Rereading Discworld pt. 2: Guards! Guards!

Moving on to the second in the row comes one of the Discworld books that definitely makes it into my top-five; both because of it being a masterful piece of writing, but certainly for sentimental reasons as well.

Guards is one of those books that I always point at, when people want to get started with Discworld but don't know where. Not saying that there aren't viable alternatives, but for me, this is the golden era of the series and, furthermore, the beginning of my favorite arc; namely The Watch books. A favoritism I know I am certainly not alone in.

Introducing some of the most beloved, and probably deepest, relatable and thought-provoking characters to exist in the series. Ranging all the way from Sam Vimes to Sgt. Colon (I use to say that we all know a Sgt. Colon, somewhere in our life) - This book launches a beginning of a long series of books that have probably made me think more about life and the existential questions behind it, than any other book on psychology I have ever read.

Make no mistake, though; Guards! Guards! is in its core a more conventional fantasy story set with Ankh Morpork as the stage. It basically is a tried-and-tested D&D-plot, only with a lot more meat on it, and a healthy dose of sociopolitical spices added along the way. Sure, one could look at it and say its about an evil cult that wants to summon a dragon, if only they believe enough in it, and to nobody's surprise, it goes wrong. The band of low-life heroes that are the night watch step up, add a dose of comic relief and save the day. But that is underselling it vastly.

Even then, the story stands strongly on its own, and it surely was enough to impress me as a young teenager, as this was the first exposure I ever had to Discworld, playing the original game by Psygnosis. Although the protagonist-task is delegated to Rincewind in this setting, the plot of Guards! Guards! is the same (and even adds an interesting twist regarding its ending).

Still waiting, GoG...

My experience with the game was, to put it mildly, absurd. Explaining L-space to a group of 14-year olds is not an easy task, and coming from Monkey Island and King's Quest, I think we gave up very quickly. To this day; I am still not sure I completely understand the "Did anyone get the name of that donkey cart?"-joke, but if ever I get the chance to replay it on modern systems, I am sure it will see reason.

On that note, I feel Guards! Guards! has stood the test of time very well. Unless I am mistaken, it may well be the Discworld book that has been transferred the most to other platforms, having both a digital game as well as a rather good comic done over it? 

Where am I going with this long prelude? Well; this was my third time reading Guards! Guards! and I only expected it to be great. I was not disappointed. 

It's all about when and where

The greatest stories are always those that grow with you, instead of simply growing old. The ones you return to, recognize, but learn something new from every time. Or, coming-of-age tales as the young people refer to them these days. The cardinal example of this being Lord of the Rings; a tale so rich on lessons of life and everything it comes with that I won't even make an attempt to describe it further. Very clever books have been written on that subject. 

In that line of thinking, I once saw a reviewer refer to Pratchett as "Like Tolkien, but with gags" - I've had people react violently, almost sacrilegiously-tuned, by mentioning this. But I do think it holds some merit; especially after starting the rereading of the series.

To put it into perspective, I read Guards! Guards! when I was 18, again when I was in my very early 30's and now in my early 40's and boy, does it (and Pratchett in general) leave you with different after-tastes every time. I remember how, in my youngest days, Pratchett would be an inspiration for the overall tone of my D&D campaigns, later on, he made me laugh at the absurdity of the human condition. Today, I laugh because I recognize that absurdity and that I'm part of it. It's so brilliant and speaks to something so psychologically common in us all.

Guards! is teeming with these references, on both high and low level. It's a book about the deceiving nature of easy promises of power and the ease of which the common person can be persuaded into immediately satisfying (but ultimately devastating) actions. A topic that later on becomes quite the hallmark of the Discworld series. Early on in the book, we meet the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night, who, like all other people in the world, want a simple solution to a complex problem. And fortunately, there is someone to tell them whose fault it is (everybody else's) who're the victims (you) and, luckily, who can solve it very easily (me). You simply have to summon a dragon. Because one you summon a dragon, you can find a king to slay it and then have the young king follow good, conventional wisdom (mine). It is so simple it can be nothing but appealing.

Needless to say, this goes wrong. Cutting the Gordian Knot tends to leave a bigger mess behind than expected. And sure, if you look at this in the conventional way, it is the tried and tested trope of committing hubris and setting up the stage. However, it also holds a rather relevant view on modern day politics and world-views. Discworld has always been a mirror of the absurdities of our society, but this time around, I couldn't help but feel Guards! Guards! be a bit more relevant than I'd care to admit. 

We live in a world that is becoming exceedingly more difficult to understand; where order and traditions are either crumbling, being reformed or clung desperately to. A world that has changed so drastically in the last 25 years alone, become ethically, morally and socially more complicated; in part due to self-imposed challenges, but also geographically and politically. Big questions have raised to which there really aren't any clear answers; but by gods - do we wish that someone would just give them to us.

In other words, as is said in V for Vendetta, there are people who promise you order and promise you peace, and all you have to give back is your silent, obedient consent. 

What is furthermore remarkable about Guards! is how humankind adapts rapidly once the plan falls apart and the dragon breaks loose. We are again reminded that it's not Middle Earth, in which a band of dwarves, a wizard and a hobbit goes to slay it with magic - this is a society in which the guild-managers of the city decide to embrace the pox, partly because they're timid (and humans will go far to see the next day) but also because they see how much power they would stand to gain when working with evil (okay, maybe not entirely unlike Tolkien here...).

As I changed my former job and started working for bigger companies and organizations, it has become more evident to me that the effect of "I wish someone would do something nice for me somehow at some time" is living all good and well. There is an inherent allure of entitlement in all people, but the critical acknowledgement is unfortunately always proportionate. That is not to be confused with overall intelligence, because Guards! shows us that both the common idiot and elitist schemer can be equally ignorant when it comes to reflecting on the complications of "just doing something that would solve my problems like that". The easy way out, if there ever could be said to be such a thing, is unfulfilling at best and catastrophic at worst.

Meddling with things you shouldn't in the pursuit of power is a main-topic in the Watch-books to come, but Guards! kicks it off truly well. It's a story about fear and ignorance of the masses, when presented to false promises of easy solutions, can drive people to make decisions with consequences well outside their scope of understanding.

.... A thing, some would say, that would seem rather relevant to the current state of the world.

But there is also hope

Sam Vimes. Isn't it amazing how you can write just one name, and for the majority of the readers out there, I probably don't need to say much more? That is powerful writing. Sam Vimes is a character, a philosophy, a way of living and an inspiration.

When I read Guards! this time around, I was in a hard spot in my life. I was going through a lot of difficult decisions; life had changed on me and was about to change even more. Still is, at the moment of this writing. And some background about me, is that I don't have many people to look up to or be inspired by, when it comes to deal with difficult, life-changing situations. In a way, it is quite the opposite of the previous paragraph: You know life is very difficult right now, but there's no deceiver nor guiding spirit to even tell you exactly why or what to do about it.

Vimes is a character that starts, quite literally, in the gutter. He's drunk, alcoholic and borderline depression. A man without a purpose, whose sole mission is to drink enough today to forget about everything before yesterday, and not care about tomorrow. His job is not being taken seriously, neither by his superiors or colleagues and you can ask yourself what truly matters for him. 

Vimes' journey in Guards! is one of a man rekindling his purpose in life and doing what matters. Carrot acting as the main catalyst for this, in the same way of getting that new colleague in your team and for a while everyone is a bit more excited to do those things we were actually supposed to do. It is easy to perceive him as the Clint Eastwood-hero rising to his redemption, and you certainly can. But on my third read, Vimes was probably more relatable than ever. He's a normal person, and his biggest problem is that he genuinely cares. There are things that matter to him, and like all other people who are thwarted where the heart burns, he has sunk deep and has to find a way to bring those things back into his life. Vimes finds love with Sibyl, ultimately, but compared to previously mentioned group, his way is the hard way of taking matters into your own hands and taking an active role into bringing your life what you want it to have. Or, hell; finding out in the first place what it actually is you want to have.

Realizing what matters in life is something people spend years on in therapy. Many don't figure it out and others figure it out late enough to realize this was the old update and now something new is pulling their heartstrings. Vimes' journey is one that confirms that doing the right things often is a hard endeavor. After all, most things worth doing are.

At the end of the day, it's not as much about succeeding as it is about trying (sorry, Yoda). A running joke of the book is "The chance is one out of a million. But it might just work". I laughed at this as a youngster. I shrugged at it as an adult. Today I nod and smile at it. There are simply times in our lives when we look at the very long odds and balk at seemingly impossible tasks. That's when life gets dangerous because we become despondent and hesitant; afraid and susceptible to easy solutions or simply giving up. But after this third read, I have to admit it stuck with me, and I've found myself more than once mumbling "But it might just work..."

All in all...

I love Guards! and it seems to get better every time I read it. I know I have spoken more about the meaning it holds to me on a personal level (which, to be fair, is why I'm writing these posts. If you want analytical essays of Pratchett there are way better sources out there) - To me, it is up there with Jingo! and Feet of Clay as some of my favorite books in the series. 

This is a time in which Pratchett both had a very relevant message at heart and still mingled it nicely with conventional fantasy-tropes and that spot-on humor that is his trademark. Part of why I especially love Guards! compared to the other Watch-books, is that it's less angry and solemn in its message; something that changes already in the next, Men at Arms. And of course, it holds a special place as my main introduction to Discworld, even though it was through one of the weirdest adventure-games ever played.

When looking forward, once I have completed my whole rereading of the series, I am definitely going back to revisit some of them again. I am fairly certain that Guards! Guards! will be the Discworld book I have read the most, once the time comes and I hear a voice say "EXCUSE ME?" behind me.

Way of the Wicked pt. 4: Final review

I see a bad moon a-rising...

As the very perceptive ones may probably have noticed by now; the rather ambitious running-comment on the Adventure Path ”Way of the Wicked” Wotw) came to a rather abrubt halt, before it even got off from chapter one. It's been something I meant to go back to, for quite some time, yet never got around, which perfectly sums up why I never had the time to finish the darn thing in the first place. Still, Wotw is probably one of the campaigns that I have GM'ed, that came close to my heart, right up there with Carrion Crown. I kind of feel I owe it to give it a proper presentation for those of you who're pondering giving it a go. But it's way too late (and time consuming) for me to go thoroughly into detail about this, like I did with Carrion and Skull and Shackles, and seeing how we're approaching the end of this campaign after more than a year of weekly gaming, I feel I can confidently share a few thoughts from a GM perspective. As I mentioned in the previous entries, Wotw deviates from the standard run-of-the-mill campaign structure. You're not heroes; you're the villains. This is an interesting premise, that is likely universal to the human psyche, in how we flirt and attract towards evil and the freedom to do as we fucking well please, and by gods, have I seen countless of D&D players gravitating towards this tendency as soon as they have their sheets in hands. In Wotw, this is not only legit; it's encouraged.

The story in a big nut-shell...

The story in a nut-shell, takes place on the far island-kingdom of Talingarde, governed by its noble king and run-of-the-mill religion of Light. You'll quickly notice how everything in this adventure is set up very generically, for good reason - it's very easy to adapt to your own setting (we put it far off the Sword Coast); the king is good, the church chaste and the peasants sing and praise the sun every morning. For those of proper age, it is hard not to notice the, likely intentional, homages to works as Dungeon Keeper and Overlord, that showed how much you can work with the banality of evil. In said kingdom, a lowly group of prisoners are soon to be placed in an isolated prison of low standards, where an escape is shortly after staged. They learn that the infernal powers of the old, forgotten ways of the kingdom have great ambitions for their future, if only they are strong enough to seize the opportunity. Thus, in an unholy Asmodean crusade, the players set out as villains to conquer and/or destroy in the name of the most unholy. The campaign allows the villains to be as depraved as they wish; yet still presents itself with a tongue-in-cheek humor and a certain ironic distance to itself, which suits it and never really comes across as goofy. How easy it would be for it to descend into a pit of murder, mindless rampage and acts that would probably be fun to do for the first half hour of play, only to then become trivial. Sure, there is plenty of opportunity to play out elements of torture and murder along the way; it is in fact encouraged in some chapters; yet a significant amount of challenges offer alternative approaches that either negate or ease up the tasks ahead. In fact, some of the obstacles the villains will meet in the early chapters can not be resolved by brute force alone, and even attempting so will most likely end in utter defeat. This is something that, like every other D&D campaign, becomes obsolete and faceroll the more character progress beyond level 10, but the fact that Wotw manages to force players to think for so long impressed me. The adventure path is split up into six chapters, each presenting a distinctive challenge on the way towards total conquest of Talingarde. There is a seventh, and in my opinion vital, instalment to the series, which greatly expands upon several options in the various adventures, such as in depth guides to NPC's, maps, art work and even new technology the heroes can research as the campaign runs its course. More importantly, the seventh instalment provides the villains with the option to retire temporarily in every second chapter, and send out their useless minions to perform some gruesome task. This allows your players to roll up lowly lvl 1 characters that will never advance beyond that, to go and perform some quest that will usually involve challenges miles above their head, and hopefully come out alive with the use of their wits. These challenges are well-written, witty and often provide just enough fun for a one-session break, that can end up becoming beneficial for their main-characters too, depending on how well the minions perform. It took us well over a year of almost weekly sessions to complete Wotw. It's not a campaign that, as written, is quickly done, and depending on the pace of your players and your own preferences, can be played extremely sandboxy with plenty of micromanagement (seeing how your players at least twice during the campaign are put in charge of something vital, for a prolonged amount of time). We played it much like this; but it's certainly possible to have it easily done with.

Is this a campaign for everyone?

No. But it can be made to. Firemountain Games and the writers do a great job at the entry of every book, to present their thoughts behind the chapter in question. The books are presented in a tone that borders almost over the top, in a few cases cheesy, approach to being the evil overlord, which again never bothered me too much. There is actually a lot of serious considerations and decisions for the villains to make later on; especially when it comes to who lives and dies as the story progresses. Something that can later on have a big impact on how the story goes. Said writing-style could easily fool one to believe that this is shallow campaign with no further intention than making Disney villains. That is certainly an option, and I imagine that particularly younger and/or new players will gravitate towards this option. But for people who have played for 10+ years (like my group) who're all well into their 30'es, there was plenty to build on, in terms of making low-life conmen, branded witches and bastard nobility sons who were all out to get back at the kingdom. The inherent paradox with campaigns like these, is that they stick to the notion of D&D being, in its nature, a cooperative experience; at the same time as playing people who're genuinely the salt of the earth. Turning to backstabbing seems at no point during the campaign to be a good idea. And let's be honest, if that's what makes your juices flow, there are likely much better systems for that out there. Wotw is at its core a shared experience of getting back at the world that wronged you, and savoring it together. While some bickering is to be expected along the way, players who are in it for a legitimized murder-hobo-experience, are more than likely disappointed for many of just mentioned reasons. It is a daunting, yet extremely rewarding, undertaking of a whole new approach to the classical formula, and I wish to applaud the authors on some of the quite interesting opportunities the players would usually not get when playing in the shallow end of the alignment pool. Making a thorough description of every chapter is beyond the scope of this review, but for the interested who couldn't care less about spoilers, I wish to go over some of the honorable mentions in every of the seven books.

Chapter one: Prison break and arms-dealing

Book 1 features, not surprisingly, a lot of information about the kingdom as such, and material to find out why the villains are in prison in the first place. They start out in the best way befitting an Elder Scrolls game by being held captive at the rundown prison of Brandenscar, where the white, beautiful lady soon after helps them escape, by charming the guards and smuggling in various tools for their aid. They undertake a stealth mission, springs the ogre Grumblejack, who more or less becomes the comic sidekick throughout the campaign, and makes it through the marshes to meet their dark master in his manor. There they become indoctrinated to the dark faith, and thus constitutes the ninth knot of the faith, soon after to be sent on a mission of selling arms to the rising horde of bugbears in the north. In the second part of the adventure, the villains infiltrate the small town and big guard post of Balenthyne; having three months to sabotage as many as the defenses of the town as possible, before the army attacks, and hopfully concludes the chapter with a victory. Like in so many other adventures, the first book was my favorite, since it offers a load of opportunities for approach the prison-escape. It gives players choise, and choice is usually good, since it forces you to think. The authors already here give a lot of attention to vital little details, such as the players finding letters from home on the guards they slay; one of them even carries a gift from his old mom. All evil has to start somewhere. The manor in the swamp is basically the mandatory dungeon of the chapter; it's luckily very short and seems forced. It's almost possible to include the few rooms that are vital and leave the rest of it out. The real gem of the first book, is the siege of Balenthyne; especially if you have acces to the seventh book where everything is greatly expanded. There are tons of ways for the villains to sabotage the defense system of the town, from exposing infedelity among the captains of the guard, to inflitrating the tower as a traveling band of actors and much more. This part is strong enough to stand as its own adventure and was beyond doubt my favorite part of the whole campaign.

Chapter 2: Beware; the Lord of the Land approaches!

Book 2 takes the villains far to the west, to the small town of Farholde, where they are asked to meet up with other infernal agents and claim the nearby forsaken tower-ruin of The Horn of Abaddon. There they must hold their ground for half a year, and thrice daily perform prayers to a demon lord, who will, hopefully, grant them a potent plague they can unleash upon the kingdom. The first part goes by reclaiming the Horn from whatever creatures reside there, and the second half in defending it from the sudden amount of attention it got. This book is the most obvious reference to Dungeon Keeper. Effectively, the villains get to decorate their own dungeon, install traps and find minions and beasts. It can either be very long or very short depending on how in-depth you wish to run it. For me, it was a bit on the long side as written, seeing how countless of groups make a crack at the tower, so cutting them down just a tiny bit worked wonders. This opportunity is unique, to let players be the ones deciding what should happen to the heroes once they mess up. Sadly, the adventure does leave a little work for the GM in terms of how to make traps work and how to quickly do combat between the minions of the villains and groups of heroes. That aside, book 2 is very strong in that it introduces the use of minions in a smooth and easy-to-use system, for making them do mundane tasks for the overlords, which will play a vital part in the chapters to come. It is also in the second book, that we are introduced to the arch-nemesis of the heroes; the paladin Sir Richard,who will play out a significant holy thorn in their side throughout the campaign. Not so much, though, that the villains are thwarted in their endeavours, and they finally manage to claim the pestilence from the demon lord and earn his eternal ire.

Chapter three: The burning vale

In Book 3, the villains reap the benefits of their last half year of work, as they march to the magnificent free-thinking city of Ghastenhall, and perhaps ally with its excentric duke. There they get in contact with the agent supposed to spread the plague, only to find out the one possible mean of cure - the sacred, nearby Vale that must be destroyed. The first part of the adventure goes by in a month in Ghastenhall, which is a pretty nicely described place with some pretty original ideas and quirks for making it memorable - for example, streets are often named after whatever the current regent said when asked for his opinion, and therefore it is common to stroll down ”Fetch me a brandy-street” and ”Guards!Removethisman!-plaza”. It is possible to expand a lot on this city and its side quests, since there are many interesting opportunities for roleplay and meeting new NPC's. In the second half, the villains infiltrate the vale and later go to war with their newfound allies. They meet with heavy resistance, such as a phoenix and holy defenders, before they can finally make a stand against the inner sanctum. Thus ends their campaign along with any hope for humanity. The third book feels a lot shorter than the previous two, which is a nice change of pace. It is possible to make it extremely short, if you so desire, and by then, the villains will have started to have access to some of the more potent spells and resurces.

Chapter four: Long live the new king!

Book 4 keeps staying away from the micromanaging of the evil organization, and instead allows the villains to travel to the sacked city of Daveryn to meet up with the horde-army. There they get to scavenge a bit, which still seems like a strange detour to me at this point in the adventure; but it provides with a pretty decent amount of side-quests, of which some are actually pretty entertaining; such as storming a school of ballet to duel it down with the instructor; who's obviously no push-over. There's also a pretty interesting minion-quest here, where the villains can capture the lost duke before he escapes. The real meat of the 4th book, though, is storming the royal capital in order to lure the king back and defend his daughter, the princess. To accomplish this, the villains must seek out the ancient black dragon across the sea, and gain his trust. This is done through rescuing his spawn and later take out one of his greatest enemies, a luxurious copper dragon to the south, who lives on an island paradise with his three wife. This is another setup I absolutely loved, in that the heroes can approach this in a clever manner, and actually play his wives out against each other, rather than facing all of them at once. The island paradise is also a genuinely interesting place, which as a DM you can easily expand upon. It's a rare sight into the true luxury of a dragon, and how it would actually spend all its accumulated wealth. The book ends up with an epic battle, where the villains storm the capital and hold of the princess, while the king marches towards the bugbear horde. The ancient black dragon attacks, and the villains move in as a strike force to take him out. While they succeed,they also lose one of their most valuable allies, as the princess unleashes her sorceress powers to destroy the ancient black wyrm.

Chapter five: Cardinal-Fall

Book 5 ups the stakes significantly. The villains have been noted by the infernal powers, who send an agent to converse and introduce them to a pit fiend with great designs; he tells them that it is time to slay their former master; revealed to be a lich, and hunt down his phylactery. The fifth book is probably the one that comes the closest to the 'typical D&D setup'. Much of it is dungeon crawling, searching for the phylactery and finally taking the fight to the lich's cathedral and destroy him along with all his minions. There is not much in terms of new thinking here, but the NPC's are as always pretty interesting, even with some more romance options, and the introduction to the pit fiend Naburu, who'll play a significantly bigger part in the last stretch of the campaign, is entertaining and hits the perfect tone for me. Also in book five, the villains get the chance to get back at Sir Richard, who has suffered many losses throughout the campaign, and see him turned to a dark paladin, if they play their cards right. By this time, the villains are likely very powerful and little of the dungeon runs should truly challenge them in any way. Whereas chapter five is in no way bad, it is likely the most bland of them all, not really presenting anything out of the ordinary, except getting back on some of the NPC's who've showed them around for so long. Which is certainly not to be dismissed.

Chapter 6: Unlimited power!!!11

Book 6 is where it all comes together. The lich is dead and the last part of his grand design is coming to the advantage of the villain characters. The lich has taken lessons from Darth Sidious and ordered a giant mercenary army that is to march into the kingdom and liberate them from the ravaging bugbear hordes; and since he's such a nice villain and explains all this in his journal, the idea is ripe for the taking. Thus the first part of the book, is for the villains to acquire this army and sail it across the sea, where they clash with the horde and annihilate them with their own mercenaries. From thereon, nobody in the kingdom will oppose them, and they get three years in which they reign supreme. Here the game goes kind of kingmaker'ish, as they can play around in the evil sandbox and decide on what kind of realm they want to create. Everything is held up against a hidden score indicating how well they'll fare, and is influenced by whether they, for example, chose to grant mercy to the old faith or merely burn it on the pyre. There is a lot of stuff going on in this chapter, and it's pretty rewarding to get to make all those decisions for people they have likely cursed at for several levels. With book seven, it is also possible for them to research new tech, such as cannons, for their kingdom and establish wizard schools. I found the balance in this chapter to be very elegant. It is common with these elements, to see some players be super involved and wish for deeper complexity and others to simply resignate because they'd rather be adventuring. In this regard, there is enough choise to keep it interesting for everyone, without it ever seeming too involved. The authors even make it clear, that they hope the villains will pull no punches at getting back to the kingdom, and thus establish a true reign of terror. Granted; this is probably the chapter I ran by the book the least. It has the potential to spand across many, many sessions, depending on how much your players are into deep RP, intrigue and sim. As previously mentioned, this could potentially be a campaign by its own. I went with whatever options I found the most interesting, adding in the "Tales of Talingarde" supplement again, as it's mandatory for using the tech-research options. There is no established rulesystem for grand-scale battle, that inevitably occurs at the end; instead focusing more on the personal battles of the players against titans, angels and of course, the Princess Belinda herself. Had we played Pathfinder and not D&D 5th, I would probably have used the warfare option in the Ultimate Campaign Book, but it comes down to personal preference, I suppose. The campaign can end in a couple of ways; most probably with either the villains losing (since...that's what villains do, after all) or keeping the kingdom for good. Ultimately, they can sacrifice their lives for the greater evil and open a hell-portal that spills in over the kingdom, likely annihilating everything in its wake... Also * spoiler * The villains are brought into hell as slaves for the pit-fiend and betrayed for eternity. So, really only one "good" option here, but I liked where it was going.

All in all...

We spent well over a year of weekly play sessions on WotW. It's probably my second-favorite campaign I've ever GM'ed, coming in tight after Carrion Crown. It's a bit of an undertaking; but a refreshing one, for most people who're fed up with saving the day. It does bring demands to the GM, with a lot of balls being up in the air at the same time; especially around the first two chapters, from where it gets much more linear in its structure. It also brings serious demands for the players in question. I've heard tales from other GM's who tried this one out, with players believing in rolling Chaotic Evil characters murdering each other in the first session. You need players that are willing to acknowledge they need to work together in-game as well as around the table; otherwise it doesn't function. Evil is much more than stealing from your party members or burning npc's with fireball, and I'd severely argue against running this with less than mature people. For all its demands, WotW brings an interesting pletora of ideas and missions. My favorites being amon the infiltration of Balenthyne in the first chapter, and playing Dungeon Keeper in chapter two. It provides several ways of approaching the task at hands, which ultimately provides the players with choise. I've written a lot about choice earlier on and still believe it's one of the biggest gift you can give many players. Choice gives agency, and agency makes you an important dynamic part of the world - which, one could argue, are vital villain-traits. The idea of minions quests was amazing, and fit in so well with the campaign structure. It was a fresh breath of air, to the some times tedious drudge of being above level 10 in most D&D editions (a fact that I had, sadly, hoped would be partly alleviated in 5th; albeit it's not as gross as say, Pathfinder). We all had a blast suddenly switching to level 1 characters whose life didn't really have any purpose other than sacrificing themselves for the dark overlords. As a GM, I loved WotW and my players seemed very satisfied too. I can absolutely give it my most warm recommendations for that evil itch that doesn't neccesarily take itself too seriously at all times. Coming up next, we're on hiatus till next month where we have a date with a certain Tomb of Annihilation... 

Way of the Wicked pt. 3: I see trouble on the way

Way of the Wicked pt. 3: I see trouble on the way

When we left the villains, they had just completed their basement-challenge and were told by Tiadora that their real task was about to begin. They were brought before Cardinal Thorne once again, and the dark master was most pleased with their progress. He asked them to sit and carefully explained that the upcoming task for the ninth knot would require all of their skill and guile, for it was of the utmost importance.

The Cardinal told them that not far from the mansion, a ship was moored. Called 'The Frosthamar' and captained by a certain Kargeld Odenkirk, this vessel was to be their home for the upcoming weeks, as they would journey far north, beyond the wall, and make landing in a newly constructed camp of war. With them, they would bring a not insignificant amount of crates containing armor and weapons, that were to be delivered to a strike force of bugbears. This army was to be the first move, at least overtly, of the Cardinal's glorious plan. Once the bugbears, commanded by the villain Sakkarot Fireaxe, struck against the northern border of Talingarde, it would strike the doomsday clock for everyone to hear. From there, the villains were to contact him for their next assignment.

They were warned, however; this wasn't a simple bash-in-and-slaughter mission. The fortification along the wall were not to be trifled with, and the bugbears were unable to bring them down on their own. This was were the villains entered the picture.

He may look like something out of Asterix, but he can sail

So off they took; Grumblejack being most grateful for finally being away from the glares of Tiadora, and made way towards the Frosthamar...

Oh yes, one more thing; of course the good captain and his crew already knew too much. Once the weapons were delivered, they were to be terminated.

(This is my favorite part of the adventure, starting right here. While the first one is really fun, this is where it picks up and starts becoming truly interesting and challenging)

I'm on a boat!

The villains met up with the captain who turned out to be a sour old man with a big bushy beard. He was much in line with his ship, which was nothing more than...well, a viking-ship. It sufficed well enough for the cargo, however and the villains were soon aboard with their pet-ogre. Not bothering to stay for any goodbyes, Tiadora left them as soon as they were aboard and disappeared into the swamp like a white dot soon after.

Kargeld didn't waste much breath on the villains. After a couple of questions about the cargo he gruffly explained them the rules, which boiled down to 'keep your nose clear of my men and we'll get you girls there in one piece. Food at six, toilet is over the railing. Now sit down and shut up.”

And thus the ship moved on north...

(The journey north is foremost an opportunity for more roleplay within the group and with the sailors, depending on the preference of your players. It's certainly possible to play Captain Kargeld as an asshole who's getting what he deserves. I decided to go in a different direction and instead made him kind of likeable, curious and still a pirate at heart. He asked questions about the villains, their cargo and the ogre.

It certainly made his demise more powerful later on.

Of course there are a couple of encounters for people who'd rather rollplay. As written, there's an enemy boat from Talingarde, some mephits in a storm, some Yutak hunters and a seal-hunt. I moderated this a bit and skipped the mephit and enemy boat; instead I went on and modified the seal hunt a bit, and turned it into a Grumblejack encounter!)

Event: Grumblejack is on a boat. And hungry.

This event happens halfway into the journey; the villains wake up to a loud yell from the captain. On the deck they see gory trails, empty barrels that once held rations and a very guilty-looking ogre. It is quickly revealed that Grumblejack went for a binge-midnight snack and didn't leave much for the rest. In fact, he didn't leave anything.

Kargeld is furious and demands for someone to do something. Even if the villains offer their own rations it's nowhere near enough. To make matters worse, the ogre decided to also eat the watchmen as an appetizer so they're one man short as well.

Kargeld decides to make a stop at a nearby island populated with seals. In a rowboat, he goes ashore, demanding the villains to help him hunt down the little critters. Needless to say, most of these seals are baby-seals and some cruel hunting is in order now. Allow the villains to go crazy and feel like truly evil savages clubbing baby-seals for funzies. Then something happens;

 The villains hear the sound of a horn, and not long after a group of merfolks emerge from the waters. Their leader; Gwennebron Greenwave, orders the evildoers to stand down and cease their actions at once. If the villains refuse, the merfolk call to the seals while hurling nets and spears at the villains from the water.

Make a challenging encounter for your group and roll initiative for the seals and merfolk. It's up to the villains to not only defend themselves, but also butcher as many seals they can before they head off into the ocean. It made for an alternative, interesting encounter.

Oh, and if you're in doubt, yes, I was pretty heavily inspired by this (at 7:45)

Now, with the seals done; cultural imperialism!

The villains butchered enough seals to make it worth, and Gwennebron had his head chopped off by a good strike, so the ship headed on north along the coast. Everyone noticed how the weather slowly grew colder over the following days; the villains scuttling together on the deck and keeping an eye on the cold, lonesome, dark waters. Minor icebergs started moving by and for a long while they felt so alone as they moved northwards towards the grand river that would take them behind enemy lines and towards Sakkarot's camp.

Three days before reaching their destination, they were greeted by a strange sight. Three canoe-like boats approached them and gestured to them, asking whether they could come aboard. Their common language was crude, but they were brought on deck and asked about their purpose. The leader presented himself as White Tusk, a young chief of the Yutak tribe to the north. They were heading south to trade their valuable ivory-statuettes for iron tools.

(The Yutaks play a strange and little role in this entire campaign from what I understand. It's just a nomadic Greenland-like cultural society far up north that doesn't really do anything...for the very same reason, my players decided to act accordingly...)

Really, how I perceive most players..

The young chieftain set down and presented his statuettes of animals, and a strange old ring he'd found and was willing to trade. The villains tried offering him some metal, a dagger and the like, but when he refused, he was struck down by a dagger through his head. His entourage was butchered the following seconds and thrown overboard.

(The ring isn't part of the adventure; I decided to throw it in there. It was a ring of protection. From a D&D Next perspective, there aren't really that many magical treasures in this part, but the villains get to make more than up for it later on, through crafting)

Yeah, you and what army?

The villains later sailed inland and soon ended up in the inner sea from which they had a spectacular view of the southern shore, in which beautiful Talingarde stretched out with its mighty walls. And there, to the far north, they could glimpse the columns of fire from a camp. Not just any camp, but one of considerable size.

Kargeld warned them of Fireaxe on the way. He grumbled that a bugbear shouldn't be so intelligent and calculating. Something was off with him, he knew that much. He urged the villains to be cautious around the camp, and especially the boss.

The captain's warning turned out to be true. As they docked, they noticed how far the massive camp stretched northwards into the savage landscape. Several tents, buildings and fires decorated the bare rock; thunder from marching feet bellowed in the air along with savage orders. Regiments of undisciplined bugbears marched back and forth; even a couple of giants made their way around the edges and occasional groups of giggling goblins skulked from tent to tent. This was an army bred for a single purpose...

"...to advance the plot of this campaign"

They'd barely made it ashore before a group of bugbears confronted the little puny ones. Asking about their business here, these guys were really just there to push them to the limit (and yeah, this is a fight I can understand, it has a purpose, it adds tension and dram; feel free to ham it up here and make it a memorable fight, seeing how the villains have a whole camp to impress. Surely, they'll have plenty of spectators!)

So yes, a fight did indeed break out and the villains ended up butchering the bugbears with gory ease. Only then did they hear the heavy footsteps in the snow and saw the towering mass of a male bugbear look down on them. He wielded a mighty axe that burned with fire and glared at them for several seconds. Then he noticed the crates on the ship and roared out in triumph, bidding the villains welcome to his camp.

The crates were torn open and the morale went through the roof as the bugbears started equipping themselves. The armor even had the sigil of a burning axe on them.

That night, Sakarot held a grand feast to their honor and started explaining the next step of their journey. It seemed as if their trials had just only begun, for the next step on their journey wasn't one to be solved by force...

Way of the Wicked pt. 2: Bad boys, bad boys

Way of the Wicked pt. 2: Bad boys, bad boys...

The last time we left the villains, they were in Brandenscar Prison, nicely tucked away in their cell. What looked like a dead end for them, suddenly took a change, as they had a visit from the lovely and mysterious woman, Tiadora. She told them her contact was eager to meet them, and all they needed to do was break out of prison, cross the marshes and find the old mansion at the edge of the swamp.

Before she left, she handed them her handkerchief, which turned out to be a veil of useful items. Now, things weren't looking so gloomy anymore...

Prison Break!

From the very beginning, Way of the Wicked shows off one of its cardinal traits: freedom. Freedom to chose and do as you please, not really railroading you into a certain plan or way of doing things. While it can certainly be argued, that the main plot as a whole is set in stone, there are so many ways to handle things as things move along.

As a GM, you'll have a lot of information on your hand regarding how you run Brandenscar Prison. There is a small handful of viable ways for the villains to escape, and they'll likely come up with some info on their own. I recommend having a journal of some kind, in which you note down the names of the prison staff and where they are at different times of the day. It looks massive, initially, but when you break it all down, there really aren't that many guards left in the prison. So basically, you'll boil it down to the warden, the sergeant Blackerly, the three servants and the various no-named guards. Compared to the later upcoming town of Aldencross, this is a breeze.

And remember, this is supposed to be somewhat easy for the villains. They're supposed to get out with high spirits, so reward creativity. Don't be a dick; you'll have plenty of time to play it rough later on, I guarantee.

The villains decided to wait it out for now and hid the veil in their cell, before they went out to work on the following day. There, they had the chance to see the prison in daylight, as they worked away in the gardens and listened to rumors and noticed the comings and goings of various persons. They were introduced to the servants, heard more talk from the guards about the nightly gamblings and came to realize that Brandenscar was indeed in a poor state.

As they tended the gardens, they were able to snatch some poisonous herbs as well.

They arrived back at their cell at night and after some time, the drow rogue extracted a lockpick from the veil and made his way out to scout the complex. He noticed some nearby stairs and the sound from the guard room and then unlocked the door to the massive ogre, who introduced himself as 'Grumblejack'.

The remaining villains started making a riot from their cell, with the rogue hiding in the unlocked ogre-cell. As soon as the guards entered, their heads were smashed in by a pair of massive ogre-fists, a dagger in the chest and unholy magic by touch. They splattered, needless to say.

The villains made short introduction with the ogre, who was furious for letting himself be captured by the little ones. He swore he'd aid the 'good little ones' in their quest, and that he could easily be just as stealthy. After all, he once yelled at a peasant that he had seen nothing, after he'd eaten one of his sheep. The peasant had pissed himself and cried out he'd seen nothing indeed, therefore Grumblejack was indeed quite stealthy!

(Again, I strongly advise you to get your hands on the seventh book, Tales of Talingarde, before you start running Grumblejack. It has a lot of scripted events, such as this one, when GJ has to be stealthy for the first time. You can make him a truly memorable character if you play him right.)

Don't go out tonight...
From there, it was pretty much a march of death out of the prison. The troupe of death made their way downstairs, where they met little resistance except a few drunken guards who were quickly dispatched with a dagger and some good stealth rolls.

They even managed to wake up a group sleeping in the barracks, and butcher them before any of them made it outside to yell for alarm. Knowing they would need some supplies for their escape, the group made it into the kitchen, where a servant maid was busy working, while and older man enjoyed a late night snack. Swiftly, they were turned into snacks themselves.

The villains made some rations out of the food, whereas Grumblejack eyed them with curiosity and then chopped up the servants and put the parts into a little basket he brought along. “See,” he said, “Now Grumblejack is ready for travel, just like little ones!”

Time to break out of this shit-hole.... Player-character style!

 They managed to find Blackerly's personal brewery inside his quarters and true to the old notion; whenever you're in doubt, put something on fire, that's how it rolled. (Again, this part is all about putting on the heavy rock music in my eyes and let them have a go. Being extreme and watching the world burn is good right now. There are some nice little details you should absolutely try to include, such as the guards having various things in their lockers. My players found a wedding ring a dead soldier was about to bring home to his girlfriend. Another had a healing potion with a nice message from his mum and so on.).

With the main building suddenly on fire, the villains crept out of the backdoor and waited for the prison staff to enter in panic. Then they ran for the gate, used the portable hole from the veil and made a sprint for it down the road outside. The guards on the way were butchered and soon after, they were heading deep into the swamp and into the darkness.

Yes, my master...

The journey through the swamp was uneventful (as written, the villains are supposed to clash with a giant toad out in the swamp. Since we use progression-based leveling, and I loathe encounters just for encounters' sake, I skipped this).

They soon found the old manor, which lay discretely on the shore of the swamp, with a small lantern burning from the top window. Grumblejack admitted he had a bad feeling about this, but during the travel he'd heard much about this 'Asmodeus' person and how he was clearly showing them his favor. The ogre admitted he wanted to hear more about this dark denizen later.

Tiadora greeted them with barely a gaze, as she opened the door and asked them to enter. All they saw was a long hallway with doors, and enthralled servants with zombie-looks, ready to take care of all their needs. The white maiden told them their common master would meet them in an hour in the library; till then, the villains were to be cleaned up and attended to. Besides from that, they could do whatever they wanted to with the servants.

(This is the part where the players have their gear and whatever else you decide will apply. It's a good psychological entry to the Cardinal, especially if you allow them to just pick among the common items from the Player's Handbook. Don't worry if they go for the Full Plate, it matters little in the tasks they are about to undertake, and it makes the Cardinal seem like a really nice guy).

They were brought to the library where a dark being greeted them in a pleasant voice. He introduced himself as Cardinal Thorne, the last highpriest of Asmodeus in Talingarde; a man who'd had a close interest in them for quite some time. He told them that he had an offer for such talented people such as them.

Thorne told the villains, that a new order was rising in the lands, and he, along with them, were to bring it to its fullest, and the realm to its knees. For this purpose, he had designed nine groups; 'Knots', reflecting the layers of Hell, who all had a unique purpose in this grand plan. They, the villains, were supposed to be the ninth knot and undertake a mission of central importance for the Cardinal.

(This is a crucial stage of the adventure; the players are pretty much supposed to say yes. If they don't, they're torn to shreds by Tiadora and everything ends here. Some have a huge issue with this, but if you're offended/put off by that, you likely shouldn't be playing D&D / Pathfinder published adventures in the first place...

It's important that you try and make the cardinal come across as a nice guy, but also truly frightening. To me, he was heavily inspired by Constantine from the old game 'Thief'. Watch the cinematic below to see how I tried to play him.) 

The villains agreed and the Cardinal happily asked them to sign an infernal contract that would bind their infernal work. (At this time of writing, I've only read the first couple of books, but from I see, this contract is basically just a “I promise not to be a fucking douche bag towards the other people in the group, even though I'm finally allowed to play an evil alignment and fulfill my deep fantasy of being an asshole towards everyone around me”-promise. It certainly has a place in many groups, I'm sadly sure. Luckily, in my group we had a solid talk about this beforehand so it was more a fluff-thing for us).

They signed the contract and all received the unholy mark on their head; written in blood they all had a blessing from the infernal lord, and a gift. Each had a silver bracelet that allowed them to change their identity and looks, as they would head out into the hideously good world of Talingarde. (Basically, they're allowed to spam Change Self spells as they please; in D&D Next terms, it doesn't change that much, except that I ruled it didn't take concentration to keep the spell going and the bracelet didn't require attunement. The adventure doesn't mention anything about whether it shields them from detection from evil-spells and so on, which I ruled it didn't do.)

Once done, the villains were told to return to their chambers and prepare themselves for a little test. Not long after, they were told to enter the basement of the mansion and fetch an emerald idol for the master, before 24 hours had passed...

Inspired by Thief, this is the picture I always use for Cardinal Thorne

The Cellar Adventure

(I'm not going too much into details about this one, because there is very little to say. Basically, this was the passage that seemed slightly odd to me, but now, later on, it makes sense. The heroes go through a series of rooms in which they're greeted by a cryptic, and yet kind of obvious, message about what to do. Mostly they're blatantly simple, such as “Don't follow the masses, make your own road!” and you're supposed not to take the door to which all the footprints go. Derp.

Again, there are a couple of encounters here that I didn't bother with, such as the dark room. Instead, the villains met up with a lost squire, who yelled and begged for his life, telling them he was abducted from the north. I rewrote this a bit, letting him be the former squire of Sir. Thomas Havelyn, as the test was about showing mercy for the right one. Needless to say, my players just killed him.

Later on comes the juicy part; the villains meet up with the notorious witch hunter who put most of them behind bars; Sir Balin. This is a small gift from Cardinal Thorne, and it just so happens that his holy symbol is the item they seek. This is the time for revenge, and letting your players be creative about it. In my case...they killed him. Sort of, just like that. Ah well.)

They returned to the hall in which a rather bored Tiadora greeted them and told them to keep the prize. “Come,” she said lazily, “your real task begins now...”

Tiadora - Still a mystery

Way of the Wicked pt. 1: Bad Moon Rising

Way of the Wicked pt. 1 "Bad moon rising"

So, we started our official fifth campaign some weeks ago, and for once, we decided not to settle for any of the big names. So far, our credentials include well-known names as 'The Savage Tide', 'Carrion Crown' and the relatively new "Tyranny of Dragons" from Wizards' own hands (and yes, I WILL complete the review line for that one as well).

So why didn't we settle for something safe, like the upcoming 'Elemental Evil'?

The short story, we were tired of saving the world. A lot of the people in my group have gamed with me for the last 8+ years. I'm sure some of you out there join my choir; we've saved the world so many times, it's becoming more or less a chore now. Even 'Skull and Shackles' from Paizo didn't really manage to try anything new, in terms of making PC's of questionable alignments. So we turned to check out our options. Many beers were consumed.

We ended up on an old fling of mine; one that I'd been recommended and read a bit about before, but never really had the chance to try out. We went for the severely underappreciated gem called 'Way of the Wicked' by Firemountain Games (http://www.firemountaingames.com/)

What is Way of the Wicked?

Minor spoilers may await you, but I'll do my best to keep them low.

I could talk for hours about how insanely appealing this AP is, but I'll smooth it out for you as we go along with the adventure. Allow me to simply say; If you and/or your party is tired of saving the world over and over, this is THE adventure path for you.

Way of the Wicked (Wotw) is a Pathfinder adventure path (though we played it with D&D 5^thedition rules, which is easily doable). It puts the players in the shoes of some of the worst villain the small and peaceful island kingdom of Talingarde has ever seen. For once, the world is in balance, people hug and fluffy bunnies jump the fields between shining, lawful good paladins. Small stains of shit like the unorthodox players aren't tolerated, seeing how they remind everyone of ages past, when the worship of the dark, infernal god Asmodeus was prevalent.

The players create villains instead of heroes, who are put in prison and sentenced to death for various reasons. They're pissed and angry, and they want out to mete out their revenge on the kingdom.

The adventure path spans over six books, taking the villains through various tasks including infiltration, managing their evil minions, assassinations and all the evil stuff the NPC's used to do. They'll suddenly clash with noble paladins and all those monsters in the bestiary you never, ever had a chance to use as a GM. Unlike Paizo's usual, retarded way of designing their AP's, most of the 100'ish pages of an adventure is actually...adventure. Not a bunch of pages near the end with random monsters and some fiction I don't give two shits about.

The kingdom of Talingarde is generically designed on purpose; it's very easy to plot in just about everywhere in a campaign (in my case of the Forgotten Realm, I placed it far off the coast of Amn) and it only includes to deity elements; the new, benevolent sun-god known as Mithra and the heretic Asmodeus, whose church is now all but extinct and lost in the mists of time. The history of Talingarde is briefly described in the end of the first book and is easily managed and conveyed, leaving plenty of room for improvisation, if making things up your players instantly forget is your thing.

If you're considering this adventure, as a GM, I strongly, strongly recommend the seventh book of the series, "Tales of Talingarde", in which the designers sit down and provide you with extra ideas and input for the entire campaign, including a new ending.

The rise of the fearsome five...

Eventually, my players created the following villains:

'Vince' Barkalion, human cleric of Asmodeus. Sent to prison after visiting a brothel and killing a harlot who went into labor , thus triggering some deep, emotional problems in the priest. He ended up slaying the woman and the unborn child, proceeding to have sex with her afterward (I know what you're thinking, and yes; you're right) – he was immediately arrested in the capital, by Sir. Balin, the royal witch hunter.

Selina, human female druid. The Morrigan of the party, who'd been living in the swamp around Brandenscar Prison with her grandmother. Practicing her craft as a midwife as well, she infused dark magics to make women with child, but for what costs? She pushed her luck, as the tried getting to the current king, Marcadian the V, who currently has failed to produce a male heir. Someone ratted her out, and she was seized by Sir. Balin and accused of witchcraft, immediately sent to Brandenscar Prison.

Gabinus, human wizard. Gabinus grew up in the capital, Matharyn. He was adopted by Master Talin, who taught him the basics of the arcane arts, but the lessons were harsh and Talin a fierce worshipper of Asmodeus. One day, he was found dead on the floor, and Gabinus made his way off with whatever magical trinkets he could find, and made his way in the world by exploiting and fraud. One day, however, he pushed his luck, and Sir Balin seized him in a setup, immediately sending him off to Brandenscar Prison for work in the salt mines.

Gabinus the wizard

Samael, the Traitor,“The Bastard of House Barca”, human paladin oathbreaker vierty.

The black knight of the party, who started out as a promising member of the Knights of Allerion. Despite him being a bastard of the oldest house on the island, he made a good name for himself in the holy ranks, but his ambitions grew larger than that. As he learned that the king was unlikely to produce an heir, he attempted to reinstate the old ways and his house through the means of poison and allies in his network. His attempt failed, and the black knight was cornered in the palace, where he fought and took down several soldiers with a dark fury. He eventually surrendered and was sent to Brandenscar Prison to die by drawing and quartering; the most severe punishment in the realm.

'Solo', drow rogue.

Solo is a relative newcomer to Talingarde where he has made his way through his nimble talents and sense of death. Not long after arriving at the prospering kingdom, Solo started hearing dark whispers in his head. The words were infernal of nature, and told him his path was clear and that he was meant to serve the burning lord; all he needed to do was unleash his wrath on the local Mithra temple, and so he did. Slaughtering priests in the dozen, the dark elf was eventually apprehended by Sir. Balin (yes, Sir Balin is a very busy man) and dragged off to Brandenscar Prison to die. He was genuinely calm all the way, putting his faith in the dark lord's will.

I feel a bad moon rising...

(as always, GM-comments are in blue)

It was dark, cold and wet as the prison caravan thundered across the wet roads and into the night; keeping a steady course towards the towering shadow with specks of light in the distance. Around it, the blue-uniformed guards were obviously tense, more than once glaring at the dull, brown prison-carriage they were guarding. Within, five people were chained up with sacks over their heads, and though they were more tightly restrained than any prisoner ever taking this trip, everyone was on edge. These were some of the worst criminals to have sprung up in the otherwise peaceful kingdom, and like any other weed, the best way to deal with it was pulling up the root and make sure it was never seen again. Surely, more than one of the accompanying guards wished to seem them all burn for their crimes, like the blight on the landscape they were. Both Talingarde was a lawful landscape as well, and justice had to prevail. Thus they were to spend the following three nights at the prison, before their fate awaited them.

Brandenscar Prison

As the wagon made its way closer to the prison, it passed the first gate post and rumbled up the path towards the concrete walls. The sound of the ocean surrounding the prison and smell of the sea was evident to the prisoners inside, and they even heard the muffled sound of someone exchanging words at the main gate, before moving on into the compound itself.

(If you use the seventh book, there's a small guide in which the villains roll a perception check on the way in, and deduce some potentially vital information, such as the presence of dogs, the smell of the ocean and the fact that they pass two gates, etc.)

They were dragged from the wagon, and heard several boo's, insults, yells and rotten stuff was thrown at them. They were accompanied by several heavy boots, past a heavy door, up some stairs, and finally their blindfold was removed. They were in a small prison corridor, and the guards didn't hesitate much before they were all hurled into a tiny cell.

The group of guards exchanged some mocking comments about these wimps not being so tough after all (you know, the usual guard being so brave when there are bars between him and his victims; conventions are important!) and left. As they got their bearings, they noticed a huge scream coming from a nearby room, and a giant, lumbering shape being escorted out and into his cell by a small group of guards. They were surprised to notice it was an ogre, and even as the guards left, it screamed and yelled at them; “This not over! Grumblejack eat you!” it wailed and took swings through the bars.

 (Grumblejack is WotW version of Minsc from Baldur's Gate, pretty much. If used right, he has the potential to become a key-character and a true icon of the campaign. Take good time to introduce him, both as intelligent and certainly a potential ally who has suffered as much as the heroes)

The villains spent some time staring each other down; some of them recognized seeing each other from before, and they knew they were all in this together (we usually don't spend that much time 'bonding' in our group; we just want the story to get going, and by this time, it's pretty obvious they only have each other in this place!) It wasn't long though, till they were summoned to a small room down the corridor, in which a fat sergeant greeted them with a sinister smile. They did notice, however, the room being packed with guards, weapons drawn. These people were scared, no doubt about it. They'd heard the stories.

The fat man introduced himself as Sergeant Thomas Blackerly. He seemed severely amused by the crimes of the heroes and took turns to mock their heritage, their deeds and made insinuations about what was going to happen to them in this prison; things that nobody would ever hear about (these things being left up to your imagination and the level of adult themes you wish to include in your game). He giggled like a maniac by the very thought of breaking their backs in the gardens, starving them out with disease-ridden food and maybe even hand over the witch and one of the others to the guards, who hadn't had....good company...for months. The villains remained stoic about this, but the few who attempted snappy replies were met with a fist to the face. Being chained, there was very little they could do.

(As written, Blackerly is just fat, stupid and mean. I chose to portray him more as a sociopath)

Once two of the villains were sitting with nosebleeds and the rest staring at him with defiance, he chuckled and pulled out the burning branding-rod from the fire. “Don't worry,” he said, “you'll feel right at home here!” and then plunged the burning metal into the first available arm. With a searing sound, it burned its way down and mixed in with his laughter and the screams of the now restrained victim. (Allow the villains to decide whether they yell or just stare at him coldly, they love that shit)

When it was all done, they were returned to their cells, noticing the guards mumbling “about damn time; why does he always gloat like that? Creeps me the fuck out... Now we're late for the game too; come on!”

(This is the time for you to build up animosity. Pour gasoline on the fire. Ignite their hatred. Let the villains feel the guards hate them, humiliate them and drag them through the dirt. Give them a good reason to bring forth hell once the chains are broken!)

A visit from beyond...

As the villains returned to their cell, they noticed the guards had, by instruction from the sergeant, emptied the remains from the dog-kennel all over the floor. As a little welcome-present, they called it. Finding a quiet corner in the cell, the villains quickly deduced one thing. They had to get out of there, right now. At first, they tried making contact with the ogre, Grumblejack, but their talking was swiftly interrupted by a guard from the guard room, yelling for them to be quiet or they'd get a solid beating.

In whispers, they decided it could be time for them to try and make a bold escape of overcoming the guards, if only they had the right tools. The ogre was a benefit, if only they could get him out, and Vince was especially interested, as he could sense infernal blood running in the ogre's veins.

They spent a couple of hours discussing in hushed voices, and then the door swung up. A strangely distant Blackerly walked in with a couple of guards. His schmuck expression gone, he told Vince that his beloved was here to see him. He was to follow. Immediately.

Vince went to the small interrogation room, where a woman dressed for a funeral was crying her eyes out. When she saw Vince and the guards enter, she wailed with rejoice and threw herself around the prisoner, crying 'My love! I've missed you so much! I was afraid they had killed you already!” - Being up for the act, Vince followed up on it, and eventually the woman turned to the hypnotized Blackerly, asking him to give them a moments' peace. The enslaved sergeant agreed and left.

Just as soon as the door slammed shut, the woman dropped her facade and became stern and focused. She smiled a sinister smile and introduced herself as 'Tiadora'. “But I don't blame you, if you've already forgotten about me, dearest,” she said and handed over her white veil. She told Vince that she was in the employ of a potential mutual friend, who was very interested in meeting the villains. All they had to do was escape, cross the swamp around the prison and seek out an old manor with a single lantern burning in the window. They had three days.

Vince, knowing better than to ask too many questions, agreed and was transported back to the cell with the others; the guards being too distracted by the beautiful woman to bother searching him. As she left, she gave him a short kiss, which he noticed was cold as ice. Odd.

(Tiadora makes for a very interesting NPC that will take up a lot more time later on in the AP. For now, it's important to make her interesting, professional, teasing and patronizing. That's what she does, and if the players take an ambivalent love-hate relationship to her, all the better. She's not there to answer questions and should remain elusive all throughout.)

Returning to their cell, the villains unfolded the white veil, only to realize they'd been granted a mighty gift. A veil of many things, from which they could extract daggers, gold, a healing potion, a thief's toolkit, an unholy symbol and even a moveable window that would create a hole in a wall! Grinning in the darkness, the villains carefully began planning their prison break...