The Adventuring Alchemist

Written by John Payne
Illustrated by Rob Torno

Introduction

Wizards and alchemists appear to share many commonalities. Both are given to many long hours of study researching various texts in search of knowledge. Wizards and alchemists usually have a large laboratory that contains many experiments and unusual equipment. They also share a particular smugness that comes from the knowledge that they can manipulate the universe to their will. They would appear to be similar, but their differences are quite marked.

Wizards study magic. Many times it is difficult to define the study of magic except to say that it is an art. Texts have ancient languages long dead. Some magic research is riddled with opaque numerology or contradictory symbols. There are no real standards.

Alchemists, on the other hand, are only interested in what can be observed and predictably duplicated in the lab. They seek to understand the characteristics of matter and energy so that both can be manipulated. By repeated and measured experiments, the alchemist can predict how things interact in the known universe. As such, they are able to create many wondrous items, fundamentally alter the chemical structure of matter, and even create life.

An alchemist sees the world as a conglomeration of various compounds that interact with each other. Every substance is a complex series of compounds, each formed by two or more of the five fundamental elements. Each of the elements was formed by an another purer element. The primary element, akasha, is the basis of all substances that exist in the universe. An alchemist has learned that if a compound can be refined into its component elements. With these component elements, a skilled alchemist can create new compounds. The materials that can be created are as infinite as the stars.

Adventuring

Alchemists often adventure to seek out materials for their experiments. They are usually not seeking items typically found in wizards’ concoctions (like an eye of newt or sweat of a dragon), but rare plants and metals. As they spend much of their time in a lab, they are not particularly adept at combat. To protect themselves, an alchemist prepares extensively for any journey they undertake. With their ability to create wondrous items, they usually bring with them various elixirs and thrown weapons. Many also modify crossbow bolts.

Abilities

Fundamentally, alchemists begin their research by creating various elixirs. It is trivial for them to create various poisons, so they usually attempt to create potions that carry a dramatic effect such as super strength, long live, curing diseases, and various transformative potions. Many young alchemists begin their careers as a local apothecary or healer. This allows them a good income affording them the ability to purchase equipment and rare materials.

An alchemist is unequaled in the detection of poisons and identifying materials. As a product of their unique understanding of the universe, an alchemist relies on ‘hearing’ a substance to determine its properties. Their ability to detect materials also extends into detecting the presence of magic as well.

The presence of magic itself carries its own identifying timbre, though all magical effects have the same sound. In other words, an alchemist can know that magic is present, but has no knowledge as to its effect. Magic can partially obscure the sound of a material or poison, but the alchemist will be aware of the magic.

Unique Weapons: An alchemist is capable of defending him or herself in many situations, though they are often vulnerable if attacked by surprise. Many prefer to evade combat altogether. Using smoke pellets and flash powder, they attempt to disorient their opponents in order to escape. Others employ poisons, acids, and other chemical agents to sicken, dissolve, or otherwise destroy their opponents. A few other more swashbuckling types choose to modify crossbow bolts or use a flintlock launcher that hurls small canisters of various alchemical substances. When a target is out of range of the flintlock launcher, he uses an atlatl to hurl a canister-tipped javelin.

As they progress in their abilities, they also begin to understand the nature of metals and other materials. With careful crafting and chemical treatments, they are able to create alloys with many curious characteristics. Most commonly, they are able to make extremely light metals that are stronger than steel. Other materials include self-healing wood, alchemist stone (a substance that can be easily shaped and quickly hardens), floatwood, and the like. Alchemists also learn to create various wondrous items. Simple items include flintwood, (a stick of wood that lights itself), universal solvent, and other things. Smoke pellets, greek fire, gunpowder…

The truly advanced alchemists studies the material composition of life itself. Using all their vast store of knowledge and skill, a talented alchemist is able to give life to an inanimate form. Unlike golems, the soul is unique and is not trapped unwillingly in the body. It is intelligent and capable of learning, adapting, and self-recognition. The forms can range from simple piles of rope to full replicas of humans.

Below is a sampling of the various poisons, potions, materials, and wondrous items an alchemist can create. Although there are many possibilities, every alchemist cannot create everything listed. Many alchemists tend to specialize in a certain area. For example, an alchemist may choose to specialize in fabricated various woods and metals due the high prices offered.

Alchemical Items

Poisons

Poisons are classified by the same elemental theory that guides their work. The reason for this is that each fundamental element is associated with one of the five senses. Alchemists classify poisons by the senses used to detect them. They can hear the unique properties of any poison, this is why they can detect any poison. Everything has an fundamental essence that emits a unique identifying sound. There is no such thing as a silent poison.

• Bumi (earth) – the most fundamental poisons. Easily detected, unique color, smell, taste, texture
• Ap (water) – second class of poisons – Unique color, taste and texture. Odorless
• Tejas (fire) – third class of poisons – unique color and texture
• Pavan (air) – fourth class of poisons – unique texture
• Sora (ether) – these extremely rare poisons do not occur in nature. They are created through arcane arts or alchemist’ formulas. These types of poison can only be ‘heard’

Potions

Potions are the staple of most aspiring alchemists. Although it is labor intensive to create a potion, once it is created it is significantly cheaper to make copies. Potions also afford a young alchemist with a steady income from the sick, diseased, or dying.

• Bravery – Such a potion will help the imbiber overcome fear and find courage. The effects last only 30 minutes. This potion is highly physically and psychologically addictive.
• Increased/Decreased Strength – These potions provide a large increase or decrease in physical strength. These potions also tend to be highly addictive physically.
• Water Breathing – When this potion is ingested, a person can breath underwater for two hours. While under the effects of this potion, the lungs fill with water. It is painful when the effects of the potion wear off as the body expels all the fluid in the lungs.
• Healing wounds – This potion help wounds to heal at a much faster rate. It will not treat the effects of poison.
• Healing diseases – Each potion is unique to the disease it treats. One dose will eliminate the targeted disease in a person that drinks it.
• Purifying Food – This thick fluid can treat two pounds of food and purify it from any pathogen or poison. Treated food may not taste very good, but it is safe to eat.
• Increased/Decreased Speed – This potion will help a creature move at 2 to 5 times faster or slower than their normal speed. The effects of these potions are not cumulative. Drinking two Increased Speed potions will not double the effect.
• Increased/Decreased Size – These potions will change a creatures physical form to be up to 5 times larger or 10 times smaller than their present size. Be warned, your clothing, armor, or other possessions do not change size.
• Grow Plants – This potion is used in blighted areas to help fledgling crops to grow well in poor soil. It will, however, increase the length of any plant it is applied to.
• Immunity to Lycanthropy – This potion causes the imbiber to be immune from lycanthropy for a month.
• Cure Lycanthropy – This potion will completely cure a creature infected with a form of lycanthropy. The potion is specific to the type of lycanthrope. For example, a potion to cure were-wolves will have no affect on were-tigers.
• Etherealness – This is also known as he Akasha Transformation. The form of a creature that drinks this potion becomes composed entirely of akasha. As such, the creature becomes invisible and immune to all but magical weapons. While under the effects of this spell, the creature can also harmlessly pass through walls. This potion also allows a creature to shift to an alternative dimension. In this dimension, great distances can be traveled quickly.
• Protection from ESP – This rare potion will block the effects of any psionic. It lasts for an hour.

Wonderous Creations

Items range from various tools, to weapons, to chemicals. The powders and pellets are quite simple to manufacture, but some of the more obscure chemicals can take months and years to produce.

• Sneezing Powder – This powder will cause the target to sneeze uncontrollably for about 15 seconds. It is intended as a distraction or as a means to make a getaway and avoid pursuit.
• Choking Powder – This powder will cause the target to cough and wheeze. The target’s ability to breathe is hampered for about 90 seconds to 2 minutes. It is intended to be an agent that will render a target unconscious.
• Flash powder – This powder is intended to temporarily blind or distract a target. The effects of the blindness are temporary and cause no permanent damage.
• Smoke Pellets – These pellets, when triggered, will generate a dense, obscuring fog for three minutes. The smoke itself causes no harm, but it is extremely difficult to see through. A skilled alchemist is able to make these pellets function in such a way that a magical gust of wind will not dissipate the fog.
• Philosopher’s Stone – A stone almost entirely comprised of Akasha. It is able to purify any material and extend the lifespan of any creature that possess it. It can turn any metal into gold, platinum, or an alloy of akasha.
• Orgonite – This unusual alloy of metal serves as a great catalyst to fabricate any kind of metal. Alchemists with functional orgonite can reduce the cost and time required to fabricate metals.
• Artificial Vine – This item is created with the intent to entangle its victims in a mass of strong vines. The vines can cover a large area and will attempt to entangle any creature walking close by.
• Greek Fire – Greek Fire is an ancient concoction that stays aflame, even on water.
• Universally Slippery Oil – This oil will make any surface slippery until it is removed.
• Phase Cloaks – The wearer of this cloak will be protected from ranged weapons. This is due to the inability to accurate focus on the wearer’s actual location. At a distance of more than ten feet away, the wearer will appear fuzzy and any kind of depth perception will fail.
• Flintwood – This wood comes in small bundles and is used for tinder when creating campfires. It lights very quickly when struck, but its flame lasts only a few seconds.
• Floatwood – This material is fabricated to be lighter-than-air. It is used in the construction of various flying apparatus. It is also used to lower the draft of merchant ships.
• ClearSteel – This time of metal is transparent like glass, but at least as strong as steel. It is not a good material for creating weapons as it cannot hold an edge very well.
• Mithril – A material with all the strength of steel, but half its weight.
• Adamantium – A material that is ten times stronger than the best steel, but only slightly heavier. Very expensive and difficult to create. Once created, a skilled smith familiar with the material can craft any metal items desired including swords and armor.

• Alchemist Atlatl – This spear thrower is designed to deliver a javelin with greater accuracy than a bow with equal range. Javelins can hold a slightly larger payload of alchemical substance that the charges used with the flintlock pistol.
• Arquebus – A larger version of the flintlock pistol characteristic of alchemists, it is designed to function like a siege weapon despite its small size. It delivers larger payloads of black powder or other alchemical substance than either a pistol or an atlatl.
• Alchemist Stone – A material that can be shaped like clay, but quickly cures to a dense, stone-like material. Only an alchemist can quickly change it back to its clay form.
• Self-healing wood – This wood will mend itself of any cuts. When used in construction, two pieces of this wood can be joined without nails. Allowed to sit for two hours, it will function as one piece of wood. When used to build a sea-going vessel, the vessel will automatically be leak proof.
• alkahest – universal solvent
• agua regia – dissolves gold and platinum. Can be used to hide gold and platinum.
• Agua fortis – weaker universal solvent – everything but gold and platinum.
• Agua vitae – distilled alcohol. brandy, whiskey, etc.

Homunculus

• Imps
• Rope Things (Chokers)
• Ball Homonculi
• Anthroparion (human replicas)

Weapon Treatments

Various oil to apply to weapons that cause the following effects:

• dehydration
• paralysis
• sleep
• loss of memory (enhancement of memory)
• exothermic oil (makes things cold)

Adventuring Alchemist 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.

Heroes of the Vale

Written by Jerall Toi
Illustrated by Matt Meyer

With Forgegrinder’s fifth automaton on the loose, the chance of outside help arriving shrinks with every passing day. Despite finding themselves in this seemingly impossible situation, there are a few from within the Hidden Vale willing to take action. Brave individuals, from the humblest of beginnings, now set out to find a way, from within, to reconnect the Vale with the outside world.

Forgegrinder’s Apprentice

You’ve always had a talent for magic and the arcane, even though the Vale didn’t provide much opportunity to practice it. You considered Forgegrinder’s arrival as the best thing to ever happen to your secluded home town, despite the tragic turn of events. Though he never accepted you formally as his apprentice, he often managed to purposefully not notice you when you peered through his window or looked over his shoulder. On occasion, he would even absent-mindedly leave the occasional book or pile of notes just where you would find them.

Forgegrinder’s death wasn’t easy for you to process, but you know that he wouldn’t want you to spend your days moping around. Now, you are the only one in the Vale that has a hope of understanding any of his writings. You may not be as skilled or as experienced as Forgegrinder, but your natural talent, sharp mind and Forgegrinder’s collection of books and notes might be enough to help solve the Vale’s automaton problem.

You have no formal training or education, but rather than letting it hinder you, you embrace it. This allows you a freedom of thought that manifests as an insightful, out-of-the-box problem-solving ability not readily found amongst the thought-blinkered formally educated.

Forgegrinder’s books and notes are an invaluable source of information and you’ve managed to retain some of that knowledge. However, there’s simply too much for you to absorb. Thankfully, you’ve managed to puzzle out the Warsmith’s convoluted indexing system. With enough time and access to his texts, you can answer nearly any question pertaining to Forgegrinder’s areas of expertise.

In your backpack, you might find: enough scrap and spares to make minor field repairs to mechanical objects; an improvised warsmith’s toolkit; a selection of Forgegrinder’s notes; and an unlabeled flask of oil taken from a crate under Forgegrinder’s bed.

The Merchant

For as long as you can remember, you’ve been traveling with your uncle and his merchant caravan. His long and winding route would bring you to the hidden vale once a year, during the late spring when the mountain passes were easier to traverse. Your uncle would trade spices, medicinal herbs and poultices, and various luxury items for furs, hides and other produce and products unique to the Vale. Normally, your uncle would only spend a week, maybe two, in the vale. This time, however, you find yourself trapped there, first by marauding soldiers and then by Forgegrinder’s automatons.

Since you’re not used to staying in one place for too long, you now direct your energies towards finding a way out of the Vale. You have learned much on your travels, some of which may prove handy when trying to find a way out of the Vale.

You are no stranger to combat, though you lack any formal training. You’ve needed to defend the caravan, on more than one occasion, against brigands, wild beasts and other dangers of the road.

Watching and working with your uncle has taught you a lot about the power of words. You know how to talk your way past a corrupt guard post, interpret the dangerous legalese of contracts and, perhaps most importantly, dazzle and inspire others – especially potential buyers.

In your backpack, you might find: forged writs of passage through the war-torn lands surrounding the Vale; your lucky coin; a small bag of salt; and a copy of a treasure map, detailing an area that seems very similar to the Hidden Vale.

The Shepherd

The mountains surrounding the Vale can be a dangerous place – especially for a hapless sheep. Looking back on your short life, you realize that most of your martial skill developed through the games you played as a child of a mountain shepherd, and was refined through defending your father’s herd from predators, both mundane and fantastic. You, and your loyal dog, have successfully fended off wild mountain cats, large raptors and the mysterious cave-dwelling beasts of the night.

Though initially wary of the Dwarven Warsmith, Forgegrinder quickly won you over with his various tools and gadgets that made everything, from shearing sheep to getting a scared lamb out of a tight crevice, easier. Now, however, you realize that your original suspicions were well placed.

You are at home in the rough terrain of the mountainside. Despite your size, you are able to move with surprising grace and speed amongst the jagged rocks and slippery slopes. Your ability to navigate through the mountains will surely prove valuable in finding an alternate route to the outside world.

A trained warrior may say that your fighting style seems wild and desperate, but then, how many trained warriors are used to fighting against the dangers of the wild mountainside. Besides, anybody would be desperate, if they had to face your father after losing one of his flock.

In your backpack, you might find: a small musical instrument; a warm, waterproofed blanket; a length of rope; and a tooth from the mountain cat that took one of your fingers (one day, you’ll get that cat).

Heroes of the Vale 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 Hidden Vale

Written by Steven Schutt

Introduction

Nestled between two mighty mountains and set within a small depression in the earth, Hidden Vale was, once, a quiet place where those seeking peace could come and go as they pleased. There was always a warm bed available, simple food, light ale and friendly people. It is now a cracked reflection of its former glory. The town remains quiet, though now it is an unnatural thing, as no one wishes to make themselves or their home known to the world at large. The guardians at either end of the pass are vicious in their defense, and none in Hidden Vale have any way to remove them from their posts.

Worse, with no influx of new arrivals due to the quarantine, the inhabitants of the Vale grow old and die, sometimes without leaving heirs. Those couples already with children do their best to raise them in a cautious fear of the guardians at the edges of their prison-home. This serves only to further isolate the town from the rest of the world, hastening its spiral into oblivion.

Perhaps the greatest harm for residents of Hidden Vales comes in the form of knowledge, or in their case, the lack of it. As the fifth and final guardian annihilates the last vestiges of the Vale’s history, the less chance there is of anyone coming to the rescue. Scholars of the region have little to go on nowadays when it comes to finding the Vale, and several adventuring parties sought out its now well-hidden location.

Of the two that returned, one had only one remaining member, and he died of his injuries before he could relate what slaughtered his band. The second group was more successful, and came away with information on the tactics of the golems and topography of the region. Unfortunately, that information disappeared too within a few weeks of its transcribing, and none of the adventurers ever reappeared after leaving on their next journey.

Background

The history of the Vale itself is a long one, as the town inside it only appeared recently, perhaps within the last two hundred years. Settled initially as a buffer zone between two nations with old, often hostile relations, its first inhabitants were military personnel. These troops fell under the command of an exiled colonel who thought little of either nation. Within weeks of its founding, what would become Hidden Vale cut off connection with both nations after the drafting, signing and ratifying of a loosely binding treaty. So long as the nations did nothing to harm the citizens and any trade that came through, Hidden Vale would not knowingly harbor traitors from either nation. Both nations agreed, and dismissed their troops to commingle in the city proper.

Several years passed and the soldiers either settled down into families or left to pursue their futures. A steady stream of immigrants, adventurers, exiles and aging folk began to come and go, some staying, some leaving after a time. The town did well, and the population grew at an even pace, reaching a healthy three thousand at the height of the Vale’s prosperity. Money was not an issue for a good majority of the townspeople and crime, though a problem, was never widespread enough for any more than a few dozen watchmen to be on duty at one time.

This all changed when the nations that founded the town and gifted it to the colonel went to war once again. The treaty still stood, and the nations, while not kind or gentle, were honorable and let the town go about its business. On and on their war dragged, neither side gaining ground. Refugees from destroyed towns flooded the Vale several times, and many a tent went up in the fields outside the town. One of them, a tinker named Renderson Forgegrinder, went so far as to set up a shop on the outskirts of town. When men of the king came to retrieve him for escaping his duties, the people remembered the treaty. On the one hand, now that they knew a traitor lay in their midst, they were honor bound to return him. On the other hand, however, the soldiers possessed no evidence of the dwarf’s treason. Until such could be procured and presented to the town governor, Forgegrinder went nowhere.

It was not long after that the people realized that they should have sent the dwarf packing. The guardians in place, their creator dead, the people of Hidden Vale were trapped in their own home, left to watch as the world forgot them. Nothing they could do would prevent their slow decent into eternity.

Appearance

Once a bustling town filled with the sounds of life and progress, Hidden Vale now sits destitute and stagnant. The houses have begun to fall to the winds that sweep through the pass, and the lack of incoming trade and materials further deteriorates the brick, wood and stone buildings. The signs on the three inns of the town are no longer readable, the well dried up some time ago, and several homes collapsed within the last year, leaving piles of rubble scattered throughout the town.

Two areas of the town, however, remain in perfect condition: the military barracks at the north end and the gates to the south. The barracks once served as disadvantaged housing and its basement held weapons and supplies should the need arise. The sentinels positioned themselves at these places and maintain them to better protect the town from without and within. The gates are literally welded shut and their size makes it all but impossible to ever open them again. The barracks, while of no particular use to the guardians, are incredibly defensible. The store of weapons allows the guardians great leeway in how they deal with intruders or escapees.

Using Hidden Vale

Hidden Vale is easily placed into any fantasy or steampunk setting that allows for golem creation and rune magic. The only requirements are two nations with strained relations and a valley between them to serve as the site of the town. There need not even be mountains, though this certainly makes the town more difficult to invade. With the guardians standing watch, it makes for a wonderful site to hide ancient evils, artifacts or malcontents who somehow manage to slip inside, only to be trapped once within its walls.

Adventure Hooks

• I Left My Heart in Hidden Vale: An old man approaches the PCs and offers them everything he has, which is quite a bit, to secret his wife from Hidden Vale to his arms before he dies. In his age, he neglects to mention the guardians and the awful state of the town. However, before he can secure his last remaining map of the region, the fifth golem murders him and destroys the map. The party must find an answer on two fronts: who committed a murder and where the town of Hidden Vale actually is. Until they secure the wife, the fortune remains in the bank.
• Lights of Heaven, Fires of Hell: A strange light appears in the western sky, bright as the sun and shining at all hours. Indeed, the sun does not rise while this light sits in the sky. When the PCs find an entire village scoured of life, they discover clues that point to the strange light as the cause. Following the light, they arrive at a strange apparatus in the heart of a desert. Once they disable it, the party finds the rune of Renderson Forgegrinder etched onto the glass emitter. If the party wishes to discover the perpetrator, they must hunt the dwindling information on the dwarf tinker and his creations. This brings them into conflict with the fifth automaton, who too seeks the criminal that stole its old master’s creation. Who arrives at the answer first: the destroyer or the savior?
• Let Me Sleep: A king of great age falls ill to a wasting plague unlike any before it. Only the magic of his clerics keeps him alive, and he wants to keep it that way. Unfortunately for him, he knows a great deal about Hidden Vale, as he rules one of its border nations. When the PCs wish to entreat the king for some quest he asked of them, they find themselves stymied at all levels. No one gives them a straight answer as to what goes on in the castle and everyone seems to have conflicting information. The king long sewed dissention among his ranks, and the fifth automaton takes advantage of this to work his way up to the royal bedchamber. When the PCs intervene, the golem races to finish its plans and makes a critical error, putting its mission in jeopardy. Can the party catch a killer before it commits regicide, or will a king live to see another day?

The Hidden Vale 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Portrait of a Villain: Automated Antagonist

Written by Paul King
Illustrated by Kenya Ferrand

Keywords: humanoid construct
Race: warforged, android, golem
Profession: guards, assassin

This one’s purpose is its ‘life,’ to take one is to take the other. Your interference threatens both. This one can not allow that.

Fiction

Many years ago, during a time of strife and forgotten conflict, there stood a quiet, modest city in a small, sheltered valley – both sharing the name Hidden Vale. This city needed no fortifications, for the mountains themselves served as a wall more imposing and formidable than any yet built by the hands of man, dwarf or elf – the only means of accessing the valley being a narrow road that led through a rugged pass in the mountains.

The residents of the valley were a laid back, simple folk who enjoyed the small pleasures of life and warmly received the few travelers and enterprising caravans that endured the trek to their bucolic realm. It was to this area that Rendersson Forgegrinder, artificer of the arcane, arrived one fateful day.

Rendersson arrived in Hidden Vale looking for a peaceful place in which to settle. He had spent much of his life traveling abroad and experiencing the world, only to find that much of it did not suit him. The recent exacerbation of hostilities between two nations bordering the quiet vale serving only to magnify his desire to remove himself from the senseless conflict.

Both fascinated and a little unnerved by the strange contraptions and animated constructs he bore with him, the locals welcomed the worldweary dwarf into their midst. Before long the talented tinkerer and metalworker had set up shop and, day by day, became more immersed in this new place he called home. Rendersson Forgegrinder and his metal menagerie became a common sight around Hidden Vale – repairing tools and equipment, helping wherever he could with farming and construction. For a season, all was well.

Then, one perfect fall evening, the unthinkable happened – the Vale was attacked. A band of marauders rode into the vale. But this group of cutthroats was no simple raiding party, but a detachment of trained soldiers come seeking the one known as Forgegrinder. It did not take long to find out where his shop was located. They rode up to the door, leaving a trail of blood and ash in their wake. The old dwarf met them on his porch.

“Your holiday is over, Warsmith, the King Raithan sent us to fetch you back. There’s work to be done.” Captain Hastur, a hulking brute of a man and the leader of the detachment, hopped from his mount and stalked over.

“You’ve got the wrong dwarf, sir.” Rendersson, replied, “And you have brought pain and suffering to these people, and for no reason. I suggest you leave now.”

“No dwarf, you brought this upon them in hiding here, and your refusal to come with us will only cause more of the same! Did you really think your disappearance would go unnoticed? With a war going on?”

Rendersson Forgegrinder looked past the group of heavily armed men to the chaos that followed them. Those townsfolk who were not putting out fires or fearfully dragging the body of a friend or lover from the street looked upon him from behind shuttered windows and drawn curtains. Even in the growing darkness, he could see the fear and anger in their eyes. He knew that the man, vile as he was and stained by innocent blood, spoke the truth.

“Very well, Captain, if you promise to leave these people be, I’ll return with you.” Rendersson took a few steps forward.

“Not so fast, Warsmith,” The leader put a hand out to stop him, “The king wants you back, but he also wants the papers and scrolls you took when you left. He’s got that unstoppable army of his to finish building.”

“What makes you think I need them? I’ve got all I need up here.” The dwarf tapped his head. The hulking fighter considered this for a moment, then glanced around Hidden Vale.

“I suppose it makes no difference, we’ll be returning here shortly – now that we know about this place, I’m sure the Raithan will be happy to annex it. Sooner or later, we’ll find them.”

The old dwarf’s heart fell. He knew that in choosing to hide in Hidden Vale, he had doomed the very people who so warmly welcomed him into their midst. If only he could erase what he’d done . . . a sudden spark of hope kindled within him. Perhaps there was a way he could protect Hidden Vale.

Forgegrinder allowed a heavy sigh to escape his lips, “That won’t be necessary, I have them inside.”

“I thought you might,” the Hastur sneered, an expression he wore frequently, “Gather them up, and let’s be quit of this sorry backwater.”

The dwarf paused at his door, “It’s more than I can carry alone, either help me or wait for me to make several trips.”

The large man gestured to two of his men as the dwarf disappeared inside his shop. The two soldiers dismounted and made their way onto the porch and left the door open as they wondered inside, looking around for the short stocky form of the dwarf. The Captain turned to open his saddlebags and make room for items he’d been sent to fetch. Suddenly, the door slammed shut, causing him to spin back around. A second later, his sword was in his hand as a crash and a stifled scream made its way to him from within the shop.

“The old fool thinks he can hold out in his shop, does he? Everyone inside!” The large man moved to the porch with surprising speed and, raising a huge boot, kicked the door in as his men rushed inside. They found the dwarf standing in the middle of the room. The bodies of their two comrades splayed lifelessly on the floor.

“Big mistake, Warsmith, it’s not you we’ve been ordered to bring back, merely your notes and plans.” A wicked grin crossed the big soldier’s face. “In attacking my men, you’ve saved us the trouble of having to haul your treasonous carcass back to the king.”

The dwarf calmly held his ground, “Oh, I didn’t attack your men, Hastur.” He pointed to the rafters above them, “they did.”

Hastur and his men looked just in time to see a wave of metal forms crash down upon them from the shadows.

Several long minutes passed before the door to Rendersson Forgegrinder’s shop opened and, trailing footprints of red on the dusty planks, a short, stout form walked out on the porch to stand before the fearful crowd that had begun to gather when the soldiers had all run inside. The dwarf passed a sad, weary gaze over the residents of Hidden Vale that had dared to assemble. His head bowed heavily. “My friends, I am so very sorry. I came here to find peace and escape war, but instead brought pain and bloodshed. I cannot undo what has been done, but I will see to it that you are never harmed by the outside world again. This I swear, not only on my own life, but on the life of any wicked being who sets foot in Hidden Vale from this day forth.”

Background

Rendersson Forgegrinder was a gifted dwarven blacksmith with a talent for arcane infusion. Having seen his creations used time and time again by the greedy, warmongering King Raithan to inflict pain and misery, Forgegrinder collected all of his notes, being especially mindful not to leave behind any plans for his most recent creation – magical automatons the king intended to use as soldiers – and disappeared.

Fearing pursuit, and fearing more that a rival kingdom might try to abuse his creations as his former king had, Forgegrinder fled into the mountains and stumbled, quite literally, into Hidden Vale. The quiet, beautiful Vale was everything Rendersson desired after a life surrounded by conflict and bloodshed. He took quickly to the new environment and worked hard to become a member of their community, using his talents and creations to help the people of the Vale in any way he could.

Unfortunately, word got out about the amazing tinkerer of Hidden Vale and eventually made its way back to his former employer, the vengeful king. He dispatched a group of soldiers to discover the whereabouts of the fugitive dwarf and fetch both the plans and the arcane blacksmith back with them – dead or alive. The dwarf initially attempted to negotiate himself for the safety of the vale, but quickly realized that the king would never leave the vale and its peaceful inhabitants alone. Luring his would-be captors into his shop, he wiped the group of hardened warriors to a man by turning his creations on them.

Knowing that this act of sedition would not go unanswered by the king, Rendersson quickly set about using his unique abilities to construct a special set of autonomous defenses for Hidden Vale. In this way, he hoped to keep the residents of the vale safe from the unwanted attention that hounded him. To keep the small valley hidden, he constructed a special field that could nullify any attempts to magically discern its location or spy on its inhabitants.

Then, re-working and updating the plans he had been preparing for King Raithan, Rendersson built a group of four powerful arcane sentinels to guard the narrow mountain pass leading into the small valley from would-be invaders. To these implacable unliving soldiers of metal he gave a single purpose – ensure that no outsider set foot in Hidden Vale.

Over the next few weeks, several caravans and a handful of travelers were peaceably turned away at the pass. This was tolerated for a time, but as the already-meager trickle of money and goods that flowed into the vale dried up, questions and grumblings about the effectiveness of Forgegrinders’ sentinels began. The tipping point came when the remains of a caravan led by a hardheaded driver who attempted to push his way through the blockade were discovered. Before they knew it, the residents of the Vale were completely cut off from the rest of the world. More upsetting yet, any residents who had traveled outside the vale were no longer allowed to return to their homes and families.

The elders of the Vale approached Rendersson and demanded that he fix his creations to allow traders and residents safe passage without molestation. Forgegrinder tried to explain to them the evils of the outside world and the need to for protection from their greedy kings and the bloody wars they constantly waged and how no one on the outside could be trusted – that even those native to the vale might be seduced and convinced to betray their own people.

It was during this exchange that the old dwarf let slip a surprising detail – a third means of protecting the Vale had been constructed and set in motion. When pressed on the matter, Forgegrinder confessed that, in the crushing remorse and despair he felt over the carnage he’d brought to Hidden Vale, he had come to believe that, for the good of all who lived there, any knowledge of Hidden Vale by the outside world must be extinguished. To that end, a fifth sentinel was created, equipped and dispatched to the outside world to seek and destroy any and all evidence of the vale’s existence, starting with the bloody King Raithan.

Furious, the people of the Vale demanded that Rendersson undo what he had wrought. The dwarf tried to explain that, in order to produce the sentinels so quickly, the rituals and bindings he used to create them could not be altered once applied. A mob formed and drove him up into the pass to put a stop to his creations. The dwarf moved to the nearest sentinel and began to alter one of the runes that defined its operating parameters.

The sentinel, perceiving an attack, lashed out in an act of self-preservation – unknowingly killing its creator. Associating the nearby mob with the attack, the sentinels chased the group back into the valley, before resuming their positions. From that day on, the pass became unapproachable from either direction. Rendersson Forgrinders’ creations were now wardens to those within as well as guards to those without.

Outside the small valley, a mysterious solitary figure traveled the country side, silently stalking the fading legend of Hidden Vale.

Purpose & Behavior

Rendersson Forgegrinders’ sentinels are not motivated so much as they are programmed to behave a certain way. To fulfill their purpose, they will work together to the utmost of their abilities. The set of operating parameters that they were hastily bound to are as follows:

• Ensure that no creature, alive or otherwise, enters Hidden Vale.
• Aid and protect the citizens of Hidden Vale, provided doing so does not conflict with # 1.
• Preserve own ability to function and carry out one’s intended purpose, provided doing so does not conflict with # 1 or 2.

The fifth construct was created with a different purpose – and therefore a different set of operating parameters in mind:

• Seek out and eliminate any reference to or knowledge of Hidden Vale, outside of the Vale itself.
• Aid in the defense and preservation of Hidden Vale against imminent threat, provided doing so does not conflict with # 1.
• Preserve own ability to function and carry out one’s intended purpose, provided doing so does not conflict with # 1 or 2.

Within these parameters, the constructs were granted the ability to reason, plan and act of their own accord, with an emphasis being placed on speed and efficiency. Achieving the maximum result with the minimum amount of effort contributes to success in the face of what might otherwise be overwhelming odds, as does being free from the mental, physical and emotional needs of living beings and possessing limitless endurance and strength beyond that of most (medium to large) humanoids.

As impressive as Forgegrinder’s constructs were, perhaps the most important feature they were granted was the ability to learn and retain knowledge. Any strategy or tactic used against the creations is remembered and, if possible, put into use when deemed appropriate.

They cannot copy abilities they do not already possess, however, such as flight or spellcasting – though they were given wards against magic that might be used against them – but remain keenly aware of any characteristics associated with those who use such abilities for future reference. Consequently, given enough time and the necessary exposure, each sentinel possesses the capacity to become detailed repositories of military and arcane knowledge.

Adventure Hooks

• A terrified NPC approaches the PC’s, convinced that death itself stalks him. In much the same way, this NPC encountered a weary, ragged individual in a forest some distance away who staggered into his presence, muttering incoherently about something called ‘Hidden Vale’ before passing out from exhaustion.The NPC tried to make this battered stranger comfortable and went off in search of food, water and first aid for the various bruises and cuts that appear to have come from a headlong flight through dense wilderness. Upon returning, the NPC finds that the stranger has been brutally murdered and immediately flees for his/her life. Since that day, the NPC has lived in fear of a mysterious, unexplained presence. What the PC’s may not want to hear is that theirs is not the first party of adventurers this fearful NPC has approached . . .
• A mysterious fire has destroyed the wing of a reputable library containing maps and atlases. There are no suspects and no logical motive for such a senseless act of vandalism. The head of the library, an accomplished magic user, attempts to divine some information about the culprit(s) only to discover that the person or persons responsible are hidden and protected by a particular set of wards not seen since the last war instigated by the bloodthirsty (and by now, quite dead) King Raithan.
• In a small frontier town – recently rebuilt and repopulated after a horrific massacre and nearly being razed to the ground – a surprising number of fliers depicting missing persons have been posted. The residents of the town are very emphatic that they have nothing to do with the disappearances and, more curiously, have no desire to repeat the fate of the original town by investigating matters too deeply. The townsfolk ask that the PC’s not visit any further calamity upon them and, for the love of all that is Lawful Good, stay out of the mountains.
• The PC’s, in their travels, happen across an abandoned, nearly overgrown trade route. Oddly enough, they can find no mention of or reference to it on any maps they might possess. Nature and History checks are also of no use in determining where it might lead.

Combat Tactics

The four sentinels guarding Hidden Vale maintain a set defensive posture: Two sentinels stand in the road facing any who approach. The other two sentinels, one hidden on each side of the pass, make their way to the rear of the approaching individuals or group and, should hostilities begin, attack from the rear. When attempts are made to approach the pass from within the Vale (an exceedingly rare occurrence), the two road sentinels move to usher – or fight – them back into the valley while the two hidden sentinels move to take up the two original positions on the road. Any who approach within 10 feet of the sentinels are given a verbal warning to turn back, lest they be attacked. No information as to their purpose or what they guard is given.

The fifth sentinel acts as a lone assassin, assessing a location or situation before acting in populated areas, searching for the most effective means of destroying its target while remaining hidden and anonymous – a tactic it has come to define as allowing for the most complete fulfillment of its purpose in the long run. Should it recognize a target person or object in a secluded area with little or no chance of witnesses, interference or escape, it will attack directly and immediately unless it determines that doing so will jeopardize success on any concurrent or future missions.

This lone sentinel also has the ability to speak, but will rarely do so beyond asking the whereabouts of an individual or directions to a destination.

Automated Antagonist 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.