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GeekList Item: Item for GeekList "Character sheets for The First Step (2026 NPI)"
Posted: Wed, 18 Mar 08:42:58
Posted: Wed, 18 Mar 08:42:58
by TealedFleet
An item RPG: Cosmere Roleplaying Game has been added to the geeklist Character sheets for The First Step (2026 NPI)
New comment on Blog Post Coming Soon: April 2026
Posted: Wed, 18 Mar 08:31:26
Posted: Wed, 18 Mar 08:31:26
by dokmatrix
Related Item: VideoGameGeek News
Gamespot has an 2026 upcoming release schedule in case there is anything you might want to cross-check against. I have no idea how accurate it is, but it is something.
Thread: Coriolis: The Third Horizon:: Play By Forum:: [IC][A Song for Jarouma][Coriolis: The Third Horizon]
Posted: Wed, 18 Mar 08:06:04
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A Song for Jarouma
Two Coriolis Cycles ago, Chief Scientist Jarouma Had Peleter and her crew of the science vessel Gyaan V, made an extraordinary discovery. Their destination; the distant system of Erequ, at the far reaches of the Algol trade route, home to the mysterious artifact known only as the Web of Izar – a hexagonal structure of unknown origin, forming a cage of light-bending blackness around the small planet of Izar. The result of their journey; sensor data of a mysterious energy pattern emanating from the structure. The Web of Izar had awoken from its long slumber.
Stationed at the research installation FS-7, in orbit around the gas giant Xene, you are officially said to be overseeing the mining and prospecting operations in this area of Kuan space. The nearby moons, Eod, Santir, and foremost Calest, are all rich in minerals, but for the past Coriolis Cycle, the Foundation has been focusing its efforts on placing probes and installations in the dense atmosphere of the gas giant itself.
The purpose of the experiment is to change the fluctuating magnetic field and electromagnetic patterns of the gas giant Xene. Two Coriolis Cycles ago, CC58, Jarouma Had Peleter discovered that the artifact around Izar emitted an energy pattern only previously seen in the fields forming and collapsing around stars – the patterns used to calculate portal jumps. Although the pattern at Izar was similar, it could not form an actual portal field. This had the researchers confounded for two cycles. The clue that would unlock the riddle came from old data logs from a weather station in Xene’s atmosphere – another pattern, almost identical with Jarouma’s discovery at Izar, had formed at the same time.
Coryolis Cycle 60 - Segment of the Traveller
Foundation Station 7 dances around the yellow gas giant, locked in place by the moon Calest. Its characteristic three sections, stacked upon each other, rotate around a central shaft, each section a wheel of spokes connected to a circular outer hull. At f irst glance it looks inconspicuous – innocent even – but after further analysis an observant viewer can spot the high end equipment, sensor arrays, and sleek docking stations littering the hull. As with most Foundation installations, everything is white and polished – a testament to Zenithian design.
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You are stationed in sector 31, situated in the isolated outer wheel closest to Xene’s radiating surface. The simple quarters consist of a common area, gym, a small kitchen and recreation area, as well as the crew’s small sleeping pods. The lab section of the wheel is a small research lab with the latest equipment, as well as an engineering workshop, both connected to the closed off, and legionaire-guarded corridor leading to the only airlock. In the other direction lies the corridor leading back to the main shaft and the rest of the station. A large bulkhead with electronic locks and three stern station guards stands in the way of breaking the research team’s long isolation.
It is day eight of the last nine days of the preparations. Nine days, one per each Icon. One day for each Icon to bless the experiment. Tomorrow, on the day dedicated to the Faceless One, chief scientist Jarouma Had Peleter will arrive on FS-7 and the installation will finally go online. The installation, a remote-controlled array of machines floating in Xene's atmosphere, will gradually shift the magnetic field and electromagnetic currents of the gas giant to match the previously discovered fluctuations known as the Jarouma Pattern.
Failure will not be an option. This is what you have been working on for the last Cycle.
You wake up in the living quarters of sector 31. The usual morning routine and a breakfast of honey-water and protein porridge awaits you. A final day of calibration and system checks ahead of you.
What do you do? What is the mood in sector 31? How do you feel about your fellow scientists?
Posted: Wed, 18 Mar 08:06:04
by mr_muffin
Two Coriolis Cycles ago, Chief Scientist Jarouma Had Peleter and her crew of the science vessel Gyaan V, made an extraordinary discovery. Their destination; the distant system of Erequ, at the far reaches of the Algol trade route, home to the mysterious artifact known only as the Web of Izar – a hexagonal structure of unknown origin, forming a cage of light-bending blackness around the small planet of Izar. The result of their journey; sensor data of a mysterious energy pattern emanating from the structure. The Web of Izar had awoken from its long slumber.
Stationed at the research installation FS-7, in orbit around the gas giant Xene, you are officially said to be overseeing the mining and prospecting operations in this area of Kuan space. The nearby moons, Eod, Santir, and foremost Calest, are all rich in minerals, but for the past Coriolis Cycle, the Foundation has been focusing its efforts on placing probes and installations in the dense atmosphere of the gas giant itself.
The purpose of the experiment is to change the fluctuating magnetic field and electromagnetic patterns of the gas giant Xene. Two Coriolis Cycles ago, CC58, Jarouma Had Peleter discovered that the artifact around Izar emitted an energy pattern only previously seen in the fields forming and collapsing around stars – the patterns used to calculate portal jumps. Although the pattern at Izar was similar, it could not form an actual portal field. This had the researchers confounded for two cycles. The clue that would unlock the riddle came from old data logs from a weather station in Xene’s atmosphere – another pattern, almost identical with Jarouma’s discovery at Izar, had formed at the same time.
Coryolis Cycle 60 - Segment of the Traveller
Foundation Station 7 dances around the yellow gas giant, locked in place by the moon Calest. Its characteristic three sections, stacked upon each other, rotate around a central shaft, each section a wheel of spokes connected to a circular outer hull. At f irst glance it looks inconspicuous – innocent even – but after further analysis an observant viewer can spot the high end equipment, sensor arrays, and sleek docking stations littering the hull. As with most Foundation installations, everything is white and polished – a testament to Zenithian design.
You are stationed in sector 31, situated in the isolated outer wheel closest to Xene’s radiating surface. The simple quarters consist of a common area, gym, a small kitchen and recreation area, as well as the crew’s small sleeping pods. The lab section of the wheel is a small research lab with the latest equipment, as well as an engineering workshop, both connected to the closed off, and legionaire-guarded corridor leading to the only airlock. In the other direction lies the corridor leading back to the main shaft and the rest of the station. A large bulkhead with electronic locks and three stern station guards stands in the way of breaking the research team’s long isolation.
It is day eight of the last nine days of the preparations. Nine days, one per each Icon. One day for each Icon to bless the experiment. Tomorrow, on the day dedicated to the Faceless One, chief scientist Jarouma Had Peleter will arrive on FS-7 and the installation will finally go online. The installation, a remote-controlled array of machines floating in Xene's atmosphere, will gradually shift the magnetic field and electromagnetic currents of the gas giant to match the previously discovered fluctuations known as the Jarouma Pattern.
Failure will not be an option. This is what you have been working on for the last Cycle.
You wake up in the living quarters of sector 31. The usual morning routine and a breakfast of honey-water and protein porridge awaits you. A final day of calibration and system checks ahead of you.
What do you do? What is the mood in sector 31? How do you feel about your fellow scientists?
Review: Strike Force Organizations:: The Short Version? Strike Force Organizations provides interesting organizations and inspiration for what organizations could be in your game.
Posted: Wed, 18 Mar 07:43:01
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Strike Force Organizations is a 2026 release from High Rock Press and Hero Games. It is written for Champions (Hero System 6). The author is Michael Surbrook but the creator of Strike Force, Aaron Allston gets a posthumous credit as much of this is based on his original work. Denis Loubet did the cover and there are a number of artists on interior illustrations.
Presentation
This is available in both print and pdf editions. The print version is soft-cover and 332 pages. The cover is in color on heavier stock and the interior pages are black & white on matte paper. Except for character sheets, the book is primarily in a two-column layout.
Content
Aaron Allston ran his Strike Force campaign for over 20 years and he had a lot of background information, including plans to write additional book, before his passing. In this volume, Michael Surbrook has gone through those notes, codified them, and converted everything to 6th edition rules. There are 8 organization here and around 100 characters in the character index.
The organizations have different levels of detail. There is always a description of the group, some notes on their tactics, internal politics, relationships with other groups, and of course a roster of members. For some groups there is a lot more detail.
Alien Research Labs is a group that promotes the health & welfare of aliens living on earth. They were originally described in The Circle and M.E.T.E. when they were known as M.E.T.E. This version gets not only the standard group but also some notes on the staff, several scenarios, and some general notes on aliens in the world of Strike Force.
The Blood is a group of related characters who are descended from an ancient mutant named Azor. He became insane and worked to free dark creatures from their imprisonment on Earth. They sent him to a different world to do his work; he never succeeded and was eventually overthrown by his descendants. In the 1920s, they started making their way back to Earth. Most members of the group are powerful and like any family, they aren't all the same -- most are villains, but some are actually heroes. A few of them are adopted members of the family. They have a rich history and there are details of their homewold Ean as well as several scenario ideas both on Earth and Ean.
The Circle is a group of mystics who seek knowledge rather than power. They've been around since the 1930s and have a lot of history and long traditions. They don't seek power and so often work against other mystics who have darker goals. They come with several scenarios involving the mystic world.
The Cult of the Beast is another group of mystics; they seek control of the Id which often leaves them with a criminal outlook. The group is like a mystic pyramid schemed with magicians at the bottom channeling powers to those above them. The Beast King is at the top of the pyramid and receives 1/4 of the power available to the pyramid; there are 5 divisions devoted to specific areas of magic and each led by a Beast Lord or Lady, the 5 of them split another 1/4 of the power and the Beast Knights serve at the next level and receive half the power but there are many of them. This group does not wear costumes and generally mocks those who do.
The Families are a group of people who age slowly and devote themselves to amassing control of wealth, corporations, and governments. They are responsible for creation of the Animal Kingdom, a line of humans genetically combined with different animals. The families work in plausible deniability and the explanation here includes members and allies of the families as well as a couple of scenarios.
The Hell Raisers is more of a traditional villain group. They've had different rosters over the years, but are typically led by Denier. They typically get together, commit some crime and then separate. Some will be on the next caper and others may be replaced.
The Wanderers are a group of cosmic-level characters. They aren't heroes or villains, but they have their own goals and are likely to conflict with other super-powered characters. Their history is lengthy and they provide a lot of potential hooks; the short version is they are from Earth and would like to come home, but their memories of Earth are from the World War II era.
The last group is Yooso, a group of Japanese supervillains with a martial arts focus. They seek wealth, power, and knowledge of the martial arts.
Evaluation
There is a lot of information here. As Michael notes, there were over 5,800 files to review and that's a lot of content. This book does a good job of defining these groups and consolidating their histories. I like the various groups and the ones that appeared previously do a good job of maintaining the look and feel of their previous appearances.
For me, the groups are interesting and they do a good job of weaving a rich tapestry that makes them a vital part of the campaign. That might make it a little harder to use in your game, but honestly, even if you aren't interested in the whole group, there are a lot of characters here, making this a pretty good enemies book. It includes a good table of contents (albeit with a couple of minor formatting errors), an index of characters, and a useful and interesting forward including some background on Aaron's career and campaign.
This is a great companion to Aaron Allston's Strike Force (Revised) and a book I'm very happy to own.
Posted: Wed, 18 Mar 07:43:01
by sdonohue
Presentation
This is available in both print and pdf editions. The print version is soft-cover and 332 pages. The cover is in color on heavier stock and the interior pages are black & white on matte paper. Except for character sheets, the book is primarily in a two-column layout.
Content
Aaron Allston ran his Strike Force campaign for over 20 years and he had a lot of background information, including plans to write additional book, before his passing. In this volume, Michael Surbrook has gone through those notes, codified them, and converted everything to 6th edition rules. There are 8 organization here and around 100 characters in the character index.
The organizations have different levels of detail. There is always a description of the group, some notes on their tactics, internal politics, relationships with other groups, and of course a roster of members. For some groups there is a lot more detail.
Alien Research Labs is a group that promotes the health & welfare of aliens living on earth. They were originally described in The Circle and M.E.T.E. when they were known as M.E.T.E. This version gets not only the standard group but also some notes on the staff, several scenarios, and some general notes on aliens in the world of Strike Force.
The Blood is a group of related characters who are descended from an ancient mutant named Azor. He became insane and worked to free dark creatures from their imprisonment on Earth. They sent him to a different world to do his work; he never succeeded and was eventually overthrown by his descendants. In the 1920s, they started making their way back to Earth. Most members of the group are powerful and like any family, they aren't all the same -- most are villains, but some are actually heroes. A few of them are adopted members of the family. They have a rich history and there are details of their homewold Ean as well as several scenario ideas both on Earth and Ean.
The Circle is a group of mystics who seek knowledge rather than power. They've been around since the 1930s and have a lot of history and long traditions. They don't seek power and so often work against other mystics who have darker goals. They come with several scenarios involving the mystic world.
The Cult of the Beast is another group of mystics; they seek control of the Id which often leaves them with a criminal outlook. The group is like a mystic pyramid schemed with magicians at the bottom channeling powers to those above them. The Beast King is at the top of the pyramid and receives 1/4 of the power available to the pyramid; there are 5 divisions devoted to specific areas of magic and each led by a Beast Lord or Lady, the 5 of them split another 1/4 of the power and the Beast Knights serve at the next level and receive half the power but there are many of them. This group does not wear costumes and generally mocks those who do.
The Families are a group of people who age slowly and devote themselves to amassing control of wealth, corporations, and governments. They are responsible for creation of the Animal Kingdom, a line of humans genetically combined with different animals. The families work in plausible deniability and the explanation here includes members and allies of the families as well as a couple of scenarios.
The Hell Raisers is more of a traditional villain group. They've had different rosters over the years, but are typically led by Denier. They typically get together, commit some crime and then separate. Some will be on the next caper and others may be replaced.
The Wanderers are a group of cosmic-level characters. They aren't heroes or villains, but they have their own goals and are likely to conflict with other super-powered characters. Their history is lengthy and they provide a lot of potential hooks; the short version is they are from Earth and would like to come home, but their memories of Earth are from the World War II era.
The last group is Yooso, a group of Japanese supervillains with a martial arts focus. They seek wealth, power, and knowledge of the martial arts.
Evaluation
There is a lot of information here. As Michael notes, there were over 5,800 files to review and that's a lot of content. This book does a good job of defining these groups and consolidating their histories. I like the various groups and the ones that appeared previously do a good job of maintaining the look and feel of their previous appearances.
For me, the groups are interesting and they do a good job of weaving a rich tapestry that makes them a vital part of the campaign. That might make it a little harder to use in your game, but honestly, even if you aren't interested in the whole group, there are a lot of characters here, making this a pretty good enemies book. It includes a good table of contents (albeit with a couple of minor formatting errors), an index of characters, and a useful and interesting forward including some background on Aaron's career and campaign.
This is a great companion to Aaron Allston's Strike Force (Revised) and a book I'm very happy to own.
New comment on Video Why is the new Tunnels and Trolls better than D&D? - RPG Preview
Posted: Wed, 18 Mar 07:34:52
Posted: Wed, 18 Mar 07:34:52
by Yugblad
Related Item: Tunnels & Trolls: A New Age
Under the description of WIT, you can see they misspelled sharpness. Sigh!
Reply: General Role-Playing:: Re: QOTD MAR 10: Games are rarely perfect. What is a game you love but has a fairly significant flaw? What is it about the game that makes you love the game despite the flaw?
Posted: Wed, 18 Mar 07:26:24
Metacurrency being bought by wasting xp. Immediately houseruling that out.
[Q]...or a feature that you love so much that you will always overlook anything else in an RPG?
No, I don't see how that would work.
Posted: Wed, 18 Mar 07:26:24
by Jlerpy
pdzoch wrote:
Is there such a thing as an irredeemable flaw in a game that could never be overlooked...
Metacurrency being bought by wasting xp. Immediately houseruling that out.
[Q]...or a feature that you love so much that you will always overlook anything else in an RPG?
No, I don't see how that would work.
GeekList Item: Item for GeekList "JugglinDan's Solo RPG Campaigns"
Posted: Wed, 18 Mar 07:20:43
Posted: Wed, 18 Mar 07:20:43
by JugglinDan
An item RPG Item: Traveller Core Rulebook Update 2022 has been added to the geeklist JugglinDan's Solo RPG Campaigns
Thread: Play by Forum:: Star Trek: Lioness
Posted: Wed, 18 Mar 07:10:42
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Space, the final frontier...
Only...what if space was not the final frontier, but only the beginning? What if a ship could pierce the barriers between realities, travel to other universes, encounter miracles and horrors. As a powerful being with a single letter name once said: “It's not safe out here. It's wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross. But it's not for the timid.”
Will you be brave enough to board the free ship Lioness and dare to pierce the veil to see what is on the other side?
Star Trek, Lioness, is inspired by the multiple Earth tropes of the DC and Marvel comics universes, Rick and Morty, Sliders, and other properties that involve travel to parallel worlds. We will not be traveling to canon universes, so there will not be crossovers with other franchises (although said franchises could act as an inspiration for me, so perhaps you will run into alien cyborgs shaped like salt and pepper shakers screaming “Annihilate” while they fight their arch nemesis, Inspector Spacetime. Okay, I'll try to be a bit more original than that.). We will also try and not to have your characters constantly run into alternate versions of yourself...too much. Yes, I know you desperately want to know what your character looks like sporting a goatee; we may save that for a two part season finale.
Lioness will also take on missions in the “Prime” Star Trek universe so expect Klingons, Romulans and Ferengi (Ohhhhhhhhh my!) as well as Orion slave gi...ahem...women, Bad Admirals and everything else that makes you love this franchise so.
Lioness will not be using the Nova system; we will be playing via the Discord server on channels dedicated to posts. Lioness' rating is 2-2-2, which to those who don't know what the heck those numbers mean is the game is essentially rated PG-13 in terms of sex, violence and language.
Interested, stop by the Discord server to see more!
https://discord.gg/U7m89RurjE
Posted: Wed, 18 Mar 07:10:42
by katefan
Space, the final frontier...
Only...what if space was not the final frontier, but only the beginning? What if a ship could pierce the barriers between realities, travel to other universes, encounter miracles and horrors. As a powerful being with a single letter name once said: “It's not safe out here. It's wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross. But it's not for the timid.”
Will you be brave enough to board the free ship Lioness and dare to pierce the veil to see what is on the other side?
Star Trek, Lioness, is inspired by the multiple Earth tropes of the DC and Marvel comics universes, Rick and Morty, Sliders, and other properties that involve travel to parallel worlds. We will not be traveling to canon universes, so there will not be crossovers with other franchises (although said franchises could act as an inspiration for me, so perhaps you will run into alien cyborgs shaped like salt and pepper shakers screaming “Annihilate” while they fight their arch nemesis, Inspector Spacetime. Okay, I'll try to be a bit more original than that.). We will also try and not to have your characters constantly run into alternate versions of yourself...too much. Yes, I know you desperately want to know what your character looks like sporting a goatee; we may save that for a two part season finale.
Lioness will also take on missions in the “Prime” Star Trek universe so expect Klingons, Romulans and Ferengi (Ohhhhhhhhh my!) as well as Orion slave gi...ahem...women, Bad Admirals and everything else that makes you love this franchise so.
Lioness will not be using the Nova system; we will be playing via the Discord server on channels dedicated to posts. Lioness' rating is 2-2-2, which to those who don't know what the heck those numbers mean is the game is essentially rated PG-13 in terms of sex, violence and language.
Interested, stop by the Discord server to see more!
https://discord.gg/U7m89RurjE
New comment on GeekList Toronto BoardGamers On-Going Virtual Flea Market
Posted: Wed, 18 Mar 06:20:37
Posted: Wed, 18 Mar 06:20:37
by G Wiz
No idea if you got rid of it all yet but link isn't working
Coming Soon: April 2026
Posted: Wed, 18 Mar 05:49:21
New game releases for the month of...
April
[hr]
Morkull Ascend to the Gods
Youtube Video
People of Note
Youtube Video
ChainStaff
Youtube Video
Samson: A Tyndalston Story
Youtube Video
Dosa Divas
Youtube Video
Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss
Youtube Video
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream
Youtube Video
Clockwork Ambrosia
Youtube Video
Masters of Albion
Youtube Video
Kingdom's Return: Time-Eating Fruit and the Ancient Monster
Youtube Video
Pragmata
Youtube Video
Pokémon Champions
Youtube Video
[hr]
This list is by no means comprehensive. Feel free to share any games I missed in the comments section below.
Posted: Wed, 18 Mar 05:49:21
by Forbidding
[hr]
Youtube Video
Youtube Video
Youtube Video
Youtube Video
Youtube Video
Youtube Video
Youtube Video
Youtube Video
Youtube Video
Youtube Video
Youtube Video
Youtube Video
[hr]
This list is by no means comprehensive. Feel free to share any games I missed in the comments section below.
Session: Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage:: Featherstone Gamers - Part 51 - Fiendish Foes
Posted: Wed, 18 Mar 05:45:13
Dramatis Personae:
Eric - The Gamemaster
Matt - Dr. Iris von Disdain the High Elven Cleric of the Life Domain
Susan - Drakar Vexborn the Dragonborn Warlock Pact of the Tome
David - Hadrian the Human Warrior Champion
John - Lycara the Tiefling Paladin Oath of Devotion
Peter - Teslen the Lightfoot Halfling Bard School of Lore (Away)
Callum - Thargrim ‘Tar’ Ironbraid the Dwarf Duellist Warrior Battle Master (Remote)
Further Delving in Level 2 of the Mad Mage’s Dungeon.
[hr]
Teslen can now hear the sound of a woman speaking as Helleth leads the party ever eastwards. Flickering torchlight creates shadows of a human woman relaxing on a sofa in the middle of a vaulted chamber. The heroes have just a few seconds to see the woman is eating grapes and drinking wine before Halleth rushes at her, his hands outstretched for throttling. ‘Midna, you viper. You shall die for the theft of my holy symbol!’ Midna leaps back in terror, and orders the unseen servants attending her to attack Halleth. The servants are not designed for fighting, and the Revenant barely notices them as he grabs Midna by the throat and begins to shake her. Iris can see that Midna wears two holy symbols, one being a gold coin (the symbol of Waukeen, god of trade), and the other a black disk outlined in purple (the symbol of Shar, god of darkness and loss). In only a few moments, Halleth has enacted the second part of his revenge. He removes his holy symbol from around Midna’s bruised neck, as the heroes take a quick look around the opulent room. The food and wine in the room is fresh and smells good. Aside from empty bookshelves and desks, and the long banqueting table with the food and wine, the only other notable feature is a smiling portrait of a bearded human male dressed in wizard robes. This is surely Hallaster Blackcloak in a good mood, and the heroes consider taking the five foot by three foot canvas portrait with them. Hallaster is keen to lead them on to the third and last of his murderers. [hr]
/pic9466487.jpg)
Rust Monsters chewing on an iron bar
He leads Teslen and the rest of the heroes back to the main crossroads just outside the Goblin Market. From here he heads South, and the heroes begin a winding walk down identical corridors to the east, south, and west again. After about half an hour of walking Teslen can see a set of stairs heading upwards from the right hand side. Ahead of him the bard hears the sounds of a couple of creatures knocking around something metal in a larger room. Halleth wants to go north, but the others are concerned about the creatures. Teslen edges forward until he can see the creatures - two four-legged beasts about the size of a dog, with armoured plates and strange antennae growing from their heads. The creatures have not seen or heard the small scout, but after he tells the others what he has seen they agree to dispose of the annoying Rust Monsters. A Shatter spell and two Eldritch Blasts from Teslen and Drakar are enough to kill the monsters. A quick exploration of the room finds only traces of rusty metal that the creatures had consumed. There is a door at the eastern end of the room, but Halleth is impatient to continue on his quest for revenge. As the ringing of thunder from the Shatter spell dies away, Halleth and Teslen head up the stairs and into a corridor with two doorways on each side. Teslen listens but can’t hear anything from the first intersection, so following Halleth’s lead he checks on the nearest door on the right. There are no traps, but his experience reveals the presence of an abjuration cast on the door. Drakar’s magic sense confirms this, and she is able to judge that it is the spell Arcane Lock that has been placed to keep the door fixed. Teslen has a Dispel Magic available, and it overcomes the level of casting. Teslen opens the door and walks into a large chamber.
/pic9466489.jpg)
The Room of Nothics
Low stone shelves run around the room, covering every available wall. Stuffed under these shelves is a mix of old and crumbling mining equipment. But before Teslen can look more closely he is attacked by four eyeball monsters hiding in each of the corners. The closest one slashes at him with sharp claws, while the others fix him with rotting glares from their huge eyeballs. The halfling is hit by two of the beams, but his resistance to necrotic damage keeps him from suffering too much damage. The claws cut through Teslen’s armour, too. He dodges away from the closest Nothic after firing a Shatter into the far corner of the room. Tar and Lycara run into the room to shield the bard, as does Halleth. The Nothics don’t seem to register the Revenant as a threat, though. Iris finds a place in the room where she can hit the far Nothis with a Sacred Flame spell, though it shakes off the damage. Lycara and then Hadrian also enter the room, and the human fighter draws first blood by striking one Nothis into small chunks with his sword and axe. Drakar follows and hurls another Shatter into the corner of the room, destroying a second Nothic. As the remaining creatures consider their situation, they move backwards, holding up their arms in a sign of surrender. The warlock and bard can feel the creatures trying to speak into their minds, but the Underworld language of the Nothics is unintelligible to them. Still, the heroes agree to hold their fire, and indicate they are just passing through. Halleth as ever is keen to move on. Teslen is healed by Iris, and Drakar does a quick check for magic without any success. The equipment and clothing from Dwarvish miners is ancient indeed, and nothing of value or power has been left in this room.
The heroes leave the Nothic’s room, and pass by two side chambers with solid but long abandoned washrooms. The heroes are brought up short by what they see thirty feet ahead in a larger chamber - a solid barrier of bone and rusty metal that has been built across the chamber from north to south. There is a two foot high gap in the top of the barrier as the heroes cautiously approach it. Drakar can sense no magic, and Teslen thinks it is safe enough for someone as light as him to climb it. From the top, he can see that there is a passageway to the east, and a wider corridor to the north. Teslen hops down from the grisly fence, and the strongest characters begin to pull the barrier apart so that everyone can fit through. After ten minutes there is a big enough gap for even the Tiefling and Dragonborn to fit through, and the heroes head onwards. A disturbing noise echoes down the hallway from the north, and a roiling blob of eyes and mouths judders towards the heroes. Hadrian rushes it, shaking off its gibbering noises. The fighter keeps his footing as the ground flows under the thing’s weird influence. Hadrian’s magic blades slash into the guardian thing, as Iris hits it with her Sacred Flame and Teslen splashes it with poison.. An Eldritch Blast from Drakar badly injures the thing, and although it spits poison at the heroes and flails at them with fleshy pseudopods, the Dwarf is able to slash the thing apart. It dissolves into the stone floor. Halleth has already headed into the next eastern corner, and is heading north out of sight of the party. The heroes rush after the Revenant and catch up with him at the time the sound of fighting can be heard coming up ahead.
Rounding the bend of the corridor, the heroes see the rough rock face on the eastern side of a seventy foot square chamber. A giant four-armed beetle is thrusting a trident at a human warrior who is desperately trying to keep it away with his large warhammer. Two Nothics are closing it from either side. As the heroes rush up to attack the monsters, Halleth cries out in satisfaction and rushes forward. ‘Rex! The leader of the gang of fiends! Now you will face your true reward!’ Teslen is able to blast the Yugoloth and Rex the Hammer with a Shatter spell as Hadrian outpaces the rest of the party to engage the fiend in melee combat. Tar and Lycara are intercepted by the Nothics, and screen the rest of the party from them as they hack into the eyeball aberrations. The Mezzoloth misses Rex with two lunges of its trident, and the human lands a solid blow with his black metal hammer. Iris and Drakar hit the Nothics with spells, as Hadrian reaches the Yugoloth. His blades strike cleanly into the great beetle, and with a great shout it grabs Rex and teleports into the far corner of the room. Teslen Viciously Mocks one of the Nothics and Tar cuts it down. Hadrian rushes up to the Demon, and Halleth finally reaches Rex. For a moment, the former leader of the Fine Fellows of Daggerford thinks he has been saved. Then he looks into the face of Halleth and his arms fall to his side as the Revenant starts to strangle him. Drakar blasts the other Nothic down, as Hadrian and Tar engage the Mezzoloth. The Dwarf takes one blow from the powered Trident, the strength and force cutting through Tar’s defences.
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The Revenant's Final Revenge
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Halleth and Rex United in Death
A final flurry of blows from Hadrian shatter the Mezzoloth, and it dissolves into a stinking pool of ichor as it and its weapon vanish back to the hell of Gehenna. Rex’s hammer drops from his fingers as Halleth squeezes again and again. Finally the Revenant lets go, and Rex falls dead to the floor. Halleth turns to the heroes, but doesn’t seem to see them as he intones: ‘Waukeen! I come to your court!’ The Revenant collapses to the ground, then crumbles into bones that turn to dust and blow away in an unexpected wind. Rex’s hammer is not magical, though it is a solid enough weapon. A careful search of the cavern uncovers Rex’s backpack hidden by a minecart, where the heroes take a silvered shortsword, 13gp in a pouch and a potion of healing. There are hundreds of pounds of copper ore, but it is not worth the heroes’ time to take it at this stage. Perhaps the mine could be started again and made profitable, if Hallaster would allow it. Sparing a brief moment for the cost of revenge, and the perils of being an adventuring party riven by mistrust, the heroes retrace their steps until they find the first untravelled passageway. This leads further east to the south of the cavern room. After the wide passage turns to the north, obvious veins of copper start to show up on the walls. Then a familiar gibbering begins to echo from a narrow cave ahead. Teslen doesn’t hesitate and lets off a Fireball right between the two squamous Mouthers. The fiery explosion partly injures the aberrations, and also brings down some of the rocks from rough walls. Drakar hits one with an Eldritch blast, and the fighters run to the front to attack the Mouthers. Hadrian slices up one before it can attack, while Tar dodges the spittle of the other. He and Teslen are able to kill the second, and Lycara can see that the way forward is clear. The heroes move cautiously past the Mouther corpses, through the rough, curving tunnels and out into a broad, well-worked corridor.
The heroes have come back to the room north of the bone barrier, where another Mouther was killed by the heroes. At the northern end, a red stone altar stands in alcove, covered in dirty handprints. Another narrow corridor leads off to the west. It is the altar that captures the heroes’ attention, as everyone feels the presence and spirit of Dumathoin inhabit them. This simple stone altar was a focus for the prayers for generations of Dwarven miners now gone, and has since been desecrated by various goblinoids. The heroes move to clean the altar with water and cloths, before Iris utters a prayer to the Dwarven God of secrets. Each of the heroes feel they have received another temporary blessing - but what it is will remain secret for the time being. The ore in the overturned mining carts here is mithril, so although it needs to be refined it has a good value to weight ratio of 25gp to 10 pounds. Teslen can smell a sharp, flesh odour coming from the side tunnel, the smell of a passing storm - Ozone. Teslen leads the way down the rough tunnel, and finds that it begins to head upwards.
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The Laboratory of Skull and Flesh Golem
The first thing that Teslen sees as he climbs the passage is the top of a large human head fifty feet away. He reaches the edge of a large rectangular room with a copper coloured floor. The rest of the large humanoid is now visible in the middle of the room. He looks like a stitched up corpse, human in features but gross and sallow skinned with huge hands. A skull covered in copper plates flies from behind the Flesh Golem until it is looking down the corridor, when it fires a bolt of lightning as Teslen shouts a warning. The bolt hits the halfling, and Drakar and Lycara lined up behind him. Hadrian rushes in to attack the Skull, and is not surprised when he is electrocuted by the floor as he rushes into the attack. Drakar blasts the Golem with her Eldritch power, while Tar follows Hadrian into the room and feels the current running up his spine as he enters. Iris runs up to the corridor to see the living corpse, and hits it with multiple Magic Missiles from her wand. Teslen has cast Spider Climb on himself, and wall crawled into the room where he can see both foes without being shocked again. Lycara takes a hit of damage as she crosses the floor to battle Adam. The Flesh Golem has been groaning in pain as the heroes hit it, but the electricity in the floor seems to recharge it. Adam fails to hit the warriors in front of it as their armour protects them from its flailing fists.
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Lightning Bolt!
The skull powers up the floor again, then flies around the room and lets fly with another electric blast that hits Teslen and Iris. In return, Drakar blasts the Skull with a Shatter spell and does enough damage to break the skull into shards. The floor still sparks as the fragments fall to the ground. Hadrian and Tar battle on against the increasingly angry Golem. Before it can unleash its full fury the heroes manage to chop it down. The floor is now safe for everyone to cross. There is nothing of value left in the room - the floor near Adam’s corpse is covered in broken glass and shattered rusty metal. There is a solid, copper-plated door in the middle of the west wall, and a passage that leads out to the south-west. The heroes check their injuries and prepare to push on.
Notes:
Ongoing Quests
-Magic Items for Obaya Uday
-Pay a Harper Debt in Skullport (accessed from Level 3)
-Search for Kressando Rosznar (missing noble with platinum ring)
-The Elven Throne of the Coronal
- Bad Dreams from the Depths
Other notes
Level 1
Skeleton of Tiefling mage TALK TO ME
Gaze of Bronzed Visage from Alcove
Level 2
Gold Coin Arch Gate to Dark Cave Lvl ?
Completed Quests
-The Revenant’s Revenge
Posted: Wed, 18 Mar 05:45:13
by Red Wine Pie
Dramatis Personae:
Eric - The Gamemaster
Matt - Dr. Iris von Disdain the High Elven Cleric of the Life Domain
Susan - Drakar Vexborn the Dragonborn Warlock Pact of the Tome
David - Hadrian the Human Warrior Champion
John - Lycara the Tiefling Paladin Oath of Devotion
Peter - Teslen the Lightfoot Halfling Bard School of Lore (Away)
Callum - Thargrim ‘Tar’ Ironbraid the Dwarf Duellist Warrior Battle Master (Remote)
Further Delving in Level 2 of the Mad Mage’s Dungeon.
[hr]
Teslen can now hear the sound of a woman speaking as Helleth leads the party ever eastwards. Flickering torchlight creates shadows of a human woman relaxing on a sofa in the middle of a vaulted chamber. The heroes have just a few seconds to see the woman is eating grapes and drinking wine before Halleth rushes at her, his hands outstretched for throttling. ‘Midna, you viper. You shall die for the theft of my holy symbol!’ Midna leaps back in terror, and orders the unseen servants attending her to attack Halleth. The servants are not designed for fighting, and the Revenant barely notices them as he grabs Midna by the throat and begins to shake her. Iris can see that Midna wears two holy symbols, one being a gold coin (the symbol of Waukeen, god of trade), and the other a black disk outlined in purple (the symbol of Shar, god of darkness and loss). In only a few moments, Halleth has enacted the second part of his revenge. He removes his holy symbol from around Midna’s bruised neck, as the heroes take a quick look around the opulent room. The food and wine in the room is fresh and smells good. Aside from empty bookshelves and desks, and the long banqueting table with the food and wine, the only other notable feature is a smiling portrait of a bearded human male dressed in wizard robes. This is surely Hallaster Blackcloak in a good mood, and the heroes consider taking the five foot by three foot canvas portrait with them. Hallaster is keen to lead them on to the third and last of his murderers. [hr]
Rust Monsters chewing on an iron bar
He leads Teslen and the rest of the heroes back to the main crossroads just outside the Goblin Market. From here he heads South, and the heroes begin a winding walk down identical corridors to the east, south, and west again. After about half an hour of walking Teslen can see a set of stairs heading upwards from the right hand side. Ahead of him the bard hears the sounds of a couple of creatures knocking around something metal in a larger room. Halleth wants to go north, but the others are concerned about the creatures. Teslen edges forward until he can see the creatures - two four-legged beasts about the size of a dog, with armoured plates and strange antennae growing from their heads. The creatures have not seen or heard the small scout, but after he tells the others what he has seen they agree to dispose of the annoying Rust Monsters. A Shatter spell and two Eldritch Blasts from Teslen and Drakar are enough to kill the monsters. A quick exploration of the room finds only traces of rusty metal that the creatures had consumed. There is a door at the eastern end of the room, but Halleth is impatient to continue on his quest for revenge. As the ringing of thunder from the Shatter spell dies away, Halleth and Teslen head up the stairs and into a corridor with two doorways on each side. Teslen listens but can’t hear anything from the first intersection, so following Halleth’s lead he checks on the nearest door on the right. There are no traps, but his experience reveals the presence of an abjuration cast on the door. Drakar’s magic sense confirms this, and she is able to judge that it is the spell Arcane Lock that has been placed to keep the door fixed. Teslen has a Dispel Magic available, and it overcomes the level of casting. Teslen opens the door and walks into a large chamber.
The Room of Nothics
Low stone shelves run around the room, covering every available wall. Stuffed under these shelves is a mix of old and crumbling mining equipment. But before Teslen can look more closely he is attacked by four eyeball monsters hiding in each of the corners. The closest one slashes at him with sharp claws, while the others fix him with rotting glares from their huge eyeballs. The halfling is hit by two of the beams, but his resistance to necrotic damage keeps him from suffering too much damage. The claws cut through Teslen’s armour, too. He dodges away from the closest Nothic after firing a Shatter into the far corner of the room. Tar and Lycara run into the room to shield the bard, as does Halleth. The Nothics don’t seem to register the Revenant as a threat, though. Iris finds a place in the room where she can hit the far Nothis with a Sacred Flame spell, though it shakes off the damage. Lycara and then Hadrian also enter the room, and the human fighter draws first blood by striking one Nothis into small chunks with his sword and axe. Drakar follows and hurls another Shatter into the corner of the room, destroying a second Nothic. As the remaining creatures consider their situation, they move backwards, holding up their arms in a sign of surrender. The warlock and bard can feel the creatures trying to speak into their minds, but the Underworld language of the Nothics is unintelligible to them. Still, the heroes agree to hold their fire, and indicate they are just passing through. Halleth as ever is keen to move on. Teslen is healed by Iris, and Drakar does a quick check for magic without any success. The equipment and clothing from Dwarvish miners is ancient indeed, and nothing of value or power has been left in this room.
The heroes leave the Nothic’s room, and pass by two side chambers with solid but long abandoned washrooms. The heroes are brought up short by what they see thirty feet ahead in a larger chamber - a solid barrier of bone and rusty metal that has been built across the chamber from north to south. There is a two foot high gap in the top of the barrier as the heroes cautiously approach it. Drakar can sense no magic, and Teslen thinks it is safe enough for someone as light as him to climb it. From the top, he can see that there is a passageway to the east, and a wider corridor to the north. Teslen hops down from the grisly fence, and the strongest characters begin to pull the barrier apart so that everyone can fit through. After ten minutes there is a big enough gap for even the Tiefling and Dragonborn to fit through, and the heroes head onwards. A disturbing noise echoes down the hallway from the north, and a roiling blob of eyes and mouths judders towards the heroes. Hadrian rushes it, shaking off its gibbering noises. The fighter keeps his footing as the ground flows under the thing’s weird influence. Hadrian’s magic blades slash into the guardian thing, as Iris hits it with her Sacred Flame and Teslen splashes it with poison.. An Eldritch Blast from Drakar badly injures the thing, and although it spits poison at the heroes and flails at them with fleshy pseudopods, the Dwarf is able to slash the thing apart. It dissolves into the stone floor. Halleth has already headed into the next eastern corner, and is heading north out of sight of the party. The heroes rush after the Revenant and catch up with him at the time the sound of fighting can be heard coming up ahead.
Rounding the bend of the corridor, the heroes see the rough rock face on the eastern side of a seventy foot square chamber. A giant four-armed beetle is thrusting a trident at a human warrior who is desperately trying to keep it away with his large warhammer. Two Nothics are closing it from either side. As the heroes rush up to attack the monsters, Halleth cries out in satisfaction and rushes forward. ‘Rex! The leader of the gang of fiends! Now you will face your true reward!’ Teslen is able to blast the Yugoloth and Rex the Hammer with a Shatter spell as Hadrian outpaces the rest of the party to engage the fiend in melee combat. Tar and Lycara are intercepted by the Nothics, and screen the rest of the party from them as they hack into the eyeball aberrations. The Mezzoloth misses Rex with two lunges of its trident, and the human lands a solid blow with his black metal hammer. Iris and Drakar hit the Nothics with spells, as Hadrian reaches the Yugoloth. His blades strike cleanly into the great beetle, and with a great shout it grabs Rex and teleports into the far corner of the room. Teslen Viciously Mocks one of the Nothics and Tar cuts it down. Hadrian rushes up to the Demon, and Halleth finally reaches Rex. For a moment, the former leader of the Fine Fellows of Daggerford thinks he has been saved. Then he looks into the face of Halleth and his arms fall to his side as the Revenant starts to strangle him. Drakar blasts the other Nothic down, as Hadrian and Tar engage the Mezzoloth. The Dwarf takes one blow from the powered Trident, the strength and force cutting through Tar’s defences.
The Revenant's Final Revenge
Halleth and Rex United in Death
A final flurry of blows from Hadrian shatter the Mezzoloth, and it dissolves into a stinking pool of ichor as it and its weapon vanish back to the hell of Gehenna. Rex’s hammer drops from his fingers as Halleth squeezes again and again. Finally the Revenant lets go, and Rex falls dead to the floor. Halleth turns to the heroes, but doesn’t seem to see them as he intones: ‘Waukeen! I come to your court!’ The Revenant collapses to the ground, then crumbles into bones that turn to dust and blow away in an unexpected wind. Rex’s hammer is not magical, though it is a solid enough weapon. A careful search of the cavern uncovers Rex’s backpack hidden by a minecart, where the heroes take a silvered shortsword, 13gp in a pouch and a potion of healing. There are hundreds of pounds of copper ore, but it is not worth the heroes’ time to take it at this stage. Perhaps the mine could be started again and made profitable, if Hallaster would allow it. Sparing a brief moment for the cost of revenge, and the perils of being an adventuring party riven by mistrust, the heroes retrace their steps until they find the first untravelled passageway. This leads further east to the south of the cavern room. After the wide passage turns to the north, obvious veins of copper start to show up on the walls. Then a familiar gibbering begins to echo from a narrow cave ahead. Teslen doesn’t hesitate and lets off a Fireball right between the two squamous Mouthers. The fiery explosion partly injures the aberrations, and also brings down some of the rocks from rough walls. Drakar hits one with an Eldritch blast, and the fighters run to the front to attack the Mouthers. Hadrian slices up one before it can attack, while Tar dodges the spittle of the other. He and Teslen are able to kill the second, and Lycara can see that the way forward is clear. The heroes move cautiously past the Mouther corpses, through the rough, curving tunnels and out into a broad, well-worked corridor.
The heroes have come back to the room north of the bone barrier, where another Mouther was killed by the heroes. At the northern end, a red stone altar stands in alcove, covered in dirty handprints. Another narrow corridor leads off to the west. It is the altar that captures the heroes’ attention, as everyone feels the presence and spirit of Dumathoin inhabit them. This simple stone altar was a focus for the prayers for generations of Dwarven miners now gone, and has since been desecrated by various goblinoids. The heroes move to clean the altar with water and cloths, before Iris utters a prayer to the Dwarven God of secrets. Each of the heroes feel they have received another temporary blessing - but what it is will remain secret for the time being. The ore in the overturned mining carts here is mithril, so although it needs to be refined it has a good value to weight ratio of 25gp to 10 pounds. Teslen can smell a sharp, flesh odour coming from the side tunnel, the smell of a passing storm - Ozone. Teslen leads the way down the rough tunnel, and finds that it begins to head upwards.
The Laboratory of Skull and Flesh Golem
The first thing that Teslen sees as he climbs the passage is the top of a large human head fifty feet away. He reaches the edge of a large rectangular room with a copper coloured floor. The rest of the large humanoid is now visible in the middle of the room. He looks like a stitched up corpse, human in features but gross and sallow skinned with huge hands. A skull covered in copper plates flies from behind the Flesh Golem until it is looking down the corridor, when it fires a bolt of lightning as Teslen shouts a warning. The bolt hits the halfling, and Drakar and Lycara lined up behind him. Hadrian rushes in to attack the Skull, and is not surprised when he is electrocuted by the floor as he rushes into the attack. Drakar blasts the Golem with her Eldritch power, while Tar follows Hadrian into the room and feels the current running up his spine as he enters. Iris runs up to the corridor to see the living corpse, and hits it with multiple Magic Missiles from her wand. Teslen has cast Spider Climb on himself, and wall crawled into the room where he can see both foes without being shocked again. Lycara takes a hit of damage as she crosses the floor to battle Adam. The Flesh Golem has been groaning in pain as the heroes hit it, but the electricity in the floor seems to recharge it. Adam fails to hit the warriors in front of it as their armour protects them from its flailing fists.
Lightning Bolt!
The skull powers up the floor again, then flies around the room and lets fly with another electric blast that hits Teslen and Iris. In return, Drakar blasts the Skull with a Shatter spell and does enough damage to break the skull into shards. The floor still sparks as the fragments fall to the ground. Hadrian and Tar battle on against the increasingly angry Golem. Before it can unleash its full fury the heroes manage to chop it down. The floor is now safe for everyone to cross. There is nothing of value left in the room - the floor near Adam’s corpse is covered in broken glass and shattered rusty metal. There is a solid, copper-plated door in the middle of the west wall, and a passage that leads out to the south-west. The heroes check their injuries and prepare to push on.
Notes:
Ongoing Quests
-Magic Items for Obaya Uday
-Pay a Harper Debt in Skullport (accessed from Level 3)
-Search for Kressando Rosznar (missing noble with platinum ring)
-The Elven Throne of the Coronal
- Bad Dreams from the Depths
Other notes
Level 1
Skeleton of Tiefling mage TALK TO ME
Gaze of Bronzed Visage from Alcove
Level 2
Gold Coin Arch Gate to Dark Cave Lvl ?
Completed Quests
-The Revenant’s Revenge
Review: Labyrinth Encounter Cards:: The Short Version? Labyrinth Encounter Cards are great if you think your game could use a little creativity boost.
Posted: Wed, 18 Mar 05:44:01
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Labyrinth Encounter Cards are a 2021 release from Steve Jackson Games and are intended for use with The Fantasy Trip. The cards are a combined effort of James Eisert Steve Jackson (I) and feature are by William McAusland and Maciej Zagorski.
Presentation
This product is a 52 card poker deck style collection in a tuck box. 50 of the cards are features one might find in a labyrinth, one is blank and one is instructions. The cards are double-sided and black & white on both sides. They measure 3.5" tall x 2.5" wide. One side is the back and is identical throughout the deck. The other side includes text and typically a small illustration.
Content
The instruction card offers several ways to use the deck from pulling two or three cards aside and reading them to help establish the dungeon, to just pulling them if things get boring. Either way, these cards are designed to inspire creativity for the GM.
The cards all feature the same illustration at the top, a title, a few lines of italic text and then some standard text. The italic text is like a read aloud and describes what players are likely to see; sometimes it will suggest a skill roll to get a complete interpretation. The standard text provides an explanation for the GM and rules if needed to resolve the room. There are a total of 50 cards and they run a broad range from descriptions of walls, doors, or areas to mysteries and items found in the dungeon.
Even the rule sportion of the card is often open-ended. For example, the card Dwarven Runestone says A thick pillar holds a richly carved dwarven runestone, a cube more than a foot on a side, with a single complex glyph on each face. Anyone with the recognize value Skill will know, on a 3/IQ roll, this is fine art. But it also weighs more than a person. It continues with "The stone can be a warning, a direction, a magical ward, or simply a greeting to anyhone who can read the dwarf language. It was probably not intended for random travelers to steal."
Evaluation
These cards are clearly aimed at raising questions and providing creative and engaging elements for the game. If you're not a great improv GM, they should probably be used in advance and even then you need to think about the questions and be ready to use them. If you are better at improv, these cards be fun to spring on yourself and your players to help keep things interesting and spontaneous. There are certainly enough cards here to provide inspiration for several adventures worth of labyrinths.
Posted: Wed, 18 Mar 05:44:01
by sdonohue
Presentation
This product is a 52 card poker deck style collection in a tuck box. 50 of the cards are features one might find in a labyrinth, one is blank and one is instructions. The cards are double-sided and black & white on both sides. They measure 3.5" tall x 2.5" wide. One side is the back and is identical throughout the deck. The other side includes text and typically a small illustration.
Content
The instruction card offers several ways to use the deck from pulling two or three cards aside and reading them to help establish the dungeon, to just pulling them if things get boring. Either way, these cards are designed to inspire creativity for the GM.
The cards all feature the same illustration at the top, a title, a few lines of italic text and then some standard text. The italic text is like a read aloud and describes what players are likely to see; sometimes it will suggest a skill roll to get a complete interpretation. The standard text provides an explanation for the GM and rules if needed to resolve the room. There are a total of 50 cards and they run a broad range from descriptions of walls, doors, or areas to mysteries and items found in the dungeon.
Even the rule sportion of the card is often open-ended. For example, the card Dwarven Runestone says A thick pillar holds a richly carved dwarven runestone, a cube more than a foot on a side, with a single complex glyph on each face. Anyone with the recognize value Skill will know, on a 3/IQ roll, this is fine art. But it also weighs more than a person. It continues with "The stone can be a warning, a direction, a magical ward, or simply a greeting to anyhone who can read the dwarf language. It was probably not intended for random travelers to steal."
Evaluation
These cards are clearly aimed at raising questions and providing creative and engaging elements for the game. If you're not a great improv GM, they should probably be used in advance and even then you need to think about the questions and be ready to use them. If you are better at improv, these cards be fun to spring on yourself and your players to help keep things interesting and spontaneous. There are certainly enough cards here to provide inspiration for several adventures worth of labyrinths.
