dougiepunk

As I posted on the fb RQ page.. I'm loving the Smoking Ruin adventure, but either I'm getting very confused, or the player map (p58 and Handouts) is not the map described in the text... P84: "There is a key to Scratches’ symbols on the map, as Hastur explains it to the adventurers." P73: "The ‘reddish’ splotches on the sketch are general indications where Makes Scratches sensed or encountered spirits, and the gamemaster can use them if spirit encounters are desired to link the map to what the adventurers encounter. The specific encounter areas called out are Location A, Location B, and Vamargic’s Lair (Location C) and the ruins of the original settlement (Location D)." Also P73: "The only clue concerning that location would be the ‘scratched’ version of the Air Rune on Make Scratches’ original map." Um... I can see no symbols, key, runes, or ‘reddish’ splotches on the map whatsoever. There are some green splotches, but these don't map to the locations mentioned...Am I just being dim or missing something? I also find the description how how the PCs ascend the slope to the Smoking Ruins utterly baffling :).

Yes. That would help considerably. Great idea!

And as for not being honourable, how else are a bunch of lowly and sorely abused villagers supposed to take out an enemy Rune Lord? These are hardly proud warriors, and I don't think Heortlings have any real problem with being sneaky when needs must anyway!

So if Sartarite rebels ambush a Lunar army unit, do they need to inform the relatives of the slain soldiers? Sorry, I don’t believe a Lunar solder and Seven Mother’s Rune Lord falls under the auspices of Sartarite law and Heortling custom. Ok. Not at all convinced, so this is just going to have to be a case of MGWV. But given that this scenario will appear in an official product it make me worry about the quality of that product. IMO the premise of this scenario is deeply flawed. Mixed up maps and deep confusion about how Lunar phases work can be fixed, by imo this can’t. MGWV :).

Hmm. I’m pretty certain secret murder only applies to those covered by Orlanthi law. Not foreigners. And since the entire village helped drown the evidence, it was hardly kept secret from the community anyway. Which is what matters under Orlanthi law. I completely fail to see how killing a foreign invader is murder at all (let alone a secret one since the whole community knows about it), or how it is in any way dishonourable. Killing and enemy Rune Lord would be something to be very proud of! Of course they had to hide the evidence from the enemy invaders for practical reasons, but what does that matter to either Orlanthi Law or honour? And now the invaders are gone...

I’m very confused by this scenario. For a start, I really don’t get the Black Moon thing. Surely this is when the moon is at its weakest and most diminished? And post-Dragonrise why is everyone so cagey about the “murder”. As a foreigner, Belros was clearly outside Orlanthi law, and therefore perfectly fair game anyway. And as a despicable chaos loving Lunar invader, killing him was a patriotic act of resistance that imo everyone involved would boast about from the rooftops now that its safe to do so. So what am I missing?

I always thought that Orlanthi shunned goats because of their Broo connection. If true, this means that: 1) Broo are associated with the goat form, and 2) Since goats are not common in Orlanthi lands, but are associated with goats, that goatiness must be a common or inherent feature of Broos - even when goats do make up much of their breeding stock...

Bravo! Go the Ducks!