Why My Writing a Tunnels and Trolls Product is Good For Urutsk-

You see, now that PORPHYRY: World of The Burn is nearly complete, I've a better idea of how to frame Urutsk products than before this.

I've read the comments you folks have left over these years, and I've taken them to heart, believe it or not.

Something playable should be out for the big U sometime this year.

And, if you dig on the T&T, you'll have that much less to wait.

Weekly games continue to be played on Google+: Wed & Thu are Urutsk, and Fri is T&T

Best,

Don't Tell Us What You are Going to Do...-

My original sketch from the early 2000's

H&S blog aside, here is a link to the Russ Nicholson artwork for the Urutsk Referee's Manual. It is the colour piece (although the b&w stuff looks pretty cool, too).

LINK

As I said in the blurb, I've had this idea for several years longer than I've had my blog, and seeing the piece come to life was really extraordinary and gratifying.

The LuLu Players' and Referee's Manuals will likely be phased out when their replacements come into being. I am currently in discussion with the producer of an existing rules set as the basis of one version of the URUTSK: World of Mystery line, as I really dig the ease and flexibility of said unsaid system, not feeling like it will shoe-horn my setting into an uncomfortable fit.

Oh, and it uses d20. :D

A Look Inside: Combat in 'The Game' and UWoM-

INTEROPERABILITY: UWoM and The Game
:: Close Combat-
(c) 2011 Kyrinn S. Eis

Player Characters are Hero Figures by default, and as such, can command those of their Fight/Hit Dice or lower rating, including other 0-Die figures (Commoners).

All of the following d20 roll Special Results only apply if the Attack is successful.

At melee scale, this would mean that the PC-led attack (with accompanying fighters) succeeds, and all figures roll their dice of damage against the receiving forces. If the PC is in singular combat (other friendly figures are not 'engaged' with the same foes as the PC), then these d20 Special Results would apply on that PC's successful To-Hit roll. If your chosen game system rolls percentile dice instead of a d20 (BRP, etc.), multiply the (##) by 5 to arrive at the trained percentage score.


(6) V - Minimal Casualties :: Attaches an Auto-Dodge to a figure
:: (20) The figure gains a bonus of 4 to AC for the remainder of the Round and all of the next

(5) B - Co-ordinated Strike :: Attaches an Auto-Strike to an enemy figure
:: (17) Grants a second 'hit' at normal rolled damage (but a second Hit Location roll if used), or 1 Critical, &c.

(4) G - Vanguard Action :: Attaches to a friendly figure to grant them Auto-Surprise on next encounter of their choosing (stealth is possible to infiltrate further, etc.)
:: (13) As regards Tracking and Surprise, the figure acts as a Ranger of the same level until next combat

(3) Y - Free Move :: Provides the figure with an additional 4" of movement, before/after attack
:: (10) as above

(2) O - Focus :: Grants the designated figures with either: a number of visual/alerness focal point (a doorway, a computer bank, a facial expression), or a numerical bonus +1 per, Focus point.
:: (07) ""

(1) R - Weapon Check :: Forces the Operator to determine if the melee weapon is retained (rolling anything but another fumble), or how far away the weapon is discarded on a second 'red'. Unarmed attacks gauge disadvantage
:: (01) ""

For groups interested in opening up these options in The Game, combatants roll 1d6 per Hit Die, and group the results by number. Simple comparisons between the corresponding pools, in Initiative order, whittle-away at each other, making each reduction that much more likely to result in an injury in subsequent fights with others in that Round. Each Round refreshes the Hit Die pool, but each n of HP lost by the figure indicates the loss of one Hit Die for combat-pool purposes only (or not if you prefer). When the figure is reduced to 0 or fewer Hit Dice, the next successful attack results in the figure's (force's) defeat. This is true at the personal, tactical, operational, or strategic level.

...

Curiouser and Curiouser-

WHAT IS URUTSK?

On one level, Urutsk is a setting, both for gaming, as well as fiction. It is an Alternate Reality with all that implies, and has been cultivated for nearly thirty years; one in which the land masses are often discernible, but in which the Peoples have diverged enough so as to be unrecognisable. It is currently (the Autumn Era) a wetlands planet slightly smaller than our earth, slightly further away from Av the system star, and a significantly wetter, stormier world. Evidence suggests that Av has not always been the primary gravitational point in the 'system' and indigenous folk claim that the 'Worlds Wander.'

Not so much a Dungeons & Dragons draped game in sci-fi trappings as a game of Skyrealms of Jorune hybrid with Metamorphosis Alpha and Gamma World, Urutsk is primarily the story of the Vrun people who have returned to the periphery-system after their galactic empire literally exploded. Stranded on a world their experts maintain is one of their points of origin, these Vrun are the relatives of all the Human ethnicities of the planet, having been culled from the 'very best' of these diverse folk long ago and set amid the then-extant stars.

Urutsk owes much of its scattered inspiration from '60's and '70's Sci-Fi Film, Print, and TV sources, mixed together in a strange slurry and allowed to ferment. Shows like ARK 2, SPACE: 1999, STAR TREK, Buck Rodgers, Mission Impossible, AVENGERS, The Prisoner, The Starlost, SWAT, and EMERGENCY! are admixed with DC Comics John Carter Warlord of Mars, Marvel's Killraven, and Banshee-era X-MEN as well as a lot of indie-mags my older sister turned me onto.

Urutsk' first real session was a Sci-Fi one, and has progressed from a contemporary/near-future setting through at least seven thousand years of history. More than the perusal of simple reference work has gone into the philological basis of the setting's languages (Vrun being but one of a few to have received my care over the decades), and outstanding linguists have noted Vrun's facility as an actual, usable language not-derived from any contemporary or known ancient source. This stems in part from my multi-lingual upbringing and the love of language my parents possess(ed), as well as my own interests in the effects of symbols upon human psychology (including subliminals).

I do not advocate 'shake-and-bake' bottom-up, quick-fix solutions in game-world design as anything more than a stop-gap measure to be re-examined and altered so as to suit the Big Picture (preferably one's own Big Picture rather than simple variants of pulp and weird fantasy) of the setting. The confusing mass of ideas and inspirations must, IMO, culminate in a work that helps describe the creator as much as the intent of the work. M. A. R. Barker's Tekumel setting, although pored over by ideoarcheologists of the neo-old school bent, is poorly understood as anything else but a proto-D&D archetype, replete with Underworlds, Barbarians ignorant of the setting's details, and a place filled with 'oddball and gonzo' critters and items. True admirers of the Professor's work (Jeff Berry and the Aethervox crew, and among the various mailing lists devoted to the setting: Sally Abravanel, Brett Slocum, Peter Houston, Alva Hardison, etc.) have long seen past the superficial (and sad) comparisons to more staid mock-Western gaming settings, and can appreciate variance in society, culture, mores, and language.

It has been my recent pleasure and honour to game with others who can parse these differences and appreciate the Urutsk setting for its own sake. That isn't to say that a dungeon crawl can't be fun for these recently-met players, but rather, that they seem interested in something more and recognise the soul that has been poured into Urutsk.

Perhaps, you too, are looking for something other than elves, dwarves, and hobb--halflings, and always expected more from a setting? Then, Urutsk may be a destination you would like to explore. I am running a regular game schedule on Google+: Wed/Fri, and Thursday beginning around 8:30-9:30 PM depending upon the players' schedules. The two games are separate but contemporary 'streams'. All times are -5 GMT/Eastern USA

We look forward to seeing you there.

Last Night's Google+ Hangout Game-

Google+ user Ulek Xek joined C. for the Thursday night game via G+ Hangout on audio only. Sadly, Greg Backus was unable to join us due to computer issues. We'll have to sort those issues out for the next epi.

Here is Ulek Xek's LINK

Monday Offering-

Name-(Mass)[Moves](ea. roughly 7')
FD: Fight Dice
DP: Disruption Points
Def: Defence
ARM: Armour STOP & Type [H]ard/[S]oft
ATK: Attack

Cd: Colour Dice
V.iolet (6), B.lue (5), G.reen (4), Y.ellow (3), O.range (2), R.ed (1)

LETIUUMASI-(L)[4mv]
Menace Rating: 65 | 3FD+3 | 150DP | +0Def | -2S ARM | ATK: Musket 5Cd @ G | ATK: Dagger @ O | ATK: Bite @ G
* Special Abilities: Intelligent, Tracking Instinct Use: +3d/Day, 1x/8 Hours, Feral
Description: The hairy beasts are humanoid, but by adolescence, grow to stand as tall if not taller than the average Vrun. Adult males have been measured at over 3 Msnk (13'5”), while females stand a little shorter on average. They tends towards the coppery-bronze end of the spectrum, but coats of dark sable and umber have also been reported in the deepest mossy woods. Reliable trackers of even the most difficult of prey, the Letiuumasi' long-barrelled muskets are most vexing. Even bare-handed, the Letiuumasi is deadly. They are rumoured to be a rogue subject race of the Abbekqorru, and it is fact that they are fully feral and only partly civil.

I Hear You: Logo + Booklet Title-

I have read the eight comments on the previous post after having tweaked this and another booklet's cover. Here is a second go, although nothing is dead-final:



As to the nearness of release, I cannot speak from any certainty, and as others have said, it is best to deliver on promises --therefore no promised release dates. In short: It'll be released when it is meets my compromise between perfection and reality of what a first print, first edition product can be.

I will tell you that the product is not (in all likelihood) what you think it will be, and I look forward to reading the strong opinions about it when it is released.

Work on the final draft of the Referee's Manual will begin soon after the main release, and the cover artwork for that book is stunningly beautiful. It is difficult to contain my excitement. :D


I'd like to take this time to clarify something:

My 'devil's advocate' stance in the OS discussions should never be construed as one of antagonism towards the authors themselves. Like most of you, I have strong opinions, and when I am not with the stated majority, I imagine I am more of a grain of sand in the OS oyster than its shiny pearl. Yet, that's from whence pearls originate: an irritating grain of sand chafing at the soft underbelly of the creature. ;)

If I don't care for you, like Florida weather, wait a few minutes, as it'll often pass. If not, you'll know.
--If you don't like me, may I suggest you use your energy more effectively by doing your own thing more strongly to offset my Annoyance Factor. That'd be like producing a pearl out of a pesky grain of sand. :D


:: Best to all of you out there in Gaming Land

An Updated Look-

At the suggestion of scottsz, I have incorporated the Logo with the Mullen Cover:

New Logo-

It is a transparent background, that is why the text appears 'so dark'.
--It would be sharper against a white background.

Click it to see.

Current Events-

Something I had forgotten to mention about last session was that the Khem PC had begun to mutate, developing two pair of pronounced canines, [infravisual capacity,] and an unnatural thirst for blood. It is speculated that this transformation was triggered by exposure to the Aelbaan 'mummy dust' present in Delver's Void-craft.


I have been working with artists to bring the Vrun Players' Module to completion, and this has consumed most of February, with less time than I had hoped devoted to writing. I believe that March and April will be even lighter on posts here.


I was able to play in my setting for the first time in years, yesterday, and the game is looking very promising. :)


It looks as though J. will be hosting this weekend, and it would be the first session that M. would play at that venue.
--The recap should be up on or around Monday.

Best to you all,

Worlds Enough and Time: An Urutskan Travel Log-

I was thinking of all of the adventures I can remember gaming on Urutsk, as well as fiction I have written for it, and came up with these locations and time periods:

The Marnharnnan Continent: From the Fall of the Ancients, through the Vrun Colonial period, and the years of play in Latter Autumn, and into the surrealistic dark-fantasy of the Winter Era.

The Vrun Continent: Pre-history, Spring Era, Summer, Autumn, and bits of Winter (7,000 years of history). From the Crystal Pyramid through hunter-gatherers; from the standard fare of 'mediaeval fantasy' through Sci-Fantasy of the war against the Aelbaan; Late Summer and Early Autumn's mass-warfare campaigns, cults, disease and famine; The Humanoid and Frontier Campaigns; the pseudo Napoleonic gatling-gun and cannon period of Consolidation; the rise of the Vrun Continental Authority and highlights of the First Tyrrhean War with its necroborgs and gas-masked cavalry sorties; Latter Autumn's Second Tyrrhean War and the urban malaise of capitulation to the People's Automatic Union; all the way into Winter's madness and desperate subterranean scramble.

The Black Crown / Marnharnnan Yirinn Empire of Bereme Oykh: Autumn and the Departure, and Winter's Discontent.

The Chaos Isles: Scattered incidents throughout Autumn.

Tuliri / Lhoman Border region: Late Summer and throughout the Autumn Era, especially during the Second Tyrrhean War. Hours and hours of miniatures wargaming took place in this region, as well as a religious insurgency on the Tuliri side of the border. Martial Arts action, Pulp adventure involving serpent men, and the rise of an Immortal.

The Durn Continent: Early Autumn's visitation by the contemporary Playtest Party as well as a one-off with a Big Game Hunter, his trusty sidekick, and a powerful Durn Holy Warrior versus Guild Council slavers; Latter Autumn's challenge to modernise, and the Durn Maximist Covenant's polite refusal of the PAU's invitation.

All of the above is but a small percentage of the total gaming done in the milieu, and fails to touch upon the exploration and colonisation of Aqmlk, the Red Planet, and its latter eras; the entire span of the Space Age with its Hyperspace Shunt Network and Dragon Wars; Alien worlds crawling with unspeakable horrors and confounding alien technology; and the actual Sphere of Stars built around the galactic core; and other bits and bobs throughout these past 26+ years of my cultivating this wild and wending garden.

What adventures will you have here?

Pre-Session Warm-Up-

Well, folks, 2011 is off and running, and promises to be very interesting in the proverbial Chinese manner: Bird kills, religious posts engendering i-net kerfluffles, Florida Atlantic University being the first university (at least in the State) to ban Smoking anywhere on campus (including one's automobile -- which in Florida is considered legally part of one's home wherever one may be in it), and Miami hosting the first (officially) US-deployed surveillance drone. Yay! I'm so happy, can't you tell?

Still, I'll get those lovely photos of Jeff Berry's truly awe-inspiring collection of minis, the costumes they have produced, as well as recounting the events and meetings with personages of import that transpired while C. and I were there in the land of snow and ice.

For those of you in a tiff over my posting TaNaKh on my blog, I urge you to move on. It's bound to happen again, as will my posts on mysticism, and even human nature. I can assure all, however, that my usually droll adventure recounts and other miscellany will dominate the content, and I think that if everyone is fair in their assaying, I usually am personal-content-free (apart from the posts while my father was dying). I cannot say the same for other vetted blogs out in the OSR, but then again, their controversies swirl around die-types and edition flames, or the applicability of percentile thieving skills. Meh, to each their own, I suppose.

So... I'm off to the grooming station before I open the apartment door to my weekly gaming crew (a mixed lot of Atheists, Buddhists, Catholics, and Jews :: Wait, that sounds like the beginning of a joke...) where we plan on resolving the Party's immediate concerns of escape from the course-locked Aelbaan starship and the possibility of returning home to

URUTSK: World of Mystery.

tschüß

No Good, Eh? Perhaps This is More to Your Liking...

Netherwerks blog

Havoc for the Holidays: Jeff Berry's New Year's Gaming Celebration-

Reprinted from Chirine's Workbench:

Milestones, of various sorts...

This is post 200, the little meter tells me, and I'm delighted to be able to post the schedule for this coming weekend's event:“Havoc for the Holidays!”

Game Event Schedule

Please note that all times are going to have to be flexible, due to possible changes in the weather. I have put things together to do the best I can to suit peoples’ travel plans, and we will be flexible.

Wednesday, December 29th, 2010:

10:45 am

First Wave of out-of-town guests arrives; day open for socializing and shopping as required or desired.

Thursday, December 30th, 2010:

TBA

Second Wave of out-of-town guests arrives; day open for socializing and shopping as required or desired.

Friday, December 31st, 2010:

Noon:

Game room open for guests and visitors

1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Possible RPG session to be announced if there is interest

4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Third Wave of out-of-town guests arrives

6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Open Buffet in the Lava Lounge

8:00 p.m. - Midnight

Tekumel Role-playing game session, Chirine to GM; characters

provided if players don’t already have one.

Midnight

Celebration of the New Year; RPG game session continues as long as players are conscious.

Saturday, Jan 1st, 2011:

8:00 a.m. -11:00 a.m.

Set game room with miniatures tables (Chirine); everybody else does breakfast.

11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m

First Sitting for Miniatures Games; two tables open for players

Game Room Table: “Saving Serqu’s Sisters”

Lava Lounge Table: “Where’d All Those Pe Choi Come From?”

3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Break for food! Hurrah!

4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m

Second Sitting for Miniatures games; two tables open, again.

Game Room Table: “Saving Serqu’s Sisters”

Lava Lounge Table: “Where’d All Those Pe Choi Come From?”

8:00 p.m. - onwards

Dinner; location to be determined, with socializing and sundry tomfoolery to follow in the Lava Lounge

Sunday, January 2nd, 2011:

Noon - 1:00 p.m

Tekumel Role-playing Game session; Chirine to GM, characters provided if you don’t have one.

5:00 p.m. -7:00 p.m.

Dinner break; location to be determined.

7:00 p.m. - onwards

RPG Event: our Special Guest, Timeshadows, has offered to run an adventure in her world; as Timeshadows is, in my humble opinion, this generation’s Prof. M. A. R. Barker, this will be a game session not to be missed!

Monday, January 3rd, 2011

TBA

First wave of Guest departures

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

TBA

Second wave of Guest departures

Please feel free to contact me with any questions: chirine@aethervox.net

**********

I do want to say that I'm sorry to be getting this out to all of you so late; my only excuse for the tardiness is that we're still picking up the threads of our lives, and it's taken a lot longer then the Missus and I had expected. Starting off the new year with a house full of friends will really help us, though, and we'll looking forward to seeing you!

**********

If you're on a website or e-list that might be interested in this kind of event, please feel free to post all of this for the benefit of your friends. While we understand that it's late notice for people, we're planning on running more events like this and we'd appreciate your comments and input on how we do this kind of thing; it's our first time out, as it were, and any advice is always welcome!!!

**********

And all of us here at the Workbench, and in the Aethervoxes, would like to wish everyone a very happy holiday!!!

yours, Chirine and the Missus

Mutants of Marnharnna: Pt. 15: Between a Lock and a Hard Place-

The long and short of the situation is that the military cargo of the schooner cannot be offloaded nor abandoned under any circumstances, and so the paddlewheeler captain begged the party to flee while the other craft did its best to hold off the catamarans while help was sought from Fort UuTudel. As the paddler (laden with passengers, but having thrown overboard two slot-machines) lingered, a flak shell was launched and detonated close enough to all but destroy its wheelhouse. Kitsune was able to effect enough repairs as to operate the craft, and away they went. Zalder delivered a few well-placed firebombs again, and rejoined the paddler.

Nyqolas discovered that he was not regaining Alertness DP, but the cause was not disclosed for some time. Osyl, recovering with the aid of healers sent by Lady Arctise, became conscious as what appeared to be a 'zombie leg' was sewn onto the stump of her right thigh, and all manner of bizarre things put inside (twigs, leaves, etc.), including what Osyl thought was the skeleton of a weasel-like creature. Upon full consciousness (around the time the flak struck the ship), she felt the weasel stirring inside the hollow-seeming limb, and at one point, the thing appeared to pop out and chitter at the woman. Shenanigans involving trying to raise one of the healers killed by shrapnel by sacrificing the eldest of the lizard-girls was foiled by Osyl with a Frost-substituted (Void)-blast that was very convincing. Nyqolas, using his Inspire suite of powers, was able to draw DP from those that responded to the ruckus and raise the recently expired healer. The attempt to sacrifice the girl was not prosecuted at the time, given the gravity of the larger situation, and folks went their separate ways. One of the healers was able to see a glass creature (like a stirge crossed with a su monster and a beaker and flask kit) crawling upon Nyqolas' body, apparently drinking from his Dynamic Pool and preventing him from recovering one mote of pwer.

As sunlight was fading, Kitsune spotted something on the eastern horizon, but it wasn't until the craft neared that it was determined to be at least 40 12-person canoes of Dokirin origin, seemingly awaiting a signal to row from the Eleven Sons area towards the fort which was clearly already under attack. With no real hope of staving off a concerted warband in the damaged craft, it was decided to circumvent them and press on toward the lock. Soon, the signal was given in the form of a star-shell sort of munition deliberately aimed low to kindle fires throughout the otherwise stalwart fort atop stout rocky hills.

Reaching Noud Lehd, the party witnessed a desperate skirmish battle fought between lock engineers and Dokirin war-scouts. A few DiVinci-esque battle devices helped turn the tide and the PCs' presence tipped the scales in favour of the Vrun forces. With the drydock available again, the paddler was brought in for repairs with the goal to reach the tidal lake by high tide still in the realm of the possible. Disembarking, the Party scouted the area ahead of the passengers, and was informed that a hidden entrance to a tunnel leading to UuTudel was to be found in the cluster of ruins at the far end of the dock.

I had used a combination of Heroscape tiles, foamcore terrain tiles and paper boulders made by my sweetie, felt pads from Michael's crafts store, and a piece of store-bought terrain for the ruin, and then covered the table in a sheet so as to minimise the Players' knowledge of the battle scene's layout. We fought the lopsided battle for roughly two hours of gameplay, with Zalder suffering a downing and unconsciousness at the hands of a third-wave Dokirin group. One of these had a softball-sized glassy sphere in his off-hand, and utilised it to illuminate the outer reaches of its radius effect, while the bearer was barely lit (the outermost region was brighter than the inner, ya'see?). Zalder had backshot that one and with the bearer's demise, the light slowly faded, but gave Nyqolas the opportunity to spot the downed Zalder (floating in the water atop the air-sled), whom he fetched and woke.

The last of the on-table opponents was defeated and the effort to begin looting the dead was initiated. Nyqolas picked up the sphere and failed a Control Critical Test (a Spells Save in D&D terms), coming under the gaze of what appeared to be a one-eyed Abbekqorru shaman/sorcerer who then forced a second Control CT, which Nyq was able to deny, but went unconscious in the exertion (burning 8DP to boost his chance to succeed by 1d6). The object was then pried from the now-useless-rendered Nyqolas by Kitsune, with a dagger and with some blood loss. As Nyq lay unconscious, the female sorceress informed him that her glass homunculus (on the Plane of Glass) was siphoning his vitality and reconstituting her body.

The decision to stay with the craft, or make the perilous trip through the tunnel to UuTudel, faces the Party upon commencement of this scenario next time.

Mutants of Marnharnna: Pt. 14: Swimming with the sharks-

The paddlewheeler pressed on and came upon an a schooner under attack by catamaran pirates: Two small craft (06 crew, each), and three large craft (11 crew, crew each). The small craft were harriers and used only small-arms fire to draw out their enemies so that the large craft could launch flak shells at the craft as anti-personnel weapons while the small craft sailed away (hopefully in time). The large craft each had an Aldis-lamp with which they could communicate with the tower that lay in the background, beyond yet another mangrove isle.

Shenanigans ensued, with the paddlewheeler gang hopping aboard the schooner, realising that it was listing and sinking, with several small medical emergencies from a prior flak-attack.

Zalder flew over to the big cats and firebombed a couple of them, scoring solid hits, and causing one flak cannon to burn through its decking, effectively anchoring that craft. The third of the big cats was using some sort of bubbler to agitate the water so as to allow the lumbering craft to more easily pivot as it sought to return to its nearby base. Zalder, Cloaked, absconded with the larger-than-a-manhole-cover-sized Air crystal that powered the bubbler, riding off on it like a bodyboard back to the ailing schooner.

A small catamaran was re-owned by Kitsune and Nyqolas (the High Imperial) and a few of the security personnel, and maritime fun was had by all, including shooting pirates pretending to be drowned. :D
--Zalder was busy helping effect repairs by forcing the water out of the ship, allowing the engineers to patch the keel gash.

Nyqolas was contacted by a projection of a rather fetching sorceress, and based upon that brief interaction, he was tele-relocated to her tower (the one nearby). Her overconfidence was her undoing, for although she reflected the Radiance Blood's Psychic Blindness upon Nyqolas, he snapped her neck and leapt overboard to 'land on her' when they hit the water some 30+' below. Here's where the sharks come in. This is where the body of the sorceress became chum. Nyqolas swam to a nearby quay and ran blindly into the swamp for cover, only to be retrieved by Zalder aboard the Air crystal sled.

Other craft were being launched from the pirate cove beyond the tower, and with repairs effected, the two craft frothed away with three new large catamarans in pursuit.

Mutants of Marnharnna: Pt. 13 ('you took it too seriously...')-

Raylyss, potential Lizard King and Sire of a resurgent Reptilmalian Empire, after finding wonderful magic items, decided to once again torment a drinks girl on the paddlewheel craft, and was spotted by at least two of the crew, one of whom was able to hit Raylyss (with a poisoned blade). Raylyss dove overboard and resurfaced to the rear of the craft, whereupon I rolled to see if security were on the ball, and rolled my 2d12+1d4 for the nearest guard, and scored a double-12 (essentially a critical success) +2 on the d4. This beat Raylyss' (Cloak + Covert) roll, and he was caught by surprise. As in, no action, but I'll let you say something --surprise. Instead, the player indicated Raylyss was moving, and he was fired upon at Point-Blank Range with a pump-action slug-gun. The shot struck Raylyss' abdomen for 45 points, taking him to -20+ instantly. Raylyss' last words (previously spoken as he got away from the mob) were, 'You took it too seriously.'
--Raylyss saw his probability lines toward becoming the messianic sire collapse into silt, while the two spires of his 'children' achieving some lasting importance toward that (or his son achieving it in full with the aid of his sisters) increase. As he expired, Lord Worm, his Elemental Patron, reach out his hand and Raylyss accepted and found himself in the muddy grave of the Silt Court, filled with half-rotted zombies and writhing worm-monsters.
--- The group took his stuff and carted his body to their room, where the the eldest of the girls heard the bad news and sought revenge. She later informed the party that Raylyss' things were their inheritance, and she looked very serious about defending that claim.

The area the party was now travelling through is a series of mangrove stands and islets, cut with channels and coves (much like the area they had just departed), and the soundings were too shallow to proceed after dark, and they anchored as a storm rolled in. In the morning, Kitsune spotted the shredded sails of another craft draped across the mangrove canopy some ways off, and the ship frothed on through the shallows. This wrecked ship was apparently attacked in the early part of the storm by Humanoid sea-raiders (including serpent people), and their floating bodies clogged the way for ship. Gaff-hooking the corpses aboard for scientific study by the Sleeper Scientists resulted in the discovery of strange alchemical gear (explosive-filled distraction weapons like shuriken) and wrist dispensers of an alchemical fuze. Eventually the survivors of the shipwreck (astronomers, botanists, chemists, etc.) were glad to board the pleasure ship and immediately began to drink up and game.

It was upon this ship that the new character was unveiled. He is a heavy spacer-framed Imperial Manifestation with Radiant blood, and lots of it. He was shipwrecked after fleeing the Vrun Continent as a wanted criminal, accused of gross negligence resulting in the loss of 35 lives. He advances as an Aberrant, but is exceptionally robust in his capabilities, and should be a lot of fun in the game.

The next encounter was that of a large boat/small-ship-sized cephalomalian in his river-bisected lagoon, and the living, human contents of three or four lifeboats entwined in his primary tentacles. "Pay tribute or they die." His bellowing, bubbling voice erupted from the frothing water. Everyone was ready to attack it, but the captain, for the sake of those in the boats, capitulated, sending over (as the new character suggested) 300+ pounds of salt-water taffy (most of it conjured fabrications) to the Monstrous Being (along with champagne and other goods) on the backs of rays sent to receive the tribute.
--Devouring the rays and the tribute, the Being was well pleased and released the boats and the humans unharmed. It was later realised that ink from the creature seemed to act as the water-life control agent, as schools of different fish moved in stunning and colourful displays as the ship reversed engines and headed out for deeper waters in the bid to still make it the tidal lake by high tide, full moon in two days.

I believe that we held it there.

The Shapes of Things to Come: ADnD and UWoM -- Random Notes about the Process-

Random Notes about the Process-

* Like the assassin acting as a 'Thief of two Levels lower', the abbreviated notation of ('Ranger -03') allows for less repetition in the write-ups, but requires more book keeping on the Player's part. As the 1e AD&D classes are the yardstick by which the Referee measures a new PC or an NPC class for inclusion in their campaign, and it is for that reason that I have settled upon this option so far, but may yet decide to write them up as discrete Classes. Your suggestions would be welcome.

* Alternate avenues of advancement, such as opting-out of the 9th Circle Initiates waiting for an opportunity to battle their way into the named levels and hierarchy, and instead travelling into the deepest forests and glens in the hopes of attracting the appreciative eye of the eldest and most powerful of the fey, and leaving the Mundane Realm entirely.

* I am assuming that Unearthed Arcana will be available, but not making it necessary to utilise it in creating a character or what have you. Bullwhip wielders and Khopesh Swordsmen rejoice! ;D
This also means that the Hierophant of the Kabbalah (Sephirot) is doing all of that Elementalness, and thus, there is a good reason for continuing on as a Druid, rather than as something else...

* Classifying Troop-types by DAC (descending AC), with diesel-assisted mech-armour ringing in at AC0, Skirmish/Mounted at AC5, and a Common Human at AC10. This should make larger fights a smidge simpler, especially with a Quick-Kill system attached.

* Long Bows are assumed to do d8 damage unless the arrow indicates otherwise. Firearms, as demonstrated in my posts here, are not something one wants to receive fire from, but are scaled to the AD&D progressive HP model, rather than the Gamma World ('Con number of d6s') method. Explosives will often make a 3d6 Fireball look tame, but it truly is, in comparison. Poisons will be more effect-based rather than simply being Class and Damage affairs.

* Other stuff as it comes to me, such as re-purposing the Turn Undead table, and Spell Points as an optional alternate spell casting method for those willing to try non-Vancian means.

Mutants of Marnharnna: Pt. 12 ('If 8 Were 3')-

Osyl and Raylyss each received a summons by their Elemental Patron, to investigate the house along the shore by which the steam-paddle was passing. An infiltration of the ship by two never before seen Reptilmalians (and the genetic-memory of Osyl's Shuttlecraft Pilot ancestor being played over the Aetherphonic which sucked her into the past with such clarity that she briefly traded consciousness with him) convinced the group as a whole (after reptilmalian bull territorial behaviour was resolved) to explore the ruin haloed in a watery yellow light visible even in the morning sun.

Initial investigation showed a model home with nothing but advertising materials for a failed commercially-developed community. Out back was a shed and a sump. Raylyss, under cloak, popped the lock and the group (including a Cook, an Engineer, and a Security Officer from the ship) entered.

Raylyss skipped levels one and two and began exploring solo while the party was plodding along being careful (as they ought). Eventually Raylyss, after finding a nice new set of electronics of the Ancients, rejoined the group as they descended to level four of what they determined was a marine warfare research facility, and one that had housed an alien and engineered lifeform most similar to a squid or cuttlefish, suspended in vast tank that led to a ship launch channel and out to sea.

Along the way, a zombie or two were popped, and more evidence as to what had happened to the base personnel in light of the Shorrannin invasion/system-war recorded as happening in the year 1137 (campaign date is 691). An ancient terrarium, partially fed off of the sucided remains of an Ancient gardener, was also found, and the Survival Instructor-Caste Ship's Security officer was so moved by that that he and the cook took seed packets and fertiliser to continue the work on the surface.

Level five appeared to be suspended directly over the gargantuan tank, and it was learned that the creature had been aware of them the entire time and had also masked its mind signature, preventing Zalder from reading it on his Mind Field. Tentacles shot up out of the blind shark-filled waters, and grabbed at anyone they could. Level four, the same, and Osyl of Frost was ensnared, squeezing off the leg above the knee (more than half her DP total in one attack), but her wound frosted over, preventing her bleeding to death.

Hoisted out of harm's way, Osyl and the party pressed on, but counted the older cook and engineer as losses to the Monstrous Being, before hearing the lower levels pulled down into the tank. This included the terrarium, which angered the Survivalist immensely. The surface was reached, the party better off for loot, and finding that the ship's crew were about to give up on them, but helped them back on board as the thing roared and shook the foundations of the Aurora Bend facility.

Both Osyl and Raylyss learnt that their Patron had not contacted them, and that meant that the squid had mentally manipulated them successfully enough that they had never questioned the strange orders in the peculiar communication (which had included a complex illusion in Raylyss' case). Osyl swore an oath of vengeance against the thing for claiming her leg, while Raylyss was left to ponder the significance of his son being the possible Sire (rather than Raylyss) as had been suggested by three different reptilmalian groups.

Raylyss has now outed himself to the Security Officer, but his son and the younger girls have yet to make their début to the private-hire gambling ship.

Mutants of Marnharnna Pt. 11-

With Raylyss and the Scaly Kids out in the mangrove Stinkwoods, frosty Osyl, the rather colourful Zalder, and the anime giantess, Kitsune (correcting the misspelling from last week, rendering her 'Wandering Hovering Spirit') went in search of a jewellery store to sell the loot they had taken from the 'Mall of the Ancients'.

Before getting there, an interaction with a 'friendly' fight prompted Zalder to blow his cover as a non-powered colourful freak, and caught a gent who had been knocked over a second-floor railing. The man was stupefied that this green-skinned, blue-haired, sugar-glider membraned person was holding him aloft, and asked to be gently put down. The assailant, his 'friend' made his way down the stair, to the consternation of the prostitutes they had been cavorting with in the room before the argument had erupted. Osyl, conjured a fabrication of 9 and change pounds of frigid water over the bruiser. The cold water worked in bringing the hulk back to his senses, and Osyl's attempts to sweet-talk him worked better than the player had planned, resulting in the big fella' suddenly being rather taken with her (to the further consternation of said working women). Zalder released his grip on the punchee and flew off as the Law made their way toward the group. A conversation between the deputies in the background suggested that they thought the rather WI Vrun-looking Kitsune and the somewhat Yirinn-looking Osyl didn't much look like cousins, but the WI nobles were prone to mate with whom they desired; and, was it really true that West Coast Vrun really practised bestiality? Kitsune managed to defuse the situation after being admonished not to associate with Muties, at least in town.

With Kitsune's week-long knowledge of Kryssaul City, they set out into the Good Part of town and to a heavily guarded two-floor Jewellery establishment. Ignoring a man who offered to look at their items before they stepped foot inside, the two went inside and marvelled at the collection of Auric Black Metal jewellery in a partitioned case occupied by an armed guard. The staff was knowledgeable enough to spot the quality and mark of the Ancient jewellery and then called the manager, who promptly invited the pair upstairs for a private meeting. The walk up the stairs revealed three full cold-cast plate-armoured over-under coilstock-armed guards on either side of the way, suggesting that such transactions were fairly secure. A brief event revealed a grizzled hunter in another section of the upstairs area, but he quickly disappeared from view. The business was prefaced by a friendly question session by the manager who asked as to the the provenance of the goods, how the girls came to possess it, and after their safety travelling alone on the wild ways with such a haul. Answers were provided in varying degrees of believability, and the sale of some rather remarkable pieces (including a circuitry embedded in a coin and a dagger of some sort of rainbowed-glass-like material), netting 10k count. A Letter of Recommendation and a private carriage ride to the White star Hotel marked the pair of 'cousins' as members of the Amlynn family (one of several known to have founded the ill-fated WICE fort later overrun by combined Aberrant, Dokirin, and Humanoid forces). The White Star Hotel executive suite (100 count per day, not including room service) proved much to the women's' enjoyment, affording Kitsune a relaxing hot bath, and Osyl time to 'chill-out'.

In the meantime, Zalder (having flown in over the mangrove canopy and spotted a pinnace) had been assisting Raylyss in wrangling his son (a rather cunning fisher) when he heard sounds echoing across the water, further out into a channel. Four folks in a dinghy rowed closer, and it was apparent that they were smugglers or pirate-types. Zalder, feeling michevious, experimented with the Water node, but was admonished by the Sisters and then drew upon an Air crystal to stealth up on them unawares. A failed death-stroke attack on an occupant while the three others were poking around for a submerged something alerted the others and the sloppy kill subjected him to wool-pistol fire and afforded the Durnsman (slave?) an escape from the other two. A further failed hatchet throw against the pistoleer and Zalder was hiding in the mangroves as the two survivors (a young woman/girl who was disguising that fact, and an older, relatively 'nice' guy) rowed back with their badly butchered comrade's corpse out to the ship.

The Durn watched as Zalder dredged up a pirate-chest-sized chest encrusted with muck and barnacles, and then floated it up using a large air bubble. The Durn warned him that the contents were holy, and would kill Zalder, and likely himself, if it were opened, but Zalder precoded to pick the lock. The Sisters, unable to speak with him, were clearly distraught for their proxy agent, and he relented, thinking that if they were powerless, it was likely a big deal.

Gadget-girl Kitsune sent a mechanical servant to deliver makeup, hair dye, and a robe to Zalder who then joined them in town at the gunsmiths, where the party purchased more revolvers, and Black Crown manufactured revolving carbines and ammunition, wiping out nearly 7k of their ten. The girls booked passage for the Riverland Peninsula, with special provisions made for a private trip, and entry to the big lake I cannot recall the name of at present, requiring the ship arrive there at high tide, on a full moon (up coming), so as to pass over the flooded shoal separating it from the bay. Full passage was paid and preparations to disembark that night were made.

Hotel antics. Science team brought up. Zalder returned at night with a carriage to fetch Raylyss and the kids, and to offer the Durn a ride, only to find a religious ceremony and a Durn congregation held in the mangroves. There were shadowy figures with luminous eyes and one held a knife to his throat until the okay was given. For his kindness, the priest gave Zalder a chunk of fragrant resinous wood. The return trip to the carriage showed that men were surrounding the vehicle, and a still-mounted rider oversaw the operation. Fighting ensued after Zalder head-shot the mounted feller and he went down hard. Cloaked, but against the night sky in moonlight allowed the shooters on the ground a better chance of striking, and a as if that weren't enough, a night-flying predator snatched him up in its talons before being struck in the fire, dropping him a full minute's swim back to shore. On route, Zalder was bitten by a fish, but it was dispatched in one blow.

We held it there.