Definitely not a bandit hideout, please ignore.Xin’s Crows are now deep in the desert and must deal with the bandits, one way or the other if they hope to make it across with their wares (and hides) intact. But to stop the elusive desert bandits, they must first find their hidden fortress. While the main caravan laboriously crosses the desert, a small group can easily make a detour in order to question local nomads and traders at a nearby oasis. Even after they get a lead, getting to the hideout will be quite hard and who knows what’s lying in wait for them there?

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Synopsis: Xin’s Crows follow the Imperial Army as they march to war and leave civilization behind. The desert is harsh terrain and the road ahead is littered with the bones of travelers who were too weak to survive. Aside from natural dangers like the heat, the camp followers must fend for themselves against bandits and predatory animals. In fact, Xin’s Crows have to fight off a bandit raid themselves to protect their wares. Even after they deal with the raid, the Crows must establish their place in the thriving economy of the marching army by tricking business rivals and securing their own supply lines. Life is cheap out in the barren wastes of the Deserts, but to the Crows, everything else will cost you.

The Great Empire cares not for your architectural feasibility studiesXin’s Crows set off to find their fortune, following the Imperial Army as they march to confront the Grey Sky Horde. First they must pass through the underground kingdom, a massive network of tunnels carved through a mountain. As the Crows make their way through the twisty tunnels, they find the Great Empire can be as dangerous in the ‘civilized’ parts as it is in the frontier. Can the Crows avoid the thieves, slavers, and other threats in the darkness of the underground? Find out in the second episode of the Fortunes of War!

Romance of the Three Kingdoms totally needed samuraiThe Great Empire is in turmoil. The western provinces rebel and foreign kingdoms make trouble along the borders. General Xin, a renowned tactician, was charged with suppressing a rebellion in Jing Province, the farthest and wildest province of the twelve. Xin was forced to recruit mercenaries, who were common in Jing province, as it was the center of trade between the Empire and many other foreign kingdoms. A horde of the Warriors of the Grey Sky used the rebellion to launch their own invasion of the Great Empire and routed both Xin’s army and the rebellion.

The last rebel officer alive, a man named Sheng, did not want to see the Great Empire fall to the horde so he told a few remaining mercenaries of a secret exit out of the valley, on the condition that they warn the Great Empire. Sheng made each mercenary swear a blood oath to each other to keep each other alive in order to make sure the normally selfish mercenaries would work as a team.  In order to keep the horde from killing them, the mercenaries posed as merchants. A few weeks later, they arrived at the capital and dutifully told the army of the horde.

The nobles and bureaucrats of the Great Empire do not like hearing bad news, especially from mercenaries. Furthermore, the court soothsayers declared Xin and all who served under him as cursed. No army would take the mercenaries now, even General Tzu’s new army, which is tasked with defeating the Grey Sky Horde.  This tale concerns the fate of Xin’s Crows – the cursed remnants of his army.  Their only chance of fulfilling their destinies is to become traveling merchants, selling to Tzu’s army.  So begins the saga of a group of foreign warriors who would change the fate of the Great Empire forever.

Read more about the campaign on the RPPR forums.

Yelp review: Great for all your castle needs but definitely too much mist. And evil. 2/5 stars. At Gencon this year, we got to play a game of Shadows of Esteren, as one of the game’s translators was nice enough to run it for us. While we did not have time to fully complete the scenario, we all had a great time playing the game.

A group of amnesiac travelers find themselves trapped in a strange building, beset by enemies on all sides. Even though they don’t know their own names, they will have to band together if they hope to survive and escape the wretched place. Find out what nightmares lurk in the Shadows of Esteren. Please note this is a con game, so it is noisier than normal.