Forest of Fear

From Leicester and Newark in the north, to Oxford and St. Albans in the south, from Banbury and in Kineton in the west to Beford and Peterborough in the east, the forests have become one and as one, they are beginning to spread beyond their former boundaries. As the Forest Sauvage grows wild and unchecked, strangling paths and ripping up fields and starving villages, returning the heart of Logres into a wild forest of years past. When travellers wander too close to its eaves, they wonder where they are and in whose lands they journey, whilst the lords upon whose lands the forest borders worry at the encroaching undergrowth and canopy, fearful that what they hold by right will be lost and turned into an impassably dense morass of trees. Yet this is not a natural phenomenon. The kingdom of Logres has been weakened for decades now, ever since the death of King Uther Pendragon. Not just in terms of power and control, but also spiritually. It is this weakness that Madog de Sauvage, a lord of the fae, has taken advantage of to extend his kingdom into the mortal realms. As the newly crowned king, Arthur seeks to unite and restore his father’s kingdom, but this new realm, this Forest Sauvage, threatens his kingdom from within.

This is the set-up for Pendragon: The Sauvage King, a sandbox campaign framework that expands the world of King Arthur Pendragon and Pendragon, Sixth Edition thematically and chronologically. It can be run using the Pendragon Starter Set or the core rulebooks. As a supplement, Pendragon: The Sauvage King takes content from the start of the highly regarded Great Pendragon Campaign, which explores the spread and threat of the Forest Sauvage and updates it to Pendragon, Sixth Edition. In the previous Pendragon: The Grey Knight, the Player-Knights did enter the realm of the Fairy, but only in a small way, here they confront its power, its majesty, and its unreality in full force. They will discover its growing influence at the edge of the Forest Sauvage as they probe its fringes, hopefully in the process finding a way past the fringes and ever deeper under its canopy, in the process discovering what has happened to the former counties of Lambor, Tribruit, and Wuerensis, as well as their lords, and ultimately forge a path to the court of King Madog de Sauvage.

‘The Forest Sauvage’ is not the only content in Pendragon: The Sauvage King, but it is its feature content. Narratively, its starting point is the spread of the Forest Sauvage, but for the Game Master and her Player-knights, there are multiple starting points and ways into the Forest Sauvage. Four introductory adventures are divided between motivations and plot hooks that are personal or directed. The personal might be that the King Sauvage has kidnapped a Player-Knight’s child and replaced them with a Changeling, compelling the Player-Knight and his companions to go in search of them, whilst the directed include Saint Dubricus and Merlin the Magician becoming worried about the spread of the Forest Sauvage or King Arthur becoming concerned when an ally asks for help or contact is threatened with an important county, and so the Player-Knights are asked to investigate. The plot hook with the replacing of a Player-Knight’s child with a Changeling is likely the one with most interesting and radical of outcomes since it can lead to the creation of an interesting heir. The other adventures in ‘The Forest Sauvage’ take place inside the Forest Sauvage, typically in the towns and villages which have become trapped within the forest realm. Moving through the forest is challenging because like other fairy realms, it is very easy to lose track of time, and unlike the typical adventure for Pendragon, supplies matter. This is also a campaign where the Hunting skill is very important and the Folklore skill a close second. The Player-Knights will need to proceed with civility and their honour and their reputation will be tested throughout.

With multiple entry points, ‘The Forest Sauvage’ can be run by the Game Master more than once, each time with a different starting point. There is the possibility that a group of Player-Knights might try more than one starting point if they fail to make progress with another. The majority of the adventures are short and can be run in a single session, sometimes less than a single session. This does leave some room for the Game Master to insert content of her own, which can be the other two adventures in the book, generated from the tables at the back of the book, or selected from The Companions of Arthur community content. The capacity for this drops the deeper the Player-Knights travel into the Forest Sauvage. Multiple entry points and plot threads means that many of the almost thirty adventures in ‘The Forest Sauvage’ will not be run. That said, the Game Master can take some of adventures she has not run and adapt them to be run later in her campaign. The Game Master will also need to work harder with ‘The Forest Sauvage’ to set it up for her players and their knights than with other content for Pendragon as it is not linear. Fortunately, ‘The Forest Sauvage’ does guide the Game Master through the set-up process and along the possible plot threads. All of the mini-adventures are neatly organized into sections that in turn cover their Setting, Characters, Secrets, Problems, Solutions, and Glory rewards. Often the section of Solutions suggests multiple ways in which issues outlined in the preceding Problems section can be resolved. Many of the mini-adventures are short enough to run from the page.

Another issue in running ‘The Forest Sauvage’ is chronological. Since its events are triggered by the death of King Uther Pendragon in 495 C.E., it can be run from any time then onwards, particularly from 508 C.E. This gives it some flexibility, though if ‘The Sword Campaign’ of the Pendragon Starter Set and Pendragon: The Grey Knight, is being run, the likelihood is that the Player-Knights are going to be occupied! Later in the timeline, after the events of Pendragon: The Grey Knight, as Pendragon: The Sauvage King acknowledges, Merlin is not present in 517 or 518 C.E., so that limits the plot hook involving Merlin for the campaign.

As a campaign, ‘The Forest Sauvage’ present the Player-Knights with a ride range of challenges, whether that is gambling over games of knucklebones in ‘A Game of Chance’ or playing a game of skill to win knowledge in ‘A Scholarly Opinion’, searching for lost dogs in ‘The Baron’s Hounds’, literally overcoming indolence in ‘The Castle of Ease’, racing horses in ‘The Castle of the Race’, evacuating a village about to overtaken by the forest in ‘Cutting Through’, defeating a magical boar in ‘Horror at Alcester’, and more. They will find that many of the lords whose lands lie on the edge of the forest have reacted in many different ways and so have to be entreated in different ways too. This is a mystic maze of often soporific befuddlement, but in turn ‘The Forest Sauvage’ will also horrify and bewitch its Player-Knights.

In addition to ‘The Forest Sauvage’, Pendragon: The Sauvage King also contains two other adventures. Both could be used as introductory adventures, added to an existing campaign, or used in conjunction with ‘The Forest Sauvage’. The latter is quite easy because both adventures take place close to the borders of the Forest Sauvage. Both can also be played through in a single session. In ‘The Adventure of Black Annis’, the townsfolk of Leicester implore the Player-Knights to come to their aid in dealing with a horrifying hag who has been preying on lone travellers and children. Any encounter with her is likely to devolve into a nasty fight and she may even turn the tables and hunt the Player-Knights. She can be defeated though, but dealing with her permanently is an undertaking in itself. The Player-Knights have an opportunity to participate in a moon-lit horse race across the countryside from the Great White Horse of Uffington. This will test much more than the Player-Knights’ Horsemanship skill—though both it and their horses are greatly tested—but this is a thrilling flit across the landscape. Lastly, ‘Other Scenarios’ presents a handful of adventures, some of which could be run more than once as they include tables for generating their precise details.

Physically, Pendragon: The Forest Sauvage is well very presented. The artwork is excellent and the illuminations entertaining. The maps are decent and add much to the manuscript-like feel of the book.

After the rush of the Pendragon Starter Set and the Pendragon: The Grey Knight, which together laid the foundations of what is to come with the Great Pendragon Campaign, what Pendragon: The Sauvage King feels like is the difficult second album. It is both more challenging to use and more challenging to fit into a campaign, primarily because of the open framework of ‘The Forest Sauvage’, but also because rather a single beginning and middle, it has multiple beginnings and middles. Picking and choosing between these require set-up and development effort upon the part of the Game Master, but the rewards are ultimately worth it, because with more choice, comes the scope to tailor the campaign framework of ‘The Forest Sauvage’ to the players and their knights. Supported by other content, in particular, two good adventures, Pendragon: The Sauvage King is a campaign in which the Player-Knights can confront a threat to the realm like no other in a framework that lets them make its story their own.

Your Level Up Starter

A good starter set has to do a number of different things. It has to introduce and explain the roleplaying game it is a starter set for, whether that is the roleplaying game’s setting, mechanics, or both. It has to both tell and show what the players and their characters are expected to do in the setting and how they do it, first with the rules and then with a scenario. It has to provide everything that a group needs to play—rules, scenario, pre-generated Player Characters, and dice—and ideally more. Maps, handouts, tokens, and the like are all items that will help bring the world of the roleplaying game’s setting to life and give the players something to look at and interact with. Above all, a good starter should showcase the roleplaying game and entice both Game Master and her players to want to roleplay more with the rules and in that setting by picking up the core rulebook, and if the contents of the start set support continued play, whether that is providing an extra set of dice or maps for the setting, then all the better.

—oOo—

The Level Up Starter Box for Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition has an uphill battle ahead of it, because in hobby in which Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition predominates and in which Dungeons & Dragons is the only roleplaying game that matters to the world at large, it has to sell itself on the point that what it offers is more Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition. Or rather, more than Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition. Although designed to be compatible with Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition, what Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition does is offer more choice, more flexibility, and more depth in combination with the same heroic fantasy roleplaying that you want from Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition. And this it sets out to do without added complexity. Published by EN Publishing, the Level Up Starter Box is not actually a starter set in the traditional sense. What a starter set typically does is introduce a roleplaying game and its setting, providing Game Master and players alike with everything they need to play—the rules, dice, pre-generated Player Characters, one or more adventures, and support for both the adventure and rules in general. The Level Up Starter Box has most of that. What it lacks is dice. This is because it assumes that anyone opening its box and looking through the contents will have roleplayed before—specifically, Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition. Having done so, they will have dice, they will know what roleplaying is, and they know how Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition works and how it is played. In this way, the Level Up Starter Box is an introduction to Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition rather than roleplaying in general and Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition.

So what is in the Level Up Starter Box? Inside can be found a sixty-six page ‘Rules Manual’, three sixteen-page booklets which together make up the adventure, five pre-generated Player Characters, five double-sided poster maps, and ninety-one cardboard tokens for heroes, villains, and monsters. The ‘Rules Manual’ explains all of the rules changes and additions. This starts with telling the reader that the name for the Game Master in Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition is ‘Narrator’, and that the Barbarian, Monk, and Paladin are expanded into Berserker, Adept, and Herald respectively, whilst the Marshal is a new Class. Exhaustion is divided between ‘Fatigue’ and ‘Strife’, physical and spiritual in nature, respectively. Two skills are added, ‘Culture’, representing knowledge of customs, laws, and etiquette, whilst ‘Engineering’ is used for building and constructing. Skills can work with any Attribute as can Initiative, depending on the situation. A Player Character does not have a Species, but a Heritage and Culture, the first being what he inherited from his parents, whilst the latter his upbringing. A Player Character can have Expertise Dice, granted by a Player Character’s Class, the situation, and more. These are either a four-sided, six-sided, or eight-sided die and are rolled in conjunction with rolls of a twenty-sided die.

For the players, there is a guide to the advancements gain by their characters at Fifth Level. For the Narrator there are some nicely done Journey rules, which underpin the exploration pillar of Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition. They take into account travel pace, supply, fatigue, weather, and so on. There are tables for encounters ordinary and social, travel scenery, boons, and discoveries as rewards for overcoming objectives, but the really fun aspect is the list of activities that go beyond those you would normally except for journey rules. So alongside ‘Cook’, ‘Hunt and Gather’, ‘Scout’, and ‘Track’, there is also ‘Busk’, ‘Chronicle’, ‘Gossip’, and ‘Pray’, which is rather entertaining. There is also a guide to the magic items that appear in the adventure as well as a bestiary.

The five pre-generated Player Characters include a Halfling Sorcerer who grew up amongst the Hill Dwarves who specialises in planar magic; a Human Adept who grew up in a Dragoncult and is a brawler; a Dragonborn Ranger who was a Wilding and is now a holy champion; a Dwarven Rogue with a cosmopolitan background who specialises in traps; and a Planetouched Cleric also with a cosmopolitan background and who is an oracle. All five have their own Destinies from which they can take Inspiration, plus a Background, and each has particular guides for exploration and social actions. All five are presented on four-page pamphlets that easy to read and use. All five Player Characters are Fourth Level.

The rules cover several Conditions, including ‘Fatigue’ and ‘Strife’, which are tracked. Warriors can have combat manoeuvres. Disarm, Grab On, Grapple, Knockdown, Overrun, and Shove are basic combat manoeuvres, whilst the majority are divided into traditions, which are divided much like spell Levels, from First Degree to Fifth Degree. Four are included the Level Up Starter Box, including ‘Biting Zephyr’ for ranged attacks, ‘Mist and Shade’ for feints and distractions, ‘Rapid Current’ for speed and agility, and ‘Razor’s Edge’ for strikes and parries. Some combat manoeuvres require the defender to make a Saving Throw against, but all require the expenditure of Exertion Points. New actions in combat include ‘Press the Attack’, ‘Sprint’, and ‘Tumble’.

The adventure in in the Level Up Starter Box is set in the Albia, a highland region in Elissar, which is home to clans that feud and war for dominance. One of these was Clan Erin, which was disbanded centuries ago and many of its lesser clans picked over and absorbed over time by rival clans. Only Clans Carnoc, Kerdac, and Warlaw remain and they have now decided to come together to re-establish Clan Erin. Unfortunately, not all of the Clansmen are happy with the proposal and seek to prevent it from coming to pass. The Player Characters are hired as extra and neutral security for a moot where the terms of their re-uniting once again will be settled.

The adventure is divided into three booklets. The terms of the moot will be settled in the first part, ‘Clan Erin’s Moot’ by Akeem Favor’, but not without an attempt to stop it and the discovery that the legitimacy of the new clan leader cannot be confirmed without the Crown of Clan Erin. This has been lost for centuries, but there are clues as to where it might be. The Player Characters are asked to undertake this quest, detailed in the second part, ‘Valley of Misfortune’ by Mother of Goblins II. The quest will take them through a forest poisoned by souls and enables the Narrator to bring the Journey mechanics into play. Here the emphasis on combat and interaction of the first part switches to exploration and combat and one of the pleasing story elements about the situation in ‘Valley of Misfortune’—unconnected to , ‘Clan Erin’s Moot’—is that there are no real villains. In ‘Crypt Erin’, the third and final part of the scenario by Anthony Alipio III, the Player Characters locate and travel to the crypt where the Crown of Clan Erin might lie. Although the final scenes of this third part take place underground, this is not a dungeon in the classic roleplaying sense and although there is the possibility of combat, the resolution of the scenario lie in solving a puzzle and interaction rather than a fight. By the end of it, the Player Characters are likely to have discovered some clan secrets, resolved them, and enabled the peaceful re-founding of Clan Erin.

Altogether, the scenario provides a good mix of playstyles and activities, moving first from intrigue and interaction to exploration and combat and second the puzzle solving and interaction. The first and second parts will take the longest, likely two sessions each, whilst the final part can be played through in a single session. The scenario is supported by the three double-sided poster maps and the two sheets of counters which are perfectly scaled for use with the poster maps.

Physically, the Level Up Starter Box is well presented. The artwork is good, the explanations of the rules are good, and so on. In places, the scenarios are overwritten.

The Level Up Starter Box succeeds on its remit of, “We hear you like playing Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition. Here have some options to make your play more interesting.” The changes and additions are clearly presented and explained, and the scenario is a good mix of interaction, exploration, and combat. In fact, if the players have any experience in roleplaying, they could probably understand what is presented in the Level Up Starter Box without necessarily having played a lot of Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition. The use of Fourth Level Player Characters showcases much more of what Player Characters in Level Up are capable of rather than First Level Player Characters. The Level Up Starter Box is a solid and easy playing introduction to Level Up for when the Game Master wants to become a Narrator and her players want to keep playing, but want both more of and more than what Dungeons & Dragons offers.

Cthulhoid Choices: 4thulhu

As it acknowledges, there are too many games about Cthulhu and the Mythos. So why one more? Especially given that the publisher, Just Crunch Games, has its very own roleplaying game of Lovecraftian investigative horror in the form of Cthulhu Hack, Second Edition. So, what is the point of 4thulhu: A 4-sided System for Cosmic Horror? Well, it exists because the author wanted to create a roleplaying game using only four-sided dice. Which begs the question, what exactly does it offer the player and Director of roleplaying games of Lovecraftian investigative horror that other, similar roleplaying games do not? That is a difficult question to answer. Since Call of Cthulhu and Trail of Cthulhu are mainstays, and there is even lighter roleplaying game of Lovecraftian investigative horror than 4thulhu, and that is Cthulhu Dark. Think then of 4thulhu as an alternative to Cthulhu Dark when players and Directors want something lighter, but with a little more mechanical nuance. An absolute cynic might be describe 4thulhu as yet another roleplaying game of Lovecraftian investigative horror for the collector. Morse so given its obscurity. That said, 4thulhu is inexpensive. In fact, the four four-sided dice needed to play the roleplaying game are probably going to cost as much, if not more than the price of 4thulhu.

In order to run and play 4thulhu: A 4-sided System for Cosmic Horror, a group will need some four-sided dice—at least four—and copies of the Player Character sheet (though an index card will do just as well). A Player Character in 4thulhu has four attributes. These are Grit, Form, Lore, and Mien, corresponding to physical power, agility, knowledge, and personality and willpower. These are valued at two each, and then one can be adjusted up and another down. Injury and Realisation are derived values. A player can alternatively roll for the attributes. A Player Character has up to twelve skills. These are rated Expert, Adept, Novice, and Unskilled. An Expert skill means that a Player Character will succeed on a roll of two or more; three or more for an Adept skill; four for a Novice skill; and rolls of four on two four-sided dice. It is important to note that the player can select as many as he wants at the start of play, but he can also leave them blank until they are needed, in which case he selects at that point, during play.

Henry Brinded, Antiquarian
Grit1 Form 2 Lore 3 Mien 2
Injury 4
Realisation 4
Skills
Ancient Languages (Expert), History (Adept), Artillery (Novice), Accounting (Adept)

Mechanically, 4thulhu is as simple as outlined above, whilst attribute checks are rolled like unskilled checks. Combat and similar situations are handled as opposed rolls. If one combatant succeeds and rolls higher, it is the winner; a stalemate occurs if combatants roll the same value and succeed; and if both sides fail, they both suffer negative effects. Damage is brutal with a melee weapon or a light firearm inflicting two points of Injury. If a Player Character has his Injury reduced to zero, he is unconscious. The most complex rule here is how facing the Cosmic Truth is handled. Here a Player Character’s Realisation is subtracted from five and that is the target number, the minimum target number being two or more. If the roll is successful, the Player Character can carry, but if not, his Realisation is reduced by one. If it is reduced to zero, the Player Character might blackout or run away or hide, and so on. Recovery of Injury takes weeks and months for Realisation.

The adversaries in 4thulhu are defined in a fashion similar to Player Characters. The Director can adjust the attributes and assign skills as necessary, and the more powerful the adversary the more unbalanced it will be in comparison to a Player Character. 4thulhu gives details for six Mythos races and entities, including the Colour Out of Space, Deep Ones, Elder Things, Fungi from Yuggoth, Nightgaunts, and Ghouls. 4thulhu does not cover Mythos tomes, spells, or the ‘gods’. Here the Director will need to improvise. There are brief notes on converting content from other roleplaying games of Lovecraftian investigative horror and on improvising horror. The latter actually covers everything you might find in a larger, more detailed roleplaying game, but in the briefest of fashions. More bullet points than paragraphs. To help set up a scenario, 4thulhu includes a set of ‘Unforeseen Circumstances’ tables, which annoyingly require six-sided dice rather than four-sided dice. The advice is good, though light.

The scaling of 4thulhu to use a four-sided die does mean that there is not a lot of mechanical depth or longevity to its play. In comparison with similar games, Player Characters are weaker and there is no scope for experience or growth. So, 4thulhu is likely to be used for one-shots, short scenarios, or mini-campaigns at best. The advice that emphasises improvisation also lends itself towards this conclusion too.

Physically, 4thulhu is slightly roughly presented with extra inserts. It is lightly illustrated. It is decently written.

There are options which are missing from 4thulhu: A 4-sided System for Cosmic Horror—spells, tomes, and gods in particular. It is not a comprehensive roleplaying game of Lovecraftian investigative horror, but it is quick and easy to play, while relying on greater improvisation and creativity upon the part of the Director than another roleplaying game of Lovecraftian investigative horror might. Ultimately, 4thulhu: A 4-sided System for Cosmic Horror is a workable, if limited mini-roleplaying game.

Friday Fantasy: Intrigue at the Court of Chaos

There is no denying the ambition of Dungeon Crawl Classics #80: Intrigue at the Court of Chaos. It plucks the Player Characters out of their ordinary adventuring lives and places them on a cosmic stage before the Lords of Chaos, forces them to enter their service and hunt for a lost artefact, and whilst promising rich rewards, dangles in front of them the possibility of betrayal at the hands of their own—and this not in a scenario for Eighth or Ninth Level Player Characters, but First Level Player Characters! Dungeon Crawl Classics #80: Intrigue at the Court of Chaos opens in strong fashion, with an emphasis on roleplaying. Yes, it is something of a deus ex machina, but it hooks the players and their characters immediately. It also sets up the Player Characters to distrust each other and not only is that intentional, the scenario gives great advice on how to do this. What happens is that each of the Player Characters is approached privately by one of the Lords of Chaos and asked to hand over the lost artefact to them individually in return for greater reward. To handle this, as you would expect, the Judge is advised to take each of the players aside and play this approach by a Lord of Chaos in private. So far, so good, but the advice goes one step further by suggesting that the Judge take aside the player with the least trusted character and talk to him, but not have one of the Lords of Chaos approach his character. This is the equivalent of a ‘chef’s kiss’, because it sows distrust even further and for once, the least trusted Player Character will be innocent despite what his fellow adventurers might believe. To ensure that this has the desired effect, it is also suggested that the scenario be run with Player Characters who have bonded in a Character Funnel.

Dungeon Crawl Classics #80: Intrigue at theCourt of Chaos ais scenario published by Goodman Games for use with the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game. It begins with the Player Characters being drawn to the Court of Chaos and given a fait accompli by the Lords of Chaos—find the Yokeless Egg, an artefact infused with the First Chaos, which has been kept locked away for eons and forgotten about on the Plane of Law. The Player Characters are given a chance to discuss the situation and even partake of some hospitality in their own guest rooms, which is when each of the Lords of Chaos (and other individuals) approaches one of the Player Characters. Each of the Lords of Chaos will approach a different type of Player Character, as determined by Race, Class, or gender, before they are all brought back together the following morning. The individual, one-on-one scenes between the Lords of Chaos and the Player Characters are enhanced by handouts that individual depict all five. One is a heavily armoured, three armed warrior wearing a cloak of dead persons’ faces, another is a giant eyeball walking on chicken legs, and yet another is a hooded and cloaked figure whose face appears to be pair of elephantine trunks that end in dead hands! These are not pleasant encounters despite their honeyed words!

Of course, the Player Characters will accept the task allotted to them. They are then transported to the Plane of Law. The Yokeless Egg is actually easy to find, the Player Characters being dropped more or less on its doorstep, or at least, the cataphract it is contained in. Which it turns out, because this is the Plane of Law, is a giant flawless diamond. Inside, the Player Characters find five doors behind which there is room containing a trial of some kind. The trials are themed ‘Creation, ‘Construction’, ‘Enlightenment’, ‘Sacrifice’, and ‘Judgement’, and most of them consist of quite straightforward, even obvious—though obviousness would suite the Plane of Law—puzzles. The players and their characters will quickly work their way through them. That said, the most fun trial suggests that the Game Master place a piece of modelling clay in front of the players and have them work it into an object that will potentially solve the puzzle. It is a pity that the other trials are not as inventive as this. Unfortunately, the final scene on the Plane of Law involves the Player Characters facing off against better reflections of themselves, which is a cliché.

Once the Player Characters have the Yokeless Egg, they can return to the Plane of Chaos and stand before the Lords of Chaos. It is here that pandemonium can reign, depending upon the decisions of the players and their characters. If they have collectively decided to give the Yokeless Egg to the Lords of Chaos as a whole, then they will all receive a reward. However, if one or more of the Player Characters has decided to give it to just the one Lord of Chaos (or someone else), then there is the possibility that the other Player Characters could get left behind, stranded on the Plane of Law, that a fight begins between the Lords of Chaos and their minions, and the betrayer having earned the ire of his fellow Player Characters. The scenario covers a variety of outcomes, depending upon whom the Player Characters actually give the Yokeless Egg.

Dungeon Crawl Classics #80: Intrigue at the Court of Chaos is joyously different to other scenarios for the roleplaying game. There is scope for roleplaying and room for intrigue, as well as inherent intra-party conflict and betrayal. Which may well mean that the scenario is not suitable for every group of players, but still, it is very well handled in this scenario. It is neither overplayed or not underdone, instead, simply setting it up so that the players and their characters make the choice and thus determine in part how the scenario will end. Nor is it necessarily game-ending and the consequences are fully explored—at least within the scope of the scenario. What lets the scenario down slightly is the middle act, the scenes on the Plane of Law which lean towards the prosaic. They are not terrible, or even bad, but rather are simply not as fun or as exciting as the scenes involving the Lords of Chaos, whether for the Judge or the players. Especially for the Judge though, who is given a great cast of NPCs to portray with their capricious natures and malicious motives.

—oOo—

Dungeon Crawl Classics #80: Intrigue at the Court of Chaos also includes a second scenario, ‘War Pit of the Chaos-Wizards: A Savage Spectacle, Starring Your 2nd Level Adventurers!’. This can be run as a thematic sequel to the main scenario, since it since it starts with the Player Characters being plucked from wherever they are and being asked to serve a servant of Chaos. This time though, it is not one of the Lords of Chaos, but a member of the Xeno-Coven, a loose confederation of ultra-powerful, chaotic sorcerers who aim to conquer or subjugate the multiverse in the name of the Chaos-gods.

This is Akhen-Am-Set, Scion of the Seventh Ritual of ‘Death, The Devourer’, an Adept of ancient, pre-Punjaran necromancy, who walks around on a carpet of insects so it looks like she floats. The Xeno-Coven holds irregular ‘Shadow-Meets’ at which its members work out agreements as to how they will work together and who will hold the Proctorship and be its leader. To avoid losses amongst their numbers, they field forces in an arena, the winner being declared the Proctor. This time, Akhen-Am-Set has decided that the Player Characters will be her proxies. There is, though, a catch.

The Player Characters have to die first. Which is not the bad bit. The bad bit is that Akhen-Am-Set raises them as undead and has them fight in the arena. Which has various consequences—especially for any Cleric. However, she does not just raise them as undead, she specifically raises them as ‘ento-morlocks’, or insect-ghoul hybrids, complete with features from the insect in question. Which can be Scarab Beetle, Scorpion, Wasp, Ant, or Mantis. Mandibles, insect eyes, acid-spitting, multiple legs, stingers, and more. Which is cool. All of which raises the Player Characters from Second Level to Third Level. Which is also cool. The scenario also details the forces fielded by Akhen-Am-Set’s rivals, including fey-like hyenas, reptilian metal golems, a cone-shaped humanoid demon with flesh of hardened lava, and Zeta Rettaxans from the planet Romulac.

Ultimately, ‘War Pit of the Chaos-Wizards’ is a big battle fought over several rounds in a star-shaped with eight points, which the Player Characters must study if they are to take advantage of its various environmental effects. It takes a little set-up as the Judge will need to copy and prepare new character sheets for the players and lastly, whilst the scenario is a fun fight-fest with a creepy moment to two here and there (such as when the Player Characters are transformed in ‘ento-morlocks’), it does have a sting in the tail…

—oOo—

Physically, Dungeon Crawl Classics #80: Intrigue at the Court of Chaos is as well presented as you would expect for a scenario from Goodman Games. The artwork is good throughout with the illustrations of the Lords of Chaos on the handouts really standing out. The cartography is also as good as you would expect.

Dungeon Crawl Classics #80: Intrigue at the Court of Chaos is not perfect. The scenes on the Plane of Law are underwhelming in comparison to those on the Plane of Chaos. This is because the scenes on the Plane of Chaos really are fun and the potential for intra-party feuding and betrayal is intelligently handled. Dungeon Crawl Classics #80: Intrigue at the Court of Chaos lives up to its ambition and delivers something just a bit special and really memorable for First Level Player Characters.

Jeffin’ Chaos

In 1994, Earth was under attack. A sociopathic physicist from World War II was sending creatures enhanced with psychic and biomechanical powers from the planet she had made her home, to wreak havoc and take control. Earth responded by psychically sending its own agents to strike at the physicist’s operations. However, due to the inaccuracy of the technology, the agents found themselves not in control of an alien body each, but rather in control of a single body collectively, constantly vying for control as they took the fight to the enemy. In 2026, the Earth is still under attack and under threat of invasion—and not all of the hive-mind aliens beamed from another world are not happy about it. They occupy the same body, they all have different objectives, but some want to go home and some want to stay once they have completed their missions. The body is called The Jeff. They do not have exact control of The Jeff and they do not fully understand the world where they have been sent. There is the possibility that the Humans around The Jeff will realise that The Jeff is not Jeff, but something else. Especially once Jeff starts using alien powers. Then chaos will happen. Humans will panic. Alien hunters will appear. The Jeff might fail.

So, this is not actually a description of the same roleplaying game. The first is a description of Khaotic, published in 1994 by Marquee Press. The second and more recent is The Jeff Paradox. This is a weird, alien invasion roleplaying game published by Critical Kit Ltd, best known for Be Like A Crow – A Solo RPG and Aces Over the Adriatic: A Solo RPG. In The Jeff Paradox, the players each controls a Node, a fragment of an alien hive mind, but with their own goals, hidden skills, and some of Jeff’s alien powers, such as Shape-Shifting, Enhanced Strength, Speed, and Memory Wipe. The Jeff has been sent to explore the Earth and finds itself in an area where there are a lot of Humans—a shopping centre, a railway station, a high street, a theatre, and so on. Each player will set his Node’s own secret agendas and from those the Game Master will sketch out an environment where those agendas can potentially be achieved. The Jeff Paradox is designed for three or more players, one of whom will be the Game Master, a six-sided die, and twenty-five Influence Tokens per player. The Jeff Paradox concludes when The Jeff dies, is fully exposed as an alien construct, returns home or permanently settles on Earth (as decided by the Game Master), or the players run out of Influence Tokens. It is possible for a player to win in The Jeff. This is based on the number of goals achieved by his Node.

A Node is simply defined. It has a mundane skill, an Alien ability, and is allied with a faction—Homeward or Earthbound—set by the Game Master. The Node also has three goals, Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary. These are worth three, two, and one points when completed respectively, and can actually be achieved multiple times, by any player. Which means that a rival Node can score points for another!

Node X&P*%X9

Faction: Earthbound

Alien Ability: Telekinesis

Skill: Administration

Primary Goal: Find out what the Chester-Perry Conglomerate actually does

Secondary Goal: Track everyone who goes into the stationary cupboard

Tertiary Goal: Eat Maccaroni Cheese

The Jeff also requires some set-up by the Game Master, who defines the environment which The Jeff will be exploring. This is based upon the goals that the players have set for their Nodes. The environment should be relatively small, but have scope for the goals to be achieved, hopefully with some crossover between the Nodes. In play, the Game Master tracks three factors. One is the Faction Alignment Slider, which tracks which faction is winning and done is in secret. The other two are the Chaos Counter and the Alien Exposure Level. The Chaos Counter increases for failed actions and when it reaches ten, The Jeff has a chaotic breakdown and the Alien Exposure Level increases. The Alien Exposure Level also increases when Humans witness the use of Alien Abilities or odd behaviour by The Jeff and may ultimately trigger the appearance of the Men in Black hunting aliens…

The Jeff Paradox is played in a series of scenes. Each scene, the players will bid for control of The Jeff with their Influence Tokens. The winner narrates what he wants The Jeff to do in that scene. If it requires a die roll, a roll of six automatically succeeds; a roll of three, four, or five only succeeds if it involves the Node’s Mundane Skill or Alien Ability; and a roll or one or two always fails—humorously, the Chaos Counter increases by one, and the Game Master narrates the outcome. Then the players bid for control again. Notably, unsuccessful bids do not mean that Influence Tokens are lost, so that players who do not take control early on have a greater chance of doing so later in the game.

As much as the players and their Nodes want to succeed, failure will push The Jeff Paradox forward. It raises the Chaos Counter and subsequently, the Alien Exposure Level. When the Chaos Counter is filled, the Game Master is encouraged to alter the situation, introduce chaos, increase the consequences, and so on. This is, of course, where much of its humour will come from.

Although The Jeff Paradox includes advice for the Game Master on set-up, there is little in the way of advice on running the game. It is a fairly simple storytelling roleplaying game, but the lack of advice here still makes it better suited to the experienced Game Master. The other issues with The Jeff Paradox are to do with game set-up. There is a break in the flow of the game between players creating Nodes with their goals and the Game Master sketching out an environment where those might be achieved. An example, ready-to-play environment (or two), complete with goals for the Nodes might have been useful and would have made game set-up faster. However, an experienced Game Master should be able to overcome these issues. For convention plays of The Jeff Paradox, the Game Master might want to prepare Nodes with goals, skills, and Alien Abilities and an environment ahead of time.

Physically, The Jeff Paradox is an easy read and cleanly laid out. It is printed white on black, so may not be easy to read for everyone.

The Jeff Paradox is an entertaining roleplaying game in which the players need to explore the Human world whilst balancing the need to hide his alien nature and continue appearing Human, but perhaps needing to use his alien abilities to achieve his goals. It is good for the occasional play through and with some preparation good for conventions too.

Jonstown Jottings #106: Marsh Attacks!

Much like the Miskatonic Repository for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition, the Jonstown Compendium is a curated platform for user-made content, but for material set in Greg Stafford’s mythic universe of Glorantha. It enables creators to sell their own original content for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, 13th Age Glorantha, and HeroQuest Glorantha (Questworlds). This can include original scenarios, background material, cults, mythology, details of NPCs and monsters, and so on, but none of this content should be considered to be ‘canon’, but rather fall under ‘Your Glorantha Will Vary’. This means that there is still scope for the authors to create interesting and useful content that others can bring to their Glorantha-set campaigns.

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What is it?
Marsh Attacks! The Blackthorn Campaign Sourcebook is sourcebook for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha. It is intended to be used in conjunction with the Blackthorn Campaign scenario book.

It is a one-hundred-and-thirty-three page, full colour, 21.97 MB PDF.

It is a one-hundred-and-thirty page, full colour book.

The layout is tidy, the illustrations vary in quality, but all are at least good. The cartography is also good, a mix of classic and modern.

Where is it set?
Marsh Attacks! The Blackthorn Campaign Sourcebook is set in the lands of Lismelder tribe, Greydog clan and Delecti the Necromancer’s Upland Marsh in the year 1625 S.T. immediately after the Dragonrise.

Who do you play?

Marsh Attacks! The Blackthorn Campaign Sourcebook is designed to be played using members of the Greydog Clan of the Lismelder tribe (and potentially Ducks). There are no restrictions upon choice of cult, but members of the Orlanth and Humakt cult will predominate.

What do you need?

Marsh Attacks! The Blackthorn Campaign Sourcebook requires RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, the RuneQuest Gamemaster Screen Pack, Lands of RuneQuest: Dragon Pass, and Cults of RuneQuest: The Lightbringers. The Glorantha Bestiary and The Red Book of Magic may be useful. (A number of magazines and fanzines are also listed as being useful, but these are not readily available.)

What do you get?
Marsh Attacks! is the sourcebook for Lismelder tribe, Greydog clan and Delecti the Necromancer’s Upland Marsh. It is as much a history book as a description for all three in 1625 S.T. shortly after the Dragonrise. As the former, it tracks the Lismelder tribe from its founding in 1353 S.T. between the Upland Marshes and the Starfire Ridge, though its near annihilation by Delecti’s undead during the Zombie War and the forging of close ties—in some cases, very close ties—with the Ducks and later becoming part of the Kingdom of Sartar. The tribe suffered under Lunar occupation, as did so many of Sartar’s tribes, but the close ties with the Ducks means it refused to participate in the Duck Hunts that the Lunar Empire instigated. As the tribe continued to warn about the expansion of the Upland Marsh—marked by the newly planted Blackthorn Trees—its clans came under attack from the east. There had long been enmity between Lismelder and Colymar tribes, often over who held grazing rights to the Starfire Ridges, but a combination of the Great Winter, food shortages, and rumours of stockpiled food, lead the Colymar tribe to attack the Greydog Inn, famed for its beer and hospitality. The attack was repulsed, though at great cost. In the wake of the Dragon Rise, the attention of the tribe is once again turning west and worrying about what Delecti the Necromancer is planning.

Although Marsh Attacks! gives a good overview of the Lismelder tribe, its focus is on the Greydog clan. This includes it own history, a breakdown of its steads and families, cult membership numbers (which also acts as a guide to the preferred cults for both tribe and clan), a description and floor plans of the Greydog Inn and its Longbrewer Hospitality Oath (which has surprisingly long terms) and its fare including the extra effects of certain drinks, holy days, and more. There are rules too for brewing, including a magical or special brew. This expand the Craft (Brewing) skill and add the Brew Rune spell, which stackable and can be cast to increase the likelihood of improving the quality of the beverage.

Whilst the Greydog Inn provides a social focus for the clan and the campaign, the Temple of Indrodar, gives it a duty. After Orlanth and Ernalda, the most popular cult is that of Humakt, and whilst Humakt and his warriors are dedicated to ending the scourge of the undead, those without souls. For the Lismelder tribe and the Greydog clan, as well as the warriors at the Temple of Indrodar, this means defeating Delecti the Necromacer and destroying his undead menace, or at least withstanding the spread of the Upland Marsh and thus his reach. The Temple of Indrodar is dedicated to Humakt and then his hero cults of Indrodar Greydog, Li Phanquan, Yan Starcere and Makla Mann. Given the focus of the companion campaign, it should be no surprises that it is fully mapped and detailed, but there are rules too for Temple of Indrodar Humakti adventurer generation. These add the Upland Marsh Lore skill and replace some of the gifts and geases gained by Humakti.

The description of the Upland Marsh traces its origins to its creation by Delecti and his allies following the destruction of the Empire of the Wyrms Friends. It notes that Delecti is an undead necromancer, Hero-Priest of Vivamort, rumoured to have been a sorcerer on the Council of the Empire of the Wyrms Friends, and technically neutral in Dragon Pass—though open to bribes, very big bribes! It adds the ‘Clodhopping’ skill, which covers safe movement across the marsh and the ability to spot safe bits of ground. It is accompanied by a detailed gazetteer, an extensive set of encounter tables plus stats for very odd undead. Dinosaur Zombie, Griffin Zombie, Pterodactyl Zombie, Wyvern Zombie, anyone? These are not the weirdest and worst of the monsters to be found in the Upland Marsh. Numerous plants are also described, the worst of which is the Blackthorn Tree, planted by Delecti’s Dancers in the Dark to spread the borders of the Upland Marsh.

The complex content in Marsh Attacks! consists of The ‘Gloranthan Battle Rules’. These are designed to handle skirmishes all the way up to full scale battles, from ten to five thousand combatants per side, building forces around their overall size, leaders, and heroes, with the Game Master adding in encounters, opportunities, and special events as necessary. Passions will motivate combatants to keep fighting and are used to determine unit morale. The outcomes will ultimately be determined by Battle rolls, whilst the Intensity of the battle will determine how brutal and bloody the battle is, and how likely the Player Characters will need to get involved. The rules allow from charging, forming shieldwalls or phalanxes, use of chariots and cavalry, and Player Character posture, which will indicate how long he will fight for and its effect upon nearby squads. A heroic posture means that the Player Character must fight for four rounds and will increase the squad’s morale. A cowardly posture means that the Player Character can retreat, but if not seriously wounded, squad moral will suffer. After the battle, the winner can gain Reputation, ransom the enemy captured, and may even find some plunder. The system does require a fair bit of preparation upon the part of the Game Master as ‘Battle Cards’ for each squad need to be created. These effectively look like NPC stats. As well as having to prepare any ‘Battle Cards’, the Game Master may want to run several sample battles by herself to gain an understand of how the rules work.

The last part of Marsh Attacks! is dedicated to creating Player Characters. A member of the Lismedler tribe will not be a Chariot Driver or Philosopher, so will become a Warrior (Humakti) if either are rolled. There are starting Passions for the eight Lismelder clans and replacement events for the Battle of Grizzly Peak, Boldhome Campaign, and other events during character creation. Otherwise, these changes are minor, whereas those for ‘Dragon Pass: Duck Adventurers’ is more significant, expanding those details given in the RuneQuest Glorantha Bestiary. Dragon Pass Ducks have the Marshsense ability and new occupations include Boater and Upland Marsh Scout. This is accompanied by a guide to roleplaying Ducks and the Duck factions. The former is useful. Lastly, Engizi, the Sky River Titan, is written in the style of the cult books for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha. This is not of immediate use, though that will change once the campaign is published.

Marsh Attacks! The Blackthorn Campaign Sourcebook is primarily going to be of use when the actual Blackthorn campaign itself is released. However, it has is a lot of background and information that can be applied to a wider campaign, particularly for Greydog Player Characters and NPCs or for campaigns or scenarios where Ducks or Upland Marsh the play a role, such as DuckPac, The Howling Tower, or GLORANTHA: A trek in the Marsh.

Overall, Marsh Attacks! The Blackthorn Campaign Sourcebook is solid, useful sourcebook with a nice pun of a title.

Is it worth your time?

Yes—Marsh Attacks! is an excellent introduction to the Lismelder tribe, Greydog clan, and the Upland Marsh in particular with solid support for Greydog clan Player Characters, whether that is in readiness for the Blackthorn campaign or general play.

No—Marsh Attacks! is too location specific for a lot of its content to be readily useful for a broader Dragon Pass campaign except Greydog clan and/or Duck Player Characters.

Maybe—Marsh Attacks! is too location and story specific to adapt to elsewhere with ease, but may be useful for Greydog clan and/or Duck Player Characters and Duck-related content set in Dragon Pass.

Miskatonic Monday #433: Off to the Races

Much like the Jonstown Compendium for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha and The Companions of Arthur for material set in Greg Stafford’s masterpiece of Arthurian legend and romance, Pendragon, the Miskatonic Repository for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition is a curated platform for user-made content. It is thus, “...a new way for creators to publish and distribute their own original Call of Cthulhu content including scenarios, settings, spells and more…” To support the endeavours of their creators, Chaosium has provided templates and art packs, both free to use, so that the resulting releases can look and feel as professional as possible. To support the efforts of these contributors, Miskatonic Monday is an occasional series of reviews which will in turn examine an item drawn from the depths of the Miskatonic Repository.

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Name: Off to the Races

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Montsho Shelby

Setting: 1930, USA

Product: Urban horror one-shot
What You Get: Twenty-four page, 37.2 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: “Gambling: The sure way of getting nothing for something.” – Wilson Mizner

Plot Hook: Ten races. Ten bets. Ten wins. One man. A sure thing?
Plot Support: Staging advice, three pre-generated Investigators, twelve(?) NPCs, and three monsters.

Production Values: Messy

Pros

# A tap dancer, an ex-convict, and a hellfire and brimstone nun investigate crime...

# Very much a one-shot
# Radical change of tone and pace

# Eutychemaphobia

# Neophobia

# Tachophobia

Cons

# Needs an edit

# Cartoonishly over the top stream of consciousness

# Underdeveloped Investigators

# Not a Call of Cthulhu scenario, but written for Call of Cthulhu

Conclusion

# A Mage: The Ascension or Unknown Armies scenario for Call of Cthulhu

# Not sure if the author is off to the races, or the scenario is...

# Reviews from R’lyeh Discommends