The Outer Sanctum

Fang is in the thick of it, fighting zombies it a house where atrocities have been committed.

Take a look over at http://trollhalla.com/outer-sanctum/members/forum/#cid=4,tid=4809 - why not take a character and join in? It's not a big commitment as the GMs are adept at keeping things moving - it's not every day you get the chance to stand shoulder to shoulder with an original hero!

Fang the Delectable and the Fellowship of the Vine

I don't think Fang ever became a superstar but he's a solid adventurer.

STR - 19

WIZ - 15

INT - 16

LK - 25

CON - 20

DEX - 18

CHR - 27

SPD - 14

ADDS - +28

He is L2 and his talents are: 1) winning people over (+6 on CHR) and 2) getting out of scrapes deus ex machina +6 on LK

He has, over the years, had many magic items but has lost them all or given them away and is down to mail armour, a sabre, a kukri and a set of shurikins.

He never married - he never had time.

First Aid Talent - Healing Costs WIZ

We are experimenting with a healing talent at the moment. It grew out of so many pcs taking a first aid talent, with the question of what that actually brings with it.

The way we are playing it is as follows –

1.       It is magical and powered by WIZ  
2.       It is not available to wizards or magic-using rogues 
3.       It heals 1 point of CON per level of saving roll made 
4.       APs on the saving roll are limited to twice dice roll (to keep on a par with Poor Baby) 
5.       The healer expends I point of WIZ for each point of Con restored 
6.       WIZ is recovered just as for magic users 
7.       The pc must specify the limit to the healing he/she will do before they attempt the healing or they     risk death if WIZ goes to zero or below (INT or LK SR could be given at GM’s discretion)
 8.       To take the talent, at the time of asking the pc must make a L1 SR on WIZ 
9.       The talent can only be based on the WIZ attribute
10   The talent will not be bestowed on a pc above L1 ( so the pc can elect not to take a talent at the outset and wait to increase WIZ after gaining and spending APs so long as no relevant attribute passes 19)

Jailbait - Hero for Hire

A plug for someone else's solo!  My son, Charlie, who is 15, has nearly completed his first solo.

When I have played it, I shall write a review here. It's set in Khaboom first and then in its sewers and finally in its maximun security prison.

Watch this space :)

Two New Releases from Khaghbboommm Press at DriveThru RPG

The promised 'Kindreds' publication will be available free of charge at Drive Thru on 1 August. It covers dwarves, elves, hobbs, leprechauns and fairies on four continents, linked to four rules settings.

At the same time, on the same day, the GM setting, 'The Labours of Herakles' will be released. This is suitable for a powerful warrior with maybe some chums along to advise. The cost will be $1.99.

There should be flavours to suit every taste!

Kindreds

Just as a heads up -

A while ago, I set out the changes in common kindreds from 5.5 to 7.5 with my preferences added.

With the advent of dT&T, I'm going to set it all out again and ascribe each version of the rules to a continent, using my own Kraken continent, Khaghtch'an, and an additional continent, the Wolf, to go with the Dragon and the Eagle. So, four continents, each with their own flavour of the main kindreds.

I will post at Trollhalla when it is available (for free) at Drive Thru.

Fellowship of the Vine - Part 2

Mensa drank in the scene like a glutton. He was grateful that his old friends would drop their private lives for the sake of these children. Looking at the toy that Lavabreath had created so painstakingly, the horse carved out of wood, the meticulous metal axles pinned to its wheeled "feet," a tear rolled down his bulbous nose. How was it that other kindred thought the khzd were beyond feeling?

For instance, Mensa was almost glad that Wolfe would not be among them. For a long time now, Mensa had worried that Wolfe was not his old self. Since losing his inner wolf, Wolfe had lost much of his focus. Mensa feared that could cause his brother to lose his edge in combat. Wolfe had died twice now, and Mensa saw him lose a little of himself each time.

Besides, he would have his hands full keeping Perry alive. Mensa liked the strange half-elf and his propensity to face danger, even though Perry was no warrior. It spoke volumes of the courage of the sissy elf and his loyalty. Mensa was surprised to hear that there was a lady in Perry's life these days; all this time, he thought Perry was gay.

Mensa had been ready to go and fight from the moment Lavabreath had spoken to him, but now he'd taken the pause to pack and stock for the long haul. Armoured in chain and leather, with a khzd half-helm, several pounds of elephant jerky, this newfangled boomerang thing which Hoganbeard gave him (and which Hoganbeard and he had been experimenting - Hoganbeard and Lavabreath loved wood carving as much as Mensa loved working with iron.), a stick of firecracker, his old war shovel (you never knew when you might need a shovel), a banana, two hard-boiled eggs, and one of Brother Yamaha's recorder flutes, as well as “A Fragmentary History of Trollworld” by Thucidotus Vrrash.

Later that day as the party began to gather on the parade ground behind the manor, Dr. Marianus came and tearfully made sure everyone had a first aid kit. He hated to see them go in harm's way, but he also loathed the people who had killed parents and stolen their children. He blessed each member of the party.  The supply sergeant from the citadel brought out an abundance of field ration and others of the soldier ranks came to wish them good luck. Fletch made sure all had plenty of bolts or arrows for their missile weapons.
Everyone was waiting for Zhahn while Nalki muttered in his own tongue, anxious to be on his way.

Mensa felt sad for the soldiers with their collars and reigns as he munched a couple of the tacks to check their flavor. “YUM! Snerg-flavored!!!” The dwarf had found something he liked better than moss and lichen sandwiches. He also felt sad to be leaving the new friends he'd made. Mensa was able to work to his best abilities, and actually was accepted as an equal. Why, he'd even been praised for his idea of folding the metal to increase its strength AND its flexibility at the same time. The Far Eastern dwarf, Yamisoto Earwax, had become very proficient with the twin swords Mensa had made for him.

Yet he had a feeling that he would learn even more about the khzd on this adventure. He knew, for instance, that Gristlegrim had his good eye on him, and that they would meet again someday. (If only Mensa could remember how he knew that he had been in the god's presence, even after the initial forging of Mensa.)

Because the khzd had no children of their own (beyond any they carved) the young innocents were even more precious to khzd than to many of their own parents.  There was an unspoken rule that you NEVER endangered children, and if Mensa had real blood, it would have boiled at the thought of children being taken into slavery. Where WERE those guys?

As Mensa waits impatiently for Zhahn to amble back to the restless group, Rollipoly, the dwarf  cook and baker, brings him a large bag of dwarf rations and dwarf hardtack (which is REALLY hard). The rest of the dwarves come out to see him off and wish him well.  A crowd, in fact, is gathering, and a lot of the soldier types look like they might be interested in going along, but the Captain is keeping a tight rein on them.

Kannish and Nalki went to Kazgrad on Manor business and predictably stopped on the way home in one of the less fastidious drinking establishments for a brew and stew. While they ate at the bar, a big local tough came up and sat down by Kannish. He ordered a beer, and then made a big show of sniffing it and sniffing all around. "Why I do believe," he crowed, "I do smell a dirty dog in here." He looked pointedly at Kannish. The big wolf man shrugged, and then suddenly sucker punched the bully on his protruding jaw. He knocked the man straight out cold. Nalki swore softly under his breath, impressed by Kannish's quickness. He made a mental note not to joke with him.  After looking to make sure the local riff raff was not getting up for a second round, Kannish drank the bully's drink, and said, "Now he don't gotta smell me anymore."

As dusk fell and the boozers returned, Zhanh rushed parade ground, his pack on his shoulders, and quickly topped up his supplies from the items arrayed. “What are we waiting for?” he asked tartly. “I hear there’s work to be done!”

Brushing of the wizard being entirely unaware that it was he who had held up proceedings, the group moved along down the road, feeling they were strong enough to travel so near home after dark. They were experienced campers. They travelled companionably for three hours or so, making good time, happy to be on the road again even in such grim circumstances. Soon enough, camp was set up and a light meal had been cooked. Just as everyone had retired to their tents, yawning or preparing for meditation, a shrill whistle roused them to full alertness. ‘Was that one of you?’ Perry called anxiously.

Someone Not To Mess With courtesy of Mad Roy Cram

Tzu Zengar...

She is a member of the Rasulki House militia. Good friend of Nalki. Things have been quiet since the destruction of Greybat. Tzu has seen the others getting their gear together and found out about the murders and the kidnappings. She would love to go with them and punish the bad guys. She will have to leave her horse Tsamba behind. He threw a shoe and has not had it fixed yet.

Tzu is 190 pound 5'11" woman. A bit on the stocky side. She works out a lot.

STR 30  CON 30  INT 17  WIZ 12  DEX 20  SPD 18  LCK 20  CHR 15  ADDS 40

Wears scale mail (8 pts x 2) Helm (2 pts x 2) Studded leather kilt and high leather boots.

Master Archer (+6 talent) with Bow (5D) and quiver with 24 arrows.

Level three warrior (3 extra dice in combat and HTH) has Broadsword (3D+4) and three daggers (2D+3) one in belt, one in boot, and one in her mail suit.

Can handle a lance or spear if needed.

Has Pack, Light waterproofed cloak, matches, mirror, first aid kit, 5 days iron rations, wineskin, Has an amulet that protects her from first level magic.

She is tough as they come. Few men get to see her feminine side. Doesn't smile a lot. Knows her warrior business well, a professional.

Perry Plants A Seed

Not so easily spooked, Zhahn ambled up but had to jump back as Kannish whirled about threatening all about with his dagger, looking for the 'vervolf!'

"No, no," cried Mensa. "There is no werewolf. Perry! Where is Wolfe? We need him."

"Oh dear," groaned Perry, as his horse pranced away from Kannish, who had not yet come out of Red Alert mode. "Wolfe is on the way to Khazan with Dominick. Running some errand for the Count. What is going on here?"

The hyenaman had now recovered his breath and spoke with a wheeze. "My friends, I went today to visit my sister and her mate and their children. They are hyena folk, like me. They live on a farm in the woods near here. When I arrived I found my friend dead. He had been tortured before they kill him. My sister dead too, raped and tortured before they kill her. The pups are gone though. None of their blood there. House is looted. Slavers do this! I found dead slaver in house. I know slavers. They bring me and my sister to Kazgrad years ago where Count Rasulki buy us. The dead man one of them. I know his scent. There are many tracks- eight, nine, maybe more.

Nalki has sworn to find the children...I am their godfather. And I have sworn to kill the kidnappers and murderers. I go to get my gear, my armor and weapons. It will be a hard journey, a hard task. I cannot ask you to go but I would love your help."

A vicious rumble answered him. Kannish growled, a sound to make strong men weak in their knees. "My people value our pups. And we value our freunds too. Your folk are much like mein. Kannish is bored hier. Und we wolf folk love the chase, with blood at the end! I vill go vith you, Nalki. I go to get my bow and axe, and pack. Don't leave vithout me." And the big wolf man ran off at speed.

Nalki grinned, "I am good tracker and have good smeller too. And if Kannish come, he spend his whole life in woods. And he has wolf smeller too. Ten people and many children leave trail you could follow, Mensa-friend. We will be glad for you to join us on this quest. There are many deadly enemies and we are yet few."

Being outnumbered was not perturbing to at least once of the group. The maths did not worry him one bit. Mensa howled, causing Kannish spin about, searching again for the werewolf. "I have heard of this atrocity. Lavabreath made toys for those children, as you see." He pulled one from his bag. "And he found the place as you describe it. For this purpose have I sought Wolfe because I am certain the trail is cold. We need a good tracker to find and kill these human monsters, so never this can happen again!"

Reining in his now nervy mount, Perry thumped his fist to his breast. “I was made to be a nursemaid to greedy women. If my lady friend is content to stuff herself silly and not care about her figure going to pot, I’m certainly not going wait on her, hand, foot and finger when there are wrongs to be righted and noses to be tweaked. Get your fighting trousers everyone, the Fellowship rides again!”
He took out a poniard and nicked his wrist and offered the knife to Kannish.

The Fellowship of the Vine and The Cape Kidnappers - Introduction

Nalki’s Quest

Perry was shopping that morning in Kazgrad.  The love of his life (thus far, at any rate), Audirah, had been waking up sick to her stomach and putting on weight. She had asked him pick up some things from the herbalist shop run by a cantankerous but canny little snerg named Kenso and while he was in town he thought he might as well run a few other minor errands. Perry was a talented conjuror but looked a bit of a lightweight. On top of that, people, especially bigoted people, tended to see his elf heritage rather than his human side, despite his lack of pointy ears, and so it was as well for Master Stroika that he was accompanied by his hulking warrior friend, Wolfe, who had business with  a certain Dominick.

They had stopped for a bowl of stew and a brew for brunch. Tucked up in a corner of the Pig’s Bladder Inn they overheard locals discussing the strange crimes recently committed near the city. In a couple of the outlying farms, a gang of brigands had apparently raped, mutilated, and murdered the parents, and then kidnapped the young children. At this distasteful news Perry decided to head back to the Rasulki Manor with Audirah’s herbs. He knew she was safe there but it made him happier to think he would be there to protect her too if danger threatened. Wolfe told him to tell the Captain of the Citadel, adding that the and Dominick had to go to Khazan for a couple days. Earnest as ever, Perry wished them a safe trip and headed back home, using his perception talent to check every passerby in case of ill intentions.

As Mensa, a dwarf warrior and smithy,  pounded happily away at his forge making beautiful metal things, another dwarf returned from an errand, very upset. He had taken a load of farm tools and implements to a farm near the estate and found the house in ruins, the farmer and his wife murdered and mutilated, their two young children gone without a trace. He liked these people ( good customers!)  and  if he was a warrior he would storm out to  track down and punish the perpetrators of this heinous crime. He was especially sad about the lovely young children. He had made toys for them. He said he was going to report this to the Captain of the Citadel.

Mensa struggled to remain calm long enough to ask detailed questions of his friend. Were there any tracks? Did it look like gobble work or human work? (Mensa could not imagine anyone destroying a house, torturing the couple, then kidnapping the children - EXCEPT for gobbles or humans. And gobbles would have eaten some of the humans, rather than just leave them mutilated. Despite his experiences, Mensa still tended to divide the wicked into gobbles and humans only.)

After questioning his friend, Lavabreath, he asked if he might take some of toys, because he would find the children and he would want to bring them some happiness. He then split a tree stump all the way to the roots with his new lucky axe and said he would deal with the dirty kidnappers likewise.

Mensa had a lovely double-bladed axe that was his dissertation for advancement in the manly art of forging. He started with the broken blade that was his "lucky axe" and had merged and folded its metal and new sky-metal together to make the blades. ("Sky-metal" = iron ore found in meteors or meteorites.) He would love to test it on nastybad slavers, things even worse than gobbles!

Lavabreath thought it must have been humans because gobbles would have killed the children too. Unless they were going to eat them later...All the dwarves were upset. Knowing he was going to need someone who could follow a cold trail, an expert tracker, Mensa went out to look for his ‘brother’ Wolfe.

As Mensa went out to find the wolf man, he saw an odd thing. Nalki, the rogue hyenaman, was racing breathlessly at top speed across the parade ground toward the citadel where he normally stayed. Nalki seldom ran, unless he was being chased by something bad or he was pursuing something. Even Mensa could tell that the hyenaman was riled up.

"Whoa! Stop, Nawwlky!" (Mensa's accent tended to roll R’s and elongate W’s. Not quite Scottish, but you  get the idea.) "Who chasing you?!"  He wondered if a hyenaman 's sense of smell would track as well as Wolfe?

As Zhahn and Kannish watched, Mensa came out of the dwarf compound, and caught up with the hyenaman, who stopped there, huffing and puffing to catch his breath. Kannish grinned a wolfish grin and chuckled, "I smell a fight here." He set off at his distance eating lope to join the pair. Kannish loved a brawl. He had worked on occasion as a bouncer and his scuffles with Wolfe and Dominick were something to watch. For his part, Zhahn took a last good slug of his beer, got to his feet and started to amble in the direction of Mensa and Nalki. He decided he would wait to run until the situation actually required it.

Elsewhere, Perry returned from Kazgrad on his fine horse, letting her run, as she enjoyed the exercise. As they rounded the Manor House he saw Mensa with Nalki. The hyenaman looked like he was trying to catch his breath and then there was  Kannish coming from the house at a run to join them. The half-elf rode up to see what was going on, instantly curious.

Mensa looked up and saw Perry.  He knew that Wolfe had gone to Kazgrad with Perry that morning. "Where Wolfe?" yelled Mensa.

"Vot!! Vere??" yelled Kannish, drawing his dagger, and spinning all around.

“Vere iss Verwolff??”