Pantheon Press Blog

The Adversaries Almanac is now available for purchase! Ripe with 18 full-color entries, it'll provide you with a bad guy for just about every campaign level. Sexy assassin? Check. Fallen paladin? Check. Crazy tattooed dwarf? Check!

Check out the Pantheon Press marketplace to buy yours today.

And remember, the discount code GNOLLOWEEN is still good for the rest of this week!

Tyr "Tearbringer" Mal'dorr
There is but one rule in the goblinoid clans that populate the lands northeast of Emberstone—strength equals power. Until recently, this was exemplified best in the Mal’dorr (Goblin for ‘hidden knife’) clan, which was led by the hulking bugbear Molok. As strong as a minotaur with a command style to match, his clan survived, but never flourished. They barely fought back assaults from other goblinoid clans, and attacks on the nearby human settlements were almost always failures. On one such raid, a young hobgoblin named Tyr lost his eye. He also lost any respect he had for Molok.

Tyr believed that cleverness could be another form of strength, and therefore another form of power. Why announce your offense with a screaming charge when you could slip behind enemy lines under the cover of night and slit their throats while they slept. Both tactics had the same result, but the latter left you with far more of your own forces still alive. As he continued to watch Molok stumble blindly into battle, Tyr saw opportunities abound. A contingent of archers in the trees could take out the enemy before they were seen. A force hidden in a nearby cave could emerge after the battle was already joined to catch the
enemy from behind, and they would be crushed like an eyeball in a raven’s beak. Tyr’s mind was naturally suited for tactical combat.

Tyr knew that he couldn’t take Molok in hand-to-hand combat, so he devised a plan to wrest control of the clan from the bugbear. He had heard rumors of a poison dusk lizardfolk hermit living near the edge of Emberstone. On the pretense of scouting a strike against the Groo’bin clan, he sought out the lizardfolk. After several weeks of hard travel, he found the hermit and paid her a handsome sum to brew up a powerful toxin called “sapper.” The poison, which Tyr sprinkled into Molok’s food when he returned, was a subtle one. The next time Molok’s adrenaline flowed, he would be rendered as weak as a baby kobold.

After a few days of poisoning Molok to make sure it would take effect, Tyr called the bugbear out to the fire pit of their camp. Tyr challenged Molok’s authority, saying that he was no longer fit to lead the clan. Then, Molok punched Tyr right in the face, as he did to all would-be usurpers. Tyr knew this was coming, and though his jaw was broken, he managed to stay on his feet. He continued to taunt Molok, taking blow after blow, until each hit felt no stronger than a mother’s touch. That’s when Tyr drew a short blade and stabbed Molok right in the chest. He was nearly beaten to death, but he won leadership of the clan.

Tyr’s first campaign as chief of the Mal’dorr was against the human lumber camp of Oakstone. While his clan triumphed, killing all the humans, it was not without losses. Tyr lost three of his fiercest warriors and one of his fingers. He learned not to underestimate his enemies, even if they are just woodsmen with simple axes. Tyr made sure that one human escaped, and then set a trap for any retaliating forces amongst the deadly water-powered lumber saws. He and his clan lay in wait for over a week, despite many of the smaller goblins’ insisting on burning the entire camp to the ground. His patience paid off when a well-outfitted battalion entered the camp and set off the trap, leaving them wounded enough for the goblins to finish them off. The Mal’dorr ended that day with more spoils than they had seen in a generation.

Tyr repeated this stratagem at two other settlements, earning him the nickname "Tearbringer” among the humans, but while his goblins were quite happy with their growing hoard, Tyr felt like he was merely picking at scraps. He knew there was greater plunder to be had closer to the human’s City-States Region where trade prospered. One night, he gave his clan a choice. They could leave all the treasure they accumulated behind and join him in his travels, or remain and forfeit the greater glory of future conquests. The Mal’dorr split in half that evening, but Tyr felt no ill will to those he left behind; the goblin mind doesn’t accept change quickly.

Tyr and his remaining clan moved northwest, sneaking their way past Bergen and into the hills flanking the Bergen Pass. When they were almost run down by a speeding carriage moving along the trade routes there, the Tearbringer feared he had gotten himself in over his head. In an attempt to even the odds, Tyr and his goblins began a search for their own mounts. They were naturally drawn to the large wolf-like worgs that populated the hills. Smarter than the average predator, Tyr knew they could not simply be captured and trained.

He found a smaller pack and approached them diplomatically, with offerings of raw deer meat. To his surprise, the oldest worg spoke Goblin, and the two found that they were of the same mind. They quickly entered into an arrangement beneficial to both sides: Tyr’s goblins would ride the worgs, while the worgs would get a steady supply of food from successful raids.

The hobgoblin and his new clan then launched a campaign of terror, striking against the caravans of goods and money within the Bergen Pass. Tyr soon became known as the bandit king of the hills, and his reputation as the Tearbringer spread. They usually hit the wagons carrying gold toward the mining settlement of Gunpowder, with the worg riders blocking the route while Tyr and his second-in-command, a bugbear barbarian named Dox, closed in from behind. Seeing the fearsome goblinoids, most simply surrendered their cargo, and the few that have survived a fight with Tyr’s clan tell stories that help to fuel that fear. While they usually use traditional weapons, Tyr’s clan is close to mastering the use of firearms. If they do so, they might be unstoppable.

Tyr is a particularly cunning hobgoblin. He is tall, but not gaunt, and agile, but not slight. Tyr’s body is a network of scars that cover burnt orange skin. His long hair is almost black with tinges of red, and he usually keeps it in a ponytail. He wears an eye patch over his missing left eye, and the rest of his clothing is functional warrior’s garb. He wields a notched scimitar in close combat, commanding his minions into flanking positions to gain advantage. His typical raiding party consists of six goblins riding worgs, Dox, and himself.

The only thing we love more than making games is playing them. Whiskey is definitely in the top three as well, but we do a lot more game playing than whiskey drinking. Usually. And since we were good friends before we were business partners, we play a lot of games together. Here's what we, and our other friends, are up to right now:

Mutants & Masterminds--Last month, I started running a short superhero campaign set in the game's default Freedom City setting. The players are new or second-string superheroes. They're a motley crew that includes a descendant of the Red Baron, a professional wrestler, a guilt-ridden guitar player who can't die, a tech in a supersuit designed for disaster rescue, and a kappa (a Japanese water spirit). So far they've faced off against a giant flea, a giant frog, and a Goth chick who turns into blood.

Fortune's Fool--Of course, we're also playtesting our next game. And, of course, Jay is running it. Once we finish rescuing a young Mozart from the enchanted world of the Magic Flute, we'll probably start another short campaign as a final round of playtesting.

Pathfinder RPG--This game hasn't fully started yet, as the group still has to play the final session of a long-running Eberron campaign before we start this one. But the other night, our Eberron GM got sick, so I told Rob and Andrew to make characters. My plan is to run through Paizo's Council of Thieves adventure path over the next year or so, using many of our own feats from Nobis. Being that the campaign takes place mostly in the shadow-haunted and devil-controlled city of Westcrown, many of our Nobis feats fit right in. Plus, it's a chance to finally try the Pathfinder RPG!

Those are the big three, though we occasionally dip our wicks into Star Wars: The Saga Edition and Dungeons & Dragons 4e when our friends run them.

So what are you playing?

Photobucket Link

As we've mentioned before, we'll be at NYC's the Compleat Strategist tomorrow afternoon for our big official introduction of Nobis. And while you're there, you can participate in the Competition of the Spirit, the annual tournament that pits fencers from all regions against one another. Choose a fencer from our list of pregens and go a couple of rounds against another fencer of our choice. Will you be victorious or will you suffer a humiliating defeat? You won't know unless you show up!

If you're a user of NYC's mass transit system, the lines will be a little weird this weekend, so give yourself some extra time to get there.