Sorrow’s Hunger (9/3/2026)

GM: Sean Nittner
Players: Adrienne Mueller, Hunter Leigh, Dylan Arena, Avery Krieger
System: Spell and Blade by Stras Acimovic

I’d be prepping for this game for a month. Adrienne had played in both Curse of Storms and Tomb of the Twins, so I decided to make a bespoke adventure for her and for Fox Con. Adrienne said she wanted to play in the frozen north, so I opened the discussion with the players with this kernel:

The Eve of Moontide

Iskanard, the frozen north, is a land of sorcerers’ towers, ice wyrms, star metal smiths, twin moon goddesses, and a two hundred year old queen to protects the land from titans even farther north.

Iskani, the people are Iskanard are a hardy lot including both locals and others from different cultures that settle there. They rely on their loved ones, but are also known to set out on their own when conflicts cannot be resolved. Skana the Red Queen asks for no taxes, and claims no tithes, but she does protect the realm from those who would do it harm.

Those raised in Isnkarad may be born to brewers (and learn of near alchemical concoctions), to Wyrm Hunters (and learn how to sail their ice skiffs and hunt giant wyrms), to fisherfolk (and learn to watch the fickle winds), to stewards (and raise creatures such as the bear-like fnarr), or to smiths (and possibly have sworn the Oath of Starfall).

And those inclined to religion, my give praise to Maya, goddess of the full moon, who extolls warriors and smiths, or to her sister Akta, goddess of the new moon, who treasures secrets found in hidden places.

Character Concepts

From everyone I heard back:

I would like to be a bard-dude! With a flute/pipe made of sea creature bones. Like from whale-like megafauna. And they’re carved. And I have a big beard. But not a wispy one. Full. Untamed. Luxuriant. Sean’s reply: What kind of bard? One steeped on lore or focused on song and dance? Singing! Shanties! Thigh slapping!
I tend to play one of 3 archetypes when I play games like this: Paladin, Rogue, or Bard. With bard off the board and given what you’ve said about the setting, what would you think about a local drunk + thief? Maybe he’s in jail and swears an oath to get let out. He’s charismatic enough, maybe from a famous family or something, that he can get away with small cons and petty thefts to pay for his drinking and carousing without angering people so much that they kill him or run him out of town? Sean’s Reply: There aren’t prisons in small Iskani villages, but you may be on the verge of exile which is a very harsh punishment and this is a chance to redeem yourself. Would you like to be an orphan (so sad), someone born to brewers, animal stewards, or smiths (so you had enough money you didn’t need to steal stuff, but maybe did it for fun), or born to fisherfolk or wyrm hunters (a poor and hard life, makes sense you’d turning to crime)? Smith family, and an item of rul-metal from an great grandmother.
Polar bear trainer! Pretty cruel, believes negative reinforcement is the only way to get the beasts to pay attention and learn. Sean’s Reply: I wonder if you’ve got some nasty scars from a time that punishment backfired! Mentor is Varrik, Rul-handed, the oldest and most skilled fnarr trainer, famously jokes that a fnarr can’t bite your same hand off twice.
Could I be a wyrm hunter? I’d like to be named Yngvar. Do Wyrm Hunters use spears? If so, I’d like Yngvar to be a spear-wielding Wyrm Hunter. And do they use shields, or no? Sean’s Reply: Spears for sure. Shields aren’t normal hunter items, but we could get you one if we changed career to Sell Sword

From these notes I made four characters, which the players named and finished off in play. We had:

Brumak, born to fisherfolk. Sailor turned Bard who knew many shanties. Accompanied by his toothed orca Fritz.
Ulf, the town drunk and thief, equipped with hidden blade and a paralyzing fear of failure. Wore his great grandmothers start metal vambrace like a manacle. A inheritance he never wanted that hummed a song which kept him up at night.
Lynarra, called Nay Nay by friends, a fnarr-touched steward, and member of the Queen’s army. The official fnarr-trainer her ursine head and massive stature made her capable of commanding both man and beast. Accompanied by Isk, the tusked bear-like fnarr.
Yngvar, a wyrm hunter turned sell sword. While he once sailed on the ice skiffs of his people, something happened and he turned his attention outward to lands beyond his home. Accompanied by Skanar, the wolf-like arrgarr.

I’m biased because I made the characters but the details the players provided made them so rad. I am 100% going to polish this adventure so I can run it again!

Arts and Crafts

The adventure concept that started forming in my head was tied to the deep, to spirits, and to the pain we all hold inside ourselves. I won’t spoil the entire adventure, but I will show off the wall of sorrow I made. It is just so pretty.

Some things I learned doing this:

Don’t use spray adhesive on styrofoam, it disintegrates. Regular old Elmer’s works great.
If you can get it, use EPS foam or craft foam rather than styrofoam. It will have a smoother surface and not crumble as much. Styrofoam works, but it’s a bit messier.

I also made a map in Inkarnate. That $8/month subscription keeps paying off over and over.

Brezhok Missing

I started the adventure with this intro

Nurvak is a coastal village in West Iskanard known for its incredible fishing of arctic char and fanged icefish. For some time the char population has been uncharacteristically aggressive, fighting amongst each other even though they had no shortage of food. A week ago, Brezhok, a young fisherman, took a small skiff upstream to find out why the char were acting so strange. He has not returned and now in Nurvak are concerned. The townsfolk took you to find young fisher, and if possible, the source of the disturbance.

After reading this, I asked the characters to put the finishing touches on their character (selecting a name for their characters and animal companions, selecting an extra skill, raising one trait to level two, and rolling their starting gold).

After that I asked them to select a formative moment for their character:

Life in Nurvak is hard and people are shaped by their struggles. Once characters are created, each player will pick one formative moment that shaped their character, and that gives them strength now. Each memory is a trait with this ability: Push this trait to: provide a boost on a roll where this experience gives you strength or insight.

I had table tents with formative moments printed on them. On the inside there were questions for them to elaborate, the chose:

Brumak drowned. He had been lost over the edge of a boat on the River Dryn and caught under the water. Saved by Lynarra who pulled him out of the water.
Lynarra had been abandoned. She fell down into a crevasse in the ice and nobody was able to get her out. They thought she must have died in side but a week later she climbed out. Now she always taps the ice ahead of her to make sure it’s safe.
Ulf had a broken oath. A friend swore to run away together to find a better life, and left town without him, never returning. It hurt painfully because he was never brave enough to leave on his own.
Yngvar had a broken heart. He grew up as boon companions with Brezhok but when he wanted to leave town, Brezhok wouldn’t come with him. Now every time he goes drinking, fishing, or fighting it reminds him of his lost friend.
I picked a formative moment for Brezhok as well, and given his relationship with Yngvar, I shared it with Dylan. Brezhok lost his his father Lusk, who was Lnarra’s brother. His father was a cruel man and the last thing he said to his son was “Feed the people, earn your worth!”

Fucking loved these. Some of them like the broken oath I only learned about after the session, but I could still see how they were affecting the way Hunter played Ulf. Notably, no one ever used the free push so I might remove that in future runs, or I might print it on the outside of the table tent so it’s more visible.

I also asked each of them to pick a relationship with Brezhok:

Brumak and Brezhok were fellow river-harks, who caught the artic char while the ice-harks fended of the other predators.
Avery was Brezhok’s uncle. The kid was always getting into trouble.
UIf was Brezhok’s drinking buddy. Ulf had been kicked out of the Shucked Oyster, the towns only tavern, for never paying his bill, but Brezhok would buy him ice-dried liqueurs.
Yngvar was Brezhok’s childhood friend. He was the coolest guy and they had dreams of going somewhere together.

Preparing for the journey

I gave everyone a chance to learn some rumors about what was up the Dryn River or stock up on supplies. Here was the list of NPCs they could visit (or at least reference):

Varrik, Rul-handed, the oldest and most skilled fnarr trainer, famously jokes that a fnarr can’t bite your same hand off twice.
Teshok. The local smith, and one who has the most contact with Fryna up the river, for the ore they provide.
Tesha, Teshok’s grandmother, now passed..She swore the Oath of Starfell and made two rul vambraces that were passed down through the generations, each made to make sure the bearer returned home safely.
Jymeer, the cowardly Ice Hark. Yes, he runs screaming every time he sees a wild fnarr, but then we all hear about it coming.
Brezhok, the fearless River Hark, known for snatching char out of the river with his bare hands, the absolute worst way to fish.
Fulka, the brewer, is known for listening to people’s woes and never sharing them further. An ardent follower of Akta. Owns the Shucked Oyster. Here ice-dried liqueurs are rumored to be the reason Varrik lost his hand.
Xanne (Zhah-ney), the loudest, most pitiful drunk of Nurvak. Everyone knows she’s a wyrm hunter, but she hasn’t gone on the ice in years and screams for Maya’s strength to strike down anyone who asks about her past.
Ikila, the Baradeen doctor who traveled north from the City of Lions twenty years ago and stayed in Nurvak. She bears the mark of an oathbreaker, but tends to the injured when needed.
Myrk, the weaver. He’s a pot-bellied man who loves to dance, smoke, and eat. Swore off drink years ago after an accident. Uses ice-lion oil to make waterproof clothes and nets.

That was a lot of NPCs but I tried to highlight the ones they might interact with.

Brumak asked Jymeer if he knew anything about what happened to Brezhok. “Brezhok said the char attacked him. They never do that. He must have gotten in confused with a fanged icefish. But the next day in the Blue Hour he got on his skiff and went up river. That’s a terrible idea, but he did it anyway!”
Lynarra talked to a few folks in town, Myrk and Fulka, to gather supplies for the journey. She also got an earful from Xanne, who said going out of town was a stupid idea. Just like hunting wyrm hunting was a stupid idea. Deep in her drink, she also shared that people up the river are uncomfortable to be around. They are too calm. They barely seem to be present when you’re talking to them.
Ulf, to my surprise, went to speak with his mother Teshok, who confirmed for him that this was the last straw, but she also supplied him with some rations and a map (above). She told him a generation ago ore would come down the river from Fryna and be shipped off, but the mine must have run out because no shipments have come down the river in years. But that wasn’t he was really there to talk about. Ulf told her that going on this adventure wasn’t going to turn him into the person she wanted him to be. She sighed, paused, and then told him “I just want you to be a person that you respect.”
Yngvar talked to Ikila, the Baradeen doctor and asked if there was anything needed to prepare for this journey or medical conditions they should be prepared for. She send him with a bottle of Heathfire, a deep maroon rum made from extract of ice wyrm heat glands made by Fulka. The Inbiber can walk midwinter without a coat for several hours, but will be exhausted afterwards. She also shared a story she had heard in her many years in Nurvan. Though close to the Line, a titan hasn’t crossed over to Nurvak in decades. On clean days from the top of the Azrul mountains, you can still see one just past the line that has been frozen in ice for ages, maybe since before the Cataclysm.

Brumak also learned a short hymn, the Ballad of Fryna, which he sang for the group:

In the land Fryna the winters are not cold
The nights are safe, no need for the bold

Brazu roam free and nibble the grass
Tell me you’ve lived there, I’ll call you an ass

A story to share on cold winter nights
A place without sorrow as real as the wights.

Oaths sworn, adventures begin

They cut their arms, spilled blood into the deep, and swore oaths to each other:

Brumak swore “I will sustain my companions with good cheer and song.”
Lynarra swore “I will command others to heed our way.”
Ulf swore “I will not let my friends die alone.”
Yngvar swore “I will stand between my friends and danger.”

They picked their loads, got on Brumak’s boat and headed up river to find the missing Brezhok.

Encounters on the River

The way up was rough. The winds working against them the whole time and they didn’t make good time. Brumak called on his companions to help him, pulling in sheets and holding the rudder steady. Ulf however, was keeping his flask cool in the water, unmoved to offer aid.

On the way Yngvar spotted a school of char circling prey, which is uncharacteristic because char normally feed on krill, small crustaceans, and sculpin. He grabbed the harpoon and threw it into the fish at the center. When he pulled back the harpoon he found it was a fanged icefish, normally a predator of the char, that had been bitten hundreds of times by the char.

The char started pelting the boat and though they couldn’t cause it harm, Yngvar cut off the head of the icefish and dropped it in the water. The char swarmed the head and Brumak’s boat passed by them unharmed. “You gave them the best part” Nay Nay complained, but it was only in jest.

Brumak looked to the stars and could tell the weather would improve in the morning (using the Traveler trait) but for now they decided to make camp on the river bank. They hoped to make it to Kesskil, but that would have to wait till tomorrow.

In the morning Ulf went out to relieve himself in the river and he spotted a brazhu, normally a peaceful elk-like creature, that stared at him with menace. When he looked closer he could see it’s eyes were bloodshot and that it was tearing the flesh of another creature. Another brazhu. Brazhu are herbivores, this is not something they do! Another thing they don’t do is threaten people, but this one did. It started scraping its hoof on the ice, preparing to charge.

Ulf didn’t need another warning, he ran at full speed and slid behind the great fnarr Isk. Isk howled in pain and surprise as the brazhu impaled it with his antlers. He quickly turned and tore the Brazhu’s throat open with a single swipe of his paws.

Lynarra bolted from the tent to appraise the situation, and after determining there was no new threat, tended to Isk’s wound. Yngvar inspected the brazhu and it’s prey, which turned out to another brazhu, most likely it’s mate. It had undergone changes. Blunt teeth had sharpened into fangs, emaciated muscles, and bulging veins, but there was no obvious cause to these changes.

Kesskil

My mid-morning they made it to Kesskil, a village whose primary exports were lumber. At the docs they found Dravick, a woodcutter who was still active despite being very old, irascible from all the children he’s lost in the Blackbitten Woods.

Dravick told Yngvar that Brezhok had turned up here five days ago, exhausted from rowing up stream, and he passed out on the pier. Dravick brought him inside and filled him with soup. The next morning however, he was off, chasing something up the river.

The woodcutter had also noticed animals behaving strange and menacing, but didn’t know the source. After being told what Ulf experienced he agreed not only to tell everyone of Kesskil to be wary of wandering brazhu, but also to travel north and find the Wise One Nyveer Ice Blood. He didn’t like her very much, but if there was someone who would know what was causing the animals to act so strangely, she would be the one.

The oathbound companions thanked him for his efforts, but as Brumak predicted the winds were better today and they had to make use of them before they changed.

Further up river, Yngvar spotted and object trapped between rocks creating a rapid. Brumak went around the rocks, got upstream of the blockage, and tied off to a spike hammered in the ice. He tied a rope around Lynarra, who went wading to investigate. She found that the obstruction was just what they feared, a small river craft. With the water rushing over it however, she couldn’t tell if it was Brezhok’s or not. So she propped herself into it and used her halberd to lever it free from the rocks. Which worked, only a little too well. The river pulled Lynarra downstream and Brumak had to cut the rope to prevent his own boat from crashing into the rocks.

Lynarra took some tumbles and rolls under the water, drank half the river, but eventually paddled the small craft to the shore. There she determined it was indeed her nephew’s craft, but Brezhok himself was nowhere to be seen.

Yngvar looked for tracks on the north of the river, but found none. Lynarra give Isk a scent of Brezhok from a pauldron he used to wear because it had cool fish scaled on it, but years ago gave to Yngvar. It still had the faintest scent of Brezhok on it, and after smelling it, Isk went tearing across the south side of the river, with Yngvar chasing after!

Remnants of the ancients

As Yngvar chased Isk up the riverside, he was separated from his companions. He ran on the ice for hours trying to keep up with Isk, who moved surprisingly fast for a creature with such great bulk.

Eventually they came to a massive cylindrical object with curvilinear edges that spiraled down it’s length. Isk stop and sniffed at the massive twisted blade and Yngvar noticed a spot of blood, likely only a few days old. Brezhok’s blood. This object was twenty feet wide and eight feet in diameter. There was no way Brezhok stumbled into it. He probably ran his finger across it just to see if it would cut him, and it did!

The material was hard like metal but had a glazed sheen like porcelain. Who could have made such a device? Surely only the ancients.

Village of Fryna

Eventually the heroes reunited in the village of Fryna, or at least what was left of it. Signs of habitation were present, but many homes had been abandoned. Conventional mining tools like wedges, picks, and pails were strewn through the town as if set down while someone took a rest, and never picked back up again. They found two people among the score of homes.

Jesha, the bard with rosy cheeks. She was playing her lute and signing, but kept starting her songs over as she had forgotten part of them. She seemed merry, but had little to say of the town’s fate. In her home there was the beds of her three children who died, but she didn’t remember them.

Olok, a former miner. He was missing his left arm from the elbow down but often forget that it was gone and tried to use it. Surprised when he realized again it wasn’t there. Olok was just as listless, but endeavored to help. He had one refrain that he would not forget “See to Korran in the mine, there your sorrows he’ll enshrine.” When asked who Korran was, he said he was a great priest who helped the people of Fryna generations ago.

Yngvar tried to learn more but Olok was lost in reverie. She howled a deep fnarr roar and finally seemed to break though the malaise, but experiencing fear and discomfort was insufferable to the old miner. He ran off in terror towards the mines.

Hunger’s Sorrow

The adventurers followed Olok first through a giant spherical shaft in the mountain made eons ago, then through a rough and undead mine shaft made by the people of Fryna, and finally into a natural cavern that was discovered, rather than created, ages ago by the miners of Fryna,

The ice cave was very cold, but steam came from a lake in the center. At the entrance the found empty glass bottles with corks in them.

Further in they saw an ice wall that was filled with bottles, each of them containing a message.

In the lake they saw a great finned crocodile with black eyes. As it’s head emerged from the lake, and steam poured from it’s nostrils everyone was reminded of their formative moments. When it opened it’s mouth everyone felt their loss as though it had just happened. Ulf alone, protected by his star metal vambraces was able to keep the his own pain at bay. The encountered Sorrow’s Hunger.

My notes are not detailed enough to track the order of things, so here’s a list of the cool things folks did:

Lyranna got into the water and tried to talk to the spirit, but was overwhelmed by her sorrows, almost incapacitated by grief.
Yngvar and Brumak began looking at the messages in the bottles and released the sorrows captured in them. They found terrible messages like “I killed my brother in the night” and “I don’t love my children.” but they also found trivial ones like “I don’t like the taste of Karvonna’s tea” and “I don’t like the freckles on my arms”
Ulf heard the song of his star metal, the previous hum turned to a chorus in his mind, protecting him from the crippling sorrow the spirit evoked.
Brumak began singing a jaunty tune to keep eveyone’s sorrows at bay. As he did it, the ice in the cave began to crack and splinter.
Yngvar found Brezhok, his own sorrow written down and placed in a bottle. All was done by putting the cork in the bottle and placing it into the wall. Brezhok revealed the spirits hunger was the cause of the fish and other animals acting so feral. He thought that if he fed the spirit the fauna would return to normal, and he would be rid of his own pain. Yynvar told him not to do it. It didn’t make any sense that the spirit was affecting the animals [GM Note, see thoughts on game below for how to better convey this] and that if he did it, he would be come as listless and lifeless as the people of Frynna.
Ulf called upon his oath to never leave his companions alone to die and plunged his hidden blade into the throat of the spirit, but it moved to fast, and with one tail swipe, it flung him out of the water crashing into the ice wall, cracking ribs and glass bottles alike.
Lyranna, despite the sorrow, grappled the spirit and pinned its mouth closed. The sorrow they all felt tapered.
Yngvar spoke with more passion to Brezhok, told him that they would find a way to together. Brezhok couldn’t let go of Nurvak. If Yngvar would swear and oath to return with him to Nurvak, he would swear to hold his sorrow. Flesh cut, blood fell the the earth, an oath sworn.
Ulf, accustomed to accepting defeat, did what he’d never done before. He got back up, and tried again. His blade still glowing blue-green with the energy of the deep, he dove back into the water and while Lyranna held the spirit, he plunged his blade beneath it’s jaw, pinning its mouth closed.

The cave shook, ice cracked, stalactites feel, and the remaining bottles broke open. The heroes, accompanied by Brezhok fled the cave and used the mining gear the found along the way to collapse the mines behind them, UIf helping his allies in the end!

Oaths fulfilled, Brezhok saved, and the spirit once again trapped within the snow, our heroes returned to Nurvak with deeds to share in story and song.

Thoughts on the Game

Overall this went very well, but there were a few things I think I could have done better:

I don’t think the connection between the animals hunger was well connected to the spirit’s hunger. Stras had a good suggestion which is to link them visually and thematically. Sorrow’s Hunger has steam coming form it’s nostrils, it evokes memories of the past, and (this is new) make the sounds of ice splintering. Next time I run it, I’ll associate those elements with the animals to create a better link between them.
I was unhappy with the people of Frynna. They were supposed to be a helpless lot, but I also feel like they could have offered more. I’m going to ask the players what would have been useful.
I think I’ll remove the Archimedes’ screw as a random encounter and the circular bored section of the mine. It doesn’t really lead anywhere other than for people to wonder about the ancients, which might be cool in a campaign, but as a one shot, I think it cluttered the adventure.
I’m going to add names to the sorrows so that the players might have a chance of putting more of the history together. Assuming they learned Korran’s name, seeing it here might help them piece things together. I could also attribute some of the sorrows to Jesha and Olok.
Adrienne asked to pick a more recent bottle first, and I had originally planned to have them sorted from newest to oldest, but they go mixed up as I moved everything around. Next time I’ll have them sorted so people can see the progression of sorrow from deep horrible pains, to being more and more shallow.
As I designed it, the spirit had no way of being destroyed, but it could be sated (with sorrows), trapped (by collapsing the mine), or battled by another spirit (if they talked to the wise one in Kesskil and learned about it). I like what Ulf did, and I think I’ll canonize that since Oaths come form the deep, and so do spirits, calling upon an oath could enchant your weapon so that it could at least harm the spirit, if not kill it. I might also give folks the option to feel the sorrows deeply (suffering resolve wounds) to lure Sorrow’s Hunger out of it’s pond where perhaps it would be weaker. Finally, what if breaking open the bottles release the sorrows and starve the spirit? Maybe it will go back into hibernation?

Something that was great, but I think that could have been better was Brezhok’s oath. I think he should have given Yngvar a choice. “Swear you’ll stay in Nurvak with me.” or “Let me put this memory of my father in the bottle so I can let go of the town, and I swear I’ll leave with you.” I think that would have been a brutal choice!