The Sorcerer's Scrolls 42

The Sorcerers Scrolls Issue #42
The Sorcerers Scrolls

Issue #42
January/February 2009
Contents
2
4
6
11
14
21
Editorial
TSS Returns!
An Interview with Chimaera Studios
Thomas Riccardi gives us the scoop
Stellar Expanses: Penumbra Sector
New aliens and worlds for Traveller
Motley Crew
New NPCs for use in your 4E games
Swords Against Shaligon!
A scenario for D&D 4E
Gloriendls Grimoire
New spells for D&D 4E
Editor:
Contributors:
Artists:
Published by:
Zine Mascot:
22
28
38
46
48
50
A Horrible Menagerie
New NPCs for GURPS Horror
The Kindred of Lingusia
New rules and new kindred for T&T 7.5
Game Reviews
Whats new and interesting in games
Gaming by Gaslight
An Introduction to Victorian RPGs
Unholy Communion
A dark tale
COLUMN
So how are MMOs RPGs too?
Nicholas T. Bergquist
John Diffley, Dan Lambert., Thomas Riccardi, Tori Bergquist
Jody Wood, various royalty free pieces. Some artwork copyright 2008 Mark
Hughey, used with permission. Some artwork from the Image Portfolio Louis
Porter, Jr. Design. All Rights Reserved, used with permission.
Zodiac Gods Publishing in conjunction with Lulu.com
Mimi the wonder cat
Published bi-monthly (in theory)
Produced using Windows Office Professional Word 2007

The Sorcerers Scrolls Issue 42 (October-November 2008) is copyright 2008 by Nicholas Bergquist, all rights reserved. All contents
copyrighted by the individual authors. All contributors to TSS grant the editor and publisher one-time publication rights in the issue
featuring their work, including reprinting rights of said issue.
The Sorcerers Scrolls will feature content which can be used with other role playing systems published by various companies and
individuals. No trademark or copyright infringement is intended, and no content in TSS shall duplicate such content without an
accompanying OGL or GSL agreement in the text of the contribution that specifically allows such. It goes without saying that to use
the content in TSS, you must own (and therefore should go buy!) copies of the specific rule books from the many fine companies that
publish these awesome games!
To contact the editor, please email me at TSSeditor@gmail.com or write to: Zodiac Gods Publishing; 188 Monte Largo Drive NE #4,
Albuquerque, NM 87123.
Published by Zodiac Gods Publishing

1
Editorial
Issue 42 January/February 2009
By Tori Bergquist
Well, its been--what?--19 years or so since the
last issue of The Sorcerers Scrolls appeared.
There are still a few old fans and cohorts from
the old days out there, who have stayed in
touch with me, or gotten back in touch as the
internet made life so much easier. And then,
along came lulu.
Back in the day, publishing a fanzine was a
royal pain in the ass. You had to print, bind, and
mail everything yourself. Quality control was
usually a whimsical dream at best, and the
software and printing facilities necessary to do it
all in-house were practically nonexistent. Layout
and design was a process that involved scotch
tape, rulers, and a keen eye for proper
alignment. Back then, writing, editing and
publishing TSS or any fanzine at all was a labor
of love, and no money was ever forthcoming.
Besides TSS, I remember Ken St. Andres TnT
fanzine, as well as a number of cool British
fanzines, where the medium seemed to have a
lot of legs. Guys like Michael von Glahn (where
are you!?!), Garen Ewing, Dave Bezios (of the
Phoenix Barony), Dan Lambert, Tony Lee (who
remains a vigilant and active game designer
today! Check out the Chronicles of Ramlar for
his recent work) and others definitely helped to
make TSS and other zines possible.
Well, fast-forward to 2008: I realized that
suddenly, thanks to internet, print on demand,
and a generally aging but dedicated fan base,
RPG fanzines were a definite reality once more. I
recently released a couple books on lulu,
including a new edition of the Keepers of
Lingusia tailored for Castles & Crusades as well
as OSRIC and other old-school retro games,
along with The Trolls Companion, a compilation
of miscellany for the original beer & pretzels
RPG, Tunnels & Trolls. So far its proven to be an
easy, fun process and people are actually buying
them, which tells me theres a market out there
for game books that cater to the market as it
used to be, not just the super-glossy high
production role playing games you can find on

shelves today.
Fan-based publications online are now
available all over the place. Rpgnow,
drivethrurpg, yourgamesnow, and my favorite,
e23 over at Steve Jackson Games are rife with
interesting content for gamers. A few people
(Philip J. Reed, for example) even seem to be
making money at it. Indie Press Revolution offers
a fantastic medium for aspiring game designers
to get out their small press products to the
general gamer audience, producing some
amazing gems, including some personal
favorites of mine, like Dont Rest Your Head and
A/State.
With all this stuff going on, I thought to myself:
why the heck dont I resurrect TSS? It was a lot
of fun to do back in the day. It only really died
because I found college life a little too
demanding, plus from about age 19 right on
through to age 35 I had an alarming habit of
making bad choices, doing things the hard way,
and sticking with overly demanding job
environments that were apparently secret
programs run by vampires designed to suck the
life from me. In fact I still seem to find jobs like
that!
Well, its been a long time, and to be fair, TSS
never was formally cancelled back in the day.
So I have decided to revive it. Ill be filling up the
first new issue (issue #42) with my own
material, but I would like to encourage anyone
interested who wishes to contribute to do so.
Its a chance to see print, and if by some lucky
opportunity the zine grows legs I might even be
able to offer pay for work. All content submitted
will remain in your own copyright ownership,
with rights of publication to the issue in
question only; so once its been published here,
you are welcome to take your article or art
elsewhere and do whatever you want with it.
And of course youll get free issues of the zine!
Any aspiring author knows that every little bit

nd
helps; I would definitely like to make TSS a

conduit for those seeking publication who do
not, themselves, want to take the grueling time
and effort to set up their own publications.
For content, I want to focus on gaming in its
myriad forms and varieties. I am especially
interested in the games I love, of course, but will
also be happy to accept submissions for other
games. For the record, games I love these days
include Castles & Crusades, Tunnels & Trolls 7.5,
th
th
Dungeons & Dragons 4 edition, GURPS 4
edition, Call of Cthulhu, Basic Role Playing,
Anima, Savage Worlds, the new Traveller, and
Star Siege. I have some old classic and
upcoming favorites as well: The Tri-Stat DX
system from the late great Guardians of Order
was an awesome game. A/State is one of the
coolest, weirdest indie games out there. Ill keep
copies of Unknown Armies, Kult, and Feng Shui
in my collection for eternity. Theres also the
retro-clones, which includes Mutant Future (like
Gamma World, but not!!!!), Labyrinth Lord
(classic D&D), OSRIC (classic AD&D), and GORE.
Ill also apologize in advance to the diehard
D20/3.X fans, but youll likely see a lot of
Dungeons & Dragons 4E content from me,
although I welcome any OGL content you want
to submit for the 3.X phenomenon. That said, I
really, really love the new 4E, and find that it has
revitalized my interest in gaming in a way I
havent experienced since the 2 edition AD&D

game out in 1989.
Anyone whos been in the hobby since 2000
knows that OGLs, SRDs, GSLs and other
acronyms hiding legalese are/were all the rage.
For the time being, I am going to publish TSS
under general copyright law, because I see no
need to work under any specific license
agreement at this time unless TSS starts to take
off. Now, individual articles submitted in
conjunction with one or more of these
agreements are more than welcome to include
the necessary legal content to make the article
compatible with the product license in question,
and I will happily include any and all details to
keep the article compliant as the author so
wishes. But as a rule, unless such a specific
agreement is desired, I dont want to impose
this on anyone who might prefer their work be
published under general copyright, instead.
Maybe, one day, if TSS gets very popular this will
be revised; but for now I think it suits my
inherently libertarian sense of propriety.
Okay, Ive rambled enough. This issue of TSS
will start off with a mixture of interesting
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content for D&D 4 edition, C&C, GURPS,
Tunnels & Trolls 7.5, and Traveller. Enjoy!
--Tori Bergquist
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December 20 , 2008
An Interview with Chimaera Studios

By Thomas Riccardi
a fantasy world that was close enough to reality

to provide an appropriate challenge. The one
thing I've noticed in every game system that I've
found is that the player has to suspend the
game at times to research a rule, or a power
description, or to dispute something that the
Controller of the game has stated. I wanted to
provide a world / game system where the player
was free to act and react in character and
immerse themselves into a comic book. The less
real world rules research a player has to bog
themselves down with the greater sense of
ownership in the game session. It provides
for a more rounded character and a deep and
satisfying game experience for all involved.
3) What are some of the future expansions we
can see for this rpg in the near future?
We are sending out HellHounds as we speak.
This expansion focuses on the Mercenary subculture and the world of Hadean's Gate. This
book covers the islands and world of our
HellHounds comic book line. It adds nicely to
the standard comic book world revealed in the
Chimaera Universe Core Rulebook, and provides
a darker more gritty reality to the game.
(Chimera Studios produces the Chimera Role

Playing Game, a new and innovative rule system
in the super hero genre. Thomas Riccardi
recently conducted an interview with Chimera
Studios Micahel Murphy to learn a bit more
about what makes them tick.Tori)
The follow up for HellHounds is Wargod. This

book will focus on the mystical side of the comic
universe and it's various Pantheons'. The book
will provide some valuable insight into the
behind the scene power struggles of the
Chimaera Universe.
1) How did Chimera studios come about and

what was the driving force to get
this company established?
As far as the driving force for the company, look
no further than George T.
Singley IV. He has a vision and provides the
heart, soul and direction of
the company and all of its properties.
After WarGod we are lining up our team book

that will highlight our Super Teams. This book
will provide a number of additions for Massive
Battles and include details of leadership in a
comic book.
2) What were some of the reasons for you

wanting to develop a game system and what
sets this apart from the other game systems
out there?
We have a slate of companion books after the

Super Team book and will be releasing those
topics during the second quarter of 09.
I've been playing and designing RPG's since I was

an 8 year old kid. I guess I wanted to escape the
true reality of my world and immerse myself in

4) Did you have any favorite role playing games
as a kid or were there any influences that went
into this system / universe?
until the session expires. The feel of this system

lends itself to the perils of a C level or sidekick
comic book character growing from a footnote
to the lead in his or her own series.
I knew this question would come but there is no

great way to prepare for it. I played everything I
could find for $20 or less at the game store
growing up. I loved Car Wars, Teenagers from
Outer Space, the original D&D, Gamma World,
Star Frontiers, and anything that had a little
humor in it.
6) Is there a favorite title or character that you

have in the Chimera universe? If so who is it
and why?
My favorite character so far is SGT R. Gingrich,
AKA El Muerto Conquestador, based on an old
Army Buddy of mine. The character to me
defines commitment, integrity and provides a
great amount of comic relief in all of my game
sessions. He's the one that will jump on the
grenade and try to play it off that he tripped.
His powers are incredible; he cannot be killed or
knocked unconscious. Sadly he has to put
himself back together with duct tape, glue,
staples, or anything else on hand. His second
power causes an image so fearsome it causes
cardiac arrest, to spring from the back of his
head. He has no idea of the second power and
although it saves him he never knows why
people behind him have a tendency to suffer
heart attacks.
I created my first game system when I was 9.

The system was pitched to a certain Toy
Company that released a famous set of Robots
that turned into moving vehicles. I received a
nice form letter back that was unrelated to
the system I sent over. I played the game solo
for a few years then created a Professional
Skateboarding RPG called Aeronautics. I played
this with my friends and eventually adapted that
(100 times or more) into the concept of the
Chimaera Universe System.
5) There are more and more fans seeming to
play RPG's every day but some people are still
intimidated by them. Can you think of some
reasons why someone wouldn't want to play a
game and what makes your game easy to pick
up and play?
7) What are some of the other things that

Chimera Studios is working on?
Chimaera Studios and Chimaera Comics cover a
wide variety of media production. We are
heavily involved in our Comic Book Lines, RPG
Lines, and a few mixed media markets. We are
planning 7 10 expansion books for the RPG
line and are working on dozens of Comic Book
titles. We have a fine line of T-Shirts and
accessories from the RPG and comic lines.
The only thing a player has to do in the

Chimaera Universe Role playing Game
is answer some questions, play around with the
concepts and dive right in. The Director will set
the stage and ask what the player wants to do.
If the player gets into character, and reacts as
they think the character would react they
should enjoy the game. There are no rules to
memorize, just a character sheet to keep track
of and a pair of dice to resolve situations.
The Director should have a strong
understanding of the rules and it is not overly
complicated, a lot of the rule system feels like
common sense.
8) Where is this available? Is it only available in

print form or is it available for digital download
as well?
You can pick up a copy at most Game Stores,
order a copy from Amazon, order a copy at
Barnes & Nobles, order at Borders or any major
book store. You can buy direct from us at
www.chimaerastudios.com, or at
www.mongoosepublishing.com.
Most game systems have a hundred tables and a

million different rules for play and character
growth. One point of wisdom means 1 point to
spend in this game. You do not need to spend
hours combing through the book to spend your
points. Expand your character in game, grow
your character in game and stay in that game
The Stellar Expanses: Penumbra Sector

Strange New Worlds for Traveller
By Tori Bergquist
Welcome to the Stellar Expanses! The
following is a medley of worlds and species from
the Penumbra Sector, part of an evolving
campaign setting I am working on for the new
Traveller RPG from Mongoose. These worlds and
their species should work well for just about any
Traveller game you see fit to include them in,
however.
The Stellar Expanses will be explored in more
detail later, but the setting presumes a universe
in which mankind is one of many species, and
not dominant. Early expansionism led to the
exploitation of many undeveloped sentients by
humankind. By 3400 AD more advanced species
did the same, in turn to the human
commonwealth. Many mysteries lie in wait in
the setting, including the alarming frequency
with which advanced starfaring sentients meet
unexpected extinctions.
Corporate delegates being chosen by their

companies to act as participants in the Addaka
World Interest Group. Addaka is also known for
its sentients rights laws, which extend to robots
and AIs. In fact, a large number of AIs are given
total free will in the colony, and some of these
AIs are permitted to serve on the AWIG. One
specific AI called Omnimus even manages a
religious organization in which biosentients and
mechanicals alike worship the AI in a mock
religion. The other major party of note on the
planet is the Workers Resource Union, a small
but vocal organization that works towards
workers rights and seeks to enforce checks and
balances against the corporate ruling bodies.
Some Rural Encounters for Addaka:
Flitrats flying mouths
Type: flying scavenger (reducer, vermin)
Habitat: hills, mountains; Encountered: 4D6
Size 3, Str 5, Dex 7, End 3, Instinct 9, Pack 12
Attacks: Claws 1D6+2, Teeth 1D6; Armor: 3
Behavior: Attack 10+, Flee 7-; +2 DM if wounded
target or carrion is present
Skills: Melee (claws, bite) 3, Survival 1, Recon 2,
Athletics 0
These packs of scavenging flyers use their
sense of smell to find carrion and small prey.
They will attack a downed creature to finish it
off. They look vaguely like worm-like tubular
creatures with wide, bat-like gliding wings that
end in sharp claws, and are about .5-1.0 meters
long.
Addaka
Gas Giant: yes
WPP: A876553-E
Temp: 5
Gravity: 1.0
Vargits garbage bags

Type: flying scavenger (intimidator) Habitat:
rainforest; Encountered: 1D6
Attacks: Thrasher 1D6+1, Teeth 1D6; Armor: 2
Behavior: Attack 8+, Flee 7-; +2 DM if wounded
target or carrion is present
Skills: Melee (thrasher, bite) 2, Survival 1, Recon
1, Athletics 0
Vargits are large gas-bag creatures that
generate helium and float on the winds in
Addaka is a temperate, habitable world with a

lush bio-system. It supports a Class A starport as
well as a local Naval station for the Federated
Commonwealth and a Research Station
managed by the Frontier Development Concord.
Addaka is managed under a feudal
technocracy model, with the twelve principle

migratory patterns. They aggressively seek out
carrion and wounded prey, intimidating other
scavengers in to leaving with their long tentaclelike barbed appendage. Their circular mouth is
on their underside, to descend on easy prey.
particularly suited to the small world and its

environment, and so are dominant locally in
both business and politics. There is no native
life, but during its early period of colonization
large genetically engineered creatures called
hervesters were introduced to gather
concentrations of the liquid methane for fuel
processing. These creatures continue to thrive in
the environment, although their use as
processors has all but been forgotten.
Krakes razor sharks

Type: swimmer carnivore (chaser) Habitat:
coast, ocean shallows; Encountered: 2D6
Attacks: Teeth 2D6+2; Armor: 1
Behavior: Attack if superior #s, Flee 5-; +4 DM if
wounded target is present
Skills: Melee (bite) 3, Survival 0, Recon 1,
Athletics (endurance) 2
Krakes are long, lean ancestors of Flitrats with
highly maneuverable side-fins. They can leap up
to 5 meters out of the water, and are vicious
coastal predators with excellent sense of smell.
Krakes exude a water-resistant resin that they
use as nests in coastal shallows for eggs.
Thermed (primary)
WPP: X453974-5
Temp: 9
Gravity: .38
Chancer (moon of Thermed)
WPP: C201327-C
Temp: 3
Gravity: .15
Thermed is the primary world of the Thermed
system (NGC-274885) and inhabited by an
indigenous sapient population (see below)
which was TL 2 when first discovered. A number
of Themanides were taken from the world over
the course of human contact due to their
psionic potential, creating a space-born
component of the population which is removed
almost completely form its native home world.
Thermed itself is rapidly advancing in to a late
industrial age, and is dominated by several
budding super-powers with numerous smaller
governments mixed in. Chancer is the sole moon
of the prime world, and is populated (at
present) by a research station and starport
managed by the Tiberia Xenological Studies
Institute on behalf of the CDF, which also has a
way station in orbit. This is where most foreign
visitors come to see Thermanides from a safe
distance.
Charybdos
Gas Giant: yes
WPP: B36A321-D
Temp: 8
Gravity: .25
A small but volatile water-world, this moon
revolves around the gas giant Charon, and is
lightly populated by researchers, colonists and
aquatic prospectors looking for pharmaceuticals
of use in the deeps of the massive Charybdan
oceans. The planet is volcanically active and due
to tectonic activity caused by its close spin
around Charon is quite warm, even at a
meaningful distance of 8 AUs from the main
star.
Celtaine
Gas Giant: Yes
WPP: D253685-6
Temp: 9
Gravity: .15
Peaceful world (low violence); civil service
bureaucracy; active mining; methane seas;
moon of the gas giant Eotar; large colonial
population of Thermanides, a local group from
the planet Thermed. Local tech is stunted, and
the world is not a primary trade center,
although its export of rare metals and minerals
is valued in the sector. The Thermanides are
Species: Thermanides
The average Thermanide is a surprisingly tall
and double-jointed human averaging 2.5-3.2
meters in height. They have large hands with
five fingers and two thumbs, and a very humanlike head, although they lack a pronounced
nose, instead smelling from two slits to the
left and right of the throat. In addition, they lack
ears, having soft tremor-sensitive receptors at
several points along their skull that serve a

similar function. Thermanides have two
genders, male and female, and the female give
live birth and nurse from 1-6 young in a litter
with multiple mammaries, placed in much the
same location as human women. All members of
the species are completely hairless. Their skin is
usually a soft and ruddy blue or brown all the
way to dusky red or yellow.
Thermanides (Ther-man-id-ees) are native to
Thermed, and are one of many pretechnological species discovered by the Stellar
Commonwealth over the centuries. First
encountered in 2635 AD, the Thermanides were
considered a curiosity, but because their world
had an unusually thin atmosphere and low
gravity, it was considered a difficult world to
colonize at the time and so was overlooked.
Over the course of several centuries, the
Thermanides continued to evolve with minimal
contact, mostly in the form of explorers and
curiosity-seekers who would visit the world for a
few thrills, to enjoy the sights and see what life
was like in the curiously medieval period of time
that the locals were locked in. It was during one
of these expeditions that Aston Lerango, of the
Tiberia Xenological Studies Institute, discovered
that the Thermanides seemed to have a small
but noteworthy population of psi-sensitives.
Although locally they were believed to be
witches and wizards, in fact these psionic
individuals were gifted with a keen mental
capacity for what had come to be known as
latent quantum-inherent recognition potential.
Once Thermanides was recognized as a psiactive race, research began in earnest, and
mega corporate influences in finding test
subjects for further research led to several
unfortunate conflicts. Thermanides were now
being forcibly moved in to space, and within a
century or so (around 3000) there was entire
subclass of their species which was born in to
and native to the Stellar Commonwealth.
By the time of the period of enlightenment,
Thermanides were no longer considered
property to be done with as they will by the
mega corps, and sentient freedom rights insured
they could do as they wished. The small but
prominent population of psi-active Thermanides
colonized worlds they found especially suited to
their nature, and some returned to their home
world to try and learn more of their roots, only
to find that the rabid xenophobia of the native
population had led to a slow industrialization
and hostility toward all foreign visitors. The

persistent hostile contact with humanity had
turned Thermed in to another dangerous world.
Currently, several research stations and a small
force of the CDF stands guard in the Thermed
solar system, to insure that no exploitation or
further hostile conflict occurs, while human and
off-world Thermanide diplomats continue a
lengthy effort to convince the rapidly advancing
native civilization that they should embrace the
off-world cultures instead of fight them.
Thermanides have Notable Dexterity (+2) but
are physically weaker than normal due to their
native gravity being so low (Endurance and
Strength -2 each). They automatically gain the
Psionic attribute and may roll for Psi-Strength
at creation. If a native chooses to follow a
psionic path, he or she is usually seen as a
witch or warlock, although in the burgeoning
industrial age some native governments are
attempting to harness their native psionics in
to a working military force, and so the psiwarrior career is possible.
Yruat
Gas Giant: yes
WPP: A868884C
Temp: 9
Gravity: 1.1
Yruat is the homeworld of the Kardenath
species (see below). Its long history prior to
induction in to the Stellar Commonwealth
included periods of civil war and near-total
nuclear extermination before the native species
organized in to a one-world government and
began expanding in to their solar system.

When humanity encountered the Kardenath, a
period of peace was followed by a series of
vicious wars, ending with the near-total
annihilation of the Kardenath ecosystem and
people through bio-weapons used by the human
mega corps. The Kardenath who survived were
largely off-world, and it took centuries for their
population to recover. Within the last century,
the kardenath have regained control of their
home world and an extensive process of
rebuilding; along with the astronomical rate at
which they can breed when necessary have
helped to replenish the species.
at birth, and are tad-pole like creatures that will

imbed themselves in a muddy environment at 68 months of age and morph in to a small, true
Kardenath. During this period, some are eaten
(often by siblings) while others simply dont
survive the transition intact (due to genetic
damage from the bio weapons unleashed on
their planet). The remaining children, usually
between 10 and 30, are then raised by the
sterile nurses to adulthood, which takes about
10-12 Terran years. Adult Kardenath usually live
to 40ish before being considered of venerable
age, but they are incredibly fast learners and
have eidetic memory.
Kardenath society is built around community
and service. Kardenath live in clutches, families
after a fashion of 1-200 individuals who work
collectively to benefit the overall clutch. When
marriage between clutches inevitably happens
(the Kardenath simply call it bonding) then the
couples in question create a new node, a sort of
mini-clutch which is shared by the two larger
clutches until it grows big enough to be
considered its own.
The politics between clutches and their nodes
can be complex. Kardenath love social drama
and politics, and excel at both. As a result, a
clutch always seeks political gain and favor. If a
single member of a clutch gains a rank or title of
worth in the community, then it reflects on the
entire social status of the clutch.
Spacer Kardenath are a somewhat different
breed than the more social planet-bound
members of their species. In every clutch there
is a chance of a handful of loners, asocial misfits,
or weaker Kardnath who just dont fit in with
the rest of the clutch. Such Kardenath usually
find their destiny in space, as pilots, belters,
researchers, scouts and more. Since its second
liberation, Kardenath has its own strong military
force and scientific research operation, and
many such Kardenath join these institutes.
Kardenath who dwell in the greater diaspora of
the Stellar Expanse are often eager to join
foreign agencies to work for them. Other less
social aliens and humans are often
overwhelmed by the communal sense of
perspective of these Kardenath, and have a hard
time understanding how they are considered
outsiders and loners among their own kind.
Although Kardenath are descended from
amphibians, they long ago lost their direct
connection to water and any need to immerse
Species: Kardenath
Kardenath are small gecko-like humanoids
with wide, flat tails, thick bony platelets and
sucker-tipped fingers. Their heads are
somewhat narrower and more lizard-like than a
Terran Geckos. They can run very fast, using
their tails as a counter-balance and are
alarmingly quick by human standards.
Kardenath in danger can flare their plate-scales,
creating a fan of sharp spikes around their head,
neck, back and limbs.
Kardenath hail from the Scorpio system, called
Yruat in their native language. They are used to
a slightly higher gravity world than humans (1.1
Gees). The Kardenath homeworld is in all other
respects a completely normal bio system, with a
wide range of environments spread out over a
primarily temperate world. The Kardenath
homeworld is situated on the edge of Penumbra
Sector space. Due to the historical war fought
between the Kardenath not long after human
contact, their homeworld is an ecological
disaster, and has largely been repopulated in
later times by off-world flora and fauna to try
and recuperate the terrible damage done by bio
weapons during the war. Most Kardenath who
now dwell on their homeworld have been
transgenically treated to be resistant to any
lingering strains of the super-viruses the old
mega corps released on their homeworld.
Kardenath have two genders (male and
female) with a collection of pseudo-genders
intermixed; these secondary genders are, in
fact, males and females who are born sterile
and who serve as nurses to the young. A fertile
couple can lay hundreds of eggs, and those eggs
will produce an enormous number of young.
Kardenath children are effectively nonsentient

Athletics (coordination)-0 and Zero-G-0.
Kardenath platelets provide Armor 1, and in
close combat (i.e. grappling) they can flare
their platelets to cause 1D6 passive damage to
grappling enemies. Kardenath have eidetic
(photographic) recall of prior events in their life
times. They average 1.2-1.6 meters in height.
themselves in it. Nonetheless, all Kardenath are

still excellent swimmers and runners.
Kardenath have Notable Dexterity (+3), but
Weak Strength (-2). All Kardenath are
functionally more efficient at zero-gee
movement and climbing due to the suction
cups on their fingers and toes, and so gain
10
Motley Crew!
A Trio of New NPCs for your 4th edition game
Set in the Warlords of Lingusia Campaign Setting
By Tori Bergquist
Each of the following NPCs are written for use in the forthcoming Warlords of Lingusia setting, but the
specific names and serial numbers work in pretty much any fantasy realm. I have statted them out
according to the DMG design guidelines for creating NPCs, and precalculated the stats according to the
DMs Toolkit section of that book, so they are ready to go as-is, either as foes or henchmen allies for your
own heroic level adventuring group.
Name: Gertys Giarra
Race:
Goblin
Class:
Rogue
Level:
5
Homeland:
Hadrosar
Alignment:
unaligned
Description: short green-grey skinned goblin female
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
HPs
FORT REF
WILL
AC
INIT
10
19
11
14
12
14
51
17
23
18
20
+5
+2
+6
+2
+4
+3
+4
Armor Worn: Leather+1 magical
Healing Surges: 1
Amt/Surge:
12
Bloodied: 25
Attacks/Powers
Attack vs. Def. Damage/Notes
At-Will: Short sword
+8 (Str) vs. AC
1D6+3 dmg
Shuriken
+12 vs. AC
1D6+7 dmg
Piercing Strike
+12 vs. Ref
1D6+7 dmg
Enc: Tricksters Blade
+12 vs. AC
2D6+7 dmg and gain +2 AC one turn
Daily: Deep Cut
+12 vs. Fort
2D6+7 + ongoing 5 dmg (save ends) On a Miss: half damage
Goblin Tactics: immediate reaction; trigger: missed by melee attack; may shift 1
First Strike; Rogue Weapon mastery (Shuriken); Sneak Attack +2D6 dmg
Languages: Middle Tongue (common), Minotaur
Skills: Stealth +13, Thievery +13 (Acrobatics +11 w/boots)
Equipment: adventurers kit, thiefs tools, riding dog
Boots of Balance: +5 Acrobatics, daily: free, reroll one acrobatics check
Wealth: Gold: 55
Silver: 100
Gems: 3 rubies worth 50 gp each
Gertys is a flamboyant goblin girl who never grew up around her kind, but was raised by a pair of shifters
who took her in as a baby on the island city of Hadrosar. She is a proficient sailor and daredevil
adventurer, and carries a wanton fascination for attractive human elvish men.
Mannerisms:
Quirks:
Twirls her hair and fidgets a lot

Flamboyant and outlandish clothes
Plot Hook:
Gertys has discovered that her father, named Mandralis, was caught trying to filch coin from a
Sendralite pirate captain named Chamdegras. As a shifter, he could have gotten away with it, but the
captain had a mechanism for seeing through any disguise of the shifter. Gertys has promised fabulous
treasure to the adventurers if they will help her free her father, although they may have to prod her a bit
to find out that this treasure she is promising is really in the hands of the pirates who have captured her
father!
11

Name: Arzhas Kormak
Race:
Human
Class:
Fighter
Level:
5
Homeland:
Aggendar
Alignment:
good
Description: human male, long blonde hair
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
HPs
FORT REF
WILL
AC
INIT
19
12
15
13
10
11
55
22
17
16
22
+3
+6
+3
+4
+3
+2
+2
Armor Worn: scale mail
Healing Surges: 1
Amt/Surge:
13
Bloodied: 27
Attacks/Powers
Attack vs. Def.
Damage/Notes
At-Will: Greatsword+2
+13 (Str) vs. AC
1D10+8 dmg
AW: Cleave
+13 vs. AC
1D10+8 plus 4 to second target
AW: Sure Strike
+15 vs. AC
1D10 damage
Enc: Sweeping Blow
+13 vs. AC
Burst 1; 1D10+10 dmg to all in burst
Daily: Dizzying Blow
+13 vs. AC
3D10+8 and immobilize (save ends)
U/Daily: Unstoppable
Minor
gain temp HPs of 2D6+2
Combat Challenge ability
Languages: Middle Tongue, Elvish
Skills: Athletics +11, Streetwise +7
Equipment: adventurers kit, war horse
Bracers of Mighty Striking (+2 damage to melee basic attack)
Wealth: Gold: 55
Silver: 100
Gems: 3 rubies worth 50 gp each
Arzhas is descended from an ancient line of once great Emerald Knights of the lost empire. He is a
wandering knight errant, seeking fortune after his familys estates were seized for taxes by Aggendars
king Murgos. Arzhas is a rash fellow, prone to quickly defending the honor of fair maidens (although he
rarely seems to find maidens who are, ah, still fair) and stopping injustice wherever he runs across it.
Mannerisms:
Quirks:
Quiet, but quick to anger when he sees injustice

Wears black and is wrapped in a heavy cloak all the time
Plot Hook:
Arzhas approaches the adventurers, one or more of whom may be related to him or have met him in the
past, to help him stand against a local baron named Murgas, a brutish orc-blooded miscreant who has
seized the estates of the former baron Volmas. Arzhas learned from the local villagers that their new
baron may not have killed the rightful ruler, who is imprisoned deep in the dungeons beneath his keep.
Arzhas has a brilliant but potentially suicidal plan to storm the keep and free the old baron, but decided
he needed some clever thinking on the matter. In the midst of this, an old woman named Renathas
approaches Arzhas and the PCs with a key that she says will open the hidden entrance to the lower
dungeons, which may allow them to seek out Baron Volmas and free him. Arzhas believes that the baron,
if freed, will provide the morale boost necessary to rally the locals to sieze the keep and dethrone Murgas
once more.
12

Name: Murgis Redoar
Race:
Minotaur
Class:
Cleric
Level: 5
Homeland:
Black Mountains
Alignment:
good
Description: tall rough mishrag bullman male
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
HPs
FORT REF
WILL
AC
INIT
16
10
12
12
18
14
52
18
16
21
21
+2
+5
+2
+3
+3
+6
+4
Armor Worn: chainmail
Healing Surges: 1
Amt/Surge:
13
Bloodied: 26
Attacks/Powers
Attack vs. Def. Damage/Notes
At-Will: Greatclub+1
+10 (Str) vs. AC 2D4+6 dmg
AW: Righteous Brand
+10 vs. AC
2D4+6 + ally in 5 gains +2 att vs foe
Enc: Split the Sky
+10 vs. Fort
2D4+6 thunder+push 2 and prone
Daily: Wpn of the Gods Minor: +1D6 radiant to wpn; foes hit at -2 AC 1 turn
U/Daily: Cure Lt. Wounds touch-one target: target regains HP as if a surge spent
Enc: Goring Charge
+8 vs. AC
1D6+7 and target prone
Enc: Turn Undead
+10 vs. Will
1D10+8 radiant + push 5/immobile 1t
Enc/2: Healing word
close burst 5 1 ally: ally spends surge+1D6 to HP
Ferocity: (gain one free action melee basic action when hitting 0 HP)
Languages: Middle Tongue, Goblin
Skills: Religion +8, Nature +13, Perception +8
Equipment: adventurers kit, prayer beads and mat, robes
Holy Symbol +2 of Ashuar
Wealth: Gold: 20
Silver: 40
Copper: 100
Murgis is a priest of Ashuar the Watcher, a cult that is popular in the Sendral region, especially among
minotaurs. Ashuar the Watcher is one of The Mysteries, a set of deities revealed in the First Codex to have
been the oldest gods in the world. Murgis is, in fact, dedicated to a god about which he knows almost
nothing! He is trying, though, to understand just what Ashuar represents, to commune with his gods
enigmatic will.
When Murgis is not seeking divine inspiration, he is protecting Gertys, who he grew up with, or
sometimes traveling with Arzhas, who he once sparred with and quickly grew to like the young knights
idealism.
Mannerisms:
Quirks:
Whispers and broods, likes long speeches before attacks

laden with prayer beads and holy trinkets
Plot Hook:
Murgis has learned that there is an ancient temple to his god Ashuar, one which has been buried for fifty
thousand years or more atop a distant mountain peak. He seeks out the player characters (presumably for
good deeds they have done, or maybe theyre just reliable) with a promise of wealth that they may keep
in exchange for helping him. Specifically, Murgis has found a mysterious statue in his diggings for ancient
relics that might be connected to his god, and uncovered a curious statue of pure gold to a nameless deity
(that may, in fact, be a cursed idol if the DM so desires!) In any case, he will offer this in exchange for their
aid in reaching the lost temple atop the high mountain.
Naturally, this ancient temple will be guarded by ferocious guardians (yeti-like white apes are
suggested), vile traps, and icy hazards. In the end, the minotaur may be in for disappointment as he
discovers that the temple, though once possibly dedicated to Ashuar, has long since come to serve as the
domain for an ancient wight or other undead being who will plague unwelcome visitors with undead
servitors.
13
Swords Against Shaligon!

A Short Adventure in the Isles of Sontaniardes for 1st to 3rd level Heroes
A Preview Adventure for the Realms of Chirak Campaign Setting
Compatible with Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition
By Tori Bergquist
On the isle of Tynengaro a dark and
malevolent evil has arisen. In the middle of the
night children and animals from the local
villages are being stolen, and by day the volcano
at the heart of the island has begun to erupt,
casting an eerie red light across the settlements
of the main city, Castagliare, a free port of the
Sontaniardes.
A week ago, an ancient Lessi shaman named
Juvithra, said to be over one hundred years old,
hobbled up to the gates of the city and
proclaimed that an ancient evil had been
awakened, at the site of an old gold mine on the
far edge of the island. They awoke the
Thirteen-Armed Goddess of Death, he wailed.
She comes now to destroy us all. When
thirteen children have been captured they will
sacrifice them, and then her dark wrath will be
unleashed.
The adventurers are some of the finest
warriors and wizards to be found in the Endless
Islands. They have been assembled here by the
governor of the city, Elder Contantos Umbriago,
to combat the mysterious threat to the island
that threatens to destroy everything.
musketeers, and none returned. The PCs are his

last hope!
Tynengaro
The island of Tynengaro was settled about two
centuries ago by colonists from Espanea, the
principle island kingdom of the Sea of Chirak.
The early colonists were a mix of humans,
Halflings, and a handful of Pardainse dwarves
(sea-faring artificers). The island itself was
revealed to be populated by the indigenous
islanders called the Lessi, a primitive people
who practiced ancestor worship and feared the
dreaded volcano. The volcano itself, which was
dormant until recently, was called Shaligons
Woe in the native language. Despite the
forbidding name, the colonists liked it here and
settled down, not at all worried about any
threat to their persons.
Within a decade, the colonists had discovered
gold. The gold mine brought prosperity to the
colony, which became a bustling place of activity
and a primary source of gold for Espanea. In this
time, the city of Castagliare grew from a small
colony to a full-fledged city. Unfortunately, this
only lasted for about two decades when
something unusual happened. Most locals think
the mine simply dried up, but a handful knows
better: the miners dug too deep, and they broke
in to something, a vast open cavern of darkness,
containing an immense temple buried in lava.
Looming overhead in the cavernous dome was a
frightening statue of a thirteen armed woman,
armed to the teeth and surrounded in skulls. It
was a temple of Shaligon, buried since the era of
the Apocalypse! As the story goes, ancient
servants erupted forth, killing some of the
miners, while the rest fled, sealing the mine shut
behind them.
The city was a colonial holding of Espanea for
some time until a few decades ago during the
Revolt of the Sea Captains, when most of the
Sontaniardan city states declared their
independence. Castagliare became a haven
A Note About Shaligon: The key deity in this

adventure is a goddess of evil. Eviiiiillll! As such,
you can use her as-is, or substitute your own evil
goddess from your campaign of choice. Shaligon
is noteworthy in Chirak for creating the orcish
race, destroying many of the good gods in the
Apocalypse, and changing gender once every
113 years. She has 13 arms, and is driven to a
horrible fury that manifests via storms and
earthquakes
Essential Plot
The PC s are hired by Governor Constantos
Umbragio to seek out the old Lessi Shaman
named Juvithra, and use him as a guide to find
the old gold mine, of which the governor has no
knowledge. He sent out a contingent of
14

during the war for independent traders looking
to avoid threatened shipping lanes, and so for a
time it was quite prosperous. Eventually,
though, the war ended and the importance of
the city diminished. Today it is a second-run free
port, relying mainly on its export of rum, linens
and coconuts to keep things alive.
One of the local merchants, a man who has
lived most of his life on the island named
Lemarko, stumbled across the sealed entrance
to the mine. Overwhelmed with greed, Lemarko
found a handful of fellow conspirators, and they
requisitioned the dynamite necessary to blast
open the mine entrance. There, for a short
period, they began to mine gold, as they
discovered that contrary to popular belief, the
mine was not dry, but was loaded with gold
veins untapped!
Tragically, after a few weeks Lemarko and his
crew came to the end of the mine and
discovered the ancient temple of shaligon. Dark
spirits rushed out and possessed him and his
men, twisting them in to monsters. Shortly
thereafter, an orcish longship set shore on the
far side of the island, and the orcess pirate,
Captain Yarona Bloodstead set forth, drawn by
the sirens call of her dark goddess
The temple had awakened!
The plan of Shaligons minions is to bring the
temple back, to restore Shaligons glory by
excavating it. They plan to do so by offering 13
pure virgin sacrifices of children to the goddess
on the next new moon. When they do this, the
volcano will come to life and erupt, pushing the
temple back up to the surface, while flooding
the island in a cascade of fiery death.
Tentacles of the Deep

Level 1 Soldier
XP 100
(HP: 30 each; Bloodied 15; Init +0, Perception

+0, AC 16, Fort. 15, Ref. 13, Will 11
Basic Attack: Smash, melee reach 2, +4 vs. AC;
Hit: 1D10 dmg
Special Attack: Thrashing Attack, Immediate
Reaction on Bloodied; Close Burst 3; +4 vs. Ref;
Hit: 1D10+4 and all targets are knocked prone
and shift 3).
There should be 1 tentacle for each PC in the
group (more if you desire). When the last
tentacle has been destroyed, the image of the
demiurge KalieYana appears in the storm
clouds, but is quickly obliterated by a cloudy,
lighting-filled image of the dark goddess
Shaligon.
The PCs find the ship wracked by the storm
with no sails or rigging left. A quick investigation
reveals that the ship seems to be abandoned,
except for one or two other passengers, if the
DM needs to add in some extra NPCs to help the
party out. The missing crewman is an unsolved
mystery, which the DM is welcome to develop
at a later date. Suffice to say, the Seaspray is a
notorious vessel, a haunted ship manned by a
cursed captain, which regularly falls prey to
terrible events! The DM could have this ship
reappear in a future port, tipping the PCs off as
to its mysterious nature.
The ship will eventually drift or steer in to a
reef off the shore of Tynengaro, where the PCs
may end up experiencing a few overland
encounters (see below) before meeting up with
some friendly coastal fishermen or inland game
hunters who happily escort the PCs to the city of
Castagliare, and a meeting with the governor.
Arriving At Tinengaro
The PCs begin their journey on the sea, aboard
the Seaspray, a ship manned by the doomed
capatain Piramantis. In the middle of the night,
the Speaspray is battered by a ferocious storm,
and the vessel is cast about in the waves like a
toy in the maw of a great dog. Unexpectedly,
the ship is grappled by a subterranean Kraken of
the deep! Its initial attack snaps the mainmast,
sending the entire pole, rigging, and crows nest
(with watcher) screaming in to the deep. PCs
awaken in their cabins to this sound.
Assistance
The governor is delighted to meet the
adventurers. He will relay to them a truncated
version of the islands history, although he
knows only what the old Lessi shaman told him
about the gold mine being the source of the evil
which steals children and slaughters farmers
and fishermen on the island. Hes recruiting
mercenaries, and offers the PCs a generous sum
of money to put this debacle to rest.
The PCs are given some gear to help them out,
including muskets if they so desire, as well as
magical weapons that do +2D6 enchanted
15

damage. Wizards in the group will be offered a
Spell Gem: this lets them store one spell of up to
50 Wizardry in power inside the gem, to be
released by simply crushing the stone.
Constantos also offers them a guide, a hobbit
named Singo Furburner, who will lead them to
Juvithra.
There is a chance that the constable of
Castagliare, named Umaris, will approach the
PCs if given the chance. He asks them to look for
his son; a stalwart paladin named Carasos, who
led a party of forty men in to the bleak
wilderness around the volcano to stop the evil,
and never returned. He cant offer much, but
will promise 100 gold to the party if they bring
back Carasos or his signet ring if he is found
dead.
Singo Furburner
Singo is a native islander to Sontaniardes
whos seen his fair share of close calls and neardeath experiences. Hes unfazed by the erupting
islands impending doom, and will be useful in a
pinch for a good scrap.
Singo Furburner
Halfling male rogue, level 2; unaligned
ST 14 (+3), DX 18 (+5), CN 11 (+1), IN 12 (+2),
WIS 10 (+1), CH 15 (+3)
HP 27; Bloodied 13; FT 13, RF 19, WL 13 AC 17
(leather); Skills: Thievery +10, Stealth +10
Attacks:
Basic Attack with dagger+2(the Quixotic Sax):
(at will; +9 [Dex] vs. Ref; 1D4+6 dmg);
Exploits include: Piercing Strike, Kings Castle,
Easy Target, Fleeting Ghost
Armed with The Quixotic Sax (Dagger +2,
Hallucinatory). This long dagger grants +2 to
attack and damage, +1D6 per plus to critical,
and has a special attack:
Quixotic Hallucination (Encounter; Standard;
Arcana, Psychic; One Target; Dex vs. AC; Hit:
1[W]+Dex damage and will cause a target to
begin hallucinating if struck; the victim will think
ordinary objects and people around him are
turning in to ferocious dragons! Target is pushed
3 squares and stunned. (save ends).
Overland Travel and Wandering

Encounters
Traveling across Tynengaro can be very
dangerous, especially with the island over run
by monster minions of Shaligon, volcanic
ruptures, and spooked wildlife. The island itself
is only 30 miles across. For each mile, roll 2D6.
On a 2 or 12 something happens, and you can
roll or pick from the following encounters:
2D6
Encounter
2
3
4
5
6
gang of kobolds (2D6 various)

marauding orc warband (2D6 drudges, 1D6 raiders)
giant snake (1D3)
Fire beetles (2D6)
stampede of wild animals spooked by volcanic rumblings (+8 vs. Reflex against each PC or take
1D6+4 damage)
Lessi villagers fleeing from burning village
spewing lava (DC 20 Acrobatics test to cross, or Athletics DC 20 to jump; 2D10 dmg)
cannibals (2D6 human rabble)
angry dragon (Black Dragon, level 4 solo; can be negotiated with)
minions of shaligon (1D6 skeletons)
massive volcanic eruptions! (+7 vs. Reflex or 1D10 damage and knocked prone)
7
8
9
10
11
12
however, they will find it being sacked and

pillaged by orcs!
Encounter: 10 orc drudges (XP 440) and 2 orc
raiders (XP 300)
The old shaman is named Merada, and he is
barricaded in a hut, but all of the Lessi warriors
have fallen in battle as the PCs arrive. The orcs
Traveling to the Lessi Village of Imbriar

After the PCs equip themselves appropriately
and depart, they march their way off to the Lessi
village. The village is called Imbriar, and the PCs
will have a relatively uneventful time getting
there, barring any wandering encounters or
events (see below). On arriving at the village,
16

will have at least 2 drudges and one raider trying
to bash their way in to the hut while the rest run
interference. It will take them 2 rounds to bash
through, after which it will take 2 rounds to slay
the old man. If the PCs can get there in time and
stop the assassination, the old shaman will serve
as a guide to finding the old mine. If the PCs fail,
then the villagers will return, and the young
apprentice to the shaman, a boy named Ermas,
will lead them there instead.
If the shaman yet lives, he will also explain to
the PCs how delighted he is that they came, as
promised in the vision he received from
KalieYana. If pressed he will explain that in his
vision, KalieYakan sent a guardian of the deep
(the tentacle) to find worthy heroes to stop the
evil of Shaligon and her temple, and the PCs
passed the test
(Quest Award: 100 XP per PC for saving the
shaman from death)
2. The Bottomless Pit

(DC 22 Dungeoneering check to
circumvent)
Somewhere deep in the mine is a descending
shaft that plunges straight down, where once a
vein of gold was followed. The pit requires a DC
15 Perception check (passive Perception will
count) to spot in the darkness; the lip of the pit
is higher on one side, making it harder to spot;
looks like a decline, on casual glance. Attack: +7
vs. Reflex; falling damage 3D10 30 ft, XP 125
3. The Secret Passage of Fire

(DC 22 Dungeoneering or Nature to
circumvent)
Towards the end of the mine complex is a
length of tunnel riddled with dog-sized holes in
the walls and ceiling. Once the PCs have fully
entered the complex (assuming they do nothing
about the holes), the bugs will attack. From
these holes pour fire beetles! The first action of
the fire beetles will be to belch their burning
bug napalm. After that they will attack from
their holes, which provide concealment -2
defense bonus.
Encounter: 6 Fire Beetles (XP 600)
The Old Mine

Finding their way through the mine will
require a DC 20 Dungeoneering check; each
successful check leads them to one of the
following encounters, in order, until they get to
the temple. Altermatively, you can construct a
basic map. If you use map tiles or somesuch, be
creative; the key idea is that each encounter be
completed before the PCs reach the final battle
in The Shrine:
4. Miners Last Stand

(cant be avoided)
Here the old miners fell when they unleashed
Shaligons minions by accident. Lurking among
the bones (which includes the bones of a large
and hideous demonic creature) are the
following undead:
Encounter: 1 Boneshard Skeleton (200 XP), 10
decepit skeletons (250 XP), 1 Phantom Warrior
named Carasos (175 XP). An attempt to
communicate with the phantom warrior that
the PCs are here to stop the menace will lead to
his turning to help them; if the temple is
destroyed, he can rest at last. The other undead
are not under his command, however.
Carasos will not attack the PCs, and the
undead around him will not attack unless
provoked. The decrepit skeletons all carry sticks
of dynamite. If battle break out, they will run at
the PCs, striking a flint lighter on the walls as
they do and lighting their dynamite as a minor
action. At the start of their next round, the
dynamite explodes.
1. Entrance
(cant be avoided)
The mine entrance is guarded by a particularly
fearsome foe: 1 deathlock wight (175 XP) and 6
skeletons (700 xp). The wight is an undead risen
minion of Shaligon named Veritos. He has a
Scimitar +1 on his person, and wears the
vestments and unholy symbol of Shaligon.
Veritos and his crew rise from the ground after
the PCs have entered the mine, cutting them off
from outside. Any cleric in the group attempting
to turn them will find that they receive a +5
Defense bonus due to the malign presence of
Shaligon in this region.
17

Dynamite (Close burst 10; +7 vs. Ref; Hit: 3D10
damage, Miss: half damage; Skeleton is
destroyed.)
If the PCs attempt to negotiate or speak with
the undead instead of attacking, Carasos will
point to a seemingly bare wall, where they
digging stopped. If the PCs remain passive and
wait, he will go to the wall and reveal the secret
door to the Shrine of Shaligon, and enter,
beckoning them to follow.
The other skeletons will linger behind,
allowing the PCs to pass. Later, should the PCs
see the need for it (see below) a PC who returns
and asks for dynamite will find the skeletons
freely hand it over, to aid in destroying the
pillars of the temple.
(Quest Award: 100 XP per PC for befriending
Carasos)
mutated guardians will try to buy her time for

by pressing the attack). The statue is immense,
and unstoppable. PCs who make a DC 15 Insight
check realize that if they can avoid its attacks
and trick it in to striking the main support pillars,
the chamber will collapse. One of the pillars is
already out, there are three more to go. If they
actually try to fight it, use the Stone Golem (XP
3200) but a DC 10 insight check will tell them
they dont stand a chance!
There are three ways to destroy the pillars: hit
them (doing 25 hit points of damage), apply
some dynamite from the skeletons in area 4
(works like a charm, but big explosion), or trick
the statue in to hitting it instead:
To trick the statue, the PCs must make a DC 18
Acrobatics test to get in front of an altar, then a
taunt attack (DC 15 Intimidation) to draw its
attention. Each round they do this, the statue is
attacking with its fists. When it tries to hit the
intimidator, he may make a DC 20 Acrobatics or
Athletics check to get out of the way and sprint
to safety as it smashes one of the two pillars.
When two pillars are down, the roof begins
collapsing, and everyone still in the chamber is
subject to a +8 vs. Ref attack (2D10 falling
rubble damage) until they escape; to escape, roll
each round for a DC 15 Endurance and DC 15
Athletics/Acrobatics. Each failure is another
attack from the roof; whe/if one is made, they
escape! (Quest ward: 200 XP per PC for
destroying the statue)
5. The Shrine of Shaligon

Either through careful searching or with the
help of Carasos the ghost the PCs uncover the
hole opening in to the subterranean shrine.
Here is the massive statue and shrine to
Shaligon, and a small temple complex halfburied in lava. There are several sub-areas
here,and the following foes in each location:
The Prison Chamber: Here the 13 children and
shaman are being held. 1 Orc Raider guards
them (XP 150). The prison chamber is situated
beneath the raised altar, and the access is
behind the altar podium, which is also behind
the statue (below). (Quest Award: 50 XP per
child saved.)
The Shrine Proper: Here is the shrine itself. The
mutated Lemarko and one of his men are here,
turned in to abominable beasts (use Evistro
carnage demon stats). Leading them is an orcish
priest of Shaligon, named Kisetra (use the eye of
Gruumsh stats, XP 200). If you think your PCs
can handle it, there will be twelve evil or
ccultists in here as well (orc drudges, 440 xp
total).
The Great Statue: At the top of the shrine
behind the sacrificial altar is the giant statue of
Shaligon. This statue will come to life if the PCs
free the children or if Kisetra has two full
uninterrupted rounds to chant (which the
Conclusion: Treasure of the Shrine

The altar has 6 100 gp gems imbedded on it.
There is a large gemstone in the forehead of the
statue, although getting it may prove very
difficult. The orcs are all wearing ceremonial
robes adorned with gold and semi-precious
stones; each robe yields 50 GP of loot. Finally,
Kiestra wields a Wand of Eldritch Pain +2, and
has an Amulet of Protection +1. Unfortunately,
this treasure is most likely buried when the
temple roof collapses! If the PCs befriended
Carasos, he will lay before them his sword (Long
sword +2), Shield of Protection, Horned Helm,
and sigil ring, then fade away.
18

1. and 2. Entrance and Bottomless Pit Region
3. The Secret Passage of Fire
19
4. Miners Last Stand
5. The Temple of Shaligon
20
Gloreindls Grimoire
New Spells for Dungeons & Dragons 4E
By John Diffley
(The following are some new spells John worked up, and which have been play tested
in our recent D&D games. This column will hopefully be a regular event in which people
can contribute new and interesting spells to the repertoire of wizards, warlocks, clerics
and other hapless arcane and divine casters everywhere--Tori)
Gloreindls Frost Weapon

Wizard Utility 2
Scribing an Arcane Sigil in the air you
imbue a weapon, either your own or an
allys, with intense cold drawn from the
Frostfell, allowing the weapon to cause
more damage.
Gloreindls Arctic Blast

Wizard Attack 1
Gesturing towards your opponent(s) you
summon up a blast of freezing arctic air.
Riding on the currents of chilling
elementals, the snap freeze surrounds
your enemies.
Utility, Arcane, Cold

Standard Action - Close burst 5
Sustain Minor
Target: You or one ally within burst. Increase to
2 targets at level 11 and 3 targets at level 21.
Encounter Cold, Arcane, Implement

Standard Action - Ranged 10, Burst 1 - Target:
All enemies in burst area
Effect: The weapon affected by this

power glows with a white-blue arcane
light and radiated intense cold. The
weapon deals the casters Int modifier
in Cold damage until the end of your
next turn, in addition to any normal
damage it deals.
Hit: 2d6 + Intelligence Modifier cold damage,
Attack: Intelligence vs. Fortitude
plus the target(s) grant combat advantage to all

enemies until the end of your next turn as they
are buffeted by the wind. In addition, the windy
blast will do what a normal blast of air will do,
blowing out opponent(s) candles, torches, and
lanterns (if not protected), as well as scatter
papers and debris.
21
A Horrible Menagerie
A Selection of Strange and Horrific characters for use with 4th edition GURPS Horror
By Tori Bergquist
The following characters were originally
conceived in a rather bizarre GURPS Horror
campaign I ran a few years ago, and I have never
really gotten over just how much fun these
characters were. So here I present you with a
menagerie that will hopefully find a home in
your own strange games
Some known quirks of different personalities:

(Note: all personalities dislike identifying
themselves; they let Jane be their dominant
personality)
Main Jane: Always speaks in Rhyme, skittish,
collects flowers, likes Sleepwell, Fear of puppies
Tabitha: Loves cooking, very loud, allergic to
berries, curses a lot, doesnt laugh
Marishka: Does not speak, hides when possible,
sings lullabies, loves cats, hates dogs
Helga: only speaks in German, very rude,
suspicious, does not like Sleepwell and Volum,
dour.
Little Sally: fearful, loves furry animals, always
looking for mommy, hates porridge, easily
spooked
Others include: Gretta, Opa, Gladys, Carter,
Elisabeth, and three others that remain hidden
(they do not aknowledge who they are when
they surface).
Patchwork Jane
Human female (composite-Reanimate); 191 pts
ST10
HP
13
DX12
FP
14
HT14
Spd
6.5
IQ12
Move 6
Will12
Th: 1D-2 Sw: 1D
Per12
Appearance: Normal, but Unnatural Features -3
Wealth: Dead Broke
Languages: English (accented); Yiddish (native);
German (native)
Advantages: Hard to Kill +4; High Pain
Threshold; Spirit Empathy; Unusual Background
(10); Regeneration (slow; 1 HP/10 hrs);
Unageing
Disadvantages: Gullibility; Manic-Depressive;
Shyness (mild -1); Multiple Personalities (13
distinct; each has 5 quirks); Supernatural
Frankensteinian Features (-10)
Patchwork Jane was the sad experiment of

Joseph Mengela and his team, including the late
Dr. Arthur von Werner, who successfully
replicated the experiments of the (not actually
fictional) Dr. Frankenstein to reanimate Jane out
of the composite body parts of thirteen
murdered Jewish women. She retained
engrammatic memories and thirteen distinct
personalities. Her nature as a reanimated being
has left her ageless and more resilient, but her
ego and mind is very fragile.
Skills:
Administration 12, Brawling 12, Captivate 12,
Cooking 12, Dancing 12, Detect Lies 13, Disguise
13 (-3 features), Dreaming 13, Erotic Art 13,
Exorcism 11, Farming 12, Fast-Talk 11, Filch 13,
Finance 12,First Aid 12, Fortune Telling 11,
Gardening 14, History 12, Knife 12, Literature
12, Mathematics 12, Naturalist 12, Occultism 12,
Persuasion 11, Poetry 14, Search 12, Sex Appeal
14, Shadowing 12, Singing 14, Stealth 12,
Swimming 14, Throwing 12, Typing 12,
Veterinary 12, Weather Sense 12
Patchwork Jane is an otherwise attractive

woman, but thin white scar lines criss cross her
body where the various parts of different
women were pieced together. They are now
largely seamless, but she is alos peculiarily
assymetrical, due to the odd matching of her
gestalt components.
22
Julie Cogliostro
Cyrus Quartermain
Human female Age 26; 173 pts

ST10
HP
10
DX12
FP
10
HT10
Spd
5.5
IQ12
Move 5
Will12
Th: 1d-2 Sw: 1d
Per12
Dodge: 8
Appearance: Normal
Wealth: Average
Languages: English (native); Latin (accented);
Aramaic (broken); Greek (broken); French
(accented)
Advantages: Magery +2; Rapier Wit
Disadvantages: Absent-Minded; Squeamish;
Secret (witch)
Human male age 34; 174 pts

ST13
HP
13
DX11
FP
10
HT10
Spd
5.25
IQ11
Move 5
Will11
Th: 1d Sw: 2d-1
Per11
Dodge: 10
Appearance: Ruggedly Attractive (+1 mod)
Wealth: Wealthy
Languages: English (native); Spanish (accented);
Arabic (broken); Mandarin (broken); Japanese
(accented)
Advantages: Daredevil; Combat Reflexes
Disadvantages: Curious; Honesty;
Impulsiveness; Weirdness Magnet
Quirks: Smokes cigars; brags a lot; dislikes cats;
always dusty (fresh off the trail look); sweaty
Spells:
Detect Magic 13, Seek Machine 12, Reveal
Function 12, Find Direction 12, Aura 13, Mage
Sense 12, Sense Foes 12, Sense Danger 12,
Seek Magic 12, Seek Water 12, Seeker 13, Trace
13, History 13, Ancient History 13, Prehistory 13,
See Secrets 13, Light 12, Night Vision 12, Ignite
Fire 12, Sense Emotion 13, Lend Energy 12, Lend
Vitality 12, Share Vitality 12, Minor Healing 13
Skills:
Archaeology 11, Brawling 12, Computer Ops 12,
Cryptography 11, Detect Lies 11, Diplomacy 11,
Disguise 11, Driving 11, Fast Talk 12, Public
peaking 12, Fortune Telling 12, History 12, Knife
12, Literature 12, Observation 11, Occultism 13,
Persuade 10, Philosophy 10, Sociology 11,
Research 12
Skills:
Animal Handling 11, Archaeology 11,
Anthropology 11, Architecture 11, Area
Knowledge (China) 11, AK(Middle East) 11,
AK(Europe) 11, AK (S. America) 11, Axe/Mace
11, Brawling 12, Carousing 10, Camouflage 11,
Climbing 11, Computer Ops 11, Current Affairs
11, Detect Lies 10, Diplomacy 10, Disguise 10,
Driving 11, Electrician 11, Electronics Ops 10,
Escape 10, Fast Draw (pistol) 11, Fast Talk 11,
First Aid 11, History 11, Knife 12, Pistols 13,
Rifles 11, SMGs 11, Shotguns 11, Interrogation
11, Hidden Lore (conspiracies) 11, Linguistics 10,
Observation 11, Mechanic 11, Occultism 11,
Persuasion 9, Research 10, Search 10,
Shadowing 10, Stealth 11, Swimming 10,
Throwing 10, Thrown Weapon 11, Short sword
10, Wilderness Survival 11, Urban Survival 11,
Desert Survival 11
Julies spells are innate; she needs no resource

to perform her magic, but she does need
research and meditation to uncover new
aspects of her abilities, as well as an occasional
refresher with the spell books.
Cyrus is a weirdness Magnet, and he doesnt

know why. His lineage is allegedly related to the
legendary Allan Quartermain, not the fictional
one written by Haggard, but the real man from
whom Haggard supposedly derived his tales.
Cyrus likes the latter notion, that he comes from
good daredevil stock. He lives a rough life, was
in the army for five years, has worked for the
last two years as a bodyguard in Iraq, and has a
fascination for the hidden and occult that stems
from his readings in his great-great
grandfathers extensive library of the esoteric
and weird.
Julie Cogliostro is descended from the

venerable Coglisotro family, including her
ancestor the Count himself. She has inherited
the powers of witchcraft, which she struggles to
master.
Julie is often sought out by other illuminated
and supernatural beings due to her abilities and
her heritage. She was studying Sociology at
UCSB when her abilities manifested.
23

Richard Black was a noted anthropologist who
made a career of studying the indigenous tribes
of the African Dahomey culture, most of which
were struggling to persevere in the wake of war,
disease and social decay. During his time among
the Dahomey, he was nearly killed during a
battle between republican forces of Benin and
separatist guerillas hiding in the village. As he
lay dying, a water serpent slithered up and bit
him with a venomous strike that should have
killed him, but instead he was changed,
irrevocably. Richard was nursed back to health
by an elder shaman, but in the process had a
profound vision, in which he was given the sight
and ability to see the mysterious rainbow worldserpents of ancient folklore. The spirit Aida
Hwedo spoke to him, and showed him the
etheric ley lines of the spiritual world, giving
Black a new, unique insight in to the real
supernatural underpinngs of society. Richard
further discovered he could shape change in to
the form of any living serpent. Aida Hwedo
explained that he was chosen by the World
Serpents to protect their creation from those
entities from beyond time and space, which
sought to invade and destroy it. Richard willingly
accepted the duty.
To this day, he bears his shapeshifting abilities,
sacred knowledge, and the ability to
communicate with spirit serpents such as Aida
Hwedo, Ayida, Da, and Oshumare.
Richard Black
Human male age 38
200 pts
ST10
HP
10
DX12
FP
12
HT12
Spd
6
IQ12
Move 6
Will12
Th: 1d-2 Sw: 1d
Per13
Appearance: Normal
Wealth: Average
Languages: English (native); Berba (accented);
French (accented); Ewe (broken)
Advantages: Channeling; Medium (limit: serpent
spirits); Magery 0; Shapeshift (serpent); Speak
with Snakes
Disadvantages: Magic Susceptibility 6; Sense of
Duty (Aida Hwedo and co.); Vulnerability (silver
X4)
Skills:
Administration 11, Anthropology 14,
Archaeology 12, Architecture 11, A.K. (Africa)
13, Axe/Mace 11, Biology 12, Blowpipe 10, Bolas
11, Brawling 15, Camoflage 12,
Chemistry
11, Computer Ops 13, Detect Lies 12, Diplomacy
11, Fishing 13, Dreaming 12, Esoteric Medicine
13,Exorcism 11, Farming 12, Fast-Talk 11,
Finance 10, First Aid 12, Geography 10, Geology
10, History 12, Knife 12, Leatherworking 12,
Linguistics 10, Literature 10, Mathematics 10,
Naturalist 10, Occultism 12, Observation 13,
Persuasion 11, Search 13, Poisons 10, Rl.Ritual
(African) 12, Shadowing 11, Stealth 12, Jungle
Survival 13, Desert Survival 13, Swimming 10,
Throwing 11, Tracking 13, Typing 12, Veterinary
10, Weather Sense 11, Pistol 12, Rifle 12, SMG
12, Shotguns 12
Notes: Richard can shapeshift in to any
serpent form, of any size that is possible
(anaconda to garden snake). He retains his IQ,
but takes on all other aspects of the form. His
clothes do not change with him. He can also
speak with snakes, communicate with the spirit
serpents, and can allow any spirits to channel
through him. He has an intuitive sense of magic,
but has not learned any actual spells. He is
highly susceptible to magical effects, due to the
venom of the Rainbow Serpent coursing through
his veins. He is also lycanthropic, and silver
injures him like any other therianthrope.
24

scientific threats of the Nazis and their Axis
allies, especially the Ubermensch, the Werewolf
Martin Himmler and the vampire Johan Arno.
Morrow was the only soldier to undergo a
transformation who survived and mutated,
becoming something much greater than his
former self.
After the war, Morrow was declassified and
allowed to adopt a new private life, but the
government insisted he remain a secret to the
public. He chose an alternative identify as the
Tomorrow Man for a time, working with the
Futurians Society for a time until the narrowly
averted disaster of 1969 that left Claire Brown
(the founder) and Arthur Zims (the Calculator)
dead or missing in the wake of the Sirian
invasion. Morrow still suffers unnerving
memories of that time.
Decades later, Morrow has lived a long and
fruitful life and still has much of his old
metahuman vigor, though he developed farsightedness and is not nearly as fast or strong as
he once was. Nonetheless, he continues to
thrive out of sight and moving along in his
private identity as a retired businessman who
now takes up hunting and fishing as his favorite
sports.
Johnathan Morrow:
Super Soldier
Human Male (Metahuman) Age 81; 510 pts
ST25
HP
25
DX14
FP
10
HT10
Spd
6
IQ10
Move 6
Will13
Th: 2D+2 Sw: 5D-1
Per10
Dodge-9
Appearance: Handsome (+4/+2)
Wealth: Filthy Rich
Languages: English (native); German (broken);
Italian (accented); French (accented)
Advantages: Acute Hearing +4; Combat
Reflexes; Contact (govt-12); Damage Resistance
DR 4; Hard to Subdue +5; Infravision
(controlled); Protected Sight and Hearing;
Regeneration (1/hour); Super Jump 6; Unusual
Background (WWII Metahuman project); Honest
Face; Penetrating Voice
Disadvantages: Bad Sight (farsighted);
Charitable; Soldiers Code of Honor; Flashbacks
(severe -5); Secret Identity (The Super Soldier);
Sense of Duty (America); Stubborness; Unusual
Biochemistry
Skills:
Boxing 14, Brawling 14, Breath Control 10,
Camoflage 10, Carpentry 13, Climbing 14,
Computer Ops 10, Detect Lies 10, Driving 14,
Escape 14, Fast Talk 10, First Aid 10, Fishing 10,
Flying Leap 10, Forensics 10, Free Fall 14,
Gambling 10, Geography 9, Pistols 14, Rifles 14,
SMGs 14, Shotguns 14, Immovable Stance 14,
Interrogation 10, Knife 14,Leadership 10,
Lockpicking 14, Mechanic 10, Navigation 10,
Parry Missile Weapon 12,Occultism 10,
Persuasion 13, Search 12, Piloting 14, Power
Blow 13, Propaganda 10, Seamanship 10,
Shadowing 10, Sleight of Hand 12, Stealth 14,
Streetwise 10, Submarine 10, Wilderness
Survival 10, Desert Survival 10, Tactics 10,
Throwing 14, Thrown Weapons 14, Tracking 10,
Typing 14, Wrestling 14,
Johnathan Morrow, more commonly known
by his World War II alias as the Super Soldier,
and later in the 1950s as the Tomorrow Man, is
the end product of an early effort by the Allies
to create an enhanced superhuman, capable of
dealing with the imminent occult and super-
25

another. She is able to possess the bodies of the
willing, brain dead, recently deceased, or
hopelessly depressed and subsume their own
spirit in to her own. Indeed, she takes on the
body and the old spirit is excised. Bloody Mary
believes she is a demon, but is uncertain of
which religion. She sees a truly horrific visage
reflected upon her in mirrors (so she avoids
them, or keeps covered if necessary) and bleeds
freely from stigmata across her body under
direct moonlight. She hears voices, from
countless horrific beings, instructing her to
engaging various terrible (and often
contradictory) acts.
Bloody Mary
Human Female (Demonic Aspect); 198 pts
ST14
HP
14
DX11
FP
10
HT10
Spd
5.25
IQ11
Move 5
Will12
Th: 1D+2 Sw: 3D
Per13
Dodge-8
Appearance: Beautiful (+4/+2)
Wealth: Average
Languages: English (accented); French
(accented); Latin (native); Aramaic (native);
Greek (native)
Advantages: Acute Hearing +4; Acute Vision +4;
Channeling; Charisma +2; Claws (retractable);
Dark Vision; Extra Life (+2; requires body); High
Pain Threshold; Psychometry; Unusual
Background (demonic spirit)
Disadvantages: Callous; Frightens Animals;
Obsession (uncovering her true nature);
Phantom Voices (diabolical); Sadism;
Supernatural Features (Stigmatic bleeding under
moonlight-10; mirrors reflect true demonic
spirit appearance-10); Vulnerability (holy water,
X4); Vulnerability (cold iron, X4); Spotty memory
of the past (it all blends together, remembers
nothing before 480 b.c. -5); Does not know her
true origin/nature (-10); Quirk: Hides and
records diaries everywhere; Sometimes dislikes
inflicting pain and suffering.
Bloody Marys fondest wish is to discover her

true nature and purpose. She is thwarted by the
fact that she retains only limited memories of
her immense past with each body swap, as if
some of her recollections disappear forever
when she transfers from one body to another.
She has taken it upon herself to record her acts
and deeds in great detail, to provide records and
clues for her to aid in jogging her memory. She
has also found that pain, cruelty, and the
infliction of such are never forgotten; she
remembers every cruel act with utter accuracy,
and so she uses this sometimes to cement her
memories. On occasion she rebels against what
seems to be her nature, but only for a time.
Spells:
Death Vision 13, Detect Magic 12, Sense Spirit
13, Summon Spirit 12, Itch 12, Spasm 12, Pain
13, Clumsiness 12, Hinder 12, Rooted Limb 13,
Paralyze Limb 12, Whither Limb 12, Deathtouch
12
Skills:
Brawling 11, Captivate 12, Dancing 11, Detect
Lies 13, Disguise 11, Dreaming 10, Erotic Art 11,
Escape 9, Intimidate 12, Fast-Talk 11, History 11,
Occultism 12, Persuasion 10, Search 12, Sex
Appeal 10, Shadowing 11, Sleight of Hand 10,
Stealth 11, Streetwise 12, Thaumatology 10,
Theology 10, Driving 10, Archaeology 11
Bloody Mary adopts many pseudonyms. Mary
Anne Krutchner is her current favorite. The
entity which is Bloody Mary is, in fact, a
demonic spirit of some sort, a disembodied
being who has lived for thousands of years,
body hopping from one available form to
26
Corina Staller: Mormo

Humanoid female (supernatural being)
179 pts
ST18
HP
18
DX12
FP
10
HT10
Spd
6.5
IQ10
Move 6
Will10
Th: 1d+2 Sw: 3d
Per11
Dodge/Parry: 10
Appearance: Monstrous (-5 reaction)
Wealth: Dead Broke
Languages: Italian (native); English (accented);
German (broken)
Advantages: Acute Taste/Smell +2; Acute
Hearing +2; Acute Vision +2; Catfall;
Claws (long Talons +1 dmg im/pi); Combat
Reflexes; Damage Resistance DR 2; Fur; Night
Vision 5; Parabolic Hearing 4; Regeneration
(1/hr); Sharp Teeth (1d+1 cutting dmg);
Terrifying Visage -2 (always on); Unkillable 1
(Hindrance: Silver); Unusual Background (curse
of Mormo)
Disadvantages: Bloodlust; Disturbing Voice;
Dread (Wolfsbane); Lunacy; Obsession (finding
her children -10); Restricted Diet (fresh meat);
Vulnerability (SilverX4); Enemy (Dr. Gregori
Khronen)
Corina Staller was a young woman in the

streets of Rome, Italy who was forced to run
away from home after an unexpected
pregnancy. She went to a back alley doctor to
give birth, as she desperately wanted to have
children, and discovered that she had triplets.
Her children became her life, and Doctor
Gregori Khronen, who helped her let Corina
work off her debt as a live-in servant at his
home. One day, however, the doctor beat her
senseless for no understood reason and took
the three children away, selling them to the
white slave trade. Corina snapped, and
transformed in to the horrific beast she has
been ever since. Unknown to her, Corina had a
unique trait in her genes, described by
metahuman researchers as the Mormo Gene,
after the Roman werewolf figure.
Skills:
Acrobatics 12, Brawling 14 (+1d th), Camouflage
11, Climbing 12, Computer Ops 10, Disguise 11,
Escape 12, Filch 12, Intimidation 10, Observation
11, Wilderness Survival 11, Urban Survival 11
Notes: Corina is a hideous thing; she still has the

body of a young attractive woman, but the
image of the beast has been laid upon it. Her
claws extend nearly a foot and a half, retracting
from sheaves along her forearm. She is covered
in bristly hair, and has a jaw that quickly
dislocates to open up, wolf-like and full of teeth.
Her eyes are blood red and she finds it easier to
drop down on all fours than to stand upright at
times. Like all therianthropes, she is subject to
the effects of silver, and wolfsbane also repels
her.
Corina now tries to move as she can in society,

seeking out clues to her childrens whereabouts.
She desperately wants to slay all who took her
children, especially Doctor Khronen, who
escaped with his life (barely). She learned about
the Mormo gene from Khronen, and that he
realized her children had it, which is why he sold
them, but said it was a middle-man he dealt
with, and he has no idea what group actually
purchased them. He would have sold Corina,
too, had he not coveted her so much, and he
also seeks to return her to his control.
27
The Kindred of Lingusia

New Kindred types for Tunnels & Trolls 7.5
By Tori Bergquist
So, youve had your fun playing hobbs, fairies,

leprechauns, dwarves and elves. Humans no
longer give you a good time, and youre starting
to crave some moreah.unusual races for your
gaming. Well, the following races (which will
include data for use as monsters, as well) will
help spice up your interest in the weird!
or IQ save to determine what direction they are

going when under the earth.
Gnomes
Gnomes have twilight vision (they can see
normally under starlight) and an unerring sense
of direction when in forestland. Deep gnomes
(svirfneblin) instead have an unerring sense of
direction in the deeps of the earth, and an
uncanny ability to smell metal veins. Svirfneblin
have dark vision like goblins, in which total
darkness is like twilight to them.
Existing Kindred and Special Abilities

The classic races are left fairly open to
interpretation in the 7.5 rules, but the following
modifiers and information apply to all kindred as
I use them in my T&T Warlords of Lingusia
campaign (the newly christened edition of
Lingusia in celebration of T&T 7.5, for the
record). You can use these ideas to add a little
extra oomph to your own standard kindred
types in T&T, as well:
Hobbs
Hobbs have no special talents other than a
penchant for gluttony and an amazing ability to
sustain themselves due to fat reserves when in
starvation situations. A hobb can go twice as
long as a human without food.
Humans
Although humans are special insofar as they
gain no perks but also suffer no detriments, the
truth is that this can be quite boring. As such, I
propose the following optional rule: humans
gain one bonus talent at first level. This at least
gives them a slight edge against those
enormously high IQ elves, high Strength
dwarves and high Luck hobbs.
Fairies
Faeries can obviously fly, which is a great
asset. They are also highly resistant to illusory
magic, and should be allowed a saving throw to
detect illusions (rolled secretly by the GM) even
if they dont suspect the illusion to be real!
Faeries are also especially good at sensing the
glamour of the fae realm, regions of the natural
world which bridge the Weirding World.
Elves
All elves have infravision. This allows them to
see warm bodies in the dark, and to pick up the
heat emissions of plants and animals more
easily at night. Elves are also very in tune with
nature, and can sense when they are in a fae
touched region of nature by making a level 1 SR
vs. Wiz. Dark elves are treated in detail in the
Trolls Companion, but have the natural power
of creating shadows for 1 Wiz that will cover a
15 foot area around the spot the elf casts it at.
Leprechauns
Leprechauns have one unique trait called deep
pockets: so long as the leprechaun is wearing
clothing with pouches, he can place 10 times as
much gold in his pouches as they should
th
normally be able to carry, and it only was 1/10
of the normal weight! If the leprechaun takes
his coat off, the gold will return to normal size
and begin spilling out of the pockets.
Dwarves
Dwarves have infravision as well, and it is
effective enough that it works well even in deep
tunnels. Dwarves should always be allowed a Lk
28

All naga have infravision and can swim at
normal speeds underwater. They must breath
eventually, but can dive for a number of hours
equal to their strength score.
Rare Kindreds:
Minotaurs
These beasts absolutely can not get lost in the
underworld, be it in a twisting cavern or a clever
maze. They always know what direction they are
going, and can immediately sense when their
environment shifts or changes. For example, an
illusion cleverly meant to make them think the
subterranean temple is south, not north, will
just seem wrong to a minotaur, who can sense
true north, despite what his eyes tell him.
Minotaurs also have infravision.
Ogres
Ogres of Lingusia are big brutes, prone to
moments of kidness punctuated by bouts of
intense rage. They are moody and poetic, yet
bloody and lighthearted during combat. When
playing an ogre, the player should decide on the
mood of the moment, rolling 2D6 and consulting
this chart (or just deciding on a mood) when the
ogre wakes up, goes in to battle, meets new
people, or, well, eats lunch:
Naga
2D6
2-3
4-5
6-8
9-10
11-12
Ogre Mood Table

Bursts in to a furious rage, ranting and raving or even attacking
Waxes poetic, and begins working on a new sonnet
Acts suspiciously normal and level headed
Become sullen and moody, depressed and despondent
Randomly wacks one target nearby and goes on an uncontrolled rampage!
Trolls
Trolls regain their level in Con points each turn
if they are not interrupted from resting. During
combat the troll regains 1 Con per round of
battle. Note that when rolling up a troll, all of
the various types of trolls listed in the 7.5 rules
are variants of the Thargonid species. The clever
Mihidir are a distinctly separate species. The
Trolls Companion discusses these trolls in more
detail.
Amazons
The amazons of the Vyrindian Islands are a
fierce breed of warrior women who fight the
good fight in the name of their bloody god of
war, Vishannu. Physically, amazons appear to be
like normal human women, but at the peak of
physical perfection.
Kindred Traits
Average Weight: as humans (x1)
Average Height: as humans (x1)
Ability Scores: x1.5 Str, x1.5 Con
Vision: normal
Native Language: Vyrindian
Suggested Talents: swordsmanship, martial arts,
unarmed combat, trap making, battle tactics
New and Rare Kindred

The following kindred are introduced for use in
your T&T games as you see fit, although some
(the Amazons and Sherigras) originate in
Lingusia, but could easily work in other T&T
universes. A few of these (Patchworks, Ghuls,
and Batrachians) are revised and taken from the
forthcoming Secrets of Necromancy for 4E.
Amazon women have no special racial abilities,

as they are essentially all human, but they are
granted immortality by their deity Vishannu.
Amazon women are always destined to die in
battle, never due to the ignominity of old age.
Fierce Fighters: Due to the incredible skill of
training amazons gain from a very early age,
they do 2 spite damage for every 6 they roll in
their combat point totals.
29

True Warriors: Although there is a special caste
of priesthood dedicated to Vishannu and his
temple, virtually all amazon women are either
warriors or paragons. A few can be found in the
role of rangers, rogues, and leaders.
Monster Rating: Young amazons are still fierce,
usually MR 40-60. Elder amazons are MR 100 or
better, and champions of Vishannu can be truly
formidable opponents with an MR of 200 or
better. Amazons do 2 points of damage for
every spite die rolled.
Amazon Lore
The Vyrindians are human women who have
been called upon by the dark god of war
Vishannu to serve him as valkyries, foot soldiers
in the mortal world serving his enigmatic ends.
Over the centuries, Vishannu has changed from
a faily mysterious god of battle and cunning who
is called upon for good luck and blessings by the
generals of a conflict in to an almost
Machiavellian entity, a deity who uses his
followers in the mortal world to manipulate the
nations of Lingusia in to war wherever possible.
The amazons strive to achieve Vishannus
goals while pursuing their own agendas as well.
Amazon women spend years in an initiation
ritual requiring that they travel the lands gaining
experience as soldiers and mercenaries, learning
of new combat arts and tactics, and finding
especially powerful or unique weapons to
eventually bring back to the sacred temple of
Vishannu in the Vyrindian Isles. Once an amazon
has completed her right of quest, she is
indoctrinated in the inner circle and becomes a
true champion of Vishannu, after which she is
then once more dispatched in to the world,
usually with a mission to pursue a specific region
where warfare is rife, to aid and abet one side
or another with her advice and prowess, and to
insure that the war drags on or that one side
wins with glorious tactics and cunning.
Most amazon PCs will be the younger ones on
their right of quest, but a motivated player with
an especially high level amazon could play a
champion, but her overall mission an goal
should be worked out accordingly, for she will
refrain from activities which do not benefit her
long term objectives.
Batrachians
The dark race of batrachians may once have
been human, but were long ago changed in to
hideous aquatic humanoids in the service of the
outer darkness. Batrachians are cousins to the
other deep water humanoids such as true deep
ones, naga, and other pure species of aquatic
humanoids, but the ancestral taint of man runs
thick in their veins. Many batrachians are born
to human mothers, and only later in life does
the batrachian taint manifest, driving them in to
the deep waters.
Kindred Traits
Average Weight: 200 to 300 lbs. (x1.5)
30

Average Height: 6 to 610 (x1.75)
Ability Scores: x2 Str, x2 Con, x.5 Cha, x.75 Dex,
x.5 Lk
Vision: infravision
Native Language: batrachian
Suggested Talents: Underwater explorer, occult
lore, demonology, claw fighting, and things
man was not meant to know but batrachians
do
Batrachians get the following special abilities:
special abilities and add it to the character. The

final month of the transformation indicates
when the PC is now fully batrachian, and no
longer easily identified as his original species.
Note that he does not learn batrachian. With
the final change, his attributes will be modified,
but only by the difference of the original base
modifiers (thus, a dwarf who already has a
strength of x2 would gain no additional Str,
though an elf would).
Aquatic Denizen: Batrachians are amphibious.

They can swim in water with no effort, and are
unimpaired in watery environments (they can
swim at running speed, basically; normal
creatures move half as fast when swimming). As
amphibians, however, they must immerse
themselves in water for once a day for at least
four hours. Batrachians can not heal normally
without this daily immersion!
Monster Ratings: Typical MR 25 (citizens), MR

50 (guards), MR 80+ (champions, wizards).
Batrachians usually are found in small coastal
towns, living otherwise normal lives until they
swim out in the dead of night to their dark
temple built in the reefs of the bay, where they
will worship their dark, eldritch batrachian gods.
Rending Claws: Batrachians grow lengthy claws

which they can retract at will to hide. These
claws grant them a weapon which does 2 dice of
damage, and can be used in two weapon strikes
as well, for a grand total of 4 dice of natural
weapons! Depending on how your GM likes to
handle two-weapon fighters, this may or may
not require a talent to pull off.
Sense the Taint: Batrachians are exceptional at
detecting the presence of taint chaos and evil in
other creatures. Batrachians gain the racial
talernt of Sense the Taint at first level, which
gives them a bonus when trying to detect
monstrous traits (defined by the GM) that a
creature is attempting to hide. This talent uses
the better of the batrachians Int, Lk or Wiz as
the base attribute.
Special-The Batrachian Look: Not all
batrachians are born in to the world as hideous
frog-men. Sometimes, a normal human or other
kindred lives much of his early life as a normal
creature, then one day, usually after an
encounter with a true batrachian, he starts to
feel, well, a little funny.
If the GM declares (or the player wishes) that a
PC of another kindred may have batrachian halfblood, then he or she can make a Level 1 save
vs. Lk. Failure means they do! The change will
take 1D6 months from the time it is triggered.
Each month, pick one trait from the above list of
31

Cambions have the following abilities:
Batrachian Lore
Batrachians begin their lives as humans or
other demihumans who soon discover a taint in
the family line, one which twists and warps
them over time in to hunched, aquatic beings
with traits not unlike a fish, octopous, or other
deep sea creature. This mutation is dramatic,
and the human elements of the batrachian are
often obliterated by the time the transformation
is complete.
Batrachians who gather together join
communities, oftentimes with pureblood
members of their kind (other deep ones such as
kuo toa and sahuagin) and give in to the
overwhelming urge to worship the aquatic
death gods they revere. The worship of the Old
One is irresistible to the batrachians.
Those few who are able to cast off the racial
imperative to enter the deep oceans and spread
the faith of the Old One tend to make good
adventurers, although they must sulk at the
edge of human communities, and are forced to
always seek out a source of water in which to
immerse them. Such a character has limits, but
can be a clever and challenging personality to
role play.
Demonic Appearance: Cambions look like

demons, and have any 3 of the following traits
as desired:
Horns (3 dice goring attack)
Bat wings (fly ability)
Hooves (2 dice stomping attack)
Tail (gain x1.5 Dex)
Tentacles (1D4 tentacles; each tentacle
is a 2 dice weapon)
Second head (x1.5 IQ)
Spider eyes (360 degree vision)
Spits venom (target that takes damage
is sickened, becomes Str for 1D4
rounds)
Forked tongue (gains a unique bonus
talent: Forked Tongue which applies to
all lies and bluffing)
Fire resistance (takes half damage from
fire)
Cold resistance (takes half damage
from cold)
Spell resistance (add 10 to Wiz when
determining if you can resist a spell
attack)
Any other odd trait if the GM approves
Cambions
Cold Iron Weakness: Cambions take extra

damage from cold iron (meteoric iron). A
weapon which is known to be made of this
substance deals an extra point of damage for
every die it rolls. This damage is dealt after hit
totals are calculated and when damage is
issued. It applies to spite damage dealt to the
cambion, too!
The cambion is what happens when a true

demon mates with a human, elf, or other
demihuman. The offspring, half demons of the
truest sort, are called cambions, the medieval
term for a demon-spawn. Cambions are almost
always given to classic traits, including horns,
hooves, tails and sometimes even wings. They
are usually feared and killed, but sometimes a
witch or warlock will seek out such half breeds
and raise them for their impressive wizardly
potential.
Kindred Traits
Average Weight: as a human (x1)
Average Height: as a human (x1)
Ability Scores: x2 Lk, x2 Wiz, x.67
Vision: infravision
Native Language: Cambions born to a human
parent know their native human language
and/or common (middle tongue). If born to
their demon parent, they will instead know the
Infernal language.
Suggested Talents: stealth, disguise,
demonology, acrobatics (having a tail helps!)
Monster Ratings: Typical cambions are MR: 50

and have some talent in wizardry, but older
cambions are usually veteran survivalists (MR:
100) and elder cambions are MR: 150 or better.
They always have 3 of the above traits, and
often (as GM created NPCs) have even more
monstrous traits as well.
32

was nowhere for them to return to after they
had their dalliances and left many humans
pregnant with cambion children for the first
time!
Centuries later, there is now a small but
growing population of cambions, and while life
can be very hard for these half demons, some
get lucky enough to find small communities of
their kind, a kindly wizard to take them in as
apprentices, or a demonic parent who finds the
novelty of a child too compelling to resist. Most
cambions are raised as ambivalent, hateful
beings, but a few get lucky and grow up
surprisingly straight and moral.
Ghuls
Ghuls are a half human, half ghoul race that is
readily mistaken for their more common undead
relatives. Ghuls are, in fact, a species that
spawned from a rare corruption of normal men
who succumbed to a terrible disease, which
changed them in to living but gaunt, charnel
cousins of their undead relatives.
Kindred Traits
Average Weight: 100 to 200 lbs. (x.67)
Average Height: 55 to 66 (x1.25)
Ability Scores: x1.5 Dex, x1.5 Con, x.5 Cha
Vision: dark vision
Languages: ghoulish, common
Suggested Talents: Grave robbing, disease
death lore, stealth, sneak attack, occult history,
alchemy
Cambion Lore
Cambions in Lingusia are the product of
centuries of interbreeding between the many
demons and other outsiders from other
dimensions who became permanent residents
during the time of the Cataclysm 1,100 years
ago. The Cataclysm shattered the planar
gateways between Lingusia and other
dimensions, making almost all cross-planar
travel impossible to all but a few. Even now,
eleven centuries later, the magic of wizards is
only just beginning to learn how to penetrate
and move through the mysterious barrier
wizards call the Fourth Wall, a membrane of
thick energy which separates the mortal realm
from the planes.
Because of this Fourth Wall, for centuries now
demonic beings dwelling in Lingusia were
trapped, often even in polymorphed forms
other than their native demonic visage, and
were forced to settle down and live amongst
mortals permanently. Many a wizard had a
pentagram-held demon in his laboratory
suddenly become a permanent house guest, and
many a succubus or incubus, engaging in their
timeless trade of corrupting and driving mortal
humans mad, suddenly discovered that there
Cannibalism: Ghuls gain strength from

cannibalism. They do not need to eat fresh
meat; there is much truth to the idea of ghuls
seeking out corpses and carrion. Once per day,
Ghuls who spend a turn devouring a corpse may
recover 1D6+level in Con points.
If a ghul goes a day without using this power,
then he loses 1 Con. This accumulates until he
resumes his cannibalistic ways or dies, after
which he turns in to a normal ghoul.
Disease Resistance: Ghuls gain a special talent
called disease resistance. This talent is based on
the better of Lk or Con and lets them directly
resist dangerous diseases, due to their
heightened immunity to such from constant
exposure. Like all special talents, this covers the
first talent the ghul receives at level 1.
33

Putrefying Smell: Ghuls can emit a terrible
stench which can have an adverse impact on
nearby enemies and allies alike. Foes and allies
alike within 5 feet of the ghul must make a save
vs. Con with a level equal to the number of spite
damage rolled. Failure means that the affected
creatures fall down, hacking and retching! This
will drop their combat total to of normal next
turn, and also make any saves in the next turn
one level higher than normal.
Monsters Ratings: 30 (weak scrappers), 50
(corpse finders), 75 (grave diggers), 100
(cannibals). Spite Damage: 1+/putrefying smell,
as above. Most NPC ghuls are fairly despicable,
and are usually accompanied by trained packs of
their truly undead cousins, the regular old
ghouls.
Patchworks
Ghul Lore
Ghuls make excellent choices for players who
would like a character whose very nature is that
of the outcast and the lurker in shadows. Ghuls
make excellent wizards and rogues. Its simply in
their nature to be shadowy diabolists, assassins
and thieves.
Ghuls tend to group in small societies, usually
dwelling in catacombs and sometime even
amongst their undead cousins. Wherever
humans reside in large numbers, ghuls are sure
to have a small community living on the dregs of
man.
Ghul adventurers are usually fed up with the
secretive, cannibalistic way of their kind and
take to the road, seeking adventure and fame to
make up for the curse they were either born to
or infected with. Few ghul adventurers maintain
good relations with their own kind, as they
traditionally eschew their races vile ways.
Ghouls usually worship one of two different
deities: either the deity that promises salvation
and an ending of their half-undead nature, or
the other one, which promises them dark
powers in exchange for servitude. Ereshkigal is
an excellent deity for ghuls to worship, although
some ghuls who despise their nature may follow
Nergal as well.
You are a geshtalt being, and anyone who

looks upon you can see terrible stiche,s sutures
and metal bonds used to hold the pieces of
multiple bodies together. Somehow, a madman
sought to not merely bring the dead back from
the grave, but to create new life entirely. You do
not know if you have a soul, but you seek to
know. In the midst of this, your own body seems
to hold trace memories of the past lives of those
who were butchered to create you.
Kindred Traits
Average Weight: 200 to 350 lbs. (x2)
Average Height: Varied; usually 7 to 78 (x2)
Ability Scores: x2 Str, x2 Con, x.5 Lk, x.5 Cha,
x1.5 Wiz
Vision: normal
Native Language: None, although usually they
know one or more languages that the people
who make up their various parts knew.
Suggested Talents: wilderness survival, scare
peasants, befriend and accidentally kill small
children, cold resistance, lighting resistance
Patchwork Bodies: Although most patchworks
are made from the bodies of humans, some find
bits and pieces borrowed from other races.
Choose one unique talents or kindred trait from
another species to reflect the diversity of body
parts and the origins. Some samples to choose
from include: Fire breath (marlack head, gain a 3
dice fire attack), night vision (dwarven eyes),
leprechaun spleen (deep pockets), harpy wings
(flight), a troll arm (get a 2 dice attack and
34

regenerate 1 Con/turn), minotaurs hooves (can
not be lost in mazes), and so forth..be creative,
and let your GM approve! GMs can, of course,
make some serious monstrosities as NPCs if so
desired.
sight, after which it will calm down. Once calm,

the patchwork loses its strength bonus and
instead suffers Str until it rests for at least 1
hour.
Monster Ratings: Typical MR 80, elder
patchworks are often MR 120+, and the Ancient
Patchworks are MR 300 creatures, likely! Spite
Damage: normal spite damage, but as soon as a
patchwork is angered or takes damage
(whichever happens first) they frenzy. For MRbased patchworks, this means they double their
combat dice. Scary! While most PC patchworks
represent the intelligent variety, there are many
more such creatures created which are
imperfect, and have primitive or animal
intelligence, or too many psychotic or neurotic
behaviors to function normally. All NPC
patchworks are also frightened by fire.
Golem: Patchworks are created beings, a type of

golem. Patchworks must eat like normal humans
to sustain themselves, although they do not die
normally, and a patchwork who refuses food will
waste away over time but not die due to lack of
sustenance, instead getting weaker and weaker
until they are rendered immobile (subtract 1
from Con for each week it does not eat; at 0 Con
it is immobile). Invitro sustenance injected in to
a patchwork (or magical healing) will revive the
creature after this point. At the GMs option, a
jolt of electricity will do the same. Any
patchwork reduced to -10 Con or worse is
permanently dead!
Patchwork Lore
Pacthworks are less of a distinct race and more
of a horrible experiment gone wrong.
Throughout time and history, on rare occasion a
wizard, mad scientist, warlock or necromancer
of uncommon skill stumbles across the ritual
necessary to create life. To perform the ritual
they need the freshest and most useful body
parts to make their monstrous creation, and
such madmen usually have hunchbacked
servants who are dispatched to the local
graveyard to exhume fresh corpses, from which
the most useful body parts are culled. The
various pieces are stitched in to a semblance of
humanity, and hooked up to a radical arcane
device that harnesses some combination of
radiant energy, lightning and seething chemicals
pumped like blood in to the new body. When
the experiment is over, maybe one in a hundred
of these terrifying beings turns in to a
patchwork golem. The rest either end up as
normal (but admittedly terrifying) flesh golems,
or thrown out to be eaten by the vicious guard
dogs and other monsters which protect the evil
madmans abode.
Patchworks are a sort of golem, a living
construct which was artificially created from the
bodies of other previously dead beings. They
harbor curious memories of different past lives,
and are prone to raw and erratic emotional
outbursts. Most patchworks are confused,
schizophrenic, and of low intelligence, but some
Brutal Fists: Patchworks are excellent unarmed

combatants, and have a basic attack with their
fists that does 2 dice, and which is treated as
both a two-weapon style and a melee weapon
for combat purposes, giving them a total of 4
dice in combat with both hands free.
Afraid of Fire: Patchworks hate fire. They must
make a save vs. IQ to resist fleeing when
confronted with fire in a manner that could
harm them. Base the level of the save on the
severity of the threat (level 1 for a torch, level 2
for a bon fire, level 3 for a forest fire, level 4 for
a wizard with a fist full ofire spell, etc.)
Frenzy: Patchwork psyches are a boiling turmoil
of conflicting emotions and residual
personalities. They periodically go in to crazed
frenzies, striking friend and foe alike. During an
encounter, when a patchwork is injured or
angered, it goes in to a killing frenzy, allowing it
to double its strength for the duration (adding
to combat adds). The patchwork will continue to
attack the nearest or most threatening target
each round until all opponents and allies are
dead or down. If the nearest target is an ally,
then the patchwork must make an level 3 save
vs. IQ to choose a different target. If no foes are
left, the patchwork may stop the frenzy by
making a level 4 save vs. Con. If it fails then it is
tired out and calms down! Otherwise it will
continue to frenzy until no more targets are in
35

are incredible smart and insightful, and find that
their madness stems from a keen understanding
of what they are.
Patchworks as heroes are unusual beings, for
they have a great potential strength, coupled
with erratic behavior that could potentially
endanger their allies. The patchwork is forever
searching for meaning to his own existence, one
beyond a madman decided to see if he could
make life.
bonus and penalty (i.e. a 1D6 bonus to one

effect and -1D6 to another, or a X2 modifier and
a X.5 penalty) and be approved by the GM.
Arcane Race: Sherigras are naturally magical
st
beings, and gain access to one 1 level spell as a
racial feature, regardless of their type (even
warrior sherigras).
Sherigras Lore
Long ago in the distant world of Lingusia, men
who allied themselves with the lords of chaos
were indelibly marked by their dark
associations. Sherigras have spread to every
corner of the universe ever since, propogating
the will of their dark demon gods.
Sherigras are a malevolent race by nature, and
it is highly unusual to find one of good
disposition; such freaks are usually weeded out
by the other sherigras in their little covens, and
sacrificed to dark gods. At best, an unaligned
sherigras might manage to pass for suitably evil
in his own society, while secretly yearning for
less, well, evil in her or her own life.
Sherigras love sorcery, and seek out its use
whenever possible, in order to disguise
themselves from the sight of others, if for no
other reason. They are well aware that
champions of order and good look upon their
kind with disgust, and feel that their entire
species must be exterminated. This leads to
some very paranoid thinking.
Sherigras are meant to fill a very special role
within a campaign that has a focus on the forces
of order and chaos. Just as dark elves are said in
some mythologies to have been branded by
their alliance with demons of chaos, and orcs
were (in some worlds) corrupt elves, sherigras
are in fact what happens to humans who are
indelibly linked to the chaos they choose to
serve.
Sherigras make excellent villains, but a player
could easily take the concept of the sherigras
and turn it in to a tragic antihero, born to a
horrible fate which he never asked for, forced to
rebel against a tight-knit culture of outcasts
dwelling in the shadows and seeking to appease
the dark gods which marked them so long ago.
Or, he could embrace his destiny, follow the
path of the necromancer, and seek to become
more powerful than the dark gods which cursed
his people
Sherigras
Skeletal and gaunt, the sherigras were once a
race of men who long ago were tainted by
chaos. This effect has given the sherigras the
appearance of recent corpses, or barely living
victims of some terrible plague. The hideous,
nosferatu-like features of the sherigras are
terrifying to most normal demihumans.
The descendants of the ancient chaos cultists
who served the lords of chaos in the time of the
Reckoning, these scarred and shattered people
have remained cursed forever more. Even those
who seek a good life find it slow going, as the
very nature of their race is a blemish that most
shun and fear automatically. Sherigras are
reviled, and all too many of them seek to hide in
forgotten ruins and ancient dungeons, plotting
ways to awaken old and dark gods to destroy
those who the sherigras despise for their
beauty.
Kindred Traits
Average Weight: 52 to 68 (x1)
Average Height: 100 to 200 lbs. (x.67)
Ability Scores: x1.5 Dex, x2 Wiz, X1.25 Int, X.5
Cha, X.5 Lk, X.67 Con
Vision: normal
Native Language: none, pick a human language
as a native dialect
Suggested Talents: Occult lore, stealth, disguise,
thievery, back stabbing, demonology, sense
chaos, detect lies, professional liar, frighten
hapless passersby
Taint of Chaos: Sherigras suffer from chaotic
taint. At first level, a sherigras must roll once
from the chaos taint chart. Whenever a
sherigras gains an odd level he may then roll
again on this chart (thus, a level 8 sherigras
wizard gets 4 rolls).
If you want to add an imaginative taint, you
may do so; it should provide an equivalent
36
Sherigras Taint of Chaos Table:

D66 Result
01-05
06-10
11-15
16-20
21-25
26-30
31-35
36-40
41-45
46-50
51-55
56-60
61-65
66-70
71-75
76-80
81-85
86-90
91-95
96-97
98-99
00
You have gained insight in another type, due to a chaos mutation in your brain. Gain one of the
following: learn 1 spell of your level or lower, gain 1 weapon with which you can add your level
as an add bonus (may be of any type of weapon), or gain one new normal talent.
You have gleaned an unnatural talent, at the cost of your well being. The talent must be
unnatural, for example: sense chaos, bat sonar, unnatural swimming talent from webbed feet,
etc.
Your mind is great but your body is sickly. Gain x1.5 to to IQ but x.67 to Con.
Your bones are strong and dense, but this also makes you less flexible. Gain x2 Str, x.5 to Dex.
You are blind, but you have an unnatural talent; you can turn invisible at will for 1 Wiz. Sight
based magic is out of your domain, and in straight combat you are at half value on your hit total
due to being blind, and all ranged attacks have double the saving throw requirement.
You are insubstantial! You are like a ghost and can move through solid bodies. This costs 1 Wiz
per turn to remove the ability, so you can interact with solid objects. Objects you keep on your
person become insubstantial, however, so long as they are on your person. It costs 10 Wiz to
make another person you touch insubstantial for one turn.
Permanent loss of one arm (x.5 Dex, x.67 Str); you gain a new phantom arm instead which can be
projected up to 25 feet from your body and function in all other ways as a normal arm would,
except with range. It can, for example, fight for you from a distance. The arm can take damage,
which comes off of your Con. If you lose half your Con, the arm dies and does not reappear until
you recover full Con again.
Aura of chaos; you constantly project a radiance of dark chaotic energy around you, like a
shimmering mist. You can spend 5 Wiz and the cloud will cause your IQ in chaos damage to every
creature within 5 feet of you. The cloud makes any disguise very, very difficult. You can spend 1
Wiz to turn the cloud off for one turn.
A Third Eye appears in forehead; it grants visions. Gain x1.25 IQ but x.67 Cha.
A demonic face appears in your torso, which must be fed daily and speaks a lot. The main
advantage is that it can act as your voice when casting spells, should you be gagged.
Animals and low intelligence creatures instinctively fear you and attack on site, whenever
possible.
Blistering Black Boils cover body permanently (x.5 Cha) but you are immune to all diseases.
Stigmata! Your body bleeds constantly, and you always leave a trail of blood droplets. You are
immune to bleeding effects and get to reduce spite damage by 1 (to a minimum of 1).
You have the head and hooves of a goat-demon. You gain a basic attack (horns) that does 3 dice.
You are abnormally large. Gain x2 Str and x2 Con; your height/weight modifier is now x3!
Racial Hybrid; you shared ancestry with another race, which the taint manifests all of a sudden.
Pick one racial feature from that race as your own. Your appearance reflects your hybrid nature.
You are abnormally small. You gain a x2 bonus to Dex and Cha, but lose x.5 to Str and Con and
your height/weigth modifier is x.5.
Detachable head. Yes, you can detach your head and therefore are immune to decapitations.
Your body is considered blind whenever it is out of sight of your noggin, and your head itself is
always immobile. This can have all sorts of weird advantages to those who wish to make the GM
cry, however. Evil GMs will, of course, find fun ways to torture the player in turn.
Shapeshifter! You have the ability to shape change, but you always appear to be a gaunt,
emaciated and disease-ridden version of whatever species you mimic. This ability works like the
doppelganger Shape Change ability in all other ways. It has no cost to use.
Roll one more time on the chart; if you roll 96-00 again, treat the result as no taint
Roll two more times on the chart, treating further rolls of 96-00 as no taint
Roll three times on the chart
37
Review: Tunnels & Trolls 7.5 Boxed Set

By Ken St. Andre and co.
Published by Fiery Dragon Press MSRP $35 (box set); $15 (PDF)
Reviewed by Tori Bergquist
only in the cool ways most fans tended to
enhance it, anyway.
The Tunnels & Trolls 7.5 Boxed Set includes a
sturdy mid-sized cardboard box which is not
large enough to hold the contents. It includes a
revised and expanded rulebook, with dozens of
pages of additional content, weapon
descriptions, treasure generation rules and
clarified information that was either muddy or
th
absent from the earlier 7 edition set. In
addition to this, the box contains the Codex
Incantum (new spells) and the Monstrum Codex
(new monsters), as well as a copy of the
Monsters & Magic Book (the same book from
th
the 7 edition set), three token sheets, new
character sheets, a solitaire adventure, a GM
adventure, four dice, and a map of the Troll
World. The Codex Incantum and Monstrum
Codex appear to be revised materials from
previously released works by Outlaw Press. A
black and white edition of the Troll World map
appeared in the 5.5 boxed set of the game, but
this map is nicer. The character sheets are the
nicest T&T sheets Ive seen in years, although
they have a couple minor problems, including
some blank areas with no labeling, and
therefore no obvious place to put weapons,
armor and talent info. Not a big deal, but it led
to a minute or two of confusion for my freshly
indoctrinated T&T game group.
Ken provides an updated introduction in which
is mentions that this new edition of the game
th
was not quite worthy of being an 8 edition,
th
really more of a clean-up of the 7 edition. In
some respects that is true, as a fair portion of
the text is the same as in the prior release. That
said, I think that some of the basic changes in
this book are both welcome and significantly
change the pace and feel of the game, enough
that it feels like a different book. This is a good
thing, though!
For those of you who are not T&T fans, or who
have never experienced this game, I can
summarize T&Ts mechanics in a few sentences.
Everyone has a character with eight primary
As any old school gamer may remember, the

first role playing game was Dungeons &
Dragons, but the second was Tunnels & Trolls.
After that Empire of the Petal Throne, then
Runequest and eventually Metamorphosis
Alpha, Traveller, and others rolled in, but T&T
was the number two dog.
Tunnels & Trolls was all about a simpler
mechanical approach to high fantasy gaming,
and that remains true even with the 7.5 edition.
This is especially interesting in todays era of
games in which complexity is the norm and ease
of use is often a curious misnomer. Amidst 300+
page multi-volume rulebooks, T&T still stands
out as an exception to the rule. Is it still the
simplest RPG you can find? Not by a long
stretch. In fact, I think games like Risus take the
cake on that count. If anything, T&T has become
marginally more complex than it used to be, but
38

stats, and when you want to do something you
make a saving throw of a certain level versus the
important stat. You roll two six sided dice;
doubles add and roll over. If you beat the target
number (equal to the save level value minus the
attribute value, with a minimum goal of 5) then
you win. If you fail, or fumble (a 1 and 2 on 2D6)
then you are out of luck. Within this basic
mechanic is the requisite rule to handle every
single action you could ever want to take in this
game, except for standard combat, which is
even simpler. Standard combat goes like this:
you have a number of dice and bonuses called
adds, based on combat proficiency and weapons
chosen. You roll those dice, and add those adds.
Your opponent does the same. The higher total
wins, and the difference is dished out in
damage. Very simple!
Now, those of you familiar with T&T in prior
iterations know that the simplicity of the game
can, under the proper conditions, also generate
some trouble. It is possible to find your delving
party of adventurers in situations where a foe is
too balanced, or impossible to defeat. It is
possible, of course, to attempt stunts and
maneuvers to defeat a foe, but if you fail your
save then you are usually dealt a serious, often
fatal blow as a result. The newest iteration of
T&T has employed a number of changes to
make this less likely and to add a little more
detail to combat events (above and beyond the
narrative capacity of the GM).
Some of the more interesting changes that can
be found in this edition include the official
implementation of spite damage (automatic
damage for every 6 rolled in combat), as well
as spite damage creating special effects for
monsters. More rules and examples of how to
implement stunts in combat can be found
within, and I found that, once such options were
explained to my new T&T gaming group they
readily took to using stunts as a favored option
for slaying dungeon denizens. Archery and other
ranged attacks are more cleanly addressed (and
more accessible) than in earlier editions of the
game.
Combat isnt the only thing that has been
improved. Character generation has also been
revamped, with new and altered classes filling
out the roster. You still have wizards, rogues and
warriors of course, but the old warrior-wizard is
now a paragon, and a citizen class has been
introduced to handle ordinary people.
Specialists are a new concept, designed to

handle all those odd alternate classes found
throughout the old days of T&T, and examples
given include rangers, specialist mages and
leaders. A noteworthy change here from the 7.0
version is that you now only need 15 or better in
th
a key stat. As I recall the older 7 edition
required a TARO roll generating 15 or better,
about which more in a second; the new rule
makes specialists slightly more common.
The TARO rule is triples add and roll over in
character generation. I have mixed feeling about
this; one player got lucky and rolled a naga
wizardess up with 3 triples. She could generate a
64 point level one Take That You Fiend spell! My
only solution was to pepper the scenario with
dark elf priestesses laden with higher Wizardry
score so they could resist the spells of this
deadly and horribly broken naga wizardess. That
said, this is still normal for T&T play, and it
makes it much more interesting than some
games which enforce equality across the board.
Finally, characters acquire talents, special
descriptive abilities that grant additional points
on saves involving the subject of the talent.
These are essentially skills, and help to flesh
characters out. A character starts with 1 talent
per level of experience.
Experience itself has been revamped, and 7.5
itself has undergone a change here. Unlike
earlier editions, level is now based on your
highest important attributes, so a wizard with a
intelligence 35 and a wizardry 44 is considered a
th
4 level character. Moreover, you acquire
adventure points and spend them to raise
attributes directly. This has changed even from
7.0, as it now only takes 10 times the current
stat value to raise it one point (7.0 requires 100
times the stat value). This makes character
progression in 7.5 a bit more steady and regular,
and rewards feel a bit more appropriate. Better
yet, GMs can continue to award experience
using the guidelines given as-is without
artificially inflating adventure points to insure
characters advance often enough to be
noticeable. Put another way, 7.0 characters
rarely hit level 3 or 4 in my experience (without
starting that way), but 7.5 characters can easily
reach higher levels of play over time.
There are lots of other little changes in the
rules for the new edition. Detailed treasure
generators, along with magical items have been
added to the main rules. The full glossary of
39

weapons and armor has been moved from CD
Rom and back in to the main rulebook, which is
a welcome addition, as T&T remains, after 33
years, the only fantasy RPG on the market to
have as extensive and comprehensive a list of
weapons available to characters. The dice and
adds system of T&T makes it possible to give
almost every single peculiar variant of dagger,
for example, its own unique properties,
something many other games have a hard time
emulating.
A section on the history of Troll World has
been added, as a jumping point for GMs to
develop their own scenarios in Ken St. Andres
venerable fantasy setting. For those who dont
recall, this is the same universe in which the
dreaded Lerotrahh rules, the city of Khazan and
the City of Terrors both reside, the Cult of the
Bear occupies the Dunegon of the Bear, and
most of the classic solo adventures took place
in. The added full color map is an excellent aid.
The addition of a new solitaire and GM
adventure to the whole package (both also by
Ken) mean that this boxed set has everything,
literally everything you need to start play from
the moment you crack open the box.
For fans of T&T, I would suggest that this new
boxed set is a no-brainer. I consider it to easily
be the best edition of T&T since the 5.5 edition
was released. Virtually every old mechanical
issue the game had has been fixed or addressed
now, and all of the new tweaks and editions
make this edition effectively a complete
package. Its an excellent starter game for
players new to RPGs as well, and Kens
engaging, informative and relaxed writing style

makes it a pleasure to read. While some games
out there are producing new editions that cause
endless edition wars and turbulence among its
fan base, it looks like T&T has offered us all the
ultimate fan service, what is easily one of the
finest treatments on a classic game to date.
So is there anything wrong with T&T 7.5 you
should know about? I will try hard to be
objective here, obviously holding a bias in favor
of this game, but I can name a few issues. The
box itself is pretty sturdy, but one corner where
the outer packaging was glued down is
loosening. This means, unfortunately, that over
time it will probably split at that spot. The main
rulebook, along with the monster and spell
books are spiral bound. This is annoying, and it
would have been nice to have a properly bound
set of tomes. Personally, the spiral binding
doesnt bother me and works fine for this
format. Finally, theres so much stuff jammed in
to this box (1 map, 3 counter sheets, 6 books,
and four dice) that the box does not close
properly. Thats not really a complaint though,
just bragging rights for T&T players. Oh, your
game requires 3 books totaling $105 to even
start playing? Gee, thats too bad. Mine requires
only $35 and I cant even get the box closed!
Bwah-hah-hah! Oh, and we starting playing,
like, 15 minutes after opening it.
If you can only fit one fantasy game on your
game shelf this year, I suggest you make it
Tunnels & Trolls 7.5. Theres more bang for your
buck in this little box than almost any other
game on the market.
Tunnels & Trolls Edition 7.5 Boxed Set Grade: A+
40
Review: Killer Bunnies and the Quest for

the Giant Carrot: (Blue Starter Deck)
Game Designed by Jeffrey Neil Bellinger
Published by Playroom Entertainment, MSRP unknown
By Dan Lambert
Components consist of one rulebook, 165 large

cards (including Blue Starter Deck and Yellow
Booster Deck), 36 small cards, and six (6) 12sided dice.
cards are played two turns in advance.

Determining which two cards to place in the run
positions is a critical element of strategy, forcing
players to think ahead.
The most common cards that may be run
include bunnies, which are a players foot
soldiers. Other players may eliminate your
bunnies through the use of weapons ranging
from Kitchen Whisks to Atom Bombs. Players
may also launch such wildcard weapons as the
Cyber-Bunny or the Ebola Virus, which move
around the Bunny Circle, indiscriminately
killing EVERYONES bunnies until someone
destroys them.
Happily for this bloodthirsty reviewer, life is
cheap in the world of Killer Bunnies. Bunnies
come and go, as old ones are killed and new
ones arrive from the draw pile. Players without
bunnies stay in the game, but may only perform
passive actions such as buying cabbage,
water, and carrots from Kaballas Market.
Theyre everywhere. They secretly conspire to

take over the world. Im talking about Killer
Bunnies. Dont believe me? Check out this
hare-raising tale (pardon the pun): Former
President Jimmy Carter was once attacked by a
Bunny while on a canoeing trip. Carter had to
pound the beast into submission with his oar. I
kid you not: look it up.
Have you ever wanted to participate in the
hare-raising action (there I go again) of bunnyto-bunny combat? The 2 to 8-player Killer
Bunnies card game gives you (yes, YOU there,
reading the magazine) the chance to get down
and let the fur fly!
Killer Bunnies is a non-collectible game,
meaning that the card mix is somewhat limited,
but the folks at Playroom Entertainment
promise that expansion sets will soon multiply
on your game stores shelf like (dare I say it?)
bunnies. The Killer Bunnies rulebook tells us to
expect no less than NINE booster packs in the
near future.
The object of the game is explained in Killer
Bunnies subtitle: the player who possesses the
Magic Carrot at the end of the game, which
occurs when Kaballas Market (the games
neutral bank of supplies) runs out of carrots, is
the winner. Achieving this goal is not as simple
as it sounds, because the Magic Carrot is
determined randomly and secretly at the
beginning of the game. Therefore, a perpetual
loser (uh, player) with only one of the games
twelve carrots may end up defeating the lucky
stiff holding the other eleven.
Killer Bunnies utilizes a system of run
positions, requiring players to keep two cards
face down in front of them at all times. These
Cabbage and Water are not as crucial to

winning the game as carrots, but can save your
bunnies lives. One of the games most lethal
weapons is the Feed the Bunny card, which an
opponent can play on one of your bunnies to
force it to eat or die. If you dont have the
required supply of Cabbage and/or Water to
feed your bunny, your furry friend is toast by
the end of the turn. A healthy wad of Kaballa
Dollas (money) will ensure that your bunnies
dont starve, but some cards can close the
Market or raise its prices, putting everyone out
of luck.
Amassing hordes of bunnies does not
guarantee victory in Killer Bunnies. A player
only needs one bunny and one carrot to win the
game, although the guy with more carrots has a
better chance of possessing the crucial Magic
Carrot. This game favors the underdog player,
41

which serves as an incentive to munchkins (I
meant beginners.)
Killer Bunnies is an action-packed, fast-paced
game, unlike many rules-heavy card games that
shall remain nameless (did somebody say Star
Wars Collectible Card Game?). Imagine a game
with the cutthroat action of Steve Jacksons

Illuminati and the cartoon silliness of the
roleplaying game Toon, and you have Killer
Bunnies. Its time to take a break from Magic:
The Salivating and join in the furry fun. The
power of Bugs compels you!
Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Giant Carrot: (Blue Starter Deck) Grade: A
42
Reviewing the FutureMutant Future!

By Daniel Proctor and Ryan Denison
Published by Goblinoid Games MSRP $17.95 (soft cover); $27.95 (hard cover); free PDF
Reviewed by Tori Bergquist
The future might be a grim one: global

warming, acidic and uninhabitable oceans, and
depleted ozone, along with mountains of
endless garbage, nuclear waste, and melted
polar caps flooding coastal regions. Life will be
hard in a future of runaway excess and
destruction, yes indeed.
The future might also contain wild, irradiated
lands of mutant snake women, giant death
rabbits, and the dreaded Spider Goat, the most
monstrous of all monsters in the dark and
dreary future! But thats okay, because with
your handy Negaton Bomb youll be able to
keep the peace and protect your own fellow
mutant brethren from the terrors of the Mutant
Future!
Mutant Future is one of several trendy new
retro old school games in existence, several of
which have been produced by those crazy guys
Daniel Proctor and Ryan Denison over at
Goblinoid Games. I have acquired copies of
their other efforts as well, including Labyrinth
Lord and GORE. Unlike prior games in which
classic fantasy gaming and classic percentiledice modern horror gaming were the subjects
under scrutiny, Mutant Future is all about the
mutants of a post-apocalyptic future.
Designed to model the look and feel of
Gamma World and its predecessor
Metamorphosis Alpha, TSRs seminal futuristic

role playing games of sci-fi apocalyptica, Mutant
Future does so in a slightly different fashion
than its predecessor games. This might be at
least in part due to the fact that some of the
specific look and feel of Gamma World
transcends the game mechanics (which are the
main property that a derivative open source
game can emulate safely) and therefore it would
be very difficult to emulate such favorites of
mine as the torque gun, hoops, bladders, and
burlyeps. Because of this, Mutant Future
attempts to give you a rule set that is both a
tribute to the original Gamma World and an
extension beyond it. The games goals appear to
be to give you everything you could possibly
want to run your retro-game post apocalypse
adventures, while also making it easy to go grab
your old, battered first edition copy of Gamma
World and extract all the hoops and bladders
you could possibly want from that venerable
source.
As I see it, the two main reasons to pick up
Mutant Future are: if you were a fan of Gamma
World and want to enjoy a game which acts as a
tribute to the original, or you are a gamer who
likes simpler mechanical approaches to gaming,
in which large lists of feats, powers, or skills (but
plenty of mutations!) are not necessary to the
43

enjoyment of a good role playing game, and
happen to find the idea of a weird, twisted high
science-fantasy style of post apocalypse gaming
to be a tempting concept. So does Mutant
Future accomplish the needs of either potential
purchaser?
Gamma World fans will find much to enjoy in
the pages of Mutant Future. It emulates the
essential look and feel of the original game, as
well as its basic rule structure rather well. It
remains more closely compatible with Labyrinth
Lord than Gamma World ever did with
Dungeons & Dragons, but this is not a bad thing
and the last chapter in the book talks about
cross over fantasy/sci-fi games with the two
systems.
Fans of simpler systems will also enjoy Mutant
Future. The mechanics of the game are easy to
grasp and presented in an intelligible manner.
Character design focuses on the stuff important
to a mutant in the future: what kind of mutant
are you, and what kind of cool mutant stuff can
you do? How do you hit things, and avoid being
hit? When you go exploring, what can you find,
and even more importantly, what finds you? All
these questions are pivotal to the game, and
you have plenty of content here to run pretty
much any strange game you want in the genre.
Mutant Future does not try to make mistakes
that other, newer editions of Gamma World fell
to. It does not attempt to define this crazy
science-fantasy world in terms that make it
coherent and acceptable to modern science
fiction standard, for example. The game
presentation spends a fair amount of effort
trying to remind the reader that it is not
attempting to define the post apocalypse
universe in terms familiar to readers of Charles
Stross of Jack McDevitt (two authors I love) but
rather in terms more reminiscent of the original
roots of Gamma World, which include Starship
and Hothouse by Brian Aldis. I am particularly
fond of the Spider Goat, who frequently
intrudes in to illustrations throughout the
rulebook, an ever-present reminder that this
game derives nothing from science, and
everything from its much more interesting pulp
cousin, Weird Science!
So if rule minimalists and retro gamers who
loved Gamma World will enjoy Mutant Futures
aesthetics, what about the rest of the modern
gamer population? Will the guy who recently
th
discovered D&D 4 edition find something to
love here? Will the diehard GURPS gamer also

find love in Mutant Future? That really depends
on taste.
To give you the brief rundown, Mutant Future
is an old school system mechanically. You have a
set of stats and some key traits (mutations in
this case) that define your character. You
advance on a leveling system after acquiring
experience points based on combat and
exploration. The rule book provides extensive
mechanics to help the referee (here known as
the mutant lord) design a weird post apocalypse
scenario. The rules are very thorough in this
regard. Rules for artifacts mundane and exotic,
mutant monsters, robots and androids, poison,
radiation, ruins, scenario design, combat of
various types and so forth are all detailed here.
The system is old school primarily in that it
contains many specific rule sets for different
events; it has only marginal cohesion between
mechanical principles, something very common
in older game systems. No D20 roll high and add
a number vs. a difficulty class to be found here.
That said, it is still much simpler than more
modern iterations of the game, precisely
because it sheds unnecessary detail in favor of
common sense and rule of thumb notions.
Thats one of the traits that will make the game
easier for older gamers to digest; you dont
absolutely have to have a power to do item X in
Mutant Future, or any other game like this, for
that matter. What you need instead is a creative
imagination and a high stat to roll against for
success.
Mutant Future does have a few faults. The art
is actually pretty good, better than much of the
art from the original Gamma World, I feel, but
unfortunately this style of art can make the
game a hard sell to the younger, hipper game
crowd. I will have no problem foisting it off on
my dedicated old school gaming group, for
example, but in a crowd of young twenties Ill
look like some sort of crazy fossil throwing this
game around. It also suffers from a few
mechanical issues that were a problem back in
the old days and remain a problem today, for
some people at least. One thing I liked about the
rd
beautifully broken 3 edition of Gamma World,
for example, was that it introduced skills to the
game, a system roughly analogous to the
nd
proficiencies of AD&D 2 edition at the time. I
was always a fan of some sort of skill system
back then; it just helped to lend a little extra
44

fluff to your character, and helped a player to
define their character a bit more tightly.
Because Mutant Future is a faithful attempt to
emulate the original, it is missing skills. Likewise,
it includes some other oddities, which may or
may not be an issue for you, such as instant
death events. To be fair though, while deadly
poison may still kill you, Mutant Future lets you
at least attempt a save first! Also, get used to
referring to charts for combat. I was very happy
when RPGs seemed to evolve away from charts
in combat, and it is part and parcel of this style
of game, unfortunately. Fortunately, it doesnt
take much to determine a THAC0 value from the
charts at hand, which retain better internal
consistency that their forebears. By the way, if
you dont know what THAC0 is, then you might
just be one of those previously mentioned hip,
young twenty somethings.
One other oddity I noticed was that some of
the mutant monsters in the rules seemed ever
so slightly derivative from Labyrinth Lord, and
sometimes werent as, well, plain old weird as

some of the classics from Gamma World. Not a
big deal, mind you, but I guess were pretty far
removed from the seventies, when one could in
theory write a game based on Aldiss Starship
while hitting acid to get the proper weirdness
effect necessary for this odd genre. Not saying
that ever happened..it just sometimes felt that
way!
Mutant Future does do one major thing right,
however: it succeeds at making me want to play
this game. Not just pull out good old Gamma
World, mind you, but Mutant Future itself. It will
be kind of like a renewal of the original
experience, after a fashion. Maybe Ill see if I
can reconstruct that original Gamma World
adventure, the first role playing scenario I ever
ran as a kid, now using Mutant Future. Only this
time, the dreaded Spider Goat, along with an
army of Pigmen ruled by the evil Medusoid will
inhabit the abandoned missile silo instead
Mutant Future Role Playing Game Grade: A+
45
Gaming by Gaslight:
An Introduction to Victorian Roleplaying Games
By Dan Lambert
INTRODUCTION -- I prefer Jeremy Bretts
Sherlock Holmes to Basil Rathbones Holmes,
mainly because Bretts television productions do
such an outstanding job of recreating the
atmosphere of Victorian London. The Victorian
setting has fascinated Holmes fans ever since
Arthur Conan Doyles stories first saw print. This
smoky, shadowy, fog-enshrouded, gas-lit
atmosphere has always evoked a sense of
mystery and danger around every corner. One
can easily imagine such fiends as Fu Manchu,
Mr. Hyde, Professor Moriarty, and Jack the
Ripper lurking in the gloom, poised to strike at
the unwary. The Victorian setting has inspired
authors working in diverse genres to create their
own Holmes stories for anthologies such as
Sherlock Holmes Through Time and Space and
Shadows Over Baker Street. More recently,
however, a commonly-overlooked group of
writers roleplaying game designers have also
been inspired by Holmes and his Victorian
world.
creates the games setting, as well as all minor

characters.
The remaining players are
responsible for the actions of the protagonists.
The first famous roleplaying game designer was
Gary Gygax, who created Dungeons and
Dragons in the early 1970s. The setting of this
game was inspired by J.R.R. Tolkiens Lord of the
Rings trilogy. Beginning in the 1980s, game
designers began to experiment with other
settings, but the Tolkienesque setting is still the
most popular with players.
WHAT IS A ROLEPLAYING GAME? -- A

roleplaying game is, in its simplest form, a storytelling game for two to eight players. None of
the games mentioned below require the use of
a computer. One player (the Game Master)
VICTORIAN ROLEPLAYING GAMES -- Other

roleplaying game settings began to catch on in
the 1990s, most notable that of H.P. Lovecrafts
Cthulhu Mythos (in Sandy Petersens Call of
Cthulhu game). More recently, game designers
have been inspired by the Victorian setting.
Some of the more exciting examples are
described here, in the individual designers own
words:
SPACE: 1889 by Frank Chadwick: Everything
Arthur Conan Doyle thought of but never
published because it was too fantasticWhat
if instead of quantum mechanics and relativity,
there was only the ether? And what if the
46
fertile, brilliant mind of a young inventor named

Thomas Edison had turned its power to
harnessing the ether for science?
Brothers fantasy, Jules Verne Invention, and

Sherlockian mystery
GURPS by Steve Jackson: The Generic Universal
Roleplaying System.
ETHERSCOPE by Nigel McClelland and Ben

Redmond: Empire and industry control the
world, and poverty and rebellion seek haven in
the Etherscopes shadowsDoyles spiritualist
leanings inspire his supernatural tales and
shaped Etherscopes approach to spiritualism.
GURPS CASTLE FALKENSTEIN by Phil Masters

th
and James L. Cambias: The 19 century saw
the birth of the detective as a profession and,
more important, the birth of the detective novel
as a genre. Wilkie Collins Sergeant Cuff and
Edgar Allan Poes Chevalier Dupin were first, but
the giant among Victorian detectives is Sherlock
Holmes. In the Falkenstein universe, Holmes is a
real person (just starting his career), and so is his
arch-nemesis Professor Moriarty!
CASTLE FALKENSTEIN by Michael Alyn

Pondsmith: When computer game designer
Tom Olam found himself sorcerously shanghaied
by a rogue Wizard and a Faerie Lord, little did he
suspect that he would soon become the pivotal
force in the struggle to control an alternate
Victorian UniverseIts a blend of Grimm
GURPS STEAMPUNK by William H. Stoddard:

th
The real 19 century was an age of amazing
inventions and discoveriesJules Vernes
fictional odysseys and H.G. Wells scientific
romances tookreaders on a journey into the
realms of possibility. (also this editors
favoriteTori)
47
Unholy Communion
A dark tale By Dan Lambert
allowed to accompany them on their final

journey beyond the gates. Adults who agreed to
do the dismemberments dealt with the accusing
stares of their cellmates and the horrors of their
own nightmares. Children were considered
pure; no matter what they did, the adults
excused them.
It was little Stefan, a malnourished but tough
boy of twelve who seemed to survive on pure
meanness, who first told me of the initiation
ritual: You have to take a bite of flesh from
one of the bodies. Everyone does it on their
first day. You have to, or well kill you in your
sleep tonight.
I was more puzzled than horrified by Stefan.
Had the cruelty of the Nazis gotten to him
through some kind of osmosis, or had he been
born that way? Perhaps it was just a front;
something to impress or intimidate me.
The other children, a dozen girls and boys
mostly older than me, waited, staring, for my
response to Stefan. I only crossed my arms
resolutely over my bare chest and shook my
head no.
Stefan pushed me with both open palms, hard in
the chest. I fell backward in the snow. The
children gathered closer. The snow felt like cold
glass beneath my bare back; I was not sure
whether to move my hands over my chest or my
genitals. Which was more vulnerable to these
monsters?
A black-haired girl named Tilly chuckled. She
thinks she wont have to do it. Isnt that
funny?
Its not funny at all, Stefan half-whispered, a
tone of stark seriousness coming into his voice.
He offered his hand to me. I took it, and he
pulled me to my feet. Youre a rich lawyers
daughter, so you dont understand.
What makes you think Im a lawyers
daughter? I asked.
I can tell. Youre snooty. You think youre
better than the rest of us.
My daddys not a lawyer, I said. Hes a
doctor. He helps people. I realized I was
I was a girl of only six years old when I first

tasted human flesh.
I had stopped crying and felt the tears dry to a
crust on my cheeks as the halftrack delivered
me, shivering and naked, to the Berenrecht
Isolation Camp in the Germanreoccupied
Rhineland.
I was already aware of the monstrosity my
Waffen-SS captors were capable of; my parents
had been shot in the head before my eyes an
hour earlier, my mothers temples then kicked
in until she finally relented and gave up her life.
It was with surprise, then, that I realized later
that evening that barbarity was not the sole
purview of the Nazis. Children in my same
predicament played games just as cruel.
Children at Berenrecht disposed of the dead.
Gas to fuel the faux-showers and coal to fuel
the ovens were in short supply there along the
path of the Germans reluctant and spiteful
retreat. The guards disposed of their human
problems with bullets, dogs, clubs and steeltoed boots.
The first person I had ever seen kicked to
death was my mother; the bullets had brought
her to the ground, but it was the repeated kicks
to the head by a young SS officer that finally
rendered her beautiful brown eyes lifeless. My
father had succumbed to bullets alone. Did this
mean Mama was stronger than Papa? I
wondered as the children of Berenrecht led me
on a tour of my new home.
The children brought out the dead because no
one else would. The Germans requested
volunteers each day. If none came, they would
shoot someone at random every six hours until
someone did. Corpse-removal detail typically
involved dismembering the dead and packing
the pieces into wooden crates for bulk transport
via truck or bicycle-driven wagon to nearby Lake
Slehofer. Once there, German soldiers would tie
rocks or iron scraps to the grim packages and
dump them into the water.
The inmates were not permitted beyond the
razor wire. We Juden were required to pack our
murdered loved ones for transport, but not
48

speaking of my freshly-slaughtered father in the
present tense, and fought back a flood of tears.
Well, hes not helping you, is he? Stefan
had his hands on his hips, like the coach of a
football match. Were the only people left to
help you, and if you want to be one of us, you
have to be initiated. The Catholics have their
ritual: they eat the flesh and blood of Christ.
We Jews dont believe in eating Christs flesh.
The Catholics are mad at us for killing Christ.
Why do you think they put us in here?
Stefan offered me a tattered strip of cloth
from his own suit of rags. I took it, and wrapped
it around my waist. I was sorry for doing it; the
act of accepting the meager clothing made me
feel responsible for my parents deaths, for
some reason. I felt sinful now that I was
clothed, like Eve in Genesis.
Lights-out at Berenrecht was a terrifying ritual
in and of itself. Cannibalism was only vaguely
on my mind when the camp Kommandant,
Major Krauss, came on the loudspeaker and
announced that he had killed an inmate in the
Mens Block for refusing to help dismember and
bury a woman who was shot trying to escape.
Krauss made such announcements every night,
according to Stefan. They were nothing to
worry about. Nothing compared to what we
will do to you tonight if you refuse to be
initiated.
I tossed and turned that night, thinking about
how I could escape participating in Stefan and
the other childrens cannibalistic ritual. It turns
out that a more ominous threat awaited me.
I awoke early the next morning to a heavy
hand pressing over my nose and mouth. It was
Kommandant Krauss. I swung my feet off my
cot and tried to run, but Krauss seized me by the
scruff of the collar. There was no getting away
from him. I could smell alcohol on his breath as
he drew me to his chiseled face. Going
somewhere, my little Jewess?
Holding my arm, he pulled me to his quarters.
I have special duty for you. No laziness this
morning, Fraulein!
In a sense, I was glad to go to Krauss quarters;
it meant that I would at least for the time
being be reprieved from participating in
Stefans ritual. Once inside, Krauss closed the
door behind him. He turned to face me in the
cramped room, and dropped his trousers. I
have given you a unique opportunity to serve
the Reich this morning, Fraulein. He grinned

and placed his hands on my little shoulders.
An explosion rocked the room. Krauss turned
toward the sound, and I seized my opportunity.
I took one of his fingers in my mouth, and bit
down as hard as I could. The clammy taste of
his flesh mixed with the coppery taste of blood
in my mouth. I struggled free of his grasp, and
ran outside.
The whine of a Nazi air-raid klaxon filled my
ears, and the shadows of enormous birds moved
across the snow-covered ground. I looked up.
The sky was filled with B-17 bombers.
The Americans rolled in with Sherman tanks
later that afternoon. The image of freshlypainted white stars on their olive-drab turrets is
still vivid in my mind. Even now, the image of a
star is more spiritually-uplifting to me than that
of a cross. The Germans painted their Panzer
tanks with black crosses bordered by white.
One of the wars casualties is my association of
this symbol with pointless hatred and terror.
The Germans shot as many of the camps
inmates as they could find (including Stefan)
before retreating into the woods beyond Lake
Slehofer. I remember feeling so terrified when I
first met Stefan, but I can only imagine his terror
at the hands of his killers. I hid in an empty oil
drum until the Americans came. We survivors
stayed in the camp for another two days, until
the Americans could find a way to orderly usher
us to the rear.
The Amis, as the Germans called them, fed
us only sparingly, for fear that the starving
among us would literally eat themselves to
death, as had occurred during previous
liberations. What they did feed us was, to me,
like manna from Heaven: canned turkey, peas,
carrots, and the beloved Hershey chocolate
bars.
I write this between gazes out the window,
beyond which is the beautiful Pacific Ocean.
From this vantage point of beauty, my childhood
seems like some distant nightmare. I do not
describe myself as a Holocaust Survivor. The
term has been so overused in the media that it
has lost its meaning. I am simply a survivor. I
thank God, and my fellow human beings, for
delivering me from the collective outrage of the
Third Reich. I have lived long enough to tell my
tale to a new generation. For that, too, I am
thankful.
49
COLUMN: The RPG in MMO

By Tori Bergquist
Well, each month the Column feature will
provide an article or commentary on something
of interest, but perhaps not sufficiently
interesting to deserve regular coverage, or
maybe just odd enough that a one shot works
best. Also, you can think of this as a print
version of the bloggosphere although with
content slightly more interesting than rants,
cats, porn or strongly worded opinions (well, I
hope so, anyway!) Anyone at all interested in
contributing to the Column is welcome! The
odder and more off beat the ideas, the better.
That drunk guy who is bitter about his

life, so he gets on to an RP server at 1
AM to heckle the role players
incessantly from his level 70 Tauren
Shaman
There are plenty of other character types to be

found in the MMO world, of course, but the
previous types are fairly common and tend to
outline the personalities you will most likely run
in to when playing one of these fames and
wondering where the role playing part of the
role playing game comes in to the picture.
The single largest problem with current MMOs
today is that they arent really built for role
playing as such. The best games out there for
role playing include Everquest and Everquest II,
which include a few useful features (such as
marking yourself anonymous) and role playing
servers that actually hold a fairly dedicated
population, but the mad rush to level up and
start getting the phat lewt often overrides
everyones desire to take it easy and just enjoy
the overall affair.
A note about Role Playing: When I think of role
playing in a computer game, I think of the idea
that the game itself creates and evokes a sense
of otherness in a neat environment. If the game
creates a sense that my characters career is
being defined in the game as I see fit (not
railroaded) and that the universe of the game
gives an air of authenticity to the experience,
then I consider that a good role playing
environment. Yes, that means that I strongly
regard games like Dead Space and Silent Hill to
be role playing games. I do not consider
pretending you are in a bar with twenty other
people on a chat line to be role playing in the
same fashion.some sort of personality
disorder maybe, or ego gratification, but not
really role playing as such.
Anyway, without much further adieu, here is
an overview of the kind of role playing you can
find in the various trendy, popular, or just still
alive role playing MMOs on the market right
now, from my own experiences:
Anyway, to kick this one off Id like to take a

bit to discuss the curious universes of the MMO
(massive, multiplayer online) phenomenon and
that even more elusive beast: role playing.
Specifically, I wanted to talk a bit about the
current popular MMOs out on the market, and
which cater to this elusive phenomenon from
which they sprang, and which are really just
fancy versions of Halo.
As anyone who has ever played an MMO
online can attest, players boil down to one of
the following categories:
The dedicated computer gamer who is
looking for a challenge, usually in the
form of player vs. player (pvp)
The dedicated computer role playing
gamer who is looking for a character
building challenge (through character
building, questing, and
equipment/property/fame acquisition)
A casual gamer who think Everquest is
when this odd hobby started and still
thinks playing D&D is nerdy but playing
WoW 30+ hours a week is normal
Paper and pencil gamers who like to log
on for some quality quest time while
driving their guild mates batty with
reminiscing tales of the good old days
of their Real RPG adventures
Hardcore online role players who want
to play the game while chatting
incessantly in-character.
50

World of Wacraft: The current (still!) king of the
MMO hill offers a number of RP-dedicated
servers. Youll see a bit of role playing on these,
although nothing spectacular usually, and youll
often have to find a decent RP friendly guild
(even on the RP servers this can be hard to find)
and a crew who enjoy idle banter while power
leveling. WoW does not (anymore) seem to
cater much to the dedicated role player these
days, due primarily to slow refocusing on the
casual gamer and end-game PvPer, the average
WoW gamer simply doesnt grokk the concept
of role playing. Heck, if you want to have a bit of
fun (and if youre lucky meet some like minded
souls) start dropping D&D references in context
to everything you see. Use NPC or PC instead of
toon, for example. Talk about murlocs as a ripoff of Kuo-Toa or Sahuagin (and as we all know,
99% of WoW comes from the original D&D
games the founding Blizzard gang engaged in).
Someone will wonder what youre up to, and
this will give you a chance to talk about D&D.
Youll get a lot of is that a good MMO?
questions, a handful of thats so nerdy/geeky
moments and an occasional, Hey! I loved that
game in high school/college, wish my spouse
would let me play it again, moments.
As far as evoking the atmosphere and feel of
authenticity for role playing, WoW may or may
not do it for you. The overly cartoony, often selfeffacive content is loaded with mood-breaking
puns, names and humor designed, I feel to make
it more palatable to the non-gamer gamers who
play, but dont want to feel like geeks. Likewise,
in terms of story content, its hard to see most
of the interesting stuff without hanging in for a
very long time, and the game doesnt really
open up to a storyline thats progressive until
the latest Wrath of the Lich King expansion. This
leads to a feeling that youre playing a sort of
Dream Park style of character in a vast virtual
reality park. Fun, but not quite role-immersive.
fantasy and is also totally free, it generates a

much larger and more, ah, unusual crowd than
normal.
The storyline in Guild Wars is awesome, and
very involved. It suffers from a major problem,
but only much later on, when the end quest
lines become so traumatically difficult that
completion is reserved only for seventeen year
old Korean kids with mutant hands and the
power to slow time. But the great thing about
Guild Wars is that you can hire lots of AI
henchmen, usually smarter than actual players,
and avoid most of the strange rabble that
wanders throughout this game.
Age of Conan: Now, I am pretty dedicated to
AoC, and will probably not finish this game for a
long, long time, at least not until I have every
inch of scenery, every line of text, and every
creatures tactics memorized. And I am not a
hardcore gamer, so this will take a long, long
time. But so far I havent seen or heard of any
role playing going on here. In fact, finding
someone in this game who even understands
the origins of Conan as a character from the
pulp era of fiction, as opposed to the Marvel
comic character or the Arnold movie character is
a rare beast. If I spot any role playing, Ill be sure
to let you know.
That said, if youre a more traditional RPer
who came in to the hobby from the paper and
pencil end of things, the quest lines, voice
acting, generally impressive storylines and
attention to detail in AoC make this game a real
pleasure to play, and helps lend to the more
visceral feel of being in another world, more
so than any other game of its nature.
Everquest II: I cant properly speak on EQ 1, so
forgive its absence. By the time I discovered
MMORPGs it was very hard to go backwards
in the experience to a game which, while no
doubt amazing for its time, was already old and
clunky by 2005. But I did try EQ 2, and for a
short time it was a lot of fun. The game has
interesting storylines, a lot of races and classes
to explore a rather well developed universe,
plenty of people dedicated to the were playing
pretend in an imaginary bar style of computer
RPing, and questlines with some nice diversity
and multiple question paths. Not quite as cool
as AoC, but definitely more immersive than the
WoW style of static questing. Unfortunately, by
Guild Wars: I am pretty sure that there is no

role playing as you and I understand it going on
in Guild Wars, but you will find a lot of, how to
put this politely, weird role-play going on
instead. Like guys who will pay you tons of
platinum to strip your ritualist/ranger down to
her lace panties and go adventuring with him,
no questions asked. Dont ask, I cant really
explain it, except to surmise that when a decent
MMO offers a gang that looks like OC does
51

about level 30 or so EQ 2 turns very hostile on
the casual gamer (i.e. me) but more dedicated
gamers who like grinding may still get some
kicks out of it. Definitely a game where youll
want to try lots of different characters early on
to see what theyre all like.
quickly steered to the Virtue server. Here, for

the first time in any of these games, I saw
people role playing in a way that was both
spontaneous and in conjunction with game
events: Hey, stay out of my turf! bits, not to
mention the usual role playing in a bar.except
that they were actually IN a bar!... on down to
loads of RP friendly guilds. Kudos to City of
Heroes for being the only game so far to evoke a
perfect blend of role playing! Maybe it took the
wild and wooly world of comic books to break
everyone out of their shell, I dunno, but this is a
good place for gamers to be.
Cit of Heroes & Villains: The City of Heroes

universe is a weird one, and I like to think of it as
a sort of history leading up the the universe of
Top 10 (a great comic, if you havent read it,
btw). This is a game about two cities, full to the
brim of people who are gifted with powers,
people who get mugged a lot, and the muggers
who simply never learn, no matter how many
times Doctor Futurity and Bow Knight kick the
crap out of them. This game, for the comic book
role player in me, rocks.
As role playing goes, there is no single server
marked for role playing, but my wife and I were
Next month: Who knows? Write something! If

you dont, I will. And we dont want that, eh?
--Tori Bergquist
Next Issue: a lengthy tale of the 7 Seas, a new fantasy adventure in the Realms of
Chirak, Runequest, and more!
52
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The Sorcerers Scrolls Issue #42