Portrait of a Villain: The Sleepless Drift, Neirave

Written by Dennis N. Santana
Illustrated by James Keegan

The Winter brings forth the new year by freezing and smothering the wrongs of the past year. But Winter has ceased to have meaning, because people have ceased to change. Now they fear winter’s judgment. What they deserve is an endless winter, to reflect their frozen hearts.

Background

The Sleepless Drift, Neirave is an odd-looking woman, with a sterile beauty that seems mournfully frozen in time, wearing a long robe covered with crystals and flecks of ice. Those who enter her domain greatly fear discovering her or the creatures she commands, as no heart seems warm or pure enough for her to spare the wrath of her wintry domain.

Neirave Eda was born in an isolated forest village during a grave winter. She was a normal child for the longest time, but each winter she seemed to go through a change. As the land whitened, so did her hair turn pale, her eyes turn ice blue, her skin become grayed and her lips darkened. Things she touched would quickly become cold. Sculptures she made from ice or snow would move of their own volition if she commanded them to.

Her sorcerous power attracted negative attention. The villagers believed she would become dangerous to them. The village had no other with such powers, nobody who could control Neirave should she anger. But then winter would pass and she would return to normal. The village would forget, until next year. The winter would transform them, reveal their true colors and torment Neirave with the apparition.

Each winter her change would become more pronounced and her powers stronger. And each winter, the spring would take longer and longer to come, exposing Neirave to more and more of the village’s wrath.

Eventually, Neirave Eda was driven to suicide. She sliced her throat open over a mound of snow that hid her body forever. But she did not know what she did, for the girl had little control over her powers. All the dread and sorrow she felt, the fear of her persecution and the stress caused by the villager’s intolerance, was imparted upon that mound of snow, and perhaps into the forest itself.

A different Neirave was created there. An animate of ice with her exact appearance and power, but none of her earthly limitations upon her power. Encasing her old body in the ice, to be able to rest undisturbed, the new Neirave brought to the region their greatest fear – a winter that would never end and the untold destruction that comes with it. The place became known soon for its unending winter. Deep within the forest, Neirave made allies of the wintry animals, and made servants of the cold wind and the endless snow.

Motivation & Goals

Neirave’s endless winter is confined only to the forest from which she hails, but expands ever so slightly with each passing day.

To Neirave, the winter is a transitional period. The year is encased in ice and destroyed so the world can begin anew. Each winter, she would transform to show the worst in humanity – their fear and prejudice and anger towards a helpless girl. Now she has turned the winter upon her old tormentors. Unless they themselves transform into beings fit to live, the winter will drain them of all life, burdening them with the cold of their own sin.

Most of Neirave’s weaknesses remain trapped in her corpse, somewhere in the forest. But her emotions have not been entirely drained from her. Within her cold body still beats a warm heart. As long as it does, she cannot truly become the winter she wishes to. Her current goal is to master all of her powers, to overcome her false flesh and inherited emotions. To drive the winter past the forest and out into the waiting world.

Organization

Though she has all the memories of her old self, Neirave is a sheltered creature nonetheless. She knows little of what lies outside her own forest. Neirave’s grand retinues are composed of wolves and bears, and other animals of the cold forest, along with automata of snow and ice given a partial life by Neirave’s winter. These beasts have but one mission, which is to kill any remnants of the Neirave’s forest home that oppose her.

Neirave resides deep within the forest, randomly traversing it from day to day, never once staying in the same place. Despite her restlessness and randomness, she does have some followers. People who’ve encountered her and have been turned into ice effigies, they themselves embodying only a hatred for their own worst sins. They do not travel with her, but wander through her domain nonetheless. It is said that Neirave has one particular area of the forest from which her winter hails, that it is there where she can be stopped.

Combat Tactics

Neirave does not actively engage in combat, or at least, she has never had to. Upon witnessing her and receiving her kiss most people immediately die, becoming ice effigies. She commands violent blasts of cold wind that can uproot small buildings or blow away a group of strong men with mere breaths. Some never even see her, turned away by the violent winter in an instant. But her powers fluctuate, and only one major display of them has ever been witnessed. It is unknown if she can perform with such strength at all times.

Within the endless winter, she controls the ground, the wind, the sky. She is like a God in her own playing field, but a God that has never bested anyone but thugs and hunters, fighting without finesse. She knows not what would happen should a warm enough heart seek her in combat, nor what would happen if her old self would be brought back to life.

Adventure Hooks

• A surviving villager braves snow, monsters and her own fatigue and escapes into the outside world, warning a nearby village of the endless winter.
• The PCs must travel across a somewhat ordinary-seeming forest, but only within do they discover something sinister.
• Winters in the region begin to last longer, and the ground loses some fertility. An encroaching mantle of ice, seemingly alive, could be to blame.

The Sleepless Drift, Neirave 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.

Cogelos, The Seat of the Sleepless Drift

Written by Dennis N. Santana
Illustrated by Rob Torno

Introduction

Once a thriving countryside, where wheat stalks made golden curtains across the land broken only by the rising and falling hill forest, Cogelos and its villages now face a grave threat to their continued survival. Cogelos is an old and simple region where the land and personal strength are what is held most important. What people remain are the outlying farmers struggling to grow crops in the dying earth and the hunters fighting a war against their old forest home.

Deep within the forest stood the village of Reekoh, once a community of loggers and hunters that never once troubled their neighbors, now an ruin, flayed by ice and snow. What many centuries of human habitation could not, Neirave the ice mistress of Rekoh did: she conquered nature and made it her most loyal ally. When Reekoh shunned and abused her, it brought about the end of itself.

Those organisms which could not be twisted was merely drained of all vitality. Trees now lay caked with frost and encrusted with ice, the soil is covered in treacherous snow that saps any life it could give to the forest. Any lesser animals by now have fled or died. Only the strong beasts that Neirave uses to hunt down humans remain.

Neirave’s icy domain acts as though alive, spreading slowly out of the forest and into the surrounding countryside. Whether it would even end with her is unknown, as the forest itself seems to act harsh as its new mistress, slaughtering those within with nary a visible command from the Sleepless Drift. Many now believe the forest itself to be under no one’s control, and quite deliberately aiding Neirave in revenge for all the years of abuse both suffered.

Background

Cogelos was not a cradle of the world, but when the harsher regions evicted the humans within them it became a natural spot to settle. It has a rich past history, but most of it would be uninteresting to a traveler, involving tall tales of mythical beasts, forest spirits and legendary hunters rather than wars, riches or romances. With a temperate climate and plentiful soil and forest, it was ripe for man to take. For untold generations people have settled in Cogelos, logging its trees, mining its rivers, seeding the land. Never once did they foresee how the land would be turned against them.

There were a few villages in Cogelos, most of which faded over time as their people left to the more successful settlements, with the greatest and most recognized being those outside the forest. Kepet is the oldest, a community now within reach of the Sleepless Drift. Kepet is a great source of wheat crop, and they traded with their brothers in the Rekoh forest village for prime wood and the skins of the woodland beasts. The two villages share a foundation of history that made them inexorably linked.

The tale of the founding of Kepet and Rekoh shows their veneration for hunters and their pride in taming the wild life. Kepet and Rekoh were said to have been founded by two different families. One was led by a great hunter and another by a great farmer. The farmer wanted to head into the forest where there would be lots of plants, while the hunter wanted to stay out in the open where he could better challenge the local wild life. But eventually the division proved too much for them. The farmer could grow nothing in the forest and there was not a lot to hunt out in the fields. The families sent messengers to one another and eventually intermarried.

Kepet became the village of great farmers, while Rekoh became one of great hunters.

The region of Cogelos remained simple. They never quite struck gold and only small amounts of precious material from the rivers near Kepet. While they heard tales of great nations beyond their frontiers and eventually came into contact with other civilizations and kingdoms, they were not pushed out of their ordinary lifestyles because of this. Rekoh had even less contact with the outside world and its changes, knowing little beyond Kepet. A neighboring Kingdom considers Cogelos part of its territories, but knows better than to antagonize the hardy people of the fields and forests. With benign and light-handed rulership they have managed to slowly squeeze some easy (if not altogether very precious) riches from Cogelos.

When Neirave manifested as the Sleepless Drift, her first course of action was the scattering of her childhood home. Hunters from the village that managed to escape told neighboring communities of that day.

News of Neirave having gone missing were quick to spread, as everyone knew who she was. Few if any of them cared about what could happen to a girl her age in the forest. She was a witch, an ill omen. They were glad to see her gone. In a place where men held power and superstition was rampant, a girl like Neirave was less than trash.

But she soon strode back into the village, each of her steps leaving behind a trail of ice. It is said that she stood in the middle of the town as though waiting. For an apology, perhaps, or at least for someone to show her any sort of kindness or care. No one did, no one said a word. People barely wanted to look upon her pale beauty, thinking she had finally given herself wholly to her supposed witchcraft.

No Hunter recalls what she said to them before beginning the slaughter.

With one breath she made a storm of ice which sent homes flying and flayed men where they stood. It took only that to send everyone running, but Neirave made sure to destroy everything with more of her powerful storms. For her, it took only five or six breaths to eradicate the place where all her worst memories lay. Hunters from Rekoh regrouped and are said to have a hold inside the forest, but things look bleak as the ice moves beyond the trees.

Appearance

Cogelos is a somewhat small region mostly dominated by the fields around Kepet and the forest around Rekoh. Though other small family communities exist, these two are the only large settlements worth mentioning, one of which is all but destroyed and the other which sits on the edge of an ice-encrusted razor. Though once the warm colors of spring and autumn, the skies around Cogelos have become increasingly gray and the ground increasingly white.

Kepet: This large settlement is a number of wooden and log homes around the main trading road. One can see nearby farmland which might have been covered in golden wheat, but are now a vast waste of brown and white soil where small plants struggle to rise from the dirt. The Great Lodge where the town convenes is its most impressive feature, built out of the logs of the largest trees in the neighboring forest, said to have stood since five hundred years back.

The Forest: The forest goes by many names, sometimes merely Rekoh for the village within it, nowadays called Cocytus for being the icy fortress of Neirave. It is a thick forest of enormous trees. The terrain is made treacherous by the rising and falling of the hills. Now a dark, treacherous place, where the days are silent and eerie, the nights filled with stalking predators, Rekoh is unfit to inhabit except by predatory beasts. The ground itself is an enemy, hiding pitfalls and sinkholes within the snow, and the only source of food remaining is the meat of the vast army of forest beasts stalking its trails.

Somewhere inside this forest is the icy seat of the Sleepless Drift upon which Neirave is said to rest, concerning herself not with short bursts of aggression, but with the slow, but permanent expansion of her icy mantle. The Hunters believe the forest to be alive now, and in full support of Neirave’s plans. They can see no other reason why the beasts, the ground, perhaps even strange spirits of the forest, would turn violent.

Rekoh: Little, if anything, remains of the childhood home of Neirave. Only memories of the glorious village of Hunters remain. For Neirave, only the haunting presence of her past remains, buried somewhere around this ruined village in the form of her old, preserved body. Many Hunters have tried to search the remains of Rekoh for some answer to Neirave, but it is here where Neirave’s hatred is at its strongest and her forces at their most violent.

Using Cogelos

Cogelos is a relatively simple region to add to any campaign with a temperate countryside or other large stretch of rural land. It is a simple woodland region with only the autonomy that matters to them, that of their local affairs. The one truly important piece in the region is the Forest, but Kepet offers the players an opportunity to roleplay with the locals in a more peaceful setting, allowing them to see the fears and dreadful rumors of the land and better prepare.

A sense of imminent danger pervades Cogelos as it is a set piece clearly tied to the narrative of the Sleepless Drift. Neirave’s ice is already harming the outlying places of Cogelos, and people are scared. Word from Cogelos rushes to the outside world to see just what aid may come to them. It is a fairly straightforward place that can be dropped into a setting to pique the interest of players looking for a dire land to explore.

Adventure Hooks

• The Kingdom that lays claim to Cogelos receives word of the strange and possibly disastrous happenings in this outlying holding. They actively call for explorers to confirm these rumors, since sending official military could agitate the situation even further.
• The PCs in their travels stumble upon the Rekoh forest, as it is in their way to more fruitful pursuits. While traveling during the day seems to be the same as any other wintry forest, when night falls they are beset by beasts of natural and unnatural sorts.
• On the edge of the wildlands, the PCs discover a grievously wounded man attacked by wintry wolves, quite far from their natural habitation. Should they decide to aid the man, he will most certainly try to involve them in his order of hunters fighting the Sleepless Drift in its own wintry hold.

Cogelos, the Seat of the Sleepless Drift 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.

The Restorationists

Written by Shedrick Pittman-Hassett
Illustrated by Matt Lichtenwalner
Edited by Cassey Toi

Death to the Witch and Life to Rekoh!

Background

Few survived the onslaught of Neriave’s vengeance upon the hunting village of Rekoh. Tales of the Black Night are terse, the descriptions heavy with terror and loss. Some fled the forest and settled in Kepet. These survivors watched with growing dread as the Sleepless Drift made its way across Cogelos.

One of these survivors, Baltius, a descendant of the founders of Rekoh, gazed upon the ever-drifting winter with neither dread nor fear, but anger and hatred. On the Black Night, Baltius had been deep in the forest on a hunt. He noticed the changes in the air, the strange behavior of the creatures of the forest and made his way back to his home, fearing the worst. By the time he reached Rekoh, nothing was left but ice and devastation. He tracked a group of wandering survivors and led them to Kepet, fighting off the maddened beasts and strange ice-trapped souls that now wander the wilds of the forest.

Baltius made several forays into the forest to track the witch, but the land itself seemed to conspire against his efforts. Realizing that alone he would fail, he gathered to him a handful of survivors, expert huntsmen, to aid him in his hunt of Neirave, the Sleepless Drift. All are devoted to the destruction of the witch; the boiling heat of their wrath will melt Neirave’s endless winter ice. Once this is accomplished, the village of Rekoh will rise again.

The people of Kepet, where the band stays between expeditions into the wilderness, look upon the group with a mixture of awe and derision. They are fools for braving the forest and the wrath of Neirave, but noble in their dedication to their home. They have taken to calling the band Restorationists, though they generally refer to themselves as Baltius’ men.

Mission

The Restorationists are dedicated to eradicating the witch Neirave and restoring Rekoh to its former glory. Many of Baltius’ men (including Baltius himself) are probably more interested in the destruction of the Sleepless Drift than in the work of actually restoring and rebuilding their homes. However, once revenge is had and the land is made safe to hunt again, it is only natural that the village would spring to life once more.

Structure

Baltius is the clear and uncontested leader of this group. His grim hunters are completely devoted to him and his cause. He rules with quiet determination, often silencing idle chatter with a raised brow. He is not cruel to his followers, but when on the hunt, he moves the band forward with a single-minded purpose; a single-mindedness that becomes ruthlessness. Most of the huntsmen are from Rekoh, though some hail from nearby settlements and, in the ice of Rekoh, see the reflection of what is to come. There is no formal membership in the band; by displaying competence and loyalty to Baltius, anyone could join the hunt.

Benefits/Drawbacks

Baltius and his followers are fiercely loyal to each other and could be valuable allies to those they consider friendly to their cause. A band of hunters of their caliber is a valuable source of expert training. The people of Kepet, are cautious of such grim and ruthless adventurers and are often aloof. Baltius is driven by a deep-seated hatred for the witch and all she stands for; this hatred could drive him and the band to take extreme actions in pursuit of their prey.

Adventure Hooks

• The party happen upon an injured hunter on the outskirts of a frost-ravaged forest. He tells them of his band and enlists their aid against Neirave.
• A player seeks to gain membership into Baltius’ band. The initiate is charged with delving into the forest and felling one of the strange creatures that haunt the desolate drift.
• A priest in Kepet suspects that Baltius may be planning to employ a relic of dark sorcery to destroy the witch at the cost of his, and his followers, souls. She enlists the players to find out the truth and, if necessary, protect the Restorationists from themselves.

The Restorationists 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.

Encounter: The Scion of Spring

Written by Sean Holland
Illustrated by Matt Meyer

The air around you warms with a spring breeze, odd for it is late autumn. The trees bud and burst into bloom adding their fragrance to the air. A simply dressed young man escorted by a glowing figure of a King wreathed in green leaves and flowers steps forward.

“Brave souls,” intones the King, as the gentle breath of spring blows over the area, “the Lord of Spring requests you aid lest the entire world be plunged into endless winter.“

The Stage is Set

The eternal winter of Neirave is upsetting the balance of the seasons, the natural world is spinning out of control. The Lord of Spring has a solution, by gifted a young man with a spark of his essence that can free the land from Neirave’s icy grip. But the Scion must be guarded and guided into the heart of the wintry realm to bring forth spring.

The King of Spring can offer amulets and other tokens that will offer some protection from the chill of winter but they will weaken as the characters move to closer to Neirave. The Scion is immune to the magic of Neirave and the cold, but not to other threats. Aisam, the boy gifted, is about 16 and was a farm worker before being chosen. He is looking forward to returning home to help his family.

The Scion will sense where he needs to go, he is compelled to find Neirave’s mortal body, tending to unconsciously drift in that direction. Once there he will preform a ritual that will destroy her and end the unnatural winter. The characters will need to protect him while he does so.

Behind the Curtain

Once the Scion crosses into Neirave’s realm, she will be aware of his presence but not initially aware of his location or of the threat he represents. But as the Scion comes closer, Neirave will come to sense the general location and recognize the threat he represents to her realm. A spark of compassion will lead her to attempt to drive the Scion off at first but soon her attempts will become lethal.

Once she see that the characters will not be deterred, Neirave will insure her mortal body is guarded, but not directly, she is not so foolish as to give away its exact location. If given time, the area will be strew with traps and defenses, both magical and physical, to weaken and deter the characters from their goal.

The ritual to end the threat will take the life of Aisam and the mortal spark of Neirave, and drain the last of the protective powers from the amulets, ending the winter but probably leaving the characters unprotected in the heart of dangerous lands. Someone with magical power watching the ritual will probably realize what is happening and that the ritual will cost the lives of two innocents. With the proper magic or devotion, a character could aid the ritual and give of their own life force to sustain Aisam and Neirave, but if they survive they will be weak and in need of protection as well.

Additional Notes

If Aisam is killed, the King of Spring can create another Scion but that is the limit of his power until Spring again returns to the rest of the lands and his power is reborn.

This scenario is design to end in tragedy, as Aisam sacrifices his life to bring life to the land. The characters can save him, but it will make completing the ritual while under attack much harder as one of them must help the Scion complete it rather than defend against Neirave’s forces trying to stop it.

Sequels

If the character succeed, the Lords and Ladies of the Season may look to them again as champions in the future against forces that seek to upset the natural balance.

The characters may wish to seek out Aisam’s family and tell them how their son died (or to return him to them, if they managed to save his life).

The Scion of Spring 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.

The Land Survives

Written by John Payne
Edited by Kirk Duplessis
Illustrated by Paul King

Herbalists and wizards of the northern lands have long known about certain rare plants that thrive in the ice and snow. These plants are accustomed to long winters and colder temperatures. Two of these plants, the mehen berries and hearthfruit, are associated with a rare parasite known as the hungerworm.

Mehen Berries

Though they share a skin-deep similarity with Monk’s Pepper, mehen berries are hardier and stronger than their temperate cousins, and the amateur herbalist should beware of the deep differences between these two plants. Traditionally, Monk’s Pepper is used in applications that calm the spirit and relieve anxiety. Mehen berries, on the other hand, empty the soul. Though useful in minute amounts to treat convulsions or seizures, an overdose will induce a permanent waking catatonia, or, colloquially, “creating a living zombie”. Use of mehen berries is best left to experts.

Hearthfruit

Hearthfruit are a magical, cranberry-like fruit that grows on short, thick trees that thrive in the Neverwam Forest. Hearthfruit has a warming effect that counteracts frostbite and exposure to cold, and are believed to be tied to the Scion of Spring. Once Neirave’s powers have been neutralized, these trees will disappear.

Pyrestones

A type of igneous rock has gained the ability to unnaturally retain heat. Any ‘holes’ in the snow pack throughout the forest will most likely have one of these ‘firerocks’ in the middle. Although warm and harmless to the touch, these stones produce enough heat to melt snow and ice on contact. It is believed that these stones can be tapped by wizards to unleash a fire hot enough to melt Neirave’s frozen shell.

The Land Survives 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.

Planet Nyraeve

Written by Scott Schimmel
Edited by Cassey Toi
Illustrated by Kenya Ferrand

Introduction and Background

The planet Nyraeve is a frigid ball of ice and rock located in the far reaches of known space. Though its equatorial band is Earth-like enough to sustain life, its harsh conditions and distance from the core planets make it of little interest to serve as a colony. A small team of scientists were sent to catalogue Nyraeve’s flora and fauna, nobody expected that anything more would develop on the backwater world.

However, the scientists’ initial geographical surveys of the planet revealed large amounts of unobtainium scattered about the planet in small deposits. While mining the ore would be no simple task, the fact remained that the icy planet was now the best known source of unobtainium in the galaxy. Deposits exist on other worlds, but none as rich as Nyraeve.

The discovery led to a gold rush. From individual space prospectors looking to stake their claims to gigantic corporation-states, thousands seized the opportunity to make it rich. A cargo or two of unobtainium could make a man wealthy; if it took a few months of discomfort to extract the ore, that was a fair trade.

Some of the unobtainium did make it off Nyraeve, but much did not. The miners suffered not only from the cold, but also from animal attacks, volcanic eruptions, collapsed shafts, faulty gear and unexplained mining accidents. Some gave up, cursing their ill fortune. Others, resolute in their efforts to extract the planet’s wealth, died, or simply vanished. Entire planetside instalments inexplicably vanished. Even the largest of the mining operations lasted less than a year. Survivors began to whisper that the planet was cursed – that there was something out there, beyond the wild animals and the frigid temperature. Something inimical to the miners. As losses continued to mount, the paranoia spread.

Today it’s difficult to find labourers who will go to Nyraeve to try their luck on behalf of a large corporation. There are always the smaller operations looking to make it big, though. For them, the lure of unobtainium riches is a powerful one. And so the cursed planet, Nyraeve, is never left alone.

Planetary Characteristic

Environment

Nyraeve is generally Earth-like, although its temperature range is a good deal cooler than Earth’s. It is roughly the size of Earth, but is somewhat more dense, making its gravity about 1.06 times that of Earth. Being at a great distance from the sun in its galazy, a Nyraeve year is 471 local days. With a slightly quicker rotation than Earth, one Nyraeve day is equal to about 23 Earth hours.

Nyraeve’s atmosphere is richer in oxygen, it has an 8% higher oxygen concentration comparible to Earth. There is no danger of oxygen toxicity from this concentration; the primary consequence is that fires tend to burn more hotly and spread more quickly. Those who spend a lengthy period of time in Nyraeve’s atmosphere and then return to an atmosphere with Earth-like oxygen levels may feel a shortness of breath and increased fatigue until they adjust. Nyraeve is geologically active, and scientists theorise that its many volcanoes are responsible for the rich atmosphere.

The planet’s axial tilt is about 8 degrees, creating little seasonal variation. In fact, Nyraeve has only two seasons; wet and cold. During the former, temperatures in the habitable equatorial band can reach as high as 20 degrees Celsius (68°F) at sea level, with high humidity. During the latter, daily temperature highs of -20°C (-4°F) are not unknown. Compounding the chill is the fact that Nyraeve is very mountainous, and many would-be miners are compelled to operate at elevations hundreds of meters above sea level. Temperatures drop sharply beyond about 35 degrees latitude, and the polar regions are essentially large glacial icecaps, where temperatures above freezing are all but unheard of.

The equatorial band of Nyraeve mostly constitutes a taiga biome, with some elements of deciduous forest in the most hospitable areas. There is drinkable fresh water in this range, though its taste is somewhat brackish. Nyraeve’s two main continents are seperated by a saltwater sea.

The plants of Nyraeve are largely coniferous trees, tough scrub brush, and a few hardy lichens and mosses. There has been speculation that some of Nyraeve’s plants could prove medicinally useful, but no proof has emerged yet. The wood of the larger trees closely resembles pine; it makes serviceable lumber, but is of sub par quality, making formal lumbering operations cost-ineffective thanks to Nyraeve’s distant location. In warmer areas, some deciduous trees are scattered among the conifers, and flowering plants grow during the rainy season. Several edible roots and tubers can be found; including potatoes, brought to Nyraeve by miners. Though few plants grow well in Nyraeve’s harsh conditions, attempts have been made to cultivate coffee, tea, tobacco, and cannabis, among others.

Animals

The animals of Nyraeve are similar to those of Earth’s as well: there is a range of herbivores from small to large, and a number of small and medium-sized carnivorous predators. Some notable animal species of Nyraeve include: Dwelks, Ikaras, Ivianths, Jerriks, Kerids, Slirms and The Lurkers.

Dwelks, or “dwarf elks,” resemble the Earth elk except both males and females sport antlers, and they stand only a meter or so (three to four feet) high at the shoulder. They are normally timid, but can be dangerous if provoked or if their young are threatened, attacking with antlers or a powerful kick.

Ikaras are small, brightly-coloured birds, noted for being the only songbird species native to Nyraeve. They flock during the rainy season, preying on the insects that swarm then, and retire to the lowlands during the cold season. Few survive longer than two years.

Ivilanths, usually known by the more prosaic name “living islands,” dwell in the Midland Sea. These massive creatures resemble a mix of walrus, grey whale, and shark, and they devour anything in their paths. They breathe both air and water, but are too big to function for long on land.

Jerriks are the largest herbivores of Nyraeve. These vaguely equine creatures are green in color thanks to an oil they produce, which is their defence against predators: it has a foul smell and taste, so only the most desperate of predators will eat jerrik. They are swift and sure-footed creatures, and their range covers the entire lowlands.

Kerids are arboreal pack predators that resemble large flying squirrels but boast multiple rows of sharp, sharklike teeth. A pack usually hunts by ambush, diving or dropping suddenly onto their prey and tearing at its eyes, throat, and joints. They are very territorial and have been known to fearlessly attack humans who intrude on their lairs.

Slirms are among the planet’s largest predators. These six-legged creatures are each the size of a large wolf and resemble hyenas with elongated crocodilian jaws. They group in small “families” and are voracious, vicious, and clever predators, prone to attacking humans. They normally employ pack tactics until one of them gets a grip with its jaws; then, it simply doesn’t let go, exerting immense, bone-breaking force while its family continues their harrying until the prey is brought down.

The Lurkers are creatures of the spacers’ tales, their characteristics vary from tale to tale. The most common description paints them as tall, burly, bipedal, fur-covered humanoids, similar to the yeti of Earth legend. Some even say they’re intelligent beings, with their own language and culture. Of course, absolutely no evidence of such a species has ever been uncovered, and how could an advanced civilisation hide for so long?

Using Nyraeve

Nyraeve is easily added to most star-spanning science-fiction or space-opera campaigns. All it requires is an out-of-the-way location in known space and the existence of a rare metal or mineral. It has no population, government, or society – at least, not as far as anyone knows – and it bears no permanent colonies. It might be claimed by some power or other, but it’s distant enough that such claims are difficult to enforce against the small operators who hope to strike it rich off the planet’s mineral wealth.

Adventure Hooks

• Gold Rush: Nyraeve’s unobtainium deposits have just been discovered, and it seems like everyone wants a piece. Do the PCs go in search of their fortunes? Are they hired by a corporation to protect and police its interests, running off claim jumpers? Perhaps they’re bounty hunters after the bandits who are drawn to those juicy unobtainium cargoes? And what happens once the planet itself seems to be out to get the would-be prospectors?
• Crash Landing: Damaged by a battle or meteor hit in the distant reaches of space, the PCs’ ship is forced to land on the nearest Earth-like planet: Nyraeve. Can they survive the overland journey to the mining base in the equatorial region? Will the base still be there when they arrive? Was the forced landing coincidence, or did something bring them to Nyraeve?
• Intelligence Reports: In the midst of a galactic war, a rebel base has been discovered on this remote, icy planet. The PCs might be sent in to destroy it, or they might be on the rebels’ side, attempting to make a rendezvous. When they arrive, though, they find the base already abandoned and destroyed. What did this? Were there any survivors? And why do the PCs have the feeling that they’re being watched?
• The Origin of Species: While prospecting on his own in the dangerous icy tundra of the north, an old spacer came upon a massive glacier. There’s nothing unusual in that, of course… except that he swears he saw structures, actual buildings, buried under all that ice. Is he just crazy, or is there really something there? And if there was a city on this ball of ice and rock, who built it and what happened to them? Are they still here?

Planet Nyraeve 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.

Encounter: Enemy of my Enemy

Written by John Payne
Illustrated by Matt Meyer

Difficulty: hard
Magic: high
Keywords: dragon, construct, magic
Terrain: frozen forest
Treasure: major

The entrance to the cave is marked by a sharp line of snow and ice. The snow and ice end at a single row of carefully arranged stones that run along the opening. Small tufts of grass sprout between the cracks. Just beyond the entrance, the cave leads straight into the side of the hill. Except for the row of stones, this would appear to be a bear cave.

Once inside, the cave leads further into the hill. The walls of the cave and ceiling are smooth. There are small orbs placed about ten feet from the floor and fifty feet apart that provide light to the cave’s interior. The hallways ahead meander in two different directions.

A deep voice emerges from one of the passages saying, “Welcome travelers, enjoy a respite from the frightful winter.Take the right fork and join me in my room.“

As you walk, the voice continues, “I see that you could use a rest. My furnishings may not be comfortable, I’m afraid, but I will do what I can to see to your needs. I hope that we can talk while. As you might imagine, visitors are quite rare and intelligent conversation is wanting.“

The passageway begins to widen. It opens into a very large antechamber. The walls of the cave are just as smooth as the passageway. The ceiling is very high. The roof of the antechamber cannot be seen as it appears that sunlight pours in from an unseen opening.

“Thank you for coming,” the unseen host says, “I do hope that you will stay awhile.“

From behind a tall column of rock, a robed figure emerges. He opens his arms wide as a greeting to you. “Welcome to my humble home. My name is Christoga Pazara Voshem Dom’Krazny, but you can call me Pazara.“

Pazara is wearing a dark blue robe with a simple light-colored tunic beneath. He has a large, almost chiseled face with straight black hair. Some of his hair that hangs over his face is a dark red color. His strong hands point to a pile of pillows on the floor in front of a single throne like chair carved from the floor of the cave.

“I’m so glad that you’ve come. Please rest awhile. Would you like some wine?“

Background

Toga Pazara is the youngest in his clan, but he considers himself the best and brightest of the litter. Physically he is quite large, even by draconian standards. Despite his size, Pazara considers himself an intellectual equal to most dragons much older than him. He also believes that he is much smarter than any human, alive, dead, or otherwise. His siblings chose to have territory near their parents while he intentionally flew as far away as he could. He believes that his family indulges in political games with other dragon clans more than they should. Moving far away allows him the ability to escape his siblings’ frequently unsuccessful political intrigues.

When he settled in the forest seventy-five years ago, it was a lush forest with mild winters and short summers. There was plenty of food available, including a nearby village. Behind the cave he chose as a home base was a river teeming with fish. At night he could hear the water rushing over his cave and hurtling toward the falls about a half mile away. He has continued to hollow out more rooms in his home. Some of these rooms hold a growing hoard of treasure that he has collected over the years. Other rooms contains items involved in his magical research. He is not a gifted dragon spell caster, but he does a fair amount of research and practice.

Another feature of his home is the presence of an unusual brass statue. When Pazara first saw it, the statue had the form of a very large human with bird-like wings. Its arms stretched skyward and nearly touched the roof of the cave. As he approached this curious statue, it changed shape and took on a form very much like his own. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the statue took his form. He now considers the statue’s present appearance as the perfect physical specimen of a dragon. Pazara also considers the face to have a very intelligent and thoughtful look.

The statue plays upon Pazara’s vanity and narcissism. He finds the image of himself so alluring that he has decided to stay in the forest despite the physical pain caused by the cold. He uses his magical abilities to protect himself and the cave from the cold outside. On the increasingly rarer occasions that he leaves the cave for food, he employs several spells to ward off the effects of snow, ice and cold.

At one time, Pazara attempted to find a new territory to claim as his own. Although seeking a new territory would likely result in a battle with another dragon, he considered a fight to be a better alternative to enduring cold winters. As Pazara weighed his options, he decided that he only wanted to take the statue with him. He didn’t like the idea of losing so much of his treasure, but moving his hoard would risk losing any newly acquired territory. Trying to move the statue, however, proved impossible. No magic he found could move it. When he touched it, the statue corroded and withered into dust before his eyes. For the next day he was sad that his greatest treasure was gone, but when he went back to where it had stood, it found it was there as if nothing happened.

Pazara considers himself to be a pure breed of dragon in House Krazny. He is very proud of his thick coppery scales rimmed in a blood-red color. All his closest relatives that are also members of the Family Chistoga (which means purity), bear a striking resemblance their ancestor Krazny. It is from his physical appearance and lineage that extends to the primordial dragon god himself that is the source of Pazara’s pride. He cannot admit to himself that Neivare defeated him in combat. Instead, he chooses to describe his encounter with her in sweeping tones that emphasizes the large number of minions she commands.

Pazara appears in a human form to entreat the player characters. He intends to ask them to go fight Neivare, herself, so that things will get back to normal. The previous battle with Neivare was unsuccessful. He barely survived. Any physical attack on the sleepless drift seemed to have little effect. In fact, the result of the attack was that Pazara contracted frostbite. He was quite surprised that his spells to ward off the cold proved so ineffective. His fiery breath appeared to provide some advantage, but after the first fiery blast, she was able to avoid it altogether. Neivare’s minions provided enough protection to prevent him from trying different tactics. He believes that a good spell caster could be able to defeat Neivare, but he only has ideas of what may work.

Objectives

• Pazara has information about how Neivare responds to combat. He is aware of her minions, including a group of centaurs and a remorhaz that fight together.
• The player characters may decide to attack Pazara and take his treasure. If they have not discovered that he is a young dragon, they are in for a big surprise.
• The entrance to Pazara’s cave is lined with Pyrestones. Pazara can direct them to a cache of them. There are enough of them that everyone in the player characters can have a large one (backpack size) or two small ones (pocket or moneybag size).

Optional Objective

• The presence of the shape shifting brass statue can provide a hook to find other, more operational constructs.

Tactics

In conversation, Pazara will steer the conversation to the Sleepless Drift and how to combat her. He will defer in regards to any details about himself as much as possible. He employs flattery and increasing the offered payment if he believes it will change the topic back to Neirave. If the player characters agrees to investigate Neirave, he will also offer the pyrestones.

He will also talk about the large brass statue that appears as a centerpiece in the cavern. It has a large pedestal that prevents human-sized creature from being able to touch it. He can talk endlessly about the ‘craftsmanship’ of the statue. He will express admiration for the choice of a subject. He may betray a deeper knowledge of dragon lore than he should. The effect of the brass statue is powerful enough to overcome his better judgment. Despite this, he will not be deferred long from the main topic he wants to discuss.

In combat, Pazara uses the high ceiling to allow him aerial attacks. In this cavern he has enough room to use his tail as an effective weapon. He has smoothed the walls of this cavern so there is no place for opponents to hide when he uses his breath weapon. He uses his spellcasting abilities to teleport short distances or blink. The central cavern is large enough for him to blink to any flank of his opponents. If he can blink within range of his huge maw, he will attempt to bite or swallow whole the target in front of him. His favorite spell is one that makes his breath weapon appear to be lightning, instead of fire.

Development

Pazara is trying to be cordial, but doesn’t have a lot of experience when it comes to humans. If the conversation becomes aggressive, he will attack by reverting to dragon form and flying to the ceiling of the central cavern. He wants Neirave gone, but he will not tolerate belligerence or disrespect from creatures he considers little better than cattle. If the player characters doesn’t appear interested in fighting Neirave, there is a very good chance that he will attack the player characters from behind as they leave.

In combat, Pazara will flee through an upper cavern near the ceiling if it looks like he will lose. Taking a pyrestone with him, he will change to human form and leave the cave until the player characters leaves. If Pazara is subdued, he will offer any and all his treasure, including the statue. He is confident that if he cannot find a way to move it, neither will the player characters. If Pazara is killed, the statue will revert to its angelic form.

If the player characters becomes interested in the statue, he will admit that he knows little about it. He will also state plainly that he found it here. When the player characters returns for payment, it is possible to convince Pazara to fund an expedition to find other statues.

If anyone manages to touch the statue or if the statue is attacked, it will appear to corrode and dissolve into dust. This will enrage Pazara and he will attack. The knowledge that it is a temporary disappearance is of no consolation to him.

Awards, Findings, & Treasure

Pazara has a typical dragon’s hoard of treasure. If the player characters are hired and are successful in defeating Neirave, Pazara will honor the terms of the contract. If the player characters press for information about the statue, Pazara may hire them to look for more statues. If the player characters can negotiate this deal, Pazara will double-cross them when they come for payment.

Pazara will give the player characters a little something for their trouble, if they successfully find a way to attack Neirave. He will be aggressive in trying to discover details about successful attacks on the Sleepless Drift. If the player characters escalate, Pazara will likely attack them to save himself the trouble of paying.

If the player characters kill Pazara, the statue will choose a member of the player characters and take their form. The statue will choose the player character that can communicate telepathically, is able to cast spells or rituals, or is the most intelligent. It will continuously attempt to mentally make contact until it is successful or the player character dies.

If a player character is able to make mental contact with the statue, it will attempt to convey the following facts:

• It is an intelligent and self-aware creature called a homunculus or an anthroparion.
• It was created by a human, whom it calls ‘father’.
• It has been attacked mentally and is greatly incapacitated.
• It can be moved with the proper ‘password’.

Unfortunately, whatever attacked the statue has seriously damaged its mind (presumably Neirave). It can communicate only in what sounds like tortured screams and rambling mumbles. Given enough time the player character contacted should be able to ascertain the four facts. The statue is affected by any spells or magic that affect the mind.

Enemy of my Enemy 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.

Encounter: Prox Peak

Written by Shedrick Pittman-Hassett
Illustrated by Rob Torno

Difficulty: Medium
Magic: None
Keywords: miners, cold, wolves, tendrils
Terrain: mountains, extreme cold
Treasure: None

Sharp winds tug at your heavy gear as you stand in the remains of Marlowe’s camp. Much of the camp is buried in dirty snow covered in a glistening sheen of ice. The make-shift crew quarters have been knocked down and lie strewn about the site. Rock-falls have buried much of the mining equipment, sharp spires and steel girders poking out of the debris like broken bones. The only sound is the occasional chirp of your radio equipment and the howling winds that fly down from the craggy slope of Prox Peak.

For hours, you poke about the site disconsolately. As you turn to leave, you happen across a small silver necklace buried beneath the dirt and snow. On the simple chain is clover charm, for luck. Shaking your head, you turn back toward your base camp. You feel the hairs on the back of your neck shiver and you slowly turn back toward the abandoned work site. Walking toward you is a group of humans, dressed in mining gear, slowly crossing the distance between you and the mine shaft. The dull light of Nyraeve’s winter sun reflects off of their skin. You call out to them, letting them know that you are here to rescue them. They offer no response but their relentless and measured steps. As they move closer, you see that their bodies are encased in thin skein of ice. Closer still, and you see that their eyes are wide in a silent scream behind the crystal skin…

Background

Nyraeve lies in far reaches of known space. Due to its ample supply of unobtainium and other mineral deposits, it is considered to be a potential source of great wealth…if anyone can figure out how to tap it. Numerous expeditions have been sent to the icy rock but few have returned, and none with any success to speak of. Most of the failures can be attributed to the remoteness of the planet, the extreme climate, and the desolate and treacherous nature of its landscape. What few survivors that have returned claim that the world is cursed, that they could feel eyes, ancient and cold, watching them from the ice.

Deep within the mountains and ice of Nyraeve, an ancient and malevolent intelligence has lain in torpor for centuries. Only its crystalline “tendrils”, small semi-intelligent parts of itself, may venture out into the light. The stirrings and warmth of the humans that began their exploration of its prison have awakened the creature. It has sent out its “tendrils” to investigate the visitors and, if possible, inhabit and control them, turning them into tools with which it can finally make good its escape and feed on the heat of the cosmos once more.

Proxima Mining Corporation (PMC) had sent Marlowe’s crew to begin a mining camp near an equatorial mountain range on icy Nyraeve. Marlowe and his team set down in a narrow valley near a mountain that the crew took to calling “Prox Peak”. In short order, communications were established and mining operations began in earnest. If the site began to yield, PMC would send a larger crew to begin a full-scale settlement operation. About a month into the operation, all contact between the site and PMC was severed.

It began with blood. Two of Marlowe’s team, Jaspen and Thayer, were taken out by a pack of Slirm during the initial survey of the site. Later, Marlowe came to see this as an omen of what was to come. A feeling of unease crept over the team as they began their operations, ever wary of whatever unseen enemy would strike from the unknown landscape.

Then came the dreams. Marlowe’s nights were spent in utter darkness, his dreams nightmares of emotion that left him fatigued the next day. As he and his crew cleared out space and set up equipment, he would catch glimpses of movement in the icy patches and wind-whipped ice formations around the site. He told no one of this…a mining crew foreman had to be as tough and impervious as the rock he mined. Despite his stoicism, the crew began to get concerned when Marlowe took to spending hours gazing into the ice, thinking about “nothing”.

As the crew delved deeper into the mountain, they penetrated the side of a natural tunnel deep within the rock. Two crew members were injured as frosty air shot out from the punctured tunnel, coating their faces in crystalline ice. The medic grew frantic as the ice showed no signs of thawing and began to spread over the men’s bodies like a fine glass shell. The crew refused to move forward into the mine shaft as its sides also began to glisten with an icy shell that spread from the break into the interior tunnel. Marlowe said nothing. That night, the two frozen crew members rose and found Marlowe. Nodding in silent understanding, he led the two to the camp where they forced the rest of the crew into the shaft. Inside the mine, icy tendrils sought their prey and enveloped the rest of the crew. Marlowe led his crew deeper into the ancient tunnel, abandoning the dig site for what lay in the heart of the icy mountains.

Objective

The characters have been sent to Prox Peak by Proxima Mining Corporation (PMC) to investigate the disappearance of Marlowe’s crew and to report their findings to the Board of Directors. The Company is concerned about the welfare of the crew, as well as the viability of a potentially lucrative operation.

While investigating the initial dig site, the characters will encounter:

• Slirm: These six-legged creatures are each the size of a large wolf and resemble hyenas with elongated crocodilian jaws. They group in small “families” and are voracious, vicious, and clever predators, prone to attacking humans. They normally employ pack tactics until one of them gets a grip with its jaws; then, it simply doesn’t let go, exerting immense, bone-breaking force while its family continues their harrying until the prey is brought down (from The Planet Nyraeve).
• “Altered” crew members: These are members of Marlowe’s crew who have been inhabited and encased by the tendrils. Marlow, aware of the characters due to his communication with the “host entity”, views the characters as a threat; this could be because in his current state he has grown paranoid and only trusts his crew or could be due to a deeply buried part of his humanity that needs to turn the characters away from the danger that he has embraced.

Tactics

• Slirm: These creatures are clever predators that can hide easily in the monotonous terrain of Nyraeve. They possess basic animal intelligence and defend their territory with ferocity. Unless faced with the most obvious and overwhelming of odds, the creatures will fight to the death.
• “Altered” crew members: The “tendrils” of the host entity have encased each of their victims in a thin ice-like membrane and have entered their victims’ bodies via the ears. The crew members are aware of their surroundings, and their entrapment in their own bodies, over which they have no control. Behind the scrim of ice on their face, their eyes are frozen wide with shock and terror at their new state.
  • This coating will give the victim the benefit of increased physical armor without the penalties of weight.
  • Should the characters use a heat-based attack on an altered crew member, the heat will make the tendrils more active and allow it to create a pseudopod-like appendage to attack the character. This appendage could act as a whip or a narrow blade or could be a means with which to possess the character if touched/penetrated.
  • Should the characters use a cold-based attack on the altered crew member, the tendrils will become less active, slowing the crew member down considerably and allowing the crew member a chance to fight off the parasite (if they can survive the attack themselves).
  • If faced with overwhelming odds, the crew members could be recalled by the host entity or by Marlowe and will retreat into the mine shaft.

Environmental Effects

The camp at Prox Peak is located in one of the few habitable zones on Nyraeve along a narrow equatorial band. Habitable is, of course, a subjective assessment. The camp is situated in a narrow valley at the foot of a tall mountain in the midst of a massive range. The valley protects the camp from the worst of the sharp winds that shoot down from the craggy peaks, but not all of them. Temperatures range anywhere from 20-below to freezing. The atmosphere is close enough to Earth-normal for it not to be a factor and the camp itself is not at a high elevation. Prolonged exposure without environmental gear could produce hypothermia and frostbite.

Development

When the characters set down at Prox Peak, they will find the remains of an abandoned mining camp. Equipment lies covered in snow/ice drifts. Supplies lie strewn about the rocky ground. Characters that search may find stool left from a mammal of some sort as well as bits of fur or claw. Two graves will also be found, untended and nearly hidden by snow, ice, and rock fall. Should the bodies be exhumed for examination, they will show signs of having been torn apart by an animal.

The Slirm will initiate a surprise attack using their advanced hiding skills. The creatures will fight fiercely and to the death unless met with overwhelming resistance. The characters, especially if they have found the gravesites and examined the bodies, may believe that the crew fell victim to these fierce animals that spring from the rocks and ice unseen.

As the characters make their way to the mine shaft, they will notice a group of people emerging from the area, slowly making their way toward the camp. All attempts to communicate will be ignored. Once they are in sight, the characters will slowly realize that these are crew members, encased in ice, their screams frozen in the wild-eyed stares that penetrate their crystal prison…

If faced with overwhelming odds, an “altered” crew member may flee (or be recalled) to the mine shaft. A tendril that is “killed” is actually driven out and may kill its crew member as it tears itself loose to return to the host entity.

Awards, Findings, & Treasure

Should the characters manage subdue a tendril that does not kill its crew member host, that crew member may be insane but could give insight into what happened to Marlowe and the crew.

A tendril that is subdued will move too fast to be captured as it returns to the host entity. However, it could be tracked to the mine shaft and beyond.

If a crew member falls, an analysis could reveal traces of the tendril that could be analyzed. It would be found that the tendril is some sort of “organic nano-entity”, capable of absorbing large amounts of heat energy, replicating itself exponentially, and sending organic signals of some unknown nature at long range. Traces could very well be found encasing the victim’s brain stem, indicating some sort of control performed by the creature.

Regardless, the crew will probably want to explore the mine shaft for more answers, which would likely lead to the next encounter.

Prox Peak 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.

Encounter: Curse of the Centheions

Written by John Payne
Illustrated by Kenya Ferrand

Difficulty: hard
Magic: low
Keywords: possessed, parasite
Terrain: frozen forest
Treasure: minor

“Go no further!” says the creature on the hill. “The Sleepless Drift will pass by here, move to a safe place!“

The creature speaking looks like it once was a centaur. The torso is twisted in a half turn showing the emaciated side of the centaur’s upper body. The lower body is gray and losing hair in patches from withers to rump. As it approaches, you see that the hair is thin and gray. It’s mouth is frozen in a partially open grimace. When it speaks, you can hear its tongue click in its mouth.

In a blink of an eye, it stands before you. The grim centaur clutches its scythe close to its torso while pointing the business end in your direction. One white eye gazes down at you. The creature says in a labored and hollow voice, “You should leave now.“

Background

The forest where Neirave rules was formerly the home of several families of centaurs called a harras. The forest provided shelter from the elements. It is located next to what was once a vast pampas. The centaurs would spend much of the spring and summer running from one edge of the grassland to the other. Although still distrustful of humans, the centuars would come to the annual spring fair in the human village. At the human village, the centaurs were able to trade and sell various goods, including steel. Centauri star charts still fetch a high price anywhere in the region.

As the winters grew longer, the harras of centaurs spent less and less time in the forest. As food was becoming scarce some centuars moved to warmer lands while others stayed to fight for their home. Those that stayed struggled to find food. As the winter became longer, the berries and small game died or disappeared. The centaurs faced starvation.

About a year ago, one of the centaurs began to turn gray. His skin began to pale and his green eyes became lighter every day. His speech was strangled and his behavior became more and more erratic. He ate the strange white berries the rest of the harras had learned to avoid. As the days wore on, his body began to appear twisted and warped. He cried in pain frequently and his now white eyes showed no sign of the centuar he once was. The others avoided him and gave him the name from an apocalyptic prophecy: Centheion – the killer of elemental fire.

In centaur religion, the end of the world would be heralded by an abomination that went against everything sacred. The most sacred object in centaur religion is elemental fire. The home fire is one of the most binding elements of centauri culture that bring them together as a species. According to prophecy, the centheion will appear and profane the earth with unspeakable acts of depravity and cruelty. When the cenetheion and his army destroy the elemental fire within the belly of the earth, the end of the world will come.

The centheion is a centuar that is infected by an arctic parasite known as the hungerworm. The hungerworm causes its victim to feel a continuous hunger. The only thing that can abate this feeling is eating an arctic plant known as a mehen berry. Mehen berries are high in a powerful narcotic that renders the imbiber in a catatonic state.

In its natural habitat, the powerful narcotic allows the parasite to influence the victim to eat more mehen berries. The parasite cannot digest these on its own, so in infects various mammals (including humans and polar bears). In the forest of Neirave, however, the narcotic allows the Sleepless Drift to easily exert her will over anyone infected with the parasite.

The centheions gain the curious ability to teleport short distances. As the remorhaz attacks based on perceived movement, this prevents the centheions from being attacked by it. However, it is not certain if the parasite or Neirave grants the teleportation ability.

The centheions are not undead. They can be treated with hearthfruit and freed from the curse. Eating this fruit or receiving a magic/herbal treatment with this fruit will kill the parasite and begin to restore the centaurs. Once free of the parasite, they are able to resist the Sleepless Drift’s thrall. Unlike others in the area, centaurs have more of a resistance to the effects of Neirave. They can, and usually do, resist her will. Curing the centheions of the curse removes their ability to teleport.

Under the thrall of Neirave, the centheion seek only to defend her from harm. If the player characters come into close proximity to her, they will appear. Shortly after any battle begins, their companion, a thralled remorhaz will appear to fight with them.

Objective

When first encountered, the centheion attempt to warn the player characters to move away. If they player characters do not move away, they will attack. Being reduced to simple-minded creatures by the effects of the mehen berries and the thrall of Neirave, they are not capable of any being talked out of their goal.

Tactics

In combat, they use their teleportation ability to disorient their foes. The speed at which they approach is the same as their full running speed, but as they teleport in a zigzag pattern, the perceived effect is they are moving much faster. The remorhaz will appear later in the fight and attack the nearest player character to it. A remorhaz recognizes a centheion and cannot be tricked into attacking one by mistake.

Once in close proximity, the centheions attempt to flank an individual opponent by constantly teleporting behind it. If possible, they will use their front hoofs to knock down an opponent and strike their prone target with a scythe or poleaxe.

Environmental Effects

There are several feet of snow and ice on the ground. Without proper foot gear or magic, moving around is very slow and difficult. The terrain does not affect the centheions or the remorhaz.

Development

The centheions do not want to fight, but are compelled to do so by Neirave. If their warnings are not enough to deter the player characters, they will attack. Unless they are somehow treated for their parasitic infection with hearthfruit, the centheions and the remorhaz will fight to the death. Before dying, the centheions will thank the player characters for setting them free.

The player characters are themselves at risk for infection at this point. If untreated, an infected player character will become under the thrall of Neivare in seven days.

If the centheions and the remorhaz are killed in combat, it is very likely that Neirave herself will appear shortly.

Awards, Findings, & Treasure

If the player characters succeed in curing the centheions of the curse, they will gain a powerful ally that is resistant to the thrall of Neirave. They know the terrain of the forest and will easily be able to locate Neirave at any time. They will also gain the trust of the harras of centaurs that live in the area. These centaurs are known for their star charts and navigational maps. They will be happy to give the player characters a copy of any chart they wish.

If the player characters succeed in defeating the centheions, they will recover a magical bow from one of the dead centheions. Otherwise, neither they nor the remorhaz carry any treasure.

There is no benefit for retreating from the centheions other than a vaguely better idea as to Neirave’s location.

Curse of the Centheions y 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.

Items of the Sleepless Drift

Written by Steven Schutt
Illustrated by Matt Meyer

The snowy world Neirave envisions is one of great peril and endless sorrow. She chips away at the beating of her still warm heart while she expands the forests and fields that comprise her realm. Ruled by an icy conception of mankind, the Snow Queen fears nothing and hates nothing. She wishes ill on all things, for so long as the world contains those with hate in their hearts, Neirave believes, no one deserves happiness. To stand by while evil occurs is greater evil. For those who brave her winter, there is solace in certain objects of power, but they growfewer every day. The Goddess of the Snow awaits her throne.

Snow Diamond

Neirave rarely cries, for the ache in her heart dried her eyes long ago. Those tears she sheds now freeze to the strength of adamantine. Snow diamonds, only thirty-five of which exist, are the hardened salt tears of a woman who wishes to damn the world but is at the same time stymied by her emotions. On their own, snow diamonds are worth a king’s ransom, so perfect is their construction. Indeed, those who escape the Sleepless Drift with a genuine snow diamond find they cannot spend the wealth in twenty lifetimes.

When ingested, however, these gems show their true potential. The user immediately gains the ability to control water in his general area, freezing and thawing it at a whim. He may use these abilities as a weapon, freezing blood or completely dehydrating an enemy. As a tool of peace, these powers might refill a well at in a period of drought or save someone from dying of thirst on a long trek.

The one drawback of using a snow diamond is a heavy one. The user immediately forms a bond with Neirave, and once a year must sleep within twenty feet of her grave for a day. Should they fail to do so, all the water in their bodies, not only in their blood, freezes and sublimates, deflating the bones, muscles and tissues into a useless puddle of dust to blow away in the wind. Those who consume a snow diamond realize immediately their connection to the snow mistress and they long always to see her, but do not immediately know the true risks of their power.

Fireheart

All things have an opposite, for without a mirror there is no reflection. For those who oppose Neirave and her eternal winter, a fireheart is like a blade of sharpest steel to the Sleepless Drift. To craft them, one must go deep in the earth where the heat of the planet melts even the coldest stone. These ruby-tipped staves, when brought to bear against those empowered by the cold, act as more than mere magic sticks.

A fireheart morphs into the weapon most favored by its wielder and strengthens the sunlight in the general area, raising the local temperature by at least twenty degrees. When this weapon actually strikes a beast of the cold it phases through them, dealing no physical harm. The damage appears a few seconds later as a red line or blotch forms along the path the blade took or at the point of impact. This injury then implodes and sears the insides of its victims.

Immersion Key

This silver key opens the doors of the mind and soul, liquefies them and sends them out in waves of crystal, freezing water. Of the hundreds of effigies that live in Neirave’s icy hell, none have the power to do more than hate themselves for their own misgivings and faults. However, the growing chill in Neirave’s heart, the blackened emotions of her victims and the power of her winter coalesced into something physical; something with ability to spread the Sleepless Drift like a murderous plague.

The Immersion Key sits nestled in a small knot in a tree near Neirave’s tomb. Though she has yet to feel it herself, its existence will not remain a secret for long. With each of those who brave the Sleepless Drift to try and end it, the chances of a worldwide, endless winter grow larger and larger.

Bloodlet Portal

A young man Neirave once knew and cared for died the same day she did. He died of hemorrhage from the neck, after he nicked himself while shaving. The wound, if examined alongside Neirave’s would appear identical. However this link formed, it remained, and remains, to this day. The blood pooled in the basin the man shaved over dried before his family realized he was gone. Not wishing to see the evidence of his absence every time they began their day, the family burned both the basin and the blood.

Now the fire pit, nestled in the forest far to the south of Neirave’s forest, acts as a portal into her mind. Or, more accurately, into an abstraction her mind created by her conflicting heart and body. The portal only opens on a full lunar eclipse. Once inside Neirave’s “mind”, those who seek answers and hope in her heart must search a strange plane with oceans of molten blood, skies of perpetual ice and air of boiling coldness. The end of each person’s journey inside this strange realm is different, as at no time is Neirave every the same in mindset.

Should someone find the strength to delve into the darkest corners of this strange plane, they will come across a door of unfathomable height, behind which the Snow Queen’s future stands. Not even Neirave knows what lies behind this door, for she has no control over anyone’s fate.

Dresses of a Forgotten Princess

A humble home, frozen in an thick layer of ice on the edge of a forest, holds the last vestiges of a young woman’s life among men. Those she loved and called friend hated her for her powers, so strong was the fear that gripped them. Those emotions still fester in the Neirave Eda’s mind, and the clothes of her previous life now contain many of her memories from before the winter began.

The dress she wore to her sixth birthday party, a small, simple thing inlaid with a few pieces of quartz and amethyst holds the memories of a childhood spent in bliss. Those who hold either the dress or its jewels in their hands dream the dreams of their youth. These people wake feeling younger, and they do in fact gain ten years to their overall lifespan.

The dress Neirave wore to her coming of age ceremony in the middle of summer gives its owners some control over the fires of hope and the fires of flesh. Those who hold the ruby brooch from the dress can call on the sun from those many years ago and burn away the fears of others or fill open minds with the burning passion of those just experiencing the joys of freedom.

Finally, the dress Neirave wore the day before her suicide is one filled with great sadness and longing, and any who touch it fall into a deep slumber filled with nightmares of the strangest kind. They watch as those they care for die long, painless deaths. Mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters say their last words again and again, fading into eternity before the dreamer’s eyes.

This dress begs its owner to squeeze it tight to make the hurt go away, which only prolongs the suffering. The dreams this dress inspires do, however, give insight into Neirave’s current state of mind. Those who sleep for a week with the dress hugged tight can reason with the Snow Queen in some way and possibly ebb her pain and suffering. How much good this will do remains to be seen.

Items of the Sleepless Drift 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.