[Legends] In The Service of the Throne

[Asklepios]

Legends

http://www.artnews.cz/gallery/1088114164_brom.jpg

Look, its a big Brom picture to capture your attention!

...

To my shame, I have created a homebrew generic fantasy game.

After years of weaving complex intrigue in Vampire games, or exploring issues of personal angst and horror in Wraith, or carefully optimising strategic builds in D+D I decided it was time to get back down to the core of what originally drew me into roleplaying - namely knights, dragons and sorcerers.

I decided that I didn't want to create anything especially clever, and definitely didn't want anything original.

I built my game system from simple principles, lifting systems and settings from many games that I love, and distilling the core elements. From Elric I took the mood of epic fantasy, the idea of Law versus Chaos and Death versus Order, and of a vast and decadent empire in decay. From Everway and MTG I took the idea of planar gates and linked domains. I lifted the Sphere system of magic from Mage: The Ascenscion, took the base dice system of Arkham Horror, the freeform ethic of Truth and Justice, and a whole heap of flavour and imagery from World of Warcraft. Hell, even the name isn't original... there's at least five other rpgs out there called Legends...

So in place of a game, I've created an incoherent mishmash of setting elements and rules systems that will essentially allow players to play whatever they want, me to run whatever I want, and fun to be had by all, in a shamelessly childish way. This is the game where Conan meets Locke Lamora and Lancelot, and is set against Lord Arioch and his servant Onyxia the Black Dragon.

I don't expect anyone to read this AP thread, but if you do, I promise to try to be entertaining.

And why the Brom picture? Quite simply, Brom's art is pretty much how I visualise the world of Legends. Brom's art, Moorcock's prose and Blizzard's sense of fun...

Anyway... I over-faff... Onto the story...

[Asklepios]

Legends

A Realm of Legends

The Realm encompasses several hundred principalities, connected by wayportals and under the authority of the Empire. Each principality is ruled by a feudal lord, and these feudal lords in turn bend knee to the Emperor of Dragonthrone. Beyond the Realm lie other domains, some of whom are hold peace treaties with Dragonthrone, and others want to see nothing less than to lay waste to all its lands.

For the most part Dragonthrone is defended by ordinary men, who stand in the armies of the realm and guard its borders against the empire’s many enemies. Amongst these brave defenders, however, there are those who stand above and beyond their peers in ability and determination. These are the champions of Dragonthrone – heroes all, and legends amongst men.

The player characters take the role of Legends and must embark on epic quests beyond the abilities of ordinary men.

---

Throughout this thread, I'll mark excerpts from the rulebook in navy blue as above.

If you want a copy of the rules (26 pages word document), then just send me a PM with your e-mail address on it.

I threw the above premise at the players, and explained that yes, I realised that the Vampire: The Requiem campaign wasn't finished, and yes, there was much more to be told about 19th Century Paris and its many intrigues, but that I really really had a great story idea for an epic fantasy game, and that I was itching to see samurai and knights taking on dragons the size of cities.

The basic premise of the game is one that I shamelessly stole during a conversation with Thomas T - the players are each exceptionally good at one thing.

Legends is a trait based system, with each player taking one Legendary trait, 2 Elite traits, 4 Expert traits and 6 Trained traits. The Legendary trait is somewhat character defining - for example, a character could be a legendary swordsman, or a legendary thief.

The game was all organised somewhat last minute, so the first session had three players turn up...

Dave is a long time gamer in my group who usually takes the refreshingly direct characters. In Vampire he'll usually be a Brujah, though he has a liking for Malkavians too. In D+D he'll go towards the dwarf-fighter types. In any game he'll tend to be the guy with the biggest gun or sword.

Damian, I have known for seventeen years now, and gamed with him most of this time. I know that he has a liking for tricksy characters - spellcasters, thieves and the like. Given the option, he'll usually lean towards elfdom.

Pete is another longtime player and friend, and is unique amongst gamers I know in that he has more board games on him at any one time than most people own in entirety. His car is filled with board games (its like a mobile game shop) and this represents a mere fraction of his collection. In games he'll tend to play big-idea characters, in that he'll come up with a strong central idea and hang the character around that.

---

Dave surprises me by immediately opting for a spellcaster. He makes a spellcaster - a Chaos Mage specialising in Pyromancy to be precise. He also makes an immediate bid for the player group to be the bad guys, as a bunch of Dark Legends who are seeking to overthrow the Empire. This is voted down by the other two, so he reluctantly switches his concept to be a somewhat anarchic and reluctant servant of the Emperor. You just know that despite this he is itching to strike out and take over the world any second now...

Damian surprises me as well, going for a straightforward Noble Knight. Magic sword, check. Sword-skills, check. Sense of honour, check. Slew a dragon once, check. Its a remarkably archetypal character for a player who loves his tricks and twists.

Pete designs himself a shamanic warrior, modelled on Dacascos' character in Brotherhood of the Wolf, but with a sideline in shapechanging. He adapts the Druid of the Claw magic system to a more Native American style, and places his character somewhere between the two others - half magic user, half fighter.

Theres definite unfilled niches in the party, but OTOH each player seems to have taken a completely different approach, which is reassuring.

We proceed to a playtest of the combat system, where we soon realise that Damian is the king of system-optimisation and has built the one-hit-one-kill warrior from the hell of a thousand powergames. We tweak the system a little, and move on...

More tomorrow, with full character sheets to follow.

[Asklepios]

Baron Pengrak of Firewander

Circle of Mastery: Third
Concept: Chaos Mage

Attributes: Resilience (Expert), Precision (Expert), Agility (Expert), Strength (Trained), Intelligence (Trained)
Skills: Wyld Sorcery (Elite), Acrobatics (Expert), Athletics (Trained), Intimidation (Trained), Ride (Trained)
Mage Spheres: Pyromancy (Archmage), Chimeria (Master).
Background Traits: Fabulous Wealth (Minor),

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Ok, a few things bear explaining...
Circle of Mastery is roughly equivalent to character level in AD+D, except the difference in power from 1st to 3rd circle is logarithhmic rather than directly proportionate.
The character is named according to the naming traditions set down in the game background: personal name, followed by region of origin.
Therefore Dave's character Pengrak Firewander is from the domain of Firewander.

The game background has this to say about Firewander:

FIREWANDER – On an obsidian rock that projects from a lake of lava is Firewander, a domain of oppressive heat and sulphurous smoke that once served as a prison mining colony, but became an independent Principality in its own right after Empress Eleia Eserian of Dragonthrone promised its inhabitants citizen status in return for their aid during the Orc Wars six hundred years ago. The citizens of Firewander have a proud history of martial tradition, especially favouring hammers and mining tools, and also are well known for their Pyromancers.

Yeah, the name is deriviative (I liked the name Firewander from Exalted, so chose to steal the word for my setting).

Dave decided that Pengrak was one of the Sorcerer-Lords of this domain, having carved himself out a chunk of Firewander through force of will and magic. His Barony is no less than one third of the entire Firewander domain, and his wealth comes from the jewel mines of the obsidian isle.
His legendary deed was setting a battlefield ablaze, and roasting a thousand knights alive in their armour for the presumption of daring to attack his barony.

Not a nice guy, but part of the feudal structure of the Empire so (theoretically at least) a servant of the Emperor. Its fairly obvious though, that his ambition outweighs his sense of service, and that once he has grown in power a little he may well make a play for the throne...

[Asklepios]

Terramek of Sorrowstorm

Circle of Mastery: Third
Concept: Shamanic Hunter

Attributes: Resilience (Expert), Precision (Expert), Agility (Trained), Strength (Trained), Wits (Trained), Cunning (Trained),
Skills: Shamanism (Elite), Unarmed Fighting (Legendary), Wilderness Survival (Expert), Stealth (Expert), Animal Empathy (Trained)
Mage Spheres: Shaman of the Claw (Master).
Background Traits: Wondrous Artifact: Hide of the Black Lion (Minor),

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Pete wanted a Native American style character, with a mix of fighting abilities (in the style of Brotherhood of the Wolf) and mystic shamanic shapechanging. He came up with the idea for the domain of Sorrowstorm, and we collaborated to create the following blurb:

Sorrowstorm was once called Huntinggrounds, and was a simple paradise of open plains, bison herds and a nomadic spirit-friendly people. But then fifty years ago the storm began, summoned when a Manitou slipped from its planar prison. The storm was a living spirit of lightning and fury, and it swept across Huntinggrounds transforming it into a scarred post-apocalyptic wasteland. Now the tribes of the land have been decimated, but they refuse to be driven away by the Manitou. They hope that one day the Emperor will pay heed to their cry for aid, and send mighty armies or heroes to defeat the Storm Demon, but as yet no help has arrived...

Terramek was described as being a young warrior brave with war-painted face and wearing many bone and tooth talismans. His legendary deed was the slaying of a pride of giant black lions that were terrorising his tribe. He first manifested his magics during this battle, and took the form of an ordinary plains lion to defeat his much larger foes. Now Terramek wears the hide of the chief black lion around his shoulders, and the enchantment upon it means that when he changes shape he still benefits from it as armour. (yup, Pete has wyld shape armour...)

Pete has quite cunningly combined unarmed fighting skill (normally pretty useless in the base game system, as the rules are not thematically geared around unarmed fighting) with shapechanging so that he is devestatingly effective in his various beast forms.

His character's raison d'etre is to save his people by defeating the manitou, but he realises that he is not strong enough at present and so is travelling the Realm in order to gather allies / Imperial favour.

[Asklepios]

Karthak of Darkwood

Circle of Mastery: Third
Concept: Knight / Swordsman

Attributes: Strength (Elite), Agility (Expert), Precision (Elite), Resilience (Expert), Courage (Trained), Willpower (Trained),
Skills: Sworsmanship (Legendary), Survival (Trained), Ride (Trained), Tactics (Expert), Athletics (Trained)
Background Traits: Wondrous Artifact: "Bane Kiss" (Moderate),

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Damian went straight for the knight archetype, but veered more towards an "Ace of Sword" style character rather than the usual knight-lancer. He created the following Domain:

Darkwood is a realm entirely covered with forest, out of which the stone castles of the Lords of the land rise. The Lords do not really rule their land though, but rather contain it, as the Darkwood is a dangerous terrain filled with all manner of monsters. The greatest of these foes is the dark heart of the wood itself, where a sentient and demonic force lurks at the centre of a cursed grove. Many knights have ventured to slay this dark force, but none have returned.

Karthak is a veteran warrior resplendent in his ornate titan-plate armour and with a rack of swords at his back. His fighting style is to use two swords at a time, though usually his primary hand will wield Bane Kiss, a sword so potent that flesh pulls away from it rather than be bitten. (x2 wounds, in game terms)
His legendary deed was the slaying of a dragon, and the rescuing of a noble lord's daughter from that dragon.

His character's raison d'etre is to serve, and once summoned by the Emperor to serve the Realm he gladly set his old life behind him and travelled to Dragonthrone to pledge his sword-arm...

[Asklepios]

Dragonthrone

DRAGONTHRONE – This is the royal heart of the Empire, taken up entirely by the vast Imperial Palace and its surrounding grounds. By Imperial edict, all born there are of royal blood, and naturally only those of royal blood are permitted to procreate there, and then only by the direction and edict of the Emperor Athan Eserian of Dragonthrone.

...

Karthak of Darkwood, Pengrak of Firewander and Teramak of Sorrowstorm have travelled across the breadth of the realm in answer to an Imperial Summons to the royal domain of Dragonthrone. They encounter each other for the first time at the gates of the Throne Palace, feeling somewhat daunted by the half-mile high "talon" spires that arc over the entrance courtyard. The ranked guards, each resplendent in the tall scale-helms of the domain and armed with a keen-edged halberd, warily watch them approach.
The courtyard and the buildings are carved of the gilt-decorated white marble that you'd normally find in a Square Enix game, and high overhead the Dragonknights of the realms circle on their reptillian steeds.

Me: "Well, it beats "you meet in a tavern", eh?"

Naturally the players, eager as ever to adopt the mood of epic fantasy maintain absolute decorum and heroic behaviour.

Dave: "Can I create an illusion that Karthak is wearing a sequinned dress?"
Damian: "Spellcasting, eh? I reckon I can probably cut him down as soon as I see him weaving magic... What's your defence, Dave?"

Pete at least gets into the mood, by doing his wide-eyed savage impersonation, wowed by the miracles of magical construction around him.

They approach the gate, and once Karthak's back is turned, Pengrak decides he does actually want to work some mischevious magic on the knight, and starts to weave an illusion.

His spell fails.

A Guard Captain steps forward...

Guard Captain: "Apologies, master wizard, but the Domain of Dragonthrone is protected by the weavings of the Enders, for the security of the Imperial family. No sorcery will function here."
Pengrak: "I am no wizard. I am a chaos mage."

The Guard Captain steps back hurriedly...

Guard Captain: "Nonetheless, sir... If you will follow me, the Court is expecting the three of you."

The trio advance and the great palace gates open themselves by the power of strange sorcery.

Me: "Look, this a fantasy game, your characters are meant to be impressed by automatic doors."
Pete: "Wooo, doors... woooo..."

Once inside they progress through a statue lined garden, and towards the Throne Room. At the door the Herald of the Court instructs them as to their behaviour.

Guard Captain: "Approach within ten steps of the throne, no closer. Kneel, and do not look directly at the Emperor. Rise when bidden, and not before."

I ask how they will approach as the door opens. Both Pengrak and Karthak stride forward intending to take the lead, and each quickens their pace slightly to stay ahead. Pengrak sighs, and backs off to just behind Karthak, thinking its probably better not to gently jog into the Emperor's presence.

Teramak, meanwhile, isn't at all comfortable and instead sidles into the throne room and makes a somewhat circumspect approach to the throne.

Me: "You're not allowed to backstab the emperor, you know..."
Pete: "Awww....."

More later! I have to work! Let me know if you're reading! :)

[Zuki]

As always, sir Aesclupius! More, please!

[Asklepios]

The trio approach, and Karthak draws his sword before kneeling, placing it point first before him with bowed head.
Behind him Pengrak kneels somewhat uneasily, whilst sizing up the ranges and burst-radii should he need to burn this place someday.
Teramak raises his hand and says "How!" and after being nudged by the Guard Captain reluctantly kneels to the big-white-man.

Karthak: "My Emperor, we answer your summons."

The Emperor bids them rise, and rather launches into longwinded exposition, revealing the sorry excuse for a quest that I have created.

Athan Eserian, Emperor of Dragonthrone: "Rise! Rise! Great heroes and champions of the realm need not kneel before one such as I!
I did not command you here, but begged your presence!
I have a quest for you, should you choose to accept it."
Karthak: "Sire, we are always ready to serve."
Athan: "Your loyalty warms me, Karthak of Darkwood, Baron Pengrak of Firewander, noble Teramak of Sorrowstorm... But it is of loyalty I would speak.
Several gates distant from here my cousin and loyal vassal, the Sultan of Burningsands, has been cruelly murdered by a man who calls himself The Prophet.
This Prophet has taken over the principality, and declared himself independent from the Empire! Worse, he has taken the Sultan's daughter hostage... The Sultana-"

The players, mature as ever, start giggling to themselves.

Dave: "For what foul raisin could this happened?"
Damian: "Alas, my grasp of currant affairs is lacking..."

Ah, the pun, forever the lowest form of humour.

Damian also points out that I have stolen the name Burningsands from World of Warcraft, which is uncanny, because I was sure I had plaigirised it from the Legend of the Burning Sands CCG. Ah well, at least I'm not the original plaigirist... Just google search Burning Sands to see how popular a place name this is...

We leap back into character and the Emperor proceeds to describe that he sent two armies, one of six hundred and one of six thousand via different routes to close in and reclaim Burningsands. Unfortunately the army of six hundred did not make it to their destination, and the army of six thousand was swallowed by a desert sandstorm not far beyond the gate into Burningsands.

Athan: "But perhaps where six thousand and six hundred have failed, three shall succeed."

Karthak accepts the mission, before Pengrak can ask what is in it for him, and they are led to a back-chamber by the Imperial Chamberlain who shows them a Realm-map so that they can pick their route of approach.

They choose to go first to Journeypass, then Heartswood, then Bloodpact and finally to Burningsands. This is the shortest route, and probably the most dangerous, and is also the route that the lost six hundred troopers went.

The Chamberlain also advises them to seek out a man called Abdek of Burningsands, who now resides in the city of Traderiver in the domain of Journeypass. Abdek was once the boon companion of a legend called Abred of Burningsands, who the players have all heard of. Abred was a legendary archer, who helped overthrow the legendary Black Vizier a century ago, but finally retired and died of old age in Traderiver. Abdek himself was merely a boy when he met Abred, and is not hismelf a legend, and is now indeed an old man himself, but the Chamberlain suspects that he will be glad for a chance to go home, and would prove an invaluable guide to ther heroes.

The heroes are furnished with a trio of hardy magebred horses, and set out on their quest...

[Asklepios]

The three leave behind the Bevelle-like spires of Dragonthrone, and head for the Journeypass gate, which is already open. There is always busy traffic between Dragonthrone and Journeypass, as most of the soldier-protectors and peasant workers of Dragonthrone reside in Journeypass rather than within the palace. Though it is late evening in Dragonthrone it is early afternoon in Journeypass, so sunlight pours through the gate.

The three, being well recognised legends, are waved past the queues of traffic by the Gatekeeper Knights, and ride through the gate at full gallop.


JOURNEYPASS – Journeypass is an unremarkable domain geographically, consisting as it does of a flat grassy plain bounded by gentle hills and intersected by a wide slow-flowing river, but it is a domain blessed with a surprisingly high number of Wayportals. As a result Journeypass has thrived on trade, and the plains hold three major cities and six smaller towns. The Lord of Journeypass is known to be fanatically loyal to the Emperor of Dragonthrone, and hails from a strong tradition of chivalry and knightly virtue. The common folk are somewhat more mercenary in attitude, but it is a rare citizen of Journeypass who does not feel some swell of pride when he sees the domain’s Warhost riding to battle with pennants flying.
Because of the domain’s high population, many local folk use their nearest city or town as a surname while within Journeypass, and only adopt the surname Journeypass when travelling into other domains.

===========

The trio emerge into the small trade community of Dragonsgate, with the gate itself standing on a low cairn by the side of the River Pass. The River Pass is wide, slow and meandering - upriver are the hills which mark the edge of the Journeypass principality, and many leagues downstream is Traderiver City, which is the heroes first destination.

Hawkers and merchants spot the trio's obvious foreign look and close in en masse to try to sell their wares. After refusing the offer of buying lucky trinkets and charms for the fourth time, the three get somewhat tired, and each employs his own solution to the problem.

Karthak raises and unfurls his pennant and shouts "Make way for a knight!" This is a smart move, as the peasants and merchantfolk of this land well respect questing knights and will not bar their progress.

Pengrak subtly gestures and weaves a series of illusory doppelgangers, so that there are now six more of him riding around, looking bemused. This reduces his problems somewhat.

Teramak passes the reins of his horse to Karthak, then transforms into a hawk, rising up and away from the humans below.

Deciding they wish to not tire their horses overly, they head to the docks and commission a barge. Pengrak naturally seeks out the most luxurious barge he can find, which is called The Floating Palace. The captain of the vessel hastily gathers up the gold that Pengrak scatters on the deck, and accepts the eight passengers (Karthak, plus seven Pengraks).

As the voyage sets underway Teramak settles onto an upper mast and watches bemused as veiled dancing girls emerge from below deck, to provide entertainment and feed peeled grapes to the passengers. Naturally Pengrak hires entertainment for himself and all his illusory doubles, whilst Karthak asks to be left alone so that he can pray.

[Asklepios]

The River-guard

The river reaches a lock, where several river guardsmen board the boat. They point out that Traderiver up ahead is a free port, in that they are free to enter, free to not case trouble, free to keep their noses clean, and... should they misbehave... free to be dragged before the magistrate in chains.

Karthak smooths things over, diplomatically explaining that he is a knight on a quest. Pengrak, of course, decides to be more disruptive.

He introduces himself and asks if the Guards have heard of him.

The guard captain goes pale.

Guardsman: Uh... Pengrak... of Firewander? Ye-es. Yes, we've heard of you.

He gulps nervously.

Guardsman: Uh, if you give me a day I can have the mayor organise a small tribute of gold perhaps... in return for perhaps, uh, maybe, uh, if it pleases you... not burning down our city?

His voice is pleading, but Karthak steps forward.

Karthak: Don't worry... Be assured that we will be on our way again within a few hours. We are merely visiting a friend. A tribute will not be necessary.

The guardsman gratefully waves them through, motioning for the lock to be pulled aside.

True to Karthak's word the trio waste no time and head to Abdek's abode, finding him in his market-stall outside his house, arguing with a customer over a pot of lamp oil they are trying to get refunded.

Abdek is a man in his sixties, leathery of skin and weather-worn, with the dark complexion and heavy accent of a man of Burningsands.

Abdek feigns reluctance at first, but it soon becomes obvious he is itching to adventure again. The promise of a reward of wealth swings it for him, and he opens up an old wooden chest fetching out his two scimitars which he straps crossed upon his back. The players catch a glimpse of a book in the chest before the slid slams shut again, entitled "There and back again."

Yeah, I couldn't resist it. :)

The four companions set out again, with Abdek taking one of the three horses and Teramak staying overhead on hawk wings.

[Asklepios]

Eek! I'm very behind on this write-up. Still writing up the first session... and we've played four! Excuse me if the detail starts getting thinner on the ground.

As always, please post to this thread if you're reading, just to let me know I'm not just prose-masturbating, and if you want a copy of the rules then private message me with your email address.

The Heartswood Gate

The three heroes and Abdek ride South till they reach a wooded glen on the edge of the Journeypass domain, and approach the Heartswood gate.

The gate is formed of an oak tree and willow tree, branching together to form a roughly pentagonal portal. Near it there is a woodsman's hut, and a small campfire with smouldering embers.

As the heroes approach a wild-haired old man emerges from the hut and slams the foot of his oaken staff against a rock to get their attention.

This is Barin, Druid of the Woodsgate.

He interrogates the heroes, and Teramak speaks for the group, convincing him with a small demonstration of Life Magic that they are on the same side.
Barin in return tells Teramak that an army passed this way - six hundred strong and led by three heroes. They were not nearly so civil, but Barin was not strong enough to stop them passing so was forced to stand aside.

He wishes the four safe journey, and leads them to the gate. Teramak respectfully asks the spirits of the gate to allow them through, and the portal opens...

With this, we end the first game session. We didn't get to do much gaming on this night, given that most of the evening was taken with character generation. The next session, however, would be an altogether more dangerous affair...

[Asklepios]

Episode Bestiary
In order of appearance...


Athan Eserian, Emperor of Dragonsthrone
Circle of Mastery: Fifth
Attributes: Presence (Elite), Intellect (Trained), Willpower (Expert), Charm (Expert)
Skills: Command (Elite), Politics (Elite), Statecraft (Legendary), Swordsmanship (Trained), Warcraft (Trained), Persuasion (Trained), Intimidation (Trained), Occult Lore (Trained),
Backgrounds: Fabulous Wealth (Major),

Dragonthrone Courtier
Circle of Mastery: First
Attributes: Charm (Trained),
Skills: Intrigue (Expert), Subterfuge (Trained),

The Imperial Chamberlain
Circle of Mastery: Second
Attributes: Charm (Trained), Intelligence (Trained),
Skills: Government (Expert), Intrigue (Expert), Perception (Trained)

Captain of the Floating Palace
Circle of Mastery: First
Attributes: Charm (Trained),
Skills: Merchantry (Expert), Boatman (Trained),

Dancing Girl
Circle of Mastery: First
Attributes: Beauty (Trained),
Skills: Seduction (Expert), Dancing (Trained),

Journeypass River Guard
Circle of Mastery: First
Attributes: Resilience (Trained),
Skills: Swordman (Expert), Soldiery (Trained)

Abdek of Burningsands
Circle of Mastery: Second
Attributes: Agility (Trained), Precision (Trained)
Skills: Seasoned Traveller (Elite), Scimitar-fighter (Trained)

Barin, The Woodsgate Druid
Circle of Mastery: Second
Attributes: Willpower (Trained), Wisdom (Trained)
Skills: Druidism (Expert), Herbalism (Trained),
Magic: Druid of the Green (Adept)

[Asklepios]

HEARTSWOOD – This realm is a great forest, with trees many hundreds of feet tall and a society that is divided into canopy, branch and ground. It is a domain of wild and untamed life, and the Lord of the Principality is also the High Druid of the land. The forest-folk have learnt to build their villages and towns in the branches of the greater trees, and have also gained great renown in their bow-skill, which they employ to defend themselves against spiderkin, root goblins and other forest denizens.

The fellowship emerge into Heartswood, with the gate opening out of the trunk of a herculean oak tree, onto a branch as wide as a merchant road.

Though it is midday in the Heartswood, the canopy is several hundred feet above so the branch on which they stand is dappled in flickering shadow. The sounds of the summertime forest are all around them - birdsong, wind in the branches, and the chirruping of insects. There is moisture in the air, and the climate is temperate. However, the air is heady with the intoxicating green smell of nature - this is a place where the untamed energies of Life are particularly strong, making Teramak feel invigorated, and Karthak and Pengrak somewhat uncomfortable.

They ride along the branch, wondering how their horses will cope with this vertiginous terrain, but the Magebred horses are particularly sure-footed.

They have not proceeded more than a hundred yards when a voice from the greenery above calls out.

"Halt, tresspassers."

There is the unmistakeable sound of bow-strings tautening, and the four turn to see a dozen men in leaf-green cloaks with arrows trained upon them, led by a raven-haired ranger wielding a longbow of polished ivory.

They recognise her instantly - she is Elessia, Captain of the Rangers of Heartswood, and a legend amongst her people.

Karthak: "Peace, Elessia, we mean no harm."
Elessia: "...You are not the first Imperials to pass this way. An army, shod in steel tried to march through these lands. They did not respect the forest, and the forest destroyed them."

She points towards another of the massive oak trees, not far distant, and the heroes see that she is indicating a branch which has been torn loose somehow. There is a descending trail of destruction indicating that as the branch gave way, the army tumbled and broke as well...

More later, got to go get me a free lunch!

[Asklepios]

With hurried assurances that they certainly respect the forest, the three ask where the fallen of the army are now.

Elessia: "The root-level is home to the multudinous Spiderkin and their lord, Grimok of the Web. It is possible that many of the Empire soldiers still live, for the spiderkin love to cocoon their captives for later consumption. We have been fighting Grimok and his minions for some time... perhaps you could assist us in defeating this menace?"

Heroic gaming doesn't come easily to my friends.

Damien: "Naa, we're kind of in a hurry."
Pete: "Oh well, shame, good as dead, lets move on..."
Dave: "Can't see anything in it for me."

Eventually they come around to the idea of rescuing the surviving soldiers of the empire, when it is pointed out that the game system is designed so that you can only gain in power through the completion of heroic deeds - a somewhat essential design point given the player group.


Descent to the Roots

Still in hawk form, Teramak glides into the darkness below, while Karthak, Pengrak and Elessia descend on strands of ranger-rope. The rangers remain above with Abdek.

On the way down Elessia warns the pyromancer not to get to spell-happy with his magic, as the spiderwebs will burn easily and the flames may soon spread to damage the Heartswood itself. Fingers crossed behind his back, Pengrak promises to be careful.

Elessia, Pengrak and Teramak reach a lower branch, and head along it, intending to descend deeper more carefully.

Out of the blackness below them sticky web strands spit upwards, attaching themselves to the underside of the branch.

Karthak: "That can't be good..."


The strands tug, and suddenly the entire branch is torn away from the tree...

Pengrak leaps acrobatically away from the branch and grabs onto a gnarled outcrop from the trunk.

Karthak and Elessia tumble downwards...

...into the Spiderkin webs.

[Asklepios]

Into the Webs

Elessia and Karthak find their fall broken by sticky entangling threads, and in the pale gloom they see the spiderkin approach. The spiderkin are human-sized, with human torsos and heads, but eight arahcnid legs emerging from their bodies. As they scuttle across the webs they emit an inhuman keening wail.

Karthak counts no less than thirty of them.

He pulls his swords free and hacks to the left and to the right - strands sever and he is dropped unceremoniously to the ground. Looking down from a hundred yards above Pengrak sees his companions in trouble, but also spots three web cocoons, where a warrior trio are frodo'd up...

These, of course, are the three who led the army of six hundred, and are incidentally the player characters of three new players to the game who didn't make the first session.

He starts to climb down towards the enwrapped trio and calls out to Teramak, who swoops down between webs with practised agility, and runsa talon across a spiderkin's neck, killing it swiftly.

The spiderkin close in, and while Karthak has no trouble wardning off their blows, Elessia has trouble evading so many at once and takes a bite to the arm from the spider's poison-coated mandibles.


A distinct lack of firepower...

Pengrak gets ready to fling a fireball, but then realises that it might not be such a good idea, as the webs will all catch and will burn his allies too. Instead with a few arcane motions he weaves the illusion of tight hoods over the faces of the spiderkin. He manages to blind three of them, causing them to panic and swipe blindly as they stumble towards him.

Karthak hacks away, dropping three spiderkin with a single blow, and Teramak takes out one more, gliding away before he can be attacked back. Elessia looses three arrows and three of the monstrosities drop.

Despite this, Elessia takes another bite to her lower leg, and the poison seeps through her system. Her muscles suddenly slacken and she passes out, turning a rather worrying pale colour.

The heroes realise that these creatures may be more trouble than they thought...


"Cut them free! Do it quickly!"

As Karthak cuts down more spiders, Pengrak steps back retreating from the melee, pausing only to create an illusory rope to tie up a nearby spiderkin. Luckily these are dumb brutes, and it does not occur to them that the bindings may not be real.

Karthak: "Get to the three in the cocoons! Cut them free! Do it quickly!"

Obliging, Teramak dives between the web strands and up to the first cocoon, his talons making short work of the mucus encrusted web-shell. A young woman tumbles out, landing heavily on the surrounding web, and stirs as if from a deep sleep.

She takes in her surroundings quickly and reaches a decision... As two spiderkin leap towards Pengrak, she draws a heavy-looking stone sword from her back and points it...

Two jagged ice shards fly forth from the blade, impaling the two leaping spiderkin and smashing them away from Pengrak by sheer physical impact...

She is Theya Winterwatch, and she has a score to settle with the spiderkin.

[Asklepios]

Theya Arisa of Winterwatch

Circle of Mastery: Third
Circle of Mastery: Nordic Warrioress

Attributes: Resilience (Expert), Agility (Elite), Precision (Elite), Strength (Expert), Wits (Trained), Courage (Trained),
Skills: Swordsmanship (Legendary), Survival (Trained), Acrobatics (Expert), Warrior Discipline (Trained), Ride (Trained),
Advantages: Artifact: The Guardian of Winterwatch (Moderate), Prestigious Family Name: Arisar (Minor)

--------

Theya is the eldest daughter of the ruling family of Winterwatch. She was born a warrior, to a people of warriors, and comes from a culture that many might regard as "barbarian".

However Winterwatch has a significant role in the defence of the realm. There is only one Gateway into Winterwatch but it faces onto a wide and stormy ocean, across which there are periodic invasions of reptillian Fomorians who arrive in their longships to plunder and invade.

The legendary warrior-queen Arisar drove the Fomorians back into the ocean six thousand years ago, and subsequently supervised the construction of the Tower of Winterwatch and the Coast Wall to keep them at bay.

The descendants of Arisar have kep back the fomori since then, and though the barren ice of the principality has afforded them little wealth, the same harsh climate and the unending battle has forged the people of Winterwatch into an army as hard as steel.

Theya achieved legendary status on one cold and blizzard-shrouded night when the armies of Winterwatch were fighting elsewhere on the coast of the domain, and she was watching over the Tower alone. A hundred fomorians had moved in under cover of snow to assault the tower, and over the course of several hours she singlehandedly defeated them all in a deadly game of cat and mouse. When the armies returned they found heaps of dead fomorians, lain low by her sword-arm... and she did not think them too many!

She was declared the Champion of Winterwatch, and given Guardian - the family's ancestral sword. Guardian was the sword wielded by Arisar herself, hewn from the solid stone of a mountain's heart, yet enchanted to be as light as a feather in the hands of a true inheritor. Its affinity with Winterwatch allows it to cast jagged icicles at the wielder's foes.

Theya contnued to fight for Winterwatch for several more years, till news of her exploits reached the Emperor, and he ordered her to attend him for a great quest. Never a family to shirk their feudal duty, the nobles of Arisar wished her safe journey, and bade her to return soon.

Joby (player of Lakota in Battle Royale, linked below) created Theya, and also created Winterwatch. This gave the hero group two legendary sword-fighters but with very different styles. While Karthak has the tank-thing locked down, and is deadly with his paired swords, Theya is a far more mobile and versatile fighter, preferring to fight with sword and a light shield.

[Asklepios]

"Some help here?"

Karthak hacks his way over to Elessia's fallen body, and stands over her, fending off spider-kin, but noticing another dozen joining the fray. Pengrak decides to climb upwards again, to put some space between him and the arachnids, while waving another rope-illusion to incapacitate another few spiderkin.

More ice-shards fly from Theya's sword, dropping two more spiderkin as they close on Elessia and Karthak...

Teramak, meanwhile, crosses the battleground, weaving beneath root and between web on his hawk-wings, and uses his talons to tear open another cocoon...


Master and Commander

A man in his fifties, with greying beard and temple, but an air of command pulls himself from the sticky cocoon. He is Commander Nanaki of Winterwatch.
At his side he bears what appears to be an ordinary oaken staff.

(in fact at the moment it is an ordinary oaken staff. sort of. more on that shortly...)

[Asklepios]

Commander Nanaki of Winterwatch

Circle of Mastery: Third
Circle of Mastery: Master General

Attributes: Presence (Elite), Courage (Expert), Resilience (Trained), Strength (Trained), Intelligence (Trained), Precision (Expert),
Skills: Command (Legendary), Riding (Trained), Combat Medic (Trained), Warrior Discipline (Expert), Longstaff (Elite),
Advantages: Artifact: Aesir Plate (Moderate), Ice Rule (Minor)

--------

Nanaki is the army general of the men of Winterwatch. Though he does not have noble blood, he does have a long and distinguished military career behind him, and rose through the ranks through sweat and toil.

Nanaki achieved legendary status over the course of six months, when he commanded a mere two hundred men on the Coast Wall, and saw off no less than six thousand fomorians. At the moment of final victory, as the fomorian longships burnt on the cold ocean waters, he received the quiet blessing of the Aesir and becamse something more than a mere man.

Nanaki has served as high commander of the men of Winterwatch for a decade since achieving his legendary status, but he has always dreamt of commanding greater armies than the ragtag defenders of a frozen land. He knew that he would never achieve great status in his homeland, as he is neither of noble blood nor the Arisar name, but that in the Empire as a whole he has the opportunity for greatness.

When the Emperor called him to lead six hundred to Burningsands he went gladly. Now, at the start of his first Imperial mission, he has lost his army before reaching his destination and has a lot to prove. He is determined, more than any other, to prove his worth through victory, whatever it takes.

Dru (player of Ford Maddox Forrest in Wraith, linked below) created Nanaki. After the first session he played in (this one) he became very dissatisfied with the perceived uselessness of his character, particularly when it came to combat competence. He had built a character good at leading armies, but useless in small skirmishes. This would be very useful in the long run, but he found himself enjoying this session less as there really wasn't an opportunity for his niche to be used yet.
At the start of the third session we went through his character, decided what he wanted to be able to do, and I helped him reoptimise the character balance (read: minmax) to keep up with the careful construction (read: powergaming) of the other players. The character sheet you above is the end result, but the story of this game session uses an earlier iteration, hence the fact that Dru isn't terribly powerful in battle this game session.
The later version (as above) was still unable to keep up with the pure warriors, but at least could hold his own and was survivable. Just as Ox-Body Technique and a defensive Charm or two is essential in Exalted, so too is a certaind efensive build essential in Legends.

The Aesir Plate (added in V2.0 of the character) is a super-heavy plate that is only as encumbering as ordinary leather armour, thanks to wind spirits that buoy its weight away. The Ice Rule is a long sceptre, carved of Ice, that lets Nanaki use his Presence instead of his Agility as a defence trait. again, Dru didn't have this initially, so in this session he just has a big wooden stick.

[Mark Krawec]

Doc, not only do I enjoy reading your actual plays, I would love to play in one of your games if only to see the TPK dance in person.

[Asklepios]

Heh, thanks... :) I'm actually a looong way behind on this one. We've played five sessions now and the write up is on the early part of Session 2.

Damn and blast real life!

On the bright side, FFXII came out in UK today, and I have myc opy, so real life may be pushed out of my mind for a while.

...Not that that will help my write-up speed. :)

[Mr Adventurer]

Awesome stuff!

[celebrityomnipath]

This Prophet has taken over the principality, and declared himself independent from the Empire! Worse, he has taken the Sultan's daughter hostage... The Sultana-"

The players, mature as ever, start giggling to themselves.

Dave: "For what foul raisin could this happened?"
Damian: "Alas, my grasp of currant affairs is lacking..."
And they had the nerve to complain when my OWoD Mage took a Correspondence course...