3. Propuesta didáctica:
3.4. Análisis de las actividades de la Propuesta didáctica:
Members of the Bloodtrail hire out their services as stalkers, trackers, bounty hunters, and assassins. They are quite good at it, considering that they have the bloodmark of Hrinruuk.
The Bloodtrail is an extremely loose organization, united more by a common love of the hunt than by strict rules or regulations. The one rule is that to become one of the group, you must stalk and kill a sentient creature. It adds a certain… piquancy… to the hunt when you know that your prey has the possibility of outthinking you. Once a member, most people carry one arrow with a black tip and black fletching. This isn’t required by the organization, but its members believe it to bring good luck. It’s also the fastest way of identifying a member.
Bloodtrailers often have varied skills that include the abilities of sorcerers, druids, rangers, and rogues. They tend to take arcane spells that aid in finding, hunting down and trapping prey.
Unless one is being sloppy, a target never knows that a Bloodtrailer is on his heels until the Bloodtrailer strikes — and, at that point, it’s usually too late. The group’s members have little interest in fighting large numbers of people at once, so they usually strike against isolated and solitary individuals. Everyone has to heed the call of nature or sleep eventually.
Current Leadership: Landriel Talbot
(male halfling, Rgr5/Sor10, NE). Landriel is the most charming, wily halfling most people have ever met. He has built his reputation and power on having a large number of “friends” scattered across Ghelspad, and on his complete merci- lessness when taking down prey.
Base of Operations: Bloodtrailers are not
stupid enough to have a central location. Mem- bers meet in informal inns and guildhouses, identified by a certain inconspicuous mark slashed onto the building’s side wall.
Membership: Current members may qui-
etly sound out potential candidates’ abilities and attitudes before asking them to join. If they show enough prowess and seem interested, they must give proof of stalking intelligent prey before they are allowed into the organization.
Favored Feats: Animal Affinity, Ath-
letic, Greater Familiar Summoning (see Appendix I), Hunt-child (see Appendix I), Self-Sufficient, Silent Spell, Skill Focus (any below), Stealthy and Track.
Favored Skills: Concentration,
Gather Information, Hide, Move Silently and Survival.
Favored Spells: In addition to the spells
mastered through the Hunt-child feat, the Bloodtrail’s members favor spells that immobi- lize their prey (glue, hold person) or otherwise render it helpless (daze, sleep).
B
ROODOFN
EBRUTETMormo tends to use druids more often than sorcerers as her primary priests. She doesn’t overly discriminate, though, and some of her followers take to arcane magics much easier than to the divine spells.
A good example is the asaatth brood of Nebrutet. Though all of the serpentfolk have a natural skill in harnessing Mormo’s magic in the fashion of wizards, the Nebrutet are pure-blooded sorcerers — and they intend to stay that way. This family virtually controls a small island in the Blossoming Sea, just off the southern swamps of Kan Thet. They are brutal in their teachings; any hatchling who fails to exhibit sorcerous potential is magically neutered and forbidden to breed.
These become the lower caste of the family, the guards and warriors and food slaves, and are thus forced to serve their betters. In the mean time, the sorcerous brood of Nebrutet squirms in decadent pleasure in its exquisite palaces, taking rare drugs to inspire prophetic visions and gorging on every pleasure available. At times, members of this brood disguise themselves with magic and go abroad, exploring the Scarred Lands in high style. The excesses of these explorers are legendary, and there is said to be more than one human who was unknowingly a witch of the old blood through asaatth heritage.
See Vigil Watch: Secrets of the Asaatthi for more details on asaatth spellcasters.
Current Leadership: Nebrutet (female asaatth lich, Sor20,
LE), the unquestioned matriarch of her brood.
Base of Operations: An unnamed island in the Blos-
soming Sea.
Membership: Must be asaatth, or an asaatth descendent,
and a member of the family.
Favored Feats: Brew Potion, Craft Wand, Improved
Familiar (fiendish viper), Magical Affinity, Spell Focus (any), Witch of the Old Blood (see Appendix I).
Favored Skills: Craft (alchemy), Disguise, Knowledge
(arcana), Spellcraft.
Favored Spells: In addition to the spells available through
their heritage as scions of Mormo (and the Witch of the Old Blood feat), the brood of Nebrutet favors spells of both disguise (alter self, change self, shapechange) and domination (charm
person, rend the sovereign soul*, domination).
C
LANOFO
GGRIMThere’s an easy way to tell a member of the Clan of Oggrim, the furian-priests of Kadum. For one thing, most of them have tusks. They’re also known to grunt, drool, spit when they talk, and they like destroying things. At least, that’s what their detractors are fond of saying. The chosen of Kadum are not the brightest of the sorcerer-priests.
Oggrim was a barbarian orc from the plains of Lede. He was one of the few natural leaders that occur amongst the barbaric tribes, and he somehow found a way to channel a tiny fraction of Kadum’s power. With such might seething through his blood, he raised an army of orcs, ogres and giants who swept across the northern plains. Oggrim was unparticular about his choice of mates, and he left offspring by the dozens behind him. Many of these children showed signs of charisma and leadership equal to, or even greater than, their father. One of them, Bellok the Blacktongued, challenged his aging father for control of the hordes. In an astonishing sorcerous and martial battle, Bellok won, and established a dynasty for his half-brothers and sorcerous kin. The clan of Oggrim assert themselves through brute strength. The sorcerer-priests act as advisors and diplomats for the tribes, and they continue to breed with the alacrity of all of their kind. They have little in the way of collected knowledge or spells, but many of their magics focus on
personal might and effectiveness in battle. They also have a predilection for blowing things up.
A recent rumor said that a member of the Bloodtrail encountered an ambassador from the Clan of Oggrim near the banks of the Blood Sea, trying to bargain for magics that would allow him to breath water.
Current Leadership: Thonos Bonespit (male orc Bbn5/
Sor9, CE), the powerful chieftain of the Sundered Skull tribe
of orcs, which is ruthlessly dominated by the Ogrimm clan. Another notable leader of the clan of Ogrimm is Ithokos Redtusk (male orc, Drd4/Sor9, NE), the shaman of the Split Sky tribe, who are bitter enemies of the Sundered Skull. Ithokos and Thonos are cousins and rivals.
Base of Operations: Plains of Lede
Membership: Must be part of the blood of Ogrimm,
though many orcish sorcerers have been “brought into the family” through a blood-brother ceremony. All members of the clan of Ogrimm have orcish blood.
Favored Feats: Diehard, Elemental Focus (any; see
Appendix I), Empower Spell, Endurance, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (orc double axe), Furian (see Appendix I), Great Fortitude, Leadership, Power Attack and Spell Focus (evoca- tion).
Favored Skills: Craft (any), Profession (herbalist),
Spellcraft and Survival.
Favored Spells: Besides those spells favored due to the
Furian blood in their veins, the clan of Ogrimm greatly favors spells of mass destruction (bloodstorm*, fireball, disintegrate,
meteor swarm) as well as those that heighten the powers of their
fellow barbarians (bull’s strength, haste, legion’s march**).
C
ULTOFTHEE
IGHTHE
YEKlizzig was the first sorcerer-priest of Gormoth to gain wide renown, although his family had served the titan for generations before he rose to prominence. This spider-eye goblin somehow mastered the ability to twist his sorcerous spells into hideous approximations of the Writhing Lord’s power, reshaping creatures into tentacled monstrosities and infusing his magics with sanity-twisting fear. In his madness, the Writhing Lord rewarded the goblin’s achievement by granting him even more power. Klizzig is said to still be alive, and has personally fathered more than eight hundred chil- dren. His spawn have bred in turn, and the Cult of the Eighth Eye has loyal adherents almost everywhere that is shielded from the sun.
Klizzig supposedly rules the family based on his whim. Those who delight or impress him are rewarded with great power and riches, and those who disappoint him are trans- muted into squealing masses of tentacles. This results in highly political infighting within the cult. Klizzig and his trusted inner circle coordinate activities throughout the land, using magic to speak to other cult members and peremptorily punishing those who disappoint them.
Current Leadership: Klizzig (male spidereye goblin, Sor16,
family, and typically punish an offender most horribly. They never kill the offender, however; the family has weakened and shrunk over the years, and they need every member that they can find to perpetuate their power.
The average member of the Maggan is deformed in some way. Extra fingers, missing facial features, congenital insan- ity… all of these are common in their clan. Nevertheless, every last member of the Maggan family possesses an almost supernaturally convincing speaking voice and demeanor. Because of this, they often wield unquestioned command in the cults that they lead — with their word being law. They never seem to be bothered by the horrible diseases that ravage their frames, offering them up as examples of their own importance in the seeping eyes of Chern. They have also developed dozens of unique spells, almost all having to do with disease and plague.
Magganti, who have not yet set out into the world, typically live in the family’s sprawling, ramshackle estate on the western border of the Mourning Marshes. The Maggan there have established an uneasy alliance with the slitheren who control the region. A pervasive rumor says that they once lived in the swamps of Kan Thet, but were driven out by something too terrible to withstand. Stories also say that when they journeyed across Ghelspad, they left sickness and disease in their wake. According to at least one Maggan, the corpse of the very first sorcerer-priest of their kind still lies moldering somewhere in the swamp, acting as a festering breeding ground for the diseases of Chern.
Current Leadership: Nanathi Maggan (female human,
Sor20, NE). The family’s matriarch is an ancient human
woman named Nanathi, or Nan for short. She has had over 12 children herself, and is the oldest surviving member of the family. It’s unclear if she’s still alive and clings to life by pure force of will, or if she’s undead and leading the family as a lich or something similar. Either way, she controls the family with an iron fist and has the last word in the family’s in-marriages.
Base of Operations: Maggan Estate, Mourning Marshes. Membership: Must be a member of the Magganti family. Favored Feats: Any metamagic feat, Diehard, Endurance,
Leadership and Plague-bringer (see Appendix I).
Favored Skills: Disguise, Knowledge (arcane) and
Spellcraft.
Favored Spells: In addition to those spells associated
with the Plague-bringer feat, the Magganti favor spells of disguise (alter self, change self, shapechange) and control over the swamps which are their home (buoyancy net*, summon
swarm, swift water*).
T
HEP
RESERVERSOFL
IFEThese sorcerers revere Chern, but have something of a non-typical viewpoint. Rather than trying to promote disease and its ravages, the members of this cult believe that by worshipping the festering titan they can placate him enough to save the rest of humanity. You’ll find Preservers in almost every big city, especially in southern climes where disease tends to flourish.
Base of Operations: The Warrens of the Eighth Eye,
Haggard Hills.
Membership: Must be a spidereye goblin of Klizzig’s
lineage.
Favored Feats: Augment Summoning, Craft Wondrous
Item, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Mounted Combat and Twist-blooded (see Appendix I).
Favored Skills: Hide, Move Silently and Ride. Favored Spells: Members of the Cult of the Eighth Eye
favor those spells of the Twist-blooded feat, as well as spells with a spider “theme” (poison, spider climb, summon swarm,
web, web sphere**).
DYNASTY
OF TUTHUKThe dynasty of Tuthuk is a small one, with perhaps a few dozens members. The bulk of the family lives somewhere near Ontenazu in the Canyon of Souls, where every gust of wind is a prayer to Lethene.
This family has sorcery bubbling in its blood, and is gripped with undeniable urges for destruction that the family members can’t help but satisfy. Upon reaching the age of self- reliance, Tuthuk’s kin are sent out across the Scarred Lands, to spread their bloodline and wreak what destruction they can. As yet, there is no known heir of Tuthuk who hasn’t naturally taken to battle magics. That’s sometimes the only way to identify them; if you encounter someone who knows how to fly and revels in destruction, there’s a better-than-average chance that they are of the blood of Tuthuk.
Their family caverns are said to be etched with the secrets of the storm, the walls covered with carvings inscribed by the wind itself. If you can bear it, studying the carvings is supposed to reveal horrible secrets from the past, truths that few people can withstand. It’s possible that a glimmer of Lethene’s power actually resides in the cavern walls themselves, making them barely sentient, though none has confirmed this.
Current Leadership: Jaeldran Tuthuk (male human,
Sor12, CN), the Keeper of the Caverns of Storm.
Base of Operations: Caverns off of the Canyon of Souls. Membership: Must be a member of the Tuthuk family. Favored Feats: Craft Wand, Elemental Focus (electric-
ity), Improved Familiar (shock lizard), Spell Penetration, Storm-kissed and any metamagic feat.
Favored Skills: Knowledge (local — Canyon of Souls),
Spellcraft and Survival.
Favored Spells: The Dynasty of Tuthuk favors mainly
those spells that come to them by virtue of their Storm-kissed heritage.