The Incompleat RedStaff

This setting is somewhat less fully realized than some of the other color-themed side-projects of mine. I have a clear base and tone in mind, but have yet to get many of the broad strokes down on paper. Still, the bits and pieces that follow should convey the overall intent - if nothing else.

Blood in the Water

How many generations should be enough to forget? The elderly tell stories of the “old days” to anyone that will listen. Children sing distorted pieces of history in their silly games. And, somewhere in all the dust-covered accounts and annals of what came before, there is bound to be a nagging worm of truth. But, we know what the ultimate fate of a worm tends to be…

Red Staff? Baton Rouge? After a fashion. A fashion known as Bayou & Sorcery. With flavors of Southern Gothic horror and fantasy noir. Where adventurers, mercenaries, and opportunists abound – but heroes are found mostly in romantic stories and weathered monuments. This is a realm under a magocracy – challenged by theocrats ­– administered by local Hag Queen bosses.

Blood will tell? For some, blood is all there is. Family and ancestry. Name and legacy. This is a land that craves blood – especially human blood. So hot, sweet, and full of vice. Everything takes its share. From the mosquitoes and ticks, to the gators and vampires – all the way up to the Gods Themselves. In this setting, pure blood is about as elusive and precious as pure water.

Where does your value lie?

Lay of the Land

RedStaff is a setting built from the ground-up. During the earliest Days of Settlement, parcels of dry land were raised from the wet. The land is greedy and treacherous. The swamps are old and patient. The Gods sit comfortably at the top of the food chain, served by the elemental Aspects of Stone, Wind, Metal, Sea, Thunder, Soil, Blood, and others.

The past will not be buried. With dry land at a premium, interment of the dead has come to be either a costly proposition, or an expedient one. Aboveground mausoleums serve to contain the fortunate dead, while the hungry swamps receive many, many others. Still, there are those who may not rest after death – obligated to pay off debts as undead slaves. Necromancy is a thriving industry.

Know your history. Honor your bloodlines. Respect the land. Pay your debts.

Strangers to These Shores

These are the New Colonies – we lost the old ones. Almost 500 years ago, people came to this forsaken land in search of new opportunities and with hope for a fresh start. Within fifty years, all contact was lost. It took nearly another thirty years before a proper expedition could be funded to reach the site of the first of the five “lost colonies.” Those brave souls were never heard from again.

Out with the old – in with damnation. There was big magic in those early Days of Settlement. Not all of it was big enough, and not all of it was human. Laws were established, and almost immediately broken. Dark deals were made. Hasty oaths were sworn. Lives were lost and souls were tainted. Those days, there were eager and merciless devils in the details. Just before the end, a lesser evil stepped forth to offer salvation.

Your freedom is your greatest magic. Your choices are as the casting of spells.

That Olde Black Magick

The wise women emerged from the swamps. Let’s call them what they are: witches and hags. The surviving remnants of ancient covens, and keepers of precious secrets. Caretakers of a tradition that transcends arcane spellcasting and denies theurgic obligation. They brokered new deals and negotiated better bargains. In no time at all, the land was defined by peaceable townships and settled parishes – governed by hags.

The Realm of Immurcie. This is now home. Measured not in good or evil, but in gain or suffering.  How much others must suffer for those who gain. How much suffering is caused by that gain, or – how much suffering may be alleviated by one’s gain. Because, make no mistake, there are powers abroad that crave mortal suffering. Terrible entities that must be appeased for the benefit of all. Unless they could be fought…

Will you be in a position to give mercy, or must you simply hope to receive it?

This New Redde Magick

There is magic in the blood – some more so than others. Bloodlines have become vital and arranged marriages more common among the elite. Arcane dynasties and Mage Houses. Some have turned to blood magic (sanguimancy), necromancy, and other questionable pursuits. A few bloodlines have proven resistant to necromancy. Blood and Family are held in higher esteem than Good and Evil. Visions in red-tinted gray.

The ebb and flow of magical tides. These breeding efforts aren’t producing more powerful wizards or sorceresses. They are a desperate measure to maintain the human presence in the magical community. It is not widely known that each human generation seems less capable in the arcane arts than those before. The blood is thin. The will is weak. The gods of the land make their offers.

Is the value of your blood measured in power, or in sacrifice?

Immurcie

The history of this land is similar to an elaborate work of stained glass art with many fractures and missing panes. Colorful, elaborate, broken, and incomplete. Each major race has its own account of the Settlement, and each has its own share of shameful secrets. Nearly five centuries past, human colonists came to ­­­­Immurcie. They struggled to establish five colonies. All five colonies disappeared: one claimed by floodwaters, another by wildfires, another by hurricane winds, another by savage earthquakes. The fifth simply vanishes. More than a generation later, the expedition sent to determine their fate also disappears without a word, or a trace. It would take more than fifty years for human vessels to once again reach these marshy shores. This time, the gods were waiting: Irde, Falav, Nirji, and others. Fortunately for this latest wave of colonists, the gods were not so terribly hungry as before.

The first human settlement surviving to this day is Bitanrue. A 300-year-old village grown into a town that longs to become a city. Traditional home of the Ardam Rau – the Red Mage. Despite its harried and humble origins, the Township of Bitanrue is laid out and constructed with a devotion and precision bordering on ritualistic. Some of the oldest families trace their precious bloodlines to their elders still residing in Bitanrue.

The road to civilization was treacherous and wet. So much of the newly-settled land had to be drained and bolstered. By magical means, new areas of dry land were also raised from the bayous themselves. A new realm was being formed of Parishes and Townships. Parts of this realm were claimed by those who had brought the solid land into existence, whether by engineering or spellcraft. These were the first true land-owners – the propriet.

Land has become precious as a means of defining and perpetuating the systems of value and position within the Commonwealth of Immurcie. It is a little-known fact that the magic which brought forth many of the land parcels of the early propriet also established tenuous mystical links between the masters and their titled soil. In many cases, the condition of the land has been reflected in the health and well-being of the owners. In rare circumstances, these links have been passed entirely to individuals known as Stewards – those who maintain the land for members of the propriet that can no longer do so themselves. Stewardship has created an entirely new class of land-nobility, but one that has yet to gain equal respect.

Waterways equal freedom to those who refuse or fail to claim land of their own. While fancy riverboats offer diversions and entertainments to those who can afford them, there are a great many houseboats and floating villages to be found upon the water. Buildings on stilts, rafts, or pontoons remain in fashion. Since the settlement of land rights, skirmishes and outright wars over navigable waters continue to flare. From river parties to river pirates, inland water routes are vital to nearly every community.

Nobility and ignobility serve to define and govern both sovereign states and petty territories.  Some of the oldest and most respected noble families have become land-rich or property-rich and cash-poor, barely able to cover the expenses necessary for maintenance and upkeep. There are quite a few nobles-in-name-only. And then, we have the ignobles of the streets, alleys, squares, courts, or parks. Little more than legitimized gang leaders, these individuals will be in possession of a Writ of Ignobility that defines their territory and position. Some examples include the Squire of Golden Hare Alley, the Demimonde of Charwood Circle, and the Petty Count of Reverie Park.  

The eternal wetlands will not be denied, and will never submit entirely to becoming mere foundations for human civilization. More than one early city has been claimed in whole by marshy waters. The swamp favors humans for being so short-lived and adding more regularly and reliably to the decay. It also finds human more prone to fear and base lusts. The Aspects of the Land gather lifeblood, vital energies, souls, and whatever else for the gods of the land.

Beyond the swamps the land becomes rugged and, eventually, mountainous. Stony hills define the north-and-west reaches of the continent, while long stretches of towering mountains extend down the western shore and to the southern bounds. Most of the Commonwealth is found within the swamps and recovered lands of human civilization. Outside, there are established realms and cultures far older: Anakra (scattered dominions of the Dragon Dukes), Juarokand (land of the Divine Jaguar), and Purachau (mountainous empire of the gleaming black Mummia Kings) – by way of example.

Excursions into the underworld have been the downfall of many adventurers who seek riches and glory. The land has few stable cave systems and certain terrible creatures dig burrows or hidden lairs for their own use. Places known as dungeons may be partially flooded and on the verge of collapse. A number of sunken ruins have been excavated, but tend to offer more danger than reward. But, still, we have not trespassed upon the true Underworld. The domain of degenerate races and resentful gods. A realm of the dead, but not an afterlife. Where souls may be lost, found, bought, and sold.

STRUCTURE & SETTING

·         A “Gothic Fantasy” domain with a Louisiana “Bayou & Sorcery” flair.

·         Human colonists come to ­­­­Immurcie. They struggle to establish five colonies. All five colonies disappear. One claimed by water, another by fire, another by wind, another by earth. The fifth simply vanishes (void). Subsequent investigative expedition disappears.

·         The realm is named Immurcie. Rugged in the NW and descending into delta in the E and SE. Ruins in SW inhabited by weres and mummies.

·         “Southern” magic and monsters. Magic more difficult and less common for humans, with each generation less capable than those before.

·         Possibility of multiple breaches between the material world and a coterminous plane just beyond the veil.

·         Bloodlines have become vital and arranged marriages more accepted. Arcane dynasties and Mage Houses. Some have turned to blood magic (sanguimancy), necromancy, and other dangerous pursuits. Some bloodlines are resistant to necromancy. Good and Evil not as important as Blood and Family. Shades of gray (red).

·         Bitanrue: Heavy corruption of “Baton Rouge.” A false village created to guard and hide the Rod of War (the Red Stick). See Red Staff under ITEMS & STUFF, below.

·         Humans tried to adapt the land to their needs, but they found themselves changed instead.

·         Rule by magocracy, challenged by theocracy. Permissive, but not lawless.

·         Class of artificially-created servants for magocracy and class of voluntary undead (indeadtured) servants for theocracy. Animate Dead as cleric spell? Indeadtured uprising?

·         Flavors of New Orleans (300 years old), France (Paris is about 800 years old), Haiti, Africa, Caribbean, Jamaica, Southeast Asia.

·         So – a “lost colony” from about 500 years ago, then, the “new colony” of about 400 years?

·           Stilt buildings, pontoon buildings. Aboveground tombs and crypts. Newer structures built upon older foundations.

·         Old families, curses, dangerous magic, ghosts, talismans, old money, lavish excess, river boats, sunken city, disease/fevers/parasites, slavery, possession, music, parties, mummers, gambling.

·         Ties to land/property, family/tradition, church, city, art, guild.

·         Islands of prosperity raised from the swamp.

·         Wetlands/bayou, lake lands, plantations, canals, river parties, gypsy camps, hot springs, faerie absinthe, rum, bourbon, whiskey, cordials, brandy, smugglers, pirates,

·         Water rights and passage:

·         Land rights: Parishes and Townships.

·         Hunting regulations:

·         Dungeons: Ruined, collapsing, partially-flooded, accursed. Underground dungeons are even more treacherous than usual.

·         Parts of the land itself will sometimes rise to attack – resembling spell effects and requiring saves.

·         Hagsfell: “A fell is a high and barren landscape feature, such as a mountain range or moor-covered hills.”

·         Possibly combine with Violet Grimoire for one shared setting. Veriscine to the north.

·         Damp, rot, rust.

·         Firearms?

·         Heroes are few and far-between. Adventurers tend to be mercenaries, opportunists, looters, and hunters.

·         Raiders/pirates from the outer isles:

·         Drifting islands within the marshes.

·         Boat villages:

·         Undead labor:

·         Blood Debt:

·         Blood Points: Hit Die + Con bonus + Size adj + Race adj + Class adj.

·         Up to 12 pints of blood in the human body (9-12). D6 hit points for an average human. 1 HP = 2 pints of blood.

·         The swamp favors humans for being so short-lived and adding more regularly and reliably to the decay. It also finds human more prone to fear and lusts/greed. The Aspects of the Land gather lifeblood, vital energies, souls, and whatever else for the Gods.

·         Isle of the Dead

·         Place Names: Anakra, Bascova, Chievrul, Ertaine, Estomar, Felascau, Ghaile, Juarokand, Lath, Mouse Hole, Owlslae, Puracha, Riscillaine, Sulane, Vado Sethria, Viscinae, Wendlow, Widderdam, Wythe.

RACES & MONSTERS

·         Aquatic race claiming sunken ruins.

·         Aspect: A sort-of replacement for the elemental as an influential and interactive creature. Aspects of: Stone, Wind, Metal, Sea, Wood, Sky, Thunder, Rain, Soil, Blood. Possibly representatives of the “Color Gods.”

·         Bookwyrm:

·         Cephalopod, Freshwater:

·         Coffer Corpse:

·         Crabmen: Pirates and slavers.

·         Crimson Death:

·         Cultists:

·         Dwarves: Tend to be bankers, judges, lawyers, or similar professions.

·         Dragon Dukes: Serpentine dragons with qualities of Pan Lung and other Oriental Dragons – especially Scaly Command. In human form, they assume roles similar to wealthy gentleman farmers and plantation owners. Wealthy and influential, but rural. Dominion of Anakra.

·         Dragon Turtle (alligator snapping): Lifespan of 800-1000 years. Some have lived for 2000 years.

·         Dragonfly, Giant: Black, blue, green, red, white, gold. Ravenous hunters and fierce fighters.

·         Elemental, General: Unlike Avremier, elementals will be extremely rare and often bound by magic. Introduce the Aspect.

·         Elemental, Water: Tainted, Zuvembie.

·         Elves: Privateers sailing forth against the interests of the Hag Queens from fortified islands. Prefer to avoid the mainland. Influence over wind and water. Mage of Sail? Value freedom and independence. Dabbling with skyships. Cultivating alliances with dragon turtles (alligator snapping). Rare as PCs.

·         Exquisitor:

·         Fae: Savage and warlike, or noble and courtly.

·         Gatorfolk: Larger and more savage type of lizardfolk. Possible PC race.

·         Ghoul, Gluttonous: Torso splits open to consume grappled prey.

·         Ghost, Shroud: Formed of the deceased’s burial shroud. Much like a ‘classic’ sheet ghost. The shroud itself could bestow certain ghostly properties to a living being that wears it.

·         Ghost children: Not undead, but “fey.”

·         Gnomes: Bayou Clans. Black bear, coyote, fox, otter, raccoon. Bayou hunters and trappers that dabble in dark magic and swamp alchemy. Fetish shapeshifters.

·         Goblin Water Viper: Elite fighters/assassins and swimmers.

·         Gorgon, Swamp: Amphibious and serpentine. Possibly a type of hag.

·         Grendel: Possible PC race.

·         Guevel: Like a satyr, but with march hare traits instead of goat.

·         Hag, Blood

·         Hag, Brood

·         Hag Queens: A unique coven of witches with increased power and influence within their specific demesne (each ruling a city or parcel - territory). Not major villains – more like crime bosses with somewhat benevolent intentions. Can be employers, patrons, allies, or enemies for the PCs. Control ley lines and nexuses. Wyrdmills. Always well-dressed and put together. Very matronly or business-like. Commanding and unyielding. Hag-tied. Humans developed hags into a ruling class, quite by accident.

·         Halflings: River traders who deliver messages and goods with the help of giant otter allies. Explorers and mapmakers. Tinkers and spies. Sometimes use lost ruins as makeshift ports and bases of operation. Crude submersibles. Selkie traits.

·         Hydra, Swamp: Serpentine body with giant viper heads.

·         Indeadtured Servant: A living person who dies with a serious debt might be raised as a shade or zombie in servitude to an individual or organization. Their spirit or corpse works to pay off the debt accrued in life. A shade is commonly consulted for information and is unable to perform physical labor. A zombie performs manual labor until its term of servitude has ended, or it falls apart from wear. “Working your fingers to the bone” is a literal expression that originates in an indeadtured zombie working itself into a partial skeleton. Some indeadtured servants end up lost, abandoned, or forgotten and go wandering in a fugue state. See: Undead, Fugue.

·         Infernals: Mostly run/own gambling dens and brothels. Patrons of Hellfire Clubs.

·         Kraken: Allies of the Hag Queens. Influencing shipping lanes. Attacking privateers.

·         Lizardfolk: PC race.

·         Some monsters are just as inclined to come to you.

·         Manticore, Jaguar: Native to Juarokand.

·         Merfolk ruled by orca-based merfolk that can become massive humanoid orcas.

·         Mudmen: Form crude little societies/villages deep in the swamps – built around the source of their magical animation.

·         Mummia: Powerful mummified undead with gleaming black skin hard as stone. Created through embalming treatments of alchemical bitumen. Rulers of Purachau, a realm of half-elves.

·         Mummy, Swamp

·         Palatine:

·         Pirate Lords:

·         Plague Fly: Giant insect, large enough to use as a mount. Some will have Plague Knight riders.

·         Render, The: Name for a horrible serial killer.

·         Sanguine Jelly/Blood Pudding:

·         Shadar-Kai: Probable elf replacement race – for PC and NPC. Entirely hairless.

·         Shifters: Term used instead of lycanthropes.

·         Siren: Possibility that these are somehow failed hags. Feeding on whatever men or other creatures they can lure and catch. Hoping to regain their chance at hagdom. Possibly fallen hags as well.

·         Sphinx, Jaguar: Native to Juarokand.

·         Swamp Sisters:

·         Swinehead: Devil Swine slavers, slumlords, and bandit chieftains. Less influential than the Hag Queens, but arrogant and scheming. Devil Swine will be more powerful and influential. Some are attempting to become Devils in more than just name. A heavy wereboar (pig) with magical powers to acquire slaves and treasure as signs of status and for its own unspeakable purposes. Lavish tastes but not very discerning, preferring gaudy and tasteless extravagance over true value or art. Charm Person by voice within 2", one person at a time. Polymorph Others, but only into pigs. Locate Object and Telekinesis once each per day. Once the swinehead makes a bargain, its word is binding, but it will twist the intent to its own advantage. Ordinary wereboars commonly serve as henchmen and are immune to the monster's Charm and Polymorph abilities. The swinehead is cruel, sadistic, and cannibalistic.

·         Trusc: Deep-sea race of dwarvish humanoids, partially covered in chitinous plates and coral growths.

·         Undead Boatman: Possible long-lived Fugue Undead.

·         Undead, Fugue: Usually (but not always) applied to some form of zombie, these are former ‘indeadtured’ that were never released from servitude, but are no longer under direct control. Tend to be found in repetitive actions, or wandering alone. Rarely last very long, tending to fall into a true-death state within days or weeks of losing the necromantic binding.

·         Undead Lords: Those who have the most influence over the channels to their undead type.

·         Undead Pirate Lords:

·         Vampire, Absinthe: Grendel PC race?

·         Vampire, Swamp: More feral and associated with disease. More like nosferatu.

·         Vampires that feed on specific types of blood to advance their own power and condition. See: Blood Ascension.

·         Werejaguar: Favored caste of the hobgoblin civilization of Juarokand. Ruled by a God-King and Priest-Knights (kind of like paladin-samurai with bishop-shogun). Also a caste of jaguar monks.

·         Will-o-Lich: Glowing, flying demilich skull that creates will-o-wisp slaves from drained souls. When the ‘wisps feed upon the lifeforce of their dying victims, a portion of that energy is channeled to their maker. The ‘lich has all the properties of a will-o-wisp, able to become nothing more than an immaterial globe of light and unable to utilize its “death howl” ability during that time. If choosing not to glow, the immaterial ‘lich is effectively invisible. It is thought (hoped) that only one of these monsters exists, and the identity of the will-o-lich in life is unknown.

AC -7, Move 15”, HD 75 hp.

·         Zuvembie:

·         Shrimp, other crustaceans, wading birds, pumas, owls, gators, lesser dragons/drakes, bats, water rodents, turtles, frogs, bugs/swarms, snakes, fish, eels, waterfowl, will-o-wisps, shamblers, lycanthropes, zombies, ghouls, oozes, vapors, carnivorous plants, orchids, lotus, water lilies.

PC CLASSES

·         Bard variants: See Carrow, below.

·         Breaker (Thief): Specializes in gaining access to places, and to information. Licensed guild.

·         Carrow: Strolling gamesman and itinerant gambler. Dextrous. Irish-Scot origin. Setting-specific rogue/bard.

• Cartomancer: Spell-like effects and manipulations of fate through tarot cards. Able to throw cards, and other small hand-held objects, as weapons. Wield exceptional control over magical cards – like Deck of Many Things. Sleight of hand. Alternate card suits: Beetles (Scarabs), Moths, Crows (Ravens), Flames, Apples, Moons (Crescents), Knots (Bows), Rings (Hoops), Lanterns (Lamps), Harps, Bells, Daggers (Knives, Blades), Thorns (Claws), Chains (Links), Coils (Snakes, Serpents), Pines (Firs), Towers (Turrets), Scythes, Horns (Trumpets, Heralds). Alternate face cards: Baron, Baroness, Count, Countess, Duke, Duchess, Herald, Knight, Lord, Lady, Mage, Page, Prince, Princess, Squire, Tyrant

·         Chandler (Candlemage): Candle magic. Oils, ointments, unguents, renderings – minor alchemy.

·         Chivalier: Instead of Chevalier – this is not a horseman. This is a knight of the highest (possible) nobility and honor. Paragon.

·         Digger: Recovery expert. Notoriously unsqueamish. History and anatomy.

·         Effete Mage:

·         Entromologist: Chaos practitioner.

·         Fetch: Possibly Spellfetch.

·         Hagsworn: In service to one hag, or a full circle. Resist magical effects of other hags. Marked as the favored of hag(s). Able to communicate with patron hag. Causes some discomfort or issue for certain alignment/ethos. There is always a condition or set term for release.

·         Necropaladin:

·         (Color) Priest:

·         Witchdame:

MAGIC & DIVINE

·         Ancestor Worship:

·         Blood Ascension: Sub-campaign arc where some elite vampires consume selected sources of blood (dragon, devil, armiger, hag, fae, etc.) to elevate themselves toward some kind of undead divinity. Some also pursue biological alchemy toward this effort.

·         Bloodletting spell.

·         Clerics with very personal patrons – not all deities.

·         Cultist Deities: Named for their prevailing colors and setting-specific variants of Mythos Deities. Annual (or once every six years?) festival to appease and honor them all. In a procession, the Black God is always first – the herald with a horn. Sort of Mardi Gras meets Day of the Dead. Each god corresponds to a two-month period of the year. One’s birthdate becomes important as an auspice. Each god has its own monolith or stone.

1.       Black: Chaos, deception, knowledge – Nyarlathotep. “Nirji.” Plays the horn. Earth and death. Scorpion, North. Quiet, direct, plain, aloof, and cold.

2.       Blue (Indigo): Gates, magic, sky/space – Yog-Sothoth. “Caeru.” Plays the flute. Air and night. Turtle. West. Solemn, dignified, commanding, and patient.

3.       Green: Evolution, providence, sea – Dagon/Hydra. “Irde.” Plays the cello.

4.       Red: Blood, creation, rage – Shub-Niggurath. “Ubrul.” Plays the drum. Fire and sun. Tiger. East. Bold, fierce, brazen, watchful, and merciless.

5.       White: Control, dominion, secrets – Cthulhu. “Alhab.” Plays the violin. Breath and life. Owl. South. Gregarious, giving, evasive, mysterious, elusive.

6.       Yellow: Decadence, greed, madness, pleasure – Hastur. “Valaq.” Plays the harpsichord.

·         Cults, Forbidden:

·         Dark Druids:

·         Ebony Plague: Similar to the Ebony Swarm, this is a far greater number of Ebony Fly Figurines within a container, that grow and animate as Chasme demons when released. They are under no one’s control and will wreak havoc until destroyed. The number of Flies can be anywhere from hundreds to Apocalyptic. The container will be an artifact jar similar to Pandora’s “Box.” An artifact jar (Shoacteffe’s Ebony Jar), like a Greek pythos, contains thousands upon thousands of Ebony Fly Figurines that animate as Chasme demons when released - forming an apocalyptic plague to threaten the land. Lord of the Flies. Shoacteffe (SHOWK-te-FAY).

·         Gods will be largely Diabolic, Demonic, or Eldritch. Gods known as Powers.

Ara: Salamander-goddess of waterways and openings. “Witch goddess.”

Cob: Toad-god of secrets and bindings. “Witch god.”

Pip: Serpent-goddess of wisdom. Setting-specific lyshau variant of Apep. About 50’ long in snake form. “Witch goddess.”

Xeb (“Sheb”): Alligator-god of the Bayou. Setting-specific lyshau variant of Sebek (Sobek). Patron of the Dragon Dukes. Ruler of reptiles (except serpents). Savage and dark. “Witch god.”

·         How best to take dominion over a new land? Kill/usurp the native gods.

·         Legal magic:

·         Ley line usage:

·         Nectar Curse:

·         Summoning practices and wards:

·         Taximancy: Animating stuffed corpses.

·         Voodoo:

·         Witchcraft

·         Wizardry, Hedge:

·         Wyrd holds sway over Ohd.

ITEMS & STUFF

·         Coffin Nail: Magical properties from legend and folklore.

·         Cordial: Delicious potion/elixir type.

·         Jam: Magical concoctions with properties of sustenance, irresistibility, sugar rush, or adhesive.

·         Red Staff: The greatest magical artifact, held by the Ardam Rau (Red Mage). There will also be a Black Staff, held by the Ardam Mor (Black Mage), and a White Staff, held by the Ardam Per (White Mage) – neither of which will be an artifact.

·         Stained Glass Shield

·         Trophy Head: Ritual treatments in the swamp. Fashioned into mace heads or shrunken fetishes.

OTHER

• “He started talking out of nowhere, speech slurred like a drunk after a serious bender. It startled me after such a long silence, and he kept going on and on in that annoying rambling way he had - so I shot him again.”

·         His helm once bore a crest, but no longer. Brown of hair and of eye, tanned skin. A mélange of accoutrements from countless campaigns. Declining to speak, there was no accent to fix him upon any map. He was all but nameless, a ghost, and that made the others nervous.

·         It rippled or shimmered as it drifted through the chill moonlight. To my mind was suggested at first some kind of gigantic deep sea jellyfish, but one that swam through the upper air instead of the murky brine. A languid multitude of tendrils and tentacles waved in such patterns as would imply effortless swimming. The longer extensions split near the ends into articulated feelers that recalled horrific fingers. These occasionally brushed against the trees and stones of the marshy vale, lingering as if fondling a lover. Though the sight of the thing felt like a phantasmagorical dream, the acrid ammonia reek it gave off left me undeniably awake and in tenuous possession of my crumbling faculties.

·         Pitiful, thin moonlight exposed more shadow than shape beneath the trees. Hollow trunks of bleached wood slouched in staggered disarray like so many forgotten grave markers from a time before words in prayer books. Heads choked by creeper vines and roots drowned in stinking rust-streaked water that clung to the feet and ankles. Everything clung here. Gripped and twined. Smothered and buried. But nowhere worse than at the fetid heart of the forest. The lowest point. Where the water lay deeper and blacker. Broken limbs and pitted stones covered in leprous patches of lichen and mold fungus. Glistening mockeries of the dead. Decayed branches in attitudes of final repose with bent knee or curved spine. Lank mossy hair. Slick mushroom skin. The nouveau rot. The decline before the fall. Gleaming and taut like the caul over a newborn’s red and sightless face. The first convulsive breath pulling at nothing but membrane. Denied the clean air. If only to break the surface, making the breach from gestation into being. Distinguish shape from shadow. Leave behind the watery grave where growth took place in darkness and roots found purchase in warm, nurturing flesh. Everything clung here, before casting out. Gripped and twined, the twisting cord. Finally, I take a breath. Fill my greedy lungs. Open my eyes to the furtive moon. Separate and free. Air tainted by decay, it festers inside. Teems with textures and tastes. And I remember, a little. Saturated with sensation and purpose. I am reborn. I am myself. I am hunting.