Knight vs Dragon

The classic trope of the lone knight against a dragon. Is it doable in D&D? I've never seen it happen. Seems like a suicide mission unless you're talking about a super, high level, overpowered character, but where's the fun in that?

Before writing this, I watched the dragon fight scene in the Disney classic, Sleeping Beauty (1959). It's really the only on-screen visual I could think of that matches this scenario.

• That dragon was black and breathed green fire which had acidic qualities.
• Wondering if this influenced Gary Gygax's version of a black dragon.
• The knight (or was he just a prince?) hit the dragon once on the nose and it sounded like metal.
• The knight (prince) lost his shield to the dragon's breath weapon (saving throw in action?)
• The knight slew the dragon by throwing his sword (which had just been enchanted by a faerie) into it's underbelly.

Time to roll up a fight... 

• B/X will be the system.
• The dragon will be a standard black (7HD).
• The knight will be a 7th level knight as offered by Old School Essentials Advanced Fantasy, though for all intents and purposes, it is essentially just a regular B/X fighter because none of the knight class features apply here at all, unless the dragon had spell casting capabilities, where-as the knight would be granted a saving throw vs sleep.
• The knight will have four randomly determined magic items including a magic sword, representing time spent adventuring. I rolled shockingly well for these, see below...
• Black dragons have a 20% chance to speak, and thus, cast spells. This dragon is a non-speaker, so, no spells. This alone, makes the dragon much less formidable.
• The breath-weapon will work on a recharge mechanic after the initial use. The rules state there is an equal chance of the dragon using claws/bite as there is of it using it's breath-weapon. Random determination will mean breathing acid on a 4-6 (d6). Maximum 3 times. 

The Knight

Str:15(+1)   Int:10   Wis:13(+1)   Dex:10   Con:12   Cha:11

HP:36    AC:17(plate + shield)   Dragon-Breath Save:10    To-Hit:+7    Damage:1d8+2

Magic Items:

• Sword+1 (+3 vs Undead)
• Ring of Wishes (1) (actually rolled this, could be a game changer)
• Potion of Healing 
• Boots of Traveling and Leaping (why did OSE rename the Boots of Striding and Springing?) By-the-book these won't help much here, but I might allow advantage on breath-weapon saves or some such thing.  

Black Dragon 

AC:17    HP:31    To-hit:+6    Damage: 2 claws (1d4+1), 1 bite(2d10), or 1 breath (current HP)    

Morale:8 (will check at 16 and 8 hit points)

Round One (assumes no surprise)

• Dragon wins initiative breathes acid.
• Knight makes the save and takes 1/2 damage, 16 points.
• Knight then hits dragon for 9 points.
• Knight HP:20   Dragon HP:22

Round Two

• Initiative is tied, combat will be simultaneous.
• Dragon breathes acid again.
• Knight fails save and dies while striking the dragon for 6 points of damage.
• Knight HP:0   Dragon HP:16

That was quick! 

Lets go again with the following caveats: 1. The boots of traveling and leaping will allow the knight to take zero damage if the save vs dragon-breath is made and half damage if it fails. 2. The knight may also sacrifice a shield to avoid breath-weapon damage on a failed save or a killing melee blow.

Round One

• Dragon wins initiative breathes acid.
• Knight makes save, using the boots, leaps out of the way taking zero damage then hits the dragon for 6 points of damage.
• Knight HP:36   Dragon HP:25

Round Two

• Dragon wins initiative and chooses 2 claw/1 bite... all three miss!
• At this point the knight could use the ring of wishes any number of ways to win the fight, it's such a game changer that I passed on that for the sake of this exercise. So the knight strikes and hits again for 6 points of damage.
• The dragon passes a morale check, continues the fight.
• Knight HP:36   Dragon HP:16

Round Three

• Initiative is tied, combat will be simultaneous.
• Dragon breathes acid, knight makes save, jumping away taking zero damage. While jumping, strikes the dragon for 10 points of damage!
• Knight HP:36   Dragon HP:6

Round Four

• Knight wins initiative and hits the dragon for 8 points of damage, slaying it.
• Knight HP:36   Dragon HP:0

Thoughts...

• Simultaneous combat has interesting consequences.
• In either fight, the knight never missed an attack roll, had to roll 10+.
• House ruling the magic boots gave the knight a nice edge, seriously helped by making both saves. This makes sense though, and is probably how these boots would work in sword & sorcery fiction.
• The knight took zero damage in the four round second fight mainly due to the dragon rolling very poorly.
• I initially rolled morale at the end of the third round. The dragon failed and flew away (realistic.) Then I remembered that initiative had to be rolled first, which the knight won, then proceeded to slay the beast. Rolling initiative every round has dynamic effects.
• The ring of wishes could have been used to nullify the dragon-breath, blind the dragon, put it to sleep, etc. Not the best item for this exercise, that's why I didn't use it.
• Great little fight, easy to visualize, quick and dramatic not unlike the scene in Sleeping Beauty.

I think the knight's chances of success in this scenario diminish further and further with every edition following B/X & AD&D due to the fact that dragons keep getting bigger and bigger, though I'm not about to put that to the test.

XP & Treasure

• Slaying the dragon: 1,250 XP
• 58,000 SP (GP value: 5,800)
• 20 gems (GP value: 2,610)
• 40 pieces of jewelry (GP value: 48,000)
• Total GP value: 56,410. Slightly under the average of 60,000 for a black dragon.
• Total XP: 57,660. 

Enough for this knight to ascend to 8th level!

40+ Years Of Trying To Define Hit Points Continues...

What are hit points exactly?

This comes up from time to time on forums, blogs, in person, everywhere. It's one of the age-old D&D questions.

The common response is usually something like this -- Hit points are a mixture of luck, endurance, and combat skill. 

• Luck? -- perhaps, but then, shouldn't halflings have a shit-ton? 
• Endurance? -- that's certainly a part of it.
• Combat skill? -- this actually makes the most sense, according to the game's mechanics in the fact that martials get the most hit points. In this case it represents your ability to dodge, parry, and roll with it. As you gain levels, you get more hit points, meaning, you're becoming a better fighter. Kind of boring, but that should be the end of it.

It's the inconsistencies that keep this question alive.

If it is luck, endurance, combat skill, and not "meat points" then why do smaller creatures have fewer hit points than larger ones? Is an elephant a luckier, more skilled combatant than a badger? A troll has far more hit points than a pixie. Pixies might be small and hard to hit, but once you "hit" them, they're dead. Seems like meat points to me.

You could interject here and say, shut up and enjoy the game (or even better -- play GURPS) and you would not be wrong. Just keep reading...

Hit points work just fine as meat points... until you have, say 100, 150, 300, etc. Then things get harder to justify. On a side note, I find it fascinating that with every new edition of the game, hit point bloat gets worse and worse. 4th Edition was the worst offender (at just about everything) but 5th Edition only dialed it back a little. Can these people not design a fun game without everything having hundreds and hundreds of hit points? Still trying to emulate fantasy computer games that ironically started off trying to emulate you...

When people concern themselves with the vagueness of hit points, what they actually crave, I think, is a bit of realism (though I use the word "realism" perhaps "grit" is the better term, because ultimately, there's nothing realistic here.) 

They want to see blood. The more vague combat gets, the less fun it is. Players want to know, "Did my sword actually hit the ogre this time, or do I only get to actually hit the ogre when it dies?" When that minotaur scored a critical hit with it's massive battle-axe, what in actuality, just happened to me? Did he simply swing so close to my head that it rattled my nerves for 18 points of damage?

For those that argue for the luck/parry/endurance explanation, is it really "realistic" to say that the only time you actually get hit in violent, medieval combat, is when you suffer the killing blow? Is that even fun? Then again, to be fair, that crowd is not aiming for realism or grit. Of course this is further convoluted by the fact that the length of the combat round varies over the editions from 6 seconds to 1 minute, and a lot of things can happen in 1 minute. But... that doesn't mean that at the end of that round, when you've taken a hit, that you haven't actually taken a "hit."

We've all exhausted this topic, yet the hobby will never be done with it. Simulationist vs gamist, sport vs war...

I've always been very descriptive with combat. I like a "hit" to be a "hit." Which is probably why I like opposed combat rolls and parry options.

If you've been "hit" by an arrow, then you've been HIT by an arrow! Sword & Sorcery fiction and imagery is packed full of heroes carrying on the fight with arrows sticking out of them. It's almost a trope. It's easy to explain too, because often arrows don't penetrate that deep or hit vital organs, and if you have any kind of armor on, it's even easier still, because it's mostly stuck in the armor.

The same can be said of weapon hits. Yes, you did actually just take a hit from that guy's battle-axe, but he didn't lop your head off, or your hand for that matter. You've been cut, you are bleeding... a bit, you are losing hit points and yes an elephant does have more hit points than you because it can physically survive more hits from that axe than you. But, you're tough, gritty, you're a pulp hero, you can take it! It's simply not necessary to say that you've been dodging and parrying and weaving in and out of blows, or you're just plain lucky. No! Your ass just got stabbed! Now fight on! This is the bread and butter of pulp fiction.

So... what happens when you fail your saving throw against something like a dragon's breath weapon? Mr. pulp hero just took the full brunt of 37 points of damage from a blast of fire and only has 3 hit points left. Those that made their save only took half damage, they merely got singed as they dove for cover. Not you...

What does that look like?

It should look like something "permanent" if you ask me. You have most certainly suffered serious burns. If the undead leave lasting effects from their touch, iconic attacks like dragon breath should do the same, and at the moment, I suggest 1 point lost from a random ability per 15 points of dragon breath damage taken on a failed save. There's a touch of grit for ya. You can even apply this principal to critical hits and level drain, but in those cases I would only make it 1 point lost in total and perhaps only after a failed death save.

So, you might level up and get better at what you do, but your body is taking a beating and showing the scars. That's a simple way to add some realism or "grit" to your game (and panic not, my friends, dungeons are full of ability-raising tricks!) Also, with realism in mind, "system-shock" rules should not be ignored.

As you gain levels, you do gain more damage resilience and the ability to avoid the killing blow. This is the endurance and combat savvy aspect of hit points. Regardless, when you've been hit, you are taking actual damage.

On a bit of a tangent, the size of dragons has also gotten out of control. They're iconic and they should be dangerous, but they're not Godzilla. If a lone, valorous knight is expected to have a chance... 

Also, speaking of dragon breath, we all know the house rule, "Shields shall be splintered," well, they shall be "melted" too:

• Sacrifice your shield to turn a failed dragon breath save into a successful one, or half damage into no damage (doesn't work against poison gas.)

Clearly, your characters aren't going to lose limbs, but they will be cut and bitten and torn and burned... they will be scarred, and yet, the mythical underworld calls... again and again. 

You're not playing village wimps.

B/X Character Sheet

What started out as sloppy ink-scratch turned out nice.

B/X is King.

The best version of D&D ever made.

AD&D 1st Edition is a VERY close second because of its almost arcane quality and the Dungeon Masters Guide is pure gold. 

B/X is D&D distilled to perfection. 

But you already know this.

B/X Character Sheet

Example of the sheet in use, giving the Elf a bit of love with one of the best 3d6 down-the-lines ever!

So... DEATH IN SPACE...

Always make it sexy.

DEATH IN SPACE, is brought to us by the Stockholm Kartell (the same group that spawned Mörk Borg) by creators Christian Plogfors and Carl Niblaeus.

The books are gorgeous of course...

These arrived several days ago -- solid, durable books that came packed in the most secure bubble-wrap I think I've ever seen. So all good there.

Every page is black with white letters, because, well... space, and the art, ranking among the best I've ever seen in an RPG, is drawn in a negative style (something I tried to replicate with my drawing above.) Organizationally, the book is stylized, but much more orderly and easier to use than Mörk Borg. The chapters are color coordinated which can make some words hard to read when they are printed in darker colors against the black, this is most evident in the character creation chapter. But, like I said, this is a beautiful book and beautiful books make you want to play the game.

Speaking of the game...

DEATH IN SPACE uses the same basic mechanics as it's predecessor, Mörk Borg, albeit slightly more refined. You have 4 stats, in this case, Body, Dexterity, Savvy, and Tech. You roll a d4-d4 giving you a range of 7 possible values (-3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3.) It's a d20 system and the target number is always 12, so d20 +/- stat vs 12. Sometimes you can have advantage/disadvantage -- I think you all know what that means.

Interestingly, one can find online, a playtest character sheet that lists 6 stats instead of 4, more akin to classic D&D stats.

Comparing this to Mörk Borg where you have: Agility, Presence, Strength, and Toughness, all rolled using 3d6 and comparing the results to a chart for results -3 to 3, ultimately maxing out at 6 (DEATH IN SPACE does not mention any ability caps that I noticed.) In both games, Dexterity/Agility is not used for ranged attacks, instead those are resolved with Tech & Presence. Mörk Borg is player-facing (meaning the players roll to attack and defend) DEATH IN SPACE is not. Mörk Bork also lists multiple difficulty ratings (target numbers) starting at 12 and increasing or decreasing by 2s for easy or harder. DEATH IN SPACE only ever mentions rolling against 12 and never actually labels 12 as a "difficulty rating" or "target number." In fact, in DEATH IN SPACE, DR means "defense rating."

Let's look at this character whom I named, Zo Dage...

Btw, very cool character sheet!

Defense Rating is your Armor Class and it equals 12 + Dexterity. That is your unarmored value, but armor in this game (at least in the core rules) will only get you, at most, 2 more points (yikes!) Personally, I think armor should be more affective than that (perhaps adding a bit of damage reduction balanced by a roll penalty due to bulk, yeah, I would definitely tinker with the armor rules) but this game is stressed as blue-collar in space, a setting where everything is second-hand scrap. 

And it is deadly. 

With 4 Hit Points, Zo Dage, will most likely not survive her first run-in with damage. (House Rule Thought: Staring hit points equal 8 modified by Body, perhaps doubled for something a bit more heroic, the game will still be plenty deadly.)

She did not get a weapon during character creation or the funds to purchase one. Money is called Holos, btw, and she only has 13. With a Tech of 2, she'd be a decent shot (50%) if she gets her hands on a gun.

Her background information... and this is where I think the game could have done a little better. You see, your character is 4 stats and 6 background information rolls, only one of which -- "origin" gives you anything resembling special abilities. Everything else is fluff.

The origins are; Carbon, Chrome, Punk, Solpod, Velocity Cursed, and Void.

Her origin is Void (of course I rolled Void!-- see Praise The Fallen.) You can pick one of two abilities: A re-shapeable mask or the ability to make electronics crackle with static -- which is odd considering the game states that a static already permeates all electronics. Perhaps her ability should stop the crackling, allow for a communication bonus...?

• She was something called a Monolith Cultist -- up to you to determine what that was. No abilities.
• Her allegiance was to the contract, i.e., the highest bidder during what the game calls, The Gem War. No abilities.
• She is "Relentless." No abilities.
• Her Drive is a "strange drug." Again... up to you.
• And she wears a necklace with odd skulls.
• Her gear is -- a faulty star compass, lock picks, holographic playing cards, and 4 doses of... something.

There is definitely flavor here, but right off the bat, I'm contemplating creating some minor bonuses for each of these things.

The game also features Void Corruption and Mutations, some are abilities and some are fluff. There are rules for space travel, space combat, and exposure to the vacuum of space itself -- not as lethal as one might think as long as help is nearby. A handful of monsters and threats are also included, most of them should be avoided at all costs in true space-horror fashion. A bestiary of sorts, however, will be hungered for. 

Here's an example of a monster stat-block, the Apsis Ape, which would easily wipe out a party. Clean for the most part, but I think it would be more readable if the values were in white, e.g., DEX in yellow followed by -1 in white. Also, the actual attack roll should've been included where it says (BDY, 1d8) which means: 1d20 + Body vs 12, doing 1d8 damage. In this particular case (BDY, 8+, 1d8) would save the DM from having to do the, albeit brief, calculation.

Classic morale rules are present.

Another huge part of the game is constructing and maintaining your HUB, a ship or a station, in fact, it is really your main motivation. This kind of gives the game a post-apocalyptic survival feel, accept, you are not planet-side, you're in deep space, in a system called Tenebris. Your beginning HUB is bare bones and no advice is given on how to map it out. Fleeting examples seem to prefer something dungeonesque inside the outline of a ship.

If you choose a station as your HUB it will most likely be attached to this massive structure called, the Iron Ring, which circles the moon Inauro like a belt of metal. It's made up of a mixture of derelict ships, stations, huge mining crafts, and all sorts of other junk. Sometimes you walk through it, sometimes you need a shuttle, and sometimes you actually have to jump through space. It's a sort of dungeon in space that includes your home base. An entire campaign can be based here alone with all kinds of hex/dungeon-crawl potential.

Advancement is not as generous as Mörk Borg... which is a good thing, because even as deadly as Mörk Borg is, a few lucky rolls during advancement and your character starts getting pretty tough. In DEATH IN SPACE, you have to spend XP to improve this or that, which will definitely take time, but let's face it, you'll be dead long before then. Also, in a system mostly dependent on 4 main stats, how do explain all of these -2 or -3 Body characters eventually reaching 2, 3 or even higher, going from wimp to strongman? Raising stats needs to be a bit more expensive. This is where improvable (class) abilities would fit nicely, such as weapon specializations, piloting skills, etc., and small bonuses for this or that. 

Where Mörk Borg doesn't take itself too seriously, DEATH IN SPACE certainly does. And I appreciate this. I'm the guy that wants grim/dark to actually be grim/dark!

DEATH IN SPACE is imminently hackable, just like the rest of these, rule-light (OSR???) games and before long, we'll be seeing a shit-ton of hacks. This is actually a perfect stepping stone to a classic Post-Apocalyptic version because of it's scavenger nature. The art is right, the tone is right. Personally, when I look at rules-light games like this, I always want to add to them. I always feel, as cool as they are (and this is a cool fucking game) that they are missing just a little something, a few more options perhaps (especially during character creation.) I never want to look at a game, right away, as a one-shot. And yes, I want it to be dangerous, but I want my character to survive a few hits... but no more! -- just enough to have some fun. Just enough to decide, maybe it's time to fall back. Action heroes are cool, combat is cool!

Like I said, beautiful book, cool game. 

Glad I backed.

GAMMA WORLD

I owned (own) all the usual TSR stuff, D&D, Marvel Super Heroes, Star Frontiers, Top Secret, I once played Boot Hill and I even played Indiana Jones, but I never owned GAMMA WORLD, nor did any of my friends, nor do I even remember seeing it in any of the stores, because, I would have bought it. The exception to this was in the early 90s when I purchased the 4th edition of the game, this one...

It's strange how this classic game evaded me and mine throughout the 80s. We all knew about it and it would come up in conversations, "Ever play GAMMA WORLD?" By the time I acquired this copy and read through it though, I wasn't all that impressed, as it seemed too D&D-ish to me at a time when I was looking for newer mechanics. I soon entered a non-gaming phase and even when I resumed rolling dice, GAMMA WORLD sat there, in a box, mostly untouched... for 30 years.  And it's current condition -- like brand new.

Of course, in recent years, one way or another, I've been able to scan through the various editions of GAMMA WORLD and it seems that this edition (4th) (not to be confused with the one based on D&D 4E) is regarded by many as the best, or at the very least, one of. 

I've had post-apocalyptic stuff on my brain lately, so I dug this out, scanned through it and rolled up a character or two.

This is the game that Numenera is trying to be.

Esthetics and some other things (this is not a proper review, it's more of a stream of thought.)

I find the cover boring, but a lot of classic GAMMA WORLD cover art is present inside along with cool inked works, many by the great Larry Elmore. The interior layout is black and white laced with green highlights and charts. It's not the most exciting book to flip through, but it works.

After scanning through and rolling up characters, I see so much potential to my modern OSR eyes. It's connection to D&D is not a bad thing at all, in fact there are cool mechanics here that I'm surprised never actually made the jump over to D&D proper.   

The character I rolled up (drawn above)...

Btw, this isn't a bad character sheet, still, I should draft my own.

Characters are made up of Genotypes (race), Class, and Cryptic Alliance (sort of like Planescape's Sects -- how you see the world along with the pros & cons of that. Where-as Planescape's Sects are cool, I don't find the Cryptic Alliances particularly interesting, probably because I don't like my post-apocalypse to be that well organized, but, you never know.) 

Notice the triad, though...

Now if you're familiar with Numenera (a modern game about collecting artifacts from a bygone era) -- your character is an, Adjective Noun who Verbs. Here, you're a Genotype Cryptic Alliance who Classes (e.g., a Pure Strain Human Archivist who Enforces.) It doesn't work, nor is it even stated in that way, but I'm convinced there's a connection.

The Genotypes are: Pure Strain Humans, Altered Humans (mutants), Mutated Animals, and Sentient Plants. I get the impression that many people play/played GAMMA WORLD as goofy/gonzo. I don't like goofy shit. I like dark and serious, and that's how I would run my GAMMA WORLD game -- dark, survival-oriented. It would almost have to be a hex-crawl thing where you're always looking for food & supplies because that's what the post-apocalypse would be (and yes I've heard of Mutant: Year Zero.)

Classes are (with their Numenera counterparts): Enforcer (Glaive), Esper (Nano), Examiner (all of them), and Scout (Jack.) Numenera also has a Mutant class. I like the archetypes in theory, but feel compelled to redesign all of them. The class skills just feel... meh. 

You have an AC and an MD (mental defense) that are target numbers for foes to hit and you have Health, Use Artifacts, Robot Recognition (this is actually how well robots recognize you as "human" and thus, obey) Stealth, Remain Unseen, and Perception which are all saving-throw or other types of rolls (actually, Perception functions like AC vs. Stealth or Remain Unseen attempts, btw, Stealth and Remain Unseen, is redundant.) These derived stats are pretty cool and are the concepts that I'm surprised D&D never adopted, especially MD.

Hit Points are a number of D6s equal to your Constitution + 1d6 per level up to 10th (BTW, your stats are: Physical Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Mental Strength, Intelligence, Charisma, and Senses, with the same bonuses as modern versions of D&D and are mostly generated by 4d6 drop the lowest.) It seems like a lot of hit points, but weapons and creatures in this game do a lot of damage and you're only supposed to heal 1 point per day -- that's rough.

Poison and Radiation rules are cool and are basically an Intensity Rank plus a D20 roll vs. your Health score, the higher the roll, the worse the effect. Radiation can also cause mutations.

Lets take a look at the mutations I rolled for this Altered Human, Enforcer (5 physical, 0 mental):

• Gas Generation: I rolled Poison Gas. You then have to come up with a delivery method on your own, I chose breath, but there should've been a random table to roll on. 

• Heightened Taste: She can taste a tiny bit of poison or chemical to identify it. Could be useful, but it's minor and might not show up in-game too much. Conveniently, this makes sense considering her Poison Gas Breath. 

• Tail: I rolled, "New Body Part" then rolled, "Tail" (out of 10 possibilities.) There are NO perks listed, other than to say that the new body part "should be useful." Wow. That is shockingly lame. Her Tail could've been barbed, it could improve dexterity/balance, be prehensile, etc... There should have been extensive benefits to roll for.

• Infravision: Self explanatory. I used to hate rolling this power in Marvel, but there are ways to make it useful. No mechanical benefits really.

• Sonar: (Either antennae or ears) She receives info on all objects within 100 meters. This should also have benefits for surprise and initiative and such, but doesn't. 

Not all mutations are beneficial... this is cool.

Artifacts. So many are lame. I don't care to find a toaster or a stapler or a blow dryer. This is where Numenera does it better. There, all Artifacts are useful and the Numenera depletion rules are great -- for any game. I would also skip the Use Artifacts Diagram, it's cool in a way, but tedious (imagine going through all of that rolling just to find out you've found a pencil sharpener!) 

GAMMA WORLD has a monetary unit called the Domar (Numenera has Shins.) I wouldn't have a monetary system at all, it should only be scavenging and barter. So I randomly rolled three artifacts for her to start with and got a Lute, a Shotgun, and a Flash Light. Shotguns do 4d6 damage.

Chain and plate mail and such exist here, but I would portray them differently, Mad Max-ish, not medieval. I would also add some kind of penalty to heavy armors or have them deplete. 

Monsters are basically mutated plants/animals/robots of a 70s/80s imagination. Some are cool, but I would go the Numenera route here, draw something strange -- give it stats! 

It's a shame that Numenera's mechanics are dumb, because... cool ideas. But GAMMA WORLD'S mechanics are mostly not dumb. These GAMMA WORLD rules laced with Numenera's Artifacts and character creation could result in one of the coolest games of all time.

Still, GAMMA WORLD 4th Edition, on it's own and without modification is pretty damn solid.

To those of you who enjoyed this game... I salute you!

Castles & Crusades Monster Stats, The Riddle That Is...

Castles & Crusades again.

The Troll Lords do a great job of sifting through folklore to find obscure creatures and fairies to spice up your game. Below is the Becolaep. The Becolaep is a medium sized, spectral witch, undead, incorporeal, chaotic-evil, life-draining... thing. Nothing really new here. But...

 

How about HD: 4d20... 

And 2 claws that do 3d10 damage...!

And a Life-Draining touch that drains 1d20+4 hit points (double on a critical hit) which in turn heals the Becolaep, 1d20+4...??? (5-24... that's quite a range!)

Before I go on, let me talk about the stat blocks in general. First, C&C has the perfect balance of information, somewhere closer to B/X than AD&D. However, I don't like that the listed attacks do not include the attack bonus. I know in C&C the attack bonus is equal to the number of HD, but leaving it out creates a little bit of unnecessary work for the DM (CK) even if it is just a glance.

Saving Throws will either say P, M, or both. This means physical and/or mental. If they have the save it is 12 minus their HD, if not, it's 18 minus their HD. This, also, should've been pre-calculated for the reader. In the case of the Becolaep it should read: P: 8, M: 14. If you want people to play your game, make it easy for people to play your game.

The XP for defeating a Becolaep is 500, (+4 per hit point.) I have no idea how they came up with this number. In the beginning of the book there is an XP chart (like with most other versions of D&D) that helps you calculate a monster's XP. Using said chart, I can not come up with 500, even taking into consideration undead traits, which you must look elsewhere for. Which is fine, such charts are just a rough guideline. A lot of monsters in this book don't seem to match up with it though. Again, it's OK, just an observation. I find a lot of traditional monster XP to be low anyway, as I like to reward for killing and finding treasure. Fighting is fun, always has been, always will be.

About these HD... 

At first I thought a creature's HD might depend on it's type, fey, animal, undead, etc. But...

Below we have a sample page of the rather large section on fairies (this is all taken from the latest printing of Monsters & Treasure, btw) All four are small sized and similar in many ways, including XP, yet one has HD: 1d6, another has HD: 2d4, the others are HD: 1d8, and HD: 2d12. 

There's no logic here. This is not a complaint, btw, I actually like it, as well as the crazy damage, just trying to figure it out...

Now, part of the fun of the OSR, is that you can throw stats around, you can be whimsical, you know like -- how about HD: 3d12 and 8d4+7 bite damage, why? -- because.

Now I like this kind of whimsical design, to a degree, and I hope this is sort of what's going on in Castles & Crusades, because, if you are going to use this ruleset, it opens things up, liberates you to really have fun and get creative with it (not that you can't do that with any other version of our favorite game.) And it definitely makes the game more dangerous. And D&D should be dangerous. 

I like the fact that many monsters in C&C do damage like 2d10 or 3d10, but it's usually the more obscure monsters or occasionally a radically different take on an old one. Traditional monsters seem to have more traditional damage, for example, the Minotaur does damage: by weapon +4 -- that's lame as hell for such a savage beast, and the traditional, supernaturally strong Vampire only has a single 1d6 slam! A Troll's claws only do 1d4 and it's bite is 2d6, or by weapon +3 (another flaw, it lists all three attacks for the Troll but doesn't say 2 claws, 1 bite, "or" 1 weapon, it simply says claws, bite, weapon, or perhaps more logically it should say: 1 bite + ((2 claws or 1 weapon.)) And the Troll Lords really love their Valkyrie: (Valkryja in C&C) 15d8 HD, 25 AC, and this is exactly what it says for damage: Spear (8d10), Axe (12d12), Sword (10d8), Bow (6d8) as opposed to: by weapon +7, in AD&D.

So anyway, why 4d20 HD? (That's 4-80 hit points, btw)  I'll say this, no two Becolaeps will be the same as they'll run the gamut from super-weak to super-strong. And be glad that, all though they may have upwards of 80 hit points and have two claws that do 3d10 damage, their saves are mediocre and they will miss a lot in combat with only a +4 to-hit. 

Check out the Krampus...

It only has 4d6 (12 maybe 16) hit points, an average AC (14) and is only worth 55 XP (with no treasure.) But look at that damage in one round, 1d12, 1d10, and 2d20 (2-40!!!... and notice it only says claw, not claws, so 2d20...  twice???) The Krampus will either die in the first round or kill half the party!

Time to learn a new kind of fear.

The Dungeon Is Life!

The Dungeon. The mythical underworld, of which you will steer clear if you want to have the slightest modicum of a remotely pleasant existence. Because to go there is to die much sooner and much bloodier than you otherwise will. Yet to go there is also to live, to risk, to act, to dare, to take, to kill...or be killed, to leave your mark and say to an uncaring universe as you exploit, illuminate, and beat back the darkness -- Right now, this space is mine!

You exist only for a short time and in the end, you will be broken. Life will beat you, not be beaten by you. It is grim, I know. Sure, you can soften this fate, go with the flow, evade, dare not, delve not. Perhaps you will keep breathing just a little while longer and sleep in a bed not made of dirt. But know this, friend, all will fall and be forgotten -- that is a predetermined fact!

The Dungeon is Life! It will shut doors, it will lock them. It will turn off the lights and blow out your torch. The floors will fall beneath you and walls will shift. It's pitch will terrify and haunt you. It will send countless hordes against you and then send countless more. It's poison will bite! You did not build this place. You do not get to make the rules here and you are not smart, powerful, or privileged enough to break them. This deck and every other deck that was ever put into play is mightily stacked against you!

But before you crumble in the corner, friend, remember this: You were born with something. You have learned something. You are stubborn, bold, defiant, a master of pain. Let the weak numb themselves! You welcome the Dungeon, you yearn for it. You don't care for the town or the tavern, the journey or the parley. Nor do you care that in the Dungeon, doom is your destiny. Because the Dungeon is the heart of Life and it is the heart of gameplay and it is your entire reason for being. For in the Dungeon, you are taking it right to them, a full-on assault on the deepest, darkest, secret center of all things and there you will make your stand, where the odds are always stacked high against you and you will say -- By Crom, stack them higher!

Player Maps For Praise The Fallen & Sision Tower

 

A couple of you have lamented the lack of player maps for my adventures, so in appreciation that you are indeed running my adventures, I edited out all the secret parts on the maps for Praise The Fallen & Sision Tower. 

Hopefully this PDF makes running things easier.

I'm not likely to do this any time soon for DATE OF EXPIRATION. That is a separate, time-consuming beast.

Game on.

Player Maps: Praise The Fallen/Sision Tower

TWILIGHT: 2022

I almost played TWILIGHT: 2000, way back when. Spent a few days rolling up a character with a buddy in art class with every intention of getting together and playing. Alas, he was only an "at school" friend -- a light-hearted soul, scrawnier than my scrawny self, and a talented artist. Immediately upon graduation, he joined the Marines. Didn't see that coming. As to his fate in life, I haven't got a clue. It is recent events that reminded me that he even existed at all. 

A slight tangent -- he once told me of a dream: He was at a fancy lawn party. The type of "fancy" that involved a huge back porch with great pillars and white tables and chairs as far as the eye could see. A birthday? graduation? -- some such affair. He was standing between two pillars when someone threw a grenade which exploded with exaggerated destruction. The dream went slow-motion (I think) as he stood there completely unharmed. Another man also stood unharmed, leaning against a pillar nearby, who spoke in a chill voice saying, "Depends on where you're standing." My friend spoke those words slowly, as if spoken by a stoner. For weeks after, it was our go-to phrase for laughter.

Several times in the last year, probably because there is a brand new edition, I came close to buying a copy of the original TWILIGHT: 2000. Now, out of perhaps, a morbid curiosity, I've wondered how the original timeline of that game mirrors the events we are now watching unfold in Europe, in-real-time. After a bit of research, it seems, that it does not. For in that timeline, unless I am mistaken, it all starts in 1995 with the Soviets vs the Chinese, followed by a reunification coup attempt in Germany. NATO tries in vain to avoid the conflict, but is ultimately dragged into a limited nuclear war. By 2000, it's pure chaos, ruin, and radiation, wherein your characters are trying only to survive. 

Now, in the real world, we have the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This may seem baffling and sudden to many, but it's actually been building for awhile. So far, the way this fledgling war is playing out, there is an enormous risk of escalation. Of course, this actual war has weapons and elements that TWILIGHT: 2000 did not imagine (to my knowledge) such as drones, cyber-warfare, and the economic cancelation of an entire nation. Much damage can be done to countries without going nuclear, but as Putin is painted into a corner, is it only a matter of time? Prepare yourselves for the real-world debut of tactical nuclear weapons...

I used to have semi-recurring dreams of mushroom clouds in the distance. I would warn people -- they wouldn't listen. I would flee -- and they would die. No matter how far I got (all the way up to Alaska in one dream) the mushroom clouds were always on the horizon. Those dreams ended many years ago when a nuke finally landed right on top of me as I looked out the upstairs window. These weren't nightmares, mind you, just interesting dreams, spawned from a vivid imagination and the zeitgeist of the 1980's.

Since then, the Cold War ended.

For three decades, corporate globalism increasingly took center stage, bringing with it many conveniences for sure. Yet, looking at the violent, entirety of human history, this was a pipe-dream, or at best, a gambit very premature. What I find shocking, is that this current conflict didn't happen sooner. Doesn't it now seem like all the wars in the middle-east were naught but an interlude? And what of Taiwan? If you think there's a microchip shortage now...

These last couple of years feel like we sidestepped into a parallel universe. Perhaps that actually happened 30 years ago and we are only now returning to our regularly scheduled program.

And to think I recently said out-loud that I missed the Cold War.

The Henchmen Part II

For Part One Click Here

The Henchmen Part II

by Graphite Prime

A pretty little face, swinging back and forth. No, light. Making him dizzy. He could hardly keep his eyes open. Never felt grogginess like this before...

The light was a necklace, the one he earlier found. Talin knelt, hanging the charm before Chade's face, "Her name is Yly," spoke the elf. "A caged sprite, very rare, very useful. She's anchored to this charm, but can leave for brief periods. You merely have to say her name."

"Her name," the sapper barely muttered.

"Yes, Yly," replied Talin. "She's grateful you found her."

"Eelee," Chade's lips hardly moved as if half in a dream.

The charm grew bright and out popped a tiny, four inch tall, glowing faerie, fair-haired, very cute, little wings all a flutter. She buzzed around excitedly before flying and whispering something into Chade's ear, then zipped quickly back into the charm. His eyes widened. That woke him up!

"What!?" he sat up, hands frantically reaching as if for a weapon. His head turned both ways before he froze, eyes locked on the torchlit carnage around him. 

The orcs were all dead, lying in a great pool of blood, flowing from slit throats. Pettr, sat across from him sipping water, his head cleanly bandaged. He looked groggy. Ohn, stood to his right, adjusting his gear, not seeming to be bothered too much by his leg wound, also nicely bandaged. The fight seemed like it happened days ago. In reality, it had been roughly thirty minutes.

Talin stood and motioned for Chade to do the same. "Drink some water, it helps. We can't linger here," he said, slipping the necklace over the sapper's head. He then stood watch as the three gathered their equipment.

Before long, Chade made as if to search the bodies.

"Don't bother," said Talin. "All they had were a few silvers...and those," he pointed to a mass of hair and steel. Ohn already knew, but the other two stared, aghast at the intricate bearded axes and long-braided scalps of Nard and Nalder.

There was silence.

"Orcs don't scalp," said Pettr. "They eat."

"No," said Ohn. "But something with them does."

"Right, what now?" asked Chade.

"We press on," said Ohn. "At least for a bit. If any of the remaining four still live, it can't be good for them. We need to move quickly, we can't hide this mess. Anytime we can choose a direction, we choose up. If we find a way out we take it. Ultimately, we may have to back-track and see where the stairs above the tomb go, worst case, we chance the wasps. Agreed?"

They all nodded.

"Talin and Chade, you lead," commanded Ohn.

They rounded the corner from whence the orcs came, Chade held short sword and torch, Talin ready with his bow. The corridor proceeded for some time, down which they made careful haste.

"At the far end there are steps up, then it turns again to the right, shortly after that, there is a side branch to the left. That's where I ran into the orcs," informed Chade.

Shortly, they arrived at said intersection where they chose to keep going straight. Eventually, the sound of falling water met their ears and they could taste moisture in the musky air. The passage came to an end at an archway with natural steps heading down to their left. They descended the damp stones amid the now loud sounds of crushing water. The steps curled to the right merging naturally with the rocky shore of an underground lake. To either side of them, waterfalls cascaded into the dark water. The place had the same eerie blue candescence of the bridge they crossed earlier, in fact, they could faintly see that very bridge far up and straight away. The lake seemed to stretch for several hundred meters in any direction. Nooks and crannies were aplenty and probably lead to several underground waterways.

A small row-boat was adrift about a hundred feet out. 

They scanned the small shore, but unless they wanted to swim, it seemed a dead-end.

"The boat is peculiar. Your charm..." said the elf, motioning to Chade.

"Huh?" said Chade.

"Yly," stated Talin.

"Ahh, Yly," spoke Chade. The charm burst with light and out shot the little sprite who whispered a question into Chade's ear. "Yes, could you?" he asked, amused, and she wisped away across the lake toward the boat. The three men watched with utter fascination. The elf was accustomed to such glamour.

She shortly returned to Chade's ear and then hovered over his shoulder. "She says there's a dirty halfling sleeping in the boat." he said, smirking, knowing full well who it was.

"Fucking Boze," spat Pettr, literally. "Of course that little shitter's alive."

"Hmm, how do we get to him?" wondered Ohn.

"Yly can you wake him?" asked the sapper. "Maybe?" he repeated, as the sprite fluttered away to the boat again. What followed was a slight flash and a yelp. Up popped the muddied face of a round little man who watched in confusion as Yly flew back to shore and disappeared back into her charm.

"Boze!" Ohn yelled a bit cautiously. "It's us. Can you row yourself back?"

He did not respond, and even at that distance in the eerie blue, they could all detect the utter fear in his eyes as he kept low.

"Boze!" Ohn yelled again. "It's Ohn!"

"Boze, you little shit! Are you deaf?" harassed Pettr.

"Man," remarked Chade. "I don't think I've ever seen him this afraid."

"Are you kidding me? He's afraid of everything," said Pettr. "Fucking little coward is what he is."

Chade glanced sideways at Pettr. "If you were that small..."

"No," shot Pettr. "I've known brave halflings. That one is a shitter!"

Talin interjected skeptically, "Chade's right, he's under the guise of terror, something's amiss, unless, he can't hear us for the waterfalls, but he should see us."

"Or he's been through too much down here. He may be the only one left," said Ohn. "But, we can't keep yelling," he added as he walked backed to the steps and peeked back up toward the corridor.

Just then, everything went unnaturally black!

A darkness spell! They'd seen it used a few times on the battlefield, but none of them had ever been inside one.

They yelled frantically at each other. "Ohn!" "Chade!" "Talin!" "Watch your weapons!" None of them dared move too much, yet they jerked this way and that, reaching out with their free hands, feeling for each other. The darkness was complete, it was absolute! Suffocating! There was a splash. Pettr screamed or exhaled in an odd way. 

"Pettr!" shouted Ohn.

"YLY!!!!!!" shouted Chade.

The sprite appeared again, canceling out some of the pitch, but they now saw everything flickering in the negative. They saw Pettr kneeling in the edge of the lake being choked by something from beyond the grave. He grabbed at the rotting hands wrapped around his throat. His mouth agape, his skin stretching thinner across his face before their very eyes, his strength was waning fast.

They all struck at the undead thing, but their blades had little effect. It's eyes glared at them with a light that somehow expressed darkness. It was negative energy. There was a sentience to it; a hatred. These were hardened men and they were terrified!

Yly flew right up to it's face and seemed to explode in a tiny supernova. The walking corpse lurched back. Ohn rushed with his shield, knocking the creature splashing into the lake. Chade and Talin helped Pettr to his feet and they all rushed back to the steps and up as fast as they'd ever moved. 

They were out of the evil darkness and stumbling back down the corridor. Pettr could hardly stand upright. Their torch had been dropped in the scuffle, now Yly was leading the way. They passed the side passage, intending to head down familiar halls, when they collectively screeched to a halt. Another thing was coming their way! They turned back and raced down the side passage which shortly opened wide, into a maze of colossal columns, between which, the shadows moved. More undead!

"Shit!" exclaimed Ohn.

"Over there, stairs!" informed Talin.

Yly seemed to flicker, giving them all pause. She flickered again, and for lack of a better term, stumbled, back into her charm. They were in darkness once again.

"Torch, now!" cried Ohn.

They formed a circle as Chade fumbled through his gear. He frantically struck his tinder sticks, each little spark a signal of hope until finally...light! 

They proceeded to the stairs, glaring eyes all around. Unfortunately, the stairs went down, not up. They were wide though, as like in a great gallery. Pettr stumbled, his armor echoing as he hit the ground. Ohn and Talin helped him up, but damn, he was weak! The stairs had several landings before they reached the bottom -- a semi-circular room full of alcoves, each occupied by classic looking statues. The stone here seemed to be of yellow marble, but it was hard to say in the dancing torchlight. In between each alcove was a passage.

Ohn looked back up the stairs, the eyes were coming. "Damn! This way!" as he motioned to one of the passages on the right. It led to more stairs, much narrower with a low curved ceiling, again going down...and down...and down...

And finally, a door, very fancy, very old. Locked, of course!

Chade went to work while the others took a guarded stance. Pettr, leaned against the wall and slid to the ground.

There was a click. "Got it," said Chade as he paused and looked back at Ohn for the "go ahead" to open, which he gave.

It was a small, ornate room with a sarcophagus in the center...and no other exit.

"Mercy," said Ohn under his breath. "Go on, we have no choice." They all poured in. "Lock it!" he commanded, and Chade obeyed, then intently listened for activity from the other side. Talin stood near him, bow ready. Pettr sat on the floor.

Ohn gave the room a quick scan with the torch. It was like the earlier tomb they encountered, but much nicer. The walls were painted dull green in between semi-columns. Hieroglyphics dominated the scene. The sarcophagus was intricately carved in places, smooth marble in others. Two braziers hung in the corners farthest from the door. In between them on the wall was a mosaic depiction of two giant serpents hopelessly entangled in battle or dance, it was unclear. 

Ohn went from brazier to brazier lighting them both. When the second one was lit, the lid of the sarcophagus slid sideways with the groan of stone grinding on stone. They all nearly shit themselves! Even Pettr jumped to his feet. Nothing came out though, nothing happened. After a few breathless moments, Ohn nervously approached with the torch.

"Stairs," he said "More stairs."

"We are heading in the wrong direction," said Chade. "What about Boze?"

"Boze will have to look after himself," said Ohn. 

"Where's my axe?" asked Pettr out of the blue, a sense of presence returning to his eyes.

"You dropped it in the lake, do you not remember?" asked Talin.

Pettr shook his his head.

"Here, take this," said Ohn, handing the big man his sword. "I'll use my back-up."

Talin put his hand up, quickly looking at the door. They froze. Something scratched. Then the pounding commenced.

"Let's go!" ordered Ohn, handing Chade the torch. "You first, Talin, Pettr." One by one they climbed into the coffin and descended the narrow, stone steps. Ohn went last, shield and short sword at the ready. The grinding of stone caused him to glance back just in time to see the sarcophagus lid seal itself shut. Both good and bad, he supposed. He followed the others. It was single file, very tight, their shoulders almost scraping the walls. The ceiling was very low, not a good place for the claustrophobe. The steps were well worn and looked hundreds of years old. Ohn glanced back, but the top was no longer in view. He turned to continue his descent and slammed straight into Pettr. It seemed they had stopped.

"Umm...we have a problem," said Chade from the front.

"What is it?" Ohn enquired.

"Water," replied the sapper. "We're at the bottom, but the hallway is flooded. It looks about chest-high."

Ohn looked down and shook his head, he was feeling the pressure of leadership. "Do you remember the siege of Brynmire, how shitty that was?" 

They all answered in the unmistakable affirmative.

"I would rather be there," he said.

Even the elf chuckled.

"Right, back-packs off," said Ohn. "Our supplies must stay dry. We hold them high. Pettr, you carry Chade's. Chade, how's the torch?" 

"Light is good," said Chade.

"Light another and carry two just in case," said Ohn.

When they were all ready, Chade stepped forward. Water immediately seeping through his boots. As a sapper, he'd been in similar situations. It sucked then, it sucked now. But, with no options... Into the  water they went.

The others followed suit, wading down a flooded hallway that smelled only as cold, subterranean water could. Brushing against unseen debris shook their nerves, but they pressed on, navigating several tight bends. At one point the passage dipped dangerously low. The water reached their necks. Chade strained to keep the torches dry. Lesser folk would have succumbed to panic. Mercifully, the corridor then slanted upwards and they all emerged, soaked straight to the bone, onto a stone ledge.

Their arms were like lead. They rested, inspected, and re-slung their gear which seemed in good shape.

"We should re-bandage your leg," Talin said to Ohn.

"No time," he said. "Let's keep moving."

In front was a long pit about three feet deep and ten feet wide filled with mud and debris -- bricks, planks, and such. Further on, they could make out steps going up and around. The moldy walls on either side had occasional holes varying in size, at various heights, going up and out of sight. Some of them trickled water.

"Let me check it out," said the sapper. Carrying one of the torches, he carefully leapt down amongst the debris. His boots squished as he walked, both from the mud and the fact that they were now soaking wet. He poked here and there with his blade. At one point he crouched down and moved a few planks. He scraped at the mud... "Bones, human, someone died here, yep, here's some mail. Looks like it's been awhile though. And over here..." as he moved on, "What's...huh, look at this, a dagger, looks like silver," he held it up fingering the gemmed pommel, "This is worth something."

The other three were too miserable to care.

Stowing the dagger, Chade continued poking here and there. At one point as he passed a hole, his head jerked back. He put the torch in, but saw nothing, or did he? He went to move on, but jerked back again, sure he'd heard something.

The others watched intently.

"Sounds like...rats," he said. "Wait, something's..." he jerked back. "Alright," he motioned to the others. "Let's go!"

They jumped down and followed. "What is it? What'd you see?" asked Ohn.

"Eyes or something, I'm not sure..." he glanced back as he said it. Then his eyes widened. "That!" 

Peeking out of one of the holes was a rat the size of a dog! It eyes were aglow with fiendish crimson dots. It's flesh, rotting, betrayed innards.

It hissed.

And then another one appeared beside it, and then more. Many more.

Then, as if a great valve opened, scores of them cascaded down into the pit, squealing and hissing as they swarmed! 

The men bolted for the steps, but they were quickly surrounded. The rats were maniacal! They didn't just bite, they scratched, they tore, they hissed and climbed. Ohn and Pettr stabbed and slashed furiously. Chade, backing up the steps, cut and burned like a mad man. 

Several rats pulled at Talin's cloak as he was trying to draw his tomahawk. It was a rare moment, but the elf  lost his footing and slipped in the mud. He was promptly covered by the beasts who rabidly bit and tore at his flesh. His mail protected him mostly, but blood was starting to spill. He grabbed at them and rolled in a panic, somehow he got to his knees and retrieved his tomahawk which he immediately put to deadly use. His bow was out of reach and his arrows lay all around. Eventually, he regained his footing and proceeded to slay with elven fury.

They all forgot about being wet and cold. They slashed and stabbed and slashed some more until the tide seemed to turn. But there was a bone-chilling screech from above as a mass dropped. A hulking thing. A rat-thing. A hulking, man-rat thing! Red-eyed and rotting just like the small ones. It let out another screech and scores more rats entered the fray.

The four men stopped trying to fight and ran for their lives up the steps which curled around and out to a corridor. The rats were right with them. The four sprinted desperately, passing several doors, not daring to stop. They cut and stabbed and burned when they absolutely had to, all the while racing toward a large door far away at the hallway's end.

"The door, Chade!" cried Ohn, as he crouched in a defensive posture. Pettr and Talin stopped with him, trying to give the sapper some breathing room. Almost instantly, the three were holding back a veritable wall of vermin. 

Chade reached and tried the door. It was sturdy oak and wouldn't budge at all. Dropping the torch, he fumbled for his picks, dropping many. He worked the lock, but his gut told him it wasn't locked, but braced. He slammed his shoulder into the door in frustration. "Damn it!" he shot. Behind him he heard Talin yell Ohn's name in despair.

Ohn had fallen and was already being torn apart.

Talin and Pettr were on their knees, half buried. A torrent of rats flooded past and assaulted the sapper. 

"YLY!!!!" Chade screamed, but the charm merely flickered. The vermin pulled him to the floor, just as...

The door flew inward! Out stepped a woman clad in the holy armor of the Merciful One. She held strong the cross of her faith and spoke the language of her church. The entire hallway lit up in a righteous flash, setting many rats ablaze with the rest scurrying back toward their dark holes of Hell.

The stunned survivors fell into the room, followed quickly by their savior. There, a tall, lightly armored man braced the door with a large wooden beam.

Talin, Pettr, and Chade lay half dead on the dungeon floor. Standing over them, Cynne and Taer of the original seven.

Too be concluded...