Liad--Race

Liad—The Lost Race

Little is currently known about the Liad, but those who work with them (Orcs and slaves mostly,) have heard them refer to themselves as the Lost People, and speak of their desires to take back the 'wet' or 'lit' world.

Retractable Blades

The Liad have two blade-like bones that they can retract and conceal into their wrists. These deal Str+d6 damage.

Natural Venom

Liad's wrist-blades are lubricated by a toxic oil produced by glands in the wrist pouch, causing victims to make a vigor roll or be paralyzed for 2d6 rounds. If the vigor roll is a critical failure, they roll on the injury table for a permanent wound (reversible by a successful Greater Healing spell, if otherwise unwounded at the time the spell is cast).

Lost Race/Enemy Race

Since the dawn of mortality, the Liad have lived hunted and alone in the Woaden world of Traia. Even with Traia's help, most can barely speak the languages of the Sky-lit lands. During the War of Traia, Liad suffer a -6 to charisma due to language barriers and being the enemies of literally everyone. After the war ends, they have a -2 due to their being the "Evil Race".

Session 21

 The Temple of the God of Life

The final morning of travel to the temple, Amisha hears a sharp cry of pain from her pocket, and a light from her coin is missing. The face of Mocaeis grimaces, and tells her that one of her fellow priests has perished at the hands of the Liad, and she must hurry. It does not respond to anything she says, and soon the god's face returns to its typical ear-to-ear grin.

Cult of Kathelia

The cult of Kathelia are here before the party. At the entrance to the temple there are two (hidden) Khazoks, which attack when the party closes in. Once the fight begins, assassins leave stealth to join the fight. The entrance to the temple is in a wild, once-maintained garden. Near the main doors is a pit, with the carcass of a dog hung over it. The temple is built from a strange calming yellow sandstone that doesn't match any of the nearby geology.

Khazoks

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6(A), Spirit d6, Strength d8, Vigor d6 

Skills: Fighting d6, Notice d6, Stealth d10 

Pace: 6

Parry: 5

Toughness: 7 (2)

Treasure: Meager, per every 5 khazoks

Special Abilities: 

Armor +2 Rocky shell 

Bite: Str+d6

Camouflage: While not moving, khazoks resemble small boulders. Characters actively searching for danger suffer –4 to their Notice rolls. Khazoks which aren’t detected strike with surprise, getting the Drop on their unsuspecting foes.

Assassin 

Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d6 

Skills: Climbing d8, Fighting d8, Intimidation d6, Notice d8, Stealth d8, Shooting d6, Streetwise d6, Throwing d6 

Pace: 6

Parry: 6

Toughness: 6 (1) 

Various Edges: Alertness, First Strike, Thief 

Treasure: Meager 

Gear: Leather armor (+1), short sword (Str+d6), throwing knives (Range: 3/6/12, Damage: Str+d4)

Special Abilities: 

Poison: The quickest way to kill someone is with poison. A typical poison requires a Vigor roll at –2 or take an automatic wound.

Inside the temple are various monsters, cultists, and traps.

Items to be discovered:

• Any NON-story altering rando loot
• Journal of a cultist (Annaya Lest)
• Explains what they're up to, in some small detail: "The would-be saviors of the gods are supposed to be arriving sometime this week, Holvalda says Kathelia told him herself; though I have my doubts, it is also written in Volume 24583 of Our Lady's Visions. While I couldn't bear the consequences I would face if it should happen, I still almost wish us to lose, just to see them wipe that superior look off his pointy face. Perhaps if I were to kill him in the fight, no one would notice it was me and not self-fancied heroes who did it... In any event, I'm glad I got to create the Khazoks. As hard as it was to kill the poor puppy, it was such a thrill to finally get to use my bone flute!"
• Reveals that the cult uses bone flutes and the blood of animal or intelligent beings to infuse power into something else--the air for visions, though it is limited to events connected to the blood of the sacrifice; inanimate objects to enchant or animate; people to enhance. The cult initially gained power and influence due to its ability to grant actual knowledge and inherent power to its members.
• The Hearkener's Prophecy
• A book written by the Hearkener of the God of Life, whose name was Vovaenis, which contains the history of Vovaenzol, and thus the history of the creation of the world and of mortal kind. Reading this enlightens Loneil, and he gains a higher level of knowledge of everything from it. Importantly to the party, it ends with the Prophecy, a clear statement of what needs to be done: "I shall build the Godly Tomb, though my God is not dead, but lost, and send them by this word to that Godly Tomb, where they shall restore him. I fear for the survival of the world; if their enemies should prevail at that day, and Traia lose either her power or destroy Shaefev's divinity, then the world, even the universe may fall from their discord—yet Traia's own limited power prevents my writing here the full solution. But as Vovaenis wishes, if they can bring their master to that Godly Tomb, and call him forth by his True Name, he will be restored."

The cultists' primary objective is to retrieve the Eye of Issald, and will make called shots for the eye as often as possible. Each cultist wants the honor of retrieving it themselves.

Session 20

So this time I'm being even more lazy! I am only adding the barest notes, the ones I feel are important, instead of racking my brain to remember every detail from last time. IF THERE IS A DETAIL YOU THINK IS IMPORTANT AND I MISSED IT, POST IT AS A COMMENT! These session posts are literally just my planning notes with important game details added, and important things you missed removed, but THEY ARE WHERE I CHECK TO BE SURE I DIDN'T MISS IMPORTANT THINGS! COMMENT WITH YOUR IMPORTANT DETAILS!!! 

Highpeak

The Avion Bandit

In town, Amisha, Akari, and Anneara stop at an inn/tavern. An avion is bragging about a time that he was involved with a questionable troup, and how he had this one musical cat girl who played the theorbo awestruck by him. He says quite a lot of rude and inappropriate (made up) things about Akari, and in return, she used telekinesis to embarrass (and nearly kill) him.

The Slaver's Den

In High peak, there is rumor of the great and dark temple built by the horde of Velg. A successful streetwise check will lead the party to a den of thieves who've helped with the slave trade into Velg. While slavery is widely legal, kidnapping people to use as slaves is not. In Rocg, and most places, forced slavery is punishable by death, however a person (or their parent/guardian) may sell themselves into slavery to pay a debt. These thieves are kidnappers, and they deal with Velg. The beggar who reveals the den to the party shares a codephrase—"revenge comes"—which he heard a month ago and that they can use to gain entry to the hideout. When Thalia showed kindness to the beggar, he asked that she both find out what happened to his daughter (whom they kidnapped), and kill Thadeo, who he believes was the specific kidnapper, and is definitely running the operation in this part of Rocg.

The party entered the den through the roof, killed Thadeo and his men, and released the prisoners (among which was Gene Erica). While this was happening, Loneil sent Thadeo's mother on a pilgrimage/quest to Khalkazar. They found directions to the slaver's drop-off point in Velg.

The Juggernaut of Crowta

See their page. It has more information than you guys discovered in game, you lucky sons of guns.

Traveling to the Temple of the God of Life

Ran in to the Leviathan's Breath, which had been commandeered and reconstructed by the Ship's Skank to be a flying ship, which the Skank renamed The Flying Bale

A flying ship arrives, throwing burning bale's of hay through a hole bored out the bottom.

The Children of Crowta

Mythology of Crowta

The legend of Crowta has spread rapidly in Rocg, thanks to Taerik Fousthle, the elf man that Amisha first tricked into believing in Crowta. The arising mythology says that after he was shipwrecked on the Day of Woad, Crowta herself saved him from the Woaden Sea, taking him back to the temple where she first revealed herself to him. There, she instructed him to gather all who would be saved by her compassion, and build the walking fortress from the fallen Mocaeis' ruined temple. 

The Children of Crowta did so, and called the walking fortress Juggernaut, as Crowta wills that they never cease their motion. Men, women, and children all take their turn pushing the temple across the plains and savannahs. They have trampled farms, crushed homes, and taken in all refugees.

Where exactly they are going is not a concern, as they follow 'Crowta', and what will happen when they get wherever Crowta is leading them is simplified to "being saved".

Juggernaut

The Juggernaut is an unstoppable refuge for all who would enter. It is a massive, pyramidal, mostly wooden structure, featuring a stone building at the top. It is painted a splotchy black, with plain wood visible in some places, and black banners covering others. Crow feathers and crow symbols are abundant, as is the number of crows that follow the Juggernaut. There are windows in many places, and arrows and scorch marks on the sides. The wheels can be heard as far off as the chanting can, as they groan under the weight of the Juggernaut, but they and the walkers are hidden from view behind and beneath the Juggernaut walls. There are blood stains on the front walls of it.

It is also being pulled by five elephants, and several camps with other elephants are ahead of it. The Juggernaut has a pace of 3, and any difficulty of terrain brings it to a 1.

The chanting of the walkers can be heard for miles, repeating over and over: "Crowta save us, Crowta by your Mercy! Crowta wilt thou ever guide us and those who join our everlasting crusade."

Crowta's Children

The Children are not hostile towards anyone, however they follow 'Crowta', which happens to be whatever crow Taerik is pretty sure is Crowta, and they don't stop for anything. There are a number of warriors who have taken up the faith, and they protect the juggernaut with their lives. Twenty guard each elephant, and two hundred walk along the outside of the Juggernaut, chanting as loud as they can. Archers and wizards are ready at the windows as well, for if Crowta wills them through a village, then they will go, and the ungrateful children of those homes tend to fight back. 

This also happens to be how the Juggernaut stays fed, however. Refugees will bring whatever they have, and their belongings are added to the community share, but there aren't enough joining. The warriors (who also call themselves Juggernauts, as they hold strongly to the ideal of moving forward unstopped) tend to pillage whatever towns or villages they trample.

Those who have less faith and more desire to belong to a strong community may share that they feel that this is more a bandit party in disguise than a religion, but not in the presence of the devout. Some of the slightly less devout, but still faithful, Children of Crowta argue back that if this were true, there wouldn't be such a large number of people sent out to hunt and forage for the Children.

The Vigil

Despite their belief that they are being led by Crowta, it is still vital to the Children that a coin be left at the top of the tallest structure. Whenever they come to a new town, the most devoted race to climb the tallest structure to leave their 'Vigil Coin'. Whoever manages it first is honored for a time, and given a larger share of the goods taken. There are usually many who go to the slightly shorter buildings (or trees), as the Juggernaut has occasionally destroyed the tallest building.