Legendfall: Working Towards a Port City of Note

[Loonook]

Legendfall

(The Coat of House Fivegrace, the four-generations long ruler of Legendfall).

So I have been looking at some of the threads posted in this forum about ships and sails and kraken tails... And I felt the need to enter into some creation. Thus, the beginnings of Legendfall. Hope you enjoy the writeup and that some positive feedback and critiques can help move me forward.

I'm hoping to specifically focus on creating a few things, and want to have some input on what I should start with. For those who want something, where should we start?

 

[Loonook]

Darrin Bluemark, Dock Harrier and the Churchmice.


Darrin Bluemark is the person the children of thieves are threatened with. From drug dens to fighting pits the name of Darrin Bluemark is spoken with fits of awe. At 43 his 6'5" frame is above most common men, and his scarred arms and face show him to be a tough customer even in the worst wine den. Though he has killed dozens of men and women in his pursuits he is also one of the guardians and founders of the Churchmice, a lay group who supports any faith's worship and helps to protect the waifs of the dockside community.

Sold into slavery from afar Bluemark found himself amongst the holy warriors of the Kingdom as a bootblack and errand boy.While never able to rise in the ranks of the Hierarchy, Bluemark did become a skilled leader in the order's Lesser Watch. His freedom was awarded to him by the mark of the Hierarch Himself and he was set to watch over those freeborn men and women born to serve the Hierarch. He became renowned for his talents, but his temper drove a wedge between himself and his order.

((It is rumored that Bluemark left the order for many reasons. Some state that he lost his faith, while others that he was forced for seeing unholy acts performed by his clergy. Others claim that Bluemark's ousting was due to his own 'unholy acts', which many in the docks could attest to )).

Upon his banishment from the Lesser Order he gained the blue mark that has come to signify him. He was marked with a band of dark blue from his inner wrist wrapping up to his shoulder on his sword arm. Darrin never covers the mark, considering it his "rose", and adding a thorn for each man or monster he has dispatched in the docks and his sorties to the sea.

Bluemark is known as one of the greatest harriers in Legendfall. Bluemark robs businesses, merchant houses, guilds, and mugs travelers. He has three to five trusted thugs with him at any given time but his trust does not provide for long life. Bluemark seems to be inspired with the luck and skill of the gods themselves, and has tricked many into his hands.

Bluemark frequents brothels, winepots, and can also be found doing work on the docks for pay. He is still pious though he sponsors wandering clerics of faiths who he feels are 'honorable'. He holds to a strict code of conduct, including an overall protection of children, a brutal ideal of equality, and his steadfast belief in a foolish idea of the mighty protecting the meek.

Darrin Bluemark is a skilled barber and bonesetter, can throw a pot or shoe a horse, but he is most at home with murder and malice. Bluemark is often gone from Legendfall during High Season, taking ships to war and wealth, and returning with large amounts of treasure and a few more mouths to feed. He has seven wives and over two dozen "whelps" of his own. They see to his affairs when he is gone including the issuance of ship's assurance and crafting. His three eldest (two sons and a daughter), have taken to their father's footsteps, though his eldest son was lost to battle alongside his father in a boarding party. His daughter Deadly Mari has a reputation for her skills with dagger and short sword, though the Harrier's sons all take up their father's favored weapons of cudgel, hammer, and warspade.

Suggested Builds:

I know that many of you have various games that you play and thus I will not presume to choose the levels or classes for such a character for you. Personally I have always used Darrin as a strong/smart character, with levels of Rogue and Barbarian to balance out his rages and seemingly excellent luck. He is a large man, usually wearing either his normal clothing or light armors that would be found on a seabound marine to prevent drowning. He is most comfortable with blunt weapons (simply because he began in 2e when clerical restrictions would make even laity rarely had access to blood-letting in our games).

He would be mid-level at his age, with a solid grounding in stealth, intimidation, and a well-balanced series of skills and ability scores. 15-14-11-16-12-11 were his original stats in standard D&D order. As any traveler he will have access to multiple languages, talent with business dealings due to his assurance and moneylending, and a learned talented for minor diplomacy to prevent his rage from overflowing and causing trouble.


Churchmice coming up soon.

Slainte,

-Loonook.

 

[Loonook]

The Churchmice Leaders -

Churchmice, the term used for the laity leaders who have taken up the calling of the Mouse Temples, are the keepers of faith along the dockside. There are five Mouse Temples:

- Temple to the Lost [Leader: Plump Penny]: The largest of the Mouse Temples, usually kept for funerals of sailors lost to the sea. The Temple to the Lost is held by Plump Penny, a dockside harlot turned to comforter of families. In her sixties Penny was the orphan of a young strong merchant-fleet leader in a great storm during the High Season. Once a lover of many of the most prominent captains of yesteryear, Penny was a buxom woman who has lost only some of her bloom to the waste of the years. She is a brutally honest woman, but uses her former wiles-cum-diplomacy to turn the moneys Bluemark and others bring in to the benefit of her dockside pledges.

She has joined with Mirian Harrow of the Small Temple to begin the Free School of Legendfall, bringing warriors, scribes, and even magicians to bring up orphans into a group to join the ranks of the middle-class society of the Fall. She also has been known to hold courses for the middle-class and noble ladies in the 'lower arts' of her former trade, though she has not held anyone amorously since the loss of Jon Harrow, Mirian's kind uncle and former priest-adventurer.

Description: 5'4", still shapely though not vain, Plump Penny is only slightly overweight for a woman of the period. She laughs heartily, and can wield a dagger or staff as well as any former dockwalker. She is the most moral, but know that Bluemark and the other's ends justify the means they use.

Basics: Expert 5/Rogue 1 was her basic layout in the setting workup. She has talents focused in Knowledge of Local and Religion due to her relationship with Jon Harrow. She also has some knowledge of Healing, and herbs and drug knowledge for disease and serves as a midwife to women in need. She is an excellent asset to the party through her knowledge of local families, politics, and the region.

Temple Offerings: Plump Penny was granted a tablecloth from Jon Harrow on the day they were betrothed that casts Heroes' Feast 1/week at CL 15. Penny usually uses this for the meetings of the Churchmice or in the case of famine or illness near the Docks.

Slainte,

-Loonook.

 

[Loonook]

Temple of the Forgotten: Formerly a mercantile house, the Temple of the Forgotten is the den of Old Stump Jonathan. A former sellsword who lost his leg and sword-hand in battle for the Burnt Riders, once the Loyal Knights of Sir Ivan Goodstaff. The warrior-mage's retinue were burnt down in the Battle of Clover and Jonathan rode as Goodstaff's squire. It has been ten years but Jonathan still carries his stump and hand from the cursed flames that burned his comrades to ash.

Broken and drawn to drink and harder things Jonathan was dragged from a den that Darrin Bluemark was currently raiding. Bluemark gave him an option: Lose his other hand for cowardice (a common penalty to warriors in the field), or regain his honor in service to the newly-formed Churchmice. Over the last seven years Old Stump has regained some of his former strength, and has brought together a half a dozen midden men, costermonger, and smaller families to run the Temple of the Forgotten.

Any item lost in Legendfall has a chance to be found in the Temple. The exterior of the temple is covered in broken sculptures mended together into chimeric forms. The Temple is known for its enormous doors, made of pieces of seaglass, driftwood, and the swords of soldiers who have come to the Temple of the Forgotten.

Jonathan holds to a path of peace, and requires his Churchmice followers to do the same. While he is understanding of the other Mice and their pursuits he considers violence against ones fellow men and women to be an affront to his idea of divinity. If forced to combat, however, Stump uses the knowledge given to him by Goodstaff to the fullest. his hand's stumpcap functions as a ring of the ram, but he has mastered the tool to its fullest by allowing the expenditure of additional charges (Maximum of 5). His leg, made from a piece of lightning-struck oak originally made for his apprentice's staff by his leader, is treated as a +1 Thundering Great Mace. He has lost much of his mystic strength from the Curse, but his knowledge of Spellcraft and collection of tomes washed ashore has amassed quite a collection for apprentice and journeyman magus alike.

Basics: Fighter 4/Severed Wizard 5. Severed is a template given to those who have been separated from the flow of magic through injury, curse, or their own unwillingness to cast spells. Because of the untapped magic in his soul Old Stump uses the Hit Dice of a Rogue, and has Spell Resistance (15) due to his own body's resistance to spellcraft. Due to his physical needs Stump loses 10' on his base speed making him move at 20', cannot run, and counts any weapon as one size category larger for his use in lieu of the normal size of the weapon. This does not count for his Stumpcap or Peg-leg, though his Resistance does not count against Vile spells or Necromancy (the basis of the cursed flames that destroyed his spellcasting).

He still maxes out his Knowledge (Arcana) and Spellcraft when possible, and trains young talented children and adults of the Docks into Adepts. When a higher power is noted Stump will pass the new caster onto either Mirian of the Small Temple or Alysson Rower of the Weatherwork Guild. Any of his "youthful idiots" who take to warcraft over the arts of weatherwork, warding, or artifice are usually handed off to Shockhead James, the Warmage who collects talented individuals to train under various mercenary mages and militant orders.

Temple Offerings: Jonathan has an uncanny ability to find the lost and displaced. He can scrounge up information on any stolen, misplaced, or outright lost item as if Legend Lore were cast, but takes 1d4 days to find information. Jonathan may be coaxed into such an arrangement by those who are willing to work for him in finding and returning lost things, or by taking on a quest for the Temple. This ability may be used 1/month.

Slainte,

-Loonook.

 

[Loonook]

The Small Temple -
White marble, the sweet aroma of rushes, and the sounds of children's laughter meets any visitor to the Small Temple. Home to the only free education in the kingdoms, the Small Temple is a place of education and meditation. Children are taught letters, languages, and skills without being placed in the prentice yoke, and those seeking adventure can learn from many of the Churchmice. It is in this place that Mirian Harrow sits smiling her sweet smile, and planning the death of a dynasty.

Mirian saw the hands that fell Jon Harrow at his morning prayers. She stood frozen looking on with a child's eyes as the blades fell. She was the one that Lord Old-Jon Harrow, her father and Jon's aristocrat brother found covered in blood.

And she will have her revenge.

The Small Temple is the retreat of generations of Harrows. Upon the death of her father, Mirian turned the Temple over to the training of young men and women to make the world a better place. She is a clean, neat, and comely woman of twenty-five, a widow twice-over and the hand that rocks the cradles of the Dockside.
At six feet tall she has an ethereal grace found only amongst the well-bred. She has slept in the High Palace, and dined with the Master of Tomes in the Blue Gardens. She has traveled around the world and lives a life of ease, but only Plump Penny knows the true face behind the soft clay mask.

Mirian Harrow is the Bird of Paradise, a Royal assassin who is paid in names.

A Prince of the East loves Mirian in a way that her husbands never did. He weeped upon hearing her story, and used his ears and eyes and a dragon's hoard to gather the names of the assassins who killed Good-Jon Harrow. He gave her the names on the consummation of their love, and she repaid him with a kiss and a child. The child sleeps beneath a silken tent tonight, and his mother weeps for her missing heart. Her list is in the hands of an old woman, a matron she considers to be her Mother, her wise Grandmother, and someday her Destiny.
Mirian Harrow is Evil only in the sense that the means she employs could be seen in that manner. She has used poison, dirk, and spellcraft to defeat her victims, even going so far as to betrothing one of the assassin's sons to get closer (killing both the lordling and the lady in the process). Mirian is allowed her pecadilloes in trade for being the Queen's Justice.

When a man would escape the law for heinous crimes the Queen sends "[her] bloodied angel" to hand. She has granted Mirian estates across the Kingdom, and provides Royal guards to protect and train her Free School in trade for her services. In all Mirian may be gone for months at a time but returns with talented teachers paid for by Kingdom silver and gold.

Description: Mirian is a skilled Aristocratic Rogue who has taken levels in Assassin and has developed a wide range of contacts. When acting as the Bird of Paradise she is equipped by Her Highness Herself, and could be carrying items far above her normal level. She has mastered the arts of subterfuge, thievery, and ranged combat. Any attack she makes will bear poison and curses within it, and is probably one of the most talented cutthroats in the Kingdom.
Mirian presents herself as a lady, and will not admit her identity. Only Plump Penny, the Queen Herself, and the Queen's Gardener (a spymaster) know of her other identity. She is a match for Darrin in melee combat, but will not raise a hand unless she is threatened with the death of those she holds dear. She has completed over half of her list and some members have escaped her grasp from their own deaths, but she is looking to speed up the process so she may put away her weapons and return to her child.

The Bird of Paradise is a rumor and a legend, and is known only for the brightly-colored plume left upon its victim.

...

I know it needs a bit more, but needs must as the devil drives. I need sleep. Good night guys .
Slainte,

-Loonook.

 

[Loonook]

Temple on High:

Overlooking the Dockside, the Temple on High is the home of Elder Hetna and her hundreds of exotic birds. Once a paladin of the Sun Lord, Hetna is the only non-human amongst the Churchmice, and her methodical disposition has led her into becoming a skilled fancier and friend to sultan and stevedore alike. Hetna has used a combination of genetics, proper breeding, and her constant observation to create several dozen varieties of harrier for falconry, and a group of hyper-intelligent, fast-moving pigeons for carriage of messages to and from her various fancier companions.

At 4'6" Hetna is an enormous specimen of her race, and has lived her ninety years in service to her Sun Lord. She has established an open-air market for her beauties, and as a place for her meetings with her husband Hetne.

Hetne Broadback, the ginger tonsured human follower of the Sun Lord, was raised in the primitive wastes surrounding the City of Sighs. He has lived fit and hale without aging since his wife took him to her hearth and bed. While some claim it is a blessing, Hetne prefers to think of it as his wonderful punishment for marrying such a beauty. At an even 7', Hetne is a master of shapeshifting and spends most of his time in the form of a crimson goshawk or secretly as the Mercy, a shark that haunts the range near Shipbreaker's Hold. Hetne and Hetna's children number five, and each bears Hetdotter or Hetson as their family name.

Description: Imagine an enormous aerie made of stone and wood. Within the wealthy look upon perches where dozens of beautiful birds bear multi-colored ribbons assigning their value. A trained hawk of Hetna's can run upwards of 400GP, while her Four Emperors (named after the Four Emperors of the Last Imperium) cannot be purchased. These birds serve as protectors over the skies of Legendfall, and are imbued with daily rituals by the two divine casters to enhance their skill and provide for protection against possible threats.

Background: Hetne Broadback is a 9th level Druid follower of the Sun Lord. He is True Neutral, believing full well in the ideas of life and death and the powers of sea and air.

Elder Hetna is an 8th level Cleric/2nd Level Paladin of the Sun Lord. She is (of course) Lawful Good, and has helped to reign in some of Hetne's darker urges when he is lost in the Dance of Shaping.

Slainte,

-Loonook.

 

[Loonook]

Are you a Mapmaker?

I'm looking for someone to collaborate with to add a little bit of semi-decent mapping to these Articles. If anyone would like to contribute maps or pictures I would be happy to see them! Please just shoot me a PM and I would be happy to work out an arrangement with you.

Slainte,

-Loonook.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

JulianBrekke
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Join Date: Feb 2012
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[Loonook]

Apologies... We are currently waiting on some illustrations to continue and start to vamp up the Churchmice. Until then, I am currently working on the following:

- Mercantile Rules: Spinning off the idea that kind of started this thread including rules for Merchant Houses, Buying/Selling, Speculation, Auction, and other steps.

- Crews and Captains: Rules for Ship and Caravan leaders, and their ilk.

- Fanciers - Some rules for how to handle heredity, breeding of animals, and making better animals .

Slainte,

-Loonook.