The Havren

The name Havren is often used as a bogeyman in children's stories and adults flippantly blame them for unsolved mysteries. To most, they don't truly exist, and yet they do and they hide in plain sight. Its members are scattered throughout the city. They are rogues, performers, barflies, diplomats, and spies. The Havren are curators of history. Each is charged with making sure that lost things are remembered, and purposefully hidden things remain secret. They specialize in deception, mind manipulation, and special meditation practices. The Havren are able to access collective mental constructs, which each adept adds to over the course of their lives.

A Havren adept is an infiltrator and collector of information. They are movers and motivators behind the scenes, always working in secret. They can manipulate the minds that surround them, force their thoughts on others, erase memories, capture minds, and enter dreams. Yet even with this power, the Havren are devoid of ambition and even a desire for companionship or status. They expect to have no greater relationships beyond what is constructed in the Palace of Memory. They do not have friends or lovers or enemies. It may be that the Havren are devoid of true emotion, perhaps that is what drives them.

The Palace of Memory: The Havren do not keep their knowledge in a physical location where it could be discovered or destroyed. Instead, they keep all their records in the Palace of Memory. This is a mental construct, which lies within the mind of each Havren adept. Though it may seem unwise to house secrets in a number of individuals who could be captured, interrogated, or compelled, the palace is not formed equally in all adepts. It is continually built, augmented and added to as the adept increases in mastery. A low level adept will have a humble palace with precious few secrets to surrender. Complete palaces are housed safely in the minds of the greatest adepts, who guard it well.

The palace houses not only basic facts but the very memories of individuals that the Havren have been exposed to. Any knowledge deemed significant is added to the collective Havren memory. Some memories are complete enough to house full personalities. The most illustrious and knowledgeable of these are the Predecessors. They are deceased Havren adepts who have rendered sufficient service to be granted the immortality of preservation within the archived memory. The higher the Havren’s level of mastery, the more personalities are manifested within the palace. Most of these personalities are safe and will only aid the adept. However, some are dangerous and only accessible in the Protected Memory. While these personalities seem fully formed and lifelike, they are not souls or life energies– only memories.

If the adept wishes to gain information, he may refer to the Palace of Memory. While inside he may access whatever information his age and experience will entitle him to obtain. An adept may enter the Palace of Memory while in a meditative state. If he is physically disrupted during the meditation, he must make a Will resistance check to remain there. At the GM's option, the Palace of Memory may be navigated like an actual library. Each additional level of advancement adds new characters to assist the adept in his studies. Through the use of some mental connection, the adept can also bring trusted companions into his mind to explore the space together. However, access and learned information can be simplified with a series of Knowledge checks. This can be used to derive information about anything pertaining to the Havren and their experiences.

The Hall of Protected Memory: This is a separate subset of knowledge that is under guard within the adept’s mind for their own protection. These are the shards of memory gleaned from disturbed individuals or minds too great and terrible to access normally. The adept may choose to access the Protected Memory even if he has already made a Knowledge check using the Palace of Memory. However, he does so at great peril. He must make a Will resistance check, DC 10. If he fails, he is attacked by the dark minds within the hall and must roll a d20 then refer to the result of failure as listed in the table below. The powers within the Protected Memory are malevolent and will do harm to the adept if they are able. Success means that the adept has definitely gained some useful information or a scene relating to the inquiry begins playing out and the Havren is free to participate in it.

D20; Affect

1 Adept’s mind is overcome and destroyed. He dies.

2 Adept is filled with a temporary compulsion to kill himself (1d6 rounds).
3 Adept’s mind is overcome and he is driven permanently insane and uncontrollable.

4 Adept’s mind is shattered and he loses the ability to use his adept powers.

5 Adept is permanently blinded.

6 Adept suffers greater amnesia. Lose one level including any recently acquired powers and skills.

7 Adept has permanent voices in his head that distract him. Make all future Intuition checks with a -2 penalty.

8 Adept’s will is permanently damaged. Lose 1d6 of Power (it cannot be recovered).

9 Adept is filled with a temporary compulsion to kill a party member or friend (1d6 rounds).

10 Adept has lesser amnesia. Lose 1d3 random powers.

11 Adept gains a phobia of the powers within the Protected Memory and will not willingly enter it again.

12 Adept has a permanent compulsion to self-harm in some way. Make a Will resistance check whenever he sleeps or lose 1 Life instead of healing with a full nights rest.

13 Adept has permanent nightmares. Only half as much Power as normal can be recovered from a full night’s rest. These dreams also cause the adept to wail and scream loudly while sleeping.

14 Dark powers become aware of the adept’s mind. Future Protected Memory checks must succeed DC 20.

15 Adept has minor amnesia. Lose a total of 1d3 skills.

16 Adept feels constant paranoia. Checks to sense motive are made at a detriment and failure always gives the player the impression that the NPC is a threat to the player or party.

17 Adept has a new random permanent phobia or aversion.

18 Adept becomes unconscious for 1d6 days.

19 Adept is nauseated for 1d6 days.

20 Adept becomes Confused and babbles non-sensibly for 1d6 hours.

Magdalena Zwierzchowska

Special Havren Skills

Left Hand of Darkness: Within the Palace of Memory an adept can learn many old tricks and discover lost knowledge. Some talents can be imparted to the adept, if he asks the right questions and looks in the right places. And sometimes there are weapons where there is knowledge, and they too can be imparted to the adept. One such weapon allows an adept to record the memories of others. If an attack kills a target, a fragment of its mind is added to the Palace of Memory. Thereon the adept may access the Palace of Memory and delve into its thoughts.

Right Hand of Darkness: Protracted amounts of time spent in the Protected Memory can be dangerous. Mere proximity to Arahn’s mind can spur changes within his own. This skill represents a growing similarity between the adept and the long dead Master. The adept gains access to his ancient trappings. On a successful sneak attack the adept’s weapon manifests into Arahn’s legendary sword, but only for an instant. Regardless of the weapon used, it becomes the Vorpal Sword, a longsword that lops the heads off its victims upon an attack roll of 20.

Student of Arahn: Some adepts choose to walk the perilous road of studying the Protected Memory. The most learned, complete, and devious personality in the Palace of Memory is that of Arahn, one of the 7 Masters. If an adept chooses this skill, it means he has attempted to learn a set of mental disciplines to better resist the negative effects of these memories. When rolling a resistance check in the Protected Memory, the adept may spend Power to add to the result. However, because the character is exposed to these minds more often than usual, they are able to take greater advantage of weaknesses and failures. The effects of Arahn influence are more deep-seated than those of the other Protected Memories, but they may also confer dark augmentations as well. Failed DC checks with this skill now use the following table to determine effects.

Special: Locked within the confines of the Hall of Predecessors, lies the recorded memory of Arahn, the Master. Why the Havren believe it necessary to preserve such a cruel and devious mind in the Palace of Memory is a mystery, but there are a number of safeguards to protect adepts. Firstly, he can only be contacted by speaking his name while in the Hall of Predecessors. Moreover, he appears in the center of a protective circle. The Predecessor personalities are all programed to contain and restrain him if he attempts to harm the adept. However, if the adept chooses to step within the circle he will be in grave danger. It is possible that Arahn may attempt to take possession of the character. In this event, the Predecessors will attempt to kill the adept to prevent Arahn from gaining control of the Palace. If they are unable to react in time, Arahn’s personality will possess the character, killing the old personality in the process. This would create an extremely dangerous creature. While this avatar would not have the magical or physical abilities of the true Master, he will have considerable mental powers. He would immediately begin scheming some great devilry to increase his power and prestige. He may attempt to revive the spirit of Arahn to reclaim his power. On the other hand, he may view this spirit as a threat to his own ego if he defines himself as separate from the real Arahn. There have been no recorded instances of such a creature existing, and the mentality and motives of this abomination are unknown. He would retain the physical characteristics of the adept, but he would have access to telepathic powers up to level 4.

D20; Affect

1 Adept's mind is rewritten with the mind of Arahn. He is killed and his body becomes possessed.

2 Predecessors destroy the adept’s mind to prevent possession. He dies.

3 Adept’s mind strays from the Palace to the deep recesses of Arahn’s memories. His mind comes into contact with an entity within the Shadow Realm. Afterwards, he gains access to the shadow nature of demon magic. He immediately learns 1 shadow spell equal to or less than his highest telepathic power level known. At future levels, he may choose from both the telepathic and shadow natures of demon magic. Future attempts to access the Palace of Memory require a Will resistance check, DC 15 to resist the Predecessors, who try to block his entrance. A failed resistance check results in the inability to access the Palace of Memory for 1 week.

4 Over the course of a week, the adept slowly becomes Arahn. After 7 days, his mind becomes lost and his body is possessed. In the meantime, the adept gains 1 point of Intellect per day.

5 Adept is gripped by a homicidal urge to find secret enemies and destroy them. Every week, he must make a Will resistance check to resist the compulsion to seek out a victim to murder. If the only people available to kill are his companions, the adept is allowed a second Will resistance check. Once the murder is complete, he will be free of the compulsion for one month and will receive a dark epiphany. The answer to one question will become clear to the adept in the aftermath of the slaughter.

6 Adept’s memories are supplanted. He loses 1d3 levels of adept and gains that many levels of a wizard necromancer. He loses higher-level powers if he does not have sufficient Adept levels.

7 Adept is consumed with the desire to live forever. Each time a companion is knocked unconscious or killed in combat, the adept has to make a Will resistance check to refrain from retreating to safety. Each time a demonic or undead force is encountered, the adept must make a Will resistance check to refrain from attempting to use the creature to become undead. If the adept ever becomes undead, a successful Will resistance check allows him to retain his thoughts and personality after the change.

8 Adept is afflicted with a craving for blood. At the sight of human blood, the adept must make a Will resistance check or enter a frenzy, adding +2 to attack. In a non-combat scenario, a failed check means the adept is compelled to lap up said blood. Blood confers no physical bonus and merely satisfies the craving.

9 Adept has an irrational hatred of clergy. Every time one is encountered, he must make a Will resistance check to resist the urge to kill them, DC 10. If a clergy member is in the party, this check must be made daily at a DC of 5.

10 Adept has a constant urge to kill and take life. He feels empty and listless if this has not been done recently. If the adept has not taken a life that day, he will make all actions and resistance checks with only ½ the bonus of each modifier. If he personally kills another living creature, he gains a ½ again bonus of each modifier on all actions and resistance checks for the next 24 hours. If a creature is ever at the adept’s mercy and he wishes to spare it, he must succeed on a Will resistance check, DC 10.

11 Adept is plagued by feelings of being watched. Upon entering any room or confined area an adept must spend at least 1 minute searching it.

12 Adept is plagued by disturbing hallucinations. He has a detriment on resistance checks versus illusion spells.

13 Adept is plagued by feelings of paranoia. Adept must make an Intuition check upon meeting a new character. All failures mean the he is convinced the character is threatening.

14 Adept can no longer easily tolerate opinions that differ from his and must make a Will resistance check during every argument to refrain from compelling an opponent with a telepathic power.

15 Adept becomes obsessed with consulting the Protected Memory. Every time the adept enters the Palace of Memory he must make a Will resistance check to avoid asking a question of Arahn.

16 Adept’s mind is warped with a twisted form of logic. The adept’s Intellect modifier increases by ½, conversely the adept’s Intuition modifier decreases by ½ (it cannot be recovered).

17 Adept has an irrational aversion to sunlight. In sunlight he makes all resistance checks with only ½ the bonus. The adept also has an affinity for darkness and makes ½ again bonus on all resistance checks made in darkness.

18 Adept feels affinity for undead. He is able to sense them as if a Detect Undead spell was permanently active.

19 Adept feels compelled to seek more knowledge and asks another question of the Protected Memory. The player may choose the question but a question must be asked and another Will resistance check made.

20 Adept’s memories are supplanted. His mother tongue is lost and he now speaks only an ancient dialect of Common (Ancient Common). This is a dead language and it is unintelligible to all except scholars. His mother tongue has to be relearned.

Will of Arahn: Knowledge passed down from the Masters often served to better humanity. At other times it served no purpose but cruelty. And sometimes it could be both useful and cruel. Within the Protected Memory an adept can learn to trap the soul of a dying target within its body. If an attack would kill a target, its mind and soul linger in its slain body for 3d6 minutes. In that time, he may ask it questions or use telepathic powers on it and it can answer, no matter how destroyed its corporeal body is. It cannot raise up as if it were an undead creature, but it retains some degree of mobility. When the time is up, the anchor, which keeps its soul from passing, relents and the corpse loses animation.

Magdalena Zwierzchowska

The Free City Campaign

A few weeks ago I had a conversation with a guy on Reddit about running a city campaign with players that can come in and out of the campaign, and it got me thinking about a campaign we ran for The Northern Realm version 1.

The idea was this:

Set up at least 3 or 4 power groups, maybe even two resistance groups so there's some push and pull in the city. Players can play the groups off each other or secretly be involved with multiple groups or not so secretly, and you could add in players as they meet with each organization. The new players could be either a part of the new organization or contracted by the new organization or somehow involved with them (and the question of allegiances will lend to intrigue).

We did this with my playgroup and even though we only added players one time throughout the campaign, we did add tons of regular NPCs and it was pretty fluid. We had two government groups, one the establishment, the other seemingly 'free-er' rising power that later backstabbed us, a thief group made up of individual cells who also ended up being something other than what they seemed, and a powerful collector with tons of people working for him. Later a few more groups were introduced. I think the important thing is to give the groups a good reason to exist and clear motives. Then essentially you can introduce anyone you want because you could come from so many different angles.

Our GM set the tone within the city when we entered the city gates. The guards were turning people away. They were also rude and combative. If we hadn't name dropped a middle-ranking member of the ruling party we wouldn't have got in. So clearly right off the bat we were set up to feel resentful or at least wary of them. Then it immediately kicked off with us witnessing and stopping a theft as we entered the city. So this became our intro to the collector. We learned from him that the increased security and paranoia at the gate had more to do serial murders happening in the southern quarter by a perpetrator known only as the carver. Rumor had it that the carver was murdering people in the streets and taking one hand of his victims as a trophy. 

Then at some point wandering around the city for the collector caught the attention of the thieves guild who nabbed and interrogated us. I can't remember exactly how we ended up talking to the rival government party but I think we found some old writing and references about something that was haunting our dreams. At any rate, we were involved in a confrontation with them and the ruling party. Then shit got a little crazy as we learned to only trust individuals and not any of the parties jerking us around. I'd really have to write it out in many pages so I'll just end with we were betrayed, one of our NPC party member's mind was assimilated by his brother, who had invaded his mind and was slowly taking him over from day 1, and one of the old gods (vampires) was waking in the burial chambers of the city and attempting to subtly manipulate people within the city to uncover his remains. It got very convoluted but we had a year to go through it. Suffice to say we ended up fleeing the city with his remains.

Best campaign we ever did.

If you want to piece together what we did here's background of the city and conflict:

Free City (City, 113,700): The Free City is one of the largest cities on the continent. It is the oldest human city in Rhen. Thousands of years ago, the still young Nobles gathered the human tribes and taught them building techniques. Under their direction, the immortal Nobles and humans built their capital. This city became the capital of the Noble Dominion and it was named Gorhithe.

When the Noble Dominion fell it was renamed Freorice (which in Ancient Common is Free Realm), and Gorhithe renamed Aerden, the Free City. The peace and jubilation, however, lasted only one short year as the politics of the city again plunged the country into war. And after decades of strife, there was peace again and a king. He named the new kingdom Storgeard. But the king and the aristocracy held power only a short time, until becoming supplanted by the Optimits who then named the land the Free Realm, in honor of history and called the capital simply, the Free City. 

Quickly this ancient city grew under the Optimits, until its population burst the walls. The city expanded to the western banks of the Stor River. Towns grew within view of the city walls. It was not until the bloodless conquest of the Free Realm by United Kelet that the size of the Free City finally contracted. Since then the population of the Free City has decreased, but the towns around it expanded. This has served to enrich the Free Realm. The country prospered as trade passed between the towns. In recent years, the Free City has had a second boom, again rapidly expanding across the Stor River. But a sudden and brief war between the Free Realm and the Grey of Lwydgalon, successfully pushed the expansion to inside the city walls. As a result, the southern half of the city is now overly populated. Crime is very high in this section of the city, but tolerated, as it does not usually spread beyond the south district. The central district is the most affluent in the city, protected by the old walls of Gorhithe, and built on the foundations of its once magnificent citadel. At its center are the Free City Library and the Grand Hall, where the High Council meets. These remarkable structures are visible from all around the city. Affluent denizens of human countries come to the Free City to study the arcane arts. Even the aristocratic families of Kelet are known to send their children to the Free City. It is partly for this reason that the Free City is rich. Tuition for the arcane school in the Free City Library is staggering.

At the present the tense atmosphere within the Free City is palpable. Conflict between the Optimits and Artificers seems inevitable. Rumors of the Havren, a mysterious shadow group has reached more ears than ever before. For the first time in decades the citizens worry about the north section of the city, where a tall stone wall prevents anyone from entering. This section of the city has been off limits for as long as anyone can remember. There is very little in the history books of the Free City Library that describe the city beyond the north walls, either because the records are lost, or the High Council has made it forbidden reading.

The symbol for the Free City is a white chrysanthemum. Symbols and banners of the chrysanthemum are proudly displayed throughout the city. 

The main players:

Artificers: The Artificers are a new group in the Free City founded only fifty years ago. Members of the Free City Library researching new means of tapping into the arcane began organizing as a means of sharing research. What began as an assembly of young wizards quickly became a political movement opposite the Optimits. The Optimits’ oppressive rules restricting access to young wizards to certain wings of the Free City Library caused conflicts that sometimes turned violent. These rules required either the wizard be a staff member (whom are mostly members of the Optimits) or a sworn member of the Optimits in order to gain access to restricted material. Further, the Optimits overt prevention of non-wizards from rising through the social ranks upset the influence of the large craft guilds in the Free City, who had grown wealthy, but remained unable to lobby for favorable policies in the city. With the encroachment of the growing Merchant Guild, members of the craft guilds turned to the Artificers. An alliance of the two groups led to further advances in the Artificer’s political position in the Free City and also led to unique achievements in the study of magic. The insignia for the Artificers is a hammer suspended over an open book.

Optimits:  : The Optimits are a premiere group of wizards that formed long before they took the name Optimit. They once bore the name of Servants, in mockery of the Thegn. The Servants learned under the Nobles, the masters of the Noble Dominion. When the Noble Dominion was overthrown the Servants survived, biding their time until they could revive the organization under a new name. One thousand years later, the goals of the Optimits moved away from serving the Masters to maintaining order. With the rise of the Artificers the challenge of controlling the citizens of the Free Realm becomes increasingly difficult. With the stress of dealing with the Artificers, the increasingly powerful Merchant Guild, and the aristocracy, elements of the Optimits that have not forgotten their loyalty to the long dead Masters are growing more influential. The Optimits have direct control over the Marshals and Constables in rural areas and neighboring towns. Within the Free City the Optimits control security and most Free City Library staff members. The Optimits are constantly at odds with the Artificers; nevertheless, they maintain some amount of influence over them by way of threat of force and by closing certain wings of the Free City Library. The insignia for the Optimits is a chrysanthemum crossed with a sword suspended over a closed book. 

Havren: To hear of the Havren in the Free City is to know them as boogeymen. Stories told to children so that they do not misbehave. Only sometimes are they called crows– an old story for an old name. The crow is their seal. Powerful members of the Optimits know them as so, and guard its secret. Few outside of the Optimits are aware that they truly exist, and even fewer understand their purpose. A secret society, the Havren are an ancient organization that once served under one of the Seven. The Havren exist primarily in the Free City. Seldom, when the need is great, the Havren will send agents beyond the walls of the city. One Havren cell acts as a clandestine Guild of Thieves. The Havren have strange motives and strange magic. Indeed, no books in the Free City Library teach the powers of the Havren.

The Havren have a peculiar and torrid past. They predate the Optimits by hundreds of years, when man still lived in nomadic tribes. The Havren use a mental form of magic. The unique nature of Havren magic makes it difficult to ascertain, thus lending to their secretiveness. The Havren currently act as a balancing lever to the Artificer and Optimit conflict, a role it’s played once before. The Havren’s ultimate goal is not clearly understood by outsiders, even the Optimits. It seems however, that the Havren seek to maintain status quo, but that’s only part of it. Certainly the Havren obstruct change in the Free City, but they also act to keep the old masters of the city from returning, and likewise keep their remains from being destroyed.

The main conflicts:

Plots in the background:  

1. The call of the box hidden in the forbidden north district, inside are the remains of the long dead Master, Valak.

2. The tenuous rivalry between the Artificers and the Optimits.

Plot in the foreground:

1. The One Who is Three:

Every few generations, an individual will come forth bearing the title of Mishha’Hreg. Also called The One Who is Three, it is a being that is created through the fusion of three personalities. The Havren seem contradictory in their expectation that their followers execute the will of the order while they actively recruit individuals who are divergent in their personalities. This contradiction is personified in the creation of the One Who is Three.

The goal is to foster the formation of three distinct individuals whose differences become fully formed in adulthood. These are typically described as the Right Hand of the Will, the Eyes of the Mind and the Name of the First. The Right Hand is an active and direct personality, the Eyes is a perceptive and empathic mind and the Name is obsessive and consuming. However, a mutual affinity must also be formed to facilitate the final step. Once all three reach the height of their personalities and difference, the Name will kill the others and absorb their consciousness. It is in this way that they can form an individual who has lived three different lives through three separate perspectives. The Havren believe that such an individual can lead them through a trying time or bring about a paradigm shift that great events occasionally calls for. However, it is important to note that the Mishha’Hreg would be a single personality without internal conflict. All three lose their distinctiveness and the resulting individual becomes a committed follower and acolyte of the Havren.  

The Name of the First: Éamon, an NPC party member we met mysteriously in the previous town.
The Right Hand of the Will: Jainen, a master thief you meet through the collector
The Eyes of the Mind: Silk, the head of one Havren cell whose front is the thieves' guild.

Éamon joined our party in the previous adventure. Little did we know Éamon's mind housed that of Alaric, Jainen and Silk's brother, whom they had murdered (arguably for good reason) and left for dead in the swamps around Beldonshire (the town we were in). Somehow before his death he had called Éamon a low-level Havren to him and transferred his mind to him. But Éamon resisted and Alaric could only slowly take over his mind, therefore, we the party, didn't realize what was happening until the climax of the campaign. Anyway, with a stranger's face in Éamon and the estrangement of the two brothers Silk and Jainen after the murder of Alaric, we were set up to meet them all one at a time and slowly put puzzle pieces together, leading to an exciting end that took us from the gates of the Free City, to the manor of a friend, then the Free City Library, the south district, sewers, prison cells, and finally to the northern district and the ruins of Gorhithe.


The small plots:  

1.The carver murders (a plot by the Optimits to distract the populace) 

2. The collector and his ties to Jainen the thief.

3. The Palace of Memory, a construct in all Havren's mind (and of particular interest, in Éamon's mind). A linked telepathic spell would gain us entrance into his mind.