Category Archives: Uncategorized
Consult the Oracle Ep. 3: Dual Purposes
Welcome back, at last, to Consult the Oracle. I’ve been spending a lot of free moments collecting my thoughts on the practical machinery of fourthcore. I’ve always thought that fourthcore is a sundry collection of distinct ideas, and I’d like to explore these pieces. In this very brief podcast, the first of a series I hope, I explain what I see as one core concept. I keep things very concrete, very practical. Enjoy it now!
Curse: Vercingetorix
What daring! How outrageous! Insolence! Arrogance!
The egos of the gods are easily inflamed and the incursion of the despicable, scaled creature Vercingetorix have set them ablaze. In cruel mockery of the fallen dragon king, an affliction now infuses the caverns and caves where he once dwelled, turning the skin all who linger under the earth to slowly turn to dry, stone-like scales which peel off and reveal the tender, raw flesh beneath. Countless wandering children and outcast beggars, unaware of the dangers of these caverns, will now die a most gruesome and painful death as their skin is flayed and their bodies infected en masse.
Curse: Anka
Anka’s eyes flutter open. She stands, finding only an endless carpet of black feathers in
all directions, the landscape nothing beyond her forsaken plumage.
“The death I prayed for this cannot be.” Her wings beat behind her, shedding even more
feathers.
“The death you prayed for can never be.” A figure walks into being. “No death can ever
be.” Anka’s brother, Rurik, stands before her, somehow hollow, tinged with an emptiness
beyond the conveyance of words.
A flicker of emotion betrays Anka’s cold façade. “Brother.” She reaches for him, but he
is forever beyond her reach.
“No death will ever be.” Rurik’s voice trails away on an unfelt wind, rippling feathers
past, present, and future.
Rurik peers at his hands, raising them for Anka to see. “No death means no life means
no circle. Only a line, forever stretching in all directions both simultaneously and not at all.”
His hands begin molting, feathered fingers giving way to feathered hands, to feathered arms, all
falling away, revealing nothing.
“Despair.” Rurik’s voice is all that remains. “Your only worthwhile action in a world
ungoverned by death.”
Anka slits her throat, black blood spilling on black feathers.
Anka’s eyes flutter open. She stands…
Curse: Lord Grantham
Can machines reincarnate?
The Tower Stands
The five greatest crusaders of the realm, the only remaining ascendants, the last of those who held the spark of immortality, have fallen. What is left of their bodies will be placed with the littered remains of all the other crusaders who have died in vain search of the TOWER’s highest bower.
The fourthcore elite, having been wiped out completely in the third room of the TOWER by an endless horde of three-headed king cobras and priests of plagues, have decided to throw in the towel! In accord with the terms of Hell Mode, which the ascendants brazenly agreed to, each of the fourthcore elite will pay tribute to the Triumvirate in one of their future works.
Additionally, I’ve asked each player to write a little vignette detailing the curse that has been laid upon them and their races for their insolence to the gods. These will be posted in the following week, culminating in the release of the first level of TOWER of the Ascendants!
The Saga Continues: Episode 4
The Saga Continues, my friends. After exploring a long hallway of doors filled with the arrow-ridden corpses of priests and acolytes, the heroes enter a trap gauntlet featuring a red laser, a series of portcullises, and scythe-wielding suits of armor.
Explore the world of Soulforge, our campaign setting, here.
The Saga Continues: Episode 3
In this episode of The Saga Continues, the heroes mourn the loss of one of their own, even as the spiteful spirit that dwells in the temple refuses to let them suffer with dignity. This session definitely runs at a slower pace than previous, but it does feature a tarot reading and a tragedy performed by decrepit automatons. If either of those catch your attention, give it a listen.
If you would like to know more about the world of Soulforge, you can check it out at Obsidian Portal.
The Saga Continues: Episode 2
Welcome to another episode of The Saga Continues. In this episode, the full party is reunited and we finally dive back into the campaign proper. Among this episode’s delights are…
-A horde of werewolves
-A massive explosion
-About a dozen 4s on d20 rolls
-A monster that will be featured on this site later in the week
And if you’re curious about the campaign setting, you can check it out at Obsidian Portal.
