IN SHORT: Warmachine Vengeance has arrived. Let’s dig in. As with previous releases, every Warmachine army gets a healthy heaping of awesome, this time with an emphasis on speed with exciting cavalry units and mobile warcasters. It also ushers in an interesting cast of journeymen warcasters. The book is printed in stellar full color with plenty of gorgeous new artwork.
Let’s take a look at the new Cygnar models.
LORD GENERAL COLEMAN STRYKER: Stryker got himself a horse, and now he’s all about the alpha strike. He gives Storm Lances Reform (a 3” move after their actions), and his feat, Lightning Charge, basically begs for some horses in his army. When activated, all charge attacks and mount attacks automatically hit and gain an additional die for damage rolls. Ouch! Stryker’s horse also comes with Thunderous Impact, which zaps d3 nearby models when an impact attack lands. Nasty!
Warjacks can tag along too. With Escort, he gives them +2” movement to help them keep up. Throw in Field Marshal [Assault], and those warjacks are still shooting when they charge in. And when all of these models come crashing into the enemy’s lines, Fury gives a select model or unit +3 to their melee damage rolls.
Now do note that Stryker is a large base. This makes him a large target, but he won’t go down easily. With Escort up and a warjack nearby, he can camp at ARM 25. Add in DEF 15 and 18 hit points, and he’s no pushover. He also zaps anyone who hits him in melee.
With Stryker, hit first and hit hard. He certainly has the rules and stats to get the job done.
RELIANT: Here’s another electricity themed heavy warjack. It can fire an electrical 3” AOE that stays in play for a round, allowing it to help out with area denial tactics. It comes with a P+S 17 melee attack with Critical Thunderclap. On a critical hit, place a 4” AOE over the target. Models hit, friend or foe without Immunity: Electricity, become Stationary. And yes, bear in mind that is both friend and foe. Fortunately, Cygnar has a wide selection of models with the necessary immunity.
All this for only 8 points? Not too bad. Critical abilities are always a bit of a gamble, but area effect Stationary is nothing to scoff at.
TEMPEST BLAZERS: A lot of Warmachine involves using the right tool or trick in the right place. The Tempest Blazers (basically gun mages on horseback) bring three attack types to the table, Brutal Damage to hitting harder, Blessed for bypassing defensive buffs, and Electro Leap for taking out fodder.
With SPD 9 and light cavalry rules, they are highly mobile gun platforms, and their DEF 15 is no joke. Solid ranged support cavalry.
STORMBLADE CAPTAIN: What’s better than Storm Knights? Storm Knights with Relentless Charge, that’s what! The Stormblade Captain is worth 2 points for that ability alone. Stormblades in particular are only SPD 5 and don’t have Reach on their weapons. Getting stuck in a rough terrain quagmire or traipsing around it can be a real pain. He also comes with a P+S 13 Weapon Master melee attack with Reach, and thanks to Quick Work, can fire off a shot if he kills anything.
Oh, and he’s a ‘Jack Marshal too, and gives Storm Knights Tactician so they can ignore each other for LOS purposes. This solo is definitely worth the cost when supporting Storm Knight units.
LIEUTENANT ALLISON JAKES: And now let’s take a look at Cygnar’s new journeyman warcaster. 3 points gets you a 4 Focus mini-warcaster. That alone is a very exciting deal.
With only 5 hit boxes and ARM 13, Jakes can’t take much of a beating. And you should expect some hurt to come her way, especially if she has a warjack her battlegroup. Fortunately, she comes with some rules to help keep her safe. DEF 15 can be increased to DEF 17 with Sidekick and a nearby battlegroup warjack. This also grants her immunity to knock down, among other effects. Power Field let’s her camp Focus for ARM 17. Parry gives her immunity to free strikes, and Sprint lets her dash away from the front lines if she destroys something in melee.
Jakes can also give her battlegroup (including herself) a bit of extra speed with Energizer. All of this leads me to view her as a harassing model that nips at the enemy’s flanks, moving in and out to take out high value targets. Squishy, but mobile and hard to pin down.
SUMMARY: Privateer Press continues to release new and exciting models for each of its factions, ensuring that whichever army you play, you keep getting new options to bring to the tabletop. All in all, Vengeance is great release for a game that keeps getting better.
Check out the complete list of Warmachine and Hordes articles here.
Fantasy
Warmachine Vengeance Review: Retribution
IN SHORT: Warmachine Vengeance has arrived. Let’s dig in. As with previous releases, every Warmachine army gets a healthy heaping of awesome, this time with an emphasis on speed with exciting cavalry units and mobile warcasters. It also ushers in an interesting cast of journeymen warcasters. The book is printed in stellar full color with plenty of gorgeous new artwork.
Let’s take a look at the new Retribution models.
ISSYRIA, SIBYL OF DAWN: This warcaster has no offensive abilities of any kind, be they weapons or spells. She depends entirely on her army to get the job done. Fortunately, she brings a whole host of support to said army along with 8 Focus to play with.
Offensively, Issyria can grant +2” charges in her control area and give a warjack a free attack each round. Her feat can be used by just about any model in Retribution. It lets them ignore concealment, Camouflage, and Stealth while granting them an additional die on attack and damage rolls. Very potent for a powerful alpha strike, be it melee or ranged or a combined approach.
Defensively, she also has an impressive toolkit. She comes with a +2 ARM buff, can negate enemy spells with Arcane Vortex, and can keep a key model safe with Admonition. Her only offensive spell, Blinding Light, serves a dual purpose. It strips enemy warrior models or units of 2 DEF and prevents them from making ranged or magic attacks. This can potentially shut down your opponent’s alpha strike before it gets off the ground, so she’ll want an arc node or two for that.
With so many support options and a powerful feat, Issyria can lead a wide variety of builds. First impressions are a tricky but potentially rewarding warcaster to play. If the key models in her army get wrecked, she’s done. Fortunately with an ARM buff, Admonition, and Arcane Vortex, she has the tools to keep those models safe until it’s time to strike.
IMPERATUS: Retribution gets a high level character warjack. Based on the Phoenix, the Imperatus comes with a shocking suite of rules and an equally shocking price tag of 12 points. First, this warjack is tough to kill. With DEF 13, ARM 18, and a 12-point field that regenerates d6 points in the maintenance phase, it’s sticking around. Even better, if it does get totaled, it just gets right back up with a full power field and one box repaired in each system.
It also hits hard with two P+S 17 thermal blades that set enemies on fire. Its POW 14 gun makes enemies explode into flames, setting their neighbors on fire. Yes, I think Privateer Press took the whole Phoenix thing quite literally with this one.
And it’s fast too. With SPD 6, Side Step, and Reach on its blades, it can potentially get to targets 15” away. Fast, hard-hitting, and tough to kill. It’s what a really expensive character warjack should be.
HOUSEGUARD THANE: This model brings a number of bonuses to Houseguard units. With Desperate Pace, a select Houseguard unit gains +2” movement. That’s a basic useful bonus to those units. But the most exciting rule is Firing Solution [Houseguard]. With this, the target unit ignores Camouflage and Stealth.
Retribution tends to struggle against Stealth. Well, guess what? Houseguard Thane plus Houseguard Riflemen can chew models relying on Stealth to keep them safe. A very nice addition to the Retribution arsenal.
MAGE HUNTER INFILTRATORS: What can I say? These guys live up to their name. Well, the Mage Hunter part, at least.
Gang brings their two attacks up to effective MAT 8 and P+S 11. Mage Killer makes them de facto Weapon Masters against spellcasters. Arcane Assassin allows them to ignore Power Fields and defensive buffs. Stealth, DEF 14, SPD 7, and Pathfinder help to get them there. They’re good at what they’re designed to do, and can definitely put the hurt on most warcaster/warlock models if they get close.
What more is there to say? Well, they can have the next model tag along …
EIRYSS, MAGE HUNTER COMMANDER: Eiryss is a unit attachment in her third edition, and she’s just as impressive as ever. This time she brings the pain to both Warmachine and Hordes, but especially to Hordes. All of her attacks (one ranged and two melee) come with Arcane Hemorrhage. Hit a model, strip it of Focus or Fury, and switch off its upkeep spells. This is nasty against Warmachine players, but can really mess with Hordes players’ fury management.
She can join either flavor of Mage Hunters, and both can benefit from her rules. She grants Fearless, Reform, and Advance Deployment. My personal favorite combo? Try Eiryss, the Strike Force, and a Strike Force Commander. Now Eiryss’s crossbow ignores LOS, concealment, and cover. Just try hiding from her now!
ELARA, TYRO OF THE THIRD CHAMBER: Here’s a journeyman warcaster that looks like she wants to be in the thick of it, but I don’t know about that.
When she kills a living enemy model, she can allocate a point of Focus to a battlegroup warjack. She also comes with Side Step for those extra 2” moves to help her nail two models and charge up whichever warjack she’s controlling. Theoretically, she could kill six models and fill up two warjacks. Not too bad, though this does come with a disclaimer. Her melee attacks are only MAT 6 P+S 10 and don’t have Reach. Not exactly the stuff of legends.
When camping, she reaches a solid DEF 15 ARM 18. Since she has no defensive abilities, she relies on her raw stats much more so than other journeymen warcasters. But her fairly unimpressive melee skills limit valid targets for Extraction.
Her Battle Charged spell does brings some more options to the table. This gives her battlegroup (including her) Counter Charge, allowing them to hang back a bit and then get free charges on models hitting the front lines. And she can always just stay out of the way and keep a warjack flush with focus. For 3 points, that’s still a good deal. But she doesn’t impress me the way some other journeymen warcasters do.
SUMMARY: Privateer Press continues to release new and exciting models for each of its factions, ensuring that whichever army you play, you keep getting new options to bring to the tabletop. All in all, Vengeance is great release for a game that keeps getting better.
Check out the complete list of Warmachine and Hordes articles here.
Warmachine Vengeance Review: Menoth
IN SHORT: Warmachine Vengeance has arrived. Let’s dig in. As with previous releases, every Warmachine army gets a healthy heaping of awesome, this time with an emphasis on speed with exciting cavalry units and mobile warcasters. It also ushers in an interesting cast of journeymen warcasters. The book is printed in stellar full color with plenty of gorgeous new artwork.
Let’s take a look at the new Menoth models.
SERVATH REZNIK, WRATH OF AGES: Reznik got himself a chariot! He’s now a cavalry battle engine warcaster, with all the plusses and minuses that entails. As with any huge base model, survivability is important because they’re … well, they’re huge targets. Fortunately, Renzik has that covered. ARM 17 and 7 Focus can let him camp up to ARM 24. Those 20 hit boxes aren’t going away in a hurry. Oh, and if he has at least one Focus on him, non-magical ranged attacks automatically miss. Those rules will definitely help with his approach, because melee is one of his strengths.
Renzik can cast Creator’s Wrath on himself, granting an additional die to melee attack and damage rolls and makes those attacks ignore defensive buffs. Given Renzik’s already solid MAT 7 and P+S 13 and the fact that he can boost those rolls even further, it becomes clear what a monster in melee he is. Add in Flame Burst on his spear, and a feat that lowers enemy DEF by 2 and makes them explode into 4” POW 12 AOEs, and he can do a lot of damage before even considering his army.
He also comes with a lot of support options, Death March being the most exciting one in my opinion. There are plenty of units that can benefit from +2 MAT and Vengeance. Free 3” move and attack in the maintenance phase after losing a model? Yes, please! Iron Aggression is a carryover from Renzik’s prime version and grants a friendly warjack (doesn’t have to be in his battlegroup!) boosted melee attack rolls and a free run, charge, slam, or trample. Finally, he can put Lamentation up to double Focus or Fury costs within his control area.
Renzik looks like he has two basic modes of play, along with combinations of both styles. He can go straight in, spear-to-the-face style. Or he can hang back and provide a generous amount of support to his army. If your opponent doesn’t have much in the way of magical shooting, he can do both at the same time.
Pretty awesome. Should be interesting to see him in action on the table.
INDICTOR: This heavy warjack is a solid brick of Menoth-flavored nope. First, it’s got a generous damage grid, ARM 19 and a shield. It’ll take some effort to put down. With Sacred Ward, it can’t be targeted by enemy spells either.
But the big one is Consecration. Within 5” of this guy, enemy models can’t cast spells, channel spells, or upkeep spells. Yikes! Talk about disrupting your enemy’s plans! As an added bonus, its P+S 17 melee attack is magical and Blessed for ignoring enemy defensive buffs. Because it’s always nice to ignore even more of your foe’s efforts.
So yeah, like I said, this thing is a big can of Menoth nope. Very nice.
FLAME BRINGERS: These ladies on horseback are fast! I mean, really really fast! Not only do they come with SPD 9, but they also have Side Step for an additional 2” move after every initial attack that hits. Oh, and they have three attacks. They’re light cavalry, which gives them a 5” move after their actions are complete. All summed up during a round they charge, they can move an amazing 23”!
They come with Pathfinder, so terrain isn’t slowing them down, and when they’re hitting, it’s with P+S 9 Weapon Master swords. Not bad at all. They also come with Critical Grievous Wounds, a devastating ability against Hordes … when it actually triggers.
EXEMPLAR BASTION SENESCHAL: What are harder to kill than Exemplar Bastions? How about healing Exemplar Bastions! This model heals every Exemplar Bastion model in its command range 1 point at the beginning of their activation (including itself).
It also comes with an impressive suite of rules to keep it alive. It’s a Jack Marshal, and if it’s marshalling and in base to base contact with the warjack, it gets +2 ARM and can let the warjack take ranged and magic attack hits in its place. Defensive Strike gives it a free attack when someone walks up to it, once per round.
For 3 point, worth it if you’re fielding Bastions. Definitely worth it. Just imagine trying to shift this guy marshalling a Vigilant or Devout behind a full unit Bastions. Not going to be easy!
INITIATE TRISTAN DURANT: As a journeyman warcaster, he has a wide range of applications, but to me this guy’s rules scream “I want an arc node!”
First, he comes with a solid attack spell in Immolation. This POW 12 attack spell only has a range of 8”, but it causes the fire continuous effect on critical hits. Not bad.
However, it gets better. Durant has True Sight, so he ignores concealment, Camouflage, and Stealth. Now let’s think about how many powerful solos have those rules for protection, but wouldn’t like a POW 12 flame spell to the face? A lot, right? He also comes with Fortify to keep his arc node safe with +2 ARM, immunity to knock down, and a few other effects.
Durant lacks any special rules that help with his survivability, so it’s best to keep him back from the front lines. His DEF 14 and ARM 15 are decent, and he can pull off an impressive five attacks with P+S 11 and Blessed if he has to get into melee. But he’s just doesn’t feel like he’s meant for the front lines.
Alternately, instead of an arc node, he can keep a ranged warjack flush with focus and help it wail away at the enemies. Though honestly, any of the journeymen warcasters can do this.
SUMMARY: Privateer Press continues to release new and exciting models for each of its factions, ensuring that whichever army you play, you keep getting new options to bring to the tabletop. All in all, Vengeance is great release for a game that keeps getting better.
Check out the complete list of Warmachine and Hordes articles here.
Warmachine Vengeance Review: Khador
IN SHORT: Warmachine Vengeance has arrived. Let’s dig in. As with previous releases, every Warmachine army gets a healthy heaping of awesome, this time with an emphasis on speed with exciting cavalry units and mobile warcasters. It also ushers in an interesting cast of journeymen warcasters. The book is printed in stellar full color with plenty of gorgeous new artwork.
Let’s take a look at the new Khador models.
KOMMANDER ZOKTAVIR, THE BUTCHER UNLEASHED: This guy will wreck your face. First, just in terms of raw hitting power, the Butcher has a MAT 9 P+S 16 Weapon Master axe with Reach. He can cast Flashing Blade to hit every model he’s engaging at the same time, and he has Silence of Death for negating Tough rolls and damage transfers. Absolutely sick!
But it gets worse. His feat lets him refill his focus. Perfect for assassination runs. He also comes with two War Anguses, which are fairly dangerous on their own, but are even more dangerous when they die because that triggers the Butcher’s Vengeance ability (free 3” move and attack in the maintenance phase). They also grant the Butcher Relentless Charge, so he has Pathfinder when he charges in.
But it gets worse! The Butcher also comes with Energizer for up to 3” of additional movement and Impending Doom for drawing enemies within 5” in to be carved up with Flashing Blade. Let’s just recap all those movement shenanigans. SPD 5 base + 3” charge + 2” Reach + 3” Vengeance + 3” Energizer + 5” Impending Doom. That’s 21” of non-linear threat range. Very, very nasty!
The Butcher Unleashed is a pure assassination caster. As pure as they come. His army is nothing but a means to an end, and that end is the Butcher’s axe in the enemy warcaster/warlock’s face.
GROLAR: Here’s an impressive and versatile Khador heavy warjack. First, its piston hammer is P+S 18 and inflicts Ram (knock down plus a 1” push and 1” move follow up). Very nice. It’s auto cannon is POW 12 RNG 8. Nothing too exciting until you see it gets 5 shots! Make the initial attack, spend 2 focus, and fire 4 more shots thanks to Double Strike. That’s a lot of cannon fire!
With Virtuoso and Gunfighter, the Grolar can use its melee and ranged abilities in any combination the situation calls for. It’s also surprisingly mobile. Between +1” for Rams and +2” for Fleet, it can clear a good amount of ground (for a Khador warjack, anyway), all while using both melee and ranged attacks in the same turn.
All this for the fair price of 9 points. Like I said, impressive and versatile.
GREYLORD OUTRIDERS: Greylords on horseback. These guys bring two abilities to the table. First, they can move in, spray down enemies with Frostbite, then move back 5” thanks to being their light cavalry rules. Or they can use Winter’s Wind on a friendly Khador model. Any enemy that ends their activation within 2” of that model becomes stationary. Ouch!
Just think about putting this effect on the Conquest or heavily armored warjacks like the Devastator or any big and tough Khador model for that matter. Since each Outrider can place this on a model, you can in theory have five of these Winter’s Wind areas up, heavily disrupting your opponent’s plans. And disruption is good.
Beyond that, the Outriders also have Snow-Wreathed which gives them permanent concealment, bumping their DEF 13 up to DEF 15 against most shooting. This will help keep them safe while they do their work.
IRON FANG KOVNIK: For 2 points, this guy makes Iron Fangs better. Not too much to say beyond that. He makes them immune to knock down with No Sleeping on the Job [Iron Fangs], and he gives them +2” movement when their shields are up with Shield March. He can also Jack Marshal and is comes equipped with a P+S 12 Weapon Master Reach attack. ARM 15 and Unyielding make him effective ARM 17 when in combat, so he’s not a pushover to get rid of.
A solid support solo for those who use Iron Fangs, though Shield March can apply to any unit that uses the Shield Wall order.
KOVNIK ANDREI MALAKOV: This journeyman warcaster is defined by his Redline spell. With this, a warjack gets +2 SPD and +2 STR, but at the cost of d3 damage at the end of each activation. Just about any Khador warjack can make good use of those bonuses. Perhaps not surprisingly, he goes very well with the new Grolar, being able to keep it flush with Focus while giving it an additional +2 SPD, letting the Grolar charge enemies up to 11” away. For Khador, that’s very fast indeed.
Finally, he comes with Sucker! to keep him safe. Ranged attacks that hit him must be pawned off to a nearby warrior model, so he definitely wants to stick around some infantry. Of course, he can still get nuked with magic attacks. Base ARM 13 and DEF 14 will only do so much, so watch out.
SUMMARY: Privateer Press continues to release new and exciting models for each of its factions, ensuring that whichever army you play, you keep getting new options to bring to the tabletop. All in all, Vengeance is great release for a game that keeps getting better.
Check out the complete list of Warmachine and Hordes articles here.
Iron Kingdoms – SPLAT!
Jacob Holo: The gobber retrieves four circlets from his bag and places them on the ground in front of you. He handles them with thick leather gloves and uses extreme care. At no time does he touch them directly. The wide rings of twisted black metal radiate an aura of palpable evil. Even standing several feet away, you can feel the joy and color of the world starting to fade. Birds aren’t singing. Crickets aren’t chirping. Even the sound of wind through the trees has come to a stop. A strange unearthly chill settles over you.
Erik: I take one and put it on.
Jacob Holo: Of course you do. I mean, why wouldn’t you?
I’m beginning to think these players aren’t taking me seriously. And to be honest, maybe this is my own fault. Because I prefer everyone to have fun. Yes, I want to challenge the players, but I don’t feel the need to stomp their faces into the ground and pour salt in their wounds. No one likes a frustrating, unfair obstacle in the middle of their gaming session.
I am, first and foremost, a story teller. I relish the chance to take people on a journey, and that’s hard to do when they’re taking a roleplaying dirt nap. So, sometimes I bend the rules.
Jacob Holo: The Cryxian helljack staggers upright, foul glowing liquid pouring from the bullet holes in its chassis. It charges Erik, shaking the earth with each thundering stride. The helljack pulls back a fist of wicked claws and … <rolls dice>
Erik: Oh, this is going to hurt.
Ferrous Claw: How much health do you have left?
Erik: One point.
Ferrous Claw: Dude, nice knowing you. I call dibs on his shoes.
Fiz: No fair! I wanted them.
Jacob Holo: <dice roll result is a hit> … Ooh, so close. The helljack swings. You drop to your knees at the last moment. The massive metallic fist sails an inch over your head, taking your hat with it.
Erik: No, not my hat!
And that’s fine. A slightly modified die roll can give the party a bit of good “luck” when they need it the most or can turn a boring encounter into a true challenge, making the game all the more thrilling.
But perhaps I’ve been too forgiving. It’s time for their luck to run out. Nothing focuses a group of players like a brutal and unexpected death. And this crew does some really stupid stuff from time to time.
For example …
Jacob Holo: You carefully examine the narrow iron bridge and find a hinged plate spanning the entire width. No way around it and no guardrail. There’s another hinged plate on the opposite side. The mechanism looks like it’ll give out when sufficient pressure is applied. The gap they form is about six feet.
Erik: I’m going to jump it.
Jacob Holo: You take a step back and pause, glancing down at the inky blackness below. You don’t know how far it is to the bottom, but you guess the drop will be fatal.
Erik: I’m still going to jump it.
Jacob Holo: Sure. Why not. Jumping skill check.
Erik: <rolls dice> Err …I rolled a two.
Jacob Holo: You take a running leap, but your foot slips at the last moment. You stumble forward. The plates give way, and you plunge into the darkness screaming.
Erik: Can I turn around and try to catch the ledge?
Jacob Holo: Your comrades watch you disappear into the gloom below. Your scream fades until it’s abruptly cut off by a bone-crunching splat that echoes in the chasm.
Erik: Guess not.
Dark Souls II Collector’s Edition Guide – Book Review
IN SHORT: A lavishly produced 460-page hardcover tome with everything a Dark Souls II fan could want.
WHAT IT IS: Massive and beautifully bound, this collector’s edition guide for Dark Souls II not only includes a great deal of information about the game, but also sheds light on its sometimes nebulous background story. Many sections were written by gamers for gamers, with writing credits to Marcus Sanders and Franz von Eisenheim, otherwise known on YouTube as EpicNameBro and A German Spy.
WHAT IT IS NOT: As with many releases of this nature, it was written while the game was still being developed, resulting in some rushed elements. For example, there are an unusually high number of typographical mistakes in the guide. Fortunately, this doesn’t detract from the value of its content.
WHAT I THOUGHT: I love Demon’s Souls. I love Dark Souls. And I love Dark Souls II. Also, I probably spend more time than I should on YouTube watching videos related to these games. When I learned that the people behind two of my favorite Souls-related YouTube channels were working on the new guide, I had to check it out.
I do not regret this decision.
The guide is something special and awesome for two important reasons. One, it is packed with Dark Souls II lore. Two, it was partially written by two gamers who are near fanatical in their devotion to the Souls games.
For those not familiar with the Souls games, the stories can be … a bit hard to follow. Most of the information directly provided is vague, and the rest is even vaguer. A lot of story is delivered through environments, item descriptions, and other indirect methods. It also doesn’t help that some characters in the games have no idea what they’re talking about or are outright liars.
The Dark Souls II Collector’s Edition Guide sheds a light on all this. It provides bits of lore with every area, enemy, boss, and item. This is really great stuff for anyone who wishes to learn more about the backstory. It even includes a lore index so you can quickly find the bits of backstory you’re curious about. How cool is that?
The actual game strategies are top notch, particularly the boss strategies which discuss each move a boss has in detail. Enemies, covenants, items, world events. Really, everything is covered and it is covered very well. The maps are also very impressive and surprisingly easy to read, given how densely packed Souls games can be.
Now it’s not perfect. There are the occasional omissions. For example, the water in a certain boss arena rises during the fight, making the battle much more difficult if it drags out. Therefore, it’s best to deal with the boss quickly before this becomes an issue. This is not mentioned in the guide. There are also a significant number of spelling and grammatical errors. But really, it’s not enough to diminish my enjoyment of this guide.
If you are a fan of the series, are interested in the lore, or just want to sharpen your Souls skills, this is a fantastic guide that does it all in a lush hardbound package.
VERDICT: Strongly recommended.
Also be sure to check out the EpicNameBro and A German Spy YouTube channels for plenty of great Souls content.
Iron Kingdoms – Substitute Teacher, Menoth Style
With an established party of adventurers, substitutions can be tricky. As Dungeon Master, how do you eject a missing player from the narrative on a temporary basis? How do you maintain the balance of challenges versus the party when 25% of their resources are missing? How do you revise a planned session to account for the missing player?
Basically, improvise.
If I have warning, I can normally craft a suitable story, but this one came as a surprise. Our group is pretty good about attendance, but I suppose one of them being pregnant is a suitable excuse to take care of other business.
Anyway, I had to cut her character out. Somehow.
But how?
Oh, right. I’ll use that trick.
Jacob Holo: You find a letter shoved under the cabin door. It’s from Sam. She says she left during the night and that she’ll meet up with you on the mainland.
Erik: Does the letter say why?
Jacob Holo: Uhh … yeah, sure. It says she’s taking a detour to meet someone called Nancy Preg. It sounds urgent.
Erik: But aren’t we still on that pirate ship?
Jacob Holo: She took the long boat.
Erik: In the middle of the ocean?
Jacob Holo: Dude, just roll with it.
Oh, yeah. Seamless transition.
With that problem out of the way, I had to deal with the other problem of combat balance. The party was down its tank, and they were about to come up against some nasty trouble. I could have turned down the difficulty, but I really didn’t want to. We were fast approaching a plot climax, and the battles needed to intensify accordingly.
So, it was time to introduce an NPC to help out. A Menoth ship (now shipwreck) encountered in the last session seemed the logical choice. I grabbed my Menoth rulebook, picked a stat line, and retrieved the all important “Menoth Voice Simulator” from the kitchen cupboard.
I had everything set for the substitute character. Which is fine in theory, but that’s before players start mucking around. This crew is naturally suspicious of new characters. They might attack on sight or just kill the NPC for his shoes. Again.
My new Menoth Cinerator wouldn’t last five seconds.
Fiz: Hey, there’s this heavily armored guy in the woods up ahead.
Ferrous Claw: What’s his armor look like.
Fiz: Umm … what did it look like again?
Jacob Holo: White and red heavy plate with gold trim.
Fiz: Right. What he said.
Erik: Does he look undead?
Fiz: Umm, did he?
Jacob Holo: The individual is completely encased in armor. You don’t even know if it’s a he.
Ferrous Claw: Sounds tough. I think we should recruit him.
Erik: Yeah, good idea.
Fiz: We can use him to replace Sam! He’ll be like a substitute teacher, but with MORE PAIN!
Jacob Holo: What? Seriously?
Ferrous Claw: Did you say something?
Jacob Holo: No.
And so, based on absolutely no evidence at all, they decided to recruit this new character who then joined the party and helped set many Cryx ablaze. If only all of my NPCs were so fortunate. They didn’t even try to steal his shoes or anything. I was almost disappointed.
Almost.
Check out the complete list of roleplaying articles here.
Iron Kingdoms – Undead Pirate Facepalm
In RPGs, players play the campaigns. The campaigns should not play the players. There’s a fine line between guiding players and super-gluing them to the plot. Players want to affect the world around them, shape its events, and defeat its obstacles. They do not want to sit passively by while plot happens or be led by the nose on a predetermined path.
So when the party was taken hostage by undead pirates, I purposefully left the scenario open to let their creativity shine through. Sure, they were on their own, outnumbered and out to sea with no clear escape, but I presented several options for their problem-solving enjoyment. Would they use the warjacks in the hold to take over the ship? Would they wait for the pursuing warships to arrive and make their escape during the attack?
Or perhaps they would barter with the undead pirate captain for safe passage. After all, a posse of heavily armed, highly skilled mercenaries has a lot to offer a band of pirates. Especially since between the four of them, they have about half a conscience.
So what did they do?
I’ll tell you what. They sold their souls to the captain. That’s what.
Did not see that coming.
Jacob Holo: Okay, Radcliffe finishes writing the contract. He places it on the table. The terms are laid out in plain language and large script. There’s no legalese here. The paper glows with a faint ethereal aura. The words are written in blood. You get the impression this is a very binding contract.
Ferrous Claw: I cut my finger and sign it in blood.
Jacob Holo: Wow. That was fast.
Erik: I guess I’ll do the same.
Sam: Yeah me too.
Fiz: I’m doing it!
Jacob Holo: Right … Okay, then.
And now I’ve got a mess on my hands, because these players have clearly not read my script.
Unbeknownst to them, I’ve been slowly setting up a major plot twist. And (strange as it may sound), I need to kill off the entire party for the twist to work. You see, there’s going to be a switch of employer soon. Right now, they’re working for the good guys. After the twist happens, they’ll be working for Cryx, the undead bad guys of the Iron Kingdoms.
Yes, you guessed it. I’m going to turn the whole party undead and have them work for an Iron Lich. Besides, with this crew, playing the bad guys is going to fit like a glove. Yeah, like a glove stolen off a stranger they just garroted because he looked at them funny. That can happen with this crew.
Only, now I’ve got these contracts to deal with. And it’s even worse than you might think, because one of the players figured out a loophole and fulfilled his contract. At the expense of the other players, no less. Because, when you play a complete bastard of an assassin, why not backstab your friends?
So now, three of them are contract-bound and one isn’t. Things could get messy. But, when it comes to roleplaying, messy can be fun, and I’ve already got some ideas for a new twist. After all, the only one who isn’t contract bound has been playing the rest of the party for fools. It may be interesting to reveal his actions to them and let them decide his fate.
Come to think of it, I’ve never seen party members slaughter their own before. This could be a first for me.
Check out the complete list of roleplaying articles here.
Iron Kingdoms – Kraken Smash!
NPCs are tricky to get right. You can pour hours into crafting what you think is an entertaining and engaging character, complete with intricate backstory, only to have the players not like him. Or ignore him. Or rob him blind. Never mind that NPCs can have very short lifespans around players.
And there’s the problem: player choice. Roleplaying is all about choices and options and dynamic stories going in unpredictable directions. Players can choose to kill my NPC because they like his shoes (this has happened). And this can be a really bad thing. Because, while the players now have really nice shoes, they don’t have a quest.
But fear not. I’m an engineer. I’m all about ruthless efficiency. Introducing the Disposable Non-Player-Character. They’re like tissues with personality.
So let’s start with one of the most important NPCs in my current Iron Kingdoms campaign: Anthony Radcliffe. He’s a gruff, cigar-chomping, no-nonsense military commander who hires the players to complete unsavory tasks. He also died in the first campaign session. Got pulped by a heavy warjack hammer blow.
But no worries. The players had their mission and a promissory note good at any Cygnar military base (because these people expect to be paid for their questing).
After looting Anthony’s corpse (because why not?), the players went on to complete their quest. Later, they stopped at a nearby base to get paid. There they met Benjamin Radcliffe: a gruff, cigar-chomping, no-nonsense military commander who hires the players to complete unsavory tasks. He also looks exactly like his brother Anthony. And, surprise surprise, the players managed to get him killed too. This time, he got blown to bits with a chain gun.
Erik: Whoops. My bad.
Jacob Holo: Oh, ha ha. I’ll pretend you didn’t do that on purpose.
But it’s all good. Once again, they completed their mission and regrouped at a coastal town to get paid. There they met Charles Radcliffe: a gruff, cigar-chomping, no-nonsense warcaster. And just to make the story short, he got flattened by a Kraken colossal. Because, you know, sometimes describing the three-story enemy warjack threshing its way through a platoon of troops doesn’t say you-can’t-win-this-fight quite clearly enough. No, it’s much better to paste the important NPC standing next to the players, splatter them with his blood, and make them take terror checks. That gets the message across.
So yeah. I basically threw my own version of Carmine from Gears of War into the campaign. And it’s still all good, because there are plenty of letters left in the alphabet. In fact, they’ve already met Douglas Radcliffe: a gruff, cigar-chomping, no-nonsense undead Cryx pirate captain who has taken them hostage. End of session! To be continued!
Fiz: Whaaaaaaaa!
Jacob Holo: Well, you did decide to flee blindly aboard a ship in the harbor … while the town was under attack from the sea. Not the smartest move. Just saying.
We’ll see how they handle that next. Should be fun.
Check out the complete list of roleplaying articles here.
Time Reavers – The Tau Guard
CHAPTER 1 of Time Reavers
Everything stopped.
Or rather, everything stopped but her.
Nicole stared at the subway station in wide-eyed terror. The train rumbling into the stop had frozen in front of her. The people hurrying up along the platform stood like statues, some of them suspended in mid-stride. Some of them not touching the ground as they ran to catch the train.
Nicole looked around, heart pounding in her chest. She tried to find Mrs. Woytowich or someone from her class, but no one was there. She was alone.
A middle-aged man in a peaked cap caught her eye. He wore a black sweater over his white shirt and tie. The sweater had a crest on the sleeve that looked a lot like an American police shield. Maybe he was a policeman. It wasn’t her teacher or a classmate, but he was better than nothing.
Nicole weaved her way through the crowd of motionless Russians, trying her best not to touch any of them. When she did, they felt like solid rock. The sensation sent chills down her spine. All of this was so wrong!
Nicole ducked under an elderly man’s pointing arm, and walked over. The policeman was looking down and smiling at a little girl in an obnoxious pink dress. He wore a fake look of concern, as if humoring the girl and her equally pink mother.
But they weren’t moving. No one was moving!
“Excuse me, sir?” Nicole asked. Her voice echoed in the station, the only sound besides the squeaks of her shoes on the polished floor.
Nicole grabbed hold of the policeman and tried shaking him, but he wouldn’t budge. She backed away and brushed against the girl in pink. Her hair was a rigid as steel.
Nothing moved. Nothing made a sound.
No, wait …
Nicole stood perfectly still and listened. She heard something else, a distant but recognizable sound. It was a man’s voice. Someone else was here and he wasn’t frozen! She wasn’t alone!
Tentative relief welled up within Nicole. Someone else was down here with her! She listened hard, barely breathing. The man’s voice sounded close, but with an oddly hollow, almost metallic echo for the cavernous Saint Petersburg subway station. Slowly Nicole walked towards the source, slipping through unmoving pedestrians and rounding a tall column to the subway’s central thoroughfare.
Columns twice as tall as the trains rose up in two rows on either side, supporting a lavishly ornate marble ceiling. Huge wrought-iron chandeliers hung from the roof. It was easily the fanciest subway station she’d ever seen.
Except for this mess, she thought.
Nicole could hardly believe how quickly her mood had changed. She’d been so close to outright panic, but now she was filled with a giddy sense of relief. She wasn’t alone! No matter what kind of strange mess she was in, she didn’t have to face it alone!
Looking around, Nicole again tried to find Amy, her classmates, or Mrs. Woytowich. Amy had clearly said they weren’t leaving until everyone was out of the restrooms.
But now that she thought about it, no one else from class had been in the restroom with her. She hadn’t heard Mrs. Woytowich mention anything about waiting at this stop. It had all been Amy …
Nicole grimaced. She chewed on the inside of her lip.
Again. Amy had tricked her again. The one school trip to a foreign country this year, and Amy was playing her stupid games. Normally, Nicole would be furious, but she just shook her head and kept moving.
She walked down the thoroughfare and maneuvered through the frozen throngs of Russian pedestrians. The man’s voice became louder and more distinct. Whoever he was, he was mumbling under his breath, but most importantly, he was mumbling in English.
Nicole stepped around a column, squeezed sideways through the press of people, and finally caught sight of him.
The man looked a few years older than her, probably just starting college. He wore a beat-up black trench coat, thick oval glasses and had a crop of black, untidy hair. He stared intensely at his open notepad with a pencil stuck behind an ear.
The man grabbed the pencil, and jotted down a few notes.
“Hey!” Nicole shouted, smiling and waving her arms. She ran towards him. “Hey!”
The man looked up.
Nicole stopped in front of him with a huge smile. She couldn’t help it. She was so relieved to find someone else.
“Well, this is a pleasant surprise,” he said. “I was starting to get worried. There’s got to be at least one reaver in here with us. I certainly didn’t trigger the tau freeze. It’s probably a big one too. Maybe up to class six if my math is right. Umm, are you okay?”
Nicole stared blankly. He lowered the notepad and Nicole got a good look at it. His scribbles reminded her of algebra class, only a lot more complicated.
“Oh, I’m sorry!” He flipped his notepad closed and placed it in his trench coat. Nicole caught a glimpse of the coat’s interior. It was all pockets and pouches, some holding what looked like knives. She took a step back. Her chest tightened with renewed anxiety.
The man reached into another pocket and retrieved a small dog-eared paperback, its cover creased from storage in the coat. Dozens of pages had little colored sticky tabs attached with tiny notes scribbled in pencil. The title read: Basic Russian Phrases for Idiots.
The man flipped the book open to the front and cleared his throat.
“Izvinite. Menja zovut Daniel. Umm, let me see here … Kak vas zovut?”
He looked up expectantly.
Nicole shook her head. She wanted to say something, but the words caught in her throat.
“Huh … I’m pretty sure I’m pronouncing it right.” He flipped to the back of the book and cleared his throat again.
“Opasnost! Reaver blizko!”
He looked up.
“What the hell are you saying?” Nicole asked.
“Oh, you speak English!”
“Yes!”
“Oh, wonderful!” he said, putting the phrase book away. “A fellow American by the sound of your accent.”
“Yes!”
“I’m sorry about that,” the man said, extending a hand that Nicole shook limply. “I wasn’t expecting another tau guard, and certainly not another American. My name’s Daniel, by the way. Daniel Cadinsky.”
“Nicole.”
“Nice to meet you, Nicole,” Daniel said. “I certainly wasn’t expecting anyone else in this part of the city. None of Viktor’s tau guards are covering this area, and I just happened to be here when the freeze hit. Lousy luck, having to deal with a freeze in a foreign country. I’d rather be back in New York.”
“Umm, Daniel?” Nicole asked, tugging on his sleeve.
“Yeah?”
“Could you please tell me what’s going on?”
Daniel stared at her for a few seconds. He tilted his head to one side.
“You mean you don’t …”
She shook her head.
“You’ve never …”
She shook her head again.
“So this is the first time that you’ve …”
She nodded emphatically.
“Wow! You mean, you’ve never had any training and—”
“Please-just-tell-me-what’s-going-on!”
“Umm, sure. Oh gee, where to start?” Daniel said, scratching the back of his head. “Well, we’re in the middle of a tau freeze.”
“A what?”
“Err … tau, you know? Tau being the symbol for time? It’s just a fancy way of saying time has stopped.”
“Yes, I noticed that part!”
“What we’re stuck in right now is called tau prime,” Daniel said. “It’s tau, but it’s got a little apostrophe next to it. Are you sure you’ve never had any training?”
“Very sure!”
“Never been to Chronopolis?”
“Where?”
“Not even once?”
“No!”
“Or the Pandemonium College?”
“I don’t go to college yet, but I want to be a veterinarian someday.”
“Umm, that’s nice.”
“Can you please tell me how to get out of this?”
“Well, you can start by not shouting at me,” Daniel said.
“Oh … s-sorry …”
Nicole backed away from him, suddenly embarrassed.
“Look, just take a few deep breaths and calm down, okay?”
“Okay. Sorry.”
“Don’t mention it. Everyone gets freaked out their first time. I was personally hysterical for weeks afterwards. I couldn’t look at a clock without having a panic attack. Compared to me, you’re doing great.”
“Th-thanks.”
Daniel put a comforting hand on her shoulder, and for some reason, that made her feel a lot better. No matter what kind of mess she was in or how incomprehensible the situation was, she’d found someone who knew what he was doing.
“Hey, you hungry?” he asked.
“What?”
“Freezes can last a while,” Daniel said, looking around. “It’s easy to lose track of how long, so eat whenever you’re hungry, you know? Ah! Here we are!”
Nicole followed Daniel through the unmoving crowd queuing for the next train.
“So, how long do freezes last?” she asked.
“Oh, it varies. I’m not really sure most of the time. I could never get my watch to work during a freeze, you know? Most sparkies can get simple stuff like a watch to work, but what’s the point when you have reavers to worry about?”
“What?”
“Personally, the longest freeze I was stuck in lasted about five days, give or take a day. I spent the whole freeze over the Atlantic in a plane, and man, it was horrible! The reaver was actually hiding in one of the engines and I had to climb out onto the wing to get it! Second worst experience of my life.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Ah! Lunch!” Daniel said, stopping next to a fat, bald man with a greasy McDonald’s bag. Daniel struggled to peel the man’s finger’s back and open the bag. It took a lot of effort. His face reddened with exertion, and he triumphantly said: “Yes! A Big Mac.”
“You’re going to take this man’s food?”
“There’s a cherry pie in here too. You want it?”
“No thanks.”
“Your loss,” Daniel said. He reached in and pulled out the Big Mac. The bag snapped shut as soon as he let go, almost catching his fingers. He smiled, opened the carton, and took a hungry bite out of the Big Mac, which was weird because it wasn’t stone hard anymore.
“That’s theft,” Nicole said.
Daniel frowned at her as he chewed.
“You stole his Big Mac,” she said.
He swallowed. “Umm … it’s better if you think of it as a tax. For performing a public service.”
“Which is?”
“Killing reavers, of course.”
“What’s a reaver?”
“Which reminds me,” Daniel said, pulling his notepad out and flipping it open one-handed. “Yeah, it’s a big one. Five point eight on the Novikov scale, you see?”
Nicole shook her head. The scribbles on the notepad were just so much gibberish. Even if she knew what the symbols meant, his handwriting was barely legible.
“At least, I think I figured it out right,” Daniel said. “Wish I could use a calculator during a tau freeze, but oh well. Say, do you have a watch?”
“Yeah.”
“Is it still working?”
Nicole pulled back her jacket sleeve. “Umm, no.”
“Hmm. You’re probably not a sparky then,” Daniel said. “Hey, here’s an idea.” He switched the Big Mac and pad to one hand, and held the burger carton up in the other.
“Try setting this on fire,” he said.
“But I don’t smoke,” Nicole said. For emphasis, she patted her pockets for the absent lighter. Amy would probably have one, trying to seem cooler than she really was.
“No, not like that,” Daniel said. “With your mind.”
“Are you serious?”
“Absolutely.”
“And how am I supposed to do that?”
“Not sure really. I’m not a pyro. I think a lot of them can’t control it at first and end up setting themselves on fire. It can get messy.”
“Well, I haven’t set myself on fire yet.”
“Yeah, good point,” Daniel said, dropping the carton. It stopped a foot off the ground, shuddered in mid air, and launched itself across the train station like a guided missile.
“Did it just …?”
“Go back into the man’s carryout bag? Yeah. Temporal reset.”
“But isn’t he going to think it’s weird that his Big Mac isn’t there?”
“Nah. He’ll just think they botched his order.”
“If you say so.”
“So you’re not a sparky and you’re probably not a pyro,” Daniel said, walking down the station’s main thoroughfare.
Nicole spotted a young woman in black waiting on the platform. She had conspicuously dyed black hair, black makeup and numerous ear, eyebrow, and nose piercings.
“Hey, Daniel?”
“Yeah?”
“This freeze thing. It’s not dangerous, is it? My friends will be okay, right?”
“Friends? Where?”
“I was expecting our class to be waiting by the platform.”
Daniel spun so fast he blurred. His trench coat whipped around him. Nicole wondered if her eyes were playing tricks on her.
“They’re not there,” Nicole said. “I already looked.”
“What do they look like?”
“I don’t know. Like a mob of thirty teenagers following a woman around who dresses ten years younger than she is and tries really hard to be our friend.”
“Is she cute?”
“What?”
“Your teacher. Is she cute?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
Daniel shrugged. “I don’t know. It might be important.”
“Well, I have no idea. Some of the boys in class seem to think so, but they’re a bunch of idiots.”
“Hmm. No, I can’t say I’ve seen her.”
Nicole pointed at the Russian goth. “What about her? My …” Nicole sighed. “Friend is dressed like this.”
Daniel walked over to the goth. He looked her up and down.
“This is what your friend looks like?”
“Sort of.”
Daniel did a double-take of the Russian goth and Nicole. “How did you end up friends with someone like this?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. Nothing. I just thought … We are talking about the same person, right?”
Nicole sighed.
In truth, she was used to the reaction given the contrast between Amy and her. Compared to Amy’s aggressively gothic styles, Nicole wore her black Mass Effect hoodie, a well-worn Aperture Science tank top, blue jeans, and her favorite pair of running shoes. She kept her brunette hair short, almost boyish, and wouldn’t be caught dead wearing make-up or jewelry.
“She’s not even my friend, really,” Nicole said. “She’s my sister. Sort of.”
“Oh, well that does make a little more sense,” Daniel said. “You can’t choose your family. What did you mean by ‘sort of’?”
“None of your business.”
Daniel shrugged. He looked like he didn’t care about the answer at all, which somehow annoyed Nicole more than if he’d pressed for an answer.
“So my classmates are okay, right?” Nicole asked. She hesitated before adding: “And my sister?”
“Oh, yeah. They’re fine. In fact they’re safer than us right now. You can slap them or punch them or hit them in the head with a crowbar and they won’t feel a thing.”
“Why would I want to do that?”
“I don’t know. You did say they were your classmates.”
“Yes, I did say that. So let me ask you again, why the hell would I want to hit them with a crowbar? Just what kind of school did you attend?”
Daniel snapped his fingers. He turned around, smiling at her.
“What?” Nicole asked. “What’s wrong?”
“I bet you’re an acrobat!” he said, putting the half-eaten Big Mac and his notepad into separate coat pockets.
“A what?”
“It’s what I am,” Daniel said, puffing out his chest. “My strength and reflexes improve when I’m in a tau freeze. Here, watch.”
He leaped into the air, back-flipped, and landed on the Russian goth’s head, balancing easily on one leg.
“And that doesn’t hurt her?” Nicole asked.
“She can’t feel a thing,” Daniel said. He jumped from head to head, hands in his pockets, making it look so easy.
“So, why don’t you try it?” he asked.
“No thanks.”
Nicole followed him, forcing her way through the crowd like a normal pedestrian. She had no desire to start hopping up and down while making a fool of herself.
“You sure you don’t feel especially nimble today?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
“Why don’t you try jumping? Just see if you’ve got some extra lift today.”
“No, thank you.”
Nicole tried following Daniel, but got caught in between a throng of six elderly women with canes and had to back track.
Daniel danced from head to head around her.
“Come on. Give it a try.”
“Now listen here, mister!” she said. “Would you please stop that? All I want is out, okay? I don’t want to set things on fire or hunt reavers or jump around like an idiot! I just want out of this mess!”
Daniel landed in front of her. He looked like a whipped puppy.
“Err … I mean …” Nicole muttered.
“Mister?” Daniel said. He made it sound like a vile curse word. “I mean … yeah I’m a little older than you, but I’m not that old.”
“I didn’t mean …”
“Look, no premature grays, see?” Daniel ran fingers through his uncombed hair. “And in my line of work, that’s saying something. Plus it’s not like I have a gut or anything. I keep myself in good shape and exercise regularly.”
“Umm …”
“I mean, ‘mister’? Really,” Daniel said. He turned and walked away. “I’ve barely started college and people are already calling me ‘mister’.”
“Sorry?”
“It’s like …”
Daniel turned to the platform. He cupped an ear.
“What is it?” Nicole asked.
Daniel held a single finger to his mouth. They were close to where Nicole had been when time stopped, next to the frozen subway train just emerging from the tunnel.
Nicole hardly breathed. She strained her ears. Every little sound they made was like thunder in the silence, but on the very edge of hearing …
It was a most peculiar sound. Like someone furiously typing on an old-fashioned typewriter: distant, but heavy and metallic. The sound grew louder and seemed to come from the closest train tunnel.
Nicole looked at Daniel, who was suddenly all business.
“Reaver,” he whispered.
“What’s a reaver?” she whispered.
“You’ll see. Don’t worry. I’m a professional.”
“For some reason, I’m still worried,” she whispered, following him closer to the subway car.
Daniel reached into his trench coat. There was a brief metallic whisper, and suddenly he had a long, elegantly-curved sword in his hand.
“How did you ever get on a plane?” she whispered.
“Oh, I have my ways,” Daniel said, watching the dark patch of tunnel just above the subway car.
The rapid metallic clicking grew louder. Daniel had to speak up so she’d hear him.
“Stand back,” he said, grasping his sword two-handed and lowering his stance. “No need to panic. I know exactly what I’m doing.”
Nicole shuffled back from the subway car, but bumped into a frozen pedestrian and almost tripped.
The sound continued to crescendo.
“Is it supposed to be this loud?” she shouted.
“Must be a big one!” Daniel shouted back. Nicole thought she heard an uneasy waver in his voice.
The metallic chattering grew louder and louder as the reaver came closer.
“How big do they get?” Nicole shouted, putting hands over her ears.
But Daniel didn’t respond. He lowered his sword slightly and turned around. What Nicole saw then scared her more than anything so far. Deathly fear covered every inch of his face.
A sound pierced the air like a cross between a lion’s roar and a jet engine.
BRAAAUGH!!!
“What the hell is that?”
Daniel watched the dark tunnel, every muscle in his body tense, sword held high and ready. Its razor edge gleamed in the chandelier light.
The reaver emerged, clambering over the subway car and almost as large. Nicole’s first thought was it looked like a giant metal centipede. Her second was to scream.
Its body was flattened and long, disappearing into the depths of the subway tunnel. Its skin gleamed like polished silver and its hundreds of long spindly legs ended in bladed points. A horrible, many-eyed face turned towards them, its dozens of mandibles twittering hungrily. Eight glowing, ruby-like eyes swiveled independently, some locking onto Daniel, others onto Nicole.
The reaver flung its mandibles wide and roared, revealing a fathomless white-hot furnace within its metal body.
BRAAAAAAAAUGH!!!
Intense heat washed over Nicole, scorching the exposed skin on her face and hands. She clenched her watering eyes.
“Run!” Daniel shouted, holding his ground.
The reaver reared up, surprisingly nimble for such a huge creature. With a sudden burst of speed, it stabbed down with its blade-tipped legs. Daniel rolled deftly out of the way. Three legs barely missed him.
A reaver leg pierced through the little girl in pink standing near the policeman. She exploded into gory shrapnel. Nicole screamed again. Daniel rose to his feet and sprinted towards Nicole.
“Don’t worry about them!” he shouted. “Run for it!”
As soon as the reaver removed its leg, the horrible fragments drifted inward like a crimson jigsaw puzzle. The pieces accelerated, and the little girl snapped together, whole once again.
“Head for the escalator!” Daniel shouted.
Nicole sprinted towards the escalator, but Daniel caught up quickly. He grabbed her wrist and urged her on.
The reaver climbed off the subway car and smashed through two stone columns. Nicole glanced over her shoulder, still running, and watched the reaver’s head turn towards them. Its long body twisted back into the subway tunnel, and its hundreds of legs pierced elaborate stonework and unmoving people with ease. The reaver charged after them, shattering the chandeliers into thousands of tinkling fragments.
“Come on!” Daniel shouted. “Move!”
They passed through an archway, turned right, and began racing up the escalator. The Saint Petersburg subway was so deep they couldn’t see the escalator’s top. They raced up steps with dozens of frozen people blocking their path. Daniel jumped onto the escalator’s railing and ran up it, but Nicole struggled through one human impediment after another.
“Come on!”
Stonework exploded behind them. The reaver clambered through and turned, fiery eyes catching sight of its prey. It spread its mandibles and roared.
BRAAAUGH!!!
Terrible heat scorched the back of Nicole’s neck, even though she was two stories up the escalator.
“You need to move faster!” Daniel shouted.
Nicole squeezed desperately between a mother and two little girls.
“I’m trying!” she shouted.
“Try harder!”
Nicole heard dozens of stabbing clicks. She turned around, blood pounding in her ears. The reaver sank its legs into the escalator and rushed towards her, seconds away.
“Ah, damn it!” Daniel shouted. He leaped over her and charged down the escalator. The reaver turned all eight eyes to him. It rose up, dozens of sword-legs spread wide.
The reaver struck with speed that would make a cobra jealous, but Daniel dodged swiftly to his right. A single reaver leg caught the ratty edge of his trench coat, tearing it.
Daniel hit the ground, rolled, and came up with his sword ready. The reaver stabbed two legs towards him, but with quick strokes of his sword, he cut both of them off at the first joint. Thick yellow fluid burst out of them as if under pressure. The reaver growled angrily.
The yellow fluid and chunky bits of goo drained out of its injured legs. It was like something from a burst pustule. An eye-watering mixture of sewage stench and sulfurous fumes hit Nicole.
“Keep running!” Daniel shouted. He hopped from pedestrian head to railing to head, dodging constant reaver attacks.
Nicole ran as best she could, but she kept turning back, watching Daniel fight the reaver. He’d severed five of its legs, but the creature had hundreds, and could crush him with its body if it had to. There was no way he could win. It was insane for him to keep fighting!
Finally, after all his skillful dodges and rolls and leaps, Daniel made a mistake. The reaver feigned an attack to Daniel’s right, only to strike from his left when he dodged that way.
Daniel swung his sword in a silver arc. Two more bladed limbs went flying, but this was a small sacrifice for the reaver. It lunged at him with its head, dozens of mandibles reaching for his sword arm. Daniel pulled his arm away just in time, but the reaver bit down on the sword.
The reaver crushed the sword with its jaws, shattering it into metal splinters. Daniel was left holding a hilt and a few inches of jagged blade.
Undaunted, Daniel charged screaming at the reaver’s lowered head. He thrust the broken sword into one of its jewel-like eyes. The eye burst and darkened. The reaver reared back, bellowing—
Everything went dark.
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Iron Kingdoms – Epic Ghost Ship versus Shopping
There are many ways to introduce new characters into a campaign. A memorable introduction can really set the tone for how the other players will interact with the new guy or gal. And sometimes, it’s just fun to have a really ridiculous and flashy entrance to help get things rolling.
I had one such entrance planned for a tavern by the docks. Only, the new player caught a nasty stomach flu and couldn’t play. Well, what to do? I had a whole session planned around his introduction and a connected side quest. I didn’t want to let that go to waste.
So I changed some of my long term plans for the campaign and introduce one of the NPCs early, a cheerful but shifty treasure-hunting gobber. He crashed through the tavern window like a missile, skidded across the table, stopped in front of the players, told them to run, and scurried out the door.
Naturally, with an introduction like that, the party ignored him completely and went about their business of picking pockets and brooding in shadowed corners.
Then the bow of a warship crashed through the same tavern wall.
Yes. You read that right. The bow of a warship. You see that players? Ignore my quest-giving NPC will you? Well, guess what? He was right! You’ve got thousands of tons of boat heading straight for you. Think fast or get run over.
Fortunately, they ran.
And now I had the perfect setup. Not only had I delivered the quest-giver directly to the players, I’d delivered the quest location as well. Today would focus on a derelict vessel with a mysteriously slaughtered crew, ghostly lights up on the deck, and treasure deep in its holds. Everything was set up for a creepy journey through its dark, dank corridors. I even had some music ready to set the tone. There’s no way they could screw this up, right?
Right?
Yeah. About that.
Erik: Is there any place around here I can upgrade my laborjack?
Jacob Holo: Yeah, sure. Plenty of places to choose from.
Erik: Come on, team. Let’s go shopping.
Sam: All right.
Fiz: Yay! Shopping!
Ferrous Claw: What about the boat?
Erik: It’s not going anywhere.
Jacob Holo: Oh, for goodness sake. You want to go shopping now?
Erik: Well, we don’t know what’s in there. It might be dangerous.
Jacob Holo: Of course it’s dangerous. Something killed the entire crew.
Erik: Right. So, I want to upgrade my laborjack to get ready.
Jacob Holo: Seriously?
Erik: Yeah.
Jacob Holo: I am so sending a Machine Wraith after you.
Erik: What’s that?
Jacob Holo: You’ll find out.
And so the brave party of adventurers went shopping. For waaaaaaaaaaaay too long. They purchased a grand total of 15 arrows, 15 rifle shells, 2 grenades, and a buckler. I am not kidding. With this heavy ordnance, they felt appropriately girded for whatever awaited them. With a final bit of apprehension, they proceeded into the derelict ship where the meat of the session could finally begin.
Let’s recap this, shall we? I set up the session for a fast, exciting start. The quest-giver crashes through the window. The quest location crashes through the wall. The quest is provided with everything in place. The party goes in and starts the adventure.
Time from mission start to target entry?
2 hours.
Uhhh… Sometimes, no matter how hard I try, I just can’t get these players moving.
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Time Reavers – Novel Origin
Here’s the setting. I’m in Stuttgart, Germany, and I’m waiting for the train to arrive at the main station. I look around and think to myself: You know, it would be really cool if I could freeze time and still move around. That would be a handy super power to have.
And boom. I had the idea for Time Reavers.
Seriously, that’s how it happened. It’s as dumb as it sounds.
Soon after that, I sat down in my hotel room and wrote a short story. This story eventually became the first and second chapters of Time Reavers. In it, the main character Nicole gets sucked into a pocket of frozen time (inside a Saint Petersberg subway station, no less), meets a rather quirky swordsman, and helps him fight a reaver.
Friendly looking fellows, aren’t they?
Around this time, I was in a major writing transition. Unsatisfied with my previous ten novels (and, naturally, my inability to get them published), I decided to completely rework my writing style. This process went about as smooth and painless as you’d expect (i.e. not at all). I chose Time Reavers to be the first experiment with this new writing style.
Oh, and just to make this even more difficult, I decided to write a contemporary fantasy novel instead of my usual military sci-fi stuff. No sweat, right?
Right …
But Time Reavers turned out to be the perfect novel for this transition. With most of the story taking place in the real world, I easily avoided many of my earlier pitfalls. I didn’t have to explain the world. Readers already understood it. Planes were planes. Cars were cars. For the first time in four novels, I didn’t have to describe what mnemonic alloy was.
Oh yeah, it felt good.
It became easy to cut the novel down to its core, streamline the prose, and deliver the scenes at a brisk pace. This allowed me to focus on the few fantastical elements, such as the whole freezing time thing, people with super powers, and the reavers.
Ah, yes. The reavers. Oh, did I have fun with these villains. Their basic design started by mixing a bunch of phobias I have. I figured if I find them creepy, other people might as well. By the way, I posed for that artwork. Don’t believe me? CHECK THIS OUT!
Yeah, that’s embarrassing. But at least it’s not as bad as The Dragons of Jupiter reference photos. No seriously. You see the Crusader with the thermal lance? The one on the right? This guy over here?
Yeah, that’s me holding a trash can. I kid you not. For the other two Crusaders, I was holding a paintball gun.
And I’m not showing those pictures. Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope.
Anyway, even when Time Reavers was finished, it wasn’t really finished. Recently, the novel went through a major edit. I added a few extra action scenes (can never have too many of those), enhanced the role of a side character, cut some of the dead weight near the end, and … oh yeah, dropped everyone’s age by five years.
Yep. I turned Time Reavers into a Young Adult novel. After H.P. read the initial version, she recommended the change to YA. And while, at first, I wasn’t too crazy about it …
H.P. Holo: You should turn this into a young adult book.
Jacob Holo: Seriously? Isn’t it too violent for teens?
H.P. Holo: Pffffthttttttfffffffrrrp! Haven’t you read The Hunger Games?
Jacob Holo: The what games?
H.P. Holo: Oh, we have to fix this.
I eventually warmed to the idea. And now here we are, just about ready to publish our second novel. It’s going to be fun!
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