Lore and Legends of the Dezzyverse

Tag: horror roleplaying

  • Monsters with Clockwork Hearts

    Monsters with Clockwork Hearts

    The Mazynik of Arjenvís

    The most recent “species” to emerge in Arjenvís are the Mazynik. The Mazynik are a clockwork, machine people made possible through many of the engineering discoveries made by the scholars of the Ynstyuit Yazingyeijny college. They have been a part of the population of Arjenvís for generations at this point. Sadly, the Mazynik in all of their forms have been used as slave labor almost since their inception.

    There are seven primary variants of Mazynik

    • Type I – Tiny Mazynik designed for companionship. The type I are roughly the size of house cats or large rats and their differential brains have the cognitive abilities of a human child.
      • These Mazynik are often programmed for a variety of simple tasks for which their size and general design are suited. Fetching and retrieving small items, delivering small parcels and physical messages (like written notes), cleaning chores, vermin control, and simplistic minor patrolling. Their limbs end in small claws for grasping and gaining traction, and most Type I designs have a small dart launcher built into the body
      • Type I Mazynik can be found nearly anywhere in Arjenvís, including the rivers (for those models adapted for swimming). They are more common in the affluent Canton, like the Stare Miasto, and the Jyarmarck. But even in the slums of the Brzek Krreft, older Type I Mazynik, refurbished from spare parts can be found wandering the narrow alleys on errands or still carrying out instructions from owners who have long forgotten or simply lost them.
    • Type II – Small Mazynik designed as assistants and servants. The type II are the size of a medium to large dog and have the cognitive abilities of an average adult human.
      • These Mazynik are more capable than the smaller Type I models, and are designed to perform functions that demand greater strength and durability. The Type II models are often used to deliver small burdens, perform larger household chores (think “Roomba”), act as guards and sentries, and assist people with complex tasks by providing extra manipulative limbs.
      • Like the Type I, the Type II Mazynik can be found virtually anywhere in Arjenvís. From the estates of the Stare Miasto down to the ghettos of the Brzek Kreft. They are most common in the Jyarmarck, where they are set to delivering packages of purchased goods to destinations, and in the Zmiana, where they work towing barzos along the various canals or working the southern fields.
    • Type III – Human-sized Mazynik designed to be laborers. The type III are the size of an adult human, and have the cognitive abilities similar to the Type I.
      • The Type III Mazynik is a design intended for human-sized menial tasks. Whether household (minor repairs, cleaning, personal assistants) or industrial (labor, or dangerous/ strenuous activity). They are designed and programmed for obedience and servitude, behaving as loyal companions.
      • The Type III Mazynik can be found nearly anywhere in Arjenvís, but are most commonly found in the most wealthy cantons, the most wealthy households and industries, which can afford the expense of purchasing and maintaining the clockwork mechanisms that allow them to function
    • Type IV – Human-sized Mazynik designed for combat as guards or gladiators. The Type IV are also the size of an adult human and have the cognitive abilities similar to the Type II.
      • Type IV Mazynik are designed for heavier labor than the type III or for combat. They often resemble clockwork suits of armor, imposing and dangerous. They are in general human sized, but are larger than most average people.
      • The Type IV are less common than type I, II, or III Mazynik. Partially due to expense, and partially because of the much more narrow scope of their designed functionality. They are most commonly found near properties of the wealthiest citizens of Arjenvís, where they are used as sentries and guards or in the deepest depths of the Czarny Grzbiet Mine, where their immunity to the toxic gasses and their phenomenal physical prowess permit mining veins that would otherwise be impossible.
    • Type V – Large Mazynik the size of an ox or draft-horse. The Type V are designed to pull and carry large, heavy loads, or serve as mounts. They have cognitive abilities similar to the Type I.
      • The Type V Mazynik is very nearly a small vehicle. It’s designed as a six-limbed being, much like a centaur, a quadraped lower body and a humanoid torso. This frame allows for functions that permit the Type V to not only carry a passenger or two, or pull a burden but also manipulate objects with hands. There are Type V variants that are designed as bipedal forms that are nearly twice as large as a typical person, and other design variants that resemble large beasts.
      • Type Vs are much more rare and expensive than the more common Type I, II, or III but they can still be found in all Cantons in Arjenvís. The most common use are along the canals of the Zmiana, and the steep face of the Czarny Grzbiet and Nozca Stok cantons, pulling trolleys and barges.
    • Type VI – Large Mazynik roughly twice the size of an average adult human. The Type VI are designed to command and manage other Mazynik, their differential brains are the most advanced commonly available and they have cognitive abilities that, while still superior to humans as a whole, are within the human spectrum.
      • The Type VI Automat is a very sophisticated clockwork device. It’s nearly the size of a Type V, but has a much more advanced machine intelligence built into it’s design. The Type VI is designed for complex, independent tasks and can adapt to circumstances to an extent that they are still addressed by it’s programming.
      • Type VI are status symbols among the aristocracy of the canton and are seldomly encountered without cause in Arjenvís. They are often employed as automated stewards, chamberlains, or major-domo for households and estates. Many are in service of the Vlatza as supervisors of Type IV and V Automat which function as guards.
    • Type VII – Gargantuan Mazynik the size of buildings, designed to be “smart” buildings the type VII are expensive and rare in the extreme. Type VII can be used for a variety of purposes, from intelligent libraries to self-functioning factories and leisure residences. Type VII support between 1 and six differential brains that function in concert, depending on the Mazynik’s designed purpose. Each brain, taken by itself, have cognitive abilities which vary from that of a child to that of a mature human. When multiple brains are working in concert, the combined brains of a Type VII can perform cognitive feats of genius.
      • The Type VII Mazynik is a building sized clockwork artifact. It’s so big, in fact, that it functions like an actual building, with individuals living and existing within it’s rooms and halls. As such, the Type VII is seldom mobile, but unlike other Mazynik, the Type VII can direct it’s Actions and Abilities within itself as well as without.
      • The Type VII is rare in the extreme. There are but a handful in all of Arjenvís.

    History

    Mazynik were first developed in the manufactory of Kahlazst Vahn Ztiyer. A member of the Vahn Ztiyer household of III Canton, Kahlazst was an Artificer and a minister of the Ynstyuit Ynzingyeijny school in the Kolygiom Zyle Wednye.
    The first Mazynik designed would become the type I and type V, both of these first prototype models were meant to do work as a replacement for beasts and animals. Kahlazst designed what would become the type II as a mechanical assistant.
    These early Mazynik had primitive differential brains by current standards, but were capable of independent action with minimal supervision. As the usefulness of Kahlazst’s Mazynik became more apparent, the two core mechanisms, the differential brain and the corespring were refined and developed into ever more sophisticated iterations. Eventually the Automat was capable of matching most people in terms of intellect, but not creative thought. This made Mazynik very useful for menial labor, guard-work, and heavy labor. They could be programmed with base skills, and their difference brains would adapt them to the environment in which they were operating.

    Anatomy

    Individual Mazynik are designed to perform their directive purposes. They are generally built to resemble people and/or animals that are familiar to most people. The heart of most Mazynik (type I – VI) is the Corespring, which will allow for a day’s operation when fully wound. Type VII instead utilizes a steam engine to maintain a continual operation (so long as the engine remains fueled, that is).

    Genetics and Reproduction

    Mazynik do not reproduce biologically, they are built. They do have the ability, however to manufacture one another. Either with or without the involvement of people. Depending on the resources and facilities available, manufacturing an individual Mazynik will take periods dependent upon their complexity. This includes programming of their differential brains.

    • Type I – 6 to 12 weeks
    • Type II – 6 to 20 weeks
    • Type III – 12 to 28 weeks
    • Type IV – 24 to 48 weeks
    • Type V – 18 to 36 weeks
    • Type VI – 30 to 50 weeks
    • Type VII – one to five years

    Mazynik designed by the same person, persons or factory will share a general resemblance to one another.

    Growth Rate & Stages

    Mazynik do not naturally grow. Their bodies can remain the same throughout their lives (for lack of a better term). However, their differential brains will experience a progression of development that reflects their accumulation of experience up to where their capacity of data storage is reached.
    Juvenile – This is the first stage of cognitive development. The Mazynik has it’s base cognitive routines and can communicate and perform the tasks for which it was designed, but not much outside of that scope.
    Prime – This is a long stage of development where the Mazynik cognitive abilities have expanded to a point where it can formulate and adapt it’s functionality based on learned experiences. Prime stage is recognized when a Mazynik can first adapt independently beyond it’s initial programming and lasts until it’s cognitive storage reaches capacity.
    Fading – This is the last stage of development where the Mazynik’s cognitive abilities have reached a point that to incorporate new experiences and new data, older experiences and older data must be eliminated. This tends to cause the development of eccentricities within the Mazynik’s persona as they begin to “forget” memories they once recalled flawlessly or skills they once had or experiences they once lived. Additionally, fading can also be brought on by damage or wear within the differential brain itself, leading to a diminished capacity.

    Ecology and Habitats

    Mazynik are curious in that they can exist in almost any environment even thrive if they are purpose-designed for those conditions. However, resources available in an urban, technologically sophisticated environment provide the most favorable conditions that Mazynik can function within.

    Dietary Needs and Habits

    Mazynik do not require sustenance in the way that biological species do. So long as their coresprings or engines remain wound or fueled, Mazynik will continue to function. However, Mazynik do require steady maintenance in the form of lubrication of moving parts, cleansing of components, care for and replacement of worn materials, etc.. Going without these essential will lead to malfunctions which can ultimately become critical enough to permanently disable the Mazynik.

    Domestication

    The Mazynik are completely domesticated as a species.  Though some advanced individuals (mostly Type VI and Type VII) can carry out self-directed “manumissions”, Mazynik are designed to follow the direct inclinations and command of those whom they serve.

    Uses, Products & Exploitation

    Mazynik are used in Arjenvís in all manner of menial, labor intensive, and dangerous tasks. They act as servants, laborers, companions, soldiers, even vehicles and homes.  To the powerful and wealthy of the city, they are merely clever tools, or toys to be used until their utility or novelty comes to an end, whereupon they are discarded.

    Naming Traditions

    Industrial, labor, and guard Mazynik are normally designated by a serial code, and recognize themselves when that code is referred to. More personalized Mazynik, those who serve as companions, assistants and servants are often given nicknames by their owners. Finally, there are some Mazynik (mostly type VI, but any sufficiently experienced Mazynik) who will name themselves

    Mazynik and Warforged

    Mazynik are not Warforged. Warforged are sentient beings with agency and free will. Mazynik are automata, and even if they have been given their manumission, they are only an imitation of sentience. Warforged are animated by magic and do not rely on wound clockwork.

    Mazynik are limited in their function. Though they are capable of great proficiency for the jobs they are designed for, they are abysmally incompetent when attempting tasks not related to their purpose. Warforged are as adaptable as any mortal person born and raised.

  • Seers, Tramps and Thieves

    Seers, Tramps and Thieves

    The Caravanserai Who Camp in the City of Miseries

    Not everyone in Arjenvís are monsters, prey, or prisoners. There are one people who know secrets, who travel out beyond the walls of the city to other lands. Despite Arjenvís deepest wishes for no one to escape once locked behind her walls, against the monumental, terrible will of the city who will not let go of the souls in her iron grip. The Caravanserai continue to slip in and out with seeming impunity, bringing rumors of lands beyond the horizon, as well as trading in exotic wares from foreign artisans.

    The Caravanserai camp away from the estates of the aristocracy, setting up in hidden places among the poor neighborhoods or abandoned buildings. Though they can be found in most of the Canton, somewhere, excepting I Canton, the Kziazekyr. Their camps are able to be taken down and moved in a single night.

    Cartomancy

    Of all the various forms of divination, the Caravanserai prefer, excel at cartomancy. The decks used vary from Caravan to Caravan, but the pattern is the same. The Caravanserai Diviner uses the Vaghanesqa Ròdho to read the fortunes of those who search them out.

    Vaghanesqa Ròdho

    The dealer separates the High Deck from the Lesser Deck and shuffles both separately. They place the High Deck to their left and the Lesser Deck to their right. The dealer then deals cards from the High Deck.

    • I. This is the Mandĭn (Fortune) card. It represents what the seeker (the person the reading is for) will become at the end of their journey.
      • this card is dealt face down, perpendicular to the dealer
      • the top of the card (for determining if the card is inverted or not) is the short edge facing to the dealer’s left
    • II. This is the Ègo (Self) card. it represents the seeker as they are at present.
      • This card is dealt face up and crosses the first card
      • the top of the card is the short edge of the card that faces away from the dealer
    • Deal four cards from the High Deck face up starting on the far side of the Self cards and passing clockwise.
      • each card is dealt perpendicular to the last with one short edge facing the cross of the first cards dealt, is the top of the card.
    • III. The Mashkar e Jivendesko (Midwinter) card.
      • dealt to the wheel at twelve o’clock
      • this card represents where the seeker is departing from, and returning to.
    • IV. The Prago e Primaverako (Spring Threshold) card
      • dealt to the wheel at three o’clock
      • this card represents the first leg of the seeker’s journey
    • V. The Mashkar o Milaj (Midsummer) card
      • dealt to the wheel at six o’clock, opposite Mashkar e Jivendesko
      • this card represents the farthest away the seeker journeys from home.
    • VI. The Prago e ćhonesko (Autumn Threshold) card
      • dealt to the wheel at nine o’clock, opposite Prago e Primaverako
      • this card represents the final leg of the seeker’s journey
    • Deal 8 cards from the lesser deck in pairs around the wheel
    • VII. The O vudar (Doorstep) card
      • dealt to the wheel at one o’clock.
      • this card represents that which is sending the seeker on their journey
    • VIII. The Obstàkulo (Obstacle) card
      • dealt to the wheel at two o’clock.
      • this card represents the first challenge to the seeker, holding them back from the Prago e Primaverako and must be overcome before the seeker can cross the Spring Threshold
    • IX. The Amala (Comrades) card
      • dealt to the wheel at four o’clock.
      • this card represents the friend or ally that will help the seeker following the Prago e Primaverako
    • X. The Corripen (Setback) card
      • dealt to the wheel at five o’clock.
      • this card represents a problem or defeat that the seeker must endure before they can move forward to the Mashkar o Milaj
    • XI. The Pauza (Respite) card
      • dealt to the wheel at seven o’clock
      • this card represents the restoration of the seeker following the Mashkar o Milaj
    • XII. The Bibaht (Misfortune) card
      • dealt to the wheel at eight o’clock
      • this card represents unexpected adversity before the seeker can begin their final part of their journey
    • XIII. The Gardeno (Warden) card
      • dealt to the wheel at ten o’clock
      • this card represents the fearsome guardian of the prize the seeker hopes to attain.
    • XIV. The Prèmio (Prize) card
      • dealt to the wheel at eleven o’clock
      • this card represents the reward the seeker earns and brings back to their start at Mashkar e Jivendesko

    After the Prèmio is dealt, the dealer reveals the seeker’s Mandĭn card.

    The Journey

    The reading of the cards is framed as the seeker journeying to discover their fortune. The seeker asks the diviner (dealer) what fortune they want to know. The diviner, as they read the cards, describe what each card means in context of it’s position. Since the four Thresholds (Mashkar e Jivendesko, Prago e Primaverako, Mashkar o Milaj, and Prago e ćhonesko) are dealt before the remainder of the wheel, the reading can only be made after all the cards are dealt.

    Following the Prèmio card being dealt to the wheel, the diviner leads the seeker through the journey of the wheel. The diviner reads the wheel, starting with the Maskar e Jivendesco and Ègo and progressing clockwise.

    The beginning of the journey, represented by the O vudar, Obstàkulo, and the Prago e Primaverako cards are read together as a “Spring Season” of the Journey. Prago e Primaverako translates to “Spring Threshold”. The Spring Season represents the conditions of the journey’s start (the O vudar) and the first real obstacle before arriving at the Spring Threshold (the Obstàkulo). The Spring Threshold card reveals the first turning point of the journey, showing a place or person that will point the seeker forward. It is the reward for taking on the journey.

    The next part of the journey, represented by the Amala, Corripen, and the Mashkar o Milaj cards are read together as a “Summer Season” of the Journey. Mashkar o Milaj is Midsummer and is the midpoint of the journey, The Summer Season is the first half of the pilgrimage through the wilderness towards their fortune. In Summer, allies and comrades are found, setbacks are endured and Midsummer is the threshold to the deepest, and most dangerous part of the journey.

    The deepest part of the journey, represented by Pauza, Bibaht and the Prago e ćhonesko are read together as the “Autumn Season” of the Journey. The Prago e ćhonesko, the Autumn Threshold, is the place where the Self is killed and reborn. The Autumn Season starts with a short rest, but quickly descends into misfortune until the seeker confronts the parts of themselves that they must change before they can complete the journey. These three cards unveil the form that the events take.

    Passing through the deepest shadow of the Autumn Threshold the end of the journey is represented by Gardeno, Prèmio, and the Mashkar e Jivendesko cards. Read together, these cards are the “Winter Season” and when the Mashkar e Jivendesko is read, signifying the return of the seeker to where they started, the Mandĭn is revealed showing the seeker what their fortune makes them into.

    Storytelling with Divination

    Divination like cartomancy can be effective in helping Game Masters and Players tell stories at the table. Beyond the scene where the fortune-teller lays cards out on their velvet table, the fortunes themselves become the seed of new stories. This can be utilized to develop bespoke adventures that are tailored to the characters.

    When developing story in this manner, the reading should be for the entire group as a whole, instead of individuals. While personal, individual readings can motivate the subject directly, it does focus a lot of the burden on that character and the other members of the party can start to feel like sidekicks. Even in a focused reading, as GM, make sure to include the other characters in the interpretation.

    An option, likely the simplest, but still, the most challenging to design around is to use the reading as a form of emergent storytelling. Neither the GM, nor the players know what the cards are going to tell them, and when the reading is complete, there is an outline for a story arc. Everyone involved should make notes about the reading, because those notes will maintain a level of consistency and fate to the adventure as it progresses. As a GM, consult with the players as to what they want the fortune to mean for their characters. The point here is to follow the player’s choices and interpret their fortune, not to build a railroad that forces them onto the predetermined route to the end.

    A second option, which requires a little more work, but will be easier to design around is to stack the deck prior to the reading. Again, with the players’ input, figure out what they want the fortune to mean. The GM then can select cards and place them in an order that will conform to the players’ intentions. Again, everyone should take notes regarding the reading, and the point remains to follow these designs to guide the characters to their fortune, and avoid railroading them to a destination.

    A third option is to use the divination as a Red Herring. This is not to suggest that the divination is false, but that interpretations vary and can mislead. As with the previous options, it’s up to the Game Master and Players to discuss as to what the fortune means. However, the GM should re-interpret the reading to subvert the players’ intentions towards their characters.

    The Vaghanesqa Ròdho is designed to resemble the Hero’s Journey to make the design of a narrative easier. The four thresholds serve as turning points in the story with the lesser cards acting as story elements. Other reading layouts can be adapted with a little thought and effort. Divinations are ways of telling the story of the future regardless of the means used to tell fortunes.

    .

  • Religion in the City of Miseries

    Religion in the City of Miseries

    The Doctrine of the Vyara Zabor Church and the Faith of Cults

    Within Arjenvís, there is but one recognized religious institution, the Vyara Zabor Church. The Church provides a structure and stability to the lives of Arjenvís’ citizens which the Vlatza or the Boyars of the Canton cannot. The Priesthood comforts, the Biurokratyzm manages, and the Inquisition enforces Church Doctrine. The divine mysteries of the Vyara Zabor Church are reserved for these institutions, the faithful need not know anything more than service to Arjenvís in this life will be rewarded with joy everlasting in the next.

    While the Vyara Zabor Church is the sole legal religion in Arjenvís, there remain several underground cults operating in secret and offering a personal connection with the subject of worship. All are outlawed by law and each cult cell is under constant threat of being attacked by the Inquisition and it’s congregation condemned to torture and execution.

    The Vyara Zabor Church

    The Vyara Zabor Church predates Arjenvís, being but one of many faiths in the region. When the city was founded, Xiezer Dzynis had brought his personal Praladt, Sorzhya Judtzhrenka and she gave the blessings of the Sun-Father over the founding of the settlement. When the first canton were established, Praladt Sorzhya established a temple to the deities of the Vyara Zabor Church and invited priests to serve as faculty within the new temple.


    The Vyara Zabor Church grew along with Arjenvís, enjoying support from the Vlatza of the Kziazekyr (I Canton) and the Boyars of the others. As the city grew larger and larger, the Biurokratyzm also became more deeply rooted in the byzantine administration of Church and City. Prelate Sorzhya’s successor, Aandton became Starszy Praladt, an office which evolved into the modern Arzykapwan.


    A little more than five hundred years before the present day, the magical prowess of the priesthood began to wane. As priests lost the ability to work divine magic over the decades, the Arzykapwan Carythni declared the age of miracles to have ended, and Church doctrine branded the practice of divine magic to be heretical and the work of fiendish spirits. The order of the Inquisition was established to enforce this doctrine throughout Arjenvís.

    Today, the Vyara Zabor Church no longer worships the deities that Praladt Sorzhya brought to the founding of the city so many years ago. The stories surrounding those deities are dismissed as mythology, and used as metaphorical lessons to teach the young lessons in morality, rather than introducing them to the power and majesty of the pantheon.

    The Vyara Zabor Church defends and perpetuates the class distinctions within Arjenvís.  It is through the doctrine of the Church that the lot of the poor classes remain in servitude to the aristocracy.  All social traditions, childbirth, prayer, marriage, work and service are dictated by the Church and in some cases (mostly revolving around work and marriage) enforced by the Boyars.

    The object of worship of the Vyara Zabor Church in Arjenvís is the city itself.  Arjenvís is presented as mother and father both, and the people as children of the city itself.  To this end, the Vyara Zabor Church prohibits worship of any competing Deity or Faith.

    The Vyara Zabor Church is a hierarchical organization with their head in the office of the Arzykapwan (ar-zee-KAP-van). They preside over the council of Praladt who in turn preside over the church Priesthood.

    The Biurokratyzm, however is far more politically powerful, being the church administrators. Often it is the Zarzad (the Administrative Directorate) which selects the members of the Paladt when the seats need filled. It falls to the clerks within the Biurokratyzm to maintain the records and collect the tithings.

    The Inquisition enforces the orthodoxy of the Church, investigating heresy and punishing those who stray beyond the doctrine. The Inquisition operates outside of the hierarchy of the Vyara Zabor Church, answerable to the Praladt council and the Arzykawan. Individual Inquisitors have broad authority to pursue their investigations into heresy throughout Arjenvís acting as judge, jury and executioner. The Wylki Inkvizyor (weel-KEE ink-VEEZ-eeor) or “Grand Inquisitor” sits in supreme judgment of Church Dogma, subject only to the authority of the Arzykapwan.

    The Vyara Zabor Church is very rigid in it’s traditions and insistence on being the sole legal Church in Arjenvís. Priests minister to their congregations, reinforcing Zaborisc doctrine and dogma through sermons and acting as the authority between the Church and the people.

    When someone joins the Priesthood or the Biurokratyzm, they leave their families behind, swearing their first allegiance to the Church itself in the person of the Arzykapwan. Marriages are encouraged to remain internal to this subculture, with children born of these unions dedicated to the church in the same manner as their parents.

    If anyone within the Church hierarchy wishes to marry outside it, they are required to expunge themselves from their duty and position before doing so. Such people must acquire dispensation from the Biurokratyzm, and though the process is legal, it is strongly discouraged. Those who do expunge themselves in this manner find themselves (and their spouses and children) forsaken by both Church and shunned by the citizenry.

    Outlaw Cults and Heresy

    Even after the Arzykapwan Crythni wrote the Proclaimation of Orthodoxy and declared the worship of deities heresy, some people within Arjenvís clung to faith in their old Gods. Relics and artifacts were hidden, shrines were moved to secret, hidden places. Clerics, especially those blessed by their gods with power over the undead were forced to keep their magic hidden lest they be dragged before the Inquisition and judged.

    The Sun-Father was the original patron deity of Arjenvís. Some of the evidence of faith continues to live on within the Vyara Zabor Church in runes and symbols. But ever since the Morning of the Black Dawn, the Sun-Father’s connection to Arjenvís has weakened almost to nothing. Still, there are very small cults throughout the city that look to the sky during Midsummer and pray that the Sun-Father returns and delivers Arjenvís from the monsters and misery

    The Suffering Martyr is a deity that is widespread among the lower classes. The deity is an exemplar of resilience and endurance in the face of horrible adversity. The Suffering Martyr is a deity of hope and mercy. Within the Brzek Kreft there is a miracle, a well, the Zdnuthia Issekah provides clean, fresh water. It has resisted all attempts to tear it down (it is back on the following morning) or befoul the waters (the poisons and pollutants are purified the moment they contact the water in the well) or even prevent people from visiting the well (there are ruins surrounding the plaza where the well rests that stand testament to all the times the Vyara Zabor Church or the Boyars (except for the Mysv) tried to wall the location off). It is a divine miracle in the face of denial. The Inquisition maintains a watch over the location and tries to discover the identities of people who come to the well and draw water.

    Of course there are multiple Feindish cults in Arjenvís, even among the Aristocracy, promising power, wealth, luxury, anything the mortal heart desires. Representatives of most of the Demon Lords and Archdevils can be found as the guides and objects of devotion of one cult or another. Still, the authorities of Arjenvís and the Inquisition zealously hunt these cults down and crush them. For Arjenvís holds a monopoly on inflicting misery, and jealously guards her domain.

    Monsters in Priestly Vestments

    Like all who are in positions of authority within Arjenvís, the leadership of the Vyara Zabor Church are all monsters. Primarily, they are predatory intelligent undead (vampires, ghouls, liches and so forth). This is one of many reasons that Divine magic and Clerical abilities are outlawed in Arjenvís, after all, it wouldn’t do for the undead masters of the Church to turn themselves.

    But, there is an additional layer of monstrosity within the Vyara Zabor Church. Even though the undead in leadership often possessed near-miraculous abilities (or at least abilities that could be presented as “miraculous”, there are both undead and mortal clergyfolk that are sworn to Arjenvís as Warlocks.

    The City of Miseries as a Warlok Patron The Undying (from the Sword Coast Adventurers Guide supplement). This patron should not be generally be available to player characters, since the theme of most campaigns in Arjenvís is the struggle to escape and survive the city. The abilities of the Undying patron Warlock, like the powers of the undead mentioned above are often passed as miracles and blessings from Arjenvís. The Warloks also serve to undermine the power of Divine Magic in the city, presenting the façade that the Vyara Zabor Church bestows power and blessings on it’s faithful too, through the priesthood of course.

    Conclusion

    The City of Miseries does not abide a challenge to it’s control over the suffering of it’s people. She jealously guards her possession of the people who live within her walls and obsesses over the mortals she steals from other worlds and cities. The comfort and hope that the Gods can bring to the people of Arjenvís is not tolerated. Mercy is not a luxury that can be found here, even by the wealthiest, and most powerful denizens. The Vyara Zabor Church sees to that.

  • Rats in the Slums

    Rats in the Slums

    The Wererats of Arjenvís

    VIII Canton, the Brzek Kreft (“verge of blood”), is home to the least and lowest of the inhabitants of Arjenvís. It stretches along the Southeastern bank of the Nozca Kreft river below the Jyarmarck (VII Canton), East of the Nozca Stok (III Canton), and wraps along the Linia Rynkowa road (the “Market Line” the border between the Jyarmarck and the Brezk Kreft) all the way East to the bottom of the Prohodt (“processional”), the road that leads from the great gates of Arjenvis to the seat of Arjenvís power, the Kziazekyr.


    The Brzek Kreft, is a warren of tight alleys, ramshackle buildings and workhouses. For the first 60 years of Arjenvís, the Brzek Kreft was a semi-permanent shantytown that grew outside the walls of the founding Cantons. Homeless and undesirable people denied a place to live within the walls of the city congregated here.


    The laborers in the Black Ridge Mines crowd the workhouses of the Trzy Makti (the “Three Mothers”) and are daily marched through the Wohz Wohlu Gate into the Norzca Stok canton. On the far side of VIII Canton, The Dommzey Tzlote workhouse provides laborers to the industrial fisheries on the Norzca Kreft river.

    The maze of alleys and narrow streets that form the VIII Canton

    The Lords of the Lowest

    Unlike the other canton which climb the slopes of the Judoas Kraigas, the river bottom of Brzek Kreft is ruled by a complex network of cartels that control competing territories throughout the slum.

    The leadership of the cartels are the nearest monsters to humanity in all of Arjenvís. Wererats. The wererat curse affects most mortal people. Humans, Halflings, Dwarves, even Orcs and Goblinkind can be brought into a nest of wererats.

    The head of the largest cartel in the Brzek Kreft, the Svenzy sits on the council of Boyars for all of Arjenvís. Called “The Myzj”, this lord of wererats may not be the strongest, or the most powerful wizard or priest of the city, but they have the tightest control over VIII Canton. Every rat from the banks of the Nozca Kreft river to the walls surrounding the First Canton, the Kziazkeyr are their spies. Even the mighty Striogi Boyars and the Vlatza himself cannot fully control the legions of rats as effectively as the Myzj.

    Wererats, even the wererats of the Brzek Kreft live in symbiotic community with both the people and the rats of the cities they inhabit. They remain monstrous, their curse pushing them to acts of violence and depravity, the spreading of urban entropy throughout their domains. At the same time, they need mortals to live amongst. Unlike more predatory monsters like Vampires, Ghouls and Werewolves, wererats cohabitate rather than dominate.

    Ironically, the mortals of the Brzek Kreft are, as a rule, happier than the residents of the more prosperous canton in Arjenvís. The wererats of the cartels, while preventing Brzek Kreft from developing beyond the poor slum that it has been since it grew out of the shantytown along the shore of the Nozca Kreft don’t visit horrors among their mortals. The least of the citizens of Arjenvís are thereby shielded from the nightly predations of the nobility.

    A Slum of Ghettos

    The Brzek Kreft is divided into several Ghettos.  Some, like the Ratzveny ghetto is centered around an institution, in this case the Szvenzy Cartel and the Myzj. Other ghettos are ethnic enclaves, like Hravzton, where Goblins, Halflings and Gnomes have built a community scaled to accommodate their stature, or the Klaarg, where the Szef of the Kuznia presides over his clan of Dwarves.  Still others are defined by their architecture or location like the Zdunthia Issekah or the Obuz.  In all cases a ghetto is governed by its own cartel. Those cartels, much like the ghettos themselves are constantly changing as their fortunes rise and fall.

    The Brzek Kreft has little in the way of formal infrastructure.  Its streets are not uniformly wide, nor uniformly paved (if they’re paved at all).  The sewers are a chaotic tangle of warren-like tunnels which are barely adequate for the purpose of draining rainfall from the streets, and wholly inadequate for keeping the place free of filth.  Brzek Kreft began as a shantytown, and in the decades since has only grown.

    The two primary industries in the Brzek Kreft are the workhouses which provide cheap labor to the factories and mines throughout Arjenvís, and the fisheries along the Nozca Kreft river which process the cheapest catches and unsold fish from the markets at the end of the day.

    It deserves mentioning that prostitution, or similar sex-work is not considered illicit, nor confined to the Brzek Kreft. While the cartels certainly use the profession as a means to generate revenue and provide services to the population, a prostitute, courtesan, or exotic dancer is no more or less specialized than a dockworker or a tradesman. Even in a City of Miseries, sex work remains work.

    Factions Within the Brzek Kreft

    The largest and most powerful organization within the Brzek Kreft is the Szvenzy Cartel. The Szvenzy receive tribute and fealty from all the other cartels eventually, whether directly as a “tax”, or indirectly when smaller cartels pay their tribute to the cartels over them.

    There are several major cartels that rival the Szvenzy, but are as yet unable to challenge them.

    1. The Lukzen Klaarg is an extended clan of people from an underground ancestry, Dwarves, Goblins,some Orcs and some Humans. The Lukzen both run the sewers beneath the Brzek Kreft and the miners who work the Czarny Grzbiet mine. All cartels of course operate in all facets of life within the Brzek Kreft, but the Lukzen are very successful as smugglers, avoiding the city’s more oppressive taxes and supplying various forms of contraband.
    2. The Ezka Cartel operate along the banks of the Nozca Kreft river along both banks, they jealously guard this lucrative terriroty. Only the Szvenzy are permitted to operate in the Ezka territory freely, and only then because the Ezka are unable to stop them.
    3. The Sheroty Cartel work near and within the Jyarmarck markets. They run protection, and petty theft there as well as extortion, blackmail, and secrets. The Sheroty adopt young, often orphaned or otherwise neglected children to become a part of their cartel, and as these children grow into adults, they are free to join other cartels in the Brzek Kreft or remain as recruiters or lieutenants of the Sheroty.
    4. The Toleria Cartel run most of the gambling houses and games in the Brzek Kreft. They loan money, regulate the houses and arrange events for their customers to wager on. While not as refined as the high stakes games that the more affluent cantons offer, these events do draw aristocratic patronage in the form of “slumming”.
    5. The Pralnia Cartel fence stolen goods throughout the Brzek Kreft. They also sanction and regulate many of the larger robberies of Noble households, and launder the more recognizable loot. The Pralnia Cartel also adjudicates and administers contract theft for clients
    6. The Zrebne Cartel is the only cartel in Brzek Kreft that engages in only one activity. The Zrebne are assassins and contract killers. They do not engage in other rackets that other cartels do. They are also not the exclusive cartel that engages in contract murder. They are the premier organization that can be employed for contract killings, and the Zrebne Cartel collect contracts throughout Arjenvís.
    7. The Vyara Zabor Church aggressively maintains a presence in the Brzek Kreft. The Priesthood is most prominent here. Since there is very little political influence Brzek Kreft has within Arjenvís itself, the Biurokratyzm are much less interested in the slum. Indeed, administrative assignment to the Ozmye Skron temple is considered a “punishment posting” among the ambitious clerics. The Inquisition is very active in Brzek Kreft as the crowded, lawless slum and it’s ghettos teeming with the desperate poor is ever rife with heresy. Most of the Inquisitorial order within the church begin their careers here, since opportunity to exercise their authority is abundant and oversight is lax.

    It’s October, and spooky season, so for this month I’ll be exploring my Fantasy Horror setting of Arjenvís, originally introduced in this blog here. Happy Halloween if you celebrate, or Samhain, or Dia de los Muertos. Stay safe, have fun, and brave your fears.

  • A City of Miseries

    A City of Miseries

    Arjenvís; part 1

    Somewhere within the DezzyVerse, the city of Arjenvís is a world unto itself. No one travels to Arjenvís, no one seeks it out. For Arjenvís is alive, and it hungers for mortals and their souls. Arjenvís draws their victims in through dreams, steals them away when they are wandering lost, takes them from the alleys and streets and tunnels.

    Founding

    Arjenvís was built on the Zyle Wednye cape at a slow bend in the Erixahn river, where the Nozca Kreft empties. The cape rises to a thousand feet above the river. A commanding point that could control the river from the bend all the way to the sea.

    The Zyle Wednye ridge held another treasure that would make Arjenvís grow into a metropolis of 125,000 souls at it’s peak. Wegnvia Coal burned hotter and longer than any other feul known. The Zyle Wednye ridge was rich in it. Mining coal built the city into a powerhouse. The Wliajenya mine carved endless tunnels below the ridge, a black maze of stifling heat, fumes and coal dust.

    Factories, mills and workhouses grew within the city to build it’s population. The workhouses especially, prisons really, fed countless lives to the mine to dig Wegnvia Coal. The hunger for more bodies to work the mine developed a brisk trade in the commodity of people. The aristocracy of Arjenvís, the Vlatza who ruled the city, the Boyars who governed it’s 13 canton, the Arzpralak and Praladts of the Vyara Zabor Church bought and sold the undesired and desperate from kingdoms and realms everywhere that the Wegnvia Coal was demanded.

    The city became prosperous and wealthy above, and an industrial nightmare of suffering below. The excesses and debauchery of the aristocracy, grown wealthy beyond the dreams of avarice, the desperate poverty of the smallfolk crowding the slums of the Brzek Kreft, serfs working the fields of “the shift” on the low shore of the Erixahn, and the suffering and hopelessness of the indentured laborers in the depths of the Wliajenya mine awoke something, foul in the heart of the city.

    The twelve canton of Arjenvís, the City of Miseries. Map by the Author

    The Black Burning Dawn

    The hungers of Arjenvís became so great that the common folk rose up to demand some measure of humanity upon the monstrous inhumanity of the Vlatza and the Boyars. What began as a labor strike, spread from the Wliajenya mine to the workhouses, and to all the desperate poor of Arjenvís. Not since the Beggars’ War have the masses of Arjenvís swollen underclass expressed their anger and rage against their overlords. The labor strike turned into an uprising and then a revolt. Every effort to end the violence only amplified the horror and the evil within the City of Miseries.

    A march of striking smallfolk clogged the Prohodt (the wide boulevard that climbed the back slope of the Zyle Wednye ridge to the palace of Kziaze Dwohr) until the armed soldiers of the city guard masacred them. The revolt turned into a revolution with the Noble estates and households under siege and assassinations being carried out almost nightly. Reprisal fallowed reprisal and blood flowed freely in the streets Arjenvís for more than a month.

    One morning, before dawn, the Boyars’ army of household soldiers and mercenaries marched on the Wliajenya Gate, the stronghold that controlled both the access to the mines, and the Glenvoky Road that winds down to the north face of the Zyle Wednye to the Trzy Makti (“Three Mothers”) workhouses, center of the strike and the revolt. Supported by new magic from the priests of the Vyara Zabor church and “Mazynik” (Automata), a bloody battle pushed down Glenvoky Road towards the Trzy Makti and into the Wliajenya mine, inflicting terrible casualties on the smallfolk regardless if they were fighting, surrendering, or fleeing.

    When dawn came it was different from any sunrise anyone had ever witnessed. It began with a green-blue glow on the horizon. The sun rose as a black circle in the sky burning from below in green, blue and violet flames. Fighting throughout the city abruptly stopped as the horror rose in the sky. Panic washed over the city as people sought a reason for the Black Burning Dawn.

    Under that sun, the aristocracy of Arjenvís underwent sudden metamorphosis. As the Black Burning Sun crossed the sky the mortal members of the noble households changed from mortal folk to monsters. They became preadators, vampires, werewolves, ghouls, ghasts, liches and hundreds of others whose curse defies definition. The common mortal folk were reduced to half-alive husks, their souls consumed by the city.

    The Curse of Arjenvís

    Arjenvís is “alive”. While other realms of terror have a singular figure as the source of evil in their domain, Arjenvís is both the source of evil and the domain itself. The majority of it’s native population, the smallfolk who worked the mines, filled the workhouses and toiled in the fields are now half-alive parodies of their former selves. They provide sustenance (of a sort) to the monstrous fiends that Arjenvís transformed it’s nobility into. Vampires can feed on them, and avoid starving, but they will not grow strong, nor feel the rush of life that they would when feeding on a mortal being with a soul.

    The half-alive also are unable to die, even if their corpus is destroyed, or consumed, they will arise as flesh-and-blood from the depths of the Wliajenya Mine and return to their pantomime lives, until misfortune befalls them once more. The monsters are similarly trapped in this cycle of rebirth. Arjenvís never lets it’s people go.

    Arjenvís trapped time itself. The same year in the city repeats itself over and over again in a monotonous churn. No new children are born (save for those born during this cursed year away) no one ages, no one dies. Even those who would have died of natural causes during the year find themselves reborn within the Wliajenya Mine.

    The unholy hunger of Arjenvís will never be satisfied by the half-alive, or the monstrous aristocracy. The City of Miseries reaches out across the Cosmos and draws in mortal victims and ensnares them into it’s fog-shrouded and blood-drenched streets. Escaping Arjenvís is nearly impossible, approaching the city gates will inexplicably relocate the hostage to another canton within the city. The fugitive will turn a corner, and find themselves in another place, wandering the streets. Escaping on the Erixahn or Nozca Kreft rivers is similarly frustrating. The raft or boat clears a bend in the river and finds itself approaching Arjenvís again. If there are secret ways out, they either remain undiscovered or are jealously guarded by a scant few.

    Dark Streets, Dark Hearts

    Art by Kazitier

    There are several centers of power within Arjenvís, The city is ruled by the Vlatza Juliusz Dzynis, each canton is governed by Boyars, the Vyara Zabor Church is ruled by the Arzykapwan (High Bishop) through their Praladt (Bishops) and their Kziadz (Priests). Even before the Black Burning Dawn, there were feuds and rivalries among the institutions and households in Arjenvís. The Curse has changed very little. The old hatreds have not died.

    The Kolegium was responsible for the technological advancements in Arjenvís, Wegnvia Coal burns at temperatures which allow for the wonders of steam power and clockwork engines. The wonders of the Kolegium workshops have become steampunk terrors after the Black Burning Dawn. The Inżynierowie (Engineers) have been transformed in the same manner of the nobility and the church.

    Life in Arjenvís is cheap and violent. Even death may not permit escape.

  • I’m not crazy, I’m just a little unwell

    I’m not crazy, I’m just a little unwell

    I know, right now, you can’t tell

    …with apologies to Matchbox 20 for using their lyrics in my title.

    I was introduced to Call of Cthulhu right after Dungeons and Dragons. My friends and I had all sorts of those thin little boxed editions from Chaosium back in the 80s. The Sanity mechanic they pioneered was, if you’ll forgive me, mind-bending. Our characters weren’t just at risk of death that would remove them from play, they could lose their minds! The horrors of the Mythos could break them beyond the players’ ability to play them.

    Over four, nearly five, decades that mechanic has evolved and has been adapted to the point where, “making a SAN check” or “lost some Sanity Points” is a part of our gaming language, beyond horror roleplaying or even tabletop gaming. We can even say it’s part of the fabric of gaming.

    But things change…

    Those terms; santiy, insanity, crazy, they’re all antiquated at best, and prejudiced at worst. They perpetuate a stigma towards real-world neurodivergent or traumatized people. I kinda get it, this is a game, make believe, there aren’t any Shoggoths, or Vampires, or Secret Math that breaks people’s mental and emotional stability.

    There is real world trauma, though. People are subjected to all to real horrors, and just like the body can be injured, so can the mind. People can be born with physical impairments and people are also born with neuro-divergent conditions. These people play tabletop roleplaying games too. They want to portray aspects of themselves in their own stories too.

    My change to terminology

    I am renaming a lot of the terms in this mechanic going forward in my games. A characters replacement for their sanity pool I’m calling Stability. Damage and checks are re-termed as Stress. Effects of accumulated stress are re-termed as Trauma. Enforced behavior from Trauma I’m calling Compulsions.

    The mechanic is the same as that found in all the editions of Call of Cthulhu, or Basic Roleplaying. It’s just the terminology that changes. Instead of making Sanity checks, the player makes Stability checks, they suffer Stress instead of Sanity Damage, and they develop Traumas instead of Insanity.

    Delta Green

    The Call of Cthulhu based game Delta Green by Arc Dream Publishing adds a new twist to this mechanic that I love. Agents in Delta Green all start with 5 bonds with NPCs, representing family, friends, lovers, contacts and peers. They can develop more through roleplaying during game play, and each bond has a score between 1 and their Charisma score. The higher the score, the stronger the bond is.

    Bonds can be spent in place of reducing Stress. For every point of a Bond used in this manner the amount of Stress taken is reduced by the same amount. When a Bond’s score reaches zero, it’s broken, and the NPC is estranged from the Agent. I love how this simulates the toll that a horror campaign takes on the characters, stealing the people in their lives and isolating them. Agents in Delta Green, as they learn more and more secrets become less and less relatable until they are all alone in a dingy, empty room surrounded by corkboard and string.

    I’ll be adding and adapting this mechanic to my future horror campaigns.

    Conclusion

    Tabletop gaming continues to evolve. There was a time, especially in the horror genre where consent was really not offered, and when it was asked for, the player was told (rather condescendingly) that “it’s just make believe, stop being so sensitive”. Shock horror techniques involving blood, gore, violations and over-the-top violence was common, and reflected the media era that tabletop evolved with. It didn’t matter if things like sexual assault or extreme violence harmed some players, it was expected that if you sat down at a table for a game of horror you as the player were agreeing to be exposed to these things.

    We’ve come a rather long way in forty years. Consent is a large part of this progress. The recognition of a social contract at the gaming table is transforming our hobby to one of shared experience. I think this adjustment in terminology is a small step in pushing the appeal of gaming forward. If referring to a character’s mental state as being Stable and Stressed helps a player feel less judged for their own struggles, especially if they keep those struggles to themselves, this is a good thing. If everyone at the table is empowered to express what boundaries they have without fear of judgement prevents hurtful mistakes that invokes a trauma that affects the player, then we can tell better stories with one another.

    Older gamers, elder nerds are no longer gatekeepers to the clubhouse, checking everyone’s tolerance and understanding of details. We have a responsibility to new and old players alike to use the experience we have earned at the table to make these games a fun escape for everyone who wants to join in.