Pavis & Big Rubble Companion: The Directors' Cut Relaunch

[Nick Brooke]

5 hours ago, Ian Thomson said:

Hmm, so is it potentially the case that Sizmag Redmoon (cool name) could lead the MGDV Lunar military attempt to retake Pavis just before the Dragonrise, or is he definitely canonically dead by then? If so, any other official contenders?

 

The Second Battle of Moonbroth is in early Storm season, 1624. But your Glorantha does vary.

[Ian A. Thomson]

40 minutes ago, Nick Brooke said:

He dead!!

Of course I love to vary my game, but not to contradict canon or widely-accepted facts if I don't need to, and in this case as much as it's sad to let go of someone with such a cool name...

Hey, maybe he has a younger brother Karjan Redmoon, hungry for vengeance! Someone always lost in his sibling's shadow, but now emerges thirsty for revenge! :)

Either way, likely I will need to invent someone, unless other Lunarphiles can suggest some named Lunar officer who hasn't got a detailed history in canon?

Edited May 31, 2022 by Ian Thomson

[JRE]

That was why I thought he was dead. But I would expect there could be a third encounter in the Fire season 1625, after Argrath's Praxian army was routed by a single demon. I would expect local lunar commanders to pursue and harry the beaten army, with the aim of retaking Pavis, which is what I assumed Ian was asking for. It is not mentioned because it probably was a small force, and a few weeks later the Dragonrise will change the strategic situation, despite Argrath's position being so weak he cannot support Belvani as Count (Glorantha Sourcebook p. 39).

We know the Antelope Lancers were not at the Dragonrise, as they were present at Dangerford, and Sitzmag is the only named commander we have. And with Sable support they are the type of unit you would use for a recon / raid / pursuit against a fleeing mounted force. Maybe that is why they were not at the Dragonrise, as they were harassing Argrath. 

What canon says is that Yazurkian claims to have killed Sitzmag at Moonbroth and made a drinking cup of his skull. And Vasana had been at Second Moonbroth, so it makes sense that is the Moonbroth referred by Yazurkian.

Lunars have a known tendency to be ressurrected, which may be why Yazurkian took his head. So why did Yazurkian resort to head taking? Maybe because Sitzmag had already been killed and returned (that must frustrate Humakti to no end)?

Moonbroth is a typical stopping point from Sartar to Pavis, so another skirmish at Moonbroth makes sense. Sable will also take any opportinuty to sweep enemy Praxians from the oasis. 

This is a possible justification to recycle Sitzmag, though I think Karjan Redmoon, recently confirmed as Ul-Khan in place of his brother may be a good candidate for such a pursuit, excessively rash and likely to fall in a small (player led?) ambush. Just remember we need the Antelope Lancers to be available for Dangerford, in late Earth season or early Dark, 1625.

[Nick Brooke]

14 minutes ago, JRE said:

It is not mentioned because it probably was a small force, and a few weeks later the Dragonrise will change the strategic situation...

Making this an ideal window of opportunity for Ian to go off-piste and do something utterly non-canonical: I like finding those! See also Sylvie's hiding places in Loki.

Quote

...despite Argrath's position being so weak he cannot support Belvani as Count (Glorantha Sourcebook p. 39).

I think it's just as likely that Argrath can't be arsed to do anything to support that weasel Belvani. He has no long-term interest in Pavis, Prax, the Cradle Valley or their inhabitants: they're just stepping-stones for his return to Sartar.

Quote

...we need the Antelope Lancers to be available for Dangerford

I wouldn't assume there is only ever one unit of Antelope Lancers serving the Empire. There are tens of thousands of them up on the Hungry Plateau, after all.

[JRE]

I was referring to this paragraph in the Glorantha Sourcebook. It seems Argrath is paying some debt to Belvani.

Quote

In Fire Season, after appointing his ally Belvani as the new ruler of Sun County and cleansing the River of Cradles of the Lunar Grantlands, Argrath led his howling, bloodcrazed army of Praxians against the New Lunar Temple. Tatius sent a demon that had two arms, and an extra one, against them. The nomads were routed, and Argrath retreated to Pavis. In Sun County, a rival claimant to the office of Sun County emerged and promised to adhere strictly to temple tradition. She forced Argrath’s ally Belvani to retreat to Pavis. Argrath spent the rest of the year gathering a new army.

As a keen lover of RQ3 Sun County as a source of countless plot hooks, I would love to see the Goldbreaths ruling the county, adhering to "Temple tradition".

I agree that there are several regiments of Antelope lancers, but I would assume with Jar Eel facing the King of Wings in Oraya and the Redlands, all available cavalry will be there, and the Tarshites cannot rely on any help from the Heartlands, which is clearly specified before Dangerford and before the Battle of the Queens. I expect the battered Antelope Lancers will be running all around the place, without replacement or reinforcements.

[Ian A. Thomson]

27 minutes ago, Nick Brooke said:

Making this an ideal window of opportunity for Ian to go off-piste and do something utterly non-canonical: I like finding those!

There will be a BIG chunk of this right at the very end of the campaign, of rather an epic nature, potentially including this final Lunar attempt to retake Pavis/Prax. (My version of the crescendo I discussed with Greg so many moons ago.)

Officer in charge will hate Prax and Pavis, and be hungry for glory or revenge, so right now I'm favoring a Redmoon brother. However, this force will be very large, so not just antelopes. I still want to make it canon in spirit mind you, so am hoping to find a suitable known General to lead this large punitive force (or at least a strong force). Several regiments of Antelope backed up by regular Tarnils troops?

Edited May 31, 2022 by Ian Thomson

[JRE]

You can always "save" some heartland infantry from Death at the Dragonrise for Death in Prax. Personally, I would add Char Un, unwilling to fight Pentans under the King of Wings, or considered unreliable by Moonson or Jar Eel if fighting against fellow solars, so sent to shoot up Praxians. 

Small is a relative termThe Sartarite barely raise 3-4 thousand troops after the Dragonrise. A lunar 2000 strong force is small before the Dragonrise, but large after it. 

You can always add Praxian Sables, or even think about where the Sartar Sun dome templars are in 1625. Only the Lunars can afford to hire them right now, but I expect they are not at the Dragonrise (Reaching Moon? Nah.) Could they be the support the Goldbreaths need to push Belvani out in the Zola Fel Sun Dome?

[Ian A. Thomson]

2 hours ago, JRE said:

That was why I thought he was dead. But I would expect there could be a third encounter in the Fire season 1625, after Argrath's Praxian army was routed by a single demon. I would expect local lunar commanders to pursue and harry the beaten army, with the aim of retaking Pavis, which is what I assumed Ian was asking for.

Yes, to the best of my recollection this is exactly what I am talking about. When I ran the original campaign, and Argrath's army marched in Sartar the Players all expected to be going along. I remember saying: "Whether you know the canon history or not, I'm just going to tell you straight - anyone who goes with this army can't be role-played while they are away, and is going to have to roll some kind of critical to return alive."

Since we were winding up the campaign, the two former Sartarite Players/PCs said: "We have to go. How could we not?" which was fair enough. Although most players had 2PCs so only one each was leaving

Both those PCs failed the roll I set, but interestingly they were an Orlanthi Hero and his bound Trickster. The Trickster had the 'Feign Death; Rune spell, so I had him return to Pavis carrying his master's body, scant miles ahead of a massive Lunar army

[JRE]

I like more and more the idea of having Sartarite Sun Dome Templars trekking to Pavis and then getting involved in the Praxian Sun County in 1625. Could be a good reason for Argrath making his companion Rurik Runespear count of Sartar's Sun Dome in early 1627, if the Sartarite Sun Domers had fought against him. Clearly Rurik wants nothing to do with the Praxian Sun Dome.

Sertenas, the previous count, was Fazzur's friend, so I do not expect him to be at the Reaching Moon, though some Dome representatives surely were there. It is possible the power transition is pacific, as Fazzur will be making overtures to Argrath against Pharandros, including his son Annstad joining Argrath also in 1627.

[Nick Brooke]

4 hours ago, JRE said:

I was referring to this paragraph in the Glorantha Sourcebook. It seems Argrath is paying some debt to Belvani.

That's not how I read it at all. Argrath is gathering a new army for himself, because his last army got nuked from orbit by the Crater Makers and then munched by Cwim. He has absolutely no intention of getting bogged down in the Valley.

The "rival claimant" is indeed Vega Goldbreath. MOB kindly let me use some of his Sun County 1627 material in Black Spear, parts of which are set there, and if you haven't read it I highly recommend it to Sun County fans. Reading between the lines, you'll also see a possible reason for Rurik pushing off to Dragon Pass. (Plus there's loads of stuff about relations between the Dragon Pass and Praxian Sun Dome Temples in my Sun County Backgrounds article in Sandheart Volume One: plug, plug, plug)

[Ian A. Thomson]

I seem to recall on the Jonstown Compendium a link for contributors of community content to some copyright free historical images.

I may have been optimistically imagining that of course, since I have now spent a while looking and can only find the amazing Argan Argar Atlas

Can anyone enlighten me on the nature of my delusion, or perhaps with a link?

Finishing layout for Vol 01 and a few incidental pics would be super about now. (Pretty much just the final section of scenarios and scenario seeds to finish.)

Edited May 31, 2022 by Ian Thomson

[Nick Brooke]

Quote

I seem to recall on the Jonstown Compendium a link for contributors of community content to some copyright free historical images.

US Library of Congress Prints and Photograph Online Catalog

 The US Library of Congress's Prints and Photograph Online Catalog is vast! It contains various collections of images which could be of interest to Jonstown Compendium creators. For example, the Frank and Frances Carpenter Collection showcases cultural anthropology and geography in the early years of the twentieth century; and the Historic American Buildings Survey has thousands of images going back to Pre-Columbian times.

Images from before 1923 are considered in the public domain, as are certain images after that date. This the Library of Congress's advice about using images from its Prints and Photographs collection. You should review the status of any image you intend to use with these guidelines, and reference the source in your credits page.
 

The New York Public Library Digital Collections 

The New York Public Library Digital Collections has over three quarters of a million items featuring prints, photographs, maps, manuscripts and more. It is possible to search only the public domain materials in the collection, making it a useful and easy resource for Jonstown Compendium creators. The site also has an in-built feature enabling you to properly attribute anything you use.

 

The British Library on Flickr Commons

The British Library has released over 1 million images onto Flickr Commons for anyone to use, remix and repurpose. The images cover a diverse range of topics many of which may be of interest to Jonstown Compendium creators, such as anthropology, mythology and ancient history. The great thing about this resource is you know every item in it has no restrictions on its use!

Source: JC Guidelines

[Ian A. Thomson]

Thanks Nick

That response falls firmly into the category of "Epically Helpful!!!!!"

[Ian A. Thomson]

Also, I'll take this opportunity to thank all volunteers, helpful commenters, and anyone who has said they are keen to see the work back out again!

The early stages of this task (it will get easier once the foundations are all done in the first two Vols) have proved so enormous that I have several times considered giving up.

Everytime though, someone else volunteers help for proofing or stats, offers helpful advice, or just says 'Cant wait to see this' etc etc

So, big thanks to the community for keeping me going! :)

[Ian A. Thomson]

Pretty much down to needing:

- a fair few more stats for NPCs from the awesome volunteers

- me to finish writing the scenarios

- me to finish designing the Old Pavic sorcery system and spell descriptions (with volunteer help)

- finish typing in editing notes (thanks again to a great volunteer)

Still in with a good chance for a (later) July release :)

[Darius West]

On 5/31/2022 at 5:21 PM, Nick Brooke said:

I think it's just as likely that Argrath can't be arsed to do anything to support that weasel Belvani. He has no long-term interest in Pavis, Prax, the Cradle Valley or their inhabitants: they're just stepping-stones for his return to Sartar.

I must disagree.  Not about Belvani being a weasel, but about Argrath's attitude to New Pavis and Prax.  Argrath is many things but he isn't lazy or disinterested.  New Pavis is Argrath's first stronghold and primary support base in what may (in 1625-6) turn out to be an unsuccessful sally into Dragon Pass.  It is from new Pavis that Argrath gathers the forces of Prax and the region to his White Bull cause.  As his starting stronghold, Argrath will go to great lengths to build a lean mean fighting machine out of New Pavis, much like every successful faction does with its first base.  Yes, there are greater prizes to be won, but without a strong military and economic foundation Argrath will have nowhere to turn in case of an emergency.  When Argrath's forces are routed by Cwim, he is able to rapidly replenish the losses and try again.  You can't do this without a solid organizational foundation.  Much later in his career Argrath is driven back to New Pavis, and is able to win back everything he lost.  You can't do that without having laid down a strong administrative base, a good economy, and a funnel for those resources into your war effort.  I think New Pavis is going to become the "Arsenal of Prax" under Argrath.

Edited July 1, 2022 by Darius West

[Joerg]

Pavis will remain the recruitment point for wave after wave of Praxian braves seeking glory and plunder under Argrath's leadership, but the only challenge to hit this place after Argrath went on to Sartar seems to be the weird people with a single eye painted on their forehead that will feature in Robin Laws' Pavis and Big Rubble books, queued for editing, art direction and layout behind the Gods books and the (first parts?) of the Sartar/Argrath campaign.

Whether Wakboth rises again, whether Genert or Tada get re-assembled, those possibilities of the Hero Wars are left to YGWV. I expect these concepts to get some treatment on the Jonstown Compendium, but quite likely only after the official material mentioned above has been published.

[Ian A. Thomson]

On 7/1/2022 at 7:03 PM, Joerg said:

Whether Wakboth rises again, whether Genert or Tada get re-assembled, those possibilities of the Hero Wars are left to YGWV. I expect these concepts to get some treatment on the Jonstown Compendium, but quite likely only after the official material mentioned above has been published.

Hey, I'm writing and editing as quickly as I can! LOL :)

Depends on the notorious timing of official release (which happily is soooo much better these days, but still of course a question of biding one's time as the work goes on back at HQ)

On a very related note, I have had the blessing of an awesome editor and proofer who has assisted me with about 70% of Vol. 01 and has now I think got a new job and pulled back

So I would be extremely grateful for anyone with decent RQG familiarity who was up to look at some cults/spells sections in particular - as a gamer/reader and comment-giver. It would be an advantage to not only be rules-conversant, but also have positive outlook towards the MGF approach! :) (and ideally blending the two)

If anyone has time to run through a few small sections then a prominent editorial credit would be entirely possible

 

Edited July 14, 2022 by Ian A. Thomson

[soltakss]

17 hours ago, Ian A. Thomson said:

So I would be extremely grateful for anyone with decent RQG familiarity who was up to look at some cults/spells sections in particular - as a gamer/reader and comment-giver. It would be an advantage to not only be rules-conversant, but also have positive outlook towards the MGF approach! 🙂 (and ideally blending the two)

If anyone has time to run through a few small sections then a prominent editorial credit would be entirely possible

Drop me a line! 🙂

[Ian A. Thomson]

UPDATE

Currently in the grueling final run of getting Vol 01 ready to go online

The final chunk of writing is now underway - an original closing scenario

Still some wonderful people proofing, and creating the last few RQG stats for this volume, but yeh basically we can see the finish line

Hoping to still be July as announced, but with only 11 days to go of this month, it will be touch and go

Vol 01 was the most work as it has the most new material (foundational stuff that wasn't present in the original material, and new RQG expansions on cults etc)

Vol 01 & 02 are really Parts 01 & 02 of the foundational material for the campaign, so Vol 02 is quite advanced already as well, and will be a lot less work

Plus of course a massive chunk of the original labour was converting everything from pdf to Word, which I believe is now all done, so everything from now on should be much easier

Vol 03 is already complete (Rough Guide to Pavis City) and Vol 04 (Adventures in Pavis City) is about 80% done

Anybody able to draw some simple decent maps quickly and easily? I'd love some help with that/ I can sketch something decent up, but again it takes me a lot of time (and doesn't end up being so great) that could be better spent on the writing and editing

Be very grateful for a map volunteer

Edited July 20, 2022 by Ian A. Thomson

[Ian A. Thomson]

Hi Folks

I am wondering about stats for NPCs, and standardising their potency somewhat across the books. Obviously GMs can change anything at will, but one of the reviewers suggested working out what levels of skills NPCs should have.

 

I'm talking about this sort of thing

Arrow Fodder: Combat 30-40%, POW 8, Couple of weak spells

Grunt: Combat 40-50%, POW 10/11, 2-3 decent spells

Low Rank Veteran: Combat 50-60%, Pow 11/12, 3-5 decent spells

Junior Officer Veteran: Combat 60-70%, POW 12/13, 3-5 decent spells, and 1-2 Rune spells

Higher Rank Officer: Combat 70-80%, POW 13/14, 4-6 decent spells, 2-4 Rune spells

Veteran and Tough Guy: Combat 80-90%, POW 14/15, 5-7 decent spells, 3-5 Rune spells

Champion: Combat 90-100%, POW 16/17, full spells, 3-5 Rune spells, a magic item

Hero: Combat 100-110%%, POW 17/18, full spells, 5-6 Rune spells, 2 or 3 magic items

Welcoming any comments. Too high? Too low?

 

Progress Announcement: It does look likely that the complete first draft of Vol. 01 (most of which has already been reviewed and edited) will be finished in the next few days. Unfortunately I am now going away for the last few days of July (28-31), so I'll fail to meet my deadline of having it ready for a July release, though probably only by a few days.

Still, I am waiting only for one more small piece of work from a volunteer, and otherwise am powering through the new full scenario for the end of the book. (Which is the last thing to write.)

 

[Joerg]

3 hours ago, Ian A. Thomson said:

Welcoming any comments. Too high? Too low?

Looks just about right for blocks of rank and file. If you want to individualize randomly (using a spreadsheet or simple script language), you could randomize the range above cultural minimum and stat-based bonuses.

Combat should be for primary weapon, mainly. Having especially high-powered opponents at a surprise and with subpar weapons and weapon-skills as a reward for good preparation by player characters.

Note that spells - especially weapon trance, bladesharp, berserk and fanaticism - may increase percentages well above 100. The GM might be appreciative of a set of stats "powered up to the rim" for major opponents.

Number of spells may be less important than "spells typically on by melee round 3" or similar description of tactics.

[French Desperate WindChild]

6 hours ago, Ian A. Thomson said:

Welcoming any comments. Too high? Too low?

for me the magic is too low: it seems to me that every one is initiate except those who aren't... so they may all have at least 1 RP

I would add that anyone dedicated to fight  (> 50%) and smart will have 3rp because they need it to heal and damage (so at least 2 spells to use during/after one fight. But that means too that a comment after the stat's block explaining the npc tactic would be nice) Of course it the npc "work" in big group, they may expect some friends will heal them so don't follow my comment in that case.

 

for the skills, except the last one, that sounds good to me :

hero skills => see npc like Leika etc.. that's for me the % a hero should have. It seems that your hero are a little to weak ?

 

in fact, when I use a old rq supplement, before adapting the % to fit with my group capacity, I keep the same stats and just manage the runepool and runespells.

Then I check if it is too easy or to hard to the pc but, that a gm's task with any scenario, old rq or rqg version

[Ian A. Thomson]

Hi Folks

Delighted to say that I am in the process of editing the final scenario, which is the last part of Vol 01

As of right now, today ALL content is now in Vol 01

It is all laid out as I was going along, so it's almost complete in that way too

Still wonderful proofers and RQG stat creators hard at work, and still I need to polish that final scenario and make sure I've left nothing out

Nonetheless, I confidently expect all content to be done by the end of next week!!!

About to have a short holiday which I'm really looking forward to, but am also 'dammit, I could be finished in a few days if it wasn't for this holiday' :)

HUGE thanks to the bunch of volunteers, without whom this project would have been impossible!

[g33k]

On 7/27/2022 at 12:41 AM, Ian A. Thomson said:

Hi Folks

I am wondering about stats for NPCs, and standardising their potency somewhat across the books. Obviously GMs can change anything at will, but one of the reviewers suggested working out what levels of skills NPCs should have.

 

I'm talking about this sort of thing

Arrow Fodder: Combat 30-40%, POW 8, Couple of weak spells

Grunt: Combat 40-50%, POW 10/11, 2-3 decent spells

Low Rank Veteran: Combat 50-60%, Pow 11/12, 3-5 decent spells

...

I'd bump all your descriptions up a notch, adding a higher level for "Hero."  With a tad of luck & some intentional direction during char-gen, starting PC's can hit that 100% skill, and the 85%-90% range is relatively easy.

I have to go back to look at the RQG core rulebook to be sure; but IIRC just with:
  Cultural Weapons + many Cults + many Professions
hit 50%.  Some Cults+Professions higher.
I'd probably set my "Fodder" to that minimum.  Similarly, "Fodder" implies the majority of the army, the bulk of it.  I'd make that strictly average (10/11) for POW, because it'd be really weird for the majority of them to be below average.

I'd add a "Rabble" level below "Fodder"... the ne'er-do-wells who didn't even pick up all the cultural norms, cult training, or a decent profession.

Edited August 11, 2022 by g33k