The Village of Sham

Sham could fit into this space.

Sham is a small village on the north side of the Shimrod Forest, east of the Imperial territories of Partholon. With a population of about 200, the village takes up less than seven acres. Most houses are clustered inside the wooden stockade that protects against Kruthar raiders and marauding wolves.

Sham supports itself mainly by fishing and woodcutting, with some farming and other trades rounding out the village life. A volunteer militia protects the village. At any time a handful of lookouts patrol the stockade and when the warning bell rings, dozens of villagers race to arm themselves and defend their home. Most of the militia are "normal men," 0-level NPCs, but a few have seen enough action, either here or in service to the Baron, to count as 1st level fighters.

Desmond is lost in thought.

The village falls under the rule of Baron Blackhart, whose castle lies two days' journey south, on the coast. He requires little of the village save their taxes, and they ask little of him in return. The village elder, Desmond, is the nominal local authority, but little governance is actually required on a regular basis. Town meetings are usually sufficient to deal with any special concerns that may arise. This is probably fortunate, as Desmond is very knowledgeable about a variety of topics, but is quite senile and possibly a bit mad. His granddaughter, Rosalyn, takes care of him and supports the household primarily by accepting bribes from those who would consult with the absent-minded sage. She typically greets visitors by informing them that "The Elder is quite busy," and will follow it up with, "His time is very valuable," if they don't seem to get the hint.

Weyland the Smith is something of a craftsman-polymath, being the village blacksmith, bladesmith, whitesmith and brightsmith. Upkeep of the militia's armory is his chief responsibility, while his several apprentices usually see to most of the standard tasks of the forge. This is the man to see for ordering new weapons and armor, as well as to have jewelry appraised. He recently fell ill, and his daughter Nylian has taken a break from her treasure-hunting to take over his responsibilities.

Mr Barliman appreciates your custom

The Blue Boar Tavern is the social center of the village - the place where locals relax after a hard day's work, socializing, recreating, and gossiping. Harlan "the Boar" Barliman offers a selection of food and drink as well as a roof over the heads of rare travelers. Private rooms, for lodging or for parties, are available for a silver coin a night.

Adventure opportunities abound, for those willing to look around a bit. Just a few miles west of town are mysterious ruins, where the Company of the Burning Fist have been delving for months. The dungeon they've been exploring has been identified as an underground temple of Zhothaqquah, and evidence suggests the ruins were once an Agha-yin city.

A half-day's journey to the south is "Snake Den," the cave where a pair of giant adders had nested, before the company slew them and destroyed their eggs. In the nest was a caern of stones spattered with black wax, before an immeasurably deep pit that intimidated even the normally-fearless Nylian. Plans to explore this pit have been delayed by logistics and by the more tempting opportunities in the ruins.

And somewhere in the northern hills are the Kruthar barbarians, savages that are more animal than man. They've been raiding more frequently of late, and much of the militia has been stricken with plague.

Room & Board

If you've been wanting a house like this, then this is the house for you!

Up to this point, I've been charging my players a flat rate of 1 silver coin per day for room & board. Any treasure they were not carrying on their persons could be stored in the village treasury, with a 10% surcharge  (also noteworthy, I use a silver standard for this campaign).

The food & services chart from Keep on the Borderlands suggest that 1 sp would cover a private room at an inn, but since I assume my PCs are eating, (and since this podunk village doesn't have a proper traveler's inn), I assume that they're just renting a little space in the common room of the tavern. That would be 1 cp; with the remaining 9, they could afford stew, beer, bread, cheese, and fruit for dinner, with leftovers for breakfast and dungeon rations for lunch. And this is the cheap beer, pretty much just water with enough alcohol content to make it safe to drink - so pretty much your typical American beer, I guess.

A number of the PCs actually have family in town and maybe had their lodging sorted out, and they may have been eating better, but were also contributing to the family expenses, so I rule that it evens out.

Now, Ash, Bill, and Svaarden saved up enough money to buy houses, which is a good investment. A house is 500 sp, fully furnished, and allows PCs to store their treasure hoards with no additional fees. Having a pantry and an address also makes shopping a bit cheaper: 20 sp a month should do. Wow! You're saving 8 sp a month, plus 10% of the grocery money - the house will pay for itself in just four years! What a deal!

The Blue Pearl Ring

This artifact is a silver ring with claws clutching a blue pearl. Cantrik glyphs inscribed around the inside of the band give an incantation for the protection spell. The ringbearer enjoys a +1 to AC and saves, and a magic-user can use the ring as a talisman to cast protection. The ring's normal effect, the talisman spell, and the magic-user's own spell can all stack together, if desired.

The ring was round in the tomb of the Agha-yin prince Mayna-yood-sashai, in the catacombs beneath the temple of Zhothaqquah.

The Ring of Shadows

The Ring of Shadows is a blood-red gem set in silver, with a Vhoorlish glyph for "shadow" inscribed. Inside the band is another inscription, in the script of Agha-yin, which translates to an imperative: "Do not see me," or possibly just, "Ignore me!" Speaking this message aloud activates the talisman, which casts a spell of invisibility on the ringbearer. 


The ring was found in the tomb of the Agha-yin prince Mayna-yood-sashai, in the catacombs beneath the temple of Zhothaqquah.

Legends of Partholon: the Rune-lord, Grivenar

Grivenar encountered on a foggy night

Names & Titles: Grivenar, the Grey God, the Twilight Eye, the Rune-lord, the Father of Magic

Prestige: A major god, but one whose attention is best avoided.

Veneration: The Vagyar deem him the most powerful of all the gods, and therefor their leader. In Tyrhennea, he is depicted as brother to Valkas, and his adviser on eldritch matters. His ravens bring news and omens that even Valkas' sharp-eyed eagle might overlook.

The Vagyar generally deem all magic-users his priests, and fear to cross his will. Nonetheless, Vagyar warriors distrust magicians, for Grivenar acts on his own purpose and not for the good of mankind. Even a hero who wins the Grey God's favor is still a pawn that may be sacrificed.

In the Empire he is little-worshipped and rarely beseeched, save by those who seek protection from or mastery over magical forces. He is associated with guardianship of dead souls, and ravens and crows are said to be his spies and servants, as well as carrying newly-dead spirits to the underworld.

Overall, he serves only his own schemes, and it is deemed wisest to avoid his attention.

Legends: It was Grivenar who gave to mankind the secret of the Cantrik glyphs, the runes and hierograms that codify magic into spells. It is said that he journeyed through the Nine Beyonds and suffered great agonies to discover the secrets of spellcraft. Some legends say that even the fundamental concept of the written word was taught to humanity by Grivenar.

Many Vagyar legends tell of heroes who were given magical trinkets or enchanted blades by Grivenar, or by a nameless traveler as he is often depicted, or even by a great, one-eyed raven. In virtually all of these tales, the hero met his doom when his artifact was inevitably lost to folly, or fate, or to the god's whimsy. One legend tells that Grivenar collects the souls of great heroes to form an army somewhere in the realms of the dead, and that he will guide aspiring heroes along the path to greatness, only to lead them to their dooms when they have proved themselves worthy of his collection.

Artifact: The Runestaff. This gnarled, wooden staff is inscribed with runes in winding patterns along its length. Some legends claim it is the heart of the world-tree, and is therefore the very incarnation of the axis mundi, the center of the world. Its runes are said to encode many spells, and it is also called "the Key to the Outer Gate," referring apparently to the ability to travel beyond the world's edge. The Runestaff has come into mortal possession several times over the ages, sometimes for years, sometimes for scant days. In every case, the staff eventually disappeared.

Seeker: a Rune-sword

This rune-sword was created to seek out and destroy the supernatural forces that may threaten the world. It possesses a kind of will, and may overwhelm a weak spirit. The self-discipline typical of Lawful alignment is the best bulwark against Seeker's arcana; wielders of other alignments had best beware, as the effort of mastering this rune-sword will be exhausting and may well prove deadly!

Seeker grants a +1 bonus to Attack Power and Damage. Against spell-casting enemies, the bonus increases to +2. The sword can be commanded to sense arcana three times a day.

Seeker has Int 7 and Psyche 7, with a Will of 14. Its optimal alignment is Lawful.

Artifacts with Will

Edit: I'm refining this material a little. When I do, I'll probably delete this entry and post a new one entirely. 

For the most part, a magical artifact is a tool or object with supernatural powers, and is detectable as arcana. Very rarely, an artifact may possess a will of its own. Most are subtle, with psyches that can't really be called minds, and intelligences that aren't quite human; any direction or communication will seem like intuition. A few have such clear personalities that they can carry on extended conversations with their bearers. All artifacts with will use the same system.

Such an artifact is rated with an Intelligence score, a Psyche score, and a Will score. Will is Int + Psych, modified by the artifact's magical powers. A bearer's Will score is Cha + Wis, modified by Str. The difference between these Wills is called the Control Factor, or CF. A positive CF indicates that the bearer is normally in control, but this control may be tested from time to time - particularly when the bearer has been injured or weakened. A negative CF means the bearer is normally allowed free reign, but the artifact can and will seize control whenever it desires.

 Control is tested when the bearer first picks up or attempts to use the artifact. It will be tested again when the artifact has an opportunity to pass to another, more desirable bearer, or when the bearer attempts to discard or replace the artifact. If the artifact has a special purpose or motive, it will test control whenever it has chance to pursue its ends. It will also test control when the bearer first falls below maximum HP, and again when the bearer falls below 50% maximum.

When a test of wills is indicated, dice will be rolled: 1d6 if the bearer is at less than maximum hp, or 2d6 if the bearer is at less than half maximum. If the bearer is the wrong alignment, roll an additional 1d6+1. Thus, if the bearer is of the proper alignment and unharmed, then as long as the CF is positive, the artifact is unable to exert any control. If the CF is negative, the bearer will automatically fail any test of wills.

Any artifact with will has an optimal alignment. This alignment may or may not reflect the artifact's own purpose; it is simply the alignment best suited to maintaining control over the artifact. Sometimes there is a true arcane compatibility at issue, but in other cases it's simply the fact that a mind that works a certain way can best curtail a given artifact's attempts at dominance. Wrestling with the artifact's will can be exhausting; a would-be bearer of the wrong alignment will lose 1d6 or 2d6 HP to exhaustion, depending on how much his alignment differs from the optimum. (This loss of HP will affect the test of wills, making it very difficult to successfully master a hostile artifact.)