Shadowdark#4 The Keep on the Borderlands

 Guiding Tredegar Monchburger to the Keep on the Borderlands, the characters that inadvertently released 250 Dwarf zombies from the ruins of Kazad Mor, feel little remorse.

From left to right...Dagmara, Karlyle, Bjorn,Lidda Puddlefoot, Bernard, Jeralt the Holy, Balin...let's see who makes it...I mean, uhhh,  heroes all!

 

Amongst the survivors of the party of 12 that left Borderfell (or 'Boderfell' depending upon whether you belong to the government faction or the 'Free Boderfell' movement...) :

A nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there...

• Dagmara the 1/2 orc wizard
• Karlyle the Elf Priest of Madeera
• Bjorn the big chinned fighter
• Bernard (that's Bernaaarrrrd), the Dwarf Priest of St. Terragnis
• Lidda Puddlefoot, the halfing fighter with plate armour (long story)
• Jeralt the Holy - Paladin to the Holy House of the Loyal Dread Chapel of Lady St. Terragnis (loyal faction)
• Balin the wily dwarf thief 

Within hours, and having met but a few of the locals (including, from afar, the strange Witch of the Tower, and old JoMaMa, the head of the Chapel...), Tredegar, in a panic tells them that his brother Justin has been kidnapped by forces unknown at the caves of chaos...can they help?

 Tooling up, the merry band heads out, hoping to outflank the caves by heading through the haunted woods to the north.

Totally makes sense to outflank the caves, by going through the haunted, cursed, deathly hallows, spider, woods of the dead priest emperor...

 What could go wrong? 

Shadowdark #3...escaping Kazad Morrrr

 With the characters reduced from 12 to 7, odds were not in their favour...

They did however, manage to find and destroy the Eye Priest, who brought the curse to Kazad Mor in the first place...despatching him with a critical which ended up rolling triple damage, from the dagger of a half-dead, half-orc, apprentice sorceress...long story. 

 

The characters that survive...now names, not just numbers, of which more next time. One halfling survived, which normally never happens. I habitually ban hobbits and their ilk from most games, pubs, festivals, football games, taxis and weddings. Little gits.

Moving north toward a hopeful way out, they discover 'the Defender' - a massive stone golem, with attitude, which they again critically hit with pick axes (which stone golems really don't like). This leads them to the treasure room, wherein they manage to gain some useful magic items (including an elven blade, which dislikes lying, and a dwarven shield, which may be a bit of an earth elemental.

The eye-priest did not die well...thanks to a random 20 and a roll on the crit table...lucky bastards

 Finding the stone bridge controls, they extend the exit bridge, then retract it, having fun sending many dwarven zombies to the lava river, before realising that the only way home is to keep the bridge extended, and 'unwittingly' permit a hundred zombie dwarves to find their way into the snowy mountainside.

Glad at last to no longer be simply numbered pieces of cardboard if they survive, the characters engage 'Tim' the Stone Golem...

They have however found their quest-item...the mythical 'Rune forge' which they deliver back to the dwarf Sprocket, and make to head for home to the faction riddled rebel town of Borderfell (or Boderfell...since its very name is the focus of derision and hatred etc.)

On the way, the now 1st level, party of 7...help a merchant named Tredegar mend the wheel of his transport...and he, is on his way, to the village of Grommlet...

Not the basis for the next mini-campaign...no..no..I promise. Would I lie to you?

 

Barbarians of Lemuria

With Christmas delaying cohesive gatherings for the ongoing Call of Cthulhu campaign, there has never been a better time to give kudos to an rpg system which emerged from Simon Washbourne in 2008 - 'Barbarians of Lemuria.

The original 2008 free edition, which had lovely little art pieces from old comics etc

With inspiration taken from the books of  Lin Carter (and Howard, Burroughs) in his Thongor series in the lost continent of Lemuria, it is a uniquely simple and devilishly cohesive system, which has been turned to sword and planet sagas, Musketeer epics, post-apocalypse stories and more. it delivers a streamlined yet deeply flavorful experience. Its greatness lies in a combination of elegant mechanics, creative freedom, and strong thematic cohesion.

The core mechanic uses 2d6 + attribute + career vs target number (usually 9), making resolution, which works well, and things are fast and deadly. 

Then it got a proper dodgy cover in a nice 80s style

 

Instead of traditional skills, Barbarians of Lemuria uses Careers - professional backgrounds like Barbarian, Thief, Slave, Sorcerer, or Sailor. Players assign points to four careers, which define what their character is capable of.

This system encourages versatile, archetypal heroes with rich backstories. A character might be a Mercenary (2), Soldier (1), and Scholar (1), suggesting a warrior who later gained knowledge after being Captain of the Citadel guard. Very sword & sorcery.

Then a French cover - the game remains very popular in French transations

 

The magic system is freeform (i.e. you make sh1t up) and atmospheric, divided into three magnitudes:

• First magnitude: feats a skilled human could achieve with 'stuff' (e.g., scaling a cliff magically).

• Second magnitude: powerful effects like mind control or transformation. 

• Third magnitude: world-shaking spells like raising volcanoes or summoning storms.

Spells require specific, often dramatic (and thereby by the book) components (e.g., sacrificing a maiden, chanting in a forgotten tongue), giving the GM control and making magic feel rare and really dangerous. Similar systems exist for divine favor and alchemy, adding depth without complexity.

The Mythic Edition

 Hero Points are central to the game’s cinematic feel. They allow players to:

• Reroll dice

• Cheat death

• Turn successes into mighty or legendary ones

• Influence the narrative (with GM approval)

This mechanic empowers players to shape the story, reinforcing the larger-than-life tone. Points refresh between adventures, encouraging bold, heroic choices

Characters begin as competent heroes, not weak novices. Advancement is narrative: players earn experience by telling stories of their character’s exploits between adventures - drinking, gambling, seducing, or fighting. This keeps the game’s tone light and adventurous. Perfect!

The revised Mythic edition, with extra adventures translated from French fan scenarios

 

There are various editions and spinoffs, including the Mythic Edition and the Everywhen system, A great little game, and no crunchy rules crap!