Mongoose Legend: The Lightbringer

[Hopeless]

Have this idea for a campaign currently running.

The players are rebuilding their society set in Britain of about 1500 years from now, an unknown cataclysm has reduced humanity back to the bronze age (Runequest) and the population has been similarly effected.
The survivors evolved so we have elves who evolved to survive in the forests, the dwarves who survived under the mountains, halflings who survived by living underground in valleys and farmed for a living, what passes closest to humanity live mostly on the coast dependent on fish and trade by shipping pretty much most tech has similarly devolved but I introduced another race called the anima courtesy of historia rodentia who have fled the mainland and are trying to rebuild their lives in this new land and unlike humanity have access to zeppelins, blackpowder weapons and of course Valkyr (check out Historia Rodentia to understand what those are!).

The main secret is that the largest surviving faiths are based on the greek/roman and norse myths but there's an organisation known as the Lightbringers who are reponsible for supplying medecine including the potions anyone familiar with RQ or healing potions from d&d.

A specific bloodline have the ability to step back into the past to restock bringing much needed supplies including medecine and help but the order has been deliberately targetted because they're trying to rebuild society and their emphasis on learning from the past make them a direct obstacle to the various bad guys who'd rather seize power without having to worry about a do-gooder organisation of monks.

What I'd like to is find a way to avoid an escalation in magical items or artefacts but try and keep some elements from the past as a way of keeping the players interest but not ruining their fun.

From what I typed above is there any suggestions you'd care to make?

Please note the PCs have no idea whats going on but the players are aware its set in the future as one has metagamed that the bad guys have a helicopter.

[Andrewmoreton]

For Britain I would be tempted to add some celtic cults/religions. I would also be tempted to so something Arthurian in the background, but I always get tempted by King Arthur myths in my British games.

The last version of RQ I played had rules for Iron weapons and such which would be a nice reward for players without escalating to giving them guns.

You could also have some spirits be remanants from the past with odd or useful skills.

There was a free download on Drive thru rpg for guns in RQ qhich may be helpful.

Have you decided why magic works again (assuming it does).

Be wary of players trying to rebuild modern devices with their knowledge of real science, I would be tempted by something along the lines of Electricity not working any more to explain the fall and put a cap on what pc's can try and build

[Hopeless]

For Britain I would be tempted to add some celtic cults/religions. I would also be tempted to so something Arthurian in the background, but I always get tempted by King Arthur myths in my British games.

The last version of RQ I played had rules for Iron weapons and such which would be a nice reward for players without escalating to giving them guns.

You could also have some spirits be remanants from the past with odd or useful skills.

There was a free download on Drive thru rpg for guns in RQ qhich may be helpful.

Have you decided why magic works again (assuming it does).

Be wary of players trying to rebuild modern devices with their knowledge of real science, I would be tempted by something along the lines of Electricity not working any more to explain the fall and put a cap on what pc's can try and build

Oh yes London in that time is underwater and is considered a legendary sunken city ala Atlantis and yes there is a Lady of the Lake involved!:smallwink:

Have the survivors able to use magic but the anima can't because of their technological edge.

Was thinking of replacing a suit of magical armour with an old army trenchcoat and have them find a very old army revolver with a small pack of bullets for it... went for a dagger that counteracts magic and a gemstone thats vital if they want to visit the lost city of London but hopefully they will not notice that!

[Hopeless]

Got to run Legend yesterday which was mostly by chance since I printed out a copy of some sample characters and the Hound of Adrannos scenario.

All of the sample characters have some access to magic which I avoided in the last game I ran them through but took the opportunity to have them start off as residents of Tarmsen the rival village of the other game character's home village.

Took a little while before they realised that but they went for the Knight, the Thief (Sorry the "Gentleman of Fortune"), the Archer and the Flameguard from the sample characters.

So the game started in an Inn (yes oh dear indeed!) a local is celebrating his coming of age and being the illegitimate son of the Baron that means he throwing money to pay for food and drink for everyone and the Thief takes advantage of the free drink to insure his new friend gets the better stock and by that he gets access to better drink as well!

The flameguard whom I've described as a paladin of the local church fails his resilience check along with the Archer so the pair of them get drunk and topple over, the thief leaves them in each others arms for comical effect!

The lordling heads home and shortly after there's a hue and cry sending the knight outside as the lordling's mother comes to the tavern seeking her errant son.

Being a high priestess of the church she requests their aid offering each a pair of sheep as a reward which once the flameguard and the archer get over their hangover (well okay wake up enough to understand whats going on!) decide to help although both the knight and the "gentleman of fortune" have agreed to help... (I still don't know what he had planned!)

Heading out they follow the yelling to the scene of a battle where her son's frined Gaius lies dead from a stomach wound and a mysterious mercenary whose throat has been ripped out.

Whilst the thief examines the mercenary's body the archer uses her tracking to divulge there had been three others present and one was picked up and carried away by something that left no discernable tracks.

The thief discovers the mercenary bears a dagger marked with the crest of a rival village but also discovers the mercenary belongs to the forces belonging to a sorceror who lives in a nearby skull faced mountain.

A discussion between two priests catches the thief's attention who leads the flameguard to them and through his judicious use of threatening them with the mother of the missing child they reveal that a recent expedition to confirm the Baron's place as the true Baron for the area has been thwarted by a rival band from another village which has not been openly revealed to the village at large.

However the mother has secrets of her own and the evidence they have uncovered leads her to believe a family spirit has helped her son Leo and accompanying her they return to her home just in time to see two figures fleeing.

The Flameguard, the archer and the knight pursue but the thief alone notices a third figure who has fallen unnoticed to the ground.

The trio make short work of the mercenaries who die unexpectedly due to a curse insuring they couldn't be captured alive.

The last is dying from his wounds but doesn't speak the local language and all the mother can discern from his last words was regarding some kind of hellish beast.

The dead mercenary turns out to be a Lightbringer spy since he doesn't die from the curse like the others.

So the mother runs into her house but there's no sign of her son, the others search the bodies but find little more than before (the thief however kept quiet on some of the stuff he found on the ones he searched mind you...:smallwink:) but the mother realises where her son must be.

She reveals that behind her home hidden within a gorge is her family crypt and serves as the focus for an ancient ritual that bound the founder of her family as a guardian spirit along with his pack of hounds who serve as protectors of Tarmsen.

When Leo was threatened they rose to defend the descendant of their master and she believes he's been taken inside the crypt for his own safety.

The PCs have now taken time to comment on some writing the spy left that although he doesn't speak english he apparently could write in it but left three letter "bro" and the flameguard assumed he meant "Orb".

Led to the crypt the mother persuades the flameguard to perform a ceremony so he and his comrades can enter the crypt unmolested which involves a flask of sacremental wine and a healing potion.

They did argue about this in case you were wondering even afetr she explained the Tarmsen society is a patriarchal society and she couldn't lead them inside (they didn't believe her even after she explained why).

Eventually the move ahead and the flameguard performs the ceremony and the guardian spirit turns up and both the knight and the flameguard meets its gaze and are left paralysed for a while as both the Archer and the Thief's player deliberately said no to meeting its gaze... (I actually thought me asking that was a good enough warning sign... but oh well!:smallbiggrin:)

[Hopeless]

Eventually they recover enough so the flameguard can understand what the guardian is saying.

It explains only a cleric accompanied by a knight and a member of the family would be allowed to enter after the ceremony which the flameguard eventually realises whats the ghost is talking about.

It reveals the church usurped control of the village from the true Baron and the Patriach chose the Baron from one of the weaker families to secure his control over the village and after they bicker over this coming to the point that they could always return in the morning since he's safe inside the crypt the guardian points out they should check he's okay for themselves... yes the undead ghost is treating them as morons and it was showing!

They queried who could be responsible when the ghost adds that as one of the Baron's children and his descdenant that would make Leo the true heir to the Barony and as such a threat to the Baron's older son Godfried who unlike Leo is only related to one of the founding family bloodlines.

They enter inside and the thief realises the ghost finds his chagrin at discovering he's related to Leo very funny, they finally venture to the lower chamber which is revealed as a chamber with a pool in the middle with a rocky island at its centre upon which is the slumbering Leo and a Hound (think great dane).

The Flameguard tries to cross over but bounces off an unseen shield, the thief now tries and passes unhindered whilst the knight joins him albeit ending up in the water which goes up to his ankles.

Perplexed the flameguard coaxes the archer who also bounces off leaving him with the thought that the knight is somehow related to either Leo or the Thief.

The pair eventually heal the hound after finding Leo is fine but sleeping off the drink and some bruises from whoever attacked him.

They find a fiery piece of rock that bears the Fire rune of course they eventually brand themselves and manage to get the other two across to the island so they can do the same!:smallwink:

Rather than head back up they check the rest of the chamber since there's another corridor leading off revealing that it ends in a modern door marked "Emergency Exit" not that they know what that means!

With the Archer's help the Flameguard opens the door and with the Thief's help they keep the door open as there's no means of opening it on the other side.

It reveals a metal staircase that spirals down out of sight so the Flameguard goes first and is stopped from toppling down the first staircase by the thief!

They get down to the next floor and find a hidden door but can't find a way to open it so they continue down the next set of stairs but as they head to the next floor the flameguard steps on a tripwire and is sent sprawling as a strange looking metal globe rolls down beside him...

The other three manage to rush back up the stairs as the flameguard tries to leap away bu takes a head injury from the grenade blast...

The Knight and the Archer use their healing magic to heal the Flameguard as the Thief looks ahead and finds that the blast has had the unintended effect of revealing another hidden door but has done enough damage that he thinks it can be pried open.

Eventually they manage to open it enough for the thief to open it from the other side revealing a barracks with only light from their side revealing anything inside the room.

The knight activates a light spell revealing its full of cobwebs and moving in realise there's a colony of spiders inside and the flameguard elects to cast a dragon breath causing the spiders inside to panic!

So with one medium spider behind them and two rushing them they evtnually get out of the room and shut the door but leaves an opening so the smaller spiders can escape the fire inside.

Its now they locate two other doors one that opens a storage cupboard holding cleaning supplies (they don't know that mind you!) and the other reveals a long deceased body and the fact it holds a sink with working taps (Hold and cold running water!:smallconfused:)

They decide to continue downstairs after the flameguard tried to shove a coverall into the gap and its promptly grabbed and pulled inside as sounds of something being hissed as something inside making them wonder if the spider's can project acid...(I was going for them doing something else to put the fire out...:smallwink:).

[Hopeless]

So they go down the next set of stairs and find a pair of spider's bodies at the foot of the stairs so the flameguard drops a bottle from upstairs down the stairs and when it stops on the last step he prods it over and is promptly blown off his feet back up the stairs plastered against the wall next to his comrades with a new hairdo!

Next he uses his spear to clear the spider bodies off the step revealing a special metal plate and manages to shock himself again but only stunned (players argued the spear would be insulated enough to prevent a full charge hitting him well I'm not that good on physics!).

So carefully clearing the plate they find a set of double doors with a window above it as well as another set of stairs going further down and a corridor on either side of them heading off into the darkness.

The Thief manages to pick the lock revealing a cafeteria of course they raided the kitchen...

The thief discovers a computer built into a wall and manages to turn it on being identified by the computer as a direct descandant of Thomas Blair, great grandson of Anthony Blair former prime minister of the United Kingdom...

"I feel dirty" was the thief's response...

After nicking the kitchen cutlery... they discover the computer has some detachable tablets so they can access the terminal without needing to find another "magic wall" (their description) and learn there are a few grimoires after being asked about magic so led back to the door they couldn't open before this time the thief picks the lock and finds it leads into some office space with a research lab.

So they learn how to summon a creature and decide that the thief can summon a hound like his ancestor, the knight can summon a hawk, the Flameguard decides on a horse and eventually the Archer can summon a wolf.

They also learn that they have an elemental aspect so the Thief has a Hellhound summoning, the Knight a literal Phoenix Hawk (Air-fire aspect), the Flameguard a Steam Horse (Water-fire aspect) and the Archer a Lava Wolf (Earth-fire aspect), they also find some more tablets with one or two spells on each (only the Archer found one with 2 the rest held 1 each) this is wehn they decide to return upstairs and discover some of the spiders' fled up there and was burnt by some defence leading into the chamber where they left Leo.

The Thief summons his hound discovering its the Hound they left in the chamber with Leo and the Archer decides to do the same so they leave the crypt and meet Irene, Leo's mother at the gorge entrance and leading them back they encounter Godfried.

Accompanied by forty mercenaries he demands both Irene and Leo and in response the others summon their familiars even as the thief is asked about summoning the rest of the hounds...

All forty of them turn up shortly after Godfried uses his shield to summon his familiar... a giant spider.

Needles to say upon realising the odds were seriously against him he fled, the knight's hawk made valiant efforts to rip the armour off his back as the Flameguard's horse charged down into the river that cuts through Tarmsen and pulls a Felloship of the ring giant horse effect sending the spider and his rider fleeing the village entirely!

Accompaying Leo to the church the Patriach is declared indisposed as leo's coming of age ceremony is completed and he's given the option of eithe becoming a knight and eventually the baron's heir or joining the clergy.

The knight becomes Leo's patron and they learn the Archer as a member of the House of the Wolf can use their long empty homestead although they could stay at Irene's house as its revealed the Thief is Irene's illegitimate half brother and their father was killed by the Patriach because of his affair with the Baron's wife that was because the Baron fathered Leo on Irene effectively ruining her reputation.

Strangely noone wondered who the knight was related to... guess that might come up next time!

Merry christmas and a happy new year to one and all!:smallbiggrin:

[Hopeless]

Looking at trying to set up a game using Mongoose's Legend on their forum (not sure how that works here mind you!)

But before that I need to discuss the setting as it can't really be set in the same place as the Hounds of Tarmsen or the other game I'm running in the same setting.

Thinking of setting it in a coastal settlement inspired by a certain Paizo adventure path.

The general idea is that the players meet up in their first adventure have to deal with a tribe of primitive goblins who for unknown reasons are threatening their home, but apparently isn't enough to persuade their nearest neighbouring city of Norwich to do anything about it.

With their new church about to be opened during a seasonal festival matters are about to come to a head that involve a long thought dead enemy is rearing its head again and the secrets of their lost past might hold the only means to save their homes...

[Hopeless]

So swords & sorcery, post apocalyptic setting roughly 1500 years in the future after an unknown cataclysm caused the downfall of the modern world but magic has been reawakened.

If you wanted to play in this what character would you play?

Interested in seeing if you'd rather have a sinbad high seas style of adventure or say mainland europe perhaps throw in scandinavia and a Thirteenth Warrior style backdrop.

Oh and no rodentia, duly noted.

Would you want common magic freely available or only to spellcasting professions such as the priest/ess, sorceror/ess or shaman with the option of finding some after the game starts?

Figure on having some technology still surviving such as bath houses, hot and cold running water, sewers especially for those pesky adventures benath the settlement

Languages, native would be english but others are available but literacy needs to be discussed in the first game I ran I had latin as being the written form for civilised and Norse for barbarian cultures so what do you think about this?

Keep Language/Native but add Literacy/Native to cover read & write with similar options for other languages?

Figure Literacy/Native would be Int+Cha like Language but no +50% bonus but still automatic save for Primitives maybe have an option where a character swaps that out for another skill so they start off illiterate?

What do you think?

[Hopeless]

Bargle the Black, human male Sorceror (unfinished version)
Strength 9, Constitution 10, Size 8, Intelligence 17, Power 17, Dexterity 14, Charisma 14
Age: 34
Combat Actions: 3, Damage Modifier: -1d2, Improvement: +1
Magic Points: 17, Movement: 8m, Strike Rank: 16
Hit Points/Armour:Leg: 4, Abdomen: 5, Chest: 6, Arm: 4, Head: 5
Common Skills:
Athletics 23%, Brawn 17%, Common Magic 31%, Culture/Own 64%, Dance 28%, Drive 31%, Evade 28%,, Evaluate 51%, First Aid 31%, Influence 48%, Insight 39%, Lore/Regional 79%, Perception 34%, Persistence 44%, Resilience 20%, Ride 31%, Sing 31%, Sleight 28%, Stealth 31%, Swim 19% and Unarmed 23%.
Combat Skills:
Dagger 33% in melee and 38% when thrown
Advanced Skills:
Courtesy 31%, Language/Native 81%, Literacy/Native 31%, Lore/Alchemy 44%, Lore/History 34%, Manipulate 34%, Sorcery/Grimoire 34%
Magic Known: Bladesharp 1,Heal 2 and Protection 3
Sorcery:
Left to do: Select Sorcery spells and spend the 250 skill points.

Bargle the Black is a servant of the Black Baron whose attempts to secure the ducal station he feels is his right has led him to build an army of fell creatures to complete what his own bloodline has failed to accomplish.

Bargle manipulated the local church and then murdered the priestess who was sent along with him to investigate the ruins of Castle Mist which is now his home.

You know I was wondering would you like to play in a Legend game where you're part of a group of would be adventurers sent to hunt this man down?