Lore of the Kruthar

Updated - the party has fought a skrag now.
 

Art by Talon Dunning

Partholon is famed throughout the empire for its haunted forests, mysterious faeries, and the murderous Druid cult, but the greatest peril throughout the frontier baronies would have to be the Kruthar barbarians. These savages dwell in the Bleak Hills to the north, where they worship and breed with the foul spawn of uncounted hells. They strike suddenly and mercilessly, stealing livestock and equipment and abducting villagers, the fates of whom may never be known for sure, but are the subject of grim speculation. Common theories range from slave labor to sacrifice to cannibalism and worse.

Most Partholonians will tell you that Kruthar aren't actually men, but merely man-like animals. And it is true that when barbarian corpses are cleared from a battlefield, many seem to bear but a brutish approximation of human features, and others appear more animal than human, but for many the tattoos and war-paint and ritualized scars seem to disguise the face of mere humans.

Recently, Morgana of the Iron Wolf clan became attached to the treasure-hunters operating out of Sham. She has learned a little of the common tongue, and has taught her lover Brianne a little of her own. Though communication remains difficult, the party is at last learning a little about the Kruthar. Some of this new lore is summarized here. 

The Kruthar refer to themselves as the Free People. The ancient Firians, ancestors of modern Partholonians, referred to themselves the same way. They believe they once ruled over the whole of Partholon, but that they were driven into the bleak northern hills and mountains by the Firian tribes. To survive in the rugged highlands, they made pacts with the creatures of Chaos they found lurking there, and bound these pacts with their bloodlines. To this day, status is closely linked with the purity of this eldritch blood, as seen manifest in mutations and deformities.

Kruthar society is divided into clans, castes, warbands, tribes, and hordes. The interaction and overlap of these groups is more complicated than Morgana can fully explain, but their practical function seems to be to give warriors an excuse to fight for status and power while simultaneously giving them a way to join their strength against outsiders.

Kruthar religion venerates the spirits of the wild and demons of the underworld. They hold destruction, killing, and cruelty as sacred. Many believe their role in the world is to purify it of weakness. Some believe their role is to burn the world down, and that the only purity to be had is the silent eternity of oblivion. Kruthar ethics are mostly variations on "Might makes right." What you are strong enough to take is yours for the taking. What you are strong enough to keep is yours to keep.

Gender roles are assumed but not rigid. Men normally become hunters and warriors while women typically see to the clan's home and rear the children, but there is no social stigma for those who deviate from the norm. Breeding is a sacred responsibility, as the harsh lifestyle and unreliable fertility of the Kruthar means extermination is a perpetual threat. Contributing many children to the clan is a good way to gain status, and many Kruthar of both genders take on multiple partners. It is uncommon, but not rare, for Kruthar to take lovers of their own sex. As long as such affairs don't distract from the clan's need for new blood, there is no stigma involved.  

They respect strength as the primary virtue, but their definition of strength is quite broad. Charisma, cunning, and supernatural powers are included alongside battle-prowess and mere brawn. In essence, whatever lets you get your way is considered a virtue.

The caste of a Kruthar is determined not by his parentage, but by the mark of Chaos - the degree of visible mutation and deformity. Greater mutation corresponds to greater status. The castes usually segregate their warbands, but intermingle freely within their clans.A warrior of any caste may be gifted with the sacred madness of the berserker rage. Any Kruthar can advance beyond the status accorded by his caste by proving his strength. Tattoos, piercings, and ritual scars serve to mark improved status.

• The majority of Kruthar are born to the caste known as donadar, bearing little or no sign of Chaotic deformity. Although they have the lowest status, they are the most fertile, making donadars prized as mates by all castes.
• About one in four Kruthar will be a shalgar. Shalgars are bigger, stronger, and tougher than donadars, and are visibly marked by Chaos.
• Less than one in twenty Kruthar will be a morlak. Morlaks are huge, hulking brutes, sometimes twice the size of a man, but frequently stooped or hunchbacked. They are heavily mutated, barely human at all, and some even grow one or two extra arms. Morlaks frequently have little more than animal wit, but the few who are gifted with both strength and cunning become great warlords.
  
• The very rare skrag is among the most powerful of Kruthar. Skrags are even larger and more powerful than morlaks, more heavily mutated and frequently gifted with a burning madness. They are almost entirely inhuman, often growing scales, fur, and thorn-like spurs in patches. Extra arms are common, and some even grow an extra head. 
• Clans are frequently led by a grugak, a magician with the power to bestow curses and change shapes. A strong clan will have a chief grugak and his lesser apprentices. 

With Morgana's information and the party's experience fighting Kruthars, some game data can be made available.

Kruthar Warrior
AC 14
HD 1
AP 1
Morale 8
Alignment: Chaotic
Sacred Madness: When Kruthar fail a morale check or are subject to any fear effect, there is a 1 in 10 chance that they will be overcome by a berserker rage. A berserk warrior of the common caste will have the following statistics:

Kruthar Berserker
AC 11
HD 1
AP 4
Morale 12
Alignment: Chaotic
Hard to Kill: A berserker with 0 hp can continue to fight until wounded again.

1 in 4 warbands encountered will be of the elite shalgar caste.

Kruthar Elite
AC 14
HD 2
AP 2
Morale 9
Demon Eyes: These Kruthar can see in total darkness, but reduce AP by 1 in sunlight.
Savagery: These Kruthar can fight with tooth and nail even if they are disarmed.
Sacred Madness: as above.

Skrag
AC ??
HD 6+3
AP 7
Morale <11

The party has not encountered morlaks, so no reliable data can be extrapolated from Morgana's lore. They have battled a grugak in Stonehell, and are aware that changing form seemed to heal his wounds, but have no more concrete data beyond that.

The Wages of Death

The players in the Partholon campaign have been fortunate enough that in the years we've been playing, only a single PC has died (and technically he's been petrified, and may well survive in a state of suspended animation). Partly this is due to my incapacitation rules which create unpleasant consequences for letting your character run out of hit points without necessarily losing the character, but partly this is due to the players' mix of skillful play and dumb luck. However, in our most recent session Bill the Green was incapacitated and may yet die (we suspended play before we could confirm his status), so this seems like a good time to review what happens when a PC actually does bite the dust.

For one thing, this being Dungeons & Dragons, there is no certainty that death is permanent. There is a sacred grove just one or two days' travel from Sham where, with proper sacrifices, the spirits may be petitioned to raise the dead. The sacrifices would be costly, and results are not guaranteed, but there is some chance at least.

Second, if a party member is given proper burial (or an appropriate pyre, or whatever funeral rites seem appropriate), the party will actually gain xp for any treasures they bury with him (including artifacts!). Tyrhennean culture has a minor but noteworthy tradition of sacrifices to departed allies & ancestors that can provide PCs with some options to translate spare wealth into xp later in the campaign as well.

Naturally, the player will want to get back into the game as soon as possible, and there are two readily available options.

Take over an existing NPC: The party frequently employs mercenaries and retainers who accumulate treasure and experience. One of these characters could be upgraded to PC status quite naturally (for example if Ash died, it would be appropriate for either Spurlock or Molin to step up to fill his role in the party). The advantage here is, of course, that the character already has equipment, money, and experience, so the player isn't forced to start over from scratch. Unfortunately, since these characters have most of their necessities already paid for, they are prone to frittering their wealth away off-camera. When an NPC is upgraded to a PC, we discover that they only have (5d20)% of the listed treasure hoard (averaging around 50%).

Generating a new PC: A new PC can be generated and added to the game, and can even be introduced as the heir to the fallen character's fortune. This is a good way to start off with a preferred class or just get a fresh start on the game, and to retain 90% of accumulated treasure (that remaining 10% is lost for any number of reasons - funeral costs, traditional sacrifices, inheritance tax, legal fees, etc). The downside is, of course, the fact that the new PC starts from first level and may have a hard time facing the sorts of dangers the rest of the party is used to. On the other hand, if the party takes care to protect their new ally, the kind of expeditions they can handle should ensure he gains levels rapidly.

This new heir might be a relative of the fallen character, or perhaps a (previously unseen) protege, or similar. For example, if Bill dies, he could be replaced with an apprentice who is retconned into the game, or perhaps Bill's mentor, Incanus, could send another student of his to ensure that Bill's arcane lore doesn't fall into the wrong hands. Such a character would of course benefit from the magical research Bill has previously undertaken.

Return to Partholon: Prologue to Season 3

In the last weeks of autumn, our party returns to Sham from their foray to distant Stonehell, with new guests: Brianne and Morgana. Morgana's tattoos, characteristic of the Kruthar savages, spark some concern among the villagers, but Nylian is quick to assure everyone that the girl is a captive rescued from Kruthar captivity, and that the winter will be spent teaching her how to live among civilized folks. Nylian has a reputation for honesty - brutal honesty, in fact - so no one seems to realize that she is lying through her teeth.

Thus, the young women are able to settle into their winter routine as guests at Ash's townhouse without any hassle. Gradually each learns a bit of the other's language and culture, and lay the foundations of a strong bond between them. Morgana is pleased to have been claimed by a strong warrior, and the party is obviously a powerful war-band, so she hopes to assist Brianne in building strength, status, and renown. Although love between two women is as uncommon among the Kruthar as it is in Partholon, neither culture attaches any serious stigma to it, and they are free to discover whether theirs will be a brief affair or a lasting romance.

Clementine and Bill the Green spend most of the winter in seclusion, working on the means to interweave their magicks and awaken the potential in the alicorn they had recovered from the goblins' lair. Their approachs are very different - Bill spends hours and days pouring through his collection of obscure and arcane tomes, while Clementine spends equal time in meditation seeking inspiration - there is enough common ground between their crafts that they are able to produce results. The spirit of the unicorn has been invited to rest, to lend a measure of its grace into a sacred spear which will be an instrument of healing as well as a weapon against the hordes of Chaos.

Vennet is similarly hard at work through the winter, calling on her spirit guides and giving them generous sacrifices in order to expand her spell-trove. She spends a great deal of money through the winter buying the finest animals and butchering them - and while the spirits feast on the steam of  spilled blood and the smoke of burnt fat, the villagers share in a feast of hot roast meat, and Vennet builds strange totems from the bones. These feasts help to assuage the effect of the famine, and serve as an occasion to retell the old stories and sing the old songs handed down from their Firian ancestors, from before the coming of the Empire. Though the cult of the druids is banned by Imperial law, here in Sham it has taken root once more.

Nylian's father is recovering from his illness, and she devotes herself to helping him regain his former strength. He is pleased with how well she has managed the forge in his absence, and she is freed from the responsibility of overseeing the various specialist smiths who work under her father. Though the Kruthar savages continue to raid through the winter, she is now free to face them toe-to-toe and make them remember why they fear "the hammer girl." She and the Freestone brothers come to be seen by the militia as an elite squad that dives into the thickest fighting and leaps into berserker mobs and always returns with a trio of savage grins.

Ash and his men are likewise a welcome aid to the militia. Long experience has made them a solid fighting unit, but their greater contribution is the ability to inspire and organize the village warriors. With Ash, Spurlock, and Molin each taking charge of a squad of fighters, the barbarian raiders frequently find themselves outflanked, outfoxed, and out of luck. The Kruthar have always preferred to hit hard and carry off supplies, beasts, and victims as quickly as possible, before defenders can organize enough to return substantial losses. More and more, the savages are forced to strike quickly and withdraw immediately to avoid getting mired in a grueling battle. Before the Storm Moon is through, the raids grow less and less frequent, less and less determined, and the villagers of Sham can enjoy a measure of peace at last. 

A Bad Year for Sham

It's been a bad year for Sham.Early in the year, villagers were disappearing, abducted by goblyns and sacrificed to the chaos-god Zhothaqquah. Unnatural storms brought about a terrible flood in Spring, and a plague swept the region in Summer. The flooding from Spring, coupled with early frost and early snows in Autumn, have done serious damage to the crops. Worries about a possible famine were realized when a fire in the village destroyed much of the stored harvest, not to mention the buildings and lives consumed by the flames. Woodcutters are braving the winter snows, the worst in years, to help the village rebuild. The nearly constant harassment by Kruthar raiders means that militia volunteers are needed to guard the woodcutters each day, and more are needed to patrol the stockade each night. Before Winter is through, Desmond the Elder estimates that the population of Sham has been cut to half what it was the year before.

What this means to the party

To begin with, the famine and the fire means that upkeep costs are double throughout the winter.  Unfortunately, winter is also when we assess the cost of maintenance on the characters' houses - normally 10% of the house's value, but with the fire and all the cost is doubled to 20% - 100 silver coins for each house-owning PC.

Second of all, with the very existence of the village threatened, Nylian is highly motivated to take drastic measures against the Kruthar horde. The frequency of the raids suggests that they have established a nearby camp from which to strike, but the party can also strike out for the lair itself in the northern hills, to hit them where they live. If the party opts for this action, they'll have the choice of their usual tactics - a small, elite strike force conducting guerrilla raids against the barbarians - or they could attempt to raise an organized war-band to conduct a larger-scale military strike. The party might be able to convince Prontis Blackhart to lend some soldiers, but will probably have to recruit mercenaries from a larger city like Nemedia to make the army effective. That would be a time-consuming and expensive affair, and would drastically undermine the party's usual goal of nabbing maximum treasure and XP, but it remains an option.

Winter Expenses [revised because math hates my brain]


Food & essentials for long-term residence is normally 20/month, while long-term stabling & feed of horses is normally just 2/month. While the famine & shortage of both lumber & labor persist, these will be doubled to 40 and 4. The costs below will see to all needs through the Wolf Moon and the Storm Moon and have everyone stocked up for the Crow Moon, when we will resume play.

Ash has a house with three residents, three horses, and a mule. Between maintenance, stabling, food, and other essentials, he's shelling out 508 silver to cover the three months until the party can travel again.

Brianne and Morgana are assumed to be staying as Ash's guests, but I'm also assuming Brianne is chipping in for their expenses. Including her horse's stabling, she needs to pay 252 silver for the winter.

Nylian, if I recall correctly, has rooms for Vennet at her house, and they both have horses. Between the two of them, they'll have to cough up 364 silver.

Clementine has a house and horse, but lives by herself. 232 silver.

Bill doesn't have a horse, so he only needs 220. Svaarden and Gottfried are both listed as inactive, but they'd have the same expenses as Bill. 

Incapacitation

I'm re-posting this section for ease of reference

When reduced to 0 hp, the PC is not automatically slain. He collapses unconscious and must roll a d6 to determine his status. On a 1 or 2, he is revived after combat ends, but suffers a hampering injury for 2d6 days. On a 4-6, his wounds are more serious and may prove fatal. A roll of 3 is treated as a 1-2 result if he was wearing a helmet, in which case the helm is ruined but his life is surely saved. Without the helm, a roll of 3 is treated as a 4-6 result.

In the case of serious wounds, the PC will not revive after combat ends. The following turn, if he is not revived by magic, he may roll a d6 again. On a 1, he recovers on his own. On a 6, he succumbs to his wounds and dies. On a 2-5, he remains unconscious and must continue to roll on each subsequent turn. In any case, when and if he recovers from this state, he suffers a hampering injury for 2d6 weeks.

If a PC is already injured and receives the same injury again, the effect is extended. If the existing injury has less than two weeks remaining to heal, the duration is extended to 2d6 weeks. If the existing injury has more than two weeks remaining, compounding the injury makes it permanent.

Hampering Injuries

Roll	Injury	Effect
1	Arm rendered useless*	Cannot put the afflicted arm to use.
2	Eye damaged*	-2 Ranged, or blinded if both eyes have become injured
3	Leg impaired*	Reduce speed by one level
4	Hideous scars/disfiguring	-1 to Reaction rolls, Command, and Leadership
5	Enfeebled (broken ribs or similar)	-2 AP, AC, & Carrying capacity, and run at x2 rather than x3
6	Skull-cracked	Must roll Int or Wis to cast spells and becomes Berserker**

*In the case of arm, eye, and leg injuries, roll even/odds to determine left/right.
**Berserker characters become irrationally violent during combat. Must roll Wisdom to resist plunging into melee when combat begins, and must similarly roll Wisdom to withdraw or retreat from melee. While in melee, the character gets +2 AP and -2 AC.

Loving and Hating Hit Points

I love how simple hit points are as a mechanic. I hate how abstract they can be, especially as levels add up and totals rise. I love how easy it is to go from "6 damage? Run for your lives!" to "6 damage? Whatevs, I got this." I also hate it.

I love how, at low levels, players have good reason to avoid battles because one or two wounds could easily prove fatal. I hate seeing players burn through PCs like extra lives in a circa 1985 arcade game. (But I kinda love it, too.)

I love how, at high levels, players can press on through more dangers and get themselves deeper into the dungeon before they have to turn back and hope they didn't push their luck too far. I hate how the mechanic pushes toward either a slog of multiple melees in which the PCs are gradually whittled or a tac-nuke monster that barely cares that the PCs have leveled up.

I hate how environmental hazards, like fire, falling, and traps, wind up being less dangerous at higher levels just like melee. I hate how healing spells are less effective on high-level characters than on low-level ones.

I've tried to get around a few of these issues in my campaign. For example, I base most healing on hit dice - a Cure spell restores hit points equal to 1d6 + the recipient's hit dice (e.g. if you have 3 HD, it's 1d6+3). Likewise, a hazard that doesn't care how good you are at taking a hit in combat will roll your hit dice in damage (instead of "Save or die," you might call it "Save or possibly die, depending on the luck of the dice, and if you're already wounded the odds are against you, but hey you might get lucky").

I like the game being pretty gritty, but I like the odds in favor of survival - if the party survives by the skin of its collective teeth, I feel like everybody gets the maximum excitement. I respect the mathematical architecture of 4e - or Type IV, or whatever the kids call it nowadays - for providing that experience pretty reliably, but that math is pretty fragile, and a simple thing like changing the number or composition of the party can have dire consequences (this is what killed my attempt at a 4e campaign in its infancy, and eventually led me to the OSR).

I like to ramble, but I hate the fact that I'm rambling (and I like to end paragraphs with pointless parentheticals, for some reason).

So here's an idea the combine gritty, survive-by-the-skin-of-your-teeth action with that-was-exciting-now-let's-keep-going adventure. The idea is that PCs begin with a Hit Die full of hit points, as usual (and you can use your favorite Hit Die rules - max at first level, reroll 1s, variable or standard, whatever). When the PC would normally gain a new Hit Die, he adds +1 to his hit point maximum and gains a "reserve" point. A reserve point can be spent to recover a Hit Die's worth of hit points. You can't go above your maximum, as with any hit point recovery. Spending a reserve point this way should take a full turn of rest.

The idea is that every battle remains gritty and stark, although the PCs will gain an edge in toughness over time; but the more remarkable and heroic development is the reserves of strength that enable them to carry on even when hurt and exhausted. I envision a scenario in which the party finishes a battle and spends the rest of the round catching their breath and binding their wounds, and the players roll their reserve dice to discover who was simply running out of stamina and who has a serious injury.

I wouldn't implement this system for monsters. Monster Hit Dice are more related to the size and toughness of the monster than its melee skill, and there's no need for every PC mechanic to be paralleled in monster mechanics (that way lies the excess of 3.x). I'd probably give Reserves equal to HD to any monster that's a named individual (e.g. Brok the orc warlord, Anton the evil high priest, Skaldar the legendary ogre, and Azraphael the dragon). Everybody else is an extra, and runs by the book.

I'd love to test this system out, but I'm pretty sure my regular players would rebel if I imposed it on their long-standing characters. Maybe I can test it in some side project, like a scifi one-shot or something.

Hiatus continues and wackiness is afoot.