Driders and Nightgaunts

In a recent session of my ongoing Griffin Mountain game (though its been stuck in Dragon Pass for a good while now) the party made a bit of a nause up of a heroquest, and Tarndisi is now deceased.

The story is that the party got lost whole crossing the Colymar Wilds and ended up crossing over to the Otherowlrd. Since they included a couple of members of the Order of Black Arkat, they inadvertently got recruited into a failed/stalled heroquest by an troll follower of Arkat who was trying to snuff out one of the last Aldryami strongholds in Dragon Pass. They duly reassembled old Zorak Kang, who had been chopped into little bits by Babeester Gor while trying to steal her axe, and then belatedly balked at the idea of letting him marmalise Tarndisi. After one of the PCs got his head chopped off by the irate troll they ran off and let him do the deed, escaping the hero plane at the Wild Temple.

So Tarndisi's Grove was overwhelmed by Trolls at the start of the Second Age. Trolls took over the land between the Thunder Hills and Starfire Ridges. They became followers of the EWF, worshipping the Black Dragon and they got involved in some of the dodgy biological experiments taking place at the Zoo, as Cragspider wanted to use the EWF magic to reverse the curse of kin. Cragspider is just one of a race of troll-spider-centaurs, the Driders, and she helped create the Nightgaunts as well.

During the Dragonkill War the Temple of the Black Dragon (which included monasteries of Humakt the Claw and Zorakan the Talon) which occupied the site of Tarndisi's Grove was destroyed, and Cragspider decamped to Cliffhome.

The Colymar Wilds are a fungus forest surrounding a ruined EWF temple and a pool called the Blackmere sacred to the Night Hag, a spirit associated with Xentha goddess of Night, and with whom King Colymar negotiated the terms of his settlement in Dragon Pass. The Night Hag can manifest as an ominous black granite monolith shot through with web-like veins of quartz, as well as a Mistress Race Troll or a hooded human female.

The wilds are inhabited by Voralans, giant spiders, Driders and the ruins of the temple have a colony of Nightgaunts. Trolls are frequently found here on pilgrimage to pay their respects to the hero Zorak Kang and the Black Dragon.

Driders

A Drider has the upper body of a female dark troll on the torso of a giant spider. They mate with dark troll males and eat them in the process. They are unfortunately not immune to the curse of kin, and most Driders are puny half trollkin creatures, hungry little brigands who set traps for the unwary. Driders worship Aranea and Arachne Solara, though some use sorcery derived from the Lead Grimoire of Black Arkat and a few are shamen following the night spirits of Xentha.

The full size Dark Driders are solitary creatures but can be found in small groups in the (reformed) Colymar Wilds, Beast Valley and the Black Dragon Mountains, usually accompanied by bands of Drider-kin. The puny drider-kin habitually live in packs as they couldn't survive nay other way, and are sometimes found as pets in the lairs of Trolls in Halikiv and Dagori Inkarth. They are very dangerous in numbers, as their sticky webs, though weak, will immobilise a warrior if enough are used.

They are famed weavers and make marvellous cloths of their own silk which they dye black with the tincture of the night sky itself and can weave darkness and cold spirits into the weft. The lead weights they use at their looms are prized among human craftsmen. They demand wood from the scared trees of the Aldryami to make their looms in payment.

Dark Drider

STR 3d6+6 (16-17)

CON 3d6+6 (16-17)

SIZ 4d6+9 (25)

INT 2d6+6 (13)

POW 2d6+6 (13)

DEX 2d6+6 (13)

CHA 3d6+3 (13-14)

AP 3 Dam +1d8 SR 13

D20 Hit Location AP/HP

1          Right Hind Leg      3/6

2           Right Centre Leg  3/6

3-4        Right Front Leg    3/6

5           Left Hind Leg       3/6

6           Left Centre Leg   3/6

7-8        Left Front Leg     3/6

9-10      Abdomen            3/9

11-12    Thorax                3/9

13-14    Chest                  1/9

15-16    Right Arm           1/7

17-18    Left Arm               1/7

19-20    Head                   1/8

Typical Skills:

Acrobatics STR+DEX+50, Athletics STR+DEX + 30, Brawn STR + SIZ, Dance DEX+CHA+20, Endurance CON x3, Evade DEX x3, Influence CHAx4, Willpower POWx4, Folk Magic (INT+POW) x3, Devotion (Aranea) POW+CHA, Exhort (Aranea) INT+CHA, Craft (Weaving) DEX+INT +50%

Combat: 
Troll Militia STR+DEX (Excellent Footwork, Club, Mace, Maul, Spear, Sling Medium Shield); Drider Webbing STR+DEX+20 (Mancatcher, Web, Grapple, Bite)

Weapons

Mace M 1d8+1d8 6/6 Bash, Stun Location

Short Spear M !d8+1-1d2 Impale

Round Shield L 1d3+1+1d8 4/9 Bash, Ranged Parry, Blocks 3 locs.

Web L Entangles Web STR = Drider's STRx2

Bite S 1d3+1d8 Venom, potency CONx2

Drider Venom

Type: Ingested or smeared

Delay: 1D3 Combat Rounds

Potency: Drider’s CON x 2

Full Effect: 1D3 hit point damage to location struck, applies –1d6 penalty to victim’s DEX (upon reaching 0

DEX victim becomes paralysed)

Duration: 6D10 minutes

Typical Spells:

Folk – Bludgeon, Demoralise, Darkness, Chill, Extinguish

Divine – Shield, Absroption, Fear, Cult specials – Carapace (inc natural armour and extends it over trollish part of the body), Spiderlimbs (increases climb skill and confers immunity to webs), Spiderbite (Truns head into a spider head, increases bite dmaage to 1d8, doubles poison potency and gves bite an impale special effect).

Drider-kin

STR 2d6 (7)

CON 2d6+6 (13)

SIZ 2d6+3 (10)

INT 2d6+3 (10)

POW 3d6 (10-11)

DEX 3d6+3 (13-14)

CHA 2d6 (7)

AP 2 Dam -1d2 SR 11

D20 Hit Location AP/HP

1           Right Hind Leg 1/6

2           Right Centre Leg 1/6

3-4        Right Front Leg 1/6

5           Left Hind Leg 1/6

6           Left Centre Leg 1/6

7-8        Left Front Leg 1/6

9-10      Abdomen 1/9

11-12    Thorax 1/9

13-14    Chest 1/9

15-16    Right Arm 1/7

17-18    Left Arm 1/7

19-20    Head 1/7

Typical Skills:

Acrobatics STR+DEX+50, Athletics STR+DEX + 50, Brawn STR + SIZ, Endurance CON x2, Evade DEX x 5, Stealth DEX x3,Willpower POWx2, Folk Magic INT+POW

Combat: 
Troll Militia STR+DEX (Excellent Footwork, Club, Mace, Maul, Spear, Sling Medium Shield); Drider Webbing STR+DEX+20 (Mancatcher, Web, Grapple, Bite)

Weapons

Club M 1d6-1d2 4/4 Bash, Stun Location

Round Shield L 1d3+1-1d2 4/9 Bash, Ranged Parry, Blocks 3 locs.

Web L Entangles Web STR = Drider's STR x 2

Bite S 1d3-1d2 Venom Potency CONx1

Typical Spells:

Folk – Bludgeon, Demoralise, Darkness, Chill, Extinguish

Nightgaunts

These horrible little monsters were stitched together to serve the Black Dragon as scouts and aerial infantry. They are about the size of a trollkin, maybe a little smaller, with soft moth-like wings, compound eyes and feathery antennae on a thin troll-like body. They are not particularly intelligent, but can use stone spears. They have a nest in the ruins of the Temple of the Black Dragon and conduct a never ending war with the Wasp riders. They allegedly keep the mystical tradition of the Night Dragon going, and a few have been seen sporting scales and claws.

Their combat tactics involve swoops whispering dread curses to Demoralise the enemy, then hurling javelins from above to thin the ranks, bolas to stop any escapes and then moving in with the long spear as a last resort. Their soft wings make them very hard to hear in the dark, and on moonless nights they will flutter down unnoticed beside sentries and garotte them. They cut off the skin of the face and wear it as a gruesome mask, and cut out the tongue and make a charm that enables them to copy a persons voice.

They derive great pleasure out of causing fear and confusion and will be happy to kill only a couple out of a large group as long as the rest are duly terrified. If they are feeling lenient they may let travellers pass in return for leaving them the head of a giant wasp or wasp rider, their old enemies. If they are in a less forgiving mood they will sneak into camp and paint a darkness rune on someone's forehead, and give the party the chance to sacrifice the Nightgaunt's selected victim in return for free passage. If the sacrifice is not given freely then they will take it and 1d3 more victims besides.

They live in the ruins of the Temple of the Black Dragon and anyone approaching it will have to deal with them one way or another. They do not like bright sunlight however, and will stay hidden during the day.

Nightgaunt

STR 2d6+3 (10)

CON 2d6+6 (13)

SIZ 2d4+4 (9)

INT 2d6+3 (10)

POW 2d6+6 (13)

DEX 2d6+12 (19)

CHA 2d6+1 (8)

AP 3 Dam -1d2 SR 15

D20 Hit Location AP/HP
1-2 Right Leg –/5
3-4 Left Leg –/5
5-6 Abdomen –/6
7-9 Chest –/7
10-12 Right Arm –/4
13-14 Left Arm –/4
15-16 Right Wing 2/4
17-18 Left Wing 2/4
19-20 Head –/5

Typical Skills:

Athletics STR+DEX+70, Brawn STR+SIZ, Evade DEX x 5, Endurance CONx3, Stealth DEX x 6, Willpower POWx2, Folk Magic INT+POW

Combat: 
Aerial Scout (Skirmishing, Javelin with Atlatl, Sling, Bolas, Spear, Dagger, Garotte)

Javelin H 1d8+1-1d2 3/8 Impale

2H Spear L 1d10+1-1d2 4/10 Impale

Bolas - 1d4-1d2 2/2 Entangle

Garotte S 1d2-1d2 ½ Stealth

Typical Spells:

Demoralise, Darkness, Chill, Extinguish, Speedart, Ventriloquism, Curse

The ESA Starbus

The ESA Starbus is a little 200 ton trading vessel from my Known Space setting.

The ESA Starbus sans modules.
For more details see the PDF here

The Starbus is modular with two 50 ton modules which can be type P (Passenger), type C (Cargo), type L (Long Haul) or type K (Low Berth).

Adventure Hooks

• An engineer told us that Azania Lines runs a Starbus in LL configuration giving it 8 weeks extra in warp, that's 16 parsecs travel. Why? What the hell are they taking where? This one is worth keeping an eye on.

• Sergei Veretski, a Starbus pilot, finally lost it last trip, attacking the blasted autopilot with an axe and smashing the Avionics computer to bits. The AI was using a voice/personality based on Jason Pellegrino, a noted Belgian comic actor of the 22nd century and maybe the endless fart gags got too much for poor old Sergei. But after his death Pellegrino was found to have a collection of rather dubious books and to have been involved in the occult, and the raving and gibbering Sergei did mention something about having a spell cast on him and was found to have lined his pilots helmet with tinfoil. Something weird is going on here, but Aquila Spaceways want their ship back out earning money right now and there isn't time to investigate on the ground.

• The Ekaterina has always been a popular ship with the rich and fast living student party set travelling back and forth between Aquila and the university world of Fargen. There are some scandalous parties on that ship, it's a favourite of the gossip columnists, but something happened on the last trip, something people aren't talking about. One of the Stewardbots has gone missing, and the owners, Aquila Spaceways, have had the autodoc replaced.

• Nice ship the Starbus, very comfortable (for the passengers), very reliable, and sadly very vulnerable to pirates as some poor SOBs have found out on a trip to Kanaloa. There are ransom demands from the Free Akrotiri Front or people start getting thrown out of the airlock. It's parked on an asteroid in the outer orbit of the system gas giant and guarded by a gunboat, but there might be a way to get in through a cargo hatch if you can persuade the AI chip to play ball. It's modeled on some late twentieth century British celebrity called Alan Sugar, will that help?

Kolat

Another adaptation of an old(ish) cult for RQ6, since one of my players in Griffin Mountain had his PC come to a sticky end during a Heroquest and would like his new character to be a Kolating Shaman. There have been a few write-ups of Kolat for Heroquest and one for RQ3; I am going to be mostly following the Sartar Companion version.

Who is Kolat?

He is a son of Umath and a member of the Storm Tribe, and defended the Vingkotlings against the onslaught of spirits that sought to drive the Gods out of the world, defeated Zzabur the Sorcerer who preyed upon the Vingkotlings after their chief gods left on the Lightbringers Quest and slew Karkajan the Monster Shaman.

Who worships him?

Oddballs. The Orlanthi are a settled agricultural people for the most part with a powerful pantheon of gods and hierarchy of kings, chieftains and priests. But there are always malcontents and wanderers and people who feel the climb up the greasy pole of tribal politics isn't worth the candle and want another kind of power, some have odd dreams, some are driven out by misfortune and injustice. Then there are other people who never did fit in with Orlanthi culture; in Sartar some families never found a place among the colonising clans and tribes and remained stickpickers on the margins of the wildlands, tramps and charcoal burners holding to an ancient hunter-gatherer lifestyle.

The typical Kolating holds no allegiance to any family, clan or tribe. He wanders the land living rough and trading his unique talents for dealing with spirits with the settled farmers. Kolatings have a reputation for being conmen and thieves, but the Orlanthi are habitually distrusting of any strangers not part of their clan. They at least accept Kolatings as part of Heortling culture and deserving of some traditional hospitality, even if it is sometimes even more grudging than that given to Tricksters.

Where is he worshipped?

He is worshipped in Heortland, the Rightarm Islands, Maniria, Dragon Pass, Ralios, all through the Lunar Provinces and Talastar, Fronela and the North West and even in Pent. He may be more widely worshipped geographically than Orlanth himself, though across most if this area his is a very minor cult. But in primitive Brolia he is the most important member of the Storm Tribe, and in the most Lunarised parts of Vanch, Holay and Sylila he is the last remnant of the storm still worshipped since Orlanth worship has completely died out.

The secondary traditions a Kolating has access to will differ throughout this range. The ones given here are found in Dragon Pass, Maniria and Tarsh; in Pent Kolat is a minor tradition kept up by shamen dedicated to Kargzant.

Common Members

Quite a few Heortling people have a basic understanding of spirits, many clans have at least one person who has a touch of the 'Second Sight' and some Binding or Trance skill, often following the Earth Witch tradition, but sometimes the Kolat Seven Winds instead or as well. They will have knowledge of Find Spirit, Spirit Shield or Witchsight. They will usually be followers of a theistic cult as well. They can bind up to ¼ of their Cha in spells, but if they have theistic magic this will be reduced by 2 spirits per Divine Miracle known, and the number of Miracles will be reduced by 2 per spirit held.

The wandering shamen have little respect for these settled types though, regarding them as mere dabblers, unless they are willing to accompany them as apprentices.

Spirit Worshipper

These members are usually found as apprentices to the wandering Kolatings. They can actually bind spirits, up to half of their CHA, but must take a Seven Winds spirit with its attendant geas as their first spirit.

They must have 50% Trance and 50% Binding (Seven Winds Spirit), and need 50% in three of the following skills: Insight, Locale, Willpower, Lore (Seven Winds), Survival , First Aid, Sing, Healing, Binding (Secondary Tradition), Deceit, Sleight.

If they are sworn as a shaman's apprentice then they need not pay for any training, but are required to accompany him and give him a share of any fees earned for using shamanic skills. If not, they can gain a place by the fire and hospitality at any shaman's encampment, but there is no obligation to feed them. They can request training, and will be asked to pay half the usual costs.

Shaman

Shamen can bind up to three quarters of their Cha worth of spirits, one of which must be a Seven Winds spirit, one must be from a secondary tradition and one of which may be a Fetch. They may bind a Guardian Spirit, which confers greater protection from hostile magic, and bind Air Elemental Spirits (see Seven Winds tradition below).

They must have 70% Binding (Seven Winds), 70% Trance and 70% in two skills from Insight, Locale, Willpower, Lore (Seven Winds) Survival, Binding (Secondary Tradition), Lore (Secondary Tradition). The minimum Binding (Secondary Tradition) skill must be 35%.

The Fetch of a Kolating must have the following traits:

Autonomy – it can travel wherever the wind goes.

Elemental – it can manifest in the physical world as a Sylph.

If it has Manifest it can also appear as an eagle, and if it has Shapechange it is able to turn the Shaman temporarily into an eagle.

When rolling for the traits of a Kolating Fetch one trait must come from the following set.

1. Hot wind – can act as a Warmth folk magic spell without spending any MP, can cast Heat for 1 mp, and can add its POW as a %age to any attempt to oppose a cold, ice or darkness spirit
2. Cold wind – can act as a Cool Folk Magic spell without spending any mp, cast Chill for 1 mp, and can add its POW as a %age to any attempt to oppose a heat or fire spirit
3. Howling wind – can cast Demoralise on as many targets as fit within it for just 1mp the lot.
4. Hunting spirit – can hunt down one of the six foes; the undead, the possessed, death spirits, disease spirits and curse spirits sent by women, gains a Spirit Tracking skill of 50%+Int+Pow
5. Hunting spirit – can hunt down one specific type of animal using its own tracking skill or enhancing that of the shaman, Track Animal 50%+Int +Cha
6. Blow away foes – when attacked by multiple spirits the shaman can choose to have his fetch keep all but the strongest at bay with its winds. Willpower vs Willpower of the attacking spirits for this to work.
7. Lightning – can use Disruption for 1 mp, and can target as many people as fit within it as an elemental for 1mp each.
8. Thunderous Voice – enables the Shaman to use the folk magic Voice whenever he feels like it, and can make rolls on Influence, Oratory or Sing one step easier for 2 mp, at least when dealing with other Storm worshippers; others might ask who the shouting, bragging lunatic thinks he is.

High Shaman

Can bind his entire Cha in spirits, and need 90% in one Binding skill (any tradition, not necessarily Seven Winds), 90% Trance and one of; Lore (any Tradition), Insight, Willpower.

High Shamen are respected and feared, and are often cantankerous and eccentric from having to follow the geases of so many spirits. All can command and use Seven Winds spirits, but some specialise in the lesser traditions; Chalk Man shamen are earthy and apparently good humoured, eager for a game of gambling sticks and highly likely to tell you tall tales and try and con you, Oakfed shamen are often hot tempered, Night Listeners dress in black and are alert and penetrating, Serkos shaman are loners. Those few shamen who favour Granny Vo and Uncle are like men from another country, dressed in furs, carrying stone knives full of strange oaths and are often rude.

Spirit Lord

There is a Spirit Lord of Kolat out there up on one of the sacred mountains but no one knows who he is or where he is. Kolating shamen tend to travel a lot, it is entirely possible that he is the scruffy skin clad old man selling charcoal to the bronzesmith over there, is hiding behind that looming stormcloud over there or is sitting in a trance on the peak of Kero Fin hunting through the spirit world looking for the pernicious shamen of Jakaleel as they seek to capture and convert the spirits of the Orlanthi dead.

The Seven Winds Tradition

There are six varieties of spirits that this tradition can call on, and a Shaman can never have more than one of each kind. They are Nature spirits in RQ6, and usually augment skills and boost attributes or cast enhanced versions of Folk Magic.

Before Me. Provide charms relating to the wind, such as enhancing knowledge of the weather, using small winds to move things, sending messages via the winds, using wind to help arrows fly etc. Taboo: Never Commit Adultery. For example: Spirit casts Mindspeech spell with a range of 5xPOW in meters, a tiny breath of wind taking the Shaman's words and whispering them to the target, each point of intensity of spirit can increase range or increase number of recipients.

On My Right. Provide charms relating to cold weather, such as increasing Endurance against cold, helping the shaman survive and find food in the cold, combating fire spirits, causing frostbite and so on. Taboo: Must Tend Oak Trees. For example make Endurance rolls one step easier in cold weather

Behind Me. Provide charms that can change the weather. Taboo:Rise Early From Sleep. For example increase cloud cover over one square kilometre per intensity, can block out the light of the moon or weaken the sun.

On My Left. Water Spirits that counter spirit attacks. Taboo: Never Drink Alcohol. For example: Provide one 'spirit armour' per point of intensity to reduce mp loss during spirit combat or make Binding skill rolls half a grade easier per intensity when fighting off hostile spirit attacks.

Above Me. Fire spirits that defend against magic, track spirit magic back to the caster, or rebound spirit magic. Taboo: Must Sleep under the Sky. For example: If the shaman resists a spell equal to the intensity of the spirit or under it is reflected back at the person who cast it, at a cost of 1mp to the spirit, or make all rolls to resist a spell half a grade easier.

Below Me. Darkness spirits that fight one or more of the Six Foes; corporeal undead, the possessed, spirits of death, spirits of disease and curses sent by women, Taboo: Never Kill. Example; Add two steps in weapon damage vs Skeletons and Zombies, or make all rolls to resist hostile magic cast by women one grade easier.

The seventh wind is Within Me, and is in fact the Shaman's fetch, which enables the shaman to embody it as an Elemental spirit.

Once a person has become a shaman, the Before Me, On My Right and Behind Me spirits may be replaced by Elemental spirits that not only have the powers noted above but which can be released to fight as Elementals, but not embodied. The On My Left, Above Me and Below Me spirits can be replaced by Guardian Spirits with slightly limited abilities (ie On My Left only attacks spirits, Above Me only intercepts spells, Below Me can do either, but only against certain foes).

Shamen with the Seven Winds tradition can learn and teach a number of useful folk magic spells such as Avert, Frostbite, Chill, Cool, Heat, Shove, Speedart, Spiritshield, Voice and Witchsight

Chalk Man Tradition

The Chalk Man is a great Earth spirit who aided Kolat many times, rescuing him from Karkajan with the aid of his gambling sticks. Chalk Man lives under a hill in northern Dragon Pass, marked with his outline. The Chalk Man binding skill can be used as a Gambling skill when playing the gambling stick game, and used to help bind spirits of other traditions if the shaman can persuade them into playing. His spirits are nature spirits with a variety of odd powers, and again only one from each category may be taken at any one time. In ancient times there were shamen who followed Chalk Man alone and had Chalk Man give them fetches, but no one now knows how that is done. Going into the cave in the Chalk Man hill looks like an obvious route for research, but no one is quite brave enough to try.

Might and Vigour folk magic spells are taught by Chalk Man spirits.

Oakfed tradition

Also followed in Prax, Oakfed spirits can only be bound in the depths of winter, and anyone with one of these spirits cannot also have an On My Right Spirit from the Seven Winds tradition, and will be regarded by the Aldryami as hostile. These spirits can burn anything, and shamen can even bind one that will burn away spiritual impurities.

Night Listener

A darkness spirit also worshipped by Trolls, which wake men in the night if they are threatened by intruders (or in the day for troll worshippers), or attack intruders. The folk magic Alarm is taught by these spirits.

Serkos

Serkos is another name for Odayla, and the animal spirits associated with Odayla can be found HERE.

Granny Vo and Uncle

These spirits are very old and rather mysterious and live in a tent on a vast empty plain in the spirit world. Granny Vo is the spirit of untamed nature and may have something to do with the goddess Velhara who was mother to Odayla, the foreign Balazaring spirit Rigtaina and maybe a few other spirits and goddesses besides. The Kolatings see her as old and dotty and say if they do not perform her rites correctly she will destroy the world. She gave Kolat the Three Bow, and Three Bow spirits can do a number of interesting things such as shoot magic arrows, start fires, make rainbows and read omens at the cost of keeping a unique, capricious and strange taboo set by Granny.

Propitiative Rites

Worship of chaos is not permitted, but certain chaos entities feature prominently in Kolat rituals as enemies and special rites can be used to combat them.

Karkajan

The chaos shaman is invoked in many Kolating rituals as an evil and corrupting influence which must be driven away. However there is a rite involving making a decorated straw man to represent Karkajan and undergoing a small heroquest which ends in burning the figure. This will confer a long term resistance to foreign spirits. The recent fashion in Sartar is to dress the strawman up in the black robes of a Jakaleel shaman or in the red finery of the Red Goddess herself; needless to say this will get you crucified if the Lunars catch you. Some shamen have always advocated putting living enemies like broo or goats inside a wicker man to add to the potency of the rite, serious hardliners among the rebel tribes are now burning Lunar missionaries alive.

Malia

Kolatings offer a fawn and a lamb to Malia four times a year, and settled Orlanthi may invite them to do so in their steads as a defence against disease, even though the practice is frowned upon by the cult of Chalana Arroy. Any shaman may attempt to exorcise a spirit of disease, but it takes a long time, and if the rite fails the shaman himself may be infected and any further attempt to cure the person, even by a theist priest of a healing god or goddess will fail.

Thed

Shamen can summon a spirit called Be'e at certain wasp nests. This spirit will ride a wasp all the way to Thed herself and tell her that Kolat knows she is there. Later, if the shaman is threatened by broo, a wasp will come and give him forewarning of the attack and then go and sting a broo.

If the broo doesn't take the hint and go back, the shaman can release a huge swarm of wasps from his mouth which will set about the broo. This rite is not easy to do, finding the wasps nest is hard enough, and its effectiveness depends on how powerful a spirit of Be'e the Shaman can summon and defeat. If it works the spirit becomes a kind of 'wasp elemental', of equivalent size to an elemental of the same intensity and all broo within it will make all rolls at one difficulty level harder.

Odayla the Hunter

I'm getting bogged down concocting DCC magic spells. More DCC Civil War will be materialising soon, but in the meantime here is another Gloranthan cult, Odayla the Hunter. As in previous write ups Legend skills/stats will be in RED and RQ6 in BLUE.

Who is Odayla?

Odayla is Orlanth's son by a mysterious figure called The Lady of the Wilds, Velhara. Tales of the circumstances of his birth vary, as does whether he was born a bear or became one later, but all agree that at some point Odayala hunted the Great Bear, and tracked him through all the world, the realm of Heroes and the lands of the Gods until finally he gave up and started for home. He found that the Great Bear (who may have been his grandfather) was now hunting him. Odayla tried every trick he could but eventually he bowed to the inevitable and met the bear, wrestling with him for days, maybe years. In the end one slew the other, and wore the skin of the defeated.

But which won? Man or bear? In the far off land of Sylila they say it was the bear, but in Dragon Pass they say it was Odayla. The followers of Odayla say it was neither; Odayla was the Great Bear all along and it took the greatest and longest hunt of the God-time for him to realise it.

Odayla helped the other Thunder Brothers many times during the God's war, but he never spent long at Orlanth's Stead. The food he brought kept his relatives alive, but he could never stand their company long and always returned to the wilds.

Who worships him?

The Orlanthi have other hunting gods; Yinkin the Alynx and Ormalaya, (who some clans say is Odayla's brother), but their followers live in the stead like their gods did. Odayla's followers live in the depths of the forests almost full time, and they are usually alone for weeks or seasons on end. The very greatest hunters don't come home for years.

When they do appear they are the epitome of the wild hunter and outcast, clad in rough furs and almost monosyllabic in a culture where eloquence and boasting are considered virtuous.

Sometimes Ormalaya worshipers from the villages join their rites, more often their fellow hermits the Kolating shamen do, as they too hunt for survival.

Lay Member

Lay members are anyone who hunts and remembers Odayla in their prayers for success and who leaves a bit of their catch in a tree for him. Those who feel more comfortable out challenging the wilds than at home in their hall or cottage and happier with a bow in their hand than a plow tend to gravitate towards initiatehood.

Initiate

An initiate must impress an Odayla Acolyte or priest that he has the required skills. He will have to participate in a Great Hunt (see below) and must show that he has 50% in five cult skills, one of which must be Tracking. Initiates will begin to become a bit odd, gaining a Passion, Loner, equal to their POW x2%; roll for an increase each season in the same way as a skill, but using +POW not +INT until it is at least equal to the Theology(Odayal) or Devotion(Odayla) skill. This passion will act as a penalty to any social skills and will need to be rolled against each week the initiate spends in 'civilisation' or they will become increasingly bad tempered and liable to lash out.

Odayla's cult skills are

Legend: Resilience, Craft (Butcher), Craft (Fisherman), Theology (Odayala), Lore (Hunting), Perception, Spear and Bow Combat Styles, Unarmed, Stealth, Survival, Track.

RQ6: Endurance, Craft (Butcher), Craft (Fisherman) Devotion (Odayla), Lore (Hunting), Perception, Stealth, Survival, Tracking, Wild Hunter combat style (Skirmishing, Shortbow, Axe, Spear, Javelin, Dagger, Unarmed)

Odayla Initiates are encouraged to learn the following Common/Folk Magic:

Legend: Strength, Beast Call, Endurance, Speedart

RQ6: Might, Beastcall, Speedart, Vigour

They can also devote up to 25% of their POW to the god and they may learn Beast Charms, a kind of Shamanic magic. Each Beast Charm takes one point of dedicated POW, and an initiate can never have more than one.

Available Divine Magic:

Legend: Heal Wound, Soul Sight, Sureshot
RQ6: Heal Wound, Soul Sight, Sureshot

Acolyte

Acolytes must have 70% in four cult skills as noted for Initiates.

They may also devote up to 50% of their POW to the god and may use this POW to bind Beast Charms. They may have a maximum of 25% or their CHA in charms.

Acolytes are even more eccentric than Initiates due the effects of the multiple passions gained through their Beast Charms. In addition they gain a new passion, Bearishness, at POW%. This makes them inclined to violence, gives them a taste for honey and salmon in season, makes them slow and sleepy during Dark Season and makes their beards and body hair grow luxuriantly. The Acolyte may act unconsciously like a bear when he is trying to be on his best behaviour back at the stead, unable to resist dipping into other people's stores, growling and snarling when woken and possibly attacking livestock or pets. He may also use it as bonus to his Endurance roll if wounded.

Acolytes gain access to two new Divine Magics, Bear Claws and Sleep Back to Life

Bear Claws
Duration: Intensity in Minutes, Rank Acolyte
The caster gains the claws of a bear to fight with using his Unarmed combat skill. He must drop any weapon or shield he is using while the spell is in effect. The claws do 1d6 damage plus his damage bonus, and count as a medium weapon for parries, though intercepting a blow with them may result in harm to the limb. The user gets an extra action point which can only be used for a claw attack, OR he can wrestle like a bear using the Grip special effect and crushing a foe with an automatic 2xSTR bonus in damage until it gets free.

Sleep Back to Life
Duration: special, Rank Acolyte
The caster falls into a deep sleep lasting up to one day per point of intensity. Each day he heals one hit point of damage in every wounded location. This may heal any wound, even serious and critical ones, though it will not reattach a severed limb and will not resurrect the caster. It will stop bleeding though. If interrupted the healing stops and the caster wakes like a bear with a sore head, and may attack the person waking him without mercy if he fails to roll over his Bearishness passion.

Lastly sufficiently skilled acolytes may undertake heroquests to gain exceptional hunting abilities, following in the footsteps of various heroes. For example Kadar Golden Feather could shoot an arrow for over mile, Maboo the Fisherman could track fish by their scent and Ranoo Longlegs could run after prey for days on end.

Priests

Priests of Odayla are creatures of the wild, held in awe by village bound people for the way they survive the deepest and most dangerous of forests and turn into bears. They are sometimes used as emissaries between Orlanthi clans and the Beastfolk and Aldryami and the spirits of the wilds. Priests cannot command worshippers, there are no temples, just shrines and rituals in the wild led by the most powerful worshipper present.

They must have 90% in three cult skills and they may, if they qualify, undertake a heroquest to follow one or both of the following dangerous paths.

The Bearwalker 
Every night the Priest transforms into a bear that is immune to normal weapons and may only be harmed by iron. Most of his abilities are as they were when he was a human, he can even still cast magic, but he cannot use armour or weapons. He must have a minimum of 100% Theology or Devotion to Odayla, 50% Unarmed Combat, and at least 50% Bearishness. While he is in bear form he is to all intents and purposes a bear. He will eat any poor soul he comes across if he is hungry, he won't give a hoot about human concerns. But he will be able to start yet another passion – Humanity – at POW%age in order to retain normal human reason and control while a bear. This may never exceed 100-Bearishness.

The Champion
A properly elected and consecrated Orlanth worshipping chieftain may be represented by an Odaylan Champion. A priest wishing to be a Champion must have a minimum of 100% in a combat style involving axes or spears, 70% Theology or Devotion to Odayla, no more than 50% Loner and at least 50% Bearishness. The heroquest to gain this ability binds the Chieftain and Champion together, and the power of the Champion may only be released with the permission of the Chieftain. The soul of the Champion manifests outside his/her body a great bear which may travel up to POW in kilometers and carry out whatever actions he/she likes. This bear is immune to blows from any weapon apart from iron. However the Chieftain will have to put with what amounts to a half tamed bear living in his hall and have to take legal responsibility for all the damage and violence that this may lead to. Chieftains who over use the champion, and champions who are happy with being used as a supernatural 'heavy' or assassin will get a bad reputation.

High Priest

In Sylila where the cult of Odayla is far more important and has numerous subcults and variants there are High Priests, but in Dragon Pass, Ralios and Maniria no such position exists. Very powerful priests may be often found near Grizzly Peak in Tarsh and Bear Mountain in Aggar, but they are not leaders of the many independent and ornery cultists by any means.

Beast Charms

To gain a beast charm an Odayla worshipper must have the help of a Kolating Shaman and knowledge of the Soul Sight divine spell. The Kolating can use his Spirit Walk or Meditation ability to bring the Odayla hunter into the spirit world and send him off on a magical hunt which will involve a particular kind of challenge along the way. Once successful the Odaylan can breathe in the last breath of the dead animal and return to the Kolating with the body. The Shaman can then create a charm from the body parts and have the hunter breathe the spirit back into it.

The beast spirits bound are normal Nature Spirits, and must be beaten in spirit combat by the hunter, using the Theology/Devotion to Odayla skill as a spirit combat skill, though at hard difficulty level (-1/3 skill or -20% depending on rules used). The charm holder can release and command them as any shaman can his spirits.

Each spirit has particular ability and also causes a particular passion. Kolatings can appear half mad from the proddings of their spirits, and some Odaylan hunters are not far behind. The table gives only examples, other beasts are possible but no Odaylan would ever try this trick on a bear.

Spirit / Challenge / Ability / Personality

Badger / Willpower / Digging / Grumpy

Deer / Archery / Alertness / Jumpy

Eagle / Climbing / Keen Eyesight / Proud

Rabbit / Stalk / Alert / Lusty

Thrush / Hide in Cover / Sing / Vain

Waterfowl / Stalk / Eat Mud / Noisy

Wild Cattle / Wrestling / Strong / Slow-witted

Wild Pig / Running / Smell Food  / Bad Tempered

Wild Sheep / Jumping / Know Weather / Stubborn

Odaylan hunters can learn to be Shamen themselves, but each spirit outside the Odaylan tradition they bind counts as two against their maximum limit for spirits. If they ever raise their Spirit Binding skill over that of their Devotion/Theology of Odayla they are deemed to have become full time spirit worshipers and each divine spell they know will reduce their maximum bound spirits by two, unless they renounce their use.

Odayla as a subcult of Orlanth

Orlanth worshippers may take Odayla as a subcult as described here, but they are rather limited in what powers they may gain from this. If they take the Passion Loner as decribed under Initiates above, they may gain the use of Beast Charms

Skills:
Legend: Brawn, Survival
RQ6: Brawn, Survival

Common/Folk Magic
Legend: Strength, Speedart
RQ6: Might, Speedart

Divine Magic
Legend: Initiate: Sureshot
RQ6: Initiate: Sureshot

Odayla in Sylila

In the land of Sylila far to the north of Dragon Pass traditionally Odayla was considered to be Orlanth's equal, if not his superior. Odayla and his wife (not worshipped elsewhere) had a brood of divine bear children, were less distant and antisocial and commanded a wider range of powers. Sylila was conquered by the Lunar Empire centuries ago and while Orlanth is now unknown a whole pantheon of Moon-Bears has sprung up out of Odayla worship.

Worshipers of these ridiculous deities (the silly sods even have a farming bear!) are now in Dragon Pass as Lunar soldiers and administrators, where they are widely mocked behind their backs by the locals. Missionaries have been sent into the woods to convert the wild and furry Odaylans to the Moon Bear; most have failed to find any hunters at all, a few have come to the usual sticky end, but a couple have suffered an even worse fate - they have rediscovered the primal purity of storm-bear worship and joined the rebellion.

Diggers and Ranters

Religion in the DCC English Civil War

The English Civil War was not primarily a war of religion, though religious rhetoric was universally deployed to bolster the political cases made by each side and one of the prizes for the victorious faction was the chance to remake the Church of England in their own image.

Religious innovation was rife throughout the period. The 1640s saw the start of any number of religious sects, many quite bizarre in their beliefs and many attached to extreme (for the 17th century) political agendas. I am only going to make a few distinctions here between primarily spiritual sects like the Quakers and primarily political ones like the Levellers; if historically they thought they had God on their side then for game purposes they have.

I have not yet finished this document, which details what sects are available to a beginning character as yet, writing the huge tables for DCC spells is pain in the arse, but it is here for your perusal and hopefully enjoyment.

Player character Clerics will be able to use the 'Found Sect' spell which I haven't written up properly yet. They can concoct their own sect de novo, or found one of the historical sects detailed here pre-empting the historical founder.

Standard DCC Divine Intervention is not allowed, and the spells available to each sect may vary. In addition Divine Disapproval does not go away overnight, you are stuck with it until you make amends for your sins. But you do get a special ability and spells associated with your sect.

The list of available sects given here is not quite historical for the planned campiagn start point in 1642, but I want to give the players the chance to experience the joys of being a Muggletonian or Digger from the beginning; even if the sect did not emerge from the fog of history until a later date there were assuredly people who had similar beliefs years before but kept them quiet. The death of Charles, the apparent end of Anglicanism and the heady revolutionary atmosphere of the Commonwealth encouraged any number of radical oddballs to openly preach their own off-brand of salvation.

An example sect:

Ranters

Alignment: Cavalier
Likes: Tobacco, Drinking, Free Love, Spirituality
Dislikes: Bishops, Priests, 'The Demiurge', Property Laws, Materialism

The Ranters were extreme Antinomians – they believed that the laws and codes of 'godly' behaviour were irrelevant to one who had been truly saved and had become one with the holy spirit through their program of prayer and meditation. Once you had been saved you could fornicate, drink, smoke and even take other people's stuff – property was man's law, not God's – with impunity. A Ranter was one with God, he had experienced the enlightenment Jesus himself had gone through, nothing could be sinful to such a person. Having your worldly goods liberated and consumed by a Ranter was actually a divine favour, reminding you that material things are what keep us from true enlightenment. Once everyone has been saved the world will be perfect and everyone will follow the one useful commandment discovered by the Ranter prophets William Preston and Theodore Logan; ‘Be excellent to each other’.

Needless to say they were not in least bit popular with anyone. One of their noted thinkers, Abiezer Coppe, was continually in and out of jail, breaking all oaths to keep the peace out of principle, since oaths were man's law and an invention of a Satanic Demiurge to limit the freedom of the Holy Spirit.

They got away with their anarchist hi-jinks for a while during the Civil War, but inevitably the dour Puritans caught up with them and they eventually all got jailed, transported to the colonies or converted to less demented spiritual sects like the Quakers. But who knows? Perhaps in the fantasy ECW Ranterism will take off, though who knows what lunacy that would lead to.

Ranters, like the Seekers, are an anti-clerical sect, and may combine Cleric levels with another class. Being spiritual anarchists they gain Divine Disapproval for not behaving badly; if there is a chance of cadging a free meal they must, they are obliged to indulge in casual sex, and if an opportunity to pilfer from a non-believer crops up they must take it - the Ranter must reaffrim his spiritual freedom and transcendence of the mundane. Ranters are generous to a fault as well, they will happily blow all their cash on a party for all comers and give away any possession on a whim to prove their indifference to materialism; this is their chief way of reducing Disapproval.

Cavaliers and Roundheads

Alignment in the English Civil War

What's all this rubbish about Law and Chaos? No one in 17^th century England, not even them drunkard Ranters, ever sat down and said 'Hi folks, I'm Chaotic!'.

Alignment in the English Civil War is, I'm afraid, a two dimensional affair like good old AD&D...

Cavalier vs Roundhead

Cavalier characters are, well, a bit cavalier. They are hearty fellows, pleased to live life to the full, but also a bit inclined to go into things cockeyed, like a cavalry troop at the gallop, hoping their natural panache will see them through if it gets a bit difficult. They like adventuring for the look of the thing, to pay for the fine wines, strong ales and rich living they intend to get done before Judgement Day or a stray musket ball takes them off this mortal coil. They are brave but easily discouraged if there's a bit of hard work to be done to get their just reward.

Roundheads are a lot more sober. They are stubborn and unwavering in the pike square, or when methodically reloading their matchlocks while the damn fool cavaliers bounce off their prepared positions. They measure twice and cut once, and do not suffer fools gladly. Sometimes they may be too cautious, but their feel their careful and planned approach to adventuring leads to a bigger and better pay offs in the long run than the cavaliers smash and grab raids.

Neutrals are everyone else; not too rash, not too careful, not liable to start a punch up over possession of a fine hat feather, not over obsessed with counting the gunpowder to the last grain and weighing its cost against the value of the purse in a highway robbery.

Royalist vs Republican

Royalists work from the top down; there's people in charge and there's people who ain't, it's just the way the world is. If you follow orders without whingeing and backchat and impress your betters you can get promoted, and might get to be considered a gentleman too. Loyalty is the primary virtue, everyone knowing their place in the world, swearing an oath to God and King and sticking to it the only honourable way. Being disrespectful to the King and Bishops is the next best thing to cheeking God himself, if these people weren't meant to be in charge why did the almighty allow them to prosper?

Republicans work from the bottom up. No man's opinion can be discounted for naught, all men have reason. The actions of the nation must be decided by a Parliament of equals chosen by the men of the boroughs, solid citizens who have earned the trust of their fellow man, not had position bestowed on them from above by a nincompoop who happens to have a fancy hat on. God made all men equal in his sight, all men should be equal before the law and government of the land also; that idiot Charles Stuart is merely a man like the rest of us, he would do well to remember it.

Neutrals can't make their minds up. The old ways worked, you knew where you were; you were probably face down in the mire with a noble standing on your head, but you knew where you were. Parliament? A lot of clever gents well learned in law, but would their way be any better? They certainly seem to be a lot more hardworking and upright than them fancy pants courtiers, but, ech, puritan lawyers...

The classic combos are Royalist/Cavalier and Republican/Roundhead, but there are plenty of neutrals on the Royalist side and a few dedicated roundheaded fanatics who will carefully plot in the King's cause. Likewise many Republicans are a bit cavalier, caught up in the romance of the revolt, inflamed by the bold words of the Scottish Covenant or the English Petition of Rights and highly likely to shoot first and ask questions later.

Thieves and Clerics

DCC alignment is important for Clerics. In the core book certain deities are of a given alignment, and I will cover religion in another post. It also plays a part in healing, with the table on p31 being divided into 'Same', 'Adjacent' and 'Opposed'.

In the two axis system see the chart below – one square horizontally, vertically or diagonally away from the Cleric's alignment is 'Adjacent', two squares away is 'Opposite'.

It might trouble some players as to why a difference in temperament and political opinion might lead to divine healing being of varying effect, especially when almost everyone claims to worship the same Christian God. And so it should...

The other major use of alignment in DCC is for thief abilities. Civil War Thieves get to use whatever table they like regardless of alignment, as long as they stick to that table throughout their career.

Alignment Bonuses and Changing Alignment

In the course of play actions that are in accordance with the characters declared alignment may be awarded with bonus experience points at the GMs discretion.

People with 'corner' alignments will get more opportunities for XP bonuses than 'side' alignments, and double neutrals, being wimpy middle of the road snivellers liable to be run down by carriages, will get no bonuses until they get off the fence.

Changing alignment from neutral to Cavalier, Roundhead, Royalist or Republican will cause no XP loss. Moving towards neutrality, or even to the opposite side, will cause an XP loss.

In addition changing from a Royalist to a Republican or vice versa may gain you a reputation as a turncoat. Royalists and Republicans will almost always fight each other anyway, but a traitor will have a bounty on his head and may well face hanging, drawing and quartering. Don't let the bastards take you alive!

An Uncivil War

I am working on a new campaign, a fantasy English Civil War using DCC rules.

The ECW for beginners...

Cavaliers vs roundheads, royalists vs republicans, Anglicans vs Presbyterians, plus Levellers, Ranters, Astrologers, Rosicrucians, Masonic conspiracies, Jesuit counter-conspiracies, witches, witch-hunters, cannibals, mercenaries, plague and the pox. All togged out in outrageous hats and dented breastplates, and wielding pikes, pistols and a hefty dose of religious bigotry.

The Civil War was one of those interesting times the Chinese had curses about. In 1625 the monarchy had fallen into the hands of an utter pillock, King Charles I, who tried to rule his three kingdoms (and one principality) of Scotland, Ireland and England (and Wales), without calling any parliaments. He managed it for a few years by taking a few liberties with the tax system he probably shouldn't have, but eventually people started to grumble.

The Scots rebelled first, ostensibly over a prayer book, but it soon got political. Charles botched the campaign to put them down, which encouraged the Irish to rebel as well, and he had to call a parliament in England to ask for more tax money and more troops. They wouldn't give him any without some concessions and reforms, arguing the toss with their divinely appointed monarch with gusto. Charles wouldn't compromise and told them all to bugger off home, they refused. Parliament started calling up the militia while the King revived the feudal levy, and it all went downhill from there.

The British Isles had missed out on the carnage of the Thirty Years War, but made up for it now with a religious/political war that saw the usually phlegmatic Brits get just as fanatical and rabid as anyone on the continent. It was described at the time as 'the world turned upside down', and as the war went on more and more eccentric religious cults and political movements emerged. Lots of people thought in millennialist terms, and this mundane scrap over taxation and representation became the prelude to the Apocalypse itself with Charles and/or Cromwell cast as the Antichrist depending on whose propaganda you read.

All ripe for a a fantasy RPG really, just turn the loopiness of the time up a notch, have a few of the madder rumours and conspiracies real rather than imagined, make the then popular alchemy and astrology real and allow the preachers a bit of real fire and brimstone to call down and off you go.

It is going to take a bit of work though, the DCC magic system does not lend itself to quick adaptation what with all the spell tables, corruption tables, divine disfavour and so on. As key elements are finished I will post them here, and then put out a call for victims for an introductory funnel adventure.