The Sorcerer's Scrolls 44

Issue 44
The Sorcerers Scrolls

Issue #44
June/July 2009
Contents
2
4
17
Editorial
Were gonna try royalty payments!
The Lords of Exsanguination
A living vampiric, pantherine race For
D&D 4E
Sirianthus Sector
New worlds and a scenario seed for
Traveller or other SF rpgs
Bloody Good Gear!
New fiendish magical arms and armor
for 4E
21
30
32
Sorcerers of the Mountain KIngdoms

A Keepers of Lingusia expansion for use
with D&D 4E, C&C and others
Feats of the Water Goddess
Watery Feats for 4E
Hazedlan
A psionic campaign concept for use
with the 3.5 Expanded Psionics
Handbook
The Sorcerers Scrolls Issue #44

Submission Guidelines!
TSS is looking for artist and authors interested
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general enjoyment of being published. As
discussed in the editorial this issue, TSS will
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Editor:
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dont send it in! Ed.
Nicholas T. Bergquist
Tori Bergquist, Jody Wood, John Diffley
Jody Wood, various royalty free pieces. Some artwork copyright 2008 Mark
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Published Whenever (in theory). Produced using Windows Office Professional Word 2007
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Editorial
Issue #44
By Tori Bergquist
I was mulling over the idea of a theme
issue, specifically an all old-school
issue, but realized from feedback that a
fair number of readers who enjoyed the
previous issues were appreciating the
4th edition content (or generic system
content). I also had some friendly
feedback on the sci fi stuff, especially
the fiction and the Traveller material.
This issue will pick up with where those
left off, and include some new worlds
and campaign ideas for Traveller
referees to use in their own campaigns
(which also tie in to the evolving Stellar
Expanse campaign setting that I am
slowly revealing in TSS).
Besides the Traveller content, there is
a veritable cornucopia of new 4th edition
material within these pages, including
new feats, magical devices, and a
deviant race of humanoid vampire bat
panther monster thingies, compliments
of Jody Wood. James Curtis makes his
debut as well, with a setting designed
for use with the 3.5 Expanded Psionics
Handbook.
Beginning with this issue, if anyone
would like to contribute then I will work
out a mechanism via rpgnow.com by
which I can guarantee some royalties for
payment. You might have an article, for
instance, that is 2-3 pages long and
really doesnt merit much attention as a
PDF on its own; send it in! Ill work out
an arrangement where you receive a
percentage of profits based on sales and
volume in the book. For example, if a
Welcome, despite all odds, to issue

#44 of The Sorcerers Scrolls! Although
this issue is a bit late by the standards
set in the first return issue (bi-monthly)
it fits in perfectly with the new
standards established in #43 (whenever
I feel like it). This issue is going to take
advantage, ever so slightly, of the
medium of electronic publishing. Im
going to try for a bit more color in some
of the formatting, and the size of the
issue will be reduced a bit to make it
easier to get new issues out. The pricing
will be reduced as well, to reflect the
value of content. Im not a real fan of
the 12 page PDF that costs $4.00 so
you can be assured that youll never see
an issue of TSS that costs more than it is
worth (well, I hope not, anyway!)

and TSS specifically, so youre not
missing out.
Anyway, I sincerely hope that
interested artists and authors will
contribute. I very much enjoy publishing
this magazine, and would like to make it
as much of a group effort as possible,
instead of the rantings and ravings of
myself and a handful of other local
gamers in the Albuquerque, New
Mexico area. You can send any and all
correspondence and contributions (or
just chat with me) at
tsseditor@gmail.com. Thanks for
picking this up, hope you enjoy it!
June 8, 2009
--Tori Bergquist
book was 100 pages long, and you

contributed 10 pages, then 10% of the
profit will go to you, using the royalty
payment system offered by rpgnow.
This system will not cover any print
sales at this time through lulu.com,
although those arent exactly a major
percentage of TSS sales right now (every
copy so far has sold a couple dozen print
copies) nor will this arrangement cover
sales over at e23, although Ill look in to
whether or not there is any way to
handle that, feasibly; so the
arrangement of payment will depend on
rpgnow sales. Luckily, the venue offered
by yourgamesnow.com (rpgnow,
drivethrurpg, etc.) is far and away the
largest and most visible seller of PDFs
The Lords of Exsanguination

A New Character Race for Dungeons & Dragons 4E
By Jody Wood
Everybody knew Bagheera, and nobody
cared to cross his path; for he was as
cunning as Tabaqui, as bold as the wild
buffalo, and as reckless as the wounded
elephant. But he had a voice as soft as wild
honey dripping from a tree, and a skin
softer than down.
Rudyard Kipling
and began to mimic their civilization.

Centuries passed, and soon the
Bagheera had become the masters of
their realm, using humans captured
from neighboring realms as chattel.
Eventually, a strong body of faith
manifested among the Bagheera, who
had immortalized their creators as fallen
gods. The Bagheera divided in to
different religious sects, and their
animalistic nature overcame them as
fierce theological disputes descended in
to violence. Sides were taken, and
Bagheera, driving armies of human slave
soldiers led by elite knights and zealot
templars of their own kind fought
viciously. At last the War of Zealotry
ended with the collapse of the
Bagheeran civilization, unable to sustain
so much chaos. The surviving clans
agreed to scatter to the four corners of
the world, where they would remain far
removed from one another, to refrain
from combat among their own kind. To
this day the Bagheera revere the hidden
valley where their founding city rests as
a site of pilgrimage, to contemplate
their fallen god-mage creators and their
history of advancement followed by
violence.
Players interested in a rare species
with some exotic history will enjoy
playing a Bagheera. Likewise, the
Bagheera make good choices for those
interested in a rare monstrous-looking
species, or a race which has vampiric
qualities while being a member of the
living.
The following is a new and unusual

race for players interested in a character
that likes to, ah, play with its food
Origins of a Vampiric Race

Bagheera look like tall, lean
humanoids covered in bristly fur that is
usually of natural colors (brown, grey,
black and on rare occasion white). They
have long panther-like clawed legs and
faces reminiscent of a jackals crossed
with a bats, with wide, tufted sweptback ears. Their hands are human-like,
but can extract devilish pantherine
claws.
The Bagheera are shifted demihumans
that were bred through magical means
to attain primal traits, including
pantherish and bat-like qualities. They
are descended from an arcane culture
of sorcerers and necromancers who
imbued their creations with a vampiric
lust for blood and magical longevity. The
earliest Bagheera were bloodthirsty and
cannibalistic half-humans who
eventually turned on their masters and
conquered the kingdom of their
creators, as monstrous creations are
often wont to do. In time, the Bagheera
adopted the social skills of their creators

Bagheera are excellent strikers. While
most Bagheera encountered will be
rogues, fighters, rangers, and wardens,
some are especially fascinated by the
path of the shaman, warlock, invoker or
even sorcerers and wizards.
Bagheera are difficult to get along
with. Although they will readily work
with other species, they regard few
other beings as their equals, and on rare
occasion will offer up grudging respect
to fellow adventurers who prove their
worth time and again in battle.
Bagheera have utter disdain, however,
for the squeamish or the effeminate.
Vampiric Bite: Bagheera can bite for

impressive damage, and gain the
Vampiric Bite power (below).
Claws: Bagheera gain a melee basic
natural attack: claws. This claw attack
can be used as a martial weapon for
purposes of exploits and other powers
with the martial (melee) keyword.
Sanguine Feeding
Bagheera Racial Utility
Encounter * Free Action * 1 Target *
Melee
Trigger: you initiate a coup-de-grace
with your bite attack.
Effect: You may activate a healing surge
and gain your full healing surge value in
hit points as a part of the triggering
action.
Bagheera Traits:
Attributes: +2 Dex, +2 Con
Speed: 7 squares
Size: medium
Vision: low light
Defenses: +1 Will and +1 Reflexes
Racial Skills: +2 Perception, +2 Stealth
Vampiric Bite
Racial At-Will Attack
Standard*At-Will*Melee*1 Target
Dex vs. Fort; Hit: 1D6+Dex damage and
gain your Con modifier in temporary hit
points.
Increase to 5+your Con modifier at level
11 and 10+Con modifier at level 21.
Racial Abilities:
Predators Instincts: Bagheera have
unusual hearing and a sort of sixth
sense. Bagheera do not grant combat
advantage when surprised or during the
first turn of combat.
Bagheera Claws
Racial At-Will Attack
Standard*At-Will*Melee*1 Target
Dex+2 vs. AC; Hit: 1D6+Dex damage.
This attack may be used as a martial
weapon for purposes of exploits or any
other powers requiring a martial
(melee) weapon in hand.
Increase to 2D6+Dex damage at level
21.
Blood Thirst: Bagheera require the

blood of other creatures for sustenance
as food, and do not digest normal
food easily, though they can sustain
themselves on a carnivorous diet. They
gain the Sanguine Feeding racial utility
below. A Bagheera that can not feed on
blood or flesh in the course of 1 day
only recovers 1 healing surge at the end
of an extended rest instead of a full
recovery until such time as he feeds
properly.
5
Bagheera Feats
Paragon Class: Reaver Zealot
Heroic Feat: Bagheera Claw Fighter

Prerequisite: Bagheera
Benefit: The Bagheera has become
expecially efficient at dealing damage
with his natural attacks. He gains a +2
bonus to damage with his natural
weapons (claws).
Requirements: Bagheera, Level 11+ in

any Primal or Martial class
The Reaver Zealots are the dissident
militant templars of the old war, which
destroyed the kingdom of the Bagheera
and sent their clans to the four corners
of the world to prevent their species
from total self-extermination. The
reaver zealots are totally dedicated to
their cause, which is usually a mixture of
the Bagheera reverence for the dead
god-kings which created them, and the
primal and vampiric deities they come
across in their wanderings. They are not
prosyletizers, and the reaver zealots see
themselves as servants of their dark
gods through their actions. Every drop
of blood a reaver zealot consumes
brings him that much closer to his gods
and perfection.
Reaver zealots are fierce fighters and
feel that their entire life is consumed in
the battle. They view all other lesser
mortals (i.e. non Bagheera) as chattel
and slaves who just dont know it yet,
but a reaver zealot who belongs to a
party of adventurers likely holds a
grudging respect for his fellow warriors,
though he is likely to disdain those who
refrain from battle or act squeamish
about his blood-taking. He will single
out those who he respects and only
then will he try to speak to them of his
deep-rooted beliefs in the old god-kings
and the primal vampire gods of his faith.
As for the weak ones, he will keep an
eye on them, knowing a time will come
when they, too, will serve his dark gods
Heroic Feat: Echolocation

Prerequisite: Bagheera
Benefit: The Bagheera has become
exceptionally attuned to his batlike side,
and can emit a sonic noise as a free
action that provides a form of
echolocation with his large ears. This
imparts the equivalent of dark vision
when used, but provides a -2 modifier
to all stealth checks when in use at the
same time.
Paragon Feat: Vampiric Assault
Prerequisite: Bagheera, Dex 15+
Benefit: The Bagheera has fine-tuned
his ability to exsanguinate the living. He
gains the Master of Exsanguination
racial attack power; this replaces his
Sanguine Feeding ability:
Master of Exsanguinations
Bagheera Racial Utility
Encounter * Free Action* 1 Target *
Melee
Trigger: you attack and hit a target
against which you have combat
advantage.
Effect: If your attack his, you may
activate a healing surge and gain your
full healing surge value in hit points as a
part of the triggering action.

at the right time, when he must partake
of their blood in sacrifice!
Reaver Zealot Class Features:
Master of Stealth (11th Level):
Whenever you attempt a stealth check,
make two D20 rolls and choose the
better of the two.
Cunning Strikes (11th Level): You see
opportunity with every attack; if you
strike an opponent against which you
have combat advantage with a martial
attack, you may immediately spend an
action point to gain an additional
1[W]+Dex bonus damage against your
foe.
Blood Drainer (16th Level): You can take
advantage of the blood weeping from
your foes wounds evne while fighting.
On any attack using your bite or claws
as the primary weapon, if you hit you
may also spend one minor action to
expend a healing surge to regain hit
points.
Hit: 2d8 + Cha modifier necrotic

damage, and ongoing 10 damage (save
ends). At 21st level: increase to 15
ongoing damage.
Secondary Effect: You may expend a
minor action to activate a healing surge.
Anima of the Beast
Reaver Zealot Utility 12
You call upon the aspect of the bat or
the aspect of the panther within you to
transform fully in to the chosen beast.
Daily * Polymorph
Minor Action Personal
Effect: You assume the form of a giant
vampire bat or a panther of your size
until the end of the encounter. In giant
bat form you gain flight with a bonus to
movement equal to your Charisma
modifier. In Panther form you gain +2
to your base movement. In both forms
you gain a +2 bonus to attacks and
damage when using your natural bite
and claw attacks. Finally, you may shift 1
before any attack once per turn.
Reaver Zealot Powers:
Playing With Your Food

Reaver Zealot Attack 20
You harry and strike at your prey,
disorienting them and leaving them
vulnerable to attack.
Daily * Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon
Target: One creature
Attack: Dex vs. Ref.
Hit: 3[W] +Dex modifier damage, and
target is dzed (save ends) In addition,
you knock the target prone.
Miss: Half damage.
Tide of Blood
Reaver Zealot Attack 11
You sight your foes and reach out with
the dark energy of the divine vampire
gods to rip the blood from their flesh. A
torrent of blood droplets fly from your
enemys body to your awaiting maw!
Encounter * Necrotic
Minor Action * Close burst 5
Target: 1 target in burst; increase to 2
targets at level 21
Attack: Cha + 4 vs. Fort.
Level 21: Cha + 6 vs. Fort.
Sirianthus Sector
Part 3 of an ongoing campaign setting for use with Traveller
By Tori Bergquist
Sirianthus is a remote sector of space with only one ruling presence: The Sector
Authority. The S.A. is stationed off of the prime world in the region, called Utopia
Incognita. It was founded hundreds of years ago, and falls nominally under the rule of
the Terran Authority, but ignores most other governmental influences, including the
Stellar Concord.
the same hominid genus as man,
leading some to speculate that the are
related to humans, and may have been
part of a genetic breeding program
executed by the precursors nearly one
hundred thousand years ago.
Sirianthus is quaranteed an amber
zone by both local and galactic
authorities because of discoveries made
by researchers on the planet. There is
evidence that the otherwise fantastic
remnants of the ruins of this planet are
still functioning, and some act as
gateways, opening wormholes to vastly
different regions of the galaxy, or
beyond. Indeed, some researchers feel
that these are in fact quantum
wormholes, opening up portals to
parallel universes.
The first incident in which this portal
technology was discovered led to the
accidental lethal contact with an foreign
alien intelligence. This species, dubbed
the presence by the only surviving
researcher from the incident, appeared
to be a form of collective entity which
rapidly studied, read, and absorbed the
DNA of the researchers, then turned
them in to puppet-like hosts, turning
them around and infiltrating the upper
echelons of the Von Neuman Scientific
Research and Astrographic Studies
Sirianthus
System Data: single star system; 3 gas
giants, 7 standard planets, 1 Type C
civilian starport and 1 Type B Sector
Authority starport
WPP: B8677702-2; note that the world
is restricted by Sector Authority
government (8) and law level (9).
Moons: Sirianthus has three small
moons, called Eados, Tyrianos and
Cleodor by the native.
Detailed Profile: SP: B; Size: 8; Atmos:
6, Temp: 9, Hydro: 7, Pop: 7, Govt: 7(8),
Law: 0(9), TL: 2(12)-parenthesis reflect
Sector Authority levels at the star port
and by quarantine.
The Sirianthus Sector is named after
the most unusual world in this sector,
Sirianthus. Sirianthus is a remote,
fascinating world with a climate suitable
for humans, and holds two unique
marvels: a vast network of ancient ruins
that employed an otherwise inscrutable
crystalline technology for almost all
computers and functions, and a
degenerate race of hominids called
Sirianthans who dwell upon its surface
in a barbaric culture that has grown up
with a mysterious fear and reverence
for the precursor culture that preceded
them. These people call themselves the
Erikathi, and they are unusually close to

Erikathi have three unique traits
beside their apparent ancestral
connection to humanity. First, the
dominant religion across the many
Erikathi cultural groups is centered on
the fear and worship of what they call
the Haaki, the gods of before. The
precursor ruins are the center of this
fearful worship, and the religious beliefs
of the Erikathi center around placating
their deities, keeping them asleep as it
were. Erikathi belief is centered on what
they call the Formless Void, where they
believe these precursor gods have
gone to dwell in slumber. The early
myth tales speak of great atrocities and
a casual disregard for the Erikathi, as
nothing but fodder and playthings.
Although it is believed that the Erikathi
have existed as a meaningful modern
cultural group for at least ten thousand
years, no anthropologist studying the
Erikathi believes that the precursors
actually had a physical presence during
the rise of Erikathi culture. All evidence
of ruins studied suggests that the last
active remnant of this ancient species
disappeared fifty thousand years ago.
Still, due to a high degree of psionic
talent (more below) amongst the
Erikathi, some researchers wonder if
there isnt some sort of programmed
ancestral or genetic memory in place
bringing up a recollection of these
entities.
The second distinct trait among
Erikathi is their predilection to natural
psionic talent. This unusual potential is
rare among most humans, but the
Erikathi have as many as one in ten
births displaying at least modest psionic
talent. The ruins and their proximity are
considered one possible reason for this,
as many of the precursor sites have
Institute (usually just abbreviated

SRASI). It was two years before the full
story of what had happened to the
researchers on site was revealed, and
an unknown amount of data had been
compromised. Efforts to free the
scientists who had been puppeteered
by the parasitic organisms proved
deadly to all but one, who remains
scarred from the experience, and
manifested strong psionic talents
afterwards.
Because of this incident, further
research on Sirianthus has required that
exceptionally careful effort be taken to
insure the safety of the men and
women involved. A second portal has
been successfully activated since then,
one which opened up on a remote
airless world with additional precursor
ruins, but to date the research team has
failed to determine exactly where this
world is in relationship to the source
wormhole.
The Erikathi
Physically Erikathi look much like
humans, but with a rougher demeanor,
and physical traits that seem to place
them closer to Neanderthals in
appearance than homo sapiens. They
are tentatively identified as Sirianthus
Xenosapiens for cataloging purposes.
DNA tests have so far shown a possible
link to humans approximately 100,000
years ago along the evolutionary chain.
Erikathi culture is diverse, and firmly
rooted in an early age of steel, wind and
horse power. There are dozens of small
kingdoms and city states scattered
across the three main continents of
Sirianthus, and all are prone to bouts of
warfare and intrigue.

members of the Concord have accused
human researchers in the area of
showing an unfavorable bias toward the
Erikathi and their importance on the
world.
Today, Sirianthus is a quarantined
world and only special research projects
and citizens who pay for the privilege of
visiting under strict guidelines, including
restrictions on technology, are allowed
to visit. As such, no technology greater
than that presently available is allowed,
and visitors who are not themselves
psionic are given psionic dampeners to
avoid accidental detection by telepaths.
higher levels of radiation than normal,

and over time a measure of natural and
forced mutation could have accidentally
led to this development. A second and
likelier belief is that the precursors bred
the Erikathi for psionics, tampering with
them on a genetic level to induce
stronger psionic talent. Some scientists
are trying to discover the trace genes
that lead to the development of psionic
potential, to see if there is evidence that
the genes are manufactured or even
alien in nature.
The third unusual trait of the Erikathi
is their surprising resilience to unsusual
climates and ecologies. They have a
stronger immune system, and have
displayed a tolerance for several viral
xenoforms that humanity is more
susceptible to. The indirect evidence is
that the Sirianthus ecosystem may in
fact be an amalgamation of several
different alien ecosystems, imported
long ago by the precursors, and then
forced together through genetic
modification. Because of this, Erikathi
are more resilient in foreign
environments, and a few who have
been illegally removed from the planet
have thrived in industries such as
pharmaceuticals and terraforming as
researchers and explorers due to this
natural proclivity and heightened
tolerance.
The ecology of Sirianthus is a
marvelous agglomeration of several
different genera of flora and fauna from
different archaic ecosystems across the
galaxy. Although Erikathi are the
dominant sentient species, several
dozen lesser species have been
identified as sapient or potentially so,
although they are neither as dominant
or aggressive as the Erikathi. Nonhuman
Erikathi Characters
Sirianthus as a homeworld has the
following traits: agricultural, low
technology.
Erikathi may choose from the
following career paths although
barbarian is the most common,
restricting any and all choices to those
appropriate for Tech Level 1-2: infantry,
worker, barbarian, wanderer,
scavenger, artist, performer, thief,
enforcer, pirate, and any psionic career.
Any inappropriate skill (requiring better
than TL 2) must be substituted by a
more appropriate skill.
Erikathi have a couple racial traits
unique to their species, despite their
similarities to humans: Notable
Endurance +2, and Psionic. This reflects
the natural predilection of the species
towards psionic talents, and the unusual
adaptivity of the Erikathi to unusually
diverse biohabitats due to their own
ecologically diverse homeworld.
10

unintended underworld of sorts which
is most evident in the star ports and the
smaller cities and arcologies. More over,
there is actually a healthy population of
the underprivileged, poor and desperate
who arrive at this world to receive the
free handouts, only to find out that you
must already be a member of the
privileged wealthy to gain any perks.
The Sector Authority takes time
quarterly to round up illegals and haul
them off to one of the colony worlds,
but it is a thankless, fruitless task.
Characters from Utopia Incognita have
access to cybermods, biomods and
other treatments not so common in
other regions of the sector. It is likelier
that denizens from this system are
either very wealthy or very poor, and
both the criminal underworld and the
seat of the local naval power can be
found here.
Utopia Incognita
System Data: binary star system; 4 gas
giants, 14 standard planets, 2 Type A
civilian starports and 1 Type A Sector
Authority starport
WPP: A766A85-12
Moons: Utopia Incognita is a moon
around the Darius Gas Giant, closest in
of the four large gas giants in the
system.
Detailed Profile: SP: A; Size: 7; Atmos:
6, Temp: 6, Hydro: 6, Pop: A, Govt: 8,
Law: 5, TL: 12
Homeworld Traits: high tech, high
population, rich
Capitol City: Utopia Prime (also site of
an A class starport)
Utopia Incognita (Undiscovered
Utopia) is the capitol world and center
of Sector Authority in Sirianthus Sector.
It is a slightly cold world, and most of
the population is centered around the
warmer equatorial regions. It is a nearearth size world with slightly lower
average gravity (.92) than Earth normal.
The planet has plenty of resources, but
strict regional laws prevent the
exploitation of the local environment
and resources in favor of materials
imported from other regions in the
sector. Utopia Incognitas governing
system tries hard to live up to the name,
enforcing living standards and insuring a
measure of quality living for all citizens.
Indeed, on the surface it appears to be
an unusually idyllic and beautiful world,
with a peaceful, eco-conscious society.
As with all such worlds, this is only on
the surface. The decadence of Utopia
Incognita has led to a brisk trade in
illegal goods, especially drugs, bio and
cyber mods for a population of bored
dilettantes. This has created an
11
Reardons World
Apophis 2216R
System Data: trinary star system, 17

semi-stable planets in orbit, 2 close gas
giants
WPP: C303414-12
Moons: Reardons World is a moon of
the immense ice ball Taurus 443B
Detailed Profile: SP: C; Size: 3; Atmos:
0, Temp: 2 Hydro: 3 (methane seas and
ice), Pop: 4, Govt: 1(8), Law: 4(5), TL: 12
Homeworld Traits: ice capped, vaccuum
Reardons World is an example of the
many uninhabitable worlds of Sirianthus
Sector that nonetheless garners lots of
attention due to its natural resources.
The bulk of the moons resources can be
found in the thick ice sheets, in which
copious amounts of frozen hydrogen
can be found, along with a surprisingly
rich variety of metals beneath the
moons crust. More interesting than
that is the presence of several prior
xenoforms on the moon, who all
established refineries and mining
activities, then apparently abandoned
their operations, though no one has yet
established what happened to these
former miners. The Von Neuman
Institute pays handsomely for unusual
artifacts found by the local belters and
prospectors who discover unusual
artifacts on the moon.
Reardons World is in relatively close
proximity to Taurus Station, which is an
orbital refinery platform around the gas
giant, where a great deal of mechanized
fuel mining takes place. Although no
bases have been built on Taurus 443B
due to the crushing atmosphere and 4.7
gees local gravity on the surface, Taurus
Station (a Class C port) is a primary
lifeline to the local miners and belters in
the area.
System Data: single star system, 5 gas

giants, 11 smaller planets
WPP: E844300-X
Moons: Apophis has no moons
Detailed Profile: SP: E; Size: 8; Atmos:
4, Temp: 5 Hydro: 4, Pop: 3, Govt: 0,
Law: 0, TL: 8
Homeworld Traits: poor, desert
Apophis was named by its first
explorers, who felt that the world was a
damnable location that showed every
evidence of being a relic of some lost,
evil age. The world has evidence of a
dead civilization that wiped itself out
countless millennia ago in a nuclear
apocalypse. The aliens who perpetrated
this crime are unknown, though
evidence showed that they used orbital
bombardment against a civilization just
barely reaching the space age. The
system is rife with relics in space and on
other worlds of these cultures, though
nothing but fossils and dust is left of the
original inhabitants. Their technology
was distinctly inferior to that of the
precursors found on other planets in the
sector, and they are believed to have
existed within the llast forty thousand
years, reaching the first space age thirty
five thousand years ago, then being
extinguished in nuclear fire within a few
decades.
Apophis has a few rather notable
traits worth avoiding. First, several
attempts at colonization have tried and
failed. There are still clusters of
humanity dwelling on the world,
struggling to survive, either forgotten or
willfully exiling themselves to this planet
due to religious or ideological issues.
Pirates have made Apophis a base of
operations on more than one occasion,
12

Traveller Sirianthus Sector Story Idea:
and a crude class X starport called

Trogans Respite is currently active,
where known criminals can find a safe
harbor. Third, it is a major stop over for
smuggling vessels transporting illicit
goods, such as drugs or slaves. Sector
Patrol makes a fair habit of stopping in
the system whenever possible; they
always stir something up.
On world, the harsh alien ecology is
littered with the survivors of the lost
age, including a crude species called
Skizaddi in their own tongue who
appear to be rather sophisticated
organisms that evolved sentience
rapidly after the collapse of the former
sentient species in warfare. The Skizaddi
are primitive hunters but have learned
tool use. They are dimly reminiscent of
human sized sapient centipedes with
several longer, more ambulatory
forelimbs. These hard predators are
only one of several dangerous local
species that local colonists contend
with. There are plenty of ruined colonial
cities and townships across the globe to
attest to how hard life is here.
Finally, the world has received a
reputation for being haunted. Spacers
and colonists in the region regularly
report sightings of what some claim
are ghostly alien remnants from the
extinct sentients who once ruled the
world, though no research has taken
such claims seriously. Still, spacers in
the region like to tell tales of ships
whose crew went mad and sent
themselves out of an airlock after an
encounter with such apparitions.
The following outline covers a recent

introductory Traveller scenario I set in
the Sirianthus Sector. It will require
some additional data from the GM to
flesh out all the details, but provides a
good starting point from which to
launch a Sirianthus campaign.
Start: The S.S. Polar Star Heavy
Freighter Zeta Class
The PCs awaken from cold sleep in the
hold of the Polar Star. All of the PCs
have memories of being somewhere
else and doing something elsethen
suddenly theyre here. Maybe 1 or 2
actually remember booking passage in
cold sleep.
Other sleep-awakened passengers
include:
Yuldassas Nan a male Ezathi
merchantman (large, bat-like alien with
four legs that have parachute-like skin
flaps for gliding; about 45
tall)Merchant Free Trader; Flight,
Delicate Bones; Personality: insolent,
self-important, confused; was onboard
his own craft, the Galactic North, then
suddenly hes here)
UPP: 6A68A9; 5 terms merchant free
trader Rank 5; Admin-1, Broker-2,
Computers-1, Deception-1, Gambler-1,
Pistol-0, Persuade-0, Streetwise-1, Zero
Gee-0
Olina Shindra human female retired
scout (tall blonde woman, age 44, had
just reached Utopia Incognita for her
retirement when she wakes up
here)(retired scout, rank 4; Personality:
introspective, quiet, determined)
13

UPP 788978; 5 terms Scout Service Rank
2; Animals-0, Athletics-1, Astrogation-2,
Computers-1, Diplomat-1, Pistols-1,
Rifles-1, Life Sciences (Xenobiology)-2,
Medic-0, Pilot (small craft)-1, Survival-1,
Vacc Suit-0, Zero Gee-1
NGC774289B, dubbed Newmans Star

by the Scout Service Explorer who first
mapped it back in 2815; it has never
been visited since, according to Stellar
Cartographic Records. There is one
known habitable world, around which
the Polar Star is in a decaying orbit. In
fact, it is the decaying orbit that
prompted the automated computer
onboard to activate the emergency
release on the cold berths.
Richard Zaerg human male, Sector

Patrol agent (brown haired, muscular,
mid 30s)(Sector Patrol Agent;
Personality: gruff, shrewd and
observant). Agent Zaerg is a young
undercover agent assigned to try and
track down the mysterious Mister
Whalberg, who is believed to be a major
slave trader and exporter of illegal
antiquities. He was working undercover
on a sting operation
UPP AAB776; 3 terms Law Enforcement
Sector Patrol Agent Rank 0; Deception0, Computers-0, Pilot (shuttles)-0,
Investigate -1, Recon-0, Pistols-1, Rifles1
Cyberware: Subdermal Armor-3, Neural
Com TL-12 (audio/visual and Computer
0), Enhanced Vision
Newmans Star WPP E552200-3 Temp 5

Newmans Star is ostensibly an
uninhabited world; the Star Charts
indicate a WPP of X552000-0-5,
although a current scan would reveal
the above, correct WPP. In the many
centuries since it was first surveyed and
dismissed as a fairly useless piece of
rock, a small number of regional
prospectors, as well as the inimical
Mister Whalberg have come to call this
location their home. The tech level
within Whalbergs personal base is
closer to TL 10-12, but the average
resources at best are TL 3 on the planet.
Newmans Star contains an expansive
ruin from a prior civilization along one
region, a ruin that was completely
missed by Scout 1st class Harold
Newman many centuries ago. The ruins
were built by a dead species called
Skaldarin Vaag Erikathi male,

barbarian (tall, long dark hair, 24 years
old; Personality: suspicious, wild eyed,
and violent; speaks only Erikathi, no
local dialect) this poor soul is an
Erikathi, native to the quarantined
Sirianthus world, whos last memory
was of heading out on a vision quest,
and to slay the beastly Slaag which had
been attacking his village for weeks.
UPP B9A723; 2 terms barbarian rank 0;
Animals-0, Athletics (climbing)-0, Melee
(blade)-1, Seafarer-0, Stealth-0, Survival1; Language: Erikathi only
The Polar Star is adrift in orbit around
around an uncharted world, labeled
14

the survival game because its
quarterly schedule has passed and no
one has heard from Whalberg. The
current batch of survivors are betting
antsy, and fighting is breaking out in the
ruins and beyond. Second, Titus believes
that his own ship is (hopefully) still in
orbit, if he could only figure out a way
to signal it to send down a second
shuttle on autopilot. He believes that if
he could figure out where the local
broadcasting station is, which sends
signals to the hand receivers Whalberg
would distribute to motivate the game
players, that it might be able to boost a
signal to his ship.
One of the main features of the
survivor game is a massive inidenous
beast that Whalberg controlled called a
Pathlitanus (using the old croc name),
an immense worm-like monstrosity that
Whalberg controlled with an electronic
device. One inventive survivor named
Mac Targan (WPP 9B9833), a former
mining prospector who came to this
world to see if he could strike it rich, but
has been trapped here now for two
decades, has learned to ride and control
the beast with a crude device; Whalberg
has not stopped him, or exterted any
control. Targan and his thugs are
running amok, having declared this
Targans Empire.
The players get to discover the
mysteries of Newmans World when
they awaken on the derelict Heavy
Freighter Polar Star, which is in a
decaying orbit around the world below.
On board the ship is a deadly Slaarg, a
reptilian beast from Sirianthus which
was the very same beast the Erikathi
Skaldarin Vaag sought to slay on his
homeworld. This eight-limbed dull grey
and green monstrosity with numerous
Crocs by the locals. The crocs appeared

to be a rather vicious militant culture
centered around a militant religious
form of xenophobia. They were active
approximately 30,000 years ago. It is
considered most interesting that they
were very active in this sector, and a
degenerate racial offshoot of the crocs
has even been found on the mystery
planet Sirianthus, although this fact is
not widely known. One of the big
mysteries about this race is: why did
they not exterminate the indigenous
species on Sirianthus, as they were
known to have done on at leastr 15
other worlds at the time; and of even
greater importance: who wiped them
out, and how?
Archaeoxenologist Titus Fathom (UPP
766BA9) is one of a handful of
individuals who have willingly come to
Newmans Star to learn the secret of
this lost Croc outpost, said to be entirely
intact. On arriving, he found that a few
hundred humans and other aliens were
already dwelling on the surface. His
shuttle craft was stolen by some of
these stranded people, who he later
learned were survivors of a deadly
Survival Game that Mister Whalberg
carries out in the ruins, and broadcasts
illegally throughout the Federation of
Worlds, in which the survivors must
compete against one another in
increasingly deadly circumstances in
order to escape the planet. The current
batch of survivors are a mix of criminals,
Whalbergs enemies, those who got too
close to discovering his secrets, and
hapless citizens of the sector who were
in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Titus can tell anyone who finds him in
the ruins two important bits of data:
first, something has gone wrong with
15

shuttle, and their nature remains
unknown (so far). Scans of the attacking
vessel are logged on file in the ships
datalogs. It indicates an unknown vessel
of unknown class, which used a high
energy particle beam for the attack.
Images of the vessel show it is clearly
not human or of any known design (and
if Titus from below ever sees the image,
hell be alarmed at how closely it
resembles a croc warship!) The ships
engines were annihilated, and its in a
slowly decaying orbit. All shuttles and
the emergency pods are missing. And
finally, the slaarg broke open the
containment hold it was in and is
marauding freely through the ship.
PCs need to figure out the following:
How to evade/defeat the slaarg
(containment, lure in to cargo
hold or airlock and send int o
vacuum, kill, or ignore long
enough to make an escape)
How to survive the plunging
descent of the ship in to the
atmosphere of the world below
(pilots can cold-glide it in;
improvised escape; use of
materials on board; a search of
the cargo hold will reveal six
OESs (Orbital Entry Suits) that
allow for a high altitude aerial
drop)
Solving the mystery of how they
got here and why
single-toed spikes at the end of each

limb, and a long three barbed tail, has
made a nest in the engineering chamber
of the ship, where it has laid hundreds
of eggs. It has slain the crew that did not
abandon ship (see below) from the
looks of it, and dragged the bodies in to
the nest area, from which the polyp-like
eggs are presently growing, with
nutrient-limbs jammed in to the bodies.
As the egg sacs expand, they show
evidence of dozens of infant slaarg
growing within.
Slaarg Adult
Type:
Habitat:
Killer
Forest (any)
Str:
Dex:
End:
Int: Instinct Pack:
28
12
20
3
10
4
(carnivore)
Size 10 (800 kg)
Claws+1 (x8) Dmg 3D6 and Tail Spikes+1 Dmg
3D6
Skills: Survival 1, Athletics 1, Recon 2, Melee
(natural) 6
Tail Venom (paralytic); DM -2; paralysis for 1D6
hours if failed.
Polar Star has been horribly

compromised. It began when the vessel
arrived in orbit around Newmans
World, and the ship was immediately
attacked by an unknown vessel and
disabled. The crew, employed by
Whalberg to bring new fodder for the
games, quickly abandoned ship in the
only shuttlecraft onboard and fled,
fearing it was Sector Patrol. Whoever
disabled the ship left, or pursued the
16
Bloody Good Gear

New Armor and other Magical Devices for D&D 4E
By Tori Bergquist
If youre looking for some really hellish
new magical items to spice up your
campaign, look no further
Each of the following magical devices
are potent but require a little
something from their users in
exchange for the impressive effects they
bestow upon their bearers. These
magical devices include a little back
story from whichever campaign they
originate from, to help give you some
ideas for how to integrate it in to your
own game.
Some DMs may like these items best
as NPC weapons. It is suggested that if
you implement them as such, and do
not wish to have them fall in to PC
hands, then the devices can either be
viewed as obviously cursed by those
who make Arcana checks, or the devices
will not work unless the wearers are of
evil alignment. If either of those
measures fail, then the items, possessed
of demonic spirit and intellect, will seek
to thwart their use and find their way in
to the hands of truly evil beings as soon
as possible
Demon Bone Armor

This armor writhes and shifts with a
clanking menace all on its own. You don
the armor, and it hugs you closely, and
moves with your own movements, as if
it seeks to direct your hand to drive the
blade deeply in to your foes hearts
itself.
Level 12
+3
Level 22
+5
Level 17
+4
Level 27
+6
Armor Type: scale only
Property: as a free action, any attack
you initiate may gain the necrotic
property
Encounter: Deathward; free reaction,
instant; Trigger: you are hit by an
attack. Effect: gain resist necrotic 10 (15
for level 22 or better armor) against the
attack that hit you.
Daily: Bone Shard Strike; free action; if
you strike a target, expend two healing
surges; you deal the amount of your
surge value directly to your opponent as
necrotic damage.
Special (optional, if DM permits): You
may expend a healing surge as a free
action; if you do this, you regain the use
of this daily effect.
History of the Demon Bone Armor
History DC 22 In Chirak, this legendary
armor was forged by the Kragit orcs of
the Dryssirian Mountains to be worn in
to battle by their templar-warriors of
Shaligon. The demon bone armor is
usually forged with bones culled from
abyssal beings, dug from ancient grave
Hellslice
17

History of Hellslice
History DC 22 Hellslice is a legendary
weapon, first won by the ancient dark
elf Ashtarth gladiator Dihralk Nephu on
the field of battle in the legendary
Arena of Khazan in Troll World. He
carried the blade for centuries, it was
said, until after the time of the
Cataclysm in Lingusia, when it left his
possession. Most recently the weapon
was believed to surface in the hands of
the Golmadran warlord Surthak the
Reaver, who has made himself famous
for his depravity and callous disregard
for human life.
(Special Thanks to Ken St. Andre for the
original Hellslice, a 42 dice weapon that
made arena warriors of Khazan nighunstoppable in battle!)
sites on forgotten battlefields dating to

the time of the apocalypse.
Demon Bone Armor
Hellslice
The ebon blade writhes in your hand
with a life all its own. Dark runes of
chaos glow with purple energy as you
ready your attack!
Level 15
+3
Level 25
+5
Level 20
+4
Level 30
+6
Weapon Type: any heavy blade (usually
a scimitar, falchion or great sword)
Critical Bonus: +1D12 per bonus
Property: all attacks with Hellslice have
the necrotic property in addition to any
other properties, except radiant, which
is instead replaced by necrotic.
Encounter: Life Drainer; free reaction,
instant; Trigger: you attack and hit a foe
with Hellslice. Effect: your foe loses one
healing surge or is weakened (save
ends). You may choose which effect
happens.
Daily: Hellbomb Burst; standard attack;
range 20 burst 3; Attack: Cha vs. Ref;
Hit: 4D10+Cha modifier fire damage;
Miss: half damage. Secondary Effect:
the bearer of the sword suffers
backlash, taking 10 fire damage (save
ends.)
The Dread Robes of SulZiddaran

Woven from a mysterious fabric that
feels at once supple and unreal, the
dread robes sparkle with starlight and
look like they depict the vast depths of
space. When worn, you feel a starry chill
as if your skin is touching the nameless
void.
Level 18
+4
Level 28
+6
Level 23
+5
Armor Type: cloth only
Protection: Fortitude, Reflexes and Will
Property: You gain Resist 15 radiant
while wearing the Dread Robes.
Daily: Ward of Madness; free reaction,
instant; Trigger: you are hit by an
attack. Effect: You take no damage; all
of the damage issued to you is
converted to psychi damage and dealt
to your attacker, instead. Secondary
Effect: You take 10 ongoing psychic
damage (save ends.)
Daily: Black Shroud of SulZiddaran;
standard; arcane, psychic, teleport;
18

Range Close Burst 3; Attack: Wis vs.
Will; Hit: 1D10+Wis psychic damage and
you may slide each foe 2+your Cha
modifier squares. Each foe is stunned
until the end of your next turn.
Secondary Effect: you gain Vulnerability
15 to psychic damage (save ends).
bonus to attack and damage until the

end of the encounter. This bonus will
stack to a maximum of +5 to damage
and to hit.
Daily: Soul Killer; instant reaction;
Trigger: you attack and hit a foe with
Ryshelka; Effect: foes soul is drained by
Ryshelka, causing weakness (save ends).
First Missed Save: If the first save is
missed, the foe becomes stunned (save
ends). Third Missed Save: foe is reduced
to 0 hit points.
Optional: Foes slain by Ryshelka can not
be resurrected by any ritual magic or
ordinariy means (Orpheus-like journeys
in to the Shadowfell to recover these
stolen souls are permitted, however,
although the Nameless One, the Death
God of Lingusia or another figure such
as the Raven Queen may object).
History of the Dread Robes

History DC 26 The Dread Robes of
SulZiddaran are a relic from the most
ancient demigod priests of the lost
primordials who worshipped this
unfathomably powerful entity that rests
at the heart of the world Astrophikus.
Pulsing with curious life, these garments
are disturbing to the touch, and feel as
if you are wearing nothing but the cold
depths of space when donned. In the
modern era of Astrophikus one can find
a handful of such garments still worn by
dedicated subterranean high priests
dedicated to the dark god, seeking
eternally the right ritual to awaken him
from slumber that he may destroy the
universe and remake it in his own
image.
History of the Ruby Death

History DC 25 The Ruby Death, called
Ryshelka in the Old Tongue of Lingusia is
a venerable and ancient artifact of the
Nameless One, the god of Death and
transition in the Lingusian pantheon.
This weapon is not a self-aware artifact,
as such, but it is a unique device and
any god of death, especially the
Nameless One, can sense who is using it
and what they are doing with the
device.
History DC 30 Ryshelka has being held
by the avatar of Death, Gilrad of
Hyrkania, for untold centuries, until the
time of the catalcym. Its whereabouts
after this catastrophic event are
unknown. Ryshelka can be a potent
weapon in the hands of a paladin
dedicated to a death god, as those souls
it steals will go immediately to sate the
appetite of the wielders dark deity.
Ryshelka, the Ruby Death

This immense great sword of
blackened steel has a ruby inset to the
hilt that glows with the life force of your
foes. Its runic inscriptions fill with the
blood of your enemies.
Level 30
+6
Weapon Type: Great Sword
Critical Bonus: +1D12 per bonus
Property: As a free action you may
declare any attack with Ryshelka
necrotic.
Special Property: Soul Stealer; free
reaction, instant; Trigger: you reduce a
foe to 0 hit points. Effect: you gain a +1
19
Sorcerery of the High Mountains

A Keepers of Lingusia Supplment on The Mountain Kingdom of Nalinot
By Tori Bergquist
that Suethendur airship caught in a
storm could be a suitable lead-in, since I
have not (as yet) released much data on
the continent of Takkai. Likewise, you
could easily take the data below and
extrapolate from or port it in to a
campaign backdrop of your own
choosing or for your homebrew. The
data below is based on some research I
did eons ago in traditional mysticism in
Tibet, and you could derive some useful
supplementary data from a reference
on the folklore and myths of that
region.
Needless to say, this is a fantasy
treatment that derives from real-world
beliefs. It is meant to convey such
beliefs in a fantasy-action setting, and
isnt meant to be a serious treatment of
those beliefs!
There are a couple spots where I
included stat references. I have made
stats available for D&D 4th edition as
well as Castles & Crusades and older
editions of D&D, to keep the article
flexible for your use.
Some of you may be familiar with my

campaign setting, The Keepers of
lIngusia (available in PDF and in print at
Lulu). Its a big, fat old school setting
loaded with far too much dense text
and exotic data on the world of Lingusia.
Believe it or not, I have literally
hundreds of additional pages of
material that has never made it in to the
main book! What follows is a short
treatment on the mysterious Takkain
mountain kingdom of Nalinot. Nalinot is
located deep in the heart of this vast
eastern continent, and little is known
about it save what can be found below.
Fans of KOL may find this an interesting
addition or a suitably exotic locale to
send off intrepid adventurers I suggest
The Kingdom of the

Mountain Sorcerers
Nestled within the world's most
expansive (and second tallest) mountain
range are the people called Nalinot. An
eon of warfare and subjugation under
the mantle of the TaiKong Empire of
the western lowlands, coupled with the
constant fear and strife caused by the
closeness of the mysterious hundred
years of close experiences with the
20

teachings, regardless of which class they
specifically follow. They must learn
these teachings through the
understanding and use of Mantras, and
all magic of lamaists is performed
through the chanting of these
memorized mantras (therefore, all
Lamaist magic is verbal in its
components; additional components
apply as necessary).
The three ideals of the Lamaist are as
follows:
Clang: The Spiritual Power of the
Adibuddha, and the power of
the self. This must be
understood to attain internal
understanding.
lung: Knowledge of teachings.
The knowledge that is imparted
of life and those who speak of it
must be understood. This entails
not merely the process of
learning, but of knowing how to
learn.
hired: Ability to teach is the final
great requirement of the
Lamaists, to be imparted to
them upon attaining the other
two states, but not necessarily
having attained dbang
(enlightenment). Then, the
knowledge previously gained can
be imparted to others.
demonic entities of Holkynyn have left

Nalinot rife with superstitious
barbarians that are being slowly but
surely absorbed into the mainline
consciousness of Tai'Kong. Fortunately,
the people of the mountains have
managed to cope with the influx of
TaiKong culture and beliefs. Those who
have accepted the ways of the
foreigners have integrated the new
ways with the principles of the old.
Meanwhile, devout tribesmen continue
their ancient traditions, worshipping the
mysteries of the Bon, which has been
their way of life for two thousand years
now.
There are a number of important
things to distinguish Nalinot from other
regions. The most important is its gods,
which are of two different religions, the
old Bon Cult and the new Lamas of the
Adibuddha. They are categorized as
follows:
The Lamaists
The Lamas of Nalinot, led by the
Dali-Lama, are the two-hundred year
old followers of TaiKong monks who
came with the first directed houses of
Tai'Kong. Their religion has since
diverged from the common followers of
the Path among the western empire,
and now takes on a pantheistic form all
of its own. Mixed with the beliefs of the
older Bon cults, they now seek to
suppress the hardcore followers of the
older way, perceiving them as
originating their beliefs from the
demons of Holkynyn to the north.
Lamaists revere their principle deity,
the Adibuddha, followed by a pantheon
of lesser gods (the bodhisattva). The
lamaists of the Adibuddha must uphold
three significant notions to their
PCs should be awarded experience for

upholding to these three ideals.
Some titles among the Lamaists are as
follows, with meanings:
K'an-po These are the
monastery heads who oversee
the teachings and activities of
their charges.
21
collectively the Chos-Skyon, and they

are regarded as the servants of
Adibuddha, slayers of those who stand
against him, and fierce archons of
power. They appear as immense, firebreathing three-headed giants.
Lo-Pon: These are the travelling

buddhist teachers of the Path.
Lama: The lamaists of the
monasteries, the most common
priests.
Dali-Lama: The Lama who has
been chosen to be the mortal
incarnation of Buddha.
Avolakita (love, war)

Avolakita is a deity who makes her
presence known in Aljhira in the south,
and manifests as Kuan Yin in Tai'Kong.
She is seen in Nalinot as a manifestation
of mercy, compassion, and other
important human elements, and one of
the derivations of the Adibuddha. She is
a goddess of love and fertilitity, and
sometimes takes on Athena-like aspects
of war. Her temples in the deep south
are manned by priestesses who are also
sacred prostitutes, but the phenomenon
is less common in Nalinot, where her
cult has spread intermittently.
There are several principal deities

recognized by the Lamaists. These
deities are usually identified as the
bodhisattvas, and reflect influence from
TaiKong in the west and AlJhira in the
south. They include:
Da (war)
Da is the representative of war, who
sits upon all warriors' shoulders with
bow in hand. He is the conqueror of
enemies in all forms, and the favorite
god of the Nalinot warriors. He receives
attention both among the Lamaists and
the Bon cults.
Adibuddha (Life-Death-Rebirth)
The Adibuddha is the embodiment of
Buddha as seen by the Lamaists; the
latest of a cyclical series of incarnations,
the Adibuddha is also the most northern
incarnation of the Followers of the Path.
The Adibuddha, within Nalinot, has
been seen to manifest additional
incarnations which reflect the needs of
Nalinot life. These manifestations are
known as the Boddisatvas.
Manjasri (wisdom, age)

Manhasset is the Boddisatva of
Wisdom, the representative of the
idealized concept of "the right choice,
the best possible action." Manjasri is
respected among the venerable elders
of Nalinot, and is a god which all, with
age, will embrace with time. Manjasri is
principally worshipped only among
Lamaists, though, and rarely recognized
by the old traditionalist cults of the Bon.
Chos-Skyon (servants of Adibuddha)

There are said to have been eight
giant immortals who have reached the
heavens and ascended to true
enlightenment. These immortals are
22

traditional greater demons of different
types, and one could no doubt find evil
personages such as Demogorgon, Orcus,
and Yeenoghu labeled among them. To
model fiendish servants of the rGyal-po,
one might use oni or other ogres to
typify their followers in Nalinot.
sGrol-Ma (Nature)
sGrol-Ma is the mother goddess of the
land. Her form is the mountains, her
breath the clouds. She is a
representative of nature, but also in
known for fertility, sGrol-Ma is
debatably an incarnation; her origins
could go far beyond the Lamaists into
the Bon. She is one goddess on whom
the Bon and the Lamaist both agree
about, and both cults worship her
equally. SGrol-Ma is said to have
married sPyan-ras-gzigs, the monkey
god, and it was through this union that
all things of the earth emerged.
Dharmalapolas: The Protectors of

Religion
These are the demonic fiends who
serve to maintain the balance of
spiritual energies necessary for the
pursuit of worship; they are the
generals of Yi-Dan, who is a
manifestation of Kali, from Akira.
Priestesses of Yi-Dan look to Kali for
their class requirements, and do exist
within Nalinot, gaining the additional
fealty of the Dharmalapolas.
The Bon Cults

The Bon Cults hold to the belief of
many more gods, some of which (Nan
Iha, for example) are tolerated by the
Followers of the Path. The Bon Priests
are called Nag-pas, and are not in fact
religious men but shamans and
sorcerers who work to defeat the evil
demons (I suggest that player characters
who follow the way fo the Bon choose
multiclass combinations such as
sorcerer and shamans combined with
clerics).
Nalinot demons are called the po, or
mo for females, and their dark powers
are used by malevolent shamans of the
Bon, while other nag-pas seek the aid of
the good spirits (called iha). The Po
demons are said to come from
Holkynyn, while the Lha are said to
embody the land of Nalinot. These
spirits are grouped as follows:
rGyal-po: The King Fiends
There are eight classes of fiend
demons in the Bon myths, and this is
the most malevolent of them. They
might be considered comparable to
23

will work for representing members of
this fiend class.
Yul-lha: bDud, the hoarder

The Yul-lha are one of the eight classes
of benevolent demons in the Bon cult,
and bDud is the most famous, a fiend
who is known for having great treasure,
and a free will to prosecute the lamaist
priests. Nag-Pa who call upon bDud are
very dangerous sorcerers, and seek to
destroy the lamaists and drive them
from Nalinot.
Other Gods of Nalinot

There are, in fact, a great many more
gods than this in the pantheons of the
Nalinot, but the deities mentioned tend
to be the most active and important in
the affairs of the present. If you are
interested in more deities, or would like
to read a nice treatment of the Tibetan
Mountain God religion, I recommend
http://journal.oraltradition.org/files/arti
cles/16ii/Xie_Jisheng.pdf for a useful
and interesting overview of Tibetan
myth. Take note that the Nalinot
religions are still steeped in fantasy, so
you need not extrapolate everything
whole-cloth from traditional Tibetan
belief, but by all means, pull anything
out that you like if it makes for a good
story!
Hayagriva: The Horse Protector

A dreadful demonic god, Hayagriva is
the originator and protector of horses,
which are a rare and desired commodity
in the Nalinot Mountains, where yaks
are far more common. Hayagriva is
given tribute by any warrior who wishes
his mount good health.
Ma-Mo: The Mistresses of Disease
These are among the eight classes of
fiends, and are wicked mistresses of
disease and other forms of bodily
detriment. They are tortuous and come
with the night winds, to seduce and
infect those who would fall prey.
Non-lha: The House God
In all houses of the Nalinot, both
Buddhist and Bon alike, you can find
ceremonial shrines to the house god
Non-lha. Non-lha is the one to bring
benefits to the house and those who
live within, and keeps it free of the
Srin-po (ghouls and vampires).
Srin-po: The Ghouls and Vampires
The ghouls and vampires of Nalinot
lore come from this category of fiends;
these fierce and deceptive undead are
vicious beast who prey upon the living
in many different forms. The MC stats
The Nag-Pa: Sorcerers of the Bon

These are the mysterious devil
dancers, who take up sword and armor
to combat the fiends of the Bon.
24

Believing that the lamaists are
misleading in their attempts at order in
the midst of the obvious conflict
between good and evil that occurs
within the mountains, the Nag-Pa have
a strong following among the barbarians
and traditionalists of Nalinot.
The Nag-Pa are not recognized by the
Lamas of Nalinot, but often works with
them, indirectly, simply because both
believe in the need to defeat the
demons that plague the mountains,
pouring in from the northern lands of
Holkynyn. This has often created some
strange alliances between the two
rather contentious religious factions
The Phurbu
Nag-Pas use a specialized ritual dagger
in their arts. The Phurbu is a mystically
enchanted dagger for use against
demons. It will purge a body of
possessing spirits, and acts as a magical
weapon against those creatures
affected by such.
To create a Phurbu, the Nag-Pa must
have a properly prepared dagger which
he then performs the ceremony upon.
The ceremony lasts six hours, and
imbues any dagger forged of iron with
the following traits (see below,
according to system):
Nag-Pa and Lamaist Player Characters

The Nag-Pa is less of a class and more
of a way of thought. In D&D 4E, for
example, a Nag-Pa could easily belong
to the shaman, sorcerer, invoker or
cleric class; what matters is how that
character perceives his universe, one of
perpetual conflict between mortals and
demons, with a very difficult road to the
path of enlightenment. The Nag-Pa
certainly fight the demons of chaos, but
they themselves tend to be wrapped
within chaos to do so.
Likewise, the Lamaist is most likely to
be a paladin or cleric, a character with a
stronger sense of good and evil and a
firm belief that the forces of darkness
can be dispatched, allowing for peace in
the land and a chance to at last attain
enlightenment. The Lamaists revere no
single god, and serve the Dali-Lama with
their lives. A traveling lamaist might join
a party because he has a vision or a
sudden sense of intuition that he must
aid these souls, or help them on their
path.
The Phurbu in Dungeons & Dragons 4E

An iron dagger carved with sacred
mandalas, pulsing with dark energy to
harm demons and other spirits.
Level 4 +1
Level 9 +2
Level 14 +3
Level 19 +4
Level 24 +5
Level 29 +6
Weapon Type: Dagger only
Property: bonus to damage; +1D6
critical; +1D12 critical vs. demons
Encounter (Free Action); Trigger: you
strike a demon, devil, Oni or spirit as
identified by the DM with this dagger.
Effect: you automatically treat the
attack as a critical hit.
The Phurbu in Castles & Crusades and
older editions of D&D
The Phurbu Dagger is a basic +1 /+3
versus Bon fiends (any demons, devils,
daemons, evil gods, Baatezu, Oni, etc.
will do). Once per day the dagger will do
double damage against such a target.
Landmarks of Nalinot
The following are some of the
locations that can be visited within the
25

mysterious mountains of Nalinot. It is
very difficult to map this realm, as the
constant groaning of the mountains, the
howling winds, the constant snow and
the endless mist seem to leave the land
constantly swathed in mystery and
uncertainty; stories of TaiKongese
cartographers going mad in this land are
common fables among western
entertainers!
There are a few other local threats, as

well. The mysterious Tiger Cults from
the south has a presence here, and
among some of the more elite members
of Rataeo it has become fashionable to
espouse membership in this mystery
cult. The hardcore members of this
group are said to subject themselves to
transformations, changing in to actual
tigers for strange rites.
Rataeo
This is the capitol of the New Nalinot
government, established by the Jade
Emperor, and maintained by the
ever-present House Sho'jukin. The
current Lord of Nalinot is Hendicho, who
is served by a coalition of necromancers
called Ch'yo Kyon and the family
housings (mostly in Ishikoro) are the
dwelling spots of the Na'Ch'un, the
representative advisor to Lord
Hendicho. Needless to say, neither the
local Bon cults nor the Lamaists
appreciate the presence of the Chyo
Kyon in their lands, but they are forced
(on the surface) to tolerate this enclave
of the governors own deviant servants.
Rumors abound that the depravity of
these eunuch-sorcerers was so strong
that the Emperor banished them along
with Hendicho to this remote corner of
the empire specifically to keep them as
far away from the palace as possible!
Rataeo is the most secure city in
Nalinot, but it has strong, ancient stone
walls for defense and maintains a strong
regular garrison to stave off local
attacks from angry tribesmen. It seems
like every season another charismatic
Bon sorcerer sends some local tribe of
barbarians in to a frenzy against the city
walls, to overthrow the foreigners.
Shining Sky Monastery

Several miles up from the virtual sealevel grasslands of the western Tano
province, resting on the slopes of the
Sacred Seat of the AdiBuddha (the name
given to the mountain) is the Shining
Sky Monastery, the heart of the
Followers of the Path in Nalinot. Here
the Dali Lama directs the ceremonies
and intrigues of the Lamas, while
working to persuade the government of
their interests over that of the Chyo
Kyon. The current Dali Lama was chosen
long ago (centuries, the Lamaists
suggest) as a young boy, but he is now
venerable and beyond all human years
in appearance. There are rumors and
whispers that he will soon shed his
mortal coils and ascend to the heavens
and true enlightenment, but no one
knows who, then, will become the
spiritual vessel for the next Dali Lama
26

Place of Seeing
Atop the Sacred Seat of AdiBuddha,
still a half-mile above the Shining Sky
Monastery, is an ancient center of Bon
sacrifice, that has since been
decentralized in its meaning to include a
place of spiritual sanctity for the
Lamaists of the Shining Sky Monastery.
Still, on certain starless nights during
the equinox and solstice, secretive cults
of Bon travel to this point to carry out
their ancient rituals.
Valley of Many Voices

Here, it is said that the voices of the
dead echo through the canyon, bringing
down avalanches on the living below. It
is a dangerous place to cross, but the
only "safe" way to get to the southern
regions of Nalinot. Any traveler who
wishes to travel to the rural lowlands of
the mountain range, to AlJhira beyond,
or to the long but safe western valley
which leads to the Tano province of
TaiKong must pass through this valley.
Its haunted nature scares many
superstitious folk away, and the native
mountain dwellers appreciate it!
Caverns of the Horned Devil

This is a difficult place to reach,
known only by the Nomads of the
mountains. It is a legendary center of
Bon activity and belief, a sacred place of
supernatural manifestations as powerful
in its magic as that of the nearby Shining
Sky Monastery. Strange and horrifying
things occur here; the Tiger-Cults also
meet inside a section of the caves to
carry out their shape-shifting
ceremonies. The cult leader is a Bon
priest called Anhama, a powerful
woman who some claim is a Deva,
descended from the benevolent gods,
but cast out of her community in
AlJhira in the south for her sacrilegious
practices.
Weeping Valley
The name of the Weeping Valley
stems from an ancient local legend
about several mysterious hags that
dwell within the valley, seeking out the
unwary travelers who would fall into
their grasp. The Hags are given to be
Me, Demons who were once women
that lost their lives looking for the men
of a tribe that was buried beneath an
avalanche. They have been driven mad
in their new-found state, and while they
might initially disguise themselves and
beautiful nymphs and attempt to lure
hapless men to the valley, they will
inevitably grow angry that these are not
the men they seek, and tear them apart,
devouring the marrow of their bones.
Or so the tales go
Nalinot Villages
Some of the villages deep in the
mountains include Ago, Gosh'pon,
Alo'Pan, Chanja, Ishikoro, Tano,
Tasgon, Loga, Compos, Cheno. These
are the towns, villages, and cities which
are loyal to the indigenous government
established two centuries ago by the
27

Encounters in Nalinot:
The mysterious, ice-covered, snowladen mountains of Nalinot are filled
with frozen undead, chilling demons,
and dark spirits. This place at the top of
the world appears to be a center of
spectral and demonic activity, and it is
no small wonder that the Bon cults are
so certain that a great conflict between
the heavens is spilling down to the
mountains. The demon-haunted lands
of Nalinot are a great place to mix up
some unusual encounters. A few
suggestions follow:
Jade Emperor, for the dissident tribes

tend to roam as nomads. Nonetheless,
the villagers of these town are fearful
and superstitious, and tend to revere
both the Lamaist faith and the Bon cult
at the same time.
Bon tribelands
These include Cheno, Yoinja, and
many nomad groups. These are only
two of many isolated towns, as well as
hundreds of nomad groups that exist
throughout the mountains, continuing
the way of life that that they remain
happy with, even after the arrival of
modem TaiKong beaucracy. They will
not necessarily be hostile to outsiders,
though they may look askance at any
adventurers from foreign lands who
somehow think that Nalinot is a fun
place to travel!
Srin-po
Ghouls and vampires of all types (pretty
much any free-willed undead) prowl the
desolate mountainlands terrorizing the
hearty folk who dwell here
Hags
Hags, such as in the Weeping Valley, are
a particularly cruel form of local undead.
Oni and Ogres-the ogres and their
smarter cousins are dangerous giant-kin
dwelling in the mountains, and see all
humans on the region as encroaching
on their territory. They dwell in the
many deep caverns of the mountains,
but regularly emerge to harry caravans,
travelers and smaller villages. The oni
strongly revere the rGyal-Po demon
fiends.
Kala Frost Barbarians
This especially remote tribe of
barbarians believe they were the first
men of the land, born from the very
frost, sculpted in to life by bDud himself.
It is possible, at best, to earn the
grudging respect of a tribe of Kala, but
rarely will they ever be friendly, or even
28

trade amongst any other than their own
kind. They are a harsh, forlorn people.
Lamias-The lamias are a dangerous local
presence, and strong servants of the
rGyal-Po in this region. Lamias build up
covens of evil Bon sorcerers and
dedicated remote tribes to carry out
their will, and often war with one
another. In the hierarchy of demonservants they are near the top.
remhoras ice wyrms, there are many

local dangers that adventurers can
encounter. Nagas are also a local
danger, often dwelling in ancient ruins
of pre-human kings, guarding their
sacred treasures. Some dragons also
make their home in the high mountains,
although these are the mysterious and
haughty eastern dragons who believe
themselves to be divine celestial beings.
Bakemono Goblins and Hobgoblins

The bakemono of the mountains,
goblins and hobgoblins are a terrible
plague, said as a race to have sprung
from the sweat of the rGyal-Po in the
old days during the great wars of the
demons against the gods. The goblins
do little to quell this belief, as they
worship the rGyal-Po feverishly, are
terribly obedient to lamia and oni alike,
and strike out against man whenever
and wherever they can from their
subterranean lairs.
Lha Spirit Tiger Cultists
These weretigers are dangerous
cultists locally, belonging to the slowly
growing mystery cult formed by an
enclave of exiled evil devas and
rakshasas who dwell in Caverns of the
Horned Devil.
Yetis
The yetis are a powerful yet
mysterious presence in the lands of
Nalinot. The most powerful of the yetis
are called Dzu-Teh, and their lesser kin
include Meh-the and Yeh-teh, the
smaller and smallest of their kind.
Local Wildlife
From the semi-intelligent deranged
snow-trolls, Yaks, snow tigers to the
Sacred Mandala
29
Feats of the Water Goddess

New Feats for use in the upcoming Realms of Chirak Setting
By Tori Bergquist
The following feats pertain to
KalieYana, the demiurge of the waters,
patron of sailors and eladrin in the world
of Chirak. You can easily use these with
any other water-born denizen god or
goddess in a campaign where your
characters are about to take to the sea
Benefit: The demiurge aids you in your

mental faculties when submerged in
water. So long as you are completely
submerged in water, you may roll twice
on any Arcana, Religion, History or
Nature check and gain the better of the
two results.
Kalie'yana's Swimmer's Blessing

Prerequisite: Paragon Tier, Worshipper
of Kalie'Yana
Benefit: You and any ally within 3
squares of you gain a +2 bonus to swim
speed. Creatures who do not breathe
water (either naturally of by ritual) must
still make swim checks. This feat is often
used by the military wing of her Church,
the Raven Knights of Kalieyana, to
patrol harbors, mount attacks on
undersea enemies, and sneak aboard
pirate vessels or islands.
Aquatic Combatant
Prerequisite: Heroic Tier, Athletics
(trained)
Benefit: you do not suffer a -2 penalty
when using normal weapons
underwater.
Gift of KalieYana
Prerequisite: Paragon Tier, worshipper
of Kalieyana, Ritual Caster (Water
Breathing)
Benefit: You gain the benefits of the
Water Breathing spell as a permanent
effect on yourself only.
Kalie'yana's Watery Boon

Prerequisite: Paragon Tier, worshipper
of Kalie'Yana, Ritual Caster (water walk
and water breathing)
Benefit: The component cost and
casting time of your Water Walk and
Water Breathing Spells are reduced by
50%, and you gain a +2 Arcana bonus
when casting Water Breathing.
Kalie'yana's Mystery Aquatic
Prerequsite: Paragon Tier, worshipper
of Kalie'yana, at least one skill in Arcana,
Religion, History or Nature as trained
30
HAZEDLAN
The World of the Forgotten Ways
A Campaign Concept for D&D 3.5 and the Expanded Psionics Handbook
by James Curtis
When the Eldritch Weave ruptured,
multiple events transpired. First, the
gods and their champions on both sides
of the conflict lost their magical abilities
(and immunities) as the fabric of the
cosmos buckled in turmoil. The worlds
atmosphere seemed to boil in
ectoplasmic flames, scouring the region
around which the great conflict
occurred of all life and causing serious
harm to lands sometimes a thousand
miles way. The devastation was so great
that it caused a momentary
convergence of planes, and the astral,
ethereal, and several other
undetermined planar realms were
found to exist coterminously with
Hazedlan for second, minutes and
sometimes even hours. In this time,
horrific beings from beyond roamed the
land seeking an end to the madness that
they were plunged in to, assaulting the
hapless inhabitants of the prime.
The final and most significant effect of
this rupturing was not to be fully
appreciated until much later. The World
of Hazedlan had lost its magical bind,
but the essence of magic, the ectoplasm
of sorcery had saturated the world.
Most every being with a soul or some
other property which tethered it to the
planar realms gained an innate
potential, which came to be known as
psionics. Simultaneously, the bleed of
magic had drained the regional cosmos
of arcane and divine power. For a very
long time to come, the capacity of
The Origins of the Psionic World

Hazedlan is one of the many worlds of
the multiverse which once suffered
from the cosmic war between the Lords
of Order and the Courts of Chaos. In its
ancient days, Hazedlan was the center
of an epic struggle between these
forces, and a terrific conflict that
spanned the many continents of the
world ruptured the weave of magic
which surrounded the planet. The
Eldritch Weave, as it was known, held
the fundamental laws of sorcery and the
essential pinions upon which the
magical physics of Hazedlan were
founded.
31
sorcerers, wizards, priests and other

magical practitioners was extinct. Only a
handful of spell casters would ever learn
to cast again, as they struggled to find
small but noticeable regions of the
weave which remained intact, or began
to heal over time.
These events took place nearly a
thousand years ago, although the
stories told of those old times are still
fresh in mind to many, recounted
through countless tales of old. In the
west, there is a great region where the
old armies of chaos and order fell in
battle, a land from which life was
scoured, seas were boiled, and the
earth turned to glass. Here, it is said, the
old gods fell, victim to their own hubris.
After the final war, no further did the
forces of order or chaos come to bother
Hazedlan. The world has remained a
quiet, and godless domain ever since.
god of Meretal and divine protector of

order who intentionally unleashed the
arcane explosion to stop the conflict
through mutually assured destruction.
This story is popular among the
descendants of the Meretali people,
who are now nomadic tribesman along
the Western Wastes. The story is
considered noble, and serves to justify
the destruction wrought as a necessary
sacrifice which ended up doing more
good than evil.
The second most common tale, told in
taverns and inns by drunken storytellers
is that it was Haelatan, the trickster god
of chaos who unwittingly sought too
much energy from the Weave and
ruptured it by accident. Some variations
of the tale suggest this was not an
accident, and that Haelatan intended to
destroy friend and foe alike through his
actions, at that somewhere in the world
is a very old, immortal being who
quietly awaits the day when the Eldritch
Weave is at last whole again, at which
time he will claim his prize world in the
name of chaos.
The final tale is more pragmatic, and
simply states that too many cosmic
powers, too many gods, converged on
one spot on the mortal plane, an almost
unheard-of conflagration by even the
most well-studied of planar scholars,
and that it was inevitable that they
would rupture the skein of the cosmos
when they did, pouring out so much
destructive energy at one another. This
just-so story is the most popular, for it is
used as a parable of why one must seek
to control the inner turmoil and work
towards a better cause than mere
violence and destruction. It is this
philosophy that has shaped the lives of
many people in the wake of the Great
Hazedlans Development
Hazedlan was a relatively normal
fantasy land. It had kings and kingdoms,
dwarves and elves, orcs and ogres, you
name it. Men and creature alike found
solace in the worship of deities who
espoused their virtues and vices, gods of
the Great War, who fought for either
chaos or order for the infinite prize of
the multiverse. When the war came to
the ancient kingdom of Meretal, where
an uprising of villainy had sought to
overthrow the ancient servants of
order, the situation somehow escalated
in to an unexpected cataclysm. No one
knows exactly who or what tapped in to
the Eldritch Weave to unleash its fury.
There are several stories that name
different culprits, depending upon who
you ask. The most commonly accepted
tale is that it was Mourland, the civic
32
again unleash their ancient sorceries

upon the land in an effort to regain their
rightful place as rulers of the world
War, and led to the foundation of the

many mystic and philosophical orders
that came to fill the void willed by the
absence of divine and arcane magics.
Today, Hazedlan is ruled by men and
the demihuman races which populate
the land. The psionic energy which
permeates the land and embodies all
living (and even unloving) beings is the
source of energy that has for a thousand
years served as mans only source of
magic. There have been no divine
beings to provide clerical power to
priests, and it is common knowledge
that the gods all died in their own
apocalypse. The general consensus now
is that it is men, and the other beings of
Hazedlan who will define their own
future. Likewise, arcane magic and all of
its trappings ceased to function and has
remained inert, degenerating in to the
realm of true superstition. Stories do
abound of rare sorcerers and wizards
who still exist, able to cast true magic,
and perhaps even psionics as well, but
such tales are considered imaginary by
most people. Rumors abound that
beings such as dragons are also capable
of casting true magic, and can tap in to
the Eldritch Weave through the unique
traits of their species, but none have
ever confirmed this. Furthermore, many
scholars have it on good authority that
most dragons, like humans, learned how
to use psionics after the Great War.
Still, rumors do persist that the
Eldritch Weave will, one day, begin to
repair itself, and that its rupture will at
last seal away the bleed of magical
energy which permeates the world and
grants the power of psionics to
Hazedlan. Old beings, usually immortal,
who dwell in the world are eagerly
waiting that day, that they may once
Hazedlan Today
Hazedlan in the modern era is a land
of fractured kingdoms surrounding the
remnants of an ancient empire, once
called Meretal, which was at the center
of the great destruction wrought upon
the world. The direct descendants of
Meretal, who still hold the name
proudly, are a western culture of
nomads who dwell in rugged tribes and
struggle to make a living in a harsh
wasteland, while refusing to move to
more fertile climes lest they anger their
ancestors. Elsewhere, old enemies of
the empire have since gone on to form
entirely different nations and alliances
as a result of the great power gap and
new geographical limitations. Some of
the most well-known kingdoms in this
category include Shaddim, a conquering
kingdom led by whatever warlord is
currently strongest, as well as Chyrabal,
a sea-kingdom of rugged water nomads
who claim the eastern seas, and
Haaridan, a strong young empire in the
south which is ruled by a ferocious cabal
of psionic witches.
Among nonhumans of Hazedlan, the
elves, dwarves and other demi-human
species continued to survive and
prosper, although for a time the elves
were lost without their connection to
the Eldritch Weave, and many elves
were said to have gone mad with the
loss. To this day, the descendants of
elves who were mentally affected by
the loss of the Weave are called the
Drunasis, and they dwell in remote,
secluded domains where they refuse
even to practice psionics on the
33
all they must be at least 21st level, at

which time they can only manifest spells
as if they were a level 1 spell caster!
Unless the planewalker is an unwary
sort, such travelers from beyond will
always seek either psionic artifacts or a
psionic guide who can plane travel to
insure that they can leave Hazedlan
after their visit. Surprisingly, quite a few
powerful mages, priests other planar
beings seek to visit Hazedlan despite a
lack of psionic power. Some travel here
specifically to learn psionic abilities, for
example, and may not even leave until
they have attained sufficient mastery of
their new abilities to do so on their own.
Others are fascinated by the Great War
and the subsequent destruction of the
Weave. They come here both to try and
figure out how it happened and also
how to prevent (and occasionally even
cause) it in other dimensions. And
finally, on occasion a being with great
enemies abroad decides to strand itself
in Hazedlan, knowing its magically
endowed pursuers will be unable to do
much more than hire local assassins to
try and slay it.
For all these reasons above, entities
such as aasimar and tieflings, as well as
other, more powerful planar beings,
show up with surprising regularity in
Hazedlan.
principle that any form psionic power is

an abomination which must be
eradicated. These elves find locations
where they can still feel the weave, and
work to restore the lost magic. A few
are even said to have mastered the
practice of it once again, as druids and
rangers, though most consider this
apocryphal lore.
Some new beings arose from the
aftermath of the Great War. The
dromites, for example, were not even
sentient before the rupturing, but after
this nonsentient species became psionic
they also became keenly intelligent and
manifested as a new demihuman
species to contend with. Likewise,
maedar and lan appeared, beings who
were once human, possibly, that
became new psionic species in their
own right. Finally, a once remote
species called xeph (and still remote)
developed powerful psi potential.
Species such as the githyanki and
githzerai, unique suited to the psionics
of the world, found Hazedlan to their
liking, and the obsession of these twin
species with dead gods made it an even
more tantalizing locale to visit.
Traveling from the Planes to Hazedlan
Foreign travelers from other planes do
not like coming to Hazedlan. Arriving in
Hazedlan for arcane and divine
practitioners is tantamount to being
stranded on a desert island, and only
the most powerful such travelers are
capable of performing any magic at all.
As a rule of thumb any non-native
arcane or divine spell caster must
subtract 20 from their caster level to
determine their effective caster level in
Hazedlan. This means that for a
character to be capable of any magic at
34
Magical Abilities in Hazedlan: The

Psionic Conversion and Magic Wells
Because Hazedlan is a harsh domain
for magical power, some special rules
apply to beings which have arcane or
divine magic and/or spell-like and
magical abilities. The first rule of thumb
is, if the being has natural abilities that
have magical qualities, then in Hazedlan
these qualities change to psionic effects.
Thus, a medusas stare, griffons flying,
and beholders eye rays all become
psionic effects. The only exception to
this rule is if the creature in question is
located near or dwells in a Mana Well, a
region of the land in which the Weave
has begun to heal. These regions are
admittedly very rare (less than one
square mile will be a Mana Region for
every 1000 square miles, on average),
but some creatures will dwell upon and
fiercely protect them from intruders to
preserve their access to the magic. In
fact, among those few sorcerers and
wizards who can still perform magic,
one of the reasons most people never
see them or believe they exist is
because these practitioners almost
never leave their precious Mana Well
lands, usually building impressive,
defensible fortresses and dungeons
upon them, well-stocked with monsters
and guards to keep their turf safe from
other would-be sorcerers.
In any case, the following guidelines
should be applied to all monsters and
beings native to Hazedlan:
If the creature has spell-like
qualities, they become psionic
qualities.
Substitute any levels of arcane
or divine spell casting for the
35
same levels of an appropriate

psionic class (usually psion).
Any spell-like effect that is
clearly not psionic in origin is lost
or replaced by a psionic effect
that is most closely equivalent. If
the power is lost, the CR should
be adjusted. Example: the ability
to summon planar beings, or to
commune with a god.
At the GMs discretion, some
beings may keep their magical
abilities, but such abilities are
suppressed until they are placed
in a high-mana location, at which
time they manifest these
abilities (or if they are 21st level
or higher spell caster in
ability/effect).
Any creature which has a psionic
version should use the psionic
version instead.
Some creatures were especially
suited to adapting to the highpsionic environment of
Hazedlan. Likewise some other
beings were unable to do so and
are mostly extinct. Such
creatures will be discussed in the
section on monsters.
If it is at all possible to infer a
creatures ability to be either
psionic or natural in nature (such
as flying, which can be either a
natural trait due to wings or a
mastery of a sort of localized
telekinesis) then the GM should
do so.
Resistances (such as to fire, acid,
etc.) are usually still intact on
creatures which have them,
unless the nature of the
resistance is obviously magical.
A Summary of Available Classes

When deciding if a class is viable for
Hazedlan natives or not, consider the
following: does it have divine or arcane
traits? If so, then the answer is an easy,
no, unless they choose to practice skills
which can only be used in rare Mana
Well lands. So yes, a Hazedlani coud be
a sorcerer, bard, wizard, druid or cleric,
but only if they are willing to deal with
the consequences of being unable to
access their spell abilities if they choose
to travel outside of a very small patch of
rare land.
Since most people probably dont
want to do that, the normal available
classes are limited to the following nonmagical/non-psionic and psionic-only
classes. (Note that someone could easily
pick a level of sorcerer to go with their
several levels in a psionic class, for
example, if only to surprise the hell out
of everyone with some magical ability
when they enter a Mana Well region!)
Non-Psionic Classes
Barbarian, Fighter, Rogue, Ranger (gains
psionic abilities), Expert, Warrior
Psionic Classes
Psion, Psychic Warrior, Soulknife,
Wilder, Ardent, Divine Mind, Lurk
target by many powerful sources

seeking to unlock the means by which
he or she is able to perform real magic.
Unless the GM wants to make this the
primary theme of his campaign, he
should restrict this feat to one character
per group/campaign.
MageBorn [Heritage Feat]
The character is born naturally able to
cast divine and arcane magic without
penalty in Hazedlan. In other realms
where this is normal, the feat grants a
boon to casting.
Prerequisites: 1st level, Hazedlani native
Effect: The character can cast divine or
arcane magic (or both) with no penalty,
and so can choose classes based on such
magic for advancement. The character
does not need to be in a Mana Well for
this effect to work. If the character
journeys to another plane where there
are no magic limitations, or is in a Mana
Well region of Hazedlan, then he or she
gains a +1 bonus to effective caster level
instead on all spells cast.
Rare Spell-Casters
One theme of Hazedlan is that magic
is, inevitably, slowly returning. On
incredibly rare occasion a human or
other being is born which can cast magic
with no problem whatsoever. If a player
wishes to play such a being, then he
must choose the following feat during
character creation to allow the
character to be a regular spell-caster
with no restrictions. Such a character
will be at the very least a curiosity and
novelty, and at worst a highly coveted
36
Prestige Classes
Any prestige class which has a
divine/arcane requirement may, at the
GMs discretion, substitute psionic
ability advancement and requirements
instead. If so, then the psionic variant
may not ever attain arcane/divine
abilities later on should that option
come to pass. As an example, an
assassin prestige class taken by a
psychic warrior would allow the assassin
to substitute arcane magic level from
the prestige class for additional psychic
warrior psionic advancement instead.
All of the prestige classes for psionic
characters in the EPH and CP are
available except for the Cerebramancer.
The Cerebramancer is still available to a
character which has taken the
Mageborn heritage feat and then met
the necessary requirements.
They have no centralized kingdom or

rulers, though they recognize their
greatest elders universally. Elves come
in four flavors, including the dark elves
(Daelfyr), the wood elves (Undalyn), the
high elves (Eiddithin) and the Drunasis,
or lost elves.
Dwarves
The common dwarf, unlike their deep
dwarf cousins, are dour and surly but
ultimately agreeable when dealing with
men and elves. They are of only once
distinct race, their counterparts being
the duergar. Dwarves rarely invested
time in to magical study, and to them
psionics are just another variant on the
theme which they choose to ignore.
Most dwarves are not and will not
bother with psionics. Dwarves dwell in
subterranean and mountainous
kingdoms throughout the world. The
most famous one is Durnhammer, in the
Pinefrost Mountains of the north.
A Summary of Playable Races

All of the following races, with specific
notes attached, can be played in
Hazedlan. Additional races are certainly
possible (almost anything, really) but
any foreign visitor from the planes must
deal with the specific traits of this
world. Natives, as described below, find
Hazedlan to be perfectly normal.
Gnomes
Gnomes are a rare lot, but they
adapted well to the change, and most
are psionic in one manner or another.
Gnomes tend to not have communities
of their own, but dwell within their own
local enclaves as part of another groups
city or town, among human, elves,
haflings and dwarves.
Humans
Humans are numerous and can be
found dominating most kingdoms. The
most common language among
humanity is Meretali, which is the
surviving language of the lost empire,
and has long been regarded as a
common trade language among all.
Halflings
Halflings are a rare subspecies of elf
which did not suffer from the loss of
magic, and went on largely unaffected.
They are not adventurous in the least,
but on rare occasion a Halfling will leave
his or her tribal land to go aquesting.
Most Halfling dwell in small
communities nestled in fertile, lush
Elves
Elves are rare but dwell in small
communities throughout the world.
37
said that the original orcs of old were all

sprung from magic, and had no females
to breed with, thus forcing them to find
and mate with the women of other
species. As a result, many half orcs
sprang from such unions, but the orcs
did eventually begin to spawn female
offspring, and over the rapid succeeding
generations the species as a whole
seemed to settle down with its own
curious and barbaric intensity. The orcs
of today are not said to be as fierce or
big as their original counterparts. On
rare occasions a true-blood orc is born
to a lucky (?) mother. Such true-bloods
usually go on to become great and
dangerous warlords.
agriculture regions, chosen for their

seclusion and safety due to natural
barriers.
Half-Orcs
The orcs of the world had to save their
species through cross-breeding, and as a
result of cultural tradition from the old
days they still do a lot of raping and
pillaging, so half-orcs seem all too
common. They lack a society of their
own, but instead live with and adopt the
ways of one or more of their parents.
Orcs
True orcs are brutal and militaristic,
remnants of the ancient chaos armies
who now seek a place for themselves in
the greater wilderness of the world. It is
Lizardfolk
The lizardmen of Hazedlan are a fierce
and proud species, and they thrived in
the remnants of the blasted lands after
the Great War. The lizardmen were
mercenaries of old, working on the sides
of both order and chaos, and over time
their numbers were spread throughout
the world. Both male and female

lizardfolk can fight with equal
fierceness, and they maintain a strong
state of equality on their chiefdoms.
Dromites
The dromites were born in to psionic
ability and intelligence simultaneously
38
against the power hungry githyanki, and

often inhabit fortress complexes in
which psionically powered portals to
limbo can be found.
after the explosion of the weave, and

they have come to expand throughout
the underworld and beyond. Their hivelike nature makes them incredibly
cooperative with fellow beings, and
they are found to be working with their
neighbors far more often than against
them.
Duergar
The deep dwarves of the most
subterrene realms often vie with chitins,
mind flayers hobgoblins, orcs and dark
elves for control of their dark realms.
They are a harsh folk, and always at war
with their fair-skinned mountain
brethren.
Elan
Elan are a subtype of humans who
operate in secret with special societies.
They are found throughout the human
lands.
Half-Giants
The half giants are an enigma of the
old empire, once bred to be the
ultimate fighters and shock troops, now
destined to live in a land forever
changed by those old wars. Like the
orcs, half giants had to give up the
endless fight and learn to live in polite
society. They are most likely to be found
among men, but some half giant clans
have been found living with other
giants, ogres, dwarves and even orcs.
Maenads
The volatile and emotional maenads
have sometimes split in to small
communities of their own, but most are
intermingled with human society or
sometimes amongst elves and other kin.
Maenads have no distinct culture,
instead adopting to the region in which
they dwell.
Xeph
The Xeph dwell in hidden enclaves to
the distant north, although many
migrated to the blasted lands and now
eke out an existence there, seeking
hidden meaning in the region scoured
by the ancient explosion.
Half-Dragons
The rare half dragons of the land are a
site to behold, but it is said that early on
dragons who were trapped in humanoid
form when the magic died were unable
to change back, but when they had
offspring, the offspring were half
dragons. Although rare, there are
enough such beasts in the world to
merit inclusion here.
Githyanki
The githyanki are planar creatures, but
many will travel to hidden fortresses in
the prime world and dwell there for
years at a time, usually in the blasted
lands, looking for lost relics and the
remnants of fallen gods.
Tieflings and Aasimar

Rare but possible, tieflings and
aasimar of the planes (and other
species) have sometimes come to
Hazedlan to escape dangers which are
much easier to deal with in this magic-
Githzerai
The githzerai usually find alliances
amongst humans and elves to work
39
energy that permeates this planar

region of the prime material plane, as
well as the astral, ethereal, and limbo
planes adjacent.
The divine minds and other psionic
practitioners often seek to follow these
ascended, to achieve the perfection of
the transition from life to death to
eternal existence. There is a popular
belief that such ascended souls can then
go on to achieve great things in the
afterlife, from repairing the Eldritch
Weave to even becoming new gods to
oversee the vacant pantheons of
Hazedlan.
Reincarnation is also very popular
among Hazedlani belief. In fact, until
one has reincarnated a sufficient
number of times to have achieved a
sense of true wisdom, it is not believed
possible to achieve transcendence.
Because of this common belief that
reincarnation is a necessary part of life
and existence, most Hazedlani consider
resurrection to be an abomination, a
practice which can damage the soul.
Not all Hazedlani believe this, but
some cults and secret societies feel that
the notion of reincarnation and
transcendence is a misnomer, that this
is actually the means by which the lost
magical power is eventually returned to
repair the Eldritch Weave. Even worse,
these cults believe that the soul is
destroyed in the process, and they seek
to prevent such from happening to
themselves. The chief means by which
they seek to stave off this fate is
through learning to achieve immortality,
and to recover and prevent their spirits
from escaping to be reincarnated. These
cultists are known as Immortalists, and
they are a small but very powerful
less land. Such beings forsake their own

magical talents and abilities, but quickly
seek to adopt psionic ways and abilities.
Thri-Kreens
The insectoid thri-kreen were around
and intelligent (unlike the dromites)
before the magic died, and even more
amazingly have always exhibited psionic
power (like the mind flayers). The thrikreen have long contended that they
are the oldest race in the world,
predating all other species, even
dragons. The thri-kreen say that, long
before magic was ever learned, they
had already mastered psionics. They
believe that the sudden absence of
magic was what awakened the psionic
energy latent in all beings, and that it
has always been present, a force apart
from the Eldritch Weave.
The Religion of Hazedlan
Religion never dies, even when the
gods do. In Hazedlan there a number of
religious faiths, including the following:
Transcendants, who believe that
reincarnation and ascencion to a high
state of being is the way to become
divine; Immortalists, who feel that they
must achieve physical immortality to
escape a terrible fate; and the Zealots,
who worship the old dead gods
believing they can resurrect them.
The gods of Hazedlan died a long time
ago, extinguished in a brilliant moment
of magical destruction. Nonetheless,
since their passing a new form of
religious worship has arisen around
what are called the Ascended. These are
beings of such great psionic strength
that they transcended death, and their
spirit went on to join the ectoplasmic
essence of the hazy nebula of psionic
40
movement among the kingdoms of

men.
Finally, there are some Hazedlani
known as Zealots who still worship the
old gods, believing that with enough
time and faith they will manage to
restore the lost spirits of these gods to
strength once more. These curious old
pagan cults of order and chaos are
sometimes scary in their zealotry, and
as a result of their dedication manage to

cause all sorts of trouble when they
begin to grow in size and strength in
whatever region they manifest.
Sometimes, on rare occasions a priest or
initiate of such a cult seems to exhibit
real divine magical power, although
often as not it is merely psionic talent
being attributed to divine influence.
41

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Issue 44

The Sorcerers Scrolls

Sorcerers of the Mountain KIngdoms

The Sorcerers Scrolls Issue #44

openoffice friendly, but also have and use Word

The Sorcerers Scrolls Issue #44

Welcome, despite all odds, to issue

The Sorcerers Scrolls Issue #44

book was 100 pages long, and you

The Sorcerers Scrolls Issue #44

The Lords of Exsanguination

and began to mimic their civilization.

The following is a new and unusual

Origins of a Vampiric Race

The Sorcerers Scrolls Issue #44

Vampiric Bite: Bagheera can bite for

Blood Thirst: Bagheera require the

The Sorcerers Scrolls Issue #44

Paragon Class: Reaver Zealot

Heroic Feat: Bagheera Claw Fighter

Requirements: Bagheera, Level 11+ in

Heroic Feat: Echolocation

The Sorcerers Scrolls Issue #44

Hit: 2d8 + Cha modifier necrotic

Reaver Zealot Powers:

Playing With Your Food

The Sorcerers Scrolls Issue #44

The Sorcerers Scrolls Issue #44

Institute (usually just abbreviated

The Sorcerers Scrolls Issue #44

higher levels of radiation than normal,

The Sorcerers Scrolls Issue #44

The Sorcerers Scrolls Issue #44

System Data: trinary star system, 17

System Data: single star system, 5 gas

The Sorcerers Scrolls Issue #44

and a crude class X starport called

The following outline covers a recent

The Sorcerers Scrolls Issue #44

NGC774289B, dubbed Newmans Star

Richard Zaerg human male, Sector

Newmans Star WPP E552200-3 Temp 5

Skaldarin Vaag Erikathi male,

The Sorcerers Scrolls Issue #44

Crocs by the locals. The crocs appeared

The Sorcerers Scrolls Issue #44

single-toed spikes at the end of each

Polar Star has been horribly

The Sorcerers Scrolls Issue #44

Bloody Good Gear

Demon Bone Armor

The Sorcerers Scrolls Issue #44

sites on forgotten battlefields dating to

Demon Bone Armor

The Dread Robes of SulZiddaran

The Sorcerers Scrolls Issue #44

bonus to attack and damage until the

History of the Dread Robes

History of the Ruby Death

Ryshelka, the Ruby Death

The Sorcerers Scrolls Issue #44

Sorcerery of the High Mountains

Some of you may be familiar with my

The Kingdom of the

The Sorcerer's Scrolls 44

The Sorcerer's Scrolls 44