UnicornsSorrow of the Land

Regent Tathal to Honour our alliance with The Unicorns nation let a contingent of Tarantulas to aid our allies in finally and decisively dealing with their Bedlam issue. Under the cover of darkness our forces proceeded into the area surrounding Bedlam an area previously made uninhabitable by the Plague of Bedlam*. The effects of the plague recently mitigated to now only affect though who entered the city itself and also the transport circle at its centre the objective a small town on the outskirts of the city itself.

Scouting forces had been unable to delve too far into the area due to numerous hordes of unliving in the area. These hoards would assault the strike force for several hours as we progressed. The assault on the town itself was swift, and although the fighting did attract hordes from the surrounding area they soon dissipated away leaving the town secure. Scouting forces searched the surrounding area locating various signs of activity and three distinct set of groups operating in the area. A local temple and several mass graves had been desecrated. An abandoned library, and finally some Skaven activity in form of an Alchemical lab with trace amounts of lethal alchemical poisons affecting elementals and it was rumoured unliving. Finally a portal to the Plains of Unlife. Skaven tampering had increased its size from a single person to something wish would allow several figures to pass through.

That evening the first of the visions appeared. This one appeared to be of Bedlem being taken for sacrifice and made protector of the region or whichever role she fulfilled. A second the following day was Bedlam trying to create shrines while being heckled and broken by local villagers, These Visions were memories of Bedlam with these memories some of which had been twisted the Unicorns believed they could restore Bedlam to her former self and protector of the lands and not the corrupted being she had become.

The temple was once again dedicated to the ancestors. We saw to it that Lloth and her Pantheon were more that suitably represented in the re-consecration of that holy place.

The only thing of note found within the library was a book which allowed messages entered into its pages to be sent to a corresponding book in the Planes of Unlife. We learnt that this mirrored book was in the possession of a Skaven lich (60) who resided at the other side of the nearby portal. Its presence sustained the portal and although the methods used by the Skaven to increase the size of the portal could easily be destroyed this would significantly damage the surrounding area.

The unicorns were able to trick the lich into coming though the portal were it was quickly eliminated along with its phylactery. This complete the portal spewing out fresh hordes of unliving began to collapse ending the unliving threat in the area.

With the Unliving threat dealt with and Bedlams memories retrieved only our primary objective remained. With the retrieval of Bedlams Memories the preferred route to victory was to restore Bedlams true nature and purpose as protector. To start with we performed a rite by the transport circle to begin the process meanwhile Bedlams forces assaulted us over tie as bedlam was restored the forces assaulting use diminished in power before fading away completely. Jenny of the Uniorns a resident of the region was empowered to act as protector of the City of bedlam going forward

Additional notes Unicorns received a message that Grynd was under attack and sent a force to investigate. This force was then waylaid by pirates loosing several valuable items. The Unicorn’s reaction was to send our full force on the rescue mission. We would successfully retrieve the scout force without further losses. Incidentally a force of dollies found us while on Grynd. They were looking for a missing Dolly. We at first believed the dolly must have been taken by the Pirates, as it turned out however, during a recent Incantors guild gathering a dolly has turned up delivering a message to some visiting Tarantulas, The dolly never returned to Kyleth and instead was taken “on a tour of unicorn lands”. When the dolly was returned by the unicorn guides the dolly force left without further issue.

*The Plague of Bedlam By the time our forces arrived in the cities vicinity the curse was only found to be affecting the area within city itself which included the transport circle.

Zansas V'rinnHigh Corruptor / Deputy High Incantor

Jackals / VipersFreedom for the Southlands

Vendui Tarantulas, I have recently returned from an excursion into the Southlands to assist the Jackals with their Pharaoh problem and the Vipers with several smaller issues around Tutonia. The Vipers were also dealing with a being known as the Taker of Names, who had been given the Pharaoh’s true name and had agreed to assist in his removal, the Vipers then planned to “deal” with the Taker of Names once he had served his purpose.

We arrived at a beacon, that had been dropped by an advance team, called Moonlight. This was situated in the heart of the garden of the Pharaoh and upon arrival we were assailed by his forces, namely the Horus Guard, these were dispatched in reasonable time and the ‘basecamp’ made secure.

Scouts went out to check the surrounding area and identified two structures nearby, one a sealed temple and the other a pyramid. Passing amongst the gathered forces it appeared that the Jackals had not come prepared and only brought with them one experienced and one new healer, this gave me great concern for the success of this mission.

Friday evening saw us attacked relatively frequently by the forces of the Pharaoh, either in the form of Horus Guard or the more deadly Scarabs. A group of assassins utilising poisons, oils and high magics to attack us.

That evening also saw the appearance of Sekmet, one of the Jackals’ pantheon who gave some indication of what was happening and how we might succeed in overcoming the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh is supposed to be the chosen of the ancestors and is granted power by them, but this particular Pharaoh was somehow subverting power from the pantheon and empowering himself in an effort to ascend and assume control of the pantheon himself.

The Vipers also took an excursion to an area called the Blood Marshes, they seemed successful with the transport group all returning but when they arrived back at Moonlight only two of the group appeared to be standing and almost all were suffering from wounds and the effects of decay…this proved another major drain upon our limited healing resource.

Saturday saw us explore the Pyramid and face unliving forces that were guarding the entrance, inside we found some scrolls written in ancient hieroglyphs that needed to be translated. Our presence there also seemed to awaken something as we were soon facing additional forces and decided to withdraw back to the basecamp.

A young messenger came to us speaking of a Temple of the Stars, this was the sealed temple we had found the night before and the name linked to a clue given by Sekmet about where the Pharaoh was drawing his power “the stars”. A small group of us went to investigate with this young messenger who claimed that the temple was her “den” and she wasn’t happy about sharing with the Pharaoh. Inside we found eight canopic jars, a large tablet with a series of indentations; which was some sort of rite focus, several drawings that the young messenger said she had produced and beneath each a series of hieroglyphs that described what each depicted.

Shortly after we entered the young girl fled and had to be apprehended by our forces outside, for as she left the temple sealed behind her, locking seven of our party inside. Finding a way to escape we began opening the canopic jars hoping it to be some puzzle, it transpired that of the eight jars seven were trapped with a poisonous vapour, unfortunately opening the jars summoned Anubis who demanded the jars be returned. His appearance did unseal the temple and allow us to leave and gave us a small pyramid looking item which fit into one of the indentations upon the tablet.

The day progressed with Vipers taking transport groups out to deal with issues around Tutonia. The second of the day raised an issue with threatened the success of the overall mission and the alliance between the Vipers and Jackals.

 A transport group had gone to the Brandenburg Gate to investigate what was going on there, unfortunately the group that was going to go was one member over, so one of the Jackals was asked to stay behind. Instead the individual, Praxis or Piraxis I am unsure of the exact spelling, decided to transport there alone despite repeated requests/warnings not to lest he jeopardise the mission…. which is exactly what he did. As I was not part of the initial group I cannot say for sure what happened, reports are that upon arrival and seeing the first party falling back the lone transporter started a new rite and transported back when the group arrived to him, in doing so putting the group one over again and this time a Viper was left behind at the Brandenburg Gate. They arrived back at Moonlight rather agitated at the fact one had been left behind, the wounded were removed, and I stepped in to go and assist in the recovery of the stranded Viper.

Arriving at the Gate it appeared to be guarded by Ancestral forces that were conducting a ritual/rite to remove demonology from the individual and empower the gate somehow, our forces engaged but it was unfortunately too late. As we fought the individual wielding our artefact was knocked down and the weapon stolen from his person by the enemy forces. Unfortunately, the gate then seemed to explode in some fashion giving out waves of destructive energy forcing us to withdraw and transport back to moonlight.

Council was called between Jackals, Vipers and Myself to resolve the issues that this “Praxis” individual had caused with his actions, both the death of a Viper and the subsequent loss of our artefact because of needing to return to the area were both laid at his feet. The Jackals leaders did not refute either accusation and it was come to an agreement that he should stand trial and get to say his part for the death of a Viper on their lands and I came to an agreement that the Jackals would present the Tarantulas with their Artefact at our campaign in the coming weeks, I did advise that the Valsharess may well demand it for longer as recompense.

When confronted with this “jury” the individual who had been essentially remained at the transport beacon completed a transport rite and fled the scene rather than face his crimes. This led to us chasing him through several circles but unfortunately his trail was lost, he was declared a traitor of the of the Jackal nation having fled his trial and so was no longer protected by their laws.

The evening saw us attacked again by Scarabs, they managed to enthral two Jackals away from the compound and fled, they were pursued and used sampling kits were found upon their bodies along with a selection of other oils. We also had visits from a sect of Apophis, who seemingly were a temple order comprised entirely of Vampires. I am led to believe that they provided us with a potent venom which would work upon the Pharaoh.

I took part in another Viper excursion to Tutonia, this time to Triess to visit a Demonology Gate, this was a short and uneventful trip but quite fascinating nonetheless. Upon out return to Moonlight we found the beacon and the basecamp surrounded and held by enemy forces. A force of Horus Guard and Scarabs guarded the area around the beacon and attacked us as we arrived, we were commanded to leave, which was the agreed action, they then dropped one of the Jackals that apparently had not been able to flee the site at our feet. This meant Stavros had to stay behind to transport separately, but those guarding the beacon assured that he would be unharmed and he did appear so when he re-joined us later that night. The Jackal contingent of our force joined us in Prague, minus Shard a member of their command who had not managed to escape with the transport group and had been slain by enemy forces.

Sunday saw us arrive back at Moonlight from Prague, the area of the garden was unsecured, we proceeded to the Pyramid we had found earlier, Ancestral forces guarded the place and we engaged, they appeared to be led by an individual named Ezekiel. Forcing them back we were able to gain entrance to the Pyramid and during an exchange of words Big & Clever, a member of the Viper contingent was able to strike the Pharaoh with an artefact laced with the Apophis venom. This act then sparked our fighting withdrawal from both the pyramid and ultimately the garden overall and back to Prague.

The mission would be deemed mostly a success, at least from a Jackal stand point, the Vipers were not able to deal with the Taker of Names and so will pose a problem for them another time. I found the Jackals military effort to be lacking throughout the time within the Garden, they seemed to rely heavily upon the Vipers and allies, often with clusters of then just standing around during engagements. Due to this I would not recommend assisting them in future endeavours like this until it can be seen that they work fully together to support each other and their allies.

Forr’O’Fyve

Tarantula Quarter Master
Tarantula Ambassador
Vipers Deputy Minister of Kicking off (revoked)

CampaignResolutions

Spring MootHarts(TBC)

GEFJackals(TBC)

Summer MootBears(TBC)

GatheringVipers(TBC)

CampaignEchoes(Ty'vanna)

Vendui' Tarantulas, tails of my demise are greatly exaggerated.
Below is a summary of events from our nations recent excursion to the northern Underdark dubbed “Echos” as witnessed by myself Zan’sas V’Rinn, Corleth - Scholar of House Rea,Morda and other loyal servants.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
We transported in to the crystal forest of Ty’vanna, and were beset by elementals of fate and fortune, as well as various unliving.
There were a number of buildings which we unlocked via puzzles, within them were random bits and nothing overly interesting or powerful. But all things that told the story of where we were, and the ongoing war between elementals of fate and fortune.
There was also a magic elemental portal pillar which required keys to activate.
The second building had an occupant, the Seneschal of the crystal court (fortune elementals).
He kept being all "mysterious" and prattling on about fortune etc instead of just telling us what we wanted.
The crystal court offered us crystal keys in exchange for the completion of tedious and demanding games or puzzles to "earn" the portal keys.
We discovered that every time a member of the fortune court arrived or was summoned their adversary from the fate (shadow) court was allowed to exit their stasis also. Their offer was a lot more to our liking so to cut a dull story short. We slaughtered lots of fortune elementals including their queen earning the Crystal Keys from The Fate Elementals
Using the Keys we activated the portal, sent through a team including Miso and myself. In this realm we were assailed by some insignificant guardians and avoided some Underdark Jelly fish retrieving at the end a large and thaumicly powerful table later identified as "Ark of Eilistraee".

The 1000 Isles:
An emissary from the 100 islands arrived and told us a sad (and dull story) about how their tree to Ergosal was not thriving, and they wanted our advice. An assortment of faithful including myself transported to the 1000 islands sacred grove via Malwar Junction the only way to enter the 1000 isles via transport.
Their "tree" had been withered and twisted for as long as they could remember..
It was clearly and ancestral sucking parasite, created by their misguided belief that they had "the tree of Ergosal”. Having taught them the errors in their faith combined we destroyed the tree tearing it finally from the earth. Our Grove Guardian has allowed the 1000 isles followers of Ergosal to visit our grove to worship as they wish.

The Cube:
As is becoming far too common our camp was approached by the being known as the cube and its followers / constructs, Following the death at the Gathering of a Faction werewolf the cube now wishes to learn further of those known as Warlocks, Paladins and Vampires. The cube itself has access to the highest magic’s, and up close its blows can piece armour no matter the craftsmanship or the ability of its users.
The only know weakness of the cube it to the blast effects of mages which temporarily stun the creature, allowing us to close in and start hacking it to pieces, mages should work in pairs to keep the creature stunned, should enough power be gathered a wedge of 299 could also destroy the being.

Triel Cruentatus:
Several times we were also visited by citizens if the Underdark under an unliving possession, Sent by a being identifying itself as Triel Cruentatus their purpose to gather information on us. To stop any information leak all were put to death and dedicated to Lloth this was there dying wish as loyal Underdark citizens.
As the earliest opportunity I advise a force or scouts be sent to The Ruins of De'Chienza the source of these visitors, to ascertain Triel’s influence there.

The City of Shindlyn is liberated – Nezanamiel destroyed!
Having brought a mighty force to bare upon the city under the control of Nezanamiel The Coward chose to flee the city and take his force to attack our capital Do’blouth and home of House Karrash Morr the faithful people of this proud city saw the attack shatter against their walls sending Nezanamiel off scurrying into the Underdark. Hearing word of this a strike team was assembled and arrived to intercept Nezanamiel forces. Seeing his defeat close at hand he chose again to flee, this time he would not be so lucky as two of our nation Barran Ironfounder and Thrax Malleus transported off with him in battle. When our forces caught up to them we found these heroes still standing and Khaz'ress buried in Nezanamiel heart, The body of this hated foe would be recovered and in a dedication performed by Matron Mother Kerithrion, Number One ensured Nezanamiel was enslaved to Kanchelsis as punishment for his crimes the carcass thrown in a ditch to rot.

The Regent
Inspired by the dedication of our Empress and guided by Lloth. Tathal Maelthra Regent of the Tarantula Empire and Champion of Araushnee Has accepted a crusade to thwart the heretical machinations of the servants of the silver throne, who would seek to use the patterns of our people to fuel their war machine. He has been witnessed wielding his blessed warhammer “the Will of Lloth” in battle with the foes of our nation. Staying in one place only long enough to dedicate the fallen to their dark pantheon ancestors and offer his blessings before is calling takes him onward all the while intoning is dedications to Lloth.

The Valsharess
Our Empress continues to battle the forces of chaos which would seek to destroy her realm to aid her Victory, Miso organised the Alchemists and Herbalists of our nation and allies to collect the various plants and Herbs needed to help the Valsharess. By creating a potion to amplify her strength, these were gathered over the two days of our excursion, and the potion given to the Valsharess for which she gave thanks and the blessings of Lloth
With leaders such as these and the example they set combined with the blessings of Lloth and her dark pantheon our empire continues to stand strong.

- - - - Even a servant who has nothing can still offer their faith - - - -

Zansas V'rinn
High Incantor

IncantorsRockholme

The incantors guild...war of the hypocrites.

So it started under rockholme, firstly there were a variety of intresting and mine unliving. Then we passed through the language barrier, pressing up we encountered fire elementals and stabbed them.
Then we encountered some huuuuuuge dwarfish barrow deathknights...so that got controlled and used to murder the second and then stabbed the first.

Doom Rat
House Maelthra

Duties

You must always remember that you as the military are the mailed fist of the faction command and your job is to support your command in ensuring the Tarantulas place as the premier faction in Erdreja. In peace you do this by preparing for war, and when war breaks out, you make sure the Tarantulan fist hits hard and fast. You are the protectors of the underdark and its sanctity is in your hands.

Your military command will be of a section of the Tarantulas that you are most familiar with. This is beneficial to you and your men as you are familiar with the way they work and they are familiar with you and as such are more likely to respond to your commands.

Duty no 1

Prepare yourself for war

Equip yourself with suitable equipment for war as befitting your role in the military and most importantly learn how to use it well. As mentioned before the Tarantulas is a warrior based culture and leaders gain their rank and position by leading by example. If you are not confident with weapon styles your other military officers can help. There are several references available that can improve your knowledge of battle tactics. I recommend studying ancient and modern battles, examine the tactics used and apply them to Modern Erdrejan combat. Leadership is the hardest one to improve and can really only be improved by practice, good practice can be gained by leading some linears.

Duty no 2

Prepare your men.

Ensure that the men under your command are properly equipped for their tasks. If they are not gently encourage them to improve their kit and /or fighting abilities either by discussion or practice (i.e. point out the error of their ways). The development of standard group tactics can help in the situations where planning is impossible.

Duty no 3

Understand the Tarantulas battle tactics, where your command fits in and how to best utilise them. Not just what we do but why it works and how it can be improved as our basic standard improves.

Duty no 4

Brief your men before each battle (where possible). You and your men should have a clear understanding of the reasoning for the battle the overall objective and your role in this battle. This will be communicated to you by your senior military command and must be passed down to your men or they will feel de-motivated and demoralised.

Standard battle tactics

This section is intentionally brief to keep it simple and allow for development.

The Tarantulas form up as follows:

A tight massed block of heavies at least three ranks deep forms the centre preferably two ranks of shields and poles deep. Two wings of skirmishers take the flanks in looser packs. Specialist units of healers, incantors and mages are formed up close behind the main heavies unit to provide firepower/healing support as required.

Defensively the tactics are to let the enemy bounce off the heavies while the skirmishers harry the enemy flanks and rear. Volleys of spells and incants are fired to cause distractions and dismay amongst the enemy.

Offensively the faction form up in a similar manner except the mage and incantor units move to the front in between blocks of heavies. The faction advances at a walk towards the enemy until we get to about 3m. Volleys of spells (3 would suffice or about 15 seconds) should be used to punch holes in the enemies lines. The heavies then advance to engage. Close enough is nose to nose not 2m apart; this close distance allows all three ranks to engage. The skirmishers wait about 30 seconds after the heavies and then attack the flanks of the enemy.