Bogatyr on the Dimniyi Frontier

Game details

Rules and System

This game will be played using Torchbearer.

Campaign Background

The game is set on the Dimniyi Frontier of the Tsardom of the Sun, East of the [[#Sea of Kalmius|Sea of Kalmius], on the shoulders of the Dimniyi Mountains. The Tsardom is recently founded and expanding rapidly, but focused away from the East.

The characters are bogatyrs, persons who seek out a life of adventure and hardship on the frontiers of the Tsardom. Part medieval knight-errant, part Old West frontiersman, part scoundrel and ne'er do well, bogatyrs are admired by the locals when there is danger threatening, resented and feared in times of peace, and always distrusted as outsiders and wanderers.

The entire region of the Dimniyi Frontier was once, centuries ago, part of the ancient Khorafan Empire. However, that empire was shattered in what is now called the Deep War, a legendary genocidal conflict of great magics with the Nichnytsia (Night Elves). This war was so cataclysmic, it changed the geography and climate of this region and many other parts of the world. These days scholars debate who, if anyone, won the Deep War, as the traces of both the Nichnytsia and the Khorafani are often deeply buried, shattered, or well guarded.

Linguistic Touchpoints

With respect to thinking of names, consider the following cultural touchpoints.

• Humans = Ukrainian/Russian
• Dwarves = Hungarian
• Elves = Finnish/Estonian
• Halflings = Georgian (e.g. the country, not the state)

The Map

Characters have the following locations on their map.

Sea of Kalmius

a large inland sea, roughly the size and orientation of Caspian Sea. It forms a natural barrier on the Eastern edge of the Tsardom.

The Dimniyi Mountains

a mountain range East of the Sea of Kalmius. A band of fertile land stretches along the coast between the Sea and the Dimniyi.

The Psel

a river that winds between the Diminyi and the Sea of Kalmius.

The Golmosha Pass Road

A road that travels from Nova Uzharod through the Golmosha Pass of the Dimniyi Mountains and into the plains beyond.

Melitopol

a Bustling Metropolis on the Western side of the Sea of Kalmius, and the nearest thing to a major city near the Dimniyi Frontier. It takes a few days by ship to reach it from Nova Uzharod, and many days on foot.

Nova Uzharod

a Busy Crossroads on the Eastern coast of the Sea of Kalmius. It is the doorway to the Tsardom for all the settlers on the frontier.

Zhovti Vody

a Religious Bastion southeast of Nova Uzharod. A holy site of the Three Facers, the state religion of the Tsardom, that worships the triune deities of Dazbog, Stribog, and Simargl. Similar to both Christianity and Hinduism. Dazbog is a cultural hero associated with the sun, Stribog a sky god of winds and rains, and Smargl is a winged dog-like protective spirit. Visually and ritually, very much like the Orthodox Church. (Clerics will likely be of this religion)

Jvari

a Remote Village, at the base of the far side of the Golmosha Pass. Mostly populated by Halflings.

Brovary

a Wizard's Tower, south of Jvari. Brovary is a place of power, recently wrested by Tsardom's magicians and sorcerers from some local magical types.

Vörös Kő Csarnokok

the Mansions of Red Rock, a Dwarven Halls dug into the foothills of the Dimniyi. They have existed for hundreds of years before the Empire, but are recent by Dwarven standards

Kukallinen Koti

the House of Flowers, an incursion of Elfland into the world, found north of Nova Uzharod.

A Lonely Stretch of Road

Halfway between Brovary Tower and The Slave Pits Of The Bandit Prince, lies an isolated stretch of road where the messenger's of the Foul Bandit Prince Volodymir were ambushed by the heroic agents of the Brovary in their quest to recover the lost Oleksander The Thrice Wise.

The Slave Pits Of The Bandit Prince

Lying along the imperial road that runs from Brovary tower to the Necropolis at Khamyanyii Khru, a small distance from the road and surrounded by the impenetrable second growth forest that characterizes the Dimniyi Frontier, lies the camp of the Foul Bandit Prince Volodymir One Nostril. It is in this camp that Volodymir was laid low and made prisoner of agents of the Brovary

Characters and Denizens

A blank character sheet is available

Player characters

• Avgust Ruslan
• Józef
• Narbo
• Alexei the Monk

Nonplayer characters

• Maniki the "Cook" - a hireling and cook for Oleksandr Thrice-Wise. Insisted on accompanying the bogatyri. He claimed to be afraid when he returned with Lyuba the Killer and One-Nostril to Brovary, but was he really? Why did he insist on coming in the first place?
• Lyuba the Killer - a Melitopolan assassin and associate of Oleksandr Thrice-Wise, who accompanied the bogatyri, but left quickly saying he had "urgent business" after seeing the letter to Nightingale the Robber from One-Nostril. What was the rush?
• Volodomyr One-Nostril - a Koschei bandit with a price on his head, captured by the bogatyri and returned to Brovary by Lyuba and Maniki. If they are trustworthy, the bounty (5D cash) should be waiting there for the bogatyri when they return.
• Canute - Brother to Narbo, sold Narbo into slavery, last seen in Narbo's distant land with a traitor's gold in his hands, laughing
• Lilya the Steward - a friend to Lyuba, handles business affairs in Nova Uzharod for a Melitopolan patrician
• Uryk the Criminal - Mentor to Lyuba, lives in Melitopol but you never know where he might turn up
• Eekuheikkimerithahti - a Star Elf who once lived in Kukallinen Koti, last seen swearing vengeance on Lubya for the murder of her family
• Izabella and Aron - parents of Jozef, Stonemasons in Vörös Kő Csarnokok
• Brigitta - Armorer in Vörös Kő Csarnokok and friend to Jozef
• Oleksandr Thrice-Wise - mentor to Avgust Ruslan, a famed Cartographer of great repute, and a Scholar of Brovary.
• Lore-Master Vsevolod - friend to Avgust Ruslan, currently living in Brovary
• Valentyn - rival cartographer to Avgust Ruslan
• Oleg the Survivalist - a mentor to Alexei the Monk, lives at Zhovti Vody
• Symon the Cartographer - a friend to Alexei the Monk, studying with the Order to improve his cartographic notation, lives at Zhovti Vody

Organizations

• Order of the Sacred Word (Alexei's Order) - A religious order devoted to studying and protecting all forms of text.
• The Rational Sodality of Thaumaturgists - the licensing board/guild for sorcerers, magicians, wizards, and other practitioners of magic in the Tsardom of the Sun, with a direct commission from the Tsarina herself.

Peoples

Elves

Elves live in a far distant land called the West. The wise are not completely sure that this is a literal land, it may rather be a metaphor for a different plane of existence. What is known is that there are places where this Elvish world "intrudes" onto the normal world, where magic comes more easily, and that these places are the villages, towns, and other settled sites of the Elves. They come in four varieties that are known...

• Sun Elves (Sontsenytsia) - in ancient times, the Sun Elves worshipped Law, and since then have become almost incomprehensible to normal folk. They live regimented, bizarre lives of ritual and ceremony that no one else can understand. They are only rarely seen outside of an intrusion.

• Moon Elves (Mysyatsnytsia) - the Moon Elves are the ones most commonly seen. Really not all that different from normal folk, except for very long lives, a taste for magic, and more refined artistic taste.

• Star Elves (Zirhkynytsia) - less commonly seen among normal folk, the Star Elves are more solitary in nature and prone to melancholy and violence.

• Night Elves (Nichtnytsia) - as the Sun Elves long ago worshipped Law, the Night Elves worshipped Chaos. They became might and carved out a vast empire under the earth, with great magics and powerful weapons. Five hundred years ago they exploded from the depths, and did battle with the Khorofan Empire for supremacy over the surface. The war demolished civilization as it then flourished, but the forces of Law were ultimately triumphant, and the Night Elves were destroyed by powerful spells. Since that time, they have been heard of only in rumour, and as tales to terrify in the night.

Spawn of Chaos

Vorozhneki

Vorozhneki are races of intelligent creatures, maybe once humans, dwarves, halflings or elves, who have given themselves over to chaos for a very long time. They are often warped in strange ways from their original forms, and worship strange beings of violence and cruelty.

• Koschei - large and dangerous, averaging over 2 meters tall, with massive round heads and huge noses. They are well known as bandits and slavers. Their bands are more commonly seen north of the Frontier, but the wealth of the Frontier has attracted them.

• Likho - diminutive beings that look like little old men with one eye. Bloodthirsty and cruel, like intelligent piranhas. They often ride sure-footed carnivorous ponies. Found in nests or hives in the mountains, often near the tree line.

Monsters

The Dimniyi frontier has its share of monsters, creatures that don't abide by the laws of nature and seem to exist only to spread foulness, evil, pain, and death.

• Chuheister - massive bestial creatures, covered in a warty hide and built like 3 to 4 meter gorillas. They seem to appear out of nowhere and cause havoc, eating all the livestock and people they can get their hands on. After a week or so they will often disappear, to no one knows where. When killed (which is rarely), they will rot with a day to little more than a crumbling skeleton.

The story so far

Chapter 1

• Oleksandr's Absence
• The Road to Khamyanyii Khru
• Slave No More

(Friday, September 5, 2014 @ Derek's)

In the beginning of our tale, four stalwart adventurers (Lyuba the Killer (a Human Assassin), Avgust Ruslan (a Human Wizard), Alexei (a Human Monk), and Jozef (a Dwarf Adventurer)) were gathered in a tavern wondering about the disappearance of their friend and mentor Oleksandr Thrice-Wise. With Maniki, their helpful Hobbit Cook, they set off looking for him, heading for the site of his last known location.

On their way, they encountered a carriage belonging to a Koschei bandit in the service of Volodomyr One-Nostril. They challenged the Koschei, Avgust drawing particular attention to the laws they were breaking by crossing the empire's lands. Trying to avoid violence, Alexei tried to negotiate with them, and Maniki offered them wine. However, peace could not be maintained and battle ensued. Avgust blasted them with magic while Jozef and Lyuba attacked with weapons.

One of the naked slaves pulling his carriage was Narbo, a barbarian from a far-away land, saw this as his chance to escape his bondage and seek revenge on his captors. Although he failed, Jozef saw his plight and cut him free.

Soon, the Koschei were captured, all the slaves (other than Narbo) had fled into the forest, and the heroes were triumphant.

Chapter 2

• Steps Retraced
• The Great Escape
• Pierced Nostril

(Saturday, October 4 @ Derek's)

A brief interrogation of the Koschei captives reveals that they would rather die than give up any information. While one of them takes an opportunity to prove this, the other is taken captive by the once-slave Narbo. The adventurers also search the carriage and fallen Koschei, and find some gear for the Narbo, as well as a mysteriously well written letter from Volodomyr, proposing an alliance with the infamous bandit Nightingale.

The adventurers (and Narbo) set up camp to discuss what to do next, and, at the prospect of a generous bounty, Narbo agrees to lead the way back to the slave camp where Volodomyr is waiting.

As the group nears the camp, an observant guard sounds the alarm and Koschei come running out. Some quick thinking allows Narbo to leave his half-dead captive as a distraction, while everyone sneaks around into the camp. Two more guards are distracted by another clever plan to free a group of slaves from a holding pit and inspire them to rise up against their oppressors.

Volodomyr is left with only two guards to defend him, and after seeing through a weak attempt to demand his surrender, the adventurers set upon him with the intent to capture him. A hard-fought battle leaves the group exhausted, but with a captive Volodomyr.

Chapter 3

• Arrival at Khamyanyii Khru
• The Trail of Oleksandr
• The Aristocratic Dead

After some discussion, the party decided to split up - Lyuba would return to civilization with their prisoner, Volodomyr One-Nostril, to claim the bounty on him. Maniki decided he'd had enough of the Bogatyr life and elected to return to civilization. The two of them, prisoner in tow, set off with a promise to set aside the others' shares of the bounty.

The remaining members of the group, guided by their new companion, Narbo, set off for the ancient necropolis of Khamyanyii Khru in hopes of rescuing Oleksandr Thrice-Wise. After a rough trek, the group finally made their way to the valley and established a base camp upon the first tier of the complex. They set about seeing to their gear (and their stomachs!) ahead of their initial foray into the necropolis.

Late in the night, as Jozef took his turn on watch, he heard sounds echoing through the night and quickly realized that it was a Likho hunting party - Khamyanyii Khru was not completely uninhabited, and the danger to Oleksandr (and the Bogatyr!) was suddenly much greater. Upon discussion of this new information, the group decided that it might be safer to enter the necropolis from the first tier and attempt to make their way up to the higher levels from the inside rather than face the Likho and their carnivorous ponies.

The group made their way into the ancient drainage system via a collapsed section of the first tier, and Jozef led them through the icy water. They eventually found a series of pipes designed to drain water from the higher levels, as well as a nearby stairway that allowed access to the exterior of the second tier. Not wanting to venture outside unless absolutely necessary, the Bogatyr decided to climb up on of the drains that had less water flowing through it.

Narbo volunteered to lead the way, and quickly began his ascent. Initially, all seemed to be going well... and then the wall he was leaning against gave way and he found himself tumbling to the exterior surface of the second tier. As he stumbled to his feet, he realized that he could see movement in the trees growing about him. Soon, three ancient mummies stumbled towards him out of the woods, drawn to the presence of a living soul. Narbo prepared to defend himself as his companions flew up the access stairs to his aid. The battle looked to be a difficult one, especially when one of the undead creatures leapt unto the wall and clung like a spider...and then Avgust brought his mystic powers into play. In a burst of flame, the three mummies were reduced to ashes.

Hearing the moans of many more of the walking dead approaching, the Bogatyr quickly raced back to the stairs, collapsing the entrance behind them to prevent pursuit. They returned to the ancient drains below to plan their next move.

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