IRPS NEWSLETTER October 1, 1996. Issue #10 Table of Contents: IRPS Monthly status Report (Michael Popovich ) Editor's Note (Karen Mizeri ) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monthly Columns: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rambling Thoughts (Kosala Ubayasekara ) DM's Advice (Earl Harrison ) Top Ten List (John "BJ" Tomkins ) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Role Playing Aides -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If You Give Your Players Enough Rope...(Jenn Millington ) The Black Swamp (Irving Galvez ) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fiction: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Assassins (Tim Elford ) AND (Goran Zidar ) Fireside Chat (John "BJ" Tomkins ) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monthly Classified Ads: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Seeking players for Amber Diceless Roleplaying Subject : Kosala's AD&D site Subject: Legends Subject: Seeking players -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IRPS Monthly status Report Michael Popovich -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well everyone, the club seems to be moving full spead ahead, especially considering that the newsletter department is thinking about converting all of our future newsletters into HTML format so you can read them from the web page. No telling what the might add into those pages (pics, java, cgi, etc.). ;) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Editor's Note Karen Mizeri -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Greetings all! Good News! As of the next issue we hope to be releasing a full graphical E-Zine version of the IRPS newsletter. Thank-you to all who volunteered their time to help with the project. I would like to take this opportunity to ask all members to submit their suggestions for a name for the E-Zine. You can mail these to me at . With the upcoming release of the E-Zine, our submissions deadline will be bumped ahead to the fifteenth of every month, as to accommodate the extra work involved. We will also be accepting original artwork from any who would like to submit it, This can be mailed to Kosala Ubayasekara at , who is in charge of the graphics department. As well I would like to bring to your attention that we have set up a "Writer's Assistant' for anyone worrying about meeting our new guidelines. You can email Eugene Tillery at . He will assist you in any way he can. For anyone who would like to volunteer for the E-Zine, Layout/Design is still lacking people, and we need someone to look after the actual on-line maintenance of the magazine. You will find all relevant addresses at the bottom of the newsletter. Thank-you to all those who submitted, keep up the good work. :) Sincerely, Karen Mizeri -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monthly Columns: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rambling Thoughts Kosala Ubayasekara -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -High Level Campaigning and the much neglected Thief's Guild- Every DM at one point or another has or will come to the point when the players are simply too powerful. Gone are the days when a group of Orcs were a real threat. Even a dragon can become only a slightly-above-average-threat at some point. The DM feverishly turns the pages of the monsters manual and much to his or her dismay can't seem to find anything that would threaten the party, while still keeping the game realistic. Enter man. The human adversary is the most under used opponent for PC's. There are no better challenges to high-level PC's than high-level NPC's. So when your party starts hitting the levels above twelve start reconsidering your campaign plan. In high- level campaigns the DM has the potential to get delicious role-playing opportunities into the game. Combat is still necessary but the role-playing aspect can be explored to previously impossible levels. Firstly the characters are not only more powerful, but also more known. That makes them eligible for posts of public service, politics and all manner of other activities, which were hitherto closed to them. I do not, in this article intend to explore all the possibilities, for the obvious reasons. However I will take up one side of the AD&D game that is often neglected - the great potential of the Thief's Guild. Particularly at higher levels the local Thief's Guild has the ability to create enormous amounts of fun for both the players and the DM. Two possible scenarios are given below: a) The PC's are part of the guild: notice here that the PC's do not have to be thieves to be part of a thief's guild. A thief's guild will often be in need of special services that only persons of certain classes can achieve. So they will constantly be on the look- out for eligible characters. The party does not have to be evil to be a part of such a guild. Not every move made by a guild involves assassination and kidnapping. Scrying, information gathering, robbery are all activities that often require more than the average thief's skills to accomplish well. Of course if the characters are lawfully aligned this option would be difficult. Also thief's guilds can be established for a variety of reasons. It can be in a city ruled by a tyrant and the guild would then assume "Robin Hood" proportions. It would be the classic scenario of take-from-the-rich-and-give-to-the-poor. This would naturally incur great support for the guild from the local peasants and working class, and the officials attempts to uproot the guild members would give ample adventuring possibilities and role-playing situations. It could alternatively be a quasi-political thief's guild, with a far reaching political influence achieved through extensive role-playing on the part of the PC's, the guild would be in a position to influence matters on a global scale. This scenario works best if the PC's are high up in the hierarchy of the guild. This would give the PC's a huge responsibility and make them consider every move their characters make very carefully, as is only proper for powerful characters. b) The PC's are hired by the guild: Here the potential for treachery is enormous. The PC's could be hired by the guild to achieve a particular goal. Having achieved this goal successfully the guild then decides the characters know too much and wants them "silenced". This would put the PC's in a run for their life with assassins chasing them, until they can find a way to "persuade" the guild to stop. This scenario of an entire Thief's Guild vs PC's is great for a group of very high-level characters. Alternatively the PC's might choose to intentionally betray the guild and deal with consequences, ultimately with the goal of taking over the guild themselves. This of course would require some extensive advance planning, and is another involved idea for those PC's tired of clubbing mediocre foes to death. So the possibilities are endless, and I am sure the reader can think of many more. But remember what fun a Thief's Guild can be when used wisely. And the leader of the guild doesn't necessarily have to be humanoid... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DM's Advice Earl Harrison -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For this month's article I would like to comment on TSR's new CD-ROM Core Rules. I ran out and bought it as soon as I saw it on the shelf. I had to have it. I knew it would be good. I knew it was going to be the most used CD in my collection. I slapped down the three bills required to buy this CD. I made the wife drive home and read the instructions from top to bottom before we got home. I turned on the computer and moved my utilities package to the recycle bin and then I tore open the package and flipped the CD in the tray. Boy was it better than the demo. The village tour was awesome. The wizard help was incredible and the main menu was well done. I got into the programs and after a couple of hours felt like I had been cheated out of my money. The programs were slow and sluggish. They took forever to load. Granted, the character generator was pretty smart when it came to giving you abilities and weapons, but I can write up a character just as fast as you can write one with this program. It was a very boring and unattractive way of creating a character. Then I printed it out. YUCK! 5 pages for 1 character. That is very uncalled for. Most players I know don't want that many pages to deal with when playing the game. Pray you don't have to generate spells, well that is another page or two. Generating NPC's was just as dull and boring. I did like the fact that you could create any character that you wanted even if he did not go by official rule and it would try and fit him in. Generating encounters and treasure was even worse. To generate an encounter seemed like it took for days. I gave up half way through. The map maker was by far the best program on the CD but it to was very boring to use. I did not and have not to this day even tried to generate a 3D map. I can only imagine what it consists of. The best part of the CD was the books on-line. If it had not been for this I would have sent it back to the depths of TSR's very own dungeon. I feel that TSR could have and should have done a far better job of putting this CD on the market. So what if it took a few more months. The die hard fans would have waited on it. We have waited this long, what would a few more months be. I still see the same four copies sitting on the shelf right beside the one that I picked up. I knew a few others that were going to buy it but my opinion changed that and they kept their money. If you have not bought it, DON'T unless you want or need the books on-line. That is the only reason to buy it. The printouts are terrible and they are even ugly. They could have given the person the option to print on one of their character sheets. One page sheets are always the best. I am not saying this to be biased but my group and I have put this CD back on the shelf at my house and put my utilities package back on the hard drive and will continue to use that until TSR brings out another CD that is much better than what they have done here. NO, mine does not have all the bells and whistles that theirs has, but it is much easier to use and so much faster. I know that I will get challenged on this one because I know that someone out there actually liked it, but send the mail and I will argue till the end. This package was not put together that well. I just hope that there is someone out there in cyberland that agrees with me. TSR used to put out quality products but now I am not so sure. P.S. I have one name to throw out at you and if you know him please let him know he is needed back at TSR. LONG LIVE GARY, GARY, GARY, GARY! Until Next Time Earl Harrison -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Top Ten Lists John "BJ" Tomkins -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cyrus Lenn's Top Ten Things To Scare The Beejeebers Out Of P. 10. Green Balrogs (They're not quite ripe yet.) 9. Thieves who say, "Uhmm... Guys..." 8. Regis and Kathy Lee. 7. Gig's artistic ability. 6. Paladin's who say. "Uhmm... Guys..." 5. Dwarves in tutus. 4. That "makeup" girl from the Drew Carey Show. 3. Mages with poor depth perception. 2. DM's who roll dice for no apparent reason, (I don't like this one!) And the number one thing To Scare The Beejeebers Out Of PCs, 1. Barney Modules! Greyanna Everhate's Top Ten Situation's To Avoid At A Balrog Party. 10. The selling life insurance. 9. The salsa marked "for those to stupid to care" 8. If you're Drew Carey... the makeup girl. 7. Anyone who offers you "your head on a stick" as an hors 'd ouvre. 6. The balrog whose soul quota is low for the month. 5. The door marked "Sacrifice in Progress, Visitors Welcome". 4. Jimmy Swaggert 3. The room where they only play "Hotel California." 2. The one balrog who looks real, real pissed. And the number one Situation To Avoid At A Balrog Party, 1. The green ones! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Role Playing Aides -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If You Give Your Players Enough Rope They'll Hang Themselves by Jenn Millington (jimjen@interlog.com) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have found that players can sometimes be very demanding. They seem to want the world to be theirs. I have come up with a simple solution for dealing with these type of players and that is to give them exactly what they ask for. I once had a group where one of the players wanted a female love interest (NPC) as there were no female PC's in the group. He kept rejecting the NPC's I sent their way as dull and boring. He wanted a female who was at least as good a fighter as he was. Somebody who would be a challenge for him. I asked him if he was sure this was what he wanted and told him he would still have to win her over. He was playing a human fighter and readily agreed. So I gave him what he wanted. I created Lorissa, the ultimate elven Knight, out of the Elves of Evermeet (TM TSR). By the time Lorissa reached 7th level she had a +10 to hit and a +9 to damage with an elven moonblade (TM TSR) which is equivalent to a longsword. Our young human fighter specializing in a two-handed sword couldn't match her speed and seemed to become most disillusioned about his lady-love. Especially as he was still trying to win her over. Every time he nearly won her over he would commit a selfish action and the knight was lawful good so he kept trying. Then there was the sword. He wanted a really powerful two-handed sword (he had managed to acquire a +1 two-handed and I told him how rare really powerful two-handed swords were). They completed a mission for the Simbul (TM TSR) and in return he got to choose his reward so he asked for a really powerful sword. I gave him a sword with an ego equal to his personality score and boy that sword was arrogant. It took him over whenever it could and demanded that he get rid of magical items or it wouldn't fight for him. However, he thought it was a great sword and didn't get rid of it. I never did tell him where it came from. I guess someday he'll find out. My players have learned to stop and think when I ask them if that is what they really want. Then there's the super-player as I call them. I want an 18/00 strength, 18 dexterity, 18 intelligence, 18 constitution, 18 wisdom, 18 charisma and I rolled it up as they look at you innocently. First of all, I always make my players roll scores in front of me or use a secure dice roller on the internet. However, using the secure dice roller with me in the room I have seen 5 17's, a 16 and a 15 come up so don't always dismiss the most outlandish rolls as being impossible. The super-player is easy to deal with, they almost always manage to insult someone very quickly and well often that's the last of that player. After all if they're a 1st level character with these statistics you can be sure that there's a 10th level character somewhere with the same statistics and if they manage to insult them well we all know what happens then. You can always create the ultimate villain as well. My current group has an enemy who is very powerful. He's a 19th level psionic gold dragon who is thoroughly evil. After all gold dragons are supposed to be good and they don't have psionics. However, this one does and they still haven't discovered the reasons for this. They have, however, realized that they should fear this enemy and stay away from him if they can. In their last encounter with him they ended up losing two party members. After all creativity is the gold mine of the GM and I love to mutate monsters. However, I normally deal with each situation as it arises I tell my players no a lot during character creation. I stick to character's out of the books only and I specify in advance which are not allowable. I have refused my players the rights to use the internet for character kits. There's some really scary stuff out there like dragon knights, mystic Jedi, etc. I make up for my restrictions by allowing a generous starting ability roll. My belief on this is that player's will become heroes so there must be something special about them. I allow players to roll 4d6 7 times and re-roll any 1's in my face-to-face campaigns. I will allow them to repeat these sets three times and then they have to use one of the three sets. (I use comeliness in my campaigns hence 7 statistics). In my PBEM's I have them roll 4d6 20 times and pick the best 7 on a secure dice roller only. I roll hit points for characters and will re-roll 1's or 2's normally. I like to give them the best fighting chance they have because I like to throw things at them that are really nasty. Finally, we come to wishes. Boy I love wishes. Most of my players will sell a ring of wishes rather than use it. There's the classic wish 'I want to be just like Elminster' (TM TSR). Now they look like Elminster and they get chased by all of Elminster's enemies. Or 'I want to be the most powerful mage in the world'. I take over their character as an NPC of Elminster. 'I want the most powerful sword in the world', so I give them the most powerful sword, but someone's bound to come looking for this item. My players just run when offered a wish now. So, in closing the best advice I can give a GM is to give the players exactly what they ask for. They always make a mistake in the wording of their demands and well then, they got what they asked for, right? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Black Swamp Irving Galvez -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a very strange place. After the big catastrophe, tar started to raise from the ground eliminating every kind of ecosystem. For years this natural tar well extended up (nearly 100 square miles) east of what is now the Unforgiving Wastes. The first creatures that moved to this place were dinosaurs, that stayed in a small plateau near the center of the swamp now know as the Reptile Lands. Nearly any creature that tried to live here died. But sooner or later some humanoids adapted to this land, these were the lizardmen. After years of rough adaptation the lizardmen learned how to coexist with this hostile environment. Their skin grew harder and their living skills of water turned into tar skills. In the present, the now known Black Lizardmen is some how like his other brothers, but their skin is black, they can swim in the tar and they rule these rich lands. They live in villages build over the tar swamp. They are very organized and have good skills in military tactics. They are good merchants and can obtain nearly anything they want. The only problem is they don't have many lands to use in agriculture. SPEKTROK the capital, a big city built in the Reptile Lands, is a famous place to hire mercenaries, hunters, scouts and is the capital of commerce in the Black Swamp. There is a big road, the only one, built so that trade can arrive to this city. The road is nearly 50 miles long and it is well guarded with 10 large outposts. The Black Lizardmen have learned to live in harmony with dinosaurs so they are a good help in many circumstances. These are good reasons for anyone to be allied or to be in peace with the Lizardmen. SLARDOK XI, the lizard king, has divided the Black Swamp into Five sectors. North Sector has the richest lands in the swamp. Here Black Swamp has the biggest agricultural camps. These lands are the major food supplier the land has so there are some outposts that guard this place. South Sector is the poorest in that its major parts are infested by giant size insects. Therefore, it has little population but Slardok thinks it is the most vulnerable place and has set up many scout camps and military camps. East Sector is where the tar well springs. So here is what is know as the OIL LAKE which is very deep. West Sector is where most of the lizardmen villages are located. Here is where the big road was constructed. So these villages exist near the road. The last section, Center Sector contains the Reptile Lands and the capital city, Spektrok. Spektrok is a major city with a population of 500,000 people. (65% are black lizardmen, 15% humans, 10% demi-humans and 10% humanoids.) In the center of the city is a big palace, home of the king, where he rules with justice. The city has walls protecting it, and its walls are divided in sectors that have small guard towers usually with a siege weapon. There are only four entrances to the city, 2 main ones and 2 lesser ones. The main gates are large enough for any kind of terrestrial transport. The lesser ones only admit people. The city is a good place for thieves to find victims and sometimes it becomes a battlefield for the different thieves guilds. There are only two kinds of crimes lesser and major crimes. Lesser crimes are paid for with prison. Major crimes are dealt with by death in the main park. There are 4 military orders: The Followers of the Spear, Heavy Cavalry, Air Assault and The 100 Feet. The Followers of the Spear are the Royal Elite Guard. They have golden chain mail +2 and Spears +2. They are the ones that protect Spektrok City. They are divided into: Royal Guards that are the personal body guards of the king, Palace Guards that guard the entire palace complex, City Guards that guard the city limits and Police Guards that guard and make justice in the city. All the members of these Guards are Black Lizardmen. The Heavy Cavalry is composed of mixed forces of lizardmen, humans, humanoids and demi-humans, mounted on different kinds of prehistoric animals and dinosaurs. The creatures used most often are: dire wolves, sabretooth tigers, Bekkahs, triceratops, mastodons and mammoths. Air Assault is composed of mixed forces like the Cavalry. They use many different kind of prehistoric birds and some black dragons. The 100 Feet is also a mixed force. They are infantry and scouts. Many years ago the Black Lizards old wicca, Squark, searching its path to immortality, built an artifact called the EYE OF TAQUAKSU that was made to protect the habitants of the Black Swamp from dying. Now in our days, this artifact is in the hands of the king. It is a hand sized obsidian gem set in a small statue that resembles a Cyclops. It is said that the wicca had to kill the strongest Cyclops in Mystara. The black swamp habitants worship Algotuku Kasquas, in human dialect, The Great Black One. This god was invented in the past but really didn't exist. Now that Squark is immortal, he has taken this god role and is looking after its people. The only true enemies of the black lizardmen is a not so small group of gatormen that live in a small swamp in the Unforgiving Wastes. Some lizardmen spies have intercepted secrets papers that uncover plans of attacking Black Swamp with another group of humanoids. The language the lizardmen use is a primitive thyatian dialect. So anyone that speaks thyatian can understand some words.  rrafo predeter.11 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fiction: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Assassins Tim Elford (telford@tusc.com.au) - The DM Goran Zidar (goran@elf.aust.com) - Craven -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Authors: Tim (telford@tusc.com.au) - The DM Goran (goran@elf.aust.com) - Craven Homepage: http://www.ozemail.com.au/~goran/Roleplay.htm --------------------------------- - The Assassins - Episode 2 The Assassins: Argos - Thief 1st level LE (NPC) Craven - Duelist/Thief 1st/1st LE (PC) Keldirk - Thief 1st level NE (PC) Locale: At the docks in a hidden cove somewhere in the Olman islands. The trio have been waiting for a ship called the Sea Swift for some time. It has been arranged that the Sea Swift will carry them to Chathold, capital city of the Prelacy of Almor. Date: 5th Ready'reat 581 CY (Common Year) --------------------------------- Craven, Keldirk and Argos are sitting on their backpacks on a rickety jetty, waiting to be picked up. Keldirk is in a foul mood at being kept waiting and Craven and Argos are hung over from last night's farewell celebrations. Argos: Good party last night, eh? Craven: (rubbing his bleary eyes) Yeah, not bad... I finally went all the way with Kymm. Argos: Yeah? How was she? Craven: Ummm, I don't remember. Argos: (laughs heartily) That'll teach you for entering drinking competitions with Angor. I knew that Half Orc would drink you under the table. In fact, with all that money changing hands, I ended up doing quite nicely. Craven: I hope you intend on sharing it, then? Argos: Did you share Kymm with me? Craven: Share her with you? No chance. She has taste! (smiles) Argos: Taste? Her? That's a laugh. She's had every guy on this island... twice. I heard that once she took... Keldirk: Don't you goat lovers ever shut up? Craven: (to Argos) What's his problem? Argos: Dunno, maybe his mummy didn't kiss him goodbye. Keldirk: (scowls) Listen. I've been waiting here for over an hour and the last thing I want to hear is your incessant drivel. So shut your traps, or I'll shut 'em for you! Craven: Actually, Argos, I know there's one fellow that Kymm hasn't had... (laughs) Argos: (laughs) Keldirk picked up his backpack and walked down the jetty, away from his fellow assassins. One thing he thought he could rely on was that assassins worked alone; free to act without having to deal with others. The irony was that although he was finally getting off this island, away from the restrictive rules and procedures, he was being sent out with two other assassins. It felt to Keldirk as though he were being punished. The two friends, Craven and Argos, continued their banter on the jetty while they waited. Keldirk began to clean his knives for the third time this morning. It was several hours before a small row boat pulled into the cove and docked at the Jetty. In the boat were three wild-looking men. Man #1: Yo! Top mornin', eh? Me name's Red Tum and I'm to be takin' yer to The Swift. She's a beaut; sturdy as a galleon and as fast as a gull. Keldirk: (hands Red Tum his backpack and enters the boat) About bloody time you showed up! Argos: (enters the boat carefully) Craven: (enters the boat and almost retches as it rocks from side to side) Damn! Can't you keep this barge still? Red Tum: Still? Ha! This aint nothin'. Just wait lad... just you wait. The Needles' Eye - now there's a strip o' water where you'll be battlin' to keep yer lunch. The small boat was rowed out of the cove and across a coral reef, eventually coming along side a large ship called The Sea Swift. The three assassins climbed a rope ladder and were welcomed by the Sea Swift's captain and his huge, humanoid first mate. Captain: Welcome aboard. My name is Captain Thrush and before you begin with the jokes let me warn you. The last man that joked about my name lost his tongue. This here (pointing to the Ogre to his left) is my first mate, Flim. Flim is a crazy son of a cur, and like me he has no tolerance for smart arses or lay abouts. Stay out of our way and do EXACTLY as you're told. Understand? Keldirk: Why the bugger are you late? We've been waiting on that bloody jetty since daybreak. I hope you can sail better than you can take instructions. (gesturing to Flim) Doesn't he ever stop drooling? Craven: (whispering to Argos) That Keldirk's a cheery chap. Argos: (smiles) Yeah, always out to make friends. Captain: (restraining Flim) Don't question me, you little turd. I am the captain of this ship and if... Keldirk: I don't give a flying crap who you are or how crazy your ugly friend is. All I care about is getting to the mainland as quick as possible. You're being paid good money to do just that, so stop your pathetic threats and power plays and start sailing this barge. (points to one of the crew) You! Take me to my cabin. Craven: (to a flabbergasted Captain Thrush) I'm Craven and this is Argos. The walking mouth is Keldirk. Don't worry about him, he was born on the wrong side of bed. Captain: (to another of the crew) Take these two land-lubbers below. The Sea Swift carried the three assassins across the Azure Sea for a little over a week. Keldirk stayed mostly to himself, only communicating to the others when required. Captain Thrush gave Keldirk a wide berth, preferring to deal with Craven and Argos. This more than suited Keldirk who spent long hours polishing and honing the edges of his arsenal of knives. Argos and Craven were rarely apart and spent many hours sparring with wooden swords below decks. Craven found sleeping difficult and eating an almost impossible task. He became known among the Sea Swift's crew as "The Fish Feeder". One morning, as Craven was feeding the fish his breakfast, out of the thick fog emerged a large ship. Arrayed along its bow were scores of armed men, preparing to leap aboard the Sea Swift. Crewman #1: PIRATES!! ARM YOURSELVES! Crewman #2: GET THE CAPTAIN! Where's Flim? Craven: (wipes his mouth, and draws his father's sword) This will get the kinks out. Argos! Get your lazy arse over here... call Keldirk, too. The pirate ship came alongside the Sea Swift with relative ease. A swarm of armed buccaneers jumped and swung onto the Sea Swift, several falling to crossbow bolts fired by the Sea Swift's defenders. Before long, both Argos and Craven were fighting for their lives. Craven was joined in combat by two men, little more than children. They were poorly trained but had the advantage of being used to fighting at sea. Craven: (wins the initiative and lands a solid blow against one opponent with his sabre, while parrying with his rapier) Pirate #1: (sends a stroke out wide, nearly hitting his comrade) Pirate #2: (stabs at Craven, but the blow is turned aside) Craven: (his confidence growing as he realizes that these two are no match for his skill, lunges first with his rapier before slashing down with his sabre, killing one of his opponents) Pirate #1: (dies) Pirate #2: (looks at his fallen comrade and attacks furiously) Craven: (parries a clumsy blow and kicks the young pirate overboard after stabbing him in the stomach with his rapier) Meanwhile, Argos was engaged in a struggle with a large, dark-skinned pirate wielding a massive club. Argos was struggling to fend off the rapid blows of his larger opponent and had been pushed back against the ships railing. Argos: (steps sideways, narrowly avoiding being brained by the huge club) Pirate: (smiles) I'm going to crush your head like a melon, little man. Argos: (having no desire to reply, he waits for the man to begin his backswing before darting in and stabbing the man in the thigh) Pirate: (drops to one knee, but manages to complete his strike. He hits the now off-balance Argos in the chest, knocking him to the ground, winded and badly injured) Youll die for that! Argos: (crawling backward, trying to place as much distance between the dark skinned man as he can) CRAVEN!!! Craven had just finished his fight with the two pirates and was looking for another opponent when he heard Argos plea. He saw the tall pirate move towards his friend and moved to intercept. Craven: (steps over the body of the first pirate he killed, slashes, and grazes the shoulder of the dark skinned pirate) Pirate: (turns to face this new threat) Craven: (lunges with the rapier, piercing the pirate's chest near his heart) Pirate: (drops the club and collapses to his knees, clutching his chest over the fatal wound, blood bubbling from his mouth) Craven: (to Argos) Are you ok? Argos: (breathlessly) I... don't think... I can stand... Craven: Let's get you below. Craven sheathed his sabre and helped Argos to the hatch, while fending off several pirates with his rapier. Most of the pirates were engaged with Sea Swift crewmen so few paid the two assassins any serious attention. When they reached the hatch, Keldirk opened the door. Keldirk: (smiling) I hope there are some left... Craven: Get out of my way, I've got to get Argos below. Keldirk: What happened to... DOWN! (reaches into his tunic and pulls out two throwing knives) Craven: (drops to his knees, pulling Argos down with him) Keldirk: (throws the two knives at a pirate approaching Craven from behind, killing him instantly) Craven: (stands and continues to take Argos below) Keldirk: (to Craven) Don't mention it! Craven: I won't. Keldirk retrieved his knives from the dead pirate and was scanning the area for another target when he noticed a second ship approaching. As far as he could tell, none of the Sea Swift crew had seen the new threat. Keldirk spotted Captain Thrush near the mast battling two pirates, and quickly made his way toward him. Keldirk had spent most of his youth aboard boats and had little trouble negotiating the debris and swirling melee to reach the Captain. As Keldirk approached the mast he saw the Captain still fighting; both of his opponents sported wounds and the Captain appeared uninjured. Keldirk, never one to wait, grabbed one of the Captain's opponents around the neck and buried his dagger into the middle of the man's back. The man died, without knowing what hit him. This distracted Thrush's other opponent long enough for the Captain to finish him off. Keldirk: THRUSH! There is a second ship approaching! (pointing starboard) His words were drowned out by the sound of splitting wood and the crash of one ship colliding with another. All people on the deck were sent sprawling and several fell overboard... fighting ceased as everyone looked around to see what had happened. Amidst the chaos, a lone figure stood upon the prow of the second ship, oblivious to the rocking of the boats and began to speak. Man: I am Kincaide, leader of this motley crew of freebooters, it seems that you have failed to reach an understanding with my representatives. Who is the Captain? Thrush: I am! Kincaide: Thrush, my good man... how wonderful that we should meet again after so long. I trust my arrival has not inconvenienced you. Thrush: What have you done to my ship you son-of-cur? Kincaide: Never mind, my friend. We broke her above the waterline; you should be able to fix her provided we reach an amiable agreement... Thrush: I see. Kincaide: Do come aboard my ship and let's discuss terms. With that, Kincaide turned and went back onto the deck of his ship. A second man stepped forward and began to order the pirates back onto their own ship. Craven had just managed to get Argos into their cabin when the crash occurred. He was sent flying against the far wall, and hit his head on one of the beams and fell unconscious. Keldirk was left alone while the crew of the Sea Swift worked to clear the deck of the bodies and repair any damage to the upper deck. Several men were sent below to make sure they were not taking on water and others were retrieving their crewmen who had been knocked overboard. All the activity was co-ordinated with amazing efficiency by the Ogre, Flim. After several minutes the Captain returned and spoke to Flim. The humanoid, grunted and smashed his fist down against the railing, obviously the Captains news did not make him happy. The Captain gestured to the second ship and more pirates came aboard the Swift. The pirates ignored the stunned Sea Swift crew and went below decks. Captain Thrush addressed his crew. Thrush: It seems that we have been allowed to sail free, provided we pay our hosts the required tariffs. So I want none of you to cause any trouble. (he turns and looks directly at Keldirk) Especially you! Red Tum: You're joking, Capt'n! Aint ya? Thrush: No, Tum, I aint. We're badly outnumbered and Kincaide has got himself a spell-weaver that can see through the fog as if it were a clear day. We're to do exactly as he says, pay our dues and swallow our pride... for now. Don't worry lads, we've powerful friends and this matter aint over 'til I say it's over. Now, tend to the wounded and throw the dead overboard. Flim, get the Patchin' Crew onto that hole! Flim: (nods) You heard the Capt'n; git to it or I'll flay ya alive. The crew of the Sea Swift went about their business and before long Kincaide's two ships were gone... along with a sizeable 'tariff'. Keldirk had tried to keep Kincaide's men out of their cabin, but Thrush himself ordered him aside. A fight almost ensued but Flim stepped in and Keldirk begrudgingly stepped aside. The pirates stole Craven's rapier and a great deal other things besides. Keldirk and Argos managed to keep the pirates from their most prized of belongings; the diamond garottes. An hour after the Kincaide's ships left, Craven awoke. Craven: What the bugger hit me? Argos: We were hit by a second boat... you knocked your head on that beam. Keldirk: Thrush made a deal and more pirates came aboard. They went through the boat like stewed kali beans. They've taken all of our setup money, Argos' crossbow and your sword. I tried to stop... Craven: My sword! They've taken my bloody sword? (looks to Argos accusingly) You let them take my sword? Keldirk: (answering for Argos) Argos was barely conscious himself; if there's someone to blame then it's that spineless Captain of ours. He's the one that struck the deal. (Shrugs his shoulders and begins to leave) Anyway, it was just a sword. We've still got our Family heirlooms - so be thankful. It took Craven several days to calm down. His father's sword was the only thing he had of his former life. Now it was gone. Over the days Craven began to understand Keldirk's way of thinking; they should be thankful the Diamond Garottes weren't discovered. If they had been stolen there would be hell to pay. The Diamond Garottes were used by the assassins to remove the faces of selected victims after which time they were sewn into The Vilus Corumdak. It was considered a personal insult to The Marque de'Ahb if an assassin lost his or her garotte. Every assassin knew it was safer to risk their lives in trying to reclaim the lost artifact, no matter what the odds, than it was to announce it's loss to the Family. To lose your garotte generally meant your death. It took the crew of the Sea Swift two full days to patch the huge hole in the hull. During this time Argos remained in his cabin recuperating, Keldirk watched the repair crew and Craven tried (unsuccessfully) to get his sea legs. Captain Thrush was in a foul mood and the assassins decided it would be best if they left the matter of compensation for another time. Once repairs were complete, Captain Thrush ordered the sails set and the Sea Swift lurched into motion. The ship crossed the Azure sea and traversed the Sea of Garnet without incident before entering the waters of Relmor Bay. Captain Thrush assured the assassins that they would be on firm land within three days. Late one evening, as Keldirk and Craven were above deck discussing the twin moons, a massive ball of fire erupted off the Sea Swift's prow. Both assassins shielded their eyes against the conflagration but as quickly as the fire ball appeared, it vanished... leaving the assassins and the Night Crew temporarily blinded. Just as their vision was returning a booming voice shattered the silence. Voice: You trespass in the waters of The Overking. Lay down your arms and surrender to the might of The Imperial Navy! Craven and Keldirk blinked, trying to regain their vision, and peered into the darkness. Both had weapons drawn when the silhouette of a huge warship came into view. Upon its bow, illuminated in a ghostly white light, was a large uniformed man. To his left was a small child holding a large pole, the top of which sported a limp crimson standard. To the man's right stood a robed figure holding aloft a twisted staff that was the source of the eerie light. The crew of the Sea Swift scrambled to their posts, nocking crossbows and making preparations for another conflict. The Night Steward told his crew to calm down and ordered one man to go and notify the Captain. In a matter of minutes Captain Thrush emerged from below, dressed in his customary leather armor, holding a small wooden box. He walked across the deck to the Imperial Warship. Captain Thrush: I am Captain Thrush the master of this vessel. I seek passage through the waters of the Overking. Voice: Such passage is not granted cheaply. Only the Sharks of Ivied may sail these waters freely. Captain Thrush: I have gained passage in the past and understand your terms. (opens the small box and withdraws several gemstones extending his hand to the uniformed man) Voice: What is your destination? Captain Thrush: Chathold. Voice: (nods to the robed figure) The robed figure extended his hand and magically the gemstones lifted from Captain Thrushs open hand and floated gently to the waiting hands of the uniformed man. Once the gems were in his possession the uniformed man looked them over before passing them on to the robed figure who scrutinized them closely. When he had finished, he nodded to the uniformed man and The Sea Swift was allowed to continue. Two days later, just before dawn, a crewman woke the three assassins. Crewman: Get your things together; we have prepared a landing craft to drop you off outside the port. It will be leaving as soon as you are ready. (leaves) Craven: Great! Another stinking little boat. Keldirk: (looking out the porthole) Looks pretty rough out there. Good thing we haven't had breakfast. Argos: (laughs) Craven: It's a small boat... you guys are lucky I haven't had breakfast. --------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fireside Chat John "BJ" Tomkins -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I remember that adventure clearly...a few weeks ago it was....or more perhaps, time is not something I keep close eye on." some of the people gathered round snickered at this, but Tarick Darkon, renowned necromancer continued the telling of his tale, "We, my friends, and fellow caravan mercenary guards were traveling northwards towards the Sealand province of Alidonne, when , a brilliant wave of energy came towards us from the east. Myself, I broke and ran. Some of my party, especially, the Time Warrior Mordbrick stood their ground, but none of it was of any use. The energy wave swept over my companions and I. The next thing I recall correctly was that I was lying in a bank of snow, in that very same spot. However, two of our party...the hated Crescenters had somehow been killed. We continued, eager to leave that spot, and eventually reached Alidonne. In an Alidonne Inn that night, I was plagued by strange dreams. These dreams, I later found out, with the help of a Diviner were a tale of another world, somewhere that I am my friends had been transported to by the energy wave." Darkon paused, while the rabble near him drew closer in interest. "However, the whole tale of our time in this other world, or other time is for...another time. What I wish to tell you now, is of a horrid beast we encountered while there. Apparently, the Diviner told me, we had been transported back in time, and were at a key point in history, the Gods War. We were in...a different reality somehow, somewhere along the flow of time, the past had been changed. Evil had won in the Gods War, and each of us found himself a soldier of that evil. We were, said the Diviner put through a series of tests, to become full-fledged officers." "The one I will tell you about is that of the Maze Test. IT involved us negotiating our way through a maze, and collecting amulets which would automatically defeat the guardians of the maze. Suffice to say we did not succeed in collecting all these amulets, and managed to find only two. One, in the shape of a bear, the other an owl." "Hours later, when we reached the end of the maze, we were confronted by a pillar of hieroglyphics. We pushed the amulets to their proper spots and watched the monstrous pictures transform, into enemies we had to do battle with. One, was a dragon of lightning, another a snake made of fire. The last creature was the most fearsome. It had taken the form of something none of us would suspect. Something perhaps we were even wearing...." The crowd around Darkon grew closer, as he masterfully told this tale of dread, "It was........a WereSheep!" For a moment, the crowd was speechless, but then, they broke out in laughter, rolling over, some crying they had laughed so hard, Darkon stood, and glowered out the mob below him, "Laugh as you might, but his creature, a WereSheep, nearly killed us all...." Submitted to Fireside Chat by: Peter Miller E-MAIL: You can submit your humorous campaign experiences to BJ at One will be chosen to be published each month. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Classified Ads -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Seeking players for Amber Diceless Roleplaying Author: brkk@usa.pipeline.com (Fred Wolke) The Courts of Chaos have been struck three heavy blows. First, the Patternfall war, a fiasco of heretofore unknown proportions, deprived Chaos of the cream of its youth. Then, in the chaos following after, King Swayvill died, leaving a clear line of succession. Thousands were assassinated or died in duels soon after, leaving Merlin to take the throne. Finally, in spite of the insistence of the Minister of Protocol that his accession was entirely legal and proper, hundreds of Lords of Chaos rebelled against the half-amberite king. This rebellion, while quashed, still simmers under the surface, awaiting any sign of weakness from King Merlin. Players in this game will play the roles of some of the few remaining Chaos Lords left in the Courts of Chaos. They will not need to have a copy of the ADRP rulebook, as this is a very rules-light system, but they will need to be familiar with the material in Roger Zelazny's Amber novels, most specifically books six through ten, 'Merlin's Chronicle'. Particulars will be worked out as to scheduling and details in discussion with players. Fred and Dee brkk@usa.pipeline.com (though this will change soon) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject : Kosala's AD&D site Author: Kosala Ubayasekara If anyone is interested in finding other players around the world to play RPG's with there are worldwide players listings available on my site at http://www.student.nada.kth.se/~d96-kub for email, IRC and face-to-face gaming. You can make contact with the players directly yourself by using the email links provided. Regards, Kosala -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Legends Author: tomasso@an.hp.com Legends, the first Amateur Press Association for Earthdawn, is looking for new members. If you've got adventures, fiction, new Disciplines, new magic items, or just cool stuff to share with other Earthdawn players, please consider joining. For more information check out the URL http://members.tripod.com/~LegendsAPA or send me some email at tomasso@an.hp.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Seeking players Author EASTERNHEALINGARTS@zianet.com I am currently seeking 3-6 players of characters, 20 rulers of major countries, and at least 20 deities to become part of Nairth. WHAT IS NAIRTH: Nairth is a combination medieval fantasy/sci-fi role playing PBEM game world of my original design and using a system of my own design. Players have the option of beginning zero level characters, ruling a country or acting as a deity, or a combination of these. Interested persons should be mature, interested in deep story development and NOT just hack and slash and looting, and committed to a long term game. Experienced roleplayers are preferred, and it would be helpful to have a copy of a set of TSR's AD&D books any edition for reference materials. Players: players may wish to be part of a small party or adventure solo, there will be a turn every 2 business days, and possibly in the future some on-line live IRC sessions. Players will start at 0 level and will be human. Non human characters will be possible only after an opportunity to explore Nairth a little. Rulers: Rulers will have the opportunity to roleplay as a ruler of one of the major countries of Nairth. This would be more attractive for those interested in intrigue, strategy and politics. Rulers will have a more sideline role to the main campaign and will be limited to three actions per game week. They will have the opportunity to be involved with shaping the history of Nairth. Deities: Deities will have the opportunity to take on a roleplay of a major deity or demigod of Nairth. Deities have a more background role, although they are very important. They would be ideal for those who haven't much time but would still like to be involved, or as an aside to playing a ruler or character. Deities are limited to 3 actions per game month. I am an experienced Roleplayer and have been a Game Master for over 15 years. I have put a lot of thought and creativity in my PBEM game. I am disinclined to tell you much more about my world because it would spoil the fun of discovery. It is free and for fun. If you would like to participate in my world in any capacity please email me indicating your roleplaying experience and which of the above three you are inclined towards. I will email you back info to get you started. email address: EASTERNHEALINGARTS@zianet.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The IRPS Newsletter/E-Zine staff: General Inquiries and all submissions can be sent to Karen Mizeri at Editing: Karen Mizeri - John "BJ" Tompkins - Anthony Scalzitti - Jason Stover Layout/Design: Jenn Millington - Thomas Forlenza - Lawrence Marz Graphics: Kosala Ubayasekara - Woodelf - Aries J. Galindo - Delta S HTML: Vincent J. Paul Research: Andrew Henry Writer's Assistant : Eugene Tillery --------------------------------------------------------------------------------