as sort of liquid iron, and locked itself with a loud clang.

“We are loaded! Straight to Hara!”

Heavily encumbered, the party had reached Hara four days later.

On their way they had counted 1 247 gold coins, 101 platinum coins, and three gems.

No amount of coins had brought any joy to Rashomon.

Discuss at Dragonsfoot forum.

#Wilderlands #SessionReport

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Adventurers

Character Class Description
Rashomon Elf level 2 A dangerous looking elf.
Llyfed Elf level 3 Thin and balding elf whom also happens to be Rashomon's friend.
Tarkus the Promising Cleric level 1 Follower of Bachontoi, God of Red Wisdom.
Beorg the Gravedigger Fighter level 1 Inspired to adventure after burying several adventurers.
Bairstowbury the Chaotic Halfling level 1 Remarkably muscular for a halfling.
Galepurse the Hapless Cleric level 1 Woefully unsuited for life of adventuring but desperately needs coin to grow his following.

Coldrain 20th, Spiritday

“Drugs in Hara?! Not on our watch!”

Tarkus the Promising found another issue to fixate on—getting to the root of Red Dragon, a drug very few know anything about. He learned about it from his adventuring friends whom had told him everything about old drug den where it was found first.

Being the type of guy to cleanse first and ask questions later, he quickly mustered forces to head to the den on the first occasion. Veterans Rashomon and Llyfed were up to it. New recruit included Beorg the Gravedigger, Bairstowbury the Chaotic, and Galepurse the Hapless.

Bairstowbury the Chaotic and Galepurse the Hapless by IdleDoodler.

The party set out in the morning; they arrived by nightfall of the following day.

Shadowrath 1st, Airday

“Should we camp and wait for the morning?”

“No, let's head straight in!”

“What's the worst that could happen? Previous expeditions did the same as well—so they told us.”

Not one member of the party had been to this place; they had to work with information they've been given by other adventurers. Despite this handicap, they managed to find poorly concealed entrance. Down they went.

Bell shaped entrance chamber was just like described: smelly, littered with animal bones and carcasses. Two decaying pig-faced humanoids were propped on spears. Third laid slumped on the ground.

Moving straight, exploring sole corridor yet undisturbed by previous parties, they ran into four-way junction. Following the left hand path led them to closed doors. Forcing them open with ease led them into large, dust-caked chamber.

Three-story bunk beds were lined alongside all four walls. A footlocker rested at the base of each. A simple stone altar stood in the center of the room; on it a symbol with three crossed swords. Vertical one pointed with blade down, two crossed ones forming and X pointed up with blades. Around the altar were six round desks, around each were four simple chairs.

Chamber had solemn atmosphere to it; as if it was oblivious to all the changes and transformations that transpired in other parts of this place. Inspecting the ceiling yielded a surprising discovery: a huge circular symbol of three crossed swords, just like the one on altar.

Tarkus and Rashomon did their best to guess its provenance. The best as in staring intently and hoping to get some sort of divine revelation. Nothing of the kind came.

Convinced there must be something else of value here (else they just spent two hours on an empty room), the party scoured the walls. Lo and behold! Elves had found an door-shaped outline hidden behind one of the bunk-beds leaning against the west wall.

As it is to be expected, they proceeded to over-analyse the situation, gently prodding at the wall, then taking out a small hammer to tap it, then taking out iron spike to chisel the wall...

Bairstowbury had enough and went straight at the wall.

Illustration by IdleDoodler.

Success!

He pushed and wall rotated, opening up into a long corridor.

The party spiked the secret passageway open, and then rotated one of the bunk beds to create an improvised barrier.

Moving on they came to a T-shaped junction, took a turn to the left, came to the four-way junction, explored all directions, and decided to go for the doors on their right.

After a bit of forcing, they managed to break into a most surprising room. All the walls were covered with floor-to-ceiling tapestries depicting larger-than-life figure dressed in purple robe with pointy hat defeating hordes of enemies. The worst offender was tapestry straight across from them.

On it the mage-like figure was as huge as titan of legend. It held a sword in left hand and staff in right. Countless number of demonic corpses were piled beneath his sandaled feet. One of the demons was on its knees, apparently begging for life.

“Hohum, do you know whom this place belonged to? Who was the previous owner, before the drug things and so?” Galepurse asked.

No answer.

No one bothered to ask.

Ever.

Prodding all the tapestries was natural first step.

West one had some give. Pushing it indicated there was no hard surface behind it.

One of the elves lifted part o it in the southwest corner. Tarkus lit up the torch and bent, while Bairstowbury got down on his knees and peeked beyond.

Illustration by IdleDoodler.

All he could see is dark chamber with something white-silvery on the ground. Halfling tied end of the rope and threw it onto the marking on the ground. That disturbed the chalky marks, but nothing stuck to the rope.

“What now?”

As the party discussed their plan for ten or so minutes, Tarkus could spot a hoof appearing from darkness. It was attached to a bright red leg. Bent hook protruded from its knee. The hoof moved left and right, erasing parts of the white-silvery material.

Adventurers dropped the tapestry.

That didn't do anything to contain the monstrosity that charged through it, ripping it to shreds, and trampling several of the adventurers in the process.

A horse-shaped bright red monstrosity was now prancing between them. Hooks pointed from its knees, spikes dotted its spine, and countless razor-sharp teeth poked from its mouth. There were no obvious eyes on its bulbous head, except two pitch-black slits.

Illustration by IdleDoodler.

The monster thrashed around, surrounded, but with little success. Party quickly took it down through combination of magic missiles and cold, hard steel.

Smell of roasting ham filled the room once the creature had been slain. Inspecting the corpse revealed that it was burning out from the inside.

Party spent nearly and hour collecting silver shavings that once formed a circle on the ground beyond the tapestry. They collected them into makeshift sacks made from pieces of the tapestry.

Backtracking to t-shaped junction, they moved to explore further west. Two doors; one locked with large padlock and horizontal bar, one unlocked but stuck. The latter was chosen.

Another bewildering room!

This one was full of cages, big and small, hanging from the ceiling. Some were almost touching the floor, some were quite high up. The only clear path was forward.

“This is a trap, if I had seen any!”

Half an hour later the party had reached other side of the chamber, unharmed.

Another stuck doors that fell victim to impressive muscle of this indomitable bunch.

“Hey, look at this...”

One of the elves had spotted a sconce with a torch in it. On the sconce was a small, almost invisible symbol with three crossed swords. Everybody readied their weapons as the elf pulled on it...

Revealing an empty twenty by twenty chamber with a single burning torch resting in another sconce. The latter was in the middle of the north wall.

The party poured into the secret chamber and readied themselves once more.

Torch did not emanate any heat nor smell. It did provide light though. Elf pulled on it and two loud clangs could be heard. A large wolf appeared in the middle of the room.

Illustration by IdleDoodler.

It didn't even get the chance to growl! That's how quickly the party chopped it down, with Rashomon delivering the killing blow.

Recovering the magic torch proved to be a fruitless effort. The party opted to explore south, instead of north whenceforth the clanging sounds could be heard from. They found a closet with bunch of spades, few long corridors, a chamber with portrait of smug magic-user reading nine books at once, and that's it.

Running low on torches, they decided to retreat, and return some other day.

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A zine chronicling the Conquering the Barbarian Altanis D&D campaign.

This issue details session thirty-ninth, fortieth, and forty-first session. Hydra Company clears Circle of Stones, goes to an invite-only party, and helps Herat find her sister.

You can download the issue here.

Overlord's Annals zine is available in print as part of the legendary Alarums & Excursions APA, issue 577:

#Zine

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Adventurers

Character Class Description
Rashomon Elf level 2 A dangerous looking elf.
Tarkus the Promising Cleric level 1 Follower of Bachontoi, God of Red Wisdom.
Rigby Thief level 2 A thief.
Orist Elf level 1 An elf.

Coldrain 2nd, Waterday

“The warlord has banned me from leaving Ahyf. He believes I am too valuable to perish sanctifying a long forgotten temple.” Camus, Ahyf's chief priest, shared with Tarkus and Rashomon.

“I promised Hist that I would see this through. If you are still up to it then we have to figure out a way to leave Ahyf unnoticed.”

“Your dedication is commendable. Here is the plan...”

Tarkus the Promising was set on finishing what he had started, even if it'd cost him his life. Most of the brave men he had ventured to the desecrated temple with had perished already. And of those that survived only Rashomon was still around. The duo recruited two capable looking individuals: Rigby the Thief and Orist the Elf.

Winter was gnawing on Barbarian Altanis. Long sleeves became a common sight. Days were shorter and nights were blacker. The latter played perfectly into the adventurers' plan: sneak out of Ahyf few hours before sunrise.

Coldrain 4th, Fireday

The party reached the base of desecrated temple around noon. It was eerily quiet. Not an animal in sight. Air was stale and motionless, as if time itself had stopped. Ghinarian Hills were hardly the highest in the region, but being near the summit one would still expect some wind.

The idol was as they left it last time: toppled and crumbled over the long stairs.

“Let's check the outbuildings first. We don't want anyone to surprise us!”

Both stone buildings were as they left them several weeks ago. Algon's mangled corpse was still splattered at the foot of cliff atop which the temple rests. Poor thief had slipped whilst trying to escape black reptilian monster and fell down to his doom.

“Weird. No sign of decay?”

Indeed, there were no maggots nor flies. Just a messed up corpse. The party carefully inspected the body, relieved it of all valuables, and then built a simple cairn. Tarkus said a few words to guide them into afterlife.

Both Rigby and Orist had noticed how unnaturally devoid of life this place is. No birds, no game, no sounds. Nothing.

“All is safe. Let's head into the temple.”

Barely suppressing their gags at the sight of two acid-melted acolytes, the party moved onwards to the temple doors.

This is where things were noticeably different. All the walls on the outside were marred with claw marks as well as small, irregularly shaped pits. As if something had been melting the stone.

Forcing their way in only unleashed a strong ammonia-like smell, making everyone cough and heave. In they went.

Insides were even worse than outsides. All the walls and the floor were clawed and eroded.

“OK...” Rashomon muttered, puzzingly.

The closer they got to the centre of the temple, the stronger did the smell get. It was in the center where they destroyed nightmare-inducing bull-god effigy. It was in the center where Camus and Tarkus tried to close the Sinkhole of Chaos before they were chased out by slithering monstrosity.

And it was the center where they had now found a pit so deep not even dangling torch could reveal the bottom.

“Camus, what is the meaning of this?”

“I... I don't know. I do not feel strong presence of Chaos like last time. I don't understand...”

“Will you complete the ritual?”

“Yes...”

Orist did double duty as guard and torchbearer to Camus and Tarkus. Rashomon and Rigby made few rounds through the temple. Besides signs of destruction they also found a palm-sized, black, glistening scale. The thief also found a secret compartment containing three vials, two with clear liquid, and one with chunky, brown liquid.

Noxious puffs and fumes emanating from the pit disturbed the ritual several times. Camus did wrap some clothing around his face, but alas, it did not help him too much. But that did not prevent the Ahyf elder to do what he had promised.

“Done. It is done.”

“Let's get out.”

The whole ceremony took so long it was pitch black outside. Unwilling to risk their torchlights spotted, the party waited until Rashomon's and Orist's eye acclimated to darkness. Then they headed to north-west stone house, the same one they hunkered down in on their last expedition to the temple.

With the doors and windows barred, the party briefly chatted before going to sleep.

“So, priest, what do you think of all this?”

“It's difficult to say. The ceremony is completed. I do not sense presence of Chaos. But that hole fills me with unease. If it were up to me, I'd demolish the whole place. Just bring down the temple so the rubble closes the hole and whatever might lurk at the bottom.”

“How could we do that?”

“Well, there are no siege weapons in Ahyf. There might be few in Hara, but I doubt they'd take them out all the way to here just to bring down some abandoned temple.”

“And this scale? Does it look familiar?”

“I don't know... You could probably ask around in Hara... Mavis, the High Priestess of Poseidon is known to have bested Chaos on many occasions. Maybe you could talk to her?”

“And these vials?”

“Well, the clear ones look like holy water. Shang-Ta seal confirms it. I'd be surprised if it were anything else. The brown one I have no idea.”

Coldrain 7th, Waterday

“Boys, you were good, but I don't want you to get into trouble. I should walk into Ahyf alone.”

“Nonsense! Nobody has seen Rigby and Orist with you before, they surely won't suspect anything! You three go first, and the Rashomon and I will come few hours later. No one had seen us leave together, why should they be suspicious?”

Indeed, the return plan worked well.

Guards were delighted to see Camus return. Briaron, Ahyf's warlord, was too busy with recent sighting of Skandink longships to go after Camus.

Adventurers bid farewell to Camus and fetched a barge to Hara.

Coldrain 8th, Earthday

Rashomon visited both Fighters' and Wizards' Guilds to pay his dues and learn latest rumours. Tarkus found new thing to focus on: Red Dragon. He learned from newly met friends Nolmbork and others about this dangerous drug wreaking havoc on the streets of Hara.

So he went to the natural place to ask about it—the citadel. He made friends with guards and as Cleric of Law was warmly welcomed. That is until he started repeatedly asking about this Red Dragon.

“What is that? There are no drugs in Hara.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. There are no drugs in Hara.”

Guards forgave Tarkus despite being a stranger.

Rigby visited the Thieves' Guild to learn the terms. They were not favourable.

Orist spent days at the Dancing Wolf, hoping to pick up on any interesting rumours. He did witness a young man burping loudly. People around him would quickly leave and complain about burning stench coming from the man.

The elf followed the man to some house which turned out to be a scribe shop. He went in through the main doors, running into an elderly man sitting behind a pile of scrolls and books. With a little bit of charm and gentle prodding, he learned that burper is the scribe's son whom had fallen in with some bad company from northern Hara.

“Interesting.”

Interesting indeed.

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I'm selling off the following OSR products I backed on Kickstarter and never opened, and let alone played. Everything is in mint condition. Shipping from EU, bank transfer preferred, otherwise PayPal. Scroll to the end for photos.

Ultraviolet Grasslands and the Black City €60

  • Kickstarter edition: UVG hardcover, UVG bookmark, pink & black dice, UVG gatefold GM screen, UVG vertical fold out map.
  • DTRPG page and Kickstarter page.

Jacob Fleming lot €50

  • Three great adventures, perfect for kicking off OSR campaign. All are Kickstarter editions with supplements (cards & maps).
  • In the Shadow of Tower Silveraxe (DTRPG, review)
  • Through the Valley of the Manticore (DTRPG, review)
  • The Scourge of Northland (DTRPG)

Mork Borg lot €40

  • For grimdark one-shots.
  • Mork Borg Kickstarter bundle with hardcover rulebook, poster map, character sheets, and trifold adventure. DTRPG page.
  • Mork Borg Feretory Kickstarter edition, still shrink-wrapped. DTRPG page.

Knock! Issue #3 €30

Seekers Beyond the Shroud €80

  • Solo RPG.
  • Out of print.
  • Limited Hardcover (196/210).
  • DTRPG page and Kickstarter page.

Disciples of Bone and Shadow €20

  • Solo RPG.
  • Out of print.

#Sale #OSR

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Events presented in this report happened at the same time as sessions 44, 45, and 46. We played them out via play-by-post.

Adventurers

Character Class Description
Gomm Thief level 4 Swarthy, good looking, dark-skinned thief. Sweet opium-like aroma is his fragrance of choice.
Basso Halfling level 1 A stable boy whom got tired of shovelling horse shit.
Flamthwynn Magic-User level 1 An older gentleman sporting fashionable dark blue robe with purplish overtones. Seeking arcane objects and offensive spell.
Oberon Fighter level 3 A tall, supple hunter adorned with bones and horns of his prey.
Eccy Throi Elf level 1 Wears a dark green cloak to hide his bulging muscles and crippling anxiety.
Barad the Bald Magic-User level 1 Bald, beardless, chinless, and lazy-eyed.

Thistleburn 5th, Spiritday, Late Afternoon

The day was coming to an end.

Rhovar, Rad, Amanka, Kuqhir, Neremyn, BuddyPuddingBottom, and whomever else went to cheer for the Skandink warrior at the Windgod Temple competition still haven't returned.

Nothing worrisome given that these competitions are known to last—especially when one accounts grand feast that follows.

Gomm is the only one who has returned, together with warhorse Umber Fury, to the Hydra Company headquarters.

At that time, the following characters could be found at Hydra's base of operations: Gomm, Basso, Flamthwynn, Oberon, Eccy Throi, Barad the Bald, Pinella, Herat, Paxton, and ten archer mercenaries.

In addition to them, there were also eight kids of varying age: Ithiel, Musemour, Govier, Wycliffe, Valnea, Eweora, Audrey, and Honeyie.

Here is where everyone was:

Ground floor

Oberon was training three archers in the main hall. Gomm recently arrived on Umber Fury, and was greeted by Basso whom had been tending to two draft horses. Paxton was lounging with them. It's a really hot day so they left the double doors open to let in some fresh air.

Eccy was studying in the small library in the west wing of the house. Little Govier was eavesdropping on the elf. He thought he went unnoticed. Eccy was always aware of him.

Ithiel was quietly playing cards with two archers standing guard in the lobby.

Naughty Eweora was once again going through the personal belongings of the Hydra Company officers'.

Second floor

Valnea was sitting on the deck overlooking the main hall. She was the oldest and smartest of the kids they've saved from monstrous slave-traders. Although initially interested in Kuqhir's teachings, recently she has shown much more liking for strategy and tactics.

Herat had once again caught Musemour and Wycliffe breaking into the vault. She is currently scolding them, threatening to dump them in the “Caves of Horrible Shroom!”

Audrey was silently gazing through the west window.

Barad and Flamthwynn were discussing arcane matters in the resting area. Honeyie was sleeping on the floor. He farted occasionally.

Cellar

Pinella has recently been spending a lot of time in the basement. She has been keeping something to herself.

⁂

“Well met, men of Hydra Company!”

A wiry, olive skinned man stopped by the Hydra Company's HQ entrance. He was sweaty, breathed heavily, and carried Rhovar's horned helmet under his left arm.

“I'm Thalysios, and I'm afraid that I'm bringing you bad news!”

“Rhovar and his friends were labelled heretics by the Windgod's High Priest. There was no trial or hearing given—only judgement!”

“Rhovar asked me to take his stuff and inform you as quickly as possible. I have no idea what you guys did, but leaving Antil might be a good idea.”

“Here, take the nordman's helmet. I'll take my leave now. Godspeed!”

Eccy, hearing what happened to Rhovar and the rest of the crew, stalked up to Thalysios and investigated the helmet. Alas, it truly was Rhovar’s.

“They threw him into a dark pit. Apparently some horrible horrors lurk there... Still, I have no doubt he will survive. I've seen him fight!”

“And where is this pit?!” Eccy demanded.

“Right in the middle of the temple. To be honest, I didn't even know it was there! The central ring rotates and then goes downwards.” the man took a pause to take in a big breath, and then continued “Friend, going there might not be the best idea. But if you insist, it might be wise to take off that Hydra Company armband...”

After hearing all this, Basso begun preparing the horses for departure. He also organised the crew to start packing valuables so he can evenly distribute the load between the animals. Paxton and Herat jumped to help him. Kids kept getting in way. Only Valnea understood what was happening.

Gomm rode Umber Fury around the dockland asking any ship crew he passed for passage on a boat for all the company. Two ships caught his attention. One seemed unmanned, sans the guards at the dock, while the other, shabbier looking one, had few figures lounging on the board.

An hour or so later, they managed to pack roughly one fifth of their total treasure from the vault.

Gomm found out one of the ship's would be willing to take them on for a “fair payment” and “appropriate services during the journey.” Their final destination is City State of the Invincible Overlord, but will stop at several places along the coast to restock and trade. Hara being one of them. Their planned departure is three days from now. Guards of the other ship didn't have any useful info.

Eccy approached the massive Windgod Temple. Large double doors open a little bit and an exquisitely dressed nobleman stormed out, followed by eight thuggish characters. As soon as he descended the stairs he was greeted by eight more, one of them bringing forth a majestic chestnut brown stallion.

The man jumped on the horse and condescendingly sneered at his men: “Pick up the pace! I want to reach them before Panthal's lapdogs! There is still one I have unfinished business with.” They completely ignored Eccy and briskly moved in the direction the elf came from.

Eccy stood at the bottom of staircase leading into the temple. The iron doors closed behind the man. There were roughly twenty acolytes outside, not counting a mass of people moving around.

The elf approached an acolyte and in a boastful voice said the following: “I have heard your god is a great god and that you who worship him value strength. Tell me, what does it take to join your ranks?”

“Shang Ta welcomes all, brother! Why don't you come back tomorrow at noon and I'll introduce you to my Brother who takes care of new followers like you?”

“I feel a calling. Is there no way to proceed today? Something calls me from within the temple to do battle and win glory! Is this not what Shang Ta demands?!”

“Your calling is strong! Might makes right! If you wait until nightfall I'm happy to walk you to my temple just a few streets away from here!”

“Your temple!? What's wrong with this temple here? I feel there is a great battle for me within those walls!”

“The Windgod Temple is closed to the public today. What's with the aggression, brother?'

“For what reason is it closed? What stands between me and glory?”

“It's a weekly match of champions. If you wish to participate you must compete for a full week in matches of your choice. The best fighters are then invited to challenge Brutus, the reigning champion.”

“Do you not see brother? This must be the fight to which I have been called! There is no time to lose, you must lead me to this Brutus!”

“Hmmm... How should I know if you are a worthy challenger? What deeds have you accomplished? What foes have you vanquished?”

Eccy brandished his serrated handaxe. “I have cut the scalp from many a man, and taken the head off beasts the likes of which I cannot describe! Do you stand between me and glory? My destiny lies beyond those doors!”

“Might makes right, brother. If you can submit 5 of us in a row I might let you in.”

Elf quickly took care of the first acolyte, but alas, the second one threw him off balance.

“I'm afraid you are not good enough to face Mr. Bumblebee.”

“Mr. Bumblebee, his name will remain etched into my mind as I train. Is there no other way to meet this man?”

“Probably, but I can't help you with that.”

Gomm managed to negotiate rather favourable terms: 450 gold coins for the whole company, and they set sail within two hours.

Another hour later, preparations for departure are in full swing.

Basso & Oberon were overseeing the packing process. Four mercenaries, Paxton, Herat, and Pinella were hard at work.

Barad was in the library checking if there was anything critical to pack. Flamthwynn was in the master bedroom. He packed all the potions and was now hiding under the bed, waiting for further instructions.

Gomm, whilst returning to the HQ, noticed four figures hugging the north side, and four hugging the west side. He also noticed a mounted figure with wand-like object in hand pointing at the direction of the Hydra Company building.

The thief promptly ripped his cloak, doused it in oil, tied to an arrow, lighted it, and shoot it through the upper floor widow on the west side of the building. Alas, he missed! His attempt was noticed by four figures on the west side!

Next he rode up to within 60ft and begun peppering the enemies with arrows and shouting as loud as he could “They're here, they're here, fly you fools!” His next arrow landed true, pinning one to the wall.

Gomm reared up on Umber fury and shouted out, “Dogs! You'll feel the barbed tongue of the hydra! Attackers! Attackers! Be on Guard” and then he loosed an arrow into another figure at the north side. This time it was a miss.

Mounted thief could see the north figure turn around right corner, out of sight. The mounted man was also now out his your sight. Two men by west wall charged him.

Others scaled the wall and reached the window Gomm had targeted mere seconds ago. As one smashes it a child-like scream could be heard. Another one reached in and then yanked his hand out, throwing a small girl to the ground.

Her scream was brief.

Her flight was done in a blink of an eye.

Valnea's life was gone before it begun proper.

Eweora screamed at the sight, bringing to everyone's attention that something was happening. Basso and Oberon caught glimpse of Herat running up the stairs. She turned red and yelled “NO!” like a wounded beast.

“Flamm, it's time to nut up!” Barad shouted. Flamthwynn was very content being under large, secure bed. “Well, I tried...” Barad exhaled and move to entrance chamber. He took command of nearby mercenaries and ordered the kids to get back and hide.

“Hold the doors!” he was preparing to cast Hold Portal. Mercs pressed just in time as someone tried to burst in.

Sounds of fighting were coming from top floor. Basso & Oberon heard heavy footsteps, yells, and metal clanging. And then they heard Herat's broken yelp “Sister!”

“We need help up here!” Paxton yelled.

“Die, knave!” Herat roared as she crushed the head of her sister's murderer.

Gomm was having trouble controlling his warhorse in melee, but so far no one managed to knock him down. And horse was doing fine on its own; what could few thugs do to it? Well, after it was slashed for the first time, Umber Fury decided it had enough—both of the inept rider as well as the attackers. First it threw Gomm of its back. Then it stomped the thugs into bloody mess.

Flamthwynn heard doors crack open. Then he saw unfamiliar boots snooping around the master bedroom. He held his breath.

Barad's spell went off, causing the enemies to hit the doors in vain and curse profusely. “Follow me to the center. We must gather everyone, head into the cellar and retreat into the sewers!”

Basso and Oberon finally reached the second deck only to see Herat fighting off three thugs. Pinella was lying in a pool of blood, and Paxton was lying next to hear. Musemour and Wycliffe, Valena's younger brothers were attacking one of the thugs. Wycliffe managed to drive a kitchen knife into the man's leg.

Unlike mercenaries, the kids didn't really follow Barad's commands. “Just pick them up and carry little brats!”

Herat fell to her knees, blood dripping from her cracked skull. Next blow dislocated her jaw, and she fell, lifeless, next to her sister.

At this moment, three men burst in through secondary entrance, encountering Barad and few mercenaries carrying children. One dressed in chain shirt asked:

“Is any of you Barad?”

“I'm a clerk for these folk, Reston, what are you doing here? We heard screams from upstairs.” Barad replied.

“We are here to kidnap a man named Barad and kill everyone else.”

“Well, then I am Barad, aren't I?”

Without missing a beat, the man standing next to the asking man stabbed Barad straight through the gut.

Barad went out how he'd always hoped: yelling at the children.

The man in chain went pale.

“You imbecile! We need him alive!” he grabbed twitching Barad and started dragging him out.

“Let him go!” “Scoundrels!” “Face your fate!”

Mercenaries rallied and hacked to death two thugs flanking the armoured man holding unconscious Barad.

Basso killed the thug whom had killed Herat. The surviving two pushed past the kids, going for Basso and Oberon respectively. Both thugs failed to strike the duo. The second one also fumbled, and in the process his bandanna slipped, blinding him.

As blindfolded thug stumbled, Musemour crouched behind his knees. The man stepped back, tripped over, and fell flat on his back. Wycliffe, struggling to lift Paxton's mace, just dropped it on the man's head. There he lied, dead in a pool of blood, just like the kids' innocence.

Basso killed the remaining thug on the second floor, and then called the children to stay close to him. Kids spat on the thugs' corpses and then ran up behind the halfling. Oberon checked on their fallen friends—Paxton was still alive but unconscious.

Flamthwynn, hiding under the bed, could see the unknown boots scuttle away, through doors leading to the kitchen.

Barad, in hazy confusion, could feel being slowly carried while familiar voices shouted from behind him. Mercenaries charged out, trying to rescue Barad. There they encountered three more thugs, one also in chain.

Basso ran down and reached the wide double doors used to roll out the wagon. There he could see five mercenaries fighting three attackers. One of the men in chain held Barad's limp body.

In distance he could see a mounted figure flanked by two armoured figures. The man on the horse had the evilest grin Basso has seen in life.

He took a shot.

And missed.

The man laughed.

In fact, as he leaned back to laugh he missed an arrow discharged by Gomm.

The man reined in his horse and waved the stick in his hand at Gomm—discharging a shining yellow orb, akin to small sun.

The orb flied right past Gomm, scorching some of his arm hair.

Mercenaries surrounded the thugs holding Barad and hacked them all down—but the man in chain shirt. Basso tried to hit the mounted man, but missed again.

“Your fate is sealed, knaves! I'll make sure to buy any survivors!” the man yells. Then turned around and galloped off southwards, in the direction of the Windgod Temple.

His two bodyguards ran after him, but are nowhere near as fast as his riding horse...

The polite man who stabbed Barad dropped his mace: “I yield! I'm naught but a muscle-for-hire, just like you.”

Hydra Company has successfully defended their HQ against unknown assailants.

Herat and Pinella, the sisters, have died protecting the children.

Valnea, the oldest and brightest, died from blunt force trauma after being yanked through the window.

Paxton was knocked unconscious, but is now fine. He tripped whilst fighting and knocked himself out.

Barad is now stable, after being magically healed by Paxton.

Four kids were nowhere to be found: Audrey, Ithiel, Govier, and Honeyie.

And they had one prisoner.

After checking that the assailants are gone, Flamthwynn emerged from his hiding spot to assess the situation. He offered to help find the kids or help the wounded. He is a coward, but not an evil one!

Oberon frisked the corpses, recovering 56 silver pieces, 11 daggers, 9 clubs, 2 long swords, and 2 maces.

“Gather your belonging and follow me! I shall wait not longer than ten minutes!” Gomm announced loudly.

Their captive introduced himself as Notred. ““Uh, Lord Warcrown doesn't really tolerate failure. May I join you as well?”

“Why did they want me young man?” Barad interrogated Notred.

“You probably know better than me. It isn't difficult to insult Lord Warcrown. I just know that we had the orders to get you alive.”

Gomm lead Basso, Flamthwynn, Barad, six kids, and five mercenaries towards the ship. The captain was surprised to see them return so quickly.

“I'll summon the crew once you pay. No horses. And what's with the kids?”

Gomm instructed the mercs to load the treasure, paid the captain, and then took the two draft horses and Umber fury around the dockland saying “For Sale, all offers considered. All offers considered folks, grab a good bargain on a genuine thoroughbred war horse and two draft horses. I have twenty minutes, any offers considered.”

“I will buy Umber Fury.” Eccy announced. He just caught up with the rest, having returned from the Windgod Temple. “I'll take Ithiel home.”

“You... buy him? Don't be ridiculous.” Gomm stared firmly at Eccy for a beat. Then he smirked. He patted the stallion's neck, and handed Eccy the reigns. “There will be no buying. He's yours. Ride safe. Ride fast.” Gomm thrust out his arm for a hand shake.

Eccy grabbed his hand and held it firmly. “We leave Rhovar and the rest to their deaths then? I can only hope they die with blood on their blades. Good luck in whatever land you find yourself in.”

“We weren't meant for this place, Eccy of the elves. Rhovar is Skandik, he will prevail, or, if he dies, then it will be glorious, and he will meet with his ancestors. The Gods of this land are fickle. Come with us aboard a ship and find finer pastures, of milk and honey. Raise the lad as your own. One day, you might discover you are happy.”

“I will meet my death here in this land. I know death now, and no longer fear it. I once was an elf, now I am something else. And besides, I made this child a promise. I know that were I to renege on it I would lose what is left of the elf that once was Eccy. Go well Gomm.” Eccy turned away, and helped Ithiel up onto Umber Fury.

⁂

Following the news of Hydra Company denounced as heretical association, and surviving the savage assault on their HQ, the Hydra Company had successfully boarded a ship destined for the City State of the Invincible Overlord. Eccy remained in Antil, his mind set on fulfilling a promise he had give to Ithiel.

The seamen slowly trickled in, protesting being called back so soon. Many reeked of alcohol and debauchery. Their protests were quickly crushed by the Captain's generous bribe of one gold coin to each.

It was a long, hot, and humid day. The ship lazily rolled out of the port, until making enough distance to drop down its sails and roll off into the Romillion Sea.

The Windgod Temple's massive frame loomed over the survivors; their former headquarters shrinking by the moment in its shadow.

Flamthwynn stood on the deck and looked overboard wistfully.

Gomm climbed to the crows nest for some brief respite. Up amongst the sails he can't keep Antil and its evils from his mind, so he takes his knives to a whetstone. With the scrape of steel on stone the blade gets a little sharper, and he begins to plan for the future.

Basso watched as Eccy rode off into the distance. He gives him a small wave, despite knowing very well that the elf won't be able to see it.

Oberon was resting on a rail by himself with his back facing the others. As people passed him, they left him alone allowing him peace to stare out into the ocean and be lost in his thoughts. In reality, Oberon has never been on a boat, let alone a ship, before and does not have his his sea legs. He was in pure agony, puking his brains out.

Eccy rode hard for Weststar, the place Ithiel called home. From there he will likely continue “adventuring” until he meets an untimely end.

And thus ends Hydra Company in Antil.

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