u/Evandro_Novel

Continuing an Ironsworn campaign based on a hex map of Europe and the Mediterranean that I made some time ago and the Al-Rathak setting. The campaign is inspired by the Middle Ages, without any ambition of being historically accurate. Most of this episode is an Extreme Delve into an Ancient Infested Sea-Cave Barrow.

Previous Events: Year 1222. Europe follows the Sun-God Kruss; the southern lands worship Qamar, the Moon-Goddess. Xatìra, a young Greek woman from Lemnos, travels south after finding a sacred amulet, eventually reaching the city of Anipsed with her companions the jackal Opher, the shapeshifter Massan, and Baseria, a Watcher of the Tower. There, they rescue a Rhodian merchant kidnapped by the sorcerer Iblis, and learn that Iblis and the vampire general Qarif have summoned the Efreet Prince Zadid. The only weapon capable of stopping Zadid, the Sword of Sania, is stolen from the Rhodian Merchant Guild. They discover that the sword is now in the hands of the vampire sorceress Omira, aboard the pirate ship The Midnight Cloud. Xatìra and Opher infiltrate the ship, but Omira and her octopoid demon defeat and capture them.

This Episode: The Midnight Cloud sets sail. The next day, the octopoid demon Fasarib sends Xatìra a telepathic message: the ship is headed to the Shrouded Palace, a large burial place that has temporarily emerged from the sea. There, they will both have a chance to break free from Omira. After a couple of days of travel, they see the island. Omira and Kassef, one of the pirates, bind Xatìra and Opher and lead them into the Palace. They pass through rooms decorated with large sculptures of sea creatures. They are confronted by a large swordfish-man, who appears to be disturbed by the presence of Opher. After a fight in which both Xatìra and Opher are wounded, they manage to escape to the remains of a shipwreck on a beach, but the fishman pursues them, attacks again, and kills Opher! They enter the Palace again, but as they pass through a monumental portal, the passage is flooded with water: Xatìra loses consciousness and risks drowning, but she is saved by Omira and Kassef. They go deeper into the Palace; in several rooms, Omira stops to cast spells whose purpose remains obscure. There is another fight, this time with giant bats, and Kassef is killed. When they reach a mass grave, Omira resurrects the twenty tritons of the Sea-King’s guard, but when they enter the throne room, the king orders the tritons to kill the sorceress. Xatìra recovers the Sword of Sania from the body. The Sea-King summons Fasarib and orders him to take Xatìra back to Anipsed and to help her stop Zadid.

More details here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Ironsworn/comments/1v87axd/xatìra_and_the_dead_15_omira_the_vampire_sorceress/

Al-Rathak: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/it/product/514988/al-rathak-tales-of-the-crescent-kingdom

Continuing an Ironsworn campaign based on a hex map of Europe and the Mediterranean that I made some time ago and the Al-Rathak setting. The campaign is inspired by the Middle Ages, without any ambition of being historically accurate. Xatìra and her allies are currently city-crawling in Anipsed, capital of the Sultanate.

Previous Events: Year 1222. Europe follows the Sun-God Kruss; the southern lands worship Qamar, the Moon-Goddess. Xatìra, a young Greek woman from Lemnos, survives a pirate attack and finds on her victim's body an amulet from Kamil, a shrine of the Shadowed Qamarims. She vows to return it, travels south, meets the Mad Caliph Tarbak in Egypt, and reaches Kamil, only to find it sacked by the vampire general Qarif, allied with the traitor sorcerer Iblis. Befriending the shapeshifter Massan, the Watcher of the Tower Baseria, and a jackal she names Opher, Xatìra agrees to help Dorello, an Italian agent of the Krussian Emperor-Pope Federicus, in exchange for his promise to finance the Shadowed. Dorello asks Xatìra to travel to the capital city of Anipsed and rescue Crydessa, a Greek merchant kidnapped by Iblis. Xatìra, Opher, Baseria, and Massan reach the city. At the Temple of Anubis, Xatìra learns that Iblis intends to exchange Crydessa for the Sword of Sania, owned by the Rhodian Merchant Guild. They discover where Crydessa is imprisoned and they manage to free her. Xatìra kills the dark sorceress Amila and takes her talisman. They learn that Iblis and Qarif have summoned the Efreet Prince Zadid. The Sword of Sania is the only hope of stopping Zadid, but when they visit the Rhodian Guild, they find that the sword has been stolen. Iblis and Qarif are the obvious suspects. 

This Episode: Massan will investigate on his own, while Xatìra, with Opher and Baseria, visits the guard officer Marah, who helped them rescue Crydessa. They head to the High Bastion fortress and, while crossing the slums, notice recent writings praising the vampire general Qarif and the turmoil he is causing. Marah reveals that Qarif has a new ally in Anipsed: the vampire sorceress Omira. They then visit the Obsidian Steed Inn in the slums, hoping to gather more useful rumors. There, they stumble upon Red Ramia, a mercenary leader employed by Iblis whom Xatìra had met weeks before; Ramia has not noticed them, and they carefully follow her through the city. She first visits the villa of the secretive merchant Darrafi, then heads towards the docks, where she visits the shop of a goldsmith who hands her something. They get lucky again and manage to capture Ramia in a deserted warehouse. They find a newly made gold ring inscribed with magical characters on her. When they ask about the Sword of Sania, Ramia defiantly reveals that Omira is keeping it safe aboard Darrafi's pirate ship, The Midnight Cloud; the ship is ready to leave and well guarded, so they have no hope of recovering the sword. Xatìra asks Baseria to keep Ramia under guard. She hopes that pretending to deliver the ring to Omira will provide a sufficient excuse to infiltrate the ship. But Darrafi's guards are suspicious. Xatìra and Opher must first fight their way aboard, but they are confronted by Omira and her octopoid servant demon. They are forced to surrender and are imprisoned by the vampire sorceress.

Continuing an Ironsworn campaign based on a hex map of Europe and the Mediterranean that I made some time ago and the Al-Rathak setting. The campaign is inspired by the Middle Ages, without any ambition of being historically accurate. My hero is currently city-crawling in Anipsed, capital of the Sultanate.

Previous Events: Year 1222. Europe follows the Sun-God Kruss; the southern lands worship Qamar, the Moon-Goddess. Xatìra, a young Greek woman from Lemnos, survives a pirate attack and finds on her victim's body an amulet from Kamil, a shrine of the Shadowed Qamarims. She vows to return it, travels south, meets the Mad Caliph Tarbak in Egypt, and reaches Kamil, only to find it sacked by the vampire general Qarif, allied with the traitor sorcerer Iblis. Befriending the shapeshifter Massan and a jackal she names Opher, Xatìra follows the tracks of Zakama, High Priestess of the Shadowed. When she finds her, Zakama is dying; with her last words she asks Xatìra to help Dorello, an Italian agent of the Krussian Emperor-Pope Federicus, in exchange for his financing the Shadowed. Xatìra and her companions track Dorello to the Whispering Stone Circle, where they descend into a fortified dungeon, rescuing Baseria, a Greek rogue and Watcher of the Tower, from pursuing cultists. They find Dorello, one of the Sicarii, the imperial assassins, who has killed the Cult Master Nashad and seized the Crying-Skull Mask. Dorello departs to deliver the mask to Tarbak, asking Xatìra to travel to the capital city of Anipsed and rescue Crydessa, a Greek merchant kidnapped by Iblis. Xatìra, Opher, Baseria, and Massan reach the city. At the Temple of Anubis, Massan is captured for trying to pass as a jackal-man, while Xatìra learns that Iblis intends to exchange Crydessa for the Sword of Sania, owned by the Rhodian Merchant Guild. They discover where Crydessa is imprisoned, and they manage to free her. Xatìra kills the dark sorceress Amila and takes her talisman with her. 

This Episode: Crydessa asks the party to escort her to the Temple of Kruss; along the way, they are joined by the friendly Anubian warrior Shargon. At the temple, Bishop Zenos is initially hostile, but the evidence of the party freeing Crydessa finally wins him over. Crydessa will immediately leave Anipsed from the nearby Holy Pier. Shargon offers to buy the Sword of Sania, and Xatìra swears to retrieve the weapon for the Anubians. A dream reveals to Xatìra that Amila’s talisman is related to a scroll in the Great Library of Anipsed. The next day, Xatìra, Baseria, and Opher head to the Hall of the Rhodian Guild, hoping to buy the sword. Along the way, they meet Massan, who has taken the shape of the Libyan prince Al-Saman and escaped from the Anubians; he has found out that Qarif and Iblis have summoned the powerful Efreet Zadid, who has already destroyed a temple of Thoth in the desert; the Anubians hope that Dorello can use the Sword of Sania to send Zadid back to the dark plane from which he emerged. At the guild’s hall, the alchemist Thalenor doesn’t trust Xatìra: he has heard of her previous exploits, and he thinks she is a dangerous source of instability. The chief merchant Yatron is friendlier, but Xatìra cannot strike a deal with him because the sword has just been stolen from the guild!

Continuing an Ironsworn campaign based on a hex map of Europe and the Mediterranean that I made some time ago and the Al-Rathak setting. The campaign is inspired by the Middle Ages, without any ambition of being historically accurate. My hero is currently city-crawling in Anipsed, capital of the Sultanate.

Previous Events: Year 1222. Europe follows the Sun-God Kruss; the southern lands worship Qamar, the Moon-Goddess. Xatìra, a young Greek woman from Lemnos, survives a pirate attack and finds on her victim's body an amulet from Kamil, a shrine of the Shadowed Qamarims. She vows to return it, travels south, meets the Mad Caliph Tarbak in Egypt, and reaches Kamil, only to find it sacked by the vampire general Qarif, allied with the traitor sorcerer Iblis. She starts a new quest to find Zakama, High Priestess of the Shadowed. Befriending a jackal she names Opher, Xatìra tracks the priestess to the dungeon of Cult Master Nashad. Zakama is dying; with her last words she asks Xatìra to help Dorello, an Italian agent of the Krussian Emperor-Pope Federicus, in exchange for his financing the Shadowed Qamarims. Xatìra swears to do so. She learns Dorello is at the Whispering Stone Circle. En route she meets Massan, a charming warrior who reveals himself a Shapeshifter. At the Stone Circle they descend into a fortified dungeon bearing Nashad's crying-skull mark, rescuing Baseria, a Greek rogue and Watcher of the Tower, from pursuing cultists. Fighting through the complex, they find Dorello, one of the Sicarii, the imperial assassins, who has killed Nashad and seized the Crying-Skull mask. Dorello departs to deliver the mask to Tarbak, asking Xatìra to travel to Anipsed and rescue Crydessa, a Greek merchant kidnapped by Iblis. Baseria and Massan join Xatìra and Opher. Resting at the Crocodile Nest inn, they learn the Anubians, enemies of Iblis, are holding a great ceremony at their temple in Anipsed within days. They reach the city, taking rooms at the Silver Coin inn.

This Episode: At the Temple of Anubis, the party is stopped at the entrance, only Anubian jackal-people may enter freely, but Opher's presence wins Xatìra passage. Inside the crowded atrium, she is recognised by Alathon, a hostile Anubian sorcerer she had encountered in the desert. She greets him respectfully and avoids conflict. They meet Shargon, an Anubian warrior from the desert shrine, who reveals a clue: the Rhodian Merchant Guild has found the Sword of Sania, and Iblis plans to exchange Crydessa for the weapon. Massan, who changed shape into an Anubian jackalman, but he is detected by Alathon's magic and detained for interrogation. Shargon leads Xatìra to the temple librarian, Rahza, who reveals that Crydessa may be held in the East Market area, near the Nomads' Bazaar by the East Gate. Back at the inn, Xatìra and Baseria learn that the Shadowed Qamarims' new leader, Khayla, is being hunted by the Sultan. The next day, they head to the Nomads' Bazaar; they pass through the run-down Octagon Theater in the slums, where they encounter Marah, a city guard sergeant who recognises Baseria as a Watcher of the Tower and volunteers to join the mission to free Crydessa. They cross the canal at Obelisk Bridge. In the East Market they navigate a couple of complications, a merchant accusing Marah of breaking perfume bottles, Iblis's men spotted on the Gilded Path, before picking up a new ally: Hamhid, a sturdy blacksmith and a friend of Marah’s. They break into a house at the Nomads' Bazaar and confront Iblis’ men and the wicked sorceress Amila, who is killed in the fight; her talisman jewel is recovered by Xatìra.

Continuing an Ironsworn campaign based on a hex map of Europe and the Mediterranean that I made some time ago and the Al-Rathak setting. The campaign is inspired by the Middle Ages, without any ambition of being historically accurate. 

Previous Events: Year 1222. Europe follows the cult of the Sun-God Kruss, while the southern lands worship Qamar, a Moon-Goddess. Xatìra, a young woman from the Greek island of Lemnos, survives a pirate attack and finds on her victim's body an amulet from Kamil, a shrine of the Shadowed Qamarims, which she vows to return. She travels south across the sea. In Egypt she meets Tarbak, the Mad Caliph, and reaches Kamil only to find it has been sacked by the vampire general Qarif on behalf of the traitor sorcerer Iblis. She returns the amulet, fulfilling her vow, then swears to find Zakama, High Priestess of the Shadowed, and warn her of the attack. Befriending a jackal she names Opher, Xatìra tracks Zakama to the dungeon of the Cult Master Nashad, where she discovers that their ally Red Ramia has betrayed Tarbak and sided with Nashad. Zakama is dying in a cell; with her last words she asks Xatìra to help Dorello, an Italian supporting Tarbak on behalf of the Krussian Emperor-Pope Federicus, in exchange for his financing the Shadowed Qamarims. Xatìra swears to do so. After returning to Tarbak’s headquarters in Al-Fayeza, Xatìra learns that Dorello is at the Whispering Stone Circle, north of the Pale Waste Desert. En route, they meet the charming warrior Massan, who reveals himself to be a Shapeshifter when he transforms into a lion to face an aggressive pachyderm.

This Episode: The party arrives at the Whispering Stone Circle and descends into a fortified dungeon complex bearing the crying-skull mark of Nashad's cult. They rescue a woman being chased by cultists, Baseria, a Greek rogue and Watcher of the Tower. She reveals that Nashad and Iblis plan to summon and bind an Efreet Prince named Zadid: a monstrous, scorpion-like man-eater. After fighting their way through the complex, they find Dorello, who turns out to be one of the Sicarii, the imperial assassins; he has killed Nashad and seized the Crying-Skull mask, though he is wounded and hostile to everyone but Xatìra. They leave the dungeon, but they know that Iblis is still alive and will almost certainly come looking for the mask. Dorello departs to deliver the mask to Tarbak and asks Xatìra to travel to Anipsed and rescue Crydessa, a Greek merchant kidnapped by Iblis. Baseria and Massan join Xatìra and Opher for the journey, though Massan makes no secret of his distrust of Baseria. They rest at the Crocodile Nest inn, where they learn that the Anubians, enemies of Iblis, will hold a great ceremony at their temple in Anipsed within days. At the city's South Gate, Massan's arrogance nearly causes an incident before Xatìra smooths things over. They make their way through the slums of Whisper Lane to the Silver Bazaar, taking rooms at the Silver Coin inn. There they hear rumors that the Sultan himself feels threatened by Iblis and factions within his own court. The following day, they head to the ceremony at the Temple of Anubis.

I am playing an Ironsworn solo campaign based on a hex map of Europe and the Mediterranean that I made some time ago and the Al-Rathak setting. Here is my latest Delve. 

In a fantasy version of year 1222, Xatìra, a Greek survivor turned accidental agent of the Moon worshippers Shadowed Qamarims, travels across the Mediterranean. After reaching Egypt and witnessing the death of High Priestess Zakama, Xatìra swears to find the Italian Dorello, whose gold is the only thing capable of sustaining the Shadowed. Accompanied by a jackal she befriended in the desert, Opher, and a newly revealed lion-shapeshifter, the warrior Massan, Xatìra tracks Dorello’s trail to the Whispering Stone Circle at the edge of the Pale Waste. The stone circle is deserted; an entrance leads to a dungeon below the hill.

Theme:Fortified; Domain (even):Stronghold; Domain (odd): Underkeep. I often use even/odd to combine different Themes or Domains.

Formidable Delve 

(1) STRONG HIT. Progress: 1.
Stairs going down.
They find a hint of a faction: Crying Skull Relief. (The Cult of the Crying Skull is introduced in one of the dungeons from Al-Rathak).

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(2) WEAK HIT - Progress:2.
Connecting Passageways
Opportunity: Denizen in Need of Help

Human, a woman. Does Xatira know her (unlikely)? NO.
Triple-O: Shadowed, Watcher of the Tower, Hermetic Knight -> Watcher of the Tower (another faction from Al-Rathak).
She is pursued and urges the party northwest.

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(3) WEAK HIT - Double Progress:4.
They hear the steps of the pursuers and wait around a corner in ambush.
1+1D3 = 4 Cultists.
Battle - Weak Hit: -1Health = 4.
Who else is wounded? Opher, the woman, Massan -> the woman.
Is she a Qamarim? (likely) - NO, she is a Krussian.
Triple-O: Greek, Italian, other -> Greek. Name: Baseria. Rogue.

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(4) WEAK HIT - Progress:5.
Delve Feature: Unexpected. A roughly circular natural cavern
Danger: Nefarious Plans Revealed

A magic circle has been drawn on the floor. Baseria reveals that Nashad is allied
with (Triple-O: Iblis, Qarif, Hermetic Knights -> Iblis, another dark sorcerer). They plan to summon and bind the Efreet Prince ZADID. 

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(5) MISS
A workshop: D3 Foundry, Alchemical, Embalm -> 3 Embalming Workshop
Encounter: Even: Cultists, Odd: Undead -> 1+1D3 cultists = 2.
Battle - Weak Hit: -1H = 3
Others wounded? - NO.

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(6) STRONG HIT - Progress:6.
Feature: Hall
Opportunity: Alerted of Potential Threat

A large fresco showing Zadid:
Monstrosity: tail, parasitic. A scorpion-like devourer of people.

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(7) MISS - Stairs.
Trap, dart. Who is the target? D3: Xatira, Massan, Baseria -> 3: Baseria.
She was wounded already. Is she unconscious? - NO AND it's only a scratch.

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(8) WEAK HIT - Progress:7.
Danger: blocked.
Corridor blocked by a massive door.
Can Baseria (who is a rogue) open it? - NO.
They must go back to (6).

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(9) WEAK HIT - Progress:8.
Feature: Storage Room.

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(10) STRONG HIT + MATCH! Progress:9.
Locate Objective - Challenge: 4, 8 vs 9 - Strong Hit.
They find Dorello.

He has:
  Even: Secured an Artifact.
  Odd: Defeated an Opponent.

Defeated an Opponent - Even: Iblis / Odd: Nashad -> Nashad.

Is Iblis dead? - YES BUT Dorello was wounded too. 
Dorello killed Nashad and now has the Crying-Skull mask.
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Escape the Depths - Weak Hit

Delve: Denizen Plots Revenge.
Iblis will try to get the mask back.