Darius West

14 hours ago, JDS said:

American, of course. 😉

Actually. I'm running a historical Flames of Freedom campaign. I'll check out the African societies; they could be very interesting, given the involvement of slavery in the conflict. 

Flames of Freedom's cults are just awful, and worse, they're in the core book for everyone to see, so I'm going with the Mythos, because you can't beat it for occult issues.

If you are running Flames of Freedom, that makes matter considerably easier.  The go-to cult is obviously Freemasonry with its allied strands of the Knights Templar, the Rosicrucians and their alchemical tradition, Esoteric Judaism, and the Bavarian Illuminati if you are looking to something historical.  You can also incorporate the Witch Cult tradition if it interests you.  There is also the Dutch "Pow-wow" tradition of folk magic, and the Apalachian equivalent. 

In terms of African traditions in the area, there are Root Doctors in Georgia, the ubiquitous Voudon Louisianaise, and the general class of Hoodoo traditions across what would become the Confederacy.

IDK if Native American traditions of the 13 States regions are interesting to you?

14 hours ago, JDS said:

So I've got the Big Book of Cults and Golden Dawn. They are helpful, but I am planning a long-run (50-odd weekly sessions) colonial-era game, and most of the BBC do not translate. What I want are a couple (more) well-developed cults, probably emigrating from Europe or Africa rather than local developments, for my setting.

Anyone know of a product that can deliver this? I expect I will have to adjust to the time period, so long as the cults are not too embedded in a particular time period (as the BBC are).

I'd love to help, but I have a couple of questions.  Firstly, to clarify when you say "colonial era" do you mean American Colonial Era, or the British Empire (or French, German, Belgian, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish Empires) in Africa?

The classic African secret society is the Leopard Society of Sierra Leone.  There is also the Hyena Men of Nigeria.  There is also a huge witchcraft tradition in Africa that takes many forms.

On 3/18/2022 at 2:07 AM, JonL said:

Are you strong and popular enough to fend off a rival claim from a cousin who would usurp your lands and titles on the pretense that your lineage is illegitimate?

If so, then it's legitimate.

To paraphrase Stalin:  "You have a cousin, you have a problem.  Remove the cousin, no problem." 🙂

You paraphrased the issue well JonL.  

Of course the same likely holds true for other parts of Arthurs Kingdom too, but to a lesser degree.  I mean, anyone can choose to feel aggrieved about succession and go on a rampage to get their "fair share", or usurp an absentee landlord by popular acclaim.  This is likely why plenty of lords prefer to stay at home and keep their thumb on problems of this nature, rather than staying at Camelot or galivanting around the countryside questing.

Nicely done.  Succinct.  A cute twist for the over-achievers at the end.  Good work.

12 hours ago, EricW said:

I agree berserking isn’t an ideal choice in terms of game mechanics , but given all the descriptions of rampaging chaos armies in the greater darkness it seems odd chaos doesn’t have access to at least one divine battle frenzy spell.

There was a non canon description of Urain which made a case I liked, that other religions berserk fury had a purpose, while for chaos berserk fury was the purpose. So a chaotic mockery of Storm Bull’s righteous wrath.

I strongly suspect that all the chaos deities who used berserk rage were destroyed during the Gods War.  Let's face facts, Stormbull himself nearly died twice in his fight with Wakboth but called upon the Earth (Eiritha) to save him once, and the cosmos to save him the second time with the Block.  Berserkers tend to be disposable heroes.  As to a mockery of Storm Bull's righteous wrath, nope, Stormbull doesn't tolerate chaos, and how much less does he tolerate chaos that mocks him?  At the End of the God's War, most chaos deities were driven to the margins, often in a broken form, and those who chose active confrontation had already died with Wakboth and Kajaboor's hordes.  The things that remain go disguised (Cacodemon, Krjalk), or slither in dark hidden places (Primal Chaos, Krarsht), or are spiritually broken (Nysalor, Thanatar, Vivamort), or are racial deities who exist as long as their race exists (Thed, Bagog), or are just ubiquitous (Time (Kajaboor), Malia).

15 hours ago, Erol of Backford said:

So what year would the Lunar traders begin communicating with or shipping slaves/food/breading stock to Gagix? How would be other unscrupulous groups doing so? Ogres, the likes of the slimy Gondo Host?

Imo, the main issue will be the year in which the transfers occur. While the area is under Lunar occupation, it is plausible (I have visions of captured ducks for some reason, they are so damn sacrificial in the Boardgame).  Post-Dragonrise, even during the Long Winter, it will be all but impossible for any merchants to supply slaves to the Scorpion Men.  The area is remote, the paths are poor, the weather is terrible, and their passage through the terrain will be marked by the watchful forces of the area.  At best, a trickle might get through via backwoods paths, but there is an increased chance that the slaves can escape or the caravan will be ambushed in such terrain.  As to who will make deals with Gagix, well, there are Lunar officers who are chaos specialists who will make and oversee such transfers.  One might argue that the Cult of the Crimson Bat would be the reigning world experts at large scale slave transfers to an awful fate.

15 hours ago, Erol of Backford said:

Would there be a way for the Orlanthi to ambush said caravans and swap slaves for herdmen in order to hinder the intellect of the breading stock? 

This is far too elaborate.  Even a herdman scorpion man is a potential threat, and then there is the logistics of transferring herdmen in quantity across Prax and into Heortland undetected.  It's not plausible.  The purpose of the Orlanthi ambush will be to eliminate the guards and repatriate the slaves to safe territory (if such a place even exists at the time). The operation will be dangerous, and even though they are liberated, the future of the freed slaves will not get any easier in the short term once they are released.  Can the ambushing Orlanthi provide the freed people with the bare necessities for life?  Their best hope is to become a hidden highland rebel community imo.

15 hours ago, Erol of Backford said:

Would all the tongues being cut out of the heardmen be a possibility so they think they are normal humans? Seems gruesome but this is Medieval fantasy right?

Plz, we're Bronze Age.  😄

As for atrocities, they aren't necessary if the whole herdman plan is abandoned as too expensive and logistically implausible. 

Remember that a meat quality herdman costs 6L and isn't good for much except munching grass and fertilizing the lawn in ways you wish s/he wouldn't.  The more herdmen you buy, the more the price increases, as the more you demand, the harder it gets for the supplier to provide at the same price.  You are unlikely to find more than a half-dozen herdmen at any Heortland livestock market at the best of times; they are something of a Praxian/Morokanth monopoly product.  Whoever is providing the herdmen will likely have to spend months negotiating with the Morokanths and other Praxian tribes to send herdmen in quantity to a pick-up area (like Barbarian Town perhaps), where they will need to be fed and watered until the requisite numbers are met for the herdman scam to even begin, and that agistment will cost money too .  Then the conspirators are going to need to pay a great many herdman wranglers to keep the group moving and cared for, and that is going to take more money AND time AND might well be discovered, wasting untold riches.  And, at the end of the day, a stupid scorpion man is still a scorpion man, and in many ways more useful because he can be used as cannonfodder a la MacNamara's Morons.  Chaos has no moral scruples about such things, even if we should.

19 hours ago, svensson said:

a] Virtually none of them 'worship Chaos' per se [the Pola plantation nonwithstanding]. Most worship the Seven Mothers, with a large leavening of regimental wyters from various Lunar veterans. The Lunars see Chaos as part of the world, provided it's controlled. But whatever Red Goddess worship [where out-and-out Chaos is most likely] there might be in Prax is pretty low-key. There was never a Temple of the Reaching Moon anywhere nearby.

I disagree.  Let me explain.  The Red Moon Goddess has the chaos rune.  Those who follow her are chaos worshippers.  Those who support her are supporting chaos.  Remember that to Stormbull worshippers any chaos is all chaos, there are no shades of grey in this black and white argument, and the White Bull Army are Stormbulls.  We, as GMs know that this isn't quite true, but we are not the blood-mad berserkers of Prax intent of cleansing their land of the curse of Lunar Chaos.  Also, the Stormbulls may have a point... What is the long term plan of the Lunars?  They could decide to topple the Block and release Wakboth.  That card is in play.

19 hours ago, svensson said:

b] Unlike the confiscations after First Moonbroth in the Scritha watershed, the Lunars in the Grantlands settled unclaimed territory... they didn't displace anyone. They therefore have committed no crime against the peoples of Prax.

The Praxians have no love for the Lunars.  See above.

19 hours ago, svensson said:

And Argrath is an Illuminate. He can set aside all the sturm und drang of Storm Bull and Orlanth see the benefits of a Zola Fel valley that produces goods and generates tax income rather than just fish and mercenaries. I can honestly see a scenario where Argrath takes the Grantlanders under his protection, provided they convert to an acceptable faith, and appoints a player character to 'put things in order'. The PC's job is to protect the settlers to a certain extent and convert them to the Lightbringers.

It is precisely BECAUSE he is an illuminate that Argrath has to double down on being an exemplary member of any cult he joins. The Gbaji path is to ignore the attitudes and restrictions of a cult when they become inconvenient, and Argrath needs to keep his elan strong, not reveal his illumination, and not turn into Gbaji.  Cult restrictions exist for good reasons for the most part. For Praxians, fighting the Lunars is a holy war against chaos under the sign of the prophesied White Bull (who is Argrath). There has been much debate about whether Argrath as portrayed would be merciful to the Lunars or whether he would massacre the Lunars of New Pavis. In many ways it isn't going to be his call, as the duty of care will fall to the White Bull commander who is sent to pacify the Grantlands, and the level of resistance shown by the Grantlanders to the new situation.  It is far more likely that the Lunar Grantlanders, who are not very numerous, will be marched to Pimpers Block, to be ransomed and/or sold to Etyries merchants who can repatriate them into the Empire if everyone is feeling super merciful.  Argrath isn't likely to tolerate a 5th column element like the Lunar Grantlanders sitting in the middle of his new territory.  Besides, there are plenty of Esrolians displaced by the war who would likely jump at the opportunity to settle free/cheap land in Prax if they knew the locals wouldn't massacre them just for being there.

I thought that humans who have sex with Aldryami generally get some sort of nasty long term rash?  Or does that depend on the Dryad?

As to Lord Pavis, he may have been far more of a hybrid than just Elf-Human.  He might have been the product of a plan to recreate the Green Age man rune by cross-breeding pretty much all the man-rune races.

I am looking forwards to finding out what Whitebull New Pavis is like. 🙂

For extra credit, include info about Iffinbix. 😁

On 3/31/2022 at 8:53 PM, EricW said:

I've read several contradictory write-ups of Urain, is this a canon source of chaos berserkers? Or is there another chaotic god who gives followers the power to stand toe to toe with the likes of Zorak Zoran and Storm Bull? 

Honestly, berserking is not all its cracked up to be.  Attack heavy, defense light, and thoughtless offensives are no great problem to a cunning enemy.

I have seen a berserk Stormbull minotaur utterly die to a single gorp for want of any means to hurt it, as gorps can only be destroyed by fire or magic and the minotaur had neither.

And how does a berserk Stormbull cope when the shortest distance between them and their enemy is thru a trap?

Berserkers are tough but they are operating largely on autopilot.  Dumb autopilot. Stupidity isn't strength.

Now if Orlanth could conquer Stormbull with nothing but a rope and a stick, how much easier will it be for Chaos, who will literally stoop to any depths of rat cunning?

As for chaos organizations who can stand up to Stormbull, the Lunar Empire has it covered nicely.

On 3/30/2022 at 2:30 AM, JRE said:

I can only add that "dai-ichi" is "number one" in Japanese. Seems a strange name for anything found in the Mislari mountains, but your own explanation would fit very well with their description as sprites. Killing demon horses of darkness seems like a sun power.

While I am no scholar of Japanese, "dai" can mean "big" or "great", and "ichi"  means "one".  It could be that Dai-Ichi is a sideways nod to CoC, as "Great Ones".  Of course it could also mean "big ones", and refer to anything including R.U.S. (Princess Bride ref)

4 hours ago, svensson said:

 

Presuming that Raus is ousted [say that three times fast...], there are still a BUNCH of Lunar settlers in the Grantlands. So a PC taking over as 'laird o' th' manor' is gonna have some VERY sticky issues to deal with. These include, but are not limited to:

- Religion. So, about this Seven Mothers thing...

- Slavery. THERE'S a sticky one...

Yes, the political dimensions of this are very interesting svensson and well pointed out for purposes of scenario building.  

If icebrand wants to make it easier on the players, it could well be that Raus created a plantation-style of settlement, but used slaves taken from Orlanthi territories, who are subsequently freed.  While many may want to pick up and go home, perhaps enough might wish to stay, given that if the new local leader is Pro-Argrath, and the Zola Fel Valley is now under Whitebull control/protection, the area might be considered more peaceful than Sartar is likely to become.

While I like to opt for more rather than less political complexity, the idea of starting a Pavic-style Orlanth clan, potentially with good relations with Count Rurik of Sun County, seems potentially interesting.  As to Lunars in the Grantlands, well, that depends on whether you think Argrath had them massacred by White Bulls (because Lunars worship Chaos), or they were captured and ransomed en masse, for a ton of money.

On 3/31/2022 at 1:34 AM, Joerg said:

With evil cults, I would allow the sacrifice of a sapient victim to make up for quite a number of worshippers to maintain a temple.

In case of Ikadz, ongoing lethal torture.

I like this idea, but presently, sacrifice only provides a small bonus to one's Ritual skill in the RQG rules.  We badly need better rules to cover this issue.

On 3/30/2022 at 9:36 PM, icebrand said:

I wanted my PCs to be able to "upgrade" the settlement (and get useful NPCs) but couldn't come up with anything 🤣

What do you upgrade? I need material to steal hahaha 🙂

Well Rausfort needs to turn into at least a manorial holding.  The crucial first steps for the settlement are obviously to create a working economy, because Rausfort cannot grow if it isn't producing money with which to build and develop.  So, the first thing it needs is to put in crops, and that requires fields, and this has already been done at the time when Borderlands is set.  So too we have a fort, which has stone towers, and a well, and what amounts to wicker gabions and earthwork on the cliff-sides, which can be upgraded to adobe.  This implies laborers, a stone mason, and a carpenter.  That's 3 NPCs who are crucial to any future building, and will be around for a long time.  The walls of the fort will likely need to be expanded to protect the projected settlement.

As cottages are put in, the settlement will require a thatcher, who can harvest reeds from the banks of the Zola Fel and put cheap but effective roofs on the buildings.

Likely, when the settlement is first created, everyone came down-river by barge, and there is close contact with Pavic fishermen, and friendly newtlings who will be bringing in fish to feed the settlement.  This will creates a need for at least rudimentary boat facilities on the river.  It is a very good idea to clean and scale fish by the river, and not in the settlement due to the smell, even though fish guts make good fertilizer (or garam when properly prepared).

Rausfort is an agricultural settlement.  There may be mining possible in the area, but that is entirely at the GM's discretion.  As an agricultural settlement, Rausfort has to compete with all the other regional agricultural settlements for the best grain price.  Sun County and the settlements around New Pavis like Garhound will largely have this situation stitched up, but Duke Raus likely had some support from the Lunars in the crucial set-up period to give him a priority grain supply contract for the garrison to make his settlement viable.  Given the poor quality of the majority of the soil, it may become worthwhile for the settlement to perform some measure of herding, but this is fraught because of Praxian nomads and their raiding culture.  Thus the choice of animal becomes important, and it may be that pigs and chickens are a wiser choice than cattle and sheep. 

Beyond this, going forwards, the settlement will need a smith, a potter (for grain storage), a healer, a leather-worker (cobbler/armorer/bag maker/tailor as leather is cheap in Prax), and of course religious specialists such as an Earth priestess and a Zola Fel representative.  It is also likely that the settlement will have an Issaries rep to manage the market and perhaps run a warehouse or store who is responsible for bringing in goods the settlement doesn't make (but needs).  The settlement may well have a brewer who runs a local tavern as the settlement finds its feet.

There is also the issue of Weis.  In my game I played Weis for laughs, with an emphasis on the idiocy of rural life.  The idea being that anyone who had decent stats had long since left the area of their own accord or been taken as a slave by Praxians in raids.  The folk of Weis probably weren't originally Oasis people, but they might as well be now.  Tarnak is the titular village head-man, and is a bit of a sleaze-bag.  I also had a fellow called "the gaffer" who was the Weis equivalent of the village wise man, who knew a spell or two, and who had travelled a bit but had fled back to Weis due to trouble with the law decades ago.  The village was also plagued by a very loud, aggressive rooster (simply called The Rooster) who was a rune-lord and champion of Yelm (but nobody knew), who treated the entire settlement as his coop. The Rooster would sometimes still be piously crowing at 11am, having been fervently praising Yelm for 5 hours. There was also the village idiot, who was a very large, very strong but very dim fellow called Jub whose main job in life was to battle the rooster when it wouldn't stop crowing, by popular demand, often damaging the houses in the process (hence why, to a large degree, Weis looked run-down).  The locals were all unctuous, ugly and overly flirtatious towards outsiders, giving visitors the creeps.  My players actually sympathized with Muriah a bit about growing up in Weis.  The prospects for developing the settlement were considered difficult and somewhat distasteful.  Weis really couldn't defend itself against anything Prax could throw at it, and its earnings in terms of tax are minimal, as it is so easily raided or extorted by tribes in the area.  Weis literally relies on these tribes to protect it from destruction by broos.  While the Duke could work to make Weis better, this would require the creation of a garrison and defenses as a precursor, and then he would have to take full responsibility for protecting the settlement, which isn't easy, but then that is what scenarios are all about.

On 3/11/2022 at 6:24 AM, SaxBasilisk said:

There might be some places that are better suited for such adventures - Cambria, Cumbria, the Forest Sauvage - but I'm still trying to wrap my head around how this might work in terms of adventures. How strictly do you adhere to real-world geography in your campaigns?

Do not get too hung-up over it SB.  Everyone knows that Arthur's reign is one where the faeries interfere in the world, and they play havoc with human perceptions of place etc.  Knights are challenged by faerie knights, and often geography takes on a misty unreal nature where bizarre things occur.  Maps are needed when knights start marching armies or need to get to a specific place, but they can be abducted away to faerie at any time.  The difference with Knights and your average Missing 411 is that knights are well armed, and they know faeries exist, and the knights come armed with strong and indomitable spirits as well.

When dealing with matters historical, political, and economic, maps are very important.  When dealing with adventures, maps can be important, but the narrative is always key, and if the characters can't find their way back afterwards, well, it must have been faeries.

On 3/15/2022 at 3:14 AM, Zit said:

 so why not replace Raus with an official from the Sun County ?

I agree.  And if not an official from Sun County, then definitely an Argrath adherent.  Really the GM just has to replace a few NPCs to make it work.  Personally, I tend to upgrade the settlement a bit as well as Raus obviously put some effort into building up Ronegarth as his new seat.

On 3/29/2022 at 2:34 AM, jajagappa said:

As Elaliol is one of the Three Bad MEN, that would likely exclude Elasa.  Overall it seems a quarrel between the Husband-Protectors.

So you think lawyers are good people Jaj? (JK)

I see Elaliol could quite possibly be a tribal law speaker who is making a possibly spurious claim on Goose Hill by custom and law, by twisting words and logic. The usual legal form of casuistry that wins cases regardless of the morality of doing so.

15 minutes ago, Godlearner said:

Yes, I have thought about this before as well. I think one of the ways that this is offset is to base it on the amount of magic points sacrificed during the previous holiday vs. the number of worshippers. The system I use is based sacrificing personal magic points only and at a rate of 1mp from a Lay Member, 10mp from an Initiate and max POW from any Rune Level. This way a shrine would require about 10 initiates, and a minor temple about 20 initiates, etc.

I like this idea GL.  It is a great way to handle this confounding rules problem.

On the other hand, by way of speculation, (and in a burst of rando "inspiration" brought on by your comment) perhaps every torture victim becomes an Ikadz lay member for the duration of their stay?

16 minutes ago, David Scott said:

Or be an associate god in the temple of a larger one. For example in Loren Miller's version, you would find Ikadz in some Irripi Ontor temples.

A perfectly valid point, and one I considered having written my prev comment.  On the other hand, I hope Ikadz doesn't have any 2pt or 3pt spells on offer, if you see my point...

On 3/15/2022 at 10:57 PM, Nicochan said:

1st question: why do Trolls stay in the Surface world? Don't they want/desire to go back in their Underworld?

They stay for the variety of food primarily.  Plus Yelm still goes to the Underworld every day (or do I mean night?).  Plus they have a stake in overworld politics these days and don't want things getting worse than the debacle that sent them up from the underworld in the first place.  Plus they like trolling the other races.

On 3/15/2022 at 10:57 PM, Nicochan said:

2nd question: is the identification Hell=Underworld just a human (or even Orlanthi) simplification? I mean, if trolls are from there, I suppose their Hell is somewhere else..

  Nope.  Wonderhome is in the Underworld in the deepy deepest darkest place, perhaps even under the underworld or even inside Subere.

I always enjoy a good Elmal rant 😇

4 hours ago, Martin said:

Who is Is Elaliol , mentioned in Esrolia LoTTG?

He was one of the claimants of Goose Hill.  The Goose Hill story (Esrolia LoTTG) does sound a bit like the Hill of Gold legend, but obviously isn't, as it is the Goose Goddess Isbarn/Imarja who claims it by virtue rather than force.  Apparently Herkool was a trickster, Kodig was a King of the Vingkotlings.  Interestingly Kodig is also called Terliol which means Blessed of Ter, and his father's name was Tereen or Chosen of Ter.  If so then Elaliol would likely be the Blessed of "Ela".  So who is Ela?  Likely short for some deity.  Possibilities would include Elmal or Elasa (The Goddess of Wisdom, and therefore making Elaliol a Lhankor Mhy type).  This is just a guess.

2 hours ago, Godlearner said:

I would think it's pretty common among all Civil servant workers in every government. 

But seriously, I can see a government supported temple structure based on a prison system in any "civilized" culture.

TBH the whole temple size mechanics rules are something I have always had some issues with.  They mean that a  niche deity like Ikadz, who is unlikely to have more than 3 followers in any city can never get enough worshippers together for a shrine.  I think more niche deities need to follow something closer to the trickster model, or have a special type of Rune Spell that they use in place of the ordinary rules for regaining their spells.

Interestingly, KAP is set around the disaster of 536AD (Worst year ever).  Crops failed, plague was unleashed, people starved, the Sun gave forth only dim rays, mist everywhere, Snow in Summer, etc.  IMO this is the year of the start of the Grail Quest, and it was a time of general calamity, for which people wanted answers.  The issues of the Fisher King and the mystery of the Grail were seen as a mystical process for the restoration of the world which had in fact experienced a huge volcanic eruption that had caused a "nuclear winter" effect.

Wet rules...

If you get wet, double the weight of all your cloth items, like your bedroll, backpack and clothes until you are dry again.  Being wet adds 1SR to your attacks as you are slowed down and uncomfortable.  Wet light sources can't be lit.

Encumbrance...

You need pack animals.  They can carry half their weight, and 55% for mules.

Caves...

They are wet, dark, cramped, and muddy. 

Wet: as above. 

Dark obviously bring a light source and don't get it wet.

Cramped:  Use the "Black Broo of Dyskund" spelunking rules for having to use crawl spaces, by forcing the players to fail a SIZ (the bigger you are, the harder it is) roll against a particular SIZ of crawl space. 

Chicanes in tunnels will make long weapons hard, if not impossible, to transport.  I let players make a weapon skill roll, with a penalty for the turn. 

Crit: Transport the weapon without issue due to a clever angle. Can get it out again too. Spec:  Weapon negotiates the turn undamaged. Returning may not be so easy. Ordinary Success:  Weapon gets scraped for 1hp.  Fail within penalty margin:  Weapon gets scraped for 1d4hp.  Fail:  You don't even want to TRY negotiating your weapon thru that.  Fumble:  You try to negotiate the tunnel with your weapon, and now it is irrevocably stuck.  You will have to break it to remove it.

Muddy:  Add +5% to Fumble Chance.  Maneuvering in combat requires Dex x5 to avoid slipping over and falling prone.  If mud is deep, it may require a Str x3 roll to make ordinary progress, otherwise 50%-75% speed penalty.