The Desire to Help Haiti

Are you a gamer and would like to help the relief effort in Haiti? Well, the fine folks at OneBookShelf (owners of RPGNow! and DriveThruRPG) have put together a massive bundle of RPG products that anyone who donates $20 through them to Doctors without  Borders will receive. The bundle includes over a hundred products that retails for more than $1400!

We only had one title available to contribute to the  charity bundle, Portrait of a Villain: The Desire. We wish we had more to donate to the cause, because Haiti really needs as much help as can be mustered. Here is the press release from OneBookShelf:

Gamers Help Haiti! DriveThruRPG Offers a Mega-Bundle to Spur Donations

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

DriveThruRPG announced a major incentive to the roleplaying gamer community today to incite donations to aid in rescue and recovery in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Called the “Gamers Helping Haiti Bundle,” the product includes over a hundred products totaling over $1000.00 in retail value. For a simple donation of $20 – all of which goes to Doctors Without Borders to support their post-earthquake Haiti relief efforts – RPG fans can have this once-in-a-lifetime collection of gaming products.

DriveThruRPG already had opportunities to donate up and running within a day of the disaster. When publishers began asking how they could support the cause, the bundle was created to be an all-inclusive shared effort. Those who donated at the lesser levels won’t be left out, however; gamers who have already donated $5 or $10 will be receiving a special coupon code that lets them pay the difference from their initial donation to get the bundle.

“We are humbled by the generosity of both our customers and our publishers,” said Sean Patrick Fannon, Marketing and Communications Manager for DriveThruRPG, “all of whom have stepped up at this time of terrible tragedy to offer aid to a desperate people. We are also very proud to facilitate these collective efforts, providing the necessary tools and technology to bring it all together.”

More than tools and tech, though, DriveThruRPG is really putting their money where their mouth is, so to speak. “We have always believed in the power of giving and sharing to make the world a better place,” said Steve Wieck, President and co-owner of the site. “To that end, we are matching funds with everyone who’s making a straight donation at the $5 and $10 level.”

There is no set date for terminating the donation efforts, though the bundle will only be available until the end of January.

Anyone wishing more information about this effort, or about DriveThruRPG overall, should contact Sean Patrick Fannon at sean@onebookshelf.com.

The fantastic news is that of this writing, gamers have contributed $7,790.00 through OBS to help the Doctors Without Borders Haiti Earthquake Response. And that value increases by the second.

DONATE NOW!

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Visit our Affiliate Program page for the details.

Portrait of a Villain Unleashed for 4e

In this eBook, you will find the complete back story to Desiree Turpis, also known as The Desire, a calculating Madame who manipulates local nobles and crime lords to serve her own needs.

It is fully-compatible with 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons.

Along with The Desire’s own back story, adventure hooks, goals and motivations, you will also find:

• Three fully developed, drop-in encounters featuring The Desire
• Four new organizations to help create a rich campaign setting, complete with stats for each organization’s leader and minions
• The Objects of Desire; a collection of new magical masks for 4E
• The Sword Sisters; a new 4E Paragon Path for PCs bent on revenge
• Highcourt, City on the Edge; a fully developed microsetting to help get things started (includes full color map)
• The Ceremony, a short story where The Desire assassinates a local noble.

• TWO PDFs in each purchase. The main PDF is brilliant full color landscape, 3-column layout for EASY screen reading. The second PDF is a FREE B&W printer friendly version that includes a portrait 2-column layout, reduced graphics, and wider left margin. The result is a PDF that is easy on your ink/toner and ready to hole punched for your notebook.
• Interlinked PDFs with bookmarks and links
• Full color, beautiful illustrations and maps.

Portrait of a Villain: Mnemesyx, the Twice Fallen

Written by Paul King

Concept/Archetype: demon-possessed enchanted item Keywords: demon, possessed, ritual, spirit-infused, item, enchanted Race: demon Profession: corrupting influence

“These abilities I bequeath unto you. Powers for the powerful. To possess them, all you have to do is let me in.”

Background

Mnemesyx was a demon who, in an age long past, rallied to forces of hell to him in an attempt to rule all of demonkind. The other demon lords, in a rare display of solidarity, put aside their differences and united to cast him into the mortal plane. Enraged but undaunted, Mnemesyx studied the world to which he was exiled and came to realize that great power lie within it. He determined that, should that power be gathered and guided correctly, one would not only be able to rule this world, but have the strength and reach to rule others – thus might he achieve his revenge on and dominion over the demons who cast him out.

He set about drawing the races of the world to him through subtle manipulation, having learned that growing in power too rapidly would only draw unwanted attention to him. Years passed and his influence spread, and as his influence grew, so, too did his power. It was not long, by the reckoning of demonkind, before Mnemesyx had the strength and influence to overthrow his first mortal kingdom, an act which the other rulers and kingdoms perceived as being a localized coup. From there, his seat of power was established and his influence began to creep across national boundaries.

One of the neighboring kingdoms was ruled by a wise king, one who was not blind to subtle invasion of his land. He sent agents of all types – wise men, magic users, and mighty warriors alike – to discover the source and nature of the invisible threat that stole across his land. Many were killed upon their discovery. Others fell under the demon’s spell and defected from their king and country to follow a new ruler. Afraid to risk any more of his nation’s brilliant minds and fighting men in the face of what would surely soon become a full-scale invasion, the king send word to lands yet outside the demon’s influence for mighty warriors and brave souls who might infiltrate the demon’s capital and slay him, ending the threat of war and worse beyond should his power continue to grow unopposed.

A party of heroes, career adventurers, heeded the call and set out on a mission to do nothing less than save the world. Successfully infiltrating the hostile nation under the guise of joining the demon’s forces, they tried to learn as much about their adversary as they could – eventually uncovering the demon’s true name and history. The party’s wizard, the human Zauric, contacted the infernal realm, hoping that they might be interested in once again helping to overthrow a hated foe. A demonic emissary presented the wizard with a ritual for binding Mnemesyx to his physical form, allowing him to be mortally wounded. What was not revealed was that, upon the destruction of the demon’s body, to keep Mnemesyx from manifesting back on the infernal plane, his essence would then be bound into an inanimate object.

As the ritual stripped the demon’s spirit from its mortal shell, it attempted to flow into the sword, but was repelled by the enchanted blade. The demon’s spirit then flowed into the next closest object – the warrior Brogan’s helmet still clutched tightly in its hands. When Brogan retrieved the helmet and placed it upon his head, he was assaulted by the demon’s spirit. Battered and beaten as he was by the harrowing battle he’d just finished, the warrior stood little chance of resisting the attack. The warrior was overtaken by Mnemesyx and slew his friend and the only other survivor of the battle. In the end, the warriors succeeded, but at great personal cost. Only one returned alive, and he a man forever changed.

The nation Mnemesyx built soon collapsed without the demon’s physical presence and his followers disappeared into hiding. Historical records to not record what happened to Brogan or where he went after that battle, and people were eager to forget the shadow of evil that lurked on their doorstep. But the demon still resides in the helmet, guiding its owner, drawing people to it, seeking and testing them not only as followers, but looking for an ever more powerful host with whom to conquer the mortal realm, longing for the day when he might march back into the infernal realms and have his revenge.

Motivations & Goals

Mnemesyx is driven by a singular desire to rule over everyone and everything. Regardless of the situation or setting he finds himself in, he is constantly looking to get into and maintain a position of power. Revenge would be a close second on the list of motivations for Mnemesyx. If he ever fails in his grabs for power, someone is to blame and he will go to any length – short of sacrificing the power he currently wields – for his retribution.

Adventure Hooks

• The PC’s encounter a military recruiter in town. He is signing mercenaries up for the army. The king, guided by a mysterious presence, is amassing his forces and looking to overthrow a weak neighbor, bringing them under his rule.
• A town’s mayor has passed an unpopular ordinance, resulting in higher taxes. Seizing upon their discontent, a mysterious warrior has appeared among the townsfolk, exhorting them to unite under his banner to overthrow the local government. The city has become divided at to which side to follow, tensions have escalated and the threat of violence has become very real. The PC’s, just passing through, are cornered and told to make their allegiance to one side or the other known.
• The PC’s happen upon a lynching in a small village. The villagers are looking to kill a man who was once part of a group thugs and bullies who preyed upon the weak and venerated a mysterious warrior who was going about preaching ‘might makes right.’ Eventually, it was determined that he was not ‘worthy’ or strong enough to be a member and had to flee for his life. Unfortunately, his former victims have little sympathy for him and are more than happy to vent their anger and frustration on a former tormentor.

Combat Tactics

When he inhabited his own physical form, Mnemesyx was a powerful demon who did not shy away from a fight against any foe he deemed inferior. When faced with an opponent who could not be directly overpowered, he would wait to strike until his opponent was in a vulnerable position – however long that might take. This might involve allying himself with his foe or evoking a false sense of loyalty.

When someone Mnemesyx deems worthy puts on the helmet, he will immediately launch a strong mental attack, attempting to overwhelm and possess them. Should he fail, he will not launch such an attack again, but begin putting thoughts in the wearer’s head, granting special abilities with the promise of more power to come if they will agree to ‘work with him.’ The goal of this being to get the potential host to lower their mental defenses enough to launch another assault on their will. As a possessing spirit, will attempt to use the strengths of his host to their greatest effect. He will not think twice about sacrificing his host to achieve his goals.

Should the wearer be considered weak or ‘unworthy,’ the helmet will try to mislead the wearer into increasingly dangerous encounters with more powerful enemies who might decide to take the helmet for themselves.

If the helmet is destroyed, the spirit of Mnemesyx will immediately be transferred into another metal item in the vicinity – priority given to a weapon first, armor second, and jewelry last – unless bound into it’s container by a special ritual and then physically destroyed, at which point he will manifest back in the infernal realms, surrounded by a great many demons who will be very unhappy to see him. It should be noted that the powers Mnemesyx confers will relate to the object he is currently inhabiting.

Mnemesyx, the Twice Fallen by Nevermet Press is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.nevermetpress.com/contact.

Hell Holds No Candle

False Hope’s finest creation was not one of flesh. Rather, this strange amalgam of torture, surgery, clockwork and blood magic is its laboratory of choice and it is perhaps the foulest place in all creation. Inside, the creature-machine that is False Hope goes about its horrid work and contemplates the state of the world its twisted mind envisions. All its collected knowledge and a good portion of its power lies in this place, but there is no one and nothing else that could ever hope to defile or distort the pocket dimension False Hope calls Future’s Form.

Background

False Hope’s first inklings of Futures Form came while he was still a mortal man, or as mortal one could call him shortly before his death. He initially thought of it as a place where he could reflect on the nature of the universe and the laws that guided it. He planned to fill it with his life’s work, but none of his great advances. Rather, he wanted it to be a monument to his minor accomplishments and the few family members he valued. Small clocks and gearwork statues would entertain the guests he invited to visit, and his colleagues, such as they were, could talk with him on the subjects that mutually interested them, perhaps leading to the deep, caring friendships Illam unconsciously sought but never managed to achieve.

In the final years of Illam’s life, he worked on and off on the basic construction of Future’s Form, then called Home of the Minute, putting it together in a small, secret room beneath his manor house. When he died, many of the clockworks were in place, the steam powered planar viewing pools all but complete, and the library stocked with the books of his profession, holding both his research and his personal diaries. Reborn as False Hope, the once-Illam returned to the Home and reforged the whole place to suit his new purpose. It traveled the dark corners of the world and beyond, venturing into unknowable realms and dealing with beings no mortal could to craft its eye’s twisted version of a perfect home.

To ensure Future’s Form stayed with him at all times as a last refuge in the unthinkable need for retreat, False Hope shunted its creation into his mechanical heart and then into those unthinkable places beyond the bounds of known reality. In order to enter Future’s Form, False Hope collapses in on itself with a mind-bending rip in the air. Not a trace of the machine man remains once the rip ends, leaving it to its hideous devices for as long as it wills.

Methods of Reformation

Below are three of the torture methods of Future’s Form, described as clearly as possible to show the full extent of the evil False Hope represents.

Lose Three Minds: Perhaps False Hope’s most esoteric piece of equipment, this mechanism doesn’t seem possible, but it exists just the same. When a victim is placed in the device, its head is separated from its body while remaining alive but without dulling the pain. Then, through a process not even False Hope fully understands every minute piece of the skull, brains, eyes and tongue is transformed from a state of matter to energy and funneled through an infinity of dimensions and then completely obliterated.

Because False Hope wants none of its victims to die, the process is immediately reversed, pulling the very idea of the victim’s head from beyond the bounds of space back to Future’s Form, where it is reassembled into a head and reattached. The process takes around ten minutes, and usually ends up driving its recipient insane three times over. Reversion to full sanity takes a little over a decade, time False Hope gladly takes.

Flesh from the Flesh: A solution of indescribable color delivered through a complex system of twenty needles, once administered, causes each of the body systems to separate into their component parts. Thus, the skin opens and falls away; the musculature of the victim detaches from the bones; the bones separate and fall to the floor; the vital organs leave their cavity and organize themselves in a circle. The brain remains in the skull, however, allowing full cognition of both the pain and the disturbing image of a body coming undone.

Eyes of the Devil: A method of torture False Hope finds particularly entertaining involves it getting its hand dirtier than usual. After inserting two claws into the eyes of the victim, one of the claws breaks through into the brain cavity and scratches the brain itself. False Hope studied various ways of mental stimulation and by pricking and prodding different places on the brain’s surface, it can make the victim feel almost anything. What they do feel is best left unsaid, but, like the Lose Three Minds device, insanity is all but certain.

False Hope’s Quarters

The machine man, between marks or while studying them, retreats to a small corner of Future’s Form where it keeps possibly the only “normal” collection of items in the entire chamber. A small fireplace for ambience, powered by gases extracted from past experiments. A collection of books on history, torture and magical theory and a simple but what many would call comfortable chair for reading. Hooks on the wall above the fireplace hold many of the robes False Hope wears during its sessions, many of them bloodstained or otherwise soiled with the work of reforging humanity.

When working on a subject, especially while returning one to sanity, False Hope uses this area as a relaxation area while the subject screams, sleeps or undergoes a drug treatment. The screaming helps False Hope concentrate, and sometimes it puts one its many devices on automatic for an hour or so it can peruse one of its favorite texts or simply make minor repairs to its form. This usually amounts to scraping blood from joints, oiling gears and winding springs, and always involves a thorough examination of the heart.

Hell Holds No Candle by Nevermet Press is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.nevermetpress.com/contact.

Automated Antagonist Artifacts

Written by Paul King

Forgegrinder Omnibus

This heavy tome is bound in a sturdy – albeit dull – metal binding, the secrets within protected from prying eyes by solid metal clasps held closed with an intricate locking mechanism. The cover is adorned with a gear, on which is depicted a rune-inscribed anvil and hammer. A thin chain trails from the lower spine, ensuring that the book never more than a arm’s length away from its owner.

When King Raithan founded what would eventually become the Sons of the Forge, their first order of business was to collect and organize any and all plans, schematics and notes Rendersson Forgegrinder left behind. Despite missing crucial details and passages concerning the rune-driven sentinels he was working on when he disappeared, the Warsmith’s abandoned works still provided plenty of information regarding the construction of a potent arsenal as well as illustrating a number of inventive ways to overcoming a variety of obstacles.

Each member of the Sons of the Forge is given their own copy of this book upon obtaining the rank of either a master blacksmith or master arcanist, which they guard with their lives. The book is studied daily and the instructions and component lists memorized so that while out on a mission, the four-man teams (one master arcanist and one master blacksmith, each with an apprentice) will have the knowledge and means to construct any weapons or equipment needed to achieve their goals. Should any Son of the Forge be mortally wounded or faced with capture, they are instructed to destroy the book by fire or destroy the key, ensuring the tome stays locked away from the prying eyes of outsiders.

As an additional measure of security, the pages of the Omnibus were interwoven with a subtle magic that ensures that anything viewed or read in the book by outsiders is unable to form a lasting impression. Only the master craftsmen of the Sons of the Forge are allowed to view the original notes and commit them to memory.

Gameplay

Characters of average or higher intelligence who possess a Forgegrinder Omnibus and who spend an extended rest studying it will gain a bonus to all skills and abilities related to engineering, construction, metal fabrication, and alchemy. By following the instructions and notes in the Omnibus, characters gain the ability to operate, disable or repair any constructs comprised of stone, metal, and/or wood they encounter, though such knowledge will not prevent a construct from attacking them.

Should a character loose possession of an Omnibus, the knowledge learned will dissipate during the next extended rest taken by the character.

Raithan’s Diary

A small, well-worn leather journal bearing the royal seal of a deposed tyrant.

Raithan’s Diary is rumored to hold the last location of the search party he sent out to retrieve the deserter Rendersson Forgegrinder, as well as some missing pieces to the plans the Warsmith was working on concerning the unstoppable army Raithan had ordered his Warsmith to create. The king, paranoid and suspicious, often kept his subordinates in the dark as to what plans he had set in motion and was loathe to share his secrets.

After his death at the hands of an unknown assassin, the whereabouts of this particular diary were lost. Some, who know and whisper of such matters, speculate that the journal was secretly interred with the king’s body. Others believe that the Sons of the Forge may have obtained – or possibly even stolen – it, while others believe it was the journal that led to the king’s death in the first place, and that it was taken by the killer.

Runestone

A translucent polyhedron with an arcane symbol etched on one of its faces hangs suspended from a thin chain. Its wearer moves about the crime scene, glancing down at it from time to time. Suddenly, it begins to glow faintly. The investigator takes the stone from around his neck and holds it forth, watching it intently.

After continually coming up short in his dogged pursuit of the mysterious Curse Killer of the Pentopolis, the pragmatic Inspector Harridan decided to turn to alternative means of investigation and tracking. Working with some mystics in the area, he was eventually able to determine that some form of rune-based magic was being employed at each of the crime scenes. Using this information, Harridan located an authority on runes at one of the local universities and commissioned the him to devise a means of detecting and locating the source of rune-based magical activity. The runestones are the result of the old wizard’s efforts.

A runestone begins to glow when rune-based magic is detected in an area. The stone also bears a rune of finding on one of its faces. When the stone begins to glow, the wearer holds the stone out and watches as the rune turns towards the strongest concentration of residue in the immediate vicinity.

Unfortunately, the first generation of runestones Harridan had produced for his Irregulars could not discriminate between different types of rune-based magic, which often led to confusion when they were first distributed. Undaunted, the Inspector is currently searching for a way to create runestones that can be attuned to a certain magical wavelength based after an initial exposure to it.

Automated Antagonist Artifacts by Nevermet Press is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.nevermetpress.com/contact.

Automated Antagonist Organizations

Written by Paul King

The Pentapolis is a group of five large cities that, while not an official league or political unit, are usually considered as a group because of their shared language, culture, location, and political status. It was to one of these cities that a certain bard came. Haggard, road weary and with a haunted gleam in his eye, the bard offered to entertain the patrons at one of the tavern-inns for an evening in return for supper and a soft bed.

As it happened, the bard found himself before a packed house that evening when he decided to tell them the story of a quiet, forgotten place full of amazing contraptions, lost to history – a place called Hidden Vale. The bard was found the next morning, murdered in his sleep. Over the next few days, as people discussed who would do such a thing, and why, another body was discovered. A week later, two more. Eventually, a connection was made: all of the victims were at the tavern when the bard told his story. It was then that The Curse was born – a story which, once heard, meant certain death.

I. Harridan’s Irregulars

“This ‘Curse Killer’ has terrified and victimized the good people of the Pentapolis. We, in turn, shall become the killer’s curse!”

Background

Josef Harridan was a distinguished officer of the peace, born and raised among the Pentapolis. He served with diligence and determination in the defense of the Pentapolis during the attempted invasion by King Raithan of the northern kingdom nearly a decade earlier. As the body count began to grow and terror gripped the Pentapolis in the wake of the Curse, it was he the leaders of the cities turned to – empowering him to form a task force to put a stop to the deaths. He gathered the best watchmen from each of the cities in the Pentapolis and set about uncovering the motives and tracking down the group or individual responsible for the killings.

Mission

Harridan’s Irregulars exist for a single purpose – protecting the public and putting an end to the ‘Curse killings’ by apprehending and bringing to justice the ‘Curse Killer’ (who is, in fact, Sentinel 5) by any means necessary.

Structure

The Irregulars have been granted a significant amount of autonomy within the Pentapolis. They retain an officer-structure similar to that of the city watches from which they were drawn and with which the still collaborate at times, but they report to the Irregular lieutenants who, in turn, report directly to Harridan himself. Harridan, in turn, reports to the Inter-city council of the Pentapolis which sanctioned the creation of the Irregulars in the first place. In Harridan’s mind, however, his ultimate duty is to the innocent, law-abiding citizens of the Pentapolis, whatever the cost.

Benefits/Drawbacks

The Irregulars are free to apprehend and detain any suspicious groups or individuals within the jurisdiction of the Pentapolis. They are also empowered to conduct searches and seizures, provided it can be shown to be related to the Curse killings – otherwise, all individuals and evidence are turned over to the local authorities.

Adventure Hooks

• The PC’s have just discovered a body when the Irregulars find them. Being outsiders, they immediately come under suspicion of murder related to the Curse killings.
• The Irregulars have been playing cat-and-mouse with the Curse Killer (Sentinel 5) for a while now. Perhaps the PC’s – outsiders not recognized as being allied with the Irregulars – might be used as bait to draw the killer out.
• Harridan has approached the PC’s and asked if they might infiltrate the Cursed to see if they have any information or leads on the Killer’s identity that the Irregulars do not.

II. The Cursed

“He has shown us that anything is possible! There is no barrier that cannot be passed, no trap that cannot be escaped . . . no life that cannot be taken!”

Background

The Curse Killer has captured the imaginations of those who interests run not to the good of any individual or community, but to their own purses. A loose confederation of thieves and assassins who operate in and around the Pentapolis look up to the Curse Killer as an icon or a hero of sorts – this individual consistently manages to avoid capture and always (as far as they know) succeeds in getting his target. They gather in secret and discuss the identity of the killer and his motives, analyzing and deconstructing the kills and means getting to what often appear to be impossible targets, much as the Irregulars might. The Cursed, however, look to emulate their hero’s ability to perform and get away with seemingly impossible crimes.

Mission

The Cursed are essentially a fan club, albeit a potentially lethal one, for the Curse Killer. They go about their own machinations, but should they ever be in a position to assist the Curse Killer in escaping capture, they stand ready – longing for a chance to meet, and perhaps even work alongside, their hero.

Structure

The Cursed are not organized, nor do they have an established structure beyond a healthy respect for any individual with greater skills or propensity for violence than another. The group is more social in nature than anything else.

Benefits/Drawbacks

The ability to network and find lucrative opportunities and paying jobs has proven valuable to more than a few participants.

Adventure Hooks

• Members of the Cursed have discovered that the PC’s are aiding the Irregulars in trying to capture the Curse Killer and intend to interfere.
• The PC’s have corned the Curse Killer (Sentinel 5) when a group of the Cursed suddenly intervene, intending to help the killer escape.
• The Cursed, looking to wipe out the Irregulars, attempt to recruit the PC’s to their cause – casting the Irregulars as an overpowered, corrupt, militant force and themselves as downtrodden freedom fighters.

III. Sons of the Forge

“You may purchase the result of this miraculous creation – for a price, but the secret of its construction remains with us.”

Background

When Rendersson Forgegrinder fled to Hidden Vale, the Warsmith deprived King Raithan his formidable ability to create arcanely-driven weapons of destruction. Furious, the King ordered Forgegrinder’s apprentices and blacksmiths to continue his work – reverse engineering everything Forgegrinder had ever created and building upon it further. His greatest creation, the Sentinels, remained beyond their ability to emulate. When the king was assassinated by Sentinel 5 and his imperial aspirations extinguished, the group of metalworkers and arcanists were disbanded by Raithan’s successor. Rather than giving up, however, the group went into hiding and continued to study and develop weapons based on Forgegrinder’s work. If Raithan’s successor would not fund their research, plenty of other aspiring powers would be happy to pay for their creations.

The one thing that continued to elude them, however, was a working prototype of the nigh-indestructible warrior Forgegrinder was working on when he left. The incomplete scraps and journal entries gave them an idea of how they worked, but left out several crucial details. Then rumors came from the Pentapolis and the group knew at once that the key to unlocking Forgegrinder’s legacy was in the form of a metal man who stalked the night.

Mission

The Sons of the Forge seek to capture and reverse engineer Sentinel 5.

Structure

The Sons usually operate in teams of four: A master arcanist and a master blacksmith with one apprentice each. These teams are often armed or accompanied by arcane and/or clockwork contraptions that aid them in searching for and capturing Sentinel 5 – or preventing others from doing the same. None of the tools they use approach the autonomy or sophistication of the Sentinels, however.

Benefits/Drawbacks

The Sons of the Forge have developed and retain access to an armory that is unique to the surrounding kingdoms. All their technology is available – for a price, but rarely seen outside all but the largest of conglomerates for harvesting raw materials or full-scale invasion forces.

Adventure Hooks

• The Sons hire the PC’s to disrupt the Irregular’s attempts to capture the sentinel and/or prevent the Cursed from doing the same to them.
• The Sons of the Forge have successfully captured the sentinel, now it is up to the PC’s to stop them from unlocking its secrets and selling an unstoppable army to the highest bidder.
• The PC’s ascertain that the Sons of the Forge may have the means to destroy the sentinels; The Sons, however, refuse to sell it, not wanting Forgegrinder’s technology to be lost to them.

Encounter: Rooftop Rumble

Written by Paul King

Difficulty: medium-hard Magic: none Keywords: construct, rooftop Terrain: urban Treasure: none, minor

The party finds itself in a twisted maze of narrow alleys strewn with refuse and broken dreams, caverns of stone and mortar between the cramped tenements that fill this impoverished section of the city. Washing lines, laden with drying garments, crisscross between the buildings, obscuring the darkening sky and making the alleys, already gloomy by the light of day, even darker. The buildings, put up quickly and cheaply by the city government in an attempt to house the growing number of homeless and destitute crowding their streets, are roughly the same height and layout – built around a central stairwell that services each of the four stories and leads to the flat-topped roof. It is from the roof of one of these buildings that a cry for help suddenly pierces the deepening shadows.

Background

While adventuring in or around a large urban setting, the PC’s a drawn – by tavern whisperings, rumor, petty thievery, or supernatural means – to this depressed area of the city. Being outsiders, they are greeted with suspicion and fear by the disenfranchised and neglected members of this society. Up till now, the City Watch had all but given up on trying to maintain peace and order in this neighborhood, with beatings and muggings an all-too-common occurrence. A recent rash of mysterious and unsolved murders has the locals living in fear and doing their best to ensure that they see and hear nothing that might draw the attention of the mysterious killer or the authorities determined to get their city back under control.

Wandering the streets, the party hears a scream and a crash emanate from one of the alleys. Upon investigating, they discover the body of a young man who appears to have fallen from one of the buildings into a convergence of the alleys between four buildings. They barely have time to perceive that the worst of the wounds on the body were not caused by the fall when a sharp crack – the splintering of wood – and a cry for help is heard. It would seem that whatever caused this death is preparing to claim another victim.

Should they decide to help, the PC’s much choose – as either individuals or as a party, which building to ascend. The first PC to the top will see the NPC, a young female (race is not important) cowering in fear as a mysterious humanoid advances upon her, the wooden crate behind which she had been hiding shattered to pieces around her. The figure is hard to make out in the darkness, but the blade which seems to extend from its arm clearly reflects what light is available. The sudden appearance of each new interloper seems to disorient the figure for a round before it decides to continue with its mission.

“The curse is real! It’s come to kill us!” The girl, cowering against the low wall the surrounds the rooftop wails and attempts to half run, half crawl (at half speed) her way to the nearest rooftop shed and lock herself inside. It becomes clear to the PC’s that the flimsy wooden structure will provide little more protection from the mysterious figure than did the ruined crate (one round to breach it from any direction).

Objective

Save the NPC from being killed by Sentinel 5.

Tactics

Sentinel 5 is only interested in silencing the NPC. It will ignore the PC’s unless they attempt to attack or physically impede the construct from reaching its intended target. When a PC performs an act of aggression against the Sentinel, it will retaliate with an attack or a push – should they be close to the edge of a roof – and attempt to shift out reach of any PC’s before continuing to move towards the target.

Should the PC’s act in a single formation to block or attack the Sentinel, it will retreat and attempt to flank the party, using terrain for cover and concealment, in an attempt to reach the target.

When a PC attempts to jump to or move across a sloped tile roof, the Sentinel will become aware of the effect such terrain has on the PC’s and attempt to use that to its advantage.

Once the Sentinel has lost 75% of its HP (rounding down), it will disengage and retreat across a series of sloped rooftops, ending the encounter.

Notes

The PC’s start out arranged around the body (B) in the alley. They have no idea of the building from which it fell or where the scream originated.

The Sentinel and the NPC do not move until the first PC gets to the top of any of the buildings.

All the interior doors to the buildings are locked, the front doors and stairwells are not locked. Rooftop sheds are not locked.

Environmental Effects

The encounter takes place in the late evening (low light), as Sentinel 5 prefers to strike under cover of darkness, minimizing the chance of being witnessed.

The flat-topped buildings and alleyway are considered normal terrain, while the sloped, tile rooftops are difficult terrain. PC’s can attempt to make running jumps between the buildings. If a character jumps onto a sloped tile rooftop, an Acrobatics check is made to see if they slide down the loose tiles – possibly leading to a dangerous plummet to the alley forty feet below.

Chimneys and assorted rooftop constructs (coops, sheds, etc.) provide cover while smoke from chimneys may provide concealment.

The Sentinel’s movement and vision are not affected by the environment. Additionally, it is resistant (but not immune) to damage taken from magical attacks.

Awards, Findings, & Treasure

If the PC’s succeed in driving off Sentinel 5 and keeping the NPC safe, they will be told the urban legend of ‘The Curse’ – a story about a place called Hidden Vale, forgotten by the outside world that is so secret, once you hear it’s name, you will be killed (This of course marks the PC’s as targets of Sentinel 5 as well). Additionally, if the NPC is separated from the PC’s for the duration of an extended rest, Sentinel 5 will return and finish the job.

Should the PC’s fail to save the NPC, they will come under scrutiny of the local authorities as the cause behind the mysterious deaths related to The Curse.

Click on the image below to download the map for this encounter.

Rooftop Rumble by Nevermet Press is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.nevermetpress.com/contact.

Changing Directives

Written by Matt Cicci

Sentinel Five hunkered low, remaining hidden from the view of the men surrounding the campsite. This act of stealth was an impressive feat considering the figure’s tall, metal frame. Unmoving and unbreathing, Sentinel Five had sat still behind a thick bush of gooseberries for approximately three hours. The only evidence of the steel warrior’s presence was a faint whirring noise, the sound of the crimson-tinted lenses that served as eyes readjusting to the dimming light of evening. Through the ever-focusing gaze, he, the sentinel had only recently adopted the pronoun, had spent silent hours studying a quintet of dwarves carouse around a roaring flame.

Seeing the sturdy folk, axes and hammers at their sides and a bottle of whiskey being passed around, reminded Sentinel Five of his father, Rendersson Forgegrinder. Though Rendersson rarely drank in the fashion these dwarves were, the mere physical qualities, the stoutness, the beards, the deep voices all reeked of his creator. For a scant moment, Sentinel Five envisioned Rendersson, wrench clutched in hand, oil smearing his stone-hued skin. He knew his father had fled his own kind, but was also aware of the fleshed races capacity for emotion and sympathy . . . would Rendersson be capable of killing members of his own race?

The question quickly left Sentinel Five’s mind. It was a thought of purely inconsequential matter. Even if his father could not, he had constructed his children with the capability to do so. He watched one of the dwarves fall backwards clutching his sides in laughter, and realized now was the time to put that capability into action.

Sentinel Five strode through the sparse woods, his heavy frame carefully snaking through branch and brush. His objective became clearer with each measured footstep; these dwarves had mentioned the Hidden Vale, therefore they must be eliminated. A blade sprung from his right arm, ushered in by the sound of grating metal.

He was five paces from entering the ring of campfire light, four paces, three paces . . .

A quick blur of motion sent Sentinel Five ducking forward and down; he heard the thrown hammer thud solidly against a nearby tree. He was not surprised by the suddenness of the dwarves’ perception and action, he knew from previous encounters, and from the military history books he had read, that the stout race valued combat prowess. Still, Sentinel Five allowed himself a split-second of hollow disappointment before sprinting towards the dwarven encampment.

Sentinel Five broke into the orange light of the campfire only to see dwarves with brandished weapons and eyes already clear of the night’s drunken glaze. They shouted tactical commands in their thick, consonant-heavy tongue. Sentinel Five spoke the language fluently; however, he refused to register the dwarves’ baritone chatter, his thoughts instead focusing on his own strategy.

He sprinted towards his most visible foe — a young dwarf with a wild blond beard — with his sword arm held high and leading the way. His blade came down in a heavy cleave, but rang hard off the hilt of the dwarf’s battle axe. Sentinel Five was prepared for this, his automated reflexes were already responding as his brain whirred through myriad maneuvers and strategies. His foot was kicking out before the dwarven warrior even had a chance to smile at his defensive success. Sentinel’s steel heel landed solidly in the chest of the axe-bearer causing him to roll backwards with a pained exhalation of breath.

“By the forge! He’s made of metal,” one of the other dwarves remarked.

Sentinel Five did not offer a verbal reply, but did spin towards the speaker.

The dwarf, a pot-bellied old warrior, was flanked by two of his brethren, one who spat out a thick wad of tobacco through gold-plated teeth. “I guess that just means, we’ll get to melt down your bones when were done, eh?” He nodded slightly to his compatriots , who began to fan out in a tactical approach Sentinel Five realized was designed to cut off any angle of retreat.

Sentinel Five realized their tactics were in error immediately; retreat was not an option for him.

The metal soldier charged towards the fat dwarf, an action that forced the flanking dwarves hands and pulled them towards him with the hopes of collapsing his flank. Seeing their thick hammers rising for a synchronized strike, Sentinel Five swept his sword-arm low and horizontally across his path. The sword swipe was so sudden, yet so strong and fluid, the dwarven warriors immediately dropped the heads of their hammers to block the vicious cut. The moment the dwarf to Sentinel’s left lowered his hammer, the steel soldier raised his free hand level with his foe’s face. A spring-loaded dagger jumped from his wrist and sank into the dwarf’s skull.

A gout of blood sprayed upwards and out, barely preceding an inhuman and high-pitched wail of pain. The dwarf fell backwards clutching at the dagger buried hilt-deep in his eye socket; his movements, spasmodic and weak, were quickly recognized by the arrayed combatants as death throes.

To their credit, and as Sentinel Five had predicted, the dying dwarf’s companions pressed on, their faces etched with a clearer hatred and a battle-hardened determination. The pot-bellied dwarf raised his shield and barreled forward; despite his girth, he moved quickly and efficiently, leaving the metal warrior no hopes of avoiding the rush.

With a resounding crack and the splintering of wood, Sentinel Five was driven backwards by the heavy dwarf’s pumping legs and great weight. It was all he could do to maintain his balance as the dwarf continued to press. Still from the corner of his eye, he noticed the blond dwarf he’d kicked earlier standing up and preparing to rejoin the battle.

The remaining dwarf, the older, craggly faced man with gold plated teeth, followed in after the shieldbearer. He brought his hammer downwards with an overhand swing. The crushing chop came up short as a series of swift jabbing parries from the harried steel warrior kept the blow at bay; the gold-toothed dwarf cursed loudly and spat a dark stain of juice on the sentinel’s metal exterior.

Sentinel Five was acutely aware of the battle’s rising threat. While it was true one dwarf lay dying, another was returning to the fray, one was pinning him backwards with heavy wooden shield, and the other was taking advantage of that distraction. Assessing the threats and running impossibly quick strategies through his mind, Sentinel Five formulated the most efficient plan to ending the menace.

He bent his knees and leaned forward in an impressive display of strength that stopped the pushing dwarf stone cold. Following through on his sudden use of applied force, Sentinel Five drove his free hand forward in a fist. The steel gauntlet crashed through the shield and connected with bone-breaking force into the dwarf’s jaw. Accepting inevitable retaliation from the gold-toothed dwarf, he swung his sword-arm from its defensive riposte into a cutting arc that cleanly severed the now shieldless dwarf’s head from its shoulders.

Before his latest victim’s head had even touched the earth, Sentinel Five was driven to his knees by a wicked hammer swing that rang into his back with enough force to break stone. Unable to twist himself into a guard, Sentinel Five braced for another impact, one that came as the gold-toothed dwarf dropped the hilt of his hammer into the sentinel’s metal face.

Sentinel Five’s vision splintered into plethora of fractured images; one of his lenses had been cracked from the heavy handed smash that had also sent him spinning to the ground. Above him, Sentinel Five saw a number of gold-toothed images standing with a thunder cloud of hammers waiting to rain downwards.

“Gods-be-damned machine. If ye have a soul, may it burn in hell!” The dwarf brought his hammer down in an arc on course to crush the sentinel’s face.

With clockwork precision and speed, Sentinel Five shut off the damaged eye, bringing his hammer-swinging enemy into sudden, crystalline view. He shot his sword-arm up and inside the arc of the dwarf’s swing; the blade cut tendon and muscle. The vicious wound stole the strength of the hammer swing and the head of the weapon bounced off Sentinel Five’s skin with only a faint force and a dull, weak thud.

He kicked out, sending the dwarf backwards and down. Instead of rising to his feet, Sentinel Five rotated his head around and backwards. The sentinel’s awkward, inhuman motion gave the blond dwarf who’d been sneaking in from that angle pause. Sentinel Five took advantage by raising his free arm and letting fly the remaining four daggers loaded there. Sentinel Five had risen and turned back towards the campfire before the dwarf even fell.

“By all the fires that light the forges of the Great Hall, that was impressive.”

Sentinel Five realized the voice belonged to the fifth dwarf, the one who’d remained out of the fight. He turned towards the figure who stood on the other side of the fire from him. The dwarf was skinnier than most, with a long single-braided, red beard that swept the earth with its length. He was also unarmored and unarmed, wearing little more than a brown cloak and travel-worn breeches. Sentinel Five began formulating plans to deal with spellcasters.

“You must be the one sent out from the Hidden Vale.” The skinny dwarf ran a hand backwards through his scraggly red hair. “How long have you been . . .”

Sentinel Five jumped forward, clearing the fifteen feet and the fire in a single bound. His great weight came crashing down on the dwarf, his sword-arm twisting free to deliver a killing blow. Instead, surprisingly as he landed a sudden jolt of electricity welled up from his felled foe and blasted him upwards and back. He landed hard, his arms and legs twitching.

Sentinel Five lay motionless for what he realized to be a dangerously long few seconds. Only the whimpering of the gold-toothed dwarf with the wounded arm, and the heavy, pained breathing of the spellcaster alleviated his concerns. The dwarves seemed to be in equally bad shape and unable to capitalize on his sudden lack of mobility.

Sentinel Five’s one functioning eye focused on the swirl of stars lighting the sky above the forest’s sparse canopy, and wondered if, as fleshed races sometimes believed, his father was looking down on him from above. If he failed to gain his feet first and was killed, would his father be disappointed in his failings? When his father died, would he join Sentinel Five in some form of afterlife? Was afterlife even an option? Did it even exist?

Sentinel Five realized that these were inconsequential thoughts; he felt his legs regain movement while the sounds of incapacitation still emanated from his foes. He stood and raised his blade; the spellcaster was the main threat. He strode forward with steps still uneven from the electrical blast and poised his sword for a quick kill.

The dwarf lay there watching the sentinel approach with a slight smile on his face. He lifted his arm. Where flesh should have been, a thin steel skeleton, full of the same bolts and connectors as the sentinel’s arm, existed. “Sentinel Five, I presume? I’m Vanfried Forgegrinder, son of Rendersson.”

Sentinel Five paused, sword still held high and deadly. The firelight danced and flickered along its edge impatiently, as if unable to stand still with blood so close at hand. “You are my father’s son?”

Vanfried chuckled. “Your father? I suppose so; it seems as if we are brothers.” Vanfried propped himself up on his automated arm. “Regardless of relations, Five, we need to get back to the vale.”

Changing Directives by Nevermet Press is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.nevermetpress.com/contact.

Azania Toysmith, Dwarven Clockworker

Written by: Sean Holland Edited by: Cassey Toi

Don’t wind it too tight, you’ll break the spring.

Background

The Toysmith family has been associated with clockworking, gearsmithing and golem making for generations, but they primarily stick to working in the Dwarven freeholds. Azania, a talented student, quickly moved from apprentice to journeyman. Her talents lay in creating more delicate toys and flights of fancy, things not usually found among dwarves, but immensely popular with other races. After much discussion, it was decided to send Azania to work outside the freeholds where her talents could bloom.

Working at a market Azania found a book referencing Forgegrinder’s works. Curious, she wrote to her family for more information, they passed on little information other than a family connection; Forgegrinder was her grand-uncle. This only made her more curious as his early work on toy soldiers and clockwork dragons excited her. Wherever she travels, she looks for early examples of his works and design notes for them. She has not missed the fact that information on his later work has been removed from the public eye, but she assumes it is the usual actions of those who wish to use the designs for war, some thing she has no interest in.

Description

Azania is slender a dwarf, which distress her, she would like to be a bit more solid. She wears her waist length black hair pinned up, usually in a bun. Her eyes are a pure sapphire blue. Her hands bear testament to her work, there are a multitude of small scars on them. She prefers practical clothing with lots of pockets, but will dress according to the local fashion when required to attend a social function.

Azania is not your typical dwarf, as well as being a skilled craftswoman she is an excellent salesperson. Open and cheerful, she loves to demonstrate the toys she builds and enjoys the challenge of building new ones to the specifications of buyers.

She is an innovative inventor and very curious about anything to do with clockwork, gears and other complex mechanisms -magical and mundane. This often leads to her talking about and debating the best ways to build things for hours.

What Can She Do?

If you want a toy or fancy made of clockwork, there is no finer craftswoman. She prefers working with metals and semiprecious stones, but she can make a gem-encrusted gold songbird – that sings when struck by the first ray of the sun – with the best of them. When not working on commissioned work, Azania likes to build simple toys like soldiers and horses from tin and scrap metal. She has a small amount of magical talent which she uses to enhance her craft work.

Azania’s mastery of clockwork, gears and toy design has, inadvertently, created an expertise in locks and traps. Others may realize this, but she will not, until she is put into a situation that requires the use of those skills.

Who Might Know Her and Why

Azania usually sells to the upper levels of society, those who can afford her most exotic and beautiful toys. Anyone of that group may have seen her work , received or bought something of hers as a gift.

Members of a clockworking or toymaking guild would certainly know of her and her work. Just as any dwarf in the area is likely to know of her by reputation at the very least. Dwarven culture dictates that the local dwarves keep an eye on her and protect her if needed.

Azania is constantly on the lookout for interesting toys and trinkets to incorporate into her creations. Merchants who sell those items are likely to know and at times do business with her.

Plot Hooks

• Azania’s existence and line of questioning has put Sentinel 5 in a position it does not know how to resolve. Her inquiries into what became of Forgegrinder may, potentially, lead her to find and try to and locate the Hidden Vale. It senses that Azania embodies the purity of what its maker wanted from life, to make things that made people’s lives better. Sentinel 5 seeks to deny Azania access to information that could lead her to the Vale, but it has managed -so far- to avoid acting directly against her, a situation it wants to avoid.Azania hires the characters to track down some of her grand-uncle’s early notebooks, putting them on the fast track to conflict with Sentinel 5. Which, while it trusts Azania’s motives it does not trust what others may learn and can act again them with impunity. Sentinel 5 does not wish to reveal itself, so it will lay traps for the party, such as herding wild animals into attacking them and so forth. It feels compelled to avoid showing itself to anyone who might report on its existence back to Azania.
• Worried that Azania may decide to try and locate her grand-uncle’s resting place at some point, Sentinel 5 decides to drive her far away from the Vale. It does this by economic warfare. It starts killing her patrons and customers. Azania notices the pattern before anyone else does and hires the characters to protect her patrons, though she does not know from what or why.
• A damaged Sentinel 5 approaches Azania, one of the few people who could repair it. She would take pity on such a being and repair it. Upon learning of the true nature of Sentinel 5, her guilt that her action in helping it led to further bloodshed, compels her to hunt it down. To do so she would need help.

Azania Toysmith by Nevermet Press is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.nevermetpress.com/contact.

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