Category Archives: Balazar 1625

Random Encounter Motivations

An extract from something i’m writing for the forthcoming Balazar 1625 Jonstown Compendium supplement that has much wider application. So I thought i’d share it.

Adding Spice to Encounters

If as a gamemaster you are looking for something to add an extra twist or nuance for an encounter, we list several different motives for interactions which can add variation to stop encounters becoming too familiar. Maybe even make a random encounter the kernel of a major plot

Friendly Interactions

  • They want to befriend the party
  • They want to bless the party
  • They need to deliver message to the party
  • They have a desire to educate the party
  • They want to exchange knowledge or news
  • They want to offer healing to the party
  • They want to help the party in practical ways
  • They wish to inform the party of some news
  • They mistake the party for known friends
  • They want to protect the party
  • They require protection and aid from the party
  • They remind the party of an oath or promise
  • They wish the party to protect a child/priest/old person
  • They require healing and/or aid
  • They want to prophecy over the party
  • They want to buy, sell, or trade Items
  • An individual wants to woo, court, or seduce a member of the party
  • They wish to warn the party of nearby danger

Neutral Interactions

  • They seek to avoid the party
  • They want to beg from the party
  • They want to boast to the party about feats they have accomplished
  • They wish to criticse and disapprove of the players for their actions or beliefs
  • They wish to preach to or convert the players to their religion
  • They want to delay and distract the players
  • They are infectious with disease
  • They feel they need disarm the players or neutralize their threat
  • They issue the players with a formal challenge
  • They seek to stoically ignore the players
  • They seek to introduce themselves to the players
  • They are lost and may or may not admit it to the players, (dependent on gender)
  • They wish to search the players because they are looking for a missing item
  • They wish to dishonestly direct the players towards a hostile foe which is pursuing them

Hostile Encounters

  • They want to eat the players
  • They want to drive the players away
  • They want to enslave the players
  • They want to kill the players
  • They want to humiliate and insult the players
  • They want to follow the players
  • They want to extract information from the players
  • They want to con the players
  • They want to haunt the players
  • They want to rob the players
  • They want to frame the players for an ill deed
  • They want to toy with the players, before killing them
  • They want to arrest the players
  • They want to con the players
  • They want to turn the players against each other
  • They want to curse the party
  • They want to sacrifice the party to their Gods
  • They want to extract a bribe from the players

Fearful Interactions

  • They flee from the players
  • They hide from the players
  • They engaged in an ill thought through and panicked attack on the players
  • They panic around the players
  • They surrender to the players
  • They off the players bribes and tribute
  • They offer one of their own as a propitioniary sacrifice or food to the players
  • They freeze, shake, and cannot react meaningfully to the players
  • They act submissive to the players
  • They try to scare the players with a show of inappropriate bravado

Elkoi Timeline 1617 to 1625

I am looking to write a timeline for Balazar 1617 to 1625. This is a first draft  of the Elkoi. ( There will be more drafts). I’m just putting it out there in an embryonic form for thoughts, comments, inspiration and sheer kicks.

More linked Balazar timelines will come. If I get good feedback and I can work out how to pull my material into a sensible cohesive whole without infringing on Chaosium’s IP, I will pull something significant together for the Johnstown compendium.

Just a note this Citadel has by far the most turbulent timeline, the rest of Balazar will have seen nowhere near as much change and trouble.  This is a first draft, additions and revisions will be made.

The aim is to create a citadel which is lawless, cutthroat and den of thieves of villainy, giving it a significantly different feel from the other two.

1617

  • Balazar as presented in the Griffin Mountain book

1618

  • Lunar citizen murdered in Trilus, tension rise between the two citadels
  • Lunar patrols sent deep into hunt the murders, one never returned

1619

  • Crimson Bat passes over Elkoi, Engenders panic amongst the populace.
  • Raids on Lunar Convoys from Soldier Ferry, Elmwood Clans aided by Orlanthi warriors. Food and supplies scarce in Elkoi for 2 seasons.
  • 3 Elmswood clans break away from Elkoi and pay allegiance to Trilus instead

1620 

  • Balazaring based Orlanthi raiders attack Tarshford, attack repulsed. Prisoners taken, but later to escape, believed to have headed South.
  • Murder of Lunar Electora Kindtounge, Marusa the Shrew accused and goes into hiding.
  • Yelmalio Priesthood moves the main Yelmalio temple to Dykene.
  • Blueface’s death is reported amongst the clans.
  • A former apprentice  of Blueface, Namara starts to gain Popularity in the Clans

1621

  • Great winter reaches southern Balazar, Many southern clans migrate north away from traditional hunting grounds, significant inter clan fighting, King Glyptus uninterested and ineffective in dealing with issues arising  or brokering a peace
  • Elkoi citadel warriors raid southern Trilus clans as part of the Imther Trilus war, slaves taken and sold to the Lunar Empire.
  • Elkoi and Trilus citadel warriors clash at the Battle of Burning tree, both retreat to there citadels after.
  • Tusk riders under Raddek Bloodtooth raid north into southern Balazar  deepening the problems, Citadel warriors remain in Elkoi.
  • Namara starts to preach that the Great Winter and tusk rider raids are punishment from the spirits for leaving the old ways and worshipping foreign Gods.
  • Halycon leaves in Storm season

.1622 

  • Great winter, Clans continue to  Migrate North.
  • Royal family leave Elkoi, Glyptus the Good poisoned by his  own family on route to Empire. No one really cares. Body left by roadside.
  • Lunar army and settlers Caravan back to Holay starving , much suffering on route.
  • Blueface reappears, reportedly in eastern Balazar
  • Many inhabitants of Elkoi starve, becomes a mostly deserted ruin.
  • Namara gathers her supporters  into a war party to that drives to tusk riders from the south woods, Tusk Riders were defeated at  battle of pure hearth, which was 3 day running skirmish through the woods, with the Balazarings aided significantly by nature spirits.
  • Elkoi Civil war factions major factions are Lunar Loyalsts, Northern Clans, Elmwood Clans, Migrating clans
  • Marusa comes out of hiding, dwells in the ruins of Elkoi

1623

  • Ravella the Greedy, Glyptus steward is killed as Elkoi citadel is burned as Elmwood clans raid Elkoi, defeating the loyalist faction.
  • Craggect Bloodspear leads the Nothern clans to drive the Elmswood clans out of citadel and back their traditional lands.
  • The shaman Namara leads many of the southern balazaring clans in rejecting the kings, the citadels, metalwork and foreign Gods. Declaring themselves Votanki not Balazarings
  • Desecration Of Lunar Temple at Elkoi by raiding Orlanthi
  • Elkoi temple becomes coven to Jakeel the witch ran by Marusa

1624

  • Ongoing skirmishes between northern Elkoi clans and Elmswood clans. Elmswood clans have support from Trilus Orlanthi.
  • Marusa allies with Cragget Bloodspear and the Nothern Elkoi tribes
  • Namara closes the Southwood to all but her followers, declaring the worshipping of foreign Gods(including Yelmalio and Balazar), use of metal , farming,  animal husbandry and sleeping in permanent building Taboo in Balazar 
  • Battle of Shamans,  Namara casts Blueface down and spiritually binds him.

1625

  • Craggect Bloodspear leads war party intro Elmswood to raid the  
  • Cryriel returns to Elkoi with about 50 Lunar  mercenaries to declare himself King of Elkoi.
  • Craggect Bloodspear returns to Elkoi repulse Cryriel, Marusa offers him a secret way into Elkoi, but leads him into an ambush. Craggect Bloodspear and all his warriors slaughtered.  Nothern Elkoi clans are leaderless.
  • Cyriel marries Marusa and declares her Queen of Elkoi and his joint ruler.
  • Accompanying priests reopen the Lunar temple as  full temple to the Seven mothers, the coven of Jakeel moves to the Royal Palace.
  • Slavers appear from heartlands looking to turn a tidy profit
  • Namara declares holy war against Cryiels Lunars.

Citadel of Elkoi in 1625

  • The citadel of Elkoi is a  shell of what it once was, most buildings burned and few repaired. The stonework stands but is scorched in many places.
  • Run by Lunar merchants, mercenaries and freebooters – A hive of scum and villainy
  • Cyriel is bringing in tradesmen to repair, and is setting about ‘running the citadel properly’
  • A lawless place, with no law beyond the word of the king and queen
  • Cyriels Lunars are complemented with refugees from the conflicts
  • Thematically Elkoi in 1625 has the feel which is not very far removed from Deadwood.

Tribe of Elkoi in 1625

  • Vastly reduced and fragmented
  • Southwood tribes have renounced the clan and are following Namara
  • Elmwood tribes have broke away and formed their own group and are talking with Trilus
  • The clans that migrated from the south and the Northern clans have found an uneasy truce and are to exhausted to do anything but attach to whoever owns the citadel.