Anglian Religion and World View - Airtha, Fairwhus

Few in mainstream Anglian society dispute Odin and Frigga and their family, or the kinship of the Æsir and the Vanir. They take for granted that these individuals exist as (divine and different) flesh and blood, and that they live in a place called Asgard. To assume much more than that in public company is often seen as becoming a bit too familiar. Even referring to whether Asgard lies in some other nigh-inaccessible place, or is located in an as-yet undiscovered region of the same world on which Anglia rests can be a matter of deep contention. The reasons for this are somewhat complex.

A different group of travellers meets elves

The official position of the Imperial Church is that when Theodoric the Elder first stepped through the Imperceived Door to this world, he had left Midgard and set foot on Ælfheim. This was self-evident to Theodoric, since he almost immediately met the elves. He declared to all those of his kin travelling with him that they had arrived in Ælfheim, and indicated this with a sweeping gesture. This sweeping gesture, the Church maintains, marked the entire world on which he now stood. Even these early people were comfortable with the concept of what we would now call a “planet,” or “fairwhus” to them, though it’s unclear whether they brought this understanding with them or gained it from the elves.

Fairly early on in the history of what would become Theodoric’s kingdom, and then empire, in this new realm, his people encountered coastlines and seas, as one eventually does after walking far enough. As travelling and exploration was the current wont of these fourth century Germanic expatriates, they ventured forth to nearby islands and other coastlines. Now they had a quandary. Did Ælfheim stop at the cold shingle beach they had left? Standing on an island or some further shore, were they still standing on Ælfheim, or were they standing somewhere new? If it was somewhere new, where was it?

Map of Yggdrasil - Tina Solstrand
solaroid.deviantart.com

Those who said “yes, this is somewhere new” took their cue from Theodoric and selected from the other worlds of their cosmology: Vanaheim, Niflheim, Jotunheim, Muspelheim, and Svartalfheim. They “knew” they hadn’t found Asgard or Hel, and also hadn’t gone back to Midgard. “Svartalfheim” is yet to be applied to a land here. A few felt that names like Útgarðar and Niðavellir must refer to unique places, rather than being other names for places like Jotunheim and Svartalfheim, since after a while it became clear there were more lands than a mere five names would cover.

Admittedly, there was some advantage to this. Theodoric had specifically claimed all of “Ælfheim” as his.


As more diverse members of what the Romans had called “The Germanic Tribes” continued to find their way to this other place, some even rejected the notion that they had ever left Midgard at all.


And with that, we have the current spectrum covering most opinion. At one extreme, “it’s all just more Europe” and at the other extreme, “every new landmass here is a different one of the nine worlds.” Some are even certain that one could sail to Asgard or Hel; they just haven’t been found yet. The most common view throughout the Empire, and in Anglia as well, is that:

• This is indeed not Midgard. 
• Neither Asgard nor Hel reside upon this sphere. 
• The six more earthly homelands of legend (Ælfheim, Vanaheim, Niflheim, Jotunheim, Muspelheim, and Svartalfheim) are in fact merely different continents on this world.

The third point is deep heresy in the eyes of the Church, and can land one in deep trouble back in the Old Empire if bandied about publicly. Interestingly, although still technically heresy, the Church in Anglia tends to overlook this. Anglia, of course, happens to rest on a continent explorers named Jotunheim.

NPC Parties

One of the most dreaded results on the random encounter table is the NPC party. Not for the players, but for me when I’m GM’ing. I am suddenly responsible for randomly rolling five or more characters right in the middle of a game. The best solution I’ve found, for wilderness encounter tables, is to pre-generate several NPC parties, and then randomly determine which one is met.

Nabonidas of Akhdar

Not every dungeon has an NPC party but some should, unless the GM has determined that the players are pretty much the only adventurers in the area. For dungeon encounters, it makes more sense for me to pregenerate one or possibly two parties of NPCs for that specific dungeon. Then they can appear by name on random encounter tables for dungeon levels appropriate to their abilities, or more rarely on other levels where they’re either passing through or in over their heads. You can also roll a check (1 in 20 works well) to have them be in a room the players are about to enter.

Below is a party of NPCs that I used in a slightly different way. I placed them in one of the rooms of the Temple Catacombs under the ruined temple at the corner of Castle Nicodemus. But then I put one member of their party on the random encounter chart for the Catacombs. That way they might run into him first (chasing a polymorphed but defeated green slaad), giving the players the opportunity to interact with him, trace his steps back to the rest of the NPC party, or some combination of the two (or ignore him altogether, of course). The players also might run into the main body of the NPC party first, thus hearing about their recent defeat of a green slaad who bolted and ran rather than giving over the soul gem embedded in its forehead. The players could then choose to interact with the NPC party, help them track down their “ranger” who chased off after the slaad, try to avoid them, attack them for their loot, or anything else the players might think of. (You might recognise the ranger, the green slaad polymorphed into a raven, and his party of companions. If you do, please let me know in the comments or on G+. The basic idea for them, though not their party composition, is lifted from some old pre-WOTC TSR product, but I can’t remember which one.)

The first question I addressed about them was “why are they there?” I decided they were a professional treasure hunting company hired to find a specific item. In addition to providing some variety from the usual simple lust for loot, this choice also snuck in some incidental information about the campaign world. Anglia and other nearby kingdoms and locales are rich enough in ruins to support a professional company of delvers. The ruins are known to hold highly valuable or powerful items, widely enough that multiple patrons would seek to hire delvers. The ruins are known to be dangerous; dangerous enough to warrant hiring professionals instead of delving on one’s own.

Another factor I consider when putting a party of NPCs into a dungeon is time. Just how long are they going to be in there? There’s obviously a limit (unless the dungeon is big enough to get lost in), but until the players have some clue they are down there, there probably isn’t any reason to start their clock ticking. For this party, the clock started when the players found their tracks heading down into the Temple Catacombs entrance. After that, they would be leaving the dungeon after a maximum of 1d10+14 days. (If I was stopping time between game sessions, I probably would have made that quite a bit less.) I had them camp in the temple ruins just above, but if the Catacombs had been larger I would probably have had them hole up in an empty room down below. Being professionals, they were fastidious campers who left no glaring evidence. Each day a game session occurred, they had a chance to notice the players, modified by how close the players got to the ruined temple, or how loud and obvious the players’ characters became.

The last question I wanted to answer before they encountered players was “how will they act toward another group of adventurers?” Even though I knew I wanted to come up with one or two basic character traits for each member, I wanted an overall party MO as well. Although their alignments differ individually, on the whole they will work toward good ends, beneficent to most of society and the innocent, and will do their best to limit the amount of chaos caused (or Chaos unleashed) in getting there. Being professionals working on a contract, they will do their best not to reveal their current employer, or what they’ve been hired to retrieve. If they can “foil some evil” without risking their contract, they’ll do it.

Jovaell the Monk

Now it was time for the individuals. The foundation here is that they are not player-characters. Just as I don’t allow players to choose “wyvern” or “bugbear” or “king” for their class, other things players can’t choose are open to NPCs. In essence they are all “monsters,” just like the Druids found in the monster section of the original 3 little brown books of OD&D. Thus, for players “ranger” is just a varied combination of background skill (e.g. the Secondary Skills table, page 12 of the 1e DMG) and flavour, potentially applied to several different character classes. However, for the NPC in this party “ranger” is what type of “monster” he is. He possesses and uses special abilities in the same way any other “monster” does. Since I had chosen an “off-standard” class to base this NPC on, I decided it would be amusing to do that for the other members of the NPC party as well. Thus: assassin, druid, monk, illusionist. 

The next big consideration for the individuals is what their hit dice should be. Again since I knew they were professionals, I decided they would have researched the item they’re after and its location as much as possible. Therefore, they’d be unlikely to be in over their heads in the Temple Catacombs. Other monsters down there included wights, wraiths, several areas where glyphs are set up to summon red slaad, a medusa, and at least one summoned green slaad. 6 to 8 hit dice (9 for the leader) sounded about right, while still making it difficult enough for them to progress so that they wouldn’t end up clearing the dungeon instead of the players. This would also determine things like their available spells and other special abilities.

• Darius Ravenwood, Ranger, 8hd. Jovial and boastful, which interferes with keeping contracts confidential.
• Nabonidas, Assassin, 7hd. Soft-spoken, pleased with himself. The “common peoples’” antics amuse him.
• Tasha, Elf Illusionist, 9hd. The Company Leader. Friendly, but all-business underneath.
• Jovaell, Monk, 6hd. Quiet and introspective. Hard to tell if she’s observing or meditating.
• Cormac O’ Connacht, Druid, 7hd. Old and sort of senile. Prone to confusion and revealing secrets.

I’ll give more details about some of these NPCs later on, as at least one has another function in Anglia. Tasha is one of several possible mentor choices for 1st level magic-users.

News from Castle Nicodemus

In the year and a half (!) since we last looked in on events in the area around Castle Nicodemus (a pre-empted siege attempt by a company of five score orcs), a mere 3 months have passed in Anglia. All agree the chronological flux between Anglia and Europe has become increasingly more erratic. From Migellito’s point of view, his caravan has returned to “the fields he does not know” every 2 weeks, consistently, over what he and other caravan stalwarts claim to be more than a year and a half. However, to those who have become regular residents of Renard’s Folly and The Blue Rabbit it is sometimes only a day or two between visits from the caravan, and sometimes as much as a month, with none involved being able to puzzle out any sort of pattern.

Winter is solidly entrenched in the Anglish countryside, with leafless woods, clear cold skies, and snow-blanketed fields only occasionally punctuated by patches of brown grass. The first sabbat appropriate for placating Dagon down in the fens of Blackmarch to “benevolently” allow conversion to Tsathoggua has long passed, but another approaches in early February, only a couple months away.

The traditional Anglish corken roast

Visits from the nearby subterranean refugee village of Underbridge have slackened considerably, recently. This is not to the liking of most of the mercenaries, since the occasional home-cooked enticemen.. er.. meal had become a welcome counterpoint to “more supplies from Europe.” During what was usually harvest-time for the locals (fouled this year by the orc occupation) most of the men even warmed quickly to the oddity of “roast corken,” an animal which brings to mind equally the qualities of both large pheasants and large marine crabs. Some scouting reports in the direction of Bridgewater (the above-ground village from which the refugees fled, built almost directly over Underbridge) say the orcish military occupation forces may have dwindled to the lower end of their usual range of 30 to 300.

In Castle News, Cadogan Dee, mercenary footman, languishes in one of the Renard’s Folly jail cells, suspected of the murders of other mercenaries Niels Noorlander, Helmut the Saxon, and Harbrecht of Utrecht. Found cowering in the cold shelter of a rubble pile near the Castle edifice dubbed “The Great Laboratory,” Dee still claims “I don’t remember anything!” The Dutch contingent is particularly doubtful of his innocence, owing in no small part to the blood on Dee’s lips when found holding Harbrecht’s severed hand.

My Known World - Western Half

Here's a map of the Western half of the known area of my "Ruins of the Morvalian Empire" game world.

Prepared in the Tavern at Castle Nicodemus by Willyd "Patchy" Nilsson, to the best of his recollection. He affirms that Niflheim is very cold, Alfheim is farther away than it looks, the Helic Ocean is full of bad deadly things, Regnenwald is what the Akhdarans call a "jungle," and that is just wax right there.

The country stretching from Freeport in the South to Norchester in the North, and from Blackmarch in the West to Æden's Bight on the East is the Kingdom of Anglia. Æden's Bight, by the way, is the name of the waters around Inverland.

Anglia was the part of Jotunheim settled by the Anglish around two centuries ago, after they fled the highly oppressive Saxon rule of Westsaxia. Of course, the King of Anglia owes allegiance to The Grand Theodic Empire, but at two months just to reach the shore of Alfheim and a further 2 to 3 weeks to reach the seat of the Empire, the real effect is largely formality.

Niflheim and The Spike

If you go far enough south, you hit the ship-breaking ice, and in beyond it is Niflheim. Now, if you find the right spot, you can find what they call The Spire or The Spike. It's like a great mix of a tower and a mountain peak, but it's taller, hundreds of feet, than any tower made by manskind. But it's no more than a chain across, not like any natural mountain you've ever seen either. The Spike sits right at or just past the edge of the ice, and then a great long spit of rock knifes off South for leagues and leagues til it hits Niflheim proper. Some call that spit of land The Spear.

That's the only way to get into that cold land down there. Whoever controls The Spike controls Niflheim. Unless you've got the gold to build an icesailing ship, but I've never seen one of them. I've heard tell that long ago the elves used to build them, but what the elves had to do in Niflheim no one knows.

[Willyd Nilsson, A.I. 811]

Pre Ancient Morvalian Religion

The Morvalians, who once held an empire spanning the breadth of the continent now known to the Anglians as Jotunheimr, knew two collections of deities. These were the New Gods and the Elder Gods. The Elder Gods held the religious attention of the Morvalians from the earliest pre-imperial memory until around 15 centuries before the fall of the empire, during the Wars of the Wizards.

The Elder Gods were three in number, and each possessed of three identities.

Sheobattas Dechatanu Nikkorattya, the devouring mouth that births the universe :: she of the body

Ghasturu Asotra Rostothra, the blooming fire that burns the world :: he of the chi

Yogutra Sotatt Dzeu, the gate of days :: it of the mind

Information.. Information!!

As a continuation of this post, another of my regular players, Zach, posed a few more questions about my continuing Original Dungeons & Dragons campaign, Castle Nicodemus:

1) Can any of the various beings (goblins, elves, ogre, bugbears, bullywug) that we have encountered and that now live in Renard's Folly recall any folklore or oral history of the Morvalians, where they came from or where they went? Were they conquerors? Were great wars fought to evict them?

It is widely believed that they destroyed themselves in a great internecine war, The War of the Wizards. Only elves pretend to have any solid knowledge of them, passed down through generations in the region. They maintain that their elven ancestors were even more reclusive and insular in the dim past of the ancient Morvalian lands, thus limiting their contact. However, elven tradition holds that the Morvalian Empire existed for many centuries, and attained great heights of arcane knowledge, perhaps too great. Much of current wizardry, when not attributed to themselves, is deemed an innovation of the Morvalians. The Empire is said to have stretched “beyond common geography,” and for a time may have been a positive civilising force. Though destroyed in the War of the Wizards, it is told the best parts and ideals of the Empire lived on for a time in the realm of the legendary Pomegranate Queen.

2) What kinds of constellations are visible above Castle Nicodemus on the rare clear nights? Anything familiar to our European mercenaries, or entirely unrelated?

Though the clouds have been stubbornly persistent, on the few clear nights you have been witness to a sky completely unfamiliar to those not native to Anglia.

3) Are the occasional magicians, alchemists and other miracle workers we find in your medieval Europe actually native to it, or immigrants from other, more magical realms? If so, are they aware they've come form somewhere else, or did they simply slip into mundane Europe without realizing? Have there been actual dragons in mundane Europe at any point? Actual vampires?

Stories of dragons and vampires, or more commonly strigoi, persist. Many believe they are factual, and take a myriad of precautions, but you have yet to see any direct evidence for yourselves. The unique individuals you’ve met, apart from The Magnificent Brian, are apparently native to Europe and Asia. Brian, who claims his real name is ‘Bran,’ confused by a limner with a travelling circus, has made it plain that he hails not from Europe. He hasn’t elucidated any further on the subject.

4) The badass Gypsy who goes adventuring with us sometimes--does he work for Migellito or the gypsy fortuneteller lady? In my skulking around the caravan, have I had the chance to observe their interactions at all? They seem pretty interested in the stuff we're pulling out of the ruins.

He seems to work for Migellito, but spends the majority of his time near the fortuneteller’s wagon. He and the fortuneteller confer often, but a feeling of romance is never present in their dealings. He appeared shortly after this exchange between Migellito and the fortuneteller.

5) What do the torch-bearers and mercenaries from the caravan that we've been over-paying spend their money on (besides funerals)? How do they feel about us bringing in cheaper mercenaries, and settling in the Folly?

Most seem to have blown their windfall on hard drink and fast women. A few sport fine clothes, now mostly road-worn, and some have excellent boots and the finest tack and harness. Ignatius, for one, apparently sent all of his to his family.

News and Happenings in The Environs of Nicodemus Castle

Late at night, word is sent down below to the denizens of the foundry that something of interest is happening above, and that someone should come take a look. Those climbing up to the surface are treated to a view of an only partly occluded sky above the lookout post atop the crumbling gatehouse. The cold blue stars are decidedly not arranged in the constellations with which anyone is familiar.

Being directed to peer Eastward, the head of a lengthy infantry column is seen marching South on the distant road, this side of the River Wythern. The tail of the column is somewhere to the North, shrouded in dust and darkness. The deep monotone of a rhythmic marching chant floats across the air a quarter mile to reach the roof of the gatehouse.

Suddenly, a pinpoint of firelight streaks toward the column from the other side of the river. A great blossom of orange fire opens in the middle of the road, engulfing nearly a dozen ranks. Several moments later the muted ‘whump’ of the explosion reaches your ears, closely followed by the distant gutteral shouts of rallying troops. Half a hundred are left charred and blackened in the roadway.

The scrambling infantry wastes little time. They break off in sections and begin crossing the river in answer to the sonorous boom of commands which reach your ears a moment later. The water teems white in the starlight as scores enter it from the near bank. The midst of the river begins to glow with a dim green light, as though the waters are lit from beneath, and then a blinding flash of lightning slams down into the river among the struggling troops. Thunder cracks and rumbles over the ruins. The surface of the water has taken on a sluggish quality, and you realise it is choked with bodies.

The Riddle Game

I finally decided to go ahead and play Questions with my Nicodemus/Anglia setting. Anthony and Robert from G+ offered a few great questions about the campaign yesterday, and I've done my best to answer them below. If you, dear reader, have more questions, feel free to ask!

1) Are there any notable examples of folks leaving Anglia and traveling to Europe? Anybody famous?
Names bandied about among caravan luminaries include Pythagoras, Iamblichus, Abaris the Hyperborean and Merlin. More recent guesses include Merovech and Charles Martel.

2) Same question as #1, but moving in the other direction.
Ultimately, all the humans of Anglia trace their dim past back to the migrations of the many Germanic peoples of Europe, but via an apparently one-way rift somewhere on the far-away continent of the Old Empire. The ‘shift’ in which Migellito’s Caravan often finds itself is said to be a develpment of only the last couple of years. Bridgewater freeholders speak of only a handful of travellers from ‘The Other Woods’, and none that did more than pass briefly through their little hamlet.

3) Does the gypsy lady ever leave her wagon? How long has she been with the caravan? Does Migellito consult her?
None claim to have seen her more than a dozen steps from her colourful vardo, nor to know her name. She is a relatively recent addition to Migellito’s pan-European caravan, apparently joining up about two weeks before the first adventuring types found themselves exploring the castle ruins. It is assumed amongst the grooms, porters and outriders that she travels with the caravan for simple security in order to ply her trade along their route. That trade is believed to largely consist of fortunetelling, with a substantial side-business in mystic apothecary and uncanny curios. Migellito, in the opinion of the caravan’s rustic worthies, would never deign to consult her, but seems to have with her a very tense business relationship.

4) What demons do goblins worship?
According to Shank the goblinsmith, the statue in the Dungeon Temple is one ‘Orcus.’ This is a constant source of contention between the two goblin men, as Og stridently professes his faith in Demogorgon. Well, faith might not be the most expressive term. Fearful obsequiousness is probably more accurate. For her part, Fap the goblin woman is apparently content to leave spiritual matters to the men.

5) Do gnome/druid/elf territories overlap, or are they separate? How do the 3 groups relate to each other?
Gnomes and elves have a pleasant understanding, rarely engaging and never conflicting with each other. To call them insular, they would need to have some sort of desire for outward interest. They don’t. As far as a sense of ownership, this extends only to the structures they’ve actually built. A gnome would not see the tree he lives in as ‘his,’ only the comfortable dwelling made within it.
Druids are a relatively new addition, arriving soon after and in conjunction with the Anglish settlers, beginning a little over two centuries ago. They have begun to learn the ins and outs of the forests here, but often unwittingly violate little forest customs they don’t even know exist. However, the most negative of elf and gnome opinion of the druids ranges only to ‘exasperation.’
Druids are wont to interpret a great deal of mystic importance in the activities of the forest natives, especially the elves, but for the most part these are misconceptions.

6) Whose territory is Castle Nicodemus on? Is some lord gonna roll in eventually and tell us we're squatting on his land and stealing his treasure?
Ultimately, the land might be construed to belong to Stephen, King of Anglia. He is less than popular among the nearby freeholders and rustics, apparently mostly because his name is “one of those Latin things.” (It’s Greek in origin, of course, but only the most learned sages of the Old Empire would realise those threads existed within the fabric of what they think of as Latin)
The locals appreciate the influence of Baron Meligor of Croyden and Duke Osric of Norchester-and-Norwich even less, despite the fact they revere the individuals themselves at near heroic status. The freeholders are, understandably perhaps, a bit paranoid about nobles trying to turn them back into serfs.
Functionally, however, the influence of these rulers doesn’t extend far enough from their seats of power to affect Nicodemus. This may be in flux, however, in light of the ongoing military invasion.

7) Is the orc invasion a concern across the land, or is Bridgewater just particularly unlucky in this regard? Are there bands of soldiers opposing them at all?
Both rumour and rationale have it that the northern fortified city of Norchester-and-Norwich is completely besieged. The fate of the mountain border fortress of Croydon, to the Northeast, is unknown.. however, no reinforcements or Anglish troops have been seen from there (or at all, for that matter.) The columns of orc footmen seen marching South on the nearby road are clearly headed somewhere, and that way lie both the large fortified city of Cooperton-on-Wythern and eventually the Capitol, Freeport.

8) What's the nearest non-Bridgewater population center?
The nearest settlement other than Bridgewater is the village of Haverhill, about a day’s ride to the South. It is just slightly larger than Bridgewater, or at least it was the last anyone knew.

9) Is there any continuity between Morvalian and Anglian societies, or are they totally separate? Are there Anglians with Morvalian ancestry?
Completely separate, as far as anyone knows. The ruins attributed to the Morvalians were already centuries old, at least, when the Anglish first arrived from the Old Empire and founded Freeport in this new and unexplored country. Ruins like Castle Nicodemus dot the countryside, and Freeport itself is said to be built atop the legacy of an ancient Morvalian city. The bas reliefs, in fact, are the only evidence the Morvalians were humans at all.

10) Are there recorded instances of large migrations of beings from worlds other than Earth?
The oldest and most obscure of extant Morvalian texts make brief mention of a people known as Olnivernians. Only three facts are known about them: their skin is green; their men wear ornate turbans; their women are unparalleled dancers.

11) Is Castle Nicodemus a ruined version of Castle Amber?
In spite of its relatively large footprint, the ruins seem to indicate an edifice far less complex than Castle Amber. Additionally, the geography of the area would have had to undergo sweeping changes.

12) Is there any way for a PC to walk that pattern that is hidden beneath?
Only a blood-descendant of Amber can walk the pattern and live.

13) What is Oberon's master plan?
A system of ordered chaos throughout the multiverse, obeying his hand’s careful influence.

14) Who is Migellito, really?
A retired Italian freebooter with experience in the trans-Saharan gold caravans. Maybe.

15) Is Castle Nicodemus a post-apocalyptic ruin of Amber, one of the "false Ambers" that hold broken patterns, or Corwin's Amber born from his fever-dreams of France when he wrote a new pattern?
Probably not, but I like the France idea!

Super Secret Event Table

After much contemplation, I share my Event Table for the 1 hour walk between Castle Nicodemus and the visiting Caravan from The Fields We Know. Compared to most of my event tables, it has a high percentage of actual encounters. This is mostly due to the fact that I only end up rolling on it twice a session, due to the nature of the G+ Hangout game.

I think it's ok to go ahead and share this now, since there are more people with characters actually originating in the world where Nicodemus sits.

Using the two different dice types puts a big flat spot of equal probability in the middle of it, from 9 to 13. When you do that, the flat spot will be one more than the difference between the two dice.

Environs 1d8+1d12
2 Dead body; roll again to see what died
3 Gnomes 1d12
4 Heavy winds for 2d8 turns; 2d6 for clock direction, 1 = due east
5 Snakes
6 Corkens 1d8; If night, Hellhounds
7 Thunderstorm for 1d8+1 turns
8 Sheep! 4d10
9 Orc Patrol 1d10+1d12; no. times 10% = chance of leader
10 Human Bandits 2d6; no. times 10% = chance of leader
11 Bridgewater Townies 1d4 or Strange Noises
12 Rainstorm for 1d12+1 turns
13 Goblin Bandits 3d6; no. times 10% = chance of leader
14 Giant Beetles or Giant Spiders or Giant Wasps; If night, Ghouls
15 Wolves or Deer
16 Anhkhegs or Giant Rodents
17 Owl Bears 1d6-2; <=1 is 1
18 Spider Bears 1d6-3; <=1 is 1
19 Bulette
20 Roll on the super secret special table


The Super Secret Special Table
1 Wyvern
2 Manticore
3 Wizard
4 Elves
5 Giant Toad
6 Trolls
7 Priest
8 Ominous Raven
9 Gargoyles
10 Hill Giant
11 Giant Slug
12 Werewolves
13 Ogres
14 Purple Worm
15 Sink Hole, 20% chance it opens as you walk over it
16 Sandestin
17 Wights

Map Discovered in Castle Nicodemus

This map wasn't actually found last night, during my regular Monday night game. It was found in last week's game, by Dodekatheon, Priest of The Spider God. He discovered it on the marble desk where Darf the Dwarf cut off his own hand to save his life from poison; poison injected by a needle hidden in the top drawer handle of a marble desk; a marble desk with accompanying ancient, worn down marble chair, so old that the centre of the desk is worn a full half inch low by the passage of hand, pen and paper.

Those present were quite sure the map had not been there when Darf's extremity was removed. Neither does it have any blood on it, as do the other parchments on the desk. Furthermore, it bears words in what can best be interpreted by the discoverers as some obscure variation of Anglo-Norman. All the other papers are written with Devolved Morvalian.

Therefore, how did this map come to be present on this desk, in this room? What does it indeed map? What connexion might it have with the elusive spearman? When pursued, the spearman fled down a long, waterlogged, subterranean passage. The passage forked. Where did the spearman go? Who is he?

In last night's game, none of these questions were answered. However, another question, one which our harried vagabonds had not even asked, was answered in full. A matter of weeks in The Lands We Know amounts only to a matter of days in this extrinsic realm of Anglia, wherein Nicodemus lies.

The protagonists had more earthly concerns, of course. The Southern Gatehouse remains cleared of all but the rats. The goblin Ug, beetling away in the subterranean foundry, had not the time to yet complete the mechanism which will hopefully replace Darf's hand. Fap, the she-goblin, had no skill in smithing. Ug was amenable to the impending passage of his loyalty from Darf to Philip the Bloody; after all, Philip is an obvious wizard, and one of clear and decisive mien.

Another Adventure Location for Anglia/Nicodemus

Back around 1992 I worked up an adventure locale for my players to work on after they had completed the Mask of Power campaign (a name for it that I only just now invented.) I never considered the term 'campaign' to include the idea of rolling up new characters or playing in a new setting. It was just The New Thing for whenever they got done with The Old Thing.

Well, I moved away, as did some of my players, before we got to finish The Old Thing, so this locale was never visited. It's still there in my milieu though. Somewhere. Waiting. Here, in much-vaunted bullet point style, are the main things about Castle Kirwan.

• Located in a different world than Anglia/Nicodemus, but accessible from there via Ancient Morvalian gateway.
• The normal animals of the world, such as mammals, reptiles, etc., are all hexupeds as opposed to our common Earthly quadrupeds.
• Psionics!
• The world is loosely based on Klah from the first two or three Robert Asprin Myth books.
• Other than humans, all the monsters in this world are from the Fiend Folio. However, not every monster in the FF is present in the world. The most common bad-guy species is norkers.
• Castle Kirwan itself is exactly as seen here, above to the right.
• The noble family in residence are unwitting shadows of the Royal Family of Amber from the Zelazny novels.
• The environs of the castle have a distinct Russian feel.
• A massive war roughly two generations ago left behind huge battlefields where the skeletons of the dead lie beneath the surface. Cue high-level Animate Dead spell.
• Seventh Son of a Seventh Son by Iron Maiden.
• NPCs include The Veteran of a Thousand Psychic Wars and his faithful manservant Igor.
• The Russian Tarot, as shown below.

One of the influences for coming up with all this was my love of piroshkis back then. Specifically Igor's frozen piroshkis, which is all I could get where I lived, but they were awesome. I can't find them now. All I can find are these damn hot pocket things, which pale horribly in comparison. Anyway, you can get piroshkis in the environs of Castle Kirwan. Dammit.

My Take on Sigil

Planescape continues to interest me, and if you look far enough you can get there from Castle Nicodemus.

My Sigil is a place of wonder and amazement. My Sigil is a place of disillusionment and horror. You will not find priests and priestesses there energised and fresh from afternoon tea with their deity. You may, however, find clerics who seem to stare blankly through you, and who never say a word.

There is no vast wilderness where a hexcrawl will eventually take you from Asgard to Olympus to Gahenna. There is no miles-high spire of rock with a spinning cheerio at the top. There is, though, a great and ancient archway which holds a door of iron 101 cubits high, and which bears the words "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate."

In fact, you will never see the 'outside' of Sigil's massive toroid. Assuming an outside even exists, in it you would find yourself outside reality, and it would shred your mind.

Sigil is not the true name of the city. This moniker refers to the symbol which stands for, or perhaps spells its true name. Only one individual in all the multiverse knows the word for which this glyph stands, and to speak it is to grasp the fate of the City of Doors. This is The Lady of Pain.

More Nicodemus Things

More stuff about Anglia, the part of the world where Nicodemus Castle sits. Lurking. Like a toad in a hole.

• Cathedrals in Freeport are enormous and Gothic. The biggest is dedicated to Odin, but has transepts devoted to Thor, Freya, Frigga, and others.
• It is possible to find wizards who use learning and casting methods unlike your own.
• The prevailing political system is a remnant of feudal nobility. There are Dukes and Barons, but not all of them own land. Those that do aren't necessarily in possession of serfs.
• The largest town in the North is Cooperton-on-Wythern. It's on the Great North Road, several days travel north of Freeport.
• Goblins often wear enormous hollowed pumpkins, with only their arms and legs sticking out.
• Rumours out of the Northeast claim there is a secret monastery hidden away far into the mountains, dedicated to some ancient God. It is said the monks cut off a part of their bodies.
• The dark blue and shadowy mountains are a place of mystery and trepidation. Few venture there by choice. Dwarves are rumoured to go about in the dim daylight there.
• The theme for the elves, and their part of the forest, is Ralph Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis.
• Travelling Priests and priestesses of Thor are often seen as respected counsels in villages. It would be highly irregular for such a cleric to hide their calling, even if inconvenient.
• There are more cloudy days than clear days. Rain and snow are plentiful.
• It's common for people to confuse hobbits with leprechauns.
• The Northlands are rife with banditry and highwaymen.
• Ruins of the Age of the Wizard Kings are a relatively common sight around the countryside. Rumours persist that 200 years past, Freeport was built on top of such ruins.
• It is common knowledge that orcs and goblins worship various demons and devils. Orcs may, in fact, be named after one of them.

20 Questions

I originally posted this a while ago on the Castle Nicodemus devoted blog. I've since decided not to bother with keeping a separate blog for it - kinda dumb. Thus, I'm re-posting it here.


Thanks to Brendan at Untimately! Here are 20 rule questions that are bound to come up at some point, and the way I will answer them for Nicodemus games.

1. Ability scores generation method? 3d6 in order, no adjustments. Str, Int, Wis, Con, Dex, Cha.
2. How are death and dying handled? At zero the player rolls on Trollsmyth's Death & Dismemberment Table. They will keep rolling on it anytime they're hit until they're above zero, usually with a negative modifier the same as their hits.
3. What about raising the dead? No NPC in the area can do it. Try hauling them elsewhere.
4. How are replacement PCs handled? Play an NPC for a while, or roll & arrive.
5. Initiative: individual, group, or something else? Group, 1st round determines all. Chainmail weapon classes determine melee order.
6. Are there critical hits and fumbles? How do they work? Crits yes, on a 20 if you also roll max damage. Fumbles are generally rp'd via imagination and circumstance.
7. Do I get any benefits for wearing a helmet? Can sacrifice for a head crit.
8. Can I hurt my friends if I fire into melee or do something similarly silly? Yes.
9. Will we need to run from some encounters, or will we be able to kill everything? Be willing to run.
10. Level-draining monsters: yes or no? Yes.
11. Are there going to be cases where a failed save results in PC death? Yes. Be smart.
12. How strictly are encumbrance & resources tracked? Usually no big deal. Don't push it.
13. What's required when my PC gains a level? Training? Do I get new spells automatically? Can it happen in the middle of an adventure, or do I have to wait for down time? Gain a level right away. All spells after starters must be found in some way, including within the party. Also counts for clerics.
14. What do I get experience for? Treasure, monsters, carousing, session reports.
15. How are traps located? Description, dice rolling, or some combination? Either works. Description can be more effective.
16. Are retainers encouraged and how does morale work? Yes, OD&D rules.
17. How do I identify magic items? The Gypsy Lady will identify for 250gp.
18. Can I buy magic items? Oh, come on: how about just potions? The Gypsy Lady occasionally has potions for sale.
19. Can I create magic items? When and how? OD&D rules. Can't really be done in the field.
20. What about splitting the party? Caveat emptor

GM Day

SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY!! It’s the first annual GMs Day Games! March 4^th at the Nicodemus Coliseum and Arena. MONSTERS!! NITRO-BURNIN’ WIZARDS!! It starts at 10 AM Eastern, but it goes TIL ALL THE PLAYERS ARE DEAD! No reserve seating, tickets are free! You can have the whole seat, BUT YOU’LL ONLY NEED THE EDGE!!!

go to CoopStuff.com for awesome stuff!

Running all day Sunday on G+ Hangout, for as long as I have players, with a break in the middle while I go play Barry Blatt’s Tekumel. Bring your flailsnails characters and come and go as you please. Join anytime and stay as long as you like.

Interesting Points

Today I'd like to talk a bit about an issue that's been going around the OSR. Ha! Just kidding! Here's a bullet list of hopefully interesting things about the (since 1989!) setting in which lies the ruined Morvalian edifice, Castle Nicodemus.

• The Ancient Morvalians are mostly known to academics, mages and other wackos. A few people have heard of The Old Wizard Kings, but most common folk in Anglia just know about Some Old Ruins Nearby.
• Boorman's Excalibur, Bakshi's Wizards and plenty of Dragonslayer.
• Men (as in humanity) began settling Anglia in earnest a little over two centuries ago. A lot of nasty orc and goblin blood was spilled in the process.
• Your typical clergy at churches and cathedrals don't cast spells.
• The King of Anglia, who rules from his seat in Freeport on the southern coast, technically owes fealty to The Grand Theodic Emperor across the ocean to the East.
• Anglia is in the southern hemisphere of its planet.
• Trolls are big, fat, and turn to stone in the sunlight.
• The most commonly practised religion in Anglia is based on Scandinavian paganism.
• Elves and dwarves are only rarely seen abroad. They stuck to their own small territories before humanity arrived, and they mostly still do. They don't mind that humans killed off or chased away a ton of orcs, but it didn't really do them much good either.
• Magic is not all The Devil's Work, but it's unusual and often viewed with surprise and suspicion.
• Castles were built by the Anglish to command the borders. Towns have sprung up around most of them.
• Humans in The Empire of The East, The Grand Theodic Empire, have a much longer and richer history of dealings with elves. Legends say that elves were already there when humanity arrived. Elven influence is responsible for a lot of advances in metalworking. In recent centuries many elves in The East have distanced themselves from humanity.
• The overwhelming majority of People In Charge have no class or level to speak of.
• Currently extant humans in this world are here due mainly to dimensional fissures encountered by the Germanic Tribes during the 'migration period.' A handful of Celtic peoples preceded them, but were far less in number, most of them considering the dimensional weak spots off-limits for one reason or another. This isn't general knowledge, of course, but things hint at it.
• Priests of chaos and anarchy plot against the current establishment.
• Armies of orcs are invading from the north, occupying villages and imprisoning people. Their ultimate goal is unclear.
• Hobgoblins are nasty little townies, like a combination of brownies and goblins.
• There is a lot of Old Forest in Anglia which has yet to be intruded upon by humans. Dark & Mysterious.

Rumours

It is night-time for Migellito’s caravan. They are camped outside of Antwerp, and many of the travellers have gone into the city. The caravan boss steps toward the fire outside a brightly painted coach. “Tarot Woman?”

She answers nearly unseen from behind the fire, and he moves to sit next to her. She asks “you are enjoying the benefits of the new route, yes?”

He is serious and unsmiling. “Yes. It is as you foretold. ‘You will find fortune beyond the fields we know.’ But now two men, they won’t return with us to the East. Another is crushed by one of those accursed devil statues. And I don’t really believe they were statues.”

She smiles. “The last one was sold in Brussels. They are gone now.”

He quickly stands. “It’s not about the statues! This route takes us too close to the Lich Stone! And what of this glyph? There has been no sign of it!”

The gypsy lady motions for Migellito to sit again. “The Lich Stone is on the other side of the Rhine Sea, miles away when we pass by. There is no worry. For other matters, there is patience. The tarot does not lie to me. It never has. And now that I possess these mystic plaques, I am one with it stronger than ever before. Is your man ready when the time is right?”

Migellito sighs. “Yes. He awaits for word in Ravensburg.” He stands and begins to walk away. “My patience will not last forever, Tarot Woman.”

A Kingdom for A Premise

I originally built Castle Nicodemus sometime around 1992. The premise was fairly simple. Take some locations detailed in various sources and combine them together in one place. All the sources had something very specific in common, except for one. That one did have similarities to the others, however.

Why so vague? Because I want my players to guess where I got the pieces. The reward for correctly determining something's provenance? Appropriate and relatively substantial, hopefully.

Coming back to the castle after so long, I first went through and made sure it still worked. I'm pretty sure it does now. I also added 2 new locations, one of which is based on a different sort of source material. Related, certainly, but different.

I'll only lay down one clue. If you're good at recognizing maps, you shouldn't have too much trouble.

Tables for Nicodemus

Most things about OD&D are quite easy to elucidate quickly while in the midst of a game. There are a few things, however, which consistently pop up as needing a bit more detail, or requiring the DM to advise players to consult one of the many fine retro-clones for something. I don't want to have to do that, not because of the clones themselves (on the contrary, I'm quite taken with many of them) but so that everyone is nicely on the same page about everything, and everyone knows what to expect.

With that in mind, here are a couple of lists which show the exact numbers we're using for Castle Nicodemus.

Ability Modifiers:

Strength, Fighter Only	To Hit	Damage
3-4	-2	-1
5-6	-1
7-9
10-12
13-15	+1
16	+1	+1
17	+2	+2
18	+2	+3
Dexterity, Fighter Only	AC
15	-1
16	-2
17	-3
18	-4
Dexterity, All	To Hit
3-8	-1
13-18	+1

Spell Slots (inquire after Druids):

Magic-User Spells	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th
Medium	1
Seer	2
Conjurer	3	1
Theurgist	4	2
Thaumaturgist	4	2	1
Magician	4	2	2
Enchanter	4	3	2	1
Warlock	4	3	3	2
Sorcerer	4	3	3	2	1
Necromancer	4	4	3	3	2
Wizard	4	4	4	3	3
Wizard, 12th Level	4	4	4	4	4	1
Wizard, 13th Level	5	5	5	4	4	2
Wizard, 14th Level	5	5	5	4	4	3
Wizard, 15th Level	5	5	5	4	4	4
Wizard, 16th Level	5	5	5	5	5	5

Cleric Spells	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
Acolyte	zip
Adept	1
Village Priest	2
Vicar	2	1
Curate	2	2
Bishop	2	2	1	1
Lama	2	2	2	1	1
Patriarch	2	2	2	2	2
Patriarch, 9th Level	3	3	3	2	2
Patriarch, 10th Level	3	3	3	3	3

Roll on a d20 Needed to Hit Armor Class Zero:
Fighters of All Stripes, as well as Paladins

• Levels 1-3: 19
• Levels 4-6: 17
• Levels 7-9: 14

Magic-Users

• Levels 1-5: 19
• Levels 6-10: 17
• Levels 11-15: 14

Clerics and Thieves

• Levels 1-4: 19
• Levels 5-8: 17
• Levels 9-12: 14

Saving Throws:

Class	Level	Death or Poison	Wands	Stone	Dragon Breath	Spells
Fighting-Men	1-3	12	13	14	15	16
Magic-User	1-5	13	14	13	16	15
Cleric	1-4	11	12	14	16	15
Fighter	4-6	10	11	12	13	14
Magic User	6-10	11	12	11	14	12
Cleric	5-8	9	10	12	14	12
Fighter	7-9	8	9	10	10	12
Magic-User	11-15	8	9	8	11	8
Cleric	9-12	6	7	9	11	9
Fighter	10-12	6	7	8	8	10
Magic-User	16+	5	6	5	8	3
Cleric	13+	3	5	7	8	7
Fighter	13+	4	5	5	5	8