12 April, 2009
Today’s Tabbloid
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[Lost Works] Lustria, Part 2
APR 11, 2009 07:15P.M.
The Invasion and the Prophecy
The most important event in Lizardmen history is the Time of the
Plague. This was a time when the servants of the Great Horned Rat,
emerged into the jungles of Lustria and let loose a cloud of death. At no
other time in Lizardmen history was the possibility of extinction so high.
Yet the Slann and the Lizardmen survived, and solidified their position
in Lustria forever.
In the pyramid temple of Chaqua a prophecy lay hidden on the gold
plaques of The Great World Plan. Like the other plaques in other temple
cities, Chaqua’s plaques correctly predicted the collapse of the Warp
Gates and the retreat of the Old Ones. Unlike the others, Chaqua’s
plaques also predicted an invasion of Lustria. This invasion would be the
creation of the Great Horned Rat.
According to the plaques, his rodent spawn would invade the jungles of
Lustria and Lizardmen would die. Even the city of Chaqua would be
destroyed in the wave of rodents, and the jungles would be forever
changed. The prophecy also alluded to the salvation of the Lizardmen
when a mighty serpent would rise from the earth. This serpent would be
named Sotek and he would fight the servants of the Horned Rat, and
drive the rodents from the jungle. The children of the Old Ones would
know of Sotek’s arrival by a sign in the heavens. This sign would appear
in the Lizardmen’s hour of need and signal that salvation close at hand.
The Slann of Chaqua waited for the time that they knew would soon
come. Without warning the earth vomited out a creation of pure evil.
Rodents of many shape and sizes came, and wherever they stepped death
soon followed. The Skaven destroyed many of the temple cities and
plagues engulfed the land. It took many years, but eventually the plagues
reached Chaqua.
Consulting the plaques the Slann learned that their time of doom was
approaching. War parties were sent to defeat the Skaven, but it was too
little too late. Plague and disease were loose and many had died at the
Skaven’s hands. After a successful attack on a Skaven stronghold Skaven
prisoners were brought to Chaqua to be sacrificed and questioned. The
Skaven leaders were brought inside the city, but they brought the plague
with them. In two days of carnage, all but a spawning of Skinks survived.
1
The Rise of the Red Crests
Not everyone died in the plague that ravished the city of Chaqua. Rising
from the spawning pools came a new group of Skinks, and this group was
Red Crested. Among them was Tenehuini who was smarter than all the
Skinks, and able to read the plaques of the Great World Plan.
Tenehuini learned of the Prophecy of Sotek, and considered himself to be
the god’s prophet. Calling for a gathering of all Skinks, and he
proclaimed the prophecy had come true. Pointing to the heavens and he
stated that a two-tailed comet would announce the arrival of the Sotek
the Great Snake. Tenehuini told everyone word of Sotek’s coming must
be spread and all must be told that their deliverance was at hand. The
gathering came to a close and the Red Crested Skinks left to spread the
news of Sotek’s coming.
Led by Tenehuini, the Red Crests urged all Lizardmen to sacrifice any
rat, rodent and Skaven found in the jungle. The reason for this was to
feed Sotek so he could gain strength for the coming war. The Red Crests
preached that the prophecy described Sotek as a mighty red snake that
would swallow any rat he found. Once he was strong enough, Sotek
would fight the Great Horned Rat and swallow him. Sotek would then
rest for 1,000 years while he digested his enemy.
The Lizardmen, who were tired of the constant death and disease,
quickly embraced Sotek. The Slann, however, wisely forbid any Skaven
from being brought into the temple cities. The memories of Chaqua were
still fresh, and no Slann wanted a repeat of that disaster. Thus the Skinks
went to the ruined temple cities, and there among the ruins performed
their sacrifices.
Sotek Comes
In the heavens a comet appeared (-30 I.C.), not a normal
comet but a comet with two tails. None of the Slann knew
what this meant, but the priests of Sotek did; Sotek had
arrived! A giant red snake rose from the earth and
unleashing his rage.
Snakes of all types and sizes answered Sotek’s summons.
They infested the Skaven’s dens, and soon the number of
snakes became so great that they were forced to the surface.
The Plague Monks tried devising diseases that would kill the
snakes, but nothing worked. The Skaven had no choice but to
retreat and return to their home.
Building rafts the Skaven set sail across the Great World
Pond. Following in their wake was Sotek! He plunged into
Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR riorio2@rogue-games.net 12 April, 2009

the water and swam after them. The threat of the Skaven
was over and peace came to the jungles. Sotek now feeds
endlessly on the Skaven, and his appetite will not be satisfied
until the Great Horned Rat is swallowed.
- As told by the Skink Tinz Titz to the Norse scholar Ingmar Knud, 2493
I.C.
Posted in Games Tagged: Games, Lost Works, Lustria, thoughts,
Warhammer FRP
ROGUE FEED
rules. That is, it retains the number of spells per day a magic-user gets as
described in OD&D and then presents an alternate explanation for why
the class is so limited.
I can’t help but approve of this approach, as it nicely embodies the do-it-
yourself sensibilities of OD&D and the early hobby I so love. As I said, I
don’t think the sketch presented in FFC provides enough details in order
to emulate it accurately. But I do think it provides a potent example of
how to take OD&D’s rules and then make them your own. I’m very much
of the opinion that what the hobby needs is more of this kind of thing
and not less. The zeal for standardization and conformity is perfectly
understandable and proceeds from rational impulses. Yet, I also think
that zeal has inadvertently put a stopper in the parallel zeal for
originality and uniqueness. Great as it is to be able to move effortlessly
from one campaign to another, sure of the rules the referee will use in his
campaign. it’s often at the expense of the individual quirkiness that I feel
is at the heart of this hobby and gave it such appeal.

D&D; Magic, Blackmoor Style

APR 11, 2009 02:45P.M.

In Blackmoor, magic followed the “Formula” pattern for most

magic. The reasoning behind limiting the number of spells
that a Magic User could take down into the Dungeon was
simply that many of the ingredients had to be prepared ahead
of time, and of course, once used were Visit the Rogues on the web: www.rogue-games.net
then powerless. Special adventures could then be organized
by the parties to gain some special ingredients that could only
be found in some dangerous place.

Progression reflected the increasing ability of the Magic user

to mix spells of greater and greater complexity. Study and
practice were the man import factors involved. A Magic user
did not progress unless he used Spells, either in the Dungeon
or in practice (there was no difference) session1. Since there
was always the chance of failure in spells (unless they were
practiced) and materials for some spells were limited
(determined simply by a die roll) the Magic User did not just
go around practicing all the time. The Magic User could
practice low level spells all the time, cheaply and safely, but
his Constitution determined how often he could practice
without rest. Thus, the adventurers might want a Magic User
to come with them only to find him lying exhausted.

So to progress to a new level, one first learned the spells, and

then got to use that spell. There was no automatic
progression, rather it was a slow step by step, spell by spell
progression.

That’s one of the fascinating little tidbits from The First Fantasy
Campaign. I’ll admit that I’m not entirely clear on what it means in
practice. As presented, it’s more a sketch of an idea than an actually fully
detailed system. Nevertheless, I find it fascinating and praiseworthy for
the simple reason that it suggests a way to interpret the OD&D magic
rules that is unique yet doesn’t require any significant alteration to the