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Shadows of the Swordspynes: The Road West

Getting Started: Campaign Quick Start Guide

Road West West Marches Campaign Rules

The Road West is a campaign that takes place in the Eastlands of Atheles. It centers on the stronghold of Elmhearth, and the Wanderers Guild, of which all adventures in the campaign are a part of. 

Elmhearth was once just an outpost for the Wanderers, an adventurers guild. The nearby metropolis, Kowal, has fallen to dark times. You and others have fled to Elmhearth as a sanctuary. But for Elmhearth to survive, you must help its overseer, Helfen. The refuge needs food, protection, and especially gold. The Wanderers, the adventurers guild, wants a road out of Uthgard into the West. So besides helping supply the encampment, you are also tasked with taking expeditions into the wilds. You should map the best routes for roads, establish strongholds, and tame the wilderness so that there is a safe road west.

The Road West is also a way to test the newly designed SagaBorn Basic Roleplaying Edition. The game was submitted to Chaosium for their designer contest and needs people to help test it and refine the system.

Intro

You find yourself in Elmhearth, an outpost for the Wanderers. Kowal has become too dangerous for those who don’t fit within the city’s narrow cultural norms. You have come here for sanctuary and, hopefully, to start a new life away from the oppressive city.

What is the campaign?

Shadows of the Swordspyne is a living campaign, which will be run much like a West Marches campaign ( see Matt Colville’s video on it: https://youtu.be/oGAC-gBoX9k). Adventures will be player driven, and as we grow, we will add new SGs, new strongholds, and new players.

How is it played (aka how is it a living campaign)?

Elmhearth is a encampment which has become refuge for people leaving the turmoil of the city. The players will all work for the Wanderers, but the game will hinge on their participation. The players have to form a group, decide what they want to do, and contact a GM about setting up a session time. Plans must be submitted at least one week before the game session to give the GM time to develop an adventure.

Here is our full Road West West Marches campaign rules page.

What do I need?

You should bookmark the SagaBorn BRP website (https://www.sagaborn.com/games/sagabornbrp/) and download Fantasy Grounds (free edition) (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/home/home.php). Join our Discord channel.

How do I run a game?

We are keeping the StoryGuide pool small for now, but will expand in the future. You must play in at least 4 sessions within the campaign before you can apply to be a SG.

Shadows of the Swordspynes Adventurers

Shadows of the Swordspynes Non-player Characters

The Map

Map Rules

Request an adventure at the Adventure Contract!

Download the Settlement Guide for free:

Shamans

The shamans are less an organized group , than a type of magic user defined by their part as wise folk and leaders in the wilds and outskirts of the lands.

They know the legends of the lands that surround them and offer those who seek their knowledge freely. They are Wylders by trade, though when tribes meet, some may gain the abilities of a Druidic Luminar.

Silas Monta’s Estate

Silas Monta does not descend from nobility or riches, so when he became one of the more successful farmers in Ferryport, he built his estate outside of the Noble District. It is a plain two story house, but unlike other houses in this district, it sits on a larger piece of property and is surrounded by gardens that Silas himself planted and maintains.

Silver

Metal weapons can be infused with silver by master smiths. This allows the weapon to strike supernatural creatures and ignore damage reduction.

 

Add 100 gp to the cost of a silvered weapon.

Sirin

Sirin

 

Sirin

Challenge Rating: 2

Size: Medium

Type: Navirite Fey

Initiative: 3

 

Defense

Hit Points:  12 (3d6)

Armor Class: 15, touch 14, flat-footed 11 (+3 Dex, +1 dodge, +1 natural)

Saves: Fort 1 Ref 6 Will 4

Weaknesses: Salt, runed circle, silver

 

Offense

Speed: 30’ Fly 50’ (Out of body in incorporeal form)

Base Attack: +3

Melee: +3 Sword (1d6)

Ranged: +6

Special Attacks: (4 times per day) Ear Piercing Scream

 

Statistics

Abilities: STR 10, DEX 17, CON 10, INT 13, WIS 12, CHA  14

Skills: Acrobatics +3, Athletics +0,  Awareness +2, Endurance +0, Knowledge +1, Persuasion +3, Spellcraft +2, Survival +1, Thievery +3

Talents: Weapon Dexterity

Special Qualities: DR 5/cold iron or silver; Possess; incorporeal Form; Immune poison; Resist acid 10, cold 10; immortal;  fast healing 2

 

Ecology

Environment: Any

Organization: Single

 

Treasure: Standard

 

Sirin Elder

Challenge Rating: 3

Size: Medium

Type: Navirite Fey

Initiative: 4

 

Defense

Hit Points:  24 (5d6)

Armor Class: 17, touch 14, flat-footed 11 (+3 Dex, +3 dodge, +1 natural)

Saves: Fort +1 Ref +7 Will +4

Weaknesses: Salt, runed circle, silver

 

Offense

Speed: 30’ Fly 50’ (Out of body in incorporeal form)

Base Attack: +3

Melee: +4 Sword (1d6)

Ranged: +6

Special Attacks: (4 times per day) Ear Piercing Scream

 

Statistics

Abilities: STR 10, DEX 17, CON 10, INT 13, WIS 12, CHA  14

Skills: Acrobatics +3, Athletics +0,  Awareness +2, Endurance +0, Knowledge +1, Persuasion +3, Spellcraft +2, Survival +1, Thievery +3

Talents: Weapon Dexterity

Special Qualities: DR 5/cold iron or silver; Possess; incorporeal Form; Immune poison; Resist acid 10, cold 10; immortal;  fast healing 4; Spell-Like abilities Constant – detect magic, 3/day suggestion (DC 16 Will)

 

Ecology

Environment: Any

Organization: Single

 

Treasure: Standard

 

Ear Piercing Scream

 

Range 40’

Duration instantaneous; see text

Saving Throw Fortitude partial (see text)

The sirin unleashes a powerful scream, inaudible to all but a single target. The target is dazed for 1 round and takes 2d6 points of sonic damage. A successful DC 14 Fort save negates the daze effect and halves the damage.

 

Possess

A sirin can possess the body of a living or dead humanoid. They must be in incorporeal form to attempt to possess the creature. Once per day, a living creature can try a will save to expel the Sirin. A NPC must succeed at a DC 12 Will save to resist being possessed.

 

Incorporeal Form

A sirin can leave the host body it possesses at any time. The only way to trap a sirin in a body is with a circle of salt, or with a runed circle. This form looks like a green mist.

 

Immortal

A sirin is immortal and can not be slain, unless it is trapped within a body using salt or a runed circle. Then a silver dagger must be thrust into its host’s heart.

 

Skeleton

Skeleton

 

Skeleton

Challenge Rating: 1/3

Size: Medium

Type: Undead

Initiative: +3

 

Defense

Hit Points: 6hp (1d12)

Armor Class: 13, touch 11, flat footed 12 (+1 Dex, +2 Natural)

Saves: Fort +0 Ref +1 Will +2

Weaknesses: Bludgeoning weapons

 

Offense

Speed: 30

Base Attack: +0

Melee: Short Sword +1 (1d6+1), or 2 Claws +1 (1d4+1)

Ranged: Short Bow +2

Special Attacks: –

Sanity Effects: First encounter 0/1

 

Statistics

Abilities: STR 13, DEX 13, CON 0, INT 0, WIS 10, CHA 1

Skills: Acrobatics +1, Athletics +1,  Awareness +0, Endurance +0, Knowledge -, Persuasion -, Spellcraft -, Survival +0, Thievery +1

Talents: Improved Initiative

Special Qualities: DR 5/Bludgeoning, Darkvision 60’, immune to cold

 

Ecology

Environment: Any

Organization: Any

 

Treasure: Standard

 

Skills

Skills are things anyone can learn to a lesser or greater extent if they study or train hard, especially if they train under a tutor or master. In game terms, skills are measured by ranks. Skill ranks run from 0 (unskilled) to 5 (world class). A player has 10 skill points to spend on their character’s skill ranks during character creation at first level.

 

A skill roll is d20 + Ability Modifier + Skill Rank. Skill ranks cannot be higher than your current player level plus one (to a max of 5). You receive one skill point per level after first level.

 

The skill names in the following chart cover a broad range of actions a character can do. This is, of course, an incomplete list, and it is between the player and GM to decide what skill an action would fall under.

 

Skill Name Ability Actions
Acrobatics DEX Balance, Escape Artist, Juggle, Tumble
Athletics STR Climb, Jump, Swim
Awareness WIS Investigate, Listen, Search, Spot, Sense Motive, etc.
Endurance CON Run, Swim, Hold Breath, Row, Endure Pain/Torture, Endure Heat or Cold Better, etc.
Knowledge INT Appraise, Knowledge (history, legends, herbology, monster lore, etc.), Detect Poison, etc.
Persuasion CHA Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information, Intimidate, etc.
Spellcraft Spellcaster Primary Ability* Spell Sight, Focusing, Ravaging, etc.
Survival WIS Track, Forage, Hunt, Start Fire, Fletch, Skin, Set Snares, Fish, Identify Edible Foods & Herbs, Locate Potable Water, Detect Poison, etc.
Thievery DEX Sneak, Hide, Pick Locks, Find/Set/Disarm Traps, etc.

*The Spellcaster Primary Ability Bonus is the ability bonus listed in Ability Bonus chart. The spellcaster chooses their Spellcaster Primary Ability (INT, WIS, or CHA) when they choose a spellcaster class.

 

Standard Skill Check

1d20 + Skill Points + Ability Modifier > DC15

 

Determine Derived Stats

  • Armor Class (AC) = DEX modifier + Armor bonus
  • Hit Points = Max + CON modifier at 1st level. Roll hit dice + CON modifier thereafter.

 

Savings Throws

Savings Throws are based on Skills. Acrobatics for reflex type saves (dodging a fireball), Survival for mind affecting saves (being under a Charm Creature Spell), and Endurance for fortitude type saves (saving vs disease).

 

Difficulty Class

Some checks are made against a Difficulty Class (DC). The DC is a number you must roll equal to or higher on a d20 in order to succeed on your skill check. The DC is set by the GM using the skill rules as a guideline,.

 

Difficulty Class (DC) Examples

Easy 0 Climb a knotted rope (Athletics)
Average 5 Hear an approaching creature (Awareness)
Tough 10 Set up a snare trap (Thievery or Survival)
Challenging 15 Swim through stormy water (Endurance)
Formidable 20 Open an average lock (Thievery)
Heroic 25 Leap across a 30’ chasm (Athletics)
Nearly Impossible 30 Track creatures across hard ground after a rain. (Survival)

 

Society of Librarians

The library of Kowal is many things to many people. It is a public repository of knowledge, free for citizens to peruse and read. It is the main printing press of the Eastlands, making books more readily available to all. And to a secret few, it is also a group that collects, catalogs, and experiments with magic.

The first floor of the Library hosts the public books, the printing press, and offices. The second floor holds the shelves of rare books and historical artifacts. Below that are the vaults and dormitories, their contents only known to the Society.

The Gathering of the Society

Twice a year, in a hidden level beneath the library of Kowal, a secret society meets to exchange knowledge, artifacts, and magic spells under the pretense of collecting histories. Their aim is to bring magic back to its former power, before its disappearance so many centuries ago, trusting this amount of power only to themselves.

Highly skilled treasure hunters in their employ scour the lands searching for traces of artifacts and ancient tomes, bringing back all they can find to be studied. If a book is deemed to have magical value, it is kept hidden below. If the book is of mundane value, it goes into the public library above.

But little do many of its members know, there is a level even deeper, where the books are not only studied, but experiments are conducted by a faction of Librarians committed not only to restoring magic, but advancing it. Their motto is to commit no harm, but their ambitions often rule, and little has been spared in the research into magic.

History

The Library of Kowal was formed by a group of monks who were once part of the Unelesia Church. As the church grew more rigid in their practices, the Library grew separated. As time went on, the Library became less and less involved in religious institutions.

Personalities

Tybalt Garner

The Head Librarian

Cristiean

A council member of the Librarians

Godart

A council member of the Librarians

Sons of Silence

An outlaw mercenary group.

 

  • Around 45 members.
  • Deep paid connections within the City Guard
  • A distrust of magic.
  • They have no love for the Baron.
  • They have stopped taking all smaller contracts.

 

Characters:

  • Drex Graymane- General
  • Ratty – Commander – Deceased
  • Sedge – Commander
  • Blue – Commander
  • Raff – Lieutenant son of Drex
  • Shovel – Man at Arms

 

Ranks:

  • General
  • Commander
  • Man at Arms
  • Enforcer
  • Grunt

Southgate Inn

A well known tavern in the southern part of the city, along the path to the South Gate of Ferryport. Owned by retired adventurer Ron Estrelli, the bar is decorated with various treasures and items from his travels. While it has always been a well-established inn and tavern, it has recently become even more well-known. The Ferryport Seven—the adventurers who toppled Lord Gylcyn’s rule by exposing his treachery—frequented this Inn, and since the Liberation, its business has tripled. The inn has since added a large back porch and extra rooms in an adjacent building to accommodate all the new visitors.

Owner – Ron Estrelli

Stats:

  • Lvl5 Fighter: STR 14, DEX 11, Con 12, INT 13, WIS 10, CHA 12

Waitresses

  • Marge
  • Ophelia

Menu:

Smoked Fresh Trout Fillets: 3sp
Spinach Mashed Potatoes: 3sp
Beef & Vegetable Casserole: 6sp
Prime Roast Sirloin: 6sp
Roasted Peppers Filled with a Mix of Cheeses: 3sp
Breaded Breast of Chicken: 6sp
Mutton, Lettuce and Tomato: 4sp
Boiled Callan Bacon & Cabbage Parsley Sauce: 4sp
Apple Stuffed Mushrooms: 7cp
Braised Oxtails with Mushrooms: 5sp
Pork Knuckle Roasted in Beer: 3sp
Smoked Salmon Salad: 4sp

Drinks
Vodka: 8cp
Dwarven Spirits: 7cp
Rum: 8cp
Lager: 2cp
White Wine: 3cp
Elven Wine: 2sp
Whiskey: 8cp