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Marullus
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Game Announcements

#1 Post by Marullus »

I recommend everyone subscribe to this forum thread, which I'll use for periodic announcements affecting the game. :)

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Re: Game Announcements

#2 Post by Marullus »

Thank you all for joining up and playing!

We've been open almost a month. We have TEN players with active characters already.

We have 530 posts, of which 114 are on the main IC expeditions outside of town (i.e. core game play).

Because of you, we are off to a good start and achieving success at our Game Focus and Concept. :) Feedback for improvement always welcomed.

For passing the 500 post mark, all active PCs currently on an expedition gain 50 xp. Your sheets will be updated in private forums.

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Re: Game Announcements

#3 Post by Marullus »

I modified the Injury and Dying rules.
  • You have three rounds to reach and stabilize someone who falls below 0 hit points, not one round.
  • They take 2 hp damage on rounds two and three, however, as they bleed out.
  • Maximum negative damage is -10 hp.
  • The victim can either wait to be stabilized (taking up to -4) or self-stabilize on any of those rounds, noting that the negative hit points are applied as penalty to their Save vs Death if they allow them to accrue.

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Re: Game Announcements

#4 Post by Marullus »

Today is exactly two months since I said we opened character creation officially. We have three expeditions with 432 posts in them (not counting the contributions in the private forums) and you've contributed 1,056 posts overall. That's a lot of work and a lot of love for a young game!

Because of you, we are off to a good start and achieving success at our Game Focus and Concept. :) Feedback for improvement always welcomed.

For passing the 1000 post mark, all active PCs currently on an expedition gain 100 xp. Your sheets will be updated in private forums.

...

That said, it is Father's Day and I'm taking the weekend off to go teach my five year old about tents, campfires, and smores. :) Continue amongst yourselves and I'll update when I can.

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Re: Game Announcements

#5 Post by Marullus »

So, I thought I would shed some light on some behind-the-scenes workings, as we've developed a few expeditions.

The World
I do like to use insertable realism so the world has continuity. Also, battling the elements and considering the impact of moon and sun phases in a world without artificial light or clocks is a goal. Astrology of ancient civilizations is likely to play a role as you explore their ruins.

I give a lot of information on weather, sun, and moon phase. These will have real impact in the world (as one expedition has discovered). I have chosen a real-world analog at a northern location well above the ecliptic and am generating this information from real world climate data. Why is this important? Unlike most other encounter info, it is not randomly generated, can be forecasted forward and back, etc. This is important to know, and characters can act accordingly.

Remember that you need eight hours rest for spells, even if "night" isn't that long. You can choose to move and explore at night (such as when winter days are short) - but without a light source you have a higher chance of getting lost (which is from the LL Basic book).

Social Encounters
There are a lot of ways to resolve conflict besides combat; LL Basic rules leave a lot of latitude for creative action and I take player choices and actions heavily into account. When it comes to, "does it convince them?" questions, I want the answer to be Charisma-based and not GM fiat.

There are three social rules in LL Basic.
  • Roll disposition. This gives you a rough roleplay hint on a scale from "friendly" to "attacks." Charisma gives a +1 or -1 to this, which isn't much (each level is 3 points wide).
  • Attribute check. Roll against the Charisma score. Not a lot of guidance, or how many Xd6 to roll.
  • Accept/Reject a Retainer offer. Pretty specific circumstances.
I am combining these, and I am satisfied enough with the results to discuss it.
  • When you have an encounter, I roll disposition. I modify by Charisma (+1/-1) and take into account player actions. You should be able to interpret if they are friendly, indifferent, dubious/suspicious, etc. from context clues.
  • When you are trying to act upon them socially (intimidating, convincing, info gathering, etc), I set the dice of the Charisma check according to the disposition. Friendly is 2d6, indifferent is 3d6, dubious is 4d6, etc., and your goal is to roll under your Charisma score.
  • In order to do a Retainer Offer, they need to be at a Friendly disposition and you need to be able to communicate well enough for the offer to be understood. This then works as described in the book.
  • Because someone with a low Charisma and a -1 modifier can never get a Friendly/Helpful result on a natural reaction roll, I set base disposition for townfolk. The mercenary camp effectively always count as Friendly, allowing retainer checks. Normal townfolk are generally Indifferent (base roll of 3d6 for negotiating things). (Player actions can still change this.)
  • Also note that the Charm Person description effectively moves the person's reaction to Friendly, plus more specific things.
  • Importance of Charisma: this makes a clear relationship for the stat. Someone with Charisma 12 or above can successfully deal with Friendly people, making reasonable requests without fear of failure. Low Charisma people can piss off even the friendliest person. It also is clear that you can try to socially address a hostile enemy, but that the odds are stacked against you.
In-Game Examples:
  • Carchannoi charmed a goblin, moving him to a Friendly disposition towards the party; he is being helpful and answering questions from all members of the group according to their Charisma. Markd hid his face so as to not spoil this situation, as his mystical curse makes a positive Charisma check almost impossible.
  • Clay roleplayed a social action to win over a captive goblin; the reaction role came up Friendly/Helpful. When Clay then tried to secure the goblin's help, this acted as a Retainer Offer, recruiting him for the expedition, and was successful. The goblin is aiding them within the bounds of his goblin nature. At the end of the expedition, a Retainer check (modified by circumstances) will determine what happens next.
  • Clay took action to convince some dubious birds (having invested in the language, "Bird") to help him as scouts. By bribing them with direct food reward and succeeding on a 4d6 Charisma check, they helped him for a scene.
  • Clay tried to repeat this trick with a young owl. This time he rolled a Friendly disposition. He was therefore allowed to try a Retainer check and succeeded. The owl is of better nature and alignment for the association and will remains as an animal familiar operating under normal Retainer rules.
  • Blackjack and Earc encountered fairies, who were dubious. By their actions, they succeeded in improving disposition to Indifferent, then succeeded on information gathering social checks to learn more about the forest. They tried to recruit the fairies into the party but, as they were not friendly, couldn't attempt a Retainer check.

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Re: Game Announcements

#6 Post by Marullus »

I will be away this weekend on a retreat and uncharacteristically internetless. I will try to make new posts if needed tomorrow morning or early afternoon, but then won't be back until Sunday evening. Feel free to continue RPing amongst yourselves if there's a pause. :)

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Re: Game Announcements

#7 Post by Marullus »

We are Three months into game launch. 1425 posts, 710 of them on In-Character Expeditions and core play.

140xp to all active characters. It is added on your private forums.

Thank you all. I'm really enjoying the roleplaying and character interactions happening in these expeditions. Keep up the good work and I hope you're all enjoying the game. We'll have some expeditions returning in the next weeks, which opens up new opportunities - telling tales of your exploits that go down in history, documenting and sharing maps and world findings with fellow and future adventurers, commissioning memorials and tributes with your hard-won coin (and earning XP), developing landholdings and making your mark on civilization, and rolling up a second PC to join the world. Just some things to think about and generate good ideas. :)

Feedback on the OOC thread welcome.

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Re: Game Announcements

#8 Post by Marullus »

I edited some house rules to clarify things based on some player discussions and game events.

Encumberance Rules:
Fixed one typo. Added examples to make the rules for carrying/carting/hauling more explicit. Added a clarification on how often your cart breaks if you go off-road, instead of just saying "you can't." Simplified the rules on carts and wagons so its weight allowance is just decided by whatever is pulling it.

7. Miscellaneous Modifiers and Death, Dying & Healing:
Added a clarification for when moving a critically-wounded character unsafely: (Moving them anyway does 1d2 hp damage per turn.)
This replaces the previous statement saying, "they can't be moved."

9. Settling In, or Building the World one Brick at a Time:
Clarifying that PCs are able to include themselves as workers for a project if they're willing to spend the time on it and few other points. Also, adding a dwarven racial benefit... dwarves excel at construction. Each dwarf on a crew counts as two men instead of one for calculating time required.

Character Creation:
Modified house rules for dwarves:
  • Dwarves can, in fact, wield battle axes and warhammers. They must do so with two hands. Dwarves and Halflings can use long swords, bastard swords, and spears per the book, but these count as two-handed for them.

is now...
  • Dwarves can wield battleaxes, picks, and warhammers, and can do so one-handed due to racial familiarity. Dwarves also gain a racial advantage when performing excavation and construction tasks.
  • Halflings can use long swords and bastard swords per the book, but these count as two-handed for them.
  • Hammers are adjusted to match the other bludgeoning weapons. Light Hammers do 1d6 damage. Warhammers do 1d8 damage.

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Re: Game Announcements

#9 Post by Marullus »

I modified the Heroic Items rules (and thus the heirloom items) per the discussion we had here.

This is now in effect:
Marullus wrote:
  • An heirloom item is either permanent or charged.
  • If it is charged, it has 5 charges (not ten). Additional upgrades can grant five more at a time.
  • If it is permanent, it starts at 1/week (1/expedition). Additional upgrades can move it to 1/day, then 2/day.
Anyone who has a charged item already created and wants it changed to be a permanent item 1/week, please post-up on your private forum and I'll make that adjustment.

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Re: Game Announcements

#10 Post by Marullus »

I modified the Calendar and Time house rules post based on recent discussions. PCs are now incentivized to remain in town, if they choose. This will help in the long run as the game clock advances forward (which is also clarified due to some confusion).

I am also considering allowing Players to have more than two PCs, but only two out on expeditions at a time (to keep my sanity). That way they can swap out which PCs are in town and which are adventuring at any given time. (This will be decided and clarified when Players get their first opportunity to make third characters.)
Marullus wrote:Granularity and passage of time during play:
All characters in town also advance forward in time when the timestamp changes on the Golden Tooth Tavern thread. This will be moved periodically by the DM when expeditions depart or return to the town. PCs may move their personal clocks forward as they wish while in town, but nobody may be further behind than the game timestamp for consistency reasons.

Unless coin is a serious issue for a PC, all characters only need to reconcile the cost of their town stay (both food and lodging) when it is time for them to leave on their next expedition. At that point, a single transaction covering the food and lodging since they arrived back in town should be posted in the appropriate thread (usually the tavern) to record the expenditure. (Private rooms are the exception, which need to be booked up-front, but then can be paid at the end.)

New PCs who have not yet been on an expedition do not need to pay for town stays (unless they wish to do so to get a bonus). You only need to pay for town stays between expeditions.

Staying in town:
Resting up in town is not only an enjoyable experience, but also healthy. Good food and comfortable beds can fortify one's body against the rigors of life on the road as an adventurer. They may have extended stays either by choice (moving their own clock ahead) or because they are in town when the overall game timestamp moves ahead on the Golden Tooth Tavern thread. Extended town stays have tangible IC benefits, as below.

The Infirmary of Eruanna
Any character who claims poverty and offers confession can stay for free in the infirmary of Eruanna. This is a basic bed in the common room and includes access to their soup and bread offered to the poor. This fare offers no benefits, no matter the length of stay.

The Infirmary grants a +1 (so 1d3+1/day of rest) to a character's healing checks while in town.

The Golden Tooth Tavern

Staying at the inn is the best place for good food and drink. See meals here.
  • Poor meals (1sp/day) are the most economical, but provide no benefit.
  • Common meals (3sp/day) will provide a +1 bonus to Savings Throws for 1 day of adventuring for each week of town rest. (i.e. two weeks in town will retain a +1 bonus to saves for the first two days of an expedition.)
  • Good meals (5sp/day) will provide a +2 bonus to Savings Throws for 1 day of adventuring for each week of town rest. (i.e. two weeks in town will retain a +2 bonus to saves for the first two days of an expedition.)
There are a limited number of private rooms available in the Inn. These don't provide a mechanical benefit, but can be rented for RP purposes or for privacy of a PC, storage of personal items, etc (Private study is required for magic users and clerics making scrolls, for example.)

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Re: Game Announcements

#11 Post by Marullus »

I modified the Encumbrance, Mounts, and Tackrules to address questions asked recently by a number of players.

I made a separate thread for The Wooden Keep to handle business with the ArchDuke, Captain of the Guard, Sage, and Usurer so that it doesn't get as mixed in with the Town Business.

I added saddles (riding and pack) to the items readily available from town merchants (with the appropriate mark-up, but otherwise book price). I added some special items that came with the latest merchants.

I also clarified and made public what I've been doing with "Sale prices" and "appraised values" in those two threads.
Marullus wrote:Mounts and Tack

All mounts are considered to come with basic tack (bit, bridle, hobbling strap, saddle blanket, a few rope tie-downs).

A horse (for humans) or pony (for dwarves and halflings) can be ridden with basic tack. If the horse spooks and flees while mounted, it requires a STR check with a +4 penalty to not be thrown; being thrown incurs 1d6 falling damage.

All mounts can be loaded with gear appropriately with basic tack. All items must be stowed in a container (saddle bags or sacks) and are harnessed on the mount with rope.

A riding saddle allows this check to be made with a -4 bonus instead. It also allows "forced march" rules to be used, as you're stable enough to encourage the horse at a faster pace.

A pack saddle creates a stable platform and weight distribution for a mount. It counts as its own container for any amount of goods up to the animal's carry limit. Due to proper packing, it also allows a 20% increase in the carrying capacity of the mount. It prohibits any riding of the mount while it is worn but also allows the "forced march" rules to be used.

Entering dungeons:
Horses are large - they cannot fit inside a normal tunnel or hallway. If led into a tunnel, they need a morale check not to balk. If it narrows, they balk automatically. They need to be led forward to room to enable them to turn. Only warhorses are trained for backwards walking.

Ponies and Mules are smaller - they can fit inside a normal tunnel. Some tunnels will be narrow, which invokes the same rules as horses. Ponies will typically shy-away from unsure footing situations, requiring a morale check (morale 6). Mules are more stolid (morale 8) and are more confident and willing to traverse dungeon terrain, getting a +1 bonus to their morale for those situations (i.e. morale 9), but mules are stubborn and never consent to be ridden.

Donkeys are small - they can fit most anywhere but carry correspondingly less. They are not as brave as mules (morale 7) but are just as comfortable with poor terrain, getting the same +1 bonus (morale 8).

Morale checks for mounts are modified by the Reaction Adjustment of the hiring PC.

If an animal balks, you have three normal choices: tie it and follow the "leaving mounts" rules below, backtrack to a different route, or wait an hour to calm it down and try again with another roll.

Leaving mounts:
Mounts normally can be hobbled or tied and left with sufficient fodder at the entrance. In this situation, they are subject to encounter checks, which will be resolved based on how they are protected. They can be protected by a PC, left behind for this purpose, or by an NPC. An NPC can either be a full retainer (getting at least a half-share of the loot and willing to either adventure forward or stand guard, as directed) or a hireling for the purposes of tending the mounts. A hireling (p. 48) can either be a 0-level commoner for 1gp/week (a squire or farmboy) a 1st-level light infantry for 3gp/week or heavy infantry for 4gp/week (mercenaries, former guardsmen, etc). These hirelings only tend to and protect the mounts and will not engage in encounters as retainers would. They have a base morale of 6, modified by the Reaction Adjustment of the hiring PC.

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Re: Game Announcements

#12 Post by Marullus »

We are Three months into game launch. 3,189 posts, 1,703 of them on In-Character Expeditions and core play.

320 xp to all active characters. It is added on your private forums.

Thank you all!

You generated as much activity in the last four weeks as you did in the previous three months. :) Three expeditions wrapped up, two new ones have begun, we've expanded to a stable of 21 player characters, and there is some robust in-town activity. You are really making this world come alive, and I'm excited to be part of it. :)

Don't forget about other opportunities - telling tales of your exploits that go down in history, documenting and sharing maps and world findings with fellow and future adventurers, commissioning memorials and tributes with your hard-won coin (and earning XP), developing landholdings and making your mark on civilization.

Feedback on the OOC thread welcome.

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Re: Game Announcements

#13 Post by Marullus »

Four months in and we're at 4,084 posts! Keep up the good work!

You may notice (or you may not) changes in my posting behavior as I shift some time back to other life needs. Here's what I'm currently committing to:
  • I will give you at least 24 hours, or until all PCs have posted, before I move an expedition forward where possible. Feel free to roleplay between PCs as much as you desire within a "beat" of game time.
  • I may not be able to update all expeditions every day. I will try to ensure that each expedition gets an update every 48 hours as a minimum, including once over a weekend. I'll prioritize updates on two factors: how many PCs are involved (updated first before smaller expeditions when possible), and how much work the update is (if I have to wait to get home to a laptop, vs updates from my phone).
  • I expect that town roleplay is mostly between PCs; I'll only jump in when there's a specific DM need and these come after expeditions, generally.
Now that Keehnelf has returned, I'm continuing to shamelessly steal his good ideas. ;) I've added his new "Advanced Construction" rules to our construction rules here. Feel free to use them to design your in-game homes and constructions with the extra coin you drag in. :)

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Re: Game Announcements

#14 Post by KingOfCowards »

Sorry, will be on a business trip for a couple of days. Posting may be spotty.

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Re: Game Announcements

#15 Post by Marullus »

Clarification of rules on Magic...

I modified several posts today to provide some new comprehensive information. Since we're using the idea of "idioms" by which a wizard (intentionally and unintentionally) leave their mark on items the use magic upon and we've established that people naturally imbue items through intensive use (as we track with item XP), I've clarified how that impacts Detect Magic, Read Magic, and cultural norms.

Edits made (some large, some small) to these posts:
10. Magic and Magical Items
On Magic
Unusual Magical Items - Intelligent, Evil, Cursed, and Heroic

ETA: I've also updated the "spells available" for each Deity to include Level 2 spells for when the current clerics advance in level. :) See the Deities page if you want to look forward to them.

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Re: Game Announcements

#16 Post by Marullus »

I just realized that Comprehend Languages was not a spell available in LL Basic. LL Basic has Read Languages (written only), Speak with Animals (two-way communication with beasts), and then a Helm of Comprehend Languages as a magic item, but not the spell.

Both Read Languages and Comprehend Languages are available in LL Advanced, which is a bit superfluous. I've combined them, which effectively expands the Read Languages currently available to also allow comprehension of spoken tongues. Since language is a key factor and barrier as you begin to explore this world, it is important that this option be open to PCs.

I've documented this change in the Character Creation thread. Further clarification of languages is also here (as previously documented) in the House Rules.

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Re: Game Announcements

#17 Post by Marullus »

Minor change to the house rules thread on Calendars: viewtopic.php?f=353&t=5467&p=245397#p245397
Since I'm using a real-world analog for weather and astronomy, I adjusted to say we're using a real-world calendar and that they celebrate the festivals on the actual solstices/equinoxes.

Which is prompted by this exciting note - the Greenleaf Festival is here! I'm starting it as a separate "expedition" thread. Anyone in town by 01 June can participate, and then also regroup and concurrently head out on expeditions on June 2nd.

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Re: Game Announcements

#18 Post by Marullus »

Game progress...
You've made 5,543 posts in five months, 3287 (59%) of them on core IC play. That's 2,354 since the last XP award, so I'll grant 235xp to all currently active PCs. :) Thank you all for being part of this community and contributing to everyone's enjoyment.

Game Updates...
We're through two rounds of expeditions and at our first IC festival day and five months into play overall, so I'm taking some time to reflect on some experiments conducted in our rules.

Experience Points and Rate of Advancement:
Those that reverse-engineer my XP award posts may have discerned that I'm giving an accelerated rate of XP. Because the Play-by-Post format is so slow compared to a normal game session format, I am multiplying the creature-award XP by x3 in designating what you get from an expedition. These will scale with the gameplay to continue advancing folks in a steady way over time as XP normally do. We're almost half a year into the campaign and I like the results - we should be able to see characters advancing 4-6 levels per real life year of play. You are all investing a lot to play here and commit to that kind of longevity, and I think that's a pretty good amount.

That means I expect to see some transition to PC holdings and rulership of in-game lands around the two year mark as PCs gain followers, which I think fits the theme of the campaign and will be a fun thing to experience and grow through. I do expect that lands and titles will be a thing by the one year mark, at least, in preparation for this. I do hope to see characters investing treasure in building land holdings. I want to see wizards building their towers and developing their own spells and magic items with the research rules.

I will likely continue to issue the monthly awards based on post-amount. I was uncertain of this, but I see it as a good leveler. It is pretty inconsequential to a character who has leveled up, so it provides disproportionate benefit to new PCs entering the game and needing to catch up a smidge.

Unintended consequences...
Since I tripled the rate of monster-award XP being given compared to Keehnelf's game which shared the rules set, I've also tripled the rate at which you're all gaining Imbued magic items. As you've figured out that it is better to spread these points broadly, this results in everyone in the game having +1 everything-on-their-body if I continue. :) Starting with expeditions leaving on June 2 after the festival, I will be cutting Item XP awards in half. (So, only 1.5x instead of 3x faster than normal.) I am happy having characters having levels, but would like your magic items to remain a bit more special.

New things In-Game...
This post is getting long, so I'll follow this post with an IC Announcement of changes occurring effective with the June 1st Greenleaf Festival. I wanted to be slow in what I allowed on the NPC front, but am comfortable adding a few things now.

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Re: Game Announcements

#19 Post by Marullus »

Anyone who returned from expedition that wishes to roll a new PC, you should do so now and have them arrive at the Festival.

With almost all PCs in town before the festival now, you can re-shuffle the groups and set up your new expeditions. They can begin as soon as you're ready and we'll roll through the festival concurrently. :)

The Expedition Planning thread is available for your OOC needs.

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Re: Game Announcements

#20 Post by Marullus »

26 May 2021

The buzz began last night - a huge caravan of wagons arriving from the south, more than twice as many as ever came before. Stories and tales trickling southward were one thing, but the emergence of coin, that was quite another. The coin spent by adventurers among the merchants went south with them, bolstering their tales. Worn coins from before the cataclysm, the closed fist of Jarkul lost hero-king of Dwarven legend, jewelry and objects d'art... the draw of those who wish to be part of titillating discovery and those who wish to profit from it has pushed the town suddenly from its impoverished post-winter state to bursting. New life, new energy, new goods all arriving and swelling the excitement of the Greenleaf Festival.

An entire clan of dwarves, dispossessed from their smallhold by the endless dwarven grudge wars, followed the wagons north. The Blackhelm Clan turned to the lakeside when the caravans came to the Mountain Camp. Finding the rich limestone, slate, and quartz beds ready to be quarried they have already broken ground on a Clan Hall there, receiving contracts with the ArchDuke to supply stone for his ambitious plans.

Whispers of both excitement and trepidation come with Pierpont the Magus, a professor from the southern schools of some repute. With the discomfort that comes with wizardry in such rural climes, he commissioned a tower east by the river and outside the city boundaries. He posted no notices, assuming name recognition will suffice.

There is other excitement along the river, as Blackjack Amistad has begun construction of a lumber mill along the river and commissioned custom leathers and axes as a signing bonus for any willing to join-on. Well paid work always is well received and men are clambering for positions.

There is trepidation among those who arrived as well, coupled with relief at reaching Gaul safely. It seems that goblin raiders destroyed an entire segment of the caravan after it came through the pass, right on Gaul's doorstep. Rather than their normal hit-and-run tactics, they mounted an ambush with 30 skeletal goblin undead as a shock force, goblin forces then peppering with arrows from the rear. The entire of supply of wizard components and smithing ignots was taken; the rest were glad to escape with their lives. No metal armors will be made. Only 250gp in spell-like remain, first available.

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