Peran: Heart of Darkness
December 2, 2010
It is hot, even with the river water sluicing along the side of the Kuboran hide boats, it’s hot. Even the air is hot, and still; as if it’s locked between the endless walls of greenery on either bank. It sucks the sweat from the skin; though the Kuboran guides are doing all the work, propelling the craft against the Denia’s sluggish current. Ten leagues up river, it feels like every furnace breathe is a labour.
Kutz remembered what the guide said when he gestured to the bank: ‘Never get off the boat’. Perhaps this was the same as all the other trips into the forest but it was certainly not going to be a comfortable one. Damned insects.
His old friend turned to face him, rivulets of sweat coursing down his face, and whispered, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this …”
Heart of Darkness is an adventure/short campaign that starts at Tormau’s White Stoat Inn but quickly takes the characters into the Peran wilderness. It is designed to give GMs a reason to put the recent Peran and Tribes of the Kubora articles to work. It requires The White Stoat Inn, Asawne and Denal Kubora fanon articles for play (see series link on the right).
by Alun Rees
The White Stoat Inn
July 21, 2009
The White Stoat is the best inn Tormau has to offer and its innkeeper, Jamys of Abrant, makes sure it stays that way by fair means or foul. His Lia-Kavair connections ensure that few of the locals would dare to cross him which suits this short bear of a man perfectly. It might take a stranger to disturb the peace of this apparently tranquil inn.
This short article provides details of the Inn, the services and accommodation it offers and its staff. It also provides the background to the innkeeper’s Lia-Kavair activities. Although The White Stoat Inn can be used as a standalone product, it is meant to be used at the start of the Heart of Darkness adventure.
by Alun Rees
Asawne Kubora
July 21, 2009
This short article provides some observations of a Kuboran tribe’s clan structure by examining one of the clan in some detail, and offers an insight into Kuboran worship and honour. It is meant to accompany and extend the recent Peran and Tribes of the Kubora articles from CGI.
Tribal myth says the tribes that became the Asawne first settled on the banks of the Denia in the time of Nebran in 480TR, when the Corani legions were finally pushed back across the river. The Asawne, like the Uld, made their peace with the surviving Corani around Emesa and established a mutually beneficial trading relationship. Today the Asawne Kubora tribal range lies between the River Denia and the Scarlet Ribbon, making them near neighbours of both the Earl of Tormau and the Warriors of Mameka at Bedenes. The tribe has suffered regular raids by the Warriors for a generation but took revenge in 718TR, harrying the Agrikans as they retreated from their failure to take Kustan.
by Alun Rees
Denal Kubora
July 21, 2009
Xenophobic and mysterious the Denal Kubora occupy the foetid marshes at the headwaters of the River Denia. Their unhappy history is bound to that of the mad god of the Kubora: Crador the Blind, who, like them has fallen outside the mainstream of Kuboran culture for nearly a millennium.
This short article briefly describes the Denal Clans and one of their settlements, as well as providing an insight into the legendary origins of Crador the Blind and the unique nature of the Denal. It is meant to accompany and extend the recent Peran and Tribes of the Kubora articles from CGI.
by Alun Rees
Afarezirs: The Root Of All Evil
May 31, 2011
Jamys of Abrant made you an offer you really couldn’t refuse. Your time in Tormau had been too good to last; a welcome at its best Inn and work that was none too taxing. Now it seems you have out-stayed your welcome and it’s time to move on. Jamys, being the honest rogue he is, even has a suggestion:
“I’ve had a letter from some old mates in Golotha. You ever been to Golotha? Lovely place … I grew up there; learned my trade, so to speak. You’ll like it and I think I can set you up with a nice little earner down there. Might mean a bit of travel but you lot like a bit of travel, don’t you? Don’t break my heart and say ‘No’. I hate it when people say ‘No’ to me … if you get my drift?”
This is the second adventure in the Dark Rethem series, and sees the heroes travelling from Golotha to the Afarezirs to harvest a rare plant for a substantial reward. But as always, nothing is as easy as it sounds. You may also want to consider downloading Maps: Afarezirs.
by Alun Rees
The Tirsa Pirates
May 31, 2011
Members of the Brotherhood of the Black Dragon are fiercely loyal to their valhakar, Bjari Hirsen. A proud Menglanan, Bjari has led the crew of the Black Dragon from their homeland into the heart of Quarphor, across the Venarian Sea to Hepekeria, and now to Hârn. But time is catching up to Bjari and his men; he sees his young son and thinks it may be time to end the wandering.
Not all his men agree…
by Alun Rees
The Trident Inn
May 31, 2011
The Trident, situated on Chafin Street, is located in Golotha, and caters to all types, from spectators and participants in the Pamesani Games to those that want things kept a little quiet. It is the first inn visitors come upon when they enter the city through the Gate of Chafin. Many will start an evening’s entertainment by fortifying themselves with a few drinks at the Trident. Thus prepared they make their way to the heart of Sewertown for a night of cockfights, dogfights, and fistfights; accompanied by any variety of debauchery they favour. It’s a poor night when it isn’t standing room only in the Trident!
by Alun Rees
Movel Gamle Hem
May 31, 2011
Movel Gamle Hem, or Movel ‘Old Home’, is the name of a thriving Orbaalese colony on Movel Island in the Afarezirs island group whose population mysteriously disappeared in 714TR, the third failed attempt at colonisation. What remains of the structures in the settlement is still sound, but beginning to deteriorate; the roofs of the longhouses sag and leak, grasses and weeds grow where they shouldn’t, and the palisade needs some repair. Although there are plans to re-colonise the island, Movel Gamle Hem is now a phrase with which to frighten children, not one that encourages colonists.
by Alun Rees
Gwaed Island
May 31, 2011
Too rocky to make a safe haven in a storm and with overly aggressive wildlife, Gwaed has long gone unremarked by seafarers voyaging around the Sea of Tirpal. The island was once home to the Nolgind clan called Peren, but that ended with the coming of the Beast of Blood, an ancient and tragic tale only the Crones of the Nolgind clans remember. Now only the degenerate clan Hafen, to whom the Rhosgenethig Bog is sacred, venture to the island on pilgrimage.
by Alun Rees
Cynswyr Ariensyn
May 31, 2011
In the dialect of the mainland Kubora, Cynswyr Ariensyn translates as ‘The Promise of Fear’. The ring of standing stones is perched on the high cliff overlooking Sholo Island’s largest bay, and is known by outsiders as the ‘Warriors of Sholo’. They, and the stone rooms and towers built in and on the cliffs, are evidence of ancient habitation, but by whom—or what—and when is a mystery. The haunting place is avoided by all but the Sholen Crone, who makes a sacrifice at the base of each standing stone every winter solstice. If the previous year has been particularly hard then other clans, suspicious of its reputation, will send gifts to be offered on their behalf.
by Alun Rees