Rogue Games Tabbloid -- April 18, 2009 Edition

18 April, 2009

Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR [email protected]

ROGUE FEED

When the Lizardmen made an attempt to purge the Isthmus of the Warm Blood taint, many women picked up a weapon to protect their homes. Dubbing themselves Valkeries, they came to Skeggi’s defense and helped repeal the invasion of 2419 I.C. After a week of intense fighting both sides agreed to met and work out a truce, and this is the origins of Hexoatl and Skeggi cooperation (an event that rankles many southern Slann).

[Lost Works] Lustria, Part 4 APR 18, 2009 12:03A.M.

Amazons With hostilities over, the Valkeries were told to lay down their weapons and return to their duties. Women warriors are not accepted in Norse

Located in the middle of the Amazon River estuary is a small island. A blanket of trees and vines smother this island and shroud it in mystery. The island is home of the warriors of Lustrian myth: Amazons.

society and the common view is: “Battle is man’s work.” The Valkyrie having no desire to so, argued that their actions helped ensure Skeggi’s safety. Because they fought for their home, they earned the right to be treated fairly and equally. Seeing that the women had no desire to lay down their arms Losteriksson gave the Valkeries a longship and were told to leave.

Among Lustrian scholars there is much debate over the veracity of the Amazons existence. Some, especially the scholar Timotheus Eckmann, feel this is nothing more than fever dreams of explorer’s. Timotheus writes in his book Deconstruction and Reconstruction of the Lustrian Myth Cycle:

Sailing south along Lustria’s coast the women came to the mouth of the Amazon River. Finding a swampy island, they beached their boat and claimed it for themselves. The island contained the ruins of a Slann temple city, and the Valkeries used them for the beginning of their settlement.

The supposed existence of Amazons is silly. The very idea that Norse women, sailed to an island in the heart of the Slann’s territory is nothing more than fiction worthy of minstrels and playwrights. The Amazons are a myth, nothing more. If you think otherwise you probably believe that the High Elfs practice slavery and that there is a secret cabal of Shallyan clergy conspiring in controlling the Empire.

It was not until 2485 I.C. that the first documented encounter with the women can be found. The Dwarf explorer Malfrek the Chief Interrogator of the Schwarzmantel, sailed to Lustria in search of gold and wealth. Sailing to the bay Malfrek saw a settlement on an island. Mistaking the settlement for a Lizardmen one, he and his men attacked. The battle did not go as planed and Malfrek’s group was soundly defeated by a “…group of wild women who worshiped Lizardmen gods.” (From Tales of Pride a collection of tales written by Alfons Bijl and published by E’oro Publishers: Tilea, 2503 I.C.) Dubbing the women Amazons, the Dwarf warned all to avoid the island.

(Published in 2512 I.C. by the Marienburg publishing house of Von Beck & Sons. This work is hotly debated among various scholars and the main debate is over the view of the High Elfs.) Still there are many that claim to have had encounters with the Amazons. One scholar located in Skeggi has uncovered much in the way of the truth, and together with his Skink counterpart, has pieced together enough clues pointing to Amazon existence.

Amazon Society The Amazons of today bear little resemblance to the Norse Valkeries that first settled here. Having discovered Lizardmen culture they have adopted much to their belief system and are avid worshipers of Chotec. Amazons believe in strength and wisdom, and strength without the guidance of wisdom is dangerous. One only has to look at the actions of men to see what the consequences are.

The Rise of the Valkeries In the early years of Skeggi, many attempts were made to settle larger areas of the Isthmus. Warriors abandoned Losterikson because they were impatient to find gold and riches for themselves. Leaving the safety of Skeggi, they ventured into the jungles and built new settlements. Once finished, the men began their quest for gold leaving their wives to defend themselves. Often these settlements failed, and this was due to either sickness or Lizardmen raids. Some settlements did survive and this is due in very large part to the women fighting to protect their homes.

The Amazons have survived a long time, and as far as anyone can tell, do not reproduce. As to how they have thrived as long as they have, there are a few theories. Some feel Chotec has granted the women immortality, which Old World

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Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR [email protected]

18 April, 2009

theologians and scholars scoff at. Some speculate that since the Amazons do not allow males on their island their numbers are replenished via pathogenesis.

ROGUE FEED

The Hobby and the Industry APR 17, 2009 06:02P.M.

Another theory is that the Amazons have discovered a drug that gives them ever lasting youth and life. This rumor has attracted many explorers to the Heart of Darkness who have never returned. This fact has given birth to the theory that the women keep these men as captives and use them for breeding stock.

That Dave Arneson wasn’t more well known and widely regarded during his lifetime is something I’ve felt very acutely over the past week and reading a quote like the following only solidifies that feeling further: “Dice and maps and figures and complicated rule books are a crutch. The game doesn’t need them — but the market does,” Arneson said in 1992.

There is also a growing belief that that the Amazons have located ancient artifacts dating back to the time of the Old Ones and Slann of the First Spawnings. These artifacts have allowed the Amazons to clone themselves and continually replenish their numbers. Since the Amazons do not like visitors, the truth might never be learned.

There’s a very important truth here and it’s one I’m wrestling with rather powerfully at the moment.

Though the Amazons are a presence in Lustria they have remained neutral in the politics of the continent. Never in their history have they taken sides with the Slann, and for their part, the Slann have never sought it. The Amazons stay to themselves and seem uninterested in the world off their island.

ROGUE FEED

An Opportunity Missed

As to what Amazon society is like, no one knows. Some speculate that it is one centered on art and beauty. Some, especially those who have encounters with them, claim it is a culture centered on violence and hate. There are many questions, but few real answers.

APR 17, 2009 03:11P.M.

The Amazons stay mainly on their island, but they have been encountered in the jungles from time to time. Typically these encounters have been with war parties numbering in the twenties. The women are said to be topless and wear only a loincloth made from a jaguar pelt. They protect their heads with leather coif made from stegadon hide. They also carry shields made from stegadon spine ridges. For weapons they typically carry a spear, and favor the bow. As for the Amazons future in Lustria? It is assured. No one is welcomed on their island, and all attempts to slay them have failed. They remain an enigma and no one in Lustria knows what to make of them. Posted in Games Tagged: Games, Lost Works, Lustria, thoughts, Warhammer FRP

The other day I got a package in the mail from Paizo. That’s not unusual, since I’m a Planet Stories subscriber and regularly get packages from them. This package was larger and thinner than the ones I usually receive, so I was curious about its contents. I opened it up and inside was issue #20 of Pathfinder magazine. I was surprised by this, since I hadn’t ordered it. A quick check with Paizo — whose customer service is excellent — revealed that the product had been sent to me in error instead of the next Planet Stories volume. I was told to keep the copy of

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Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR [email protected]

18 April, 2009

Pathfinder and that a new Planet Stories book would be sent to me immediately (which it was — again, kudos to Paizo customer service).

This issue contains posts from between Apr 17, 2009 07:08a.m. and Apr 18, 2009 03:08a.m.. Visit Rogue Games on the web: www.rogue-games.net

I hadn’t looked at a copy of Pathfinder since its earliest issues. I make no bones about my respect for the Paizo guys and gals. I’ve even reviewed several of their products quite favorably, albeit with my usual caveats. Unfortunately, Pathfinder appeared just in time for my return to old school gaming, so I never had any strong desire to take up a subscription. Having had the chance to look over issue #20, which is the second part of an Arabian-themed adventure path, I can’t say I regret that choice. That’s not to say that the issue’s feature adventure, “House of the Beast,” is a bad one, because it’s not. There’s actually a lot I like about it, particularly its Sinbad the Sailor-like ambience, with its ruined desert fortress housing a dark cult. Paizo does a superb job of presenting an exciting world that draws heavily on the pulp fantasies that inspired D&D — perhaps too good a job. One of my beefs with this issue of Pathfinder is the depth of the information it provides to frame the adventure. The adventure itself takes up pages 6 through 49 of a 96-page product, which is a lot when you consider that the titular House of the Beast is no megadungeon, but a small-ish ruin whose levels generally have fewer than 20 chambers each, sometimes much fewer. Much of its word count is taken up by exhaustive descriptions of the dungeon’s rooms, inhabitants, and features, as well as background information tying it all together into a rational whole. And then there are the D20 mechanics. I realize I’ve been spoiled by having played Swords & Wizardry exclusively over the last few months, but that doesn’t take away from the pain of being reminded just how expansive D20 stat blocks are, even when it comes to very simple creatures. I can’t imagine trying to run a game as complex as this ever again. The whole thing almost made it difficult for me to appreciate the excellence of the adventure, which is, at its base, a satisfying — if very focused — dungeon crawl rather than a story-heavy railroad many associate with the Adventure Path concept. But the rules are too much and, having played D20 games for a long time, unnecessarily so. I know backward compatibility with v.3.5 D&D is important to Paizo and I respect that on one level. Yet, I can’t help but wonder about an alternate universe where the upcoming Pathfinder RPG wasn’t a nearly-600-page tome costing $50 but instead a slimmer, less expensive volume with simple rules better suited to my freewheeling tastes. In the end, though, I’m not the target audience for Pathfinder and, while I regret that because I like the Paizo crew and want to support them, I’m also fine with it, because I already have a game that caters to my idiosyncrasies. I sometimes imagine an alternate universe where Paizo marries their unmatched world building skills to a simpler set of rules. I honestly don’t know what would happen if a company as savvy as Paizo adopted and promoted a retro-clone as their rules vehicle, but it’s fun to imagine it nonetheless.

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