Over the weekend I ran a playtest of my Primeval 2D6 system along with some sword & sorcery rules I have been working on for a while. The basic setup was that I had each player generate a positive and negative trait, a homeland, background, virtue, vice, then each player generated a pulp adventure title.
They then free form pitched their character’s appearance in this tale, along with a special ability, item, relationship or unique detail. Then the player to the right of them had their character featured in this tale, and they helped the primary protagonist out of some pickle.
The adventure was one I have ran before. Its a bit of a magical detective mystery, filled with decadent corruption and horrific monsters, it has a number of avenues a party can take. It has been interesting running this and seeing some groups go purely investigative, some purely skull-crushing, and an in-between. Spoilers for one avenue the adventure can take, if you ever want to playtest this with me.
Cast of Characters
We had Addie, a stoic and clumsy craftswoman from the Land of a 1,000 Tombs who had tried their hand at becoming an Assassin of the Sightless Queen, but unfortunately flunked out of the process, but through her adventures secured a wide base of sale for her crafted canopic jars.
Teos the noble, thrown from his prince-hood by the priest class. The took him on a boat to the Sea of the Unknown Sea (I need to work on these title generators), where he was offered as a sacrifice to some eldritch sea god. Stow-away Zahra aided in the defeat of the cult, and Teos acquired a set of magical gauntlets, turning his hands into sharp crab claws.
Zahra the highway-woman who lived made her way through a life of crime began finding her targets already hit before she could reach them. She tracked the culprit to a small hole in a cliff face, and sticking her arm into it, the creature within but down on her arm, just below the elbow. She pulled it out and found that she was now symbiotically bound to a mystical feathered serpent.
Rounding out the crew is Muire, and outlander cast out from her people for taking the fall for an innocent person, she was hunted down by an order of silent assassins. Fighting off her attackers, she made off with a vial of their truth serum, and the curved blade of their order.
Investigating the palace
These four adventurers were called by the Khasana, Daughter of the Moon, the Empress of City-State Viridius, called such because it is a blooming garden city deep in the dry lands. She called for these heroes because a thief took her late son’s jeweled amulet, but when she sent her hunters after the thief – all but one was dispatched by a horrific crow demon, auspicious as the people of Viridius venerate crows as messengers to the Moon.
The group hears rumors that the Prince died under unusual circumstances not long ago, and that the Queen has decreed that a blessed child from the Church of the Moon would be named new Emperor in an upcoming ritual, an unusual occurrence for a city that has traced its hereditary rule to the dawn of time. High Priest Izip stresses that the party must retrieve the Prince’s stolen moon jewel before this ritual.
The adventurers immediately begin investigating – most of the party discussing with the High Priest, while Muire got fitted for new boots and asked a handmaiden by the name of Oba details.
They learn that the thief in question was the Master of Crows, and that the servants have sworn that they have seen the Prince being escorted into the dungeons below the palace, after he was purported dead. They also heard that the old Master of Crows got into an argument with the Prince and Queen, and was never seen afterwards. Asking about ways into the dungeon, the servant points out the usual stairs through the barracks, but also notes that the scullery holds a false door in a keg of wine, leading into the dungeon.
The group seeks out the captain of the guard and investigate the crow aerie. Teos asks for a butchered pig from the kitchen and brings it to the crows who all appear nervous and rattled. The group notices that the dirt floor is fresh, and unearths a skeleton from below, wrapped in chains, wearing a neck harness that has been torn. As they leave they notice the captain of the guard eyes them suspiciously.
Upriver by boat
Feeling that they must hurry, the only surviving hunter from the initial pursuit is sent with – Onar the ranger, missing an arm he lost to the crow demon. He joins them but asks for a few of his supplies to be brought on board – including a cask of wine. The party finds this suspicious and asks him to serve them wine, which he does, but clumsy Addie smashes the cask, revealing a hidden compartment within the cask holding a surprising amount of blast powder.
The gang grills Onar and he tries to convince them that it was to destroy the demon, but the party sees through his lies that it is a way to end the party who may have already found out too much once they have slain the creature.
They tie the ranger up and make their way up river. Camping along the way, they are beset upon in the night by a pack of hyenas, drawn by the scent of Onar’s recent injuries. Zahra leaps up, waving her feathered serpents at the cackling beasts, frightening them. Teos brandishes burning firewood, keeping them at bay, and Muire strikes the largest beast with her sword, sinking it deep into the creature. Addie grabs a pouch of the blast powder from the broken cask, and stumbles with it – tossing it into the embers of the campfire. The resulting explosion terrifies the hyenas, who scurry off looking for easier prey.
Deciding they have slept enough, the proceed on. Anchoring their boat at the base of a small mountain range, they make their way over to the tower – a tall structure with ominous crenelations, and the dirt around the tower for several yards resembling ash.
Approaching the tower
Onar tells them that as his group approached the tower they were beset by the crow demon from above, who ate five of his companions. Being cautious the party sought out an alternative way to enter the tower than to just walk right up to it. In a nearby olive tree they found foliage blocking a secret entrance into a cave below the tower.
Entering the cave they were called out to by a squat figure with a wide mouth infrequently dotted with teeth, wrapped entirely in bandages, with one massive green eye. He introduced himself as Jackal, king of the cave, and demanded their fealty and tribute. Zahra gave him jerky she had with her, and the group pledged.
They found that the being lived down here, he claimed that the tower was once the seat of a cabal of magicians, and it sat upon the ley lines of the earth. He tells them a tale of ruin, where the wizards were cursed for their hubris, and bound to the tower as ghosts. He is a haunted being, and tells them of a man, another haunted fellow, who sought refuge in the tower.
They ask what defenses exist against the ghosts of the tower, and Jackals is astonished that they brought no charms, amulets, and took not prior ritualistic prostrate to began divine aid. Teos asked if the traveler ever sought out Jackal, and the being confirmed, that he could bring him here yet again.
Finding the thief
The party hid and waited for the traveler to approach, making sure to tightly bind Onar and place a bag over his head. Seeing the traveler pleading with Jackal for aid, the group slowly approaches, telling him that they wish to help.
He tells them that he is hunted, but wishes to escape to the northern steppe, but finds himself back at the tower after blacking out at night. He tells them that he is of two minds, and seems to be possessed, another spirit in his body. The party asks if he has the Moon Empress’ jewel, and he affirms, but refuses to turn it over. Zahra and Muire leap, trying to wrestle the gem from him, knocking it from his hands.
Teos sees the jewel go skidding on the cavern floor, and witnesses a ghostly essence swirling around it. Grabbing it, the noble finds himself fighting off an otherworldly presence in his mind, a being named Odion – the name of the former Master of Crows.
As Teos begins transforming into a monstrous crow demon, Muire sees no other option than to severe his hand that clutches the jewel. She strikes true, and severs it. Teos is wounded, but keeps his mind and soul intact.
The group bags the hand and gem. Promising to return the traveler to the step, the group debates heading back to the City State, suspecting the Moon Empress of something extremely foul. They decide that they will put the traveler into a nearby town and return to the City State, and from there they will see if the Prince is truly dead or not.
Overall
This was a ton of fun. It seemed like everyone had a great time, and the fiction really flowed, as it tends to do with FKR style games. We decided we would follow up at some point to do the results from their adventure and to see what is going on with the Prince.
I need to work more on my tables for character generation. I left a lot open, and while people had fun with the generated story part, it was a bit confusing for a few people at first. Also the free form ability/item/whatever gained from that story stumped a few people. It may be helpful to add in optional tables for ideas there.
Process wise I think we had maybe 4 or 5 rolls all game. Most everything was a negotiation, whenever I called for a roll I’d say what the risks are, ask the players if I understood their characters intent, then told them about the effect they could have if they succeeded. I also let everyone narrate when they were successful, and negotiated on tied rolls or within one pip.
Lots of fun. Once the tables I am using are cleaned up (and also not just copy-pastes from Knave/Maze Rats/Conan/Barbarians of Lemuria) I’ll post the adventure.
Thank you for reading, and if you ever want to try out Primeval 2D6 or an FKR game with me let me know! I’m always running stuff on Discord.
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