New Edom Revisited

[LordVreeg]

So I'm not the only one to do large amounts of psychoactives back in the 80's?
(Don't answer that, just pretend I didn't say anything...what?? Huh!  Exactly...)


I think the thing I like best about this is the symbology of things to come.
(are auguries popular in New Edom?)
Love the use of the candle picture.  They are going to have a lot of trouble if they don't get that one.

I did not see any book/pages representing the dragon, or working with the crystal dragon.  Did I miss something?  They won't attack the dragon (unless they feel like rolling new characters), but I imagine the crystal Wyrm is not going to let them pass without some sort of test...

[LordVreeg]

BTW, any stupid, low-power little spell that no one ever uses in New Edom?  Make that spell the way to solve some small puzzle from the book...

[Tybalt]

I'm still kinda working on the dragon part of the Book of the Dragon. What I was thinking was that there might be more of a set of moral tests to determine whether they are worthy of the quest from this point. However those are really difficult to actually play out.

Auguries are very often used in New Edom--generally they are done before major undertakings. BTW I think this is one of the most difficult elements of the society to get across to modern optimistic 'can do' type people--the idea that your fate does not entirely depend on your will to succeed. Where for instance an ancient Greek or Babylonian would be relieved to hear someone say "the gods have favoured us" it at times almost seems to annoy my players, as though it takes away from their deeds when in fact in context the opposite is true.

[LordVreeg]

Moral tests???  Pttoooie!
(Oops...celtrician viewpoint...my bad)


Use short term moral tests.  Have the dragon send them into a couple of situations where there are variations on moral themes that you can represent in the book also.  "sacrifice" "charity" "educate"...etc
Send players individually...greed shows up without an audience.

I have made augeries tough to use, becasue my players are pretty clever with yes or no questions.  I think your players will change their tune once you have them in a 'we'll take any help we can get' mode.

[Tybalt]

That's a good idea...I do need to mull it over a little more.

Demons and Devils

Tiamat's mythical mutilation by Bahamut (ooc: replacing Marduk in my mythology though not in quite the same role) may have driven the primal goddess mad. For it seems as though the two main lines of her more 'loyal' progeny reflect a certain schizophrenia on her part.

The demons are embroiled in the chaotic side of Tiamat's nature--that which drew upon the raw stuff of chaos, the creation material itself, to make life. It is entirely possible that her bitterness and lust for vengeance has brewed in them a wrath and lust for open wickedness and destruction. The demon lords include: Lolth, Demogorgon, Malcanthet, Graz'zt, Zuggtmoy, Pazuzu and Anthraxus.

The devils on the other hand are ruled through Dahak, Tiamat's current consort, who often appears as a three headed dragon. These are more bent upon conquest of the realm the gods claimed for their mortal followers. They may have internal rivalries but they think like an army preparing for war. Their leaders include: Moloch, Mammon, Bael, Belial and Dispater.

Between these two lines of progeny there is bitter rivalry, and Tiamat appears to be divided between them. The gods descended of Anu and Danu often empower mortal creatures to foil their earthly plots, though subtly so as not to break the truce between Tiamat's realm and that of the gods.

Because demons and devils are desperate to gain a serious foothold they will often make bargains with mortals, some of whom are foolish enough to believe they can making binding agreements to gain power. This is always dangerous as the demon or devil will do all they can to break it--though the demon is likely to do so for the sheer pleasure of it whearas with the devil it is likely to be policey of some kind.

Towards older races they have different views--elves are generally hateful though it is known that some of the Dark Elves have made lasting and powerful bargains that are more like alliances with some of the demon lords--they frankly don't care about destruction so long as it furthers their aims. They are also likely to trick others into making bargains that are to the advantage of a demon. Dragons are viewed as inherently dangerous, partly because even good dragons are descendants of Tiamat and have some of her power, and also because they are an ancient and powerful race in their own right who are easy to flatter but harder to genuinely trick.

[Tybalt]

In the adventure upcoming my players are going after the second piece of the book. I'm adapting an adventure from Dungeon for this purpose which suits the  ideal of the ruins of Nala and its denizens. They need to contact a corrupt drug dealing wizard called Kedward Bone who apparently collects magical devices and tomes. He is one of the kingpins of the rogue city and lives in a well defended tower.

Once meeting up with him the pcs and their followers will find that he will not sell the piece of the book, nor will he be easily threatened. He will after being pressed somewhat admit that he doesn't exactly need it--but he will part with it if a certain service is performed.

Nala is run by monopolies on trade (unlike New Edom). His is drugs. The trade of Wulvera, the top Madam in the city, is whores. However she has begun horning in on his trade with a drug called Demon's Breath. It has odd effects on people, making them briefly strong and wild and strange. He wants to know what she's planning regarding it, and ideally wants a sample of it, as an intelligence chip--and then wants the pcs to help him teach her a lesson.

However Wulvera is not just a madam--she is the leader of a Yuan Ti cult called the Seventh Coil and plans to use the drug to create a crazed army devoted to demonic service. And if she finds out that a piece of the book is in town...the only boon here is that Nala is a neutral city, but agents of the enemy are everywhere. The only question for the Yuan Ti is "How does this benefit me?"

[LordVreeg]

Allright, now we are talking.  Monopolies and trade guilds?  My type of place.

What are some of the other trade entities, and what type of governmental situation?  Are these drugs aboveboard or below?

By the way, what makes this wizard corrupt?

ANd what it Wulvera?  A priestess?  WHy does she want to create a drug-crazed demonically backed army?  Armies are used for one thing, really...



Now, on the Demon's and Devils thing.  I love the way your demons and devils have a real place in the cosmology, and that they are not just tossed in.
(Any daemons?)
I hate how so many cosmologies don't get that this is a crucial dynamic, that the rivalries, and the background of these creatures makes or breaks the world.  I find it interesting we use a lot of the same horned personalities...

I created a good amount, to drive my readers crazy.  Are your players pretty grounded in your world, or do they play in it without really delving into it?

[Tybalt]

Nala could be seen as a free city that deals in goods that are frowned upon in other places. Examples:

New Edom: slaves, magically enhanced drugs, illegal magics (necromantic spells and items dealing with raising the dead in various forms for instance) demonology or devilry related magics

Yasg: magically enhanced drugs that are unlicensed(ones which actually cause magical effects such as true seeing for instance or such as the Demon's Breath drug), illegal slaves (ones from noble families or who are of nonhuman and nondraconic origin), magics related to demonology or devilry; any dealings with Yuan-Ti

Goblinoids: Dealings with non-goblinoids in trade market (for slaves, goods, drugs, magics) without raiding and killing them or worse tolerating their incursions on their land

Giants: Use of lesser humanoids as go-betweens for trade purposes

Orcs: Orcs mostly end up in Nala either as slaves or as outcast mercenaries

Gnomes, Dwarves: Mostly end up in Nala as outcast. There are not a huge number of these but a solid enough number; both societies are small and take exception to anti social behaviors. Those ending up in Nala find it a relative safe haven, and most have ended up truly corrupted by secret demon worship or dealings with necromancy one way or another.

Elves: Those few elves who are in Nala are either Dark Elves or else are just plain bad. Sometimes elves go into a state of despair and then start pursuing weird magics or drug use. Some even go strangely masochistic and will allow themselves to be enslaved. However these are rare, and pretty much insane by elvish standards. At the moment there are only a few Dark Elves in Nala and most are dangerous spies and agents of the conspiracy.

Guilds and Organizations of Nala

The Pirate League: this is actually more of an organization to deal with use of docks and sale of stolen property than a group that organizes pirates. Essentially a number of different pirate captains (whether commanding fleets or single ships) use Nala as a port from time to time. This ranges from Celtic island lords (who are pirates whether they admit it or not) to Yasg renegades to humanoid sea chieftains to rogue New Edomites. It also acts as a mercenary service; pirates can always be hired as privateers. This also includes smugglers, slavers and the like.

The Dealers' Consortium: This is a drug dealing league. The drugs they deal in can be aboveboard or below, though the ones below are more profitable. They are trying to gain a monopoly on various herbs and plants and infusions used for magical purposes as well but are wary of trying to push this on a truly powerful spellcaster such as Kalikazan or Lord Aholibamah.

Porphyry House: This brothel controls all prostitutes in Nala. Even renting slaves out is a risky business--taverns that use slaves as wait staff must pay a fee to have 'trysting alcoves' or else get a nasty visit from Porphyry House. Secretly Wulvera and her Yuan-Ti cultists are planning on making their own bid for power rather soon--they intend to swipe the humanoid and undead forces away from the Tiamat worshippers and build a base of power in the region.

The Slavers' League: This is an insidious group that has contacts in a number of different countries and a strong base in Nala. Friendly to the pirates and to Porphyry House they are specialists in kidnapping and in acquisition of particularly needed types of slaves. They are not involved with the current conflict in Nala because they are busy sorting and arranging transport of hundreds of captured New Edomites, elves, gnomes and dwarves to feed the fires of the war industry in goblinland. (since pack animals are scarce in the area)

The Broken Hand: This is a humanoid dominated organization of mercenaries. Mostly what they do is provide bodyguards. At the moment they are tapped for resources having been hired almost down to the last pair of boots to provide caravan guards for the Slavers' League. However a few who were on the mend or just returned from other jobs might be available. This group mostly hires outcast humanoids. They tend to be decently disciplined but can have a big chip on their shoulder and a sense of needing something to prove.

The Skin Dancers: This is an odd league of torturers and entertainers. They are descended from an exiled Yasg cult of ritual torturers who incorporated music and dance into their work. In fact they worship no gods though demonology is practiced esoterically by some members; what they worship is what they can put the human body through in contortions, pain, modification and so on. They claim that a victim can reach a state of ecstasy mingled with pain that raises them to a divine consciousness--and will reveal all that is desired about the deepest part of their very nature. In order to be a successful member of the cult one must learn to embrace and enjoy pushing the body to the very limits.


Religion: Religious worship is officially outlawed in Nala by the collective of atheistic cannibal ur-priests who run the place. This means no public temples--private worship in your own home/business is okay unless you get caught. Apart from that the only religious practice is that of the ur-priests themselves--which is eating people or other sentient beings, admittedly ones that are bought as slaves or given to them for execution which they do for a fee.


Note: daemons and demodands are the 'neutral' children of Tiamat, inclined very much to evil but staying out of obvious conflict. They do have malice and a certain degree of desire but it is often intensely private and devoted towards maintaining their own pleasures and comforts.

Note 2: Much of the guilds of Nala save for the slavers and the mercenary one I took and adapted from the Scuttlecove source from Greyhawk published material for Dungeon Magazine. However I've adapted it particularly to my own campaign and kept some of the names and stuff.

Note 3: My players are slowly exploring cosmology--they are mostly concerned with how it fits in with them winning the war at the moment but are aware that other forces besides those they can readily see are involved.

[Tybalt]

The Tower and the Weapons

The weapons within the Tower are called the Spears of Light. Once the elements bring the two towers together then a fourth room will appear. In this room are six alcoves, made of heavy opaque crystal set in the glass walls. The dragon at this point is free of its long servitude and will leave.

In five of the alcoves are magical items. They are very similar in that there is a suit of strange crystaline armor, which shimmers and seems to flow with colour. It is heavy at the touch but will begin to feel strangely light and solid at once if taken up and put on. There is also a helmet of a heavy looking but similarly light glass, which seems to catch the light oddly.

The fifth set differs only in this: it comes with a glass rod about three feet long, of a bluish glass that has little electrical looking jolts of light in it. This is directly opposite the sixth alcove, which has a place rather like a chair in it.

Fifth Set: this set enables the wearer to control the spears of light. The helmet attunes the wearer to each other helmet wearer. The rod enables aiming the spears--such as they can be aimed. The armor is as all the others are a blend of 4 elemental magics sealed in the dropped off scales of a great wyrm crystal dragon. The armor is +5 and has resistance to cold, electricity, fire, gasses. The wearer can create a wall of force in a sphere around themselves once per day. The holder of the rod may do this seven times per day provided they have the rod.

Helmets: In addition to powers mentioned above the helmets act as helms of telepathy.

The Spears: These resemble great crystaline spokes which will extend from the tower top when someone with the armor, helmet and rod sits in the command chair. There are four spears: cold, fire, electricity and force. Each does damage that is really quite off scale potentially. They can be 'aimed' but only at a general area roughly the size of a town. The damage they do will banish demons and devils outright but slay mortal creatures. In addition collateral damage will take place; for instance fires started may get out of control, cold may cause massive freezes and so on. The rod can also combine them to make various kinds of storms. Their range is whatever the other helmets can perceive.

One nasty side effect of all this is that the spears drain much energy from the tower, which must be replaced. The tower does this automatically, draining all non-elder flesh of life force as per a vampiric attack. Non effected creatures include: undead, elves, giants, dragons, yuan-ti, aboleths, sahuagin, and any creatures not posessing a central nervous system.

[LordVreeg]

Sorry, been crazed.


What type of force does the Porphery House use?  What is at theor disposal to threaten other brothels with?

The skin dancers are a really nice touch.  Yours or the settings?

Is there anyone trying to clean up/aculturize Nala?  I would normally see it as you desdribe it, a free city that deals in

Still wondering in what way the Wizrd would be considered corrupt.


The tower items are indeed mighty.  Good thing you place some limits on them.  Is this some way away for the players?  I am always scared to death to place mighty magic.

[Tybalt]

1. Kedward Bone is corrupt because he IS a wizard. Wizards are New Edomites for the most part and he is a renegade, not serving his state, dealing magic influenced drugs for money, having 'familiar' relations with his imp familiar.

2. The Skin Dancers are, alas, the Dungeon magazine writer's touch and not mine. However they are too cool not to keep there.

3. Nala does have its citizens that I imagine want to clean up the town, but they mostly are at the moment trying to do things like organize a solid militia and justice system and so on. These are unpopular ideas but the current situation may change that.

4. Porphyry House has almost 30 Yuan-Ti at its disposal as well as charmed harpies and golems. their means are more subtle and sinister than overt. It also has a pair of demons sent by Demogorgon to help out; a succhubus and an orlath. (an orlath is a 12 armed two headed demon with the body of a serpent)

5. The main object of getting control of the Tower is to destroy the items so the Dark Elves cannot get them. The pcs and their followers are definitely good except for possibly Marlee, but fortunately Marlee's main concern is getting her treasure back and eliminating her brother and other rivals. The Tower would just destroy stuff wholesale which is not to her advantage. In any case use of the weapons is definitely evil.

Of course the question is why didn't the elves destroy the items in the first place? I imagine that they put them there for safekeeping but never imagined that a cult would become so obsessed with destroying humanity that they'd want to actually use them ON humanity. For better or for worse the younger races will by this time have learned means of fighting the children of Tiamat on their own. The ancient spears are no longer needed.

[LordVreeg]

Kenward Bone sounds like a normal wizard to me, except for the familiar thing (and I can't imagine that is all that unusual either, depending on thr familiar).  Normal Imp?  Now that's just digusting.  You're right, the guy's an imp-diddler.

The dark Elves and the Yuan-ti seem to be almost everywhere.  I know about the lich, but are there particular Yuan-ti nd Dark elves that are pushing these agaenda?

Wulvera has a LOT od resoureces, it is beginning to sound like.  How good are her sources of information?  How is she going to hear about the PC's?  I hope they hear about her first...

[Tybalt]

Actually what the pcs will have stumbled onto is the main Yuan-Ti nest of effort in the area. Once they deal with Wulvera the Yuan-Ti are reduced to scattered small groups that will not be so effective and will have to make strong alliances to survive. Wulvera has a good intelligence network but is intensely focused at the moment on gathering people for her special orgy in order to sacrifice them and by that means make her fiendish drug spread over the whole of the city. The pcs have a good window of opportunity though unfortunately it means that most of Wulvera's followers will be right in the brothel at the time. They have about one more day to plan what they're going to do.

The Dark Elves are another matter, they have split up into strong cells each carrying out a different activity. The main leaders that the pcs have to be concerned with are the ones I mentioned earlier that are running the Dark Elf efforts with the humanoid hordes. Alarion is sort of numero uno, the Dark Elf who has made a bargain with Tiamat.

[Tybalt]

The journey had been interesting for the group--most of them had never been to sea, even for a coastal journey, in their lives. There had been a mildly unpleasant moment when the captain had hit them up for more money but after haggling a bit they agreed to pay a slight extra fee. However now they were arriving in the rogue city. Purchasing clothing from among the stores of the smugglers they disguised themselves as best they were able till they resembled a motely group of mercenaries rather than a unit of New Edomite soldiers, officials and clergy. Among the gear Kallyn found a lovely diaphanous gown, probably meant only for night attire or perhaps the more decadent cities of Yasg...she discreetly asked the captain the price and paid for the silken filmy garment, imagining it slipping over Dassah's curvaceous body.

"You bought it, didn't you." Aevar said to her as she came up from the hold.

"Well..yes..." said Kallyn, fighting a blush.

"And you aren't even blushing...oh there we go..."

The cove that protected Nala was dotted with rocks and wrecks...masts stuck out of the water here and there like rotting trees, and in some cases just visible below the surface of the water were the collapsing bulks of ships. Now and then they saw an anchored hulk, with laundry for instance hung where the rigging would normally be. They heard the crew muttering and shouting, a leadsman swinging his rope down to shout after, "By the mark four!" The Captain would in reply call, "Steady as she goes!" or "Tack sou'by sou'west!" till they had finally reached the rotting docks of the city. People were already beginning to gather.

What a strange city it was though! There were signs that in some other time it had been a place of magnificence--here and there among the ramshackle buildings they could see crumbling remains of ancient monuments, blocks of vast marble supporting half ruined warehouses and in the distance the dome of a palace. Some strange structure of metal rose above the regular buildings towards the center of the city. An arena could be seen as well as a tower here and there.

Mereka had removed anything that indicated her as a worshipper of Ishtar. This bothered her--as much as the calm and good hearted priestess could be bothered--but the ur-priests who ruled the city permitted no religion. Though they apparently practiced some obscene private form of it. It was said no corpse lay long in the streets of Scuttlecove. She shuddered as the group prepared to leave the ship.

Shannow murmured an order to his beasts to stay close to him. He did not like cities--not much more than Kallyn or Corwin did. They were vile places at best and this seemed worse.

The group nodded farewells to the captain and went down into the city.

Beggars and vendors swarmed around them. Wary of pickpockets they shook their heads, waving them away. Aevar attempted to intimidate them away but found that it was not so easy as back home where his official position made him a daunting figure. Here they back away warily but seemed ready like jackals to move in when he was distracted. Shannow finally half drew his bastard sword with a threatening and menacing look so awful that the beggars and peddlers scampered away.

"Now...how will we find Kedward Bone's place?" Kallyn wondered. The city had no rhyme or reason...it seemed to grow like a bunch of cancers. The filthy streets were like warrens.

"According to the information I have," said Aevar, "he lives in a tower to the northwest of the city. That way..." he said, pointing.

They had heard from the captain of the ship that the metal structure--which seemed to concentric metal squares--was a place of execution and displaying of bodies called the Plaza of Hanging Ruin. There victims for a fee could be hung up like the prey of shrikes for all to see the vengeance--or whatever motivation had led to their being there--of those who had paid a fee to the weird order of monks who served the ur-priests.

Corwin was a little unhappy. Aevar had foisted the book piece on him--explaining that no one person should carry it all. "Why me?" he had asked.
"You're dependable." said Aevar, as though it were some kind of favour. Officers, thought Corwin glumly. He glared warningly at a little goblin in rags who seemed bent on approaching him.

The goblin skipped away at the menace in his look but had soon moved to Kallyn, yammering offers to be a guide, to receive charity and so on. Aevar gave him a copper to everyone's surprise, whereupon the goblin dared to ask for another one. Aevar sighed and began to draw his longsword. The goblin stammered thanks and left.

They had arrived at what they believed to be the tower of Kedward Bone. Inquiring within they found a little doorflap opening and a cutely malevolant face peering out at them, a small face of a person perhaps no more than a foot or two in height. This was the imp Matylda, familiar to the infamous wizard.
"Who are you and what do you want?" she demanded in a surprisingly loud voice.

"I am Kallyn Finnhald, these are my companions. We are here to see Kedward Bone on a matter of importance."

"Of course it is," muttered the imp. "I'll check."

The little door slammed.

Beggars began to approach them again but several members of the group snarled at them till they left.

The little door opened again. "What business are you here for, he wants to know?" the imp asked.

"We're here on behalf of the Great Council of New Edom." snapped Aevar with a Council Policeman's bark.

Matylda giggled and then burst into shrill laughter. "Oh ho ho, hee hee! I'll...hee hee! tell him!"

They waited, Aevar fuming with impatience. Dassah wrinkled her nose. "Kallyn, this place's smell doesn't improve with time." she observed.

The imp reappeared a third time. "Kedward Bone will see you now." she informed them loftily.

A statue of a guardsman opened the door for them, and they entered the home of the wizard.

[LordVreeg]

Well, the players are not scoring any 'subtle' points.

However you do a very good job of giving the right feel to the city, that it was once something different, but now is this strange mercantile hodge-podge atop te ruins.  Even the docks are rotting.

Wulvera could be good for these players, a match of wits and city smarts.  I imagine there is a temple under her house of 'business'.  She has got to escape,  she is a human, not something in disguise?

I am also glad to see your goblins 'yammer', as do mine.