The Winter of Warlords, notes part 3

Presented as earlier without proofreading.

This is the final piece of my notes for the Winter of Warlords campaign. I think I wrote a better summary for it of the FFG’s forums but I can’t even find the thread there anymore…

The last part introduces the “Eldorado” of Grey Mountains – a mountain that consumed all the wealth of the mountains. It was to be the pinnacle of the campaign, a site where the fate of the Old World would be changed.

Now that I think of it, it might have been the working of the gods of chaos that this campaign never played out. It did not include any chaotic elements, only greenskins, men and women of Empire and Bretonnia (some dwarfs, sure) and a whole bunch of monsters and undead.

The Legend of Karag Elgramazaul

According to legends there is a mountain somewhere in the Grey Mountains that the dwarfs call Karag Elgramazul (The Volcano of Weak Metal) and those few men that have heard the legend the Tainted Peak. According to ancient dwarven sagas it is where the mages of Elves cast a terrible spell during the War of Vengeance. The spell drained the all ore from the mountains into the mountain where it created a lake of permanently molten metal.

 

Even dwarfs of the Grey Mountains doubt this legend as there are no written records of such an event and even though some foolish beardlings have tried, no-one has ever found this accursed place.

 

The legend has its roots in reality even though it was of no such magnitude that the legends claim.

 

During the War of Vengeance (or the War of the Beard if asked from high elves) there some fighting at the Grey Mountains as they created a natural border with the lands now known as Bretonnia and Empire. A group of elves were tasked to guard the few waystones set high up on the peaks of the mountains and they tried to serve their orders the best the could.

 

Filled with hatred against the elves the dwarves tracked this band of swordsmen and mages and found that they had erected a waystone on one of the highest peaks of the mountains. Caring not of the reason this was done the dwarven warriors attacked the elves without a moments hesitation and left the elves no other choice than to protect themselves.

 

Before the axes of the dwarfs the elves fell and finally there was left but a single mage to protect the monolith. Seeing the blood-lust in the eyes of the dwarves the mage cast a potent spell of Chamon trying to rid the dwarfs of their weaponry.

 

Either by the power of the waystone or by some other unseen force the spell did what it was supposed to and more. It liquefied the armors and weapons of the dwarfs but also sucked all particles of metal from the dwarfs themselves too. In an instant the top of the mountain had turned into a site of massacre mutilated dwarfs and elves everywhere.

 

The horrible event and the surge of energy were too much for the mind of the elven mage. His mind broke down and he became obsessed by the power of the waystone. The once great obelisk was infused with the metal stripped from the dwarfs, elves and the mountain itself. It became a cruel idol of golden energy that the elf worshiped with sacrifices of blood and magic.

 

The mountain, the dwarfs and the elfs were soon forgotten.

 

The War of Vengeance ended and the Time of Woe began. The dwarfs did not venture to the Grey Mountains as it had always been known for it low quantity and quality of minerals. Now and then a small expedition wandered to the mountain and from those that survived the elven guardian the legend of Karag Elgramazul began.

The Winter of Warlords, notes part 2

Continued from previous post. And as earlier these have not been proofread.

This is the quick summary I wrote to come with the adventures. I was committed to write a “full” campaign on this but sadly our gaming group fell apart. I think it was mainly because my own frustration and lack of interest and for that I am a bit ashamed. As we are hopefully starting a new campaign quite soon I have decided to include themes and issues presented at the first two sessions we managed to play the Winter of Warlords. Hopefully those of my new group that were involved in it will get some additional kicks from it.

The Grey Mountains

“In ancient times the Unberogen held the mountains (as sacred as did other tribes along the mountains even before them) and came to the mountains to bury their dead in crude but enduring tombs and cairns. Those same monuments of dead are still said to dot the mountain range and are avoided in fear of restless dead whenever possible.

And even before the men even came to these parts of the Old World elves came to the mountains to worship their gods of skies and stars. And who is to say what ancient beings were there even before the elves. Or are still slumbering under the shadows of the mountains.”

Duncan Baumgartner, Adventurer

The Grey Mountains are long and tall range of mountains running almost from the Sea of Claws to the Vaults and the Black Mountains. It has always served as a natural border between the realms of Bretonnia and Empire having only a handful of usable passes allowing the clear passage from one to another.

The closer the mountains get to the Sea of Claws the more darker their stones get. Some claim that this is due the influence of chaotic winds from the North and though one might argue that is not the case it is also true that at the same time the terrain gains more sharper and wicker forms.

Along the ridge fertile land is scarce and is mostly used as pasture for sheep and other animals accustomed to the hard climate of the altitude. Very few crops can be farmed here but still no house is erected on the fertile soil.

Closer to the Vaults starting from Reikland that peaks and ridges are not as narrow, sharp and jagged, but they are still notorious of their lack of natural resources. This has been the main reason of the lack of dwarven settlements.

Actually the only rich veins of iron ore and some other metals can be found at the area that has been claimed by Bretonnia and belongs to the dukedom of Montfort. There even goes a rumor that the duc of Montfort controls a profitable gold mine. These kinds of rumors are discouraged by Bretonnians and by dwarves who claim that if there would have been gold there would have been more dwarven holds.

The absence of dwarven clans has permitted the greenskins to claim the mountains. They are a constant plague upon the Axe Bite Pass and the Grey Lady Pass (the two most important passes through the mountains) as well as the inhabitants of the mountains. Viciously though they are hunted their lairs seems to be hidden well as next to none have been found. This has lead to rumors of an impossible greenskin stronghold somewhere on the mountains but as greenskins are not exactly the kind of race to build something that lasts – or actually build anything, this is most likely to be only a rumor.

Nonetheless the greenskins are and have been to pain of the mountains. But as the Grey Mountains are a vast and mainly inhabitable all kinds of monsters and darker things lurk there. Many sheepherders still remember the tales of old about the Ghost of the Crags who wandered around the Grey Lady Pass before the turn of 26th century.

One of the most recent events on the mountains were the border skirmishes between Empire and Bretonnia during the winter 2514-2515 that ended only when the Emperor Karl Franz summoned Elector Count Valmir von Raukor and his son from north were they had been raiding the Norscan shores.

The last part of these notes the Legend of Karag Elgramazaul will be published tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Monk, Murder and Madness

Better late than never. I received a scenario almost a week ago and promised to upload it “tonight”. And here we are.

Valvorik (Rob Harper) has written an adventure “for Players willing to roleplay social scenes and investigation.” This 48 pages mammoth is statted for WFRP3 and has various tools to be used but I see no reason why any GM could not run this with earlier editions.

“This adventure is inspired by Susanna Gregory’s story in the Hill of Bones collection by the Medieval Murderers authors group”, Valvorik says. But I think that those who liked “The Name of the Rose” should not be disappointed either.

DOWNLOAD

Ice King of Kislev

Here is another treat from Sami Uusitalo. This time it is not about some vicious beast looking for a adventurer party to kill but a supplement that offers an interesting group of NPCs and very different quest hooks.

Higher society events, use for the latest WFRP3 PoD (in no way required though in this non-system specific supplement) and quite possibly a journey to ice cold tundras of Kislev are just a few notes about the contents of the Ice King of Kislev.

DOWNLOAD as a PDF

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Also – I just noticed that for some reason my page links are missing. Have to work on that.

Magic Overhaul for WFRP2

A couple of days ago Strike-to-Stun user AranaiRa published a complete overhaul of arcane magic for WFRP2. This mammoth tome of 76 pages not only re-writes the spells but also offers the rules for elf wizards.

My group and I decided to go back to WFRP 2e after about a year and a half, though experience with newer games that run off of WFRP 2e’s base system made us realize that the existing casting system was a bit lack-luster. So we aimed to fix that.

An updated Rune Magic doc is coming soon, followed by Divine Magic. From there we plan to cover Dark Lores, then Witch Lores and hedge magic. Any feedback or error-catching is appreciated!

AranaiRa allowed the hosting of this document at the Daily Empire and thus you can download it HERE as a pdf.

The original post can be found at this Strike-to-Stun thread as I am sure that some of you would like to give comments and suggestions to the author.