Wednesday Comics: Storm: Labyrinth of Death

My exploration of the long-running euro-comic Storm, continues with his adventures in the world of Pandarve. Earlier installments can be found here.

Storm: The Labyrinth of Death (1983) 
(Dutch: Het Doolhof van de Dood) (part 3)
Art by Don Lawrence; script by Martin Lodewijk

The striped-haired spy has no time for Ember's questions. She leaves quickly so she won't be found out--and runs smack into a suspicious guard. Ember rushes out to help her. In the scuffle, the guard is killed. The spy isn't happy for the help as now they've got a body to dispose of. But it means they have to act now.

They raid the jails, overpowering the guards, and find Nomad. Storm has been taken away to the Theocrat's laboratory. The rebels are mistrustful of Nomad. When he threatens violence if they try to stop him from coming along, they reiterate they're willing to die for the cause. Ember points out that they should probably be more willing to live for it, as well.

Meanwhile, the Theocrat is explaining the cosmology of Pandarve. It seems the system has a white hole at its center instead of a sun. The matter emitted by it is what creates the atmosphere throughout the system. Marduk also reveals that the planet Pandarve itself is alive. He boasts of being her spokesmen to the people of the world--but he wants to be more than a servant.

Storm is the key. He is imbued with energy due to his travel through time. If properly harnessed, the Theocrat believes he can use it to control the universe. He's got his biological computers working on this:

He demands Storm stand in the center of a crystal antennae to catch the radiation coming off and analyzing it:

TO BE CONTINUED

Meet Mortzengersturm in pdf!

The wait is over! Mortzengersturm, The Mad Manticore of the Prismatic Peak for 5e is out today on pdf. The adventure's got eight pregenerated characters (the one's I used in the convention game), about a dozen new(ish) monsters, and a center spread boardgame map!  The digital version contains some exclusive extras: Gus L's map of Yanth Country and a brief gazetteer, and a short excerpt from The Cloud Castle of Azurth.

Go get it!

Rabbits & Eggs

In the Land of Azurth, there is a magical treasure peculiar to the Hara or Rabbit Folk and celebrated in their legends. A number (though no one knows the exact number) of eggs in variegated pastels are forever being lost and rediscovered; they are objects of quests for great heroes and the caralyst for small folk to elevated their station. They are associated with both just rulers and holy madmen.

The eggs are said to have been crafted on the Moon by the rabbit goddess the Bright Lady as gifts to favored mortals or saints on the occasion of the birth of spring. The shell of each egg is held to not be mere eggshell but ceramic made from moonstuff. The eggs have moved down through history, sought, horded, and fought over for their beauty and their magic power--each egg has a unique arcane property. One might have the power to heal, while another the ability to command others to do the bearers bidding. Still another might allow one to see the future.

The Rabbit Folk sometimes make their own mundane eggs for vernal celebrations in honor of the goddess, while unscruplous relic-dealers occasional try to pass off fakes as the real artifacts. The abundance of imitations has only increased the difficulty of finding the real thing.

It is said that Lapin XXII, King of the Warrens of the Hara, has several of the eggs in his possession, stored in a ceremonial basket.

Let Me Tell You About Their Characters

Art by Steve LeCouilliard

With a new illustration of the gang, time to shine the spotlight on the PCs in my Land of Azurth campaign:

As has been recounted, the crew met on a keelboat on the way to seek an audience with Viola the Clockwork Princess of Yanth, each for his or her own reason.

KULLY KEENSTEP (Jim) Human Bard
A traveling minstrel, Kully encountered a calico Cougar Man (who ever heard of such?) in the vicinity of Mount Brawl who suggested the Princess might be able to tell him something about the hereabouts of his long-missing father. She was not, but he has since discovered the possible identity of the mysterious Cougar Man he met.

SHADE PYRALIS (Gina) Elf Ranger
Shade hails from the Aldwode and mistrusts civilization. She has since learned from her long-absent mother, Oona, that she is actually half High Elf and a child of House Perilous and the infamous, mad Sylaire family.

KAIRON (Eric) Demonlander Sorcerer
Feared and ostracized in the village where he grew up due to his Demonlander heritage. He became an adventurer to improve both his economic and social station.

WAYLON (Tug) Frox (Frogling) Thief
Named "Wi'Sdosdo" (Wailing-Moon) in his native tongue, Waylon grew up on the streets of the Shanty City of Lardafa. He was a musician in a jug band, but also a protege of the thief and con-man King Kuel.

DAGMAR (Andrea) Dwarf Cleric
Against the wishes of her family, Dagmar pursued a life in monastic service to Iolanthe, Lady of Knowledge. In her middle years, she gave up the life of scholarly hermit and sought adventure. She is currently petrified and standing in a library in House Perilous!

EREKOSE (Bob) Human Fighter
His origins obscure, Erekose is a veteran soldier and a pretty mercenary fellow. Gold is the allure in adventuring for him.

Mortzengersturm...EXPOSED!

Once again, I'll be running a session of Mortzengersturm, The Mad Manticore of the Prismatic Peak at North Texas RPG Con in Jone, which (assuming everything goes well with the printer) will also be the debut of the print edition of the adventure at the Hydra Co-op booth!

Here are ten things about the Mortzengersturm adventure even a dedicated reader of this blog might not know:

1. The adventure grew out of an adaptation of Jason Sholtis's Zogorion, Lord of the Hippogriffs for my Land of Azurth game, originally played on June 15 and July 19, 2015.
2. The name Mortzengersturm was arrived at by smashing together the titles of Poe's "Metzengerstein" and Hugh Cave's "Murgunstrumm." Neither story have I read (though I did see a film adaptation of the Poe story).
3. This John R. Neill drawing was the initial inspiration for the look of Mortzengersturm, and possibly the source of the idea that he would be a manticore:

4. The goblins' song in the published version of the adventure should be sang to the tune of "God Save the Tsar!" the former national anthem of the Russian Empire.
5. Slime-spawned goblins was an idea I had back in 2012. I finally got to use in print, in a modified form.
6. Thedabara is, of course, named for the silent film vamp Theda Bara (1885-1955).
7. The Oubliette of Mistakes wasn't in the adventure as originally run and basically got included because I had thought up The Moonster and needed a place to put him. The name was likely inspired by the Island of Misfit Toys from Rankin-Bass' Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964).
8. There are a few references to Chicago's Columbia World Exposition of 1893 in the adventure which no party has yet investigated.
9. A brand of cigarettes from the City and Weird Adventures makes a cameo.
10. The parrot-bear (and the whole idea of Mortzengersturm's mixed up animals) came from an illustration by Jeff Call--who later wound up illustrating the adventure.

Wednesday Comics: Storm: The Labyrinth of Death

My exploration of the long-running euro-comic Storm, continues with his adventures in the world of Pandarve. Earlier installments can be found here.

Storm: The Labyrinth of Death (1983) 
(Dutch: Het Doolhof van de Dood) (part 2)
Art by Don Lawrence; script by Martin Lodewijk

Taking the Devil's Ride, Storm and Nomad are forced to abandon their gliders or be dashed against an imposing mountain range. Their landing on the rocky plateau beneath isn't an easy one, then they have to climb down out of the wind before they freeze to death.

Their landing doesn't go unnoticed. The Anomaly's arrival on Pandarve is detected by Marduk's machines.

Reaching the desert road below, our heroes encounter a man on the back of a giant snail creature:

He's heading to Mardukan, the capital, for the Theocrat's wedding so they are able to  get a ride.

There is only one bridge into Mardukan, and the city is surrounded by high walls. The man explains that the Theocrat is afraid of the rebels. Nomad and Storm enter the city in the crowd, under the eyes of Marduk's guards and their telepathic watch-dogs. Nomad is nervous that in the narrow alleys it would be easy to trapped. His words prove prophetic. The outer gates are closed, and when Storm walks through a checkpoint, Marduk's sensors detect him.

Storm and Nomad are brought before Marduk. Storm doesn't know anything about the Anomaly; He just wants to see Ember. Marduk doesn't have her anymore, but he tells Storm if he cooperates he'll get to see her. Storm and Nomad get sent off to the laboratory.

Meanwhile, Ember is in the streets with the rebels. They are disguised as entertainers. The rebels want to get their hands on the Anomaly to deny him to the Theocrat. They wind up washing dishes, but their Ember overhears a report from a rebel spy that the Anomaly--Storm!--is being held in the castle.

CONTINUED

A Gate, Silver Keys, and Tempting Fate

Michael Kaluta

Our Land of Azurth game continued last night with the fourth session of my adaptation of X2: Castle Amber. The dog-headed Claudas had told them they needed to go to the dungeon to find the gate where they could use the silver keys, but they didn't know where the dungeon was. Shade the Ranger was convinced she should at least try to make nice with her crazy family, the Sylaire, by going to see her grandmother. Claudas (who shared the same grandmother) said that the Dame Carmilla was in the card room across the hall playing at being fortune teller.

Carmilla didn't look like a grandmother, but she did recognize her wayward daughter in her grand-daughter. She offered to let Shade and her companion draw cards. Shade did (reluctantly) and received a chalice which allowed her to tell when someone was lying. The frogling thief Waylon pulled the Page of Coins and had all his coinage disappear! Kully had nothing occur on his draw. Carmilla disappeared and while they waited the night in a long rest, the others drew. Astra of the Shooting Star Folk pulled a death card--all the more horrifying because the player's first character (Dagmar) had already been petrified. Luckily, the death was just a hit point reduction, and she was able to be saved.

Next, they found a room full of dog-headed men playing cards.They tried to be somewhat helpful and point the way to the Black Room, but they got into an argument over the best way to go and the party was left confused. A mention of a secret door got them searching and they found the Red Room.

In the Red Room, and an armored man, Solus, who claimed to be a dwarf fallen from the sun. he told them the Black Room was right next door. They found it, but it took a bit of searching to find the trapdoor.

A Magic Square painted onto the floor of the room they came into caused them a lot of consternation, ultimately to know useful end, as two succumbed to the lunacy curse (though they didn't know it yet). Two received increases in their wisdom.

After that, it was a pitch battle in the vat room where artificial men were made, and oneiric black dust in the alchemical lab. Kully had a dream of falling and woke up dead (or at least 0 HP). Kairon had all his dreams come true of having the Wizard raise his station, only to have it fade away with the dust.

Avoiding more fights became their goal, as the party continued a room to room search for the gate. They ran away from a coin-encrusted slime worm and shut the door on a kennel of whimpering hell hounds.

At last, they found the room with the gate. As they turned the keys, the amber lion statue came to life...