"Murder, Lies and Civic Duty." a Pathfinder Campaign Journal

[Kid Jake]

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Are you saying there will be a epic battle with the Duke's Army using Robosours! Will thier fish friends be dragging the soldiers into the depths! Will things burn and blood flow. Will the invaders be shredded by wolves and crushed by trees! And they they will built up enough troops the Unicorn curse the sudden but inevitable betrayer! Or will they be cursing at Him! So much potential!

Mwahahaha!*cough* Sorry, where were we?

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That's the plan.

As Eadric's player pointed out, this is basically Dragon Age from the villain's point of view. They're gathering their horde so that they can spill out and conquer the kingdom or at least survive the numerous powerful enemies they've made/are making.

[GorinichSerpant]

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That's the plan.

As Eadric's player pointed out, this is basically Dragon Age from the villain's point of view. They're gathering their horde so that they can spill out and conquer the kingdom or at least survive the numerous powerful enemies they've made/are making.

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Yes, this sounds awesome.

If is someone actually tried to play a good character in one of your games, what do you think would happen?

[Kid Jake]

I'd drive myself crazy trying to figure out what their angle was.

[Kid Jake]

We had a new session last night. Lemme know what you think.

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We pick up where we left off. Everyone's voted to rest the night before going into Eastbank and facing the horde.

Come morning, Kavos wakes early so that he can pray for spells before Eadric prepares his extracts for the day. Once he's done, he prepares a place in his basement and casts Summon Lesser Planar Ally to ask his patron Asmodeus for an imp to aid him in his mission.

No sooner does he cease the ritual that a gravelly voice calls out "You got work fer me boss?"

Kavos turns around to see a 2ft humanoid with dark red skin and leathery wings perched on a nearby chair's arm.

Dragging out a set of the Duke's armor, Kavos nods. "Men are coming to kill me. They will probably be dressed in this. I need you to find them and report back their movements and numbers."

The imp slowly nods. "I can do that boss. Yeah, I can do that. Might take a while though boss, and as you know...nothing's free."

"What's your price.?" Kavos asks.

"1,500 gold pieces. I'm a busy imp after all and I'm doing you a favor here." the imp says.

Kavos nods. "Done. I'll take it from the treasury." and leaves to gather the devil's fee; upon returning he drops a sack of coins in front of the imp who extends his hand. No sooner does Kavos shake it than the sack and coins disappear in a flash of fire and smoke, leaving behind a smell like rotting eggs.

"Good doing business with you boss. I'll let you know what I find." the imp says with a wink, launching himself into the air and disappearing from sight.

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That business being taken care of, Kavos returns upstairs to find Eadric finishing up his extracts and Jonathan Lark fitting a large wagon with a pair of ponies outside. Within an hour, all three of them are loaded onto the wagon.

Kavos has Lark head downriver before leaving, using a lie about a vision of Pelor sending them aid and recovers his 'Drowned Legion' of eight waterlogged zombies. He explains that help comes in many forms and that these men were once citizens of Eastbank, who drowned escaping the ghoul horde. It all sounds very mystical and Lark buys it without much probing. After loading the zombies into the wagon and covering them up, they head onwards to Eastbank.

On the way, Eadric removes his trusty chessboard from his sack and grins. "I believe you still owe me a game."

"The agreement was that it would be at a time and place of my choosing." Kavos reminds the little kobold.

"Yes...but then you said we would do it today." Eadric lies.

"I...don't remember that." Kavos says with a frown, but realizing even the best of us slip now and then. "Very well, I'm nothing if not a man of my word."

The two of them go back and forth but Eadric handily defeats Kavos in a complete upset of their previous game. (He just discovered the Investigator's Inspiration and blew all of it on the game.)

"Looks like I'm deputy mayor." Eadric says with a fake smile, extending his hand.

"Indeed it does." Kavos says with a fake smile of his own, shaking the kobold's hand.

The game took up a bit of time, but the ride is long and they decide to compare notes on the overall situation. The conversation drifts towards the Duke himself and what they know of him.

Most know that the Duke is a powerful cleric of Fharlanghn, the god of roads and travel and that him and his four comrades were responsible for overthrowing the Iron King some forty years ago and that they divided up Gallorea between themselves. As ringleader, the Duke took the Centrlal province as his and the nation's historic capitol as the seat of his power.

Kavos reveals that what most don't know however, is that nobody outside the Duke's personal staff has heard from him in nearly twenty years; he never makes public appearances anymore, under ANY circumstances. Neither of them really knows what to do with this information yet, but they agree that it's important to have all their cards laid out.

Finally, the silent remains of Eastbank come into view and Lark reigns in the horses to slow their approach. "The ghouls are too busy rooting around to pay attention to the road, but once we get in there we need to work fast."

Everyone agrees and as they begin crossing the bridge into town Kavos unloads his zombies to act as a wall of flesh between them and any ghouls that might be in the area. They advance slowly and take in the ruined city. The docks of Eastbank are a complete mess, the few ships still in working order are pinned in by the ones that have been burned or sunk; river travel is impossible now.

On the docks however is a sizable warehouse, Eadric carefully scales the side of the building and tears at the roofing until he can peel a big enough section back to slide inside. The inside is pitch black, but Eadric is used to such conditions and it doesn't even slow him down. He finds a good deal of lumber piled up around the warehouse and a considerable number of crates which he doesn't bother checking. He also finds the remains of a pair of dockhands who decided to take their own lives rather than wait for the ghouls; they shared a shortsword and plunged it into each of their chests.

Eadric silently searches the inside of the warehouse to make sure there are no surprises and then unlocks the doors leading in and steps out into the street to find a trio of ghouls barely being held back by Kavos's wall of zombies.

Eadric charges without a second though; leaps onto the back of a zombie and springboards himself over the horde to deliver a spinning kick that lays a ghouls' snaps a ghouls neck and drops him outright. Kavos channels negative energy, seizing control of the other two and an as yet unseen ghoul charges Eadric from its place in cover, but is put down by a pair of arrows from Lark before it manages to reach the kobold.

They take stock of themselves and except for a dead zombie everything seems to be in order. Kavos heals the remaining up as Lark surveys the warehouse.

"I'm sure something heard all this commotion." Lark says, returning from the warehouse and glancing around. "We need to work fast. You two press in and see if you can find anything on Rambalt's list, I'll load up what I've got here."

Kavos agrees and hits the ranger and himself with a Hide From Undead before he and Eadric continue onwards. They take it slow and pass by several ruined homes before finally coming to a fork. To the north lies Bryce's old offices and many of the guild fronts, to the south lies Eastbank's largest Inn/Tavern and the general market square.

They strain their ears and from the south comes the sound of animalistic growls and...music? The strum of a guitar can be barely made out over the din of gathering ghouls. To the north sounds like steel striking steel.

Eadric volunteers to check out the south and slips off before Kavos can say anything; Kavos takes this opportunity to explore the north and stops in his tracks as he rounds the bend. The Duke's standards fly everywhere and barbed wire fencing has been erected to cordone off the northern square from the rest of town; dozens of ghouls have been hung on the buildings here as a warning to others. He quickly slips back the way he came to wait for Eadric.

As Eadric creeps to the south the sound of a guitar being tuned grows louder but so too does the sound of roaring ghouls. He sticks to the shadows and finally emerges from an alley to see more than fifty ghouls throwing themselves against a dwarven shield wall protecting the front of the tavern, and a strangely relaxed dwarf in scalemail sitting on a wagon stuffed with provisions and picking at his guitar. The dwarven soldiers are dressed in fine stoneplate, they wield tower shields and axes.

Eadric inches forward to get a better look at them and notices something alarming, each of them sports a nasty brand on his right cheek which marks them as Outlaws, among dwarves they're considered the worst of the worst.

"Can't you do something USEFUL?!" one of the warriors shouts over his shoulder at the dwarf with the guitar.

Eadric pulls back from the group and returns to Kavos, reporting what he's found.

"Survivors?" Kavos asks incredulously. "Actual people, that are alive? We obviously must aid them."

"....really?" Eadric asks.

Ignoring the kobold, Kavos arranges the zombies and ghouls ahead of him as a wedge and quickly advances the direction Eadric came from; the kobold tags along despite his misgivings.

As they approach the battle the guitar's sound is much more deliberate with an obvious tune taking shape, a deep baritone rises to join it; easily piercing the sound of the ghouls:
"Before we left, a wise man said
Today's the day you die.
The Stars are right, the time is now
Why would a wise man lie?"

The dwarf with the guitar sings with a smug smile. His men begin growing red in the face and more than one shout for him to shut the hell up or help them out. The bard notices Kavos and Eadric's advance and nods in their direction by way of greeting before belting out another verse:

"Your wife moves on, your child forgets
That you were ever here.
The day is lost, our lives are spent
But noone's left to care."

The men are gritting their teeth so hard by this point that their breath is whistling in and out of them and with a look of obvious rage at the inciteful lyrics swing their axes as one, splitting an entire line of ghouls open with a single blow; yet more rush in to fill the hole.

Eadric downs an extract and spits a glob of adhesive onto one of the ghouls, holding him fast. Kavos slams the undead under his control into the flank of the ghouls and the zombies manage to drag one down to its death; Kavos then moves closer to the shield wall.

Most of the ghouls surge against the dwarves, wanting fresh meat; but a handful press back against Kavos's mini-horde; killing one of his ghouls and a zombie in their first attack. One of the dwarves is clawed at though his massive armor and fails his fort save, he goes down to paralysis and the rest shift to cover him.

"Now tell me boys, do you concede
That fate can be foretold?
Or tell me boys, do you believe
That life is for the BOLD?"

As the dwarf sings, his allies appear to lose themselves in song; they begin snarling like wild animals and howling defiantly at the horde. 'Something' begins fluctuating violently around them and the ground itself begins showing signs of being clawed at by some invisible attacker.

"A hundred men, or more have died,
They claim that so will you.
And once these bastards take our lives,
They'll take our families too."

Two of the dwarves stagger beneath the sheer weight of the ghouls bearing down on them, but the rest lash out with savage swings which separate ghouls from the limbs and emboldened by their growing rage they take a step forward to press the attack.

Eadric charges forward and lands a kick directly into a ghoul's chest, collapsing ribs and knocking the creature down. Kavos's horde presses forward, drawing two more ghouls to their death as Kavos himself slips behind the shieldwall as the bard beckons him to hide in the wagon with him. Kavos channels negative energy again and seizes control of two more ghouls, sending them against the rest of their kind.

The ghoul horde scratches uselessly against the dwarven shieldwall but another of Kavos's traitor ghouls goes down and Eadric sidesteps a handful of attacks easily.

"Your arm is weak, your feet are lead
I doubt you're even trying.
The battle's lost, and we're long dead
Can't you hear your mother crying?"

The bard continues, one of the dwarves swell in his armor; muscles bulging obscenely as he cleaves through two ghouls with a single swipe.

"Now tell me boys, do you concede
That fate can be foretold?
Or tell me boys, do you believe
That life is for the BOLD?"

The dwarves butcher another round of ghouls and continue their advance against the rapidly dwindling opposition. Eadric down's an Animal Aspect extract and his arms lengthen, becoming more like a gorillas. The kobold leaps onto a ghoul and wrenches the creature's head, snapping its neck instantly.

Kavos urges his minions to press harder and with a few lucky rolls they absolutely obliterate the ghouls standing before them. The dwarves surge to meet them and only a single ghoul manages to slip away from their pinser maneuver and flee further into the city.

The dwarf with the guitar leaps off the back of the wagon to face his snarling allies; his guitar strumming becomes much softer and his song becomes slower:

"The battle now is over,
Our lives are not forfeit!
Which leaves me with a simple thought:.."

He says, letting the note hang in the air before finishing with a shout:

"Wisemen don't know sh*t!"

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And just like that the spell is broken and the song is over. A couple of dwarves snort derisively, one mentions that if he doesn't start pulling his weight they're doing to leave his ass; and pretty much to a man they collapse where they're standing to catch their breath.

The soldiers take their helmets off to let the breeze hit their face and Eadric points out their markings, each is a dwarven rune. On the bard's face is one whic labels him Deserter. The others are labeled as Adulterer, Murderer, Thief, Blasphemer, Liar and Coward.

Eadric and Kavos exchange glances but Kavos is still in a diplomatic mood and asks how long they've been here and if there's any news of survivors.


The bard/deserter says "We've been trapped in the pub since the world went to hell, though we've been trapped in this godsforsaken town a bit longer."

Kavos looks at them suspiciously. "You've been in this tavern...for a month?"

Eadric slips behind the distracted bard and manages to slide his coin purse off his person. Looking inside, the kobold is disappointed to find that it's empty, save for a list of 30 dwarven names with six crossed off. Realizing he's probably holding the titlist of a group of Outlaws, he quickly drops the coin purse into the wagon where the dwarf will find it.

"Has it been that long?" the dwarf asks surprised. "We've...ah...we've been drunk for most of it. We didn't realize. When everything went belly up we boarded up the doors and tried to wait it out; not much to do in a tavern but play cards and drink and none of us had a set of cards on us."


"What's this then?" Kavos asks, motioning towards the wagon.

"Food ran out about two days ago. This morning we found that we're down to our last six kegs; so we kicked in a few doors and resupplied. Must've woke the neighbors."

"Were any others so lucky?" Kavos asks.

"Hard to say." the Deserter says with a shrug. "Only place we've been is that house over there," he says, motioning towards a stately town house a little ways in the distance. "Certainly weren't nobody there." he says, leaning against the wagon and absently strumming his guitar.

"How about you?" the bard asks. "Where've you been holding up?"

Kavos glances around. "I'm the mayor of Westbank; we came to gather supplies to fortify against the undead."

The bard's eyebrow raises. "No offense, but Westbank must be pretty much sh*t if this is your plan B. I imagine most anything worse taken was snatched up by that bootlicker Bryce. What are you looking for?"

"Quite." Kavos responds dismissively, deciding he likes the man less and less with each word he speaks. "Lumber, steel, leather....whatever we can find."

The bard nods and calls out to one of the dwarves, Eadric notices that he calls him by the dwarven word for Adulterer. "Hey Adulterer, weren't you guys hired on by some rich fella to knock out some walls in his mansion?"

The dwarf nods, still catching his breath from the unnatural rage that coursed through him. "Never got around to putting it back togther though. Pretty sure he got ate first."

"How's the food situation in Westbank?" the bard asks.

"We're getting by. By no means will we be holding a feat any time soon, but we're stable." Kavos responds.

"How about a trade?" the bard asks, strumming his guitar with no particular tune. "You give us somewhere to hole up and 2 squares a day and we go 'shopping' for you. We've worked here a few months now, we know this town like the back of our hands."

Kavos and Eadric quickly confer with each other and Kavos says "You're branded criminals; we obviously cannot allow you residence in our town proper; but I can see that your group is given a farm on the outskirt."

The dwarf marked Adulterer leaps to his feet. "Crimes? I'll tell you something about-"

Adulterer is cut off by the bard who says "A fair arrangement. Far fairer a shake than our own ever gave us."

"There are conditions." Kavos states.

"Always." the Deserter replies.

"Should you enter the town for any reason, you MUST be unarmed. This especially applies to when you are delivering materials." Kavos says.

The bard laughs. "If you insist. You know, we're not axe crazy despite what our kin's propoganda would have you believe. In fact I'd wager that most of the dwarves you've ever encountered have been Outlaws; they've just found a way to hide the mark."

Laying down his guitar the bard says "I mean, there's only two kinds of dwarves topside. Outlaws and Bootlickers." with a laugh he adds "Which of course means that there's one more kind of dwarf topside than down below."

"Be that as it may. Do we have a deal?" Kavos insists.

"Your town." the Deserter says with a shrug.

"One more thing." Eadric says. "We'll need one of your men to accompany us now, he'll serve as an emissary between our groups."

They ask for volunteers and with a sigh, the dwarf marked Thief raises his hand. With that settled the remaining six dwarves take Kavos's shopping list and press into the town to earn their keep.

Kavos has Eadric and the Thief enter the tavern with him and he tells Eadric about the Duke's standards in the north section of town. Eadric takes the hint and sneaks off to investigate.

Eadric slips behind the Duke's lines easily enough and what he sees stops him in his tracks. More than sixty soldiers are in the cordoned off courtyard running drills against makeshift training dummies under the instruction of a balding, stern faced man with white hair and a thick mustache that the men refer to as Captain, while yet more soldiers flit from building to building like ants in a hive.

Downing an Invisibility extract just to be safe, Eadric slips closer to the captain and tries to get a sense of what's going on here. His conversations are short and terse, but Eadric gathers that they're still in touch with command and the duchy has hired a mercenary group to come and provide them support.

Eadric decides that he's heard enough and slips back, reporting his findings to Kavos who seems disturbed. He has Eadric and the Thief watch the door and performs the necessary prayers to cast a Sending spell; sending this message to the unicorn:

"The Dukes forces are in Eastbank. They are sending for reinforcements, arriving soon. Be prepared for battle."

"We will crush the trespassers if they venture into our lands. Keep us apprised should you stumble upon any more information pertaining to our alliance." the unicorn responds in turn, ending the spell.

They butcher the remaining ghouls under Kavos's control and meet back up with Lark just outside of town; he's loaded the wagon down to the point where there's barely enough room for Eadric to sit in the back; but the Thief is strong and manages to hold himself in place depite the bumpy road, and Kavos takes a seat next to Lark.

The ride back is quiet as they're each exhausted.

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The town is absolutely clamoring by the time they arrive in Westbank. Apparently Adrian spun a tale about receiving a vision from Pelor absolving Longarm of his crimes and placing the blame on wicked agents of the Duke. According to his vision, they were to exhume Longarm's body and when they did they found the half-orc waiting for them alive and well.

Kavos feigns amazement. "Truly a miracle. Praise Pelor."

Most people in town don't even notice the dwarf which Kavos brings back to his home, being too preoccupied with yet another miracle being visited on them. Lark gets the help of the deputies in unloading their scavenged materials while Eadric, Kavos and the Thief retire to sleep in Kavos's home.

Morning comes around and Kavos recovers his spells; including Discern Lies for use on the Thief. He discovers the dwarf sitting with Eadric in his kitchen, playing chess against his will. Surprisingly, the dwarf dominates the genius kobold; soundly defeating him despite the half hearted nature of his playing. (We just rolled a series of Intelligence checks to represent a game and despite the fact the dwarf has literally half Eadric's Int he kept rolling ridiculously higher.)

"So you guys are playing chess?" Kavos asks, assuming the kobold would have had his fill by now.

The dwarf shrugs. "Not my game." he says, taking one of Eadric's bishops. The kobold makes his move and the dwarf says "Doesn't seem to be his either." as he takes another.

Casting Discern Lies, Kavos asks "So how did you guys survive a month in the tavern again?"

"We locked the doors." the Thief says, sitting back in his chair. "Sizable place, if we'd been a little smarter we could have survived there two months." he says almost bitterly.

Kavos shakes his head. "What in the world did you survive on?"

"Meat, bread, cheese...mostly beer. It was a fancy place, used to serve a decent dinner before everything went to hell." the dwarf says with a shrug

"Were there any other survivors you happened to run into?" Kavos asks.

Thief sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "Not that survived." he says. "We had 12 men yesterday morning..." he says, letting the implication hang in the air. "Most expensive sacks of corn I ever seen."

"What happened?" Kavos says sympathetically, leaning in.

"Same thing happened to everyone else in Eastbank." the Thief says. "When we opened the doors, we invited trouble."

In the most abruptly unsympathetic way possible, Kavos changes the topic clearly disappointed in his answer, "You're branded as the Thief. Why?"

The Thief laughs at the unexpected change of topic. "I had the gaul to demand my wage. I had a contract with a merchant, busted my ass two years guarding him. When the term came due, he said that my work was unsatisfactory and he didn't owe me anything."

The dwarf sets his jaw in anger and grinds his teeth. "I sure as hell didn't watch his fat ass for the fun of it; so I rearranged his nose and took what he owed me out of his pocket... It was LITERALLY pocket change for that son of a bitch. When he took the case to the judges, well...who do you think they sided with? The wealthy merchant or the copperless grunt? He was the victim. I was the Thief."

Kavos raises an eyebrow towards Eadric. According to his spell, the dwarf is telling the truth. "Do you have a real name? Kavos asks.

"I did." the Thief replies. "They called me Astur; but by tradition that name was stripped from me. To use it among dwarves is an offense likely to incite murder."

"Well welcome to Westbank, Astur." Kavos says, shaking the dwarf's hand firmly. "I wanted to make sure you knew the lay of the land so you wouldn't get lost delivering supplies."

The dwarf nods. "I'll make contact with the Deserter and the rest. We should have our first delivery by tomorrow morning."

Kavos smiles and pats the Thief on the back. "Be careful, alright? You'll find your weapon with Lark."

The Thief takes his leave without saying anything else.

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Eadric excuses himself to go check on his dragon and Kavos settles in to contact his other allies. Casting another Sending he sends word to the Locathah: "Danger is near, forces will arrive soon. Be in touch, war is imminent."

The chieftain replies back: "We will do what we can. Your plague has found its way to our halls. The Asch'al have risen against us all."

Kavos sighs and rests his head in his hand. "Gandil..."



Eadric approaches Ro'Than'Dur in the stable and finds the beasts wings and legs bound and its mouth heavily muzzled to prevent escape.

Seeing the once mighty dragon in such a predicament, Eadric removes the muzzle and receives a snarl for his efforts.

"Speak if you have something to say Rothan. I wish for us to be partners, not enemies." the kobold offers.

"Then unbind my wings." the dragon says.

Shaking his head, Eadric replies "You've tricked me before Rothan, why would I believe you now?"

With a falsely innocent shrug, Ro'Than'dur says "What are the odds that I would trick you a second time?"

"I've had a spell placed upon me that allows me to read your mind dragon." Eadric lies. "I can see through your deception."

"Oh?" Ro'than'Dur asks, amusement in his voice. "Then what am I thinking now?"

Slapping the muzzle back onto the dragon, Eadric says "It doesn't matter. You'll lose such functions soon enough. I've grown tired of this game, I intend to end it."

The dragon growls through its muzzle and Eadric heads to Rambalt's. Now I think I might've left out last write up that Rambalt had half jokingly told Eadric that the only way keep control of the dragon would be to basically lobotomize it so it wouldn't care what happens anymore and Eadric had been violently opposed to such a procedure.

Now however, his patience is up and he asks Rambalt to carry through with the procedure. Rambalt warns that it will leave Ro'Than'Dur docile and explains that he won't make a move he isn't instructed to; he also points out that he'll take whatever move ANYONE instructs him to. Eadric is obviously less thrilled with the idea of riding a dragon that can be ordered to buck him off any time he rides into battle.

He quickly abandons that plan, and discusses options with Kavos who's all for turning Ro'Than'Dur into a zombie and being done with it. But the fact that it would take up most of Kavos's Animate Dead slots, wouldn't have a breath weapon AND would still be a mindless husk has Eadric abandon that plan.

Instead he borrows Rambalt's library and spends the next few days searching for an answer himself.

He finds one, or at least he thinks he does. A spell of binding. He shows it to Rambalt and the mage agrees that it would definitely make the dragon more agreeable, but warns that it has a number of side effects.

Eadric (literally) says "I don't want to hear anymore about this ritual until it's completed Rambalt, now can you do it?" ((He also admits that he doesn't think he plays a very good 'smart' character because of decisions like this.))

Rambalt says that he could, but that it's powerful blood magic. Eadric repeats that he doesn't care about the jibba jabba, he wants a dragon! Rambalt sighs and tells the kobold to meet him in the stable.


In short order Eadric is strapped into a chair next to Ro'Than'Dur (for his own protection) and Rambalt sketches a strange series of runes into the ground around them. He then draws an 8 inch blade and slits the dragon's throat, sending a spray of blood onto the ground as he begins his chanting. Eadric starts to ask about the side effects after all, when Rambalt does the same to him and the kobold's voice becomes a loud gurgle.

Rambalt intermingles blood with blood and begins jamming tube into each of their wounds which lead to the other, his chanting grows louder and Eadric passes out from blood loss; Rambalt continues the ritual, knowing that if he stops to heal the dying kobold they'll have to start over.

Eadric has to make several more Fortitude saves to avoid outright dying from the trauma but neither he or the dragon is aware of what's going on anymore while they do; they're both out cold.


Meanwhile, Kavos is alone in his home; praying for guidance when he hears a familiar gravelly voice "You expecting an army boss?" the imp asks, perched on his headboard.

"I expect your findings." Kavos replies.

"I searched the road like you wanted boss. Flew all day and night, there ain't no soldiers around here." The imp says.

Kavos raises himself so that he can sit on his bed. "So then it's clear?"

"Well...not exactly boss." the imp replies. "I didn't see any groups, but I did see a guy."

"What's so alarming about that?" Kavos asks.

"He saw ME." the imp answers, flashing invisible and appearing somewhere else for who. "Looked right at me and smiled."

Kavos doesn't respond for a moment, thinking. "What was he doing?"

"Coming this way boss. Didn't seem to be in much of a hurry; might be a week before he gets here." the imp explains.

"Anything else odd?" Kavos asks.

"Had a tattoo right here, and here." the imp says, indicating his forearms. "Looked like this" he says, scratching an 8 onto the headboard.

Kavos tries to make sense of this and finally says "Thank you. If I want to call upon your services again, what name should I use?"

"Hezrael." the imp says. "Careful boss. He looks like a killer."

And with that, disappears in a puff of flame and smoke.

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It's early in the morning, the sun is just about to peak it's face above the treeline and Eadric opens his eyes feebly. He feels stiff and cold, much like one might expect to feel after having his blood drained for some obscure ritual.

He tries to stand, but his body feels heavy. It's not until he drags himself to his feet that he notices it isn't just a feeling, his clothes are tigther than they once were and he feels knots of muscle that weren't there when he passed out. Looking down at his once familiar hands, he sees thick green scales covering his arms.

Glancing over at Ro'Than'Dur he notices that the entire floor of the stable is stained with their blood and its only by the faint breathing of the dragon that he can even be sure its alive. Rambalt has a staff in hand, channeling healing energy into the beast.

"I see you both came through all right." Rambalt says as the dragon begins to stir as well. The mage takes a few steps back and says "There are a few things you should know about the procedure..."

Eadric ignores him and removes Ro'Than'Dur's muzzle. "How do you feel friend?" the kobold asks excitedly.

As the dragon comes to a look of absolute rage fills its face and it lunges forward, sinking its dagger-like teeth painfully into Eadric's shoulder and they BOTH shout in pain; blood flowing from the dragon's shoulder as well as Eadric's.

The kobold yelps and in response drives his fist into the dragon's face using every ounce of his power. The dragon's nose busts and blood flows freely, however Eadric too grasps his face as blood flows from his now broken nose.

"What did you do to me?" both of them shout at Rambalt.

Rambalt stammers and finds that his back is against the stable wall. "I...ah... Well you can't change a dragon's thought process without losing what makes it a dragon." he explains. "But you CAN use its personality against it. Dragons care about nothing more than self preservation. If you die, he dies; if he dies, you die. So now..."

"He cares what happens to me..." Eadric finishes. The dragon groans irritably.

"Unbind me then kobold." the dragon says sulking. "I have nowhere left to go."

Eadric does so and just barely leaps onto Ro'Than'Dur's back before the beast's wings flare out and it takes to the sky to stretch out, soaring up so high that they touch the clouds. The wind is brutal however and as Eadric jockeys for position he's ripped from his mount's back and tossed to the ground below.

Just before impact the dragon manages to snatch the kobold once more and circles lazily before landing beneath a string of trees on Westbank's south side and depositing the kobold roughly amid the leaves and brambles.

Despite the multiple near death experiences, Eadric is giddy. He'd thought he was above this; that he'd conquered his illogical kobold reverence for these flying lizards but...here he is. His own dragon.

Thinking about his people bowing and wallowing in the dirt... He decides it feels good to be a god.

[wobner]

I have to ask, are you messing with Gandil/Eadric just a little? slipping these catches in cause you know he will get impatient, or not ask questions? He did atleast think things through on the lombatimized dragon.

Maybe i'm reading something that isn't there, but I just get the impression this time, that you have some sort of nefarious, hilarious, plan for how this will disasterously come back to bite them.

[GorinichSerpant]

Your representation of bardic music is a very interesting one. I especially like how the song tells us a lot about Deserter's attitude in life especially considering the crime he's branded for.

[Kid Jake]

I have to ask, are you messing with Gandil/Eadric just a little? slipping these catches in cause you know he will get impatient, or not ask questions? He did atleast think things through on the lombatimized dragon.

Maybe i'm reading something that isn't there, but I just get the impression this time, that you have some sort of nefarious, hilarious, plan for how this will disasterously come back to bite them.

I think he just likes constantly being surprised, for better or worse. He basically said as much the first time Gandil died. I was honestly doing to tell him about the Half Dragon template AND shared damage aspects with my next sentence but he's like 'Nope!'

This way Ro'Than'Dur isn't just an overpowered cohort. Whatever affects one affects the other (at half effect for damage/healing) so he's got to be used smart to be worth riding a giant dragon shaped target directly over/through the enemy. It also lets me keep Ro'Than'Dur as a surly a-hole (which I've personally enjoyed quite a bit), while ensuring he goes along with Eadric's plans to keep himself alive.

Your representation of bardic music is a very interesting one. I especially like how the song tells us a lot about Deserter's attitude in life especially considering the crime he's branded for.

Thankya. He's actually a Skald using Inspired Rage and the Spirit Totem line, I just didn't want to muddle things with trying to differentiate them; kinda like how Rambalt isn't a Wizard he's an Artificer but I still just call him a mage because that's what they see him as. I thought it'd be a neat idea for this guy to just sort of sit on the sidelines basically preying on the fears of his allies (to the bastardized tune of Kaw-liga ) to get them to Hulk out and save themselves.

I've been kicking the 7 Outlaws around for a while now and thought they'd be an interesting contrast to the likes of Bryce and slave drivers he mentioned in the mountains; if Eadric had chosen to be a dwarf instead he'd probably have been one of these guys.

[wobner]

I think he just likes constantly being surprised, for better or worse. He basically said as much the first time Gandil died. I was honestly doing to tell him about the Half Dragon template AND shared damage aspects with my next sentence but he's like 'Nope!'

This way Ro'Than'Dur isn't just an overpowered cohort. Whatever affects one affects the other (at half effect for damage/healing) so he's got to be used smart to be worth riding a giant dragon shaped target directly over/through the enemy. It also lets me keep Ro'Than'Dur as a surly a-hole (which I've personally enjoyed quite a bit), while ensuring he goes along with Eadric's plans to keep himself alive.

I'll buy that for now, i just immediately remembered someone wanting flying undead, harpies were mentioned, and was trying to figure out if this wasn't all a scheme to somehow bring that into play but with a dragon instead.

Thankya. He's actually a Skald using Inspired Rage and the Spirit Totem line, I just didn't want to muddle things with trying to differentiate them; kinda like how Rambalt isn't a Wizard he's an Artificer but I still just call him a mage because that's what they see him as. I thought it'd be a neat idea for this guy to just sort of sit on the sidelines basically preying on the fears of his allies (to the bastardized tune of Kaw-liga ) to get them to Hulk out and save themselves.

I've been kicking the 7 Outlaws around for a while now and thought they'd be an interesting contrast to the likes of Bryce and slave drivers he mentioned in the mountains; if Eadric had chosen to be a dwarf instead he'd probably have been one of these guys.

i look forward to seeing what you do with sneezy, sleepy, happy, grumpy, err... i mean adulterer, theif, deserter, et all. that is litterallly the first place my mind went reading them.

[Kid Jake]

I'll buy that for now, i just immediately remembered someone wanting flying undead, harpies were mentioned, and was trying to figure out if this wasn't all a scheme to somehow bring that into play but with a dragon instead.

After Gandil bit the dust it seemed less funny to infect one of everything since most of the amusement came from him unwittingly unleashing hell everywhere he went. I'd actually completely forgotten about it.

i look forward to seeing what you do with sneezy, sleepy, happy, grumpy, err... i mean adulterer, theif, deserter, et all. that is litterallly the first place my mind went reading them.

That's not coincidental. All great dwarves come in packs of seven. Snow White's, Lord Of The Rings, Dwarf Fortress...

[GorinichSerpant]

That's not coincidental. All great dwarves come in packs of seven. Snow White's, Lord Of The Rings, Dwarf Fortress...

I am imagining now that Dwarves have 7 gods(or main gods), thier counting system goes by 7s instead of 10s and so forth.

It really is a shame Gandil had to go before he didn't literally cover the entire continent in ghouls, oh well we can't dwell on the past and lost possibility. There are new bright possibility to look forward to.

[Kid Jake]

I am imagining now that Dwarves have 7 gods(or main gods), thier counting system goes by 7s instead of 10s and so forth.

It really is a shame Gandil had to go before he didn't literally cover the entire continent in ghouls, oh well we can't dwell on the past and lost possibility. There are new bright possibility to look forward to.

I also imagine they have litters for some reason.

It's a shame he won't be able to finish what he started, hopefully the whole God of Kobolds thing might make up for it.

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Though I am surprised that nobody commented on a monstrous spider 'just so happening' to finish Gandil off last session.

[Kane0]

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Though I am surprised that nobody commented on a monstrous spider 'just so happening' to finish Gandil off last session.

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Rest assured, many of us picked up on it. The silent majority we be

[Afool]

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That- is quite the mystery. The rogue druid's work? Though he seems to have a blunter style. Could be the Priest's (I'm too tired for proper names at the moment), but he doesn't seem the type to care about pieces that are no longer on the board. Could have been an unassociated egg that just so happened to have hatched and needed a meal. Could have also been an assassination attempt on Kavos gone wrong. Maybe Merchant Dwarf was scheming a few plots along as well. Which reminds me, how's the infection of the fleet going?

[Kid Jake]

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Rest assured, many of us picked up on it. The silent majority we be

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Pretty sure they just wrote it off as me closing the chapter on Gandil for them; they seemed way too accepting of spiders climbing inside of people.

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That- is quite the mystery. The rogue druid's work? Though he seems to have a blunter style. Could be the Priest's (I'm too tired for proper names at the moment), but he doesn't seem the type to care about pieces that are no longer on the board. Could have been an unassociated egg that just so happened to have hatched and needed a meal. Could have also been an assassination attempt on Kavos gone wrong. Maybe Merchant Dwarf was scheming a few plots along as well. Which reminds me, how's the infection of the fleet going?

Spoiler: SPOILERIFIC

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There are perks to sharing enemies with a 7th+ level druid.

It's definitely been noticed by now and Bryce knows exactly who to blame. It should be coming back to bite them in the ass before too long. Eastbank fell because they didn't know what to expect, but the fleet does.

[Red Rubber Band]

Really enjoying this journal!

[Kid Jake]

Always glad to hear that our exploits manage to entertain.

[Syldari]

Highly enjoying this! Been reading it on my sick day! ^_^ Thanks for sharing this with us!

[GorinichSerpant]

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Pretty sure they just wrote it off as me closing the chapter on Gandil for them; they seemed way too accepting of spiders climbing inside of people.

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I thought spiders the size of cats are ordinary in a fantasy ecology, also an egg might have gotten in there when Gandil was dead.

[(Un)Inspired]

Very cool. I love the gang of Dwarven outcasts. Thief is so cool.

Great use of the Skald.

[Kid Jake]

Highly enjoying this! Been reading it on my sick day! ^_^ Thanks for sharing this with us!

Always happy to hear it's a fun read.

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I thought spiders the size of cats are ordinary in a fantasy ecology, also an egg might have gotten in there when Gandil was dead.

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I've thrown together some crapsack worlds in my day, but even I'm not horrible enough to make ten pound spiders creeping around basements business as usual. Though I will admit that I completely forgot about the time he spent decomposing in the forest before being found...

Very cool. I love the gang of Dwarven outcasts. Thief is so cool.

Great use of the Skald.

I've always liked the idea of a bard that was more Jonny Cash than Elan, Skald seemed like the coolest way to do that.

Not sure if any of the other dwarves backgrounds are likely to come into play any time soon or not; now that they're a little more sure that the town won't be razed from the inside out I doubt if they'll press them much.

For anyone interested in the rest's crimes though, here they are:

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Spoiler: Adulterer

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In dwarven society, everything is a commodity; that includes their women. Marriage isn't really a thing to them, you don't get all dolled up and make vows; once you pay a woman's father her bride price, he gives you a receipt and BAM you're married.

After saving the majority of his token salary from his military days, Josiah came home to start a family. He put every copper he had towards securing a respectable bride and lucked out, finding a comely (by dwarf standards) young lady of high standing who had yet to find a suitable suitor. He didn't realize that there was a good reason that nobody else was interested in the lady; that her father was a cheat.

So, he paid the bride price and settled down like he'd always intended to. Within a few months his wife began showing signs of pregnancy and he just couldn't be happier...that is until her new husband came to claim her. He tried arguing that she was his wife, that he'd paid the bride price as custom demanded and that this newcomer had no claim to her; and like a good wife she argued right along side him that their union was legal...however, nobody could seem to find a receipt. Nobody that is, except for the new husband who was pretty pissed at receiving second hand merchandise.

He'd been too excited at the prospect of starting his new life to notice that his wife's father never actually filed the paper work; preferring instead to keep her on the market until some other sucker decided to blow his life savings on an upscale bride.

So, Josiah watched as his wife was given to another dwarf; their child was terminated and HE was left with the bill for her despoiled state. He was branded the Adulterer and cast out of dwarven society until he's able/willing to repay the man now sleeping with his wife.

Spoiler: Murderer

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Aaron was one of several sons of a dwarven lord, a position which afforded him some power and influence in their society. He was a respected member of the community and a burgeoning political influence in his own right. That is until his youngest brother got into a spat with a judge's son and had his head caved in.

Now dwarven judge's are renowned for their wisdom and awarded positions for life when they're appointed. It is up to them to interpret and uphold the traditions and taboos which hold their society together. In short: Their word is law.

That's important to note, because this judge declared his son innocent of wrongdoing, despite a witness to the contrary; a witness who claimed that the judge's son instigated AND escalated the confrontation until Aaron's brother was killed. The judge claimed that the boy had been with him the whole night and the matter was dropped...

At least until Aaron caved in his son's head. If it had been anyone else, they would have hung; however officially executing the son of a lord is the sort of thing to lead to blood feuds, which lead to instability, which leads to low productivity; so a different judge stepped in to sentence Aaron to banishment; branding him as the Murderer and stripping his wealth and titles as recompense to the slain boy's family.

Spoiler: Liar

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Maluch wasn't much in life, but he was an honorable man. So when he witnessed the son of a local judge murder a boy in cold blood while he was hauling kegs he did what any civic minded dwarf would do: he reported it. Unlucky for him; it became his word versus that of the judge.

Since judges are, by their very nature, inerrable; he was obviously guilty of falsifying evidence and branded as befitted his new station in life. His crime is in some ways less severe than the others and if not for the fact that nobody trusts a branded Liar it could be possible for him to return to dwarven lands without being hung. As it stands he can wander the surface or starve at home.

Spoiler: Blasphemer

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Hamor was a minor dwarven merchant who made his living peddling surface wares to his people out of a modest shop back home. Like all of his station, he was expected to provide support and funding for the temple in thanks for his fortune. That's all well and good, but it seemed like the more he gave; the more they demanded and his bottom line became harder and harder to justify.

He put his foot down and accused the priesthood of outright extortion. It's pretty easy to guess how that turned out for him.

He was marked the Blasphemer and all that he tried to protect was seized and turned over to the very extortionists he sought to escape.

Spoiler: Coward

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Cyrus was a fifty year veteran of the dwarven military; an officer with the lives of 500 dwarves placed in his hands. He was part of an offensive against a growing orcish settlement that (in someone's eyes) threatened the legitimacy of the Dwarven Empire. They were sent to scatter the savages to the four winds, but as orcs are wont to do; they fought back and hard.

The rest of the army fell back to regroup, leaving Cyrus and his men to cover their retreat.

Cyrus's men fought...and fought...and fought some more, just to keep things varied. His 500 dropped to 300, then to 200, then to 20. After two weeks and more than 99% fatality rate they realized that there were no reinforcements coming and that their deaths wouldn't even serve as a speed bump to the next orcish push. So, Cyrus ordered his men to leave; having enough wasted dwarven life on his conscience.

By the time they returned home, they discovered that the rest of the army had been recalled and sent to scatter some other group of savages elsewhere; they weren't contacted because naturally nobody expected them to survive.

Dwarven life belongs to the state, not the individual, and the fact that Cyrus disobeyed a direct order to (basically) go die in a battle not even important enough to keep the Empire's attention to its conclusion meant that he had misused government property. Cyrus and each of his men were branded as Cowards; most used as target practice to dissuade similar acts of self preservation in the future, the rest escaping to any land that would have them.

Spoiler: Deserter

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Dwarves are pretty much a bunch of jerks. I assume that much is obvious in my setting from Bryce alone. They, as a people, have many enemies both real and imagined and as such; they need a sizable standing army to defend/raid themselves/everyone else. As such, EVERY dwarf must survive 20 years compulsory military service. Yes, even over-privileged bookworms like Bryce are hardened veterans of perhaps dozens of campaigns. From the lowliest serf to the noblest prince, for 20 years you're a chunk of meat used to bludgeon the rest of the world into agreeing that dwarves are just THE BEST. Most people keep their head down for the 20 and run; some go for the long haul and keep at it until they're too old to hold an axe; others...

Well, Gideon's story is pretty simple. He didn't want to do that.

The end.

Or at least, that was the plan. Desertion is a hanging offense, but you see; they don't want to hang you until your 20 years are up because so long as they can catch you; you're still a body on the field willing to fight to stay alive.

Shortly after finishing basic training, Gideon decided that a life on the run was a more attractive offer than death in a ditch; so he made a run for it that first year and tried to buy passage to human lands. THAT earned him the Deserter brand and placement in a deserter squad overseen by a Taskmasker intent on making sure they didn't get a chance to finish their 20.

Couple years later he tried again. That earned him the beating of his life and a collar enchanted with Mark of Justice, plus assignment to an even suicidier deserter squad.

He hemm'd and hawed like Coolhand Luke until they were satisfied he'd learned his lesson and placed him in a more conventional squad, where he made ANOTHER escape attempt. That earned him a beating that made the others look pretty tame by comparison and a set of wrist AND ankle irons; plus assignment to a squad whose mission basically boiled down to 'head to the front and absorb arrows so that more important people won't have to.'

It was a grim task...or rather it would have been if the Deserter hadn't taken a fall at the first sign of a bow being notched and laid in the mud until the gnolls came around to bayonet the wounded. He traded every scrap of information he had (whether or not it pertained to the battle) for a set of lockpicks and a cramped seat on the first ship headed in the opposite direction they had and managed to escape his homelands without being hung for high treason with seven years down, thirteen more to go.

[Kane0]

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Wow, your Dwarves are d***s. In the best way, as far as setting goes. Do you mind if I nab some of those ideas?

[(Un)Inspired]

Did you contact Kafka to help you write the dwarves backstory?

[Kid Jake]

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Wow, your Dwarves are d***s. In the best way, as far as setting goes. Do you mind if I nab some of those ideas?

Have at it. I love scary, oppressive dwarves and hope they catch on. Just lemme know how they turn out.

Did you contact Kafka to help you write the dwarves backstory?

I may have channeled him a little...

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The way I see them, all dwarves are just cogs in the lumbering machine of their society; they're LAWFUL to the point where good and evil are basically meaningless when describing them. When a good dwarf has you by the balls in a deal he might not squeeze quite so hard, if an evil dwarf holds influence you can be assured he'll throw his weight around a little more than necessary but they all believe that what they do is for the good of the Empire.

Even most Outlaws believe that the Empire is as perfect an organization as mortals can forge. That's why they're released topside rather than executed; even knowing they'll never go home most would die to protect the kin they left behind and so they advance the Empire's interests, usually without realizing it. That's why Desertion is the most obscene of the offenses, it represents willingly abandoning your duties and is so aberrant to the dwarven way of thinking that it must be purged.

These guys are just a little more bitter than most Outlaws. Not just because they've seen the imperfections of the system with their own eyes, but because they've had a dissenting little voice (Deserter) whispering in their ears every night.

[Steckie]

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Does that mean that the topside Dwarves can become a bit more flexible in their ways? Are they capable of becoming more than just cogs if something (Kavos probably) pushes the right buttons?

[Grim Portent]

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The way I see them, all dwarves are just cogs in the lumbering machine of their society; they're LAWFUL to the point where good and evil are basically meaningless when describing them. When a good dwarf has you by the balls in a deal he might not squeeze quite so hard, if an evil dwarf holds influence you can be assured he'll throw his weight around a little more than necessary but they all believe that what they do is for the good of the Empire.

Even most Outlaws believe that the Empire is as perfect an organization as mortals can forge. That's why they're released topside rather than executed; even knowing they'll never go home most would die to protect the kin they left behind and so they advance the Empire's interests, usually without realizing it. That's why Desertion is the most obscene of the offenses, it represents willingly abandoning your duties and is so aberrant to the dwarven way of thinking that it must be purged.

These guys are just a little more bitter than most Outlaws. Not just because they've seen the imperfections of the system with their own eyes, but because they've had a dissenting little voice (Deserter) whispering in their ears every night.

In a way that's one of the most LE ways for a society to exist. There's no overt abuse of power, there's no maniacal overlord to cast down. There's just a callous disregard for life, comfort and decency in favour of a nebulous concept of the common good. When a man in the street is a resource and has even begun to think of themselves as such you know you're in a LE society that's near impossible to change.

[GorinichSerpant]

This dwarven society frankly horrify me, mostly because it reminds me of 1984 and I'm still recovering from having read that book. *shudder*

How do dwarven PCs work with this interpretation of dwarves. I feel that most would be Outlaws.

[Kid Jake]

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Does that mean that the topside Dwarves can become a bit more flexible in their ways? Are they capable of becoming more than just cogs if something (Kavos probably) pushes the right buttons?

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Yep the disillusioned Outlaws, even if they're a minority, would be a valid and useful faction for Kavos to rally under him once he sets his sights beyond Westbank. The longer they're away from dwarven lands, the less sway the Empire has over them.

In a way that's one of the most LE ways for a society to exist. There's no overt abuse of power, there's no maniacal overlord to cast down. There's just a callous disregard for life, comfort and decency in favour of a nebulous concept of the common good. When a man in the street is a resource and has even begun to think of themselves as such you know you're in a LE society that's near impossible to change.

True, though I was aiming for more of a humanized Modron feel. I could definitely see LE.

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They're somewhat based on a setting that me and the guy that plays McCrow in my M&M game have been tossing around for a while where all the races/organizations are pretty much equally terrible. No good guys, no bad guys; just guys that want keep their heads down and finish their thankless jobs.

-Elves are a giant doomsday cult that sacrifice virgins to keep their gods from coming down and murdering EVERYBODY.
-Humans are a xenophobic(perhaps rightfully so), expansionist race that come into an area; burn everything down and claim it's always been theirs.
-Halflings are either thieving gypsies or suicidal terrorists or both, depending on which clan you come across. They lost their lands to the dwarves and figure everyone should suffer for it.
-Gnomes are....horrible. A bunch of manic, hedonistic psychopaths who live almost exclusively off hallucinogenic mushrooms that have completely erased the line between fantasy and reality for them. They do nothing but scream at the top of their lungs and indulge their every base instinct. Most races have a positive side that adds a little depth to the culture, if not likability, but gnomes are just way too far gone for that.

Not sure how much I'll rip off for this setting though; I'm still developing lands outside Gallorea, since most of the campaign should be centered around there. Will probably include the halflings at some point though, since they're tied to the a-hole dwarves in a meaningful way. I might introduce a group of tripping forest gnomes if I feel particularly spiteful.

One amusing aspect that definitely won't show up, but is in fact partially based on this game and added to the setting after the fact:

-Unicorns are an immortal race of all males. No unicorn ever travels more than five miles from its home, so you may have several dozen in an area without any of them being aware of the fact. ALL Unicorns claim to be the last of their kind and tell sad stories of the old days when they ran free across the plains as a family, this is believed to be a mating ritual to guilt females of other races into taking pity on them. No unicorn has ever actually seen another unicorn. UPON seeing another unicorn, they go crazy and fight to the death to destroy the imposter; bemoaning the loss of the Second to Last Unicorn and incorporating its death into their tragic lie in a way that makes them sound awesome and absolves them of guilt. If we ever get around to playing in this setting, McCrow's already called playing The Last Unicorn.

The whole setting's supposed to be hilariously awful. Sort of like if Warhammer was performed by The Kids In The Hall. Yeah, in theory it's terrible that the trolls have come down from the hills and started stabbing everyone, but as a player you've kinda got to wonder what they all did to deserve it. Sure, the trolls might be d*cks, but so long as you leave them alone they're usually content to just sit around in the mountains and be d*cks to each other.

Doubt if anyone remembers, but this is actually the setting that I pitched the Death Cult being the good guys in a few months back.

This dwarven society frankly horrify me, mostly because it reminds me of 1984 and I'm still recovering from having read that book. *shudder*

How do dwarven PCs work with this interpretation of dwarves. I feel that most would be Outlaws.

Outlaws in some form or another are probably most suitable for PCs, but any dwarf that isn't in constant contact with the Empire could have a slightly more liberal outlook. Bryce and his guards are a decent example. Bryce hasn't had much oversight since taking over Eastbank but he's still pretty darned dwarfy; his cog-like governing style chews up people that fail to fall in line fast enough and spits them back out missing limbs; no second chances.(His guards that failed their duties were each marked/maimed and cast out of town for their 'crimes'.)

His dwarven guards are a slightly better example. They lived among humans without the clout to force others to their way of thinking; so they've adapted. They're still loyal dwarves, willing to sacrifice themselves for their kin's interests; but they're aware of differing viewpoints even if they don't agree/respect them. They're polite, respectful, professional and above all completely unwavering. When presented with 'Die of this disease or leave your post.' they'll choose death every time.

Dwarven PCs could be merchants procuring supplies for kin back home, mercenaries/guards that for one reason or another have been separated from the rest of their company/caravan, dwarven emissaries or diplomats trying to swindle, subvert or improve relations with the lesser species, a dwarven officer/bounty hunter sent reclaim escaped dwarves/deserters or maybe even a dwarven father out to bring his wayward child back to the Empire before their poor minds are corrupted by all this "don't work yourself to death for the glory of the dwarven race" hogwash. Or just play Outlaws and get a badass facial brand and cool implied backstory.

[(Un)Inspired]

When I was in Spain I saw this group of street performers playing super rhythmic metal. The guitarist was thrashing the soup out of this out of tune acoustic guitar. Even element of there performance adds up to the kind of music I should dislike but for some reason they sounded incredible.

That's how I imagine your Dwarven Skald sounding.

That last unicorn story is great btw.

[Grim Portent]

Spoiler: Rambling

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They're somewhat based on a setting that me and the guy that plays McCrow in my M&M game have been tossing around for a while where all the races/organizations are pretty much equally terrible. No good guys, no bad guys; just guys that want keep their heads down and finish their thankless jobs.

-Elves are a giant doomsday cult that sacrifice virgins to keep their gods from coming down and murdering EVERYBODY.
-Humans are a xenophobic(perhaps rightfully so), expansionist race that come into an area; burn everything down and claim it's always been theirs.
-Halflings are either thieving gypsies or suicidal terrorists or both, depending on which clan you come across. They lost their lands to the dwarves and figure everyone should suffer for it.
-Gnomes are....horrible. A bunch of manic, hedonistic psychopaths who live almost exclusively off hallucinogenic mushrooms that have completely erased the line between fantasy and reality for them. They do nothing but scream at the top of their lungs and indulge their every base instinct. Most races have a positive side that adds a little depth to the culture, if not likability, but gnomes are just way too far gone for that.

Not sure how much I'll rip off for this setting though; I'm still developing lands outside Gallorea, since most of the campaign should be centered around there. Will probably include the halflings at some point though, since they're tied to the a-hole dwarves in a meaningful way. I might introduce a group of tripping forest gnomes if I feel particularly spiteful.

One amusing aspect that definitely won't show up, but is in fact partially based on this game and added to the setting after the fact:

-Unicorns are an immortal race of all males. No unicorn ever travels more than five miles from its home, so you may have several dozen in an area without any of them being aware of the fact. ALL Unicorns claim to be the last of their kind and tell sad stories of the old days when they ran free across the plains as a family, this is believed to be a mating ritual to guilt females of other races into taking pity on them. No unicorn has ever actually seen another unicorn. UPON seeing another unicorn, they go crazy and fight to the death to destroy the imposter; bemoaning the loss of the Second to Last Unicorn and incorporating its death into their tragic lie in a way that makes them sound awesome and absolves them of guilt. If we ever get around to playing in this setting, McCrow's already called playing The Last Unicorn.

The whole setting's supposed to be hilariously awful. Sort of like if Warhammer was performed by The Kids In The Hall. Yeah, in theory it's terrible that the trolls have come down from the hills and started stabbing everyone, but as a player you've kinda got to wonder what they all did to deserve it. Sure, the trolls might be d*cks, but so long as you leave them alone they're usually content to just sit around in the mountains and be d*cks to each other.

Doubt if anyone remembers, but this is actually the setting that I pitched the Death Cult being the good guys in a few months back.

I adore every part of this concept. All it needs is for the Fey to be done in the old fashioned way where they were sadistic little monsters who enjoyed tormenting animals, stealing children, killing travelers with trickery or hunting anyone they met down like dogs.

[Kid Jake]

When I was in Spain I saw this group of street performers playing super rhythmic metal. The guitarist was thrashing the soup out of this out of tune acoustic guitar. Even element of there performance adds up to the kind of music I should dislike but for some reason they sounded incredible.

That's how I imagine your Dwarven Skald sounding.

That last unicorn story is great btw.

Sort of the 'Springtime For Hitler' of music. I could see that, just this burly guy with an acoustic guitar sending a group of even burlier guys to headbang their way to victory.

Yar, Unicorns are basically the Immortals from Highlander; only the final unicorn's grand prize isn't something silly like 'mortality' it's getting to brag about being the Last Unicorn.

I adore every part of this concept. All it needs is for the Fey to be done in the old fashioned way where they were sadistic little monsters who enjoyed tormenting animals, stealing children, killing travelers with trickery or hunting anyone they met down like dogs.

The girl that played Tiffany has a character already statted out that's actually a fairy addicted to her own 'fairy dust'. The fey world is basically one big, poorly define, extradimensional nightclub where immortal creatures of near infinite power stumble around from one party to another; occasionally (accidentally) entering the realm of mortals where they trade world shattering favors for chicken and waffles and other inconsequential things. They aren't really malicious, but they have no concept of repercussions; so they usually leave a swathe of chaos and destruction that lingers looooong after they've wandered off.

Her character crashed on some farmer's couch 300 years ago and left him with an IOU that his descendants have finally called in all these centuries later.