GM: Judd Karlman
Players: Cathy Caronia, Pete Cornell, and Sean Nittner
System: Mythic Bastionland
Judd invited me to play Mythic Bastionland with Pete (who was in the Wobbegong Crew) and Cathy (a new friend to me). I jumped at the chance. From everything he’s posted on his blog and on Discord, it sounded amazing.
We got together and decided we wanted characters who were tied to people and had responsibilities, so we went with Rulers and rolled up our Knights.
Cathy played Ezter the Talon Knight, and leader in our hold of Blackmoat. She held the belief that no one eats unless everyone eats, and further we all the same food (and often together). Ezter was knighted by the Veiled Seer, who sees nothing, but hears all that is around.
Pete played Cormac, the Mock Knight, a construct made of ivory bones and parchment skin, he can appear human with his full plate armor is worn, but when revealed he often caused awe and apprehension. Cormac was created by another knight who he now tries to be worthy of (the knight passed soon after he was created)
I plaed Bray, the Mirror Knight. She and her steed Birch were held hostage by the High Lord Medryn who ruled the land from Three Crones Keep. Thanks to a rescue mission from Ezter she escaped, though Birch lost an eye in the fight.
The central tension between Blackmoat and the Three Crones was around the distribution of resources. Lord Medryn, who speak to the stones and knows the old ways gives to those based on their standing. Ezter, who takes in refugees and believes everyone should eat, did not pay her taxes as the food was needed to feed people under her governance. Bray had been held as hostage by the Lord as leverage, but not that she’s been rescued, tensions are rising. Bray feels she owes a debt she cannot repay.
The horrors of Spinjack
On the day before the Feast of the Sun, Bray traveled north to visit her mother, the Giant Seer. Bray’s mother can only see glimpses and sometimes crushes small objects. She wants to be told she’s a good seer and one of our duties is to remind her that her word are honored.
But for Bray, she just wanted to see her mother. She had been hostage for a long time and missed her, and worried about her as well. Bray found her mother sitting on the ground by a corpse of trees holding her knees into her chest. She was crying, giant tears of sorrow.
Before her was a knight, their steed, and squires who were all bound in webbing and devoured. Crows picking at their bodies.
The Giant Seer shared knowledge of what Bray was witnessing “These folks came from the Tower Majestic in the north. They were hunted and driven into webs and killed. Bitten and paralyzed and eaten. Hunted for some time. It was a tragedy.
Bray covered the nights with a horse blanket and walked with her mother back to her home, where she was cared for by her acolytes.
At the Feast of the Sun, Bray the Mirror Knight broke the news.
A plea for peace
The hall went quiet and looked to the Talon Knight for guidance.
Ezter the Talon Knight told her people at the feast “We all eat together. We bring together what we can to bring food for everyone. But this does not appear to be something that could live with us. I ask that we learn first, that we find out everything we can. I will speak to my seer to see if there’s any way to live in peace. If not, we will defend ourselves.” Bray was disappointed but held her tongue.
Ezter visited the Veiled Seer and asked if it were possible to find a path towards peace. She received only one word in response. “Perhaps.”
The Mock Knight doesn’t feel cold so they help people do work in the winter and they had experience with other hunters, mostly wolves. Found that they had in the past been kept at bay before by making them an offering.
And so an expedition to the Three Crones where Spinjack lairs was started.
A young boy’s story
On the way we met shepherds who had encountered the Lord of Hunters. Their son narrowly survived and Cormac asked that the tell his story.
A strange man who called himself Alskip, the Herald of Spinjack told the boy he should be honored, because he was chosen to be hunted by the Lord of Hunters. The man’s head was too wide, his limbs to gangly, and he wore dessicated spider husk for armor. The boy yelled at him to go away, his dog barked, and he threw stones. Alskip retreated to the north, but just as he promised the next day the boy was out in the field and webbing fell down upon him. His dog helped him get free but he was wounded by the spider and paralized. Thankfully the spider too more interest in the sheep and it’s hunger slated the boy was left alive. The next day, when he could move again, he clambered home with his dog.
We told the family to move south with what sheep they had left and stay with family or friends. We would find the Lord of Hunters and stop her.
Parley with the Herald
We found where the path turned into a tunnel beneath the Three Crones, but Ezter preferred to stay where her great hunting falcon could fly free and show us the land.
On the top of the mountain there are sky graves of ancient people who are long gone. Before we get to the peek however, we found someone who has the spider husk armor and a fang sword. The boy had not mentioned the sword.
The figure was standing on a mound that was moving, crawling with spider young. The person had no nose and there belly was swollen like a spider’s. As we apprached they greeted us with a warning “I am Allskip, the herald of the Lord of Hunters Spinjack. This mound is sacred. Come no closer!”
Ezter honored his request and halted our party “Will you parley with us?”
“Do you want to be hunted by the greatest hunter? You will but it will be glorious.”
Ezter tried to find another path “Is that what your lord Spinjack needs to live here? Just as my bird must hunt I know your master must as well, but must she hunt on the people of our land?”
Alskip was confused. They had never considered such a question.
Bray gestured to the mound of young, which Alskip defended. “Just as your master defends her young, we must also defend our own. is there a way to appease your master? To slake her hunger?”
Alskip wondered at this. Ezter asked more questions about the work they did for Spinjack. “It’s hard. I need to find targets that are good eat but prepose a challenge. Delicious but fit enough to provide chase. She loves the chase.”
“Can you carry our words us to Spinjack?”
“What would you have me say?”
“Your master cannot prey on the people on this land. But we have enemies. There are few and far between, but otherwise she would have to confine her self to animals. “
Alskip seemed to be finding a way through this web of new ideas “Could the Lord of Hunters have access to your seers to find prey for the lord of the hunt?”
Bray was not so sure. She turned to her lord “Do you really mean to offer Spinjet a place in our society? To be a citizen, bound and protected by the same laws we are?”
Ezter nodded and continued to speak with Alskip “Perhaps, but she would have to know that there may not always be humans available to hunt.”
Over the next few weeks Allskip went back and forth between our kingdom for and their lord’s lair. Spinjack proposes to be a knight, bound by our laws!
Next game is Sceptremass. Spinjack will come to sear and oath. We shall see how it is recieved
Map from this reddit thread.
Thoughts on the game
This was a blast. We spent a lot of time talking about our beliefs and then got to see them in practice. I’m surprised we found a peaceful solution, but I’m not sure it will stay peaceful when we present Spinjack to swear oaths to the High Lord!
