04 Night's Watch.pdf - Chaos Bleeds

CHapter 4: Lords of the Long NightThe Books and This AppendixTo be very clear, this chapter goes well into the terrain ofnon-canon. That is, the majority of the things described in thissection are not taken from the Song of Ice and Fire series, beingcreated for Narrators of the SIFRP game to introduce additionalelements of the Others into their game. Though the series doestalk about the legends written about the Others in the old andmusty libraries of the maesters, and in the stories that goodwiveslike Old Nan tell their young charges about them, it doesn’t gomuch into them.That is too good of a hook for a Narrator not to use, though,so we’ve gone a little into the realm of conjecture to presentsome speculative story hooks and the “truths” behind them, togive a Narrator a place to start who wishes to extend his or hergroup’s stories to include these horrors.The material in this chapter is based primarily on the descriptionsand legends of the Others provided in the books. Thisbook expands upon that material in the ways that seem mostplausible to offer a range of options for use in a campaign thatfocuses on the Wall and the struggle against the Others for thelands that lie beyond. George R. R. Martin is still writing, however,so the books yet to come may contradict what has beenwritten here. If that should happen, we remind you again tomake fun your primary goal. Use what you like, drop what youdon’t, and don’t worry too much if you end up diverging fromthe canon. Remember, by engaging with Martin’s stories in theform of SIFRP, canon has already changed for your chronicle.Embrace that and run with what makes your stories fun andinteresting for your group.The Others won’t mind at all.STANDARD OTHER POWERSThe fell creatures known as the Others share some commonpowers and abilities. They are listed here for convenient referenceby the GM.Aura ofChillCold-BornSense LifeSnowStrideSpawnWightSunbaneVulnerable toDragonglassOthers emit an aura of cold capable ofpanicking living creatures. All living creaturesthat start their turns within 10 yards of anOther must succeed on a Challenging (12)Will test or take –1D on all tests. Those whoroll a Critical failure must flee each round untilthey succeed on another Will save. Animalsthat fail their tests become panicked and flee.Others can exist comfortably in extreme cold.An Other can pinpoint the location of anyliving creature within 10 yards as a Free Action.Others ignore treacherous terrain resultingfrom ice and snow. Others gain +1D on Stealthtests made in ice or snow or +2D at night inthese areas.Humans and animals slain by Others rise aswights upon the setting of the sun. Humansslain at night rise 1d6 rounds later.Others cannot abide the presence of the sunand take –1D to all tests when in it is light.Weapons carved from dragonglass ignore theOthers’ AR and deal Athletics+6 damage.The legends of the Others, however, indicate this may not be all theOthers are. Canny old grandmothers across the North still rememberthe tales of the Others, and many a boy was raised on the delightfullyterrifying stories of the dangers they brought to kith and kin. But everyoneknows that these are simply stories told to children, made-upcreatures who are the very personification of the endless white nightsof deepest Winter, story-lark monsters who have taken their place withstories of snarks and grumkins.Or are they? Old libraries still have references to these Others andthe bloody swath they cut through the First Men, until the combinedheroism of the Children of the Forest and Bran the Builder drove themback. The very Wall itself was built to restrain them, spells woven intoits foundations to keep them at bay.But who or what are these Others?From the White Lady who ensorcelled the Night’s King to the mysteriousforces appeased by the northern clans through offerings of animalsor even children, there is more here than meets the eye. This sectionprovides a number of different types of Others, from kings amongthe monsters to the vicious steeds they ride. Feel free to use them in anyor all combinations to enhance your chronicle according to what’s mostappropriate for your game.The King of WinterAncient stories make mention of the King of Winter. Not the Starkswho ruled over the North from the Wall to the Neck, for long centuriesbefore the coming of Aegon Targaryen, but another King of Winter.These stories claim that this first King of Winter was a mighty Other, amonarch among its kind.This terrible creature, also called the Lord of the Long Night, wasresponsible for the rise of the Others with the onset of the Long Night.The combined forces of the Children of the Forest and the First Menmanaged to throw them back, led by the hero Azor Ahai with his swordof flame. Once defeated, the Wall was constructed and set with powerfulspells to keep the Others gone forevermore.Bran the Builder took up the fallen crown of the King of Winter, astrange bronze coronet set with small iron swords, and his clan bore itas their right from that day forward. Indeed, the people took to callingthe Stark kings the Kings of Winter, as though they had won that titlefrom the Lord of the Long Night. And perhaps they did.The wildlings of the Frost Fangs, however, tell of a terrible palemonster who rules small clans of cannibal tribes high in the mountainswhere men cannot live. Those who have had the misfortune to encoun-118