Oliver Bernuetz
Episode 1: The Glorious Sons
Of course I remember the Glorious Sons. Forgetting them would be like forgetting family. It was in the spring when the recruiter came to Sylila. Our clan was one of those that had gone as the wind blew. Long ago we worshipped Orlanth and Ernalda but when the hunting and waltzing bands had come we had embraced our inner dragons and turned to Dragon and Scale. But when Karvanyar toppled the Golden Dragon Emperor his followers came and scoured the hills with spear and flame and we turned our faces to the Sun. Oh the rumors held that back in the deepest hollows they still followed the Wind but as close as we were to Alkoth we followed the Sun with great outward enthusiasm.The recruiter came with honeyed words speaking of the Emperor’s need. Rumor we’d heard even this far away from the front had it that the war with the Carmanian Shah was going badly. Entire armies had been destroyed and the Emperor’s need was ravenous and insatiable. The recruiter spoke of glory and reward but our land was still recovering from our redemption from the dragons and our parents smiled with their mouths not their eyes. Not even a promise of freedom from taxes during our service in the Emperor’s army was enough of an enticement. So no stout lads accompanied the recruiter when he left and we all breathed a sigh of relief.
Soon after the recruiter had left the land was badly shaken. We knew not what to make of this. Was Lodril angry at us for denying the recruiter or was it perhaps Maran Gor showing her displeasure for our wavering loyalties? No matter, as always we rebuilt and tried to resume life as normal. But then three weeks later the recruiter returned. And this time he was not alone. With him came a squad of Thunder Delta slingers. He had seen our village’s wealth of youth and deemed we were worthy of another visit.
This is the inaugural scenario in a campaign that will eventually see the taming of Votankiland. The players will begin as callow Sylilan youth and end up as the rulers of an entire region.
At this stage in their history the Sylilan are an unhappy and confused people. Long ago their ancestors were devoted followers of Orlanth and Ernalda but then the EWF sent their hunting & waltzing bands to convert them. And many did find the dragon in themselves and were happy. (Other villages among the Sylila remained Old Traditionalists in their ways). But both groups suffered once the Golden Dragon Emperor was deposed and the Dara Happans found a renewed faith. The Sylilans tell tales of the zeal with which the Dara Happans showed them the errors of their ways. Those clans that had adopted the way of the Dragon had particularly suffered hard but even the Old Way Traditionalists had to adopt at least a veneer of Solar beliefs. Now they practice a lackluster, wan version of Solar ways and chafe at what they perceive as the strictness of Solar ways but a feeling is growing that a change is coming.
Sylila is presently a peaceful land. It’s rolling and more thinly forested unlike the lands to the south or east or west. The Sylilans are at peace with their neighbors and the old traditions of cattle raiding are no longer practiced.
Culturally they are virtually identical to the Orlanthi found all over Genertela, however at present they do not worship the gods of their forefathers and mothers but instead worship members of the Solar Pantheon. As newcomers they mostly worship the deities of the third tier since many of these possess similarities to their long lost Storm Pantheon gods: Pela, Goddess of Barley; Busenari, Goddess of Cattle; Vergenari, Goddess of Pigs; and Memenari, Goddess of Motherhood are common choices. Yelmalio, son of Yelm is the most popular war-like deity.
At this point in their history this clan of Sylilans live in a palisaded village that houses the seven families that make up the entire clan. They practice farming and herding and have fairly good relations with their neighboring clans whose daughters marry into theirs. The clan is known as the Heartridge.
Character Creation
Race 
Wareran.
Languages
Theyalan, Sylilan dialect.Cultural Backgrounds
Barbarian, as per the RuneQuest Core Rulebook.Professions
Barbarian Professions, as per the RuneQuest Core Rulebook.Cultural Weapons and Combat Styles
Barbarian weapons and Combat Styles, as per the RuneQuest Core Rulebook.Magic
The Sylilans use Common Magic and begin with 6 points of Magnitude in Common Magic spells.Cults
As described above.The characters all start at the age of 14. This means that they will not receive any skill points from professions and only 200 free skill points. They will all be related as cousins or perhaps two of them are fraternal or identical twins. At the very least they are best friends.
The clan only has 330 members divided into seven families of roughly equal size. Roughly half of the clan members are adults of various ages split pretty evenly between the sexes.
(What about female characters? Because of the Solar orientation of this scenario it’s difficult but not impossible to play a female character. Obviously a girl wouldn’t go through the boys initiation into adulthood ceremony. Nor would they participate on the male side of the Spring Maid and Sun Lad race. However there’s no reason why a girl couldn’t disguise herself as a boy and go along with the draftees).
The Recruiter
The campaign starts just before Sacred Time with a celebration. The young men of the community are all set to go off on their adult initiation ceremony. (The eligible girls of the village are also preparing to go off on their initiation rite the next day). The party members had gathered at one of their homes the previous night so they could go to the ceremony together the next morning. They could barely get to sleep because of their excitement but finally they drifted off. Early the next morning they’re awoken by the sound of singing. The mother of the house has forgotten herself and she sings an old love ballad about Orlanth and Ernalda. The man of the house comes in and gently chides her for resurrecting the old days. He slaps her fondly on the rear and she slaps him and tells him to wake the boys.After a hearty breakfast (gobbled down due to their excitement) everyone troops over to the chief’s longhouse. When they reach the longhouse they find that the entire village has gathered to wish them well. People are milling around and smiling indulgently at the excited lads when suddenly a stranger arrives at the longhouse. He is obviously Dara Happan and also obviously a soldier. He warmly greets the villagers and his eyes linger especially on the soon to be young men. He introduces himself as Carpathia Three-Boots.
He addresses the gathered clan and makes a eloquent, heartfelt speech about serving the Emperor.
“People of the Empire. I greet you in the Emperor’s name, long may he reign as Yelm’s representative. Our glorious Emperor is seeking recruits to join his glorious forces to defeat the Carmanians who threaten our western borders. The Emperor needs a few good men. Who among you will sign up today and find glory?"
At this point someone at the back of the listening crowd loudly mutters,
“Glorious death."
The crowd parts to reveal a young man leaning on a crutch due to his missing left leg.
“Yes, I joined the Emperor’s army and fought the Carmanians. I found glory but seem to have carelessly lost my leg."
The villagers laugh. The recruiter smiles with his mouth, but not his eyes and replies.
“I am sorry for your loss but the need of the Empire is great. The family of any man or boy who agrees to join the army will suffer no taxes during their years of service."
This statement is greeted by a surprised muttering. The veteran Arno Grimstrap shakes his head and hobbles away. The recruiter waits to see who will step forward but doesn’t seem overly surprised when no one steps forward. Any lads who try and dart forward are restrained by their relatives. Istvan, the clan chief, steps forward.
“These lads cannot make any such decision until after they’ve gone through their initiation. Only after that they will have the ability to make such a portentous decision."
The recruiter bows his head. He lifts it and looks at the other young men who have already passed their initiation but none meet his eyes.
“Good luck with your initiation lads. Perhaps we’ll meet again."
He turns and leaves the hall.
Once he is gone there is quite a bit of muttering along the lines of “Over my dead body" and “Good riddance to bad rubbish" until the chief silences it and preparations for the initiation ceremony continue.
From Boys to Men
More traditional forms of the Orlanthi initiation ceremony to adulthood has been lost to the Heartridge Clan. It’s been replaced with a competitive camping trip. The boys are divided into two groups and sent with basic tools and weapons out into the hills near the village to fend for themselves. They’re expected to provide for themselves while playing tricks and making mock attacks on the other camp. One group is given pots of blue paint while the other group gets red paint. They can use this paint to mark the possessions or bodies of the other group. (They’re not allowed to wash it off). Their older brothers and cousins always keep an eye on them so they don’t come to any harm or starve due to their ineptness.
They have to spend the entirety of Sacred Time camping. This can be abstracted by making them roll against their Survival skill +20%. The first day have the players make a Survival roll +20%. If half of them make the roll tell them they’ve found a good campsite with shelter and water and food for that day. Ask them if they are camping out or whether they find shelter in a cave. The weather is cool but not overly so. Each day after that get them to make another roll at +20% to see if they find enough food. (The +20 reflects the fact that they know the area quite well).
If someone manages to get a critical result based on the modified result they find food for enough days equal to half their critical chance.
Example: Ger rolls a 1 against his Survival skill of 40%. Since his critical score is 6 (factoring the +20 into his base score) he manages to find enough food for three days. This means he can search for food for the others on his free days.
Feel free to abstract this somehow or reduce the number of rolls to 1 or 2 a week if you prefer.
During this time they can also make Track rolls to see if they can find the other camp. If they do so they can try and sneak into the camp to count coup as it were. Any attempt to sneak in would require a Stealth versus Perception test. If the sneaker succeeds they can put a paint mark on the camp. Keep track of the number of successful coup attacks. The group with the most marks has prime bragging rights at the celebration back in the village and can of course impress the new made women with their feats of daring. They can also try and ambush actual people and paint their faces though they’re not allowed to use deadly force of course. Anyone who ends up back at the village with a painted face will be subject to a lot of good-hearted teasing.
The first night they are camping out the groups are startled awake by the ground heaving beneath them. If they have camped outside their shelter falls on them and they become tangled in the tent. If they camped inside a cave the shaking and bits of gravel that fall on them no doubt terrifies them. Fortunately the ceiling does not fall on them nor does the entrance become covered by a slide. Interestingly both groups are camped equidistant from the cave.
Ask them what they are doing. If they can make an Athletics -20% roll they can either crawl out of the cave or get themselves untangled from the tent. The shaking does not stop for quite a while. Once the shaking subsides the group will notice that there is light coming from a nearby hillside. The light is quite strong and obviously magical in origin.
In the Cave
Inside, the once-dark cave is brightly lit. The light seems to be coming from the back of the cave. Anyone who investigates will notice that the recent quake seems to have broken down a false wall that hid an inner chamber. Inside the chamber the party will discover a bier. On top of the bier is the corpse of a large man (SIZ 17). The man wears old fashioned bronze amour and the light emanates from a two handed spear held in his withered hands. These are the remains of a Dawn Age hero Yazur Firelorn. Instead of passing on to his reward with Yelmalio, Yazur’s personality has come to inhabit his spear. Unfortunately the centuries have not been kind to Yazur. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Yazur is perhaps a little loopy after his long incarceration in his spear. He is incapable of seeing anything outside the spear but can see what the spear’s wielder sees. Yazur has lost all the magic he once knew except for Sunbright and Repair. He can keep Sunbright up indefinitely at any magnitude from 0 to 10. He can cast Repair which acts more like a Heal spell for him. (So a casting repairs the spear and leaves scars, but the spear itself isn’t weakened).
Yazur Firelorn
| STR | NA | Skills: Sing 30%, Influence 75% | |
| CON | NA | Common Magic: 89% Repair 6, Bladesharp 4 | |
| SIZ | NA | Divine Magic: Pact Yelmalio 99%, Lore Yelmalio 103%, Sunbright | |
| INT | 15 | Special Ability: Illusion 80%*. | |
| POW | 20 | Combat Actions: 3 | |
| DEX | NA | Magic Points: 20 The spear also possesses a crystal that allows Yazur to store 10 additional magic points. | |
| CHA | 17 |
The Spear of the Dawn
The spear has an iron point and ferrule and the following characteristics:
| Type | Damage Dice | STR/DEX | Size | Reach | Combat Maneuvers | ENC | AP/HP |
| Spear of the Dawn | 1D10+1 | 5/5 | L | VL | Impale | 2 | 6/15 |
Note that the spear can affect creatures normally unaffected by non-magical weapons plus it will do double damage to creatures affected by iron. It also reduces the wielder's POW by 1 for the purposes of available Magic Points and slows the rate at which MP are recovered.
Yazur wants nothing more than to leave this cave. He is incapable/unwilling to possess anyone and cannot leave the spear (breaking it would free him but he is too fearful to desire this as a goal). What he wants is a taste of his former glory. He wants his wielder to take him and make a name for himself. (Not herself, Yazur is not that open minded). While he would like a competent wielder he would also like someone who’s somewhat malleable. However his ego would much prefer someone competent. In this, like most things he’s of two minds.
When anyone enters the cave have them make an opposed Persistence test versus Yazur’s 80% Illusion ability. If they fail all they see is a dusty old longspear. If they succeed they see a shiny iron longspear. Anyone who touches the spear is immediately addressed by Yazur. (When Yazur addresses his wielder he always says what he wants the wielder to hear first and then expresses his true thoughts. He doesn’t realize that he’s doing this and denies it if confronted on it. True thoughts are shown in italics.
“Greetings warrior! My name is Yazur Firelorn and I am here to lead you to glory! Oh Great Yelm did it have to be a snot-nosed whelp? Oh well he’s better than a trollkin I suppose!"
Yazur is hoping for an enthusiastic response to this. If he doesn’t get one he demands to be put down or better yet taken to a true warrior. If no one wants to take the spear Yazur will try his hardest to convince them of his worth.
“Well I am a magic spear you know. Truly worthy to be wielded by a warrior such as yourself. What a poltroon. Heavens help us!"
“With my help you will be a warrior like none other. That’s honest isn’t it? Crappiness is pretty unique isn’t it?"
Yazur is pretty desperate but he won’t lie. In fact he can't lie due to one of his geases. He’s gotten pretty good at avoiding things and talking around them, though . Hopefully someone will decide to take the spear.
At the end of the initiation period the party should head home to their welcoming celebration. (Of course they had been checked up on immediately after the quake so the villagers know they survived.) Yazur will keep his nature secret since he doesn’t want to change wielders now that he’s found the One.
The Spring Maid and Sun Lad
Every year since Time began the Sylilans have celebrated the promise and renewal spring brings. The traditional version of this celebration has unfortunately been lost with the scouring after the fall of the Dragon Emperor but a version goes on. The Sylilan villages traditionally share wedding partners with their neighbors to avoid too much intermarriage. Formerly both young men and women would switch villages but with the new Solar façade only the young women leave their villages.
The celebration now involves a big feast to celebrate the end of winter and welcome any new adults to the clans. The participating clans take turns hosting these events during which the new adults get a chance to mingle and size up the prospective marriage partners. After a day and evening of feasting all the new adults gather in a field to play the roles of Spring Maid or Sun Lad. (Originally it was of course Wind Lad). The young men congregate on one side of the field across from the young women and the two groups exchange the following:
YM: O Spring Maid, beauteous of face and sweet of nature, it is I Sun Lad, brave and true, strong of wind and full of grace come to woo you.
YW: O Sun Lad, you come with sweet, true words of me but empty boasts about you. Why would such a prize as I consent to be wooed by the likes of you?
YM: O Spring Maid, I am swift and strong and can run like the wind. There is none other so worthy as I!
YW: Worthy is as worthy does. Let your deeds exceed your words. Come catch me!
At this point the young women drop their skirts to reveal that they are wearing breeches or leggings. (This never fails to scandalize any more traditional Solar cultists watching). They have been training for an entire season to run and as a group turn, give exultant screams and run off across the hills. The course is traditionally run around a large hill to start and end at the village.
The young men, as tradition demands, have to wait for a three strong breaths before giving chase. After the three strong breaths they howl like wolves and give chase!
This pursuit can be abstracted in the following manner. As a group the young women have an Athletics score of 70%. Divide the race into as many sections as there are characters and have each player roll an opposed Athletics contest using his skill versus the 70% score of the young women. If the young men win the contest they catch up with the young women (they’re not allowed to “catch" them before they return to the village, that would allow for all sorts on unsanctioned activities to occur. In the good old days they could catch their intendeds which led to unplanned pregnancies).
Example: Say there are four PCs. The first round of the contest the young men lose the contest. This allows the young women to pull even further ahead. The next round the young men win so they are back where they started behind the young women. The next round they win again so they are literally breathing down the young women’s necks. The last round they lose so the young women return to the starting position with a decent lead.
The Return of Carpathia Three-Boots
The recruiter for the Emperor’s army has returned with help to round up the village’s youth. As the young men round the hill they notice that something is amiss at the village. (Have each one make a Perception test. If they succeed they can immediately stop.) What they can see is that armed men of some sort have taken the village hostage. When their parents see them they yell at them to run and hide.The village has been invaded by a troop of spearmen and a group of Thunder Delta slingers under the leadership of Carpathia Three-Boots. While the spearmen restrain the villagers the slingers have been directed to grab the young men. All the males up to the age of twenty-five or so have already been herded into a rope enclosure. All that is needed now it to do is round up the runners and the work will be done.
The characters basically have three options open to them. 1) They can attack the invaders. Sheer foolishness considering that their kin have already surrendered; 2) they can meekly give themselves up; or, 3) they can make a run for it as their parents asked. (Another Perception test will show that no one seems to be hurt). If they choose this option (or number 1) the slingers will attack.
As they flee the slingers let fly with their missiles. These are not the dreaded Thunderflints they use in battle, but large leather balls designed to be flung from a staff sling which are used to bludgeon and incapacitate their prey. The players have to evade the slingers and flee to a hidden cave in the hills where they will be safe.
The head-sized leather balls contain spirits housed in the skulls of the enemies of the Thunder Delta slingers. When a ball strikes a person they do the listed damage plus they automatically cause a “Stun Location" Combat Maneuver. (This may be on top of any Combat Maneuvers gained through combat). They are one use only (they need to be “re-charged" after use) and are fairly heavy and slow flying so they can be dodged and are easier to parry than a regular staff sling missile. (In the sense that they’re only L in size rather than H).
There are two more slingers than there are player characters; each slinger has three of the stunning sling balls. Each slinger lets fly at one player. If anyone runs towards the village the extra slingers take aim at them. Otherwise determine randomly who the extras target. Once a player has been incapacitated men run over and subdue them. They won’t use deadly force but they are hesitant to club someone unconscious either. Once a player character is subdued his slingers who still have missiles can turn their attentions to other characters. They run to close the distance if necessary.
If someone is lucky enough to avoid the missiles and make it all the way to the cave they enter it to find it already occupied by some spearmen who roughly bind and drag them back to the village. Back at the village they’re dragged before Carpathia Three-Boots who tells them. “Nice try, lads. But the Emperor needs men." If anyone manages to escape altogether — by heading to a different hiding place or something — feel free to either get them to roll up a new character among the captured men or make up outlandish reason why they’re captured.
Thunder Delta Slingers
| 1D20 | Hit Location | AP/HP | ||||
| STR | 11 | 1-3 | Right Leg | 1/5 | Combat Actions: 3 | |
| CON | 11 | 4-6 | Left Leg | 1/5 | Damage Modifier: +0 | |
| SIZ | 13 | 7-10 | Abdomen | 1/6 | Magic Points: 11 | |
| INT | 13 | 11-12 | Chest | 1/7 | Movement: 8m | |
| POW | 11 | 13-15 | Right Arm | 1/4 | Strike Rank: +13 (+10) | |
| DEX | 13 | 16-18 | Left Arm | 1/4 | ||
| CHA | 11 | 19-20 | Head | 2/5 |
Typical Armor: Leather helm and linen jerkin, kilt, vambraces and greaves: –2 Armor Penalty
Combat Styles: Thunder Delta style (Sling, staff sling, quarterstaff and shortsword): 79%
Skills: Athletics 75%, Brawn 70%, Evade 70%, Lore (Thunder Delta) 60%, Perception 65%, Persistence 55%, Resilience 70%, Survival 70%
Common Magic 70%: Multimissile 2, Coordination 2, Detect Enemy, Speedart 3, Protection 2, Repair
Spirit Magic Spirit Binding 70%. Bound spirits:
Water walker lizard – allows user to run but not walk across still bodies of water.
Fish spirit – allows user to breathe underwater but not oxygen for the duration.
Weapons
| Type | Size | Load | Reach | Damage | AP/HP | Range | Shortsword | M | - | S | 1D6 | 6/8 | - | Sling | L | 1 | - | 1D8 | 1/2 | 200 m | Staff sling | H | 3 | - | 2D6 | 4/8 | 100 m | - Head balls | L | - | 1D8 | - | 50 m | Quarterstaff | M | - | L | 1D8 | 4/8 | - | Buckler | M | - | S | 1D3 | 6/8 | - |
Carpathia Three-Boots
| 1D20 | Hit Location | AP/HP | ||||
| STR | 17 | 1-3 | Right Leg | 1/6 | Combat Actions: 3 | |
| CON | 13 | 4-6 | Left Leg | 1/6 | Damage Modifier: +1D4 | |
| SIZ | 14 | 7-10 | Abdomen | 1/7 | Magic Points: 15 | |
| INT | 16 | 11-12 | Chest | 1/8 | Movement: 8m | |
| POW | 15 | 13-15 | Right Arm | 1/5 | Strike Rank: +16 (+10) | |
| DEX | 16 | 16-18 | Left Arm | 1/5 | ||
| CHA | 10 | 19-20 | Head | 2/6 |
Typical Armor: Leather helm and linen jerkin, kilt, vambraces and greaves: –2 Armor Penalty
Combat Styles: Templar style (Short spear and shield, pike and shield, shortsword, short bow): 98%
Skills: Athletics 75%, Brawn 85%, Evade 90%, Lore (Dara Happa) 80%, Perception 65%, Persistence 55%, Resilience 90%, Survival 70%, Tactics 83%
Common Magic 70%: Multimissile 2, Coordination 2, Detect Enemy, Speedart 3, Protection 2, Repair, Bladesharp 4
Divine Magic: Pact (Yelmalio) 75%, Lore (Yelmalio) 88%, 3 Points of dedicated POW – Shield 2, Heal Wound 1
Weapons
| Type | Size | Load | Reach | Damage | AP/HP | Range |
| Shortsword | M | - | S | 1D6 | 6/8 | - |
| Shortspear | M | - | L | 1D8 | 1/2 | - |
| Pike | H | - | VL | 1D8+1 | 4/8 | - |
| Hoplite Shield | H | - | S | 1D4 | 6/18 | - |
| Short Bow | L | 1 | - | 1D6 | 4/4 | 80 m |
Description: Carpathia Three-Boots is a stocky, powerful, balding man with a scarred but kindly face. He wears boots everywhere in all kinds of weather and he always has a matching boot hanging around his neck. He has served the Emperor loyally for many years but he hates his present duties because he knows most if not all of the lads he recruits will die. (He calls all his recruits lads and tries to not get emotionally attached to them; he fails every time). He feels great guilt over this but his love of the Emperor is stronger than his self-guilt. He is strict and firm but considers himself a fair man.
We stood in a huddle before the recruiter and his troops and listened to his words about the Emperor and his needs. Someone brave shouted, “Why should we fight for the Emperor when he sends men to steal us from our villages?" At this a pained expression fleeted across his face and he said, “Because as of this point you are his soldiers whether you like it or not and desertion is punishable by death. Additionally anyone who deserts would make the Empire think that perhaps his village isn’t loyal enough to the Empire and perhaps needs to be revisited to check for heresy and piety." I thought of my mother and her careless singing of old love ballads about Orlanth and vowed I would do my best to serve this Emperor.
Carpathia Three-Boots was not a bad man, though. He hated collecting the untrained boys of the hills and making them into grist for the mill that was the war between the Carmanians and the Empire. He kept up a strong façade, though I suspect he never got to sleep sober. He was fair. When I asked him if I could return to my parent’s house and get my spear all he asked was, “Do you swear to return by Yelmalio?" I nodded yes and he gestured to the slinger to let me be. I dashed off and got the Spear of the Dawn. I left the armor because it was too old and too big anyway.
When I returned he looked surprised at my spear like he could see its true nature but didn’t say anything about it. He just nodded in the direction of the coffle of recruits and said, “Into line over there Balazar". “Balazar?" I said, “That’s not my name." He shrugged. “It’s an old name, means spear bearer. Seems to fit." I went over and got into line and then nodded. “Yeah, Balazar. It fits."
