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Systems & Settings => Rolemaster => Topic started by: Druss_the_Legend on December 09, 2014, 02:06:29 AM
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We have rebooted my very first campaign with two old school friends. we r all in our 40's now. The pcs are a buglar and a barbarian. the campaign is based in sanctuary - Thieves World. We are playing via skype right now (which did not exist back when we first played these characters in this setting)
The cities resident crimelord - Jubal has been replaced by a new crimelord in town called The Beggar King.
There are some powerful factions working behind the scenes:
1) a theives guild called The Big Fish Gang (there are 3 sub-bosses - a burglar in charge of security who also overseas special night opps, a hitman/bodyguard and a tax collector in charge of revenue collection/extortion. The Big Fish Gang also deal in drugs and prostitution.
2) an assassins guild called the Order of the Black Lotus - headed by a legendary nightblade who can take on a wraith like form and is rumoured to be invincible in battle.
3) two rival magicians guilds - The Order of the Blue Star and the Order of the Red Star (the blue star order has been helping the pc's)
4) a mysterious Blood Cult of dark priests who are rumoured to be gathering power to resurrect a creature of darkness - perhaps a vampire, demon or undead sorcerer. The cult has been seen unloading a long wooden box from the docks.
5) The Beggar King - a mysterious new crimelord whose identity is a closely guarded secret.
All of these factions have their own agenda's and at the moment are co-existing in the same city - The Beggar King has teamed up with the thieves guild and assassins guild to take down Jubal and his army of 50 sell-swords (Hawkmasks). These factions are starting to section off the city between them.
The pcs have been involved in a plot to lure out the Beggar Kings men with the goal of capturing one of his agents and learning the new crimelords identity. This sort of backfired because even though they captured one of his men alive (they have been interrogating him for intel), Jubal himself was captured in the battle. This initiated an intelligence gathering exercise (the pcs are allied with 10 npc sell-swords loyal to Jubal - battle-hardened fighters, thieves and assassins themselves). Jubal's remaining men were split into recon teams and sent to locations throughout the city to gather info on the Beggar King and where Jubal might be being held captive.
The pcs' are guessing as to the true identity of the Beggar King - he/she has been a step ahead of them from the start and they suspect a mole within their group is helping him. A fifth of Jubal's sell-swords remain, the rest have been murdered by assassins or slain in battle with the Beggar Kings allies. The pc's have the general location of the Beggar King's lair - in the sewers below the city located in a section of the city called The Maze - an area notorious for its crime and lawlessness. The pcs r poised to lead a stealthy infiltration mission into the cities sewers in the hopes of finding their boss Jubal still alive.
They have recruited the aid of Lythande, a magician of the Order Blue Star and are also trying to recruit the legendary thief Hanse Shadowspawn.
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As the GM, its been a lot of prep and story crafting to get things to this point but its been really rewarding conversing with the players in between sessions working their plans/goals into future game sessions. [The barbarians early goal was to find his old sword which had been 'acquired' by a royal guard in a previous adventure]. The two players have really varied backgrounds - Both pcs were rescued from death by a powerful magician. Each player had a brief pre-adventure run separately to get them up to the same point in the story. As GM I decided not to start them together which allowed each pc to build up skills, contacts and clues about the larger story before they met up together.
The Burglar was the real reason for the magician getting involved (the player is still not 100% sure why he was saved, but its clear the magician who saved him from death, has plans for the burglar - who has been given free training as an assassin and has been learning spells under the tutelage of a good Magician - mostly subterfuge spells that complement his thieves skills - the burglar has a goal to get his hands on a spell book to accelerate his magical training). The barbarian, was actually collateral 'baggage' from the main rescue - He was sold into slavery, imprisoned and transported to another city where he was then sold to a gladiator school and trained as a gladiator. The crimelord Jubal was a benefactor of his exploits in the arena and later recruited him as a Hawkmask (sell-sword) after he had won his freedom and returned to the city of Sanctuary once again.
The biggest challenge as GM was to create two parallel backstories that made sense and set the players up to work together again just like the 'old times' when they were 1st level. There needed to be a rational reason for them to be rescued in the first place (when we last played, the session ended with the characters were sentenced to death by hanging for murder!). After their rescue and additional training they both advanced to level 3, rather needed in a city as dangerous as Sanctuary. Things have become even more dangerous with assassins targeting Jubal's men and virtually wiping them out.
Playing online has given me the opportunity to pre-script a few important scenes with NPC conversations - as i mentioned the pcs have allied themselves with Jubal and his Hawkmasks. These sell-swords are a tough bunch but their loyaly has certainly been tested with 80% of their organisation being killed. There are two captains in the group who do not always see eye-to-eye and there is a pecking order in the group with one of the pcs holding a quite influential position (the barbarian) with the other pc (the burglar/assassin) ranking rather low due to him joining the group later on and under suspicious circumstances (they suspect a spy is giving the enemy intel).
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I began the reboot thinking i was going to run an off the shelf module called Murder at the Vulgar Unicorn but i found this rather lacking interesting story hooks and a little vague on overall storyline and even more telling was there were no connections to the pcs themselves. This inspired my to write my own adventure with the city of Sanctuary as the backdrop.
Once id settled on the main npc's and important factions in the story (Jubal the Slaver/Crimelord and his army of sell-swords, The Beggar King, Lythande the good magician and his magicians guild the Order of the Blue Star, The thieves guild aka The Big Fish Gang and the Assassin's Guild aka Order of the Black Lotus) i was then able to weave in story threads which included the pc's - i wanted them to be central to the story. Almost as an afterthought i threw in the Blood Cult faction (i think they are going to be a faction that will come into more prominence in future adventures as they gather followers and power). The alliance between the Assassins Guild and Thieves Guild will be tested, once the players figure out how to get them working against one another.
Its been lots of fun revealing pieces to the larger story through rumours and leaked information from the captive they have been interrogating. Once the players began actively seeking out intel on who had likely captured Jubal, they started to realize there were in fact a number of factions who had been bought together to oust Jubal and his Hawkmasks... they were aware assassins had been picking off Jubal's men for weeks and later they learned that certain parts of the city had fallen under the control of a new mysterious crimelord calling himself The Beggar King - he began by gaining control of trade in and out of the city at the wharf. A bit more snooping around by the players has given them a number of possible leads to explore... the most curious one is the opening of a new florist shop in an area known for dodgy criminal activity at night.
The pc's are Jubals last best hope. Theyr trying to work out who the Beggar King is and have plans to eventually unmask him, possibly infiltrate the thieves guild and perhaps even remove the leader of the assassins guild. Theyr also rather worried about the Blood Cult who they suspect are led by a vampire. They realize now they seem to be on the losing side. Even if they can find and rescue Jubal, his power and influence is not what it was now The Beggar King has taken over much of the crime in the city.
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I'm rooting for the Beggar King. I hope he gets to move out of the sewers soon.
This sounds like great fun. Thank you for sharing.
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I'm rooting for the Beggar King. I hope he gets to move out of the sewers soon.
This sounds like great fun. Thank you for sharing.
cheers!
the campaign has really taken on a life of its own. The Thieves World setting is a gr8 foundation to build from as a GM. Iv used some key NPC's which are an established part of the setting (Jubal the crimelord/slaver-ex-gladiator, Lythande the Blue Star Adept, The hawkmasks) but then i have added my own stuff as well. The Beggar King already existed, I just gave him/some powerful allies (Big Fish Gang aka the Thieves Guild, The Order of the Black Lotus aka the Assassins Guild and the Order of the Red Star) and have developed some factions which are mentioned but not is much detail (The Order of the Blue Star, The Blood Cult/Brotherhood of Blood who worship the Blood Goddess Dyareela). I will soon be adding another good faction who worship a Frog God called Heqt who are opposed to Dyareela Blood Cult. I am going to make them a school of martial arts with monks and warrior monks that wear green and white. Its a bit of creative licence as thats not what they are in the setting but i think it would be cool to introduce a fighting temple or two who are on a mission to rid the world of the Brotherhood of Blood.
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The pcs are definitely in danger as they move about the city. It already was a dangerous place. Now they are marked men. The Beggar King has spies in every class of society and they need to be selective about who they talk to. If they manage to rescue Jubal from the Beggar Kings secret lair I think Jubal and his men will drop off the radar for a while and gather strength and lick their wounds a bit possibly forming a resistance movement to undermine the Beggar Kings activities. They will need to tread carefully and seek the support and protection of more powerful allies who will also have their own agendas. :o
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Just wanted to stop by and say that this sounds like an awesome campaign! I have fond memories of the Thieves World books.
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Ditto that! I have fond memories of reading Thieves World back in the 80s. Yes, I too am in my 40s...
Great setting, and sounds like you've got a good approach to running it.
Best,
Mike K
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vector,
Welcome to the ICE Forums.
MDC
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Ditto that! I have fond memories of reading Thieves World back in the 80s. Yes, I too am in my 40s...
Great setting, and sounds like you've got a good approach to running it.
Best,
Mike K
cheers. the setting is what makes things come to life. i also have read the books but i dont follow them slavishly and use them initially to help me flesh out some key NPC's.
To me the city of Sanctuary should be a dangerous place to adventure in with almost limitless opportunities to get mixed up in crime and sub-plots linked to NPC locals. I try to maintain a high level of uncertainty/mystery around what is going on in the story to keep the pcs guessing.
i have run the ex-gladiator/slaver Jubal before in a past adventure and once you know what motivates him (money, boredom and loneliness) it becomes easier to play him logically. He is quite an intense character who is used to getting his way but a clever player can negotiate terms with him and even win his favour.
As the GM i have been wary of power creep as the pcs advance in levels as i dont want them to have too much freedom and become fearless of reprisals from the powerful factions in the city. I also maintain a healthy level of fear and distrust of magic which can make for interesting interactions with npcs who distrust magic for example a pc who publicly flaunts their powers with magic or a magic item will quickly draw the attention of powerful people who will see them as a threat to their power structure.
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Sounds like a cool campaign. I feel the stirrings again...happen every couple of years...haul down the RM books from the shelf and cook something up...
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Sounds like a cool campaign. I feel the stirrings again...happen every couple of years...haul down the RM books from the shelf and cook something up...
haha. Thanx. This is how it all started. one day about 2 yrs ago i started to wonder... What if i got the old crew back together with their SAME characters... 25yrs after we started playing rolemaster?!!
This campaign is special for a number of reasons:
1) it was my first ever campaign - tbh none of us really knew what the heck we were doing!
2) its with my two BEST friends from high school - one now lives in another country (Denmark)
3) the 3 of us have met of about 3-4 times over the years and we always try to fit in some kind of gaming, roleplaying sometimes but at the very least some console gaming and/or boardgames
4) the two characters in the campaign were presumed dead... what a plot twist it has been to flip the script and create a larger story arc where they actually survived!
5) we have made plans to meet up again and play this campaign face-to-face in 12 months time. Cant wait. That will be epic. We r hoping to get in 3-4 solid days of roleplaying.
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A new temple has been constructed in the Maze, the players suspect it is the Blood Cult but have not explored too close to it yet.
The players have figured out who the Beggar King is. He is an ex- Hawkmask named Saliman who was in charge of Jubal's intelligence operations. Saliman disappeared in a large battle with assassins earlier on in the adventure and was presumed dead. Turns out he wasnt ;)
The players have recruited the services of the legendary thief Hanse Shadowspawn and are currently exploring the sewers below the maze, thanks to a map they acquired from the thieves guild HQ.
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The players acquired a map of the sewers at the Thieves Guild HQ thanks to the burglar.
Using the map they take 3 NPC's and explore the sewers under the Maze in search of the Beggar Kings Lair. They are met by 3 assassins and the Beggar King in the sewers close to his lair. They send back two NPC to get reinforcements which eventually arrive - but much slower than expected as a spy in their group murders their unofficial leader.
In an epic showdown with the Beggar King, the players triumph and manage to rescue Jubal and get him to safety.
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This encounter takes place two days after the player characters rescue Jubal. [Prior to his rescue Jubal was tortured and has had an eye cut out by the Beggar Kings men].
Epilogue: Hanse Shadowspawn enters the room carrying a small chest. He places it on the table in front of Jubal.
Hanse Shadowspawn "This chest was left for you with One-Thumb at the Vulgar Unicorn. I have checked it and there appears to be no trap mechanisms. It came with this (Holds up a iron key). An urchin delivered the chest with a simple message. - Give this to Jubal. Only he is to open it”.
Inside is a blood covered piece of paper wrapped around another object. Dark patches of blood are seeping through the paper. Jubal carefully unwraps the package to reveal a human eyeball. Jubals eye! There is a hand written message inside the bloodied paper.
"My old friend, you might need this if you want to find the real Beggar King. Your men have done me a favour. Now the people of Sanctuary know I am unkillable. Keep an eye out for me".
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This encounter takes place two days after the player characters rescue Jubal. [Prior to his rescue Jubal was tortured and has had an eye cut out by the Beggar Kings men].
Epilogue: Hanse Shadowspawn enters the room carrying a small chest. He places it on the table in front of Jubal.
Hanse Shadowspawn "This chest was left for you with One-Thumb at the Vulgar Unicorn. I have checked it and there appears to be no trap mechanisms. It came with this (Holds up a iron key). An urchin delivered the chest with a simple message. - Give this to Jubal. Only he is to open it”.
Inside is a blood covered piece of paper wrapped around another object. Dark patches of blood are seeping through the paper. Jubal carefully unwraps the package to reveal a human eyeball. Jubals eye! There is a hand written message inside the bloodied paper.
"My old friend, you might need this if you want to find the real Beggar King. Your men have done me a favour. Now the people of Sanctuary know I am unkillable. Keep an eye out for me".
The Beggar King the players killed was merely a decoy! Sets things up nicely for the next adventure. I have created another character specific epilogue for each player as well. Here is an part of one of the epilogues.
Scene: Jubal’s Estate, inside his war room. Three men stand around a large table covered in maps. Jubal the ex-slave gladiator crimelord, Shenton - his most experienced Hawkmask and Kromm Lionslayer the barbarian (player character).
Shenton “According to the intel gathered from Night Shadow and Kromm, the Thieves Guild base of operations is here. [Points to a building on the map located in the Street of Red Lanterns]
Jubal “From the reports I’ve heard we know that Danny O’gunnion is leading the Big Fish Gang and he has men posing as Hell-hounds moving goods from the Governors Warehouse to the Florist Shop. These will likely be black market goods and perhaps trade goods taken from merchant vessels as part of O’Gunnions tax on goods entering the city. I am sure Prince Kittycat would be very interested in this information but for now lets keep him in the dark and wait for the best opportunity to use this knowledge to our advantage. If they get wind of the authorities getting involved, they will go to ground”.
Shenton “What do you make of this Beggar King decoy?”
Jubal “That traitorous bastard Saliman could still be alive, or he might have merely been a pawn in a larger plot involving the Blood Cult and this Dark Brotherhood. The cult is dangerous and we need more intel on who its leader is and what defenses their temple has before any move is made against them.
Kromm “What about The Temple of Heqt and their High Priestess guesting at the palace? There could be a link between the two new temples”.
Jubal “We know the Beggar King has a spy posing as one of Kittycats concubines. I think she could shed some light on what the Prince knows as well as have intel on the High Priestess. Find out who she is and then we can arrange to have a private talk with her”.
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Great idea marrying Rolemaster and Thieves' World. Your story is great as well. Thank you for posting the details.
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Icefield,
Welcome to the ICE Forums.
MDC
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Great idea marrying Rolemaster and Thieves' World. Your story is great as well. Thank you for posting the details.
Thanks! It has certainly been a labour of love rebooting these characters. I cannot speak more highly of Thieves World as a setting. Its a dangerous city full of adventure!
Crafting the story from scratch was rather time intensive but the payoff has been a rich environment for the players to immerse themselves in and it has opened up a large number of possibilities for future adventuring. With a number of powerful factions vying for control of the city there are plenty of angles for players to be used as spies, couriers, bodyguards, assassins and/or mercenaries.
The Crimelord Jubal will remain a central NPC in the story but the rise in power of the Dark Brotherhood, The Big Fish Gang operating with impunity and the the Beggar King working behind the scenes should make things interesting. The Assassins Guild, lead by the powerful nightblade Draven the Slayer is also poised to make a play for control... who knows where they have placed informants in the city?
Prince Kittycat and his royal guards the Hell-hounds are going to make their influence felt in the near future. Its possible the pcs could even be hired by the Prince!
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Part Two reboot is starting up soon. Adding a 3rd player to the campaign. Looking like he will be an assassin. Interesting possibilities for spying, double-crossing and infiltration missions...
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Part Two reboot is starting up soon. Adding a 3rd player to the campaign. Looking like he will be an assassin. Interesting possibilities for spying, double-crossing and infiltration missions...
Great Setting. I would play a Rogue.
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Part Two reboot is starting up soon. Adding a 3rd player to the campaign. Looking like he will be an assassin. Interesting possibilities for spying, double-crossing and infiltration missions...
Great Setting. I would play a Rogue.
Yes, its an really cool setting. The new player went with assassin, which is a variant of a rogue. he is lvl3 right now but will be lvl4 by the time he meets up with the other 2 established players.
A pc assassin opens up some new possibilities in the story. He may choose to represent himself as a rogue until he earns the trust of the party - they have had a bad experience with an assassin npc who was a spy for their enemy The Beggar King. Im thinking the assassin will have a past and some baggage that will come with him which will be fun to roleplay.
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Rebooted this campaign again this summer. Set in Sanctuary, Thieves World. Have added a new 3rd pc, an assassin with a suitably shadowy past. Saved from muggers while in the city of Ranke, the apprentice assassin is mentored by a very dangerous ex-member of the Assassins Guild... he left the guild when his friend, the leader of the guild was betrayed and murdered. The guild has been hunting him since then (about a year ago). The master assassin lives in a secret cabin in the woods outside the city... he likes to test himself occasionally to see if he still has the edge needed to be an assassin... venturing into the city.
Plot wise there is a new faction called the League of Shadows... a new assassins guild led by the retired mastered assassin... they are on a collision course with the original guild.
The other important factions prominent the current story are the Big Fish Gang, a thieves guild who have taken over crime in the westside of the city... The Bloody Hand who are a cult of fanatical priests who have been carrying out dark rituals below the city with a larger, more sinister goal... the destruction of the city of Sanctuary. This are building towards a large festival in honor of a visiting government official who is rumoured to be the target of an assassination attempt by the Order of the Black Lotus.
Our player characters... a burglar, a barbarian and an assassin find themselves under the city investigating tunnels which are being used by the Big Fish Gang to move stolen goods to and from the city wharf. They are under the employ of the cities ex-crime lord Jubal who is attempting to rebuild his criminal empire after a rival, the Beggar King all but destroyed it.
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Way late to the game here, but I too am running a Thieves World/Sanctuary campaign. While recently cleaning, I found my old "Chaosium" Thieves World Adventure Pack and introduced my college-age daughter and several friends to the city of Sanctuary. They are currently in the sewer/tunnel system by request of their benefactor group (my old characters from the 1980's) searching for two sets of artifact armor rumored to be in the city's underground.
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Way late to the game here, but I too am running a Thieves World/Sanctuary campaign. While recently cleaning, I found my old "Chaosium" Thieves World Adventure Pack and introduced my college-age daughter and several friends to the city of Sanctuary. They are currently in the sewer/tunnel system by request of their benefactor group (my old characters from the 1980's) searching for two sets of artifact armor rumored to be in the city's underground.
awesome! its a fantastic setting.
my players have characters working for Jubal the crimelord. I have fleshed out his organisation quite a bit.
Jubal's Hawkmasks
Silverhawks (11)
Commander Horse
Captain Bodin (2IC, Blue Wing Leader)
Kale the Bounty Hunter (UW)
Odin the Bounty Hunter (UW)
Jace the Barbarian (UW)
Azal the Nomad (UW)
Red the Ranger (Red Wing Leader)
Mylarr the Elf (RW)
Mor-am the Rogue (RW)
Moria the Rogue (RW)
Ezra the Rogue (RW)
[UW = Blue Wing, RW = Red Wing]
Greyhawks (10)
Commander Jubal
Captain Lefty (2IC, White Wing Leader)
Rolf the Barbarian (WW)
Grizz the Barbarian (WW)
Ox the Warrior (WW)
Coran the Ranger (WW)
Ferrik the Rogue (Black Wing Leader)
Ignatz the Bounty Hunter (BW)
Jade the Rogue (BW)
Boone the Burglar (BW)
[WW = White Wing, BW = Black Wing]
Nighthawks (4)
Nightshadow the Burglar/Spy (Leader)
Aramis the Assassin
Jalen the Nightshade (Shadow)
Lysandra the Nightblade (Shadow)
The larger units are have subdivisions called 'wings'. These smaller groups can operate independently if needed. Each wing has its own sub-commander/leader. These are Lefty (White Wing), Ferrik the Rogue (Black Wing), Red the Ranger (Red Wing), Bodin (Blue Wing).
Each wing has something unique from others.
Blue Wing have deadly foe-seeking boomerangs.
Red Wing use red feathered 'poisoned' arrows/bolts.
White Wing have at least 5 ranks in adrenal move strength, interrogation, lie perception.
Black Wing have superior lockpick kits (+30) and 5 ranks or more in pick locks, stalk/hide, trickery, gambling, acting and disguise.
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Jubal has been a central npc in my campaign. in my story Jubal was overthrown by a rival crimelord called The Beggar King. this set the party on a series of adventures to locate the Beggar King and also deal with his allies, a thieves guild called The Big Fish Gang and an assassins guild called The Order of the Black Lotus.
A greater danger emerged in the story when it was discovered the Bloody Hand (Cult of Dyareela) was established in the city, had built a new Blood Temple in the Maze and were allies with the Order of the Black Lotus.
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As GM, I use a number of devices to advance the story and keep information flowing to the players
1) Rumours (used the rumours booklet from the thieves world boardgame to start with but now generate my own)
2) S'Danzo fortune tellers (have created a 30 card tarot deck that i use for dropping clues, story hooks, visions etc)
3) NPC interactions/dialogue/NPC's in the party (unlike other GM's i allow a large entourage of npcs to adventure with the party. its not uncommon for there to be 5-8 NPC's in the party, especially when they are on missions for Jubal)
I am also big on intrigue, spies and betrayal. This has been a theme throughout the campaign.
Recently the vampaign has taken a dark twist with werewolves appearing in the city and there have been rumours of vampires.
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Your breakdown of the Hawkmasks is wonderful. I am stealing it to save me time as My players know of him, but have not yet made serious inquires. They have encountered a few Hawkmasks, but have had no serious dealings with them yet. They will soon.
I have a kerf dealer/supplier encounter (not Jubal) I am currently fleshing out if you are interested for your group, as well as an ancient section/dungeon for Heqt's Temple (full of nasty traps), and a smuggler's cavern near the Old Pier in the works.
My 5 players are 4-5 lvl: fighter/bard/necromancer, rouge/fighter/alchemist, fighter/armorer (with a snapping turtle sidekick), Sorcerer and Druid.
The Neutral-Good Druid has befriended both Lythonde and Tempus, Lythonde has inducted the Druid into the Blue Star Brotherhood, Tempus uses her to help train the Hell Hound's horses. The three fighter class players have joined a mercenary group raising membership for an impending battle with Northerners.
Have you seen Chaosium's module? Maps, Sanctuary personality backgrounds and stats, and wonderful city encounter charts.
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we play seasons of 8-10 sessions every summer.
we r up to season 4, which starts in dec later his year.
as GM i really enjoy the story crafting. it is very rewarding seeing the players enjoying a story you created yourself.
i think my campaign is quite unique because in between seasons i tinker with the rules a bit and introduce new rules each season. In Season 3 I introduced Super Fast Combat resolution (RMCIII). it was really needed as the party was getting bigger (now up to 5 players) and they were getting mixed up with some large and powerful factions. This Season which is Season4 I am introducing Talent Law and Weapon Specialisation. I ask my players for feedback and suggestions at the end of each sessions make some decisions about what tweeks to to rules might be needed. In Season 2 i was tweeking the Ambush rules which was rather timely because the party were up against an assassins guild which had 50 assassins operating about the city.
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Your breakdown of the Hawkmasks is wonderful. I am stealing it to save me time as My players know of him, but have not yet made serious inquires. They have encountered a few Hawkmasks, but have had no serious dealings with them yet. They will soon.
I have a kerf dealer/supplier encounter (not Jubal) I am currently fleshing out if you are interested for your group, as well as an ancient section/dungeon for Heqt's Temple (full of nasty traps), and a smuggler's cavern near the Old Pier in the works.
My 5 players are 4-5 lvl: fighter/bard/necromancer, rouge/fighter/alchemist, fighter/armorer (with a snapping turtle sidekick), Sorcerer and Druid.
The Neutral-Good Druid has befriended both Lythonde and Tempus, Lythonde has inducted the Druid into the Blue Star Brotherhood, Tempus uses her to help train the Hell Hound's horses. The three fighter class players have joined a mercenary group raising membership for an impending battle with Northerners.
Have you seen Chaosium's module? Maps, Sanctuary personality backgrounds and stats, and wonderful city encounter charts.
awesome. im happy to trade resources. those encounter settings u have sound cool! i need a map for Heqts temple! its just been rebuilt in the avenue of temples in my campaign. The followers of Heqt are trying to quash the Bloody Hand, both in Sanctuary and across the known world. The party have become entangled in this larger plot because their goals are similar. I have used Lythande as an ally of the party. They have had dealings with Myrtis who is allied with Jubal. At the end of Season 2 Lythande went missing under suspicious circumstances. A scroll found by a player was actually a magical trap created by the Bloody hand cult to take care of Lythande who was helping the party eliminate the Big Fish Gang, one of the cults allies.
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The kerf dealer and smugglers hideout would also be useful resources for me.
In my version of Sanctuary the Big Fish Gang have taken over much of Westside and now operate with impunity using extortion and intimidation to gather wealth. The have a large black market operation in place with a base below Red Lantern St (They previously had a base operating out of a flower shop in red lantern st, but this has been infiltrated by both the party and the city guards (who took all he credit for it, much to the players annoyance). The BFG now control the flow of trade into and out of the city. This has forced the Prince to become involved and he has marshalled his hellhounds to mount a raid into one the the BFG's bases (they are storing the black market goods in the Governor's Warehouses!).
Jubal, who was severely weakened by the Beggar King (BK hired assassins to virtually wipe out Jubal's hawkmasks and almost succeeded, but a small group of survivors led by the pc's located the BK's hideout and killed him... or so they thought! The Beggar King had a decoy, posing as him operating out of his hideout in the sewers... it was the decoy that that party killed... this was revealed in a written message from the BK to the pcs at the end of Season 2.
Things are poised for a big showdown with the Beggar King and his allies, the Big Fish Gang (and the Bloody Hand).
Jubal has now regained much of his former power (at least in the number of sell-swords he has). Jubal has recruited new hawkmasks from Ranke, a few of these are former recruits, experienced ex-soldiers/gladiator types but most are a ragtag team of thieves, rogues and criminals. Desperate times call for desperate measures. These are the 30 or so men I listed earlier. The player characters, two of which are hawkmasks are trying to work their way up the hierarchy within Jubal's organisation. One pc had his sights set on becoming commander of the hawkmasks but failed in this goal when it was discovered by Jubal that he orchestrated the murder of Jubal's former captain! Lets just say there was a rather tense questioning scene we played out in which Jubal interrogated each of the pcs to get to the bottom of why his hawkmask captain, who he sent them to rescue from the Dungeon, was interrogated and killed by them for being a traitor! A clever plan that did not work... the player set up the hawkmask captain naming him a traitor... using flimsy fabricated evidence... and on the way back to Jubal's estate, after rescuing him from the dungeon (thanks largely to a forged document from Jubal) stopped by the Maze and interrogated him with the goal of killing him as the revealed traitor (NOTE: There is a traitor in the hawkmasks, Jubal knows this but not who it is... even the pcs are under suspicion!)
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Jubal passed sentences on he two hawkmask pcs.
The burglar pc got a promotion to leader of the Nighthawks wing. He is an exceptional thief and spy and it was recently revealed that he was a sleeper agent planted in and working his way up within the Order of the Black Lotus (the assassins guild who were largely responsible for the near extermination of Jubal's hawkmasks back in season2)
The barbarian pc (who had his sights set on becoming the new captain of Jubal's Hawkmasks) was demoted and stripped of his former rank of 2nd in command.
As GM i considered Jubal having them executed or kicked out of his organisation. I came up with a far meaner consequence for them overstepping their authority and killing Jubal's captain without his sanction.
Jubal fined them. a substantial amount. 200 gold i think it was. It was explained to the pcs that this money was owed to Jubal by his former captain, the one they killed under 'suspicion' of being a traitor. A dept that they inherited when they killed him. They have about a month to repay it or they will be kicked out of the hawkmasks. The burglar when he heard this was confident he had the money stashed in one of his many stash locations about the city so wasnt too worried. You know where this is going eh?
When the burglar goes to pick up his stashed gold/gems it turns out these stash houses have been plundered, robbed. His wealth stolen! The player was understandable distraught and furious. Its not known who by but they suspect Jubal's hand in this. Suddenly the prospect of paying off a 200gp dept is looking rather more difficult and has the pcs scrambling for ways to get the funds needed to pay Jubal's dept.
It is unknown whether or not the dept is real or fabricated by Jubal. The players suspect Jubal is lying and made it up but they can't prove that now can they? As for the robbed stash houses, as a hawkmask the pcs operate closely with other hawkmasks when on missions. Some of these hawkmasks have questionable morals and criminal records or drug addictions or gambling problems. It doesnt take too much of a stretch to imagine here could be one or two that had their sights on the burglars gold and gems. There is also the issue of there being a traitor in Jubal's hawkmasks.
Jubal is now hated by the party, if given the choice im sure they would leave the hawkmasks. This is not an option with that dept hanging over them. I know the players are plotting to kill Jubal and one has his sights on taking over his organisation. For now, they will toe the line and do as they are told. But they are biding their time waiting to get even wit the crimelord who is their boss and not a very popular one ;)
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Your breakdown of the Hawkmasks is wonderful. I am stealing it to save me time as My players know of him, but have not yet made serious inquires. They have encountered a few Hawkmasks, but have had no serious dealings with them yet. They will soon.
I have a kerf dealer/supplier encounter (not Jubal) I am currently fleshing out if you are interested for your group, as well as an ancient section/dungeon for Heqt's Temple (full of nasty traps), and a smuggler's cavern near the Old Pier in the works.
My 5 players are 4-5 lvl: fighter/bard/necromancer, rouge/fighter/alchemist, fighter/armorer (with a snapping turtle sidekick), Sorcerer and Druid.
The Neutral-Good Druid has befriended both Lythonde and Tempus, Lythonde has inducted the Druid into the Blue Star Brotherhood, Tempus uses her to help train the Hell Hound's horses. The three fighter class players have joined a mercenary group raising membership for an impending battle with Northerners.
Have you seen Chaosium's module? Maps, Sanctuary personality backgrounds and stats, and wonderful city encounter charts.
go for it!
no i havent seen the map/expansion u speak of. is it good? whats in it? u have it?
i have the 3 TW modules they printed. quite old and hard to get hold of now. The spirit stones, Traitor and Assassin. these are really good. have extra maps. npcs, adventure hooks and although old, do a gr8 job in setting the tone of the city as a place full of down and out desperate people who fear magic and stay well clear of the Hell-hounds. bets thing is they can be used over and over. there is enough detail in them to run related adventures from the main one. you can easily explore the background of one of the NPCs they use in the story, base a new adventure around one of the locations with maps or revisit them after a time away and play a sequel adventure eg. remember that urchin you guys encountered? we he has become the leader of a new organisation and he needs your help.
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In my setting, the followers of Heqt are still fairly clandestine, as Vashanka still holds sway over the city. The underground section of the temple of Heqt is all that remains. One of the sets of ancient armor is hidden there, but based on how the last session went, they will not find it without help ;).
PM me your email and I will forward you what I have (probably next week) for your use.
Warning: My descriptions are basic and subject to expansion/change at discretion (as they should be).
We play once, sometimes twice a week for 2-6 hours at a time. We have been playing this campaign for 6 months.
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Description of Chaosium's module here:
https://www.blackgate.com/2013/04/18/vintage-treasures-chaosiums-thieves-world/ (ftp://www.blackgate.com/2013/04/18/vintage-treasures-chaosiums-thieves-world/)
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In my setting, the followers of Heqt are still fairly clandestine, as Vashanka still holds sway over the city. The underground section of the temple of Heqt is all that remains. One of the sets of ancient armor is hidden there, but based on how the last session went, they will not find it without help ;).
PM me your email and I will forward you what I have (probably next week) for your use.
Warning: My descriptions are basic and subject to expansion/change at discretion (as they should be).
We play once, sometimes twice a week for 2-6 hours at a time. We have been playing this campaign for 6 months.
cool! cheers.
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The Player Characters
Nightshadow - Level 6 burglar/spy/multiple split personalities/inflicted by a vampire curse
Blackfang - Level 5 Assassin, member of The League of Shadows
Kromm - Level 6 Barbarian, former 2IC of Jubal's hawkmasks
Ghurdard - Level 5 Bounty Hunter, hired by Lady Myrtis to find Rabben Halfhand the rogue Blue Star magician.
NPC's
Jubal - crimelord slaver ex-gladiator
Commander 'Horse' Horst - Level newly appointed commander of Jubal's Hawkmasks
Lefty - level 6 fighter, recently appointed captain of the hawkmasks
Bodin - level 6 fighter, recently appointed captain of the hawkmasks
Season 3 Epilogue. [Part One]
Location: Downwind Safehouse. Kromm the Barbarian and the other hawkmasks, two of which are mortally wounded are present. Also there are Nightshadow the Burglar/Spy, Blackfang the Assassin, Deathbringer the Master Assassin, Jubal the ex-gladiator/crimelord and his new recruits.
Someone on a horse can be heard arriving outside the safe-house. Moments later Moria the hawkmask enters. She looks tired, distress is etched on her face.
[Kromm had previously sent Moria to seek the aid of healers from the Temple of Shipri - the acolytes who assisted the wounded in Vashanka's Square at the arena battles].
Moria "They are all dead. The priests of Shipri. Slaughtered! None are left alive. The Avenue of Temples was crawling with city guards. The high priest of Shipri was not among the dead. He is missing".
Season 3 Epilogue. [Part Two].
Nightshdow and Blackfang are poised to get Kromm to the Temple of Heqt where they hope to find a priest or healer. Kromm looks terrible. He is suffering badly from the effects of poison caused by an assassins blade in the arena. Kromm is growing weaker by the hour and is unsteady on his feet. Moria and Jade Salley the sister of Cade are assigned to accompany them. Jade will bring her unconscious brother Cade and also Laselle along. Cade and Laselle were bitten by the wolf creature from the hill. Their wounds are black and festering. Both lie unconscious. Jubal refuses to offer any further aid to the wounded men because their injuries were sustained on an unsanctioned mission.
As the party make ready to leave the Downwind safehouse (their horses are in Caravan Square, except for Moria's which is outside) they notice Horse the new hawkmask commander and the two newly appointed 2nd ranked hawkmasks Lefty and Bodin are already organizing Jubal's sell-swords into three groups. Greyhawks, Nighthawks and Silverhawks. The Nighthawks will make up the reserve force. The Greyhawks will raid the Big Fish Gang's Grotto. The Silverhawks will raid the Governors Warehouses where Salisman aka The Beggar King will be personally supervising the delivery of a large krrf shipment.
Commander Horse "Hey! You lot! There's a mission briefing at the Diving Bird Inn two hours before midnight. Don't be late or I'll have your hides! One more thing. Only report if you're fighting fit. No dead weight. Understood?"
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FLASHBACK FOR UGH THE BARBARIAN AND FLECK THE BURGLAR. [PRIOR TO SEASON ONE]
SCENE: The Gallows in Vashanka’s Square. Two captured criminals - Ugh the Barbarian and Fleck the Burglar wait solemnly for their fate.
You are both captives at the hanging block located in Vashanka’s Square outside the Governor’s Palace. You have your hands bound behind your back and are standing beside each other on a raised platform with nooses tied around your necks. A small crowd of onlookers has gathered to watch the entertainment. Two city guards oversee proceedings. A man calls out from the crowd “Let’s see them dance! I want to see them dance on air! (laughter)”. It is impossible to tell where the comment came from. You quickly scan the twenty or so onlookers faces gathered in front of the gallows. They are a mixture of different townspeople: S’Danzo, urchins, beggars and street scum. You notice there is none that looks familiar.
A non-descript government official shuffles forward and unrolls a piece of parchment.
“By decree of the Prince Governor, in accordance with the laws of our fair city, these criminals are hereby sentenced to death by hanging for their numerous crimes against the citizens of Sanctuary. These crimes include: assault on a Hellhound, theft, smuggling, association with known criminals and murder. Let all citizens assembled here bear witness that justice has been served. His Excellency. Prince Kidakathis. Protector of Sanctuary and servant of the Rankan Empire. 0014”.
The official steps back and signals the executioner who is waiting nearby.
If a rescue attempt was going to be made, now would be the time. You look to the rooftops and high walls nearby searching for an unlikely rescuer. Nothing. You say a silent prayer to the Gods. Your mouth is dry making it hard to swallow. At any moment the executioner will activate the trapdoor on which you are standing. Not long now. The end is near. The anticipation of your imminent death is agonizing. You glance at your friend beside you. Companions in life and now companions in death. He has a look of steely determination in his eyes. Time for one final joke. One last insult. One last laugh.
Ugh “If we get out of this I am going to kill you!”
FLECK “Yeah, sure… you will have to catch me first”.
You are jolted back to reality by a loud CRASH! as the executioner triggers the trapdoor on which you are standing. You immediately drop, helpless to control your decent. For a moment time seems to stop. Memories of people from your past flash through your mind. The adveturers Bbill, Shelemur, Arlan and Revlior, Ohpir and his urchins, Jubal and his hawkmasks, Myrtis the Lady of the Night, Jake the fence, Jang the peasant, Argentia the S’Danzo and others. In your remaining seconds of life you relive encounters you have had throughout the city: the Bazaar, The Golden Lion, The Maze, the epic battle with the shield from the rooftops, the attempted rescue of that townsperson in his home and killing the assailant with a precesion strike through his eye!
Again you are wrenched back to reality. This time by the sharp pain of the noose tightening around your neck. This is the end. Darkness encircles you. Suddenly you are aware of a bright light. You feel a strange flash of heat. The white light, it is burning! Without warning the rope above you catches fire. You can smell the odour of singed rope. Your prayers have been answered! Or so it seems.
You begin to pass out. Strangely, the pain has gone. The last thing you remember is a shadowy figure approaching, cloaked and hooded. He has strange glowing eyes. The crowd parts like a curtain as the stranger moves towards you. Chaos follows. People scatter, some screaming in terror. Fear washes over you and then darkness.
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Season 4 is set for launch in a few more months. Adding a 5th player!
SEASON 4 Prologue.
Jubal is ready to extract revenge on his arch nemesis The Beggar King. With his empire now rebuilt from the ashes, much of Jubal's power has been returned. Two raids are planned into enemy territory. The Master Assassin Deathbringer, leader of the Shadow Guild has lent Jubal his support but will this be enough? The Bloody Hand have grown powerful. Their allies the Big Fish Gang and the Order of the Black The Lotus have taken control of much of Sanctuary's underworld.
Can rumours about the return of the unholy Vampire Lords be true? There is a glimmer of hope. The Followers of Heqt and The Order of the Blue Star oppose the Enemy. Their combined might could turn the tide of evil but who will rally them? Many questions remain. Is Lythande alive? Who is the next target of the Lotus assassins? Can the Bloody Hand be stopped?
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lots planned for the coming season = 12 session.
The Bloody Hand cut will be the major enemy they will be trying to defeat.