Nuwmont 8, 998 AC:

Perhaps three heartbeats passed, and there was a brilliant green flash from the cart. I blinked against the sudden glare, and caught my breath. The column of water stood, frozen solid, ice riming the spout and edges of the tank.

Careers of Thorn's Blackmoor: The Free Agent

Free Agent Careers

The hero with high Dexterity and Will is best suited to the Free Agent profession. These are the independent operatives of the Empire: the covert agents, troubleshooters.

Nuwmont 8, 998 AC: Tenser's Transformation

Aurora shot her sister another withering glare.

“Release me,” she said.

“Nieah!” Silva said, with a shake of her head.

Now Available at the Vaults

Shawn has caught up to me in his updates, and I have provided him with the latest "version" (1.6) of module TC1. If you have previously downloaded it from here, the newer version has some spelling, formatting, and game mechanic fixes, as well as a teaser for module TC2: "The Stone and the Maidens."

Have you played it? Has your DM subjected you to it? Let me know your experiences with the module, so I can keep improving it.

Careers of Thorn's Blackmoor: The Diplomat

Continuing the series on possible careers in Thorn's World That Was in the Late Imperium, here are some ideas for those playing Diplomat heroes.

The skill point costs may look fairly frugal, but remember that Diplomats must also spend for skills in their secondary profession.

Careers of Thorn's Blackmoor: The Combat Specialist

One of the players asked for some information on how the various classes “fit” into the ‘modern’ Imperial society… but as we are using the Alternity Science Fiction Roleplaying Game, the idea of “class” is sketchy at best, and downright muddy if you want to try drawing direct parallels between it and (A)D&D.

Nuwmont 8, 998 AC: Lightning and Iron

The shaking, flickering light from the lantern illuminated the ground ahead, and it was clear that the rails did, indeed, turn to the right, following a curve in the tunnel. Turn through the metal path did, it still felt as if my body wanted to carry in a straight line, and the invisible hand Gilliam mentioned pressed relentlessly the more the metal-wheeled carriage tried to follow the turn.

Thorn's Blackmoor: Filling Gaps

Five years. It doesn’t seem like a very long time, but in the case of a prolonged and ongoing writing project, it seems… endless. Thorn’s Chronicle has only spanned a matter of months. The adventures of the Handmaidens, not even a week. (Well, two thousand years and a week.) Likewise, the action of the first two acts of the Throne of Stars campaign.

Nuwmont 8, 998 AC: The Iron Road

“Never mind that,” Aurora snapped, as Varis and GIlliam made to haul themselves up onto the driver’s bench along the front of the coach. “Just sit down here with the rest of them.”

Magitech of Thorn's World That Was: The S.H.A.D.E. and the i.V.E.E.

The equivalent to an AI in Thorn’s Blackmoor is a S.H.A.D.E. (A Sentient Heuristic Aetheric Data Entity) Most of the time, they are invisible, intangible to those without access to the Aetherweb. 

Nuwmont 8, 998 AC: Stone and Fire

The trek through the Silent Forest was nerve-wracking. What followed was terrifying: lashed to the back of the great spiders, which then leapt from stalagmite to stalagmite, then leaping higher, into the jagged fanged forest of stalactites along the cavern’s roof, hundreds of feet above. Pysk hissed a chuckle at the cries from the group, trailing behind him, my companions bound in place across a spider’s back just as Sera and I were.

No longer sure which way “up” and “down” were, I shut my eyes and tried not to imagine what would happen if the great spider missed its hairy footing.

Happy New Year!

As this is usually the time for resolutions, I have decided to plant a few of my own here rather than simply tack them up on the wall in the office.

 

• I will finish a playtestable draft of TC2 and have TC3 at least plot-mapped.
• Thorn & company will reach Alfheim
• The Handmaidens will get out of Traladara
• The Throne of Stars play-by-post will resume, and we will conclude Acts 2 and 3. (Seats are still open at the table, if anyone is interested)
• IF there is enough interest, I may do further play-by-posts. Perhaps some playtesting TC1 or TC2?

How about the rest of you? What are your 2014 gaming-related goals?