Proxies and Parodies: What Do Fantasy Races Do?

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER ELF

Reading through the Mystara Gazetteers has got me thinking about fantasy races more than usual. I’ve talked about this before. Since then I’ve seen a number of good posts on the problem of race as destiny in the blogosphere. By that I mean the problem with certain kinds of traits as inherent to a particular race. Some physical traits differentiate the races, but what about games which offer skills bonuses, abilities modifiers or even preferred weapons. There’s an argument that suggests these add flavor to a race, while another suggests they primarily serve those looking for min/maxing. I’m not sure where I fall on that- if Dwarves get a bonus to using axes, should a player be able to shift that bonus to something else to represent a unique member of their race? If so, where does that end? Does it undercut the intent of such bonuses? Some might ask: lacking mechanical elements for differing races, what’s the point of playing one?

But there’s an implication in the most recent gazetteer's secret history, known only to the Immortals. I mentioned it in my review, and I want to look at it further. There’s the suggestion that the Orcs and other humanoid races were in fact the playing out of a kharmic debt. That an evil race had so transgressed such that they were forced to be reborn as a dim-witted and hated new people on the planet. That’s a pretty awful thing, both for what it says about the judgment of the Immortals and what it says about responsibility and agency for the Orcs & Company. Is there a way for them to break out of that destiny? Are they restricted to this destiny of violence, stupidity and hatred from their fellows? Would those kinds of limited instincts make them more animals than anything else? And if such races bring disaster to others, then where does responsibility lie?

That aside, I want to think about what fantasy races bring to an rpg. I think there’s a difference between playable races and more “NPC-centered” races- what they offer to the GM vs. the player. I’m also focusing on fantasy races, because I think they offer a different set of reasons and benefits from sci-fi aliens. I’m commenting, in part, my earlier post from this week: Vegetable Elves & Sinister Hobbits: Playable Variations on Classic Races. So below is a list of ideas about what fantasy races actually do or offer- with notes on a few of those.

ROLES FANTASY RACES SERVE IN WORLD-BUILDING AND PLAY
*Signifies Fantasy: Fantasy races, especially the classics signify a fantasy setting- and often a high fantasy setting. In fact, we usually have to define an FRPG as being human-only rather than not. There’s expectations from some players that if they’re playing fantasy they’ll get some choice on race.

*Easy Moral Differences: …without having to go into a defense or explanation. Fantasy races can be given distinctive traits- Elven love of nature, Dwarven Greed, without worrying about the hows and whys of such a thing. Or if there are answers, they’re thin history or mythical explanations. On the other hand, describing an entire human culture with the same type and consistency of traits a fantasy race gets would likely feel strange. Consider the difference between making a race “evil” like the Orcs and a people “evil” like the Red Wizards of Thay. Usually, it is easier to accept the proposition that they’re all evil in the first case over the second.

*Freedom: …from human standards when playing as a PC. Allows cover for some kinds of personality types. In some cases this is a variant on “I was just playing my character.” But in others it can offer a freedom to take on other characteristics: positive or negative. I imagine that in some cases this is a variant of the above. But I’ve also had players play races with neutral or positive cultural traits ( like “Chummy”) as an exercise to force them to try something new.

*Challenge: Extending the idea above, playing races with defects, cultural issues or lower status can offer players a test of their abilities. Half-races often fill this role in settings. But consider the state of the Elves in Dragon Age. That’s a deliberate inversion offering obstacles to playing.

*Geography: Allows for clear geographic distinctions without having to go too much further into the details. For example, pointing to an area and describing it as the Mountains of the Yellow Dwarves or the Forests of the Elven Clan Terratis offers players a decent picture. Pointing to a human kingdom/region may require more detail, perhaps a real world analogue.

*Easy Player Distinctions & Choices: If you offer a player a quick list of choices for play, they’ll usually have some expectations based on races. In a solely human setting you have to rely on the single axis of “class” to distinguish them or else you have to take the time to explain the different human cultures.

*Clear Adversaries/Allies: This may be as easy as saying we’re enemies or friends with the Halflings. Then when players encounter a member of that race, they have a starting point to begin from. They don’t have to worry about which country a human’s from to establish a basis for response. Some of this goes back to the idea of moral differences and inherent traits. In LotR, if you see an orc, you kill it. I’ve had players say to me, especially when I’ve offered more complexity to the depiction Goblins or the like, “sometimes you just want to have bad guys and be able to kill them.”

*Reversal of Expectations: Related to the above point, GMs can use fantasy races- especially those with an established reputation- to flip things (often as a means of commenting on them). D&D began with many monstrous races with intelligence and culture, which leads to questions about the morality of just slaughtering them. So things like Industrial Elves, Druidic Dwarves and Altruistic Gnolls offer a way out of that. However, as I mentioned above, that can get wearing for players- especially if all of their expectations are subverted. Left with no ground to stand on they can become frustrated.

*Parody: Races can be used to parody of real world institutions, perhaps to address touchy subjects while maintaining a distance. Political positions could be enacted to extremes- an almost Swiftian approach to these ideas. I still think Greg Stafford’s Mostali from Glorantha are at least a little swipe at rules lawyers and unimaginative players.

*Novelty: A new race or new take on a race can add novelty to a setting or place- make it clear that this isn’t your same old rpg. Both Talislanta and Earthdawn focus on this as a selling point.

*Genetic or Physical Differences: This can take many forms- perhaps as simple as being able to see in the dark, or perhaps more radical like the stone-skinned Obsidimen of Earthdawn. Consider the advantages and limits of Insectmen or Centaur types. On a surface level, such differences might just establish a cool or distinct image. But on a more interesting level, the GM can consider the “What If” of the race. For example, what’s the implication of a race that can see in the dark? Is there an origin for that? (beyond being underground dwellers) More importantly what does that mean to the lives and culture of that people? Consider how much darkness means to human beings- how we react to it, what we associate with it. If we have a race that has never been in the dark (expect with eyes closed or blindfolded) how do they think about these things.

Take the Trolls from Glorantha, their sensitivity to the sun has a mythic origin and also shapes their life and sense of the world. As well the curse laid upon their people- with most trollish children being born as stunted throwbacks (trollkin)- impacts their identity and sense of martyrdom. What about races with relatively short lifespans? Is there anything about that which affects their approach and attitude? Contrast that to races with longer lifespans- that’s certainly a consideration for most depictions of Elves, for example.

*Theme: Races can be used to underscore the theme, point, or identity of a setting. The Warforged of Eberron are particularly iconic, and they sell the point of the pseudo-steampunk of that world. The vegetable Aldryami and Stone Mostali of Glorantha can be read as a response to the static take on Elves and Dwarves coming out of other fantasy rpgs. The bizarre races of Planescape reinforce just about weird and different that setting is. In my own campaign, I used the idea of several different hybrid races, collectively called the Createds. Each has a small population pool, often combined with odd restrictions on behavior, such as loyalty or aggression. They served to illustrate the fallout and fragments from past dominion by Wizard Overlords who had created them purely as slaves and tools.

*Easy Description: Classic races can be used to easily define and remember certain traits or aspects. The swift Elf, the solid Dwarf, the mighty Troll, and so on.

*Tech Differences: Different races allows an easy way to divide and maintain parallel cultures with distinctly different tech levels or social development.

OTHER THOUGHTS
I’m usre I’m missing some other functions these races serve in a game. I’m hoping it will make me think more broadly about their function when creating a game world or running a setting. A couple of things do occur to me. First, Shadowrun mixes both sci-fi and fantasy. I wonder if Shadowrun could just as easily been done with only humans? What does the call back to old races add to that setting? Second, do all of these ideas apply to alien races from sci-fi games? Are there some different elements those add? Or is it a difference of origin and emphasis?

The Orcs of Thar: RPG Items I Like

WHAT IS IT?
Sourcebook covering Thar, land of the Orcs, Goblins, Gnolls, Trolls, etc. (oh my...) in the classic D&D setting of Mystara.

EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW…
Comedy is hard. I think there’s an illusion that arises from playing tabletop games- that they’re inherently funny. Just about every game I’ve ever played had some element of joking, laughter, and goofiness- even in the most serious moments. Sometimes that’s about releasing the tension of a scene; sometimes it is about just the pleasure of hanging out. There’s a hundred different reasons and a hundred different ways the GM has to steer things back on track. But that doesn’t mean that the actual material of the rpg is funny. In fact, I’d argue, the best of comedy comes with the setting serving as the “straight man” in the routines.

So I’m always leery of rpg product which take a more comedic route. I’ve seen few products where this has worked. The earliest material from Paranoia was pretty amazing and truly funny. The Dying Earth RPG makes me laugh at its insanely dry wit, with extravagant footnotes and self-referential comments. But a lot of “funny” games are just silly, and not really funny. Much as I love the Ghostbusters rpg, it is smirk-worthy more than LOL. Tongue-in-cheek games like Teenagers from Outer Space, Toon, GURPS IOU, and Darwin’s World feel more cute than funny. They have a few jokes, but they can also feel like they want to force or enforce laughter at the table. Some games, like Diana: Warrior Princess, go for absurdity- playing it fairly straight such that you still have something to bounce off of at the table. And then there’s the sniggering, finger up the nose of something awful like HoL a tome of toilet humor that wears out its welcome pretty quickly.

So I come to GAZ10: The Orcs of Thar with a little bias - I’m not fond of forced comedy in games. And forced goofiness bugs me quite a bit. A little bit goes a long way. When you have a book that seems to set itself out as embracing and detailing one culture as goofy and stupid, I’ll admit to being nervous. This isn’t the silly and incidental pop-culture in-jokes of GAZ4: The Kingdom of Ierendi, but something larger. However, Orcs of Thar manages to create a weird balance between the serious and the goofy. It doesn’t stay in the middle, but rather throws in material from both ends of the spectrum: detailed & serious vs. wacky & comedic. It makes for a slightly schizophrenic book, but one that still offers a wealth of material for a DM.

THE BOOK ITSELF
The supplement’s split into two booklets, GM and Player, each 48-pages. Both have pull-out sections, a little unusual. The supplement goes in a number of different directions- resulting in four distinct parts. The map is double-sided, with a region map plus additional inset illustrations and maps on one side. The other offers a wargame map for playing out Orc Wars (or Orcwars as it is written elsewhere in the booklet), a boardgame included in the DM’s booklet. That game originally appeared in Dragon #132 but is reprinted here with heavier cardstock counter sheets. The booklets themselves continue the solid text design of the series, with only a few places where the color background gets in the way. There’s some really tiny text in a couple of places, notably the rules. Bruce Heard, author of the awesome GAZ3: The Principalities of Glantri supplement and the manager for the whole Gazetteer series returns to pen this volume.

And then there’s the art. Clyde Caldwell returns with another awesome cover (the first without a female on it...). The cartography and graphics remain excellent. But the interior illustrations are all provided by Jim Holloway. I’m not fond of Holloway’s style- I have to be really up front about that. I liked it in the early Paranoia books where it fit. But his fantasy art, even when serious, doesn’t work for me. And here he’s in full-on jokesy, dumb mode. From Orcs picking their modes, to drill-sergeant parodies, to butt humor, to the punk gnoll carrying a boombox and watching someone break-dance…ugh. Here’s the thing- if you like Holloway’s work and like that kind of humor you’re probably going to enjoy this. If you don’t, then I suspect you’re going to hate this. Regardless of your starting bias, part of the problem is that Holloway’s approach undercuts much of the serious and interesting material Heard puts together. That’s not to say he doesn’t go full goofy from time to time, but heard understands the necessary balance. And the art just doesn’t.

PLAYER’S BOOKLET
The Orcs of Thar might have been better titled, “The Broken Lands.” That more accurately describes the scope and ambition of this supplement. Instead of covering a single dark folk or goblinoid race, it takes on all of them. I’m more used to supplements detailing an Orc nation, a Goblin settlement or a Gnollish Kingdom- with perhaps a few other races thrown in as servants and allies. The Orcs of Thar instead presents a “nation” made up of tribes from each of the different races (Orc, Hobgoblin, Gnoll, Troll, Ogre, Goblin, Kobold, and Bugbear) with different branches and sub-clans. That’s a huge project- and one that requires the author to create both the unifying structures and details of the internal struggles involved. The Gazetteer series has handled that well in the past (especially in the other race books such as GAZ5: The Elves of Alfheim and GAZ6: The Dwarves of Rockhome).

The Player’s Guide opens with three pages laying out the oral history of the Broken Lands and a very general sense of the geography. The contents page for the booklet has been jettisoned, likely in the interests of space. However, later on we get a first in the Gazetteer series: a contents page. The next part covers the Ten Tribes of Thar. This section (pages 4-13) describes the major settlements, war hordes with stats, faith, and current situation for each. In some ways, it’s the kind of material you would have earlier seen in the DMs book, with an abbreviated version here. Each culture possesses couple of distinct traits, but overwhelms on first reading. Keeping track and remembering each tribe presents a challenge. There’s some great stuff here though, especially the treatment of the Troll and Ogres- how they interact with the others and how they’re seen. Much of it’s solid and serious. However it does drop down from time to time, especially with names: Bugburbia, Lord Sitting Drool, and Trollhattan for example.

But the vast majority of the Player’s Guide focuses on character creation for these eight races. This runs through pages 14-18, 31-35, and finally 37-48. A massive and comprehensive undertaking, this covers pretty much everything you could need to make a “dark folk” PC. Notably the book suggests that these rules wouldn’t necessarily work in a serious game- they’re explicitly described as a joke. And the rules are aimed more at a group of these races, rather than creating one as a member of a standard adventuring party. (But we know how well suggested restrictions like that go over in most campaigns). The rules here could also be used by a DM to create deeper characters for foes from these races.

Each race has a set of stat modifiers, and the rules offer a unified level advancement table, with each race gaining levels in its own race. These are then distinguished by the HD used, the starting AC and other details. For example there are three kinds of gnolls, with different appearances (canis erectus meridonum, canis erectus septentrionum, and canis erectus hilaris). Each can also roll on an additional physical details chart. After this, a good deal of attention is paid to the question of warfare: morale, commanding troops, subordinate revolt. There’s clearly the sense most tales of these people will be war stories. One of the more interesting aspects of these rules comes with the skill section. Skill rules of one kind or another have popped up in most, but not all, of the previous gazetteers. This book offers one of the most extensive treatments. Importantly, normally class abilities such as Hide in Shadows, appear here as a skills to allow the various races to emulate those paths. Each race also has a traditional associated skill such as Escape for Kobolds and Fighting Frenzy for Bugbears. Despite the rules suggestion that these will be “humorous skills” it’s actually a really interesting approach to character building and a kind of radical change from the traditional D&D mechanics.

A number of other options for PC creation appear as well- many of them based on random tables, including starting hordes and social standing. There’s a really excellent section on names here- useful for GMs looking to add some color to their game. Many of them borrow from other cultures that race has contacts with. Some more amusing and strangely detailed rules appear for damaged weapons, oversized weapons, partial armor, armor failure, and differing armor sizes. The rules finished up with optional Unfortunate legacy rules allowing the players awful problems they can role-play for a laugh. There’s a special Thar blank character sheet give, with everything misspelled. I do like that "Hit Pointz" are put into two boxes: Now and Then.

The booklet includes a few other scattered one-page bits: the index, a guide to fungi, various viewpoint narratives on the Broken Lands, and rules for adapting this to AD&D. The most significant other part of the booklet comes in the pullout section: Thar’s Guide to Good Conduct. 32 quarter-pages long, once folded and assembled, it offers a military manual for members of Duh Legion. There’s some interesting stuff there- and thank goodness it isn’t written as Orcish English. But I wish that the pages had been given over to something more playable- more useful in constructing a game. Handouts like these are useful if the DM sticks with the core assumptions and details of the setting. They can perhaps work to give a player perspective on the life of the people in question. I like something of the idea that the Orcs of Thar live in a perpetual militarized state. But for DM’s not as fond of the slightly joking treatment of these peoples, this handout won’t work.

DM’S BOOKLET
The DM’s Booklet begins with an overview of the material and a reminder of the product's tone. “Remember that this product is supposed to present the players with a fun and humorous version of the D&D game more than anything else. This is what this product does best.” That’s fine- but the earlier Players Booklet actually seemed to move between the extreme poles of humor and seriousness, not staying with either sufficiently. It also bugs me a little that the back cover of the product doesn’t suggest a parody approach. Potential buyers could be forgiven for thinking that they would get as solid and rich an approach as that given to the Elves, Dwarves and Hobbits in previous volumes. And consider that against the secret given here at the start of the book: that Orcs and the humanoid races are in fact a factor of reincarnation. That evil beings were reborn as these beastmen, to suffer the ridicule and hatred of other races. That’s a pretty dark and serous backstory, with some really interesting implications for free will and the power of the Immortals.

The DM’s book begins with that history- an exciting mix of very cool details and ideas. Unfortunately some of those implications aren’t drawn out as well as they could be. Next, pages 5-10, describe the wiccas and shamans of the humanoids, a replacement for conventional clerical magic. There’s some weirdness to the rules here- at one point suggesting spells other than those given on a list there will require special means to obtain. But there’s no list given- just the suggestion that common spells are the spells listed in the D&D rulebooks. There’s some discussion of the various cults for the humanoid gods, included the kinds of practices and benefits associated with them. I would have liked to have seen more on that and the role of these practices among the people of Thar.

Key NPCs of the Broken Lands are covered from pages 11-19. There’s some interesting bits, especially giving insight into how the various leaders try to emulate the rites of other nations. I especially like the NPC investigator from Glantri who has disguised himself to better understand the humanoids. DM’s will find decent fodder for scenarios here. There are a few humorous bits in the text, but nothing as over-the-top as the illustrations here might lead you to believe. Oenkmar, Jewel of the Depths, is a sample Orc city, covered in the next seven pages. It has a strange Aztec flavor, given at least by the naming conventions if nothing else. The material here could be moved to other locations, making it pretty useful. The book ends with a section on campaigns, first talking about the details involved with an all-humanoid game (wars, tribal status, experience, even life spans). Next over twelve pages it presents several different adventures. The first one running about five pages is nicely detailed and intended for use by any kind of party- perhaps even in competition with one another. The other nine campaign seeds (grouped under different game types) offer decent options, including detailed rules for running a deadly sporting event.
 
The Orcwars boardgame rules also appear here- again material that some might really like, but that could have be left out in favor of more straight rpg stuff.

OVERALL
The Orcs of Thar is an interesting design- more of a buffet than a carefully planned meal. And the buffet cuts across several different cuisines (Extensive Mechanics, Serious Background, Cartoons, Narrative Humor, Wargame, Props). It is both more and less serious than you might expect. If you’ve read the gazetteers, then you might come to this with expectations. But when you see the art and supplemental bits includes you might feel let down and assume the book will just be silly. If you press on and ignore that, focusing on the actual background and material given for the Broken Lands and its people, you’ll find a surprisingly rich work. It takes some effort to tease that out- and there’s less of it than one might like (forced out by the inclusion of some other materials). I’ve read over this a couple of times and I’m still not sure what to think. What I like, I like a great deal. What I don’t like, I really dislike. But given the biases I started from and mentioned at the start, I’m inclined to think it will work for others. If you like the silly bits then you’ll definitely find useful material. For DMs running a solidly Mystara campaign, the first choice will be how much of the silliness you want. In some ways what’s presented here really undercuts these races as a threat. Tone goes a long way to establishing adversaries as interesting and compelling. The question of humor aside, Orcs of Thar offers the start of an interesting take on these peoples. It just may require more mining than the other gazetteers.

The Broken Lands map here is taken from the excellent Mystaran map resource at mystara.thorf.co.uk. 

THE GAZETTEERS IN REVIEW
GAZ1: The Grand Duchy of Karameikos

GAZ2: The Emirates of Ylaruam

GAZ3: The Principalities of Glantri
GAZ4: The Kingdom of Ierendi

GAZ5: The Elves of Alfheim
GAZ6: The Dwarves of Rockhome
GAZ7: The Northern Reaches
GAZ8: The Five Shires 
GAZ9: The Minrothad Guilds
GAZ 10: The Orcs of Thar 
GAZ 11: The Republic of Darokin 
GAZ 12: The Golden Khan of Ethengar

GAZ 13: The Shadow Elves
GAZ 14: The Atruaghin Clans
Dawn of the Emperors: Thyatis and Alphatia 

Vegetable Elves & Sinister Hobbits: Playable Variations on Classic Races

Creating fantasy races remains one of the real joys of rpg world creation. Often that involves making a few tweaks and creating new cultures- for example most of the Elves from Forgotten Realms or Mystara are still recognizably "elven." In reviewing the Gazetteer series, it's been interesting how just a few minor tweaks can make a presentation feel interesting or fresh. But even in more 'out there' fantasy rpgs like Earthdawn, the Elves feel like Elves. The worlds different, but the classic elements remain recognizable and pretty close to other presentations. Sometimes, though, you get new interpretations- offering completely different personalities, drives, magics, or even physical composition. I've compiled a list of a few of these variations on the classics- though it is incomplete.

Criteria for this list:

1. Should be from a fantasy rpg.
2. Should have published rules for playing that race and character creation.
3. Should be based on one of the classic races: humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, orcs, goblins, gnomes or half-XXX. 
4. Should be culturally and/or physically different enough from the classic races that they couldn't be mistaken for one another.

For unique races- not based on one of the original classics- I've created a companion list elsewhere since it is pretty long: You Want to Play a What? Non-Standard Playable Races from Fantasy RPGs

ALDRYAMI
Elfs: Guide to the Aldryami

As typical with Glorantha, nothing is simple, even the elves. 

Aldryami are Gloranthan plantmen, nature and sun worshipping-mainly worshipping Aldrya, deity of plants. Unlike Tolkienesque elves, they are alien, physically plant-like and often hostile to normal humans (meat men). Like many other fictional elf races, they are excellent archers.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glorantha#Specifically_Gloranth...

BELCADIZ ELVES GAZ3: The Principalities of Glantri
Short, passionate, swashbuckling elves with a Spanish accent. 

Belcadiz is a lightly forested area that serves as the home of the famous winemaking elves. not only is their wine in high demand throughout Glantri, but so is their metalwork, something unheard of for elves anywhere else on Mystara. The Belcadiz elves seem unique among elves - few have ties to other elves in the land, nor elsewhere. Belcadizians are hot-tempered, easy to offend, and enjoy nothing better than a sword duel or two to try and prove their superiority. Non-Belcadiz elves call the clan so "humanized" that members are all half-elves (they are not).

Source: http://gecko_g.fortunecity.com/br/mystara/glantri.html

BLOOD ELVES
The Blood Wood
One of the more striking ideas in an FRPG- both in terms of origin and visual design, these are Elves with strange & point protrusions.

A subrace of Earthdawn elves are called the Blood Elves. The blood elves rejected the Theran protective magic, and attempted their own warding spells. These wards failed, and a last-ditch ritual caused thorns to thrust through the skin of the blood elves. These ever-bleeding wounds caused constant pain, but the self-inflicted suffering was enough to protect the blood elves from the worst of the Horrors.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthdawn#Races

CALIBANS
Ravenloft Player's Handbook

An Orc variant from the lands of Ravenloft. 

Orcs are unknown in Ravenloft, even as creatures of legend. For this reason, no half-orcs are native to the Land of Mists. However, creatures do exist that fill the half-orc's role: calibans. Thankfully rare, calibans are twisted humans exposed to curses or foul magic while still in the womb. The birth of a caliban in a community is often seen as a sure sign of the presence of witchcraft. Calibans are physically powerful but misshapen humanoids. No two calibans look alike, but common deformities include twisted backs or limbs, asymmetrical features, bristly skin, or tusk-like teeth. They are widely considered brutish, savage creatures. In truth, many calibans *are* simple-minded, petty brutes, but this is often the product of their upbringing. Rejected as monsters, most calibans spend their lives hidden in dank cellars or flee civilization to roam the wilds. In truth, a caliban's heart can be as pure and noble as that of any human.

Source: http://www.nwnravenloft.com/world_races.html#calibans

DROW
D3: Vault of the Drow
The classic variant race of Elves, eventually given as a playable option. They've become the 'cool' go to race for players who want to bring the sinister at the table. Also done in other variations as Dark Elves, Night Elves, Shadow Elves, etc. For a frighteningly long article on the Drow, see here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drow_%28Dungeons_%26_Dragons%29.


 
GOBBERS
Iron Kingdoms Character Guide: Full Metal Fantasy, Volume One

A delightful goblin variant which runs with the idea of goblins as tinkerers.  

...gobbers have begun to integrate with humanity, establishing well built towns in close proximity to human neighbors, and many enjoying a nomadic lifestyle traveling the roads of the realm, looking for work and selling their wares. Gobbers are quite intelligent, and have a particular knack for alchemy and mechanical work, both of which has made them useful as skilled workers and assistants to those who can put aside their prejudices.

It is now understood there are two distinct species of gobbers, which includes the "common gobber" found in most cities and the "bogrin" or "bogger" which is a larger, tougher, and wilder gobber more inclined to attack people and violently defend their territory. Civilized examples of both species have found acceptance in the Iron Kingdoms, although the bogrin are often considered dangerous until proven otherwise. Their exact numbers are not known, but it is believed there are equally as many common gobbers as bogrin, each making up half of the overall gobber population. The favorite terrain of the bogrin seems to be mountains and dense forests, away from cities and towns. Those few rare gobbers seen in the sands of the Bloodstone Marches are also believed to be bogrin.

Source: http://privateerpress.com/iron-kingdoms/introduction-to-the-...

HIGH MEN
Middle-earth Role Playing (1st Edition)

Both Rolemaster and MERP had several different divisions of standard humans. The High Men were distinct from the Common Men. In MERP the former draw their blood and line from that of old Numenor, making them stronger and more powerful. RM dropped the literal connection to Middle Earth, but kept the ide aof a race of men with stronger blood. Eventually in later versions the distinctions between the various races of men was treated as a cultural concept.

KENDER
Dragonlance Campaign Setting

A halfling (or hobbit) variant race from the Dragonlance setting. 

...originally described as "thinner, more wiry, and more cunning and streetwise" than halflings.

The original concept of the kender held that they were "savage, warrior children, ever curious, ever alert." This concept was altered dramatically when Janet Pack became involved in dramatic readings of the works, as Pack's personal characteristics had a strong impact on how those involved in the process viewed the kender. According to Jeff Grubb, she, "and as a result all kender since her, was cute. Extremely cute. Sweetly, lovably, frustratingly cute.... And it's hard, after seeing Janet play Tas, to imagine them any other way."[3] Two of the other key characteristics of kender—their curiosity and kleptomania—were introduced by Tracy Hickman. Hickman was uncomfortable with the notion of a "race of thieves" in his games, but still wanted the skills typically associated with thieves, so he added their "innocent tendency to 'borrow' things for indeterminate periods of time."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kender
Interestingly, the actual DL later fiction associates them with the gnomes.

JERRAN
Book of Vile Darkness

Evil halflings! OMG eXtreme! Defined as a fairly distinct sub-race- halflings who apparently turned to evil ways to defend themselves and learned they liked it. Apparently this book is held in low regard generally. I was originally going to put the cannibal halflings from Dark Sun on the list, but it seems that there exists some controversy about them. So claim that depiction comes from later fiction, and isn't part of the core presentation.

KOROBOKURU 
Oriental Adventures 
Humanoids from the Oriental Adventures D&D sourcebook, Dwarf variants. One might imagine them to be unique, but the book relates them to the greater Dwarven race, they even speak a variant of the Dwarven language. They're less about the underground, and more about the outdoors- driven by a desire to wander in addition to their clan instincts. There's a lot of really interesting material in this sourcebook, though I'm not fond of the mechanics involved. 

MOSTALI
Dwarfs: Guide to the Mostali

Dwarfs, but not Dwarves- a strikingly inhuman take on a race that makes them much like machines or cogs in a system. There's a great essay where Greg Stafford makes these guys sound like a parody of rules lawyers. 

The dwarfs are a humanoid race claiming descent from Mostal the Maker, a most ancient deity who is said to have created the world. The dwarfs have a long and ancient history, most of which is unknown to us. They are pragmatic and stoic, happy with practical matters and unafraid of hard work, and are conservative and secretive in the extreme. Their hard religion gives them personal immortality. The official dwarf religion is a sorcery of limited, but practical, variety.

The iron discipline and unyielding attitude of dwarf culture is inhuman in its rigidity. Most humans cannot understand their machine-like state of mind. Apparently many dwarfs cannot either, for there is a significant rate of desertion from the ranks.

Dwarfs are organized into nine separate castes or job-types, each named after a different mineral. These occupations mimic the different races of Mostali which were known in the Godtime. Of the Ancient Mostali, most are now gone, and Iron Mostali are the most numerous of the survivors.  

Source: http://www.glorantha.com/library/elder/intro-elder.html

VISTANI
Van Richten's Guide to the Vistani

A human variant race from Ravenloft, originally purely NPC. They're presented as a kind of version of the Romani people, gypsies but with unique powers. 

Vistani have some control of the Mists of Ravenloft, which divide realms. Players generally need help from the Vistani to move travel realiably from one open realm to another.

Vistani possess a powerful wanderlust, and cannot stay within a mile of a given point for more than a week before suffering a condition called "Static Burn," where the Vistani is afflicted with an illness resembling the flu or a fever. When this occurs, the Vistani has between 2 and 7 days to cross the necessary ground or permanently lose all of their mystical powers, becoming an outcast known as a mortu, which translates roughly as "Living Dead."

Vistani possess powerful, innate magical abilities that recall Romani as imagined in popular culture.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vistani

GM's Day Thanks

So it is GM's day today, so I'd like to give a shout out to the gamemasters in my circle I've played with- thanking them for many excellent sessions:

Dave Enyeart (GURPS, Fallout)
Sherri Stewart (Rolemaster)
Kenny Van Dusen (SWAT Hero, M&M)
Derek Stoelting (Werewolf, Buffy)
Steve Sigety (AFMBE, Dragon Age)
Scott Kanouse (D20)
Jim McClain (Champions, Star Trek)
Rob Stratman (DC Heroes, True20)
John Bykowski (Ars Magica)
Ken McCoy (Call of Cthulhu)
Shawn Ryan (Conan)
Gene Ha (Bushido, Villains & Vigilantes) 
Art Lyon (HB Supers, GURPS Space)
Matt Press (AD&D, HB Pulp Action)

...and of course, my sister Cat Rambo, who actually taught me to play and who was the first person to run a game for me. Even at an early stage, she set the bar high for me as a GM and I've been trying to reach there ever since. 

And thanks for the various GMs & DMs I've played with in the past that I don't game with these days.

The Minrothad Guilds: RPG Items I Like

WHAT IS IT?
Sourcebook covering a merchant-centered island kingdom in the classic TSR setting of Mystara.

ON THE NAMING OF IMAGINARY THINGS
I'm well known in our group for getting names wrong. I have a habit as a player of forgetting the other PC's names and just making things up. At this point I don't even try to recall their actual name. As a GM, I have the great fortune of a wife who always has a handle who any particular NPC is- even years after they were first introduced for a session. My problem with names extends to misreadings as well. I ran a large portion of one campaign based on the Strangers in Prax sourcebook. Years later I realized the main NPC- the group's patron was named Arlaten instead of Artalen. I'd read that book dozens of times, but never caught that until then. The same thing happened with at mythical figure from the Hârn setting- one we named our late cat after. It was called Dejekis and not Dekejis. So I wasn't entirely surprised when I went back to reread the GAZ9: The Minrothad Guilds and realized that was the actual spelling, and not the Minothrad Guilds as I'd always thought it. I like mine better still because it has that “minnow” initial sound and they're is a seafaring people...?

The Minrothad Guilds covers another island based nation operating in the fog-shrouded Sea of Dread- west of Ierendi and south of Karameikos. The supplement offers quite a bit on the lives of sailors, trade and piracy. The Minrothad Guilds comes at the mid-point of the Gazetteer series, where the line's settled into maturity. The basic elements have been established and readers (and writers) know what to expect. If memory serves me correctly, the earliest books still sold significantly better than the latter ones. I suppose that makes sense- with new players wanting to buy things in order. But my impression, based on working in a game store for several years, was that Glantri and Karameikos stood out for readers. The other interesting development that some of the cracks do begin to show in the coordination of the projects. Having read along the series in order, you hit details and ideas in later books that make you go “really?”. Minrothad seem to loom large as a rival to Ierendi, but they're hardly mentioned in the earlier book. The trading and naval power suggested in this volume isn't really suggested in most of the earlier volume. It can fit, but it requires the reader and likely the DM to rejigger materials. It doesn't directly contradict (as sometimes happened with metaplot plots from WW) but instead changes some of the ranks and hierarchies. Of course, as a late-comer, Minrothad has to fight to fit into the world, as task it does with pretty decent success.

THE BOOK ITSELF
The series remains true to form in most respects with this supplement. The tri-fold cover has three decent city maps with some odd color choices. The cover has another excellent Clyde Caldwell illustration. Once again, the booklets have been split in two, one for the players and the other for the DM. The poster map is unfortunately one of the ones I'm missing from my collection. That's too bad because it is pretty awesome with ship illustrations, location maps and a massive trade map of the Known World- that's worth the price of admission alone. Text design and layout remain excellent. But the quality of the art drops off in this one. John Lakey's illustrations look decent, but don't reach the heights of Stephen Fabian's work. The images themselves are smaller and more infrequent in this volume of the series. But that's more notable in comparison to the others; alone it looks fine. Deborah Christian and Kim Eastland provide their first and only entry into the Gazetteer series. 

THE PLAYERS' GUIDE
Usually I start with the DM's guide, but in this case I need to flip that. The Minrothad Guilds has some actually interesting secrets going on in it that come out in the later volume. So I want to set up the basics before I get to the risk of spoilers.

To start, it is easy to see some strong parallels between this nation and Ierendi- both multiracial and naval centered island nations. But where Ierendi is inviting and all about travelers coming there, Minrothad is much more insular and closed, with Merchants going out elsewhere rather than adventurers arriving there. They have a wide-ranging trade network that wields significant clout across the continent (perhaps more than earlier books suggested). Adventurers who come to the Guild islands will find their choices highly circumscribed: internal trade is highly regulated, thieves are regarded as an anathema, warriors must be a registered member of a guild to gain training or a legal position, and magic-users cannot cast without supervision from a licensed member of the local Tutorial Guild.

The 32-page "Player's Booklet" begins with some sharp and tightly written summaries of the area from different perspectives. I often find these first person narratives a little forced, but here they're handled well- with one exception. At times some of the narratives celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day. That wears out its welcome very quickly. With background and history set up, the book moves into a number of the crunchy aspects a player might have to deal with: index of the islands, flora & fauna, weather, economics & trade, law, general culture, holidays, and beliefs. Most topics get a page, but some have a couple, with all of this covered by page 15. Next comes a discussion of the races of Minrothad, pages 16 to 19. Those include Wood Elves, Water Elves, Humans, Hobbits and Halflings. The Elves come from an offshoot of the great post-Blackmoor migrations of the distant past with the former elves keeping to themselves in the forests of Minrothad and the later moving to a position of command and dominance. The humans descend from Nithian stock, though the racial traits described don't exactly line up with that. Both the halflings and the dwarfs among the Guilds are refugees. The former from human slavers on the island (freed in a rebellion backed by the elves) and the latter escapees from Glantri. The race discussion offers a few details along with a discussion of the skills such characters begin with. The skill system introduced in the other books has been even more condensed to fit here.

The rest of the book, from page 20 on, discusses the Guilds and related politics. Five of these guilds are families, each dominated by one of the racial groups. Beyond those are several political guilds, including the Mercenary and Sailor Guilds. There's an overall flowchart of the relations of all of the guilds and then a separate flowchart for each family guild. The text breaks down the roles and responsibilities of members and positions in each. Membership within a guild also comes with a caste, based on a person's skill. I don't care for the term caste here- the structure the authors describe is much more fluid and allows for advancement through hard work. That's not exactly a classic caste situation. There's some general discussion of the place of the guilds in politics and what membership in those groups means for Minrothaddans (ugh...). Its a ton of really interesting information, but straddles the line between being useful more for the player or the DM. On the one hand, players wishing to run a Guild character will need to have some familiarity with these structures. But what's given here feels a little overkill- some players may be turned off by the density. While I generally like the splitting of the player and DM I think a chunk of the material in this booklet belongs with the DM material. More discussion of player level concerns- and more options for players from here (as the other gazetteers offered) would be welcome.

THE DM'S GUIDE
Interestingly, the 64-page "Dungeon Master's Booklet" begins with discussion of the challenges facing a Minrothad campaign- the insular nature of the setting, the restrictions and intolerance towards certain castes, and the lack of classic adventure spots. It offers an honest appraisal of the setting that's very different from many books. The Minrothad Guilds do offer opportunities, but different ones than most supplements.

The book next goes through the History of the Guilds, clarifying and revealing some of the key secrets and issues behind the history as presented in the Player's Booklet. There and in the following sections on Government and Crime (pages 4-11) we see that many of the stated positions of the early booklet as cover for more and less sinister doings within Minrothad. Most importantly- and spoilery- is the active role and presence of the Thieves Guild in the nation. Beyond that we get an interesting picture of the feuds and battles happening behind the scenes among the Guilds. I especially like the concept of a recurring plague of Lycanthropy which causes tensions between the humans and others, as well as being used by some in power as a bargaining chip.

The next section covers piracy in detail, with specific discussion of operations, roles and skills. This applies especially to the pirates of Minrothad but can obviously be used elsewhere (such as with the halfling pirates from GAZ8: The Five Shires). It includes guidelines for running pirate encounters and exchanges. Next the book offers a new character class, the Merchant-Prince, essentially a senior craftsman or ship-captain. To be a Merchant-Prince, a character must meet stat & skills minimums, be a master in a guild relevant skill and have made significant income (20K gp) each year for the last four years. Even with this, the character must roll to see if they're accepted as a Merchant-Prince. So as you can imagine, this is more of an NPC class. Advancement in the class offers the character access to spells, including the 38 new or variant spells presented in the book. Most are described in relation to their ship-board use, and most of the new spells revolve around the sea and weather.

Next, pages 23-34 offer general and playable rules for handling trade in a campaign: how to hire, finding cargo, typical ships, caravans, port classes, customs and so on. DMs interested in running games with any kind of trade or merchant aspect will find this useful, especially in combination with the map (which I'm missing and still pissed about. Just thought I'd mention that again.) The mechanics here remain abstract with enough specifics for particular trade goods to make it work. The next section also offers rules and ideas not specific to Minrothad, but useful for most DMs on ships and sailing. Where GAZ4: The Kingdom of Ierendi offered some ideas for ship combat, the seven pages here talk about sea encounters, how ships move, weather and many other topics.

With those extensive and more general rules sections done, Minrothad finally shifts back to the specifics of the Guilds. Three pages look at the secrets of the Elves, mostly surrounding the artifacts from their respective Immortals. Finally on page 45 we get a more specific rundown of the cities, places, and islands of Minrothad. At ten pages this feels significantly shorter than most other gazetteers, but the information provided is well-written and interesting. Its enriched by four pages detailing key personalities of the region, broken down by Guild and Clan. Finally the book ends with five pages of story seeds, broken down by level (Basic, Companion, etc). The elven offered are pretty thinly described, even the most detailed. The booklet ends with a reprint of the rules for adapting the gazetteers to AD&D.
 
OVERALL
It's worth mentioning that Bruce Heard, product manager for the Gazetteer series and author of the excellent Glantri book, has started a new blog which you can find here. He has a great entry on how he came to write that and how the series was seen within the TSR fold (you can see that here). I particularly like the description of these books as “gold bar” products, for the sense of the depth of material they offer. The Minrothad Guilds really lives up to that. The setting is interesting, and one that cuts across the lines. Players who want to run characters from there gain an interesting background, but a tough one to bring into play. DM's may find the limits of the setting and culture to difficult for their group. But they represent a novel challenge. Add to that the dynamite general material the book offers- on pirates, on trade, on sailing. For GM's interested in any of those topics this is a book worth reading. It may not have the depth of later (especially d20) sourcebooks devoted solely to these topics, but what’s here is great and most of all playable. 

The Minrothad map here is taken from the excellent Mystaran map resource at mystara.thorf.co.uk. 

THE GAZETTEERS IN REVIEW
GAZ1: The Grand Duchy of Karameikos

GAZ2: The Emirates of Ylaruam

GAZ3: The Principalities of Glantri
GAZ4: The Kingdom of Ierendi

GAZ5: The Elves of Alfheim
GAZ6: The Dwarves of Rockhome
GAZ7: The Northern Reaches
GAZ8: The Five Shires 
GAZ9: The Minrothad Guilds
GAZ 10: The Orcs of Thar 
GAZ 11: The Republic of Darokin 
GAZ 12: The Golden Khan of Ethengar

GAZ 13: The Shadow Elves
GAZ 14: The Atruaghin Clans
Dawn of the Emperors: Thyatis and Alphatia 

The State of the Campaigns

I have five campaigns I'm running right now, each bi-weekly. I'd like to consider the beginning of March as the start of the gaming season, since everyone gets sick in Jan & Feb. So here's where everything is at as of the last session:

THE LAST FLEET (BSG Inspired Fantasy Homebrew with Microscope world building)
The Fleet finally made it through the Stormwall into a new realm. However, they quickly discover a place caught up in a massive war between two Elven Empires. On one side, the Dominion of Timbers possesses the secrets of slaying gods and reforging them into weapons. On the other side, the Confederation of Rings fights a losing battle to protect their remaining deities, turning to secret and self-destructive magicks in their defense. The party makes their way to the independent mining colony of Neversun, where they learn much and save the life of the Grand Vizier, twin to the Gnomish Necromancer they fought.

The Vizier presents them with several options and suggestions about where they might go to find refuge and resources to the fleet. All are dangerous. Before leaving Neversun, the party takes over an underworld gambling den and establishes their own people there as intelligence sources. They travel to Carcul where the great spawning of the Sky-Sharks is about to occur. There they work to impress the Flotsdam Runners, a group of expert guides and sky-sailors. In the midst of the massive hunt, Marreg the Orc leaps from his vessel and punches a Killer Sky Whale in the eye- killing it as all rolls sync up in a moment of glory. Bridgehowl, leader of the Runners is duly impressed. They agree to lead the party into the Curse- the abandoned orcish lands, cursed by the dying Orc gods when they fell to the Dominion of Timbers.

WAYWARD (Changeling: The Lost homebrew)
The group returns from the Deep Hedge, having completed their quest. They've brought with them several changelings rescued from various durances, including two who seem to contain the other parts of the sewn together darkling known as Stitcherman. The group now have the blessing of the power of Judgment to establish a new Court- one which they hope will bring balance to Wayward by squaring things with the other three Courts: Rust, Gardens and the Wolf. First they manage to bring over to their side a number of fringe members of the exiled Winter Court. They obtain oaths from them and clear the new members of past misdeeds. Finally they present themselves to Edward Brambleteeth to announce their new Court- he's angry, but they point out that they set out at his orders. The situation becomes more complicated when they unmask a Keeper among the numbers of Gardens, Lonesome Dog. The Keeper escapes and Edward tells them to leave while he considers their petition.

The group then presents themselves to Sybold Futures, Prince of the Court of Rust and Edward's brother. They want Sybold to recognize them and the Court of Wolf as official Courts. Sybold tells them they have his blessing if they can essentially clean up all of the outstanding messes in the city before the end of March. The group agrees- knowing that it will be heavy work and will put them at odds with Edward. They consult with an imprisoned elemental of karma who gives them important information. That allows them to kill the Winter Court's deadliest agent, the Wizened Soldier Unbecoming Tim. They deliver his head to a shocked Sybold. That done they follow up on various leads- considering how to best handle destroying the enemy Draconic Fairest. Edward meets with them again and reveals much about the secrets of the old dynasty, but the group shocks him with many other facts he was unaware of. Finally while out driving, Nate spots one of the Winter Court leaders, Regardless, meeting with the disguised Keeper Lonesome Dog. Though they're enemies of the Winter Court- he cannot bear the thought of the Keeper using them for its own ends.

ARTIFACTS (High Fantasy Homebrew with Microscope world building)
The group continues on their quest to undo the spell which causes the sun to burn the land like a furnace. Each day for the hours surrounding noon it blazes and bakes the land. The Oracle continues to present them with a set of choices of direction- unable to specifically guide them since the shattering of prophecy. In the compound of the Seven Masterless Killer families, the uncover a secret- that the destruction of those families had not been a betrayal, but rather an internal purge organized from their secret alliance with the Empire and the possessed Empress. Armed with this knowledge, the group fought their way free, managing to kill a few of the new leadership. Next they arrived in the great city of Neylan, the de facto capital of one of the rebellious provinces. They untangled a complex riddle- revealing that one of their own number was not who he believed himself to be. Rather, he had been possess and manipulated by a powerful artifact to give it a body. Still unsure of what that episode had added to their quest, the group moved on.

They arrived at a field of corpses, site of a battle. Following the trails back, they discovered a tower under siege by a madman mercenary and his monstrous allies- servants of the Mad Empress. Within the besieged castle, they found the Empress' brother who had come here- like the group- seeking the Bells of Pellic to break the Sunblaze Curse. But the Bells had already vanished from this place. The group fought a desperate holding action against the army, at the same time battling agents of the Night Elves who infiltrated in search of the Bells. Only but summoning and organizing the spirits of the dead from the early battle did they managed to defeat their foe, but few remained alive from the castle. Taking the Prince with them, they moved on.

And found themselves in a strange and frozen place- a garden with dancers and fountains held in time. But they came to life at the behest of a wooden golem who called the party member Batu, the barbarian, his master. Treated to food, wine and dancers, the group tried to assess their situation privately. Batu had no real memory of this place- but in the interrogation the rest of the group realized that the “Batu” that they knew was not the barbarian, but instead the magic item he held possessing him. That item, a ring cut from a unicorn horn pointed to the key. As various agents appeared and spoke to Batu, who they called Lord Scarreign, it became clear that there were powerful amoral manipulators behind the scenes- the ancient unicorns. Batu's ring realized that though it believed itself to be one of these unicorns, in fact it was a device created to sow chaos among them. The group made a break for it as the real Lord Scarreign returned- rescuing two prisoners. One of those, the scholar Error Dricel had a solution for finding the Bells- not seeking the Bells themselves which could not be scryed, but rather searching for the tell-tale fragments of the spells which had once held the Bells in place. Only two might would know how to do that- and with that the two gates opened...

LIBRI VIDICOS (Steampunk Hogwarts Fantasy Homebrew)
In the midst of the school being invaded, the group manages to bring back the dead headmaster, Direlond, killed at the end of the previous year in a battle with these same enemies. The group finally managed to put the pieces together of his puzzle in time to revive him. He lends his aid, getting many of the students and staff to safety. However the enemy has clearly been enacting some kind of powerful ritual using the schools teleportation system. When they go outside, the group sees another school- the fifth one- presumed destroyed in the battle with the Ardorans centuries ago. The group decides to travel there- clearly the invading forces want something from that lost school, enough to stage a raid on Libri Vidicos to get to it. They travel over- but almost immediately face another threat with the appearance of a Chronal Drake, a beast which breathes age and decay. They watch helplessly as Libri Vidicos teleports away- escaping from the drake's assault. They are now trapped here...despite this they continue to press on, exploring and eventually coming upon the enemy- including several of the traitor instructors and students. A massive melee breaks out and the group lets loose a variety of powers which cause the walls and floors to crumble. The party makes a desperate bid to escape- activating the defenses of a secure room. When they release the door lock, they find themselves in a new place: Sigil the City of Doors.

There they meet with several members of the planar mercenary group, the Sons of the Tower. Some of them come from the party's world and have been seeking a way back. The group aids him in hunting down another key which may lead back home in a mad journey across the city that takes them from shops, to a barfight, to a collapsing arena and finally into the awful sewers of Sigil. They get the key and activate it- returning at last to Libri Vidicos. The headmaster congratulates them on their victory. The mood though, is bittersweet, as a ceremony soon follows to honor those who fell in the battles. The school year moves on- with the party having the chance to set up a last, massive party for all of the student body, especially the graduating fifth years and the guest students from the other two schools. It goes off as a massive success.

WALLS OF PAVIS (High fantasy Homebrew with Gloranthan elements)
The group returns from their travels to rescue the last people of Kraletorea untouched by the influence of the God Chainers. They have managed to defeat two of the inner circle of their enemies, recruit a number of soldiers and craftsmen, and save the new avatar of the Dragon of Change. But the cost has been high- with the death of Raythe's god Phairdon in the battle. They have a few days to rest in Pavis before they must aid the Flintnail Cult with a ceremony in the Rubble designed to bring blessings to their work and the city. The group make deals to take several of the traditional adversaries of the Flintnail's out of the picture and arrive to give aid. This puts them at odds with the more radical Pavis Cult members who see the party as Lunar toadies. The group triumphs despite this, making a deal to gain the aid of the Trolls in exchange for granting them rights to a newly revealed temple in the heart of the Rubble. The Grey Company, leaders of the radical Pavis Cultists, respond by killing one of the party's agents. Raythe, still angry over the loss of his god, takes the fight to the grey Company's door. He calls on his last favor from Labrygon and they appear in the middle of the Company's secret refuge. The party slaughters everyone there, leaving only one survivor to tell the tale. They gather two of the Masks of Pavis and use them to gain allies within the city, including the moderate Pavis Cult leadership.

Next they turn their attention to the food supply and venture forth to follow the trunk of the great Giant Tree, in hopes of locating some resources. After some travel they manage to uncover enormous mushrooms as well as massive seed grains. However, they have to fight off several giant predators including mice, owls and snakes. After securing enough to offer Pavis a significant safety net, they encounter yet another of the Seven Pharaohs- those who will have to travel to The End of Time to fight against it. When the group returns to Pavis they work on getting various helpers and agents into place; they suspect that the God Chainers will bring the battle to the Valley of Prax and they want to be ready. To bring the community together, the group decides to spend much of their resources providing a festival for the city. With a Pavis Ceremony a week away, complete with a bardic context, they decide to offer a contest, event or display each day leading up to that. Each party member chooses a day and comes up with an activity and ties it into their own god, as a means of giving honor to their lesser known deities. They put on a scavenger hunt, a footrace, an obstacle course and a special market day with prizes.

Rocketeer & Flashpoint: Self-Promotion Alert

As a self-promoting shout out- Diamond Comic Distributors had their Diamond Gem Awards announced and Rocketeer Adventures Vol. 1 took 2011 Anthology of the Year. I mention this, of course, because I have a story in there, so that's pretty cool. You can get the hardcover now, and it is a pretty amazing volume with a ton of great artists and writers. The boo'ks worth picking up if you enjoy pulp action and like to see how a different writers wrestle with the limitations of the eight-page tale. I've been thinking about how to handle The Rocketeer as a game, and I think pretty clearly Spirit of the Century or Adventure! is the way to go.

I'll also point out that in March the trade paper of Flashpoint: The World of Flashpoint Featuring Superman comes out. That has the three issue mini-series I scripted and co-plotted for the Flashpoint event. I've had a chance to look at the book as a while and I really like it. It got some nice reviews, especially for a first book from me. The trade paper includes the World of Flashpoint books and the Booster Gold final issues tying in to the event. It comes out March 20th.