Manitou Monday: The Cordon Bruja for Deadlands & SWADE

The Cordon Bruja or Witch in Lace, haunts the boomtowns of the West, a shadowy guardian of women who have been the prey of black-hearted and abusive men. The legend holds that a new Bride witnessed her husband's murder by three men looking to lie low from the law and fate made them choose their homestead on the day of their wedding. After killing her husband they savagely attacked, tortured, and hung the Bride on their properties lone tree. 

As the breath left the Bride, who still wore the tattered remains of her bridal gown, her terror and rage caught the attention of a sinister manitou known as Vengaza. The manitou promised a slow and agonizing death to the three men who destroyed her life and the Bride's answer was swift and certain. However, Vengaza was stunned by the Bride's will as the manitou had planned a long and brutal run of atrocities using her corpse, but it could not gain control of the new Harrowed. Vegnaza had taken notice of the woman because of her magical talent for witchcraft but it realized too late that it had vastly underestimated the woman' power.

It wasn't Vengaza but the Bride...no...the Witch in Lace, who spent the next 13 days slowly torturing the three men who took everything from her and so many others as they each confessed their crimes while begging for death. 

Vengaza is now trapped by the Witch, who has begun hunting for other such predators, a vigilant and brutal angel of grim retribution, but for some the only ally they have left.

CORDON BRUJA 

Wild Card

Parry 6 | Tough 8 | Pace 10 (d10) | 

Athletics d6 | Fighting d10 

(claws d6 + d4) | Shooting d6 | 

Spellcasting d10 | Intimidation d8,

Notice d8, Stealth d8 | Ag d8, Sm d10, 

Sp d10, St d6, Vi d6 | Edges Arcane 

Background (Magic), Improved 

Arcane Resistance, Level Headed | 

Special Abilities Undead, Wall Walker | 

Power Points 20 | Powers Arcane Protection, 

Blind, Bolt, Confusion, Dispel, 

Drain Power Points, Havoc, Fear, Fly, 

Mirror Self, Protection, Shape Change 

Spotlight on City Guard Chronicles: The Case of the Misguided Lover for Savage Worlds

I have always had a soft spot for fantasy city settings like Lankhmar, Sanctuary, Ankh-Morpork, and the City-State of the Invisible Overlord and in the early days of this blog I created Jarlsburg, my ode to each of them.

Recently, the City Guard Chronicles: The Case of the Misguided Lover was released by Jan Jetmar and Cyril Ronseaux for Savage Worlds Adventure Edition and I purchased it immediately. It was an easy decision as both have done excellent fantasy supplements for SWADE such as Tomes and Prayers, Wand Magic,  and Wizards and Mystics.

The product comes in at 37 pages and gives you an overview of The City and ideas on which cities it would be in settings like Golarion, Eberron, and Hellfrost.

What follows is a tale of murder, betrayal, demonic pacts, and vengeance that is clearly laid out on a timeline starting 9 days before the adventure begins (what a great tool). The organization and lay-out are great for an over-busy Game Master and the scenes it shares leave plenty of room for any improvisation that might be necessary.

I don't want to give the plot away but I think it nails an investigative approach that paints those involved with enough complexity that their varies crimes are relatable and and layered.

I've been looking for a Savage Worlds setting I can run on nights our primary GM is unavailable and this is a great way to kick off a return to Jarlsburg for me and I can't wait for more City Guard Chronicles.

You can purchase it here.

Death's Head Keep: Level 3, Room 1 for the ShadowDark RPG #Dungeon23

Welcome to Level 3 of Death's Head Keep. I'm switching things up as I'm going to use the ShadowDark RPG, whose Kickstarter launched today, for this level. 

If you want to check it out here is a link to its Free Quickstart.

Level 1 starts here and Level 2 starts here and both used Savage Worlds Adventure Edition.

A hexagonal room opens before you with ceilings at least 20' high. There is a large well in the middle of the room and two doors, made of a white wood, to the Northeast and the Southwest.

• The well is more than large enough for a grown human to fit in. There is small orangish light at its bottom far below. A DC 12 Wisdom Check reveals it is 120' deep and what you are seeing is a Glow Stone whose enchantments typically last 3 to 4 months. If your Check is an 18 or higher you detect a strong smell of copper.
       Climbing down without a rope is a DC 15 Dexterity or Strength Check as the walls are very slick and it takes about 20 minutes. Three failed climbing rolls results in 10d6 damage.With a rope no check is required and it takes about 5 minutes.
       At 40’ deep the walls flares out to reveal more of the cavern below. A DC 12 Wisdom check reveals that the smell of copper is coming from a small lake of blood at the bottomd and the Glow Stone is resting on a high spot out of it. A DC 18 Intelligence check reveals this is the lair of a minor demon known as a Thewgorger and the Glow Stone is merely the top of its head. These demons consume every part of their meal accept the blood. It cannot climb the walls, but will pursue on the rope.
  
  Thewgorger
  Nightmarish and sleek predator with a huge mouth of razor sharp fangs.
  AC 14, HP 24, ATK 1 bite +4 (2d6), MV near,
  S +4, D +2, C +3, I -2, W +0, Ch -3, AL C, LV 3
  
• The door to the Northeast is locked. A DC 15 Intelligence Check identifies the white wood of the door as Cloud Oak or Cotton Oak. It is rare and mostly found in the Summerlands to the South where it is considered sacred to the their druids. If the check is 20 or higher you know that the they follow the Ivory Path and they flay trespassers then display their bones at the edges of their territory.
      A DC 15 Dexterity Check will open the door’ lock, which is not trapped, and reveals a 10' x 10' armory whose shelves are nearly empty. There are 17 crossbow bolts, 1 hand crossbow, 1 maul, 1 morning star, 1 rapier, and 2 short swords.
       A DC 18 Wisdom check reveals a hidden shelf at the far end of the room that has a Potion of Invisibility (turn invisible for 10 minutes, 2 doses) and a black Pearl of Power (once per day, you may regain the ability to cast a spell you have lost; this cannot restore a spell lost due to a Critical Spellcasting failure).
• The door to the Southwest is made of the same wood as above and is not locked. It leads to Room 2 on this Level.