Power and its Misuse is a piece of fiction for Archbliss: The City of the Sorcerers, one of the supplements for Cities of Sundara, which is available in versions for 5th Edition and Pathfinder.
“Legend says that the sorcerers who founded Archbliss were fleeing a cataclysm,” said Thannis Mantar. “At least that’s what the surviving books from the era say.”
“Legend says a lot of things,” retorted Brendor Calliorn. “Some may even be true. That doesn’t mean they all are, or that tales of a great cataclysm are true.”
“But what if the legend about the cataclysm was true?” asked Thannis. “That could mean that the legend about those who raised the city being empowered by the Prim are also true. And if that’s the case, then such power could be obtained by others. All we’d need to do is find out how it was accomplished.”
“Playing with the raw power of the Prim can cause serious problems.” stated Brendor in warning. “Just look at what happened to Moüd. The Silver Wraiths are still cleaning up the necromantic mess from that. If both legends are true, then mayhap the power the city’s founders had from the Prim caused the cataclysm. They could easily have been fleeing a mess they caused.”
“We’d just need to be more careful,” was Thannis’s reply. “Power in and of itself doesn’t cause a cataclysm, only its misuse. If it wasn’t misused, then there wouldn’t be a problem.”
“Misuse is something that it’s easier to state you’re going to avoid than to actually avoid,” said Brendor in turn. “I’ve seen enough spellusers injured by their own power when they intended anything but. By the time misuse becomes obvious, it may well be too late.”
“Say what you will. I am not going to be so overly cautious. I’m going to look into the legends for the truth of the matter, and see if there is a way of gaining the power of our forefathers.” Stated Thannis.
“Do as you will,” said Brendor as Thannis departed. “For your sake, I hope that the legend is just that. And for our sake, if you do uncover something, do not play with the Prim where it will affect the rest of us.”
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In a modern setting, characters may need contacts with different skills, legal or otherwise. I Know a Guy has 25 people for characters to use, with details on them and what they can offer.
Hills are not free of encounters and 100 Encounters for Fantasy Hills (3Deep) has 100 ways of enlivening a journey through them. They can be used as background colour and potential adventure hooks.
Gateways are how changelings enter the Dreaming, and 100 Gateways to the Dreaming has 100 such, some safer than others, with details on how to activate them and what the trods are like.
Filler Art – Barrow is a piece of hand drawn black and white stock art. There are two images, one on a white background, one on a transparent one, at 300 dpi. The image can be used for personal and commercial uses.
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In this, the third episode in a series of videos in which Neal Litherland covers Chronicles and World of Darkness, he looks at the mortal world and the effect it has.
This is a fanzine for Advanced Fighting Fantasy that contains a variety of articles. It isn’t published by us, but by Arion Games, but we have contributed content to it. It’s currently available as a PDF with print on demand to follow.
The Strange is a game published by Monte Cook Games. It is, at least in part, set in the normal world, but there are other worlds out there, in the Strange. This list has ten rumours for that setting, similar to the various different adventure hooks in the books, and these can be used as adventure hooks or simple misinformation.
Bands of the Betrayer’s homunculi have been reported to have been spotted in the Borderlands close to Megeddon, though it’s said the creatures have not been attacking anyone, just watching them carefully. Those who have come upon the homunculi unawares claim that the beings appear to be searching for something in the Borderlands.
Megeddon is inhabited almost entirely by homunculi, copies of the Betrayer in three colours, green, red and clear. There are rumours, though that there are other colours of homunculi, ones that are even rarer than the clears. It’s said these are homunculi created with unusual abilities that the Betrayer creates for specific reasons, though it’s not known what either abilities or reasons might be.
Much of Megeddon is empty, as the fortress is capable of holding many more people than it currently does. It’s rumoured that the number of homunculi in the fortress has been increasing over the years, mostly slowly but more recently the numbers have been rising much more rapidly. It could be that the Betrayer has discovered a way of creating homunculi faster, or that he has an upcoming need for larger numbers of them.
Part of the fortress of Megeddon is known to be out of bounds for everything but the Betrayer’s homunculi. There are many rumours about just what might be found within that area, with treasures of different types being the most common theory, but there are rumours of strange beings held prisoner, vast machines of unknown origin and purpose and visitors from dimensions that have little in common with Ardeyn.
The Betrayer continues to oppose Lotan, as he did when he was War, and it’s rumoured that those that follow him, homunculi or otherwise, have started to take a more active role against Lotan. Though most would appreciate Lotan’s forces being countered by the Betrayer’s, few would consider the Betrayer to be much of an improvement over Lotan.
The Fortress of Megeddon is topped with metal towers that look out over the Borderlands. Though metal may make an improved defence, it’s said that’s not the real reason for its use in constructing the towers. Some say energy can be seen sometimes arcing between the different towers, with bolts occasionally darting out into the Strange.
The symbol of Megeddon is a black circlet of spikes, called by most the Traitor’s Crown. There are rumours that this symbol keeps appearing in the Borderlands near Megeddon itself, causing some to wonder if the Betrayer is intending to expand Megeddon, the land or the fortress itself, to take control of more of Ardeyn.
The White Zone is the part of Megeddon set aside by the Betrayer for those who visit him, with embassies from various nations and powers, even though they don’t outwardly show their allegiance, as well as others who trade in goods that Megeddon needs or wants. It’s rumoured that some parts of the White Zone are out of bounds for regular visitors, suggesting that the Betrayer has people, or things, residing there that even he doesn’t want others to know about.
There are few entrances on the side of Megeddon that faces into Ardeyn. but it’s rumoured that there are more facing out into the Strange. The fortress’s appearance is suggestive of it being a much larger fortress that was lost in the Strange, and some say that the gates on the Strange-facing side still connect, through unknown means, to the rest of the fortress.
There is a belief that the fortress of Megeddon may once have been an ancient qephilim city that was taken over by the Betrayer for his own purposes. It’s rumoured that there still are some relics of the qephilim deep within the fortress, and perhaps these relics might be connected to the Betrayer’s homunculi in some way.
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Guilds can still be present in a science fiction setting and 100 Sci Fi Guilds has some to encounter. Each is given an overview of what they do and a guild may wield great power.
Farming regions tend to be safer, but characters can still have encounters. 100 Farming Country Encounters (Black Spear) has 100 such encounters, which can range from useful to dangerous to potential adventure hooks. This is a conversion of the original supplement to Black Spear.
Characters may hear rumours when asking around for information, and 100 Hooks and Rumours to Hear in or about Alpha Crucis has some for them to hear related to the Alpha Crucis. They can be used as adventure hooks or background colour.
Colour Filler Art – Gems in Sand in Sand has assorted gems partially buried in sand. There is a single image on a transparent background, at 300 dpi. The image can be used for personal and commercial uses.
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