Game, Interrupted

Our Weird Adventures game got postponed last night, so we’ll have to wait another week to find out what happens in Westerly Mansion. 

Here’s a little background I sent the players earlier this week to tide you over:

"MANIAC CAPTURED! ELDRITCH VALLEY SLEEPS SAFELY AGAIN" (26 Swelter, 5887)
Tranquility has been restored to the usually quiet communities of the Eldritch Valley.  Fennix Orgo, the so-called 'Shrike' killer, has been apprehended by law enforcement and returned to the Blufton Sanitarium, where he is to spend the rest of his days.  Orgo was responsible for at least seven deaths by brutal, bestial means, including the murder of J. Wyllard by impalement--a grisly deed which earned him his nickname.

[from The City Inquirer - a little over one year ago]


I’m off to Gen Con today.  Maybe I’ll see some of you there!

Warlord Wednesday: From the Ashes

Let's re-enter the lost world with another installment of my issue by issue examination of DC Comic's Warlord, the earlier installments of which can be found here...

"From the Ashes"

Warlord #98 (October 1985)

Written by Cary Burkett; Art by Andy Kubert; Inks by Pablo Marcos.

Synopsis: Winged reptile scavengers feed on the fallen from last issue's battle. Morgan rides out and scatters them with his sword and pistol. A dangerous thing to do, but Morgan feels the men deserve better than having their bones picked clean. Later, after Morgan’s had men gather the bodies, the survivors stand around a great funeral pyre.

Morgan goes to check on Graemore and finds Tara with him. “I couldn’t take losing you,” she tells her unconscious childhood friend. Morgan knows that if Graemore dies, he’ll be blamed. He finds Krystovar in the infirmary tent and tells him he’s got to save Graemore.

In frustration and guilt Morgan rides off on his own, but not before rebuffing Mariah who comes to urge him to provide leadership to the demoralized Shamballans. Morgan believes he can hear the personification of Death whisper to him that he will sacrifice everything he holds dear.

He hasn’t ridden far before another tremor occurs and unhorses him.

Briefly we turn to the Age of the Wizard-Kings where Mungo is trying to return Tinder to Skartaris. The spell doesn’t go as planned:

Mungo manages to restore the boy’s human form, but he still can’t send him back to home.

Morgan awakens in a cave with the mysterious old hermit he met in issue #90. The old man tells him the earthquakes here are a reflection of a crisis affecting all the planes of existence. There are men whose choices will be pivotal in these events—and Morgan is one of them.

Morgan denies the man’s words. He walks away--only to find the hermit again standing in his path. Next to the man is the glowing portal Morgan knows as the Eye of Truth (from issue #26). The old man tells him that that the demoralization he’s feeling seems to be due to dark sorcery. Only going into the eye will tell them for certain.

Morgan steps through. He sees a twisting path where death awaits him on the other end. The shades of his fallen friends appear, blaming him for their death. Before he can give in to despair, a voice tells Morgan to look deeper, and suddenly he sees the ghosts for what they really are:

He knows now he’s been duped. He cuts his way through the demons to the doorway at the end of the path. “Whoever you are,” he snarls, “I’m coming for you!”

He stands before death and sees her true face—a sight no other man has ever seen and lived. Then she’s gone, and Morgan faces a doorway to an abyss. He steps through and enters a throne room where we see the legs and feet of the Wizard-King of New Atlantis we’ve seen before. Then, Morgan sees his face:

Morgan attacks. Cykroth’s guards delay him long enough for the Wizard-King himself to fire off a blast, knocking Morgan back through the portal. The light around Morgan (the light of the eye of truth?) has weakened the sorcerous Cyclops and he calls for a Shamballan captive to be brought to him. He extends a clawed hand and drains the life force from the woman, leaving her a husk.

Morgan wakes up back where he fell after the tremor with Mariah fussing over him. Morgan gets to his feet. He has work to do. His sense of purpose has returned.

Back at camp Krystovar comes up excitedly and tells him it looks like Graemore is on the mend. Strange thing, though: at one point he thought he saw an old man standing over the minstrel, but when he looked again, there was no one there.

Things to Notice:   

• At least one tricorn rider survived from last issue.
• The Wizard-King of New Atlantis makes his first full apearance.

Where It Comes From:
Again, the mysterious earthquake in this issue is a reference to the greater upheaval going on in Crisis on Infinite Earths at the time of this issues publication.  The old hermit alludes to this fairly directly--and a editors note urges you to check out the "maxi-series."

Morgan encountered cyclopes back in issue #45, but Cykroth doesn't seem to be of the same ilk.

City Rumors

Here are some rumors (adventures hooks big and small) from the City by neighborhood:

Barrow Island: “Trouble’s brewing again between the Barrow Men and the ghouls.  Some adventurers killed some punk kid ghoul that wound up being connected to a muckety muck in Undertown.  The Barrow Men are looking for somebody to take the restitution they’re offering to the ghoul bosses.”

Yiantown: “Word has it that Tsan Chan has been replaced as head of the Five-Headed Dragon Society. No one knows who would have the moxie to pull off a coup like that, though.”

Grand Terminus District: “The Imperator Hotel is looking for a new night auditor and a house detective.  The last ones disappeared--they say--on a night when the hotel actually lost a room instead of it’s usual weirdness of growing and gaining 'em.”

Empire Park East: “Who’da thought it? Celebrity detective and perennial skirt-chaser Heward Kane seems to be smitten with the headmistress of the Mircalla Karnstein Finishing School for Young Ladies. It’s a bit odd.  She’s not hard on the eyes, but she’s a little bit more schoolmarm than the usual glamor girls Kane has on his arm.”

Hell’s Commot: “There’s a new crime lord in the Commots.  That’s right, lord--though people sometimes call him “the Mermaid.”  He operates out of the backroom of the Iceberg Club.  He ain’t human. He may not even be alive.”

Grimalkin Village: "Leland Throne runs an antiquarian book shop. He doesn't usual have magical tomes, but sometimes some stuff that deals with occult lore and related topics. People say Throne is also a bit of an amateur photographer--takes naughty pictures of girls for sell or trade with like-minded enthusiasts. Sometimes he gets a young lady with a rich family to pose for him, and he isn't above a little blackmail. His 'collection' might be worth quite a bit to the right people."

Opening the Doors of Perception

While mind-altering (and mind-expanding) chemicals have long been known to mankind, but there has been a prejudice against their therapeutic use by the church, science, and modern thaumaturgy.  In recent years, renegade scientists and alchemists have begun to catalog and experiment with these substances--and some maverick thaumaturgists have even begun to take notice.

These chemicals are often grouped under the name phantastica, but all fall into subcategories based on their effects on the mind and body.  While few engender the physical dependence observed with alcohol or various bootleg alchemicals, they can pose serious risks to the psyche.

The use of various phantastical mushrooms is of ancient vintage.  It has been suggested that the fruiting bodies of fungal sapients are among the most potent, and their widespread harvesting by primitive man drove these beings to near extinction and created enmity lasting to this day.

Mescaline (derived from several New World cacti) is one of the most widely studied phantastica. Some thaumaturgists have attesting to it aiding the early stages of magical research by increasing intuitive connections with the Planes Beyond.  Indeed, mescaline's only consistent thaumaturgical use is to aid in travel to the astral plane. Small doses have also been reported to allow a magical practitioner to see etheric or astral bodies.

Some phantastica come from the other planes themselves.  So-called “bug powder” sold in the astral waystation of Interzone, is a potentially dangerous example. Alchemists have work to isolate the essence of the astral moth for planar transport, but with little success.

A number of other sources of phantastica are currently under scientific investigation.  Adventurers report life-transforming visions from consumption of certain molds that grow in subterranean areas--often ones which are found near the “lairs” of certain slimes. Tincture of a distillate of ectoplasm is rumored to produce a dissociative state resembling catatonia, but allowing communication (one way) with spirits.    It has even been suggested that smoking the flakes or scraps of a lich (if one can acquire them) increases sorcerous potency for a period of hours to days, while slowing perceptions of time and heightening the senses.

It is the hope of many of researchers that the scientific study of these substances many usher in a new technological age. One perfectly integrating thaumaturgy and psychology through chemical means.

At Midnight

Weird Adventures resumed last night in the WaRP system. The gang was on hand for the reading of Old Cyrus Westerly’s will to his five (six if you count one’s daughter) hopeful heirs. The would-be heirs were unusual characters, and a couple seem to have past history. Given these dynamics, it was lucky that Don Diabolico and Boris were accompanied by Erskine Loone (The Grumpy Old Troll , Michael), psychologist and psychonaut, who turned an analytic eye on the clan.

Cyrus’s will gives his entire estate to Cordelia, the only surviving relative bearing his surname. The gang felt this immediately put a target on her back. But from whom? Matti Besant, the housekeeper, says spirits roam the house--the result of the diabolism of Curwen Westerly, Cyrus’s grandfather. Then, there’s an escaped homicidal maniac on the loose from a nearby sanitarium. Compared to those threats, jealous family members seem positively mundane.

Diabolico schemes! Boris scowls! Erskine expounds!  Will they be up to the task of protecting Cordelia Westerly from harm?

Stay tuned.

Warlord Wednesday: Disaster

Let's re-enter the lost world with another installment of my issue by issue examination of DC Comic's Warlord, the earlier installments of which can be found here...

"Disaster"

Warlord #97 (September 1985)

Written by Cary Burkett; Art by Rich Buckler; Inks by Pablo Marcos.

Synopsis: Machiste, the Danko knights, and a force of Shamballan soldiers wait outside the gates of Shamballah, now in the hands of the forces of New Atlantis.  They wait tensely for Morgan’s contingent to open the city gates.

Meanwhile, Morgan’s group has fallen into an ambush. Trogero is already dead and more Shamballan troops follow him by the moment. Morgan calls for a retreat. He and Scarhart bring up the rear, holding the narrow entrance to the tunnel by themselves.  Morgan tries to come up with a plan of escape, but Scarhart has out-thought him.  He pushes Morgan out of the way, them knocks down the columns supporting the entrance, Samson-style.  It collapses, closing off the New Atlanteans—but burying Scarhart.

The gates of Shamballah open to reveal energy cannon.  Machiste is knocked from his horse and Lord Kaldustan is killed.  Seeing their leader fall, the Danko warriors charge fearless into the mouth of the cannon—and into death.  All Machiste can do is watch:

Mariah and Machiste sound a retreat as well.  The retaking of Shamballah has failed.

What’s worse, Saaba shows up to tell Lord Sabertooth exactly where the free Shamballan camp is located!

A battered and grieving Morgan arrives back at camp and punches Graemore.  He believes that he must be a spy.  He remembers Mariah catching him listening in to their plans. Morgan wants to kill him, but Tara intervenes.

Remembering his dream where he did kill those he love, Morgan backs down.  At that moment, they get word that the Atlanteans are attacking the refugee camp.  Morgan and his friends charge into battle. The Shamballans fight fiercely, and Morgan has his archers keeping Sabertooth’sartillery out of action.

Saaba shows up to hit the archer’s from behind with fire, but her spell is cut short by a superior power:

Saaba gets a reprieve when an earthquake shakes the valley and Fire Mountain starts to blow! Jennifer has to turn all of her sorcerous powers to restraining the volcano.  Saaba sees her chance to escape and changes into raven form.  She doesn’t make it:

The earthquake and volcano causes Sabertooth to retreat. Morgan and his forces may not have one the day, but they’ve survived.

Jennifer shows Morgan the raven’s mangled body.  He realizes Saaba was the spy—and he wrongly accused Graemore.  He goes looking for the minstrel and finds him being tended by Krystovar.  Tara angrily tells him that Graemore entered battle to prove himself after Morgan’s accusations. If Graemore dies, she’ll never forgive Morgan.

Full of guilty and pain, Morgan wanders off alone.  Exactly as his unknown enemy wants:

Things to Notice:

• This issue marks the death of two recurrent characters: Scarhart and Saaba.  
• The riders of the tricorns certainly don't get to do much before taking their exit.
• The evil lower limbs of the Wizard-King of New Atlantis make their second appearance.

Where It Comes From:
The mysterious earthquakes and volcanic eruption in this issue are a reference to the greater upheaval going on in Crisis on Infinite Earths at the time of this issues publication.

Comics' First Barbarian

Before Claw, Wulf, and Ironjaw--even before Conan--there was a barbarian Sword & Sorcery hero in comics. Though there’s a good chance you’ve never heard of this particularly mighty-thewed sword-slinger, he’s got a famous name: Crom the Barbarian!

Crom was the creation of Gardner Fox and first appeared in Out of this World #1 (1950) from Avon. Fox tells us that Crom’s adventures come to us courtesy of “long-lost parchments recovered in an underwater upheaval, translated by a lingual expert,” but I suspect he made it all up.  He also took a lot of inspiration from Howard's Conan yarns.
Anyway, Crom’s a yellow-haired Aesir living in an age forgotten by history, and he’s got a problem. His sister Lalla have been kidnapped by ape-men called Cymri (which may or may not tell us how Fox felt about the Welsh). Crom makes short work of the ape-men, but he and Lalla wind up adrift.

They end up on an island. Good news: It’s full of lovely women. Bad news:

The wizard is named Dwelf, and he’s got a job for Crom. Dwelf wants him to bring back water from the fountain of youth which was built by “people from the stars’ and will one day be lost “under what men will call the Sahara desert.” Dwelf threatens Lalla if Crom doesn’t get the stuff for him--and then hypnotizes him to make double sure.

Crom sails to fabled Ophir. He sneaks into the city and while he’s casing the tower that houses the fountain, he meets a girl who doesn’t really get the concept of sword & sorcery tavern-dancing:

Crom takes the girl (Gwenna) dancing and formulates a plan to get into the tower by first being thrown in jail. It works, but once at the tower, he’s got to fight panthers and some guards. He dispatches them all with his sword “Skull-cracker.”

When he gets to the fountain he finds he guarded by a giant snake! He kills it, too, but is almost done in by the queen of Ophir, herself, Tanit. He takes her hostage so he can get out of the city:

By the time they’ve escaped though, Tanit has warmed to Crom and is asking him to come back and be her king! She and Crom deliver the water to Dwelf, who suffers the ironic fate of being turned into an infant.

Not really into childcare, apparently, Crom leaves the wizardling and decides he and Tanit should head back to that kingdom she’s promised him--with his sister Lalla, too, of course. They don’t make it back without adventure, but that ends this particular issue.

Crom goes on to have two more improbable adventures in the pages of Strange Worlds.