Solomon Kane

Howard's Solomon Kane comes to the big screen!

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Chapter the Second: An Earthquake, the Swallower, and A New Friend

The two friends had their early morning slumbers disturbed by a ferocious shaking as the very roots of the city shook themselves in a fierce earthquake. When they took their morning repast at the Last Good Time Tavern they noticed many urchins surrounding a large crevice in the firmament of Whores and Harlots Street. Paying this no mind they enjoyed their grog porridge, until their gustatory enjoyment was interrupted by the heartrending wails of a young woman. As they rushed to investigate they were brushed aside by Uncle Morgrin as brought the inconsolable Lucinda into the tavern. Lucinda's grief was soon known, her only son Karlo had fallen down into the crevasse and had not been heard from since. Wasting no time Tyrian and Ulmo retrieved their gear and entered the depths.
They climbed down the craggy edges of the crevasse finding no track of the lad, although Grey picked up his scent as well as the scent of other creatures. As they were about to search in the direction Grey's nose pointed them they were accosted from above by a sharply dressed gentleman in an elegant hat, cravat, and coat bearing a finely polished walking stick. He ordered them out of the tunnels on the authority of City Works. This was the first time but certainly not the last, that Tyrian and Ulmo met Garrus Andova, City Works Maester. Just then the brave duo was assaulted by tusked goblins whom they rapidly dispatched with blade and mage craft.
The party followed the curving caverns into a large cave sitting below the Last Good Time. In the middle of the cavern lay a crack through which Tyrian and Ulmo could see a putrid, dark lake, the center a swirling, ever ravenous whirlpool. From the level below and from an adjacent tunnel, reverberant foul chanting could be heard, praise to some best forgotten dark gods.



Following the chanting of mad priests through the twisting tunnel they came to a branch. At the center was crystalline growth that looked to have etched it way slowly into the rock, forming a depression in the path. It vibrated with sensorium felling frequency so that Grey lost the scent. As Ulmo walked past the crystals they shone with a bright intensity. Compelled by curiosity he touched the stones only to be caught in an explosive backlash, injuring him but charging him with greater arcane power. They party did a cursory examination of the the rightmost branch finding three more branch points without investigating the endpoints fully. They backtracked and instead took the leftmost tunnel coming upon the primed and ready goblin thralls of the Swallower. Soon they were engaged in a fierce melee and the party withdrew down the tunnels due to withering archery fire. Tyrian and Ulmo underestimated the cunning of the goblin tribe as several speargoblins snuck along the less thoroughly investigated tunnels to ambush the party from behind. Tyrian acted as a staunch rearguard, twirling his mighty great axe in vorpal patterns. Meanwhile the oft-underestimated jaws of Grey and the spectacular magecraft of Ulmo kept the goblin numbers thinned on the forefront.
However the sheer numbers that the goblin's overlord was willing to sacrifice to capture the party was enough to wither their numbers, first Grey, then Ulmo, and then Tyrian fell before the goblin spears and their skullcrusher sergeant. They awoke loosely bound at the precipice of the hungry whirlpool, with them was the young boy Karlo. A bizarrely armored humanoid with a broken beholder helm was directing two goblin thralls, who were prodding them with spears toward the Swallower. Tyrian shredded his bonds on a nearby stalagmite and gripped the spear head of one of the goblins. As he made to pummel the tusked facies his opponent, Neverlost appeared in his hand, and he drove the blade home. The orb helmed priest ensorcelled Karlo who began to walk to his summoning and then turned to leave. Meanwhile Ulmo and Tyrian were in mortal combat with the two goblins, while Grey attempted to drag the boy against the summons. The priest used his helm to open the great portcullis protecting the inner temple letting the bars fall shut behind him. He then turned and proceed to use an unknown force to hurl first Tyrian and Ulmo into the waters of the Swallower. Ulmo was able to land a parting shot, nearly the freezing the priest to the bone while Tyrian levered them both back onto the rocky altar edge. When they had regained their bearings, the priest had fled.
They examined the portcullis but were unable to find an opening mechanism, although it appeared to be an amalgam of iron and the crystal that Ulmo had touched earlier. Ulmo suspected that his might be of an opposite polarity to the earlier substance and the party did well not to touch it. Using a spear and a feat of epic might, Tyrian was able to lever the portcullis a small way open, enough for himself, Grey, and Karlo to slip through. Ulmo had of course simply teleported to the other side. Outside the portcullis the party investigated the plaintive calls of an eladrin maiden, named Yslir. They found her in a sealed cell, which they could not open, however the bars seemed to of a similar material as the portcullis. The heroes reasoned that the beholder helm could be used to open this cell. What they could not explain was the door behind the cell: an ancient architecture more advanced than any found in Roeblini.
The party travelled along the twists and turns of the ancient temple of the Godslayers until they found another sacrificial holding cell, this one near a fountain of black water, running in reverse. The holding cell door was shattered and cast open. As Ulmo examined the fountain luminous eyes grew larger and a waterlogged zombi leapt from the waters, fetid water pouring from its mouldering flesh. Simultaneously another undead thing crawled from the maw of the broken cell, stalking directly toward comatose Karlo. Ulmo spat spellfire from his fingers as Tyrian charged forward launching the zombie back into the cell where it fell with a sickening sound. Suddenly Ulmo was launched forward into a plinth of rock by the force of the beholder helm, the fell priest had come upon the adventurers from a side passage. With Tyrian, Ulmo, and Grey's combined might and no where to run, the priest was gravely injured, then felled by the icy bolts of Ulmo's fury.
The party then found the priest's secret lair, a tomb holding a great sarcophagus. They raided the remnants of the treasure, but as Tyrian made a rubbing of sarcophagus it began to open, revealing the 7 foot skeleton of a proud warrior-priest. The skeleton rose, proclaiming itself to S'smuliss. At first not quite realizing that he was reanimate, S'smuliss swore allegiance to Tyrian for freeing him. Using the beholder helm the party freed Yslir and made its way back to the surface.
In the hot persistent twilight of Roeblini, Morgrin the Fat was arguing with Garrus Andova regarding the violation of the covenants protecting New Roeblini City from the Undercity. Fearing reprisals Uncle Morgrin quickly ushered his two liegemen into the Last Good Time Tavern and told them to get out of the city until things quieted down a little bit. Tyrian and Ulmo accompanied by S'smulis and Grey offered themselves guards on the next caravan rolling out of town.

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Grey's Picture Album: On Vacation on the Prime Material -- Temple of the Swallower

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Chapter The First: Deeds at the Duelist, Too Many Rats, and a Dog Named Grey

In this first installment of our tale two unrelated brothers met, a mad halfling sorceror one Ulmo the Lucky and Tyrian Morgankin. Ulmo had but recently been banned from the Tunnelwebs of the Dwarves and forcibly evicted into the sordid gem that is New Roeblini City. Meanwhile Tyrian the last survivor of an ill fated sea raiding party sought out his distant uncle, Morgrin, within the city's limits. Ulmo eager to earn coin and challenge fate sought out the Duelist Inn, a decapitated tower some distance from the city's central waters, where the brave battled the foolish for wagers of gold. Coincidentally, this was also the frequent haunt of Morgrin. On the skiff ride to the brawling bar the fateful meeting of the two heroes occurred.
At the bar Tyrian met the voluptuous Lucinda who guided him to his uncle, meanwhile Ulmo watched one strange dueling pair after the other before offering challenge to the intimidating Fairsal, a great lizard man who's might sinews were backed by a tissue-like will. Ulmo was declared the winner by nervous breakdown. Meanwhile as Tyrian spoke to his uncle, he learned that Morgrin on of the Seafarer faction of the House of Heros was in political stalemate, his smallest political machination undone before he could implement it. He suspected a spy but could not root him out, perhaps Tyrian and his new friend could help. Ulmo then faced Squinteye Eik, a gnomish lurker, who he defeated. When it was found that Eik had welshed on his side of the bet, the Roeblini made ready to gut him as was their fashion, Tyrian defended him saying that a man or gnome's life was worth more than a few gold sails. Uncle Morgrin, aghast at such a statement from a Roeblini raider's son, dueled him with wooden swords, but was impressed with the martial might of his distant nephew, publicly proclaiming one of Morgrin's men. Squinteye Eik was stripped naked and cast into Roeblini's murky waters, his possessions given to Ulmo. The gnome was seen swimming for the city proper, but never made landfall, yet another victim to that which prowls the depths.
Morgrin took them aboard his gondola, briefly showing them the cityscape: the Whores and Harlots Street, the Bazaar, the Chieftan's Tower, and the Halls of Heroes and Merchants. Morgrin took them to the Seafarer faction's offices, an ornate if rundown shamble a short walking distance from the deserted and even more disheveled Hall of Heroes. At the door they found a sleeping guard, Byl, surprised to see his patron returned. Inside they met Morgrin's servant scribe, S'sabis, before being ushered into Morgrin's sprawling office a collection of decades of adventure, war, monster killing, political infighting, maps, and discarded tankards. Here Ulmo thought he noticed something skittering into the shadows, but Morgrin dismissed his concerns regarding rats stating that they were a fact of life in the city. The three discussed their plans and eventually decided to enter Avandra's Run, a race run by carrying a compatriot through the streets from the Beach Gate to the Temple of Avandra at the opposite end of the city. Ulmo and Tyrian would use preparation for the race as cover to investigate the spy within Uncle Morgrin's midst.
The mismatched pair were surprised at the Roeblini rats, larger and capable of using complex tools Tyrian and Ulmo suspected that these might actually be the spies. They sought out the freelance but permanently hired animal monster control specialist, Sutton. The scarred ranger admitted that the rodents here were certainly larger and more intelligent than rats elsewhere but he refused to help them. He gave them dire warnings about an Undercity thought to be a myth by most.
Seeking a way to track the rats the partners sought out the Magic Shoppe. Here they met the mighty Arcus, a wizard apparently caught within a beautiful gold statue of a man. The articulate edifice summoned a celestial rat terrier named Grey, so named for his silver flecked coat. Tyrian dispatched Grey to follow the rats and find a way for them to follow the mutated rodents.
As Grey prowled the sewer tubes chasing the rats, Tyrian and Ulmo competed in Avandra's Run. Ulmo was loaned some goggles to improve his vision, Tyrian was armed with the blade Neverlost and a stout cudgel. They soon found themselves in fourth place behind a dragonborn mounted kobold, two humans, and two warforged. Behind them many other competitors stretched including a massive, drooling dwarf and his human jockey. They caught the warforged who both began to pummel our heroes. Tyrian placed a strategic blow to the legs of the running automaton who fell in a tangle. They ran until up ahead they saw the two human runners slain by arrow crossfire. Deciding to avoid this death trap they cut into the alleyways, closely followed by the ravened dwarf. Ulmo picked off the berserk dwarf's rider after he shot Tyrian with a poisoned dart he was able to shrug off. As the dwarf closed, Grey threw himself at the dwarf's feet, tripping him. Tyrian burst into the street behind the dragonborn. Ulmo used his magic and noticed the kobold was unaffected, suspecting a mirage, Ulmo saw through the illusion. As Tyrian drew even with the saurian, they were both tackled by the exhausted dragonborn. As they fell they noticed a ringer sprint past them, two racers that they had not seen earlier at the start of the race. Tyrian sprinted after the runners, passing them just before the finish line. Tyrian and Ulmo had won Avandra's Run.
A few days after the race, Grey returned to the adventurer's apartments with a belt attached to which were four small vials of liquids. Grey had been unable to find a normal sized entrance but had seen some mansized humanoids consume the vials to shrink down and traverse the drain tubes. Tyrian and Ulmo planned to go to the drain nearest the mansized tunnels and follow Grey. They shrank themselves and climbed down the rough hewn drain pipe to a smooth 10" diameter tube of an ancient and more refined architecture. Grey led them unerringly through the foul tubes until they encountered some of Roeblini's odd rats. A fierce battle commenced in the tight passageways, three rats relatively the size of horses were left as cold corpses. After the battle Tyrian noticed that the passageway was shrinking as the effects of the vials wore off. The party hurried through the tunnels running more and more hunched. Finally they were engaged by more rats, Tyrian and Ulmo drank their second and final potions returning to their shrunken size, then slew the rapacious rats.
They exited into a the ruins of an old street, both sides bracketed by what appeared to be demolished barracks. The ceiling appeared to be the aftereffect of rapidly frozen lava. The floor was dusty cobblestones, large heavy booted foot prints surrounded by thousands of rat prints and droppings. Some distance to the north the passageway was collapsed, so the party followed the prints to the south coming upon a lit cross tunnel.
This cross passage opened into an oval room filled with sketches, maps, and notes regarding key players of the New Roeblini City. Tyrian suspected that this was written in an ancient form of draconic as he could recognize but not decipher the words as he and Ulmo collected key items of evidence. They also retrieved two more vials of the mysterious shrinking potion. They inspected the three rooms attached to the oval room, one a store room, the second a treasury with gemstones and many gold sails, and the last a sleeping room with three pallets. As they finished their search, Tyrian and Ulmo heard approaching bootsteps. They quickly hid in the storeroom as two dragonborn spies Coldfang and Warscale entered speaking in draconic about the low output of viable intelligence in the last few weeks. As they argued they were joined by Captain Blackfang who told them they had new orders from central command. Suddenly the captain noticed the missing items and the three dragonborn drew their weapons, the captain then searched the hallway realizing that the party was trapped within the underground encampment.
As the two groups had a silent stalemate, Captain Blackfang hurled flaming oil into the treasury, only to be blasted by Ulmo's arcane might. As he made ready to do the same into the store room where the heroes were hiding. Knowing what was to come next Tyrian followed by Grey exploded from the side passage, engaging Coldfang and Warscale, as large bottle off flaming oil was hurled into Ulmo's midst who sprang out the door only to fall prone at Blackfang's feet. The captain engaged the halfling trying to prod him back into the flames, and by the greatest stroke of luck, the saurian slipped and stumbling over the halfling nearly fell into inferno. With mighty sword strokes Tyrian hewed Coldfang to the floor as Grey worried the throat of Warscale. Blackfang regained the room engaging our intrepid heroes. As both Ulmo and Tyrian became bloodied and wounded from the mighty spymaster's onslaught, Grey attempted to grab hold of Blackfang and dispel himself back to his home plane (or nearest adjacent demiplane). The celestial terrier and the dragonborn vanished. The battered heroes consumed their final potions and slipped back to the surface.
They were met by a wet Grey at Morgrin's office who said that his return to the celestial plane had been hampered and he had lost the dragonborn only to reappear in the Magic Shoppe. He had swum back to the city proper to rejoin his master.
Who were the spies working for? Was that ruined street under sewers part of a greater Undercity as Sutton's dark mutterings implied? Was the dragonborn in Avandra's Run part of the conspiracy?

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Kingmakers and Godslayers: Introduction

Four score years ago, the Roeblini Armada lay siege across the Forest Sea to the Empire of the Godslayers. Under the eternal bloody twilight of the great Southern imperium, the barbaric raiders and the decadent savages made war. In the end the Roeblini were victorious casting down the ancient emperor and destroying the capitol seat. In its stead rose New Roeblini City which soon became a thriving port and trade center.
The city is the centerpiece of a long curved belt of smaller outposts that stretch along the coast. New Roeblini City is a series of small islands nestled within a crater half open to the sea. Towering waterfalls falling from the forested cliffs feed the brackish but murderous currents of the city's shallow harbor. South of the ribbon-like nation is a great verdant rainforest that has swallowed, over centuries, the Godslayer Imperium. Throughout these jungles live great lizards some of whom have been turned to beasts of burden or war, and some too rapacious but to be attacked on sight. The landscape is dotted with active volcanoes heating the humid air far more than the tepid light of the waning Southern sun. Many blame the salt and wet for turning copper roof's green and tarnishing gold to black, but oldings say each year the decay seems to accelerate. All will admit that more and more of the walking dead have been seen in the last five years than ever before, although most would agree that the rapidly expanding population is disturbing more and more secreted Imperial tombs. Everyday the population of this booming nation grows both from natural production and immigration. Everyday prosperity abounds.
New Roeblini is the new homeland of this formerly nomadic nation. It is governed by an elected chieftain and two houses of representation. The first is the House of Heroes whose members are selected by their deeds of renown and service to the nation. Their opposition is the House of Merchants whose members are selected by monetary bids for seats. The two houses select candidates for the position of Chieftain who is then elected by the common populace and serves until they resign or die, currently this is Lady Andova, a merchant-magi who has served for the last 12 years. Laws and taxation are prepared by one house and voted upon by the other. In all other matters of policy the chieftain serves as absolute ruler.
Many leagues to the southeast lies the Draconic Confederacy politically silent and diplomatically neutral. The Tunnelweb of the Dwarves now reaches the distant coast of New Roeblini, although careful tariffs have kept the stout folk from completely monopolizing trade. The Feywild kisses reality from sea and sky. During mysterious solstices and equinoxes the jade waves of the Forest Sea become the rippling canopy of the Elven Homeland. Far to the north under the crisp light of the Young Sun, the Eladrin Realm winks in and out of existence atop the clouds.
Welcome to Kingmakers and Godslayers, do you have what it takes to one day rule this land?

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The Road Trailer

"The Road (Movie Tie-in Edition)" (Cormac McCarthy) serves as the story for the movie that comes out in the fall. I don't remember a cause to the calamity that sets the scene for the road, also the boy's mother is only seen in flashbacks and based on the trailer would have a greater role to play in the film. Time will tell.

The Last City: House Rules

Character Generation

Roll 4d6 and discard lowest roll, player arranges scores to suit.

Toll of Power

All spell casters are subject to the economics of arcanium. In some form or another they will expend arcanium to fuel their spellcraft. Failure to do so can have dire effects for the caster. The effects of paying more arcanium than required can sometimes work, but is unstable, wild and dangerous to the caster as well as the immediate surroundings. Further details below.

Arcane Spellcasters

Spell Level	Minimum Caster Level	DC
0	1	15
1	1	17
2	3	19
3	5	21
4	7	23
5	9	25
6	11	27
7	13	29
8	15	31
9	17	33

Wizards use spell craft checks to cast spells. On a successful check they cast the spell without incident. Specialists receive a +2 to spells from their own school and a -5 for spells from opposition schools. On a failed check the spell is miscast and the caster takes the spell level d6 in damage. Caster's reduced to negative hit points are automatically stabilized, they do not lose further hit points.
Arcane spellcasters expend arcanium as they cast spells, a spell costs its spell level + 1 gp of arcanium to cast. Wizards within the reach of a birth, slain opponent, or destroyed animate object receive the hit die amount of arcanium. A sorceror slain within the sorceror's caster level + 5 feet provides the wizard with arcanium equal to their spell points. These arcanium must be used within the wizard's caster level of rounds and the wizard cannot make more than a 5 foot move. Wizards can tap magical items for arcanium as well, dispelling them in the process. A tapped item most be in the wizard's control and is not an artifact. If the item is curse, tapping its power does not lift the curse. Tapping an item bestows 1/100th the gp value of the item in arcanium, this power is available for the wizard's caster level of rounds. Lastly wizards may injure themselves with a sharp object for a hp total equal to the g.p. in arcanium they wish to spend.
Wizards cannot cast spells if they do not have arcanium to spend

Bardic Spellcasters

Bards cast spells as described in the Player's Handbook. When they cast a spell they make a Perform check against DC 15 + spell level. If they are successful they have no arcanium cost, however if they fail they must have spell level + 1 gp of arcanium to cast. Bards can use art produced by others to defray the arcanium toll, but the Perform check is made with a -2 penalty.
All bards have the Eschew Materials feat when casting bardic spells without incurring any increase in effective spell level.

Divine Spellcasters

This category of spellcasters include clerics, druids, paladins, and rangers. In order to emulate them receiving divine gifts at the whim of their gods, a recharge magic system will be used. In order to retain their powers, divine spell casters must make a sacrifice equal to their caster level, spread their faith to a flock equal to their character level, bring their character level of souls to their deities after life, or equivalent per week. Characters who fail in these duties lose their spell abilities and most perform a quest of atonement bereft of their caster abilities. Divine spell casters have the most predictable effects when they do great boons for the deities, but must be careful how often they ask the favors of fickle gods.

Sorcerous Spellcasters

Sorcerors are spell cannons. A spell point system works to describe their powers. They may exceed their normal spell points by using Constitution points for spell points, these are recovered as normal ability drains would.
All sorcerors have the Eschew Materials, Silent, and Still Spell feats when casting sorceror spells without incurring any increase in effective spell level.
Sorcerors must consume their caster level x 10 gp worth of arcanium daily. They lose one effective caster level per day without arcanium. Caster's using less than their necessary dose of arcanium lose effective caster levels until they stabilize at their current dose. A sorceror that is sacrificed releases their spell point total in arcanium for use by the nearest spell caster. The arcanium addiction can be reduced by the same methods as a wizard power their spells.

Healing

The hit points generated at 1^st level are your "core hit points" and are recovered at a rate of your CON bonus x character level per 8 hours of sleep. Hit points obtained at levels above 1^st level are recovered at a rate of your CON bonus x character level per hour. This recovery can only occur after combat.

Action Points

Contacts

Sanity

Gaining new magical powers is taxing to one's sanity. Wizards take a terrible risk every time they learn a new spell. For every spell they attempt to learn wizards must make a WILL save DC 10 + spell level or suffer Moderate Sanity Loss. All other spell caster's make the same check every time they receive access to a new spell level or suffer Extreme Sanity Loss.

Arcanium charged gear

In general 10 gp of arcanium improves a bonus by +1 or does 1d6 damage for a single action. It takes one round to load an arcanium charge. For every 10 gp of arcanium the chance of instability increases by 1, thus a roll of 1 to 5 on a d20 when using 50 gp of arcanium has an instability effect, regardless of whether the roll is successful or not.

Feats

All player characters receive three additional feats at first level, except bards who receive two additional feats, and sorcerors who receive no additional feats.

Skills

Player characters receive 8 more skill points at first level and 2 more skill points for every level gained.

Starship Enterprise Destroyed by the Death Star

This is pretty cool.