Delphi Missions - Aysle [PDF]

Zitiervorschau

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Delphi Missions Nile Empire Team

Writing: Danielle DeLisle, Greg Gorden, Jeff Griener, Steve Kenson, Simon Lucas, Ron Lundeen, Eric Simon, Bill Slavicsek, Ed Stark, John Terra, Editing: Ron Blessing Art Direction: Aaron Acevedo Layout: Aaron Acevedo, Darrell Hayhurst

Nile Empire and Terra Design: Greg Farshtey, Greg Gorden, Brian Sean Perry, Ed Stark, Michael Stern, and Ray Winninger

Torg Eternity Design Team

Writing and Design: Shane Lacy Hensley, Darrell Hayhurst, Markus Plötz, Deanna Gilbert, Ross Watson

Graphic Design: Aaron Acevedo, Jason Engle, Contributors: Greg Gorden, Jim Ogle, Steve Kenson, Ed Stark, George Strayton, Henry Lopez, Maik Schmidt Aaron Pavao, Angus Abranson, Steven Marsh, Cover: Jon Taylor, Bien Flores, and Unique Soparie Patrick Kapera, Bill Keyes, John Terra, James Interior Illustrations: Chris Bivins, Donald Crank, Knevitt, Jonathan Thompson, Andy Vetromile, Talon Dunning, Bien Flores, Maurizo Giorgio, Joseph Wolf, Jasyn Jones Gunship Revolution, Aaron Riley, Alida Saxon, Art Director: Aaron Acevedo Unique Soparie, Jon Taylor Graphic Design: Aaron Acevedo, Jason Engle

Original Design Team

Playtesting: Jimmy Macias, Michael Conn, Mythos and Game Design: Greg Gorden, Bill Damien Coltice, Michael Mingers, Michelle Slavicsek, & Douglas Kaufman, with Ed Stark, Greg Hensley, Ron Blessing, Veronica Blessing, Tracy Farshtey, Stan!, Brian Schomburg, Christopher Sizemore, Golda Lloyd, Andrew Harvey, Dale Davies, Ed Rugolo, Scott Walker, Darrell Brooks, Kubasik, Ray Winninger, and Paul Murphy Additional Concepts and Playtesting: Daniel Melvin Willis, James Dawsey, Brad Rogers, Jamal Scott Palter, Denise Palter, Jonatha Ariadne Caspian, Hassan, Jeremy Dawsey Michael Stern, Richard Hawran, C.J. Tramontana, Martin Wixted Technical Assistance: Dr. Michael Fortner, Dr. George Exner Original Logo Design: Tom Tomita

Revised & Expanded Developers: Eric Gibson, Jim Ogle, Gareth Michael Skarka, Nikola Vrtis, Stephen Marsh, Talon Dunning Torg, The Possibility Wars, and all unique characters, concepts, locations, and creatures are trademarks and / or copyrights of Ulisses Spiele. All rights reserved.

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STRIKEFORCE DRAGONSTORM BY BILL SLAVICSEK

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Scene One: A Call to Action������������������������������������� 4 Scene Two: The Tower of London��������������������������� 6

CURSE OF THE GAE BOLGA BY RON LUNDEEN

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The Traitors’ Gate�����������������������������������������������������������������������6 The Moat��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������6 The Gatehouse ���������������������������������������������������������������������������7 The Jewel House������������������������������������������������������������������������7

Mission Briefing������������������������������������������������������� 28 Scene One: The Unfriendly Sea����������������������������� 30

The White Tower �����������������������������������������������������������������������8 Eternity Shard:The Imperial State Crown�����������������������������������9

The Curse Grips Elranna���������������������������������������������������������32

An Appearance by Maelstrom ������������������������������������� 7 Scene Three: The Big Chase ���������������������������������� 10 The Aftermath���������������������������������������������������������� 10 Threats ���������������������������������������������������������������������� 10

THE LURE OF ALBION BY SIMON LUCAS

Old Friends�������������������������������������������������������������������������������30

Scene Two: The Ghost of Dunscaith���������������������� 30 Folktale: Cu Chulainn’s Education���������������������������� 32 Aftermath ����������������������������������������������������������������� 33

Lessons Learned ����������������������������������������������������������������������33 Lessons Unfinished������������������������������������������������������������������33

Allies and Threats���������������������������������������������������� 33

RETURN TO CARTERHAUGH 12 BY ERIC SIMON

Mission Briefing������������������������������������������������������� 12 Scene One: The Abbey�������������������������������������������� 13

Brother Francis�������������������������������������������������������������������������13 The Problem������������������������������������������������������������������������������14 What’s Really Going On? �������������������������������������������������������14 The Big Idea������������������������������������������������������������������������������15 Complications���������������������������������������������������������������������������15

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Mission Briefing������������������������������������������������������� 34 Scene One: Inland from Inverness������������������������� 35

The Ghillie���������������������������������������������������������������������������������36

Scene Two: The Drake of Dalwhinnie������������������� 36 The Transformation ����������������������������������������������������������������37

Scene Two: Sherwood Forest���������������������������������� 15

Elfame Influence��������������������������������������������������������� 38 Scene Three: The Tree of Tam Lin������������������������� 38

Scene Three: Kirklees���������������������������������������������� 17

Aftermath ����������������������������������������������������������������� 39 Folktale: The Gyre Carlin ����������������������������������������� 39

Scene Four: The Spirit of England������������������������� 18

NO MAN’S DRAGON BY DANIELLE DELISLE

Perils of the Greenwood ���������������������������������������������������������15 The Great North Road ������������������������������������������������������������17 The Priory���������������������������������������������������������������������������������18 One Last Arrow������������������������������������������������������������������������18 What about Francis? ���������������������������������������������������������������19

The Gyre Carlin������������������������������������������������������������������������38

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Aftermath ����������������������������������������������������������������� 19

Delphi Briefing �������������������������������������������������������� 40 Scene One: A Terrorized Island����������������������������� 41

TO SAVE A CHALLENGER BY JOHN TERRA

Scene Two: Darkness Encountered����������������������� 42 Scene Three: No Man’s Fort����������������������������������� 43

Eternity Shard: Albion���������������������������������������������������������������19

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Mission Briefing������������������������������������������������������� 20 Scene One: The Three Crown Inn ������������������������� 21 Scene Two: Sharif of Nottingham ������������������������� 22 Scene Three: AMBUSH! ����������������������������������������� 22 Scene Four: Meet Robyn Hood ����������������������������� 24 Scene Five: Contest of Champions ����������������������� 24 Scene Six: Buried Darkness������������������������������������� 24

Eternity Shard: King John’s Circlet�������������������������������������������25

Aftermath ����������������������������������������������������������������� 26

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Personalities ������������������������������������������������������������� 26

Lorelei ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������41

Smoke the Obscurer ����������������������������������������������������������������43

Aftermath ����������������������������������������������������������������� 44 Threats ���������������������������������������������������������������������� 44 Talisman: The Signal Sword�������������������������������������� 45

NIGHT OF THE MUMMIES BY STEVE KENSON

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Mission Briefing������������������������������������������������������� 46 Scene One: Night at the Museum ������������������������� 46

Mummy ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������47

Scene Two: An Unexpected Ally���������������������������� 48 Scene Three: The House of Beauty ����������������������� 49 Rest in Pieces������������������������������������������������������������� 51

Scene Three: Shark Attack!������������������������������������� 65 Wave One: The Amphibious Assault������������������������������������65 Wave Two: Hulled!������������������������������������������������������������������65 A Sinking Ship �������������������������������������������������������������������������67 An Additional Wrinkle������������������������������������������������������������67

Aftermath ����������������������������������������������������������������� 67

REFUGE BY GREG GORDEN

52 PROTECT THE ELF Adventure ���������������������������������������������������������������� 52 BY JEFF GREINER

Background�������������������������������������������������������������� 52 Scene One: Seriously?���������������������������������������������� 53 Scene Two: Uninvited Guests�������������������������������� 54 Scene Three: Infected by Hope������������������������������� 55 Scene Four: Ring of Fire ����������������������������������������� 56 Aftermath ����������������������������������������������������������������� 58 Foes���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 58

A STORMY PASSAGE BY ED STARK

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Delphi Briefing �������������������������������������������������������� 60 Scene One: All Aboard!������������������������������������������� 61

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Mission Briefing������������������������������������������������������� 68 Scene One: The Local Syndrome���������������������������� 69

Meeting Talisha������������������������������������������������������������������������70

Scene Two: Break On Through������������������������������� 71 Into the Village�������������������������������������������������������������������������71 It All Falls Apart ����������������������������������������������������������������������72

Scene Three: Get to the Nexus������������������������������� 73 Scene Four: Don’t Let the Elf Die�������������������������� 74 The Deceiver’s Forces �������������������������������������������������������������74 The Nexus���������������������������������������������������������������������������������74 The Ritual ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������74 The Escape���������������������������������������������������������������������������������74

All Hands On Deck������������������������������������������������������������������62

Aftermath ����������������������������������������������������������������� 74 Threats ���������������������������������������������������������������������� 75

Running For the Storm������������������������������������������������������������64

COMMON THREATS

Eternity Shard: The Golden Eagle������������������������� 63 Scene Two: Crossing the Storm����������������������������� 65

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Beta Clearance������������������������������������������������������������� 79

GENERAL DIRECTIVE #7 an From the desk of Quinn Sebasti what the High Lords are up to. of ns tio ica ind for en op rs ea d t Keep your eyes an t we don’t know exactly what tha bu ” rg, “To the e om bec to nts help We know each wa ic High Lord plans is going to cif spe or g Tor the on e nc ge ably means. Any intelli can only be one Torg, so inevit re the t tha ms see It m. the of us get ahead betraying other. We need to know who is an e on on n tur to ing go are ture a the invaders we may even be able to manufac ses ca e som In it. on ze ali pit who and ca . s fight each other instead of us foe r ou ke ma d an n ow r ou of betrayal Quinn Sebastian

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BY BILL SLAVICSEK

STRIKEFORCE DRAGONSTORM

COSM: AYSLE

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LOCATION: TOWER OF LONDON, ENGLAND

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he Delphi Council assembles a team of Storm Knights to assault the Tower of London. A Draconis Teutonica—an air dragon—that calls itself Maelstrom has turned the tower into a fortress and taken the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom hostage. Now, with the help of the necromancer, Lady Evernight, and her undead army—not to mention the increasing number of Ords who flock to the tower to worship Maelstrom as a god—the dragon seeks to expand its control of the area. The Storm Knights must enter the tower, rescue the Prime Minister, and get her to safety before what remains of the United Kingdom’s government gives in to the dragon’s demands.

SCENE ONE: A CALL TO ACTION Standard Scene. The Storm Knights receive an urgent summons to appear before their contact at the Delphi Council. That’s where they receive the disheartening news—the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom has disappeared! “The government has been informed that the Prime Minister has been taken captive by a dragon that calls itself Maelstrom. The dragon has commandeered the Tower of London and turned it into its personal kingdom. We believe the Prime Minister is being held somewhere within the walls of the complex.” The contact goes on to explain that an elf necromancer supports the dragon and has created an army of undead creatures to protect the premises. “We need you to infiltrate the grounds of the Tower of London, secure enchanted weapons to aid you against the dragon and the necromancer, locate the imprisoned Prime Minister, and escape. It is imperative that the Prime Minister exits the Tower of London alive and in

2. Moat

4. Jewel House 5. White Tower

3. Gatehouse

1. Traitor’s Gate

The Tower of London isn’t for tourists anymore. relatively good health. If you can kill the dragon and its necromancer ally, all the better, but the primary mission is to extract the Prime Minister and get her to safety.” The contact also points out that the Delphi Council believes an eternity shard might be trapped within the Tower of London with the dragon and the necromancer. “Prior to the arrival of the dragon, reports indicated that one or more of the artifacts stored and displayed in the tower had revealed themselves to be eternity shards. If you can recover one or more of these items, by all means do. But not at the expense of the safety of the Prime Minister.” The Delphi Council equips the team with an ordnance of modern weaponry and a small supply of Aysle-appropriate equipment. “Your Core Earth weapons could fail you within the magical reality

now overlaying the Tower of London,” the contact explains. “The armor and melee weapons we have collected for your use should be replaced with enchanted versions as soon as you can acquire them, as neither your modern weapons nor the Asylish equipment is fully effective against the undead. We believe the tower’s armory has been relocated to the Jewel House, though some pieces may remain within the White Tower. We have every reason to believe some of these items have become magical in the face of a shifting reality.” Finally, the contact provides the name of a yeoman warden who escaped from the historic site when the dragon first arrived. “Yeoman Warden Bennington awaits your arrival at the Underground station at Tower Hill. He can provide you with a way to get into the tower walls without being seen. Good luck, Storm Knights.”

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SCENE TWO: THE TOWER OF LONDON Standard Scene. Refer to the map when running events at the Tower of London. Officially known as Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, this historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London consists of a central tower (the White Tower), an inner and outer ward, surrounding support buildings, and the curtain walls that encompass the tower grounds. Locations that may come into play in this adventure, as marked on the map, include the following, which are then described below. • 1–Traitors’ Gate: The suggested entry into the tower grounds. • 2–The Moat: Full of undead. • 3–The Gatehouse: Guarded by undead. • 4–The Jewel House: Guarded by war trolls and gospog. • 5–The White Tower: Lair of the dragon, guarded by the necromancer.

1. THE TRAITORS’ GATE The Storm Knights arrive at Tower Hill Station and rendezvous with the Beefeater known as Yeoman Warden Bennington. The tall, older gentleman with the handlebar mustache isn’t wearing his uniform, but that doesn’t stop him from standing with the regal bearing of one of the ceremonial guardians of the Tower of London. He tells the Storm Knights what he knows before they go off to do their own reconnaissance and make their way to the entrance he suggests—the infamous Traitors’ Gate. Bennington, loyal to the crown and devoted to his duty as a yeoman warden, nonetheless appears shaken by the recent events happening within the Tower of London. “It’s a bloody dragon!,” Bennington says. “Swooped in one day and declared itself lord of the place. Not sure which is worse, the bloody dragon or the damned elf woman and her horde of undead monsters! The tower grounds are literally crawling with the damned walking corpses!” Bennington provides a key and directions to the Traitors’ Gate. He hasn’t been able to determine where the Prime Minister is being held captive,

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but he knows much of the medieval armory was moved to the Jewel House to make room inside the White Tower for the dragon.

Entering Via

the

Traitors’ Gate

The key provided by Yeoman Warden Bennington opens the locked portal of the Traitors’ Gate. Named for the many prisoners that were transported into the castle by barge from the Thames during the reign of the Tudors, it provided quick access to and from the river. Water fills the entryway, and the Storm Knights will need to swim through the murky water or use a small boat to reach the tower grounds. Unfortunately, while this route provides a less-protected access point, it isn’t devoid of defenders. As the Storm Knights move through the murky water, read: The cool, dark confines within the Traitors’ Gate present a small challenge, as water fills the interior. As you navigate the dimly lit interior, the water churns and bubbles. Three Skeletal Warriors rise out of the depths, each brandishing a short sword or a crude club. They immediately move forward to deal with your intrusion. After the Storm Knights deal with this small band of defenders, they enter the tower grounds and decide upon their next course of action. • Skeletal Warriors (three): see page 11.

2. THE MOAT If the Storm Knights decide to look around before trying to enter the Tower of London via the path suggested by the yeoman warden, or if they decide to make their own way into the tower, they can’t help but notice the moat that surrounds the tower grounds. Prior to the Dark One’s invasion, the moat was nothing more than a dry ditch, as the water was drained long ago due to concerns about safety and disease. With the arrival of Maelstrom, however, murky water once more fills the tower moat. Read: Dark, murky water fills the trench that surrounds the Tower of London. The water isn’t still, however. As you gaze across toward the curtain wall, sections of the water bubbles and churns as bones rise out of the depths. Obviously human, the bones swirl about on the surface for a few long seconds before once again

sinking beneath the surface. The pattern repeats at varying intervals from one end of the moat to the other. More disturbing, every so often the swirling bones assemble into a skeletal form that lifts itself out of the water to look around before disassembling and falling back into the murky depths. The Storm Knights should have no doubt that the sea of bones would form into a skeletal army if they attempted to cross the moat. Lady Evernight used the bones of the outlaws hung on Tower Hill to create these undead guardians. If the Storm Knights attempt to cross to the tower grounds via the moat, three skeletal warriors rise out of the depths for each of the heroes in the party. They immediately engage the intruders to drive them off or otherwise stop their progress. Every round, another three skeletal warriors arrive to bolster the defenders. If the party hasn’t retreated or been defeated by the end of the fourth round of combat, Lady Evernight joins the battle and the scene becomes a dramatic scene. • Skeletal Warriors (three per hero, plus three each round): see page 11.

3. THE GATEHOUSE The Gatehouse once provided access to the millions of tourists who visited the Tower of London every year. Now, the portcullis is locked and skeletal warriors guard the entrance to the tower grounds. If the Storm Knights attempt to gain entry via the Gatehouse or by scaling the battlements, they must fight through the tower’s defenders. The same rules concerning the Moat apply here; three skeletal warriors arise for every Storm Knight in the party, with three more arriving every round. At the end of the fourth round, Lady Evernight joins the battle. In addition to the skeletal warriors, the battlements have additional defenders in the form of three ravagons. The fearsome winged hunters patrol the sky above the Tower of London, with one arriving every round to bolster the defense of the battlements. • Skeletal Warriors (three per hero, plus three each round): see page 11. • Ravagons (three): see page 76. • Lady Evernight: Appearing on the fourth round. See page 10.

AN APPEARANCE BY MAELSTROM As the Storm Knights perform reconnaissance from outside the tower walls, or once they get inside the confines of the Tower of London, they hear Maelstrom address his subjects and those he plans to soon rule over as his authority expands beyond the tower walls. The dragon can be clearly seen, curled around the top of the White Tower in the middle of the compound. He speaks in a roar that can be heard for a kilometer in every direction. “Hear me, my subjects and those soon to welcome my rule,” Maelstrom says. “I am the great and powerful Maelstrom, ally to the Dark Lord and companion to the malevolent Lady Evernight. I am your king and your god! Those who willingly submit to my rule will find protection and a life of service beneath my wings. Those who refuse or dare to defy me will find only death! So says Maelstrom, dragon of the frozen seas!” Any Ords in the vicinity either flee in terror or submit and approach the Tower of London as supplicants to the great and powerful Maelstrom. Those approaching the Gatehouse as supplicants are permitted entry to worship at Maelstrom’s feet. The Storm Knights could attempt to get inside the tower grounds in this way if other avenues fail them.

4. THE JEWEL HOUSE If the group attempts to arm themselves with magical equipment more appropriate for the reality of the Aysle cosm, they need to infiltrate the Jewel House. Famed as the vault that housed the British Crown Jewels, this one-time barracks stands across from the White Tower that now serves as the lair of the dragon Maelstrom. Two war trolls guard the Jewel House. Not only are they charged with protecting the armory of magical armor and weapons, they also make sure the Imperial State Crown remains under lock and key. These fearsome creatures wear enchanted armor and wield enchanted great axes. They are

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extremely loyal to Maelstrom and Lady Evernight, are ferocious warriors, and fight to the death to secure the Jewel House. A squad of six Gospog of the First Planting (see Torg Eternity) patrol the building and provide support to the war trolls when called upon. If the Storm Knights are stealthy, they might be able to acquire a few weapons and armor without attracting the attention of the war trolls or the gospog patrols. However, if they attempt to rescue the Imperial State Crown, they will not be able to avoid a battle.

WAR TROLL A huge armored creature that wields a great axe, war trolls fought on the front lines of Lord Uthorion’s army before being placed in the service of the dragon Maelstrom. They are smart, tough, and deadly warriors. Attributes: Charisma 8, Dexterity 8, Mind 10, Spirit 9, Strength 16 Skills: Dodge 9, find 11, intimidation 12, melee weapons 15, unarmed combat 12. Move: 8; Tough: 21 (5); Shock: 16; Wounds: 4 Equipment: Enchanted chain mail +3, enchanted great axe (Strength +6/22). Perks: Frightening Aspect, Critical Strike, Brute. Possibilities: 3. Special Abilities: • Dread: Standard Scenes become Dramatic when war trolls are present. • Magical Recuperation: At the start of every round, war trolls remove five points of shock or one wound that wasn’t inflicted by a magic weapon or fire. • Large: War trolls stand three meters tall. Attacks against them gain a +2 bonus.

Jewel House Armory

If the Storm Knights reach the armory, each member of the group can select from the following list of available enchanted arms and armaments. • Elven Chain Mail (Armor +3) • Enchanted Leather (Armor +2), two sets • Enchanted Plate Mail (Armor +4) • Enchanted Shield (Defense +3) • Enchanted Dagger (Strength +2) • Enchanted Short Sword (Strength +3)

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• Enchanted War Hammer (Strength +5) • Enchanted Spear (Strength +3) • Enchanted Long Bow (Damage 13) • Enchanted Light Crossbow (Damage 13), two • Enchanted Sling (Strength +2) • Plus two randomly generated items

The Imperial State Crown

Dramatic Scene. The Imperial State Crown, long known as the centerpiece of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, now has a series of blue and red gems adorning its rim. It revealed itself as an eternity shard as soon as reality in and around London began to sway. Its connection to Core Earth threatens Maelstrom, so he had Lady Evernight encase it in a magical cocoon. When the Storm Knights spot it, read: A shimmering bubble of dark force encases the crown of the United Kingdom’s monarch. A blue-red glow emanates from the crown, making it clearly visible inside the curtain of dark energy. The war trolls, if they haven’t been alerted to the presence of the Storm Knights prior to this, certainly notice them when they approach the vault containing the Crown Jewels. If the group can defeat the war trolls and secure the Imperial State Crown, they’ll gain a powerful eternity shard for the Delphi Council. This recovery should not take precedence over rescuing the Prime Minister, however.

5. THE WHITE TOWER Much of the White Tower’s interior has been gutted to make room for the massive air dragon. It consists of the ground floor, the middle floor, and the top floor. Maelstrom resides at the upper level of the tower, moving freely between the top floor and the roof of the old keep. The Prime Minister is housed on the middle floor, under the constant guard of two ravagons. Lady Evernight patrols the ground floor, accompanied by her force of four knight zombies. To rescue the Prime Minister, the Storm Knights must deal with Lady Evernight and her knight zombies and the two ravagons. Maelstrom won’t get involved unless directly challenged by the intruders. It has complete faith in the tower’s guardians and is engaged with the Ords who are

worshiping and praising the dragon when the Storm Knights arrive. When the Storm Knights meet Lady Evernight, read: The female elf before you wears the armor of a dark knight of Lord Uthorion, as do the zombie-like walking corpses at her side. “I am Lady Evernight,” she says, “companion of Maelstrom and master of dark magic. You have come for the Prime Minister, but all you will find here is death!” • Lady Evernight: See page 10. • Knight Zombie (4): see below. • Ravagons (2): see page 76.

ETERNITY SHARD:THE IMPERIAL STATE CROWN Cosm: Core Earth Possibilities: 10 Tapping Difficulty: 20 Purpose: To owe allegiance to no other rulers. Description: A crown with a dark blue velvet cap encrusted with hundreds of small gems and several large rubies and sapphires. Adorned with a silver cross at the top. Powers: The wearer of the crown may not be mind controlled, dominated, or possessed by any external force.

KNIGHT ZOMBIE An animated corpse adorned in plate mail and armed with a long sword and shield, this intelligent monster was loyal to Lady Evernight in life and twice as devoted to her in undeath. It hates living beings with a ferocity and fights like a whirlwind despite its undead nature. Attributes: Charisma 7, Dexterity 10, Mind 8, Spirit 7, Strength 9 Skills: Dodge 11, find 9, maneuver 11, melee weapons 12. Move: 10; Tough: 14 (5); Shock: —; Wounds: 1 Equipment: Enchanted plate mail +5, long sword (Strength +3/12). Possibilities: Never. Special Abilities: • Necrotic Aura: The necrotic spell that animated these creatures reduces the damage inflicted by non-magical attacks by half. • Relentless: Knight Zombies ignore Shock. • Undead: Knight Zombies are immune to poison and other effects that require breathing, eating, or other living processes.

The Prime Minister

When the group defeats Lady Evernight and her knight zombies, they can ascend to the middle floor. There, chained to a rack and guarded by two ravagons, is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. “It’s about bloody damn time! Now kill these devils and get me out of here!,” she declares when the Storm Knights arrive.

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The ravagons will fight to keep their charge, but if one of them falls, the other will flee. They’re on loan from the Gaunt Man, and have no loyalty or love for the air dragon. Once the Ravagons are defeated or flee, the group can release the Prime Minister and make their escape from the Tower of London.

SCENE THREE: THE BIG CHASE Dramatic Scene. When the Storm Knights emerge from the White Tower with the Prime Minister, read: Suddenly a dark shadow, like a cloud moving across the face of the sun, falls over your group. Diving out of the sky from the top of the White Tower is the air dragon, Maelstrom. “That does not belong to you!,” the dragon roars as it dives straight for you. The Storm Knights can turn and face the air dragon, but the better course is to run. The Prime Minister suggests such a course of action if the group seems intent on taking on a powerful dragon. To escape from the Tower of London with the Prime Minister requires a Dramatic Skill Resolution that requires the following steps to complete: • Step A: Find and plot a clear path to the exit, whether back to the Traitors’ Gate or one of the other exits they want to make their way to. Standard (DN 10) scholar or Mind test. • Step B: Lead the group into cover to avoid a strafing run. Challenging (DN 12) stealth or Dexterity test. • Step C: Clear a path through rubble to the exit. Difficult (DN 14) Strength test. • Step D: Someone must draw the dragon away long enough for the others to escape. This is a Very Difficult (DN 16) taunt test, and whoever attempts it suffers an attack from Maelstrom! If a step isn’t available the group must face Maelstrom that round. Any failed step or Dilemma allows the dragon to launch an Arctic Breath attack. If the group completes the challenge within five rounds, they find Yeoman Warden Bennington waiting for them with a vehicle prepared just for

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such an escape. After five rounds they are cut off and must defeat the dragon before they can leave.

THE AFTERMATH Whether the Storm Knights defeat Maelstrom or the dragon remains to be dealt with in the future, they still wind up with a great victory for the Delphi Council. They defeated Lady Evernight, possibly secured magic items and an eternity shard, and saved the Prime Minister. With the grateful thanks of a nation, they can return home with their heads held high—at least until Maelstrom makes its next move against London.

THREATS LADY EVERNIGHT, ELF NECROMANCER The elf dragon rider and necromancer, known only as Lady Evernight, has been Maelstrom’s ardent companion for centuries. She is utterly devoted to the dragon, intent on using her powers over undeath to help Maelstrom create a kingdom that will spread outward from the Tower of London to engulf the entire city. Attributes: Charisma 11, Dexterity 12, Mind 11, Spirit 13, Strength 10 Skills: Alteration 13, beast riding 15, conjuration 16, divination 12, dodge 13, find 12, intimidation 14, maneuver 13, melee weapons 13, stealth 14, taunt 12. Move: 12; Tough: 13 (3); Shock: 13; Wounds: 3 Equipment: Elven chain mail +3, souleater long sword (Strength +5/15). Perks: Shadow Step, Elven Sorcerer (Necromancer). Spells: Animate skeleton, create zombie, disguise, fly, lightning, mage dark, possibility rend, speak with dead. Possibilities: 2. Special Abilities: —

MAELSTROM, DRACONIS TEUTONICA Maelstrom is a fearsome air dragon from the frozen seas of Aysle. A powerful ally of Lord Uthorion, the Dark One, Maelstrom has taken control of the

Tower of London, turning this key location in an otherwise Core Earth hardpoint into a shard of Aysle. Maelstrom seeks to create a kingdom of his own, starting with the Tower of London and spreading outward into the rest of the city. With followers flocking to his charismatic appeal and the power of a necromancer beside him, Maelstrom plans to use the captured Prime Minister as a bargaining chip and to keep Core Earth’s defenders at bay. Attributes: Charisma 11, Dexterity 12, Mind 15, Spirit 13, Strength 21 Skills: Conjuration 17, dodge 18, find 17, intimidation 18, maneuver 15, missile weapons 17, taunt 16, unarmed combat 20. Move: 14; Tough: 26 (5); Shock: 17; Wounds: 6 Equipment: — Perks: Whirlwind. Possibilities: 5. Special Abilities: • Armor: Scaly skin +5. • Bite/Claws: Damage Strength +3 (24). • Dread: While present, any Standard Scene counts as a Dramatic Scene instead. • Fear: Test willpower or Spirit or become Very Stymied in the face of a Dragon. • Arctic Breath: Damage 16, Medium Blast, range 20/40/60. Uses missile weapon to make the attack. Ice slows target’s move by 3, cumulative with each hit until the target is frozen in place

when reduced to Move 0. • Flight: Move 14 in the air. • Conjuration Spells: Lightning, mage dark, shield. • Very Large: The Dragon is 20 meters long. Attacks against it gain a +4 bonus.

SKELETAL WARRIOR An animated skeleton armed with a short sword or club, this mindless monster wants only to eliminate any life that comes near it. It follows the orders of Lady Evernight without hesitation or question. Attributes: Charisma 4, Dexterity 8, Mind 3, Spirit 5, Strength 8 Skills: Dodge 9, find 4, maneuver 9, melee weapons 9, stealth 9. Move: 8; Tough: 8; Shock: —; Wounds: — Equipment: Short sword (Strength +2/10) or club (Strength +2/10). Possibilities: Never. Special Abilities: • Necrotic Aura: The necrotic spell that animated these creatures reduces the damage inflicted by non-magical attacks by half. • Mindless: Skeletal Warriors are immune to intimidation and taunt interactions. • Relentless: Skeletal warriors ignore Shock. • Undead: Skeletal warriors are immune to poison and other effects that require breathing, eating, or other living processes.

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COSM: AYSLE

BY SIMON LUCAS

THE LURE OF ALBION

LOCATION: NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND

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U

thorion is closing his grip on Aysle, in general, and has his sights set on England, in particular. The Delphi Council is determined to resist the spread of his vile power and rumor has it that a powerful item, a force for good, has surfaced in the north of England. The Storm Knights are dispatched by the Council to search for the item and bring it back to Oxford. Securing this ancient relic will aid in the fight against Uthorion, and the council insists the heroes leave at once. But what seems like a simple fetch quest rapidly turns into something much larger, and the lure of the acquisition of a scroll becomes a search for something far more potent, and more dangerous if it should fall into the wrong hands.

MISSION BRIEFING Uthorion will stop at nothing to reconquer Aysle, and he knows that to do as much, he must break England. Ardinay’s forces are stretched to the breaking point, however, by the rumor that Uthorion is gathering his Viking forces for a fresh assault. With no Home Guard forces to spare, the heroes are gathered together in the Delphi Council’s headquarters in Oxford and informed of a new quest they must undertake. The Delphi Council has received word from Brother Francis, a priest of Dunad located at the remote Peltham Abbey near Nottingham, that a rare manuscript has been located in the county that may be of great value. Legend has it the manuscript contains a powerful magical ritual and, while other accounts describe a merely mundane historical treatise, the possibility that the manuscript is a relic is too much to pass up. If the scroll is indeed magical, it cannot be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. The Delphi Council, therefore, dispatches the party to Nottinghamshire to recover the object with all haste.

Sherwood Forest is filled with mystical dangers, even for an elf!

SCENE ONE: THE ABBEY Standard Scene. Aysle Dominant Zone. The journey north takes the Storm Knights through the heart of England, over lush rolling hillsides and broad pastures, to the thickly forested Midlands. The several days’ travel can be broken by interludes or encounters, as the GM sees fit, otherwise the party crests a low rise in the early evening to see the village of Peltham sitting in a lush green hollow beside a brook. As they descend into the hollow, thick black clouds roll in, borne on bitter easterly winds, and as night falls, the clouds finally break in a hard and heavy downpour. The rain continues, and the sound of distant thunder portends a long wet night, as the heroes ford the brook. After another mile or so traveling through the howling storm, the heroes arrive at Peltham.

On such an appropriately stormy night, the Storm Knights pick their way along the lane as the ground, lashed by rain, turns to thick mud. On a hill to the north of the village itself stands the low stone wall that surrounds the Abbey. The party is met at the heavy wooden gates by a monk, shivering under his sodden robes, who welcomes them and leads them to meet the acting Abbot, Brother Francis.

BROTHER FRANCIS Francis’ greeting is warm but somber. He offers food and drink while instructing any animals the party has to be stabled and fed. When the discussion turns to their quest, Brother Francis ruefully admits there is a problem. As a result, he can’t actually hand over the manuscript

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THE PROBLEM

WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON?

Francis tells the Storm Knights that the local villagers have hidden the manuscript to protect it from a vile and overbearing local baron and powerful sorcerer, Sir Robert de Beauville, whose punishing taxes have the local populace downtrodden and afraid. De Beauville has claimed all the lands for hundreds of miles around and uses his magic to enslave and control a large army, presumably to one day turn against Ardinay’s armies. He’s technically opposing Uthorion at the moment, so the Army of Light hasn’t directly moved against him for fear of pushing him into an alliance with Uthorion. As a result, de Beauville’s depredations have gone unchecked.

Things in Peltham Abbey, however, are not as they seem, and Francis is not revealing everything he knows. The reason for this is the kindly Abbot is not really Brother Francis. In fact, he is Gedric Dowler, a devoted servant of de Beauville’s bitter rival Darion LaFree. The ever-scheming LaFree is seeking to weaken de Beauville’s influence in this region in order to extend his own holdings northward, and bolster his standing with Uthorion at de Beauville’s expense. This rivalry and LeFree’s association with Uthorion is the main thing keeping de Beauville from joining the Dark Lord’s forces fully.

A successful Challenging (DN 12) scholar test recalls that some of the lands in these parts are also claimed by another lord, who has yet to push their claim into an overt struggle. If pressed on this point, Brother Francis claims, somewhat unconvincingly, to know nothing about a rival claimant to any lands. De Beauville’s soldiers ride from his nearby castle regularly, traversing the surrounding villages of his barony and collecting taxes or levying punitive fines far beyond the ability of the people to pay. Those who cannot meet the ever-increasing burden placed on them must forfeit lands and property to pay the fines or risk imprisonment in de Beauville’s castle. Rumor has it a vicious dwarven torturer has joined the baron’s retinue. One month ago, an armed insurrection was brutally suppressed by the baron’s men, who made an example of the miscreants by putting a whole village to the sword and then razing it to the ground and burning the surrounding farmlands. The ruins smoldered for days, and a pall of smoke hung in the air, visible for miles around. This, Francis says, was part of an unholy ritual that not only terrified the populace, but enslaved the people of the county under a vile curse. They now live in fear and lack any hope of redemption, their spirits broken and their minds ensorcelled to become the thralls of their fiendish lord. Until the curse is lifted and the locals feel there is some hope for the future, they will never reveal the whereabouts of the manuscript.

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The two rivals have been content to avoid conflict for months, leaving the Yorkshire countryside as a buffer between them, but LaFree has decided the time has come to strike first. LaFree is not yet ready to reveal his treachery, however, and wants to use the Storm Knights to keep his betrayal of the uneasy truce secret a little while longer. Hearing the real Brother Francis summoned help from the Delphi Council to find the scroll, Darion Lafree saw it as a perfect opportunity to set his enemies against each other. If the Storm Knights are able to weaken or topple his rival, he will be able to extend his own holdings. If not, he can claim ignorance of the entire affair, and his foes will not suspect his involvement. He dispatched the ruthless Gedric Dowler to replace Francis and await the heroes’ arrival. All he needs, then, is for the Storm Knights to buy “Brother Francis’” tale. Alert Storm Knights also notice animals react strangely around Franics, horses shy away and whinny in his presence, dogs whimper and slink away, cats hiss and raise their hackles, and so on. This is a Mark of Darkness, which Francis cannot hide, even in disguise. If anyone draws attention to it, he laughs it off as a burden he must bear as a result of his sober piety, but looks uneasy about it. If the heroes are suspicious of Brother Francis and search his belongings, they find he has dozens of magic scrolls in a locked chest. Every single one of them is a Scroll of Disguise. The real Francis is chained and gagged in a locked cellar, the key to which his impersonator wears on a chain around his neck at all times.

THE BIG IDEA After recounting the problem in locating the scroll, Francis answers any questions they have about the situation, as best he can without implicating himself or his master. He dissuades any heroes planning to directly attack de Beauville’s castle. The cruel baron has an army of ensorcelled knights, footmen, and war machines, to say nothing of his formidable magical ability. Such an attack would be suicidal. What’s more, since his gruesome ritual, even the peasants are under his thrall. De Beauville’s spies are everywhere. If none of the heroes come up with the idea first, Francis suggests finding a way to break the curse. He believes he may have found a way. Since replacing the real Brother Francis, he has spent many hours in the abbey’s library, studying the scrolls, manuscripts, and hand-lettered books while he awaited the Storm Knights’ arrival. In his studies he came across some references and began to formulate a plan. Francis tells the Storm Knights of an ancient hero, whose legend holds great sway in these parts of England, one Robin Hood. He suggests the heroes must try to recover the fabled sword, Albion, once wielded by Robin Hood. If they could recover the item, they could restore hope to the peasants, break the baron’s cruel curse, and locate the manuscript. The heroes must find the last resting place of Robin Hood and discover the whereabouts of Albion. Reliable information about this was sparse, however, and all Francis knows is that he and his band lived in Sherwood Forest, the outskirts of which lies less than 20 miles to the north. He suggests the heroes start there. Even if Francis’ true identity is discovered, he shares this plan. He’s not lying about de Beauville’s nature, and the Army of Light can hardly call themselves heroes if they allow the populace to remain cursed.

COMPLICATIONS To Save a Challenger (page 20) takes place in the same area. The events in that could be simultaneous with this tale, or the characters from it could be allies or fearful foes depending on how events turned out!

SCENE TWO: SHERWOOD FOREST Standard Scene. Aysle Pure Zone. While the tales tell of Robin Hood seeking refuge in Sherwood Forest, his legend places him in a great many other places, too. What’s more, Sherwood Forest is vast, covering over 100,000 acres, and its dark tangled interior is difficult to penetrate. After a day’s uneventful travel, the party reaches the edge of the ancient brooding woodland. It stretches ahead of them in every direction, dark and ominous. They can skirt it for hours, looking for tracks leading in, or just plunge ahead, but one way or another, they need to enter Sherwood. For the next several days they must travel within the great forest until they learn the information they seek.

PERILS OF THE GREENWOOD Sherwood is home to hundreds of refugees, fleeing the upheaval in the land. But it is home also to smugglers, thieves, and monsters of all descriptions. Once per day the following encounters should also be introduced in any order the GM chooses until the party reaches the Great North Road (see page 17). A survival test (DN 10) cuts the time to the road down to four days (one encounter per day). A Good Success narrows that to only three of the five encounters, and an Outstanding means only two days of travel time until the road is reached.

The Green Man

Provided the party stays together, they should be more than a match for the natural creatures inhabiting the forest. If they split up, however, there are wolves and bears roaming the forest, and worse. The GM may even tempt a player with a Possibility to lure a lone Storm Knight away from camp to check a strange noise. Once separated, the character strays into a leafy clearing, the light filtering through the trees. As the hero takes in the serene scene, however, they are attacked by a towering green man—a living tree—who attempts to crush and devour its hapless victim. Others nearby may arrive after two rounds. • Green Man (1): See ghillies on page 78.

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Thynghowe

Amid the great oaks of Sherwood Forest lies a long-forgotten glade, once an important meeting place to the Anglo-Saxons, which owes its name to the Norse invaders but predates the Vikings by centuries. At this ancient site, the people of early tribes of England have met to settle disputes and institute laws since time immemorial. The location’s importance derives from a nearby prehistoric burial mound, now overgrown and all but invisible under the forest’s wild growth. The ancient Britons once chose this spot to bury a wise and noble ruler, and the place became a secret and sacred spot. Long after his name faded from memory and the site of his barrow was reclaimed by the ancient forest, his presence lingered, and the glade became a haven where his kin and their generations of descendants met and found some connection to his wisdom and sober judgment. The spirit of the nameless king still infuses this spot, granting insight to the pure of heart and turning the forces of nature against the corrupt and wicked. As the Storm Knights are following the instructions of Francis, their purpose is tainted, and the king’s spirit stirs fitfully. The trees sway and branches rustle and crack as the king tries to discern the party’s true intention. If he doubts the intentions of any of the party, or if any of the Storm Knights have a Darkness Perk, the trees seem to draw closer together as the canopy closes overhead. The sky is blocked out and the dark forest grows gloomier and more foreboding. The animals in the area become agitated and aggressive, and the roots, briars, and tangled undergrowth twist and grasp in an effort to snare

“WHY IS THIS ROBIN HOOD FELLOW SO POPULAR IN YOUR WORLD? I JUST DON’T SEE WHAT THE FUSS IS ALL ABOUT.” -TWOREK

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and entrap the party. Once snared, creeping plants writhe across a trapped foe, choking and tightening until the victim is completely entrapped. Unless they are broken free, they are gradually strangled and suffocated by the undergrowth. Once enraged, the spirit cannot be calmed unless the heroes can convince it of their selflessness. Any attempt to fight back against the forest unleashes its full fury. If the forest attacks, treat escaping the king’s wrath as a Dramatic Skill Resolution. Each step is a Difficult (DN 14) survival test, and the dilemmas involve roots grabbing the character’s feet, trails disappearing. If resolved within five turns, the group cuts free and escapes the glade without issue. If it fails, a combat begins with the party trapped in place by roots (Strength test or 10 damage to break free) and living trees on the attack! • Ghillies (1 per Hero): see page 78. If the party does nothing to anger the king’s spirit, it can eventually determine they are true of heart, seekers of lost knowledge for a noble purpose. The trees become still, and even the chattering of the forest wildlife eases and quiets. In the eerie stillness, the spirit of the king manifests dimly in the dappled shadows of Sherwood’s great oaks. Noiselessly the king points toward their destination, to the north. If the party try to communicate with him, the king understands only a little of what they actually say and can only sadly point, or nod and shake his head solemnly. He understands what is in their heart and he is a stern judge, however, so they must be careful not to give in to anger or frustration. While his tomb remains a secret, the king’s spirit cannot speak, it can only rouse or calm the forest. If his bones are discovered and exhumed, the spirit manifests and can communicate with the party. “This place,” he tells them, “was the resting place of my bones, but the bones of the one thou seekest lie far from here, to the north. Seek ye out the place called Kirklees. Adieu. Remember me.” His voice trails off to a whisper as he fades from sight forever. The sounds of the forest return again with his disappearance, but the wild animals feel his departure and the more ferocious among them are emboldened by his absence. Sadly, exhuming the dead king’s bones also freed his spirit from its timeless bond with the glade, and Thinghowe loses its mystical properties forever.

The Log Bridge

The heroes come across a deep, steep-sided chasm with a fast-flowing stream at the bottom. The water cannot be forded, and anyone swept away is dashed against some jagged rocks further downstream. A single log, slick from the watery spray, provides the only means of crossing the water. The log is large enough for a single person to cross at a time, requiring a Challenging (DN 12) Dexterity test to carefully traverse the mossy, slippery wood. The first character to succeed the test is attacked halfway across by a charyb. The writhing column of water rears up suddenly alongside the log bridge and tries to knock them into the free-flowing water and drag them under. If the heroes seem to have the upper hand, it retreats back into the water until they try to cross again. It continues to harass them until they cross or it is defeated. • Charyb (1): See page 78.

Cave

of

No Return

As the party rests near some craggy rocks, they notice a shadowy crack in the nearby rocks. It is a narrow cave entrance leading down at a steep angle. This tunnel leads to the Lands Between and a series of labyrinthine tunnels where wandering lost souls drift, their haunting lights leading wanderers astray. Heroes exploring these dangerous tunnels must make a survival test to avoid being lost for d6 days. On a success, they will avoid being lost, but encounter lost souls. On a Good Success they avoid the lost souls. • Ghosts (1 per hero): See page 78 Even if the Storm knights manage to find their way back out successfully, they emerge from a different cave mouth than the one they entered, finding themselves in a completely separate part of Sherwood. Following the great road leads the heroes quickly north to Yorkshire, and the information they seek.

THE GREAT NORTH ROAD As the heroes journey along the Great North Road, they venture through hamlets and towns subjugated and brutalized by local warlords under the spell of

de Beauville. As with Peltham, these local tyrants have gone unchecked as the great houses weave their plots, leaving the poor to suffer. It is clear to the Storm Knights, that northern England is in the grip of evil. As the party presses farther north, the terrain changes again. The countryside in these parts features craggy hills and broken hard terrain. The dark gray rocks are overgrown by moss and copses of tough trees. Farther north, the forests return with a vengeance. Thick canopies cast mile after mile of dense undergrowth into deeply shadowed gloom. The road through this thick forest is narrow and winds to follow the steep contours of the haphazard hillsides. Characters making a successful easy (DN 8) find test notes they are in ideal ambush territory.

Waylaid!

Bandits prowl the lands all around Sherwood (though most are too afraid to go within the forest), preying on the occasional wealthy passerby, but otherwise stealing the paltry belongings of desperate refugees fleeing oppression or poverty. Have each Storm Knight make a find test. Anyone who fails the test is surprised and flat-footed on the first round. On a success the hero may act normally. A Good result or better gives the wary character the benefit of Concealment and Cover (–2, Toughness 12) when the fight starts. • Bandits (2 per Hero): See page 78. When the heroes fight off their attackers, they can question them to learn the whereabouts of Kirklees. If none survive, they can discover a map on which the location of the village is marked. Veering westward off the Great North Road, the heroes are a day’s travel from their destination.

SCENE THREE: KIRKLEES Standard Scene. Arriving in the hamlet of Kirklees, the Storm Knights find the same defeated, downtrodden faces they’ve witnessed throughout the region. Life is hard for the peasants, and the cruel taxation of their landowners is crippling them. They shrink in fear from any who approach them, wary of the consequences of talking to armed strangers.

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A successful Difficult (DN 14) persuasion test convinces a brave villager to speak to the party. The villager reveals the locals all know the story of Robin Hood, and that they secretly long for his return to bring an end to their sufferings. If Robyn Hood (see page 26) is still active, these villagers consider her a pretender, and they’re waiting for the real Robin. Robin Hood is said to have died in the nearby Kirklees Priory, betrayed and murdered by the Prioress and her lover, the priory priest. He is rumored to have fired one last arrow from his deathbed through the priory window, and his best friend, Little John then buried him where the arrow fell. The villager points the travelers in the direction of the Priory before hastily hurrying away, looking frightened. The Storm Knights can continue to their destination.

THE PRIORY The Priory is a crumbling building made from neatly hewed stone, but now badly in need of repair. The stone wall surrounding it has collapsed in several places and the large wooden gates are rotting and weak. Despite that, an order of priests of Dunad occupy the place and they welcome the arrival of the travelers and lead them to the head of their order, Abbot Gregory. Gregory greets them kindly, a warm smile on his face, and apologizes for the somewhat derelict appearance of the place, finding skilled craftsmen in these dark times is hard. If the Storm Knights reveal the details of their quest, Gregory smiles broadly again. “Brother Francis! Ah yes, I know him well. I always thought him too frivolous and genial to be successful in the order, but I always enjoyed his company, such a jester! He was wellnamed, though; none but St. Francis of Assisi himself had such a way with animals.” If the heroes describe the somber Francis they met, Gregory is confused. He knew Francis well, and the behavior the heroes describe doesn’t sounds like him. He also is afraid that Francis has sent them on a wild goose chase. The monks of the Priory assume the story of Robin’s demise is merely a myth, though there have certainly been

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some Prioresses in the place’s past that brought the place into disrepute. Still, if the heroes desire, Gregory can show them to the room in which Robin Hood is said to have breathed his last. From the one small window in the tiny room, the heroes can look out over the wooded grounds behind the Priory. After a warm and comfortable night spent in the Priory, the party can set out in the morning to search for Robin Hood’s final resting place.

ONE LAST ARROW Under the amused gaze of the monks, who all believe the party is wasting its time, the Storm Knights can begin to search the thick woodland for signs of Robin Hood’s grave. Each hour the heroes spend searching the wood, allow them a Very Hard (DN 16) find test to detect an ancient tree into which was carved, long ago, a long fletched arrow, pointing to the ground at the foot of the tree. As the heroes begin to dig, however, the party is accosted by the Guardians of the Grave, the restless spirits of the murdering Prioress and her lover, the priest, condemned to atone for their sins with an eternal vigil. • Ghosts (2): see page 78. These ghosts use their Disturbance special ability to scratch with tree branches or use weapons the characters aren’t actively holding. With the ghostly guardians dispatched, the heroes are able to dig through the soft brown earth to find the bones of Robin Hood. The remains lie undisturbed, and laying on the skeleton’s breast is a gleaming silver sword, still pristine, even after centuries in the ground, its blade delicately etched with runes and celtic knots. The heroes have found Albion, the lost sword of Robin Hood!

SCENE FOUR: THE SPIRIT OF ENGLAND Dramatic Scene. Having secured Albion, the heroes can return to deal with de Beauville (and Francis, assuming they suspect him of treachery). As they travel south again, the Storm Knights find that the mere presence of Albion, the Spirit

of England, begins to counteract the despondency and hopelessness in the villages they pass through. Arriving back in Peltham, the Storm Knights find Albion is able to weaken de Beauville’s curse, allowing a few to break free of his evil grasp. • Step A: Telling Tales. The Storm Knights must first travel through nearby villages and hamlets telling tales of the return of Albion and weakening the sorcerer’s curse. A Difficult (DN 14) persuasion test brings hope to the people of the area, weakening the curse and loosing de Beauville’s grip on the region. • Step B: Recruit a Force. As hope returns to the region the heroes find locals willing to band together to resist the treacherous de Beauville. A Challenging (DN 12) Mind test organizes a force of bold peasants and experienced soldier ready to attempt to overthrow the baron. • Step C: Reconnoiter the Castle. As a prelude to the attack, the heroes must scout the castle’s defenses, as they prepare to assault de Beauville’s forces in their stronghold. A successful Difficult (DN 14) stealth test allows the Storm Knights to penetrate the fortification and develop a daring plan of attack. • Step D: Attack! Finally, the time is right to launch the assault on de Beauville’s stronghold. The rag-tag band of peasants and soldiers the Storm Knights have assembled are put to the ultimate test against a dangerous and dominant foe. Any attack may be attempted against DN 16, but only resolves D if it deals 25+ damage. If multiple heroes cooperate, only roll one test as usual, but each may roll damage separately. Dealing the damage finally triumphs over de Beauville’s desperate defenses and breaks his hold over the region once and for all. The heroes break open the castle’s treasuries and can restore the funds within to the poor and needy in the region. The brave Storm Knights have liberated the common man, stolen from the rich and given to the poor, and renewed the Spirit of England. If the Dramatic Skill Resolution takes longer than five turns de Beauville’s hold is still broken, but he escapes the area with his treasure in hand. Dilemmas in this represent counter-attacks by de

ETERNITY SHARD: ALBION Cosm: Core Earth Possibilities: 8 Tapping Difficulty: 18 Purpose: To owe allegiance to no other rulers. Description: The Spirit of England, Albion was the mystical sword of Robin Hood. It appears as a rather simple Longsword, but with a red and blue reflective sheen regardless of the light. Powers: It deals Strength +4 damage, Armor Piercing 2 if wielded as a sword. Finding the blade has the same effect as playing a Glory card. The wielder may choose to forego usual Glory results to instead break a Curse active within the zone or in the presence of the sword. Beauville’s forces. In addition to the normal effects, a Possible Setback deals 10 damage to each Storm Knight, a Complication deals 10+1BD damage to each, and a Critical Problem deals 10+2BD damage!

WHAT ABOUT FRANCIS? Of course, this still leaves the devious “Brother Francis.” If he gets any inkling the heroes are on to him, he flees at the first opportunity. If they are able to take him unawares, he is prepared to reveal his master’s schemes in exchange for his life. He did not harm the real Brother Francis, in case he was ever discovered and needed a bargaining chip, which he uses in return for a guarantee of his safety. While he is a weasel and a ruthless criminal, he is more use to the Delphi Council alive than dead, and the heroes should take him south with them when they return to Oxford.

AFTERMATH With de Beauville defeated, the heroes can rescue the brave village elders from the evil baron’s dungeons and discover the location of the manuscript. With the relic they sought in-hand, the Storm Knights can make their goodbyes and return to the Delphi Council, triumphant.

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COSM: AYSLE

BY JOHN TERRA

TO SAVE A CHALLENGER

LOCATION: NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND

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egends from Core Earth are affecting citizens in strange ways. The pull to re-enact famous tales is affecting two soldiers, and drawing them into a battle that only helps the High Lords— unless the Storm Knights can sort things out. Note this mission takes place in the same area as The Lure of Albion (page 12). It may occur before or simultaneously with that tale. It could take place after by changing minor references to the Baron, depending on his fate.

MISSION BRIEFING Standard Scene. Aysle Pure Zone. The action is set about 10 kilometers southeast of the city of Nottingham. The Lure of Albion may be used to get the players there, or any other device of the GM’s choosing. Out of the sky, a hawk descends on the party, alights on the arm of one of the Storm Knights. It chirps as it holds out its right leg, which has a capsule fastened to it. When the capsule is removed, the hawk lets out a screech and immediately flies away, setting course back to London. The capsule contains a parchment, which reads: “This is an official DC European Division dispatch. We have received a distress message from Captain Ibrahim Sharif, a tank commander in the British Army, stationed in the city of Nottingham. Captain Sharif’s tank is apparently a hardpoint, and he’s trying to maintain an anti-Ayslish presence in the city, in the face of growing opposition. “Unfortunately, Captain Sharif’s second-incommand, Lieutenant Robyn Maplehood, has “gone native”, and taken refuge in nearby Sherwood Forest, where she seems to be promoting a pro-Ayslish agenda. A handful of foot soldiers followed her lead. “Captain Sharif requests help in neutralizing Lt. Maplehood’s threat, hopefully by non-fatal means. You are to proceed to the Three Crown Inn, located six kilometers east of Nottingham proper. You will meet

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a local guide who can bring you to the general area where the AWOL troops are known to patrol. You will recognize him by the badge he wears, three gold lions on a red background. “It’s also suggested that you take time to check in with Captain Sharif and make a first-hand assessment of his current situation, so as to report it to the Council at a future point. The timing of this errand should be done at your discretion and best opportunity. “We cannot emphasize this too strongly: All measures must be taken to not kill Lieutenant Maplehood. The local populace approves her deeds, and her death may result in a severe crisis of morale. Furthermore, there are accounts of her and her followers dispatching Ayslish monsters. “This mission is High Priority. Destroy document after reading. End.” If the GM wishes, he can throw in any random encounters to happen anywhere between the starting point and actual arrival at the inn.

SCENE ONE: THE THREE CROWN INN Standard Scene. The Three Crown Inn is situated alongside a dirt road that once upon a time was the A46 Motorway. The two-story inn with stables in the back used to be a fish and chips shack, but the Ayslish transformation has given the place a bit of an upgrade. The Three Crown is your basic inn/tavern, filled with all sorts of interesting folk. There’s a bar area that serves food and drink and rooms to rent for the night. Sometimes, a wandering minstrel comes back and shares stories and gossip. (GM note: This is a good place to insert a recurring character from the campaign, old enemies, connections, rivals, friends, etc.) A Standard (DN 10) find test helps the Storm Knights to pick out Harry, former Nottingham constable and now Delphi Council guide. Use the generic Police Officer stats for Harry’s numbers. He will be ready to take the Storm Knights to Robyn’s known ranging area but is also fine with taking the group to see Captain Sharif if they want to do that first.

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Unfortunately, Robyn has a spy at the inn, one of her Merry Men. This spy, a man named Rick, will slip out and report the presence of Storm Knights to Robyn. Use the Merry Men stats on page 27.

SCENE TWO: SHARIF OF NOTTINGHAM Standard Scene. If the Storm Knights go to Nottingham to meet Captain Sharif, they will find his tank, a Champion Mark 2 main battle tank, parked at Wellington Circus. There are a few military-issue tents set up on the green, plus a field kitchen, a medical tent, ammo dump, and a radio/ satellite uplink. The tank is a Core Earth hardpoint, extending that reality in a 100-meter radius. Captain Sharif knows instinctively that if he moves the Challenger, the hardpoint properties will fade in 12 hours. Captain Sharif still has 10 British Army soldiers left under his command, with the rest either dead, transformed, or with Lieutenant Maplehood. If asked for a report, he relates the following: “It started about six weeks ago. Lieutenant Maplehood struck out to the north to conduct a routine patrol near Sherwood Forest. She took three soldiers with her. Four hours later, only one soldier came back. He said the Lieutenant and the other two soldiers had “gone native,” cast aside their guns, and decided to live in the forest. “Since then, she’s gathered more soldiers and a few mainland European expatriates to her cause. They use bows and arrows, ambush people—though admittedly usually non-fatally—take gold from wealthy travelers, give it to the poor. She’s become quite the folk hero among the people, since she and her so-called Merry Men have reputedly slain monsters in the area and fought some Ayslish Baron who’s been levying taxes on the locals. “As for me, I’m fighting these growing feelings of wanting to flat-out kill her and her followers. I find myself thinking I’m answerable to a king, not to the CFA (Commander Field Army). My temper’s grown short and nasty, and I lie awake at night, thinking of ways of inflicting misery on the local population. I find

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myself preferring to be called ‘Sharif of Nottingham,’ wanting to raise taxes and cancel Christmas. “I am holding out as best I can, an island of normalcy when all around me is medieval lunacy. I know somehow my tank is involved in keeping me grounded, and I know that if I move it, that protection will fade. And yet, I am fighting these dark urges to simply drive this tank into Sherwood Forest and wipe out everything I see!” “You must find her and talk some sense into her. Make her stop. I have a feeling she’s somehow the key to all of this madness. Yes she does good deeds in a heroic outlaw sort of way, but our sanity, our sense of reality, is slipping. When I climb into my Challenger, I feel better, more grounded, but I don’t know how much longer I can last. Robyn and her men sometimes intercept what few supplies get through to our garrison. “Please. You must stop her. For all our sakes! Save Nottingham, save my tank, save ME!” The local Baron Sharif refers to is Sir Robert de Beauville, as described in Lure of Albion on page 14.

SCENE THREE: AMBUSH! Standard Scene. At some point on the road into Sherwood Forest, Robyn, all of her lieutenants, and six of her Merry Men, alerted by Rick the Spy, launch an ambush against the Storm Knights. Their intention is NOT to kill, but rather to immobilize the Storm Knights, take them prisoner, and interrogate them, convinced that they are agents of the Sharif of Nottingham! The Merry Men will use non-lethal damage. If the Storm Knights respond with outright violence, Robyn will yell, from a place of concealment, “We are not here to kill you. We wish to know your intentions, and what the Sharif of Nottingham wants with us!” There is the possibility of a truce and parlay, but a Hard (DN 14) persuasion test may help stop hostilities, depending on the level of success. However, if the Storm Knights are to go to Robyn’s camp, they must be blindfolded. This condition is non-negotiable.

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SCENE FOUR: MEET ROBYN HOOD Standard Scene. Robyn’s camp is located in a clearing deep in Sherwood Forest. She and her men live in tree-houses and lean-tos. A small, nearby river provides fresh water, and the woods are filled with game and edible plants for sustenance. From here, Robyn and her Merry Men launch attacks against dark forces, suspected agents of Uthorion, and anyone who looks a bit too wealthy. Although she still retains vestiges of her past life, she’s gone way down the Robin Hood rabbit hole, convinced that her former commander is now the Sheriff of Nottingham and must be opposed and foiled at every turn. In order to get her to sit down and discuss matters, Robyn declares that the Sheriff’s men must prove themselves worthy by means of some contests.

SCENE FIVE: CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS Standard Scene. These contests will determine the worthiness and mettle of the Storm Knights. In each instance, the Knights must select a champion, though each contest can have a different champion. The Storm Knights must win best out of five. Each Storm Knight should have a chance to participate in a tournament. The Merry Men, however, can use the same champion for multiple contests (hey, it’s their rules). Archery. Hitting the bullseye requires a Heroic (DN 18) missile weapons test. Whoever comes the closest to making the hit is the winner. Robyn will be the chosen champion for the Merry Men. Cudgels. This is a test where both combatants stand on a log over a nearby brook and battle with non-lethal cudgels. Every time a combatant gets hit, they must make a Standard (DN 10) Dexterity test or fall off the log, thereby losing the fight. Maid Maryan is the chosen champion. Arm Wrestling. This is an opposed Strength test between the two opponents. Best out of three. Ivan is the chosen champion.

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Drinking Contest. Drinking a mug of mead is a Challenging (DN 12) Strength test. Failure results in the victim taking 2 Shock. The first one to get KO’ed loses. Friar Tuck is the champion, due to his cybernetic implants reducing the failure result to only 1 Shock. Hammer Throwing. Each contestant must throw a heavy hammer as far as they can. It’s a Hard (DN 14) missile weapons test. If the Storm Knights lose, they are going to have to get creative in their negotiations.

SCENE SIX: BURIED DARKNESS Standard Scene. During their time at the camp, one or more of the Storm Knights may get the idea that something’s not quite right. Perhaps if a Storm Knight manages to strike up a rapport with one of the Merry Men and makes a persuasion test, the latter may confide some reservations to the hero. Anyone actively trying to get a sense of the camp’s attitude should make a Hard (DN 14) find test. Once every evening, at sunset, Robyn excuses herself and leaves the camp for what she calls “some time for meditation and contemplation.” She comes back about a half hour later, looking energized, but with a cruel, hard edge to her. It’s during those times she is the most impatient, judgmental, or sadistic, proposing extremely violent and brutal attack plans. The Storm Knights can either attempt to follow her discreetly if they happen to be at the camp at dusk and see her slip away, in which case make a stealth test, or they can simply try to track where she’s been, which requires a Very Hard (DN 16) tracking test. No matter how they succeed, they find a hole in the ground with clear evidence that someone has kneeled at the edge multiple times. The hole drops 10 meters into a tunnel that runs east-west. A Strength test allows a Storm Knight safe passage down with no incident. The west tunnel terminates as a dead end after 300 meters. The east tunnel winds, snakes, and bends, for a total of 400 meters, opening up into a chamber 60 meters across.

Lurking in this tunnel is a colossal spider, guarding a small silver circlet set with a black gem. The silver item is the Circlet of King John, a Dark artifact of great power. The circlet has a limited sentience, and it radiates its Darkness, searching for likely candidates to twist and corrupt. It has a range of 20 kilometers, and though it’s found many promising candidates, Robyn and Ibrahim stand out as the best choices to turn to the Darkness.

GIANT SPIDER This is a giant, grotesque spider lurking in the cave. In addition to the Circlet, the spider is also guarding $10,000 (Value 20) worth of gold coins, a Scroll of Fireball, Potion of Protection, a Vanquisher’s Blade, a Quiver of Recovery, and a pair of Nimble Boots. Attributes: Charisma 4, Dexterity 12, Mind 18, Spirit 14, Strength 14 Skills: Find 12, intimidation 18, stealth 14, unarmed combat 18 Move: 14; Tough: 16 (2); Shock: 18; Wounds 3 Equipment: — Special Abilities: • Armor: +2 hard carapace. • Bite: Strength +4 (18), poison. • Spider Climb: The spider can climb walls and ceilings with ease, no skill tests required. • Dread: The scene becomes Dramatic when this creature is present. • Fear: When the spider first appears, characters must test willpower or Spirit or become Stymied. • Poison: A bite that exceeds Toughness injects this hallucinogenic toxin. The target suffers a –4 penalty to sight-based skill tests and must make a Fear test again every round for a minute. • Relentless: Ignores Shock; Fatigue has no effect. • Very Large: Attacks against the spider gain a +4 bonus • Web: The spider can shoot out a web (uses missile weapons for the attack) instead of making a bite attack. The web requires a Very Hard (DN 16) Strength test to break.

ETERNITY SHARD: KING JOHN’S CIRCLET Cosm: Aysle Possibilities: 8 Tapping Difficulty: 20 Purpose: To seek out likely candidates to turn toward the Darkness. Description: The circlet is a silver headband with a small black gem. Powers: Once per day, the circlet sends out a pulse using telepathy (value of 20) and attacks the 12 most likely targets’ Mind. A Good result pushes the victims a little more into the Darkness, and an Outstanding result gives the victim a Darkness perk. So far, the circlet hasn’t achieved any Outstanding Successes on the people in the area.

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AFTERMATH The scenario is open-ended. Bottom line, the Storm Knights need to find a way to get Robyn and Ibrahim to work together. Both parties are actually on the side of good, but Aysle, the Darkness, and even the legend of Robin Hood itself, are twisting both parties and pushing them into an unnecessary confrontation that could weaken the resistance. There are also ample opportunities here to secure a number of valuable connections—Ibrahim, Robin, and Harry the guide are all good contacts. Robin’s spy network could be useful in pointing out new missions to be taken, and Nottingham may be a good base of operations for the Aysle-operating Storm Knights.

PERSONALITIES CAPTAIN IBRAHIM SHARIF Sharif was born in Croydon, of Pakistani immigrants. He joined the Army, and worked his way up the ranks. A tough but fair and decent officer, he’s finding his sanity being chipped away by Aysle’s power. Quote: “Robin Hood must die! NO! I am a Captain in the British Army! Must remember that!” Home Cosm: Core Earth Attributes: Charisma 7, Dexterity 6, Mind 7, Spirit 9, Strength 7 Skills: Find 9, fire combat 9, heavy weapons 9, land vehicles 10, persuasion 9, reality 10, survival 9, unarmed combat 5, willpower 11 Move: 6; Tough: 11 (4); Shock: 9; Wounds: 3 Equipment: Tactical Armor (+4), Glock 9mm pistol (Damage 13, Range 10/25/40), M-16 rifle (Damage 13, 50/100/200, Long Burst), two frag grenades (Damage 16, Medium Blast). Possibilities: 3

LIEUTENANT ROBYN MAPLEHOOD Robyn was born in Bristol, and can trace her family back to the War of the Roses. An idealist, English history buff, and loyal to King and Country, her

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desire to serve the people has manifested in her assuming the identity of Robin Hood. Quote: “As an officer in the Army my job was to protect the helpless; at last I’ve found an even better way to do it!” Home Cosm: Core Earth Attributes: Charisma 9, Dexterity 11, Mind 10, Spirit 10, Strength 7 Skills: Beast riding 12, dodge 13, intimidation 13, melee weapons 13, missile weapons 14, persuasion 11, reality 11, stealth 13, survival 12, tracking 12, unarmed combat 13 Move: 11; Tough: 8 (1); Shock: 10; Wounds: 3 Equipment: Leather armor (+1), Longbow (Damage 12), Longsword (Strength +3/10) Possibilities: 5

Robyn’s Lieutenants

Robyn’s renown has attracted a few idealistic souls from the European mainland. These followers now conform to new versions of Friar Tuck, Maid Marian, and Little John. They’ve become Robyn’s lieutenants, advisors, and confidants.

FRERE JACQUES TOUQEVILLE In order to get as fundamentally far from the Cyberpapacy’s way of life as possible, the good friar sought refuge in the nearby low-tech environment of Aysle. He’s adapted quite well to the Friar Tuck persona. Quote: “I can finally serve the poor the way Christ commands! Down with the rich, and Malraux’s corrupt church!” Home Cosm: Cyberpapacy Attributes: Charisma 11, Dexterity 7, Mind 9, Spirit 12, Strength 10 Skills: Computers 11, dodge 8, energy weapons 9, fire combat 9, faith 15, find 11, first aid 11, melee combat 10, persuasion 13, scholar (Core Earth religions) 11, willpower 15 Move: 7; Tough: 12 (2); Shock: 12; Wounds: 3 Equipment: GWI GodMeeter, Cyberdeck, Cudgel (Strength +2/12), Core Earth Bible, Necklace with cross on it Perks: Miracles (bless, healing, repel, soothe, ward enemy), Cyberware (Trigon Body Plating +2), Possibilities: 2

MARYAN Maryan is a high-elf who marched with theArmy of Light out of her own sense of guilt. She fell in with Robyn and her crew, and delights in being swept up in their adventures and learning this new legend. She especially likes that it may have a happy ending—especially if she has anything to say about it. Quote: “You may call me Maid Maryan, but I should point out that this particular maid can throw fireballs.” Home Cosm: Aysle Attributes: Charisma 7, Dexterity 11, Mind 12, Spirit 11, Strength 6 Skills: Alteration 14, beast riding 13, conjuration 15, divination 14, dodge 14, faith 13, find 13, melee weapons 13, missile weapons 13, persuasion 10, stealth 14, survival 14, trick 13 Move: 11; Tough: 7; Shock: 11; Wounds: 3 Equipment: Cudgel (Strength +2/8), leather armor (+1), dagger (Strength +1/7) Perks: Elven sorcerer (Alarm, detect magic, dispel magic, EMP, fear, fireball, haste, mage dark, mage light, shield, slow, stun) Special Abilities: Elf (Graceful, Darkvision, Magical Affinity)

MALEN’KIY IVAN (LITTLE JOHN)

Quote: “Want to go a few rounds with cudgels, Tovarisch? I am promising not to break many bones this time.” Home Cosm: Tharkold Attributes: Charisma 6, Dexterity 9, Mind 7, Spirit 8, Strength 10 Skills: Dodge 11, find 8, fire combat 12, intimidation 10, melee weapons 11, missile weapons 11, stealth 10, taunt 8, tracking 9, unarmed combat 11 Move: 9; Tough: 14; Shock: 8; Wounds: 3 Equipment: Technodemon hide vest (+4), Impact hammer (Strength +4/14), Thav-9 SMG (Damage 13, Range 10/25/40, Short Burst), long bow (Damage 12). Perks: Prowess (Brawler, Strength +2/12 unarmed damage), Cyberware (CSI Eyekill Mark IV, Vav Sensation Suppressor, Chod Rabbitjack) Possibilities: 2

MERRY MEN Home Cosm: Aysle Attributes: Charisma 6, Dexterity 8, Mind 6, Spirit 8, Strength 6 Skills: Dodge 9, melee weapons 9, missile weapons 10, stealth 11, survival 7 Move: 8; Tough: 7; Shock: 8; Wounds: 1 Equipment: Leather Armor (+1), short bow (Damage 11), short sword (Strength +2/8)

A muscle-bound legbreaker back in Russia, the combatloving Ivan stumbled across something unusual during his travels: a streak of decency and humanity. Turning his back on Tharkold, he now enjoys the lowtech refuge of Aysle and being Robyn’s unofficial bodyguard.

ROBYN MAPLEHOOD

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BY RON LUNDEEN

CURSE OF THE GAE BOLGA

COSM: AYSLE LOCATION: GLASGOW AND THE ISLE OF SKYE, SCOTLAND

A

brave knight of the forces of Light has fallen victim to a powerful curse. The Storm Knights must escort her to the Isle of Skye, where the ghost of a great warrior-teacher can aid her.

MISSION BRIEFING Standard Scene. When the Storm Knights are in Glasgow, a dwarven messenger provides an enchanted scroll that reveals the following. The letters fade once read: Noble knights supporting the Light are few, and we must shield those who would shield us. Elranna of House Garrick is one such knight, and she needs your aid. Elranna recovered a Core Earth relic, a barbed spear, once used by the Irish warrior Cu Chulainn. Cu Chulainn carried this spear, the Gae Bolga, when he killed both his best friend and his son. It has since gained a dire curse. Elranna flies into a killing rage when around her family or close friends. Only among strangers can she keep her usual calm and kindly demeanor. The spear can’t be taken from her, but we’ve discovered the curse can be lifted. A Scottish warrior-teacher taught Cu Chulainn to use the Gae Bolga long ago. Her ghost still haunts Dunscaith Castle on the Isle of Skye, and Elranna plans to plead with the ghost to lift the curse. She could use help, as the seas between Glasgow and the Isle of Skye are treacherous, but those of us who know her aren’t safe in her presence. Aid her, but keep your distance until she is free of the curse. She can be found on the ship called the Spindrift, at the docks on the River Clyde. This is Alpha Clearance, and urgent. Go with Dunad’s grace, Storm Knights. The dwarven longship Spindrift isn’t hard to find, and its crew is nearly ready to depart. Its captain, Vagirr Skywise, is a reliable dwarf, who admits that his sailors aren’t warriors—they’ve been paid merely to sail to the Isle of Skye and back.

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The wooden ships of Aysle are no match for dwarven steel. The only passenger is Elranna of House Garrick, a powerfully-built, middle-aged woman with a kindly face and short, dark hair. She wears platemail armor, emblazoned with the broken sword symbol of Dunad, and she bears a dangerous-looking spear—the Gae Bolga—at her side. She greets the Storm Knights politely, but her manner is distant. She tells them necessity, rather than indifference, prevents her from getting to know the Storm Knights better, and she asks them to keep their distance (a difficult prospect on the crowded ship). She keeps to herself and interacts little with the Storm Knights or the crew. If the Storm Knights get Elranna to open up, she briefly recounts her discovery of the spear in Orkney and how she felt compelled to slay her own squire and their trusted companions with it.

She returned to the Kingdom wracked with guilt but apparently of her own mind again—until she was met by her sister, whom Elranna attacked with the same unexpected fervor. Elranna thereafter isolated herself and communicated with her superiors only through intermediaries. Together, they resolved to ask the ghost of Scathach—Cu Chulainn’s teacher and the one who gave the hero the spear—to remove the curse. The ghost has been seen at Dunscaith Castle. • Elranna of House Garrick: See page 33. Secretly keep track of which heroes Elranna befriends throughout this adventure. The easiest way to do so is to track “Ally Points” for each Storm Knight. In this introduction, each Storm Knight who works to learn more about Elranna earns an Ally Point.

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SCENE ONE: THE UNFRIENDLY SEA Standard Scene. Aysle Dominant Zone. The voyage to the Isle of Skye takes several hours. When the ship is underway, read or paraphrase the following: As the Spindrift leaves the lands of the Light around Glasgow, the skies fill with low, ominous clouds. The crew keeps the ship within sight of land, and the rocky cliffs look dark and foreboding. Trees twist on the cliffs as though reaching in vain for the ship. As the Spindrift passes into the area claimed by the Dark, several elemental creatures made of entwined forms—one of murky seawater and one of clear seawater—rise up to confront them. The charybs are long enough to reach out of the water and strike at foes aboard the ship. The sailors do their best to avoid the elementals, but Elranna rushes into melee to defend the crew. After the battle, Elranna praises those Storm Knights who showed valor against the aggressive elementals. Each such Storm Knight earns an Ally Point. • Charybs (1 per hero): See page 78.

OLD FRIENDS Shortly after the Spindrift gets underway again, a sailor spots a Viking longship approaching from the west. The longship raises a flag of peace and approaches openly. It’s clear the ship doesn’t belong to the Viking raiders who plague these seas. The crew lets the Storm Knights decide whether to approach the vessel or outrun it. The Spindrift is faster than the smaller vessel. If the Storm Knights let the vessel approach, they see it is called the Scarbearer. Thirty Corsairs crew the vessel. They are returning from an improbably successful raid on the Viking lands further north and are in high spirits. Their helm has a magical compass alerting them to the presence of dangerous creatures like the charybs. When the compass abruptly alerted them that the charybs had disappeared (as they were vanquished by the heroes), they came to investigate what happened. The Scarbearer’s captain is a veteran seafarer named Calwyn Thane.

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If the Storm Knights are open with Thane about their mission or their destination, or if he catches sight of Elranna on the deck, he roars with pleasant surprise, “Elranna! The bravest knight in the Kingdom! How good to see my old friend again!” Thane has transported Elranna on several journeys in the past, although not on her ill-fated expedition to recover the Gae Bolga. Elranna realizes the danger of meeting an old friend and rushes below decks. Thane finds this behavior particularly suspicious and demands an explanation. If the Storm Knights can’t convince him by use of persuasion or some other relevant ability, he commands his men to attack. The crew of the Spindrift doesn’t want to risk a battle and flees regardless of whether the Storm Knights want to stick around for a fight. Elranna notes those who aid her sudden yet necessary neglect of her old friend. Each hero who helps persuade Captain Thane to be on his way earns an Ally Point. • Captain Calwyn Thane: See page 33. • Scarbearer Crew (30): See page 33.

SCENE TWO: THE GHOST OF DUNSCAITH Dramatic Scene. When the Spindrift arrives near Dunscaith Castle on the south end of the Isle of Skye, Captain Vagirr Skywise gives the heroes a rowboat to reach the shore and offers to wait up to three days. Elranna joins the heroes in the boat. Read or paraphrase the following: Dunscaith Castle towers high on a cliff overlooking a rocky beach, its only approach a narrow stone bridge with wooden slats. Although a popular ruin on Core Earth, the castle today looks as imposing as when it was first built. Its gray stones give the structure an ominous appearance, and its hanging red banners make the castle look as though it’s wounded and bleeding. The castle’s bridge ends at a massive iron door that is both heavy and barred. Shoving the door open requires a Heroic (DN 18) Strength test, although a successful Standard (DN 10) lockpicking test lifts the bar from the outside, reducing the difficulty of

the Strength test to open the door to Challenging (DN 12). Alternatively, the Storm Knights might climb to one of the narrow tower windows to gain entrance—this athletic feat requires a Hard (DN 14) Strength test for anyone without a reliable means to fly. On a failure, the Storm Knight falls 20 meters to the rocky beach below, taking falling damage as normal. The iron door opens onto a narrow stone passage to a vaulted chamber that appears to be a combination of great hall and training room. Several rooms surround the main hall, as do stairs to the castle’s towers. These rooms are prepared for habitation, including functional furniture and stores of fruit, grains, ale, and other necessaries. The castle’s only occupant is the ghost of the warrior-teacher, Scathach. A severe-looking, translucent woman with long gray hair and an athletic build, Scathach has been trapped within Dunscaith Castle for centuries but only recently gained the ability to manifest a visible form. As she has witnessed centuries of habitation and even longer centuries of adventure tourism, Scathach speaks a staggering number of languages— including English with a Scottish accent—and she has a solid grasp of current history. Scathach appears as the heroes explore the castle, appearing next to the rearmost hero in the narrow stone passage to frighten them, manifesting at a tower window to impede a hero’s ability to climb, using her Disturbance special ability in the great hall, and so on. The ghost normally attempts to appear to only one or two Storm Knights, when possible. • Scathach: use statistics for a ghost but with Strength 10, see page 78. Even if Scathach is defeated, her long connection to Dunscaith Castle restores her after one hour. The Storm Knights can attempt a Challenging (DN 12) persuasion test each time they catch sight of the ghost to speak to it peacefully. On a success, Scathach listens to what they have to say. Assuming the Storm Knights ask about removing the curse on the Gae Bolga, Scathach responds: “It’s no curse I laid upon the Gae Bolga, but one Cu Chulainn laid hisself wi’ his short-sighted actions. I canna lift the curse; the spear-bearer must do so on

her own, by mastering my lessons. Yet I dinnae train Cu Chulainn alone, so she must master these lessons with aid.“ The Storm Knights must train in these lessons along with Elranna. Each lesson has an associated test. Elranna learns each lesson as it is taught automatically, but at least one Storm Knight must succeed at its test (although it need not be the same Storm Knight for each lesson) to satisfy Scathach. If no Storm Knight succeeds at a lesson’s test, Scathach sighs and starts anew from the first lesson. If a Storm Knight reaches 5 Ally Points after a lesson, Elranna launches into the attack described in The Curse Grips Elranna, below.

Gird Your Mind

for

Battle

True weapon masters must center their thoughts prior to any fight, and knowing the depths of their own will aids in this. The Storm Knights must make a Standard (DN 10) willpower test. This test is Very Easy (DN 6) for Storm Knights with the Strong-Willed Perk or Iron Will Perk. Those who succeed gain an Ally Point.

Let Boldness Be Your Shield

Warriors who project the most confidence in a fight have an edge against all enemies. The Storm Knights must make a Standard (DN 10) intimidation test. This test is Very Easy (DN 6) for Storm Knights with the Bolster Perk or the Relentless Perk. Those who succeed gain an Ally Point.

Seek Weakness

in

Your Foe

Errant or reckless attacks open a warrior to counterattack; wise warriors seek an opening before striking. The Storm Knights must make a Standard (DN 12) find test. This test is Easy (DN 8) for Storm Knights with the Situational Awareness Perk. Those who succeed gain an Ally Point.

Strike Quickly, Strike Confidently

Only once a weapon master has internalized the other lessons can they make a blow to strike true against a foe. The Storm Knights must make a Standard (DN 12) melee weapons test. This test is Easy (DN 8) for Storm Knights with the Focused Strike Perk or the Whirlwind Perk.

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FOLKTALE: CU CHULAINN’S EDUCATION This adventure can serve as a Quest, as described in the Aysle Sourcebook. Cu Chulainn sought to marry his beloved, but could not do so until he proved himself by learning to fight. He traveled to Scotland with his companion Ferdiad and ultimately beseeched the warrior-teacher Scathach for training. Scathach agreed to train both men, but she taught only Cu Chulainn the secret of fighting with the barbed spear called the Gae Bolga. Later, when Ferdiad fought against Cu Chulainn in a battle, Cu Chulainn used the Gae Bolga to kill his former friend. Quest Components: (Simple) • (Requirement): Travel to a hostile land and build a friendship in the face of suspicion or adversity. • (Requirement): Petition for training from a renowned warrior-teacher. • (Adversity): Have an ally turn against you in a manner that leads to a fight. Reward:

Perk: Pact

of

Allegiance

• Prereq: complete the Quest, Legend Perk

You can leverage your current or former bonds of friendship. Your persuasion tests are Favored against anyone you’ve considered an ally for at least a day, even if they are no longer your ally. When attacking an opponent you once considered an ally, you can choose for any attack to be a non-lethal attack, regardless of its form.

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If a Storm Knight completes all four lessons Elranna’s growing feelings of camaraderie automatically trigger the Gae Bolga’s curse.

THE CURSE GRIPS ELRANNA At some point during the training, the Gae Bolga’s curse overcomes Elranna and compels her to strike out at the Storm Knights. This happens in one of two ways: either a Storm Knight accrues 5 Ally Points while learning the lessons, or the Storm Knights complete all the lessons. Read the following to the Storm Knight with the most Ally Points when this occurs. “I thank you for your valor and your aid. Few in these times would provide assistance to a stranger, and for that I consider you…” A shadow passes over Elranna’s features and the barbed spear leaps into her hand. • Elranna of House Garrick: See page 33. Elranna gains a bonus on tests against a Storm Knight equal to the number of Ally Points that Storm Knight possesses.

A Moral Issue

Storm Knights native to Aysle (or who are disconnected) face a moral conundrum in this fight. Dealing lethal blows against an honorable knight under the effect of a curse is a dishonorable act. An Ayslish Storm Knight who attacks Elranna and deals lethal Wounds triggers the Law of Light and Darkness and gains a Darkness Perk (likely Frightening Aspect). This effect shouldn’t be used to surprise a Storm Knight; Scathach warns the Storm Knights of the interplay of Darkness and Light here, if necessary, and you should allow the Ayslish Storm Knight to switch to a non-lethal attack instead. Even non-Ayslish Storm Knights should realize Elranna’s value in the fight against the invaders and seek non-lethal means to knock her out.

AFTERMATH After the Storm Knights defeat Elranna, the Gae Bolga remains in her grip. The spear’s fate depends on how the Storm Knights fared in Scathach’s lessons. In either case, Elranna is freed from the curse and can return to serve the Light again.

LESSONS LEARNED If the Storm Knights completed all of Scathach’s lessons, she tells them: “The spear dinnae give up its curse easily, but now it is safe. Tha Gae Bolga isn’t Cu Chulainn’s any longer; it’s yours.” The Gae Bolga has indeed lost its curse and is a magic barbed spear (Damage Strength +5/15, Min Strength 10). Once Elranna is roused, she also encourages the Storm Knights to take it—she’s had enough of the spear and is confident it is destined for heroic deeds in the Storm Knights’ hands.

LESSONS UNFINISHED If, instead, the Storm Knights haven’t completed all of Scathach’s lessons before Elranna attacks, Scathach says: “Alas, the spear’s curse is powerful, but I ken free this knight now that I have seen tha curse in action.” Scathach reaches her ghostly hand into Elranna’s arm and flexes, causing Elranna to drop it. The ghost then takes up the spear, which becomes as insubstantial as she is. She vows to keep it hidden where no mortal may find it again.

ALLIES AND THREATS ELRANNA OF HOUSE GARRICK Quote: “Under better circumstances, I’m certain we could be trusted allies. For now, I advise you to keep your distance.” Attributes: Charisma 8, Dexterity 7, Mind 7, Spirit 8, Strength 10 Skills: Beast riding 10, dodge 8, find 8, intimidation 10, maneuver 9, melee weapons 11, missile weapons 10, trick 8, unarmed combat 10, willpower 10

Move: 7; Tough: 13 (3); Shock: 8, Wounds: 3 Equipment: Plate-mail (Armor +3, Full Body), medium shield (defense +2), Gae Bolga (magical spear; Strength +5/15, Min Strength 10), potion of protection (see Torg Eternity). Perks: Bodyguard, Radiant Possibilities: 3 Special Abilities: • Cursed by Cu Chulainn’s Spear: The Gae Bolga can’t be removed from Elranna’s possession. Even if she throws it, it returns to her immediately, whether she hits or misses her target. She is compelled to attack anyone she perceives as family or close friend to the best of her ability.

CAPTAIN CALWYN THANE Attributes: Charisma 9, Dexterity 8, Mind 6, Spirit 8, Strength 9 Skills: Dodge 10, find 9, fire combat 10, intimidation 9, maneuver 10, melee weapons 11, survival 8, unarmed combat 10, water vehicles 11, willpower 9 Move: 8; Tough: 11 (2); Shock: 8, Wounds: — Equipment: Chainmail (Armor +2, Torso), rapier (Strength +2/11, Quick), Ayslish wheel-lock (Damage 13, Range 5/10/20, Reload) Perks: Indomitable Possibilities: — Special Abilities: —

SCARBEARER CREW Attributes: Charisma 6, Dexterity 8, Mind 6, Spirit 6, Strength 8 Skills: Dodge 9, find 7, maneuver 9, melee weapons 10, missile weapons 10, streetwise 7, taunt 7, trick 7, unarmed combat 9, water vehicles 9 Move: 8; Tough: 9 (1); Shock: 6, Wounds: — Equipment: Leather Armor (Armor +1), short bow (Damage 11, Range 10/25/40), short sword (Strength +2/10) Perks: — Possibilities: Rare (2) Special Abilities: —

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BY ERIC SIMON

RETURN TO CARTERHAUGH

COSM: AYSLE

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LOCATION: CARTERHAUGH, SCOTLAND A local elf has approached the Delphi Council with an opportunity to recruit a fully grown drake to the cause. The Guilt of the Elves is particularly strong with her, so is she keeping other secrets of her own?

MISSION BRIEFING Standard Scene. The Storm Knights row quietly along the coast of Moray Firth towards Inverness Castle, a hardpoint in the Aysle-dominant Highlands Zone. They have been directed to ask for an elf named Janet the Green. The Delphi Council says Janet has made contact with a lone drake that may be convinced to join the cause of Light. The elf will handle the negotiations, but the Storm Knights need to get her there. They approach the entrance to the castle and see an elf standing in the shadow of a weathered copper statue. She is wearing a thin sword at her side and a green hooded cloak over her bright red hair. “I cannot go inside,” the elf says, “as the magic in there is strange. But this place seemed the easiest for you to find. Come, we have many days of travel. I will tell you of our task along the way.” As the Storm Knights head south from the coast, Janet explains the drake the Council mentioned was left behind some time ago because he is unable to fly. He struggles to defend his nest from the vile tree creatures that harass him constantly, so Janet has convinced him to join their cause if she can help clear away the creatures. If asked about the comment that the drake was “left behind,” Janet explains there used to be more dragons in the area, but they have mostly headed across the sea.

Carlin and the Tree of Tam Lyn.

JANET THE GREEN Janet is a skilled ranger and fights alongside the Storm Knights. However, you may want to adjust how you handle her role based on the size of the player group. For a small group, hand them her stats and let the players choose how she acts in combat­—consider her a hero for the purpose of determining the number of opponents. For a large group, simply say she’s fighting off additional foes, or bring her into the fight if the heroes need help. Attributes: Charisma 9, Dexterity 9, Mind 7, Spirit 7, Strength 8 Skills: Dodge 10, find 9, maneuver 10, melee weapons 12, persuasion 11, reality 9, stealth 10, survival 9, tracking 9 Move: 9 ; Tough: 9 (1); Shock: 7 ; Wounds: 3 Equipment: Rapier (Strength +2/10), leather jerkin (+1) Perks: Darkvision (Racial), Magic Affinity (Racial), Radiant, Rejuvenate

Possibilities: 3 Special Abilities: —

SCENE ONE: INLAND FROM INVERNESS Standard Scene. Aysle Dominant Zone. The hike from Inverness takes about two days. The terrain is a mix of open, rolling hills and small, wooded areas. Janet leads the group over open land as much as possible and even camps on top of a barren hill, but there are few places to get water not surrounded by trees. The Storm Knights are not able to completely avoid the woods. The first time the group heads into the woods, Janet explains it is very important to stay as quiet as possible to avoid attracting the attention of any ghillies. Like many wild spirits and animals, a ghillie isn’t necessarily aggressive, but it will

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defend its territory. The elf shows how to look for signs of the tree spirits as she leads the Storm Knights to a stream to refill their flasks. Unfortunately, while they are looking for signs of ghillies, the Storm Knights sense another unnatural presence among the trees. Ghillies are solitary, but whatever is out there now is not. A successful find check reveals the scent of decay on the wind. Whether or not anyone notices anything, Janet lifts her head and says, “Grave Rot!” Unfortunately, the scent is coming from all directions. The group quickly finds itself surrounded by Aysle Gospog of the Second Planting—two for each hero. As the group fights the gospog, the woods seem to change. The trees that seemed healthy before now appear sickly and barren. Close examination with appropriate skills (especially magical) reveals the woods were always this way, but they were masked by some illusion to make it look more normal. • Aysle Gospog of the Second Planting (2 per hero): see page 76.

THE GHILLIE After they defeat the gospog, the Storm Knights sense some of the pall lift. The woods still look barren, but it feels more like a winter sleep than the decay of death. They travel further in until they find the stream. Janet examines the water and judges it to be safe. As the heroes are refilling their water flasks, they hear a rustling behind them. A ghillie emerges from the trees, but it seems weak and injured. Janet raises her hand to stop anyone from doing anything rash. The spirit stumbles towards the stream and collapses on its belly to take a long, silent drink. Finally, it rolls over and looks at the party. It slowly stands up, nods at Janet, and moves back into the woods. “We seem to have made a peace this day,” Janet says. “Perhaps ours is not the only light

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struggling in this darkened land.” She gestures the Storm Knights to follow her. “Come. We have far to go before our goal.”

SCENE TWO: THE DRAKE OF DALWHINNIE Standard Scene. Janet leads the group over barren hills and moors for the next day and a half. Now that they know what to look for, they can avoid the gospog-infested copses and stick only to the safe ones. This becomes more and more difficult as they approach their destination, and at one point Janet even mentions she thinks she sees a Green Knight in the distance. The situation is clearly worsening, so they must hurry. Handle the drake rescue as a Dramatic Skill Resolution. However, rather than a time limit, this scene involves a rapidly escalating combat. There is no limit to the number of rounds the heroes can take to complete it, but the danger may get out of hand. Each step listed below includes a failure mode—a consequence that repeats every time the Storm Knights fail to complete the step they are on. The easiest way to handle Setbacks is to make them activate these failure modes an extra time. Note: If Janet is being controlled by the players, they can use her to help complete steps A through C. They cannot use her at all in Step D. • Step A: Through the Hedgerow. The area is being patrolled by numerous gospog. The smaller ones are not too difficult to avoid, but the Green Knights are more alert and dangerous. Avoiding them takes a Challenging (DN 12) stealth test. For each round the Storm Knights remain on this step without passing it, add 1 Aysle Gospog of the Third Planting (see page 77) to the combat. • Step B: Finding the Nest. The gospog are searching the area for the injured drake. It has survived by hiding its tracks as much as possible, but this makes the search difficult

for the Storm Knights as well. They will need to succeed at a Challenging (DN 12) tracking test or a Hard (DN 14) find test to figure out where the drake is hiding out. For each round the Storm Knights remain on this step without passing it, add 1 Aysle Gospog of the Second Planting (see page 76) per hero to the combat. • Step C: Ascending the Ruins. The Storm Knights track the drake to the ruins of a fort on top of a hill. Anyone knowledgeable about Scottish history recognizes this fort as the Ruthven Barracks, the site of a major Jacobite uprising. It sits atop an artificial hill overgrown with rosebushes that appear to be mostly dead but have left behind an extremely thorny ascent. Forging up this hill through the bushes requires overcoming a Hard (DN 14) survival test. For each round the Storm Knights remain on this step without passing it, each hero suffers 2 Shock as they get stuck in the thorns. Any gospog in the combat are unaffected by the terrain. • Step D: Janet and the Drake. Upon reaching the summit, the heroes realize that they have inadvertently led the gospog to their target. They hear a horrifying screeching sound behind them and look back to see a gospog dragon charging towards them. Add 1 Aysle Gospog of the Fourth Planting (see page 77) to the combat. Janet shouts, “I just need to save the drake! You can leave!” She rushes to the injured creature and holds it tightly. She seems to be whispering something to it. The heroes must hold off the attackers so she can finish whatever she is doing. This step is completed at the end of any round where D is available and Janet is not the target of any attacks. Because the gospog are mindless and not subject to taunt, the heroes must interpose themselves physically. Trick interactions can be used as a reaction to force a gospog to choose a different target instead of the normal interaction effects. (A Player’s Call on a regular trick action can also be used to designate targets for the next round of attacks.)

THE TRANSFORMATION When Janet can hold on to the drake for a full round with no interruptions, the combat ends. The Storm Knights hear the drake’s cries suddenly turn very human, and they see that Janet is now holding a young elf man. She throws her cloak over him and helps him to his feet. As she does, he raises his hand and the rosebushes covering the hill suddenly spring into full bloom. The color is startling in this bleak land, but far more surprising is what happens next. The bushes animate and begin pulling apart the remaining gospog before the Storm Knights’ very eyes. The man leans heavily against Janet, clearly exhausted. Before the heroes can react to this development, a sound like a crack of thunder resonates across the hills, and the air in front of them seems to tear open. Out of the rift steps a giant, fearsome woman. She is nearly 10 feet tall with features purple as twilight. She has long, curved horns rising from her head, and her cloak seems to be made of dead leaves. She reaches out with a clawed hand and swats Janet away from the young elf man. “You will not have him!,” the giant shouts at Janet, as she picks up the man and throws him over her shoulder. “Return to Carterhaugh if you dare. You will find only despair and death.” The giant raises her other hand, which holds a long, gnarled, wooden wand. She points the wand at the rift and disappears with her captive in another crash of thunder. The portal closes immediately after her, leaving the Storm Knights alone with Janet in the ruins of the fort. “Well,” Janet says, “it seems it’s time to face the witch.”

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SCENE THREE: THE TREE OF TAM LIN Dramatic Scene. As the group heads further south along the shores of Loch Ericht, Janet sheepishly admits that perhaps she owes them more of an explanation. She says the drake was actually Tam Lin, her love, who had been transformed by a terrible faerie queen known as the Gyre Carlin. Janet knows there are three stages to breaking the curse, and she had managed to complete the first one herself, but she needed help to complete the others. Upon further questioning, Janet admits she had not been entirely forthcoming with the details of the mission. “It is true that Tam Lin will certainly join the Light if we can free him,” she says, “but it was not quite true that he is a drake. He is a man, though he has been held by the witch for hundreds of years. I pulled him from his horse to make him mine, and in a jealous rage she turned him into the drake. But in that moment he had whispered to me that I had the power to change him back if only I could hold him long enough.”

ELFAME INFLUENCE The Gyre Carlin has been working to twist the reality of Aysle into her own darker version that she calls Elfame. The pockets of darkness the Storm Knights have witnessed along the way are the result of her work, and she has managed to take over many of the gospog in the area. So far, most of these pockets follow the Laws of Aysle, but within Carterhaugh the effect is at its strongest. Here, the Law of Bonded Possession is in force and the Aysle Law of Light & Darkness is not. The other Aysle Laws remain in place. The Social Axiom drops to 11, but all others remain the same.

Law

of

Bonded Possession

Nothing claimed can be stolen. Only the death of the of the possessor allows an object to pass to another. Any mortal can be bonded, but Wild Folk cannot.

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If asked about the witch, she answers, “Nicnevin she is called—Habundia, the goddess of Samhain. The Wild Folk are usually solitary as dragons, but here they have a court. And she is its queen. I know not all that she can do, but she is quite powerful.” If asked about the next steps, she answers, “She will transform him one more time. You must keep her away from us while I hold him again.” If asked what she had to do for the first step, Janet is very quiet. Her only answer is, “It is a personal matter.” As the Storm Knights approach Carterhaugh, Tam Lin’s hereditary home, they notice a shift in the land and the atmosphere. The day grows overcast and almost unnaturally dark, and the country around the estate feels gloomy and depressing. Finally, they arrive at the field in front of the old cottage and discover the Gyre Carlin waiting for them next to what seems to be a dark and twisted tree. Janet sees this and says, “It is as I expected. She has transformed him into a tree as a way of preserving her hold over him. Unlike the previous transformation, this magic can only be overcome by destroying Nicnevin completely. I can weaken her connection to Tam Lin’s magic by holding him, but you must be the ones to fight her.” And then she rushes towards the tree. Janet must survive this fight. She does not act at all, not even to dodge or defend—she simply holds on to the tree the entire combat. However, by doing so, she is weakening the Gyre Carlin enough that the Storm Knights have a chance. If Janet is knocked out or defeated, the heroes lose immediately. The Gyre Carlin tries to attack Janet whenever possible, so the Storm Knights must taunt the witch to keep her focused on them. Any round in which villains act last and the heroes fail to taunt the witch or hit her with any attacks, she attacks Janet. If villains act first, the Gyre Carlin attacks the Storm Knights regardless. • The Gyre Carlin: See below.

THE GYRE CARLIN The Gyre Carlin wields nothing but a wand. She tries to weaken her opponents through magic and intimidation, then claws at them with her free

hand. If the Storm Knights still have most of their resources, allow her to cast absorb magic before combat. Note she may have other alteration and divination spells, but these are the ones most likely to come up. Feel free to add any that seem relevant. Attributes: Charisma 12, Dexterity 9, Mind 15, Spirit 14, Strength 10 Skills: Alteration 18, divination 16, dodge 11, find 16, intimidation 13, reality 14, willpower 16, unarmed combat 12 Move: 9 ; Tough: 12 (2); Shock: 14 ; Wounds: 5 Equipment: Alteration Wand, Faerie Chain Armor (+2) Perks: Frightening Aspect, Magic (absorb magic, armor, bind entity, charm, diminish, discern lies, dispel magic, energy shield, enhance, fear, haste, heighten backlash, little frog, plant shackles, possibility rend, slow, stun) Possibilities: 5 Special Abilities: • Claw: Strength +2 (12).

AFTERMATH With the Gyre Carlin defeated and Tam Lin restored, the Storm Knights see Janet the Green take on an aura like that of other great heroes of Aysle. Janet has just completed the Quest of Tam Lin, according to the Law of Legends. Janet and Tam Lin guide the Storm Knights back to Inverness and bid them farewell. They promise to help the Delphi Council however they can, but they want to search the area for other Nightmare Trees in the meantime.

FOLKTALE: THE GYRE CARLIN If you want to use Janet the Green in future stories, she gains the True Love’s Sight perk: Quest Components: (Simple) • (Requirement): Play a Romance card on an individual. • (Adversity): That individual is captured and transformed into another form. • (Requirement): Defeat the forces that captured and transformed the Romance. Reward:

New Perk: True Love’s Sight

• Prereq: Legendary, complete the Gyre Carlin Quest

The character can see the true form of any magically-transformed creature or object. She can spend a Possibility and make a reality test to return the creature or object to its original form. This test increases in difficulty based on how long the target has been transformed.

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COSM: AYSLE

NO MAN’S DRAGON

BY DANIELLE DELISLE

LOCATION: ISLE OF WIGHT, ENGLAND

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A

squad of lurk scouts discovered a small fortress, called No Man’s Land Fort by locals, a mile off the coast of the Isle of Wight. When they explored the fort, the scouts discovered a sleeping dragon hoarding a talisman it recharged, but the dragon woke up before they could escape to report their findings to the Dark Lord. The dragon drove the scouting party back to the Isle of Wight and terrorized the island until the situation reached the ears of the Delphi Council, who send the Storm Knights to investigate. Objectives: Confirm the report of a dragon, fight the Dark Lord’s scouting party, travel to No Man’s Land Fort, defeat the dragon, and recover the talisman for the Delphi Council.

DELPHI BRIEFING Standard Scene. The Storm Knights receive a message from the Delphi Council in an appropriate way for the character’s current location and/or story. Read or paraphrase: We recently received reports of a dragon terrorizing residents on the Isle of Wight. It is staying in the area instead of moving on as dragons usually do. Go to the Isle of Wight and drive away or defeat the dragon. Your secondary mission is to discover what attracted the dragon. Dragons usually settle near powerful or valuable items. Find out what it is, and secure it for the Council before the Dark Lord gets it. The message bears the Delphi Council seal and signature. The Storm Knights may use any means they like to arrive on the Isle of Wight. If appropriate and/or desired, the characters may have random encounters during the journey. If not, the trip is uneventful.

The only real difference between an older drake and an older dragon is hands.

SCENE ONE: A TERRORIZED ISLAND

remains dot the landscape, burned down to outlines of ash. The smoke makes it hard to breathe comfortably, and you don’t see anyone nearby.

Standard Scene. Aysle Dominant Zone. As the Storm Knights approach the island, read or paraphrase:

The Storm Knights can now investigate the Isle of Wight. Many of the houses have been burned, and closer observation determines dragon breath caused the fire The heavy smoke in the area indicates the dragon is close by and awake. The team can scavenge basic survival items (tools, clothes, food). Only seven people remain on the island and take some convincing to give the party information.

Before the maelstrom bridges, the Isle of Wight prided itself on its blue waters, white beaches, and beautiful cliffs. The island cultivated its reputation as a popular vacation spot filled with the laughter of families and commercialism. Now, a thick miasma of smoke encompasses Wight and obscures the beach until your transport is nearly on top of it. Abandoned luxury hotels and shops poke through the smoke as you step ashore. The chipped paint and falling shingles gives the air of a place forgotten. Burnt out boats line the shore, and human

LORELEI There is one haggard woman on the island, named Lorelei, who can be convinced to talk to them. Determining her age is difficult because of the

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worry lines carved into her face. She wears frayed clothes, reeking of smoke. Her gruff voice from inhaling smoke for an extended period of time is hard to understand. Her blood-shot, irritated, watery eyes watch the Storm Knights warily. At first, she is reluctant to trust strangers after the lurks came in and destroyed the island, but she also desperately wants to wake from this nightmare.

know of, but those creatures seem to want back in there.”

Once the characters gain her trust with a Standard (DN 10) persuasion test, read aloud or paraphrase:

• What does the dragon look like?: “It only comes out at night, so I don’t know really, but it’s big. The darkness it casts puts out the stars, and it flies silent as the dead. We try to keep low when it’s around, but it’s still taken a few of us since that night.”

“Those creatures arrived and ransacked everything. They took what they could use, and no one could do anything about it. Then they went out to the fort. We were relieved at first because they were leaving us alone. That night we could see their fire, and then a terrible roar woke everyone.” She pulls her shawl around her, looking off into the distance. “I’ll never forget it. We couldn’t see it in the dark, just bright streams of fire falling from the sky. Children were screaming. I huddled in the basement, but I heard people heading for the boats.” Lorelei shudders. “We found their remains in the boats the next day. Their bodies were still smoking. Some never made it to the boats. They died trying to defend the others.”

Other Information

The Storm Knights may ask her questions, if so, relay the following information: • How many are on the island?: “There might be seven or so of us left.” • What about the creatures?: “They are minions of the Dark Lord. They managed to survive waking up the dragon and came back to the island. They have been trying to get back to the fort ever since.” • What is the fort?: “It is called No Man’s Land Fort. It was used for defense during war time. There are a few forts around, but the dragon settled on the main one. It isn’t very big, and no one had been out there in years. Who knows how long the dragon was there hibernating?” • Why did the dragon stay on the island? Is there anything valuable there?: “Not that I

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• Where are the creatures now?: “They made camp on the beach facing the fort. We think they have tried to go out there a couple times. I’ve seen the boats go out, but they always come back quickly. The dragon can smell those evil things. I am convinced of it.”

• Why are you still on the island?: “Me? I was too scared to leave when I had the chance, and now I owe it to the dead to tell our story. I am writing down anything I can remember about those who lived here, so someone will know we existed.”

SCENE TWO: DARKNESS ENCOUNTERED Standard Scene. The Storm Knights eventually encounter the five lurks who make up the scouting party, trying to get back onto the island and retrieve the talisman they discovered. The heroes can attack the lurks, or the lurks become aware of their presence and attack them. The lurks’ camp can be found with an Easy (DN 8) tracking or find test. They have taken over two cabins along the shore, originally meant for vacationers. They have a cooking fire set up between the cabins. The camp faces the beach, and further out, the vague outline of No Man’s Land Fort can be seen through the smoke. There are two small row boats beached just beyond the camp. The lurks use them during the day to retrieve the talisman. If the Storm Knights arrive at night, the camp is abandoned and the boats gone. They can set traps if they wish and wait for the lurks to return. If they arrive during the day, the lurks occupy the camp. The lurks engage in maintenance tasks such as getting wood or cooking. The fight begins when

they surprise the scouting party, or the lurks notice them thanks to making too much noise or failing a group stealth test. • Lurk Scouts (5): see page 44. The Storm Knights can question the lurks once defeated, or they can search the camp to find out the following information, via missives or notes taken by the scouting party, with an Easy (DN 8) evidence analysis test. • They are a scouting party for the Dark Lord. • They found a talisman guarded by the dragon. • While they were searching, the dragon woke up, and since then, they have been trying to get the talisman from the dragon with no luck. They have tried stealth, fighting, and traps, and they have barely gotten away with their lives in all attempts. • They have named the dragon Smoke the Obscurer because of the massive amounts of smoke the dragon creates. It is a male gray dragon, with scars all over it’s body and a bad attitude. If the party takes this information directly to the Delphi Council, they are asked to go back and retrieve the talisman. If they want to get the talisman now, they can use the lurks’ boats.

Setbacks

For an extra complication, the lurks burn the boats during the encounter, and the Storm Knights have to find another way to the fort. They could ask the locals for help, make a boat themselves, or come up with another way to get across the water and face the dragon. If the party does not go to the lurks’ camp, the lurks ambush them. If the Storm Knights don’t question them after the battle, the heroes have to travel to the lurk camp and search it for information. If the characters bypass the lurk battle completely, they discover the information in a dropped scout mission log while exploring the fort.

SCENE THREE: NO MAN’S FORT Dramatic Scene. When the Storm Knights approach island, read aloud or paraphrase: The smoke gets thicker as you close in on the fort. The bright red top of the fort is the only solid object that comes through. It is a difficult task to navigate the choppy water, but you eventually arrive at the fort’s dock and cautiously step onto the structure. The fort is a circular, 200-foot diameter, manmade construction. Rooms border a once well kept, circular courtyard area, but the grass has long since overgrown its boundaries. The party has to navigate carefully as the smoke makes it difficult to see and breathe. The decrepit fort’s docks, and the remnants of the lurk scouts’ past explorations, greet the heroes. Broken ropes, metal traps, arrows, spent torches, broken bottles, and unidentifiable bones piled with no rhyme or reason along the edge of the dock show how the scouting party has dwindled because of the dragon. In the water, burned clothing floats on the waves and occasionally slaps against the dock’s pylons. There is detritus from the tourist days of the island and an old museum from the fort’s heyday. Uniforms and pictures on display, encompassed in smoke, give the museum a gloomy air. Old weapons, flags, and some books on the history of the fort line the walls, but nothing informative about the talisman. The dragon takes up nearly one quarter of the fort with his bulk, so it does not take long to encounter him once the Storm Knights enter.

SMOKE THE OBSCURER Smoke the Obscurer is an old dragon with a dusting of black scales spotting his hide, black eyes, and enormous, black claws. Fifty feet long with a 200foot wingspan, he has overly-large nostrils with a smaller secondary set of nostrils just above them. These nostrils produce a large amount of smoke he uses to hide his movements and treasures. His tail tapers to a fine point and creates circular designs in the smoke when he moves.

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Smoke is attracted to the power of the talisman and is eager to build up his horde at the fort and make it his lair. The dragon is sleeping on the island if the Storm Knights arrive during the day or out hunting if the party arrives at night. If the heroes arrive during the day, have each Storm Night make a Challenging (DN 12) stealth test. If anyone fails, Smoke awakens! Due to the amount of space the dragon occupies, the number of characters in the party becomes a penalty on the test. Read paraphrase: You turn a corner and stop yourself from running into one of the many crumbled stone walls the dragon destroyed. But then the wall breathes. As you fall back quietly, the head of the dragon grows more defined through the smoke, but even still you only catch bits and pieces the beast. A scale here, part of a horn there. As you move back an eye as big as you opens and your own reflection stares back at you from the inky black pupil. The world shakes as the dragon rears up and roars. You frantically try to hold on as it beats it’s massive wings. Dirt and smoke mix in the air, forcing you to close your eyes against the debris. The dragon heaves its bulk into the air, and you lose sight of it in the smoke. If Smoke is night hunting when the Storm Knights arrive, test find against Smoke’s stealth (DN 8) to determine if the heroes hear him before he lands. If they fail, the dragon senses them and drops his kill, one of the seven remaining villagers, before attacking them from surprise. For a sad beat, it is Lorelei in the dragon’s clutches. Ancient weapons, loose rocks, and other items to use for improvised weapons during the fight lie on the ground. Smoke tries to burn the Storm Knights, claw them, and drive them into the water where he tries to push them down and drown them.

If Smoke Retreats

Smoke didn’t get so old by being foolish. If the Storm Knights prove they are more than a match for him by dealing three Wounds or exhausting his Possibilities, he attempts to flee on his next action.

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Read or paraphrase: Smoke’s roar reverberates through your bones and then it grows fainter. You wait breathlessly for his return, but nothing happens. You suspect Smoke has tucked his tail beneath his wings and fled. Only when the smoke starts to dissipate do you breathe a sigh of relief.

If Smoke

is defeated

Read or paraphrase:

A desperate, wet roar is the last gasp of a dying giant. The beast sounds so much in pain that for a second you almost feel sorry for it, but then you have to quickly get out of the way, as the monster’s great bulk plummets from the sky and crashes onto the fort.

AFTERMATH After the fight, Smoke is either defeated or flies away to settle somewhere else. The Storm Knights find the talisman and bring it back to the Isle of Wight. With a search, the team finds remnants of the dragon’s victims from the island. The grateful survivors joyously welcome the returning Storm Knights. The smoke is already dissipating by the time they arrive on the Isle of Wight. The survivors tell the group they plan to rebuild their island into a haven once again. After saying goodbye to the villagers, the heroes return to the Delphi Council to present the talisman. If the dragon or lurk scouts get away, they might become recurring enemies for the Storm Knights.

THREATS LURK SCOUTS These lurks are a little more experienced and hardy than the usual rabble. They move swiftly and track well, but are a still a bit dim and leave notes for themselves to remember what their tasks are. Attributes: Charisma 6, Dexterity 9, Mind 5, Spirit 8, Strength 8 Skills: Dodge 12, find 10, maneuver 12, melee weapons 12, missile weapons 12, stealth 12, survival 8, taunt 8, tracking 8, trick 7

Move: 9; Tough: 10 (2); Shock: 8; Wounds: — Equipment: Leather Armor (+2), daggers (Strength +1/9), short bow (Damage 11, Range 10/25/40) Perks: Shadow Step Possibilities: Rare (2) Special Abilities: —

SMOKE THE OBSCURER Attributes: Charisma 10, Dexterity 10, Mind 10, Spirit 12, Strength 17 Skills: Apportation 14, dodge 14, intimidation 15, find 12, maneuver 12, missile weapons 12, reality 15, taunt 13, unarmed combat 15 Move: 12; Tough: 21 (4); Shock: 16; Wounds: 5 Equipment: — Perks: Whirlwind Possibilities: 5 Special Abilities: • Armor: Scaly skin +4. • Bite/Claws: Strength +2 (19). • Dread: While a fearsome dragon is present,any Standard Scene counts as a Dramatic Scene instead. • Fear: These awe-inspiring monsters make foes tremble. Test willpower or Spirit or become Very Stymied. • Fire Breath: Damage 14, Medium Blast, Range 20/40/60. This uses missile weapons for the attack, and as a fire attack works against the lowest armor value on the target. • Flight: Move 12 in the air. • Smoke Aura: Everything within 25 meters of Smoke takes a –4 Concealment penalty to attacks. A strong wind or something similar may eliminate this penalty for a turn.

TALISMAN: THE SIGNAL SWORD The talisman is an officer’s sword. The dragon has stuffed it in his nest, but it is easy to feel the power of the talisman since it has been recharged. There is an empty spot in the museum where the sword rested before it turned into a talisman. There is a wooden plaque, which is quite obviously not original. There is a message burned into the wood. “In memory of the Signaler who used it with precision and decisiveness to save the fort and the island when the Maelstrom Bridges dropped. They used the sword to signal the shore they were under attack by lighting it on fire and climbing to the top of the fort and waving it. The Signaler saved many lives. The sword is a beacon of hope to the people and a reminder of their strength.” At first glance, the sword does not appear special because of its simple curved blade and practical metal handle with leather grips. It is only the aura of power which gives itself away as a talisman. The sword could easily be hidden in a long cloak for traveling purposes if need be.

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COSM: AYSLE

BY STEVE KENSON

NIGHT OF THE MUMMIES

LOCATION: LONDON, ENGLAND

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T

he British Museum is one of the many hardpoints checkering London, but that doesn’t make it mundane! Many of its artifacts are now from The Egypt that Never Was or other unique places, and with the magic in the area so strong, it’s only a matter of time until some thing strange happens there.

MISSION BRIEFING Rather than a briefing, the Storm Knights happen to be in or near London when they receive the following alert from the Delphi Council by whatever means is the fastest to reach them. Storm Knight Alert: You are you needed immediately in central London, where a horde of animated mummies are rampaging through the streets! Initial intelligence suggests the mummies are coming from the British Museum. You are to go directly to the museum to investigate the source of this problem and to deal with it, if possible. Be aware this incident may be an attack on Aysle or Earth territory, or simply a distraction from some other operation. Move quickly, but exercise caution. Night of the Mummies is a good in-between adventure if you’re running a game set in the UK or Ayslish territory, or simply a stop-over while the storm knights are on their way from one adventure to another.

SCENE ONE: NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM Standard Scene. Core Earth Dominant Zone. The Storm Knights need to get to the British Museum as quickly as possible. This is complicated by mayhem for several city blocks surrounding the area. The British Museum has hundreds of different mummies in its collection, and it appears as if most of them are now rampaging through the streets and

Mummies don’t appreciate having their rest disturbed for any reason. grounds outside. When the characters approach the museum, they are attacked by a mummy, and another joins the melee at the start of the following round. A new mummy appears and attacks every two rounds thereafter while the Storm Knights are still outside; the sooner they get into the museum, the better. The mummies do not pursue the Storm Knights into the museum and seem more focused on moving outwards from it and keeping people away from it. If the fight with the mummies threatens to overwhelm the characters due to poor luck, feel free to have some British soldiers or Ayslish knights intervene to help them. They take out one or more of the attacking mummies, giving the characters the opportunity to break away from the fight and make a run for the museum. Their rescuers may try to warn the storm knights off from the museum but don’t stop them. • Mummies (2, plus one every 2 rounds): See below.

MUMMY Attributes: Charisma 5, Dexterity 6, Mind 6, Spirit 12, Strength 13 Skills: Find 10, intimidation 15, tracking 10, stealth 8, unarmed combat 8, willpower 15 Move: 6; Tough: 13; Shock: —; Wounds: 1 Perks: — Possibilities: Never Special Abilities: • Fear: The first time a character encounters a mummy in an act, he must make a willpower or Spirit test or become Very Stymied. • Flammable: Mummies take an extra +1BD damage against fire. • Mindless: Mummies are immune to intimidate and taunt interactions and telepathic powers. • Relentless: Mummies ignore Shock. • Undead: Mummies are immune to poison, and effects that require breathing, eating, or other “living” processes.

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The interior of the British Museum is dimly lit (–2 darkness penalty) by emergency lighting and it is clear that the power is out. There are signs of violence from where mummies smashed out of display cases, storage areas, and the like and attacked people on their way out of the museum, leaving a number of bodies. Nearly everyone has fled by the time the Storm Knights arrive, but there may be wounded people who are still alive, or a few in hiding in need of aid, if you wish. The Storm Knights can search the museum for signs of what is going on. Given the situation, they may choose to head directly for the ancient Egyptian exhibit, and they would be correct to do so. You can suggest this to any characters with an evidence analysis total of 10 or higher. If the characters are simply wandering aimlessly around the museum, you can have one or more additional mummies attack, giving the heroes the opportunity to notice where the mummies seem to be coming from. You can also move right on to the next scene and allow the mummy of Katabet to offer the characters guidance—assuming they can establish a dialog with her.

SCENE TWO: AN UNEXPECTED ALLY Standard Scene. Shortly after the Storm Knights have entered the British Museum and have decided upon a course of action, they encounter another mummy, but not of the type rampaging outside or in other parts of the museum. Instead, the characters see a slight-figured mummy, standing with a regal bearing, striding towards them. The slim figure is draped in ancient Egyptian jewelry and wrapped in a cloth like a draped gown. The mummy initially speaks to the characters in a forceful voice, in an ancient Egyptian dialect, requiring a Very Hard (DN 16) language (Egyptian) or scholar (anything suitable) test to catch the gist, demanding to know who the characters are and where she is. If it becomes clear the Storm Knights do not understand, or they try to reply in their own languages, the mummy invokes a miracle allowing them to understand each other. She explains she is Katabet, Priestess and Chantress of Amun. Any character with adds in scholar (archeology) or scholar (history) and familiar with Core Earth Britain knows that Katabet’s mummy is a part of the museum’s collection, apparently reanimated as well, but in a different fashion from the others. She is imperious, but not cruel, and asks the characters to explain how she has come to return from the Duat (the Egyptian realm of the dead). If the Storm Knights relate what they know about what is happening at the museum, Katabet is angered by the raising of the hallowed dead, but also by the plundering of her country and its tombs. It seems clear that she does not know who is responsible for raising the mummies at the museum. If the Storm Knights can talk to and persuade Katabet that they wish to set things right, she agrees to help them. This involves a persuasion test, as detailed under the skill description in Torg: Eternity. Their level of success determines how helpful their new ally is: Standard: Katabet will help, but only if the Storm Knights swear an oath to do whatever they can to ensure all of the remains from the tombs of her land in the museum are returned as soon as possible.

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What’s more, she seals the oath with a miracle, such that, if the characters renege, they fall under the effects of a pronouncement of doom miracle (from the Nile Empire sourcebook) with an Outstanding result. Good: Katabet will help, but asks the Storm Knights to agree, in return, to see that her mummified remains are returned to her tomb in Thebes, Egypt (an opportunity for another adventure). Outstanding: Katabet offers to help the characters without conditions, feeling Amun has guided her to them to right this wrong.

KATABET, CHANTRESS OF AMUN Katabet is a slim, slight figure, wrapped in ancient bandages, but also draped in ancient Egyptian jewelry and a tapestry-like cloth she wears like a gown. She’s surprisingly mobile, graceful, and regal for her condition, and her voice is clear and forceful. Characters smell spices and musky incense in the air around Katabet when she is present. Quote: “Amun has returned me to the world to clear away this injustice, and so I shall.” Attributes: Charisma 11, Dexterity 10, Mind 9, Spirit 15, Strength 16 Skills: Dodge 13, evidence analysis 13, faith 20, find 14, intimidation 20, maneuver 13, melee weapons 15, missile weapons 14, reality 18, survival 12, taunt 14, tracking 13, trick 12, unarmed combat 14, willpower 20 Move: 10; Tough: 16; Shock: —; Wounds: 3 Equipment: — Perks: — Possibilities: 5 Special Abilities: • Claws: Strength +2/18 • Dread: While a divine mummy is present, any Standard Scene counts as Dramatic instead. • Fear (–2): The first time a character encounters a divine mummy in an act, make a willpower or Spirit test at –2 or become Very Stymied. • Immunity: Divine mummies are immune to intimidation and fire. • Relentless: Divine mummies ignore Shock. • Undead: Mummies are immune to poison and other effects requiring breathing, eating, or other living processes.

• Special Blessing: A priestess while living, Katabet retains her faith and knows the miracles bless, commune with spirits, curse, repel, and soothe.

SCENE THREE: THE HOUSE OF BEAUTY Dramatic Scene. Professor Nefer and his henchmen are in the process of looting the ancient Egyptian rooms on the third level of the museum, taking anything potentially of value, particularly for the Professor’s arcane workings. Nefer is safeguarded by the mummy of a crocodile, animated by his magic. It interposes itself between its master and any attackers and helps to cover the Professor’s escape, if necessary. Professor Nefer is a Nile pulp villain, so it is fairly easy for the Storm Knights to get him talking and explaining his entire nefarious plan: he found the conditions were right for a ritual that would animate all of the mummies of the museum, which also works under Aysle’s axioms, and he suspects that confluence of Core Earth possibilities, Ayslish magic, and Nile influences make the artifacts of the museum especially potent as focuses for further magic. In additional, Nefer believes (rightly) there may be any number of Eternity Shards in the museum, waiting the be plundered. Nefer offers to allow the Storm Knights to withdraw unharmed (he’s lying). Once he’s had his say and the heroes either refuse him or take action, he orders his minions to attack. If the fight proves too challenging for the Storm Knights, feel free to have Katabet come to their assistance, possibly dealing with the crocodile mummy. If, on the other hand, the Storm Knights are having too easy a time of it and mow right through Professor Nefer’s henchmen, the sinister sorcerer-priest summons more mummies into the room to attack the Storm Knights and cover his retreat. Rather than making his way downstairs, Nefer flees up to the rooftop access of the museum’s top floor. A Nile Empire zeppelin swoops down to pick him up, trailing several ropes. The Professor quickly clambers up one to the gondola. Storm Knights can pursue with a Strength test.

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There are an additional number of Nile shocktroopers making up the zeppelin’s crew, equal to twice the number of Storm Knights. If the heroes are flagging and low on Destiny cards, feel free to declare a new scene when they reach the zeppelin, allowing them to refill their hands and begin building new Action Pools. Otherwise, the chase to the zeppelin just extends this scene.

party without a Multi-Target penalty. Affected heroes lose a random card from their hands. • Minions: With a successful reality test, Nefer can transfer any attack that hits him to one of his minions within a few meters. This includes his shocktroopers and mummies in this adventure.

• Professor Nefer: See below. • Nile Empire Shocktroopers (2 per hero): see below.

Attributes: Charisma 6, Dexterity 7, Mind 7, Spirit 8, Strength 8 Skills: Beast riding 8, dodge 8, find 8, fire combat 8, first aid 8, heavy weapons 8, intimidation 9, land vehicles 8, maneuver 8, melee weapons 8, streetwise 8, survival 8, taunt 7, trick 8 Move: 7; Tough: 8; Shock: 8; Wounds: — Equipment: Short sword (Strength +2/10), MP-40 (Damage 13, Short Burst, Range 10/25/40) Perks: — Possibilities: Rare (2) Special Abilities: —

When Professor Nefer is defeated, his final action or flailing attack damages the zeppelin’s controls. This is an opportunity for a Dramatic Skill Resolution, where the heroes guide it to crash somewhere in London to minimize any civilian casualties.

PROFESSOR NEFER When the Nile reality invaded, Omar Nejem went from a professor of history at Cairo University to a man reborn, his mind filled with an obsession for the occult secrets of history! So the sinister Professor Nefer offered his services to the rightful and eternal Pharaoh, becoming a raider of archaeological artifacts for the High Lord, Dr. Moebius. Quote: “You should be honored to be allowed to spend eternity in such splendor.” Attributes: Charisma 8, Dexterity 9, Mind 10, Spirit 10, Strength 8 Skills: Alteration magic 13, divination magic 14, dodge 11, faith (Amaatism) 13, find 11, fire combat 11, intimidation 12, reality 13, stealth 10, taunt 10, trick 12 Move: 9; Tough: 8; Shock: 10; Wounds: 3 Equipment: Mauser pistol (Tech 20, Damage 13, Ammo 10) Perks: Miracles, Spellcaster Miracles: Animate mummy, blinding dust, commune with spirits Spells: Detect magic, fear, pathfinder, protective circle, scry, speak with dead, stun Possibilities: 5 Special Abilities: • Gloater: When intimidation or taunt are Approved Actions, Nefer may affect the entire

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NILE EMPIRE SHOCKTROOPER

CROCODILE MUMMY A once massive river crocodile, the mummification and reanimation processes have turned this creature into a leathery, creaking mass of tough scales and snapping jaws. It knows nothing save for the commands of its master. Quote: “Hssssssss” Attributes: Charisma 3, Dexterity 6, Mind 4, Spirit 9, Strength 14 Skills: Dodge 8, find 8, intimidation 10, stealth 10, trick (9), unarmed combat 10 Move: 6; Tough: 17 (3); Shock: —; Wounds: 2 Possibilities: None. Special Abilities: • Armor: Thick, leathery and scaly hide +3 • Bite: Strength +2 (16) • Flammable: Mummies take an extra +1BD damage from fire. • Mindless: Mummies are immune to intimidation and taunt interactions and telepathic powers. • Relentless: Mummies ignore Shock damage. • Undead: Mummies are immune to poison and effects that require breathing, eating, or other living processes.

REST IN PIECES Once Professor Nefer is defeated, his ritual ends and all of the animated mummies collapse. Katabet lasts just long enough to remind the Storm Knights of any promises they may have made before

turning to dust that blows away on a sudden wind, even indoors. Nefer may return to seek revenge on the heroes who thwarted him, and the Storm Knights might discover useful lore or leads in the collection of the British Museum, as well as earning the thanks of its staff and scholars.

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COSM: CORE EARTH LOCATION: AKUREYRI, ICELAND

REFUGE

BY GREG GORDEN

B

ritain and Scandinavia are reeling from the hammering they have taken at Uthorion’s hands. Northern European Core Earth forces are regathering in Iceland to prepare counter strikes. Unnoticed underneath this frenetic preparation, Uthorion’s agents move to reclaim a prize just lost to the High Lord.

ADVENTURE BACKGROUND Surtamar is a huge, ancient fire elemental from the Time Before Giants. It was one of the first great creatures Uthorion bound to his service. Surtamar has been forced to serve the High Lord for decades. From his pit near The Graves, Surtamar watched as Aysle’s invasion of Core Earth unfolded. Reality storms raged as Core Earth’s reality fought against Aysle’s. In the possibility-infused rain, Core Earth reality washed over the enslaved elemental. The storm temporarily weakened the High Lord’s hold. In that moment Surtamar changed. The elemental became infected with hope. As hope grew, so did Surtamar’s resolve to escape. He gave as little of his power as possible to Uthorion’s tasks, saving all he could for a chance to escape. The chance came during the next storm. Surtamar burst the enchantments binding it, and launched itself away from Aysle. The ancient elemental lost control of its trajectory as Core Earth’s magic axiom cost him focus and will. He crashed in Iceland, and now heals and gathers strength in a volcanic region near Lake Matvyn. Thane Lady Laqwyn, a sorceress of unconventional training, leads a force of Viking Raiders and Core Earth criminals into Iceland to recover and enslave Surtamar. She chafes under Uthorion’s command, but she knows the High Lord’s patience with her

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Sometimes reality is stranger than fiction. is running out. She needs to succeed, and will be utterly ruthless about obtaining that success. Excluding herself, everyone is expendable. Her plan leads to a conflagration ritual that should do just that. The heroes are ostensibly on a rest and recreation assignment, recovering before launching operations into Aysle. As they enjoy the sights and tastes of North Iceland, the Possibility Wars drags them back into the fray.

SCENE ONE: SERIOUSLY? Standard Scene, Akureyri, Iceland, Core Earth Dominant. The heroes are supposed to forget about the travails of saving the world. Apparently the Delphi Council wants to remind them of whats

really important; they have booked rooms at the Torg Guesthouse in Akureyri. The guesthouse is located across from the town circle in Akureyri. Walking is the recommended mode of transportation, rideshare for short jaunts to the edge of town, and tour bus service to farther locations such as Lake Matvyn. Alfrun Jonsdottir keeps the books, and performs assorted back-of-the-house activities, while her husband Lydur Mathiason runs the front desk,and does other customer-facing duties. Lydur is genuinely friendly, and a huge gossip. Alfrun keeps her secrets, and wishes Lydur would too. Give the players a chance to roleplay what their characters are like during extended downtime. Do they even know how to take time off from the Possibility Wars? The events below give a taste of

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life in Iceland, a country on the far edge of the war. Lydur talks up the cafes, gardens, fish houses, and the tour of the Lake Matvyn region. He absolutely wants the Storm Knights to experience Iceland to its fullest. During each event, have an NPC talks about or point them to one of the other events. If you feel skill tests are needed, very little should be more difficult than Easy (DN 8).

Possible

vacation events include:

Storm Knight Fans: If the public is at all aware of our heroes’ activities, these two Japanese fans are all over it. Tanabe Makoto and Chinen Namboku have investigated and researched every publicly available source on Storm Knight activity. They politely request stories, tidbits, and news of the war with barely contained enthusiasm. Talk of the News: Talk of the invasion is prevalent, but local slant and stories still dominate. Topics include: • The theft of two fuel trucks northbound from Reykjavik. Who could possibly need that much fuel? • The postponement of the Euro Cup; and just when Iceland’s team was peaking. Will soccer ever get back to normal? • Akureyri fisherman have been hauling in larger than usual specimens the last few weeks. They are grateful for the additional catch, given the disruption of food shipments from Europe. But why are the fish so large? • The Icelandic television show “Trapped” started production of Season 3 last week. Will it be a let down, or the best yet? • Half of Iceland saw the meteorite in the early evening four nights ago, but no one heard or seen the impact. Where did it hit, or did it even hit at all? • Lord, how American television has sucked since the start of the war. Thank God for telenovelas. Walk in the Garden: The Lystigarðurinn is a beautiful botanical park. Its primary purpose is to test plants for suitability for growing in arctic conditions. Dr. Hild Junnardottir is currently testing several samples obtained from the Living

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Land. Not surprisingly, most do poorly, but one variety of rye, given the name secale cerale lanala, is doing spectacularly. Test crops will be planted next season. On Leave: USAF Staff Sergeant Kris Matthews is on a two-day pass. He is with an electronic warfare unit, headquartered in the expanded Akureyri. He has all sorts of mission-related questions. How far can electronic signals penetrate the Ayslish reality? What is the mean time to failure for electronic gear in Aysle? What sort of operational time should one expect flying in Ayslish airspace? Any and all information is appreciated. Burn with Shark Chaser: The sea food restaurants in Akureyri serve an akvavit brennivín, which means “burning wine.” Brennivin traditionally accompanies kæstur hákarl, a national dish of Iceland, fermented shark. Kæstur hákarl has a strong ammonia odor and a fishy flavor. This is one meal guaranteed to taste nothing like chicken.

SCENE TWO: UNINVITED GUESTS Standard Scene, Akureyri, Iceland, Core Earth Dominant. Jarlsred is having a bad day, and he is probably going to make it worse. Jarlsred is a Viking Skald who, along with Viking raiders from his clan, joined Thane Lady Laqwyn’s war party. But Lady Laqwyn expressly forbade raiding, made them wear ridiculous Core Earth raiments over their armor, conceal their weapons in duffel bags like some peddler, and seems none too trustworthy about payment. Jarlsred’s luck changed when one of the raiders spotted the vacationing heroes, and he heard rumors of Storm Knights. Uthorion pays very well for the heads of heroes of Light. So, against Thane Lady Laqyn’s firm orders, he and his raiders are setting up an ambush for the Delphi Council warriors. Foes: Jalrlsred Viking Skald (Aysle sourcebook), 3 Viking Raiders per Storm Knight (Aysle sourcebook) As the players head up the stairs, a Very Hard (DN 16) find test or a Challenging (DN 12) divination test spots the alarm cantrip on the stairs. The cantrip covers a circle two meters in diameter. Avoiding it

requires a jump up the stairs, a Challenging (DN 12) athletics test. If the cantrip is quietly avoided, Jarlsred only has time to cast an invisibility scroll on himself. If the cantrip is triggered, Jarlsred has time to cast invisibility scrolls on himself and the three Viking raiders in the room with him. When the investigators open the door to one of their rooms, they see the room has been tossed, and one of the windows is open, with an article of clothing hanging over the sill. The Vikings have taken nothing, they just want it to look like the room was burgled, and the burglars have just left. As soon as one of the Delphi Council warriors enters the room, doors across the hallway burst open and all but three of the Viking raiders attack. If Jarlsred has time to makes his Vikings invisible, he will wait one round until all the heroes are facing the threat from across the hallway. Then he and his raiders strike; the tactic makes the target heroes Very Vulnerable for one round. Jarlsred wants to kill at least one Storm Knight and leave with their head. After the invisible strike, Jarlsred concentrates on reducing the players’ hands through use of his taunt and trick. If that’s not possible, he taunts or tricks the most injured Storm Knight in the hopes his raiders can finish the hero off. If Jarlsred is captured: None of the raiders know anything of Thane Lady Laqwyn’s plan or mission. Jarlsred wasn’t told any more, but he is clever enough to have done some digging on his own. The interrogation is better run as roleplay rather than skill tests, but go with what your group does best. • Jarlsred begins with his litany of complaints against Thane Lady Laqwyn, without naming her. He hopes to make divulging her name seem as though the investigators have pried a great secret from him. He talks of curses, of dangerous magics should the name be improperly revealed, and puts all his storytelling skill into the effort. • The war party arrived via dimthread, but will have to wait until a ship arrives to extract them. As that will take a dozen days or more, Jarlsred

concluded he had signed up for a suicide attempt rather than a lucrative raid. • Thane Lady Laqwyn hired Core Earth criminals to help with a heist because they could “drive” whatever thing was to be stolen. Jarlsred heard these criminals are soon to be… unhired. • Jarlsred knows Lady Laqwyn had been inquiring about the meteorite that fell to earth some days ago. Eavesdropping on hushed conversation leads the Viking Skald to believe the meteorite landed in the vicinity of Lake Matvyn. The Lady and her minions should finish preparations tomorrow or the next day; Jarlsred then expects her to search the lake area.

SCENE THREE: INFECTED BY HOPE Standard Scene, Iceland, Core Earth Dominant. Lydur Mathiason enthusiastically tells our Storm Knights that tour bus is the only vehicle allowed access to all areas of the park. Guides must accompany visitors to see they do not damage the fragile ecosystem or boil themselves alive. Speaking of which, the hot springs spa special is available for just a few Euro more. Would the heroes be interested in this can’t–miss luxury? Tour buses leave promptly at 8:45 am. On the bus: The touring heroes have a few events before arriving at Lake Matvyn. • The tour guide, Vird Honnarsdottir, warns them that the area has become more active in the last few days, and not to step anywhere she has not indicated is safe to tread. • Vird tells the tale of Goðafoss, the waterfall where Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði threw in his idols of the old gods to symbolize the conversion of Iceland to Christianity. In the pools, the tourists are surprised to see glowing idols­ —Vird swears those are not supposed to be there. Then one of the statuettes speaks. The language isn’t from Core Earth. Ayslish characters recognize the statue as the goddess Shali, who says, “Today magic requires chance, both taken and given.” • The bus is stopped and searched by police. Players who inquire can inveigle that four people, with international criminal

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backgrounds, were ritually murdered in the last few hours, and the killers may still be in the area. After a terse discussion with Vird, the police decide the tour may continue. Thane Lady Laqwyn used a sacrificial ritual to place the criminals’ land vehicles skills into her homunculi, so that her plan no longer required the dirty Core Earthers. • As the bus pulls up to Grjótagjá, the tour is informed that the underground pools are closed to visitors. The usually serene water is turbulent, and 20 degrees hotter than normal. But the gift shop is open.

the skill used for the failed test may not be used again in this scene to communicate with Surtamar. It has lost patience with that approach.

Getting out when they arrive at the Lake Matvyn area, Vird describes the false craters formed when lava met ice and the how volcanics keeps them energized as huge bubbling pits of superheated, sulfurous mud. As Vird points out the safe path to walk, one of the larger craters erupts in flame, molten rock, and ash spewing in every direction. A bubbling voice strongly reverberates from the crater.

• The ancient elemental is one of Uthorion’s first major creatures bound to the High Lord’s will. • Surtamar is also a channel by which the High Lord and his chosen wizards can communicate with and sense through creatures of fire. • For these reasons, Surtamar is certain Uthorion has dispatched a powerful sorcerer to rebind and retrieve it. • He has sensed Ayslish magics nearby, which he attributes to that sorcerer. • Surtamar seeks refuge. It does not want to serve Uthorion any longer.

“Refuge.” Looking into the pit confirms it is filled with flames as much as lava. A large bubble of lava expands then pops to reveal a huge eye. The crater is 15 meters across, and it frames only one eye of the creature. While Surtamar is quite intelligent, communication is difficult. The ancient fire elemental is in a torpor in Core Earth’s relatively low magic axiom, and its mind is a bit jumbled. Surtamar has detected the possibility energy in the Delphi Council warriors, and hopes they might help it. “Refuge.” Encourage the players to be creative here. Divination, language and scholar could all work. So could conjuring flaming runes for the elemental to read, perhaps reaching out with faith, or even using maneuver to pantomime a message. Whatever the players come up with that even has the slightest chance should be allowed to play out.

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• Success, and Surtamar gives a one or two word answer. • On a Good result, Surtamar answer in three or four words. • On an Outstanding Success, Surtamar answers in a short sentence. Surtamar answers all questions to the best of its ability, and tries to convey at least some of the following.

When the players exhaust all avenues, or just tire of talking elementals, the next scene bursts upon them before they can finish their last sentence.

SCENE FOUR: RING OF FIRE Dramatic Scene, Lake Matvyn, Core Earth Dominant. As the touring heroes wind up their talk with Surtamar, three vehicles arrive at high speed, driven by what look like flaming homunculi. The first vehicle, a freight truck, stops and disgorges half a longboat’s crew worth of Viking raiders.

Talking with Surtamar requires a Standard (DN 10) skill test.

The second vehicle, a fuel tanker, bursts into flames, intentionally jackknifes, tips over and skids to a halt a couple meters short of Surtamar’s crater, resulting in a huge pool of flame.

Failure results in the ancient fire elemental blasting out jets of fire and flaming rock in frustration. Also,

The third truck, another fuel tanker, screeches to a stop, nestling in the flaming pool of the first tanker.

It too catches fire. From the cab, out crawls Thane Lady Laqwyn. She stands in the pool of fire and begins to incant the ritual to rebind Surtamar. Foes: Thane Lady Laqwyn, 4 Viking raiders per Storm Knight (Aysle sourcebook), 1 Barghest plus 1 Barghest for every 3 Storm Knights (Aysle sourcebook). Pool of Flames: Characters who end their turn in, or are attacked while they are in, the pool are Vulnerable. The pool of flames hits with Lady Laqwyn’s conjuration skill. With the one tanker pool, the damage value is 18. When the second tanker explodes, the flaming pool damage value increases to 24. Armor not specifically made to resist flame offers no protection against the pool of flames. A target in the flaming pool gains cover against ranged attacks made from outside the pool. The intense light is blinding, giving cover equivalent to Dark (-4).

Viking raiders try to intercept the touring heroes, preventing them from entering the flaming pool or attacking Lady Laqwyn. Berserking is now their tactic of choice. Once the Viking raiders have been thinned to about half their number, Lady Laqwyn spends a free action to detonate the second tanker. The tanker creates a Huge explosion, with a damage value of 26. This most likely takes out the remaining Vikings and confirms Jarlsred’s suspicions. The explosion also triggers the summoning of the barghests, which now try to shield the sorceress and destroy the heroes. Lady Laqwyn needs to complete a Dramatic Skill Resolution to rebind Surtamar. She has the Magister perk, so she will defend herself by casting dancing sword on the weapons of dead raiders to block and attack her opponent, or inferno if a Storm Knight actually engages her. To complete the Dramatic Skill Resolution, Laqwyn must:

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Step A: Join the bind entity spell to the power of the flames around her. Alteration test DN 10. Step B: Call upon Drakacanus to infuse her binding with unbreakable strength. Challenging (DN 12) divination test. Step C: Call Surtamar to the merge with the flames. Hard (DN 14) alteration test. Step D: Call upon all the fires under Aysle to return Surtamar and its new master to the pit near the graves. Hard (DN 14) apportation.

The result is the finest forge yet built on Core Earth, creating enchanted items for the war against the possibility raiders. Reward: Beloved by Fire Perk (see below).

New Perk: Beloved

by

Fire

Prequisite: Legend, complete Flame and Metal.

If Thane Lady Laqmar completes the ritual, she is engulfed in a 150-meter tall column of flame, as Surtamar erupts from the crater, and the pair of them rocket away toward Aysle.

Spend a Possibility to be immune to fire and heat damage for a scene.

Dealing with the flame pool. Presuming the investigators don’t have flame retardant suits in their carry on luggage, the pool of flames is a deadly obstacle. Reward any passable scheme for fire protection with a +2 armor against the flames. A really great idea grants a +4 armor against the flames.

Oh, and that bit of legend about how only certain rites can kill a Draugar–trained sorceress? Probably untrue, but Lyche Lady Laqwyn has a ring to it.

Invoking Shali: If any character thinks to invoke Shali, they are granted +6 armor against the flames, and again hear her say, “Today magic requires chance, both taken and given.” Any other characters who invoke Shali gain a lesser benefit of +4 armor against the flames.

THANE LADY LAQWYN

AFTERMATH Should the players provide refuge to Surtamar, it may just be the start of a quest, the Marriage of Flame and Metal. • (Requirement): Relocating Surtamar to better volcanic site in Iceland. • (Requirement): Find three perfect obsidian shards in The Grave to build an Ayslish hardpoint. • (Requirement): Seek Isiridiin, an ancient metal elemental, and former mate to Surtamar before both were enslaved by Uthorion, and reunite the two lovers. • (Requirement): Find an elvish smith crippled by guilt, and convince it to forge again in Iceland.

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• (Adversity): Accept the smith’s guilt as their own in a binding ritual. The adversity portion is experiencing something to be guilty about!

Hey, the heroes are in Lake Matvyn. They can still avail themselves of this can’t–miss luxury.

FOES She began her studies under an academy of the Five Towers. This ended when a student prank went very wrong. While many students were involved, Laqwyn was not from a prominent family. She was scapegoated, severely punished, and then expelled from the academy. She has a hatred for “classically trained” spellcasters as a result. She trained instead with a Draugar witch, who saw that the young woman could be turned to the Dark. Completing her studies, Laqwyn began calling herself Thane Lady Laqwyn, while actually holding neither title. She carries herself with the bearing and privilege of the noble classes, but there is nothing noble about her. Questioning her credentials is an excellent way to get incinerated. She began a career as a bounty hunter, to finance her quest for vengeance against wizards who wronged her. Many of those served the Light. Uthorion took notice, and recruited Laqwyn with the promise of additional resources with which to hunt wizards. The High Lord has generally kept that promise, but the arrangement has proven extremely uncomfortable for Thane Lady Laqwyn.

Quote: “Until now we had never met, yet I tire of you already.” Attributes: Charisma 8, Dexterity 7, Mind 13, Spirit 11, Strength 7 Skills: Apportation 15, alteration 17, conjuration 17, divination 15, dodge 8, find 14, intimidation 14, maneuver 8, melee weapons 11, stealth 8, taunt 11, trick 10, willpower 14 Move: 7; Tough: 7; Shock: 13; Wounds: 3 Equipment: — Perks: Instinctive Magic, Homonculus, Magister, Spellcaster (bind entity, dancing sword, dispel magic, fireball, inferno, lightning, shield), Possibilities: 4 Special Abilities: • Beloved by Fire: Lady Thane Laqwyn spends a Possibility to be immune to fire and heat damage for a scene.

• Protected by Flames: If standing within one move of a source of flame larger than she is, Thane Lady Laqwyn gains an additional Possibility, only to be used for soaking damage. If she is standing directly in a source of flame larger than herself, she gains three Possibilities. only to be used for soaking damage.

“I FEAR NO FLAME, AND THE FIRE BENDS TO MY COMMAND!” -LADY LAQWYN

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COSM: AYSLE/CYBERPAPACY MIXED ZONE

BY ED STARK

A STORMY PASSAGE

LOCATION: NORMANDY AND THE ENGLISH CHANNEL

T

he Storm Knights must endure a stormy crossing from Normandy to southern England in an effort to protect a newlydiscovered Eternity Shard. Agents of the Cyberpapacy and Uthorion’s Aysle supporters want to seize the shard and the Storm Knights are the only protection the smugglers have.

DELPHI BRIEFING The Delphi Council contacts the Storm Knights and arranges transport from their most recent location. On board whatever transport is appropriate (zeppelin, airplane, train), the Council’s representatives brief the characters. GM’s Note: If possible, use a Council member the Storm Knights have met before. “Before this war started, there were others,” the representative begins. “In the 19th century, a man named Napoleon Bonaparte declared himself Emperor of France and tried to conquer the continent. It took an alliance of many nations to bring him down. “But Bonaparte was a part of France’s history—Core Earth’s history—and that war shaped the continent that survived. It lives in Earth’s memories. “Now, a relic of a would-be conqueror may help us defeat Core Earth’s latest would-be conquerors. An Eagle, golden symbol of Napoleon’s military might, has been discovered—and it has the powers of an Eternity Shard. “Many men and women of Core Earth and other realms have given their lives to wrest the Golden Eagle from the Cyberpapacy and transport it west, toward free Aysle. We’ve arranged for you to meet its latest carriers, a trio of realm-runners, on their small ship and bring it across the tumultuous English Channel. If you can do that, both the Cyberpope and that bastard Uthorion lose face, and we gain a powerful weapon.”

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A passage across the English Channel has many dangers, not all from the Cyberpapacy or Aysle! Assuming the Storm Knights agree, the Council representative arranges safe transport to the Normandy coast—or the Knights may have a few adventures along the way (GM’s call). Regardless the scene ends with the Storm Knights arriving at a small inlet along the coast, just before nightfall.

SCENE ONE: ALL ABOARD! Standard Scene. Aysle/Cyberpapacy Mixed Zone. The Storm Knights board the Fury Haline early in the evening from a desolated inlet, somewhere along the Normandy coast. Captain Rutter and his two crew, Haley and Ortz, greet

the Knights with obvious looks of relief—they didn’t look forward to crossing the Channel with their precious cargo without some sort of obvious back-up. While Rutter is the very picture of a gruff, English sea-captain, he isn’t an unpleasant man. Haley is Rutter’s daughter, first mate, and sailing master. It’s up to her to shift the sails and make certain the Fury Haline doesn’t get battered to pieces transitioning between the realms. Ortz is an ex-cyber soldier with a cybernetic left arm and right leg. He doesn’t know a lot about sailing, but he’s strong and can follow orders. GM Note: Each member of the crew is a stormer, but none are combat veterans. They can survive the border crossing and navigate between realities, but that’s about it.

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THE FURY HALINE The small ship transporting the Golden Eagle is itself a bit of a curiosity. It looks like it was assembled from two separate model kits, where the builder didn’t want to leave any of the parts out. This is quite intentional. Captain Rutter and Haley built the ship so it can sail under wind power or fire up its small, twin engines and use a high-powered electric battery as needed. The ship itself is a realmrunner, with technology specs built to survive in Aysle, Core Earth, and the Cyberpapacy. While not much to look at, the Fury gets the job done. The ship’s key is as follows: (1) Wheelhouse: Captain Rutter steers the ship from here. There’s a narrow, double door he can bar toward the ship’s stern and a broad, heavy glass windshield he can open toward the bow. Like much of the Fury Haline, the Wheelhouse looks like a mishmash of different tech. The wooden wheel uses an ancient collection of pulleys and ropes to steer the ship when it is under sail power, while there’s also a set of mechanical and electronic controls Rutter can access when using the twin engines. (2) Masts: The ship has two tall masts rigged with canvas sails. The sails can be raised or lowered mechanically using a winch-and-pulley system (usually done by Ortz, one at a time). Both masts have hand-holds and can be climbed up to a height of 10 meters. (3) Ship’s Guns: Hidden beneath ballast barrels are two piles of mechanical junk that can be assembled into fully-functional, heavy machine guns. Ortz assembles the guns as the ship pulls away from the coast, but he can quickly disassemble them and spread out the pieces in case they need to hide that the ship is armed. The guns rotate on swivels, 180 degrees, sweeping over the side to ward off attackers. • Stats: .50 Caliber MG, Tech 20, Damage 16 (AP 2). Fired using the heavy weapons skill. (4) Ship’s Harpoon: The ship is also armed with a harpoon gun, ostensibly for “fishing,” but also to fire at the various monstrosities that swim the channel. The ship carries three harpoons. One is a standard cable harpoon, meant to impale and

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snag a target, while the other two are explosive harpoons—they impale their targets and explode like small rocket launchers. Fired using the heavy weapons skill. • Harpoon: Tech 18, Damage 20, Grapples on a Wound • Explosive Harpoon: Tech 20, Damage 22, Medium Blast (5) Deck Door: This door leads to below decks. It can be locked (and is, unless the Storm Knights ask to unlock it). Each of the Fury’s crew has a key. (6) Below Decks: The open hold of the Fury has several hooks for hammocks and footlockers attached to the walls, one for each crew member and two for visitors. There are also shelves containing a small amount of provisions, a tool kit, a first aid kit, and other miscellany. The Fury isn’t meant to be at sea for more than a day or two, so supplies are light. (7) Secure Hold: The door to the secure hold is locked and Captain Rutter holds the only key— though, again, he’ll happily lend it to the Storm Knights or any other member of the crew as the need arises. Inside the secure hold are more supplies, various charts and documents, and a small safe with the ship’s fund in various negotiable currencies. There is also a large box containing the Shard. (8) Engineering: The ship’s modified battery (Cyberpapacy tech level) is located here, and the crew can access the ship’s small but powerful twin engines. The doors can be locked by the same key that opens the Deck Door (5), but are generally kept unlocked. (9) Hulled!: During the attack, the Charcharias open a small hold just above the Fury’s water line here and begin to invade the ship.

ALL HANDS ON DECK As the Fury begins its voyage across the channel, the crew takes their positions—Captain Rutter at the helm, Haley Rutter on deck, and Ortz in the engine room. The Storm Knights can take up positions anywhere they like, though the Captain would prefer no more than one other inside the wheelhouse.

The weather turns bad almost immediately—not surprising, since the ship is approaching the border between two realms. Haley continuously checks to make sure everything on deck is secure and may ask the heroes to help. As the ship approaches the realm border, however, she hears a roar that has nothing to do with the weather. Have any Knight on deck make a Hard (DN 14) find test. Any success means that character sees what Haley does and has one action for preparation. “Damn it!,” Haley curses, shouting against the wind. “Skimmers! They’ve spotted us!” Haley refers to small, fast-moving dots skimming across the waves. They are Cyberpapal operatives— men graphed to high-powered jet skis, set to patrol the English Channel and prevent anyone from doing exactly what the Fury Haline is doing right now. • CyberSkimmers (2 per Storm Knight): see page 64.

ETERNITY SHARD: THE GOLDEN EAGLE Cosm: Core Earth Possibilities: 6 Tapping Difficulty: 18 Purpose: To defeat the enemies of France. Powers: By holding the Eagle aloft and expending 1 Possibility, the bearer creates a 10 meter Core Earth reality bubble. While the bubble is active, the bearer and all allies within a 10 meter radius consider Attack an Approved Action. Restrictions: May not be used against French foes. Description: The Golden Eagle is a French Imperial Eagle of the Napoleonic era. It is meant to be affixed to the top of a flag pole and carried as part of an army’s standard.

(3)

(2)

(1)

(5)

(2) (4)

(3)

(9)

(7)

(5) (8) (6)

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CYBERSKIMMER Cybernetic warriors joined with powerful jet skis, cyberskimmers patrol the waters in and around the Cyberpapacy, intercepting smugglers, escapees, and any others who resist the Cyberpapacy’s edicts. The warriors can detach themselves from their jet skis for maintenance, but are pitiful half-beings when they do. But they’re lethal killing machines otherwise. Attributes: Charisma 8, Dexterity 12, Mind 8, Spirit 10, Strength 15 Skills: Dodge 15, find 10, energy weapons 15, intimidation 12, unarmed combat 17, tracking 10, trick 13, water vehicles 15 Move: 16; Tough: 18 (3); Shock: —; Wounds: — Equipment: CSI EyeKill Mk IV, JetSkim 620, Mounted Laser Weapon (Damage 15, Long Burst, Range 500/1k/2k) Possibilities: Never Special Abilities: • Armor: Metal frame (+3) • Detach: Reduce move to 2 (crawl) but gain +4 damage with their metal fists • Jump: Use a wave to “jump” up to 10m vertically or 40m horizontally, at the expense of becoming Vulnerable. • Relentless: Cyberskimmers ignore Shock. The cyberskimmers attack the ship from all sides, but their primary goal is to disable the vessel’s engines and board the vessel to seize the crew and its cargo. If attacked, the cyberskimmers change their focus to returning fire, targeting anyone they can see on deck. Using their jet ski’s Jump ability, the cyberskimmers can easily maneuver their light vehicles to fire on the deck of the Fury or even jump over it and detach if they want to engage in melee.

RUNNING FOR THE STORM When the CyberSkimmers attack, Captain Rutter will try to move as quickly as he can toward the storm that constantly rages across the middle of the channel. Barring difficulties (see below), it takes the Fury Haline five rounds of combat to enter the storm—and the cyberskimmers won’t follow, as their light bodies would be capsized and torn to shreds immediately.

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The cyberskimmers try to prevent this in a number of ways:

Attack

the

Engines

If a CyberSkimmer located at the stern of the ship succeeds at a Very Hard (DC 16) energy weapons attack, it can try to damage the ship’s engines. The hull in that area has Toughness 20. Each Wound done to the engines increases the time it takes to reach the border by 1 round—4 Wounds renders the Fury dead in the water Repair the Engines: A Storm Knight in engineering (8) can repair a Wound to the engines by succeeding at a Hard (DC 14) water vehicles or science test. Each result beyond the first repairs an additional Wound.

Attack

the

Ship

If a cyberskimmer strikes the hull in general, it can cause the ship to slow down or even sink. A successful Hard (DC 14) attack damages the ship’s hull, but it takes 2 Wounds to increase the time to the border by 1 round—and 8 Wounds to cause the ship to flounder and begin sinking Repair the Hull: A Storm Knight located in the hold (GM’s discretion as to exactly where) can repair a hole in the hull with a Challenging (DC 12( water vehicles test based on Strength or Dexterity. Each result beyond the first repairs an additional Wound

Attack

the

Crew

If a cyberskimmer targets a member of the crew (or a Storm Knight) on deck, combat occurs normally. Add +4 to the dodge skill of anyone inside the wheelhouse and +2 to that person’s Toughness if they are hit (note Storm Knights in the wheelhouse may have to get creative if they want to attack anyone outside the wheelhouse). Filling in for Crew: If Captain Rutter suffers more than 2 Wounds, he can no longer effectively pilot the ship. Someone else can take the wheel using water vehicles to keep the ship on course—or they can heal Captain Rutter. Note if Haley or Ortz suffer 2 or more Wounds, that could affect the ship’s progress in the next scene

SCENE TWO: CROSSING THE STORM

SCENE THREE: SHARK ATTACK!

Standard Scene. Once the Fury reaches the border, it plunges into the storm, and the crew works feverishly to keep the ship afloat. The natural storm gives way to a reality-tearing border crossing, and while everyone on the ship can survive the transition, the ship might not.

Dramatic Scene. When the Fury Haline breaks through the border storm and into the pure, clean, night air of Aysle, the storm behind the small vessel recedes to nothing. The sails spread out and catch the wind, and it seems the worst of the trip is over.

The Storm Knights must engage in a Dramatic Skill Resolution to safely move the vessel between realities. Here are the tasks that must be accomplished in five rounds to safely move through to Aysle. Failure forces the Fury back out, and the Storm Knights must try again.

The Fury Haline shudders with impact as a vicious-looking harpoon embeds itself along the port side of the vessel. The evil-looking weapon quivers and shakes as something climbs up over the side. A creature, humanoid in shape but with a gaping shark-like mouth and wide face lunges across the railing and attacks! The attack by the charcharias comes in two waves:

• The Initial Plunge (A): Succeed at a Hard (DC 14) water vehicles test to help Captain Rutter keep the ship on course and heading directly through the storm, not parallel to it. Add +2 to the DC for each Wound the Engine Room has suffered, and +2 for every 2 Wounds suffered by the Fury’s hull. Add +2 to the bonus number if Captain Rutter is unwounded and still piloting the ship. • Shunt the Engines (B): Succeed at a Very Hard (DC 16) science test to shunt off at the right time—leaving the Core Earth engines running could cause a disconnect. Add +2 to the bonus number if Ortiz is unwounded and still working in the engine room. • Raise the Sails (C): Succeed at a Very Hard (DC 16) water vehicles or Strength test to raise the sails at the right time and shift the Fury into a sailing vessel. Add +2 to the bonus number if Haley is unwounded and able to work the deck • Cross the Border (D): Succeed at a Hard (DC 14) reality test to avoid the pitfalls of a Reality border and keep the ship from veering off course and back into the storm Once the ship crosses into Aysle, however, the trip isn’t over.

Of course it’s not.

WAVE ONE: THE AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT Two charcharias per character attack the deck of the vessel. The first of each pair climbs up over the side of the vessel (as described above), engaging any Storm Knight or crew member they can reach. Their goal is to reach the wheelhouse and kill Captain Rutter, leaving the ship dead in the water. The second member of each pair will wait in the water for at least two rounds, hoping to get a clear harpoon-shot at any Storm Knight unwary or unlucky enough to stand adjacent to the Fury’s railing. This second charcharias will try to impale its victim and drag them into the water where the charcharias have an advantage over their landbound adversaries. After two rounds of combat, if none of the heroes or crew are in the water, the remaining charcharias clamber up out of the sea and onto the deck to continue the attack. • Chacharias (2 per Hero): see page 66.

WAVE TWO: HULLED! After at least three rounds of combat, have any Storm Knight on deck succeed at a Very Hard (DC 16) find test to hear or feel a strong shudder from below decks. Anyone in the hold automatically

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succeeds. One round later, the ship lurches to one side, revealing the situation to anyone who hasn’t realized what’s happened—the ship has been hulled! The charcharias have somehow managed to break a large hole in the Fury and are invading the hold that way. Water and charcharias pour in. There are an additional two charcharias per character invading the hold, plus the charcharias shaman who leads the assault. The goal of these charcharias is to find the Eternity Shard and take it from the Fury. Unfortunately, the charcharias have no problem sinking the ship and searching for the shard on the ocean floor. • Chacharias (2 per Hero): see below. • Chacharias Shaman (1): see below.

CHARCHARIAS Originally presented in Creatures of Aysle. Shark men that live in the seas of Aysle, these creatures have little to do with the politics or wars of the surface folk, but Lord Angar Uthorion recruited a small number to act as marine shock troops during the invasion of Core Earth. Those that survived. Charcharias worship Aysle’s god of Corruption who gave them both their name and their amphibious forms. Always hungry, Charcharias patrol the seas and deeper rivers and lakes of Aysle, looking for prey. While they can eat any meat, they prefer the taste of intelligent beings—something about the fear and pain of their victims adds to the flavor of their feast. Charcharias will attack anyone and can only be restrained by a more powerful master (like Uthorion), but they have been known to take sharks and other aquatic animals on as pets. Cosm: Aysle Attributes: Charisma 6, Dexterity 8, Mind 7, Spirit 8, Strength 11 Skills: Dodge 11, faith 10, find 10, intimidation 10, maneuver 10, missile weapons 10, stealth 10, trick 9, unarmed combat 12. Move: 8 (24); Tough: 12 (1); Shock: 8; Wounds: — Equipment: Harpoon (Strength +2/13, Ammo 1, Range 10/20/30, Thrown, grapple at range,

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damage if removed), seashell armor (+1, Torso) Possibilities: Rare (2) Special Abilities: • Amphibious: Can breathe underwater or on land • Claws & Teeth: Strength +2 (13) • Blood Frenzy: If a Charcharias Wounds an opponent in melee, its next attack against that opponent becomes Favored. • Commune with Sharks: As the commune with animals  miracle, but it can only target sharks. Any charcharias can invoke this miracle within Aysle if they meet the faith requirement (10). • Harpoon: This barbed spear has a cord tied to the end. When thrown, it can be used to grapple at range. On an Outstanding result, the target is impaled and will take 12 damage, ignoring armor, when the harpoon is removed. This damage cannot be soaked. The cord has a defense of 10 and is severed if it is hit by a cutting weapon. A charcharias can pull a restrained target towards it by using an action to make an opposed Strength test, which also deals 2 Shock to impaled targets.

CHARCHARIAS SHAMAN A charcharias shaman, devout follower of the Corruption God, leads the charcharias assault team. Its stats are identical to the others, with the following exceptions: Attributes: Charisma 6, Dexterity 8, Mind 7, Spirit 12, Strength 11 Skills: Dodge 11, faith 15, intimidation 15, maneuver 10, reality 13, stealth 10, trick 9, unarmed combat 12 Move: 8 (24); Tough: 11; Shock: 8; Wounds: — Perks: Miracles (bless, call animals, commune with animals, salt suffering*) Possibilities: 2 Special Abilities: • Amphibious: Can breathe underwater or on land • Claws & Teeth: Strength +2 (13) • Blood Frenzy: If a Charcharias Wounds an opponent in melee, it gains an automatic roll again on its next attack against that opponent • Commune with Sharks: As the commune with animals  miracle, but it can only target sharks.

Any charcharias can invoke this miracle within Aysle if they meet the faith requirement (10).

A SINKING SHIP Once the vessel begins sinking, the Storm Knights must try to rescue the Eternity Shard and (hopefully) the crew before the Fury goes down into the depths. Fortunately, the ship isn’t sinking quickly. It will take 10 rounds before the vessel is unrecoverable, and getting the ship’s pumps working with a Very Hard (DC 16) water vehicles or science test adds one round with each success (though the pumps are Tech 18 and won’t run on their own). The more immediate danger is dealing with the charcharias. If they aren’t defeated, they’ll fight until the vessel goes under the waves, searching it at their leisure once their enemies have drowned.

New Miracle: Salt Suffering Axiom Level: 18 Skill: Faith 14 Casting Time: 1 action DN: Target’s dodge or Dexterity Range: 5 meters Duration: Instant Salt suffering draws the salt out of a living creature’s body. The base damage is 10, but ignores any Armor. Success Levels: • Good: Damage +1BD • Outstanding: Damage +2BD and target is Fatigued for one round

AN ADDITIONAL WRINKLE If the Storm Knights are having an easy time of it, remember the charcharias can summon sharks— either to attack characters who fall into the sea, or to swim into the hold and battle those trying to keep the Fury afloat.

AFTERMATH Assuming the Storm Knights defeat the charcharias and save the Fury Haline, it is a comparatively minor matter to set the ship to rights and sail the rest of the way to Aysle. If the vessel is badly damaged but the Storm Knights prevailed, an Aysle patrol ship could find and assist them. Regardless, if the Storm Knights reach Aysle, they receive a hero’s welcome. Both the Delphi Council and the friendly Aysle government are in their debt. In fact, this debt extends to—in the right circumstances—loaning the Golden Eagle to the Storm Knights. But only on occasion of great need. In addition, if the Storm Knights saved Captain Rutter, his crew, and the Fury Haline—particularly if they took great risks to make sure everyone got out intact, they’ve made a new friend. Rutter has realm-running contacts all over the world and can probably serve as a Contact for later adventures.

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BY JEFF GREINER

PROTECT THE ELF 68

COSM: AYSLE LOCATION: STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

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he Delphi Council recently learned of the existence of an Eternity Shard known as the “Lævateinn.” The trouble is High Lord Uthorion knows the staff could be a problem for his goals and, as such, he has hidden it in a highly secure and secret location, guarded by the magic of his warlocks. Near Stockholm, deep in the ground, the Delphi Council has learned of a magical nexus they believe would allow one of their agents to pierce the magical veil and learn the location of the eternity shard.

MISSION BRIEFING The Storm Knights encounter a messenger raven. It lands nearby and caws out, “Who are you?” Once one of them identifies themselves as a Storm Knight, the bird flies up to their shoulder and shakes its leg at them. Tied to the leg is a message on a parchment from the Delphi Council. Once it is removed, the raven flies away cawing, “five minutes, five minutes.” They have five minutes to read the note before it immolates like flash paper and is destroyed. The note reads: “One of our allies from the Army of Light recently lost an Eternity Shard, the staff Lævateinn, to Uthorion’s forces outside of Stockholm. The staff is not useful to him but could be a great boon towards fighting him. As such he has hidden it away and placed it under a magical veil. Finding the shard would be incredibly useful, but learning its location could be costly. “One of our elven allies, a mage named Talisha, lost the staff when her uncle was killed with it, but she tells us there is a magical nexus near Stockholm. She believes if she can cast a magical scrying ritual while within the nexus, she will be able to pierce the veil and learn the location the High Lord is hiding Lævateinn. However, she is being hunted by one of Uthorion’s Lurk War Leaders, an odd creature known as ‘The Deceiver.’

It takes a lot of lurks to challenge Storm Knights— unfortunately Uthorion has a lot of lurks! “Get to Stockholm. Find Talisha at her favorite bar, the Local Syndrome, get her to the nexus, make sure she can cast her ritual, and report back with the location of the Eternity Shard.” On the back of the note is a map marking the location of the Local Syndrome in the area of the city known as “Sergels torg”.

SCENE ONE: THE LOCAL SYNDROME Standard Scene. Aysle Dominant Zone. The Storm Knights arrive in Stockholm and begin their search for Talisha at the Local Syndrome. Stockholm is a Core Earth hardpoint, so the dangers of being in the city are minimal, although the locals are suspicious of outsiders and nervously prefer they leave as quickly as possible. They are only tolerated at all

because of their affiliation with the Delphi Council. The Local Syndrome can be found easily enough by either asking around or using their memory of the map of the city that was included in the mission briefing. It is not hard to find, as it is near a well known landmark called Sergels torg and there is a large glass and steel tower-monument marking the area. The bar where Talisha likes to spend her time is a rough and tumble place, and while she has become a regular there, she hides her elven heritage due to the local dislike for outsiders. Before the High Lords’ invasion, the bar was a popular fast food restaurant, but has since quickly been converted into the seedy drinking hole it is today.

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MEETING TALISHA As the heroes approach the Local Syndrome, they begin to hear a ruckus, when suddenly a woman crashes, back first, through the front door. She stands up, dusts herself off, and stomps back into the building, fists in a ball. There is quite an exciting brawl happening in the bar, and Talisha is in the center of it. A local group of trouble makers had a bit too much to drink and started getting loud and pushy with the other patrons. Talisha, looking for a chance to blow off a little steam since she hasn’t been able to take the fight to the High Lord’s forces—she needs to lay low until the ritual is complete—was quick to confront the drunks, and soon everyone in the place started swinging without much regard to who they were hitting. It seems Talisha wasn’t the only one eager to blow off steam. No one is going to be able to have a conversation with Talisha while the brawl continues. The Storm Knights have a few options for how they would like to resolve the situation. They can join the fray until enough brawlers have been knocked out to end the fight, they can attempt to calm everyone down and persuade the crowd to stop fighting, or they can push their way through and escort Talisha out of the bar while the brawl continues. There are a total of 20 patrons fighting in the bar when the heroes arrive. There are 15 patrons, and five staff (servers and bartenders). Use Knights (Aysle sourcebook) without armor or weapons for the various brawlers’ stats, noting that all of them are only using unarmed attacks and none are attempting to cause wounds. Once seven brawlers have been knocked unconscious, the rest start to calm down, and the fighting ends. If the heroes wound any patron or staff with more than 1 Wound, everyone in the bar turns against them for having taken it too far. If Talisha is revealed as an elf (she currently wears a hood to hide her elven nature) they likewise turn on her.

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To convince the crowd they have had enough, and to put an end to it, they may try several different approaches. They can try to intimidate them into stopping, they can try and reason with them/warn them that they will attract unwanted attention, or they can try another angle. The first two will require a Hard (DN 14) intimidation or persuasion test, respectively. Getting Talisha out of the brawl requires getting into the fight, persuading her to leave, and getting back out of the brawl. To get in, a hero might engage in dexterous dodging and weaving (dodge), subtle manipulation to get brawlers to look the other way (trick/taunt/maneuver), giving the crowd a good shove (unarmed combat), or some other method, all Standard tests. At least three tests must be completed, and if one fails the hero can choose to proceed forward, taking 2 Shock in the process, or hang back, requiring an additional test be achieved. Every character who wants to work their way to Talisha, must make the three checks, and, if the GM wants to mix things up, they should declare the same check may not be done for two tests in a row. Characters who do not work their way into the fray can assist their ally by making tests such as intimidation, persuasion, taunt, or trick in order to give those navigating the crowd a +2 bonus to their result. Once a hero makes it to Talisha, the elf must be persuaded to leave the fight. This is a Very Hard (DN 16) persuasion test because Talisha really wants to see this through, but ultimately, she recognizes her higher duty. With Talisha persuaded to leave, the brawl must be navigated again, with her in tow, to exit the building and get to safety. As they leave, the same sort of tests can be made as on the way into the bar, only this time Talisha must also make the checks, and any Storm Knights with her can choose to take the 2 shock she would normally take if she fails a test.

TALISHA This elven magic user is not the delicate flower many assume she is. With her leathery brown skin, close cropped black hair, and the attire of a commoner, it is clear she is familiar with hard labor. Quote: “I learn magic by working my tail off, not so I can avoid putting in the effort.” Attributes: Charisma 5, Dexterity 5, Mind 11, Spirit 9, Strength 10 Skills: Apportation 13; Divination 15; Dodge 9; Reality 11; Trick 14; Water Vehicles 7 Move: 5; Tough: 13 (3); Shock: 9; Wounds: 3 Equipment: Scroll with Ritual, Walking Stick (Strength +2/12), Elven Chain (+3, Torso) Perks: Spellcaster (scry, possibility rend, pathfinder), elven magic (portal, messenger hawk, sudden burial). Possibilities: 3 Special Abilities: • Graceful: Dexterity tests are Favored. • Darkvision: Ignore up to 4 points of darkness penalties. • Magical Affinity: Fatigue from using magic in a cosm with a Magic Axiom less than 12 results in an extra point of Shock.

city for long, due to their distrust of outsiders. If the Deceiver is able to capture her, it would give Uthorion’s forces eventual access to the Lævateinn’s power. • The nexus was created several months ago when her mentor and uncle, an elven high wizard, was trapped in a cavern, surrounded by a seemingly endless swarm of Uthorion’s minions. She was there and only escaped when he unleashed all his magical might through the staff, giving her a chance to run, but destroying himself. The cavern has since been infused with a strong residual magical aura, left over from the magic of her uncle and the shard, that she thinks she will be able to harness. She believes doing so will use up all the residual energy in the nexus, so they only have one shot at this. And it may not last forever, so they better hurry. • The nexus is inside a nearby Aysle village. Hunted as she is, they will have to find some way to get her past the guards.

SCENE TWO: BREAK ON THROUGH

Once the Storm Knights have extracted Talisha from the brawl, she is quick to want to get to work. They have a few minutes to ask her questions while they catch their breath out on the street, but she’s not too eager to stick around in such an exposed place for too long. Some things she might share with the heroes include:

Standard Scene. In this scene the Storm Knights must get Talisha past the guards at the wall of the Aysle village of Järva. They can try to do so using stealth in a Dramatic Skill Resolution or they can simply fight their way through.

• The eternity shard in question is a magical staff, called Lævateinn, created in ancient days by her ancestor, the legendary crafter, Völundr. Being a bit of a trickster, Völundr enchanted the staff so its power can only be used by someone who has his permission or the permission of one who shares his blood (like Talisha does). • She is being hunted by one strange lurk, known as the Deceiver. It thinks it’s a civilized creature and behaves like some sort of aristocrat­ — unusual behavior for a lurk. That said, the thing is strangely capable of manipulation and leading others of its ilk and should not be underestimated. It won’t pursue her into the Stockholm Hard Point, but she can’t stay in the

Järva has a large, impressive outer wall that the people are told will protect them from the many threats out in the wilderness, including giants and vikings. The forces of Uthorion patrol the walls and control entry and exit through the gates of the city. Due to the height of the wall (around 10 meters), the regular patrols upon it, and the well-known kill order for anyone or anything climbing them, it is unlikely the Storm Knights will successfully enter over the barrier. Their most likely chance to get into the village, with Talisha, is through the gates, which is also not likely to be simple because the elf is a wanted woman.

INTO THE VILLAGE

Getting through the gates can be handled in one of two ways. The heroes could go for the entirely

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unsubtle option of walking through openly, starting a fight when they are discovered, and running straight to the nexus as quickly as possible before reinforcements arrive. If this is the option they utilize, they will need to deal with the guards! • Knight (1): see page 79. • Lurks (2 per Hero): see page 79. • Priest of Corba’al (1): see page 75. Alternatively, the heroes can attempt to sneak through the gates in a subtler way, hiding or disguising Talisha, distracting the guards, and using other means of subterfuge. This is resolved with a Dramatic Skill Resolution. Adjust and change the Dramatic Skill Resolution depending on any schemes the Storm Knights come up with as appropriate. Below is an example of one way it might play out: • Step A: The heroes seek to hide or disguise Talisha, so she won’t be noticed or recognized by the guards, while also concealing their own equipment to avoid revealing they aren’t from Aysle. To do so requires a Standard stealth test. • Step B: The hounds that the guards keep at the gates seem to have smelled something about the heroes and could give them away. The animals might be distracted (trick) or calmed down (persuasion/beast riding) with a Hard (DN 14) test of the appropriate skill. • Step C: The heroes present a plausible answer to the questions, “Who are you? And what is your business here?” Start with a Standard persuasion test, but adjust the difficulty based on the answers the party gives. If their answer is highly plausible and suits the group of Storm Knights well, reduce the difficulty. If their answer is ridiculous, increase the difficulty. • Step D: The heroes make a break for it when someone decides they need to take a closer look. As the group heads through the gates, one of the guards decides they need to take a closer look and has ordered the gates closed. The Storm Knights are sure that close of a look is likely to uncover their ruse, but they’ve made it past the guards. If someone can run up and hold the gates open for a few moments so everyone else can make a run for it, they should be far enough ahead of the guards that they can

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hope to lose them on the way to the nexus. To do so will require a Hard (DN 14) Strength test. Dilemmas in this Dramatic Skill Resolution might include: • Possible Setbacks may include one of the characters, or perhaps Talisha if needed, accidentally dropping something that is clearly not from Aysle. This will immediately raise suspicion and may require them to back up for closer inspection. A Challenging (DN 12) persuasion test creates a convincing lie to avoid this setback. • A Complication might be if one of the brawlers from the bar fight at the Local Syndrome is also trying to get into the town, still a little drunk, and starts to recognize Talisha or one the heroes. This person must be dealt with or they might tip off the guards. • A Critical Problem may be something like a guard near the gate house stumbling and knocking the portcullis lever out of place. The bars come crashing down, and the chain becomes detached from the mechanism. Everyone is asked to back away from the gate and wait while repairs take place. Twenty minutes later, when the portcullis is raised again, the questioning process will have to proceed anew. If the Storm Knights are not able to complete all four steps after five rounds, the guards draw their weapons, and they will have to fight their way through after all.

IT ALL FALLS APART Regardless of which option the players utilize, fighting or sneaking, as they make it through the gates, reinforcements arrive, led by a rather large lurk wearing a smoking jacket and a monocle. It holds out its walking stick and gestures at Talisha calling out, “There is my quarry…after them!” Talisha curses. The Deceiver has found her!

SCENE THREE: GET TO THE NEXUS Standard Scene. This is a chase scene, wherein the heroes and Talisha are trying to keep the Deceiver and its forces behind them, losing them if possible, as they work their way to the nexus. How this scene resolves will impact the way the final scene develops. In this chase scene, the Storm Knights and Talisha are already a step ahead of their pursuers. To represent this they each start with Step A complete, while the forces of the Deceiver have no steps completed. Every round after that, their goal is to attack heroes or beat them to Step D and stop their escape. The Deceiver’s forces include a growing horde of lurks and a few Priests of Corba’al. The Priests of Corba’al have Move 9, setting the chase difficulty unless one of the Storm Knights has a higher movement than that. Each Step of the chase is completed with a Dexterity test by every character (except where noted), unless they specifically procured and used some form of transportation (a horse and wagon, for example). • The Deceiver: see page 75. • Lurks (2 per Hero, plus 1 per Hero every round after the first): see page 79. • Priests of Corba’al (1 per Hero, plus 1 each round after the first): see page 75. Each round, lurks and Priests of Corba’al join the chase at Step A, as more and more reinforcements from the city join in the hunt. • Step A: The heroes engage in a flat-out foot race through the town to get to the nearby storm cellar that Talisha knows leads to the Land Between and the magical nexus. • Step B: The heroes must traverse the mazelike tunnels of the Land Between on their way to the nexus.

• Step C: They must next use a boat that was left behind when Talisha escaped the area that is near an underground river. This river will lead directly to the nexus. This step may be completed by one person using the water vehicles skill for everyone who has completed Step B. • Step D: Finally, the Storm Knights will arrive at the nexus and have to climb up a small embankment between the river and the cavern where Talisha needs to be to complete her ritual. This step can be completed with a Dexterity or Strength test, but a failure deals 10+1BD falling damage. The chase ends when the heroes make it to the nexus. The immediate threats they face in the next scene are based on the results of this chase. Be sure to keep notes on which threats are at which stages of the chase. Dilemmas for this chase could include: • A Possible Setback could be a rock slide blocking the path Talisha used last time. A new path will have to be found by making a Standard tracking test. Failure means the heroes go back a step. • A Complication could include Talisha twisting her ankle. All future tests to complete steps are done at a –1 for the rest of the chase. • A Critical Problem could mean a swarm of Lost Souls greets the heroes as they run forward. To avoid it they run down another tunnel which brings them back to the surface. Now they’ll have to proceed from the beginning. If they try to fight the swarm, they will almost certainly be overrun by their pursuers.

“I AM A CREATURE OF DARKNESS, BUT NOT A SAVAGE.” -THE DECEIVER

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SCENE FOUR: DON’T LET THE ELF DIE Dramatic Scene. The heroes have made it to the cavern that has become a magical nexus, but the Deceiver and its forces are on their heels. In this scene the Storm Knights must keep Talisha safe, so she can complete her ritual and then get to safety while the lurk who has been hunting her seeks to stop their escape. Immediately upon arriving in the nexus, Talisha moves to the center of the cavern, pulls out her scroll, and begins casting her ritual, only hesitating for a moment to call out, “You keep them off of me, this will only take a moment.”

THE DECEIVER’S FORCES On round one of this scene any enemies that completed Step D in the last scene are already present Any enemies who made it to Step D are scrambling up the embankment from the river. On round two any enemies that made it to Step D join the fight. On round three all enemies who made it to Step C join in. And so on. Once all of the enemies from the chase scene have entered the cavern, the flow of reinforcements slows down to 1 lurk per 2 heroes each round. • Lurks (1 per 2 Heroes): see page 79.

THE NEXUS The residual magic left over from when Talisha’s uncle expended all his power, and that of Lævateinn, infuses the cavern, creating the magical nexus. As such, all magic (besides Talisha’s ritual) used in the cavern automatically has its success level increased by one step. So a Standard Success is considered Good, a Good Success is considered Outstanding.

THE RITUAL The ritual will be complete after Talisha has successfully gathered up all of the magical energy

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the death of her mentor left in the nexus and her scrying spell has been cast. In total she needs to succeed at two Standard divination test and one Hard (DN 14) divination test. A Good Success reduces the difficulty of the next test by 2, and an Outstanding Success means two tests are completed with one check.

THE ESCAPE Once she has finished her ritual, she makes a Hard (DN 14) apportation test in order to open a portal the Storm Knights can escape through. She is still harnessing the power of the nexus and so is able to anchor the other end of the portal near the location of her divination or simply send them back to Stockholm, depending on the plans of the GM (she is not limited to the 50 meters that normally limits the spell). She either whispers to a hero who is nearby the location of the staff, or she escapes with them. Immediately after the gate is opened, however, the Deceiver jumps down from an overhead tunnel blocking the portal. In order to escape, the Storm Knights are going to have to go through it. Due to the effects of the nexus, Talisha can maintain the portal for multiple rounds, but it takes her action each round the conflict continues, leaving her Vulnerable. After five rounds the power of the nexus is expended, and the portal closes. She will warn the heroes when this is about to happen and sacrifice herself if needed to get the information she learned to the Delphi Council.

AFTERMATH The Storm Knights have escaped with the crucial information about the location of Lævateinn. Did Talisha make it out with the heroes? Does she wish to see this through? Perhaps she will lead the briefing for the Delphi Council agents to take on the task of stealing Lævateinn. Where is Lævateinn? What defenses does it hold? Why doesn’t Uthorion use it himself? All of these questions may lead to future adventures stemming from this story.

THREATS PRIESTS OF CORBA’AL Attributes: Charisma 8, Dexterity 9, Mind 11, Spirit 9, Strength 7 Skills: Conjuration 14, dodge 11, find 11, melee weapons 11, maneuver 11, taunt 11, trick 12 Move: 9; Tough: 7; Shock: 9; Wounds: — Equipment: Staff (Strength +2/9) Perks: Spellcaster (lightning, mage dark, shield) Possibilities: Rare (2) Special Abilities: — • Profound Sight: Thanks to a ritual, these priests can perceive potential “Seekers“ or Storm Knights.

THE DECEIVER This lurk appears to be just as deformed as the rest of its degenerate kin, but through some magical experimentation has gained a level of Intelligence and Charisma not replicated since. It has become quite the civilized and superior sophisticate. It likes to use the trick action to hinder its foes and lets its minions do the violent work.

Special Abilities: • Deceiver: When trick or maneuver are approved actions, The Deceiver may MultiTarget the entire party with no penalty. • Tricky: Whenever The Deceiver uses trick against a single opponent, a result of Stymied or Vulnerable automatically becomes Very Stymied or Very Vulnerable. • You There!: Whenever The Deceiver would normally take 1 or more Wounds, he can choose to take no Wounds by sacrificing any lurk within two meters, by making a Standard reality test. • Shadow Step: Stealth tests are Favored, and when attacking a Flat-Footed enemy The Deceiver can use Shadow Step to add +2 to the damage. • Rally: As a simple action The Deceiver can bolster its allies by spending a Possibility. This removes 2 Shock from all allies in the range of its voice.

Quote: “The hunt is on, my dogs! Give chase!” Attributes: Charisma 10, Dexterity 7, Mind 7, Spirit 7, Strength 6 Skills: Dodge 10, find 9, intimidation 8, maneuver 9, persuasion 13, reality 10, scholar 8, stealth 9, trick 12 Move: 7; Tough: 8 (2); Shock: 7; Wounds: 3 Equipment: Leather armor (+2), sword cane (Strength +2/8) Perks: Shadow Step, Rally, Prodigy Possibilities: 4

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COMMON THREATS

GOSPOG OF THE FIRST PLANTING Attributes: Charisma 5, Dexterity 7, Mind 7, Spirit 7, Strength 8 Skills: Dodge 8, find 8, maneuver 8, melee weapons 8, stealth 8, unarmed combat 10 Move: 7; Tough: 8; Shock: —; Wounds: — Equipment: — Perks: — Possibilities: Never Special Abilities: • Claws: Strength +2 (10) • Fear: Gospog are horrific amalgamations of a corpse and rotten plant matter. Test willpower or Spirit or become Very Stymied. • Mindless: Gospog are immune to intimidation and taunt interactions. • Relentless: Gospog ignore Shock. • Undead: Gospog are immune to poison and other effects that require breathing, eating, or other “living“ processes.

RAVAGON Attributes: Charisma 5, Dexterity 9, Mind 7, Spirit 11, Strength 12 Skills: Dodge 12, find 12, intimidation 13, maneuver 15, reality 12, stealth 12, taunt 10, tracking 12, trick 10, unarmed combat 15 Move: 9; Tough: 15 (3); Shock: 11; Wounds: 3 Equipment: — Perks: Vengeful Possibilities: Common (3). Ravagons without Possibilities don’t survive to adulthood. Special Abilities: • Armor: Thick hide +3. • Claws: Strength +2 (14). • Dread: When a ravagon is present Standard Scenes count as Dramatic Scenes instead. • Flight: Move 11 in the air.

AYSLE GOSPOG OF THE SECOND PLANTING Attributes: Charisma 5, Dexterity 9, Mind 7, Spirit 10, Strength 11 Skills: Dodge 11, find 8, maneuver 10, stealth 11, tracking 8, trick (10), unarmed combat 13

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Move: 9; Tough: 12 (1); Shock: —; Wounds: — Equipment: — Perks: — Possibilities: Never Special Abilities: • Armor: Dirt and grass +1. • Bite/Claws: Strength +2 (13) • Blood Sense: Tracking against a target becomes Favored once a gospog deals a Wound. • Fear: Gospog are horrific amalgamations of a corpse and rotten plant matter that emit a horrid shriek when encountered.Test willpower or Spirit or become Very Stymied. • Poison: If a gospog’s bite or claws deal damage exceeding the target’s Toughness, then a debilitating toxin is introduced to the target. While poisoned the victim suffers 1 Shock each round. • Mindless: Gospog are immune to intimidation and taunt interactions and telepathy powers. • Relentless: Gospog ignore Shock. • Undead: Gospog are immune to poison and other effects that require breathing, eating, or other “living“ processes.

AYSLE GOSPOG OF THE THIRD PLANTING Attributes: Charisma 5, Dexterity 10, Mind 8, Spirit 10, Strength 12 Skills: Dodge 11, find 8, maneuver (12), melee weapons 15, missile weapons 14, stealth 11, trick (13), unarmed combat 15 Move: 10; Tough: 15 (3); Shock: —; Wounds: 1 Equipment: Plate mail (Armor +3), longsword (Strength +3/15), darts (Strength +1/13, Range 5/10/15), may vary between gospog. Perks: Trademark Weapon (longsword) Possibilities: Never Special Abilities: • Bite/claws: Strength +2 (14) • Fear: Gospog are horrific amalgamations of a corpse and rotten plant matter that emit a horrid shriek when encountered. Test willpower or Spirit or become Very Stymied. • Mindless: Gospog are immune to intimidation and taunt interactions and telepathy powers. • Relentless: Gospog ignore Shock. • Undead: Gospog are immune to poison and

other effects that require breathing, eating, or other “living“ processes.

AYSLE GOSPOG OF THE FOURTH PLANTING Attributes: Charisma 5, Dexterity 10, Mind 7, Spirit 10, Strength 14 Skills: Dodge 13, find 8, maneuver (13), stealth 11, tracking 8, trick (13), unarmed combat 17 Move: 10; Tough: 16 (2); Shock: —; Wounds: 2 Equipment: — Perks: Sprinter Possibilities: Common (3) Special Abilities: • Armor: Thick flesh +2. • Bite/claws: Strength +2 (16) • Fear (-2): Gospog are horrific amalgamations of a corpse and rotten plant matter that emit a horrid shriek when encountered. Test willpower or Spirit at –2 or become Very Stymied. • Large: These beasts are more than 5 meters long and stand taller than 2 meters at the shoulder. Attackers gain +2 to attack rolls to hit, due to their size and bulk. • Mindless: Gospog are immune to intimidation and taunt interactions and telepathy powers. • Relentless: Gospog ignore Shock. • Tentacles: The creature’s lashing tentacles may target up to two foes, up to eight meters away, without suffering Multi-Target penalties. Tentacles default to a grappling attack, so a Standard hit deals Strength −2 (12), a Good hit deals the full 14 damage and Restrains a foe, and an Outstanding hit also Stymies the target. A gospog may Multi-Action to use both its Bite/ claws and its Tentacles in the same round. • Undead: Gospog are immune to poison and other effects that require breathing, eating, or other “living“ processes.

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BANDIT

GHILLIE

Attributes: Charisma 6, Dexterity 8, Mind 6, Spirit 6, Strength 7 Skills: Beast riding 9, dodge 9, find 7, maneuver 9, melee weapons 9, missile weapons 10, stealth 10, streetwise 7, taunt 7, trick 7 Move: 8; Tough: 8 (1); Shock: 6; Wounds: — Equipment: Leather armor (Armor +1), short bow (Damage 11, Range 10/25/40), staff (Strength +2/9), Perks: — Possibilities: Rare (2)

Attributes: Charisma 6, Dexterity 9, Mind 8, Spirit 12, Strength 15 Skills: Alteration 14, dodge 12, find 10, maneuver 10, trick (8), stealth 14, unarmed combat 14 Move: 12; Tough: 16 (1); Shock: 12; Wounds: 1 Equipment: — Perks: Spellcaster (dispel magic, disguise, slow) Possibilities: Rare (2) Special Abilities: • Armor: Bark +1. • Camouflage: Stealth tests by ghillies are Up so long as they are in forested areas. • Claws: Strength +2 (17)

Special Abilities: —

CHARYB Attributes: Charisma 4, Dexterity 9, Mind 5, Spirit 11, Strength 13 Skills: Dodge 12, find 7, intimidation 14, maneuver 10, missile weapons 12, taunt (9), trick (8), unarmed combat 12 Move: 9; Tough: 13; Shock: 11; Wounds: 1 Equipment: — Perks: — Possibilities: Never Special Abilities: • Drown: Any target Restrained by a charyb suffers drowning effects (free Strength test or suffer Fatigue) until released. • Fluid: Charybs gain +5 Toughness against any attack that doesn’t have a Blast radius. Likewise, an AP value on an attack adds to Toughness instead of eliminating Armor as it passes straight through. • Large:  Charybs are typically around five meters long as adults. Attackers gain +2 to attack rolls due to their size. • Swim: Move 12 in water. • Two Heads: Charybs are actually two elementals twisted together. During its turn it gains two separate actions. • Water Jet: A stream of water deals Damage 13, Range 10/20/30, Small Blast, and uses missile weapons to attack. A hit knocks the target back 1 meter for every 1 damage exceeding Toughness. A target knocked into a location where it may take damage or another effect may take a free Strength or Dexterity test to avoid moving into that location

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GHOST Attributes: Charisma 7, Dexterity 7, Mind 5, Spirit 10, Strength 5 Skills: Dodge 8, find 6, intimidation 12, maneuver 9, stealth 12, taunt 8, trick 8, unarmed combat 8 Move: 7; Tough: 5; Shock: 10; Wounds: — Equipment: ­­— Perks: — Possibilities: Never Special Abilities: • Cloak of Darkness: Ghosts gain a bonus to Toughness equal to the current Darkness penalty. • Disturbance: An upset ghost can pick up and hurl objects within a Large Blast, with the ghost at the center of the disturbance. This is an unarmed combat attack that deals Strength +1 (6) damage. If unattended weapons are within the disturbance their properties apply to the damage as well. • Ethereal: A ghost may move through walls and solid objects, and is immune to physical attacks unless the weapon is magical or has a property that allows it to affect ethereal beings. Magic, miracles, and psionic powers affect ethereal beings normally. • Fear: Upon first seeing a ghost a hero must test willpower or Spirit or become Very Stymied. • Undead: Ghosts are immune to effects that require breathing, eating, or other “living“ processes.

KNIGHT Attributes: Charisma 8, Dexterity 7, Mind 7, Spirit 8, Strength 10 Skills: Beast riding 10, dodge 8, find 7, intimidation 10, maneuver 8, melee weapons 11, taunt 9, trick 8, unarmed combat 10, willpower 10 Move: 7; Tough: 13 (3); Shock: 8; Wounds: — Equipment: Horse, plate mail armor (+3, Full Body, Fatigues), medium shield (+2 to defenses), longsword (Strength +3/13), lance (mount’s Strength +2/16, AP 2 when charging) Perks: Brute Possibilities: Rare (3) Special Abilities: —

LURKS Attributes: Charisma 5, Dexterity 7, Mind 5, Spirit 6, Strength 7 Skills: Dodge 9, maneuver 8, melee weapons 9, taunt 9, trick 9, unarmed combat 9, missile weapons 8 Move: 7; Tough: 9 (2); Shock: 6; Wounds: — Equipment: Leather armor (+2), mace (Strength +2/9), short bow (Damage 11, Range 10/25/40) Perks: Shadow Step Possibilities: Rare (2) Special Abilities: —

BETA CLEARANCE If the Storm Knights have reached Beta Clearance, a few adjustments can help keep these missions challenging. Where an encounter calls for gospog upgrade them by one planting, or add a single gospog two plantings above the rest. For other foes, add reality-rated leaders for each grouping, and up the number of Possiblities to five for them and any enemy that already has access to Possibility Energy. The overall leader of the group may gain Dread, Insidious, or even both. Mix in other Perks or special properties to keep the surprises coming. Don’t go too far. Sometimes it’s fine for a combat encounter to easy to give the Storm Knights the feeling that they’re major heroes. Save upgrading the enemies for Dramatic Scenes, or threats that should cause the group to worry!

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Index A

L

Abbot Gregory 18 Akureyri 53 Alfrun Jonsdottir 53

Lieutenant Robyn Maplehood 26 Loch Ericht 38 London 46 Lorelei 41 Lydur Mathiason 53

B Beta Clearance 79 British Museum 51 Brother Francis 13

C Captain Calwyn Thane 33 Captain Ibrahim Sharif 26 Cu Chulainn’s Education 32

E Elranna of House Garrick 33 Eternity Shards Albion 19 King John’s Circlet 25 The Golden Eagle 63

F Frere Jacques Touqeville 26

G

Malen’kiy Ivan 27 Maryan 27 Merry Men 27 Miracles Salt Suffering 67

N No Man’s Fort 43 Normandy 60

P Peltham Abbey 13 Perks Beloved by Fire 58 Pact of Allegiance 32 True Love’s Sight 39

S

I

Sherwood Forest 16 Sir Robert de Beauville 14 Stockholm 68 Surtamar 56

Isle of Skye 30 Isle of Wight 40

T

Great North Road 17

J Janet the Green 35

K Katabet, Chantress of Amun 49 Kirklees 17 Kirklees Priory 18

80

M

Talisha 71 The Fury Haline 62 The Gyre Carlin 39 The Signal Sword 45 Threats Aysle Gospog (Fourth Planting) 77 Aysle Gospog (Second Planting) 76 Aysle Gospog (Third Planting) 77 Bandit 78

Charcharias 66 Charcharias Shaman 66 Charyb 78 Crocodile Mummy 50 CyberSkimmer 64 Ghillie 78 Ghost 78 Giant Spider 25 Gospog of the First Planting 76 Knight 79 Knight Zombie 9 Lady Evernight 10 Lurk 79 Maelstrom 10 Nile Empire Shocktrooper 50 Priests of Corba’al 75 Professor Nefer 50 Ravagon 76 Scarbearer 33 Skeletal Warrior 11 Smoke the Obscurer 43, 45 Thane Lady Laqwyn 58 The Deceiver 75 The Gyre Carlin 38 War Troll 8 Three Crown Inn 21 Tower of London 5

THE DELPHI COUNCIL NEEDS YOU! Delphi Missions: Aysle is part of a series of adventures designed to enhance any Torg Eternity campaign. Each of the ten adventures inside is suitable for an evening of play, and may be dropped into an existing story or played on its own. These dangerous missions add opportunities and complications to the Storm Knights‘ lives. This product contains adventures for Alpha and Beta Clearance Storm Knights written by a host of returning Torg icons, including Bill Slavicsek, Greg Gorden, Ed Stark, and John Terra. Industry names like Steve Kenson, Simon Lucas, Eric Simon, and Danielle DeLisle join in to add their own spins to the high fantasy adventure of Aysle!

INSIDE YOU‘LL FIND: • Ten adventures, all set within different parts of the Aysle. • Great for a one night fill-in, or to extend an act that ends too early. • New foes to battle and magical treasure to win!

UlissesNorthAmerica.com

US82022PDF

This game requires the Torg Eternity Core Rules and Drama Deck to play.