The game will cover 24 hours of time, from midnight to midnight. At that point, winners and losers will be determined. I want this adventure to have a finite length; I can of course keep going from that point, but I wanted clear objectives for this experiment.
Rules beyond the LAW system will be: 1. Hourly strategic movement of 24″ on the board; 2. Random events rolled every hour starting at 1AM; 3. the factions can raise more troops either by recruiting or convincing those who show up in random events; and I guess that is it.
Here are the competing factions:
This is the demonspawn Xokk, and his companions Vux the Sorceress and Marros Glaime. He is the primary driver of the adventure. He is trying to splice the remains of his dead demonic mother’s soul to his own. He must gather three items from across the board, and perform a ritual at midnight at the chaotic shrine. His allies are necromancers and can raise undead, as well as mind control others to join them. The three items of power are the Eye of Argon (might sound familiar to those steeped in the lore of S&S), the vase containing the physical remains of his mother, and the Scroll of Eibon.
Update: Photos are now working, after I contacted Bluehost – they upped my PHP limits, whatever the heck that is. Afterwards, I got “not a valid json response” a few times, but they uploaded on the second attempts for each.
This is Mayor Bombo (a vintage Tom Bambadil figure from Custom Cast!). He is accompanied by Azik the mage and Tummgar the Priest, and the initial militia of six swordsmen and six archers. His goal is to maintain control of the village and the graveyard.
This is the Border Watch that is barracked in the watchtower. The Consul is Walken, one of Merchant Prime Walden’s two sons (see early issues of The Greywater Chronicles for info on Walsen). The tower commander is Captain Garm. They initially have six spearmen, eight light infantry, four heavy infantry, and five crossbowmen. Their objectives are to keep the peace; nebulous, let’s see how they enforce it.
This is the Coven of witches in front of their cottage. They control the sacred pool, which contains at least one of the treasures that will be sought for. They seek to maintain the cottage and pool, and make themselves more powerful by negotiating if possible.
These are members of the Cult of K’Tuuluu, led by Madrin (in purple), last seen in TGC #4. His co-leaders are Rutherford (in blue, seen in TGC #’s 2 nd 4) and Elzarra. They have nine cultists with them. They are seeking a lost shrine to K’Tuuluu (not seen on the board yet) and to gain more members, from the village or other groups.
This is the vampire Desande, flanked by his lover Lucia and lieutenant Gar. They are necromancers. They seek to raise an army of undead and establish a base at the ruins. they can raise undead at the ruins, the graveyard, the Witchwood, the Faewald, and the Deviltree Forest.
This band of elves, under the renegade Prince Rovaelo, seeks to establish themselves in the Faewald, which at one time was home to a tribe of elves. They need to acquire one of the objects of power, and clear any other group from the Faewald.
This the Bandit King Mercutio and his small band of outlaws. He needs to control one of the three woods by midnight tomorrow, and hold one of the objects of power, and recruit more followers.
This is an adventuring party employed by Merchant Prime Walden (last seen in TGC #2), led by the elf Azul. It consists of the barbaric warriors Ragnar (still mourning his brother) and Kodd, and the thieves Edges and Stepper the dwarf. The newcomer is the young mage Farzen Zurge. They are here to aqcuire the Eye of Argon for their employer.
This adventuring party is here seemingly by chance, having heard rumors of artifacts buried on the slopes of Ashtop. But the leader of the band, the sorcerer Xarn, is of demonic heritage – his mother is the same as Xokk’s, and he has beeen drawn here unknowingly by the impending events. With him are Gosk the half-orc druid and his wild dog companion Bo, Artoll the chanting bard, Stogg Ironhead the dwarf, Lamm the elven rogue, and Traejor the cleric of Apollo.
Finally we have Brak Morn, warrior and wizard, and his companions Kurn the ranger and Hakim the Fire Sorcerer. Brak Morn is here to rescue his sister Elzarra from the cultists, even if she does not want to go!
These are the inital figures on the board, more will show up by random events, to aid or fight any or all of these people. They will have 24 turns to complete their objectives. The placement of the three items of power will be determined randomly; when a faction is at a possible location, the presence of one will be determined by the dice and which one it is. The lost shrine of K’Tuuluu will also be determined randomly as the cult searches for it, though it will be in the one of the three woods, or the ruins, or maybe on the slopes of Ashtop.