 |
| A small sample of the minis I have yet to paint. |
My solution has been to create villainous (or at least antagonistic) adventuring parties to give the PCs a big challenge up front and then let them use their first encounter to figure out how to take them down the next time. They might go find them later at their home-base and fight them one room at a time, or research each adventurer's weakness and exploit it to make an all-out battle that much easier. Plus, I don't plan on levelling up the opposing party, so the battle will automatically feel more manageable to the PCs if they level before encountering their rivals again. This makes for fun recurring foes, and gives the players a through-line for a particular plot arc. At least, that's my theory; I haven't actually tried it yet.
Wish me luck.
~Jay
:: Einar's Pack - Creation Tower ::
Einar is the notable Fenris barbarian who was the first to be cursed with Zoanthropy, the equivalent to Lycanthropy in the Grimoire campaign setting. The main difference between Zoanthropy and Lycanthropy is that any given human or halfling has a particular animal ancestry, and Zoanthropy brings out that ancestry rather than always turning the afflicted into a wolf. The result is that those bitten by Einar contract the curse and are forced into the form of their animal ancestors at the full moon. As a Fenris, Einar becomes an enormous wolf in his full zoe (animal) form and rampages through vulnerable villages and hamlets, perpetuating his fame and the fear of his name, which means "Lone Wolf."
True to the meaning of his name, Einar claims no pack. However, those afflicted with Zoanthropy tend to gather together out of a sense of community. Those who don't find some way to release themselves from the curse (or don't want to), go marauding in Einar's name monthly at the rise of the full moon, calling themselves "Einar's Pack."
As the curse is also contagious, those of the Pack need not have actually met Einar to be zoanthropes, and any who go looking for the grizzled barbarian are usually never seen again. For this reason, Einar's Pack is loosely governed, usually relying on the instincts of their animal ancestors. There is usually an alpha, typically a Fenris male, who dominates or kills anyone who challenges him. Betas follow loyally, and omegas are given menial (or foolhardy) tasks befitting their lowly status.
As Zoanthropes could be made from any human or halfling, Einar's Pack might have presence anywhere in the world. Wherever they are, however, they are usually dangerous and feral.
The following adventuring party is made up of 5 members who identify as part of Einar's Pack. They have taken over at Creation Tower, erstwhile home to the Creation Wizard, as well as her student, Esha, a serpentfolk mage. The Pack has gathered several other fenrir to their side and held Esha prisoner while the wizard is away.
Bård, Fenris Monk 11 (Uncursed)—Pack Alpha
 |
| BÅRD Doom Fist Monk painted plastic mini by Wizards of the Coast. |
Bård is a monk from a small school south of Wellstan. He learned a great deal about martial arts to better defend himself from those who would pre-judge him for his appearance. You see, Bård is one of the "uncursed"—a Fenris who was born (and remains trapped) in anthropomorphic wolf form, having no natural shapeshifting abilities common to his race; while other Fenrir have the luxury of "passing" for human, the uncursed cannot hide their true animal nature. The uncursed are also strangely immune to the curse of Zoanthropy.
While the name "uncursed" was surely meant as a positive remark at first, those like Bård are unfairly looked upon by humans and halflings as "openly threatening" those around them with their bestial appearance, and the label has since gained an ironically negative connotation; the condition is a social curse, if not a magical one.
In response to his social challenges, Bård opted to become an initiate at the monastery. This not only enabled him to better defend himself, but also taught him patience with those who fear his kind. He worked for the monastery as a candlemaker, and is a skilled harpsichordist. Nevertheless, he harbors no compassion for the intolerant, and actively seeks to reform institutionalized bigotry, bringing balance back to the civilized world.
To this end, Bård sought out Einar's pack to guide their ferocity away from chaotic ends, and to prevent their deeds from exacerbating the social tensions that already haunt the Fenrir.
Valdís, Fenris Barbarian 11 (Werewolf)
 |
| VALDÍS Barbarian unpainted plastic figure from the Hero Quest board game. Painted by Jay Carter III. |
While Valdís is physically the strongest member of his Pack, he does not have the intelligence of Geir, or the wisdom of Bård, and thus remains the most dominant beta. It also helps his status that he is a true Fenris, while the other members are simply zoanthropes.
There is not much to say about Valdís. Other than crafting hide armor from any animal he can hunt, his interests include hunting, killing, and eating his prey. He has one daughter, a pup, who tracks Valdís down on a regular basis and insists on sharing his kills, but after her hunger is satisfied she usually wanders off to hound him another day.
Valdís' early exploits as a zoanthrope have earned him a bounty in at least three villages, where he can be recognized both as human and wolf. He fears that one day his number will be up and the hunter will become the hunted. For this reason, he relies on the strength in the Pack so that he will be ready when that day comes.
Tikaani, Halfling Rogue 11 (Weredog)
 |
| TIKAANI Lidda from the D&D 3.5 Basic Game. Painted plastic mini by Wizards of the Coast. |
Tikaani was a tinsmith, a flautist, and a talented gardener before Einar came and ripped a swath through her village. She was one of the unfortunate few who were bitten and did not die from her wounds. However, the waning moon found her in a totally foreign place, covered in blood and no memory of how she had gotten there. Before the curse, she had always wanted to visit the beautiful places of the world, but what she had woken up to was a waking nightmare.
In the meantime, she feared what had happened to her family. Uncertain of what she had done during her lost time, she stayed out of sight of the other villagers so as not to panic them at the sight of her. She found her family intact save for one member: her brother, who—she overheard—she had killed just after transforming into a rabid dog. Fearing that staying meant putting her family in yet greater danger, Tikaani fled the village, never to return.
Over the course of her travels, she got by fairly well as a rogue, stealing what she needed and remaining out of sight. But the next full moon caught her unawares and she transformed while near a fashionable-looking mark. Before she knew what she had done, the man was bitten and had transformed into a large dog, afflicted not only with the curse, but also the rabies she carried in her canine form.
That man was Ingolf, with whom Tikaani later found some kinship in their afflictions. Thus began their Pack, and as they gathered more members, Tikaani felt she had found a home away from home at last.
Ingolf, Human Rogue 11 (Weredog)
 |
| INGOLF Unpainted metal rogue mini from the Classic Dungeon board game. Mounted and painted by Jay Carter III. |
Ingolf was a fashionable retired thief whose final professional mark was spoiled by a friend and rival burglar, who got the prize only moments before him. This began a cold rivalry that engaged Ingolf in every sort of revenge imaginable, from extortion to blackmail to larceny.
It was while on one of these escapades that Ingolf let the time get away from him, and the full moon rose just as he was about to exact the final ounce of revenge on his old friend. He was bitten on the leg and before he knew what had happened, he was far from the city, his mouth full of raw chicken and he was covered in blood and feathers. Nearby was an unconscious young halfling woman, Tikaani, who he later learned was the cause of his predicament.
As a newly-made zoanthrope, Ingolf was fascinated by the advantages full animal form had to offer an expert pickpocket; the package came with an automatic disguise and believable excuse should the attempt fail. Thereafter Ingolf and Tikaani practiced and perfected maintaining conscious control during the transformation, which they were later able to pass on to the other members of their Pack.
Ingolf took Tikaani under his wing as a father figure to her, and continues to be the next most likely candidate for pack alpha after Bård.
Geir, Fenris Hedgemage 11 (Werehyena)
 |
| GEIR Hommet Shaw from the Sword Coast Legends video game. Painted plastic mini by Wizard of the Coast. |
Geir was never a student of the magical arts in the traditional way; instead, he regularly raided the arcane libraries of any guild or academy he could find, teaching himself in months what took other students years to master. What was more, he wasn't hindered by the bothersome Wizard's Creed that limited the use of certain magics, and soon became a talented necromancer.
Contrary to the traditional view of necromantic magics, Geir had no interest in raising armies of undead to kill innocent travelers. Instead, he saw the dead as an untapped labor force, and used them to great effect in his mercantile endeavors, delivering goods and setting up and taking down his stalls along the road. This came in especially handy when he needed to pack up quickly at the first sign of Creed Agents. Should such a surprise visit occur, he would disguise his train of undead as a merchant's caravan using basic illusion magic and throw the false sound of something suspicious elsewhere to give him time to escape.
His mercantile approach to death magic came to an end, however, when he was found on the road by Einar one full-moon night. Once he realized he was a werehyena, he knew he would need people he could trust to watch over him while he was transformed; he couldn't have a bad reputation ruining his career.
It was fate that brought him and Valdís together, as they were both seeking refuge and Geir just happened to know a thing or two about avoiding the law when absolutely necessary. As luck would have it, they also happened upon Tikaani and Ingolf in the same hiding place and got to talking. Another month and some (mostly) unintentional violence later, the four zoanthropes were approached by Bård about not causing quite so much mayhem.
Bård mentioned that if they wanted to stay away from suspicion there was a Wizard's Tower nearby that—he had heard—was left abandoned except for some Fenrir that were squatting on the property. If they were to get in good with the others, surely they wouldn't need to keep hiding in caves and huddling under the trees in the rain.
 |
| Einar's Pack above their animal forms. (Bård has no animal form as an uncursed.) Pawns from the Pathfinder Bestiary Box. |
No comments:
Post a Comment