Category Archives: Honor + Intrigue

BoL at NTRPGCon 2017

Update: I’ve dropped the Saturday night BoL game in favor of running an improvised/emergent adventure with Troika! – more on that in another post.

I’ve got two one game of Barbarians of Lemuria (Mythic Edition, with a chunk of love from Honor + Intrigue) on the list for this year’s North Texas RPG Con, both set in my Clark Ashton Smith inspired, not-quite-Averoigne, medieval-ish, France-esque setting known as Plonesse:

  • The Parnassus Key (Friday 6/2, 6pm-11pm)
    The heist went bad. Very bad. And with a full moon shining brightly on the streets of Yllons, the best way to escape notice was to duck into the sewers. Unfortunately, the strange luminescent mist down here has disoriented you enough that you’re now lost beneath the city you call home. There’s bound to be a way out, though. But wait. What’s that sound coming from behind you? And in front of you? It’s a bad night for thieves in Yllons. Let’s hope it doesn’t get worse.

  • The Viridian Sybil (Saturday 6/3, 6pm-11pm)
    From her lichen-covered shrine deep within the Forest Malmogne, the Viridian Sybil revealed a prophecy: “Dark days approach! Plonesse is cursed anew! Vusseaux falls! Yllons overrun! Bathe in the waters! Speak the incantation! Ask of the skull!” Back in the village of L’Oenneu, a strange mound appears beside the well…

The links above will take you to page here at Strange Stones where I will (eventually) post the pregens that will be used as well as any other relevant info. More of that stuff soon!

In the meantime, here’s the one paragraph summary of Plonesse:

Plonesse is a hilly and densely-wooded region within Galiana, an analogue of medieval France. Vusseaux and Yllons are its two major cities. A road runs between them, traditionally watched over by the monks of the Abbey of St. Giles the Green. Numerous small villages dot the landscape. The River Voemonde – joined by the River L’Ud; just south of the Abbey – roughly parallels the road of St. Giles. And all around lies the Forest Malmogne, dark with sinister mystery.

BoL/H+I: The Dukes’ War

Wherein your humble scribe presents some potential allies (or antagonists) in Oriad, a world he’s been messing with for a long time now, in Honor + Intrigue format. H+I, if you don’t know, is a nifty offshoot of Barbarians of Lemuria that’s well worth a look.

The Dukes’ War was a conflict that raged between the Houses of Madréz and Valdaño in the Kingdom of Ordoño for twenty years. Both houses claimed to represent the true line of royal succession after the death of Baltazar III and, after each failed to receive support in the Court of the Black Queen, open warfare was declared.

The Dukes’ War ended 97 years ago, when Emerenzia Viora of Combriazzi successfully negotiated the Treaty of Soderno, which divided the kingdom into two new countries: The Duchy of Madréz and The Duchy of Valdaño.

Recently, factions within both countries have begun reconciliation and reunification talks. Unfortunately, there are still many citizens of both Duchies that would rather see their own country achieve ascendence by force rather than achieve unification peacefully. Among these are two secret societies – The Order of the Unseen Pyramid in Madréz and The Crimson Brotherhood in Valdaño- whose assassins play against one another for the future of the Duchies in an epic game of chess.

Recently, Duke Xaime Ignacio Omero de Madréz was assassinated, by his own subjects (members of the Order of the Unseen Pyramid), for his aggressive pro-unification stance. In his stead, the Duchess Anaïs Olaria Flores y Marín de Madréz now rules. In stark contrast with her late husband, she is a staunch voice for Madrezaño independence. There are whispers in the Court that she herself is a ranking member of the Order and may well have personally handled the assassination of the Duke.

Meanwhile, Duke Alejo Ulises Prieto de Valdaño, at the urgings of some former comrades-in-arms based in Galiana, is actively pushing for a unified Ordoño – with House Valdaño in power, of course. The Duke believes that he, along with his Galian allies, can successfully challenge the Empire of Roczny for dominance of Oriad if he can command a united Ordoño.

Duchess Anaïs Olaria Flores y Marín de Madréz / Lifeblood 10 / Fortune 6 / Advantage 3
Motivation: Maintain Madrezeño Independence
Qualities: Might -1 Daring 1 Savvy 2 Flair 3
Combat Abilities: Brawl 0 Melee 1 Ranged 1 Defense 2
Careers: Noble 2 Diplomat 1 Spy 1 Temptress 1
Boons: Beguiling, Great Wealth, Membership (Order of the Unseen Pyramid)
Flaws: Obligation (Madréz), Terrible Secret
Languages: Urra Lucia (N), Ora Luccia (F)
Equipment: Dagger (d3-1)

Duke Alejo Ulises Prieto de Valdaño / Lifeblood 10 / Fortune 4 / Advantage 3
Motivation: Restore Ordoño (with Valdaño in power, of course)
Qualities: Might 1 Daring 3 Savvy 0 Flair 1
Combat Abilities: Brawl 0 Melee 3 Ranged 0 Defense 1
Careers: Noble 2 Duelist 1 Soldier 1 Hunter 1
Boons: Daredevil, Laugh in the Face of Danger, Friends in High Places (Galiana)
Flaws: Tragic Fate, Obligation (Valdaño)
Languages: Urra Lucia (N), Galia
Equipment: Cutlass (d6+1), Flintlock Pistol (d6+1)

Order of the Unseen Pyramid Assassin / Lifeblood 9 / Advantage 1 (L3 Retainer)
Qualities: Might 0 Daring 1 Savvy 2 Flair 0
Combat Abilities: Brawl 0 Melee 1 Ranged 0 Defense 2
Careers: Assassin 2, Alchemist 1
Boons: Poisoner, Poison Resistance
Flaws: Obligation (Order), Zealot
Languages: Urra Lucia (N)
Equipment: Dagger (d3+1), Epee (d6)

Crimson Brotherhood Assassin / Lifeblood 8 / Advantage 1 (L3 Retainer)
Qualities: Might 1 Daring 2 Savvy 0 Flair 0
Combat Abilities: Brawl 0 Melee 2 Ranged 0 Defense 1
Careers: Assassin 2, Duelist 1
Boons: Sneaky, Friends in Low Places
Flaws: Obligation (Brotherhood), Unsettling
Languages: Urra Lucia (N)
Equipment: Epee (d6+1), Garrote (d2/Strangle)

(My Dreams Of) Gaming Plans For 2012 (Because You Care)

So the Thanksgiving game happened. It was a WWII commando raid using a Mini Six/D6 Adventure mashup and it was a blast. But I’m not here to talk about it. Not right now, anyway. I’m gunning to do that a little later on, when I’m ready to post the materials I put together for the game. Nope, instead I’m here to talk about what I’m hoping to run next.

First up, sometime during the Winter Solstice Holidays break, I’m hoping to pull off a BASH game for a friend, his 13 year old son, and maybe a few other folks. I’m currently thinking Golden Age/WWII supers kicking fascist ass in Europe. But the ideas are swirling and unformed at this point, so who knows what (if anything) will ultimately come to pass?

After that, I’m pondering a few possibilities:

  • Some kind of hard(-ish) SciFi using good ol’ Classic Traveller and some Stars Without Number action
  • Labyrinth Lord/AEC romps through either the Against The Giants series or maybe Castle Amber, The Lost City, or some other classic modules
  • A BRP– (or possibly BoL-) based, Mythic Russia-fueled, Russian fantasy game
  • A Mini Six (with add-ons from Open D6) or Mercenaries, Spies, And Private Eyes 80s-style espionage game
  • A Call of Cthulhu Dreamlands miniseries (probably not until the CoC game I’m playing in wraps up, though)
  • A BRP/Renaissance (or maybe Tunnels & Trolls or Honor + Intrigue) black powder fantasy adventure
  • Droids. Seriously. Either with the original rules (unlikely) or with something else (D6, maybe?)

just to name a few (in no particular order). All of this is subject to change (i.e., my whims and interests) and player buy-in, of course.

That’s Great And All, But What About Giving Us Some Sweet Gaming Content, Pao?

Yeah, I know. My content output has absolutely tanked of late (and, honestly, not-so-late). I’m struggling with that, really. Part of me wants to be cranking out stuff like I had been, but another part just isn’t inclined to spend the time on it. So it’s not quite burnout, per se. It’s more a case of conflicting interests and such. So to answer the question that I asked on no one in particular’s behalf, “Reply hazy. Try again later.”