Quoth the Raven #22

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Quoth The Raven #22

Front Matter

“Quoth the Raven” and the “Fraternity of Shadows” are neither affiliated nor endorsed by Wizards of the Coast. "Dungeons & Dragons", "D&D", "Ravenloft" and related term are the Copyright and/or Trademark of Wizards of the Coast LLC.

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Quoth the Raven #22

This product is a work of fiction. Names of characters, locations, businesses, races, cultures, and events are either the products of the authors’ imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, actual events, or places is purely coincidental.

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Table of Contents

Front Matter ...... i Table of Contents ...... ii Introduction ...... iii Wolves to Guard the Sheep ...... 1 Andrew “alhoon” Pavlides ...... 1 Relentless ...... 41 By Nathan "Dmitri Stanislaus" Okerlund ...... 41 A Tour of Western Waters ...... 45 By Nathan "Dmitri Stanislaus" Okerlund ...... 45 The Lady in White ...... 71 By Andrew Jensen ...... 71 The Brightwell Legacy ...... 80 By M.H. “Rock” Bartels ...... 80 Die Kaiserreich ...... 113 By Mikhail "NeoTiamat" Rekun ...... 113 Domains That Came Before ...... 132 By Matt White ...... 132 Nation of Progress ...... 168 By Mikhail "NeoTiamat" Rekun ...... 168 The Midnight Market ...... 188 By Mikhail “NeoTiamat” Rekun ...... 188 Mochocarania ...... 204 By John Berndt...... 204 Ustalav Gazetteer ...... 206 By “Jester” David Gibson ...... 206 OGL ...... 243 Back Cover ...... 244

Introduction

“The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.” - Vincent Van Gogh

Here we go again. Number twenty-two.

You’d think after a solid decade of these netbooks we’d run out of content. But here we are, still finding corners of the Mists to explore and new horrors to unearth. Where we find things lacking we invent new terrors, reimagining the lands of Ravenloft to suit our personal needs, and adding new people and places as needed. Take Ustalav. Please. Seriously, take it and add it to your game. That land was created as a little dash of Ravenloft for Pathfinder’s setting of Golarion by noted fan of the Mists, F. Wes Schneider. Since its creation many people have decided to skip the middleman and just move Ustalav into Ravenloft entirely. Recently, I opted to join the trend. I’ve spent the last few years making and remaking maps of Ravenloft. Looking at the Shadow Rift I decided “what if I filled that with land?” And it occurred to me that I could totally squish Ustalav in there. So I did. But that didn’t seem to be enough as this new land lacked a darklord. Rather than write up the lord I decided to pretend that Ustalav had always been a part of the Core and describe it as such. You’ll find the results at the end. This also means the upcoming novel Bloodbound is totally a Ravenloft product. Anyway… Quoth the Raven. This is my second issue and I’m still playing with the formatting, still getting my legs. The theme this time is “Lost Legacies” but, honestly, it feels a little loose. Something to work at for next year I guess.

I hope you enjoy -“Jester” David Gibson October, 2015

iii

Wolves to Guard the Sheep A Menagerie of Monstrous Kargat Law Enforcers Andrew “alhoon” Pavlides [email protected]

As Yondek was returning from the diminutive bed, the one Yondek had helped quarry, he noticed that the door of his Beroon built, was over-turned. That's where neighbor, Beroonm stood slightly ajar. He Beroon and his wife were hiding their most recalled that he didn't see the human in the expensive possessions, the silver bracelets quarry that day. Since most of the workers they received as gifts from the whole village were dwarves like Yordek, a human like for their wedding. The bracelets were Beroon was hard to miss. The dwarf missing, while clothes and other inexpensive frowned; Beroon could never hold his own possessions were there... while the infant's with dwarven liquor, and a couple of nights empty basket was there… while Mersha's ago, after a drink too many in the tavern, doll was abandoned there. he had said some unflattering things about Yondek found his throat dry. Sadness Azalin Rex. Worried, Yondek pushed the replaced fear. He would never see Beroon door, went inside the small wooden house, again, never listen to him bragging about and looked around. No sign of Beroon, or his newborn son, never chastise little his wife either. By that time, they should Mersha for pulling his beard again. Their have been eating dinner or preparing to. mysterious disappearance could have only Their constantly crying newborn son should one explanation in these parts. be making the usual ruckus and their Kargat. hyperactive daughter Mersha should be running about as if bee-stung, laughing. The following article details a Kargat Yondek shivered. “Perhaps they are cell under the command of the vampire visiting relatives,” he thought. Entering the Ermenus. Several Kargat agents are bedroom, he saw that this didn't seem to be detailed, some monstrous, some human or the case; most of their clothes seemed to demi-human. The cell can of course be be there. “Perhaps a short trip then,” made smaller or larger as needed by Yondek thought, trying to calm the removing or adding members to suit the increasing uneasiness. He moved past the gaming needs. Members could also be used bedroom to the kids’ room and bit his lip. individually (as Kargat members or not) if The newborn's crib was there, empty. the DM finds the need in his or her game. Mersha's doll, the one she never parted The cell could also be relocated to a with, was dropped on the floor. Mersha's different rural area of Darkon with slight

modifications. The area covered by the cell Aside from keeping an eye on the local should ideally be of a size such that the cell populace, Ermenus’ cell also deals with could converge in a pre-arranged place Death's minions. Being far from the within a day or so. To support this many Necropolis, operating in a small community, monsters while leaving room for other and having access to a lot of martial power predators, the population should contain through their pawns, they had met with about 7,000-10,000 adult peasants and also success in the past. And with Azalin's return have some travelers passing by. The and their numbers being bolstered, their numbers of the Kargat are enough to task is easier. effectively keep subdued the populace of The Kargat is also instructed to monitor areas of the suggested size. sell-swords, traveling adventurers, and mercenaries operating in the area. The cell The Ermenus Cell members readily comply, since would-be heroes may meddle in their criminal Ermenus' Kargat cell operates on the activities, but take care to not be exposed. southeastern side of the Mountains of Lastly, on the order of their superior Misery and in the few settlements along the Beryl Silvertress in Corvia, the Kargat here Dnar river, the Nova Vaasa border, and the also deal with powerful supernatural or southern part of the Nocturnal seacoast. natural threats. This is done in order to Ermenus is part of the Corvian Kargat make the area more hospitable and speed faction and follows the orders of Beryl up the establishment of a trade route Silvertress. As many in the Corvian faction, between Nova Vaasa and Darkon, to reduce he's afraid of the paranoid dwarven reliance on Falkovnian trade. vampiress, but being far away from her seat of power, he doesn't have much interaction Illegal Activities with her. Using his influence and power, Ermenus walks a fine line between following While, nominally, the purpose of the Azalin's orders and acting as the head of a cell is to provide stability in the area, the well-connected crime organization of monsters that comprise it, both monsters seeking to amass ill-gained supernatural and human, often use their wealth. power to acquire wealth, power, or other personal goals and delights. Since Azalin's Duties return, they take greater effort for these illegal or questionable activities to be at The cell's main duty is to keep this least nominally justifiable. An explanation distant, under-developed, but potentially often given is that through many of these mine-rich area firmly under the crown's acts they get information on other persons control and stop it from becoming a haven involved with criminal activities. for traitors, malcontents and other national Members of the Kargat in the area act threats. While outspoken critics of Azalin as an unofficial assassin's guild for the right vanishing in the night, occasionally with price. The means to contact them are their whole families, isn't an everyday innocuous signs like a black cloth tied to occurrence, it's common enough to instill one's window at night, or a broken candle fear in the population. Subtle clues that the next to one's door etc. These symbols are fates of the vanished are worse than death known by few shady characters, reinforce this fear. unsuspecting of the fact that they are

making deals with the Kargat. When a cell Recent History member is notified of someone wanting to make contact, they usually send an Every few years the Ermenus cell expendable agent to learn more. If the makes a display of power to remind the Kargat find the contract agreeable, they upper echelons of society that they are still arrange a price. As monsters or veteran watched. The vanishing of one's whole warriors with access to magic, deadly immediate family, down to infants in their poisons, and connections, they are very cribs, helps keep malcontents subdued. effective in their grim task. They take care Even if hate towards the Kargat overcame not to betray their identity as Kargat while fear, the people don't know where to strike; taking such tasks, even if their unsuspecting they do know, though, that killers in the clients ask them to pin the murder on the dark would strike at the loved ones of any Kargat. If a client somehow suspects that mob leaders. Once, as a show of power, the the assassination involved the Kargat, he Kargat directly confronted a mob seeking meets the same fate as the target. vengeance. The monsters easily turned the Having easy access to illegal or locally attack into a massacre that left more than a regulated items, armed and loyal agents to score of villagers dead. The cell never carry them, and control over much of the resorted to this tactic again, preferring to illegal activities makes smuggling easy for strike from the shadows ever since. The the Ermenus cell. Dealing with troublesome Ermenus cell kept these intimidation black-market vendors that cut too deep in practices during the years of Azalin's their profits reduces competition. Being the absence even though the numbers of the main suppliers of deadly poisons in the area cell dwindled. (and taking care to keep their monopoly) A most notorious case was shortly after the Cell has a very good idea of who wants Azalin's return, while tensions were high, as to poison whom. was individual ambition. A rural baron with Stealing valuables from the victims of suspected loyalties in the cell's area had their brutal sense of justice is seen as a ordered the execution of a poisoner found side-benefit of the job for the Ermenus cell, in his court. Unknown to the baron, the although they inform Azalin or Silvertress of poisoner was a member of Ermenus' Kargat exceptional items found. If a threat isn't of cell and the execution took place before immediate concern, the cell is not above Ermenus could learn about it. The baron's waiting for their future victims to acquire a apparent ignorance of the poisoner's little more wealth for them to steal. They identity didn't hold sway. The Ermenus cell usually sell their ill-gotten treasure in Corvia utilized the considerable means at their or other nearby settlements. disposal to hatch an assassination plot. Some members of the cell are actively A week after the execution of the partaking in banditry or extortion, saying poisoner, the baron vanished without a these acts help maintain their cover and trace, his bodyguards slain, his servants keep in check where the bandits attack. poisoned, his children murdered and his After a couple of years, these members most valuable possessions missing. Just a arrange for their pawns to be trapped and drop of blood on the baron's bed hinted of arrested by the local authorities. his fate. Just a couple of hours had passed since the grisly discovery when a messenger from castle Avernus brought a royal decree

elevating another noble to the rank of the Ermenus baron, leaving no doubt that the dreaded Kargat was behind the gruesome crime. The undead leader that has been in Unsurprisingly, no investigation ever took control of the cell since the Grand place into the killings. A week after the Conjuction. murders, the vanished baron's zombie Description walked stiffly into the nearby village and Ermenus is an imposing figure of a man was destroyed by the horrified villagers. The in his late thirties. He's tall and athletic with new baron is considerably more eager to black hair and blessed with comely, if remain on Azalin's good side. predatory and sharp, features. He usually The Requiem and the turbulent years wears a suit of black studded leather armor that followed weakened the hold of the that fits him perfectly. Instead of the usual Kargat in the area, but Beryl Silvertress kept rivets and spikes used in such armor, the enough control on the Ermenus cell to metal pieces of Ermenus' armor are shaped ensure that they were serving the absent like small skulls. He carries with him a Azalin Rex, at least partially, while indulging longsword and wears a piece or two of their avarice and gluttony on the side. The elegant, expensive jewelry. numbers of the cell have been reduced in In the rare cases that he intermingles the years of Azalin's absence but the with the living, Ermenus wears the clothes Ermenus cell was resourceful enough to expected from a successful merchant or keep the appearance of a strong presence member of the gentry, along with a piece of in handling an ever increasing number of jewelry -often one seeming to be of too problems with an ever decreasing number high quality for his professed identity- and of members. still carries with him his longsword in a Azalin's return saw the battered cell fashionable sheath. rewarded with items of power to help them perform their duties and stabilize the area Background and soon, more members started replacing Ermenus was born in Karg but lost his casualties. While Ermenus wasn't promoted parents to the Crimson Death. He survived for keeping control of this area for the king, with his brother and later thrived in the he didn't face reprisals for the criminal rough underbelly of the city through a mix activities his cell partook of either. Since of his own charm, ferocity, and smarts. He Azalin Rex returned, the Ermenus cell has and the ragtag gang he had gathered were been more careful in their extra-legal occasionally used by the Kargat without activities, trying to at least have a modicum their knowledge. A member of the Kargat of justification for their acts. took special notice of him and, after passing the tests that the Kargat and Azalin put in Members his way, he was brought in the fold of the monstrous police of Darkon, leaving his The list of the monsters and humans former life, his brother, and his allies that comprise the Ermenus cell is detailed in behind. After several years of service, this section. Ermenus was given the opportunity to rise in the ranks by accepting the curse of Lycanthropy. Serving Azalin as a werewolf for a decade, he was turned to a vampire

about 2 decades before the Grand that if he looks closely, he would see the Conjuction. After Darkon expanded in the tortured form of a former lieutenant of his wake of the Great Upheaval, Ermenus was in the middle, pierced by the crystal and sent to the rural, unpopulated region that painting it red with his blood as he twitches had been part of Arak to keep the area helplessly, his mind lost to eternal pain firmly under Azalin's grasp. While the several decades ago. Ermenus was never position wasn't prestigious, he and his notified what his lieutenant did to suffer this monstrous followers managed to make a punishment. profit from the isolation. He kept serving Ermenus is greedy and lusts for power, Azalin even during the years of the king’s but won't take foolish risks in order to absence. accumulate wealth and power, and he won't One of the most difficult tasks he had betray Azalin in exchange of money or to perform for the Kargat, was the order to favors; he has been tested on the matter kill his brother within the first year that he several times. Like most members of the had joined the organization. He did so Kargat, he's loyal to Azalin. His loyalty is without even asking why, proving his loyalty based in a mix of fear for the lich's power, to the King. However, visions of his appreciation of what he has been given and brother's look of betrayal when he saw his expectation of more power and wealth if he murderer still haunt him. keeps being useful. He has instilled enough Ermenus has headed the homonymous fear of the Kargat in the local leaders, and cell for over two decades. He's the only one amassed enough favors and blackmail from the original group that still serves in material through his proxies to be a very that area. He has been there since the first significant, if hidden, power in the area. mining camps and fishing communities were While not especially cruel for a vampire, established and knows the area and its few Ermenus has no love for the people of citizens very well, as well as he knows the Darkon under his care. He has no qualms dangers and sinister creatures that plague about sacrificing innocents to achieve his it, since many of them actually work for goals or in service to Azalin. He views them him. more like work-animals that are kept alive Current Sketch and healthy for the benefit of their owner, and himself and his cell as the guard-dogs. Ermenus is a member of the Corvia Strict, evil, and of the opinion that a cowed faction of the Kargat, and like most cell populace is an obedient populace, Ermenus leaders of this faction he's afraid of the strikes at the families or loved ones of paranoia that plagues his superior, the perceived threats and wrong-doers when he dwarf vampiress Beryl Silvertress. The rare, acts in his capacity as secret police and and always unannounced, visits of the expects his subordinates to do the same. vampiress to the area send the cell into a His relations with the rest of the Kargat frantic, near-panic state as they jump over that comprise his cell are more individual- one another to make sure Silvertress will be based but he expects respect and pleased with them; their existence depends obedience. He is loyal to his cell and its on it. After all, the dwarf vampiress always prosperity, not so much to individual brings with her a cane topped with a members. While he would sacrifice transparent crystal containing a crimson- members of the cell if needed, he would hued nebula in the center. Ermenus knows avoid doing so unless necessary. Also, a

strike at one of his officers is seen as a For a few in his network, he exacts grave insult in his eyes. To him, it is like a control with the promise of an elixir of prisoner attacking one of the prison guards. youth and beauty similar to the one used by He retaliates swiftly and without hesitation. Lady Kazandra. Those that are "elevated" The vampire avoids mingling much with are given a taste of a special concoction humans, since his weaknesses may betray that includes a bit of the vampire's blood. his nature. When he has to do so, he The potion subtly changes the imbiber's pretends to be a minor noble or retired mind to make them more loyal to their mercenary with noble blood. He doesn't supposedly enlightened alchemist tutor wear his armor in public, but he still carries while slowing down age and subtly his sword. enhancing the imbiber's beauty. True His one morsel of guilt is the killing of immortality is said to be kept for those that his brother, so many decades ago. He sees truly prove themselves. Ermenus usually this act as the turning point in his existence. has about four or five people that have Visions of his brother plague him used the potion at any one time and about occasionally when he's alone. In his rare as many that are still trying to win the favor meetings with Azalin since becoming of the extended life and beauty that the undead, the lich darklord hinted that the potion provides. None of them are aware phantom may not be a figment of Ermenus’ that the potion's benefits fade with time. imagination, but hasn't revealed more yet. Even suspicion that one of his To his annoyance, Ermenus has found informants has a hint about his monstrous that the guilt associated with this condition nature or his affiliation is enough for triggers an involuntary change to wolf form Ermenus to dispose of the potential trouble- whenever someone mentions his brother's maker. Most of his informants are unaware name (Meretus) to him. The change to of the extent of the network. For the undeath didn't cure him of this affliction. "cultists" and seekers of immortality and Azalin and his superior, Beryl Silvertress, even for some of the criminals in his know of this condition. To his horror, he network, he instills fear by pointing a finger finds that people named "Meretus" seem to to the "evil Kargat". He portrays them as migrate into the area every few years. nameless antagonists eager to steal his These always seem to have somewhat secrets and slay those that partook in them. similar appearance to him, for people to The people that would risk their lives and confuse him in the night. He once had to kill the lives of their families for eternal youth a person that called him Meretus, triggering or monetary rewards are exactly the kind of his change. people he wants in his employ, although Ermenus informants he's wise enough to never ever trust them with more information than they absolutely Aside from his zombies and the cell he need to know. leads, Ermenus has a network of ordinary Very rarely, he will bring the case of a people under his indirect control, spread particularly promising and immoral agent to throughout the area, to act as his Beryl Silvertress, and then to Azalin himself. informants. For some, it is blackmail; for Sometimes the agent will be deemed others, it is as simple as money. He's not acceptable and be elevated to the Kargat, above paying a few gold pieces to a thug while other candidates will fail the tests put and sending him to fight an enemy. before them and perish. The dwarf Enthor is

the only current Kargat member in the cell of the Grave -Death's minions- in the area, that has been recruited by Ermenus. by any means necessary. He would work Goals with enemies, offer rewards from his own pocket, and take substantial risks to deal Ermenus is content at this time with his with them. influence in the area and is concentrated on In combat, he prefers to disable and amassing wealth and magical items. Dealing capture enemies if possible. This is not out with the phantom visions of his brother of mercy, but in order to either interrogate looking at him, shocked and betrayed in the them or keep them to feed on and then turn moment of his death, is in his agenda, but into zombies with his bite. He takes care to he endures them for now. He will also take fight within a few miles of one of his coffins, risks to keep the trigger of his involuntary but the area is large enough that he doesn't changes hidden. Finding and slaying people always have this luxury. While it would take named after his brother is also a priority for too much effort to set up more coffins with him, but he takes care to not raise suspicion enough earth so he can sleep in them, he in the other Kargat members while dealing can have some of the existing coffins with them. moved. Tactics and Skills Since he's unable to enter residences While he lacks magical ability, Ermenus uninvited, Ermenus tries to lure enemies he is skilled in both mounted combat and in wishes to confront personally outside, alchemy. He can prepare the special preferably away from civilization. To bypass concoction Kargat vampires create to trap his inability to enter a building uninvited, he mortals and a variety of poisons. His bite either bribes, intimidates or charms his way turns creatures to zombies under his control in. Occasionally, he has had a Kargat agent instead of vampire spawn. If he feeds a or other proxy seduce someone from the special, expensive alchemical brew to a place and take residence, only to invite the creature before turning it to zombie, the evil Kargat leader in on the following night. target becomes a different kind of obedient Lair dead, capable of speech and having better Ermenus has two main hiding spots, reasoning abilities. but he has hidden a few more coffins His usual way of dealing with human or containing the necessary dirt throughout demi-human threats is to gather enough the area. information through his subordinates and He hides a coffin and much of his large network of informants to assess the wealth in a secret compartment below a situation. Then he usually sends proxies to prison tower called the "Tower of soften up and deal with the opposition, Vengeance," which lies near a coastal confronting the threat himself, or through village. The vampire’s lair was built along his agents, afterwards. When dealing with with the tower itself. The compartment is undead or powerful supernatural enemies, accessible through an iron grate in the though, he acts faster, trying to eradicate lower level of the tower, which Ermenus the enemy before much damage is done to passes through as either a bat or cloud of the area. Having received orders to the mist. The grate opens into a short tunnel of cause and also having lost members to soft earth and is used by the guards to them, he takes special care to find and empty chamber-pots and filthy water. A destroy any operative of the Unholy Order

large number of centipedes, roaches, and Ermenus rats inhabit this foul smelling tunnel, at the end of which is an opening about a foot Medium undead, neutral evil wide. Behind that opening lies a large, clean chamber with stone-tiled floor, roof and Armor Class 18 (natural armor and walls. It contains the coffin and a couple of studded leather armor) chests holding important books, valuable Hit Points 76 (9d8 +36) gems, coins and items belonging to the Speed 30 ft. vampire. The tower has several cells for prisoners and a few guards that are mostly Str 18 (+4) Dex 18 (+4) Con 18 (+4) unaware of the predator in their midst. The Int 16 (+3) Wis 15 (+2) Cha 16 (+3) tower also (due to the interference of the vampire) harbors Lost Ones and madmen. Saving Throws Dex+7, Wis+5 Ermenus occasionally feeds on prisoners, making sure that they won't betray his Skills Deception+6, empathy+5, presence. A wraith is bound in the room intimidation+6, perception+5, and acts as its guard. persuasion+6, stealth+7, local area His other lair is a deep cave in a cliff, at knowledge+6, alchemist's tools+6 the foothills of the Mountains of Misery, Damage Resistances necrotic; bludgeoning, which acts as the informal headquarters of piercing, and slashing from non-magical the Kargat here. Inaccessible except by weapons flying, a hidden path, or dangerous Conditional Immunities charmed, climbing, this cave contains another of exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, Ermenus' coffins as well as alchemical tools, poisoned, stunned reagents, maps of the area and larger items Senses Darkvision 120’, passive Perception of value, along with more coins and 16 valuables that the agents can use. This cave is furnished and is occasionally used by the Languages Darkonese, Falkovnian, Vaasi, Kargat for meetings. This lair is trapped Dwarven, Elven with dangerous magical traps. A few Challenge 8 (3900 xp) obedient dead servants created by his bite reside in the cave and are tasked with Shapechanger. If Ermenus isn't in sunlight maintenance and passing messages. or running water, he can use his action to Aside from his resting places, the polymorph into a Tiny bat, a Medium Kargat has safe-houses built for the purpose wolf, a Medium cloud of mist, or back of holding prisoners. Ermenus and the other into his true form. monstrous members of the Kargat feed While in bat form, Ermenus can't speak, from those prisoners regularly, until their his walking speed is 5 feet, and he has a health deteriorates to near-death, at which flying speed of 30 feet. While in wolf points Ermenus turns them to zombies under his command or has them killed. form, his walking speed is 40 feet. His AC in both forms is 16. His statistics, other than his size, AC and speed, are unchanged. Anything he is wearing

transforms with him, but nothing he is least 1 hit point and isn't in sunlight or carrying does. running water. lf he takes radiant While in mist form, Ermenus can't take any damage or damage from holy water, this actions, speak, or manipulate objects. He trait doesn't function at the start of his is weightless, has a flying speed of 20 next turn. feet, can hover, and can enter a hostile Spider climb. Ermenus can climb difficult creature's space and stop there. In surfaces, including upside down on addition, if air can pass through a space, ceilings, without needing to make an the mist can do so without squeezing. He ability check. can't pass through water. He has Vampire weaknesses. Ermenus has the advantage on Strength, Dexterity, and following weaknesses: Constitution saving throws, and he is Aversion to mirrors. Ermenus casts no immune to all nonmagical damage, reflection on mirrors or flat polished except the damage he takes from metal. He cannot willingly approach close sunlight. to a strongly presented mirror. Legendary Resistance (1/day). If Ermenus Forbiddance. Ermenus can't enter a fails a saving throw, he can choose to residence without an invitation from one succeed instead. of the occupants or permission by Azalin Action surge (1/short rest). On his turn, Rex, if in Darkon. Ermenus can use one extra action and Harmed by Running Water. Ermenus takes one extra bonus action. 20 acid damage if he ends his turn in Apply poison. Ermenus usually applies a running water. poison to his longsword before entering Shadowless. Ermenus casts no shadow. combat with living enemies. Stake to the Heart. If a piercing weapon Misty escape. When he drops to 0 hp made of wood is driven into Ermenus's outside his resting place, Ermenus heart while he is incapacitated in his transforms into a cloud of mist (as in the resting place, Ermenus is paralyzed until Shapechanger trait) instead of falling the stake is removed. unconscious, provided that he isn't in Sunlight Hypersensitivity. Ermenus takes 20 sunlight or running water. If he can't radiant damage when he starts his turn in transform, he is destroyed. sunlight. While in sunlight, he has While he has 0 hp in mist form, he can't disadvantage on attack rolls and ability change his shape, and he must reach his checks. resting place within 2 hours or be Trigger. While Ermenus is no longer a destroyed. Once in his resting place, he werewolf, he still has a morsel of that reverts to his vampire form. He is then curse remaining. When someone paralyzed until he spends 1 hour in his mentions his brother's name (Meretus) to resting at which point he regains 1 hp Ermenus, the vampire's guilt triggers an and starts regenerating as normal. involuntary transformation to his wolf Regeneration. Ermenus regains 10 hit form and he cannot change his form until points at the start of his turn if he has at dawn. Unable to change to mist form,

the undead will instead be destroyed if he if this effect reduces its hit point maximum is reduced to 0 hp while under this to 0 and doesn't rise from the dead. involuntary change. Ermenus' alignment Charm. Ermenus targets one humanoid he changes to chaotic evil for the duration of can see within 30 feet of her. If the target the change and he will seek to destroy can see Ermenus, the target must succeed those that uttered his brother's name. on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw against this magic or be charmed by Ermenus. Actions The charmed target regards Ermenus as Multi-attack (vampire form). Ermenus a trusted friend to be heeded and makes two attacks, only one of which can protected. Although the target isn't under be a bite attack. Ermenus's control, he or she takes Unarmed Strike (vampire form). Melee Ermenus's requests or actions in the most weapon attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., favorable way possible, and he or she is one target. Hit: 7 (1d6+4) bludgeoning a willing target for Ermenus's bite attack. damage. Instead of dealing damage, Each time Ermenus or Ermenus's Ermenus can grapple the target (escape companions do anything harmful to the DC 15) target, he or she can repeat the saving Bite (bat or vampire form). Melee weapon throw, ending the effect on him or herself attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one willing, on a success. Otherwise, the effect lasts grappled by Ermenus, incapacitated or 24 hours or until Ermenus is destroyed, is restrained target. Hit: 7 (1d6+4) piercing in a different domain than the target, or damage plus 7 (2d6) necrotic damage. takes a bonus action to end the effect. The target's hit point maximum is reduced Children of the night (1/day). Ermenus by an amount equal to the necrotic magically calls 3 swarms of bats or rats, damage taken, and Ermenus regains hit provided that the sun isn't up. While points equal to that amount. The outdoors, Ermenus can call 2d6 wolves reduction lasts until the target finishes a instead. The called creatures arrive in long rest. The target dies if this effect 1d4+1 rounds, acting as allies of the reduces its hit point maximum to 0. A vampire and obeying his spoken humanoid slain in this way rises the commands. The beasts remain for 1 hour, following minute as a zombie under until Ermenus dies, or until he dismisses Ermenus's control. them as a bonus action. Bite (wolf form). Melee weapon attack: +7 Longsword+1 (vampire form). Melee to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 weapon attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., (2d6+4) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) one target. Hit: 9 (1d8+5) slashing necrotic damage. The target's hit point damage. If the blade is poisoned the maximum is reduced by an amount equal target must make a constitution saving to the necrotic damage taken, and throw (DC 14) on a hit. On failure the Ermenus regains hit points equal to that target takes 4d6 poison damage. The amount. The reduction lasts until the target is also poisoned for 1 minute and target finishes a long rest. The target dies

can repeat the saving throw at the end of will find less trouble dealing with this his turn to end the condition at a success. monster. Successfully locating and A character dropped to 0 hp by this poison destroying his coffins or finding out about doesn't die; he or she remains at 1 hp his trigger makes the vampire more but is paralyzed for 2d4 minutes. The vulnerable. poison is effective for 5 minutes after Dermont ("Kerment") applied or until Ermenus damages a creature with his sword. The doppelganger Dermont is the leader of the Charred Raiders, a vicious group of bandits that receive the blame for Legendary Actions many of the cell's crimes, on top of their Ermenus can take 1 legendary action from own. He uses the false name "Kerment" in the options below. The action can be his persona as bandit leader. used only at the end of another creature’s turn. He regains his spent Description legendary action at the start of his turn. Dermont is a doppelganger and as such his appearance changes. To his chagrin Move. Ermenus moves up to 30’ without though, he has developed a small, telltale provoking attacks of opportunity, as long scar in the palm of his left hand, which as he doesn’t have a grappled target. remains in all his forms. Attack (Vampire form). Ermenus makes As the leader of the Dark Raiders, he one unarmed strike or one weapon appears like a tall, athletic man in his 30s, attack. with short dark hair and a trimmed goatee. Bite. Ermenus can make one bite attack He dresses in studded leather armor and against a grappled or willing target if in simple, dark brown practical clothes. He vampire or bat form or a normal bite hides his hand, and the scar, with gloves. attack while in wolf form. Background Assist. Ermenus can bark a command to Dermont is an outlander doppelganger one of his allies able to understand him with some skill in magic, claimed by or to one of the creatures or swarms he Darkon's memory altering powers. What he summoned. The target makes an attack remembers is that he comes from a family as directed with advantage on the hit roll of doppelgangers that made a pact with certain mountain spirits from the Balinoks, Equipment several generations ago, to act as wolves in Studded Leather armor, longsword+1, 2 sheep's clothing, keeping the spread of doses of poison, 2d6+10 gold pieces, humanity and civilization in check, in jewelry worth at least 250 gp. Ermenus exchange for magical power. What he has forgotten is that all this happened in a cell ring, Ermenus cell mask. different world, not in the Balinoks. Azalin,

Beryl Silvertess and Ermenus know that his Confronting Ermenus: Given a few memories are false. He remembers traveling rounds to prepare, Ermenus is a powerful through Darkon, living a comfortable enemy, as his challenge rating suggests, although somewhat boring life, developing able to call allies and use poison. However, players that make use of his weaknesses

his magical power slowly for a few years, Current Sketch after leaving his clan to seek his own future. Dermont enjoys deception, Eventually, while having taken the misdirection, trickery and confusion. He is place of a minor noble, he was discovered not especially cruel, nor sadistic, although by the Kargat and arrested. Instead of the voice of the vengeful sorceress identity being punished for his crimes, though, he from his past urges him to exact more was offered to join the monstrous punishing revenge on members of the organization. He found himself enjoying his guard and sometimes, he complies. new position, which allows him to keep an Having adopted the guise of a bandit eye on human numbers, and gives him with sorcerous powers and then, after that access to powerful allies, along with enough persona’s "demise," the guise of his thrill to keep his life interesting. vengeful sister, he has been instructed by In the years that he has worked for Ermenus to avoid using magic in his current Ermenus, he has usually led a bandit gang form. He keeps a non-magical wand as a for a year or two, gathering notoriety and prop on his person in case he has to use diverting the blame from the Kargat when magic. needed. Eventually he would betray his Dermont is reasonably loyal to the followers and set them up for the guards Kargat and Azalin, enjoying his position, his and the Kargat constable Opreir to capture role fitting well with the pact made by his them. A little trickery and make-up would family, and respecting the power of the make someone else pass for the bandit darklord and the organization. He also leader he pretended to be, enough for the knows that if he is ever suspected of not peasants to cheer the severed head of the acting in the interests of Azalin or against criminal bandit lord, without knowing the the wishes of his superiors, he would suffer real perpetrator is usually among them a fate worse than death. With Dermont's cheering. ability to read minds and his ability to Much to his horror, Dermont started to change his appearance, he is a very be influenced, subtly at first, by his valuable member of the cell. Leading a discarded identities. With every cycle of group of bandits has all sorts of benefits for betrayal, the situation seems to grow the Kargat as well. worse. At first he noticed subtle changes to Dermont is a master of adopting his persona and mannerisms. Then, after different identities for some time. His leaving behind the identity of a bandit with adopted identity has specific mannerisms, magical powers, he started hearing the ways of speech and other characteristics voice of that persona in his head. The worst and traits that are different from other yet came after leaving behind the identity of identities he has used in the past, making it the sorceress sister of that bandit, who was nearly impossible for people that knew one seeking revenge. Dermont found out that of his identities to recognize something the cosmetic scar he had put in the left familiar in a new one. When he has to palm of the "vengeful sorceress" remained imitate an existing person, Dermont spends in all his forms, marking him forever, and he as much time as possible studying his or her now could hear her voice urging him to mannerisms, quirks and ways of speaking. seek revenge for the death of her brother Unlike some others of his kin, he prefers to who never-existed. keep a single appearance most of the time,

changing his appearance only when needed rub their hands in the ashes of their for a short time. Such secondary identities, comrade. At the insistence of a past as he calls them, usually blend to the assumed identity, baronial and community background and go unnoticed. guards captured by the group may also end Dermont's years of crimes, betrayal, up in Caleb's furnace. and assuming identities have made a mark Aside from fear, the Charred Raiders on his mind and recently on his body. To his follow Dermont and Caleb because they horror, he has found that the identities he often seem to have information about the adopts seem to influence him and his mind location of rich caravans and the activities progressively more, subtly changing the of the baronial and community guard or way he acts and thinks. After the voices of even anti-banditry campaigns by local past identities started invading his mind and heroes. the scar appeared on his hand, he realized A notorious and mobile bandit group that he merges more and more with each active in the area is useful to the Kargat. passing identity. Afraid of the implications, Many of the monsterous agents prey on Dermont has started spending more time in humans and demihumans. Leaving the his own form, although he detests it as mutilated or rotted bodies near a road, unprofessional. Ermenus informed Azalin pierced by arrows, points the finger towards about the situation, but the darklord didn't the bandits. Also, the bandits are a seem to be concerned. convenient way to deal with traveling Dermont often leaves his bandits for a enemies when the Kargat doesn't want to short period for a mission, telling them that show their cards. In a more opportunistic he goes to gather information. Usually role, the mercenaries under control of Caleb remains in his stead to keep order, different Kargat agents enjoy better but both could be absent without major payment, and the populace are more problems. accepting of a secret police in their midst if Charred Raiders the dangers of the area are greater. The bandits Dermont currently leads Goals with the help of the infamous "Caleb the Dermont's main goal is to halt and Baker" currently number about a score of reverse the merging of his mind and body stone-hearted criminals. These bandits have with identities he creates. He knows his a number of hide-outs in the area and magical knowledge on the subject is not usually go out in groups of five to eight. enough and, knowing his partners and While some have some wilderness skills, superiors well, he doesn't expect sympathy they're more content to take their food at or mercy from his cell, Azalin Rex, or even sword-point than hunt for it. While Dermont his fey patrons. As such, he has redoubled isn't usually cruel with his followers, those his efforts to be useful to Azalin Rex, hoping that show severe disobedience, try to desert to earn his help, and also seeks to learn the group, or steal from him are made into more transformation magic and understand an example and given over to the other its principles. So far, he has had little Kargat agent, Caleb. success, managing to gather only a little The group takes its name from the knowledge. charred, smoky husk that remains after this punishment, and the others are forced to

Lair Pact of the blade. Dermont can use his Dermont doesn't have a specific lair, action to create a pact weapon in his and travels from hide-out to hide-out. empty hand. He can choose the form that this melee weapon takes. This weapon counts as magical for the purpose of Dermont overcoming resistance and immunity to Medium monstrosity (Shapechanger), non-magical attacks and damage. His neutral evil pact weapon disappears if he dismisses it, creates another, or if it's more than 5'

Armor Class 16 (armor) away from him for a minute. Hit Points 65 (8d8 +16, he has above Eldrich blade. As a bonus action, Dermont average hit points) can temporarily charge his pact blade Speed 30 ft. with the force of his eldrich blast. The weapon counts is charged until it strikes a

Str 12 (+1) Dex 18 (+4) Con 14 (+2) target or for 1 round and deals 5 (1d10) Int 13 (+1) Wis 13 (+1) Cha 16 (+3) extra force damage on a hit. Spellcasting: Dermont is a 5th lvl

Saving Throws Wisdom+3, charisma+5 spellcaster. He has +5 to attack with Skills deception+7, insight+3, knowledge spells and the DC for his spells is 13. (arcana)+3, perception+3 Dermont knows the following spells and Senses darkvision 60’, passive Perception casts them all as 3rd lvl spells. He has 2 13 spell slots that he regains after a short or Languages Darkonese, Vaasi, Dwarven long rest. Challenge 4 (1100 xp) cantrips (at will): Eldrich blast, mage hand, prestidigitation

Shapechanger. Dermont can use his action Known spells (2 slots): Armor of Agathys, to polymorph into a Small or Medium sleep, hold person, phantasmal force, humanoid he has seen, or back into his suggestion, hunger of Hadar. true form. His statistics, other than his size, are the same in each form. Any Actions equipment he's wearing or carrying isn’t Misty visions. Dermont can cast silent transformed. He reverts to his true form if image at will without expending spell slots he dies. or components. Ambusher. The doppelganger has Multiattack. Dermont can make two melee advantage on attack rolls against any attacks, or attack twice with his eldrich creature he has surprised. blast cantrip Surprise Attack. If Dermont surprises a Short sword (pact blade). Melee weapon creature and hits it with an attack during attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. the first round of combat, the target takes Hit: 7 (1d6+4) piercing damage. If the an extra 10 (3d6) damage from the blade is charged with Eldrich blade attack.

power, the target also takes 5 (1d10) Since Dermont was unaware that the force damage. scar in his palm would remain, there are Eldrich blast. ranged spell attack: +5 to several victims alive that have seen the scar hit, reach 40 ft., one target. Hit: 8 in the palm of the bandit sorceress, (1d10+3) force damage. supposedly beheaded some months ago. Also, as his own personality merged to a Read Thoughts. Dermont magically reads degree with the identities he has adopted, the surface thoughts of one creature he occasionally visits places in which he within 60 feet of him. The effect can used to dwell in his two previous bandit penetrate barriers, but 3 feet of wood or personas. dirt, 2 feet of stone, 2 inches of metal, or a thin sheet of lead blocks it. While the Caleb target is in range, the doppelganger can Caleb "the baker" is the lieutenant of continue reading its thoughts, as long as Dermont, mainly in charge of keeping the his concentration isn't broken. While bandits in their place and assisting Dermont reading the target's mind, Dermont has in assassinations. advantage on Wisdom (Insight) and Description Charisma (Deception, Intimidation, and Caleb is a muscular man in his late 20s, Persuasion) checks against the target. usually with mussed auburn hair. He usually has a sneering smile and his dark eyes Equipment seem to hold a cruelty that sets many Short sword (pact blade), Ermenus cell people on edge. His arms show signs of mask, potion of healing, non-magical scars that he has made himself and he wand, false potion. If the mission requires often exhibits minor burns in his hands and it, Dermont may be carrying poison or face. Caleb dresses in breast plate armor another potion from those available to and carries his sword with him. the Kargat. Background Caleb was the son of a minor noble in Confronting Dermont Nartok who owed several taverns, bakeries, Dermont, being a bandit leader, is and mills. Even as a child, Caleb was known accustomed to heroes trying to deal with for his fascination with fire and his cruelty. him. Unlike his previous two identities, he In his early teens, he would throw hot coals pretends to have no magical power in this on the kitchen staff for amusement, or hunt form. As such, he would avoid using his other kids with a hot poker. Later it was considerable prowess unless threatened discovered that he would throw live cats and, if it comes to that, he will try to leave and dogs in the furnace, enjoying their no witnesses. He carries with him a false screams. His own family stopped protecting wand and a colored water bottle to use as him when, one morning, the horrified props in case he has to use his magic. If he personnel of the biggest bakery in his expects he will need to use magic, he will family's holdings discovered a charred take a different form before battle and have human corpse in the largest furnace. No only Kargat members to support him. one had any doubts as to who was behind

that horrible murder and Caleb escaped the knowing they're above his power but town ahead of an angry mob. believes Azalin will eventually promote him. It was then that the Kargat approached The many inhuman deeds Caleb has Caleb. He was being watched, and the committed have affected him. Since the discovery of the corpse was no accident but discovery that he burns easier but can make the first test. Caleb joined the Kargat, his blood ignite, when "baking" he uses his rejoicing in the opportunity to develop his own blood to start the fire under his fascination. He served as muscle or torturer begging and screaming victim. There have in Corvia and settlements around it for a been a couple of surviving witnesses to this few years until he was sent to join the power, so he's been instructed by Ermenus Ermenus cell. to not over-use the ability. Caleb can also Caleb has gathered notoriety for see invisible creatures if they're in the light himself in his time in the area, being of an open fire. elevated to a local bogeyman. He's known While his arrogance makes him unable for joining bandit groups and acting as a to see it, both Ermenus and Dermont cruel enforcer for them. News spread consider Caleb's insanity and well-known quickly that the gang of bandits led by obsession with fire to be a possible liability. Kerment (Dermont's alias) accepted him, While Ermenus will take steps to protect and that, after dealing with those that Caleb, save him if he's captured or avenge disagreed with the decision, the band was him if he's killed, the vampire is worried named "The Charred Raiders.". His antics of that the unhinged man's antics may expose burning people alive, or even locking them him when disguised on a mission. The in ovens and furnaces to burn slowly, have missions he receives more often involve him not only earned him notoriety, but have torturing a suspect to get a confession, or occasionally forced the bandits he joins to acting in his notorious persona to get rid of relocate to avoid the angry ghosts of his someone, rather than infiltration and victims. The Charred Raiders have started espionage; he's not considered subtle forcing priests to give proper funerals to enough for these tasks, although rarely he's those "baked" by Caleb and also use holy given such missions when necessary and water on the remains. Most of the priests while Caleb hasn't made a serious mistake return shaken, but physically unharmed, yet, Ermenus is watching him. from such tasks. Goals Recently, Caleb discovered that his Caleb wants to distinguish himself so obsession with fire has made him more that he may rise higher in the Kargat, and flammable; he's easily injured by fire. then he will plead his case to Azalin to make However, he also discovered that he can him a baron. After all, who would suspect a make his blood spontaneously ignite, once baron of being a member of the Kargat? As it's outside his body. a baron, Caleb plans to get fiery revenge on Current Sketch the peasants that chased him away from Caleb is sadistic, cruel, arrogant, and Nartok. has an obsession with fire that borders on pyromania. He's a very skilled warrior and he's trained in stealth and torture. He follows the orders of Dermont and Ermenus

Caleb the Baker within 5 feet of one of Caleb's allies that isn't incapacitated and he doesn't have Medium humanoid, chaotic evil disadvantage on the attack roll. Ignitable blood. Caleb can make his blood Armor Class 17 (armor) ignite once it's outside of his body, if it's Hit Points 75 (10d8 +30) within 60' of him and it's fresh (less than Speed 30 ft. 1 day old or preserved with alchemy). Once he receives at least 1 hp of slashing Str 18 (+4) Dex 15 (+2) Con 16 (+3) damage, Caleb can throw and ignite his Int 12 (+1) Wis 12 (+1) Cha 12 (+1) blood as an action, or apply it to his sword as a bonus action. To apply it, he Saving Throws Strength+6, constitution+5 takes 2 slashing damage and his sword Skills Athletics+5, deception+3, deals an extra 1d8 fire damage for 1 intimidation+3, perception+3, minute or until he hits a target. Caleb stealth+4, torturer's tools+4 cannot use this ability on consecrated Damage vulnerabilities fire ground. Senses passive Perception 13 Allergen. Holy water, while not actually Languages Darkonese, Vaasi, Dwarven harmful to Caleb, stops his ignitable Challenge 4 (1100 xp) blood ability and his fiery vengeance ability for 1 minute, as Caleb cannot Infamy. If Caleb's identity is known or ignite his blood for the duration. suspected by a local, he has advantage

in intimidation checks. Actions Unsettling. There's something unsettling Multiattack. Caleb can make two attacks, about Caleb that makes good and honest only one of which could be to throw his people unable to trust him. Caleb suffers blood. disadvantage to charisma (deception and Sword. Melee weapon attack: +6 to hit, persuasion) checks when talking to reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8+4) innocents or good aligned people. slashing damage and 4 (1d8) fire Action Surge (1/short rest). On his turn, damage if he has applied his blood on it. Caleb can use one extra action and one Ignitable blood (must have suffered extra bonus action. slashing damage). ranged magical Duelist. When Caleb has a weapon in one attack: +4 to hit, ranged 10/20 ft., one hand and nothing in his other hand, he target. Hit: 5 (2d4) fire damage. gets a +1 bonus to AC

Revealing flames. Caleb can see invisible Reactions creatures if they are within the area Fiery vengeance (recharge 5-6). If Caleb illuminated by an open fire. receives slashing damage in melee Sneak attack (1/turn). Caleb deals an extra combat, he can use his reaction to ignite 7 (2d6) damage when he hits a target the blood that lands on his opponent if he with a weapon attack and has advantage or she is within 5'. If Caleb uses this on the attack roll, or when the target is

ability, the one that just wounded him altering powers. The memories implanted to must make a dex saving throw (DC 12) or her by Darkon actually led her believe she receive as much fire damage as the was chosen from all her sisters for a greater provoking attack did to Caleb. He cannot purpose, and that purpose was revealed to use this ability on consecrated ground. be serving the Kargat, while growing comfortable and sating her appetites. Her false memories have indoctrinated her to Equipment considerable loyalty to Azalin and her cell. longsword, Ermenus cell mask, 2 potions of Ermenus knows she's claimed, as does the healing. Corvia faction leader Beryl Silvertress. She joined the Kargat after Azalin's return and Confronting Caleb has been with the cell for about 3 years. Caleb is often surrounded by allies, to Current sketch help him utilize his sneak attack. He's not Rebvena is a creature of many vices. yet aware that he can't use his trademark She's vain, cruel, greedy, and lusts for the abilities on consecrated ground or if hit with pleasures of flesh and the shrieks of her holy water, so he won't take any victims as she reveals her true form. She is precautions against these. A possible way an expert in seduction and at any time she for the PCs to discover this weakness is for has several lovers spread through the area Caleb to try to intimidate a priest (perhaps in which she operates. She is easily bored for a funeral to prevent vengeful dead from and tosses lovers aside, breaking their rising) or someone else inside a church hearts if they're lucky or devouring them if using his blood. He would fail to ignite it, they're not. She likes screams of fear, pain, and discover his weakness that way. and wails of lament enough to put such scenes in most of the performances, both Rebvena plays and songs, of the troupe. She A red widow shapechanger in service of especially enjoys mixing the screams of her the Kargat, and leading lady of a traveling victims as she reveals her spider form with performer group named "Red Passion" that the sounds of a performance taking place usually performs along the Nocturnal sea outside. It's her favorite form of "art". She coastline. enjoys that enough to occasionally risk Description sneaking in captives of the Kargat that are condemned to die. In her human form, Rebvena appears Through the indoctrination in her as a beautiful woman with long, curly red memories and the power of the Kargat, hair. She usually dresses in provocative and Rebvena is loyal to the cell, feeling she is inviting clothing. In spider form, she has a following her natural calling and the way bright crimson body with a black, hourglass things should be while enjoying the pattern on its back. The spider form is pleasures her station can afford. If she is about 10’ long, with the body taking about removed from Darkon and reclaims her ½ of that. memories, she will realize that her whole Background identity is false and her loyalty to the Kargat Rebvena was born in Nova Vaasa, but will be shaken to the core. has since been claimed by Darkon's memory

If she gets the impression that Kargat a couple of jugglers and mimes. A few presence is requested in an area, or prostitutes travel with the group, plying receives orders to move to a place, she just their trade in the settlements the troupe takes her troupe that way. When a mission visits. A few stable-hands, a cook or two, or assignment forces Rebvena to get away and a small group of warriors and hunters from the group for a few days, she pretends round out the group. Often a vendor or two to be traveling to secure performances. joins the group for a time, paying a small Since she often returns with a job, or at fee. Enthor heads the group of warriors and least with money to spread around her acts as quarter-master and Rebvena's camp, there are usually no complaints. second in command. The Kargat makes sure Rebvena spends much of her time that competitors of the "Red Passion" are socializing in the various communities she either driven away or killed. passes through and has many of her troupe Goals do the same. She uses seduction and Rebvena's goals include enjoying her promises of pleasure to lure people to open life, which she knows will be short, while themselves up to her, learning their secrets. serving Azalin Rex. She likes expensive She also uses blackmail without remorse. pieces of jewelry and dresses that flatter When she has to assassinate, she tries to her already beautiful form, and seeks lure the victim into her deadly embrace. If passionate lovers and people to flatter her. that is not possible, such as when she has She also likes screams of terror and the to assault a group of enemies, she will take death throes of her victims. her troupe to a different place, travel back in disguise, change form, and attack as a Lair monstrous spider without ever revealing her Rebvena usually resides is a sturdy, human self. large, red wagon driven by two draft Red Passion horses, furnished with expensive pieces. The wagon is large enough for her to Rebvena acts as the owner, lead singer, comfortably subdue and kill her victims and dancer of the "Red Passion," with the when she changes her shape, without help of another Kargat member, Enthor. breaking any of her possessions. Large thick "Red Passion" is well known in the area, drapes cover the sturdy walls, muffling although not always well received, for the much of the sound. Simple enchantments violent and passionate plays and often woven in the fabric and walls nearly ensure vulgar and crass displays it puts on. It's not that, while screams from outside can be unheard of for people to disappear when heard, screams from outside are hard to the Red Passion leaves, although the usual notice. In game terms, a creature explanation is that a person smitten with screaming in the wagon or sounds of battle Rebvena decided to join them, only to require a perception check with DC 16 to return broken-hearted a few weeks later. overhear from outside and if a performance Others that don't turn up are assumed to is taking place, the roll is made with have perished by the dangers of the realm disadvantage. as they were making their way back. The wagon's door is arcane locked, as The number of performers in the group is the sole window. The wagon contains two fluctuates but usually includes a couple of large wardrobes, both arcane locked. One extra singers, a few dancers and actors, and contains only clothes, while the other

contains valuables, tools for the Kargat to Cunning action (1/short rest). Rebvena can use, and occasionally a desiccated and take a bonus action. This action can be rotting corpse of a former lover or Kargat used only to take the dash, disengage or target that the red widow feeds from. hide action. Unlike the rogue trait, once Rebvena used, Rebvena has to take a short rest to use it again. Medium Shapechanger, neutral evil Deadly embrace. Before changing to spider form and attacking, the Rebvena Armour Class 17 (natural) in spider form, usually draws her intended victim to a 13 in human form passionate embrace. Then she changes Hit Points 55 (6d8 +18, she has above form, without breaking this embrace. A average hp) character is considered grappled while in Speed 30 ft. climb 30’ (spider form) this embrace and to break free, the target must make a strength (athletics) or Str 18 (+4) Dex 16 (+3) Con 16 (+3) dexterity (acrobatics) check with DC 19. Int 13 (+0) Wis 13 (+1) Cha 17 (+3) Sneak attack (1/turn). Rebvena deals an extra 10 (3d6) damage when she hits a Saving Throws Charisma+5, strength+6 target with a weapon attack and has Skills deception+7, intimidation+7, advantage on the attack roll, or when the persuasion+5, stealth+5, thief tools+2 target is within 5 feet of an ally of the Damage Resistances poison widow that isn't incapacitated and she Senses darkvision 60’, passive Perception doesn't have disadvantage on the attack 11 roll. Languages Darkonese, Vaasi, Dwarven, Spider climb. While in spider form Gnome Rebvena can climb sheer surfaces and Challenge 4 (1100 xp) walls.

Shapechanger. Rebvena can use her action Actions to polymorph into a large spider or back Bite (spider form only). Melee weapon into the human form. Her statistics, other attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. than her attacks, size, and AC, are the Hit: 6 (1d4+4) piercing damage and the same in each form. Any equipment she is target must make a DC 13 con save, wearing or carrying isn't transformed. taking 33 (6d10) poison damage on a The red widow reverts to the spider form failed save. A successful save negates the if she dies. She typically changes to her damage. spider form only before attacking a victim Rebvena has advantage to hit a grappled in order to protect her identity. target. Call spiders (1/day). Rebvena can summon Dagger (human form only). Melee weapon two swarms of spiders, that arrive in attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. 1d6+3 rounds and serve the widow for 1 Hit: 6 (1d4+4) piercing damage. hour, until she dismisses them or until the swarms are destroyed.

Web (recharge 5-6). Ranged weapon his hand-axe and his dagger openly. He attack: +5 to hit, ranged 20/40 ft., one rarely smiles and he's a dwarf of few words. target up to large size. Hit: the target is Background restrained. A creature can use its action Enthor was born in the Mountains of to make a DC 14 Strength check, freeing Misery about 8 decades ago to a small itself or another creature within its reach dwarven clan. Enthor was to become a on a success. Dealing 10 slashing warrior for the clan but his lack of damage to the web (AC 12) also frees compassion and immoral behavior, the creature without harming it. combined with his uncharacteristic wanderlust led him be an outcast. The

Equipment break with his clan came when it was Dagger, Ermenus cell ring, Ermenus cell discovered that he murdered one of his clanmates to steal a ruby found in the mask. If the mission requires it or as a forgotten ruins that dot the mountains. His precaution, Rebvena may be carrying clan tracked him down, captured him, and poison or another potion from those kept him in a cage to execute him. He was available to the Kargat. to be left without food for three days and nights and then beheaded. The cage was Confronting Rebvena kept on the surface as the clan's laws made More powerful than the regular red clear that a murderer wouldn't be allowed widow and having some rogue skills, underground. Rebvena is deadly if she tricks a victim to That's where Ermenus, already a her embrace and she knows it. While vampire, found the dwarf. He had already formidable in her human form too, Rebvena been notified by his spies that a dwarf is considerably easier to defeat (She's CR 2 kinslayer would be executed and decided to in her human form). Knowing this, if she check. Ermenus gave to the condemned has the time and suspects she may have to dwarf a dagger. With that, Enthor managed enter battle in human form, she would call to cut his bonds, get out of the cage, and spiders and allies and flee. kill his guard, impressing the Kargat vampire. Looking to repay his debt, Enthor served Ermenus for a few years before Enthor being raised to the Kargat by Azalin during the Grim Harvest. The mountain dwarf killer that leads the During the Grim Harvest, Enthor warriors and hunters that protect the Red traveled in eastern Darkon using Azalin’s Passion. enchanted blades to steal souls for the Description terrible Doomsday Device. He showed little Enthor is a little over 4' tall, athletic and hesitation and even less remorse in the vile muscular. He has a light brown complexion task, not shying from harvesting dwarves in the shade of earth and gray hair and when instructed. After Azalin returned, sports a traditional dwarven beard. He Enthor was assigned to Rebvena and her wears simple clothes in earthen tones and a Red Passion troupe. green cloak, usually covering his chain shirt armor. Unless it is inconvenient, he carries

Current sketch but he doesn't dwell on the thought and goes around taking calculated risks and Enthor is loyal to Azalin, the Kargat in slowly building up his wealth. general, and the cell. Aside from that trait he has no other morals. He lacks empathy Red Passion guards and remorse and is willing to commit Enthor leads the small group of heinous crimes for the Kargat. He's also warriors, scouts, and hunters of the Red greedy and a miser although he's not foolish Passion, and in case of an attack, all in his greed, nor completely unwilling to members able to fight. He sometimes trains spend ill-gained money. with the warriors and stable-hands or shows Enthor expects the Kargat to take risks wilderness tricks to the hunters. He doesn't to help him and to be rewarded for his do that out of camaraderie, but to build up efforts. Effectively he considers the some trust he can use and make them more monsters of the Kargat similar to a dwarven efficient tools for the Kargat. While a couple clan that he belongs to: a clan that suits of those under his command may be willing him far better than the clan he was born to murder for profit, usually he has to deal into, a clan where he fits in with other with the quality of character expected more remorseless monsters. So far, he's content or less by such traveling warriors. with how those two expectations are met. If Goals the Kargat ever decides that the risks and efforts required to help Enthor are too great Aside from slowly amassing wealth, and abandons him, though, the dwarf may preferably gold, Enthor has few other well change sides, feeling betrayed. Azalin interests at the time. has realized this but hasn't informed Lair Ermenus for reasons of his own. Enthor resides alone in a small wagon None of the guards and hunters he of the Red Passion performers. The door leads would unquestionably kill for him, and window are arcane locked as is the although a couple may not be above large chest where he keeps his valuables. banditry or even murder for a share of the loot, which he rarely is willing to give. As Enthor such, when he has to assassinate, he Medium humanoid (Mountain dwarf), prefers to stalk and kill his victims in their neutral evil sleep. When facing the Unholy Order of the Grave or other threats to the realm, he may Armor Class 15 (armor) join up with sell-swords or gullible good Hit Points 45 (6d8 +18) adventurers as long as he expects they Speed 30 ft. won't understand the evil he harbors. His usual line of work, though, is to guard and Str 18 (+4) Dex 15 (+2) Con 16 (+3) assist Rebvena and also use his aptitude for Int 12 (+1) Wis 14 (+2) Cha 9 (-1) stealth and strong senses to spy on discussions in taverns, inns, or during performances. Saving Throws Strength+6, constitution+5, Somewhere in the back of his mind, dex+4 Enthor realizes that in this line of work, he Skills Athletics+5, deception+3, won't survive for centuries as he expects, intimidation+3, knowledge (nature)+3,

perception+4 (+6 in mountains), Actions persuasion+1, stealth+6, survival+5 Multiattack. Enthor can make two attacks: (+7 in mountains), thief tools+2 one with his axe and one with his Damage Resistances poison dagger. Senses darkvision 60’, passive Perception Hand-axe. Melee weapon attack: +6 to 14 (16 in mountains) hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 Languages Darkonese, Vaasi, Dwarven (1d6+4) slashing damage. Challenge 2 (450 xp) Dagger. Melee weapon attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d4+4) Dwarven resilience. Enthor has advantage piercing damage. on saving throws against poison. Dagger. ranged weapon attack: +4 to hit, Expertise. Enthor doubles his proficiency ranged 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 4 bonus in deception, intimidation and (1d4+2) piercing damage. stealth checks. Cunning action (1/short rest). Enthor can Reactions take a bonus action. This action can be Quick draw. Enthor can spend his reaction used only to take the dash, disengage or to draw both his axe and dagger at the hide action. Unlike the rogue trait, once beginning of a round of combat as long used, Enthor has to take a short rest to as he's not surprised. use it again. Sneak attack (1/turn). Enthor deals an Equipment extra 7 (2d6) damage when he hits a Hand-axe, 2 daggers, Ermenus cell mask, target with a weapon attack and has potion of healing. If the mission requires advantage on the attack roll, or when the it, Enthor may be carrying poison or target is within 5 feet of an ally of the another potion from those available to dwarf that isn't incapacitated and he the Kargat. doesn't have disadvantage on the attack Confronting Enthor roll. Enthor, while a capable warrior, Favorite enemy. Enthor has advantage on presents little threat by himself. As such, he wisdom (survival) checks to track humans prefers to fight when he has the numerical or undead. advantage, or to catch his targets sleeping. Natural explorer. While in mountains and When that's not possible, he tries to attack traveling for more than an hour, Enthor from ambush and have a couple of allies in receives the following benefits: the fight. If a fight turns against him, he will - He gains a +2 bonus at perception and use his cunning action to flee and try to lose survival checks his pursuers in the wilderness. - He can move stealthily at normal pace Enthor has no qualms to fight dirty, when traveling alone including hiding behind innocents or forcing them to remain around him to shield him - When foraging, he finds twice as much from area attacks. He also has no problem food abandoning his allies (other than the Kargat) to be killed in his stead. While

Enthor would like to use poison often to When the Requiem claimed his family make a fight easier, he's provided with and most of his fortune, young Qeron Opeir poison to use only when his superiors grieved, but he didn't accept that Azalin Rex decide it is needed or if he pays for it out of had been destroyed. When the dead rised his own pocket, something that he avoids, again to defend Nartok, Sir Opeir rejoiced; since he's a miser. the King was still in Darkon. When Azalin Although he doesn't realize it, he's returned, Sir Opeir traveled to meet his actually one of the most expendable King, fell to his knees and offered his life, members of the cell. Ermenus is loyal to his his fortune and the whole of his being to his cell and will take reasonable risks to save or king to do as he pleases with them. help Enthor, but he wouldn't go so far as A few months later, Azalin took him on put his operation to great risk for a his word, and he was initiated in the Kargat. breathing assassin. If Enthor is captured by Under Azalin's orders, he sold the remains powerful player characters and they guard of his property, traveled to a barony in the him well, Ermenus will grudgingly abandon Misty Mountains and settled there among him to his fate. When the dwarf realizes the mining camps. His status and training he's been cut off, he will feel immensely were important enough for him to be betrayed and could turn on his former allies. accepted in the Baron's employ as high ranking law enforcement officer, and with a Qeron Opeir few subtle manipulations by the Kargat, he Sir Opeir is the constable for one of the became the constable, the highest rank of barons in the area, serving in the Kargat out law enforcement in that barony, within a of devotion to royalty. short time. He isn't subtle about his absolute Description devotion to the crown. Once it was said in Qeron Opeir is an athletic man in his front of him that if Azalin suggested he early thirties, with auburn hair and stern should fall on his own sword, he would do it features. In his formal attire, he wears his without thinking to escape Darkon, nor even dark blue uniform or his splint armor. When asking why. His answer to the noblemen not on duty, he prefers gray and blue was that if Azalin asked them to fall on their colors. He always carries his sword with own sword and they tried to escape, he him. would bring them back to do it and if they Background questioned the king's reasoning, he would have their tongues. Sir Opeir is the second son of a minor noble from Il Aluk who perished during the Current Sketch Requiem. The Opeir family was loyal to the Sir Opeir is a devoted, loyal royalist. He crown for generations and Qeron was raised has been informed of how his family's from infancy in a household that regarded loyalty and devotion were rewarded, but he all of Darkon and its inhabitants as rightful considers this as tokens of generosity by the property of the King. Qeron Opeir was given monarch who should be served with education to help administrate the realm in absolute loyalty because that's the right any capacity his king requested, and thing to do. If the king asks for atrocities, training in the martial arts, as was proper of so be it. The people and the land are his to a man of his station. do as he pleases, as are the dead. He

doesn't hide his loyalty, although he hides moves and the moves of those asking about his affiliation with the Kargat. him, claiming he's worried about the long He is one of the few Kargat agents that arm of the law and secret agents. isn't totally consumed by evil and has some Sir Opeir suspects Ermenus may have a morals remaining. That doesn't mean he lair in or near the "Tower of Vengeance" would lose any sleep over atrocities made in and takes care to put people whom few Azalin's name or for the benefit of the would ever believe in the lowest level for crown, but he would avoid illegal activities the vampire to feed from, minimizing the that don't benefit the king. As such, he's risk of exposure. one of the least wealthy members of the Lair Ermenus cell, since he doesn't partake in Sir Opeir spends his time in the court of the looting. He tolerates the crimes the baron he serves and lives in a large committed by the organization, even the house near his liege. ones not made in the name of Azalin Rex, since he is loyal to the cell and he values Sir Opeir the presence of the Kargat in the area even if it means a "few" crimes committed just Medium humanoid, lawful evil out of greed or cruelty. Sir Opeir is not suspected to be in the Armor Class 19 (armor) Kargat, mainly because most think he's too Hit Points 52 (8d8 +16) obvious a choice to actually be in the secret Speed 30 ft. police and he doesn't display any of the cruelty associated with the Kargat. He's Str 17 (+3) Dex 12 (+1) Con 15 (+2) considered too moral to actually tolerate the Int 12 (+1) Wis 14 (+2) Cha 15 (+2) death, or worse, of innocent kids. However, Ermenus is worried that someone at some Saving Throws Strength+5, constitution+4 point will suspect Sir Opeir and perhaps such a person would spy on the constable. Skills Athletics+5, deception+4, insight+4, Opeir is ordered to keep a low profile, knowledge (military tactics)+3, without too much success, nor too many perception+4, persuasion+3 failures. Also, the vampire takes care to Senses passive Perception 14 minimize contact by Opeir with the rest of Languages Darkonese, Vaasi, Elven the cell. If the constable is to attend a Challenge 2 (450 xp). The presence of Sir meeting, extra precautions are taken to Opeir in an encounter raises the adjusted make sure that he is not followed and the total XP to estimate encounter difficulty meeting is not spied upon. by 25%. Opeir, aside from the obvious value of holding the highest law enforcement rank Action Surge (1/short rest). On his turn, and being in direct contact with a local Opeir can use one extra action and one baron and his court, serves the cell in another capacity. Ermenus expects that extra bonus action. everyone looking for the Kargat, would at Fanaticism. Sir Opeir receives advantage some point investigate Opeir. As such, a on all saving throws or rolls to resist portion of the vampire's network is devoted compulsion, supernatural or not, that to watching the constable and reporting his

would have him act against the interests Urf of Azalin Rex. The caliban wereboar Urf, is an infected

werebeast that leads an unsuspecting band Actions of mercenaries who offer their services to Multiattack. Sir Opeir can make two melee local nobility. attacks. Sword. Melee weapon attack: +5 to hit, Description reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8+3) Urf is a caliban, a wretched deformed slashing damage. humanoid touched by magic or curse in the Leadership (1/short rest). After taking this womb. Urf stands at over 6', although he would be taller if he didn't have a stooped action to assert his authority, for 1 back, and he is powerfully built. His hands minute, Sir Opeir's presence inspires his are muscular and uneven in length. His eyes allies and he can utter commands to aid and teeth are misshapen and dislocated, so them fight more effectively. Whenever an he speaks with a slight slur. His hair is allied creature that he can see within 30 black, coarse and oily. His wereboar form is feet of him makes an attack roll, the a hybrid between a boar and a man. In this creature can add +2 to its roll provided form, the deformities of the caliban are less it can hear or see the constable. A pronounced. creature can benefit from this bonus only Background once per round. Urf was abandoned by his parents in an orphanage in Martira Bay. While he could Equipment have had it worse, he suffered mistreatment long sword, splint armor, shield, Ermenus at the hands of guardians and other cell mask, potion of healing. orphans. He learned to use his considerable strength to defend himself and get what he Confronting Opeir wants. After a few incidents too many, he found himself thrown in the streets. He Sir Opeir is not difficult to defeat by joined a local gang and killed his first man himself, but since he has the baronial guard in his early teens. under his command, that would rarely be Since Urf's appearance marked him out the case. Ermenus is usually watching for guards to notice, but he could see in the anyone that takes special interest in the dark, Urf was often tasked to patrol or carry Constable, fearing exposure. This could lead heavy loads in the sewers and dark coastal to a self-fulfilling prophecy as an over-eager caves under Martira Bay, the docks and informant of the vampire could over-play surrounding coast. It was in one such cave, the interest of PCs toward the constable, one night of the full moon that he was which could lead in an assassination attacked by a vicious boar. Urf managed to attempt towards them. Poison in their wine escape, but at the next full moon, he woke is a sure way to get the interest of targeted up covered in the blood of his gang leader, people. with the leader's half-eaten body dropped next to him. While he hid the body, the next night he found himself over the half eaten body of another gang member.

Trying to flee the city, he was arrested protection of the band, as well as by guards, suspicious of his behavior and desertation and disobedience in his appearance. It was in the cell that night followers. He doesn't deny nor confirm that that Kazandra of the Kargat approached he eats those that earn his enmity and has him, offering to help him avoid the gallows occasionally appeared in front of his and his gang's knives and even help him followers with blood around his disfigured resist those transformations. Urf joined the mouth. Kargat. Urf tries to keep his affliction a secret. Since joining, Urf served for some time Most of his mercenaries do not suspect that under Kazandra, learning to have some he is a cursed monster and he changes control over his transformations. During the form voluntarily only in the presence of shrouded years, Urf, being resistant to non- Kargat members or when alone, relying on silvered weapons, operated in the Vale of his more mundane combat skills among Tears. He killed undead and other enemies unsuspecting humans. Since he's not of the state with the help of swords-for-hire completely immune to normal weapons, he that didn't know his affiliation or his curse can mask his resistance to normal weapons and could stomach both his cruel form of as skill and luck. justice and the grim, dangerous task. Thus Aside from leading a force to fight the band of the Tooth-slayers started. enemies of the state, undead, and other With Azalin's return, Urf has been sent threats, Urf learns a lot of information from to assist Ermenus. With a bit of nudging his group. His mercenaries move through from the Kargat cell, his band found the caravans, guard mines, and protect the employment in the area. As their reputation developing settlements. They visit taverns for swift and cruel efficiency grew, so did and brothels and discuss rumors with their numbers. More immoral mercenaries, merchants. Occasionally, they are hired for former bandits, and calibans joined, and some illegal activity. Thus they provide a they took over a couple of abandoned wealth of information for the Kargat. buildings as outposts for their band. Urf is loyal to the Kargat, feeling a Current sketch kinship with the monsters that comprise the cell, enjoying their benefits and wealth. And Urf is a domineering bully that since Ermenus was once an afflicted pretends to be more civilized than he is, werecreature, he thinks that he may trying to hide his savagery and crass nature eventually join the upper ranks as well. as he hides his curse. He is a wild pig, not Urf's trigger is the full moon. During the just a man who transforms into one. While three nights of the full moon, he transforms he's not as sadistic as Caleb, or as immoral into a man-boar hybrid unless he manages as Enthor, he's undeniably an evil, cruel to resist. He has access to certain beast. He enjoys the fear and embraces the alchemical concoctions and training that revulsion he strikes in his enemies and allies make him more likely to resist the and bolsters it. Since he can't be loved, he transformation, but they don't always work, will be feared. Since he can't be admired, and the potions make him weak and he'll be reviled. nauseated. So, he usually locks himself in a He purposely lets rumors spread about safe-house during those nights. his cruel ways of punishing those that Recently, after a spree of cruelly and attack caravans and mines under the sadistically killing captured bandits of the

doppelganger Dermont's former gang, he settlements, the band is not above exacting realized that he has more control over his a price akin to a protection racket. transformation and over his actions while a The Tooth-slayers don't have one camp lycanthrope. He can remember more of his or base. They occupy a few unused and actions and exert a modicum of control. abandoned villas and houses in the area, However, that came at a cost, as he soon close to places they are tasked to protect. realized; while in human form, he would Each such outpost has 5-10 members in lose control of his actions due to rage, residence usually. A few live in inns or small alcohol etc. The more control he exerted camps in the settlements under their over the monster, the less control he had protection. It is rumored that the biggest over the man. one, at the base of the Mountains of Misery The extent of this new condition was was not abandoned before the band moved discovered when Ermenus was informed in. and a few experiments were carried out. Goals: Urf wants to enjoy his life, The cell discovered that the wereboar was which he realizes will be short and leave a also much easier to control with magic. lasting mark in the world. He wants the Ermenus has notified Azalin Rex and Beryl respect from others that he didn't have in Silvertress. While the dwarf vampiress was his early life and sees wealth, cruelty, and about to order his execution, a messenger fear as the easy tools to get it. He also from Azalin brought the order that Urf is not wants to regain control of his life. While he to be disposed of… yet. Urf doesn't know enjoys the benefits of lycanthropy, he would how close he has come to termination. like to control the transformations without The Tooth-slayers losing control of himself. Lair: Urf spends about half of his time The Tooth-slayers are a mercenary in the largest outpost of the Tooth-slayers, band that operates in the area, mainly a large remote villa near the foothills of the guarding mine operations, caravans, and Mountains of Misery and the rest in inns or providing protection while settlements are the various outposts of the band. He usually being built. When undead appear, the spends the three nights of the full moon Tooth-slayers are usually the first to be locked away in safehouses of the Kargat. employed to hunt them, with Urf himself leading them against the Unholy Order of Urf the Grave. Aside from their legal actions, the band is not above paid assassination or Medium humanoid (caliban, guarding smuggled goods. shapechanger), neutral evil The band is comprised of 30-35 stone- hearted mercenaries and calibans. Just a Armor Class 14 (armor) in humanoid form few of them have been with Urf from the and 12 in hybrid form (natural armor) beginning; most are recent recruits from the Hit Points 71 (11d8 +22) area and the nearby settlements like Corvia. Speed 30 ft. The band operates outside of the law and they have been known to give refuge to Str 19 (+4) Dex 12 (+1) Con 15 (+2) bandits that have not harmed those under Int 11 (+0) Wis 13 (+1) Cha 12 (+1) the band's protection. In remote

Saving Throws Strength+6, constitution+4

Skills Athletics+6, deception+5, insight+3, automatically when the moon rises unless intimidation+3, perception+3, stealth he passes a wisdom saving throw with DC +3 14. He remains in the hybrid form till the Damage Resistances bludgeoning, moon sets. If Urf is exposed to the full piercing, and slashing from weapons that moon's light, he must repeat the saving aren’t silvered or magical (Lycanthrope throw every hour. natural attacks bypass this resistance) If Urf drops to below half his hit points, he Senses passive Perception 13 must make a saving throw (DC 14) or Languages Darkonese, Falkovnian suffer an involuntary change for 1 Challenge 4 (1100 xp). minute. Similar life-threatening situations may also trigger an involuntary change Shapechanger. Urf can use his action to at the DM’s discretion. Witnessing an polymorph into a boar-humanoid hybrid, involuntary change may call for a horror or back into the caliban form (unless check. under the effects of an involuntary Under an involuntary change, he is prone change). His statistics, other than AC, are to attack like a rabid animal, ignoring the same in each form. Any equipment he plans, possibly targeting allies. is wearing or carrying isn't transformed. Exert control (1/long rest). Urf can use this Urf reverts to the hybrid form if he dies. power to reroll a failed save against his Chemical Bane. Camphor acts as poison trigger. After Urf uses this power, until he for Urf. If he is wounded by a weapon completes a long rest, he suffers coated in camphor solution he takes 4d6 disadvantage on all skill checks and saves poison damage and is poisoned for 1 made in his caliban form to control his minute, unless he makes a constitution fear or anger or to resist taunts. At the save with DC 14. Success in this save DM's prerogative calls to make those skill halves the damage and negates the checks could be more frequent. condition. Ingesting dried rosemary Action Surge (1/short rest). On his turn, leaves has the same effect. Ingesting Urf can use one extra action and one camphor deals double damage. extra bonus action. Enchantment vulnerability. Urf suffers Charge (Hybrid Form Only). if Urf moves disadvantage on wisdom saves against at least 15 feet straight toward a target enchantment spells and powers that and then hits it with his tusks on the same would control his mind. turn, the target takes an extra 7 (2d6) Hunger. Urf has to consume 15 lbs of raw slashing damage. If the target is a meat (or double that cooked) each day creature, it must succeed on a DC 14 or suffer one level of exhaustion Strength saving throw or be knocked regardless of whether he fed on other prone. food or not. Relentless (1/short rest). if Urf takes 14 Trigger. Urf has a trigger that turns him or damage or less, that would reduce him to her to the hybrid form. During the 3 0 hit points, he is reduced to 1 hit point nights of the full moon he changes form instead.

successful considering the small request for Actions sages and alchemists in the area. When Multiattack. Urf makes two attacks, only outside the village gathering ingredients. he one of which can be with his tusks. wears more practical clothing. Greataxe. Melee weapon attack: +6 to Background hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 Ferensis spent his first few years in an (1d12+4) slashing damage. orphanage in the gnomish town of Mayvin. Tusks. Melee weapon attack: +6 to hit, He was soon noticed by the gnome reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) alchemist Finoom for his keen intellect and slashing damage. interest about knowledge and was brought to work in the gnome's shop while still a

Equipment kid, in return for food and a place to stay in the shop. Through his teen years, he Great-axe, chain shirt (would be ruined if learned much from his mentor and he transformed in it), Ermenus cell mask, employer although, to his frustration, Ermenus cell ring, potion of healing, Finoom forbade him from pursuing the shapehold potion. arcane arts. While his life was not one of luxury or leisure he was not treated harshly Confronting Urf: Urf is a formidable by his guardian. warrior in both his forms and is usually One day he overheard his employer accompanied by allies. Perceptive players arguing with a customer who wanted to buy that meet him in a tavern may notice that poisonous ingredients, driving the man he eats too much food, often raw meat, away, and threatening to inform the and he avoids foods cooked with rosemary authorities. Ferensis met with the man leaves (because they contain traces of behind Finoom's back and arranged to create and provide a quantity of poison camphor). Unless subtlety is required, during the night and in quantities that while disguised for the Kargat he assumes Finoom wouldn't notice. The man and his his hybrid form and fights with a different friends addressed Ferensis again with greataxe so as to not draw suspicion. similar requests every few weeks for some time. Ferensis The reputation and skill of the young An alchemist and scholar, leading a poisoner grew steadily until one night that quiet life in a village close to Dnar river. Finoom found Ferensis working on a poison. Ferensis is secretly a wizard for the Kargat, The gnome was aghast that this ward was providing many of the magical services stealing his ingredients behind his back and required by the cell. moreso that he was providing poison to Description shady characters for nefarious purposes. The argument that followed was a short Ferensis is a man in his mid-forties, one; Ferensis killed the gnome alchemist with graying hair, a short goatee, and a thin that had taken him in, trained and fed him mustache. He has small, calculating gray for a decade, suspecting Finoom would turn eyes. When in his shop. he dresses in dark- him in or kick him out. In the next few colored clothes of the expected quality for a days, Ferensis claimed that Finoom was ill, successful local merchant -- a bit too

while he treated the corpse to hide the trust him and confide in him, even though marks of the attack. When he was satisfied, he knows fully well the fate that awaits he claimed Finoom succumbed to his illness. them once he turns them over to the His duplicity worked and no investigation Kargat. was carried out. He is one of very few scholars in the Yet, the shop was not his. The area, so passing adventurers that want to apothecary and lab passed to Finoom's consult someone are usually pointed close kin. While Ferensis was considering towards him, which allows him to keep an his future, a knock came at the door, deep eye on such activities. He also keeps in the night. Ferensis was approached by correspondence with many other budding the Kargat, who offered him tutorship in scholars, priests, and gentlemen in the both alchemy and magic in exchange for his area. He doesn't admit that he's a wizard, to services, with a guarantee that his crimes avoid drawing attention, but a few suspect will not be prosecuted. He was being that the knowledgeable alchemist dabbles in watched since he left the apothecary and the arcane. Ferensis doesn't bother to quell the careful, emotionless, and well-disguised these rumors but if asked, he denies them. murder of his guardian was deemed worthy. When he expects trouble or has to delve far Joining the organization, at first in the wilderness for components, he may Ferensis was sent to Il Aluk to study and hire a bodyguard or guide. A couple of also keep an eye on the intellectual circles those know he's a wizard, having witnessed there. A few years later, as a budding his spells, but they respect his privacy. wizard, he was sent to Corvia with similar His loyalty to the Kargat is based on the assignment, where he spent about a power of the organization, the wealth and decade. Finally, about a year before the knowledge he gains within the monstrous Requiem, Ferensis was transfered to the police, and the perverse pleasure he takes Ermenus cell in order to replace a fallen betraying people who trusted him to wizard of the Kargat, setting up his shop in monsters. a remote small village near the Dnar River. Azalin, Beryl Silvertress, and Ermenus While it doesn't occur often, Ferensis has are all aware of his lack of loyalty, and taken part in attacks on undead and other especially his knack to betray those that horrors the cell deals with, and he's often trust him. Ermenus has a habit of dropping present when the cell attacks or arrests by the wizard unannounced quite often and people that have trusted him. giving him books or ingredients that Current sketch Ferensis was thinking of buying, keeping him informed that his very thoughts are Ferensis is an evil man with few monitored. Ferensis is unaware that loyalties who hides behind the mask of an Dermont is a doppelganger, who unassuming, somewhat aloof, and eccentric occasionally spies on him, and that he is the scientist and intellectual. He is emotionally source of this subtle intimidation. Ferensis unable to form sincere emotional relations doesn't chafe under this scrutiny, he with other people, like friendship or considers it expected and sensible. romance, although he fakes such feelings to Unbeknownst to Ferensis, Azalin has gain the trust of a few select people that already contacted Beryl Silvertress about his interest him or the organization. Ferensis "promotion". Once another capable wizard actually takes pleasure betraying those that is recruited in the area, Ferensis is to

contract a magical, untreatable, fatal disease, at which point he will be offered Saving Throws Intelligence+5, charisma+2 undeath as the only way to escape oblivion. Skills Deception+3, insight+3, knowledge Azalin's power over undead will seal (arcana)+5, knowledge (history)+5, Ferensis’s loyalty forever. knowledge (religion)+5 persuasion+3, Goals alchemist tools+4 Ferensis is interested in increasing his Senses passive Perception 11 magical power and his knowledge of Languages Darkonese, Vaasi, Draconic, alchemy. While he's not a frivolous spender, Gnome he is interested in gold to be able to buy Challenge 3 (700 xp). books, ingredients, and also be able to enjoy expensive beverages, perfumes, and Practiced alchemist. Ferensis creates food, or the discreet touch of courtesans. poisons and magical common and (All these indulgences he keeps hidden so uncommon potions at half the normal as not to draw suspicion.). time required. Lair Spellcasting: Ferensis is a 6th lvl Ferensis lives in a modest-sized building spellcaster. He has +5 to attack with in a small village. Part of the house serves spells and the DC for his spell is 13. as the shop, another as his living quarters, Usually he has the following wizard spells and the laboratory and many of his books prepared. are in the basement. The door leading to cantrips (at will): minor illusion, light, mage the basement is arcane locked, as is the hand, poison spray chest that contains his most precious items, like expensive wine, perfumes, or potions 1st lvl (3/4 slots): shield, mage armor* and the occasional magic item he provides 2nd lvl (4 slots): arcane lock, blur, to the Kargat. The chest is also trapped. blindness, Melf's acid arrow From his living quarters, Ferensis seems 3rd lvl (3 slots): dispel magic, psi-shock, to be doing somewhat better than stinking cloud expected. While nothing is too obviously out * spell already active of place, his house is a bit too large and his living quarters are furnished with more Actions expensive furniture and art than one would Poison spray. Magical ranged attack: expect. range 10 ft., one target. Saving throw Ferensis constitution DC 13. Failure: 13 (2d12) poison damage. Medium humanoid, chaotic evil

Equipment Armor Class 14 (mage armor) Ermenus cell mask, Ermenus cell ring, Hit Points 38 (7d8 +7) potion of healing, potion of invisibility, Speed 30 ft. poison, hellfire, scroll of invisible climb.

Str 10 (+0) Dex 13 (+1) Con 12 (+1) Int 17 (+3) Wis 12 (+1) Cha 13 (+1)

Confronting Ferensis someone might hear the muffled screams and break into Rebvena's wagon while she's If Ferensis is attacked, he will resort to in spider form killing a victim, or a myriad magic immediately, without caring to other problems might expose agents of the preserve the thin facade that he's not a cell. Beyond exposure to the populace, wizard. He will use his shield spell to avoid which can be dealt with, there is always the hits and will prefer to escape, knowing he danger an exposed member will be spied on can't hold up in a prolonged fight. When and lead enemies to the rest. paired with other Kargat members, or when To prevent exposure, the Kargat meet hiring a bodyguard, he will stay away from at their headquarters only rarely, preferring the melee and use his spells from a to meet at pre-arranged safe-houses. They distance. Given time to prepare, he may communicate through coded messages and choose different spells for the occasion. His drop-points and act with a great degree of spellbook contains more spells than listed as autonomy. Ermenus informs cell members determined by the DM. of long term missions and goals and they Characters may suspect something is seek each other for help only when amiss with the local scholar since he seems necessary. An attack on the Kargat would to be living beyond his expected means. A unite them swiftly, though, and their few mercenaries in the area have worked response would be brutal. Ermenus doesn't with him and know he's a spellcaster. Those mind sacrificing 100 people to avenge a that have spent enough time with him may single cell member, even one that he may have noticed that in addition to the personally not like or consider a liability. secretiveness typical of Darkonese wizards, he also seemed to lack empathy. Bars on the prison door Every member of the Cell has a role to Monsters working play in the cell. Ferensis is vital for providing arcane magic and corresponds with local together scholars. Urf, Caleb, and Enthor provide muscle directly and the Tooth-slayer The Ermenus cell members, as mercenaries or the bandits of Charred described above, each have individual goals Raiders provide armed cannon fodder. and priorities and different reasons for Enthor is an excellent and skilled tracker being loyal to the organization. Ermenus and Urf's mercenaries work in the crucial for spends much of his time watching and the crown mines and budding settlements. directing his subordinates to make sure Sir Opeir, a high level law enforcer for much everything works efficiently. Co-existence of the area the cell covers, operates in the for so many evil and powerful creatures is government and noble circles even outside difficult at best. It is Ermenus' power, the of the baron he serves. Rebvena has fear of the dwarven vampiress Beryl connections in the lower class of society and Silvertress, as well as mutual interest that monitors unrest there. Dermont as a binds the cell together. doppelganger is able to infiltrate Several members of the cell have everywhere and the Charred Raiders take specific vulnerabilities or issues that make the blame or divert attention as needed. their exposure possible and the cell is aware In the center of this intricate web sits of the fact. Theoretically, the wereboar Urf Ermenus himself. Through false promises of could lose control the wrong moment,

eternal youth, the vampire has eyes and The Unholy Order of the Grave is the ears where the other members do not. He main target of the Ermenus cell as per has access to the trade guilds, crafters, and standing orders from Beryl Silvertress. the criminals that operate inside civilization, Anyone suspected for dealing with them is unlike the bandits that prey outside of it. investigated; anyone suspected to be The Ermenus cell is the only organized connected with them is brought in and crime ring in the area, and Ermenus its interrogated. Those working for the Unholy crime lord. Through intimidation, magic, or Order of the Grave, knowingly or not, are bribes, his cell is the de facto power in the mercilessly hunted down. Even members of area, able to exert influence nearly the Kargat that are suspected to be everywhere, under the tolerance and compromised are investigated and protection of Azalin Rex. occasionally executed. Ermenus will not risk If the cell is lacking somewhere, it is bringing the wrath of the unpredictable access to the church, whether it is Eternal Corvia Faction leader on his cell. Order or Ezra. With the loss of a clergy Ermenus knows of a Kargat cell that working for the Kargat, the cell hasn't operates in the North, around Delagia, and managed to extend much influence there could call them for support and he knows and lacks divine magic. Another part that is Beryl Silvertress in Corvia and how to virtually impenetrable by the Kargat are the contact her if necessary. Similarly, a Kargat dwarven settlements in the Mountains of cell that operates on the Mountains of Misery. The small isolated communities and Misery and Tempe Falls has ways to contact clans are close knit and Ermenus doesn't the Ermenus cell for help. Aside from see any reason to make the effort required Ermenus, the rest of his cell do not know of to gain influence with a few dozen dwarves anyone outside their cell, and in the few that rarely wander far from their clan. cases that they are called to work with Dealings with other monsters other Kargat, both sides are instructed to keep their identities secret behind masks, The monsters of the Kargat are not the and avoid questions. only inhuman creatures in the area. The The Kargat may eliminate other Kargat know of the Dark Delvers and have monsters, undead, or supernatural threats, cordial relations with them and know how to but they only do so if the presence of these contact them. As a token of respect, they creatures is perceived as too bothersome or occasionally provide the dragon Ebb with disruptive (or if those enemies are assumed gold or captives for food. They treat the to have amassed enough gold). Usually, other Dark Delvers as allies even though the they are content to let local heroes deal agenda of this organization is very different with them. Greater priority is given to than serving Azalin's interests. With their enemies that can exert control than to lack of divine spellcasters, occasionally the simple, lone predators. Kargat turn to the Dark Delvers for support. The unspoken alliance with the Dark Tools of the Trade Delvers is tenuous though; several times in the past, the Kargat have hunted down The Kargat of the Ermenus cell have members of that society when they were various means at their disposal. Individual assumed to be a threat or conspired with members carry enchanted items or poisons. enemies, knowingly or not. Many useful items and bags of coins (usually containing 150-250 gold pieces) are

located in the unofficial head-quarters of Coating of poison the Kargat, in the cave where they Alchemical item occasionally gather. Others are located in This non-magical ointment is a hidden safe-houses spread through the area dangerous poison applied to weapons so that they can access them in a hurry. before combat to give the members of the Both Ermenus and Ferensis know how cell a deadly edge. A creature wounded by to prepare a variety of poisons and potions a slashing or piercing weapon treated with as needed but have the power to create this ointment must make a DC 14 only common and uncommon magical constitution saving throw. On a failure, the potions. creature takes 4d6 poison damage and it's Mask of Ermenus cell poisoned for 1 minute. The creature can Wondrous item, uncommon (requires repeat the saving throw at the end of each attunement by a creature inside the cell turn, ending the poisoned condition on a headquarters) success. A creature dropped to 0 hp by this This black linen mask is a band of cloth poison doesn't die; it remains at 1 hp but is with an opening for the eyes, that when paralyzed for 2d4 minutes. worn covers the upper part of a person's The poison is quickly rendered face. An attuned creature wearing the mask ineffective when exposed to air. A coating has advantage on dexterity (stealth) checks of poison is good for about 5 minutes or made at night. until damage is dealt by the poisoned Ring of Ermenus cell weapon. To apply the coating easily, a woolen Wondrous item, uncommon (requires cloth is covered in this poison to absorb it attunement by a creature inside the cell and then kept in an airtight pouch or headquarters) container. Each such cloth can be used This simple brass ring grows warm twice. Such cloth costs 600 gold pieces but when Ermenus requires a meeting with the since the poison is rarely found for sale, the creature wearing the ring. The ring Ermenus price may be significantly higher, and its has is slightly different. It is adorned with sales are usually monitored by the Kargat three dark gems. It grows warm when a cell and their agents. member requires a meeting and one of the gems becomes lighter in color. Each gem Hellfire corresponds to one of the other three rings. Alchemical item Currently, Urf, Rebvena, and Ferensis have This substance is a powerful variation a ring. The Kargat pass the rings among of alchemical fire, treated with Caleb the themselves freely when needed. Baker's blood and other components. It is Twice per day, a creature attuned to kept in small ceramic sealed jars that break the ring can spend a bonus action to on impact. As an action, a creature can enchant a weapon in his or her possession. make a ranged attack with such a jar (range For 10 minutes, the chosen weapon is 30/60). On a hit, the target takes 2d6 fire treated as a magical weapon in order to damage at the start of each of his or her overcome resistance or immunity to non- turns. A creature can end this damage by magical weapons that some enemies of the using its action to make a DC 12 dexterity cell possess. check to extinguish the flames. Water doesn't put out the source of this fire,

although items that caught fire by contact confusion and to break up alliances and with hellfire can be put out with water. groups. Rebvena also uses it to draw Since this item requires a drop of persons who initially resist her charms to Caleb's blood, it is not for sale. If Caleb the her wagon. Baker dies or leaves, the Kargat would lose Potion of poison access to this item when their remaining Potion, uncommon supply is used up. This magical concoction is odorless, Indulgence colorless and tasteless. However, it is Potion, uncommon actually poison masked by illusion magic. This insidious magical poison, utilizing 3d6 minutes after a creature consumes it, the enamoring, confusing powers of a the poison activates. It takes 2d10 poison vampire, reduces the imbiber's inhibitions damage, and it must succeed on a DC 14 towards indulging his or her vices and Constitution saving throw or be poisoned. At urges, unless a DC 14 wisdom saving throw the start of each of its turns while the is made to resist the magic. The effects of creature is poisoned, it takes 2d6 poison the poison persist for 1d4+1 hours. During damage. At the end of each of the that time, the imbiber finds it difficult to creature's turns, it can repeat the saving resist his or her urges and pursues his throw. On a successful save, the effects of secret, darkest desires. A man that would the poison end. Diluting the poison in a cup drink a cup of wine could drink until he of water or wine or a plate of food doesn't passed out. A person slighted or offended in alter its effects. Diluting it further (in a wine the past could seek out and kill those he or pitcher or large beer cup), halves the she believes responsible. A married woman damage dealt and reduces the DC to 12. that used to merely admire a neighbor's Potion of Shapehold appearance could make advances toward Potion, uncommon him, even in front of her husband or kids. When a creature drinks this muddy The alignment of the affected creature green, thick potion, it benefits from moves one step towards chaotic and one advantage on saves to keep its form for the step towards evil. For example, a lawful next 8 hours. While the potion is mainly neutral character would act as neutral evil. used by Urf to resist his curse, any creature To resist indulging in an action that strays drinking it would benefit from advantage to from the new alignment or for which the saves against transformation (like from a character knows there will be bad polymorph spell). consequences, the character must make a The potion is not without side-effects. DC 12 wisdom save. For very severe The creature drinking it is poisoned for 10 deviations or consequences, this save can minutes and its hit point maximum is be made with advantage. reduced by 2d6 hp until the next long rest. This magical poison has a slight red If a creature wants, it can make a hue, a bitter taste, and feels cold. It can be constitution save (DC 13) to resist the used in a drink but to take effect the target potion, both the benefits and the side- must drink all of it. The Kargat prefer to use effects. Habitual use of this potion has this poison in red wine to mask the color adverse long-term effects on one's health. and the taste. They use it to disgrace targets, to create shifts and mistrust or sow

sacrificing a higher spell slot in order to New spells have both spells active and cast by a single Ferensis has access to the following spell. spells in his spellbook. Warlocks and Until the spell ends, one willing creature sorcerers could also have access to the Psi- you touch becomes invisible and gains the sock spell in their spell-list if they get their ability to move up, down, and across hands on it, but not to the invisible climb vertical surfaces and upside down along spell ceilings, while leaving its hands free. The target also gains a climbing speed equal to its walking speed. Anything the target is Psi-shock: wearing or carrying is invisible as long as it 3rd-level enchantment is on the target’s person. The target loses Casting time: 1 action its invisibility if it makes an attack or casts a Range: 60' feet spell. Components: V,S Duration: instantaneous Faceless followers You send psychic magic to overwhelm a living creature's mind functions. The target Aside from the members of the cell, the must make an intelligence saving throw. If Kargat utilizes several other people with or the creature fails the save, it suffers 6d8 without their knowledge. None of these psychic damage and becomes dazed, having hapless souls realize how expendable their disadvantage on attack rolls and ability lives are to their masters. checks until the end of its next turn. If the creature succeeds on the saving throw, it Ermenus cultist takes half as much damage and doesn't Ermenus keeps a few individuals (about suffer disadvantage. 4-5) in his employ, ensuring their loyalty to Non-living creatures and objects are him by means of a vile concoction, similar immune to this spell. Aberrations and to the one Lady Kazandra uses for the vermin have advantage on the intelligence Kargatane. This potion slows aging by half save. and subtly enhances the imbiber's beauty At higher levels: The damage of the for a length of time (usually 6 months to a spell increases by 1d8 for each slot level couple of years). However, it also subtly above 3rd. influences the mind of the person drinking it to be loyal to Ermenus. Invisible climb: Being given a taste of immortality and enhanced physical appearance, and 3rd-level illusion influenced by the mind-affecting properties Casting time: 1 action of the potion, these cultists are remarkably Range: Touch loyal to their enlightened master. Components: V,S,M (an eyelash Ermenus often seeks innkeepers, encased in gum arabic, a drop of bitumen courtesans, smugglers, traveling merchants, and a spider) influential trade guild members, and similar Duration: concentration, up to 1 hour well connected people to put under his This spell combines the spells spider power. Many of these have been in his climb and invisibility in one casting, employ, aspiring for the gift he can give

them, for some time and have received Slower aging. The agent ages at a reduced some rudimentary training or picked up a rate, about 50% slower than normal for few tricks during the years. his or her race. The change is subtle Ermenus agent enough that it would go unoticed for years. Medium humanoid, lawful or neutral evil Sneak attack (1/turn). The agent deals an extra 3 (1d6) damage when he or she Armor Class 13 (leather armor) hits a target with a weapon attack and Hit Points 19 (3d8 +6) has advantage on the attack roll, or Speed 25 ft. when the target is within 5 feet of an ally of the agent that isn't incapacitated and Str 13 (+1) Dex 14 (+2) Con 14 (+2) the agent doesn't have disadvantage on Int 13 (+1) Wis 12 (+1) Cha 12 (+1) the attack roll.

Saving Throws Wisdom +3 Actions Skills Deception+3, insight+3, Multiattack. The agent can make one short investigation+3, perception+3, sword and one dagger attack. persuasion+3 Call of the blood (1/day). The agent gains Senses passive Perception 13 10 temporary hit points for 1 minute. At Languages Darkonese + one language the end of this time, he or she suffers (usually Vaasi, Falkovnian or dwarven) nausea that causes disadvantage to Challenge 1/2 (100 xp) attack rolls and ability checks for 1 minute. Conditioned. Influenced by the concoction Short sword. Melee weapon attack: +4 to brewed by Ermenus, these cultists are hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 remarkably loyal to the vampire. They (1d6+2) piercing damage. have advantage to saving throws to resist Dagger. Melee weapon attack: +4 to hit, compulsions that would set them against reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 2 (1d4) Ermenus’ orders and interests. piercing damage. Cunning action (1/short rest). An agent can make a bonus action. This action can be Reactions used only to take the dash, disengage or Parry. The agent adds 2 AC against a hide action. Unlike the rogue trait, once melee attack that would hit him or her. used, the agent has to take a short rest to To do so, the agent should be able to see use it again. the attacker and yield two weapons. Enhanced beauty. The agent is physically attractive. He or she doubles the Tooth-slayers proficiency bonus for charisma The tooth-slayer mercenary band (persuasion and deception) checks based members are hardened by several fights on his or her appearance, to a total of and rigorous training. While the stats +5. provided here don't cover all members, they are representative of the bulk of the

mercenary force. Usually, they carry a Parry. The tooth-slayer adds 2 AC against glaive and wear scale armor. For every 2 or a melee attack that would hit him or her. 3 tooth-slayers encountered, one will carry To do so, the mercenary should be able a crossbow. They usually patrol in groups of to see the attacker and yield a heavy, 3 to 6, accompanied by a veteran. two-handed weapon. Tooth- slayer Tooth- slayer veteran Medium humanoid (human or caliban), any neutral or evil Medium humanoid (human or caliban), any neutral or evil

Armor Class 15 (scale armor) Hit Points 16 (3d8 +3) Armor Class 17 (splint armor) Speed 30 ft. Hit Points 32 (5d8 +10) Speed 25 ft.

Str 14 (+2) Dex 12 (+1) Con 13 (+1) Int 10 (+0) Wis 10 (+0) Cha 9 (-1) Str 16 (+3) Dex 12 (+1) Con 14 (+2) Int 10 (+0) Wis 12 (+1) Cha 10 (+0)

Saving Throws strength +4 Skills Perception+2 Saving Throws strength +5, wisdom+3 Senses passive Perception 12 Skills Athletics+5, perception+3, Languages Darkonese intimidation+2 Challenge 1/4 (50 xp) Senses passive Perception 13 Languages Darkonese

Training against undead (1/short rest). A Challenge 1 (200 xp) tooth-slayer that misses a melee attack against an undead of the following types: Action surge (1/short rest). On his turn, the ghoul, skeleton, wight, zombie or similar veteran can use one extra action and one undead, can reroll the attack roll and extra bonus action. keep the best roll. Training against undead (1/short rest). A tooth-slayer veteran that misses a melee

Actions attack against an undead of the following Glaive. Melee weapon attack: +4 to hit, types: ghoul, skeleton, wight, zombie or reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d10+2) similar undead, can reroll the attack roll slashing damage. and keep the best roll. Glaive's butt. Melee weapon attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 Actions (1d6+2) bludgeoning damage. Glaive. Melee weapon attack: +5 to hit, Crossbow. Melee ranged attack: +3 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d10+3) range 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 5 slashing damage. (1d8+1) piercing damage. Glaive's butt. Melee weapon attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6

Reactions (1d6+3) bludgeoning damage.

Crossbow. Melee ranged attack: +3 to hit, Unholy Order of the Grave would also range 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 5 temporarily put an end at such a cycle of (1d8+1) piercing damage. violence at any point, as the Kargat would focus on them instead, even offering pardon

Reactions or temporary truce to the PCs if they help.

Parry. The tooth-slayer veteran adds 2 AC against a melee attack that would hit him or her. To do so, the mercenary should be able to see the attacker and yield a heavy, two-handed weapon. Parting words The Ermenus Kargat cell is well connected, powerful and closely knit. They can work as antagonists for the player characters or, hiding behind agents, they may use them to deal with threats in the area. Quite possibly, the Kargat may learn of powerful adventurers working in the area, watch them and utilize them through proxies until the characters become too dangerous, or kill a member of the Kargat. The PCs may deal with one agent, eliminating a monster like Rebvena, a psychopath like Caleb or a bandit leader like Dermont, thinking that they have brought a little peace in the area, only to find themselves in the sights of very powerful, cunning, and determined adversaries. If the PCs fight back and beat the Kargat badly at their own game, more Kargat agents would reinforce them perhaps gaining the enmity of the whole Corvia faction and their unpredictable, powerful leader, the dwarven vampiress Beryl Silvertress. However, the rest of the Kargat are not as interested at revenge as the cell would be; they won't keep mounting losses at a fight they can't win. Beryl Silvertress or perhaps even Azalin himself may order retribution strikes to cease if the PCs show too much aptitude at exterminating agents that go against them. The presence of the

Relentless

By Nathan "Dmitri Stanislaus" Okerlund

The name stood out in gold letters were many ways an enterprising young man against the black wood of the prow, but no could get money enough to put Jasper seaman needed such a notice to know what Teach in a more friendly frame of mind, but ship it was making anchor in Mordentshire- all of them involved hard labor (which was harbor, cutting through the waves with no worry to James; his worst enemy, if he eerie grace while the fog rolled in from the had had any, would not have called him sea behind it to take the harbor and town in slothful) and time. Two of his fellow-suitors its cold embrace. No seaman could mistake were captains with houses of their own those clean, sharp lines, if he had seen already, and he could not hope for that them even once; and no man, woman, or amount of wealth in less than a decade by child of human sensibilities could fail to feel any ordinary course of action. Which left the the darkness that clung to every spar and extraordinary. And whatever else might be shroud. said of Peter van Riese, he paid his men a With perfect economy of motion the princely wage. sails were reefed and the anchor put out, There was that other business, of and the brigantine came to rest, more course. It would be just as well to leave menacing in its stillness than it had been in now, lie low for a while, so that Annabella motion. A whistle, and the longboat was put would understand the situation. He hadn’t out and glided across the harbor with its been the only young man to have enjoyed oars rising and falling in unison. The men in her company in these last three months, it looked ordinary enough, but no-one whatever she might say, and if she were in moved to speak to them as they an interesting condition she wouldn’t have disembarked, and the crowds of the him there to pin it on. That would ruin his Mordentshire market-day made way for chances with Rosaline, even if the other them as if they were so many hangmen. didn’t. But James didn’t like to think of that Many a long look was cast after them, and much; didn’t like to think of Annabella not a few signs against witchcraft made much, either, now that things stood as they behind their backs. did. Young James Blackmore was one of It was with that thought uppermost those who looked longest. He had had the that James made the decision. Hurrying thought of this ship and those men in his after the crewmen, he tapped the last on mind these last seven months, since the shoulder and muttered, “Ah, excuse Rosaline Teach’s father had sworn no me…” man—meaning James—who could not The sailor turned and looked at him, his house his daughter beneath a roof of his face hard. “I’m looking for a place,” he said, own would be allowed to call on her, much quickly. “A berth. If the captain will have less ask for her hand in marriage. There me. D’you know if I might…?” The sailor

gave him an appraising look—slightly hand to rise and knock at the captain’s skeptical, slightly pitying—and then door. whistled. His mates turned back briefly, “Come in,” a deep, brusque voice their faces oddly pale in the dimming light commanded. Opening the door, James had (the fog was getting thicker, and quite a confused impression of charts, maps, and quickly). “Boy wants to see the captain,” the books, meticulously organized but still sailor said. overflowing their bounds, in a room At this all five of them gave James the spacious and airy by the standards of the same look their fellow had, and then the sea; but such things could hardly compete tallest shrugged. “We’ll see you aboard,” he with their master for attention. Captain van said, and turned away again. Riese was a tall man—tall enough that his The sailor sighed and shrugged. He was cap brushed the ceiling—and wide- curiously indeterminate in his looks—brown shouldered, with shoulder-length silver hair hair, brown eyes, ordinary height, neither falling in waves over his coat collar and a fat nor thin, neither old nor young, dressed neatly trimmed beard of the same color. He much as any sailor might be for a trip would have been a strikingly handsome ashore—but there was a curious gravity to man even if not for his eyes; eyes so pale a him, a heaviness which seemed more the blue they were all but white, and a gaze product of having lost any quality of levity that went through a man like a musket ball or good nature than of natural dignity. through a sheet of paper. “Right, then, you’re with me,” he said. “Well? Come in, lad, and shut the It was the only thing he said. They door,” Van Riese commanded, and James went back to the longboat in silence, rowed found himself obeying almost without out to the ship, also in silence, and then noticing what he was doing. “You have James was aboard and looking about in business with me?” awe. The fog had now obscured most of the “Y-yes, captain. I-I hope…that is, I town, and the afternoon sunlight had given heard…that you are taking sailors.” way to a gloom rather like that of early “Oh. Come to sign on, have you?” The evening, but with a leaden quality all its captain gave James a few moments of own. The crew seemed rather cast down by intense scrutiny, and then said, “You’ve it; they toiled with astonishing fluidity, but heard the stories, of course? That it’s a in near-silence, every man attentive to his ghost ship, and that I’m the Devil himself, work and nothing else. ferrying men to Hell—all of that tittle-tattle.” “Er…where do I go?” James asked. The It did not seem quite safe to deny it; sailor pointed with his chin toward the James nodded, reluctantly. stern, then made his way forward, leaving “Speak up, lad, I asked you a James alone on the deck. Befuddled and a question.” little frightened, James looked after him and “Yes, captain, I’ve heard…stories like then toward the door leading, as he must that.” suppose, to the captain’s cabin. Swallowing Van Riese nodded and looked down his questions and his fear, James made his again at the rutter before him, then way aft; the crewmen he passed glanced at snapped it shut and put it aside. “And if I him, but no-one addressed him. It was the told you all those stories were true?” he hardest thing he had ever done to force his said, turning the full force of his uncanny gaze on the young man.

This was not at all what James had granted, rubies the size of your thumb, expected; paralyzed, he finally forced a few voyages among strange lands?” words from his lips. “Then, uh, captain, “Er…yes, sir?” sir…I would believe you?” “Well, as it happens, there’s some truth Van Riese threw back his head and to those as well.” The captain’s pale eyes laughed—so open a sound that James caught the lantern light for just a moment began to wonder if the weird, oppressive as he turned to the window, burning redly feeling which had dogged him since seeing in his pale face. “Name a heart’s desire, Mr. the black hull of the Relentless in the harbor Blackmore, when you sign with me, and was only a product of suggestion and an you’ll get it. By hook or by crook. I don’t say overactive imagination. Relaxing, he allowed it’s any of my doing; all I promise is hard himself a shamefaced grin. labor, far shores, and a fair wage. But those “Well, lad…what’s your name?” who ship with me find they get what they “James, sir. James Blackmore.” set out to find. Not all of them want it any longer when they get it, but that’s no doing “Well, Mr. Blackmore, your candor does of mine.” you credit, at least. I scorn to dissemble, James nodded, or thought he did; Mr. Blackmore. The Relentless is an despite its size, and its large windows, there uncanny ship, and I am a hard master. was something oppressive about the Hard, but I like to think fair. I suppose atmosphere in the room, and he felt

you’ve also heard the stories of wishes curiously light-headed—almost feverish.

Perhaps it was the fog, which was now so And then the thing was done, and he thick that the ship’s lanterns had been lit, set down the pen and wondered what, despite it being only mid-afternoon. exactly, was the heart’s desire he would “I…understand, captain,” he got out. “What, receive for his indenture. It had seemed so ah…how much…is the wage, sir?” clear just that afternoon, but somehow it “One broad gold coin per day for an had fled. He could no longer quite recall the able-bodied seaman, lad, finest reasons, and they no longer mattered. Dementlieuse solars on the barrelhead.” “Come hell or high water,” van Riese Gold! At those wages six months would whispered, as if reading his thoughts, see him fairly started, and a year… “you’re one of mine, now.” “I’ll take it, sir.” Van Riese smiled crookedly. “Good lad.” Reaching to a stack of papers at the right of his desk, he riffled through it and then fetched one out. “Make your mark there, then, and come aboard this evening with whatever you’ll need. I expect we’ll sail with the tide.” James took up the goosefeather pen offered him and was about to inform van Riese that he could write his name, like any good Mordentishman, thanks very much, but as he set pen to paper he saw that his name was already written there, in a bold flowing hand not his own. Looking up, he saw van Riese staring at him, the half-smile still on his lips. “Oh, yes, Master James Blackmore,” van Riese said quietly. “I knew. We put in especially for you. It took us a bit out of our way, but I think it’s always worthwhile when it’s a matter of getting a new hand aboard.” James felt much as he had when the boom of his father’s fishing sloop had cracked his head and put him over the side in a squall five years ago; the same sensation of having lost, somehow, the power to act, and yet remaining conscious of one’s actions. The action of setting his mark by the name already written seemed like something in a story, or in a dream in which he was someone else, some third party who was now choosing, or had already chosen, this fate on behalf of James Blackmore.

A Tour of Western Waters the Sea of Sorrows By Nathan "Dmitri Stanislaus" Okerlund Art by Talon Dunning with thanks to Brothersale

coasts. Estimates as to the size of the Sea Introduction of Sorrows vary so widely as to make reporting such measurements all but Cold as sorrow, grey as death, trackless meaningless; the distance from Port-a- as the Mists themselves, and concealing Lucine to East Riding is given in otherwise almost as many mysteries; surely nothing generally comparable maps as anything represents a Nature inimical to man so between ten and three hundred miles. Most clearly as the sea. Even in these times mapmakers use a scale, which would give a when the sea-roads are well-traveled by distance of perhaps sixty miles miles north ships plying their trade, and a voyage from to south and forty east to west, but the Port-a-Lucine to Paridon offers no more traveler is warned that this is no more than hazard than an overland trip to Hazlan, one a convenience for the cartographer. wonders at the audacity of the sailors who put their trust in log, lead, and lookout and Flora voyage into the boundless deep. How much Kelp beds line the coast of the Sea of more then should we marvel at the daring Sorrows from Mordentshire Bay northward of those first Mordentish sailors who left the and are especially dense along the more land behind and sailed into the unknown? rocky portions of the Lamordian and Darkonian coasts. The occasional large mat Landscape of sargasso weed or strand of sea-mire The real landscape of the Sea of (presumably drawn from Saragoss) will Sorrows—that is, its islands—will be occasionally be found in the southwestern discussed each in its own place. The sea parts of the sea, and sea moss is abundant itself is rather more shallow than the in the waters around Markovia, as are Nocturnal Sea, with 50 fathoms of line corals, whose calcified remains form a commonly able to reach the bottom; it is significant obstacle to navigation around also colder than the its eastern counterpart, that island. Much rarer, and much more and has, if anything, worse weather. There valuable, are such plants as gillweed is perhaps six feet of difference between (virtually indistinguishable from sargasso in high and low tide in most places along its appearance, but capable of conferring the

ability to breathe water on air-breathing creatures) and red tears (bright red algae Useful Flora which produce hallucinations when ingested in sufficient quantity; in Blaustein this plant Gillweed: Gillweed is almost is consumed recreationally and sometimes exactly similar to Sargasso weed, save used as an anesthetic). for a slight purple tinge to the leaves and stalks (Knowledge (nature) DC 25 to identify correctly). Ingesting four ounces of fresh gillweed confers water Fauna breathing as a potion of water breathing The Sea of Sorrows is a rich resource, (CL 5). Gillweed cannot be cultivated in particularly to the folk of Mordentshire, for captivity and loses its potency within its abundant fishing. Flatfish such as five minutes of being removed from sea halibut, flounder and sole are caught in water (it can, however, be kept for up great quantities and eaten fresh or salted; to 24 hours in a vessel filled with sea herring, shad, sardines and alewives feed water). Certain Blausteiner pirate the fishermen themselves, while the more captains claim to know of the location of wealthy enjoy such delicacies as tuna, great mats of gillweed, but the salmon, and swordfish. Crabs and lobsters difficulties in maintaining its potency for are also trapped along the shores, and long periods of time means that it is not abalone and other shellfish are also presently a valuable sale good. abundant, particularly along the coast of Red Tears: These red algae are Lamordia. (The rare and striking ghost usually strained from sea water with a crab, with the mark of a skull in white on its handkerchief and suspended in alcohol slate-grey shell, is never eaten because of for ingestion. Ingesting this mix the superstition that it represents wicked or produces mild hallucinations and has an greedy fishermen lost at sea.) Squid are anesthetic effect. It is a popular drug of very common north of Markovia, and large abuse in Blaustein, but is not commonly and active octopuses are actually dangerous used elsewhere in the Core; its taste is to incautious abalone divers. Their much unpleasant and the hallucinations it more intelligent and ferocious cousin the produces are often unpleasant as well. shadow kraken is known to haunt the reefs Thankfully, it is not in itself addictive. It south of Markovia, as well as appearing does have a certain value for ships’ frequently in other waters. A colony of the surgeons called upon to perform strange fish-octopuses known as “morkoth” emergency amputations, bone-settings, can be found in some abundance just north and so forth. Primary damage 1d2 of Blaustein; unlike the Nocturnal Sea I Wisdom and anesthesia, secondary have found no evidence of any previously damage 1d2 Wisdom and hallucinations unsuspected great undersea nation, but (Save DC 18). stories of intelligent and very dangerous creatures such as the “sea spawn master” CR 4 Huge shark CR 5 whale (orca) CR 6 and reavers are common and well-attested. whale (baleen) CR 7 whale (cachalot) CR 8 Wildlife : CR ½ porpoise, seal CR 1 giant octopus CR 9 giant squid manta ray, Medium shark, octopus, Medium Monstrous : CR ½ sea spawn (spawn) sea snake squid, stingray CR 2 Large shark (DoD), sea zombie CR 1 lacedon (MMI) CR

2 sahuagin (MMI) CR 3 bowlyn (DoD) CR 4 uncanny tale of the ship (most supposedly reaver (DoD) sea hag (MMI) CR 5 morkoth involving a former shipmate or relative, but (MMII), sea spawn (master) (DoD), aquatic a surprising number claiming a first-hand remnant CR 6 aquatic ooze, (FF), jolly roger experience of some kind). All agree on (DoD), kopru (MMII), reekmurk (FF) CR 7 certain points: that the Relentless is always chuul (MMI) CR 9 caller from the deeps accompanied by bad weather (either dense (SW), dire shark (MMI), ice golem (FB) CR fog or storms); that when it comes to 12 kraken (MMI) harbor it appears to be an extraordinarily well-built, but otherwise normal, three- History masted brigantine, with a crew of ordinary sailors, but when seen at sea it is ghostly Mordentish records declare that the and crewed by van Riese alone; and that coast of their country once abutted the bad luck always befalls those who see it on Mists almost directly, with perhaps a mile of the high seas. (If encountered in port it is water between the shore and the Mists. In not necessarily a dire omen, although it is January of the year 630 the Mists retreated, not a good one.) revealing a much larger sea whose cold Van Riese is held by some to be a grey waters impressed them as the very ghost, whose refusal to acknowledge his epitome of symbolic sorrow—“an ocean of death is so strong he remains in the tears”, in the words of one chronicler. physical world; by others, to be a man Almost immediately it came to be known as accursed to wander the seas until some the Sea of Sorrows. Mordent had, of condition is met (the condition varies from course, no ocean-going vessels—nor did telling to telling, when it exists at all). any other domain at that time—but Some stories of the latter category give Van nevertheless records exist of one ship Riese a vaguely heroic air as a struggler adapted to such voyages that was against Fate, but most depict him as a seemingly already plying those waters. The figure of dread. Even the Blausteiners, as infamous [i]Relentless[/i] made its first hardened and irreverent a group as I have appearance in Mordentshire-harbor in that ever come across, are extremely reluctant same year; its captain, Pieter van Riese, to discuss Van Riese’s personality, motives was described then, as he is now, as a man or goals; some few sailors are said by in early middle age prematurely grey, above others to have sailed with him, but I met the common height, and of commanding no-one willing to claim such a distinction presence. The discovery (or placement) of himself, much less willing to reveal what such inhabited islands as have since been such a sailor might know of van Riese from discovered is documented in the history of personal experience. each such island; suffice it to say that the Among the most common stories told history of the Sea of Sorrows is the history of Van Riese is one in which he sails into of sailors’ tales, and the great fixed point port, recruits an unsuspecting crew for a and inescapable center of all such tales are new voyage, and promptly sails with them the enigmatic van Riese and his spectral into Hell, or the Other Side, or whatever ship. similar place suits the storyteller’s fancy. Only the briefest summaries of such The story contains obvious flaws in logic— stories can be given here, given that literally why would sailors fail to recognize the one every sailor I spoke with had their own ship that every sailor knows by reputation

at least, or join up with a captain so signing up to serve on the Relentless and uncanny? If Van Riese could disguise returning six months later as a greybeard, himself so well as to obviate these or reappearing after generations have difficulties, how could the Relentless be so passed without having aged a day. instantly recognized by all who see it on the Many stories also recount the terrible high seas, or how could it be proved that it vengeance Van Riese takes on pirates who was the Relentless at all? But the general trepass on his waters; the most famous, but outline of the story seems to have a certain by no means the only one, is recounted in amount of truth. I have heard enough well- the history of Dominia and is among the corroborated and circumstantial stories to most widely told among the sailors of the believe that the Relentless does come into Sea of Sorrows, perhaps as a touchstone or ports up and down the Sea of Sorrows—not founding myth explaining their great frequently, but not so very rarely either, solidarity. perhaps making two or three visits to a major port in a decade—and when he Populace comes, he generally recruits at least one The sailors of the Sea of Sorrows can man for his crew, supposedly on very be divided into three groups: the “blue- generous terms. The individual or water” sailors, the “inboard” sailors, and individuals so recruited may or may not be Blausteiners, each of whom have their own seen again; stories abound of a young man attitudes, superstitions, and habits.

Piracy on the Sea of Sorrows The stories of Pieter van Riese and the Relentless often mention that those who shed blood on the Sea of Sorrows put themselves in his power. This is absolutely true; a person who sheds another’s lifeblood into the Sea of Sorrows and dies anywhere where he or she can hear the tide will rise from the grave as a restless spirit and take ship aboard the Relentless. However, this only applies to the Sea of Sorrows proper; the coastal waters of other domains do not trigger this curse. This lies behind the superstitious prohibition on attacking ships while out of sight of land, and is also behind such customs as marooning and walking the plank—if no blood is shed, the curse isn’t triggered. Everyone who sails on the Sea of Sorrows knows this rule and will only resort to violence in the last extremity, as no-one wishes to “sign up for the long voyage”. Sailors who kill someone on the Sea of Sorrows will often leave their ship as soon as possible and move somewhere well inland. Because of this prohibition, even when combat occurs the participants will usually do all they can to avoid fatalities. On the other side of the coin, certain depraved captains and their followers have given up hope of avoiding Van Riese’s call and take advantage of others’ non-violence to their own advantage. After all, the Grey Captain can only claim your soul once— might as well kill five men if you’ve killed one. Such ships and captains are extremely dangerous, and even other Blausteiners may quietly work to bring them to justice ashore.

land. Their main notoriety, however, comes from the fact that the Blausteiners are the Blue-water sailors are those who only sailors who do not acknowledge the routinely sail out of sight of land and who Law of the Sea—the deeply engrained make voyages through the Mists. They custom of mutual help, or at least non- represent perhaps a fifth of the total interference, which governs the sailors of maritime traffic on the Sea of Sorrows, but other nation. (The Blausteiners vehemently they have the most lucrative contracts, the dispute the claim that they do not follow most renown, and the most danger. Most this custom; to their way of thinking, only a blue-water ships are captained by half- ship which is actually at sea—that is, out of Vistani Captains of the Mists and crewed by sight of land…can lay claim to the a mixture of half-Vistani, the more honest protection of the Law of the Sea. Once land sort of Blausteiners and the more daring is in sight, in their opinion, the Law is no sort of Mordentishmen and Lamordians. longer in force.) Inboard men, also known as Among the three groups, the blue- “sandhuggers” and “stay-at-homes”, are water sailors have the highest status; they those fishing and coastal vessels which make the most daring and most profitable never intentionally go far out of sight of voyages, they are the best sailors, and they land. Inboard ships are generally smaller regard inboard men with a mix of fellow- and less seaworthy than blue-water ships, feeling—they are fellow sailors, after all— although there are large trading ships that amusement, and disdain. They regard the ply the coastal trading route between sea-wolves of Blaustein with a mixture of Mordentshire-by-the-Sea and Martira Bay. deep-seated antipathy, for their piracy and If the ships do not actually return to their slaving, and respect, for their abilities as home harbor by nightfall, they generally sailors. drop anchor at or before sunset and spend The Blausteiners, for their part, largely the night ashore. An experienced inboard reciprocate this feeling of grudging respect. captain knows the location of each creek A Blausteiner pirate captain will certainly and potential stopping place between take a blue-water vessel as prize if he can Mordentshire and Martira Bay, and many catch it within sight of land, but he will know the coast all the way down to the generally set the crew at liberty on Misty Border on the Valachan coast. There Blaustein rather than selling them into are also a small number of Ghastrian slavery, and if a Blausteiner pirate ship and traders who travel among the islands of a blue-water vessel meet at sea they will Ghastria, trading among the different generally swap news or needed supplies islands in a way similar to the inboard men with an air of guarded amiability. The of the coastal Core. Blausteiners have nothing but contempt for Blausteiners, often called “sea wolves” inboard men, however, and prey on them or “sea devils” by honest tradesmen and without conscience; if, somehow, they meet sailors, range across the Sea of Sorrows in up with a inboard vessel which has their galleys and xebecs, preying on their wandered out into blue water they will fellow sailors. Unlike blue-water sailors, generally offer no assistance and may even they generally avoid sailing out of the Sea track the unfortunate vessel back to land. of Sorrows, and unlike inboard men they Inboard men occupy the low rung of are quite comfortable sailing out of sight of the social ladder in terms of respect, though

of course they rank higher than the by Zherisian businesses, and a surprising Blausteiners in terms of respectability. They number of Paridoners can be found among may be irked by the air of superiority the sailors of the Sea of Sorrows. affected by the blue-water ships and their Mordent: Mordent is actually a naval crews, but they will generally acknowledge “power”, with as many men and ships in the the superior standing of the blue-water Sea of Sorrows as Darkon and more than sailors in the social hierarchy of the Sea of any other nation. Of course, many of them Sorrows. There may be mutterings about are fishing boats or small vessels engaging “half-breeds” and “lunatics”, referring to the in local trade, rather than blue-water ships, half-Vistani parentage of many blue-water but Mordent has by far the closest ties to sailors, the mixed heritage of native the sea of any Core nation in terms of Blausteiners, and the propensity of both having a seafaring population. groups for hair-raising exploits and short life Darkon: Darkon is the only nation to expectancies, but when it comes down to have warships in the Sea of Sorrows (in brass tacks both inboard men and blue- fact, the only domain to have a regularly water sailors know that the Law of the Sea constituted “navy” at all, although Prince holds as much for one group as for the Othmar would like to change that). They other. Inboard men generally fear and hate spend their time chasing slavers and the Blausteiners, for obvious reasons; if smugglers and nosing up and down the they happen to meet out of sight of land, coast in a demonstration of Azalin Rex’s inboard men generally do their best to power. ignore the Blausteiners and hope they go Blaustein: Blausteiners are the great away. Only under truly desperate exception to the Law of the Sea, and they circumstances will they reduce themselves are widely disliked and feared. Native or to asking for assistance, and only the most “true” Blausteiners—a man or woman principled or hopeful will lend such actually born on the island, rather than assistance if Blausteiners ask it of them. someone who has fled there from some other nation—are also considered to have A brief précis of each nation bordering uncanny powers over the weather, to be the Sea of Sorrows follows: shapeshifters, and to be natural sailors Captains of the Mists: They are not (some go so far as to say a true Blausteiner a nation, of course, but their importance cannot drown). Having one native makes them worthy of note. The half- Blausteiner aboard is considered lucky; Vistani sailors who are experienced in Mist having two or more is not, since they tend navigation are few in number, but their to fight among themselves and create unusual abilities make them sought after. divisions among the crew. For better or worse, they are well aware of Lamordia: The Lamordians are well the price their abilities can command and known as shipbuilders and local traders; cheerfully extract every penny they can numerous Lamordian vessels ply the coastal from their business partners. routes, and many of the best blue-water Zherisia: Despite its location in the ships are built in the shipyards of Mists, its relatively easily and commonly Ludendorf. However, Lamordians are not traversed Mistways leading to the Sea of particularly common among blue-water Sorrows make it worthy of note here. Many crews, with their national bias toward the ships plying the Sea of Sorrows are owned

rational and pragmatic perhaps making universally observed, but it is striking that it itself felt here. is broadly and commonly observed, even by Dementlieu: Dementlieu boasts a fair those whose behavior when ashore would number of trading vessels and fishermen, not lead one to expect it of them. The but virtually none who venture out of sight major (partial) exception are Blausteiners, of land; they are not a maritime nation. as discussed above, and the outlander pirate crews which appear with some Valachan: The Valachani hardly frequency in these waters, apparently ventured to sea; they only acquired a drawn in by the Mists. coastline after the Great Upheaval, and that coastline has steadily diminished since its Economy first appearance—perhaps from lack of use, Trade on the Sea of Sorrows is vital for as some wags have suggested—and has Paridon and Blaustein (for a given value of now retreated almost to the Mordentish “trade”, in the latter case) and important to border. The sailors of southern Mordent are Mordent and Ghastria; the other nations somewhat apprehensive about this bordering the Sea of Sorrows profit from development and hope to see it halt at the maritime commerce, but can hardly be said border, if not sooner. to rely on it. Mordent, in particular, relies on its fisheries to feed itself, and takes Ghastria: Despite being surrounded by great quantities of cod, sole, herrings, and the Sea of Sorrows, the Ghastrians are not sardines from fisheries near the Mordentish seamen; those who do go to sea as coast. fishermen and local traders keep in sight of land and rarely venture across the sea to Diplomacy the Core, much less to more exotic Darkon has made an effort to enforce locations. naval supremacy over the Sea of Sorrows, with three warships based in Martira Bay The Realm plying the sea-lanes (mostly along the coast). This is largely a pro forma gesture; Government there is no national conflict on the Sea of The Sea of Sorrows has, of course, no Sorrows to speak of, save for the general law nor government per se, as it is not a distaste for Blaustein. This is certainly at polity of fixed borders and with a native least in part because none of the nations population. The one great law of its sailors bordering the Sea of Sorrows have is the custom known as the Law of the Sea, diplomatic difficulties among themselves; if, referred to previously, which is usually say, Falkovnia had a border on the Sea of formulated simply as “At sea, all men are Sorrows the matter might be quite different. brothers.” The dangers of maritime travel are so great that in their face almost all Sites of Interest those who sail its waters set aside grievances and personal enmity, if such Slaver’s Rock exist, and the desire for gain, in favor of a This spire of stone, located a few miles spirit of comity and fellow-endeavor. The northeast of Blaustein, covers perhaps ten law is, of course, not perfectly nor

acres but towers to about five hundred feet confusion which tend to fall over those in height; it would be notable only as a sailing these waters. It is widely rumored minor hazard to navigation save for the fact that these mental effects are due to the that it counts as “dry land” for the purposes presence of a large number of morkoth who of the Blausteiner pirates and slavers, who make their lairs here, in the circular mazes therefore feel free to prey on any ship they which give the place its name. The bottom find within view of it. There is usually at is largely of dark stone, sand and shell. least one pirate vessel within sight of Slaver’s Rock lies at the northwest edge of Slaver’s Rock at any given time, and honest the Circles, and Blausteiner slavers often captains are forced to give it a wide berth take advantage of the strange influence of whenever possible. It is also famous as the the place to capture ships passing through site where Blausteiner pirates maroon this region. The bottom near Slaver’s Rock captives or their own wayward brethren; it is dark grey gravel and white sand, with is entirely without shelter or fresh water, gravel predominating more as one nears the and the only possible sustenance is the Rock. Depth is ten to thirty fathoms. seabirds (and their eggs in nesting season) which nest on the upper reaches of the The Stormline Rock. Unsurprisingly, it has an evil This is an imagined feature of the reputation and is reputedly the home to landscape, which runs on a roughly north- many restless spirits. south line just touching the westernmost point of the Isle of Agony and thence into The Gray Shallows the Mists. The Stormline is so called Located south of Ghastria, this region because the weather is often quite has numerous sand shoals which shift with remarkably different on one side of the line great rapidity, making them a significant from the other—generally with calm on one hazard to navigation. Although few ships side and storms on the other. Depth along sink here, it is not at all uncommon for the Stormline averages sixty fathoms. ships to be grounded on the shoals and forced to spent a great deal of time and Breaker’s Reefs labor freeing themselves. The bottom here Found to the southeast of Markovia, is of grey sand. Depth is two to twenty this extensive coral reef is not a great fathoms. hazard to navigation unless one wishes to approach Markovia itself. Unfortunately, The Circles the best beaches for landing on the island One of the eerier “landmarks” of the are protected by these reefs, making arrival Sea of Sorrows, the Circles are found a few on the island a dangerous proposition. The miles northwest of Blaustein. The water is reef is also infested with dangerous eight to twenty fathoms in depth, and dark creatures, including one infamous kraken circles are actually visible on the sea floor. known to attack ships which founder there. Ships passing through this region often Depth along the reefs themselves is often have great difficulty in maintaining a steady less than one fathom (to the reefs) and two course and keeping the sails in good to five fathoms to the sea floor. trim…not from any freak of the weather, but because of the strange lassitude and

North Reach North of the Isle of Demise the sea assumes a characteristic dark grey tone and waves increase in height. The DM’s Information on bottom is brown sand and shell. Depths average fifty fathoms or more. Navigation For those wishing to use these rules Leviathan’s Waters to guide navigation in the Sea of Sorrows, the rules for navigation in East of Ghastria. The water is a Stormwrack (pg. 87) may serve as a characteristic bottle-green color; waves guideline, with the following alterations: are small and irregularly spaced, creating General penalty to navigation: All a high degree of chop and many navigation checks made by sailors on whiteheads. The bottom is of yellow the Sea of Sorrows get a -10 penalty. sand. Depths average thirty fathoms. This penalty can be offset by applying any or all of the following bonuses: Weather patterns The helmsman may add a bonus to Storms are most frequent in the navigation check made by himself or February and March and from August to another member of the crew as follows: October, and generally follow one of two +6 to reach the helmsman’s home port, patterns, either rising in the west and +4 to a frequently visited port (more moving east until they reach the than five previous visits), +2 to any Stormline, where they are diverted either previously visited port. to north or south, or rising in the north, The ship itself may get a +1 to +5 off the coast of Darkon, and moving south bonus for having made previous visits to down the coast. Fair weather is a given port, at the DM’s discretion. associated with east and south winds. This may be influenced by There is often a sharp break in the considerations such as where the ship weather as one crosses the Stormline, was built and where the timber it is such that the weather may be hail or even made of came from. snow on the Lamordian coast but warm Touching water and/or earth from and clear over Markovia. Visibility is the desired destination to key points almost always limited to five miles or less (the helm, keel and/or mainmast) gives by haze; the sky is never really clear, a +2 bonus for each; if both water and although the overcast is less impenetrable earth are applied these bonuses stack than that of the Nocturnal Sea. Heavy fog for a +4 total. is common, as is a weather pattern in If the thoughts of any member of which there is heavy fog to within about a the crew, passenger or stowaway are mile of the coast but clear weather over sufficiently focused on one place the coast itself. This is often called (whether it be a place they want to go, “pirate weather”, since the Blausteiner or wish to avoid), that in itself may be pirates often conceal themselves in the sufficient to bring the ship there, at the fog and await passing ships, then dash to DM’s discretion. capture their quarry while land is in sight.

Navigating the Sea of Well-known ships of the Sea of Sorrows Sorrows The sailors on the Sea of Sorrows sail Sweet Joan, of Mordentshire- an empty and trackless waste; unlike harbor, Esdras Calloway captain. caravans crossing the almost equally Briar Rose, of Mordentshire-harbor, featureless deserts of Pharazia or Har’Akir, Jeremiah Blackstone captain. Captain they cannot even reference the stars to Blackstone is the son of Elijah guide them. Inboard men, of course, ply Blackstone, who I understand to be a their trade along the coast and are contributor to our sadly delayed intimately familiar with the coastlines they document on the perils of the deep. pass, and even points such as Markovia can Vir Verte, of Martira Bay, Aliandra be seen and sailed to if one merely follows Bowbreak captain. the coast of the Fingers and the Isle of Bon Homme Marius, of Port-a- Demise to their utmost point. The sea itself Lucine, Jean-Ezra Legrande captain. is not as featureless as it seems to a Mistral, of Martira Bay, Gareth landsman; certain weather patterns Darkholme captain. predominate in certain areas, the color of Sunseeker, of Paridon, Ysandra the sea (dark grey north of the Isle of Kolstelyn captain Demise, bottle green southeast of Ghastria) can be used as a rough guide, and the use helm and concentrating on where he wants of the sounding lead to bring up a sample to go. (The half-Vistani “Captains of the of the sea floor can often be used to help Mists”, as they style themselves, are determine a general location (see Sites of supposedly most adept at this, with native Interest for very general notes on this Blausteiners rated second, but it is thought point). to be a knack anyone with sufficient Over and above this rational system, experience can obtain.) This extends, to a the sailors believe in and rely on what I lesser degree, to anyone aboard the ship; suppose can be most easily encapsulated as ideally, the whole crew will set a particular a sympathetic system of navigation. After a destination in mind and focus on arriving great deal of discussion with Captain Howe, there, to speed the ship’s passage. the crew, and others, I believe this can be Second, the ship itself is supposed to broken down into three parts. retain some memory of its “place of birth”, First, and most important, sailors meaning both where the timber it was built believe that the Sea of Sorrows responds to from was logged and where the ship itself the thoughts of those who sail it. If you put was built, and will tend to return to these a Mordentishman at the helm of a ship, the familiar points unless guided in a different sea itself will steer the ship toward Mordent; direction. if a Lamordian, toward Lamordia, and so A ship which has routinely traveled forth. This is most effective when the sailor along a given trade route (say, Paridon to is sailing to his home port, but it is widely Port-a-Lucine and back) will tend to stick to agreed that an experienced sailor can “sniff its familiar circuit and may be “reluctant” to his way” to a port merely by taking the voyage in a different direction; an especially

Sailor’s Cant The sailors of the Sea of Sorrows tend to use Mordentish as a lingua franca, but with a strong admixture of Lamordian technical terms and a number of Darkonese phrases or expressions. The following are among the common terms used by sailors which are likely to be unfamiliar to the non-nautical.

Bark, barky: An affectionate substitute for “ship,” usually one’s own. Bow: The front of the ship. Black Ship: The Relentless Blank: West Blue: Good, correct, well done. Brown: East Brother/sister: A crewmate. Cank: Bad, wrong, crooked. Cousin: A fellow-sailor. Fog in, fog over: Enter the Mists. Gree: North Grey Captain: Pieter van Riese Inboard: Short for “inboard sailor”, a sailor whose ship rarely or never sails out of sight of land. Landlubber, lubber: Someone without sailing experience. Lunatic: A half-Vistani sailor. Mudfoot: An especially disparaging term for an inboard sailor. Pater/Mater: The ship’s captain. Port: The left side of the ship, when standing on the ship and facing forward (toward the bow). Starboard: The right side of the ship, when standing on the ship and facing forward (toward the bow). Stern: The back of the ship. True blue: An experienced blue-water sailor. Vert: South Wolf, seawolf: A Blausteiner

experienced or strong-willed helmsman may and the mate about whether touching the be necessary to direct it to a new masts made this process more or less destination. Finally, the ship can be “taught” effective). Thus, taking water from a to seek for a particular place by taking soil Rokushiman spring and sand from one of its and water from that place and touching beaches and touching them to the ship will them to certain key points (the helm and cause the ship to seek after the “taste” of keel are widely agreed upon; there was a that soil and water—always assuming that warm disagreement between Captain Howe

the crew do not spoil the effect by thinking manors. It was easy to believe it a ghost too much of other places! ship even as my oarsman hailed the ship, I am not at all convinced that this received a guardedly cordial reply, and I “system” of navigation is more than climbed the side and found myself on the superstition, but it is at least widely held deck. and strongly adhered to, and it is not All there was more or less as expected, beyond the realm of possibility that the Sea for one by now so accustomed to the of Sorrows in some way responds to such nautical routine—the sailors at their cues in directing those who travel over it— common tasks, the ship riding easily at surely a most intriguing example of the anchor. All was eerily quiet; there was power of Mind over Shadow, if true. none of the song or idle talk invariably accompanying such task aboard the Pelican. Postscript On arriving on deck I informed the nearest crewman of my name and business (as I Having compiled the foregoing, I had have described it elsewhere—a professor of thought to add no more to my description Richmulot engaged in a cartographic study of the Sea of Sorrows, but I had not of the Sea of Sorrows, a designation which I counted on the power of Fortune to offer us thought would prove attractive to Captain unsought-for opportunities. van Riese). After a moment’s muttered Yesterday morning at about dawn the conversation with a fellow, I was shown the Relentless entered [East Riding?] harbor. way to the captain’s cabin and introduced to Word spread immediately; the event was Captain van Riese himself. already the only topic of conversation at the He is a tremendously impressive breakfast table, as speculation into what person, well above the average height and business van Riese might have hear ran strongly built, apparently of some forty rampant. Considering the matter briefly, I years of age but with hair and beard knew my course was clear; at least while at prematurely grey and even white, piercing anchor, the [i]Relentless[/i] was, from all I pale grey eyes in a face only moderately knew of it, an…shall I say ordinary?...at weathered by exposure to sun and surf. He least a corporeal ship, from which sailors is, then, physically striking, but even more were seen to come and go. Might I not do than that, he carries the air of natural the same? authority, so often seen in sea captains and Saying nothing of my intentions to military commanders, to a greater degree Captain Howe, who I was sure would make than any person I have ever met. Having the most tiresome sort of objections and conversed with him, the stories of his ability expostulations, I went immediately to the to command the winds and waves harbor and found (after some searching and themselves now seem no mere myth- the offer of a truly princely payment) a making hyperbole told by credulous sailors, fellow willing to take me out to the ship. but mere facts consistent with his The Relentless is all it was described as overwhelming force of personality. being—possessed of superb “lines”, even to He bid me enter and made me welcome an eye so relatively inexperienced as mine, with a show of respectful courtesy before and curiously menacing in a way one most asking my business, at which I told him of commonly associates with the more my journey around the Sea of Sorrows. He dramatic sort of ruined castles or deserted evinced great interest in the copied and

annotated maps and charts I had brought Despite his unwillingness to impart to provide my entrée to the conversation; further details, I feel sure the arch-traitor as we spoke, I became aware of certain has conversed with Van Riese in the recent habits of speech and a certain trace accent past. I have hopes of having learned which reminded me inescapably of none something—however little—of his recent other than the arch-traitor Van Rijn. travels. On my way back to shore I Suddenly struck by these similarities and succeeded in learning from a sailor aboard the obvious similarity in names between the the Relentless that their last port of call two, I decided in a moment to risk asking was… him if he knew of or had even met my friend Erik van Rijn. Pieter van Riese As I did he fell silent and observed me with great care for a long moment; then he Background spoke coolly. "Professor Hazan…I knew that name Pieter van Riese was born in rang a bell. As it happens, I have seen your Amsterdam, Gothic Earth, at a time when it friend Van Rijn. Spoken with him a time or was one of the great shipping centers of the two. We're countrymen, did you know? Born world, and from childhood his eyes were just a few miles apart, and not so very filled with the sails of tall ships in the many years either. Funny how these things Isseljmeer and with maps—wildly turn out. As for where he is, I don't know contradictory maps which changed from and can't tell you. As for where he's year to year as sailors returned from far going...why, he's going home.” voyages with their often-conflicting tales of Captain Van Riese smiled. where they had gone and what they had "I could have taken him myself, if he'd seen. asked. Saved him a great deal of time and Van Riese’s family had always trouble. But..." He shrugged. "He didn't ask. followed the sea; he was big for his age and And it didn't strike my fancy to offer. I'll say a quick study, and he first took ship as a no more of what passed between us, out of cabin boy at the age of seven. By the time respect for a fellow wanderer." he turned twenty he had already begun to For a moment a wild idea of inducing captain small ships making smuggling trips the captain to speak by force danced in my between Amsterdam and the English coast. brain. As if seeing the thought, he smiled He quickly acquired a reputation as a more widely and said, almost whispering, "You'll be wanting to go now, Master Hazan. Unless you're interested in joining the crew?" The threat in his words was unmistakable, the air of menace in the cabin all but literally palpable. I have been in several tight scrapes over the course of compiling these reports, but never have I felt in more peril, body and spirit, than I did in that moment. I could do no more than bow and take my leave.

excellent seaman, a first-rate navigator and men of seventy and bringing both his ships cartographer who knew how to get the home; the second was a near-total disaster, most from his ship and his men. He had with only van Riese and six of his sixty men also begun to acquire a reputation as a hard returning from it. The second expedition man with an unpredictable temper, capable also dealt a severe blow to Van Riese’s of laughing off a calculated insult on one reputation; the accounts given by his fellow- day and lashing out in response to an survivors were somewhat confused and innocent remark on the next. He was contradictory, but all blamed him for widely known to be proud as the Devil pressing on long past the point of reason himself, intensely ambitious, and, more and endangering his men, and one of his unusually, as an outspoken atheist. He was men frankly accused him of murdering a often heard to lament crew member who that he had been born had pressed him a too late to get in little too strongly to ahead of Columbus; return home. Van he was also often Riese denied all such heard to predict that accusations and the present age of pressed every friend exploration and and business advancement of acquaintance he had knowledge would ever made for funds culminate in the entire for a final expedition, mastery of man over while spending great Nature—even time and energy on including Death itself. designing and building Although he usually a ship which could said such things stand up to the rigors jokingly, many who of the journey. heard him believed After five that at heart he was grueling years of sincere. work, van Riese had Soon Van the money, the men, Riese’s ambitions and, most of all, the became focused on a ship to achieve his concrete point: he would find the Northwest dreams—a two-masted brigantine built to a Passage to the reaches of the Orient and design of Van Riese’s own imagining, the win, if not eternal life, at least eternal fame product of the finest shipyard in Harwich, and earthly fortune. He made two attempts England, and named by Van Riese himself at the Northwest Passage but was driven as a sign of his ambitions and his attitude: back each time by the onset of winter and Relentless. by (as he felt) ships incapable of weathering Having thus prepared himself, van Rijn the Arctic conditions prevailing in the high and his crew set out in late spring to North Atlantic and crews incapable of real attempt their passage. As summer came dedication to their goal. His first expedition the Relentless and her crew pressed ended in only a mild failure, losing eighteen forward, threading their way between the

islands west of Greenland mile by cautious that he knew so well what the ship was mile, mapping their progress carefully and thinking they no longer needed to talk. The doggedly pressing ever westward. At first quartermaster, thinking it a joke, laughed all felt their progress to be limited but real, heartily, and in an instant van Riese but as summer began to pass the more snapped, striking him to the deck and experienced crewmen began to wonder if it snarling that it was nothing for a fool to might not suit them better to turn back and laugh at, that he knew the ship just as he return in the next year, maps in hand, to knew his hands and feet. continue their journey—or at least to sail It might have made worse trouble south into the bay recently discovered by among the crew, save that it almost seemed Henry Hudson and winter on its southern to be true; the sails all but seemed to reef shore. and furl themselves, and van Riese seemed Van Riese refused to listen to such to be able to find a breeze even on the advice. He used every means of persuasion stillest day and a safe path in the strongest available to encourage the crew to make storm. their passage in a single trip, painting a But nothing could escape the ice. grim picture of the possible results of As autumn passed and winter drew on making a semi-permanent camp on some the Relentless and its crew were constantly unknown shore and using every map and surrounded by great castles and islands of chart available to “prove” that they had only ice, and it took all the skills of frost-bitten a short distance yet to go and they would hands and feet to keep her clear of their find themselves in the Pacific Ocean. This grasp. Eventually even van Riese’s was at least plausible, and might have preternatural seamanship and the best entirely persuaded all aboard—if not for efforts of the crew failed to keep her free, certain other signs that began to indicate and the Relentless found herself locked in a that all might not be well with the captain. field of ice, unable to move except as Always a light sleeper, he began to spend moved by the currents. Her excellent all night awake, poring over maps and construction gave the crew a measure of charts and talking—not to himself, but to safety, but it became increasingly apparent the ship. Van Riese had always been to all but van Riese that the ship was a loss. extraordinarily proud of the Relentless and, With great good luck the crew might wait like all seamen, to consider her a living for the ice to freeze solid, portage the ship’s thing with a personality and mannerisms of boats to open water, and make an escape, her own; but the way he spoke of her and but nothing could save the ship herself. to her soon impressed even the least Van Riese refused to consider such a course imaginative of the crew as uncanny, and as of action and demanded that all the crew autumn wore on all began to wonder if the stay together and with the ship, and for a captain’s grip on sanity was loosening. time prevailed; but as the ship’s supplies Most were relieved when van Riese dwindled the crew began to whisper of stopped his long one-sided midnight mutiny. “conversations”, but when the Van Riese, seeing which way the mood quartermaster daringly joked that van Riese of the crew was tending, mulled his options and the ship were no longer talking, van and finally called a general meeting of the Riese smiled broadly, clapped him on the ship’s crew to clear the air. Van Riese gave shoulder, and told him there was no need— his own reasons for continuing forward at

some length, then offered to let anyone punished them, but how would he get back who had objections to share them. At first what was rightfully his? Finally, raving and no-one was willing to come forward, but shrieking, he demanded that someone, finally the first mate—a long-time friend of anyone, give him what he needed to van Riese’s, who had sailed with him on all achieve his goal: open water, a loyal crew, three of his expeditions—declared himself in and the power to defy Death itself. Falling favor of turning back. Thus emboldened, to his knees on the deck, he promised his every member of the crew eventually soul and his ship to the service of any declared himself in favor of abandoning the power that would give him what he wanted; Relentless. Van Riese took the news with finally, exhausted, he slept, expecting never great calm, and declared that he had to wake again. expected them to vote in such a way; in But awake he did--although it was like honor of the end of their great voyage and no waking he had ever had. Van Riese noble struggle against the elements he found himself pacing the deck of the would immediately issue an extra double Relentless, alone, in open water—a dark ration of grog to all hands, which he would grey-green sea, the sky overcast, the serve himself from his private stores. season indeterminate but certainly no Arctic This announcement was received with winter. He was alone, save for his ship, and great enthusiasm, and the men crowded he learned immediately that his boast of forward for their celebratory toast, cheering sailing the Relentless single-handed was for “Van Riese and the good old Relentless”. now literal truth. Wherever he thought to Van Riese gave out the strong drink with a go, the ship went. He had his ship, there generous hand, giving third and fourth were crew when he called for them, whom drafts to those who asked, smiling and he could banish with a thought, and he joking with the crew and seemingly in the soon discovered he had no need of sleep or best of humors. food, and he had endless swells of dark About an hour later, the first crewman grey-green water on every side. fell to the deck, gripping at his stomach and He was, at last, absolutely free to go retching. Soon all were in a similar where he would…and yet, as he soon condition, and van Riese walked the length learned, he had no control over where he of the Relentless, still smiling fixedly, would arrive. His tremendous library of pausing occasionally give a crewman a kick maps and charts now has no reference to in the teeth or a blow from a marlinspike. where he travels; he may sight Markovia to Relying on drunkenness and the arsenic he the north, sail “west” for weeks or months, had laced into the grog to incapacitate the and never come to the coast of Dementlieu, crew, he methodically tracked down and turn to the south and find himself entering beat to death every man on the ship, Paridon Bay. He may come anywhere there ending by pinning the mate to the deck with is water to hold him—from time to time he the marlinspike and letting him writhe out has found himself in the Musarde, or Lake his death throes beneath the Northern Vallaki, or even stranger places not found Lights. His savage deed of mass murder on any map known to scholars of the Core. completed, van Riese continued to pace the deck of his ship, whipping himself into a towering rage at how he had been betrayed by the cowardice of his men. He had

seamless whole. He cannot be brought to Current Sketch believe that his maps and charts are entirely Captain Pieter Van Riese appears as a useless; although in many ways he is quite man just leaving the prime of life, well over rational, reason can never convince him that the average height and still powerful, with his future efforts along those lines will be as hair and beard prematurely grey. Although futile as his past efforts. by any standard a handsome man, by far The Relentless now continually wanders his most striking feature are his light grey the seas of Ravenloft and of Gothic Earth, eyes—“Mist-grey” is the most common where Van Riese’s name has been forgotten description—and there are very few who entirely and his ghost ship is known only as can meet his gaze without quailing. He the [i]Flying Dutchman[/i]. Whatever body usually exudes self-confidence and can be of water the Relentless finds itself in is, for charming, although his jocularity almost that moment, connected with the Nocturnal always has a menacing edge. If crossed or Sea, and vice-versa. Finding the Relentless thwarted his reactions are extremely and taking ship on it, or following it into the unpredictable; at times he might simply Mists, is therefore at least theoretically a shrug off an insult or a setback, and other way one could escape the Mists—at least as times the slightest provocation will draw a far as Gothic Earth, at any rate. murderously furious response. He now understands how his wish (his Ship for Hire dying wish, though he never acknowledges Van Riese has learned that he can his ghostly state and may not know he is know where he will arrive—but only if dead) was granted; everything he asked for someone has commissioned him to go he has received, and his offer of service has there. This is, in a way, even more been accepted. Some unknown power now humiliating than his enforced service to the moves him according to its whims. Far powers he accepted as his master at the from the absolute autonomy he wanted and time of his death, but if the price is right, or thought his wish would grant him, he knows if he feels too deeply the need to know himself to be a slave, working to ends he where he’s going for once to refuse an does not know and can hardly guess, and offer, he can be persuaded to sail he will never be his own master again. He anywhere—no destination is too exotic or feels (or imagines) the pressures of the too hard to reach. Some even say he can Dark Powers on him, leading him where sail to any time he wishes. they will; sometimes he exerts himself to thwart their perceived plans, but more often The Seamen of the Relentless he grimly acquiesces. Van Riese is Van Riese takes recruits for his crew unusually self-aware and self-directed for from two groups—men who have shed one of the phantasmal dead, but the man’s blood on the Sea of Sorrows, and fixations on the concerns of his past life men who voluntarily sign up to serve with make themselves subtly manifest in some of him. The first group are the source of the his actions. Despite more than one hundred well-known stories of “signing up for the years of wandering, he still obsessively long voyage” and the basis of the great maps the coasts of the places where the superstition against bloodshed among Relentless makes landfall and tries to sailors on the Sea of Sorrows; the second consolidate his notes and charts into a

are the source of the stories that one can mechanics, treat this as a limited wish made sell his soul to Van Riese in exchange for a at the beginning and granted at the end of boon. The crew is, of course, not strictly the sailor’s service. This wish should be necessary to manage the Relentless, but corrupted in the same way that the Wishing Van Riese gets other uses from it; he finds Imp’s are, but as subtly and ironically as the it pleasant to have men under his Dungeon Master can arrange.) command, he can use them to get information from sources on shore, and, if Traveling on the Relentless circumstances demand it, he can sell them, The Relentless is a level 5 sinkhole of body and soul, to interested buyers. He evil, with the Despair and Rage emotional generally reserves this last as a punishment taints. In the Material Plane on the Sea of for mutineers, complainers, and shirkers. Sorrows it appears as a ghost ship, and Van It is widely supposed that anyone Riese is alone unless he summons the sailing on the Relentless simply disappears ghosts of dead sailors to his aid; in the as soon as the ship is out of sight of land; Ethereal Plane and when Mare Perditorum is although there is a great deal of truth to overlapping with another domain (e.g., this, it is not entirely accurate. Volunteers when it comes to port) it appears to be a for the Relentless serve for a period normal ship with a normal crew, and crew determined at the time of their signing on, members can have normal interactions with but because of the Relentless’ continual others aboard the ship. Crew members voyaging through the Mists they may return may be living men who signed on to serve to their home port seemingly on the same in the Relentless or ghosts; the ghosts may day they left, but having aged twenty years, bear the wounds that caused their death, or to have been gone twenty years (or but the two groups are otherwise more!) and not to have aged a day. This, indistinguishable. In the Material Plans the and the fact that some never return at all, is Relentless is incorporeal and capable of the reason for the Relentless’ fatal sailing at maximum speed (sixteen knots) reputation. Countervailing rumors (also no matter what the weather appears to be largely but not perfectly factual) about the in the Material Plane. In the Ethereal the high wages Van Riese pays, the boon Relentless is corporeal, and the speed and granted those who serve with him, and that direction of the wind in the Ethereal Plane those who have once served with Van Riese will be appropriate to the direction Van will be lucky at sea forever afterward, Riese wants to travel, and may or may not ensure that there are always some few have anything to do with the weather in the desperate or reckless enough to risk signing Material Plane. The weather in the Ethereal with him. Plane within one mile of the Relentless is always what Van Riese wants it to be. This Terms of Service cannot be changed by mortal magic. Van Riese is drawn to those who are Weather in the Material Plane can be strongly considering signing articles to serve altered, but cannot harm the Relentless—so aboard the Relentless. He generally offers a druid might create weather which would one gold piece per day, and often mentions allow a ship in the material plane to keep up the fact (and it is a fact) that those who with the Relentless, but could not create a sign with him wanting a specific boon will storm and sink the Relentless, or damage generally get it. (If situations require game the Relentless with lightning.

Sinking the Relentless hp 105 (14 HD + Toughness); DR incorporeal immunities When in the Ethereal Plane the Immune Undead immunities Relentless takes half of the normal damage Resist cold 10, turn +8 SR 28 for an object (i.e., ¼ damage) from Fort +8 (immune to effects requiring a lightning or fire, but takes double normal Fort save unless the effect works on damage for an object (i.e., full damage) from ice. It takes damage normally (see objects or requires no saving throw), Ref statistics block) from other sources. It +15, Will +14 cannot be sunk at all in the Material Plane Speed fly 30 ft (must maintain contact with of Ravenloft, but must take the full damage the Relentless) necessary to sink it from attackers in the Melee enervating touch, touch attack Near Ethereal Plane. As long as it remains +10/+5 (1d12 plus energy drain) or afloat, Van Riese cannot be permanently ghost touch mace +2 +16/+11 (1d6+6) slain; both he and the ship must be reduced Ranged dominate (DC 32) to zero hit points, at which point both are Base Atk +10; Grp - destroyed forever. Atk Options Fighting Van Riese and the Relentless in Special Actions Corporeal Manifestation the Ethereal Plane has the obvious (also causes the Relentless to manifest), advantages of being able to treat both as corporeal, and of being able to win once spells, bard abilities and for all by sinking the ship. It has the Combat Gear leather armor +4*, ring of disadvantage of forcing Van Riese’s would- resistance (as cloak) +4, ghost touch be vanquishers to fight in a Rank 5 sinkhole mace +2 of evil in the Ethereal. The terrifyingly *Effective only against ethereal opponents intense psychic vortex of the ship makes Spells: 4/6/5/5/5/3 0th (6): dancing lights, Van Riese and his crew immune from ghost sound, mage hand, mending, turning in the Ethereal Plane. message, open/close 1st: animate rope, grease, obscuring mist, unseen servant Pieter van Riese CR 19 2nd: fog cloud, hold person (DC 24), suggestion (DC 24), tongues 3rd (4): Male human ghost bard 14 crushing despair (DC 28*), glibness, NE Medium incorporeal undead (ghost) haste, slow (DC 25) 4th (4): dimension Init +6; Senses darkvision 60’, door, shadow conjuration, shout, solid tremorsense; Listen +7, Spot +7 fog 5th (3): mind fog (DC 26), song of Aura Sinkhole of Evil rank 5, Frightful discord (DC 29*), summon monster V Presence (2d4 bowlyns only) Languages Dutch*, English, Mordentish, *Will DC +3 from the Relentless’ Sinkhole Darkonese of Evil aura of Despair and Rage Outcast Rating 2 Abilities Str -, Dex 15, Con -, Int 14, Wis 9, AC 25, touch 25, flat-footed 23 (+2 Dex, Cha 36 +13 deflection; no armor bonus while SQ incorporeal traits, undead traits incorporeal and fighting corporeal creatures)

Feats Ability Focus (dominate), Improved Dominate (Su): Van Riese can crush an Initiative, Iron Will, Leadership, Spell opponent’s will just by looking into his or Focus (enchantment),Toughness* her eyes. This is similar to a gaze attack, *As per Pathfinder, gives 1 hit point per except that Van Riese must use a level standard action, and those merely Skills Bluff +25, Concentration +28, looking at him are not affected. Anyone Diplomacy +25, Hide +10, Intimidate he targets must succeed on a Will save +30, Knowledge (geography) +25, (DC 32) or fall instantly under Van Riese’s Knowledge (nature) +25, Knowledge influence as though by a dominate (local) +25, Listen +7, Profession (Sailor) person spell (caster level 14th). The +16, Search +10, Sense Motive +16, ability has a range of 30 feet. Spot + 7, Use Rope +7 Rejuvenation: If reduced to 0 hit points in Possessions cloak of Charisma +6, leather the Material Plane, Van Riese and the armor +4, ring of resistance (as cloak) Relentless disappear, to reform elsewhere +4, ghost touch mace +2, amulet of on the Sea of Sorrows at the next full proof against detection and location moon. Only if the Relentless is sunk by Sinkhole of Evil: The Relentless is a fifth- attackers in the Ethereal Plane can Van rank sinkhole of evil, with the Despair Riese be laid to rest. and Rage emotional taints, affecting a Tremorsense: Van Riese can detect any 300 foot radius around the Relentless. corporeal being weighing more than 5 All Will saves in this radius against pounds which is touching the Relentless. despair- and rage-inducing effects (for Lost At Sea (Ex): Any navigational device, anyone other than Van Riese and his magical or mundane, ceases to function minions) increase their DC by +3 while in permanently if brought within 300 feet of the Material Plane. the Relentless while at sea (out of sight of Frightful Presence: When the Relentless land). This effect cannot be overcome appears, all living creatures within 300 by any mortal magic. Van Riese fails feet who see it must make a Will save any navigation or Knowledge (DC 28) or be panicked for 2d4 rounds. (geography) check automatically if it This is a visual necromantic mind-affecting concerns where he wants to go; if he is fear effect. A creature that successfully advising another, or making a voyage at saves against this effect cannot be another’s behest, he makes such checks affected by it again for twenty-four normally. hours. Off the Charts: The Relentless, like other Energy Drain (Su): Living creatures hit by Rank 5 sinkholes of evil such as the Van Riese’s incorporeal touch attack gain Phantom Lover’s tower and Castle three negative levels. This ability may be Tristenoira, exerts such a corrupting used once per round. The DC is 30 for influence on its surroundings that it the Fortitude save (Charisma based). For causing time and space themselves to each negative level bestowed, Van Riese become unstable around it. The Relentless gains 5 temporary hit points. can actually sail to any time the Dark

Powers wish it to. In addition, the Dark Ethereal Plane, where the Relentless is a Powers can bring the Relentless into corporeal ship, and Van Riese and his bodies of water that are normally part of crew appear to be (almost) normal other domains. Most commonly this sailors. Under ordinary conditions involves the Relentless coming to port in Manifest is a Supernatural ability which the Sea of Sorrows, but the Relentless can be cancelled by effects such as anti- sometimes ranges further afield. It been magic sphere; however, no mortal magic sighted in the Sea of Venemous Tears, the can cause the Corporeal Manifestation Nocturnal Sea, Saragoss, and even Lake ability of the Relentless to fail in this way. Vallaki, as well as the seas of Gothic No Homecoming (Ex): Any ship whose Earth. When this occurs, that domain is crew sights the Relentless while at sea connected to Mare Perditorum, and there (out of sight of land) will be shipwrecked is a domain boundary between that before it returns to port. domain and Mare Peditorum in a 300 Signing the Articles (Su): Anyone who foot radius around the Relentless. The voluntarily signs on to service with the Relentless loses its Terror of the Seas Relentless may make one limited wish, quality while in the waters of another which will be fulfilled at the time Van domain, but retains all other Riese releases the sailor from service. extraordinary and supernatural qualities. (This wish will generally be subtly warped Van Riese has no control over when this and its fulfillment unsatisfying, if not will occur except when he has been hired outright disastrous.) Exposure to the to make a voyage to a specific place; he temporal vortices created by the can go to that place, and only that place, Relentless’s aura will age the sailor 1d12- when he is acting under someone else’s 1d10 year per year of service aboard the orders. He can, however, sense when Relentless, and the sailor will return to his anyone wishes to join the Relentless and home port 1d12-1d10 years per year of come to port to find them. service after he left. The results of these Corporeal Manifestation (Su*): The psychic two rolls do not influence each other. If a vortex of the Relentless and Van Riese is sailor ages past the end of his life span or so strong that the Relentless is always is so young he would be unborn, he dies visible in the Material Plane, so their or disappears. Signing the articles Manifest ability functions differently from creates the equivalent of a geas spell on that of lesser ghosts. When the ship is the signer, binding him to do Van Riese’s not corporeal, it appears as a ghost ship, will for the term of indenture. with Van Riese alone on board. When Example: A sailor signs on for ten years of Van Riese causes it to manifest—usually service on the Relentless out of Mordent. because he is coming into port to make a At the end of his term he ages (79-62) delivery or to pick up crew—the seventeen years and appears in Mordent Relentless appears to be a normal sailing again (69-33) thirty-six years after he left. ship. Corporeal manifestation brings Bard abilities: Van Riese’s “bard” abilities everything within 300 feet into the have been altered in a few ways to better

reflect the abilities of a sea captain who able to see and hear the buccaneer’s relies on force of will and strength of performance. An affected enemy feels the personality to whip his crew into battle, irresistible urge to drop any held as described below. weapons and fall prone. This effect lasts Captain’s commands: As bardic music, for 1 round—essentially, the affected except that use of these abilities depends enemy takes no actions on its next turn on a minimum number of ranks in other than to lie prone, although it is not Diplomacy or Intimidate rather than in considered flat-footed or helpless. A Performance. Will saving throw (DC 20) negates the Wanderer’s knowledge: Van Riese gains a effect. This ability affects only a single bonus equal to half his bard level on creature. Song of surrender is an Knowledge (geography), Knowledge enchantment (compulsion), mind- (local), Knowledge (nature), and affecting, language-dependent ability and Linguistics checks. He can reroll a check relies on audible components. against one of these skills, but must take (Intimidate) the result of the second roll even if it is Inspire courage +3: As the bardic ability worse. He can reroll one additional time (Diplomacy) per day at 5th level and every five levels Inspire confidence: As the bardic ability thereafter. Note the Lost at Sea trait (Diplomacy) applies to pertinent Knowledge Inspire greatness: As the bardic ability (geography) checks. (Diplomacy) Countermand: As the bardic ability Captain’s Curse (Sp): Van Riese can use his countersong (Diplomacy). commands to cause fear in his enemies. Overawe: Van Riese can use his commands To be affected, an enemy must be able to to strike his enemies with unease and hear the bard perform and be within 30 foreboding, giving a -1 penalty to feet. Each enemy within range receives a attacks, damage, and skill checks for a Will save (DC 30) to negate the effect. If number of rounds equal to Van Riese’ the save succeeds, the creature is immune Charisma modifier (9 rounds). To be to this ability for 24 hours. If the save affected, an enemy must be within 30 feet fails, the target becomes frightened and and be able to see and hear Van Riese. flees for as long as the target can hear A Will save (DC 29) in the Material the captain's maledictions. Frightening Plane, 32 in the Ethereal Plane) negates tune relies on audible components. the effect. If the save succeeds, the (Intimidate) creature is immune to this ability for 24 hours. This ability relies on audible The Relentless in the Material components. (Intimidate) Plane Call to surrender: Van Riese can use a In the Material Plane the Relentless captain’s command to encourage an appears as a ghost ship, uncrewed save by Van Riese, with its sails in tatters and its enemy to surrender. To be affected, an bow damaged if not crushed by the ice enemy must be within 30 feet and be which eventually crushed it. Van Riese will

not usually use his Corporeal Manifestation Saves Fort +8 (immune to Fort effects ability while on the high seas, and under unless they affect objects or require no ordinary circumstances he will never saving throw), Ref +13, Will +14 deliberately damage another ship or engage Speed 30 ft in combat; however, its sinkhole of evil, Melee enervating touch, touch attack Terror of the Seas, and No Homecoming +10/+5 (1d12 and 3 negative levels) or abilities are always active. If forced to ghost touch mace +2 +16/+11 (1d6+6) engage in combat Van Riese will dominate Ranged dominate (DC 32) one or more party members (focusing on spellcasters and ranged attackers), use Base Atk +10; Grp – (incorporeal) Mind Fog and Song of Discord, then Atk Options summon bowlyns and augment their Special Actions spell-like abilities, bardic abilities by haste and bardic abilities, abilities engaging in melee combat only as a last Spells: 4/6/5/5/5/3 0th (6): dancing lights, resort or to recover hit points via his ghost sound, mage hand, mending, enervating touch. message, open/close 1st: animate rope, grease, obscuring mist, unseen servant Relentless: Colossal vehicle; 2nd: fog cloud, hold person (DC 25), Seaworthiness (cannot be sunk); suggestion (DC 25), tongues 3rd (4): Shiphandling +8; Speed wind × 40 ft. crushing despair (DC 32*), glibness, (perfect, fly); Overall AC –3; Hull sections haste, slow (DC 26) 4th (4): dimension 24 (sink N/A); Section hp 80 (hardness 5); Section AC 3; Rigging Sections 3; Rigging door, shadow conjuration, shout, solid hp 80 (hardness 0), AC 1; Ram 4d6; Mounts fog 5th (3): mind fog (DC 28), song of 2 light and 1 heavy; Space 60 ft. by 20 ft.; discord (DC 34*), summon monster V Height 10 ft. (draft 10 ft.); Complement 30; (2d4 bowlyns only) Watch 7; Cargo 120 tons (Speed wind × 15 SQ incorporeal traits, undead traits ft. if 60 tons or more); Cost 10,000 gp. Abilities Str 18, Dex 14, Con -, Int 15, Wis 9, Cha 36 Pieter van Riese in the Ethereal Feats Ability Focus (dominate), Improved Plane Initiative, Iron Will, Leadership, Spell Focus (enchantment),Toughness* Male human 5th rank ghost bard 14 *As per Pathfinder, gives 1 hit point per NE Medium undead (corporeal ghost) level Init +6; Senses Darkvision, tremorsense; Skills Bluff +21, Concentration +28, Listen +7, Spot +7 Diplomacy +21, Hide +10, Intimidate Languages Dutch*, English, Mordentish, +34, Knowledge (geography) +25, Darkonese Knowledge (nature) +25, Knowledge Outcast Rating 6 (local) +25, Listen +7, Profession (Sailor) AC 31, touch 25, flat-footed 29 (+2 Dex, +16, Search +10, Sense Motive +16, +6 armor, +13 deflection) Spot + 7, Use Rope +7 hp 105 (14 HD) DR 10/good Possessions cloak of Charisma +6, leather Immune Undead immunities, turning SR 28 armor +4, ring of resistance (as cloak) Resist fire 10 lightning 10

+4, ghost touch mace +2, amulet of Relentless disappear, to reform elsewhere proof against detection and location on the Sea of Sorrows at the next full Sinkhole of Evil: The Relentless is a fifth- moon. Only if the Relentless is sunk by rank sinkhole of evil, with the Despair attackers in the Ethereal Plane can Van and Rage emotional taints, affecting a Riese be laid to rest. 300 foot radius around the Relentless. All Will saves in this radius (for anyone The Relentless in the Ethereal other than Van Riese and his minions) Plane increase their DC by +6 while in the Ethereal Plane. (This +6 increase has In the Ethereal Plane the Relentless been added to all relevant saving throws appears to be a normal, albeit extremely well-crafted, brigantine. It has a full crew, in this stat block.) composed of ghosts bound to Van Riese’s Frightful Presence: When the Relentless service and normal men who have taken appears, all living creatures within 300 ship with him for pay. The two groups are feet who see it must make a Will save not easily distinguished, although many of (DC 32) or be panicked for 2d4 rounds. the ghosts bear the marks of how they This is a visual necromantic mind-affecting exited the mortal world. fear effect. A creature that successfully Fighting the Relentless in the Ethereal saves against this effect cannot be Plane is, in a sense, easier than fighting it in affected by it again for twenty-four the Material Plane, because it’s actually hours. possible to win (by sinking the Relentless). Energy Drain (Su): Living creatures hit by However, Van Riese’s already formidable Van Riese’s incorporeal touch attack gain abilities are even more powerful in the three negative levels. This ability may be Ethereal, and he can call on his full crew to aid him, rather than just the few bowlyns he used once per round. The DC is 26 for can bring to his service in the Material the Fortitude save (Charisma based). For Plane. Some of them are rather dangerous each negative level bestowed, Van Riese people in their own right, including the gains 5 temporary hit points. infamous darkling pirate Laszlo Durakes and Dominate (Su): Van Riese can crush an the almost equally infamous Blausteiner opponent’s will just by looking onto his or witch « Black Joan » Hargrave. In the her eyes. This is similar to a gaze attack, Ethereal Van Riese will use his abilities to except that Van Riese must use a bolster his crew in addition to using his standard action, and those merely dominate and touch attacks and his spells. looking at him are not affected. Anyone he targets must succeed on a Will save (DC 32) or fall instantly under Van Riese’s Relentless: Colossal vehicle; Seaworthiness +8; Shiphandling +6; Speed influence as though by a dominate wind × 40 ft. (good); Overall AC –3; Hull person spell (caster level 14th). The sections 30 (sink 10 sections); Section hp ability has a range of 30 feet. 80 (hardness 7); Section AC 3; Rigging Rejuvenation: If reduced to 0 hit points in Sections 3; Rigging hp 80 (hardness 2), AC the Material Plane, Van Riese and the 1; Ram 6d6; Mounts 2 light and 1 heavy;

Space 80 ft. by 25 ft.; Height 15 ft. (draft Skills Bluff +37, Climb +14, 10 ft.); Complement 40; Watch 10; Cargo Concentration +12, Diplomacy , 250 tons (Speed wind × 30 ft. if 150 tons or Knowledge (geography) +26, Knowledge more). (nature) +26, Knowledge (Ravenloft) Crew of the Relentless +10, Listen +, Move Silently +12, Profession (Sailor) +24, Search +20, First Mate Laszlo Durakes, 12th level Sense Motive +3*, Spot + 28*, Survival ranger, Naiat Vistani darkling (3rd +Use Rope +10 magnitude ghost) Second Mate « Black Joan » Hargrave, th 6th level sorcerer (3rd magnitude ghost) 4 Edition game Bosun Blind Bill Vrakes, 6th level barbarian (2nd magnitude ghost) statistics Pierre « the Cat » Soucheaux, 5th level rogue (living man) Captain Pieter van Riese Hans Helgrim, 5th level fighter (living Level 21 solo controller man) Medium shadow humanoid (undead) XP Longshanks Laetemmer, 4th level HP 1240* (620) Bloodied (310) nd fighter (2 magnitude ghost) AC 37 Fortitude 35 Reflex 33 Will 35 Elspet Maas, 4th level rogue (living Immune disease, poison Resist woman) insubstantial, necrotic 10, Vulnerable 5 5 3rd level followers radiant 9 2nd level followers Saving Throws +5 In ethereal Speed 6 Action Points 2 NE Medium undead (5th rank ghost) bard * 1240 hit points of damage must be done 14 to the Relentless to kill Van Riese forever. Init +; Senses low-light vision, scent; Listen If he takes 620 hit points of damage in +28, Spot +28 the “material plane” of Ravenloft Van Languages Lamordian*, Falkovnian, Riese is forced to discorporate and the Mordentish, Balok Relentless will disappear into the Outcast Rating 2 Ethereal. If encountered or followed into AC 29, touch 29, flat-footed 28 (+1 Dex, the Ethereal, Van Riese and the Relentless +14 deflection, +5 sinkhole) have 1240 hit points. hp 250 (20 HD), fast healing 5, DR 5/- Tangling Mist (minor, at-will) Ranged 10, Saves Fort +30, Ref +27, Will +19 burst 2. Creates a patch of semi-solid

fog; count as difficult terrain for all non- Speed 30 ft insubtantial creatures and grants Melee enervating touch, touch attack concealment to insubstantial creatures +16/+11/+6 (1d6 and 3 negative levels) and only insubstantial creatures. Ranged dominating gaze Base Atk +15; Grp +19

Spectral Touch (standard, at-will) Melee Immune disease, poison; Resist +25 vs. Reflex, 2d8+9 necrotic plus insubstantial, 10 necrotic dazed Speed 6 Double Blow (standard, at-will) Van Riese Spectral Touch +19 vs Reflex, 8 damage makes two Spectral Touch attacks against plus slowed. an adjacent opponent, or one Spectral Touch attack against two opponents adjacent to him. Dominating Gaze (minor, at-will) Ranged 10, +25 vs. Will. The target is dominated (save ends). Terror of the Seas (standard, encounter) Close burst 20. +23 vs. Will. The target is stunned until the end of Van Riese’s next turn. Aftereffect: The target gains Vulnerable 5 necrotic until the end of the encounter. Captain’s Curse (standard, recharge 4, 5, 6) Close burst 5, +23 vs. Will, 2d6 + 9 psychic plus dazed. All Hands On Deck (standard, recharge 6) Van Riese summons six bowlyn minions from the Ethereal. Jump To Your Places (minor, at will) Close burst 10. All minions in the burst may shift up to five squares and make a standard attack. Ball Lightning (standard, close burst 10, recharge 6) Close burst 10. +23 vs. Reflex. 4d10+7 lightning damage. Relentless Shift (move, at will) Van Riese shifts up to 10 squares (to a different point on the Relentless only).

Bowlyn Level 19 Minion Medium shadow humanoid (undead) Initiative +17 Senses +14; darkvision HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion AC 31 Fortitude 31 Reflex 28 Will 28

The Lady in White

By Andrew Jensen Art by Paladin-Ciel of Studio Aegis

Borca is a realm steeped in intrigue, out to be a ritual to bathe in the blood of treachery, and poison. A few who’ve been virgins. She did this gladly, and was soon there say that what you need fear most are heralded as the most beautiful woman in the people who live there, not the the realm. However, her foul habits were monsters. Even fewer whisper that the uncovered by an enterprising elf people are the monsters. This does not go adventurer, Loren. He revealed this truth to to say that Borca is without its monsters, the then darklord, Camille Boritsi. Camille some that even exemplify certain human had felt threatened by Countess Irena’s failings… rising popularity and jealous of her beauty, This adventure is a monster hunt and is and this shocking revelation had given her well suited to the Van Richten’s Guide all the excuse she needed to act. With an approach. Consequently, the description of incensed public behind her, Camille stripped this scenario will be based on those guides, Countess Irena of all rank and property, with separate sections for recommended save for one mansion deep in the woods. events and optional complications. She ordered the Countess sealed in one However, the monster in question is one part of the manor, for lifetime house arrest. that Van Richten himself never faced. It is a Unable to escape, Countess Irena was fed porcelain lady, a specific kind of walking through a small aperture in one door. Her dead. This monster is fully described in Van keeper was the very elf who had exposed Richten’s Guide to the Walking Dead. her. Burning with a desire for vengeance, Resources for Borca beyond the for he had lost loved ones to the vain campaign setting book include Ravenloft Countess, Loren fed her slightly less every Gazetteer IV. Looking up the legend of day. Thus, Countess Irena was doomed to Elizabeth Bathory is also recommended, starve to death, howling at the walls of her easily found on the internet. However, prison. everything you need to play will be Now it is the present day. An described in the adventure itself. enterprising group of thieves came across the ruins of the house while on the run from the local constabulary. Driven by the hopes Background of loot, they entered and broke open the door to her wing. Awakened by the loss of Buried in the history of Borca was a the old barrier and the proximity of blood, noble woman named Countess Irena. She Countess Irena crawled back into the world, was exceptionally vain, and ruthless. as an undead porcelain lady. Two of the Fearing the relentless march of aging, she thieves were ensnared by the power of her turned to dark magic to preserve her good song, and quickly drained dry of blood. The looks. The most effective technique turned other panicked and fled, but the monster

pursued them. One was eventually run skin to move. This doesn’t impede her in down and his head smashed. The other most respects, though it’s horribly painful, escaped into the nearby village. so she remains as stiff and unmoving as Immediate danger to herself gone, possible to avoid having to constantly re- Countess Irena returned to her mansion, break her own joints. It also does make now lair. After a day or two, she ventured audible noises when breaking, like broken out for her first hunt. After a few weeks of plates being ground together. her lethal stalking, the locals have begun to Current Sketch, weaknesses and panic. They contacted the Van Richten Society, hoping that skilled monster hunters abilities might resolve the issue… Countess Irena has precious little mind left to her. She’s barely above an animal’s Principal characters level of intelligence. She is highly cunning and knows how to stalk prey and set up Countess Irena ambushes. However, right now she’s driven solely by hunger and a sense of Appearance territoriality. This is not to say her that all elements of her personality are completely When alive, the Countess was the gone, though. Her vanity does remain. Borcan ideal of beauty, with pale skin, black When confronted with a mirror, she hair, delicate pose and grace. She has compulsively stops to admire herself. A retained much of that, appearing as a mirror presented forcefully striking woman in her twenties. can be used as a tactic However, she is now clearly by those wishing to monstrous. Her eyes are now confront or escape her. black empty pits, with trails of However, hostile action dried blood leading out of will break this spell and them. These prevent mirrors trails go down to from working for her tattered the rest of the white dress, encounter. leaving long, Physically, brown steaks. the Countess is When she drains a powerful blood from her opponent. Her victims, the skin is made of blood leaks out porcelain, giving of the black pits her a natural of her eyes. Her armor. Unlike skin is now literally many creatures made of porcelain. In of the night, she addition to being does not burn. obviously unnatural, While her black hair and she now must white dress will quickly break her own burn away, no damage will be

sustained. She is strong enough to smash most of his time in the forests and hills of through wood doors. She drains blood via Borca. He wears the border guard uniform, porcelain-to-skin contact, often when using and carries a short sword and sling. Robin her unnatural dance ability. When not has noticeable crow’s feet around the eyes. draining blood, she kills her victims by Background clubbing them on the head with her fists. Robin’s background is mostly Between her unnatural skin and strength, unremarkable for a Halfling living in Borca. she can reduce most skulls to soggy bags of Mostly overlooked by the ruling class, he gore with just a few blows. found employment as a ranger and border Perhaps her strangest ability is her guard. This suited him fine, as it basically song. By opening her mouth (accompanied gives him some legal authority and a by the sounds of her porcelain skin paycheck to do what he loves most. What breaking) she can sing enchantingly. he loves most is wandering around the Anyone hearing it risks being compelled to woods and being alone. On occasion he come to her and sway. She will select her has been called upon to help the lost or favorite from the lot and dance with them. deal with problems. He deals with them The skin-to-skin contact of their hands will with dispatch, and then goes back to his allow her to drain blood, eventually leaving usual habits. her dancing partner a dried husk. Any others nearby will dance with her in turn or Current Sketch have their skulls crushed. Robin is a highly skilled woodsman, She has a keen sense in the environs of who has found his employment with the her home. She has a general sense of the Borcan elite to be agreeable. Despite an location of intruders in her mansion. The often dismissive attitude towards the Countess is also intimately familiar with it, townsfolk, he does feel a responsibility to and knows how to take advantage of every them and wants to end the killings. He is corner. aware of how badly productivity has fallen She prefers to operate at night, as she because of the attacks, and this is sure to can see perfectly fine in the dark and knows invite attention from their landowner. And that most of her prey cannot. However, attention from him is never a good thing. sunlight does not cause her any harm or Robin can serve many purposes in the discomfort. She shares the standard story. At first, he is there to guide the undead invulnerabilities, such as poison. characters around and familiarize them with She uses the latter to her advantage, by Borca. Later in the adventure, he can either traversing only the deadliest, and most serve as a helpful sidekick or die poisonous, parts of her forest to travel to dramatically to emphasize the danger. and from her mansion home. She is vulnerable to effects involving sacred or Count Stepka holy magic. Appearance Robin Tallowfoot Paunchy from too many feasts, Count Stepka tries to style himself a dashing rogue Appearance but still maintain his noble air. He fails at A Halfling creeping up on his forties, he both. His hair is excessively scented, his is a rugged individual, used to spending smile too unctuous and he generally fails to

project confidence and instead settles for threat is real. Once he realizes what the arrogance. real problem is, he’ll know that all his other Background actions won’t get him the money he so desperately needs. He may even contribute Count Stepka is a minor noble, though some of his guard to the effort, though he he’ll never permit anyone to say that. won’t do anything to endanger himself. Recently he’s come into financial trouble, owing largely to poor gambling habits. The sudden drop in productivity in his lands (small as they are) threatens to do worse Most likely chain of than beggar him. He owes Ivan Dilisnya money, and he is sure he will be events assassinated if he does not produce the funds soon. Discovery Current Sketch This adventure assumes the players The Count is desperate but doesn’t received an invitation, either due to their want to let it on. He’s convinced himself, connections to the Van Richten Society or before even seeing any evidence, that these owing to their reputation as adventurers. “monster” attacks are simple brigands and They receive the invite by whatever means the constabulary is too lazy to deal with it. is most likely to engender trust. If the He is sure that setting an example will right invitation is by any means other than Robin things and he can go back to the comfort of Tallowfoot, the missive contains only basic his home. information. The letter (written by Robin) Count Stepka’s role in the adventure is will convey the following bits of information. to bring added complications for the This information could also be gleaned from players. He will demand the entire inn for a talkative tavern. himself, and forcibly evict any occupants.  It will give accurate instructions to Then he will find any one he deems the village. suspicious and want them hanged. At the  It will relate how a series of killings story teller’s discretion, he can interfere in have left the community terrified. It other ways, like demanding the characters describes crushed bodies and corpses pay a tax, be interrogated at critical sucked dry of blood. moments, etc. It should be remembered  It will reveal that the killer strikes at that he is the legitimate authority when he night. arrives, and he comes with a substantial At this point, players may be thinking armed guard. The players should not be that it is a vampire, possibly a starved one, forced into confronting him violently. If judging from its rapacious nature and too they attack him, it should be because it’s obvious feeding habits. If Tallowfoot their plan. The story teller might have to delivered the message personally, he can remind them that if they do assault him, the answer additional questions. The following townsfolk would be obliged to side against clues can be found. them. After all, the local darklords would  He can confirm that the details in hardly side with the little people! the message are factual. Perhaps the most effective way to deal with Count Stepka is to convince him the

 He knows the local area very well, fearful, but welcome the players with so expect him to be able to answer enthusiasm if they had been sent for or if questions of that nature reliably. Robin vouches for them. Space is at a  The area is mostly quiet with no real premium, but room is quickly made for history of monsters, at least in his lifetime. them at the inn. Generally, the players  He doesn’t know anything about the should get the impression that this village is legend of Countess Irena. humble, but friendly, under less dire  The attacks started on the farther circumstances. outskirts, targeting cottages far away from Most parties will want to go to the everything except the forest. He fears the most recent crime scene while the clues are killer is working inward and will soon reach fairly fresh. Robin or another local can take the village proper. them there without any problems. The On the road to the village, the players scene is a cottage with multiple rooms and come across the body of the thief who had mostly unremarkable. There are two dead been beaten to death. Given that some bodies out near the orchard. There is no weeks have passed since his death, it is sign of forced entry or foul play within the quite a decayed, picked over corpse. Still, cottage itself. some clues can be gleaned from the body  The husband, an older man about and surroundings, using the right skills. 45 years, was wearing his bed clothes. He  The body, which was of an adult has dirt on the souls of his naked feet. His male, most likely human, 20-30 years of head has been repeatedly pummeled with age. powerful blows.  A short sword with repeatedly  The wife is nearby on the ground. chipped edges. She is also barefoot and wearing her  A tiny piece of porcelain. bedclothes. Tracks in the muddy ground  A rusted out pile of thief’s tools. clearly indicate she had been moving  Likely cause of death was repeated, around in circles and back and forth. Her heavy blows to the skull. It is a little cause of death is exsanguination. She had confusing though, because he was struck all of her blood drained, leaving her bone with enough force to indent the skull. white. Players checking for the typical bite Someone hitting with a proper weapon with marks of vampires or were-bats will find that much force would have likely crushed none. Countess Irena absorbs blood the skull entirely. This suggests a very through osmosis and leaves no trace. strong person using an improvised weapon.  Countess Irena left tracks in the muddy ground as well. The clues they Confirmation leave are contradictory. In terms of shape Upon arriving at the village, the they suggest a young woman wearing players find a place gripped in mourning dancing shoes and they do follow the and fear. Another cottage was struck just footsteps of the dead wife closely. This the night before their arrival and there are should definitely suggest the two were another two dead. Anyone who does not dancing together. However, the depth of live within the village proper is moving into the footprints would suggest someone much it now, leaving the valuable and productive heavier, perhaps 200 to 300 pounds. The orchards abandoned. The people are porcelain lady is quite heavy, but her rigid

skin does not allow her foot to flatten as it think to ask) and has been jailed prior to would with a normal human. the arrival of the proper authorities. Count  The foot prints lead out of the forest Stepka definitely qualifies and intends to and back into it. Coming out of it, it seems hang him forthwith. If the players make the the intruder was moving at a leisurely stroll. connection between him and the corpse Going back in, it’s much the same but they found earlier they may want to quickly picks up speed and moves through question him. Given that he faces the the forest with reckless abandon. The noose without trial, it may take effort to runner is unconcerned with branches, convince him. Let the players decide how thorns or even poison and can run they get the info from him. The story teller incredibly fast. should decide how much he can tell. He If players want to try and follow the might have been the one to open the room trail directly to the mansion, you can decide or he might have been standing watch how successful they are. Finding the lair outside. At the very least he is able to will be discussed in another section. confirm the monster’s lair as the abandoned mansion and give rough directions to it. His Reconnaissance and Research directions will not be as reliable as Loren’s If Count Stepka has not yet shown up though. in the story, now is a good time for him to Without oral history, the players do appear and start making the lives of the have another means of investigation. A players difficult. map can be drawn up showing the patterns Even without the interference of the of Countess Irena’s attacks. Doing so Count, players have limited options for reveals two helpful bits of information. research. There are no known witnesses to First, the players can ascertain with relative the attacks and the only written records are ease the origin point of the attacks (deep in for taxes. However, by asking around they the forest). They can also make a can get some oral history and even find the reasonable guess as to the next target. It is only witness. another cottage at the edge of the forest,  Asking the elders of the town or abandoned just a few days ago by fearful hanging out at the pub long enough may inhabitants. net them the basics of the story. If the characters seem especially interested, they are recommended to Loren, the local elf. Trap at the Cottage  Loren will part with details of the Depending on the confidence or the story much more reluctantly. While he was pugnacity of the players, they may be witness, and even key to the events, they setting a trap or studying their enemy. are still painful memories to him. Starving Additionally, they have no reason to think at the Countess to death is also a source of this point that their quarry has a sonic, area shame for him. He will eventually tell all he of effect mesmerizing attack. This scene knows if the players are persistent enough. could end in the players quietly slipping He can even give reliable directions to the away after cautiously gathering data, or a abandoned mansion. brutal massacre of the players who have  A known thief was found wandering, gravely misidentified and under-estimated bedraggled and haggard a few weeks ago their target. (before the killings began, if the players

The scene is similar to the last murder Consider the reaction of the town, scene. It is a cottage near the forest, and especially if Countess Irena attacks during has an apple orchard. There are three the day. Panic could lead to a mass exodus rooms in the cottage. It does have or people could form desperate mobs. windows, but no glass, only shutters. The Players may sudden find their home base furnishings are simple but adequate. There becoming very dangerous indeed. Count is a small fireplace. Stepka could flee and add to the panic, or Countess Irena will use her typical could try to exert control through draconian hunting tactics. Alert players will hear the methods. sounds of broken porcelain rubbing together before she arrives. When she is near the cottage, her mouth will painfully break open The Kill and she will begin to sing. Entranced characters will walk out to her. She will Finding the Mansion dance with her chosen one, sucking out all the blood. Then she will either dance with Eventually the players will try to find some more, or the club the rest to death. the mansion. They have many ways to do Countess Irena will flee if it becomes it at this point. Interviews with Loren and apparent she is outnumbered by hostiles, if the thief give directions, triangulating the she is seriously injured, or if it seems there sites of attacks will have helped and they is no prey in the cottage. can even follow Countess Irena’s footsteps. Storytellers looking to make a simple Borca is known for its overabundance of operation more complicated can have NPCs poisonous flora and fauna. It is present fall under her hypnotic sway, recommended that the party runs into at forcing players to act. Count Stepka or his least some of it for theme, and more can be goons could barge in at an inopportune thrown at the party to wear them down. moment. Countess Irena is not smart enough to set up traps, but following her is perhaps the most risky method as she will deliberately Countess Irena walk through the most dangerous areas and will incorporate natural obstacles like Counterattacks ravines. This event can happen either after an The Mansion initial confrontation with the Countess Irena Once a grand manse, this building has or if the Countess realizes that her prey has fallen to decay and rot. Players can break fled into town. The Countess will strike into into almost any entrance on the ground the town itself. She can attack when the floor with minimal effort. The Countess players are talking to an important NPC, or uses the main entrance. Countess Irena she can attack a player when they are does not set any traps within her domicile alone. While Countess Irena attacking in (not intelligent enough for that), but there the dark can play on the usual fears, having are weak floors and walls which will behave her launch an attack during the day can much like them. The mansion is also startle players significantly, especially if they surrounded by a sharp, rusty iron fence had assumed that a weakness. which could impale those trying to jump out

a window. The Countess intuitively senses this scene, watch Mary Shelly’s these weaknesses and knows how to avoid Frankenstein. and exploit them. It is possible players decide to burn The area most likely to attract the down the house themselves. This is fine. attention of the players is the upper right Let them do it. Then you can decide how to wing. All the windows are barred, the proceed. Either the unharmed Countess blinds drawn. This was the area where the Irena comes crawling out of the flames Countess was imprisoned. It is where she Terminator-style or (perhaps more true to most likely “rests” for lack of a better term, the horror vibe) she lies low in the and where more information might be wreckage then attacks the players when found. they feel safe or comfortable. No map is provided of the mansion as this scene is not designed to be a dungeon. Storytellers are encouraged to either let the Epilogue players wander around or find maps online The adventure ends with the they think will suit. Suggestions for destruction of the porcelain lady, Countess additional rooms are given at the end of the Irena. If Robin Tallowfoot is alive he is scenario. genuinely grateful to the players for their Confronting Countess Irena help, and may be an ally in the future, or even take up monster hunting himself. The One thing the storyteller should pay villagers for their part will be ecstatic and careful attention to is how the players plan will fully reward the players with the agreed for the insidious song of their quarry. If upon amount. They will also hold an they do not try deafen themselves or create impromptu festival. Count Stepka is much silence, then they will be vulnerable to her harder to predict. Depending on how he song. She will attempt to mesmerize them was handled he could anything from a bitter or separate them, allowing her to pick off enemy or reluctant ally. her enemies singly. If they do deafen themselves, then they are sneaking about the lair of a monster while they can’t hear. More Options and Twists Countess Irena will be quite happy to simply There’s treasure out there! walk up to the last person in line. Perhaps In this variant, Countess Irena had one of the best options is to deafen great wealth before her imprisonment. The themselves, but tie themselves off to one thieves didn’t stumble across her mansion another. by chance. They were treasure hunters. One apocalyptic trick Countess Irena Count Stepka isn’t here to restore order, he has involves an oil lantern. While she wants the treasure for himself. Involving values her home, she is more concerned lost treasure can raise the stakes and bring with killing her hunters. She will take a lit in more interference from competitors. Is oil lantern, hold it above her head and crush there any treasure? If there is, what form it. This ignites the oil and spills it all over does it take? Is it cursed, or can the her. Countess Irena then runs towards the Countess sense its location? What do the players attacking them while covered in players do with it, once the Countess is flame and igniting the entire house around slain? The storyteller should be aware this them. If you want a visual reference for

makes Countess Irena seem more like an ancient dead than a walking dead. Acknowledgements I took inspiration from various sources More power for the Countess! for this project. The original description of the porcelain  First and most obviously is the book lady attributes powers to her bloody tears. Van Richten’s Guide to the Walking Dead. These form a pool around her, infecting any It is the source of the porcelain lady who touch it with confusion. It is a good monster and a highly recommended read. way to interfere with melee focused  Ravenloft Gazetteer IV is an characters or to just make things more excellent source for anything Borcan, and it gruesome. The original description also says was frequently consulted throughout this that she drains blood by gaze alone, adventure. another option for making the monster  Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein did tougher. The versatility of her song could provide some inspiration, especially in the also be enhanced. Rather than simply concept of self-immolation via oil lamp. making the victims stand and sway, perhaps  I, Claudius is where I got the idea of she can command them to do things, such starving someone to death one mouthful at as attack others or walk into a trap. a time.  The illustration of the Porcelain Lady The Countess has company was made by Paladin-Ciel of Studio Aegis. In this version, the Countess can create  My posting of the art on DA. spawn. Only the best looking men and http://fav.me/d90ilke women are eligible for this. Upon draining  The link to see many other works by their blood, she takes their bodies back to Paladin-Ciel. http://paladin- her lair, and through processes best left ciel.deviantart.com/ unknown, turns them into lesser versions of herself. They lack her special powers, but remain tough combatants in their own right.

Room of Mirrors The Countess has a ballroom full of mirrors. Taken from other parts of the house or stolen from outside, it is the one place where she can admire herself without interruption. This is an option that adds some ambience to the mansion but can also be used as a trap by players. They could even just take a mirror and use it against her. For an extra horrific element, she might have bodies in the room too, as a captive audience.

The Brightwell Legacy

By M.H. “Rock” Bartels

From the Correspondence Files of Greetings, gentle reader. I am Gennifer Gennifer Weathermay-Foxgrove. Weathermay-Foxgrove. October 15th, 760 BC. I received the letter preceding this note To the ladies Weathermay-Foxgrove, in the middle of October, when temperatures were already dropping below Have the two of you taken leave of the freezing point at night, and the fog was your meagre senses? thick around Mordentshire in the When I first agreed to this afternoons. The courier was… unique. My correspondence, it was with the sister and I were already familiar with the understanding that what personal stories about tressym, winged felines which information I consent to share with you may serve arcanists as familiars, but we had would remain private between the three of never seen one before. us, and was not to be shared with third Having read the message it brought us parties. from the contact who prefers to be known Recent events have led me to conclude, only as  in our correspondence and files, however, that you have betrayed this trust we were deeply startled. and given away the location of my safe- We had first made the acquaintance of house in Skald! You are the only ones to four years ago, due to a series of ‘events’ whom I have entrusted this information, at the Asylum of Shattered Souls, near and yet I have been tracked down there Vallaki. Although our investigation brought and was forced to flee, abandoning several items of personal interest! to light that  was responsible, we chose to To say that I am outraged is an let her go due to certain extenuating understatement! circumstances – circumstances which we I demand an explanation for this agreed with  are her own concern and breach of trust! You will understand my not must lie on the conscience of the alienist providing you with a return address; who treated her there – or at least, who instead, hand your reply to the messenger dignified his cruelties towards  as who has delivered my missive. treatment.

In the years since, we kept in touch - with if only to be certain that she had kept good faith with us and not continued

causing ‘events’. Until the letter above secure her freedom after the ‘events’ at the arrived, I believed we had built a good Asylum of Shattered Souls. working relationship with our sometimes Fortunately, the following letter reached irascible acquaintance, who is prone to us not too long after. hermit-like levels of self-isolation and sudden disappearances. Disappearances, I -- GWF wish to add, which she always explained by writing to us from far-flung regions where From the Correspondence Files of she had been driven by her singular Gennifer Weathermay-Foxgrove. obsession: the desire to return Home. October 30th, 760 BC. Our working relationship has always been based on an exchange of information. To the ladies Weathermay-Foxgrove, While is generous in sharing the cosmological lore she has been gathering I find myself on the horns of a and is a fairly reliable contact when it comes dilemma. to the analysis of scientific devices, she has On the one hand, I am still upset that asked that we alert her as to any rumours you have given away information about my or lore we find which relates to journeys whereabouts to an individual of whom I through the Mists to places far distant from possessed no prior acquaintance, leading to our beleaguered lands. It was our great considerable discomfort on my part. pleasure to provide her with one of the first On the other, I now understand why copies of Van Richten’s Guide to the Mists – you decided to do so, and I can find no fault and now this! with you or the gentleman in question for We immediately penned a message, having been deceived. I am not perfect, informing  that rather than betraying her after all, and have myself been gulled quite location, we had given the address of what effectively over the years. she calls a ‘mail-drop’ in Kartakass to our Will you consent to accept my apologies good friend, Toret Johann Severin of for my coarse language in my previous Levkarest, when the latter informed us that missive, as well as to continue our he had been contacted by someone who correspondence? There are matters which offered to share a recent trove of tomes have come to light as a result of the deceit dealing with planar matters.. practised against you and the indignities After handing the letter to the practised against my own person that I feel impatiently waiting tressym, which had you should know about. refused all food and drink and would not even come inside to be warm, we watched Best regards, as the creature flew off at speed. -- - We could only wait anxiously for what would come next. While  is not exactly a We were, of course, happy to agree to friend, we have benefited from her insights this offer and informed  accordingly, using before – and worried what might happen if her tressym courier. she became so agitated as to consider us enemies and came to consider herself free -- GWF from the promises she had made to us to

down to his Kartakan soul. Alas, you may From the Correspondence Files of recall that I have no love for having people Gennifer Weathermay-Foxgrove. sing close to me, which might make November 12th, 760 BC. Kartakass seem an odd choice for me to go to ground. To the ladies Weathermay-Foxgrove, Rather, this decision seems typical of I first became aware that my location in when one considers her desire for secrecy Skald, Kartakass, had been compromised and her sense of caution, which betimes when I went out to buy my groceries, at the border on paranoia. Her dislike for what she very end of September. Such a banal way of calls ‘live song’ is well-known in certain becoming aware of pursuit… circles. To be precise, my usual green grocer, a -- LWF gentleman whose girth I believe to be due to a love of the nearby butcher’s wares and I made my way back to my safe-house copious infusions of dark ale in the by an indirect route; a decision I was glad evenings, rather than his own produce, and of at the time, as it allowed me to spot a whose garrulousness has given me cause Vistana who was watching the house before for annoyance more than once, stopped me he could spot me. before I could leave his store and started Needless to say, I high-tail – I left Skald babbling about gypsies and the dangers with alacrity. thereof. His was a rambling diatribe, which At times, the reader may notice that seemed rather pointless to me at the time. uses an odd vernacular. It is only due to Frankly, I was tapping my foot and about to her frugal nature that we have become at deliver a remark along the lines of my need all aware of these little lapses; she refuses to store my purchases before they started to write a letter anew, on fresh paper, once to rot, when he finally said something that she has committed a significant portion surprised me. thereof already. After consulting with my “What are you talking about?” I recall sister, we have decided to reproduce these saying to him. “I don’t have any tru – bits of vernacular. If ‘s assertions are true, business with gypsies.” that she hails from lands beyond the Mists “One of them was asking for you and that others do so as well, then perhaps around this very street,” the green grocer one of them will recognize the language of insisted – and actually put his hands on my Home and a meeting might be brokered to shoulders to emphasize his seriousness (a mutual benefit. loathsome experience for me at the best of times and with far cleaner people!). “Knew -- LWF you by name and described you perfectly! Please, dear lady, take my advice to heart My emergency supplies were still where and break ties. Vistani can only bring I had hidden them when I first acquired my sorrow, as my dear old granny said. Why, I safe-house in Skald, and included sufficient remember she sang us a song…” funds to buy a fast horse and the other I excused myself before he could start things I needed for a long overland trip. to sing, something I am sure offended him

I managed to make my way to Immol, still in my ears, and counted myself Barovia, without killing either myself or my fortunate to have traded my pitiable horse. mount’s life for my own. The innkeeper of the Bolting Stag Inn I did not stay long in Vallaki; by now, I was content to receive me again, and I was was convinced the Vistani as such were prepared to settle down in Barovia’s most after me for some reason, and I felt little culturally diverse town for some time. desire to face them or their employer, who I Of course I was well-aware of the assumed to be Count von Zarovich at the number of Vistani who call Barovia their time, although I was puzzled as to what safe haven, but I erroneously believed I had business the Count might have with me. shaken off my unknown pursuer and So from Vallaki I went to Krezk, from assumed that his business with me had Krezk I headed across the border with the been wholly his own, and not a matter for intention of travelling to Levkarest, Borca all his people. (deeply grateful not to encounter a barrier I remained in this happy state of self- of toxic fog in my way, although I wondered deception until the Vistani caravan rolled why the Count would be content to have into Immol. Never underestimate the me chased by his gypsies but not seal me in importance of making a friend of local his land with his black sorcery). innkeepers, dear ladies! I While I am no Ezran, I do have a few had, of course, kept to my room at the contacts at the Great Cathedral in Bolting Stag after I saw the vardos trundle Levkarest, and I hoped to find sanctuary into town, but the innkeeper came up to there. I have found worse ways to occupy warn me that the Vistani had been asking my time than by hiding in a church’s questions around town. It seemed they catacombs, copying books until my troubles were asking about a woman whose have blown over. description closely resembled my own. Since the Barovians know the Vistani to Interesting, that had remained be the eyes and ears of Count Strahd von unknown to Johann Severin despite being Zarovich and few natives of his realm dare familiar with the Great Cathedral! I can only refuse him the least little thing, the assume that her tendency to wear disguises innkeeper was sure that the Vistani would and change names, not to mention her soon know exactly where I might be found. unfortunate self-isolation, has allowed this. (I admit there was probably an element of Perhaps the dear Toret actually does know self-interest to his warning me; if I was her, but by a different name than we did – attacked by Vistani under his roof and and ’s insistence on secrecy has worked dragged into the streets for all to see, it against her. If Toret Severin and she are would undoubtedly be bad for business one acquainted under other names, they might way and another.) have had a more secure channel for passing Again, I fled, using back roads and information, and her home in Skald might game trails. I regret to report that my horse not have been compromised. did not survive long enough to see another stable; wolves attacked me as I approached -- GWF Vallaki and would not be put off by bullets. I wound up having to run into town, the Sadly, the saying about the best-laid sound of breaking bones and rending flesh plans of mice and men applies:

My relief at being more or less safely “Good morning,” she said when she out of Barovia, where the Vistani are agents noticed me struggling against my bonds. of the government, combined with the road- “You’re a difficult person to get hold of.” weariness engendered by my lack of a I did not deign to reply; I only horse and inability to buy a replacement continued trying to break free until due to my shrinking funds, caused me to something touched the soft skin beneath relax my guard. When I encountered a my ear. Something small and sharp. A high, roadside inn – one I had not scouted before childish voice screeched behind my head. and which I had never encountered along “She’s frolicsome, see this one! Aye, the road to Levkarest until that day – I but a slice or two about the joints will see foolishly went inside instead of travelling the her settled for the pot!” last few miles that separated me from the I froze in place; the Vistana laughed. I Great Cathedral’s catacombs. dare say I would have liked her laugh better The Black Boar looked to be an inn of had it not been at my expense. decent quality. Its rooms were simple but “No, no,” she said. “This is fine, this is clean, the common room was pleasant and fine. Now then, Miss –, I am here to give not too smoky, and the meal I ordered was you a reading and to inform you of a new of decent quality and quantity. discovery of something old, which will I dined on lamb, roast potatoes and interest you. Once you have heard all that fresh greens, drank a pot of jasmine tea, we would tell you, I am going to leave you and retired to my room. I was nervous here for Fie-Fetch, and your fate is in his enough to place a few small wards in hands and your own.” addition to setting up several other measures to guarantee my privacy. I will Note, gentle reader, that herself not bore you with the details of all I did in chose to omit the name by which she was the name of security, but in the end I slept. addressed by the Vistana. While it is I slept well at first, but nightmares possible that she merely wishes to hide one haunted me towards the end of my sleep; of her ‘shell’ identities, as she calls them, I images of small animals being molested by can not help but wonder whether the larger in the name of competition for the Vistani might know her true name; same resources. As I started awake, I something that once casually confessed to realized something was wrong. not having shared with us. Gone was the feeling of a soft down mattress beneath me, the scent of wood -- GWF varnish and the comfortable warmth of the indoors. I found myself lying in dew-wetted “I would prefer if you released me moss in the dank shadows of a Borcan before telling me all these things I forest. Worse, I found myself restrained by apparently must know,” I said, doing my leather belts, cinched around my body. best to speak as diplomatically as I could. Worst of all, I found myself not alone. A “Or after, if needs must.” Vistana woman sat nearby on a tree stump, The Vistana laughed again and shook her legs crossed at the ankles. She was her head so her dark curls swung to and laying those damnable cards the gypsies fro. “Alas, the choice is not yours,” she said. use to predict the future on her skirts, her “If you had simply spoken to us when we expression amiable but smug. first tried to approach you, then things

might have been different. Twice more alas, Two up, on the right, the Two of you had to be difficult, and we needed to Swords. procure the services of Fie-Fetch to trap Two up, on the left, the Ace of Stars. you. “Remember this,” the Vistana said, her There is a price to be paid for such.” voice sweet again, “for it is important.” “Why is it that you give me this I set that final sentence apart to reflect reading?” I asked. “I have not crossed your her sudden change of tone. From whimsical, palm with silver.” she became dead serious, even threatening. “That was already done by someone who feels it important that you learn certain I licked my lips, betraying nervousness. things,” the Vistana told me, her smile Behind me, the unpleasant Fie-Fetch widening. cackled with mirth. She put down a final card, eclipsing the “Look,” I said. “I… apologize for Raven: the Two of Coins, reversed. running, but I did not know why you were When I lie in the dark watching the looking for me. Your people are powerful cards, sometimes I think I glimpse this one and mysterious and…” out of the corner of my mind’s eye, but it The Vistana reached out and pressed a never comes forward. It vexes me that this finger against my lips. A foul taste filled my is so, and yet I know not why. mouth and my jaw went numb, leaving me “Is there any chance you would tell me unable to speak. my mysterious benefactor’s name?” I asked. “All of this could have been avoided,” The Vistana just laughed. She pulled she said, her voice sweet, “if you had something out of her pocket that I at first shown good manners. Instead, you have thought was a card, but it turned out to be insulted the Vistani and whatever happens a pho – a daguerrograph, of the type whose next is your own fault. Understand this, and use is now so popular in Paridon, but which learn from it.” is also spreading to Dementlieu. She leaned back and gave me a For a second, I could have sworn my reading. I am not fond of attempts to read heart had stopped. or predict the future by any means. Faith, I “Yes, your benefactor told me that this am not fond of magic of any sort. Despite would look familiar to you,” the Vistana said this, I vividly recall the cards she showed How do I explain it? me, though not how she interpreted them. Despite the claims of those idiots at the When sleep eludes me and I lie in the dark, Asylum of Shattered Souls, I know I came I sometimes see those cards when I close from outside this world of yours five years my eyes. ago. Events transpired to land me in the In the centre, the Raven. thrice-damned Mists and when I came out One down, the Nine of Glyphs. of them, I was… here. Two down, the Ten of Stars. For five long years, I have been slinking Third and final down, the Prison. and creeping my way through these One up, on the right, the Six of Glyphs. blighted lands like a crippled mouse or a One up, to the left, the Four of Stars wounded snake. For five long years, I have reversed. been seeking a way home, any way home, and found nothing. There have been rumours of portals that came to nothing;

there have been tantalizing hints; and there emotions constricting my throat, that I was have been things – places, people, words – in immediate danger, now that the message that reminded me so strongly of home that had been delivered; and so I sent out a it smote my heart. silent call for help. Imagine how I felt when I saw the “Well then,” the Vistana said as she daguerrograph of buildings whose rose. “With this thought, I leave you. Fie- architecture did not just remind me of my Fetch, you are free to claim your payment home beyond the Mists, but was the very in full.” architecture I had known growing up in –. “Aye, ‘tis pay she will though pay would (Apologies, ladies Weathermay-Foxgrove, fain not,” Fie-Fetch cackled. “Be on yer but I dare not release too much information white horse with ye; our time toge’er is about my childhood home, lest it be used done.” against me for divination spells.) Something cold, clammy and horribly Truth, these buildings looked wrong caressed my cheek as I heard the weathered and old, but the style was Vistana’s laugh recede into a great distance. unmistakable to me. Allowing for the time- The sense of her presence dwindled and weathered look, they were identical to was gone – and a slight weight landed on buildings I had walked past a thousand my chest. Something sharp poked my times and more, when I was young and still cheek, just below the eye. lived with my family. “Paid ‘tis I shall be,” Fie-Fetch said, “for I repeat: I felt as if my heart had serving yon wench with glamer and trick. stopped for a second. The next, it started to But for taking her coin I am readily paid in pound so loudly in my chest that I would full by he who both we know, know not, not have been surprised if the Vistana or and yet shall have known again for e’er and the loathsome Fie-Fetch had commented on e’er. So shall ye walk away from here, verily it. on yer ain two feet – but might not look as “Your benefactor,” the Vistana told me ye do now when part we do, for Fie-Fetch as she dropped the daguerrograph on my shall be paid in full!” chest, “who prefers to remain anonymous, I tried to blink the tears out of my eyes, wishes for you to know that this street is to clear my throat, but Fie-Fetch’s sharp located on the outskirts of Pont-a-Museau.” object pricked my neck at once, restraining Warmth was throbbing in my jaw, all of me. Through the lens of unshed tears, I a sudden, and I tried to say something, but saw Fie-Fetch’s silhouette standing on top my voice caught in my throat and my eyes of me like a hunter with one foot on a dead were blurry. I heard the Vistana laugh, as if animal. He was small of stature, whatever at a distance. he was – and I could just make out that he “I can see the message has interested wore a red cap. you,” she said. “If only you had found it I cursed in thought and redoubled my within you to give the Vistani the benefit of silent call for aid. the doubt, you might already have been on “Wait,” I finally managed to croak. your way to Richemulot.” “Wait. Who? Who is paying you?” Apologies, questions, pleas, they all “Ye’ll fain know his name, as ye knew it thronged to get out and got in each other’s afore, and he knows yours,” Fie-Fetch way. I could not find the right words. But I cackled, raising high something that looked was aware, underneath the painful tangle of like a spear. “Aye, and know again and

ne’er while ye scream yer way down to yon my hurry. I called in favours I had built up city and the screams of all who see – ” over those five years; I tapped hidden My help arrived, yowling at the top of caches I had squirreled away for more than a dozen voices. Some of those emergencies; when night found me, I voices were angry, others were gleeful. All communed with Tom-Cat, drawing in arcane brought with them furry bodies, sharp claws power to help speed and secure my and sharp teeth. Fie-Fetch was knocked off journey. of me by a calico streak and others (And had to endure his feeling of followed. I heard the vicious little brute satisfaction with my filling myself with scream, heard cats power daily, instead of yowl in pain and when bitter need outrage, and then forced my hand.) there was a buzzing of Whenever I wings, followed by the settled down to sleep, sound of cats running I set every trap and in pursuit. barrier I was capable I called out to my of. When I travelled own Tom-Cat, my through populated companion, and heard areas, I wore the best him yowl to the others disguises I could come to make them return. up with in a hurry. You I had need of see, I knew now that those keen teeth to someone had their eye get me out of the on me. Someone who bindings that had already paid the prevented me from Vistani to track me getting up off of the down to deliver this dew-soaked ground… message of the buildings in Pont-a- Best regards, Museau. --  Besides my ‘mystery benefactor’, From the there was the Correspondence Files unpleasant Fie-Fetch. I of Gennifer had no guarantee that Weathermay- he was dead and he Foxgrove. struck me as the November 21st, 760 BC. vindictive type. All in all, I felt hunted and feared I was To the ladies Weathermay-Foxgrove, rushing to put my head in a noose – and yet I could not refuse the bait that had I travelled through Borca at breakneck been dangled before me. So while I rushed speed and entered Richemulot, using every in, I also made preparations. means at my disposal – including some Yes, I rushed to Pont-a-Museau, but I which I would not otherwise use, such was did not immediately go rushing about,

showing my daguerrograph to every us hesitate to give them access to ’s blackguard on the streets. Rather, I sought designs… lodging at a modestly reputable inn and -- LWF collected some money from one of the accounts that I maintain in Richemulot. Faith, I would have crafted even more (Modern banking has been a great useful items, but I was already highly boon to me, dear ladies, I don’t mind telling anxious and becoming moreso. you. The funds I took from the Asylum of During my stay in this fetid city, I have Broken Tears have not gone to waste over had enough unpleasant encounters to suit the past four years.) anyone’s tastes, but none of these appear For a week, I spent day and night going to have been at all personal. Which is to from certain specialized shops to certain say, no one was out to inconvenience me, libraries to my inn room and around again. specifically; it was all random malice, such The time I did not spend collecting supplies as one might expect of a Richemuloise city and information, I put to use constructing a even at the best of times. This should have couple of devices and brewing several eased my mind with regards to the pursuit I potions. You may recall the time I spent in suspected, but it did not. It made me feel Lamordia and the blueprints I sent you for a that the trap set for me had been ‘shock-glove’ after I completed my studies constructed by someone of great patience there? and organisational skill, and that made me (It never ceases to amaze me that more nervous. some of your world’s scholars have access I dithered between the need for action to such refined technology when – and the need for greater caution – and was apologies for the insult – so much of it galvanized into action when I opened the languishes in circumstances I can only see curtains of my inn room and spotted odd as primitive from the perspective of my petroglyphs, scribbled in the corners of my education.) windows in ash. My room, I should point Please find enclosed my upgraded out, was two stories up. My inn, I would design for that weapon, as well as the add, possessed commendable security, blueprints for what I shall call ‘microscopic including an absolute rule that all sewer goggles’ and the ‘ripple glass’. I trust on access was to be locked and barred after your discretion and your wisdom not to sundown. divulge these designs to anyone who can So I had no doubt in my mind as to not be trusted to use them responsibly. who was responsible for these scribbles, and had applied them without tripping the These blueprints now sit in our archive, wards I had placed on my room. Fie-Fetch gathering dust, I fear. While we know had come to collect his pound of flesh… people who can be trusted to use such I put on my boots, readied my goggles items responsibly, none of them have the and glove, cranked up the clockwork, skills to make or repair them – or else they packed the scientific and magical equipment prefer to rely on magical items, instead. Of I thought most useful for my first foray, those we know who have the scientific skills stowed my weaponry, and actually required, few are of an inclination to join managed to walk out of the inn without the Hunt – or have dispositions that make falling over from the collective weight. I daresay I got a few odd looks from the

people who had noticed me going about in mewing and crowding around my ankles, the days leading up to my first foray, but then following after as I proceeded. this did not concern me at the time. After a (You see now, dear ladies, why I took brief stop-over at the fish market, I an indirect route with as few people around proceeded on my way. as I could find.) By an indirect route, of course. By the time I arrived at the street, the You may recall my mentioning that I cobbles behind me were packed with had visited various libraries in Pont-a- meowing, purring bodies, and I was the Museau. To cover the exact nature of my object of rapt attention. I dutifully shared interest, I had studied numerous subjects, out the fish I had bought for the occasion, in order to confound anyone who tried to paying the eyes-and-ears that Tom-Cat had trace my steps and thoughts. I must admit recruited and securing their loyalty – such that some of the side-lines I pursued to as it was – for future services. While my cover my true interest proved quite furry agents gorged themselves and interesting, and I duly added them to my squabbled over the choicest bits, I cast my notebooks on magical and planar lore. In eyes on the street for the first time. addition, I found some fine samples of Truth, I had to interrupt my scrutiny poetry and botanical lore imported from several times to wipe the tears from my Borca, their quality such that I paid for eyes. Apart from the fact that this street lay copies of both. on one of Pont-a-Museau’s wretchedly My main interest, however, had been in fragrant canals and was weathered by time, paintings. And not just any paintings, but the elements, and Richemuloise grime, it paintings of the streets of Pont-a-Museau. It was the spitting image of a street I used to is by studying this subject that I found the take on my way to school… Even the object of my interest, conveniently painted numbers affixed beside the rotting doors by an artist of middling talent some thirteen were exactly the same! Needless to say, the years ago, after which he had submitted a street sign proclaiming this to be the Rue copy of his work to the library – probably in d’Absinthe was in High Mordentish and hopes of generating a greater interest in his considerably newer than the rest – all due work. to the Reniers’ efforts to ease navigation (I researched the artist in question a around Pont-a-Museau, I expect – but still bit, and must conclude he never found the filled me with a shudder of recognition. audience he desired in Richemulot, causing You see, the street from my memories him to migrate to Port-a-Lucine in search of was known as Wormwood Street. more free-spending art-lovers. The last How it was possible for this street to be mention I found of him said he had here, and to fit so seamlessly into both the contracted pneumonia… Alas.) surrounding city and my memory, was a Out I went, to see the street of my matter which filled me with dread. desires – and I did not go alone. Locating Regardless, I had to pursue my the street had not taken too much of my investigation. Who only knew what hints of time, and I had ordered Tom-Cat to set up the way Home might still linger here? a steady surveillance. As I came closer to my target, Tom-Cat’s agents came slinking Best regards, out of alleys and leapt out of garbage cans, -- 

From the Correspondence Files of from top to bottom, room by room, leaving Gennifer Weathermay-Foxgrove. not an inch unexplored. November 23rd, 760 BC. All the time I was exploring, I felt tense, ready for an attack that never came. Dear ladies Weathermay-Foxgrove, I was prepared for wererats, for ethereal entities, for brigands – and none of them Your world has a decided knack for materialized. There were no old traps laid throwing wrenches – for fouling up even the by the inhabitants, no structural flaws that best-laid and simplest plans. threatened to tumble the gently decaying Having discreetly removed my houses on my head or send me plunging to belongings from the inn and relocated my a hideous death. All was quiet, all was base of operations to an abandoned house peaceful – and what few items I found left opposite the street so reminiscent of the were surprisingly well-preserved. one of my acquaintance, I took several Oh, I do not doubt that vagrants and precautions. looters – or explorers, if you prefer – had I filled all the rooms I did not need to combed this street when Pont-a-Museau use with Tom-Cat’s army of spies, paying first appeared and in the years since, but I them with regular portions of fish. This way, found little treasures that had apparently my temporary lair was surrounded on all escaped their notice. That, or Tom-Cat and sides with alert predators, which I hoped some of his companions – females all, of would be enough to dissuade the odious course – ferreted them out and brought Fie-Fetch from causing me any trouble. them to me. Little bits of jewellery with (Naturally, I doused the lot of them designs not native to your world but mine, with flea-bane as soon as I could.) fossilized candy in wrappers I recognized I wrapped the entire building in such from my childhood, clockwork toys now too protective magics as I could muster and set broken to move, a poetry diary crumbling up other spells to warn me of any approach with age but still mostly legible – and filled by a creature that was not a cat. with bad poems written in one of the When I was satisfied with the state of languages of Home. Nothing completely my ‘lair’, I set up various monitoring earth-shattering, yet all so very precious to devices, which I have crafted over the me, personally. years, and activated them to passively So much for the purely physical finds. receive data. After one day of this, when I Thanks to my newly-minted goggles and was satisfied that there were no various minor spells, I discovered other immediately harmful emanations coming things. Not more of those wretched from the street, I moved to active petroglyphs, thank – thank the Heavens, reconnaissance. but fading echoes of frequent and profound I was fortunate in that this acts of power that had taken place over a neighbourhood is wholly abandoned, dear long period of time, until the auras had ladies – fortunate, yet also made cautious, sunk into stone and mortar and lingered hence my taking passive readings for a full there. day before I moved in myself. With Tom- On the one hand, this made me feel Cat at my heels, I started exploring the cautiously hopeful. On the other, it filled me abandoned houses, starting at the with dread as it fit rather too well with my westernmost terminus, going through them memories of this street, and I was

becoming certain that the source of these Grudgingly, I called Tom-Cat off. He echoes would prove to be house number gave me a look of disgust, but did obey and 14. called off his companions, who flounced I was debating going there while still after him when he trotted back up the stairs scouting out the attic of number 6 when I to hunt for more treasure. heard a noise coming from downstairs. My We stood facing each other, the young eyes went immediately to Tom-Cat, who lady and I, and both slowly lowered our was dashing down the stairs with his little weapons. harem – a harem whose membership had She surprised me by smiling, exposing changed over the course of the day, but salt-white teeth. “So, are you a Paka?” she whose number remained fairly constant – asked, without any hesitation. “I’ve heard of and I heard a cry of alarm and a loud crash. them – you – but I never thought I’d meet I dashed down the stairs myself, sword one knocking around an old street in Pont- cane in hand, and came upon a scene that a-Museau.” was both comical and tragic. “I am not a Paka!” I denied, furious. “I Tom-Cat and his females had cornered am… I… cast. Magic. Sometimes. A little.” a young woman, who I judged to be of (Here you see how allowing your Valachani descent, though she wore temper to get away from you gets you in Dementlieuse fashions, in the living room. trouble and causes you to divulge secrets She was fending them off with an old chair, you should keep close, dear ladies. Beware her eyes wide with shock but one hand your own temper!) going for a pistol at her belt. A great cedar- I am no social butterfly, dear ladies, as wood cabinet I had noticed when looking in you well know. Having seen that this through the front window, once used to stranger was not in immediate danger of display a rather fine collection of crockery, keeling over dead, I silently called for Tom- had somehow been knocked over and now Cat and made my way for the door, lay facedown, surrounded by shards of intending to disappear into the streets and porcelain. A single plate with a periwinkle later circle back to the ‘lair’. design around its edge was spinning to a Unfortunately, the stranger had other halt on the floor, miraculously and comically ideas. She followed me. unbroken. “I’m Sula,” she said without preamble. “What have you done?” I cried out “So, who are you with? The University of before I could catch myself. “It’s ruined!” Mordent? Brautslava? The College d’Art in My anger set Tom-Cat hissing at the Karina?” stranger, his females following suit, but they “What?” I asked, mystified. held back from attacking – for the moment. “I’m here for the University in Port-a- Fortunately, the young lady was not of an Lucine,” she said, grinning. “Go on, no need overly fearful disposition and she refrained to be shy. Who are you working for?” from discharging her pistol at any of us. “No one,” I said, and I started walking “Me?” she protested. “I just walked in faster. and suddenly I was neck-deep in cats, Annoyingly, she kept up. “You’ve got a trying to take my eyes out!” bit of an accent,” she said. She did not even (Now that she mentioned it, there were sound out of breath. “You sure you’re not indeed some scratches on her left cheek.) working for the folks up at Brautslava? I’ve been; it’s quite good for the size.”

“No,” I said. I started jogging. favourable terms with la Renier, and the Again, she effortlessly kept up. “You other universities won’t be far behind, I’m could be Darkonese,” she insisted. “You sure. The President thought the Paridoners don’t look Invidian, not with that colour might even be coming soon! Isn’t that just hair. Then again, you could be Mordentish, amazing?” or… Tepestani? There’re a lot of redheads in Tepest, aren’t there? Hold on… No! You’re All I knew to say at that moment was, not from that horrible little college in simply: “Confoundment!” Kantora, are you? I hear nothing but bad things about them! Are they making a Best regards, move? That’s amazing! Good for you!” --  “I am not Tepestani,” I grumbled. “I am not working for anyone. Leave me From the Correspondence Files of Gennifer alone.” Weathermay-Foxgrove. “Can’t do that,” she said, cheerfully. November 24th, 760 BC. “You’re poking around my patch, and I doubt you’re going to stop doing that just I reached… an accommodation with Ms. because we ran into each other.” Sula, representative of the University of “Your what?” I demanded, stopping Dementlieu, where she is one of the top and whirling to face her. students at the Department of the She backed up, hands raised in a Divinities. disarming way – and glanced at the cats When I asked her what a student of that were running up to us, ears folded theology was doing researching a site back and tails fluffed out. supposedly rich in alchemical lore, she “Hey, easy now,” she said, still smiling. talked my ear off about Zherisian alchemical “I understand, this place is going to be philosophy and its spiritual aspects. The important and the rush is on to be the first short version is, she was hoping to glean a to find… well, whatever.” deep spiritual insight, or at least enough “What are you talking about?” I information for her upcoming term paper. demanded. In my anger, I actually grabbed After we established that I had no her by the collar, although I managed to interest in alchemical lore but was refrain from shaking her. “Important? How independently researching latent planar is this street going to be important? Why emanations – it really hurt, having to reveal are the big universities interested all of a even that little – we came to an agreement. sudden?” Rather than work at cross-purposes and “That really isn’t why you’re here?” Sula delay one another while other ‘researchers’ asked, surprised. “Why are you here, then? (Academic looters, more like!) were moving President De Casteelle got an anonymous in, we agreed to work together, keeping an letter that said there’s a secret laboratory eye out for the other’s interests as well as somewhere on this street, one founded by our own while canvassi – scouting the same an actual apprentice of the Alchemist of houses. Mordentshire. You know who that is, don’t While reaching this accommodation was you? I’m just the advance scout. This place not too strenuous, there were some… will be crawling with researchers as soon as challenges to the arrangement. President De Casteelle has reached

“I do not understand why you see the learned in Valachan, he managed to gain a need to room here as well,” I told her while position as a merchant guard and eventually she was unpacking her suitcase in one of worked his way up to guard captain, after the rooms in my lair. which he met his wife, the heiress of a small “Trust is a beautiful thing,” she said, trading company. flashing me that brilliant smile. “But as my Ms. Sula was the eventual result of Papa said, trust needs to be earned over their happy union, and both her parents time by actions, not just words. Do forgive agreed she should want for nothing, yet me, but ours is still a young alliance. I need must also apply herself in all ways. Hence, to keep an eye on you. Oh! Can you take the University of Dementlieu – after this one?” finishing school and a string of private This was in reference to a cat that had tutors. She has apparently managed to settled down on her sleeping bag, and was make the Dean’s list twice despite being none too happy about being removed from looked down upon for reasons of her the room. Fortunately, I had iodine to treat gender and mixed heritage. the scratches. While ’s attitude appears dismissive, I found Ms. Sula to be an infuriating she has done well to point this young lady housemate. Rather than stay in her own out to us. room during the hours of the night, she came to my area and insisted we share a -- LWF meal. “Sharing a meal is one of the most I found the intrusion on my privacy important parts of social behaviour, isn’t it?” quite vexing and considered relocating while she said, winking at me while sneaking bites Sula slept, or perhaps dousing her with a of her meal to the cats that surrounded us – solution that would keep her harmlessly or rather, her – on all sides. asleep at the ‘lair’ for a few days, thus “Besides, it’s damn’ boring, sitting in allowing me to complete my investigation in that pokey little room and studying by peace. myself. Might as well be in finishing school Fortunately, I managed to refrain from again!” doing either of these things; the next day, I She giggled after saying “damn’”… found my unwanted companion to be a Next, she insisted on ‘regaling’ me with great asset. While she was overly her life’s story in a rather transparent personable and showed a lack of respect for attempt to wheedle mine out of me. Please my boundaries outside work hours, she see my attached notes – you may wish to turned out to be a dogged and meticulous keep an eye on this family as a source of researcher. Between the two of us, we information on Valachan, or as allies in your managed to clear the houses between 2 Hunt. and 12 in record time (fairness obliged me to assist her in seeking out alchemical Apparently Ms. Sula’s late father had minutiae in the houses I had already decided to leave Valachan after his baby investigated). sister was taken for Baron Von Kharkov’s Unfortunately, our findings proved to and made it all the way to Mordent. be abysmal. Through an admirable mixture of bloody- I must admit that I had not truly minded determination and skills he had expected to find any alchemical

abnormalities, but we did find a locked utterly shameless within Richemulot, as you cabinet at number 8 which turned out to well know. contain a few items that at first excited Sula Our spirits much subdued by our – until she realized that their function was gruesome discovery, we might have missed virtually indistinguishable from those of out on a last item of interest. Fortunately, items well-known to alchemists of the Core, Tom-Cat was more attentive and drew my and which are even thought of as outdated attention to a torn piece of paper, half- by the Alchemical Philosophers of Paridon. hidden beneath a bowl stained by food, Number 10 was more fruitful for her, as it which had first spoiled, then congealed over yielded an object she found significant. the course of many years. (I managed to refrain from laughing. Sula is most excited over this scrap, as The object in question is basically a glass it still holds part of an alchemical formula. vase containing a liquid and a lump of As I write this letter to you, dear ladies, she greasy material. If the vase is heated from is poring over her notebooks in an attempt below, bubbles of the greasy material rise to decipher it. to the top of the vase, cool and drift down I have no problem with yielding this again, and so forth and so forth, ad find to her. My own investigation suggests nauseam. Back Home, such items are made that the page radiates a small, but constant and kept purely as a visual diversion.) magical aura, and the page header reads Apart from this, we found nothing of… ‘Grammaire des Ombres secrètes’. scholarly value. Is it possible that whoever More on this later; I must renew the searched through these houses started in wards. the middle and worked their way outwards, only to then be disturbed? Best regards, In order to confirm this theory, we --  went back to number 8 and went over everything again. To my personal chagrin, we located a door which had previously From the Correspondence Files of . escaped our joint attention, hidden behind November 25th, 760 BC. the wallpaper. Having ripped this flimsy covering away and opened the door, we Confoundment, dear ladies. were greeted by a stench of stale death. Confoundment and perfidy. Beyond the door lay a small room, its walls and floor covered in disquieting brown We went over each of the houses we stains. Scattered and shattered crockery had visited already, knowing what we did of indicated someone, or several someones, number 8, and discovered hidden rooms in had been eating a meal here when they each. were terminally surprised. Each hidden room was a scene of old I found some markings that seemed carnage. And ritual. reminiscent of wererat tracks, but could not At number 6, we found a shattered make sense of it. Wererats are not known altar, marked with a circle of thirteen for their wallpapering skills. Or did a serpents. wererat killer pay someone to paper over At number 4, there was a whole altar, the site of its crime? Why? These beasts are set with two candles made of a black fat,

which neither Ms. Sula nor I needed an her step and became intrigued upon seeing alchemical analysis to identify as corpse-fat. the broken altar. The walls were covered in papers with the “That’s the symbol of Hala,” she told sigils of various spirits of unwholesome me, “goddess of witchcraft and the Weave! aspect. This is very interesting; I’ve never heard of The secret room at number 2 had a a Halite cult that engaged in human ritual circle drawn on the floor – in the same sacrifice before. You think there might have blood that had splattered the walls and been an anomalous offshoot here?” ceiling. Blood-stained crystals lay on the I refrained from commenting, despite four points of the compass. all her attempts to draw me into After discussing the matter, Sula and I conversation on the symbol we had seen. agreed not to probe too deeply into the There was a dull ache in the back of my mystery of these ritual chambers. We took head from my effort to repress… certain initial soundings and then re-sealed the memories. rooms, lest we stir up something beyond I used to walk past these houses every our control; while nothing actually day – or houses that looked identical to happened, there was a… pressure in those these, saving for the wear and tear. I was rooms that neither magic nor science could acquainted with the people who lived there explain, but which seemed to be purely – who used to live there when I was still a emotional. child – knew their names, talked to them More and more, it appears that the frequently. Was something like this actually deaths that occurred there were not the going on behind those peaceful façades result of monster attacks, but may have while I walked past? been crimes committed by the houses’ Number 12 was, against all inhabitants – which also explains why they expectations, firmly locked. I had Sula stand were wallpapered over. In addition, the cavy – keep watch while I busied myself planar vibrations I measured in those with a crowbar. The lock was just starting hidden chambers is… dark and troublesome. to give way when Sula hissed with alarm. I Even using a purely scientific device to seek turned around, one hand on my pistol. out vibrations, I could tell there was a “What is it?” I asked. “Something in the decidedly negative slant to the echoes of river?” planar displacement. I must wonder and “The river?” Sula gave me a surprised worry – was this street truly displaced from look. “No! No; I thought… I was so sure I Home, or is it a copy transplanted from saw someone looking at us from one of the some far less wholesome place and set up empty houses. Number nine, I think.” here as a trap just for me? I looked at those empty houses and But who would go to that much saw nothing, but I did not discredit Sula’s trouble? That wretched Barovian alienist? warning out of hand. The truth was, anyone The foul Lamordian Schult? The Doctor? could have moved in and set up surveill – One of the others? Who among them would started keeping watch. After all, I had done even be capable of doing such a thing? just that. I reached out to Tom-Cat, who Sula’s attitude irked me. While seeing was lurking around nearby with his feline the state of the rooms initially rendered her army, but he had nothing to report. He did silent, she gradually regained the spring in come trotting up, however, alarmed by my feelings of disquiet.

“There does not appear to be anyone the corner of my eye. Immediately, I looked there now,” I said after a few tense at the façade of number 9, on the other moments. “Keep watching; I shall continue side of the river. Was that a twitch of the work on the door.” mildewed curtains behind the upper The door yielded to my crowbar – and window…? my ripple glass started beeping. “So what did your magic mirror tell “Hold up, back up, back up!” I ordered you?” Sula asked. both Sula and Tom-Cat. The latter obeyed; “It’s not magic, it’s science,” I corrected I had to push the former quite hard before her, feeling distracted, watched. “There is a she would yield. powerful aura in there. It is causing… “What’s wrong?” she asked, looking distortions.” over my shoulder as I brought the ripple My attention was on number 9, and so glass out and looked into it. I had no warning other than Tom-Cat’s (I allowed this; you know from the sudden yowl of protest and the sound of a blueprints I have sent you that the display door opening. I turned around just in time of the ripple glass does not show words, but to see Sula disappear into the gloom inside equations, designed by myself and that number 12. I tried to rush after her, but insane Lamordian two years ago. It seemed Tom-Cat and his henchmen – and yes, unlikely in the extreme that Sula could read henchwomen – immediately blocked my any of them.) path, meowing pitifully. To be succinct, the ripple glass was ‘Bad,’ Tom-Cat sent to me. ‘Bad getting warning me that number 12 was soaked in worse!’ the same aura that suffused those hidden I stepped over them and hurried into rooms. Except where the aura in the rooms the house, stowing the ripple glass as I was an echo, here it was active – and went. Tom-Cat yowled in protest, but I had causing a planar distortion effect. Not a to go. The stupid girl was rushing in like a powerful one, but still. fool where wiser heads would have waited Despite my disquiet, I felt a brief stab and observed a bit longer – so now I had to of hope. do the same before she utterly ruined what “What is it?” Sula asked jostling me. traces were there for my quest for Home. Almost, I dropped the ripple glass! I Again, Tom-Cat yowled – and his voice snarled with anger – and Sula leapt away was cut off, as if with a knife, as soon as I from me, yelping with shock and pain. Tom- was over number 12’s doorstep. My Cat was hanging from her leg, yowling awareness of him was cut off just as angrily, and more cats were incoming. cleanly, and I turned on the spot, horrified, “Don’t do that again,” I growled at certain that someone had killed him – but Sula, while I mentally ordered Tom-Cat off. there he was, surrounded by his furry “This machine took me more than a year to minions, watching me with an expression of make! Some of the components need to be deep-seated distress. imported from Sri Raji!” I stepped back outside and our “Sorry, sorry!” she said, looking put- connection returned, our feelings of distress upon. “Ugh, do you have any of that iodine mirroring each other perfectly. with you…?” “Wait for me here,” I finally managed I was about to say more to chastise to say. “Be careful.” her, but I caught a flash of movement from

‘Bad getting worse!’ he replied, and middle of the floor. The only light came then slunk out of sight. from an alchemical trinket Sula had I went back inside, feeling on edge and brought, a glowing glass cylinder filled with angry with Sula. I found myself clutching a gold-coloured liquid. my pistol while I looked for the idiotic girl - “Rotten sort of trick,” she said, sulkily. an instinctive response to the feeling of She tested her ankle and made a face, but pressure that neither my magic nor my she was able to move easily enough and science had been able to explain. There came back up the stairs, looking sheepish. were subtle currents in the air that should “Did I just call you a greedy… Never mind,” not have been there, a feeling of… she said. “That was mean of me. Sorry.” inconsistency to everything. At times like “I was… undiplomatic as well,” I said, these, a prayer would be a great comfort. without taking my eyes off the room. “The I found the little wretch in the aura is strong here, I told you. Our minds basement, kicking at a door in the wall that may be affected.” separates 12 from 14. The sound had not “Then I’ll watch you and you’ll watch carried beyond the basement at all. me,” she said. “What are you doing now, you idiot?” I I looked at her, and she was grinning. snarled at her. “This is not scholarly “It may not be that simple,” I said. behaviour, this is barbarism!” “We’re both reasonably smart people,” “It’s here!” she shouted back at me. she said, “and you’ve got your… “The laboratory! I know it is! You just want thingamabob that tells you when the to keep it for yourself, you greedy…” emanations are getting stronger, right? And She stopped talking, so I never found we can’t give up now, can we? We’re close out what kind of greedy creature I was. to something here, aren’t we?” Instead of talking, she screamed and That was true enough. Just to be on hopped back on one foot, holding her the safe side, I cast a minor spell that kicking-leg. The wooden door in the reinforces willpower on Sula, and we separating wall had disappeared, and in its continued our investigation. place stood a large, iron cupboard. “What… what is this?” Sula asked, We did as we had done in all the clearly angry, while sitting down on a crate. previous houses, except now we did it “There was door there, I know it!” together instead of each of us tackling “I saw it as well,” I told her. rooms separately. I did not descend the stairs; I cast There was another hidden room, fully spells of detection from where I stood. equipped with an altar marked with a circle There was an aura about the cupboard. of thirteen snakes, set inside a magic circle. Some form of illusion magic unknown to Two ceremonial daggers, a goblet, and a me. brass bowl marked with a pentagram stood “Someone played a trick on you,” I on the altar in addition to those foul black said, while I carefully scrutinized the candles. Sheets of paper with magic seals basement. on them were nailed to the walls, and there It looked ordinary enough; it was a were robes hanging from a hook on the dark, dank room with a wine rack against inside of the door. one wall and old crates stacked against the There were no ancient blood splatters. other and standing haphazardly in the

“Well, this is better,” Sula said in an My head was pounding with the effort encouraging tone. to hold back memories and I took a step I was not entirely sure of this. For one back, bumped the wall with my pack. thing, the ripple glass told me the aura was There was a ‘click’ as my pack pressed stronger here, concentrated. While the against something hidden under one of the effect was not so strong that I needed to sigils on the wall. worry about this room becoming divorced in Another section of wall swung outward time and space, the feeling of inconsistency behind the altar – a secret door, leading was even stronger. The walls seemed to into number 14. move slightly, as if the room was expanding My headache exploded, causing me to and contracting rhythmically. cry out and grab at my temples. At the As though it were breathing. same time, Sula cried out and grabbed at Sula walked inside without warning – her throat. The ripple glass screeched its again. warning, spat sparks and audibly broke. “Look at this!” she said, picking up the ‘Confoundment! Some of those parts brass bowl. I blinked – and she was not really do have to come from Sri Raji!’ holding a brass bowl marked with a The room on the other side of the wall pentagram, she was holding a book. was virtually the same as the one we were I rubbed my eyes vigorously and looked standing in. Altar. Robes. Candles. Sigils. No at the room again. Nothing else appeared to book, though, but there was another door. have changed. Sula was eagerly thumbing It swung open as I looked at it, through the book’s pages – and her face revealing… darkness. A gust of… not wind, fell. but displaced air, blew in my face. It made “Mildew!” she complained. “But the me gag. A stench of mildew, incense, room is dry! Most of the words are illegible, decay, power, rolling around in my head. I but… but there are bits and pieces here, must admit I fell to my knees and threw up. alchemical formulae! Yutow preserve me In contrast, Sula surged forward, through this trial! So much has been lost!” tearing at her collar and chanting in Old She looked close to tears, and she Vaasi under her breath. Chanting prayers. I insisted I look at the book as well. Sure heard the word ‘Yutow’ again and again. enough, there were bits and pieces of ‘Confoundment!’ alchemical formulae in the book, but there “Stop,” I tried to say, but my throat were other things as well. Things I was was choked with power. “Don’t!” surprised Sula had not noticed – but then The words would not come out and I again, I was not sure at the time whether doubt she would have listened to me if they she had any training in the arcane arts at had. On she charged, pulling a metal amulet all. To be succinct, dear ladies, there were on a chain out of her collar. It started to bits and pieces of arcane annotation in that glow; a shard of the full moon, blazing a book, but these were not Wizardly writings. path through the darkness. They were Witch-spells, written down. ‘Heaven save me from heroes!’ I was getting a bad feeling about this,a I pulled my cane from its loop on my feeling of familiarity even stronger than that pack and struggled to my feet, pain rolling engendered by the sight of the street. through my head in great waves. Sula had ‘But that was not possible!’ already disappeared into the darkness… where I must now go.

I knew what was there, you see, dear this whole street. Again, I found myself ladies. groping for my pistol – and found a I knew and I was ashamed, so terribly shrivelled-up carrot, instead. I paused for a ashamed. moment I did not have, staring stupidly at To my even greater shame, I took a the inedible root vegetable, then threw it moment to crank up the clockwork on my from me and moved on. shock-glove, bringing it to full power, before I found Sula in the library, where I had I muttered a cantrip that should have expected her to be – and hoped she would caused little faerie lights to appear. In the not be. She was standing in front of the current of decayed power, the light flared to glass case I remembered from my four miniature suns, their glow burning childhood, when the old people who lived in against my skin. Wonderful. this house had invited me in. Tricked me in. I staggered forward, trying to ignore Lured me in. both pains and keep my balance at the ‘Dear Heavens, forgive me!’ same time. What made it all even more She turned on me, her eyes blazing like difficult was the feeling in the air. Where my those of a great cat, the holy symbol of magic met the decaying aura, they kindled Yutow blazing around her neck. each other. My little magic was bringing the “I knew there was something here,” dead power to life – and that was not a she said, her smile radiant. “I knew it!” Her good thing. smile faded. “But I can’t open it. There’s a I staggered through hallways festooned mark on it – the sign of Hala.” with more of those sigils, nailed to the wall, “Leave it,” I managed to say – to croak, and they started to glow with power as I really. “It’s no good. It’s bad. Leave it, for passed. Something was happening, pity’s sakes! We need to run!” something I had no control over and could She leapt on me. not understand. Whatever it was, it was bad I struggled, but I am not – never have juju – seriously evil magic. been – a great fighter, in spite of all my I called out for Sula as I went, but she training to become at least passable at it. did not answer. My only lead was a faint Sula overpowered me, knocked the shimmer in the sigils where she had passed. cane out of my hand and pulled me towards But that was not a reactive shimmer, as the glass case. Towards the ancient-looking the building glow in my tracks was. It was a book that lay waiting there. The leather defensive response to a magic inimical to cover was not the original one, of course. what was coming to life in these dead and Neither were the pages. The old people had dusty hallways. The magic of Yutow, the periodically re-written everything in that dead god, patron of Valachan, who teaches book on loose pages of vellum, and then his followers that arcane magic and the sewed those into a new cover. But the book undead are equally foul perversions of looked virtually the same as it had when I nature. was first lured in here; just as it did when I ‘Wonderful. Confoundment, last left this place behind, vowing to myself confoundment, confoundment!’ that I would never come back. The little priestess had gulled me very Occult runes and protective devices, effectively. Staying close to me all this time, burned into the leather with irons. suggesting a partnership so I would not walk off with whatever had left its taint on

A title in gold leaf, the script heavily living room, heading for the door. “You gothic and in one of the dead languages of can’t have it, it’s miiiiiiii~!” Home: She fell through the floor, through a ‘Grammaire des Ombres secrètes.’ hole in the floor that had not been there a I struggled harder, but the fool girl moment ago. Preservation overrode greed; pressed my hand against the glass. she let the book go so she could grab the There was a flash of light, a burning edge of the hole with both hands. The book sensation in my hand. I screamed and was thumped down heavily, quite close to her. hurled back, crashed against the wall. I The glow of her holy amulet flickered and heard glass shatter and Sula cried out, went out. Her expression went from dull exultant. shock to realization. I saw her look down – “I’ve got it! I’ve got it! The alchemical and she shrieked like the young woman she lore of the ancients!” was, struggled to pull herself up. I could not speak. The power roared off “Help me!” she pleaded. “Help!” the book, now that the case was gone. I I skidded to a halt at the edge of the could not speak, I could barely breathe. hole. The book was within reach, the Sula ran past me, whooping with joy. competition was out of action, I could My hand hurt. My head pounded. I was savour the final approach. Power thumping on the verge of wetting myself. I was in my chest, I glanced at the defeated afraid. I was so afraid. And I could hear the woman – and let myself drop to the ground book, whispering in my head even while it so I could grab her wrists. moved away from me: Beneath her feet, there was another ‘I contain the spells that can take you room. Like all the others in number 14, it Home.’ was dusty and ruined. My Witch-lights That… was too seductive. It was spot- illuminated the horrid scene in cruel detail. on. It sang in my blood, vibrated in my You see, the house’s residents were bones, tugged at my soul. I failed myself. I down there. They were visibly dead, but reached out for the power with my mind they were… animate. With slow, methodical before I could stop myself from doing so – movements, some of them were setting up and the power reached back to me. pieces of broken furniture, sharp ends Power, roaring through me. I heard pointing upward. Others were preparing a myself cry out. I smelled burning flesh. I did dinner table with stained crockery and a not care; the pain was gone, the dull rotten tablecloth. throbbing was gone. I was healthy; I was I hauled on Sula, but she was too strong; I was a healthy animal, a predator heavy. on the hunt. Snarling, I cast the pack from The undead who were not holding up me – ‘Useless weight!’ – and took off after the impaling tools creakily sat down at the Sula, my gloved hand curved into a claw. table and started to thump their tarnished I heard her running down the stairs to silverware against the table. the living room and tore down after her. ‘Hurry up and drop her, we’re hungry!’ “Stop!” I shouted. “It’s mine, you little I could understand them, with the wretch! Mine, you hear me?! Mine! MINE!” power thumping in my head. I did not want “Mine!” she yelled over her shoulder to understand them; their voices crawled in while she ran across the dusty, decayed my head like worms, chewing at my sanity,

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allowing those horrible memories to slip free where the Vistana had caught me. It all from the wall I kept them locked behind. made sense. Glamers. ‘Merciful Heaven, forgive me! I’m so ‘Bastard!’ sorry!’ “Wait, wait, wait!” I gasped, pleading. It hurt, but I started to fight the power. “Wait… I’ll pay you! Pay you willingly!” Bit by bit, I pushed it out of my head, He stabbed me in the rump again, but struggling not to hear its song, its sweet further away from my spine now. “Aye, promises of Home, of freedom, of never you’ll pay! But will ye pay freely or will Fie- being a victim again. Push. Push like you’re Fetch take his fee?” giving birth, only this is unclean, filthy, “Sula,” I gasped. “My left hand. Let go. something to be resisted, to be endured Take my right hand in both of yours.” until you can fight it off, not to embrace, She cried, she shook her head. I had to never to embrace… repeat my order twice before she obeyed, The undead were growing restless. I and then I stuck my left arm out to the tried to ignore them. side, hand palm up. My right arm felt as ‘Push, damn you, PUSH!’ though it were being pulled from the “Please don’t let go!” Sula begged me, socket. It might be. tears rolling down her cheeks. “Please! I’m “My left hand,” I said to Fie-Fetch. sorry! I don’t know why – I don’t know why “Take it. Take it. Oh, Heaven have mercy, I did that! I swear! Please! Please, help just hurry up and take it!” me!” “Aye, well and done!” Fie-Fetch crowed. “Be quiet,” I begged back, squeezing I felt him walk over my back, felt the my eyes shut against the sight of her. swagger in his step as he marched down “Don’t distract me. please. I need to… my arm. “Bulge-bottomed, bulge-chested focus.” scatterwit shall pay what is owed to Fie- Sula stopped talking, but she kept Fetch in full, and all shall be well and all sobbing. That actually helped. I rode the shall be well and all shall be well.” waves of crippling pity and shame, pushed He stood on my wrist. harder, forced the last dregs of the book’s I felt the minute shifting of his weight power out of me and slammed shut the as he raised his weapon. doors of my will. And then I screamed, I twitched my wrist slightly, just because a purely physical pain lanced enough… through my rump. … to activate my shock-glove. “Aye, ye bulge-bottomed beast, how ye Something metallic rang against my like that, ye wallowing sow?” I heard Fie- glove and there was a blast of light, an Fetch crow behind me. Again, that pain electric crackling and the stink of burning lanced through my backside – higher this flesh. Fie-Fetch screamed, and something time, closer to the tailbone. “Take yer legs, small and blackened fluttered into my range I might. Ye’ll not walk out on any legs, then, of sight, cockroach wings fluttering while but crawl like a worm! Fie-Fetch will be they burned. Fie-Fetch rolled and struggled, paid, after all his efforts!” mewling with pain, and finally sprawled to a Glamers. The vicious little bastard had halt. spun glamers throughout this house and Facing me. number 12. The iron cabinet. The brass His face was half-melted from the bowl. The floor. Just like that bloody inn discharge of electricity, arcs of electricity

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were travelling over his body, but his eyes I started to whimper and could not were wide and full of hatred. stop. The cell in Vallaki. The floor of the “Bulging schemie,” he managed to manor house in Leidenheim. Cold stones gasp. “Offers payment and gives foul beneath me. Dusty carpets stained with trickery. Fie-Fetch thy foe for eternity, mould beneath me. Which did not matter. A bulger! Fie-Fetch’s currrse upon thee for familiar weight on me, pinning me down, offering false pay!” crushing the air out of my lungs. Cold Then he died, his little body turning to breath in my ear, a tongue-tip tracing its black dust that sparkled as though it were whorls between words. Was I crying? Yes. mixed with diamond dust. Yes, I was. And I must admit, I did not care. “Evil,” he whispered, “is not an enemy I returned my attention to Sula, for you to fight. It is not a burden you must dangling from my arm. I started to edge my endure. It is a gift.” left back to her, to offer her more support – A sigh as cold as a walk-in freezer –the and I heard the door opening in the hall. Lamordian winter wind in my ear – hands Footsteps approached. like ice touching me – a kiss like frost burn And I knew terror. against my cheek. I whined like a whipped This was not the same fear I had dog and heard him laugh. Softly, so softly. known from the sealed rooms, caused by “I am glad you are using your gift so the lingering aura of the Grammaire. This well.” was a sick, crawling fear that paralyzed me He got up off me, pausing momentarily completely, made me lie still like a rabbit to pinch me where Fie-Fetch had stabbed that sees oncoming headlights – the fog me. Again, I heard the rustling of cloth and lights of a – hypnotized by a snake. the little snap-snap of buttons being closed. I was back in that foul cell in Vallaki, Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a hand my tears turning to ice on my face. gloved in black leather, attached to an arm I was lying on the floor of that manor sleeved in black silk, pick up the book. house in Leidenheim, choking on every Amazing, how the feeling of power had just breath. disappeared when this stranger walked I was standing in that laboratory, my inside. No more magic in the air, only cold. pistol against the temple of a woman who That, and the stranger’s soft chuckling as could not defend herself. he walked out of the room. I was about to let a young woman fall The door slammed shut. to her death for the sake of that damned I started to feel life in me again. book. Enough life to finally vomit up a spell I had I was cold and I was afraid. prepared just in case – a spell that doubled My worst memories, rampaging through my strength and allowed me to slowly, my mind while my body lay paralyzed and painfully drag Sula up out of the hole and shivering. then carry both of us out the door. Out. We There was someone standing behind had to get out, before the undead decided me. I heard him chuckle. Heard the sound to come claim their meal. Out of here and of rustling cloth. Felt and heard him sink to away…! his knees – and then he lay down on top of me. I can not possibly write this to those two sisters.

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They mustn’t know, I can’t LET Brightwell Coven for years. Maybe Hala was them know! one of their many patrons, I cannot be I can’t. certain. Having retrieved the book, both Sula From the Correspondence Files of Gennifer and I desired to leave that house, whose Weathermay-Foxgrove. atmosphere was thick with the feeling of November 30th, 760 BC. fear. We were beset by two enemies as we tried to leave number 14, however; the Dear ladies, horrid little Fie-Fetch, who set traps for us using glamers, illusions to make one thing I regret that I must report utter failure appear to be another, and one other to you. person. I seem to have managed to put paid to Sula and I have found an item of vile the little wretch, however, and he should power, hidden at number 14 in the Rue not bother anyone again. Unfortunately, his d’Absinthe, just as my instinct told me we last trap temporarily immobilized us, and would. In my own world, there was a that was when the second enemy struck. similar item there, a book, a grimoire of I do not know the identity of this superlative power and utter moral paucity. second person, though he seemed… familiar Note its title – Grammaire des Ombres somehow. My instinct tells me this is the secrètes – and if you should ever come ‘mystery benefactor’ who originally sic – across it or a copy, DESTROY IT AT sent the Vistani after me. Did I not say that ONCE! I have been gulled before? It was done to I am ashamed to admit that I studied me again, dear ladies! My ‘benefactor’ that book in my youth, misled as I was by ensured that I, likely the only person in this the Brightwell Coven, the group of deluded world with a connection to the Brightwell fools that guarded and maintained the Coven, would go to the Rue d’Absinthe and book. release the lock, which could only be Many are my flaws, dear ladies, but I opened by someone with a connection to turned away from that group and the book that deluded brood. No doubt he guided in the end. Despite this, I fear some spots Fie-Fetch in his setting of traps, to allow never wash off; the book was sealed away him to seize the book without having to in a case of magically reinforced glass, worry about resistance. which only opened when I touched it. The Whoever the ‘mystery benefactor’ is, he hand I laid against that glass is scarred knew a quote from the Grammaire des now, the scar bearing an uncomfortable Ombres secrètes which has haunted my resemblance to the mark of Hala – and yet I dreams since that day. Faith, I had been do not recall her among the gods, content not to think of it for years, had tried goddesses, spirits, and fiends worshiped by to keep it out of my memories. I have the Brightwell Coven. trouble doing so now, knowing as I do that I am still left to wonder whether the the book is now abroad in these troubled Rue d’Absinthe is the actual street I knew in lands. my youth, or if it is an imperfect copy, Note, also, the quote; it was a mark of twisted by some unknown agency. Then recognition among the Brightwell Coven and again, I have repressed my memories of the its appearance anywhere might be a clue as

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to the location of my ‘mystery benefactor’ world. It has enough native horrors to be and the Grammaire: going on with. You see, despite the removal ‘Evil is not an enemy for you to fight. It of the book, I confirmed that the aura that is not a burden you must endure. It is a suffused the street remained in place, stable gift.’ for now – and with faint hints of increasing (This is not to say that the members of strength. the Coven were devoted to the cause of And so we shook hands and parted Evil, but rather that they were… ways – rather quickly, as the fire was sure phenomenally stupid and deluded people, to draw undesirable attention and who believed that morality was not a uncomfortable questions. To the best of my concern to them, that they were above knowledge, Sula has returned to Port-a- society’s norms and values, free of all Lucine, carrying with her a few minor restrictions. You can see that they are not souvenirs that I bore with me when I left like the faithful of Hala at all. Or at least Paridon last year, and which I hope will help most of them were not. One or two – no, her in the writing of her term paper. I enough of this. I am done with the myself have no further use for them, Brightwell Coven forever.) anyway, so she might as well have them. As for myself, I regret to inform you Forever! that I am going into seclusion. I need to think on what has happened and I require Please excuse me for that outburst. time to reconstruct my ripple glass, which Sula and I discussed the matter and was broken during the attack. If you wish to agreed that the Rue d’Absinthe is far too contact me, please send your messages to dangerous to allow the Universities to go my mail-drop in Mordentshire. There is a over it and drag its festering secrets out gentleman there whom I trust and who will into the light. I myself should have been know where to contact me. forewarned and forearmed due to my At the risk of seeming churlish, I knowledge of the Brightwell Coven, and yet request that neither you nor Mr. Johann when I read back my preliminary notes for Severin give anyone else the address of this our correspondence, I note several glaring mail-drop. I require solitude. lapses of judgment on my part. The deep forest of Verbrek, mantled in Whatever effect suffuses the Rue the deathly embrace of winter, feels like d’Absinthe is subtle and dangerous, and just what I need right now. so… we fire-bomb – we hurriedly brewed up Dear ladies, it grieves me to burden a series of incendiaries and set the empty you with my own problems, but for the sake houses on fire. Just to be on the safe side, of innocent people who might suffer, I must we did the same to the houses on the other ask you to keep an eye out for that foul side of the river, thoroughly obliterating any book and to inform me at once if you catch traces of our own occupation that might even a whisper of a rumour of its location. I remain. know your way is to work with the aid of I could tell that it smote Sula’s heart to many people, but I implore you to make the do it, due to the loss of scholarly treasures existence of the Grammaire des Ombres still hidden within, but we were in full secrètes known only to those people whom agreement that the evils from my past you trust implicitly. There are temptations in should not be allowed to breed in this

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that book for anyone and everyone. I can confessed that he had promised to bring us not stress this enough. her letter in trade for a kiss. The Grammaire must be destroyed I detected the lingering traces of an before it can cause even more harm than it enchantment about him, and suspect that already has done – and I fear that the only kiss may have been laced with a spell to text that contains the instructions on how to ensure safe delivery. achieve this is the Grammaire itself. Never I feel moved by the confidence given to underestimate the danger of this text, nor us at the end of ’s letter. It may not seem its ability to survive harm. much, and her letter was encrypted with a I admit, the book has seduced me, fiendish cipher, but she actually told us even corrupted me, in the past, but I intend where she plans to stay for the winter. Of to use my time of seclusion to reinforce my course, it is entirely possible that this is a will and make of my mind a fortress against trick on her part, telling us she will be in its taint. I am familiar with it now, you see, Verbrek when she actually plans to winter and so I believe I have a better chance of elsewhere – it would be in keeping with her eluding its snares than anyone else might. desire for secrecy and her constant fear that Who would have thought, when first we our correspondence might be intercepted. met four years ago, dear ladies, that we No matter, however. The very gesture is would ever be linked together in a Hunt? appreciated. The irony would make me chuckle if the My dear sister and I have opened a danger were not as absolute as it is. I new file on the Brightwell Coven and the assure you that I am not engaging in Grammaire des Ombres secrètes and have hyperbole. sent out requests for knowledge and May fortune favour you and merciful warnings to our most trusted friends. So Heaven grace you, dear ladies. May it look far, no useful information has come our way upon all of us with mercy, in this shrouded and I suspect that the ‘mystery benefactor’ world of yours. may also be in seclusion this winter, studying his acquisition. As always, There has been a disturbing Best regards, development, however. This morning when we woke, we found --  our windows had been scrawled upon with a mixture of ashes and snow. While these From the Correspondence Files of Gennifer pictures melted away over the course of the Weathermay-Foxgrove. day, we managed to sketch most of them November 16th, 760 BC and compared them to various tomes in Dr. Van Richten’s library. The letter above reached us a week Having never seen such imagery ago, delivered not by a marvellous – an before, we had not known what unsociable – tressym, but rather by a road- ‘petroglyphs’ were. Now we do. weary merchant who insisted on putting it No harm has befallen either my sister in my hand. He seemed puzzled as to why or myself since, nor has any sinister activity he had gone to all the trouble, but appeared occurred in the rest of Mordentshire that seems connected to the primitive-looking to remember ‘’ with great fondness and drawings - or indeed, to the Grammaire.

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None of our security measures appear to We have not received any new letters have been activated or bypassed, either, so from ‘’ since she entered her voluntary I must assume this was not meant as a seclusion in the hostile forests of Verbrek. threat against us, but rather against , She might yet live, labouring on the wherever she might actually be wintering. recreation of her ripple glass, or she might Either the unidentified Fie-Fetch was not as have fallen prey to the werewolves who call dead as she believed, or else someone – or that troubled forest home. Or worse may something – intends to avenge his demise. have befallen her still. Or is this a warning for Laurie has her that Fie-Fetch convinced me not to might return? It is send a warning impossible to be through the “mail- certain; our best drop”, and so I can efforts have failed to only wait to hear from wring sense from the ‘’, just as we can petroglyphs. only wait for I worry; Laurie information about the and I are in Grammaire des disagreement. For Ombres secrètes to myself, I wished to come to us. send a warning by The winter seems means of ‘’’s “mail- colder for all this drop” at once, but waiting. Laurie cautions me that if Fie-Fetch yet Gennifer lives, he might seize Weathermay-Foxgrove the opportunity to Mordent, track ‘’’s trusted Mordentshire contact to where she 760 BC lairs and attack her while the winter snows hamper travel. I cannot dismiss the wisdom of my sister’s counsel, and yet I worry. None of our efforts have managed to track the individual who scrawled on our windows, nor have we been able to ascertain whether Fie-Fetch yet draws breath. If he does, he must be a master of stealth as well as illusion magic; a dangerous combination in an enemy.

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SQ Bardic knowledge, bardic performance  10/day, cantrips, countersong, distraction, fascinate, inspire competence +2, Hex CN female human Witch 9 / Bard 4 (Cauldron, Evil eye, Flight, Healing, HP (9d6+18) + (4d8+8): 98 hp Ward), inspire courage +1, Path of the Speed 30 ft concubine, versatile performance, well- Initiative +2 versed, Witch’s familiar (Cat), Witch’s AC 18 (+2 Dex., +4 armour, +2 natural) patron (Strength) Saves Fort. + 6, Ref. + 9, Will + 11 Languages Akiri, Ancient Greek, Balok, Abilities Darkonese, Draconic, Dutch, English, Str 10; Dex 15; Con Grabenite, French, German, Japanese, 14; Int 18; Wis 12; Cha 23 Latin, Lamordian, Luktar, Mordentish, Attack/damage Rajian, Sithican, Sumerian, Tepestani, Melee: Alchemic-kinetic cane +9 for Vaasi, Zherisian 1d6+2; x2. Claws +7 for 1d4; x2. Dagger +9 for 1d4+2; 19-20 x2. Alchemic-kinetic Appearance shock glove +7 for 1 – 10d6 electricity; Sword cane +9 for 1d6+2; x2. Mu appears as a young human woman, in the flower of her twenties, with a Ranged: +8 Pistol for 1d8+1; x4. +8 curvaceous but elegant body kept fit and Musket for 1d12+1; x4. healthy by dancing exercises and a rigorous Base Atk. +7 diet – and which she prefers to cover in Combat manoeuvres drab dresses meant to protect against the CMB = +7 elements and deflect stares, and are all too CMD = +19 often accompanied by a wide cloak of pale Skills Bluff +15, Craft (alchemy) +12, leather, whose hood Mu prefers to keep Craft (clocks) +11, Craft (gunsmith) +11, down. Her hair is bright red, falling down to Craft (paintings) +9, Craft (sculpture) her shoulders in natural waves, where it +10, Disguise +10, Fly +9, Heal +5, curls up. Eyes of dazzling green stare out of Intimidate +10, Knowledge (arcana) +12, a creamy pale face with flawless skin – but Knowledge (nature) +12, Knowledge the look in their depths is all too often one of hard mistrust or fear bordering on (planes) +20, Linguistics +17, Perception animalistic panic. Even when she is obliged +7, Perform (dance) +14, Perform to wear more fashionable attire, Mu is rarely (comedy) +10, Perform (oratory) +10, if ever seen without a pair of leather bracers Perform (sing) +10, Ride +7, Spellcraft and gloves. A necklace carrying several +12, Stealth 13, Use magic device +17 silver amulets and one made of the same Feats Alertness (B), Brew potion (H), Craft leather as her bracers is almost construct, Craft magic arms and armour, permanently around her neck. Craft wondrous item, Dance of kindled desires (R), Exotic weapon proficiency Magic (firearms), Martial weapon proficiency Bard spells / day: 5 / 3 (sword cane), Scribe scroll Bard spells known: 2 – Cat’s grace, Piercing shriek

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1 – Anticipate peril, Hideous laughter, Play in the hilt); Various scrolls containing Witch instrument, Silent image spells useful only under specific 0 – Flare, Ghost sound, Lullaby, Mage hand, circumstances, as well as useful spells from Open/Close, Prestidigitation other classes. Note that while Mu is capable of Witch spells / day: 4 / 5 / 5 / 4 / 3 / 1 crafting stat-boosting items and has a small Witch spells known (Patron spells marked supply of these for emergencies and sale, with * ): she distrusts and reviles the use of any and 5 – Major curse, Mind fog, Rest eternal, all magic that affects her essential nature, Secret chest equating it with the use of performance- 4 – Arcane eye, Cape of wasps, Cure enhancing drugs. serious wounds, Divine power*, Lesser age resistance, Locate creature, Mass daze, Background Neutralize poison, Vermin shape II Born on a world she will only identify as 3 – Anthropomorphic animal, Deep slumber, Home, apparently during a time period Dispel magic, Greater magic weapon, equivalent to Earth’s twenty-first century, Lightning bolt, Remove blindness/deafness, the woman who identifies most often as Mu Remove curse, Remove disease, Seek does not believe she was destined for thoughts, Sleet storm, Speak with dead, greatness. No one did; she grew up in a Spit venom, Strangling hair, Witness normal neighbourhood as part of a normal 2 – Blindness/deafness, Blood transcription, family, went to a normal school – where, Bull’s strength, Burning gaze, Cure admittedly, she showed a knack for moderate wounds, Daze monster, False life, languages – and engaged in fairly average Fog cloud, Ghostly disguise, Haunting mists, hobbies, like drawing and listening to music. Masterwork transformation, See invisibility, Then one day, an old couple called out to Share memory, Summon swarm, Vomit her; the couple that lived on Wormwood swarm, Web shelter Street, a street she had passed numerous 1 – Burning hands, Cure light wounds, times on her way to school. They seemed Dancing lantern, Diagnose disease, Divine like normal, kind old people, who handed favour*, Ear-piercing scream, Frostbite, out candies to the children on their way to Fumbletongue, Icicle dagger, Mage armour, school, but they were anything but normal. Mask dweomer, Obscuring mist, Remove The Brightwell Coven had selected the sickness, Shadow weapon, Sleep, Vocal child at the urging of the omens it read. She alteration, Youthful appearance was a good choice; Mu was innocent and 0 – All free of spirit as only a child can be, with a child’s yearning for magic and wonderment, Equipment but she also had the knack for languages Mu usually carries at least the following that the decaying coven desperately items with her: Alchemist lab; +2 Amulet of needed. In their possession was a natural armour; +4 Bracers of armour; magnificent book of witchcraft, the Lesser rod of Still Spell; +1 Musket; +1 Grammaire des ombres secrètes, but many pistol; Scroll case; Ripple Glass (unique of the spells within its leather covers were item); Silver holy symbols (crucifix, St. now incomprehensible to the coven because Anthony, St. Jude, St. Michael); Spell they were written in languages both foreign component pouch; +2 sword cane (dagger and dead. First, the coven’s elders beguiled

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and charmed the child by teaching her the the elderly couple who guarded the great little tricks they were still capable of. Next, book, the Grammaire, but their house was they encouraged her gift for languages and certainly on fire as well. heaped praise on her whenever she To this day, Mu is unsure whether she managed to translate another ancient spell. ran into the burning house to save those As the child grew more knowledgeable, the two old people, who despite their failings Brightwell Coven’s strength started to first introduced her to real magic, or out of return… greed for and a misguided belief that she … and then they grew careless and could claim for herself the Grammaire des allowed the child to translate unsupervised. ombres secrètes. What she does know is Mu stumbled on the ancient catechisms of that she staggered through a burning the Coven, texts of oath and pact that she building, smoke stinging her eyes and should not have been allowed to read yet. throat. So much smoke, blinding her, In those texts, Mu discovered the Brightwell stealing the breath out of her lungs – and Coven’s ethical and moral sterility, its then the smoke changed, became cold and towering ambition and hubris. Young as she cloying, its touch somehow toxic and vile was, she was not prideful enough to accept beyond belief. In the end, Mu staggered out such motivations for her own, and she fled of a bank of unnaturally dense fog. Stained Wormwood Street, turning her back on the with soot and sweat, dishevelled and coven and assiduously avoiding its confused, she found herself in Barovia, members. quite near a primitive-looking city that she Years passed, and Mu grew to young would later learn was named Vallaki. adulthood. She carried deep mental scars Regardless what she might have due to her experiences; possessed of a believed up until that point, her torment talent for magic but deeply mistrustful of it had only just begun. and its effects on the world around her, Mu Unable to speak Balok, dressed in constantly doubted her own actions and strange clothing and clearly shocked and motivations. She hid and suppressed her appalled by everything that she saw around gifts, both magical and artistic, and lived a her, Mu was seized by locals and dragged to life that was much greyer and gloomier than the Asylum of Broken Souls so she could be it need have been. Her life was an endless “treated for her delusions”. It was far from cycle of work, self-denial and guilt, as she uncommon for “outlanders” to be “cured” worried what the Brightwell Coven might be there, after all. doing with the spells she translated… and it At the Asylum, Mu was remanded to all came to an end on a day when she the care of Dr. Emilio Hochhausen. As soon found herself irresistibly drawn to her old as she was able to speak and understand a hometown of Brightwell. Without knowing little Balok, Mu reasoned out her best why, Mu wandered near Wormwood Street chances of release from the Asylum lay with – and saw the fire begin. Flames burst out feigning that she believed what the of windows and people fled into the streets, therapist told her, that she was merely a coughing and retching, heedless of what native of the Land of Mists who had become they left behind. Even the Coven members ‘confused’. And so she lied. She lied as best Mu still recalled from her youth, and who she could – all to the great frustration of Dr. seemed strangely blind to her presence Hochhausen, who saw his own plans for the now. The only ones she did not see were girl thwarted. In an effort to maintain his

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hold on Mu, Dr. Hochhausen attacked not keen interest in the sciences, and even her possible status as an Outlander, but her might offer her a way home; she hoped to retiring, introverted nature – and Mu will to find a scientist capable of translating this day not freely speak of what the doctor knowledge she carried from her home world had some of his orderlies do to her in order into mechanical truth. In the end, Mu had to to “get her used to interpersonal contact”. flee the land ahead of the Schultebott of Driven to extremes of emotion verging on Leidenheim. She did carry with her madness, Mu found herself forced to do the knowledge of alchemy and clockwork unthinkable; for the first time since she had mechanisms which she has continued to put fled the Brightwell Coven, she called on her to good use. Seeking a deeper knowledge magic. of magic, Mu tentatively made contact with Soon enough, a red tomcat snuck his the Vistani and sought an apprenticeship way into the Asylum and managed to with a raunie. This episode ended in Hazlan, insinuate himself into Mu’s cell. Barely had where Mu’s hands were stained with their eyes met before power started to well murder, first through cruel coercion by her up inside the tormented young woman, teacher, second of her own will as she more power than she had ever felt before. visited her wrath on the one who had Mu escaped the Asylum, but she did betrayed her. These have not been her only not flee. Her mind wracked by a mixture of misadventures… rage and self-loathing, she lurked nearby and inflicted terrors on the Asylum’s staff Current sketch with her magic. While she refrained from While she puts a good face on it, Mu physically assaulting the staff, she caused exists in a near-constant state of paranoia, them enough fear and dismay to make mistrust and self-loathing. them doubt their own sanity. If the She hates the lands of the Core, which Weathermay-Foxgrove sisters had not been she has found harbour evil in many shapes called in, however, it is anyone’s guess what and sizes, and which are entirely too her anger would have driven her to. primitive for her liking. Nevertheless, they Meeting the sisters probably saved Mu’s are the most stable region she has been soul at that time; they were kind to Mu able to find that provides her with the once they understood the reason for her resources for most of her research. actions and mediated between her and She continues to travel and study, those members of the Asylum’s staff who working feverishly to create items and spells were blameless of what had been done to that might help her find Home, but hates her. herself for using magic, which she has come In the end, Mu was paid an extremely to see as innately tainted, and for her generous sum of money in compensation inability to achieve her goals through pure for her suffering, and she was assured that science. the guilty would be brought to justice. She She has invested the money she was went on her way in the Land of Mists, paid by the Asylum in various companies, creeping from place to place and forever among them the Boritisi Trading Company, seeking a way Home, either through means and the annual dividends have allowed her available or through her constant studies. to finance her studies and buy houses in For a time, she thought she might have several countries, Verbrek, Sithicus and found a haven in Lamordia, which displays a Kartakass among them. All of these safe-

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houses are outfitted with hidden Broken Tears, she simply cannot recall laboratories. When her investments do not either… suffice to fund her work, Mu supplements her income by crafting magical and exotic clockwork items for specific customers, the Dread Possibility: Un-Chosen Weathermay-Foxgrove twins among them. Mu is familiar with the existence of Mu does not sell the fruits of her alchemical Hala’s faith and even found shelter in one of research; her greatest invention, kinetic its hospices shortly after her first departure gel, could potentially revolutionize many from Barovia. She immediately departed aspects of life in the Land of Mists, but she once the priestesses recognized her as a does not trust people not to widely abuse Witch and offered her a place among them; its properties. to her own knowledge, that was the last Mu has taken to corresponding with time she had dealings with them. Unknown various people with similar interests in to Mu, there are some Witches of Hala who Mordent, Hazlan, Darkon, Graben, have maintained a keen interest in her Dementlieu and Sri Raji among other affairs. places, but her paranoid tendency to flee Sister Anya, a Falkovnian Witch, from safe-house to safe-house at the considers Mu to be an insult to and slightest disturbance often disrupts such desecration of what it means to be a Witch; correspondence. She equally loathes and her scientific work runs counter to nature craves the company of others; her retiring and her use of Witch magic is aimed at nature wars constantly with a soul-grinding crafting pseudo-scientific gadgetry and sense of isolation in the Lands of Mists and piercing the border between worlds. As a she has taken to creating various result, Sister Anya is urging her fellow constructs, most of them fantastically- priestesses to do something about Mu shaped homunculi, to keep a handle on this before she falls into complete corruption inner conflict. Unfortunately, this is not her and becomes a Hag with unique and only problem. terrifying abilities. Following the death of raunie Sister Lettice of Mordent, on the other Mariuschka at her own hands, Mu fears she hand, believes that Mu is pushing back the is living under a curse. She has discovered boundaries of witchcraft and should be powers in herself that she cannot explain enticed to join the flock – by enchantment if with either science or magic, and which fill persuasion will not work. In order to lay her with an instinctive fear and loathing, groundwork, she has been corresponding similar to the instinctive revulsion she feels with Mu, sending her scrolls containing new whenever she encounters the Mists or its Witch spells and bits of lore as they come to creatures. Deep down, in spite of her her. endless efforts to escape the Land of Mists, In the aftermath of “the Brightwell Mu fears that she may have become tied to Legacy”, Mu now bears a scar patterned them by certain acts which continue to fill after Hala’s own holy symbol on the palm of her with shame. Worse yet, there is a her hand. Should word of this ever reach reason for why she refuses to mention her the priestesses of Hala, it is anyone’s guess true name and the name of her home which way the argument between Anya’s world. Following her stay in the Asylum of and Lettice’s factions might tip.

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Dread Possibility: Poison Pen-Pals become curved and inky black whenever Mu Mu does not personally know all the is alone. In response, she has taken to people she corresponds with, just as she obsessively painting her nails or wears keeps her identity hidden from most of gloves when such paints are not available. them. She has refused to go anywhere near Dance of the succubus – After the Darkon since she learned of its ‘residential events in Hazlan, the Dark Powers granted curse’, and she found Graben so intolerable Mu the power of the Dance of Kindled that she has only been there to see to her Desires. While the dance functions normally, business interests with the Carlysle Trading one of her other powers has been affected Company. Since her correspondence mostly adversely; every time she uses her Flight runs through intermediaries, some of whom Hex, she sprouts visible, demonic wings, are not entirely trustworthy, it is perfectly which stay with her for a number of days possible that she has been exchanging equal to the number of rounds she spent in scholarly lore with some very bad people. flight. Mu has managed to disguise these For instance, at least one of her Darkonese wings as a hooded cloak of pale leather so contacts can be under the sway of King far, but a careful enough inspection could Azalin; her Grabenite contacts may serve lead to very erroneous conclusions as to her Meredoth. She is almost certainly nature. exchanging letters with members of the Red Beguiling beauty – Mu’s beauty has Academy in Hazlan, not to mention the been enhanced well beyond what nature Department of Arcane Sciences of the granted her, allowing her to easily trick University of Dementlieu. Any of these those susceptible to her physical charms. people might try to entice her into visiting The downside to this ‘gift’ however, is that them openly, offering special items or the any creature attracted to her and in opportunity to lecture in front of eager conversation with her must make a Sense young students, but intending something motive check against Mu’s passive Bluff considerably worse. Should they ever score, or else becomes convinced that the succeed, Mu’s skills and powers, harnessed interest is mutual and that Mu is actively to the will of a Darklord or slightly less flirting with them. Mu’s loathing of physical powerful mastermind, might tip several proximity has only been worsened by the precarious balances in the Core. In a way, results of this power, and she frequently Mu’s paranoia and misanthropy are keeping uses disguises and avoids making eye a potential disaster at bay. contact or talking more than a few minutes. Path of the concubine Failed Powers Checks have granted Mu special abilities – none of which she finds at all pleasant, and which may end up transforming her into something vile if she does not manage to find her way back from the abyss. Fatal manicure – Mu’s hands have become weapons, allowing her to deal claw damage in combat. Her fingernails retain an eternally flawless manicure in public, but

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Die Kaiserreich The Role of Falkovnia By Mikhail "NeoTiamat" Rekun

Tropes Falkovnia taps into a rich vein of military horror, going back to at least the First World War, and especially Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, on through countless Vietnam movies, and into the present with film series like Aliens and Predator. The specifics may change, dead of the north, against the aberrant but the emphasis is always on the brutal, creatures of the southeast, and against a pointless nature of war, fighting against a variety of rebel groups ranging from the superior foe, while your own chain of admirable to the terroristic. Militaristic or command is some unwholesome not, the Falkovnian soldier is just a mortal combination of evil and incompetent. man, trying to face off against inhuman horrors... and in some ways, his own Purpose superiors are just as terrifying and troubling as his enemies. Falkovnia is best used to inject a ● The Depravity of Man to Man: Death military element into a campaign. camps. War crimes. Slavery. Mass Falkovnian PCs are likely to be soldiers executions by impalement. The evils of fighting in one of Drakov's many military Falkovnia are such to trump the more campaigns, while rebel PCs, or PCs outside personal horrors of other lands. Here, the country, will see the Falkovnians as the hatred and xenophobia, death and despair iron fist of a dangerous military state. flow in the streets, reducing the entire Alternatively, the country can also be used society to a festering swamp of hate. for an examination of evil as it in fact occurs ● The Banality of Evil: The most subtle in the real world -- exploring both the utter approach to Falkovnia, emphasized in the banality and the utter heinousness of man civilian life, is how easily horror and evil to man. becomes normalized. Falkovnians are not Theme really any different from people anywhere else, with their own hopes, dreams, Falkovnia can be run with any one of ambitions, petty complaints, and their own the following themes at the head. lives, really, but they've accepted and ● Military Horror: Falkovnia is a society internalized the evil of their society to the embroiled in constant, never-ending warfare point that it doesn't seem to be evil -- against the Fey of the east, against the

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anymore. Falkovnia is about how easy and where the great bulk (80%) of the natural and banal evil can be. Falkovnian population lives. It is an area of rolling hills and fields, with patches of old The Land forest still standing, and a profusion of slow-moving rivers and large lakes Environment (especially near the Lamordian border). It is a very tame land -- dangerous animals have Falkovnia is a large and fertile land been extirpated from the forests, many located in the western foothills of the rivers have been widened to render them Balinok Mountains, stretching to the banks navigable, the swamps have been drained, of the Musarde. The climate is temperate and the landscape is generally marked by and the environment forested, though many walled towns, fenced farms, and rural fields. of Falkovnia's forests have been cut down Though not especially fertile compared to to make way for fields and farmland. Larger the lands further south, Falkovnian than any of its neighbors save Darkon, engineers have installed elaborate and Falkovnia may be divided into a number of extremely effective irrigation systems to distinct geographic zones. make Falkovnia one of the breadbaskets of The western half of the country, from the Core. about Lekar, Morfenzi, and Aerie west, is

The Trouble with Falkovnians and the Importance of Choosing a Theme In previous versions, Falkovnia was a fairly transparent copy of Nazi Germany by way of Vlad the Impaler's Wallachia. Unfortunately, actually using crypto-Nazis in a role-playing game like this lends itself to problems. On the one hand, treating them as flat, uniformly evil villains fit only to be killed is neither hugely interesting nor very Gothic (if one wants disposable mooks, zombies are generally preferable). On the other hand, trying to get into their heads and making them three-dimensional characters, without trivializing their quite enormous crimes, is both very difficult and for most people, not terribly fun. As such, this write-up of Falkovnia goes in a different direction. They're an evil dictatorship, but so are half the countries of the Core -- they are militaristic, but not genocidal, and are presented as having at least a measure of reason on their side for why they act as they do. Players can make patriotic Falkovnians with no more qualms than they can make patriotic Hazlani or Darkonians, confident that they'll usually be facing more malign foes. That said, two other themes are presented for GMs and players interested in really exploring what a fascist society would be like. This is not recommended for any but the most masochistic players with a fondness for moral ambiguity. Our advice? Pick one theme and stick with it. This write-up will focus on the first theme of Military Horror, but the difference will be primarily a matter of emphasis.

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The remainder of the country is... less (or people) afflicted with heavy, cancerous pleasant. To the north, along the Darkonian growths that grant them greatly increased border, the land is predominantly old strength and stamina, but also drive them growth forest, ancient trees that have rabid with rage and hate. Some have even resisted the efforts of Falkovnia's engineers been seen with strange extra limbs or to tame them and render them into usable venomous bites. As one goes north, the farmland. To the east, the Balinoks are just wildlife becomes less hideous but no less as heavily forested, but add the joys of dangerous -- the wolves of the eastern traveling in mountains to the matter, with Balinoks seem unusually large and unusually countless sudden gorges, treacherous aggressive, likely the result of Teg slopes, deep ravines, and a maddening manipulations. Along the Darkonian border, profusion of tiny valleys and passes. To the meanwhile, undead are common enough to southeast, near northern Borca, the foothills be counted as part of the local wild-'life', of the Balinoks are marked with swampland, with rogue zombies a fact of existence, and pestilential bogs that threaten to swallow more deadly things such as Mohrgs or the unwary. ghosts unfortunately common. Falkovnia is also known for having some decidedly uncanny wildlife. The most Social Geography infamous are the pseudonatural creatures of Falkovnia is a large and heavily the southeastern swamps, normal animals urbanized country, and at fifteen million its population is the second largest in the Core, with only Darkon’s being greater. Some The Zweifalk twenty-percent of the population dwells in This large, two-headed eagle is the cities and towns of the country, with the the national symbol of Falkovnia, five main cities being Lekar (the capital, and as such is present absolutely with some 400,000 people), Morfenzi, everywhere in Falkovnian Silbervas, Aerie (at about 200,000 each), iconography and state insignia. The and the fortress-city of Stangengrad. actual bird is much rarer, being Falkovnian cities are large, orderly, and found mostly in the Balinoks of east- well-defended. They are primarily southeast. Quite likely the bird was industrial/commercial -- Falkovnia itself is a originally either some pseudonatural heavily industrialized country, with the mutation or fey construct, but they foundries of Lekar and the slaughterhouses breed naturally and are generally of Morfenzi producing a significant amount recognized as an actual species of the Core's steel and leather respectively, (their two brains work more like two while Falkovnia's position and good roads lobes of one brain, connected by make it a nexus for trade. The towns are some very heavy nerve endings in smaller (averaging some twenty to fifty the necks). Some Falkovnian officers thousand people), but are all over the keep them as pets, as they're fairly countryside. They serve as collection posts docile by raptor standards, and look for the agricultural produce of the impressive as anything. They're also countryside, or as centers for the logging popular familiars among the Radiant and mining trades (both of which are, Tower. unfortunately, mostly located in the eastern part of the country). There are relatively

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few villages, and even those that do exist dangerous regions, while under heavy tend to be fairly large and advanced guard. Though the Falkovnian government (usually close to a thousand people). This takes efforts to keep its prisoners healthy entire network is kept together by a large and able to work, the mortality in these collection of roads crisscrossing the land, camps tends to be ruinous. which are maintained by the Falkovnian military. Travel in Falkovnia, at least in the The Folk western regions, is safe and quick. Social Classes By law and necessity, Falkovnian towns and cities are all fortified -- most have stone Falkovnians sometimes claim that they walls and surrounding fortresses, while even live in the most egalitarian society in the the smallest towns and villages have at Core. This is true... from a certain point of least a palisade. Towards the east in view. Falkovnia lacks the aristocracy and particular, Falkovnian settlements bear a nobility that are found in other lands in the strong resemblance to an armed camp. Core, and at least in theory, the government and military are both With that in mind, two particular meritocratic institutions where a man can elements of Falkovnian society deserve rise as far as his talents. In practice, mention. First is the military. Falkovnia's nepotism and string-pulling turn the higher military is huge, even relative to Falkovnia's ranks of the Falkovnian military-state into a large population. The military is essentially a largely family business, but the idea is there society-within-a-society, with its own living all the same. areas and economic services. Most towns Excluded from Falkovnia's egalitarian will have at least a barrack for the local promise are Prisoners, sometimes called soldiers, and the five cities all have large slaves outside the country. These are an and prominent fortress-complexes. Other unruly mix of prisoners-of-war (Darkonian parts of the military dwell in forward bases primarily), actual criminals, and political along the northern and eastern borders, prisoners who are put to hard labor in conducting military operations for months or various work-camps scattered around the years at a time. Falkovnian military camps country. Many prisoners are demihumans, are built with palisades, a universal street especially Darkonian elves, and the concept pattern (no matter where it is, all of a 'free' elf or other demihuman is rather Falkovnian camps have the same layout, peculiar in Falkovnia, though they do exist. which keeps soldiers from getting lost), and In general, prisoners are kept out of sight are essentially small, or not so small, towns and out of mind of the main population, in their own right. though on rare occasions they are 'loaned' The other element is the work camp. to high-ranking Falkovnian officials as, The Falkovnian government is a great essentially, slaves. believer in making people useful, and so The bulk of the Falkovnian population criminals and POWs alike are dispatched to consists of Civilians, which is essentially work camps scattered across the country. anyone who is not working for the state in There they have the dubious 'honor' of some fashion. Civilians include all farmers, doing the most dangerous and thankless most townsfolk, artisans, and service types. work, most commonly mining or logging in Basically, these are the common people

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who keep the country going. In theory, Other conscripts join the Falkovnian being a civilian is considered a perfectly state, and become what is called an respectable, honorable occupation, but the Apparatchik, that is, someone who dwells truth is that there is only so far that civilians in the state 'Apparat' or state organization. can rise in Falkovnia without affiliating with This is actually a broader category than it the military-state in some fashion. seems at first, because several classes of All Falkovnian men and women -- people are basically integrated into the unless granted an exemption for health Falkovnian state. All merchants are reasons or some other very convincing technically attached to the Ministry of Trade rationale -- are conscripted for two years and have a rank in that organization, most following their eighteenth birthday. Such intellectuals will be affiliated with the Conscripts serve in the army, receive Ministry of Science, the Radiant Tower, or military training, and are usually put to work one of the military academies, and many manning garrisons or building roads and artistic types receive a salary from the canals, though some see combat all the Ministry of Culture. Furthermore, given that same. At the age of 20, most muster out, Falkovnia is a thoroughly militarized state, but a sizable proportion remains in the all of these people have military ranks. Only military, signing up as twenty-year men. in Falkovnia does one have the strange Conscripts are mostly treated as being experience of meeting a louche poet who is young, not overly intelligent, but bright- also an active-duty Hauptmann. That said, eyed and bushy-tailed. They aren't apparatchiks are usually not granted the respected much. sort of respect that professional soldiers On the other hand, those who stay and are, though there are exceptions (such as become Professional Soldiers are given the Polizei), and rank tends to trump considerable status and prestige, lionized in 'branch' here. rhetoric and art, and are given better pay, At the higher ranks (Lieutenant and legal privileges, and a host of other small higher), both professional soldiers and favors by the state to make up for the fact Apparatchiks enter into the ranks of the that most of them are going to die fighting Rankers, the high-officials who are the real undead, fey, or aberrant horrors. Falkovnian lords of Falkovnia. Military-state officials barracks that are occupied by professional govern all aspects of society, and occupy a soldiers tend to resemble rather nice position broadly equivalent to that of communal dwellings, and though it's always aristocrats in other lands. In theory, all are a military environment, the standard of hard-working servants of the Falkovnian living is reasonably good. Those who state who rose to their present ranks on survive their term will usually become merit, and to a considerable extent this is civilians at the age of forty, though a so. At the same time however, it's also handful will sign up for another twenty commonly and cynically observed that being years. Anyone who finishes a 'double-term' related to a senior officer, or sleeping with of active combat duty alive is basically one, are both forms of merit that earn many treated as a living embodiment of the rewards. Still, the system does tend to weed Falkovnian nation and accorded immense out rank incompetents (usually by giving prestige to account for the suffering they've them jobs where they can't do much gone through. Medals and dinner with damage... or on the front-lines), and so Drakov usually follow.

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most Falkovnian officials have at least a Darkon. They're the most populous of the basic level of competency. Lamordic peoples by a good margin. The typical Falkovnian is tall, with a heavy build and broad shoulders, a distinctly square Gender and Falkovnia cast of face, fair-skinned and with hair that Officially, Falkovnia has perfect ranges from dark brown to dark blond and equality. Every Falkovnian can be as eyes that are usually brown or hazel in good as any other Falkovnian, if color. Falkovnians idealize a sort of they simply apply themselves hard muscular build as their standard of beauty, enough and work their way up the with even the women tending towards the ranks. This extends to gender Amazonian. Clothing tends towards black, relations -- women have the exact blue, and grey, and even civilian same rights and opportunities as Falkovnians ape the military in their choice men in the Falkovnian system. Of of fashion. course, reality often fails to match Though all are of the same ethnicity, rhetoric, but not always, and the Falkovnians display a fair amount of idea is an important one. variation between different parts of the country. Towards the north and west, they A final, unique category is that of the grow taller still, with blue eyes and blond Talons, who form a state-within-a-state in the Falkovnian system. Patterned after a knightly order and recruited from the cream Rank Obsession of Falkovnia's military academies, the For a society so egalitarian in Talons raise extreme nationalism and theory, Falkovnians tend to be militarism to the level of a religion. Talons rather rank-obsessed. Theirs is a are enormously feared and somewhat military society, and so it is vitally respected, and most of them are violent important to know who can order fanatics in service to the Falkovnian state. you about and whom you can order By law, they can hold no permanent rank about. On the front lines, this tends outside of the Talon's order, and are merely to be straightforward enough, but in 'seconded' to other organizations such as Falkovnian civil society, there are the Falkpolizei or the military. In some ''minute'' variations in status cases, this is just a polite fiction -- the Talon between military officials of different serves in the same post for twenty or thirty regions and branches, between years. Others are moved around as different Ministries, and between the required. They are most often Drakov's elite profusion of often-unique titles that enforcers and bodyguards, as well as secret Falkovnians use for their specialists. shock troops. Figuring out whether an Oberst outranks a 3rd Degree Magus of the Ethnic Groups Radiant Tower, and how they compare to the Senior Deputy Falkovnians are a Lamordic people -- Minister of Trade, requires the same that is, they draw their roots from the same sort of skill that deciphering noble cultural-ethnic well as the people of heraldry needs. Lamordia, and to a lesser extent, western

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hair appearing more commonly -- by the Vedarrak, is in fact ethnically Dementlieuse, time one reaches Lekar, telling a Falkovnian and is the most powerful man in the Foreign from a Lamordian is basically impossible. Ministry). Black hair and somewhat darker skin occurs Falkovnia does have two native to the south, and Falkovnians of the demihuman populations, both located in the eastern, mountainous regions tend to be mountainous and forested east. The elves slimmer and with narrower faces are primarily Darkonian 'High' Elves, though (suggesting that an eastern Falkovnian has their society is rather smaller-scale and rural Elven blood is grounds for a fight). compared to that of their northern cousins. The most interesting variation is They live in isolated villages up in the towards the southeast, where quite a lot of mountains and forests, on and along the frankly peculiar mutations crop up near the Tepestani border. The kobolds meanwhile swamps. Falkovnians with naturally white or are small, blue-skinned lizard-people who green hair are not uncommon, as are live in the deep mountains underground, people with black, violet, or even clear grey often in tunnels far too small for larger eyes. Rates of albinism are very high all humans to travel through. Formally, elves over the country (about five or six times are considered to be Falkovnian citizens and that of neighboring lands), but especially are equal in status to any human, though in along the northern border (where the ratio practice they tend to run into ''considerable'' is closer to ten times). discrimination (most Falkovnians consider elves to be inveterate criminals and rebels). The Hawk Brand That said, at least a few elves have managed to rise to respectable ranks in the ...is gone. While some Falkovnian state, especially in the Radiant Falkovnians, especially Talons, will Tower. Kobolds, meanwhile, are much more have hawk tattoos, mass branding with rarely encountered (given that they live a hot iron is not a thing anymore. underground) and usually only deal with the greater Falkovnian society through There are very few ethnic minorities in intermediaries. Most people don't consider Falkovnia. Most are Darkonians, who are kobolds to be 'civilized' or even captured and shipped to labor camps, and (demi)human, though a few are able to get reflect the ethnic mix of Falkovnia's formal Writs of Citizenship which entitle neighbor. Lamordians also represent a them to full participation in Falkovnian decently-sized minority, though most society -- which mostly means they get Falkovnians and some Lamordians basically discriminated against even more than the consider themselves to be the same people. elves, though a few have made a decent The Vistani are here as they are everywhere living as clockmakers and machinists in in the Core, and are officially tolerated but Falkovnia's cities. The Falkovnian state has generally unwelcome. The handful of a somewhat schizophrenic relationship with Dementlieuse, Richemuloise, and Borcan their demihumans -- on the one hand, it expatriates living in Falkovnian are usually often leaves them somewhat alone, since it disdained, though officially they have the recognizes the difficulty of enforcing its will same rights as anyone else, and some can in the very harsh environments where they rise to very high ranks (the current both dwell, but on the other hand, the idea ambassador to Dementlieu, Marcos of pockets free from the state is intolerable

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to the Falkovnian government. Thus, the laws -- the catch being that the Falkovnian day-to-day reality will vary greatly government is ''enormously'' suspicious of depending on who's in charge. Some anything that whiffs of a large church officials will look the other way in exchange hierarchy that might exist outside the for token obedience, while others will government. Preachers that become too attempt to enforce full Falkovnian law, popular have a heavy risk of being accused usually with disastrous results. Elves and of sedition and carted off to the labor kobolds both make up for a larger-than- camps, and any religious organization will expected share of Falkovnia's dissidents, run into a thousand petty harassments. and in some extreme cases villages of Falkovnians who are publicly religious soon demihumans have been known to make find their upward advancement grinding to pacts with uncanny fey or aberrant a halt. creatures to defend themselves against the Most Falkovnians are Ezran, usually state. This usually ends in tears. following the Port-a-Lucine or Home Faith branches of the religion. The Halans, being Religion unobtrusive and apolitical, are generally The Falkovnian state is officially approved of by the Falkovnian government secular, and allows religious freedom. and run a network of hospices in the Anyone can worship anything they like, so country, and there are small pockets of long as they don't fall afoul of the sedition Lawgiver worshippers, especially in Lekar.

Education in Falkovnia Falkovnians are among the more highly educated peoples of the Core. Schooling is compulsory between the ages of six and fourteen, with state-run schools found in all but the smallest villages. At that point, most of the lower classes finish school and go to work, while the middle classes and higher attend a further four years of education at a secondary school. Afterwards, most Falkovnians are conscripted for two years’ service, unless they manage entry into one of the state’s special academies – attendance at which is counted against one’s service to the state. Four years of education at these academies is all but required for anyone hoping to gain entry to the upper ranks of Falkovnian society, and competition for the limited places (determined by entrance exams) is fierce. The academies are arranged by focus, so that the Radiant Tower maintains a mage’s academy in Lekar, the Ministry of Trade maintains an academy in Morfenzi, and the most prestigious of them all is the Stangengrad Military Academy, which prepares young, elite Falkovnians for leadership positions in the state. Falkovnian education is quite good – particularly in the technical sciences – but is also very heavy on indoctrination and glorious patriotic histories of the state. All academies and most of the secondary schools are boarding schools, and conditions in them tend to be brutal, particularly the sports practices which result in a few dead children every year. Hazing practices are also viciously severe, and there are veteran Falkovnian soldiers who will face waves of undead without fear, yet wake from screaming nightmares from their school days.

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Falkovnian Science and Technology People who live around Falkovnia's borders regularly frighten one another with stories of Falkovnian super-science, where mad doctors produce abominations against all that is just and good to fight their endless wars. The truth, as the truth tends to be, is more complex. The Ministry of Science is one of Falkovnia's more powerful and well-funded governmental organizations, and it is able to shower immense resources on any scientist who catches its attention. The problem comes from two angles. First, it simply doesn't care about most scientists or inventors, since their work can't be rendered into the service of the state. Secondly, the scientists who do attract the Ministry's eye are characterized more by their ability to sell themselves than by their actual scientific knowledge, meaning that the ranks of the Ministry of Science are populated by more than their fair share of unscrupulous con men and fools. Most of Falkovnia's day-to-day technology, in the realms of agriculture or consumer products, tends to be stolen from neighboring lands then, and in some areas of science they are very far behind due to the actions of con men. That said, sometimes the Ministry of Science comes across a true genius, and the results of such a union are often terrifying. Falkovnia has the most advanced biological program in the Demiplane, fully rivaling anything Paridon produces -- formulae to induce lycanthropy, methods to create artificial humans, super-strength serums, and some very successful anti-aging drugs. The fact that Minister Vjorn Horstmann is a biologist has something to do with this.

Most curiously, the Darkonian Eternal Order is a fairly accurate representation of has a significant following in the military city Falkovnian culture. Nationalist propaganda of Stangengrad, whose worshippers hope to extolling the virtues of the Falkovnian state appease the dead and keep the monsters of is everywhere, as are screeds against Darkon from overrunning the country. One Falkovnia's many deadly enemies. What result of the generalized Falkovnian outsiders tend to miss is that Falkovnian persecution of religion is that Falkovnian propaganda is actually ''very good''. The faiths are usually very ecumenical, united by Ministry of Culture is an expert at making opposition to a secular authority. Only in people believe what they should. Falkovnia does one run into an Ezran Their list of tricks is a long one. The congregation meeting at the home of a Ministry of Culture puts out several prominent and wealthy worshipper of the newspapers with content ranging from the Lawgiver, all of them protected by a stodgy to the almost but not quite disloyal sympathetic military official who worships (the better to let people cool off a bit). They the Eternal Order himself. organize rallies, celebrations, and festivals that are the equals of any spectacle in the Culture Core, with pillars of light, vast flags, or In modern days, Falkovnia is arcane performances. They maintain characterized as a thuggish country bent on museums, theaters, and libraries, all of militarism and extreme nationalism, and this them providing offerings that are subtly

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tilted to the Falkovnian nationalist bent. They commission novels, poems, and plays Falkovnia's Roads with approved themes. The Ministry One minor peculiarity of basically believes in a light but ever-present Falkovnia is that the government touch. They also tend to come down like a absolutely ''loves'' building roads, wall of bricks on any unofficial expressions bridges, and canals. Building them of culture, of which there are plenty as well. keeps the conscripted troops In the old days, before Drakov, Falkovnia occupied, it helps the Falkovnian was sometimes called ''Das Land der Dichter economy, and it helps move troops und Denker'', The Land of Poets and rapidly from place to place. As a Thinkers, with a powerful and vibrant result, travel in Falkovnia, or at least culture no less than that of Dementlieu. in the developed areas outside of There isn't quite so much of that anymore, the northern and eastern but there's still a strong underground borderlands, tends to be very quick literary tradition in Falkovnia, with people and easy. Falkovnia is a popular writing books and copying them out by transit zone for merchants as a hand in 'Samizdat' format. The works of result, as they can shave weeks off early Falkovnian philosophers or poets tends their trips. to be, while not exactly repressed (even the

Ministry of Culture would have a hard time doing that), certainly made scarce. The problem is that Falkovnia's government is always meddling in economic The Realm matters. All major industries (steel works, for instance, or the mines) are owned and Economy managed by the government outright. Smaller-scale operations, like individual Falkovnia is a wealthy land, but one farms or potteries, are in private hands, but struggling with an inefficient economic the government is continually inspecting system. On the one hand, Falkovnia is them, regulating them, and otherwise blessed with plentiful natural resources keeping an eye on anything that even whiffs (good farmland, numerous mineral and of people gaining power outside the metal deposits, large forests), with a highly umbrella of the state. The result is that educated and urbanized population, and while the state has incredible control over with a solid proto-industrial base and a very where Falkovnian resources are invested (if advanced infrastructure of roads and canals. the government wants a canal in this place, Falkovnians export a great deal of food, it gets a canal in this place), it also textiles, and metalwork all across the introduces artificial shortages of goods into Core, and they have a network of trading the economic system. Thus, one sees even enclaves that stretches from Paridon to high-ranking Falkovnian officers occasionally Nova Vaasa. Falkovnian currency is known having to go without cheese, or a steel and accepted throughout the Core, and the foundry without iron ore, because of some standard of living is fairly high -- certainly screw-up in how merchants were assigned comparable to that of Dementlieu or or goods ordered. The system isn't a fully Richemulot. planned economy -- small scale economic activities are basically free, and even

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though all merchants are attached to the books when a load of steel walks off two Ministry of Trade, they have considerable months later. Everyone participates and independence, but it has leanings in that uses the black market, from Drakov's direction. private staff and the leaders of the A special word should go out to Ministries down to the poorest peasant. The Falkovnian food. Falkovnia is one of the Polizei occasionally go after prominent black Core's agricultural centers, and Falkovnian marketeers, especially those that dabble in food is common even in places that are arms or people smuggling, but they mostly virulently opposed to every other aspect of leave the lower-level types alone. Falkovnia. Falkovnian bread -- brown and made with whole grain -- comes in about Law three hundred varieties, all falling under the The Falkovnian legal code is largely term ''Schwarzbrot'' (Black Bread). derived from old Lamordic law, but with two Falkovnian sausages, called ''Wurst'' come key changes. The first is that Falkovnian law in ''fifteen hundred'' varieties, to the point is harsh – even petty offenses can earn where 'sausage eater' is a common insult lengthy sentences in the work camps. among Falkovnians and by their neighbors. Generally speaking, very minor crimes are Most sausages are made in Morfenzi, punished by fines, with more serious though almost every town has its own offenses (or those for which the person is special sort, and Falkovnians take the purity unable to pay the fine) being punished by a of their sausages very seriously. sentence in labor camps of ascending Adulterating one with cat meat is an severity. Your basic pickpocket will get to imprisonable offense. Finally, Falkovnian spend a year or two building roads in the beer must meet an extremely restrictive south, while a murderer is likely to be purity law called the ''Reinheitsgebot'' (the dispatched straight to the eastern border to Purity Law), which allows only clear water, mine in dangerous conditions, though labor barley, and hops to be used. In Falkovnia, demands can cause criminal sentences to food is a serious business. be upgraded or downgraded as needs arise. Despite their reputation, the Falkovnians are The Falkovnian Black Market not fans of corporal punishment, since it One of the things that keeps Falkovnia deprives them of labor – but they are great running as well as it does is the black believers in setting examples with hideous market. A zone of unfettered private brutality. Thus, a small but noticeable enterprise, the black market provides the number of criminals are sentenced to death grease that keeps the machinery of or extreme physical punishment, and these Falkovnia's economy running. To continue sentences are always torturous in the from the above example, if a foreman at a extreme, with public impalement being the steel plant runs out of iron ore, he can most famous. simply have the foundry idle, and receive a The second major deviation is that of severe reprimand or even a demotion from ‘sedition’ which the Falkovnian legal code his superiors, or he can talk to his second defines broadly as any action taken against cousin who's a 'fixer' in the black market, the state. Basically, any act of disloyalty, or and a few cart-loads of iron ore will quietly even insufficient loyalty, can be labeled appear a few days later. The foreman just sedition and can earn a sentence in the needs to turn a blind eye and tweak the

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camps. People have been sent to the work groups. The Landespolizei (usually called camps merely for making political jokes. the Lanpo) are the most common, and are In practice though, most of the Polizei basically beat cops who keep order and have bigger problems than political jokers, handle minor law enforcement tasks. Every because Falkovnia has one of the worst town or village in Falkovnia will have a crime problems in the Core – not quite as single Landespolizeimann at least, and they bad as Nova Vaasa’s but not very far from are roughly analogous to the town sheriff of it. Their large, urbanized population allows other countries. The Kriminalpolizei for organized crime to flourish, and the (usually called the Kripo) is the Criminal militaristic and repressive society results in Police, and they handle serious crimes – numerous dark spaces. Falkovnia suffers murder, arson, human trafficking, and from major rings of human slavery, arms similar nasty business. They tend to be smuggling, drug rings (mostly importing highly trained professionals and are based from Borca), and a viciously high and out of the five cities, with squads being stubborn murder rate. Something about dispatched to smaller towns as necessary. Falkovnian society leads people to snap, Finally, there are the Falkspolizei (usually and there’s usually at least one or two serial called the Falkpo), or the State Police, who killers operating in Falkovnia’s cities at any handle political crimes (sedition, treason, one time. and so forth), enforce loyalty, and are Compounding the problem are various generally led by the Talons. They also rebel groups. While some of Falkovnia’s handle corruption in the government, and various rebels are idealistic, admirable are considered answerable only to the people who focus on spreading pamphlets Kaiser. or non-violent sabotage, others are less Something to note is that all three fastidious, linking arms with criminal groups branches of the Polizei loathe each other and engaging in what are essentially passionately. The Kripo considers the Falkpo terroristic activities, both assassinations and to be political hacks and ideological nutbags bombings. who couldn’t solve a crime if it bit them on Another problem is that Falkovnia’s the nose (which is sometimes accurate but hyper-stratified, military system lends itself not always), while the Falkpo considers the very easily to abuse and corruption. Military Kripo to be overly casual toward political officials have immense power and authority reality and too corrupted by Lamordian and and, being human, are tempted to abuse Dementlieuse investigative techniques that power and authority. Most corruption (again, somewhat accurate). Both look takes the form of embezzlement, bribery, down on the Landespolizei as petty Polizei and some petty extortion, but some are who should get out of the way when the guilty of more severe crimes – human real policemen are investigating, and the trafficking, sexual assault, or even murder, Lanpo returns the favor with resentment using their status to get away with it. The and complaining about their ignorance of Falkovnian state is constantly trying to get actual reality among the people. The this problem under control, and has a few constant struggle between jurisdictions and officials burned alive or impaled in public the thousands of petty acts of sabotage that every year, but the problem remains. all three branches of the Polizei carry out Falkovnian law enforcement is handled against each other only makes the crime by the Polizei, who are divided into three problem of Falkovnia worse.

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When a criminal is actually caught, the Heer -- Falkovnian society is much more they’re brought up before a Magistrate, who vertically organized than most governments, reviews the evidence and assigns a and while there are provinces (Länder) and sentence. The accused has no rights and no sub-provinces (Stadts), they lack chance to defend themselves save by independent leadership (Drakov has no pulling strings. At higher levels in Falkovnian desire to let any of his ministers get society, there is a tendency to ignore the territorial backing). legal system in favor of quietly sidelining The Ministries are the main governance troublesome officials, usually by assigning in Falkovnia, and there are many of them. them to some dangerous post along the The most prominent and powerful are the northern and eastern borders. Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Interior (which controls the police and most of the bureacuracy), the Ministry of Culture (in GM's Note charge of propaganda), the Ministry of Of all the agents of the Science (which controls Falkovnian Falkovnian government, the Kripo technology), the Ministry of Trade (the are the closest to legitimate 'good economy), and the Radiant Tower (magic guys' -- they investigate serious and arcane matters). The Talons and the crimes that everyone can agree are Militärgeheimdienst (Military Intelligence) bad (like murder), and do so despite are lower ranked in theory, but are the obstruction of the rather less considered equal to the great ministries in sympathetic Falkpo (though even practice, and each of the four armies (the they can have their moments on the Heer) are explicitly equivalent in rank. Each right side of things when Ministry is led by a single Minister (still investigating severe corruption). A called a Minister), and then flows downward PC Kripo agent is entirely possible. in a bureaucratic chain. On the whole, Falkovnian society is extremely bureaucratized. There are clerks Government and officials for every matter, and there is a swamp of regulations for every imaginable Falkovnia is a military dictatorship with activity. The kind of omnipresent state the barest trappings of a legitimate machinery that is the Falkovnian state monarchy. At the very top is Kaiser Vlad requires a great deal of manpower to Drakov I (Kaiser meaning Emperor), and actually operate, and it is these armies of the Falkovnian state is sometimes called the clerks, no less than the real armies, that Kaiserreich (the Empire). That tends to be it provide Falkovnia with its control over its for monarchical trappings, however -- there own population. They also give an is no nobility, no ancient lineage, Drakov enormous quantity of young men and never wears either crowns or ermine cloaks, women entry into the state machinery, and nothing of that sort. In theory, Drakov is thus a first step on the ladder towards the embodiment of the Falkovnian nation personal self-advancement. and his will is law, but in practice, even he has to maneuver against the various Military entrenched interests of the Falkovnian Falkovnia has, bar none, the most state. Beneath Drakov are the Ministries and powerful military in the Core. To begin with,

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it is simply huge. Falkovnia has a population of fifteen million, and twenty five out of every thousand people are in the active The Falkovnian Campaign military, meaning that Falkovnia's generals The quintessential Falkovnian have almost four hundred thousand troops campaign is a military one. The PCs at their disposal. The various reserves and begin as soldiers in one of the paramilitaries (including the various police Heers, who encounter some kind of forces and the many local militias) bring monstrous horror (zombies, redcaps, those numbers up to over one and a half a Mind Flayer). They defeat it, and million troops that can be mobilized in the are commended for it, and in the case of an emergency. Furthermore, these classic example of 'the reward for a are all fairly well-trained and well-equipped job well done is a harder job' are soldiers, backed by the industry of Falkovnia made military troubleshooters. For and the brilliant wizards and scientists of the rest of the campaign, the PCs the Radiant Tower and the Ministry of can be shuttled around Falkovnia's Science, and by a vast corps of military three main war-zones, fighting engineers -- artillery is a particularly well- undead in the north, fey in the east, developed science in Falkovnia. Falkovnian and Aberrations in the Southeast, officers, meanwhile, while generally very with a range of possible plots. unpleasant people, are also generally very Zombie apocalypses, Escape from competent people, as life in Falkovnia's Innsmouth scenarios, Faustian higher echelons tends to weed out the bargains with Fey, ghostly fools. hauntings, cosmic horrors, the Wild Why then, hasn't Falkovnia conquered Hunt, full military operations against the rest of the Core? Simply put, it's Darkonian troops... for variety, they stretched too thin. The campaigns against might be seconded to a Kripo pseudonatural horrors in the southeast and investigation in one of the cities, Fey in the east are a constant drain of men hunting down serial killers or and resources, and Darkon to the north is terroristic rebel groups. And all the the only state in the Core truly capable of while they rise in ranks, getting a fighting and possibly defeating Falkovnia -- better sense of the malevolence of Darkon is twice the size of Falkovnia, and the Falkovnian state (with its own while its armies aren't quite as impressive horrors, not least of which might be they are nothing to sneeze at either, the ruins of some super-weapon especially when one includes the hordes of program run amok). Ultimately, the undead or the might of the wizard-king PCs will have to decide whether to Azalin himself into the equation. Moreover, defect or rebel, or whether to try Falkovnia's paranoid neighbors have signed and change the system from the the Treaty of the Four Towers against it. inside. Thus, while Falkovnia could easily crush Dementlieu or Borca, it can't do that while from the other Four Towers at the same also keeping the Fey, aberrants, and rebels time. They're good but not that good. down, guarding against a Darkonian Falkovnia's military is divided into the invasion, and holding off small invasions four Heer (Armies). The massive Heer des

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Nordens is the largest of the armies and is added level of violence as well. Falkovnians located in the north, centered out of don't go in for poison or lone assassins so Stangengrad. They fight a constant, low- much as they prefer bombings and entire level brush war with the Darkonians, and military raids on their political foes, which patrol the northern border against undead are then blamed on 'rebels'. Personal level of all sorts. The smaller Heer des Ostens politics tends to be a competition of officials is the Army of the East, which patrols the jockeying for position, and sometimes rising eastern Balinoks and fights the elves and in ranks atop the corpses of their fallen fey there. The Heers des Südens is the superiors. Army of the South (strictly speaking the At a higher level, all of the Ministries southeast), and fights the pseudonatural and Heers are in constant, ruthless aberrations of the swamps near the Borcan competition with one another. A saying of border. Finally, the large Heer des the Heer des Nordens can summarize it Westens is the garrison force of the main ably: "The Darkonians are our adversary. Falkovnian land, and is charged with Our enemy is the Heer des Ostens." keeping down rebels there and with Falkovnians raise inter-service rivalry to an guarding against the Four Towers. All of the art-form, as all four armies compete with four armies have their own chains of one another, the Radiant Tower and the command and their own support networks, Ministry of Science are constantly one- and are basically independent of one upping each other, the Foreign Ministry and another. A General Staff in Lekar keeps the Militärgeheimdienst foster intrigue all them organized if it so proves necessary. across the Core, and the Ministry of Interior Falkovnian ranks are as follows: is at constant odds with the Talons. These  Generalfeldmarschall = The General struggles tend to be vicious, internecine, Field Marshal, the leader of the Falkovnian and bloody, and people have lost their lives armies. This is Drakov. over the annual budgets. Drakov  Generaloberst = 'Colonel-General,' encourages this as a matter of course, the leaders of the four Heers. since, if everyone is too busy fighting each  General = General other, no one can seriously consider  Oberst = Colonel overthrowing him -- so he subtly  Hauptmann = Captain encourages the fighting by appointing  Leutnant = Lieutenant officials to overlapping jurisdictions, gives  Feldwebel = Sergeant imperfectly clear orders, and generally  Soldat or Jäger = Enlisted men makes sure that all of his Ministers and Generalobersts have their knives aimed at Politics one another. Official rhetoric has politics as The other political element of note is something that happens to other people -- the rebel and dissident groups. There are the decadent nations bordering Falkovnia basically very few outlets for legitimate have politics and intrigues, but all of political discussion open to the Falkovnian Falkovnia is united towards a single goal. public, and this lack of safety valves has This, even more than the usual official resulted in a wide range of groups with rhetoric, is balderdash. Falkovnian politics attitudes ranging from the benign to the are as nasty and conspiratorial as any to be homicidal. Some of the more prominent found in the rest of the Core, and with an groups follow:

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● The Circle is a venerable knighthood world stage, although the multitude of lead by Gondegal, and operates as a actors involved in figuring out Falkovnian paramilitary force, mostly towards the foreign policy gives it a somewhat northeast. Though too few to engage in schizophrenic attitude at times. Situations proper military actions, they do lead where the Falkovnian ambassador and the occasional raids on lightly defended targets, trading enclave's representatives are at and generally try to behave as a guerrilla odds are not uncommon, especially in more army. Also called the Knights of Shadows. remote areas about which the Falkovnian ● The Spawn of the Dragon are a state cares little. Falkovnia's prominent Kobold organization in the southeast, led by foreign engagements are as follows: a powerful sorcerer-kobold known as the Darkon: Darkon is the national blood Basilisk. Like the Circle, the Spawn of the enemy of the Falkovnian people. They've Lizard engage in guerrilla actions against fought numerous wars over the years, the Falkovnian military, but they tend to be ranging from full-scale conflagrations to a bit less fastidious about civilian casualties. minor brush wars, and between the two of ● The Freemen of Falkovnia are the them have rendered their borderland into a single largest dissident group in Falkovnia, desolate waste where they trade off pieces focused on spreading seditious literature, of territory for little permanent advantage. smuggling out political prisoners, and aiding The two are very evenly matched, which is more militant groups like the Spawn of the what keeps them fighting, never able to Lizard or the Circle. They tend to be non- defeat the other. As it is, the presence of violent, and this helps keep them the Darkonian enemy is likely the only sympathetic to the larger Falkovnian reason that Falkovnia hasn't conquered half population -- though it's also often said that the western Core, as most of their troops they're nothing more than Kargat puppets. are required to guard the northern border. This is partially true. The Freemen are Lamordia: Falkovnians claim descent organized into a cell structure, and at least from the Lamordic peoples, and Lamordia some cells are actively aided by the Kargat, has the best relations of any other nation but the organization as a whole has all with Falkovnia. The actual situation is a bit types. sticky. ● The Memento Mori are a small The Falkovnians share a genuine group centered in Lekar and composed of cultural affinity for their northern cousins, people who have lost relatives to the state, and the Lamordians are usually quite happy which leads them to engage in acts of to have the most potent military force in the assassination and terrorism against the Core as their friends... but at the same state. time, Falkovnia is about ten times larger and far economically superior to Lamordia, Foreign Relations and so the Lamordian state makes a point Falkovnia's Foreign Ministry is a large of not actually becoming a client-state of and well-funded organization, and the their neighbors. That said, there is a great Ministry of Trade maintains trading enclaves deal of trade going on between the two throughout the known world. And of course, nations, Lamordians often emigrate to, and there is the endless threat of war between even rise to high ranks in Falkovnia (often Falkovnia and all of its neighbors. As such, as military engineers or in the Ministry of Falkovnia is a very engaged country on the Science), and many of Falkovnia's most

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Dementlieu, and were only pushed back The Falko-Darkonian Pact due to a Darkonian invasion that coincided with unexpectedly stiff Dementlieuse If a GM would ever like to resistance. Nevertheless, this turn of events greatly shake-up the politics of the put a scare into all of Falkovnia's neighbors, Core, all that's necessary is for and Jacqueline Renier of Richemulot later Azalin and Drakov to come to some organized the Four Towers Alliance, a kind of non-aggression pact. mutual-defense pact in case of further Perhaps Drakov is finally persuaded Falkovnian invasion. Currently, the Four by his Ministers to turn elsewhere, Towers have never been properly tested in or perhaps Azalin gets tired of battle against their dangerous neighbor, bothering with raising zombie and no one is entirely sure how effective hordes on the border. The result the alliance will be. But at the same time, would suddenly unleash Falkovnia's no one wants to bet on continued Falko- armies, allowing them to turn their Darkonian antagonism for their national attentions to the Four Towers. How security. things progress from there could The Iron Pact (Invidia, Nova make for some interesting Vaasa, and the Falkovnians hope to add campaigns. Perhaps there's a Barovia to this list): Though not quite as sudden surge in diplomatic activity fondly thought of as the Lamordians, the and espionage as everyone Invidians and Vaasi are Falkovnia's two maneuvers for advantage. Perhaps main allies in the Core, having signed the the PCs get involved in vicious Iron Pact just a few years ago. Invidia is military campaigns in the swampy essentially a client-state, with trading Borcan borderlands or are stuck in enclaves in both Karina and Curriculo, and urban fighting in Pont-a-Museau. Or with Falkovnian troops having been lent to perhaps they come to play in Malocchio Aderre in exchange for certain Occupied Dementlieu, organizing a political rights. The Falkovnians don't value Resistance against the Falkovnians. their Invidian allies very highly, and tend to Drakov is cursed to fail eventually, be dismissive of them as 'amateurs,' though but he can cause quite a lot of potentially useful ones for Falkovnia's damage before then... and Azalin, economy, and as spoilers in case of a should he decide to do some military conflict with Borca. Nova Vaasa is a adventuring himself, is under no different story. Vast, militarily powerful, and such limitation. economically important, the Falkovnians have put a great deal of effort into securing secret compounds are actually located in the aide of Othmar Bolshnik, and the the Lamordian mountains. Lamordia also trading enclave in Kantora is the largest serves as an intermediary between anywhere in the Core. Nova Vaasa shares a Falkovnia and Darkon, keeping a route of significant border with Darkon and has the communication open between those two military to do something with it if Bolshnik states. could ever be persuaded into a war. In The Four Towers (Dementlieu, recent years, the Falkovnian Foreign Mordent, Borca, and Richemulot): Some Ministry has also made overtures to the years past, the Falkovnians invaded Barovians about joining the Iron Pact, on

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the basis of mutual antipathy to Darkon, but Drakov looks to be in his fifties, hale and so far such efforts have foundered on the vigorous, but distinguished looking. fact that the Barovians feel much closer What surprises people the most about culturally to the Borcans than to the Drakov is that the man is enormously Borcans' enemies, and because Strahd XII charismatic. It's a bluff, soldierly sort of thoroughly disdains the upstart Drakov. charm, emphatically populist and working- Whether this state of events will continue is class, derived from years of leading gruff anyone's guess. mercenary troops. Drakov has an encyclopedic memory for names and Kaiser Vlad Drakov I details, a very good sense of what sort of Falkovnia's neighbors tend to portray things people want, and an ability to make the Falkovnian Kaiser as a bloodthirsty, people feel at ease. Furthermore, the man small-brained thug. Falkovnian rhetoric has is a war hero, and his courage in battle is Vlad Drakov as the Father of the Nation and unquestioned. Even people who have every a superhuman hero in all ways. The reality reason to hate him, such as foreign is somewhere in the middle. Drakov was a diplomats, find themselves charmed by his former mercenary captain who managed to earthy good nature and self-deprecating found the present Falkovnian state decades sense of humor -- Drakov does not buy his ago, and who is primarily responsible for own hype. A true story is told about the turning Falkovnia into the very efficient, latter, how Drakov made a sarcastic toast at very militaristic nation that it is today. his own birthday celebration: "Friends! I want to propose a toast to our patriarch, life

On Drakov Drakov in the classic version of Ravenloft has been stereotyped as a brain- damaged idiot who manages to be less sympathetic than Hitler (no easy feat that). This version is designed to pull him back from that, making him a primarily Napoleonic figure with a few stylistic elements of Stalin. The key with Drakov is that he's likable. If the PCs meet him, they ought to be charmed, or at the very least impressed. The man is very, very good at what he does. The darkness comes from the fact that he's also a murderer, on a significantly larger and more mechanized scale than other Darklords like Strahd or D'Honaire. Where those worthies will kill a single man, Drakov will give the order for the obliteration of an entire village, and not lose a wink of sleep. He isn't a sadistic psycho, but the embodiment of a ruthless, uncaring state. He should be terrifying. Drakov's Darklord curse is that he is fated to never truly win what he wants, but this shouldn't be taken to make him a failure as a general. The point of a Darklord's Curse isn't to make the Darklord weak, but to make his life a misery, and so while Drakov's campaigns will never achieve total victory, he can still accomplish a great deal so long as it isn't enough for him. His campaigns may be marked by last minute reverses (perhaps due to the PCs?), or there will be genuine victories that are either Pyrrhic, or rendered hollow by some previously-unknown fact.

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and sun, liberator of nations, architect of Drakov has two sayings he is greatly fond the Falkovnian Nation [he rattled off all the of, "Death solves all problems — no man, appellations applied to him in those days] – no problem" and "A single death is a Kaiser Vlad Drakov the First, and I hope this tragedy; a thousand deaths is a statistic." is the first and last speech made to that Drakov isn't sadistic and doesn't derive any genius this evening." pleasure from violence, but he sincerely As a leader, Drakov is intelligent but believes that death and violence is the best not terribly educated. He tends to leave the way to solve any and all problems, and that science and magic to the specialists, and his repression and war will get him what he knowledge of literature or the arts is rather wants (power, respect, prestige). If poor. What he does have is significant social someone or something is causing trouble, intelligence -- Drakov understands how then Drakov has them killed, and that is the people think, and he's able to utilize that, end of the matter. If many people are both in his politics and in his military causing trouble, then that just means that campaigns. The man is quite likely the best much more death is required. Drakov places military leader in the Core, because he has no intrinsic value on human life whatsoever, an uncanny talent for predicting what his only on what people can do for him. If they opponents will do. stop being useful or helpful, well then... Of course, there's a dark side to all of this. Charming, brave, intelligent, and self- aware, yes. ''Moral'' is a different story.

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Domains That Came Before Lost Domains Of The Black Box Core By Matt White Portraits by Talon Dunning, 5th ed stats by Andrew “alhoon” Pavlides, Cartography by Stanton Fink and Kris Thomas

dreamspheres in the ring of dreams of the Nightmare Lands, the second is that it is an "The mortals lay down and decided well to Island of Terror lost in the Mist, and lastly, name two forms (i.e. the flaming light and it may be both. obscure darkness of night), out of which it What stands out about Bileplate is that is necessary not to make one, and in this it consists of two overlapping realities that they are led astray." - Parmenides of Elea are far different from our own: The Wastes Before the Grand Conjunction, there were (physical reality based) and Otherworld lands that appeared and just as quickly (mental reality based) which can only be vanished from the Core. However, remnants entered by those afflicted by madness. The of old maps and lore proved that they had objective of the denizens is to drive people existed, despite our memory not recollecting insane so as to draw them into Otherworld them. to feed the Darklord’s appetite. Both realities look somewhat similar; Bileplate both are deserts within a huge crater and both realities are unnatural. Otherworld is We all seek to satisfy needs, while chaotic and dark, its city is full of strange avoiding pain, and are rewarded with life. The Wastes is quiet and carries the air pleasure. But when pain and pleasure occur of emptiness under a never-setting sun. at the same time, confusion occurs and the The domain's physical reality, "The lines between both become blurred. Wastes", is a windswept desert within a huge rocky crater, which has a ruined city in The Land its heart. The sand swirls with colour, This small domain once bordered the mostly red, blues and purples, and moves Nightmare Lands and Bluetspur before the on its own accord rather than be stirred by Grand Conjunction, but eventually vanished. wind. Rocks are orange, with specks of Where Bileplate resides now is not certain, colour that change randomly. The sky is evidence shows three possibilities - one is green, with blue clouds drifting by at a fast that it is a pocket domain of one of the pace, even in the absence of wind. A purple

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sun erratically moves across the sky, but The ruins in the crater are the remains never sets. This reality is unnaturally quiet of a city whose buildings come from various and feels like something is swallowing the culture levels, mostly reduced to rubble or sounds; this makes Move Silently checks buried under sand. The area is littered with gain a +10 bonus. Everything tastes and the bleached bones of those who got smells stale, even stuff brought into the trapped in the other reality while their domain. Those newly arriving must adjust physical body starved. In the heart of the to the air of Bileplate as if it was high ruins lies a white stone temple with classical altitude air with low oxygen. architecture, dedicated to an unnamed god Water can be found in caverns or the of wine and pleasures, with painted murals stone buildings built on the sides of the cliff, of love, wine and joy. This temple is the which are called the Stone Galleries, and only original building of this land. can also be Most found in people are shadowed brought to spots in the Bileplate either city ruins. All through the of these misty border or sources drawn into the replenish to domain by the stay at a sight of certain amount extreme of water by madness. The unknown possibility of means, for it whole buildings rarely rains. drawn in with Rain in The their Wastes is inhabitants is rumored to not so drive those uncommon. caught in it The building insane by its gradually fades touch. into existence The cliffs in the ruined have old stone staircases leading to the city of The Wastes, but as soon as it depths of the crater, where the ruins and appears, it starts to sink into the sands like desert lie. The stairs are chiseled out of the the other buildings that rest in the city. stone of the cliff itself, though some are Any reflective surface can be used to safer to traverse than others. Cacti can be see into Otherworld and even enter it, found at the base of the cliffs, which also though usually they cannot be used to exit contain life-sustaining water. There is not it. Those who view Otherworld in this way much native life, but most of the present must make a Madness check (DC15) or be life consists of those travelers that are pulled in by the madness created by the trapped here; most seek shelter in the city check. A successful save allows them to ruins or the caverns in the cliffs. escape before being drawn in. On a failure,

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they suffer a painful transition, for example Otherworld, they will have their madness being sucked through a small mirror or cured. Survivors group together for mutual drowned in a reflective pool. When drawn safety and spend most the time fortifying in, their physical body left behind is but a against the horrors. In the middle of the empty shell, which continues to wander the city, there is an immense black stone wasteland of the physical reality aimlessly. temple that connects to the Labyrinth The character's physical self's eyes turn beneath the city. The temple is dedicated to inky black and he or she just babbles when Lorenth Fyrirenn, and contains painted talking. They mimic the movements of what murals of torture, blood and painful agony. they do in the Otherworld reality half the Under the city is a great labyrinth that time, and otherwise stand trance-like. They can change at the will of the Darklord and slowly dehydrate; instead of the usual has few exits to the surface. The Labyrinth’s subdual damage by starvation, they take core is the lair of the Darklord of Bileplate, 1d3 Wisdom damage on a failed Will save, Lorenth Fryirenn himself, though he is free this Wisdom point lost will affect their to roam anywhere in Otherworld. Rooms in Constitution in the other reality. They start the Labyrinth usually contain elements of a to waste away in the Otherworld, and when type of madness or suffering. Any rumoured brought to zero Wisdom, they fade from way to escape from Otherworld likely lies in existence when the physical body dies. the Labyrinth’s ever-changing halls. Damage done in Otherworld does subdual damage on the bodies in physical reality. Cultural Level: Savage (0). The sight of this can cause a horror check Major Settlements: Ruins for those viewing such attacks. In the Otherworld, it is always night The Folk: Population - unknown and ever- and cloudy and the city inside the crater is changing number; Human 98%, Other 2% intact and no longer in ruins. Most of the Language Vaasi, Balok, Darkonese, and buildings are Renaissance style. Victims many others. Religions - None entering Otherworld from The Wastes will usually appear in a similar position to where The population are all those who they disappeared in the other reality. The traveled here, or were drawn into and got sands above the crater are crimson and stuck in Bileplate. Many are already black, and flow into the crater. Fighting possessed; the rest usually have gone against the flow causes victims to sink into insane and been taken to Otherworld. it. Those falling off the edge of the crater Those still in the physical world with do not take any damage if traveling with the intact minds seek shelter in the cliffs, trying sand but must escape quickly before getting to root out the possessed and scavenge for buried under the rushing sand. The sand food. They make small groups for mutual volume in the crater never increases, survival and hope to escape the domain or despite the falling sands from above. Winds save a loved one from Otherworld. above the crater also push victims in, as if the crater is drawing a breath. These winds The city in the Otherworld reality, is just a cannot be controlled or resisted. hunting ground for the creatures to prey on The survivors trapped in Otherworld those who have been recently trapped, but fight against the abominations of the also a place for those who have accepted Darklord in the city. If they escape their madness and the Darklord's rule.

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These twisted souls are allowed to leave the Space/Reach: 5ft./5ft. Labyrinth and try to create a mimicry of life Special Attacks: Touch of Madness for themselves, in exchange for servitude. Special Qualities: Random Regeneration 1- They plot and plan an escape from 6, Damage Reduction 10/+1, SR 17, Bileplate, but will not disobey the Darklord Presence of Fear, Disguise of the Flesh, unless he and his minions are not in sight. Blood knowledge They are by far the most dangerous of Saves: Fort +25, Ref +20, Will +25 those that can be found in the city. Detect Abilities: Str 10, Dex 19, Con 24, Int 18, alignment always detects everything and everybody as chaotic, even the caster Wis 24, Cha 17 themselves. Skills: Bluff +22, Concentration+23, Craft (special), Disguise +22, Gather Law Information +23, Hide +23, Intimidate No formal government. Those trapped +22, Knowledge (special), Listen +26, form mutual protection agreements, though Profession (special), Search +23, Sense the chances of betrayal is often high. Those Motive +26, Spot +26, Use Magic possessed or having their souls twisted Device +6 serve the Darklord of Bileplate's will. Feats: Improved Initiative, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Unarmed Trade and Diplomacy Strike, Stunning Fist. Resources (not exploited) -Iron, Challenge Rating: 18 gypsum, salt. Coinage - None. No sane Appearance traveler will seek out this place. Most folks who found themselves in this place when it Lorenth is a tall, gaunt figure with white was part of the Core, found it no better hair, although his true age is uncertain. He than its neighboring domains. Those keeps a trimmed beard and mustache, but trapped in Otherworld are twice as doomed. the rest of him has a manic feel. His eyes are vivid and wild, and so is the way he Realm Magic Rating: The Wastes carries himself. He wears dull white clerical (physical Reality) 3, Otherworld (Mental robes with gold trim that cover most of his Reality) 4 to 6 scarred skin.

Darklord Of Bileplate Lorenth Fyrirenn CN Medium Outsider (Otherworld) Hit Dice: 16d8+112 (192) Initiative: +8 (+4 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative) Speed: (Low-ground Levitation) 30 Armor Class: 24 (+4 Dex, +10 natural) Attacks: Touch +16 Damage: Touch of Madness

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Background mind. His domain has split realities: the physical plane that feels as stale and used- Lorenth Fyrirenn was high priest of a up as the pleasures he discarded, and The deity of wine and earthly pleasures. When Otherworld, the mental reality that is his Lorenth tired of the pleasures of women insane paradise of the perverse, where he and drink and those of love and art, he can create new levels of pleasure through began a descent into morbid and forbidden agony and madness and feel them through pleasures. He would torture people and those that suffer them. Lorenth feels that even use self-mutilation to give him new he is a god himself now and with his powers delights. Soon he and those of his followers many would agree. He has the need to be who did not turn on him started to preach always self- that the temple conscious, needing should include the to explain that what other, and to them he does is not more truthfully insane, but exploring pleasurable, pursuits the truth of the of agony and world, pleasures and madness. emotions, and the Soon the whole mind. How would kingdom was but a you understand the mad gallery of pleasures if you do Lorenth’s sick idea of feel them all? the true pleasures and delights. When Curse of the the curiosities Darklord stopped holding his Lorenth is constantly interest, he trying to prove demanded his god himself and his ideas let him experience sane, and takes the pleasures in a great offense if more fulfilling way. accused of being He became cursed to such. He just wants only dully feel to enlighten the through his minions. people for their own This lets him feel good, to the wonders their pleasures, both they strive to escape from. He always takes those of joy and pain, but he is never the role of being a leader of men or satisfied, always craving more, becoming preacher of the truth, and believes this more of a monster as he loses knowledge of completely. his past, unable to discern his original He can only feel pain and pleasure thoughts from those of what he has through his minions. Minions themselves become. barely register to him but the pain they His temple and city was drawn into the inflict is like a drug to him. He tries not to Demiplane of Dread, resting in a crater in a go as far as killing a victim but keeps a domain that is as chaotic and insane as his status quo, retreating from them so he can

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savor once again. He believes that by madness, in his view, is opening their eyes inflicting pain, his victims will see the to the truth of the world. pleasures from it. Touch of Madness (Su): Each time Lorenth Because most of his memories are lost strikes the same victim with this attack, to him, finding relics in Otherworld that the effects become stronger. On the first remind him of his past may be his undoing. strike, the victim takes 1d8+5 damage If he ever regains his memories, he would (Fort DC18 save for half) and must save switch his alignment to chaotic evil and also versus Fear (DC21) or be Shaken, (-2 be vulnerable to being forever destroyed. morale penalty on attack, rolls, skills, He used to be a good-aligned priest and still ability checks and saves). On the second believes he is such; once he learns the truth, he can be pulled back into reality and strike, the victim takes 2d8+10 damage then destroyed. (Fort DC19 save for half) and must make Killing the Darklord without collecting a Will save (DC20) or be under the all the relics first just causes him to effects of a confusion spell for 16 rounds. disappear for a day as he reconstructs his On the third strike, the victim takes consciousness to reappear once again. His 3d8+15 damage (Fort DC20 for half) minions will retreat into the labyrinth and and must make a Fort save (DC21) or be wait for his return. wracked with pain, reducing Dexterity by Current Sketch 2 and imposing a -4 penalty on attack Lorenth is trying to start a religion to rolls, skill checks, and ability checks that the ideals he preaches; he is not a god but lasts for 2d10x10 minutes. he believes perhaps he was awarded as On the fourth strike, the victim takes such to replace the gods. He seeks out 4d8+16 damage (Fort DC21 save for those who would make good disciples, and half) and make a Fort save (DC21) or be also those who need a guiding hand deeper polymorphed into a humanoid that into madness. He plots to find a way to symbolizes pain or a guilty pleasure; the affect the realities beyond Otherworld. victim’s alignment shifts to chaotic neutral Combat and he or she cannot take actions for 1d4 Combat does not satisfy Lorenth, and rounds except move actions and free he only attacks if he is indeed threatened. actions (other than quickened spells). On He would rather let his servants do his any more subsequent strikes they take fighting for him, or trick the opponent into 4d8+16 damage (Fort DC21 save for volunteering to give up his or her soul in half) and a Fort Save (DC21+number of trade for the endless pleasures he can offer. strikes) or become a spongy, amorphous Lorenth would rather talk about the mass. Unless controlled through the act of knowledge he possesses and the favors he will, the victim’s shape melts, flows, and can grant. He is happy to let his guests explore his world, and if they keep him boils. The afflicted creature is unable to entertained, he may offer escape for only a hold or use any item. Clothing, armor, small price. He likes despair, greed, lust and rings, helmets, and backpacks become jealously, and his world is created around useless. Large items like armor, these feelings. Driving someone to backpacks, and even shirts hamper movement, reducing Dexterity by four.

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Soft and misshapen feet and legs reduce direct control of its minions can take up a speed to 10 feet or 1/4 normal, full action. The Darklord of Bileplate can whichever is less. The searing pain is so feel the sensations that his servants feel at strong that the victim cannot act all times; this causes no harm to the coherently. It cannot cast spells or use Darklord. magic items, it attacks blindly, unable to Telepathy (Su): Lorenth can communicate discern friend from foe (-4 to hit, 50% telepathically with any creature within a chance to miss regardless of attack roll). 100 feet that has a language. Each round the victim spends in an Disguise of the Flesh (Ex): Lorenth can take amorphous state, deals one point of on the appearance of anyone trapped in permanent Wisdom drain. If the victim’s Otherworld, appearing as that victim. Wisdom score drops to zero, they This acts like polymorph self but when in become a puddle. A victim can make a combat, he must make a Concentration Charisma check (DC15) to hold their check against any damage inflicted to normal form for one round. Shapechange himself or change to his true form. This and stoneskin spells keep the victim’s ability grants a +10 to Disguise checks. state stable for the duration of the spell. Blood Knowledge (Ex): Lorenth uses a A restoration, heal or greater restoration Gather Information check in place of cures the victim from this affliction. If Knowledge, Craft or Profession checks, as struck by the touch of madness while in this information is drawn from his victims’ amorphous form, the victim must make a or minions’ knowledge. If he touches a Fort Save (DC21) or take 3d6 victim's blood, he can use the same skill Constitution damage from system shock. level as the victim on his next check. Presence of Fear (Su): Those viewing World Control (Ex): As a free action, Lorenth’s mad form must save versus fear Lorenth can change and shape the (DC21) or act as though under the effects Labyrinth of his lair. Walls take time to of a confusion spell for 5d6 rounds. shift, move, shrink, and elongate, and Random Regeneration (Ex): Each round, cannot be used as an attack but can be Lorenth heals 6 points of damage from uses to separate or block opponents. piercing weapons, heals 4 points of damage from slashing weapons, heals 3 Closing the Borders points from cold, lightning and acid, In the physical reality, the borders, if heals 2 points of damage from blunt closed, just make the PC turn back towards weapons, and heals 1 point of damage the domain, an endless desert each way, from fire. He takes normal damage from where tracks are eaten by the sand. They blessed weapons and holy water. will eventually find the crater and hopefully Servant Control (Ex): Lorenth can some more respect for the salvation of not communicate with his servants all at once, being lost in an endless desert. In and is able to communicate separately to Otherworld, the border is an endless each with his alien mind, an maelstrom of sand which cannot be extraordinary feat of Multitasking. More penetrated, and the only escapes from

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within Otherworld are rumored portals or Blood knowledge. If the darklord touches by the Darklord's will. the blood of a creature he is considered to be proficient at the same skills as the 5th edition stats: creature, drawing knowledge from the blood. The effect lasts until the darklord Lorenth Fyrinenn makes a skill check or until the next long Medium fiend, Chaotic Evil rest. Disguise of the flesh. As an action, the

Armor Class 17 (natural armor) Darklord can assume the form of any Hit Points 152 (18d8+90, above average creature trapped in his world or return to hit points) his own form as a bonus action. Taking Speed fly 30 ft, cannot hover more than 20' damage requires Lorenth to make a over surface Concentration check or return to his own form.

Str 10 (+0) Dex 19 (+4) Con 20 (+5) Int While in a different form, the darklord takes 18 (+4) Wis 20 (+5) Cha 17 (+3) the AC, natural attacks, speed, strength, Dexterity and Constitution scores of the

Saving Throws Con+10, Wis+10 creature imitated but keeps his mental Skills Deception+13, Empathy+15, stats and powers. He cannot use his Intimidation+8, Perception+10, presence of fear ability while in a different Persuasion+8, Stealth+14 form. Damage Resistances bludgeoning, Powerful voice: As an action, Lorenth can piercing, and slashing from non-magical use his enchanting voice to try and weapons influence everyone within 90' radius that Senses Darkvision 120’, passive Perception can understand him. Every target in the 21 area must make a Charisma saving throw Languages Balok, Darkonese, Primordial, (DC 16). Failure: The target is charmed Sylvan, Vaasi. telepathy 120' and can repeat the saving throw at the Challenge 13(10000 xp) end of each its turns. While charmed the target either suffers from effects similar to

Legendary Resistance (3/day). If the a confusion spell or is crushed by despair, darklord fails a saving throw, he can having disadvantage on attack rolls and choose to succeed instead. ability checks or is enthralled Magic resistance. Lorenth has advantage (disadvantage on Perception checks). on all saving throws against spells and Servant control. Lorenth can magical effects. communicate with every one of his Regeneration. The darklord regains 20 hit servants at once, giving simple instructions points at the start of his turn if he has at to each one separately. He can give direct least 1 hit point. If he takes damage from orders or take control of his servants by blessed weapons or damage from holy using an action. The darklord knows what water, this trait doesn't function at the his servants feel at all times. start of his next turn. World control. The darklord can use his Use device. The darklord can ignore class action to change the labyrinth of his lair. requirements for magic items. Walls shift and transform at his command. While the transformation isn't usually fast

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enough to damage someone, it can be DC of 18. Failure means that target's form used to separate and isolate targets, cut melds to a nearly amorphous goo. In this off escape routes, or confuse trackers. state, the victim cannot use items, has a movement speed of 10' and cannot act Actions coherently; it's considered to be under the Touch of madness. Melee weapon attack: effects of a confusion spell. The random +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. attacks it makes are made with Hit (first strike): 10 (3d6) necrotic damage disadvantage. Each round in this state, the and the target must make a Wisdom save creature takes 3d6 damage, becoming a (DC 18) or suffer the frightened condition puddle if it dies. for 1 minute. Each round the target can Greater restoration and similar magic can repeat the save at the end of its turn. cure this affliction. Polymorph spells, Hit (second strike): 21 (6d6) necrotic stoneskin or similar magic cast on the damage and the target must make a victim negate the affliction for the Wisdom save (DC 18) or be placed under duration. effects similar to the confusion spell for 1 Suggestion: Magical attack, range 90', one minute. Each round the target can repeat target that can understand the darklord. the save at the end of its turn. Wisdom saving throw (DC 16). Failure: Hit (third strike): 36 (8d8) necrotic damage Lorenth can implant a suggestion similar and a living target must make a to the suggestion spell. Constitution saving throw (DC 18) or be wracked in crippling pain suffering Legendary Actions disadvantage on all attack rolls and ability The darklord can take 3 legendary actions checks for 1 minute or until greater from the options below. Only one action restoration or similar magic is used to can be used at a time and at the end of dispel the effect. another creature’s turn. The darklord Hit (fourth strike): 44 (8d10) necrotic regains his spent legendary actions at the damage and a living target must make a start of his turn. Constitution saving throw DC 18 or start Move. The darklord moves up to 30’ transforming into a humanoid symbolizing without provoking attacks of opportunity. pain. The target cannot take actions or Use item. The darklord can take the use an reactions during the transformation. At the object action or activate magical item end of the creature's next turn it must action make a second Constitution saving throw Regain Reaction. The darklord with the same DC. Success stops the replenishes his spent reaction and can use transformation. Failure means the a reaction again if needed. transformation continues, and the Suggestion (costs 2 actions). The character becomes charmed by the darklord uses his suggestion action on a darklord at the end of the target's next target within 20' turn. If the character leaves the Attack (costs 2 actions). The darklord Otherworld, they get a Wisdom saving makes one touch of madness attack. throw (DC 16) to break free each day. Hit (fifth and subsequent strikes): 44 (8d10) Home necrotic damage and the target must The Labyrinth under the Otherworld make a Constitution saving throw with a city is Lorenth's home, though he is free to

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travel anywhere in Otherworld. He plays personal strength, not merely how one is spectator or verbal tormentor, letting his perceived by others in a social setting. minions fight their own fights, for death is Creatures who drain Strength in Otherworld never final for his servants as long as are draining away personality; those who Lorenth exists. are drained to zero believe they no longer exist, and are but a dream of some Tricks of the Darklord dreamer. When drawn into Otherworld, the mad Dexterity is considered the same value are at the mercy of the twisted Darklord, as as the character’s unmodified base he tries to break down an opponent's will Intelligence; unlike in reality, actual and sense of reality. For example, when a Dexterity has no bearing here. As this is a PC kills a creature of Otherworld, the world of the mind, mental dexterity is Darklord may release the PC to the physical reflected by reasoning. Creatures who drain world, where possessed people have crafted Dexterity in Otherworld are draining away a scene using a dead person to appear to reasoning. Those who are drained to zero, be the victim of the PC's last act. The believe that they are not so different as the Darklord may allow the PCs in and out of creatures that are draining them and will both realities, until they do not know which give in to the delights and pleasures of is real, if such a concept is true, and Otherworld. The world is insane, and so are whether those traveling with them are just they, thinking, “does it really matter minions of the Darklord trying to trick them anymore, why not take on the fruits of this further into madness. madness?” They become a thing of instinct with no thought, no conscience. Rules For Otherworld Constitution is same value as the character’s unmodified base Wisdom score, Madness lets you travel to the reality of as willpower is in essence the reason to Otherworld. Upon entering this reality, the keep fighting to not lose oneself and one’s victim stops perceiving the other reality. soul to Otherworld. The longer a person Their madness now becomes their weapon remains in Otherworld, with their body against the beings of this chaotic place, wasting away in the Waste, also wastes though its only small consolation. Those away their Constitution in Otherworld. trying to physically enter a gate into Those drained to zerolose hope and give Otherworld really only enter it mentally, into the madness, thinking, “why keep leaving their physical body behind, as their fighting? The end is always the same. It just Otherworld-self gains the Horrified Madness comes sooner to the fortunate ones.” effect without any save, unless they are Wisdom and Intelligence become equal suffering from another madness. to their base scores, unmodified even by Ability Scores the madness, wisdom is now just the awareness of surroundings and intelligence Only non-Otherworld subtypes are just reflects learning. affected by the rules below: Charisma is unchanged, this stat now While in Otherworld, Strength is signifies how the character perceives his or considered the same value as the herself and how good he or she is at character’s unmodified base Charisma, their manipulation of people. force of personality becomes actual

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Draining of Strength, Dexterity and Special Abilities For Classes Constitution usually let the creatures of Otherworld assume their victim’s place in Barbarian/ Fighters/ Rangers/ physical reality, sending their soul to the Darklord of Bileplate to appease him. Scores Paladins drained in Otherworld are returned at a rate These classes can choose to lose a of 1 per hour unless stated otherwise. point of Constitution to gain the Strength score they had in the physical world; this Alignment effects ends in an hour. Alignment remains the same, but due Rogue/ Bards to the chaotic domain, all lawful characters These classes have the same option as receive -1 on all die rolls, and chaotic fighters but it affects Dexterity instead. creatures receive +1 on all die rolls. Bards gain a +2 competence bonus to all rolls, and a +1 bonus is added to any Armor Class bonuses from bardic music. In Otherworld, Characters usually carry the same bards can use bardic knowledge to find the equipment but their new Dexterity score is history of why a person went mad. This adjusted into their Armor Class. Having low drains a point of Strength or more per use, Dexterity means it is harder to perceive as the Bard receives the thoughts of the what is real and makes one slow to react creature he is interested in, and then must due to slow reasoning. keep them in check or become Movement Rate, Attacks, Equipment overwhelmed by the creature’s past, Usually the same. causing the bard to have aftereffects and a Hit Points hard time discerning which past thoughts When they first enter this reality, victims are not his own. are at their full hit points. Damage done in Monk/ Psionicists Otherworld is subdual damage, going down These classes can lose a point of to zero hit points results in going Constitution to regain their Strength and unconscious. Going below it is considered Dexterity scores at the cost of one the belief that one is surely dead and Constitution point. In addition, they can causes them to let go of their will. Creatures exceed their original scores in these abilities of Otherworld are more interested in by sacrificing an additional Constitution draining ability scores; they typical prevent point per point above the original physical a zero hit point individual from dying, for scores. the sake of prolonging pain as destroying their mind is their usual goal. If someone is Clerics killed by going below -10, it's up to the Clerics cannot not turn or rebuke Darklord whether to consume their soul or Undead in Otherworld, instead it becomes keep them from dying to play in his world a the ability (3/day+Charisma Modifier) to bit longer. halt Otherworld subtype creatures (Ex), range 50ft+10ft/level, Targetting up to 3 creatures, no two can be more than 30 ft. apart. The effect lasts1 round/level, and is broken if the affected creatures are

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attacked or take damage. Otherworld Denial: A powerful ability, you believe Subtypes creatures are considered double so strongly that this is not real that their actual hitdice for this purpose. creatures are no longer aware of you. At Magic-using Classes the cost of a Strength point per hour, the character is granted Invisibility to These clasess can lose a Constitution Otherworld Subtypes 1/day. The user of this point to gain a metamagic feat for a spell ability cannot even be detected by a they are about to cast, they can add Otherworld Subtype. This has odd effect of another metamagic feat for each additional the creatures not remembering their Constitution point drain, as they sacrifice existence as well, the creature’s memory their will to unleash a devastating effect. will come back when the user reappears. Spell-Use in Otherworld Horrified: A Horrified character can lose a Constitution point to gain a reroll of a Abjured, Summoned, and Conjured Fear or Horror check in Otherworld. The creatures do disappear after their sight what originally horrified the character summoning expires, only because they are paralyzes him or her for 1d4 rounds. If this really a figment of the caster's mind put into was caused from being in drawn into this reality. Divination usually fails due to Otherworld, the character gains a the two different realities. Besides the vulnerability to reflective surfaces. Those Attendant Creature, teleportation cannot be with Horrified madness roll a 1d10 for what used to exit Otherworld, neither can a wish type. be used to exit Otherworld or to affect its 1.Fearstruck - When a fearstuck Darklord. Anti-Magic Barriers and items character stands agape for 1d4 rounds, cannot be used in Bileplate and they cease enemies ignore the them and go after their to function when brought there. allies. If the character is alone, the enemies are instead under the effects of slow spell Madness as a Weapon for 1d4 rounds starting at the first round of Characters entering Bileplate won't battle. recover from their madness unless they do 2. Aversion - Once per hour, a so in Otherworld. All those with madness character suffering from aversion can get +2 to Fear and Horror saves and are mentally push away enemies, 1d6x10 feet immune to gaining another madness; for an additional 2d10 damage on a instead, when a Madness check is rolled and successful attack roll. failed, they receive 1d6 Intelligence damage 3.Nightmares – A character suffering as their reason is hit by a blow to what they from nightmares can cast phantasmal killer perceive as reality. Each type of madness on a target that is not the source of the bestowed a spell-like ability that can be nightmares, at the cost of one Constitution used in Otherworld. The caster level of point. The phantasmal killer takes the shape these abilities is equal to the character’s of what originally horrified the character. level. 4. Revulsion – A character suffering Blackouts: If you do not remember from revulsion can spend a Constitution yourself moving, neither will those around point to make a sonic scream attack for you. Giving up a point of Strength activates 2d10 damage (30' cone). the ability to cast blink. 5. Obsession: An obsessed character can sense the object/creature that horrified

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them when within 100 feet. If it is a become just a single class. They can exceed creature, the obsessed character treats it as the base stat of their class by sacrificing a a favored enemy. The obsessed can ignore Constitution point per point above their the paralyzation effect it has on them at the original; this lasts 12 hours. cost of a Constitution point but must then Delusions: A deluded character is able go directly towards it. to shapechange to another form (equipment 6. Rage – An enraged character can is mundane, they gain abilities and ignore the paralyzation effect of what weakness but not ability scores, must be horrified them. Instead, they go into large-size or smaller can be humanoid, berserker rage but can determine the target undead, monstrous humanoid, beast, or of the rage. shapechanger. They shift to a class of level 7.Mental Shock - Once per day at equal to their total) and/or gain a weapon cost of one Dexterity, characters suffering or armor with bonus equal to their Wisdom Mental Shock can return to The Waste as a modifier or one item that has certain poltergeist. Each hour spent there costs 1 powers that are not usually consistent in Constitution point. Time passes differently Otherworld and are usually more chaotic in for in Otherworld and only 10 minutes pass its use. Other effects of delusion are up to per hour spent on other side. DM, but shouldn't be used to infuse 8. Fascination – A fascinated superpowers, all such powers come at a character can sense the object/creature that cost, including chaotic elements. For horrified them when within 100 feet. They example, a character who believes he was can ignore the paralyzation effect it has on turned into a vampire gains its weakness, them at cost of a Constitution point but its abilities, but also its thirst for blood. must then go directly towards it. The Indulging or use of special abilities can do character gains a +2 morale bonus to attack damage to the character's Strength or and damage while near it. If the Dexterity ability scores. Item uses may use object/creature is destroyed in sight, the the character's Strength, Constitution, and character loses 1 Constitution, Strength and Dexterity as costs for each use or each Dexterity. combat situation. 9. Madness - The character gains a Depression: You just want to be left different madness as well. alone. A depressed character can cast 10.System Shock - Characters under dimension door, choosing to enter alone or this affect gain the Cold One feat. Upon bring along anyone holding onto him or her. leaving Otherworld, they must make a This leads to a safe spot that the character system shock roll at -10% or die. If remembers as a safe haven or sanctuary in successful, they keep the feat. Characters childhood; it is only a pocket dimension that that already have this feat suffer an contains no intelligent life except those that additional -10% chance to the roll to live. travelled there. For each hour spent here, Unhinged: You believe this is your the character loses a Constitution point, and true self. Anything else was but diversions no one can regain ability scores while here. and curiosity you played around with; this is Character appear to be at a younger age, what you were meant to be in life. An still innocent to the evils of the world, unhinged character’s alignment has wearing only mundane clothes (a favorite changed and he or she is considered a suit or dress or larger versions of childhood different class (if multiclassed, all levels clothing, perhaps even pajamas) and have

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no other equipment. Any writing in the personality, with a minimum of 12 for that sanctuary is ineligible. The characters can ability score. For each ability that is the return to their original spot or another strength of one personality, the other random spot by opening another door. personalities have it as a weakness, and Hallucinations: Which world is the have a maximum of 8). Those that escape real one, and which are you hallucinating? A Otherworld without their counterparts may hallucinating character can cast sanctuary be missing these parts of their personality, (this ability also lets them see into the other as an after-effect, unless modify memory is reality temporarily, but not interact with it). used to restore it. It costs a point of Strength each time the Schizophrenia: Two people share the ability is used. same body, but which one is the real you, if Paranoia: You were quite right about such a real person still exists? The what is out there. A paranoid character character’s alignment changes and the receives a danger sense that grants a +2 player must choose a different class. The bonus to Spot and Listen checks. Each time character can use their real Strength, the character reacts to this danger sense Dexterity, or Constitution to substitute for ability, they are not surprised. It is taxing to their score in Otherworld to fit the class. be always paranoid, and takes twice as long The character can change to his normal to regain lost ability scores. self, but this costs a Strength point per Amnesia: You are going to be okay, hour. When he reverts back to his this is but a dream and you are just going Schizophrenia personality he loses a to get through it like any other nightmare Constitution point to make the and forget all about it in the morning. transformation, plus takes 1d6 subdual Damage done to an amnesiac in Otherworld damage from the change. All points lost only affects ability scores and hitpoints of from either personality's ability scores are their mental self. Their physical self just lays kept even if the base score replaced by in a coma or standing in a trance. If the another. physical self dies, the mental self loses Suicidal Self: One world does not Constitution at one point per hour, if shown exist to you, you just have to find a way to proof that he or she is dead in the other see which one it is; if it's a dream, you will reality. If they escape Otherworld, they wake before you die, you are pretty sure have no memory of what happened there, that's how it works.. A suicidal character nor any experience points, having these loses a Constitution point each day. Upon memories brought back will cause the death, either in Otherworld or by character to makea Fortitude save (DC21) starvation/death of physical self, the or take 3d6 Constitution damage from character will resurrect at full health in system shock. Otherworld but their Constitution maximum Multiple Personalities: You are not score is halved permanently., The person is alone, but if you can work together you can placed somewhere outside of immediate accomplish anything. The character threat but within Otherworld. If the becomes a party of characters, all with their character leaves Otherworld, he becomes a own goals and personalities, all missing ghost until his body can be revived. If the something that the other may have as a character died first in Otherworld, the strength. (They are considered 2 points possession of their body has to be expelled higher in the ability score that reflects that before they can return to it, or it becomes

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expelled when the character gets free of Otherworld creature’s is higher. This bonus Otherworld, at the DM’s discretion. is equal to the difference of creature's and Phobia: Your phobia is out to get you possessed’s modifier. The creature can use but it will have to go through enemies first. the skills and feats of the victim but not At the cost of Constitution point, a character class abilities or spell-like abilities. When the with a phobia can summon the phobia to possessed body is killed, the creature's form attack an enemy. Of course, how this is pulled out of it and into a vortex to phobia is perceived will be twisted by Otherworld. This may cause a minor Fear Otherworld. check. Otherworld Possession Creatures of Bileplate's Creatures in Otherworld attack the Physical Reality (The Wastes) target character's Otherworld Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution. These effects Dust Devil - Air Elementals that patrol affect the character's Charisma, the borders of the Wastes. Intelligence, and in most cases Wisdom in Mumurshade - Earth Elementals that patrol the physical reality. The damage is the borders of the Wastes. temporary, but if any score is reduced to Velvet Mold - Mold whose spores can zero, a creature of Otherworld most likely push someone into madness and thus into takes over its victim's physical body, and Otherworld. the character's soul is consumed or trapped Mind Wight - An undead creature fights by the Darklord of Bileplate. These to prove its own existence at the expense of possessed husks are used to get more others. victims to enter Otherworld; their alignment Cactus Dryad - A strange fey that may is chaotic neutral and they have take care of someone's empty body while idiosyncrasies of the creature possessing their soul is trapped in Otherworld. them. True sight or use of mirrors outside Displacer Cat - A deadly feline that uses its of Otherworld shows the creature’s true harmless appearance as a small cat, while form, which usually requires a Horror check actually being a larger one, to draw in with penalties if viewer did not expect such. victims. Those possessed by an Otherworld The Possessed (Otherworld Subtype) - creature can create a 10x5 feet mirror Those victims whose bodies are under (portal) to access Otherworld and can enter possession by an Otherworld creature and it themselves physically, but nothing can now lure others to their doom. leave the portal. Upon entering the portal, it Otherworld Fetch (Otherworld Subtype) once again becomes the creature that - A mirror double of a victim that escapes a possessed the body, and cannot leave reflective surface the character looks at. It Otherworld until it possesses another body. has the same skills, feats, and ability scores, Losing the physical body makes it even but not spell or spell-like abilities. Only the harder for a soul to return unless victim can see and harm the Fetch. If the resurrection or wish is used. Fetch wins, it replaces the person, putting Possessed creatures gain the the victim into Otherworld. Otherworld subtype and use the Intelligence Allips (MM) - When an allip reduces a and Wisdom of the possessing creature as victim to zero Wisdom, the victim is drawn well an increased Charisma if the into Otherworld while the body remains in a

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coma, even if the Wisdom is gained back. Spheres that contain a trapped victim, who Allips keep to the shadows in the city ruins suffers its contorting essence. A force that or caverns. bends reality around it, they serve as Pyre Ravenloft Elemental (DoD) – A few guardians of the Darklord's black temple. wander the Ruins and Caves. Living Column (Otherworld Subtype) - Gibbering Mouther (MM) - Found in Variant of the Living wall (DoD) that caves or in the depths of ruins. receives the Otherworld subtype. It gets Vermin, Poisonous (MM) - Scorpions created by someone being encased in a and stinging insects of all sizes, their poison pillar alive. Pillars can hold up to 12 causes madness (Hallucinations) on failed medium-size creatures, and the Pillars can check. The initial failure allows a sneak peek be encountered in pairs, or groups of up 6 into Otherworld, perhaps even letting the pairs. Living columns do not attack or victim say something to those trapped. The absorb creatures that serve the Darklord of second check will have them drawn into Bileplate, unless they are forced into the Otherworld. These insects usually carry pillar. markings of screaming faces or weird Vargouille (Otherworld Subtype) (MM) - colours to show how they differ from Receives a Chaotic Neutral alignment, normal insects. Otherworld subtype, and can speak the Creatures of Bileplate's Mental names of those it knew in life. Crimson Bones (Otherworld Subtype) Reality (Otherworld) (DoD) - Can be found in the City and Labyrinth of Otherworld. They are created The Attendants (Otherworld Subtype) - by the Darklord from a flayed soul he frees Otherworld's Tricksters and Torturers. to serve him.The Crimson Bones gains the Otherworld's Binder (Otherworld Subtype) - Otherworld subtype and Outsider Traits and A creature entrapped by barbed wire that is not considered undead. Sometimes chases down victims. mistaken as a Render or other skeleton. Otherworld Sculptor (Otherworld Someone flayed alive till death can become Subtype) - Sculptors of flesh and bone that a Crimson Bones, and their physical Body serve the Darklord's bidding. dies. Otherworld Dancer (Otherworld Elemental(Otherworld Subtype) Subtype) - A tortured creature trapped (Ravenloft)(DoD) - Creations of the Darklord forever in dance that wishes to share its to wander the Labyrinth and sometimes the fate. City. Gains the Otherworld subtype. The Rended (Otherworld Subtype) - Stitched(Otherworld Subtype)(VRGtWD) - Victims of the Murmurshade's attack, these Gains the Otherworld subtype and outsider living skeletons look for other people's flesh traits instead of undead traits. Those to be able to leave Otherworld. reduced to zero Dexterity become a new Twisted Soul (Otherworld Subtype) - Stitched. The chosen of the Darklord who help spread the Darklord's influence. Velvet Mold Otherworld Juggernaut (Otherworld (Cr 2): A velvet coloured mold that is Subtype) - A guardian of the Labyrinth that native to Bileplate's physical reality, it can kills those foolish enough to linger. be found in the shadows of the ruins or in The Contorted (Otherworld Subtype) - caverns. Any living creature within 5 feet

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causes the mold to burst forth a cloud of spores, affecting anyone in a 10 feet radius. Theka The victim must make a Fortitude save A hidden garden in a desolate land, (Dc15) for take 1d6 Constitution damage. where predators will destroy the ecology if Then, a Will save versus Madness left unchecked. Ancient technology lies (Dc15) is required a minute later - even by useless, for its inhabitants have long lost those who succeeded the first save – to the ability to understand it. avoid suffering a random Madness and Legends speak of an ultimate helm being drawn into Otherworld. Victims watch might reside there, which can allow a as the mold covers them, until they can no spelljamming ship to free itself from the longer see or breathe, only to break free to domains of dread.. And, yes, there are also the Otherworld. Their physical body giant space hamsters. becomes a host for the mold, which does 1d6 Constitution damage each day as it The Land covers the victim. Victims reduced to zero Full Ecology (Temperate to Warm Constitution die. A cure disease can destroy Forest and Jungle) and Sparse Ecology the mold, but not return the victim's mind (Temperate Cliff, Mountains, and Plains). until he escapes Otherworld. Fire can Theka is a realm of extremes, and destroy the mold that's not on an afflicted once nestled between Valachan and victim, only a 1st degree complete body Bluetspur. After the Grand Conjunction, it burn or cure disease can completely rid the left the core and became an Island of Terror a victim of the mold. that can be accessed from the Wildlands. The North and West edge of Theka is a large mountain range. Within the mountains is a valley with a jungle hidden in its depths. The southern part of Theka is a desolate and vast rocky wasteland similar to Bluetspur's. Only the Tower of Night breaks its flat featureless plains. Two rivers run through Theka, the northern one, full of life, and a southern one, lifeless and motionless. The sky of Theka changes from a normal sky in the north to a pitch blackness to the south that is similar to the neighbouring land. Climate varies and is usually rainy and warm to the north,

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within the jungle, as the south is cool and presides, as he tries to learn his new unchanging. predicament and is realizing that this may The jungle valley deep in the mountains is a look like, but is not, his previous home. huge rainforest that has overtaken a Cultural Level: Stone-Age (CuL 1), classical level advanced civilization. Pillars Ruins Suggest Classical (CuL 4), the Tower and statues still peek from the foliage. The of Night and The Complex are Medieval only humans within the valley are (CuL 7). unthinking predators, either feral tribal Major Settlements: The Complex living ones or rare vampires from south [New Thesalys] (140). Theka. The jungle is full of strange beasts The Folk: Population - 500, Humans found nowhere else and with an 99%, 1% Others. Languages: Vaasi*, overabundance of life. All technology and Wildspeak* Religions –Unknown spells break down in Theka. The domain Magic Rating: 0 causes magic to not work properly and Characters: None mechanisms in technology become jammed, having a ten percent rate of failure. All craft Life in New Thesalys is slow and simple. DCs are doubled. Similarly, every spell, Many generations have passed since this spell-like ability, or supernatural ability that race got stuck on what they believe is a affects a subject—whether it is specifically planet. Their history before has been targeted on the subject or merely includes distorted by passing it down through the the subject in its area — takes a -1 penalty ages. They follow strict laws that they to caster level and save DC. In the valley, impose on themselves and wait for the day any existing magic is dampened each day, that they can return to a place called causing the following effects: losing an Greatspace. enhancement bonus until reduced to The tribes of the valley are the masterwork, durations are reduce by descendants of an old civilization whose quarter, caster level and DC penalized by past is lost. The tribes war amongst one. These two effects are reversed if themselves and hunt the beasts of the removed from the valley, replenishing at a forest. rate of a week per day spent in valley. Those who stay too long in the valley start The Law losing themselves and become no different Hereditary Aristocracy. In both cultures, from the feral creatures of the valley. the right of leadership comes from one Elsewhere in the mountains is a race of family or those related to it. The tribal humans who are immune to the feral effect, rulership changes family if all the but they have lived in their complex so long descendants of the previous family die by that they do not know of the valley and the natural or unnatural causes. existence of other lands and those who leave never come back. T'lann uses the Trade and Diplomacy complex for his feeding larder. They revere Resources - (not exploited) Coinage - none. him as their leader. Neither of the civilizations has encountered To the far south is the Tower of Night, one another or any others, believing that a keep that is so black that the darkest sky they are in isolation with nothing of interest is considered bright against its contrast. beyond the mountains. Here the recently made Darklord T'laan

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Darklord of Theka Search+21, Sense Motive+19, Spot+13, Spellcraft+20 T'Lann Feats: Alertness, Combat Reflexes, Combat Male Ancient Vampire (Half-elf) Wizard 12 Casting, Craft Wondrous Item, Dodge, Hit Dice: 12d12(80) Extend Spell, Heighten Spell, Improved Initiative: +8 (+4 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative, Improved Unarmed Strike, Initiative) Lightning Reflexes, Quicken, Scribe Scroll. Speed: 40ft, Climb 30ft Challenge Rating: 14 Armor Class: 28 Alignment: Chaotic Evil Attacks: 2 Slam +11/+6 Equipment: Ring of Damage: Slam protection +2 1d6+5 Wizard Spells Space/Reach: Prepared 5ft./5ft. 4/6/5/5/4/4/2 Special Attacks: 0-level - detect Energy drain, magic, ghost sound, blood drain, message, touch of children of the fatigue night, create 1st - cause fear, spawn, improved change self, domination comprehend Special Qualities: languages, mage Undead, command armor , magic undead, damage missile, sleep reduction 25/+2, 2nd - darkness, cold and electricity hypnotic pattern, resistance 20, invisibility, mirror gaseous form, image, web spider climb, 3rd - blink, gust of alternate form, fast wind, hold person, healing 6, vampire lightning bolt (x2) weakness, turn 4th - confusion, resist +6 polymorph other, Saves: Fort+4, Ref+7, Will +12 shout, wall of fire Abilities: Str 20, Dex 19, Con -, Int 22, Wis 5th - cloudkill, mirage arcana, persistent 19, Cha 20 image, teleport Skills: Alchemy+20, Bluff +20, 6th - Bibgy's forceful hand, sending Concentration+20, Diplomancy+9, Disguise+12, Hide+19, Intimidate+12, Appearance Knowledge (Arcana)+20, Listen+17, T'Lann is an ancient half-elven vampire Move Silently+13, Perform+11, with black, shoulder-length hair that has a streak of white. His skin is the white pallor

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of death. He wears unremarkable, loose- rogues, but the half-elven general was a fitting clothing with high black leather powerful man and not so easily overcome. boots. He typically wears a dark cloak with Before the attackers dealt a death blow to gold trimmings. Around his neck is an T'Laan, he killed many of them. Finally, amulet in the shape of an upstretched, however, he lay bleeding on the ground, gauntleted hand. waiting for death to claim him. He was Background overcome by powerful hatred for the men who took his life of his bride. Having once been mortal creatures, few Brooding in powerful rage, T'Laan made vampires really have the willpower for a silent bargain with Death. At Death's eternal life. Only those creatures who are orders, T'Laan drank the blood from the filled with very powerful hatred and loathing dead body of one of the rogues, and T'Laan live on, despite the ravages of time on their entered forever the world of eternal formerly mortal souls. darkness. T'Lann is such a vampire. He has lived Since that time, T'Laan has lived many 317 years or more past his mortal birth and lifetimes on many different worlds. He is a still burns on, filled with vile rage and harbinger of death, bringing only hatred contempt for all things living. Along with the and ruin wherever he goes. His greatest loss of his mortality, all traces of conquest is Darkspace. compassion were destroyed within him. He Over two hundred years ago, T'Laan exists purely for the sake of bringing death came to Darkspace. It was then a sphere to the world around him. that had no name, for it had not yet been But T'lann was not always such a discovered, and its inhabitants had no hateful creature. He was a champion of knowledge of space travel or life outside the great causes in his youth. Born in what sphere. Originally, it had nine planets in became the nation of Aglarond on the orbit around its central sun. Only one planet Toril in Realmspace, T'Laan was a planet, the third, had life beyond simple trusted adviser to Brindor, the first king of fungi and single-celled lifeforms. Most of the Aglarond. The son of a human father and planets were totally lifeless. elven mother, T'Laan - then named Dorin - The inhabitants of the third planet were was one of the original settlers of civilized a simple lot, living in a world where magic Aglarond and was responsible for the did not exist. They were mostly subsistence famous Peace Talks of Ingdal's Arm, held farmers and, at the time T'laan arrived, they after the battle of the same name. He was a were beginning to form small cities, which hero of peace and was loved and trusted by created a demand for occupations other all who knew him. than farmers. Some would call these people But ruin descended upon him like a bird overly violent, but more accurately, they of prey. One evening, T'laan was walking were filled with strong passions and with his bride in the gardens of his manor energies, constantly driving them onward. when the two were accosted by a band of To T'Laan's advantage, they were a greatly men sent from the neighbouring country of superstitious people, possessing powerful Thay. This evil country had become nervous fears of the supernatural. Within this world because of the recent expansion of of passionate, thriving humans, T'Laan Aglarond and was causing internal strife. found the perfect hunting ground. T'Laan's bride was killed immediately by the

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But T'Laan was a "young" vampire, Soon the great vampire began to lash unable to realize the long-term effects of his out against his children, destroying them by actions. As the years passed, T'Laan took the hundreds every night. many victims, but was not cautious enough Then one night, some 30 years after to ensure that the corpses would not rise, the last human on Verin had died, T'Laan themselves, as vampires. As so it passed looked out upon the world and - in his own that the undead population of the planet evil way - lamented what he saw. What (called Verin) grew with each passing once been a thriving world, teeming with month. After many long years of this, the fresh, young, beautiful mortals, was now a humans of Verin began to form organized dead husk covered in T'Laan’s starving groups of vampire hunters, seeking to creations. destroy the undead creatures that As each year passed, the undead lord threatened their existence. grew more powerful. Soon, he could survive The newly created vampires, even for great periods of time without blood and more short-sighted than their master, stay for brief periods of time above the engaged in a war with the vampire hunters, ground as the sun rose. Finally, when he thus ensuring their destruction. On the could no longer stand the sight of his night the vampires rose up against their creation, he went deep underground, human hunters, the age was named the burying himself alive, far away from the Time of Death. And so was written the creatures that hunted him. For long years, epitaph of Verin, for within a few years of perhaps 50 or more, he stayed in his tomb, that night, every man, woman, and child on sleeping, dreaming, far from the affairs of the planet was destroyed and the vampire the young vampires he had made. population numbered in the tens of Gradually, he began to wake. It was a slow thousands. process, this waking, taking a year to The huge undead population was now complete. Eventually, he realized that he without the life-giving, nourishing blood it was fully awake and had been so for some required, and soon the immortal creatures time. Gathering all of his strength, (he was began to die, literally, of starvation. Thus very weak from so long without blood) he began the Age of Blood and the began to rise from his deep, subterranean transformation of Verin and its sphere into tomb. It took him many weeks of Darkspace. During the Age of Blood, agonizingly slow progress to finally break vampires began to hunt each other for ground into the nighttime air. blood, feeding off inhuman hosts to survive. By the time T'laan emerged from his It was a war of attrition, and huge numbers hibernation, there were only 30 or so of the creatures died daily as they hunted vampires left alive, hunting each other for each other in the fields and in the streets. blood. Like a shadow, T'Laan descended Inevitably, sheep turned against upon the remaining vampires, destroying master, and soon what few fledglings them and taking their blood. remained on Verin began to hunt T'Laan, Now T'Laan was strong, but utterly believing his old blood to be a source of alone. Great changes had been wrought power. But T'Laan was older and more upon Verin while he slept. No longer was powerful than his fledglings, and though the once beautiful planet recognizable. It they tried, he was never defeated. had become a dead, empty rock. No life, not even plants remained. The vampire also

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realized that the sun no longer burned with and he did so. T'Laan was immediately its deadly fires. Like the mortal half-elf, so offered the lucrative position of court bard. long ago on another planet in another He accepted. Over course of a few years, crystal sphere, the sun had succumbed and T'Laan made himself increasingly valuable turned to darkness, never to shine again. to the court by constantly offering sound After many days of searching, T'Laan found and useful advice. Just four years after the spelljamming ship that brought him to arriving in Greatspace as an unknown bard - Verin. He planned to leave the planet in T'Laan became the advisor to the king in search of life-giving blood. House Shambrath, his position secured! Before departing, however, he gathered Unknown to the Thesalians, T'Laan was hundreds of the corpses the vampires had a vampire of great skill and power. Using left behind. Using great necromantic magics his charm ability and the natural skills of the that were given him by his pact with Death, potent undead lords, T'Laan hid his true he animated these corpsesinto various identity flawlessly. No one, in all the time he undead guardians. Then he constructed a has been on Thesalys, has ever questioned small keep where he would reside when he the oddities of T'Laan. Why did he never returned. When all of his workings were show himself except at night? Why did no completed, T'Laan left Darkspace in search one ever see him eat? His disguise was of blood. Later, with the help of several complete. powerful necromancers, whom T'Laan later Eventually, T'Laan decided that the killed, the vampire created a two-way portal time for waiting was over and the time for to Greatspace. The monster's plan was not action had arrived. He began to initiate his only to destroy the thriving system, but to plan, which began with the direct control of create a base of mortal creatures in Gorath Shambrath, ending, ultimately, in his Darkspace that could be used as feeding death. Now all of House Shambrath believes stock. that Bruin, the only heir to the throne, leads Like the Arthurian legends and the a rebel group that opposes the current stories of knights of old, Greatspace stands government and is responsible for the like a vestige of mankind's nobility and "assassination" of Gorath. Bruin has become honor. For as long as anyone can a hunted criminal in Greatspace. remember, the people of Greatspace have The fact that the Thesalians, who have battled against their innate darker sides, held great love and loyalty for House and have stood victorious. They are indeed Shambrath for years, could be deceived at a people by which we may navigate our such great magnitude is a testament to cultures and use as a landmark for our own T'Laan's vast power. T'Laan's necromancers progress. completed the artifact, which cast a large- Like all natural things, however, the people scale continual darkness spell on the sun, of Greatspace are undergoing great trials. shrouding Greatspace in darkness and In the midst of their achievement and T'Laan began exporting inhabitants of advancement there now stands a great Greatspace to his home sphere for feeding blackness. It came in the form of half-elven stock. bard T'Laan. The humans were told that they were Scant months after his arrival on the being transported to support a war effort planet Thesalys, he was requested to that Greatspace was involved in. T'Laan had perform for the court of House Shambrath secretly charmed the pilot to crash their

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ship on landing. The craft was irreparably Combat damaged and the survivors were stranded T'lann would rather let his minions do at the living complex they were supposed to the fighting. He will attempt to charm foes occupy for this so-called war effort. or use spells to make them remove Bruin Shambrath and a group of themselves from battle to lessen the odds. adventurers returned with sun seeds, a He will use all in his power to escape if magical item that turned Greatspace's sun things do not go as he pleases. back to normal. They then followed T'Laan He can dominate a victim just with his back to Darkspace and restored the sun voice and when he uses his children of the there as well. When they defeated T'Laan, night ability, it summons undead skeletal thinking that he was dead, his great evil versions of the animals called. The southern nature and strong hatred pulled him into river has no effect on T'lann, who can cross Ravenloft, prior to his destruction. it and even immerse himself in it without ill Curse of the Darklord effect. Garlic, and presented holy symbols Any vampire created now by T'Lann or mirrors have no effect on T'Lann. becomes feral and eventually attacks him. Blood Drain (Ex): T’Lann, as a vampire, When he drinks the blood of those native to can suck blood from a living victim with the land, he goes into a feral rage for an his fangs by making a successful grapple hour, leaving him no knowledge of what check. If he pins the foe, he drains blood, happened in that time other than dealing 1d4 points of Constitution drain destruction as evidence. He knows better each round the pin is maintained. On than to do this where he can harm his own each such successful attack, the vampire equipment at his tower. gains 5 temporary hit points. Current Sketch Improve Dominate (Su): T'Lann targets one A vampire so powerful that he once opponent as a standard action within 60 threatened the cosmos. Now he cannot get feet of him. If the target can see or even the most simplistic magic devices to work just hear the darklord, the target must properly. Stuck in a prison that threatens to succeed on a DC 15 Will saving throw eat itself out of existence, T'lann must against this magic or fall instantly under protect its ecology and his blood supply. the vampire’s influence as though by a Because spells and technology seem to dominate person spell (caster level 12th). break down all the time, he is unable to fix The ability has a range of 60 feet. the spelljamming vessel that he believes can take him away from this land. Children of the night (Su): Once per day Werewolves and feral vampires keep the darklord magically calls 2d4 swarms attempting to break into the complex, which of skeletal bats or rats, provided that the forces T'Laan away from his projects to sun isn't up. While outdoors, the darklord defend it. He tries to find reliable help but can call 3d6 skeletal wolves instead. The they seem to have a habit of disappearing called creatures arrive in 1d4 rounds, or being found dead, likely by his own acting as allies of the vampire and hands. obeying his spoken commands. The undead remain for 1 hour, until T'Lann

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dies, or until he dismisses them as a form. He can remain in that form until it bonus action. assumes another or until the next sunrise. Command Undead (Su): T'Lann can (If the base creature is not terrestrial, this rebuke or command undead as if he power might allow other forms.) were a 12th-level cleric. Damage Reduction (Su): T'Lann has Create Spawn (Su): A humanoid or damage reduction 25/ +2 magical monstrous humanoid slain T'Lann energy weapons. drain rises as a vampire spawn 1d4 days Fast Healing (Ex): T'Lann heals 6 points of after burial. damage each round so long as he has at If T'Lann instead drains the victim’s least 1 hit point. If reduced to 0 hit points Constitution to 0 or lower, the victim in combat, he automatically assumes returns as a spawn if it had 4 or less HD gaseous form and attempts to escape. and as a vampire if it had 5 or more HD. Any additional damage dealt to a In either case, the new vampire or spawn vampire forced into gaseous form has no is under the command of T'lann and effect. Once at rest in its coffin, a remains enslaved until its master’s vampire is helpless. He regains 1 hit point destruction. At any given time a vampire after 1 hour, then is no longer helpless may have enslaved spawn totaling no and resumes healing at the rate of 6 hit more than twice its own Hit Dice; any points per round. spawn it creates that would exceed this Gaseous Form (Su): As a standard action, limit are created as free-willed vampires T'Lann can assume gaseous form at will or vampire spawn. A vampire that is as the spell (caster level 5th), but he can enslaved may create and enslave spawn remain gaseous indefinitely and has a fly of its own, so a master vampire can speed of 20 feet with perfect control a number of lesser vampires in manoeuvrability. this fashion. A vampire may voluntarily Resistances (Ex): T'Lann has resistance to free an enslaved spawn in order to cold 20 and electricity 20. enslave a new spawn, but once freed, a Spider Climb (Ex): T'Lann can climb sheer vampire or vampire spawn cannot be surfaces as though with a spider climb enslaved again. spell. Energy Drain (Su): Living creatures hit by a Turn Resistance (Ex): T'Lann has +6 turn T'Lann’s slam attack gain two negative resistance. levels. For each negative level bestowed, Closing Borders the vampire gains 5 temporary hit points. T'lann rarely closes the border but Alternate Form (Su): T'Lann can assume when he does, it simply causes the victim to the shape of a bat, dire bat, wolf, or dire appear at the other side of the domain, as if wolf as a standard action. While in its it was just a small planet. alternate form, the vampire loses his Dread Possibility natural slam attack and dominate ability, There is a possibility that during the but gains the natural weapons and Grand Conjunction T'lann successfully extraordinary special attacks of his new repaired his ship and left Theka, only to be

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trapped once again in a pocket domain of Combat casting. T'Lann has advantage on phlogiston, filled with ship wreckage. Concentration saving throws. Unable to feed regularly, his isolation has Shapechanger. If the darklord isn't in made him rage in bloodlust and prey on sunlight or running water, he can use his ships that are pulled into the domain. Until action to polymorph into a Tiny bat, a he feeds, he cannot use his spells or think Medium wolf, a Medium cloud of mist, or effectively. back into his true form. The Southern 5th edition stats River does not affect this ability. While in bat form, the darklord can't speak or cast spells, his walking speed is T'Lann 5 feet, and he has a flying speed of 30 Medium undead, Chaotic Evil feet. While in wolf form, his walking speed is 40 feet. His AC in both forms is Armor Class 19 (natural armor, ring of 16. His statistics, other than his size, AC protection+2) and speed, are unchanged. Anything he Hit Points 160 (17d8+68, above average is wearing transforms with him, but hit points) nothing he is carrying does. Speed 30 ft. While in mist form, the darklord can't take any actions, speak, or manipulate Str 20 (+5) Dex 19 (+4) Con 18 (+4) objects. He is weightless, has a flying Int 22 (+6) Wis 19 (+4) Cha 18 (+4) speed of 20 feet, can hover, and can enter a hostile creature's space and stop Saving Throws Dex+11, Wis+11 there. In addition, if air can pass through Skills Deception+9, Empathy+9, a space, the mist can do so without Intimidation+9, Perception+9, squeezing. He can't pass through water. Persuasion+9, stealth+14, He has advantage on Strength, Dexterity, Knowledge(arcana)+11 and Constitution saving throws, and he is Tools alchemist's tools (+10 bonus to all immune to all nonmagical damage, ability checks using these tools) except the damage he takes from Damage Resistances necrotic, cold, sunlight. lightning; bludgeoning, piercing, and Legendary Resistance (3/day). If the slashing from non-magical weapons darklord fails a saving throw, he can Conditional Immunities charmed, choose to succeed instead. exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, Misty escape. When he drops to 0 hp poisoned, stunned outside his resting place, the darklord Senses Darkvision 120’, passive Perception transforms into a cloud of mist (as in the 19 Shapechanger trait) instead of falling Languages Vaasi, Elvish unconscious, provided that he isn't in Challenge 16 (15000 xp) sunlight or running water. If he can't transform, he is destroyed.

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While he has 0 hp in mist form, he can't in running water. This weakness does not change his shape, and he must reach his apply in the Southern River resting place within 2 hours or be Shadowless. The darklord casts no shadow. destroyed. Once in his resting place, he Stake to the Heart. If a piercing weapon reverts to his vampire form. He is then made of wood is driven into the paralyzed until he spends 1 hour in his darklord's heart while he is incapacitated resting at which point he regains 1 hp in his resting place, the darklord is and starts regenerating as normal. paralyzed until the stake is removed. Regeneration. The darklord regains 25 hit Sunlight Hypersensitivity. The darklord points at the start of his turn if he has at takes 20 radiant damage when he starts least 1 hit point and isn't in sunlight or his turn in sunlight. While in sunlight, he running water. lf he takes radiant has disadvantage on attack rolls and damage or damage from holy water, this ability checks. trait doesn't function at the start of his next turn. Actions Spider climb. T'Lann can climb difficult Multi-attack (vampire form). The darklord surfaces, including upside down on makes two attacks, only one of which can ceilings, without needing to make an be a bite attack. ability check. Unarmed Strike (vampire form). Melee Spellcasting. T'Lann is a 12th lvl weapon attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., spellcaster. His spellcasting ability is one target. Hit: 8 (1d6+5) bludgeoning intelligence (DC 19 or +11 to magic damage. Instead of dealing damage, the attacks). He has the following wizard darklord can grapple the target (escape spells prepared: DC 18) 0: mage hand, message, prestidigitation, Ray of frost (vampire form). Magic ranged ray of frost, chill touch attack: +11 to hit, reach 30 ft., one 1st: change self, detect magic, magic target. Hit: 13 (3d8) cold damage and missile, sleep the target's speed is reduced by 10' until 2nd: darkness, gust of wind, hold person, the end of T'Lann's next turn. invisibility, mirror image, web Bite (bat or vampire form). Melee weapon 3rd: lightning bolt attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one 4th: confusion, hallucinatory terrain, willing, grappled by T'Lann, polymorph incapacitated or restrained target. Hit: 8 5th: Bigby's hand, cloudkill, teleportation (1d6+5) piercing damage plus 10 (3d6) circle necrotic damage. The target's hit point 6th: Programmed illusion maximum is reduced by an amount equal Vampire weaknesses. The darklord has the to the necrotic damage taken, and the following weaknesses: darklord regains hit points equal to that Harmed by Running Water. The darklord amount. The reduction lasts until the takes 20 acid damage if he ends his turn target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum

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to 0. A humanoid slain in this way rises creatures arrive in 1d4 rounds, acting as the following night as a feral vampire allies of the vampire and obeying his spawn, outside of T'Lann's control. spoken commands. The undead remain Bite (wolf form). Melee weapon attack: for 1 hour, until T'Lann dies, or until he +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: dismisses them as a bonus action. 12 (2d6+5) piercing damage plus 10 Command Undead. T'Lann can use his (3d6) necrotic damage. The target's hit action to telepathically command any point maximum is reduced by an amount undead with Challenge level of 1 or less equal to the necrotic damage taken, and in his domain to do his bidding. If a the darklord regains hit points equal to susceptible undead is already under that amount. The reduction lasts until the control of another creature, T'Lann can target finishes a long rest. The target dies gain control of it as an action by if this effect reduces its hit point maximum defeating the controlling creature in a to 0 and doesn't rise from the dead. charisma contest. Charm. T'Lann targets one humanoid he can see within 60 feet of her. If the target Legendary Actions can see or even just listen the darklord, The darklord can take 3 legendary actions the target must succeed on a DC 17 from the options below. Only one action Wisdom saving throw against this magic can be used at a time and at the end of or be charmed by the darklord. The another creature’s turn. The darklord charmed target regards T'Lann as a regains his spent legendary actions at the trusted friend to be heeded and start of his turn. protected. Although the target isn't under Move. The darklord moves up to 30’ T'Lann's control, he or she takes the without provoking attacks of opportunity, darklord 's requests or actions in the most as long as he doesn’t have a grappled favorable way possible, and he or she is target. a willing target for T'Lann's bite attack. Attack (Vampire form). The darklord makes Each time the darklord or T'Lann's one unarmed attack. companions do anything harmful to the Cantrip (Vampire form). T'Lann can cast target, he or she can repeat the saving one cantrip. throw, ending the effect on him or herself Bite (costs 2 actions). T'Lann can make one on a success. Otherwise, the effect lasts bite attack against a grappled or willing 24 hours or until the darklord is target if in vampire or bat form or a destroyed, is in a different domain than normal bite attack while in wolf form. the target, or T'Lann takes a bonus action to end the effect. Equipment Children of the night (1/day). The darklord Ring of protection+2 (provides +2 bonus magically calls 2d4 swarms of skeletal to AC and all saving throws) bats or rats, provided that the sun isn't up. While outdoors, the darklord can call 3d6 skeletal wolves instead. The called Further Reading: Crystal Spheres

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Moridana Legends speak of a Vistani hero who will take back their land from the vampire Velkaarn. How much is legend and truth is now lost to the mist. Perhaps this is why the Vistani still seek their homeland that can no longer be reached. The Land Moridana is a perversion of the name Maridrar and the land was once part of that kingdom. Maridrar was an Oerth kingdom, and after more than a century of war, it was the last to fall to the evil Velkaarn. After a battle that nearly wiped out the township, the village of Vizharia came to a truce with Velkaarn, who took over the castle southwest of the village. Mists descended, and castle and village were deposited in Ravenloft. The domain of Moridana appeared around the same time as the Sea of Sorrows and was located south of Mordent and alongside Arkandale. Moridana vanished before the Grand Conjunction. The landscape is altered by the force of Velkaarn's will. Where the Tigrarius River once flowed peacefully in the gorge below tip of Moridana. the castle, now only a trickle of foul-looking Night lasts for long periods of time in water runs over barren rocks. The Arden Moridana and before the domain’s River cut a path through the land, and a disappearance, the night had lasted a ragged range of mountains where none had record-breaking two years. been before now ran along the western border. The land became barren and Full Ecology: Temperate Mountains, uneven, as though the land been shaped by Hills, Forest and Plains. the contours of Velkaarn's mind. Cultural Level: Medieval (CuL The north borders the Sea of Sorrows 7)domain. and is composed of hills of tall dry grasses. Major Settlements: Vizharia (pop. A valley and the large forest with the village 100) of Vizharia take up the southern part of the The Folk: Population - 300. Human land. The former castle Milamus became 70%, Undead 22%, Vistani 5%, Half-Vistani Castle Velkaarn, also known as the Castle of 2%, Other 1% Languages - Darkonese*, the Undead. This castle and the completely Mordentish. Religions - None. barren land around it, take up the southern Law: Undead Despotism - The Vampire Lord Velkaarn rules over the village of

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Vizharia. The Storm Riders, four thugs that Darklord Of Moridana work for Velkaarn, all vampires riding ebony undead steeds, grab unwary villagers to use Velkaarn as slaves and blood larder at the castle. Male Eminent Vampire (Human) Realm Magic Rating: 4 Necromancer 18

Hit Dice: 18d12(80) The people of Vizharia are gruff, cautious, and have a well-placed fear of the Initiative: +8 (+4 Dex, +4 Improve supernatural. Terrified by the undead, they Initiative) lock their doors and windows. rarely Speed: 40ft, Cimb 30 venturing out except to collect food; this Armor Class: 28 makes the village look like a ghost town. Attacks: 2 Claws +16/+11 or Longsword The haunted Blacksteed mansion with its +20/+15 large family cemetery lies an hour away Damage: Claw 1d6+7 or Longsword north of Vizharia on a steep dismal hilltop. 1d8+9 There is a semi-permanent Vistani camp Space/Reach: 5ft./5ft. within the large woods. It's a large tribe Special Attacks: Domination, energy drain, headed by an old and wise Vistani named blood drain, children of the night, create Magda. spawn, Trade and Diplomacy Special Qualities: Undead, command undead, damage reduction 25/+3, cold Resources- Potatoes, Turnips, Parsnip, and electricity resistance 20, gaseous Carrots, Mushrooms, Flounder, Sole, Sardines, Lobsters and Oysters. Not form, spider climb, shroud of darkness, exploited -Iron, Clay, Salt. Coinage - lord of the undead, alternate form, fast Smattering of obscure coins. healing 8, , turn resist +7 Vizharia rarely gets visitors and thus has no Saves: Fort+6, Ref+9, Will +14 trade. The people survive on mushrooms, Abilities: Str 24, Dex 19, Con -, Int 22, Wis root crops, fish and the rare game animals 18, Cha 24 of the forest. Skills: Alchemy+28, Bluff +28, Characters: Classes: Bards, Fighters, Concentration+28, Diplomancy+11, Rangers, Rogues, Sorcerers, Wizards. Disguise+12, Hide+21, Intimidate+14, Skills - Climb, Craft (blacksmithing, Knowledge (Arcana)+28, Listen+17, carpentry, weaponsmithing), Knowledge Move Silently+13, Handle Animal+11, (Monster Lore), Profession (farmer, fisher), Search+23, Sense Motive+19, Spot+13, Sense Motive, Use Rope, Survival. Feats - Spellcraft+28 Blind-Fight, Ethereal Empathy, Ghostsight, Haunted, Lunatic, Reincarnated, Skill Focus Feats: Alertness, Combat Reflexes, Combat (Knowledge [Monster lore]), Weapon Focus Casting, Craft Wondrous Item, Dodge, (crossbow, dagger). Extend Spell, Heighten Spell, Quicken Spell, Improve Initiative, Improved Unarmed Strike, Lightning Reflexes, Mounted Combat, Martial Weapons, Weapon Focus (Longsword), Scribe

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Scroll. for centuries as he worked out a grand Challenge Rating: 18 scheme to prove to everyone how powerful Alignment: Chaotic Evil he was when he decided to return. He Equipment: Ebony Longsword +2 fueled his energy to use a prince, who was Wizard Spells Prepared a mere puppet ruler of a small fiefdom, to conquer nearby kingdoms. He used his 4/6/5/5/5/5/4/3/2/1 vampire spawn to conquer the lands Appearance surrounding the Howling Hills in the late Evil virtually oozes from this man, this three hundreds, common year, on Oerth. lord of vampires. His nose is long and Velkaarn wanted to replace the prince, once pointed, and his he secured all the coal-black hair is territories. The last swept straight back kingdom was from the widow's Maridrar, where peak on his forehead Queen Velina, a Wolf to spill down his Nomad by birth, and shoulders. He has a Milarnus a Rhennee cruel-looking (Oerth's gypsies, mustache and possibly related to pointed beard. His the Vistani) ruled. black eyes glimmer Milarnus was dully with the fires of determined not to let the Abyss, and his his land fall to the silken, hissing voice evil one. Milarnus insinuates itself into was wise; he knew your brain, coiling that Velkaarn and his around your mind armies of thirsty like a deadly snake. undead couldn't be He wears dark robes beaten by them and a cape. alone. He summoned the land's most Background powerful wizards and Ridiculed, and directed them to an outcast of his own create a weapon that village, Velkaarn would not only eventually left to seek power to fuel his destroy the vampire lord but also the evil he revenge for his mistreatment. By the time had placed on the land. The mage he was in a position of power, he knew his Rustanglius and Vistani seeress Magda, plans would not come to fruition unless he mustered the power of the magical planes found a way to extend his life. Through and imbued a weapon with such abilities as dark bargaining he became a vampire lord to destroy Velkaarn's evil. Milarnus but by the time he returned to the village it summoned the wolf tribes of the land to was already gone. Unable to get his give part of themselves to the cause. revenge, he secluded himself and seethed The mage and the seeress crafted a powerful spell. The wolf tribe sacrificed their

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mythical powers to imbue the weapon. and as well as undead created by his the Bloodknife was born. They knew their necromantic magic. kingdom was fated to fall, so the blade was When forced into combat, he can drain linked to Milarnus' two sons who were a victim of four levels when striking with his chosen to leave that world and then to claws or even his specially crafted magical someday save it. ebony longsword. He is also a powerful When Velkaarn finally reached his goal necromancer but he would rather corrupt of conquering Maridrar, his victory was cut and turn his victims to vampires then to use short as he soon found the kingdom to cut his powerful magic to destroy them off from the rest of Oerth by mist and that outright. His pride that he is all powerful the land itself had changed. causes him not to pursue combat at full Curse of the Darklord strength but instead to tease and torment his opponents. Velkaarn cannot be truly killed except Blood Drain (Ex): Velkaarn can suck blood through the power of the Bloodknife being from a living victim with his fangs by united with the diamond of the sun. So making a successful grapple check. If he paranoid about the knife, he has consumed his mind with it so much that he cannot pins the foe, he drains blood, dealing enjoy the kingdom that is now only his. No 1d4 points of Constitution drain each matter how powerful he has become, he is round the pin is maintained. On each still powerless to the knife and its prophecy, such successful attack, the vampire gains which infuriates him. Velkaarn rarely leaves 5 temporary hit points. his castle due to fear for his own safety. Dominate (Su): Velkaarn can crush an Current Sketch: opponent’s will just by looking onto his or He eventually found out, through her eyes. This is similar to a gaze attack, torture, the story behind the blood knife, except that the vampire must use a and he sent his vampire minions into the standard action, and those merely Mists that he could not enter, in hopes of looking at him are not affected. Anyone finding where the blade is. So paranoid the vampire targets must succeed on a about the knife, he keeps to his castle Will save or fall instantly under the working on plans to thwart the prophecy. vampire’s influence as though by a Combat dominate person spell (caster level 12th). Velkaarn was powerful enough that The ability has a range of 30 feet. even the typical weakness of vampires had Command Undead (Su): Velkaarn can no hold on him. He surprised defenses by rebuke or command undead as if it were attacking while the sun was still setting. In a 22th-level cleric. his old world, he was skilled in mounted Children of the Night (Su): Once per day combat and a brilliant tactician with armies. the darklord magically calls 2d4 swarms He now does not fear the light for the of bats or rats. While outdoors, the sun has not shined for two years in darklord can call 3d6 wolves instead. The Moridana. He has grown complacent and called creatures arrive in 1d4 rounds, lazy, relying on minions to do his work. His acting as allies of the vampire and castle is filled with ghosts to do his bidding obeying his spoken commands. The

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undead remain for 1 hour, until Velkaarn enslave a new spawn, but once freed, a dies, or until he dismisses them as a vampire or vampire spawn cannot be bonus action. enslaved again. Shroud of Darkness(Su): The vampire can Energy Drain (Su): Living creatures hit by a create a field of magical darkness at will. Velkaarn's slam or ebony sword attack The vampire can create this field only gain four negative levels. For each around itself, but it can see normally in negative level bestowed, the vampire this darkness. The vampire's darkness is gains 5 temporary hit points. destroyed instantly if any part of it comes Alternate Form (Su): Velkaarn can assume into contact with natural sunlight. Except the shape of a bat, dire bat, wolf, or dire in those respects, this ability is identical to wolf as a standard action. While in his a darkness spell cast by a 12th-level alternate form, the vampire loses his sorcerer. natural slam attack and dominate ability, Lord of the Undead(Su): Ghosts and but it gains the natural weapons and vampires created in Velkaarn’s domain extraordinary special attacks of its new are bound under his command while form. He can remain in that form until he within it. He can telepathically issue assumes another or until the next sunrise. orders which they will try their best to (If the base creature is not terrestrial, this follow. power might allow other forms.) Create Spawn (Su): A humanoid or Damage Reduction (Su): Velkaarn has monstrous humanoid slain by a vampire’s damage reduction 25/ +3 magical energy drain rises as a vampire spawn weapons. 1d4 days after burial. Fast Healing (Ex): Velkaarn heals 8 points If Velkaarn instead drains the victim’s of damage each round so long as he has Constitution to 0 or lower, the victim at least 1 hit point. If reduced to 0 hit returns as a spawn if it had 4 or less HD points in combat, he automatically and as a vampire if it had 5 or more HD. assumes gaseous form and attempts to In either case, the new vampire or spawn escape. Any additional damage dealt to is under the command of Velkaarn and a vampire forced into gaseous form has remains enslaved until its master’s no effect. Once at rest in his coffin, the destruction. At any given time a vampire vampire is helpless. He regains 1 hit point may have enslaved spawn totaling no after 1 hour, then is no longer helpless more than twice its own Hit Dice; any and resumes healing at the rate of 8 hit spawn it creates that would exceed this points per round. limit are created as free-willed vampires Gaseous Form (Su): As a standard action, or vampire spawn. A vampire that is Velkaarn can assume gaseous form at will enslaved may create and enslave spawn as the spell (caster level 5th), but he can of its own, so a master vampire can remain gaseous indefinitely and has a fly control a number of lesser vampires in speed of 20 feet with perfect this fashion. A vampire may voluntarily manoeuvrability. free an enslaved spawn in order to

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Resistances (Ex): Velkaarn has resistance to Languages Darkonese, Mordentish, elven, cold 20 and electricity 20. orcish, goblin, draconic, and Ordai Spider Climb (Ex): Velkaarn can climb Challenge 23(50000 xp, although he sheer surfaces as though with a spider usually doesn't fight in full power) climb spell. Turn Resistance (Ex): Velkaarn has +7 turn Eternal. The darklord cannot be completely resistance. destroyed unless by the blood knife. If the Closing the Borders diamond of the sun is used with the blood knife it will instantly destroy him and is Velkaarn cannot close his borders but only way to stop him from returning. he can command all undead creatures in his domain to stop intruders or keep within the Combat casting. Velkaarn has advantage borders. on Concentration saving throws. Sunlight vulnerability. If Velkaarn is 5th edition stats exposed to sunlight, he suffers disadvantage to all rolls for as long as he Velkaarn is in the sunlight and till the end of his Medium undead, Chaotic Evil next turn after he is out of sunlight. This includes effects like sunray that emulate Armor Class 18 (natural armor) sunlight but not daylight spell. Hit Points 190 (18d8+90, above average Shapechanger. The darklord can use his hit points) action to polymorph into a Tiny bat, a Speed 30 ft. Medium cloud of mist, or back into his true form. Str 22 (+6) Dex 19 (+4) Con 20 (+5) While in bat form, the darklord can't Int 22 (+6) Wis 19 (+4) Cha 22 (+6) speak or cast spells, his walking speed is 5 feet, and he has a flying speed of 30 Saving Throws Str+13, Wis+11, cha+13 feet. His AC in bat form is 16. His Skills Deception+13, Empathy+11, statistics, other than his size, AC and Intimidation+13, Perception+11, speed, are unchanged. Anything he is Persuasion+13, stealth+11, wearing transforms with him, but nothing Knowledge(arcana)+13 he is carrying does. Tools alchemist's tools (+7 bonus to all While in mist form, the darklord can't take ability checks using these tools) any actions, speak, or manipulate Damage Resistances necrotic, cold, objects. He is weightless, has a flying lightning; bludgeoning, piercing, and speed of 20 feet, can hover, and can slashing from non-magical weapons enter a hostile creature's space and stop Conditional Immunities charmed, there. In addition, if air can pass through exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, a space, the mist can do so without poisoned, stunned squeezing. He can't pass through water. Senses Darkvision 120’, passive Perception He has advantage on Strength, Dexterity, 21

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and Constitution saving throws, and he is 0: mage hand, mending, message, immune to all nonmagical damage. prestidigitation, ray of frost, chill touch Legendary Resistance (3/day). If the 1st: detect magic, magic missile, Tasha's darklord fails a saving throw, he can hideous laughter choose to succeed instead. 2nd: Blindness, gust of wind, hold person, Lord of Undead. Ghosts and Vampires mirror image, ray of enfeeblement, see created in the domain are bound under invisibility, web the Darklord's will. He can telepathically 3rd: Bestow curse, counterspell, dispel issue orders in which they try their best to magic, lightning bolt, slow follow. 4th: Blight, confusion, Evard's black Misty escape. When he drops to 0 hp tentacles outside his resting place, the darklord 5th: Bigby's hand, scrying transforms into a cloud of mist (as in the 6th: Circle of death, Magic jar Shapechanger trait) instead of falling 7th: Finger of death unconscious, provided that he isn't in 8th: Feeblemind sunlight or running water. If he can't 9th: Power word kill transform, he is destroyed. Shroud of darkness. The darklord can While he has 0 hp in mist form, he can't create a field of magical darkness at will change his shape, and he must reach his around himself, and he can see normally resting place within 2 hours or be in this darkness. The vampire's darkness is destroyed. Once in his resting place, he destroyed instantly if any part of it comes reverts to his vampire form. He is then into contact with natural sunlight. paralyzed until he spends 1 hour in his Vampire weaknesses. The darklord doesn't resting at which point he regains 1 hp suffer from the usual vampire and starts regenerating as normal. weaknesses. Regeneration. The darklord regains 25 hit points at the start of his turn if he has at Actions least 1 hit point and isn't in sunlight or Multi-attack (vampire form). The darklord running water. If he takes radiant makes two attacks, only one of which can damage or damage from holy water, this be a bite attack. trait doesn't function at the start of his Ebony longsword (vampire form). Melee next turn. weapon attack: +15 to hit, reach 5 ft., Spider climb. Velkaarn can climb difficult one target. Hit: 12 (1d8+8) piercing surfaces, including upside down on damage plus 17 (5d6) necrotic damage. ceilings, without needing to make an The target's hit point maximum is reduced ability check. by an amount equal to the necrotic Spellcasting. Velkaarn is an 18th lvl damage taken, and the darklord regains spellcaster. His spellcasting ability is hit points half to that amount. The intelligence (DC 21 or +13 to magic reduction lasts until the target takes a attacks). He has the following wizard long rest. The target dies if this effect spells prepared: reduces its hit point maximum to 0. A

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humanoid slain in this way rises the for Velkaarn's bite attack. Each time the following night as a vampire spawn. darklord or his companions do anything Unarmed Strike (vampire form). Melee harmful to the target, he or she can weapon attack: +13 to hit, reach 5 ft., repeat the saving throw, ending the effect one target. Hit: 9 (1d6+6) bludgeoning on him or herself on a success. damage and 7 (2d6) necrotic damage. Otherwise, the effect lasts 24 hours or Instead of dealing damage, the darklord until the darklord is destroyed, is in a can grapple the target (escape DC 21) different domain than the target, or Ray of frost (vampire form). Magic ranged Velkaarn takes a bonus action to end the attack: +13 to hit, reach 30 ft., one effect. target. Hit: 18 (4d8) cold damage and Children of the night (1/day). The darklord the target's speed is reduced by 10' until magically calls 2d4 swarms of bats or the end of Velkaarn's next turn. rats. While outdoors, the darklord can Bite (bat or vampire form). Melee weapon call 3d6 wolves instead. The called attack: +13 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creatures arrive in 1d4 rounds, acting as willing, grappled by Velkaarn, allies of the vampire and obeying his incapacitated or restrained target. Hit: 9 spoken commands. The undead remain (1d6+6) piercing damage plus 17 (5d6) for 1 hour, until Velkaarn dies, or until he necrotic damage. The target's hit point dismisses them as a bonus action. maximum is reduced by an amount equal Command Undead. Velkaarn can use his to the necrotic damage taken, and the action to telepathically command any darklord regains hit points equal to that undead with challenge level of 2 or less amount. The reduction is not restored in his domain to do his bidding. If a until the target is treated with a greater susceptible undead is already under restoration spell or similar magic. The control of another creature, Velkaarn can target dies if this effect reduces its hit gain control of it as an action by point maximum to 0. A humanoid slain in defeating the controlling creature in a this way rises the following night as a charisma contest. vampire spawn. Charm. Velkaarn targets one humanoid he Legendary Actions can see within 60 feet of him. If the The darklord can take 3 legendary actions target can see the darklord, the target from the options below. Only one action must succeed on a DC 19 Wisdom saving can be used at a time and at the end of throw against this magic or be charmed another creature’s turn. The darklord by the darklord. The charmed target regains his spent legendary actions at the regards Velkaarn as a trusted friend to start of his turn. be heeded and protected. Although the Move. The darklord moves up to 30’ target isn't under Velkaarn's control, he without provoking attacks of opportunity, or she takes the darklord 's requests or as long as he doesn’t have a grappled actions in the most favorable way target. possible, and he or she is a willing target

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Attack (Vampire form). The darklord makes one unarmed or longsword attack. Cantrip (Vampire form). Velkaarn can cast one cantrip. Bite (costs 2 actions). Velkaarn can make one bite attack against a grappled or willing target if in vampire or bat form or a normal bite attack while in wolf form.

Equipment Ebony longsword+2

Further Reading: ENDLESS QUEST Castle of the Undead, Van Richten's Arsenal Volume 1 (Bloodknife -pg.54)

Author Note: All three of these domains were mentioned by name within Neither Man Nor Beast as being once part of the Core. The old black box map shows land across borders where these land exist, except Bileplate which is too small.

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Nation of Progress The Role of Lamordia By Mikhail "NeoTiamat" Rekun

upon the Swiss, alpine setting of Frankenstein.

Purpose Lamordia basically exists as the default 'mad science' domain of Ravenloft, a suitable location for all one's grisly Tropes Victorian-science needs. Aside from the obvious flesh golems, all manner of eerie The ur-text of Lamordia is, of course, technological horrors can be located in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus Lamordia: artificial humans, death rays, by Mary Shelley. Just as the novel is at once robots, scientific necromancy (zombie classically Gothic and yet a new brand of plagues) and so forth. Science Fiction, so too is Lamordia. There is The alpine setting also makes it a good a key difference, however, in that while place to strand the PCs on a mountain, Mary Shelley drew on then-modern preferably while there's a blizzard going on experiments with galvanism for her and an angry golem is stalking outside. monster, Ravenloft's early-19th century Finally, Lamordia's optimistic, modern, and setting cannot plausibly provide ''our'' civic-minded attitude and high emigration modern sci-fi horror, with nanites and gene makes it a good point of origin for PCs, engineering and the like. Instead, Lamordia even when the campaign takes place draws its imagery from the science of elsewhere. yester-year, the science of Tesla, Edison, the Curies, Louis Pasteur, and others, when Theme it was much less antiseptic than today, when science meant getting into the guts Lamordia is constructed out of the (sometimes literally) of the subject. The following themes: apocalyptic tone of much of modern horror- ● The Dominance of Man over Nature. sci-fi is replaced with a more visceral, brutal Lamordians believe that there exists no feel. Lamordia is the domain for Mad problem that can't be solved with the Science in Ravenloft -- that is, the domain proper amount of effort and know-how, and that demonstrates the negative aspects of they refuse to accept the constraints of their science, the ways in which it can further environment. It's a very can-do attitude, an human vices and human obsessions. On a optimistic feeling that Lamordians can do more practical note, Lamordia also draws

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start treating their mechanical men like Mad Science, not Bad Science people? And what happens when they ''do'' start acting like people? One of the faults to which Mad

Science stories are prone is that they sometimes treat science as 'bad', saying that there are things The Land man is not meant to know, that science is inherently immoral and Environment evil, and so forth. Luddism is an Lamordia is a primarily alpine country unfortunately common philosophy. located in the northwestern corner of the The best way to handle this when Core. Most of Lamordia is taken up by the dealing with Lamordia is to northern end of the Balinok mountain chain, emphasize that science is a tool - the same mountains that run south into the Lamordian science has done a great eastern part of Falkovnia, northern Borca, deal of good for its country and for Barovia, western Hazlan, and on down into the Core at large. The problem the Phirazian peninsula. Called locally the comes when science is put into the Schlaptia, or the Sleeping Beast, the service of human obsession, and it is mountains are a central fact of life in on the obsession that the GM should Lamordia. They are middle-aged, as shine a light. mountains go, not quite the screaming, jagged peaks of younger mountains, but not anything if they put their mind to it. This yet worn down into glorified hills, instead becomes a problem when it's paired with... rising majestically into the sky with their ● Loneliness, Alienation, and snow-capped peaks. Below the tree line, Obsession. Lamordia is remote. Lamordia is they are covered in old-growth coniferous cold. Lamordia is lonely. It's a large country forest, while above, snow and ice cling to with a small population that is snowed in for the mountains year round. half the year. People brood when given so The mountains define life in Lamordia. much time to dwell on things. They fall into Habitable land is found in small, modestly depression. They obsess. They grow distant fertile valleys nestled between the many from others, pushing them away. Unable to peaks, but if one wants to actually get leave their present company, they begin to anywhere in Lamordia, one has to travel feel trapped, and overly fixate on the faults through the mountains. Slender passes of those they know. They work themselves wind beneath the snowy heights - good, into a frenzy over petty slights, they rage solid roads but ones which are ever- against the uncaring universe, and because threatened by the specter of avalanches. they are Lamordian, they set out to do The avalanche is a national specter, capable something about it. of swallowing travelers, even entire ● What is Man? In Lamordia, they have communities beneath a thousand tons of created automatons. Metal men who serve snow. (There are documented cases of without complaint, they serve only to towns of a thousand people vanishing increase the isolation of the people, completely to an avalanche, with no because they are not human, they are survivors, the most recent occurrence being machines. Yet what happens when people in 742.) In many parts of Lamordia, there's

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a practice of firing artillery shells into the mountainsides, triggering controlled GM's Note avalanches that reduce the risk of an And of course, there's the chance unexpected one later on. that the Lamordian and Dwarven engineers will wake something nasty Along with the mountains, winter up while playing with dynamite. controls life in Lamordia. Located as far north as it is, Lamordia is in for several long Over the last hundred years, the winter months during which the entire Lamordians have taken to turning their country is blanketed in several feet of snow. engineering know-how on their own land, In previous years, the snow rendered travel with an eye towards making it more impossible -- it would choke off the passes habitable. They've bored tunnels through under not feet but yards of the stuff, and the mountains, have developed new ways everyone had no choice but to sit tight till of handling avalanches, and are busily summer. In modern times, the Lamordians mapping the reefs of the Finger -- and in have taken to digging tunnels through the some cases, blowing those reefs up sky- mountains, and the railroad provides some high. Much of this work actually involves little relief, but smaller communities are still explosives of one sort or another, and it is cut off. Even in the valleys, winter tends to quite dangerous, with accidental explosions, be a quiet time, as few are willing to brave cave-ins, and avalanches all common. the subzero temperatures and knee-deep snow and ice to visit one another. Spring is Social Geography even worse than winter in some ways, as spring is avalanche season, when the Humanity in Lamordia is singularly melting snow becomes much likelier to divided, a million and a half people sorted break off and roll down the mountains. into hundreds of small valley communities. The Lamordian coastline is likewise Despite the coming of the Northwest Train singularly uninviting, composed of stony Line and the construction of tunnels and cliffs and rocky beaches. As the Schlaptia improved passes, large parts of Lamordia descend into the water, they form an are still isolated in the winter seasons. archipelago of sharp, rocky islands known These isolated areas, usually consisting of a collectively as “The Finger” jutting out into town and some villages, are each called a the Sea of Sorrows, the largest of which is canton, and the canton is the basic known as the Isle of Agony. Sailing through grouping of Lamordian society. Each canton the Finger is considered a task only for very strives for self-sufficiency, and indeed, it is brave, very stupid, or very cautious captains the need of each canton to provide for itself -- numerous rocky outcroppings lurk just despite being cut off for months at a time below the surface of the water, and in the that has helped the artisan and middle-class winter one has to worry about floating pack professionals of Lamordia prosper. ice as well. Most of the Finger is Two cantons in particular stand out as uninhabited, though there are a handful of being larger, wealthier, and more important hardy fishing communities that cling to the than the rest. The first is the city of cliffs, and the entire place is considered to Ludendorf, a large town of not quite a be ill-omened even by the un-superstitious hundred thousand souls, located on the Lamordians, with most shunning the Finger. Lamordia coastline, inside the Finger.

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Ludendorf is the country's capital, its largest Lamordia's aristocrats have the funds city, its wealthiest city, and is the location of nowadays to keep up their crumbling probably the only good port in Lamordia. ancestral homes -- some do, but not many. Shipping, fishing, shipbuilding, and whaling Of those palaces whose owners have been are the main trades in Ludendorf, though less successful in finding money, many have many of Lamordia's best artisans eventually been sold off to the local canton or to make their way here -- the printers and wealthy citizens, often turned into social bookmakers are particularly celebrated. clubs or universities. A few of the most Ludendorf is also home to the national remote have simply been abandoned. legislature (the Diet), and other bits and Another unique feature of Lamordia's pieces of government. It's a picturesque countryside is the monasteries. The ancient town located on the grey cliffs overlooking Lamordian pantheistic faith had a strong the harbor, and while the great ports of monastic tradition to it, and the present Martira Bay and Port-a-Lucine dwarf its little scientific mindset of the Lamordians can be harbor, Ludendorf is nevertheless a traced to those monks that sought to prosperous and sophisticated town. understand the divine world about them. The other notable canton is Many of the monasteries eventually became Neufurchtenberg, Ludendorf's smaller, the seeds of towns or universities, but as provincial cousin (population ~60,000). with the schlosses, some proved too remote Located in the southeast of the country, in or difficult to reach to be worth the bother, the foothills of the Balinoks, and so were simply abandoned. Neufurchtenberg is a major mercantile and industrial center. Raw ore is shipped from GM's Note all across Lamordia to it, where massive foundries smelt it into metals which are There's nothing quite like having then shipped elsewhere, particularly to the PCs, driven to seek shelter from a neighboring Falkovnia. Glassmaking, sudden blizzard, holing up in an brickmaking, apothecaries, and a host of abandoned aristocratic palace or other trades all call Neufurchtenberg home, crumbling, long-forgotten monastery though the soot-stained and grimy perched on some gloomy Lamordian atmosphere of the place make it a less mountainside. convivial home than Ludendorf. Of Finally, there are the universities. Unlike particular note is that the local town council other lands, the idea of a national university meets in a monastery once dedicated to as in Dementlieu, or even purpose-built Skogul, one of the old Lamordian academies as in Falkovnia, never quite goddesses. caught on in Lamordia. Higher education in In addition to the cantons, towns, and Lamordia was essentially the preserve of villages, Lamordia is also home to three private individuals or local cantons. As such, other sorts of habitations. The first of these Lamordia has many universities, small are the noble manors. Once, Lamordia's institutions of higher learning, often aristocracy maintained large and ornate supported by bequests from wealthy estates up in the mountains. These aristocrats and located in former schlosses Schlosses (the word schloss is roughly or monasteries -- they tend to be located at equivalent to the word château or palace) a distance from the nearby towns, to avoid are mostly in disrepair nowadays, as few of

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ways to adopt the new technologies, and GM's Note found itself steadily impoverished. The poor peasants and workers, meanwhile, found The university is perhaps the themselves unable to compete with very best of settings for the classic mechanization, and smallholders rapidly Lamordian adventure. On the one found themselves losing ground to those hand, they're delightfully isolated, who could invest capital in the machinery being located on cold, remote, and necessary. Lamordia is essentially a inhospitable mountains, in eerie bourgeois country now, firmly dominated by estates or former monasteries. On middle class values, middle class ideas, and the other hand, they concentrate middle class politicians. several hundred academic There are still some Aristocrats individuals, removed from outside around in Lamordia, most notably the contact, and give them tools and Barons von Aubrecker. Still, the last libraries to pursue their own hundred years have not been kind to them, personal obsessions. and most of the aristocrats still in the country have had to make do in some distracting the students. Few of these fashion. While a few of the most places have more than a few hundred conservative refuse to acknowledge the students and a score of faculty, but they rising middle classes as anything but 'dirty provide some of the best education in the tradesmen', most of the nobility lack the Core, particularly in science and technology, funds to sequester themselves in their but also in philosophy and logic. They often estates and ignore the change of the world. accept individuals from outside Lamordia, Young aristocrats now commonly use their and more than one prominent scientist in last family funds to attend one of Richemulot or Falkovnia can credit their Lamordia's high-quality universities, and success to an education received in some then enter into industry or banking, where tiny college teetering precariously over a their family name can be used for a bit of cliff. an edge. Others follow an easier route and simply auction off their children as brides The Folk and husbands for up-and-coming industrialists, either in Lamordia or outside Social Classes the country. They get money enough to keep up their estates, and their children's Since the 690s, and peaking in the spouses get a noble title into the family. 730s, Lamordia has been undergoing a Everyone wins! (Except for the newlyweds, technological revolution, with steam power, which periodically causes trouble). machine tools, better iron-making Meanwhile, those of Lamordia's Poorer processes, and scientific agricultural Classes who are still around are generally techniques transforming the Lamordian working in the factories or mines, or as economy. This has resulted in a hollowing seasonal laborers. While they can still get out of both the Lamordian upper and lower by in Lamordia's more remote communities, classes in favor of the middle. The old where technological change hasn't Lamordian nobility was, with a few penetrated as deeply, in larger communities exceptions, too conservative and set in its they hold on to their livelihoods by their

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people, and while mechanization has made Lamordian Emigration Lamordia's industry much safer (especially in traditionally high-risk trades such as Lamordia is not unique in mining), it seems a cruel joke to have the suffering from these technology- safety and productivity come at the expense driven social changes, as Paridon, of their jobs. The situation is worsened by Dementlieu, and Falkovnia are all the fact that most Lamordians have a kind dealing with industrialization as well. of half-pitying, half-contemptuous attitude And yet, even though the process is to those unwilling or unable to fall in step furthest along in Lamordia, the von with the march of progress. There is a small Aubreckers' country has managed to yet powerful strain of political radicalism in avoid the social strife of Dementieu the poor of Lamordia. And yet, in many or Paridon, and manages without ways, the proletariat of Lamordia is better Falkovnia's heavy state hand. How? off than that in Falkovnia or Dementlieu -- The answer is emigration. The literacy is quite good, and starvation hasn't opening of the Northwest Train Line been a serious danger in generations. But allowed those Lamordians on the then, it makes sense. People living on the losing end of their country's societal edge of oblivion can't afford the energy to changes to pack up their bags and think about politics. head out, and do so at a fraction of The Middle Class, also called in the cost, and much more safely and Lamordia the Mittelstrauta, is what most easily, than they would have in people think about when they think of generation previously. Conscious of Lamordians. This is a motley collection of the dangers of an impoverished well-to-do farmers, artisans, and other proletariat as leading to revolution, professional people, those who have Lamordia's politicians have done enough money to stay in the technological what they can to smooth the race and afford the new devices and journey. The largest part of machines as they become available. They're Lamordian expatriates settle in a very polite, proper people, and have an Falkovnia. They share a language unusual amount of political power compared and a culture, and assimilate easily. to their fellows elsewhere. Many of Significant minorities also settle in Lamordia's wealthiest citizens, bankers and Dementlieu and in Richemulot, and industrialists and such, are still considered small numbers even travel to the far to be part of the middle class and possess a south -- to Verbrek, Invidia, or distinctly middle class ethos, but Lamordia's Kartakass, where land is easy to get. fractured geography and relatively poor Lamordian nobles, meanwhile, tend national economy makes it hard for really to hang around Port-a-Lucine or large concentrations of wealth to emerge. Martira Bay, where they form a Most Lamordians are well off, few are really distinct 'Old Lamordia in Exile'. rich. While servants in the style of

Dementlieu are uncommon in Lamordia fingernails, always afraid that the outside the wealthiest homes, most middle management will replace them with class Lamordians have an apprentice or humanoid automatons. Luddism becomes a journeyman who lives in the house, and common philosophy among such disaffected automatons are slowly filtering into society -

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- most of the more well-off Lamordians will people, obviously enough, and are generally have an automaton around the house, and thought to be the original Lamordic people, the man-machines are steadily moving from which the population of Falkovnia and down-market. Western Darkon derived. The typical Finally, linked to the middle class and Lamordian is tall, with the men often yet set off to one side is the Technical reaching six feet in height, and is possessed Class -- that is to say, people who make of a more slender build and more delicate their living on the basis of science and features than their Falkovnian cousins. It technology. The line can be blurry at times, takes a great deal to break Lamordians out as someone who operates a large thresher of this general build, as physically powerful for a group of farms may at once be a Lamordians tend towards the slim and wiry farmer and a member of the middle class rather than broad-shouldered and heavily and also a technical expert. Still, these are muscled, while even those people who run the people who work with their minds and to fat are more likely to have potbellies than their educations. Technicians, engineers, to balloon all over. Blond hair and blue eyes lawyers, scientists, teachers, factory are considered the most classic Lamordian managers, these people are considered the traits, though hair color runs the gamut very best that Lamordia has to offer, and from pale yellow to dark brown (brown hair are accorded high status in Lamordian is actually more common than blond), and communities. There's a distinct hierarchy eye color is as often grey or green as it is within as well. Those who deal with the blue. Lamordians are a pale people by humanities (lawyers, teachers) are at the nature, but exposure to the biting winds of bottom, though still respected, while their homeland gives most of them a ruddy doctors are a bit higher up, engineers and complexion in short order. Fashion tends other people who bend nature to their will towards the utilitarian and pragmatic, are higher still, and at the very pinnacle are particularly towards heavy woolen clothing, men of science and invention, the people with waistcoats and stout dresses being the who create the new technologies. The norm. Modesty is enormously important. desire to become such an inventor has Eyeglasses or spectacles are common, both many a stout Lamordian burgher playing because the combination of a highly literate around with gears or chemicals in their society and somewhat imperfect gaslights basement, hoping for a breakthrough. or candles leads to eyestrain (electrical Sometimes the breakthroughs happen. lights are extremely rare in private homes), and because they're considered a sign of intellect and scholarly status. GM's Note Lamordia is also home to one of the And sometimes it accidentally largest dwarven populations in the Core, causes a disaster -- Mad Science, after one it shares with neighboring Darkon. all. Lamordian dwarves are what might be called 'half-integrated'. They are a common sight in Lamordian towns and villages, work Ethnic Groups in Lamordian factories or with Lamordian The Lamordians are the only human artisans, study in their universities and ethnic group found in their mountainous participate on equal terms in their politics, country in any number -- they're a Lamordic but at the end of the day usually return to

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their own communities, which are organized ethnic group because, of course, they are into their own political districts for electoral hardly an ethnic group at all -- these are purposes. Culturally, they're extremely machines, with no will or thoughts, beyond similar to their Lamordian neighbors, what has been given to them by their though perhaps a bit less atheistic (ancestor programming. veneration is common) and with an even The issue with this is two-fold. First, stronger respect for tradition and seniority, there is a distressing occurrence in and as a result there is very little prejudice Lamordian society where people become against dwarves in Lamordia -- more overly attached to their automatons, to the commonly, Lamordians and dwarves unite point where they begin to project emotions in being politely contemptuous of where there are none. This is exceptionally foreigners. Most dwarves live in one of common among those who own humanoid several large, underground Holds in the automatons, as these often display a Schlaptia mountains, though a small shocking degree of intelligence, but have no number have settled in Lamordia's towns desires beyond obeying their master's and villages, with the largest dwarven commands. Since they have none of the community being that of Neufurchtenberg, emotional foibles or demands of real, flesh where they work in the iron foundries of and blood friends, many of their owners that town. begin to prefer them to real, flesh and blood A very peculiar form of "ethnic group" company. This usually results in alienation is that of the Automatons, the self- and deteriorating mental health on the part animating and self-actualizing machines of the owner, as they become more and created by Lamordian science. Lamordian more obsessed with something that is automatons are probably the most incapable of returning their feelings. It has advanced technology in the entire Core, on occasion resulted in more tragic endings: perhaps within the entire Demiplane, and a shocking recent case, for example, the intricate machinery is nearly impossible involved a woman who murdered her best to recreate outside of the country. They are friend over an "affair" with the woman's not limited simply to machine men: serving automaton. anything the human mind can imagine has The far less common, and far more been recreated in machine form. Mechanical worrisome, issue is that some automatons nightingales are popular entertainments, do develop their own emotions and mechanical horses pull carriages through consciousness -- becoming, in effect, the streets, and even self-lighting street "alive". There seems to be no rhyme or lights line the streets of the larger cities. reason to why or when this happens. Some The humanoid automatons are similarly automatons seem to develop emotions in varied: an automaton might be a metal man response to their owner's desires, while that plays chess, or a delicately painted others remain soulless hunks of metal no marionette who dances with greater matter how badly their master yearns. precision than any flesh and blood Others seem to appear randomly among performer. These automatons have become those who pay no mind to their metal more and more common over the years, to servants, especially those who consider the the point where seeing one is no surprise to idea of machine intelligence to be nonsense. Lamordian citizens, and to where they are This sudden genesis of sentience never seen daily in cities. They are a peculiar ends happily. Those who had no wish for

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their servants to be alive are horrified to find that their automatons are no longer GM's Note obeying their orders. Those who yearned The Lamordian construct is one for their automatons to love them back of the most amazing technological quickly find their perfect partner is no advancements in the entire core. longer perfect, now having emotional wants The use of them prevents hundreds and needs just like any flawed human of mining deaths every year, allows being. Legally, rogue automatons are for rescue operations even in the considered a public menace, and are to be worst of blizzards, and improves the destroyed as soon as they are discovered. quality of life almost everywhere Some instead escape out into the they are employed. Yet, they are mountains, trying to make sense of their almost never found outside of newfound free-will. Lamordia. The reason for this is one As a result of automaton technology, of prejudice, for the most part. there is a certain group of people who have Dementlieu has banned the mechanical limbs, often replacing those lost automatons due to a public in mining or industrial accidents. These defamation campaign by Dominic people are, officially, treated like any other d'Honaire and the Council of citizen -- technology has overcome their Brilliance -- since automatons cannot unfortunate circumstances, which is be turned into Obedients, d'Honaire something to be celebrated. Unofficially, has done his best to ensure that those who have significant portions of their they can never be used against him. bodies replaced with machinery often find Drakov holds his loyal people in high that their temperaments change, and there esteem, and hates the idea of are many well-reported and well- courageous soldiers being replaced documented incidents of these people going by metal men. Darkon has golems of berserk when exposed to innocuous stimuli. its own, created by magic, which Even those people who do not succumb to don't require engines and fuel to this strange madness are well known for run. Everywhere else simply finds having troubles with their newfound limbs, the automatons prohibitively from extreme paranoia over their expensive. Not only are the mechanical parts, to having them move on automatons themselves costly, but their own. any repairs to them require highly specialized parts, sent from Religion Lamordia. Other countries simply Centuries ago, the Lamordians don't have the industrial capability to worshiped a pantheon of gods led by overcome the cost barrier in a Lothurr, the lightning god and life-giver. It significant fashion. was a shamanistic-monastic faith, with devotees often withdrawing from society to earliest technological innovation occurred in live as hermits or in monasteries, to better those monasteries, as monks sought to contemplate the holy electricity, while the learn more about the world around them, common folk told legends of trolls and and in so doing to gain greater giants and huldras. Much of Lamordia's understanding of their gods' mysteries.

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But those days are long past, and the views as their human neighbors, do have a monasteries are abandoned. The bulk of the system of ancestor veneration and Lamordian population is deistic at best, and memorialization that stops just short of the elites are often outright atheistic. Those ancestor worship. Similarly, a small number Lamordians who do believe in some manner of Lamordians have taken to the Ezran of divine agency tend to ascribe to a 'Divine faith, usually following the Port-a-Lucine Watchmaker' view of the world, wherein an branch, though they keep it to themselves. unknown and unknowable creator designed And there are still some crazy hermits or the world but does not interfere with it. overly-enthusiastic antiquarians who are The more educated Lamordians deny interested in the old Lamordian gods, some even that concession in favor of a purely of whom believe that Lothurr has been rationalistic view of the world. Divine magic, incarnated in human flesh. The Monastery as they see it, is simply a branch of the of the Quickening Thunderbolt, in the high arcane fueled by obsession -- they note that mountains, is the largest collection of such anyone with enough devotion can cast the individuals, though they are standoffish and spells, regardless of what that devotion is unfriendly to an extreme, and unwelcoming to. Some Lamordians have sought to devote to visitors. themselves so much to the concept of order as to demonstrate that divine magic can be Culture extracted from anything, and while they Though Lamordians follow no religion, haven't had much concrete success, they the idea of Order quite nearly takes its have had enough that most organized faiths place. They rarely call it that, necessarily, are dubious of them. In general, referring to it more simply as 'the proper Lamordians find the idea of organized way of thinking' or 'Reason' or what-not, worship to be kind of silly, and while they but it can be most easily understood as the tend to be too polite to comment on it, idea that the universe obeys certain people who are actively or outspokenly mechanistic rules, and that by following religious tend to find themselves quietly those rules people may gain power (in the avoided or shunned. sense of becoming wealthy, happy, and Still, there are a few exceptions to this. successful). This idea of order is reflected in The dwarves, while holding to the same several parts of Lamordian life and culture. Order means having a stern public GM's Note morality and a strong sense of civic duty. Lamordians do not approve of various Generally speaking, one does 'goings-on', and are noticeably more prudish not run across Lamordian divine than their various neighbors to the south casters (clerics, paladins, etc). and east. In public, a Lamordian is expected Lamordians don't like religions and to be a paragon of virtue, to be sober, hard- most religions don't like Lamordians. working, practical (not given to airy idealism Still, there are possible exceptions, -- though Lamordians are actually very but any Lamordian who is too open idealistic), dutiful, and public-spirited. They about it is going to be shunned by should stand by their community, always his neighbors and be met with pitch in when necessary, and always be disbelief by non-Lamordians. polite. Even if you want to strangle the

man, you are polite to him.

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Order also means minding your own business. Just as a Lamordian is expected to GM's Note be prim and proper in public, there is a tacit The Lamordian habit of shunning acknowledgement that what happens those who are strange fits in very behind closed doors should stay there. well with the theme of Obsession. Lamordians are very curious about science, Someone who violates Lamordian nature, culture, news from other lands, but social rules is cut off from the not about what goes on with their community and left to brood in neighbors. Lamordians have a strongly solitude, until they are driven to passionate streak, and for all their fussy darkness. practicality, as "S" puts it, they are people very much driven by emotion. Love-matches are the norm in matters of the heart, and philosophy of order is that it is not kind to children are encouraged to pursue whatever those that break its rules or fail to live up to trade interests them most. its promise. If a man can accomplish Order, finally, means that Man is raised anything with enough reason and hard above Nature by his Reason. Lamordians work, then the only explanation for failure is believe that nothing is impossible with that one is either stupid or lazy, and sufficient expertise and resources, and that Lamordians approve of neither trait. Those there is nothing truly unknowable in the who falter are left to the grudging charity of world -- merely mysteries which have not their relatives, and those who transgress yet been solved. In the absence of God, the against public morality are quietly but Lamordians place people, both collectively thoroughly ostracized. Lamordians are and individually, at the heart of their ethic. never rude, but they can make it exquisitely Nature is something that exists for the clear when someone isn't welcome. benefit of Man, and it becomes beautiful Lamordians & Magic when it becomes useful. A well-ordered For a variety of reasons, very few farm is far more beautiful than some Lamordians traffic with the supernatural. moody, pointless woodland. This also ● A Lamordian druid (or to a lesser means that Lamordian society stresses extent, ranger) is essentially a contradiction social mobility and a kind of in terms. Nature, in the Lamordian mindset, technocratic/meritocratic ordering of is something to be dominated and tamed. society. The best and brightest rise to the ● Similarly, Lamordian clerics are top, and those who fail drop down, unless extremely rare -- Lamordians are usually caught by well-meaning relatives. agnostic at best. The religious conviction At its best, Lamordian society is required for divine spellcasting is considered idealistic, optimistic, and in a sense both embarrassing and somewhat romantic. Lamordians deny the limits of unhinged, and most divine casters leave the their world and believe that making a better country due to the unreceptive nature of life is within their hands. Unlike so many their local flocks. Paladins might appear other lands, Lamordians are not so ground once every fifty years. down by poverty or oppression, and there's ● With regards to the Arcane, a liveliness to them that can't be denied. At sorcerers require special bloodlines which their worst, Lamordians can be naive and just don't seem to surface among overoptimistic, but the true dark side of this

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Lamordians, even if they should by all Lamordian inventions come across as reckonings do so (such as the other parent thoroughly fantastical, more so than the being a sorcerer themselves). Free-wheeling outright magic of other lands. The most bards clash badly with the stern public famous (or infamous, depending on how morality. Wizards are borderline compatible, one looks at it) technology is that of the with their studious approach to magic, but automaton. Machine servants and workers, even then, many Lamordians simply can't Lamordian automatons have become the cast spells, however intelligent they are. symbols of the new world, machine There are even known to be Lamordian rendered into the form of man. Other bloodlines that are resistant or completely Lamordian devices and techniques in immune to magic, an occurrence that common use include automated factories increases in frequency the more secluded a and mines, very good train engines, a range village is (which has lead some of these of advanced farm machinery such as seed secluded people to conclude that magic drills and threshers, mechanical printing does not actually exist). This leads to a presses and easier papermaking technology, widespread belief that the only way to new metals (notably new forms of very become proficient with arcane magic is to high-quality steel), easy-to-produce glass, make a deal with unsavory powers -- in a and optical devices ranging from telescopes word, to cheat. Most Lamordian wizards to much better eyeglasses. quickly emigrate to Falkovnia or Dementlieu More broadly, Lamordians excel at two to continue their studies. specific things. First, they are extremely ● Artificers and alchemists are far good at producing energy -- that is to say, more common and are accepted (and they have steam-powered engines, fueled generally considered proper and orderly). by coal or oil. This energy can then be Of course, PCs exist to break the rules, converted into machine power that can be but the both Player and GM should be used to chop wood, dig ditches, or power aware that a Lamordian spellcaster of any factory machinery. Electricity is also in use stripe is going to be strange, and should in Lamordia, a legacy of Lamordia's have a good reason for why one exists -- lightning-focused religion, and though say, the Lamordian druid is a gunsmith that electricity-powered devices are not yet in ended up making a pact with a fey entity common private use, one runs across under duress, while sitting on a branch over electrical street lamps or electrical factory a pack of hungry wolves, or the Lamordian machines. The other thing that Lamordians paladin is actually a reanimated avatar of are very good at is creating machines that the ancient god Lothurr, incarnated in are capable of responding to external stitched-together flesh by a mad golems of stimuli, in other words, machines that can the Monastery of the Quickening sense things, seeing or hearing by way of Thunderbolt. primitive cameras or microphones, or Lamordian Science and Technology reacting to vibration, and then triggering an action based on what they perceive. These There is nothing in the world quite like two technologies come together in Lamordian technology. Only the Paridoners automatons, which are basically machines come close to it, with Falkovnia and that can go for a long time without refueling Dementlieu following at a more sedate and can respond to complex situations. distance. To those unfamiliar with it, many

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The Realm and sudden frosts, which makes for a short growing season. More importantly, the Economy topsoil in Lamordia is thin and extremely rocky. In the realms of industry, while While reasonably well off, it is difficult Lamordians are very good at designing to call Lamordia a wealthy land in manufactured goods, their population base comparison to its immediate neighbors. is too sparse, and travel over the mountain Lamordians are usually able to get by, passes too difficult, to make it the kind of especially with the invention of automatons industrial hub that nearby Falkovnia is. As and with the application of technological far as trade goes, the Finger and its reefs innovations to agriculture, mining, and and ice floes make it easier for most industry. But geography and the merchants to go to either Port-a-Lucine to environment ensure that Lamordia will the south or Martira Bay to the north. never be a very ''wealthy'' land. Mining is the most profitable sector of the To begin with, Lamordia is agriculturally Lamordian economy, as the many poor. It has long winters with unexpected mountains are rich in various metals and minerals, particularly iron, copper, and tin. GM's Note Lamordian artisanal goods, meanwhile, are As a general rule, Lamordian considered of very high quality and are technology matches that of the sought throughout the Core. 1860s and 1870s -- that is to say, Technology has gone a good way you have things like fairly advanced towards rectifying these problems in recent steam engines, large-scale use of years. They make up for their weak soil with iron and steel, early repeating rifles, chemical fertilizers and mechanical gatling guns, and ironclads, and so threshers, and heavy machinery is able to forth. In the realm of electrification, do the work of many men in mining and the Lamordians are closer to the manufacturing. Careful navigational maps, 1920s or 1930s, and automatons new tunnels, and the train route go a long are, of course, a fantastic way towards making up for Lamordia's technology that relies on the Dark deficiencies as a nexus of trade. Automation Powers making certain energy is the signature Lamordian technology, the constraints go away. On the other creation of advanced machines (often hand, textiles, biology, non- humanoid) that are capable of performing prosthetic/surgical medicine, and the labor, and it has utterly revolutionized many like are if anything less developed in trades, particularly in manufacturing, where Lamordia than in the real world's automatons prove extremely well suited to 1870s, or even in Paridon or the repetitive actions necessary. Mining has Falkovnia. This all applies only to the been slower to succumb to the lure of technology that is in common use, automatons, as the act of seeking and however. A plot-relevant mad gouging ore out of a mountain side requires scientist will have whatever ideas more in the way of thought and thus more and devices the GM thinks complex and expensive automatons, and of necessary. course they must compete with dwarven miners. Still, more and more automatons are produced all the time, and a few more

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foundries, factories, and mines are need more bodies (for searches or such), mechanized with every passing year. they usually requisition the local militia. Many of these innovations, however, Some of the gendarmeries in the larger are more about letting more work be done towns have been experimenting with with fewer people, and this is one of the automatons as backup, but budgets rarely reasons that Lamordia has suffered stretch to have more than a handful of the considerable emigration over the last few things. In any case, law enforcement in decades. Many of these migrants send Lamordia tends to be a dull affair, as there money back to the country, especially those just doesn't seem to be a strong criminal who have aging parents back home. element in the country -- Lamordians are Remittances thus form an important but law-abiding to a fault. As a result, the unspoken part of the national economy. Lamordian gendarmerie spends a fair Law amount of time enforcing petty schultebott ordinances (to the grumbling of the Lamordic Law forms one of the older gendarmes), and many of Lamordia's legal traditions in the Western Core, and professional police end up emigrating to elements of it can be found on Graben Falkovnia or Dementlieu, where they can Island, in Falkovnia, and in parts of Western advance much more quickly. When a crime Darkon. It's a common law tradition -- is committed, the accused is put on trial precedent and schultebott (town council) before a magistrate (in smaller communities rulings piled together for centuries on end, this is simply the schult or mayor, while the with legal codification coming only much, towns will usually have a professional much later. This can sometimes make for judge), and is given legal representation. some perplexing loopholes in the law, as There is no jury system in Lamordia, with some smaller communities may not actually the judge making the final decision, but have laws making, say, murder illegal. It there is an adversarial legal system and may be that it simply never came up in that Lamordian judges are considered to be little hamlet. Despite that, Lamordians are singularly fair-minded. not great fans of legalistic wrangling, and Still, there are a few crimes that seem usually solve such problems by throwing endemic to Lamordia. Grave-robbing is a trouble-makers into a guarded root cellar common problem, and is often winked at by while the schultebott has an emergency the community. Dead bodies are necessary session to rectify the problem. If anything, for medical education, but Lamordian Lamordic law tends to be over-complicated, ordinances and laws forbid using anyone with scores of irritating little regulations and but a tiny number of convicted criminals, civic ordinances passed by schultebotts with which means that most medical students nothing better to do. find themselves on night-time expeditions to Lamordic law is enforced by a the local graveyards at least a few times in gendarmerie, a small but very professional the course of their education. police force of career officers, who follow military discipline. Not every town will even Government have a gendarme about, and the ratio of The Sovereign Barony of Lamordia is a police-to-population is only about half that federal constitutional monarchy, led by of neighboring Darkon or Dementlieu, let Barony Vilhelm von Aubrecker and a alone Falkovnia. When the gendarmes do representative legislature called the ''Diet''.

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Real power lies in the hands of the Schults with foreign affairs such as maintaining the (Mayors) and Schultebotts (Town Councils). Lamordian army or negotiating trade Lamordia's villages and towns are heavily treaties. By long right and custom, isolated from one another -- even at the Lamordia's dwarven communities are best of times, travel through the mountain always organized into their own cantons, passes is difficult, tedious, and unpleasant, and have equal rights in the country. and in the winter one can add 'dangerous' Over all of this preside the Aubreckers. to that list as well. As a result, Lamordians Formally, the Baron Vilhelm von Aubrecker have developed a strong tradition of self- serves as ceremonial head of state, government, probably one of the more commander in chief of the army, and has democratic and egalitarian systems in the certain emergency powers to use in times of Core. national crisis. In practice, it's been over a Most local governance is handled by the century since Lamordia last warred with schultebotts. Members of a schultebott anyone (they're too small to be (called the stautsrote) are elected by an expansionistic and no one is quite foolish assembly of all the male landholders in a enough to try and attack their mountainous community to a term of six years, with strongholds), and the Diet would have a terms being staggered so that one third of collective heart attack if the Baron tried to the schultebott is up for election every two declare a national crisis, so the Barons are years. The size of a schultebott varies, but mostly trotted out to look regal for foreign generally speaking small villages and dignitaries. In any case, Vilhelm is close to a hamlets will have six people, modest towns hundred years old and in singularly ill will have twelve or eighteen, and the health, and so much attention is being paid schultebott of Ludendorf has thirty six to his only surviving child, Gerta von members. The schultebott handles most Aubrecker, who is also a Mitglied and a domestic problems - everything from member of the Ludendorf schultebott. passing local laws to setting taxes to Military organizing the militia. They also select the Lamordian military leaders are realists. schult for the community, who is almost At one and a half million people, the always a former or current stautsrote. The Lamordians can never defeat Dementlieu schult handles matters relating to trade, (ten million), let alone Darkon (thirty serves as a tie-breaker in the schultebott, million) or Falkovnia (fifteen million and the and generally exercises executive duties in most powerful army in the Core) in open the community. battle. Instead, the dominant strain of On a larger level, Lamordia is divided thinking is to make their country too much into several cantons (mostly based on of a bother to attack. While the Lamordians geography -- all members of a canton can would be eventually defeated, it would be a easily reach each other), the schultebotts of Pyrrhic victory, and since everyone knows which select one or more ''Mitglied'' this, no one wants to bother attacking them (members) to send to the great Diet at in the first place. Ludendorf, one for every twenty five Part of this defense is based on the thousand people in the area and serving for country's environment and geography. staggered six year terms. The mitglied serve Lamordia is a mountainous land, and there in the legislature and pass the few pan- are numerous passes where a small force Lamordian laws that exist, mostly dealing

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can hold off a much larger army. In the followed by all the general staffs of the winter, the country becomes wholly Core, and ''especially'' that of their untouchable, at least until someone figures Falkovnian cousins. Drakov is known to out how to march troops through waist- disdain automatons, but not all of his deep snow. The other part is that the generals are quite so certain themselves. Lamordians work to ensure that they have a Lamordian troops are among the best very good, and surprisingly large, army for in the Northwestern Core, though like the their size. gendarmes they suffer from the fact that Lamordia has universal conscription, there simply isn't much for them to do in and every Lamordian youth, male or female, Lamordia. This means that, again, quite a spends two years, from eighteen to twenty, few emigrate into Falkovnia or Dementlieu as a militia soldier. Under the eye of and take up positions there. Others become watchful career officers and NCOs, they are mercenaries, fighting in wars as far abroad given some of the best weapons in the Core as Invidia or even in Phirazia, where their (rapid-firing repeating rifles), and taught competence and professionalism is greatly how to use them to best effect. The respected. militiamen spend their time patrolling the Politics border, hunting down wild beasts or All politics is local, and nowhere is this peculiar scientific horrors, and serving as more true than in Lamordia. With cantons assistants to the local gendarmerie. After and individual communities frequently cut they muster out, they are given the rifles to off from the rest of the country by blizzards take home with them, and show up once a or avalanches, most politics occurs at a local year for a three-day refresher course. level. People scheme to be elected to the Lamordia's military reserve, as a percentage schultebott, and then once in the of their total population, is not so far from schutlebott they scheme to enrich that of their Falkovnian cousins. themselves or advance their community or This large militia is stiffened by a small generally just to lord their status around. In number of professional soldiers and officers, most communities, all of the local 'worthies' as well as a highly competent artillery corps will be members of the schultebott, and it's and navy. Of particular note are Lamordia's very often considered to be a place for old Mechanized Divisions, which are small units merchants to fuss about street lights or the staffed largely or in part with automatons. proper regulations for door width. To a Most are simply humanoid automatons great extent, this is true... except that outfitted with either melee weapons (this schultebotts also decide where and how the requires a simple program and a cheaper great Lamordian engineering projects are machine) or long-range sharpshooter rifles carried out, and the location of a tunnel or (more expensive, but aiming automatons canal or a land improvement project can are very accurate). A few groups use large make or break people. In smaller automatons like mobile fortresses, a communities, where there are only a few bristling hedgehog of guns and blades and hundred farmers, this doesn't really matter, armor, mounted on wheels or treads. So and in those places the schultebot really is a far, there are only a few of these machines, debating society for the self-important. But since getting money out of the Diet is like in the larger towns and cities, fortunes are squeezing blood from a stone, but at stake, and electoral politics gets Lamordian military innovation is closely

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decidedly vicious. Lamordians don't poison Lamordia's politicians are very, very their rivals like the Borcans do, but whisper cautious and do nothing that might earn the campaigns and anonymous, slanderous enmity of their powerful neighbors. attacks are common, with the goal being to Falkovnia Falko-Lamordian relations paint one's rival as either irrational or as form a very complicated dance. On the one violating public morality. Elections to the hand, relations between the two are Diet, which determines trade treaties, are excellent. Lamordia is the ancestral even worse, a kind of reputation demolition homeland of the Falkovnian people, there is derby. a strong cultural affinity and a shared Aside from the management of language, there is constant trade of engineering projects, the other great debate Lamordian manufactured and technological in Lamordian politics is that of foreign goods for Falkovnian grains, small but policy. Essentially, should Lamordia regular migration (primarily Lamordians continue to be neutral, or should it throw its wishing to ascend to greater heights, who lot in with the Falkovnians? A majority of go to Falkovnia), and periodic cooperation the population is quite content to exist as a between the governments. At the same high-tech backwater, away from the life-or- time, Lamordia would very much like to death struggles of politics in the rest of the ''not'' be a Falkovnian client state, and so Western Core. But there is a growing, vocal they pursue an independent line as much as minority (comprising perhaps 20% of the possible, to the frustration of Falkovnia's politically involved population) that believes foreign ministry, and Falkovnian that Lamordia's national destiny requires it immigration into Lamordia is limited. to join with the Falkovnians, and that only Dementlieu There is a strain of cool by uniting Lamordian know-how with condescension among Lamordians towards Falkovnian industry can their people truly their southern neighbor. While the rise to greatness in the Core. So far, older Dementlieuse are seen as a quite intelligent and more cautious heads have prevailed, people, the decadence of their aristocracy but these debates rage across Lamordian makes the civic-minded Lamordians gag. newspapers and in Lamordia's coffee shops Still, the Lamordian state is sometimes and schultebott meetings, and the considered a fifth member of the Four nationalist position is particularly attractive Towers Pact, in that they tend to agree with to the youth of the country. their southern neighbors on most diplomatic Foreign Relations matters ''except'' Falkovnia (primarily Lamordian foreign policy can be best matters of banking and trade). There's summed as 'they do nothing, and they do it some bad blood over the illicit Lamordian very carefully.' Lamordia is a sparsely extension of the train route, but the more populated land adjoining three of the rapid movement of goods and people largest and most powerful countries in the promises to be a boon to both national Core, and no one is under any illusion that economies. Lamordia's military could stand up to even Darkon If the Lamordians are cordial Dementlieu, let alone the juggernauts of with the Falkovnians and condescending their more easterly neighbors. At the same towards the Dementlieuse, their attitude time, it's been generations since Lamordia towards Darkon is one of outright was able to fully feed itself on its own land, xenophobia masked by politeness. Darkon is and so trade is vital to the country. Thus, a cruel empire founded on magic and

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Dread Possibility At the time of the creation of Lamordia, the gods of Mordenheim's home world (or, perhaps, the Dark Powers) played one final trick on him. Mordenheim was utterly convinced that life and cognition were purely biological/mechanical phenomena, entirely rejecting the concept of a "soul", and he thought creation of his "Adam" would prove the point once and for all. The gods therefore decided to strip his own soul from his breast and implant it in his creation, while leaving his mind intact. Now, Adam has the soul of Mordenheim, with its yearning for understanding and creation, but the body, mind and memories of the construct made by Mordenheim's hands. Adam is intensely frustrated by his desire to create new life, because he lacks the mental acuity and knowledge necessary to bring it to pass; he is intensely jealous of his former master's abilities and yearns to succeed where Mordenheim failed, but he simply doesn't have the know-how to do so. Mordenheim, on the other hand, is now the construct--immensely gifted in intellect, but essentially without imagination or desires. He is doomed to repeat the same series of experiments throughout eternity, not understanding why it all seems so empty and why he cannot replicate his first astonishing success. The domain reflects Mordenheim, rather than Adam, to highlight to Adam the frustration and despair of his (literal) self-alienation (since everything reflects Mordenheim) and to highlight to Mordenheim his own essential emptiness and intellectual sterility (again, since everything reflects him).

superstition, blood enemy of their is a genius, but one that is little respected in Falkovnian cousins, and generally an all- his own land. To the extent that most around wretched place. They blew up a city Lamordians think of the man, they think of by accident, really, what more need be him as that strange, mad recluse that lives said? Still, relations between the two in Schloss Mordenheim and ventures forth countries are very proper and correct, and only occasionally to buy supplies, or to send there is some forced cooperation over the out journal articles or academic papers that, matter of Darkon's sizable Darko-Lamordic while possibly brilliant, are so dense and population, and the unity of the dwarven complex as to be incomprehensible to all communities across the north of the Core. but himself. There are dark rumors about him, of course, that the man is a grave Adam & Mordenheim robber, but then such rumors swirl around The most brilliant scientist in a nation many great scientists (eccentricity is almost of brilliant scientists, Dr. Victor Mordenheim expected of such geniuses). Still, aside from is centuries ahead of his colleagues. a few correspondents at universities around Familiar with the germ theory of disease, Lamordia and the Core and the occasional atomic theory, cell theory, and working student, most Lamordians ignore Dr. Victor around the edges of genetics, Mordenheim Mordenheim, and he happily returns the favor.

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Of the Creature, much less is known. Adam is a boogeyman, a popular ghost story and a reason to avoid the Isle of Agony, but most Lamordians, safe in their little valleys, consider the Creature to be a fictional being, something invented as a kind of all-purpose 'scare the children into going to bed' character. Not everyone is quite so confident in the matter, particularly those merchants and whalers who sail near the Isle of Agony, and the gendarmerie of Ludendorf who must sometimes deal with unexplained murders or abductions. The 'monk's of the Monastery of the Quickening Thunderbolt know a great deal more, of course, but they aren't telling anyone.

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The Midnight Market

By Mikhail “NeoTiamat” Rekun illustrations by Eleanor “Isabella” Ferron

The Minister asks. "Have you been good?"

You say yes. Entering the Market For mortals, a visit to the Market of The Minister asks. "Have you obeyed the Nightmares always begins the same way, Laws?" with an invitation. The invitations always You say yes. look the same, a beautifully engraved card decorated with images of cherubim and The Minister asks. "Have you obeyed the flowers, upon which is written in a Pacts, the Bindings and the Rituals, the calligraphic hand: Oaths of the Damned and Darkest You are cordially invited to participate in Promise?" Our Market Night upon January 2nd, 761 You say yes. [or whatever the date is], by grace of God the two hundred and fifteenth anniversary The Minister asks. "Will you serve me as of the Market. Hours of admission are from Beast and Slave?" 12:00 PM to 1:00 AM. A donation of one (1) You say yes. drop of blood per visitor is greatly appreciated. Some places are necessary. They may be unpleasant, they may be unwholesome, Invitation tendered by courtesy of ______. they may be evil in a way that causes the The invitations are delivered by tame very ground to weep, but they are ravens, attached by a colorful silk ribbon to necessary. The value of the free market, the the bird's left leg. The name at the bottom value of the truce grounds, is something is that of the current participant in the that cannot be denied. Everyone, even the Midnight Market who has petitioned for the direst enemies, needs a place to be able to recipient's entry. In a rare few cases, shop, to scheme and to plot. In the however, the card is merely inscribed sorrowed lands of the Mists, the Midnight "Courtesy of the Minister." Market fulfills this duty, a neutral ground At the bottom of the card, in a crude, that all the Legions of the Night agree is block letters, someone writes the location of inviolate. To promise violence in the Market the market's gateway for the night in is a poor idea… Because the Minister of Fear question. The gateway is always a little enforces the truce. used door in some dry and dusty corner of

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a building, a broom closet or an attic room, one that resembles an old-fashioned bedroom. It might be the door to a Mordentish parlor, with cozy couches and mausoleum, or it might be a door still in the upholstered walls. Upon a side table sits a workshop of a peasant craftsman. It doesn't collection of silver bowls, equal in number really matter where the door normally goes. to the visitors, each with a small knife, a For this one hour of this one night, it leads towel, and a tiny glass bottle of iodine. to the Midnight Market. There is no door except the one they Visitors arrive at the gateway, which entered by. opens silently, a moment before they can Visitors who decline the 'donation' of knock. Inside, they are greeted with a small one drop of blood may spend as long as they like in the parlor, but will be unable to penetrate further into the Midnight Market. The Nature of Time, and Once each silver bowl is graced by a drop of Returning to the Market blood, however, the door behind the visitors Time inside the Midnight Market opens into the Midnight Market. and time outside of it have a very strange relationship. Inside the The Shopkeepers market, a day passes for every hour Many of the shopkeepers are small, outside. One who enters the Market goblin-like men with beady yellow eyes, at 12:01 at night and stays there for ugly and deformed yet not quite beyond the twelve hours, emerges to find it still limits of the human form. Ears may be only 12:31. With that said, the absent entirely, or expand like the wings of Market only exists for an hour each bats, noses are hooked till the tip touches night. So, one who stays in the the upper lip, or else inches long, hands Midnight Market an entire day finds have six fingers, or four, or are long as that likewise, a day has passed spider-legs, or melted into a kind of outside, due to the Market's limited grotesque, waxy mitten existence. The goblin men sell everything and Those interested in returning to anything, whatever the soul desires. the Midnight Market, meanwhile,  A beautiful portrait to grace your need only ask a raven for an abode? It can be done. If the woman in the invitation. Any old crow on the painting screams at times, pray, ignore it. It street will do. And in an hour, a does that sometimes. raven will return with an invitation.  An herbal infusion to cure a As for those interested in persistent cough? Certainly, here is some bringing others... well, for that one just in from Sri Raji. Ah, yes... the periodic petitions the Minister for an burping of serpents is a side-effect. It's invitation. One finds him wandering quite harmless. Just kill the snakes by the streets of the Midnight Market, nightfall. the rain dripping off his coat, and the petitioner makes his case. And  The skull of an unshriven mass usually, the Minister will nod, and an murderer for a magic ritual? Well, it may invitation will be sent out. It's a require placing an order, but something can simple affair, in truth. be arranged.

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by name, it is easy to believe that the same The Market Grounds goblin is never seen twice. With that said, there are usually a The Midnight Market is the size hundred other entities in the Midnight of a good-sized city block, though it Market in addition to the goblin-men. Some feels much smaller and more are visitors, others merchants, but all are claustrophobic. Narrow streets of creatures of the night. A sample follows: grey cobbles meander everywhere, while tiny alleyways lead off into the Sodalis, the News Cat darkness. Tall townhouses, four, five This small, grey cat is usually one of stories in height crowd alongside the the first creatures that the newcomers to streets. The townhouses are dark the Market meet. It is also one of the most and quiet, and seem to have no uniquely helpful. Called Sodalis by the doors, but sometimes shapes can be merchants, the cat can rescue lost market- seen to move inside the curtained goers, lead visitors to specific merchants, or windows. Nothing ever comes out of the townhouses, but that's all right. No one who goes in comes out either, which is also all right. A perpetual light drizzle comes down on the Midnight Market, and the grey sky makes it impossible to tell what time it is. Flickering gaslamps illuminate the streets, but on the whole, the place feels somehow somber, and grey, and muted. Flocks of ravens roost in the upper levels, but the observant visitor will notice that these ravens... they do not breathe, and are slightly transparent. provide a bit of friendly company as The only ‘life’ (for a given value required. The cat’s most notable habit is of life) in the Midnight Market is on that it provides a small broadsheet with the street level. There the advertisements and locations for all of the merchants of the Market have set up Midnight Market’s merchants and stalls. their tents and stalls in alleyways How the cat does this is something of a and under overhangs, beneath question. It never speaks, not even under bridges and in the middle of the the influence of magic. Whether it’s some street. benign fey or ghost, or some creature required for the Market to function is an No one is quite certain how many of open question, but Sodalis does a great the goblin-men dwell in the Midnight deal to ensure that the Market remains Market. They seem interchangeable, coherent to newcomers. faceless, scheming Faerie interested only in wealth. Unless a visitor asks or seeks one

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The Clan Karkar, the Merchants of Karkar, a squat, large-nosed figure dressed solely in black silk, his face shrouded in Death shadows. A large orb of light, similar to a This family of gnomes is likely the most will-o-wisp, hangs by his side. Malthus famous group of mortal merchants to do Karkar acts as the customer's guide, business within the Midnight Market. These showing them a large variety of flails, black-robed, silent figures are crafters of swords, axes, daggers, crossbows, and other weapons. Their prices are fair, their weapons are high quality and the The Market comes to Town enchantments are always quite reliable. Most of the time, the Midnight Of course, they also ask for a few pints Market takes place in its own little of blood with every purchase, but one gets corner of reality, not really here and used to these eccentricities. not really there. Yet on certain In truth, Malthus Karkar is not the occasions the gates of the Market open, and in some corner of the Core the merchants colonize an abandoned fairground, an old cemetery, the interior of some ruined church. The Market comes to any given place only once every few years, but on those nights the usual strictures regarding invitation are lifted, and anyone can stroll into the Market if they can find whatever out-of-the-way ruin they occupy. Of course, without the Minister to keep the peace, those visitors come at their own risk. Still, it’s a way for the merchants to see some fresh blood, and a way for GMs to use the Market without necessarily going gnome who greets visitors, but the orb of through the full rigmarole of an light by his side. Malthus is an ancient invitation. The newspaper from the Gnomish Vampire and powerful mage, and beginning of this entry is from such has been ruling his mortal descendants for an occasion. centuries, turning them into blood slaves, and supplementing his diet with the blood weapons extraordinaire, reliable, of customers. It's a ghoulish little business, conscientious, and uncurious as to their but one that fills a niche. And the Clan customers. They have set up shop beneath Karkar does make good weapons. a bridge near the center of the Market, Araignée Veuve Noire Grissoie, hanging black curtains to create the semblance of a true shop. the Broker When one enters the Clan's shop, one This strange old woman is perhaps the is greeted by their spokesman, Malthus most successful of the Midnight Market’s

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many brokers, and certainly the most high- profile. Her stall is large and permanent- seeming, more shop than simple stall, and resembles the home of a rich old widow rather than any sort of merchant’s store. Grissoie greets her customers one by one, seated in the shadows. She is a small, hunched woman with odd proportions, dressed in a woman’s suit in pale colors, and clutching a cane of white wood. Primarily, Grissoie is a solver of problems. People come to her with tales of lost loves, hated enemies, stories of decadence and defeat and despair. Grissoie listens with inexhaustible patience, asking only a few questions to elicit the full story. And then she makes her offer. She will make the problem go away, for a price – always high, but usually not as terribly esoteric as some in the Market. A rival may fall ill and die, a contract may be altered with none the wiser, a relative freed from prison in dead of night. Very little is impossible for Madame Grissoie. The woman is a very powerful witch and fulfills many of her contracts herself, but she also knows many queer and uncanny creatures, and how to summon or and the creation of a new, republican form persuade them to do her bidding. of government for her homeland. That this Essentially, she’s a middleman, an arranger would involve the deaths of the entire of affairs. Dementlieuse aristocratic class is, in her Grissoie supplements her business with eyes, a net positive. more mundane tasks. She is a very rich Athené moves through the society of woman, and will buy rare objects, or else the Midnight Market with an easy sell something from her collection, as well confidence backed up by palpable physical as conduct appraisals. These are fairly power. In her human shape, Athené is a straightforward, but one had best have a tough, muscular woman with a scar running great deal of gold before Grissoie bothers down her face and with a well-used rifle at with such things. her side. She’s stronger than she looks and Athené, the Revolutionary she’s an excellent shot, but when pressed, Not everyone who comes to the she can turn into something significantly Midnight Market does so out of wholly stranger, a freakishly tall bird-creature with selfish desires. Athené seeks the liberation eyes like dish-plates and hooked talons that of Dementlieu, the freedom of her people can punch through a door. Most likely, she’s

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some manner of obscure were-creature, a were-owl perhaps, judging by the fact that her hair turns into greyish feathers when sufficiently stressed. Athené sometimes works as a mercenary at the Midnight Market, offering quick violence to make problems go away. Other times, she hires people herself, to strike a blow against the hated nobility. She’s really quite easygoing, if somewhat taciturn, and her idealism is tempered by a sadistic streak that should give more people pause than it does. Greysilk, the Fence Sometimes, people come to the Midnight Market not to buy, but to sell. Some things are valuable, assuredly, but only to those in the nocturnal realm of the Midnight Market. A condemned man's last breath? Fresh virgin tears? Soil from a Kasim al-Darwish, the Alchemist vampire's coffin? For those, no mundane The pavilion of Kasim al-Darwish is a merchant will do. Enter Greysilk the Fence. large, circular tent in red and orange silk, Greysilk is an easy individual to spot, luxurious and ostentatious to a grand wandering around the Midnight Market. A degree. A table is set up before the tent, short, chubby man in a pale grey, silk suit, covered in cut-glass bottles and little jars of Greysilk cuts a fairly ridiculous figure liquids and powders, all arrayed in a amongst the shadowy customers and goblin haphazard fashion. There are long, blue merchants of the Market. Eminently bottles with thin necks, small red jars that friendly, even over-familiar, Greysilk contain something that glows lightly, what introduces himself as "Charles Emmanuel appears to be an obsidian inlaid snuff-box, Grey, Esquire," and has the manners of a and other strange odds and ends. There is a court dandy. price-list pinned to the fabric of the tent, Greysilk doesn't buy everything offered written in a calligraphic style upon a to him, of course. There's really been an stretched out parchment. over-supply of condemned men's breaths Kasim al-Darwish himself sits in an ever since Drakov took over. But some over-stuffed chair behind the table of things he will buy, and not just the esoterica merchandise, a pair of huge, russet-furred either. Greysilk will buy jewelry, stolen hyenas lounging at his feet. Kasim al- paintings, most anything, and he pays in Darwish himself looks like a decidedly good gold and silver for it, though his coins predator sort, with a slim smile and are oftentimes of... peculiar origin, mismatched eyes beneath his tattoos. One displaying mintmarks or denominations that eye is a dark brown, nearly black. The other have never been produced in the Core or is a pale blue. And Al-Darwish has claws. the Islands beyond.

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Long claws, which tip the fingers of negotiation, though Conall has been known powerful hands. to settle for street buskers and music-hall Al-Darwish claims to be a wizard, singers, for all that some suspect him in the having trained at the Red Academy of disappearance of the Dementlieuse ballerina Hazlan before going abroad to seek his Yvette DeMontaine. Only when the sacrifice fortune. Certainly, the man is an extremely is brought to his feet, willingly or in chains, skilled alchemist with a pleasant, seemingly- does Conall offer his not inconsiderable obsequious manner, with many references might. Those who care about such things to the “Honored sir” and “This one, your presume that Conall sates his animal lusts servant.” Of course, there is the fact that he on his victims in some unsavory fashion. In accepts payment in human flesh as an truth, the story is rather different. alternative to more conventional currencies. Once, Conall was an infected werewolf, He is particularly interested in human a maddened beast who upon his first brains, which, if brought to him fresh, he transformation slew wife, parents, brother, will eat at the stall, or else give to his and child in one gore-soaked night. hyena-creatures. Unhinged with grief, Conall made a bargain Conall, the Killer with an entity best left unnamed. For one hundred and twelve lives, lives of artists, his Even amongst the shadow-dwellers of own life will be returned to him. the Midnight Market, this grim Tepestani This is something Conall has come to stands out. He maintains no stall or tent, believe with a religious fervor. He needs to offers no goods or magics for sale. Conall believe it, to maintain his own vestiges of sells only himself, never for more than a sanity. If only he can cover his hands in day at a time. Conall is a mercenary, and if enough broken dreams, then perhaps his his businesslike manner is to be believed, curse shall be lifted, his family returned. he is a very good one. Certainly his appearance bears it out. Conall stands six feet and seven inches tall, and is possessed of the frame and build of a blacksmith or stevedore. He carries no weapons, and dresses in workman's clothes instead of armor, but he has no need of either, for Conall is one of the Mountain Loup Garou, a werewolf of unimaginable power, harmed only by the touch of pure gold. And for a price, for one day, this engine of destruction will stand at his employer's side, and rend and tear whomsoever gets in the way. And for his price, Conall asks no money or jewels. For one day of service, Conall demands a life. And not just any life, but that of an artist, though whether musician, painter, or whatnot matters not in the least. How great an artist is a matter of

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Those familiar with the bargains of time, given him messages—messages far Faerie expect a less happy ending to more clear, specific, and commanding than Conall's tale. those that other astrologers seem to take Mercator Melanchthon, the from the stars. Mercator initially arrived at the Midnight Astrologer Market in the course of researching his The Melanchthons are an old and well- peculiar condition (or perhaps the better respected family of the Darkonian gentry, word would be ‘patron’), but like many the leading citizens of a village near other regulars of the Market the half-elf has Nevuchar Springs. The family is principally become something of a merchant himself. human, but over the years has acquired Somber and quiet, a tall figure dressed in more than a hint of elvish blood. The family clothing that was the peak of Darkonese has produced numerous doctors, lawyers, fashion a quarter century ago, Mercator clergymen (the family is roughly evenly offers his services as both an astrologer and divided between staunch Ezrans and near a physician to the residents of the Midnight atheists), and mages, including a previous Market – and on occasion, he delivers Mercator Melanchthon, Mercator Aloysius’s messages from the stars, missives far more great-uncle, who was a founding member of relevant and precise than is comforting. the Fraternity of Shadows before being lost in the Mists in 652 (see QtR 13: The Umbra by Nathan of the Fraternity). As a young man at the University of Il- Aluk, Mercator was fairly bright and very, very ambitious. However, his progress was not as rapid as he wished, and he began to look for other ways to get arcane power— combing tomes and grimoires not only for their contents, but for whom he might negotiate for a certain lease on greater powers. At last he found what he was looking for—or it found him. One night in the University observatory he trained the telescope on a familiar constellation and saw a new star, gleaming with a peculiar light in a color he found he could not name. He avoids thinking of what happened next, and can only remember brief images of whatever it was that transpired. When he came to himself, it was morning; he was slumped on the observatory floor, his face covered in dried bloodstains showing he had bled from the eyes, ears and nose. From that time forward he has had certain powers, and the stars have, from time to

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Marie Tempest, the Maestro play a gambling game within the theater, and the prizes to be won can be great Marie Tempest is rarely referred to as indeed. Provided, of course, the player is anything but "The Maestro," and it is certain willing to gamble something of equal value. that Marie Tempest is not her real name. Like all things at the Market, however, Little else is known about the faerie. She the buyer should beware. When gambling, has a striking appearance, and terrible the Tempest likes to pit her opponent's vice fashion sense. She's an average sized against their virtue, and she doesn't like to woman, with olive skin and feverish light lose. The line between reality and theater brown eyes. Her short-ish, brown-red hair tends to blur when playing, and players looks like it's been struck by lightning should be very careful what they do when several times. She wears hideous plaid gambling. People who fail to take the game vests, brightly colored dress shirts, and seriously, assuming that it’s simply an plain slacks and dress shoes. This is all illusion, will quickly discover the topped off with a fur- consequences of their trimmed coat that's actions are not limited to covered in stitches. She the stage. has multiple piercings in her ears, with chains Black Huiarnviu, the running between a few of Púca them, and rings on every He is tall, with skin finger. A long, jagged so pale that it is like the scar runs across her nose finest alabaster, and and under her eyes, short, black-brown hair completely bisecting her that fails to conceal his face. She smokes an long, black rabbit’s ears. antique Calabash pipe. His eyes are completely The Maestro has her black, and they are own wares (antique hourglass-shaped, like a theater equipment, long- goat’s. He wears the lost plays and stories), clothing of an old- but the most well-known fashioned courtier, a attraction is her bizarre stage play and fun robin’s egg blue doublet with a ruff, and house at the Midnight Market. On the white stockings and blue knee-britches, and outside, the place appears as a crude, if silver-buckled shoes. He has a heavy signet entertaining, sideshow, often run with ring on one finger (the sigil taking the form shadow puppets or paper cutouts. Once of a wheel), and he has a sword strapped to inside, though, the true special effects come his belt, a semi-transparent creation of out, sometimes appearing more real than crystal and cold. He has a harp, a small life. For most, the side show is just a way of thing, of black wood and crystalline strings, letting off steam, or perhaps a deeper that makes no sound when plucked. He catharsis - visitors can get on stage and act speaks slowly, in a quiet, whispery voice out a fantasy of their own with no that sends shivers up one's arm, choosing consequences or prying eyes. For those every word with care, and never using two who ask, however, the Maestro is willing to where one will do.

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The Púca appeared in the Market a few years ago, a companion of the Maestro. He is a cold, slow-speaking figure, a striking contrast to the Maestro's madcap frenzy. He says that he is a bard, a lore-keeper and story-teller. He gives his rank, if asked by a knowledgeable individual, as an Ollamh fili, a master-bard. What the Púca can do is grant wishes. He is a man who makes dreams come true. He specializes in the traditional wishes - for fame, for love, for glory, for beauty, for wealth, for health. He can grant them, playing them true on his soundless harp of crystal. Of course, there's a catch. What Black Huiarnviu is doing is that he is rewriting the subject’s destiny… but he cannot create good fortune from whole cloth. Instead, the Púca can move it about the aspects of the subject’s life. A woman wishes for fame, and is killed in a dreadful murder that will be emblazoned in newspapers and penny dreadfuls across the drowned land. Another man may wish for love, and And we never caught that whale, be afflicted with a ruinous, wasting, disease, We never caught that whale." through which he meets the nurse that will "Oh, to lose that whale, my captain cried, be his wife. Indeed, the Púca always takes It grieves my heart full sore away more than he seems to grant, But to lose four of my gallant men whether as payment for his services, or due It grieves me ten times more, brave boys, to some twisted supernatural entropy, or It grieves me ten times more!" both, it is difficult to ask. Black Huiarnviu rarely knows precisely Eric Finnsen is a handsome Grabenite what will happen, but the Púca has been man in a sealskin coat, black-eyed and with doing this long enough to make some very grey-blond hair, usually found sitting at a shrewd guesses. If a client is suitably polite booth with scrimshaw and pearls, odds and and respectful, the Púca will explain the ends from old shipwrecks, while singing old mechanics of what he does, and what is sea shanties in a loud and cheery voice. most likely to befall him. But he doesn’t He’s an incorrigible flirt, irrepressibly have to. enthusiastic, yet for all that, he also has a tendency to discreetly vanish whenever Eric Finnsen, the Master Boatman things get too dangerous. He only accepts "Well we struck that whale and the line payment in silver, and he has a positive played out fascination with the stuff. But she gave a flunder with her tail Finnsen is a professional guide, blessed And the boat capsized and four men were with an unerring sense of direction and a

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host of minor magics that let him go where needs to transfer funds from one identity to he likes, unhindered and unimpeded by the another, or a lich needs to purchase a elements. Any expedition with Finnsen on it property through different identities, it is to will never get lost, and will always have Abernathy, Abernathy, and Chevrier that favorable weather. He specializes in travel they turn. over water, but for enough money he’ll Over the years, Felix Abernathy (an cheerily travel to the peaks of the Balinoks austere, somber-looking gentleman) has or the heart of the Amber Waste. Rumor expanded. The younger Mr. Abernathy, has he’s even crossed a closed Domain Leon, is a huge, husky man with golden border or two in his time, but the how of it hair, variously whispered to be vampiric is something he prefers not to explain – such a crossing has its own price, much higher than the silver he usually asks for. When not leading people hither and thither and fro, Finnsen is usually found sailing his little skiff, diving for pearls, or scavenging old wrecks. Being a selkie, this is a profitable little sideline for Finnsen, but the Master Boatman enjoys company too much to spend all his time diving. Mortals are just so much fun. Abernathy, Abernathy, and Chevrier, Attorneys-at-Law Progress waits for no man, and for no monster of the night either. Even a dread vampire or subtle faerie must still contend with taxes and land fees and citizenship papers if it intends to try and mimic humanity, and all of these have become immeasurably more complex in recent generations. Enter the law firm of Abernathy, Abernathy, and Chevrier, legal advisors to the world of the night. The elder Mr. Abernathy was a rural childe or lover of the elder Abernathy. Mordentish lawyer until his encounter with a Morena Chevrier is a Valacani woman of vampire, and watching his sire’s struggles singularly feral aspect, with the eyes of a with the paperwork of setting up an identity cat. Felix Abernathy tends to remain in in Mordentshire gave Felix Abernathy the Mordentshire, while his two younger idea of creating this law firm for monsters. colleagues travel the Core, providing legal After all, aged vampires and unscrupulous services for all manner of monsters. witches tend to have a great deal of money, while at the same time rarely have a mind Inkeri Halvari, the Witch for numbers. Out of this, an interested party Inky's Emporium is a large, triangular could turn quite a profit. When a vampire tent, pitched with heavy beams of wood,

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the tops carved into intricate knots and Grandmother Thorne, the Seller of animal's heads. Several more beams create a large overhang in front of the entrance. Dreams The warm interior is lit by a large, iron This old Faerie is a peddler of dreams brazier, punched and carved with designs and nightmares, a buyer of fears and that leave intricate patterns across the tent hopes. In appearances, she resembles an cloth; the smell of incense tingles at the old woman, a Barovian babushka with a nostrils. Herbs lay drying, hanging from hunched back and faded shawl over her racks, along with a few stray ducks and head. Of course, no one would mistake her hares. A table in the back contains jars and for a mortal, as Grandmother Thorne's eyes pouches, their contents unknown. Nearby have been pierced by two massive rose sits a basin of water with a ladle, a pair of thorns, the size of railroad spikes. Still, this chalices, a drinking horn, a broom, and a doesn't seem to discomfit her, though a milking stool. slow ooze of blood stains her dress. Inky, as she prefers people call her, is a Grandmother Thorne buys and sells lovely young woman with blue eyes, her emotions, bottling them in crystal vials on long golden hair pulled back behind a white which she scrawls Old man's hope for son kerchief. A long, cow-like tail trails out from or Fear of a vampire attack in her crabbed behind her dairy-maid's dress, though no hand. Mortals come to her, trying to forget one has ever gotten close enough to tell if evil events and dreadful horrors. Vampires her back is a rotted tree hollow - at least, and Liches visit her, hoping to buy the taste no one who’s ever admitted it. In person, of life for just one flickering moment. And Inky is flirtatious, friendly, and a bit childish. the Faerie come to her, though best not ask She makes an effort to put on a dignified why. and demure attitude, especially with The old Fey sells her services not for customers, but her results are... mixed. She money, but for misery. For every service can be self-centered to the point of she offers, the customer must pledge with solipsism. For all that she's rarely malicious binding oaths to make someone unhappy, in any meaningful sense; her temper is themselves or others. Mortals often elect to terrifying when unleashed, given that she give up some of their own happiness, but can bend a steel bar in a fit of pique. others... A vampire once engineered the Ultimately, Inky’s is one of the best suicide of an entire family of five to pay places in the Midnight Market to go to for Grandmother Thorne's price. good old fashioned witchcraft. Inky brews Monsieur Dior, the Slaver healing elixirs, raises and puts down the Those who see this beautiful figure dead, conducts divinations (with runes, or think him one of the Faerie, or at the least with an apple and a silver dish), as well as one of the Children of the Night. A tall, the odd love potion or enchantment. Her willowy man with golden-blond hair, prices are entirely random, and she’s been Monsieur Dior conducts his business in the known to ask for a single kiss in exchange market with face concealed beneath an for a life-saving brew, or a deed to a house ivory half-mask, a vision almost angelic. In she’ll never use to lay to rest an unquiet truth, Simon Dupree is quite mortal. He is spirit. also a monster greater than most in the Market.

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Ever since his first visit to the Midnight honeyed bait, pretending to be a merchant Market, Simon saw a niche for himself. So traveling upon business (which, in truth, he much in the Market can be bought with is). To his elders, Simon is a studious young human lives, with human souls, with blood man of business, eager to learn. To his and pain and whispers and tears. But not all fellows, Simon is the dashing traveler, creatures wish to go to the hassle of carrying just a hint of exotic danger about kidnapping a mortal merely to hire the him to heighten the allure. To children, services of Conall, or care to drain Simon is kind and attentive, always ready themselves of blood (if they even possess with a helping hand and a kind word. And blood any longer) just to purchase from the when the time is ripe, when he lures his Clan Karkar. victim to a secluded spot with soft words Simon makes it so that they don't need and sweet looks, he strikes. A stab of the to, for Simon, you see, is a slaver. Traveling syringe, the clink of the manacles, and then through the sunlit realms, the beautiful through the Gateway to the Midnight Richemuloise man places himself as Market, to await the buyers with their soft gold and bright silver. As for what happens while his prisoners are in his care... very few of the denizens of the Midnight Market care whether or not their victims are in pristine condition when bought. Jeremy Carter, the Beggar When the visitors meet this young man, dressed in rags and with a bandage around one arm, he tells a sorrowful tale. He came here by accident one night with his fiancée, Emily. At first it was interesting - the strange people, the peculiar sights, but now Jeremy just wants to go home to Mordentshire and his father's shop. Except he can't find Emily. The young man is vague and confused, but somehow he's lost Emily, and search as he might, he can't find her. Please, he begs, please find Emily. Young Jeremy is quite desperate, and worried out of his mind about his beloved. Try as they might, however, the visitors cannot find Jeremy's fiance. Look everywhere, ask everyone, no one in the Market knows where Emily is. Of course, if one were to ask the oldest denizens of the Midnight Market, Malthus Karkar or Grandmother Thorne or one of the others,

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The Minister of Fear He is the master of the Midnight Market. He is its lord, its judge and its executioner. He enforces the Market Truce, he enforces the Bindings and Promises. He is fear incarnate, a fey so old and corrupted that even great liches and Faerie lords shudder at his name. The Minister takes his name from his appearance. A tall, gaunt man some six feet in height, the Minister dresses like an old preacher, in dusty black with a broad-brimmed hat. His face is stern, with empty eye sockets as though his eyes were pecked out by carrion crows, while his arms are the twisted talons of a raven, covered in black feathers where they emerge from his jacket. The Minister carries a book with him always, from which he reads his judgments in a sonorous voice, and is accompanied by his Hounds. Those Hounds are one reason why the Minister is so feared. A dozen strong, these twisted beings were once men, or undead, or other Faeries. But the Minister asked them to be his Beasts and his Slaves, and they agreed, though why shall never be known. And once they agreed, they twisted. They grew razor teeth and sharp talons, black fur and black feathers. Some walk on all fours; others still remember they were once men. They never speak, but at the Minister's command, they attack like a ravenous horde, undying, unceasing, shrugging off wounds that would slay an ox. The ghost-ravens of the Midnight Market likewise obey the Minister of Fear, for they are his eyes and his ears. They know everything in the Market, and thus he knows it too. But it is not merelu for the hounds, or the ghost-ravens that the Minister is feared. He is feared for his questions. For the questions he asks, one is compelled to answer, and should he ask you to join his Hounds, become Beast and Slave, then you will agree. Everyone else he asked has. And he has been at it for a very long time. Or perhaps it is not even that which causes him to be so feared. The Minister of Fear enforces the laws and promises of the Midnight Market. His rules are simple. All creditors must pay their debts, all oaths must be honored, and violence may not be offered to any unless both parties agree to a duel. That is all. And so many of the denizens of the Market whisper that he is not merely a boogeyman writ large, no incarnate of fear alone. He is a Faerie Lord of Fear... and Justice. And in their darkest hearts, everyone fears justice.

one learns a curious fact. No one has ever been able to find Emily. GM’s Notes And Jeremy has been asking for the The Midnight Market draws inspiration last two hundred-odd years. from a whole host of 'Bazaars of the Bizarre', a tradition that has its roots in the stories of Fritz Leiber of Fafhrd and the Grey

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Mouser and in Christina Rossetti’s poem, Changeling: The Lost, and of course, Sigil, The Goblin Market. More recent inspirations the City of Doors, which is a city-sized include the Floating Market of Neil Gaiman's Bazaar of the Bizarre. Neverwhere, the Goblin Markets of

Dread Possibility – The Nature of the Market The Midnight Market is a meeting ground and shopping location for all manner of strange creatures. Mortals come there, and the living dead, and the dwellers of Faerie. Yet what is it? A few possibilities:  It’s a faerie realm, located physically in an otherworld of peculiar nature, perhaps in the Shadow Rift, perhaps somewhere not mapped to conventional understandings of the Demiplane of Dread’s metaphysics.  It is a Pocket Domain, similar to the Carnival or the House of Lament. The Darklord is Jeremy Carter. For the last two hundred and fifteen years, the young Mordentishman has been trapped within his own mind, in a mental demiplane of his own devising, searching for his beloved fiancée. Only with Emily can he escape the damnation he forged for himself so many years ago. His actual, corporeal body has been locked in a coma for years, stored away in a side-room of a sanitarium in Mordent. His records were long since lost; the staff has too high a turnover to notice that this one patient has been living for over two centuries now. Meanwhile, the Darklord searches aimlessly throughout the Market for Emily, trying to make some sense of his shattered memories and the alien reality around him. Sometimes, he thinks he sees Emily in the rain. Which, in the darkness of his heart, he knows is quite impossible. He killed her two hundred years ago. As for the residents  The native inhabitants of the Midnight Market are the creations of their world. They are fey beings, fully formed from their alien realm, or astral constructs conjured up from Jeremy’s tormented mind.  They are interlopers, faeries who found a door to it long ago. So they’ve set up shop now, and use it for their own ends, and are ever nervous that the real owners are going to be returning any day now. And the Minister of Fear  Perhaps he is a great faerie lord, as so many think. A distant cousin of Loht, the Prince of Shadows, more interested in most of the high unseelie in human interaction, in faith and gold. Of course, the interest of one of the high fae is a difficult thing to grasp.  He is a manifestation of the Dark Powers, faintly similar to Count von Lovenhorst or other Mist Creatures. He exists because it is necessary that he do so, whether because the Dark Powers use him to torment the true Darklord of the Midnight Market, or because the Dark Powers find the Market useful and wish to maintain it.

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Now, the Midnight Market is not for everyone's campaign. People who are sticking to a more traditional Gothic style may find it a too strange and surreal for that style. On the other hand, if it is for your campaign style, then the Midnight Market can serve as an excellent place for the PCs to meet with some eldritch informant, or to do some shopping (the prices are strange and the gear disturbing, but very little in the Midnight Market is actually cursed. It'd be bad business to scare away the customers). In fact, one could start a campaign by means of the invitations, having the PCs gathered in the Market by some unknown patron or adversary. Beyond providing services and meeting grounds, the Midnight Market also serves as a good place to seed some more... unusual adventure hooks. Many of the merchants accept alternative payment, often strange, for their wares. Or what about the drops of blood the Midnight Market collects as payment? Sympathetic magic can be quite powerful, and the Market has collected the blood (or in some cases, bone slivers or what-not) of a great many powerful beings. One could do a great deal with this. Credits The Midnight Market was designed and mostly written by Mikhail Rekun (“NeoTiamat”). All illustrations, as well as the character of Marie Tempest, are by Eleanor Ferron (“Isabella”), Mercator Melanchthon is a former PC of Nathan Okerlund (“Nathan of the FoS”), converted with permission. Also, a thanks to the original patrons of the Fair Folk thread in the FoS forum, particularly Irving the Meek, for advice and moral support, and to my players in the Shattered City campaign (including Nathan), for serving as test subjects for the Midnight Market.

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Mochocarania

By John Berndt

He hired Drakov's mercenaries and that too turned out to be a mistake. They were brutal, crude, and worst of all, foreign. They were widely hated for this and when one of them killed a ten year old child, that started the revolt. It was merely the spark, of course, if that were all it was, it would have been quickly put down. But the revolt then The rider gallops along the line at full spread throughout the domain. Agents of speed, shouting "Stand, you slugs!" but his Strahd helped fan the flames; in retrospect, greatly outnumbered troops still panic. Even he should have forbidden his troops from the mercenaries are being swarmed, then pursuing Vistani into Barovia. Count Strahd killed. Trying to keep his troops in line, he had made it clear that Vistani in his land slaughters a few of them to "make an were HIS and he wasn't going to put up example of them." After he slays a couple with it forever. dozen of them, he twists his face in horror After the mists claimed him, he wound as the mists envelope him and he is gone. up here, where there were nothing but A while later, he is surrounded by Vistani. There were some changes to these thousands of Vistani who grab him and Vistani though, the major one being that slowly and painfully beat him to death. they were not cursed to wander and indeed Later, a swarm of Vistani grab him and most have no wish to leave the domain. slowly put him to death by making small They were mainly farmers and fisherman cuts all over his body. Later yet, he is slowly with some foresters as well. The domain is hanged to death. rich as its land is more fertile than even Malocchio woke up, remembering the Falkovnia, and it has perfect weather year past. A revolt broke out in Invidia, one that round; the trees are fast growing and he could not control. The problem, he finally valuable and there are lots of fish in its realized, was that although he was immune bays, rivers and lakes. Indeed, the domain to Vistani curses, others were not. The land is second only to Falkovnia in food exports. itself became accursed as many Invidians When he arrived in Mochocarania, he drew the ire of the Vistani. Crops started found himself in the throne room and failing, people started turning into freaks, considered king. When he found out about and merchants discovered their the wealth of the region, he imposed craftsmanship greatly suffered. So the crushing taxes, more to keep his people damned Vistani beat him in the end, after miserable than for the money's sake. all. However, that caused a revolt and he was

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beaten to death. The next day, he woke up Worse yet, the Vistani are very wealthy here and the Vistani again saw him as their and their numbers are increasing rapidly as king. He then imposed harsh laws on them. the women are unusually fertile and food is A short time later he was cut to pieces by a plentiful. He can't even impose crushing mob. The last time he tried oppressing only taxes to try and stop this, as that tactic the woodsmen, but even that touched off a resulted in his painful death before. revolt and he was hanged. He gave up after The king is also cursed with that; the deaths were painful and remembering every mistake he made and humiliating. acknowledging that it was his own. His King Malocchio lives in a splendid blindness of the past is all too clear in his palace surrounded by servants and in mind. He doesn't think that he has done luxurious surroundings, but is still anything wrong morally (he has no morals completely miserable. He is totally to begin with), but only wrong politically. surrounded by people he hates, as only Malocchio is also taunted over his past Vistani live in his domain. failures. There are a number of paintings in From time to time the Dark Powers his palace that can neither be moved nor taunt him by having Non-Vistani visit the destroyed. From time to time, they depict land, but King Malocchio is cursed never to the various mistakes he made in the past. meet them, outside of quick glances. As No one else can see these changes. Dark Lord, he gained two powers. The first Occasionally, he also sees mocking smiles is the ability to detect Non-Vistani the from the inhabitants - only he can see this moment they enter his domain. He cannot change as well. repress this power. The second is that he is He has lost his teleport at will power also undying and unaging. Whenever he is and has to go everywhere normally. This killed, he is raised from the dead by the grates at him terribly. Not only is he Dark Powers and placed in his throne room. reduced to being like everyone else, but he The Vistani remember nothing about why has lost hope, believing that even if he they killed him and are again loyal to him. should lose his darklordship somehow, his He knows instantly when a non-Vistani destiny is still ruined. enters his domain but not where. If he tries His palace guards are known as “The to have them picked up, the guards will Blades” and are fanatically loyal to him. quickly forget about them and wander off They are the only ones who stay loyal to while they escape. They do remember him during a revolt. They are 7th level them, however, if they commit a crime and fighters,but there are no more than fifty of are imprisoned for that reason. In that case, them, and he has been unable to increase when he tries visiting them, something their number in the past. Whenever there is threatening his rule always crops up and he a revolt, they are vastly outnumbered and can't go. are torn to pieces by the mob.

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Ustalav Gazetteer A sidetrek between Keening and the Shadow Rift By “Jester” David Gibson

Returning to my escape from Keening, I continued my journey west to the land of Ustalav. My planned route across the nation sprung quickly to mind, as clear as a freshly hatched idea. I would cross the border from Keening close to Karcau and then circle southward around the nation, ending at

Lepidstadt. At that city's famed University I The chilling laughter of the would continue my research on the widderrìbhinn continued as I fled; the cavernous Shadow Rift that is rumoured to haunting and inhuman sound echoed lurk beneath the surface of the Core. This around me, coming from all sides at once. I would complete the largest of my fled for the border. Tristessa's moans grew Doomsday Gazetteers leaving me with just increasingly faint. With every step, my the seas to detail. anticipation over departing the dead land of Keening grew. Ustalav? Curious. I suspect those were As my remaining protective enchantments faded, the curious bracer indeed the Mists of my tormentors. I upon my wrist grew uncomfortably warm. Then as now, the nature of your enchanted wonder what they hope to gain from this bracer eluded me; its magical aura seems little… excursion. incompatible with the item's protective function. But I imagine you know this quite Landscape well, my patron. Upon raising my eyes from the bracer, I Unlike many other nations in our world found that a thick bank of mists had risen that are dominated by a single geographic from the ground. The pale white tendrils feature, Ustalav features a variety of rushed over me, embracing me with their different terrains. In the north, there is a cool touch. As quickly as the fog came, it stretch of plains and woodland cut by swift departed, moving past me like a swift moving rivers, which becomes boggy in the autumn breeze. Aware of the properties of lowlands. The flat landscape quickly gives the Mists, I furtively looked around to see if way to the rough mountains and hills of my location had changed. I was thankful to central Ustalav, where a stretch of the find I had not moved, that the mists had Balinok Mountains bisects the land. The just been regular fog, some local south is divided between rough plains and phenomenon.

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hills and the wide basin that eventually become mired in a sudden fen or tumble becomes Lake Encarthan. into a hidden bog, as I discovered on more Politically, Ustalav is divided into eight than one occasion, much to the displeasure regions, which are known as either counties of my horse. or palatinates. I will further delve into the The Sinaria countryside is spotted with difference between these regions when I abandoned keeps and fortresses. The discuss the history and politics of Ustalav. region was once heavily fortified, possibly due to internal division or shifting borders. The locals claim these date back to the Terg Ustalav at a Glance occupation, but the ruins seem far older. Regardless, the reason for the ancient Culture Level: Medieval (7) keeps has long since been forgotten, and Ecology: Full many of the ancient structures have Climate/ Terrain: Temperate partially vanished into bogs. forest, hill, plains, and mountains West of Sinaria is the palatinate of Year of Formation: 601 Vieland, occupying the northwestern corner Population: 46,000 of Ustalav. To the north is Darkon, with the Human Ethnic Groups: Barovian Moutray River separating the nations. The (89%), half-Vistani, (8%), Terg Vhatsuntide River marks the eastern border (3%) of Vieland, with its Western border being Languages: Balok* the rough mountain range known as the Religion: Lawgiver, Hala, Eternal Crumbling Hills. The slopes of these Order mountains are riddled with caverns, and Ruler: Prince Aduard Ordranti III there are dark stories of beasts and Darklord: Venture Captain James unmentionable horrors lurking within. Weylan Named for the frequent avalanches and the

loose scree that covers much of its slopes, However, given the wide range of the Crumbling Hills serves as a natural geography in Ustalav, these districts are deterrent to the forces of Falkovnia, and useful for reducing the nation into has so far limited invasions. The Vieland manageable areas. residents seem unconcerned with the threat The northeastern region is the county of foreign powers, leaving the defense of of Sinaria, centered around Karcau and Lake the land to Canterwall to the south. Prophyria. The western border of Sinaria is Vieland was was one of the last the Vhatsuntide River, which is fed by the stretches of Ustalav to be civilized, and numerous rivers and streams from the there remains a strong Terg presence in its eastern highlands. These meandering hills and woodland dales. The region waterways leave much of the region boggy, features numerous standing stones, rolling with the landscape covered in scattered barrow mounds, and stone circles. It is ponds and marshy grasslands. The largest impressive that these ancient megaliths expanse of wetlands is Graidmere Swamp, remain standing, not having been pulled adjacent to Lake Prophyria, however, infirm down to construct buildings or fortifications. patches of earth occur randomly throughout Across the rest of Ustalav, these stones the county, interrupting fields and making were removed or destroyed. overland travel difficult. It is easy to

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Dominating Vieland is the Shudderwood, whose towering fir, spruce, and pine trees block out the sun and cast long shadows throughout the forest. Smaller thickets of beech, oak, ash, and maple trees can be found within the dense wood, but these appear stunted and sickly from the restricted light. With the perpetual gloom, there is precious little underbrush, with only thick moss, lichens, and fungi growing beneath the trees. Concealed in the shadows of the forest are steep gullies, hidden streams, and the occasional sinkhole. The most unnerving feature of the forest is the silence, and even the birds and foraging animals move silently through the trees. When a beast does utter a sound, the noise eerily assumed to be the northernmost part of echoes through the woods, being caught Canterwall. and carried by the thick canopy. Numerous forts cover the countryside South of the Vieland is the palatinate of of Canterwall. Like the ruins of Sinaria, Canterwall. This region is centered around these were built in ages past, but of late the Lake Lias and bisected by the Vistear River. fortifications have been repaired to defend Canterwall is a fertile region and frequently against invasion from Falkovnia. Newly farmed, except for the area surrounding constructed watchtowers have been erected Lake Lias, where there is a large moor and between the older fortresses, guarding the soil becomes unsuitable for crops. This against invasion via the narrow mountain moor is often cloaked by a thick mist that passes. A single road connects the nations, rolls down off the mountains. leading through the mountains to the town Canterwall's only firm border is the of Morfenzi. The road moves through a Vhatsuntide River to the east: the southern narrow pass that is frequently sealed by borders with Ardeal and Virlych have shifted winter snows or spring avalanches. This was over the years, as Canterwall tried to the site of the first Falkovnian invasion of expand its territory, while the northern Ustalav in 719, the infamous Starving border with Vieland is vague and ill defined. March. Since then, Canterwall has The fortified town of Tamrivena is constructed numerous defensive structures technically part of Vieland, but is commonly by the pass in anticipation of a second attempt. To date, Drakov had only sent

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small squads across the western border, from the south, moving through Virholt, and Ustalav's defences have managed to ignoring the rumours of the region. The defend against incursion. results were less disastrous than his Dead Occupying the wasp-waist heart of Man Campaigns against Darkon, but no Ustalav is the county of Ardeal, formerly the more successful. capital of the nation. Despite its rough The southern border of both Ardeal and terrain, Ardeal is heavily farmed, with small Virlych is the Hungry Mountains, which split ranches and farmsteads covering the the nation in twain. The mountains have a countryside. Near the hilly border with surprisingly diverse ecology, with small but Tepest is the depopulated city of Ardis, dense forests on their slopes, seemingly formerly home to the royal court. When the bottomless chasms, fields of scree, small prince moved south, so did most of the bogs, and deep mountain lakes. Locals refer noble families, and the county is littered to the range's "Hundred Haunted Vales" and with abandoned estates and unkempt speak in whispers of fey creatures and manor homes. witches who make their homes between the The borders of Ardeal are in flux, with peaks. There are a number of ancient keeps its lands being claimed by and Sinaria and and watchtowers in the mountains, along Canterwall to the north and Versex to the with small manors and other structures, southeast. A generation ago, Varno such as the Monastery of the Veil, which I attempted to annex a stretch of land at describe later in this report. While I am their border known as the Dragosvet Plains, uncertain there are truly a hundred of the starting the four-year War Without Rivals. small valleys, I saw numerous examples in The conflict ended with the contested my two crossings of the mountain range, so countryside being burnt and salted, and the the true number might not be far off. I plains remain a dead maze of trenches now suspect many of the so-called haunted known as the Furrows. In part because of caverns might lead down into the Shadow these shifting borders, the area around Lake Rift, but was unable to secure a guide and Kavapesta and the road connecting Ardeal hesitant to test the protective magic of my with Caliphas to the south is tightly held by bracer by wandering blindly into caves. the county, and frequently patrolled by soldiers and mercenary companies. Pray your reluctance does not hinder your Once the county of Virholt, Virlych is an accursed wasteland of shattered mountains task, my little scholar. Fortunately for and dark magic. Bordered by Borca and you, what I seek is unlikely to be found Falkovnia, the region is inhabited only by beasts, undead, and madmen. The region is below. wracked by storms of magical fury that rain Spanning the eastern ridges of the fire or hail lightning. Hungry Mountains is the county of Versex. Farmers in neighbouring Canterwall and Ardeal spoke to me in whispers of dust storms that that hunted the living, rain that turned men to ash, phantoms wreathed in frost, and worse. In 733, Vlad Drakov made the second of his attempts to invade Ustalav, this time

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Secret Society: Cults of the Old Ones These strange cults worship ancient beings known as the Great Old Ones, and have survived for centuries despite all attempts at eradication. The cultists worship beings with names like Azathoth, Nyarlathotep, Shub-Niggurath, Yog-Sothoth, and Cthulhu. The cultists of these alien beings seek to prepare the world for the end of days, when their inhuman masters arrive, or awaken, or return. They await the day when all life will be purged from the world and their unholy masters will dominate the land. Some hope their obedience will lead to a role of a prominence in the new order, while others simply hope to be eaten first. In order to aid the coming of their masters, the cultists seek arcane knowledge and lost magic. They hope to use this forgotten lore to summon or awaken their lords, or at the least their master's servants. Many cultists are not entirely human, and belong to unnatural bloodlines, corrupted by inhuman progenitors, or tainted by generations of inbreeding. Other cultists are gripped with madness, their sanity having been shattered either through delving into secrets best left forgotten or witnessing the impossible. While cultists of the Old Ones are found in numerous locations in Ustalav, they are especially common in Versex, where the barrier between worlds is thin, and sensitive individuals hear the whispers from other worlds. The city of Carrion Hill is a center of cult activities in the region, and is built atop ancient ruins that predate humanity. To the south, the village of Illmarsh is also home to numerous foul cultists of more squamous lineage For more information consult the Pathfinder Chronicles: Faction Guide.

The county stretches across Ustalav, named Carrion Hill. Versex is renowned for begining at the southwestern border of its poor cropland, and what little crops Tepest, surrounding Lantern Lake, and manage to grow are stunted and twisted. moving south to the edge of Lake Livestock is prone to a disease known as Encarthan. The terrain is rough, with rock the phage that leaves them emaciated and slides a common hazard, even in the results in deformed offspring. While most foothills. The southeastern border is ill humans seem immune to the phage, there defined, overlapping with Nova Vaasa's is a higher than average occurrence of Beastwood, known in Ustalav as the Forest calibans in Versex. These pale, twisted of Veils. Here the forest is thick with cypress humans are almost a common sight in the and alder trees, and curious beasts are said region, and many caliban found elsewhere to wander the woods. in the nation trace their heritage to Versex. Despite neighbouring both the royal Occultists often speak of "ley lines" and capital of Caliphas and former capital of other supernatural phenomena when Ardeal, Versex is sparsely inhabited. There describing Versex, suggesting the flow of are a number of small hamlets, isolated mystical energy is to blame. My arcane skills villages, and several reclusive monasteries, revealed that the region is indeed flush with with the largest city being the unfortunately magical energy. There are few megaliths

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marking these ley lines and strange natural when things appear peaceful, but this growths can be found in place of the unease was different. I believe I began to standing stones, such as mushroom faerie feel this slight discomfort as soon as I rings or copses of arching trees. The walls entered Ustalav but was not entirely between this world and other planes seem cognizant of the feeling. It dismissed it as weaker in Versex, and magical energies weariness, fatigue from my constant bleed through into our land from beyond. travelling, and longing for a home that was These energies seem unnatural and foul no longer mine. In Varno I was able to more than fiendish, very different than the finally able to put it into words: this land power of Necropolis, or other magics I have was not where I belonged. Ustalav did not encountered. After but a couple weeks in want me here. Nevertheless, I ignored this this corrupting presence I found myself feeling and continued my research. thinking strange thoughts and considering The county of Caliphas is isolated in the ideas I had previously dismissed as rash or southwest corner of Ustalav. The landscape impractical. While my training in the arcane of Caliphas slopes down from the Hungry might have left me sensitive to its influence, Mountains to Lake Encarthan, broken by I can only wonder at the effects this land woodland and fertile river plains. has on common folk. The easternmost county is Varno. The plains of Nova Vaasa stretch into this land, as the rough terrain that covers much of No Place Like Home Ustalav flattens. The county is home to Those born in Ustalav have a numerous farms, ranches, vineyards, and bond to their homeland, and have orchards, with the latter having fame across strong compulsion to remain, the central Core. Varno produces the vast regardless of how horrible their lives majority of the local fruit, as well as become. This innate stubbornness Ustalav's liqueurs and spirits. While Varno can be resisted and many traders or wine cannot compete with Borcan vintages mercenaries Ustalavs do leave, but in terms of quality or prestige, it is cheap they always feel a pull to return and and plentiful and thus more widely no other land truly feels like home. consumed across the Core. This effect is stronger for some, who Varno is deceptively peaceful, lacking even do not feel at ease away from ruins and standing stones, estates and their home region. feuding families, and even dangerous Outsiders have the opposite predators. Perhaps because of these reaction to Ustalav, and find reasons, the locals are more suspicious and themselves with a strong desire to wary of strangers than typical Ustalavs. The leave. No matter how long they live folk of Varno spend their time whispering in in the land, they never feel at rumours and sharing legends. They are home and always feel like a aware of the stories told of elsewhere in the foreigner. Native Ustalavs can sense nation, and will share them with those who expatriates as outsiders on an win their confidence. unconscious level, and have Despite the peaceful nature of Varno, I difficulty seeing them as anything felt ill at ease and uncomfortable. I am else. always wary of hidden dangers, especially

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The current capital of the nation, much and foxes. The rivers and lakes have an of the nobility has moved south to the city abundance of fish, with catfish, stickleback, that shares its name with the county. anglers, and eels being common. Ustalav Despite the high population of the county, has myriad varieties of snakes, which can much of the landscape is sparsely inhabited, be found in the forests, marshes, plains, with the inhabitants tightly clustered in and lakes. A number of serpents are found small fishing and shipping hamlets along the in the sewers of Ustalavic cities, and have coastline of Lake Encarthan. While the rest been known to swim up the plumbing. Most of Ustalav dismisses folk from Caliphas as serpents are not venomous and relatively urbane and soft, the county's northern harmless. However, there are a number of stretches are just as rustic as Vieland or deadly species that look deceptively like Sinaria. harmless breeds, so all snakes should be considered dangerous. Flora Predatory animals are frequently Sharing a climate with Barovia and Tepest, encountered in rural areas. While most it is unsurprising that Ustalav is dominated avoid groups of humans, lone, unwary by fir, spruce, and pine trees. Copses of travellers can easily fall victim to hungry these trees can be found throughout the beasts. Wolves are common in the woods – land, regardless of altitude, and make up especially Shudderwood – and cougars can the majority of the Shudderwood. The be found in the mountains. Forest of Veils includes some cypress, Ustalav has its share of monstrous laurel, and alder, and there are also patches predators. The Shudderwood is home to all of hardwood trees, such as cherry, manner of unnatural beasts, and is hazelnut, beech, oak. rumoured to be the hunting grounds of several rival packs of werewolves. I have Farmers readily grow flax and beans, while also heard tales of hideous man-spider the floodplains are used for rice, mustard, creatures that command arachnids the size and cotton. Ustalav has predictable seasonal of large dogs. The Virlych region is home to precipitation. The orchards of Varno roving undead. Twisted vampire creatures produce plums, cherries, apricots, and and crazed ghouls roam that wasteland. apples. There are also a number of There are also tales of large packs of ghouls vineyards in the region, typically producing lurking beneath the Hungry Mountains, with white and rosé grapes. There is regular rain some claiming there is an entire in the spring and flooding after the heavy subterranean city ruled by ghouls. I am winter snows that fills the wide flood plains uncertain of the truth of these legends, as it along the mountain streams. There are seems incompatible with the existence of short droughts during the summer and fall the Shadow Rift and there are no legends of that are easily anticipated and farmers are ghouls consorting with the Arak. Despite adept at preparing for dry stretches. their cannibalistic nature, ghouls are surprisingly intelligent, so it is not Fauna impossible. The forests and plains of Ustalav are rife with deer, elk, wild boar, and bears. There are a number of local animals hunted for their pelts, including badgers, weasels,

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The Kingdom of Ghouls Beneath the Hungry Mountains is the Kingdom of the Ghouls. These hungry predators silently hunt throughout their lightless realm, capturing unwary travellers and dragging them beneath the earth to either be devoured or to join their lifeless ranks. More cunning and intelligent that common ghouls, these undead frequently operate as scavengers, and may choose to converse with those they encounter. The ghouls have their own society beneath the mountains. There are a number of large warrens occupied by nomadic packs of ghouls. With few possessions and not needing a place to eat or sleep, ghouls feel little desire to claim a permanent home. Their loose society is led by cultists of a Great Old One known as the Charnel God, an unnatural void-like being resembling a humanoid absence. The cultists wear purple hooded robes with metallic masks, which is a common guise for ghouls when they must venture out onto the surface. The vast network of ghoul tunnels sprawls across the nation, overlapping with ancient sewers and natural cavern systems. Many tunnels connect to graveyards or catacombs, allowing the ghouls to emerge and feed. Other tunnels lead to basements or old wells, allowing the ghouls access to the heart of cities. The web of passages is almost impossible to map, with shifting elevations and interconnecting caverns; only the ghouls seem to be able to navigate them, relying on senses beyond sight. Deeper underground, where the tunnels reach the edge of the Shadow Rift, the passages cross over into the world of dreams, allowing the ghouls to physically enter the Nightmare Lands and other dream realms. Here the ghoul warrens grow even more labyrinthine, seeming to move or shift, leading to strange places and distant lands.

regions. Making sense of this nation's Your task is not to tell me what is or is origins led to such frustration, that I cannot believe it was accidental or the result of not possible, nor to report on local careless documentation. I postulate that the legends. nameless forces behind our land have purposely rendered Ustalavic history History incomprehensible. But for what purpose I cannot say. I've studied the past of many nations in our land, but the history of Ustalav is a Truly? After so much time, you still cannot paradox beyond what I have experienced before, and one I am completely unable to see the pattern in the tapestry? unravel. While other nations have The early years of Ustalav have fallen contradictory histories, the past of Ustalav is into mystery. The land was held by uniquely disarrayed. Historical dates are unknown tribes of humans who erected the inconsistent and do not match the physical various monuments and standing stones evidence, which seems to vary between

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found across the landscape. They are also invaders to be their ancient enemy, the believed to have built the many large Tergs. They were also quick to hail Count barrow mounds across the countryside, but Strahd von Zarovich as one of the many of these seem to predate even the instrumental figures that led the revolution tribes. This might be a contradiction or against the Tyrant. However, the Terg perhaps the early humans imitated existing occupation of Barovia took place in the barrows. I am uncertain which. 320s, two centuries after the defeat of the Over several centuries, these original Tyrant. But, somehow, this glaring inhabitants were driven out by the early contradiction goes unnoticed by both Ustalavs, led by the figure Soividia Ustav Barovians and the Ustalavs. who gave the nation its name. The fleeing Similarly, several of the armies and tribes were driven to the north and east and knighthoods who aided the defeat of the away from the early Ustalavs. Presumably, Tyrant were gifted land as a reward, and many simply tribes fled to the less offered the Ustalavic counties to the hospitable highlands and are the ancestors southwest. The Ustalavs assume these of the mountain folk who live in the lands were Dorvinia, and have a curious forgotten dales and valleys of Ustalav. respect for that nation, claiming an ancient Almost a thousand years ago, the land kinship. The Ustalavs were critical of was seized by an undying ruler known only Dorvinia's merger with Borca following the as the "Whispering Tyrant" who ruled for six Great Upheaval, and considered it an centuries. (However, the earliest reference invasion or political betrayal. There is strong to the Tyrant is dated an unfathomable two support among the peasantry for assisting millennia earlier, which seems deeply the liberation of Dorvinia. implausible.) The Tyrant raised a legion of While the Tyrant had been defeated, its the walking dead and united tribes of minions still plagued the land, hiding in savage humanoids to form its army. The forgotten places, and dark shadows, but identity of these tribes is uncertain, but it also sometimes in plain sight. Old spirits, was likely the tribal folk displaced by Ustav. roused by the magics of the Tyrant but kept This force swept across the land, razing at bay through fear, were now free to roam villages, and enslaving its victims. During the land. This middle history of Ustalav is this period much of the early history of the filled with human treachery, monsters, and land fell into legend, as libraries were lost desperate struggles to overcome these when entire cities were razed. Eventually, horrors. The names of these horrors are after centuries of rule, the Tyrant was well document, even if the specifics are overthrown through an organized crusade, maddeningly contradictory: Bastard Hall, led by knights both foreign and local. This the Beast of Lepidstadt, Spring-heeled Jack, revolution would have taken place around Mr. D, the Devil in Grey, the Owlman of the year 100 of the Barovian Calendar, Ardis, the Reapers of Reputation, the however the exact date is uncertain and it Ravengro Devil, and so many more. The might have occurred up to two centuries folk of Ustalav have a penchant for prior. evocative names for their nightmares. When Ustalav was revealed by the Following the defeat of the Tyrant, the Mists in 586 BC, this period of violent population attempted to return to their old expansion was immediately noticed by the lives. However, the royal line that had Barovians, who quickly declared the originated with Soividia Ustav had been

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broken during the Tyrant's rule. The paths to mystical enlightenment. Within the surviving noble families, most with only year, Canter had founded the Esoteric Order distant ties to the crown, fought for control of the Palatine Eye. A decade later, the of the nation. After two years of infighting count was caught performing a midnight and intrigue, House Ordranti claimed the orgiastic ritual in a standing circle and throne. This ascension was not universally declared a witch. He lost his position as accepted, and the conflict continues to the count and was quickly removed as head of present, albeit more subtly. This is most the Esoteric Order. However, the reputation notable in the actions of the Caliphvaso of the Order never truly recovered. family, who have spent the intervening Histories record that the city of years attempting to claim the throne Lepidstadt was founded in 171 BC and in through one intrigue after another. While 460 BC a mysterious curse befell Castle the family has never succeeded in seizing Maiserene in the county of Varno. The the throne, they have avoided all efforts to castle was renamed Bastardhall and the fate bankrupt or exile their family in retaliation. of the respected Arudora family is unknown. Sometime after the reestablishment of the royal court, there was an influx of barbarian tribes threatening from the east. I A Land Without A Past am unable to pin down an exact date, and it The past of Ustalav is occurred between 85 BC and 310 BC, which contradictory, and precise details are is an unacceptably wide date range, often impossible to confirm: dates especially since the lower end is prior to the shift, the season in which events estimated defeat of the Tyrant. To defend occurred changes, exact names against the barbarians, the mercenary vary, and there are curious Kazavon was hired, and successfully drove anachronisms. An individual might away hordes. However, Kazavon claimed a appear to have been in two places stretch of the western lands and became a at the same time, their ethnicity harsh dictator. He ruled for 20 years before might shift, or there might be being overthrown. Ustalavic historians opposing descriptions of their believe this regime to be an ancestor of personality. This happens regardless Falkvonia, and claim Drakov descends from of the skill used to research the "the line of Kazavon". There are reports that past, the success of a check, or any the general that defeated Kazavon was magic used. The exact truth of aided by arcanists of the Esoteric Order of events is simply impossible to the Palatine Eye, a group that was discern. potentially founded years after this event. Not all details are inconstant, as The Esoteric Order was founded around historical events always seem to 160 BC when Aldus Aldon Canter – the have taken place, and their location future count of Vieland – returned from seldom changes. It is merely the exploratory expeditions in a foreign land exact details of the major events that I assume to be the Amber Wastes. that are inconstant. A casual glance However, this is almost 400 years prior to at the nation's history reveals few the earliest recorded appearance of problems and local scholars are Har'Akir. Upon his return, Canter began adept at ignoring contradictions. lecturing on foreign philosophies and their

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Every 100 years since this date, the Black Coach rumbles across the countryside Secret Society: The collecting unfortunate victims and escorting them to the keep. I can assert this date Pathfinder Society more authoritatively than others, as the Historians, explorers, and Black Coach was last seen in 560. adventurers, Pathfinders travel I speculate the University Lepidstadt across the land seeking lost lore, was founded sometime around 469 BC. magical relics, and insight into However, there are reports that also place history. Operating out of lodges the date as 136 BC and 342 BC. I've even housed in large cities and found references to the year "4422", which maintained by Venture Lieutenants, I imagine was a transcription error and Pathfinders travel the Core and the should have been either 442 or 422. lands beyond. Local Venture This historical disarray abruptly ends in Lieutenants will often assign the year 601, which is also the date that the Pathfinders to a particular mission, neighbouring lands record Ustalav entering directing them to explore a the Mists. It is with some certainty that I particular ruin, land, or region. can say that Ustalav did not exist as a However, these tasks are voluntary, solitary isle in the Mists prior to joining the and Pathfinders are free agents able Core, and conclude that the incongruities to choose their own destination. are a result of the land's false history. While While given the freedom to explore I can place the date of Ustalav's seminal as they wish, Pathfinders are event as 601, my efforts to discern its dread forbidden from direct conflict with lord have been in vain. each other and are encouraged to The events of roughly 155 years ago cooperate whenever possible. offer little insight into the nature of the Pathfinders can be identified by dread lord. The first of the Mr. D murders in their Wayfinder, a special compass Caliphas was my initial theory, but upon enchanted to glow upon command. checking the dates, these murders occurred Each Pathfinder is awarded their in 635 BC, and thus happened after the land Wayfinder upon completion of their was unveiled. I initially wondered if the training. While in the field, appearance of the reconstructed Bastardhall Pathfinders record their findings in and its black coach in 560 BC might also be journals. These journals are sent connected, but the regular reappearance of back to the central Pathfinder Lodge the castle every 100 years does not coincide in Ardis, and the highlights are with the founding of the land. published in a series of books known I even turned to unorthodox sources as Pathfinder Chronicles. These for information. The Pathfinder Society is a volumes are printed and sold small organization of historians and general throughout the Core. troublemakers. I have been aware of them For more information on the for some time, but have managed to avoid Pathfinder Society, please consult dealings with them until now. The Society the Pathfinder Chronicles: Faction pursues historical relics and lore and then Guide and the Pathfinder Campaign cheapens their accomplishments by Setting: Pathfinder Society Field publishing their findings in the most Guide.

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sensational of chapbooks. However, their spreading from Darkon, replacing and focus on unearthing the secrets of the past mingling with local beliefs. This religious made them uniquely suited for clarifying my tension continued until 707 when the own research. I even met with the head of Church of the Lawgiver took control of the the Pathfinder Society, Venture Captain churches and temples of the Forgotten God, James Weylan, in their lodge in Ardis. He establishing a firm hold over the land. The proved of keen mind and well versed in the other assorted deities of Ustalav were history of the land, and provided me with a dismissed, with the official dogma of the number of reports that aided my research. Church labelling them as either angelic However, even with his assistance and servitors of the Lawgiver or manipulative access to his records, I could not unearth demons leading the unwary to sin. anything pertaining to the dread lord. In 706, one of the largest prisons in Ustalav, Harrowstone, was engulfed in a A group of historians in a land without a fire, killing the prisoners and much of the staff. The residents of nearby Ravengro clear history. Is this not an obvious refer to this as the Harrowstone Fire. This curiosity? My tormentors are many things, caused much disorder in the nation, as many counties relied on Ravengro to house but they are seldom subtle. their criminals. Construction of a new prison Continuing with history that can be began south of Ardis, but has been confirmed, in 615, the Sincomakti School of perpetually delayed due to corruption and Sciences was founded on the south shore of scandal. Lantern Lake in Versex. Unlike the After years under the ineffective rule of University of Lepidstadt, the Sincomakti Prince Valislav Ordranti and his corrupt local School is more open to the possibility of counts, there was much unrest among the magic, and is famed for its collection of commoners of Ustalav. This came to a head occult books. with the Bloodless Revolution of 713, when In 651, one of the chief Ustalavic gods Vieland and Canterwall deposed their local fell silent. Once known as the Last Azlanti or rulers and became the palatinates. The the God of Humanity, the dead power is remaining counties suffered riots and similar now known only as the Forgotten God. This unrest. prompted a religious upheaval: Ustalav Local historians tend to attribute the always possessed its own small pantheon of death of Prince Ordranti, locally known as gods, but since the land was revealed by the Eunuch King, as a major cause for the the Mists, the locals increasingly ignored revolution's end. However, from my these gods. With the death of the Forgotten examination of events, the Prince's weak God, the existing churches warned that rule had little impact beyond the capital and apathy would lead to the death of more royal court. I believe that the unrest would gods, while those who converted to the Iron have continued and spread, had Falkovnia Faith of the Lawgiver claimed it was merely had not made its first attempt to invade the end of false deities. The building secular Ustalav. In early 719, Drakov marched movement claimed that the death of the troops directly across the Crumbling Hills. Forgotten God was merely the first death This incursion became known as the and that the time of religion had passed. In Starving March, for it abruptly ended when the north, the Eternal Order had begun a late snowfall struck the hills, causing

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avalanches that blocked supply lines and little education on courtly life. To this day divided squadrons. The surviving troops he approaches political situations with the were harried by mountain tribes of Tergs bluntness of a soldier. and emerged to face the Ustalavic forces, It is at this period I encounter the weakened and demoralized. This invasion earliest reference of famed novelist, Alison prompted a surge of national identity and Kinder. Details of the reclusive writer's early paranoia, which halted further revolution. life are vague, but she appears to have Following the death of Prince Ordranti, suffered a personal tragedy and taken up and in the absence of an heir, Prince the life of travelling scholar and monster Aduard III ascended to the throne in 720. hunter, not unlike Darkon’s Doctor van An honorary general in the Ustalaivic army Richten. for most of his life, Prince Aduard III was In 730, Kinder was allegedly involved in thought unlikely to ever rule and received the death of Viscount Galdyce of the Vale of Red Breath. Her fiancé Duristan Barlhein was also presumed to have been killed in Alison Kinder the incident. The few known details of the While the people of the Core incident parallel the plot of her novel know Alison Kinder for her gothic Galdyce's Guest, suggesting her works romances, others know her as a might not be the fictions she presents them retired adventurer, a former as. member of the Pathfinder Society, and lapsed monster hunter. Most curious. I have a copy of Galdyce's Following the assault on her sister, Guest in my personal library, but was Ellishan, Alison Kinder dedicated herself to fighting the creatures of never certain of its origins. the night, particularly the undead. The War Without Rivals between Ardeal Her adventures led to the death of and Varno began in 734. This led to four her fiancé, which eventually forced years of violent trench warfare, over the Kinder to retire. stretch of plains separating the two nations. Alison Kinder now lives in Grimol Many of the soldiers fighting in the war Hall in Ardis, and spends her days belonged to mercenary companies or penning somewhat fictionalized soldiers hired from Falkovnia, Darkon, and versions of her career as an Nova Vaasa. As many foreigners perished in adventurer, although this fact is not these battles as local forces. public knowledge. Her works Shortly after the end of the war, the include: Bleak Heart, Case of the Great Upheaval struck the land, launching Dreaming Dead, Feast of the many nations into chaos and confusion. Nosferatu, Galdyce's Guest, Her Compared to other lands, Ustalav Wounds Never Bled, Hunter's Moon, weathered the Great Upheaval with few In the Council of Corpses, and Steps difficulties. There are rumours that the Upon the Sanguine Stair. earthquakes that punctuated the magical For more information on Alison event caused numerous chasms and tunnels Kinder, consult Pathfinder Tales: to open in the Hungry Mountains. And, Bloodbound. there was a marked increase of reports of

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dark fey creatures in the region following there is a wide cultural and physical the Upheaval. difference between the ethnicities. The most recent historical event of note Ethnic Ustalavs are physically similar to actually occurred in my homeland of Barovians and Borcans, and outnumber the Darkon. In 749 the Requiem destroyed the other ethnic groups. Ustalavs have thick city of Il Aluk, an event I likely do not need builds with wide shoulders and stocky limbs. to elaborate on. In the aftermath of They have a shadowy, dusky appearance catastrophe, there was an influx of with dark hair and eyes being the norm. Darkonese refugees fleeing south across the Their skin ranges from a pale tan to light border. Most noteworthy was the wave of brown. Unlike Barovians, Ustalavs tend to scholars who settled in Lepidstadt. With the have sharper features, including narrow University of Il Aluk lost in the heart of the jaws, jutting cheekbones, and thin Necropolis, the University of Lepidstadt eyebrows. Men wear their hair long and became a vital center of learning and brushed back, often revealing pronounced education, as students and expatriates from widow's peaks. Beards are uncommon, most across the Core came to Lepidstadt to often found among the nobility due to an study. ancient law that has long since ceased to be The immediate history of Ustalav is one enforced, but lingers as tradition. of growing concerns. Nobles with interests Rural Ustalavs tend to dress in in the palatinates of Vieland and Canterwall functional clothing: men wear heavy have renewed their efforts at sowing dissent breeches and simple shirts, often accented against the civilian leaders of those regions, with a leather overcoat or vest, while while supporting royalist factions. And there women favour a loose blouse and long skirt. is lingering tension between Ardeal and However, most people have a nicer set of Varno over the civil war, as neither side clothes for special occasions, such as church feels satisfied with the outcome. Prince services or weddings. Urban Ustalavs dress Aduard III is seemingly ignorant of these in plain suits and dresses of lighter fabric, problems, as disinterested as he is with the and even the nobility eschews high fashion, intrigue in the capital. In recent years, he dismissing a preoccupation with clothing as has been in negotiations with Falkovnia, a Borcan excess. Ustalavic cities have a ostensibly seeking peace or treaties of curious timeless quality regarding fashion, nonaggression. I suspect he might share being several decades out of date from the Drakov's ambitions of marching south, West, yet not antiquated or unfashionable. perhaps reclaiming the purported Ustalavic Regardless of social class and region, dark territory or Borca. While the recent past of or muted colours are favoured, often black, the nation has been calm, I fear its future grey, brown, or blue. might prove tumultuous. While a single ethnicity, Ustalavs are quick to distinguish their social circles from Populace others, dividing themselves into subgroups such as northerners and southerners, The folk of Ustalav are divided into urbanites and country folk, and counties three distinct ethnic groups: Ustalavs, half- and palatinates. Effortlessly shifting Vistani, and the mountain folk known as between stereotypes and self-identities, Tergs. These three groups keep to their whom an Ustalav considers "the other" own communities and seldom mingle, so

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varies greatly depending on their current there are no permanently occupied camps, company. like the one by Tser Pool in Barovia, Ustalavs speak a variation of Balok. I caravans are found at some preferred sites don't believe they always spoke this more often than not. language but rather that, when the land Ustalav is also the location of some of was revealed by the Mists, the tongue the few permanent settlements of both half- changed to match its neighbours. Ustalavic Vistani and Vistani mortu, which are located Balok is full of the familiar guttural sounds close to the Vistani encampments on Lake and differs only in small ways from the Encarthan but far enough away that the Balok of Barovia, such as pronunciation and outcasts do not have to interact with their accent. For example, Ustalavs tend to speak kin. The primary inhabitants of these small more swiftly, with fewer drawn out vowels. villages are Vistani who suffered the The Ustalavic accent is subtler and less condition known as "static burn", caused by thick than the Barovian, which almost feels remaining in one location for too long – due like a comic exaggeration of the Ustalavic. to injury, illness, or imprisonment – as well as their offspring and any non-Vistani family members. These settlements have few Language Primer karash – Vistani that have been banished A few of the common words in but not cursed as darklings – but some of Ustalavic Balok are presented below. these outcasts have been accepted into the bine ati venit: welcome communities. noroc: good fortunes While most of these mortu Vistani live scuzati-mai: apologies peaceful lives, a small percentage is known multumesc: thank you for their criminal activities, including da: yes pickpocketing, robbery, extertion, and nu: no confidence schemes. Known as the Sczarni, ajutor: help vrăjitorie: witchcraft fiara: monster The Sczarni A loose collection of criminal The Vistani were quick to move into families with Vistani blood, including Ustalav, taking advantage of the easy mortu, karash, and their half-Vistani routes between the northern and southern offspring. Each Sczarni family is Core. Vardos are a common sight along the independent and has little in roads and mountain passes, and many small common with other families. hamlets rely on regular trade with caravans. Sczarni focus on non-violent Curiously, there are numerous reports of crimes and frown on members that Vistani in Ustalav prior to the land being resort to murder or assault. revealed by the Mists, and many Ustalavs However, they are not above hiring seem to possess some Vistani blood. There someone to perform an are a number of aged caravan yards and assassination or deliver a beating. settlements around Lake Encarthan that For more information on the have been used by the Vistani by Sczarni, consult Pathfinder generations, which paradoxically seem to Campaign Setting. predate the seminal event of 601. While

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these criminals exclusively target non- on a noble's dinner" to demonstrate the Vistani. Other Vistani frown upon the opulence of the Ustalavic nobility, or actions of the Sczarni as contributing to indicating someone's poverty by persecution of the Vistani and spreading commenting that they "have naught but their reputation as scoundrels. water." In the mountains, there are small Ustalav is a rich realm, but much of the communities of savage tribal folk that reject wealth is tightly held by the nobility. Even in civilization in favour of traditional lifestyles. the palatinates there is little sharing of A few ancient communities remain in the wealth, and power has simply shifted hands central Hungry Mountains, but the majority from the nobility to the merchants and are along the Balinok Mountains bordering officials. The majority of the population lives Tepest and Keening. Since Ustalav was a subsistence lifestyle, earning just enough revealed by the Mists, these folk have come money to maintain their status, with little to be known as "Tergs", but they do not extra coin saved to better their life. There is identify as such. In several ancient tomes I an exceedingly limited middle class, whose found references to the "Kellid" tribes and power is tightly maintained by the nobility believe this was a forgotten name of this and the wealthy. There is not nearly as people, but it could have referred to even much crippling poverty as I witnessed in earlier inhabitants. Barovia or Dementlieu, and the poor live Regardless of their true origin, the well compared to many others, but there is Tergs are muscular but compact people, still much hardship: an unseasonable or with dark hair that tends to grey at a young prolonged drought easily leads to age. Tergs keep their hair cut short and starvation. faces clean shaven, equating facial hair with The cities of Ustalav are not that deception and having something to hide. different from the countryside despite the They dress in leathers and wools, favouring attitudes of the residents and the manner of clothing they made themselves, dyed with employment. The poor toil for meager natural colourings into shades of dull red, wages, while the wealthy nobility hoard green, or blue. their wealth and enact laws designed to Farming is a common occupation: while maintain their power. Few artisans own lacking the abundant fields of Falkovnia, their own business, instead renting a shop Ustalav is largely self-sufficient and does space or working for its owner. not need to import grains, save in The difference between urban and rural particularly dry years. Wheat, rye, and life is largely one of attitude, as the cities barley grow plentifully, and Ustalavs bake cloak themselves in cynicism and skepticism all manner of breads. Vegetables such as while superstition and tradition rule the cabbage, turnip, beets, and onions are countryside. This superstitious nature common produce. Livestock is less diverse, makes Ustalavs slow to react, more likely to and goats and sheep are the primary herd suffer with quiet stoicism than risk solving animals, used for their milk and wool as their problems, out of fear of making things often as their meat. Stews are the most worse. They avoid confrontation, warding common meal, with the thickness of the away evil and danger rather than facing it broth being the distinguishing factor head on. A community is likely to ignore between the common folk and the nobility. danger for years – generations even – This leads to sayings such as "you can walk rather than risk unnecessary deaths.

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Secret Society: The Esoteric Order of the Palatine Eye Dedicated to opening their arcane third eye, the Esoteric Order is a group of curious nobles and the idle rich. The Order was founded by the spiritualist followers of Aldus Aldon Canter, an amatuer philosopher and occultist. The secretive nature of the Order makes it the subject of numerous rumours, its members being popular targets for conspiracy theorists. It has been blamed for orchestrating revolutions, assassinating leaders, secretly controlling the monarchy, and housing vast stores of artifacts or foreign treasures. The Order is divided into small local chapters that independently operate. Many chapters do not even communicate or coordinate activities, but chapter houses try to avoid competition. There is no central authority or leader, and each chapter establishes their own hierarchy. Chapters typically share information with other members of the Order, exchanging interesting findings or revelations – sometimes for free and sometimes in return for a promise of future assistance. Each chapter house has its own agenda and goals. Many explore the possibilities of life after death, attempting contact with the spirit world through séances or spirit communication devices. Others seek to unlock the latent psychic powers of their members. Magical research is a common activity, studying spellcraft and collecting arcane relics. For more information on the Esoteric Order of the Palatine Eye consult Pathfinder Adventure Path #44: Trial of the Beast.

I am uncertain if I would describe this did anything to make my task of Ustalavs as pessimistic or optimistic. They documenting their history any easier.) do believe that careless action will result in As an example, some travelers went negative outcomes. However, their attitude missing by Ravengro, and a nearby ranch encourages people to be happy with things hand heard large leathery wings. At the the way they are, for they could always be scene, hoofprints were found and trees worse. were curiously burnt. Suddenly, the entire town began speaking of a hideous fire- A nation in denial. How very frustrating. breathing carnivorous horse with massive bat wings. It would be laughable if it were How very useful. not so infuriating. Ustalavs are fond of telling stories, and For all their stories and warnings, there is a strong oral tradition. Legends are Ustalavs seem unusually fascinated by the quick to spread across the land, and stories horrors of the night. They are equally change and shift as each teller adds their terrified and excited. While their instincts for own flourish. A superstitious folk, Ustalavs survival keep most indoors at night, they are quick to see patterns, and attribute ill clamour for details and new legends. events to a local boogeyman. Local news There is no shortage of amateur quickly becomes a campfire tale. (None of occultists in the nation, collecting magical oddities and historical trinkets. I met with

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several during my travels, and there seems hunted and there have not been reports of to be a sort of club for these hobbyists, one being burned at the stake in decades. attracting the usual wealthy individuals with However, they are generally unwelcome in more gold at their disposal than sense. villages, and those seen practicing magic They seem fascinated with relics from are shunned and encouraged to reside Har'Akir and Sebua, and pay ridiculous elsewhere. Folk will refuse to sell them prices to import items or arrange goods, ignore them in the street, raise their expeditions to the Amber Wastes. Most taxes, and do whatever they can to make seem uninformed regarding the true nature life uncomfortable without actually drawing of the arcane, let alone the secrets of their the ire of the arcanist. land and our world. Despite this dislike, wizardry is not uncommon in the nation. The Tyrant and Magic in Ustalav his servants left a multitude of magical The details of magic are little known tomes behind, which were scattered during and vague: Ustalavs acknowledge magic the revolution. Many an arcanist has been exists but it is seldom seen. created after the discovery of an ancient Local legends regarding arcane magic grimoire. Wizards from across the Core often associate it with fiendish pacts or journey to Ustalav, hoping to discover some equate it with necromancy. The memory of lost arcane lore or delve into local libraries. the Tyrant still casts a pronounced shadow, This fascination with the legacy of the a constant reminder of the dangers of Tyrant is particularly evident in the cult magic. Thankfully, spellcasters are seldom known as the Whispering Way: a group of

Secret Society: The Whispering Way A necromantic cult, members of the Whispering Way believe that undeath is the pinnacle of existence, freeing the intellect from the concerns of pain, fear, and hunger. Living creatures are viewed as pitious wretches while death is seen as a waste. Members of the cult strive towards undeath as a means of immortality, and work towards perfecting necromantic rites that would allow them to "transcend" death. The majority of Whispering Way cultists are wizards or those aspiring to become wizards; sorcerers seldom possess the necessary arcane lore required by the cause, but the cult's leaders are not beyond using sorcerers to advance their goals. Some clerics of the Eternal Order have been swayed by the cult's teachings and have joined the cult. The activities of the cult vary depending on their immediate goal. Morbid cultists seeking to refine their necromantic lore are often grave robbers, stealing bodies for use in their foul experiments. Others work to free the Tyrant from his prison under Gallowspire, believing the knowledge of powerful lich will aid their efforts. Some cultists seek to snuff out all life in Ustalav, hoping to recreate the Requiem that killed Il Aluk and allow everyone to experience the gift of undeath. For more information on the Whispering Way, refer to the Pathfinder Chronicles: Faction Guide and Pathfinder Adventure Path #45: Broken Moon.

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fanatics who believe undeath is the purest elsewhere in the Mists, especially in the form of existence and aspire to "transcend" northern half of the nation. These gods death. It's a rather morbid philosophy that have names such as Pharasma, Desna, or stubbornly resists all attempts to eradicate Urgathoa, and are unfamiliar to me. This it. It appeared to have finally vanished three reverence is personal and unorganized, and decades ago, until the Requiem occurred there are few shrines to these hearth gods and the cult suddenly returned with a let alone churches, but a commoner might renewed vigour, attracting undead beings whisper a quick prayer when they feel it from Necropolis into its ranks. The necessary. occasional cultist will try and brave the Lawgiver: Following the death of the shroud surrounding Darkon's dead city, but Forgotten God, the Vaasi faith of the the general philosophy of the cult is that Lawgiver rapidly spread throughout the this is an unacceptable method of achieving nation. That the nobles subtly pushed and undeath, and that immortality must be encouraged its spread as a means of earned. maintaining their power also helped the Gypsy magic is seen as different from religion. Obviously, the church's dogma of other magic, and the common folk are wary accepting one's place in the world and but accepting of Vistani enchantments. submitting to authority appealed to those in Many foolishly believe that all Vistani are charge. As mentioned earlier, acceptance of able to cast spells and whisper that magic hardship is an Ustalavic trait, making the comes as naturally to them as walking. The teachings of the Lawgiver readily accepted, power of the Vistani is still feared, and even by those of lower status. The comfort Ustalavs are careful not to drive them to of its firm authority was well received by the anger. The Evil Eye causes Ustalavs far common folk, who were desperate to fill the more dread than knowing that a Vistani void left by their absent deity. might be able to cast a spell. Eternal Order: In the past, there were Fortune telling has a long history in several local hearth gods that warded away Ustalav. The locals make use of a regional death or appeased the other world. When variant of the Tarokka, known as Harrowing Ustalav was revealed by the Mists, these Decks. Ustalavic histories refer to Vistani faiths mingled with the teachings of the performing Harrowing readings for centuries Darkonian state religion, and a variant of prior to the lands unveiling, and skilled that faith took root in northern Ustalav and users are known as harrowers. s Caliphas. The tenants of the Eternal Order Divine magic is seen slightly more are seen as heretical by the Church of the favourably, provided it comes from the Lawgiver, but many superstitious Ustalavs worshiper of an accepted god. In the last continue to practice its rites and make few generations, the Lawgiver has become sacrifices to ward against the Pale. Conflict the primary faith of Ustalav and other gods over religion is rare in Ustalav, but not are discouraged. Thus, clerics of the unknown. However, as there is a strong Lawgiver are seen as righteous and presence of the Eternal Order in the capital, commonly accepted by the Ustalavs, there is increasing tension from the Church especially those in the southern region and to rededicate the Maiden's Choir cathedral larger cities. to the Lawgiver. Small hamlets sometimes continue to Hala: The witches of Hala found ready worship local gods that are unknown acceptance in the rural regions of Ustalav,

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The Ustalavic Hero This section provides some information that might be of use in creating PCs native to Ustalav. Races: Humans are the dominant race in Ustalav. Races that share human blood are also common, with half-Vistani being found throughout the land, and caliban often sighted in Versex. Other races are slightly more common compared to other lands in the Mists. Of the non-human races, most noteworthy are the dwarves and elves, who tend to live in human communities rather than founding their own settlements. However, these races still tend to confine themselves to distinct neighbourhoods rather than freely mingling. As a result, despite the high number of elves in the land, half-elves are rare. Classes: Fighters, rogues, rangers, wizards, and clerics are the classes most common to Ustalav. Clerics of the Lawgiver are highly respected, and are often members of the clergy. Rogues are a common threat in urban areas, but banditry in the wilds is not unknown. Rangers can be found in farms or small towns, guarding civilization from the horrors of the wilds. In the rural stretches of Ustalav, especially in the mountains and woodlands, barbarians, sorcerers, druids are sometimes found. These are often of Terg descent and seldom accepted by the "civilized" folk. Male Names: Alexandru, Basarab, Gabriel, Gheorghe, Mihail, Mircea, Nicolae, Radu, Simion, Stefan, Vlad, Viktor Female Names: Arghira, Doamna, Elena, Catherine, Constantina, Ioana, Maria, Milica, Ruxandra, Smaragda, Teodora, Voica

replacing some local beliefs and faiths, Dorvinia. The religion is not banned or mostly in the mountains and foothills. The illegal, but support is not widespread and Tergs accepted some witches of Hala into there are no large churches dedicated to their ranks, mingling Halan teachings with Ezra. However, as in other lands, the their local faiths or replacing them entirely. Church of the Lawgiver condemns and In isolated rural regions, lone witches have persecutes followers of Ezra. been known to live at the fringes of a town, selling charms and tonics. A worshiper of The Realm Hala I spoke with told me that the ley lines Ustalav is a deeply divided nation. and monoliths of Ustalav have great While Prince Aduard III is the ruler, his spiritual energy, and empower their rituals, authority over a third of the nation is so it is not unknown for small covens to tenuous at best, and the loyalty of the conduct rites at these sites during special remaining local counts is dubious. While the occasions. recent history of Ustalav is relatively Ezra: The Church of Ezra is seen as a peaceful, its future is less certain. manipulative, expansionist tool of Borca. The aging leader of the nation has little Initially popular in the southwest, the faith interest in fostering peace or controlling the fell out of favour following the Great growing influence of the nobles, doing Upheaval, with Borca's annexation of

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nothing to rein in their aspirations. There is primarily a formality, and the authority of lingering resentment remaining from the the Prince is absolute. revolutions and civil wars. Neither side in The current ruler of the nation is Prince the War Without Rivals was satisfied with Aduard Ordranti III, who has ruled Ustalav the outcome, although both are unwilling to for almost four decades. Since taking the anger the prince by restarting the wars. As throne in 720 BC, Prince Aduard has proven Prince Aduard III lacks an heir, when he to be an indifferent ruler, more of a soldier dies, there will be a succession struggle, than a king. The younger brother of Prince which the nobles know all too well, and they Valislav Ordranti, the Eunuch King, Aduard are already preparing their claims and was not raised to be a ruler. When a alliances themselves, while weakening the decision requires subtlety or discretion, position of their rivals. Prince Aduard heavily relies on the Prince Aduard III's rule is also disputed. experience of his brother's advisor, Mircalla Caliphvaso, the former consort of Diauden. the The actual running of the nation falls Prince Valislav Ordranti, gave birth to a on the shoulders of the lesser nobility. bastard, whom she claimed was the child of Traditionally, each region was ruled by a the former prince. Mircalla disappeared count that effectively had absolute control shortly after his birth (under mysterious over their lands but swore allegiance to the circumstances of course) and the child, king. The title of count is hereditary, and Reneis Ordranti, was adopted by his aunt, passed down family lines. Typically, the first Countess Carmilla Caliphvaso, who has been born child becomes the count or countess. trying for years to place Reneis on the However, reining counts can appoint a throne. different heir if they feel their second or Currently, Prince Aduard Ordranti III is third-born is more worthy. In the event of a seeking a wife, in the hopes that she will dispute over succession, it falls to the prince give him an heir. This is primarily done on to decide the next count. the advice of his advisor, Diauden, and the The two counties that rebelled against prince's heart does not seem to be in the their noble rulers gave authority to councils search. However, at this point, it seems of prominent citizens. These councils tend unlikely that a royal heir will prevent conflict to be well-off citizens who are not quite and will only add another faction to the aristocrats, but are still significantly fray. removed from the common folk. Since the revolutions, the day-to-day lives of the Government populace has not greatly changed. Many of Since it was founded, Ustalav had been the councils are only slightly less corrupt ruled by a king, until the original royal line than the counts, and the revolutions traded was severed during the reign of the Tyrant. ineffectual or inattentive rulership for The current lineage consists of distant leaders prone to nepotism and self-interest. relations. Because this new royal line did not include members of House Ustalav and Economy only indirect descendants of Soividia Ustav, Ustalavs pride themselves on their self- they were not crowned kings but instead sufficiency, not relying on trade to support retain the lesser title of "prince". This is their nation. It helps that crops, livestock, stone, ore, and lumber are all available

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within the borders of the nation. Ustalav is seldom produces fine clothing, but Ustalavic still a hub of trade, as goods pass through textiles can be found in fashions across the the land from the north, south, and east. Core. Ustalavic merchants do good business Some crafted goods come from the buying goods that will never be used in larger cities, but mostly remain within the their homeland, ferrying the products across nation, being made in the cities and then the land for a profit. Due to its proximity to sold in the countryside. Ustalav is not Barovia, Borca, and Nova Vaasa, the capital known for selling any particular finished of Caliphas is particularly well off, filled with products or craftworks. Caliphas produces merchants of all varieties. It has been noted some goods that are shipped south to that everything is sold in Caliphas. Barovia, but this is more due to proximity Grains, fruit, and lumber are among than quality. Ustalav's cash crops. The orchards are Operating out of Caliphas is the especially lucrative, producing not just fruit merchant company known as the Aspis

Organization: Aspis Consortium A trading company that operates in Darkon, Nova Vaasa, Barovia, and Ustalav, the Aspis Consortium has a willingness to do whatever is required to increase its influence and profits. Despite being based in Ustalav, the Consortium has no allegiance to that nation or its court, and its members are expected to show loyalty only to the Consortium. They present themselves as neutral agents in any conflict, but typically support both sides equally in the dispute: the Aspis Consortium does not limit itself to selling weapons, to both Falkovnian and Borcan communities, but also spreads rumours of troop movements, encouraging sales at the risk of warfare. The Consortium is more than a little to blame for the War Without Rivals between Ardeal and Varno, with Aspis weapons supplying local troops, while promises of their mercenaries defending the cities and farms freed more guardsmen to move to the front line. In addition to its primary mercantile army, the Aspis Consortium operates a series of mercenary companies. While these hired soldiers work for whomever pays them, their primary purpose is to defend the caravans, operations, and assets of the Consortium. Aspis soldiers do not hesitate to betray their employer when there is a conflict with another Aspis operation, or if they discover something more profitable to the Consortium than immediate employment. For more details on the Aspis Consortium refer to the Pathfinder Chronicles: Faction Guide. but a number of beverages and liqueurs. Its Consortium, which controls a great deal of quarries also bring much money to the land, the trade that passes through the nation. selling stone to both Darkon and Nova While their operations are currently limited Vaasa. Ustalav also does brisk business to the central Core, the Consortium is selling leather, hide, and cloth. The nation always looking to expand their mercantile

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reach. The organization is currently Darkon: Owing to their similarly engaged in a trade war with the Boristi diverse and varied populace, Ustalav has a Trading Company for the goods of Barovia, passable relationship with Darkon. I believe Hazlan, and Nova Vaasa. the Darkonians enjoy the buffer Ustalav provides between their nation and Barovia. Diplomacy The Ustalavs would be more cordial with At the center of the Core, Ustalav Darkon if not for the rumours regarding the neighbours many lands and has diplomatic nature of its king. The rule of the Tyrant ties to many nations. The reigning prince was not so long ago that the Ustalavs are has little interest in diplomacy, and less for entirely comfortable with a nearby trade agreements and tariffs, and so necromancer. Much of the travel between relations have largely remained static for the nations is trade related rather than the last generation. travellers. There is some brisk academic Barovia: Long mountain passes exchange, and the gnomes of Mayvin are connect Caliphas and southern Ustalav with frequent travelers, as they venture to the Old Svalich Road. However, most of Lepidstadt to take advantage of the these routes are almost as bad as the University's libraries. Svalich Pass, and stretches of the only road Falkovnia: Relations between Ustalav are currently being reconstructed and and Falkovnia have long been cool, with widened. Barovians display their typical Drakov historically viewing them as another xenophobia, even for the folk of Ustalav, weak nation to conquer. Past attempts at who possess a language and heritage diplomacy have ended with the Ustalavic similar to theirs. But while Barovians are not ambassador slowly descending down a friendly, they do not turn away Ustalavic sharpened length of wood. Prince Aduard coins. III is doing what he can to change relations, Vistani traders regularly come from the and it seems the King-Führer is accepting of south, moving across Ustalav to northern Ustalav as a potential ally, if only one of destinations. The alliance Barovia has with convenience, as there are no easy routes the Vistani means they are always welcome between the nations. I suspect if Falkovnia to cross the two lands, allowing an easy ever chooses to invade Borca, they will do flow of goods and people. so with the support of Ustalav. Borca: Ustalav claims strong historical Keening: This dark and haunted land ties with Dorvinia and thus views Borca with is avoided and feared by Ustalavs. suspicion, declaring them invaders and Travellers avoid the mountains close to usurpers. This has soured recent relations Keening whenever possible, and there are between the two nations. The short numerous local superstitions and rites mountainous border between the lands also directed at avoiding ills from the northeast. prevents easy communication and trade, Local legends claim the scourging of save along animal trails and narrow Keening was the work of the Tyrant and mountain paths. It is rumoured that Lady that forces loyal to him remain in the land. Ivana Boritsi is playing matchmaker with Curiously, the Whispering Way has shown Prince Aduard III, trying to pair the little interest in the land. I am uncertain if Ustalavic ruler with a noblewoman of Borca. this is simple racism over the elven and fey These diplomatic efforts have not yet met origins of much of Keening or if there is with success.

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some more mysterious reason the Ardis necromancers avoid the land. Nova Vaasa: A reliable trade partner, Ardealianians will tell you that their city despite the absence of connecting roads, is the true capital of Ustalav, and that it's Nova Vaasa buys Ustalavic stone, lumber, only a matter of time before the royal court and fruit. There is brisk river trade between returns. In the meantime, the city has Ustalav and Bergovista, and Vistani are shrunk, as waves of nobility depart for the commonly found along the border. The south, along with their armies of servants, shared religion makes Ustalav comfortable retainers, and staff. This exodus prompted for Vaasi merchants and travellers. businesses and craftsmen alike to follow. However, Vaasi traders object to Ustalavic With less than half its former population attempts to act as middlemen in trades, remaining, Ardis is empty and unnaturally preferring to travel across the land quiet. The outer streets are eerily still, with themselves and sell directly to Darkon and entire city blocks abandoned. Many vacant Lamordia. Also causing tension is the weak buildings have been claimed by squatters or rule of the prince, which is viewed with expatriates from neighbouring lands. disdain by Vaasi aristocrats. The remains of the city are majestic, Tepest: The untamed forests and fey with soaring stone buildings supported by of Tespest restrict trade with the nation. sturdy buttresses and covered in leering Tepestani themselves are wary of Ustalav gargoyles. Many buildings are capped by due to its magical history, and the assorted the traditional Ustalavic onion domes, their demihuman peoples are unwelcome in bright hues fading with age and neglect. Tepest. The folk of Tepest actually blame There are ample green spaces and paved Ustalav for many of their problems, claiming squares, often decorated with elaborate fey creatures and undead swarm across the statuary, but most is overgrown and border into their lands. This has given rise pockmarked by age and weeds. Without to the expressions "nothing good comes from Ustalav" and "a house with a rotten foundation will not long stand". Ardis (small city): Sites of Interest Conventional; AL ; 15,000 gp limit; Assets 4,530,000 gp; Population My clockwise tour of Ustalav introduced 6,040; Isolated (human 93%, half- me to many sites and locales around the Vistani 4%, dwarf 1%, elf 1%, other nation. As fall was rapidly ending, I did not 1%). tarry long in any one location, not wishing Authority Figures: Countess to winter in some remote locale, when I Solismina Venacdahlia, (female could spend it in Lepidstadt, researching the human aristocrat 9). Shadow Rift and interviewing witnesses. My Important Characters: Ailson northern trip across the Hungry Mountains Kindler, (female human bard proved the most dangerous, so close to 9/Pathfinder Chronicler 4); Father Virlych, with early snows threatening to seal Ossmander, (male human cleric of the few wagon trails through the the Lawgiver 8); Venture Captain mountains. James Weylan.

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people, entire neighbourhoods feel more Caliphas like elaborate graveyards than a living city. Constructed behind the safety of a The most dramatic site is the fortress of natural breakwater on Lake Encarthan, Stagcrown, named for its spiky vaulted Caliphas has long been Ustalav's wealthiest roofs, and the former home to the royal city, a hub of trade and travel. It was court. At the center of the fortification is the because of this wealth that the royal court blackened spear of the Palace Tower, a relocated to Caliphas and made it the new watchtower constructed by Siovidia Ustav. Ustalavic capital. Following the completion of Stagcrown, the Despite having been the capital for less Palace Tower became a prison for the than four decades, Caliphas is an old city. It nobility and traitors to the crown, as well as is one of the oldest in the nation, and a makeshift asylum for anyone of the royal possibly even one of the oldest cities in the bloodline. Core. The city has been rebuilt several The remaining locals are those with too times and is significantly higher than it much pride to leave their homes, or not originally was, with layers of old streets and enough money to relocate. There is a sewers beneath the paved roads. The strong resentment towards the traitorous architecture of Caliphas is grim and nobility that killed their city, and crime is ominous, with the standard Ustalavic rampant. Many turn to alcohol or Hazlani architecture features of flying buttresses, opium to escape their unfortunate lives. The statuary, and sharp gables. Fog off the lake youths born into this anger form gangs that and centuries of smoke have coated every fight amongst themselves, or target the rare surface in a thick layer of ash and grime, elites that wander into their territory. I was giving the entire city a grim monochromatic almost waylaid by a group of ruffians hue. myself, but a small display of magic sent One of the largest buildings in the city their scurrying back to the alleys. is the Maiden's Choir, a cathedral to a Where to Stay in Ardis former Ustalavic deity that has been Most visitors to Ardis simply claim an rededicated to the Eternal Order of the abandoned house at the edge of town for Grave. Officially, it is the Cathedral of St. the night. But travellers seeking a warm Gesengethe, whose bones are interred hearth and hot meal can turn to The Iron within the sizable silver reliquary in the Gauntlet Inn (good quality rooms, poor center of the chapel, but to the locals it quality food). The inn is housed in an retains its original name. The harsh abandoned manor of a dead bloodline, and iconography of the Darkonian faith seems at thus is spacious and opulent despite the odds with much of the carvings and infrequent cleaning and inadequate chef. statuary in the cathedral, but the focus on For more appetizing fare I recommend the death remains. The Church of the Lawgiver Shadow of the Spire Pub tavern (good has been petitioning the royal court to quality food), named for its proximity to secede control of the cathedral to their Stagcrown; the lengthy shadow of the faith, but so far these requests have been Palace Tower regularly falls across the denied. tavern. At the heart of the city is Castle Stryithe, built by the Countess Carmilla Caliphvaso to house the newly relocated

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Caliphas (city): Conventional; I would concern yourself more with AL N; 40,000 gp limit; Assets completing your task and less with 23,460,000 gp; Population 11,730; Isolated (human 90%, half-Vistani expanding your repertoire. The true 5%, dwarf 2%, elf 2%, other 1%). measure of a wizard is being able to Authority Figures: Prince Aduard Ordranti III, (male human aristocrat skillfully employ the spells they already 3/fighter 8). know and not adding unneeded chaff to Important Characters: Countess Carmilla Caliphvaso, (female human their spellbook. aristocrat 4/rogue 11); Diaudin (male human rogue 10); Luvick Where to Stay in Caliphas Siervage (male vampire aristocrat Well within the heart of the noble ward, 2/fighter 15). The Majesty Hotel (excellent quality rooms, good quality food) is favoured by visiting nobility opting not to stay at Castle royal court. An elegant spired building of Stryithem. It has its own private company crimson stone, highlighted with large of guardsmen and is decorated in styles stretches of stained glass, it rises like a meant to emulate neighbouring lands, albeit flame from the surrounding thicket of far more opulently. Unless one reserves a buildings, its buttresses protruding like ribs table months in advances, dining at on a starving beast. Castle Stryithe houses Dalliance (excellent quality food) is unlikely. the audience chamber and throne room of The restaurant specializes in Vaasi cuisine Prince Ordranti, the royal archive, and a and the menu, which changes nightly upon majestic portrait hall known as the Gallery the whim of the chef, is kept secret. of Ancestors. There is a veritable hive of For commoners, the Alabaster Minister conference chambers, salons, private Inn (common quality rooms), the Bold rooms, and more inside the sizable keep. Pheonix Hall (good quality rooms, poor Of primary interest to me in Caliphas quality food), and The Pilgrim & The was the Quarterfaux Archives; It took me Ratcatcher (poor quality rooms and food) some time and numerous deceptions to gain are possible options. All were unremarkable, access to the library's private collection. but the food at The Pilgrim & The Access is limited, even for the nobility, and Ratcatcher was particularly dubious, and for good reason: the archive contains a motivated me to rely on rations for a week. wealth of documents and correspondences There is also The Hound’s Tooth (poor relating to the crown, and is filled with quality food) that caters to local artisans scandalous diaries and letters. While and is known for its cheap and only illuminating in terms of local history, the marginally watered drinks. true treasure is the wealth of tomes and notes seized during the revolution against Carrion Hill the Tyrant. I managed to tarry long enough to transcribe a few spells of note into my Often omitted on maps is the own spellbook and make notes regarding a surprisingly large town of Carrion Hill, few arcane rituals. I regret not having more possibly the largest population center in time to investigate the archive's secrets. Versex. The city is almost comically

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stereotypical of the region, with its marshy terrain, ugly cropland, unfortunate looking Carrion Hill (small city): livestock, and disproportionate number of Conventional; AL NE; 15,000 gp limit; caliban. Surrounding the city for several Assets 517500 gp; Population 6,900; miles is a vile swamp known the Wrythe, Mixed (human 82%, halfling 5%, which was some of the least pleasant caliban 4%, gnome 4%, dwarf 4%, terrain I have ever had to traverse. other 2%). Carrion Hill describes itself as the "isle Authority Figures: mayor Ruler of 10,000 temples" but I counted under Vanton Heggry, (male human 200, most being small shrines or single aristocrat 8). room chapels. The town is divided into three districts: the Filth, the Tangle, and the evidence to suggest that the city is Crown. The Filth is aptly named and home unconnected to the seminal event of the to the local tanneries and fisheries. Also land, so I abruptly ceased my investigation. produced here is the local construction I feel more comfortable living the rest of my material known as "middenstone". The days wondering what was going on in Tangle is the residential district where the Carrion Hill than spending another day there majority of the populace lives. Most operate to satisfy my curiosity. a shop or business on the ground floor of Where to Stay in Carrion Hill their home. The district is named for the There are a number of boarding houses labyrinthine alleyways that serve as its in the city, most of which are pubs with a streets. The Crown is built atop the highest few extra rooms. Vawker House (poor and firmest ground in the region. Here quality rooms, common quality food) proved there are cobblestone roads and the an adequate place to eat, but its buildings are built from imported timber and bedchambers scuttle when you enter. The stone. Unsurprisingly, the wealthy residents Snooks Home (common quality rooms, poor live exclusively in the Crown, literally quality food) was warm and clean but their looking down on the lower class. food was coated in a thick layer of grease. Earlier I mentioned middenstone, the local building material used to erect much of Karcau the city. With the local lumber being prone The Village of Voices is seen as a city of to rot and quarried stone being an hope and dreams to Ustalavs, but dismissed expensive import, Carrion Hill relies on as "little Kartakass" by foreigners. I found bricks of clay, bone, gravel, and the this comparison apt, as the settlement is a powdered remains of a local roach. While place of whispers and secrets surrounded more durable than local wood and less by wolf-plagued wilderness. susceptible to moisture, the unpleasant Throughout the city, local musicians material requires constant maintenance, so can be found practicing their art on garden much of Carrion Hill is in a perpetual state benches or on balconies, eager to earn an of decay and repair. apprenticeship or win the favour of a I did not stay long in Carrion Hill for the wealthy patron. Despite its rural location, area made me feel supremely the local dress is more opulent than the uncomfortable in a way that I cannot easily capital, with opera dress being the daily describe. There is something unnatural attire: capes, gloves, tall hats, and opera here. My investigations unearthed enough

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glasses are common accessories. However, serves as an ossuary for the school's with mosquitoes and other marsh insects esteemed alumni. Unsurprisingly, being a common nuisance, theater masks competition in the Conservatory is fierce, and veils are also commonly worn. Village and many students abruptly drop out, of Veils might have been a more leaving town without warning. appropriate epithet. Where to Stay in Karcau Built on a muddy delta and surrounded The village is used to housing students by bog, Karcau is surprisingly pleasant. planning on staying for many months, and After the horrors of Keening it proved to be visitors are uncommon, so finding short a lovely introduction to Ustalav. The city term accommodations can be difficult. The feels spacious despite being built on islands, Warbling Rook tavern (poor quality rooms, and the local architecture emphasises this common quality food) has a few rooms that openness with wide balconies and it rents, but sleeping above a tavern full of archways. The streets are lined with trees, drunk singers is an interesting challenge. and there are numerous small gardens. The The Darlington Boarding House (good city is kept dry through a series of caverns quality rooms) offers adequate housing for that have been reappropriated as sewers, various lengths of stay, if one can withstand which are several layers deep, to the constant gossip and whispering of the accommodate flooding and prevent patrons and staff. Food is easier to find, overflow. In the summer and fall, the with the Blanketed Pig (common quality sewers are dry, and a common hidden route food) providing cheap yet filling meals, into Ustalav for smugglers. For this reason while the Gilded Hard (good quality food) Karcau is home to a large thieves' guild offers more elaborate fare for wealthy known as the Onyx Scabbards. clientele. Near the center of the city is the The Karcau Conservatory, which trains both the Lepidstadt Karcau Opera and its accompanying Livgrace Orchestra. The prestigious school Lepidstadt is more than just a is reported to have a number of secret university, but not by much. With the passages and a subterranean labyrinth that growing prestige over becoming the center of education for the Core, the Karcau (large town): neighbourhoods around the University were Conventional; AL N; 3,000 gp limit; renovated, with boutique shops, Assets 768,000 gp; Population Dementlieuse cafés, and brick streets 5,120; Isolated (human 91%, elf around wide plazas. The palatinates council 3%, half-Vistani 3%, halfling 2%, invested a staggering amount of tax money other 1%). from the entire region on this one city, well Authority Figures: Countess lining their own purses in the process. Sasandra Livgrace, (female human Yet, beyond these new streets and aristocrat 3/bard 7). refurbished buildings is a worn and aged Important Characters: Vennel city with winding dirt roads, crumbling Endronil, (male human rogue 4); walls, and dilapidated structures. The Zeffiro Lesiege, (male human cleric majority of residents seem unimpressed of the Lawgiver 5). with the University and its students, dismissing them as overeducated and

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possessing too much free time. The lives of these commoners have changed little Lepidstadt (small city): despite the growth of the city and the Conventional; AL LN; 15,000 gp revolution against the nobility. In fact, the limit; Assets 733,500 gp; Population city's newfound prestige has only raised the 9,780; Isolated (human 92%, half- cost of living, making it harder for the Vistani 5%, dwarf 1%, elf 1%, other commoners of Lepidstadt to support 1%). themselves. Authority Figures: Alpon The University espouses the "mortal Caromarc (N male human alchemist sciences" of medicine, mathematics, 13). astronomy, and chemistry. Students are Important Characters: The expected to complete a set curriculum of Beast of Lepidstadt (N flesh golem studies, achieving a mastery of multiple barbarian 6); Acciani Viacarri (LN disciplines before finishing their education male expert 6). on a single focus. The institution also eschews magic of all forms, and is critical of interviews for both Ustalav and my following superstition. The school is known for a report on the Shadow Rift. number of dueling fraternities, who teach members honour and swordsmanship. Where to Stay in Lepidstadt There are pronounced rivalries between The University houses its students in fraternities, owing to different philosophies dormitories and visiting scholars in the or political values. Many brotherhoods have professor's residence, leaving few places for elaborate initiation rituals and there are common travellers. The Olyphant (common rumours that most conduct secretive rites quality rooms, poor quality food) is beneath their fraternity houses. I suspect commonly used by students seeking a these are the usual debaucheries common moment of privacy outside the dormitories. to most fraternal organizations. Closer to the edge of the city in the oldest part of town is the Midnight Bell (common You are showing your bias again, my little quality rooms, good quality food), which scholar. There is no place in my service was surprisingly hospitable despite the weatherworn exterior. for people controlled by petty grudges. A favoured pub of the university's assorted fraternities is the Brazen Skull The University itself is quite good and (common quality food), which places the deserving of its reputation. Despite the rapiers of favoured alums on its wall. The heavy focus on the sciences, its labyrinthine food is good but the atmosphere is library and archive had many historical intolerably smug. books and foreign tomes. However, as mentioned above, the University The Monastery of the Veil discourages research into the arcane, and their library was quite devoid on occult Hidden among the precipitous slopes of manuals. While ill-suited for my research, the Hungry Mountains is an unassuming the space and facilities allowed me to cross- monastery that is actually among the oldest reference my notes and summarize my libraries in the Core. The attendant brotherhood have been ceaselessly

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Secret Society: The Anaphexia The Monastery of Veils was founded as a sanctuary for lore and a place to record the unfolding history of the world. However, the order was eradicated centuries ago, with every member past and present hunted down and executed. In their place is an order of scholar-assassins known as the Anaphexia. A branch of the Ba'al Verzi, the Anaphexia is largely independent from the Teufeldorf branch of the guild, although the two have an agreement to avoid the other's members. For most, the Anaphexia are a mystery: a series of seemingly unrelated killings stretching across the Core, for the assassins do not merely kill their victims, but remove their heads so they can never again reveal their secrets, even to magical probing. The order is sometimes even confused with Jacqueline Montarri and the Headless Horseman. Those who do know of the assassins live in fear, for it is said that even speaking their name will draw their attention, summoning a killer to erase the knowledge of their existence. The guild values secrets higher than gold, and takes contracts for knowledge as much as conventional payment. They venture out into the world in small teams, seeking to claim and preserve secrets in danger of being forgotten, and occasionally silencing those delving into lore best left forgotten. Like all Ba'al Verzi, members must prove their absolute lack of mercy by killing a family member, and using their victim's skin to fashion a scabbard. Additionally, upon acceptance into the guild, the recruit has their tongue cut out, so they can never again speak a secret. Only their leader, Bishop Senir, retains the ability to speak. For more information, consult Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Rule of Fear. maintaining, copying, and expanding the can visit the library a second time if they collection for centuries. The monks store share a truly rare and valuable secret or a their expansive library of rare volumes in a unique and precious tome. series of catacombs under the monastery. The monastery's library has an The monks themselves have taken interesting collection of books. There was vows of silence, and I did not even hear a the Krivbeknih, Book of Eibon, Dhol Chants, whisper during my stay. Only the head of a complete and uncensored version of The the brotherhood, Bishop Yasmardin Senir, is King in Yellow, The Pnakotic Manuscripts, permitted to speak in order to the Puahotic Fragments, the Seven Cryptical accommodate their uncommon visitors. Books of Hsan, The Ghoul's Manuscript Individuals are granted entry into the detailing their Charnel God, and the monastery once each year. When a visitor Whispers of the Immortal, purportedly leaves they must wait the full span before written by a disciple and apprentice of the they return. Entry bares a simple cost: the Tyrant. visitor must share with the monks a secret Something about the monks did put me or gift them a valuable book. The rarer this ill at ease. I wondered if the library was a secret or book, the more accommodating front for the Order of Guardians, but I the monks will be, prioritizing that visitor or cannot imagine those monks transcribing passages. It is said that visitors accommodating any visitors. If I had not

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enlightening in my quest, answering many Ravengro (hamlet): questions on Ustalav and providing Conventional; AL N; 100 gp limit; information for future reports. I was Assets 3,110 gp; Population 311; saddened to hear that he died mere days Isolated (human 85%, halfling 5%, after I departed. He was in good health, so half-Vistani 5%, elf 3%, other 2%). I suspect some form of foul play, but my Authority Figures: Councilman duty takes priority. I will leave solving his Vashian Hearthmount (male human death to more adventurous sorts. Perhaps aristocrat 1/cavalier 1); Councilman when I am finished cataloguing the seas... Gharen Muricar (old male human expert 3);Councilwoman Mirta Do not let yourself become distracted. Your Straelock (female human commoner 4); Councilwoman Shanda Faravan task is far from over. (female human expert 3). Where to Stay in Ravengro Important Characters: Vauran I stayed at the Outward Inn (common Grimburrow (male human cleric of quality rooms, common quality food), which the Lawgiver 7); Sheriff Benjan came highly recommended, but was merely Caeller (male human ranger 2), adequate. The food was overspiced, to Sarianna Vai, innkeeper (female mask being past its prime. An alternative is human expert 2). the Laughing Demon tavern (common quality food), which is primarily known for spent the last year travelling the land, I the somewhat amusing names the cook would dismiss this feeling as simple gives its meals. I would rather know what I paranoia, but now I am more aware of am eating than be entertained, and thus people with secrets. found the menu distracting. Ravengro Sincomakti School of Sciences Harrowstone was a bleak and sizable Located on the south of Lantern Lake, prison, built to house prisoners from across in the county of Versex is the Sincomakti Ustalav. This was done for a fee, and thus School of Sciences, established in the small fed the coffers of local count. The entire town of Rozenport, along the banks of the town of Ravengro was built to support the Danver river which separates Versex from prison, providing food and supplies, as well the county of Caliphas. as housing the staff. Built near Lake Lias, Rozenport is itself unremarkable and the residents of the small hamlet supported unworthy of an entry in this Doomsday themselves with both farming and fishing. Gazetteer. If not for the presence of the With the prison having burnt down in 706, Sincomakti School, it would not be worth the town has lost what little importance it visiting. It is a small town atop a steep had, and is now little more than a way stop slope down to the river valley. The most between Ardis and Tamrivena. noteworthy features of the village are its I stopped at the town to visit a local twisting, illogical streets and its buildings scholar, Professor Petros Lorrimor. I found with their gambrel roofs that are often him agreeable and well-travelled, with a capped by steeples. In 732, the town was thirst for knowledge. He proved hit hard by an epidemic of enteric fever and

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lost a fifth of its citizens, and is still town watch is known as the Wallguard, and recovering. their reputation for efficiency is matched The student body of the Sincomakti is only by Mordentish Lamplighters. all-male, an unfortunate situation to say the Ironically, the town has become so least. There is talk of relaxing the gender gripped with fear over invasion and restrictions, but so far this has shamefully enslavement by a foreign power that they not occurred. The campus is dominated by have given away their freedom by three castle-like structures: Bhaltvrest Hall, increasing the authority of the Wallguard. the Grey Tower, and the Hermitage. The watch have ceased to merely be a The School focuses on a diverse constabulary and have instead become its curriculum, and rejects the general master. The Wallguard strictly enforces the education requirements of the University of law, favouring the letter over the spirit of Lepidstadt, encouraging students to be the the law. Anyone who opposes their rule or "architect of their own education". The breaks the law is taken to Fort Vhiled to rot professors advocate the virtue of a broad in its expansive dungeons. and comprehensive education but also The townsfolk continue life as normally selective ignorance, warning that there are as possible, doing what they can to ignore some things better left unknown. The the restrictions placed upon them. Traders library and special collection is renowned for and shopkeepers suffer the most, with their its collection of bizarre and esoteric books, especially those focused on the occult. The Tamrivena (large town): collection includes Unaussprechlichen Kulten Conventional; AL LE; 3,000 gp limit; by Friedrich von Junzt, fragments of the Assets 315,000 gp; Population Book of Eibon, and even a copy of the 2,100; Isolated (human 95%, half- infamous Kitab al-Azif by the so-called Mad Vistani 3%, halfling 1%, other 1%). Pharazian, Abdul-al-Hazrat. Authority Figures: Balton Rhasrakin, Captain of the Wallguard If my memory serves, that poetic title (LE male human ranger 7), translates as Book of the Approacher, Councilor Taladda Jhovanki, (male human bard 6); Councilor Zoenessa although I am far more familiar with it as Thell, (female changeling rogue 5). the Book of the Dead or The Necronomicon. Important Characters: Daladmin Quin, Captain of the Foreguard (LG Tamrivena male human cavalier 8). expert 3);Councilwoman Mirta Constructed to defend against the Straelock (female human commoner savage tribes to the west, Tamrivena has 4); Councilwoman Shanda Faravan rebuilt and increased in fortifications over (female human expert 3). the last few decades to defend against Important Characters: Vauran invasion from Falkovnia. A sizable fort is Grimburrow (male human cleric of built around the northern gate into town the Lawgiver 7); Sheriff Benjan with the majority of the town surrounded by Caeller (male human ranger 2), tall, thick walls. Passages run between the Sarianna Vai, innkeeper (female walls, allowing defenders from the keep to human expert 2). rapidly reposition themselves. The local

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goods required to meet requirements of The tower of Gallowspire is 400 feet tall morality and safety. A number of stores and constructed of a dark basalt and iron. have closed or been heavily fined for failing Long since stained red from exposure, its to uphold the increasingly restrictive laws. outer wall is a nightmare of spikes and dangling chains. A branch of the Whispering Where to Stay in Tamrivena Way makes its headquarters in several aboveground levels of the tower, continuing Most of the inns in Tamrivena have their magical research. They do not control been closed for indecency, having the the full extent of the tower, however, and potential for allowing unwed couples to many floors are sealed or have been succumb to temptation. Outside the town claimed by other beings and monstrosities. walls is the Tabard (poor quality rooms, Beneath the tower is a massive dungeon, good quality meals), a crowded place that sealed by protective magics that keep the houses travelers of all sorts. It cannot serve remaining essence of the Tyrant at rest. alcohol and so its common room is quiet, I ventured as close as I dared to the doubling as a sleeping chamber for tower but my courage faltered and I did not merchants in need of a bed. Despite the enter. Given that the Tyrant had been dour patrons, I found it peaceful and an imprisoned for centuries prior to Ustalav's excellent place to work. seminal event, it seems unlikely he is the Gallowspire lord of the nation, and thus risking my life to examine the ruins was an unnecessary For over six centuries, the fortress of gamble. But even from my distant vantage Gallowspire has stood at the heart of the point I could feel the dark magical energies dead city of Adorak. The city was initially surrounding the tower and I witnessed ruined by the Tyrant and further shattered unnatural creatures stirring. The most by his fall, and has remained abandoned for chilling was the massive form I saw the following centuries with no attempts at prowling around the tower, which could reconstruction. only be the remains of a dragon! Just While the common folk believe the seeing such a beast would normally have Tyrant is dead, I need not explain to you, been enough to give me pause, but more my patron, the difficulty in permanently terrifying was the realization that it was dispatching a lich. And the Tyrant was skeletal, that the monster was animated by reportedly powerful beyond measure. As magic similar to that of a lich. I fled such, he is not truly dead by merely caged. immediately. As such, Adorak is not just haunted by common spirits, but also the unnatural Parting Thoughts dreams of the imprisoned Tyrant, whose power is not entirely contained within the Ustalav is a land of legends and stories, tower. Undead roam the ruins with whispered myths told and retold by a impunity, killing all those they encounter. superstitious populace until the truth is lost. The mad cultists of the Whispering Way are It is also a land ready to tear itself apart. sometimes spared by the walking The palatinate revolutions are still a recent abominations, but even these necromancers memory to both the commoners struggling sometimes run afoul of the dead and to make a living and the nobles looking to become their prey. expand their power. Bitterness remains

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from old wars, fought both for land and the throne, which threaten to start anew with Who's Doomed the impending death of the Prince. And This section presents the darklord of much of this tension is fueled by one Ustalav. Statistics are omitted to allow the conspiracy or another. domain to be used in multiple game Until I finished compiling these notes, I systems. Should a statblock be required, the had considered Ustalav as a land ruled by master storyteller (Pathfinder RPG NPC its legends. But now, upon further review, I Codex, 234) serves for the Pathfinder wonder if it is truly a land of hidden Roleplaying Game, possibly applying a factions, a nation ruled by power groups. couple Mythic tiers or the Arcane Mythic The wars and struggles for the crown are simple template from Mythic Adventures. certainly driven by factions of nobles, and Meanwhile, the mage works for 5th Edition, the influence of other groups cannot be applying the darklord template from the underestimated. Fraternity of Shadows 5e guide. I wonder now if my unsuccessful efforts to find a dread lord were not a direct Venture Captain James failure, but the result of looking for an individual. Perhaps it is not a person that Weylan rules the land but a cabal. Perhaps the Leader of the Pathfinder Society in the Whispering Way, although the darker Land of the Mists, James Weylan is an legends of the Esoteric Order of the Palatine experienced scholar and magic user who Eye might also be true. has dedicated his life to unraveling history and unearthing forgotten lore. In his role as A fascinating concept but, alas, not the Venture Captain, he dispatches agents on truth. The evidence points to a different missions across the Core and to lands beyond, seeking mystical relics and trying to master of the land. solve mysteries of the past. In any event, my report on Ustalav is Cold and distant, Weylan cares little for complete and now I must turn my attention his Pathfinders, valuing only the secrets back to the fabled Shadow Rift and then the they unearth. Society members are simply eastern sea. Whomever the master of means to an end, and he does not hesitate Ustalav is, he, she, or they are no longer my to send them on suicidal missions if he concern. Already the land is out of my mind, believes something can be gained in the the details of what I had seen slipping away process. like a dream. A half-elf, Weylan has a century-and-a- Regards, half of experience as a Pathfinder, and has travelled to every corner of Ustalav. He retains distant memories of faraway lands and cities he visited in his youth, and hopes S to one day rediscover these wonders, especially the seemingly lost headquarters of the Society in the city of Absalom. Despite being almost 180-years-old, James Weyland retains a relatively youthful appearance. His elven longevity keeps his

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features smooth and relatively devoid of confronted danger with the invincible lines despite his advanced age. However, bravado of youth. his formerly flaxen hair is now as much grey After several years of adventuring, as blonde, and Weyland moves with the James Weylan and his band were asked to slow careful motion of the elderly: his joints investigate several of the barrow mounds of and old wounds painfully ache After Ustalav, reporting on their origins and decades of life, even elven vitality wanes. seeing if they did indeed predate the rule of Few half-elves live to be over 150 years, the Whispering Tyrant. The adventurers and Weylan has passed this milestone. With laughed before they entered the barrow, so much left to see and so many mysteries confident that their abilities and prestige to unlock, Weylan is anxious of the future. within Society would ensure that they left He has not yet begun to use the Society to the ruin alive and unharmed. research immortality or seek ways of Instead, only Weylan emerged. expanding his lifespan, but he pays close The barrow indeed predated the rule of attentions to rumours and legends related to restoring one's youth. Weylan dresses in simple clothes. He often wears simple black suits like the upper class of Ustalav, especially when dealing with the nobility. While meeting with his Pathfinders, Weylan dresses in the sturdy garb of a traveler, albeit clothing that has never seen the road. Background Born in the great city of Absalom, James Weylan was the son of a local merchant and a seamstress. Listening to his elven father's tales of faraway places enflamed young James' imagination. The wonders of the open road appealed to him, driving him to join the Pathfinder Society. the Whispering Tyrant, but during his During his training, James discovered a occupation the residents of a nearby hamlet passion for history and he admired had breached its entrance and took refuge experienced Pathfinder scholars, such as inside. When the Tyrant's forces discovered the Master of Scrolls and Master of Spells. them, there was nowhere to flee. They died Following his Confirmation – the formal screaming in the dark, and their souls initiation into the Society – James' first few remained captives of the magic of the assignments took him across several nations barrow. in the region known as the Inner Sea. He Exploration of the tomb had begun was thrilled to finally be exploring the world. normally: a few spirits that were easily James partnered with a coterie of other dispatched for the prepared delvers were Pathfinders, each relying on the others for their first encounter. Weylan was excited by success. This band of young adventurers the ancient writing and pictographs along the wall, pausing to examine some text

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around a looted sarcophagus while his Trapped within the borders of Ustalav, companions continued forward. His Weylan can also no longer venture into the investigation revealed a hidden chamber world, and must rely on others to explore in behind the false tomb, which housed the his stead and report back. The sights and intact burial chamber of an ancient king, the wonders that fill the returning journals fill forgotten monarch of an unknown people. Weylan with jealousy, but he cannot help Weylan was wrenched from his revelry but read. over the discovery by excited cries from Prior to the Grand Conjunction, farther in the tomb: his companions were Weylan's personal history had been being assaulted by the dead villagers and in forgotten, his past was little more than a need of assistance. The Pathfinder paused. series of hazy dream-like recollections. He His companions had been his friends and could remember names, sights, and sounds allies for years, but this was his discovery, but few other details. This uncertainty was the first he did not have to share. And if the maddening, especially when these locales danger was as great as it sounded, they eluded the investigations of his Pathfinders. might be required to flee or summon more During the Grand Conjunction, Ustalav members of the Society to fully catalogue briefly returned to the world of Golarion, the tomb. After all, what little Weylan had overlapping and mingling with the original recorded already proved the age of the ruin land. There, Weylan was confronted with and fulfilled the requirements of their his past and the lost lands, a wealth of new mission. opportunities to explore. Then, as quickly as Without hesitation, Weyland stepped it began, the Conjunction ended and Ustalav over the magical warding and into the was again snatched by the Mists. safety of the burial chamber. Lost in Weylan realized that this could mean thoughts of single-handedly changing but one thing: the Inner Sea had been history and filled with anticipation over moved elsewhere in the Mists. His being the first person in millennia to birthplace of Absalom was lost somewhere examine the ancient scrolls, he was beyond the borders of the Core. His oblivious to the Mists swirling around his Pathfinders had a new task, and had to find feet, and the increasing screams of his his missing homeland, no matter the cost. companions. The following dawn, when Combat Weylan exited the chamber, he stepped His days of being an adventurer are forth into a very different Ustalav. long behind him and Weylan eschews Current Sketch combat. If forced into a conflict, the A historian and scholar, Weylan is Venture Captain does not hesitate to order obsessed with piecing together history, but his Pathfinders to defend him, buying time is trapped in a land without a coherent past. to escape with their lives. The forces of the Mists toy with him, If cornered without chance of escape, revealing mysteries and clues to new Weylan relies on his spells and whatever discoveries that inevitably contradict with magical items he has available to defend established history and are irreconcilable himself. A century of dispatching with the facts. What he discovers of his Pathfinders to distant lands has provided neighbouring lands also casts doubts on his Weylan with a wealth of magical trinkets, assorted timelines and historical treatises. although most are kept secured in the

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sprawling catacombs hidden under the Pathfinder Lodge in Ardis. If given time to prepare, Weylan is capable of countering virtually any threat. Lair The palatial Pathfinder Lodge in Ardis is home to both Weylan and the Pathfinder Society. The estate houses visiting Venture Lieutenants and other important Pathfinders. Housed inside the Lodge is a massive library, which contains every surviving volume of the Pathfinder Chronicles: collected reports from Society field agents and summaries of their discoveries. Every year, a Grand Convocation is held at the estate, welcoming as many Pathfinders as are able to attend. There, the findings of the past year are related and important discoveries shared. Underneath the Lodge is a secret catacomb, discovered by Weylan shortly after he moved into the mansion. Built as a familial crypt for the manor's original owners, the tunnels connect to an expansive cave system stretching deep underground. Weylan sealed off the catacomb from these side tunnels, but built a few escape routes and hidden chambers. He uses the catacombs as a massive vault for relics and personal treasures.

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All sublicenses shall survive magical or supernatural abilities or effects, logos, symbols, or graphic the termination of this License. designs; and any other trademark or registered trademark clearly 14. Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to be identified as Product identity by the owner of the Product Identity, unenforceable, such provision shall be reformed only to the extent and which specifically excludes the Open Game Content; (f ) necessary to make it enforceable. “Trademark” means the logos, names, mark, sign, motto, designs 15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE that are used by a Contributor to identify itself or its products or the Open Game License v 1.0a © 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc. associated products contributed to the Open Game License by the System Reference Document © 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc; Contributor (g) “Use”, “Used” or “Using” means to use, Distribute, Authors: Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams, based on copy, edit, format, modify, translate and otherwise create Derivative material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. Material of Open Game Content. (h) “You” or “Your” means the licensee in terms of this agreement. 2. The License: This License applies to any Open Game Content that contains a notice indicating that the Open Game Content may only be Used under and in terms of this License. You must affix such a notice to any Open Game Content that you Use. No terms may be added to or subtracted from this License except as described by the License itself. No other terms or conditions may be applied to any Open Game Content distributed using this License. 3. Offer and Acceptance: By Using the Open Game Content You indicate Your acceptance of the terms of this License. 4. Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing to use this License, the Contributors grant You a perpetual, worldwide, royaltyfree, non-exclusive license with the exact terms of this License to Use, the Open Game Content. 5. Representation of Authority to Contribute: If You are contributing original material as Open Game Content, You represent that Your Contributions are Your original creation and/or You have sufficient rights to grant the rights conveyed by this License. 6. Notice of License Copyright: You must update the COPYRIGHT NOTICE portion of this License to include the exact text of the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any Open Game Content You are copying, modifying or distributing, and You must add the title, the copyright date, and the copyright holder’s name to the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any original Open Game Content you Distribute. 7. Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product Identity, including as an indication as to compatibility, except as expressly licensed in another, independent Agreement with the

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