Friday Update: Under the Sun & More
over 3 years ago
– Sat, May 01, 2021 at 12:27:17 AM
Hey all! Time for another Friday Update!
We're incredibly close to knocking out our 900k Stretch Goal for the digital/printable copies of the Premium Character Sheets and can't wait to show you what our next Stretch Goal is. Thank you again for all of the support you've shown as well as the feedback you've given. The next notes here are directly results of things you've asked for.
All-In Pledge
Based on backer's feedback, we're going to add an All-In Pledge which contains just about every add-on and offers a discount. It will allow you to choose from one of the Wyrmwood Vaults (you choose post-campaign) and will not contain the Wyrmwood Art Tray (which can be chosen as an Add-On, of course). We're hoping to launch this alongside hitting our 900k Stretch Goal.
Discord Now Open!
We opened up an Auroboros: Coils of the Serpent community Discord! Join now and start chatting - we'll be improving it in the coming weeks but we've received a lot of requests for one and wanted to get it out to you ASAP: https://discord.gg/qA7CJ8neYm
Under the Sun
Chris wanted to take some time this week to talk a bit about Under the Sun, the novelized (by NYT best selling author Mickey Neilson) story of his original AD&D adventure in Lawbrand. As you probably know, you can pick it up as part of the Collector's Edition, but you might have been wondering about the story itself. Wonder no more - and enjoy a piece of Chris' art from back in the day!
UNDER THE SUN
So… there’s an interesting story behind our story.
My friends and I ran our AD&D Auroboros campaign in three distinct phases from the mid-eighties to the mid-nineties – each phase representing different eras of Drastnia’s long history. If that sounds overly impressive, don’t be fooled – we were making it up by the seat of our pants as we went. The story of ‘Under the Sun’, specifically, comprises the adventures of our second group, based in the ‘middle era’ of history – the age of Lawbrand.
It was the early nineties when we played this part of the campaign – and many of us were musicians or in bands at the time. Our somewhat irreverent values, caustic humor and heavy music tastes were hugely influential in shaping the world we played in as well as informing the story we played through.
We focused our storytelling on themes of societal control, the corruption of powerful institutions, creative expression and above all, brotherhood. And, of course, we sprinkled in as many vampire-cartels, off-road chariot races and raucous music festivals as we could manage as the campaign took shape.
My friend Sam Moore and I developed the setting together and also took turns as GM for our group. We regularly jammed on big world ideas, character motivations and unfolding world-mythology. We loosely outlined adventure hooks and plot points each week as we traded off running the sessions. This worked great as we were both able to kick back and actually play our characters in weekly intervals.
We wound up naming this particular phase of the campaign ‘Under the Sun’, which is lifted from the Black Sabbath song Under the Sun/Every Day Comes and Goes, featured on their 1972 Vol.4 album (which is somehow even older than I am…). Under the Sun is one of my very favorite Sabbath tracks and served as a spiritual theme song for our adventures in the Lawbrand era. Seriously, all these years later, I hear that opening riff and I’m immediately transported back to the desolate heart of the Tanaroch…
Anyway, I digress…
Here’s how I’d describe Under the Sun’s storyline without giving too much away:
Under the Sunchronicles the adventures of a group of hard-bit, hard-playin’ mercenaries that run afoul of Lawbrand’s authorities after a simple job goes belly-up. Desperate and on the run, these ragged outcasts find safety and belonging in their unlikely partnership. Always barely one step ahead the law, they cross paths with the Children of the Sun - a powerful new faith movement - that seeks to topple the ruling Sularian Church and purify the ‘social corruption’ of Lawbrand by fire.
After a series of infuriating run-ins, the reluctant mercenaries set themselves against the Children of the Sun – stumbling their way into their own unique brand of heroism and justice. Their pursuit of the Children of the Sun takes them on a mad dash across Lawbrand’s Trade-Cities and beyond. And all the while, they are drawn ever deeper into the dangerous mystery of the Auroboros itself…
After suffering heartbreaking losses and setbacks, the unlikely heroes eventually rise to wield the unimaginable powers of the Auroboros – and (grudgingly) save the civilization that only ever saw them as worthless outcasts.
The MOST unlikely heroes…
Without further ‘ado, I’ll introduce you to ’the dudes’ here…
XAMUS FROOD
High Elf - Multiclass Sorcerer/Fighter
Played by Sam Moore
Xamus was one of the last of the surviving high elves. Having left the elves’ secret enclave of Feyonnas, he set out to travel the world and see its wonders for himself. Never one to accept the easy path, Xamus practiced wild magic – which his people abhorred - just to prove it could be mastered. Secretly, he thrilled at the danger – the possibility that his spells could backfire dramatically. The uncertainty made him feel alive.
Keeping his elven heritage hidden, he took to life on the road, becoming a mercenary sell-sword - constantly on the lookout for arcanum and spell lores to add to his magical repertoire. He’d try almost anything once – always fascinated by new experiences.
A loner from the start, Xamus took to the group out of necessity more than any other factor - but came to regard the other outcasts as brothers – closer to him than the stodgy kin he left behind in Feyonnas.
Xamus’ old AD&D class was Mage/Fighter… in 5E he’d likely be sorcerer/fighter multiclass.
TORIN BLOODSTONE
Desert Dwarf - Fighter
Played by Mike Pirozzi
A desert dwarf from Red Bluff, Torin lived his early years as an orphan – cared for by different families, and even a pack of ma’ii for a time. His surname, Bloodstone, is a term the desert dwarves use for ‘orphan’. Having never really held Red Bluff as his true home, Torin always had a sense of wander lust.
Leaving his fellow dwarves behind at an early age, he hit the road to make a living as mercenary and caravan guard along the fringes of Lawbrand.
His time spent among other races at an early age gave him a deep curiosity about the varied peoples of Lawbrand. Torin always took people as they were and believed they should be treated with equal dignity – unless they proved to be useless assholes. He had a deep hatred for those who abused power. Like many dwarves, he didn’t necessarily have an issue with people in power – so long as they wielded it well. Authoritarianism and injustice really pissed him off.
His strength and resilience made him an implacable foe in combat – even against mightier opponents. He was never one to back down from a fight – and was often eager to prove his prowess against all comers. Red Bluff or no, he was a dwarf’s dwarf to the core.
By the time Torin encountered the other outcasts, he’d seen and done a lot. He eventually found the kind of family in the group that he never had as a youth.
His old AD&D class was Fighter – and he’d be exactly the same in 5E…
OLDAVEI
Ma’ii - Priest
Played by Mike Carrillo
Introverted, but exceedingly clever, Oldavei was just as happy studying people and their motivations as he was playing tricks on them. As a youth, the good-natured ma’ii was trained to become the next shaman of his ma’ii pack. But during his training, Oldavei glimpsed a vision of his own death - which rattled him to the core. As a result, he abandoned his shamanic calling and left his pack behind; becoming deeply disillusioned about his place in the world.
Oldavei spent a few years taking odd jobs in various Trade-Cities, quietly observing the people of Lawbrand all the while. He saw the plight of the poor working-class citizens and the hypocrisy of the ruling religious elites. He grew to hate the constricting societal roles people were forced to play and the systems of control that kept the masses down. He became an enthusiastic anarchist, dreaming of burning the systems down – challenging everything – breaking it all.
It’s possible that his sometimes-bestial ma’ii nature aggravated his discontent. But the truth was, he longed to regain the connection he’d lost when he left his people. He wanted his life – and his death – have some kind of purpose.
Meeting the group of outcasts and using his ‘shamanic’ healing powers to keep them safe started to heal some of his old wounds and give him the purpose he craved.
His old AD&D class was Cleric, but Mike played him more as a tough tribal shaman. In modern 5E, he’d more likely be a Priest focusing on the Nature Domain as a stand-in for ‘shamanism’.
Mike created the idea of Oldavei’s ma’ii race, and had fun playing as a shapeshifting coyote hybrid. It’s pretty cool to have realized the ma’ii as a full-featured race for Worldbook: Lawbrand.
WILHELM WALLAROO
Human - Bard (College of Creation)
Played by Daniel Moore
Wilhelm was always a bit whimsical about life. Maybe just a tad narcissistic, too. Creative and impulsive, he was born the third son of his noble family. Unable to inherit either power, fortune or position the way his older brothers would, he was widely regarded as a useless and often forgotten part of the family.
Eventually, he left his family estate in Wallaroo and took up the life of a bard. While no slouch in a fight, he found real proficiency in singing, writing songs and playing various musical instruments. He loved composing perverse or irreverent verses and delighted in performing his craft to any who would listen. Adorned with his signature striped hat and fashionable leather pants, he loved the energy he got from the enthusiastic audiences he played for while on the road. He traveled the breadth of Lawbrand – seeking fame and fortune as a traveling minstrel. More often than not, he spent his days intoxicated, entertaining every whim and giving in to every impulse.
Joining up with the group of outcasts was a total fluke – or perhaps it was fate? Either way, he came to see them as his traveling ‘band’ – and had huge loyalty for them no matter where their journey led them…
DARYLONDE TALONHAND
Human - Wildkeeper
Played by Chris Metzen
Darylonde was a bit grizzled. He spent the last ten years of his life fighting a nightmare war against the Howling in the deep wilds north of Lawbrand. He developed a form of PTSD from the horrors he witnessed. Often quiet and introverted, he could seem a bit cold or intense to those who didn’t know him well. In truth he was deeply compassionate and truly believed in the Oram Hai druids’ mission of safeguarding the natural world from the Howling’s depredations. But he was edgy and nervous as only weary soldiers can be.
Darylonde pledged his life to the Oram Hai and was trained as a soldier and guardian of the wilds. At the age of thirty he underwent a sacred ritual (and vision quest) to find and merge with his spirit animal; the eagle. Part of that ritual required a test of faith – where he leaped off a cliff to take hold of the wind as the eagles do. Suffice to say, the spirits saved him that day and granted him supernatural powers of a Wildkeeper; able to speak to avians and see through their eyes. His right hand mutated into that of a deadly eagle’s talon, which he often kept gloved to avoid staring eyes.
A grizzled veteran of the Howling Wars, Darylonde dreamed of the day when he’d be able to lay down his arms and rest in the peaceful quiet of the wilds.
He didn’t think much of the outcasts upon first meeting, but he knew they were destined to change the world in some way. He agreed to accompany them on their journey out of a sense of duty (or to try and keep them out of trouble), but he eventually came to see them as dear friends and soldiers of a different kind…
Darylonde’s old AD&D class was a dual Ranger/Druid combo. He could fight and shoot – but I wanted druid spells earlier than Rangers usually acquired them. That fact served as the basis for creating the Wildkeeper subclass of Fighter – weaving in the animal mutations and feral power I’d developed for his background.
