TEXT: EDITED BY AMANDA HAMON
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  Open Game Content: The Open content includes the new spells excluding setting-specific spells, all feats, all traits 
  excluding all Regional Traits, and the Fragment of the Sceptre, Periapt of the Plenipotentiary, and Blood of Flame 
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  ©2013 Open Design LLC. All rights reserved.
  www.koboldquarterly.com
  TM
  Developer: Ben McFarland
  Designers: Wolfgang Baur, Matt 
  Blackie, Morgan Boehringer, Charles 
  Carrier, Andrew Christian, Will 
  Cooper, Michael Dean, Chris Harris, 
  Matt Hewson, Laura Goodwin, 
  Richard Green, Chris Lozaga, Ben 
  McFarland, Chad Middleton, Christina 
  Stiles, Brian Suskind, James Thomas 
  Editor: Amanda Hamon
  Cover Artist: Kieran Yanner
  Interior Artists: Guido Kuip, Marc Radle
  Cover Design: Marc Radle
  Layout & Graphic Design: Marc Radle
  Publisher: Wolfgang Baur
  Finance Manager: Shelly Baur
  TM
  Midgard 
  legends
  
  2
  MIDGARD LEGENDS
  Aberdus, First Mage-Lord of House Stross 
  Wolfgang Baur .......................................................
  Achaz the Horned Khan Matt Hewson ...............
  The Azure Kings Andrew Christian ....................
  The Black Sorceress Ben McFarland ...................
  The Blackened Man Chad Middleton .................
  Blood Mother Margase Christina Stiles ..............
  Calm-Tongue Morgan Boehringer  ......................
  Daughters of Jannik Charles Carrier  .................
  Enkada Pishtuhk, Treachery’s Rider  
  Ben McFarland  .....................................................
  Glatisant, the Questing Beast Brian Suskind  ...
  Gunnwyf and the Riphean Herd  
  Chris Harris  ..........................................................
  Hune the Doorlord Brian Suskind  ....................
  Table of Contents 
  Hringida, the First Storm Brian Suskind  ..........
  Izikorlevix, Scion of the Crimson Tyrant  
  Matt Blackie  .........................................................
  Jolinar the Cursed Laura Goodwin  ...................
  Kjord, Hope Lost, the Defier Chris Lozaga  ......
  Kureazol, Claw of Boreas Chris Harris  .............
  Kyrsa Heartwood, Lady of Green Shadows  
  Will Cooper  ..........................................................
  Mharot, Founder of the Empire  
  Wolfgang Baur  ......................................................
  Saint Vadim James Thomas  ................................
  The Songraven Morgan Boehringer  ...................
  Titus Patrascu Richard Green  .............................
  Yafram the Desolate Michael Dean  ...................
  4
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  3
   
  Since antiquity, people have gathered around burning 
  campfires—or glowing screens—to share legends. Legends 
  furnish hope amid desperation. They provide shadowy 
  villains and pristine ideals. They inspire courage and 
  greatness. Legends create heroes.
   
  Midgard is no different; this thriving world refuses to 
  exist in a vacuum or as a disjointed collection of books. 
  Rather, Midgard needs legends. It needs heroes who seek 
  to find them, emulate them, or defeat them. This book fills 
  just that need: it contains legends to inspire adventures 
  and to spur rumors within new stories. Each legend is a 
  pliable tool, able to integrate into adventurers’ tales with 
  ease. Each will help add greatness to heroes’ deeds. Heroes 
  become legends.
   
  And so we’ve created an anthology of legends, complete 
  with all their trappings. There are artifacts and haunts, 
  organizations and monsters, magical riches and fabled 
  abilities. The very stuff of adventure lies within these pages, 
  waiting for your tales to bring them to life. Use these 
  legends well—and go seek your fortunes.
   
  Go become heroes!
  People need legends
  Jeremy Adams, Jason Alexander, Bethany Alexoff, Bobby Allen, Christopher Alvarez, Charles Alvis, Jose Anes, Ben Armitage, Pete Athens, 
  Fabio Baccalaro, Andy Baggott, Mike Baker, Jerry R. Baker, Chris Banks, John  Beattie, Annette Beatwell, Cirk R. Bejnar, James Bell, Andrew 
  Lee Kian Beng, Doug Benson, Peter Benton, Iyar Binyamin, W. Birchler, Matt Blackie, Martin Blake, Jayson C. Block, Mark Boase, Morgan 
  Boehringer, James Boland, Alain Bourgeois, Jason Boyko, Raf Bressel, Ben Briles, Leslie Brown, Daniel Brumme, Travis Bryant, Michael 
  Bumann, John Busby, Jesse Butler, Bob Byrne, Philip Cahiwat, Jarrod Camiré, David Campbell, Brian “Chainsaw” Campbell, Charles Carrier, 
  AJ Carrington, Vicente Cartas Espinel, Paul Cavanaugh, Loralee Chatagnier, Kenny Chik, Andrew Christian, Shane Christianson, Jez Clement, 
  Weston Clowney, Jarrod Coad, Rodney Cobb, Andrew Collett, Andy Collins, Jay Collins, Bradley Colver, Will Cooper, Eric Coplin, Ronald 
  Corn, Bryan Creehan, Adam Crossingham, James Crowder II, Katie Cunningham, Patrick Curtin, Matthew C. Cutter, Anna Dieterman, 
  Brian Dawson, Mark Daymude, Marian De Kleermaeker, Michael Dean, Adam Dean, David DeRocha, Sarah Devier, Sebastian Dietz, 
  Shaun Dignan, Alex Dingle, Bob  Doherty, Andrew C. Durston, Frank Dyck, Brett Easterbrook, Adam Easterday, Vincent Ecuyer, Nikolaus 
  Ehm, Jason Ellsworth-Aults, Peter Engebos, Jeffrey Erwin, Mark Evers, Rick F, Mark James Featherson, Jesse Fehrenbacher, Ben Ferguson, 
  DeAnna Ferguson, Dawn Fischer, Brian Fitzpatrick, Rob Flynn, Mike Franke, Stephanie Franklin, Erik Freund, I’m Board!  Games, Jeffrey 
  Gates, Steve Geddes, Peter Goeders, Paul Goodwin, James & Laura Goodwin, Thilo Graf, Jacob Gray, Richard Green, Mark Greene, Marcus 
  Groenig, Norman Gross, Brian Guerrero, Amanda H, Patrick Halverson, Chris Harris, Brian E. Harris, Bryan D. Harrison, David Haselbauer, 
  Nathan Haslam, Andrew Hayford, Lyle Hayhurst, Henrik Hermansen, Sergio Silvio Herrera Gea, Matt Hewson, Bryan Hilburn, Christopher 
  Hill, Tom Hoefle, Lutz Hofmann, Ronald Hopkins, Keil Hubert, Nathan Huck, Steve Huntsberry, Ryan A. Idryo, Mathew Irizarry, Michael 
  Jacobs, Mark Jaeger, Josh  Jarman, Travis Johnsen, Devon Jones, Anthony Jones, Brad Kane, Alex Kanous, Kristof Karwey, Kirk Katzburg, 
  Ed Kearns, James Keegan, Scott Kehl, John Kelbaugh, Robert  Keller, Andrew Kelsoe, Michael Kennedy, Charles Kettering, Andy Kitzke, Ed 
  Kowalczewski, Jason Kramer, Mitchell Kramer, Dawson Kriska, Joe Kushner, David Lai, Michael Lane, Claus Mahler Larsen, Troy Larson, 
  Peter Lau, Christopher Lauricella, Chris Lauricella, Adam Leckie, Olivier LeFebvre, Andreas Lenhart, Stephen Leveque, Andrew Lewis, Brian 
  Liberge, Christian  Lindke, Mark Lindsey, Fred Lloyd, Joseph Lockett, Carter Lockhart, Eric Lopez,  Steven Lord, Sean Louvel, Chris Lozaga, 
  Vance Ludeman, Matthew Lynn, Sean Macdonald, Lawrence Madsen, Scott Maynard, Kevin Maynard, Kevin Mayz, Gary McBride, Rob 
  McCreary, Will McDermott, Karen McDonald, Ben McFarland, Mike McMullan, Joshua Megerman, Adam Meyers, Jon Michaels, Francois 
  Michel, Chad Middleton, Nick Middleton, Nick Milasich, Robert Miller, Steve Milner, Olivier Miralles, Andrew Mitchell, Paul Mollard, M. 
  Sean Molley,  Matthew Monteiro, Andrew Morris, Chris Mortika, Daniel Munson, Paul Nasrat, Juan Natera, Eric Nielsen, David Nixon, Shawn 
  Nolan, David A. Nolan, Bram Novak, Andrew Nuxoll, Britian Oates, Shane O’Connor, Carlos Ovalle, John  Overath, Daniel Pack, Chris Page, 
  Nik Palmer, Pierre Parent, Bill Parsons, James Patterson, Kevin Patterson, Daniel Petersen, Tony Petz, Otto Pfefferkorn, Bruce Philipson, 
  Kyle Pinches, Patrick Plouffe, James Poole, Greg Pope, Ed Possing, David Post, Angie Powers, Keith Preston, Callum Prior, Thomas Putney, 
  Stefan Radermacher, Doug “Dhomal” Raas, Rick Rambo, John C. Randall, Kevin Rank, Christopher Rathunde, Gary Ray, Paul Record, Frank 
  Reding, Ted Reed, William W.  Refsland, Trent Revis, Kevin Reynolds, Donny Rhye, Paul Rimmer, Steven Robert, Stephen Robinson, Barrie 
  D. Robison, Wade Rockett, Jan Rodewald, Kurtis Rodgers, Karl Rodriguez, Franz Georg Roesel, Gerald Rose, Shana Rosenfeld, Heath Row, 
  Adam Roy, Matthew Ruane, Tim Rudolph, Paul Ryan, Tim Ryan, Mark S, Pascal Saradjian, Russell Scarborough, Brandon Scheuerman, Edward 
  Schmidt,  Kurt Schneider, Steven Schopmeyer, Adrian Scully, Scott Seeber, Ben Sennitt, Calvin Shafer, Tim Shields, Michael Shillott, Erez 
  Shmaya, Todd Showalter, Sean Silva-Miramon, Warren Sistrom, S.Slaggy, Lester Smith, Hugo Solis, Jaye Sonia, Jeff Spencer, Carey Stanley, 
  Austin Stanley, Carolyn Stephens, Scott Sutherland, Lisa Stevens, Heine Stick, Christina Stiles, Chris McFann, David Sullivan, Brian Suskind, 
  Nate Swalve, Mark Sweetman, Carl Swienton, Stephan Szabo, Frank Tedeschi, Constantin Terton, Scott Thede, James Thomas, Fox Thompson, 
  Chris Thompson, Ross Thompson, Anne Trent, Alan Turnquist, Dianna Ugro, Keith Unger, Justin Unsworth, Dirk Vanleeuw, Gerald Vanover, 
  Roberto Vargas, Aoann Vigdis, Seth Voelker, Michael Voils, Oliver von Spreckelsen, Steffen Vulpius, Jani Waara, Adam Waggenspack, Michael 
  Waite, Tobias Walbridge, Eric Walchak, Stephen Wark, Matthew Wasiak, Jim Waters, Mike Welham, Tim E. Werner, Seth White, Mike Wilson, 
  Matthew Winn, Daniel Winterhalter, Simon Withers, Henry K. Wong, James Wood, Paul Woods, David Wyble, Jr., W Wyse, Jeffrey Xilon, 
  XinChi Yang, Bryce Zacherle
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  4
  MIDGARD LEGENDS
  or hundreds of years before the Great Revolt, the 
  Free City of Zobeck was not a stronghold of Rava 
  the Gear Goddess. Rather, it was the fiefdom of 
  the great Stross family, an aristocratic clan that possessed 
  a stunning command of the Sun God Khors’ priesthood 
  and a large and loyal following among merchants, dwarves, 
  miners, and vintners. It was a different time.
   
  The rise of House Stross in Zobeck began with the 
  apprenticeship of Abderus Stross to the Exarch Salatis, who 
  600 years ago was master of the mages of Bemmea and a 
  devout follower of Thoth-Hermes, an archmage of long 
  years and deep mystic understanding. This apprenticeship 
  was unprecedented; no merchant son of Zobeck had ever 
  before cultivated close ties to the mages. These ties grew 
  stronger when Abderus returned to Zobeck with a shadow 
  fey courtesan he wished to marry. His father forbade the 
  union, but Abderus, who’d sworn loyalty to the Queen of 
  Night and Magic, goddess and ruler of the shadow fey, 
  married her anyway. 
   
  Thus began a long struggle within and among the Stross 
  family. Some members were scions of the shadow fey; 
  others were loyal to Khors and the Order of Undying Light. 
  Both sides seized power and took noble titles. Their wealth 
  and power allowed them to appropriate new lands within 
  the Margreve Forest—lands previously reserved as the 
  shadow fey’s hunting grounds.
   
  The three generations of clan Stross were killed 80 years 
  ago during the Great Revolt of Zobeck; their bodies were 
  scattered on the field at the Battle of Oros Bridge or were 
  hung from the ramparts of Castle Stross. Distant cousins 
  and relatives by marriage occasionally turn up, but the 
  family itself seems gone, its name a byword for cruelty and 
  wise rule turned to decadence.
  The Devil’s 
  Commanders
  The arcanists of House Stross grew in number after 
  Abderus Stross rose to lead the family. Soon, his 
  children and grandchildren were students at the 
  Arcane Collegium of Zobeck and the House of Wands 
  in Runkelstad Their magical powers were great, but 
  the line was prone to diabolism and to fits of crusading 
  zeal. Both were tendencies the family kept in check, and, 
  fortunately, an outright diabolist never ruled the house. 
  However, the marshals, wizards, and magi of the 
  house did develop spells of their own, Rumors 
  abound that at least one of their number, the 
  raven-haired Mistress Photina Stross, owned the 
  legendary tome called Caelmarothic Compendium 
  Abderus, First Mage-Lord 
    of House Stross
  F
  of Devils and the Art of Retaining their Services—more 
  commonly called the Vile Black Book (see Kobold Quarterly 
  #23). Some also believe the Black Sorceress herself was a 
  Stross by birth or marriage.
  DEVIL’S COMMAND
  School enchantment (compulsion) [language-dependent] 
  [mind affecting]; Level bard 4, sorcerer/wizard 4, cleric 
  5, witch 5
  Casting Time 1 standard action
  Components V, M (blood)
  Range close
  Target 1 outsider creature
  Duration 1 round/level
  
  5
  Saving Throw Will negates; Spell Resistance yes
  This spell allows the caster to command any planar 
  creature as if it were dominated. Attempts to force suicidal 
  or harmful actions other than combat grant an immediate 
  additional saving throw each round they continue.
  STROSS KEY
  School illusion (star & shadow); Level bard 3, geomancer 
  2, sorcerer/wizard 3
  Casting Time 1 standard action
  Components V, S, M
  Range touch
  Targets up to one touched creature/level
  Duration 1d4 hrs.
  Saving Throw Will negates; Spell Resistance yes
  To use the Stross key spell, you must be within line of 
  sight of a shadow road or ley line node and in an area of dim 
  light. You and any creature you touch are then transported 
  onto the nearest shadow road. You can take more than one 
  creature along with you (subject to your level limit), but all 
  must be touching each other.
  Once displaced, you move to the nearest door or gate out 
  of the shadow road, which requires 1d4 hours to reach. You 
  cannot stay longer than this time without attracting hostile 
  attention.
  Any creatures touched by you when Stross key is cast also 
  make the transition to the shadow road. They may opt to 
  follow you to the nearest gate, wander off through the plane, 
  or return to the Material Plane (50% chance for either of the 
  latter results if they are lost or abandoned by you). Creatures 
  unwilling to accompany you on the shadow road receive a 
  Will saving throw, negating the effect of the Stross key on 
  them if successful.
  The material component is a key made of black glass worth 
  100 gp, which is consumed in the casting.
  WORD OF SUDDEN BINDING
  School enchantment (charm) [mind-affecting]; Level bard 
  5, sorcerer/wizard 5
  Casting Time 1 standard action
  Components V, S, M (500 gp pearl in glass cage)
  Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
  Target one outsider creature
  Duration 1 year/level 
  Saving Throw Will negates; Spell Resistance yes
  This charm makes an outsider creature willing to stand 
  and serve you and your family, friends, and allies (treat 
  the target’s attitude as friendly). If the creature is being 
  threatened or attacked by you or your allies, however, it 
  receives a +5 bonus on its saving throw.
  The spell functions only within the chamber or hall 
  in which you cast it; if cast outdoors, it lasts only within 
  60 ft. of the caster’s location when the spell was cast. The 
  moment the creature leaves this chamber, hall, or circle, 
  the spell ends. Thus, the first request the caster often makes 
  is to stay within the area it occupies. As the creature is 
  enchanted and friendly, this usually works to strengthen 
  the spell. The caster must make an opposed Charisma 
  check to get the creature to perform any action it would 
  not normally do, and it functions in most ways similar to a 
  charm monster spell, though of much greater duration and 
  much more limited area.
  TRUE LANCE OF KHORS
  Aura strong evocation [light]; CL 15th
  Slot none; Price 72,300 gp; Weight 10 lb.
  Description
  Shining and warm, this silvery lance brings the golden 
  rays of the sun to even the darkest dungeons.
  This +3 silver-tipped lance becomes a keen lance in the 
  hands of a cavalier or paladin, and gains the ability to 
  destroy shields and blind foes. 
  Whenever its wielder uses it to successfully strike an 
  opponent carrying a shield, the opponent’s shield takes the 
  same damage as the opponent. If the wielder uses the lance 
  to make a sunder attack against a shield, it bypasses the 
  shield’s hardness.
  On any hit, the lance also inflicts a blindness attack 
  (Fortitude DC 14 negates). If successful, the blindness is 
  permanent unless removed by magic.
  All attempts to turn or destroy undead while holding a 
  True Lance of Khors gain a +1 bonus.
  As a free action, the holder of the true lance of Khors 
  can generate a continual flame at the tip of the lance, or 
  extinguish it.
  Construction
  Craft Magic Arms and Armor, holy aura, continual flame, 
  creator must be lawful; Cost 36,150 gp
  Former Holdings
  The Stross family owned extensive holdings up and 
  down the River Argent, from the navigable reaches of the 
  Silbertal down to Runkelstad, as well as several fiefdoms in 
  the southernmost reaches of the Grand Duchy of Dornig. 
  In particular, the family owned the Black Fortress of 
  Grisal and—at their height of their existence—the cities of 
  Kariessen and Gybick. 
   
  All of these sites as well as the family’s seat—Castle Stross, 
  now the ruins of Castle Shadowcrag—were thought to be 
  connected by shadow roads, for the nobles of the family 
  seemingly traveled from one such keep to another as easily 
  as the elfmarked did in the days before the Great Retreat. 
  After the elves withdrew, the Stross family retained access 
  to the shadow roads. Their alliance with the Grisal dwarves 
  against the ghouls and vampires was a bulwark that protected 
  Magdar and the Grand Duchy during a time of chaos. 
   
  Stross enemies now possess all these holdings, 
  though the Stross symbol—a three-winged triskelion—
  sometimes still hangs over gates or is carved into the 
  stone of obscure chapels.
  The Stross Library and 
  Vaults of Ruddermere
  In their day, the members of House Stross were obsessed 
  with recovering the lore of the West. In particular, the 
  
  6
  MIDGARD LEGENDS
  family coveted the command of orichalcum and vril 
  technology. The house sponsored adventures to recover 
  such items from the Wastes and from expeditions to Lost 
  Arbonesse, and they sought to master new tools and 
  restore old ones. A half-sunken house in Maillon is still 
  sometimes called the “Stross Laboratory.”
   
  The Library itself was always thought to be part of 
  Castle Stross, though it could also be entered from the 
  Arcane Collegium of Zobeck with the appropriate ritual 
  or from the Scholar’s Tower of Fandorin Keep. 
   
  After the Great Revolt, the doors to the library sealed 
  permanently. It is widely thought that the much more 
  heavily-warded door to the Vaults of Ruddermere—the 
  Stross treasury and storehouse—also linked to the library. 
  The entrance to that storehouse of wealth has been lost 
  since the Great Revolt.
  ore than a century ago, a legendary Khan united 
  the Khazzaki into a martial force feared by 
  every nation on the Rothenian Plain. The tribes 
  still tell the tales of Achaz the Horned Khan; while some 
  depict him as a great leader, most call him the worst blight 
  to ever have befallen their people.
   
  Born a fatherless slave in an outlying Reth-Saal 
  settlement, Achaz learned the cruelties 
  of bondage at an early age. At 
  12 years old, Achaz seized his 
  chance to escape when he 
  tore out his Rubeshi master’s 
  throat with his teeth. Fleeing 
  with his mother, who 
  tragically died along the way, 
  Achaz managed to escape the 
  Ruby Despotate.
   
  Rejoining his ancestral 
  people upon the Rothenian Plains, 
  Achaz thrived in his newly 
  discovered homeland—
  though his early years had left 
  deep scars. He grew tall and 
  strong, but was consumed with the 
  desires to enrich his people and to 
  eradicate slavery.  
   
  When Achaz was 18, a slave 
  raid claimed more than half 
  his tribe, including their Khan. 
  Enraged, Achaz rallied the survivors, 
  inspiring them with his passion 
  and wrath until they followed him 
  after the raiders. Using a furious 
  storm as cover, the Khazzaki, though 
  outnumbered, attacked the slavers. The 
  gods blessed Achaz that day; wherever 
  he rode, the slavers scattered. With 
  victory achieved, the tribe proclaimed 
  Achaz their new leader. Four years later, 
  the 22-year-old Achaz defeated the Khan 
  of Khans to become ruler of all Khazzaki 
  tribes.
  Achaz the Horned Khan
  M
   
  Forceful and uncompromising, Achaz inspired the 
  tribes with his visions of glory. As Khan, Achaz led 
  the now-united Khazzaki toward two primary goals: 
  hunting and executing slavers, and plundering wealth and 
  resources from weaker realms. 
   
  After three years of battling Rubeshi slavers and 
  raiding lands beyond the Plains, 
  Achaz realized one place—
  Niemheim—practiced a 
  particularly cruel form 
  of slavery while 
  possessing 
  
  7
  strange and wonderful treasures. Achaz envisioned himself 
  liberating Niemheim’s gnomes; he assumed he’d later accept 
  glittering rewards from the grateful folk. Whether this was 
  Achaz’s idea or more the result of some devil’s influence 
  Midgard may never know.
   
  After invading Niemheim, despite a hard-fought 
  campaign, Achaz’s advance faltered at Holmgard’s 
  impregnable walls. The siege languished for years before 
  the gnomish king’s messengers reached Achaz. The Khan 
  would earn the gnomes’ fealty, the runners said, if he 
  liberated them from their infernal overlords. And so Achaz 
  stood before Holmgard’s gates and challenged Gorthonak, 
  Duke of Hell, to single combat. Gorthonak accepted.
   
  Resplendent in his mighty armor, his bow Heartbane in 
  hand, Achaz rode to meet the evil duke. From dawn until 
  dusk, the pair traded grievous wounds. Finally, roaring with 
  pain and fury, Gorthonak fled the field and returned to Hell.
   
  Afterward, the gnomes celebrated their liberation with 
  a weeklong feast, where they presented Achaz with their 
  magical Horned Crown as a symbol of his majesty and 
  their loyalty. When the treasure-laden Khazzaki departed 
  from Niemheim, the gnomes smiled and waved farewell; 
  meanwhile, in his infernal palace, Gorthonak laughed with 
  delight—for the Khan of Khans now wore the Horned 
  Crown just as the dark duke had planned all along.
   
  Using the crown’s divinatory powers, Achaz found his 
  desires for wealth and freedom easily realized. With its 
  guidance, he repelled a major Rubeshi offensive, wiped out 
  much of their armed forces, and later relieved the Rubeshi 
  of their slaves and wealth. All was going delightfully well 
  for the Khan of Khans—except that the sentient Horned 
  Crown began demanding human sacrifices for the martial 
  and mental gifts it bestowed. 
   
  To appease the crown, Achaz began ordering the 
  execution of captured slavers, Khazzaki enemies, and 
  traitors. As the crown demanded, before their deaths Achaz 
  burned the item’s signet into the condemned’s faces. While 
  Achaz’s victories increased, so did the number who died to 
  please the crown.
   
  Unknown to Achaz, each marked sacrifice sent another 
  soul into the waiting hands of Niemheim’s infernal 
  patrons. The more Achaz gave into its wishes, the more the 
  crown corrupted his mind. It turned his attention away 
  from his people’s needs and toward the slaying of those he 
  deemed unrighteous. 
   
  Slowly, like an incessant whisper, the crown used the 
  Khan of Khans’ deep-seated fears of subjugation and 
  poverty to compel him to commit to increasingly evil 
  acts. The more he listened to the crown, the more Achaz’s 
  heart hardened and his wisdom faltered. Khazzaki raids 
  decreased and were replaced with searches for hidden 
  treasures in the barrows of Rhos Khurgan, an ancient place 
  once held sacred.
   
  Years passed. With fewer slavers and foreigners to sate 
  the Crown’s bloodlust, it began pushing Achaz to sacrifice 
  his own people. He eventually declared that even the most 
  trivial crimes would be punishable by death. To enforce 
  his tyranny, at the crown’s suggestion Achaz formed the 
  Bloodriders—an elite, fiercely loyal force of power-hungry 
  warriors and sorcerers. He allowed them to execute anyone 
  they saw fit.
   
  When Achaz demanded the execution of all children 
  born out of wedlock, the enraged tribal Khans objected—
  but were killed as traitors. Achaz then installed his most 
  powerful and loyal Bloodriders as leaders of those tribes. 
  These new Khans ruled as iron-fisted tyrants; they evoked 
  nearly universal hatred among the people.
   
  Soon, small rebellions began surfacing. The unrest grew 
  until, eight years after Niemheim’s liberation, the proud 
  Khazzaki could endure no more. Siemev the Old, the 
  Plains’ most powerful oracle, gathered the bravest Khazzaki 
  heroes and united them in a vow to kill Achaz and destroy 
  the Horned Crown that had so corrupted him.
   
  Gathering stealthily in Misto Kolis, these heroes 
  struck swiftly and brutally. The city was nearly leveled in 
  the ensuing battle, but on its final day Achaz fell and his 
  Bloodriders scattered. Once a new Khan of Khans was 
  named—Rezim Thikkur—Siemev locked the Horned 
  Crown in an iron chest. He originally intended to destroy 
  the artifact.In the end, though, Siemev hid the crown and 
  layered its resting place with cunning spells and traps.
   
  Upon his defeat, a few of Achaz’s Bloodriders escaped 
  with his body and spirited it away to a secret place. There, 
  they attempted to mummify him—though none present 
  could perform the ritual—and they enchanted his tomb in 
  hopes the corpse would someday rise again.
   
  Today, the Bloodriders exist but remain hidden. 
  Organized into small cells, they dream of the day Achaz 
  might return to restore the Khazzaki to glory. The 
  Bloodriders’ clandestine leader is Rhorak Zenody, the 
  current Khan of Khans’ second-eldest son. Secretly, the 
  Bloodriders search for their beloved leader’s Horned 
  Crown—and for someone with the power to raise Achaz.
  THE HORNED CROWN    
  (INTELLIGENT ITEM)
  Aura strong divination and enchantment; CL 11th
  Slot head; Weight 3 lb.
  AL LE; Int 16, Wis 14, Cha 16
  Communication telepathy (Gnomish, Infernal, Khazzaki, 
  Trade)
  Purpose provide the diabolical lords of Niemheim with souls
  Special divination 1/day, Bluff 10 ranks (+13), Knowledge 
  (History) 10 ranks (+13)
  Dedicated Power geas/quest at will   Ego 25
  Description
  Made of solid gold, this heavy crown features two large 
  curling horns that are reminiscent of a bison’s. The crown 
  grants you a +2 morale bonus on attack rolls, saves, and 
  skill checks. It grants immunity to fear effects and 11 
  temporary hp.
   
  The crown is an intelligent magical item with its own 
  agenda. It exists to find and sacrifice souls to the infernal 
  lords that oppress Niemheim; it also seeks to corrupt 
  
  8
  MIDGARD LEGENDS
  powerful individuals of other alignments to its purpose.
  The crown searches for your desires; it is particularly 
  delighted if those desires involve greed or power. It then 
  uses divination and the knowledge it has gathered to help 
  you fulfill those desires no matter the consequence.
   
  Once you consider its power indispensible, the crown 
  attempts to persuade you to mark humanoids with its 
  symbol—which resembles a dash inside two vertically 
  oriented semicircles—and kill them. The souls of 
  individuals sacrificed in this manner are sent to the crown’s 
  devilish masters. If its persuasive efforts fail, the crown will 
  challenge you for dominance (see Pathfinder Roleplaying 
  Game Core Rulebook). If you resist this, the crown will 
  consider using geas/quest to get its way.
  Destruction
  The Horned Crown is powered by archdevil’s malice. As 
  such, it is impervious to physical harm. It can be destroyed, 
  but the crown’s creators have kept that secret well hidden.
   
  The combined magic of three powerful spellcasters can 
  separate the crown’s infernal intelligence from its physical 
  aspect, although a mix of arcane and divine magic must be 
  involved. To do this requires a four-hour ritual that involves 
  the simultaneous casting of wish or miracle to weaken 
  the crown’s metaphysical cohesion, banishment to reject 
  its infernal intelligence, and destruction or disintegrate to 
  destroy its physical form.
   
  Alternatively, the blood of a dying or dead lawful evil 
  creature whose last act involved self-sacrifice for a good or 
  chaotic cause can unravel the crown, causing its destruction.
  The Azure Kings
  umors regarding the ancestry of the Azure 
  Kings’ line include inbreeding and frost giant 
  heritage. However, the truth rings more tragic. 
  During the Great Mage War, an arch geomancer of Vael 
  Turog named Myllenka Strojtovka seized the power of the 
  mountains to the north and east. Wielding fell sorceries, 
  she successfully bonded with a major ley line—but its 
  reverberations caused her to lose control of this power. 
  Refusing to release her bond, she self-immolated with 
  volcanic fury; the ley line snapped like an over-taught 
  rope. Following this event, an amalgamation of ley power 
  and fell sorceries pooled at the heart of Eldre Nojstrom, 
  the largest peak in the Riphean Mountains.
   
  Within this pool, a piece of Myllenka’s soul became 
  trapped, poisoning the mountain. Believing these 
  circumstances to be fortuitous, a pleased Boreas enhanced 
  the power of this haunt. Indeed, glaciers, ice-melt runoff, 
  fresh water springs, and mined resources carried the taint 
  of twisted, sorcerous hatred. Most notably, a tribe of proud 
  and honorable barbarians known as the Ice Lions became 
  twisted with fell fury; their skin were tinged blue and their 
  bodies became enormous and intimidating.
  Mountainous Rage                     CR 20
  XP 307,200
  CE haunt (20-mile radius)
  Caster Level 20th
  Notice Perception DC 45 (azure frost begins to 
  supernaturally coat everything)
  hp 100; Trigger the third Wolfsday of every twentieth 
  Mustering; Reset 20 years
  EFFECT 
  When this haunt triggers, an azure miasma of hate-tinged 
  rime descends across an area covering a 20-mile radius 
  R
  from Eldre Nojstrom. All creatures within the area are 
  targeted by a symbol of strife (Will save DC 32) as a 
  compulsion effect that is not mind-affecting. The twisted 
  nature of this haunt requires anyone affected to first 
  attack humans. Creatures with the azure heritage trait 
  will not, however, attack another possessing this trait, 
  but will automatically fail the save. 
  DESTRUCTION 
  The ley line that Myllenka destroyed must be restored. 
  Once this is done, her soul will be freed. 
  Ice Lions
  Traditionally, before the azure rime of the mountainous 
  rage descended upon them, the Ice Lions lived a 
  nomadic life among the peaks and valleys of the Riphean 
  Mountains. They were neither kind nor evil people, and 
  instead operated according to strict tribal codes revolving 
  around honor, respect, and strength. A patriarchal 
  meritocracy, the tribe remained insular; they warred with 
  any mountain tribes that intruded into their territory. 
  Occasionally, when they exhausted their seasonal hunting 
  or foraging grounds, they would push into the Rothenian 
  Plains to find food and resources.
   
  Once they were forever mutated by Myllenka 
  Strojtovka’s failed spell, however, the Ice Lions began 
  periodically abandoning their honor. In the past, they 
  did not war, kill, or plunder without purpose or reason, 
  and they never raped. Since Myllenka’s demise, however, 
  they have adopted a tradition of raiding and ravaging on 
  two specific occasions: the generational anniversary of 
  Myllenka’s failure and exactly one year afterward, when 
  they collect any resulting progeny. They believe their 
  honor-bound duty requires them to remove any vestiges of 
  their shameful deeds from the plains. 
  
  9
  Recent History
  Life as a nomad in mountainous territory can be grueling 
  and difficult. However, in contrast with most mountain 
  people, whose lives are typically short, Boreas fathered a 
  line of long-lived kings to grant his blunt tool of chaos and 
  destruction a sharper edge. One hundred years ago, the first 
  Azure King, Ulf Magnushedin, was born; eventually, he 
  would lead his tribe on the most brutal of raids in Ice Lion 
  history. Ulf’s dream was to find a cure for his tribe and their 
  progeny. However, when he sought the help of the Winter 
  Prince and Snow Princess of the Silver Mountain Kingdom 
  of Domovogrod, and of Vidim, the Kingdom of Ravens, he 
  was rudely rebuffed. Disheartened, Ulf realized he would 
  need to solve this problem alone.
   
  Soon, Ulf’s only recourse became clear—he needed 
  to band together the tribes of the mountains, including 
  giants, trolls, and ogres. No one is sure whether this plan 
  was truly altruistic or if it was the result of Boreas and 
  Loki’s manipulation—after all, the gods are notorious 
  for inserting themselves into mortal affairs for their 
  mysterious purposes. Either way, Ulf believed he 
  must invade, impose his leadership, and reallocate 
  the resources of the plains to remove his tribe’s curse. 
  To help achieve his goals, Ulf conscripted his greatest 
  shamans to craft him a terrifying weapon made of 
  Riphean glacial ice taken from the peak of Eldre 
  Nojstrom. The shamans dubbed this hafted axe 
  Menneskelig-død, or Human-Slayer. About 
  60 years ago, Ulf’s war of unification ended 
  on the Plains of Rhos Khurgan, when 
  the combined armies of Vidim and 
  Domovogrod annihilated the king 
  and his forces.
   
    The Tsar of Vidim initially 
  claimed Ulf’s weapon. However, Loki 
  stole Menneskelig-død from the Tsar’s 
  palace and hid it in the trapped maze of 
  corridors within the entrance to Tanserhall. 
  Sixty years later, the rumblings of a new 
  Azure King, Fjolmod Ulfhedin, son of Ulf, 
  trickle across the Rothenian Plains. Fjolmod 
  and his band of trusted adventurers 
  seek out Ulf’s lost weapon. Once he is 
  successful, Fjolmod plans to continue 
  his father’s crusade to brutally 
  unite the plains—at any cost.
  Traits
  Azure Heritage 
  (regional, Rothenian 
  Plains)
  Your skin is tinged a deep 
  azure, belying your ties to the 
  ancient, legendary lineage of the 
  Azure King.
  Benefit: You add six inches to your height and 60 lb. to 
  your weight. Additionally, you gain a +2 trait bonus to all 
  Strength checks.
  Enormous Limbs (racial, any)
  One of your parents was a soldier in the Azure King’s army. 
  You have the blood of the blue-skinned barbarians from 
  the Riphean Mountains raging through your veins.
  Benefit: You may use weapons sized for a creature one 
  size larger than you without penalty and you may treat 
  appropriately sized, one-handed weapons as though they 
  are light weapons.
  Enormous Torso (racial, any)
  One of your parents was a soldier in the Azure King’s army. 
  You have the blood of the blue-skinned barbarians from 
  the Riphean Mountains raging through your veins.
  Benefit: When figuring out your carrying capacity, 
  you gain a +2 bonus to your Strength score.
  Feats
  Enormous Size
  Your immense stature and skill in battle 
  grants you some of the benefits of 
  Large size.
  Prerequisites: Base attack 
  bonus +7, Azure Heritage trait 
  and Enormous Torso trait or 
  Enormous Limbs trait.
  Benefit: You gain a +1 bonus 
  to CMB and CMD and double 
  your carrying capacity. You may 
  use a Large-sized weapon without 
  incurring penalties. Additionally, 
  this feat provides natural armor for 
  the purposes of gaining access to the 
  Improved Natural Armor feat.
  Enormous Reach
  Your enormous size and skill in 
  combat allows you to effectively 
  employ the limited reach of a Large 
  creature. 
  Prerequisites: Base attack bonus 
  +11, Enormous size.
  Benefit: During your turn, you 
  may extend your reach by 5 ft. 
  Once per day, as an immediate 
  action, you may extend your 
  reach by 5 ft.
  
  10
  MIDGARD LEGENDS
  MENNESKELIG-DØD
  Aura strong conjuration, evocation, necromancy, and 
  transmutation; CL 18th
  Slot none; Price 200,000 gp; Weight 32 lb.
  Description
  Carved from magical Riphean glacial ice, this Huge, hafted 
  axe-like weapon does 3d8 slashing damage with a 4x critical 
  modifier. Menneskelig-død functions as a +2 human-bane 
  Huge improvised weapon in the hands of most users. 
  However, for those who possess the Azure Heritage trait, 
  this weapon grants proficiency, is no longer considered 
  improvised, and is treated as a Large, one-handed weapon. 
  Additionally, for those who possess the Azure Heritage 
  trait and use this weapon to slay a human, Menneskelig-
  død bonds with you. While this bond exists, the weapon 
  becomes a +4 human-bane vorpal weapon whenever it 
  succeeds at a critical killing blow against a human.
   
  Finally, when Menneskelig-død bonds with you, it grants 
  the ability to enlarge once per day for the duration of a single 
  encounter. This ability works otherwise as enlarge person but 
  does not affect the size and damage of the weapon. 
   
  Wielders of Menneskelig-død also are cursed with the 
  unyielding urge to slay humans who do not possess the 
  Azure Heritage trait. Upon each encounter with such a 
  human, while wielding Menneskelig-død you must make a 
  DC 15 Will save or be compelled to attack the human with 
  the weapon until the target is dead. For each day you resist 
  this compulsion, you must make an additional Will save 
  with a cumulative +2 to the DC.
  Construction Requirements
  Craft Magic Arms and Armor, circle of death, enlarge person, 
  keen edge, summon monster I; Cost 100,000 gp.
  The Black Sorceress
  he origin of the Black Sorceress and her 
  First Great Revolt lies in the corruption of 
  the shadow fey. The shadow fey, originally 
  the Moonlit Court of the Margreve, began their 
  transformation 1,000 years ago—200 years before the 
  sorceress’ actions. The Moonlit King bound the Stross 
  family to guard Stross Castle and to govern the Crossroads 
  region. The shadow fey wanted to bring the Crossroads 
  into the shadow realm, using a process which continued 
  with each generation of Stross devoted to shadow. 
   
  A puissant student of magic, Melathea Stross 
  deciphered the truth regarding her family’s agreement; she 
  wanted her beloved home free from this plan, and thought 
  shifting the clan’s allegiances to the River Court might be 
  the key. However, as a human and a servant of the Moonlit 
  Court, she failed to penetrate the River Court’s politics. 
  Thwarted, she concluded all elves sought only to consume 
  Midgard, fueling their expansion into other planes. This 
  belief unified the justification-hungry Caelmarath and 
  galvanized the rebellion. 
   
  The Society chafed under the Empire, believing the 
  elves hid secrets from them while keeping them subjugated. 
  Realizing the humans and tieflings lacked the power to 
  defeat the empire alone, Melathea directed them to find 
  unorthodox sources of power. Some communed with 
  genius loci while others petitioned infernal powers. Stross 
  sought out Baba Yaga, thinking an ancient Power of 
  Midgard might offer her the best advantage. 
   
  Old Grandmother, insulted at the Moonlit Court’s 
  impertinence, offered Melathea the first incantations and 
  True Names used to create the insurrection’s otherworldly 
  forces in exchange for another bargain, the details of which 
  T
  only Baba Yaga knows. Initially only capable of bringing 
  demons or splinters of the Walkers into Midgard, this magic 
  grew into rituals used to invoke even greater monstrosities. 
   
  Armed with this knowledge, Melathea took up the 
  persona of the Black Sorceress and began her crusade 
  under the cover of magical darkness. What became known 
  as the Great Revolt raged for 20 winters. A brutal and 
  merciless conflict, it shattered and corrupted the fey roads 
  while allowing for the human demesnes of Vael Turog 
  and Bemmea to be carved from the Empire. Melathea, in 
  particular, used the fey roads to elude Imperial forces and 
  wage a war soaked in demonic ichor and elvish blood. 
   
  Eventually, the Third Imperial Legion, the Bronze 
  Lions, ambushed her on a fey causeway; all those upon the 
  shadowy road were lost in a massive arcane firestorm as 
  it plummeted into the space between realities. Her defeat 
  and disappearance broke the spirit of the Revolt; it offered 
  inconsistent resistance afterward.  Although the elves 
  ultimately crushed the rebellion, the hostilities left their 
  roads broken and tainted by evil. Fragments no longer 
  reliably followed original routes and demons, undead, and 
  unspeakable horrors infested what remained. 
   
  Ever opportunists, the Moonlit Court used the Black 
  Sorceress’s actions to hide their bargain with the Queen of 
  Night. They claimed Stross tricked them, held their sacred 
  oak hostage, and forced the change upon the scaithsidhe. 
  Whether the other courts believed the tale is unknown, 
  but they accepted it in the aftermath. However, the unity 
  of the Elvish Courts was broken. The dissolution of 
  their empire and the exodus from Midgard happened in 
  less than a quarter of an elvish generation, as elvenkind 
  abandoned their halls and homes. 
  
  11
   
  Later researchers would develop and expand upon the 
  texts and weapons given to left by the Black Sorceress and 
  her collaborators, creating the destructive magics which 
  obliterated the Western Wastes.
  True Names
  True Names are detailed in Ultimate Magic. Discovering a 
  creature’s True Name requires a month of research and a 
  successful Knowledge (planes) check (DC 10 + the creature’s 
  number of hit dice); Knowledge (planes) check; it should 
  be considered worth at least 5,000 gp. Powerful or unique 
  creatures may add a +2, +5, or +10 to this DC (add 1,000 gp 
  times the modifier to the value of the True Name).
   
  Failure by more than five provides a false name, which 
  attracts the creature’s attention and allows the creature an 
  immediate Will save with a bonus equal to this modifier; 
  success indicates it may pass through the summoner’s 
  portal and freely remain on the caster’s plane of existence 
  until it desires to return home. In this case, it is not bound 
  or limited in any way.
  INCANTATION OF BINDING  
  ICHOROUS SERVANTS
  “We strike a bargain, creature. My bidding in exchange for…”
  School conjuration; Effective Level 8th
  Skill Check Knowledge (planes) DC 24, 4 successes; 
  Diplomacy DC 24, 4 successes
  Casting Time 80 minutes
  Components F, M, S, V
  Focus—an entity’s True Name
  Material Components—a sacrifice for the summoned 
  creature equal to (2 HD of living creatures or 2,000gp) 
  per 1 HD of the creature summoned
  Secondary Casters—none required, no more than six 
  Range close
  Target creature to be summoned
  Duration 15 days
  Saving Throw Will negates (harmless); SR yes (harmless)
  Description
  Invoking the target creature’s True Name, the caster calls 
  the entity to a portal opened at the spellcasting site to 
  bargain for a task to be performed within the next 15 days. 
  If the creature accepts the terms of the bargain (indicated 
  by the success of the incantation), the creature obeys the 
  caster’s directions during the time spent completing 
  the task. When the spell ends, the creature 
  returns to its native plane.
  Backlash
  After the incantation, performers are exhausted 
  and suffer 4d6 hp damage.
  Failure
  Failing two consecutive skill checks bungles the 
  bargaining ceremony and inflicts the backlash. 
  Failing one of the checks by more than 5 allows 
  the creature a second Will save; success indicates 
  it may pass through the portal and freely remain 
  on the caster’s plane of existence. In this case, it is 
  not bound or limited in any way.  For this reason, 
  many casters place the portal’s opening within a 
  magic circle spell, focused inward.
  INCANTATION OF THE 
  SPLINTERED MADNESS GIVEN 
  FORM
  “They will know the inexplicable shape of the 
  beyond; know and perish…”
  School conjuration; Effective Level 8th
  Skill Check Knowledge (planes) DC 24, 8 
  successes
  Casting Time 80 minutes
  Components F, S, V
  Focus— an entity’s True Name
  Secondary Casters— none required, no more 
  than six
  Range close
  Target creature summoned
  Duration 15 hours
  
  12
  MIDGARD LEGENDS
  Walking through the smoke of the campfire, laughing gently, 
  the Blackened Man appears.
    
  “So,” he says, “I hear from the whispers in the night that 
  someone needs to pay.” 
  escriptions of the Blackened Man vary, but 
  all give similar generalities: He is tall—
  somewhere between six and ten feet—
  humanoid, long-limbed, and dressed neatly in the 
  most current style. His skin, teeth, eyes, clothing, and 
  doubtlessly his heart are pitch black. 
   
  No one is sure of the exact nature of his being. The 
  Kariv describe him as a fey creature that torments mortals 
  for his own amusement. The gnomes of Niemheim credit 
  him along with themselves with negotiating the infernal 
  pact that binds them to this day. Further, ancient elven 
  texts claim the Blackened Man is one of the few remaining 
  members of a race with which they warred in Midgard’s 
  The Blackened Man
  D
  Saving Throw none; SR no
  Description
  Invoking the True Name of a Walker of the Wastes, the 
  caster summons a fragment of its being, which rampages 
  until slain or the duration expires (use statistics for a 
  shoggoth, Pathfinder Bestiary). The summoners gain no 
  control or direction over the creature, and it may kill those 
  who remain nearby.
  Backlash
  After the incantation, the performers are exhausted and 
  suffer 2d6 damage and 1d4 Wisdom damage.
  Failure
  Failing two consecutive skill checks bungles the incantation 
  and inflicts the backlash, but the Wisdom damage becomes 
  Wisdom drain.
  FEY WAYSTONE
  Aura strong conjuration; CL 11th
  Slot none; Price 47,500 gp; Weight 7 lbs.
  Description
  A rough rectangular stone engraved with elvish script and 
  topped with a pyramid of smoky quartz crystal, this small 
  stele thrums gently. When activated, both the crystal and 
  the appropriate script glows with a soft, white light.
  When the phrase for an appropriate destination is touched 
  on a waystone and it is placed on the ground (a move 
  action provoking attacks of opportunity), it opens a portal 
  to a fey road, which remains open until one of three 
  conditions is met:
  • The activator wills the portal closed as a swift action 
  which does not provoke attacks of opportunity. 
  • The activator reaches the destination and wills open the 
  exit portal.
  • The stone gains the broken condition.
  Travel along the fey road occurs at a rate of 250 miles per 
  hour, relative to the bearer’s plane of origin, and otherwise 
  acts as a shadow walk spell. Travelers already on the 
  road when the portal closes continue to the designated 
  destination. 
   
  If the origin portal was closed, the destination portal 
  opens automatically when travelers arrive. A waystone’s 
  bearer may wait to open the destination portal until they 
  desire or until either sunrise or sunset. A waystone’s bearer 
  may choose to hold the portal shut at sunrise or sunset with 
  a successful DC 25 Will save. Fey roads exist whether or not 
  a portal has been opened. After the Great Revolt, many host 
  the lairs of infernal, undead, or extraplanar creatures.
   
  An appropriate destination is created by performing a 
  small ritual using a waystone and inscribing a corresponding 
  mark in elvish script. As long as the mark remains at the 
  destination, a fey road may be opened by the attuned 
  waystone to the site. This ritual requires one hour. While 
  such marks need not be permanent, they are often carved 
  into stone or engraved into metal tablets to ensure they 
  cannot easily be destroyed. Multiple waystones may be 
  attuned to the same mark. 
   
  A fey waystone may be activated twice per day.
  Construction
  Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, creator must have 
  elven blood, shadow walk; Cost 23,750 gp.
  dawn. Thus, many elves pity him as a cursed, broken soul. 
   
  The Blackened Man is a killer, a fixer, and a monster of 
  untold age. He walks the world, satisfying the petty urges 
  of the weak-willed and reveling in the suffering created 
  by their shortsighted avarice. He is a patron to witches 
  and cults the world over, though those foolish enough to 
  worship him often vanish without a trace. He works with 
  devils, hags, intelligent undead, and countless mortal agents 
  of all stripes. He seems to have a particular fondness for kot 
  bayun and sandmen, both found in the Midgard Bestiary. 
  According to the stories, however, the Blackened Man 
  loathes aberrations and gearforged, as their minds, souls, 
  and sufferings are unpalatable payments for his services. 
   
  Openly seeking information about the Blackened Man 
  is enough to draw his attention from anywhere in Midgard; 
  interested parties can expect his presence at sundown within 
  days. If attacked, the Blackened Man will give no quarter 
  
  13
  and leaves no witnesses, not even for those who offer him 
  a deal or who already possess his mark. At least one of the 
  Ruby Despot’s battalions and a wing of dragon-kin Mharoti 
  soldiers have been lost in past attempts to kill this fiend. 
  The Black Mark 
  The Blackened Man most frequently appears before those in 
  despair and offers them three options to ease their pain: a 
  life for a soul, pain for pain, or a mercy for madness. When 
  a bargainer chooses an option, regardless of its details, he 
  bestows his black mark upon them. Resembling a black sun, 
  this mark appears on the palm of the bargainer’s hand, on 
  the forehead, or as a coin the bargainer must deliver to an 
  intended target. A damning symbol, the mark indicates that 
  its bearer will imminently fall into darkness forever. 
   
  Many who accept the mark will reject it 
  afterward and attempt to remove it. The mark 
  is indelible, though; bearers remain marked 
  even in death. For those with whom he 
  has made a dark deal, sooner or later the 
  Blackened Man will collect his due.
   
  Obtaining a mark is similar to 
  being granted a wish spell. The wish-
  like ability may be used at any time after 
  the mark has been bestowed. Its magic is 
  fueled through the power the Blackened 
  Man has accumulated during his lifetime 
  from other deals, infernal compacts, 
  mysterious treasures, staggeringly powerful 
  artifacts, and his own personal magic. The mark 
  is so life-altering that it should bestow a benefit that is 
  particularly powerful and permanent. The Blackened Man 
  often will extract his price from an individual immediately, 
  but he may hold off on a PC, giving the character the 
  opportunity to request yet another deal later. 
   
  What exactly the Blackened Man’s terms mean—a life for 
  a soul, pain for pain, or a mercy for madness—may fluctuate 
  to serve game masters’ stories. A few suggestions are:
  Life for a Soul
  • The character loses his soul after wishing another dead or 
  resurrected. He no longer can be raised, resurrected, or 
  reincarnated. 
  • The character has no sense of self. She automatically fails 
  all Charisma-based checks. 
  • The character suffers a massive penalty to all Will saves 
  against spells from the enchantment school; he is easily 
  bent to other’s wills. 
  Pain for Pain
  • The character suffers in kind after cursing another. 
  • The character permanently gains one of the oracle class’s 
  curses, but not its benefits.
  • The character suffers a massive penalty to saves 
  against spells that fall under the grudge school of 
  magic (see below).
  • The character receives the minimum amount of healing 
  from all spells and effects. Critical threats against her 
  automatically are confirmed. 
  A Mercy for Madness
  • The character’s mind breaks from trying to avoid the 
  mark’s negative effects. 
  • The character gains an insanity. See Pathfinder 
  GameMastery Guide for more details on insanities.
  • Any time the character fails a Wisdom-based check or 
  save, it is confused for a number of rounds equal to its 
  Wisdom modifier. 
  • The character is distracting in habit and speech to 
  those around her. Anyone adjacent to her suffers a -4 
  penalty to AC, saves, and skill checks. Casters must 
  make concentration checks with this penalty in effect 
  to cast spells.
  Simply having the mark is considered damning 
  evidence to inquisitors, witch hunters, and 
  agents of the divine that the bearer is in 
  league with dark powers, even if those 
  powers haven’t been used. The Blackened 
  Man’s contractors have few options to 
  rid themselves of this mark. The mark 
  cannot be forced upon an unwilling 
  person; attempting to do so may result 
  in the perpetrator’s alignment shifting. A 
  wish, miracle, or atonement spell cast by 
  a 15th-level or higher caster will fade the 
  mark into an unidentifiable bruise. Its abilities, 
  however, remain, and the mark will appear in its 
  original form if its benefit is ever realized. 
   
  A rare few embrace the mark. If its power goes unused, 
  these bearers receive the benefits of grudge magic—with 
  the blessing of the Blackened Man. 
  Grudge Magic
  You create a mutual bond of hate between yourself and 
  your target.
  Prerequisite: Must have accepted the black mark of the 
  Blackened Man. 
  Benefit: So long as you have a personal item or a physical 
  piece of your target creature, you gain a +1 CL to the 
  grudge magic spells (Northlands) and to any spells with 
  the curse, disease, emotion, fear, pain, and poison spell 
  descriptors used against it. Spells with these descriptors 
  now also qualify as grudge magic. A creature successfully 
  affected by one of your grudge spells also gains a +1 CL 
  to cast grudge spells against you for 24 hours or until the 
  spell affecting it ends, whichever comes first. Your target 
  does not learn who cast the initial spell upon it if it hasn’t 
  the means to do so, but he or she does gain a sense that 
  someone specific wishes it ill. 
  Using This Legend
  Here are some ways for GMs to incorporate the Blackened 
  Man into their games:
  • The Arcane Collegium in Zobeck is seeking brave 
  individuals to contact the Blackened Man and query him 
  on his historical knowledge. Few believe he really exists, 
  
  14
  MIDGARD LEGENDS
  but they have set up a reception for him in one of their 
  halls and are planning to capture him for study if he 
  does. Expect violence. 
  • The Blackened Man has given his mark to the younger 
  giants of the Western Wastes and accepted their 
  ancestor’s spirits as payment. This has freed many 
  of them from their haunting curse, and they have 
  mobilized a small force dedicated to raiding caravans 
  and pilgrims the young giants otherwise would have 
  left alone. The older giants see this as a desecration of 
  their ancestry. They need someone to stop their youth 
  from turning to the Blackened Man—they also need to 
  retrieve the bartered souls if possible. 
  Blood Mother Margase
  he red hag Margase was a mature blood 
  druidess of 300 years when the cataclysm of 
  the Caelmarath shook Midgard, changing 
  its landscape forever. As she gathered blood slaves for 
  Hecate along the Septime peninsula of Old Verrayne, 
  outside of Friula, massive waves and a tremendous ley 
  storm struck the ocean and coastline. The combination 
  tore the island city of Talitheos—a marble miracle of 
  beauty and vast stores of knowledge—sinking it and 
  ripping parts of it from the ocean. When the waves 
  crashed inland, they dashed Margase’s accompanying 
  Talithen sisters and their slaves against rocks and trees, 
  killing them all instantly. 
   
  An instant before the waves rushed inward to also 
  devastate the city of Friula, the great coral mass known 
  as Tholeachrus rose up more than 70 feet tall, blocking 
  the water’s catastrophic path. Its actions saved both the 
  city and Margase’s life—but the creature expended great 
  power in shielding the City of Secrets. Spent, Tholeachrus 
  spread its bulk across the coastline in front of Friula and 
  went into a deep slumber. Only its glow indicated that life 
  yet remained in the ancient being. 
   
  This mage-caused cataclysm forever marked Margase. 
  Her hatred for those meddling with arcane forces was 
  born that day; her revulsion for destroyers of nature’s 
  bounty intensified and, finally, the loss of her ancestral 
  home sent her in search of a new haven. From the Friulan 
  ruins, Margase crawled out to the depleted Tholeachrus, 
  which now appeared much like a glowing reef. She then 
  cut her arm and dripped her lifeblood onto the great 
  coral creature. This gruesome act was Margase’s offering 
  of gratitude; it also signified her promise to watch over 
  the great being’s sleeping form as long as she lived. 
  Screaming out to Hecate, Margase made a second blood 
  oath: She vowed to destroy the mages responsible for the 
  T
  destruction, and to destroy any whose dabbling would 
  lead them to follow in the Caelmarath mages’ footsteps.
   
  Centuries have passed since the cataclysm, but still 
  Margase remembers. She has since built a red hag home 
  in the forests of Verrayne, and she safeguards its lands 
  as a member of the druidical Oaken Ring. She also 
  left several hags along the golden coastline to protect 
  Tholeachrus and to search for Talitheos’s remains. The 
  local Friulans call the hags there “the reef tenders,” 
  since much knowledge has been lost about the red hags’ 
  existence in human years (see Beyond the Ghostlight 
  Reef adventure). The hags feed blood offerings to the 
  Ghostlight Reef on a daily basis.
   
  Margase focuses on protecting Verrayne. She seeks a 
  means to reverse the destruction wrought in the Wasted 
  West, and she plans to ascend to godhood. As to the 
  latter task, she has learned a means of apotheosis—one 
  involving several items, including the former red hag 
  Queen Arligathas’ ruling staff. Her power has grown 
  considerably in recent years, and she intends to ascend 
  within a year or two. With her long lifespan, however, she 
  is patient—if nothing else. 
   
  So far, Midgard’s wheels turn with her machinations 
  as planned.
  Blood Mother Margase, 
  Leader of the Oaken 
  Ring
  Margase appears as a comely, red-skinned woman in her 
  late thirties. Her blue eyes shimmer with intelligence, and 
  though her plain brown robes hide her status, an air of 
  authority clings to her. 
  • A murderer is targeting the downtrodden and 
  desperate. Due to these circumstances, many thought 
  the deaths were suicides—but the bodies bear signs 
  of ritualistic mutilations. The killer is collecting black 
  marks. Since he or she is willing to bear them, the 
  marks are transferring easily; the death of their original 
  owners makes the transfer permanent. The Blackened 
  Man himself wants you to find this person. Who is 
  collecting the marks? What do they intend to ask of 
  the Blackened Man? How will they pay his price? More 
  importantly, what will the Blackened Man give you to 
  solve these mysteries?
  
  15
  Blood Mother Margase              CR 26
  RED HAG BLOOD DRUID* 20 
  XP 2,048,000
  NE Medium red hag
  Init +9; Senses all-around vision, blood sense 90 ft., 
  darkvision 120 ft., Perception +33
  Aura siphoning aura (30 ft, DC 28)
  DEFENSE
  AC 29, touch 21, flat-footed 29 (+3 Dex, +8 natural, bracers 
  of armor +8)
  hp 268 (7d10+20d8+135)
  Fort +21, Ref +14, Will +30
  DR 15/cold iron; Immune poison; SR 24
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft., swim 30 ft.
  Melee 2 claws +26 (1d4+4 plus bleed and grab) or +3 
  quarterstaff of wounding +29/+24/+19/+14 (1d6+7+1 
  bleed)
  Special Attacks battle rage (+10 on touch attacks for 1 
  round, 14/day), bleed (1d6), blood drain (1d4 Con), 
  wounding blade (give a weapon wounding quality for 10 
  rounds, 4/day)
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 7th)
  At will—summon monster I
  3/day—charm monster, summon monster III
  Red Hag Spells Prepared (CL 7th; Concentration +18)
  4th—dispel magic, flame strike (DC 25), rusting grasp
  3rd—call lightning (DC 24), cure moderate wounds, greater 
  magic fang, protection from energy, wind wall 
  2nd—barkskin, bear’s endurance, cat’s grace, flaming sphere 
  (DC 23), heat metal (DC 23), lesser restoration
  1st (8/day)—charm animals (DC 21), cure light wounds, 
  entangle (DC 21), faerie fire, obscuring mist, produce flame, 
  speak with animals
  0—create water, detect magic, mending, stabilize
  Druid Spells Prepared (CL 20th; Concentration +31)
  Domain: Blood (+ domain spell)
  9th—antipathy, mass cure critical wounds (x2), elemental 
  swarm, power word kill+, storm of vengeance (DC 30)
  8th— bloody clawsAPG, finger of death (x2) (DC 29), power 
  word stun+, reverse gravity, word of recall
  7th—animate plants, changestaff, control weather, heal, 
  inflict serious wounds (mass)+, summon nature’s ally VII, 
  true seeing
  6th—antilife shell, bear’s endurance (mass), blade 
  barrier+(DC 26), cure light wounds (mass), fire seeds (DC 
  26), swarm skinAPG, transport via plant
  5th—awaken, call lightning storm, cure critical wounds, 
  exsanguinating cloudKQ6, stoneskin (x2), wall of thorns+
  4th—ball of lightningAPG, bloody clawsAPG, dispel magic, 
  divine power+, flame strike (DC 25), ice storm (DC 25), 
  rusting grasp
  3rd—blood biographyAPG, call lightning (DC 24), cure 
  moderate wounds, plant growth, poison (DC 24), snare, 
  spike growth (DC 24), vampiric touch+
  2nd—aspect of the bearAPG, blood lureKQ6, eagle eyeAPG, 
  greater blood tideKQ6, owl’s wisdom, spiritual weapon+, stone 
  callAPG, summon nature’s ally II
  1st—endure elements, magic weapon+, goodberry (x2), 
  longstrider, magic stone, summon nature’s ally I, weapon of 
  bloodKQ6
  0— blood tideKQ6, flare, guidance, read magic
  STATISTICS
  Str 19, Dex 16, Con 20, Int 24, Wis 33, Cha 25
  Base Atk +22; CMB +26; CMD 39
  Feats Alertness, Blind-Fight, Craft Rod, Craft Staff, Craft 
  Wand, Great Fortitude, Improved Great Fortitude, 
  Improved Initiative, Intimidating Prowess, Iron 
  Will, Natural Spell, Quicken Spell, Silent Spell, Spell 
  Penetration
  Skills Bluff +6, Craft (alchemy) +25, Craft (carpentry) +30, 
  Craft (cloth) +30, Craft (jewelry) +27, Craft (sculpturing) 
  +12, Craft (traps) +30, Diplomacy +7, Handle Animal 
  30, Heal +34, Knowledge (arcana) +13, Knowledge 
  (geography) +30, Knowledge (history) +12, Knowledge 
  (nature) +31, Intimidate +13, Perception +33, Sense 
  Motive +12,Spellcraft +33, Stealth +11, Survival +34, 
  Swim +30; Racial Modifiers +8 Swim
  Languages Aklo, Aquan, Common, Draconic, Druidic, 
  Elven, Giant, Ignan, Sylvan, Terran
  SQ amphibious, blood healing, nature sense, resist nature’s 
  lure, a thousand faces, timeless body, trackless step, wild 
  empathy, wild shape (at will), woodland stride
  Gear bracers of armor +8, brooch of shielding, ring of water 
  elemental control, robe of eyes, +3 quarterstaff of wounding
  TACTICS
  Before Combat 
  Margase’s servants attend to most problems, including 
  martial threats. She only enters battle when the threats 
  prove powerful indeed. She casts stoneskin and bear’s 
  endurance before combat. 
  During Combat 
  Two stout 12th-level barbarians protect her person at all 
  times. Margase casts storm of vengeance, power word kill, 
  finger of death, and elemental swarm first. She uses her blood 
  healing to gain temporary hit points during melee, but she 
  only uses her siphoning aura if her bodyguards go down. 
  Morale 
  Blood Mother Margase does not intend to die at anyone’s 
  hands, as she has a divine goal to meet. She escapes with her 
  word of recall spell (which returns her to the Friulan coast) 
  when odds turn in her opponents’ favor. She sacrifices any 
  allies in the heat of battle to secure her own safety. 
  BACKGROUND
  Blood Mother Margase holds much power in the Green 
  Duchy of Verrayne, even though Duke Gareth Albrioc 
  holds the actual title of leader. The duke rarely makes a 
  move without consulting the Order of the Oaken Ring, 
  however—which Blood Mother Margase does control. 
  
  16
  MIDGARD LEGENDS
  When not aiding the duke directly, Blood Mother Margase 
  resides in a ziggurat temple to Hecate in the wilderness. 
  Hecate’s priestesses serve her as if she were already a deity. 
  The Blood Mother’s druidical order attacks both armies and 
  intruders in the forest around the Green Duchy, as they are 
  a suspicious lot. 
  MOTIVATIONS & GOALS 
  Margase wants to clear out the Wasted West and to restore 
  it to its former beauty, bringing it under the control of 
  Verrayne. Margase believes ascending to godhood would 
  allow her to regenerate the area. 
   
  The Blood Mother despises those working with arcane 
  magic, especially those residing in the magocracies. 
  Whenever possible, she sends red hags or Hecate’s followers 
  to interfere with their blasphemous studies of magic. In 
  Margase’s mind, Hecate only approves of natural magic.
   
  SCHEMES & PLOTS
  Blood Mother Margase plots her apotheosis and seeks 
  a means to rejuvenate the Wasted Waste. She views the 
  lands of Verrayne as her home now, and she does whatever 
  is necessary to protect them, including making great 
  sacrificial offerings of blood to Hecate to keep Verrayne 
  safe. As a part of Verrayne’s protection, she ensures that all 
  arcane manipulators are sacrificed to Hecate, as she never 
  wants to witness another such act of powerful, wanton 
  destruction. 
  Calm-Tongue
  lthough gnoll savagery is well known throughout 
  Midgard, the civilized gnolls of realms such 
  as Ischadia, Mharoti, Nuria-Natal, and the 
  Ruby Despotate challenge this stereotype. No single gnoll 
  positively influenced his kin more than Calm-Tongue. A 
  southern-dwelling gnoll who lived more than 200 years 
  ago, Calm-Tongue—known to gnolls as Kuurvekh, or 
  “Whispering Grandfather”—is renowned throughout 
  Midgard as a peaceful teacher of customary law to his 
  nearby kinsmen. That a male gnoll taught his vicious folk 
  the modern ways of civilized society is legend enough 
  for most gnolls, particularly because they live under 
  considerable female domination.
   
  Born weak and sickly, if preternaturally curious, 
  Kuurvekh was saved from traditional sacrifice by a wise 
  witch of the fading Bloodslake sept, located in far Khandiria. 
  Raised as a Speaker—a primitive translator-turned-
  spokesman—Kuurvekh rose to oust the females of his tribe 
  through a tacit alliance with other septs and through clever 
  manipulation of the strongest, proudest males. 
   
  In time, Kuurvekh tired of his modest power and left to 
  travel throughout the southlands and even into Mharoti. In 
  such locales, he studied at the Dragon Courts and spread 
  his vision of establishing a gnoll society that valued more 
  than blood thirst and savagery. Kuurvekh’s gift for languages 
  helped spread his peaceful ideas not only among his people 
  but also among the other peoples of Midgard. Kuuryekh’s 
  efforts helped some Midgardians come to accept gnolls as a 
  civilized people with their own beliefs and attitudes.
   
  While in Bjeornheim, Kuurvekh developed much of 
  what would become the Tenets of Calm—a code of honor 
  and loyalty applied to the gnolls’ previously wild practices 
  of ruthlessness and cunning. In keeping with his position 
  as an envoy for his people, Kuurvekh taught the fierce 
  northerners to respect the wild hyena-folk of the south; 
  he also introduced to them gnoll words and concepts that 
  survive in the north to this day. Drawing upon the fiercely 
  A
  matriarchal culture of the gnolls, Kuurvekh impressed upon 
  the northerners the value of female warriors. These efforts 
  were responsible for introducing new battle moves to the 
  baresarks. Ironically, this focused approach to combat lives 
  on as the peaceful Kuurvekh’s greatest legacy.
   
  Seeking to hone his mind and to prepare his people 
  for great achievements, Kuurvekh travelled to the Wasted 
  West, where he hoped to uncover lost secrets of the 
  Great Old Ones. Kuurvekh’s meditations at the foot of 
  Ashkharak-Gorthoga kept the gnoll from developing an 
  insatiable bloodlust, while his recitations of the Tenets of 
  Calm allowed him to remain sane in the face of Uthul-
  Vangslagish’s crazed screams. During his travels, though, 
  tragedy struck Kuurvekh and his followers while they 
  traversed the Mage Road toward Cassadega; it was then 
  that dust goblins apparently massacred the party and 
  slew Kuurvekh. Three of Kuurvekh’s disciples managed 
  to escape, and with them the Tenets of Calm survived, 
  though in three distinct versions. Each disciple went on to 
  teach and disseminate slightly different treatments of their 
  teacher’s oral discipline.
   
  Today, only in the Ruby Despotate are Kuurvekh’s 
  teachings actively proscribed. Giving gnolls ideas about 
  peace and harmony does not sit well with the Glittering 
  King, particularly because his Grand Marshall Zaganos 
  oversees specialized teams of female gnolls, the Slavering 
  Mouths, who hunt down disciples of Calm-Tongue, destroy 
  their works and execute their followers.
   
  As a linguist, scholar, envoy, and champion of his 
  reviled people, Calm-Tongue represents the face of 
  modern Midgard—a polyglot land whose people respect 
  honest oaths and wisdom just as much as they respect 
  beauty and strength. Gnoll chieftains, war-band leaders, 
  and mercenary captains may praise their various gods 
  and pack-mothers, but all in some way credit Kuuryekh 
  Calm-Tongue, their Whispering Grandfather, for their 
  place in Midgard.
  
  17
  Using This Legend
  • Kuurvekh’s skull is rumored to be an enchanted artifact 
  that relays the original rendition of the Tenets of Calm. A 
  gnoll historian from Ischadia seeks to recover the ancient 
  relic to restore Kuurvekh’s honor and to obtain the tenets 
  in their purest form. Adventurers must travel to the 
  Wasted West and ascertain if dust goblins or more sinister 
  figures were the culprits of Kuurvekh’s massacre. 
  • On five occasions, followers of the three versions of the 
  Tenets of Calm have met to attempt to form a cohesive 
  canon. The adventurers are hired to accompany one 
  proponent to Khandiria to find the remnant of the 
  Bloodslake sept in an attempt to fully understand 
  Kuurvekh’s legacy.
   
  The Tenets of Calm spread as an oral tradition of 
  contemplation and equality of mind and spirit. In time, 
  this led to the emergence of new schools of focused 
  combat. These focused-mind barbarians often are southern 
  gnolls, but they also may be found among northerners of 
  myriad races. 
  Focused Combatant
  Focused combatants are trained in remote locations by 
  dedicated practitioners of Kuurvekh’s teachings of calm and 
  inner peace. Drawing upon mental reserves and favoring 
  control over abandonment, these barbarians belie 
  the 
  usual stereotype of dull-witted, wild warriors. 
  The focused combatant barbarian has the 
  following class features:
  Learned (Ex): You gain the benefit of 
  lore and education. Beginning at first 
  level, each level gains you 1 extra 
  skill point to spend on Diplomacy, 
  Knowledge (any), Linguistics (any) 
  or Sense Motive skills, as all these 
  are considered class skills for 
  the focused combatant. 
  This ability replaces fast 
  movement and the class 
  skills Intimidate and 
  Swim.
  Focus (Ex): You can call upon your reserves of inner 
  strength and tranquility to grant yourself additional 
  adroitness of action and mental acuity. Starting at 1st level, 
  you can focus your mind during combat for a number of 
  rounds per day equal to four plus your Wisdom modifier. 
  At each level after 1st, you can focus your mind for two 
  additional rounds. Temporary increases to Wisdom, such 
  as those gained from focus and spells, do not increase 
  the total number of rounds you can focus per day. You 
  can focus your mind as a free action. The total number of 
  rounds of focus per day is renewed after resting for eight 
  hours, although these hours do not need to be consecutive. 
    While focused, you gain a +4 morale bonus to your 
  Dexterity and Wisdom, as well as a +2 morale bonus 
  on Will saves. The focus grants you 2 additional hp 
  per hit die, but these disappear when the focus ends. 
  Unlike temporary hp, these hp are not lost first when 
  you take damage. In addition, you take a -2 penalty to 
  Fortitude saves and to all Strength-based skill checks 
  due to the physical strain of maintaining the focus. 
  Unlike most barbarians, while focused in combat, you 
  can use any Charisma-, Dexterity-, or Intelligence-
  based skills, including any ability that requires patience 
  or concentration. Outside of combat, when you are 
  attempting to focus on using skills, you can remain 
  focused for minutes per day instead of rounds per day. 
    You may end your focus as a free action. You are 
  fatigued after your focus for a number of rounds equal 
  to twice the number of combat rounds or minutes 
  spent outside of combat with your mind focused. 
  You cannot refocus your mind while fatigued or 
  exhausted; otherwise you can focus multiple times 
  during a single encounter or combat. If you fall 
  unconscious, your focus immediately ends. 
    
  As a focused combatant, you qualify for 
  rage feats as normal. The abilities greater 
  rage, tireless rage, 
  and mighty rage are 
  transposed to the 
  focus ability. This 
  ability replaces rage.
  
  18
  MIDGARD LEGENDS
  Serene Action (Ex): At 3rd level, you receive a +2 bonus 
  to Diplomacy and Sense Motive checks. Additionally, 
  you gain one of the following as a free feat: Alertness, 
  Animal Affinity, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, 
  Nimble Moves or Quick Draw. At 9th and 15th level, 
  you may choose again from this selection. This ability 
  replaces trap sense. 
  Focus Defense (Ex): At 7th level, you become harder to 
  hit, gaining a +1 morale bonus to AC. This improves by 
  1 at 10th, 13th, 16th and 19th level. This ability replaces 
  damage reduction. 
    The following rage powers are not available to you: animal 
  fury, increased damage reduction, intimidating glare, 
  moment of clarity, or raging- climber/leaper/swimmer.   
    The following two focus abilities replace intimidating 
  glare and roused anger.
  Wise Sight (Ex): You can make a Sense Motive check 
  against one adjacent foe as a move action. If successful, 
  the foe affords a +1 circumstance bonus to your AC, CMB, 
  and attack rolls. This effect lasts for 1d4+1 rounds, plus an 
  additional round for every 5 points by which your check 
  exceeds the DC.
  Refocus (Ex): You may enter a focus even if fatigued. 
  While focused after using this ability, you are immune 
  to the fatigued condition. Once this focus ends, you are 
  exhausted for 10 min. per round spent focused.
  ravelers in the Seven Cities region may, if they 
  stray from the beaten path, find the secluded 
  village of Speranza. The largely unremarkable 
  town has one curious local custom. Certain women called 
  Daughters of Jannik are granted extravagant privileges. 
  They are allowed to do anything they please—anything 
  except leave town.
   
  If the travelers ask why, they are told this:
  Many years ago, a passing army demanded provisions. 
  The people of Speranza gave the soldiers all they had, but 
  it wasn’t enough to satisfy the soldiers’ greed. The army 
  resolved to punish Speranza by razing the town. 
   
  After the destruction, soldiers dragged residents to 
  the town square. Some were tortured; others were forced 
  to watch their neighbors and loved ones suffer. One such 
  townsman was Jannik Saarhauser. An orphan, Jannik had 
  no family in Speranza—but he did love his neighbors. In 
  particular, Jannik loved Bessaree Ossler, though he’d never 
  had the courage to tell her. Bessaree, called Bess by her 
  friends, was probably the only person in town unaware of 
  Jannik’s amorous feelings.
   
  Soon enough, the ravening soldiers dragged Bess 
  into the town square. Jannik silently endured his own 
  mistreatment, but when he saw Bess, he put his head 
  down and prayed. Those near him could not understand 
  his whispered words, but before the cruel soldiers could 
  make Bess their plaything, Jannik raised his head and 
  shouted, “Enough!” 
   
  Jannik glowed with righteous fire. His bonds burned 
  away. The soldiers attacked, but their blows were useless. 
  After freeing Bess, Jannik went on to avenge the town by 
  gruesomely slaughtering the entire army.
   
  When the final invader was dead, Jannik’s fire faded 
  and his wounds began to bleed. As he slumped to the 
  ground, only Bess had the courage to approach him. She 
  Daughters of Jannik
  T
  tried to staunch his wounds, but they were too great. 
  Jannik uttered his final words to Bess. “I will protect you 
  and yours,” he said.“Forever.”
   
  Since then, other armies have visited Speranza—some 
  kindly, some not so much. But whenever any soldier has 
  dared to harm a direct descendant of Jannik’s love—a 
  spiritual Daughter of Jannik— the result has never been 
  good for the offender.
   
  When friendly visitors arrive, the townspeople happily 
  show off their most prized relic: a ragged banner of age-
  yellowed cloth thickly stained with ancient blood. “That,” 
  they declare with pride, “is the very cloth Bess used to aid 
  the dying Jannik.” Visitors also are taken to the cemetery, 
  where a monument marks Jannik’s final resting place. 
   
  Because Jannik’s lingering spirit supposedly protects 
  the women, the townspeople heap Daughters of Jannik 
  with kindness so they’ll stay in Sperenza. The idea is that, 
  should an army ever threaten the entire town again, the 
  daughters’ presence would keep the population safe. In 
  practice, the armies of the Seven Cities know that they 
  must simply avoid harming the women of Sperenza; 
  warfare continues in the usual fashion otherwise.
  Bess’ Descendants
  Speranzan tradition dictates that select descendants of 
  Bess Ossler receive privileges and entitlements beyond 
  those granted to most townspeople. Each generation, the 
  first female, direct descendant of Bess Ossler receives the 
  Daughter of Jannik title. Currently three Daughters of 
  Jannik live in Speranza. 
   
  Kurra Hailstone is a cruel, arrogant old crone whose 
  infirmities keep her bedridden most days. Most in the 
  town agree no one will miss her when she dies.
   
  Alora Horndancer is Kurra’s niece. Alora was a wild 
  child, but she learned from her elderly aunt’s negative 
  
  19
  example. She grew up a quiet, humble, decent adult. 
   
  Esbae Horndancer is Alora’s daughter. Attracting the 
  most attention of the three daughters, Esbae is the subject 
  of constant adulation, which undermines her mother’s 
  efforts to raise her properly. The tension between Alora’s 
  rules and the town’s subservience has caused a terrible rift 
  between Esbae and her mother. Nearly an adult now, Esbae 
  aches to become free from her mother’s rules. Esbae is not 
  deliberately cruel, but she remains unaware of her actions’ 
  effects on others.
  Jannik’s Grave
  As sometimes happens with notable people, Jannik’s corpse 
  has been moved several times in the years following his 
  death. While growing up, Kurra Hailstone suspected 
  Jannik’s body might not reside in the town cemetery. 
  To find the truth, she hounded elderly residents and 
  researched town records, occasionally stealing documents 
  that struck her fancy. Eventually, Kurra identified what 
  she believes is Jannik’s true resting place and recorded it in 
  her diary. Kurra obscured many of her diary entries with 
  riddles; her childhood diary and the town records she stole 
  are stashed in her decaying manor.
  Summoning Jannik
  Since Jannik’s spirit has not appeared in many generations, 
  the Speranzan people simply know the legends. They say he 
  manifests only to protect a Daughter of Jannik from serious 
  harm, especially if an invading army is involved. 
   
  In reality, Jannik protects all of Bess’ direct descendants 
  from attack, but the vow he made that fateful day imposes 
  certain requirements and restrictions on his aid:
  • The attack must happen within one mile of 
  Speranza. 
  • The attackers must be so powerful the victim 
  has no hope of resisting.
  • At least some of the attackers must be 
  outsiders.
  • Jannik must meet all opposition with 
  deadly force.
   
  Jannik’s spirit manifests by possessing 
  a living creature (DC 35 Will to resist), 
  preferably one of the attackers. If one target 
  resists, he simply tries another. He can make 
  three attempts per round.
     When Jannik possesses someone, he 
  covers them in righteous fire, which takes 
  the shape Jannik had in life. Jannik uses all 
  of his host’s powers and abilities in addition 
  to his own powers. 
   
  Add the following statistics to Jannik’s 
  host. Use the host’s statistics for anything not 
  listed here.
  DEFENSE
  AC +5
  hp +10 hp per level (or CR) of the most powerful foe.
  Fort +14, Ref +11, Will +14
  SR 40, DR 50/—
  Defensive Abilities righteous fire, superb anchor
  Weaknesses delayed damage, continuous combat
  OFFENSE
  Speed +10 ft.
  Melee +15   Ranged +17
  Special Attacks avenging attacks, fitting retribution
  TACTICS
  During Combat
  Jannik frequently shows mercy to fleeing soldiers who have 
  committed no atrocities.
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Righteous Fire (Su) Acts like a simultaneous cold and 
  hot fire shield spell, caster level 15th. This ability will sear 
  through any restraints or obstacles, even stone or metal, at 
  a rate of 15hp/round.
  Superb Anchor (Su) This ability acts like an enhanced 
  dimensional anchor spell. It prevents Jannik from being 
  removed from his host, and it prevents 
  his host from being removed in any 
  way from the battlefield.
  Avenging Attacks (Su) 
  Each round, Jannik gets one 
  additional attack for every attack 
  made against him in the previous 
  
  20
  MIDGARD LEGENDS
  nce a respected member of the Fulgarate 
  Society, Enkada Pishtuhk betrayed his 
  comrades as they sought to preserve the 
  magocracies. Using an incantation of horrific power, 
  he warped the Lost Tower at right angles to reality, 
  destroyed the Fulgarate Society and its Mercurial 
  Guard, and then unleashed Pah’draguusthlai the 
  Devourer upon the West—all, supposedly, because of a 
  tangled love triangle within the society. 
   
  From the massive Walker’s flank hangs Enkada’s 
  sanctuary, a blistered amalgam of stone and resin 
  existing in several places simultaneously. Enkada has 
  been seen entering it from no less than half a dozen 
  locations within the Wastes and several beyond it, 
  including a lonely door set into a cliff wall within the 
  Ironcrags, a marble sarcophagus in a Barsellan tomb, 
  and a trap door atop an abandoned Griffon Tower 
  within the Margreve. Many strange spider-like creatures 
  make their lair near the structure. They often skitter 
  about the towering beast in search of prey. 
  Enkada Pishtuhk,  
      Treachery’s Rider
   
  Enkada Pishtuhk remained in the Wastelands after 
  the war’s conclusion and into the centuries beyond. 
  He is dedicated to recovering various objects lost over 
  the course of hostilities. Often, these objects have 
  some relation to the Lost Tower, and many are infused 
  with strange, nonsensical magical effects. Known as 
  Treachery’s Rider, due to the immense monstrosity he 
  calls home, Enkada scavenges through ruins, sometimes 
  seeking an enchanted device, a hidden manuscript, or 
  a former contemporary swallowed by the chaos. All the 
  while, he pursues an agenda only he knows. 
   
  The skulls of three knights of Bourgund hang in 
  netting from Enkada’s belt, and he sometimes speaks 
  with their trapped souls. He carries a length of the 
  same poisoned webbing trailed by Pah’draguusthlai; 
  he incorporates it into his castings and wields it as a 
  weapon. Enkada discovered a procedure to graft a pair 
  of magical spinnerets on his left arm exactly like the 
  ones on the colossal monstrosity. He extrudes more 
  poisoned silk whenever he desires.
  O
  round. For example, if 25 archers shot two arrows each 
  at him during a round, in the next round Jannik would 
  receive all his normal attacks plus 50 extra attacks.
  Fitting Retribution (Su) Jannik can duplicate any 
  damage-causing attack directed against him, even if he 
  took no damage from it. For example, if a foe attacks him 
  with a +3 greataxe while a another casts fireball at a caster 
  level of 9th, Jannik receives a +3 greataxe and the fireball 
  spell with a caster level of 9th as options for each of his 
  attacks for the rest of the battle.
  Delayed Damage (Su) Damage Jannik defers through his 
  damage reduction isn’t lost. When the battle is over, that 
  damage descends upon the host’s body.
  Continuous Combat (Su) If denied combat for more than 
  1 minute, Jannik must leave his host.
  Using This Legend
  In the following descriptions, army refers to anything from 
  a legitimate army to an ordinary group of adventurers. 
  Hooks involving the destruction or control of Jannik might 
  focus on his relics—his bones or the town’s bloody banner.
   
  Here are some hooks to incorporate Jannik’s legends 
  into GMs’ games:
  • An army hostile to the PCs is coming. Can the PCs 
  summon Jannik and compel him to destroy it?
  • An army friendly to the PCs may threaten the Daughters 
  of Jannik. Can the PCs save the army from Jannik?
  • The PCs are part of a hostile army that invokes 
  Jannik’s wrath.
  • Esbae wants to leave town. Will the PCs help her?
  • Esbae is missing—and the town wants the PCs to help 
  find and return her.
  • To some, Jannik’s legend sounds more like demonic 
  possession than divine intervention. Demons must be 
  destroyed.
  • Some townspeople believe the tradition of spoiling 
  Daughters of Jannik has gone too far. They want it 
  stopped.
  • A survivor from an army Jannik destroyed has returned 
  for revenge.
  • People of a neighboring town want to find a way for 
  Jannik to protect them instead of Speranza.
  • A rogue scholar believes Jannik was the last priest of a 
  forgotten deity. They want to know where he came from 
  and how he was able to summon such powerful aid.
  
  21
   
  Few are certain of Enkada’s homeland, his precise 
  age, or even his real name— but it is an open secret that 
  he enjoys the lyrical songs of elvish sagas. It’s also known 
  that he demands proper manners, even from his enemies 
  on the field of battle. Once, he offered a momentary 
  truce to honor an opponent’s request for a drink of water, 
  and he accepted a call for parlay because his foe offered 
  him a blood orange. 
   
  He ferociously guards the details of his background. 
  Those who investigate too vigorously often awake in 
  their own bed, covered in venomous shrouds. Enkada 
  may set his own shadow free, sending it into the world to 
  do his bidding while the wizard pursues other interests. 
  He most often dispatches it when someone in Midgard 
  says his name aloud. His shadow then seeks out the 
  foolhardy speaker and returns to Enkada, whispering 
  secrets in his ear while leading him through umbral 
  passages to his foes.
  Enkada’s Shadow
  That was how we knew we were on the right track, when the 
  blasted shadow appeared. It oozed from the space between 
  the rocks and taunted us from the high ledge, shielded from 
  our bows. If the Rider sought something from those ruins, 
  then we knew we needed to find it first.
  Enkada’s Shadow 
   
        CR 8
  XP 4,800
  CE Medium native outsider; (chaotic, demon, evil, 
  incorporeal)
  Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +20
  DEFENSE
  AC 19, touch 19, flat-footed 15 (+5 deflection, +4 Dex)
  hp 76 (9d10+26)
  Fort +8, Ref +12, Will +8
  Defensive Abilities incorporeal; DR 10/cold iron or good; 
  Immune cold, electricity, poison; Resist acid 10, fire 10; SR 
  17
  OFFENSE
  Speed fly 40 ft. (perfect)
  Melee 2 claws +13 touch (1d8 plus 1d6 cold), bite +13 touch 
  (1d10 plus 1d6 cold)
  Special Attacks pounce, sprint, shadow blend
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th)
  At will—deeper darkness, fear (DC 18), greater teleport (self 
  only), telekinesis (DC 19)
  3/day—shadow conjuration (DC 18), shadow evocation 
  (DC 19)
  1/day—magic jar (DC 19)
  STATISTICS
  Str —, Dex 18, Con 17, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 19
  Base Atk +9; CMB +13; CMD 27
  Feats Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Great Fortitude, 
  Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes
  
  22
  MIDGARD LEGENDS
  Skills Acrobatics +16, Bluff +16, Fly +24, Knowledge (local) 
  +14, Knowledge (planes) +14, Perception +22, Sense 
  Motive +12, Stealth +14; Racial Modifiers +8 Perception
  Languages Abyssal, Common; telepathy 100 ft.
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Sprint (Ex) Once per minute, Enkada’s Shadow increases 
  its fly speed to 240 ft. for 1 round.
  Shadow Blend (Su) In any conditions other than bright 
  light, Enkada’s shadow can disappear into the shadows 
  as a move-equivalent action, effectively becoming 
  invisible. Artificial illumination or light spells of 2nd 
  level or lower do not negate this ability.
  Sunlight Eviction (Su) If Enkada’s shadow possesses a 
  creature using magic jar and that creature is struck by a 
  searing light, sunbeam, or sunburst spell while possessed, 
  Enkada’s shadow is driven out of its host automatically.
  Possessing a liquid silhouette and pupil-less eyes of 
  yellowing ivory, Enkada’s Shadow flutters through the air 
  with a predatory malice. Though incorporeal, its claws 
  and teeth tear flesh as if they were knives of obsidian. 
  When it speaks, the warm, velvet-smooth baritone voice 
  often surprises listeners. The creature seems to share 
  Enkada’s preference for etiquette and manners, but 
  happily sheds such behavior if foes prove unwilling to 
  return the courtesy.
   
  The shadow has died multiple times, and it seems 
  aware of each death, holding grudges against past slayers 
  it later encounters. However, some instances of Enkada’s 
  shadow have been more or less powerful than others, 
  implying that Treachery’s Rider may have an incantation, 
  spell or item allowing him to invest his shadow with a 
  variable measure of power.
  POISON STRAND 
  Aura moderate transmutation; CL 7th
  Slot none; Price 15,000 gp; Weight 3 lb.
  Description
  This gray, rubbery rope is made of braided, silky 
  strands that are about 30 ft. long and affixed to a baton 
  of carved bone or wood. Upon command, the strand 
  lashes out 15 feet to entangle a victim with a successful 
  touch attack (+7 to hit).
   
  An entangled creature suffers 1d3 Constitution 
  damage (Fortitude DC 16 negates) and can break 
  free with a DC 20 Strength check or a DC 20 Escape 
  Artist check. A proficient wielder can use it as a 
  whip to either entangle normally or inflict 1 point of 
  Constitution damage per successful attack (20 critical 
  hit, x2). The strand cannot be commanded to lash out 
  when used as a whip. 
   
  A poison strand has AC 20, 24 hp, hardness 10, and 
  DR 5/slashing. The strand repairs damage to itself at a 
  rate of 1 hp/minute, but if a poison strand is severed (all 
  24 hp lost to damage), it is destroyed.
  Construction
  Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, animate rope, 
  poison, web, creator must have 5 ranks in Knowledge: 
  Planes or 90 feet of webbing from Pah’draguusthlai; 
  Cost 7,500 gp
  INCANTATION OF THE UTTERED 
  COGNOMEN OVERHEARD
  “No! Do not say his name; he will hear it. Never say his 
  name, unless you want to draw his blasted shadow!”
  School enchantment; Effective Level 8th
  Skill Check Knowledge (arcana) (DC 30), 4 successes; 
  Knowledge (geography) (DC 30), 2 successes; Knowledge 
  (planes) (DC 30), 2 successes
  Casting Time 80 minutes
  Components F, M, S, V
  Focus—a map of the known world, the True Name of 
  the caster
  Material Components—a silver listening horn (worth 
  500 gp)
  Secondary Casters— none required, no more than six
  Other— during the full moon
  Range special
  Target caster
  Duration 30 days
  Saving Throw none; SR no
  DESCRIPTION
  You attune your consciousness to the world represented 
  by the map, gaining an awareness of any instance when 
  your name is spoken. When your name is spoken, 
  you gain a sudden vision of the person speaking, 
  their immediate surroundings, and their approximate 
  distance and direction. Obscuring magics like 
  misdirection, veil, etc., force you to make a caster level 
  check to learn more than the approximate distance 
  and direction of the speaker (non-casters use their 
  Intelligence bonus). 
  BACKLASH
  After casting, this extended perception inflicts 2 
  Wisdom drain (this drain cannot be healed while the 
  incantation is in effect) and 1d4 Wisdom damage when 
  the incantation is first cast and 1d2 -1 Wisdom damage 
  (minimum 0) each day of the duration. Ability damage 
  suffered as a result of this effect heals normally. 
  While the effect is active, you gain a vulnerability to 
  spells and effects with the sonic descriptor. Secondary 
  casters only suffer the initial drain and damage, and may 
  heal this normally. However, because secondary casters 
  also learn the primary caster’s True Name, most perform 
  this incantation alone.
  FAILURE
  Failing two consecutive skill checks, you and any 
  secondary casters suffer the effects of backlash in addition 
  to becoming exhausted and suffering 2d6 hp damage.
  
  23
  Go forth, brave knight, into the wilds and wastes to seek the 
  beast. But be warned—the quest for Glatisant has claimed 
  many before you. It will claim many after you’re gone. 
                                            —Traditional Bourgundian farewell
  hroughout the chivalric halls of Midgard’s 
  knightly orders, the desire to find and kill the 
  mighty and elusive creature known as Glatisant 
  echoes. Dismissed as a fool’s errand by some, the search 
  for the female beast has taken generations of knights, 
  woodsmen, thrill-seekers, and bounty hunters everywhere 
  north of the Middle Sea. It is said that the one who brings 
  down the Questing Beast will be immortalized forever in 
  Midgard’s most hallowed annals.
   
  As most know, Glatisant is a product of the Great 
  Mage Wars. During this tumultuous time, the destruction 
  of a forgotten wizard’s laboratory fused together four 
  captive creatures; the result was the Questing Beast, an 
  abomination with the head and neck of a snake, the body 
  of a leopard, haunches of a lion, and the feet of a deer. 
  Created by odd, eldritch energies, she resists many forms 
  of magic. Metal weapons seem to adhere to her hide. 
  Glatisant’s mournful, barking call renders those who hear 
  it stunned, making these victims easy prey for her gnashing 
  teeth and fell poison.
   
  After her creation, witless with terror, Glatisant 
  wandered into the Rothenian Plains and remained dormant 
  for 100 years in a forgotten cave or hollow. During her 
  slumber, she laid several clutches of eggs that were almost 
  immediately absorbed into her body. When she awoke, 
  though, the dense beast believed someone stole her eggs. 
  Since that day, Glatisant has roamed the central areas of 
  Midgard, between the Nieder Straits and the Middle Sea, 
  searching for her eggs and crying out mournfully. Hunted 
  for hundreds of years, Glatisant wanders Midgard’s most 
  isolated places. She eats practically anything she can catch 
  and never stays in the same place for long. 
   
  As told in the epic poem Vancent and Glatisant, the 
  Magdar knight Sir Vancent Tancelmond first encountered 
  the beast about 300 years ago. After saving several farms 
  from her ravenous hunger, Sir Vancent fought Glatisant to 
  a near standstill—but perished after his sword Rovansohn 
  lodged in the beast’s hide and left him defenseless. Due to 
  its popularity, the poem spread far and wide; it inspired 
  generations of knights and fame seekers alike. Today, those 
  who still hunt for Glatisant call themselves Questers. In 
  general, they’re mocked by the majority of knightly orders 
  and are considered old-fashioned buffoons.
  Glatisant, the 
     Questing Beast
   
  Aside from the honor they’d gain from killing Glatisant, 
  many seek to slay her so they can plunder the items 
  embedded into her thick hide. With a successful strike, 
  metal weapons stick to the beast. Afterward, they slowly 
  dissolve into her hide, adding further toughness to her 
  already-formidable scales. Glatisant cannot absorb magic 
  weapons, though, so a literal horde of treasure studs her 
  back. Besides Sir Vancent’s blade, Rovansohn, many other 
  powerful and famous items await whoever defeats the beast. 
  These items include the Bloody Axe of Ulfred, Archmage 
  Inro’s Iron Staff, and even Baravon, the morningstar of 
  Volund himself.
   
  Besides her great powers, Glatisant possesses a unique 
  and strange defense against those hunting her: her own 
  death. Possessing regenerative powers stemming from 
  the horde of eggs within her body, once killed the beast 
  lives anew—but with no knowledge she ever perished. 
  Each scrap of the old creature becomes a part of the new 
  one. Indeed, even those who leave with trophies find 
  themselves eventually holding nothing but piles of blood-
  tinged dust.
   
  Frustrated by her fruitless searches for lost eggs, in 
  recent years Glatisant has changed her tactics. She seems 
  to be venturing closer to more populous lands, targeting 
  the homes and workplaces of those who dabble in the 
  magical arts. With virtually no stealth and complete 
  ignorance of the harm she causes, Glatisant’s rampages 
  through villages, towns, and settlements pose grave risks 
  to any who cross her path.
   
  The discovery of long-forgotten records in the 
  magocracy of Allain has taught arcane organizations such as 
  the Shrouds, the Sanctioned Sigilists, and even Daiguianis, 
  Exeltor of Mageholme, about the accidental fusion that 
  created Glatisant. These records also revealed details about 
  Archmage Mulban Tenric, a Mage Wars-era spellcaster who 
  kept a secret cache of powerful magical relics and vril tech. 
  Convinced that only Tenric himself can reveal the location 
  of this untold treasure, these mages have commissioned 
  expeditions in an effort to capture Glatisant and interrogate 
  her about these treasures. While the mages might order 
  mercy for the beast, that mercy would not extend to anyone 
  who obstructs their quest.
  Glatisant
  This strange creature has the head and neck of a snake, 
  the body of a leopard, the haunches of a lion, and the 
  feet of a deer. As she eerily croons, her eyes burn with a 
  terrifying glow. 
  T
  
  24
  MIDGARD LEGENDS
  Glatisant   
   
                CR 15
  XP 51,200
  CN Gargantuan aberration
  Init +2; Senses arcane sight, darkvision 60 ft., scent; 
  Perception +25
  DEFENSE
  AC 30, touch 4, flat-footed 30 (–2 Dex, +26 natural, –4 size)
  hp 230 (20d8+140)
  Fort +15, Ref +4, Will +13
  DR 15/adamantine; Immune poison, magic, Resist sonic 
  30; SR 26
  OFFENSE
  Speed 20 ft. (plus gallop 1/day)
  Melee bite +23 (4d6+12/19–20 plus poison), 2 hooves +18 
  (2d6+6), tail slap +18 (2d8+6)
  Space 20 ft.; Reach 20 ft.
  Special Attacks Glatisant’s poison (Fort DC 20), mournful 
  bark (Will DC 20), pounce
  TACTICS
  Before Combat
  Though unlikely to initiate combat, Glatisant possesses 
  enough cunning to ambush her prey. Attracted to magical 
  auras, Glatisant tends to target creatures or humanoids 
  affected by ongoing magical spells or carrying large 
  amounts of magical items.
  During Combat
  Glatisant uses her arcane sight to target the foe with 
  the greatest magical aura first, using her speed 
  and pounce ability to get in close for a first 
  strike. Once among her prey she utters her 
  mournful bark to disable as many as possible 
  before feeding.
  Morale
  Despite her thirst for revenge, Glatisant is somewhat 
  cowardly. If reduced to half her hp she will use her 
  gallop ability to flee.
  STATISTICS
  Str 34, Dex 7, Con 24, Int 6, Wis 15, Cha 21
  Base Atk +15; CMB +29 (+33 grapple); CMD 37 (can’t 
  be tripped)
  Feats Cleave, Great Cleave, Great Fortitude, Improved 
  Critical (bite), Improved Initiative, Improved Natural 
  Attack, Power Attack, Snatch 
  Skills Acrobatics +30, Climb +33, Hide +20, Intimidate 
  +28, Perception +25
  Languages Common
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Arcane Sight (Sp): Glatisant can see magical auras in a 
  100-foot radius, as per the arcane sight spell. Though 
  this ability can be dispelled, she can reactivate it as a 
  free action on her next turn.
  Glatisant’s Venom (Ex): Bite—injury; save Fort DC 20; 
  frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d4 Con; cure 
  2 saves. Save DC is Constitution-based.
  Gallop (Ex): Thanks to her leopard-like body, once per 
  day Glatisant may triple her normal speed for one hour. 
  She typically employs this ability to escape or evade 
  capture.
  Immunity to Magic (Ex): Glatisant is immune to any 
  spell or spell-like ability that allows spell resistance. In 
  addition, certain spells and effects function differently 
  against her. A magical attack that deals cold or fire 
  damage slows Glatisant (as the slow spell) for 2d6 
  rounds (no save). A magical attack that deals electricity 
  damage breaks any slow effect on Glatisant and heals 1 
  hp for every 3 hp of damage the attack would otherwise 
  deal. If the healing would cause Glatisant to exceed her 
  full normal hp, she gains any excess as temporary hp. 
  Glatisant gets no saving throw against attacks that deal 
  electricity damage.
  Mournful Bark (Su): Every other round as a standard 
  action, Glatisant can utter a sorrowful barking cry. 
  Living creatures within 80 ft. that hear this sound must 
  make a DC 20 Will save or be stunned for 1 round. 
  Those who succeed in this save are not immune to 
  Glatisant’s next mournful bark. This ability is a sonic 
  effect that can be used a maximum of 10 times per day.
  Pounce (Ex): Glatisant may make a full attack after a 
  charge.
  Rebirth: 1d4 hours after death, all parts of Glatisant’s 
  body rapidly decay into ash—even parts separated from 
  the main corpse. This ash reveals dozens of 
  eggs within Glatisant’s body. The moment 
  these eggs touch open air, one vanishes and 
  Glaitsant reforms around the others with no memory 
  of having perished.
  Rovansohn
  Aura strong abjuration; CL 18th; Slot none; Price 
  100,630 gp; Weight 4 lb.
  Description
  Called the Oathblade, this blade is a beautifully forged 
  adamantine longsword with a golden hilt and a pommel 
  set with a large yellow diamond. This +2 longsword 
  becomes a +3 keen longsword that deals double damage 
  in the hands of a fighter or knight who has sworn an 
  oath of service to a noble lord and is acting on the lord’s 
  orders. 
  Construction Requirements
  Craft Magic Arms and Armor, oath of justice, geas; 
  creator must be a vassal of a noble lord; Cost 50,630 gp
  
  25
  here the plains of Rhos Kurgan give way to the 
  cold foothills of the Riphean Mountains, there 
  roams a herd of unearthly steeds said to be sacred 
  to Wotan. These steeds always appear in random places at 
  dusk. Like smoke they pour over hills and streams, rarely 
  slowing until they vanish into the predawn fog. Legend has it 
  that anyone who mounts these steeds can feel the eye of the 
  All-Father upon them, spurring them to glory.
   
  This tale occasionally seeds the valleys with the trampled 
  corpses of would-be heroes whose ambition has outpaced 
  their luck. However, this inspiring legend isn’t the only tale 
  related to the steeds. 
   
  Another legend claims that anyone bold, strong, and 
  quick enough to mount the horse called Gunnwyf—the 
  great black mare that leads the herd and is held to be the 
  mate of Sleipnir—will become a great chieftain. This hero, 
  the legend says, also will gain the ability to tame any horse, 
  no matter how wild.
  Riding Gunnwyf
  The following is one method of resolving a ride atop 
  Gunnwyf or a similar steed using a variation of the chase card 
  system found in the GameMastery Guide and using a series 
  of skill checks and saving throws. If the rider fails any of the 
  described requirements, he or she falls and the 
  ride is over.
  MOUNT THE BEAST
  At first it seemed as though the beast 
  does not mind your presence, but soon 
  it begins crow-hopping and bucking, 
  trying to throw you from its back. You 
  must pass a DC 20 Ride check or DC 
  15 Strength check to avoid being thrown.
  AVOID OBSTACLES
  The horse is no longer trying to buck you off, yet 
  with only a grip on its mane to steady yourself you 
  find you have very little control over the beast. 
  You must make a DC 15 Reflex save to duck 
  a low branch. In addition, one of the nearby 
  horses is attempting to bite your leg. You 
  must make a DC 15 Will save to keep from 
  falling off your steed.
  HANG ON
  The pace of the herd increases steadily, far 
  beyond anything attainable by earthly horses. 
  Gunnwyf and the 
     Riphean Herd
  Your steed heads straight up the side of the nearest mountain 
  at a dead run. To hang on, pass a DC 25 Ride check. To spur 
  your horse on, pass a DC 30 Ride check. Success on the latter 
  grants a +10 bonus to the next required Ride check.
  SURVIVE THE IMPOSSIBLE
  The herd swarms up the side of the mountain as if running on 
  level ground. You race across the top of the mesa; your pace 
  increases as the entire herd runs headlong toward a steep drop 
  of what must be hundreds of feet. You must make a DC 16 
  Will save to swallow your fear. If successful, make a DC 30 
  Ride check.
  DAWN APPROACHES
  You and your mount land painlessly. With frayed nerves 
  and hands grown numb with cold and exertion, you 
  struggle to maintain your grip. Bleary eyed, 
  you realize that the haze affecting your 
  vision is the mist of the approaching 
  dawn. Make a DC 17 Fort save. If 
  successful, make a DC 25 Ride check.
  W
  
  26
  MIDGARD LEGENDS
  S
  ages’ tomes abound with tales of the enigmatic 
  figure known as Hune the Doorlord. With his 
  tattered gray greatcoat, tricorne hat, and gaunt 
  face seemingly ravaged by time, Hune the Doorlord has 
  played a part in some of history’s most pivotal events. For 
  instance, it was the Doorlord who provided the Cult of 
  Chuul access to the inner palace. It was the Doorlord who 
  allowed the Crimson Rider to speed across hundreds of 
  miles to warn the Imperial Army. It was the Doorlord who 
  gave passage to the ill-fated Marduke Expedition. 
   
  The Doorlord’s true nature is elusive even among those 
  Hune the Doorlord
  who know he exists. Known 10,000 years ago as Karakhune, 
  god of portals, Hune is the manifestation of that dying deity. 
  With no devoted worshippers remaining, and only a few 
  sycophants available for sustenance, he has been reduced to 
  his core function: the creation of portals. 
   
  The Doorlord has no real mind left; he simply seeks to 
  fulfill his intended purpose. And so he wanders Midgard, 
  hoping to provide his unique gift to anyone he meets. 
  As a result, many merchant caravans have crossed whole 
  continents in the blink of an eye. The Doorlord is not 
  picky when it comes to his customers. Thieves, saints, 
  SURVIVE THE HERD’S VANISHING
  Suddenly your brain feels as though it is boiling behind 
  your eyes. Merciless judgment shakes you to your 
  marrow. Make a DC 17 Will save. If successful, make a 
  DC 20 Ride check. 
   
  Finally, you find yourself standing alone in the 
  morning mist, watching the Riphean Herd fading 
  to nothing in the increasing light of dawn. You are 
  victorious!
  Riphean Herd Rider 
  Those rare adventurers who have ridden the infamous 
  herd and survived are called Riphean Herd Riders. They 
  are often renowned throughout Midgard as the greatest of 
  riders—and the greatest of heroes.
  Prerequisite: Ride the Riphean Herd from dusk until dawn. 
  Benefit: You are immune to fear effects. Companions gain a 
  +2 morale bonus vs. fear effects in your presence.
  
  27
  warlords, commoners—the Doorlord will create portals 
  for all indiscriminately.
   
  Those who meet Hune the Doorlord typically hear a 
  harsh, whispering voice pose a single question: 
   
  “Door?” 
   
  Those who answer in the affirmative and pay the 
  Doorlord’s price—which varies wildly—may request passage 
  to anywhere. The Doorlord’s price for this service always 
  involves something the requester has on hand, though 
  the specifics vary from person to person. Sometimes, the 
  Doorlord requires a precious magic item. Other times, 
  he asks for rations or a pint of blood. No one knows the 
  Doorlord’s purposes for these items. 
   
  The portals the Doorlord creates only last as long as 
  it takes the requester and his or her companions to enter. 
  Passage is a one-way trip. Nothing restricts the Doorlord’s 
  portals—not locked rooms, forbidden fortresses, great 
  distances, or magical defenses.
   
  In addition to his historical role, the Doorlord 
  continues to affect modern life in Midgard, and a number 
  of scattered groups pay homage to him. In the Grand 
  Duchies, members of the Cult of the Gaping Door believe 
  that no mundane doors should be closed or secured; 
  they take fanatical pride in invading wealthy residents’ 
  homes simply to unlock their doors, chests, and safes. In 
  the Crossroads, the small Temple of Passage promotes 
  magical transportation and offers teleportation services 
  for astronomical fees. There is even a pirate in the Western 
  Ocean named Captain Bartholomew Wayfen, whose ship, 
  the Open Passage, sails under the flag of the unlocked 
  door—a clear homage to the Doorlord.
   
  Hune the Doorlord can be encountered anywhere on 
  Midgard. His appearances follow no pattern; he seems 
  to operate under his own mysterious logic. Some say the 
  Doorlord is drawn to those who desperately need passage 
  to somewhere. Many of the stories surrounding the 
  Doorlord concern those who greatly desired faster travel or 
  access to the inaccessible. 
   
  Others believe that the Doorlord is searching for 
  something to rekindle his godhood—some hidden artifact 
  that, if found, could herald the rebirth of the god of portals.
  Taking Passage with 
  Hune the Doorlord
  For those lucky enough to encounter the Doorlord, taking 
  passage through his portals is not always easy. While the 
  Doorlord is immortal, he is not as powerful as a full-
  fledged deity. Therefore, his transports sometimes go awry.  
   
  Refer to the following table for portal results:
  d10
  Portal Results
  1
  GM’s decision
  2-3
  Arrive 5 miles away from intended destination
  4-7
  Arrive at intended destination
  8-9
  Arrive 50 miles away from intended destination
  10
  Arrive in another plane
  I shall find it, my lords, this elemental whirlwind that haunts 
  the reaches of Midgard. I shall find it and study its center, 
  which will teach me its mysteries and wonders alike! 
                            – The last known words of Sir Enrich Strand
  alled the first storm, Hringida roams the loneliest 
  parts of Midgard as a whirling vortex formed of 
  the four elements. Ancient and vast, Hringida 
  towers over mountains and draws into its winds everything 
  in its path. Its outer layers are formed from whirling air 
  mixed with driving rains, which once were the ponds and 
  lakes found along the storm’s way. The storm’s center is 
  composed of fire and stone, which creates a whirling vortex 
  of flames and rocky debris. Impossibly, a hulking keep, 
  suspended and preserved through mighty enchantments, 
  hangs above a gaping portal at Hringida’s center.
   
  A product of the boiling and melting at the center 
  of Ginnungagap, Hringida is made of the same stuff as 
  elementals—for some unknown reason, however, the 
  Hringida, the First Storm
  storm never became one of those beasts. Instead, for 
  centuries untold, it wandered Midgard, feeding itself 
  on the detritus it drew up. With only a rudimentary 
  intelligence, the storm nonetheless unconsciously avoided 
  civilized areas, staying in the lonely parts of the world. 
  While many are baffled by this behavior, Hringida may 
  view its tortured existence as some sort of punishment for 
  sins unknown, explaining why the storm avoids causing 
  needless suffering on a large scale. Or there may be 
  another explanation all together. 
   
  About 3,500 years ago, the Ankeshelian archmage 
  Broendan Kaval lured Hringida to his keep, suspecting 
  that the portal at the storm’s heart was a doorway to the 
  underside of Midgard. While he intended to study and 
  eventually control the first storm, its ancient powers 
  responded poorly to his offer. Hringida hurled itself onto 
  the archmage’s keep, utterly destroying the wizard but 
  inadvertently lifting the stone building into its own heart, 
  where it remains. 
   
  Maddened by the intrusion into its core, the first 
  C
  
  28
  MIDGARD LEGENDS
  storm raged across the length of the land, drawing up any 
  creatures in its path and hurling them through its vortex 
  into the unknown. As its anger abated over the centuries, 
  however, Hringida found new thoughts encroaching upon 
  its consciousness—thoughts uncomfortably akin to those 
  of a mortal.
   
  Though most who face Hringida perish immediately 
  or fall into its portal to Midgard’s underside, some 
  creatures drawn into its vortex come to occupy Kaval’s 
  Keep. Their unconscious minds influence Hringida; 
  their greatest needs become its needs. Whether it 
  is food, weapons, medicine, or companionship, the 
  storm seeks it out and draws it into the keep. Occupied 
  by a strange assortment of races and peoples, the 
  keep’s inhabitants often compete for supplies needed 
  to survive. Untouched by time, the last remnants of 
  Midgard’s past cultures live and more or less thrive 
  within Kaval’s Keep. In this way, the storm is a portal 
  into Midgard’s forgotten past.
   
  In recent months, Hringida has crossed into 
  the Wastes and appears to linger in the mountains 
  Northeast of the Lost Tower. Whether by some occult 
  sign or because of the storm’s sudden, fixed position, 
  two druidic groups currently are heading toward 
  Hringida. The druids of Domovogrod made camp 
  within sight of the storm. Although fanatical in the 
  pursuit of their secret orders to reach Kaval’s Keep 
  and secure the ancient knowledge of the first elves, 
  the druids’ first attempt to pierce the storm resulted in 
  nothing but failure. 
   
  The second druidic order pursuing the storm—Blood 
  Mother Margase’s Oaken Ring druids (see page 14), 
  who have already alighted in pursuit of it—have a much 
  different goal. Believing that the presence of Kaval’s Keep 
  has corrupted the last surviving primordial elemental, 
  these druids seek to free Hringida by destroying the 
  edifice and anyone or anything inside it.
  Kaval’s Keep
  CN small town (unique)
  Population: 400 humans, 125 elves, 60 dwarves, 40 
  gnomes, 30 other
  The keep itself is a colossal structure consisting of a 
  main building several stories high, multiple towers, 
  and various connected outbuildings. It is perched on 
  a massive, cone-shaped rock suspended above a dark 
  portal inside Hringida.  
   
   
  Fortified by its wizard creator and through its 
  proximity to Hringida, the keep resembles a living 
  creature. It slowly and continuously grows, and it can heal 
  damage to itself. The inhabitants occupy only a fraction 
  
  29
  of the keep’s rooms. The remaining rooms shelter animals, 
  monsters, and other creatures that the storm has drawn 
  into its vortex.
  THE FACTIONS
  Six competing—and sometimes warring—factions 
  make up Kaval’s Keep’s population. Each controls a 
  section of the keep. Apart from the strictly observed 
  Marketday truce, these factions do not intermingle, 
  although each is firmly aware of the others. The factions 
  constantly struggle within the keep for resources, 
  power, and bragging rights. 
  New Ankeshel
  In the keep’s highest tower, members of the New 
  Ankeshel faction seek to master the enchantments 
  needed to gain power over Hringida itself. Said to be 
  descendants of Ankesh, these inhabitants are united 
  through their collective fascination with magic and vril 
  tech. To members of New Ankeshel, life within the keep 
  is a long game; they strive for resources and knowledge 
  while keeping other factions from doing the same.   
   
  Cailr Maraleth, a wizardess said to possess strange 
  and esoteric powers, is the faction’s leader.  
   
   
  Her followers claim she has drawn up a centuries-
  long plan to eventually compel Hringida to serve her 
  selfish purposes. Whether such a thing is even possible, 
  or whether her claims are so much braggadocio, 
  remains unknown.
  Lost Grove
  Formed from groups of the first elves, this fiercely 
  xenophobic faction occupies the extensive gardens 
  built into the keep’s main hall roof. Having descended 
  into a somewhat barbaric state, these elves believe in 
  protecting their gardens from any and all interlopers. 
  In the past, other factions regularly raided the gardens 
  for food because the elves refused to distribute it. Now, 
  though, thanks to the more reform-minded plans of 
  the Grove’s current chief, T’vin, the elves are willing 
  to trade their food on Marketday—though they are 
  not above making power deals and lopsided deals that 
  heavily benefit themselves. 
  Kaval’s Apprentices
  Universally despised by the other factions, members 
  of Kaval’s Apprentices seek to unlock the secrets of the 
  keep for their own nefarious uses. Formed from arcane 
  casters who were ejected from other groups, these mages 
  possess no morals and respect no boundaries when it 
  comes to studying magic. Led by the halfling sorcerer 
  Fundor Bloodwand, who boasts a genius-level intellect, the 
  faction often unleashes plagues of summoned monsters, 
  spells, diseases, and worse to weaken their enemies. The 
  apprentices’ lack of decency might eliminate the other 
  factions if it were not for their colossal corruption and 
  incompetence.
  Stone Forge
  Volar Forgemaster leads this community of pre-reaving 
  dwarves. Located in the heart of the keep, the dwarves 
  labor in the building’s forges to create metal items of 
  wonder. The idea is to bring glory and honor to Volund 
  and Donar just as their ancestors did before them. The 
  forges also provide heat to the rest of the keep, a fact 
  that Forgemaster has used to his faction’s advantage 
  in the past. During times of extreme cold caused by 
  Hringida’s forays into icy lands, other factions must 
  swallow their pride and approach Forgemaster with 
  requests to provide heat to their parts of the keep. 
  Forgemaster almost always grants these requests—but 
  the price of his heat is never cheap.
  Archivists
  In the keep’s former barracks, descendants of couplings 
  between Mage War-era tieflings and humans use 
  matriarchal rule to unite their faction in a common 
  goal: create a new Caelmarath. Somewhat delusional 
  and a self-proclaimed paladin of Isonade, Lady Stross 
  rules over this faction via a strong cult of personality. 
  Under her guidance, the Archivists have grown in size 
  and ambition. In fact, their power has become such 
  that the other factions keep wary eyes on them and on 
  Lady Stross—who does nothing to try to diminish the 
  tension her leadership breeds within the keep.
  Rats in Walls
  Between the walls of the keep lives a tribe of gnomes 
  who inhabit an ant farm-like warren of crudely carved 
  tunnels. Descendants of gnomes that previously 
  incurred Baba Yaga’s anger, these faction members have 
  institutionalized fear into an agoraphobic existence. 
  They survive by stealing anything available; in fact, they 
  believe that robbing outsiders brings the faction honor. 
  Magn Gurt, the faction’s current leader, often goads his 
  gatherers to commit daring exploits. Meanwhile, the 
  faction’s elders whisper that such risks surely will bring 
  Old Grandmother down upon them soon.
  
  30
  MIDGARD LEGENDS
  lthough the kobold emperor’s Burning Spirelong 
  has been ruined, everyone along the western 
  borders of the Dragon Empire knows of 
  Izikorlevix. At the apex of his reign, the diminutive but 
  ambitious kobold ruled at least a dozen city-states and 
  lesser kingdoms. Records that remain of this time reveal a 
  brilliant figure both shrewd and subtle.
   
  Izikorlevix (pronounced “Iss-
  a-CORE-le-vicks”) came from 
  humble beginnings. Even during 
  his lifetime, no one knew the exact 
  location of his birth; the kobold, 
  however, seemed blissful in his 
  ignorance. Instead, he preferred 
  to research his lineage, which he 
  claimed he could trace back 500 
  generations to an ancient red dragon 
  called the Crimson Tyrant. 
   
  Seeking to match his ancestor, 
  Izikorlevix conquered hamlets, 
  towns, cities, and kingdoms; each 
  victory he used as a foundation 
  for the next. To build his empire, 
  Izikorlevix frequently employed 
  cunning statecraft, blackmail, and 
  politics, which he augmented with 
  his renowned talents in charms, 
  illusions, and enchantments to 
  achieve his goals.
   
  In a quest to sate his hunger 
  for power, Izikorlevix was 
  responsible for dozens—maybe 
  even hundreds—of excavations 
  across Midgard to accumulate 
  lore and artifacts. Eventually, he 
  attracted the attention of a council 
  of dragons, which grew suspicious 
  and contemptuous of a mere 
  kobold wielding such great power. 
   
  The most monumental 
  challenge to Izikorlevix’s rule came 
  when the dragons marched on his 
  mountain home, seeking to punish 
  his pride. Yet the kobold’s greatest 
  challenge was also his greatest 
  triumph; having anticipated the 
  dragons’ hubris, Izikorlevix secretly 
  fashioned several items of great power. 
  These scepters permitted him to mentally shackle the 
  dragons as if they were just ordinary, wild beasts. 
  Izikorlevix, Scion of 
     the Crimson Tyrant
   
  Accompanied by his lieutenants, Izikorlevix met the 
  invading dragons at his northern border. First, he turned 
  them against each other. The survivors he magically bound 
  into his service. These dragons remained Izikorlevix’s 
  slaves until the day the emperor died. The Rage of the 
  Smoking Valley—as the battle came to be known due 
  to the devastation inflicted on the battlefield—ensured 
  Izikorlevix retained his kingdom for more than a century.
         Although he was an ambitious autocrat, Izikorlevix 
  also was remarkably egalitarian. His elite soldiers—
  called Dragon’s Breath due to their 
  distinctive, red dragonscale 
  longcoats and their enchanted, 
  dragon-bone crossbows—hailed from 
  all walks of life and represented 
  many races. The kobold 
  emperor’s priorities lay in 
  practical concerns such as 
  competence and loyalty; his 
  meritocratic inclinations, 
  together with his cult of 
  personality fortified by his 
  vicious enslavement of 
  dragons, meant he suffered 
  few uprisings.
   
      Despite his hunger 
  for power, Izikorlevix 
  cared surprisingly little 
  about his legacy. He 
  died a natural death at 
  the age of 212, setting 
  off a brutal succession 
  war between dozens 
  of heirs and several 
  powerful generals. This conflict 
  weakened the empire; a few 
  years later, the liberated dragons 
  A
  
  31
  struck again, razing the Burning Spire and shattering the 
  scepters Izikorlevix had created to control their kind. The 
  Dragon’s Breath brigade disbanded. A few of its soldiers, 
  however, spirited away fragments of the broken scepters. To 
  this day, esoteric sages and eager treasure hunters believe 
  these fragments still could be found by anyone who knows 
  where to look.
  FRAGMENT OF THE SCEPTER
  Aura strong abjuration and enchantment; CL 20th
  Slot none; Weight —
  Description
  This item looks like little more than a ruined scrap of 
  steel, a fragment of twisted gold filigree, or a shard of a 
  large gemstone. It radiates, however, great power. When 
  kept on your person— and not in an extraplanar or non-
  dimensional space— a fragment of the scepter grants you 
  a +4 bonus to AC and to saving throws against creatures 
  with the dragon type. In addition, you may target these 
  creatures with mind-affecting spells or abilities if they are 
  not normally valid targets. If you have a free hand and 
  wrap it around the fragment while you cast such a spell, 
  you may also gain a +4 bonus to overcome the target’s SR.
  Destruction
  Boiling these fragments in the blood of a slain dragon—
  and then subjecting them to the breath weapon of a dragon 
  of the same type—is the only way to destroy them.
  Jolinar the Cursed
  olinar had never been a lucky man. As the third 
  son of a powerful merchant, though, he had lived 
  a life of carefree luxury; however, when all the 
  older males of his family perished in a hunting accident, his 
  mother turned the family business over to him. The results, 
  in line with Jolinar’s awful luck, were spectacularly terrible. 
  In less than a year and a half, Jolinar transformed his family’s 
  profitable business emporium into a money-losing chain 
  struggling to survive. Salvaging what little remained of the 
  family’s fortune, Jolinar’s mother disowned him, evicted him 
  from the family estate, and left him with only one store to run 
  as his own.
   
  Unable to attribute his failures to foolishness, Jolinar 
  sought out Baba Yaga for help improving his luck. Her 
  reputation for extracting heavy prices from petitioners, 
  predictably, left Jolinar unfazed. He had surprisingly little 
  difficulty getting her to promise to make him the luckiest 
  man in the world. As payment, all Baba Yaga wanted was the 
  location of the gnomish King Redbeard’s hidden palace.
   
  For two years, Jolinar traveled to the forest cities of 
  Niemheim trying to discover the palace’s location. He failed. 
  Out of money and without hope, Jolinar returned to Baba 
  Yaga and made the biggest gamble of his life. He planned to 
  lie—to tell Baba Yaga that Redbeard’s palace was located in 
  the gnomish capital of Holmgard. The plan, Jolinar figured, 
  was foolproof; after all, that vague piece of information was 
  common knowledge. Jolinar’s plan fulfilled the letter—if not 
  the intent—of his promise.
   
  When the two came face to face, Jolinar told Baba Yaga he 
  knew the location of Redbeard’s palace, but claimed he would 
  only reveal it once she had fulfilled her end of the bargain. 
  Jolinar also extracted a promise that she would not harm him 
  or revoke his increased luck after he revealed its location. The 
  witch sensed Jolinar was telling her the truth, but blinded by 
  her desire to take revenge upon the gnomes, she ignored the 
  nagging sensation that he was hiding something. Once the 
  blessing was complete, Jolinar revealed that the king’s palace 
  was located somewhere in Holmgard. 
   
  Furious but bound by her promise, Baba Yaga neither 
  harmed Jolinar nor removed his blessing. However, after he 
  had left, she used a strand of hair she’d collected from him 
  and crafted a powerful curse that projected incredibly bad 
  luck onto those close to him.
   
  Jolinar returned home, oblivious to the witch’s revenge. At 
  first, everything went perfectly. He won all games of chance 
  he tried and raked in gold from even the riskiest business 
  adventures. He even managed to convince his mother that 
  he was a changed man. She welcomed him back into the 
  family and reinstated his control of the entire family business. 
  Jolinar was the happiest he’d ever been. Unfortunately, that 
  happiness ended as quickly as it began.
   
  Soon after reconciling with her son, Jolinar’s mother died 
  in a freak carriage accident. At her funeral, a business rival 
  lethally poisoned everyone except for Jolinar, who, of course, 
  just happened to be the only one too grief-stricken to eat. A 
  few days later, a lightning strike killed Jolinar’s best friend of 
  20 years. Most of his other friends and family soon died in 
  equally strange and horrible ways, leaving Jolinar with huge 
  sums of money, successful businesses, and estates to which he 
  never knew he had any claim.
   
  Too late, Jolinar noticed this cursed pattern, and he began 
  to isolate himself to spare his few remaining loved ones. He 
  even tried to take his own life on several different occasions, 
  but his luck always protected him from himself. Today, 
  Jolinar is rarely seen in public. Effectively isolated from 
  society, he is a desperate, lonely man. 
   
  Both Jolinar’s luck and his curse have inspired others 
  to try to kill him; however, every attempt has ended in the 
  most unlikely way. Weapons break, birds fly into the paths of 
  arrows, bottles of poison turn out to be mislabeled healing 
  J
  
  32
  MIDGARD LEGENDS
  potions, potential killers are crushed by bookcases—always 
  some freak instance saves Jolinar’s life. In fact, his luck is so 
  ruthlessly effective at protecting him from lethal damage that 
  most assassins’ guilds no longer accept contracts on his life. 
   
  As the years have passed, Jolinar has learned how to 
  work within the bounds of his cursed luck. He has an 
  arrangement with a local gambling establishment, which 
  he frequents when the house begins to lose too much 
  coin. Other businesses employ his talents to reduce their 
  competition’s profitability or to simply scare them into 
  unprofitable deals. When Jolinar is truly desperate for a 
  job—or even just some short-lived companionship—he 
  sometimes will secretly join adventuring parties just 
  before they venture forth on a difficult quest. None of 
  these parties have ever been heard from again.
  Game Mechanics
  Jolinar’s boon provides him with a number of fortuitous 
  advantages.
  JOLINAR’S LUCK
  Jolinar automatically succeeds on all Dexterity skill checks 
  outside of combat. On opposed checks in non-combat 
  situations, he receives a +5 bonus to all die rolls. During 
  combat, he receives a +5 bonus to all attack rolls and 
  Dexterity-based skills. In battle, once he has lost half of his 
  hit points, any healing spells his enemies cast automatically 
  target Jolinar instead of their allies as long as Jolinar has 
  half of his hp remaining or less. If he falls to 0 or lower hp, 
  he automatically stabilizes. 
   
  It is impossible to inflict lethal damage on Jolinar. Any 
  attempt to do so is counteracted by Jolinar’s luck, which 
  causes incredibly unlikely things happen to at the GM’s 
  discretion.
  Jolinar’s Curse
  The effects of the curse are different when in combat than 
  they are in everyday life.
  OUT OF COMBAT
  Jolinar is surrounded by an aura with a 50-ft. radius. Racial, 
  class, or item abilities that affect luck go the worst way 
  possible for the creature that triggered the ability. Creatures 
  within Jolinar’s aura takes at least a -3 penalty to any rolls 
  made while inside it; opposed rolls against Jolinar increase to 
  a -5 penalty. PCs may take 10 on skill checks, but never 20. 
   
  Once a day, there is a 1% chance that a living creature 
  within this Jolinar’s aura will suffer an untimely or unusual 
  death. Roll d%, and a natural 1 causes the death of a random 
  creature located within Jolinar’s aura. GMs may wish to 
  
  33
  avoid targeting PCs with this effect. In addition, any living 
  creature to which Jolinar is emotionally attached has a 1% 
  chance once a day of dying in a strange accident.
  IN COMBAT
  The curse’s effect extends to any creature that has targeted 
  Jolinar with an attack; distance from Jolinar does not matter. 
  Jolinar does not need to be aware he’s been targeted in order 
  for the curse to affect his attacker. Any creature that targets 
  Jolinar with an attack takes a -5 penalty to all rolls for the 
  rest of the combat. The effects of cursed items are doubled in 
  intensity. Blessings given during combat automatically target 
  Jolinar. Items that affect luck vibrate unpleasantly during 
  combat; if such items are equipped, there’s a 50 percent 
  chance each round that their holders will drop them, or that 
  those wearing such items will be slowed.
  SPECIAL COMBAT CURSE EFFECTS
  To determine the curse’s specific effect on creatures in 
  combat with Jolinar, roll a d6 and divide by 2. The resulting 
  effect targets all creatures attacking Jolinar.
  1—Distress (Will DC 16 negates) Terrible cramps 
  overwhelm you. Take 2d6 +6 damage. You are dazed for one 
  round.
  2—Impending Doom (Will DC 16 negates) You recall all 
  the deadly things you’ve heard about Jolinar’s curse. This effect 
  functions like fear (Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook).
  3—Lousy Luck (Reflex DC 16 negates) You are slowed for 
  one round, grant combat advantage to Jolinar, impede your 
  allies’ movement, and provide cover for Jolinar.
  TACTICS
  Jolinar will not fight unless he sees no other choice. For 
  the first three rounds of a battle, he will take a full-defense 
  action. If running is a viable option, he will do so. He will 
  surrender if given the opportunity and will stop fighting if 
  he is no longer being attacked.
  Jolinar
  Male human expert 8/rogue 2
  N Medium humanoid
  Int+8; Senses Perception -1
  DEFENSE
  AC 22, touch 19, flat-footed 18 (+3 armor, +3 Dex,+1 
  dodge, +5 luck )
  hp 49 (10d8)
  Fort +2, Ref +10, Will +5
  Immune to critical hits
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee dagger +10 (1d4/19-20), ranged +14 (1d4/19-20)
  Sneak attack +1d6
  STATISTICS
  Str 10, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 18
  Base Atk +7/+2, CMB +7/+2, CMD 24
  Feats Deceitful, Dodge, Mobility, Nimble Moves, Skill Focus 
  (Profession [merchant]), Run
  Skills Appraise +11, Bluff+12, Diplomacy +10, Disguise 
  +9, Knowledge (geography)+10, Knowledge(local) +10, 
  Linguistics +7, Profession (merchant) +15, Sense Motive 
  +5, Sleight of Hand +9
  Languages Common, Gnomish
  SQ evasion, sneak attack (1d6), trap finding, rogue talent 
  (stand up)
  Combat Gear cape of the mountebank (activated 
  automatically at 0 hp), bracers of armor +3, 
  eversmoking bottle
  hirty years ago, in a brilliant flash of white-hot 
  light, Prince Lucan’s emissary crumbled, broken 
  by a young priest’s wrath. The emissary was part 
  of the dark prince’s brutish raiding party; their quarry 
  was a young, terrified woman—barely more than a girl—
  named Ennessa. As the emissary’s lifeless body slumped to 
  the ground, the rest of Lucan’s men scattered, and Ennessa 
  was saved that day from a dark fate. Instantly, the powerful 
  young man whose wrath defied a tyrant became legend.  
  Born a peasant, his name was Kjord.
   
  Moved by the prayers of Ennessa—who knew she was 
  about to be abducted and, most likely, murdered following 
  Kjord, Hope Lost, 
    the Defier
  T
  unspeakable suffering—Kjord, a traveling preacher, had 
  done the unthinkable. He annihilated the dark creatures 
  and fomented rebellion in the village of Gorez, which had 
  languished under Prince Lucan’s thumb. Standing in the 
  pile of ash that was Prince Lucan’s emissary, from that day 
  forward Kjord was transformed. 
   
  No longer just a simple preacher, Kjord now believed 
  it was his divine duty to spur political change. He soon 
  traveled from village to village, urging the downtrodden 
  residents to defy Prince Lucan, even in the smallest ways 
  such as reducing their tithes or rejecting his edicts.
   
  For a short time, hope among the villagers spread. 
  
  34
  MIDGARD LEGENDS
  Many even began praising Kjord’s name as they would 
  a god’s. This angered Mavros the War God, but it also 
  amused him, He warned Kjord: “Do not plant the seeds of 
  hope where they will not grow. In the blood-soaked killing 
  fields of Morgau, these seeds quickly turn to dust.”
   
  Embittered by what he perceived as Mavros’s 
  unwillingness to help the people of Morgau, Kjord 
  accepted their worship and became their champion. He 
  found he did not need to eat or sleep—so long as he was 
  working to defy the fate predestined for this dark land. 
  Believing his good deeds the harbinger of a new dawn, 
  Kjord believed he could not be defeated and, for a 
  time, that was true.
   
   In the village of Gorez, villagers raised a shrine 
  to Kjord in the form of his symbol: a silver sickle. 
  Young people, in particular, embraced Kjord’s 
  message of defiance, hoping to escape the hard life 
  of serfdom. The elders, suspicious of any type of 
  change, cautioned the youths of the repercussions they 
  might face at the prince’s hands. Their warnings, however, 
  went unheeded. After all, as the village’s youngsters 
  constantly reminded their elders, dour words could not 
  compete with Kjord’s miracles. 
   
  Meanwhile, Kjord’s miracles continued. In the 
  neighboring mining village of Kochen, he broke the dark 
  magic gloom of centuries. Dispelling a curse Prince 
  Lucan’s predecessor laid, Kjord brought the sun back to 
  the townsfolk. In Kullivern, after Kjord banished the 
  harpy-witches that had preyed upon their livestock 
  for generations, the villages raised him onto their 
  shoulders with glee. 
   
  For his part, the vampire 
  prince thought the reports 
  of Kjord’s miracles were a 
  joke. After all, who would 
  care about a few backwater 
  villages? To soothe his ego, 
  Lucan resolved to cut their grain 
  rations; he’d starve them into submission. 
  Doing so was hardly a pressing matter, 
  though, and was well beneath his notice—
  until he had an unsettling dream. 
          Vampires generally do not dream—at 
  least not as men do—but one day, during 
  his daily repose, Baba Yaga appeared 
  to him. For the first time in his unlife, 
  Lucan felt tiny, mortal, and terrified. In 
  the dream, the witch warned him about 
  Kjord’s growing influence. In particular, 
  she warned that, if he continued to give 
  the villages hope, his power would one 
  day eclipse the prince’s; indeed, it had 
  the potential to challenge the gods 
  themselves. Baba Yaga’s warnings 
  echoed in the prince’s mind for 
  the remainder of his rest. That evening, Prince Lucan 
  arose with a new purpose: to crush the disease known as 
  hope and its carrier, Kjord. Quickly, Lucan alighted on a 
  dastardly, deadly plan.
           One year after Kjord saved Ennessa from the prince’s 
  fiends, the hope he had kindled in the villagers was 
  spectacularly extinguished. Accompanied by one-fourth of 
  his massive army, Prince Lucan strode into Gorez, 
  intent on annihilating Kjord and all he held dear. 
  Alerted to the prince’s plans, Kjord cried out to 
  Mavros for help. Again the god spoke to him.
   “False hope is poison,” said Mavros. “No one can 
  change the nature of this ancient land, not even 
  me. Now, my servant, give up this folly and repent.” 
   Enraged and betrayed, Kjord refused the god’s 
  command. 
   Without aid from Mavros, Lucan’s army 
  crushed Gorez so thoroughly that no trace of 
  it remained. Prince Lucan turned the girl 
  Kjord saved, Ennessa, into a vampire in 
  front of the priest’s eyes. Driven mad with 
  grief and unable to face his failure, Kjord 
  threw himself on a soldier’s spear. With 
  his crusade such a spectacular failure, 
  Kjord no longer wanted to live. In 
  his destitute state, he considered his 
  entire life a waste and folly.
   
  Immediately, steeped in the evil 
  glory of his victory, Prince Lucan 
  cast a dark spell to turn Kjord into 
  one of his undead servants. As Kjord 
  lay dying, though, he committed a 
  final act of defiance. With his last 
  breath, he uttered a single word: 
  “Never.” Just as quickly as Kjord was 
  defeated, pure light spilled from his 
  body as it, too, turned to ash.
   
  With Kjord vanquished, life 
  returned to normal for the people 
  of Morgau. Those few villages that 
  rebelled now entreated the dark 
  prince in hopes of avoiding Gorez’s 
  fate. Every so often, though, a 
  stranger appears with one true 
  purpose: defy the Prince and inspire 
  rebellion. These iconoclasts are 
  invariably ignored, for the people 
  learned a hard lesson from Kjord. 
                The fallen priest’s story 
  now inspires people in 
  quieter, subtler ways. 
  Ten years after 
  the destruction 
  of Gorez, Prince 
  Lucan faced in 
  
  35
  battle and slew another hero, Julana the Red. He saw the 
  white fire in her eyes and felt it depart when she died. 
  At that moment, Lucan knew that, despite his efforts to 
  eradicate all vestiges of Kjord, a part of the enigmatic priest 
  survives still.
  Spark of Kjord
  During his brief time of power, Kjord acquired the 
  beginnings of a divine spark. In his last act of defiance he 
  set it free. The spark now passes randomly to individuals 
  who dare defy Prince Lucan, the will of Mavros, or simply 
  their own fate.
  Benefit: You gain +2 on attempts to persuade others to your 
  cause. Once per day, when standing in defiance of authority 
  and acting to advance a higher purpose, white fire burns in 
  your eyes. You gain the benefits of a potion of heroism.
    The effects of Spark of Kjord depart immediately upon 
  death. Additionally, they will jump to another individual 
  the moment the spark-holder wavers in his or her 
  convictions. To date, none have held the Spark of Kjord 
  for more than 11 days, as even the most confident and 
  most sincere in their beliefs have moments of doubt.
   
  If a PC is temporarily granted the spark, he or she 
  must not act against his or her sworn convictions, which 
  must be stated clearly. Also, the PC must make Will 
  saves of increasing difficulty daily starting on the second 
  day of carrying the spark (DC 10, +1 difficulty each day 
  thereafter) to perfectly maintain his or her convictions.
          The spark is not always a blessing. Some would 
  consider it a curse. When the white fire is spotted in one’s 
  eyes, it is not long before word carries back to Prince 
  Lucan, the servants of Baba Yaga, or the priest of Mavros—
  all of whom have a stake in extinguishing it permanently.
  rom the Frozen Reach to the shores of Krakova, 
  sailors often tell of a great iceberg that moves 
  according to the will of the man dwelling within 
  it. Reports of this iceberg’s size and shape vary. Some say 
  it resembles an ice-carved palace more than any naturally 
  occurring structure. It’s been known to give chase to ships; 
  one tale tells of black-scaled horrors rising from the ocean’s 
  depths to pull vessels onto the iceberg’s jagged shore.
   
  Stories regarding the man who lives within the 
  iceberg—named Kureazol, the Claw of Boreas—do not 
  vary in their descriptions. The tales describe him as a tall 
  man, exceedingly sharp-featured, with skin as taut as a 
  drum. A great black beard, wild and wiry, drapes over 
  Kureazol’s chest, while his long hair is drawn tightly back 
  from his brow and is held in place with an illuminated, 
  crystalline circlet. Kureazol’s eyes slowly shift from color 
  to color—an effect that surely, most believe, reflects his 
  strange, magical abilities.
   
  Kureazol is a great sorcerer who wields ancient 
  magic, attended by fearful skraeling servants, as well as 
  other monstrous creatures of the far north. However, no 
  one outside the frozen halls of Geskleithron knows that 
  Kureazol is an example of his own god’s cruelty.
   
  Driven by insatiable curiosity, as a young man Kureazol 
  left his home in Hyperborea and made his way to the 
  desolate shores of the Bleak Expanse, where he spent a year 
  wandering the unforgiving vastness. To survive, Kureazol 
  honed his sorcery and observed the ways of the skraeling 
  natives, who scrape out a meager living there. When he 
  tired of this monotonous existence, Kureazol again sought 
  adventure. One day, he came across a great city composed 
  entirely of ice: Geskleithron, the city beneath the Tower of 
  the North Wind—home of Boreas.
  Kureazol, Claw of Boreas
  F
   
  Although he tried to watch the city stealthily, Kureazol 
  was easily apprehended by Geskleithron’s strange denizens, 
  who sent reports back to their divine master. Curious 
  about the foolish man who came alone to his home, Boreas 
  assumed a human form and appeared before Kureazol. He 
  then paralyzed him and turned his body to living ice. After 
  examining Kureazol’s brain and determining that he was 
  not an enemy agent, he moved the living statue to a place 
  overlooking the entire city, where Kureazol could witness its 
  machinations forever as punishment for his trespassing.
   
  It wasn’t long before Boreas—ever tired of the company 
  of his spineless, sycophantic servants—began to pass time 
  talking to the frozen Kureazol. At first, the god did so to 
  revel in the humor of his cruel deed. Over time, though, 
  Boreas began spending long hours sharing his thoughts and 
  plans with Kureazol. He railed against the Aesir and boasted 
  of the day he’d claim their lands for his own. All the while, 
  Kureazol could do nothing but listen.
   
  After seven years, Boreas’ curiosity about Kureazol’s state 
  of mind trumped his new desires to confide in him. The god 
  then restored Kureazol to flesh and bone and bade him speak. 
  To his amazement, the man began muttering and whispering 
  both sides of a single conversation in which one participant 
  seemed to be an imitation of Boreas himself!
   
  At first, Boreas was angry. Soon, however, his anger 
  turned to amusement, which shifted to amazement. 
  Kureazol’s imitations of the god were uncanny. It wasn’t 
  just Boreas’ voice that the man so accurately mimicked—
  it was also the words, which seemed to be coming from 
  the god himself.
   
  Boreas began experimenting. For example, he would 
  interject thoughts and phrases into Kureazol’s ramblings, 
  and Kureazol would seamlessly incorporate them into the 
  
  36
  MIDGARD LEGENDS
  dialogue. If Boreas left thoughts half-voiced, Kureazol, after 
  a brief pause, would finish them as the god, and then reply 
  as himself. Soon, it seemed as if Kureazol knew Boreas’ 
  thoughts better than the god did.
   
  Boreas came within an instant of killing Kureazol 
  countless times during his ramblings. What sort of mortal 
  was he, Boreas wondered, who could so thoroughly know 
  the mind of a god? What sort of danger might he pose?
  The longer Boreas stayed his hand, the more he began to 
  see the strangeness within Kureazol as an extension of his 
  own divine will. Perhaps so much exposure to the musings 
  of a god worked some strange magic; perhaps Kureazol 
  now possessed some small piece of Boreas. Further, Boreas 
  realized Kureazol’s replies showed proper deference, and 
  the man took direction unquestioningly. If Kureazol was 
  truly an extension of Boreas’ will, the god figured, then he 
  should use the man to expand his divine reach.
   
  Soon, suffused with sorcerous power courtesy of Boreas, 
  Kureazol headed south with a cadre of creatures faithful 
  to his lord. He carried with him a blue egg which, when 
  dropped into the sea, slowly grew into the mutable iceberg 
  lair in which he now travels.
   
  Soon after this iceberg’s appearance, a village on the 
  shores of the Swive was destroyed by enormous waves 
  that grew out of a seemingly calm sea. Those lucky 
  enough to have been on high ground during the disaster 
  said they saw hide boats and skraeling men plucking 
  survivors from the water. Instead of returning them to 
  shore, though, the skraelings rowed the survivors further 
  out to sea, where the iceberg rose from beneath the 
  surface to receive them. They were never seen again.
   
  Now, Kureazol’s minions skulk throughout the 
  Northlands—a strange assortment of men and beasts—
  avoiding large settlements and cities but still 
  working their immoral crafts. They offer bribes 
  and make pacts with those willing to offer 
  obeisance to the God of the North Wind. Those 
  who refuse find they must contend with newly 
  enriched and less scrupulous rivals at the least. 
  Where silver will not buy them loyalty, however, 
  terror and slaughter often serves. 
   
  Each of Kureazol’s agents wears a periapt of the 
  plenipotentiary, which aids them in their errands 
  and allows them to relay to him daily progress 
  reports. Every periapt of the plenipotentiary is 
  made from a silver coin stolen from the hoard 
  of a vaettir, a furious, undead nature spirit (see 
  Northlands, page 108). The act of creating the 
  item conceals its location from the vaettir. If an 
  agent fails to submit a daily report to Kureazol, 
  others are dispatched to investigate. If 
  Kureazol believes an agent has abandoned 
  a mission or that foul play has occurred, 
  the sorcerer can speak a command word 
  to reveal the periapt of the plenipotentiary’s 
  location to the vaettir, who will relentlessly 
  hunt the item’s current owner.
  PERIAPT OF THE PLENIPOTENTIARY
  Aura moderate evocation; CL 10th
  Slot neck; Price 5,000 gp; Weight—
  Description
  Composed of an old silver coin hanging from an iron 
  chain, a periapt of the plenipotentiary functions exactly as 
  a ring of sustenance. In addition, it grants a +5 competence 
  on Diplomacy checks, and can be used to cast light and 
  sending once per day.
   
  Unknown to the wearer, the item’s creator can speak a 
  command word and reveal its location to the vaettir from 
  whose hoard the coin was created. The vaettir invariably 
  will hunt the item’s owner to collect the stolen coin.
  Construction Requirements
  Craft Wondrous Item, create food and water, light, sending, 
  a silver coin stolen from a vaettir’s hoard; creator must 
  have 5 ranks in Diplomacy; Cost 2,500 gp.
  
  37
  Kyrsa Heartwood, the 
     Lady of Green Shadows
  evered as a healer, teacher, and guardian by the 
  forest tribes of the east during the early days of 
  the Mharoti Sultanate, Kyrsa Heartwood defied 
  dragons’ fire and died. Her story, however, lives on to 
  inspire those toiling under the claw of draconic oppression.
   Throughout the Empire’s slums and ghettos, the huddled 
  poor whisper about Kyrsa’s bond with the deepest powers 
  of the forest. The bond, they say, changed her skin to 
  the green of dappled leaves and her eyes to the silver of 
  moonlit pools. The Empire’s residents remember Kyrsa 
  Heartwood as the Lady of Green Shadows.
   
  Born to the humans of the shamanistic Cat tribe, Kyrsa 
  learned the languages of trees and beasts and befriended 
  each tribe’s totem spirit. In return, the spirits shared with 
  her the forest’s secrets, and she used them to help those in 
  need. Village healers tell of how she cured the Bloodless 
  Plague with a flower from a secret glade—then showed the 
  villagers how to grow the flower themselves. Woodsmen 
  recount how the Lady of Green Shadows ascended the 
  Three Pinnacles to end a vicious practice of hell-tainted 
  cannibalism. In doing so, she secured peace for the long 
  years while the Mharoti were just a rumor in the North. 
  The poor tell these tales openly, even in an Empire where 
  dragons quell all dreams of freedom. 
   
  The greatest tale of the lady—the one that ends in fire, 
  death, and a flicker of hope—is rarely told, however. In fact, 
  most only dare to speak of Kyrsa’s end in the company of 
  trusted family and friends.
   
  In Kyrsa’s time, even the mighty minotaur nations fell 
  before the fire monks of the elemental temples and the 
  legions of the Sultanate. With every conquest, the borders 
  of the Empire crept further east. Eventually, Axtravix, a red 
  dragon who coveted all forests, invaded with her armies. 
  Attacking with draconic arrogance, she expected no great 
  resistance—but fled in shock when Kyrsa summoned the 
  deep, cool silence of the forest to overcome the dragon’s fire. 
  Consequently, totem spirits savaged the monks and pitiless 
  trees devoured the dragon’s armies. Axtravix was defeated, 
  but the battle caught attention of the Great Wyrms of the 
  fledgling Empire.
   
  Inevitably, four majestic potentates of the Empire came 
  against Kyrsa with flame and arcane might. Ancient beings 
  of inhuman power, each potentate could easily overmatch 
  any mortal—even one blessed by the ancient forest. When 
  they attacked Kyrsa, the conflagration raged for a day and a 
  night on the Field of Cinders. Incandescent energies utterly 
  consumed Kyrsa’s wellsprings of strength. Reducing her last 
  redoubt to a black, glassy scar, the dragons enslaved Kyrsa’s 
  people. They scattered the slaves across the Empire, quelling 
  their pitiful resistance forever—or so the dragons thought.
  R
   
  In the days before that final battle, Kyrsa planted seeds of 
  hope for her people. Foreseeing her imminent doom, Kyrsa 
  gathered the few remaining tribal leaders under their totems 
  of Bear, Eagle, and Cat. Though the leaders begged her to flee, 
  she refused and gave each an acorn suffused with the silvery 
  light of her eyes. She promised that, when the acorns grew 
  into mighty trees, she would return to free the tribes. Urging 
  them to save themselves, Kyrsa then left to embrace her fate. 
  The Cat tribe remained on the battlefield while the others 
  fled, and when Kyrsa died, so did they. Most storytellers 
  assume the acorn Kyrsa gave the Cat tribe was lost that day 
  on the Field of Cinders. However, cats—and especially spirit-
  totem cats—are cunning beasts.
   
  When the Bear and Eagle tribes escaped Kyrsa’s fate, 
  they traveled south and west via secret routes to plant 
  their precious gifts in places beyond the Empire. Now, in a 
  deep glade in a remote southern forest, a young, silver tree 
  reaches for sunlight through the dense canopy; meanwhile, 
  the insubstantial form of a mighty bear hulks at its base, 
  worshiped by the local fey. Far to the southwest, in a crooked 
  valley, a sapling braces deep roots against mountain winds. 
  High above, an immaterial eagle soars on silver wings, 
  watching all with fierce, unblinking eyes. 
   
  Spirits, fey, and tribal warriors defend the saplings 
  against agents of the Elemental Temples who would 
  rip Kyrsa’s last legacy from the ground. Beyond these 
  guardians, the trees’ greatest defense is the overwhelming 
  arrogance of dragonkind, which does not truly believe 
  that mere woodland magic will ever threaten their Empire. 
  Despite the danger the surrounding areas pose, rumors of 
  blessed trees draw brave adventurers from across Midgard. 
  Many seek healing panaceas or components for powerful 
  enchantments, though most return empty-handed—or 
  not at all. However, the success of a few—such as Halvar 
  Ingarod, who returned with the peerless bow of unworked 
  silver wood to wield during the defense of his homeland— 
  inspires new seekers each year. 
   
  Few sages within the empire or beyond have divined the 
  true fate of the acorn Kyrsa entrusted to the Cat tribe. Despite 
  what many believe, the third acorn survived. Near what is 
  now the heart of the Empire, within the Sahrini Desolation, 
  a crystalline cave lies under a lake of dragon-fused obsidian. 
  Daylight refracts through quartz seams in the roof onto 
  a silver sapling, which is ringed by grim-faced spirits of 
  fallen tribal warriors. In its branches, a shadowy cat grooms 
  its silver fur and smiles secretively. Like its bear and eagle 
  counterparts, the cat waits patiently for the grown trees to 
  recall Kyrsa’s soul from slumber.
   
  Today, Kyrsa’s promise inspires some to take up the 
  mantle of the Children of Green Shadows. A secretive 
  
  38
  MIDGARD LEGENDS
  ORGANIZATION AND LEADERSHIP
  A loose-knit group held together through the bonds of 
  friendship, respect, and mutual need, the Children have little 
  in the way of a strict hierarchy. When making decisions, 
  groups usually defer to the elder members present; older 
  women usually are given the most clout. Acting as keepers 
  and interpreters of Kyrsa’s wisdom, the Elder Siblings—an 
  informal council of the five eldest Children—seek the best 
  ways to achieve the fellowship’s goals during times of danger 
  and doubt. Although the most powerful among them tend 
  to be druids, witches, and oracles, the order calls upon more 
  martial comrades when needed.
   
  Couriers of the order travel freely among the many poor 
  tinkers on the roads of the empire, passing information 
  around the widely separated provinces of the Dragon 
  Empire.
  PUBLIC PERCEPTION
  Secretive due to necessity and force of habit, 
  the Children live as traveling tinkers, simple 
  village healers, or forest hermits. They are 
  simple folk who serve their communities—
  except when they’re called to take risks for 
  the greater good.
   
  Many of those the Children help 
  never know that an organization 
  was involved at all. Often, 
  they attribute their good 
  fortune to the kindness of 
  strangers. Most Empire 
  nobles, if they 
  remember Kyrsa 
  at all, remember 
  an inconvenience 
  long destroyed. They 
  see no reason to fear or 
  respect those who tell her 
  story. 
   
  Recently, however, 
  mighty Storros stirs in 
  his Repository, troubled 
  by dreams of a giant 
  dragon impaled on 
  three silver spikes 
  and strangled with 
  shadowy vines. Roused 
  from his contemplations 
  to investigate, Storros’s 
  fearsome gaze surely will 
  fall on the Children 
  before long.
  fellowship formed to prepare for the lady’s return, 
  the Children exchange information and resources to 
  improve life for those crushed beneath the scaled claw of 
  tyranny. They also smuggle secrets beyond the Empire 
  to the dragons’ enemies. Members of this secretive order 
  recognize each other through the acorns they wear strung 
  around their necks, though the amulets usually are tucked 
  inside their clothes to avoid notice. Some senior members’ 
  acorns are enchanted to help avoid detection, to protect 
  the bearer from flames, and to allow the passing of simple 
  messages over distance.
  The Children of  
  Green Shadows
  Alignment: CG
  Headquarters: The Retreat, a closely-guarded oasis hidden 
  in the south of the Dragon Empire.
  Prominent members: Old Yriza, Pezzir the 
  Woodsman, Jaqo Alambrian.
  Resources: A network of 
  traveling tinker messengers, 
  access to magical healing 
  abilities, stocks of mundane 
  supplies and a small amount of 
  coin put by for emergencies.
  Scope: Eastern Empire
  GOALS
  The original goals of the Children of 
  Green Shadows were simple: survive 
  the dragons’ onslaught, protect Kyrsa’s 
  silver saplings, and remain ready 
  for the lady’s return. Over time, the 
  order developed into an organization 
  that provides mutual aid to the Empire’s 
  enemies. They trade information about 
  which noble’s demesne is safer and where 
  lucrative work exists. They try to smuggle food 
  to starving villages during times of drought 
  or hunger. When they deem it worth the 
  risk, the Children take opportunities 
  to strengthen the dragon’s enemies 
  in the hopes of forging alliances 
  that will be useful when the 
  Lady of Green Shadows 
  returns. As part of this effort, 
  they hunt information on 
  Izikorlevix, seeking news 
  of his shattered scepters. 
  Recently, they even have 
  aided spies from Illyria 
  and Triolo—though this 
  risky decision caused much 
  fearful discussion among 
  the order.
  
  39
  Mharot, Founder of 
     the Empire
  harot (pronounced “ma-ROT”) was a young, 
  hot-blooded dragon—a braggart who called 
  himself the Fire on the Peaks 400 years ago, 
  while he was in his prime. He wooed other high-flying 
  female fire dragons, he worshipped Baal by burning entire 
  villages, and he ate horsemen and wizards sent to subdue 
  him. Then, one day, a band of seven adventurers caught 
  him napping, and he barely fled his cave in one piece. The 
  scars still mark his belly, though Mharot never speaks of 
  these wounds or how he sustained them.
   
  During the month it took Mharot to heal, the dragon 
  slept and dreamt. The World Serpent Veles—a figure of 
  powerful coils with a voice roaring like a forest aflame—
  appeared to him in his convalescence. He told Mharot to 
  seek out and to convince 10 other great dragons to forge 
  a pact of unity among the scaled folk. As the Word of the 
  World Serpent, Mharot promised riches and fat sheep to 
  all those who listened.
   
  The rest of this story is well known. Together, the great 
  dragons founded the Mharoti Empire, and it has grown 
  year after year, like a serpent shedding its skin. The human 
  sultana, the kobaldi servitors, the dragonkin edjet, and 
  great elemental legions have swept nations away, turning 
  the hinterland mountains into the heart of a great empire. 
   
  Now Mharot’s lair is a shrine and place of pilgrimage 
  for tens of thousands of his most devoted followers 
  each year. The great wyrm himself 
  rarely leaves his chambers, though his 
  alchemists and elementalists capture 
  his sleeping and sulfurous breath 
  and blood to transform them into an 
  elemental cordial that strengthens the 
  power of draconic blood. 
   
  Mharot works largely through 
  intermediaries now. He appears in public 
  only once or twice each year, when he or the 
  high priests of Baal perform the Ritual of 
  Transformation on some of his most favored 
  followers. Others receive his breath and 
  blood as the blood of flame cordial, given as a 
  reward for their faithfulness.
  Mharot’s Blood 
  and Mharot’s Fire
  The blood and fiery breath of Mharot are 
  distilled and given away to his most loyal 
  servants.
  M
  BLOOD OF FLAME CORDIAL
  Aura moderate evocation [fire]; CL 10th
  Slot —; Price 1,100 gp ; Weight —
  Description
  Sealed in a glass vial, this warm cordial glows a pale 
  orange. When ingested, its power rushes into the blood, 
  lungs, and heart, creating a surge of fire elemental magic.
         When ingested, the blood of flame cordial enables any 
  reptilian creature—especially dragonkin and kobolds—or 
  any creature with a draconic bloodline, such as a sorcerer, 
  to breathe fire the following round at a single target up to 
  30 ft. away, dealing 4d12 hp fire damage (DC 15 Reflex 
  save for half damage).
   
  After each use, the drinker must make a DC 13 
  Fortitude save; if the save fails, he or she can no longer 
  breathe fire and gains the nauseated condition for 1 round. 
  In any case, once the drinker makes three successful saving 
  throws, the cordial’s power is exhausted, though in this 
  case the drinker suffers no ill condition or effect.
  DC 30 Knowledge Arcana: It is little known that non-
  reptilian creatures drinking a blood of flame cordial can still 
  breathe fire, just as draconic creatures do. However, they 
  must make a DC 18 Fortitude save after each use of the 
  breath weapon or suffer the effects listed above. 
  Construction
  Craft Wondrous Item, maximized scorching 
  ray; Cost 2,000 gp
  Mharot the 
  Founder
  Mharot’s scales flicker with the constant shift of 
  flame and smoke; their ancient weight resembles a 
  waving field of yellow hazy with grey and orange. His 
  body lights from within, his mouth is an incandescent 
  hollow, and his bulk is both swift and ever-changing. 
  Mharot’s eyes are black and unyielding, and his blood 
  glows and burns like molten iron.
   Mharot the Founder 
      CR 20
  XP 204,800
  LN Colossal dragon (fire)
  Init +3; Senses dragon senses, smoke vision; 
  Perception +33
  Aura fire, frightful presence (300 ft., DC 27)
  DEFENSE
  AC 40, touch 2, flat-footed 40 (+38 natural, 
  –8 size)
  
  40
  MIDGARD LEGENDS
  
  41
  hp 412 (25d12+250)
  Fort +24, Ref +14, Will +21
  DR 15/magic; Immune fire, paralysis, sleep; SR 30
  Weaknesses vulnerability to cold
  OFFENSE
  Speed 40 ft., fly 250 ft. (clumsy)
  Melee bite +31 (4d6+25/19-20), 2 claws +31 (2d8+19+8d6 
  fire claws), 2 wings +29 (2d6+9), tail slap +29 (2d8+25)
  Space 20 ft.; Reach 15 ft. (20 ft. with bite)
  Special Attacks breath weapon (60-ft. cone, DC 30, 20d10 
  fire), crush, manipulate flames, melt stone, tail sweep
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 25th)
  At will—detect magic, find the path, pyrotechnics (DC 17), 
  suggestion (DC 18), wall of fire
  Spells Known (CL 15th)
  7th (4/day)—limited wish, riding the thunder*
  6th (6/day)— contingency, greater dispel magic, tar pool
  5th (7/day)—elemental conversion**, telekinesis (DC 20), 
  teleport, wall of force
  4th (7/day)— fire shield, greater invisibility, scrying, stoneskin
  3rd (7/day)—fireball (DC 18), fire claws**, haste, sea of fire*
  2nd (7/day)—alter self, detect thoughts (DC 17), misdirection 
  (DC 17), resist energy, see invisibility
  1st (8/day)—alarm, grease (DC 16), magic missile, shield, 
  true strike
  0 (at will)—arcane mark, bleed, light, mage hand, message, 
  open/close, prestidigitation, puff of smoke, read magic
  * From the Midgard Campaign Setting
  ** From the Player’s Guide to the Dragon Empire
  STATISTICS
  Str 47, Dex 10, Con 31, Int 20, Wis 21, Cha 20
  Base Atk +25; CMB +47; CMD 56 (60 vs. trip)
  Feats Cleave, Duplicate Spell*, Greater Vital Strike, 
  Improved Critical (bite), Improved Iron Will, Improved 
  Vital Strike, Iron Will, Multiattack, Ley Line Magic*, 
  Power Attack, Quicken Spell, Staggering Critical, Vital 
  Strike
  * From Midgard Campaign Setting, page 19
  Skills Appraise +33, Bluff +33, Diplomacy +33, 
  Fly +9, Intimidate +33, Knowledge (arcana) +33, 
  Knowledge (history) +33, Perception +33, Sense Motive 
  +33,Spellcraft +33, Stealth +12
  Languages Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Dwarven, 
  Enochian, Khazzaki
  TACTICS
  Before Combat 
  Raging and arrogant, Mharot orders his servants to destroy 
  any threats. He lives among multitudes of drakes and 
  dragonkin, and he thinks he should not be bothered with 
  combat except as entertainment. He always casts fire claws, 
  sea of fire, wall of force, stoneskin, elemental conversion, and 
  fire shield as protective measures when alarms are raised. He 
  inspects visitors with a gem of true seeing before allowing 
  them to approach.
  During Combat 
  Mharot fights with great fury and cunning, using elemental 
  conversion to transform damage types against foes expecting 
  fire damage from his magic and breath weapon. He delights 
  in casting Duplicate Magic fireballs and in breathing flame 
  over a sea of fire, and he is quick to destroy foes with fire 
  claws.
  Morale 
  Mharot is overconfident and unused to setbacks, and so 
  he is unlikely to retreat unless the odds are truly horrible 
  and dozens or hundreds of his retainers have been slain. 
  However, he is no fool, and he knows his position courts 
  many enemies—fellow dragons and the Sultana are always 
  one day away from an attempted coup. 
   
  Mharot has always cast at least one or two contingency 
  spells to activate if he drops below 50 hp, giving him an 
  immediate riding the thunder effect and greater invisibility to 
  take his closest allies and flee quickly. 
  BACKGROUND
  Mharot speaks with authority and brooks no interruptions; 
  his word is law within the empire. Despite his age and 
  indolence, he remains remarkably quick and his ability to 
  foresee political and physical threats remains sharp. The 
  fact that he can no longer see the borders of his realm does 
  not bother him. He is easing into a time of indolence and 
  seems content to let others squabble over the provinces and 
  armies—so long as every coin of tribute arrives as it should.
  MOTIVATIONS & GOALS 
  Mharot wants the empire to continue to grow, and his 
  various allies and foes to prosper under the banner of a 
  draconic nation. He seeks to bring “strays” into the empire—
  especially powerful ones such as Kharaland the Wind 
  Dragon or the swamp and river dragons of the Southlands. 
   
  As a dragon of advanced years, Mharot spends much of 
  his time dreaming. His waking hours are largely given over 
  to promoting the ranks of the strongest of his emirs and 
  beys. In time, Mharot seeks to awaken the World Serpent 
  and to hold a second conversation with it, at the hour of his 
  death, leaving his great task complete.
  SCHEMES & PLOTS
  Mharot’s schemes are mostly counterplots against the other 
  great Morza of the Empire. He plans to destroy the Nurian 
  mages or the Khandirian demon-princes. He thinks in 
  terms of decades and contemplates his successors far more 
  than he once did; he often tests his thousands of fire drakes 
  and concubines to determine which love and serve him best. 
  His other plans are filled with the cruelty of a cat toying with 
  a mouse; this seems to be his view of the Khazzaki and the 
  slavers of Reth-Saal, who amuse him and whose opposition 
  to the empire is little more than noise.
  
  42
  MIDGARD LEGENDS
  ife is hard on the Rothenian Steppes, where 
  only the wind is free. Scrambling serfs, devoted 
  monks, solemn warriors—all seek intercession 
  from the saint they call Vadim, or The Hell Tried. 
   
  Saint Vadim is the patron saint of perseverance, 
  redemption, and deliverance. He strengthens his followers 
  against adversity and succors the oppressed. He intercedes 
  when all hope is lost. Once imprisoned within Hell itself, 
  Vadim suffered many trials and painful revelations before 
  finally emerging victorious—and alive. In fact, Vadim is 
  the only mortal to ever escape alive from Hell’s dungeons. 
  For this, and for his devotion to Volund, he ascended and 
  is venerated. 
   
  During his nine-year ordeal in the infernal realm, 
  Vadim learned that Hell’s most powerful tool is 
  despair, which can be dealt with in two ways: 
  resign oneself to misery, or enroll with the legions 
  of Hell itself. 
   
  This wisdom is true even in Midgard, for those 
  who have hope can endure even the most heinous 
  trials. Those who have lost hope, however, are 
  already defeated.
  Saint Vadim 
  Herald of Volund, The Deliverer, The 
  Unshackled, The Hell Tried, The Twice 
  Blessed, The Redeemer of Hope.
  Domains: Community, Good, 
  Healing, Liberation, and Strength
  Subdomains: Agathion, Archon, 
  Azata, Family, Freedom, Resolve, 
  Restoration
  Alignment: Good
  Favored Weapon: A key-shaped iron rod 
  WORSHIPPERS
  Monks revere Saint Vadim for his inner 
  strength. Rogues implore his intercession 
  when picking locks and unbinding shackles. 
  Paladins seek his wisdom when looking 
  to defeat devils. All look to him for 
  perseverance against hopeless odds. 
  SYMBOLS AND BOOKS
  Saint Vadim’s holy symbols are a rod-
  sized iron key, a pair of broken shackles 
  or a shining disk overhead. The Saga 
  of Saint Vadim is an epic tale of his 
  descent into Hell, his suffering and 
  trials, and his redemption and 
  deliverance. He is often depicted 
  Saint Vadim
  with a huge key brought from Hell, which he uses to 
  break shackles and to smite his enemies. His clerics and 
  high priests sometimes will bear similarly shaped iron 
  rods or staffs.
  FOLLOWERS
  Saint Vadim’s devotees are most common on the 
  Rothenian Steppes, where hardship is easily found. His 
  churches stress simplicity and fellowship, and they are 
  known for their many great heroes who overcame life’s 
  afflictions. His clergy emphasize that suffering is not a 
  curse; rather, it is an opportunity to identify weaknesses 
  and to discover new strengths and abilities. 
   
            A few clerics and oracles even have refused to 
  be healed of certain physical afflictions, preferring 
  to remain blind or crippled. They then used these 
  afflictions to become more disciplined and to 
  identify with Saint Vadim’s ordeal. However, 
  they are not above healing and serving others; 
  many itinerant friars   travel in pairs and aid 
  those in need. 
         Clerics devoted to Saint Vadim can cast 
  good hope as a 3rd-level spell. Monastic 
  orders also are devoted to the saint. They 
  spend their time in meditation and 
  discipline, striving for perfection and 
  looking for opportunities to aid the 
  oppressed. In some cases, they also 
  have been known to join in peasant 
  revolts and other actions against 
  abusive lords. Local rulers keep these 
  monastic orders under observation, 
  but they are wary of openly acting 
  against them lest the people be stirred up. 
                 While Vadim’s devotees accept 
  that some are born to rule and others to 
  serve, they reject slavery and the idea that 
  an individual can be owned by another 
  individual. Where rulers are righteous and 
  charitable, Saint Vadim’s followers support 
  the social order. Where rulers bring 
  suffering and oppression, the orders 
  subvert the social order.
  MASKS/OTHER FAITHS
  Vadim’s manifestations guide, 
  convict, or reveal the truth. 
  They can be shining auras of 
  affirmation or rattling chains 
  of warning. Saint Vadim’s 
  faithful have no rivals 
  and few enemies except 
  L
  
  43
  all throughout Midgard, one resplendently 
  ragged figure casts a giant shadow of guile, 
  trickery and irrepressible humor: the huginn 
  seer-poet and adventurer Drouin “Croak-eye” Stroud, 
  more often called the Songraven. 
   
  The Songraven is fond of titles, half of them his own 
  coinages. He is known variously as the “Rascal of Kammae,” 
  because he talked his way past the jailers of Nethus to 
  trade secrets with the chained god; as the “Navigator of the 
  Western Ocean,” because he devised a mnemonic quatrain 
  to defeat that ocean’s confusing nature; and as the “Feathered 
  Fool of the Dragon Court,” because he satirized various 
  Mharoti nobles and lived to tell the many tales. In short, 
  the Songraven boasts a legend as large as life and twice as 
  long. Students of the Songraven’s exploits conclude that no 
  one mortal could be responsible for all the feats or stories 
  attributed to him. Like his titles, most tales of this keen 
  emancipationist and bawdy songmaker’s adventures flow, at 
  some point, from his own febrile mind and sordid tongue.
   
  Although the Songraven’s origins are, like the 
  irrepressible legend himself, shrouded in rumor and 
  speculation, it’s agreed that Drouin originally was an 
  outcast among his northern family. When he found 
  himself bereft of support, he left to find his fortune among 
  Midgard’s varied folk. Already a gifted satirist with a 
  keen eye for characters and detail, Drouin apparently 
  found favor and renown in the courts of the Seven Cities 
  The Songraven 
  before an injudicious remark prompted him to make a 
  swift exit. Time spent in the various courts of the warring 
  Seven Cities marked a formative period for the young 
  huginn. The endless quarrels and intrigues fueled his 
  impressionable, creative mind, forming the backbone of 
  myriad stories, satires, and poems. 
   
  While traveling the length and breadth of Midgard, 
  Drouin found that infamy followed him, both for his 
  exploits and the retelling of them. Soon, he began to 
  weave his own mystery and legend into something much 
  larger than himself. He took to inserting himself into 
  old legends, reforming them into new “classic” tales. 
  For example, The Drake-farmer’s Plight was respun to 
  feature the Songraven as the nemesis rather than the 
  iconic, vengeful dragon Khato. The great lay Katuriel’s 
  Bliss Drouin refashioned into The Songraven’s Joy, which 
  revolved around a vaguely satirical monologue about the 
  pleasure of ale and song rather than the more serious 
  original. While his output of original material was 
  impressive in its own right, it was Drouin’s adroit ability 
  to mimic, borrow, restyle, and insert that made for a 
  growing Songraven mystique that people adopted and 
  cherished. Throughout Midgard, the Songraven became 
  equally a savior, sinner, slave, and seer—in short, he was 
  the perfect everyman.
   
  In his later years, with the ultimate audience fast 
  approaching, Drouin seemed to find the unknowable his 
  A
  tyrants and the lords of Hell. Priests and worshipers 
  work cooperatively with other faiths that value fortitude, 
  redemption and deliverance.
  FAMOUS SHRINES
  Beacon of Hope Basilica
  One of the largest wooden buildings in the Kingdom of 
  Vidim, Beacon of Hope Basilica is an immense church 
  whose original structure was built, followers say, by Saint 
  Vadim himself. Three sacred relics reside in the Basilica.
    
  The Skull & Bones of Saint Vadim and The Sacred 
  Shackles are displayed in opposite wings in the church. 
  Pilgrims come to see and to touch them in hopes of 
  receiving a miracle. The third and most wondrous relic is 
  concealed in the basilica’s apse. 
   
  When Saint Vadim’s buried bones were exhumed, 
  a blood-red stone was found where his heart had been. 
  Resembling a human heart, The Blood Stone still drips with 
  the saint’s blood. It is a precious relic; a single drop of Saint 
  Vadim’s blood can cure any manner of supernatural ills—it 
  can even restore those suffering from lycanthropy. The stone 
  is well guarded, for it is said that a vampire suckling on this 
  saintly blood would acquire untold powers.
  The Gate of Devils 
  Resembling fiendish gargoyles, these 11 statues adorn the 
  West Gate of the Tsar’s castle, sneering down at passersby. 
  According to legend, the gargoyles ascended from Hell along 
  with Saint Vadim. Now, they await a time of great peril.
  Traits
  Unshackled (Faith trait; Regional, Steppes) 
  Your belief and a tiny keepsake relic from the Basilica of 
  Hope helps loosen restraints and open ways. 
  Benefit: You gain a +1 luck bonus to Disable Device. It is 
  always a class skill for you. 
  Strength of the Hell-Tried (Faith trait)
  Your devotion to Saint Vadim has taught you inner strength.
  Benefit: Double your wisdom modifier to DCs versus 
  Intimidate. Receive +1 to saves versus charm and 
  compulsion effects.
  Patience Of A Saint (Faith trait)
  Your faith, hope and perseverance have taught you how to 
  endure hardship. 
  Benefit: As the Endurance feat, but with only a +2 bonus 
  and no benefit for sleeping in armor.
   
  
  44
  MIDGARD LEGENDS
  greatest adversary. His stories became more philosophical 
  and, occasionally, very dark. Many say the old Songraven 
  visited the Court of Mnemosyne and was called to sing 
  all the songs he knew in an attempt to jog the fleeting 
  memories of the Court’s stricken mistress.
   
  The Songraven’s journeys with huginn reavers in 
  the Western Ocean led to this haunting refrain. Now, 
  it’s sadly a calling cry to slaughter—the last thing many 
  unfortunates hear.
  Darque sails, cloudy
     Black feathers fly
  Race the wind, and huginn
     Or rowdy you will die.
  In Barsella, the gruesome reports of the predations 
  of these mad huginn do not make the Songraven a 
  popular figure. Not surprisingly, the Songraven appears 
  throughout huginn lore. His exploits are never consistent 
  from tale to tale, though. Ask a huginn what they make 
  of the Songraven and you’ll get a remarkably wide range 
  of opinions—he’s either lauded as a wise, humorous, 
  representative scion of the northern verbal culture or 
  reviled as the irresponsible fiend who taught the Zobeckers 
  the practice slitting ravens’ and crows’ tongues to help 
  them “speak.” The Songraven himself reserved his highest 
  praise and most biting criticisms for his own people. 
  Mostly, though, he worked to impress upon Midgard the 
  primacy of huginn and heru as clever thinkers, skilled 
  artisans, and formidable warriors. 
   
  Generally regarded as a lore keeper, poet, adventurer, 
  and satirist, the Songraven’s exploits mark him as crafty 
  manipulator of crowds and charmer of individuals. It is 
  widely agreed that the Songraven’s wisdom far outweighs 
  his otherwise less-than-edifying behaviors. Simply put, the 
  Songraven masked his true exploits under a wing of staged 
  buffoonery, outlandish chicanery, and irreverent banter. 
   
  The Songraven’s current whereabouts are unknown, 
  but reported sightings of are common enough, though 
  they vary in details. Sometimes, it’s said he now appears 
  old, with fading plumage. Others recently have described 
  him as hale and hearty. These varying descriptions have 
  given rise to yet more tales.
   
  Those bards who follow the tenets of the Songraven 
  tend to master unusual arts—as shadowtalons, or so 
  they’re called, their deeds forge new legends and their 
  stories cultivate more tales of Songraven. The existence of 
  shadowtalon bands is denied in Kammae, where such bards 
  are hunted and executed with extreme prejudice. In the 
  Dragon Empire, huginn shadowtalons excel as extensions 
  of the Sultana’s assassins among the numerous jambuka. 
  Their existence in the Empire, however, is controversial, 
  especially given the Songraven’s beliefs that avians—and, by 
  extension, huginn, are distant relations to dragons. 
  Shadowtalon 
  Emulating the darker deeds of the legendary Songraven, 
  shadowtalons excel at obfuscation, trickery, and evasion. 
  Favoring dark clothing and light weapons, shadowtalons 
  are hunted mercilessly by the Eyeless of the Oracle of 
  Kammae and are widely welcomed as champions of slaves 
  and the oppressed. Although huginn and heru become 
  shadowtalons most often, the Songraven’s varied exploits 
  have inspired many other races to become shadowtalons. 
  Bardic Performance: A shadowtalon gains the following 
  types of bardic performance. 
  Piercing Cry (Ex): You may make a ululating, squawking 
  cry that gives allies a +4 bonus to a new save against 
  ongoing sonic or language-dependent magic effects. 
  Foes within range must make a make a Will save (DC 
  equal to shadowtalon’s level + Perform skill bonus) 
  or be shaken for 1-3 rounds. The cry is a swift action 
  and uses one round of bardic performance. This 
  performance replaces countersong. 
  Raven’s Feint (Ex): This subtle weaving and moving allows 
  you to move at full speed using the stealth skill without 
  penalty. Moreover, while this performance is in effect, you 
  
  45
  orn during a lunar eclipse while bearing his 
  caul—a sign of the Moon Goddess’s blessing—
  Titus Patrascu was destined to achieve greatness. 
  As young man, Titus’ extraordinary physical strength and 
  great endurance was obvious. He soon entereed the service 
  of Hecate as one of the Eyeless, her divine order.
   
  During his time as a paladin, Titus exemplified bravery, 
  fighting prowess, and leadership skills. His heroic deeds 
  were many. For example, after blinding Baruch Gildhorn 
  with his own sundered horn, Titus bested the minotaur 
  general in one-on-one combat, thus bringing a bitter 
  border skirmish with Capleon to a swift conclusion. Later, 
  Titus rescued the priestess Balbina Ruso from a huge, 
  Ringwood ghost boar using nothing but a small dirk and a 
  witchlight mushroom. 
   
  For these deeds, Hecate favored him in omen and in 
  blessing, allowing him to become the youngest-recorded 
  First of the Eyeless. As leader of the holy armies of 
  Kammae Straboli, Titus guided Hecate’s soldiers in battle 
  against her rivals in the Seven Cities.
   
  Of all Titus’ deeds, none exceeds his glorious capture of 
  the god Nethus. Heedless of his own safety, Titus leapt onto 
  the King of the Sea’s back and wrapped his divinely kissed 
  chains around the god’s protean form; all the while, Hecate’s 
  priestesses chanted their terrible spell of enslavement.  
   
  Once the god lay bound and prostrate, the priestesses 
  demanded that none discover the means of the Wave-Lord’s 
  imprisonment lest the secret somehow lead to his freedom. 
  Titus Patrascu, 
    Fallen Paladin
  The Eyeless and the Unchanged-But-Ever-Changing Cabal 
  manufactured a lie; they claimed Nethus impaled Titus on 
  his trident while the champion struggled to chain him. In 
  this story, Titus died a hero’s death from the wounds and 
  Nethus simply disappeared. The devoted paladin agreed to 
  the fabrication and vanished into exile, awaiting word from 
  his goddess’s servants about how to proceed.
   
  That was many years ago. Since then, Titus’s once lofty 
  ideals and his paladin’s code have languished behind his alter 
  ego, Otho Greyhair, a wandering sellsword who is willing to 
  serve any banner in Midgard. For Titus, every engagement 
  he’s encountered as Otho has lacked any sense of holy 
  purpose. The years have weighed heavily on the valiant Titus, 
  and his new work has been hard to stomach. Thus, Titus 
  drinks heavily while struggling to accept his life’s direction. 
   
  He daydreams of serving his goddess once more—of 
  riding again with the Eyeless, of striking down her foes 
  and of channeling her terrible glory. Titus’ drunken rancor 
  makes him even less attractive to employers looking 
  to avoid rabble-rousers; he typically wins a contract by 
  challenging recruiting officers and their lackeys to free-for-
  all, bare-knuckle brawls. This practice helps him prove his 
  skill in combat, but it wins him no friends.
   
  For years now, Titus has dodged the handmaidens of 
  Mnemosyne, whose agents hear whispered rumors that he 
  still lives. They scour Midgard for him, rightly believing he 
  knows how Nethus might be freed. Fortunately, Hecate’s 
  last gift to him holds steadfast—Titus remains cloaked 
  B
  do not grant attacks of opportunity while casting spells, 
  using spell-like abilities, firing missile weapons, or using 
  natural attacks. This performance replaces distraction.
  Swooping Motions (Ex): At 3rd level, you can mimic the 
  raven’s swooping flight. Using this performance, you 
  gain a +1 dodge bonus to AC. Any opponents adjacent 
  to you lose any Dexterity-based bonuses to AC against 
  your attacks. You gain attacks of opportunity if adjacent 
  opponents do not target you. This performance replaces 
  inspire competence. 
  Carrion Crow (Su): At 8th level, you can imperil foes with 
  a deadly dance. During this performance, all wounded 
  creatures within 30 ft. of you gain the bleeding condition 
  and take an amount of bleeding damage per round 
  equal to 1/2 of your level. After the performance ends, 
  the bleeding damage decreases to 2 points per round. 
  Undead, regardless of injuries, likewise take this damage. 
  This performance replaces dirge of doom. 
  Omnivorous Mind (Ex): At 6th level, you choose up to 
  three Knowledge skills. You may add your Charisma 
  modifier to these as well as your Intelligence modifier. 
  This ability replaces the versatile performance gained at 
  6th level.
  Raven Style: You may only choose from the following 
  versatile performances: act, comedy, oratory, 
  percussion, and sing. 
  Beady Eye (Su): At 10th level, as a standard action, you may 
  designate one opponent as the target of your concentrated 
  ire. The target must make a Will save (DC equal to your 
  level + Perform skill bonus). On a successful save, you 
  gain a +2 bonus to either AC, ability checks, attack rolls, 
  Will and Reflex saving throws, or skill checks (your 
  choice) against the target until the end of your next turn. 
  If the target fails, the penalty lasts for a number of rounds 
  equal to 3 plus your Charisma modifier. At 16th level, the 
  granted bonus increases to +4. You may target a different 
  opponent or the same opponent (applying a different 
  effect) each time this ability is used, and you can use this 
  ability a number of times per day equal to 3 plus your 
  Charisma modifier. This ability replaces jack-of-all-trades.
  
  46
  MIDGARD LEGENDS
  gathering place for 
  sellswords, warmages, 
  and tiefling sorcerers 
  who wish to fight the 
  elves of the Arbonesse. 
  Mercenaries deploying 
  for jobs traditionally leave 
  small notes stuck to the 
  walls with sealing wax. 
  These notes are removed 
  only when their writers 
  return safely; needless to 
  say, countless scraps of 
  parchment remain.
   
  Titus often can be 
  found in this tavern. 
  Dressed in a rough chain 
  shirt, often drinking 
  liberally, the former 
  paladin rants about 
  devotion being a fool’s 
  game. Now in his mid-
  sixties, Titus appears to 
  be nearly two decades 
  younger, probably due to 
  his physical fitness and his immunity to disease. Bitter 
  and surly, he trounces any challenger who wishes to 
  arm wrestle for coin. Only the bravest dare ask “Otho” 
  what he means when he drunkenly mentions that he’s 
  pretending to be dead.
   
  Titus is a neutrally aligned with six levels of ex-
  paladin of Hecate and six levels of fighter.
  from any divination except the prying eyes of other gods 
  of Midgard.
  The Iron Rod Tavern
  Located in the backstreets of Tintager’s Old Quarter, 
  this dark tavern of questionable repute serves as a 
  orn in the small oasis village of Rabiyah Watan 
  more than a century ago, Yafram eked out a bare 
  existence in the Sarklan Desert’s unforgiving 
  landscape. Her mother taught her how to meld magic with 
  nature to create new varieties of desert flora, but when a 
  long drought came, Yafram could not save Rabiyah Watan. 
  Slowly, its precious, life-giving waters diminished, until 
  only a few villagers remained. The final blow came when 
  the Tamasheq tribe raided Rabiyah Watan. 
   
  During that raid, hiding in the village cistern, Yafram 
  witnessed her parents’ brutal deaths. For months she 
  remained in the village’s ruins, barely surviving on 
  whatever she could scavenge. Nearly mad with hunger 
  and despair, she cried out to her gods, but most did 
  not hear her prayers. One—the dark goddess Malak, a 
  mask of Mordiggian—heard her cries, however. Malak 
  offered to grant Yafram revenge on the desert people who 
  destroyed her village, and the distraught woman agreed. 
  She eagerly swallowed whole the tiny, undead scorpions 
  Yafram the Desolate
  B
  Malak told her to consume as a symbol of rebirth. 
   
  Learning from her new divine patron, Yafram 
  concluded that the natural progression of life to death 
  to undeath was the true purpose of existence. All living 
  beings, she decided, are but sources of creation for the 
  undead. Embracing undeath allowed the living to achieve 
  life everlasting, Yafram believed. 
   
  Guided by her goddess, Yafram emerged from the ruins 
  of Rabiyah Watan and made her way towards Siwal, where 
  she found that her village was already forgotten. Her true, 
  dark nature hidden by the scorpions that coursed through 
  her body, Yafram infiltrated the Gardeners of Siwal. Under 
  their tutelage, she rose quickly through the order’s ranks, 
  and she crafted many wondrous items to bring life to the 
  desert and glory to the desert rose of Siwal. 
   
  With Malak’s guidance, Yafram sought ever new 
  wonders to solidify Siwal’s reputation as a place of learning 
  and growth—and to cement her own status. Ultimately, 
  Yafram’s brilliance gained her the title of Master Gardener. 
  
  47
  Secretly, however, she continued to commune with Malak 
  through the scorpions in her blood. All the while, the dark 
  goddess showed her how to fill the desert with the undead. 
  By filling the desert with life, she would create the necessary 
  vessels for Malak to feed her insatiable hunger and to spread 
  her infection across the world. 
            Blinded by his love for the young desert girl, Faysal 
  abn-Noor, the Paladin of Aten, courted Yafram and won 
  her hand. As part of her betrothal gift to Faysal, Yafram 
  planted an az-zagāya tree from a sapling. Fertilizing the 
  sapling with her own blood and magic, it matured rapidly; 
  she then cut a length of wood from it to fashion into the 
  shaft of a mighty spear. Pleased that his spear carried 
  Yafram’s essence within it, Faysal imbued it with his god’s 
  divine power. 
         Yafram travelled across the desert, practicing lunar 
  gardening and using moonlight to grow lush, night-
  blooming plants. She revived dried-out oases and built 
  vibrant new sanctuaries that drew settlers by the hundreds. 
  At the same time she experimented with fashioning undead 
  varieties of plants that were immune to the ravages of time. 
  She constructed the Moon Dial of Yafram, which produced 
  undead plants during lunar phases. These plants 
  released spores that glowed like fireflies and spread 
  a sinister plague of undeath. She also created the 
  Periapt of the Southern Winds, which commanded 
  the desert winds and raised devastating 
  sandstorms. 
   
     The priests of Nun and Naunet only 
  belatedly realized that Yafram had crossed 
  into the forbidden. Not seeing the depths of 
  Yafram’s obsession with undeath, Faysal 
  tried to reason with her, but it was 
  useless. Under cover of darkness, she 
  stole out through the gates of Siwal 
  and vanished.
         Traveling through the desert, 
  Yafram went from oasis to oasis 
  and used the moon dial to 
  release the spores and the periapt 
  to conjure winds to deliver her 
  plague. The infection quickly 
  spread, creating plague zombies. 
  With her growing army, Yafram 
  marched across the desert flanked 
  by phalanxes of zombies and undead 
  plants. Yafram overwhelmed the hill 
  fortress at Qayriah, a stronghold of 
  the Sultan of Siwal, and converted 
  the inhabitants into more recruits for 
  her growing army. After that, villages 
  began to fall like dominoes.
   
  Desperate, the people of Siwal sent 
  their best wizards, their Tamasheq 
  allies, and Faysal to destroy Yafram. 
  During the battle, spectacular sorceries 
  rained down upon the desert. Knowing 
  that she could corrupt Faysal’s weapon and use it as a 
  trigger to complete her ritual to become a lich, Yafram 
  tricked Faysa into plunging his holy spear into her chest. 
  The swarms of scorpions that erupted from her body killed 
  Faysal—but her evil plans did not fully succeed. Yafram lost 
  the periapt and the moon dial. 
  Current Plans
  Revived 30 years ago, Yafram secured her phylactery—an 
  immortal black desert rosebush—in Rabiyah Watan’s cistern. 
  Now, once again she grows her undead forces. Her goal 
  remains the same: complete the transformation of the entire 
  desert into her personal undead paradise.   Although still 
  powerful without her items, Yafram must obtain the moon 
  dial, the periapt, and Faysal’s spear to bring her plans to 
  fruition. When she is reunited with her tools, she plans to 
  attack Siwal itself. Using it as a base for her empire, she will 
  spread her vile plague among the entire southern deserts. 
  She’ll then turn her baleful eye westward, toward Nuria-
  Natal, and eastward, towards the Mharoti Empire. Her ghul 
  servants have relentlessly sought the Children of Haseena in 
  their frantic search for the artifacts she so 
  desperately wants.
          While she has all the usual powers 
  of a lich, Yafram also commands a unique 
  ability. If killed by mortal hands, her 
  bond with the moon dial accelerates her 
  revivification. When the item is placed on 
  an altar near her phylactery, Yafram revives 
  within seven days of being destroyed. Without 
  it, she must wait for the arrival of a particular 
  comet that appears within the Mage Stars 
  constellation every 70 years.
  The Children of 
  Haseena
  After rising as a lich, Yafram refashioned Faysal’s 
  spear into a cursed artifact able to cast lightning 
  bolts that can tear down city walls. Mockingly, 
  she called it the Broken Spear of Faysal abn-
  Noor. After learning of the spear’s power, the 
  Imajaghan Haseena bint Ziryab defeated Yafram, 
  but she could not destroy the lich. Instead, she 
  gave Yafram’s spear to her people to hide. 
    Haseena’s descendants, referred to as the 
  Children of Haseena, strive to keep the spear, 
  the moon dial, and the periapt from Yafram’s 
  hands. They know if she is ever reunited with her 
  artifacts, Yafram may be unstoppable. Aware that 
  it’s too dangerous to keep the artifacts together, 
  separate bands of the Children’s tribe move 
  tirelessly across the desert to keep Yafram’s 
  servants from finding the items. Two items 
  remain secure; they are the broken spear, which 
  is hidden in an old, remote desert temple, and 
  the periapt, which is in the hands of a trusted, 
  
  48
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  System Reference Document,	Copyright	2000,	Wizards	of	the	Coast,	Inc.;	Authors	
  Jonathan	Tweet,	Monte	Cook,	Skip	Williams,	based	on	material	by	E.	Gary	Gygax	and	
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  Jason	Bulmahn,	based	on	material	by	Jonathan	Tweet,	Monte	Cook,	and	Skip	Williams.
   
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  All rights reserved. 
   
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  All rights reserved. 
   
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  Grubb,	Brandon	Hodge,	Christina	Stiles,	and	Dan	Voyce.
   
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  Middleton,	Christina	Stiles,	Brian	Suskind,	James	Thomas.
  OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a
  traveling warrior. Recently however, Yafram’s hunters, led 
  by the ghul Sukkarah Saif, discovered where the Tamasheq 
  hid the moon dial. Mercilessly slaughtering everyone in 
  their way, they stole the moon dial but suffered debilitating 
  losses in the process. Moving very slowly, the remaining 
  ghuls even now limp towards Rabiyah Watan.
   
  The Children of Haseena also seek Yafram’s phylactery. 
  No one knows its location except that it’s somewhere in 
  forsaken oasis of Rabiyah Watan, whose location remains 
  elusive. Over the years, tribal scholars have attempted to 
  find clues to its whereabouts in the writings Yafram penned 
  while she was Master Gardener. The most telling writings, 
  however, have yet to be located. Rumors claims that, 
  cleverly hidden in a complex of trapped catacombs below 
  the temple of Nun, a secret trove of tomes and experiments 
  rests in an abandoned chamber. Supposedly secured 
  there before Yafram fled the city, these writings contain 
  knowledge not only of Yafram’s birthplace but also of the 
  secrets of the moon dial and how to destroy it.
  MOON DIAL OF YAFRAM
  Aura Strong necromancy; CL 18th
  Slot none; Weight 6 lb.
  Description
  This is a round, soapstone disk with a raised, crescent-
  shaped dial. When exposed to moonlight, you may 
  command the dial to transform all vegetation within your 
  line of sight into undead plants, which release glowing 
  spores that move at 10 ft. per round in a 60-ft. radius. The 
  effect ends after 6 rounds. Any living creature caught in 
  this radius is affected by the spores. They burrow into flesh 
  and infect victims with Yafram’s blight.
  Yafram’s Blight(Su) Curse and disease; save Fortitude DC 
  20; onset 1 round; frequency 1/minute; effect 1d6 Con 
  damage; cure 3 consecutive saves. If constitution damage 
  is equal to or greater than the victim’s Constitution score, 
  the victim becomes a plague zombie capable of infecting 
  others with Yafram’s blight through its slam attack. The 
  moon dial may be used 5/day. No more than one use may 
  be in effect at a time.
  Destruction
  The moon dial can be destroyed by exposing it to direct 
  sunlight for seven days without allowing a shadow to 
  touch it. It then must be smashed with a +2 or greater 
  disruption weapon on an altar of Aten.
  
  ring the Midgard Campaign Setting’s dramatic history and wondrous myths to your game table: 
  the legends of heroes, villains, monsters, and magic that define Midgard’s most prominent regions. 
  From the cold foothills of the Riphean Mountains to the burning lands of the Mharoti Empire to the brutal, 
  wind-swept terrain of the Rothenian Steppes, these are the tales that have molded this world into a place of 
  unrivaled wonder and mystery. 
  Included are a host of legendary monsters, class archetypes, magic items, and artifacts, as well as:
  Midgard’s
  B
  most Renowned
  Legends  
  TM
  $14.99 
  Life!
  These are the Midgardians’ most beloved tales, and they are a rich source for adventure hooks, character 
  backgrounds, allies and foes. Use them with the Midgard Campaign Setting, or bring any of these legendary 
  figures and magic items to your own world!
  •  23 Legendary Heroes, Villains, and Monsters suitable for any campaign.
  •   Five new spells straight from the spellbooks of the Black Sorceress of Crossroads and  
  Aberus, first mage-lord of House Stross.
  •   Items of unbelievable power, including an intelligent crown that can impose its wicked will  
  onto wearers.
  •   A new haunt that gives those living nearby impossible strength—and instills in them an 
  unrivaled bloodlust.
  •   Stat blocks for six incredible monsters and mythical figures, including Mharot, the hot-blooded 
  dragon that forged an empire; Glatisant, the Questing Beast; and Jolinar, the unluckiest lucky 
  man in Midgard.
  •  The heinous details of Blood Mother Margase, the mighty blood druid whose plans include 
  godhood—and domination over all of Midgard!
  Come To
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Pathfinder/1st Edition/3rd Party/Kobold Press - Open Design/Midgard - Legends.pdf