Sunday, February 24, 2013

Rowan's First Report

An account of my first solo adventure.


To the Prefect of the Scotsile Temple

Sire,

I regret to say that I have failed in my duty. I write this from captivity in the hopes that I can smuggle it out and provide an account of my disappearance. I am in the hands of slavers, who are abducting citizens from Scotsile and selling them down the river in Talmatia. They are keeping us in an isolated outpost in the marshes, and force us to dig in the swamps. Why is a mystery to me, but I suspect some sinister purpose.

I came to this pass on that unfortunate night that Brother Jacor and I investigated the abandoned mansion of Almanzar the Alchemist, reputedly haunted by his troubled spirit. We went at night when any ghost would most likely materialize. We did not find any unearthly denizens, but the dangers we found were all too real.

The first floor is infested with giant poisonous spiders. We killed a couple that we encountered. In one room, we found a corpse. The man had been bitten and fatally poisoned by a spider. He carried a whip, club, and shackles. We then proceeded upstairs. In the attic, we found a series of lanterns, sheets, and ropes. It appeared that someone created fake ghosts to scare people away.

As we returned to the first floor, we heard a woman’s scream. We rushed to the sound and discovered a young woman in the clutches of a thuggish man. She was struggling to escape. We ordered the man to stop but he knocked the woman down, pulled out a club, and rushed me. His rashness was his undoing; Jacor and I defeated him and tied him up.

Speaking to the girl, we learned that slavers were kidnapping people from the city and hiding them in the cellar. At night, a boat took them through a secret channel to the river, and from there toward bondage in Talmatia. There was a group of captives to be shipped out that very night.

We escorted the woman to the street and asked her to run to the Temple for reinforcement. Because time seemed to be pressing, we decided to investigate the cellar ourselves. Rushing back into the house, a giant spider ambushed us. It sank its fangs into Brother Jacor, who dropped on the spot. I killed the monster and checked on Jacor. He was as cold as stone.

I must confess that anger impeded my judgment. If not for the slavers, Jacor would have been in bed at the Temple. I madly rushed to the cellar. As I entered, it triggered a trap. An arrow imbedded into my side. Flush with madness, I ignored the pain. I ran down a hallway, and was attacked by three vicious guard dogs. I killed one. A second one latched its jaws upon my sword arm. I kicked it and it released its grip; then I skewered it. The other dog jumped up, knocking me over. It tried to sink its teeth into my neck, but I stuck my arm in the arm. It clamped down on my sword arm. I struggled with the beast until I heard a man command: “Don’t move or yer dead.” I looked up to see three guards pointing crossbows at me. Unable to fight against such odds, I reluctantly dropped my sword.

Since then, I was shipped down river to the slave camp. They keep me here because I can heal the slaves and guards that become injured or sick.

I am entrusting this letter to a fellow slave who will be shipped to Talmatia tomorrow. Hopefully, she will find a way to get this missive delivered. I will continue to report as I am able.

Your brother in service,

Rowan of Scotsile

The Heroes


I will begin the Templar campaign with two characters. Each are members of the Temple and will receive assignments from the Temple leadership.

Brother Rowan is a Templar (e.g. a paladin). He will be the main muscle of the party. He will be accompanied by Brother Jacor, a priest (e.g. cleric). Unlike D&D clerics, priests in QUERP are weak fighters and must instead rely heavily on spells (which I am calling powers because "spell" doesn't sound right for religious types).

Name
Brother Rowan
Brother Jacor
Class
Templar
Priest
Abilities:


FIGHT
6
1
MAGIC
3
5
STRENGTH
5
3
CHARISMA
4
6
STEALTH
1
2
KNOWLEDGE
2
4
Health
18
15
Mana
6
10
Powers
Healing
Banish Dead
Blessing
Healing
Wrath of God
Walk on Water
Equipment
Medium armor
Shield
Sword
Priest robes
Staff

In QUERP, abilities (in capitals) can range from 1-10, with starting characters capped at 6. Health = hit points. Mana indicates how many powers can be used per day.

This is a small party so I will have to adjust the difficulty accordingly. I may give both brothers additional powers to give them a bit more survivability.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

The Divided Lands

My Templar campaign is set in the Divided Lands, a region on the western edge of a large continent. Once united as one powerful kingdom, civil war has split the realm into a dozen or so smaller principalities. The major powers are the kingdoms of Ehrlich, Doria, and Markland. The campaign will begin in the Free City of Scotsile, one of the largest cities in the Divided Lands.

The Divided Lands

Introduction

I've been enjoying sharing my gaming experiences on my Warwell Wargames blog. I mentioned that I'm suffering from GADD (Gamer's Attentive Deficit Disorder) and this new blog is another symptom. I plan to experiment with some solo role playing using Mythic and QUERP. I originally planned to post about it on my Warwell blog, but I decided I wanted to keep the RPG information contained. Therefore, I decided to set up a new blog.

The title of this blog gets its name from a character class in QUERP. Templars are QUERP's version of paladins. I like the name Templar so I decided to incorporate it into my campaign. In my world, Templars are knights who defend the temples of the supreme god. They also act as knights errant, roaming the land, righting wrongs, and dispensing justice. My main character is a Templar and these are his tales.