Ian A. Thomson

Thanks for that

I'm wondering about things like game-world logic, and interested in gaming ideas to deal with this

If all Chaos is automatically detectable, then its going to be near-impossible to ever hide by posing as non-Chaotic

Every settlement could employ Uroxi or Stormbulls to just hang around and let the authorities know when they sense something

Even if they take it in shifts of a few days at a time because they prefer to be out hunting it in the wilds, or whatever

I can't see Chaos ever surviving in a hidden way in a civilised area. Not if people really want to get rid of it

In story/game realism terms how can that be reconciled?

Additionally, does any Adventurer party with a Stormbull in mean they can detect and try and find any hidden Chaos in a settlement, even if its only 6 people in some kind of evil cadre in a population of 300?

I use that small settlement size cos it would be easier to hide in a much larger settlement (say 30,000) as the Stormbulls won't know exactly who it is even if they sense them. But even then, if that settlement really wanted to get rid of that Chaos after it was detected, they could just pay roving parties of Stormbull to triangulate until it was found

I know Stormbulls are wild and unpredictable, but they also hate Chaos, so there would surely be some who could be persuaded to be organized at least for a few hours or days until the detected Chaotics were unmasked?

15m is a decent distance for an organised party of Stormbulls to cover a lot of ground, and see who keeps turning up whenever they get those weird feelings

The only idea I can think of is a Rune spell that hides the Chaos Taint for 20mins. Its not perfect, as any big organised search would just take longer, but if the person had a few emergency RP it'd probably get them out of trouble, so as long as the chaos group in that place isn't known of, and they keep their eyes open for Stormbulls, I can see that being a good enough story element

I imagine that this has been discussed elsewhere, but can't find that information at the moment.

What degree of association does a being need to register as Chaos? (Specifically to Stormbull's 'Sense Chaos')

I imagine a human lay-worshipper of Thanatar might not, but that an initiate would?

I'm considering house rules around game-realism, and wondering about sneaky Chaotics trying to blend into New Pavis society 

UPDATE:

The next series release will be a special edition. Probably completed by the end of Feb (Vol. 04A)

Vol. 05 is powering along, but still a LOT of editing and layout to do - so more likely April

My other gaming project is finally fully complete and online, and most likely my last ever DERPG release as these are the last of the completed pieces in my archive: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/469293/On-the-High-Road-to-Kaiin

VOL. 04 PDF UPDATED FOR DOWNLOAD:

The revised PDF of Vol. 04 (The Good, the Bad & the Rowdy) has just gone up on Drivethru

Gratitude once again to the several proofers for the first and second rounds. (Plus all the other volunteers/collaborators). I'll keep on saying this until the project is done: There's no way I could create this series without your help. "Thank you so much!"

Here's the change notes:

"Updated cover, very many small corrections made, several middling level errors fixed, and three doozie mistakes rewritten."

Yes, there were a few big 'Doh!" moments there, including a couple of scenario bits that made no sense

I'm glad I included the note in the front of the first version for people to wait until the update.

I imagine there's probably still a bunch or minor errors in there, but yes, hopefully not so many and not major

On 1/21/2024 at 11:04 PM, Nick Brooke said:

Likewise, some people's apparent desire to run a pro-Lunar campaign set in Pavis is not Ian's problem. Everybody knows that the default party in a Pavis campaign is not made up of Lunar stooges, and Ian has always been very clear about his agenda. 

Good summary

Not sure if I said this before, but the idea of having an option for a faction of non-mainstream Lunars who side with the Old Pavics has always been at the back of my mind, and I think right at the start of writing the campaign for Tentacles Press 20 yrs ago I even made some notes about how it might work

I stopped when I realised that such people would have to betray the orders and agendas of their cult leaders in order to take that alternative allegiance, and couldn't see how that would work

It's probably a lot easier to write adaptation notes for the small group of specialist Lunars with the secret agenda of subverting the plan, who are operating in secret from most of the other Lunars, but being pro-Pavic myself, that wasn't something i wanted to apply myself too

UPDATE:

The revised PDF of Vol. 04 (The Good, the Bad & the Rowdy) has just gone up on Drivethru

Gratitude once again to the several proofers for the first and second rounds. (Plus all the other volunteers/collaborators). I'll keep on saying this until the project is done: There's no way I could create this series without your help. "Thank you so much!"

Here's the change notes:

"Updated cover, very many small corrections made, several middling level errors fixed, and three doozie mistakes rewritten."

Yes, there were a few big 'Doh!" moments there, including a couple of scenario bits that made no sense

I'm glad I included the note in the front of the first version for people to wait until the update.

I imagine there's probably still a bunch or minor errors in there, but yes, hopefully not so many and not major

34 minutes ago, Nozbat said:

Mystery, confusion, wonder... all happening off-screen

Oh definitely not all offscreen:)

I will weave in a few coincidences of the Adventurers being in the right place and time to be a part of a few different elements of all of this :)

I will be imagining as if those other two books had been completed, and interweaving the Pavis Grand Plan arc with them (which was the original idea when it was mooted as an official project)

5 hours ago, Soccercalle said:

Stat block and some history. The write-up is for ”Garrath Sharpsword”. The alter-ego Argrath used as a swashbuckling Wind Lord in Pavis before the rescuing of the Cradle. He is powerful Wind Lord at the time but not as powerful as he will be when he returns some years later.

I realised today that I will need to write in some rumors and reports about what the Oasis People are up to at this time.

Back in the day I was involved in the fan-project of the Greatlands Campaign arc, which I don't think ever got beyond the basic structure, but there was a timeline and some main key events created which I have the files of

Most importantly these two separate campaigns feed into a crucial element of the Grand Plan

So rather than having two major events happen out of the blue at the Finale of this campaign, there must be hints & tales of, and at least a handful of encounters with, those two epic groups. Maybe the Adventurers will end up being part of what means they all come together relatively harmoniously at the end. As representatives of Pavis that makes sense

They will also know Garrath from their shared time in Pavis before the Cradle episode

Expressing gratitude to a couple of proofers who are pouring over Vol. 04 as we speak, prior to handing it over to Nick Brooke in a couple of weeks for his generous offer once again to do the POD-ification. (At which point we will of course update the pdf as well.)

Numerous (extremely numerous) small errors, a handful of middling errors, one small but very significant omission, and a couple of huge gaffs!!

Thank Lhankor Mhy for the existence of editors and proofers!!!

19 minutes ago, JonathanQuaife said:

Absolutely. The presentation of the Lunar Empire (and indeed Gloranthan factionalism generally) tends to be somewhat monolithic. Against that, we know the Empire is riven by intrigue and Dart Wars between clans. When you begin to consider the ramifications of that, many options present themselves.

Yes, this is the core of the ideas i've already considered. The only disagreement I've had so far is the use of the word 'easily'

Imagine how much time you think it takes me to get out these books, then times it by ten and you are probably still way-underestimating :)

There are definitely options and I will definitely consider writing them once the rest is done (a few more months to go)

13 hours ago, Joerg said:

Is the entire priesthood informed about the great plan?

Much of the great plan is still being rediscovered, and only a small group of individuals are privy to the majority of elements and how it fits together. Plus it can no longer be undertaken exactly as originally intended

13 hours ago, Joerg said:

And may a Red Marriage plot have been used as a ploy to give the Lunars a false impression of progress?

Not sure exactly what you mean. Basic idea sounds very legitimate. I chose the angle of the Pavis Cult leadership employing delaying tactics, while they were very concerned that they might not be able to stop it. In the passage of time Greg dropped the idea of the whole plan, but back then he was fine with this idea (Pavis cult inner circles delaying the wedding), so by and large I'm just sticking with the broad ideas we were working with

2 hours ago, Joerg said:

Having walked in Cyrilius Harmonius's sandals, part of the Pavis cult was actively courting the Seven Mothers cult as another associate in the city array. Survival in the Rubble taught them to adopt whichever tools, foods and magics might help them to continue their existance, and possibly reinstate their former glory.

That makes sense for the canon and common ideas about Pavis. The background of my campaign (and part of the whole Grand Plan evolution) is that the Pavis Cult have a lot more resources being developed than are commonly known about, and thus are not needing to lean towards 'any port in a storm' as much. Plus there's the new specific ideas on how certain Lunars (including agents of the Seven Mothers) are supporting the semi-hidden Lunar agenda of taking over the Grand Plan and subverting it for their own benefits, to the detriment of the entire purpose of the plan.

17 minutes ago, Akhôrahil said:

I think you could quite easily make something interesting about being pro-Lunar but anti-Lunar Empire, like wanting the local Lunars to get integrated into the Pavis Plan. It's hardly a stretch to decide that the Lunar Empire is an enemy of the Lunar Way, after all (as the White Moonies demonstrate).

That is already exactly my stance in the brief notes I have on such possibilities

But I stopped developing the notes as it is still another large article required, plus a lot of revisions and re-readings of old articles to make sure it all matches

Several days of work that i do not have time for - potentially maybe when everything else is done

12 minutes ago, Darius West said:

Is it cleared for release?

Your own speculations are, but not my responses to them :)

1 hour ago, Nick Brooke said:

If anyone seriously wants to adapt Ian's massive multi-volume campaign to include more pro-Lunar options (and I strongly suspect they won't), then their original creative works will always be welcome on the Jonstown Compendium. 

I have various ideas about how it could be adapted, and may include them in the last book, but would also be happy to discuss them with anyone who wanted to take on a larger task of creating a bigger piece

The reason why it would be the last book is because of the sheer amount of work still ahead of me. Once that is done I'll consider writing an extra appendix of those ideas

57 minutes ago, John Biles said:

Now imagining a young Argath painting anti-Lunar slogans on the walls of Pavis and a Lunar minor officer comes and corrects his writing.

Its written in to the campaign somewhere. I would guess Vol. 01 since its easier to add silliness there before the more epic nature of things begins to unfold :)

Not Argrath, but a PC

This helps keep me powering on with this insane task :)

3 hours ago, JonathanQuaife said:

One comment I would make would be not to dispose the campaign too much towards an "anti Lunar" outcome. Much more fun if your players can go either way. The Sun County info I shared with you had some suggestions around multi-faceted Lunar factions and culture. Something like this would allow for different approaches towards the city cult (and towards other non-Lunar factions) so that plot dynamics can remain sympathetic towards one faction's motivations or another, even for Lunar-sympathisers.

I agree with this in principle, but (as mentioned to someone else a while back) the problem is that it is already written as anti-Lunar, and this is in-built to the core of the story. So to alter it would (a) remove or undermine that huge and intrinsic frame of classic dramatic tension, and (b) take an enormous amount of time in rewriting to add in new options and balance out the removal of the anti-Lunar, and that time is the one thing I don't have :(

10 hours ago, Darius West said:

I have things to contribute, but I think I should PM them for "clearance" first. 😬

PMing is also a valid option :)

Fabian has been able to make the time to do a quick unboxing video for Vol. 03 :)

Unfortunately not so great for still images due to glare, but here's a couple to show the beautiful physical form

On 9/30/2023 at 6:53 PM, StephenMcG said:

All this is coming a bit too slowly for me!  I am running my group through the original material.  Last night they got to the Tomb of Yurmonis. 

I am currently laying out the Tomb of Yurmonis for Vol. 05, and may use some of your ideas :)

3 hours ago, Erol of Backford said:

Curious would unenchanted iron armor protect against spectral touch Vol 02 p.183? 

At a glance/general rule, I'd say Yes, as the entity is looking for relatively easy prey, but the answer depends on the potency of your party. If they are very strong and tooled up then maybe not

On 12/18/2023 at 10:06 PM, Nozbat said:

No swimming from now on Ian.. stay in a hermetically sealed room until you've finished all volumes...just in case 😉

Went swimming in the ocean again at last today. It was fun and water was so warm! Plus, always a bonus - still alive :)

On 8/31/2023 at 4:16 AM, ZedAlpha said:

Also, newtlings?! Where can I find more information about newtlings? Nobody said anything about salamander people! That is ridiculously cute. I can't not include them.

Vol. 05 of the Pavis & Big Rubble Companion: Director's Cut is: 'Prax & the Zola Fel Valley: The Land of the Giants', and will include a large background article on newtlings. It won't be out until March, but will need a proofreader for the newtling article within a week or so from this post :)

Here's the updated Page Number Index of Spirit Magic & Rune Spells (and their equivalents) for Vols. 1-4

Thanks a million to Jason Farrell for assisting put this together

P&BRCDC_SpellList_Handout.pdf