13th Age in Csachticz − Detailed Icons, No.5: The Erlking

The Erlking is the king of the Faeries. Although humans have been encroaching his lands for centuries, and although True Faith has cancelled any trace of Heathenry, the magic of the Erlking is still powerful, and it will remain so as long as the stars shine and men dream.

USUAL LOCATION

The Erlking lives in an ancient and immutable fortified palace in the heart of Elfland called the Dark Tower. Elfland is a magical land with a shifting boundary that co-exists with the least civilised places of Europe. In the Fair Kingdom, for instance, Elfland is said to be accessible via the densest thickets of Transylvania, when the Moon is high and the stars shimmer. This magical land however, is growing smaller and smaller as the monotheistic faiths progress. This phenomenon is called the Ebbing of Elfland.

COMMON KNOWLEDGE

The Erlking is one of the most ambiguous Icons of 13C. He rules over Fairies, who are not the nice miniature damsels from fairy tales: they kidnap babies, and they indulge in rape and murder, amongst themselves and whenever they meet mortals. But the Erlking is also the suzerain of the Green Knight (known as Hızır in the Empire of the Crescent Moon) whom he has sent on various missions to save mortals from great dangers. The Green Man and the Green Hunter are other well-known (and yet mysterious) vassals of the Erlking.

ADVENTURERS & THE ICON

The Erlking will occasionally hire adventurers when his agents are busy, or when he thinks the mission he has in mind is below his supernatural vassals.

ALLIES

Frau Perchta is a close ally of the Erlking.

ENEMIES

The Emperor, the Superintendent, and the Sultan, who epitomise the various facets of the monotheistic faith, and who are directly responsible for the Ebbing of Elfland, are the archenemies of the Erkling.

There has been a longstanding rivalry between the Alchemist and the Erlking, as the former champions rational, learnèd magic and the latter the use of spontaneous, natural dwimmercraft.

HISTORY

The Erlking has ruled Elfland for as long as mortals remember.

THE TRUE DANGER

All rational or pious mortals, whether subjects of the Emperor or of the Sultan, know that the Erlking is no friend of humankind and must be opposed. Yet who knows what darker forces of nature he is holding at bay with the help of his vassals—forces that may be an even greater danger to humanity than the Faeries.

13th Age in Csachticz − Detailed Icons, No.4: The Great Boyar

The Great Boyar is the name given to the Orc Lord in 13C. The name 'Boyar' shall obviously evoke the mysterious lands at the easternmost end of early modern Europe. At the turn of the 16th century, the historical Muscovy had fallen into a succession crisis known as the Time of Troubles because Feodor I, the last of the Rurik dynasty, died without leaving any male heir. The land was devastated by famine and by the civil war amongst the various claimants.

In 13C, a figure has emerged from this squabble to unite all the petty kingdoms east of the Oriental Range under his iron rule. Little is known about the Great Boyar, except that he commands ruthless hordes to do his bidding.

USUAL LOCATION

The Great Boyar is shrouded in mystery, and so are his whereabouts, although he is rumoured to dwell, attended by beautiful rusalki, at the centre of a vast and foreboding marsh guarded by fearsome vodyanyie.

COMMON KNOWLEDGE

The Great Boyar being a figure shrouded in mystery, and his lands being far and isolated, little is really known about him. Some say he's far taller than a normal person, some say he's not really human, some others that he is of an amphibious nature; some others yet insist all of this is true— and then worse. Yet some argue that all these rumours are purposely spread by the Great Boyar himself to instil a sense of fear in his enemies.

ADVENTURERS & THE ICON

At the moment, the influence of the Great Boyar doesn't really extend over the Fair Kingdom, so adventurers shouldn't feel his influence (yet). However, it is rumoured that the Great Boyar commands many aquatic creatures, such as the already-mentioned rusalki and vodyanyie, and he may have started to gain hold upon the waterways and the marshes of the north-eastern borderlands of the Fair Kingdom.

Also, adventurers who like to plunder more than law may look favourably upon the Great Boyar and the promises of looting that the onslaught of the Eastern hordes might bring upon the Fair Kingdom.

A particularly interesting PC background could be that of the exiled knyaz, a wandering knight pertaining to one of the noble houses on the losing side of the Muscovite civil war. These adventurers would have a conflicted or negative relationship with the Great Boyar.

ALLIES

The Great Boyar operates on his own. He's also a big unknown because he's a recent addition to the roster of Icons. The Emperor will certainly try and manoeuvre him so that he turns his attention towards the Empire of the Crescent Moon first, and the Sultan will try and do the same but with regards to the Empire of the One Faith.

ENEMIES

No actual enemies yet. The Emperor is known to have tried to prevent the Great Boyar from reuniting the petty kingdoms of the East via his proxies there, but he has failed.

HISTORY

Little is known about what the Great Boyar was before gaining his current title.

THE TRUE DANGER

At the moment the Great Boyar is but a distant threat. However, the other Icons would do well to remember that the last time a single individual managed to unite the Eastern lands, almost all of Europe fell before the Eastern hordes. Will history repeat itself?

⁂

Should you want to run a mash-up of my Fair Kingdom setting and of the Land of Unreason from A Red & Pleasant Land, the Great Boyar could be the Twin of the Colourless Queen, or even her spouse, who manages to influence events in the Land of Unreason via its many canals.

In this case, the distant eastern domain ruled by the Great Boyar is the geographical twin of Nephilidia.

A Red & Pleasant Land: The Alice – A New Character Class

I am crap at writing reviews, so instead of writing a review of the marvellous Lamentations of the Flame Princess sandbox supplement titled A Red & Pleasant Land, I will be posting a blog entry for each of its chapters. That will be my way of writing a review of sorts, by showcasing how inspiring reading the book has been to me.

Chapter II of A Red & Pleasant Land is entirely devoted to the description of a new LotFP character class called The Alice. Now instead of merely paraphrasing this chapter (because that's pretty much all you can do with a technical piece such as a new character class), I'll be repurposing The Alice character class for the Monsters & Magic role-playing game, along the lines of what David Rollins has done for D&D 5e.

The Alice
a new character class for Monsters & Magic

Prime Attribute: Dexterity
Physical Hit Points: D4
Mental Hit Points: D10
Starting Money: 3D4×10

As explained in A Red & Pleasant Land, whereas your average adventurer sets out looking for adventure, in the case of Alices, it is actually adventure that seeks them. The Alice is a mysterious magnet for odd occurrences, perplexing phenomena, and extraordinary endeavours.

Restrictions
Alices are human, and from a civilised background.


Alice Traits
✠ Light Armour
✠ Simple 1-Handed Weapons
✠ Tool of the Trade: Choose one particular Game or Musical Instrument
✠ Luck Manipulation (as described in Aperita Arcana)
✠ Read and Write
✠ Exasperation, per the text in A Red & Pleasant Land, but use the Effect Engine instead of rolling the dice, i.e.:

• Difficulty: whatever is causing the exasperation, or a GM-set value (p37 of M&M)
• Minor effect, subtract 5 and read the resulting number on the Exasperation table on p31 of A Red & Pleasant Land
• Major effect, subtract 10 and read the resulting number on the Exasperation table, allow for some leeway
• Extreme effect, let the Alice choose the number on the Exasperation table

Alice Advancements
Each time the Alice levels up, instead of letting the player choose the advancement, have them roll 1D100:

1D100 Roll	Results
01-20	The Alice may choose one of the Monk traits on p17 of M&M as an Advancement
21-70	The Alice may choose one of the Thief traits on p22 of M&M as an Advancement
71-74	per the text of the Alice D100 Level Up Table on p32-33 of A Red & Pleasant Land
75	The Alice gets Recognise Faction or Function of Any Voivodjan Aristocrat as an Advancement
76-79	per the text of the Alice D100 Level Up Table
80	The Alice may replace STR with CHA in a combat roll
81	The Alice gets Identify Drugs & Plants as an Advancement
82	The Alice gets Lie Convincingly as an Advancement
83	per the text of the Alice D100 Level Up Table
84	The Alice gets Voivodjan Etiquette as an Advancement
85-87	per the text of the Alice D100 Level Up Table
88	The Alice gets an extra language as an Advancement
89	The Alice gets Artistic Forgery as an Advancement
90	The Alice gets Appraise Treasure as an Advancement
91-93	The Alice may replace STR with DEX in a combat roll
94	per the text of the Alice D100 Level Up Table
95	The Alice gets Dodge Missiles as an Advancement
96	The Alice gets the Stalwart Defence stance (p42 of M&M) as an Advancement
97-98	The Alice gets Sylvan Sympathy as an Advancement
99-00	The Alice gets Utterly Blasé as an Advancement

As a bonus, I am adding a further sub-class of the Alice, the Goose-boy, devised by yours truly, and inspired by Lúdas Matyi, the Hungarian epic poem written by Mihály Fazekas.

The Goose-Boy
a new Alice sub-class for Monsters & Magic

Secondary Attribute:Wisdom
Starting Money: 5D6

The Goose-boy is the commoner counterpart to the Alice. The Goose-boy starts as a young peasant boy who leads a quiet life but who is severely wronged by some upper-class NPC, and who sets out on an adventure to settle a score with the NPC.

Restrictions
The Goose-boy is a human from the sticks. The player must choose the reason the PC has become a Goose-boy; possible reasons are:

• stolen property
• someone forcibly married his sweetheart
• killed relative

Goose-boy Traits
✠ Light Armour and Shield
✠ 1-Handed Weapons
✠ Country Bumpkin: Choose one particularly lowly profession such as goose boy, pig herder, etc.
✠ Luck Manipulation
✠ Disguise (p23 of M&M)
✠ Exasperation

Goose-boy Advancements
As the Alice above, except:
75 Sense Orb Loc - the Goose-boy may detect the hidden human settlements of Voivodja
84 Exhort the Commoners - the Goose-boy may stir up trouble against the aristocracy
88 Thieves' Cant - the Goose-boy has learnt the secret language of lowlifes
89 Impersonate Trade - the Goose-boy may pass off as a trader or an artisan
90 Rigmarole - the Goose-boy may fast-talk his way pretty much anywhere

If you are using my 13C setting, Goose-boys are agents of the Trickster.

13th Age in Csachticz − Detailed Icons, No.3: The Dracul

The Dracul is the name given to the Diabolist in 13C. The surname 'Dracul' stems from the Order of the Dragon, founded in 1408 by the then-Emperor Sigismund (1368–1437) and his wife of ill-repute, Queen Barbara (1392–1451). The scope of the Order of the Dragon is to defend True Faith against the Empire of the Crescent Moon. However, contrary to other similarly-purposed orders, whose foundation lies in religious vows and selflessness, the Order of the Dragon is firmly based upon personal oaths of loyalty and ruthlessness.

The first Dracul, or head of the Order of the Dragon, was Hermann II of Cilli, the father of Queen Barbara. After his death in 1435, the headship was passed on to Vlad II of Herdsland, henceforth known as Vlad Dracul. There were rumours of Queen Barbara and Vlad Dracul dabbling in forbidden magicks and being lovers. Whatever the truth, she certainly put her immense wealth and her political clout behind Vlad Dracul, who rose from being a secondary baron of the Empire of the One Faith to becoming its foremost champion in the south-east. After the Queen's demise, apparently caused by a necromantic ceremony gone awry — she was reportedly trying to become a lich —, Vlad Dracul resumed her dark experiments. He has seldom since been seen in broad daylight, and has always fought his battles against the Empire of the Crescent Moon during the night. These night attacks have terrified the Sultan's troops, especially since the Dracul is known to impale any prisoners taken during these battles.

USUAL LOCATION

The Dracul is seldom to be seen, except when leading his unsavoury host into battle. Rumour has it that he spends the rest of his time in his foreboding fortified tower at Argisch, deep in the most inaccessible part of the Oriental Range.

COMMON KNOWLEDGE

It is common knowledge that the present Dracul, Vlad Dracul, has been around for... something like 200 years, which is obviously very wrong. Since he's made few public appearances in the last 150 years or so, little is known about the means by which he's managed to extend his lifespan to such an incredible amount of years. Some say he has a huge laboratory where he brews life-extending potions; some others that he's transformed into a lich, using the forbidden necromantic lore accumulated by his erstwhile mentor (and lover) Queen Barbara; some others that he's become a vampire, and that his many war prisoners are his lifeblood.

His fortress~tower at Argisch, in an ever dark and stormy part of the Oriental Range, with barely any access road, certainly doesn't invite enquiries.

The few survivors from the notorious night attacks of the Dracul speak of a huge unholy horde of undead riding skeletal horses into battle, but these reports are dismissed as the ravings of disturbed madmen.

ADVENTURERS & THE ICON

The Dracul is a fanatical opponent of the Empire of the Crescent Moon. For him, the end always justifies the means, so he's always looking for spies, assassins, and like lowlifes to further his diabolical deeds. However, anybody associating with the Dracul may find themselves shunned by normal adventurers should news of such an association leak out.

ALLIES

The Dracul is a villainous icon without any ally. Not that he thinks he needs any.

ENEMIES

The Sultan is the Dracul's obsessive enemy, and obviously the Sultan also considers the Dracul as one of his foremost enemies north of the Empire of the Crescent Moon. The Superintendent and the Warlord, who do not agree with the way the Dracul fights against the Empire of the Crescent Moon, are known to have hired holy men and monastic knights to try and root out this evil from the Oriental Range. None of these agents are known to have ever returned.

HISTORY

The Dracul as such is quite a recent Icon compared with the others. However, he draws upon an ancient tradition of necromancy, forbidden lore, and cruelty that has been present in this part of Europe for centuries.

THE TRUE DANGER

The Dracul is obsessed with defeating the Empire of the Crescent Moon, which keeps him busy. Should he turn his eyes towards his erstwhile co-religionists he might corrupt the Fair Kingdom and, beyond it, the Empire of the One Faith!

13th Age in Csachticz − Detailed Icons, No.2: The Alchemist

The Alchemist is the name given to the Archmage in 13C. The title 'Alchemist' definitely sounds more "early modern" than 'Archmage', which smacks of high fantasy. The Alchemist is the embodiment of the intelligence, of the spirit of research, and of the enlightenment of the age: in the 16th century, mathematics, physics and alchemy are not deemed incompatible — it is actually quite the contrary.

There have been many Alchemists in the history of the Empire of the One Faith, but none of them have been as influential as the current one, whose amity with the Emperor and with most learned men of Europe has put him at the exact centre of European alchemical and hermetic studies. If a major endeavour in any of these fields is under way anywhere in Europe, the Alchemist definitely knows about it — he might even be actively involved.

USUAL LOCATION

At his tower on top of Alchemist's Hill near the city of Brüx, approximately 50 miles northwest of Burgstadt along the River Biela.

COMMON KNOWLEDGE

Despite his being a well-known public figure, and despite his many appearances at court, little is actually known about the Alchemist. It is rumoured that he was born about 40 years ago in Albion. He is supposed to have worked as an apothecary at the court of Queen Gloriana, where he quickly rose through the ranks but fell out of favour just as quickly, finding then refuge on the Continent; first at Wittingau, then at Brüx, always enjoying the patronage of the Emperor.

The Alchemist has a huge laboratory in his tower that is rumoured to extend well beneath it into Alchemist's Hill, and even under the city of Brüx. This laboratory~dungeon is equipped with all manner of paraphernalia retrieved by the Alchemist's agents from all the corners of the Empire of the One Faith, and beyond. It is said that each section of the labyrinthine laboratory is devoted to a given art, e.g., one to optics, one to divination, one to summoning, etc.

ADVENTURERS & THE ICON

As per the standard 13th Age core book under Archmage (p14)— the Alchemist hires adventurers to retrieve strange implements, to test new spells, and to volunteer for participating in his séances. Pay is high, but so are the hazards.

ALLIES

The Alchemist has sworn total fealty to the Emperor. Despite the Alchemist's incredible supernatural powers, the oaths he has taken are apparently even stronger.
The Alchemists professes respect for the tenets of True Faith, and in particular for those of the Old Way, but he and the Pope have never been know to actively co-operate. On the other hand, rumour has it that the Alchemist and the Superintendent have worked together to prevent the Sultan from locating certain magic items buried deep in the mountains of the Oriental Range.

ENEMIES

There is an ongoing rivalry between the Alchemist and the Occultist, but it has never escalated into open warfare between their agents.
The Alchemist wants to bend nature under humanity's will; as a result, he has deeply hurt the Erlking and Frau Perchta, who are now openly opposing him.

HISTORY

There has always been an Alchemist working for the Emperor, despite the uneasiness his presence has always brought at court, and the whiff of heresy surrounding his works. Some were grand, some were petty; the current Alchemist is probably the grandest of them all.

THE TRUE DANGER

Danger lies with the Alchemist's various experiments, and in particular his summonings of strange extra-planar creatures. He calls them 'Angels' — but are they?

13th Age in Csachticz − Detailed Icons, No.1: The Emperor

The Emperor is the ruler of the Empire of the One Faith, Europe's greatest kingdom, which covers Central Europe and much of the Romance-speaking areas of Southern Europe. He's also the head of many secular chivalric orders.

The capital of the empire does not have a fixed location; each new emperor chooses an imperial seat. The current capital is Burgstadt, which lies to the north-west of the Fair Kingdom.

USUAL LOCATION

In his castle at Burgstadt, the capital city of the Empire of the One Faith.

COMMON KNOWLEDGE

The current emperor, Rudolf II, was born in Wien in 1552, and has been ruling since 1576, i.e., for approximately 20 years (depending on when exactly the campaign is set), so he's well-established and his rule is unquestioned. He has never married and is rumoured to be bisexual. Even though he stalwartly supports True Faith, this may be more for political than religious reasons, as the Emperor is well-known for his interest in the occult arts and for his patronage of the Alchemist. He is also unusually tolerant of New Wayers. The Emperor, however, is a staunch opponent of the Sultan, and, at the time of the campaign, he is trying to set up a new Crusade.

The Emperor is a great protector of the arts, and there are numerous artists at his court. He also keeps a menagerie of exotic animals, botanical gardens, and Europe's most extensive "cabinet of curiosities", arranged in an encyclopaedic fashion.

ADVENTURERS & THE ICON

Rudolf is distrustful of the Imperial bureaucracy and is often hiring adventurers for his missions. Because of his passion for the occult and for curios, these missions may have a wide range of purposes.

ALLIES

13C being a dark fantasy setting, Icons seldom have true allies; they rather have other Icons with whom they co-operate. The Emperor's patronage of the Alchemist has already been mentioned. The Emperor has also been known to associate with the Occultist. Given Rudolf's tolerance of New Wayers, the Emperor has closely worked with the Superintendent.
The Pope has an ancient relationship with the Emperor, as they both protect and promote the Old Way of True Faith, but this relationship is currently quite strained.

ENEMIES

The Sultan is obviously the Emperor's main (and also oldest) antagonist; he's been conquering imperial lands for centuries, slowly moving northwards the boundary between the two great empires. The Great Boyar, on the other hand, is a new enemy, and the real clash hasn't actually happened yet.

The Emperor's brother, Archduke Matthias, is constantly scheming for the throne, helped by his right-hand man, György Thurzó. Matthias will eventually obtain the throne in 1612 after having held Rudolf prisoner in his castle in Burgstadt. Should the GM decide to use the rivalry among the two brothers as an important element of his campaign, Matthias should be 'elevated' to Icon status.

HISTORY

The Empire of the One Faith has been existing for centuries, almost for one millennium. It has shaped the arts, the language, the religion, the architecture of much of Europe. The Emperor is arguably the single most important Icon.

THE TRUE DANGER

Whether they like the current incarnation of the Emperor or not, everybody recognise his authority and strive to support his rule, for the fall of the Emperor would be the fall of civilisation. This shan't happen, lest the Sultan and the Great Boyar should invade Europe's heartlands unopposed.

13th Age in Csachticz − Icon Relationships

In an earlier post, I have presented a tentative set of 13th Age icons for a weird early modern Central European fantasy role-playing setting. Let's call it simply “13th Age in Csachticz” or even 13C [Csachticz was the name of the Blood Countess' home castle].

Now these icons must be classified as Heroic, Ambiguous or Villainous to be properly used with the Icon Relationships mechanism of 13th Age. Since 13C has been greatly inspired by Lamentations of the Flame Princess and its dark and gloomy setting, in which adventurers are hardly 'heroic', most icons in 13C will be on the 'Ambiguous' side. Feel free to modify this as suits your style of play (in the original 13th Age game, there are 4 Heroic icons, 5 Ambiguous icons, and 4 Villainous ones).

13C Icon	Type
The Alchemist	Heroic
The Dracul	Villainous
The Emperor	Ambiguous
The Erlking	Ambiguous
Frau Perchta	Heroic
The Great Boyar	Villainous
The Occultist	Ambiguous
The Pope	Ambiguous
The Sultan	Villainous
The Superintendent	Ambiguous
The Trickster	Ambiguous
The Turul	Heroic
The Warlord	Ambiguous

13th Age in Csachticz

There is a 13th Age in Glorantha Kickstarter project that has just ended a smash success. Because of this crowdfunding campaign (which I have backed, of course), I have started re-reading the 13th Age core book.

One section has struck me as particularly interesting:

Luckily you can port some of the best ideas from 13th Age to your own OGL campaign. Our one unique thing, icon relationships, and background mechanics could fir in well in a typical campaign. The same goes for the campaign map, the icons, and the world description. Increments, the escalation die, recoveries, and full heal-ups are portable as well. Help yourselves.

Well, one idea that I do like from 13th Age is the icons mechanism. Icons are extremely powerful, campaign-defining NPCs that the player characters tend to establish relationships with. These relationships then have an influence on the GM's campaign. It's a simple and cool way to give players agency whilst remaining in an 'Old School' rules framework.

As a result, I have spent the week-end thinking about campaign-encompassing NPCs for Lamentations of the Blood Countess, and here are the results.

The Alchemist
For all his support for True Faith, the Emperor has always protected the Alchemist and his strange experiments, which have enabled the Empire of the One Faith to remain at the cutting edge of weapons and (so it is rumoured) magic technology.

The Dracul
The Dracul has only one aim: to defend True Faith against its enemies, no matter the price that must be paid. The Dracul sponsors the Order of the Dragon, a powerful chivalric order, but also controls less savoury agents, because the Dracul firmly believes that the end always justifies the means.

The Emperor
The Emperor is the most powerful nobleman in Europe; he rules Europe's greatest kingdom, known as the Empire of the One Faith because of its temporal and spiritual nature. In the past, the Emperor and the Pope used to be in conflict for supremacy, but since the appearance of the New Way and the conquests of the Empire of the Crescent Moon, they have been co-operating to defend the Old Way.

The Erlking
The Erlking is the king of the Faeries. Although humans have been encroaching his lands for centuries, and although True Faith has cancelled any trace of Heathenry, the magic of the Erlking is still powerful, and it will remain so as long as the stars shine and men dream.

Frau Perchta
Frau Perchta is the spiritual and magical head of the spirits of nature and the covens of witches. She is the cold and pale virgin of the moon, the protector of animals and of their fertility. She is also the leader of the mysterious Wild Hunt.

The Great Boyar
Across the foreboding range of mountains on the eastern borders of the Fair Kingdom lies a vast and obscure steppe-like territory divided into squabbling petty kingdoms of ill repute. Shrouded in mystery, a figure has recently emerged from the squabble to unite them all under his iron rule. The last time a similar event happened, almost all of Europe fell before the Tartar horde. Will history repeat itself?

The Occultist
The Occultist is a loner without loyalties who works both for the Emperor and the Sultan. He does not really care as long as his forbidden researches get funded. The Emperor and the Sultan hate him but do not really have the choice if they do not want the latest sorcerous artefact fall in the wrong hands. It is rumoured that the Gipsies are his agents, which may explain why he is so well informed without ever leaving his tower.

The Pope
The Pope is the supreme pontiff of the Old Way branch of True Faith. As the leader of the oldest and most prestigious branch of True Faith, he still commands various orders of knights that he relentlessly uses to fight against the Empire of the Crescent Moon.

The Sultan
As both the temporal and the spiritual ruler of the southernly Empire of the Crescent Moon, the Sultan commands the loyalty of millions of faithful subjects. In Europe, he is viewed as a dangerous tyrant intent on conquering the Empire of the One Faith; at home, he is considered the embodiment of all the virtues of the Way of the Crescent Moon.

The Superintendent
One of the big differences between the Old Wayers and the New Wayers is that the latter have rejected the centralised and hierarchical way the Pope has been managing the church; the New Way faithful only obey God, their bishops are elected, and no bishop holds sway over the others. However, the New Wayers have realised that they do need a single spokesman; since his election by the New Way Synod in 1564, the Superintendent has been maintaining a careful balance between the two empires.

The Trickster
When the Pied Piper leads away the children of Hamelin, when Till Eulenspiegel plays his practical jokes on the burghers of a city, when a knight has a picaresque behaviour instead of a chivalric one, the Trickster is at work. He has been plaguing Europeans since Antiquity, and he always will be. Sometimes, as in the case of Mattie the Goose-boy, he is a welcome figure. It is said that vagrants are his agents.

The Turul
The Turul is the totemic bird of the ancestors of the Plains People. Even tough they converted to True Faith centuries ago, some of them still dream of the Tree of Life and of the Turul bird that perches on top of it, and that grants magical powers in dire times, as when King Matthias was saved from the Empire of the Crescent Moon by a pauper who breathed fire and ice.

The Warlord
The Mountains People are a proud and aloof people who guard the mountain frontiers of the Fair Kingdom. They are ruled by the Warlord who, despite his name, loves and protects peace. But woe to him who should cause the Warlord to choose war rather than peace, for his battle rage is immense and he is only placated when all his enemies are slain.

A Witch

click to enlarge

Very inspirational... Magic Circle (1886), by the talented Pre-Raphaelite painter John William Waterhouse!

Edit 16/10/2014− I am adding a link to a fan-made 13th Age character class called... THE WITCH!

While wizards use carefully studied symbology and an occult grammatical system to work magic, and sorcerers draw intuitively upon the icons' power and the magic hidden within their own blood, witches tread a different, less direct path to arcane mastery. True, they often study occult lore, and some even manage to learn a few wizard spells. True, it is not uncommon for a witch to have a magical birthright that sets her forth on her journey or an unexpected link to one or more of the icons. But the witch sees each of these systems and links as a mere tool — one in a much larger toolbox that is well worth exploring. Beyond these basic starting points, the witch looks for the magical connections that these methods share and that bind all things, and she calls upon those beings that understand such phenomena better than she does. She does not limit herself to one narrow system, but pragmatically accepts each gift of arcane learning that Fate and the other occult powers send her way.

In time, the witch learns many useful tricks — spells, of course, but also hexes. The latter can be used with greater frequency, by deferring the arcane cost to another time — or another being.  Most critically, by sensing the strands of Fate, she tries to work with them, instead of against them, taking the subtle path of least resistance to achieve her goals. Sadly, this may bring her to the attention of other beings that take an interest in Fate, as well as those exotic powers that she calls upon, from time to time, in pursuit of lore. For the witch, this is a small price to pay, to gain a deeper understanding of the most hidden workings of the universe.