The Gaming Den

Loren Coleman wrote:Harlequin’s Game:

Sometime after the four artifact adventures have been run, and Lofwyr is on stage as a player in this drama, the product Harlequin’s Game releases to put the previous adventures in perspective. Harlequin has been the one trying to recover the items, and with luck has possession of all four now. Other forces at work may deprive him of one or more of these items at a crucial moment.

This would seem to be a plot book, though it may have some adventure guidance as well for GMs who want a piece of the coming catastrophe.


The Fall of Tir Na Nog:

There are several possible layers to this part of the puzzle. The first being that Tir Na Nog (previously, the Blood Wood) is located over one of Earth’s four corners. Even during the Fifth World, this small scrap (relatively speaking) of land was plagued by troubles, violence, and sorrow. Added to that the mystifying nature of The Veil, and there is plenty we can use to play up this location as one of the places of power.

Now, even back in Earthdawn there was a touch of corruption here. What if the Immortal Elves made it worse by trapping one of the biggest, baddest nasties ever at this place of power? Corrupting the world, in effect. Slowly poisoning it for eon upon eon. Tir Na Nog is not only safeguarding this ancient corruption, like a stopper in a bottle, but is also still partly corrupted itself as it draws on this inherent power for The Veil, for the Tir’s protection, and for whatever else the Big Elves think they can control.

Through a drama of mega-proportions, with an army of Shadowrunners and power-players all at hand for the final throw down between Harlequin and Lofwyr, this stopper is finally popped. Tir Na Nog, as it has been known, is destroyed in favor of a corrupted, desolate shadow of its former self.

Worse, however, Lofwyr’s interference or direct actions have let loose an ancient enemy. The “Eater of Dragons.”

At which point Lofwyr gives the dragon equivalent of “oops, my bad” and runs away very quickly.

The Dark Tir:

Although the camera may swing away from the ruins of Tir Na Nog, this does not mean that it should be forgotten. The Tir is a blasted ruin of its former glory, but not dead. It, and many of the people caught up in the Corruption (yes, with a capital “C”) are still around for adventuring purposes. The Dark Tir would quickly become a kind of open, evil landscape the kind of which draws adventurers in. Think Temple of Elemental Evil.

The Enemy:

I know there are those who hate the Earthdawn crossovers. There are also those who love them. Or so I’ve been told. I think we can play to both by never once speaking of Earthdawn, but simply referring to the released entity as “ancient, eternal, and hungry.”

For those who are not up on their Earthdawn lore, I have, of course, been referring to the horror which is Verjigorm. The “hunter” or “eater” of dragons, depending on which translation of Bartlett’s Elder Beings you own. There are many possibilities here, though perhaps after so long trapped inside of this place of power, Verjigorm can no longer manifest as a physical presence, but is a palpable spirit-type-creature.

Poetic justice would be that Verjigorm could (and would happily) inhabit Lofwyr, turning him forever (or until we tire of it) into a Dracolich, with all of S-K’s resources at his control.