The World of Weirth is a setting much like a Hyborian Age, with danger at every turn, Swords & Sorcery magic, demons and mad prophets.
Tribes Of Gnolls And Nomads roam the savanna, while peasants and hedge wizards hide behind the walls of even the meanest thorp. A powerful Ley Line crosses the land, creating transient Gateways to the Faerie Realm.

Meanwhile the influence of Demons And the Belowdark waxes, threatening to cover the world in darkness, a suffocating nightmare that wells up from horror-filled dungeons underground.

Check the World of Weirth tab above for more info, including a draft of the Player’s Guide.

Episode 32 -33 Downtime: Recovery Time

Today’s Dates: 36 Zazel to 5 Hielik 573  (28 May to 3 June 02021)

DM’s Note: We have been playing a style of gaming session some might call “Press Pause”, where at the end of each session we stop wherever the party is and just start back up again at that point for the next session.

As this Samm-Puul adventure wraps up we will be transitioning to a 1:1 Time schedule, where one day in the game world equals one day in the ‘real world’. For example, last session ended with the party back in Zan’s Forge on 35 Zazel 573. They needed a couple of days to rest up and heal, then they could start doing things in town, such as selling treasures, learning skills, buying equipment, etc.

Seven days later will be 6 Hielik 573 (this Thursday), which is when we will resume campaign play. There is a chance that some characters may not be available for that session (such as Lieres, who needs to level up and needs nine days of training to do so…).

It sounds confusing at first, but it adds an amazing dimension to the game and I am very excited to introduce it here. Today’s post marks the first Downtime Activities in this transition.

Downtime – 1-5 Hielik

1 Hielik, morning: During the meeting with the Baron Lord Zan he thanks you for your service, he seems glad to know of the status of the monastery and is intrigued by the tale of the floating castle. When you mention that, he shares a glance with his sorcerer, Ris Vitae.

The lady knight from the castle who visited you on the night of your return from Samm-Puul invites Hildis and Vion to accompany her to another chamber, in order to give more details about the layout of the cellars and catacombs.

At the end of the meeting he has one of his attendants distribute pouches of silver to each of you (10 pouches of two pounds ! of silver each! 1,600 SP total)

[Adora, Aziagos, Shadoravan, Kalder, Arnbjorg, Kosas, Dimble, Shavanoxil, Lieres, Shakerica]

Lieres’ first priority is selling any loot we acquired that is purely monetary in value and adding it to the ledger.

1 Hielik, afternoon: We will sell the seeds, the topaz, 2 crossbows, 2 daggers, 2 suits  of studded leathery, a chain shirt if no one calls dibs, the black tiles once we have taken sketches and rubbing (we will see if the observatory will pay for them first), a Mace, fine clothing, a silver sickle

While you are going through the items to sell, you find a metal key in a pocket in the ceremonial robes you took from the Green-robed sorcerer’s chests.

Also, Lieres opens the case with the spyglass and takes it out, tries to look through it at Kalder and Dimble, and laughs! “This thing doesn’t work!” he shouts. Taking a closer look at the spyglass you can see that the open end is set with a highly polished obsidian “lens” and the eyehole part contains a very dark green gemstone of some sort. Looking through it, indeed, one can’t see anything… 

•         seeds, The barber-surgeon in town is able to give you 100 SP for the seeds
•         the topaz, The Jeweler says the stone would be worth 6,000 SP in Laralasbol or Otracasbol (bigger towns), the most he can give you is 2,500 SP
•         2 crossbows, The Provisioner can give 60 SP for the crossbows
•         2 daggers, 1 SP for the daggers
•         2 suits  of studded leather, 10 SP for the leather armor and
•         a chain shirt if no one calls dibs, 30 SP for the chain shirt
•         the black tiles once we have taken sketches and rubbing (we will see if the observatory will pay for them first), The Astrologers at the Observatory will definitely take the black tile. They do not offer any compensation…
•         a Mace, 2 SP
•         fine clothing, 20 SP
•         a silver sickle, The Barber-surgeon will give you 50 SP for the sickle

Total liquid treasure: 2,723 SP

Plus 1,600 reward from Baron Lord Zan

Plus 2,000 SP in coin collected in the catacombs

Additional XP from Sales of Items

Adora, Aziagos, Shadoravan, Kalder, Arnbjorg, Kosas, Dimble, Shavanoxil, Lieres – 252 XP each

 

2-5 Hielik:

Kalder and Dimble: Kalder, I hope he can study the Scrolls and Grimoire he found to figure out both the magic and the purpose of the Cultists with the help of his Mentors and Hopefully Dimble.

You two spend some time (completing this will take 3 full days) going over the scrolls and codices that you have recovered.  The scrolls from the chests are quite beyond your level of expertise, though what you can glean is that they are powerful, ancient rituals of binding that require the knowledge of other magicks before one can even cast these. You decide to bring these to the attention of the Sorcerers at the Observatory.

The scrolls from Xochi’s bag are a different matter, they have to do with Astrological signs and Entity-binding (such as the kind one would summon for spellcasting). A specific Entity is named in the scrolls, [Portin nouseva tytär] which is Lemurian for “Ascendant Daughter of the Gate”. The Astrological scroll is an incantation to be performed at the peak of the solar eclipse on 6 Hielik. These two rituals in conjunction seem to be designed to summon a specific entity and then bind that entity into a mortal form.

The Contents of Xochi’s Bags

A small bag, not much larger than a gallon bucket, but seemingly larger on the inside! This contains:

• Some bread, cheese and a pot of porridge in a bushel basket
• A cloak
• A Torch
• 6 wax candles
• A tinderbox with hot embers and a piece of chipped fieldstone
• A small pot of tallow
• A glass phial with a piece of bloody cloth stuffed in it
• A 2nd phial full of blood 

 

The second bag was more mundane, but contained Xochi’s spellbooks, a scroll case with two long rituals, and some spell components

Xochi’s silver bowl spell focus is carved with Stygian runes. The Astrologers are able to translate them, as a mantra for conditioning one’s mind (Memory Palace:  you can prepare one extra spell which can be retained up to one week, but can only be cast once.)

For the following spells, any of the magic-users will need to roll vs INT: % to know spell, BEFORE they can copy any of these into their own books or prepare/cast from these books. Failure means that you cannot learn this iteration of the spell. We’ll do this at the start of the session.

             For example, if Kalder is unable to learn Flames of Efreex at this time, he may be able to learn a spell with a similar effect, such as Demetria’s Hand of Flame, at another time.

Xochi’s Spellbook and Grimoire contain the following spell formulae:

1 Spellcraft:      (Blessing of the Weirth) Purify Food & Water

                             (Hand of Peace) Remove Fear

                             (Curse of Bleak Visions) Cause Fear

                             (Faewalker’s Drifting) Feather Fall

                             (Flames of Effreex) Burning Hands

2 Spellcraft:    (Rite of Simonides) Augury

                             (Canticle of Pelagia) Chant

The Chant spell is altered for the Swords and Sorcery nature of this campaign setting. I have a full blarg about my thought process on creating this new version of the spell here (Spells and Rituals).

 

http://journal.stephenpsmith.com/2020/02/07/the-unseen-servant-part-one/ As a ward: During the Chant, the cleric may be able to increase the efficacy of a Protection spell, either by supplementing the duration or by increased area of effect. I think a chanting cleric could supplement another spellcaster of lesser or equal level for the duration of the Chant, or a higher level spellcaster for a number of turns equal to 20 – (difference in levels). A cleric who supports another spellcaster in this way would be in need of a rest afterward. As a blessing: During a Chant, the cleric may be able to maximize efforts toward Foraging, Hunting, Fishing, or Prospecting checks. A cleric may be able to use a Chant to maintain stamina or endurance, ie, to keep marching/swimming/staying awake in spite of exhaustion. At higher levels this type of Chant could extend to increasing endurance in extreme heat, cold, lack of food or water, etc. Increased prudence, or enhanced success:  A Chant may work to improve a PC’s INT or WIS checks, or guide them to make a better decision or choice between options. For successful endeavors: Chanting may be a way to provide other with “miraculous” boons such as Speaking in Tongues, changing water to wine or feeding a multitude Prior to a journey: A cleric may Chant for an hour before beginning an overland journey, to reduce the chance of getting lost, or for good weather. They may wish to Chant for calm seas and steady breezes before a sailing journey. For new beginnings: The cleric may perform a Chant to bring the blessing of the deity to a place, a building or even a ship, in the form of consecrating the land, structures, etc.  Likely done before breaking ground, laying the keel, or setting sail for the first time. This could also be a method of clearing away the stain of a place where something vile happened. Delaying the Inevitable: A cleric may use a Chant to preserve the union of body and soul of a PC or NPC that is gravely wounded, in fact at Death’s Door. There are stories of clerics joining unconscious colleagues upon stretchers, litters, or wagons, kneeling over their ravaged bodies, chanting until they could be brought to a Healer. Requesting the knowledge of greater magics: A cleric must perform a Chant to attract the attention and assistance of the Vectadores in order to gain mid-level spells. This chanting takes at least 15 minutes per spell level. For example, gaining the power to cast a third level spell would take 45 minutes, gaining the power for two 4th level spells would take two hours.

 

                             (Clear Vision of Akantha) Detect Invisible Objects

                             (Eudoxia’s Crafting) Wood Shape

3 Spellcraft:       (Disruption of Photios) Dispel Magic

                             (Lysistrate’s Call to the Beyond) Speak with the Dead

                             (Command of Galenos) Suggestion

There are also formulae for three spellcraft-infused liquid preparations, one for healing wounds, one to cause sleep and one for calming an agitated person.

The second set of books, retrieved from the catacombs and the person of the Green-Robed Sorcerer:

1 Spellcraft:    (Cloak of Keuthonymos) Darkness

                             Blessing of Keuthonymos

                             (Altahadla’s Flame Subjugation) Affect Normal Fires

                             (Summons of Zinais) Summon Vermin

2 Spellcraft:    (Rite of Simonides) Augury                           

(Agathon’s Hex of Protection from Returners) [This hex requires an animal (or Human) skull and a garnet set within the braincase with a gum made of blood, brains and gravesoil] The hex will maintain its efficacy for nine plus (level)d4 days.

3 Spellcraft: (Ensorcellment of Kleio) Hold Person

The Ephemeris has a note: a diagram of the stars and schedule of eclipses for the current season (the next one is on 6 Hielik. It shows the star Argamot in the constellation of the Labyrinth, with a notation indicating 11 Zazel, at midnight precisely it was converged upon the Entry Star. In the margin is a scribble (in Lemurian), “the shabolex comes to open the way!! Where is the jewel?” the date 6 Hielik is written next to this, and circled.

 Lieres: Then he will spend some time breaking into the case and the bundle.

Lieres decides to tackle the silver-wrapped bundle first, as the acacia-wood casket makes him uneasy for some reason (perhaps because it kinda feels warm…) Carefully cutting the hex-wire, (and passing a Save with flying colors) he unwraps the soft leather wrapping to find a one-foot-long obsidian dagger, the blade bound to a bone hilt with golden wire. There is a small, cabochon-cut flame sapphire set in the pommel of the knife.

Lieres feels a distinct sense of unease, dizziness, and nausea, (makes another Save!) and (wisely) decides to re-wrap the leather around the knife, without actually touching it. He sets it aside to show the rest later…

Feeling as though he has dodged a crossbow-bolt, Lieres turns his attention to the acacia wood casket. The second lock is very tricky, but he is able to overcome it after a few minutes. When he opens the lid of the casket, he sees an object wrapped in black silk, about 8” x 5”, nestled in a bed of dried leaves. Inside the lid, painted in gold, is an elaborate Hex of some kind. Lieres doesn’t notice anything untoward, but…

Whatever Kalder, Kosas, Dimble, Shavanoxil and Arnbjorg (that’s all the M-U’s, right? Except Shadoravan, who is Out-of-Action for the time being) are doing, they sense a wave of cold, dark energy wash over them. Looking to see the source of it, they are looking toward the Boarding House/toward Lieres’ room where he is working on the items from the Slime Pits.

LFG Playtest Campaign 1 - The Shadow of Evil Chaos is an experiment with a new (to me) game system, Low Fantasy Gaming, and a new magic hack designed to bring the atmosphere of danger from the pulp novels of Swords & Sorcery. We are playing fully online over a Discord Voice server, using some home-brew maps, art and characters designed on the HeroForge 3D printing site.
Follow all of the posts here: LFG Playtest Campaign 1.