Topic: Contact with Priests Arnak/Iron Wind

[Terry K. Amthor]

Question for GMs and players: who has had contact with the Priests Arnak and/or the powers of the Iron Wind in their Shadow World games? And if so, how did that go?

[Hurin]

I had PCs encounter the priests in the Iron Wind way back when we first started playing. I also had PCs face a priest in Tanara when I started playing RM again in the late 2000s; we were playing RM2 just before the RMu beta rules came out.

I like the priests as a good foil to the PCs (and the Unlife as the shadowy Big Bad Evil Guy that the PCs can never truly defeat). I also love the special spell lists the priests had in the Powers of Light and Darkness addendum.

So, overall, big thumbs up for the priests, as they are pretty unique in serving a power that can't really be overcome (just foiled), and for having unique spell lists that throw players for a loop.

[Jenkyna]

I have plans to use the Iron Wind in the game I am setting in the Bay of Izar.

[Malim]

Here and there through our travels in Jaiman.

[Voriig Kye]

I had the players encounter a Priest Arnak during a campaign, he looked like a good mannered blacksmith. Upon talking with the party, they realized his intentions were extortive, and delayed making any commitment to his requests.
On a second meeting, he became more blunt in his attitude, the party was certain he was dangerous (he was bribing them but I can't remember more than that). The party mentalist forced him to give them the bag of coins he was offering, and they quickly retreated.
They felt so smart, having outwitted the dangerous man. The coins were cursed and they all lived the following adventures with a percentage of their total hits points (based on a secret RR to the curse). They made some comments after some difficult fight that they didn't expect to be so penalized, but they only learned the truth after we finished the campaign.

On another campaign (or maybe it was the same) they spent a whole adventure pursuing a mysterious spell user that used metal spells, shooting metal darts, raising metal doors, and finally escaping through a metal portal (all using the special spell lists).

And the Snow Lion messengers were quite the threat during a campaign in Xa-Ar, one or two of them achieved a TPK, and they learned to fear them.

There may be more, but those are the ones I remember right now.

[tbigness]

I am currently using them in my current adventure, hunting the players in Nomokos trying to recover an ancient Artifact. So far they are a present but mysterious danger. One of my players is a Priest of Reann who is a Prophet Background. So this is right up his alley. Having fun with it so far.

[Terry K. Amthor]

I will confess that I am asking because I am introducing them in later adventures in Haalkitaine, though PCs already familiar with the Iron Wind might find a new challenge dealing with them and their minions in a city environment. Thargondaak and Dansart are vying for control of the city...

[tbigness]

At the moment I am using them as a motivation plot to continue with the adventure. The PC's are escorting a Mystic and his Changarian Bodyguard to bring an Artifact Crown of immense power to the Dragon Lord Voriig Kye. They are being chased by the Priests of Arnak as well as Dunna Revin the Chancellor of Magic in Norek who discovered the find. She hired a mercenary company called the Black Company who have been harassing the PC's throughout the venture, towards the agents of Arnak. So now they have summoned a Navagator to get them to Nomokos for Protection and research on some magic that PC's are inventing and any substance about the crown. The agents have come into contact with the PC's here and they are trying to get out and travel to Vog Mur.

[Jenkyna]

I will confess that I am asking because I am introducing them in later adventures in Haalkitaine, though PCs already familiar with the Iron Wind might find a new challenge dealing with them and their minions in a city environment. Thargondaak and Dansart are vying for control of the city...

That's pretty how I've been planning to use them myself. Various Iron Wind factions seeking to undermine local government, and a faction or factions of generally decent folk secretly working against them.

[starflt]

My PC's managed to revive and extract Mornan Zaon (I think that was his name; it was the Zorian king who was suspended in one of the Zorian royal tombs), who then rewarded them by offering to make them dukes, if they helped him restore the kingdom.  Naturally, this made them enemies of both Emperor Jerrin (who was not above threatening several of the PCs families) and the Priests Arnak, who were quite put out that a kingdom they thought long dead and taken care of was trying to rise again.

The Priests mostly worked indirectly against the PCs, keeping them from getting very far in truly reviving Zor as a functional kingdom by importing beasts, supporting the mutants, and funding bandits and raiders.  The only time a large scale combat arose was when the PCs went to the Aalk Gaath (Oran Jatar's stronghold) and eventually got into a fight, but that's a long story.

[Terry K. Amthor]

I love reading about how you creative GMs have taken my SW concepts and NPCs, and developed them in such awesome new ways. 

[kyussopeth]

The Priests Arnak & The Iron Wind are the focus of my campaign. They are a feature that bought me to the Shadow World to begin with. The Unlife bring an epic & horrific scope to my campaign.

[Terry K. Amthor]

I think for my next 'Adventure-size' module after I finish Haalkitaine, I will do the citadel of Dansart in Zor. Some of you will remember this from the unfinished campaign I did back in the '90s; it had no labels or detailed information. This time I will do it right with complete labelled layouts, encounters and stats, including special spells available to the high-priest Osaran.

It will also tie-in as a possible sequel to Haalkitaine...

[Old Man]

Back in The day (BITD) I glued Mur Fostisyr into my RM2 game world and dispatched a group of PCs on an Icerigger expedition, lead by a Magedrake, to the far north to encounter the various factions therein. A post wouldn't be able to summary the campaign easily - part 1 was to seize the Navigator's Compass held by Denirok and part 2 was to confront the Syrkakang. However, I can attach the following blog post http://www.campaignnook.com/2019/10/the-saga-of-skyreave.html which was a summary of the email sent to the players prior to each session - perhaps everyone might find it an interesting browse. (Have a PDF version for those interested - couldn't attach it.)

Perceptive might recognize a PC name or two from ROCO IV or VII.

Enjoy,
Old Man

[Hurin]

I think for my next 'Adventure-size' module after I finish Haalkitaine, I will do the citadel of Dansart in Zor. Some of you will remember this from the unfinished campaign I did back in the '90s; it had no labels or detailed information. This time I will do it right with complete labelled layouts, encounters and stats, including special spells available to the high-priest Osaran.

It will also tie-in as a possible sequel to Haalkitaine...

That sounds great! I wrote a little scenario for my recent Gencon session, 'The Wastes of Zor', which was set there (the adventurers started in Haalkitaine and then proceeded into the wastes), so I would love to have more stuff there. I am thinking of setting my next full campaign in the Green Gryphon Inn, so all of this would make for a rich campaign.

[metallion]

Oh, tons.  That quest giver?  Priest Arnak.  The fellow who let you ride cheap on his ship?  Priest Arnak, keeping tabs.  Fellow who popped up and saved your bacon at that last encounter?  Say it with me now:  Priest Arnak who's not about to see their plot foiled just because you forgot who the pointy end of the sword goes in.  The Iron Wind is everywhere and not at all obvious until it's too late.

Oh, you thought those were Loremasters?  Yeah, they get that alot.

[kyussopeth]

Oh, tons.  That quest giver?  Priest Arnak.  The fellow who let you ride cheap on his ship?  Priest Arnak, keeping tabs.  Fellow who popped up and saved your bacon at that last encounter?  Say it with me now:  Priest Arnak who's not about to see their plot foiled just because you forgot who the pointy end of the sword goes in.  The Iron Wind is everywhere and not at all obvious until it's too late.

Oh, you thought those were Loremasters?  Yeah, they get that alot.

TravisBickleClapping.gif

[Terry K. Amthor]

Oh, tons.  That quest giver?  Priest Arnak.  The fellow who let you ride cheap on his ship?  Priest Arnak, keeping tabs.  Fellow who popped up and saved your bacon at that last encounter?  Say it with me now:  Priest Arnak who's not about to see their plot foiled just because you forgot who the pointy end of the sword goes in.  The Iron Wind is everywhere and not at all obvious until it's too late.

Oh, you thought those were Loremasters?  Yeah, they get that alot.

   Love it! Sounds like a certain Priest Arnak tutoring a ducal heir in a novel as well :-)

[Terry K. Amthor]

I think for my next 'Adventure-size' module after I finish Haalkitaine, I will do the citadel of Dansart in Zor. Some of you will remember this from the unfinished campaign I did back in the '90s; it had no labels or detailed information. This time I will do it right with complete labelled layouts, encounters and stats, including special spells available to the high-priest Osaran.

It will also tie-in as a possible sequel to Haalkitaine...

That sounds great! I wrote a little scenario for my recent Gencon session, 'The Wastes of Zor', which was set there (the adventurers started in Haalkitaine and then proceeded into the wastes), so I would love to have more stuff there. I am thinking of setting my next full campaign in the Green Gryphon Inn, so all of this would make for a rich campaign.

Sounds great! Love to hear how the Green Gryphon goes. Many such journeys are possible...

[MisterK]

I had PCs in "contact" with Priests Arnak several times, but I do not think that many of them are significant because they were straightforward antagonists (and combat opponents), or spies that they did not uncovered or suspected.

One PC, however, actually had a fairly lengthy discussion with a Priest Arnak when she was captured during a foray in Mur Fostisyr. The goal of the priest was not to destroy her, but to convert her. I asked the player afterwards and she agreed that having a smiling, polite and charismatic priest Arnak (the NPC never hid who he was) was much more terrifying than having a summoned demon lick her character and ask for a piece of her soul as treat. Especially since, during her escape, this particular priest watched everything and did nothing.

That priest Arnak was not a sadist or a bully. He was a scholar who was convinced that Unlife was the ultimate salvation for people because it brought peace: it was a refuge from pain, war, sorrow and the tribulations of hard life. It was the state that everyone secretely yearned for without being able to name it - darkness and warmth from before the pain of birth. He knew how to read people, how to gently point out where they hurt and how they resented the world and unwanted changes, how they wished they were unknowing and unfeeling.

The kind of person who would convince you that poisoning your pregnant wife is a blessing for both mother and child - and would not need magic to do so.

But thankfully, most priests Arnak are in it for power, personal pleasure or revenge. Otherwise Kulthea would be a dead world.

[one problem with having priests Arnak everywhere is that RM magic is crawling with investigation spells which do not require RRs, especially in Mentalism and Channeling - and PCs are notoriously suspicious. And my take is that priests Arnak know that they are vulnerable to investigation magic, so they most often act through proxies. There are ways to hide from investigation spells, but they are used only when proxies are not convenient, which is not that often]