2013-12-06

Sword Of The Grand Republic: Under The Forest Canopy, Part 1

The hell is made of stagnant water, mud and rotting plants. Or so the reed-folk living on the borders of the Cold Swamps claim burying their dead in the murky waters. They placate swamp’s spirits with offerings of food and liquors and ward them off with charcoal and herbs. This belief makes them distrustful of anyone coming out of the marshes, alone or in small groups – unlike the denizens of Forest Duchies, the reed-folk do not trade with those rare Grand Republic merchants that chose to brave the Cold Swamps route.


The group finally came out of the swamps in the late afternoon. Tired horses welcomed soft grass and stable ground with visible relief while the riders found the woodland air refreshing change to the stagnant breath of the swamps.
The lead rider turned towards the rest:
"I think we have made it, uncle. No more puddles, no more toads, no more slugs, no more decaying plants…"
"Actually, leaves and needles of trees in forests drop on the ground forming a thick litter-fall… And yes, they are decaying feeding the soil." The older man in the middle of the group responded with a dry smile that only widened when the young man groaned. "You really should have been spending more time outside…"
"I have been spending lot of time outside, uncle. Training camps, roads, battlefields…
"But no forests."
"Nor swamps. Lots of hills and plains, though… I won’t be teaching you geography of the Republic, uncle, it’s not like I would know it better than you anyway."
Older man shook his head still smiling: "No, you would not."
Behind them woman wrapped in robes of fur and leather shrugged: "Whatever. Can we move forward, Viridius? I miss the sight of the open sky, not concealed by swamp mists or tree branches."
"Then you are up for a disappointment, Hisha. This land is called Forest Duchies for a reason. But you are right, we should move forward and put some distance between us and the swamps before we settle for the night." The older man turned back to his nephew. "After you, Marcus, after you…"
The young man spurred his horse to move between the trees and the rest followed.

It took them two more days to reach settled lands. The first sign of civilization was a small clearing with a wooden watchtower standing near the overgrown highway. Bored guards looked at the travelers surprised, as if expecting no travellers to come their way. The tallest of the men put away the jug on the table and stood up while placing the other hand on the hilt of his sword.
"Be welcome, travelers, in the thegendom of Black Raven." He stopped and scrutinized them for a few moments "You don’t look like a regular merchant group… Unless your wagons stuck in the marshes. That happens from time to time, or so I heard. Not many merchant caravans come here. Maybe one or two every two or three years. But you don’t look like merchants anyway… I am Brimmi Rideg-Hadda, commander of this watchpost. I can offer you peace if you come in peace or violence if you come with malice in you hearts."
"Peace be with you and your kin, Brimmi, son of Rideg and Hadda. We bear no malice in our hearts toward you or the thegendom of Black Raven. I am Viridius Dor Antaros, this youngster here is my nephew Marcus Dor Getheos and she is Hisha of Ha’shak tribe…"
The woman interrupted him with anger in her voice "I was Hisha of Ha’shak tribe but I am no more one of them. You know that quite well, general Antaros!"
The warrior savored the woman’s outburst and then looked meaningfully at the remaining members of the group: three soldiers and two unarmed men. The bulky rider with pale blueish skin and braided hairs wearing rainbow-hued clothing smiled to him and answered the unspoken question with a highly-pitched voice:
"The remaining ones are the most dedicated and loyal servants of the illustrious master Antaros. The humblest speaker is the master’s gourmet chef, studious chronicler, keen astrologer, sagacious physician and patient apothecary. – He gestured toward the small bald man in plain white robe riding beside him - This one here is the master’s secretary, aide and keeper of coins. The three valorous men bearing the arms are the master’s most vigilant guards protecting his glorious persona’s and his young companions’ safety.
Brimmi grinned and looked back on the old man "Apparently he is also your comedian. Does he entertains spectators with tricks as well as with his words?"
"Man of many talents is often underappreciated by the simple folk." Astrologer shrugged. "Thankfully, the illustrious master of the humble speaker is a talented, talented and generous man himself, capable of recognizing and rewarding true artisan at his work."
Brimmi started to laugh openly. "Illustrious master Antaros… Would you care to show your generosity by presenting us, simple guards of this boring watchtower, with your humble servant, so he would entertain us on long days with his multiple talents?"
"I doubt we have enough silver with us to pay you for taking away Zzaz’zakan with all his modesty. He has enough of it to supply all of your men and still remain a remarkably humble man despite his uncounted skills…"
"The master’s words warm the heart of this humble servant." Astrologer’s words made Brimmi’s underlings chuckle together with their commander.
Viridius cut his servant with a gesture before he could continue. "Brimmi, son of Rideg and Hadda, with your permission we shall travel further this trail. I presume it leads deeper into the thegendom. How long it will take us to reach the thegen’s keep?"
"Two, maybe three days if your horses need rest after passing the marshes." Warrior scanned the group once more and reached for the jug." The trail will take you into the depths of thegendom, aye, but don’t expect to find the thegen’s keep…" He raised the jug in a toast, followed by his men. "For the thegna!"
Viridius nodded to Brimmi and Hisha chuckled seeing surprised look on Marcus face. The group moved along the path again.

2013-11-08

Prepare For War!

I am proud to announce publication of another product I contributed to. Amora Game just released Basic Training Manual for their incoming Adventure Path: Prepare For War.

My personal contribution to this product is a number of traits and Iron Fist archetype.

2013-08-17

Wayfinder #8 Strikes Again!

I have posted about my humble involvement in Wayfinder #8 as one of its (numerous) contributors. Now, I am proud to announce that yesterday on GenCon Wayfinder #8 received Gold ENnie Award for The Best Free Product of 2013!


Estimated 1% share of Gold ENnie is not bad, I think.

Back to designing another submission. Another batch of Wayfinder monsters won't grow by themselves... Or will they?

2013-07-05

Wayfinder #9 is here!

So, at least ninth issue of Wayfinder is finally here. You can download it from Paizo website for free here: Wayfinder #9. This issue, like number 7 is printed one. Being on the other side of world than Paizocon prevents me from getting my own copy, however. Maybe some day in the future I will get one but I doubt it will be anytime soon.

Three of four submissions I sent were accepted. However, because two of those submissions contained two monsters each, this time Wayfinder's bestiary section actually includes five of my monsters: blood maiden, bloated devourer ghoul, gaunt ascetic ghoul, wyrmwing and wyrmwing swarm. The last two share single entry but include two stat blocks.

The next Wayfinder theme is The Sands of Golarion: Katapesh and Qadira. Time to start designing appropriate submissions. Maybe this time I will write something beyond bestiary entries but I promise nothing...

2013-04-10

Wayfinder #9

Just a short post to brag humbly announce that you will see my creations in Wayfinder again. I just got an e-mail confirmation from Wayfinder's new Assistant Editor-in-Chief Paris Crenshaw that three out of four submissions I sent for Wayfinder #9 bestiary section were accepted. I feel flattered as there were overabundance of submissions this time. Hopefully nothing changes due to unexpected circumstances.

Wayfinder #9, like all odd issues, will be printed for PaizoCon (July 5–7, 2013, Seattle) and available as free PDF from Paizo.com store.

2013-02-09

Wayfinder #8

A bit more than a half year later, here comes the newest issue of Wayfinder dedicated to seas sailors, piracy and, obviously, sea monsters. Three of which are mine: sea wanderer devil, storm hag and Ulat-ashad. Download and enjoy the hard work of many people.

The next Wayfinder will be devoted to Darklands. Less than two months to invent something interesting, write it down and submit.

2013-01-08

Encyclopedia Of Fantastic Gods And Demons: Glossary

Update: 27 Aug 2013

alien deity: A deity that has physical, spiritual and/or mental outlook completely different from standards of human-like mortals. Alien deities tend to be elder and/or foreign gods.

ancient deity: Also old god. A deity that predates currently or recently active civilizations.

ascendant: (1) An entity that transcended the limitations of mortality and became some sort of supernatural being. (2) A deity that ascended to divinity instead of being deity from the beginning of its existence.


aspect (divine): (1) A generic or specific facet of the universe to which particular deity is connected. A deity can have multiple aspects. Common aspects could be fire, love, courage, animals, bears, craft, tools, specific object, trade, social class, cities, specific city, specific city district, element of water, salt water, sweet water, particular river, rains. (2) A lesser manifestation of a deity, separate from the deity's primary form and awareness.


avatar: A mortal or immortal incarnation of a deity.


deity: A supernatural entity that has at least some of the following traits: varying degree of immortality; being in affinity with certain aspects of the world, elements or ideas — usually (but not always) involving ability to draw power from manifestations of said aspects, elements or ideas and ability to manipulate them; being able to grant supernatural powers to others; being worshiped; being able to gain power through worship.

demesne (divine): A planar or dimensional pocket that holds the deity's personal sanctuary. The heart of the deity's realm.

demon: (1) any supernatural entity; (2) any extradimensional entity; (3) any supernatural entity that can be bound through certain magical procedures; (4) an embodiment of supernatural evil.


divinity: A vaguely defined supernatural quality associated with deities.

elder deity: A deity that predates appearance of human-like sapient beings.


elemental: A supernatural entity with body composed of elemental substances.


foreign deity: A deity native to another culture, geographical region, planet, plane, dimension or multiverse that is not part of the locally dominant pantheon.


god: (1) a deity; (2) deity that is personified;  (3) a masculine or outrightly male deity.

goddess: A feminine or outrightly female deity.

hero-deity: A hero that ascended to godhood by performing epic deed, either directly or through veneration encouraged by the legend.

immortal: A creature that has some degree of resistance to aging and possibly disease, physical harm and other bodily, mental and spiritual afflictions. It can be inherited or acquired through some form of ascension.


independent deity: A deity that is not a part of any pantheon.


interloper deity: (1) a foreign deity that is actively gathering followers in a region dominated by another deity or pantheon; (2) any deity that tries to acquire aspect belonging to another deity.


mortal: A creature that lacks divinity and has little or no supernatural powers. Mortals may or may not have potential to ascend.


pantheon: A group of deities connected by personal ties, family ties, shared origins, shared myths and/or shared worship.

patron: A supernatural entity that entered into long-term pact with weaker entity.


primal deity: Also known as primordial deity. A deity that posses inherent divinity since the beginning of its existence instead of acquiring it through ascension. Also a deity that arose spontaneously.


realm (divine): A plane or dimension that belongs directly to the deity, family of deities or pantheon. Divine realm reflects the deity's aspects and nature.

scion (divine): A mortal or immortal entity that inherited potential spark of divinity at its birth from another deity.

servant (divine): Also divine servitor. A supernatural entity that is bound to serve deity or group of deities.

spirit: An entity that lacks physical body in its default state. Many spirits are capable of manifesting tangible form or inhabiting physical vessel.