Bangs are the explosive moments that define the agenda of a scene and force the PCs to start making meaningful choices. But you don’t necessarily need to come up with all of your bangs on the fly. In fact, prepping bangs can be a very flexible and effective way to prep. In Sorcerer, Ron Edwards talks about prepping a bandolier of bangs. It’s a great image. The GM goes into a session armed with his bangs, ready to escalate and respond by hurling the material he’s prepared into the fray.

For example:

• Suzie calls. She’s pregnant.
• A death knight kicks down the door.
• Your muse starts howling. Your system is getting hacked by something ugly.
• A dark miasma creeps across the surface of the moon. The werewolves begin bleeding from their eyes.

Grab any of those and toss ‘em like a grenade.

SPOTLIGHT BANGS

Bangs force choices. If the choices forced by a particular bang – and the agenda it brings into play – are focused on a particular character, then the bang will shine a spotlight on them. One easy way to create a compelling session is to simply ask, “What interesting thing is going to happen to each of the PCs today?” Hit them with those bangs and then see what develops.

One technique for developing spotlight bangs is the flag. The idea here is that a player’s character sheet and background can tell you a lot about what they’re interested in: If they’ve handed you a PC decked out with investigation skills, you should probably be tossing them juicy mysteries. If their character background is drenched in orders of chivalry, they probably want to get involved with the royal knights. And so forth.

(Of course, this is more of an art than a science. Some times, for example, people put points into an activity not because they find it interesting but because they find it boring and would rather dispatch with it quickly. But those exceptions are rare and, when in doubt, you can just chat with them.)

KEYS

In The Shadow of Yesterday, Clinton R. Nixon introduces the concept of keys: These are motivations, problems, connections, duties, and loyalties that players select during character creation. For example:

Key of Bloodlust: Your character enjoys overpowering others in combat.

• Gain 1 XP every time your character defeats someone in battle.
• Gain 3 XP for defeating someone equal to or more powerful than your character.
• Buyoff: Be defeated in battle.

Key of the Mission: Your character has a personal mission that she must complete.

• Gain 1 XP every time she takes action to complete this mission (2 XP if action is successful).
• Gain 5 XP every time she takes action that completes a major part of this mission.
• Buyoff: Abandon the mission.

I’m going to genericize the term here and use key to refer to any mechanic or method of character creation that formalizes the creation of flags. These mechanics allow the player to specifically say, “This is important. You should use this.” And when these mechanics exist, the GM needs to respond to them with key scenes: Opportunities for those keys to be turned.

Key mechanics are often called out in a lot of indie games from the past decade or so, but you can find these mechanics lurking all over the place. For example, the keys of The Shadow of Yesterday are mechanically almost identical to the “Individual Class Awards” found in the AD&D 2^nd Edition Dungeon Master’s Guide. The rules for creating covenants in Ars Magica are similarly filled with mechanical cues for the GM to use.

KICKERS

In Sorcerer, Ron Edwards uses the concept of a kicker: A specific, life-altering bang that the player defines during the process of character creation and which basically happens at the moment that play begins: Their mother is murdered. They win the lottery. The village is burned to the ground. By getting the players involved in the creation of these “initiating bangs” you can give them a lot of agency in defining the shape the campaign will take. But even if you create the kickers independently, this is still a solid technique for getting the PCs involved in the campaign.

For example, one of the quickest ways to customize a purchased adventure is to figure out how to tie the initiating bangs of the adventure directly to the PCs (their interests, their cares, their goals). Once you’ve done that, everything else will flow naturally.

The kickers in Sorcerer are epic in nature because Edwards uses them to launch (and drive) entire campaigns, but the basic concept of the kicker can be used to create adventures on a smaller scale, too.

If you use an episodic approach in structuring your campaign, for example, you can set up your situation like a toolbox (see Don’t Prep Plots), and then figure out the big, effective bangs you can use to launch that situation into motion. You don’t have to do anything more than that. From that point forward, you can just react to what the players are doing.

In this guise it may become clear that you know kickers under a more common name: Scenario hooks. But the idea of hooking players into a scenario often seems to result in a limited palette: It’s the guy in the tavern who wants to hire them. Thinking about these hooks through the lens of the bang can help to expand your concept of what a “hook” really is. Instead of just thinking, “How can I make the PCs aware of this cool thing?” You can start thinking about how you can kick things off with a bang.

To put this more prosaically: There’s a tendency for scenario hooks to be delivered with a really weak agenda. (“Will they accept Bob’s job offer?”) Strong kickers means using hooks with more compelling agendas and higher stakes.

A TIMELINE OF BANGS

Of course you don’t have to limit your prepared bangs to the beginning of a session, either. One effective way of organizing prepared bangs is a simple timeline: Bang X happens at time Y. Other things may be happening in direct reaction to the choices made by the PCs, but the clock keeps ticking and the next bang that will complicate their lives keeps drawing inexorably closer.

I’ve also found that timelines are often a useful conceptual tool for people who are struggling to grok the concept of bangs in general. For example, here’s the timeline from an old campaign status document from my Ptolus campaign:

• 09/27/790: The PCs gain access to their Hammersong vaults.
• 09/28/790: Arveth uses the dais of vengeance on Tee.
• 09/28/790: A Pactlords strike team arrives at Alchestrin’s Tomb.
• 09/29/790: Maystra and Fesamere Balacazar approach the PCs. They want to hire them to break into the White House.

Some of these things are appointments the PCs have made. Others are ambushes. But every single one of them is a bang waiting to happen: When the clock reaches that moment, we’re going to frame a new scene, set an agenda, and bang our way into it.

(This is why I generally find it useful to keep two separate timelines in my campaign notes: One for stuff that’s generally happening in the background and one for stuff that’s going to directly affect the PCs.)

One other thing to note about these timeline entries, though: They aren’t fully-formed bangs. They’re more like bullets that are waiting to be fired. When the moment arrives, the actual bang will be customized to the circumstances of the PCs.

For example, if the PCs are at home when Maystra and Fesamere come looking to hire them, then the bang happens when the well-known members of a criminal family that bears them a grudge come walking through the door. If the PCs aren’t at home, then the bang happens when they come home and find the letter that was left for them.

BANGING ON THE TABLE

Another form of prepared bang which is often not thought of as such is the random encounter.

I’ve talked in the past about the effect OD&D’s 1 in 6 chance per turn of generating a random encounter has on dungeon exploration. If you think of each random encounter as a bang, the net effect of this system is to automatically deliver a steady pace of them. (This is another example of how the classic dungeoncrawl structure delivers effective pacing in the hands of neophyte GMs.)

One problem with this form of bang, however, is that it is so often just the same bang (“A WILD POKEMON APPEARED!”) leading to the same agenda (“Can you defeat the wild Pokemon?”). As I described in Breathing Life Into the Wandering Monster, you can solve that problem by finding new ways to contextualize the encounter.

For example, if you generate a random encounter of “8 skeletons” you can go for the predictable bang by saying, “You see eight skeletons and they attack you.” You can enrich that by varying the bang and saying, “From within the sarcophagi to either side, you hear the sounds of bone scratching against stone.” Or you can switch it up by changing the agenda and saying, “You see eight skeletons. They are arrayed around some huge mechanism of wooden gears. Some of the skeletons are pulling at levers, others are pushing on wheels.”

OD&D accomplished agenda shifts mechanically through the use of random reaction tables. Judges Guild applied similar techniques to urban encounters, separating the generation of what you were encountering from how and why you were encountering them.

BANG, BANG, BANG GOES THE RAILROAD

One risk in preparing specific, evocative bangs before play begins is that it can encourage railroading. (Or directly create it depending on the techniques employed.) A few tips for avoiding this:

First, bangs should never dictate a character’s response. In fact, as I’ve mentioned before, the best bangs are the ones that provoke the most choices. Note the subtle distinction between:

• “Saving the princess” / “Discovering that the princess is trapped”
• “Killing the wolf” / “Hearing the wolf howl”
• “Escaping the police” / “Hearing the police sirens pull up outside”

Second, as I described in my use of timelines above, you can often prepare bullets instead of bangs. These half-formed bangs can be quickly actualized during play based on the current circumstances of the PCs.

Third, don’t over-prepare the bangs. As the name implies, bangs are supposed to be short and sweet in any case. If you’re writing more than a sentence or two about your cool ideas for bangs, you’re probably investing too much in them. Invest less time in bangs (which will make it easier to let them go if the players go a different direction) and invest more time in preparing the toolbox of your scenario.

At the beginning of this I talked about having a bandolier of bangs: Bandoliers give you explosive options, but the stuff in the bandolier isn’t loaded. You haven’t pulled the pins. The bangs are there and ready and waiting for you; but when you pull them and how you pull them and where you throw them is stuff that gets discovered during play.

Boom.

Film Banging: Avengers – Alien

As in our previous installments, the standard disclaimer about using linear mediums as an example for running RPGs definitely applies: We know how these scenes end in the original movie, but if this were an actual RPG each scene could end in any number of ways.

It’s been awhile since we banged Alien, so you might want to review The Art of Pacing before we dive into The Matrix as a way of understanding how bangs can be used.

SCENE 1 – BANG: “You’re strapped to a chair. Electrodes have been attached to your head.”

The agenda is: Will Morpheus break?

This particular scene – the interrogation of Morpheus – is heavily broken up using the technique of simultaneous scenes: This single scene will thread its way through multiple scenes with Neo and Trinity. As it progresses, there are a number of interesting techniques to notice.

First, the Wachowskis use a series of escalating bangs. The injection of the silver fluid into Morpheus’ neck. The agent entering to say, “There may be a problem.” Agent Smith telling the other agents to, “Leave us.” And so forth. Note that, frequently, the Wachowskis will cut on the bang.

Note that the stakes for this scene’s agenda are laid in the next scene: If he breaks, he’ll betray the location of Zion and the war will be lost. This is an example of crossover. There’s an interesting effect achieved here by cutting on the bang, using a simultaneous scene to establish necessary exposition, and then returning to the original scene: It keeps the tension in the moment high while clearly communicating the stakes.

Another great example of crossover is when Agent Smith removes his earpiece. That moment both escalates the stakes in this scene while simultaneously having consequences in the simultaneous scenes playing out with Neo and Trinity (since he takes himself “off the grid”).

SCENE 2 – BANG: “You’re going to kill him. Kill Morpheus.” “It has to be done.”

The agenda is: Will Neo believe the Oracle?

Superficially the scene seems to be about whether to unplug Morpheus or rescue him, but that decision is pretty firmly subservient to the question of whether or not Neo will believe the Oracle; whether or not he will embrace the choice she says he’s capable of making.

The other thing to note here is that this agenda is not resolved at the end of this scene. The question of whether or not Neo will believe the Oracle remains unanswered for several more scenes as the stakes continue to escalate.

SCENE 3 – BANG: “Okay. So what do you need? Besides a miracle.”

The agenda is: What is Neo’s plan?

This is a pretty simple, very short, and extremely effective color scene. Viewed from one angle, it’s actually a very simple example of the principle of the second lull: The first lull happens when Neo asks for, “Guns. Lots of guns.” The hypothetical GM doesn’t leave the scene, however. Instead we sustain through Trinity escalating the stakes (“No one has ever done something like this.”). Once she’s done that, we hit a second lull and the hypothetical GM cuts away.

SCENE 4 – BANG: The metal detector beeps.

The agenda here is: Can they rescue Morpheus?

This bang is a beautiful example of understatement. You know he’s loaded to bear. The stakes have been cranked up repeatedly over the last 5 minutes of the film. So the only thing you need to trigger an explosion of awesome is a simple beeping noise.

This scene, as combat, is obviously a textbook example of slow time… quite literally so with the Wachowskis’ use of bullet time and slow motion cinematography.

This is not the end of the scene.

Instead, we sharp cut back to the interrogation of Morpheus multiple times over the next minute or so in order to smoothly use abstract time while hitting the interesting beats of this scene. (“I think they’re trying to save him,” it should be noted, is another example of crossover.)

And the scene still isn’t over. This single combat sequence has flowed smoothly from lobby to elevator to roof. But I want to call attention to this interaction:

Trinity: How did you do that?
Neo: Do what?
Trinity: You moved like they do. I’ve never seen anyone move that fast.
Neo: Not fast enough.

It’s a short little beat, but notice that this is a callback to the agenda of Scene 2. The question of whether or not Neo would believe the Oracle was left unresolved.

Let’s call this an agenda echo. If this were an actual RPG session, the players of Neo and Trinity would have been the ones to introduce this particular echo. But as a GM you can also use little mini-bangs like “I’ve never seen anyone move that fast” to call back unresolved agendas that are haunting your session.

At this moment, all the crossover elements that have been getting sprinkled through these scenes are abruptly brought to a climax as both scenes are resolved simultaneously and we discover that “Will Morpheus break?” and “Can they rescue Morpheus?” are actually both the same question. (Or, at least, both have the same answer.)

This true unification of two simultaneous scenes into a single conclusion answering both agendas won’t happen often, but when it does the payoff is huge and immensely satisfying.

Before the scene comes to an end, however, the mini-bang of “He’s not going to make it” triggers another seemingly impossible feat that calls back to whether or not Neo is the One. This moment lasts from “I knew it, he is the One” until Morpheus asks, “Do you believe it now, Trinity?” Which is, in itself, an incredibly elegant moment because the Wachowskis are layering in the Trinity/Neo love story. And that love story is also linked to the question of Neo being the One (due to the prophecy the Oracle gave to Trinity).

SCENE 5 – THE BANG: “They’re not out yet.”

The agenda is: Will Neo escape?

Note the interesting technique here of delivering the bang at what is essentially the end of the previous scene and then performing a sharp cut to the scene itself. I’d never really considered doing something like that in an RPG until just now, but I think it has a lot of potential.

A little later in this scene there’s an escalating bang when Trinity says, “I want to tell you something… Everything the Oracle told me has come true. Everything but this.” This has the effect of connecting this scene to the escalating meta-scene of, “Will Neo believe the Oracle?”

SCENE 6 – THE BANG: “Agent Smith shoots the phone. Trinity just barely escaped. But your exit has been destroyed.”

This is a new bang. And what makes this scene particularly fascinating is that it links, “Will Neo believe the Oracle?” explicitly to “Will Neo escape?” through his physical mastery of the Matrix and his interactions with the agents. (“He’s beginning to believe.”)

Now all of these agendas – Will Neo escape? Will Neo defeat Smith? Will Trinity love Neo? Will Neo believe the Oracle? Will Neo become the One? – have been welded into a single mega-agenda. Everything between this moment and Neo’s escape from the Matrix is a single scene despite, once again, a multitude of location shifts. (Note that the individual agendas will be knocked down one at a time as we build to the culmination of the mega-agenda: Neo abandons the identity of Anderson. Trinity confesses her love. Neo ascends the rules of the Matrix. Neo defeats Smith. Neo escapes.)

The other thing of interest here is how this single combat scene flows fluidly across all four types of pacing timing: Slow time during the fight in the subway. Then a sharp cut to the street corner where Neo steals a phone. Now time from that moment until he reaches the crowd, then a shift back to slow time for the chase through the apartment building. Abstract time moves him to the hotel, now time takes him into the hotel, and then a final culmination of slow time (once again emphasized with actual slow motion) as he enters the hotel room (and lasting until the EMP blast).

SCENE 7 – THE BANG: “The Proximity Alarm screams. There are Sentinels. You’ve got five, maybe six minutes.”

One could argue that this is actually the same scene despite its completely different locale (since the agenda is so closely linked), but in practical terms this is probably another simultaneous scene with multiple crossovers (Tank’s assistance, the need for Neo to escape before the EMP blast, Trinity’s kiss) that serve to raise the stakes in Neo’s mega-agenda scene.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

About 15 years ago, there was a time when The Matrix pretty much perpetually lived in my DVD player. I was living in a studio apartment at the time and, whenever the mood would strike me, I’d hit the play button and let the movie spool out. I’ve probably watched the movie – with varying degrees of attention – several hundred times. Like pretty much everything the Wachowskis have done, it’s a brilliant and revolutionary piece of cinema.

Back in 2007, I mentioned the movie as part of Random GM Tips: Running Combat. I recommended that GMs watch movies like The Matrix – or 300 or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon – while narrating the action as it occurred on the screen; as if they were describing it to their gaming group. The idea was that it would build your action vocabulary, break you out of your habits, and expand the dynamic range of your combat descriptions.

My initial intention in film banging The Matrix was primarily to focus on how they wove scenes – particularly combat scenes – across multiple locations. As I began breaking the film apart, however, I discovered just how much the Wachowskis also had to teach me about effective pacing. I was not anticipating the creation of new concepts like agenda echos, meta-scenes, mini-bangs, and mega-agendas when I started writing this essay. I’m not even entirely sure how best to realize some of these incredibly complex ideas at the gaming table.

Which I guess, ultimately, brings me back to what I said at the beginning of The Art of Pacing: RPGs are a fresh-faced medium. And we still have a lot to learn about how to master this new art.

Go to The Art of Pacing

This is something I’ve alluded to enough times that I think the time has come to write a definitive version of it so that I can just link back to it in the future.

One of the problems with analyzing the artistic techniques of RPG play is that it’s difficult to establish common reference points: If I want to talk about what effective poetry looks like, I can hand you a copy of Shakespeare or Kipling. If I want to talk about what shitty filmmaking looks like, we can all pop a copy of a Michael Bay movie in the Blu-Ray player.

But when it comes to RPGs, things aren’t that simple. Even groups running identical scenarios, for example, won’t necessarily have similar experiences.

This often means that when we’re discussing RPGs we often reach for examples from other mediums. I do this prominently, for example, in my Film Banging essays. This has the advantage of giving us a common reference point, but the danger is that these other mediums are linear and RPGs aren’t (or, at least, shouldn’t be). So when we use films or books as fodder for our RPG discussions it can be very easy for this linear nature to leak into the discussion: We know that Luke Skywalker is “destined” to go to the Death Star and blow it up because we’ve seen the movie. So if I talk about Obi-Wan saying that he wants Luke to join him on Alderaan as an example of what a scenario hook looks like, am I saying that every scenario needs to be a railroad? That every scenario hook has a predetermined outcome?

When we’re looking at these cross-medium examples, therefore, we need to be mindful of this risk. I generally try to mitigate the problem by discussing outcomes that are different from those found in the original work. If we’re talking about RPGs then Luke might save the Death Star, Boromir might succeed in stealing the One Ring from Frodo, and John Harker might kill Dracula before he ever leaves Transylvania. But we can still talk about Mos Eisley as an urbancrawl, the One Ring as a magical McGuffin, and Dracula as a memorable villain.

So if you see me using examples from other mediums when I’m talking about RPGs, try to remember that — at least for the moment — we’re going to pretend that these stories aren’t linear experiences. Even though, in reality, we know the outcome of each scene has already been predetermined, we can still use the example of the scene (or the story) without embracing that predeterminism in our play.

Go to Part 1

LOCATION: TEMPLE OF THE GARGOYLE

The Temple of the Gargoyle is a gothic-like structure, its sheer walls of dark gray stone towering three stories above the street, with four towers – one at each of its corners – climbing to twice that height. Every inch of its surface has been ornately and intricately carved, and much of it altered two or three times since the temple was originally constructed. Many of the oldest, weatherworn figures are oddly disturbing if viewed in close detail, and rumors whisper of other things: Of stone faces which writhe in agony when the moon is right and the stars are aligned; of stone figures which can be seen on certain nights, but not on others; of cryptic and indecipherable runes which flow across the surface of the stone and then vanish without trace.

The first – and often most lasting impression – that many have of the Temple, however, are its gargoyles: One stands atop each of the four towers, and two others stand on pedestals to either side of the temple’s twin doors of iron-bound oak.

Those twin doors open onto the temple’s great hall. Unseen by those outside, two other gargoyles – on pedestals mirroring those which stand outside – stand to either side of the altar at the far end of the hall. Directly before the altar a pit gapes in the temple floor, and flames from below – fueled by some unknown source – perpetually light the hall. Archways, beneath a balcony which runs down either side of the hall’s length, lead to other rooms of the temple, which are generally extravagant.

CHARACTER: ARGHRASMAK, THE LIVING GOD

Arghrasmak is the living god of the Temple of the Gargoyle, worshipped by a high priest, seven disciples, twenty adepts, and thirty-eight acolytes (described below). It is said that when the god sleeps, those near him will lose all memory. Three sacrifices upon the altar are necessary to rouse the god, whereupon the tithe is thrown into the pit.

In truth, Arghrasmak is not a god – he is a gargoyle fiend who feeds upon the misery and pain his witless followers inflict for him. He lairs in his pit, and covets the gold and treasure which is given in tribute to him. Upon his right hand he wears a ring of forgetfulness (see sidebar) which he has modified to operate continuously over the area of the Temple upon his command. (The story that the mind-numbing effect is triggered by his sleep is a false lure that fuels the need for new sacrifices.) Occasionally, this effect has been known to slip outside the boundaries of the Temple and effect those nearby. (These reports are frequently dismissed as lingering effects from the Mindwarp.)

Upon his left hand he wears a ring of command (see sidebar), which he uses to control the eight gargoyles of the Temple. Although they appear to be nothing more masterpieces of monstrous sculpture, in truth they are creatures which serve upon his whim.

ARGHRASMAK, THE LIVING GOD (CR 14) – CE Gargantuan Magical Beast (Earth)
DETECTION – darkvision 60 ft., Listen +14, Spot +14; Init +0; Languages Common, Abyssal, Terran[special]
DEFENSES –  AC 19 (+13 natural, -4 size), touch 6, flat-footed 19; hp 280 (16d10+192); DR 15/adamantine; Resist cold 20, fire 20; SR 24
ACTIONS – Spd 45 ft., fly 75 ft. (average); Melee 2 claws +25 (2d6+12) and bite +23 (2d8+12) and gore +23 (2d8+12); Ranged +12; Space 20 ft.; Reach 20 ft.; Base Atk +16; Grapple +40; Atk Options smite good; Combat Feats Cleave, Great Cleave, Power Attack
SQ darkvision 60 ft., freeze
STR 35, DEX 10, CON 34, INT 18, WIS 11, CHA 7
FORT +24, REF +12, WILL +7;
FEATS: Cleave, Great Cleave, Multiattack, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (claw, bite, gore)
SKILLS: Hide +8, Listen +14, Perform +4, Spellcraft +4, Spot +14

Smite Good (Su): Once per day, Aghrasmak can make a normal attack to deal additional damage equal to his HD total (+16) against a good foe.

Freeze (Ex): Arghrasmak can hold himself so still that he appears to be a statue. An observer must succeed at a Spot check (DC 20) to notice that he is really alive.

New Magic Item: Ring of Command

The wearer of this ring may, at any time, designate a creature within sight. The creature must make a Will save (DC 18) or fall under the control of the ring’s wearer (as per a dominate person spell). This control lasts until either the ring’s wearer chooses to release the creature, the ring is removed by the wearer, the ring is destroyed, or the ring and creature come to exist on separate planes.

The wearer of the ring may control no more than eight subjects at any given time with the ring.

Caster Level: 16^th
Prerequisites: Forge Ring, dominate person
Market Price: 256,000 gp

New Magic Item: Ring of Forgetfulness

All enemies within 20 feet of the wearer of this ring are affected as per the spell mind fog. Affected creatures must make a Will save (DC 20) or suffer a –10 penalty to all Wisdom checks and Will saves. Affected creatures suffer the penalty as long as they remain within 20 feet of the ring and for 2d6 rounds thereafter.

Caster Level: 10^th
Prerequisites: Forge Ring, mind fog
Market Price: 100,000 gp

TEMPLE GARGOYLES

GARGOYLE (CR 4) – CE Medium Monstrous Humanoid (Earth)
DETECTION – darkvision 60 ft., Listen +4, Spot +4; Init +2
DEFENSES – AC 16 (+2 Dex, +4 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 14; hp 37 (4d8+19); DR 10/magic
ACTIONS – Spd 40 ft., fly 60 ft. (average); Melee 2 claws +6 (1d4+2) and bite +4 (1d6+1) and gore +4 (1d6+1); Ranged +6; Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.; Base Atk +4; Grapple +6
SQ darkvision 60 ft., freeze
STR 15, DEX 14, CON 18, INT 6, WIS 11, CHA 7
FORT +5, REF +6, WILL +4
FEATS: Multiattack, Toughness
SKILLS: Hide +7*, Listen +4, Spot +4

Freeze (Ex): Observer must succeed on Spot check (DC 20) to notice gargoyle is not a statue.

*Skills: +2 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, and Spot checks. +8 racial bonus on Hide checks when gargoyle concealed as statue.

CHARACTER: LAGHAR

Laghar is the High Priest of the Temple of the Gargoyle. In word and deed he serves his living god with abject faithfulness, collecting the sacrifices necessary to rouse the god – and thus not only grant his priesthood a few hours of clear thought, but also save the world from the slow spread of the god’s “poison of the mind”.

In truth, however, Laghar knows the falseness of his god. By sheer chance one of the sacrificial victims gathered by the acolytes of the temple wore upon his hand a ring of greater mind shielding (see sidebar). Before flinging it into the pit as tithe, Laghar slipped the ring onto his own finger… and gained a rare clarity of thought. Unwittingly, he had become immune to Ahgrasmak’s magical enchantment.

In the time since then, he has slowly and carefully pieced together much of the true story behind his “god”. At the same time, even as he continues his foul rituals, his piety has been replaced with greed and power lust. Laghar has concocted a scheme by which he hopes to wrest control of the Temple from Ahgrasmak and, more importantly, gain the riches contained in the Pit below: He has contacted Athelbrus the sorcerer (The House of Sorcerers, H5) and contracted him to construct seven more rings like his own. These he hopes to give to the Seven Disciples, freeing them as he has been freed. Together, he feels that they should be able to destroy Ahgrasmak.

He is probably right, but, unbeknownst to him, Athelbrus intends to betray him. In fact, the creation of a new ring of greater mind shielding is quite beyond his abilities – and even if he could make them, their cost would be far beyond the value of the treasure to be found in the Pits. Instead, he intends to contract a group of adventurers to sneak into the Temple and loot the Pit of the riches Laghar has told him of – splitting the treasure with them. The open question, however, is whether or not Athelbrus realizes the true strength of the Living God and his minions.

New Magic Item: Ring of Greater Mind Shielding

The wearer of a ring of greater mind shielding is perpetually protected as if they had been the subject of a mind blank spell – rendering them immune from all devices and spells that detect, influence, or read emotions or thoughts. It also protects against all mind-affecting spells and effects as well as information gathering by divination spells or effects. The ring even foils limited wish, miracle, and wish when they are used in such a way as to affect the wearer’s mind or gain information about him.

Caster Level: 16^th
Prerequisites: Forge Ring, mind blank
Market Price: 256,000

THE SEVEN DISCIPLES AND THE PRIESTHOOD

Like Laghar, Ahgrasmak’s Disciples and Priests are, in fact, sorcerers who have been duped into believing that their powers are an unholy gift of their “god”. The Seven Disciples, along with Laghar, are responsible for the leadership of the Temple and performing the Sacrifices of Ahgrasmak. The other priests perform a variety of minor rituals, but spend much of their time inscribing the Prophecies of the Gargoyle.

These prophecies are granted to the priests in continuous visions from their sleeping god. The prophecies seen in these visions are in a language unknown to the priests – who must copy the alien script from their minds with precision. It is believed that one day the god will reveal the language in which the Prophecies are written, and their great mysteries will reveal a path of glory and power. It is also believed that the Prophecies are imperfect and overlapping – and great study is given to those indecipherable passages which, nonetheless, correspond in some degree between the visions of different priests. It is hoped that such study will allow the construction of a perfect version of the Prophecies.

THE ACOLYTES

The Acolytes spend much of their time confined to their small meditation chambers on the third floor. They emerge in pairs to serve as guads, and en masse in times of dire need. More importantly, they are charged with gathering the sacrificial victims for the Temple’s altar.

LOCATION: THE PITS BENEATH THE TEMPLE

Ahgrasmak: Here the living god crouches upon a block of blood-stained ivory.

The Pyre of the Dead: This powerful, unholy relic (see below) burns up through the floor of the Temple’s great hall.

The Bone Pits: When first viewed, the bone pits appear to be nothing more than a jumbled conglomeration of random bones. Upon Ahgrasmak’s command, however, the bones shift and move. Skeletal, humanoid figures – glowing a deep and malevolent purplish blue – rise from the pits, forming a veritable legion of unholy skeletons (see sidebar) within 1d4+1 rounds.

Treasure: Over 125,000 gp in gems, jewelry, and coins are piled here. In addition there are 3d6 minor magical items, 2d4 medium magic items, and 1d4 major magic items mixed in with the other treasure.

New Magic Item: Pyre of the Dead

The pyre of the dead is, in fact, a powerful item of unholy magic – capable of transforming bodies that are fed into it into unholy skeletons (see below). For every three bodies which are cast into it, the pyre creates one unholy skeleton: Feeding upon the souls and substance of two of the bodies to fuel the unholy enchantments placed upon the third.

Control of the unholy skeletons created by the pyre rests with whatever creature is currently attuned to the pyre. (Obviously the pyre in the Temple of the Gargoyle is attuned to Ahgrasmak.) Up to 128 unholy skeletons can be controlled in this manner at any one time, and this number does not affect the normal control limits of the creature (if any). The pyre will continue creating unholy skeletons beyond this 128 limit, but unless the creature has some other way to control the skeletons, these additional skeletons will be uncontrolled.

Caster Level: 16^th Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, animate dead, control undead (x4), unholy aura Market Price: 740,000 gp

UNHOLY SKELETONS

The pits have become home to 100 unholy skeletons, created by the pyre of the dead from the sacrifices thrown down from above. There would, in fact, be more of these skeletons – but from time to time Ahgrasmak looses portions of his horde into the city above to wreak whatever terror and chaos they can accomplish.

UNHOLY SKELETONS (CR 2) – NE Large Undead
DETECTION – Listen +0, Spot +0; Init +5
DEFENSES – AC 17 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +3 natural, +4 deflection), touch 14, flat-footed 12; hp 24 (2d12); DR 5/bludgeoning; Immune cold, undead immunities (ability damage/drain, critical hits, death effects, disease, energy drain, fatigue, mind-affecting, nonlethal damage, paralysis, poison, sleep, stunning, any effect requiring Fort save); Resist spell 20 (vs. good spells and spells cast by good creatures)
ACTIONS – Spd 40 ft.; Melee 2 claws +2 (1d6+2); Ranged +2; Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.; Base Atk +1; Grapple +5
SQ turn resistance +4, spell resistance 20 (vs. good spells and spells cast by good creatures)
STR 14, DEX 12, CON -, INT -, WIS 10, CHA 11
FORT +4, REF +5, WILL +8
FEATS: Improved Initiative
SKILLS: –

This material is covered under the Open Game License.

Go to Part 1

LOCATION: THE MINDWARP ALEHOUSE

The Mindwarp Alehouse is kaleidoscopically eclectic: The bar is made of a deep crimson marble. Some of the tables are heavy affairs of oak, while others are rickety assemblages of pine (and at least one is actually made of balsa wood). The walls are plain wood, but inset with apparently random niches – some of which are concealed behind panels. A rope of teeth longer than a man’s hands hangs decoratively along one wall, and animal heads are mounted on another. In the corner a small platform serves as a stage for a belly-dancer and her musical accompaniment.

Those who listen to the tales of Klevator Bur, the owner, would lead you to believe that there is a legend behind every item in the bar. Those with a firmer grasp on reality will note that Bur must have spent fabulously little on his mismatched furnishings and knick-knack decorations.

Nonetheless, the atmosphere of the Mindwarp Alehouse is nothing if not distinct. And, to many, it’s highly appealing. This is largely due to the fact that the only source of illumination in the common room is a mammoth fireplace of black marble, and this Bur keeps stocked with flammable, alchemical bricks, which cause the fireplace to burn in an exotic rainbow of colors: Blues, reds, yellows, purples, oranges, and a plethora of colors in-between regularly wash over the shadowy interior of the Mindwarp.

The Mindwarp’s other claim to fame is Bur’s ale. The brew itself is a cheap swill, but Bur mixes it with exotic drugs and herbs – lending his various ales both a unique flavor and a wide variety of debilitating (and enjoyable) effects. Combined with the lightshow created by the fireplace, the effect can be quite powerful.

CHARACTER: KLEVATOR BUR

Klevator Bur loves the role of the barkeep, a part for which it seems he was born: He is a man of girth and a grin, with expansive gestures which emphasize his every word. Those who frequent the Mindwarp will tell you that he can smoothly fill three mugs with ale at once, and have each movement punctuate whatever tale he may be telling at the time.

Indeed, Bur is infamous for his tall tales, which he tells at every opportunity (see sidebars for some examples). In fact, only one of the many tales he tells is true: The Legend of the Wishing Fountain (see sidebar).

He is endeared to his patrons, and is harsh to no man… save those who harm his person, his custom, or his beloved bar.

CHARACTER: DELLIRA LOVELOCKS

Dellira is the Mindwarp’s belly dancer: If you haven’t come for Klevator’s stories or the mind-numbing ale, then you’ve come to see Dellira dance.

Dellira is visually stunning: Deep blue eyes, an immaculate face, and soft, blond hair top a body of the type that men have been known to die for. No one is really sure how Bur convinced a girl like this to dance for him – which has led to a number of lewd theories – but the truth is that Bur took her in and protected her from those who were trying to take advantage of her on the streets. Dellira looks upon Bur as a savior and a father, and Bur looks on her as a daughter.

Which is not to say that Dellira has not had her share of flings with the Mindwarp’s patrons – but all of those (invariably brief) relationships have come from her initiative. Those who push in the other direction are rebuffed; and those who persist will feel Bur’s anger.

Price List: Ale

Story: Legend of the Wishing Founts

It is said that between the Upper and the Lower Catacombs of the hollow peak of Nimbus Tor, there lie the great Paragon Caverns. The dark recesses of those mammoth caves conceal many secrets, and among them are the Wishing Founts.

These miraculous, perpetual geysers spout water both cold and pure – at times, it is said, as high as a hundred feet into the nighted cavern. Powered by some unknown magic, it is said that those who sacrifice items of true worth to the giver will be granted a wish.

Story: Rivers of Fire

As Bur tells the tale, two years ago a group of wandering adventurers who had often frequented the Mindwarp stumbled through his back doors – battered and bleeding – scant moments after he had locked the front. He offered them solstice, and as they mended their wounds they told a harrowing tale of a journey to the dungeons beneath the Cryptic Citadel. They told Bur that there were passages in that dark labyrinth that led even further into the earth, and that when they followed these they left all traces of the civilized world behind.

The greater part of this story changes with every telling. There, in the depths beneath the Cryptic Citadel, Bur has weaved tales both sublime and comical: Tribes of fungoid barbarians stalk his adventurers one night, while on others they wander through great works of ancient steel and magic. In another telling it is albino halflings who play crude tricks on them. In yet another they travel through strange blue gates to the corners of the world, or wander lost in those caverns until thirst and hunger drive them to near madness.

Oddly, however, two details in Bur’s story never waver: First, every telling has the adventurers leaving the Mindwarp near dawn to scale the walls and escape the city before some unnamed wrath of the Overlord. Second, as they go the adventurers drop dark hints of some deeper evil… and of “rivers of fire” which course and churn through those stygian depths beneath the city.

Story: The Gremlins of the Tower

A number of rumors and stories have accumulated around the abandoned tower in the southwest corner of the city wall (L8), but none are quite so ingenious or varied as Bur’s tales of the Gremlins of the Tower. These mischievous creatures, who make their home in the walls of the tower, play a variety of tricks and pranks on both those who venture in and near their home. Upon occasion, as Bur’s tales would have it, they have even been known to venture far afield from its walls to wreak havoc across the City State.

Rumor: Whitecloak the Druid

A few of the local mercenaries who frequent the Mindwarp on the sojourns through the City State have heard that a mysterious druid – known only as Whitecloak – is hiring men-at-arms for a two week contract at the Red Axe Inn.

Go to Part 3: Temple of the Gargoyle