Quick-starts are means of trying out a roleplaying game before you buy. Each should provide a Game Master with sufficient background to introduce and explain the setting to her players, the rules to run the scenario included, and a set of ready-to-play, pre-generated characters that the players can pick up and understand almost as soon as they have sat down to play. The scenario itself should provide an introduction to the setting for the players as well as to the type of adventures that their characters will have and just an idea of some of the things their characters will be doing on said adventures. All of which should be packaged up in an easy-to-understand booklet whose contents, with a minimum of preparation upon the part of the Game Master, can be brought to the table and run for her gaming group in a single evening’s session—or perhaps too. And at the end of it, Game Master and players alike should ideally know whether they want to play the game again, perhaps purchasing another adventure or even the full rules for the roleplaying game.

Alternatively, if the Game Master already has the full rules for the roleplaying game for the quick-start is for, then what it provides is a sample scenario that she still run as an introduction or even as part of her campaign for the roleplaying game. The ideal quick-start should entice and intrigue a playing group, but above all effectively introduce and teach the roleplaying game, as well as showcase both rules and setting.

—oOo—

What is it?
The Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook is not as its name suggests a quick-start. Instead, it is an introduction to and preview of the rules and a then chance to provide feedback to the designers of the roleplaying game, the fifth to be based on the Marvel Universe. It includes the rules combat and action as well as the means for players to create superheroes of their own, ten superheroes from the Marvel Universe, and a short scenario.

It is a one-hundred-and twenty-page, full colour softback book.
The book is lavishly illustrated with comic book art.

The rules are clearly explained, but more complex and detailed than would be found in a quick-start.
How long will it take to play?
If the pre-generated superheroes in the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook are used, its, ‘Enter; Hydra’, can be played through in one session. If the players want to create their own, another session will be required.
What else do you need to play?
The ten pre-generated superheroes in Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook consist of three six-sided dice per player, one of which should be a different colour to the other two.
Who do you play?
The six Player Characters in the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook consist of the Black Panther, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Groot, Iron Man, Rocket Raccoon, Spiderman, Storm, Thor, and Wolverine.
How is a Player Character defined?
A Player Character in the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook—and thus the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game—has a Rank, Archetype, scores in six abilities, Health, Focus, Karma, Power Sets and Powers, as well as a Backstory and Traits. Rank ranges in value from one and ordinary human to twenty-five. Rank 5 is equal to Daredevil, Rank 10 to Spiderman, Rank 15 to Captain America, Rank 20 to Doctor Strange, and Rank 25 to Captain Marvel. Rank determines how many points a player has to spend during character creation and the values of various secondary factors. Archetypes include Blaster, Bruiser, Genius, Polymath, Protector, and Striker, and suggest how a superhero’s powers might work. The six abilities Might, Agility, Resilience, Vigilance, Ego, and Logic, their initials spelling out ‘Marvel’. Backstory includes Origin and Profession, which grant Traits that Traits cover talents, skills, circumstances, vulnerabilities, minor superpowers, and more.
What Does a Sample Player Character Look Like?
Heaven Granado is a struggling medical student studying in New York. To make ends meet, she volunteered for program of medical trials, thinking they were new vaccines. Unfortunately, Heaven had an allergic reaction to one of the drugs and was hospitalised and had to abandon the trial. In the weeks following her recovery she discovered that she was suddenly very stretchy and resilient to damage, the first when absentmindedly reaching across a room and the second when she was hit by a car. She still does not quite know the extent of what she can do, but wants to wrap her head around it.
Real Name: Heaven GranadoCodename: WraparoundOrigins: Weird ScienceProfession: Health Care Worker/Medical Student
RANK: 5
ABILIITIES – Score – Modifier – DefenceMight – 2 – +3 – 14Agility – 2 – +5 – 16Resilience – 3 – +6 – 17Vigilance – 3 – +8 – 19Ego – 4 – +9 – 20Logic – 4 – +8 – 19
Initiative Modifier: +8 Speed: 27Fight Damage: 3d6 Ranged Damage: 3d6+4Health: 45 Focus: 55Karma: 3
POWERSInspirationPlasticity: Extended Reach 1, Flexible Bones 1Tactical Mastery: Battle Plan, Change of Plan
TRAITSClinician, Extra Career (Student), First Aid, Mentor, Obligation: School, Poor, Prescription Pad, Quick Leaner, Weird
How do the mechanics work?
Mechanically, the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook—and thus the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game—uses the d616 System. To have his character undertake an Action Check, a player rolls three six-sided dice, adds an Action Modifier, whether from ability or a power, and if the result is equal to or higher than the Target Number—which can range between eight and forty. One of the three six-sided dice is a different colour. This is the Marvel die. If the result on the Marvel die is a one and those on the other dice is any number except one, it counts as a Fantastic Roll, triggers a triumph result, and the one on the Marvel die counts as six towards the total. The Ultimate Fantastic roll is a six on both of the standard dice a one on the Marvel die. This means the task automatically succeeds and ignores any Trouble. A roll of one on all three dice is a Botched Roll and counts as a failure.
If the Player Character has the Edge or an advantage due to a special skill, ability, or the circumstances, the player can reroll a single die and take the better result. This often to achieve a Fantastic Roll. Trouble, whether due to lack of skill or equipment, forces a player to reroll a die and take the worst result.
Heroes and villains have Karma equal to half their Rank to spend each day. karma can be spent to give a Player Character the Edge on an Action Roll. The Narrator can reward more Karma for good roleplay.
The aspect of a Fantastic Roll, derived from a roll of one on the Marvel Die and any numbers other than one on the other dice, but the roll of one on the Marvel Die still counting as a six towards the total is, mechanically, counterintuitive. However, the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game is set on the default Earth of the Marvel Universe, Earth-616, so thematically it makes sense.
How does combat work?
Combat in the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook details initiative, the various types of movement, use of firearms—mostly the province of NPCs and villains, numerous conditions, and damage inflicted to objects, including ploughing through them. It covers most of the typical eventualities that might turn up in a superhero roleplaying game.
How do Powers work?
Powers are divided between those organised into related sets and those not. A set suggests origins and effects, and within the sets, the powers are arranged as trees which the hero can progress along as he grows in his abilities. Every power has a narrative effect, the mechanical effect handled via the Action Check.
Power Sets included in the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook consist of Battlesuit, Blades, Cybernetics, Energy Control, Firearms, Martial Arts, Plasticity, Shield Bear, Spider-Powers, Super-Strength, Tactical Mastery, and Weather Control. These specifically support the pre-generated heroes included in the book.

Focus represents a superhero’s mental fortitude, but also has to be spent to activate certain powers.
What do you play?
‘Enter Hyrda (An Adventure)’ is the shortest section in Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook. It is designed for three to six characters of Ranks 10 or 15—most of the pre-generated characters in Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook are of the appropriate Ranks—who must face a squad of Hydra agents with powers remarkably similar to their own. It is specifically designed to showcase the rules, especially the combat rules, in practice. That said, it is a cliché and it is one note, good for a single session, but absolutely no more.
Is there anything missing?
Yes and no. There numerous types of powers not included, such magic, phasing, psionics, and teleportation. Beyond the ten heroes included, there are also no stats or details of actual Marvel Universe villains. Of course, space is limited in the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook, but the inclusion of a villain would have been useful.

There is also no PDF version available.
Is it easy to prepare?
The core rules presented in the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook are relatively easy to prepare. There is a lot of information in the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook though and it is tightly packed, so it require a close read through.

It helps that it includes a good combination index and glossary and a reference sheet for Action Checks for the Narrator.
Is it worth it?
Yes and no. Yes, because it does include everything necessary to play at least a single session and even a few more should the Narrator and her players want to create their superheroes and associated villains and run a few sessions of the roleplaying game. No, because it is not readily available in PDF. This is a shame because the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game does need an introduction or quick-start and the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook would fit that bill.
Where can you get it?
The Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Rulebook is available through retail at comic book shops and on Kindle.
There is no PDF version available.

 Area 25 is the home to a portal to another world. Like all the portals on this level is it one way. When the party gets within 15' of it a humanoid monkey-like creature steps through.

The creature is a Hóu Yaoguai. It is evil, it is angry, but it is also intelligent.  If the party explains their are not the reason it is here it will not attack them, yet.  The Hóu Yaoguai will attempt to discover all it can about his world and attempt to recruit the PC to its side by claiming it will aid them in their quest to find the Vampire Queen. 

This is all true, but the demon still plans on betraying them the first chance it gets.

 A couple of weeks back, I took a bit of a break to talk about some SciFi ideas I had.  Well, it must have nestled into my brain and laid eggs that hatched because I now have a bunch more ideas. Or maybe because Doctor Who has been on my mind a lot lately since yesterday was the 60th Anniversary of the show and tomorrow is the premier of the 60th Anniversary special.  One of those ideas was something I was calling "The Lost Children of Time."  The idea was half-baked, at best, but that ended today.

Doctor Who RPG: The Lost Children of Time

Now to be fair this doesn't have to be used with the Doctor Who RPG. But I think the feel of the 2nd Edition game might fit this the best. Plus I think I would run this as a one-shot.  So who are the characters? The eponymous Lost Children of Time?  Well, they are the reason I put this together to start with so let us see who they are.

• Jonas Kahnwald (Dark) - Age 20, he ceases to exist when his world timeline is destroyed.
• Martha Nielsen (Dark) - Age 20, from a parallel world/timeline. Her timeline is also destroyed when Jonas' is to make room for a third (or original) timeline where they do not exist.
• Cal Stone (Manifest) - Age 22. The older version of the Cal Stone that was temporarily displaced on Flight 828. When the time was reset Cal was returned as age 11. This is 22-year-old Cal.
• DC Iris Maplewood (Bodies) - Age ??. From an alternate future (2053) where England is under near fascist rule. She is sent back in time to 1890, 1941, and 2023.  For reasons unknown, her 2023 counterpart survives the collapse of her timeline.

The characters all bring something to the table. Jonas is our everyday guy. Martha is already used to fighting and dealing with strange things. Cal has a sixth sense and visions (Callings), and Iris is a cop. All have time-travel experience. 

But who is it they are after? Well, that came to me today.

They are fighting a time and space displaced Jack the Ripper.

How is that possible? Easy. Let's take another time travel movie, Time After Time from 1979. It features Malcolm McDowell as H.G. Wells and David Warner as Jack the Ripper. Both who have solid sci-fi credits to their name including parts in various Star Trek movies and series.   In this movie H.G. Wells builds a working time machine, but it is stolen by his friend Stevenson, aka Jack the Ripper. He travels to 1979 where he picks up his killings anew. Wells follows him when his time machine returns.  While in 1979 Jack attempts to escape but Wells removes the "vaporizing equalizer" from the machine. This causes the time machine to remain, but send Jack to "oblivion" according to Wells. We assume he is dead.

But if he wasn't?

Que the Second Season Star Trek episode "Wolf in the Fold."  In this episode (note: it really doesn't hold up well despite being a good horror episode written by Robert Bloch) we meet Redjac, a non-corporeal entity that murders women to feed on their fear. Spock's reasoning aside I am going to go back on to my tried true explanation of psychic ability is a sex-linked trait on the X chromosome. People with XX chromosomes are more likely to have psychic abilities than people with XY. This is what Redjac feeds on. Everyone feels fear, but people with greater psychic potential are a better meal to it.

Redjac in the episode is believed to have been the cause of Jack the Ripper. But what if it was the other way around? What if H.G. Wells sending Stevenson/Jack to "oblivion" only freed it from its corporeal form and sent out into Time and Space to hunt anew?

I would need to figure out how this group comes together. How they find the clues and then how they solve the mystery of the Ripper-like murders of women in 2023.

Easiest of course would be to have Jonas and Martha in London where they get into Iris' cab/Uber. Cal is easy, he has a vision and goes there.  There is my plot twist too. Redjac normally only murders women because of their greater psychic potential, but Cal with his callings is a much tastier target. 

How do they defeat the Ripper/Redjac? 

No idea yet. But it will involve some time travel to be sure. 

The key here was David Warner. He was amazing as Stevenson/Jack the Ripper in "Time After Time." He has played no less than three separate characters in Star Trek and a character in Doctor Who. He was also in an Outer Limits episode about Jack the Ripper that uses a similar idea. 

Also is Redjac/Jack content to travel in time or does he have a greater purpose? 

It sounds like a lot of fun and I can't wait to try it out.

 Entering Encounter Area 24 the characters hear growling and the squawking of birds.

Here are two Type I demons, Vrocks, fighting over a dead elf.

Vrock Demon: HD 8; AC 0 [19]; Atk 1 beak (1d6), 2 foreclaws (1d8), 2 rear claws (1d6); Move 12 (Fly 18); Save 8; AL C; CL/XP 11/1700; Special: Magic resistance (50%), darkness, immune to fire.

Type I Demon (Vrock)

Armor Class 0 [19]
Hit Dice 8* (36 hp)
Attacks 2 foreclaws (1d8), 2 rear claws (1d6), 1 beak (1d6)
Special Magic resistance (50%), darkness, immune to fire.
THAC0 12 [+7]
Movement 120’ (40’)
  Fly 180' (60')
Saving Throws D8 W9 P10 B11 S12 SS 8 (8)
Morale 10
Alignment Chaotic
XP 1,750
Number Appearing 1 (1)
Treasure Type A

These demons are vulture-headed, with feathered but humanoid bodies, and huge dark-feathered wings. All can create darkness in a radius of 5-ft. and are immune to fire. They use their wings to allow both their arms and legs to be brought into combat, along with their beaked bite. Vrock demons are quite stupid, though like most demons they consider themselves to be tremendously intelligent. A Vrock has a 10% chance to gate another first-category demon to its assistance. (S&W SRD).

--

Here are a couple of Turkey Demons, Happy Thanksgiving from The Other Side!

 Encounter area 23 is the strangest one yet.

When the characters enter the area they hear a loud metallic grating sound. A blue box, about 8 ft tall and 4ft by 4ft on base appears out of nowhere. A light shines on the top of the box.

A man in strange garb pokes his head out and looks around. He says "Oh. Hello. Sorry, but stupid question, is this Earth? I am supposed to meet someone, about a thing. Well. Two things." 

He looks around for a moment, then says "Right. Have to be off." 

He goes back into the box and it makes the same grating and groaning noise and disappears.

--

Happy 60th Anniversary Doctor Who!

Please feel free to use any version of the Doctor you like.

Encounter area 22 has another Gate. This one swirls and out stomps a giant demon. 

This demon is an Utukku, his name is Zaidu, the Hunter and he is bound to the Vampire Queen to hunt her enemies.  Which is currently the PCs.

 Encounter area 21 is a cul-de-sac with a flight of stairs down to a collection of books in a small library.

There are scores of books. Most are mundane but there are 30 books detailing monsters enough to grant readers an additional 500 xp.

There are also five spell books with random spells.

First level: 1d10+3
Second level: 1d8+4
Third level: 1d6+2
Fourth level: 1d6+1
Fifth level: 1d4+1

The end is nigh! I have one more set of gods I want to do for this project, and then I'll see if I can put together a PDF for everyone.  

I said I was not going to treat this as an academic work. Especially since I blatantly ignored things like real archeology, anthropology, and ethnographic studies. But I thought others might be interested in some of the legwork I did to get where I am on this today.

This is not a comprehensive bibliography, not even a targeted one. It is a catch-as-catch-can one based on the books I was reading when I started having these ideas.

References

Daileader, P. (2013). The Early Middle Ages. The Teaching Company.

Drake, J. (2020). Viking Mythology: 2 Books In 1 – The Complete Guide to Norse Mythology and Celtic Mythology Including Legends, Beliefs, Norse Folklore, Norse Gods, and Celtic Myths. Josh Drake.

D’Aulaire, I., & D’Aulaire, E. P. (1962, 1992). Book of greek myths. Doubleday Books for Young Readers.

Gaiman, N. (2018). Norse mythology. Bloomsbury.

Gosden, C. (2021). Magic: A history: From alchemy to witchcraft, from the Ice Age to the present. Picador.

Hale, J. R. (2013). Exploring the Roots of Religion. The Teaching Company.

Harl , K. W. (2011). The Fall of the Pagans and the Origins of Medieval Christianity. The Teaching Company.

Harl, K. W. (2005). The Vikings. The Teaching Company.

Higginbotham, J., & Higginbotham, R. (2018). Paganism: An introduction to earth-centered religions. Llewellyn Publications.

Lecouteux, C. (2016). Encyclopedia of norse and germanic folklore, mythology, and magic. Inner Traditions.

Lewis, S. (2018). Mythology mega collection: Classic stories from the Greek, Celtic, Norse, Japanese, Hindu, Chinese, Mesopotamian and Egyptian mythology. Scott Lewis.

Line, P. (2015). The Vikings and their enemies: Warfare in Northern Europe, 750-1100. Skyhorse Publishing.

O’Donnell, J. J. (2016). Pagans: The end of traditional religion and the rise of Christianity. ECCO an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

River, C. (Ed.). (2018). The Ancient World’s Most Mysterious Religious Cults: The History of the Cult of the Apis Bull, the Eleusinian Mysteries, and the Mysteries of Mithras. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

Voth, G. L. (2013). Myth in Human History. The Teaching Company.

Waggoner, B. (2009). The Sagas of Ragnar Lodbrok. The Troth.

 The creature in Encounter Area 20 looks like some sort of glowing ball floating in mid-air. In truth it is the glowing heart of an Infernal Gelatinous Cube.

An Infernal Gelatinous Cube is a larger cousin to the common Gelatinous Cube. 

In addition to greater HD (10) and enhanced hp, this monstrosity has an infernal intelligence. 

It has an aura of heat that causes 1d8 hp of damage to all within 5' of it. It is also immune to fire and flame attacks. 

 Characters can hear a loud droning sound coming from encounter area 19 long before they see it.

The monster is a Mezzalorn (a Wasp Demon).

Mezzalorn Demon (Wasp Demon)

Armor Class -3 [22]
Hit Dice 12* (54 hp)
Attacks 2 claws (1d6), 1 sting (2d6 + poison)
Special Magic resistance (10%), immune to poison
THAC0 11 [+8]
Movement 120’ (40’)
  Fly 120' (40')
Saving Throws D6 W7 P8 B9 S10 (12)
Morale 10
Alignment Chaotic
XP 3,400
Number Appearing 1 (1)
Treasure Type A

A mezzalorn looks like a hellish giant wasp with the head and torso of a man. When reduced to half its hit points it releases a pheromone that gives it and all other mezzalorns a +1 to-hit bonus. The poison injected by a mezzalorn’s stinger is lethal if the victim fails a saving throw.

Mausritter – Sword-and-Whiskers roleplaying is a rules-light fantasy adventure microclone in which the very big and very dangerous world is explored from a mouse eye’s point of view. It encompasses not only the world of nature, but also the world that the players themselves live in. This is our world, but one in which the mice are anthropomorphic and can talk, as can other species. Beyond the walls of their home, the world is one of opportunity and adventure, fraught with hazards natural and unnatural, those untouched by mankind and those imposed by mankind. Using the base mechanics from Into the Odd, mice in Mausritter need to be brave, resourceful and clever, as well as lucky if they are to survive. Scenarios for Mausritter tend to be location based. Either the mice having to explore a single location, which could actually be a tree stump, a human-sized suit of armour, a grandfather clock, or an abandoned human-made shack, as in Mausritter: Honey in the Rafters or a sandbox setting containing numerous locations, such as Mausritter: The Estate Adventure Collection or Mayfield. In being real places—or places inspired by the real world—there is definitely a sense of wonder about these locations because we are seeing and exploring them from a very different angle. Would this sense of wonder be invoked if the setting were real, and not only real, incredibly familiar to almost everyone in the world, let alone the country? What if a Mausritter campaign took place in a seat of power? What if a Mausritter campaign took place in 10 Downing Street, one of the most famous addresses in the world?

10 Downing: A Mausritter Campaign is set inside the cramped splendour of the Georgian townhouse that is 10 Downing Street, home to the Prime Minster of Great Britain and the seat of the government in office. In recent decades, it has been home to some colossal figures of British politics, including Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, and Boris Johnson. It is also notoriously infested with mice and other rodents and for several centuries there has been a cat in residence at 10 Downing Street, appointed as ‘Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office’. The current holder of the title—and the first to do so officially, is Larry. Having served through five premierships to date, Larry is the lord of all he surveys. His reputation as a mouser has varied over the years, but Larry is no fool. He knows that his presence is enough to instil fear in the mice also resident in 10 Downing Street and so in order to avoid undue chasing and catching of mice, he has come to an agreement with the mice. If they avoid making trouble and certainly avoid coming to the notice of the building’s many human inhabitants, he will leave them be. This leaves him with a mice retinue of servants and time to focus—at least occasionally—upon a more pressing problem: rats! This then, is the basics of the situation as describing in 10 Downing, which also presents the complete floorplans for all three floors of the house and numerous storylines and five ready-to-play quests and adventures involving six rival factions, eight new hirelings, new creatures, new treasures, and new spells. 10 Downing: A Mausritter Campaign includes everything a Mouse Master and her micey medley need to play through a mini-campaign of multiple mouse sessions.

10 Downing presents an overview of the house combined with the floorplans. These have been marked with the important locations, such as the Cocked Hat Rats stronghold, tunnels through the wall, and the Chief Mouser’s domain. These are briefly described as are the locations throughout the building, adding in details such as available quests to be started there and treasures to be found there. Some of these are thematically fun, such as the Flaming Churchill, a cigar which belonged to Winston Churchill and whose odour keeps cats away. The various factions, such as The House of Lordly Mice, the original mice in the house, or the Cocked Hats Rats, a gang of cockney rats, which are interlopers in the house. This sets up a social divide in 10 Downing Street over which Larry the cat lords it all. 10 Downing includes six quests, such as scavenging for food during a feast held in the dinning room, fomenting rebellion against Lord Mouse and his cabinet.

The quests and the adventure locations are given more detail. These include breaking into a bust in search of a powerful spell tablet or rescuing the nephew of the Lord Mouse after the Cocked Hat Rats have kidnaped him. Some of the quests have random elements and some also have the potential to change the balance of power in 10 Downing Street. All six quests are solid affairs, and supported for stats of the major NPCs and creatures. In addition, there new items in the forms of traps (to ensnare the corgis), new stealth spells, and treasures such as razor blade or teacup handle weapons and even Paddington’s Coat as armour.

What 10 Downing cannot really do is bring the human element into play. Of course, the many human locations that are the setting for other Mausritter campaigns and scenarios are busy places with many humans moving about, living and working, but in 10 Downing Street, the footfall is incredibly high. There are politicians, ministers, government officials, Downing Street staff, security, and even the Prime Minister’s family all moving about, and doing so through much of the day. Only once do the humans appear in the Encounters table, and even then, they are the cleaners, there after everyone else has gone—for the day, or to bed. That said, one of the quests does involve the Queen coming to tea—which of course, dates 10 Downing—and the Player Characters setting traps to prevent the corgis from causing any trouble. It gives the quest a delightful personal presence that everyone will enjoy. Yet it is disappointing that the personal presence comes from a visitor rather than anyone who is expected to be in 10 Downing Street. More so because we all have good idea who would be in the house, depending, of course, upon which Premiership the Game Master decides to set her 10 Downing campaign during. Now of course, the author cannot account for the five (actually, three if we want to be historically accurate since the Queen could really only have visited three of them for tea) Prime Ministers, the members of their cabinets, staff, or family. This is something that the Game Master will have to work into her campaign herself. Which will require some research upon the part of the Game Master.

Physically, 10 Downing is breezily presented. The self-penned artwork is cartoony, but the author mixes in a lot of public domain art too. The floorplans are a little small, but the PDF comes with larger maps that a little clearer.

10 Downing: A Mausritter Campaign has everything that the Game Master needs to run a campaign set in 10 Downing Street. However, it requires some research and development upon the part of the Game Master to fully bring out its political nuances and influences, but for a certain audience, 10 Downing: A Mausritter Campaign will give a chance for their mice to play when the Prime Minister is away.

 Encounter area 18 has a hidden pit trap.

The 15' by 15' trap is hidden. The floor gives way and the party falls 20' for 2d6 hp of damage. The walls are smooth and offer no footholds. 

Deep in the forest stands a grand cathedral. A grand cathedral dedicated to ‘Aulde Dawne’, a Gold Dragon who answered the call to protect the peoples of the nearby village and give them her blessing. In return the villagers gave tribute to her and a temple was built, then upgraded, and more tribute was made. Yet this was never enough, for eventually ‘Aulde Dawne’ went mad and rampaged across the countryside, and it took heroes a great effort to be put a stop to her predations. Yet as successful as those heroes were, they never found the treasure hoard that had been given to ‘Aulde Dawne’ over the years and neither has anyone else since. For a great many years, the Cathedral of the Golden Dragon has been sealed up, but rumours abound of not just the great treasure to be found in its vaults, surely hidden where none has been able to find it to date, but also great secrets. This is the set-up for The Dragon’s Secret, a dungeon adventure published by Fifth Wall Games & Miniatures for use with Swords & Wizardry that requires a party of six to eight Player Characters of Fifth to Seventh Level. Notably, it is designed by Jennell Jaquays, best known as the designer of one of the greatest Dungeons & Dragons scenarios ever published, Dark Tower, and certainly the best scenario that Judges Guild ever published. If The Dragon’s Secret is half as good as Dark Tower, or even Caverns of Thracia, then this is definitely a dungeon worth looking at.

The Dragon’s Secret is based on maps that Jaquays drew as a teenager and the adventure that she subsequently developed for both the 2017 North Texas RPG Con and the Dungeons of Doom IV Kickstarter campaign. The current and completed version consists of some thirty-four locations across three levels, homebrew rules, a few factions, two new Player Character species, several new monsters, and a potential means to access the author’s own The Thousands Worlds campaign setting. All packaged in an easy-to-use fashion. The ease of use extends to adapting to the Game Master’s own campaign, since the Cathedral of the Golden Dragon is located in a relatively isolated forest. Consequently, it would work in settings such as The Midderlands or Dolmenwood without any problems, just as it would in the Game Master’s own campaign setting. The scenario includes several ‘Dragon Tales’ or reasons why the Player Characters might want to get involved, including helping would be villagers resettle an abandoned village called Dragon’s Gold; going for the bounty on a pair of wizard’s apprentices; collecting a spider venom which could induce a zombie-like effect; and so on. These can be used to involve the Player Characters and tie the scenario into the Game Master’s campaign.

The Dragon’s Secret begins with the author giving some engaging context and history to the dungeon before she settles down and provides the backstory to the scenario and explains how the book works. The backstory is genuinely original and clever, leaving you to wonder why you never thought of it. Essentially, the presence of ‘Aulde Dawne’ and the construction of the Cathedral of the Golden Dragon was one big confidence trick. A good one, which is one reason why the Game Master should take a look at The Dragon’s Secret rather than the reviewer unnecessarily giving too much away. Then the scenario’s format for its room features—Snapshots, Backstory, Remarkables, Secrets, Curios, Traps, Treasure, and Denizens—is explained. Of these, ‘Snapshots’ represents what a Player Character would be aware of upon first glance; ‘Backstory’ adds further details, sometimes for the benefit of the Player Characters rather than the Game Master; ‘Remarkables’ are the standout features of the location; ‘Curios’ are often exotic, out of place, or out of context objects randomly found (and rolled for on a table at the back of the book); and Denizens covers everything that might be encountered in the location. Denizen descriptions then have their own features—Tactics/Roleplay, Encounters, Snapshots, Insight, Profiles, Lore, and Tales. ‘Encounters’ is where a denizen may be encountered; ‘Insights’ the Player Characters’ first impressions of him; ‘Lore’ gives any rumours or gossip associated with him; ‘Profile; a more detailed description of the denizen; and ‘Tales’ are ideas for further adventures which might involve the denizen and the Player Characters. Not every denizen or group has all of these features, but they all do provide a structured means of providing detail about them.

Besides random encounters, The Dragon’s Secret includes several factions. These include a band of Fowl Folk Adventurers and a group of merchants. All of whom have full stats and guides on their tactics in a fight and on how to roleplay them. Their presence, as well as that of Erebox the Aardvark, can drive the adventure forward or can impede the Player Characters’ progress depending on how they interact with them. There is also a table of random encounters for outside of the dungeon, though in the main, The Dragon’s Secret is not a wilderness and dungeon adventure. There is scope here for the Game Master to expand this aspect of the adventure if she wants to.

There are some decent encounters to found across the dungeon, supported with some terrific NPCs. For example, there is a Giant Clockwork Automaton, which will clank and bash about with the Player Characters in its chamber, but search further and they find the operators of the device, who were having ‘fun’ with them. Both are very well described and the Game Master will have a lot of fun herself in portraying them. Then there is a Black Onyx Skull, a cursed magical item that wakes up nearby undead, but a cost of draining a Player Character’s Levels. The finale itself takes place in a giant cavern against a trio of ghoulish-dragons and their ghoul minions, each of the undead dragons slightly different in design and personality. It is a grand fight around a towered spiral staircase and in and out of the nearby tunnels, and definitely deserves to be played on the table with miniatures.

However, the design of The Dragon’s Secret is split in two. One half is dedicated to its backstory, with the Player Characters attempting to find their way to Aulde Dawne’s hoard and possibly learning about the Cult of the Gold Dragon. The former is more likely than the latter, with it unlikely that the Player Characters will ever learn the back story to the scenario. The half of the dungeon is dedicated to a series of rooms that are only tangentially connected to each and not to the back story. These locations draw from the funhouse style of dungeons, with rooms full of random ideas and concepts. The Player Characters will have to investigate these in order to find the keys to puzzle to get to the end, but they do not anything more than a weird randomness to the whole thing.

As good as the back story is to The Dragon’s Secret and as fun and as entertaining as some of its encounters are, problems abound with the scenario, the majority of which extend from it not quite being a completed book and it not being fully edited. There are design issues with the format of room descriptions and adherence to that format, which can often lead to minor elements being mentioned before the more important elements that the Game Master will definitely need to know. For example, the fact that there might be a curio at the bottom of a pit before mentioning the fact that the room does actually contain a pit trap or waiting until the description of the denizens in the Denizen section that there are actually zombies in the room. It is often unclear how one room connects to another or how aspects of a room interact with another, or where the important pieces of a puzzle are in the rest of the dungeon, let alone the fact that there is tunnel going nowhere. The dungeon maps are almost, but not quite decent, being numbered in an odd order and there being one location mentioned in the text, but which is not on the map. It turns out that this location is actually outside the dungeon, on the plateau behind the cathedral. Obviously, the description should have been in the wilderness section where the Player Characters could have encountered it there!

The writing also veers between humour and annoyingly pointless text. Examples of the former include, “What’s worse than zombies or spiders? Zombie spiders!!” and a room called ‘The Unpopular Dead’. Examples of the latter include the Backstory for the ‘The Pot O’ Silver’ location, which reads, “There’s obviously a story here, but now is not the time for its telling.” and the Backstory for ‘She’s Got Legs …’, which reads, “This was a room that originally just had centipedes in it. I made it more interesting in the update. Oh? You were expecting backstory about the centipede goddess? That’s yet another story.” And? Exactly when is a good time to tell that story? If so much attention is paid to providing the Game Master with detail and information throughout the rest of the scenario, why not here?

All of these problems are not insurmountable. All it takes to overcome them is good preparation upon the part of Game Master. However, it is not just ‘good’ preparation required by the Game Master, but extra preparation, in order have the necessary and often wayward information at her fingertips.

In addition, there are also two further problems, both idiosyncratic in nature. These are the addition of the two new Player Character species—also given as monsters—from the author’s campaign. These are the Fowl Folk and Earth Pigs, or rather Ducks (and other waterfowl) and Aardvarks. The latter are clearly drawn from the long-running comic book series, Cerebos the Aardvark, whilst the former are heavily influenced by the Durulz, or Ducks of Glorantha and RuneQuest. In fact, one major NPC, Erebox the Aardvark is more or less Cerebos the Aardvark renamed and given stats for the adventure. Both species tend to be played for their inherent humour, let alone their oddness, both of which may feel out of place in the Game Master’s own campaign. As a one shot, their inclusion is fine, but as part of a campaign, they will probably require adding in earlier lest their inclusion feel unnecessarily odd or out of place.

Physically, The Dragon’s Secret looks great. The artwork is excellent and the maps good bar the missing and the extra locations. The text itself needs a good edit and the scenario as a whole a little more development that would come with a good editor asking the author questions.
The Dragon’s Secret is playable as written, but requires more preparation time than it ordinarily should. In general, the funhouse aspects of the dungeon outweigh its theme and the plot of its backstory, and anyone coming to the adventure expecting something like Dark Tower or The Caverns of Thracia will be disappointed. Nevertheless, with some extra effort upon the part of the designer, let alone the Game Master when she comes to run it, and The Dragon’s Secret will be an enjoyably detailed funhouse dungeon. Unfortunately, The Dragon’s Secret is not a Jaquays classic.

Now in its sixteenth year, Free RPG Day for 2023 took place on Saturday, June 24th. As per usual, Free RPG Day consisted of an array of new and interesting little releases, which are traditionally tasters for forthcoming games to be released at GenCon the following August, but others are support for existing RPGs or pieces of gaming ephemera or a quick-start. Thanks to the generosity of David Salisbury of Fan Boy 3, Fil Baldowski at All Rolled Up, and others, Reviews from R’lyeh was able to get hold of many of the titles released for Free RPG Day, both in the USA and elsewhere.

—oOo—

Heckin’ Good Doggos – Someone’s Last Day at the Track is the contribution to Free RPG Day 2023 from Wet Ink Games, best known as the publisher of horror roleplaying games, Never Going Home and Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall. In comparison, Heckin’ Good Doggos – Someone’s Last Day at the Track is anything other a horror roleplaying game. Heckin’ Good Doggos is a light, family friendly roleplaying game of canine anthropomorphism in which the player take the roles of family dogs who go on adventures which involve ‘Dogs doin’ Dog Stuff’ and being a ‘good doggo’, and Heckin’ Good Doggos – Someone’s Last Day at the Track is the quick-start for it. It contains the quick-start rules for the roleplaying game’s +One System, six ready-to-play pre-generated dog characters, and a full adventure, ‘Someone’s Last Day at the Track’. In order to play, a group will need a pool of six-sided dice and at least one deck of ordinary playing cards. One if there are less than five players, two if there are six players. In general, the +One System is not too complex, the idea of playing dogs will be familiar to almost everyone, and the scenario is fairly simple. The only possible downside to the scenario is that it takes place at a dog track, that is, a track where dogs are raced and there is gambling on the winners of each race. What this means is that the scenario takes place in a more adult setting than may be suitable for younger participants and that not everyone is going to familiar with what a dog track is.
A Good Doggo in Heckin’ Good Doggos is defined by his Breed, his Best Friend, three Attributes, Training, Paw Size, and Character Growth. Breed can be Cute, Friendly, Big, and Fast, and this allows the player to add a card to a Conflict without playing a card. For example, the Cute Breed allows a Heart card to be played and Fast a Club card. His Best Friend is his human owner or a human the dog knows and who has an occupation or equipment which the dog can call upon the human to use if necessary. Attributes are Brawn, Smarts, and Guts, each of which has three associated areas of Training. For example, ‘Sensing’, ‘Knowing’, and ‘Fiddling’ for Smarts. His Paw Size indicates how many cards his player can hold in his hand during play. Attributes range between one and ten, skills between one and five, and Paw Size between four and seven. Character growth is achieved at the end of an adventure and can give a dog a new skill, or improve an Attribute, Skill, or Paw Size. A dog also has a note to indicate how he helps and what his neighbourhood is like.
Mechanically, Heckin’ Good Doggos – Someone’s Last Day at the Track and thus Heckin’ Good Doggos uses the +One System. This involves rolling a number of six-sided dice each to the skill being used. Each five or six rolled is a success. Harder tasks require more Successes. ‘+One Manipulations’ enable a player to change the outcome using points from the Attribute associated with the Skill. Prior to a roll, a manipulation can be made to add a die to a roll or even gain a skill in a previously untrained skill, if only temporarily. After the roll, to increase the value of a die roll by one—typically from a four to a five—and to reroll any number of dice. In addition to skill rolls, dogs can face Challenges, which are attempted by the whole pack as a group effort. They simply need to roll a number of Successes equal to the target number for the Challenge for the whole pack to succeed.
Playing cards in the +One System are played on a one-for-one basis rather than their value with each suite being tied to a narrative theme. These are Spades to friends and relationships, Hearts to cutes and being cute, Diamonds to Teeth and direct physical attacks, and Clubs to Paws and overcoming physical obstacles. Jokers can substitute for anyone of these and players begin play with four cards. All cards can be spent to help heal a dog, but normally they are used to resolve a conflict or add a Success. A player has to narrate how his dog takes advantage of the card’s theme in helping his dog overcome the conflict or Challenge.
Conflicts are like Challenges, but do not use dice, only the cards. Conflicts are also not necessarily fights, but situations that the dogs might have to defeat, escape, or otherwise end the conflict. The Narrator sets a Target Number in terms of the number of cards required, and the Target Number can vary not only in terms of difficulty, but also in how the Conflict can be resolved. For example, the dogs wants to get into a building where dog fights are being held. The Narrator might suggest that the dogs push past the bouncers on the door (three Clubs or Paws), but the bouncers will know they have got in; sneak in via a broken widow (four Clubs or Paws) and nobody knows they are in the building; and being friendly with the bouncers (four Spades or Friends). The objective is to provide the players and their Pack with options, and if the Pack lacks the right cards, they can play any card and narrate how its suit works to overcome the Conflict. However, this is likely to come at the cost of a consequence suffered.
In general, the rules are clearly explained and there are plenty of examples play as well. There is advice also on setting the tone of play and on using Safety Tools such as the X-Card.
Heckin’ Good Doggos – Someone’s Last Day at the Track comes with six pre-generated dog Player Characters. There is a good mix of dog types, but the Narrator should be careful to makes sure that there are as many areas as possible of Training covered if there are fewer than five or six players.
The scenario in Heckin’ Good Doggos – Someone’s Last Day at the Track is the eponymous ‘Someone’s Last Day at the Track’ It takes place at the local dog track on the biggest race day of the year, the State Derby. The dogs have the opportunity to get in on their day, ideally with their Best Friends, mooch around for a bit, being a good doggo, sniffing about, and hopefully finding some good, if not necessarily wholesome treats to scarf down. There are the kennels to investigate, the concessions area, and the race track itself, but very quickly, the dogs will run into the track’s criminal fraternity—the dog gang under the stands! The leader of the dog gang wants to know who the fastest runner is going to be in the State Derby. Can the Player Character dogs find out or do they have other plans? It is a fairly simply plot, but this combined with the other doggy activities and learning the mechanics will provide a gaming group with a single session’s worth of play.
Physically, Heckin’ Good Doggos – Someone’s Last Day at the Track is brightly, cheerfully presented. The writing is clear and the illustrated of the various dogs are excellent. It is a pity that none of the character sheets for the dogs have illustrations, although it does leave room for the players to decide their own dog species. 
Heckin’ Good Doggos – Someone’s Last Day at the Track is a good quick-start and a good introduction to Heckin’ Good Doggos. Its setting and its mechanics make it suitable for younger teenagers and older players and an experienced Narrator, especially one who has run some storytelling style games, will be able to grasp the +One System and explain how it works with ease. Overall, the setting and theme to Heckin’ Good Doggos – Someone’s Last Day at the Track will be familiar to almost everyone, making it very accessible, because everyone knows how to be a good dog, if only for an evening.

 Encounter area 17 is the normal haunt of a favorite creature of the Vampire Queen. A creature she had brought in from beyond reality.

She called the creature the Labyrinthine Lurker. 

The Labyrinthine Lurker is a creature of stealth and shadow, resembling a sleek, upright, serpentine being with iridescent scales that blend seamlessly with the darkness of the maze. Its eyes glow with an eerie, hypnotic light, and it moves with a sinuous grace that allows it to navigate the labyrinthine corridors with ease.

It has something akin to arms and hands, but these are manifestations of shadows it can use to manipulate items. 

Labyrinthine Lurker
Armor Class: 2 [17]
Hit Dice: 11+22 (72 hp)
Move: 15" (Can phase through solid objects for 1 round)
Attacks: 1 bite or special
Damage: 2d6 or special
THAC0: 11 [+8]
No. Appearing: 1
Save As: D6 W7 P8 B9 S10 (11)
Alignment: Chaotic
XP: 1300
Morale: 10
Treasure Type: Nil

The Lurker takes advantage of the strange magical energies of this maze.

It's attack is a bite. It drains a little bit of blood each time. It tries reducing a victim to 0 hp so it can feed on the dying energies of the victims.

It has the following Special Abilities.

Shadow Cloak: The Labyrinthine Lurker can blend into the shadows, becoming nearly invisible to the naked eye. It uses this ability to lie in wait for unsuspecting adventurers, striking with precision when they least expect it.

Echo Step: The creature can move without making a sound, allowing it to stalk its prey silently. It leaves behind illusory echoes, confusing adventurers about its actual location within the maze.

Dimensional Phasing: The Labyrinthine Lurker has the power to phase through solid objects within the maze temporarily. This ability enables it to ambush adventurers by emerging from walls or the floor, making it a formidable opponent.

Labyrinth's Embrace: When the Labyrinthine Lurker closes in on its target, it can envelop them in a temporary pocket dimension. Inside this dimension, time seems to slow down for the trapped adventurer, giving the Lurker an advantage (+2 to hit) in combat.

Killing the Lurker will cause it to dissolve into a caustic pool of black goo. Anyone within 5' of it, when it reaches 0 hp, will be splashed with the black acidic blood and take 1d6 hp of damage per round until the goo is removed. Water is good, any form of alcohol is better. 

--

I am sitting in a parking lot waiting for my wife to wrap up a work thing. Hopefully, the formating is fine.

 One of the last major gods of this Pantheon is Schmied, the god of craftsmen, ironworking, fire, and dwarves. He is often depicted as a dwarf.

Schmied

Schmied is a syncretic god who combines aspects of the Greek Hephaestus, the Roman Vulcan, the Norse Sons of Ivaldi and the myth of Weyland the Smith and thus Goibhnie of the Celts. All of these figures are related and likely all trace their origin back to a Proto-Indo European Smith God. Given the book I am reading now on PIE language reconstruction this could have been the God credited with giving humanity the wheel.

Schied here has a bit of all these gods as seen through the idea of the grumpy dwarf. I opted to take this somewhat stereotypical route because I figure he is the source of this archetype. I wanted him dour, grumpy, and largely unlikable. This comes, I admit, more from my readings of Goidhnie (Gowan) of the Celts. Though Vulcan and the Sons of Ivaldi were not going to win any popularity contests. Which interestingly enough, gets me to the first myth of the god.

Both Hephaestus and Vulcan are married off to their myths respective Goddess of Love. Here is where I wanted to differ. I honestly can't see Liebhaberin getting married at all. She is too busy cultivating young (and thus pre-married) love. But I did want to have a myth where Schmied got married to a beautiful woman, largely by trickery. Like I said he is an unpleasant god.

Schmied and Skalda

Skalda (note: not exactly Skaldi) was the beautiful goddess of Song and Poetry, in particular epic poetry. She decided one day she needed a husband. So she sought out the Gods to find a suitable candidate. Skalda wanted to find a husband among the greatest of Gods so she announced her attention. Her eye was set on Jäger and she began to openly court the God. His sister Jägerin, would not have it seeing Skalda as trying to improve her own standing among the gods. So she convinced Schmied, who she knew desperately desired Skalda, to begin to send her gifts.  Schmied fashioned a lute of pure gold that would play itself if commanded to Skalda. He sent her a breastplate of gold. A spear fashioned out of the rays of the sun. And automaton handmaidens carved out of pure ivory and inlaid with gold that were indistinguishable from living nymphs. 

Skalda, who believed that it was Jäger who sent her all these gifts swore before the Gods that she would only marry the God who had sent her such wonderful treasures. Expecting Jäger to step forward she was shocked and disgusted to see it was not the Bright God of the Sun, but the twisted God of Smiths.  But an oath before the Gods is an oath unbreakable. 

They did produce a son, Künstler, the God of fine art. But she has refused his bed ever since. 

SCHMIED (God of Smithing, Crafting, Fire and Dwarves)

Intermediate God

ARMOR CLASS: 2
MOVE: 9" 
HIT POINTS: 275
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK:  1d10+5, 1d10+5
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Summon fire
SPECIAL DEFENSES: +1 or better to hit
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 70%

SIZE: M (4' 1")
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
WORSHIPER'S ALIGN: All, smiths, craftsmen, dwarves
SYMBOL: A large hammer
PLANE: Erde (Prime Material)

CLERIC/DRUID: 10th level Cleric
FIGHTER: 5th level Fighter
MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: 10th level Magic-user
THIEF/ASSASSIN: Nil
MONK/BARD: Nil
WITCH/WARLOCK: Nil
PSIONIC ABILITY: II
S: 23 I: 12 W: 20 D: 16 C: 24 CH: 8

Schmied is the god of craftsmen, smiths, fire (in its creation aspect), as well as dwarves and kobolds. He appears as a heavily muscled dwarf covered in soot and grime from working in the forge. 

Schmied has very little to say to others. He prefers to spend his time in the forge working with his brothers (who have demigod status) creating items of great art. It is said that his forge can create anything and the magic items the gods wield were all created here.

In combat, he swings a giant hammer for 1d10+5 points of damage twice per round. He has the spell-casting ability of a 10th-level magic-user and a 10th-level cleric. He is quick to anger and will use his hammer attack first and his six brothers will join in (1d8+4 for their attacks).

He is also the god of the dwarves and kobolds, or knockers. 

Animal: Ox
Rainment: (Head) bare (Body) none
Color(s): Red, Black
Holy Days: The three days prior to the Summer Soltice and the three days after. 
Sacrifices: An ox or bull, sacrificed and cooked in a large fire. 
Place of Worship: Forges and Cave mouths. 

He is married to Skalda, the beautiful goddess of epic poetry and song, but she wants nothing to do with him.

He maintains a large home for them both in Himmel, but he stays on Erde in a cave where he toils over the forges with his brothers and their kobold assistants.

Skalda

Skalda is the beautiful but haughty and arrogant goddess of epic poetry and music. While her skill unmatched, she is jealous of the other goddess and always wants more. Though when she is sitting with her lute and creating new poems, few can match her charm and eloquence. 

SKALDA (Demi-Goddess of Epic Poetry and Music)
Demigoddess

ARMOR CLASS: -3
MOVE: 12"
HIT POINTS: 75
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1d8/1d8
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Charming voice
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Inspiring aura
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 25%

SIZE: M (6' 2")
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Neutral
WORSHIPER'S ALIGN: All, Bards
SYMBOL: Lute
PLANE: Erde (Prime Material)

CLERIC/DRUID: 9th Level Cleric
FIGHTER: Nil
MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: 5th level Illusionist
THIEF/ASSASSIN: Nil
MONK/BARD: 15th level Bard
WITCH/WARLOCK: Nil
PSIONIC ABILITY: II
S: 13 I:12 W: 16 D: 18 C: 14 CH: 21

Skalda is the demigoddess of epic poetry and music. She is beautiful, eloquent, and utterly vain. She knows that her gift is required by the gods to remain in mortals' minds. The apples of Ôstara may keep the gods young and immortal, but it is Skalda's songs keep them in their hearts.

This goddess appears as a very tall (6' 2") warrior goddess. She wears a golden breastplate that only fits her, granting her very low armor class. She wields a spear that when thrown, will return to her hand and her golden lute. Once she sets the lute to play it will play independently of her. 

Her voice has a constant Charm Person effect that is effective against all save for dwarves. Failing to save vs. spells means the victim is charmed and will do no harm to the goddess. She can also use her voice to inspire, granting all that hear it an additional 1d8 roll to use as needed: to attack, damage, saves or any other roll. This can be granted three times per day. 

She does not have many worshipers of her own, but all Bards pay her homage. 

Links

• One Man's God Special: Syncretism Part 3, the Roman-Norse Pantheon
• The Monsters
• My overview and rules for these postings
• Dökkálfar and Ljósálfar
• Alp
• Die Hüne
• Jötunar
• Hautveränderer
• Heuler
• Draugr
• Doppelsauger
• Nøkk
• The Gods
• Unser Vater, Father of the Gods
• Sisters of the Dawn, Liebhaberin and Ôstara
• The Mother Goddesses Herde Oberin, Mutter Natur, and Großmutter
• The Divine Twins
• Hüne Vater, Großvater, and Großmutter
• Ides, Demi-Goddess of Protection and War
• Helga, Goddess of Magic, Ghosts, and Witchcraft
• Hüter, Lord of the Dead
• Betrüger, The Trickster God
• Kriegskönig, The God of War
• Verwildert, the God of Wild Nature
• Wood Maidens
• Vater Meeren
• Schmied
• Skalda

 When the characters enter Encounter Area 16 they are met with a Night Hag.

The Night Hag is angry, but not at the characters (yet). She was trapped here by the same magic that draws others into this Labyrinth. Talking to the Hag will let them know more about the magic that grabbed her. She was not in the lower planes, but rather on the Prime Material in a different part of the PC's world.

The Hag will claim she only needs the power from one soul to be able to Gate them all out, the PCs just need to choose.  

If they don't then she will try to kill one PC and then just gate herself out once she has the soul. 

In addition to her normal treasure she has five (5) soul coins. These coins contain the souls of one person. They can be used as currency in the Lower Planes or be given to a cleric of 18th level who can use them to raise the person whose soul was taken.

 Working through the remaining Gods for my D&DGII The Black Forest Mythos. Today I have the God of the Sea.

Vater Meeren

Vater Meeren is an odd one for this group of gods. He is powerful and is a greater god since he controls the Oceans and the Sea, something that was very important to both groups these myths come from. But he is also a remote and distant god to these Pagans since at the time these myths would have been created, say the 6th and 7th Centuries CE, they are a little removed, geographically, from the sea. I also have this group as being fairly insular so their myths can grow with out the "contamination" of what is going on around them; ie the Christian conversion of Europe.

Vater Meeren himself combines aspects of Neptune/Poseidon along with other aspects of Odin (Odin had so many aspects his DNA is in every god) and Thor when he was a maritime God.  I also wanted to give him aspects of Ullr who had been a more important god. Thus Vater Meeren is the God of the Sea, Oceans, Death as a process (a Psychopomp), and Winter.

He is the brother of Unser Vater and Hüter, much like their Roman counterparts, but also refers to Odin's two brothers Vili and Vé in their role as Gods of Creation.

Like Neptune/Poseidon and Odin this god is also fond of horses.

VATER MEEREN (God of the Sea and Oceans)

Greater God

ARMOR CLASS: 2
MOVE: 12" // Swim 48" // Horse: 36"
HIT POINTS: 380
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3
DAMAGE/ATTACK:  1d10+5, 1d10+5, wave
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Wave, control weather
SPECIAL DEFENSES: +3 or better to hit
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 50%

SIZE: M (6' 1")
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Neutral
WORSHIPER'S ALIGN: All, Sailors
SYMBOL: A wave
PLANE: Erde 

CLERIC/DRUID: 20rd level Druid
FIGHTER: 15th level Ranger
MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: 10th level Magic-user
THIEF/ASSASSIN: Nil
MONK/BARD: 10th level Bard
WITCH/WARLOCK: Nil
PSIONIC ABILITY: II
S: 23 I: 15 W: 22 D: 18 C: 20 CH: 17

Vater Meeren is the God of the Oceans and the Sea. He lives under the waves and everything that is not land or sky is his. He had once been more powerful, equal to his brother Unser Vater, but his power has waned, though he is believed to have another ascendence soon.

Vater Meeren appears as a heavily muscled man in his prime with a full head of red hair and beard with bright blue eyes. These eyes turn gray and cloudy when he is angry, which is often. 

When he attacks he uses a giant spear made from the horn of a titanic narwhal. He can also attack with a giant wave of water, doing 6d6 hp of damage (save for half). Additionally, he can control the weather around any body of water, summon up to 100 HD worth of sea creatures three times per day, as well cast spells as if he were a 20th level druid, 10th level magic-user, and a 10th level bard.

One of his roles is to make sure the dead are sent to their proper afterlife, either in Himmel or in Hölle. So in this respect, he works hand in hand with his brothers. 

Vater Meeren is not allowed to set foot on dry land. So if he has business he needs to attend to he will travel by horse. His horse for these tasks is Schnelläufer and he can run on water, land, or air with equal ease. Since neither Vater Meeren nor Schnelläufer need to rest, eat or sleep, they can run for days to complete whatever task they need and be back in the sea as they need too. 

Animal: Horse, Narwhal
Rainment: (Head) crown of coral (Body) none
Color(s): Blue, Red
Holy Days: Nights of the Full moon
Sacrifices: Gold, weapons offered to the sea. 
Place of Worship: Sea shores, near lakes or any body of water.

Vater Meeren took the Celtic-Roman Epona as a wife (one of many) and it is believed this is the origin of the Nøkk.

Links

• One Man's God Special: Syncretism Part 3, the Roman-Norse Pantheon
• The Monsters
• My overview and rules for these postings
• Dökkálfar and Ljósálfar
• Alp
• Die Hüne
• Jötunar
• Hautveränderer
• Heuler
• Draugr
• Doppelsauger
• Nøkk
• The Gods
• Unser Vater, Father of the Gods
• Sisters of the Dawn, Liebhaberin and Ôstara
• The Mother Goddesses Herde Oberin, Mutter Natur, and Großmutter
• The Divine Twins
• Hüne Vater, Großvater, and Großmutter
• Ides, Demi-Goddess of Protection and War
• Helga, Goddess of Magic, Ghosts, and Witchcraft
• Hüter, Lord of the Dead
• Betrüger, The Trickster God
• Kriegskönig, The God of War
• Verwildert, the God of Wild Nature
• Wood Maidens
• Vater Meeren

 Encounter area 15 is in an odd little cul-de-sac. There is a group of monsters like goblins, trolls, and even a couple of minotaurs. They are all sitting around an ethereal woman playing a cello. 

The cellist plays and the monsters are entranced. As long as she plays the monsters here will stay entranced. She will not attack, nor get the monsters to do so. If she is attacked she will entice them to attack back.

The monsters are: 

• 6 Goblins
• 4 Ogres
• 4 Trolls
• 2 Minotaurs

The cellist herself is a Faerie Lord who has the stats of a 10th-level elf. 

 Today's god leans a bit more into the Greek/Roman side of the equation, though there are still bits from the Norse and even Norse-Celtic influences.  Introducing Verwildert, the God of Wild Nature and the Protector of animals, grains, and other parts of nature.

Verwildert

This god combines aspects of Pan/Fanus as well as Bacchus/Dionysus.  From the Norse side, we get wilder aspects of Odin and Freyr, especially in Freyr's roles in fertility and fecundity. Many of Æsir gods of the Norse pantheon have more in common with Pan than the other Greek/Roman gods. 

My group of Pagans here are living very close to nature (and Nature). Not, out some sort of neo-pagan ideal dreamed up by 20th Century writers (and 21st Century game writers), but because that was their reality. This group was a bad winter away from total barbarism and they knew that. A God like Verdwildert was the manifestation of that. The god that gave them grains and crops they could cultivate, the wolf that ate their sheep, and the storms that destroyed their farms and homes.  

Nature is always just a few steps removed from madness.

VERWILDERT (God of Wild Nature)

Intermediate God

ARMOR CLASS: 2
MOVE: 36"
HIT POINTS: 280
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK:  1d8+3, 1d8+3
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Inspire Madness, Druid magic
SPECIAL DEFENSES: +2 or better to hit
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 50%

SIZE: M (5' 9")
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Neutral
WORSHIPER'S ALIGN: All, Farmers, Druids
SYMBOL: Hawk
PLANE: Erde 

CLERIC/DRUID: 23rd level Druid
FIGHTER: 10th level Ranger
MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: Nil
THIEF/ASSASSIN: Nil
MONK/BARD: 20th level Bard
WITCH/WARLOCK: Nil
PSIONIC ABILITY: II
S: 18 I: 15 W: 22 D: 18 C: 20 CH: 23

Verwildert is the God of and the Protector of Wild Nature. He first taught humans how to cultivate land, not to tame nature, but to learn how to work with it. He is not an agricultural god, per se, but he is the patron of all growing things. He is also the god of the storm and flood that destroys, the wolf that kills, and secrets hidden it dark places. 

This god appears as a grizzled old wild man of the woods, with the antlers of a stag as headdress. He is hairy and bearded. Often, his idols feature an enormous phallus, which some claim is true for the god himself. Verwildert has little time for humans, though he is not overtly hostile to them at first. Like all nature, he is dangerous and can destroy.  Even he fears the raw power of Nature herself in the form of Mutter Natur, who is his own mother. Despite this human worshippers usually find Verwildert to be more approachable than Mutter Natur.

Verwildert can attack with two great fists or cast spells as a 23rd-level Druid. Three times per day, he can Inspire Madness, which will cause those who fail to save to drop their weapons (or whatever they are holding) and attack anyone close to them. Spellcasters are unable to cast spells. 

Animal: All, but the Wolf is a favorite
Rainment: (Head) horns of a stag (Body) none
Color(s): Red, Green
Holy Days: Nights of the New and Full moon; Also May 1st
Sacrifices: Everything is sacred to Nature, the weakest animals culled so the pack may survive
Place of Worship: Any natural setting. 

Verwildert has two groups of followers/worshipers he is associated with. The Wild Hunt and Wood Maidens.

The Wild Hunt

This band of hunters is known across the continent. In the times when Verwildert leads them, they ride and run across the land on the nights of the New Moon. These hunters are a mixed lot. Supernatural hunting dogs (like Hell hounds), undead hunters (wights), ghosts of hunters who died while hunting, and warriors not allowed into Himmel. 

Wood Maidens

Wood Maidens are a type of demi-goddesses, or semi-goddesses, that are the personification of wild nature. They appear as nymphs, but are more akin to the Maenads of Greek/Roman myth. These goddess represent nature run wild. They are the goddesses of wine, ecstasy, and fertility. It is said that they are active to still the blood of men and women.

They are the face of Nature that humans try to tame but ultimately cannot. 

WOOD MAIDENS (Demi-Goddess of Wild Nature, Ecstasy, and Fertility)

Demigoddess

ARMOR CLASS: 2
MOVE: 36"
HIT POINTS: 50
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1d6+1/1d6+1 (claws)
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Inspire ecstasy
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Wild Aura aura
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 25%

SIZE: M (5'2")
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Neutral
WORSHIPER'S ALIGN: All
SYMBOL: Maiden's face
PLANE: Erde (Prime Material)

CLERIC/DRUID: 4th level Druid
FIGHTER: Nil
MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: Nil
THIEF/ASSASSIN: Nil
MONK/BARD: Nil
WITCH/WARLOCK: 5th level Witch
PSIONIC ABILITY: II
S: 13 I: 14 W: 16 D: 15 C: 18 CH: 24

Wood Maidens are demi-goddesses representing wild nature and the power to renew life. They are also the demigoddess of wine, ecstasy, and fertility. They claim they are the offspring of Verwildert and Liebhaberin or even Verwildert and Ôstara. Possibly both are true. 

They can be found roaming the lands, inspiring ecstasy to renew life where they can. But they also represent nature running wild; they create life and they also can destroy it. The same ecstasy that bring lovers together can also drive them apart, or drive people to jealousy. This aura extends 60' from their person. This is increased by an additional 30' for each Wood Maiden in a group. There can be as many as dozen in a single group. This will produce an aura up to 400'.

They appear as wild women. Often running through the wilderness wearing simple clothing and often barefoot even in the deepest of winters. When they run they often have wolves accompanying them leading to the belief they are werewolves (they are not).

Wood Maidens are the chaotic counterpart to the Ides.

May 1st, May Day

On the First of May, the Wood Maiden gather in large numbers of a score or more. They can be seen running across the land, where their wild aura can extend even further. At this time they are chased by the Wild Hunt. Overtly it is so the Wild hunt can run them down in an etiological myth of Man vs. Nature. Often the Wood Maidens are captured by members of the Hunt. Just as often the Maidens kill the Huntsmen. In the case where a Maiden is captured and she doesn't kill the Huntsman, the Maiden becomes a normal human; often as a high priestess of Verwildert. The moral here is that Humankind can't tame nature, much less conquer it. 

This is symbolically celebrated in a fertility rite where the young women of the community run through the woods in an attempt to be captured by the young men. The women wear flowers in their hair which they can give to whomever finds them. This is considered akin to a marriage proposal. It is said that any child conceived in these rites is blessed by the gods. 

For Use in NIGHT SHIFT

Of all the myths I have written, this is the one most likely to have survived to modern times to feature in NIGHT SHIFT. It is a Folk Horror sort of tale. Think "Midsommer" and "The Wickerman."

A good hook is something from Norse/Germanic myths. The PCs are on some sort of hiking trip, and they come across a nearly naked young woman running through the woods chased by something.  The PCs naturally try to help her, only to discover that she is part of an ancient rite.  Is she innocent? Is she the monster? Likely it will be more complicated than that. 

I'll need to develop these more.

Links

• One Man's God Special: Syncretism Part 3, the Roman-Norse Pantheon
• The Monsters
• My overview and rules for these postings
• Dökkálfar and Ljósálfar
• Alp
• Die Hüne
• Jötunar
• Hautveränderer
• Heuler
• Draugr
• Doppelsauger
• The Gods
• Unser Vater, Father of the Gods
• Sisters of the Dawn, Liebhaberin and Ôstara
• The Mother Goddesses Herde Oberin, Mutter Natur, and Großmutter
• The Divine Twins
• Hüne Vater, Großvater, and Großmutter
• Ides, Demi-Goddess of Protection and War
• Helga, Goddess of Magic, Ghosts, and Witchcraft
• Hüter, Lord of the Dead
• Betrüger, The Trickster God
• Kriegskönig, The God of War
• Verwildert, the God of Wild Nature
• Wood Maidens