weekend warrior: obios

Centaurs enjoy wine.

Obios however has raised this particular vice to artform and has experimented beyond that to most any form of alcohol.  He is known to, and avoided by other centaur ravagers as he's an unreasonable drunk.  Seldom seen awake during the morning, Obios has over time sunk into minor banditry, strongarm work and unpleasantness and seems to be content with where he is. 

He's quite amiable if you give him what he wants.  The problem is, faced with a drunken centaur armed with red eyes, sour breath and a body odour that combines the worst of horse and sot, most rational people shy away.  Obios senses this and is offended that he is being judged (unfairly) because he's a centaur.  This has caused more fights than a few, foes learn you don't blindside him and to watch outl.

Given his attraction to charismatic and beautiful people, he will often find himself getting into trouble with militias or guards over misunderstandings related to drink and has more than once been beguiled by a pretty face into doing things which have made him want to drink so he can forget what's happened... this tactic works for him but not for anyone else.

ruins of shalemark

Shalemark was once a mining community nestled between two hills.  It cut from the dark clay and shale tiles of slate for roofing and writing.  Now there are no trees or hedges, only broken walls.  The hills are scarred by quarries, ruined roads and punctured by treacherous placer tunnels.  Many are flooded, any may collapse. The valley is now a bog.  Shalemark is half sunken, amid moss beds and pools strewn with pale lotus blooms.

Yet secretive gangs posing as masons visit the ruins.  The pale lotus can be made into a milky tincture, a potent euphoric that is addictive when abused.  The gangs harvest the flowers, fearful of discovery by other gangs and worse.  Some ruins are haunted by vengeful spirits of former town council members lynched by howling addicts.  Their bodies are preserved in the mire, awaiting consecrated burial.

At the centre of the ruins is a chapel dedicated to those who watched over Shalemark, the catacombs under the chapel hold grave goods.  Those who habitually rob the dead will find rich pickings but risk disease doing so.  The combination of dank, brackish water and pestilential air provide no problems for rats or other bone gnawing scavengers.

There is hidden wealth in Shalemark.  Caches were hidden by miners and tincture dealers in case of need and lie still unfound.  Caskets filled with coin or pots of tincture await discovery.  If the undead and gangs were cleared, an enterprising individual could find the remaining slate beds.  Doing so will sacrifice what remains of Shalemark to the bog.  Also these would not last more than a year, leaving only lotus blooms and swamp.

keeping it simple

I've recently gained the raw awesome that is 3:16.  I was impressed by the ease that the mechanics simulated a war movie narrative and used character-driven events to steer action with the best flashback mechanics I've seen in any game. 

There's a grey box on page 15 applicable to any tabletop RPG - the best guide on how to play I've seen since I've started playing.  Sublime.  If you have any doubts about it - go get it.


This got me thinking about the bar to entry games have in terms of complexity.  Wizards announced the release of Red Box in September at DDXP which looks to introduce D&D for new players - glad to see there is a provision for solo gaming for those times when you might be on the road or away from the Internet (it does happen!).  Intrigued there will be additional powers, options and monsters for established players too.

At the same time, Martial Power 2 was announced - I'm now less optimistic about the logistics of running games away from home.  So that's core rules, core rules volume 2s, power books (arcane, divine, martial, primal) as of February 2010.  Ten A4 hardback books.  Difficult for a messenger bag or knapsack to carry - I haven't tried a rucksack yet - I suspect it may be the only way to roll without luggage or packing crate.


I haven't counted equipment (Adventurer's Vaults), general setting  (Manual of the Planes, Underdark), or monster books (Open Grave, Draconomicons).  Packing crate to transport, let alone use in actual play.  Even using just one specific setting and avoiding the general setting/monster books, it's a lot of shelf space to carry.  I'm sure the players won't mind.  Maybe if I got a mule...?


And there's the upcoming releases: Power books volume 2s, core rules volume 3s, another power book (and if it's popular, it's volume 2), softbacks for each race.  This of course says nothing of your need for a laptop for any DDI-related activities. You might want your notes or a module as well and I've seen plenty of games where a box or lever arch file was used for those. 

How long before some enterprising soul sells a pre-packaged D&D Bookshelf? Or someone has the bright idea of putting out the Core Rules (alone) on DVD in searchable format?  At this rate it may be the only way you can take your options with you.  Fortunately, Wizards also announced the D&D Rules Compendium.  A 300 page 9x6 reference manual to help steer us through the core rules.

With thanks to G. Dustin Snyder (@Wolfstar76) for saving me research time on Red Box.

inns & taverns - the sweet hearth

At the southernmost point of a elven forest, the Sweet Hearth is a crescent-shaped elven manse, three stories high with a well-tended orchard.  The manse is built between two carefully tended pear trees and sheltered by a giant of a lemon tree, it's trunk is woven into an ornate lattice by careful grafting.  This tree is adorned with woven canopies, decorative banners and two types of fruit - fist-sized juicy lemons and green limes. Nearby is the hearth it is named for, a compass rose of bluestone and slate nearly twenty feet across part-shielded by smoke screens of woven branches,  tended at all times by two staff who keep watch over a serving area with solid logs for seats amid the scent of cooking and pear wood smoke.  Windscreens of woven cloth keep the serving area and hearth from being disturbed and afford some privacy.

The inside is well-appointed with evenly-spaced wooden panelled tables and ornate wooden chairs.  The oil lamps burn with a unique white-gold flame and sweet scent.  Fires of pear and oak wood burn bright in their stone hearths, warming those preferring to stay inside who may listen to local minstrels, study in nooks or seek conversation at a circular table decorated with an ornate compass rose and the inscription 'Seek conversation here, ask for directions if you are uncertain.'  Nearly every night, this table has at least eight guests talking and debates have been the most violent thing at the table.  This has led to certain elflords using the Sweet Hearth for political ends though the staff will change the subject politely if conversations take a darker turn or appear to be going nowhere.

Notable fare includes pear ciders served in a cup of hollowed lemon, honey ale, metheglin (spiced mead), wines and potent herbal cordials.  The food ranges from spiced boar sausage to stuffed vine leaves, pheasant pastries and venison stew.  A speciality in winter is stewed pears in honey served with mulled wine, much beloved by visitor and regular alike.  Most travellers use the common room, it's floor strewn with sweet broom and flower petals, partitioned by opaque drapes that deaden sound and dim light.  For discerning guests and nobility, there are six private suites with goosedown beds soft enough to please the most sensitive.  These are not cheap, offering amenities and discretion equal to the cost, to the delight of discerning elfmaidens and their suitors alike.  Steeds are kept in a nearby enclosure amid the orchard and tended by a talented half-elven stablehand.

The Sweet Hearth is run by an extended family group of thirty-six elves working three shifts, morning, noon and night.  The staff are elves clad in raiment decorated in saffron crescent moons and green-grey leaves and three half-elves who work the stables.  All are attentive, capable, polite yet informal.  There are also various working pets, all have a touch of the sylvan and interact with the elves like beloved family.  There is magic in the Hearth, yet it is subtle, much comes from horticulture, craft and alchemy rather than outright spellcraft.

The usual clientele range from wealthy nobles to artisans seeking finery and off-duty soldiers wishing to relax.  Aggression to the staff is not tolerated.  Violence is frowned upon, instigators find staff capable with sword, spell and stealth with devoted guardians.  Preparations for defensive magics are concealed and used if needed though the Hearth seldom sees trouble, it is ready when the worst happens.