Turbans rouges pour Epées et Sorcelleries.

Turbans rouges, le générateur aléatoire de suivants et de PNJs, adapté aux règles d'Epées et Sorcellerie 2, le jeu oldschool de Nicolas Dessaux.

Télécharger Turbans rouges.

Télécharger Turbans rouges - Aventures nordiques.

La Caravane - Scénario E&S

Hier, Nicolas Dessaux a publié sur lulu mon troisième court scénario pour E&S se déroulant dans le Dodécaèdre. Cette fois-ci, il s'agit d'un voyage dans les terres sauvages qui risque d'impliquer les aventuriers dans de nombreuses péripéties rocambolesques ! N'hésitez pas à le télécharger - il est gratuit - et à donner votre opinion bien sûr.  

Télécharger

Scénario court pour Épées & Sorcellerie, dans le monde du Dodécaèdre, niveau 2 à 4. Les aventuriers, qui accompagnent une caravane de Percemaille à Escarpont, se retrouvent au milieu d'un imbroglio d'espionnage et de diplomatie.

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Voilà les liens vers les autres scénarios se déroulant dans le Dodécaèdre et/ou pour Epées et Sorcellerie. Tous sont pour des aventuriers de niveau 1-3 et des joueurs aguerris mais le travail est minime pour les adapter à des groupes plus faibles ou plus puissants :

Le Tombeau de Weitling le Juste (Nicolas Dessaux) - AD&D (OSRIC) dans le Dodécaèdre
La Procession d'Apollon (Nicolas Dessaux) - E&S et AD&D (OSRIC) dans le Dodécaèdre
Cendres et Neige (Nicolas Dessaux) - dans le Dodécaèdre 
Le Dieu Putréfié (Nicolas Dessaux) - E&S dans le Dodécaèdre
Voluno (Nicolas Dessaux) - AF dans le Dodécaèdre 
L'escapade de Telenais - E&S dans le Dodécaèdre

Les Cavernes d'Unaan le Difforme (Nicolas Sénac) - E&S dans le Dodécaèdre
Le Manoir du Marais (Nicolas Sénac) - E&S dans le Dodécaèdre
La fête des Arsénies (Nicolas Sénac) - E&S et AF dans le Dodécaèdre

I'm back ! With some news of the French OSR...

It's been a long time since my last post, so I think I owe you some explanations. It has been a busy time : holyday(s), work, family, blah, blah, blah.

But I'm glad to announce that, during these two months, we sucessfuly completed some projects which helped expand publications of the French Old School Revival. 

First, Epées et Sorcellerie 2, the second edition of the famous Nicolas Dessaux's clone has been released in print (softcover and hardcover) and pdf ! This is a clarification and an expansion of the first version : the combat rules are clarified, and many options were added : the thief, cleric subclasses, some magic user's corruptions, character origins, new spells from OD&D, tons of new creatures from classical monsters (of OD&D Supplements I to IV) to unpublished beasts ... !
 

 

 

Secondly, the third tome of the Dodecahedron, Nicolas Dessaux's original setting, has been publishad too, with a bunch of new modules taking place in that and using E&S stats ! For more information, see snorri's new blog.

Clerics & Anti-clerics - Part 2

So, as I have said in my previous post, here is the summary of what OD&D suggests (more or less explicitly) on clerics and anti-clerics. 

Clerics : 
Clerics are part of a esoteric and military (1C) religious order (perhaps proselyte (6B)) characterized by its study of religious texts (2) enabling them to understand better the creation and get spiritually closer to their unique god. This exegesis of sacred texts gives them powers inaccessible to the profane (5). It's an hermetic society in which clerics progress through successive stages from acolyte unable to use the divine power (because she has to prove her worth) to the patriarch who guide the religious order and leads the Crusades, via the Lama doctor of the Law and the Bishop sent to the Wilderness to conquer his domain by the strength of his arm and the purity of his faith (2).

But as in any religion, strife await because of different interpretations of the Book : Any cleric who rises in the hierarchy of knowledge must eventually choose sides (1A) between the mainstream (the Law) which gathers most patriarchs and the deviant interpretations described as heretical (the Chaos). These are parallel orders* of Chaotic clerics (6A) more or less rejected by the Church of the Law, each led by a different (Chaotic) patriarch named heresiarch (7) which gathers also holy warriors (1C) and fight the undead too (4). Rather than building a fortress, they lead a nomadic life in as missionaries (7).


*for example : blog In Places Deep.

Anti-clerics :
Anti-clerics are always Chaotic and evil (3). They are satanists* who worship many demons that are the source of their powers, counterfeiting the hierarchy of the Church of the Law (3). Evil High Priests also build strongholds for their respective cults (1) and are particularly civil with travelers who stop in their castle and pay their required tithes (6A).

*porphyre77 rightly pointed out that the pagan role was filled by Druids.

Any comment, guys?

Clerics & Anti-clerics - Part 1

Image of World of Xoth, Thulsa's blog.

Since that I am directed to add the anti-clerics to E&S, I read entirely including three brown books and some messages from bloggers to give me a general idea of ​​how others treat it. And I am very dissatisfied.
Truce of additional considerations ! We should rather see my interpretation of OD&D. 

(1) "Clerics: [...] When Clerics reach the top level (Patriarch) they may opt to build their own stronghold, and when doing so receive help from "above". Thus, if they spend 100,000 Gold Pieces in castle construction, they may build a fortress of double that cost. Finally, "faithful" men will come to such a castle, being fanatically loyal, and they will serve at no cost. There will be from 10-60 heavy cavalry, 10-60 horsed crossbowmen ("Turcopole"-type), and 30-180 heavy foot. Note that Clerics of 7th level and greater are either "Law" or "Chaos", and there is a sharp distinction between them. If a Patriarch receiving the above benefits changes sides, all the benefits will immediately be removed! Clerics with castles of their own will have control of a territory similar to the "Barony" of fighters, and they will receive "tithes" equal to 20 Gold Pieces/Inhabitant/year."

(2) Clerics:
1. Acolyte
2. Adept
3. Village Priest
4. Vicar
5. Curate
6. Bishop
7. Lama
8. Patriarch

(3) Anti-Clerics: 
1. Evil Acolyte, 
2. Evil Adept, 
3. Shaman, 
4. Evil Priest, 
5. Evil Curate, 
6. Evil Bishop, 
7. Evil Lama, 
8. Evil High Priest.

 -Men & Magic. 

(4)"A full explanation of each spell follows. Note that under lined Clerical spells are reversed by evil Clerics. Also, note the Clerics versus Undead Monsters table, indicating the strong effect of the various clerical levels upon the undead; however, evil Clerics do not have this effect, the entire effect being lost. Note: There are Anti-Clerics (listed below) who have similar powers to Clerics. Those Clerical spells underlined on the table for Cleric Spells have a reverse effect, all others functioning as noted. The chief exception is the Raise Dead spell which becomes:
The Finger of Death: Instead of raising the dead, this spell creates a "death ray" which will kill any creature unless a saving throw is made (where applicable). Range: 12". (A Cleric-type may use this spell in a life-or-death situation, but misuse will immediately turn him into an Anti-Cleric.)"

(5)"Characters who employ spells are assumed to acquire books containing the
spells they can use, one book for each level."

-Men & Magic

(6) "Clerics will require passersby to give a tithe (10%) of all their money and jewels. If there is no payment possible the Cleric will send the adventurers on some form of Lawful or Chaotic task, under Quest. Generally Evil High Priests will simple attempt to slay Lawful or Neutral passersby who fail to pay their tithes."

(7) "Patriarchs are always Lawful, and Evil High Priests are always Chaotic. All other castle inhabitants will be either hostile to the adventurers (die 1-3) or neutral (die 4-6). "

-Underworld and Wilderness adventures

Let's briefly push the open doors : the cleric is a kind of Templar of a pseudo-Christian religion (orthodoxy is the most probable) progressing to status of patriarch (there may be several patriarchs, which can be a territorial division) and attracting at that time a bunch of fanatics in his castle. 

(1A) Neutral clerics must choose their side at level 7 : Law or Chaos. More on this later but keep in mind that alignment is a stance. 
(1B) Clerics receive "help from above"...  does it refers to his superiors or his divinity? Well, we don't know. But I would tend to promote the divinity as Patriarch is the highest grade that can be achieved. And it also allows you to add a little flavor (i.e. the fortress was built where the Patriarch had his mystical ecstasy. His Lord guided him to a chest full of gold buried between the large roots of a tamarind etc.).
(1C) "Turcopole-type" riders ?! This is a precision that has always intrigued me. Turcopoles were Eastern Christians mercenaries who fought for the military orders and the Byzantine army. This fits well with the OD&D cleric-templar, but I have two points : First they are Eastern. Well managed, they can bring an exotic touch to the setting with perhaps different interpretations of the sacred texts or other religious customs, which can sometimes lead to misunderstandings between them and the clergy. Second, one can notice that they are also gathered by Chaotic clerics. More on that later.

(2) Two obvious irregularities : Bishops who do not have castle/cathedral and Lamas. porphyre77 provided an excellent explanation for the first irregularity with bishops in partibus infidelium who wander in the Wilderness to establish or re-conquer their episcopate. For the second irregularity, snorri has rightly pointed out that Lamas are sort of the doctors of the Law (Darhma). More on this later. 

(3) Anti-clerics are Chaotic and evil. Note that they do not have an "evil village priest" nor "evil vicars". These guys are not found in the country and never make sermons in the village church. "Shaman" is an interesting title because it refers to paganism. Talisman calls Anti-Clerics heretics and heresiarchs and this is a nice point of view.

(4) No vade retro for evil clerics (which obviously refers to anti-clerics). Please note that the anti-clerics do not control the undead with the inverted vade-retro of the subsequent editions. By the way, I remind you that anti-clerics and clerics have only 13 spells in common (for information, the magic-users and clerics have 10 in common). The anti-cleric is truly a class apart from the cleric !

(5) Clerics HAVE spell books, as everyone seems to forget (the OD&D retro clone Delving Deeper and E&S are the only ones that I know which includes this rule). Clerics studying books of spells remind me strongly of Kabbalists and the like (hermeticism, gnosticism, mandaeism and manichaeism).

(6A) This paragraph seems oddly enough to distinguish between the Clerics (chaotic or lawful) that cast quests if not paid and Anti-Clerics who kills you if you do not pay them. This may be a drafting error or an unfortunate distinction, but remenber, any deviant interpretation is up for grabs.  
(6B) Another interesting point is that it seems that the Clerics or Anti-Clerics, if they are paid, are the most friendly castellans (even the Evil High Priests !) compared to the Lords and magicians.

(7) This passage invalidates a previous remark unless... there is not only patriarchs and evil high priests (which is indirectly refuted by the random table, but we can try to see where it takes us). More on this later.

The remarks are completed, part 2 will be a synthesis of this mess to see how it can be used in game. You may be a little surprised by my own interpretaion. 

Epées & Sorcellerie

WARNING : This is a post written in two languages​​.
ATTENTION : C'est un post écrit dans deux langues.  

Epées & Sorcellerie est un jeu de rôle old-school de Nicolas Dessaux aka snorri (archéologue et syndicaliste !) qui s'apparente à un clone d'OD&D mâtiné de Chainmail. Il est basé exclusivement sur des jets de dés à six faces, comme dans le wargame originel. Le jet de toucher se fait avec 2d6, et les probabilités qui en résultent me plaisent particulièrement. La classe d'armure est ascendante (de 7 à 12), le jet de sauvegarde est unique façon S&W et les "actions spéciales" comme l'escalade ou la natation se font avec 2d6 sous la Classe d'Armure. Simple, fluide, élégant : j'aime ce jeu ! Voilà pour les caractéristiques techniques brutes. Voyons maintenant la saveur. Eh bien, on peut dire qu'il mérite son nom, qui se réfère bien sûr au genre littéraire de la sword n'sorcery violent, sans concessions, humano-centrique, sombre, où les monstres sont terrifiants et où la magie est aussi rare que puissante : le trio de classes (ou le quatuor, si l'on y rajoute le voleur du supplément amateur World of Rogues) est particulièrement évocateur, avec un prêtre (et non pas un clerc !) fanatique qui exorcise à tout va (il choisit en début de carrière le type de créatures : démons, lycanthropes, morts-vivants...), un sorcier qui se dissimule dans les ombres et utilise son pouvoir magique comme une arme, et un guerrier à la présence terrifiante capable de ne faire qu'une bouchée d'adversaires moins expérimentés. Ajoutez à cela des sorts longs et puissants et vous avez... la recette de l'Aventure avec un grand A !

Tout sur E&S version française. 
La version 2 est en cours d'écriture par un trio d’aficionados d'OD&D : snorri aux commandes, porphyre77, et moi-même. Nous avons terminé d'intégrer les corrections, une sélection de nouveaux sorts et terminons d'inclure les quelques monstres choisis parmi les suppléments d'OD&D (quelques nouvelles règles sont aussi au programme).  


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Epées & Sorcellerie is a French roleplaying game by Nicolas Dessaux aka snorri, a sort of OD&D clone including an unified mechanic based on the 2d6 of Chainmail. It's definitely a sword n'sorcery RPG in which sorcerers are terrifying opponents hiding in the shadows and using their magic as weapons, priests are fanatics and fighters are frightful opponentswho can finely chop less experienced enemies. Choose
Epées & Sorcellerie if you like THE Adventure !

English version.

The E&S team (snorri, porphyre77 and me) are currently working on the version 2 of Epées & Sorcellerie (french version).

Lawful Mind-flayers ?

Mind-flayers are truly a fascinating monster. Their diet of brains, their psionic powers, their cthulhoïd look... And their background (they practice slavery, particularly on githzerai and githyanki ; and

they are at war with the Dark elves). 

They are now firmly embedded in the D&D players' mind as the "bad guys". What if... it was a completely false assumption ? What Gygax had in mind when he created illithids ? 

"Law :
Mind flayer [...] highly evil but otherwise lawful."
-Gary Gygax in OD&D, Supplement III : Eldritch Wizardry. 

It could hardly be more confusing... 

I spoke about OD&D alignment in my last post.
It means that mind-flayers fight alongside the Law against Chaos (and possibly the Great Old Ones if they exist in your world. In mine, that's the case).

These creatures created by Gary Gygax appear only in one set of modules which had been writen by EGG : D1-2, Descent into the Dephts of the Earth. In D1, we learn that they are opposed to the dark elves (Chaos), have Were-rat servants (Chaos) and beholder allies (Chaos). Strange dating.

Lately, porphyre77 (a faithful commentator of this blog) rewrote the mind-flayer for Epées & Sorcellerie (we both work with snorri to realease the version 2 of E&S which is the first French retro-clone - I'd probably review it this week) and came with the following interpretation :

"Cette race souterraine à l'allure humanoïde possède une intelligence supra-humaine. Bien que loyaux, ils agissent d'une façon perçue en général comme maligne pour les races plus jeunes qui ignorent tout de leurs objectifs et façon de penser."
-porphyre77 in E&S v2.

"This subterranean humanoid race has superhuman intelligence. Although loyal, they act in a way generally regarded as malignant by younger races who know nothing about their goals and way of thinking."
-porphyre77 in E&S v2 (english translation).

That's brilliant !

Before interpreting the oddity, I must admit it made ​​me think of the Carcosa Space Aliens :

"SPACE ALIENS [Law]: Roughly human in shape and size, though unmistakably alien, these invaders from outer space have hairless, light gray bodies. They tend to be slender, and they have unblinking, bulbous eyes with black irises. Thousands of years ago, an armada of them made a hard landing on the planet of Carcosa. Since then, others of their race have come and gone while establishing bases on the planet—undoubtedly for some nefarious purposes. The Space Aliens possess a highly advanced technology, though they mostly lack such things as art, emotions, religion, philosophy, etc.
[...]

Law is the alignment of those who oppose the Great Old Ones. This opposition need not be (and is usually not) active. If, however, an Old One were to be released from imprisonment, those of lawful alignment would fight against it."

-Geoffrey McKinney, Supplement V : Carcosa (emphasis added).

So basically, we have two solutions (not necessarily exclusive) to handle the situation. Let me develop them to see where they lead :

• Mindflayers are geniuses without morality who plan ahead the downfall of Chaos. Their devious plans may include providing assistance to their Chaotic enemies or may even include attacking other Lawful races if it can help them to strengthen their position. This disregard of their natural allies can be explained by their excessive pride that drives them to make light of the inferior races little able to fight against the Chaos and meant to be their slaves. This attitude may also be explained by their paternalism towards other races that they educate by reducing them to slavery in order to "civilize" them. 
• Mindflayers are evil beings who oppose Chaos with a highly advanced science. Why are they fighting Chaos and the Great Old Ones that they resemble physically and mentally (they have great evil in common)? Nobody really knows. Maybe the mindflayers were previously a servant race of the Old Ones... They may have rebelled and now seek revenge. Or maybe they were the ones that the dawn of time, have imprisoned the fouls Old Ones because of a feud? Perhaps they are the immemorial Elder Ones!

 

Their high technology relies certainly on the minds they consume. Perhaps even navigators of their spaceships are giant brains with surnatural perceptions and terrifying mental powers immersed in vats of amniotic fluid... This is undoubtedly the reason why they enslave the inferior races: they need a lot of brain matter to create such horrors!

One Page Dungeon Contest - The Subterranean Maze of Aarthal

A while ago, I was planning to write a small dungeon for the Nicolas Dessaux (aka snorri)'s French retro-clone Epées et Sorcellerie (english version). Here it is, adapted for the contest!

The Subterranean Maze of Aarthal.