Last week we gave you the background and primary game statistics for Ferwyll Trisrora. This week, we finish up with details about her thread items, and an adventure seed involving her.
Before we do, though, The Adept’s Journey: Mystic Paths has made it through final layout, and the PDF will be released on October 29, 2019. If you backed the recent Kickstarter campaign, you should receive a coupon to get a copy through our web shop on that day. If you didn’t back the Kickstarter… this will be your chance to pick up the book! Pre-orders for the physical edition should be going up around the same time if you want to take advantage of that.
New Thread Items
Armor of Roheline
- Maximum Threads: 2
- Mystic Defense: 14
- Tier: Journeyman (Warden)
This fernweave armor is made from leaves, ferns, and other vegetation that once naturally occurred in the Roheline Forest before the Scourge. Similar armors were created throughout the kingdoms of the Region in styles reflecting the local flora. More powerful versions change in ways that reflect its home kingdom’s seasons. Those few that survived the Scourge now reflect locales and seasons that no longer exist, a forlorn echo of things lost.
Once a thread is attached to the armor, it draws all sustenance from the magical connection and does not require the enchantment to be renewed as normal fernweave. As the thread rank increases, the armor’s appearance becomes responsive to the owner and the surroundings. Some were more powerful than others, having eight thread ranks instead of six. These Warden tier items are particularly rare and prized.
Thread Rank One
- Key Knowledge: The owner must learn the Name of the armor.
- Effect: The armor is Physical Armor 3.
Thread Rank Two
- Effect: The armor is Mystic Armor 4.
Thread Rank Three
- Key Knowledge: The owner must learn who created the armor.
- Effect: The owner gains +1 rank to Stealthy Stride.
Thread Rank Four
- Effect: The armor is Physical Armor 4.
Thread Rank Five
- Key Knowledge: The owner must learn what region of the Roheline Forest the foliage was intended to represent.
- Effect: The owner can spend an additional Karma Point on Initiative and Stealthy Stride tests if they are in a natural area.
Thread Rank Six
- Effect: The owner gains +2 ranks to Stealthy Stride.
Thread Rank Seven
- Deed: The owner must visit the region and commune with a wood elemental (at least Strength Rating 7), performing a significant service for the elemental in exchange for their blessings to the forest.
- Effect: The armor is Physical and Mystic Armor 5.
Thread Rank Eight
- Effect: The owner gains +2 to Initiative.
Tarrack Talons
- Maximum Threads: 2
- Mystic Defense: 14
- Tier: Journeyman
These long fingerless gloves stretch nearly to the wearer’s elbow. They were worn by a loose affiliation of Beastmasters who once called the Roheline Forest home and kept the native creatures in check. The adepts were easily identified by their tarrack companions, which did little to quell their fierce reputation. Fashioned from tarrack leather, each pair is tooled to tell the story of their wearers.
Thread Rank One
- Key Knowledge: The owner must learn the Name of the gloves.
- Effect: The owner gains +1 rank to Claw Shape.
Thread Rank Two
- Effect: The owner gains +1 to unarmed Attack tests
Thread Rank Three
- Key Knowledge: The owner must learn who created the gloves.
- Effect: The owner gains +2 ranks to Claw Shape.
Thread Rank Four
- Effect: The owner gains +2 to unarmed Attack tests.
Thread Rank Five
- Key Knowledge: The owner must learn the tarrack’s Name the leather came from.
- Deed: The owner must tool the leather to add their story to the gloves.
- Effect: For 1 Strain, the owner can use the Tarrack Tear ability as a Free Action. If the owner’s Initiative is greater than their target, they gain +2 to unarmed Attack and Damage tests against that target. This can only affect the first attack the owner makes in a round and they must be using Claw Shape.
Thread Rank Six
- Effect: If the owner uses Tarrack Tear before Initiative is determined, they gain a +2 bonus to Initiative.
Wayfarer Cloak
- Maximum Threads: 2
- Mystic Defense: 10
- Tier: Journeyman
These green and brown cloaks look like rough spun wool and adorned with various leaves and other effects to help blend into the environment. Truthfully, all five True elements have been woven through the garment. They’re warm, waterproof, resistant to stains, and deceptively soft. Still, they incur more wear and tear than expected of a thread item and most show signs of numerous repairs upon closer inspection.
These cloaks were once common throughout the Western Kingdoms and can still be found among elf communities, though those from lost kaers are most prized for the stories they tell.
Thread Rank One
- Key Knowledge: The owner must learn the Name of the cloak.
- Effect: The owner gains +1 rank to Awareness.
Thread Rank Two
- Effect: The owner gains +1 rank to Wilderness Survival.
Thread Rank Three
- Key Knowledge: The owner must learn who created the cloak.
- Effect: The owner gains +1 rank to Tracking.
Thread Rank Four
- Effect: The owner gains +1 Physical Defense.
Thread Rank Five
- Key Knowledge: The owner must learn where the True elements were harvested.
- Deed: The owner must repair any damage incurred from continued use and use the stitches to tell their story.
- Effect: The owner gains +2 to their Movement Rate.
Thread Rank Six
- Effect: The owner can spend 2 Strain to gain a +3 bonus to Awareness, Tracking, or Wilderness Survival.
Adventure Seed: The Shadows of the Roheline
A wealthy merchant got his hands on a map to a lost kaer in the Wastes: Kaer Greamaith. According to the map, the entrance to the kaer is about two weeks travel northwest of Jerris, with most of those days entirely within the Wastes. The merchant hires the player characters to investigate the ruins and return any valuables within in exchange for a finder’s fee. The merchant also hires Ferwyll Trisrora to serve as the group’s guide and keep them safe on their journey to and from the kaer.
Ferwyll proves particularly useful navigating the hazards of the Wastes. She informs the party of the dangers of varju poisoning (Elven Nations, p. 255) and other local threats. When they arrive at the kaer they find it was cracked open with no Namegiver bodies remaining within. Instead, threats from the Wastes made the kaer their home, including a group of aggressive kaer beetles (Elven Nations, p. 260).
Relatively little wealth remains in the kaer aside from a collection of well-preserved ancient journals written in Sperethiel. Ferwyll is very interested in these journals and spends hours inspecting them if given the opportunity. The journals stretch back to the days of Roheline’s prosperity and recount many unique cultural aspects.
The most recent journal contains the thoughts of “King” Amadan, Greamaith’s headman, as they went into hiding during the Scourge. The journal discusses his regret at breaking his oaths of Lew Teyrn with King Oltas Trisrora (patriarch of the Trisrora family during that time period). It also includes a letter from Oltas to Amadan cursing the leader of the kaer, swearing the Trisrora family ”will have their revenge”. Some decades later, in the final entry of the journal, ”a booming knock at the gate” is heard.
The age and topics of the text make them valuable to the right collector. Unfortunately, Ferwyll demands all the journals be handed over to the Trisrora family. She is willing to fight the group if they refuse, though she prefers to avoid a conflict. Should the group agree, she escorts them to the edge of the Wastes before beginning her journey north. If the group proves hostile and stronger in combat, Ferwyll attempts to take as many of the journals as possible and departs immediately, leaving the group stranded in a very hostile environment.
About the Bloggers:
Kyle Pritchard is a second-generation tabletop gamer who has been slinging dice since before he was crawling. He’s been working with FASA Games since 2014 and has been a member of Earthdawn Team since 2018.
Morgan Weeks is just over five and a half feet and weighs under 300 lbs. He’s notable for his distinctive black and white coloration, and fondness for extremely tall grasses, even though he’s poorly adapted to eating them. The resulting low energy leads to a lot of sitting around time. Which really helps with the writing. Though, where he learned to type, let alone how, is still a mystery.