The Sun Lich

 This is a campaign setting idea I've had for years but never got to use.  Perhaps you can have fun with it?

Edge of Darkness by Ben J

Long ago, a world was destroyed... mostly. A very powerful lich needed that world, and saved a portion of it. This chunk of planet (so this is now a "flat" world with an edge") drifts into space. The magic of the lich keeps the air in place. But the sun is gone. So the lich, grown to titanic size, uses a glowing gem on the tip of their staff and moves it in a circle around the world, mimicking the sun, giving it... life.

During the daytime, the light of the staff, much like the sun, makes it very hard to see into space.  But at night, when the staff is underneath the world, the lich is faintly visible, illuminated from bellow.  (Midnight is known as "the ribbing hour" as the angle makes some features more apparent).

The main religion of this world worships the lich as a sun god, and offer sacrifice, thus powering the lich.  Faithful elders often choose to end their lives this way.  

Thus, centuries pass, with the sun staff going round and round around the broken world; while the lich drifts in the cosmos, pondering its next move.  But what if things changed?  

Perhaps the lich is now ready for the next step of its plan, but demands far greater sacrifices to give itself the power to do so. 

Perhaps a heretical sect claims the lich was responsible for the destruction of the world, and only preserved a portion of it so it may use the inhabitants as fuel.  Perhaps these ideas originated from visitors from beyond this world. 

Perhaps the population doesn't know that the end of life ritual consumes the soul of the sacrificed - what if this dark secret got out?

Perhaps this is just background, a backdrop to whatever great idea you have for a campaign?  

Angels and Devils, Birds and Bats

 Ok.  Why do angels have bird wings, and devils bat wings?  This is a quite consistent depiction in art etc.  Why is this, what is going on?

From Memoirs of Bartholomew Fair ... Fourth edition", p 104, 1892

I have been pondering this for some time, and a sort of revelation came to me.  The situation is complex, but it can be boiled down to a simple fact:

Angels are birds.   Devils are mammals

Why is this significant.  And what *are* birds, really?  Birds are dinosaurs (seriously, look it up). 

Angels are the survivor of the meteor impact. They are a hyper advanced civilization, watching earth from far above in their sky-cities, the heavens if you will.  They have existed for millions of years, as they achieved *stability* - they do not change, they are "sustainable".  Maintaining the Status Quo, the Divine Order, is paramount.

Once the dust from the great meteor strike settled (if it was a meteor strike...), mammals became somewhat dominant on earth. The bird-angels became curious about this new form of life - advanced, but still nowhere near as advanced as they, of course -  and did some experiments. They created the devils, as a lark perhaps.  Gave them bat wings.  For a time, the devils lived in the sky cities in small numbers, slowly growing, seen as "lesser" than the Angels.

With time, humans eventually came to the scene.  The angels grew concerned - intelligent mammals, not under their control?  Could they become rivals?

So they started instructing them in "morals".  As Nietzsche pointed out, this morality was a "servant"  morality.  Not suitable for leadership.  Designed to control the humans.

The mammal-devils were horrified - they felt kinship with these humans.  They wanted to instruct the humans about freedom, self-determination.  They started agitating. 

The bird-angels were offended and cast the traitor devils out of their celestial bases; and started warning humans about not trusting the devil's words - their temptation would lead them to perdition.  But if humans were "good" they would go to the "heavens" - a lie, of course.

Preposterous some of you may say... BUT:  Who is said to be our secret rulers?

Lizard people. And lizards have the same origin as birds... it's an other conspiracy with a small nugget of truth inside. ;) 

The Goblin Laws of Guns

 A lot of GLOG class are starting to use guns (like the Zouave or the Gun Priest).   I proposed the following "system" that will be both historically accurate "ish" and "balanced" for use in play.

The reason I'm doing this is because I'm going to play in a one-shot GLOG game and different players have guns of different tech level.  I am aiming to have something that is both sort of balanced, sort of easy *and* sort of fun.

I will have "elements" of a gun, and then combine them together to make a number of examples.  One thing I won't have is prices for these guns, as they would be heavily campaign and "historical" dependent - what was cutting edge in one century is old surplus in the next.

Design principles

- Guns are less reliable, but no "blow in  your face" unreliable.

- Guns are slow to reload, but advanced guns are better

- Guns do solid damage... but not *that* much damage, especially the pistols.

- Edit: - I need to make this more explicit - somewhat better vs armor

Because this is a long post, I'm going to start with the guns.   Then we'll talk about historical periods, and how guns were used.  Then we'll talk about the technical details.  The "gaming math" will follow in this post.

Pocket pistol (flintlock, smoothbore)

Usable in melee!  Very short range, better than nothing.  1d6 dmg, 10 feet, -2 per 10 feet beyond. 2 rounds to reload.

In your face Pistol (matchlock, flintlock, cap and ball, smoothbore or rifled)

The more of these you have stuffed in your sash, the more bad-ass you are.  1d8 dmg, 1d10 with Minié, base range is 20 feet, -1 per 10 feet, ( or -1 per 20 feet if rifled).  Loading time 2 rounds

Pistolet modèle 1733, By Rama, CC BY-SA 3.0 fr, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58996270

Pepperbox (cap and ball, smoothbore)

The precursor to the revolver, the gun was not noted for accuracy... but hey, six shot! 1d6 dmg, range 10 feet, -1 to hit per 10 feet beyond, can attack multiple times per round if character is able to, reload time: 2 rounds/chamber

Pocket revolver (rimfire, rifled)

Six shots of anemic 1d4 damage!  The rich have them in engraved nickel plated with ivory handles. 1d4 dmg, range 10 feet, -1 to hit per 10 feet beyond. can attack multiple times per round if character is able to. Reload: 2 cartridge per round

Revolver, cap and ball  (rifled)

A great six shooter, you can depend your life on. 1d6 damage with round ball, or 1d8 with Minié ball.  Range is 20 feet, -1 to hit per 20 feet beyond can attack multiple times per round if character is able to,.  Reload time 2 rounds/chamber

Revolver, rimfire (rifled)

Another great 6-shooter.  You can reload faster now, but have less max damage.  Still hurts!  1d6 damage with .44 Henry.  Range is 20 feet, -1 to hit per 20 feet beyond.  Can attack multiple times per round if character is able to. Reload time 1 round/ two bullets

.44 Henry Colt Army 1860

Zouave Snaphance. (flintlock, smoothbore, but could be cap and ball)

Not an issued weapon, a trophy of war, plunder, booty.  A tool to defend yourself against robbers - or to rob someone.  An oversized pistol, a sawed off blunderbuss.   2d6 dmg with ball, 20 foot range, -1 penalty per 10 feet OR 3d4 damage with shot, 20 foot range, -1 1d4 dmg per 10 feet. Loading time: 3 rounds

By Worldantiques - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36709232

Arquebuse/mousqueton/carbine (matchlock, flintlock, cap and ball), smoothbore

A short handy smoothbore gun. Double barreled cap and boll shotgun were popular.  dmg 1d10,  Range 30 feet, -1 per 10 feet beyond OR 3d3 damage with shot, 20 foot range, -1 1d3 dmg per 10 feet. Loading time: 3 rounds and can fire in the 3rd round.

Musket (matchlock, flintlock, cap and ball), smooth bore

A cumbersome weapon of war.  Matchlock requires brace to fire (fork, wall, fence...).  dmg 2d6 range 40 feet, -10 per 10 feet beyond OR 4d3 damage with shot, 30 foot range, -1 1d3 dmg per 10 feet. Loading time: 3 rounds

Rifle (flintlock, cap and ball)

A potent weapon of war. dmg 2d6 or 2d8 with Minié ball, range 50 feet, -1 per 20 feet beyond. Loading time:  4 rounds, or one round less with Minié ball,

Rifle carbine (flintlock, cap and ball)

A handy weapon for travel or hunting.  1d10 dmg, or 2d6 with Minié ball, range 30 feet, -1 per 20 feet beyond, loading time 3 rounds and can fire in the third, or one round less with Minié ball.

Henry Rifle (rifled, rimfire)

.44 rimfire.  Not very hard hitting, but sooo many bullet, rapid lever action.  Handy too.  1d8 dmg, 15 cartridges - can attack multiple times per round if character is able to, range 30 feet, -1 per 20 feet, loading time 2 cartridges per round + 1 round for magazine manipulation. 

Spencer carbine. (rifled, rimfire)

.56 rimfire. A clunky lever action, slower than the Henry, but bigger bullets.  1d10 dmg, 7 cartridges - can load and attack once per round, range 30 feet, -1 per 20 feet, loading time 4 rounds for 7 cartridge.

This list is, of course, incomplete (edit, I will need to do a post about weird guns).  But I hope it will help GMs having some kind of baseline to make rulings about guns, especially in a game where there may still be bow and crossbow usage, or the possibility of multiple technological levels being present (time travel magic, ancient weapons, technological differences between countries etc).   In no way shape or form feel pressured to use all of them.  A game with just a few gun models is ok.

Older guns are best use in a fire once then close in to melee fashion, unless both sides are happy with staying far and shooting at each other.  They can provide the party with a big "push" of damage in the first round (the crossbow is good for this too).  More modern guns load faster.  The use of paper cartridges and Minié ball allowed for high damage and quick reloads (a carbine can be fired as fast as a crossbow), and revolvers and repeating long guns allowed for very fast firepower, often eclipsing what a melee weapon could do and certainly eclipsing the bow...

Guns and armor:

It's a well known fact that medieval armor didn't deal with guns... but it wasn't entirely useless either.  To avoid making guns too powerful, and to have something easy to remember, I would propose that guns "shave of" a step of defense (from plate to chain, or chain to leather, i.e. ignoring 2 AC) when trying to attack someone wearing armor.   They probably would work even without this rule, but if you want to run a campaign where guns dominate, this would do it.

So, some technical details about guns:

First we are going to talk about the "lock" - the thing that makes the gun go boom.  In historical order, you could make the following order of firearm "eras".  There was some overlap, of course.

1:  Matchlock: A very primitive form of gun, where you have a slow burning cord that ignites the powder - the match.  They fail to ignite on a fumble (see flintlock).  Furthermore, the match can go out if there is strong wind or rain, its glow and smoke can give away your position etc etc... it's a problem. Adds 1 round to loading time (if you rush too much you might ignite the powder with the match!)  Mechanically simple and thus cheaper.  They were all loaded by the muzzle (the front of the gun).  There are even more ancient models which I did not go into.

2:  Flintlock: A number of mechanisms (wheellock, snaplock, "true" flintlock) where a mechanism generates sparks.  On a fumble, the gun fails to ignite.  There is a 50% chance that it can easily be fixed (one round reloading the priming powder) and 50% chance that there is a serious problem - the gun needs to be unloaded because of wet powder and reloaded (doubles the reloading time).  Almost all were muzzle-loaded.

3:  Cap and Ball: Similar to the flintlock, but instead of a spark generator, there is a cap - a small copper device filled with a sensitive chemical - installed on a nipple that is struck with a hammer.  This mechanism is more reliable and doesn't mess up on a fumble.  Cap and Ball guns where usually muzzle loaded but a few were breech-loaded (from the back of the gun).  Also known as percussion guns.

classic percussion shotgun, double barreled.

4: Rimfire: Still used today in the .22, these were the first reliable metal cartridges.  The cartridge is loaded to the rear of the gun, and a hammer hits the rim, which is filled with primer (the sensitive chemical). They had the problem of being less reliable than the cap and ball (on a fumble, the round fails to fire and must be ejected) and low pressure (less damage).  Historical examples include the .44 Henry, the .32 rimfire and the .56 Spencer.  Rimfire guns were often used in revolvers and repeating rifles.   They weren't as powerful, but very useful.

And.... now we stop.  By the time we get to the next step, the center-fire cartridges (more reliable and sometimes more powerful), the guns have gotten "too good", and ranged fire almost completely displaces melee fighting.  We are now playing another game.

Now that we have this covered, let's talk about the "stock" - the size of the gun.  The longer the barrel, the longer the initial (no penalty) range is.  The shoulder stock also helps with aiming.

Pocket pistol:  A small thing that is easily concealed.  Short ranged, low damage.  Became possible with the flint lock - clearly you can't have a matchlock in your pocket....  size is 1/3 of a slot

Saddle pistol:   A large pistol that could be concealed.  The longer barrel and larger caliber increases the damage.  The saddle wheel-lock pistol of noble cavalry, the 6 shooter of the cowboy, the flintlock pistol tucked in the pirate's sash all fit this.  Range is not great.  Takes 1 slot.  Can be used as a club (1d4 damage) in a pinch.   Matchlock pistols did exist.

Carbine:   A small, handy rifle, favored by hunters, cavalry/dragoons, adventurers and scouts.  In earlier time this was the arquebuse or mousqueton, in later time the "Winchester gun" ie the lever gun. They do more damage and have more range than a pistol.  They can also be used as a club by bashing with the shoulder stock (1d4 dmg).

Full sized musket/rifle:  A long, cumbersome affair, had the most damage but a pain to carry (3 slots).  Could have a bayonet that allowed to do 1d6 dmg in melee.  The matchlock musket were so heavy they required something to rest the barrel against - a fence, a wall, or a fork designed specifically for that purpose. 

Now, the barrel.

Smooth bore:  If the gun is smooth-bored, they are easier to load, but they have less range.

Rifle:   Takes longer to reload when muzzled loaded, but have more range - each step beyond the initial range is longer.  Was invented in the flintlock era.

Muzzle loaded:  Cheaper but takes longer to load.

Breach loaded:  More expensive and technologically advanced, faster loading.  Developed in the cap and ball era.

Double barrel:  double the fun, double the cost. A few flintlocks, a lot of smoothbore cap and ball (shotguns). 

Length of the barrel:  Longer guns have more power and range, but are less handy/concealable and take longer to load.

But what are we shooting?

Well the Cartridge:

Loose powder.   There is no cartridge.  You have a ball, some powder, some wadding and a ramming rod.

Paper cartridge:  Everything is measured and organized in advance.  Reduces loading time.   

Cap:   Instead of putting powder in a frizen/touch hole, you could have a sensitive chemical housed in a small copper cap.  Percussion guns, also know at cap and ball, were far more reliable than the flintlocks. The precursor to the primmer.  Most were muzzle loaders, a few cap and ball were breach-locked.

Metallic cartridge:  Like a paper cartridge but even better.  Comes whit its own primer.

Lastly, the bullet.

Ball:  a big round lead ball, the default.  Used in all guns except metallic cartridges. Can be used both in smoothbore and rifled guns, although the later could be difficult to load.

Shot:  a bunch of smaller ball, rocks, nails, coins jammed in there.  Only used in smooth bore guns.  Shot does not take a range penalty, rather a *damage* penalty.  For example, a 2d6 gun loaded with shot would do 3d4.  After the first range increment, the damage would fall to 2d4, then 1d4, then the pellets have spent too much of their energy to do real harm.  Shotgun shells were not available in this era.  

Minié Ball:  A more modern form of bullet - it is easier to load and engages the rifling better, leading to higher velocities, increasing the damage by one step.  The Minié ball was available for late flintlocks, cap and ball guns, and metallic cartridges (sort of).  They weren't used in smoothbore barrels.   They, and derivatives, made firearms far deadlier, and cause war amputations to be far more common du to their tendency to shatter bones.

Magical bullets.  What are we shooting?  +2 bullets?  Homing bullets (advantage to hit)?  Fire bullets, silver bullets, poison bullets?  I don't know!  You make it up.  Have fun, it's magic!  I will note that "older" guns that don't use metallic cartridge may have more flexibility with magical bullets. 

Loading/firing time:

Paper cartridge can be used with muzzle loaded or breech loaded guns.  Reduced the loading time by 1 round.  A trained gunman with decent equipment can make about a dozen such cartridges per hour, but most preferred purchasing them.

Metallic cartridges are fast to load, and the characteristic of the gun become the defining factor in loading time.

Longer barrels take longer to load than pistol *if* the gun is muzzle loaded.

Ball takes longer to load in a muzzle-loaded rifle (but not smooth bore).  The Minié ball does not have this penalty.

Damage depends on the caliber, the length of the barrel, the type of bullet and the use of metallic cartridge - the early ones were often weakly loaded.

The 1700s Magic User

Consider the 1700s wizard. 

I don't mean in the game world.  I mean here, on Earth. Grimoires are being massed produced and this gentleman of some means, living in a small village a ways of Paris, has given these books some serious thought.  He can't practice too openly (the scandal!), but in his summer home on his cousin's lands, away from too much prying eyes, he dabbles.  The locals know all about it of course.

Now we KNOW that magic "doesn't work" in the real world, but you have to consider that people were much more inclined to believe in the supernatural back then.  More importantly, the placebo effect is a real thing, and it's enhanced by belief.  When someone takes a placebo and they get better... they actually are getting better.  In some cases it's just for a little while, but in other cases they are truly cured.  In other words, the "fake" part of the placebo is the remedy, not the effect.  So add the placebo effect with a bit of positive thinking and a fair bit of collective delusions and *tada!* you have a spell that "works", at least some of the time.

So our country wizard has had success at curing old Marie's headaches.  And his spiced liquor he's been preparing is pretty nice, and so is his hand soap (because some Grimoires had recipes for those too - actual formulas that sort of work).  And he's paying pretty handsomely for that high purity lime the village is known for... so of *course* his talisman against snakes totally works, you should buy one!  His ring of invisibility... well not so much, but even he'll admit that the formulae is most difficult, and that he hasn't gotten it right yet.  A man would only need to have mastered a handful of spells and be working on a few others to be considered a proper wizard, alchemist or whathaveyou. 

Some wizards will be charlatans selling snake oil and the like (some grimoires had formulas for scams, so you could, ahem, "ward yourself against them").  But I think others believed in what they were attempting to do, and in the right circumstances, so would have many people around them.   Life was hard and full of uncertainty, there was a need for "reassurances", charms against various harms.  And besides, some of their concoctions actually worked.

When women did that, of course they focused on the more practical effects (more cures, less "turn tin into silver" nonsense) and, for their efforts,  were sometimes accused of witchcraft.  That's patriarchy for you.

Zeugma, a city in Anatolia

(I've been asked by a redditor to provide them with more information about my version of Zeugma, so I thought I would clean up my notes and write a post about it.   I'll start with a few comments on Zeugma as a whole, then dive in the details about faction, layout etc etc. )

"Gipsy girl".  Zeugma was noted for its mosaics.  image source: wikipedia

HISTORICAL CONTEXT:  Zeugma was a Hellenistic city on the Euphrates, located near the current city of Gaziantep in Turkey.   It was founded by Seleucia by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander's generals.  It long pontoon bridge, for which it was named, made it an important trading and strategic location for the Romans, and had 70 000 inhabitants at one point.  It was devastated by an earthquake in the 250s and eventually abandoned a few centuries later following numerous raids.

PERSONAL/GAMING CONTEXT:  I've spoken about the campaign I ran in this world previously.  I found information about Zeugma and its mosaic in 2004, and I was so struck by it that I knew there was potential for a setting there.   The gaming system was Warhammer frpg 2nd edition, I wanted to see if the system could be divorced from the Warhammer setting for a low fantasy game (it can!!).  I also used elements of the old Dragon Warriors system (which I highly recommend for any old-school gaming fan). The setting was set in a pseudo-earth, where some cultural groups were replaced by fantasy races - the elves are ancient Egyptians, the dwarves lost their ancient homeland and really don't like the elves for some reason.  I also inspired myself heavily from Guy Gavriel Kay's novels, with some of the same terminology - the Jadites, the Asharians etc.  This was done in 2008. Would I do the same today?  I'm not sure.  The closer you cleave to history, the easier it is to be very offensive without intent; and replacing an ethnicity/culture with a fantasy race is... perhaps unwise.  If you do decide to use this setting, please feel free to not make these choices.

OVERALL THEME:   In my version of Zeugma, it remained a bridge between the East and the West, an independent city-state navigating difficult waters between great rivals - the Byzantium empire, the Sultanate of Rum, Nur-ad Din (the Attabeg of Aleppo) and the Crusader states.  It is a city there different people must live together, filled with intrigue, tension and opportunity.

Ok, now that's done, let's get down to the details:

Geography/Layout

The city of Zeugma is split by the Euphrates.  The city is crossed by a long low wooden bridge – this bridge has had a number of collapses over the year, but is normally kept in good repair.  Traffic is congested  The other way to cross the river involves hiring a small boat – this service is easily obtained as it is faster than walking across and it’s a quick way for fishermen to make a few coins.  Prices skyrocket when the bridge is closed, of course.  There is a nominal tax for people crossing the bridge, and a greater one for mercantile goods.

It should be noted that the Euphrates is not navigable for long stretches in this area.  Trade with Baghdad is done via road for a significant portion of the way.

The section on the western side of the river, Seleucia is bigger and older, and some is on higher ground – where the wealthier citizens live.   The city walls are old but respectable.  The eastern side, Apamea, is smaller, lower but has better city walls as there are more concerns from invasions from the east.  These walls have been enchanted by dwarven runic magic, increasing their resilience.  A number of narrow sewage tunnels run under the high town, and these are sometimes infested by criminals, goblins or worse.  Patrolling these tunnels is seen as punishment duty within the army.

Speaking of punishment, slightly to the north of the city the Euphrates widens and in the middle there is a long, flat island.  It is unsuitable for inhabitation, but crops can be grown there.  Petty crimes are sentenced by fines or – for those who can’t or won’t pay – periods of work in the island.  Conditions are unpleasant.  Since there aren’t always enough convicts to work the fields, some of the city’s poor are frequently hired to help out, receiving a meagre pay and some food.

The layout is based on archeological maps, although the position of the bridge roads and gates is speculative... To see the image in full size, right click, open image in new tab.

Governance

Zeugma is an independent city state and for centuries has resisted attempts by various kingdoms and empire to fully control it.  It acts as a buffer between the east and west.  That being said, the city has always been more closely aligned to the Byzantine empire (and the Romans before that, and the Greeks before that) than the Persians or Arabs.

Zeugma is ruled by five Satraps.  Each Satrap is elected for 10 years.  Zeugma is therefore a sort of democracy, but not everyone gets to vote – only landowners do (this changed following one particular adventure).  The churches also gets a certain number of votes as well.  There is an election every 2 years, giving a certain constant to the government.  Each Satrap has a specific area of control.  The Stone Satrap is in charge of public works and maintaining the walls, the Silver Satrap is in charge of taxes and the budget, the Bronze Satrap runs the military/city watch and the Paper Satrap is in charge of the legal system and the bureaucracy.  Each Satrap absolutely needs the help of the others to do stuff, ensuring that no one has too much power.  The Spirit Satrap is a “recent’ position (a few centuries only) and is both the least and most powerful Satrap – he deals with maters of religion and magic.  Keeping the various religious groups happy is a difficult challenge.  Under Zeugma law, no religion is favored over the other, a very unusual situation.

The city has a guild of mages, whose headquarters is the Zephyr Tower.  The most ancient Azyr Congregation, or the Blue Guild as the commoners call it, specializes in divination magic, and has existed as long as the city has.  Some say they are the true rulers of Zeugma, although they seemingly take no part in the day to day politics of the city – beyond regulating magic use that is.  That being said, there is no doubt that the guild’s foresight has been key in keeping the city independent over the centuries.

Crime:

The city has been plagued by a thieves’ guild for so long that’s it has almost become an accepted part of life.  Racketeering is the main activity of the guild, and almost every individual of some means (from humble shop-keeps to powerful noble) pays a fee for the privilege of being left alone.  The guild is fiercely territorial, and will aggressively keep out other criminals, going as far as investigating crimes it is not responsible for… leading to the unusual situation where the guild is almost a part of the police system.  Smuggling is also an important activity for the guild, to avoid paying the bridge tax imposed on goods.

The leader of the thieves' guild has the title of Shadow Satrap; something that seems suspicious indeed to some.  Cynics claim that the the guild organizes most burglaries, investigates them, blames their enemies, returns most (but rarely everything) of what was stolen... and perhaps are spying for the other Satraps!  But what can be done?

Demographics:

Zeugma has about 50 000 people in total, which is less than its peak of 70 000.  Several old buildings serve as warehouses.  The majority are human of Greek/Roman origins.  There are well over 5000 Arabs, and the Turks have a good 2-3 thousands present.  There are about 700 Dwarves, haflings are a bit shy of 500 (they ended up playing no role whatsoever in my campaign), half-elves are a bit under a hundred, and elves who's blood is pure enough to rightfully call themselves full blooded elves can be counted on the digit of one hand.

Institutions, customs and personalities:

-The Coliseum
This building is well over a thousand year old and can accommodate about 5000 spectators.  Although they have fallen out of favor in several areas around the world, Zeugma has found a plethora of uses for the building - not only are gladiarioral bouts still featured occasionally, but the place is also used for important public trials and executions, theatre, civic ceremonies, occasional mass auction, militia training, festivals, etc.  To the average Zeugma citizen, a city without a Coliseum is as absurd as a house without a kitchen.

-The public Baths:
Although the same cannot be said for Western Europe, personal hygiene is still seen as important in the Byzantine Empire.  As such, the old baths of roman times have been maintained.

-The Black Dwarf Of Zeugma:
This dwarf is the city's most infamous assassin, mostly because of his rather blunt mode of operation (show up, hack at the target with a sword, leave without a trace).  He's also infamous for carrying a bow - a very big no-no for dwarves due to religious reasons.  A few more recent assassinations (via a trio of arrows) have been speculated to be his doings as well.  Gossips claim he is behind baby disappearances (dwarves eat babies after all), bodies found in the river, accidental death of important people, arson, plagues, and rats. Cynics point out that it's rather convenient for the city to have someone who only actually commits a few murders a year and who can be blamed for all unsolved crimes.

-The White Dwarf of Zeugma:
Rabbi Thrain Silvertouched may be the best liked individual of the city.  Spirit Satrap for over 3 decades (he has been elected without opposition the last 2 elections), he has managed to mediate conflict betweens different churches with uncanny skill and to improve relations between the Blue Guild and the Council.  He is also a powerful runesmith, and has inscribed a Rune of Power on the eastern walls - no one seems to know what it does exactly, but those with sorcerous skills say it will be most potent in defending the city if need be.  To the common man though, the old Rabbi is a white bearded dwarf with a strong but kind voice, who often takes time to walk around the city helping various people with sound advice, a willingness to listen and sometimes either coin or actual labor.  The Rabbi had denounced the Black Dwarf as a vile felon.  This hasn't stopped some people from claiming that perhaps he actually IS the black dwarf!  To the common Zeugma, this is evidence the speaker is either stupid, looking for a fight, or both.

-The Silver Ring Brotherhood
A fairly "new" institution, the brotherhood is a semi-secret organization to which only a select few can enter.  To do so, a person must be two things:  a resident of Zeugma, and a master of the sword.  The workings of the organizations or its goals are not well known, but its membership is:  All members are entitled to wear two silver rings wrapped around the handle of their sword.  Such a swordsman is to be respected - not only has he proven himself to be an exceptional swordsman, but he has the ear of other swordsmen who are probably very well connected.  Gaining the rings is therefore a way to move up in social standing, for even the lowliest born, but carries responsibility as well - the brotherhood does not tolerate villains within its ranks for very long.
(I thought my players would be into this, but nope, not at all).

- Bhavik Singh
This small old man comes from the far reaches of India and practices a religion that is not well known in Zeugma.  He rose through the ranks of the military both through martial skill (he wields his curved blade like a whirlwind, a blade that proudly wears two silver rings) and leadership - he has the capacity to inspire the loyalty of his men and to manage large organizations.  He eventually became watch captain, then was elected as the Bronze Satrap, and is now in his second term.  He wears a colorful, elaborate turban that grows larger with time and has a tendency to attract arrows, sorcerous bolts and worse - proof that it is a very good turban indeed!  Bavik has earned the ire of some of the nobility for only promoting according to talent, not birth, but is well liked by the common man.


I think that this post has gotten long enough, and I hope you enjoyed this look back at my old game.  If people are interested, I can post more about factions, regional politics, Elven customs, conversions from Dragon Warriors to Warhammers frpg 2nd ed, and an extensive NPC list.   Otherwise, this will probably be the last post about Zeugma.

"Real life" adventuring gear

There are things in D&D that are … mistakes.  Like studded leather, it didn't exist (it's miss-interpreted brigandine).   But it stuck around.  And there are probably many others like this.

So it's nice, once in a while, to look at things.  People think that adventurers fight.  But the thing they do most is *travel*.  And traveling can be hard.  You can die of exposure.  So how did they do it back in the day?

Well... I don't know either.  But I found this on the web, and it's *very* inspiring:

I know my posting a link is not high quality content, but this quarantine has been hard.

Some things I note of import:

Food carried was light and dehydrated (oats) and carb rich.  A bit of salt was also carried - both flavoring but also to restore salt loss via sweating (if you "run out of salt" you will feel a lot of fatigue).  The goal here was not to have you full day's worth of calories, rather to have a bit of food to keep you going.  This would not have been sustainable over longer distances, but made a lot of sense.

Tools are more important than weapons - especially tools to repair  your gear, make a camp and make fire.  Tool that can act as weapon are probably great.  The same goes for armor.  Lightweight stuff that is multi functional is best - like a leather/sheepskin vest.

Making camp takes time!  Picking a good spot is important.  And a good spot for shelter may not be a good spot for defence.  Having a watch to keep the fire going when cold is probably as important as keeping watch for enemies.  

edit:  Thank  you Anne for the suggestion re imbedding :)

edit 2:  Spells like mending and prestidigitation would be *super useful* for adventuring.

edit 3:  Found this a few months later - wasn't sure it was worth a post of its own, so here it is:

https://www.vindolanda.com/blog/the-romans-camping-and-me

I found the notion that tends were made of *leather* to be interesting.

Edit:  a great post on rations:  https://madqueenscourt.blogspot.com/2020/10/glogtober-6th-mountaineering-rations-of.html

Petit Albert Grimore: Some Alchemy

Apparently, this month is the Alchemy Carnival!  What better way to celebrate than continue my long project of translating the Petit Albert, focusing this time on spells that are particularly "alchemical" in nature.

An ointment by which one can be exposed to fire without being burned.

It has been many centuries since trial by fire has been used, where criminals were to prove their innocence via exposure to fire. However, it was decided that this was not legitimate - who are we to ask God to intervene to protect the innocent? Also, there were frauds during these trials, the custom has thus been entirely abolished.

Ancient historians say that the activity of fire could be suspended. Here is the most reasonable means I could create: One must mate an ointment composed of hibiscus sap, fresh egg white, plantago seeds, powdered lye and horseradish sap. Crush and mix together well, and put on parts of the body needed to be protected from fire. Let the ointment dry, and reapply a total of 3 times. After that, you will be able to easy withstand a trial by fire without being injured.

speaking of fire....

To Make Greek Fire

This fire is so violent that it will burn all things to which it is applied and cannot be extinguished - neither with urine, strong vinegar or sand. It is made with live sulfur, tartar, tragacath (? sarcocole), alcohol (?), heated common salt, pentreole (?) and common oil. All these compounds are boiled together, until they consume a piece of cloth put within. It must be stirred with an iron spatula, and this composition must be made in a courtyard and not inside, because if a fire were to start it would be impossible to put out.

Historically, there is great uncertainty about how Greek fire was made. The uncertainty will remain, as I don't know what several of these ingredients are (sorry!) Pentreole *might* be a form of petrol?


To turn one self's invisible with the use of a fixed (solidified) mercury ring

There are reports of the famous Gyges , who gained the thrones of Lydia by the use of a magical ring, which made him invisible, thus allowing him to easily commit adultery with the queen and kill the king. Cabalistic sages have given us the method of making rings which have the virtue of invisibility.

This important operation must be started on a Wednesday (in French Mercredi, day of Mercury... but in English, day of Wotan) in spring, under the auspices of Mercury, when it is know that this planet is in conjunction with another favorable planet (the Moon, Jupiter, Venus or the Sun). Using a well purified and fixed (solidified) mercury, a large ring will be crafted, fitting the middle finger of the hand. In this ring a small stone, found in the nest of a hoopoe, will be set.

Around this ring you will engrave the following words

Jesus passing + in the middle of them + went on his way +

You will then lay the ring on a small plaque of fixed mercury, and you will prepare the perfume of Mercury. The ring, resting on the plaque, will be exposed to the vapors of the perfume three times in a row. The ring will then be wrapped in a piece of taffeta of the color corresponding to the appropriate planet (the one in conjunction with Mercury) and then put into the nest of the hoopoe where the stone was taken, and left there nine days. The ring will again be exposed to the perfume of Mercury, and will then be kept in a small box made of fixed mercury, to be used when needed.

To use the ring, put it on your finger, with the stone facing outward. The stone has the virtue of being so fascinating to the eyes of onlookers that you can be amongst their mist without being seen. If you want to be seen, twist the ring so that the stone faces the inside of your hand and then close said hand into a fist.

I'll note that for a complete recipe, I should give the recipe for how to "fix" (solidify) mercury *and* how to make the Mercury perfume, but this would be ridiculously long. Given the complexity of this formulae, one can doubt if it was ever attempted.

The author gives a modification of the recipe, involving the wrapping of a ring with the hairs of a furious hyena, in the following pattern.

He then gives a counter to the invisibility ring - another ring!:


To make a ring that will counter the invisibility ring

As there are no poison in nature without its antidote, the sage providence of the Creator has made all things in proportions, thus no artifice is without remedy. IF you want to ward yourself against the effects of the cabalistic mercury ring, you will make a ring in the following manner.

The ring will be made with lead, well purged and purified (the procedure being explained earlier in the book). In this ring you will set the eye of a young weasel, that has been with child but once. On the ring you will inscribe the words:

Apparuit Dominus Simoni

This ring will be made on Saturday, when Saturn is in opposition with Mercury. You will make three times the Saturday perfume and you will then wrap the ring in a piece of a funeral shroud. You will burry it in a graveyard for 9 days. After retrieving the ring, you will make three times the perfume of Saturn and use them.

Those who invented the ring used the principle of antipathy which is found between the maters which compose these two rings, with such opposed effect. In fact, nothing is more anathema to the hyena than the weasel. And Saturn is almost always in opposition with Mercury - when they meet in one of the Zodiac signs, it's almost always a bad omen.

A rather topical one: 

A balm against plague

This recipe is against the plague and any contagious illness. It was a present from a king of Spain to his daughter, Queen of France, that I obtain from her first (main?) doctor, and anyone can make it due to its great facility. (... we'll see about that!)

You will rake well twelve roots of black salsify, you will cook them in three pints of white wine, while covering the pot well to avoid excessive evaporation. Once well cooked, you will press them through a cloth. To this liqueur you will add the juice of 12 lemons, half an ounce of ginger, half an ounce of cloves, half an ounce of cardamom, half an ounce of agarwood; crush everything well. You will then add an ounce each of the following herbs: rue leaves, elderberry, salvia and blackberry. You will make this all boil together at a low simmer, until a quarter has evaporated. You will then pour it promptly through a double cloth, then you will store in a jar made of strong glass and well sealed.

You will drink in the morning without food for nine days, about a third of a pint. By this mean, you will made resistant against bad air, even if you were to frequent the plague-afflicted. For those already afflicted by a contagious illness, they will add to this drink the juice of root of bulbous (?) and of knapweed (not sure of the species here), from which they will decant a good theriac; and with this they will purge themselves of the mortifying venom. And to those who have the charbon (skin lesion caused by cutaneous anthrax), they will crush the leaves of blackberry and of elderberry with mustard seed, they will form a poultice on the charbon and, with the help of God, will heal.

Alas, this does not work against the plague or any modern pandemics... I mean I shouldn't have to say that, but with all the scams going around @_@ (don't you *dare* sell this as a cure!!)

Finally, the *classic* alchemical work, to make gold. There are 6 such spells in the book (ie less spells than love spells or fish-catching spells), here is one of them:

To change lead into fine gold:

There are people who reject the method that the wise chemist Falopius left to change lead into fine gold, because it seems too easy for such an important work. However, he is not the only philosopher who spoke of such a similar method: Basile, Valentin & Odomarus said almost the same. No matter, here is the way: You will infuse a pound of couperose de Cypre (copper sulfate) with a pound of foundry water (well clarified by filtration), this infusion must last 24 hours so that the couperose be completely dissolved. You will distill it by filtration through pieces of clean felt, and afterwards by with an alembic in a bed of sand heated by fire. You will conserve this distillate in a jar of strong glass, well sealed.

You will then take an ounce of good fine silver (quicksilver?), that you purified in a crucible, covered to stop evaporation, when it starts to boil you will add an ounce of fine leaf of good gold, and you will immediately retire the crucible from the fire. This being done, take a pound of fine lead, purified by the following method: Take a pound and 4 ounces (you will need excess because of losses). Melt it, then quench it in a strong clarified vinegar. You will melt it again and quench it in the juice of swallowwort; then melt it again and quench it in salt water. The last melt will use a strong vinegar, said vinegar having quenched quicklime prior to use.

The purified lead will then be melted, and then you will incorporate the mixture of gold and fine-silver (quicksilver?) that you prepared and mix well together these three things with an iron wire. When all is well mixed, add an ounce of the couperose water and let everything digest on the fire for a short period of time. When this has cooled, you will find that the composition is now good gold.


Good luck on making gold!  (and yes, this spell was easier than the other ones...)

(the original French Text can be found here)

The Zeugma Campaign: Gaming in Pseudo-earth

I'm going to try something new - instead of posting a play report of a session, I'm going to post a play report of a *campaign*.  This game happened in 2008-2009, used the 2e Warhammer frpg system (modified), was set on a pseudo earth in 1150, and was centered around the city of Zeugma.  Zeugma was a city in Modern-day Turkey that bridges the Euphrates, and is at the point where the East and West meet.

I have tons of material on Zeugma but... does anyone care?  Well, let's first see what occurred in the campaign (I think some of these can be mined for adenture ideas, given that they were all adventures we ran ha.)  After that, I'll give a few comments on what I learned running this.

(Party members:  Orzad, the dwarven pit-fighter, Amandyl the elven "bounty hunter" (a runaway noble), Peklar the Armenian ex-bandit and Mahmud, the Turkish right-hand man of Jaffar the Merchant.)

1: The campaign begins. Party hired by Jaffar, an ambitious merchant, to guard a rented warehouse where some his goods are stored. It turns out the owner of the warehouse hasn't been paying protection money to the local thieves' guild.

2: Fake brigandry. The party becomes retainers of Jaffar. He asks the party to perform a delicate task - to create the illusion of a heavy brigand presence upon a certain trade route. They aren't to actually kill anyone, just scare travelers.  However, the party is forced to intervene to save pilgrims from Turkish raiders. The party encounters Hassan, a mysterious Turkish bowman, who intervenes in their favor. The party also encounters Stephanos of Trebizon and his group.

3: Lost and Found: The party hears rumors of a lost magical item within the city and starts looking for it. It turns out that this is a training exercise by the local mage guild. However, the party also learns of another, much more powerful item being smuggled in the city - a wand infused with the deadly ice magic, Omptose Phellac. The party makes the acquaintance of Valmaxian, a reclusive elven sorcerer; Agda the witch; Alcanter the Blue; Thrain Silvertouched (the Spirit Satrap) and of Feanaro Culnamo, an "elven” “shop" “owner".

4: Grave Hunt: The scribe Ophelos has found an old parchment indicating the true location of the tomb of Selecus I Nicator, founder of Zeugma (one of Alexander's generals). The city approaches the party to go on an expedition in exchange for a share of the treasure. After a few days of travel, the tomb is found inside a barrow which the locals swear is haunted. After defeating the goblins inside (who were tricking the peasants into making offerings) and the undead guardians, the tomb is secured, will with many historical artefacts and quite a lot of treasure, including the griffin's claw, an enchanted sword made of Damascus steel.

5: Liberation of Carablos: Rumors of war, as Joscelin II is captured by Nur Ad Din as they were ambushed while looking for Turkish raiders. Jaffar has report that the town of Carablos, a critical supply point on the way to Baghdad, is extorting travelers under the order of a new governor. Party investigates and is joined by a mysterious vagrant, Assad the lepper. The governor turns out to be consorting with necromancers and worse, and Assad to be a Turk not to cross. Violent confrontation ensues.

6: The Zeugma Hastildude: Party members take part in traditional martial games, demonstrating archery, riding and swordsmanship. A jousting demonstration is done and is deemed to be a silly western practice. The party does well - Orzad reaches the semi final and loses vs Christophoros, the reigning champion of the melee (Christophoros is then defeated by a newcomer, Du Hamel, a templar). Peklar wins the horse-race, and Amandil reaches the archery finals.  Mahmud is trained by Assad.

7: Property fraud: a complex scheme is unleashed upon Zeugma, where the conman sells tiny parcels of lands to commoners to give them the right to vote. As the next election will be for the Spirit Satrap, religious tensions flare. The party attempts to investigate *and* profit. The conman escapes!

8: A trip to Antep: The party pursues the conman to the nearby city of Antep, as a large bounty is on his head. On the way, meet NubZeb the goblin. Antep situation made complicated by the conman hiring local thief guild as protection, by members of the Zeugma thief guild also being after the bounty, by actual assassins being after the conman *and* by Antep being besieged by the Sultanate of Rum! Nubzeb is instrumental in gaining acess as he knows of a secret tunnel. The conman is killed, his money seized by Antep authorities, and some dwarves escape Antep and migrate to Zeugma with the party.

9: A trip to Abu Kabal: Jaffar realizes that with the disruption from the conman, the success of a Zeugma caravan on its way back from Baghdad is suddenly of grave import. The party goes south to rejoin the caravan and help escort it north back to safety. After traveling 150 leagues, the caravan is found. On the way back to Zeugma, the caravan is beset by a habboob - a sandstorm. 3 desert ogres - far more cunning than ordinary ogres and wielding magic, use the cover of the storm to attack.

10: Anti-Banditry: Antep pays tribute to the Turks of the Sultanate of Rum, who abandon their siege - for now. While the party was away, Jaffar organized a small caravan going east, which was attacked by bandits. Jaffar wants revenge, his goods back but most importantly two things:  a magical ring that "can see ahead" *and* a very valuable slave. The party dispenses justice, retrieves the ring and travels to Edessa, the fallen crusaser city, which has become a camp for slave traders and where the slave has been sent. On the way, the party meets Cengis the mule skinner, and Crius, a large mysterious being guarding a hidden door. The slave turns out to be a Circassian beauty that is highly educated in the codes of law - a bride for the Paper Satrap.

11: A trip to Aleppo: Valmaxian examines Jaffar's new ring and declares it to be not a divination tool but the ring of many parts, which can be used to retrieve an ancient magical item hidden beneath the Citadel of Aleppo - the staff of storms! The party agrees to help. What follows is *extremely* eventful, with earthquakes, the staff retrieved, Joscellin II, count of Edessa, found and rescued and the woman Le-ka, resurrected but put inside a golden automaton, who now claims to be the Avatar of Ishtar, Goddess of love and war.

12: Upward Mobility: Jaffar tries to become a council member on the merchant guild. Someone tries to assassinate "him" - but his servant is the true target. Templars are involved, and the assassin's guild is not happy someone is poaching on their turf. An arrangement is made with the templars - but Agda the witch foresees blood - BLOOOOOOODD!!! Hassan informs party that Jaffar is still in danger. While traveling on protection detail, the party is attacked by would be assassins - but the party proves to be the anvil upon which the local assassins hammer the would be interlopers. Many dead. Jaffar wins election. Amandil dreams of bloody pyramid.

13: Delaying action: Nur Ad Din is enraged by Joscelin II's escape and decides to strike Turbesell (Joscelin's forteress) before Joscelin is ready. Zeugma decides to help covertly - the party, some assassins (Hassans, Assad and *the black dwarf of zeugma!!!*), an Amber mage and other sell-swords (including Stephanos's group) are recruited to start guerrilla campaign. Party convinces goblins to help. Enemy scouts are ambushed, bridges are torched, horses are spooked, siege engines are burned down and enemy mages are furiously murdered. Eventually, Armenian relief force shows up, and Nur Ad Din withdraws.

14: Jailbreak: The Egyptian (elven) Ambassador has learned that Valmaxian has left and is a follower of Set, the imprisoned dark elf/god.  The Staff of storm is a key to release him.  The Blue guild foresees a key "fork" event and are troubled. Agda the witch flees the city. Party has doubt, as Set's imprisonment could be considered unjust. They return to the hidden valley where they previously met Crius (who is no longer present). They do not manage to stop Valmaxian in time, and Set is released at night. Set rises his hand and  blots the moon.  He and declares that there are not four elements, there are five. Once the darkness disperses and the moon returns to normal, Set and his servants are gone.

And that was it!   The campaign had a 2nd arc, where the consequences of Set's release were explored, in 2014, but that would be best kept for another post.  This text was originally a recap for the players starting the 2nd arc.

Lessons learned from this campaign:

1: The Warhammer system works well to simulate a lowish fantasy setting, such as a pseudo earth, and it doesn't have to be used exclusively for the Warhammer setting.  It takes a lot less work to run a game than in 3.X, pathfinder or even 5e, leaving the GM more time to think about more important things (who are the NPCs, what do they want etc).  One of the reason for it is that the great majority of careers ("classes" in Warhammer) are not magic users.

2:  However it is not perfect.  There is a lot of "whiffing" (fights were combatants are all missing each other) at first, some of the rules are a bit peculiar, and the career system *really* isn't for everyone.  One of my players (who later departed, not listed above) had a huge problem with not being able to design his character exactly how he wanted, and instead having to rely on a random roll to tell him what his lot in life would be.

2b:  Adding bits of Dragon Warriors to a game is always a good idea.  Although almost all the adventures were original content, A Grave Hunt heavily borrowed on a Dragon Warriors module.  Goblins and trolls were based on Dragon Warriors description, and I adapted the Dragon Warriors magical systems to Warhammer.

3:  I had a lot of fun running a city campaign, although half the action was outside the city walls.   It requires a good understanding of how the city works, what are the factions, what do they want.  Looking back, I think I should have injected a little bit more chaos in there - I think that once you have an entire city in  your mind, you can become reluctant to shake the boat too much, and that can be detrimental

4:  As I am older, I have reservations now that I did not have back then.  To weave a "pseudo-earth" and the fantasy races, I had the elves being Egyptians (and originally refugees from Atlantis), dwarves were analogous to the Jews, and the Turks were hobgoblins.  I put in a lot of effort to be realistic and not mono-dimensional.  However, I am sure that no matter how well I did it, some would find the very concept profoundly offensive.  I *really* thought Zeugma was interesting (I started taking notes on Zeugma in 2004, I let things percolate in my mind for a long time sometimes), but I'm hesitant to publish the setting.

4b:  While pseudo-earth is "easy" because there is tons of material out there (see https://www.akdn.org/publication/aga-khan-trust-culture-citadel-aleppo-description-history-site-plan-visitor-tour-Syria - I was able to turn the citadel in this crazy multi level dungeon that was historically plausible!) - there are also... links to real life situation.  Aleppo suffered terribly during the Syrian civil war, is it "cool" now to have a game there today?  :/   The second art of this campaign occurred, in part, in the Tarim basin, aka Xinjiang, where the Uighurs are currently undergoing  terrible persecutions.  When I ran the 2nd arc of campaign things were nowhere as bad, now it feels... bad... to use it as a gaming setting.

4c:  This also applies to events of *back then* that still reverberates today - things like the crusades, tensions between faiths (or between the various sects of the same faith)… I think it makes for good gaming material, but it's perilous to publish.

5:  Different groups prefer different style of play and freedom.  I don't like railroading, but on the other hand my group likes to be "pointed towards the plot".  Having a patron saying "I have a problem, take care of it please" and then letting the PCs loose really works well for my gaming group.  I knew what the problem was, who the people involved were and what they wanted, but how it played out depended on my PCs.  Sometimes they really surprised me.

More Grimoire spells

I thought that was nearing the end of my effort to translate the Petit Albert Spells.  I'm clearly not going to do all of them.  Some are boring, repetitious or of dubious adventuring use - although creative players can use almost any spell to their advantage.  However, once I made a list of spells I did want to translate I realized that there are still quite a few, so this will not be the last post on this book.

After I'm done, I probably will start on a different Grimore - the Grimoire du Pape Honorius.   Eventually out of all of this I will try to publish a class, a system, a spell list, something to use some of this.  Perhaps, if we are very lucky, someone more talented than I will take a crack at it.

Also, now that I think that we all know what the format and feel of these spells is,  I'm going to be slightly less "faithful" to the voice of the original author - I'm going to be trying to be a little bit clearer and concise, and especially try to fix the run-on sentences.

Another love spell

Live chastely for at least 5 or 6 days, and on the seventh day (preferably a Friday), eat and drink foods of a warm nature that excite you to love.  When you feel in that state, have an informal conversation with the object of your passion, and ensure that they can look at you continuously, as you look at them, for 15-30 seconds.  The visual rays will meet and will be a powerful vehicle for love; so much so that they will penetrate the heart, overcoming pride and cynicism.  It can be difficult to convince someone who is prudish or shy to look at you directly for more than a moment.  However, one can achieve that by telling them that one has learned a secret divination that can learn about their future (happiness, long life, etc) or some other thing that will peak the interest of the target of your affection; tell them that the divination requires direct eye contact for a few moments.

There are so many love spells in this book, so here is one.  Of course love spells can be used in adventuring!  I like this one in particular because you can only cast it one someone you love - no funky ingredients or incantations, just the magic of the souls.  Incidentally, the above spell is also mediocre dating advice... not great, but it's better dating advice than some of the dreck I've seen online.

An impotence spell (and the counters)

Have the member of a freshly slain (term is unclear) wolf and approach the door of the target.  Call him by his proper name, and when he replies, tie the member of the wolf with a piece of white thread, and he will be so impotent to be as castrated.

To prevent this spell from working on you, simply wear a ring in which is set the right eye of a weasel.  To counter the spell, the ancients assure us that the "oiseau rain" (some type of bird, I cannot find the meaning) will cure this spell by eating it following fasting, roasted with blessed salt.  Burning the teeth of a man who has since died and inhaling the smoke will also free you from the charm.  Also, a torch made of oat or wheat straw put under the head of the bed of someone affected will work.  If both the man and the woman are affected by this charm, the man must pee through the wedding ring while the woman holds the ring.

Why is this relevant to adventuring? Politics that's why!  If the King can't have an heir...  It's also interesting to see the numerous protection against it, although I the translation of this was challenging.




To be fortunate at games of skill and luck.

Take an eel that died due to want of water, and take the bile of a bull killed by the fury of dogs.  Put the bile inside the skin of the eel, along with a dram of vulture blood.  Tie shut both end of the eel skin with rope from a hanged man, then put it inside hot manure for 15 days.  You will then dry it in an oven that is heated with ferns harvested on the eve of the Saint-Jean (Saint-Jean Baptiste in June?). You will take this to make a bracelet, and on this bracelet you will write, with a crow quill and in your own blood the following letters HVTY.  By wearing this bracelet on  your arm, you will make a fortune everywhere.



To keep drunkenness at bay, followed by to remove drunkenness

As nothing is as worthy as man's reason, and as it's often lost via excesses of win, it is convenient to give him protection against this.  If you are invited to some meal where you fear succumbing to Bacchus's tender violence, you will drink before getting to the table two spoonfuls of water of betony (bishop's wort) and one spoonful of good olive oil, and you will be able to drink wine in complete peace of mind.  You will be careful that your cup does not smell of nail trimmings or the savory herb, as both are ingredients can strongly contribute to drunkenness.  If you have been surprised and are already drunk, you must wrap your genitals in a cloth drench in a strong vinegar, and you will return to your senses. 

That last piece of advice... oy.


The antidote to said deadly stink and other miasmas

(in a previous entry, I showed the translation for a deadly miasma spell.  Here is the counter)

To be warded against these deadly infections, here is a sovereign antidote that will triumph against all sorts of venoms and poisons.

Take two handfuls of leaves of common Saint John's wort  in season (before the flowers have fallen).  Infuse them in four pounds of olive oil in the sun for ten days.  Then put them in a bain marie with hot water, press the leaves to remove the juices and put them in a vessel of thick glass.  When the common Saint John's wort has flowered and is seeding, take a handful of these flowers and seeds in this glass vessel, and make it boil in a bain marie for 1 hour.  Add 30 scorpions, one viper and a green frog from which you have removed the head and feet.  Boil for a short while, then add 2 ounces of powdered, minced or crushed of each of the following:   gentian root, fraxinella, small or great fortelle or its root (no idea what this is), septfoil, rhubarb, Armenian bole, properly prepared theriac and a bit of crushed emerald.

Close the vessel well and expose all this to the sun during a heat wave, you will then digest this for three month in warm manure.  After all this you will funnel this composition in a tin or strong glass vase.  To use it, rub it around the heart, the temples, the nostrils, flanks and along the spine.  It will also cure the bite of poisonous beasts.



As part of the argument to prove that magic is "natural", a spell to keep snakes at bay

It has been noted that in Switzerland and Sweden, where there are many snakes because of the mountains, that said snakes fear the Greek language.  They fear the efficient virtue of the three words "osy, osya, osy" so much so that they will plug one of their ears with the tip of their tail and press the other ear against the ground so to not hear these words.  This makes them immobile and stupefied, unable to hurt men and women.

This argument was important because magic had to be seen as respectable, a result of natural laws, and NOT dark satanic powers!  I also note that this is probably the easiest spell to cast in the entire book, and pretty easy to test too.  (spoiler: it won't work).

To make a treasure finding candle

... I will end on this topic with a spell given by Cardan to know if a treasure is where we are digging.  He claims you need a large candle, made of human tallow, and that it must be set in a piece of hazelwood as illustrated.

If the candle, lit in an underground place, sparks and crackles, it means the treasure is in this areas, and the candle will sparkle even more as you get closer to the treasure.  The candle will go out when you are right besides the treasure (thus have other light source at hand!). 

There is also advice to have blessed candles at hand if you think spirits are near the treasure, and that you should ask them what you can do for them to put them at peace (and that you should do said things).  Even back then undead in dungeons were a problem!

The hand of glory - a candle made from the hand of a hanged man, which stupefies those seeing it (allowing you to rob a place)

I must admit that I have never personally tested the secret of the hand of glory, but three time I assisted the definitive convictions of outlaws who admitted, under torture, to having used the hand of glory in their robberies. These interrogations revealed these detail.  The hand of glory is made from the hand of a hanged man, and its use is to stupefy and turn immobile those to whom it was presented to so that they would be unable to resist.  The hand was prepared thus:  a hand (left or right) of a hung man exposed on the side of a road is taken and well pressed in a funerary shroud to get all remaining blood out.  It is then put in a clay pot with a powder made of well pulverized zimat (this may be cinnamon), saltpetre, salt and long pepper, and left there for 15 days.  It must then be removed and dried in the sun during a heatwave until it is very dry.  If the sun doesn't suffice, it must be in an oven heated with ferns and vervain.  

You will then make a sort of candle with the fat of the hung man, virgin wax and sesame of Lapland (is there such a thing?!?), and the hand of glory will be used as a sort of chandelier to hold this lit candle, and in all places one goes with this macabre instrument, those present will be stuck immobile.

aaaaaand now we see why the authorities would try to band this book.  I also like how the author makes very casual reference to torture - different times.  But he continues on:

A ward that will stop the hand of glory from working

When the thieves were asked if there was no way to ward oneself against this artifice, the criminals reveled that the hand of glory will lose effect and that the thieves will not be able to use it if the door sill (or other area where the thieves would enter) was rubbed ith an ointment made of bile (?) of a black cat, fat of a white chicken and blood of an owl, and that this ointment must be prepared during a heat wave.