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Chaosium Digest Volume 30 Number 10
Chaosium Digest Volume 30, Number 10
Date: Saturday, March 18, 2000
Number: 2 of 2
The Balance and the Girl, pt. 2
A night attack
The feeling that they are being watched and followed is not without a true
reason. The Orgians have spotted the group and there is a small band that
watches their moves. Due to their knowledge of the forest and of hiding they
will remain undetected by the characters. In a few days the Orgians could gather
a bigger war band and kill or arrest the characters, but in the mean time those
four get greedy and ambush the characters during a night when most of them will
be asleep. They are mainly after the horses, or some of the characters'
belonging, so they probably mount a diversion attack, while one of them steals
what they want. In the dark of the night they would look like devils. If one of
them gets killed they try to take him, leaving no bodies behind.
Orgians STR CON SIZ INT POW DEX APP Hp db
#1 18 14 13 5 7 10 2 14 +1d4
#2 17 19 12 6 7 11 2 16 +1d4
#3 22 19 12 5 6 10 2 16 +1d6
#4 17 15 1 3 7 8 11 2 14 +1d4
Armor: 1d2-1 thick muscle Weapons: Cleaver 60%: 1d6+1+db
Lamb of wood 60%: 1d8+ db
Dodge: 35%, Jump: 70%.
Erekose
Erekose may find them at a time of danger for them, or they may find him if they
are successful enough in finding the right way to the hut. He will treat their
wounds and heal their diseases, if any.
He lives in a hut in the middle of a pond of fresh water, just north of the
second swamp (Mudmere). He knows the ways of the forest. It seems, also, that
the Orgians are afraid of the big black man and they consider him an evil
spirit. A young girl leaves with him. He calls her Agnes. The girl is of the
right age (about 6) and has black hair and piercing black eyes that resemble
those of Anna. She is actually her daughter.
Erekose would not like the girl to leave. He was like a father to her and he
knows that her father is a man that cannot be trusted. He does not say much, but
it is clear that the presence and the purpose of
the characters upsets him. Agnes will immediately recognize the reason of the
characters "visit". Her trust could be gained by a sincere and, preferably,
female character. Nevertheless Erekose will not be easily persuaded to give them
the child. Intense role-playing and maybe a successful Oratory roll could change
his mind. Nevertheless, he will escort them out of the forest, not leaving the
girl unprotected.
There are a lot of interesting things in the hut. The man has a great variety of
herbs and potions, mainly for healing or protecting purposes (not an ointment of
Invulnerability though). Apart from that, a successful Search roll could reveal
an old but impressive set of armor, some weapons, a golden comb that belongs to
Agnes and a few other things from the world of Erekose. The strange man will set
fire to the hut before they leave.
After that he speaks even less, his face becomes even darker and his eyes seem
to attend Fate that is about to strike.
The way out
The Orgians know their moves at all times. They would be afraid to attack
Erekose and they would not hurt the girl since they recognize divine qualities
in her; instead, they will try to capture the girl and
kill or capture the characters. Erekose knows all these and will propose to
follow a trail through places like Mudmere, The Deep Tree, The Barrow Glen
or/and The Old Thing. Erekose can provide the priest with details for his diary.
These include a theory of the Orgians being unevolved humans (which means that
humans where once like that), hints of the long gone existence of a certain
people called The Doomed Folk, and anything the GM would feel appropriate and
upsetting enough for the Vilmirian priesthood.
Mudmere could provide them with the bark of the silver trees, which after the
proper preparation can enhance stamina for a few days. It should be kind of
difficult to attain it, needing successful Climb
and DEX rolls. With it they will be able to move fast and they will be out of
the forest in three days. With Erekose close to them, the characters will have
no problem finding fire wood, fresh water, or
avoiding the bogs. With his knowledge of natural potions, the chance of being
affected by the Madness comes true with only by a roll above CONx6.
Since the Orgians are following them, they will have to move fast and carry the
girl as well. The girl can feel them, but the characters would need a critical
Search to spot them. If one of them looses a CONx5 roll, the Orgians will catch
them. If such a thing happens, Erekose will propose a duel between two warriors,
one of the Orgians and one of the characters. There are 20 Orgians. Use the
statistics of the four above. The leader, though, would be tougher.
Warband leader STR CON SIZ INT POW DEX APP Hp db
24 17 13 6 6 11 2
15 +1d6
Weapons: cleaver 78%, 1d6+1+db Armor: 1d2 thick muscle
thrown rock 50%, 1d4+2+db/2
Dodge 40%
If the character wins, they will let them go. If the characters still have any
of their horses, offering them to the Orgians would be even more convincing.
Leaving Troos
When they are, at last, out, they will be tired and hungry. Since they cannot
cross the river they will have to head south. The same night Agnes will face the
character from the Weeping Waste and will say to him: "Your mother is dead".
This is true, since the old woman could not bear the work in the mines any more.
If asked she will say simply that she just knows. Insight rolls will reveal that
she means what she says, but there is no other way, for him, to verify her
words. This twist is added in order to free the character (assuming that he
believes her) from his duty to his mother, and force him to make a personal
choice.
Erekose's face will be like of stone. He says almost nothing and Insight rolls
will show that he looks like man with death in his eyes, that he is ready,
either to give or to take death.
A day after, they will be encountered by a rider from the guardhouses in the
south. He will give them some food and water and order them to follow him across
the river without explaining anything else. If pressed he will say that these
are his orders from the Duke.
They will cross the river by a boat, at some point. After that they can leave
the soldier and head for the place where Anna had asked them to meet her, just a
few miles north, or follow him where count Fornova is waiting. No matter what
they do, there should be a dramatic closing to the story, with both groups
facing each other and the adventures, while waiting for their decision.
Assuming that the characters follow the soldier (the most conservative choice),
they will arrive at a hilly field, somewhere in eastern Nadsokor. Some people
are waiting for them. There are ten riders standing silent and a heavy dark
coach behind them. As soon as they arrive, the soldier will depart without
another word.
The riders are obviously of the Gray Defenders and they are actually foot
soldiers using horses for transport. At the head of them is Brother Rodrigo,
knight-monk of the military order of the Cleansing Flame. The coach hides the
duke and his friend, Chancellor Pedron, but only Rodrigo will do the talking. He
may consult the passengers of the coach, but will not reveal their identity.
Rodrigo is distant and offensive, he is the only one to make questions and he
will only tolerate answers coming from the priest character. He will demand the
diary and a briefing of what they encountered. This is a critical moment;
depending on what the characters say they may be considered dangerous heretics,
or receive
their payment. If, for example, they speak of missing links in human evolution
and of lost races that created Troos, they will be immediately arrested. Even if
they are careful on what to say, Rodrigo will demand them to leave Vilmir,
except for the priest. After that he will ask for the girl.
At that point, a strangely armored rider, obviously follower of Chaos will come
riding down a slope, being followed by four other riders. This is Anna with some
bandits that she hired at Valkark Gorge.
She will shout that she is the mother of the child and call for the help of
anyone who wants to help.
Erekose will protect the girl, not giving her to anyone. He will do nothing else
and will be killed, probably by Rodrigo who is close to him. After that Rodrigo
and most of his men will attack the other party,
leaving behind two soldiers to guard the girl. The coach will depart on the
first sight of hostility. What will the players do? Will they part with Law and
the father of the child, or with Anna risking with the
company of Chaos, or they will just try to keep the child protected, as Erekose
did. The fate of the girl and of themselves is in their hands
I played this adventure with two different groups of players. They all sided
with one or the other of the opposing groups and only one thought of taking the
child away without taking any part, but rather late and he did not succeed to
keep the balance.
If Ana wins, she will take the girl (who is to be named Sorana) on her horse,
pay the characters that helped her and leave. Obviously the characters have to
leave Vilmir and not come back for a long time.
If the Law party wins they will take the girl to the count. The characters that
helped them will receive their payment, but are expected to leave Vilmir. The
surviving ones who opposed them will be executed.
The characters should also receive some Chaos, Law or Balance points, according
to their acts.
Appendix-Characters and parties
Anna, Warrior priestess from the East, mother of the girl
Tall, feminine, well built, with black hair and round charming eyes. She is a
woman with a lot of secrets, who knows how to get what she wants. Her life is
dedicated to Lady Eequor. She is wearing a characteristic black jewel round her
neck.
Age 27, C81 B16 L20
STR 14 CON 15 SIZ 13 INT 17 POW 20 DEX 16 APP 16 HP 14 DB +1d4
Longsword 105%, 1d10+1+db
Small Shield 60%, 1d3+db+knockback
Akras 59%, 1d3+3+db
Desert Bow 55%, 18+2+db/2
Armor: Demon plate 1d10+2+1d10
Magic: Sphere of Flesh, Rune of Enhancements. Among other effects, she
can produce the following: Demon's Eye, Seduction (Chaosium digest),
Horns of Hionhurn, Linken Shape, Speed of Vezhan.
Skills: Dodge:66%, Ride:100%, Potions:70%, Insight: 40%.
Hired bandits from Valkark Gorge
STR CON SIZ INT POW DEX APP HP DB
#1 15 14 11 12 11 13 09 13 +1d4
#2 14 12 14 10 10 15 12 13 +1d4
#3 12 16 13 12 12 13 14 15 +1d4
#4 16 15 13 13 12 14 13 14 +1d4
Sample weapon statistics:
Broadsword 65%, 1d8+1+db
Flail 70%, 1d6+2+db
Spear, Thrown 50%, 1d6+1+db/2 (db of the horse, if charging)
Shield, small 55%, 1d3+db
Hunting bow 60%, 1d6+1+db/2
Armor: Various, mostly leather and rings: 1d6+1
Skills: Hide: 50%, Ride: 70%
They fight on horseback. They are quite loyal to Anna, expecting a handsome
payment.
Erekose, Old Hero from another world
A tall, heavy build black man approaching the winter of his life. He is a man of
few words and most of the times he seems lost in deep thoughts. It is not known
how he got in this world. He might have been serving Fate, or he tried to get
away from her. He lives the life of a hermit by choice, not wanting to get
involved in the affairs of men or the gods anymore.
Age 60, C27 B88 L124
STR 17 CON 16 SIZ 17 INT 17 POW 23 DEX 14 APP 13 HP 17 DB +1d6
Weapons (though he would never use them against another man):
Warsword 180%, 1d10+1+db
Staff 120%, 1d6+db
Large shield 90%, 1d4+db+knockback
Skills: Follow Fate:85%, Dodge:79%, Know Troos:85%, Natural world: 90%,
Physick:
80%, Potions(healing):70%, Protect Agnes:99%.
Calvan Fornova, remorse haunted noble
Of medium height, with nicely cut blond hair and small brown eyes, Calvan would
not be someone to remember as special. That, of course if there had not been his
royal blood and his education that makes him a quite capable arguer. He has also
a good knowledge of Vilmirian Theology.
Age 32, C13 B05 L34
STR 11 CON 11 SIZ 11 INT 12 POW 10 DEX 12 APP 13 HP 11 DB 0
Weapons: Dagger 35%, 1d4+2
Skills: Art(Conversation):45%, Insight:25%, Vilmirian Geography:60%,
Law Theology: 55%, Myths and Legends: 35%.
Chancellor Pedron
Tall and gaunt with straight brown hair. Deep wrinkles cut across his face,
which hosts an ever-expressionless mouth of thin lips and à pair of grim brown
eyes. He is the only man that Calvan trusts almost absolutely. He is cunning and
he would do anything to preserve order, the high status of the Church and his
position in it.
Age 51, C18 B09 L75
STR 11 CON 12 SIZ 13 INT 16 POW 15 DEX 10 APP 12 HP 12 DB +1d4
Weapons: none
Skills: Art(Organ):35%, Art(Conversation):48%,
Bargain:65%, Fast Talk:30%,Insight:68%, Oratory:70%,
Theology:80%, Politics:90%
Rodrigo, knight of the Church, religious fanatic
Tall with extremely close cut hair.
Age 34, C08 B11 L70
STR 16 CON 16 SIZ 13 INT 13 POW 13 DEX 13 APP 12 HP 15 DB +1d4
Armor: Chain mail 1d10
Weapons: Cavalry lance:80%, 1d8+1+db
Broadsword:115%, 1d8+1+db
Full Shield:75%, 1d4+db+knockback
Skills: Dodge:50%, Give orders:80%, Obey orders:95%, Ride:96%.
Gray Defenders
Sample statistics are given for the nine soldiers.
HP 12, DB +1d4
Weapons: Broadsword: 55%, 1d8+1+db
Kite shield: 45%, knockback
Skills: Ride 45%
They fight on foot.
----------------------------
Review of the Nephilim Gamemaster's Companion
Name: Nephilim Gamemaster's Companion
Company: Chaosium
Authors: Shannon Appel, Adrian Czajkowski, Kenneth Hite, Ross Isaacs, Eric Rowe,
Sam Shirley, Greg Stafford, Ian Young
Price: $11.95
Pages: 96
Overview
--------
Nephilim, a game of occult role-playing published by Chaosium and originally
designed by MultiSim, impressed me with its extensive and well-researched
background and novel idea.
Unfortunately, the original Nephilim book had flaws in organization, lacked key
content and was plagued by typos and grammatical errors.
Fortunately, the Nephilim GM Companion not only fills in all the gaps left in
the main sourcebook with grace but also has Chaosium's usual standard for
quality in both organization and text.
Part I: A Nephilim Timeline
---------------------------
Written by Kenneth Hite (who also wrote the Nephilim supplement Major Arcana)
this section gives a detailed timeline of world events according to Nephilim
history.
The timeline spans 4 billion years - but goes into more detail only for the last
500,000 or so - and expands greatly on the Nephilim chronology presented in the
main book. But the timeline isn't useful just as a reference and every bit
given could be used as a scenario seed by industrious GMs with an itch for
playing Nephilim in the past.
It also includes a chart summing up the possible Nephilim past lives that were
described on the main book and on Chronicle of the Awakenings. This chart
includes the supplement and page where each past life can be found, as well as
indicating the Arcanums and Secret Societies that were active during the period.
This part accomplishes its purpose gracefully and succinctly, and while a
familiarity with history help enjoy it more it is useful for all GMs equally.
Part II: Items of Power
-----------------------
The second section, written by Ross Isaacs, does a great job of describing
magical items in the Nephilim world. These are separated in Artefacts, Relics
and Masterpieces.
Artefacts are - mostly - your standard magical items, but on Nephilim they are
rare, hard to create and even harder to find. Since they are created using
jewels and other materials relevant to the spell to be inscribed, artefacts can
become beautiful works of art.
Relics, abominations created when a Nephilim is trapped inside an artifact
during its creation, are more NPCs than magical items. As the living things
that they are, relics have their own knowledge, goals and mood swings.
Finally, we have masterpieces. These are strange and unfathomable, intended to
be a plot element spanning several scenarios - or even campaigns - and not
goodies for your players.
Items of power have always been a part of occult mythology, and why they were
left out of the main book is beyond me (to be sincere, I hadn't noticed until I
read this section). In the end, this part of the book helps complete the
picture of the Nephilim world in a colorful way.
Part III: The Creatures
-----------------------
The Nephilim sourcebook already included several interesting creatures, and this
section by Adrian Czajkowski (thanks goodness there's copy-paste!) and Shannon
Appel expands on that lore.
First we get a brief explanation of the nature of elemental creatures, and then
some guidelines for summoning and controlling these beings. It also includes an
expanded bestiary that presents Nephilim's take on drakes, ghouls, banshees and
other nasties, including a few original ones.
This part is not too bad, even if a little on the short side. While it certainly
isn't a monstrous manual, it does give you a peek on the Nephilim way of
interpreting mythical beings.
Part IV: Campaign Design
------------------------
Finally we get to what I consider the most important part of the book, a section
that no GM should be without.
What's a Nephilim campaign supposed to be like?
It starts with a direct chapter by Eric Rowe and Shannon Appel with advice on
how to prepare, start and run a Nephilim campaign. As befitting the occult
backdrop, it focuses on designing a campaign built on layer upon layer of
secrets, with stratification provided for these layers.
The next chapter details different possibilities and ideas for Nephilim
scenarios. Written by Ross Isaacs, this chapter expands its topic for over ten
percent of the book's length and does give you an idea of what the mood of a
Nephilim scenario is intended to be.
The third chapter contains advice by Ian Young on how to design antagonists that
fit the Nephilim style and themes.
There's also a rambling non-explanation of the concept of the soul in Nephilim
by Sam Shirley. Instead of explaining, it gives you a "feeling" for where the
truth might be. I hadn't run into this issue, but Michael Bishop of the Nephilim
mailing list commented that it's one of the questions many players want answered
when first introduced to the setting.
The fourth and final chapter on this section - also by Mr. Young - suggests a
way of using the tarot for Nephilim both to flesh out your characters and as an
extra skill for them.
As a future Nephilim GM, I'm deeply grateful for this section. It's the most
entertaining and useful part of the whole book and answered a lot of questions
that the main sourcebook left.
Part V: The Campaign Setting
----------------------------
Crafted by Eric Rowe and Gregg Stafford, it paints a light coat of Nephilim over
the San Francisco Bay Area. While they only have seven pages to work with, the
authors manage to include NPCs, places of interest, Nephilim slang, story ideas,
secret societies and more in it, giving you a good idea of what society is like
when you throw Nephilim into the mix.
Bibliography: Books of Note
---------------------------
And finally, there's a page with an annotated bibliography of moves, TV series
and books that can serve as inspiration for Nephilim. The TV series seem pretty
generic, but those books I've read are great suggestions for getting the flavor
of the world.
In conclusion
-------------
With the only exception of detailed information for Nephilim games set in the
past, the GM Companion fills every gap I had noticed on the main sourcebook and
a couple I hadn't, making it a must for GMs seriously interested in the setting.
--
