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SirJoe
June 28th, 2007, 05:20
The Secret of Villoroa

Calendar Link (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/calendar/index.xcp?id=183)

In the back streets of the Thieves Quarter, a series of gruesome murders have gone unnoticed by everyone except the poorest street urchins. Ten bodies now, half eaten and drained of blood.

These crimes would have never raised an eyebrow, nor a manicured whisker of the city’s civilized folk if it were not discovery that the latest victim was in all fact a princling, 72nd in line for the throne, who had foolishly disguised himself as a lowly mariner on shore leave, visiting the infamous low-caste brothels scattered among the back allies. Why he had chosen such a ruse, when the luxurious bordellos of Whore Street were more to his station, is a question that has raised almost as much scandal as his untimely death.

The city’s elite cannot leave the scandal to play and let the common folk think that the ruling class are vulnerable to petty criminals and the lowbrow. Likewise, the Assassins’ Guild is most concerned about unsanctioned killings in their home domain. A sizable reward – enough to keep a man rich a year, or a group of friends happy for months - has been offered to anyone who can bring the princling’s killer to the court’s justice.

As fortune seekers, bounty hunters and the criminal world alike rush to the hunt, you decide that you’ve got as much chance as anyone of outing the culprit while earning yourself a reputation and some pretty coins to boot…


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Join in a single-shot adventure set in the richly decaying city of Lankhmar. Based on the fantasy world of the Grey Mouser and Fafhrd penned by Fritz Leiber, you will be emersed in a battle against the dark forces of sorcery and the skulduggery of the underworld. Dare you uncover The Secret of Villoroa?


Number of Players:
3-5 brave, foolish or just clueless adveturous souls

Characters:
As per the setting, magic is powerful, corrupting and generally twisted and evil. So, non-magic user classes only: eg. Thieves, Fighters, Barbarians, etc. I will allow specialist class types that cover spell-like abilities through non magical means – eg, alchemy and herbology (If you have a rule book to cover the details and can provide me with brief details, I'll be happy.)
Humans only. No magic items (I will give out several useful items at the start of the adventure, based on character descriptions and histories). On the plus side, 5-6 level characters, with an extra 10 skill points over and above standard game rules. Prior to game, please email brief descriptions of character and short personal history. If your character worships a god, put it in, along with a description of what the god is all about.

This will be a 'rules light' game, with lots of role-playing and a little bit of bloody combat for good measure. Expect casualties. Life is cheap in Lankhmar.

Time:
Tuesday 10th July: 8:00pm (8:15 start) to 11:00ish Sydney Australia Time Zone (GMT +10)

Running on FG2

Lawnikky
June 28th, 2007, 08:46
All that for a one off game ... I hope you're planning on being around for some time to come as I have a feeling this little 'one off' may become a regular 'gig'.

Will be sending you a short brief for a Cleric of Pelor of the 6th Order shortly.

Killian
June 28th, 2007, 09:53
Very Very agreeable to this time, I can make the whole session. sign me up please :)

SirJoe
June 29th, 2007, 00:41
All that for a one off game ... I hope you're planning on being around for some time to come as I have a feeling this little 'one off' may become a regular 'gig'.


Thanks... I run games at cons whever I get the chance am a bit anal when comes to detail and preparation. 30 plus years of role-playing will do that to ya.

The maps for the campaign look wonderful, even if I do say so myself (god I love the new CC3 software!) The various NPCs are comming along nicely too - these sort of games need a lot of characters to drive the plot and clues. I *love* making villans!

I'm looking forward to seeing how this all plays out. I'm not yet that familiar with actually running on FG2, or on using Skype as a conference tool, but we'll see how it goes.

Incidentally, if any of you can, grab a copy and read through the recently published Lankhmar game using the RuneQuest rule by Mongoose. That'll give you a better idea of the setting (although I'm changing things to suit my own devious needs.) It's not essential, but it may just help you a little. There are also plenty of web sites dedicated to the world.

Best regards,
SirJoe :o

SirJoe
June 29th, 2007, 00:44
Will be sending you a short brief for a Cleric of Pelor of the 6th Order shortly.

Just reminding you that magic of any sort in this setting is not available to PCs. Worshiping a god is fine and does add to the story, just don't expect gods to do you any favors.

John_Geeshu
June 29th, 2007, 00:47
A one-shot is about a five room a dungeon. Good luck! :)

Lawnikky
June 29th, 2007, 11:22
So I gather cleric's don't get their spells either? Is there any reason to play one? If their spells are not available to them then you need to advise on how clerics are played (and fit in) as I may change my preference to Fighter.

SirJoe
July 1st, 2007, 06:33
Yeah... you may be wise to take a fighter or rouge.

Gods in Fritz Leiber's Lankmar setting are more 'personal' than real and as such dont work the same way as Forgotten Realms DnD. Many gods are in fact just heroes of folk law, while some others are powerful beings who are worshiped by mortals. Some gods are simply made up and have little real substance at all.

People worship gods for all manner of reasons - in the beleive that the god will show them good forune, to avoid bad fortune, to get 'in with the set crowd' and as servants to a real being of power, such as an ancient wizard or otherworldly 'daemon'.

In one of Leiber's stories, the "Gods of Lankhmar" city are said to be the actual founders of the city. When the city is under threat, they rise from the dead and slay the enemy without mercy, then return to their graves. That's about as god-like as we get.

As such a 'cleric' in Leibers world is more like a wandering monk or missionary in our own world. The only super-natural power they have is... well... perhaps the ability to convince others to join their cause. My suggestion is to avoid taking on that role and stick with a non-magic user, but by all means give them a god to worship as well.

Best regards,
Sir Joe

SirJoe
July 1st, 2007, 06:36
A one-shot is about a five room a dungeon. Good luck! :)

LOL... Yeah. You are probably correct. To me, a one-shot adventure is just a single scenario. I designed the adventure to take 3 hours with face-to-face play. It'll be interesting to see how long it will take with FG. Perhaps a couple of gaming sessions.

And yes, I will need all the luck I can get! I tend to break computers a lot.:D

Lawnikky
July 11th, 2007, 11:15
Great game the other night, even with the technical hitches :) I think all had a good time and will be looking forward to the next session!

scytale2
July 11th, 2007, 13:28
Well, I don't think we got very far, but we had alot of fun not getting very far!
Poor old Scarface...

SirJoe
July 12th, 2007, 12:52
Hey guys, thanks for kind words. :) The new system is up and running (dual hi-red 19" flat screens, 4GB RAM, etc. Woohoo!) and the extra screen space should make the game run a lot smoother. I also picked up quite a few powerful hints for playing with FG2 both during and after the game.

As for not getting very far: well, you at least have one lead to follow up. I won't give you any hints, but at the very least you killed off the 'sub-plot' right up at the beginning. I should have figured that as soon as you guys made an enemy you'd deal with it. LOL

Pls vot for best time for next round and I'll be there with bells on.

Cheers,
JS

SirJoe
July 12th, 2007, 12:54
Well, I don't think we got very far, but we had alot of fun not getting very far!
Poor old Scarface...


He he he.. he deserved everything he got. In the river he goes! :D

You should just be thankful that the gaurds didn't fine you, or worse, request a bribe not to charge you with murder... I wonder why? :ninja:

Cheers
Sir Joe