How often do you level up your PCs? Too often! Learn how to give your players what they need to Learn, Experiment, and Master their characters.

Subscribe Now!

Review Originally Published May 21st, 2001

Mystick: Domination takes a different approach to the card-building games: A “premium card game”, Mystick encourages “customizability without collecting” by selling only complete decks (with every deck including every card).

THE GOOD AND THE BAD

Getting introduced to Mystick requires a steep learning curve which is – thankfully – lessened considerably by the thoughtfully included and well-executed Basic Tutorial pamphlet. Essentially the game boils down to this: With a Tarot-inspired card- and ruleset, Mystick allows you to play out Pawn cards. Pawns are then used to obtain Power, either from a central pool or from other Pawns. This basic mechanic is complicated with various action and environment cards, and a set of elegantly interlocking rules which give rise to a number of tactical possibilities.

The game can be played by 2-5 players. The Basic Deck only supports play by two players, however, and, unfortunately, I find the game to be severely lacking in two player mode: It is far too easy for the player with the first turn to build an unassailable lead, and the game’s mechanics generally seem to become either too simplistic or catastrophically clogged. On the other end of the spectrum, playing with 5 players also seems to strain the game (the round advancement mechanic – based on how times a “draw” action has been used – seems to speed play up too much with this number of players).

THE DEAL

Mystick: Domination has a sweet spot of 3-4 players, but when you’re at that sweet spot the game behaves like a well-tuned Ferrari (and its not exactly a Yugo at the extremes, either). The game is gifted with evocative and beautiful artwork which, in its classical stylings, is a refreshing breath of fresh air in the current card game market. Its playable straight out of the box. And it appears that Anoch is dedicated to giving all of this the support it deserves. Give this one a try.

The Verdict: B+

Publisher: Anoch Game Systems, Inc.
Category: Fantasy Premium Card Game
Release: August 2000
Format: 78 card Basic Deck; 78 card Power Deck
Suggested Retail: $19.99

In response to the rise of collectible card games, Mystick: Domination was experimenting with a form factor that Fantasy Flight Games would later call a Living Card Game (LCG). Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite perfected here: The Basic Deck and Power Deck were basically indistinguishable from each other on store shelves and, as noted in the review, if you only bought the Basic Deck, the game wasn’t terribly good.

(In point of fact, it turns out the designer of this game — Eric Lang — a bunch of LCGs for FFG.)

This review was originally written for someone other than RPGNet, but I have no memory of who that might have been. Since I have no record of its publication elsewhere, it must have either been rejected or the magazine it was intended for went out of business before printing it. Either way, I salvaged the piece by publishing it on RPGNet. And now, many years later, I’m salvaging it once again.

I debated whether to actually post this review: It’s for a fairly obscure game that’s long out of print. But the whole goal is to archive all of these older reviews, and I also have a lot of fond memories of this game. So if it encourages even one person to maybe go grab a used copy off eBay, it’ll probably be worth it.

For an explanation of where these reviews came from and why you can no longer find them at RPGNet, click here.

’tis the Halloween season! The perfect time for a little horror gaming! But how can you scare your players when you don’t have a camera, a composer, a symphony orchestra, a foley artist, and professional actors? Join ENNIE Award-winning game designer Justin Alexander for a peek inside RPG jump scares… with a twist!

Subscribe Now!

Go to Table of Contents

The Pride of Morrain is named after a former scion of House Vladaam. Morrain was arrested for piracy during the War of Black Sails, escaped from the gallows in Trolone, and returned to Ptolus before being killed by Freeport assassins (who had been sent by a powerful pirate captain whose daughter Morrain had raped and murdered).

The prow of the ship is fashioned to resemble the head of a red dragon. The crew of the ship will tell tales of how the cunningly craft wooden head contains the mummified heart of a dragon slain by Morrain himself. It’s possible that many or all of them actually believe this tale, but it’s not true.

CAPTAIN BOASTIA: Use stats for pirate captain (MM 2024, p. 242).

SHIP’S MAP: The map of the Pride of Morrain is based on the Duskbringer battlemap published by Elven Tower. The original map can be found here, but the version seen above has been heavily modified. Patrons of the Alexandrian have exclusive access to a high-resolution version of the modified map, suitable for printing or VTTs.

AREA 1 – THE WHEEL

The brass wheel of the ship has a plaque attached to it, explaining that it was taken from the original Pride of Morrain and was wielded by the hand of Prince Morrain during the War of Black Sails.

AREA 2 – MAIN DECK

At first glance, a fairly typical ship’s deck.

AFT DOOR: The aft door, leading below decks, is surprisingly sturdy and can be secured with two locks and a bar from the outside. (This is a final defensive measure against the potential of slave uprising.)

• AC 19, 40 hp, DC 18 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools)

CARGO HATCH: Similarly, the cargo hatch is secured with a pair of hefty padlocks.

• AC 19, 7 hp, DC 18 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools)

AREA 3 – BALLISTAS

The upper deck ballistas are mounted on swivels.

SEARCH — DC 10 Wisdom (Perception): 6 of the bolts at each ballista tipped with alchemist’s fire.

• DC 14 Intelligence (Wisdom): To find a slip of paper under the alchemist’s fire bolts at the prow of the ship billing for various supplies which were delivered to an address on Wayfarer’s Street. (This address belongs to Alchemical Lab — Shadowworks, which created the fire bolts.)

ALCHEMIST’S FIRE BOLTS: 3d10 piercing damage. Target takes 1d10 fire damage at the start of each of their turns.

AREA 4 – GRAPPLER BALLISTA

The lower ballista is secreted within the open mouth of the ship’s red dragon prow. The bolts shot by this ballista are tethered and a powerful, steam-powered mechanism under the deck can be used to drag pinioned ships into boarding range.

AREA 5 – SUPPLIES & ARMORY

In addition to hard tack, barrels of water, rope, and other necessary supplies, this room contains an unusual number of weapons:

• scimitars & dragon pistols (Ptolus, p. 522), enough to arm the sailors
• dragon rifles (Ptolus, p. 522) to arm the Advanced Vladaam Guards

STAIR DOORS: The doors at the bottom of the stairs are steel-cored and securely locked.

• AC 19, 40 hp, DC 18 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools)

AREA 6 – WATER PURIFIER

A technomantic device in this compartment siphons ocean water and purifies it for human consumption… but only imperfectly. The result is potable, but still has a slightly salty and unpleasant aftertaste. It’s good enough for the slaves, though.

SIGIL: The device is marked with the Vladaam alchemy sigil:

AREA 7 – UPPER HOLD

The upper hold generally contains mundane cargo.

CARGO HATCHES: Cargo hatches lead to both the upper deck (Area 2) and the slave hold below (Area 12). Both are secured from above with a pair of hefty padlocks unless in use.

• AC 19, 7 hp, DC 18 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools)

AREA 8 – CREW QUARTERS

These chambers are filled with crisscrossing hammocks and where most of the crew sleep.

AREA 9 – VLADAAM MAGE’S QUARTERS

The Vladaam Mage assigned to the ship keeps their quarters here. Their personal belongings include their spellbook and A Missive Regarding Slaves.

• GM’s Background: The sigil on the missive belongs to Aliaster Vladaam.

A MISSIVE REGARDING SLAVES

Guildmaster Arzan tells me you have a sharp eye. I expect you to practice it now. We are conducting crucial experiments in the apartments on Crossing Street and are in need of experimental stock. We are particularly in need of those with an affinity for metamorphic compounds while also possessing the physical endurance to withstand the experimental techniques. If you observe any such during your service, flag them to my attention immediately.

AREA 10 – SLAVE CELLS

These cabins are secured with locks from the outside and have been outfitted to secure rare and valuable slaves. They are generally empty, but there’s a 10% chance of occupation for each cell, in which case roll 1d8 to determine the CR of the inhabitant and use a random encounter table of your choice to determine who/what it is.

AREA 11 – CAPTAIN’S QUARTERS

Captain Boastia gets an actual bed! It’s nothing too fancy, but it’s pleasant enough.

The captain’s logs can be used to reconstruct the frequency and number of slaves being transported by the Pride of Morrain.

AREA 12 – SLAVE HOLD

The Vladaam Mages assigned to these ships regularly cast prestidigitation to clean out the holds, but it’s not enough to purge the sickening stench that clings to the slave holds – a mix of filth, excrement, blood, and putrescence.

GM Note: If the Pride of Morrain is not currently hauling slaves, this cargo hold may be converted to hold additional goods.

AREA 13 – LOWER HOLD

This area is generally used for standard trade goods and cheap rations for the slaves. If the ship is carrying a particularly large full load of slaves, the overflow may also be held in here.

AREA 14 – OFFICER’S MESS

Close inspection reveals that the officer’s mess is covered in a thin layer of dust, suggesting that it’s rarely used. The close proximity to the slave hold has rendered the mess an unpleasant place.

GM Note: There have been some discussions of converting the space into additional cargo space, but Captain Boastia has been hesitant to abandon the tradition.

Next: Vladaam Slave Ship – Myliesha’s Sail

Go to Table of Contents

The Vladaam drug-running operations are woven through their deot and, thus, throughout The Vladaam Affair. This brief summary is designed to tie these disparate elements together, providing both an overview for the GM and some basic guidance if the PCs decide to pursue these leads.

Note: The drug trade also offers myriad opportunities for PCs to get involved with The Vladaam Affair for the first time. Addicts and dealers can be found throughout the city and in every walk of life, making it easy to drop clues into almost any scenario.

DRUGS HANDLED BY THE VLADAAMS

The Vladaam drug trade focuses on three specific drugs:

• Abyss Dust
• Snakeweed
• Liquid Pain (Agony)

ABYSS DUST: Abyss dust is alchemically distilled from snakeweed (see below), although few associate the innocuous effects of snakeweed with this powerful narcotic. Abyss dust looks like ashes, with a rich black and gray color. It is administered through inhalation or smoking. Some hardcore users like to mix their abyss dust with snakeweed, claiming the snakeweed “takes the edge off” of some of the more extreme hallucinations.

LIQUID PAIN: This thickish red liquid, also known as Agony, liquid pain is distilled from the living pain of tortured souls. Through an alchemical law of antagonism it creates a feeling of intense pleasure in addition to its other effects. Recreational users use small, ceremonial knives to cut themselves and deliver the drug. It’s said that the recipe was perfected by demons and stolen from them by a Dark Warrior. (Who may, or may not have been a member of House Vladaam.) It is difficult to say how much truth there is in such tales, as opposed to salesmanship.

SNAKEWEED: The sunburst flower is found growing in many ancient ruins throughout the Serpent Islands. The trances produced by smoking the dried leaves and flowers of the plant became a popular, casual intoxication among the pirates of Freeport and spread to ports throughout the Whitewind Sea. When dried, the stuff is simply called snakeweed by most, and while it can be psychologically addictive it is relatively harmless by itself. When smoked, snakeweed produces a feeling of serene calm, a deadening of pain, and slight euphoria. Heavy doses produce an incapacitating euphoric stupor, and sometimes inspire dreams of shadowy, serpentine forms and vast cities beneath the waves. In Freeport, it is commonly used by the poorer citizens and sailors as an escape from the drudgeries of everyday life.

See Appendix: 5E Drugs for the mechanical details of these drugs.

SOURCES

• Abyss Dust and Snakeweed are purchased in Freeport.
• Liquid Pain is manufactured at the Vladaam Slave Warehouse (Part 16).

RUNNERS

FLEET OF IRON SAILS: The Fleet of Iron Sails (Part 9) smuggle abyss weed and snakeweed out of Freeport.

SURVEYOR APPRENTICES: The apprentices of the Red Company of Surveyors (Part 14), are used to run drugs. Small quantities or secret messages can be placed within the hollow rachis (stems) of their diamond-feathered badges.

SPICE SHIPMENTS: It’s not unusual to mix illegal drugs into shipments of legitimate spices, take the cargo to the Spice Market, and then separate out the illegal drug.

RECIPIENTS

In Ptolus, the Vladaams deliver drugs to both their own Curse Dens (Part 8) and independent dealers.

INDEPENDENT DEALERS:

• Skull & Sword (Guildsman District; Ptolus, p. 180)
• Spice Market (South Market; Ptolus, p. 340)
• Dark Market (Midtown — Undercity; Ptolus, p. 399)
• Vistor Krun (Warrens; Ptolus, p. 381)

TRACKING

If the PCs want to gather information on the Vladaam’s drug trade or put drug-related facilities under surveillance, there are two likely discoveries.

First, runners carrying drugs can be observed coming from any ship in the Fleet of Iron Sails. They can be followed to either the Rivergate curse den or one of the independent dealers listed above.

GM Note: These drugs are taken to the curse den in Rivergate and then distributed to the other curse dens from there.

Second, drug runners can be observed leaving the Vladaam Salve Warehouse and going to a curse den. (1 in 4 chance per day of a drug runner. Determine which curse den they’re heading to randomly.)

Go to Table of Contents