COMING SOON! Dungeon Delver's Guide: A Sourcebook for 5E and A5E. An essential tome for creating, exploring, and running dungeons in your 5E or A5E game.

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="hawkeyefan" data-source="post: 8590579" data-attributes="member: 6785785">Prompt 15While traveling you come into conflict with another immortal. Gain a Mark. Who are they? What trick did you play upon them? Create a new immortal character. The timing of my exile could not have been more fortuitous. Within weeks, Cnut had defeated Edmund at Assandun, and Aethelred was forced to give Cnut half his kingdom.In the weeks that followed my exile, I roamed the land. I had been branded a traitor. My funds were dwindling. The loyalty of my men was in question; I had lied to them about our departure, telling them that we were on a mission of grave importance to remove another enemy of his majesty's from within the kingdom, but that our mission was secret. They began to hear rumors, though, and it would only be a matter of time before one or more of them suspected the truth. Unsure of what to do, I began to feed on them. Just small amounts to keep my strength up, and to keep them acquiescent. I needed a target of some sort to occupy my men. I settled on Leofwine, a lord in northern Mercia, on the outskirts of what was once my earldom. He had strong blood ties to the Danes, and the town where he held sway, Twywell, was remote enough that I had little fear of discovery. With the loss at Assandun, the king's men were far too occupied to worry about me. I began to become more withdrawn during this time. These mortal entanglements seemed beneath me in some way; at times I wondered why I would fear being discovered at all, yet at other times I would quake at the idea. I was pondering this all one evening as I strolled the streets of Twywell. I came across a church, a simple building not like those found in Lundenburh. From within, there was the sound of a hymnall from those gathered for evening mass. The mere sight of the building filled me with dread. The hymnal was like a dirge. I felt the need to flee, but at the same time my legs felt too heavy to move. I felt I would collapse, but someone came to me and helped me move away from that dreaded place. once we were a good distance away, and I was able to recover my senses, I realized that my savior was an immortal like me. He introduced himself as Wulfstan. He seemed intrigued at finding another like him. He gave a name to what we are, a word I'd heard before but had never quite understood: vampire. Some vampires are repelled by the symbols or trappings of faith. It is not an affliction he shared, but he realized what was happening to me when he came across me outside the church. We spent the next several nights discussing things. I was happy to find a fellow who did not seem entangled with Aija or Hemming, or my prior life in any way. Wulfstan seemed happy to have someone to share his knowledge with. He told me much of what it means to be a vampire, how each of us is marked in unique ways, with great strengths, but also startling vulnerabilities. He explained that with time, the vulnerabilities could possibly be overcome. Wulfstan no longer feared to walk in the day as he once had. His shadow had never betrayed him as mine has me, but for years, the light of the sun had left his skin corpse white. For decades, in fact. He lived here peacefully enough in Twywell, feeding as needed on strangers and travelers, and leaving the townsfolk be. I asked him how long he had been this way, and he had no satisfactory answer. "Years beyond counting," was all that he said. The thought both thrilled and terrified me. Over the course of a month, I learned much from him. But before long, my respite came to an end. One of Cnut's thegns arrived in Twywell. Their presence made me think of Aija, which made me uncomfortable. It was more out of curiosity than fear, I think, that made me betray my newfound companion. I drank of one of the thegn's men and left him outside of Wulfstan's home. When the body was discovered, the thegn gathered his men and moved on Wulfstan's homestead. I chose that time to gather my men and flee. Wulfstan had told me that they were my "thralls", that my bite would keep them loyal to me. We left Twywell in haste. Before long, I expected the story of what happened here would spread, and I would learn of how things played out, and exactly how vulnerable a vampire may be. *****************Mark Gained: Aversion to religious symbols and ceremonyNew Immortal Character: WulfstanExperience added to Memory 5:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">In the town of Twywell, I learn from Wulfstan the name for what I am: vampire. He shares much of what it means to be a vampire.</li> </ul></blockquote>

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