Player Characters should approach Zyan has
strangers: it would be impossible to pretend to know as much as a citizen would
know about the city. It is an alien environment that must be discovered piece
by piece, with the right amount of fear and awe. My party arrived from a
setting of mine, through portal, after a lot of adventuring, loaded with money
and experience (averaging 6th level – Astonishing Swordsmen and
Sorcerers of Hyperborea ruleset). I wanted to give them a patron and, being a
fan of gender diversity, it had to be a woman (group is sadly all male). And
then I thought about this:
[What I write about Zyan is not to be considered canon. The only official material comes from Ben at Mazirian's Garden blog and Through Ulthan's Door zine. These are just personal additions to my ongoing campaign]
In the last
50 years it has become fashionable, among a selected group of wealthy Zyan
ladies, to sponsor adventuring parties in their quests. It’s a race for social
recognition: the Lady with the most successful parties not only partakes in
their fortunes but emerges among her peers through the show of exotic
paraphernalia gathered in the most obscure corners of Wishery and the Multiverse.
These
ladies: widows, spouses of wealthy merchants, spinsters known for their
exquisite irrationalities, are competing on another front: turning their bodies
into what their masks represent, until their bodies become the masks. Through
the use of powerful vivimantic arts, over the course of many years (and for
egregious amounts of money), these women have not only preserved or enhanced
their youth: they have become something else, with the goal of giving physical
form to their innermost self.
Regarding
the sponsorship of adventuring parties these ladies usually demand a cut of
what is found or pillaged (between 10% and 20%) in exchange of top-class
equipment, portal expenses (when needed) and, most importantly, the acquisition
of contracts through agencies who specialize in gathering rumours about
possible adventuring locations. Agencies take their cut too, usually between 20
and 40%.
[The amazing dolls are crafted by Virginie Ropars, reworked through Painnt and reproduced without permission]
A widow and orphan whose fortune is rapidly dwindling, lives in a big
tower mansion with her only unpaid employee, uber-faithful aged butler Cospic.
Refers to Prokter & Kuntz
agency, specialized on dungeons on Prime Material Wolds.
Chronically
unfaithful wife of merchant Lord Bantam, who’s always “abroad” for work. Famous
for wild parties who typically end in orgies. Strong sadomasochistic
tendencies. Loves to get “intimate” with her “heores”, often leaving marks.
Refers to Niggurath & Sons
agency, specialized in Planar and Dreamlands sites.
Collects exotic flowers in a Greenhouse inside her mansion, calls them
“her babies”. Married with Count Dukkas, who amiably abuses her, physically and
psychologically. Loves to “dress” her heroes. Refers to Jared’s Everything Emporium, specialized in “Weird” contracts.
Married to merchant Bartholomeus (an introverted collector of minutiae),
ardent Benefactor. Demands only “gifts” (no cut) from parties. Refers to Sprague’s, specialized in eradication
of evil.
Simbilis: Chaotic Evil – (Sneaky, Cold-Blooded,
Observant) – Clan: merchants / Guild: Fleischguild
200 years old. Heiress. Too ambitious for her own good. Loves and
collects snakes. Eats critters. Refers to Niggurath
& Sons.
Butterfly: Chaotic Good – (Wispy, Eerie, Fay,
Unpredictable) – Clan: Artists / Guild: Guides.
Example of vivimancy gone slightly wrong. She knows and is ashamed.
Ongoing feud with her ex wizard/dealer. Always means well, sometimes with
catastrophic results (for her or parties). Refers to Jared’s Everything Emporium, specialized in “Weird” contracts.
Excellent investors group. Great pictures. Civic and adventuring interactions abound.
RispondiElimina