Pavis & Big Rubble Companion: The Directors' Cut Relaunch

[soltakss]

On 9/17/2023 at 10:30 AM, Diadochoi said:

Ian, we are just about to start a Pavis campaign. Before Secrets of the Borderlands came out I had sketched a campaign structure for the first few years. It partly looks like yours and partly like Simon Phipp's, however I have Troubled Waters (River of Cradles) early on (to have the "wider sense of culture and geography" and to allow deeper contacts to be formed with Zola Fel as an alternative to Pavis for some party members).

I had it very early on in my last Gloranthan Campaign as a GM. The PCs started off as a Pavic street gang but soon abandoned that idea. They were framed for the murder of an important Old Pavic priest and were sentenced to a few seasons penal servitude as militia in the Bug Rubble, then toured Prax and the Wastes as caravan guards for a merchant, where they gained copper limbs and became Earth Children, then did something else and were sentenced to a year's penal servitude as militia in Sun County. While being Sun County militia they did the Troubled Waters scenario with Mello Yello and I ran it as an involuntary HeroQuest. Becoming River Voices was a pivotal moment in the campaign, as it opened up a lot of mystical stuff that they could do and gave them a distinct identity. They combined being River Voices and Earth Children , and that shaped most of the rest of the campaign.

I am going to cover the Earth Children side in Secrets of the Oasis Folk, eventually, and the River Voices side in secrets of the River Voices, even more eventually. Basically, they used being River Voices to bring the Zola Fel into the Wastes, joined up the Oases, brought the Giant Cradle down the Zola Fel, found the Boat Planet in Hell and brought it back, sailing it through the Sky, and worked on proving that all the World's Waters were connected.

[Ian A. Thomson]

Yup, I'll be examining that scenario within a week or two, for Vol. 05

Actually, I could just bring it forward since its topical, and try to get onto it in the next few days

I am quite versed at writing adaptation notes, so should be fine

Intriguing idea to maybe split it into two parts. Will consider

Shout out of thanks to Nick Brooke who is doing the POD conversion for Vol. 02 at the moment! :)

[Nick Brooke]

2 hours ago, Ian A. Thomson said:

Shout out of thanks to Nick Brooke who is doing the POD conversion for Vol. 02 at the moment! 🙂

Doing?

The files are on their way to the printers, already.

[Khaghan]

On 9/19/2023 at 10:04 AM, Joerg said:

 

Huh, hadn't seen that before.  Very interesting.  Thanks for sharing that.  Of course, now the wait for those books to show up is going to be even more annoying, but such is the life of a Glorantha fan...

[Ian A. Thomson]

10 hours ago, Nick Brooke said:

The files are on their way to the printers, already.

You rock sir!

[Erol of Backford]

On 9/20/2023 at 3:46 AM, soltakss said:

where they gained copper limbs and became Earth Children

I am really curious... do tell, maybe a new thread?

[soltakss]

On 9/21/2023 at 8:22 PM, Erol of Backford said:

I am really curious... do tell, maybe a new thread?

Not much to tell, really. They found an old, ruined idol in the Wastes and realised that putting a body part into its mouth meant that the mouth snapped shut, biting off the body part, but when they pulled back the body part was intact but made of living copper. They all had a go, of course and gained copper arms and legs Nobody dared put their vital locations into the mouth. Whenever they met people of the Earth, for example Oasis Folk, they could claim to be Children of the Earth, for who else had living copper limbs? Eventually, it became important in the Resurrecting Genert thread. One Adventurer gained an Earth Boon on a HeroQuest and asked to be entirely copper. He then blew a Copper Trumpet that awakened an army of Copper Warriors, which had a bit of a catch-22 in that the trumpet could only be blown by a Copper warrior and the Copper warriors were buried, like the Terracotta Army, so he got around that quite nicely. 

A lot of the threads in the campaign were intertwined, which is how I like it.

[Ian A. Thomson]

Historical Events in the Campaign?

Wondering if any fine persons can assist me to get a complete list of what historical canon events may have an impact on the Pavis region during the period of the campaign (1619-1625)

Off the top of my head I have

Cradle arrives - Sea season 1621

Lunar Coders arrive

Wedding of Pavis (probably 1622 in this campaign)

Whitewall falls and Windstop blocks Orlanthi magic (what period?)

Some kind of plague affects Pavis County?

Pirates raid Corflu?

Likely I have missed some things

I welcome all assistance, as I am flat out writing and editing the scenarios for Vol. 04 at present :)

[Akhôrahil]

On 9/25/2023 at 4:27 AM, Ian A. Thomson said:

Whitewall falls and Windstop blocks Orlanthi magic (what period?)

The Windstop is Dark/Death/Wind 1621 to Earth/Disorder/Clay 1622. (EDIT: mistakenly was one year early for both before, which would have had massive consequences for the Cradle if true! 🙂 )

Note that it only just covers the River of Cradles, and the Wastelands are unaffected. You may have to decide how Orlanth & Ernalda magic is affected outside it (I'm running with double Rune point cost in my campaign).

https://wellofdaliath.chaosium.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Windstop-in-Prax.jpg

Edited September 27, 2023 by Scotty
fixed image link

[Akhôrahil]

1624: Pavis falls to the Whitebull (not sure what Argrath interpretation you're going with). The upcoming P&tBR stuff from Robin D. Laws presumably starts soon after this. 

[Joerg]

5 hours ago, Ian A. Thomson said:

Historical Events in the Campaign?

Wondering if any fine persons can assist me to get a complete list of what historical canon events may have an impact on the Pavis region during the period of the campaign (1619-1625)

Off the top of my head I have

Cradle arrives - Sea season 1621

Lunar Coders arrive

Wedding of Pavis (probably 1622 in this campaign)

Whitewall falls and Windstop blocks Orlanthi magic (what period?)

Some kind of plague affects Pavis County?

Pirates raid Corflu?

Likely I have missed some things

I welcome all assistance, as I am flat out writing and editing the scenarios for Vol. 04 at present 🙂

IIRC, the coders were on the excavation site at Feroda when the Cradle showed up, bringing their wyverns to the final battle at Corflu.

  HQ Pavis GTA has a test run for the wedding as one of its special encounters (p.266f) as of 1621. It should happen before the WIndstop, or after the flooding (i.e. after Earth Season 1622) as the Windstop is not the time to conduct that kind of festival.

Just now, Akhôrahil said:

The Windstop is Dark/Death/Wind 1620 to Earth/Disorder/Clay 1621.

Add one to both year numbers:
Dark/Death/Wind 1621 to Earth/Disorder/Clay 1622, nearly 32 weeks.

When it ends, the cataclysmic flooding of the Zola Fel follows.

With the water (and probably wells and cisterns) contaminated, a plague might follow.

There are a lot fewer pirates around between the end of the Cradle scenario 1621 and the Battle of Pennel Ford 1624 due to Harrek taking most of the Wolf Pirate ships on his circumnavigation. That doesn't mean none, but Argrath will lead his Wolf Pirate followers in an assault on Corflu after Harrek's debauchery in Nochet comes to a zenith.

You should definitely check out this thread:

 

[Akhôrahil]

Just now, Joerg said:

Add one to both year numbers:
Dark/Death/Wind 1621 to Earth/Disorder/Clay 1622, nearly 32 weeks.

Yep, caught that, but thanks!

[Akhôrahil]

Going by the document https://wellofdaliath.chaosium.com/home/gloranthan-documents/history-of-glorantha/timeline-dragonpass/1616-1625-the-conquest-of-the-holy-country/ (which is still credible in this period):

1619: Fall of Karse, which is relevant because the naval invasion was launched from Corflu.

1620: Argrath performs the Drinking the Giant's Cauldron heroquest

1621: Gimgim returns to the Lunar Empire

1624: Pennel Ford, and people everywhere will see the full Orlanth's Ring rise for the first time since forever.

1624: Corflu liberated by the Whitebull

1625: Liberation of Pavis (so not sure now if the correct date is 1624 or -25)

[Akhôrahil]

1625: The Whitebull army defeated by by a three-armed demon (possibly Cwim).

[Akhôrahil]

1624 (reasonably, Sea season): The raising of the Sky Ship/return of the Boat planet. While not immediately connected to Pavis or the Zola Fel river, this is noted as being a cross-Glorantha event (and its result will be seen everywhere), and having the PCs join something arranged by the Zola Fel priesthood and Diros worshipers seems more than reasonable. Also, some people argue a connection to the Cradle here.

Edited September 25, 2023 by Akhôrahil

[Akhôrahil]

RQG backgrounds:

1624: Jaldon summoned

1625: Fall of Pavis (so this seems to be the official answer)

Edited September 25, 2023 by Akhôrahil

[Ian A. Thomson]

Can someone point me towards details on the Lunar attack on Karse in 1619?

I have missed it in my timeline, but Vol. 03 is still only the start of 1620 and that book still available for updates. That means I can add in a paragraph somewhere - about GMs mentioning the passing of troops earlier in the campaign, or even just a retrospective bit on how there are now less Lunars around since the invasion of Karse is over

Vols. 01 & 02 are no longer available for updates. Both have some last updates already done with final new copies sent to Fabian to upload when he can.

The only change for this latest (and final) update to the Vol. 01 pdf is a more artistic Rubble Map, which unfortunately wasn't thought of and created in time for the POD. (But will be available as a printable download.)

The final changes to Vol. 02 are a few corrections and minor alterations inspired by the Vol. 04 material. Plus the new Rubble map. In the case of Vol. 02 all of this was done in time for the POD layout :) So the soon-to-be updated Vol. 02 pdf will match its POD content. (The Vol. 02 POD will likely be released in late Oct.)

[Akhôrahil]

I doubt there's a lot in canonical sources.

Guide: "1619 (7/48): Karse, a strategic port city in
Heortland, is taken in a surprise naval
assault by the Lunars (mounted from
Corflu in the Wastelands). "

"Karse (small city): Karse is the most
important port for offloading goods destined
for Sartar, or through Sartar to Prax and
Tarsh. The locals are expert boat makers.
Temples to Diros, Pelaskos, Poverri, and
Choralinthor stand near the harbor. Despite
its strong fortifications, the city fell to the
Lunars in 1619 after a dramatic assault by
land and sea."

The whole thing was a Fazzur operation.

Edited September 25, 2023 by Akhôrahil

[7Tigers]

You can check "The invasion of the Holy Country 1619 part 1 & 2":
https://wellofdaliath.chaosium.com/the-invasion-of-1619-part-1/
https://wellofdaliath.chaosium.com/32722-2/

[Joerg]

Apparently Fazzur hired the Wolf Pirates using Corflu as the staging ground. The "marines" forces may have included the same dragonewts we meet two years later on the Cradle.

[jajagappa]

1 hour ago, Ian A. Thomson said:

Can someone point me towards details on the Lunar attack on Karse in 1619?

It's in the Glorantha Sourcebook, the Guide, and Wyrms Footnotes #15.

The Lunars besieged Whitewall, then marched on Karse and took it. They had dragonewt allies who climbed the walls.

Depending on your source, there may or may not have been some ships sent from Corflu to attack from the sea. 

[Diadochoi]

River of Cradles p92 has Lunar agents bringing reports of the defenses and garrisons of Karse to Corflu

Pavis Gateway to adventure p45 chronology mentions the "surprise naval assault from Corflu" and on p68 there are two short paragraphs about this.

Journal of Runic Studies 33 has one line on the assault "by land and sea" as part of a longer description on Karse

[Diadochoi]

1624 (?) when Argrath returns to Prax "The imperial sorcerers had created invisible red ropes which had lassoed the leading beasts of all the nomads in the area and were slowly hauling them into the city." (King of Sartar p16). It might not be the most trustworthy source, but it sounds like an event that needs to feature somehow.

1621 Gim-Gim the Grim, Head of Lunar intelligence in Pavis returns to the Lunar Empire (Sun County p10) or does he? Real, bluff or double bluff?

[nabda]

21 hours ago, jajagappa said:

Depending on your source, there may or may not have been some ships sent from Corflu to attack from the sea. 

the jeff on facebook/editorial line was at least at one point that no ships were ever built at Corflu, but the governor hired some wolf pirates to ferry troops into the mirrorsea and then stiffed them on everything but the down payment

(https://wellofdaliath.chaosium.com/the-failure-of-corflu/)

[Ian A. Thomson]

The timeline (which will be in Vol. 04) is going ahead well. Thanks heaps for the advice

I lack information on two things that I am aware of, and hoping people can point me at sources to check out

Some kind of flood after the Windstop, and some manner of Plague in Pavis County

Are these part of official histories? I seem to recall Argrath of Pavis (I forget his other name) found out how to stop the plague, but can't think where the sources for these things were