The Bloody Hands REBIRTH: The Stone Crack'd 04 - The Troubled and Rancorous Relationship of Tyv and Jorn upon the River Lumin [Tricube Tales + Mythic] [Recap]
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| "Jalmar leaps and rapidly climbs the slippery stone..." Image © Dean Spencer |
Previously, on the Stone Crack'd...
The journey across the Shallow Plains is fraught with rain and soured feelings. As the team pushes south and west, they stumble upon the ruins of a village. Investigating this leads Arden to a site where an ancient curse plagues the tomb of one of the last great wizards. Arden battles against and freeing the land, though now he is drained and tired. What's more, a strange mystical voice is calling Arden from some distance away.
About The Bloody Hands
The once great Khelia Empire has crumbled due to a long war between mages (The Troubles). After five generations (roughly a century and a half) a new technology has been developed: The Veil. Its anti-magical properties allow the remnants of the empire to rebuild without the threat of mages and their creatures of darkness they used to lay waste to towns and cities. Now the Arcane Order employs Guardians and Agents to protect the Veil. Guadian Arden Ulet, a Seer, was given a fool's errand task of tracking down a shadow organization knowing for its signature mark: two bloody hand prints left at the scene of their crimes. Only Arden has made fast friends and loyal allies and have dived deeper than the Order expected. As he gains in power and reputation, he beings to suspect the truth of "The Bloody Hands" is something more sinister and devious than he ever imagined.
Content Warning: Fantasy violence, extremely mild smoking and drinking.
This post is in RECAP style. The upper portions are a recap of what happened, some notes, and commentary. The actual session is down in the ACTUAL PLAY NOTES section which is presented as only mildly edited ad mostly raw and so has a variety of asides, reasonings, tables, and such built in. See the about page for this blog for more details. The Image Oracles described in the post (gamemaster phases and mechanic notes, especially) are from the Guardians of the Shadow Frontier one-sheet (CC-BY Richard Woolcock and Zadmar Games). They can be seen on the Tricube Image Oracles page.
A few new rules and rolls
As you read through the Actual Play, there are a few rules and rolls added to extend Tricube Tales and Mythic. Here is a quick summary just to catch everyone up [including me].
QUICK TABLES: Inside of curly brackets there will be { two | three | four | five | six } choices and then a note like "→ [fourth choice]". These are simply a quick, in-line table where when I am not sure exactly what I want but have a few ideas I create between a d2 and a d6 table and make a roll. It's a nice way for me to slightly control the possibilities while still being open to some mild chaos.
OPEN TRAIT CHECKS: A few times I am not exactly sure what a good target would be or just want to keep it in an open scale. In this case, I roll the appropriate trait and treat 4/Easy as "minor success", 5/Normal as "moderate success", and 6/Hard as "major success". A twist to this roll is that sometimes taking a lower degree of success can make the success "wider". In otherwords, if I roll a 3,5,6 it might be better to take two "quite decent" successes at 5/Normal than one exceptional success at 6/Hard. An example of this could be a repair roll. While a 6/Hard might represent you repairing something so well you actually improve it, taking the 5/Normal and having more successes means you repair it completely though it is more standard.
OPPOSED ROLLS: In cases where two characters that might both have legit call to roll, I usually default to Arden and then to one of the secondary characters and establish difficulty from their viewpoint. However, every once in a while it is good to build a contest where I roll both and tally it based on compared degree of success starting first with degree and then with quantity. A 6/Hard beats multiple 5/Normal, etc, but multiple 5/Normal beats a single 5/Normal. In this case, the two opponents might have a varying difficulty so one might have to hit 6/Hard to have any successes while the other only needs 5/Normal.
VARIABLE TARGET VALUES AND TRAITS: This is modified slightly from a rule already existing in Tricube Tales Micro Edition When I am not sure what the target value { Easy | Normal | Hard } might be or what the trait { Agile | Brawny | Crafty } should be, I roll 2d6. The first determines the trait from the following pattern: { Agile | Brawny | Crafty | Agile or Brawny | Brawny or Crafty | Agile or Crafty }. This is how it is given in Micro Edition. When it is a "A or B" (4-6), that means either Trait applies and the challenge is something that allows both approaches. For the difficulty, it is { Easy | Normal | Hard } where Easy is a 1-2 on the d6, etc but that can be modified by +1/+2 to increase the difficulty or -1/-2 to lower it. I actually tweak and retool this rule in this session as I go with this version growing out of seeing it in play.
STRENGTHENING SCENE EXPECTATION: There are times where playing at Mythic and letting the scenes go wild is perfect. In fact, this whole session (and the next since I did not finish it) is basically an ode to the joy of just playing to interrupt scenes and diverging. However, because this can at time do things like lead to two sessions outside of the scope of the story that is wanted (but not needed) to progress, I am going to work in a simple change. Once an "Intended for Plot" scene is interrupted (not altered) once, the next time comes up it is treated as definitely-going-to-happen unless something has changed. Example: The next time Arden approaches the "bad place" village, he will ignore interrupts but alternations might occur.
The Stone Crack'd 04 - The Troubled and Rancorous Relationship of Tyv and Jorn upon the River Lumin
The Legend of Brother Hyrdale and the Sad Villages of Jorn and Tyv
Roughly three-hundred-years before The Troubles, the Kind Brother Hyrdale was born in a quiet farm upon the River Lumin. As he grew up, the farm lad dedicated his life to Khel and spreading joy and harmony in The Shallows. His signature blessings were given by singing songs, writing poems, and paintings.
He lived a good long life and left behind many relics. In his death, he was honored by being buried along with the greater saints of Khel in Khalid City. However, back near his home, trouble was brewing.
Two villages—Jorn and Tyv—were each the same distances from the farm where Hyrdale was born and raised. Each had been left a singular painting as a holy relic for their Khelian temple. They both tried to claim to be the real site of origin for Brother Hyrdale and demanded the other give over its relic. This led to the two villages getting into a number of skirmishes with each other.
After the injuries escalated to a death, a Priest of Khel was summoned to arbitrate a decision. The priest first measured the distance from the farm's border to each village. Almost miraculously, down to the foot, the farm was precisely between.
In order to bring peace, the Priest took a different approach. Both villages should claim Brother Hyrdale (as Brother Hyrdale claimed both villages). To commemorate this, the villages would work together to build a statue of Hyrdale and create a combined pilgrimage site between the statue and the two temples.
Tyv, dedicated to farming and fishing and living off the river, would supply clay. Its artisans would paint.
Jorn, dedicated to stonework and sculpture and using the river to help mine its quarry, would supply river rock. Its artisans would carve.
And so the statue of Brother Hyrdale stood tall upon the river while north (on the west bank) was Tyv and south (on the east bank) was Jorn and the two villages were treated as one.
Until the war between the wizards and the Troubles began. A great number of demons, drawn to the latent energy generated by the statue and the holy site of Hyrdale's birth, descended upon the farm and split the villages in two once more.
A great frog demon, Argusin, eventually laid claim and devoured the rest before burying himself in the river mud, toppling the statue. Weird plants and vines grew up from his dark aura as he slept.
And so Tyv and Jorn once more considered each the enemy and set rules about traveling to and fro and especially never crossing the devil's grove.
While various folks in each plotted for the Five Generations about how maybe, once and for all, they could lay claim to the other's relic and once more state that they were the true home of Brother Hyrdale.
The Battle Against the The Great Demon Frog Argusin
The group are making their way from the Lake Kalbarn and following the river that flows from it south and west. This is the River Lumin. However, the early start runs into trouble when a storm rolls in and the group are completely soaked and fending off wind and thunder.
Izzia has been in a bad mood pretty such since they left but Natalia is starting to get into it. This trip is more or less her graduation exam from probationary to full [Junior] Guardian if Arden signs off on her progress.
During a lightning strike, Izzia spots something and gives a shout and rides off towards the river. When the others follow they see the toppled statue of Brother Hyrdale (showing him as a holy man standing tall with his arm's outraised, around 12 meters tall), now leaning out over the river at a fairly flat angle, and lecturing some children that are currently clinging to the statue, frightened by the storm. These children have fishing equipment and were using the statue as a sort of unsteady dock to try and fish from the river. However, the terrain has a strange and sickly air and weird plants and vines have grown up, some of which are choking out the base of the statue.
Right as Arden goes to chide Izzia—the scholar recognized the likeness of Brother Hyrdale even with the wear and tear and is upset the kids are using it so poorly—the statue shakes and rises up. This causes Izzia and about half the children, including the youngest, to fall into the flooded river and be washed downstream. The cause of the statue's motion is the Great Frog Demon Argusin, long asleep underneath. Argusin has grown from his last recorded sighting where he was "merely" around the size of a house. Now a dozen times bigger, he is more like a mansion. A true colossal creature of darkness.
Arden immediately charges toward Argusin, sword out and sigils activated fully. He calls for Natalia to help Izzia and the children in the river while Jalmar is tasked with getting the children still clinging from the now upright statue.
Arden leaps upon Argusin's back and stabs the demon before switching to punching at the human sized eyes of the beast. Around him, Jalmar has managed to get the kids down by using his beast companions and Natalia has pulled some kids ashore while trying desperately to get to Izzia as the scholar flounders and risks drowning.
Jalmar leaps from the top of the statue and begins shooting glowing arrows into the skull and back of Argusin and between him and Arden the beast is killed and the rain and water washes away and dilutes the black blood. Natalia has rescued all but one child but cannot Izzia. Finally, she sees him some distance downstream. He has grabbed the last child himself and is pulling both out of the water. He is half drowned and need of care so Arden talks to the children and finds out they are from Tyv and they set-out to get the children home.
Blocked at the Edge of Tyv
Only when they get to the edge of Tyv, they find their way blocked by a figure wearing black armor and wielding an axe. This is Nol Quint. Nol is deeply suspicious that the children have now been effected by the demon's grove and refuses to allow any parents to leave or any children to come back. A verbal fight ensues with Natalia rushing to confront Nol (and getting struck by Nol's axe). Even though the parents are pleading with Nol to cease, Nol has too much sway over the villagers for them to full on rebel.
After Arden tries pulling back his hooded cloak and showing off sigils to demonstrate his power—a trick he used in Basinghall—and it fails to impress Nol (if anything, convinces Nol that Arden really is infected by demons. Nol, Arden, and Natalia get into a fight where the latter two try (and succeed) to show they are not being aggressive but only trying to defend themselves and get the children home.
Finally, the villagers turn against Nol and Nol screams and runs off, abandoning the village. They will likely return at some point, considering Arden to be an enemy.
The children are reunited with their parents and the heroes are given a place to rest and avoid the storm.
The Mayor's Strange Request
It turns out part of Nol's sway over the village is that Nol's father, Daniel Quint, is the mayor. While Natalia and Izzia retire to a small and homely temple that hosts one of Brother Hyrdale's painting to be healed in its presence, Arden is asked by the Mayor to travel to Jorn to steal its sibling. The long rivalry between Tyv and Jorn lives on even though the space between the two villages has long been divided by the effects of the demon. They have once again turned to a long and drawn out civil war even though they rarely cross over to see one another.
The Tyv temple has a young priest who spends his time painting and trying to copy the one Hyrdale painting he knows. Still, the magical blessing of the original painting could only be enhanced if both were together and rather that both villages being minor pilgrimage sites that one, and surely Tyv is the true home of Hyrdale's legacy, but could be the true site of pilgrimage.
Also, the town largely lives off farming and fishing but the waters of the River Lumin have been no good for either, lately. This is due to the curse impacting Lake Kalbarn to the north which should now rectify since Arden has broken it. However, there is a superstitious tint towards wanting both paintings to "fight the curse" and end the problems. This is a reason why the children were fishing in a forbidden spot, trying to find some place new where fish "might be hiding."
Arden at first is not swayed but after talking to the mayor about the location of the strange mystical voice in his head and what might be further down the river, and finding the mayor really does not know because most Tyvians do not travel far past their own farms and fields, Arden changes his mind and decides it might be interesting to find out more.
Jalmar is joining some Tyvians in a hunt to find some food and host a feast in celebration so Arden decides to go alone.
Arriving in a Surprisingly Successful Jorn, the Stormy Bottle, and Danna Anderson
While Tyv remains a smallish village of fisherfolk and farmers, Jorn has been growing steadily in the last few decades. It is now a sizable town backed by its stone quarry and artisans that work to carve from it. Arden arrives to find the place thriving, though most people are inside due to the continued storms and rising river. He goes into a pub and here meets Tasha Bell (her sister, Sasha Bell, is Jorn's mayor). The people are friendly up until Arden mentions coming from Tyv and wanting to see the second painting. At this point, they shut him down. He pulls the broody routine and they are apologetic but refuse to budge.
When he asks for a place to stay the night (because he 100% plans to sneak out and see the painting when no one is looking) he is told he should go to the The Stormy Bottle out by the military garrison and ask there.
He takes them up on the offer.
Arriving at the Stormy Bottle, though, he finds it empty except for a bartender named Danna Anderson. Danna is actually a wandering priest who has dreams of being something like another Brother Hyrdale‐the Tyv equivalent wanted to copy Hyrdale's art, so two young priests each are trying to embody a portion of Brother Hyrdale—traveling the lands and spreading joy. Only the road is kind of tough especially when the weather is this damp and rivers are prone to flood. She stopped here to visit the temple, found the temple was shut, and ended up working at the bar, here.
The soldiers are all out of town. A shipment to deliver coins and other valuable items is underway and all the soldiers signed up for the chance rather than risk getting left behind in Jorn.
Danna is also dismissive of Arden coming from "podunk Tyv" but as he talks to her he realizes she is craving adventure and excitement and doing good deeds but has no good way to accomplish this. She is stuck here waiting for the tides to change. He gets an idea.
He tells her outright that he plans to break in and see the painting and asks if she wants to come along. She says yes.
The Great Break-in Mishap
When they get to the temple, Arden finds that instead of a homely simple temple made of river-rock and clay, the Jorn variation is a pretty large church. Brick and strong timber with heavy locked doors. An impressive building aided by the fact that numerous candles burning inside help to give it a glow on the stormy night.
Arden finds a way in but when Danna tries to follow, she falls back down. He rushes to the front door and opens it so she can enter but this was a mistake. Because the night is so dark and the interior so bright, a would-be watchdog hiding out from the rain named Jansen Dels sees the crack of the door and runs over screaming that bandits from Tyv are breaking in. This gathers other guards type who open the door and see Arden staring at the blank canvas. The second relic painting is devoid of any design and the church has been locked up to hide this fact from townsfolk and the pilgrims alike.
Arden tries, and fails, the trick with showing off glowing sigils but the townsfolk are not impressed. If anything, Jansen now thinks that Arden might be another haunt like "the ghost dog" that is stalking the moors. When Arden looks around confused, Danna acts like everyone knows about the ghost hound.
Right as Arden is trying to ask if anyone will take him to see the ghost hound, the sheriff shows up and the two would be art enjoyers are arrested.
Making Friends with Johnny Lawman
Unlike Tyv, people in Jorn are at least aware of the Arcane Order—this far out, they do not recognize any Order authority, though—so after the mob disperses the sheriff—Sheriff Raoul Tynsdale—lets Arden and Danna out of the holding cell and just chats with them. The older sheriff is friendly with Arden and very friendly with Danna, whom he knows from The Stormy Bottle.
Here, Arden finds out that the so called "ghost hound" is actually more like a spectral wolf swirling with colors and designs. What's more, that same wolf was the subject of the painting which is now blank. One night, the priest running the church died and the painting was found empty. After that, people have been spotted the ghost wolf at night, shining bright.
Arden is ready to see this ghost wolf in person and Danna is excited she's finally going on adventure.
DOUG'S COMMENTARY
In the previous session—The Stone Crack'd 03—I mentioned how this mini-arc is kind of its own campaign and this session (and its inevitable second half) is probably the best proof of that. The stuff about two villages (one growing up to be a decent sized town), dealing with prejudiced townsfolk, solving a strange mystery: this one "chapter" is pretty much an entire arc from the early days of The Bloody Hands. The point is to explore the world outside of the relatively narrow bubble (pun 100% intended) of the core series and to get a sense of why the Arcane Orders stringent control of magic and daily lives might not be always the best solution.
Bonus Fun Fact: as of this post with just a half page of the next session added in so I could "keep my place," there are 36-pages of content in my play diary for The Stone Crack'd. Most written in size 11 Arial font (i.e., the default Google Docs font). Sure, a lot of it is just open-world lore building but that's the kind of solo-player I am. Literary parsimony be damned when Doug is mapping out the geo-political rivalry of two small villages!
The Stone Crack'd needs the previous in-Veil style sessions with their smaller scope and bigger focus on internal politics and mystery/thriller content, but it also involves a lot of things that show how little all those intrigues actually matter.
By essentially pure oracle roles and some really surprising scene checks (getting an interrupt scene on a Chaos Factor of 3 is wild), we have had two (going on three) sessions in which we have had some deep lore dumps about the good folk and the bad folk from before The Troubles brought it all crashing down. It is actually a bit pointless that I made the set-pieces that have yet to even show up (see the above linked "03" and the start of the actual play notes for more) because alternate set pieces have deeply defined this mini-arc: first we got Leonardo Miller and dealt with the growing biases of the Veilborn; then we got the stuff with Kalbarn-Karn and the curse; and now we have a kind of fun mini-story about a saint and his magic art with deep nods to Golden Age cozy mysteries as well as classic Holmes and Hammer Horror.
As iconic as the mental scene of Arden, on horseback, riding towards a massive demon frog—sword out and sigils glowing bright in the dim, stormy weather&mdahs;might be, the double scenes of townsfolk being utterly unimpressed with him trying to show off with those same glowing sigils are probably my favorites. It worked once, a few sessions back, and then no longer. Here is a man in his mid-30s trying hard to show off to yokels and their response is effective: "Ok, but what does that have to do with us?" That or thinking he is haunted himself. Removing Arden from the place where the Ulet name is kind of a blank check is nice. He has to try twice as hard and so far the dice rolls have absolutely astounded me when it matters. The Argusin fight with its drowning children and chaos required 12-effort! Yet, Jalmar and Arden punched through. Sure it is just random chance but I like to think it's a nod to how much they have grown as a team, facing ancient and terrible things without the luxury of backing down.
I will always play the kind of character that rushes to save children, by the way.
Dean Spencer makes a surprising "cameo" in this one. I have been using his art to illustrate the aether-noir meets cyber-punk "The GLOW" series (he first part of that, comprising the first two sessions, setting the aether-noir rules) and even using his art to kind of dictate the series. I find an illustration I like and then try and work in some part of the scene to justify it. At any rate, digging through his art I came across the above piece and immediately went, "Hey, that looks like my mental model for Jalmar Dax," and after a second gave thought and realized another Dean Spencer piece has been deeply tied into my mental model of Arden Ulet this whole time. One from a particular volume of rather excellent random tables. A Big Book of them, you might say. It did not take long to find a piece that made me think, "Hey, that's Natalia!" With those three, and a piece that kind of works for Izzia, I'll have a short break from the old classical art of rural and urban England.
ACTUAL PLAY NOTES FOR THE STONE CRACK'D 04
Scene 9
First, some quick threads updating. Natalia had two threads (her career and her want for respect). In retrospect, will shrink this to a single thread (Natalia’s Career and Desire for Respect) and will add in a new new one: The Troubles and Their Aftermath. The war between the dark wizards is what caused many of the current troubles but really it has not been addressed too much outside of the notion that there are deep gorges torn into the earth, etc etc.
Now, on with the show...
Chaos Factor 5.
Expected Scene: Arden and Co approach a worn down village, drawn slightly to the psychic/mystical call of a mage inside (the village is a trap which lures travellers in…).
Actual Scene: Interrupt Scene. Ambiguous Event (Misuse, Distraction).
Ok, a question (50/50): Is this related to the village directly? 72 → No. Let’s go to the Image Oracles, then. 3,2 Fishing Pole + 4,2 Ancient Ruins.
As the party is moving back from the lake towards their right path, and Arden is drawn to the odd voice in his head, calling him forth, the group see a strange sight. A group of kids from a nearby village are scrambling on a tottering dock to try and catch fish. Only the dock is actually an old statue from before the Troubles that has fallen over. Izzia will chafe at the misuse and pull the team off course.
Since this scene is most likely to be largely just world building (as said, a distraction), let’s dive a bit deep. WHO is being predicted? Using Random Realities we get 3,2 (Defense - Guarding + Tired - Monk), 5,2 (Inquisitive - Planning | Reclusive - Assassin), 1,1 (Respectful - Writing | Loyal - Healer), and 3,6 (Sympathetic - Painting | Lost - Artisan). Taking, basically, one word from each let’s go with a Reclusive Monk known for his art and writing. A semi-mythical figure. Name: 5,3 Hyr + 6,1 Dale. Brother Hyrdale.
Is this someone that Izzia knows? (Likely) 47 → Yes.
Now, using World without Numbers to set the scene more fully. Combine one Wilderness Tag with one Ruins Tag: Wilderness 31 - Devil’s Grove. Ruins 12 - Civil War. Ok, so this is going to be a bit more surprise action-y, then. Using the concept of an ancient, terrible beast from the former and defaced relics and bloodied rivals from the latter, we have a story.
THE LEGEND OF BROTHER HYRDALE AND THE SAD VILLAGES OF JORN AND TYV
Four hundred years ago, long before the Troubles, Brother Hyrdale was a follower of Khel who lived a peaceful life. He would wander the shallows and preach joy and happiness in your work and your art. Reclusive, he was never known for any particular stopping place. He might disappear for weeks or even months at a time but eventually he would wander into some village or town and there would be a festival to celebrate. He would write elaborate epic poems, paint bright murals, and sing songs with all the people who came out to see him. It is said that a rhyming couplet from Brother Hyrdale could cure ills, that looking upon his paintings could heal the soul.
The beloved monk passed away at the age of 61 and was given a state burial in Khalid City with full honors. However, back in the Shallows an issue had arisen. Brother Hyrdale had been born in a lonely farm equidistant from two villages: Jorn and Tyv. Both took great honor but in the wake of his passing, both wished to capitalize on his name. Despite official Khalid surveyors declaring that the Hyrdale farm was no closer to one or the other, both argued technicalities. “Brother Hyrdale bought potatoes from Tyvr, we fed him!” “Brother Hyrdale bought wool from Jorn, we clothed him!”
After a fight between the two broke out in which several noses were bloodied and an old widow died of shock, a priest of Khel was dispatched to settle it once and for all. She recommended a not-simple solution. Jorn would provide the stone and Tyvr would provide the clay, both harvested from the River Lumin which flowed between the two village. These two items would be combined, using equal number of artisans from each village, to create a statue of Brother Hyrdale and give honor not only to his legacy but to the twin villages that helped raised him and make him what he was.
Both agreed and so the statue was built exactly equidistant, along the banks of the River Lumin. Tyv-Jorn was established as a partnership.
Years later, during the Troubles, the couple of miles of distance between the two villages suddenly became a dangerous split as creatures of darkness found the quasi-holy spot and fed off the positive energy - as well as the lingering sense of conflict. Over the new few decades, the statue tumbled and the creatures fought amongst themselves until only a single great beast remained (Using the same 5,3 + 6,1 used to generate the names we get Bulky - Demonic | Broad - Amphibian…all four we can use here): The great batrachian demon, Argusin. Argusin fed richly upon his fellow creatures and then crawled into the mud under the statue to sleep.
And so the legend of the good Brother Hyrdale has been lost to Tyv and Jorn and replaced by a new legend: the old statue neither village must cross. Twins split again by a dark place in between.
Back to our Scene
Weather Check { cloudy | misting | drizzle | rainy | hard rain | full on storm }: 6 = Full on Storm.
Vibe Check: Izzia (1) + Natalia (4). Natalia continues to be moderately at peace with the situation though Izzia is once again in a quite sour mood. He has been practicing scathing phrases to shout at Arden once the group camps for the day.
The team makes their way across the Shallows in the depths of a full on storm. Slow going. Visibility is poor. Arden has heard Izzia cursing under his breath but does not try and console the sodden Scholar. Kor’s emotions are a bit mutable and the volumes of text he will be able to write from this trip will be consolation plenty.
Jalmar is in the rear, riding tall and proud in full leathers. Ravenhawk protected in a covered cage and monkeydog enjoying being wet, clinging to Jalmar’s shoulder. Natalia, slightly in front of Jalmar, is whistling a tune. Not as merry as it could be, she still is obviously trying to copy Jalmar’s own stoicism.
Arden hears the voice in his head: “Come, closer.” He has told the others about it and all four agree that it is almost definitely a trap but all four also agree that they should move towards it. Cutting across the River Lumin (feeding from Kalbarn Lake) could take days and going around the voice the other way might take even longer. Whatever the voice is, it is ahead. For better or worse. Most likely worse.
After a lightning strike which gives a bit more increased visibility, Arden hears Izzia shout, “No, no, get off that!,” before the Scholar rides his horse off somewhere to the left, towards the river. Arden turns to follow and the other two are close behind.
Arden sees a strange sight in front of himself. The statue of a thin man in monk’s robes and arms stretched up and wide. Only the statue - Arden reckons it is around 30-feet high and built of river rock - has fallen over long enough ago that weeds and earth have grown over its lower half. This makes the arms and upper half a ledge jutting out over the rapidly rising river. Something of an accidental pier.
Izzia is up on the waist of the statue shouting at a handful of children clinging to the arms and face of the statue. He is telling them to respect Brother Hyrdale. Arden notes, easily, the fishing equipment the kids have. He also notes that the children have no doubt been trying to fish and are now trapped in the storm and trying to get swept off the wet masonry. Ironically, Izzia being an unknown threat is probably keeping them on there for longer.
As Arden is going to turn to Jalmar and Natalia and recommend they get the kids down, the earth shakes hard and the horses buck. An impossible sight happens next. It looks as though this Brother Hyrdale, at least his statue, starts to rise up. Izzia is thrown into the bank and rolls off into the swollen river. A couple of the younger children slip free and fall into the water. The others cling desperately.
Then, from under the statue a great shape emerges, one long buried down into the mud. Standard Crafty Challenge, Arden gets three successes and very nails it. Arden can sense the name before he sees the demon’s eight eyes turn to look in their direction. Argusin. A great batrachian evil summoned forth during the Troubles to feed upon the people of the Shallows. At the time, it was described as like a house. Now, it has grown old and fat. It is a mansion rising up.
“Jalmar! Get those kids down. Natalia! Get Izzia and the ones in the river!” With that, Arden is riding hard directly towards the demon. Guardian sigils glowing bright white in the dim storm light of the day.
In Tricube Tales Micro Edition, there is a table for determining the Trait for a Showdown which works out to { Agile | Brawny | Crafty | Agile or Brawny | Brawny or Crafty | Agile or Crafty }. Using that, a 4 is rolled. Fighting Argusin will be Agile | Brawny challenge (not one of brains, essentially). Three effort seems reasonable. How hard, though. I just jumped on everything being Hard last time but while Argusin is a major threat it is also a demon that has been asleep in mud and is likely confused and also just shoved a heavy statue off of itself. Let’s go with 1 pip toward Easy, three towards Normal, and two towards Hard (in other words 1: easy, 2-4: normal, 5-6: hard). We get 2, Normal. Normal Brawny or Normal Agile. Twelve total effort for the four characters. Izzia is trying to survive. Natalia is trying to help Izzia and some children. Jalmar is trying to help some other children. Arden is running right into battle.
First round: Arden gets 1 success. Jalmar gets 1 success. Natalia gets 1 success. Izzia gets no successes and takes 1 Resolve damage.
Arden leaps off his horse and uses the vines clinging to the bottom of the statue to climb up and leaps onto the back of Argusin and brings his sword down into the demon’s thick, gelatinous flesh. There is no real plan by the Guardian but to distract the beast from the kids. Jalmar leaps and rapidly climbs the slippery stone, loosing Kif and Ruk to assist. One of the kids is pulled off and tossed to the ravenhawk who catches them and somewhat roughly lowers it down. Natalia grabs one of the younger kids and pulls her to shore. Unfortunately Izzia is being overwhelmed and cannot surface, choking on water.
Second round: Arden gets two successes. Jalmar gets three sixes! We’ll say that’s worth at least a couple bonus hits of effort (so 5 from him). Natalia gets another one. Izzia gets two. That wraps it up with both Izzia and Jalmar scoring exceptionally well considering the odds against their dice.
Arden grips his sword - still stuck in Argusin’s back - and as the great demon turns its frog leg head to glare at the puny mortal clinging to it, Arden smashes his war-sigil marked fist right into Argusin’s eye. The entire body lifts up high and tries to drive the pest from its back. But now Arden has help. Jalmar, handing off the last two children on the statue to the monkeydog and ravenhawk, leaps from the arm with his magically enhanced bow out and shooting glowing arrows into the spine of Argusin. The bright pure light of his shots punch through the demon as black blood pours into the river and begins to fade. The entire bulk of it collapses with Arden rolling free.
Downstream, Natalia has caught all but one kid. Looking around desperately, she sees Izzia pulling himself out by a branch. In the Scholar’s arm is the final child. Izzia coughs water from his lungs and lays exhausted as the demon blood flows by nearby, diluting rapidly in the flooding waters.
Natalia turns back towards the statue, now upright though at an angle. On the back of the demon, Arden and Jalmar stand tall. Sigils are still glowing silver. Victorious.
She is 100% in. +2 to her vibe checks here on out.
Chaos Factor drops to 3 because that was such an astounding victory.
The kids come from {Tyv | Jorn} → Tyv.
Scene 10
Chaos Factor: 3
Expected Scene: The children are returned to Tyv as the team waits out the storm and regathers their energy.
Actual Scene: Almost shockingly, another Interrupt Scene. Oppose/Mundane. New NPC with “Josef Ulet” cited. So…someone like big brother Josef. Fairly practical. A village leader type who is opposed to the {children | guardians | both } → children entering the village of Tyv. Because they went into the demon-infested area between the two villages.
New NPC: {male | female | nonbinary} non, {younger | same | older} older, Urban People 3, 1 Driver/Wagoner + 6,2 Soldier/Mercenary. Person Tags: 6,4 Treacherous/Tricky. Usual Demeanor? Wary/Vigilant. Name? Nol Quint.
Nol Quint has traveled around the Shallows for years. First as a mercenary for the various gangs and caravans traveling the plains. Then running supplies between Tyv and other areas. And there is one thing that Nol has learned: you take care of yourself. Tyv is where Nol is at home and there is a pretty major rule in Tyv. Do not go near the old statue or the goblins will get you. Once it was discovered that some children from the village had done just that, Nol quickly started badgering the others: do not let these kids return.
Do any of the others agree with Nol? No. This means the fact that Nol is going to stop people from getting their children is a sign how dangerous they can be. They are very war hardened and used to bullying the people in the village.
Arden, Jalmar, and Natalia walk and lead their horses carrying a couple of kids each. Izzia and another kid are clinging to the fourth. The children have told Arden how to get back to Tyv and he is letting one of the oldest kids lead.
Getting close to Tyv, though, the group sees a black-armored figure standing and blocking their path. Short haired, muscular, and mean looking, this figure is carrying a large axe and tells Arden and the kids to stop approaching.
“Them kids wandered off to devilhome. They can’t come back. Them’s the rules.”
Behind this person, a few adults are standing around. Several fathers and mothers look desperate and upset, but do not challenge the axe-wielder.
“Do not be a fool,” Arden shouts back. “These children are wet and their parents are waiting for them.”
“Nae. The demon done got their souls.”
“No, their souls are fine. The demon is dead.”
“You can’t dead a demon!”
“You can’t. We can. We killed it.”
One of the younger children starts to shout about how Arden and Jalmar killed Argusin (“The glowing man killed the big frog”) when the axe wielder screams at “Maddew” to shut his demon tongue.
Arden, hearing enough and knowing that Izzia needs care, looks past the person and asks the people behind if they agree with this or can they come and at least get their children.
Do any speak up? (likely) 100 Exceptional No. They are extremely afraid of Nol. Random Event. NPC Action. Trust. Friend. Going with just the ones that are here {Jalmar | Natalia | Izzia | Children } we get Natalia. Natalia fully trusts and supports Arden and so jumps forward into the conversation and starts describing all the things that Arden has done. How much he has fought for the order.
She walks right up to Nol, essentially shouting into the axe-wielder’s face… Hard Crafty… no successes. Does Nol outright attack? (Very Likely) 91 Exceptional No. Despite Nol being absolutely unconvinced by Natalia’s outburst, they do not bend one wit. In fact, they take their axe and draw a line in the sand and shout back that any who cross will be considered to be a demon attacking the town.
Arden asks Jalmar and Izzia to get the kids back and away. “Keep them safe, no matter what happens here.”
Standing side by side with Natalia, Arden pulls out his blade and says the words to activate it. Blades and Sigils shining bright…he is trying to both threaten and demonstrate that his people can in fact kill a demon.
Another Hard Crafty, this time for him: 1 success. Not enough to get through to Nol, but enough to get to some of the people behind Nol.
Do these people know of the Guardians? (50/50) 50 No.
Still, they can see that Arden is capable and they heard what Natalia said (which now makes more sense).
A few start shouting for Nol to let the children through. “They are our babies!” “They were just trying to find food since it has been scarce.”
Oh, speaking of…has Nol been missing deliveries lately? (Likely) 66 No. There is just not enough food to actually deliver.
Still, Nol sees the tides turning against them and has to react. Action Meaning Table: 92 Transform 85 success. Let’s do a vibe on top of this because I am split: {nol refuses | nol accepts} Nol very much so refuses. The transformed success means that Nol uses the demonstration to try and claim that Arden is a demon in disguise and takes this to push.
Same showdown roll as before with {easy | standard | hard} in equal measure. Normal Agile. The trick is going to be mostly to not get hit. 2 effort each.
First round: Arden gets a success but Natalia gets struck by the axe.
Second: Arden continues to dodge while Natalia also stays out of the way.
Third: Arden and Natalia both dodge again.
At this point in time, several village folk have run up and demand Nol to stop. They essentially get into the middle of the fight. “These people are trying to hurt us, they are protecting our children!”
And Nol (again, meaning table): 42 Expose 64 Opposition - Nol shouts that they cannot stay in a town full of demons and runs off into the rain.
Looks like we have a new character/thread to have during Arden’s time out.
Chaos factor is down to a 2.
Scene 11
Chaos Factor: 2
Expected Scene: NOW they will rest in Tyv
Actual: Expected (oh, thank goodness)
Back to World Without Number and the Rural Village table… one roll: Tyv initially grew up around the estate of Lord Tyv some many years ago. It is led by a Patriarch: Nol’s Father (grown sickly as of late). Besides those two, the next most notable citizen is an artisan (someone who follows in Hyrdale’s footsteps, perhaps). Ah, an explanation of why food was scarce. Since Lumin runs from Lake Kalbarn, the curse was causing the river to change and become darker with fish dying off. The demon partially awoke because it could sense an ancient evil mage. The person that will talk to the adventurers will be Nol’s father. Nearby the village is one of Brother Hyrdale’s blessed artworks in a shrine. Just looking at it will heal you.
Community Tag: 66 Pilgrimage Site + 26 Dueling Lords
Both Jorn and Tyv have a holy painting by Hyrdale. Once the demonic beasts split the villages in two, both consider the other to be somewhat responsible and are trying to find a way to gather up both relics under one house. Nol’s father, Daniel Quint, asks Arden to travel to Jorn and take their painting so the Tyv temple can have both.
The scene is a village on the plains. A few trees. Village has lived many years through fishing the River Lumin and by bringing in supplies. Around thirty or forty families. A few outlier farms. Tyv-Jorn has broken down thanks to the demonic forces in the middle but long paths around. A ban on going to the area with the statue. Under Nol’s tyranny, it got worse. Arden in a house that was once grand a few generations back.
This is a place of pilgrimage. Before the troubles, folks traveled to see both temples. During the Troubles, the sheer unimportance of either village meant they could weather having demonic entities so close. After, the communities are split once more and warring with each other.
In the house, Arden asks about the location of the voice in his head. Daniel asks Arden to steal the painting. Both are drinking warm tea mixed with rum. Staying dry. Jalmar is out trying to hunt some. Gets a 6, 5, and a 3. We’ll stick with Standard Success so doubly so. Not an exceptional game, but a good amount of decent. The group will have a feast later that night.
Hard Crafty for Arden to explain the direction the voice is in: No successes. Daniel does not know of any village or people or places of power in that direction.
Checking the weather oracle from earlier, it is still storming. Izzia and Natalia are healing up at the temple. An artisan is studying the single painting of Hyrdale (Image Oracles: 1,1 Magic Portal + 1, 2 Cash…a painting showing a heavenly door to a place of riches) and so creates very similar themed paintings of doors.
Arden might be tempted to head to Jorn and see their side of the story.
Does Izzia know of this? Hard Crafty: No. Izzia knows of Brother Hyrdale, but not of the Tyv and Jorn issues.
Arden will be on his own again, heading to Jorn to talk to them. The plan is for Arden to return shortly after nightfall but in case he gets delayed, he leaves a note for the others written in Order code.
Arden is a bit out of controlling the situation right now, so Chaos factor up to 3.
Scene 12
Chaos Factor 3
Expected: Arden approaches Jorn to try and settle some differences
Actual: As Expected
Using the same approach as above, what is Jorn like...
Jorn is best known for its quarry which has been mostly drained. Here is where the once famous Jorn stone was derived. It is run by a matriarch, Sasha Bell. A significant local is Sasha’s cousin, Toren Bell, who owns the land the quarry is on. A current problem is a dangerous beast or foe: Argusin? Is this the same beast? 98. Exceptional No. They are being haunted by another beast. Hmm. Creatures Descriptors Meaning Table: 18 Color, 92 Undead. An undead creature full of color. Like a painting. Let’s get a couple of Image Oracles in… 6,1 Wolf’s Head + 4,6 Magic Swirl. A ghost shaped like a wolf that flows with color as it moves. The second temple’s painting was of a wolf in a multi-colored forest, a different sort of paradise from the first. Around the same time the curse was released, the temple priest died. And the wolf from the painting is now gone and traveling in the lands.
Was this due to someone from Tyv trying to steal it? Very Likely: 55. No. Why did it awaken? Actions Meaning Table: 46 Free 56 Pain. It is trying to free something from pain. Itself? The priest? Ah, was the priest murdered? Nah, that’s moving towards this subplot taking up more threads. Go with simpler. The two temples are one temple. Hyrdale considered them both to be his home. In fact, there will be a third painting. The first is social paradise: riches, wealth, a home. The second is natural paradise: beauty, freedom. There is a third for spiritual paradise.
The person most likely to interact with Arden is a starry eyed youth longing to leave for adventures. It can offer… hand crafted stone items.
We’ll give it the same community tags. They have another temple but Sasha and Daniel are at odds, long separated by the “demon swamp”.
Arden arrives in Jorn in the early afternoon. The bridge to get from village to village requires going a long path around the demon swamp with the bridge that was at the farm, being long destroyed. How welcoming are we talking about? I will say quite. They still make art. Still have a quarry to sell stone.
The storm has driven many of the villagers indoors so he makes for a place that looks like a public house. Entering, the woman behind the bar exclaims, “A stranger, in this weather?” and comes around to check on him. A few older folks, smoking pipes and swapping stories, have stopped to stare but not in a completely unfriendly way. Still, a few men and women with distinct “We break rocks for a living” levels of muscles are nearby and staying on guard. For most travelers, these would be a threat.
Arden explains that he came from Tyv and is not exactly surprised to hear some grumbles. He leaves out the whole “steal the painting” part of the trip but leans into seeing that temple. Plays up his own brooding nature (+1 difficulty). Gets a success all the same and has the folk accept he is on a legit pilgrimage. +1 Karma.
The old lady is Sasha’s sister: Tasha York. She pulls Arden to get him some whiskey.
Does she tell him about the temple painting being blank, now? (50/50) 37 so no. Instead, she tries to convince him not to go anywhere near the temple. “The priest is dead so we have closed the site until we find a new one.”
Every time Arden tries to convince her that he just wants to see the other half of the pair, she shuts him down. He eventually asks if there is a place to spend the night since the sun is setting and the river is rising.
Do they have an actual room? (50/50) 50 - No. Where does she suggest he sleep? 4,2 Military Building + 4,4 Nightclub/Brothel.
Are the soldiers still there? (50/50) Exceptional No
The town is definitely more traveled than the quiet fishing village of Tyv. It is large enough to have a small garrison of soldiers and a building more geared towards the nightlife of those. This will be nearer the quarry. They should have rooms. The soldiers are off...
Actions: 82 Separate 75 Poverty
Carrying money raised by Jorn from the quarry to another city further down Lumin. Since a lot of poor villages are in between, it is semi-dangerous. Not even a skeleton crew has really remained since all the soldiers treat this as an excuse to go and get drunk rather than stay around podunk Jorn.
The nightclub definitely has rooms. Image Oracle 6,4 Flask + 6,5 Lightning Bolt. “The Stormy Bottle”.
Who is working it? 1,3 Beggar/Vagrant + 5,4 Priest/Preacher. Using the above tables, Young. Female. 2,5 Careful/Cautious. 2,4 Candid/Blunt. 6,2 A bit squeamish and fussy.
Not exactly starry eyed but this can be the youth longing to leave for adventures. She came to this town to preach the word of Khel and to visit the holy site but found the holy site closed with the previous priest’s death. She stayed and got a job working here for a nightclub barely used by the respectable citizens and too boring for the less respectable ones. She is careful with her personal dealings but also prone to just telling it like she sees it. She wants to leave and continue being like one of the old legendary traveling priests of old but she pretty much just knows up and down the river and had a few rough run ins.
Name? 2,5 Danna + 1,2 Anderson.
Showing up at the Stormy Bottle, Danna is the only person around. Arden introduces himself and gives the same spiel about wanting to see both temples but being blocked from this one. Once more leaning into the brooding act. Again gets one success and regains +1 Karma (up to 2). Danna tells him that she too was expecting more access to the holy site. However it is guarded.
Would it be actively guarded in the rain? (Likely) 72 No.
Arden tries to get a sense of her. Standard Crafty: Spends one of the Karma to turn that into an exceptional success. He can feel her desire for adventure and while he is not the type to actually use folks, still figures coming clean.
“I came here because I heard about the issues between here and Tyv.”
“That backwater? That place is more boring than here.”
“Well, yes, but in this case I am curious why two places with two sacred relics both felt the other was cheating. It feels like they should be working together. I was coming for insight but worried I might get locked in the jail if they thought I was a spy.”
“Are you a spy?”
“Yes, but the only person I am working for is my own curiosity. Look, it’s not likely to be well guarded in this storm. Want to break into a temple with me?”
She, of course, says yes.
Scene 13
Chaos Factor: 4
Expected Scene: Arden and Danna break into the temple
Actual: Expected scene
Oh, let’s get Danna some stats. She is a {Agile | Brawny | Crafty} Brawny Priest of Khel who… hmm. Image Oracle 3,4 Bird + 2,3 Angry Mob. She can summon swarms of animals but not control them. Her quirk will be Daydreamer.
Danna Anderson is a Brawny Priest who can summon swarms of animals but is prone to daydreaming.
What is required to get into the temple? Same dice rolls as before: Hard Agile/Crafty. What is the temple like? Couple of Location Tags and Image Oracles: 5,3 Prominent + 4,6 Old Fashioned + 3,1 Candle + 4,5 Giant. Ok, Just like how Tyv is a small, non-assuming fishing village while Jorn is a larger quarry town, the Tyv temple is small and primitive while the Jorn temple is a larger, old-fashioned church where caretakers keep lots of candles lit. It is a central building to the town and so breaking in means there will be lots of witnesses if it fails.
Arden has to spend his last hard re-earned Karma to find a way in (Crafty). Danna is not able to follow him (no successes). He tells her to meet by the door and he risks opening it (which will shine some candle light out). Is there anyone to see? (Very likely) Exceptional Yes. Someone does notice. What do they do? 30 Deny 27 Environment. They go and try to stop the “vandals”. Just a quick Urban People roll will suffice: 3,6 Hunter/Survivalist + 5,5 Reporter/Town Crier. PERFECT.
Jansen Dells spots the light showing from the door of the church and starts running while crying “Someone is breaking into the temple! Those bastards from Tyv are making a try”.
Jansen and some other townsfolk run out into the rain and slam open the doors to the church to see Arden standing in front of the blank canvas. Arden has dropped his rain cloak and is standing, once again glowing to impress.
This is going to be Hard Crafty and he again has no karma: No successes. Jansen points to the other townsfolk. “Like the beast on the moors. Another ghost come to haunt us like the hound!”
Arden looks at them, then at Danna. She picks up on his confusion. “You know, the ghost hound? The glowing ghost hound? How do you not about it?”
Arden starts to ask, “How would I…” and then realizes that folks are gathering specifically to capture him. He asks, “Wait, can someone show me this ghost hound?”
Do they? (50/50) No. The sheriff shows up and asks Arden and Danna to follow him.
Scene 14
Chaos Factor 5
Expected: Arden tries to convince the sheriff to let him investigate the ghost hound and figure out why the painting is blank
Actual scene: Expected Scene
Does Jorn know about the Order and the Guardians? (50/50) Yes.
We’ll say after some talk and explanation the sheriff nods and lets the mob leave and then lets Arden out of the cell. In the Shallows, the Order won’t carry much legal weight but the sheriff at least knows that Arden is not a vengeful spirit or just some random bandit. Open Crafty Roll: 5. Standard success in getting on the sheriff’s good side. How about Danna? 6. She actually charms the sheriff quite a bit.
“Who’s tending the Bottle?”
“No one. No one is drinking at the Bottle, neither.”
“Yes, yes, tell me about this ghost hound? And why in the eight hells is the painting blank? Is this some practical joke of a holy relic?”
The sheriff, Sheriff Raoul Tynsdale, seems almost upset at this. “That relic has been part of this town for 400 years. And then, the priest died and it was like you see it. We’ve locked up the church and Dels and his people were supposed to keep all visitors, even townsfolk out. We don’t need Jorn to know.”
“Was this ghost hound before or after this?”
“After.”
“Related?”
“How...can it be?” Standard Crafty: One success, Arden picks up that the sheriff is hiding something.
“It is! But, like you said: how can it be?”
“It is not a hound. It is more like a wolf. A swirly, bright, colorful one. Before it was running around out there,” pointing to the moors opposite the river and to the south of the quarry, “It was in there,” pointing back to the church.
“You are being haunted by a painting?”
“Exactly.”
Danna pipes back in. "An adventure!," and slaps Arden on his back.
Chaos Factor up to 6.
CREDITS
This game uses Tricubes Solo, the Tricubes one-sheet "The Guardians of the Shadow Frontier," [both by Richard Woolcock and Zadmar Games] and The Mythic Game Master Emulator (2nd Edition) [by Tana Pigeon].
Additional tables come from Cezar Capacle's Random Realities, Ben Milton's Maze Rats + Knave 2nd edition, Kevin Crawford's ...Without Numbers series (primarily Worlds...) + Scarlet Heroes, Matt & Erin Davis's Big Books of Random Tables, and Madeline Hale's Table Fables.
Other sources should be be credited in the raw play notes.
Graphics come from a variety of sources. A frequent source of the opening/splash images is ArtUK and I recommend that site/resource to any who like classical art.
Some art © Dean Spencer. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
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