BFRPG Field Guide Omnibus Test Drive: And May You Reach The Moon

Cabrera

 

Following the death of the Slave King, the resurgent Mountainhomes sent expeditions to restore the far flung fortresses of the old Dwarven civilization. HANGEDSCEPTRES wasn’t on the list. It was was remote, strategically useless, and based on the available records, poor in minerals. The Dwarves needed quick wins to show everyone the project had legs.

Early reclamations were a smash hit. The underkingdoms caught fortress fever, sparking a gold rush to reoccupy the remaining sites (and establish new ones). The first scouts to HANGESCEPTRES reported an infestation of Wyverns circling the peak, along with smoke and snowmelt indicating the site was already inhabited.

THE CANDLES

The Candles are a range of very hard plutonic rock, volcanic intrusions through a layer of softer stone that has since eroded away. They get their name from their appearance, melted spires sticking up above the surrounding mountain range. Though the weather is very cold and sometimes foggy it rarely snows this high up.

The Candles were never connected to the underhighway system, that network of tunnels that crisscrossed the continent before the “original” Dwarven civ was conquered by the Ancient Empire. The only way to the fort is to hike up several thousand feet of ancient cart paths and goat trails, most of them encased in ice that never melts.

There are signs of habitation. Smoke from the tallest spire. Wyverns and huge flying rabbits. Tracks through the thin layer of snow over the ice. Goblin patrols, if you spot them before they spot you. The main path is within view of the spire except in bad weather. There are paths out of view but the Moon Goblins have trapped them. A favorite trick is to loosen stones so anyone climbing them goes toppling over the side of the mountain. The area outside the main causeway is further reinforced with patrols.

If a patrol shows up, roll 1D4 for the force composition.

1. Captain and eight Moon Goblin grunts
   
2. Eight Moon goblin Trappers mounted on Wolpertingers
   
3. Champion (⅔ chance) or Shaman (⅓) with eight grunts
   
4. Wyvern Rider on Wyvern

Patrols who encounter intruders send a runner back to the fortress to warn the others. Depending on the size and strength of the party, the officer of the watch may send reinforcements or put the whole fort on alert. Champions and Wyvern Riders may instead try to take on the group by themselves.

Climbing the sheer rock face and encasing layer of ice to avoid the defenses entirely is possible for experienced mountaineers. Without ice axes, crampons, pitons and some protection from the elements they won’t make it to the top. Climbers can make it most of the way without being spotted since the fort doesn’t have many windows or balconies, if they approach from the blind side.

With appropriate camouflage it’s possible to mount an air assault on the fort, masked against the white-gray sky until the last second. Patrolling Wyverns can spot airborne intruders.

THE FORTRESS HANGEDSCEPTRES

The fortress HANGEDSCEPTRES is an old Dwarven outpost from the height of their civilization, recently reoccupied by a host of Moon Goblins.

Passages in Hangedsceptres are large enough for humans to walk upright, which isn’t unusual for Dwarven forts. Humans are between five and six feet tall but our rooms are typically eight. Exceptions to this (where the Dwarves wanted invaders to crouch/crawl) are noted where applicable.

The Goblins light the fortress with caged worms. The little annelids glow with the light of the Moons, brighter or dimmer according to their phases. On rare occasions where both moons are dark they declare a day of rest and the fortress is unlit.

If the Goblins detect intruders they raise the alarm. They carry bone whistles and when one Goblin blows one anyone who can hear it blows theirs so the whole alarm carries across the fort. They take security seriously but they have enough false alarms that a single blast doesn’t always put the whole fort on alert.

Rooms have descriptions for their normal occupancy and what defenses the Goblins muster there if the alarm is raised. Besides the room defenses the Goblins assemble a reaction force to rush down intruders (if they outnumber the enemy) or garrison the front line (if besieged by a superior force). Rooms not normally defended may be fortified if the defenses are breached.

• The reaction force has 56 Goblins, 7 Captains and 1 Shaman.
  
• The Shaman King leads a further force of himself and the other 4 Champions to stabilize the line wherever the fighting is thickest.
  

In siege situations the Goblins can scramble an air force of 4 Wyverns with Riders and 25 Trappers riding Wolpertingers. They can fight an air battle with an attacking air force or harass ground troops with missile fire (the Trappers firing paralytic arrows). Rather than engage foot troops on their own, they wait until they get stuck in with friendly infantry and attack them from behind.

KEY 

1: Observation tower. This Dwarven structure was once vertical but has sagged to one side. There are three levels of rooms with a spiral staircase linking them to the roof. Though warm air rises from the fortress below it’s cold enough that nobody likes spending time here. D4 ordinary Moon Goblins keep watch atop the spire. It’s boring work but a favorite assignment nonetheless thanks to the ration of Shamanic drugs that keeps the sentries warm and alert. The cave spider silk banner with Great and Little moon is worth 200 GP.

If the alarm is raised, 24 Goblins with heavy crossbows, 3 Captains and a Shaman garrison this tower. They close the slate shutters on the windows and fire at anything not riding a Wyvern. If attacked with superior firepower like a breath weapon they retreat down into the palace and remove stones from the foundation to collapse the tower.

2: Mountain peak. A heap of ice over bare rock. A mated pair of Crystalline Egrets nest here. The Goblins haven’t killed them for food because they’d just melt, and they serve as a security system in case of an airborne attack on the spire.

3: Shamanic Smoke Room. The Shamans burn herbs in this rough hewn chamber and plug the Dwarf-sized tunnel to 1 with the heavy stone door. The original purpose is unclear. Beneath the soot, faded Dwarven murals on the walls depict Dwarves observing the moons. The room holds 400 GP in drugs and 100 GP in decorated pipestone pipes for smoking them. 1D4 Shamans are normally here smoking, if 4 are here the King is with them.

During a battle this room is only defended if an assault breaks through at 1. The Goblins toss lime on the fire so a plume of toxic smog billows up through the passage to the surface, blinding attackers.

4: Shamanic council chamber. An enormous geode with the floor smoothed but the crystal walls and ceiling still jagged and natural. The Shamans filled the center with an enormous cushion stuffed with wolpertinger fur where they hold council and sleep. Remove your shoes or be blasted with every spell in their arsenal. 3,180 GP in decorative beadwork and bone images of Goblin victories over Dwarves, Elves, Pech, Gnomes. 1D4 Shamans are here asleep.

If the upper entrance is breached, the reaction force and surviving defenders rally here after setting the fire in the room above.

5: Royal balcony. Slippery with ice. Only the close-fit stone door (locked from the inside) is free of rime, decorated with a carven image of Living Mountain welcoming his people into the stronghold. A Dwarf sized bannister protects short creatures from falling but presents a dangerous tripping hazard to taller visitors. Two chimneys rise out of the mountain above the balcony, one to the kitchen at 7 and one to the forge at 13. The passage indoors is Dwarf sized. The Shaman King is found here 25% of the time, wrapped in his cloak and gazing out across the frozen mountains with D4 Champions.

In a siege the balcony is abandoned and the door locked. It’s exposed to plunging bowfire from 1.

6: The Shaman King’s room. Huge bed, Dwarven stone furniture and a couple Moon Goblin pieces carved with lunar designs. Bones of enemies. Wooden clan image of Man in the Moon, Goblin lunar deity. 5,000 GP in petty cash, spare Suit of Plate +2 and a Potion of Diminution. It used to be a Brewery and still smells faintly of strong, sweet ale. The King’s Champions sleep here with him in his big bed. D8 Champions asleep here, if 4 or more are here the King is too. The door to the balcony is trapped with a comically oversized spring loaded mallet. If the door is forced open while barred, the hammer swings and knocks the offender backward onto the balcony, potentially over the edge.

In battle, 4 Champions guard this room.

7: Kitchen and larder. Magic range and ovens still heated by wires connected to the mysterious spiral staircase. Crockery and cookware. Bread, flour, water, salted meat, lichen, lentils, bland fare from the Create Food spell. Small beer. Nothing of monetary value. 2D8 Goblin chefs hard at work preparing the next meal or cleaning up after the previous one.

If the alarm is raised this room is empty.

8: Great hall. Spiral ramp with glowing Dwarven runes (STRIKETHEEARTHSTRIKETHEEARTHSTRIKETHEEARTH endlessly repeating) illuminates tables and benches where Goblins eat and drink. Elevated throne on pillar where Shaman King oversees his troops 25% of the time. 10D10 Goblins and D10 Captains eat and drink here. The big spiral staircase gives off heat, warming the stairwell and surrounding chambers. There’s a metal plate at the top which the column “disappears” into, fused strangely without any weld marks. Atop the plate is the King’s table where he eats with his Champions during feasts. The table is set with 5,300 GP in Dwarven gold and silver. The tableware has sockets for missing gems. Some of it is pitted as if by acid. (Moon Beasts slurped out all the jewels but left the metal, which they didn’t recognize as treasure).

When the alarm is raised this room is garrisoned by 26 Goblins and 3 Captains. They hold the bridge from the lesser spire in case enemies circumvent the defenses of the front gate.

9: Big bridge. Wide enough for three people to walk side by side. Ice free due to narrow hypocaust tubes under stone tiles, but these can be blocked by defenders in great hall so it freezes over. Heavy iron doors and crossbow loops let defenders fire on foes crossing the bridge, which provides no cover. 1D4-1 Goblins throwing trash off the bridge into the canyon below.

If the alarm is raised the bridge is empty, watched by the bowmen garrisoned in 8.

10: Wyvern spire. Door east enlarged by Goblin engineers to admit Wyverns. Heavy floor hatch leads down to rookery where Champions care for beasts. Racks with long spears, heavy crossbows, saddles, big brushes for cleaning scales and teeth. 25% chance of a Wyvern Rider brushing down a Wyvern.

11: Wyvern landing platform. This big Dwarven balcony looks the unfinished foundation of an exterior structure. It easily supports the weight of Wyverns, the Champions take off and land from here. Like the bridge at 9 the stone is interpenetrated with channels for warm air that keep the surface ice free. 25% chance of a Wyvern with rider taking off or landing.

In battle this ledge is defended by 32 Goblins with heavy crossbows, 4 Captains and a Shaman while the Wyverns and Wolpertingers take off. The beasts and their riders fight for air superiority but if the enemy attacks with a breath weapon the bowmen retreat indoors and bar the door.

12: Barracks. Racks of beds made from recycled Dwarven furniture. There’s enough space for all the beds on the floor but the Goblins have a cultural preference for stacking them. An enormous chalk wall and stone lectern suggest this was a Dwarven lecture hall. 1,500 GP in personal effects (coins, carvings, clothing, petty jewelry) along with personal equipment like mail, spears and heavy crossbows. 4D10 Goblins and D10 Captains asleep or loitering here.

If the alarm is raised this room is empty.

13: Storage and workshop. Forge, anvils, shelves, cabinets. Food and water and cloth and metal ingots left by Dwarves. Nothing of monetary value. 2D8 Goblins and a Captain working on equipment.

If the alarm is raised this room is empty.

14: Domed chamber at base of spiral staircase. The ceiling is carved with the landscape of Great Moon, with all its seas and craters. Heaped furniture, empty boxes and cabinets dumped here by Goblins clearing space. Mechanisms at the base of the staircase to rotate it, rusted in place. Crate of small gold bars worth 2,400 GP, painted like lead by crafty Dwarves. Hidden passage to Geminate Serpent cave used to pick off Goblins. 1D4-1 Goblins nervously searching for something under a Captain’s orders. They don’t know what they’re afraid of.

In a siege this room is empty.

Trampier

15: Wyvern rookery. This spiral chamber was once a Dwarven tavern, with tables mounted on ledges around a bell shaped chamber to impress rare visitors. Now it’s full of lizards perched on the stairs. The Riders have trained their mounts not to attack other Goblins going up and down but they still slip on the droppings. The Wyverns have accumulated 3,858 GP in coins and shiny objects taken from victims. 1D4 Wyverns here with an equal number of Wyvern Riders.

In battle the Wyvern Riders typically vacate this room to provide air support outside the building. If they defend this room the Goblins fire down with their crossbows and block the stairs with formations of spearmen.

16: Wolpertinger hutches. 44 mutant rabbits in big cages tended by Goblins. Sturdy ceiling hatch prevents conflicts between tasty rabbits and hungry Wyverns. Awkward placement but the Shamans wouldn’t let the Wolpertingers in the inhabited areas of the fort because they shit everywhere. Trappers riding rabbits use the front gate to avoid conflicts with Wyverns but can go up to the landing pads if all Wyverns are scrambled to deal with attacks. 2D8 Trappers here looking after the mutant rabbits. This used to be the Trade Depot, where wagons unloaded goods and merchants argued with the fortress hagglers. Disused and broken mechanisms once allowed defenders to trigger a crush trap that killed everything in this room. The power source is gone and the drive shaft is rusted into uselessness.

If the base is under attack then 30 of the Wolpertingers are gone providing air support. If beaten back into this room the Goblins unleash the remaining beasts, who fight alongside them against intruders.

17: Large empty room. Remains of partitioned workshops (dying, bonecrafting, woodworking, gemcutting…) in grid on floor. Partial Dwarven skeleton propped up by staircase downward with warning in Green Man script: Trapper on Duty 24/7. (Moon Beasts ate all the Dwarves, bones and all, except one guy whose body fell down a crevice they missed). Hidden tunnel like trapdoor spider lair to Geminate Serpent cave. D4 Trappers lurk stealthily here.

The room is not occupied during a siege.

18: Time Spider room. Filled with webs and a single Time Spider. This domed council chamber was once used for meetings with representatives the Dwarves didn’t trust in the fort proper. The gem table is impressive and worth 1,500 GP if it can be hauled out. A bunch of these chelicerates slipped into the fort when the Dwarves broke open a portal to another plane. The Goblins killed most of them after losing a couple guys to their disappearing web trick. They imprisoned this last one in hopes of finding some use for it.

19: Old Dwarven security checkpoint. Locked door west of here with a big spider drawn on it. Caravan ramp up and down. Usually empty.

20: Geminate Serpent lair. Mated pair of Pleasant Geminate Serpents and their baby in a pit with

• 75,000 GP in hoarded Dwarven, Goblin and other treasure.
  
• Scroll of Protection From Undead
  
• Shield +1
  
• Shield -1
  
• Plate Armor +2
  
• Spell scroll (read magic, auditory illusion, shadowy transformation, detect magic, illusion)
  
• Spell scroll (hold animal, temperature control, faerie fire, animal friendship, wall of thorns)

The Serpents periodically slither out, kidnap a Goblin moving through one of the connecting rooms and slither back to feed the baby. Their amnesia powers have so far stopped anyone from spotting them.

If attacked by a superior force the Pleasant Serpents attempt a breakout to save their kid. They attack into 21, using their fear vision and breath weapons to clear a path to the switch that releases the Timberwolf at 24. As fey creatures it is not apt to harm them, but rampages among the Goblins while they flee into the tunnels at 27.

21: Trapper village. Hexagonal columns of impenetrable stone, excavated by original Dwarven miners out of surrounding rock. Trappers have set up camp here. Reeking tannery to make fur clothing from Wolpertinger hides. Cages of glowing worms used to light the fort. Brewery to make poisons and liquor from worm secretions. 3,000 GP in Wolpertinger handicrafts (bone, horn, fur) plus a strange spade shaped bone (the only piece of a fallen Moon Beast not cannibalized by its brethren). 2D10 Trappers lurking. The room is filled with hidden spike traps on tripwires, which jab victims full of the same paralytic poison coating the Trappers’ arrows. A comically oversized floor plug with chain to lift it leads down to level below. The lever to open the cold iron portcullis at 24 is also here.

In battle, 5 Trappers wait in the dark recesses of the room to slow intruders and alert the fort if something attacks.

22: This ready room has a retractable ramp that goes up to the next level, allowing caravans to pass. It also has a lever to release the water at 23 into 25. D10 Goblins and a Captain rest here in peacetime wrapped in blankets of Wolpertinger fur.

In battle this room serves as a fallback position for Goblins on the level below. They pull up the ramp behind them.

23: Room full of water kept just above freezing by ventilation system. Lever in 22 dumps it through floor valve into partition of 25. Attackers are soaked and risk hypothermia, potentially even flushed out of causeway at 26.

24: Dungeon. The Dwarves somehow trapped a Timberwolf behind the cold iron bars of this room, preventing it from escaping. It’s been there ever since, with no need for food or sleep or warmth, only a desire to destroy the enemies of the forest. The Goblins decided to leave it there as protection against an attack from below. The beast does not draw any distinction between them and Dwarves (burrowing creatures who mine metal and cut down trees). A floor tile covers the entrance to the tunnels below, too small for the wolf to fit into. 1,500 GP in assorted Dwarven crafts (cabochons, puzzle box, mugs) here.

25: High ceilinged chamber with internal partition facing front gate. Two levels of crossbow loops and low stone door humans must crouch to pass. Ceiling trap to dump water from 23 onto intruders. Caravan ramp leading upward to next level. The exterior door is normally locked and barred, the interior door open. 3D8 Goblins and 3 Captains stand guard. Roll a D10. On a 1, 2 or 3 that result from the patrol table up above is coming or going.

During a siege the room is defended by 32 Goblins with heavy crossbows, 4 Captains and a Shaman. They fire out of the loops on attackers approaching at 26 and, if the front gate is breached, retreat behind the partition and do the same.

26: Front gate. Heavy iron door with images of the Hammerer (Dwarven underworld God) welcoming visitors into his domain. Arrow slits allow many Goblins to fire down on the long icy ramp up to the door which offers no protective cover. The remains of a winch system and chain would have once allowed wagons to be hauled up the icy ramp into the fort for trade. Use the results from 25 to see if a patrol is entering or leaving.

In battle the gates are locked and the approach is swept by bowfire from 25.

27: A mix of mine tunnels and natural lava tube caves run beneath the fort. The volcanic rock is hard to dig through but a clever miner could burrow up into this network from below.

RUNEBAGGER
Like ANGUISHEDWIRES the fortress HANGEDSCEPTRES was destroyed by Dwarven science. The “spiral staircase” is actually the magic drill RUNEBAGGER. The Dwarves constructed it to bore into the Elemental Plane of Earth, which they would then use as a dimensional slingshot to burrow into the crust of Great Moon. They would use the portal to mine rare lunar metals.

The project worked perfectly. After a couple test drillings the Dwarves stabilized the portal to send a team in. A pack of Moon Beasts swarmed through and massacred everyone in the fortress. They ate all the evidence and went squirming back through the portal before it closed, uninterested in being trapped on an unpleasant high gravity world. The site was periodically reoccupied by high altitude monsters but never in any organized capacity until the Moon Goblins arrived.

Remmer

MEN AND MONSTERS 

BALDANDER
One of the Goblin Champions is the Baldander Wilhelm in disguise. He killed her and took her shape. He manipulated the Moon Goblin host into migrating to HANGEDSCEPTRES with the Dream Quest spell, sending the King visions from the Man in the Moon telling him he must go to the caves beneath the Lunar regolith. Wilhelm’s motivation for this deception is simple: he’s bored of imitating up terrestrial creatures and wants to go to space. Becoming a selenite or lunar bat person sounds fun. And if that doesn’t work, the gravity is at least lower there. He can blast off and explore the rest of the solar system.

The Shamans’ Clerical magic can’t open the portal. Wilhelm can’t cast the necessary Planar magic unless he kills someone capable of memorizing it. He needs to murder someone capable of planeshifting. A high level Wizard could do it but is a hard target to take down. The Time Spiders seemed promising but can’t get to the Plane of Earth, making them useless. Something weak like a Lizzero would be ideal, if he could corner one. He’s got to find them and then manipulate the group into attacking them on a raid. Or lure them to the fortress.

The Baldander can turn into the following beings.

• Cragodile (A crocodile with heavy stony hide that hunts waterway shallows)
  
• Moon Goblin Champion (current disguise)
  
• Chieropteran Sergeant (blind bat-orcs immune to most illusions)
  
• Elf Level 3
  
• Human Illusionist Level 11
  
• Sabre Worm

The Baldander used his Chieropteran form to kill a Level 11 illusionist for her spells, but couldn’t take her form because he already had a human in his rolodex.

Besides the usual Champion’s panoply he carries a Potion of Speed and his Baldander spellbook stuffed with the following spells:

• Illusionist:Hypnotism, Dancing Lights, Auditory Illusion, Hypnotism, Blindness / Deafness, Invisibility, Mirror Image, Paralysation, Dispel Illusion, Paralysation, Improved Invisibility, Solid Fog, Illusory Stamina, Shadowcast, Projected Image, Dream Quest
  
• Magic User: Level 1: Magic Missile, Detect Magic (MU), Shield, Invisibility, Invisibility, Clairvoyance, Water Breathing, Wall of Ice

The Moon Goblins haven’t caught him because they have no Arcane casters among them, so his book just looks like a normal diary. He won’t transform or cast spells unless he’s sure he won’t be spotted, or to save his own life. A good trick if adventurers slaughter the Goblins is to assume the Elf form and pretend to be a captive for them to rescue. If that doesn’t work he throws up a Wall of Ice, casts Improved Invisibility and runs like hell.

The only problem is, Wilhelm kind of likes the King. He’s never spent this long living among his prey undercover. He didn’t realize what it was like to fight alongside someone.

Eichenberg

MOON GOBLINS
Moon Goblins are the Goblin equivalent of Atenists. Monolaters or monotheists who worship a single God to the exclusion of the rest of the pantheon: The Man In The Moon. This guy (colloquially called The Man) is one of those racial deities who’s probably just an aspect of an ecumenical God. Like how The Gnasher is probably just the Giant version of Mothermonster.

Like Atenism the schism began as an attempt to break the power of the existing priestly caste, but took on a life of its own and evolved separately from the mainstream of Goblin civilization. But when it comes to motivation the Moon Goblins aren’t that different from their earthly counterparts. They’re better disciplined, stronger and better at mining and metallurgy but they like the same things: treasure, eating people and setting devious traps.

The key lists Moon Goblin occupants of individual rooms, both in peacetime and in battle. It’s not important that you track the position of every individual Goblin, just don’t let the total number exceed the overall force’s roster. There are 240 Goblins in the organization.

• 170 basic grunts
  
• 30 Captains
  
• 24 Trappers
  
• 8 Champions
  
• 4 Wyvern Riders w Wyverns
  
• 4 Shamans
  
• 1 Shaman King

The Goblins are used to working in harsh, dangerous conditions, but they have some issues that could cause serious logistical/morale problems.

• The main tower is heated by the RUNEBAGGER. The lesser tower gains some benefit from the body heat of forty giant fluffy rabbits but is notably colder. Fuel is reserved for mission critical applications like smithing. Aside from the Wyvern Riders nobody likes working in the little tower.
  
• Food is a problem. The Shaman King’s daily casting of the Level 5 Cleric spell Create Food only feeds 36 Goblins. To feed the rest of the fort the Shamans cast Growth of Animal on Wolpertingers and slaughter the coneys while they’re huge. The fast breeding lagomorphs have kept up with their needs so far, but the prepared food brought by the Trappers is running out. Soon they’ll have to graze the rabbits, taking the entire warren of forty four on long daily trips down the mountain to literal greener pastures.
  
• Something is stalking the Goblins in the lower levels of the cave system. Nobody knows what it is, just that guys keep disappearing down there. The Trappers put out snares for it but it’s avoided every one.

All three would be a big problem during a siege.

Captains
They’re called Captains but their role in the Goblin force is more like Sergeants. They’re the ones who translate the King’s plans into orders for individual soldiers. In the chaos of battle they identify priority targets for the grunts to focus down, filling spellcasters with the bolts or spears of entire squads.

Trappers
The Trappers wanted to fill the whole fort with spikes and nets and paralytic poisons, but the Shaman King forbade it. Too many accidents. In a siege situation he turns them loose to booby trap corridors on the frontlines.

Champions
Champions have a tendency to fuck up a battle plan by offering foes single combat. The other Goblins respect this right up until the point it looks like the Champion will lose, then they open fire. Champions accompanying the Shaman King will not duel enemies, they prioritize protecting the monarch.

Greer

Shamans
Shamans regulate the mood of the fort with entheogens. They cultivate psychoactive fungal infections on their own bodies and use these to microdose psychoactive brews that they serve to the troops. They also spike their food with contraceptives. This is a military base, not a daycare.

In battle the Shamans stand one rank behind the grunts and pump out support magic befitting level 6 Clerical casters. Hold Person disables dangerous single targets. Bless fortifies groups of allies. Silence stops enemy spellcasters at close range. There aren’t a lot of Shamans so they end up spread thin if the fort gets attacked on multiple fronts.

The Shamans have had a tough time explaining what the hell the group is doing up here. As a religious movement with few hereditary members, most Moon Goblins are there by choice. The troops trust the Shaman King. But how are we supposed to get to the moon? Couldn’t we attack a fort with Dwarves still in it?

Wyvern Riders
For a Goblin kid, growing up to be a Wyvern Rider is like growing up to be an astronaut. They’re celebrity warriors and the only ones who could seriously challenge the power of the King if they all got together. Unfortunately for anyone trying to start a mutiny, they’re happy with how things are going. Maybe the only ones in the whole fort who don’t mind the harsh conditions and meager food. It’s all worth it to fly.

When food gets low the Wyvern Riders go out hunting, for animals and for travelers in the lower mountains. They’re supposed to go out as a combined arms force with Trappers mounted on Wolpertingers, but the impatient Riders quickly outdistance the bumbling bunnies and strike on their lonesome.

Shaman King
King Fergus was the Moon Goblin Ataturk, a modernizing authoritarian with a dismissive attitude toward traditional religion. His relationship with God was transactional. He gave the Man in the Moon a slice of the cheese in exchange for access to Clerical spells that let him lead his people and squash his enemies. He achieved high rank through mighty deeds rather than faith.

Then the dreams started.

The King is still a tough, competent ruler but his leadership of the band is tainted by religious guilt. The Man told him to come to the fortress and open the portal to Reach The Moon but he can’t do it. His people are going to starve because he can’t figure out the puzzle and reactivate the RUNEBAGGER and dig through the Plane of Earth to Great Moon. His Champions try to cheer him up. The Shamans slip drugs into his food to improve his mood. A siege would lift his spirits. Blood and killing and dead bodies to eat.

In addition to his enchanted platemail and shield, the Shaman King wears a Ring of Fire Resistance.

Kuip

WHAT YOU HEAR

Ferried by the Wyvern Riders, the King and his henchmen launch brutal raids on holdings across the realm in search of arcane knowledge. Trappers descend on flying rabbits and sneak around shooting mages with paralytic arrows, bundling them up and hauling them up to the fort for interrogation. They Baldander slips away in disguise to spread rumors of fabulous magical treasure in the castle, hoping to attract high level mages who he can kill for their spells.

Who knows what will happen if they actually make it to the other side. Moon Beasts are an endangered species now, ever since the Hieros sacked their black stone city and rededicated it to the God of Mercy. Will the portal just open to an airless cave beneath the crust? A lost Moon Beast warren with flowing subsurface water? Is the Man in the Moon really up there? The dreams were a fake sent by a shapeshifter but the Clerical spells have to come from somewhere.

Maybe the destination doesn’t matter. The real adventure, the one that draws people to the castle, is the mess they make trying to get there.