Of Truth and Beasts

Of Truth and Beasts
A Novel of the Noble Dead
Written by Barb & J.C. Hendee
Published by Roc

It's been a long time since I've read the Noble Dead series. Part of that was I don't like Wynn, Chane, and Shade as much as the original trio. They are pale reflections of the unique features that the original trio brought to the series.

It's not that they don't have their own charm.

Wynn is a scholar, a sage even, whose motivation in finding things out is to help save the world. In this her guild works against her because there are things that the guild thinks man is not meant to know and so it's a back and forth between her guild and the factions within it, including those that think, due to Wynn's tenacious nature, that she will find a way through to long-forgotten knowledge.

There's there's Chane. Spoiler alert folks, he's a vampire who was killed early in the series by the former star, Magiere. She even went so far as to cut his head off. It didn't take but the decapitation left him a nice scar and a raspy voice.

Oh, and he and Wynn have an 'unspoken thing' between them. You know, like Cheers. 

The last of the original trio is Shade, a fey hound of sorts that doesn't speak in words, but rather conveys things through memories. It works well in some points but also limits how the character can be used in terms of interaction with the others. 

Having said that, since I haven't read any of the books in a long time, it was a pleasant read focused mainly on exploration and character interaction not only between the new trio, but also Ore Locks, a dwarf seeking redemption for one of his ancestors. Important when that ancestor is known as The Lord of Slaughter and you're not a worshipper of Khrone.

Part of this back and forth involves trying to get permission to engage in the mission in the first place. The Sages aren't really keen on letting Wynn out of their sight but at the same time, if they banish her or try anything funky, well, there's the vampire dude and the dwarf and the fey dog... so many complications! Better to try and feed her a little information at a time and lead her in the direction they want her to go.

But Wynn is not one so easily lead and quickly slips the leash taking limited funds and spending them all in an effort to get ahead of her own guild, which to a certain point works.

The novel includes a few different factions that don't all get equal face time but it does give us a peak into the wraith, Sau'ilahk, a man who served the 'Enemy' because he thought he'd get to be young forever. Nope! Turns out they bound him after a long lived life and took his flesh so he's a formless, shapeless, black cape! He could be a super villain, "Fear the Wraith!"

He's kind of annoying. When a villain gets a good death scene, go with it. And in the last volume, Sau'ilahk got that death scene. Bringing him back and giving him some more background and motivation works to a point, but it's also a mirror of bringing back Chane in previous volumes. "Kill your darlings" as the old saying goes.

Having said that, the mix of exploration and character conflict comes to a nice climax in an ancient dwarf hold and the things in that old dwarf hold? Well, let's just say that fans of The Hobbit aren't going to be disappointed. The novel ends with an epilogue that sets up the next series in the Nobel Dead series.

If you're a fan of fantasy exploration and standard races with a bit of a twist on them, like Ore Locks and how the dwarves in this setting work, you'll enjoy it. If you're looking for high action thought and intense combat scenes like David Gemmell or R. A. Salvatore or known for bringing to their series? Not so much.

The Nobel Dead continues to move the plot forward with "the McGuffin" for at least another 'phase (3 even!) of five books so if you like your series long and epic, the Nobel Dead should hold you over.

S Is For Sewer

As I just finished through Stone and Sea, the second fantasy novel in the new Noble Dead series by Barb Hendee, it had a few parts where Wynn and her companions are working their way through an underground entrance that has waterways and such in it. Not quite a sewer, but it tied into my idea for S anyway, which was sewer so though I'd toss that out there. It was something I was thinking of in terms of its long use in both games and books, such as when Sharpe makes his escape in one during one of his various terms of imprisonment.

For me, sewers tend to be fairly iconic to cities. They are the low side of things. The city based dungeon if you will. Their prominence in cities varies depending upon the topic and year of publication. In the old Waterdeep City of Splendors boxed set, there are maps, general overviews really, as well as encounter tables and some ideas of what can be found down there. Movies, especially horror movies, have also made fine use of sewers such as CHUD, also known as the cannibalistic humanoid underground dwellers. Ah, the 80's, how I miss you so.

In terms of using a sewer in a fantasy game, there are many utilities possible.

1. Item is lost in the sewer.

2. Individual is hiding in the sewer.

3. City is in ruins but sewers are intact and allow users to navigate the ruins.

4. Unique local monsters are down there.

5. Neutral meeting ground.

In terms of mapping, due to the potential maze like nature of the sewers, I generally have a few 'key points' mapped out and use a flow chart to indicate other things that might happen. Most of the flow chart is just movement. After all, if every delve into the sewers was a disaster, it wouldn't be too useful to the city above in its main job. 

So by having a few key points mapped out, generally a straight branch of sewer, maybe two or three versions that have different widths and heights, as well as a few connection points, I can throw out the map when the players do have encounters.

For encounters, generally I see sewers as having a few potential encounters.

1. Nothing. This is what I'm talking about. Just walking around the sewers might not be the most pleasant thing but shouldn't be an automatic death sentence.

2. Animals. These can range from the standard rat to it's larger or more diseased siblings to snakes living in the water or even the dreaded baby crocodiles.

3. Undead. If there's a worse place to die right? You'd be haunting this place as well right? But on a more serious note, any necromancer worth his salt that is using the sewers to conduct his experiments should be able to use the undead, who don't need to breath, as nice little traps for players. Sure, the skeletons are minions or low level hit dice, but when they start drowning you? In that filth? Ugh. Some undead that might be more feral, like ghouls or ghasts, may set up shop underneath say a butcher's shop or a morgue and come out at night and help themselves to some snacks.

4. Humans. For some poor bastards, they actually have jobs in the sewers. This can range from rat catching to plumbing. Some of these folk might act as patrons for characters if a rat catcher doesn't come back or a boss needs to break up those cursed union plumbing thugs and their evil ways! In a city where the thieves guild has no sway, thieves and beggars may make use of the sewers, perhaps using them as a spy network to quickly move around town without being seen. Such a service may prove valuable to players with a price on their necks.

5. A dungeon. What if the sewers are built on top of an even older, more ancient structure that was there? The trip through the sewer itself merely becomes an entrance way into the more traditional roles that players are used to.

6. Unusual. This could be harsh rains that flood the sewer, structural damage to the sewer causing blockage and backing up of materials and waters, cracks and drainage in the bottom of the sewer causing water to drain out, etc...

In short, sewers are a location that despite its humble origin, has long had a place in role playing games and with its many uses, will continue to do so.

R is For Rumor

Once again hitting the C. J. Sanson book, Sovereign, Matthew Shardlake's inquisitive mind starts him wondering about certain things about the king, who in this time period in England, is also god's word on earth. Of course such things start off as nothing more than rumors about the King's true parentage but it's enough to get Shardlake down the path of inquisition.

I love rumors. What I remember as a young Dungeon Master, and this could be my crappy memory striking again, is that before you had skills like those in 3rd edition, you had various tables to roll on. The tables consisted on various things about the adventure, wither it was the location, the fabulous treasure, or some of those who lived about the land, and it had either a T for True or a F for false. The Gm was encouraged to add to the tables and to change things around so that someone playing through the adventure multiple times would not always come away with the same, or even the correct information.

Rumors fit a city based campaign for a number of reasons.

First off, people are always talking. Look at the Republican Party in America. This band of the so-called GOP, has insisted at times, that our current President is not naturally born. The rumor mill churns in the world of politics. The important thing though, is that even if its not true, it can generate its own air, its own power, its own field of negativity where things can be thrown into doubt for those whose faith or information isn't solid to begin with. The world of entertainment also swirls and churns with rumors ranging from dating, sexual preferences in the present, conquests of the past, and accusations of talent theft to other, even less kind things.

In a fantasy city, there are multitudes of options to work from.

1. Famous Buildings. Mage towers, guild halls, taverns, red lantern districts, and of course, sewers are all ripe targets for rumors. These can range from hauntings, to the origins of those hauntings to who is zooming who.

2. Historical Events. Much like how history can be remade by the winners, the modern history of a city may quickly fall sway to rumor and hearsay. For example, if the players saved a noble from assassination, the noble may spread around town that it was only his own exceptional skill at arms that saved a blundering party from assassination and that he felt so bad for them, that he provided them with riches so that they may improve their paltry skill set.

3. Individuals: Much like Sovereign, rumors are always swirling about the rich, famous, and powerful. Of course such rumors might not always be wise to find. In older editions of Dungeons and Dragons, powerful entities like Demon Lords and Devil Princes could hear their names mentioned as well as the words that followed it. Such entities would hardly take to rumors of their weaknesses, strengths, hidden strong holds, or allies. In the Forgotten Realms city, Waterdeep, the ruling council were masked and unknown so rumors were always flying over who the actual rulers were with only one of them, The Open Lord of Waterdeep, of course a paladin, known to the public.

4. Magic Items. In older editions of the game, things were not so static. 3rd and 4th put magic items into a 'math' function so that a character of X or Y level was doing A or B damage. Earlier editions wouldn't necessarily give you a super powerful magic item at low levels, but the opportunities were often there. For example, I've run White Plume Mountain and had a player character with Black Razor. I've run a PC that had Black Razor. I've run The City Beyond the Gates and had a player with the Mace of St. Cuthbert. There was no 'cheating' going on there, just honest to goodness module running and the players earned those powerful artifacts.

In the book I'm currently reading, Barb Hendee's Through Stone and Sea, Wynn, a sage, is seeking information on the Thirteen, the original vampires, and has to work through the rumors of a secretive sect of dwarfs in order to discover what she seeks. The author is turning her quest for information using only rumor and hearsay into a full fledged quest.

When preparing your cities, prepare some rumors that the players might stumble into. When preparing some encounter areas, prepare some rumors that the players might seek out. When providing information from the rolling dice, prepare two sets of answers depending on how high the player rolled or how well they role played out the scene and how much gold they dropped.

Rumors can add dimensions to the game that might otherwise be unexplored.