let me tell you about my NPC: lloyd ap-hywll

This month's RPG Carnival has stopped at Exchange of Realities whose invitation to 'Let Me Tell You About My (N)PC" is too tempting.  Lloyd is a warning to those who believe all they see and everything they read. While his antics have been foiled on more than one occasion, he occupied the sweet spot of 'thorn in our side that's just too dangerous to safely remove' for over a year in one of my favourite campaigns.  Inspired by the Slavelords modules and the Mabinogion he ranges from foil to antagonist depending on your whim.

Lloyd ap-Hwyll, 10th-level illusionist (2nd edition AD&D).
Bastard son of a bastard son, Lloyd was born into a culture blessed with magical aptitude and cursed with an overestimation of warriors. Lacking the charisma to be a bard, his blood relation to nobility and resulting notoriety made him ill-suited as a thief. Adept at the written word, he became a scribe and travelled east to become a citizen of the empire where such talents would earn him wealth by careful penmanship, minor magics and embezzlement.

Lloyd travelled east and returned seven years later clad in shimmering plate armour etched with symbols of the eastern god of magic and glyphs of enchantment.  In his hands was a staff carved with glyphs. The warriors of his clan knew eastern warriors wore such armour and Lloyd was big enough to wear it. Wizards recognised the glyphs of the eastern god of magic and the magical staff he bore as a source of wizard's magic.  What wizard could wear such armour?  Even casual divinations corroborated the enchantments.

As the empire turned it's ambitions westward, they found evidence of treason among it's commanders in an Imperial hand.  Evidence of Imperial tactics are found by western heroes and the empire finds itself attacked without reason - or so it seems.  For it seems there's a double agent playing a dangerous game to prevent the empire's western outposts from going native.  Or is it someone familiar with the western nobles seeking to provoke a war they can only lose?

Lloyd's hatred of his own homeland is born out of the disdain shown to him by the nobles who shared his blood but not his standing.  His desire to humiliate the western nobles runs through every plot he incubates and every deception he creates.  Sometimes fools' gold will pay orcs to raid an Imperial trade fair, other times the plots are more elaborate and precise.  Lloyd is unpredictable in his methods yet such capriciousness hides a mind capable of giving a red dragon a fair game of chess.  Not that Lloyd is foolhardy, yet the hall he keeps on the northwest coast is rumoured to have a dragon's lair underneath it.

Lloyd's bitterness means he will seek companionship in ways to ensure he has and keeps control.  Pursuit by Lloyd feature drugged wine, transmutation magics to disguise himself and illusions.  He sometimes abducts a woman to his keep then turns her loose after three nights, wandering along the shore traumatised for pirates or worse to find.  They seldom find their way home.

spring fever (review: kobold quarterly #13)

Metric: Kobolds (one bad, five awesome).
Overall: 4.5 kobolds. More entrails! The quality of the articles is consistent and while there are articles that I feel needed more oomph compared to last issue, that's a good sign since those that sing really do. Contributors have a high bar to jump and while rough edges occur, the quality is excellent.

Artwork (4 kobolds) – While the cover is green (and how!) the lettering is beginning to creep back over the art. Internal art is good, still keeping the mix of colour and monochrome art in balance and the map of the Goodwife at the back is spectacular.

Ecology of the Shoggoth (4 kobolds) – Reskinning the black pudding as the Lovecraftian icon, a monstrous ooze progenitor to aberrations and the source of a mutating drink. The most wonderful thing about this article is the neo-shoggoth. No, not a shoggoth with cool shades, flight and protection from normal missiles. Imagine a shoggoth smart enough to form T-1000 style blades and spikes! Lots of new abilities and tie-ins with Sunken Empires.

Lovecraftian Gods (3.5 kobolds) – 4E adaptation of Azathoth, Nyarlathotep and Yog-Sothoth (or Umr at-Tawil on weekends). Nyarlathotep gets the best treatment and the mask of Nyarlathotep not only gets yoinked for my planned 4E game but also a cool illustration which stands out in an article that needs  more... maybe signature NPCs?

The Arquebusier (5 kobolds) – A Pathfinder treatment by Richard Mallon for a gunner and the tools of his trade. Nice class abilities provide more than a combat emphasis for this variant fighter such as the ability to make magical ammunition. Historical firearms make this class sing and campaign notes for Golarion and Zobeck show two distinct takes as well as designer notes on how the gun can compete with the bow.

Alternate Objectives: Capture the Flag (5 kobolds) – Matthew Hanson provides an encounter structure for 4E which can be adapted to demonstrate that kill and loot are not the only options on the menu. Borrowed from first-person shooters and paintball, this structure gives players a tactical challenge and the example encounter includes a new undead minion, encounter effects and layouts.

The Thrill of the Unknown (5 kobolds) – Monte Cook examines the use of the unknown in roleplaying; if you wonder what that means, look at the old maps where it says 'Here Be Dragons'. It's no coincidence that the first ever D&D module was called 'In Search of the Unknown'. The tautology between the codified structure of RPGs and the ambiguity of stories are used to provide techniques to bring the unknown into your game.

Spark (5 kobolds) – The King of the Monsters crowned on the Kobold Quarterly website is now in residence. Pathfinder rules define this symbiotic quasi-elemental.

Scions of Shadow (4 kobolds) – This Pathfinder article contains a new sorcerous bloodline and a new school of wizardry. The bloodline has some impressive crunch and suggests all kinds of stories while the wizards are illusionist/necromancers with limited conjuration needing a DM willing to go along with the ride to get the best out of them.

The Heart of a Hero (5 kobolds) – Mario Podeschi provides sensible, thoughtful advice on running romantic subplots in RPGs without making a hash of it. The inset boxes are golden, dealing with a variety of tips from how to handle shallow characters to judicious use of the 'boot scene'. Good stuff for those who want to expand their role-playing horizons beyond combat, diplomacy and exposition of lore.

Gambler's Magic (3.5 kobolds) – A plethora of 4E magic items with a gambling theme; while some dice are nice, the tokens are... token? Some magical coins offer intriguing ideas yet I am concerned at the item levels here, aimed mostly at paragon tier, they feel overpowered for what they do despite being mechanically appropriate for items of that level. A bit of variety between tiers would have made this article a lot stronger.

Destined Weapons (4 kobolds) – A Pathfinder article with variant destiny rules for weapons that become enchanted by their actions and the enemies they have slain. There are new feats for characters to take that allow them to gain greater powers for their weapons. I can see this being homebrewed with Mike Mearls' Iron Heroes to create an epic campaign with mighty heroes wielding weapons of unimaginable power.

Gnomish Flying Contraptions (3.5 kobolds) – Mining tinker gnome nostalgia for Pathfinder, with hints of the drogue wings used by some Forgotten Realms dwarves. The items are not entirely serious and need to be played in the same freewheeling way.

New Blood... (4 kobolds) – An interview with Chris Pramas of Green Ronin. Chris reveals the simple and robust design aesthetic with games like Dragon Age, Mutants & Masterminds and the new AGE system well as some impressive taste in comics. A nice interview and Chris has plenty to say about not being afraid to get your hands dirty.

Freeport Backgrounds for Dragon Age (4 kobolds) – Two great tastes that taste great together make this article an interesting conversion and a jump-off point to convert Freeport's setting to other systems. Danilo Guida's art is simple, clean and reminiscent of Jim Holloway's art in pre-DDI Dragon. The switch in layout from two column to three columns makes the text a bit crowded and difficult to follow which is a shame because the content is solid.

Wreck of the Goodwife (5 kobolds) – Jonathan McAnulty and Brandon Hodge deliver a mass of shining ideas in this Pathfinder scenario from the Widows Watch society to the treasure table items. The full colour map also available from the KQ site made me smile – exactly how web sites support a product without having to refer to errata. If this is a taste of Sunken Empires, this will be a very desirable product.

Daughters of Perun (4 kobolds) – This article further expands the Zobeck setting by placing a nation of Amazon warrior-women and their subjects to the east of the Free City. Perunalians have a sense of Russian valkyrie about them and the Order of the White Lions makes for ready-made character backgrounds.

Editorial (5 kobolds) – Wolfgang Baur reveals the mono-gamist strain of the hobby and the pernicious snobbery that can be found in some gamer groups. A call to demonstrate that sometimes a change will do you good.

From The Mines (3.5 kobolds) – Letters is meta.  More details on Adopt-a-Soldier and praise for the evolution of Kobold Quarterly into an edition-neutral product.

Book Reviews (4 kobolds) – Another strong collection. Very intrigued by Jeff VanderMeer's Finch and the Songs of the Dying Earth anthology. Other books include modern fantasy and 1960s occult horror. The reviews are concise and positive, selling the books effectively.

Cartoons (3.5 kobolds) - Stan! hearkens to ye olde chainmail bikini and 10x10 Toon reveals the lighter side of Mythos worship. The latter is stronger and both are genuinely funny.

Advertising: About 13.5 pages (about 20%). The quality is consistent with last issue and this is encouraging – many are full page ads and even if this more than previous issues, the ads themselves seem less intrusive.

KQ has come a long way.  It now shows itself as a product that will spark a lot of ideas for games and which is comfortable with it's production values.  It's edition neutrality is a nice move and I hope contributions for other game systems will meet the high quality of it's current articles.  Worth your time.

inns and taverns: the shadovar

On the northern road of an exposed crossroads of the Eastern Road looms the stone-walled inn and waypost known as the Shadovar.  The sign is of a stag-like beast with sharp teeth stood watching a crossroad.  Atop the sign are three wooden pots with metal reeds, when the west wind blows, it emits a moaning whistle carried eastward on the wind.  This eerie noise can be heard for some distance before the lights of the inn are visible.  Traffic along the crossroads ensures steady business with couriers and merchants making it a regular stop on their journey.

A three-storey inn forty foot each side, the ground floor is an arched tunnel without windows running from east to west leading to stables for up ten horses and a stairwell leading up in the south wall.  This opens into a sizable common room where guests may slake their appetites and a cloak room in the west.  A cartwheel window over the stairwell with red, clear and amber glass helps illuminate the room with tallow lamps yet other shuttered windows are narrow with sturdy trestle tables underneath.

The hearth is set opposite the stairwell and the bar runs along the west wall; hunting trophies of wolf, boar and deer grace the walls with icons to gods of trade and travel.   Though active, the large common room has an unhurried air and seems half-empty.  Only if a merchant's caravan or noble entourage appears will the Shadovar really bustle.  The staff are genial ex-veterans who can still show thugs some tricks of the trade and camp followers who run the Shadovar smoothly at the behest of the landlady, Marenna, a shrewd, iron-haired matron of considerable presence who served as chatelaine to nobility until politics encouraged her to relocate.

The Shadavar's position on a trade route enables it to have a varied stock of ales ranging from a sharp red nutty brew sold along the Eastern Road to a creamy pale ale favoured by southern drovers, most common ales and a few rarer brews can be purchased here routinely.  A rough southern red wine is sold by the jug and drunk by travellers seeking to blot the moaning from the sign on certain nights.   The food is simple; roast chickens, game stew and pastries with beef and turnip.

In accommodation the Shadovar excels as the top floor is devoted to it.  Four south-facing private double rooms with thickened walls, goosedown quilts and wooden tubs await those seeking privacy and are undisturbed by the sign's moaning.  A spacious common room that holds ten in comfort (fifteen at a pinch) as well as allowing guests to sleep downstairs make it roomy yet the in-house healer and scribe are what make the Shadovar tower over it's neighbours.  These services are charged at premium and often paid gratefully by travellers who have had or expect a rough journey on the road.

The cellars under the Shadovar are well-stocked and appointed, built around a redoubt that a pair of soldiers could hold for a week before their supplies ran out.  The redoubt is known only to staff and a handful of couriers and noble retainers who have used it in the past.  Stores are well-kept and routinely checked by Marenna personally, as is the secret door in the north wall that runs for a quarter mile allowing someone to escape if things got too dire.

recession-proof gaming VIII - classics and cool

Still paying your way out of the financiapocalypse?  Gaming can still give you lots of good times and it need not cost you an arm and a leg doing so.  These are some more options for you to explore. 


Games
Dragoons20 - Classic fantasy steampunk using Microlite20.
Frenzy - 8 pages of action RPG dynamite, an antidote to boring combat.
Talislanta - The d20 version of the classic RPG now available for free.
Zombi - a game about the risen dead, recommended by Jeff Rients.

GM Resources
d20 On-Screen DM Screen - d20 reference tables.
Online Herbal - Gathering herbs from numerous tabletop RPG sources.
PDF Campaign Journal - courtesy of The Warlock's Home Brew

Resources
DocsPal - Converts document and graphic file types to other file types.
Gray TiddlyWiki - Lo-fi flavour of TiddlyWiki.