Fantasy Core Ireland--Adventure Part 1

FANTASY CORE RPG
(c) Jerry Harris, 2012
Published here as Open Game Content.

Adventure Index

Family Feud (1 XP for stopping the fight):

The characters arrive in Nenagh, a town in Tipperary County, Munster Province, in the afternoon into a major commotion. Outside of town in a field, two clans are arrayed for battle, hurling insults at one another. In-between the two sides, their lords with their champions and a priest are having a meeting. The townsfolk are watching nearby and egging on the fight. Bearing royal seals on their breasts, the characters will be allowed onto battlefield and to approach the negotiations.

The priest, Father Macgillycuddy, will immediately challenge the characters and explain that he is mediating an important matter of county business, namely a single-combat to the death between these two clans. Both clan lords will be dismissive of the high-king’s representatives and tell them to mind their own business. It’s up to the players to impress upon them their authority. The combatants are the Kavanagh clan lead by the excitable Nialls Kavanagh, and the O’Gradys lead by the stoic Connor O’Grady. Nialls is claiming that the O’Gradys, “Well-known for their ties to the unnatural,” are attacking their cattle with some form of devilry. Connor is claiming that they had nothing to do with it, and further a woman known to be a witch is in Kavanagh employ. This is probably her doing.

The two lords are about to let their champions (in this case, Nialls’ son, Fergus, and Connor’s heir, Cy) fight it out. It’s strongly implied that this event is really just going to be the precursor to outright clan war. The players will have to act quickly and decisively to keep them from fighting. (The good father can be used to help out, if the players are having too much trouble.) Both sides will be amenable to a temporary truce. Otherwise, a quickly escalating fight ensues, and the characters’ reputation in the county will have already gotten off on a bad foot (and they’ll always be reminded of it). In either case, the characters can waste little time in sorting things out before the fighting gets totally out of control, requiring army to put down.

The story of the provocation is fairly simple. Last night, a prize bull disappeared from the Kavanagh herd and was found drained of blood and hung from a tree the next day on O’Grady property. Guards watching the cattle were found unconscious and claimed an odd Black Mist overcame them. Neither side will admit to any wrong doing that might have started this.

(Sidebar: Not to say that they haven’t been going at each other lately. Nialls’ daughter, Sybil, is the latest conquest of Connor’s nephew and heir, Cy of Red Nail. Or the other way around. In any case, the tryst has been covered up by both parties given their already mutually soiled reputations. Tia, Sybil’s sister, however has taken the affair as a family slight (or perhaps just jealous) and personally gone after Cy in retribution. Tia is also secretly a witch who can take werewolf form and is in league with Fenris the Druid. Her attack left the handsome O’Grady with a scar across his face. He is itching for revenge as soon as he can figure out what attacked him. Also being covered up is an incident where an O’Grady family artifact has been swindled out of a cousin by a Kavanagh cousin for a bar of fairy gold, which promptly turned to lead. Connor wants the heirloom back and Nialls wants to know where the fake gold came from. Neither wants the incident made more public, as both cousins are currently missing.)

The clans and townspeople will disperse (completely disappointed) when the truce is made public. No one is going to want anything to do with the characters.


I'm out tomorrow.  I plan on being back and posting on Thursday.

Baseball Journal 4-14-13 Demolition Weekend

OMG! It’s happening just like they said! North Korea has bombed us! I saw it on TV. They destroyed the iconic Asarco towers and city hall in El Paso. I don’t know why they’d choose such low-value targets, but they’re gone! It’s just like the Red Dawn remake and Olympus Has Fallen at the movies. We’re at WAR people!

Or it was just a senseless act of civic--vandalism (two different videos linked).

You might be wondering about the baseball angle on this. Bear with me for a minute. The El Paso Diablos Double A team used to play in a facility nicknamed, “The Dudley Dome.” No, it wasn’t a dome. In fact, it was probably just a step above a vacant lot with a baseball diamond scratched out on it. You know, someplace where neighborhood kids might play the game.

Thanks to Jim Paul’s inspired ownership and lobbying, the gracious citizens of El Paso eventually granted the Diablos a superb new ballpark, Cohen Stadium. All was good. Until Jim sold to the team to an out-of-town interest, who ran the club into the ground and out of town. (Ironically, my relatives in the Springfield, Missouri are now enjoying the team in their new life as the Cardinals.)

Currently an Independent League team plays at “The Cone,” virtually anonymously. I think they’re owned by the local Indian tribe, which may have occurred after the state shutdown their casino. (That’s not a sarcastic joke, by the way.)

Then the Padres’ Triple A team came up for sale. Some local interests became fascinated with the prospect of buying this team and using it to bilk the city out of millions of dollars. (Pure speculation on my part.) A few greased palms, kickbacks, and bribes later to a typically corrupt city government, and El Paso was getting a new baseball team. (Again, pure speculation on my part.) But, we must have a new stadium. Where shall it go? Hey, let’s demolish city hall! It’s like 30 years old. It’s ancient. Besides, it’s downtown. What a great opportunity to revitalize the area.

So, we have been lead to this, Demolition Weekend. The Asarco towers were thrown in as a powerful metaphor to the ending of all manufacturing jobs in the area. Now if this were a private enterprise trying to setup a factory, we’d still be in the planning stages, fighting off lawsuits, and getting EPA approval for the next five years. But with the right friends, properly paid off and using a bunch of taxpayer money, it all happens inside of a year. No, the citizens didn’t get a vote on this. It’s all going to be paid by a hotel tax on visitors to the city. It’ll also pay for the new city hall. Really. This time, for sure. You can trust us. (Okay, that was sarcasm.)

What will follow this weekend will one day be called, Disaster Decade. This is where next year when the new ballpark opens, a bunch of new fans show up to the first game. They will discover to their horror that the price of parking will be more than the cost of the average ticket (and their car doesn’t even get to see the game). Outraged, they will never come back again. Revenues to the team will plummet. Thanks to the creative contract between the city and the new team, since the locals aren’t supporting them, the team will be able to break their lease. (Once again, pure speculation. Right now, the Tampa Rays are stuck in an ironclad 30-year lease in a crap stadium. I assure you, no other professional sports team will ever allow that to happen again.) Oh, the city will raise taxes on everybody trying to subsidize the team, but that will prove to be a problematical and futile. The team will bolt to another city within 10 years, and taxes will not go down after they leave, because the city will still be paying for the facility (and the new city hall).

I’d love to be wrong. The area embraces the new team and they become a family tradition for many years to come. The new ballpark becomes a cherished landmark. The same local media (sports and news), who championed this cause, wholeheartedly support the franchise and drive fans to the games.

It’s not gonna happen. The team will be ignored by the citizens and media. The ballpark will eventually receive all the love that Marlins Park currently enjoys from their locals. That is to say, a monument to the greed of the owners and corruption of their local politicians. In fact, Marlins Park was sold and funded under similar circumstances in Miami. Amazing that no local reporter ever made that connection. And so, the city of El Paso will be left with two excellent baseball facilities, and I doubt even an Independent League team to fill either of them.

Fantasy Core Ireland--Adventure Intro

FANTASY CORE RPG
(c) Jerry Harris, 2012
Published here as Open Game Content.

Fantasy Ireland Index
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
NPC’s and Monsters

Sample Adventure and County: Balance of Power

Synopsis:
Essentially, the characters wander into a clan war and have to stop it. The inciting incident for the current feud has actually been caused by supernatural forces. The characters will need to deal with them for there to be some momentary peace in the area.

While there’s plenty of action in parts of this adventure, the players are going to have to deal with the inhabitants before they get to it. Some introductions to the locals have to be made first. You might want to warn the players in advance of this. Also included here will be various sidebars for follow up adventures in the area, so some of the encounter descriptions are going to run a bit long.

Please note that this adventure setting plays fast and loose with actual geography and local history. Unless you’re Irish, an Irish scholar, or plan on becoming one, I’d recommend that anyone else using this setting use the same amount of creative license. It’s way too easy to get lost in the weeds of research and reality and never write anything.

Before play, the players should write up some sort of background for their characters, particularly why they are part of the King’s Men. It can be one sentence or however long they want. This may be a help to campaign play and give the Ref some future plot ideas. The characters should all be given a horse, the typical class starting gear (from the beginning of the Fantasy Core character generation), and their all-important Royal seals. I’d recommend 5 or 6 1st level characters for this adventure.

I’ll be the first to admit this scenario is a bit of a railroad. It is an introduction and some foreshadowing of possible future adventures, so it was kind of inevitable. If the characters get off track, which will almost certainly happen, don’t panic. Most of the events in the adventure happen regardless of character actions (not to say they aren’t going to have plenty to say in what happens). Just have the Sean Robins Bard NPC or some other NPC direct the characters to the action. Hopefully they’ll take the hint. After being introduced here to most of the many of the main NPC’s (and the rest alluded to), future adventures should be more player directed.

Write ups of the NPC and Monster stats and extra information about them will follow the adventure description.

Baseball Journal 4-7-13

It was a 4-3 win for the White Sox over the Mariners today. Frankly, nothing really remarkable happened during the game other than, once again, all the runs came off homers. There was also an appearance by Southpaw behind home plate, interacting with that older gentleman wearing the Kyle Busch M&M’s jacket. I suspect they’re on a first name basis after all these years. I had flipped over during the 10th inning to see the end of the race and came back just in time to see Dayan Viciedo’s game-winning home run go into the stands and hear half of Hawk’s home run call. They talked to closer Addison Reed after the game, who’s figured into all of the Sox’s wins so far this season, three saves and a win today.

The best part of today’s broadcast were the interviews with a couple of players from the ’83 White Sox team. The Sunday home uniforms for the team are replicas of those jerseys. (They did this last year as well, wearing red and white. Hopefully the organization will not replicate the black blouse tops or the shorts. Two of the worst baseball uniforms ever. Softballers wouldn’t wear those.) Julio Cruz listed being on that ’83 team as one of his career highlights. His other favorite moment was an in-game pep talk he once gave to Gaylord Perry, infamous spitballer. “Cruzer, get back to second base. You don’t anything about pitching,” was how that interaction ended. Julio then swore, “One day I’m going to reveal where he was hiding his Vaseline!”

Another player (missed his name, might have been Lorenzo Gray, sorry), related hiding out in the umpires’ room during games and gorging on beer and hot dogs. One day after a binge, he was unexpectedly called into a game to pinch run, and started getting sick at first base. “La Russa put on the “steal” sign. I’m thinking, ‘You’ve gotta be kidding me.’” Well, he tried to run, but he essentially waddled his way to second base.

One last comment about the game. Hawk had apologized for him and Steve Stone’s chemistry last year and promised they’d do better this year. Well, they are better this year so far. Still total homers, but at least they’re not a detriment to the broadcast.

Ah, much better mood this evening. Rangers win 7-3 over the Angels. Yu didn’t have his good stuff like the other day, but still got outs and got the win. Weaver on the other side didn’t have his good stuff either and left with a sore elbow. Josh Hamilton is clearly a vampire. The proof is that he can’t hit during the day, like yesterday where Pujols was being walked to get to him, but tonight he was wailing away. Lucky for the Rangers, Ian Kinsler also had his hitting shoes on, including a three-run opposite field homer.

I heard the game over the radio, so I don’t know if this was on TV, but Eric and Matt noticed that there was one Ranger fan with a sign out saying, “We still love you Josh.” Ahh. Eric and I both noticed the glacial pace of the game. It took an hour and a half to play the first three innings. “Well, it’s Sunday night baseball. It’s like a Yankees/Red Sox game.” Now, that’s some honest commentary. Strangely, the game actually picked up the pace dramatically late in the game and ended up clocking in at just a minute over three hours.

Fantasy Core Ireland Setting--Items and Animals Part 2

Fantasy Core RPG
(c) Jerry Harris, 2013
Published here as Open Game Content.

Index

Ship of Glass: A magical boat that can be used to travel to Otherworld islands. It may be used by the elves as an invitation to the Otherworld court of the Fey.

The Magic Bough: A silver branch with white flowers. It is an invitation to the Otherworld court of the Fey. It can also heal all hp damage and any disease once a day.

The Pigskin of the King of Greece: A magical healing item that cures any hp damage, disease, and insanity, once a day. It can even reverse death within 24 hours, but only once per person, and only once a day. Acquiring this object was one of the eight tasks of the sons of Tuireann. Current whereabouts are unknown. The object is actually always actively trying to find its way back to Greece and may cause the holder some bad luck.

Cursing Stones: Located in Inishmurray Island. With a simple ceremony spell (walking around an altar and turning the stones on top of it), a person may be cursed with some sort of ill fortune. The caster will also take the same measure of that bad luck. The ceremony does require a personal effect of the person being cursed.

The Turoe Stone: A three-foot high pagan altar in a field in County Galway, Connecht. Its purpose has been lost to time. It might be a gateway to the Otherworld (or someplace else) with the right ceremony and conditions. Or there may be some other entirely purpose. The locals leave it alone.

Book of the Dun Cow: Tales of Ireland that were inscribed on parchment made from the hide of a cow. Anyone reading it will acquire +4 Wis and Int Bonuses. Several high-level spells are inscribed (in code) within. It normally takes a full day to read at the quickest. There is some unspeakable side effect to this however. Whatever it is, it keeps most owners of the book from reading all of it. Currently it sits in the personal library of the high-king. He has not read all of it either.

The Cathach Battler: A copy of the Psalter from a Latin Vulgate Bible made by St. Columba. The book was a contributing cause of a minor Irish war. It is said to ensure victory to the side holding it. It falls in and out of various hands constantly.

The Pot of Avarice: A silver pot where a bard received his pay. There is one pot known to exist that is magical and will double any amount put in it overnight. It also brings misfortune to the owner. Needless to say, it unknowingly changes hands often.  (Also a card in the Yu-Gi-Oh card game.  Thank you Internet.)

Clods of St. Columba: Pads of earth from Scotland. St. Columba wore these when he returned temporarily to Ireland from his self-imposed exile, but still wouldn’t let his feet touch Irish soil. The wearer of these clods can walk on water, run at double speed, and will be sure-footed on any surface. They are also a revered religious artifact. Their whereabouts are unknown.

Hisperica Famina: Western Sayings. A badly written tale of excessively mundane matters, which includes a smattering of several languages. The book is in the high-king’s library in Tara. It is actually a spell book of with several dangerous high-level spells. It has to be deciphered first, requiring a magical translation key. Clues to finding it are in the text (which requires translation in several languages).

Cross of Cong: A metal-worked cross containing a piece of the True Cross. The display of this artifact will ward off any undead from a building or in person. Its current whereabouts are unknown.

Lyncanthropy: A spell familiar to witches, druids, and elvish wizards. It is a ceremony spell that may be cast once per day. It is only taught orally and very seldom to outsiders.  This version is not a spell of demonic possession nor a contagious disease, but rather the ability to take animal form.

Club of Dagda: A magic weapon of the Fey. It is very heavy and requires +4 Str and Con bonuses to use. It causes 1d12 x 2 damage. It’s whereabouts are unknown.

The Drinking Horn of the King of Greece: One of Finn’s magical possessions. With a DC 12 Fort save, a drink from the gold horn causes the imbiber to become fearless for the day. Failing the save puts the drinker to sleep for an hour. The horn may be drunk from once a day. Another effect is to negate the effects of supernatural aging (such as from a lengthy visit to the Otherworld), but it will only work once for a person for that purpose. The horn is currently lost in Ireland.

Baseball Journal 4-6-13

I was having such a good day. It started going downhill as I had a positively gag-inducing moment watching a commercial during MLB Fan Poll. Yes, just what I wanted to see: two ex-Rangers/current Angels pitching for shampoo. I have to question the product’s choice in celebrity endorsers. CJ Wilson is certainly handsome and charismatic, but is more famous for losing in each round of the playoffs two years ago, rather than any on-field success. And there’s Josh Hamilton. I can’t imagine having any misgivings about tying my product to a guy that’s one misstep away from rehab. Grumble, grumble, sour grapes.

My condition worsened shortly after the Angels/Rangers game started. There’s my other least favorite player, Albert Pujols, hitting a two-run home run. Gotta love the ballhawk on the hill behind the fence, catching the home run ball in flight, and immediately flinging it back, allowing the crowd a small reason to cheer. Al went on to have a great game. Josh picked up right where he left last season, sucking and being boo’ed by the Ranger crowd.

There’s a reason why Mike Trout isn’t getting the business that Al, Josh, and CJ are, even though he’s just as a potent as they are. Certainly Josh put the Rangers on the map and would theoretically deserve applause upon his return. Whenever Michael Young gets back in town with the Philies or somebody else, he’ll get a cheer. (The team has even left his locker open and empty this season as a tribute.) I believe the animus is two-pronged.

One, there’s the (correct) perception that the Angels are trying to buy a championship. That’s a Yankee attitude towards baseball management. They may be the most popular team, but everybody who isn’t their fan, hates them. I don’t think the MLB can tolerate too many of these kind of big-spending teams, especially if they succeed. Two, there’s a personal dislike for these guys. Al came off as a mercenary in his deal. Josh and CJ had failed badly enough in their last years with the Rangers that the organization was willing to let them walk. Then they both got big contracts with the Angels anyway. Then Josh disses his former fans, something Al has been smart enough not to do. This group is just not going to be loved or admired outside of LA if they win, even with Mike Trout leading them.

The Rangers looked bad today. Matt Harrison is having problems and for a team built with pitching this season, they’re going to have problems in that stadium. Can’t really say too much about the game itself, as it was mostly decided about halfway through and I ended up changing stations to watch Bubba Hotep, and see Bruce Campbell in the role he was born to play, Elvis. One observation, Lance Berkman, great hitter, could he qualify as disabled, running-wise? Him and David Ortiz should be allowed to use Segways to get around the bases. Well, why not? The Designed Hitter is the cripple position to begin with.

Fantasy Core Ireland Setting--Items and Animals Part 1

Fantasy Core RPG
(c) Jerry Harris, 2013
Published here as Open Game Content.

Index

Money: The Irish people have only recently been introduced to coinage by the Vikings. Before this, wealth was measured mostly in cows and livestock. The land was owned by hereditary nobles, and freemen paid rent and built upon it. Gold and precious metals were valued, but often anything portable would be carried off in Norse raids, so wealth was buried and hidden.

The upshot of this setting is that, while the characters may acquire some wealth that shouldn’t be a primary goal. In fact, they should look at exchanging it as soon as possible for something more useful, lest they become targets. The characters should be looking at accumulating deeds and fame. (After doing so, they likely won’t have to pay for things and services. They’ll be gifted to them.)

The Water Shoes: Owned by Fergus Mac Leda that was a gift of the halflings. They allow the wearer to walk and breathe underwater.

The Four Gifts of the Fey: These items were brought by the Fey when they conquered Ireland. The Coronation Stone, the Spear of Lug, the Sword of Nuada, and the Caldron of Dagda. They are all currently lost, whereabouts unknown.

--The Coronation Stone-Screams whenever the rightful king steps on it. It was kept at Tara at the Mound of Hostages, before it was stolen during the last coronation. Without it, any kingship (including the current high-king) is doubtful (he had not yet stepped on it before taking the throne).

--The Spear of Lug-a magic weapon that will fight by itself (allowing the owner to wield another weapon, essentially and extra attack per rd). 1d10 damage, requires +4 Int bonus to use.

--The Sword of Nuada-Slays with a touch (DC 12 Will Sv), otherwise 1d8 damage, requires +4 Wis bonus to use.

--The Caldron of Dagda-Produces unending amounts of stew, also reportedly brings the dead back to life (or as zombies), the legends are unclear.

Ogma’s Sword: A magical Fomorian weapon, two-handed 2d12 damage. As befitting the god of letters and learning, the sword can recite a history of its wielders. It has passed through many interesting hands. It requires a +4 Str bonus to wield and +4 Int bonus to ask it for its knowledge.

The Silver Arm of Nuada: Fey king who lost his arm at the first battle of Mag Tured. Because of his disfigurement, he lost his kingship. A magical silver arm was created for him, but later replaced by a real arm. If the silver arm is attached to an arm stump, the owner acquires +4 Strength, Wis, and Int bonuses, and their AC is increased by 1. The whereabouts of this artifact are unknown.

The Brown Bull of Cooley and the White Horned Bull of Connaught: These were the two prize bulls from the tale of the Cattle Raid of Cooley. Given the value of livestock in Ireland, their descendants are highly prized by their owners.

Gray of Macha: One of Cuchulain’s horses (the other was the Black) and was the king of all horses. The horse was very intelligent and loyal. He protected Cuchulain’s body as he was dying. Any sires of this horse would be very valuable.

The Magic boar of Beann Ghulban: Actually a person put under enchantment. It is immortal and will return to life if killed. It sometimes appears in County Sligo at the Mag Tured battlefields. The creature’s poisoned spines are highly sought after. (DC 18 Fort Sv, death within 1 day).

Gae Bolga: Magic weapon of Cuchulain. A spear that causes normal damage the first rd of a hit (1d8), then 1d8 x 4 damage the next rd as it flies back to the thrower’s hand.

War Form Spell or Warp Spasm Spell: A spell of Cuchulain when he went into battle. It caused hideous disfigurement, but increased all damage (x 2), increased AC (by 4), and doubled hit points. It lasted for the length of a battle. It required a full ceremony to cast and could only be used once a day. All knowledge of this spell is currently lost.

Here's a good Wikipedia list of Magic Weapons.


May as well list a few more Fantasy Core rules changes here.

http://jdh417.blogspot.com/2012/10/fantasy-core-rpg-thief.html
This whole "backstab" thing has caused me more consternation than any other rule.    I've broken it down into three separate attack types.

http://jdh417.blogspot.com/2012/09/fantasy-core-rpg-paladin.html
The paladin's smite ability is now limited to melee attacks only.

http://jdh417.blogspot.com/2012/10/fantasy-core-rpg-additional-rules.html
I've added some DC's to stealth, detection, and find skills.