Earthdawn Campaign: Daybreak at Kaer Jerall

The campaign start is daybreak, 01 Strassa, 1436 as the Dwarf Traders of Throal reckon it, and 993 years since Thom Edro proclaimed Theran Imperium over Barsaive.You, and those who inhabited Kaer Jerall before you, endured the long night for 427 years, the scourge is still meant to be raging, but the clock of elemental earth has halted in its descent....

The magic level has not dropped for twenty years, and a new generation has been born and grown to adulthood since then, your generation. Over a year ago, the outer door of the Caisson let a small group of adepts venture forth. They reported back that Barsaive was green and the Scourge appeared to be over. However, the neighboring village of Hellas looked swallowed by a Jungle that had not existed pre-Scourge; the village of Rashamon was an empty ruin, its Kaer open (they dared not venture inside); and Dheras to the south was likewise ruined and gone, though they could find no sign of their Kaer.

So the Kaer Elders resolved that two more expeditions be sent forth. From amongst your number, they selected ten Journeyman Adepts:Troll Warrior Regalorn, Elf Archer Ter, Ork Scout Yrun, Ork Wizard Barahir and Dwarf Troubadour Taran went east through the Jungle toward Hellas and thence to the city of Jerris, gateway to the Theran colonies of the North. South, then West went Human Swordmistress Nyssa, Human Scout Jhakor, Dwarf Elementalist Thom, Ork Illusionist Kryssis and Troll Skyraider Dagda. They bypassed the ruins of Dherras and made there way around the Tylon Mountains toward the famed trading hub of Kratas to the West.

That was a year and a day ago. There has been no sign nor word of them since, though their ultimate destinations were less than a month away. Before they left, the Kaer Elders gave them all blood charms so that they might know if they explorers still lived. Of the group that set forth for Jerris, only Regalorn lives for sure, though Ter is not certain to be dead. Of the group that made their way toward Kratas, Dagda's state is unknown but according to the charms the rest live still. So, of the Kaer's dwindling cadre of Adepts, two more parties are to be sent - though Apprentices like yourselves are all that the Elders will risk. Your guide won the toss of the Air-Piece so you may choose your own direction...

So what's it going to be? You have your gear, along with a week's rations and two more of some unappetizing stuff, made according to some old Dwarven recipe. The Kaer Elders have even thrown in a couple of healing potions, a couple or two more booster potions, and a few poison antidotes, even a precious 'Last Chance Salve'. No one has traveled beyond that horizon and returned. For an entire year, the only ones to go even a day away from the Kaer's entrance are the Elders and their guards to the Shrine of Erendis. You all saw many score campfires to the Northeast a couple of months ago, a lookout claims to have seen a ship sailing across the sky to the east, another claims to have seen a dragon overflying the jungle out that way, apart from that... nothing but you, some animals and empty ruins where everyone else used to be....

More Earthdawn Previews

One area where 2nd Ed Earthdawn seriously dropped the ball was in putting in a new taster story. The original story from 1st Ed, 'Inheritance', tells players new to the game pretty much everything they should know about playing Earthdawn - Including that it rains a lot in Barsaive! 

You should be able to read that short story in this book preview. Things like this aren't works of literary genius but, done properly, accurately convey a sense of the roles characters play in the world. 

Looks like a good game...

Looks like a good game - I can't believe I forgot about this. I used to run it all the time. It was THE game for us pre-D&D 3E. That reviewer finds it too 'crunchy'. He is over-emphasising the complexity of the resolution system, I think.  The game overall is far, far simpler than say D&D3E but you do need a table on-hand when you start out, so that you know the correct dice to roll for different levels of ability. 

This did sometimes have my players hankering for the simplicity of D20 + modifiers but I always appreciated that everything expressed in 'steps' (essentially the average outcome of different dice combinations) so it was always very easy for me to assign target numbers. Having the single D20 in there always made D&D too much of a 'crapshoot; for my tastes. 

Whereas I don't like the idea of D&D 4E because it does not seem like 'D&D' to me, Earthdawn is designed from the ground up around the premise that 1. The world is incredible hostile, about one step shot of Cthulluesque, and 2. No worries though, your characters start out able to do things like levitate for more combat speed, cast spells, fly airships, boil your blood during battle to heal, form a magical claw for more damage, then you really build up from there. 


I wonder if players could be persuaded to play this again... 

Session synopsis - AD&D 1e Ch 1.

I think the Tomb of horrors sessions gave Chris a taste for some real old school AD&D action. We ran OSRIC on Saturday.

They had to roll 3d6 for stats (no, not in order, I am not an ass) and I gave them full HP for level one. The group was: Elven Mage, Elven Fighter/Thief, Dwarven Cleric/Fighter, Halfling Thief.

Summary follows:
The emerged from a glowing and crackling blue doorway (this was lost on them, none of them were Ultima players!) into the howling wind atop a stony mesa. They saw a ruined Caravan below, with two riders in shining armour driving a pack of small raiders before them up the road to the river.

The group went down into the Savannah to investigate the Caravan. There, they were ambushed by little lizard-headed kobolds. They saw the first lot off. Success went to the Dwarf's head. He hatched the 'genius' plan of advancing right up to the Caravan (where they could see some Kobold crossbow-lizards) and taking the hit on his remaining HP, reasoning he could just heal up the next round. He charged up and skewered what he thought was a Kobold, only to get a cloud of feathers as it exploded - it was but a ruse! And then he heard a hissing sound.... (at this point another player said "they're Moties" - I'm glad they are following some of the references!) The hissing was followed by a loud Kaboom! and the Dwarf bought the farm. The rest of them headed in. The Elven Mage used his sleep-spell to subdue the rest of the Caravan. They then looted.

The Two shining silver-armoured figures returned, riding lean saurian mounts. They were unsurprised to face outworlders speaking in a strange tongue, and one of them could even translate. They said that there had been much Kobold trouble of late, despite this being only hours from a garrison - they laid this at the door of increased activity out of the nearby Caves of Chaos. There was a reward to be had for returning the mining goods in the Caravan the companions joined them on the way to the nearest settlement, a large keep on the borderlands of the High Kingdom of Armanthor. There they collected the reward, and stocked up, ready to make there next move in this strange and dangerous world.

Session synopsis - Ch 3 pt 2.

After making their way over the hidden pits, the adventurers found themselves in a long corridor. They explored cautiously ahead, striking pitons into the walls at 20' intervals and tapping the floor before them with a stout wooden pole. After some laborious progress, they did come to a door.

Sharp eared Miklos heard sounds beyond, and they planned and plotted how to breach the iron reinforced portal. Eventually, Paschal hit upon a plan. He remembered the alchemical variant that allowed Seighard of Zurich to breach Lois the Bearded's blockade on the River Inn. With this cast, they made their way through. Miklos, seeing a retreating torchlight and voices, resolved that these must signal others in the tomb making escape with the treasures. So he made chase. His haste nearly undid him, as the entire corridor proved to be a tilting floor than deposited him in a burning room at its foot. He barely made his escape and was pulled to safety by his more cautious companions.

Unsure how to proceed, they decided to throw numbers at the problem and had the men they freed from the cultist's fastness painstakingly search this relatively safe part of the tomb for them. Eventually, one found a secret door and they made their way downstairs. Paschal dispersed a strange mist, Han burnt some spiderwebs and Richard found a golden sceptre.

They also found the reanimated semblance of Augustus, still bedecked in his funerary wrappings. The battle was fierce indeed, but the Golden sceptre allowed Richard to slay the revenant Caesar, though not before he was cursed with a deafening voice. As the chamber began to visibly and audibly crumble, they took the crown, a jade box and quite that place to make their way back to their base in the mountain caves. There, they gathered a small band of henchmen and awaited the coming of spring and the thawing of the snow on the passes...

Session synopsis - Ch 3 pt 1.

The companions resolved to further explore the Tomb of Divine Augustus. Miklos had his gender changed, then back again, Han stood in the way of a thunderbolt and Seighard investigated a strange brain in a jar. Afterward, they repaired back to the comfort of the cultists' former demense and took their leisure.

All save Seighard that is, who unknowingly at the behest of the brain, crept into Miklos' room and bound and drugged him. When all awoke the next morning, there were vexed words, and Han set out to settle the matter in the tomb, with Seighard in hot pursuit. Unfortunately for Seighard, the brain persuaded Han that the Alchemist was a more pressing threat.

Hans ambushed Sieghard in the dark of the cavern outside the tomb. Minutes later, a wrathful Miklos arrived in time to slay Seighard with his crossbow. Shocked at the turn of events, Han shook off the malign mental influence. Thom Ecke brought up the rear and grimly took his firearm into the brain's room in the tomb, stelled his mind against its blandishments and blew it an the jar to pieces.

So the three who remained returned to the pagan chapel within the tomb. They did battle with clouds of red motes and discovered a secret door. Passing through it, they roped up and carefully made their way deeper into the tomb....

Getting back up to speed

Well, it's been a while, so here is some material to refresh your memory:

The character backgrounds:

Miklos the Hungarian
Thom Ecke
Seighard of Zurich
Hans Vohrberg

And a quick Q&A:

What are we playing again?
Epic RPG, set in the Sacrum Romanum Imperium aka 'Darklands'. It is the first half of the 15th Century and your characters are attempting to make their fortunes at the margins of society. This is the end of the medieval era and the land is undergoing profound social and political upheaval, so it's a good time to be an armed adventurer.

Where are we?
You are in the Alps in winter, to the South of the Empire and West of the River Inn. In the Tomb of Divine Augustus, beneath Mt Innesfreis. More specifically, in a large underground room, with an alter at one end and a number of wooden benches arranged before it. You discovered that these benches alternatively contained coin and deadly gas traps. Whoever set this place up was a bastard. Luckily you brought an Alchemist with you.

Why are we here?
You are attempting to recover some 'family heirlooms' (Stefano thinks he is descended from Caesar?) as part of a joint venture with Stefano de Medici. You found the clue to this place after investigating the catacombs beneath the Jewish Quarter of Regensburg. Seighard found a nice sword and a little loot there. However, your way further was barred by a door with the clue to the tomb's location on it and some kind of confounding force barring it. Things got a bit messed up in Regensburg, so this seemed like a good opportunity to let things 'die down' a little.

Full session logs are here:
The session logs.

I have also made some small changes to the equipment list (several basic weapons now have lower minimums, Lances and Pikes get higher ones). I will bring a revised copy to the game.

Calixtines

The Calixtines form the core of the Utraquist cadres, trained by the visionary tactician Jan Zivska himself. Bohemian outrage at the burning at the stake of the religious leader Jan Hus sparked the defenestration of officials and open rebellion. The teachings of the Martyr Hus sparked two major religious factions: The fanatic Taborites and the moderate Utraquists, who wished to regain the right to receive communion in both forms.

The Hussites were harbingers of a military revolution. Sigismund himself remarked, after the eventual end to the Hussite Wars, that: "only Hussites could in the end defeat Hussites." Calixstines fight as infantry and employ a high proportion of the new handheld gunpowder weapons. These, along with skilled use of innovative 'Wagenburg' tactics saw them defeat Catholic crusaders, year after year.

Skills

Melee arms or Ranged arms, Military Arts, Maneuvering, Theology, +1 LP

Secret Masteries

It is our Right (Theology (Catholicism) Mastery) Requires a Theology (Catholicism) roll vs a moderate (10) difficulty. Spurred by devotion to his cause and a keen sense for the point of decision in battle, the character gains first strike against any enemies in melee with them.

Draw them in. (Ranged Arms (Gunpowder) Mastery) Anyone hit by a shot from the character's gun must make a resistance roll vs a moderate (10) difficulty or be forced to disengage from their current activity and make their maximum combat move, without sacrificing further actions, toward the character.

Wall of Steel (Theology (Catholicism) Grand Mastery) The Character is awarded the title of Commander of Wagons. He gains +1 LP and additionally, gains +1 PL vs ranged attacks.

We have it!

Finally! It took me ages to count that letter out, so I am glad someone eventually dechiphered it.

Here was the text:

Good Sir, master of any manor pursuant to this trouble.

These harrOwwing days only auger reknewed sorrows to all great and meek servant espouseing a life of Christ. Truely it sours my humble peaCe of mind, always finding herreTics where godly fArmers do till in hope of their rest in haeVen. I am greatly honoured it falls to hUmbler people in a role as an shepherd to carry forth God’s beneficiel plan for his fallen lost laMbs. To my sorrow the visit of merciless doom must today wash your demesNe clean. So a good friend of inocents needs bold saintly men to cleanse evil prOperly. Bavaria prays for aid. Our agent has the goodwill of God’s annoinTed, Clement IX, your Pope in Rome. Do not delay, sincereley gather Christ’s brAve heroes to go attack heretics and tools of demonic’s or evil men.

Dietrich von Mörs, Archbishop of Koln

Hans Vohrberg (Chris) must have spent the nights kept awake through the 'phantom pain' from his missing hand. He diligantly applied the fruits of the monks' tutelage and came up with this:

'Octavum Nota' is 'Eighth letter'

map to sword taken from elder at prag others to be removed then find map
bring only in secret to me

Regensburg