The Wolf Age by James Enge

The third book featuring Morlock by James Enge, The Wolf Age is the best in the series so far. The cover is a powerful piece, featuring Morlock surrounded by werewolves with his magical sword and a flaming brand. I think the switch to darker colors for Morlock's clothing helps set the tone of the character better than the old red-blue on the previous covers.

I'll be discussing spoilers from the book below so if you wish to know no more, read no more.

"Sorry it's so heavy - can we change it for silver, somewhere?"

"Silver," said Hrutnefdhu faintly. "Are you still crazy?" pg. 144

"You should stay back. This hillside was a silver dump, I think. There may be some of the metal in these dust clouds." pg. 207

Morlock's capture by the werewolves has left him without funds and when he acquires some, in the form of copper, the fact that werewolves, indeed, a werewolf based society, would have absolutely no use for silver, comes to the forefront of things. When designing those alien societies and those monstrous societies, what standards would become the norm?

Would vampires outlaw the growing of garlic? Would they outlaw mirrors? Would they damn all streams and rivers to prevent running water?

On the other hand, such a scenario as the werewolves brings up a great opportunity for a heist style game. The werewolves don't want others to have the silver because its a weapon against them. Others, like the players, would want the silver because its worth money. The werewolves are allowing it to go to waste. In situations where silver may be slowly accumulating in a werewolf community, it probably all winds up in one spot. What happens if the players know of that spot? Ocean's fourteen?


Morlock's casual assumption that he would fight alongside Rokhlenu when the time came eased the werewolf's mind. pg. 172

Today your blood was shed for me and for these others. I will pay for that blood with the blood of your enemies. Blood for blood: that is the only law I know. Pg. 190

Rokhlenu, I will have blood for my friend's blood.
Is this what Hrutnefdhu would want?
I don't know. It doesn't matter, anyway. I am myself, not him. pg 330

This comes up several times. Morlock is the type of individual who when he befriends someone truly does so. His motives are that they are now his chosen family and blood is thicker than water. It makes him a great ally to have and a terrible enemy to betray.

In many ways, if the players can work out this type of alliance among themselves, it will help insure smoother game play while at the same time removing some of the potential fun game play of that nature involves itself with. The important thing though, is that everyone is on the same page. If you're bringing a new player into the game and he's unaware of the political alliances and ramifications the group has within its own dynamic and he assumes everyone is buddy buddy right from the get go, unless he is deliberately playing a naive character, the inevitable treachery such games encourage will not be seen as a good thing.

It's okay to have backstabbing and villains and morally gray ground in the campaign as long as everyone knows what the game is about. Rare are those who will week after week crawl into dark places to steal treasures of the ancients with people they can't trust at their back.


"Archers!' he thundered with what was nearly his last breath. "Sardhluun boat outside the fence! Kill all but the steersman. He's one of ours."

It was sheer bluff. pg. 180

In 3rd and 4th edition of D&D, skills came into their own a bit more than in previous editions where secondary skills and non-weapon proficiencies were the standard. Bluffing your enemies can be a skill check in the later editions and if the GM feels that the situation and role playing attempt deserves it, reward those actions in older editions. For those GMs of older systems, if you want to encourage this type of role playing effort, make sure that it works occasionally. Players will pick up their cues from what the NPCs do, how other NPCs react, what they do, and how the situation changes accordingly.

If they keep trying to use skills like bluff, intimidation and information gathering with little or no results, they'll stop doing it.


"I hate this place," she whispered, when they were fairly out of earshot. "I hate the stinking dirty water and the bugs in summer and the rickety lair towers and the mud and the wobbly boardwalks. But it is mine. It is mine. They gave it to me, after my last husband died; they made me First Wolf for life. I won't let anyone take it from me. You can go if you want." pg. 185

Possession and ownership of a thing provides responsibilities and loyalty to that thing, even if initially it wasn't something that was wanted. Give the players a run down keep that has to deal with raiders who used to use it in the winter, with orcs who used to stomp past it in the summer, and with politicians who seek to reclaim it once the players have put the hard work in or restoring it and see what the player reaction is.

"You don't want that swill," said Rokhlenu. "try this!" He cracked open the jar, poured a stream of purplish red wine into the bowl, and proudly handed it to Morlock. pg. 242

Character flaws are a great thing for a game master to use to further complicate the lives of players. Morlock, in addition to having a fiery blood, in addition to being a great swords master, in addition to having magic unlike most, in addition to have weapons of glass capable of cutting through armor, is a drunk. He didn't mention the drunk part to his friend, only that he had a preference for wine. So when its presented as a gift at a wedding, Morlock starts down the long downward spiral again.



Morlock opened his right hand and shrugged pg. 244

I know that seems like a weird thing to throw into the mix, but in terms of characters, both PC and NPC, having characters who not only have distinctive looks, like Morlock does, and distinctive catch phrases like Morlock does, goes even further when they have distinctive physical movements like Morlock does. This can be something done at that table.

In one game I ran, one of the players was a half-orc monk. Prior to every combat, the player would physically stand up and crack his knuckles loudly and smile. He didn't do that with his other characters and so it became something that character was known for.

He turned back and tried to find Iacomes' shop, but he lost his way in the twisting streets and finally had to give up.... "The streets shift. They say nothing is ever in the same place twice. All sorts of weird entities come and go." pg. 268

Towns and cities and forts should have their own distinctive ticks and tricks about them. The little things can make even the most boring village come to life.



"If he does, I'll buy him enough wine to stay drunk every day of his life, even if he lives to be a hundred." pg. 295

Morlock has not hidden his age, being hundreds of years old, but few believe him. In the old Kane novels by Karl Edgar Wagner, the same was often true. There may be rumors or hints of greater age and power behind the hero, in this cane Morlock and Kane, but the belief factor is low. This should make people underestimate them. Of course other ancient entities like outer planar creatures, ancient undead, and other near immortals won't make that mistake, but the standard folks in the setting? Why would they be expecting the middle aged man to actually be a powerful wizard?


There was a silence, and Wuinlendhono said with amusement, "Are you proposing that we eat fish?" pg. 216

When looking at different cultures, especially monstrous ones, what is the standard? For werewolves, apparently fist aren't even considered part of the menu despite the ease of access. This may be a cultural bias that has something to do with events in the far past. For example, several religions forbid the eating of Pork products. Ah, delicious pork products he said eating his ham steak and eggs..



Someone had crept into the den while Morlock was drunk, killed his friend, decapitated him, and escaped - not just unharmed but unchallenged. pg. 327

Morlock is far more dangerous than Hrutnefdhu so why would an assassin come in the middle of the night, kill Morlock's friend and make off with it?

What would happen to the book if indeed Morlock was killed? What would happen if the GM threw a skilled assassin that made all his rolls and killed all the party members through a combination of poison and stealth? The current game would end.

While that may be a fitting end, providing punishment to the heroes, in this case Morlock's friend's death, is more of a reminder of what can happen when vigilance isn't used. In a game, perhaps the players lose something of value? Perhaps one of their friends suffers retaliation for something the players did? Failure does not have to equal death unless the Game Master is set on having the players roll up new characters and to be frank, he could waste a lot less time by simply telling the players to roll up new characters.


Brum silently prayed to his gods in the dark, the Strange Gods. It was the Coranians who had first spread their worship through the north. Brum's people in the old time had persecuted and tortured and robbed and murdered the Coranian prophets. But the Coranians worked certain miracles that impressed the people deeply and led them to believe in the Strange Gods, even as they continued to rob and murder Coranians. pg. 344

So where do the religions in your world originate? In a setting like the Forgotten Realms, there are home grown deities, deities that arose from the ranks of modern man, deities from other setting, etc... Deities that are new to the setting should have a path that others can trace if they choose to. Such information might come in handy.

The manifestation of Death became disorganized and ceased to represent an individual identity.

Even in long ages, Death cannot die. Death continued to stand at the end of every road, the darkness framing the light of everything that lived until it lived no longer.

But Death who had been one of the strange Gods who had once been a woman, who had walked arm in arm with her sister Justice on the western edge of the world and talked of the way things were and the way things should be, that Death was gone.

In this limited sense, Death was dead. pg .447

In speaking of the gods a little more, what do the gods actually do in terms of the organization of the setting. In the 4e printed adventure path, Orcus seeks to take over for the Raven Queen. She is the god of death. Orcus the god of Undeath, well, demon prince of it at any rate. Does fighting the gods have unnatural effects on the setting?

Neil's the Sandman did a great job of illustrating some of the weird things that can happen when an aspect itself suffers as happened during the initial launch of the series where the Sandman, the master of dreams, is captured.

As the players continue to rise in level and the unthinkable becomes thinkable, in ever edition (yeah, Odin's tough but those 400 hit points in 1st ed ain't an infinite amount), think about what happens when the gods die.

The Wolf Age by James Enge is well worth a look to see how a standard adventurer may act in a supernatural setting where the werewolves aren't masters of horror, but just another civilization with its own ups and downs where the gods are interfering.

This Crooked Way by James Enge

Since I already own the first three books by James Enge that feature his character Morlock, I figure I'd delve right into the next one; This Crooked Way.

Unlike the first book, this one isn't told from a single viewpoint by a single character. We get several first personal views of what Morlock is like, as wel las numerous interludes and a few of the standard third person chapters. Overall it works but doesn't work as well as I've seen in other places including Usagi Yojimbo.

Below I'll be pulling some quotes out of the book and there will probably be spoilers. Read no further if you'd care to avoid that sort of thing.

"My name is Vost. I was Lord Urdhven's right-hand man. His cloest friend. You killed him. Destroyed him. And now you come here." pg. 17

When players are fighting the good fight, their foes may be more than just the ones that are immediately in front of them. In a military based battle, there are numerous chains of command and if the players are focused on one level, the highest level, those below the military commanders the players slay, could one day seek vengance.

"They called it the winterwood. The trees stood on high rocky ground; it was cold there, even in summer. the trees there, of a kind that grew nowhere else, flowered in fall and faded in spring. They resembled dark oaks, except their leaves were a dim blue and their bark had a bluish cast." pg .54

Providing the local forest with some unique color goes a long way in establishing the players need to pay attention to things going on around them. Providing unique elements to the campaign severs to provide some unique game play options to the setting. The standard of classic fantasy are that way for a reason, but that very ample soil leaves plenty of room for customization.


"Yet you wander from place to place... like some kind of magical tinker, when you might command fear and respect the way a general commands an army."
Morlock shrugged irritably. "Why?" pg. 71

One of the things that's interesting about Morlock is that his ability as a maker allows him to manufacture a wide vareity of devices. If he so choose, he could set up shop in a major city and become a world reknown power. But those things doen't interest him. He's an adventurer you see.

When you have players who are interested in the actual adventuring process, of going forward for the experience itself as opposed to the gold and glory, you're able to throw a little more into the campaign. Gold and glory are great motivators in and of themselves and can be useful carrot and stick approaches, but when the players want to adventure on their own in the first place, this makes the GM's job easier.


"That's the one law the Riders carry with them through the lawless hours: bring the bodies out. For every body left in the woods after dark became the subject and sustenance of our enemy, the Boneless One, the Whisperer in the woods." pg 109

When possible, think about the long term effects of the magical and other unnatural elements of the campaign. For example, if there are undead in the campaign, either zombies or skeletons, those that can be crafted from the dead, or ghouls or those that feast on the dead, why are there corpses?


"The crowd's horror burst into panic. I wasn't the first person to rush for the door, but i wasn't thel ast one either." pg. 131

This one is a simple one. Not everyone in the setting is hard core ready to fight to the death and ready to kill for whoever tells them to. When things from beyond creep into the game, try to recall that the players are a step above most of those they encounter and that whats normal for them, may seem especially strange to the 'normal' people in the setting.


"A shape flew between Besk and me- a darkly luminous green bird whose form would not quite come into focus as if it were wrapped in a dark mist. It flew around Besk's head three times. With the first pass his eyes closed; with the second his head slumped; after the thrid he fell to the ground. The green bird flew back to where it came from: the door of the smith. Morlock, standing there, caught it in a glass bottle and closed the bottle with a stopper.
"What is that?" I asked.
"Sleep," Morlock said. Pg. 138

One of the things I like about 4th ed is that it's all about 'reskinning'. Its all about providing your own flavor and your own description to abilities. I've seen this done in the past as well where Dragon articles would encourage you to customize your character by describing special effects that your spells had about them. For example, elves using magic missles that were living wood or frost mages using frost missles. The problem happens when players try to take the extra step and throw in some other abilities that the core ability they're reskinning doesn't have. Allow description to run free but don't allow it to provide additional game mechanics unless you're doing some stunting like found in Exalted.


Morlock shook his head. "You go on," he said. "I have to find Tyrfing." pg. 153

A character with a unique signature weapon isn't going to leave it behind unless he absolutely has to. On the other hand, as Morlock revoers his weapon less than a page latter, he shouldn't have too do that too often. It's an abuse of the character concept and if the GM is dead set against that type of character with that type of weapon, he shouldn't allow it in the first place.

There are few thing more angry than a player told he can use X, Y, and Z and watching as X, Y, and Z are nerfed to whatever the GM prefers. Take the high road and just disallow it in the first place.

"May I offer you something, my boy? A glass of wine, or perhaps something stronger?" pg. 288

One of the thigns I haven't really touched on is that Morlock is the son of Merlin. And they're not really on good friendly terms with his father trying to kill him and all. Family can provide many a useful plot hook to the campaign and is of far greater use to the GM than some loner with no family and a mysterious past.

In this case though, the father is pushing the envelope by offering Morlock wine. One thing I may not have mentioned is that Morlock is an alcoholic. While it doesn't feature prominently in this book and didn't overall effect the previous book in the series, it's part of Morlock's character. Unless you're using a point system that has the characters roll to resist vices or be rewarded for falling into them, in games like Dungeons and Dragons and Rolemaster, this should be trapping or surface flavor.


"Morlock walled away quickly. He had the feeling that Trannon was intent on doing something that would wreck everything Morlock had done." pg. 352

One of the things about the real world is that you can't save everyone. Some people don't want to be saved. Depending on how the GM introduces such concepts to the game, this could involve alcohol like Morlock himself, drug use, or enuii. People may struggle to overcome their base instincts but cannot do so. In some instances, if the players are heroes higher than Morlock whose involvement is almost more of an honor thing, such as good friends of such a character down in the dark, they may be able to acheive a true intervention. But as Hollywood celeberties prove time and time again, having all the money, wealth, and adoration of millions might not be enough and the dark roads may be calling.

This Crooked Way continues the adventurers of Morlock with James Enge providing some solid humor and a stoic character that is at once heroic and self contained. His unique weapon and James take on the magic of that setting provide solid twist and turns along with a unique bestiary.

Those looking for fantasy entertainment that's not too high strung and isn't thousands of pages long with dozens of carefully created NPCs will enjoy it.

Blood Of Ambrose by James Enge

In between working like a slave for a company currently under sale, I also game, paint, and read numerous forums and blogs.

On one of ye old blogs, I stumbled across a book called This Crooked Way by James Enge.  Sounded right up my alley but didnt' sound like the first book in the series. After a trip to Half Priced books, as well as a visit to Borders with a 40% off coupon and Amazon, I was the proud owner of Blood of Ambrose, This Crooked Way and The Wolf Age by James Enge.

Good enough and time to start on the series.

Blood of Ambrose isn't as gritty as any of The First Law series or the books that come after it. It is not a ground breaking series like the Wheel of Time was thought at one point or A Game of Thrones currently is (thank you HBO).

However, that doesn't stop it from being a fun read. Taking some cues form Arthurian mythos and bits of fantasy, James Enge provides some interesting characters in interesting enough situations that Blood of Ambrose is well worth a read.

Below I'll be talking about some of the bits that I found interesting. If you wish to avoid spoilers, read no further.

"In all his life he had one friend, and now that friend was dead. What was an empire compared to that?" pg. 136.

Okay, a cheap start I know, but perhaps I'm reading too many blogs and forums where the basic question of why do characters fight and die for each other. It's not a question I gave much thought to when I first started gaming. My first role playing experiences were with Marvel Super Heroes. It was pretty much the standard that you'd rather die than abandon your friends in the middle of combat with the Red Skull or Thanos.

As I moved into fantasy games, that wasn't always the case. As I played with more and more people though, it seemed to fall into the category of 'dick players'. If everyone in the game but you dies, you're not a hero, you're a dick.

Sorry, but whose going to travel with you once its known that you've left other player's characters die, especially if the new characters are made by those same player's? Sure, you can say its the players being dicks in and of themselves, daring to use that foul meta-knowledge that your character values his own life so much that he'd abandoned them but hey, the other players are going to make their decisions based on what you've already done and meta-knowledge be damned.

I'm not saying that if you as a player had your character say, "Hey, this is crazy. We can't go in there and expect to live." and then stayed behind and didn't do everything in your power to help others out. But if you're the mage or other high level caster and your combat spells consist mainly of those which get you and you alone out of a tight situation? Yeah, good luck with that next group of adventurers wanting to travel with you.


"But no one knows him as well as I do. And I know not only that he's breakable, but that he's broken." pg. 145.

In making characters, one of the standards seems to be that everyone has feet of clay. Morlock ,one of the main characters of the novel, and the hero in many ways, has a lot of faults. But those days of being inactive and doing nothing are behind him. When players are designing their characters, I encourage the GM not only to point out the obvious faults with them, but to note how those might come back into the came to haunt her. If the player is dead set on making a drunk whose will is so weak that even in a game with no penalties for doing so, that they fall to alcoholism when drink is merely mentioned, they might be taking it too far. The clay should be something that the characters are working against as they start the game, not something that they are so rigidly defined by that any NPC with a roll of 15 or less on 3d6 knows that weakness.

"The sunkillers had taken an interest in our world and intended to conquer it." pg. 149

The whole thing here of another race deciding to take over the world is one that bears some mentioning not necessarily because you want to start the players off against such seemingly epic foes, but rather because it indicates that the width of the campaign is larger than the pond they're currently in. They should want to fight their own Sunkillers some day and to take their own steps "beyond their world" so to speak.



"When was the last time any of you guys heard any news from Invarna?" pg. 156

One of the hardest things for me to remember as a GM, and something I have to enforce with that same authority, is how little modern communications played in the settings we're often playing in. In order to enforce some of that feeling, it's good to have news come in from outside via caravans and other travelers. But sometimes, especially when the players are seeking to stir up trouble, they might ask, "Hey, when was the last time anyone heard anything about X." and because modern communication standards aren't in effect, they should get the benefit of the doubt. The opposite is also true of course...


"All that is left of that once was Urdhven is a slender thread of ego trapped inside that slab of meat." pg. 181.

The main villain at this point is the Protector to the king. He's a man obsessed with taking over the lands and ruling. He appears normal enough at first until his head is cut from his body and he still lives. When such things happen, well, there has to be something else behind it no? It's a good way to set up the otherness behind some of the villains in the campaign and to hint at things to come down the road.

In the same vein,

"He says there is a danger we aren't facing-"
"Yes, I know: the Protector's Shadow, Urdhven's magical patron." pg. 208.

When the players do manage to take out one villain, they may discover that he was just a puppet of a stronger villain. When you face cultist, their leader is a necromancer, who gains strength from demons, who gain strength from their patron Orcus, and in between the cultist and Orcus are numerous encounters and challenges ranging from champions and servants to unique monsters and environmental issues that require more than just brawn and power to overcome.


"...among the crystalline shards was one_ long, swordlike, and dark_ which fell into Morlock's outstretched hand. It was tyrfing, the accursed sword, its blade like dark basaltic glass glimmering in the fitful light of the stormy evening." pg. 182

Not every game models every genre or even every weapon within a particular genre well. The first thing I thought of when I read about the "veins of glowing white crystal within the dark blade" wasn't D&D, it was Rolemaster. The blade has more of a magical nature than a mere bonus and that made me think of an essence multiplier or addition to the power points a character would gain from holding it. Keep the game you're playing in mind as you read, but don't be afraid to let bits you read find their appropriate place among other game you might enjoy.


"this time I got there in time," pg. 190.

Players fail. It happens in almost every game and every genre. In fiction, the writer has the ability to give the characters a second chance at doing what they failed to do. When possible, take a nod from this and allow the players to enjoy success at something they failed at before.


"that satisfied some of the Protector's Men; others, who knew or had heard a truer version of the fight in the Great Market, quietly deserted." pg. 206.

You've got this awesome villain but he's such a scum bag that if people truly knew what a vile source of scum he is, they would quickly leave him but yet the players have found him out and proven his vileness! What to do. Depending on the nature of the outing, have some loss of power occur. If you don't you're taking away from the player's victory. Why bother exposing the villain if there's no effect of doing so?


"You don't sign peace treaties with your friends, Wyrth; you sing them with your enemies." pg. 212

Wow. What a piece of advice for a game that may have too many foes for a typical party to overcome. when dealing with things like war, as I mentioned in my ramblings of the Heroes, there may be too many foes for the players to overcome. In order to cut back on sheer bloodthirst and rampage, hinting that the players may want to capture enemies and resources so that they may barter with their foes for terms of peace may be a way around the death toil that could otherwise come around.


"It looks as if you're going to have to continue those lessons in the Sight." pg. 249

One of the things that always brings out my Internet fighting form, is talking about game design versus game play. I've seen Champions characters built with 350 points that look nothing like Champions characters that were played from 250 to that 350 point total. Game play in and of itself indicates a LOT of what will happen in the game. Worried that wizards and clerics and druids are just too damn powerful? Allow them in the campaign and see what happens through, you know, actual game play. Sure, they may want spell X, Y, and Z, but the campaign may call for them to use A, B, and C. The theory of game design and optimal choices may be vastly different that what's useful for your own campaign.

I'm not saying ignore advice and bits of wisdom you come across when seeing how people deal with a particular issue, but understand what your own campaign issues are prior to adapting someone else's solution. It may not be a problem in your campaign if Clerics are the most powerful class in your campaign and they don't need nerfing at all.


"Suppose that the magical adept is not, in fact, Urdhven's patron. Suppose that Urdhven is merely the dupe or pawn of this adept, who uses him to distract us from some under taking of the adept's own." pg. 250

There may be times when the foes of today's game are the allies of tomorrow's game. There may be times when the depth of the characters you've developed to interact with the players go beyond merely killing them. The motivations of some of the cast may clash against the motivations of others of the cast. In those times, allow the characters to grow through the actions of the player's characters and the world they inhabit.

There are a few others bits within Blood of Ambrose that are worth quoting and thinking about, but the Patron is flowing  strongly and it's well past the old sleepy time form me.