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Count Chocula posted:I love how D&D's insistence on convoluted rules means that they need a whole page of weird explanations and numbers to explain "there's a gothic realm with twisted monsters your dudes can fight". The whole Alignments thing and just general... straightness of D&D works against the gothic setting, but somehow it also makes me like Ravenloft a bit 'cause at least they try. Like you, I'm glad that Ravenloft decided not compromise what it was trying to do by tying itself too closely to the D&D cosmology - it's just the fact that Ravenloft had to do so (along with most other D&D settings) makes we wonder what the point of having that overstructure even is (much less why certain nerds are so rabid about it).
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Feb 10, 2016 14:36
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How important was the exact shape of the cosmology to Eberron and the Forgotten Realms, though? If you used the Planescape model (Which everyone should because Planescape is the best D&D setting and therefore correct  ), is there anything you can't fit anymore?
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Feb 10, 2016 14:57
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Eberron has an entirely different set of planes that don't really match up with the Planescape model and aren't really alignment-based, for a start. Like Doluurh -could- be Carceri if you twist a bunch of things and squint, but not really. And some of alternate planar stuff is directly tied to setting backstory for one of the PC races. Also their entire afterlife stuff doesn't match up with the petitioners thing and it'd be weird. And it's a major setting element that the gods don't visibly manifest except for the Silver Flame, which doesn't really work with Planescape as written. unseenlibrarian fucked around with this message at 15:20 on Feb 10, 2016 |
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Feb 10, 2016 15:13
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 DRACULA UNREDACTED  Dracula Unredacted is the coolest campaign artifact I've ever seen.  The general structure of Dracula Unredacted is that of the full original text of Bram Stoker's Dracula. However, two things are different - the text has been changed (or, in-universe, the published text was changed), and there are notes. Three characters have left notes in the book, all visible here on the first page. The blue text is Van Sloan, the Edom agent who first began looking into the Dossier in 1940. The green text is Cushing, an MI6 agent who began his investigation into the Dossier in 1978. The red text is Hopkins, the modern analyst who gives the Dossier to the PCs before her disappearance/death. Every note is numbered (by Hopkins, as she states above) for reference. Every entry in the Director's Handbook that is referenced in the annotations here is indicated as such by the code HO1 (Hopkins note #1), VS2 (Van Sloan note #2), CU3 (Cushing note #3), etc.  The notes continue at a fairly steady pace through the entire book. This is the real start of the campaign - you drop this in the lap of your players, and let them pick it apart at their own pace. Let's take an example, to see how this all fits together.   Hopkins's handwriting is terrible, but thankfully all the annotations are selectable text. This one reads: quote:All still active. Burdett's changed to Coutt's in published version. Leutner now Leutner Fabrichen. K&B fled to Switzerland during WWII, reincorporated there. Follow the money. So, suppose the agents zero in on this - a possible money trail hinted at by Hopkins. So, they pick a name off the list, maybe Burdett's & Co., and now you need to know what they'll find. In the Director's Handbook, you go to the index of annotations, look up HO50, and find this:  Burdett's & Co. refers to Burdett's Private Bank. On page 143:  This section gives you what you need to know right away - what the agents will see when they go to Burdett's. Beyond that, it lists a possible Edom connection from the bank (and how to run a bank heist if necessary), plus a possible Dracula conspiracy connection. The latter is what we want, since it mentions note HO50 by code - turns out that Dracula wasn't keeping any money here, but he did have an interest in the bank as a research of England's power structures. Dracula has a spy in the bank, giving him access to every aristocratic family and government arm. Or maybe that's not it. There's several possible Dracula machinations that could be afoot here, so it's a matter of seeing where your players go, then giving them a clue towards one of them. I'm not going to go over all 400+ pages of Dracula Unredacted, but as I talk about specific points of interest, I'll also drop in some of the annotations in the book that refer to them. Next: Assumptions about the setting.
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Feb 10, 2016 15:24
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unseenlibrarian posted:Eberron has an entirely different set of planes that don't really match up with the Planescape model and aren't really alignment-based, for a start. Like Doluurh -could- be Carceri if you twist a bunch of things and squint, but not really. And some of alternate planar stuff is directly tied to setting backstory for one of the PC races. Clearly 5th Edition's cosmology needs to be returned to 2nd/3rd Edition's, all published settings must be standardized accordingly, and anything that does not fit must be removed in the name of consistency. Either that or I need to accept that things have changed and I'm a grognard 
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Feb 10, 2016 15:41
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Kavak posted:How important was the exact shape of the cosmology to Eberron and the Forgotten Realms, though? If you used the Planescape model (Which everyone should because Planescape is the best D&D setting and therefore correct Bear in mind separating the Realms from the Great Wheel was sometime that happened in 3e; when Planescape was being published, Toril was still part of the Great Wheel cosmology and the two settings had a lot of crossover. So as far as the Realms goes, it's not a big deal. You can find lots of old setting material that presumes Toril and Sigil are part of the same meta-setting.
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Feb 10, 2016 15:43
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Kavak posted:Clearly 5th Edition's cosmology needs to be returned to 2nd/3rd Edition's, all published settings must be standardized accordingly, and anything that does not fit must be removed in the name of consistency. Luckily, homogenizing everything is an explicit 5E goal and there's no sign of Eberron in 5th, it was a 3.x/4E setting. It's okay, you're WOTC's target market. unseenlibrarian fucked around with this message at 15:52 on Feb 10, 2016 |
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Feb 10, 2016 15:50
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unseenlibrarian posted:Eberron has an entirely different set of planes that don't really match up with the Planescape model and aren't really alignment-based, for a start. Like Doluurh -could- be Carceri if you twist a bunch of things and squint, but not really. And some of alternate planar stuff is directly tied to setting backstory for one of the PC races. Also, Eberron's planes orbited the plane of Eberron itself, and weird things tend to happen when the planes brush closely enough to Eberron that they become coterminous, bleeding the effects of the other plane into Eberron until the plane passes back out of alignment. Eberron likewise makes it explicit that clerics and paladins and whatnot derive their power from sheer force of belief: the Silver Flame may or may not actually be divine, but people have built a religion around it and there are people who believe in it so completely that they gain divine spells. The Blood of Vol is a non-deistic religion that's not unlike some forms of Buddhism with extra undead, but again some people believe in it to the extent that they can cast divine spells from it. Likewise, demons in Eberron aren't extraplanar at all and are the original inhabitants of the plane of Eberron before the dragons overthrew them and imprisoned their leaders. No traditional Dukes of Hell here: the Lords of Dust imprisoned deep beneath the surface of the Demon Wastes are rakshasa lords. Eberron is different and weird and 3.5E Eberron is still my favorite tabletop RPG. No attempt was ever made, to my knowledge, to integrate Eberron into the wider DnD cosmology.
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Feb 10, 2016 15:54
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Alien Rope Burn posted:Bear in mind separating the Realms from the Great Wheel was sometime that happened in 3e; when Planescape was being published, Toril was still part of the Great Wheel cosmology and the two settings had a lot of crossover. They seperated it so little that I wonder if WotC considered reviving Planescape for 3rd Edition initially. unseenlibrarian posted:Luckily, homogenizing everything is an explicit 5E goal and there's no sign of Eberron in 5th, it was a 3.x/4E setting. It's okay, you're WOTC's target market. Yeah, but it's not the right kind of homogenization. EDIT: Misread a date Kavak fucked around with this message at 16:39 on Feb 10, 2016 |
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Feb 10, 2016 15:56
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RocknRollaAyatollah posted:I imagine it could be cool if the writers just wrote about the setting in a way that let the setting stand on its own and went full on Castlevania, Ghouls n'Ghosts, Demon/Dark Souls, or Bloodborne. I think market trends have shown you can do a horror RPG without it being full on 90's White Wolf. That's the glyph for Wolf overlaid over it self to represent them being "Born" from Fenris. It looks a lot less out of place in black and white and next to the other tribal glyphs. In red and repeated over and over again it's just...  Why did they do that for the german copy? The english versions had cut-outs on the front covers in the shape of the tribal glyphs so you could see the first page of the intro comic underneath. unseenlibrarian posted:Eberron has an entirely different set of planes that don't really match up with the Planescape model and aren't really alignment-based, for a start. Like Doluurh -could- be Carceri if you twist a bunch of things and squint, but not really. And some of alternate planar stuff is directly tied to setting backstory for one of the PC races. Some of them have alignment components it's just that beyond Davani and Kythri there isn't a "Plane of Good" or "plane of Evil" one note thing.. Davani, the perfect Order is Law aligned, Fernia, Xoriat, and Risia are mildly evil, To say Kythri is chaos aligned is an understatement, Shavarath's alignment changes depending on who's winning in the local area. Syrania is strongly good,
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Feb 10, 2016 16:04
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Count Chocula posted:It's so beautiful! Oh yeah, and it seems to play pretty well too. If you've got Tabletop Simulator there's a mod to let you play it on that. Probably my favorite part is that it's got almost every significant character in the series except for the two N64 Castlevania's. Those they skipped entirely.
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Feb 10, 2016 16:15
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Kurieg posted:Why did they do that for the german copy? The english versions had cut-outs on the front covers in the shape of the tribal glyphs so you could see the first page of the intro comic underneath. Probably just practical reasons, the German publisher may not have been working with a printer that had the ability to do die-cut covers, or it may have just been too expensive. That design is a mistake on either side of the pond, though.
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Feb 10, 2016 16:23
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Alien Rope Burn posted:Probably just practical reasons, the German publisher may not have been working with a printer that had the ability to do die-cut covers, or it may have just been too expensive. Honestly, considering that their 1st ed portrayal was edgelord neo-nazis it was probably at least somewhat intentional. They're still probably one of my favorite revised tribes because of how far they move away from their unfortunate starting point. Unlike the Fianna or Wendigo 
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Feb 10, 2016 16:35
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Superiors: Zadkiel The world is harsh; I will give you solace. Zadkiel, Archangel of Protection is a Cherub who once served Flowers, and while one might believe her Choir got her her Word, it was in fact her love for humanity. She wants to Protect humanity in all ways - their bodies, souls, laws and creations, everything that makes them more than animals. It's not true protection if all you get is survival - even an Impudite can do that. Zadkiel sits right between the peace and war factions. She spreads herself thin, and expects her angels to do likewise. She works with other Words and tries to fill the gaps in their perspectives. She is the ehield of Flowers, able to shove away their foes. She is the fortifications and the medics ofr War. She is important, but more likely to support than to claim her own niche. She is heavily involved in the lands of Islam, and where other Archangels left the Islanic nations to Gabriel and Khalid, Zadkiel saw a world in need of her. She sought out Khalid and, whether or not she found him, she returned a convert to Islam. The Quran says that all who turn to the true religion will be protected, and Zadkiel tries to provide that protection. She hasn't embraced the trappings of Islam the way Khalid has, and she prefers a female vessel, but she often appears in chador, smelling of roses and cinnamon and bearing henna tattoos on her face. She has also taken the form of comforting mothers, lady firefighters and tired cops. Her hands are strong and gentle, no matter what she's doing with them. Her angels protect the weak, innocent and deserving. She doesn't demand they be Muslim, only that they be willing to give their lives to save humans. it is dissonant for anges lf of Protection to refuse to protect any mortal who is not irrevocably damned. Hellsworn, sorcerers and those who cause harm to others are all protentially targets, but even then, it's a good idea to err on the side of salvation. Every life is precious, so having to choose which mortals to rescue can cause dissonance.  Seraphim of Protection cause humans to be more talkative around them. To remain silent in their presence requires a Will roll, but you can choose not to resist. When the Seraphim hear a human engage in self-deception, they also automatically recognize it and know why the human deceives themselves. This portion is restricted to Seraphim only. Cherubim of Protection either hcoose or are assigned a particular human they must protect at all times. Any resonance rolls for that human are automaticalley CD 6. They may attune to other objects or humans normally. Cherubim of Protection are also forbidden from using their assigned human as a servant. Ofanim of Protection triple the benefits of a movement-oriented resonance roll, but only when rescuing humans or seeking help. Elohim of Protection may tell at a glance or touch if a human is intent on self-destruction. When resonating these people, the CD is treated as an automatic 6. Malakim of Protection cannot be stunned or fall unconscious in battle until their vessels die or they hit 0 Mind HP. Bright Lilim of Protection can automatically sense a Need to be protected with touch or eye contact, but only from the greatest danger perceived by the target. Kyriotates of Protection gain no dissonance if a host is damaged (but not killed) during an attempt to rescue a human from danger. They gain dissonance normally in any other situation. Mercurians of Protection get +2 Charisma when dealing with humans, to a max of +5. Aura of Divinity allows you to create an immobile ten-foot sphere of divine protection around yourself for 4 Essence and a round of concentration. No demon or being of ill intent may pass the barrier by any means, though beings of good will can enter or exit freely. The Aura provides armor against physical attacks and a bonus to resist non-physical attacks. The armor or bonus is equal to double your Forces in the appropriate realm for the attack. The aura lasts until you leave its area, are soul-killed, get sent into Limbo or are sent to your Heart and enter Trauma. No attack may break it, however, no matter how powerful. Bodyguard allows you to blend into the background behind a chosen individual, requiring a Perception roll to notice your presence at all. People automatically avoid you without realizing it. This takes only a minute of concentration to use, ending when you create Disturbance, call attention to yourself or can no longer your subject. Any aggressive act, evne carrying a weapon, will end the effect, however. Anyone that does spot you can attack you without penalty, and you do not fool mechanical or electronic sensors or cameras. Succor allows you to touch someone and stop any pain they feel for (Corporeal Forces) hours. This includes yourself. Vassals of Protection can sense evil intent with a Perception roll, with a bonus of (Celestial Forces). CD 1 just tells you danger's nearby, while CD 6 will point you at the person with the evil intent. Friends of the Guard can sense humans in need of protection in the same way. Masters of the Watch, when using either of the above powers, always know the target - the human in need or potential attacker - on sight. Zadkiel offers no higher Distinctions. Zadkiel can teach Numinous: Corpus Wings, the Songs of Harmony, shields, Solace, Seals and Laughter. She knows but does not often teach the Songs of Correspondence, Fruition and Pestilence. Zadkiel wants to protect all of Heaven, and she tries to be friendly to everyone. Some Archangels rebuff her and consider her goals at odds to their own, however. Zadkiel tends to find this a personal insult, even though she tries to remind herself that Allah chose each Archangel to serve. She considers herself allied to Novalis, Gabriel, Marc and Yves, though only Novalis returns this feeling. She is associationed with everyone else, except for David, Jean and Jordi, whom she is neutral to. Blandine, Gabriel and Laurence consider themselves associated with her, and everyone else but Jean considers themselves neutral to her. Jean is hostile to Zadkiel. Rites: 1. Spend 2 hours tending to a human in need. 2. Rescue an innocent human from mortal danger. Expanded Rites: 1. Spend 4 hours on watch or guard duty. 2. Spend 1 hour teaching someone self-defense. 3. Slay a demon threatening or exploiting a human. 4. For 3 Essence, rescue a cop or other public defender from mortal danger. Common Protection Malakim Oaths: 1. Never allow a righteous human to come to harm, when it is my choice. 2. Never slay a human, except in direct defense of another human's life. 3. Any of the common oaths of Faith. 4. Never abandon those under my protection, for any reason. 5. Give freely to those in need, regardless of my own needs or desires. 6. Always aid the unjustly persecuted, even my enemies. 7. Slay or bring to justice any who murder a human under my protection. 8. Never use terror or threats to gain my ends. 9. Never raise my voice in anger. Zadkiel insists that any oaths beyond the four required must be proposed to her beforehand.  Zadkiel has a base invocation TN of 3, +2 for any roll if you are in imminent need of protection, +1 for an alarm such as a burglar or smoke alarm, +2 for a shield of some kind, +3 for a suit of armor, +4 for a fortification made to protect the forces of good, +5 for a mother protecting her young, and +6 for someone giving their life to protect another. Zadkiel believes that in human hearts, the first solace, protection and love is a mother. That is the ideal, and the core of her soul. The mother bear protects cubs with ferocity and power, and for Zadkiel, humanity is her cub. The mother human sings to her children, raises them in their culture and tries to make the world a better place for them. Zadkiel sees herself as the 'mother' to all humanity. Some of this is certainly Novalis' influence, and Flowers has many resonances with feminine principles...and Zadkiel was a Cherub pf Flowers, meant to take on the pains of humans in their stead. But some is her own burning idealism. If Khalid can be the Father of Faith, she will be the Mother whose Protection allows faith to grow. Many humans and even some angels expect her to be intimidating, a terrifying warrior. What they see, however, depends on what they need to feel safe. She prefers a smiling brown-skinned woman in a hijab, a laughing black woman in a tignon, or a slightly chubby pale woman with a kerchief and a plate of pie. She loves to hear and tell stories and will offer her shoulder or a hug to any who need it. Zadkiel was made as a reliever, and she chose to be a Cherub. Her earliest memories are faded some, but she sometimes speaks of the death of Oannes and the trial of Michael as though she was present, and the Christ mystery as if it were recent when she was new. She fledged around 1500 BC, sent to a set of villages in Italy some fifteen miles from the Tiber. According to Zadkiel, Romulus and Remus were real people, rescued by a shepherd and his promiscuous 'wolf-bitch' wife, not Zadkiel in a vessel, as she would like to make clear. She was the one who made sure the Rape of the Sabine Women ended more happily than it might have and spread peace and reconciliation rather than stife. (Of course, Zadkiel is known to slightly embellish her storis, and between that and the vagaries of memory, she is a less reliable narrator than you might hope, even in angelic.) PReventing a war based on the abduction of another tribe's daughters impressed Novalis, so she sponsored Zadkiel as the Angel of Protection. Around 600 BC, the Etruscans conquered Rome, and Zadkiel had her hands full trying to moderate excesses without interfering too often in ways Novalis would allow. If demons got involved, of course, the kid gloves came off, and Zadkiel claims there were plenty of demons. The Romans benefited from Etruscan and Greek culture and technology but kept most of their existing social structure. In 509 BC, the Romans drove out the Etruscan king and founded a Senate, becoming a Republic. Shortly afterwards, Zadkiel's efforts were deemed useful enough to not be restricted to Rome, and in 500, she was named an Archangel. She immediately set herself and her angels, most of whom were Flowers volunteers, to spreading the concept of protecing people and their cultures. She began to try to protect her fellow Archangels from the shortcomings of their own Words and policies. To the warlike, she sent medics and counselors, and to the peaceful, she sent guardians of defenders. This set the pattern of spreading herself thin that has continued even today.  Around 200 BC, Uriel took over the job of patron of Rome. Zadkiel was overworked and had little time to spend there, but she was rather resentful of that. Some of her angels even suggest that Uriel's tactics eventually produced the very corruption his Word should have prevented. Then came the trials of Gabriel and URiel. Zadkiel understood that predatory ethereals were something to protect against, but she never liked Uriel's methods. More important to her, however, was the way Khalid withdrew from Heaven, and in the five years between that and his formal investiture as Archangel of Faith, Zadkiel searched for him. Whether she found her or not, she began to say more and more good things about Islam and publically proclaimed her official support for it in 800 AD, beginning to manifest primarily in Middle Eastern vessels and outfits. For some reason this terrified demons more than her past forms. Since then, Zadkiel's career has mostly followed the same lines. She tries to protect human lives and cultures, and to shore up the 'weak spots' in her fellow Archangels. She scondarily promotes her own Word, teaching the ideas of charity, self-sacrifice and care for others. Though she is not one of Heaven's front line generals, her utility has never been questioned.  Zadkiel is a Cherub, a creature of love and protection. She was raised in Flowers, and she knows that forgiveness and mercy are blessings. When dealing with her angels or humans that have not lost their souls to Hell, she is patient and kind, even with those who have failed or sinned, if htey are sincere in repentance. However, her generosity and forgiveness does not apply to Hell, the clearest of her breaks with Flowers. Hellspawn are not children to be mothered, but threats to be warded against, and when they actually harm humans, her temper is extremely short. She believes humans can never achieve their true potential if they are not secure, and so long as there are threats to peace, security is impossible. Peace and harmony are great ideals, but useless without action. Unfortunately, Zadkiel's lack of discrimination is a great weakness as a commander. Anyone who threatens humanity must face Allah's justice, and so she can easily spred herself far too thin. She's learned painfully that she must conserve her forces and keep her defenses strong, but she still speaks of heating up the jihad against Hell. Zadkiel predates both Christianity and Islam, and her core values were learned in pagan Rome, long before she went looking for Khalid. Converting to Islam did not change her personality or mindset. Rather, it resonated with what she already believed: that for those mortals who would be good, angels will be guardians. Unlike Khalid, Zadkiel does not feel it necessary to manifest as male. Female is not her gender or sex, but a manifestation of her maternal nature, her drive to protect without hesitation and love without reserve. She sees no need to tae a male vessel just because the angelic phrase 'angels do not have true genders, nor breed like ethereal spirits do with humans' was unfortunately translated into Arabic. Whether or not Gabriel spoke angelic in dictating the Quren is unknown, and Gabriel will not say, but Zadkiel assumes it must be so, as otherwise Gabriel would not take female form. She still muses on certain passages, like suras 37, 43 and 53, but she feels Allaha could not have created Novalis, or through Novalis, Zadkiel herself, with natures that resonate with feminine principles if He did not approve. Naturally, she's debated this matter with blessed souls, angels of Faith and Kahlid himself. For Khalid's argument that female vessels confuse humans, she has mustered several rebuttals to be covered later. She spends even less time on doctrinal issues than Khalid, and doesnt' feel compelled to focus all her attention on Muslims. Allah is merciful, and so long as one sincerely believes and does good - not hard for a Cherub - then they shall have their reward and will neither fear nor grieve. From the outside, it may seem she takes her religion lightly, and in some ways she does. However, she is passionate about what she sees as its heart: respect God, love Him and do His will as best you can, and He will care for you. Next time: Protector
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Feb 10, 2016 16:36
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oh god not the Zadkiel writeup
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Feb 10, 2016 19:38
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Hypocrisy posted:I like Ravenloft a lot but stuff like horror checks always annoyed me. I understood the 2E Fear and Horror checks (and the attached Madness rules) as an attempt at genre emulation, but at the same time, I completely agree. They came off a little like old-school level drain, something to frighten and drive the players rather than their characters. Wanky poo poo like bone golems, that would kill you stone dead if you blew both checks, didn't help matters at all.
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Feb 10, 2016 19:44
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I'm thinking of abandoning my WHFRP thing since I haven't updated in months and taking a stab at the cursed thing that is Ironclaw (We've had how many attempts at reviewing it now?) This is inspired by my running 2e for the first time and discovering it is rad as hell. Sanguine really does a good job with crunchy systems.
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Feb 10, 2016 19:50
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Superiors: Zadkiel - Wait why are Tuareg women inherently scary? Humans are Zadkiel's top priority. She works constantly to protect and support them, and to encourage them to protect others. Her goal is a day when Heaven's help is not needed, as all humans will be ready to help each other. Unfortunately, the needs of humans in danger and the angels fighting the War distract her. It's more important to Zadkiel that she and her angels be protectors than to spread Protection among others. Only when humans and angels don't need her help can Zadkiel allocate her very limited resources to humans in protective services, like ambulance drivers, cops and firefighters. Zadkiel has mixed feelings about the modern era. Medicine and research preserve life and culture, but religious charity is tainted by scandal and cynicism, and self-defense can become an arms race or cause gangs, where she has conflicting views with David. The nuclear threat especially is a heavy one for Zadkiel - that potential to destroy frightens her. Zadkiel doesn't technically care about the War. If the demons stayed in Hell, she would ignore them. She might even tolerate them. However, the flip side of Cherubic love is Cheruvic vengeance. She embraces all of humanity, and revenge for the victimized is part of Protection for survivors. It's for the sake of humanity, not good, that Zadkiel fights. She wants all predatory demons removed from Earth, preferably dead, but not at the expense of humans or Heaven's goals. Zadkiel only authorizes attacks on demons if it won't weaken Protection's defensive work elsewhere or endanger more humans than it protects. Too often, angels of Protection have to allow a demon to go free and not risk a fight. Zadkiel hates it, but accepts the other options as worse.   When provoked, Zadkiel is a patient and implacable foe. If it takes a century to get a retaliatory strike in, she'll wait a century and then do it swiftly and thoroughly. Her opportunities to retaliate are too rare to accept less than total victory. Her patience isn't infinite, however, and sometimes only Laurence's direct orders have stayed her hand when those she protects are killed. While Zadkiel is usually in favor of attacking demons, her concern for humans keeps her from being a true member of the war faction. She knows any decisive final battle would destroy Earth as it is currently known. Even if Earth survives Armageddon, it will cause great death and suffering, and Zadkiel wants to spare humanity for as long as possible. Ideally, she wants the War to be more about protect human souls from demonic raiders, and have no humans present for that final battle.  Zadkiel is the Proector. She focuses on humans, but also protects her fellow angels. Both on Earth and in Heaven, she and her anels offer rest, sympathy and help in whatever way they can. Most importantly, Zadkiel keeps some great warriors among her angels, to rescue innocents from danger. Her goal is simple: protect those in need. They must both feel and be secure. People should protect each other, not from fear or self-interest, but from love and concern. If all beings accepted this in their hearts, the Word of Protection would have complete victory. Politically, Zadkiel is the middle of everything. She supports stronger defense and overwhelming retaliation, but only if humans aren't endangered. When demons are not involved, she sides with Novalis in calling for forgiveness and love. Naturally, neither extreme quite likes that. Zadkiel tries to maintain good relations with everyone, keeping open to compromise or favor exchange. She lacks a lot of power, but her voice sometiems shifts the balance and on occasion she can even find an acceptable compromise for everyone. She tries to see the best in all of the Archangels, though they rarely return the favor. Superior Opinions posted:Blandine: Zadkiel's Word is vital to humanity. Frightened sleepers forget to dream.      Zadkiel was born after the Fall and has no memories of Lucifer. Her idea of him is simple: How could he have been so deluded as to think angels were more important than God's children? Humans, to Zadkiel, are the children of God, blessed with greater potential in all things. She has no doubts in God or His plan, for that would mean doubting humanity, and she cannot even conceive of that. Zadkiel does not pretend to understand either God or Lucifer. She tries to obey God's will in all things, as she believes this does the greatest good for humanity. Lucifer alternates between her total hatred and deep regret, for he could have done the most good for humans and now works to ultimately destroy them.  Next time: Rumors abound
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Feb 10, 2016 20:41
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Night10194 posted:I'm thinking of abandoning my WHFRP thing since I haven't updated in months and taking a stab at the cursed thing that is Ironclaw (We've had how many attempts at reviewing it now?) It's at inklesspen twice, whatever that's worth. I saw it just now while looking for Play Dirty for a friend.
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Feb 10, 2016 20:48
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Fossilized Rappy posted:Chapter 3 is literally titled "Religion", and is all about the subject. So it's not too far off in the future. Excellent. Let's hope it makes sense. RocknRollaAyatollah posted:The German version of the core book is on DriveThru under the German company that licensed most of White Wolf's stuff. They also did Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay so I imagine the horror, characters getting massacred niche was already covered for them. I never read any of the books but they seemed pretty good as far as D20 stuff went. Feder & Schwert was also the distributor of Dungeons & Dragons, so it makes sense for them to have someting that's from both. (And then Wizards pulled the plug after the release of the first three 4e books. That's just sad.) Count Chocula posted:What's the most Castlevania RPG? Hey, that's would actually prett darn swe... LornMarkus posted:Probably my favorite part is that it's got almost every significant character in the series except for the two N64 Castlevania's. Those they skipped entirely. Dammit. It's just not enough versimiltude for me if I can't play as a bare-chested werewolf dude. Or as a knight with guns. Cythereal posted:Eberron likewise makes it explicit that clerics and paladins and whatnot derive their power from sheer force of belief: the Silver Flame may or may not actually be divine, but people have built a religion around it and there are people who believe in it so completely that they gain divine spells. The Blood of Vol is a non-deistic religion that's not unlike some forms of Buddhism with extra undead, but again some people believe in it to the extent that they can cast divine spells from it. I think I shall use that as an answer to my pet peeve "Who the hell grants spells to Rangers, and why can't they fall?". Kavak posted:Clearly 5th Edition's cosmology needs to be returned to 2nd/3rd Edition's, all published settings must be standardized accordingly, and anything that does not fit must be removed in the name of consistency. Does it even matter if the cosmology is unified or not? Lower-level adventurers won't care, and ultra-high-epic adventurers can probably have it handwaved by saying "There multiple bubbles of existance, with their own planes and stuff. Now get on your Spelljammer ship and set sail!" ProfessorProf posted:
This owns. I can already see this concept apply to other works of classic horror literature (aka "What if Frankenstein's Monster survived and created his own intelligence agency?") Doresh fucked around with this message at 20:56 on Feb 10, 2016 |
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Feb 10, 2016 20:50
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Doresh posted:Dammit. It's just not enough versimiltude for me if I can't play as a bare-chested werewolf dude. Or as a knight with guns. Actually, funny story, there was a . . . GBA Castlevania, I believe, called Circle of the Moon that also featured a werewolf protagonist and he was included in their character builds.
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Feb 10, 2016 21:30
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LornMarkus posted:Actually, funny story, there was a . . . GBA Castlevania, I believe, called Circle of the Moon that also featured a werewolf protagonist and he was included in their character builds. Really? I thought that one only had an oldschool Belmont dude. And of course does he make an appearance. It's from one of the good Castlevania games. (Does this bias only apply to the N64 games, or 3D ones in general? Because playing as a pumpkin dude or having a yeti combat buddy sounds neat.)
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Feb 10, 2016 21:50
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quote:This owns. I can already see this concept apply to other works of classic horror literature (aka "What if Frankenstein's Monster survived and created his own intelligence agency?") You're going to want to read League of Extrodinary Gentlemen, then. If for some reason you only read fictional dossiers that rewrite classic literature, start with The Black Dossier. Alan Moore even has the hubris to apply that treatment to Shakespeare, featuring one of James Bond's ancestors. And it goes on to do things like a William S Burroughs/Fu Manchu mash-up. Could you just read The Dracula Dossier and it's related materials on its own, without playing the game? Tracking down all the footnotes and such could be fun in a House of Leaves way, and might get me to actually finish reading Dracula.
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Feb 10, 2016 22:02
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Doresh posted:Really? I thought that one only had an oldschool Belmont dude. Just the N64, it does in fact have Pumpkin and the main from Curse of Darkness as well as the Belmont progenitor from Lament of Innocence.
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Feb 10, 2016 22:11
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Fighting evil by moonlight Finding love by daylight Never running from a real fight! She is the one named Zadkiel.
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Feb 10, 2016 22:16
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Count Chocula posted:Could you just read The Dracula Dossier and it's related materials on its own, without playing the game? Tracking down all the footnotes and such could be fun in a House of Leaves way, and might get me to actually finish reading Dracula.
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Feb 10, 2016 22:24
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LornMarkus posted:Just the N64, it does in fact have Pumpkin and the main from Curse of Darkness as well as the Belmont progenitor from Lament of Innocence. Excellent. I love LoI Belmont and his "I just woke up and forgot to wash my hair" style. Gotta get this ASAP. Simian_Prime posted:Fighting evil by moonlight Are there any magical girl RPGs around that aren't in some way Madoka-ish? Or do I have to make a Pretty: The Curing myself?
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Feb 10, 2016 22:30
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Doresh posted:Excellent. I love LoI Belmont and his "I just woke up and forgot to wash my hair" style. Gotta get this ASAP. Yeah, let me see here cause the full list is awesome and I don't think it's on that site. Julius Belmont, Soma Cruz and Yoko Belnades - Aria and Dawn of Sorrow Charlotte Aulin and Jonathan Morris - Portrait of Ruin Eric Lacarde - Bloodlines Nathan Graves - Circle of the Moon Shanoa - Order of Ecclesia Alucard - if you don't know you don't care about Castlevania Richter Belmont and Maria Renard - Rondo of Blood Simon Belmont - Castlevania Juste Belmont - Harmony of Dissonance Leon Belmont and Pumpkin - Lament of Innocence Sonia Belmont - Legends (it was og Gameboy) Trevor Belmont (who also covers Grant and Sypha) - Castlevania III Hector - Curse of Darkness Cornell - Legacy of Darkness Edit: Ah and looking at it now I was wrong, Cornell is the werewolf guy from the second 64 Castlevania. So it was just Castlevania 64 that they shafted. LornMarkus fucked around with this message at 23:13 on Feb 10, 2016 |
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Feb 10, 2016 23:10
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Sweet. Glad to see that Cornell is there. He's to unique of a concept to pass on. And is this adult Symphony of the Night Maria, or underaged Maria? Because the latter attacks with a pair of doves.
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Feb 10, 2016 23:19
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Doresh posted:Sweet. Glad to see that Cornell is there. He's to unique of a concept to pass on. Doves and an upgrade to Owls.  Figure in the Tabletop Sim game is the adult version and she's actually pretty badass because her Doves and Owls give her the base ability to reroll all her successful hits for extra damage.
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Feb 10, 2016 23:28
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LornMarkus posted:Doves and an upgrade to Owls. Wonderful. And her being badass is no surprise. Using her in Rondo of Blood is like playing on Easy Mode. She's a smaller target than Richter, more agile than him, and her Doves come out fast.
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Feb 10, 2016 23:37
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Doresh posted:Are there any magical girl RPGs around that aren't in some way Madoka-ish? Or do I have to make a Pretty: The Curing myself? I would play a Happy Magical Girl RPG so hard. I like Madoka, but it's too drat gloomy for a RPG.
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Feb 10, 2016 23:39
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I haven't played it myself, but WOD has the fanmade Princess: The Hopeful.
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Feb 10, 2016 23:41
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Superiors: Zadkiel - Protect Your Neck While Zadkiel is quite a nice angel, there's still cynics out there - Hell likes to spread rumors, and Zadkiel is no exception. Even some angels do not believe that she was always dedicated to the ideals of Protection, or even of Flowers. Angels are fallible too, after all. Servitors of stricter Archangels often assume Zadkiel was as lax and freewheeling as any other angel of Flowers, and at one time that was probably true. Those of a more romantic bent claim she lost a beloeved human lover, mate or child to demons or friendly fire, that she fought Novalis about her pacifistic policies (perhaps because of that), and that she may even have run away and wandered the Earth, possibly pregnant, Outcast and/or Fallen. A few stories, somehow still alive in Heaven, even claim she was a Cherub of Stone who Fell and was Redeemed by Flowers. (This is obviously untrue.) Some angels believe that Zadkiel is soft on Lilim because of blackmail by Lilith, but others note that Dominic would quickly discover that. In Hell, it is popular rumor that Zadkiel has had children with humans, and it's also public knowledge that she wants to recruit any Lilim who seem Redeemable. Some demons and even a few angels believe that at some point in the past, Zadkiel ahd an affair with Lilith and, from that union, a Free Lilim was made from their comingled Forces, but Zadkiel does not know which one. No one knows for sure, but most celestials believe Zadkiel must have some special human she is attuned to, like all other Cherubim of Protection. Zadkiel refuses to discuss the topic with most, but Novalis, Yves or Laurence might all know. Any such human would presumably be of vital importance to Heaven and the War...but rumors keep going around that it's actually for personal reasons - her descendants, say, either real or adopted. Some say that she attunes to human lovers, but others say she wants to be the mother of humanity, not individual humans. Zadkiel and her angels consider protecting humans more important than the secrecy of the War, and there's always stories about mysterious strangers that show up, help and then vanish. Not all of these are about angels of Protection, but Zadkiel doesn't discourage that kind of thing. Thus, every decade r so, some team of angels is set out to look into these events and do damage control. It's one of the areas where Zadkiel and Khalid disagree intensely that has nothing to do with religious interpretations. If there is ever a leak big enough, Zadkiel might find herself on trial for revealing the War, which may be why some demons try to do good deeds every so often.  Zadkiel variations! Mommy Dearest is a Zadkiel who is still angry at Novalis and periodically takes it out on her angels. She is shrewish and demanding, and she is not above using guilt and terror against them. She doesn't hold humans to the same standard - they don't know any better when they fail, and when they succeed, she ratns about how her angels should be more like them. She also knows there will be no need of her if there is no danger, which may be why she allows demons to flee. Dear Sweet Mumskiel is a bubbly, optimistic and saccharine angel, who lives in a world of her own, oblivious to the wrongs her angels or the humans might do. She appears as a cheerufl grandma, a bit chubby from baking and eating apple pie, who spoils humans rotten and smothers them with affection. Jewish Mother Zadkiel is not a Muslim, but has been a Jew ever since the covenant with the Jewish people was made, albeit from the side of the angels. The GM has to figure out what was doing during WW2 and what she plans to do now about Israel. She might have needed to be forcibly restrained to keep from blowing up all the Nazis or Palestinians and thus causing an unsanctioned Armageddon, or she might have self-retraint but despair, but either way it's not easy for her. Still, she never stops trying to protect the Jews. Also she might be a stereotypical Jewish mother. The Castle of Protection, Zadkiel's Cathedral, is set on the edge of Heaven, part of the defensive perimeter around the Glade of Novalis. It is made of four concentric walls coverd in towers that connect to Heaven's greater defensive cordon and are covered in firing slits guarded by her best warriors. Inside, however, the inner keep radiates serenity and security. The central hall, known as the Living Room, is warm and inviting, with thick carpets and delicious smells. Zadkiel's angels and the human souls that follow her Word staff the castle with the aid of some dog souls and a few geese. Aetius manages the walls and Jane Addams helps find mortals in need, but most of Zadkiel's servants are on Earth unless resting or recuperating. Their Hearts are stored in the castle keep, next to Zadkiel's office. She is often in the office, waiting to hear petitions. While her office shows her affinity for Islam, she does not impose it on her angels. She and those of them that are Muslim instead worship at Khalid's Mosque, frequently in full abaya. Most of the corridors in the Castle lead to the Living Room, one of the most popular places for Proectors to rest, relax and hang out in Heaven. No matter how many angels and souls gather, it always feels cozy. When many angels gather, it is a luxurious lobby. When only a handful, it is small. Portraits of Zadkiel's angels line the walls, and easy chairs and sofas abound, but there is no viewscreen. Zadkiel believes that comfort means people, and that TVs and scrying pools are distracting. The Trauma Ward is deep under the Castle, more secure even than the Heart vaults. There, the Ministering Angels care for those who have not awakened from Trauma in months, years or centuries. Other Archangels may freely volunteer their servants as patients or caretakers, but Zadkiel staffs the wards with her own angels as punishment for dissonance. Every note of dissonance rmoved is one week of uninterrupted nursing there. The Bailey is just inside the main gate, a broad and open space used by Protector angels and blessed souls to train for battle. The instructors are mostly Dempseyites and have a reputation for believing that the best defense is a good offense. They know tactics for getting noncombatants out of a combat zone, and they train to defend positions fantically, but somehow, msot days training does include at least one large explosion. Zadkiel's Tethers tend to be small and obscure locations, cozy and inviting. Shelters that provide meals to the hungry, rehab centers, centers for battered women, halfway houses. It is believed that one of her most notable Tethers is the Swiss Red Cross headquarters, but Zadkiel does not tell people who don't need to know. She is reluctant to word-bind Seneschals, as she sees it as a death sentence, and most of her Seneschals are only attuned. The Wordbound ones are mostly transfers from other Words dating back to her elevation. She demands all of her angels obey her Wordbound Seneschals, out of respect for their sacrifice.   To most other angels, the Protectors are as insanely in love with humanity as Mercurians. Maybe one mortal must die to save a hundred, but the Protectors believe that is never right. Every human's life is worth more than a score of angels, and they'd rather risk themselves than any humans. Zadkiel sets them simple priorities. First, protect humans. Always. Eliminate their fears, assure they are safe, restore their courage. Destroy any threats to their lives, security and freedom without endangering more humans or weakening Heaven's defenses. Remind them that Allah stands with them against evil. Second, help angels in need. When humans aren't in trouble, find angels thatn eed backup and provide it, no matter what it is they need. Lives are more important in this than territory - let a position fall if defending it means another becomes unsafe. Fill the gaps left by other Words. Last, promote Protection. This comes after protecting others, which weakens Zadkiel even if it benefits humans. When they have spare time, Protectors work to help humans overcome fear, hatred, suspicion and selfishness, but their time is fairly limited for that.  Zadkiel prefers her angels to wear female vessels. Just under half of the Pretectors don't actually care what gender their bodies are, and the others are split between four attitudes. First, those that agree with Zadkiel. Second, those who identify as male and with 'male' ideas of protection. Third, those who wear female vessels out of respect for Zadkiel's beliefs. Last, those who don't care but believe that political or social issues are better addressed in female vessels. Zadkiel prefers to grant female vessels, and most male Protectors must patiently assure her that their decision is important in this job, reminding her of the importance of fathers and brothers as protectors who need good role models. This is typically considered a rite of passage by the Brothers, to be undertaken in good humor. Some Muslim Protectors also ask for male vessels to avoid confusing humans, and while Zadkiel will explain her views, she accepts that not everyone agrees and will allow it after explaining.  Zadkiel and Novalis have similar leadership styles - no real chain of command, just gathering for missions and then breaking part after. Protectors are intended to go out and act, and rank doesn't really mean much. The only angels immune to requests for help are the Ambassadors of Zadkiel, who are too busy in Heaven. EVen Masters are expected to help if asked and to ask for volunteers rather than ordering angels around. Of course, in emergies, Distinctions are obeyed first and questions asked later. Wordbound Seneschals and the bearer of Zadkiel's Aegies are the exceptions, though they often avoid throwing their weight around. Zadkiel trains her angels in a wide array of skills and does not really go in much for unified training programs. Protectors can study whatever they like as long as they learn at least a little combat skill. Zadkiel is pretty loose, really, but when she does drop in, she questions her angels thoroughly. She worries deely about them and keeps a lookout for any who might stray. She cooperates fully with Dominic on major issues, but views her angels as family and prefers to deal with minor problems in house. No matter how bad it gets, Zadkiel gives encouragement and love. She is generous with rewards and reluctant with punishment, and she is quick to forgive those who mend their ways. Like most Archangels, she hands out resources as rewards. She saves Rites, attunements and Distinctions as gifts for assignments that will need them - she sees them as pressure to do more, rather than a reward. She's generous with Songs, but prefers the personal touch of presents, which need not be especially practical - she once gave a Cherub a beta version of the nagel's favorite video game as a reward for rescuing child sex slaves from Lust. Zadkiel always punishes personally. She doesn't punish failure, but lack of effort, carelessness or disobedience. Trivial disrespect usually gets a lecture, while spectacular errors can earn a long, long time of guard duty, studying and training to shore up your weaknesses. Zadkiel never punishes via dissonance or Discord, and removes both from her angels when she can. If you could have avoided the dissonance, she will lecture you deeply and punish you based on the circumstances, often assigning time at Tethers or in the Trauma Ward. Any Protector with more than 2 dissonance notes, whether made into Discord or not, may even receive Force-stripping if their explanation can't satisfy some Seraphim and Elohim. Commonly, they will lose all Distinctions, attunements and material support, and are often confiend to Heaven. Extreme violations are given to Dominic, but even then, Zadkiel will usually ask for mercy. In most matters, she is lenient compared to Judgment, encouring her angels to come to her when htey stray, but those angels closest to her often prefer Judges - Zadkiel's disappointment hurts more than any punishment for them. Zadkiel does not Cast Out angels. She refuses to, no matter what they do. She thinks it is just like casting them into Hell, and even death is more merciful than that. Should one of her angels go Outcast, however, her trust will vanish. An accidental Outcast might get another chance with full confession, but one that hides has accepted Lucifer's lie of Pride and Zadkiel treats them as if they had died. She seldom lets things go that far, however - if she can prevent an Outcasting or Fall, she will, even if it means killing the angel involved. If an Outcast of Protection survives and evades capture long enough to Fall, Zadkiel will do anything she can to kill the new demon. Nothing is more dangerous to Protection than a traitor, and Falling is the ultimate betrayal. She will do nearly anything to get proof of the soul-death of a Fallen Protector. Even if, somehow, a Fallen Protector Redeems, Zadkiel will not take them back - an angel who has betrayed Allah once can never be trusted. Next time: Choirs
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Feb 10, 2016 23:45
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ProfessorProf posted:I haven't played it myself, but WOD has the fanmade Princess: The Hopeful. Princess is awful, and just as obsessed with Madoka (and entirely unrelated non-magical girl stuff) as anything else. There really is no good place for earnest Magical Girl games except maybe OVA, which is basically Generic Anime Game That Isn't BESM.
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Feb 10, 2016 23:46
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At that point, just run it in FAE or something.
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Feb 10, 2016 23:48
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Ratoslov posted:I would play a Happy Magical Girl RPG so hard. I like Madoka, but it's too drat gloomy for a RPG. Which reminds me... ProfessorProf posted:I haven't played it myself, but WOD has the fanmade Princess: The Hopeful. Yeah, that's more on the gloomy side. And strangely gluttered at places (why does a magical girl RPG need dominion rules?). Not to mention that the traditional snarky bullshit quotes are a bit weird coming from Sailor Moon. Mors Rattus posted:Princess is awful, and just as obsessed with Madoka (and entirely unrelated non-magical girl stuff) as anything else. If it just has to cover Pretty Cure (and may or may not want some sort of vague compatibility with Princess), White Wolf's Street Fighter RPG could also work. Punch monsters and blow them up with heart-shaped hadokens. Doresh fucked around with this message at 23:52 on Feb 10, 2016 |
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Feb 10, 2016 23:49
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Give Ewen Cluney a couple months to bust one out, I think they're working on one in addition to like six other games.
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Feb 10, 2016 23:55
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Use Costume Fairy Adventures and just replace fairies with mahous and clothes with... clothes.
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Feb 10, 2016 23:57
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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho9rZjlsyYY Part 3: History The history of Ravenloft is a mess, and not just because of the usual writer conflict and cosmic retcons. Every Domain that enters the Mists has it's own history, often conflicting with each other. For convenience's sake, the Barovian Calendar (BC) is used through most of the lands. Pre-351: The Times Before Our good friend Strahd is born around 299, becomes a warlord that throws out the Terg (not-Ottomans) out of Barovia (not-Transylvania/Walachia) and then in 31 makes his ill-thought pact to become the first known Darklord. 351-469: A Private Hell Barovia is all alone the Mists as the original Island of Terror. Few records remain of this era, but it is known that Strahd hunted down Leo Dilisnya, a rival noble who tried to have him assassinated the day of the fateful wedding (trying for his own Red Wedding, I guess). The Dilisnya family remains notorious to this day. 470-546: Outlanders arrive People start to notice the random adventurers who drop in from other settings. A group of adventurers apparently challenge Castle Ravenloft but is never heard from again (they got TPK'd by the original adventure). The Vistani arrive, and their leader Madam Eva makes a pact with Strahd that endures to this day (she's also apparently still around somehow). Martyn Pelkar, a young orphan, emerges from the woods claiming a luminous being saved him from the ravening beasts that killed his parents. Despite being dismissed as crazy, he ends up founding the Cult of the Morninglord. And finally, a wizard (actually a lich) named Azalin arrives and stays for decades in a tower near Lake Zarovich, trying to find a way out of the Mists working with Strahd. 547-587: the Expanding Stain New Domains finally start to appear. First is Forlorn, an empty place to the south. Second is Arak to the north, containing actual towns and tales of evil fey. In 579, Mordent appears and with it the first coastline. The circumstances of how exactly Mordent got dragged into the Mists ar eunclear, but are somehow related to Azalin and Strahd being there in their quest to escape. This even isn't really explained, but I'm guessing it's another pre-made adventure. Afterward, the alliance between Azalin and Strahd is broken and the lich goes into the Mists and come out with his own domain: Darkon, a large (the largest) cosmopolitan country. Late in the 6th Century, a blasted wasteland called Bluetspur appears, with the few remaining half mad refugees resettling into Barovia, carrying tales of braing-stealing monsters. Deep in the Mists, a bunch of Island of Terrors show up, but won't matter for a long time. 568-699: Scourge and Expansion A giant sandstorm, The Sourge of Arak, kills everything in that Domain. A bunch of new Domains show up, creating what is known as "The Core", Ravenloft's biggest cluster of Domains. The Dilisnya family get their own Domain, Borca, and one of them, Yakov Dilisnya, founds the Church of Ezra, one of the most powerful and widespread religions in Ravenloft. It's biggest rival, the Church of the Lawgiver, is established in Nova Vaasa (a Not-Holland domain). Finally, an Outlander named Vlad Drakov shows up, massacres a couples of villages in Darkon with his mercenaries and his promptly kicked out by Azalin. 700-734: Dead Man's campaign A couple new Domains appear, including one for Vlad Drakov: Falkovnia. He decides he wants to be a warlord and so attempts to conquer Darkon. He fails, sending thousands of his citizens to the slaughter against Azalin's undead hordes. Meanwhile, a Darkonian Doctor, finding his family killed, vows vengeance against the forces of the night: Rudolph van Richten starts his career. 735-740: the Grand Conjunction 741-749: The Land Congeals Things more or less settle into their current configuration. A few aftershocks of the Grand Conjunction bring in random changes, some Islands of Terrors merge into clusters, stuff like that. There's a bunch of societal changes we'll see more in-depth later. Learning nothing from his previous failures, Azalin starts a new plan to escape, with a new secret society he created harvesting souls from across the realms. 750-755: The Fall of Kings Azalin completes his artifact powered by souls and attempts to use it to escape. It blows up instead in an event known as The Requiem. Azalin vanishes, his biggest city (Il Aluk) is turned into a city of undead, someone claiming to be Death takes over his kingdom, things are bad. Rudolph van Richten also vanishes, and the Dark Knight Soth is erased from continuity because his creators want him back in Dragonlance. Vlad Drakov thinks now is just the time to start a bloody invasion, but Azalin's hordes of undead show up anyway. His ghost is still around! Adventurers bring back the lich, because the dude might be evil and prone to cosmic gently caress-ups but he made the trains run on time, in an epic adventure that was never actually published. Death is trapped in his own Domain, Necropolis. 755: The Present People speak of a prophecy of a Time of Unparalleled Darkness, but Azalin hasn't hosed it up into being yet. For those who like random dates referencing tons of stuff that haven't yet been explained, the timeline of events follow: Timeline posted:1 The ancestors of Strahd von Zarovich found the Nation of Barovia. Next: Geography!
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Feb 11, 2016 00:17
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