Medieval Bastards Campaign - The Premise

I'm having this vision of a spiritual take on Saint's Row for tabletop fantasy, mixed with the sort of fantastic skulduggery that forms the seedy soap opera antics of novels like The Silent Blade and Spine of the World. The players are all thieves, thugs and scum, born in a large medieval metropolis. If I were to set it in one of my campaigns it would be either Octzel in Lingusia (where I've run similar games in the past) or Uralhat in Enzada, and maybe Corlione in Chirak. The players get their mission statement: you're all bottom-feeders who have grand aspirations to claw your way to the top, but your stations put you hopelessly in the gutter so the only way to social climb is by dragging down everyone else to below your level. Only excluded classes will be Paladins and clerics of lawful good bent. Only excluded alignment will be lawful good, and neutral good or chaotic good need to provide a good explanation for how they function in this debauched society.

The campaign would need a detailed map of the criminal underworld and its associated threats. Magic is the "super power/physics exception" for the game, not so easily acquired --theft from mage's domiciles being one, and players who want to start as spell-casters need to know they've had a grand fall from grace to get to the low station where they start at.

The focus will be on acquiring resources, recruiting NPCs to the guild, snuffing out other guilds, seizing territory and gaining an iron grip on the protection rackets and illicit trades of each city district, and to eventually get enough power that the nobility and the ruthless, hopelessly corrupt city watch take notice of your actions.

I must expand upon this in more detail! Maybe I'll pick one of the aforementioned cities and start developing it for such a campaign on the blog. This could be a great deal of fun! I may have to hunt down some old Thieve's World novels for extra inspiration as well.

In fact....I think I'll start right now, by posting some details of my infamous city of Octzel, the den of thieves which has hosted guild turf for the legendary Black Lotus gang and others in prior campaign eras. To make it interesting and current for me, I'll riff off of Octzel as it exists in the current Warlords of Lingusia era, and will print (or reprint) some of the details of the city so far. Then I'll riff off of the current write-up to expand the city into an in-depth overview of the current criminal underworld and their sordid politics. More to come!

ADDENDA: I'm not actually settled on which city to use yet, so I may present more than one and decide thereafter. We'll see....plenty of material to present, so no rush here!

The Fearsome Four: Four NPCs for Golmadras in AD&D

The following adventurers will be portrayed in the snippets and short tales of adventure and danger as the lands of Golmadras are explored. Each is a noteworthy traveler and explorer of Golmadras, and can serve as NPC encounters or a potentially friendly (or hostile) adventuring party in the dark, wooded dominion of the Final Lands. 

Caveats: I used the stat-generation method V in Arcana Unearthed and assumed everyone started with maximum hit points at level 1, then rolled for it thereafter; each time hit dice are rolled the option is available to reroll but the second result must be kept-an old house rule of mine that goes back ages.

So we have:

Corlance dann Veraskon, a human knight of the southern Octzellan kingdom of Valance. He was formerly of the Order of the Southern Crescent out of Pheralin, but left on a journey to earn his noble title (dann) as a knight errant, aiding the poor, defenseless and needy. Corlance chose the most difficult and demanding task imaginable, in the name of his goddess Enki: the forsaken lands of Golmadras. Aware that his survival in that land depends on a measure of will and trickery, he has arrived anticipating the need to be discreet about his identity. Not long after arriving he was nearly killed by a rabble of drunken templars in the service of the Shadow Temple but was saved by the timely intervention of Syberis Darkmoon and her short ally Quentin Chance. He later made friends with lacuna Helbyrn, who he attempted (and succeeded) in beating at a drinking contest, earning a mild amount of admiration from her at his tenacity. The four have been traveling since, and Corlance plans to see the ruins of Thystivianen next (naga and lamia be damned).

Corlance dan Veraskon, human male Age 22, lawful good Paladin Level 1, native to Pheralin, Valance; STR 14, INT 14, WIS 18, DEX 11, CON 18, CHA 17; HP 12, AC 4; +4 Magical Attack Adj; +30% reaction Adj.

 Paladin Features: Detect Evil 60’ at will, +2 on all Saves, immune to disease, lay on hands 1/day for 2 hp/level, cure disease 1/week, protection from evil for 10 feet (constant);

Languages: Middle Tongue (common), Golmadran, Elvish, Orcish

WP: bastard sword, long sword, battle axe; NWP: Riding 21, Direction Sense 19

Gear: Bastard Sword (2D4 S-M; 2D8 Lrg; THAC0 20); chainmail and shield

XP Earned: 120

Syberis Darkmoon is an ashtarth (drow) dark elf  and the youngest daughter of house Plagistron, though she does not advertise this. House Plagistron is a ruling figure in the northern city of Senempar, but she fled from that dominion years ago after an altercation that led to a call for her execution. She has since made her home in Golmadras, where a dark elf on the surface is a common sight. She provides guidance to foreigners  visiting the land to help them avoid coming into conflict with the oft-times draconian local laws. She is also a remarkably good fence and pickpocket.

Syberis Darkmoon, dark elf female Age 74, chaotic neutral assassin/magic-user Level 3/2 , native to Senempar; STR 16, INT 17, WIS 14, DEX 17, CON 11, CHA 10; HP 13, AC 3; +1 damage adj;+2 reaction/ missile attack; -3 defense; Spells/Day: 2 level 1 spells

Drow Features: +2 save vs sleep and charms; infravision 120 ft; surprised on 1 in 8; 1/day: dancing lights, faerie fire, darkness 5 ft radius; daylight weakness

Assassin Features: Base Assassination Chance (level): 60% (1), 55% (2-3), 45% (4-5),35% (6-7), 20% (8-9), 5% (10-11); disguise; pick pockets 40%, Open Locks 30%, F/R Traps 20%, Move Silently25%, Hide in Shadows 25%, Hear Noise 15%, Climb Walls 85%, Read Languages 0% ; Backstab X2

Spell Book: Affect Normal Fires, Burning Hands, Charm Person, Comp. Languages, Feather Fall,  Friends,  Identify, Jump, Message, Read Magic, Shield, Sleep, Spider Climb, Ventriloquism  

Languages: Dark Elf (ashtarthic), Middle Tongue (common), Golmadran, Elvish, Orcish, draconic

WP: short sword, dagger, light crossbow; NWP: Weaponsmith 14

Gear: Short Sword (1D6+1 S-M; 1D8+1 Lrg; THAC0 20); light crossbow (1D4 s-m/L; THAC0 18) with 20 bolts; studded leather +1

XP Earned: 4,500/4,950 (+10% XP for magic user only)

Quentin Chance is a sylenic Halfling of the South Shores and a bold adventurer by the standards of his people. Quentin had a profound experience on his fortieth birthday when a gypsy woman of the Avernan Nomads read his fortune and proclaimed that he would die in the comfort of his own home, unexpectedly. He decided to thwart death by marching off into adventure, to become a roaming nomad of sorts (counter-logical thinking being common among the Chance family) and has prided himself on his adventures ever since. He took a liking to Corlance when he first met the knight, and has followed him ever since as a loyal companion. Prior to meeting the paladin he had become enamored with Syberis Darkmoon who found him a useful ally when it came to scrounging a living the rough and dirty way she was used to.

Quentin Chance, Mixed Blood Halfling male Age 44, chaotic good fighter/thief Level 2/3 , native to the Golmadran Coast; STR 15, INT 7, WIS 16, DEX 12, CON 18, CHA 17; HP 21, AC 7; +2 Magical Defense Adj; +30% reaction adjustment

Halfling Features: +5 save vs rods, staves wands and spells; +5 save vs poisons; 30’ infravision; surprise 1 in 4 (or 1 in 2 if door opened)

Fighter Features: specialization (scimitar; +1 attack, +2 damage; 3/2 attack rate)

Thief Features: pick pockets 45%, Open Locks 38%, F/R Traps 35%, Move Silently32%, Hide in Shadows 35%, Hear Noise 20%, Climb Walls 92%, Read Languages -10% ; Backstab X2

Languages: Golmadran, thieves cant

WP: scimitar (sp), dagger, short bow; NWP: animal trainer 16, fishing 15, boating 17

Gear: Scimitar +1 (1D8+3 S-M; 1D8+3 Lrg; THAC0 19); parrying dagger (1D4 s-m; 1D3 Lrg; THAC0 20); studded leather armor

XP Earned: 3,500/3,500

Lakuna Helbyrn is a human woman in her late twenties and a former Royal Guardsman of the Imperial Court in Golmadras who once went by the name Aerys Daion. She was cast out after an altercation that led to the death of her commanding officer, but for reasons unknown the Emperor himself intervened in what was ordinarily a death sentence, instead stripping her of name, rank and status and putting her on the streets. Lakuna adopted the name of the legendary warrior woman who was written about at length by the historians during the fabled War of Strife in old Imperial Hyrkania, for her prowess at laying low a balor summoned by the old armies of chaos, and she claims that her ancestry can be traced back to that very warrior so long ago. In any case, she encountered Quentin and became good friends with the scamp, reluctantly agreeing to assist his new friend Corlance in an exploratory journey of Golmadras under her assumed identity.

Lakuna Helbyrn (formerly Aerys Daion), human female Age 31, lawful neutral fighter Level 2/3 , native to the Golmadras; STR 16, INT 9, WIS 10, DEX 15, CON 16, CHA 18; HP 45, AC 2; +1 damage adj; -1 reaction/defense adj; +35% reaction adjustment

Fighter Features: specialization (two-handed sword; +1 attack, +2 damage; 3/2 attack rate)

Languages: Golmadran, thieves’ cant

WP: two-handed sword (sp), dagger, long sword, long bow NWP: Blind-Fighting, Riding 13, Swimming 16

Gear: Two-Handed Sword +1, +4 vs. reptiles (1D10+4 S-M; 3D6+4 Lrg; +4 vs. reptiles; THAC0 16 or 12 vs. reptiles); long bow (1d6 S-M/Lrg, Rate of Fire 2/rnd; THAC0 18) and a quiver with 30 arrows, invisible splint mail +1 (may grant an additional +15% bonus to reaction rolls)

XP Earned: 9,900 (+10% XP bonus)