Tonight, in the Lottery Dungeon, the characters must face this guy.
They saw him go down into the Lottery Dungeon. They almost clashed with him last time. This time, when they go down to the second level, they will face him and also the incorporeal undead he has raised to help him out. He will hunt them. I suspect he will kill them or die.
Because of the magic of the interwebs, this post will go up while we are playing.
Here is a .pdf of my draft of divination in the World Between, focused on the Caezarette Cypher Deck. I will continue to expand on this. It includes the major arcana created by Jack Shear in his second compendium, adapted.
When I am done, there will be a picture of the card on one page facing a description of the symbols of the card and insight into its meanings. Then the divination guide (included here) and history (most of it here already.) I will include other ways to do readings with the cards as well.
Actually getting a deck (assuming I finish one) is an unreasonable luxury for most of the gamers I’m targeting by releasing my work on the World Between. Fortunately, I came up with 101 cards, and 1 is always used, leaving 100. Accident? No! You can dice your way through a divination without a single card.
For example, here is a reading for various characters headed for Setine this Friday.
I plan to make a book with this divination method; it is system neutral, and the OSR people might get a kick out of it too.
So I got my test copy in the mail, and of course you see errors in print that you don’t see on the screen. I was weary of updating things that have been evolving since last September, so I was ready to just let the book go out as-is and apologize for not having an editor or careful reader.
Getting the beautiful book in my hands has given me pause, and fresh energy for review and correction. Since I got it I have made hundreds of adjustments, fine-tuning it to be the best it can be. Unlike my previous efforts with this system, I expect this book to stand for a good long while, a plateau in the design process.
I expect I’ll be finished with my corrections by the end of the week. THEN I can release it as-is and apologize for not having an editor or careful reader.
Seriously, though… I love this game and this book. I think any group interested in rules-light Gothic fantasy will find a treasure trove of goodness. I could blog for a year by just pointing out page numbers in the document and riffing on it.
A little more patience, and it will be in your hands.
Hey, another card.
This is the realm card for the World Above, the heavenly realm that sent salvation to the World Between on ships across the sea. They pushed back the darkness.
Here it is, ladies and gentlemen. This will be on the cover of “The World Between for Fictive Hack.”
I titled it “Pinata.”
You don’t need words to go with this. Feast your eyes, folks. (Big thanks to Kristy!)
Jack Shear’s post on Ulverland is here. This is one of the country descriptions for my upcoming book on the World Between. This is a draft.
This grim, misty island is the shadow of a former empire. The gods of Ulverland, known as the Father and Family, grant powers to holy warriors who are ferocious in their defense of the Motherland. Ulverland balances a tradition of crazed warriors with a tradition as the center of elegant magical instruction in the World Between. Their greatest influence on the world now is through their formidable navy and through the reputation of Orxham Academy of Mystical Arts.
Not-England. In the mists of early history, Ulverland conquered most of the World Between. They left religion, architecture, ideas, and people behind when they withdrew. Their current isolation is in part caused by sulking in the wake of successful revolutions thousands of years ago, magnified by a stoic culture and a focus on domestic issues. There are misty moors, ruthless gods who are very present with their followers, bustling port cities, and a press of history that hardly leaves room to breathe.
The Glorious King rules (currently Barthon I) with the Council of High Wizardry. The Council is made up of a representative of each of the four colleges of magic at Orxham Academy. Sometimes representatives from the Father and Family in Stormholt will consult with the king, or the king will seek them out, for the religious perspective. This relationship is important, but not formal. There are six dukes that answer to the king, and a feudal structure below them. The dukes are more powerful than the king, as a group, but the king balances them with the wizards.
Ulverlanders are tall and solidly built. Most look like Northrons, others look Caligarian. Their smiles are ironic, wry, sour, or grim, but seldom pleasant. Their sense of humor is dark and morbid, or focused on embarrassing situations, and even then they usually only allow a sardonic chuckle. None of them are really happy; at best, they take a determined satisfaction in their successes. They seem most alive and at ease when everything is going wrong. They are so besotted with the Father and Family pantheon that they refuse to make deals with any other supernatural power. They don’t expect protection from their gods or their government, they see their safety as their own concern. They think their nation and its ways are the best in the world, and every country that refused to stay conquered was giving up what is best in life. They like awful food; it reinforces their dark view of the world. They love mighty storms.
Longbows and their expert military use, elite skirmishers, disciplined ship crews, tough ships, secret navigation techniques, the best and most diverse magical education in the world, illusionist spies, elemental war wizards, incredible libraries of collected lore, really bad food.
Lizport. The capitol and seat of the king, and the home base of a powerful navy and trade armada. Once Lizport ruled an empire that stretched almost all the way to the Storm Range mountains and the Sea of Sothak. Traders from here have interests all over the World Between and beyond. Lizport also houses the Great Library of the Gaunt Gent, a true wonder of the world.
Khendal. This port has thrived and defined itself through constant warfare with the raiders of Frostreave. Their naval clashes are legendary, and the coastal defenses devised by Khendal have been exported to countless coastal areas hit by Northrons. Khendal manages the reserved national pride of Ulverland, with museums and architecture hailing back to the Age of Storms, keeping their heritage alive.
Stormholt. The holy city of the Father and Family, the Storm Sovereign Pantheon. All Ulverlanders romanticize this city, on the rolling moors. Since Hulmora is the goddess personifying their island, they see her natural beauty here. The massive thunderstorms that rake the highlands are the work of Garm-Gorak, their bloody chief god. All the children of the gods have their niche in Stormholt. The married high priest and high priestess live in the Temple of Storms and are sometimes taken up in oracular ecstasy. This city is the home base for an army of holy warriors gifted with supernatural powers by the gods themselves.
Vengeance Point. Those crazed by rage or grief, or looking to become toughened warriors (or dead) travel to Vengeance Point. The weather there is so hostile that it seems impossible people could survive there given the minimal trappings of civilization in the settlement. This is where warriors go to strike at Frostreave, outside the permission of governments or the logistics and chain of command that hamper the revenge these warriors crave. The warrior culture only acknowledges kills in battle and survival. Risk is something to be sought, not avoided. To be blooded and acknowledged in Vengeance Point is to be a respected warrior in all Ulverland territories and culture—and also in Frostreave.
Orxham Academy of Mystical Arts. They are the Spring House (wizards), the Summer House (mages), the Autumn House (illusionists), and the Winter House (necromancers.) Graduates of Orxham are highly sought after. The elemental war mages have proven battlefield prowess, the illusionists are some of the finest spies in the world, and the necromancers are considered the least distasteful of their kind. Tuition tends to be about 1,000 silver per semester, with 8 semesters to graduate (plus expenses.) There are many other schools and colleges attached to the Academy, but the magical schools are the most impressive.
Father and Family. The Storm Sovereign Pantheon was inherited from Frostreave, but the chief god adopted Ulverland and this is their religion now. Garm-Gorak, the Bloody Maw, is a god of winter, wolves, and war. He was awakened by the fighting on the island, and he adopted these people as he admired their pluck. He created a goddess out of Ulverland’s bones, Hulmora, Queen of Elements. Together they had three sons: Charlak, Maham, and the Gaunt Gent. These gods have come to define Ulverland culture, and each creates holy warriors to defend the Motherland.
Merrihel. This death goddess rules Frostreave, and she is possibly the sometime lover of Garm-Gorak. Independent and murderous, she has a foothold in Ulverland; around 3,000 years ago raiders stopped hitting settlements with a shrine to Merrihel. She even found her way into the Sovereign Calendar. She is not really worshiped in Ulverland, but regard and respect for her ebb and flow. When times are good, Ulverlanders thank Hulmora for protecting them. When times are bad, they look to Merrihel to get them out of their difficulties.
Sluurge. The Demon Lord of Pestilence, Famine, and Gallows Humor has a presence as an underground cult in Ulverland. For those who give up completely, Sluurge offers uncanny food for the starving. Whether that starvation is from hunter, need for revenge, or utter depression, Sluurge offers dark substitutes to meet those needs without relying on the outside world or other people. Newly self-sufficient cultists of Sluurge may have a new lease on life, but they become destabilizing influences as they undermine the culture and safety of Ulverland.
Jack Shear’s post on the Shae Isle is here. This is one of the country descriptions for my upcoming book on the World Between. This is a draft.
This magical island has deep ties with supernatural creatures, so it has never been conquered by outsiders. The land is both profoundly primal and otherworldly, thick with nature spirits and the eldritch fey. The people of this island embrace its powers, rather than struggling to dominate them or destroy them. While this alliance makes a potent national defense, it also seems to make the people alien to their own kind.
Not-Ireland. The power of story and the power of fate are tied together; changing the story of a thing may change the thing itself. Reality is flexible under the influence of powerful supernatural forces. The island is riddled with portals to the fey realm of the Ardenwald, the Dreamlands, the Wailing Labyrinth of restless dead, and other places that are neither the World Above or the World Below. The land is impossibly green and vibrant with life. To enter the island is to enter a story, and anything can happen.
The Chief of Clan Glasslin rules from Glasslin City. This appears to be the equivalent of a king, but in truth, the clan was given the heavy responsibility of managing relations with outsiders. They are admired for doing this job well, but they are not the human rulers of the isle. Each of the 14 clans has their own chieftain and druid hierophant. Few indeed are the leaders who would suggest humans are the rulers of the Shae Isle; they consider themselves more tenants who are tolerated by the island’s masters.
Shaelin have red hair, pale skin, green eyes, and freckles. They are slender and stealthy, with beautiful singing voices (because their lives sometimes depend on it when they confront the supernatural seeking amusement.) They have rude tools and shabby houses, their only real city is more of a town, and they are backwards superstitious rural folk. They rely on weird fairies deals and woodland spirits instead of human ingenuity and tools. They can curse you if they want to, because they’re not fully human. Most of them don’t realize there’s a world outside their little island, and wouldn’t care if they did.
Amazing alcohol called “moonshine,” henna and tattoo traditions, shamen with fey lore, pagan expertise.
Glasslin. Ruled by the Clan Glasslin, this large town is the focal point of dealing with the world beyond the island. It has walls, and a large market, a shipyard, and services to handle trade and visitors. Beyond that, there are villages and small fortresses…
The Verdant Tower. This tower atop Thorn Mountain seldom roams. Those seeking audience with the eladrian have a good chance of finding them there, if the fey warriors allow it. They also impart fey abilities to some, for their own strange reasons. Both the Seelie and Unseelie courts have representatives in the tower. While the outside of the tower is in the real world, the inside is in the Ardenwald.
Pagan Gods. No speculation is necessary about whether these gods exist or affect humanity. On certain nights you can see them. The Forest Who Walks, the Lamenting Mother, and the Crooked Moon are the greatest of these gods. Druids manage the worship and maintain the tradition. The gods must be honored through life and through death, with blood sex magic and time-honored ritual. These gods are not human and do not think as humans do, they are unfathomable. These gods have survived since the Cosmic Event, the Death Muster and its energies did not flow this far to poison the land. Maybe this is what the whole world could have been like. Here, primordial energies endure. Their surging energies create forms of life in the woods that allow it to defend itself, and sometimes druids can borrow those powers.
The Fey. Forces from the Ardenwald hold court in the wilds of the Shae Isle. The Seelie Court and Unseelie Court both have elements that meet in the World Between. Their agents, the eladrian, have eldritch towers that roam the Shae Isle, and into Scarabae and sometimes Ulverland. No one really knows what they want. They make deals with mortals, from time to time. The bargains are not clearly fair or unfair; clever humans always get the sense they don’t have the whole picture. The fey give gifts, strange gifts that bring sorrow and joy but affect the humanity of all who touch them. Sometimes, they take people—but why? Time moves differently in the Ardenwald, and the fey can copy people (or possess them.) Those who study the fey for any length of time risk madness. Some conclude this is all a game to them, a game with inscrutable rules that may not be possible to win or lose.
The Witches. Some desperate and power-hungry people go to pagan gods or to forces of the World Below and beg for supernatural might and assistance. They are given familiars, conduits for supernatural energies and abilities. Now slaves to the entity that empowers them, they act individually or in groups to pursue the will of their alien master. Even so, witches in contact with proper demons are rare in the Isle, and they are often hunted and killed by the other supernatural forces here. This is the least demon-haunted corner of the World Between.
Jack Shear’s post on the Ghael Isles is here. This is one of the country descriptions for my upcoming book on the World Between. This is a draft.
There is a dream-like quality to Scarabae. Fey-touched nobles serve the Church of the Lady, and rule from manors overlooking the enchanted woods. Wicked aristocrats and spellcasters lurk in the shadows, striking at the Church and its followers. Vows bind nobles beyond death in protecting their lands. In Scarabae, nothing is as it seems, and making assumptions (especially assumptions that allow violence) is always the wrong move.
Not-France. This nation is carefully balanced between four powerful neighbors. The ruling class developed a gender-neutral knighthood founded in an ideal of respect, with balancing ties to the fey and to the Church of the Lady. Concerns of history, diplomacy, and supernatural pacts require Scarabeans to be diplomats to manage competing demands. Ability to use violence is necessary to gain traction at the bargaining table, but it is never the first choice. No culture here is dominant enough to be dismissive of the others, and the past is very present.
The Sun King or Sun Queen (currently Liza VI) rules a feudal network. The ruler is usually one who has quested for the Grail, found it, and returned it to the Lady by dropping it into the pool in the King’s Cathedral in Foret Tour. Only nobility may make pacts involving their lands, so all legal agreements go through the ruler at whatever level is appropriate. This is a cautious result of millennia of tricky bargains.
Scarabaens are tall, with straw-blonde hair, big noses, weak chins, and blue or green eyes. They are wishy-washy, their promises full of caveats and wiggle words, but they are true to the letter of what they promised. They have an unnerving inability to be exclusively loyal, always entertaining other offers. They would rather read and sing than fight and rut. They take themselves and their honor and the honor of their families too seriously, but they are difficult to provoke. Once roused, they have an uncanny focus on punishing the offender, after which they tend to let grudges go. They tend to have a neutral or positive relationship with the dead and undead from their country, every old house has an ancestor or two floating around.
Trade with the fey, quality broadswords and chain mail, romantic ballads and poetry, diplomacy, elite warriors, fine wine, heavy fabric and tapestries.
Carrefour. The capitol and trade center of Scarabae. The Sun Queen rules from this city, and it is famed for its diversity of architecture, its hundreds of museums, and its variety of foods.
Chantiernaval. This port is the center of Scarabae’s naval strength. The shipyards produce vessels that ward away Frostreave raiders, and sail all the way around Midian to the Sea of Sothak for trade in the south.
Foret Tour. The Forest Gate is an ancient city, full of illusions and cryptic mysteries layered upon one another. It is the spiritual center of Scarabae. Legend has it that you can contact any otherworldly creature from someplace in Foret Tour.
Valencira. The Two-Faced City is known for being fortified to either protect against Midian or protect Midian from eastward threats. This city has many fine schools for diplomats, and it is as far out of Midian as many nobles there are willing to send their children. Valencira is the center of Scarabae’s military tradition, from personal combat to army movements and command to naval engagements.
Porte. The Southern Shield is a fortress settlement designed to keep undead corralled to the south, suppress aggression from the west, stop raiders from the coast, and check demonic warbands from the Iron Principalities.
Alertier. This port on the western edge of Glasslake is the center of espionage between Scarabae and the rest of the World Between. Intrigues abound, diplomacy happens under the table, and there is the occasional stabbing. It is also a major trade city, getting goods from Midian and Scarabae to markets eastward.
Talonback Woods. These woods are the heart of Scarabae’s supernatural allegiance. Here, the fey enforce their claims as promised by the Maron family of Foret Tour, centuries ago. Here, the demonologists, wizards, and witches of the Crimson League based in Carrefour unleash their monstrous summonings and smuggle demons and their masters (or slaves) from Caligari and the Iron Principalities. Here, the knights questing for the Grail seek adventure and clarity. The forest is deep and rugged, littered with shrines to the Lady, tiny villages, fairy circles, and dark altars. The Veil is thin here, allowing many supernatural energies to ebb and flow over the centuries. Were any one faction to gain supremacy here, the character of the whole nation would shift.
Collines Brouette. These rugged hills to the south are the traditional resting place for kings and war leaders of Scarabae, including warriors from the World Above. The practice of raising barrows ended in 5,710 when the Warmaster of Dust and his necromancers landed in the barrow hills and raised the Slain Kings. The bolstered army nearly enslaved all of Scarabae with the local honored dead leading a vast army of remains. When the army reached Carrefour, King Louis the Holy confronted the army. In a stirring passionate speech to the barrowdead, he reminded them of their allegiance, their oaths, and their honor. The Scarabian dead turned on the Warmaster of Dust. After the battle those that remained returned to their barrows in a ghostly tide. Now they defend the hills from other dead that seek to enter Scarabae from the south. Still, they are not happy or restful, and any adventurous warm-blooded soul venturing deep into the hills for an overnight stay is unlikely to return.
Plaines Choc. The “Clashing Plains” in eastern Scarabae are fertile for farming, and often serve as battlefields with Caligari or the Iron Principalities. Food grown on these plains helps feed Scarabae’s neighbors; one of the greatest deterrents Scarabae has against war is to threaten to cut off the food supply. Any farmer who has been on the land for generations is able to recite the various significant military clashes that happened on fields he works.
Legend of the Wounded King. The Ulverland, Lady, and fey traditions all have variations on the legend of the Wounded King. The Sun King was wounded by evil, and could not recover without drinking from the divinely infused cup. So the knights sought the cup. Nobles who are confused or in emotional pain sometimes take leave of their responsibilities to seek the Grail. The few who find it can take it to the King’s Cathedral in Foret Tour and drop it in the Well, where it heals all present; that rare individual is likely to be the next ruler. For most who survive, the quest teaches them something about themselves and their dilemmas, and brings a measure of peace.
Ulverland Influence. Ulverland occupied Scarabae from 3,950 to 4,440. In that time, the traditions of the Father and Family religion were somewhat entrenched. Scarabae won its freedom by allying both with the fey of the Shae Isle and with the Church in Midian, both elements driving the invader out (and resulting in mixed loyalty.) Even now, Scarabae must maintain good relations with Ulverland to neutralize a neighboring threat, and to cooperate against Frostreave attacks on both their coastlines.
Midian Influence. Midian only has one border on land shared with a neighbor. They cannot understand why Scarabae is not slavishly loyal to the Church of the Lady and rejects all lesser alliances and beliefs. That is tiresome and frustrating for those in Scarabae. However, a strong cultural element is profoundly connected to the Lady of the White Way, and to the Church. Because of that, Midian and Scarabae will always have a common ground and they will be able to fight for common cause, even if egos and policies over the centuries cause their political interests to drift apart. In 5,212 the “Traitor Knights” of Scarabae rebelled against Midian’s rule, over taxation and theology and other issues. They rebuilt diplomatic relations quickly once they had independence. Scarabae needs Midian’s promise of military support to maintain other diplomatic relations, and Midian needs the food grown on Scarabae’s fertile plain to survive.
World Below Influence—the Scarlet League. During the Third Crusade, the righteous army from the World Above marched east. When they reached Scarabae, there were many tense situations where the forces of the Lady of the White Way decided whether or not Scarabae was still faithful (considering the pacts with fey and Ulverland occupation.) During this process, many powerful and influential people were executed, trying to make Scarabae’s nobility fall in line with Midian and the Church. A number of independent nobles, and some that were actually evil, banded together and formed a secret society called the Scarlet League. These free thinkers resist the church at every turn, working to minimize its influence among the influential of Scarabae, resenting the iron inflexibility of their neighbors to the southwest and the Church of the Lady. Targeted by inquisitions, rejected by those who define honor by the standards of the Church, these subversives have worked for centuries to turn Scarabae away from being a Land of the Lady. They harbor wizards, witches, anarchists (as long as the anarchists agree nobles should rule), rogue scholars, and all sorts of white collar heretics.
Fey Influence. During the Age of Compacts, the city of Foret Tour was ruled by the Maron family. The Maron Duke made a compact with the eldritch forces of the Seelie Court, giving them the Talonback Woods as a sphere of influence if they would help drive the Ulverlanders from Scarabae. Over the next decade, the necessary stones, lines, and circles were placed and enchanted. The resistance to Ulverland rule strengthened in the forest. With glamered stealth, the rebellion took Carrefour and Chantiernaval, driving Ulverland’s forces back across the Moon Sea and forcing those trapped in Scarabae to flee into Caligari. Since then, the fey presence in the Talonback Woods has flavored the politics, culture, religion, and history of Scarabae.
Damsel of the Lady. This highly controversial tradition involves a girl born with bright red hair and remarkable mystical talent. No test can confirm whether her gifts are genuinely from the Lady of the White Way, or some eldritch fey trick. These women are revered as avatars of the Lady of the White Way by everyone but skeptics. They have tremendous powers, and often help knights who search for the Grail.
I created this picture. I will probably use it for the cover of the Harrowfaust book. What do you think?
