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        \section*{Credits} ~\\

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            \textbf{Editor:} & Cognate \\
            \textbf{Cover Illustration:} & Lolianon \\
            \textbf{Logo:} & anon \\
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\section[Plot Based Alchemy \category{Homebrew Subsystem}]{Plot Based Alchemy}
\by{Cognate}

\noindent With potions and poisons, smoke bombs, stink bombs and bomb bombs, alchemy is a
versatile and evocative skill-set that can be loads of fun. However, it can be
difficult to design an alchemy system that doesn’t require an encyclopedia of
ingredients and recipes, or reduce the alchemist to just another spellcaster
throwing bombs instead of fireballs. I have attempted to create an alchemy
system that remains balanced and flavourful without being overly complex by
approaching the problem from a plot-focused perspective. That is, the system is
focused on how the character use can use alchemy to overcome the obstacles they
are facing, while working within the constraints of the situation they find
themselves in. This system was originally created for an entire homebrew
tabletop system I was designing, but it should be adaptable for other systems,
as long as they have some sort of concept of skill rolls against a numeric
target. This system is also best suited for open-ended problem-solving type
campaigns rather than heavily combat focused dungeon crawling type campaigns,
and of course will only be appropriate for settings where alchemy fits
thematically. With that out of the way, let’s begin.

This alchemy system provides a way for characters to ‘remember’ alchemical
recipes, by having the players come up with them on the fly, based on the
current needs of the party, and the constraints that they face. The process
involves four simple steps:

\begin{enumerate}
        \item Choose the primary effect
        \item Identify key limitations or advantages
        \item Roll your alchemy skill against the challenge rating, which is determined by steps 1 and 2
        \item If you don't meet the target, the GM will add other limitations to make up the difference
\end{enumerate}

Let’s go through that in detail.

First, we decide on what effect we want our creation to have. Choose
one of the effects from the table below. Each effect has a level and a type.
The level of the effect determines the base challenge rating for coming up with
the recipe. The type is the category that the effect falls under. For systems
that allow it, the alchemist may specialise in one of these three sub-fields,
gaining an advantage when choosing those effects. Otherwise, it’s just for flavour.

\begin{figure}[b]
    \adjustbox{lap=-\dimexpr\linewidth+\columnsep}{\flavourgraphic{%
    \includegraphics[keepaspectratio,height=30\baselineskip,width=\textwidth]{shinguards_cropped.png}
}{Woman with armor by Loli anon}}
\end{figure}

\plainbreak{0.5}
\tabelle{ n X }{\thead{Level} & \thead{Medicaments / Solvents / Combustives}}%
{
    1 & Irritant, smell, taste / colour, polish / smoke \\
    2 & Weaken, intoxicate, laxative / identify / light, heat, cold \\
    3 & Sleep, ease symptom, antidote, blind / corrode, refine / explode \\
    4 & Cure ailment, paralyse, kill, enhance attribute / transmute, enhance property / propel, energise \\
}
\plainbreak{0.5}
\newpage % Actually a column break

\noindent Say we want to create an acid that is strong enough to eat through an iron
drain grate, thus allowing the party secret access through the walls of a city. We
choose the effect \emph{corrode}, which is a level 3 effect, so our challenge
rating so far is 3.

Next, we identify any restrictions or advantages we have, and add their cost to
the challenge rating. There are four main categories here: ingredient rarity, required equipment, preparation time and side effects. There are also a few miscellaneous modifiers.

\plainbreak{0.5}
\tabelle{ n X }{\thead{Cost} & \thead{Ingredient Rarity}}%
{%
	+2 & Ubiquitous, you probably already have some \\
	+1 & Common, you can find it in a matter of hours \\
	0 & Uncommon, it will take about a day to find it \\
	$-$1 & Rare, it could take several days to find it, you may have to get it imported \\
	$-$2 & Priceless, finding it is a quest in itself \\
}
\plainbreak{0.5}

\noindent Ingredient rarity is based on how long it takes to find the ingredient. For
uncommon and rare ingredients, there may be a cost involved as well. Where
appropriate, the GM may allow alchemist players to purchase generic ‘alchemical
supplies’ at a given level, or provide them as a quest reward. If the character
has alchemical supplies of a particular rarity already, then they can use
ingredients of that rarity without spending any further time or money in
acquiring them. Alchemists should generally only be able to purchase Common or
Uncommon supplies ahead of time. Rare ingredients are just too expensive and
specialised to be worth buying unless you have a particular purpose in mind.
For supplies given as quest rewards, the GM may also choose to place
limitations on them, restricting them to certain effects or types of effects.
In general, supplies given as quest rewards are good for only one batch of
whatever is used, and alchemists are expected to spend time and money on
restocking purchased supplies at appropriate intervals.

Let’s say our alchemist has a phial of hydra venom they harvested from the
hydra the party killed a few sessions ago. That counts as a rare ingredient, so
we can use it to bring the challenge rating down to 2.

\plainbreak{0.5}
\tabelle{ n X }{\thead{Cost} & \thead{Required equipment}}%
{%
	+1 & No equipment or only makeshift equipment \\
    0  & Standard kitchen utensils, or portable alchemy kit \\
	$-$1 & Standard alchemical equipment \\
	$-$2 & Advanced or specialised alchemical equipment \\
}
\plainbreak{0.5}

\noindent Many alchemical procedures require specialised equipment, which the characters may
not have access to. A well-prepared alchemist on the road will often pack the basics,
such as a mortar and pestle, portable scales, a sharp knife, etc. A well-equipped kitchen
will also do in a pinch. More delicate or bulky equipment, such as a distillation still
will only be found in a dedicated alchemy lab. If the party has a base nearby, perhaps the
alchemist has already set one up and acquired the equipment. Otherwise, they may have
to beg a favour from a friendly court alchemist or wizard. Finally, some advanced equipment
may only be available in certain locations or at particular institutions. The party may have to sneak into the capital city’s arcane university to use their thaumaturgic condensor.

In this case, the party is stuck outside the city walls, and the alchemist’s kit was lost
in a recent mishap, so we will have to make do with mixing up the ingredients in the
fighter’s helmet over a campfire and measuring by eye. Makeshift equipment brings the
total rating up to 3.

\plainbreak{0.5}
\tabelle{ n X }{\thead{Cost} & \thead{Preparation time}}%
{%
	+1 & Less than an hour, by the end of the scene \\
    0 & Several hours, half a day \\
	$-$1 & An entire day \\
	$-$2 & Several days \\
}
\plainbreak{0.5}

\noindent Preparation time should be self-explanatory. In this situation, the alchemist
is under no particular time pressure, so we’ll leave this unspecified. If a
constraint is unspecified, it defaults to the zero cost option, in this case,
about half a day. If we need to make up points after the roll, the GM may
increase this time. Performing the alchemy will take the alchemist's entire
attention for the full time specified. Who knows what could go wrong if he
left that cauldron simmering unattended?

\plainbreak{0.5}
\tabelle{ n X }{\thead{Cost} & \thead{Side effects}}%
{%
	+1 & No side effects \\
	0 & Level 1 effect \\
	$-$1 & Level 2 effect \\
	$-$2 & level 3 effect \\
}
\plainbreak{0.5}

\noindent Side effects are extra effects taken from the effects table. The GM chooses
the side effects in step 4, along with any other complications. The GM should
try and choose side effects that make the party’s life more…interesting.
For now, we’ll leave this unspecified, which will mean a level 1 side effect
if the GM doesn’t use this category to make up extra points.

\plainbreak{0.5}

\tabelle{ n X }{\thead{Cost} & \thead{Miscellaneous modifiers}}%
{%
    +1 & Extra potent \\
	$-$1 & Delicate, special care must be taken when handling the final creation \\
	$-$2 & Dangerous, the alchemist must pass an additional Alchemy test when preparing the creation, or take 4 damage* \\
}
\plainbreak{0.5}

\noindent There are some extra modifiers that can be applied if necessary. We don’t need
this acid to be extra potent. For dangerous creations, you’ll need to translate
the amount of damage to an appropriate amount for your system. It should be a
medium-sized wound, enough to be a disadvantage in the next fight if nothing is
done about it, but not life-threatening. In the original system, the average PC
had anywhere from 9 to 16 health.

Now that we've identified all our restrictions and advantages, it’s time to
roll. The challenge rating we’ve got so far is 3. Let's say we roll a 2. We
haven't met the challenge rating, but that doesn’t mean we've failed. It just
means that the GM needs to add an extra point from somewhere. The GM could
choose to increase the preparation time or the level of the side effects, but
instead the GM chooses to add the \emph{Delicate} modifier, saying that the
acid will bubble and spit if jostled or sloshed too much, injuring whoever is carrying
it. (This might not have been a problem if the party had access to an appropriate
sealed container, but they’ve only got makeshift tools in this scenario.) The
GM also needs to choose a level 1 side effect. In this case, the GM chooses
\emph{smoke}. As the acid eats away at the metal grate, it will produce a stream
of acrid yellow smoke that will be clearly visible and may attract unwanted attention.

If you succeeded, and beat the challenge rating by some margin, the GM can
choose to add positive modifiers or not. If you wanted a more convenient
recipe, you should have aimed higher to start with, but on the other hand,
the GM may feel that not having to hunt for ingredients will help move the
game along nicely.

This recipe is now ready to use. Unless the recipe has the \emph{dangerous}
modifier, it is assumed that the alchemist can follow the recipe without
any trouble in normal circumstance. Following the recipe will allow the
alchemist to create a single batch of the substance (a handful of smoke
powder, enough poison to slip into someone's drink, a single dose of
painkiller). If the alchemist wants to create a larger quantity, the GM can
increase the preparation time and cost of ingredients, as he sees fit.

Depending on the campaign, you may wish to write down the recipe, so you can
use it again instead of having to roll up a new recipe.  In general, it is
better to reuse existing recipes with the same effect, rather than creating a
new one each time in the hope of finding a better one. On the other hand,
the next time this party needs a strong acid, they may not have any more
hydra venom, or whatever other advantage they needed for the recipe. In that
case, they will need to roll another recipe (or kill another hydra).

As far as adapting this system to fit the game you are playing, it should just
be a matter of multiplying the challenge rating by an appropriate factor so
that the numbers are in the right scale. For d20 based systems, you might
multiply by 5, so a challenge rating of 3 turns into a target value of 15. For
Savage Worlds, multiplying by 2 might work. I should probably also mention that
I never got to playtest this system in a real campaign, so there are likely
other balance issues that the GM will need to correct, but hopefully none that
render the system unplayable.

Have fun, and happy concocting! \tombstone

\section[Continuity in the Face of Multiversal Indifference \category{Essay}]{Continuity in the Face of Multiversal Indifference}
\by{Jipowap}

\noindent A great deal of time and effort has gone into the concept of time and the
efforts there-in. A recursive, expansive, redundant, and yet distinct concept
of timelines in what is commonly called a multiverse, or the submerging of
histories within a single line. Of these, some many have taken hold of the
minds of the masses as ‘worth their while’ if not best examples, and stand as
the metaphysical type specimens of the concept. Back to the Future’s tweaking
of timeline, Warhammer’s Warp, Warframe’s Eternalism, the plot in Homestuck,
the Arachno-humanoid Poly Multiverse of Spiderman and the adjacent Temporal
Loom of the Marvel Universe, Star Trek’s Mycelial Network, DC’s Greater
Omniverse, and other great works of many hands. These many things have wildly
different takes on continuity and what results from time traveling, with some
forbidding and others saying it merely produces or intrudes into a separate
timeline. Though more often than not the result is an overwriting, as most
explicit in Back to the Future, Warhammer, and Warframe. That which was is but
a memory, or a broken pattern, and that which is shown is the new reality.

I’ll ignore Doctor Who, they really do whatever they feel like there. No
overarching framing like Star Trek Developed and tentatively stuck to.

This funneling of actions into a lasagna of layered realities is what
interests me the most. Much as Hermetic traditions and alchemy were later
viewed through a psychological lense, I see a certain inner working of the
authors in this. A reflection of the continual reeducation of one’s
reality, where new history is uncovered, new context is brought to bear,
over and over and over. Life is becoming mythological in its liquidity,
where if one is without self certainty then ALL is in flux. Abaddon writes
a daemon’s name in the sand of the past as his past self overwrites his
need to ask, future rewritten, experience remains, save restored. Loki
learns how to handle the loom himself, undoing his need to restart his
experiences ever again, save locked. Dr. Entrati and his mirror are
actively fighting across time and space, tweaking reality as DE goes back
to old cutscenes and adds or removes details to change context of set
events, one timeline but a continuing game plot and development. These
things are unfinished, and so are mutable even now. Human minds are never
truly made up and set, and are mutable even now. Our realities are
beginning to breathe, to speak, and whether consciously or not are
beginning to flex their own muscles by their own will.

Don’t tell Grant Morrison, he’ll try to have his way with these IP’s.

This is all a somewhat temporal type of tale type and framework, in a
literal sense that it won’t be a thing going forward, I do not think. This
wibbly wobbly way of slotting things in seems to me to only have so long in
the spotlight of a society is dissolution, dismemberment, and disarray. We
are out of order, and so our stories become out of order. We are constantly
reminded of the past, while dreading inevitable futures, and so our worlds
or interwoven with their pasts while avoiding futures. We see societies
where things are different, where people are different, and so our worlds
are filled with parallel peoples of reflective presents yet of alternate
pasts. This all goes away when society restructures in the next generation,
when order reasserts itself in the wake of a demographic collapse. Infinite
possibilities resolve into singular lines of hardy survivors, self reliant
and exclusive to their kin. I speak of both us and our stories.
Atavism is becoming more popular as a story ploy or character trait, I
wonder why?

A lunchtime essay by a Lilac enthusiast. \tombstone

\section[Delta Green Factions \category{Setting Lore}]{Delta Green Factions}
\by{Esotericanon}

\begin{figure}[b]
\flavourgraphic{%
    \includegraphics[keepaspectratio,height=27\baselineskip,width=\linewidth]{slinger2_cropped.png}
}{Slinger 2 by Lolianon}
\end{figure}

\paragraph{The Bridgewalk Fellowship (Neutral):} An association taking from various rungs
of society within District X (but mainly the lower middle class white and blue
collar workers) characterized by their focus on dreams, sleepwalking, and
hypnotism. They seek a more “authentic life experience” through their practice
of the above. Unusually, they sometimes prefer to use the mentally disturbed
among the homeless as their “models.” They are secretive, but are happy to
induct new members who have shown “aptitude” or “openness” to the utility of
dreams or trances. \st{They will swear up and down that they are not a cult.} Their
far-off goal is seemingly trying to find a way to "engineer" positive changes
in personality and even capabilities through finding the ideal trance state,
and then "programming" it with the right cues.  They aren't willing to kill for
that, but there have been unpleasant rumors of perfectly sane hobos who
acquired minor to major mental troubles after a few "sessions."

\paragraph{Vrediks (Hostile):} A violent street gang of the urban poor who strongly holds
turf on Zimmo Road and Welf Avenue (with small outposts closeby) in the West
Side of District X. They are characterized by strange initiation rituals and
regular ceremony revolving around the carefully secured Book of Chattuk
(Chat-TUCK), a relic of their deceased (???, the gang likes to speak of him in
the present tense to both membership and outsiders, despite his recorded death
five years before the present) Augustus Lamsk, a Yugoslav emigre. Despite their
founder’s nationality, the Vrediks themselves tend toward Italian and Hispanic
ethnicity.  They have a disturbing preference for melee combat over ranged, and
have been known to take exotic drugs (which they also traffic for the income)
in order to close in a frenzy despite injuries.  Outsiders must either “pay
homage to the Book” or leave immediately on threat of overpowering violence.
Their goal is nothing less than the expansion of “their place” to take more of
the West Side under their ways. Larger gangs and the police are just “expected
obstacles,” despite only numbering a few dozen able-bodied men.

\paragraph{Hobody’s Family (Hostile):} A coercive minor crime outfit native to Hadley
Boulevard, Peebles Drive, and Gumption Street in the East Side of District X,
with outposts and fences throughout. They are led by former haruspex Hal
Hobody, a mulatto of equal charm and capacity for cruelty (his father’s side of
the   family is easy to trace, Detroit-born black, but no one can recall seeing
his mother, and therefore no one is sure what kind of ‘white’ he draws from, if
white at all), who takes a good-humored pride in his numbers operations,
extortion rackets, and fortune-telling hotline. His men (and women) are usually
black or the browner sort of Italian, and are known for flashy clothing, fast
cars, and well-tuned guns. Technically drawn from the working poor, Hobody
likes to spread his ill-gotten wealth around as “perks” for his best performing
thugs and associates. So long as outsiders make clear their intention not to
meddle while traveling through his territory, Hobody has an easy dismissal for
them. To those who don’t, and to law enforcement, violence and creative torture
are his ready answers. His goal is to expand the Family through the East Side,
and maybe see if he can get into more lucrative “business.”

\paragraph{“Slipout” (Neutral):} A deceptively tight-knit association almost exclusively
composed of the long-homeless and the indigent spanning the length and breadth
of District X’s poorer areas (and large tracts of the underground). “Slipout”
is not the members’ name for their own group, having more to do with how they
call their rounds about the city (“Jes’ slippin out, sonny, nuthin new.”) and
therefore what patrol officers often call them. Though often somewhat
malnourished (none of them starve by their own honor, as “that’d be more
shameful than pissin’ like a dog”), they are often surprisingly fit: whole days
can be spent simply pacing around a single quiet street either alone or with
another of their group, and they have been known for capable sprinters when the
charge of vagrancy is raised.  They tend to help out the freshly homeless with
spare food and advice, but don’t take them into their full confidence unless
the unfortunate is “proven fer th’ out,” and can’t acquire permanent housing or
a steady and good-paying job. They have no objection to begging, busking, or
working odd jobs, however, as that is often their own source of money to
augment their scavenging, dumpster-diving, and odd “cookins.”  Towards most
outsiders they are amiable unless followed back to their “siddown” without
permission, though even then they almost never resort to violence except in
self-defense.  Towards the police, they try to be as opaque as possible when
they don’t avoid them outright. Towards the Bridgewalk Fellowship, they display
a passive-aggressive hostility, and will cheerfully help interested parties
disrupt their “sessions” if asked.  Aside from the situational accomplishments
of the above, the Slipouts don’t appear to have any greater overarching goal.
It is uncertain if they even have a leader, but there are rumors of an
“old-walker to beat old-walkers” holds sway in the loneliest parts of the
District.

\paragraph{White Cloth (Neutral):} A secretive society of upper-middle class professionals
of one sort or another, but usually medical-oriented, in the more well-heeled
parts of District X. Founded by a former State Priest, Pontifex Locus Joseph
Boehme, White Cloth’s internal rituals are largely unknown save for the
prominence of classical European mythological figures and motifs in their
offices, and peculiar stylized caduceus standing astride a fish pond. In
public, they appear to be a medical consulting group, by “dark” they seem to
function as freelance doctors and healers among the poor. The only condition
they appear to maintain for their service is to speak of it, but never exactly
who gave it.  Their only goal appears to be a continuance of their service,
whatever the cost. \tombstone

\clearpage
\onecolumn
\section[The Lair of Spycrist the Bandit \category{Dungeon Adventure}]{The Lair of Spycrist the Bandit}
\by{Dungeon Anon}

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% \noindent doesn't work with pullquote, so we have to do a hacky workaround
\newlength{\backupparindent}
\setlength{\backupparindent}{\parindent}
\setlength{\parindent}{0pt}
\begin{pullquote}{image=dungeon_cropped.png, shapefunction=\dungeonshapefn, imageopts={width=0.6\textwidth}}%

\noindent The hideout of a local gang leader who is working with Thiric the goblin from
adventure one. The note will lead the PCs to a ruined building with a set of
stairs leading down.  The money in the chest was meant to be payment to the
goblin. Otherwise, the PCs can get a rumor of the dungeon’s location.  The
dungeon is a stone cellar below the ruins of an old manor house.  It’s well
made and comfortably sized for humans. All the men inside are wanted bandits
working for the leader.

~

\noindent\textbf{1 Entrance hall} made of stone lit by lamps in the southern corners (oil×2).
10ft wide, 10ft deep pit blocks path. A narrow wood plank crosses it, roll a
d6 if players try to walk across it. On a 1 it breaks and they fall, taking d4
damage. Closed wooden doors west and south with an open arch east.

~

\noindent\textbf{2 A guard room} lit by a torch on the west wall. A lone guard is sitting at the
table drinking. He’s facing out to watch the doors. He will investigate any
loud noises in room 1 or 4.

\textbf{Zaagon}, HMF 1\textsc{hd} 2\textsc{hp} \textsc{ac}9, +2 \textsc{str}, Club d4+2

~

\noindent\textbf{3 Common room} lit by a low burning fireplace on the west wall. Three sets of
table and chairs are spread out in the room. Two guards sit at a table talking
drinking and eating. Closed wooden door south.

\textbf{Aluana}, HMF 1\textsc{hd} 2\textsc{hp} \textsc{ac}9, Club d4

\textbf{Olavi}, HMF 1\textsc{hd} 2\textsc{hp} \textsc{ac}9, Club d4

~

\noindent\textbf{4 Barracks}. Seven simple beds fill the room, with little room between them. A
fire place with low embers in the southern wall. A key to the door in room 2 is
on the mantle and is easily found. Three men are sleeping in the beds,
determine randomly, and will only wake if there’s loud noises.

\textbf{Simon} HMF 1\textsc{hd} 2\textsc{hp} \textsc{ac}9, Club d4

\textbf{Vortiel} HMF 1\textsc{hd} 5\textsc{hp} \textsc{ac}9, Club d4

\textbf{Ismo} HMT 1\textsc{hd} 1\textsc{hp} \textsc{ac}9, Dagger d4

~

\noindent\textbf{5 Chief’s bedroom}, It’s well furnished and comfortable. An oil lamp burns on a
table, no extra oil, with a large bed and a chest at its foot. The leader is
here with a 50/50 chance of being either asleep or sitting at his desk. The
chest has a spring-loaded trap the does d2 damage. The key is hidden in the
mattress and requires a specific search of the bed to find.

\textbf{Spycrist} HMF 2\textsc{hd} 6\textsc{hp} \textsc{ac}9, Long sword d8

Treasure in chest: 1000\textsc{sp} and 250\textsc{gp} wrapped tightly in cloth.  A key to the
prison cells. A short sword +1, Dagger +1.

~

\noindent\textbf{6 Storeroom} lit by two low burning torches on the north and south wall. Crates
and barrels of very basic supplies, food clothing home goods etc… but no
treasure. The key for room 2 will also open the locked wooden eastern door. Two
guards are stationed at the door north. They are bored and inattentive as they
chat.

\textbf{Meskenit} HMF 1\textsc{hd} 5\textsc{hp} \textsc{ac}9, Club d4

\textbf{Ensio} HMF 1\textsc{hd} 4\textsc{hp} \textsc{ac}9, Club d4

~

\noindent\textbf{7 Jail cells} made of crude iron bars, no lights in the room. All but one are
empty and unlocked. The cell in the north-east, which is locked, contains a
human male prisoner who will be woken by any light. The cell key is in the
chest in room five. Bars in the adjoining cell can be bent if the PCs get stuck
by the lock.

\textbf{Ryba}, the prisoner is a fighter from the local town who went missing. He was
working for the city guard and will aid the party if freed and treated well.

16 \textsc{str} 13 \textsc{int} 15 \textsc{wis} 16 \textsc{dex} 14 \textsc{con} 10 \textsc{cha}
\tombstone
\end{pullquote}
\setlength{\parindent}{\backupparindent}

\twocolumn

\section[Spiritus County \category{Adventure}]{Spiritus County}
\by{Anonymous}

\noindent\textit{This adventure is designed for ACKS, but should
work for any B/X based system.}

\epigraph{“They’re All Dead, THEY’RE ALL DEAD! By my hand or not. I will not
let them pass into Nothingness. I REMEMBER.”}{\textit{—Count Braegen the Damned}}

\noindent Deep in the hinterlands of what was once the empire, there lays a county of the
damned. Few can tell you much about it. The Sages tell of the last survivors of
Haleton County, a betrayal of the Count Eld. He was not betrayed by his court,
his friends,  the Mage Saiwola and the Knight Braegen. Rather Count Eld was
betrayed by Saiwola’s apprentice, an aspiring mage by the name Fleume. Fleume
had created something vile. An artifact known as the Crown of Muth.

Over time Haleton County was forgotten except for wild stories of ghosts and
the damned. When finally men were sent years later to investigate they
confirmed that everyone in the county had died and even worst had risen as
spirits. The spirits of the victims of Haleton County seemed tired but
reasonable. They would talk, if approached gently on the outskirts. They knew
little of what had happened, but slowly the story became known.

Count Eld had been betrayed, then everyone died and then everyone was brought
back.  The spirits didn’t know how. So they continued as they did, farming
barren fields, living in the ruins of their homes. Slowly the transformed
villages were explored, the villages of Heorte, Lungen and Gutte were explored.
The villages looked normal, if abandoned, except for being populated by these
spirits. In the town of Haleton garrisons of ghostly guards preventing further
exploration. Overtime Haleton and Haleton county became known as Gastton and
the county known as Spiritus County.

Some heroes had pushed in further, past Gutten into Gastton. Past Gastton into
the Count’s Keep which was even then being called Spiritus Keep. Only one thief
by the name of Lukken has ever returned. He spoke of the Ghostly Knight who
brooded in his keep. Leaving only to hunt down anyone who intruded in the keep.
Finally, the mages intervened. Through divinations, the stories of how Fleume
had betrayed his master and the count were discovered, along with the story of
how Count Eld had relied on his friends, the Mage Saiwola and the Knight
Braegen, to save his people, and how they had failed. In the end only Braegen
remained, now the Count of the Dead.

You have decided to risk the perils of Spiritus County, lured in by rumors of
gold and magical artifacts. Can you lay this county to rest, or will you join
their ranks like all the rest?

\begin{figure*}[bt]
    \includegraphics[keepaspectratio,width=\linewidth]{spiritus_country.png}
\end{figure*}

\subsection{Spiritus County}

\begin{description}
\item[Ruler:]{ Count Braegen the Damned}

\item[Realm Population:]{ roughly 1000 ghosts and a few dozen other undead.}

\item[Area:]{ Spiritus County roughly covers 1000 Square Miles or roughly 30 six-mile hexes.}
\end{description}

\subsubsection{Villages of Spiritus in order of size:}

\paragraph{Sken} The first small village that technically belongs to Spiritus
county but has since been absorbed into its neighbors.  Sken is a small
village, little more than a collection of 40ish families, mostly farmers making
a living in the last good land before Spiritus county.

\paragraph{Wizard’s Tower} Not a village technically, but a collection of shanties and
houses around a singular tower. The site of such powerful necromancy has
brought interested mages for decades and decades now, many of whom have funded
various expeditions into the county. Currentlym only a few junior mages live in
the tower and, the rest of the village around the base of the tower is mostly
lackeys, hirelings or worse.

\paragraph{Heorte} The first proper village in the County.  Here the ghostly villagers
gather after long days in the fields, Heorte’s granaries holding their hard
labour, a condensed form of spirit from the land. The last living Tavern does
brisk business as the spirits mostly ignore them. A few last brave men gather
here looking for henchwork.

\paragraph{Lungen} The second village in the county, home to natural springs and
pastures. What’s left of houses and graveyards dominate the town as the mossy
meadows are now empty of animals.

\paragraph{Guute} The larger third village is dominated by what had once been Peat
Cutters. Here ghosts still burn the brown soil filling the sky with dark smoke
as they watch out the windows of abandoned home. Patrols from the Village of
Gastton are regular here, and they have no tolerance for the living.

\paragraph{Gastton} is the small town that’s the biggest settlement in Spiritus county.
Here the rotten remains of once huge manors, inns and taverns dominate. Low
streets where once pin makers and blacksmiths worked are now abandoned as the
‘High Society’ of Gastton press the masses into endless parties and gatherings
in the Manors and Inns. Very few spirits and other undead still haunt the
streets except for the patrols from the Spiritus Keep.

\paragraph{Spirit Keep} dominates the hillside to the north of Gastton. Frequent patrols
of Guard follow the road from the keep to Gastton. The keep itself is not
reported to be terribly noteworthy. The walls are well worked stone and earthen
fill, but the walls themselves stand about 10$'$ tall and the keep is barely 3
storeys tall in a simple cube style. Here the barracks for the guard sits
beside the courtyard and Count Braegen himself rules the keep.

In addition to the somewhat linear layout of the towns, there are two basic
sets of interest. Each village in Spiritus county have some fixed NPCs and
there are randomized tools that wise parties would try to take advantage of in
their quest to defeat Braegen.

\subsection{The Set-up}

While no party has successfully broken the Curse of Spiritus county more than a few have tried. There are a handful of magical weapons, rings, and armor that are exceptionally powerful, and their location is randomized for each play through. The items are:

\begin{blockdescription}
\item[Ring of Negative Level Drain Immunity]{%
    Gives Immunity to undead’s level drain abilities.}

\item[Mace of Undead Bane]{%
    +1 Mace, +3 Mace vs undead.}

\item[Shield of Faith]{%
    +2 Shield that also gives +2 to saves}

\item[Tessellated Armor]{%
    +2 Chain shirt that gives +1 to Reaction Rolls and +2 to saves vs sight based attacks.  }

\item[Diamond Diadem]{%
    As a Scarab of Protection with only 6 charges (one diamond for each one, which burn with use).}

\item[Fleume’s Spellbook]{%
    Detailing his betrayal of Count Eld and the creation/properties of the Crown of Muth. The main property is that the Crown of Muth will reanimate spirits nearby to serve the wearer of the crown. The crown also links the wearer’s hit points to the number of serving spirits.}
\end{blockdescription}

\noindent Each item should be rolled for to determine location and then placed in the
relevant town in a somewhat hidden manner. You can use the table below to
determine the locations randomly, If the same location is rolled twice, the
last item rolled is placed there and the original is just discarded and not
used, the only exception being Fleume’s Spellbook which should always be
outside the Keep.

\plainbreak{0.5}

\tabelle{n X}{
1 & Wizards Tower (Hidden in a lab or discard bin pending research) \\

2 & Heorte (Hidden in the backroom of the Bar) \\

3 & Lungen (Hidden in a natural spring around town) \\

4 & Guute (Hidden in an unmarked grave, outside of town, near the village gibbet) \\

5 & Gastton (Hidden in the attic of the biggest Manor home)   \\

6 & Roll twice and pick one. \\

\# & Spirit Keep (The Location of Fleume’s Spellbook, hidden by a body on the ground in the entrance yard to the keep).
}

\plainbreak{0.5}

\noindent In addition to this, if the players need a hook to bring in the
party, here are two options. Firstly, the local Duke’s messengers are begging
for help (and promising large rewards) for anyone who can dispel the Curse of
Spiritus county. The Ghost of Saiwola is also searching for help. As a ghost
she will do little to harm the PCs, preferring to simply move onto other
prospects of help if the PCs seem unlikely to go. An enterprising mage may use
her to cast a free Augury spell once per week as long as they are bound to help
her and are traveling towards Gastton.

\subsection{Spirits of Spiritus County}

The Spirits of Spiritus County are different than most of other ghosts, having
been formed through the actions of the Crown of Muth instead of other necromancy.
In appearance they are the same as in the last days of their life. If they died
violently, they show the wounds that killed them. Their bodies naturally glow,
giving about as much light as a candle. While appearing human they can interact
with physical items (such as tools).

They cannot drain levels or possess the living. They have the usual undead
immunities (Immune to Charms, Sleep, Hold, Gas and Poison), and can turn into
mist at will (similar to the effects of a potion of gaseous form). They take no
damage from ordinary weaponry, but magical weaponry deals damage normally. All
of the Spirits are two hit dice undead.

\subsection{A little Sken in the game.}

Sken is little more than a cluster of homes around a crossroads, or what had
been a crossroads. Right now only the road North and South seems used, the
crossroad being limited to little more than a street. Still, it has the minimum
you would expect, an inn and stable, a farrier and cooper, A moneylender and a
shingled store make up the four corners of the crossing. The guards posted at
the moneylender’s and even the Guardsman at the inn all look out of place in
the sleepy town.

Sken is more of a starting off point for the adventure. There are three main points
of interest in the town. The moneylender Nosu keeps half a dozen bodyguards
to protect his interests. If asked, he’ll explain that his business is in
financing, but he does most of his work with the wizards in the Wizards Tower
where, he helps provide funding as needed and liquidity when they need to raise
funds or sell off items. Nosu is a Level 6 Venturer and all of his Guardsmen
are level 4 Veteran Guards. While Nosu doesn’t personally fund expeditions, he
can help set up loans if the party wants to provide collateral. He asks for
magical items worth roughly 50\% more than the value of the loan ‘To be held
until such a time as the loan is paid’. Nosu has a keen eye for value and if
the party leave him an exceptional item or allow Nosu to hold a value in excess
of 10,000\textsc{gp} over what they owe him, Nosu will simply leave town with the
collateral. Nosu has a reputation that he is not to be trusted, although a
thorough investigation will reveal that most of the cases are simply that Nosu
held people to the negotiated conditions of their loan.

A senior Guard Honds and his two underlings (Thuma and Thinga) work in town.
Sken has become a gateway to the cursed county and Honds’ job is to keep
riff-raff and the unprepared out. He serves as a sort of Sheriff for the village
(with Thuma and Thinga as his Deputies), keeping law and order. He can authorize
people to go into the county, although that is not required.

Lastly, the ‘Frog and Ferrier’ Inn is a simple place built of aged oak with
fresh sawdust on the floor. While the other businesses in town often suffer
from the through traffic (except the moneylender), it’s largely to the Frog and
Ferrier’s benefit. Despite being an Inn in the middle of nowhere they are
surprisingly well stocked in both rooms, baths and food. Two of the rooms are
permanently taken by Hond and his deputies (who do most of their business at
the bar or in town).

If the PCs haven’t encountered the ghost of Saiwola at this point, they will in
Sken. Saiwola is looking to get people to defeat Braegen to free her love to
move onto the afterlife.

\subsubsection{Saiwola’s Ghost (as two HD undead)}

\begin{description}
    \item[Distinguishing Trait:]{ An elven ghost with long hair and a burnt
        section along the right side of her head.}

    \item[Need:]{ The destruction of the Crown of Muth and the release of the Spirits of Spiritus County.}

    \item[Agenda/Assets:]{ Saiwola does her best to find brave adventurers to defeat Count Braegen}
\end{description}

\subsection{The Wizard’s Tower}

While Sken is the launching point into Spiritus county, the first real
settlement inside the county is the wizard’s tower. While initially intended to
be a solitary outpost by a handful of wizards, a shanty town has slowly emerged
around it, populated by a variety of henchmen mostly of the unsavoury sort. The
tower itself is an odd construction of stone, wood and primitive cement, giving
it the appearance largely of a stump, the top of the tower is flat and
crenellated.

Erected about 125 years ago, the original wizards who commissioned the tower
have passed on and their apprentices and followers have inherited the tower.
Currently there are only three Wizards at residence.  The area around the tower
is arranged in a loop around the tower with a nameless dive bar, a handful of
hack-shops or pawn stores that do some lazy business with rarely more than
100\textsc{gp} to their name. There is a dirty throng of for-hire men with
little to no scruples as long as the coin flows (hiring out as Level 2 Thieves
who are likely to betray the party unless terrified of them).  There are a few
notable figures who frequent this shanty town.

\subsubsection{Master Windu (level 6 human mage)}
\begin{description}
    \item[Distinguishing Trait:]{%
    A strange tall dark man of a mage. While his robes are dark, his most
    recognizable feature is his skin which is mottled grey with vivid reddish
    rings and spots spread across it. If asked about the skin he will explain
    that while unsightly, it’s the result of a curse and not something you have
    to worry about. Master Windu has been observed casting spells of the third
    degree and has been observed to fly unaided as a testament to his power.}

    \item[Need:]{%
    Master Windy’s primary interest in Spiritus county is the unique ecology of
    the undead in the  County. He is interested in the artifact that created it,
    but he is  more interested in the ‘condensed spirit’ that the farmers
    harvest and will pay handsomely for every mote of it.}

    \item[Agenda/Assets:]{%
    Master Windu is mostly interested in his own research, the Crown of Muth is
    not terribly important to him, but he sees the unique type of ghosts and the
    condensed spirit as a path to power for him. He forces the lesser wizard
    Erthe to handle the day-to-day business of their town.}
\end{description}

\subsubsection{Master Erthe (level 5 human mage)}
\begin{description}

    \item[Distinguishing Trait:]{%
    A fat, vigorous man with pale and sweaty skin.
    He is most noted for his ability to cast continual light and customized
    wizard locks (both of which he sells).}

    \item[Need:]{Magical Items and knowledge of all kinds.}

    \item[Agenda/Assets:]{%
    Master Erthe slightly resents Master Windu for forcing the day to day
    running of the shanty town on him, but he has used his position to enrich
    himself. While Erthe is not a secretary many treat him as such. His
    inclination to commerce makes him the only source of magical weapons and
    armor for sale (something which makes him paranoid) even if it does make
    him wealthy. Master Erthe will have a random assortment 1d6 of +1 armor
    and weapons picked randomly and a chance (GM’s choice) of a more powerful
    item priced 50\% over the market rate.}
\end{description}

\subsubsection{Madam Waeter (level 2 human mage)}
\begin{description}
    \item[Distinguishing Trait:]{ An attractive red head, older but still sultry.}

    \item[Need:]{%
    Resources, Mistress Waeter is mostly concerned with her personal
    enrichment, and she whores out a handful of fat and ugly girls to bring
    in steady income.}

    \item[Agenda/Assets:]{%
    Madam Waeter was actually a wizard’s apprentice at one point but failed out.
    The Wizard’s tower, despite being an incredibly crappy place to live, has been
    frequented by adventurers and more than a few have been targeted by Madam
    Waeter and her Charms. She is able to cast Charm person and often does so
    in the distance before taking advantage of the target’s friendly state.
    Madam Waeter rarely does more than con adventurers out of money or valuable
    magical items, always opting to run from combat but if pressed, she does have a
    poisoned dagger that will incapacitate in a few seconds if the skin is broken and
    slowly kill if untreated in a few hours.}
\end{description}

\subsubsection{Luek / Lurk  (level 5 human thief)}
\begin{description}
    \item[Distinguishing Trait:]{ Tall, bald, and an unflattering nickname.}

    \item[Need:]{%
    Luek has managed to bring the thieves and ne’er-do-wells of the Wizards
    Tower under his thumb. He hires out up to level 4 Thieving henchmen, taking
    10\% of their fee for himself.}

    \item[Agenda/Assets:]{%
    Luek’s nickname Lurk speaks to his skill as a caser, fence, strong arm,
    waylayer and general scoundrel. Trained as both a thief and a fighter,
    although not formally an assassin, he is classed as such.}
\end{description}

\subsection{Heorte and Lungen}

The next two villages are fully in the county and are populated almost entirely
by the undead. Unlike most undead, these beings seem to live regular ordinary
lives that mirror the lives they had in life. They are not particularly
aggressive and treat most of the living as inconvenient trespassers instead of
enemies to attack. They know that they are dead and ‘work’ by living their
lives as they were. This generates a sort of spirit dust or ‘Condensed Spirit’
that is useful for magic.

The two villages are roughly 6 miles or a three hours’ walk apart. Most of the
villagers don’t travel and instead live a rough replay of their last days
before death. Farmers farm, merchants stand in stores, and so on. They will
converse if approached respectfully but most have little understanding of what
they are or how they came to be. The only spot of the living is a bar in
Heorte, which has been sanctified and warded against the dead. It’s currently
manned by the resident drunk and slightly mad priest who will heal for tips and
serve overpriced drinks. It’s mostly empty these days except for a hidden back
room behind a store room in the back of the bar. One of the random items can be
found there.

\subsubsection{The Priest Peost (level 6 human priest)}
\begin{description}
    \item[Distinguishing Trait:]{Mad, nameless.}

    \item[Need:]{%
    The priest is the sole survivor of a previous attempt and in penance he has
    opened this bar. He is one of the holders of a magic item and is looking
    for a worthy soul to take it over.}

    \item[Agenda/Assets:]{A warded bar, a magic item, a quest to give.}
\end{description}

\subsubsection{The Burgomeister Berrs (as two HD undead)}
\begin{description}
    \item[Distinguishing Trait:]{Dead, Grainmaster.}

    \item[Need:]{%
    The Burgomeister oversees the Granaries of Heorte and Lungen and acts as an
    impromptu mayor of the two villages. He is often seen at either granary or
    travelling between the two villages. The two granaries in death hold the
    ‘Condensed Spirit’ which appears to be the same misty, slightly glowing
    soul stuff the same that the villagers and ghosts of Spiritus are made of.
    The breath has a few properties, namely that it ‘feeds, heals and restores’
    injured and incapacitated undead, second that it is a potent substance for
    the creation of magical items related to the undead.}

    \item[Agenda/Assets:]{%
    Burgomeister Berr is mostly concerned with protecting the breath against
    thieves. The number one thief being members of the wizards tower and any
    obvious magical users. He will personally stand guard and if needed will
    call Guards to defend the granaries.}
\end{description}

\subsection{Gutte and Gastton}

Guute and Gastton complete the path to Spiritus Keep in the form of a large
village and small town respectively.  Gastton contained most of the coin in the
county, including lending houses that worked with both the baron and farmers to
ensure a steady supply of coin in the realm. The spirits in this village and
town spend their unlife partying in grand manors or common inns or in between,
rarely taking to the streets, relying on frequent patrols of the guard to keep
the living out.

\subsubsection{Headcutter Cyttan (as two HD undead)}
\begin{description}
    \item[Distinguishing Trait:]{Friendly, Hard-working.}

    \item[Need:]{%
    Cyttan and his Peat Cutters, unlike most of the undead in the county, have
    actual quotas, as the peat that the dead burn in Gastton is real normal
    peat. His work is made difficult by the lack of his head. Cyttan is a
    headless ghost and won’t report the living to the guard on account of
    needing their help. He knows that there are two locations where his head
    likely is, an unmarked grave just outside the town of Gutte, or a
    merchant’s attic in Gastton. He will pay for the return of his head.}

    \item[Agenda/Assets:]{%
    Cyttan doesn’t have much but does have a few trinkets he has found and
    about 2000\textsc{gp} in a mix of gold and silver that he keeps in a hidden hole. He
    will gladly hand it over for the return of his head.}

    \item[Note:]{%
    If your players are thick and haven’t understood that there are hidden
    tools to use, Cyttan can be an excellent way to give them an item they
    missed earlier on. There’s a 50-50 chance his head is in either location
    described, but each should have its own randomly determined item. Cyttan can
    also mention other locations of the Randomizer items to help the PC’s if
    needed.}
\end{description}

\subsubsection{Patrol Boss Wearidan (as two HD undead)}
\begin{description}
    \item[Distinguishing Trait:]{ Hateful.}

    \item[Need:]{%
    Wearidan needs to drive the living from the land, he feels it in his ghost
    mist. Whether he was a good or bad man in life doesn’t concern him, he’s
    become a right bastard in death. His aim is to kill and drive off the
    living. If he feels he doesn’t have enough troops, he will collect
    reinforcements or press ordinary villagers into a mob to help him. He
    relies on reports from villagers to guide him and left to his own devices
    will simply patrol the streets of Gastton in a large loop.}

    \item[Agenda/Assets:]{ A magic cudgel and the will to use it.}
\end{description}

\subsubsection{Garrison Boss Joly (as two HD undead)}
\begin{description}

    \item[Distinguishing Trait:]{ Laughter}

    \item[Need:]{%
    Joly much as in life, desires only wealth. Appearing like an overstuffed
    sausage in a guardsman’s uniform, he’s the last vestige of civil government
    in town. If the living are brought before him, he’ll take the ‘living tax’
    or about 500\textsc{gp} worth of goods (or for parties of over a dozen, 1000\textsc{gp})
    before having his men, bind and truss the adventurers and delivering them
    to the wizards tower.}

    \item[Agenda/Assets:]{%
    A warded ring that gives +1 protection but is also paired to a chest as the
    only means to destroy or unlock it. Inside the large ghostly iron bound
    chest is about 7000\textsc{gp} in mostly gold, a +1 sword, three potions of healing
    and a full potion of invisibility.}
\end{description}

\subsubsection{Theof and Morthor (as 8HD Invisible Stalker with Undead Type and 6HD Ghast)}
\begin{description}

    \item[Distinguishing Trait:]{ Never leave each other’s sides, always together.}

    \item[Need:]{%
    Theof and Morthor were not good people in life and have spent much of their
    death tormenting the living. They mostly desire riches despite their
    unsavory business. They will fight first and talk second but if
    sufficiently beat or cowed they can provide valuable intel. They want one
    of the randomized items and will guide the PCs to their locations in
    return for being given one of the items at the end. Theof and Morthor are
    some of the only undead that walk the streets of Gastton that are not
    guards.}

    \item[Agenda/Assets:]{%
    Each other first and foremost. They do desire a Randomizer item but aren’t
    above lying, cheating, stealing or murdering the party if they think it’s
    feasible or if the party shows too much trust in them.}

\end{description}

\subsubsection{Lost Soul Gesolod (as four HD Wraith)}
\begin{description}

    \item[Distinguishing Trait:]{ A Wandering Wraith.}

    \item[Need:]{%
    to Torment the living. While Gesolod had originally been an inhabitant of
    Spiritus, it’s unknown if they were living or dead during Eld’s reign. Now
    Gesolod is a wandering, faceless, hooded wraith in all ways except they have
    lost the ability to raise their victims as wraiths.  Gesolod wanders most
    commonly to the South or West of Gastton.}

    \item[Agenda/Assets:]{%
    A hate of the living and the willingness to drain levels. Gesolod has no
    special powers over the native ghosts of Spiritus and instead wanders to
    the lands along the border in the SW looking for Souls to consume.}
\end{description}

\subsubsection{An Intruder Wreah (as 9 HD Vampire or 7 HD Vampire for followers)}
\begin{description}

    \item[Distinguishing Trait:]{ A Vampire.}

    \item[Need:]{%
    Wreath wants to expand its power and convert more living, to take advantage
    of the abundant food of Spiritus. While the spirits often refer to Wreah as
    an Intruder, an outsider, not one of them, they will do nothing to attack
    or interfere with them. Wreah can occasionally be seen walking from the
    wizards tower to Gastton where they trade.}

    \item[Agenda/Assets:]{%
    Reasoned and articulate Wreah desires more thralls, more magical texts, more
    weapons and armor. Anything that will increase their power. They will
    trade if they do not think they can beat you (and Wreah is very
    conservative in their estimates preferring planning and preparation to the
    chaos of combat), avoid you if they find you uninteresting and do their utmost
    to keep the site of their grave a secret.}
\end{description}

\subsection{Spiritus Keep}

The keep is relatively small as it only belonged to a border count. A square
keep of about 30$'$ x 30$'$ sits behind a walled courtyard of about the same size.
On the outside of the keep a short distance from  the wall is a low barracks
sized for about 40 men to bunk comfortably. The wall is about 10 feet tall and
has only a single gate, the walls are stone and filled with earth. The keep is
three stories with personal quarters at the top, a receiving hall on the second
floor and a long hallway entrance, complete with archer’s holes, murder holes,
inner gates, etc.

Outside the keep, the barracks generally has about 30 guards nearby. They patrol
the walls, guard the gates, spread out in slow patrols some along the road to
Gastton and others circling the keep. On the opposite side from the barracks, a
dead body can be found in a natural ditch outside the walls. This body is
Fleume, and if magically forced in some way (speak with dead, etc) will have
complete knowledge of how all this came to pass.  Once you enter the keep
walls, the courtyard is bare with the signs of what was once a garden but is
now dead and barren. Inside the keep, the first floor is empty (and the spirits
won’t retreat inside the keep to defend it). On the second floor, Count Braegen
broods and the remains of the count’s treasure can be found in his quarters on
the third floor.

Count Braegen broods on the second floor and will execute any living creature
that enters the keep, He will normally wait for them on the 2\textsuperscript{nd} floor,
affecting a casual air but already committed to their destruction.

\subsubsection{Count Braegen (as ten HD wight)}
\begin{description}

    \item[Distinguishing Trait:]{ Last (un)Living member of the Count’s Party.}

    \item[Need:]{%
    Braegen is a material undead who appears as he did in life. He wears
    his heavy armor, wields his weapon (a shield and longsword) and the
    crown of Muth. His goal is to maintain the current status of the county,
    preventing the dead from moving on and maintaining them as part of his
    ‘fiefdom’. The ghostly undead of Spiritus obey Braegen immediately, although
    he rarely asks much of them.}

    \item[Agenda/Assets:]{%
    Braegen wears the crown of Muth, which connects him to every undead in
    Spiritus. While wearing the crown, Braegen has 1\textsc{hp} for every ghostly
    person in the county which gives him roughly 1000\textsc{hp}. Braegen can be
    weakened by killing every ghostly citizen of Spiritus county (which will
    draw Braegen’s ire and lure him out of the keep to attempt a surprise
    attack) or by severing the connection to the Crown to Muth, which would require
    a remove curse or dispel magic spell. Dispel Magic will deactivate the crown for
    1 min per caster level and remove curse will remove it for 1 hour per
    level. If the crown has been removed from Braegen, one last remove curse
    will destroy the unattended crown. The Crown of Muth appears to be an
    elaborate lead coronet or ring shaped crown that is studded with various
    child sized teeth.}
\end{description}

If Count Braegen’s connection to the Crown is dispelled, or his citizens
obviously under attack to weaken him, Braegen will retreat from the keep aiming
to prevent the crown from being destroyed. If Braegen is Reduced to 40\textsc{hp} or
less during combat, he will attempt to retreat. If Braegen successfully retreats, he
will attempt to ambush the party, trying to find their weakest time to strike.
If he cannot ambush the party, he will start patrolling the borders of
Spiritus County and will always encounter them if they try to leave and he has
not been destroyed. Braegen will fight to the death in the second fight.

Treat Braegen as a 10HD Wight with the ability to channel his Level Draining
Touch through his weapon. Due to the connection with the Crown of Muth, Braegen
has 1 hit point for every undead spirit in Spiritus county. That connection can
be interrupted temporarily with dispel magic or remove curse, although the
crown itself can only be destroyed (with remove curse) after it has been
removed from Braegen’s possession.

\subsubsection{Braegen – 10 HD Wight}
\begin{description}
    \item[\% In Lair:]{ 100\%}

    \item[Dungeon Enc:]{ Single, Unique (1)}

    \item[Wilderness Enc:]{ Single, Unique (1)}

    \item[Alignment:]{ Lawful}

    \item[Movement:]{ 90$'$ (30$'$)}

    \item[Armor Class:]{ 7}

    \item[Hit Dice:]{ 10** (maxed) 80 hit points or 1000 hit point if connected to the Crown of Muth.}

    \item[Attacks:]{ 1 Weapon or 1 Touch}

    \item[Damage:]{ 1d8+3 Weapon and Touch Energy drain}

    \item[Save:]{ F10}

    \item[Morale:]{ +4}

    \item[Treasure Type:]{ Unique}

    \item[XP:]{ 3000}
\end{description}

Braegen’s treasure should be assigned by hand but should be roughly equivalent
to Q and N together (similar to a 10HD dragon). Braegen without the crown
naturally has 80\textsc{hp}, and if the crown is disrupted (even temporarily)
he uses his own hit points during that time. Braegen will retreat and regroup
at 40 hit points to heal using condensed spirit and plan to ambush the PCs, or
attack them if they try to leave the county.

Once Braegen is defeated, the PCs must decide what to do with the crown. While
undead normally can be said to be suffering, the undead of Spiritus County and
the crown are unique. Living can use the crown (and gain the benefit of the
command of the spirits, and shared hit points) at the cost of ‘deathly visage’
and a permanent evil aura. Undead who use the crown appear merely as normal
undead.

If the PCs have reached or are about to reach level 9, Haleton County/Spiritus
county would make a good ‘starter fief’ for players easing into the leadership
side of the game. The county can be made a fief either of the living or the
dead (dependent on the destruction of the crown of Muth) but enjoys a flat 10\%
decrease in costs construction, festivals and experts for up to 10 years as it
rebuilds. If intended for more long term play, a dungeon that had been cleared
during the times of Count Eld (and repopulated during the time of Count
Braegen) would be a great addition under the Keep itself. \tombstone

\section[Modern Mythology \category{Essay}]{Modern Mythology}
\by{Albatrossus}

\noindent The Anglosphere is an orphan of cosmology. What gods and devils it held before
in its lands Welsh to Pictish are missing or mere fragments of memory. Their
mythology razed with every wave of conquest. The sedentary aboriginals were
conquered by the Indo-Europeans of various waves, then they in turn were
conquered by Celts, then the Romans, the Vikings, the Normans at last. Just as
many times their pantheons were scattered and forgotten.

Tolkien felt a phantom pain in this erasure. Where all the great peoples he
studied had folk tales of fey or divine ancestors before Christ, his own Britons
had forgotten their base tales. No core ethnic continuity was to be found in
his composite people, no remaining heroic examples of good behavior and
honorable bearing “explicitly” of men like him. Thus he was set to fever of
purpose and wrote \textit{The Silmarillion}, the languages of Elves and Dwarves, \textit{The
Lord of the Rings} and \textit{The Hobbit} all. He made a great Legendarium to fill the
spiritual hole history had left in England.

I need not tell you how well he succeeded. The world now “dreams” in faux
renaissance. As English is the international \textit{lingua franca}, \textsc{LotR} and its many
derivatives have become the universal symbols of fiction. In its complete
success it has hilariously become as generic as possible. Like a cheeseburger,
though definitely European in origin, of indeterminate pedigree. While a
foundation was laid firmly, the spiritual hole of English mythology persisted.
Until 1988ish.

I posit that the expansive worldbuilding initially based off English great
works, the murky details and recurring recontextualization of established facts
makes \textit{Warhammer 40,000} the only living mythology in the modern era. Where all
other religions and mythologies are inert, products of now commercialized and
digitized peoples, 40k was born in such and is now ablaze with the passions of
the English man. The lessons in the tales told are “growing”, relevant, and
in the modern vernacular.

Only the animisms of the East have any “motion” to them, and only on the
personal level. The Christian order is inert or in decay, the near East has
baked itself as pottery in the image of its Ottoman peak, and all else is a
museum piece waiting to be embalmed. Nothing continues onward, everything has
merely happened and gets commented on. 40k happened, is happening, and will
continue to happen in a manner the common man may feasibly influence. The last
time anyone must have felt this specific mix of emotions was the damn marches
with Cyrus the Great kicking the city gates down on behalf of his specific
deities. Living gods with living wills and living representatives.

The fervor and zealotry that can be unabashed in 40k now begins to seep into
reality. The many jokes in engineering and maintenance about machine spirits
are increasing in number. The want for an Imperium just as well, ending
democracy. It feels like an echo of  the effect \textit{Stranger in a Strange Land}
had on the hippie movement. Good people are getting antsy for double-headed
eagles. Good people want to “live” for an Emperor, rather than “die” for
any shit cause. Trump unintentionally tapped into this in 2016; now imagine if
a national organization purposely did the same. We’re the lore buffs on a
fault-line that may trigger a cultural tsunami.

Paying homage to a secular egregore Caesar of Caesars, paired with worship of
the holy King of Kings, would be quite a cultural combo. A sort of modern
succession of the Doctrine of the Two Swords. Christ in our heart, an imperial
filigreed rifle in hand. \tombstone
\vfil
\flavourgraphic{%
    \includegraphics[keepaspectratio,height=36\baselineskip,width=\linewidth]{knight.jpg}
}{Christian Imperium Soldier by Albatrossus}

\clearpage % Back cover
\onecolumn
\pagestyle{empty}
~


code:
%%
%% This is file `pullquote.sty',
%% generated with the docstrip utility.
%%
%% The original source files were:
%%
%% pullquote.dtx  (with options: `package')
%% ----------------------------------------------------------------
%% pullquote --- make pullquotes with LaTeX
%% E-mail: Stephan.Lehmke@QuinScape.de
%% Web: www.docscape.de
%% Released under the LaTeX Project Public License v1.3c or later
%% See http://www.latex-project.org/lppl.txt
%% ----------------------------------------------------------------
%%
\NeedsTeXFormat{LaTeX2e}
\ProvidesPackage{pullquote}[2012/09/12 v2.0 EXPERIMENTAL package for typesetting pullquotes]
    \RequirePackage{etoolbox}
    \RequirePackage{environ}
    \RequirePackage{keyval}

    \newif\ifmicrotype@pq
    \microtype@pqtrue
    \DeclareOption{nomicrotype}{\microtype@pqfalse}

    \newif\ifimgshapes@pq
    \imgshapes@pqtrue
    \DeclareOption{noimageshapes}{\imgshapes@pqfalse}

    \ProcessOptions\relax

    \ifmicrotype@pq
      \RequirePackage[expansion=alltext]{microtype}
    \fi

    \ifimgshapes@pq
      \RequirePackage{graphicx}
    \fi
    \newdimen\textcoldist
    \textcoldist4mm\relax
    \newdimen\objdist
    \objdist4mm\relax

      \define@key{pq}{textcoldist}{\textcoldist=#1\relax}
      \define@key{pq}{objdist}{\objdist=#1\relax}
      \define@key{pq}{textcolwd}{\textcolwd=#1\relax}
      \define@key{pq}{objvalign}
      {%
        \ifcsname do@valign@#1@pq\endcsname
          \expandafter\let\expandafter\objvalign@pq\csname do@valign@#1@pq\endcsname
         \else
          \PackageError{pullquote}{Invalid valign}{Only the values
            `top', `bottom', `center', or `middle' are valid for key
            `valign'. The value you gave
              was ignored.}
        \fi
      }
      \define@key{pq}{objvoffset}{\def\objvoffset@pq{#1}}
      \define@key{pq}{object}{\def\obj@pq{#1}}
      \define@key{pq}{image}{\def\img@pq{#1}}
      \define@key{pq}{imageopts}{\def\imgopts@pq{#1}}
      \define@key{pq}{shape}{\def\shape@pq{#1}\expandafter\let\expandafter\shapefun@pq\csname#1shapefun\endcsname}
      \define@key{pq}{shapefunction}{\def\shape@pq{fun}\let\shapefun@pq#1}

      \def\constant@image@pq{image}
      \def\constant@pullquote@pq{pullquote}

      \newcommand\do@valign@middle@pq
      {\numexpr(\pqlines@pq-\objlines@pq)/\tw@\relax}
      \newcommand\do@valign@center@pq
      {\numexpr(\pqlines@pq-\objlines@pq)/\tw@\relax}
      \newcommand\do@valign@top@pq{\z@}
      \newcommand\do@valign@bottom@pq
      {\numexpr\pqlines@pq-\objlines@pq\relax}

    \NewEnviron{pullquote}[1]
    {%
      \ifx\@currenvir\constant@pullquote@pq
        \textcolwd\z@
        \let\objvalign@pq\do@valign@middle@pq%
        \let\objvoffset@pq\empty
        \let\obj@pq\empty
        \let\img@pq\empty
        \let\imgopts@pq\empty
        \let\shape@pq\empty
        \let\shapefun@pq\rectangularshapefun
        \setkeys{pq}{#1}%
        \ifdim\textcolwd=\z@
          \textcolwd\dimexpr.5\linewidth-.5\textcoldist\relax
        \fi
        \ifx\img@pq\empty
         \else
          \def\obj@pq
          {\expandafter\includegraphics\expandafter[\imgopts@pq]{\img@pq}}%
        \fi
        \ifx\shape@pq\constant@image@pq
          \ifimgshapes@pq
            \ifx\img@pq\empty
              \PackageError{pullquote}{No image given}{You need to
                specify an image with the key "image". Your command
                was ignored. No output will be generated.}
             \else
              \@pullquoteimgshape@pq
            \fi
           \else
            \PackageError{pullquote}{Image shapes disabled}{Your command
              was ignored. No output will be generated. Try again
              without package option "noimageshapes".}
          \fi
         \else
          \ifx\obj@pq\empty
            \PackageError{pullquote}{No object given}{You need to give one of
              the keys "object" or "image" to specify the object to
              insert between columns. Your command
              was ignored. No output will be generated.}
           \else
            \@pullquote@pq
          \fi
        \fi
       \else
        \PackageError{pullquote}{pullquote is an environment now}{The
          macro \string\pullquote\space does not exist any
          more. Please use
          \string\begin{pullquote}...\string\end{pullquote}. Your command
          was ignored. No output will be generated.}
      \fi
    }
    \newcommand\@pullquote@pq
    {%
        \clubpenalty=\z@
        \widowpenalty=\z@
        \splittopskip\dimexpr\baselineskip-\dp\strutbox\relax
        \vbadness\maxdimen
        \vfuzz\maxdimen
        \setbox\objbox@pq
        =\hbox{%
          \obj@pq%
        }%
        \typesettext@pq{\BODY}{}%
        \pqlines@pq
        =\numexpr
          \dimexpr\ht\textbox@pq+\dp\textbox@pq\relax
          /\baselineskip
          /\tw@
        \relax
        \objlines@pq
        =\numexpr
          \dimexpr\ht\objbox@pq+\dp\objbox@pq+2\objdist\relax
          /\baselineskip
        \relax
        \windowhextent=\dimexpr.5\wd\objbox@pq+\objdist\relax
        \windowvextent=\objlines@pq\baselineskip
        \windowqhextent=.5\windowvextent
        \ifdim\windowhextent>\windowqhextent
          \windowqhextent\windowhextent
        \fi
        \narrowhsize@pq
        =\dimexpr\textcolwd-\windowhextent+.5\textcoldist\relax
        \loop
          \typeout{trying \the\pqlines@pq\space lines.}%
          \objtopoffset@pq
          =%
          \ifx\empty\objvoffset@pq
            \objvalign@pq
           \else
            \objvoffset@pq\relax
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          \global\parshapelines@pq=\numexpr2*\pqlines@pq+\@ne\relax
          \xdef\parshape@pq
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            \number\parshapelines@pq\space
            \iterate@mkps@pq{1}{1}%
            0pt\space\the\textcolwd\space
          }%
          \typesettext@pq{\BODY}
          {%
            \let\o@par@pq\par
            \let\par\par@pq
            \parshape\parshape@pq
          }%
          \setbox\columnabox@pq=\vsplit\textbox@pq to \pqlines@pq\baselineskip
          \setbox\columnbbox@pq=\vsplit\textbox@pq to \pqlines@pq\baselineskip
         \unless\ifvoid\textbox@pq
          \@tempcnta
          \numexpr
            \dimexpr\ht\textbox@pq+\dp\textbox@pq\relax
            /\baselineskip
            /\tw@
            -\@ne
          \relax
          \ifnum\@tempcnta<\@ne\@tempcnta\@ne\fi
          \advance\pqlines@pq\@tempcnta
        \repeat
        \hbox
        {%
          \rlap
          {%
            \hskip
            \dimexpr\narrowhsize@pq+\objdist\relax
            \raise
            \dimexpr
              \numexpr\pqlines@pq-\objlines@pq-\objtopoffset@pq\relax
              \baselineskip
              +.5\dimexpr\windowvextent-\ht\objbox@pq\relax
              +.5\dp\objbox@pq
            \relax
            \box\objbox@pq
          }%
          \rlap{\box\columnabox@pq}\hskip\textcolwd\hskip\textcoldist\box\columnbbox@pq%
        }%
    }
    \newbox\textbox@pq
    \newbox\columnabox@pq
    \newbox\columnbbox@pq
    \newbox\objbox@pq
    \newcount\pqlines@pq
    \newcount\parshapelines@pq
    \newcount\objlines@pq
    \newcount\objtopoffset@pq
    \newdimen\textcolwd
    \newdimen\windowhextent
    \newdimen\windowqhextent
    \newdimen\windowvextent
    \newdimen\narrowhsize@pq
    \newcommand*\parshape@pq{}
    \newcommand\typesettext@pq[2]%
    {%
      \setbox\textbox@pq
      =\vbox{%
        \hsize\textcolwd
        \tolerance9999\relax
        \lineskiplimit-\maxdimen
        \parskip\z@
        #2%
        \strut#1%
      }%
    }%
    \newcommand\iterate@mkps@pq[2]%
    {%
      \ifnumgreater{#1*#2}{2*\pqlines@pq}
      {}
      {%
        \ifnumgreater{#1}{\pqlines@pq}
        {\iterate@mkps@pq{1}{2}}
        {%
          \ifnumgreater{#1}{\objtopoffset@pq}
          {%
            \ifnumgreater{#1}{\objtopoffset@pq+\objlines@pq}
            {0pt\space\the\textcolwd\space}
            {%
              \ifnumequal{#2}{\@ne}
              {%
                0pt\space
                \the
                \dimexpr
                  \textcolwd+
                  .5\textcoldist-
                  \shapefun@pq\@ne
                  {%
                    \the\dimexpr
                      \numexpr#1-\objtopoffset@pq\relax\baselineskip-
                      \baselineskip
                    \relax
                  }
                  {\numexpr#1-\objtopoffset@pq\relax\baselineskip}%
                  {\number\numexpr#1-\objtopoffset@pq\relax}%
                \relax
                \space
              }
              {%
                \expandafter\right@psexpr@pq\expandafter
                {%
                  \the\dimexpr
                    \shapefun@pq\tw@
                    {%
                      \the\dimexpr
                        \numexpr#1-\objtopoffset@pq\relax\baselineskip-
                        \baselineskip
                      \relax
                    }
                    {\numexpr#1-\objtopoffset@pq\relax\baselineskip}%
                    {\number\numexpr#1-\objtopoffset@pq\relax}%
                    -.5\textcoldist
                  \relax
                }%
              }%
            }%
          }%
          {0pt\space\the\textcolwd\space}%
          \expandafter\iterate@mkps@pq\expandafter
          {\number\numexpr#1+\@ne\relax}{#2}%
        }%
      }%
    }
    \newcommand\right@psexpr@pq[1]
    {%
      #1\space
      \the\dimexpr\textcolwd-#1\relax\space
    }
    \def\par@pq
    {%
      \o@par@pq
      \ifnum\prevgraf<\parshapelines@pq
        \global\advance\parshapelines@pq-\prevgraf
        \xdef\parshape@pq{\expandafter\gobbleparshapeprefix@pq\parshape@pq}%
        \parshape\parshape@pq
       \else
        \global\parshapelines@pq\z@
      \fi
    }
    \def\gobbleparshapeprefix@pq#1 #2 #3 %
    {%
      \ifnumgreater{#1}{\parshapelines@pq}
      {\expandafter\gobbleparshapeprefix@pq\number\numexpr#1-\@ne\expandafter\relax\space}
      {#1 #2 #3 }%
    }

    \newcommand\rectangularshapefun[4]
    {%
      \the\windowhextent
    }%
    \newcommand\circularshapefun[4]
    {%
      \expandafter\dimmax@pq\expandafter
      {%
        \the\dimexpr
          \expandafter\@circshapefun\expandafter
          {%
            \the\dimexpr
              \ifdim #2>.5\windowvextent
                #2-.5\windowvextent
               \else
                .5\windowvextent-#2%
              \fi
            \relax
          }%
          \expandafter
        \relax
        \expandafter
      }%
      \expandafter
      {%
        \the\dimexpr
          \expandafter\@circshapefun\expandafter
          {%
            \the\dimexpr
              \ifdim #3>.5\windowvextent
                #3-.5\windowvextent
               \else
                .5\windowvextent-#3%
              \fi
            \relax
          }%
        \relax
      }%
    }
    \newcommand\@circshapefun[1]
    {%
      \the\dimexpr
        \windowqhextent-
        .5\dimexpr#1\relax*\dimexpr#1\relax/\windowqhextent-
        \dimexpr
          \dimexpr0.125\dimexpr#1\relax*\dimexpr#1\relax/\windowqhextent\relax*
          \dimexpr#1\relax/\windowqhextent
        \relax*
        \dimexpr#1\relax/\windowqhextent-
        \dimexpr
          \dimexpr
            \dimexpr
              \dimexpr0.0625\dimexpr#1\relax*\dimexpr#1\relax/\windowqhextent\relax*
              \dimexpr#1\relax/\windowqhextent
            \relax*
            \dimexpr#1\relax/\windowqhextent
          \relax*
          \dimexpr#1\relax/\windowqhextent
        \relax*
        \dimexpr#1\relax/\windowqhextent-
        \dimexpr
          \dimexpr
            \dimexpr
              \dimexpr
                \dimexpr
                  \dimexpr0.0390625\dimexpr#1\relax*\dimexpr#1\relax/\windowqhextent\relax*
                  \dimexpr#1\relax/\windowqhextent
                \relax*
                \dimexpr#1\relax/\windowqhextent
              \relax*
              \dimexpr#1\relax/\windowqhextent
            \relax*
            \dimexpr#1\relax/\windowqhextent
          \relax*
          \dimexpr#1\relax/\windowqhextent
        \relax*
        \dimexpr#1\relax/\windowqhextent
      \relax
    }%
    \newcommand\dimmax@pq[2]
    {%
      \ifdim#1>#2
        #1%
       \else
        #2%
      \fi
    }%
    \newcount\objrows@pq
    \newdimen\objrowwd@pq
    \newread\@inputfile@pq
    \def\white@pq{white}
    \def\black@pq{black}
    \newcommand\@pullquoteimgshape@pq
    {%
      \setbox\objbox@pq=\hbox{\obj@pq}%
      \objlines@pq
      =\numexpr
        \dimexpr\ht\objbox@pq+\dp\objbox@pq+2\objdist\relax
        /\baselineskip
      \relax
      \windowhextent=\dimexpr.5\wd\objbox@pq+\objdist\relax
      \windowvextent=\objlines@pq\baselineskip
      \@tempdima
      \dimexpr
        \p@*\wd\objbox@pq/\dimexpr.1\objdist\relax
      \relax
      \@tempdimb
      \dimexpr
        \p@*\ht\objbox@pq/\dimexpr(\windowvextent-\ht\objbox@pq)/20\relax
      \relax
      \objrows@pq\numexpr2*\objlines@pq\relax
      \objrowwd@pq\dimexpr2\windowhextent/\objrows@pq\relax
      \edef\@tmp
      {%
        convert \img@pq\space -resize \strip@pt\@tempdima x\strip@pt\@tempdimb! -bordercolor white -border 10x10 -morphology Erode Disk:10.3 -resize
        \number\objrows@pq x\number\objlines@pq! -black-threshold
        95\@percentchar\space-monochrome \img@pq.pqshape.txt
      }%
      \immediate\write18{\@tmp}%
      \typeout{\@tmp}%
      \begingroup
        \global\expandafter\let\csname pqshapemin:0@pq\endcsname\relax
        \global\expandafter\let\csname pqshapemax:0@pq\endcsname\relax
        \openin\@inputfile@pq \img@pq.pqshape.txt
        \loop
         \unless\ifeof\@inputfile@pq
          \read\@inputfile@pq to \@inputline@pq
          \expandafter\expandafter\expandafter\analyse@gridline@pq
          \expandafter\@inputline@pq\terminategridline@pq\@nil
        \repeat
        \closein\@inputfile@pq
      \endgroup
      \@pullquote@pq
    }
    \edef\terminategridline@pq{,:)\space\space\space}
    \long\def\analyse@gridline@pq#1,#2:#3) #4 #5 #6\@nil%
    {%
      \ifx\empty#4\empty%
       \else%
        \def\@tmp{#5}%
        \ifx\@tmp\white@pq
         \else
          \ifnum#1>\objlines@pq
            \expandafter\gdef\csname pqshapemax:#2@pq\endcsname{#1}%
           \else
            \expandafter\ifx\csname pqshapemin:#2@pq\endcsname\relax
              \expandafter\gdef\csname pqshapemin:#2@pq\endcsname{#1}%
            \fi
          \fi
        \fi
        \global\expandafter\let
        \csname pqshapemin:\number\numexpr#2+\@ne @pq\endcsname\relax
        \global\expandafter\let
        \csname pqshapemax:\number\numexpr#2+\@ne @pq\endcsname\relax
      \fi
    }%
    \newcommand\imageshapefun[4]
    {%
      \expandafter\@@imgshapefun\expandafter{\the\dimexpr\expandafter\@imgshapefun\expandafter{\number\numexpr#4-\@ne\relax}{#1}\relax}%
    }
    \newcommand\@imgshapefun[2]
    {%
      \ifnum#2=\@ne
        \expandafter\ifx\csname pqshapemin:#1@pq\endcsname\relax
          0pt
         \else
          \the\dimexpr
            \windowhextent-
            \csname pqshapemin:#1@pq\endcsname\objrowwd@pq
          \relax
        \fi
       \else
        \expandafter\ifx\csname pqshapemax:#1@pq\endcsname\relax
          0pt
         \else
          \the\dimexpr
            \numexpr\csname pqshapemax:#1@pq\endcsname+\@ne\relax\objrowwd@pq-
            \windowhextent
          \relax
        \fi
      \fi
    }
    \newcommand\@@imgshapefun[1]
    {%
      \ifdim#1<.5\textcoldist.5\textcoldist\else#1\fi
    }

%%
%% Copyright (C) 2012 by Stephan Lehmke <Stephan.Lehmke@QuinScape.de>
%%
%% This work may be distributed and/or modified under the
%% conditions of the LaTeX Project Public License (LPPL), either
%% version 1.3c of this license or (at your option) any later
%% version.  The latest version of this license is in the file:
%%
%% http://www.latex-project.org/lppl.txt
%%
%% This work is "maintained" (as per LPPL maintenance status) by
%% Stephan Lehmke.
%%
%% This work consists of the file  pullquote.dtx
%% and the derived files           pullquote.ins,
%%                                 pullquote.pdf, and
%%                                 pullquote.sty.
%%
%%
%% End of file `pullquote.sty'.

repo_name: cognate/trog

license: unknown


code:
\documentclass[a4paper,10pt,twoside]{memoir}

\input{common.tex}

\begin{document}%
\input{content.tex}
\end{document}


code:
\documentclass[letterpaper,10pt,twoside]{memoir}

\input{common.tex}

\begin{document}%
\input{content.tex}
\end{document}


code:
#TEX = tectonic --outfmt pdf -Z shell-escape
TEX = xelatex

all : trog03-a5.pdf trog03-halfletter.pdf

trog03-a5.pdf : trog03-a5.tex cover.png common.tex content.tex
	$(TEX) trog03-a5.tex

trog03-halfletter.pdf : trog03-halfletter.tex common.tex content.tex cover.png
	$(TEX) trog03-halfletter.tex


code:
wrapstuff
=========

The `wrapstuff` package provides another implementation of text wrapping.
Its implementation benefits from the paragraph hooks available since
LaTeX 2021-06-01.

Basic Usage
-----------
The package only provides a user environment `wrapstuff`.

    \begin{wrapstuff}[<options>]
      <wrapping stuff>
    \end{wrapstuff}
    <main text>

You can read the package manual (in Chinese) for some explanations.

Contributing
------------
The package is still highly experimental and not fully tested.
[Issues](https://github.com/qinglee/wrapstuff/issues) and
[pull requests](https://github.com/qinglee/wrapstuff/pulls)
are always welcome.

Copyright and Licence
---------------------

    Copyright (C) 2022 by Qing Lee <sobenlee@gmail.com>
    -----------------------------------------------------------------

    This work may be distributed and/or modified under the
    conditions of the LaTeX Project Public License, either
    version 1.3c of this license or (at your option) any later
    version. This version of this license is in
       http://www.latex-project.org/lppl/lppl-1-3c.txt
    and the latest version of this license is in
       http://www.latex-project.org/lppl.txt
    and version 1.3 or later is part of all distributions of
    LaTeX version 2005/12/01 or later.

    This work has the LPPL maintenance status "maintained".

    The Current Maintainer of this work is Qing Lee.

    This package consists of the file  wrapstuff.dtx,
                 and the derived files wrapstuff.pdf,
                                       wrapstuff.sty,
                                       wrapstuff.ins and
                                       README.md (this file).


code:
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{printlen}
\usepackage{hyperref}
\usepackage[usenames,hyperref,table]{xcolor}
\usepackage[nomicrotype]{pullquote}
\usepackage{multicol}
\usepackage{multirow}
%\usepackage{makecell}
\usepackage{dblfloatfix}
\usepackage{tabulary}
\usepackage{amsthm}
\usepackage{amssymb}
\usepackage{mathtools}
\usepackage{soul}
\usepackage{wrapstuff}
\usepackage{newunicodechar}
%\usepackage{multicol}

%\usepackage{myshowframe}
%\usepackage{trace}

%%%
% Font config
%%%

\usepackage{fontspec}
\defaultfontfeatures{Numbers=Uppercase, Ligatures=Common}

\setmainfont{NewCMSans10-Regular}[
    BoldFont= NewCMSans10-Bold,
    ItalicFont= NewCMSans10-Oblique,
    BoldItalicFont= NewCMSans10-BoldOblique,
]

\newfontfamily{\cjkfont}{HanaMinA}
\DeclareTextFontCommand{\cjktext}{\cjkfont}
\newunicodechar{草}{\cjktext{草}}

\DeclareMathSizes{10}{10}{9}{8}

%%%
% Page layout
%%%

% No page numbers for cover
\pagestyle{empty}
% No page number on ToC page
\aliaspagestyle{chapter}{empty}

% Set up page block for cover
\setlrmarginsandblock{0.25in}{0.25in}{*}%
\setulmarginsandblock{0.25in}{0.25in}{*}%
\setheadfoot{0pt}{0pt}%
\checkandfixthelayout[nearest]%

\newcommand{\setregularlayout}{%

    \newlength{\blockheight}%
    \setlength{\blockheight}{7.8in}%
    \addtolength{\blockheight}{-2\baselineskip}%
    \settypeblocksize{\blockheight}{5.0in}{*}%
    \setlrmargins{*}{0.25in}{*}%
    \setulmargins{0.25in}{*}{*}%
    \setheadfoot{0pt}{2\baselineskip}%
    \checkandfixthelayout[nearest]%
    \clearpage%
}

\nouppercaseheads
\makepagestyle{trog}
\makepsmarks{trog}{%
    \createmark{section}{left}{nonumber}{}{}
}
\makeevenfoot{trog}{\thepage}{\leftmark}{}
\makeoddfoot{trog}{}{TROG issue 03}{\thepage}

\copypagestyle{section}{trog}
\makeevenfoot{section}{\thepage}{}{}

\renewcommand{\sechook}{\thispagestyle{section}}

%\setcolsepandrule{2em}{0pt}
%\setlength\textcoldist\columnsep

%%%
% Custom tables
%%%

\definecolor{altbg}{rgb}{0.90,0.90,0.90}
\renewcommand{\tabcolsep}{1mm}
\renewcommand{\arraystretch}{1.25}

\newcolumntype{n}{%
	>{\bfseries\boldmath\hskip0.5em}r<{\hskip0.5em}%
}

%\newcommand{\thead}[1]{\multicolumn{1}{l}{\textbf{\color{thtext}#1}}}
\newcommand{\thead}[1]{\textbf{#1}}
%\renewcommand{\theadfont}{\bfseries}
\newcommand{\tn}{\tabularnewline}

\newcommand{\tabelle}[3]{
	\small
	\noindent
	\rowcolors[]{1}{white}{altbg}
    \begin{tabularx}{1.0\linewidth}{#1}
        #2 \\
		#3
		%\specialrule{1.5pt}{0pt}{0pt}
	\end{tabularx}
    \normalsize
}
\newcommand{\narrowtabelle}[3]{
	\small
	\noindent
	\rowcolors[]{1}{white}{altbg}
    \begin{tabular}{#1}
        #2 \\
		#3
		%\specialrule{1.5pt}{0pt}{0pt}
	\end{tabular}
    \normalsize
}

%%%
% Section and paragraph headings
%%%

\setbeforeparaskip{0pt}
\setaftersecskip{0pt}

\newcommand{\by}[1]{\par~\\ {\large\itshape by #1}\vspace{0.5\baselineskip}\noindent}

%\setbeforesubsecskip{0pt}

%\renewcommand*{\subsecheadstyle}{\large\itshape}

% Disable section numbering
\setsecnumdepth{none}

%%%
% Table of contents
%%%
\definecolor{darkgrey}{rgb}{0.3,0.3,0.3}
\newcommand*{\category}[1]{\hspace{0.5em}\bfseries\itshape\textcolor{darkgrey}{#1}}

\renewcommand*{\contentsname}{In this issue…}

\renewcommand{\cftdotsep}{\cftnodots}

%\setlength{\cftbeforesectionskip}{1ex}
\renewcommand*{\cftsectionfont}{\Large}
\renewcommand*{\cftsectionpagefont}{\Large\bfseries}
\renewcommand*{\tocheadstart}{\par\vskip 1.5\baselineskip}
\renewcommand*{\aftertoctitle}{\par\vskip 0.7\baselineskip}

\makeatletter
\newcommand\l@mysection[3]{%
  \vskip\cftbeforesectionskip%
  \par\noindent%
  \parbox{2.5em}{%
    \hfill{\cftsectionpagefont#2}%
  }\hspace*{1em}%
  \parbox[t]{\dimexpr\textwidth-3.5em-1in\relax}{%
    \raggedright\cftsectionfont#1\strut%
  }\par%
}

\renewcommand*\l@section[2]{%
  \l@mysection{#1}{#2}{\sectionname}%
}
\makeatother

\maxtocdepth{section}

%%%
% Lists config
%%%
\tightlists

%%%
% Endmark / tombstone
%%%
\newcommand{\tombstone}{\includegraphics[keepaspectratio,height=0.8em]{logo.png}}

%%%
% Flavour graphics with credit
%%%
\newsavebox{\picbox}
\newcommand{\flavourgraphic}[2]{%
    \sbox{\picbox}{#1}%
    \noindent\parbox{\linewidth}{%
        \centering%
        \begin{minipage}{\wd\picbox}%
            \usebox{\picbox}
            \raggedleft\small\itshape #2%
        \end{minipage}%
    }
}

%%%
% Epigraphs
%%%

\setlength{\epigraphwidth}{0.75\textwidth}
\epigraphposition{flushright}
\setlength{\epigraphrule}{0pt}
\setlength{\beforeepigraphskip}{0.5\baselineskip}

%%%
% Miscellaneous commands
%%%

\newlength\stextwidth
\newcommand\dittobox[1]{
    \settowidth{\stextwidth}{#1}%
    \makebox[\stextwidth][c]{”}%
}