M34

The stunning conclusion to the Horned Lord and Moon Sow Campaign sees the lands of the Earth Goddess tribes under the heel of the reptilian Fomonans. It seems one tyrant has been exchanged for

another - one that is not even human. Though the tribal druids counsel against it, the only way to defeat the sea demons seems to be to take the path of the Homed God - uniting the obstinately freedom-loving

tribes under one High King who will bring back the true worship of the Goddess.

With the assistance of all four tribes of the Earth Godde and their Fomorian allies, for the other tribes can bring

ayers will have a chance to defeat the Drunes mortpf the Teeth of the Moon Sow, and the

knowledge of how to quest for the remaining three great Treasnres of the Earth Goddess.

Sam

ple

file

Open Game and tapyright infarmatian

OPEY G.4ME LICENSE Version I.Oa The follo\rmg text is the propcity ofWimrda of ihc Coast. Inc and IF Copyright 2000 Wirerds ot the Caasr. l i l c

("Wiiards'? All Righla R e a m e d I Veiinitioiv ia)"Cootributun" mans the copyright and/or tradrm.wk owners u h o h a w contribiired Open G a m Content. (b)"Dcnrarne Matenal" means copyrighrcd inateiial including dcrnrtive work3 and ti.mslafions (tncluding into other computei languager). polmm. modification Concctimi. addllton. extension. upgiadc. ~mproucmcnt, compiialmn. abridgement 01 orhcr adapted. (c i "Distnhutc" ineans to repruduce, 11c otherwise distnhutc. (dYOpen Gamc Content" mean$ Ihc game mechanic dnd includes thc mcthodi. proceduie\,

which an exiiting uork ma) hc recast trmrfunned or nt. Icabc. sell. broadciiat. publicly display. liarismit or

extent such conlent does not embody the Product ldcntity and 1s an cnlidnceiiient

dnmnal content clearly idcniificd as Open Ganic Content by Ihc Contributor. and meaw any work cowred by this License, including translations and dernutive wmk5 under copyright law, but \pcc~ficall) excludes Product Identity ( c ) 'Product Identiry.' mcani product and pioduct line mmc\. lngos and identiEying murk, including tmdc dress. unifacts. crciltures characten, dcments. d d o g u c . mcidenti. languay. artwork. symbol\. deiigna. depicnon\. lhkeneiiei. (bmutr. poses, concepts. rhemci m d graphic, p h o t o g r a p h and other \ ~ b i i d l UT audio rcprcxixatmns. namm and dcicriptmnr 01 chalactcrr. spells, enchlmtments. personalmc\. teams. personar, likenesses and ~ p c c i d l vhili I V C B ~ I O I I B . ellvironmcnt~, meaturea. quqlmcnt. maglcal or 5upernaNral abllltlca UT effects. I grapliic designs. dnd any other tradfniark or registered rrddcinirk clearly idcntificd a1 Prod, oxner ofthc Product Idennry. and uhich cpecifically cxcludes the Open Came Content (1) the logos. inamc\. Inwrk. hien, ~ U I I U . designs that BIC u5cd by a Contrhtor tu identify irsclf. asrocruled productc cnntrihiited to the Opcn Game License by thc Contnburor (pi "Use". " U s c d or "llsing" 1nca81s to we. Uwnbute. copy. edit, fnnnat. modify, Irsn4ilte and o t h c t w m crcale ~~TI\- . I I IVC Mrtsl-mi of Opcn

2 Thc Licrnie This Liccasc applies Iu m) Open tiamc COlitCilt that cor

Gaiiie Coaeni mid) only be Uscd under and m ICWS of this Liceiisc You must affix w c h d notice to any Open G a m Conleni ilirlt you Use No tcmi, 'nay he addcd tu or aubtracrcd from thn L m m c cxcept as describcd hy the Licciisc 8 t 4 f No othcr t m n s or m n d i t i m ~ may he apphed Iu m y Open Game Content divnbulrd umg 11M

LlW"iC

3 Offer and A~ucpiance By Uimg the Open Gdmc Content You indicatc Your acccp lme of the temv of t l m

Ll'C"%

4 Grant and Conaidcratinn la consideration for rgreeing to UIC this License. the Contnbutoi- grdnt You a

perpetual. rurldwide. royalty-free. non-exc11111~e license witli the exact t emx o f thia Liccnic to Use. the Open riame Conlcm 5 Reprcsciitation of Auih~r i ty to C onttibutc: If You are conlnbuting original tnatmdl as Open G a m Content. You rrprcicnt that Your Contributinnr areYour unginul creation andror You I w e aulkient nghts lo grdnt the

lei. stOryIIIIC(, plola. themaric

ti^ cnacnt til) YOU" W Y O U ~ ' means ti^ I ~ C C ~ I T C C tn t e rns or lhib

rights cooveycd hy Ihs I iceme

h Notice oiLncnss Cupynght You lnu~f update the COFYRlGll I VU1 I C t portion ot.tl?i$ Liccnw to inciudc

thc exact text uf ihc COPYKltiHT NOTICF of any Open G a m Cunlcnl You arc copying lnndlfylng or di$tlihuting. end You m u b l add the t ~ t l e . the copytighr datc, and the copynghl hulder'i name to thc

COPYRIGHT NOTICF of any original Open Grme Content you Dlstributc 7 Uic u l Product Identity You agrcc not EO Us< any Pruducl Ident<ty mcludmg &% an mdicatiun db (u compatibilitr,, excrpl i ib expressly licenrcd iii aanrhcr. mdspendent Agrcumrnt with the owiici <>I cadi elc~nen1 of that Product Identity You agicc nut tu Indicate compatibility or co-adaptabilily uilh any lrademark or R e g ~ c r c d Trademark ~n conjunctm w t h a work Coilfa open Game Conten1 cxccpt *s erpre*cly l t ccn~cd ~n mother. mdcpcndcnt Agiccinent with the oancr of such Tradelnaik 01 Rqistcred Tndcm.rik Tlie use of any Product Idenlily I" Opcn Game Conteol doc\ not Constitute II chdlcnge to the ownership of chat Product ldcnlity l h e owner ofany Pmduit Identity used in Opcn Came Content ihal l rc tm dll rights. l l l l e and intere\t

UI m d to thar Producl Identity. X Idcnliiication If you dinnhutc Open Game Conteiit You mu\f clearly indi

you are diitribulmg die Open Game Conlciil 9 Updating the License Wizards 01 11s designated Agent, !nay publish upda ma) usc any authorized v e i i i ~ n of this License to copy, modify and disrribul c~r~g~nvl ly disrributcd undcr any ~ e r i i o n o f Ihi\ Liccnse 10 Copy of this L x u w You MUST snclude B copy of this L icensr wlh cvrry copy of the Open Odmc Content You Uirtnhutc I I Urc of Coiitiibutoi Credirs Yuu mdy nut market or advertise thc Open C a m Conlcnl using the name of any Contributor UIIICF< You haw written pemir i iun from the ContrihUfOl 10 do 50

12 l nah i l i t j IU Cumply If it I S imporrihlc firYou to comply Miih any vf the ternis ot this Liccmc ai th reaped to w n c 01 a11 of rhr Opcn Grms Content duc to CIPIU~C. p d i c i a l order. VI gu\emmental rcgulatlon thcn You may lint llsc any Open Game Mdtcnal bo affectcd 13 lcrminafion TI,!' License VIII l~~nninillc automatically ifYou f a i l t o comply wilh all t ~ m i i hewn and I cum auch breach within 10 days of becoming aware of the breach All ruhlicenics ,hall w i \ ~ \ e the t e m m of tllli Licsnac 14 Rcinnnation If any proviiiun uf this Licenic is hcld to he uneoforccdblc. w c h pro\isron thall bc rc fmned only to the extcnt ncces~aly to inakr 11 mruriciible I 5 COPYRlGllT NOTlCl Open G a m I .~ense \' I 0 Coplnght ZMX). Vmard? of lhc Coast. Inc D20 Syatrm Kules & Cirntcnt Copyright 2000. Wiiards of the Coa\t, Inc , Authors Jonathan Tuect, hlontr Couk. Skip W ~ l l m m . baccd on owginal

inaterial by E Gary Gygax and Dabc Arneaon Ihe Way o i the ldcnti ty t rademar l i dcfined above arc copyright 20112. Rebzlliui

Produced under licence from Rebellion AIS. C2002 Rebellion AIS. All Rights Reserved. 2000AD, Slaine and all related characters and indicia are registered Trademarks or trademarks of Rebellion AIS. Visit www.200Oadonline.com for more information. The exclusive copyright in the artwork and the images it depicts is the property of Rebellion AIS. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior permission from the publishers.

Visit www.2000adrpg.com for more information

Sam

ple

file

CUay OF che

Ian Sturrock

bomed

Concencs 2 Introduction

8 Slaine Canon

18 The Fivc Stages of Ragnarok

22 Return to the Council

25 The Shadow’s Stones

29 From Chaos and Old Night

37 High King and Horned God

46 Two Musters, Three Battles and a Ragnarok

53 Appendix I: The Four Treasures

55 Appendix 11: The Teeth of The Moon Sow

6 1 Appendix 111: Major Non-Player Character Statistics

86 Appendix IV: Staandard Non- Player Character Statistics

94 Appendix V: Battle System Unit Rosters

Addi-cional CeF Adrian Bott, Debbie Gallagher

edicou Daniel Bishop

C O K R h C m O R k

Clint Langley

1nCeRiOR h?CmORk Glenn Fabry (9, 13,22,39,42,49,53), Mike McMahon (5, 19), Phil Renne (20-21,26, 36)

PROOF b d i n g Ian Barstow

PRoduczion manageR Alexander Fennel1

Slhine created by Pat Mills and Angela Kincaid

Sam

ple

file

Inmod uccion elcome to Way of the Horned God, the fourth adventure in the Horned Lord and Moon w Sow campaign for the Slaine Roleplaying

Game. In this epic adventure, the heroes will need to free their tribe from Fomorian tyranny, quest for the tribal treasures of the other three Tuatha de Danaan, unite the four Tribes of the Earth Goddess under a single High King, re-establish the religion of Carnun and assemble the last of the magical Teeth of the Moon Sow to create a magical artefact of immensepower!

This adventure is intended for 8” level characters from the Fir Domain tribe. It best suits a party composed mostly of warriors, with perhaps one druid, witch or thief. An all- warrior party can complete the adventure, so long as they have a wide variety of skills. Ideally, the party should have completed the first three adventures in the campaign, The Invulnerable King, The Teeth of the Moon Sow and The Ragnarok Book but notes are included (see p. 6 ) for Player Characters who have not played in those adventures.

All you need to play Way of the Horned God is this book, a copy of The Player’s Handbook and the Slaine Roleplaying Game rulebook. The first Slaine supplement, Er Nan Og, would be useful for additional background but is not essential; the same is true of the Fir Domain tribe book.

For this adventure in particular, the Slaine sequences Slaine the King and Slaine: The Horned God are also useful as additional background material, as Way of the Horned God is set firmly in the particular era covered by those comics. Slaine the King has been reprinted in one volume by Titan Books and Slaine: The Horned God is currently being reprinted in three volumes, also by Titan Books.

Cnoon Sow In the land of the tribes of the Earth Mother once existed a ring of stones called the Teeth of the Moon Sow. Many tales were told of it as a place of power and potency but, in the time before Slaine, none knew of its real magic.

Long ago, the circle was dedicated to the Goddess in her aspect as the white moon Ceridwen, whose name means ‘crooked white one.’ In gentle form, she was the muse, creator and protector of bards. In anger, she was a monstrous white sow, a flesh-devourer and bringer of madness. Ceridwen could inspire bards or she could destroy them, and the Teeth of the Moon Sow reflected her power.

The Teeth of the Moon Sow had not always been stones: long ago, in the dawn of Tir Nan Og, the followers of Ceridwen held a great festival where bards from all across the world, and beyond the world too (for El bards were among them), could compete before men and gods. Of them all, ten were found, nine most gifted and one the very best. Ceridwen, greatly pleased with these, turned them into stone, forever to be the guardians of her circle of inspiration. Nine made the circle but the finest bard of all was her altar stone. From her own power and theirs, she made a great magic.

Ceridwen created her stone circle to be an acoustics chamber, though it amplified more than melody. In the Teeth of the Moon Sow, one could intensify the power of dreams and make them real. If a gifted bard stood at the circle’s centre and spoke their tale, provided their will and imagination were strong enough, the images conjured by their words would appear before the audience. They could create anything they wanted - treasures glinting on the grass, lovers created of woven flowers, demons of fire and flame or armed men bursting out of the earth. The only limits were those of imagination and willpower. Should the bard possess enough of each, their creations might do more than just stand and be admired: given enough concentration, they could physically affect the world around them. The possibilities were endless, and terrifying.

Long before this campaign begins, the Moon Sow circle had been destroyed, to the deep anger of the Goddess it venerated. Its stones were taken and hidden throughout the Lands of the Young by the avanc beaver-folk, who could not bear the nightmare side of her sacred place. The avanc believed she would be angry but that she would relent, because they adored her in all save this one thing. But by the time of Slaine Mac Roth, any druid worth his salt would know that almost all the avancs had been destroyed by the Falians, also known as the Tribe of the Shadows. The Goddess is a rose with many thorns. She may love but she does not forgive.

Sam

ple

file

Much of the campaign is based around the search by Player Characters and others to find the Moon Sow’s Teeth and re-create or destroy the stone circle in their own kingdoms. It is not the land that makes the circle strong - it is the stones that make the land magically resonant, answering the desires of its most powerful bards. Thus, the tribe that has the Moon Sow’s Teeth circle on its temtory has a huge repository of dream to use. And they all want it! The four tribes of the northern lands of Eriu will be seeking it, each for their own benefit. The various tribes of Midgard will be pursuing it. The El-folk crave it, the Drune Lords are looking for it and, of course, the Cythrons wish to control it.

The obvious question is; if the avanc feared the circle so much, why did they not destroy the stones as opposed to hiding them? The stones are imbued with the sentience and magic of the bards they once were. He who destroys one will immediately take its place, set in stone forever. Of course, there is also the possibility that Ceridwen will be more than a little peeved about the whole thing.

The Ragnarok Book is not a book with pages made of parchment or paper. Instead, it is a collection of thin, flat sheets of wood, each bearing a vertical inscription in Ogham. The strips are laced together with willow-bark at both ends and in the middle, producing something that looks a little like a split-cane blind. Like a blind, the book is rolled up, forming a cylinder about as long as a man’s forearm and as thick as a warrior’s neck. Anyone with the ability to read Ogham can read the book; however, making sense of it is a different matter. In the third part of the campaign, The Ragnarok Book, the players were able to have the book translated by some of the most learned druids of Tir Nan Og.

The book is a mixture of battle plans and magical formulae, detailing the Lord Weird Slough Feg’s intention to bring about a ragnarok, or doomsday, upon the Land of the Young. If further details about the book’s content are required, see part three of the campaign, The Ragnarok Book.

’

The characters are all members of the Fir Domain tribe, also known as the Tribe of the Growling Shields. As the adventure opens, the tribe has recently crowned a new king, replacing the formerly invulnerable King Osdann. Osdann was a cruel king, barely more merciful to his own people than to those against whom he waged war.

Earlier in the campaign, the characters learned of the existence of the Moon Sow’s Teeth and were sent in search of them by King Osdann. In an ancient tomb, they found a magical harp that can lead them to the stones. With the harp’s aid, they recovered the first five Teeth. In the process, they learned the secret of Osdann’s invulnerability. He was first made invulnerable just before he went off to war as a young warrior by his grandmother Findach, a powerful witch, with the proviso that he would only remain so until he next saw her face. He killed her on the spot, had her body buried in a secret place and soon seized power. Despite great difficulty and danger, the Player Characters found Findach’s remains and were able to return her to life. As soon as other members of the tribe learned of this, the seeds of Osdann’s destruction were sown.

Facing something close to a rebellion against his rule, combined with attacks by apparently unbeatable forces from the Tribe of the Shadows and the Drune Lords, Osdann fled with a small number of trusted guards to Yboras in the north of Albion, where he claimed to still be king. In Gorias, a new tribal council was formed to decide what to do with Osdann. The characters were sent at the head of a Fir Domain army to depose the old king. His reign may have ended in dreadful violence and civil war, or peacefully, with Osdann submitting at last to willing vulnerability and justice, depending on the actions of the characters in The Ragnarok Book. The choosing of the new king was left largely up to the Games Master, with the main candidates being Huath, Rudraige and the Player Characters. See Appendix I11 for statistics for Rudraige and Huath.

h igh king OF rhe FRee

Sooner or later, one of the tribal kings must unite the tribes, taking on the role of High King. This is simply the only way the Earth Goddess tribes can defeat the upcoming alliance between the Fomorians and the Drune Lords, which the party now have fm evidence of in the form of the Ragnarok Book. In the comics, this High King is Slaine Mac Roth, though in your own game you can alter this to suit your players’ actions and the group’s preferences. See the Slaine Canon chapter for more ideas about how to handle this.

There are essentially two stages to the coronation of the High King. First of all, the four tribes must agree to unite. This will be an extraordinarily difficult feat to achieve in itself, for the tribes love freedom above all else. They will

Sam

ple

file

need to be convinced not only that an alliance is necessary to their survival but also that sufficient checks and balances are in place to ensure the High King is prevented from exercising his power unjustly. Folk from the Fir Domain tribe, so recently the scourge of the other tribes under the rulership of the tyrant Osdann, will need to be utterly above reproach if they are to have a chance of persuading the other tribes of the necessity of a High King.

Once the decision to appoint a High King has been made, the second stage is to choose who will fulfil the role. This must be done by both acclamation and proof. All four tribes must be prepared to back the High King but, in addition, he needs the support of the Goddess, which can be proven only by the candidate standing atop the Stone of Destiny while bearing the Silver Sword of the Moon and the Spear of Lug, with the Cauldron of Plenty set before the Stone. If the Goddess wills it, then the Stone of Destiny will scream aloud, proclaiming the candidate High King. Her support can only be gained if she is utterly convinced that the candidate is the right one for the job. This will necessitate a journey to the Otherworld and the passing of a number of tests ...

Y 1

E h e Domed LoRd For thousands of years the Horned God, Carnun, has been reviled in the northern lands. The druids of the Earth Goddess tribes still consider him to be an old-fashioned relic of the time when witches ruled Tir Nan Og, and are fearful of losing their authority to the witches once more. However, Camun has been experiencing something of a resurgence in worship in recent months. The Horned God is the true consort and faithful servant of the Goddess Danu and has taken a personal interest in her Teeth of the Moon Sow. His dramatic intervention to save the Fir Domain tribe at the Battle of Gorias (see Teeth ofthe Moon Sow) made all that saw it look upon him in a new light. Gradually, the Horned God is being redeemed in the eyes of the folk of Danu, with many of the Fir Domain tribe now worshipping him secretly or openly.

The players, too, must acknowledge the Homed God as the traditional servant of their Goddess Danu. Without his direct support, no High King can be elected, for the High King must, in some strange way, become the Horned God himself.

Loose €nds Depending on which (if any) of the previous adventures you have played through, there may be various modifications for the Games Master to make to this

Are Your Players a Couple of Menhirs Short of a Stone Circle? If the players have already played through The Ragnarok Book, it is possible they have already permanently lost one or even two of the Teeth of the Moon Sow, by bringing them to the attention of the goddess Brigid. This was probably sheer bad luck rather than actual incompetence. It will be inconvenient to the players in its consequences - they will need to recruit suitably gifted replacement bards, who are willing to be transmogrified into new Teeth, if only temporarily -but it will at least be possible. See p. 59 for more information on this possibility and what to do about it.

The Flying Coracle If the players still have the flying coracle taken from the Midgard spies in The Invulnerable King, it is about time to re-emphasise its general lack of airworthiness. It has always been portrayed as a sky ship on its last legs, so to speak, When the characters first acquired it, they should have been aware just how unreliable and inefficient it was. By this time, particularly if they have been using it extensively already, it should barely have enough magical force to raise itself off the ground. The weirdstone is virtually incapable of holding Earth Power at all and the timbers and hides of the boat itself are crumbling, splintering and rotting. There is little point in attempting to repair it, though portions of it could potentially be used to make a completely new flying coracle. Depending on how much the Games Master has already emphasised how rickety the thing is, he may be able to rule it practically non-functional right from the start of the adventure. Alternatively, he may wish to have it lurching and tottering, with the characters needing to land it quickly wherever they are, or face it crashing violently into the ground.

Friends and Enemies Hopefully the characters should have acquired a whole array of allies and foes by this point. To recap, from part one (The Invulnerable King): Njal, Bjaki or any other of the Midgard raiders could be alive and capable of mischief, probably with the assistance of additional raiders. Likewise, if any of the Athlach titans survived they likely bear either good or ill will towards the characters -there will be no in-between, since the characters either helped them or robbed them. Whether the Athlach will be organised and powerful enough to pose a threat to the characters depends largely on how well they survived the encounter with the drune army. If enough remain to found a new settlement elsewhere, that will be their first priority but if only one or two lived it is likely their predominant thoughts will be of revenge.

which he runs it.

Sam

ple

file