[Adventure] Sweetest Kiss

After few months of just sitting on it I decided finally to release this new adventure. It is currently art free and lacks a proper layout as well as art. But as things are I doubt I’ll reach a point when I will be able to fix these things. So it would be a shame to not to share it.

I am in debt for Dave Graffam for the great maps and commenting on the adventure. I would also like to express my thanks to Sami Uusitalo who has yet again provided me with excellent comments and ideas to sharpen this adventure.

The playtesting of Sweetest Kiss is still in progress  (we have managed to play through only the first two chapters). If you have the time to run this and give me some additional comments I would be extremely pleased!

The Sweetest Kiss is an adventure to start a new campaign. It was written after a lengthy discussion at the Strike-to-Stun forums about dungeon bashing with WFRP2. Running it for any group on their first career should not be a problem. The GM will need to come up with one additional encounter to play the social events that lead into this adventure.

I hope you have great time with the Sweetest Kiss (< download PDF)!

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In other news – We have started a new Dungeon World campaign. If you interested in following how that goes feel free to read about it at the Guild Redemund’s Blog.

To Dungeons Deep!

We just got back to WFRP2 last Wednesday. We started a new campaign I labeled as “Warhammer Quest”. Read more about it at my other blog.

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I got this from Robin Low at the Strike-to-Stun forum. He was kind enough to allow me to publish it here:

One dungeon. Add your own scenarios.

A WFRP Dungeon 

1. Door to Dungeon: An arched doorway, framed with large, heavy unmortared stonework. Within this solid outline is a very heavy oak door, strengthened with iron bands and studwork. In the upper part of the door is a heavy metal grill; a bolted metal panel can be opened from the dungeon-side of the door. There are two locks, which require separate keys, held by two different people (one by a castle-side duty guard, the other by the steward). On the dungeon-side of the door there are also two locks, which require a third and fourth key, held by two different people (one by a dungeon-side guard, the other by the jailer). Consequently, transfer of prisoners or staff in or out is a protracted affair. A chain on the right-hand side of the door rings a bell on the dungeon-side. On the left-hand side is a bell connected to a similar chain on the dungeon-side of the door. Two guards are on the door (one carrying one of the keys for the outer door locks), armed with short swords, spears and shields, wearing leather armour, with mail shirts and helmets.

2. Guard Station: A small wedge-shaped landing with two fixed benches along the walls either side of the dungeon door, facing down the stairs. The landing narrows towards the stairs. A chain on the right-hand side of the door rings a bell on the castle-side. Two guards are on the door (one carrying one of the keys for the inner door locks), armed with short swords, spears and shields, wearing leather armour, with mail shirts and helmets. A lantern illuminates the area; a polished mirror above the door arch directs light directly down the stairway giving guards above a clear view. A lever on the wall can remotely lock the portcullis at the bottom of the stairs

3. Stairway: Steep stone steps lead down to the dungeon. At the stop, the stairs are narrow, with room to admit the passage of only one person at a time, but they broaden so that by the bottom there is room for three people side by side.

4. Portcullis: A heavy iron gate secures the bottom of the stairs. It can be raised or lowered by the two guards at the bottom of the stairs on the dungeon-side, using a wheel on the wall. The portcullis is not normally locked (although it can be locked from the Guard Station (3) above), but is usually lowered, and requires two men to work the wheel to raise it. Two guards are on the gate, armed with short swords and wearing leather armour, with mail shirts and helmets. A small bench fixed to the opposite wall alternately allows one guard to sit while the other stands.

5. Cells: There are twenty cells. They are small, windowless, with nowhere to hide. Furnishing ranges from straw and bucket to blanketed cot-bed, table and chair, depending on the quality of the prisoner. The flagstone floors are sloped into one corner with a fist-sized, iron-grilled drainage hole to clear water when the cells are sluiced out. Each cell has a barred iron gate, hinged to the wall outside the cell, with a lock (keys held by jailor; steward has a spare set).

6. Torture Chamber: A large open room, illuminated by braziers filled with red-hot coals and three small fire places in three of the four walls. Access is via a barred iron gate identical to the kind on the cells. The room contains a rack, an iron maiden, and a good selection of small knives, pincers and pliers, branding irons, whips and other tools of the torturer’s trade (the more creative of these include three small cages, each containing a large rat). Additionally, there is a writing desk with stool, paper and ink, wax and seals to record confessions. The flagged floor slopes towards the centre of the room where a head-sized, iron-grilled drainage hole allows water to drain when the room is sluiced out. Two guards are on the gate outside the chamber, armed with short swords and wearing leather armour, with mail shirts and helmets. The jailer holds the key to the gate. The torturer and his apprentice do not hold keys.

7. Kitchen: Preparation area for prisoners’ and staff meals. In practice, it’s more of a shelved storage area for bread, cheese, oats and water and small beer. Utensils, plates and bowls are made of wood. There is a table and two stools. If the dungeon hosts prisoners deserving better, then food is brought down from the castle kitchens.

8. Jailer’s Room: A small room containing a bed, a chair, a small table and a chamber pot.

9. Torturer’s Room: A small room separated into two halves by rustic wooden frame covered with old but thick blankets, providing some privacy for the Torturer and his Apprentice. Additionally, there is a table, with two chairs, a small table, and a chamber pot under each bed.

10. Water Barrel: A large tapped barrel filled with water. This is kept topped up by buckets of water carried down by the Torturer’s Apprentice.

11. Baron’s Safe Room: This room is secured by a heavy iron-bound oak door, to which the Baron holds the only keys (one to unlock the outer lock, the other to a lock on the inner side, so if the Baron is inside it doesn’t matter if the outer lock is picked). Inside is a comfortable velvet chair, a leather-topped oak desk and a Dwarven combination rune safe embedded in the wall. There is also a large oil lamp, which provides a reasonable degree of warmth as well as light. The Dwarven safe contains a range of documents, private letters, gold and jewels. It also has a hidden door in the back (opened by a second rune combination that only works after the first has been entered and outer door opened). The hidden door is large enough for a grown man to crawl through, but opens up into:

12. Small Cave and Escape Tunnel: This small Dwarf-made cave contains a small stash of wrapped oiled weapons (two swords, two hand axes, two daggers, a bow and quiver containing 20 arrows), sturdy leather travelling clothes and cloaks wrapped in waxed paper in a leather sack, and a quantity of coins (mostly silver, with some gold and copper) and jewels. There are also two filled oil lanterns, a tinderbox, waterproofed matches, and an empty water bottle. This represents the Baron’s emergency escape kit. From the cave, a Dwarf-made tunnel leads a mile from the castle, opening up through a cunningly concealed stone doorway in a rocky outcrop in a wood. A Dwarf engineer who knew of this doorway’s existence might be able to open it from the outside. However, even a Dwarf would be unlikely to notice the concealed door unless he was knowingly searching for it.

Non-Player Characters

The Baron: There’s really nothing admirable about cruelty, but it is part of the role. Having the threat of a secure dungeon and torture chamber underneath the castle seems a pragmatic method of maintaining a suitably menacing air of authority and power, even if one would rather not keep it stocked and busy. One has to admit, though, that giving rivals and enemies, and on occasion annoying relatives and guests, a tour of the dungeon demonstrates the threat and gives me a bit a giggle at the same time. I do wish the cult of Sigmar would come and collect that horrible Beastmen, though. It’s been, what, a year now since I wrote to them? I mean, I understand bureaucracy as well as the next man, but even so. Still, it maintains the illusion, I suppose. Of course, the dungeon does provide a very secure place to hide, and subsequently escape should the castle ever become overrun. Better still, I can go down to the Safe Room and hide away from the family, get on with some paperwork, or read a book in peace for a few hours. Pity I didn’t incorporate a fireplace and chimney into the Safe Room. Perhaps I should get one of the braziers from the Torture Chamber put in there.

The Steward: The dungeon is something of a distasteful and rather pointless irritant. It wouldn’t be a significant problem, except that as holder of one of the keys for the outer locks on the main dungeon door one has to be on hand at least twice a day to enable changing of the guards, water collection and so on (morning and evening). If only the blessed cult of Sigmar would send someone to deal with that damned Beastman the Baron insisted on locking up then we could dispense with much of this nonsense.

The Jailer: This has to be the best job in the world: something to eat and drink, a bed, some coin in my pocket, and a day off once a month to visit the ladies. And only a single cell to inspect, even though that Beastman does look rather scary. Why doesn’t the Baron just get his guards to kill it, or give the Torturer something to practice on? Oh well, that’s nobles for you.

The Torturer: This looked like a cushy job, but it’s actually mind-numbingly dull, with bugger all to do. Even that Beastman is off limits on the Baron’s orders. Hopefully the Sigmarites, if they ever arrive, will take advantage of the Torture Chamber, see my skills in action, and offer me a more rewarding job. Shame I probably wouldn’t be able to take this half-Orc Apprentice with me; he seems to have a real enthusiasm for the theory, even though there’s been nothing to practise on. And those tusks and fangs! Wish I had a set of my own! I’d have them talking without lifting a knife!

The Torturer’s Apprentice: Don’t know if he did it for me or for mother, but it was nice of the Baron to give me this job. It’s safer down here, and the servants can only be mean to me when I go to collect food or water. The guards are nicer down here to me too. They know I’m strong and admire it, even though they can’t show it when they’re with the maids upstairs. I miss mum though; she’s getting old and not as strong as she was, and I worry about her lots. The Torturer’s really nice too. He lets me look at his books, manuals he calls them. He’s learning me the words, and the interesting pictures help sometimes. The only scary thing is that it’s harder to hide some things down here. I don’t know what they’ll do if they find out I’m really a girl.

The Guards: It’s sooooo borrrrrrring down here! The Jailer doesn’t do much of anything, but he seems normal enough. The Torturer is a bit creepy to be honest, but I guess he’d be a rubbish Torturer if he wasn’t, and I think he’s as bored as we are. That half-Orc Apprentice is alright though, always asking if his mum’s okay. Never really talked to him before he was sent down here to work, but you just want to smile a bit when he comes round the corner. A bit quiet, but he’s had a hard time of it upstairs, given that he’s a freak and everything. Reckon he’d make a hell of a fighter though if someone trained him up a bit. It’s probably in the blood.

The Beastman: Caught I was, now I rot under the ground. Weak in body, but not mind. Oh, no. Mind is strong. Can still hear the song of the Dark Beast. If I get some blood, I can sing it too. And then small things will slither and crawl though the small dark holes in the corners of these cells. Small, but dangerous. If I get some blood.

Salvaged Goods

As it seems that Strike-to-Stun is having some problems with hosting files, Sami Uusitalo asked the Daily Empire to host his magnificent work. It was not a difficult decision to make. I would not be a good host if I wouldn’t point out that in addition to great writing these documents have extremely pleasuring for the eye thanks to Pasi Juhola‘s art work and layout skills.

The following files can also be found at the WFRP2 Download section.

TaNSTaS_cover
There Are No Such Things As Skaven
 – Download as a PDF
There are no Such Things as Skaven… is a short adventure best suited for characters in their first or second careers, but it can be easily modified to suit any group. The structure of the scenario is loose, directed more by character actions than by events. The adventure is set in a small town near Nuln, but with minor modifications any Imperial town could be used. This adventure best lends itself as the PCs’ first real encounter with the mythical Ratmen known as Skaven. But it works just as well with a party that already knows the Skaven are more than just a subspecies of Beastmen or bedtime stories told to children. The mood of this adventure is one of hidden threat and mounting tension.
TiSAM_coverThere Is Something About Marie 
There’s Something About Marié is a scenario suitable for characters of any experience level that can be run independently or as an interlude in a longer campaign like The Thousand Thrones. For the purposes of the scenario it is assumed that the Player Characters are travelling in a river barge along one of the tributaries of the great River Reik, but could be placed along any river within Sigmar’s Empire and with a little work even the river can be replaced with a road if the PCs are more of the footslogging persuasion. Adventure removed at the request of the author.
BlashpemousCultsvol1_cover
Blasphemous Cults, vol.1 – The Order of the Feathered Lord – Download as PDF
This document introduces a new an well-thought cult for heroes to compete against. I personally used this as the backbone of a major campaign set on the waterways of the Empire. The first part of this document is written as by a Witch Hunter and can thus be given to players as a hand out if need arises.
Disclaimer: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay © Games Workshop Limited 1986, 2005. This edition © Games Workshop Limited 2012. Games Workshop, Warhammer, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, the foregoing marks’ respective logos and all associated marks, logos, places, names, creatures, races and race insignia/devices/logos/symbols, vehicles, locations, weapons, units and unit insignia, characters, products and illustrations from the Warhammer World and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay game setting are either ®, TM and/or © Games Workshop Ltd 1986-2012, variably registered in the UK and other countries around the world. This edition published under license to Fantasy Flight Publishing Inc. Fantasy Flight Games and the FFG logos are trademarks of Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved to their respective owners.

Poll for Fan Scenario Winner 2013

The Daily Empire is proud to present you with the official poll for the WFRP3 fan scenario 2013 poll.

This competition was started by Emirikol at the FFG’s forum. The three adventures posted are presented and hosted here for you judgement. Read them through, play them and vote for your favorite.

The poll ends at November 21st after which the winner is announced!

Comments for the adventures are more than welcome.

Lost and Found, by No.12

One Hand Gives, the Other Takes It Away, by Emirikol

The Steward of Grauwerk Manor, by Valvorik

Harvest Time is Upon Us

Since the StS downloads sections seems to be having some problems, Ovid send his excellent WFRP2 scenario “A Bitter Harvest” to be hosted here too. Though I think it is good to have these kind of resources spread out for broader visibility, lets hope that the StS gets the section working

DOWNLOAD A Bitter Harvest (pdf)

I would also like to add that if Ovid has nothing against it, I would be glad to host conversion files for this adventure. That is if someone would be willing to convert it for WFRP3 for example.

Goog Autumn and games for everyone!