Chronicles of the Consortium

We have now played 25 sessions, and the three main player-characters are coming along nicely. The world of the Young Kingdoms can be a very dangerous place, and the Stormbringer  combat system is potentially lethal, so I have always run two accompanying characters to help take the pressure. Others are now dotting in and out of the game, as some of the players' friends occasionally join in, but the focus remains on the three originals. I thought it's about time I introduced them properly here on the blog thing, so here are some stats. They are rendered for D20, because it's easier for the players than percentiles. The characters started as members of the household of Haver Nikorn and stayed together as their fates have become ever more intertwined. Officially, they work for Nikorn's son Jorthan, who has taken over the family's business empire due to the death of his father at the hands of the Pan Tang sorcerer Theleb K'aarna. Sir Blanque STR 14   CON 13   SI...

Bomilcar's narrative After finishing off Tormiel, Destiny is delighted to acquire not just a Demon of Desire, but a Demon of Knowledge as well. Marion gets her demon dagger. We then arrive in Andlermaign, the main city of southern Argimilar. We know where the university tower is in the hills west of Andlermaign, but we also know that some form of fearsome undead is lurking in the hills. Jorthan reminds us of the stories we were told previously about needing magic or silvered weapons to help deal with the undead, so we pay for some of us to have our weapons edged with silver and then set off with great care. We spot a series of cave entrances (three, to be precise) up in the hills off the beaten track, and debate what to do. The consensus is that we should try to clear out the nasty thing that killed the defenders of the university tower before going to the tower itself. We have been warned that the tower may contain various dangerous items, and we want to make sure we don't...

Bomilcar's narrative To my surprise, Ehlessa arrives in Old Hrolmar, muttering something about the tribal seeress telling her to come here. This means that she arrives in time to join in the general festivities of Avan Astran's investiture as Duke. The party goes off without a hitch, even with our general weirdness added to the mix. Afterwards, the newly ensconced Duke passes a letter of introduction to Marion that will gain her access to his old school friend, Baron Priam of Cadsandria, so allowing her to start researching her origins. We all pile onto our galley for the five-day trip, including Ehlessa and Nadjana, the Duke's Pan Tangian bodyguard. He insists that she accompany us "To help keep you all out of trouble." We arrange to meet in the border town of Gorjhan in a year's time for our mutual expedition to the fabled Eastern realms. Jorthan and Sir Blanque go with Marion to meet the Baron; the rest of us stay in our nice hotel because the local Lawf...

Since the kids and I are on holiday at the same time, we played an extra session yesterday evening. So far, we have managed a couple of hours or so every Saturday evening, but on occasion we manage a little bit extra. Calisander  is a scenario that can be found on the Stormbringer RPG website; originally, it was run at an Australian games convention. I adapted the NPC 'hook' a little, but apart from that I ran it pretty much as presented. The players didn't quite deal with every possible element, but that's cool - I can keep some of those for later use... Bomilcar's narrative After a short voyage of only five days, we arrive in Old Hrolmar. Avan Astran gives us signed ducal passes to keep the overly Lawful constabulary off our backs, and then the new Duke and his bodyguard depart immediately for the castle, while we spend a bit more time getting our gear together. The intention is to head to the best hotel in town as guests of Avan Astran, and spend a leisurely c...

Bomilcar's narrative There are no incidents during our voyage to Raschil, the coastal capital of Filkhar. This is something of a relief after all of the recent excitement, and I am looking forward to this - I've never been to the southern continent before. On arrival, Jorthan takes us to his family's townhouse and sorts out various bits of business with his steward. He and Sir Blanque then go off to deal with bureaucrats and forms so that Sir Blanque 's title to his inheritance can rightfully be transferred. The last time he was here was when he was a baby; apparently after the death of his father, Sir Blanque became the last of his line, a reasonably distinguished family of nobles and diplomats. Orphaned (his mother died in childbirth), he was passed onto Jorthan's father, who became his legal guardian. He was a longstanding friend of the family, and was in Filkhar doing business at the time. Meanwhile, I take in the sights a little. Raschil seems like a nice p...