Next Stop: Ravencon 2015!

Good Morning all;


 Still recovering from Marscon, we're looking forward to the next convention and Ravencon! Ravencon is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year as Richmond's premiere fan event, with programming and a variety of guests and other cool stuff. For more information about Ravencon, check out their site at www.ravencon.com!


OMG and Project: Crusaders are presenting three brand-new post-DESTROYED adventures at Ravencon, including a Ravencon exclusive event.

  

Six months after Destroyed, the Defenders find themselves with a most unusual request for help: A call from the Shining City of Atlantis to defend against…pirates? Can the Defenders get to the bottom of what’s really going before it’s too late?

 

Summoned by the Supreme Magnus, the Defenders find themselves in a pitched battle between the villainous Shadowheart Queen, the First Witch Grimhylde, and the ancient dragon Tiamat. Can the Defenders stop the combined mystical threat before humanity suffers? Only one may be the fairest of them all….

(Ravencon 2015 Exclusive)

In years previously, heroes have faced genetically enhanced chimpanzees, mad German doctors, android Sasquatches, demons from the darkest darkness of hell, and Buddy Holly. This year, it’s more of the same, except all-new and different, and totally not capitalizing on the trend in superhero movies and comic universe reboots. Can a group of heroes (You) help the self-proclaimed world’s greatest thief recover a device which may or may not be able to re-write reality? Has it already been used? Is this actually a reboot? You won’t know until you find out!





All events are running throughout the weekend, as well as an introductory workshop for new players or those who want to get involved! For more information regarding scheduling, please visit our WARHORN SIGN-UP site

Destroyed Prelude #3 - A Meeting

AEGIS Command group, North Atlantic

Altitude 25,500 feet

Location: 40.416361, -36.128146

'He's here'

For a moment, the Director and his two guests remained seated, staring blankly at one another as if to gauge an appropriate response. For three days it had been a linger uncertainty, a shared uneasy experience between a handful of men and women, tasked with the very moment the three men found themselves in.

'Show him in' The Director nodded, searching for another queue or hidden acquiescence that could serve to reinforce the decision for this moment. Two Black Knight level operatives emerged first, taking positions in the cardinal points of the room, while another four entered around their guest.

'Well?' The Director began, looking at the guest with a combination of cool trepidation and receded hostility, 'The terms were fairly clear in your parole....you were to leave Earth and never, ever return...'

'Things don't always happen the way we want' the man began. Tall and lean, the dark hair had begun to gray around the edges, more lines around the eyes which would have made the guest seem more scholarly than criminal.

'I do not have time to debate what we want' The Director began again, looking more uncharacteristically irate as he braced his fingers together, 'Why are you here?'

'I know about Hephaestus' the man began, looking carefully at the director and the other two guest, 'Everyone out there knows about it....but that's not important....what is important is what's going to happen next...'

'Next?' The Director asked, 'What exactly do you mean?'

'Oh come on!' The man exclaimed, 'You know damn well what I mean....you've probably already started to sever ties...probably already made veiled threats....this isn't something that Croc hasn't thought about....or planned for.'

'Why does this matter to you, exactly?' The Director retorted, the thinly veiled emotion twinging his words.

'Because I set up his defenses...' The man began, 'And I have a pretty good idea what Croc will do. You go in there, it's a trap....it's a bloody, awful trap and people will die...'

'Compassion has never been your strongest suit' The first guest, the older man added, breaking his silence as he leaned forward. Without facing him the convicted guest nodded, 'I'm no saint, but I'm not going to sit back and let something I built be used by a madman...'

'Not unlike all of those other times' The First Guest nodded, 'Yes, I could see you brimming with compassion for the innocent then...'

'Listen, asshole....I don't really care what you think....I'm telling you this is how it is: Croc isn't going to think of how this plays out....he knows how it will play out, and he's more than ready for it. He'll make the first move....he'll bring you in, and he'll smash you down....believe me....this is what he's been waiting for since he took power'

'And what, exactly, are you offering?' The Director chimed in.

'Plans....schematics....everything...' the man nodded, 'Anything and Everything....'

'Why now?' The First Guest asked, staring with unblinking eyes at the Convicted Guest.

'You want me to lie? I won't do that....I'm a son-of-a-bitch but I don't lie. Something happened to me....up there.....and I won't simply let that go. There is a reason I'm here, I don't know what that reason is, but I'm here. Call it whatever you want, but you know the one thing I'm not is a liar'

Silence once again filled the room as the Convicted Guest sighed deeply, rubbing the bridge of his nose. The Director looked at the two others, quietly nodding as if in deep conversation. A minute stretched to two and then five before any of them spoke.

'You will give us everything, and I mean everything. There will be no holding back....no second chances....one glimmer you're not above board, or if any of us for a moment believe you're lying, It won't be prison...it won't be exile...it will be immediate full weight of the international courts on you punishment....do you understand?'

'Yes' the Convicted Guest nodded, 'I do...'

'Then...' The First Guest started, 'Why don't you tell me why Mauler has been seen here on Earth when you are supposedly in space, Cranston'

'They stole it' Cranston answered matter-of-factually, 'and you know how I take theft....'

DESTROYED
MARSCON 2015 - January 16-18

www.marscon.net
https://www.warhorn.net/events/marscon-crusaders?src=listings

Next Defenders/Crusaders Event: 'Destroyed'

Howdy all; As you might have noticed, we've got a new event planned for January 2015 at Marscon - Destroyed! Destroyed Blurb: As the world learns of a miraculous new power-source, old villains conspire to bring down the U.N.'s superhuman response team. Can an assortment of heroes from across different groups somehow stop the destruction? DESTROYED is a two-part adventure set in Mark Geary's Defenders International campaign! We're also celebrating the 29th anniversary of the DiVERSE! More shortly

Destroyed, Prelude #1

Xibola, City of Bone -

He could feel the movement of the air underneath of him as he fell towards earth. Reaching terminal velocity in seconds, he felt the freedom and exhilaration fill every part of his being, the way it always had on countless times before. It was the only part of the curse that was truly his, truly a blessing, and the one thing he missed.

He felt himself relax into the moment, realizing that it was Morpheus's visitation, a moment of pure peace before the dawn...a dream of demigods of flight, something that he missed despite the lifting of the curse. Below the land moved under the dark shadows of night, featureless amid the clouds and cool night air. For a moment, he was contented.

The sudden downdraft brought him to landfall, finding himself skipping for a moment on the eddied currents that gently deposited on the hillside. Something was different this time, something he could not quite put his fingers upon....the dream haze had him still, and yet, the lands were different, colder somehow....more ominous.

The sky erupted into light as Helios blazed above him. He instantly recognized the scene and saw the familiar faces he had come to know and call friends. All eyes were downcast, sullen, and filled with a great sadness, none speaking or making any sound. For a moment, he wondered if these dream-images were some ancient chorus, until he found himself drawn to the object of his gaze. As his eyes fell onto the sight, he felt a tightening of the muscles in his stomach...he knew instantly what the image meant, and felt the sluggishness of the waking world, pulling him backwards, back away from the moment into the cool darkness of the living world.

He felt himself fully alert and awake, rising quickly from bed, letting Eden rest nearby. The images still lingered in his mind, and he knew that such was no dream, but portent. Pulling a nearby toga on, he moved out of the bedroom and into the darkness, unable to sleep.

________________________

Eden Raines had been many things in her life - Daredevil, Adventurer, Pilot, and now Queen. It had been nearly five years since she had married the love of her life, and despite all that she and Romulus had shared, there were moments that he truly puzzled her. Her hand moved absently across the bed, surprised in its near sleep to find him gone from her side. Slowly rousing herself to full consciousness, Eden allowed her green eyes to adjust to the darkness before calling out quietly,
'Romulus?'

Taking a deep breath, Eden slowly pulled herself out of bed, covering herself in a sheer silk robe that rested across the nearby divan. Steadying herself against the bed, Eden gained her bearings and began to move through the open-aired chamber, looking outwards to the balcony and the illuminated paleness of dawn. Romulus stood impassively on the balcony, his massively muscled arms folded behind him in the way he often had when deep in contemplation. Eden moved behind him, gently brushing the tips of her fingers against his arm, before moving beside him. For a long while husband and wife said nothing, standing and looking over the ancient city as it slowly roused from another night. In the dim haze of the morning, Romulus finally spoke, his voice low and haggard.

'I need to return' he said plainly, not facing his wife. It was the stoic and patrician look that Eden had grown to accept, a sign of Romulus's stubborness.

'The dream?' Eden asked, already knowing the answer.

'Yes...' Romulus nodded, 'Again...the same dream...'

There was a prolonged silence between them as both stared outwards. For a long while, neither moved or said anything, until Eden finally spoke.

'Well....I guess I'm ready to see how much the world has changed since 1936.'

'I have to go...you don't....it will be...dangerous...' Romulus began, turning to face his wife. Although he towered above her, there was a sense of physical equality that had always been an unspoken fact.

'You are my husband, and my friend. If this is important to you....' Eden began, looking Romulus up and down, 'Then I'm going....I've said my peace and counted to three'

Romulus stared at his wife, 'These men....the men we go to face...this aren't trogs or raiders...these men are dangerous...motivated...and strong. If something happened to you....'

Eden's fingertips moved up and brushed her husband's lips, 'Then we face them together....but why now? Why is now so important...'

Romulus said nothing at first, allowing the question to linger more out of summoning the strength to answer it, 'They will burn the world if what I have seen comes to pass....I cannot abandon my teammates...my friends...to what awaits'

'Then that is enough' Eden added, 'Let's find our way home, before it's too late...'



-----

Destroyed

January 16 - 18 2015

Prelude #6 - Sundown Parity 4:1 - Redeux

Parity 4:1 2009/Seven years from !#@@$#@W$HATE#$@#WQFEAR#!#@!@ENTROPY$@#!!@!@!#!#$HISSHADOWKNOWS@!*#@#(%R!@$!#@!@

The calculations had to be checked and rechecked. If the SPANWEB transmissions were correct, and the Cross chronal scanner was right, then a massive tachyon burst had not only occurred, but had disrupted the time/space continuum for a nanosecond, actually puncturing each point at once.

With that sort of information, she felt obliged to run a comparison against the findings. Such things were not possible: Two points opening and closing at the same time could only mean one thing: At some point in the real future, a door had opened, and at some point at the real past, the door had opened again. Could it be possible that chronapthy was real? That time travel between two set points was a reality only a scant ten years in the future?

The idea that within her current lifetime that time travel wasn't just a possibility, but a reality was a bit flustering, especially since at some point in the future, she herself would be the one to perfect it. It was a myriad of ideas contained in a single thought: That outside of her knowledge, someone had perfected a device for time travel and had used it to escape the past.

She rubbed the bridge of her nose, when a cup was set down next to her. At first, she did not notice, until the rich smell of chamomile and mint caught her attention, turning slightly, she looked up, and saw herself...older...but herself none the less.

'You'll go mad trying to figure out what just happened' the older self answered, 'And believe me, I nearly did'

'How...' She began, stopping slightly to take up the cup and take a quick sip, 'How is it you're here'

The older version smiled, 'It's rather simple at the endpoint to venture back, but this....this is different....someone has upset the balance a second time'

'A second time?' she asked. The idea of her older self standing here hadn't phased her...in fact, it was a comfort in many ways, a secret visitation that had begun a decade previously, guiding her to different paths.

'A second time...and I fear that it will affect everything'

'More than it already has?' she answered, 'I mean, can true time-travel be real, outside of us?'

'Cross was close' the older version stated, 'In fact, he's the one that breaks the idea of the-'

'Yes' The younger version said, 'I know what he did....and I know that he's more obsessed than ever'

'Yes...but that's not why I'm here now' the older version began 'At some point within the next ten years, someone will use Cross's Golden Snitch to go back to the point of the first anomaly'

'And?' the younger version asked

'Well...whomever that is, they'll attempt to change what's coming...and I fear hasten it'

'Seven years ago...' the younger version said, mulling over the words while looking into the cup, 'That would be about the time of...'

'Yes' the older version, 'It puts it right then....and I fear that if whomever is successful, a cascading effect will occur across the continuum.'

'Is that a bad thing, considering?'

'It isn't the proper course of action' The older version said, 'We of all people should understand that certain events are immutable'

'Yes...but all the mucking with the universe and paradoxes the last three decades would suggest it's a moot point' the younger version said, taking the cup and drinking deeply, 'Ginger mint?'

'It's an acquired taste....one you should start now since it's one of my favorites'

The younger one nodded, stirring the cup with the small spoon before replacing it to the saucer. 'Any idea as to who?'

'The devil' was all the woman said, 'And the devil is trying hard to change the past'

'The devil...Mr Mephisto? That TAROT girl? Which one?'

'The one who has the most to gain....and the most lose.' The older version said cryptically.

'That's helpful...but why then?'

'It was during the schism' the older version nodded, 'It was at the darkest hour for the Crusaders'

'You'll have to be more specific...although....I think I know what you mean'

'The time when the Crusaders lost'

The younger version, still fresh from the scars of that time only a decade ago, nodded quietly.

'That pain never leaves' the older version said, 'It will lessen, but it does not leave'

'Is what he's attempting a bad thing?' The younger one added, 'I mean, certainly, we're safer...but...'

'It's a bad thing when you realize that the hand to make the change isn't thinking' the older countered, 'And that if *he* gets the device...'

'Then we should do something' the younger answered.

'We already have...' the older said, donning a helmet, 'As I'm headed to you now...or have you forgotten'

The younger version stopped, considering a moment and sifting through a universe of memories until the events were recalled with clarity...but were uncharacteristically hazy..

'That time...is difficult to remember'

'Yes...' The older nodded, 'It's beginning...'

'The road to hell is paved with good intentions' the older Snow said, bringing up the digital holographic display, 'And hell is coming'

@#(*@$@&@#@!#BREAKTIMELINEERRORSHADOWECLIPSE#!#!@!@!@$)#(T^%&#$

There was supposed to be a flash of light…an exit in graceful silence from the older version of Snow White into the temporal fugue maintained in a perfect suspension, but nothing happened. Both Snow Whites looked at each other, trying to figure out what had happened. Suddenly, it was as if time had simply ceased for the two of them, and the momentary lapse in timelines had caught them both off-guard. For a moment, neither could react to the situation, it simply had never occurred to either of them.

‘There has been a break in the timeline’ The older Snow began, staring off with glowing azure eyes. Young Snow simply nodded, and for a long moment, said nothing as she attempted parity with her older counterpart. The transfer of information covered the span of seconds. Younger Snow looked about, confused and overwhelmed. The images and lifetimes of her older counterpart revealed a history that was still just a momentary glimpse. While it was 2009, it was at the same time 2014 and 2019. Snow feel the connection of a million digital voice screaming at her from the far away future, and she could feel the burning crimson waves washing over the continuum at the beginning and the end of time.

‘Someone has vastly changed the timeline’ Older Snow started, trying in that way that Younger Snow often exhibited in figuring out the problem. Older Snow began to breath harder, as if effort was being made to simply stand. Young Snow saw fatigue and worry play across her older face, and for a moment, she felt that same fear begin to creep into her thoughts. For a moment, Young Snow felt she should alert the Crusaders, to let them know what was going on…but Young Snow could not understand what was happening. Older Snow cried out in sudden shock and pain, falling to her knees as the Time Tyrant armor cracked and fell away. Red light issues from seemingly every pore, and Young Snow felt the forceful disconnection from the digital voices as the future was being wrenched away.

‘R-R-Remember’ Older Snow began, her face burning hot with red light, ‘R-R-Remember the D-D-Devou----‘

And like that, Older Snow burst into a million points of reddish light. Young Snow shielded her eyes, turning away as the shadow of her former self became etched into the floor of the Crusaders conference room. For a moment, there was nothing in Snow’s world but the red light, the terrible red light that wasn’t just light…it wasn’t just anything. The ancient code began to filter into her mind, and she remembered fragments, long since purposely forgotten playing across her casual memory. Snow cried out, feeling the awful crimson maw of the beast close around her, the terrible heat that bore down from a single purpose and single mind. In that moment, Snow relieved all of her failures, all of her frailty in terrible scarlet clarity. There was something more to the light as it forcibly tore into her very being, reducing Snow’s memories to the basic elements of angelic code. The memories of her new life quickly burned in the entropic stillness of *his* gaze.

Snow was Eclipsed.

Special Edition Adventures

Good Morning all;

So as many of you know, January 2014 will mark the official 'one year' anniversary of the DI Multi-Regional campaign (And Year 28 in the campaign) and the culmination of an over-arching story in 'Eclipsed'. It got me to thinking that while several of the 'end of year' events are linked, people who had begun playing recently or had begun during the end of the Crusaders really hadn't had an opportunity to play those adventures, or that information which could make 'Eclipsed' more enjoyable might be missing. In addition, these adventures, while bringing together various plots and modules during a year are actually interconnected (as long-term players might attest. The more I got to thinking about it, the more I realized that heading into 'Eclipsed', I wanted to give people the opportunity to experience the 'full' aspect of 'Eclipsed', as well as give people the opportunity who didn't get to play these adventures that chance before they go into the vault along with the Ark.

Therefore, there will be Two 'Special Edition' adventures:

Crossover: Special Edition (Crusaders 2009)
Devoured: Special Edition (Crusaders 2011)

I will be running each Special Edition Module at least once during the next four months, leading towards 'Eclipsed'. If you haven't played in a while, never played, or started playing after one of these adventures, then it is something to be part of. As these adventures were designed for a full weekend, I've gone back and had a chance to re-edit them. Both adventures will run about eight hours apiece, which would be a full day of gaming. Playing 'Crossover' and 'Devoured' isn't essential to playing 'Eclipsed', I just thought I'd offer them up accordingly.

I might be adding a Special Edition of 'The Reaving' (P:WG 2007), if people are interested.

Ideally, we'll be running the special editions beginning at the end of September/Beginning of October, and would run the SE mods over October/November. I'll have more details once I work out the locations.

If you have questions, let me know!