Category Archives: Games

Vintage Magic World: The Last Hope of Vilorre-Adinel

Wherein your humble scribe presents a batch of pregenerated characters for the Worlds of Wonder version of Magic World.

The Alabaster Plague has come to Vilorre-Adinel and only a precious few individuals have remained unaffected. Some must stay and tend to the sick. Others, though, have been called upon to journey to the nearby Abbey of St. Rixende to seek assistance in the form of the honey from the Abbess’ sacred bees. The honey, it is said, can cure even the this terrible disease. Rumors that the Abbey has recently fallen to a savage wolfqueen cast a pall upon this quest. Still, brave souls will venture forth in the hopes of saving their home. Mercadier, captain of the guard. Ameline, the new recruit. Jourdain and Petrona, the wastrel children of the Mayor’s brother. Abelard the tinker. Mathena the wool merchant. Guarnier, the hermit who speaks to the winds. Brunissende, the witch of the wood. Among these citizens will be found the last hope of Vilorre-Adinel.

Mercadier (Warrior) 227 Crowns
STR 14 CON 9 SIZ 13 INT 13 POW 11 DEX 12 APP 9 HP 9 DB none
Weapons: Battle Axe 65% (1d8+2), Crossbow 60% (2d6+2) Shield 60%
Armor: Ring Mail (4), Leather (2), Shield (12)
Skills: Climb 55%, Cut Purse 5%, Fine Manipulation 5%, First Aid 45%, Hide 55%, Jump 60%, Linguist 00%, Listen 45%, Literacy 00%, Lore 00%, Mechanical Arts 00%, Mercantile Arts 00%, Move Quietly 25%, Philosophy 00%, Ride 60%, Spot Hidden 30%, Swim 20%, Throw 45%

Ameline (Warrior) 224 Crowns
STR 15 CON 15 SIZ 8 INT 16 POW 13 DEX 9 APP 11 HP 15 DB +1d6
Weapons: Sword 65% (1d8+1), Bow 65% (1d6+1), Shield 65%
Armor: Ring Mail (4), Leather (2), Shield (12)
Skills: Climb 55%, Cut Purse 5%, Fine Manipulation 5%, First Aid 45%, Hide 55%, Jump 65%, Linguist 00%, Listen 45%, Literacy 00%, Lore 00%, Mechanical Arts 00%, Mercantile Arts 00%, Move Quietly 25%, Philosophy 00%, Ride 45%, Spot Hidden 25%, Swim 20%, Throw 45%

Jourdain (Rogue) 325 Crowns
STR 10 CON 11 SIZ 11 INT 13 POW 11 DEX 14 APP 11 HP 11 DB none
Weapons: Short Sword 60% (1d6+1), Dagger 60% (1d4+1)
Armor: Cuirboilli (3)
Skills: Climb 60%, Cut Purse 70%, Fine Manipulation 70%, First Aid 45%, Hide 60%, Jump 60%, Linguist 00%, Listen 60%, Literacy 00%, Lore 00%, Mechanical Arts 00%, Mercantile Arts 00%, Move Quietly 60%, Philosophy 00%, Ride 25%, Spot Hidden 60%, Swim 20%, Throw 45%

Petrona (Rogue) 385 Crowns
STR 9 CON 12 SIZ 11 INT 15 POW 13 DEX 15 APP 10 HP 12 DB none
Weapons: Short Sword 70% (1d6+1), Dagger 65% (1d4+1)
Armor: Cuirboilli (3)
Skills: Climb 65%, Cut Purse 75%, Fine Manipulation 75%, First Aid 50%, Hide 65%, Jump 65%, Linguist 00%, Listen 65%, Literacy 00%, Lore 00%, Mechanical Arts 00%, Mercantile Arts 00%, Move Quietly 65%, Philosophy 00%, Ride 25%, Spot Hidden 65%, Swim 20%, Throw 45%

Abelard (Sage) 230 Crowns
STR 10 CON 9 SIZ 15 INT 14 POW 15 DEX 18 APP 12 HP 9 DB +1d6
Weapons: Hammer 25% (1d8+2), Shield 25%
Armor: Cuirboilli (3), Shield (12)
Skills: Climb 55%, Cut Purse 5%, Fine Manipulation 00%, First Aid 45%, Hide 55%, Jump 45%, Linguist 45%, Listen 45%, Literacy 70%, Lore 45%, Mechanical Arts 70%, Mercantile Arts 45%, Move Quietly 25%, Philosophy 45%, Ride 25%, Spot Hidden 25%, Swim 20%, Throw 45%

Mathena (Sage) 400 Crowns
STR 10 CON 9 SIZ 11 INT 16 POW 11 DEX 13 APP 8 HP 9 DB none
Weapons: Mace 35% (1d6+2), Sling 20% (1d8)
Armor: Ring Mail (4)
Skills: Climb 55%, Cut Purse 5%, Fine Manipulation 5%, First Aid 50%, Hide 55%, Jump 45%, Linguist 50%, Listen 45%, Literacy 80%, Lore 55%, Mechanical Arts 50%, Mercantile Arts 80%, Move Quietly 25%, Philosophy 50%, Ride 25%, Spot Hidden 25%, Swim 20%, Throw 45%

Guarnier (Wizard) 119 Crowns
STR 12 CON 10 SIZ 12 INT 17 POW 14 DEX 14 APP 9 HP 10 DB none
Weapons: Staff 55% (1d8), Dagger 55% (1d4+1), Sword 55% (1d8+1)
Armor: Cuirboilli (3)
Skills: Climb 55%, Cut Purse 5%, Fine Manipulation 5%, First Aid 45%, Hide 55%, Jump 45%, Linguist 00%, Listen 45%, Literacy 50%, Lore 00%, Mechanical Arts 00%, Mercantile Arts 00%, Move Quietly 25%, Philosophy 00%, Ride 25%, Spot Hidden 25%, Swim 20%, Throw 45%
Spells: Conjure/Dismiss Air Elemental 55%, Enhance/Diminish 55%, Lift 55%, Speak to Mind 55%

Brunissende (Wizard) 80 Crowns
STR 9 CON 9 SIZ 10 INT 16 POW 12 DEX 10 APP 10 HP 9 DB none
Weapons: Staff 50% (1d8), Dagger 50% (1d4+1), Spear 50% (1d6+1)
Armor: Cuirboilli (3)
Skills: Climb 55%, Cut Purse 5%, Fine Manipulation 5%, First Aid 50%, Hide 55%, Jump 45%, Linguist 00%, Listen 45%, Literacy 50%, Lore 00%, Mechanical Arts 00%, Mercantile Arts 00%, Move Quietly 25%, Philosophy 00%, Ride 25%, Spot Hidden 25%, Swim 20%, Throw 45%
Spells: Heal/Wound 50%, Light/Dark 50%, Seal/Unseal 50%, Vision 50%

Mini Six: Agents of STEALTH

Wherein your humble scribe presents a trio of secret agents written up using his own 00(D)6 hack of Mini Six, but with an eye towards playing in the 21st century rather than the dim past of the 1980s. He blames playing in Merle Rasmussen’s Top Secret game at NTRPGCon for the itch that led to this. Many other fine games were considered as the framework, including BRP, Classified, and MSPE. But Mini Six was handy and fast, like a good field agent’s weapon should be.

Formed in response to the increased security demands of the 21st Century, STEALTH (Strategic Taskforce for the Examination, Assessment and Liquidation of Threats & Hazards) harkens back to ideas and ideals found in 1960s spy fiction organizations like UNCLE. With agents drawn form across the globe and a pan-national approach to intelligence operations and oversight, this world-spanning organization works behind the scenes to fight back the criminality and extremism (whether religious, nationalistic, corporate, or otherwise) that threaten human civilization.

STEALTH is a decidedly optimistic entity, believing profoundly in a bright future that awaits mankind if the dark undercurrents of modern life can be navigated successfully. This optimism occasionally finds itself at odds with the grim requirements of intelligence operations, to be sure. But agents of STEALTH are a generally pragmatic lot who are prepared to get the job done.

Stevan Miljevic (Indigo Symphony) / BP 29 / Dodge 11 Block 9 Parry 8
Agent of STEALTH
Might 2D+1 Agility 2D+2 Wit 3D Charm 4D
Skills: Fast Talk 4D+1, Persuasion 4D+1, Seduction 4D+1, Acting 4D+2, Streetwise 4D+2, Society 4D+2, Disguise 5D, Guns 3D+2, Dodge 3D+2, Unarmed Combat 3D, Gambling 3D+2
Perks: None
Complications: Age, Duty (STEALTH)
Gear & Armor: Glock 19 (3D+1)
Strength Damage: 1D

Fiona MacRae (Graveyard Thistle) / BP 33 / Dodge 15 Block 15 Parry 12
Agent of STEALTH
Might 3D+1 Agility 4D Wit 2D+2 Charm 2D
Skills: Guns 5D, Unarmed Combat 5D, Stealth 4D+2, Throwing 4D+1, Dodge 4D+2, Climbing 3D+2, Swimming 3D+2, Jumping 3D+2, Intimidation 3D, Streetwise 2D+1, Society 2D+1, Search 3D, Demolitions 3D
Perks: None
Complications: Duty (STEALTH)
Gear & Armor: Heckler & Koch P30 (3D+2), Brass Knuckles (+1D+1)
Strength Damage: 2D

Zelda Morgenthau (Crown Cobra) / BP 28 / Dodge 11 Block 12 Parry 9
Agent of STEALTH
Might 2D Agility 3D Wit 4D Charm 3D
Skills: Investigation 5D, Gambling 4D+2, Computers 4D+1, Forgery 4D+2, Search 4D+2, Breaking & Entering 4D+2, Guns 3D+1, Dodge 3D+2, Unarmed Combat 4D, Stealth 3D+1, Demolitions 4D+1, Society 3D+1
Perks: None
Complications: Duty (STEALTH)
Gear & Armor: Walther PPK (3D)
Strength Damage: 1D

Stafford & Petersen To Return To Chaosium

This is apparently happening, at least according to this thread at the purple forum place, which appears to be written by Greg Stafford himself.

I have no dog in any hunt w/ Chaosium right now. I didn’t back any of their Kickstarters (Flying Buffalo took care of my KS disappointment). I’m not especially keen on the CoC 7th rules after having playtested them. But I’m still quite curious about the situation, as there are all kinds of potential repercussions and reverberations. And if any of that shakes out to better support for BRP, I’ll be happy.

Meanwhile, I’m packing for NTRPG Con, where I’ll get to play in a Basic D&D game run by Frank Mentzer and a Top Secret game run by Merle Rasmussen. And the DCC Lankhmar playtest that Doug Kovacs is running. And a couple of other things. So that’s going to be fun. So much so that I might even bother to post some pictures or even write up a report after the weekend. No promises, though. I’m a lazy sod, after all.

BoL: Sacred Restoration

Wherein your humble scribe presents six BoL (Mythic Edition) characters that are approximations of the characters he’s had kicking around in his head for an Egyptian-themed one shot for years now. Would he actually run it in BoL? Maybe. That’s not the first system he’s considered. Nor will it likely be the last.

“An old priest and a young priest. A young soldier and an old soldier. An architect and a thief. These are the six parts that must come together to restore the jars and quiet the soul of Ptatmep,” spoke Pharaoh’s seer, Pentu-Paneb.

“The way will be perilous. The bandits and their scorpions ravage the roads between Upper and Lower Aphtet. We hear the sandstorms are fierce in the valley this season. And it is far from unlikely that the tomb’s occupants have remained at rest after the desecration.”

“Bring forth the amulets. Allow each of the assembled to choose a single talisman to take with them in Queen Khedebneithireretbeneret’s name. Then give them food and wineskins and send them on their way.”

Personally, I just call her “Your Majesty” or “Her Highness.” Or just “The Queen.”

Priests

Nebenefer / Lifeblood 11 / Hero Points 5 / Arcane Power 11 / Fate Points 2
Attributes: Strength 0 Agility 0 Mind 3 Appeal 1
Combat Abilities: Initiative 0 Melee 2 Ranged 0 Defense 2
Careers: Noble 0, Priest 2, Physician 1, Magician 1
Boons: Learned (Religion), Detect Deception
Flaws: Elderly
Languages: Aphtetian, Gresko, Occu
Equipment: Staff (d6), Light Armor (d6-3)

Taheret / Lifeblood 10 / Hero Points 5 / Arcane Power 12 / Fate Points 1
Attributes: Strength 0 Agility 1 Mind 1 Appeal 2
Combat Abilities: Initiative 1 Melee 2 Ranged 0 Defense 1
Careers: Noble 1, Slaver 0, Priest 1, Magician 2
Boons: Attractive, Silver Tongue
Flaws: Arrogant
Languages: Aphtetian, Gresko, Occu
Equipment: Mace (d6), Light Armor (d6-3)

Soldiers

Ramessu / Lifeblood 11 / Hero Points 5
Attributes: Strength 1 Agility 2 (1) Mind 0 Appeal 1
Combat Abilities: Initiative 1 Melee 1 Ranged 1 Defense 1
Careers: Noble 1, Beast Trainer 1 , Sailor 0, Soldier 2
Boons: Alert, Keen Eyesight
Flaws: Can’t Lie
Languages: Aphtetian, Gresko, Parsit
Equipment: Sword (d6), Bow (d6), Small Shield, Medium Armor (d6-2)

Beketaten / Lifeblood 13 / Hero Points 5
Attributes: Strength 3 Agility 1 (0) Mind 0 Appeal 0
Combat Abilities: Initiative 1 Melee 2 Ranged 0 Defense 1
Careers: Slave 0, Worker 0, Farmer 1, Soldier 3
Boons: Fearless, Poison Resistance
Flaws: Superstitious
Languages: Aphtetian, Gresko, Parsit
Equipment: Great Axe (d6H), Medium Armor (d6-2)

Architect & Thief

Zazamoukh / Lifeblood 10 / Hero Points 5
Attributes: Strength 0 Agility 1 Mind 2 Appeal 1
Combat Abilities: Initiative 0 Melee 1 Ranged 0 Defense 1
Careers: Scribe 1, Merchant 1, Worker 1, Architect 3
Boons: Learned (Engineering), Friends in High Places
Flaws: Non-Combatant
Languages: Aphtetian, Gresko, Sharaal
Equipment: Cudgel (d6L), Light Armor (d6-3)

Seneb / Lifeblood 10 / Hero Points 5
Attributes: Strength 0 Agility 2 Mind 1 Appeal 1
Combat Abilities: Initiative 1 Melee 1 Ranged 1 Defense 1
Careers: Beggar 1, Minstrel 1, Slave 0, Thief 2
Boons: Sneaky, Low-Born
Flaws: Untrustworthy
Languages: Aphtetian
Equipment: 4 X Dagger (d6L), Light Armor (d6-3)

New 0e Clone Iron Falcon Gets It Right

So we’re all drowning in retroclones by now. But not long ago I discovered one that almost snuck right by me and I wanted to make sure that it got whatever minuscule amount of extra awareness that I could bring to it. So…

Go download Iron Falcon already!

Iron Falcon is an 0e retroclone that strives to be as accurate and true to its source material as possible. That means descending AC. That means the five classic Saves. That means no tinkering, no streamlining, no “improvements” and no modernization. Or, as the game’s author, Chris Gonnerman of Basic Fantasy fame puts it on the Iron Falcon site:

…my goals for this project:

Be as faithful as possible to the original game (my coverage target).
Deal with Product Identity issues by omitting the offending element (i.e. no look-alike monsters).
Correct inconsistencies, generally by selecting the simplest solution, or the solution most consistent with the rest of the rules..
Reorganize the presentation to make the game more playable.
Avoid copyright infringement by remodeling; rules are kept similar as much as possible but details are changed (this is different from rule 2 above because it involves not infringing the copyright of the original game). Of course, no actual text is copied from the original game; it’s all written fresh. But in some cases, even a rewrite ends up too close to the original text… there are just only so many ways to say some things.

This makes it, in my mind, the Labyrinth Lord of 0e. Even more so than LL’s own OEC. Well, maybe not more so exactly. But the thing that Iron Falcon has going for it (as you might have guessed from its name) is that it includes the expansions to the core that came in Supplement 1. And some of those (thieves and the increased impact of attributes, especially) are central to my tastes.

This is 100% (well, maybe 90% or so) of what I personally wanted from the other 0e-flavored games. The missing 10% is found in the classes and such from Supplements 2 & 3. But that’s easy enough to get around.

So if this sounds like what you are looking for in an 0e clone, go get you some Iron Falcon right away. And if not, just keep on playing what you like.

BoL: Mythic Mercenary Band!

Wherein your humble scribe, in honor of receiving his print copy of the Barbarians of Lemuria Mythic Edition today, presents a traveling band of mercenaries who are also a traveling band.

Oxaal / Lifeblood 12 / Hero Points 5
Attributes: Strength 2 Agility 1 (-1) Mind 0 Appeal 1
Combat Abilities: Initiative 0 Melee 2 Ranged 0 Defense 2
Careers: Blacksmith 1, Minstrel 1, Merchant 0, Mercenary 2
Boons: Attractive, Brawler
Flaws: Hot-Headed
Languages: Talish, Fendic, Iban
Equipment: Hammer (d6), Axe (d6), Small Shield, Heavy Armor (d6-1), Helmet

Dalger / Lifeblood 11 / Hero Points 5
Attributes: Strength 1 Agility 2 Mind 1 Appeal 0
Combat Abilities: Initiative 2 Melee 1 Ranged 1 Defense 0
Careers: Thief 1, Acrobat 2, Minstrel 1, Mercenary 0
Boons: Friends in Low Places, Sneaky
Flaws: City Dweller
Languages: Talish, Fendic, Iban, Guild Speak
Equipment: Sword (d6), Dagger (d6L), Light Armor (d6-3)

Towan / Lifeblood 10 / Hero Points 5 / Arcane Power 14
Attributes: Strength 0 Agility 1 Mind 3 Appeal 0
Combat Abilities: Initiative 1 Melee 1 Ranged 1 Defense 1
Careers: Scribe 1, Sorcerer 2, Minstrel 1, Mercenary 0
Boons: Fearless, Power of the Void
Flaws: Lustful, Absent-Minded
Languages: Iban, Fendic, Alemb, Saiban, Parlish, Taman, Mogani, Yamash, Baldwish
Equipment: Staff (d6), Dagger (d6L)

Homba / Lifeblood 12 / Hero Points 5 / Arcane Power 12
Attributes: Strength 2 Agility 2 Mind 0 Appeal 0
Combat Abilities: Initiative 1 Melee 1 Ranged 2 Defense 0
Careers: Beastmaster 1, Hunter 1, Minstrel 1, Mercenary 1
Boons: Beast-Friend, Mighty Shot
Flaws: Country Bumpkin
Languages: Saiban, Fendic, Iban, Mogani
Equipment: Spear (d6), Compound Bow (d6H), Light Armor (d6-3)

Three Against The Scarlet Trident (Supers!)

The Scarlet Trident

The Scarlet Trident is a criminal organization operating throughout North America. Its ultimate goals, as well as its operational structure, are not understood at present. What is known is that its operatives are almost always equipped with significantly advanced tech. Beam weapons, body armor, stealth suits, even exoskeletons that enhance the wearer’s strength to Super levels have been noted.

Mooks & Henchmen

Scarlet Trident Strike Force 4D
[Qualities: Life Support]

Scarlet Trident Infiltration Team 3D
[Qualities: Invisibility (Sight, Sound)]

Scarlet Trident Brick Breaker
Henchman 4D [Qualities: Super Strength, Super Leap]

Three Heroes Who Have Tangled With The Trident

Certain patterns emerge when analyzing Scarlet Trident operations. To date they have held to committing their crimes with a “things come in threes” pattern. This behavior is almost so obvious as to be trite (as such, it may be deliberately designed to be misleading). There are facets of their actions, though, that are more puzzling. Consider the three most recent Scarlet Trident crimes: each was clearly targeted in areas protected by three decidedly different Supers: Essence, ECHO, and Exile. While these three heroes share certain similarities in their pseudonyms they are otherwise as different as they can be.

Essence is a magical/supernatural heroine who has remained focused on the middle-class suburbs. ECHO is a technological construct operating almost exclusively in the business district and downtown. And Exile a martial artist whose actions have remained confined to the urban slums.

In each incident, a low-scale robbery was undertaken by a deliberately underpowered Scarlet Trident strike force. All three crimes were easily foiled, though no prisoners were captured. The obvious conclusion is that the Scarlet Trident is testing these Supers. But for what purpose?

Essence

Real Name: Alessandra D’Abo
Origin: Magical

Resistances
Composure 3D Fortitude 1D Reaction 2D Will 4D

Advantages
Charismatic

Disadvantages
Enemy (Scarlet Trident)

Aptitudes
Athleticism 2D, Awareness 2D, Occultism 2D, Presence 3D

Powers
Teleportation 2D, Imbue 1D, Insubstantiality 2D, Wizardry 3D (Complication: Smartphone Grimoire)

Competency Pool 0D

ECHO

Real Name: Electroacoustic Construct, Humanoid 0
Origin: Hi-Tech

Resistances
Composure 3D Fortitude 3D Reaction 3D Will 1D

Advantages
Unliving

Disadvantages
Bad Luck, Enemy (Scarlet Trident)

Aptitudes
Awareness 3D, Presence 2D, Technology 3D

Powers
Energy Control (Sound) 4D, Energy Form (Sound) 2D, Flight (Complication: Only in Energy Form) 2D, Size Control (Complication: Only in Energy Form) 2D

Competency Pool 0D

Exile

Real Name: Nathan Willis
Origin: Special Training

Resistances
Composure 1D Fortitude 4D Reaction 4D Will 3D

Advantages
I Brought This Along

Disadvantages
Enemy (Scarlet Trident), Intolerance (Criminals)

Aptitudes
Athleticism 3D, Awareness 2D, Investigation 2D, Intrusion 3D, Presence 2D, Streetwise 2D

Powers
Armor 2D (Complication: Device – Costume), Super Aptitude (Fighting) 4D

Competency Pool 0D

Playing A Gunny Raccoon Or Big Tree Guy

There’s a little movie out right now that you might have heard of called Guardians of the Galaxy. It’s a romp, and at times it feels very much like an RPG session. All of the protagonists are at least somewhat absurd, and their behavior marks them as Chaotic Good or Chaotic Neutral (with Good tendencies, maybe) in D&D-speak. So they come across pretty nicely as PCs.

I got to thinking about what game I’d use to run a similar story, and while my initial thought was something like Supers!, I think that may have been based on lingering ideas that Guardians as a superhero film rather than a big ol’ pulp scifi adventure. I still can’t quite decide between X-plorers and Tales of the Space Princess, though. So I thought I’d work out how I’d do a couple of the more popular characters and use that to inform my thoughts.

So, without further ado, here’s how I’d approach the core race/class considerations for a certain raccoon and his tree-guy buddy…

For X-plorers: Race-As-Class Classes

X-plorers, by default, focuses strictly on humans. But there’s an excellent supplement for designing alien and robot classes, and that’s what I’ve used here.

Gun-Happy Masked Rodent
Humanoid, Animal-Stock
+1 AGI, +1 INT
Pilot 15+, Security 16+, Mechanics 14+, Stealth 14+
Diminutive (+1 AC, -1 melee damage)
Deadly Marksman (+2 to hit/ranged, +1d6 damage/ranged)

Very Large Plant Man
Humanoid, Plant
+1 PHY, +1 PRE
Martial Arts, Survival 14+, Security 16+, Mechanics 14+
Large (+1 melee damage, -1 AC)
Regenerative (2 HP/Round)

For Tales of the Space Princess: Races w/ Suggested Classes

Tales of the Space Princess has great rules for building unique aliens right there in its core book. I approached these two along those lines. Since race & class are separate in TotSP, I’ve listed a suggested class for each.

Gun-Happy Masked Rodent
Alien: Mammal (+1 DEF, Claws/Teeth do 1d6)
Alien Special Ability: +1 DEX
Suggested Class: Scoundrel

Very Large Plant Man
Alien: Plant (+2 Def, Immune to most poisons, +2 to resist mental domination)
Alien Special Ability: +1 STR
Suggested Class: Star Warrior

Conclusions

Even though I’m more partial to Tales of the Space Princess on the whole, I think I have to concede that X-plorers gets this particular job done better. The custom-built race-as-class classes fit just a bit better, even though I’m not 100% sold on the skills that Big Tree Guy winds up with. That’s a reasonable trade for him having a strong Regeneration ability without having to hack on the rules any further.

Vintage Magic World: Trial By Wilderness

Wherein your humble scribe presents a quartet of adventurers for the vintage version of Magic World (you know, the one that was part of the old Worlds of Wonder boxed set). Why? Because boredom is my enemy. An enemy that can be vanquished only by imagining heroes to vanquish it.

“Hold a moment, gents. Allow old Dasq to catch his breath,” the fat rogue bellowed as the hill turned ever more steep as they ascended. “Carrying all of these wilderness provisions is a bit more than I’m used to.”

“Come now, villain,” the merchant replied, his accent nearly impenetrable to his companions. “You were carrying twice the weight easily when the city guard apprehended you.”

“Yea, b’at were gemsnsilver, wernit?” muttered Wheezing Mohan, the mercenary known in Broken Shield as much for his allergies as for his sword arm.

“True enough, true enough,” Dasq nodded in agreement as he lowered his bulk onto a boulder that seemed to groan beneath the weight. “Though why you all had to get involved in that… situation… I do not know. If you’d all just allowed me to escape we wouldn’t be on this damnable quest in the first place. A curse upon the King’s magistrate!”

The wizard, who had not uttered a syllable since they left the city turned swiftly and hissed, “We got involved in the situation as you put it, my fat friend, because the treasures you were fleeing with were ours. Though I concur with your cursing of the charlatan who claims knowledgeable service of the King. This custom of trial by wilderness is both ineffectual and an affront.”

“Wernall in agreem’t onnat,” replied Mohan. And then he sneezed three times. “Trollas. Three sneezes means trollas, mebims. Besget yarms ready.”

Guy d’Marseinné (Scholar) 120 Crowns
STR 9 CON 12 SIZ 15 INT 13 POW 14 DEX 11 APP 11 HP 12 DB +1d6
Weapons: Short Sword 30% (1d6+1), Dagger 25% (1d4+1)
Armor: Cuirboilli (3)
Skills: Climb 55%, Cut Purse 5%, Fine Manipulation 00%, First Aid 45%, Hide 55%, Jump 45%, Linguist 40%, Listen 45%, Literacy 65%, Lore 40%, Mechanical Arts 40%, Mercantile Arts 65%, Move Quietly 25%, Philosophy 40%, Ride 25%, Spot Hidden 25%, Swim 20%, Throw 45%

Vale Loer (Wizard) 390 Crowns
STR 10 CON 6 SIZ 12 INT 15 POW 16 DEX 13 APP 10 HP 6 DB none
Weapons: Staff 45%, Dagger 45%, Sword 45%
Armor:
Skills: Climb 55%, Cut Purse 5%, Fine Manipulation 10%, First Aid 45%, Hide 55%, Jump 45%, Linguist 00%, Listen 45%, Literacy 50%, Lore 00%, Mechanical Arts 00%, Mercantile Arts 00%, Move Quietly 25%, Philosophy 00%, Ride 25%, Spot Hidden 25%, Swim 20%, Throw 45%, Control 45%, Illusion 45%, Lift 45%, Speak To Mind 45%

Fat Dasq (Rogue) 220 Crowns
STR 5 CON 13 SIZ 18 INT 12 POW 9 DEX 15 APP 13 HP 18 DB none
Weapons: Short Sword 55% (1d6+1), Dagger 55% (1d4+1)
Armor: Cuirboilli (3)
Skills: Climb 55%, Cut Purse 75%, Fine Manipulation 75%, First Aid 45%, Hide 55%, Jump 55%, Linguist 00%, Listen 55%, Literacy 00%, Lore 00%, Mechanical Arts 00%, Mercantile Arts 00%, Move Quietly 55%, Philosophy 00%, Ride 25%, Spot Hidden 55%, Swim 20%, Throw 45%

Wheezing Mohan (Warrior) 105 Crowns
STR 13 CON 9 SIZ 13 INT 14 POW 8 DEX 15 APP 11 HP 9 DB none
Weapons: Broad Sword 70% (1d8+1), Mace 65% (1d6+2), Shield 70%
Armor: Ring Mail (4), Leather (2), Shield (12)
Skills: Climb 55%, Cut Purse 5%, Fine Manipulation 5%, First Aid 45%, Hide 55%, Jump 65%, Linguist 00%, Listen 45%, Literacy 00%, Lore 00%, Mechanical Arts 00%, Mercantile Arts 00%, Move Quietly 25%, Philosophy 00%, Ride 75%, Spot Hidden 25%, Swim 20%, Throw 45%

Echo Chamber Newsflash: BoL Mythic Edition Kickstarter Launched

Readers of this blog are likely already aware, but just in case (and to boost the signal), I thought I’d mention that the Kickstarter for Barbarians of Lemuria: Mythic Edition has gone live.

Personally I’m rather soured on Kickstarter these days and I kinda wish BoL:ME weren’t going that route. But it is. So that’s that. I haven’t decided whether I’ll be dropping cash on this or not just yet, though I’m sure I will ultimately relent and pony up. I do love BoL, after all.

Also, it’s worth noting that everyone’s favorite BoL adventure writer, our good friend G-Man (he of the many adventures hosted here on Strange Stones) has an adventure that will be released if one of the stretch goals is reached. So that’s a strong motivator for sure.

So there you have it, amigos. Your daily dose of exciting BoL news.