Talking Heads

Hello friends!

The Sagas of Rimholm Kickstarter is well underway! In fact, as this post goes live there’s a little bit less than two days left in the campaign. I hope you’ll consider backing it if you haven’t already. It’s a zine, but also more than a zine! We zoom into a whole region of the Middarmark, from the Sakki Downs to the Temple of Black Skulls, and give you all the details and background for dozens of adventure sites. The hub of this region is Rimholm, and from any direction your adventuring party travels, there are rewards and dangers everywhere they go.

As an example of what we’ve been working on, I want to share a little bit about ghost fences.

When Koch first came to me to propose this project, he noted that he was particularly taken by a passing reference to “ghost fences” in the Middarmark Gazetteer. Could I write more about them?

I’m not sure, but I think I first stumbled across the concept in an issue of Mark Smylie’s Artesia comic, where the titular warrior-priestess character and her war band are caught out-of-doors on the night of the Wild Hunt after a battle. She makes a ghost fence from the heads of her defeated enemies to hide her warriors from the Wild Hunt.

I’ve read some suggestions that the Celts made such things, but there doesn’t seem to be much real evidence.

Anyway, the image was striking to me and I’ve borrowed it for the Sakki people.I should note that while the Bjornings would have you believe the Sakki are evil incarnate, and the practice of chaining ghosts to their severed heads is horrific, I don’t think the Sakki are any more or less evil than any of the other folk of the Middarmark. The cycle of violence and reprisal in the Middarmark is terrible and never-ending.Here are some rules for ghost fences and using them in your games. Enjoy!

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Into the Gloaming (Part II)

The Headless Horseman Pursuing Ichabod Crane, by John Quidor (1858)

Hello friends and Happy Halloween!

Last year at this time I shared a trio of new Torchbearer monsters to fill your horror gaming needs: the vampire, werewolf and zombie.

I wanted to do something similar this year, but we’ve already got most of the classic horror monsters covered. As I mentioned, last year’s blog post covers vampires, werewolves and zombies. The Torchbearer core book has ghouls and skeleteons. The Petersen Bestiary (vol. 1) covers the ghost (you can also find her in The Dread Crypt of Skogenby). And the draugr from Middarmark has the revenant/mummy covered. What to do?

I discussed the issue with Jared Sorensen (check out Jared’s Torchbearer Sagas content here), and Jared suggested we do some monsters from folklore and popular culture. So without further ado, as a Halloween thank you to all of you, here’s Jared’s take on the Dullahan and the Creature and my take on the Gremlin. Enjoy!

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The Saxalings

Atilla and his Hordes Overrun Italy and the Arts (detail), between 1843 and 1847, Ferdinand-Victor-Eugène Delacroix

(xposted with Bridge of the Damned update)

Hello friends!

In a past series of posts, we looked at two Middarmark clans, the Ageirings and the Tualings, along with their ættir.

I’ve been working on The Bridge of the Damned adventure and figured I would give the clans involved in that adventure a similar treatment. This week we’re taking a look at the Saxalings, whom we previously learned a little about in Adventure Design: Robber’s Bridge (Part VIII) and Life in a Ruined Village.

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Don’t Bug Out

Bridge to Nowhere by Todd James

Hello friends!

You know what you can never have enough of as a Torchbearer GM? Monsters. I’ve been experimenting with some fun new critters inspired by the arthropods all around us, and Luke has been experimenting with a new stat block. I can’t replicate it exactly in WordPress, but this is a close approximation.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on both!

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Have You Heard the One About…

You All Meet at an Inn… by Rebekah Bennington

Hello friends!

The Rumor Events Table in the Town chapter is perfectly fine, but if you’ve been running Torchbearer for a while, you might be a bit bored with it. Fortunately for you, Luke has worked up a brand new table to add a little spice to your trip to the tavern. It’s actually a combination of rumors and events.

Check it out, use it in your game and let us know how it goes!

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