This file contains the April 1994 newsletter for the Ashbury (New York) chapter of the New England Roleplaying Organization. More information about NERO can be downloaded through the files NERO.txt and LARP.txt. Email can be sent to NEROny. THE ASHBURY TIMES April 595 "All the News that Fits, We Print." "NECROPOLIS" APPEARS IN ASHBURY AS TOWER MADE OF UNDEAD Though the citizens of Ashbury have witnessed many strange occurrences, none to date could have prepared them for the events of the first weekend of April, 595. On Friday, March 31, as the sun began to set, many of the citizens noticed a strange pile of corpses that had mysteriously appeared behind the Mages' Guild. Upon closer inspection of the grisly pile, it became apparent that it was more than it appeared. As darkness descended upon the town, the pile expanded and began to glow with a strange red light. Baroness Laurelin and Sorceress Shalizar then noticed strange noises emanating from the pile - sounds described as "agonized and tormented wailing." Then, without warning, a creature with glowing red eyes and a pulsating red body stepped out. Heralded by foul-smelling smoke and flames, the being raised its hands to the night sky and cried "let it begin." Somehow these words beckoned to the dead, and throughout the local area, corpses and skeletons began to rise from their burial places and march towards the now-growing tower of flesh, bone, and gore. Many brave adventurers tried valiantly to prevent the zombies and skeletons from reaching the tower, but the numbers were overwhelming. Having already suffered heavy damages from the wrath of then-undead Sir Kirath and Mourna's minions, the people of Ashbury were just unable to meet the demand. As the undead joined with the pile, it continued to grow. When the din of the battle had finally died down and no more undead seemed to be heading across the town square, the tower had grown to an estimated 13 stories, and a large glowing doorway appeared in front. The brave adventurers present ran towards the opening but found they could not enter. Throughout the night, several people tried to determine the true nature of the tower. Sir Kelial of the Healers' Guild spent many hours conducting experiments, and Lude Narcisse the sarr even tried eating parts of it. When healing arts were used upon the tower, it was discovered that the tower was indeed a living entity. Later it was discovered that several spirits had partially escaped from the tower's pull. These spirits took the form of small glowing bundles of energy. First to discover one was Endar the orc. It was then determined that perhaps the way to defeat the tower was by freeing the remainder of the spirits. A group of brave adventurers then tried to enter the tower to free the spirit. Included were Barons Thomas, Baron Bretton, Squire Hawkwing, Necrostar, and Templeton. With the glowing spirit piece, they were able to enter the tower. Inside they were forced to relive portions of the spirit's life. Later, other spirit essences were discovered and other adventurers made the attempt to free the spirits by entering the tower. The situation was desperate, and most groups were unsuccessful in their difficult task. To make matters worse, throughout the weekend, creatures that became known as "razers" appeared out of the tower and attacked large groups of adventurers and townsfolk. The razers appeared as black voids with a humanoid shape and glowing red eyes. When it was determined that the creatures could only detect large life forms and that it would not attack groups of less than six, the Duchess, in consultation with her Barons, ordered the people of Ashbury to ignore the creatures so as not to get hurt and to reserve all skills and spells for whatever might come next. This decision did not sit lightly with some adventurers, and former Baron Morgan loudly protested the decision. Ashbury did have some help in the form of a strange man carrying a magical staff. Calling himself Percival, he spouted strange warnings to the startled townsfolk. Morlox and Tawane even reported hearing his voice when he was not present. Percival urged the people of Ashbury to "seek the stone" and to search for the Twisted Grove. Sensing the urgency of his message, several citizens began the search immediately. Lady Talia and Sir Eridan spearheaded the effort and, once locating the stone, spent much time decoding and translating the cryptic message written upon it. This summoned Percival to the Grove where he answered three questions. The group wisely used its questions to learn ways to defeat the tower, among which was that defeat of the tower required the "ultimate sacrifice." One bystander reported that Percival wore the infinity mark of the Order Elementals. On Sunday, the tower began to change again. This time the tower emanated a Desecrate of unheard magnitude and started spewing forward undead abominations. Once more the townsfolk came together to defeat the unliving horde_but the victory was short lived, for the tower changed one more time. This time a doorway appeared, and as brave adventurers fought their way into the tower, they discovered only a sarcophagus and an urn. The battle raged on as more and more undead seemed to crawl from the living walls of the tower. Life spells were thrown on the fallen but there were not enough for everyone. In the midst of the battle the Order Elemental Rigel appeared and was seen speaking to many people but he took no part in the battle. It is unclear whether his presence was related to the fight or to Percival's actions. A number of brave adventurers stepped forward to volunteer to make the "ultimate sacrifice." All were struck down by the undead but still the tower remained. Thena of the Mages' Guild then committed suicide but was Lifed by her companions. Squire Zachary of the Ash Forest then attempted but was prevented by Sir Konrad who, apparently feeling that the suicide should be done by a nobleperson, then allowed Sir Aloryn to make the sacrifice. Five minutes later, when no Life spell was forthcoming, Aloryn's spirit left to be resurrected and the army of undead crumbled into dust. The tower began collapsing upon itself but not until Hanson and others were able to pull the golden sarcophagus out of the ruins. Out of the rubble emerged a single man, unhurt and unbruised, who announced to the stunned crowd that he was Oliver Songbringer, founder of Ashbury. Nobles and commoners alike gasped as the man spoke of being trapped for many years due to a flaw in the Talon Scrolls, and he was escorted to the Manor House where he asked to be alone where he could rest. A few hours later, after Baron Thomas and others determined through portraits that the man looked nothing like Oliver Songbringer, the man was sought out but had escaped. It is the opinion of the Ashbury Times that once again, Ashbury has been fooled by the Master of Lies Ichorax. JUSTICE, BRETTON NAMED AS BARONS Whether it was the coming of Fangthorn, the appearance of the Necropolis tower, or a mere coincidence, when it comes to noble titles, the first week in April has proved to be one that only a fool can comprehend. The weekend began with the successful retrieval of Sir Kirath Mournblade from the clutches of Mourna. Sir Kirath had been turned into an undead abomination by the liche, and so in order to save him, his tearful comrades had to kill him. Sir Kirath resurrected normally and resumed his position in the barony of Nordenn. General Morgan Blackbourne then resigned, stating as a reason Duchess Mara's "failure to fulfill her obligations as liege," saying that she had allowed his good name to be slandered by others with no retribution. Observers noted that Morgan himself has publicly spoken poorly of the Duchess, but Her Grace made no official statement on the matter. Under the law, Morgan could have remained a knight, but he gave up all his noble titles and lands. He is still a Lord and will remain one unless the Duchess or Paladins decree otherwise, since he has passed the tests of Chivalry. With the agreement of her court and the Paladins, the Duchess then allowed Morgan's named heir, Justice McCoy, to have his noble title reinstated so that he could become Baron. Justice had his title removed months ago due to some unusual and very unchivalrous-like behavior. It was later learned that he had been gypsy cursed to act that way. Baron Justice gave his oath to the Duchess publicly at the scheduled Saturday night feast. "I expect relations between Trellheim and the town to improve immediately," stated the Duchess, "and I have full confidence in Justice's ability to perform as Baron." That same night, Baron Bryan resigned his position, naming Sir Bretton as his heir. The resignation of Sir Bryan, who is expected to marry the Duchess in May, came as no surprise, but court observers were expecting the appointment of either Sir Angus or the Baron's brother Sethric. Baron Bretton certainly has the support of the knights of Nordenn, and he has taken on the last name "Nordenn" so that the title can remain in the family as it has since its inception. Rumors state that Sir Angus was not considered as Baron because he will soon be named as a Paladin. As for Sir Bryan, unconfirmed Manor House sources state that after the wedding, he will be named Count over the Ducal lands which include the city of Ashbury. Meanwhile, Baron Thomas has finally had his wish granted and, after spending much time gathering the components and the scroll, has had himself changed into an elf, thus making Ashbury the only duchy in Evendarr with two elven barons. Baron Thomas has one elven parent and one human parent and he apparently always resented the fact that his twin sister, Lady Talia, was born an elf while he was born human. As for Baroness Laurelin, things appear stable but there have been reports of major conflicts and arguments with Her Grace. Will we see major changes in all of the baronies this spring? FANGTHORN'S TROLLS ADVANCE TOWARDS ASHBURY CITY; HUNDREDS DIE Fangthorn's army, composed of trolls, orcs and other goblinoid creatures and accompanied by a myriad of undead abominations, has advanced through much of the surrounding countryside, decimating farmlands and cities alike, and forcing the evacuation of major centers. They have spread their forces to encompass areas outside of the Tower Hills (which they have controlled for the past month) and have even sent undead into the Ash Forest. The towns of Bellebois, Bristol, Capulus, Cinder, Deathwatch, Gryphonwatch, Roder-ick's Rest, and Suvina had to be evacuated during the battle. Slowly, some of the braver members of the population have begun to return. Other great losses occurred in Baldric, Blackbourne, Firwood, Foxcastle, Darkwood, Homrik's Pass, Nantes, Quathos, Stormwood, Tirith, Trellheim, and Wellspring. All the news was not bad, however. The trolls were successfully routed from Barrowdowns, Battlewoods, Brandywine, Connor, Dover, Eldor, Vandalton, and Vorak's Peak, although personal losses and damages to the estate defenses were great. In the town of Ashbury itself there have been numerous small skirmishes, and the trolls have been held back thanks mostly to local adventurers. In one such early morning raid, Galoran Strongblade made off with Fangthorn's army flag, much to the troll's anger. Regrettably, he was struck down and killed while the rest of the town remained asleep. The loss of General Morgan as commander has caused a bit of a shake-up in the Ducal Army ranks and has led to some confusion and a bit of resentment among some lesser generals. When one person commented that it seemed like Morgan must be a coward to resign just before the war escalates, others came to his defense. "I might call Morgan a lot of things, but coward isn't one of them," stated Sir Eridan. The Duchess has sent Sir Aloryn Runeweaver to the front lines to act in Morgan's stead. The people of Ashbury meanwhile are concerned and upset. Although the army seems confident and many adventurers have gone off to fight, the average citizen hides behind locked doors and hoped for the best. The commoners' hopes for heroes to save the day in the form of the prophesied so-called "bat, hammer, and dove" have led to frustration and fear when those individuals never appeared. Some locals even speculated that the prophecy had been manufactured by the nobles to install confidence in the population when there was no reason to be confident. This may change with the publication of this paper, as Squire Kittery of the Ash Forest is now claiming the title of "The Dove." Even so, no one seems to be sure what exactly these three are supposed to do in order to turn the tide of the war. Supposedly, Oliver Songbringer knew of their existence through the time-spanning Talon Prophecies (although there is no record that the Talon Scrolls ever used the words "bat, hammer and dove"). Oliver never made it public how these three are to affect history. They may have to specifically do something or specifically refrain from doing something, and the citizens of Ashbury can only hope that if they do exist, they do the correct thing. PANTHERGHAST ATTACKS AGAIN The summoned creature known as the Pantherghast made another appearance in Ashbury recently, this time attacking half-orcs. The creature, which takes the form of a glowing skeletal panther, can only be harmed by creatures to which it is attacking. All other beings are repelled from the pantherghast and spells and other thrown weapons have no affect upon the creature unless thrown by the appropriate race. When a strange mage created a pantherghast last fall, he was seen feeding the pantherghast the blood of elves. The mage was killed by brave adventurers in the subsequent battle and his body disappeared to resurrect elsewhere, and unfortunately the scroll creating the pantherghast was used up. It has been supposed that this same mage might have returned to call it up again and perhaps fed it half-orc blood by mistake, but no one was able to discover the whereabouts of the casting circle so this theory remains unproven. The pantherghast caused much damage to the few half-orcs who were in the center of town during its attack late past midnight before people realized or remembered that the creature could only be hurt by magic. The creature was eventually brought down by two of the half-orcs from the Shield of Vendamor along with Olin Redbeard. No one is certain that the creature will not appear again, so all have their eyes open and are wary. MORTIMER WINS LEGERDEMAIN COMPETITION Noted Voltan merchant Vestrin Bellicose announced that Mortimer Fallon and his team consisting of Sir Konrad Valinor and Squire Kittery Ann Holindarn were the winners in his Legerdemain competition. "They blew up a lot and ignored a lot, but dadburnit, they got the most tokens," said the always boisterous Vestrin. He further stated that they might have been beaten by the team of Galoran Strongblade, Modi Ioki and Olin Redbeard had that team not dropped all its tokens in the huge pit right near the end. In third place was the team of Baron Thomas Grey, Squire Hawkwing, and Lady Talia Grey. The contest involved disarming traps, defeating mercenaries, figuring out puzzles, searching diligently, and moving dexterously to retrieve as many tokens as possible. The teams that did the best understood the time constraints, ignored the toughest traps, and tried to move quickly from one room to another, aware that there were more tokens in the later rooms. No group made it all the way to the last room before the time ran out. Three groups never got past the fourth room because they forgot Vestrin's instructions about how the door in front wouldn't open until the door behind was closed. Others just spent too much time searching every little thing. Many groups who participated enjoyed the task tremendously and asked Vestrin to come back again. Vestrin didn't seem too interested, saying merely "What's in it for me, boy?" MOLEMAN SCHEME STOPPED Coming to the aid of a freightened girl, Lord Morgan Blackbourne, ex-Baron of Trellheim, led a group of adventurers outside of the city to discover the underground lair of a race of mole scavengers. The self-proclaimed molemen were in the midst of a wishing well scheme designed to bilk unsuspecting citizens out of their hard-earned coins. Upon the discovery, the adventurers scared off the molemen who left for greener "pastures." FROM THE DUCHESS To the People of Ashbury: This past week, in the midst of the forces of Fangthorn which are pressing in and surrounding Ashbury on all sides, we were forced to fight a mighty battle against a different foe. For a long time, it appeared as though our efforts would be in vain and the town would be lost. It took a supreme effort of almost all of the forces of the town to destroy the undead spawn of the Necropolis. I was very proud of the people of Ashbury in this war. I witnessed many, many acts of courage, self-sacrifice, cooperation, perseverance and selflessness. Though we all owe thanks to Sir Aloryn Runeweaver, who sacrificed his life as part of the final destruction of the Necropolis, I wish to publicly thank the many other citizens who also volunteered to give their lives freely for the good of the town. I also thank the healers who gave their spells to keep the fighting forces on their feet without compensation and in many cases without thanks. Finally, we all owe thanks to the men of the Shield of Vendamor, whose fierce attack on an advance troop of Fangthorn's army evidently delayed the main body of the army and prevented us from having to fight trolls and undead simultaneously. This battle seriously depleted our resources, and the news coming in from the rest of the Duchy is not good. However, after witnessing the valiant work of the citizens of the city of Ashbury, I am confident that we will prevail against Fangthorn's army should it reach our boundaries. Again, I am proud of all of you, and I am honored to remain your servant, Mara Tirane MAGISTRATE'S REPORT By Lord Magistrate Faustus Neumacht The gypsy Dax turned himself in for execution, having previously been convicted of the Murder and Robbery of Duncan Doolittle. His liege, Sir Bretton Moore, solemnly administered the punishment. Having paid for his transgression, it is hoped that Dax, under Baron Bretton's enlightened tutelage, will rejoin the ranks of Ashbury's law-abiding citizens. Another drawn-out legal matter, the return of the magic sword Slavetamer, was also resolved. Despite the inflammatory letter published in last month's Ashbury Times by Deven Du'Leges of the Shield of Vendamor, his group did decide to comply with our law and return the blade to its rightful owner, Morgan Sunstar. Part of the settlement required that the Shield publicly state that they would adhere to our laws, even if they did not believe in them. It is good for Ashbury that this legal dispute did not end in bloodshed; better that our common efforts are directed against Fangthorn's troll legions. On another important matter, Tiercel the Gryphon, who is guilty of crimes against the citizens of Ashbury too numerous to list, is to be arrested. When the long-absent Paladin Sir Hieronymous returned from Evendarr, he brought with him orders to this effect. Citizens are urged not to attempt the capture of this dangerous creature alone, but to report his presence to the nobility. There were numerous petty offenses reported of late. Jareth Ravenscar was convicted of Extortion and fined 3 gold for purporting to have knowledge of the theft of Eldon Runeweaver's spellbook. Derek Dreamweaver was found guilty of the Robbery of Gwynne Neumacht's two-handed sword at the Commoners' Tournament last June. After he was confronted with the evidence, he confessed and was fined 3.5 gold. Several people were exonerated of Assault after mistakenly attacking a band of jesters on the night of All Fool's Day. As the jesters were constantly mistaken for undead, they were ordered to leave town. Squire Manx Deserett was found not guilty of the Assault of one of the Dragon's Flagon's hired bouncers. Despite rumors of her guilt, upon investigation it was clear that the half-orc bouncer was drunk, and that then-Guardsman Thengor was seeking some way of incapacitating the unruly fellow when Squire Manx waylaid the bouncer. On a final sad note, Sheriff Truxton has resigned his position. He left a note in the Manor House saying that he had to leave Ashbury forever for "personal reasons." While his tenure as Sheriff was brief, Truxton did accomplish much, most notably the reconstitution of the Town Guard. He will be missed. All Town Guardsmen hired by Sheriff Truxton (as well as any prospective new members) shall assemble at the Manor House at 2 pm Saturday April 22, when his succession shall be discussed. LETTER TO THE EDITOR Good Citizens of Ashbury, Know that I am the Dove and have issued a call to arms so that we, the citizens of Ashbury, may stand united against the great evil which approaches. As the enemy marches toward us, we must remember the sacrifices made by those who perished in the fight against Fangthorn, and put aside the differences which divide and weaken us. It is the responsibility of each and every one of us to fight unceasingly for the Duchy, and give all that we have in defense of our homes, our neighbors, and our loved ones. I ask you today to search your hearts for courage in the coming days, and draw strength from one another. Do not be fooled into thinking that you cannot make a difference. Each one of us holds the key to our success; It is now time to unlock the door and step through. May luck be with you. Squire Kittery Ann Holindarn NEW FROM AROUND THE DUCHY Ashbury: The Avalon trading company, operating throughout the known world by charter of his Royal Highness King Joseph, has announced the official opening of a branch office in the city of Ashbury. The merchant Shankar Vorg, recently stationed in Evendarr, has been assigned to manage the Ashbury office, stated Master Bookkeeper Vestan Pance. Avalon solicits small investors to assist in financing trading operations, sharing the profits of the expedition among the investors. As usual, investors have a measure of choice in deciding what goods they will invest in, and in which market they are sold. Larger investors can even commission their own expeditions. Interested parties are invited to contact Shankar Vorg at the Ashbury office, or any of the Avalon representatives in other territories. Halifax: Life in the quiet estate of Halifax has gotten significantly more dangerous lately, as the Blythedale estate was the scene of a bizzare series of permanent deaths. Early last month, Alenarus Grimsby Ketenbar, a local scholar and distant relative of the late Paladin, suffered his final death at the hands of thieves who broke into his home late one night. While investigating the murder, both the local Sheriff, Joseph Axeblade, and the town Magistrate, Kalin Avenir, were found dead in an alley a week and a half later. Just before Alenarus Ketenbar was killed a notorious thief of the estate known only by the name of "Tiptoes" was found murdered in the river, and seven days ago two elderly citizens named Keveth Mason and Thomas Yardson were kidnapped. No trace of them has been found, but there were signs of a struggle and a search at their residences. There has been little evidence for the current authorities to utilize in solving these crimes. They have no suspects and no motive, and they do not know whether they believe these incidents to be connected to each other or totally random acts of violence. The death toll has risen to seven permanent deaths - more than Halifax has ever seen at one time in over thirty years. Many citizens have expressed the fear that the timing of these events with the rise of Fangthorn cannot be a coincidence, but local officials are remaining silent on the issue, saying only that they have no leads. R'Kura: The strange race of beings known as the Gerakari have been seen attacking outposts in areas near to Ashbury, according to noted Nimani journalist Bardin Cooper. Cooper, who was fired from his last job in the Nimani press for refusing to back down from his belief that the beings even exist, has been hired by the Ashbury Times to follow up on his leads. He reports that among other incidents, a fight recently broke out in the Ashbury town of R'Kura, involving some of the mysterious creatures and the local elven Town Guard there. Officially, all in power are denying that such an incident took place, but Cooper is insistent that the beings exist and the event occurred. Felgund: The barbarian tombs discovered in the small town of Troy in the estate of Felgund have all been destroyed according to the Ashbury Mages' Guild. Sorceress Shalizar sent seven of her best and brightest off on a "seek out and destroy" mission against the tombs. Guild members and their chosen adventuring groups battled spiders and undead to clean out the tombs of long deceased Spider tribe leaders. The Spider tribe was a powerful group of barbarians that utilized necromancy to further their power and wealth. They died out over 200 years ago, leaving only these tombs. A LITTLE BIRDIE TOLD ME by Sue D'Onym Good day again, I'm here with the latest News They Don't Want You To Know. With both Isabella Nault and Duchess Mara expecting, one can only assume that Baroness Laurelin and Sorceress Shalizar will be next. Rumor has it that Shalizar has been trying for almost a year to be in the family way, but the chosen father is more of a fighter than a lover. Maybe she should give the task to one of her mages? Given Shalizar's many years, that could be a never achieved promotion. Where do all the bad boys go when they've got no home to go to? The Barony of Nordenn of course! Dax was thrown out of the gypsies for his roguish acts and landed as Baron Bryan's court necro. . .I mean healer, with the Baron standing at his side during his trial. The Shield of Vendamor was thrown out of the Mages' Guild estate for their letter to the Ashbury Times flaunting the law and ended up on one of Nordenn's estates. There are now three crimes that have a mandatory death sentence: Treason, Necromancy, and. . . Gypsy Curse! And you don't even need evidence to convict! This ought to thin out that nasty gypsy population in Ashbury in no time! You see, Duchess Mara has declared that if any of her nobles ever gets gypsy cursed again, she will automatically kill Camilla (even though Camilla is not in charge of the local gypsies - I guess she's just the loudest one and thus makes the best hostage). Now poor Quentin has to go back and change all his law books. Squire Ivan wins my award for reddest face in Ashbury. You should have seen it when Etcetera the gypsy danced close to where he was sitting. Well, Etcetera does that to lots of people. . .By the way, in case you don't know, Etcetera is not her real name - her real name takes about ten minutes to say so all the gypsies just started calling her by her current nom de plume. Later that night, by the way, Ivan made a terrifying discovery that the orphanage to which he had been supporting with his donations was being regularly attacked by vampires who craved the infants pure blood. Our condolences, Ivan. Sirs Kelial and Hieronymous are singing "Thanks for the memories" after being cured of their gryphon-casued mental problems. Speaking of Kelial, rumor has it that Mother Merry specifically asked to be transfered away from the biata. Lady Talia Grey has often been seen lately in the company of Unrok the half-orc. Talk about your odd couples. Then again, wasn't Unrok after Shalizar before? OK, that's odder. Casino Shankar was an active place Saturday night as locals played blackjack, craps, and poker. The Casino opened an hour after the Duchess' banquet and lasted almost to midnight. Galoran Strongblade was the casino pit boss while Modi Ioki, Olin Red-beard, and Talon worked as dealers. All that money dragged in and so much dragged out! Good thing Templeton was hired for security. Say, what's with him, anyway? I don't think I've ever seen him dress so nicely before. Is there a female rat in his future or did he just get a mirror? And speaking of Modi, Maximus was recently seen in the Dragon's Flagon grumbling about how Modi should replace the possessions Maximus lost on Modi's Mages' Guild task. Modi generously announced to all within earshot that he would gladly give Maximus everything he deserved and more. The Blythedale table was all tears but Squire Thengor was all shocked smiles as Dame Sonya (on behalf of the Duchess) presented him with a special award for his bravery. "I was just doing my job," said the humble dwarf. The Ducal award was named after Squire Kadorr of Blythedale, who died his permanent death fighting against Mourna while quoting the Code of Chivalry. You don't get people like these often. Hey, wanna job? Ashbury is looking for a new Sherriff again. (Don't let the curse bother you). Supposedly, Duchess Mara plans on giving a special reward to any Sheriff who can last longer than six months in the position. That's all for this issue. Be sure to send me your News They Don't Want You To Know. Remember - I keep all contributions confidential! PUBLIC NOTICES THE DUCHY WILL PURCHASE scrolls, potions, elixirs and magic items to use as prizes in the Commoners' Tournament. Sell us your items and win them back in the Tournament! SIR KELIAL VARDIK would like to thank Lude Narcisse, the lynx sarr, for saving the life of Dame Sonya Dawntreader at the risk of his own. REWARD! 15 gold for the return of the magical sword Beerblade, and 20 gold for the return of the magical dwarven axe. See Squire Otto Neumacht at the Ducal Manor House. ANYONE WITH INFORMATION concerning the prophicies of the Hammer, the Bat and the Dove please contact me as soon as possible. We have much to learn and little time left. I can be reached through either Baroness Laurelin of the Ash Forest or Sir Konrad Valinor of the Ducal Court. - Squire Kittery OUR THANKS to Squire Thengor for keeping us safe and entertained. Congratulations on your Award. - Thena and Squire Kittery KELIAL: I am very honored and proud to have been taken on as your squire. I hope to be able to live up to and surpass the expectations you have for me. I thank you. - Hagen Merik ATTENTION CITIZENS: I have an item I'd like to trade for the primary for Bane or two primaries for Cloak. The item enables you to Bane necromancy and expires in October of '95. Please contact Warlock Marius at the Ducal House. THOSE INTERESTED in the very popular line of Ioki beers or in fine Elven Elderberry Wine, please contact Modi Ioki with any comments or questions you might have. LEGAL REPRESENTATION. Scrolls read, items evaluated, potions and elixirs identified, celestial ritual scrolls read, contracts drafted. If it's out there, I can find the answer. Quentin Dunbury. IT SADDENS ME that Baron Bryan thinks that he and his court are above the law. Although I am happy to see the Duchess and the Magistrate stand behind the law of the land and administer justice. I would also like to thank Truxton for all the help he has provided me. - Duncan Doalittle. TURN YOUR UNWANTED MAGIC ITEMS into gold! What good is a web 1/day when you can cast 4 already? How many times have you really thrown that web, if you are a fighter? I will trade gold or potions or scrolls or gasses or armor for magic items. I mostly want times/day, but will pay for times ever items, too. Ritual components also purchased (especially Celestial). - Goodman Hanson I WOULD LIKE TO PUBLICLY THANK Baron Thomas and Sir Kelial for helping me destroy the pantherghast. Without the use of the Baron's magical shortsword or Sir Kelial's healing powers, it would have taken my life as well as the lives of many other orcs. Thankyou. - Olin Redbeard. WANTED : Primary and secondary components for the following rituals: Cloak, Bane, Protection Aura, and Damage Aura. I promise to pay very well for any of these components. Contact Naerfen Kel-tier'lin for more information. EVEN A POOR ADVENTURER can have fun at Casino Shankar now that the Copper Club is open. Just come down to the tavern with coppers in hand. With a little luck, and a few hands of poker, you too could turn that copper into gold!!! SHALIZAR: I assure you our departure from Diron was far from hasty. We didn't need your support then and we don't need it now. Just like my Bashar, we've found something far more attractive. - Regent Deven Du'leges, Shield of Vendamor DARKEDDETH: Camilla she is proud of your sacrifice in battle to save others. Few in the duchy have your bravery. ALCHEMISTS OF ASHBURY! Having trouble finding recipes and lab space? Join the Alchemists' Guild! Suffer no longer! Looking for a particular ritual scroll or component? Trying to sell some? Sign up in the Guild ritual directory and we'll do the looking for you! Also, excellent scribing and calligraphy service. ASHBURY REGISTRY OF TEACHERS. Referrals for a wide range of skills. Discretion assured. Teachers: get students without spending all your time recruiting. See Prof. Turlough Kuranes in the Dragon's Flagon most weekends or at the Bardic College during the week. TALENA: Our last meeting was enlightening. Our next will be more so. We need to speak now. Same place and time of day. MANY GOLD PAID. We are looking for a specific page from the Book of the Dead. If you are the lucky winner, see the Commoner's Guild. SORCERESS SHALIZAR will be performing all rituals at the Ashbury Mages' Guild during the month of April 595 for half of the normal fee. Ritual components purchased from the Guild will be sold at the normal price. You are encouraged to speak with Shalizar anytime during the month of April to make arrangements. THANK YOU to Silas and Mason for all for ever - Tawane. HUGE REWARD OFFERED for informationleading to the criminals who stole from the Commoner's Guild. We will make it worth your while. TO ALL WHO WISH TO KILL GRYPHONS: Don't! It's a really dumb move. - Advice from a friend. THE DRAGON'S FLAGON is looking to hire workers in all areas. Good pay and benefits. See Tawane or Camilla. WE CAN MAKE YOU RICH! The Ashbury branch of the Avalon Trading Company is looking for investors. Please inquire with Shankar Vorg. WANNA MAKE SOME REAL DOUGH? Turn over the so-called bat, hammer, or dove to us and we'll make you very very rich. They must be turned over alive for we don't want them resurrecting on us.- Fangthorn's Witnesses. THE ASHBURY MAGES' GUILD would like to congratulate the following new Apprentices: Brightfeather, Thena Dunlath, and Naerfen Keltierlin; and the following promotions to Guildsman: Kittery Ann Holindarn, Barony of the Ash Forest, Marcos Kinnear, Checkmate, Grandin Lamoore, Modi Thadeus Ioki, and Dugal McEwan, Clan McEwan; and the following promotions to Senior Guildsman: Lithitar Drakkar, Shield of Vendamor, and Eldon Varidos. ------------------------------------------------------------------ NERO NEWS Ashbury Chapter April 1994 Issue #21 EVENTS TO END EARLIER Camp Cedarcrest charges us for every hour we run past 5:00, and this cost is an expense we really don't need. Almost everyone did a fine job cleaning up their cabins and areas and we thank you for that - and we especially thank those of you who did stay behind to help us clean the NPC camp, the tavern and other common areas that need that extra work. We know that many of you have to leave and cannot stay behind to help us pack up the ol' U-Haul, do a final checkup of the camp, and mop and sweep up the kitchen and tavern. And, as many might point out, you paid to play, not clean. Unfortunately, NERO, though a business, is also reliant upon volunteer help in order to keep its costs reasonable. Without your help, we will have to make sacrifices elsewhere. Those who stayed behind that extra hour or two would have loved to sit down to a fine dinner with those of you who went out to eat afterwards, but by the time we got there, you were done and gone. You're not in that much of a rush, are you? Let's face it, if we stopped the game at 5:00, many of you would still be there - you don't all have to be home by sunset. If everyone at the camp would just stay an extra ten or fifteen minutes, we would have enough help to make sure we could all get out before 5:00. There are three solutions we could implement to solve the problem of running past 5:00. The first is to end the game earlier. We will be ending the game an hour earlier from now on. We really don't want to do this. If it turns out that everyone helps us clean and we get everything done by 4:00, we will know it can be done and we will try ending the game later next time. Other solutions include charging more for events to offset the camp's overtime fine, or refusing to check anyone out until the entire camp is completely clean. We had only about a dozen people (out of over a hundred) during the last two hours of cleanup. Those who did stay received extra goblin stamps for their efforts and our grateful thanks. LOOKING FOR SITE We're currently looking for a site where we can hold a war or a faire. The site should have public rest rooms and an indoor check-in area with electricity. Public parks will generally not allow us to run events that charge money, so we are considering running a free war. Wars require very little setup, cost and preparation, and we can easily run a free publicity event at a public place. Ideally, there should be no mundanes running around in the area we are using (for safety and insurance reasons). A faire requires the computer, tags, lots of preparation, lots of NPC costumes, and almost as much work as a regular weekend event so we would have to charge admission to offset our costs. Therefore, we cannot use a public area for this. If one of our members has a large farm or a house with lots of land, perhaps we could work out a deal. Or perhaps you know of a camp that would rent itself out for a day or two. Call the office if you have any leads! We want to run lots of outdoor events this summer while the weather is nice! UPDATING Updating your character after a weekend event does not require you to call our office. You don't have to come in, jump through hoops, or sign away your first born child. What you do have to do is turn in your teaching cards or write down on the back of your life ticket what skills you wish to improve. Last weekend, too many players merely turned in their life tickets without including a note saying "give me more spells" or "I want to buy Resist Sleep next" or any other indication as to what skills they wanted next. Then we started getting calls, and one person even complained about having to call long distance in order to update. Remember, a little preparation solves everything. Letting us know what skills you want in advance keeps check-in lines shorter, keeps you from having to update over the phone, and saves everyone time and headaches. Please remember to inform us of your updating desires next weekend! STEALING WEAPONS The Player's Guide lists specific rules about how you can steal certain items in-game. For weapons, it states that you should turn the phys reps into the "NPC Weaponsmith." Unfortunately, experience has taught us that keeping a permanent NPC weaponsmith is not worth it; so from now on, please take any weapons you steal to the NPC camp. There, the person in charge will take the weapon, hand you the tag, and put the weapon behind the logistics desk. If you lose a weapon, go to the NPC camp out-of-game and get your phys rep back. You will not be able to use that weapon until you can get an appropriate weapon tag in-game, either by receiving one from someone else, buying one, or (ahem) stealing one. Alternatively, you can try selling the weapon in-game to someone. It will then be up to the person buying the weapon to bring the phys rep to the NPC camp so that it can be retrieved by its out-of-game owner. No matter what, you must return the weapon phys rep within a reasonable time after stealing it! Remember, it's private property, not yours! RACE PACKETS ARE HERE! We've been working extra long hours to bring you very complete, very documented race packets and sheesh, these things take a long time. However, there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel. Last weekend, the Amani, biata, and gypsy packets were distributed in their entirety. They are each about 12 pages long, with wonderful artwork, and lots of stuff for your character to dig his or her teeth into. Also distributed were preliminary race packets for half-orcs and sarr, containing the "how to roleplay" sections. By the next adventure weekend, we hope to have the completed sarr packet along with half ogre, scavenger, wild elf, and stone elf. Others will be following shortly. To get your packet, you must have a character of that race. You can pick one up here at the NERO site, at a weekend event, or we can mail one to you if you send a stamped self-addressed manila envelope (make sure there are enough stamps on it). FEAST HELP WANTED Much of what happens on a NERO weekend goes on behind the scenes, where people work hard to make sure the game is enjoyable for everyone. Sometimes these people are working in-game, while their friends are out killing monsters, roleplaying and having fun. One such example is the banquet, where lots of people gave up their gaming time to make sure the feast would be wonderful. Kristie Raynor and James Irizarry spent much of the week before the event and most of Saturday preparing and cooking the chicken. Tracey Landers, Janet Anderson, and Heather Williamson prepared food in advance for the feast. Will Mullally, Jen August, Pam Apostle and Heidi Hooper all ran the food service over the weekend and made sure the "kitchen was open." As you can guess, these people saw very little of the weekend, so please thank them for their hard work. We want to continue doing this but these people also want some time to play, too - so we need your help. If you like hanging out in the tavern and don't mind working in character, the pay is good. You won't get a magic item, but you'll see a lot of plot stuff happening around you. We need servers, entertainers, bodyguards, and cooks. Please contact us! COMMONER'S TOURNAMENT The Commoner's Tournament is coming up during the long Memorial Day weekend. As those who participated in the event last year are aware, the rewards for playing are quite lucrative. And besides, the competition is also lots of fun. For those of you unfortunate souls who somehow have not yet purchased your Ashbury Player's Guide (tsk, tsk), teams of six may compete for the grand prize as well as runner-up prizes. Last year the winning team won a Life item and we promise the prize will be even better this year (it's a surprise prize). Note that nobles and their squires are not allowed to participate in the Commoner's Tournament. If you play in the Commoner's Tournament and then later receive a title, you are not allowed to play in the Noble's Tournament held in September. No character may play both tournaments in the same year. The Player's Guide has all of the rules as well as advice as to how to win the events so be sure to read it and prepare. BE AN NPC. . .OR ELSE! You know you want to do it. You can just feel those words ready to roll off your tongue: "I call upon chaos to. . ." But no, you can't! You're a Good Guy! You know you want to use those wacky biata mind melds. . .but you're a humie! You want those cool ears, that polearm skill, that chance to improve your falling skills by dying 12 times as a goblin, that irritating kobold voice chiming "waylay!" Plus, tuition is due, the car needs fixing, and you're broke. You know what the solution is! Many thanks to the players, new and old, who NPCd for us this last weekend. We can't run an event without you. But once again, we have the ever-present problem of not enough volunteers. Seriously, folks, we're considering raising them from birth to NPC, and you probably don't want to wait that long for the next weekend. The weekend directors and plot committee have lots of neat ideas for your entertainment and destruction. . .err, amusement. . .but they can't implement those ideas without warm bodies and active minds to back them up. You may have noticed that there was a lack of roleplaying encounters this weekend. We had to make the difficult decision before the event to pull almost all the roleplaying encounters because it appeared that we would have a severe shortage of NPCs. Actually, the Plot Committee did provide some encounters but they had to take PCs out of game for a while to play these NPC parts. Doing so is against our stated desired policy, but hey, desperate times. . . NERO is the only major fantasy roleplaying game that does not require its players to NPC, and we intend to keep this policy. We instead encourage all players and teams to volunteer to take at least one weekend off a year and volunteer as NPCs. If everyone would consider NPCing a weekend or two, we can almost guarantee that your total fun level for the year will rise because we'll be able to make all the weekends just so much cooler. If you NPC all weekend, you will receive enough goblin stamps to receive a blanket. If you show up early, work hard, stay late, help clean and call in advance and prepare with us, you can easily get enough to max out and probably even more. So what's the "or else" mentioned in the headline? Simple. We need NPCs. . .or else the events will not be as much fun! HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR CHARACTER HISTORY by Keith Post, Plot Committee Your character history can help you have the most fun in NERO as possible. In order for the Plot Committee to use your history, please include the following: ù Your character's name, and any present group or baronial affiliation; ù Your member number and OOG name; ù The most convenient phone number that you can be reached at, and the best time to call; Your character history should be typed if at all possible as to be more legible, but if typing is not an option, please print legibly. We can't use a submission we can't read. Lately, we have been receiving a few character histories where it is obvious the player has not read the Player's Guide. Please don't submit any Deathbringer Doomblade Darkshadow histories. If you want to make a name for yourself, do it in-game. It makes more sense, especially if you're starting at first level. Give us something tangible to sink our teeth into, whether it's as simple as a conflict between siblings, or as grandoise as your accidental part in the death of a loved one. Don't try and answer all the mysteries of your character's life. Maybe you witnessed something that didn't make sense at the time, maybe you bear some mark upon you with which you were born, or maybe strange disappearances plagued your early life. Try to make your player as human (sarr, mystic wood elf, etc. . .) as possible. Nobody's perfect, and perhaps your character has things to atone for, or maybe he's just plain evil and doesn't realize it. Please follow these guidelines, along with including the names of all the NPCs of import in your life (don't provide stats - that's our job). Please send your character histories to the NERO office. Thanks! LETTERS TO NERO Send your comments to NERO, 218 Plymouth Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201-1124 or by email to NEROny@aol.com. ........ "I had a great weekend. I got so much stuff." I have yet to be involved in the running of a NERO Ashbury weekend and not hear numerous complaints that the monsters are not carrying enough treasure. Admittedly mistakes were made by the monster desk this last weekend. A number of monsters were sent out with less than typical treasure. This was at least partially the result of a bad combination of many NPCs new to the game and a generally understaffed and overwhelmed monster camp. Yet these underfunded monsters were isolated events. For the most part all the monsters on the weekend had higher than normal treasure on them. Yet still those complaints came in. "There are too many PCs already involved. I don't feel like trying to divide treasure so many ways. Let's go do something else." A thirteen floor tower built of flesh, bone and blood situated itself in Ashbury this weekend. Judging by the general response of the citizens of Ashbury, this is a fairly normal occurence. It certainly was nothing to panic over. General opinion seemed to be that by the end of the weekend any problems would mysteriously solve themselves. Due to the absense of a concerted effort on the part of the town, by Sunday morning it was clear that Ashbury was in dire straits. In the end, director Dave House basically had to save Ashbury by toning down the plot and offering the town a simpler way to save itself. In essense, a complicated and somewhat difficult plot was proved to be too much for a NERO Ashbury weekend. The solution to Necropolis was by no means an impossible one. It simply demanded a level of effort that the town of Ashbury was not willing to generate. NERO is a business. As paying customers you have a tremendous influence over the game. Ask yourself if it is really worthwhile to use this power to create a game which involves no effort and no risk? I still vividly recall my first NERO weekend as a PC five years ago. I remember a game where surviving and maxing out were things that could not be taken for granted. The intensity of that game has been ritually bled away by player demands. If things continue this way, a NERO weekend will be nothing more than an experience point blanket. With every undead that shuffled its way into the Necropolis the tower became that much stronger. So when after a valiant effort your PC destroyed a necromantic abomination, why did you count the money and become angry? You had just performed an heroic act, at the same time increasing the chance of your character living to see another weekend. Why isn't that enough? So instead of evaluating how good a weekend you had in terms of material gain, why not ask yourself what you accomplished. How well did you fight? How brave and valiant were you? How sneaky and cunning? How accurate was your spellcasting? How brilliant your roleplaying? Did you play a part in saving the entire town of Ashbury itself from destruction? These are the things that involve true skill. All maxing out requires is complaining. NERO Ashbury can only be as good as we allow it to be. Let it remain an adventure. Taras Mauch I have to agree with most of what Taras is saying. When we started this chapter, we tried to make "maxing out" a rarity, rewarding those who did something extra special above and beyond merely playing. Due to player complaints, we have had to increase treasure at every turn to such a point that over 98% of the people on the last weekend hit their maximum. Is this what we want of NERO? Am I being too kind by giving in to player demands? Are the players who complain about treasure representing the majority of players out there? Let us know what you think. - Fearless Leader ........... I had a brief discussion with the camp manager before I left on Sunday. He stressed that the way to keep this site is to keep it clean, something we all do fairly well. Cleaning up the big stuff is no problem at all, it is the small stuff that could be our downfall. The suggestion I am trying to make concerns tags!! They are all over the place by the end of the weekend. Please, if you rip them, don't toss them on the ground - throw them out. If you are not near a can, give them to an NPC. I am sure that they will be more than willing to take your tags. Sadly enough I could not stay to see the end results of the clean up but I am sure it would be all the quicker if we try to throw them all out as we rip them instead of after the game ends. Derek Lewis ............ I, for one, had a tremendously good time this first weekend. While I got the distinct sense that we, as a town, failed entirely to "solve" the weekend, I still thought the first weekend was a success. The feast, in particular, was a wonderful feature. I really enjoyed the chance to sit down with friends, enjoy good food, and especially to see some of the people who spent the rest of the weekend on the other side of a mask. I wish we could take an hour or two every weekend, bring in the people who are NPCing, and relax together. It'd do wonders to build camaraderie. But from what I gather, a lot of work went into the feast - too much to do it every weekend. But kudos to the people who both thought it up, and made it happen. John Walker NERO INFO MODULE SCHEDULE APRIL 8, 9: The Stand Off, written and directed by Kristie Raynor. Because of Fangthorn's gathering forces, for the first time in centuries, the dwarves are asking for help from outside races. 15: The Stand Off 16: CLOSED FOR EASTER 29, 30: The Foresaken (Healers' Guild module), written and directed by Eric Hamilton. The Hemlock Clinics hold a deep dark secret. By invitation only. WEEKEND SCHEDULE April 21, 22, 23 (NOTE NEW DATES): Page Status, written and directed by John Finnegan. Be sure to bring a bookmark so you don't lose your place. May 26, 27, 28, 29: Years Gone By, written and directed by Mike Fenton, Jim Quirk and Heather Williamson. "When 576 years just aren't enough..." The Commoner's Tournament and much much more. July 14, 15, 16: Apocolypse, written and directed by Rob Keene. The Duchy of Ashbury may be facing its greatest challenge since its founding 100 years ago_are you ready? September 1, 2, 3, 4: Wood Magics, written and directed by Matt Sims and the Plot Committee. The Nobles' Tournament meets the wood nymphs, and the return of an old favorite. October 6, 7, 8, 9: The Time of Gathering, written and directed by Johnathan Stein. When two great powers meet in Ashbury, shall Ashbury choose sides? NOTE: The dates may be changed by circumstances beyond our control. Other dates will be added and announced in future newsletters. Costs: A module is $15 or one Event Coupon. A weekend is $40 or three Event Coupons. Long weekends are $60 or five Event Coupons. A book of 5 Event Coupons is $60; a book of 10 is $110; and a book of $25 is $250. All event coupons are dated three weeks from the date of their purchase. The NERO office/The NERO Emporium: The NERO office and the official NERO store are open every day except Monday from 11 to 7. We are closed when there is an outdoor event. The NERO Emporium sells armor, weapons, costumes, adventuring supplies, pre-read books, pre-tested games, comic books,and more. Special orders for costumes are gladly accepted. NERO On-Line: NERO can be reached through Internet at NEROny@aol.com. To be placed on our internet mailing list, write to NERO-Ashbury-Approval@world.std.com. If you are on America OnLine, meet in the NERO LARP chat room on Tuesday nights from about 8 to 10. Other NERO Chapters: Colorado: (303) 671-0024. Georgia: (404) 393-8456. Massachusetts: (413) 477-6677. Michigan: (810) 445-9462. Pittsburgh: (no phone; write to 5705 Happy Hills Dr., Bethel Park, PA 15102). San Francisco: (415) 964-6527. Texas: (817) 467-0102. Washington DC: (703) 368-7107. Directions to our office: By subway, take the F line to the "York" stop (one stop out of Manhattan). From the station, turn right on Jay Street and walk a few blocks to Plymouth Street and then turn right. We are on that block. By car, take the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (route 278) and exit at Cadman Plaza. Follow the signs leading you toward the Brooklyn Bridge. This will put you on Prospect Street. Stop following the Brooklyn Bridge signs at this point and stay on Prospect until you see Jay Street on the left, just past an underpass. Turn left on Jay and go a few blocks then turn right on Plymouth Street. We are in that block. By car from Manhattan, take the Brooklyn Bridge and take the first exit (Cadman Plaza) making a hairpin turn under the bridge, putting you on Prospect. Follow the instructions above. OR take the Manhattan Bridge and take the first exit and go to the first light two blocks away and turn right. This will put you on Jay Street. Follow Jay to Plymouth and turn right. Directions to the weekend events at Camp Cedarcrest: Take route 95 in Connecticut until you reach the Merrit Parkway (route 15). Take the Merrit Parkway towards New Haven and then take exit 57. This will put you on the Derby Turnpike (route 34). Follow signs to West Haven. Get off at the West Haven Exit. Take the second right, which is Maple Dale Road. After the 5th house, look for white columns and a Camp Cedarcrest sign. Park there, walk across the waterfall bridge, and there we are.