Oh my! Has it been one and a half years already? Time sure flies. For one thing, when I last posted Google Plus was not as integrated within the whole Blogger experience. It's all new to me, so I apologize in advance if I get too trigger-happy with the plusses.
Anyway, work for +Nosfecatu Publishing has stopped for the meantime. Soon after my last post, you see, those wizards who lived on the Coast decided to announce a public playtest for a new edition of their game. So until that edition comes out (currently I plan to support it), there's going to be little to no new published content for this vampire kitten. For the moment I'm on full-on fan mode.
(By the way, if you're reading this blog, then chances are you're a fan of tabletop RPGs. If that's true and it so happens that you're still not part of the D&D playtest, I urge you to look into joining. We try to cram as much playtest time in between our regular game, ourselves.)
Now with that out of the way, let me tell you what I've been up to recently: Dungeon World!
I first heard about this game system from +Tobie: He was raving about the system over at Tagsessions. He's one of the best GMs in this side of the world in my opinion, so I trust his judgement when it comes to game systems. I asked him to GM it for me, and eventually we got to game. (He has a tagsessions entry for it.)
And what can I say? It blew me away. It had the abstractions of D&D 4E that I liked minus the rules complexities and math progression that came with it. After the game, I immediately bought the pdf from RPGnow.
I had to GM this for my own core group. Testing it for my friends Phil, Jaykie, and Carl, I ran them through a short fight with kobolds that were worshiping a giant crocodile. They seemed to like it, and so we decided to arrange a game with the rest of the gang.
One of the things that I like about the system is that character creation is a quick and yet collaborative process. Here's what the group came up with:
Dunn is a human druid hailing from the vast Desert. Played by +Michael, he leaves sand wherever he walks as his tell. He left the vast Desert and found himself in the tropics because the spirits warned him that certain events may come to pass that will cause more of the world to transform into a desert.
Fafnir the Foeslayer is a barbarian from far away mountain regions. Played by +Jaykie, he was exiled from his tribe because he cheated on his rite of passage ritual. Unfortunately for him, he was caught, and exile was a mercy to him by the tribe elders.
Lilliastre is your typical elven wizard - old, haughty, and of indefinite gender. Played by +Patrick, s/he left the comforts of the academy because... who knows, really? We could always use a mage along for the ride.
Ramonde Darkravenne is played by +Carl. Enchanted by a pixie he once saw in the forest, he followed it into Faerie and tried to woo her with his father's lute. But human lives are woefully short, and the pixie did not want to love a creature that could die the next day. Bored, she cast him out of the Fey Realm, but not before the magic of Faerie infused Ramonde's music with magic. Brokenhearted, he went back home, only to find that a different family had already been living there. It is now a different time.
Ricardo is a human ranger that is never seen without his trusty mule, Stand. He travels the vast forest, moving from town to town as the middlemen of various town merchants. He is played by +John Erwin.
Shank the thief, played by +Phil Corpuz, is the only character that was ported over from the kobold game. He almost lost his life in that encounter with the crocodile (the villagers said it was a dragon!) And the demigoddess Magwayen now wants Shank to kill the crocodile before meeting her again, lest he be denied the boat ride to the afterlife and be condemned to wander as a ghost. Ouch.
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The scene opens as the group find themselves in front of a large, stone door in the dungeon that they have been adventuring in. Various geometrical shapes and strange runes adorned the door, its marksmanship in stark contrast to the stalactities and stalagmites of this naturally-occurring cave. Despite Ramonde's urging for people to just open what seemed to be an unlocked door, the careful adventurers were able to identify the arcane nature of the trap, in some part due to the corpses of the unlucky adventurers that came before them. It seemed to be connected on the abyssal plane, it had 6 foci channeled through a giant ruby on the ceiling (which Shank was able to dislodge with no worries), and it was triggered by the warmth of a hand touching the sigils on the door. Darnit, high rolls.
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| The red rajah's story is a combination of Rajah Mangubat... |
Those were of little importance to Shank, whose eyes fixated on the chest that was beside the weapon rack. He slithered towards the jar, while Fafnir followed close behind in case something went wrong. In the meantime, the rest of the group noticed the skeletons scattered on the floor of the cave. They seemed to have died fighting each other, Ricardo noted, but something was amiss. Lilliastre recognized the cave art that adorned the walls, and recognized the similarities of the events it portrayed to a notorious figure of legend known as The Red Rajah. Meanwhile, the light intrigued Ramonde and Dunn, so they went close to it and concluded that it is connected to the stream that they saw outside on their way to the cave.
With his mule by his side, Ricardo bent down and inspected two of the corpses more carefully. He immediately realized that the bones were not of the same age. Some of them wore armor that can be dated back to a hundred years, while some are only a few decades old. In one case, the skeleton was from their own time! Ricardo presented this information to Lilliastre, but suddenly he noticed the heavy stone doors closing without a sound. They neglected to check if there are traps on the other side of the door. "Guys...?" Was all he could say before the closest skeleton grasped at his throat.
Noticing the danger that the ranger found himself in, Dunn took the form of the cheetah and charged toward his friend's location. But he was unused to the speed of the cheetah and missed the attack by three feet, and he found himself in the other side of the room before he could even turn.
Fafnir delighted himself at the sight of the rising adversaries. Taking the long spear from the weapon rack, he began to fight them two at a time, taking advantage of the weapon's reach to keep them at bay. Nearby, Shank decided to use his wits. He (sadly) reasoned out that as the only probable way out involved a swim, the chest would need to be left behind. Before one of the skeletons could rise, he placed the heavy chest on top of one of them. Whew! But then a second skeleton was able to sneak behind him. Meanwhile Fafnir was able to destroy one skeleton, but the other one managed to slip into reach!
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| ...and the Warlord of Blood! |
(In the middle of all this, Ramonde decides to play his mandolin and inspire his fellow adventurers.)
Ricardo, recognizing the predicament he was in, called on Stand the mule to help drag him from the skeleton's grasp. The mule, trained to be calm despite witnessing horrific things, did its job adequately. With the momentary respite from danger, he, too, realized the danger the jar presented. Until the source of the necromancy was destroyed, the skeletons would simply keep reanimating. Grabbing his bow, he attempted to shatter the porcelain jar, but it was tougher than expected. Noticing this, Lilliastre decided to ignore the approaching skeletons and shouted:
"The jar! The jar!"
Thinking quickly, Shank dodged around the skeletons that were harrying him and Fafnir and tackled the jar. And as the object shattered into a hundred pieces, so too did the animated skeletons fall to the ground and saving the adventurers from suffering a similar fate.
However, they quickly realized that the jar was not empty. Another corpse was in it - tall, headless, and wearing a blood-red chainmail. And as it moved from the fetal position of its death up to its full height, it summoned its longspear from Fafnir's grasp, held it deftly in one hand, and took a shield from one of the fallen skeletons.
Ricardo didn't think twice. He immediately took aim at the new enemy's legs and began to shoot, hoping to slow down the headless skeleton. But the battle senses of the enemy were sharp, and it used its shield to block the called shot. Fafnir loudly called its attention, then he slid downward to overcome the reach of the enemy's spear. He was able to do so, but before he could strike at the monster his back cramped, leaving him prone and at its mercy.
Shank took the opportunity to try and render the armor less effective. He was able to rend some chinks in the armor from behind with a mace found beside one of the shattered skeletons. But the headless rajah then struck him with the blunt end of the spear and he was knocked back a few paces. Before it can return its attention to Fafnir, Ramonde tried to negotiate with what seemed to be a sentient being and asked how this violence can be stopped.
It cannot. Battle is its own purpose. Said a voice that seemed to come from nowhere.
It brought its spear down toward Fafnir, but luckily the cavalry arrived in the form of Dunn, who has again shapeshifted, this time in the form of a rhino, with Stand the mule close behind. Together, they were strong enough to trample the rajah. But its battle senses quickly took over once again and it lodged its spear deep into the rhino's hide. It then used its unnatural strength to push the rhino away, locking Dunn in the spear's vicious bite.
But the damage has been done. Knocked prone by the trampling attack, Lilliastre modified hir magic missile to turn into a force that would keep the undead down. Shank then crawled back to the fight, drew his rapier, and began to unlink more of the armor's chains.
Then, finally shaking off the effects of the cramp, Fafnir rose and drew his axe. Sensing his intent, Dunn shifted back into human form (he was still stuck to the spear) to give the barbarian an opening. Fafnir drew his axe, and accompanied by the cacophony of Ramonde's mandolin, struck a telling blow on the exposed skeletal body.
They have defeated the menace, its bones turning into dust in a manner of seconds. Victorious, they then assessed the situation that lay before them. Dunn turned into a tilapia and explored the small lake, confirming that it indeed led to the outside. However, the current made it difficult for him to return, so he turned into an elephant and trumpeted his location. That attracted a group of elven hunters, and upon learning that he was inside the forbidden tomb, they demanded to be led to the rest of the expedition.
Meanwhile, the arcane lock that trapped them inside the tomb was simple enough to break for the brilliant Lilliastre once the pressure of combat was no longer present. Fafnir and Shank felt an urge to wear the blood-red chainmail, but Ricardo quickly noted how the item seemed to be repairing itself and thus could be malevolent. "Perhaps the magic can be contained," Shank speculated.
Lilliastre immediately jumped at this and consulted his books. S/he eventually concluded that the armor is meant to revive the dead rajah perpetually, and that by placing its corpse on a magical porcelain jar, the original priestesses that contained him were able to focus the necromantic magic outwards to instead reanimate the corpses in the sealed room into lesser skeletal creatures, a feature that doubled as a protection against any greedy grave robbers.
In short, by saving their own skins they unleashed the red rajah's curse upon the world once more.
Luckily they have the armor with them, so all they have to do is carry it with them until they can find a way to seal the magic once more. Unfortunately, that plan was shot when they left the tomb, as a group of elves were waiting for them with their druid companion. Confiscating the armor, they would have been tied up or worse if Lilliastre was not a pre-eminent elf in good standing. Instead, they are politely led to the elven village where they are to be taken to its elder, Orophim.
And as they settled into their huts in the village, the leader of the elven hunters, Elestor Inglorion, holds up the blood-red chainmail with a gleam in his eye.
"The jar! The jar!"
Thinking quickly, Shank dodged around the skeletons that were harrying him and Fafnir and tackled the jar. And as the object shattered into a hundred pieces, so too did the animated skeletons fall to the ground and saving the adventurers from suffering a similar fate.
However, they quickly realized that the jar was not empty. Another corpse was in it - tall, headless, and wearing a blood-red chainmail. And as it moved from the fetal position of its death up to its full height, it summoned its longspear from Fafnir's grasp, held it deftly in one hand, and took a shield from one of the fallen skeletons.
Ricardo didn't think twice. He immediately took aim at the new enemy's legs and began to shoot, hoping to slow down the headless skeleton. But the battle senses of the enemy were sharp, and it used its shield to block the called shot. Fafnir loudly called its attention, then he slid downward to overcome the reach of the enemy's spear. He was able to do so, but before he could strike at the monster his back cramped, leaving him prone and at its mercy.
Shank took the opportunity to try and render the armor less effective. He was able to rend some chinks in the armor from behind with a mace found beside one of the shattered skeletons. But the headless rajah then struck him with the blunt end of the spear and he was knocked back a few paces. Before it can return its attention to Fafnir, Ramonde tried to negotiate with what seemed to be a sentient being and asked how this violence can be stopped.
It cannot. Battle is its own purpose. Said a voice that seemed to come from nowhere.
But the damage has been done. Knocked prone by the trampling attack, Lilliastre modified hir magic missile to turn into a force that would keep the undead down. Shank then crawled back to the fight, drew his rapier, and began to unlink more of the armor's chains.
Then, finally shaking off the effects of the cramp, Fafnir rose and drew his axe. Sensing his intent, Dunn shifted back into human form (he was still stuck to the spear) to give the barbarian an opening. Fafnir drew his axe, and accompanied by the cacophony of Ramonde's mandolin, struck a telling blow on the exposed skeletal body.
They have defeated the menace, its bones turning into dust in a manner of seconds. Victorious, they then assessed the situation that lay before them. Dunn turned into a tilapia and explored the small lake, confirming that it indeed led to the outside. However, the current made it difficult for him to return, so he turned into an elephant and trumpeted his location. That attracted a group of elven hunters, and upon learning that he was inside the forbidden tomb, they demanded to be led to the rest of the expedition.
Meanwhile, the arcane lock that trapped them inside the tomb was simple enough to break for the brilliant Lilliastre once the pressure of combat was no longer present. Fafnir and Shank felt an urge to wear the blood-red chainmail, but Ricardo quickly noted how the item seemed to be repairing itself and thus could be malevolent. "Perhaps the magic can be contained," Shank speculated.
Lilliastre immediately jumped at this and consulted his books. S/he eventually concluded that the armor is meant to revive the dead rajah perpetually, and that by placing its corpse on a magical porcelain jar, the original priestesses that contained him were able to focus the necromantic magic outwards to instead reanimate the corpses in the sealed room into lesser skeletal creatures, a feature that doubled as a protection against any greedy grave robbers.
In short, by saving their own skins they unleashed the red rajah's curse upon the world once more.
Luckily they have the armor with them, so all they have to do is carry it with them until they can find a way to seal the magic once more. Unfortunately, that plan was shot when they left the tomb, as a group of elves were waiting for them with their druid companion. Confiscating the armor, they would have been tied up or worse if Lilliastre was not a pre-eminent elf in good standing. Instead, they are politely led to the elven village where they are to be taken to its elder, Orophim.
And as they settled into their huts in the village, the leader of the elven hunters, Elestor Inglorion, holds up the blood-red chainmail with a gleam in his eye.
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