tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24892354373938971442024-03-13T12:41:40.949-04:00Transversing AEthrem - the Venture! Developer's BlogAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00767590125494134237noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2489235437393897144.post-88384456023648600612015-12-28T13:30:00.000-05:002015-12-28T13:30:00.223-05:00A Flight from Imminent Doom! - A Moment in AEthrem!Welcome again, good reader, to another astonishing installment of Fridays in AEthem! Our series has temporarily been delayed to Monday this week, with the business of the year-end holidays at hand, but fear not! This week, we bring you something special: the opening bit of fiction from the upcoming Venture! RPG core book - "A Flight from Imminent Doom!"<br />
<br />
From next week onward, the blog's focus will shift from setting details to specifics about the final production of the Venture! RPG book leading up to its release in the new year. Even now, final layout work is being completed on the project, so stay tuned - things will be moving quickly from here on out! Thank you to everyone who has followed the blog in the past, or who is just discovering it for the first time. We hope you all have an exciting 2016 full of THRILLING TALES!<br />
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Now, we hope you enjoy "A Flight from Imminent Doom!"<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Nell Carten ran out from under the jungle canopy, her
companions’ boots scraping on rocks as lush foliage gave way to black stone.
She could see the cliff edge just ahead, where the ground dropped away thirty
meters to the river below. Shouldering her Model 3 rifle, she scanned the empty
skies in a barely-controlled panic.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A stone-tipped arrow flew past her face as Nell turned to
her employees, “where are they, Tren? You said your ‘friend’ would be bringing
the airship around before now!” His constant smirk faltered just slightly as he
came to a halt and spat back, “listen, she’ll be here, chief. She wouldn’t want
anything to happen to my pretty face, after all.” Nell’s irritation didn’t slow
him down at all, “besides, the plan would have worked out fine if m’lord could
actually go without being seen when swiping one measly idol.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bronnan hefted the strange, grotesque statue as he glowered
at his accuser, “those creatures were abnormally acute. Furthermore, the
official address for my title is…” The venture company’s final member cut the
former Thassylian lord short, Lid Beglif’s curly hair bobbing about as she
shouted back at the others, “I think we have bigger issues to worry about right
now!” The others turned to see the first of their pursuers emerge from the
cover of the jungle behind them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The members of the local ss’ra tribe were short, with scales
in a vibrant blue-green shade covering their bodies. In unison, the first rank
of the reptilian creatures switched from bows to simple spears, as those behind
kept their arrows trained on Nell and her staff. She sighted down her rifle, a
prize from her days in the Legion, and noted the disconcerting way that the
translucent tendrils on the heads of the ss’ra wriggled independently of one
another, like a nest of worms all reaching out for something. Nell knew they
were pinned, with the cliff to their backs, and was already counting more than
twenty opponents.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just as she was preparing to order Lid to go for help, Nell
noticed the droning sound of props over the sibilant, hissing speech of the
ss’ra. “Ha! Told ‘ya,” Tren proclaimed triumphantly as a rope ladder dropped
down beside him. Nell took a few shots at the ss’ra that still had their bows
ready, shouting back “save it for when we’re clear of this mess!” Bronnan fired
a few rounds from his twin Y-45s, helping her keep the attackers pinned as the
Beglif twins started up the ladder.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a few hair-raising seconds, they were all on their way up
the ladder, as the airship above passed beyond the cliff edge, empty air
yawning below Nell in the bottom position. A rain of arrows whizzed past them
still, eliciting an offhanded, “you know, if one of those pierces any of the
gas cells,” from Lid. “We know, Liddy!” her sibling grunted, helping Bronnan
and Nell up on the gangway surrounding the rigid airship’s gondola, “besides,
we’ve got your surprise as a backup if that happens – if you’ve got it working
today.” The shorter twin just glared back at her brother in reply.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ignoring his sister, Tren turned to their rescuer – Alorrea,
some kind of independent courier with her own ship that Tren had become
acquainted with back in town. “Why thank you kindly, Al. I’ll have to get the
next round when we make it back to Haran Olesh.” The owner of the vessel
returned Tren a sad, guilty look that made the hairs on the back of Nell’s neck
stand on end. She replied to him with a gentle resignation, “I’d love to, but I’m
afraid a better offer has already come my way.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The hatch beside Tren suddenly burst open, disgorging a huge
figure that barely seemed to pass through. With one swing of his meaty fist,
the black-uniformed man knocked the unsuspecting Tren back, toppling him over
the edge of the gangway. With a blood-curdling, “TREN!” Lid had jumped over the
edge as well, following her brother down. Nell brought her rifle around on the
goon, scowling as his Ferridi military uniform and Khradi armband finally
registered in her mind – she despised the goons that claimed Khradi membership.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With a forearm, the Khradi soldier knocked aside the barrel
of Nell’s Model 3, making the first two shots go wide. As he was distracted,
Bronnan dropped the idol with a dull clang and charged into their opponent,
bare handed. One quick punch from the much smaller thandi stunned the black
uniformed foe with unnatural force, and a second strike knocked him
unconscious, rattling the gangway as he fell to it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nell kept a wary gaze on her remaining employee. He’d done
this before, and she knew that things could get “funny” when he called on the
powers of his pact. Alorrea looked terrified at first, but that eased with the
sound of jackboots ringing out on the gangway. In a moment, both hatches had
disgorged a half-dozen black uniformed figures, all levelling Ferridi infantry
rifles on Nell and Bronnan.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The ex-legionnaire only needed a half second to weigh their
odds before throwing her rifle aside and motioning for Bronnan to do likewise
with his pistols. Nell spared a glance over the side, noticing the flame of
Lid’s little toy flaring even through the mist of the canyon below. The rocket
pack normally only carried Lid herself. Hopefully, her gizmo was enough to
carry both of the twins to safety. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A small, smug officer stepped through the crowd. Nell noted
the kernal’s insignia on his uniform, and how the Ferridi military coat fit him
about as well as a little boy trying on his father’s suit. With a maniacal
gleam in his eye, the kernal bent over, scooping up the idol from where it had
been abandoned. Looking to Nell, he spoke with a thick accent, “Good afternoon,
Carten. I appreciate your company going out of the way to acquire the Implement
of Transcendant Protection for us. All glory to the First.” The kernal beamed
like someone who had just made a particularly clever play in a game of cards as
he men shouted out the rote, “all glory to the First!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;">Nell Carten grunted, and made a small silent prayer to the Crafter. She
just hoped His wayward priest and her idiot brother made it back to solid
ground safely, and that the two of them could manage a rescue on their own.
From the look in his eyes, she could tell Bronnan was thinking the same.</span><br />
<br />
<hr />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">C</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">OPYRIGHT NOTICE</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Venture! Thrilling Adventures in the World of AEthrem and its associated characters are the property of Weird Science Games, LLC, Copyright 2015.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">West End Games, OpenD6, and The D6 system are trademarks and properties of Purgatory Publishing Inc.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00767590125494134237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2489235437393897144.post-5696125393161314482015-12-18T13:30:00.000-05:002015-12-18T13:30:19.417-05:00Cults of the Forgotten Gods OR: SKULKING Fanatics in Our Very MIDST!<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Adventurers and explorers of the unknown BEWARE! Even your home city is not safe! Hidden among us, everywhere, are secret worshipers of foul, ancient gods - meeting in secret, profane ceremonies filled with dark agendas and violent sacrifices! This week on Fridays in AEthrem, we observe the cults of the forgotten gods!</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">From their earliest, almost forgotten histories, human civilizations have always venerated a variety of deities - ranging from strange, animistic powers to beings with all the passions and desires of a mortal human. These practices changed during the long human enslavement to the ghond, but persisted, even under these circumstances. Once regaining their freedom, these faiths exploded along with the new, expanding human cultures.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">This all changed when the Peloric Church became the dominant religion through most of the human world. The followers of Pelorus hold that all other deities are foul beings, working against the divine machinery at the heart of creation. As a result, other faiths and temples were crushed and scattered as the Church seized hold of the population of each new kingdom or territory. Those remaining faithful to these forgotten gods were driven underground, forced to practice their beliefs in secret at the risk of often-violent punishment from the Church and their own communities.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">While many beliefs have faded into obscurity and eventually died out in the centuries since the initial expansion of the Church, a handful have survived into the modern day. Unfortunately, in most cases, only gods strange or dark in comparison to Pelorus have retained any followers - too twisted or stubborn to convert. The following are just a few of the most well-known examples.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">The Enlightened of Pjmaal are a mystery cult, following a god of the ancient Ferridi highlands. Pjmaal is said to offer his followers knowledge at a terrible cost, and is depicted as a lurking shadow with a thousand eyes, each taken from a mortal in exchange for wisdom. The mad and apocalyptic are equally tempted into the ranks of the Enlightened. Most sanitariums have at least a single resident that claims a belief in bearer of light and madness, and the scrawling literature recovered from the site following gatherings of Enlightened frequently mentions an end to all things - and Pjmaal helping the Enlightened to bring it about.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Mareib had scattered worshipers through Pelifor in antiquity. A goddess of cunning and resolve, she supposedly birthed the first serpent into the world, and ancient mythology paints her as a clever but violently ruthless figure. Before the rise of the Peloric Church, many ancient kings and queens were chosen by Mareib's oracles - her calculating nature being a prized trait in rulers during this darker age. Modern worshipers still venerate her as a granter of authority and aide to the ambitious - small cults of Mareib have sprung up throughout Condrace during its recent turmoil, their ranks filled by aristocrats willing to even offer blood sacrifices if need be in order to gain the throne.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">In modern times, it is believed that the spirits of the departed will either join Pelorus or be cast out of creation entirely, but this was not always the case. Rhion was one of many death gods, and remains one of the most well-known. His divine duty was to gather the spirits of the dead at his island home, lest they remain behind to haunt and torture the living. Small cabals of the Quieted, his followers, still operate throughout the world - meeting clandestinely in late-night meetings at cemeteries and in catacombs. They remain closed and secretive, and rumors persist that the Quieted have dark aims, making them suspect for any of a range of desecrations and offenses at burial sites across the globe.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Venture companies have often been drawn into the secretive world of cults. Guards at a remote archeological dig can run afoul of a cabal still employing a ruin in some strange ritual. Companies put on the case of a missing person may find them held captive, awaiting a celestial alignment necessary for a bloody rite. Even seemingly innocuous opponent could turn out to be a member of some mad, hidden sect. The secretive nature of these cults are their greatest threat; any normal-seeming person could be a member, waiting to strike.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">C</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">OPYRIGHT NOTICE</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Venture! Thrilling Adventures in the World of AEthrem and its associated characters are the property of Weird Science Games, LLC, Copyright 2015.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">West End Games, OpenD6, and The D6 system are trademarks and properties of Purgatory Publishing Inc.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00767590125494134237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2489235437393897144.post-32748861445002921722015-12-11T13:30:00.000-05:002015-12-11T13:30:00.217-05:00The Gavierna OR: MOBSTERS in control of our STREETS!<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Loyal listeners, welcome, once again, to Fridays in AEthrem! This week, we delve deep into the lurking shadows of our cities, exploring the terror of organized crime gripping our darkened alleys, secluded basements, and nighttime street! That's right, dear listener, we take a look at Valerica's infamous crime syndicate - the Gavierna!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Born within the earliest mining camps in Mirenfell, the Gavierna was established by destitute workers to help their fellows bear the hardships of the mines - smuggling goods for sale outside of the exorbitantly-priced company stores and providing a variety of illicit entertainment. Even the organization's name shows its origin - Gavierna meaning "miner's society" in Exelosian, with immigrants from that nation making up the bulk of its original membership.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">By the time Mirenfell had developed into a well-populated colony and the average miner no longer suffered so harshly under the thumb of their bosses, the Gavierna were already well-established in the criminal underworld locally. Most of their early enterprises have become cornerstones of their empire - everyone is familiar with the Gavierna's underground casinos, bordellos, boxing rings, and drug dens. The most infamous business of these criminals, however, remains offering illegal thandi services.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Everyone is all too aware that the organization acts as a clearing house for immoral pact work, able to put you in touch with a thandi willing to skirt the law to mesmer a business partner, rough up a mark, or read the mind of that special person you've got your eye on. The Gavierna take a cut from every contract, and carefully tend their stable of thandi - hiding them from the Bureau and "acquiring" targets for the sacrifices demanded by their ryns at a high cost.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Over the years, the Gavierna have expanded rapidly, incorporating a handful of existing gangs in each new territory into the lower levels of their organization and crushing all opposition. When Valerica started major trade with the outside world, the Gavierna expanded into new markets through port cities across the globe, tying itself into the local underworld everywhere it has grown. While this has allowed them to grow easily and at a breakneck pace, it has also kept the syndicate's organization shaky, at best. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">The Gavierna is organized like a tiered pyramid on paper, but functions as a chaotic mass of shifting alliances in practice. Promotion is still most often accomplished with a hit on a superior, and the Patro (the head of the entire syndicate) maintains power only by playing all sides against the middle. Frequently, these struggles erupt into open mob war.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">In Valerica, politicians make a big production of cracking down on the Gavierna whenever open violence in the streets starts headlining local papers. Unfortunately, things aren't quite so simple - the mobsters are have become experts at integrating themselves into society at every level. These social puppeteers use their ill-gotten gains to keep many, politicians, judges, and even police patrols in their pockets. It is said that the Patro's vote in Mirenfell is the only one that matters. The Gavierna also know just what to do to rile up the labor force, and more than one captain of industry keeps close financial ties to the mobsters to prevent any sudden and "unexpected" work stoppage.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">For venture companies, the Gavierna can offer a channel for any manner of illegal goods, information, and even muscle, when needed. They can also be a potent threat if you get on their bad side. Given the syndicate's organization, they can even be both at the same time - wise outsiders should best try to not get caught in the crossfire when the mobsers' Apry guns come out.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">C</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">OPYRIGHT NOTICE</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Venture! Thrilling Adventures in the World of AEthrem and its associated characters are the property of Weird Science Games, LLC, Copyright 2015.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">West End Games, OpenD6, and The D6 system are trademarks and properties of Purgatory Publishing Inc.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00767590125494134237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2489235437393897144.post-56062163105120335152015-12-04T13:30:00.000-05:002015-12-04T13:30:01.193-05:00The Grey Legion OR: OUTCAST Soldiers of a Land in CHAOS!<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">For those who just walked in... the nation of Condrace is at the brink of civil war! Just seventeen years ago, King Antonius XIV and nearly all of his close relatives perished in the influenza epidemic of 998! The only survivor? An illegitimate son by a palace servant! Although crowned King Medran II, the aristocrats of the once great trade nation refuse to accept his rule - instead fighting among themselves over who has a greater claim to the throne!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">As tensions surge toward open civil war, the powerful enlist local garrisons of the national legions under their direct control, weakening the young king's hold over Condrace ever further. The primary military instrument still under the crown's direct control is the storied Grey Legion, which has always answered to the monarchy directly. With a history stretching back five and half centuries, the Grey Legion was established during the height of Condracean power to offer citizenship in exchange for a five year tour of military service. These foreigners, with no internal loyalties within their adoptive nation, have now become the most loyal soldiers to the nation as a whole.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">While native legionnaires have always discounted the Grey Legion as a gathering of rabble, these outsiders typically experience the most frequent and harshest military service among the Condracean legions. For centuries, commanders have put these foreigners into the thick of battle as shock troops, used them as screening forces, and sent them on the riskiest patrols. When Ferridon swept up into Condrace's southern colonies, the Grey Legionnaires resisted them with little to no outside support in some of the bloodiest and most drawn-out engagements of the Reclamation.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">The Grey Legion is now one of the few things maintaining some semblance of stability within Condrace. Its members now serve in place of native legionnaires and police forces lured into the service of nearby aristocrats. Thankfullly, their ranks have swollen, with many members signing up for additional tours of duty - reluctant to settle down in a place that may become a war zone any day. These veterans are among the most experienced soldiers in the world, but are still greatly outnumbered by the inferior forces the local rebels can bring to the field.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">New members of the legion are not quite up to the same caliber as these veterans, unfortunately. While Condrace was once a shining land of wealth and prosperity, in its current state, only the truly desperate are still willing to risk life and limb in exchange for Condracean citizenship. The typical recruit is a refugee fleeing Ferridi-occupied lands to the south, an outcast or homeless drifter in their nation of origin, or (in the worst cases) a fugitive fleeing justice. Many desert within a year, but those few willing to stay and adapt come out of their service changed for the better.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Those who have completed their five year tour with the Grey Legion will have gained a great deal of combat experience. Those survivors choosing not to remain with the legion or settle down within Condrace can easily find work using these talents elsewhere. Many join mercenary groups or become security personnel with venture companies. Although the terms of their service require turning over their assigned rifle, a standing tradition within the Grey Legion is to allow a subordinate that served with distinction to keep the weapon at the end of their five years. Carrying the distinctive Viseri Model 3 announces one's battlefield experience to anyone familiar with the legion.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">C</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">OPYRIGHT NOTICE</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Venture! Thrilling Adventures in the World of AEthrem and its associated characters are the property of Weird Science Games, LLC, Copyright 2015.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">West End Games, OpenD6, and The D6 system are trademarks and properties of Purgatory Publishing Inc.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00767590125494134237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2489235437393897144.post-72704488583060321502015-11-27T13:30:00.000-05:002015-11-27T13:30:01.986-05:00The Black Skull Brotherhood OR: MURDEROUS Pirates of Sea and SKY!<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Dear reader, following our brief intermission, we welcome you once again to another Fridays in AEthrem! Are you prepared to face groups of determined individuals, secretive and dangerous? If yes, then you stand prepared! This week, we begin our review of some of AEthrem's many organizations and secret societies! Many dangerous groups operate around the globe, and this week's subject is no exception! Brace yourself - for today's episode focuses on the dread pirates of the Black Skull Brotherhood!</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">For a group of thieves and anarchists, the Black Skull Brotherhood has survived for quite some time. Dating back to a time when sailing ships were the primary means of rapid shipping, this group of allied pirates has been a thorn in the side of merchants for many years. Although many water-bound members of the Brotherhood remain, in modern times many have taken to the skies. Airship captains dread encountering a wing of fighters, or even worse, another airship, marked with the Black Skull.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Pirates of the Black Skull Brotherhood can be found throughout the world, raiding many lucrative trade routes. Despite this huge area of influence, however, the group lacks any true organization or leadership. Anarchists at heart, these criminals refuse to accept any leader but those they work with directly. The most powerful members of the Brotherhood are its captains - each commanding a ship or fighter squadron - and pirate lords - who manage just a handful of captains. Even ascending to these modest ranks requires brutal determination and constant vigilance - a captain or lord must keep their underlings happy or face mutiny, all while keeping an eye out for rival pirates, the law, and bounty hunters.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Respect and fear are the greatest currencies for a leader within the Brotherhood. A captain or lord gains sole right of plunder within their territory, and that territory is determined by their ability to claim and defend it from all rivals. If a lord or captain shows signs of weakness, their neighbors will move in quickly to grow their own hunting grounds. While any member of the Black Skull Brotherhood can call upon other members of equal rank if they feel that another has overstepped their bounds, it is typically better to deal with this interloper yourself. Usually, if a member airs a grievance about another pirate in the Brotherhood, others just see this as a sign of weakness, moving against the aggrieved themselves.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">This loose alliance is driven by mutual benefit and held together by tradition. Members of the Black Skull Brotherhood fight among each other frequently, but will come together to eliminate rival pirates that refuse to join - the primary focus of the Brotherhood is to eliminate competition. When a unified response to the threat of law is needed, the local members may also come together - more than once, pirate hunters tailing a single ship have found an unexpected fleet waiting in ambush - although these pirates generally prefer evasion over confrontation.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">By tradition, initiation into the Brotherhood is compulsory for anyone working aboard one of its vessels or supporting it as spies or port-bound crew. New members are tattooed with the group's infamous symbol - a leering black skull and crossbones - and the first brand of rank in the Black Skull Brotherhood. Additional brands are added to a pirate as the ascend in rank. Both membership and promotions are for life - no one leaves the brotherhood, and anyone failing in their new rank is likely to be murdered by someone else eyeing their position. The lucky few who escape alive have been marked for life, the tattoo and brands identifying them to the law and ensuring their death at the hands of any active Brotherhood members they encounter.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">While opposing or hunting pirates, it is always good to be well aware of the Black Skull Brotherhood's controlling influence over this particular crime. Eliminating a pirate crew that has refused to join them can earn the respect of local Black Skulls, and maybe even a favor from less amoral Brotherhood leaders. Apprehending or destroying one of the Brotherhood's crews, however, will likely draw unwanted attention. While there may be no immediate reprisal - after all, a rival has just been eliminated - other leaders within the Brotherhood will pay close attention to the new potential threat you pose and strike out if they find you operating within their territory.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">C</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">OPYRIGHT NOTICE</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Venture! Thrilling Adventures in the World of AEthrem and its associated characters are the property of Weird Science Games, LLC, Copyright 2015.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">West End Games, OpenD6, and The D6 system are trademarks and properties of Purgatory Publishing Inc.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00767590125494134237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2489235437393897144.post-60786468047451787362015-11-20T13:30:00.000-05:002015-11-20T13:30:00.053-05:00INTERMISSION - Let's All Go to the Lobby and Get Ourselves Some Stat-Blocks!<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">I'm going to drop out of character as the cliffhanger-spewing period narrator this week, and take the opportunity to extend a special thank you to each and every person who has taken the time to glance at any part of this developer's blog. Venture! has been my on-again off-again personal project for the past several years, and I really enjoy getting the opportunity to share some of it with the world at large. So, thank you for following along with me, and thank you for your interest in my mad little indie project, I really appreciate it.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">This week, I'm also going to post the stat blocks for the creatures detailed over the past month, since I did receive an inquiry about these. As these game statistics are based on OpenD6, they will fall within the OGL, so please feel free to use them in your home game. If you would like to republish them, please contact me first - I don't have any objections to this, but I would like to know where and how the content I've generated in the past is going to be applied.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Please enjoy the following details, as we take a break from our usual, fluff-heavy episode format. We'll be back in the usual style next week, where we're going to start a series on the most prominent organizations and secret societies to be found in the world of AEthrem. This will carry us through the end of the year, when we'll start preparing for the launch of the core book in 2016!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
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<h3>
<b><u><a href="http://venturerpg.blogspot.com/2015/11/moon-wolves-or-howling-guardians-of.html">Moon Wolf</a></u></b></h3>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Reflexes 3D</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Brawling 5D<o:p></o:p></div>
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Dodge 6D<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Coordination 3D</b></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Physique 4D</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Running 6D<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Knowledge 1D</b></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Perception 3D</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Search 4D<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Search – Tracking 10D</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Presence 3D</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Intimidation 6D<o:p></o:p></div>
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Willpower 6D<o:p></o:p></div>
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Strength Damage 2D<o:p></o:p></div>
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Move 12<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>Special Abilities:</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
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<b>Dragging Grapple</b> – Moon wolves’ preferred method of attack
is to latch on to a target with their vice-like jaws, then drag them away from
their allies at a full run. Treat this as a grappling Brawling attack. The wolf may move as normal during this grapple, but her full Move is
reduced by a number of meters equal to the total rolled by her target in her
last attempt to escape the grapple. Two or more wolves may participate in a
single grapple, negating five meters of this Move penalty for every wolf after
the first – each participant must succeed at their own Brawling check. This
grapple inflicts Strength Damage +2D (for a total of 4D) due to the wolves’ fangs and
objects being struck by the victim as they are drug through the wilderness. For
each additional wolf participating in a grapple, add +1D to its Damage.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Hypnotic Stare</b> – The silver eyes of a moon wolf have a
captivating effect on other creatures, an ability usually employed by a pack’s
spotter. To initiate a hypnotic stare, a moon wolf makes an Intimidation check,
and all creatures looking in its direction must make a Willpower check at a
difficulty equal to the result of this Intimidation check. Any creature that
does not succeed in this check is unable to do anything but stare at the wolf
for a full round. At the start of every round, those enthralled by this ability
may attempt another Willpower check against the original Intimidation check
result to act normally. This effect ends automatically if those captivated or
their comrades are attacked.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<h3>
<u><a href="http://venturerpg.blogspot.com/2015/10/pagren-or-tentacled-terror-of-deep.html">Pagren</a></u></h3>
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<b>Reflexes 4D</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Brawling 6D<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Coordination 2D</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Throwing 6D<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Physique 5D</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Lifting 7D<o:p></o:p></div>
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Stamina 6D<o:p></o:p></div>
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Swimming 8D<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Knowledge 1D</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Perception 2D</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Search 3D<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Presence 2D</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Intimidation 5D<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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Strength Damage 4D<o:p></o:p></div>
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Move 25<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><u>Special Abilities:</u></b><o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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<b>Chitinous Body</b> – Armor Value +1D (The creature’s tentacles
do not benefit from this armor, but injuring a tentacle does not affect the
creature as a whole – a Wounded or worse result against a tentacle instead
disables that limb for several days.)<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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<b>Large Size</b> – Scale 18<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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<b>Mandible Bite</b> – After pulling prey in with its tentacles
(see the Tentacle Grappling ability, below), the pagren holds it in one of its
two large pincers biting it into smaller pieces with its huge mandibles to
feed. Each pincer can hold only one human-sized victim, but the creature may
bite at both in the same round. Treat this as a grappling Brawling attack, causing Damage +1D (for a total of 5D) every round. If a victim
reaches Incapacitated or worse, the pagren consumes them whole the following
round.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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<b>Tentacle Grappling</b> – The pagren uses its eight tentacles to
grab prey to bring to its mandibles, often grasping several creatures at once.
Treat this as a grappling Brawling attack, inflicting the
pagren’s base Strength Damage (4D) only. If a victim is unable to break free on
the round immediately after a successful grapple in this way, the pagren
transfers her to one of the claws around its mandibles (see the Mandible Bite
ability, above) if there is one available. If not, it will continue grappling
and inflicting its base Strength Damage until claws becomes available.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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<b>Smashing Strike</b> – Against opponents (or vessels) larger than
Scale 8, a pagren will attack first by flailing its tentacles about like
titanic clubs in an attempt to render its foe unconscious or break vessels into
smaller pieces. This is a normal Brawling attack, causing Damage +3D (7D
total).<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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</div>
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<b>Water Jets</b> – Each of a pagren’s tentacles can fire a
pressurized jet of water from its tip as a Throwing attack, with a Range of
3-10/20/30. Anything hit by one of these blasts suffers 3D Damage (modified by
scale as normal), and may not use any Armor Value in its damage resistance
check. The target may not suffer any Wound Level worse than Stunned from this
attack. Instead, for every five result points (rounding up) on this damage
check, the target is knocked back one meter away from the firing tentacle.
After firing, a tentacle must take an action while immersed in water to refill its internal
reservoir.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<h3>
<u><a href="http://venturerpg.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-rictus-spider-or-eight-legged-god.html">Rictus Spider</a></u></h3>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Reflexes 4D+1</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Agility 4D+2<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brawling 5D<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dodge 4D+2<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sneak 5D<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Coordination 2D</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Throwing – Webbing 4D<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Physique 3D+1</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Running 4D<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Knowledge 1D</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Perception 3D</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Concealment 3D+1<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Search 4D<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Presence 1D</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Intimidation 3D<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Willpower 2D+2<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Strength Damage 2D<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Move 10<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>Special Abilities:<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Addictive Venom</b> – The venom of a rictus spider is paralytic
and causes a sense of euphoria for higher lifeforms. After being bitten (see
the Biting Attack ability, below) the victim must succeed at a Very Hard (25)
Stamina check or suffer a -2D penalty on all actions for the remainder of the
scene from this effect. This experience is highly addictive, and any creature
that has not resisted the spider’s venom after a bite must make Moderate (15)
Willpower check one week after the effect wears off. They receive a -1 penalty
on this check for every previous dose of venom (one per bite) they have
received, and those that fail immediately seek out the spider (or another, if
it is unavailable). Those that succeed at this check have resisted their
addiction for now, but must attempt the same check after every week – if they
succeed for three consecutive weeks, they no longer experience this effect
(until bitten again).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Armored Carapace</b> – Armor Value +1D<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Biting Attack</b> – Rictus spiders have tiny fangs that they use
to inject their venom and leave their prey helpless (the spiders hold prey
captive in a web and consume them after death). A bite from these fangs is a
Brawling attack, causing Damage +2 (2D+2 total). If the victim suffers a
Stunned Wound Level or worse from this attack, they receive a dose of the
spider’s venom (see the Addictive Venom ability, above).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Ensnaring Web</b> – Creatures moving into the web of a rictus
spider are held fast by its natural adhesiveness. They may attempt to break
free with an action by making a Lifting check at a Moderate (15) difficulty.
Rictus spiders usually conceal their webs with local plants and debris (using
their Concealment skill) to disguise them so that prey wander into a web
unaware of its presence. The spiders may also aim their webbing at a target
with a Throwing attack. Webbing causes no damage itself, and has a Range of
3-5/10/15. On a successful attack, the target is bound to the ground or a
nearby object by a glob of webbing, requiring the usual Lifting check to break
free.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Large Size</b> – Scale 3<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h3>
<a href="http://venturerpg.blogspot.com/2015/11/spitting-crocodiles-or-lurking-peril-of.html">Spitting Crocodile</a></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Reflexes 1D+2</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brawling 6D<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dodge 3D+1<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sneak 4D+2<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Coordination 1D</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Throwing – Spit 4D<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Physique 4D+2</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lifting 6D<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Swimming 7D<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Knowledge 1D</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Perception 1D</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Search 4D<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Presence 1D</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Intimidation 4D<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Willpower 3D+2<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Strength Damage 3D<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Move 10 (Crawling) / 15 (Swimming)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>Special Abilities:</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Acidic Spit </b>– As it approaches prey or any threat, a
spitting crocodile will first attack with its acidic spittle. This is a
Throwing attack with a Range of 3-5/10/15. On a successful strike, the target
immediately suffers 4D damage, and additional damage at the start of the following two
subsequent rounds. If a complication occurs on the first damage resistance
check against an acidic spit attack, the target has temporarily blinded –
vision will return about 24 hours after flushing her eyes with clean water. A
spitting crocodile only has enough reserves of acid for six of these attacks
without resting for several hours.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Biting Grab</b> – Spitting crocodiles close in on their prey for
the kill, snaring them in powerful jaws. This is a grappling Brawling attack, inflicting Damage +2D (5D total). Once its prey has been
grappled, the crocodile will try to pull it underwater and drown it as quickly
as possible.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Scaly Hide</b> – Armor Value +2<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">C</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">OPYRIGHT NOTICE</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Venture! Thrilling Adventures in the World of AEthrem and its associated characters are the property of Weird Science Games, LLC, Copyright 2015.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">West End Games, OpenD6, and The D6 system are trademarks and properties of Purgatory Publishing Inc.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00767590125494134237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2489235437393897144.post-45055359201837243442015-11-13T13:30:00.000-05:002015-11-13T13:30:01.040-05:00Spitting Crocodiles OR LURKING PERIL of the MENRIC SEA!<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Fridays in AEthrem sneaks upon you again, with a splash and a sibilant hiss, dauntless reader! This week, we bring our series on the beasts of the world to a close, and take a look at a prominent example of the unique threat provided by the fauna of the Menric Sea. Today, we dare to look the buentratuk directly in its fearsome maw!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">To the casual observer, the spitting crocodile - or buentratuk, as it is called by local pramadi - is not particularly remarkable. Members of the species are native to the rivers and standing bodies of either fresh or brackish water within the Menric Sea. They have short limbs, powerful jaws, a grey-green scaled hide, and average about two meters long at their full, adult size - none of which would make them stand out from any other crocodile found throughout the world.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Any close observer of the spitting crocodile should easily notice the large bulges to either side of the beast's throat. It is these protuberances that actually give the creature its common name. Each contains a large gland that produces an acidic compound, and a muscular sac to store it. A spitting crocodile may open its mouth and project its acidic spray forward at whatever it faces through a muscular contraction of these sacs.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">The acidic spray of an adult spitting crocodile will cause intense pain, burns, and even temporary blindness for those targets unfortunately struck in the eyes. Spitting crocodiles use this as an aide in hunting - first spraying its prey, then rushing in to seize it in its jaws while the victim is confused and in pain. They also have been known to spray potential dangers when they feel pursued or threatened.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Intelligent species such as humans are not the typical prey of the spitting crocodile - these creatures prefer to feed on water fowl and small mammals. This isn't to say that explorers have nothing to fear from the creatures - spitting crocodiles are known to frequently be threatened by passing boats, spraying the side of approaching craft before quickly fleeing. The buentratuk is also an opportunistic predator, and will rush for a lone swimmer (especially one in distress). At the site of a shipwreck in the Menric Sea, expect several local spitting crocodiles to congregate in search of easy prey.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">In addition to shipwrecks, these creatures seem to enjoy the shelter provided by recent settlements, and have been known to gather in abandoned human buildings and mining tunnels near sea level that have flooded in the wet season. The spitting crocodile is semi-social - anywhere from one to twenty have been discovered living in close proximity in the wild. Larger gatherings of the species are allegedly more aggressive, leading most savvy guides to avoid groups larger than a handful.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">As a side note, all recorded attempts to domesticate the spitting crocodile have ended in expected disaster. This has not stopped the truly eccentric or careless prospectors of the Menric Sea to continue attempting to do so.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">C</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">OPYRIGHT NOTICE</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Venture! Thrilling Adventures in the World of AEthrem and its associated characters are the property of Weird Science Games, LLC, Copyright 2015.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">West End Games, OpenD6, and The D6 system are trademarks and properties of Purgatory Publishing Inc.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00767590125494134237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2489235437393897144.post-13795867305249543112015-11-06T13:30:00.000-05:002015-11-06T13:30:00.067-05:00Moon Wolves OR: HOWLING Guardians of the FORBIDDEN Wood!<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Welcome once again to another episode of Fridays in AEthrem! In our series on wild beasts, we turn away from the open sea and deep jungle, going closer to home. This week, we look at a hot-blooded danger most citizens of western Valerica are all too familiar with - the fearsome moon wolf pack!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Moon wolves are native only to the Sillindri Wildlands and those territories on its periphery, despite having no apparent problems with surviving outside of these specific regions. They show none of the fear of humans exhibited by other wolf species, but have only been first encountered within a few days of a full moon - hence their common name. Whether this fleeting presence is due to some migratory hunting pattern or another aspect of the moon wolves' natural instincts is still undetermined.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Packs that have been encountered varying from five to twenty members in number, and have invariably been led by their largest member, regardless of age or gender. Individual members of the pack are about average size for most wolf species - 80 centimeters tall at the shoulder with a body roughly 150 centimeters long. Most moon wolves have mottled black and silver fur, but specimens with pure silver coats are frequently encountered.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">The wolves show no hesitation in attacking humans encroaching on the Sillindri Wildlands. Typically, this ambush occurs well after dark and is proceeded by a "spotter" from the pack - a single wolf, typically one with an attention-grabbing silver coat, moving into the open and drawing the attention of the targeted humans. Eyewitnesses often report being dazzled or confused after looking these lone wolves in the eyes, unable to act. Whether this effect is a natural ability of some moon wolves or just mistakenly attributed to the animals is not certain.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">While the rest of the pack moves to encircle and ambush the humans, the spotter will continue to draw their attention, avoiding attacks from their human targets for as long as possible before fleeing. As soon as the pack's spotter runs or is killed, the other moon wolves rush forward in a blur of fur and fangs. The creatures invariably target the weakest few of the humans they attack - focusing on between one and three human victims in a single strike. While some victims of moon wolves will be killed where they stand, most will be seized by the maw of one or more of the creatures and drug out into the night will all possible speed.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Humans assaulted by moon wolves have only experienced a single attack in any one night. After an assault, the pack at a safe distance, but close - their victims able to hear the cries of the wolves and their victims through the remainder of the night. On every subsequent night, the wolves make another lightning strike, dragging away additional victims each time - slowly whittling away at the humans' ranks. After selecting a group of humans to harass, moon wolves are very persistent in their pursuit of their quarry - using their superior tracking skills to pursue and harass a group for a week or more, sometimes travelling for kilometers outside of the Sillindri Wildlands before returning to their home territory.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">C</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">OPYRIGHT NOTICE</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Venture! Thrilling Adventures in the World of AEthrem and its associated characters are the property of Weird Science Games, LLC, Copyright 2015.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">West End Games, OpenD6, and The D6 system are trademarks and properties of Purgatory Publishing Inc.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00767590125494134237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2489235437393897144.post-38828341177505792502015-10-30T13:30:00.000-04:002015-10-30T13:30:00.033-04:00The Rictus Spider OR: Eight-Legged GOD of the Dark JUNGLE!<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">We bid you welcome once again, you courageous and daring few, willing to investigate more terrifying creatures of the wilderness! In this episode of Fridays in AEthrem, we leave the HORRORS of the sea behind to look at the most TERRIFYING arachnid of the deep jungle!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Rictus spiders are native to Tefira, and lair in natural caverns or the hollowed-out remains of old trees, spinning elaborate webs to ensnare their prey. They are jet black, with the exception of ghostly white markings on the back of their abdomen, resembling a leering human skull (from whence they get their name). Most noticeably, they are huge by the standards of most other spiders found throughout the world, growing just over three meters long at full adult size.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">However, the rictus spider's most terrifying quality is not its size, but its venom. The bite of this creature contains a paralytic, but is not fatal - except to smaller organisms. To higher animals - including humans - this venom also has a stimulating and euphoric effect that is highly addictive.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Over time, members of the species have learned to envenom anything caught in their webs, but to release victims they do not have a need to feed on immediately. Typically, those released will return within a few days - possibly when the spider's web doesn't have so quite a large bounty. As an added bonus, communal creatures will sometimes bring along a handful of unwitting companions - doing the work of luring in new meals for the rictus spider.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Elder members of the species can learn to recognize returning victims, and favor feeding on newcomers over repeat visitors. Those who have returned once typically continue to do so - bringing new meals with each time - provided the spider gives them another dose of the venom they now crave. Intelligent creatures can likewise learn to take advantage of this, bringing along one or more unwitting victims for the rictus spider to consume, while they receive their "reward" and survive the encounter.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Primitive settlements have occasionally built cults around a single, long-lived rictus spider or an extended family of the creatures lairing nearby. These spiders can count on the cult to provide the majority of their food as sacrifices to their living god in exchange for the blessing of its divine bite. Of course, these cults are always in need of outsiders to offer up as sacrifices, lest they need to sacrifice too many of their own number. Explorers and new settlers to a region are prime candidates for capture for these purposes, of course.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">COPYRIGHT NOTICE</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Venture! Thrilling Adventures in the World of AEthrem and its associated characters are the property of Weird Science Games, LLC, Copyright 2015.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">West End Games, OpenD6, and The D6 system are trademarks and properties of Purgatory Publishing Inc.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00767590125494134237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2489235437393897144.post-57865637415084619862015-10-23T10:30:00.000-04:002015-10-23T10:30:00.495-04:00Pagren OR: Tentacled TERROR of the DEEP!<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Stalwart explorers, welcome back to Fridays in AEthrem! With the current season, we turn to observing some of the HARROWING beasts to be found around the globe - each quick to claim the lives of the UNPREPARED and UNWARY!</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">We start this series off with a look at the titanic pagren, the doom of many unfortunate sailors. At home in the deep ocean, pagrens are one of many perilous threats that make travel by ship such a treacherous task in AEthrem. These massive beasts grow longer than thirty meters on average, dwarfing many smaller human ships easily.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">The main body of a pagren takes up only a third of its total length. Coated in heavy, murky brown chitin, its bullet-shaped body drives point-first through the water - the outer surface unadorned except for a pair of eye-stalks on opposite sides. The center of the flat rear of the body is where the creature's mandibled mouth resides, flanked by a pair of segmented arms tipped in pincers - each large enough to hold an adult human. A set of eight tentacles sprout from the body, surrounding the mouth and pincers on all sides.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">A pagren's tentacles make up the remainder of its length. Unlike the body, these huge limbs are unarmored - their soft, blue-grey flesh exposed. The pagren uses these eight strong manipulators to propel itself through the water and grasp objects and prey with the aid of suckers running along the interior of each. Each tentacle is also tipped in a muscular valve - used to take in and pressurize sea water, which is sprayed at prey to stun and disorient it.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">The primary prey for pagren are the largest creatures in the ocean, typically sharks and all but the largest whales. Those attacking human ships presumably have mistaken the vessel for a surfacing whale. However, there are numerous accounts of pagren that have apparently adapted to feeding at least partially on shipboard humans - having learned to overturn vessels or knock crew overboard using jets of water, and rushing to snatch up and consume those sent into the water.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Randomly encountering a pagren can spell doom for a ship attempting an oceanic crossing. Those that attempt to do so on a regular basis will usually mount an artillery piece or large machine gun on the deck, as both have proven capable of driving the beasts of with focused fire. Small arms can sometimes prove effective, but most handgun and rifle rounds will have a hard time piercing the armored hide of a pagren and causing any serious injury. If the pagren decides to overturn a ship, survival is much less likely, although there are rare accounts of survivors chasing one of these creatures off from their lifeboats after it had capsized the main vessel.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">There are also accounts of a pagren fleeing after the survivors hearing a distant, inhuman roar or experiencing a deep rumbling sensation. Whatever these creatures that have scared away pagren actually are, they are probably best left to the imagination. Or left to suicidally-minded researchers, at least.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">COPYRIGHT NOTICE</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Venture! Thrilling Adventures in the World of AEthrem and its associated characters are the property of Weird Science Games, LLC, Copyright 2015.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">West End Games, OpenD6, and The D6 system are trademarks and properties of Purgatory Publishing Inc.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00767590125494134237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2489235437393897144.post-82704016493521585342015-10-16T13:30:00.000-04:002015-10-16T13:30:00.944-04:00Isles of the Menric Sea OR: A DROWNING Land of WONDERS and VENOM!<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Stalwart sojourners, we return to another thrilling installment of Fridays in AEthrem! In the past weeks, we have spanned the globe, exploring some of the most dangerous, wild locals to be found. Today, we end our long trek at the far side of the world, in the Menric Sea.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Far east of Otaru and southwest of Tefira, across many kilometers of hazardous open ocean, the Menric Sea rises up as a wide, shallow plain. Here, innumerable small islands poke above the waves and deep-water vessels run aground as the sea floor rises up to meet them. The water depth in the Menric is chaotic at best, influenced by tides, seasons, and the current weather patterns - individual islands grow, shrink, and occasionally connect to one another by temporary land bridges.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Local flora and fauna in the Menric Sea is somewhat sparse, and comprised of hardy species. The land is a mix of red clay and dark mud, both on the islands and the sea floor, suitable mostly for quick-growing grasses by the shore and stunted trees clear of the high water mark, growing twisted in the hard winds from the open ocean. Animal life here is exotic to outsiders, and most species are venomous. The warm climate allows many species of insect and reptile to thrive, such as the native spitting crocodile - with its infamous acidic spray.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Even this perilous environment is home to intelligent life, as well. Local pramadi and ss'ra tribes dot the islands, fighting between each other and among themselves for the limited resources of the Menric Sea. Local ss'ra fiercely guard a few native territories - most likely the remains of their once-proud cities in the region. The pramadi, meanwhile, are especially laid back for their species, caring little about ss'ra territory or anything else. This is most likely due to the calming effects of dried jiruun leaf, which local pramadi grow, cure, and partake of liberally. The tribes of neither species had been able to develop any technology more advanced than flint-tipped weapons prior to the arrival of humans, due to the limitations of their homeland.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Human exploration of the Menric Sea is a fairly recent development. The region is home to a scattered handful of tiny settlements and outposts - established by foreign nations, forward-thinking corporations, and private investors gauging the profit to be gleaned from the islands. Almost uniformly, these tiny colonies are economic failures; the Menric has little of value outside of a few caches of valuable metals and semiprecious stones found thus far - nothing capable of sustaining these far-flung colonies. The remaining settlers are a resilient and independent group, and have become largely self-sufficient - as most outside goods can only be reliably delivered by long distance cargo plane, and few pilots consider the route to the Menric Sea worth the potential profits.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">In the short time that humans have begun residing on the islands of the Menric Sea, many local legends have sprung up regarding oddities in the region. The most famous of these tall tales regard massive structures apparently made of spun glass or strange, dancing lights - always seen from a distance or disappearing on a return visit to their location (as if vanishing overnight). Native pramadi and ss'ra readily support these stories, calling up their own elaborate legends that attribute these lights and structures to gods or monsters - benevolent and dangerous alike. No human expedition has ever been able to verify these sightings on a subsequent trip to the location of the alleged encounter.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">COPYRIGHT NOTICE</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Venture! Thrilling Adventures in the World of AEthrem and its associated characters are the property of Weird Science Games, LLC, Copyright 2015.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">West End Games, OpenD6, and The D6 system are trademarks and properties of Purgatory Publishing Inc.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00767590125494134237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2489235437393897144.post-44884101909003236602015-10-09T14:59:00.000-04:002015-10-09T14:59:46.855-04:00Sands of the Lahana Desert OR: TREASURES and PERILS of the Fiery Dunes!<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Daring travelers, welcome back! In today's episode of Fridays in AEthrem we fly east along the equator, returning to the main continent of Pelifor! We leave behind the steamy jungles of Tefira, trading them for the parched, sand-swept wastes of the Lahana Desert!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Stretching from east to west across the entire continent of Pelifor, the Lahana desert breaks the continent in two. To the north lies the most venerable and traditionally dominant human nations, including such great powers as Thassyl and Condrace, among many lesser countries. South of the desert, nearly all of the continent now belongs to Ferridon, although it was once home to various colonies and independent powers prior to the First's rise to power in the south.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Legends dating back to the fall of the early ghond civilization tell that central Pelifor was once a warm, fertile land, but some sacrifice agreed to by ghond thandi destroyed the land itself, turning it dry and uninhabitable in exchange for victory against the ss'ra. No one can prove the truth of these tales, but the Lahana certainly contains numerous ruins of once-thriving ghond cities, ripe targets for treasure hunters and archaeologists alike. The remnants along the outskirts of the desert have been searched thoroughly, but many potential sites still remain untouched further in, at much greater risk to would-be explorers.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Along its periphery, the land is relatively stable, if unsuitable to permanent settlement. Scrub lands give way to sun-baked clay flats here. This area is home to nomadic human tribes that have lineages going back into distant antiquity. These wanderers have subsisted on what foraging and hunting are available, and have traditionally trade between northern and southern human nations using coastal caravan routes to supplement what the desert provides them. Modern aerial shipping has made these caravans all but obsolete, pushing these tribes to more illicit dealings such as smuggling or banditry.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">The interior of the Lahana Desert is made of an endless stretch of sand, piled in wind-swept dunes that only increase in size the further inward one travels. Few, if any landmarks exist for explorers, and the wind changes the terrain on a daily, if not hourly, basis. Sudden windstorms have been known to swallow the remains of entire ghond cities whole, and aircraft are regularly lost attempting to travel over the interior desert during poor conditions. There are no permanent residents of the interior desert, except for a few hardy individuals that survive only due to the rare oasis or rock-walled ravine to call home.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">It is within the hazardous interior of the Lahana Desert that intrepid explorers can find its greatest possible treasure: the untouched remains of a ghond city. The residences and central pyramid of the city can hold a bounty of treasures - ancient coinage and artwork, or even the relics and recorded wisdom of early thandi. To academics, however, the ruin itself is a treasure far beyond any monetary value - everything from carvings to the artifacts of daily life in desperate need of cataloging and prolonged study.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">However, these ruins hold their own share of dangers. Superstition holds that these cities were cursed by ancient ghond thandi, and many of their discoverers have met untimely ends within their walls. Most commonly, this happens due to one of many traps - left behind by fleeing ghond or besieging human armies and never triggered. Even worse, these traps could be brand new - installed by the current subterranean ghond culture to protect one of their active exits to the surface world. Sudden ambushes by members of the ghond warrior caste are not uncommon. Other living threats include any of the few species to survive in the modern Lahana: many varieties of snakes, scorpions, and the infamous Lancer Scarabs, swarms of which can allegedly strip a victim down to their bones in a only a few ravenous minutes of feeding.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">For any and all of these reasons, experienced venture companies are in high demand for anyone setting out on an expedition into the Lahana Desert. These contractors can provide ready labor, navigational assistance, but especially security against the threats of the desert itself and ambushes by rival, jealous explorers, which are all too common. Many universities' archaeology departments and individual professors have long-standing contracts with one or more venture companies, relying on them for several expeditions over the years. Proving your business capable on an expedition can be very lucrative in the long term, if your venture company can safely navigate the Lahana's many hazards.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">COPYRIGHT NOTICE</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Venture! Thrilling Adventures in the World of AEthrem and its associated characters are the property of Weird Science Games, LLC, Copyright 2015.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">West End Games, OpenD6, and The D6 system are trademarks and properties of Purgatory Publishing Inc.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00767590125494134237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2489235437393897144.post-37366350364511671542015-10-02T13:30:00.000-04:002015-10-02T13:30:02.007-04:00Lush Tefira OR: FURY of the SHROUDED Continent!<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Hail bold explorers, young and old! Bolster your courage and prepare yourselves! Today, Fridays in AEthrem takes you even further into the great unknown! We travel to the opposite side of the globe from the cool woodlands of the Sillindri Wildlands of our last episode to the steamy, tropical jungles of Tefira - THE SHROUDED CONTINENT! What mysteries await intrepid adventurers such as yourselves in its unexplored reaches?!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Tefira lurks on the far side of the world, separated from Pelifor and Valerica by wide swaths of open ocean. Homeland of the Ss'ra, this continent rivals is larger than any single landmass that the human nations inhabit. Impenetrable jungles cover most of its surface, torn open in places by colossal mountain peaks or the sinuous lines of numerous rivers. Much of Tefira's interior remains unmapped, as travel through the thick foliage is slow and dangerous.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Numerous small human colonies and outposts exist on the continent, scattered around the rivers and coastlines, where the jungle cannot impede the delivery of essential supplies. These have been established haphazardly over the years by nations and private investors alike, forming a random patchwork of allegiances and rivalries - a settlement can be separated from friendly territory by long kilometers of wild jungle or hostile human holdings. Most of these communities are tiny and poorly-supplied, populated by the desperate or zealous. A few of these wild-eyed settlers have come for scientific pursuits: studying the native ss'ra, the ruins of their civilization, or native flora and fauna. Many more have come to plunder Tefira's natural resources, or to hunt for treasure in the continents many hidden ruins.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">By far the oldest and largest human settlement on Tefira, the city of Haran Olesh was founded by Condrace over two centuries ago. It has grown into a busy port over time, built on ancient ss'ra ruins at the mouth of the Zilliar River, due west across the ocean from its home nation in Pelifor. Countless expeditions set out from Haran Olesh every day, and just as many mercantile convoys return to it from the jungle with wares for trade locally or for export back to Condrace. The city's golden age of trade is coming to a close, however. The recent unrest in Condrace has caused most of Haran Olesh's posted military to be recalled back to the mainland, forcing the local governor to hire mercenaries and venture companies to provide security and policing in their absence - something the city's treasury cannot support for long.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Security is a constant concern for the hardy locals, as the jungle is a source of innumerable new species, many of them hostile to humans. While large predators and packs of scavengers can be guarded against, a settlement can just as quickly be wiped out by swarms of insects, poisonous local fruit, or strange new diseases. Rumors suggest even more exotic threats, such as huge plants capable of trapping an adult human - consuming them whole, spiders the size of an automobile - worshiped as gods by jungle-dwelling cults, and the ever-popular tales of the legendary fanged apes - still unproven to actually exist.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">The most famous Tefiran natives are the ss'ra themselves. Long fractured into small social groups, their reaction to human explorers varies from one tribe or community to the next - some residing near human colonies trade with the settlers or sell their services as local guides, while others react violently to what they consider an invasion of their homeland. Hundreds of individual gatherings of the native ss'ra exist, struggling against each other for dominance, each at a slightly different level of technical proficiency. The possibility of a large collective of their species, deep within the continent, retaining an understanding of most of their otherwise lost science is a rumored possibility, but these highly-advanced ss'ra have yet to appear outside of the fictional world of adventure films and pulp novels.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Forgotten or abandoned by most modern ss'ra, the ruins of their long-lost civilization lie throughout Tefira. The jungle has reclaimed these lonely structures, growing over and through lanes and buildings alike. Finding a particularly well-preserved site could provide a group of explorers the means to retire as very wealthy individuals, with universities and inventors guilds alike more than willing to spend small fortunes to acquire functioning relics of interest to them. In some cases, these groups will simply fund expeditions on their own based on a promising tip, hiring a venture company to follow the lead they were provided. As valuable as this forgotten technology can be, tall tales speak of even greater ancient wonders to be found: ss'ra diamond mines, cities made entirely of gold, or elaborate towers of spun glass, wandering about the jungle on their own. Anyone actually discovering such a place could find not only uncountable wealth, but fame and glory, as well.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">COPYRIGHT NOTICE</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Venture! Thrilling Adventures in the World of AEthrem and its associated characters are the property of Weird Science Games, LLC, Copyright 2015.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">West End Games, OpenD6, and The D6 system are trademarks and properties of Purgatory Publishing Inc.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00767590125494134237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2489235437393897144.post-50982639652969833042015-09-25T13:30:00.000-04:002015-09-25T13:30:00.991-04:00The Sillindri Wildlands OR: PERIL of the FORBIDDEN Woods!Daring explorers, its time to once again delve into the wild and strange locals of the world, to dare the beasts and natural hazards outside of civilization, to push forward with another Fridays in AEthrem!<br />
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In today's episode, we look at the Sillindri Wildlands - a wide and untouched expanse of forest, separating eastern Thassyl from western Valerica. The woods of the Wildlands are varied and temperate where they meet the sea in the south, but shift to pine forests and sparser steppes and tundra further north, completely ending only where they meet the arctic wastes. Tall mountains run north and south through the heart of the territory, dividing it into western and eastern reaches, with some corresponding diversity in local wildlife. Strong winds among the peaks complicate air travel, and many commercial routes instead opt to travel over the open ocean to the south.<br />
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The most well-known native species to the Sillindri Wildlands are the acilon. The acilon are intelligent, but rarely seen - wearing heavy robes and masks on the rare occasions when they interact with humans. While we can only speculate as to their true appearance, we do know that they hold a deep, spiritual reverence for the Wildlands. Humans encroaching within the woodland are quickly descended upon, forced out in a suprise, mass strike and a flurry of arrows that leave few alive.<br />
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Less fortunate interlopers encounter one of the many hostile animal species that call Sillindri home. Foremost among these are moon wolves - wild canines that travel in large packs. Survivors of an attack by a moon wolf pack report being toyed with by the animals, harried for sometimes days at a time until they were well clear of the Wildlands. There may be some truth to the entrancing glance of the moon wolf as spoken of in the song "Just a Lady Wolf" - some witnesses claim to have been paralyzed upon looking the creatures in the eye.<br />
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The Causeway - established in the passage agreement that Thassyl signed with acilon representatives centuries ago - is the only place where humans are accepted within the Sillindri. This small area stretches across the Wildlands from east to west, but is only a kilometer wide. The acilon do not attack humans within the Causeway, and even creatures such as the moon wolves inexplicably tolerate them here. However, those that stray from its boundaries are immediately at risk - numerous stone markers have been erected to mark the border and prevent these tragedies.<br />
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Settlements within the Causeway are independent of each other and any governing authority. The passage agreement prohibits armed soldiers from being stationed within or passing through the area, preventing anyone from claiming the lands from independence-minded locals by force. Communities survive by trading essential supplies and acilon-produced goods (especially pottery) with those moving trade goods through the Causeway. Locals also allegedly form the membership of the Red Mask Society, the group responsible for all smuggling operations through the Causeway, and a hand in any other local crime. Their name comes from their iconic red masks, done in the same style as the acilon themselves, suggesting a connection between the two.<br />
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Legends and rumors about the interior of the Sillindri Wildlands abound, but no account of any travel more than a few kilometers in has ever been verified. Pilots have reported on light reflecting off <i>something </i>within the woods as they've passed overhead, giving rise to the stories of greenhouse cities and fields of diamonds that fill cheap fiction magazines around the globe. Unfortunately, treasure hunters that head out to find what exactly the acilon are hiding rarely, if ever, return.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">COPYRIGHT NOTICE</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Venture! Thrilling Adventures in the World of AEthrem and its associated characters are the property of Weird Science Games, LLC, Copyright 2015.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">West End Games, OpenD6, and The D6 system are trademarks and properties of Purgatory Publishing Inc.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00767590125494134237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2489235437393897144.post-75293404361382338512015-09-22T14:30:00.000-04:002015-09-22T14:30:01.003-04:00Design Philosophy - Initiative<div>
Initiative (or any other term for turn order) in combat exists in some form or another in almost every role-playing game. The majority of popular rule systems call for a die roll contest between characters or groups of characters to determine this order. In Venture!, this contest is skipped entirely - play flows around the table, starting with the players / player characters and ending with the game master and her non-player characters (with the only exception being when the non-player characters ambush or get the drop on the player characters and start the turn).<br />
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Why implement a potentially unpopular system like this?<br />
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1. The Narrative Benefit of Initiative Checks (or its Lack)<br />
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First of all, let us say that having an initiative check with the game's rules isn't an inherently bad thing. If you are looking at an RPG as a means of telling a story, however, it should benefit the narrative at the table. Many games do incorporate important details of the setting into their initiative rules - superhero or cyberpunk-themed games come to mind, where having a superhuman reaction time ensures that a character acts first or even multiple times in comparison to slower characters. A similar benefit is gained in implementing action speed rules - letting lighter weapons or simpler attacks occur earlier or faster than bigger weapons and slower actions. This can add a fun tactical element, but it also sets a tone for the grittiness and feel of combat in the game world.</div>
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If the initiative rules aren't helping to set the scene in your game universe, is there anything to be gained by using them? </div>
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2. Keeping the Action Flowing</div>
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Experienced role-players are probably familiar with one of the potential problems with a typical initiative system: the lull in action that it can cause. The game master will be working with the player characters, building anticipation for a fight to come, everyone is getting their weapons ready for the upcoming fight, challenges are issued, the enemies charge.. and then the game master halts the story to call for an initiative roll. Where are my dice? What is my modifier? Can I do one thing before we go into combat? OK, what did everyone roll? Let me write these down - you two both got an 18, who has a higher Agility? Alright, we're all set - Alice, you're up.</div>
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With focused players, this can be a minor speed bump, just taking a few moments to resolve. If everyone at the table is distracted or tired, this can take at least a few minutes, and can kill the anticipation that's been building up. Its like pausing a movie right before the climactic fight scene to grab snacks and take a bathroom break, it doesn't ruin the experience, but it does kill some of the momentum.</div>
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There is an additional lull if any of the players at the table aren't aware of their place in the turn order. Suddenly caught unaware, they can flounder, trying to decide on a course of action. Again, this adds a few moments more to the combat. While this doesn't sound like much on paper, trying to maintain that initial rush before the fight grows harder with every second wasted. By going around the table, each player knows exactly who they will be acting after and how many characters will act before theirs, all without having to consult (or have the game master maintain) a list of the initiative order.</div>
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3. Maintaining the Game's Tone</div>
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Venture! is trying to emulate pulp novels and film serials. The player characters typically go first, making them proactive, charging into a fight with the first blow. Ideally, this should immediately gain them momentum in the fight and make the players feel like the daring heroes they should be emulating in the game setting. In a few moments, they'll have dealt with several faceless minions of their adversaries, and be ready to face down the remainder.</div>
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After these initial blows, things become a back-and-forth once the non-player characters strike back. The player characters take out a few mooks, and dive away from the return fire. As the lieutenants and mastermind of their foes become exposed, things flow like a duel - these greater foes exchanging strikes at one or more player characters until one manages to connect. This is a deliberate attempt to make the action at the game table progress as the cuts in a filmed action scene would: the heroes strike a blow, evade a counterattack, strike another blow, get engaged in a desperate struggle with their equal, and ultimately, dispatch their adversary.</div>
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4. Ambushes are Dangerous!</div>
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One additional benefit to this system was discovered during playtesting: ambushes by non-player characters become frightening and dangerous. The players become accustomed to acting first, so if their enemies get the drop on them, it puts them in an unexpected, perilous situation (just like their characters). Most ambushes will turn into a desperate struggle quickly. The worst will end with the player characters capture, which helps feed the story.</div>
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Agree? Disagree? Have a question? Leave a comment below!</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Venture! Thrilling Adventures in the World of AEthrem and its associated characters are the property of Weird Science Games, LLC, Copyright 2015.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">West End Games, OpenD6, and The D6 system are trademarks and properties of Purgatory Publishing Inc.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00767590125494134237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2489235437393897144.post-35607163566626139582015-09-18T13:30:00.000-04:002015-09-18T13:30:54.386-04:00The Valerican Confederation OR: A Rising Star in the New World!<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Fridays in AEthrem returns with disparaging news! Our astute and loyal viewer will have noticed that several weeks of this series have gone mysteriously missing - lost in transit to the airship docks of Koriden City for distribution to your local cinema! Investigation by the authorities continues - the suspected culprit? Sky pirates! While our faithful protectors strike back against this scourge of the air over Rasault, we struggle vigilantly to produce and distribute additional reports from our studios in Ban Nihara! Fridays in AEthrem will not be done in by these recent shortfalls!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">In this week's episode, we travel to our own backyard, the Valerican Confederation. Once a cultural backwater, slowly occupied by outcasts from the west over three and a half centuries, the Valerican subcontinent has become a major world power. In the sixty years since formally gaining its independence, its influence has expanded to rival even those nations that founded the earliest colonies in Valerica!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">The Sillindri Wildlands separate Valerica from western Pelifor. Combined with the inherent difficulties in water travel, this prevented settlement of this territory by humans (or the ghond culture before them) before the existence of the passage agreement between Thassyl and the native acilon of the Wildlands in 670 YF. Once an overland route to the subcontinent became available, colonies for the western powers boomed throughout the newly-open lands.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Most of the Valerican colonies were founded by Thassyl itself, Valerica's closest neighbor to the west of the Sillindri Wildlands. Nearly every major power in the west established a colony on the subcontinent, either paying heavy taxes to pass supplies back and forth through the Sillindri Causeway controlled by Thassyl or risking the myriad hazards of ocean transport: harsh storms, titanic and hostile sea creatures, and piracy. Despite its controlling power, every colony acted as a pressure valve for established society - gathering together a motley collection of outcasts and dissidents - political rivals, members of fringe religious groups, renegades or loners, and more than a few thandi fleeing persecution in their homeland.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">For years the various, squabbling Valerican colonies were exploited by their founding nations, plundered for their rich and exotic natural resources. That came to an end when Thassylian colonies began openly revolting against the High King in 936 YF. Kingsland, the richest - and best defended - colony, was finally granted independence in 947 YF by a floundering Thassyl, overwhelmed by fighting rebellions on numerous fronts. Five years later, the Treaties of Confederation were ratified, creating the modern Valerican Confederation and its five provinces.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Of the five provinces, Koriden is the most well-known and the wealthiest. Renamed in honor of the rebel general Mirena Koriden (formerly Kingsland) following its liberation, Koriden covers the eastern terminus of the Sillindri Causeway, stretching across the southern coast of Valerica in the west. It is a temperate land, home to several long-established port cities. Chief among these is Koriden City - the provincial and national capital - famed for its towering skyscrapers, centers of learning, and the constant political and business squabbling among its elite. Koriden is also home to the longest-established and most famous venture companies, its cosmopolitan cities serving as an excellent hub for their unique business.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">To the north and east of Koriden, Mirenfell Province varies from cool to frigid in temperature, stretching from mountains in the south and east all the way to the arctic. The mines of Mirenfell's mountains produce a vast bounty of coal, iron, and precious metals - many of the province's cities are constructed within the depleted upper level of mines. Passes through the mountains in the province have made it a crossroads for road and railway traffic within Valerica - material passing from the eastern Provinces to Koriden for export. In recent years, heavy industry has become centralized in the province to benefit from rail shipments. However, it is most well-known for corruption - its an open secret that the government in Mirenfell operates at the whim of the Gavierna, a criminal syndicate founded by the earliest refugees from Exelos to work in the province's early mines.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Giltlund is a pastoral province to the east of Koriden and Mirenfell, dominated by rolling hills covered in temperate native grasses and farmland. The earliest settlers to the province were Pathists, a divergent sect of the Church - its followers preferring a simple and agrarian life, isolated from the outside world. Later settlers established their own farms and ranches - Pathists and these outsiders rarely mingle and both steer well clear of the decadent "city folk" from the few larger cities in the province. Giltlund was once home to a significant population of ss'ra at the height of their culture, and numerous ruins remain of their former cities, especially on the eastern coast. Numerous small ss'ra communities still dot the grasslands, and a few are still hostile to human settlers.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Between Giltlund in the north and Amprissa in the south, Rasault is traditionally viewed as a navigational hazard more than anything else. Rasault is as arid as Giltlund is lush, arid deserts and scrub waste covering most of its surface, making it the least populated province in Valerica. This wasn't always the case, as the province is full of ss'ra ruins. It has become a popular destination for treasure hunters - either seeking legendary ss'ra artifacts or natural deposits of precious gems, which are sometimes found by prospectors in the wastes. In recent years, these prospectors have stumbled upon an unexpected treasure, finding massive oil deposits within the province - resulting in a boom economy for the region. The plateaus of central Rasault offer a perfect staging point for the second largest business in the province: air piracy. From isolated airstrips, criminals can easily plunder shipments of locally-harvested oil or shipments of trade goods passing from Amprissa.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Amprissa is a broad crescent of land occupying the far southeastern shore of Valerica. The tropical province once hosted ss'ra cities and, later, a scattering of Otaran colonies. For reasons the Beryl Throne has never revealed, Otaru abandoned Valerica around the time colonists began expanding into it from the west. Ban Nihara, the provincial capital, was built on the remains of the largest Otaran settlement in the area, covering the mainland and several islands, all connected by bridges and water taxis. An entire island in the city now serves as an embassy for Otaru, and goods from the continent to the south flood into Amprissan ports. The province is also home to two of the newest industries in the world: aircraft production and film production. Both originated within Amprissa, and it has since become famous for both.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">The Valerican Confederation has leveraged its unique resources to great profit since its founding, new local corporations growing by leaps and bounds from the profit. It is also the birthplace of the airplane - the most talented and established manufacturers in the airplane industry still calls Valerica home. In recent years, the Confederation has also come to a trade deal with the inscrutable and isolationist continent and Empire of Otaru, with exotic items from that land flooding into its local markets on a scale not seen before. Immigrants have been flocking to Valerica for years to benefit from its expansion and development.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Today, Valerica is poised to become the dominant power in the world, if it isn't torn apart from within. Shadowy forces struggle for control of the rapidly-growing nation - policians, crime syndicates, captains of industry, and secret societies. At the same time, spies and saboteurs operate within Valerica on behalf of foreign powers to undermine the Confederation from within. While always known as a free and democratic society, life within Valerica could change suddenly if the balance between these forces were to shift to far in any one direction.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"> </span></span>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">COPYRIGHT NOTICE</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Venture! Thrilling Adventures in the World of AEthrem and its associated characters are the property of Weird Science Games, LLC, Copyright 2015.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">West End Games, OpenD6, and The D6 system are trademarks and properties of Purgatory Publishing Inc.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00767590125494134237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2489235437393897144.post-44097034321543490162015-09-04T14:30:00.000-04:002015-09-04T14:30:01.178-04:00Ferridon OR: The Fascist Khradi - Poised to Strike!<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Faithful followers, Fridays in AEthrem has returned! We must apologize for our absence last week, but personal issues prevented us from providing you with our regular, thrilling post. And now, without further delay let us delve into the growing darkness of Ferridon!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Among the nations of AEthrem, Ferridon is one of the youngest, but it is founded on ancient cultural roots. The Ferridi Highlands lie to the far south of Pelifor, an expanse of moors, steppes, and eventually the foothills of arctic mountains in their most southerly reaches. The landscape of the highlands is harsh and inhospitable, making it one of the few parts of Pelifor that did not fall under the control of the ancient ghond civilization - a fact that the native human clans of the region still take pride in.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">While poised to claim most of southern Pelifor following the fall of the ghond, the Ferridi clans were instead slowly overwhelmed by recently-liberated human servants and their descendants. Generations spent in servitude had given the freed human population knowledge and innovations that the Ferridi just didn't have, not to mention access to pacts with ryn - which the Ferridi considered a taboo. The natives of the Highlands found themselves again slowly pushed back into the least desirable parts of their homeland, struggling to keep up with the advancements of the outside world. A few Ferridi endured in their lost territories, becoming second-class citizens to new colonists.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">The patient endurance of the Highland people came to an end just twenty years ago. A charismatic leader came to the head of the Khradi clan, an outcast family known to allow the creation of thandi pacts among its members. The Khradi's leader stoked the fires of rage among the Ferridi, calling for a Reclamation of their lost lands. His support reached a fever pitch with the Week of Blood, when the members of the Ulaz clan and their supporters (who had long acted as a diplomatic face for the clans with outside nations) were exterminated by the Khradi and their allies.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">After usurping leadership of the clans, the Khradi leader established Ferridon as a new nation, with himself as its leader, the First Lawgiver. The First consolidated his power to lead with an iron fist, and destroyed any record of his birth name - he is now referred to only by his title. Ferridon spent the next five years in a constant state of war known as the Ferridi Reclamation, seizing one colony or independent nation of southern Pelifor after another. Ultimately, the new nations borders extended from the Ferridi Highlands to the southern sands of the Lahana Desert, with only a few small neighboring countries maintaining independence.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">In the decade and a half since, Ferridon has consolidated its power - seizing the resources and infrastructure of its new territories and building upon them. The Khradi clan are the undisputed rulers of the nation in the political, military, and economic arenas alike - their ranks have grown exponentially, as anyone wanting a position of power in Ferridon seeks adoption into the clan. Citizens live day to day at the edge of martial law, with the fauffgraen (an order of thandi military police) executing dissidents and traitors in the street on a regular basis. In spite of this risk, rumors persist that numerous rebel groups and foreign spy networks operate within the nation's borders, doing what they can to resist the Khradi.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Ferridon has grown in power to rival any other human nation, expanding its military by leaps and bounds. Suspicion grows by the day that the First is ready to begin expanding his empire for the first time since the Reclamation. For now, Ferridon strikes out subtly, with Khradi operatives spread throughout the world, disrupting rival powers and spying on potential threats to the young nation. At the same time, the mad archeologists of the state-sponsored steinnenanchwaan dig for the most dangerous relics of the ancient worlds to no good end. If given the chance, the Khradi regime will plunge the world of AEthrem into a war the likes of which it has never seen. The question, then, is what exactly are they waiting for?</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">COPYRIGHT NOTICE</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Venture! Thrilling Adventures in the World of AEthrem and its associated characters are the property of Weird Science Games, LLC, Copyright 2015.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">West End Games, OpenD6, and The D6 system are trademarks and properties of Purgatory Publishing Inc.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00767590125494134237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2489235437393897144.post-43779523091464986122015-08-21T14:30:00.000-04:002015-08-21T14:30:00.056-04:00The High Kingdom of Thassyl OR: Remnants of an Empire!<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Fridays in AEthrem returns once more! This week's episode: The High Kingdom of Thassyl!</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Thassyl's history dates back to the liberation of humanity from ghond enslavement, beginning as a city-state in northeastern Pelifor. A long line of hereditary thandi warlords used the city as a base of operations, raiding and conquering the surrounding lands. As each successive warlord handed their territory to their child, early Thassyl expanded just a bit more, and the city itself became an island of stability in a tumultuous historical period.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">The modern history of the High Kingdom begins with the Order of Establishment. As proposed by the city's merchants and craftsmen, the order suggested sweeping changes to how the territory would be governed. To appease the rapidly-growing Peloric Church and its devout adherents, who were uncomfortable with the idea thandi ruling over Thassyl, the warlord and their thandi lieutenants would be given civic and military leadership positions, while legislative and judicial authority would rest with the conclaves - bodies of non-thandi members elected by vote of the population. This would give those without pacts some oversight of the current leaders. In exchange, noble titles and rules of inheritance were established for thandi - most of whom were already passing their pact on to their firstborn children anyway - with the position of warlord becoming that of the High King or Queen. The Order of Establishment recognized pacts as a special burden personally granted to the nobility by Pelorus the Crafter, securing their power base and outlawing rogue thandi in a single stroke.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">As the High Kingdom of Thassyl, the new nation expanded even further in power. The laws of inheritance eliminated most of the infighting over changes in leadership, and trade prospered in the resulting stability. Random raiding gave way to more organized military action, and the High Kingdom became a serious threat to neighbors which had previously only dealt with limited, sporadic raids from its lands. Noble military leaders began establishing the wesheni orders - elite units of battle-trained noble thandi that became the most feared opponents in their time.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Thassylian diplomats were the first humans to establish relations with the native acilon of the Sillindri Wildlands, to the east of the High Kingdom. They enabled the signing of the passage agreement, creating the only overland route to the Valerican subcontinent. This route was immesurably safer than travelling to the subcontinent by sea, and while Thassyl was not allowed to claim any territory within the Wildlands, their control of the western terminus of the route ensured a constant stream of taxes for those returning from the Valerican colonies in the east.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">For nearly two centuries following the conquest of the neighboring Kingdom of Exelos, Thassyl became the dominant world power, with the High King taking on the title of Emperor. Its occupied territories and colonies gave Thassyl more territory than any human nation before or since, and rival even the holdings of the ancient ghond civilization.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Unfortunately, this height was unsustainable. The Empire eventually pushed its borders too far, and citizens in many of its colonies and occupied territories rose up against its local representatives. Constant fighting on multiple fronts exhausted even the Empire's colossal reserves. In the end, only a slightly-expanded High Kingdom of loyal territories remained, along with a patchwork of new and resurgent nations.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Today, Thassyl's former global prominence has left it as a center of culture, politics, and learning in the civilized world. Many businesses and causes headquartered themselves within the city of Thassyl itself during the height of the Empire, and still remain there to this day. Likewise, the foremost universities in the world lie within Thassyl's borders, and the Royal Museum is the foremost repository of archaeological relics in the world. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">With the loss of their former territories, courtly politics among the noble families has turned particularly vicious - unfortunate outsiders a likely to find themselves pawns in a generations-long game between two or more families. While the wesheni still exist, many of their orders have turned from martial pursuits to the fields of politics or business. Those nobles without a pact often find their own manipulative niche in the High Kingdom's infamous diplomatic corps, maneuvering events in the outside world for their nation's greatest advantage.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">While a shandow of its former self, most of the citizens of the High Kingdom remember its glory days, and fervently await their nations return to power.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">COPYRIGHT NOTICE</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Venture! Thrilling Adventures in the World of AEthrem and its associated characters are the property of Weird Science Games, LLC, Copyright 2015.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">West End Games, OpenD6, and The D6 system are trademarks and properties of Purgatory Publishing Inc.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00767590125494134237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2489235437393897144.post-60305316515618922472015-08-14T14:30:00.000-04:002015-08-14T14:30:00.933-04:00Ss'ra OR Ancient Marvels of the Lost Reptilian Civilization!<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">It's time for another exciting installment of Fridays in AEthrem! This week's episode - ss'ra: ancient engineers or future foes?!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">In the modern day, ss'ra seem a small threat to all but the lone and helpless explorer. Standing only about a meter tall, with a typical understanding of only the most basic of technology, members of this scaly species exist in small tribes or clans far from human populations, engaging in regular skirmishes with outside groups of their own people. Ss'ra populations can be found scattered over nearly half the globe, some friendly to humans, others vehemently hostile to outsiders.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">How could such a species once have controlled half the world, and rivaled the ghond culture as a world power, as archaeological evidence indicates? The secret to their former strength lies in a unique quality of the ss'ra: while an individual ss'ra is not particularly intelligent by human standards, they have the uncanny ability to share thoughts an knowledge with other nearby ss'ra. As a communal population of their species grows in size, so too does their individual mental faculties and their capacity for innovation.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">During the time of their conflict with the ghond, the entire ss'ra species was apparently linked as a single culture. From their shared knowledge, they had engineered technologies far beyond the capabilities of modern human society. Artifacts and legends speak of light and sound being harnessed by the ss'ra of that time to provide communication, defense, and to power transports and other fantastic machines. While some of these tales are certainly misrepresented or outright fabrications, relics recovered from the ruins of that civilization have inspired the creators of modern technologies, such as radio broadcasting and the airplane.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">This golden age for the ss'ra came crashing down with the final strike of the ghond. Few historical records remain of the alleged thandi act that destroyed the unified ss'ra culture, but its impact was clear - the once connected, singular population was fragmented into myriad small enclaves. These smaller groups lacked the knowledge of how their species once remained connected over long distances, keeping each cluster of ss'ra isolated. However, another oddity of the ss'ra mind was their real undoing.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">While individual members of the ss'ra species incorporate into the shared thoughts of an established group easily, it appears that established groups cannot connect with other communities of the species. It is possible that each group functions slightly differently, and they cannot "talk" to others. Ss'ra who have worked with humans have problems explaining the experience (as they do when describing most complex things verbally), but have compared it to hearing incomprehensible gibberish or radio static when foreign ss'ra are nearby.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">The smallest communities of ss'ra are incapable of understanding this effect, but very easily determine that eliminating rival groups of nearby ss'ra stops the irritant. This has led to the current stagnation in ss'ra culture - as a group of their species grows in number, so too does the area over which they can be "heard" by others. Any enclave sufficiently large enough to form the foundation of a new unified culture inevitably draws the ire of numerous smaller gatherings of their species as they expand, and are worn down in unwanted skirmishes over a period of years.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Rumors still persist of closed communities of ss'ra in isolated areas, remnants of the former civilization with technology still far beyond modern human innovation, who have yet to be broken into small, squabbling tribal communities. Some stories claim that these lost ss'ra are simply building their power until they can reemerge whole into the modern world, the rival of every human nation across the globe. Others tell that they are already actively opposing human civilization in secret, quietly organizing their people and preparing for a lightning strike before the humans can counterattack with whatever power the ghond once used to fragment the ss'ra in antiquity.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Archaeologists and treasure hunters alike have found no true proof of these tall tales, but they still seek out the ruins of the ancient ss'ra culture. A well-preserved find could provide invaluable historical information or be the hiding place for a plethora of devices large and small, any of which an inventor's guild would gladly provide a small fortune to acquire. A researcher or an entire venture company could retire on a single discovery like that, if either were likely to ever actually give up their world-hopping careers.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">COPYRIGHT NOTICE</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Venture! Thrilling Adventures in the World of AEthrem and its associated characters are the property of Weird Science Games, LLC, Copyright 2015.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">West End Games, OpenD6, and The D6 system are trademarks and properties of Purgatory Publishing Inc.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00767590125494134237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2489235437393897144.post-8974276631931724872015-08-07T14:30:00.000-04:002015-08-07T14:30:01.402-04:00Ghond OR: The Terror From Below!<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Daring devourers of dangerous data of the world of AEthrem - prepare yourselves! Fridays in AEthrem has returned with grim tidings from the very ground beneath your feet! We're speaking of the ever-present boogeyman of human societies, lurking in forgotten ruins and deep caverns - ghond!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">In ancient times, before humans had mastered writing or agriculture, ghonds lived as a unified species and culture, dominating nearly half the world. They covered the landmasses of Pelifor and Otaru in their colossal stone cities. Members of their species were the first to form pacts with ryn, making ghonds the first thandi in AEthrem.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Early humans could not compete against the advanced ghond society, and their early hunter-gather tribes were forced to the wildernesses of the world or bound in servitude to ghond masters. If modern archaeologists are correct, ghond civilization flourished for over three centuries on the backs of human laborers. However, their rapidly-growing culture came into sudden decline following its first encounter with the reptilian ss'ra.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">The ss'ra were expanding into new lands just as the ghond civilization was growing into the same regions itself, and had technological marvels that the ghonds could only dream of. (Marvels, dear reader, that we will read about in the next thrilling installment!) The two species almost immediately began conflicts over vital resources necessary for their respective new settlements. Over the course of a century, these early skirmishes blossomed into a massive and devastating war.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">In the end, the ghond population had been reduced to a tiny fraction of its former size. Early human legends claim that a desperate, powerful ghond thandi made a terrible bargain with their ryn, fragmenting the communal society of the ss'ra beyond repair through arcane means. As a sacrifice worthy of this act, central Pelifor, once a fertile land and the core of the ancient ghond civilization, rapidly shifted into the arid Lahana Desert as it exists today. While modern scientists scoff at this as superstition, a rapid change in the local climate did occur (whether natural or mystical), and devastated the ghond culture even further.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Reeling from war and disaster, the ghond were no match for an uprising among their human slaves. Ghonds had been using humans to bolster their waning forces in battles against the ss'ra for decades, and human veterans shared their knowledge of fighting and tactics with others on their return home. Local rebellions turned into regional movements of liberation, with humans easily outnumbering the weakened ghonds.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Humans eventually claimed the surface world for themselves, while the ghond that did survive the human retribution were forced underground, besieged in the underground storehouses of their cities. Those in the core cities fared the best, as the surrounding land turned inhospitable prevented vengeful human armies from prolonged sieges. In time, these survivors expanded their tunnels into the store rooms and caverns in neighboring cities, contacting other remaining ghond survivors.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">As the human population exploded on the surface, flourishing in the wake of their former masters' departure, ghonds slowly rebuilt some semblance of their former glory underground. They now dwell in a warren of natural and hand-carved caverns, living a harsh life under the Boudon, a caste of philosopher-priests. For centuries, the leaders of their new, subterranean society have kept one goal in mind - retaking the surface world from the human usurpers.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Luckily, human civilization and technology advanced by leaps and bounds while the ghond culture was still rebuilding. They are no match for humans in weaponry (most still use spears, bows, or scavenged human rifles) or numbers (the limited resources underground prevent much population growth). Instead, they have had to express their hatred indirectly - striking out at targets of opportunity or subtly manipulating things within human society to their advantage. Many of the worst disasters in human history are supposedly the work of a ghond thandi agent, or a human pact-bearer trained by one, according to paranoid gossip.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Actual encounters with ghond are rare, and mostly limited to archaeological expeditions below their ancient cities deep in the Lahana Desert. The few accounts on record describe them as tall and lanky by human standards, with lantern-like faces and large, black, pupilless eyes. The ages spent underground have left the hairless bodies of the ghond with a pallid complexion, and they wear hand-woven headdresses and body wraps for warmth in their subterranean environment.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">COPYRIGHT NOTICE</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Venture! Thrilling Adventures in the World of AEthrem and its associated characters are the property of Weird Science Games, LLC, Copyright 2015.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">West End Games, OpenD6, and The D6 system are trademarks and properties of Purgatory Publishing Inc.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00767590125494134237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2489235437393897144.post-91348745736070280412015-08-04T14:30:00.000-04:002015-08-04T14:30:00.940-04:00Design Philosophy - Advantages and DisadvantagesWelcome to our first post on design philosophy, where we'll be talking about the choices made in creating the rules and setting for Venture! Unlike Fridays in AEthrem, these posts will appear irregularly, as topics present themselves and time permits.<br />
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In this post, we'll be discussing Advantages and Disadvantages. These are a staple character option in many systems (although some will use alternate terms for them, such as Benefits and Afflictions, Boons and Hindrances, Traits, Qualities, and so on), giving options to advantage and disadvantage characters in small ways. Advantages and Disadvantages are well-established and widely-accepted within tabletop RPGs, and are included within the OpenD6 rules on which Venture! is based. So, why are we talking about these today?<br />
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<b>Venture! does not include Advantages and Disadvantages within its core rules.</b><br />
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Now, please give us a chance to explain this before firing up your torches or running for the nearest pitchfork. We love advantages and disadvantages. They are one of the most reliable options to tweak your player character to be just the way you want it to be, on top of encouraging roleplaying of characters at the table - since many disadvantages introduce character faults or limitations to be portrayed at the table (such as with Devotion or Prejudice in OpenD6), or story elements (such as Employed or Infamy).<br />
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However, we feel that Advantages and Disadvantages best serve the game as an optional rule. While many games now include these within their core rules, if you look back about twenty years or so (around the height of the D6 system) you will see that it was very common to include Advantages and Disadvantages within a rules supplement or compendium as one of several options that players and game masters could choose to include in their games. We believe this has several benefits:<br />
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1) <b>Ease of access.</b><br />
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Although Advantages and Disadvantages may be a good and useful part of the rules, they are still additional things to be aware of within the game system. The game master must take time to be aware of their effect in the game system, and the players must be aware of the function of those they've chosen and when they apply in the game. This also calls on the issue of system mastery, where an experienced player (or just one that is better at optimizing characters) would know to make a character with Advantage X, making their character superior at Skill or action Y than any other character that neglected to do so. For a new player, it can be disheartening to be outdone by another player character due to a simple lack of familiarity with the rules.<br />
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<b>2) Speeding up character creation.</b><br />
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This is tied to ease of access somewhat. In our experience, character creation for a player new to any system goes fairly easily and quickly, except for two standard steps: selecting Advantages and Disadvantages and purchasing equipment. Why is this? Because in both of these steps, the player needs to look through a large list of options, weigh them, and select only a few that are appropriate for their character. If the player wants to make the "best" character they can, they will want to spend quite some time in these steps. This slows things down in even the most comprehensive systems, but in OpenD6, with its otherwise rapid character creation, it can be similar to hitting a brick wall.<br />
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<b>3) Avoiding default use.</b><br />
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By including Advantages and Disadvantages in the core rules, you are assuming default use. If the game master doesn't want to use these rules (such as for the above reasons), they will have to point this out to their players, and this may involve revising already-completed characters in cases where a player creates their character without the GM's involvement. ("But it says here: 'select Advantages and Disadvantages'.") This isn't a huge concern, but if these are provided as an optional rule, the players typically feel more positive about their lack of inclusion.<br />
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<b>4) Organization and page count. </b><br />
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This is primarily a concern just on our end of things. If we wanted to include Advantages and Disadvantages, we could either include all of those we want to include in Venture! or just the most common or representative ones, providing others in a supplemental book. Including everything uses up a big chunk of the core rulebook's precious page count (would those 20 pages be better served with setting details?), while splitting them between the core rules and a supplement can complicate referencing rules for these at the table ("What book was that in, again?") and still use up page count (although much less).<br />
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So, we will most likely be including Advantages and Disadvantages in Venture! at some point, contained within an optional rules supplement. This simplifies things for both us and for new players, and frees up space within the book for more setting details, which are really the draw of the game (as the majority of its rules system is freely and publicly available online). There were pros and cons to consider when coming to this ultimate decision, but we feel that it best served the style of game we wanted to create to proceed in this way.</div>
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Agree? Disagree? Have a question? Leave a comment below!</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">COPYRIGHT NOTICE</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Venture! Thrilling Adventures in the World of AEthrem and its associated characters are the property of Weird Science Games, LLC, Copyright 2015.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">West End Games, OpenD6, and The D6 system are trademarks and properties of Purgatory Publishing Inc.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00767590125494134237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2489235437393897144.post-75911062530072912912015-07-31T14:30:00.000-04:002015-07-31T14:30:00.051-04:00The Mystical Thandi OR: the Power to Cloud Men's Minds!Faithful followers, prepare yourselves for another titillating installment of Fridays in AEthrem! Turn your secret decoder rings to setting six, because in this special Gen Con weekend post, we're delving into the mystical powers available to characters in Venture!<br />
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In AEthrem, those that call on supernatural powers are known as thandi. They are not born with these abilities, nor can they be gained through study alone. No, each and every potential thandi can become one only by making a pact with an incorporeal spirit - referred to as a ryn. Numerous ryn exist in the world, but only a few agree to forming pacts. Each ryn is as unique as any other character, and their pacts are just as unique. While some thandi track down their ryn and convince them to form a pact, others enter into an agreement with the capricious entities when randomly encountering them, while still others become thandi due to some pattern the ryn itself follows - such forming pacts with the successive members of a human family.<br />
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The benefits granted by a pact are subtle powers - thandi do not hurl fireballs or raise skeletons from the grave. Instead, a thandi may have the ability to sneak past observers without being noticed, to fight with the strength of ten normal individuals, or to influence others with hypnotic suggestions, among other talents. This is not to say that the abilities of a thandi are insignificant - powerful pact-bearers have survived falls from skyscrapers with little injury, perceived things no normal mortal could have noticed, and moved through battlefields as nearly-unstoppable blurs of steel.<br />
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Pacts are not without their costs, however. Every use of their powers weakens the spirit of a thandi and strengthens their ryn through their shared bond. Eventually, even the most prepared thandi is pushed to their limit, unable to call upon their talents further. The pact itself also bears a terrible cost - requiring a sacrifice from the new thandi to first form the pact, and further sacrifices as its powers develop. The nature of these sacrifices are ultimately up to ryn itself. Lucky thandi might be able to proceed by giving up a portion of their own blood, or by agreeing to perform specific actions for their ryn in the physical world. More than one villainous thandi in history has agreed to malicious acts, up to human sacrifice in the worst cases, in search of more power.<br />
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Just calling upon the powers of a pact is not without a risk. The thandi channels the power and essence of their ryn through their own bodies when using one of their abilities. If their will falters at the wrong moment, the entity can pour in, possessing the thandi's body for a time. Even the most benevolent ryn has no qualms about taking over a body, and they seem to find the experience of having a physical form euphoric - almost intoxicating. Unfortunately, they also have no real understanding of how the human body is affected by things in the physical world, and risk harming the thandi or innocent bystanders through no ill will of their own. If the thandi is lucky, the ryn might simply violate several social mores while in residence, leaving them with much to account for once they regain control.<br />
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Thandi find varying degrees of acceptance within society. While they are openly outlawed in some nations, in others they might be accepted only within certain social circles. In Valerica, the Bureau of Esoteric Registration and Management requires registration for all thandi within the nation - and keeps a staff of thandi agents on hand to investigate crimes where a pact has been used and to pursue criminal thandi. Even in the most accepting locations, many find thandi and ryn unnerving, and official Church doctrine decries their powers as unnatural, casting ryn as agents of chaos - working to unmake the world Pelorus created.<br />
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Player characters may choose to be thandi - gaining invaluable abilities to help them succeed as a member of a venture company. They must walk a treacherous path to do so: risking becoming a social pariah, possibly loosing control of their own bodies with every use of their powers, and agreeing to ever worsening sacrifices for more power. Many are tortured souls, but they are bolstered along by the good they've accomplished through their rare talents.<br />
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Regarding thandi, one should also consider the old legends about those who lost themselves in a pact after sacrificing too much in pursuit of power. These corrupted thandi are said to have become something strange and unnatural after completely losing control of themselves. Of course, there couldn't be any truth to these old monster stories...<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">COPYRIGHT NOTICE</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Venture! Thrilling Adventures in the World of AEthrem and its associated characters are the property of Weird Science Games, LLC, Copyright 2015.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">West End Games, OpenD6, and The D6 system are trademarks and properties of Purgatory Publishing Inc.</span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00767590125494134237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2489235437393897144.post-176730650428392822015-07-24T14:30:00.000-04:002015-07-24T14:30:01.042-04:00SCIENCE! OR: Where Are My Rocket Pack and Death Ray?!Welcome back to Fridays in AEthrem, intrepid explorers of the unknown! Today, we'll be talking about the engine that powers human society in AEthrem - science and technology.<br />
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While not the most technologically-advanced species to ever inhabit the world, humans in AEthrem have advanced quickly from their primitive beginnings. In just over 1,500 years, they've gone from using stone weapons to constructing airplanes. New advancements are made every day, and lauded in research journals and newsreel footage alike.<br />
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For most of human history, the Peloric Church was the driving force behind research and innovation. Established to support the followers of Pelorus the Crafter and study the divine workings of the world, the Church has sponsored countless researchers and engineers throughout the years. World leaders wanting the latest advancements for their grand works have long been forced to pay lip service to the church and make sometimes exorbitant donations to its priesthood - all serving to slowly push other faiths to the fringes of human society.<br />
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Today, the Church is well-established, with Cathedrals in most major cities and smaller houses of the faith in virtually every significant settlement. In addition to functioning as centers of worship, anyone can come to their local church for a variety of services - repairs and maintenance of machinery are provided by the members of the Order of Priest-Technician for the price of a small donation, as are telegraphing services. Those needing more complex assistance can employ those belonging to the Order of Priest-Engineer, who undertake the design of new devices and most larger public works projects, such as bridges, dams, and power generators.<br />
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In spite of its central role in society, the Peloric Church has been falling behind the cutting edge in technology in recent years. Private businesses have taken the lead by offering greater creative and personal freedoms for prospective inventors over the church, and edging into areas that the church has traditionally avoided becoming too involved with - such as weaponry. Inventors guilds and modern industries are experiencing a boom as a result, with all the expected infighting and backstabbing. While some push for a lead by hiring away their rivals' best and brightest, others aren't above resulting to more nefarious practices - such as mudslinging or corporate espionage and sabotage.<br />
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Transportation, entertainment, and communication are all undergoing huge changes in the modern day. Trade and travel has been facilitated by the rigid airship, with any community of note providing a dock for the vessels, while the airplane has caught the world's imagination - a machine controlled by courageous explorers, daring racers, and steel-willed combatants alike. The film industry is in full swing, and nightly radio broadcasts provide entertainment at home - both industries are home to a whole sky of rising stars, some willing to risk anything to make their name. While the Church's telegraphs can still reach almost every corner of the globe, the telephone has been implemented for a few decades, providing service to all but the most rural areas - although air mail can provide contact for even those in the deepest wildernesses.<br />
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Even these advances are not enough for some - those with the imagination and drive for it work tirelessly to design entirely new creations - personal rocket packs for flying through the air, electrical death rays for revolutionizing the military, even robots - tireless mechanical persons capable of carrying out simple tasks. Actually implementing these inventions on a wide scale is a huge challenge for industry - many are still not reliable or affordable enough for the mass market.<br />
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Until they become publicly available, fringe scientists and engineers construct and test prototypes of their latest inventions. Just building a device can be a huge undertaking, sometimes requiring rare and exotic components from across the globe. Reliability for these unproven inventions is also a huge concern - more than one wild-eyed young researcher has perished when their creation detonated in a huge fireball and a cloud of shrapnel, and even somewhat reliable devices require regular care, maintenance, and re-calibration to keep in working order.<br />
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So, yes, of course you can build a rocket pack and a death ray. It just might require a trip to the deepest jungle in search of rare gems and some tropical tree resin. Try not to explode, if you can help it.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">COPYRIGHT NOTICE</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Venture! Thrilling Adventures in the World of AEthrem and its associated characters are the property of Weird Science Games, LLC, Copyright 2015.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">West End Games, OpenD6, and The D6 system are trademarks and properties of Purgatory Publishing Inc.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00767590125494134237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2489235437393897144.post-12403861794252720162015-07-17T14:30:00.000-04:002015-07-17T14:30:01.634-04:00Venture Companies - the Venture in Venture! OR: Meet the Staff of the Southern Star Company<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">This is our first post in the "Fridays in AEthrem" series, where we'll be detailing another facet of Venture!'s setting each week, time permitting. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Today, we're writing about venture companies, which play a big role in the world of AEthrem.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Venture companies first appeared during the colonial expansion into territories now belonging to modern-day Valerica. From their earliest days, venture companies were hired for the most dangerous work: exploring new territories, providing security for settlers or companies, or investigating mysteries on the frontier, where the government could provide little support. Their employees earned a reputation as hardy trailblazers and courageous fighters, and venture companies have had a part to play in many major historical events.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">In the modern day, venture companies are still hired for risky endeavors. Although colonial expansion is a thing of the past, they are still considered the best option for academic expeditions to remote or hostile areas. Security is still a common job role for venture companies, and they might be hired on as extra guards in extreme circumstances or serve a more active role, such as hunting down pirates or other criminals in a region. Venture companies also provide private investigation services, much like a detective agency, but with a more diverse skill set.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Licensing is required for a venture company to legally operate. This provides some accountability for these businesses, and reduces the risk for those looking to hire them. Any venture company with a history of unsavory dealings or too many official complaints filed against them can have their license revoked at an annual review, so companies or employees engaging in bad business or getting in too much trouble with law enforcement do get closed down rather quickly. Licensing also offers these businesses certain advantages: the right to arm their employees, legal sanction to engage in private investigation and bounty hunting, and the immediate trust a well-established venture company can receive from potential clients.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Venture companies within the setting provide a ready-made reason for groups of player characters to exist. They tend to attract outcasts as employees, and have a need for a diverse set of skills and backgrounds. Tales of excitement and danger are part of the daily operation of these companies, providing a quick way to involve the player characters (as the staff) in any variety of stories. Planning an archaeological expedition deep in the jungle? Hire a venture company. Trying to track down the base of the sky pirates that have been raiding your shipping line? Hire a venture company. Stumped trying to solve a series of strange murders in the city? Hire a venture company.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">We're going to close this post by looking at a sample venture company and its staff. The Southern Star Company is used as an example player group throughout the core rules, and shows what a typical group of player characters might look like in Venture!</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">The Southern Star Company is a newly-established venture company, based out of Koriden City. Its founder, Nell Carten, is still trying to build up the Southern Star's client base and reputation. Currently, she is taking on any job she can find, putting the young company front and center in one risky endeavor after another and providing just enough to pay the rent on the company's downtown office.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Nell Carten is a Koriden City native, raised in the dockside neighborhood alongside the Beglif twins. From a young age, she yearned to see the world, and learned to fly from her mother while listening to stories of the woman's experiences as an airship escort pilot for Dursmann Industries. As an adult, though, the limited route of an escort pilot wasn't enough for Nell, and she signed up with the Condracean Grey Legion to travel abroad at the earliest opportunity. Service in the Legion was dangerous, but it taught her to how to handle herself in a firefight and gave Nell the chance meet Bronnan during the evacuation of Ederif. Nell still despises the Ferridi after fighting their ruthless soldiers for every inch of that colony as the Legion fell back. While Nell technically earned her Condracean citizenship following her tour of duty, she's avoided that unstable nation, instead investing her pay by founding the Southern Star Company in her home city.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Tren Beglif is Lida's twin sister, born in Koriden City to Exelosian immigrants. He's never been able to stomach common work - not that anyone has been able to tolerate him as an employee for long. Instead, Tren has made a living off his wits and loose morals, running cons and gambling. The latter has earned him a huge debt to Blind Antali, a Kierre with the local Gavierna. After receiving his latest beating at the mobster's hands, Lida forced Tren to sign up with the new company of their childhood friend, Nell Carten. Tren resents his younger sister (by seven whole minutes) ordering him into the job, but he genuinely enjoys his work with the Southern Star Company, and his social talents there might finally get him out of the hole he's dug with Blind Antali.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Lida Beglif is the moral compass for her twin brother, Tren. While he was off getting into trouble with the local criminals, she joined the priesthood, becoming a member of the Peloric Church's Order of Technicians. Lida loved working with machines and helping the communities she visited as a part of her duties, but felt forced to take a temporary sabbatical upon hearing of her brother's latest run-in with the Gavierna. She has kept in touch with Nell Carten over the years, and agreed to sign on as a mechanic for the Southern Star Company provided Nell also hired Tren. Lida is very personable, like her brother, but lacks his duplicitous nature. She also tends to act like she knows whats best for everyone in the company, especially her twin brother.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Bronnan Mieriton has the official title of Duke of Aredral, a duchy in Thassyl. He gained the title upon his father's death, along with a stranger inheritance: a thandi pact handed down to the firstborn son of the Duke of Aredral for seven generations. Bronnan wants nothing to do with the scheming of the Thassylian nobility, and left his home country to travel the world just after being named Duke. Since then, he has mostly squandered his money and his mystic talents with a purely hedonistic existence. His story would have ended in tragedy when he was cornered by Ferridi troops during the evacuation of Ederif, if not for the timely arrival of Nell Carten. Since then, he has felt a debt to Nell for his life, and was the first to sign on with her new venture company when she decided to found it. Quint, the ryn holding Bronnan's pact, loves travel and new experiences, reveling in them with a childish glee - apparently it was kept on a tight leash by Bronnan's predecessors, and Quint wants to make up for lost time. Bronnan tolerates Quint </span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">stoically, though their personalities clash, the ryn grants the wayward noble with the ability to sneak past others without detection and makes him deadly in a fistfight.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">COPYRIGHT NOTICE</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Venture! Thrilling Adventures in the World of AEthrem and its associated characters are the property of Weird Science Games, LLC, Copyright 2015.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">West End Games, OpenD6, and The D6 system are trademarks and properties of Purgatory Publishing Inc.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00767590125494134237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2489235437393897144.post-32054427702291396892015-07-16T14:30:00.000-04:002015-07-16T14:30:00.815-04:00Here Comes Venture! OR: Diesel-Pulp Fantasy?!Our first game, Venture! (or Venture! Thrilling Adventures in the World of AEthrem, if you want to be formal about it), is currently undergoing editing, and we expect to have it completed in early 2016. We’ll be posting some previews here, as well as progress updates as we ramp up to Venture!’s release, but to start out with, let’s just dive into the big picture of what Venture! is.<br />
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We’ve described Venture! as a diesel-pulp fantasy role playing game. The “role playing game” in that description is pretty straightforward – this is a tabletop role playing game, where a group of players get together at the table to act out roles as characters and create a story together. But what about “diesel-pulp fantasy”, then?<br />
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AEthrem is a fictional, fantastic world that serves as the setting and backdrop for games of Venture! It draws from action-adventure pulp novels and comics, as well as film serials from the diesel era:<br />
predominantly the 1920s-1930s. From its inception, AEthrem was conceived of as a place where<br />
archaeologist-adventurers, mystical vigilantes, weird scientists, and ace pilots could get together and<br />
thwart the plans of vile fascists, surly mobsters, sky pirates, and mad cultists. Of course, these exploits would involve occult relics, dangerous new inventions, mystery, and as much action as we could cram into the world.<br />
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That covers the setting in broad strokes, but what about the rules? We’re using the OpenD6 System as the basis for Venture!’s rules. This game system was originally developed by West End Games, most famously for their licensed film RPG adaptations. If you’re not familiar with it, OpenD6 is nothing to be intimidated by – it’s a quick-playing, easy-to-learn game system great for new and experienced gamers alike. We’ve modified the OpenD6 rules to optimize Venture! for rapid, thrilling gameplay (and just might have added a few things specific to the world of AEthrem along the way).<br />
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Right now, we’ve already completed writing for the Venture! core rulebook. Our crack editing team is hard at work reviewing the manuscript for its final revisions. After that, we just need to get things<br />
presentable: that means layout and art. While we’re waiting on all that, though, we’re going to be<br />
sharing bits and pieces of the Venture! to come here.<br />
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COPYRIGHT NOTICE<br />
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Venture! Thrilling Adventures in the World of AEthrem and its associated characters are the property of Weird Science Games, LLC, Copyright 2015.<br />
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West End Games, OpenD6, and The D6 system are trademarks and properties of Purgatory Publishing Inc.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00767590125494134237noreply@blogger.com0