Sword and Sorcery Superdraft: July 2022

[death tribble]

Diety

Gideon, Lord of trickery is sponsoring Jaleeka and Velath. He has seen how direct confrontation between the Sacred Order and the Forces of Evil has shown the Sacred Order coming out on top usually because the Order of the Rose get involved and do the fighting. So what if you make the Sacred Order and order of the Rose believe that they are facing evil rather than trickery which is amoral rather than immoral. The temples and fortresses of the evil Gods which should have lasted for millennia fell within decades. So how about getting the idiot priest to go after two old enemies and then set the Order of the Rose up to take the fall ? What could go wrong ?   

[assault]

Oops. I've already described a temple and a priestess. I guess I need to make a Deity pick.
---
The religion officially practiced in the city of Ytic amounts to a henotheism. There is one major temple overlooking the city, and, at best, minor shrines to other deities.

The deity worshipped is commonly known as the Great God. He may sometimes be referred to by other titles, but nothing resembling his "true" name is commonly used.

What divine roles does he play? All of them, really, at best assisted by his small retinue of other godlings.

 

Also, apparently he likes cats.

Deity pick: The Great God.

[csyphrett]

Lord Runnymede has allied with the great N'salla, a shaman pulled from darkest Africa, who says he can fix the noble's problem for a small payment in return.

CES  

[Pariah]

I have fallen dreadfully far behind this week. I will try to catch up over the next couple of days.

[Lucius]

On 7/6/2022 at 2:50 AM, assault said:

Sword and Sorcery Superdraft.

 

We are building new fantasy Sword and Sorcery series from scratch. Worlds will be separate, except that elements can be shared if another player agrees.

You must create your own characters and other elements, not draft them from elsewhere. Close analogues are fine, so you can have characters like Conan, Elric, King Arthur, Thor, Hercules, etc., but not the actual characters.
 

The setting is completely blank. You will need to contribute your ideas to build your setting and populate it with a variety of life.

 

Here's what you'll need to choose.

 

Protagonist: This is the main character in the stories. They may or may not be heroic.

SINOSKY the bloodlock

On 7/6/2022 at 2:50 AM, assault said:

 

Ally/Companion: This character assists the Protagonist, but may be an equal Protagonist in their own right. (Fafhrd/Gray Mouser style.) They may be a regular partner, or someone who just shows up and gets killed off.

XANTHRAX the Drakine Warrior

On 7/6/2022 at 2:50 AM, assault said:

 

Primary Antagonist: This character is the primary opponent of the story/series.

The God of Curses

On 7/6/2022 at 2:50 AM, assault said:

 

 

Secondary Antagonist: May be a lackey, rival or someone unrelated to the above.

 

Person(s) in need of help: Somebody who needs the Protagonist’s assistance.

 

Monster: It’s not Sword and Sorcery without a Monster.

 

Locations: You get to choose THREE (3) Locations. These may be continents, countries, cities or individual sites. Build your world!

Arduna, in the Turakian age

On 7/6/2022 at 2:50 AM, assault said:

 

A McGuffin/Gadget: A thing to help drive the plot.

 

A Deity: They might be driving the action, a name to swear by, or anything else.

Option: Anything else your fiendish imagination comes up with.

 

Round one will be your Protagonist, but the rest can be selected in any order.

 

---

We will begin Saturday July 9th, 6 AM Australian Eastern Standard Time, which is 4 PM, Friday 8th,  Eastern Daylight Time in the States. We take the US weekends off. (So the first post is a Saturday in Australia, the second a Tuesday. That’s a Friday and a Monday in weird US time.)

 

Format copied from earlier Superdrafts, naturally.

Ask for any clarifications you need, obviously.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

And the palindromedary

[assault]

1 hour ago, Lucius said:

SINOSKY the bloodlock

...

 

And the palindromedary

 

Your original post had "Sinorsky". Which is correct?

Also, what does the palindromedary count as? Lunch?

[Lucius]

1 hour ago, assault said:

 

Your original post had "Sinorsky". Which is correct?

Sinosky

 

Lucius Alexander

1 hour ago, assault said:

 

Also, what does the palindromedary count as? Lunch?

 

[assault]

Let the pigeons loose!

It's time to post again!

[Cancer]

seventh installment: Secondary Antagonist:  Qnurfu, Empress of Necromancy

 

Qnurfu is seen only from the shoulders up from afar through magical communications and other nonphysical means.  She is a Lord Wizard, at least appearing human now to most folk, commanding powerful domain over a broad swath of a continent.  By her own words, she intends to consume the entire world and all that is in it.  She claims that Hadesh is only one of her lieutenants.  When Akhar mentions Farstar's name in one of the two interludes where she appears before the hamlet to inform them they will all become accursed dead and join her army, Qnurfu sneers that she has heard of no such rival; she declares that to mean that this Farstar is hiding in fear of her, unless Akhar is merely fabricating the name as a feeble bluff.  Aside from the communications magic, and somehow transporting more undead minions etc. into the vicinity, she seems not to perform any active magic in the "on-camera" action.  

 

Though it is difficult to see how this would be worked into the text of a book, every living sentient sees Qnurfu with a different visage; every person perceives Qnurfu to resemble the memorable female person in their lives who treated them with the most cruelty, the greatest disregard for their desires or feelings, or caused them the greatest injury (be that physical, spiritual, professional, or other avenue of life).

 

[death tribble]

Macguffin/Gadget

The Scrolls of Aldorius. This purports to be a lost work concerning the founding of the Sacred Order. It is actually a trap by Gideon to drive a wedge between the Sacred Order and Order of the Rose. If read it will cause distrust between the reader and the opposite faction, i.e. if a Member of the Order of the Rose reads it then he will feel distrust towards the Sacred Order and vice versa. If the reader is not a member of either group then they will feel distrust for both organisations. Gideon has caused the Sacred Order to become excited about recovering this work and that it will be read by all its high clergy once found.

It is in one of three locations that are remote and dangerous enough that no-one should suspect the whole thing is a trap. 

[death tribble]

Location

The Pit Between the Mountains

Where several mountains come together there is a pit. It is not natural. To access it you have to scale the mountains and then climb down into the pit. Written on the side of the pit is script which can only be seen if you climb down and view it up close. The script gives a clue as to where the Scrolls of Aldorius are. To make the task more onerous the script is indecipherable unless you have climbed up one of the mountains and then down the pit. And then there is script which can only be seen if you have come down from the other mountains. Magic and aid from the gods will also not be of any help. If someone read one piece of script and then found a way to look at the other pieces of script then it would all become gibberish and the reader would be turned into an idiot. It is possible to scale one mountain, go down, ascend, travel around the rim of the pit to another mountain, descend and repeat again until you have the whole script. Simple, yes ? Apart from howling winds, avalanche and all sorts of foul beasties which also serve as guards. 

[csyphrett]

I want to pick two locations today to catch up. One is the Crow Cove where Mr. Straw meets the ships he uses to smuggle goods. The other is the Macklemore Chapel where sinister things are afoot

CES 

[Cancer]

eighth installment: In Need of Help: The hamlet of Lmuma Creek

[death tribble]

Location

The Grand Library of Urdman

The city of Urdman is very religious despite the fact that the country is not. Many religious festivals are celebrated here and there have been outbreaks of violence if you are on the wrong side of a theological dispute. It is thus a surprise that one of the finest libraries that still exists is found here. The library is like a fortress and it is thought that the librarians have sealed off the building to prevent destruction during pogroms and purges. For it is said that Librarians Obviously Guard Against Naivete or Logan for short. The script from The Pit Between the Mountains would need to be referenced here in order to find the scrolls as the location may change. Somehow the books would point out where the Scrolls would end up because destiny, duh. The Gods will it. But the library is closed during some or all of the festivals so getting here is problematic and would require a degree of diplomacy to get in and out.

[Cancer]

ninth installment: Monster

 

A plague of undead (zombies, evil animated skeletons, and possessed aggressive zombies, which I will call ghouls), and hell hounds.  There are perhaps thousands of the undead of all flavors, and perhaps as many as a hundred of the hell hounds.  They are not so numerous as to get in each others' way, but they are numerous enough that when one is struck down another shoulders in to occupy its space and continue the slow implacable advance of the massed hungry dead.

 

They all clearly are converging upon Lmuma Creek, with intent to kill and consume, and Hadesh the Motherless commands them.

[csyphrett]

I'm going to make my two picks tonight when I get home. I think I need a monster and a macguffin

CES

[assault]

I'm 4(!) picks behind. I have excuses.

 

2 picks today though. Maybe three if I can nail down the details.

---

Alnar of the North is, in most respects, your typical wandering barbarian. Sure, he is a Big Man where he comes from, and could recruit a warband if he had a good reason and could promise lots of loot to his followers, but mostly he just does the familiar solder of fortune/bandit/thief routine.

Amongst those he has met on his journeys is the Dark Lord Surga. Strangely, his refusal to be daunted by the Dark Lord has led to a friendship of sorts between them.

Ally/Companion: Alnar of the North.

 

---

There is a prophecy.

It consists of two parts, although the relevance of the second is disputed.

It is said that the city of Ytic will only be conquered by one who wields the Sword of Destiny.

It is also said that a sword is not a shield.

Given the famous wealth and power of Ytic, many have sought the sword, although none have, as yet, found it.

Now the Dark Lord Surga knows where it is. What will he do with the knowledge?

 

A McGuffin/Gadget: The Sword of Destiny.

[assault]

And yes, I have a third pick for today. I'm still one behind.

---

Neither protagonist nor antagonist, Korus the Bard is the closest thing to a neutral character in this story. While he is helpful to whoever he is with, his allegiances are only to himself.

He also functions as something of a narrator, and handy source of data dumps, disguised as stories and poems he recites.

Option Pick: Korus the Bard.

[fdw3773]

Sorry that I'm late to Sword & Sorcery super draft, but upon coming across this topic, it looks like a lot of fun. Since we're up to draft pick #4, here's what I have to make up for lost time:

 

Protagonist: Jantavia Sunmane. Born from a proud tribe of warriors and hunters, Jantavia was renowned for her bright, golden blonde hair that shone in the sunlight while her impressive muscles glistened. Coupled with her incredible strength, Jantavia bears a warrior's pride and honor while accepting the reality that money, not honor, keeps a roof over one's head and food for one's family. After extensive weapons and strength training with her tribe that was tempered and tested from skirmishes against Pictish and Goblin border incursions, Jantavia would set out on her own as a sword for hire for those worthy of her skills. She is equipped with a steel breastplate, round shield, and armed with a battle axe as her primary weapon while carrying a longsword scabbarded on her back.

 

Ally/Companion: Donegan MacLyr. A battle-tested veteran, Donegan MacLyr is a skilled man-at-arms and captain who has filled the role as advisor and mentor to Jantavia, teaching her the finer points of weapon use and tactics beyond the small unit. Hailing from the large kingdom of Eleria, Donegan often takes extended seasonal hiatuses from the King's army to travel with Jantavia and serve as an impromptu traveling ambassador while scouting potential allies and threats from the neighboring lands. Although not as strong as he once was, Donegan makes up for the shortfall in his skilled experience.

 

Primary Antagonist: Necrotor. Little is known of Nikolos, a skinny, pimply, and greasy former mage apprentice who slew his master, seized his magical tomes and artifacts, and would grow to become a powerful sorcerer and necromancer in the dark arts who would adopt the name Necrotor. Now a fearsome adversary, his once greasy and blemish filled complexion has been replaced with wizened, leathery skin, long black hair, and dark piercing eyes. An admittedly shameless pervert, Necrokotor lusts after Jantavia Sunmane and would have also lusted after Donegan MacLyr were it not for his age.
 

Secondary Antagonist: Lucio the Magnificent is a former traveling troupe midget who jumped at the opportunity to join Necrotor's lot following a demonstration of his power that devastated a town that refused his demands. Tired of being regarded as a motley fool and subject of comedy, Lucio gleefully serves Necrotor to fulfill his own repressed sadistic machinations while becoming wealthy in the process with gold and wenches.

[death tribble]

We are way past pick 4, try another 5.

[Pattern Ghost]

I have to tap out. Had a carpet nail in my foot, a fall down a stair (yeah, just one stair but it was a doosy), freaking accounting homework and a surprise webinar to create all since the draft started. Sorry. I'd planned to have some fun with this one, too!

[fdw3773]

And some follow-on draft picks...🙂

 

Person(s) in need of help: Fraternal twin sisters Rebekah and Aisleen are the closest things to princesses one would encounter without having an official title. They're both beautiful, charming, and incredibly wealthy from their family that has built a vast fortune through trade and connections with a wide array of merchants. As such, many misinterpret them as such and as a result, they are frequently kidnapped by warlords, warlocks, and monsters alike. Add in the adventurous streak of Aislean and the gentle nature of Rebekah, and you a receive of frequent pleas for aid. Of the numerous warriors and heroes heeding their call, only Jantavia has successfully rescued them.

 

Monster: The monster known as Gorath protects the various entrances and chambers of Necrotor's stronghold. A large beast of tentacles that can readily slither throughout the tunnels, Gorath has been used to capture or kill based on Necrotor's commands.

 

Locations: Eleria is the largest kingdom in the massive continent of Oresia. Eleria is a kingdom where both magic and super-science exist for a select few talented enough to command such abilities, becoming a bastion of learning and safeguarding the peace. Oresia itself is healing from a great war a generation ago that devastated many lands that ironically created even greater opportunities from treasure seeking of former empires and kingdom. As a result, much of Oresia is filled with city-states that have carved out a small territory for its sovereignty, providing great opportunity for adventure and conquest. Of note is the Free City of Weyliff, a nexus for trade, and Setubal, the fallen capital city of a once opulent but now forgotten empire teeming with monsters, savage tribes, and vast riches buried under the jungle overgrowth.

 

A McGuffin/Gadget: Necrotor is also infamously known as the Master of Monsters, spawning bestial denizens to suit his needs through a magic cauldron that brews a primordial broth to create his monstrous creations. While most protect his stronghold, on occasion Necrotor will create a monster to unleash on a rival to simply entertain himself.

 

A Deity: Mordrogor, Lord of the Hellspawn, is a deity that Necrotor worships and draws his inspiration from in the creation of his monstrous hordes.

[csyphrett]

Protagonist:  Mr Straw

 

Ally/Companion: Charonus

 

Primary Antagonist: Lord Runnymede

 

Secondary Antagonist: N'salla the shaman

 

Person(s) in need of help: Lady Macklemore

 

Monster: It’s not Sword and Sorcery without a Monster.

 

Locations: Corn River, Crow Cove, Macklemore Chapel

 

A McGuffin/Gadget: A thing to help drive the plot.

 

A Deity: They might be driving the action, a name to swear by, or anything else.

Option: Anything else your fiendish imagination comes up with.

 

I need three picks. I am going with the Birds of Cawdor who drink blood and eat human flesh, the Ring of Cawdor which controls the birds and keeps the wearer safe, and Cawdor, the Keeper of the Crows, which is a forgotten god buried from humanity for his evil ways.

 

That leaves me with the option on Monday

CES

 

[Cancer]

tenth installment: Location 3: Lonu Center, especially the central plaza, which is ringed by empty but undecayed structures of Classical architecture. 

 

At one edge before what appears to be the chief building there is a pedestal with a twice-life-size statue of a draconic-humanoid figure, a rod held in one outstretched hand.  A few meters away from the statue is a single fountain, with a water jet making an arc 1.5 meters high and 2 meters across into a pool three meters across.

 

Farstar appears in this location several times in the story, talking aloud seemingly to himself, engaged in half a conversation about things that are not at first apparently concerned with the crisis at Lmuma Creek: the state of food storage facilities (which are acknowledged to be empty), of cropland that has lain fallow for "a long time", and of housing that "might not be adequate for new residents".

[assault]

I'll still be one behind after this pick...
---

Location 3: Sisters' Mountain. (Mountain of the Sisters.)

 

Sisters' Mountain is the common name for a site known for the presence of the Hermit Sisters, a group of devotees of the Great God.

Each Sister notionally lives alone, although some have gathered groups of acolytes around them.

The Sisters don't particularly get along with each other. Some disagree on doctrinal matters (such as the presence of acolytes, and views on same sex relationships (totally unrelated, obviously...)), others have interpersonal issues, while others simply dislike having others living so close to them.

Why would you go there? What could you find there?