The City of Jalizar, the Rotten Flower of the Northern
Empire, has fallen under the rule of Par the Horrific, a red hand and savage
barbarian. Despite the iron handed rule of the bloody tyrant, Jalizar is still
a city of opportunity where a fortune can be made (and lost) if you are bold
enough. However, beware the dangers. If the city guard were not dangerous
enough, the city is infested with thieves, demon worshipers, cutthroats,
mercenaries and evil sorcerers. The Gods worshiped in the city, if they exist
at all, can't be counted on. They only thing that you can trust is the steel in
your hands and your own skills.
If you have followed this blog, then you know that I love
Beasts and Barbarians and I love Crypts and Things so I decided that I would
run Crypts and Things in the world of Beasts and Barbarians. Specifically this new campaign will take
place in my own version of Jalizar, the City of Thieves. I have three players. Kevin will be playing the part of Chantel, a
barbarian woman of the north. Brandon
will be playing Khale Roley III, a magician that primarily, at least so far,
has stayed away from black magic. Matt
will be playing Raelic, a thief and capable warrior who has been marked by
darkness.
I started this campaign the same way that I started the last
Crypts and Things campaign: I have the players
play characters that were doomed from the very beginning to introduce them to Crypts
and Things system and the narrative of the campaign. The introduction also introduced the players
to forces of evil and darkness that are simmering just under the streets of the
city…..
Kevin, Matt and Brandon played three mercenaries hired by
the merchant Yagha to guard him while he made a delivery in one of the more
unsavory parts of the city. Like so many
D&D games (well, technically this is C&T but I call all tabletop
fantasy RGPs that use a 20 sided diced and have saving throws and armor class “D&D”),
this one starts out in a tavern. The
mercenaries are checking their weapons and adjusting their armor while a bard
sings a song lamenting the fall and the betrayal of good King Euedun at the
hands of his blood thirsty General, Par the Horrific. The song cursed Par for betraying the city’s
rightful ruler and forcing King Euedun’s daughter Ninga into marriage in a vain
attempt at legitimizing his unlawful rule.
Finally Yagha arrives and the mercenaries can earn their coin and be
done with this strange business.
Yagha leads the mercenaries into a part of the city aptly
named The Rat’s Nest near the part of Jalizar that collapsed into the ocean
after an earth quake. Also with him are
cloaked servants carrying the trade goods.
Really little better than slaves but Par the Horrific had banded slavery
from the city upon seizing power. The
mercenaries reason that the goods must be illegal items otherwise Yagha would
not need their swords. Nor would the
business need be conducted at night. One
of the servants opens a grate and now the party descends into the catacombs. One of the mercenaries realizes that the
cloaked servants do not seem to require torch light….
The mercenaries, the merchant and the servants walk in the
catacombs until they reach a stone door with strange markings and symbols. The markings on the door seem to move and
slither if you stare at them for a moment or two. The door opens into a room with a robed
figure which greats the group.
The robed figure offers Yagha boxes full of gold items,
items that take the shape of unearthly and twisted things. The mercenaries find them hard to look
upon. Yagha has his servants offer the
robed figure a long, flat box. With
their business concluded, Yagha gestures towards the mercenaries. “As per our agreement, here are the three
offerings that you were promised as well.”
The robed figure removes his hood, revealing a creature out of a nightmare. The horrid creature has slimy green/grey
skin, claws and dead fish eyes. Although
the mercenaries are terrified (at least one of them failed their sanity roll)
they draw their weapons and attack.
Yagha’ features shift into a serpent like creature. One of the mercenaries is bitten and falls to
the ground. The fish man makes a gesture
and one of the mercenaries is turned to stone. The final mercenary is beaten into submission.
 |
| A Serpent Man and a Deep One priest! |
The mercenaries awake to find themselves strapped to a slimy
stone alter. Green flames burst around
them, revealing the massive stone idol to a twisted, tentacled and inhuman
god. One of the mercenaries succumbs to madness
and becomes a giggling wretch. The
second one is barely lucid. Only one of
them is still sane enough to realize his fate as the robed fish man raises his sacrificial
blade and declares that Jalizar will fall….
This is the end part on of the first session of my new
Crypts and Things campaign.
You can pickup Jalizar City of Thieves here: http://www.rpgnow.com/product/109576/Jalizar-City-of-Thieves
It is a great product and I highly recommend it.
