Total Skull: September, 2026

Things that brought me delight in September:

S. M. Hallow, The Halls of the Dead

S. M. Hallow's The Halls of the Dead was an absolute delight. In a medium-sized novel we've got heretic Victorian-esque necromancers trying to rebuild a repository of occult knowledge, dealing with bites being taken out of their souls, abusive ghosts, and coming back from the dead with a newfound ravenous hunger for flesh. And that's just the broad outline--there's a lot going on here. The Halls of the Dead immediately went on my list of "best books I've read this year." S. M Hallow did a tremendous job crafting a complex little book where all the pieces fit together just so, yet not in a way that was immediately obvious.

Delirium

In 1972's Delirium (not to be confused with the hundred other movies named Delirium), a scientist is driven into a murderous frenzy by shapely legs and mini dresses, as I assume we all are. Overall, Delirium is pretty standard Italo-Gothic thriller fare, but what saves this movie is the fact that early on we're aware that, besides the psychosexual killer scientist, there is another killer at work too. Wondering at their identity and purpose is the real meat of the film. There's one death toward the end that is so abrupt that I had to rewind and watch the scene again to see if I missed something. (I hadn't; it's just abrupt!) But besides the usual quibbles and execution issues, this was a diverting watch. Always fun to see Mickey Hargitay being a complete freak.

Devil Master, Bloody Dreams

Devil Master is back with another blast of their signature mixture of extreme metal and sinister deathrock. They've varied the vocal formula a bit on this outing, which adds some nice texture, but the thing that's really compelling about Devil Master is how they always sound like they're about to go completely off the rails--off-kilter and chaotic--but they somehow manage to keep it together. At under half an hour of runtime, Bloody Dreams doesn't overstay its welcome, but you also won't mind letting it spin again and again either.

Kierstan White, The Fox and the Devil

In The Fox and the Devil, Van Helsing's daughter is obsessed with catching and killing the alluring vampiress who killed her father. Of course, she believes her father's notes to be the ramblings of a madman--until she comes face to face with the supernatural. And, predictably, she's got almost everything wrong. The Fox and the Devil is a fun novel of occult investigation, involving the 1900 Paris Exposition, elaborately staged crime scenes, and more tragic backstories than usual. There's one character whose role I wish I had been expanded upon, but this was a fun Gothic romp.

Lydia Lunch, 13.13

I remember a period in my life where I made a point of hunting down a physical copy of Lydia Lunch's 13.13, a quest that was well worth it as every time I break out this record I'm blown away all over again. Critics remain divided over 13.13, but in my opinion this is one of the great little-known goth albums. The tracks trend toward lengthy, challenging dirges; imagine a much more mean-spirited, grittier Siouxsie and the Banshees.

Green Lung, Necropolitan

I had some trepidation going into Green Lung's Necropolitan because the first song I watched a video for from this album really didn't do it for me. Strangely, without the visuals and within the context of the record as a whole, every song on Necropolitan works. Everything you want from Green Lung is here in spades: eerie atmospheres, retro-flavored doom metal riffs, and some fun historical and occult references for those who actually pay attention to the lyrics.

Asha Greyling, The Harrowing of Archibald Lee

Asha Greyling's second outing with her lawyer-of-Indian-extraction in a vampire-infused nineteenth-century America is a delight. Radhika Dinghra, said lawyer, has reason to believe that her Poe-esque client was not a suicide as is widely suspected, leading her back into the murky world of the undead. There's an easiness to the prose in The Harrowing of Archibald Lee that makes this a breezy, quick read, and the author has a talent for characterization--each of the characters has a very distinct voice. The mystery is solid--though perhaps the resolution could have been hinted at a little more among the many red herrings and false starts--so this is an altogether worthy read from an up-and-coming independent author. Seriously, there are lauded authors in the genre who are absolutely not on this level.

Blood for Dracula

It's interesting that those "Gothic Marxism" books (which are near-universally terrible) don't really address Blood for Dracula, a film with explicitly socialist themes. Of course, the socialist character in Blood for Dracula undermines the general Gothic Marxist project: to bend the horror genre into something that flatters the writer's politics and to justify, if only to themselves, that they're okay for liking the things they like. For those of us who can just enjoy things without an ideological rationale, Blood for Dracula is a fun bit of Gothic foolery; Dracula's on the prowl for virgin blood, but the current crop of aristocratic young women are already "fallen" in more ways than one.

Chelsea Wolfe, The Dark

I've never been let down by a Chelsea Wolfe album, but I am occasionally blown away by one when it dropped. Such was the case with The Dark. I've seen people tout The Dark as one of her more "accessible" albums, perhaps a record aimed at a mainstream breakthrough, but I'm not sure I agree with that. Just because the music isn't sonically challenging doesn't mean that the sentiments expressed on the record are anything less than bleak and blistering. And there are moments of feral fire here, too. The Dark is one of the best albums of the year.

Leslie J. Anderson, The Unmothers

In The Unmothers, a recently widowed journalist is sent to a rural town to cover the story of a horse that supposedly gave birth to a human baby. If that weren't enough to hang a novel on, there is also some sort of folk horror prowling the town and a secret history of rituals related to it. Leslie J. Anderson did a fantastic job capturing the feeling of dying-maybe-already-dead rural places riddled with drug use and despair, and the horse stuff really rang true for me as well. (She clearly has firsthand experience.) I also really liked that the folk horror elements weren't cribbed from Midsommar, The Witch, or The Wicker Man--this is a novel the breathes fresh life into folk horror, a true original. 

L. Wyatt, The Terrible Tale of Edgar Switchblade, The Dreadful Death of Edgar Switchblade, and The Revolting Revelation of Edgar Switchblade

These three novels were penned by Lonesome Wyatt, one-half of the Gothic country group Those Poor Bastards and solo singer extraordinaire. Edgar Switchblade, the titular protagonist, is a pious psychopath who gallops around the Wicked West encountering demons, werewolves, wendigos, zombies, witches, and...worse yet...Puritans. These short novels definitely have a "bizarro" flavor, which means they are A) gross and B) things just happen without too much fussing over any traditional notion of plot.

Crypt of the Vampire

Crypt of the Vampire is a movie that says, "Yeah, yeah, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla is great, but maybe it doesn't go far enough. What if we added...a plotline about an antiquarian called into discover the connection between nightmares and deaths in the waking world...and a nurse who practices black magic...and a mistress who wants to sleep her way into the aristocracy?" Never has a movie Yes, and'd harder than this or with such remarkably atmospheric results.

Isabela Livino, An Immaculate Deception

Isabela Livino's An Immaculate Deception is a WILD book. Starts off as a sort of standard Gothic (a woman tells her upper-class beau that she's pregnant with his child, they immediately have a carriage wreck, she wakes up at his house and he's acting real weird), veers into black magic occult conspiracy territory, takes a detour into some disturbing Norman Bates stuff, then the twist shows up and turns the whole thing into a late-season soap opera grasping at straws, but I mean that in a positive way. I can definitely see the twist not working for everyone, but I was definitely along for the ride on this one.

Sunscorched, Blood of the Badlands

Call me a filthy casual, but I think black metal is at its best when its working an unexpected flavor into the mix. With Sunscorched, that additional element is a Wild West influence. Occasional acoustic passages and atmospheric movements enliven the crushing tremolo riffage with just enough tonal difference to make Blood of the Badlands stand out. This one is going to inspire some brutal moments in my Vespermark campaign, I can just feel it.

Be Not Afraid, The Last Day of H. P. Lovecraft, Our Little Wild Time

I also read some great comics at the end of September. Be Not Afraid is a Southern Gothic nightmare that tells the tragic tale of a corrupt(ing) man born of the nephilim. This comic reminded me quite a bit--in terms of art style and theme--of the old Hellraiser comics published on the Epic imprint.

The Last Day of H. P. Lovecraft is just that--a fantastical version of Lovecraft's last day in the hospital before he succumbed to stomach cancer. When strange visitors arrive at his beside, he is forced to confront his life, his prejudices, and the possibilities of his legacy. In five issues, The Last Day of H. P. Lovecraft makes a more compelling story out of Lovecraft's complexities than the sprawling (and somewhat self-indulgent) Providence, which is rich since Alan Moore appears as a character in this book!

Our Little Wild Time is a collection of comics by Fred Noland from the indie zine scene. The comics within vary in story and characters--one is like Eurotrash Gone Wild, another is a Southern Gothic tale of life on the skids--but there is a unifying grimy manic-ness that provides the throughline. If you love idiosyncratic comics work--and you should, that's where the heat is--this is something you should definitely check this out.

Hell is empty and all the devils are here

The October series of Halloween horror one-shots has begun! We're kicking things off with one of my favorite games, Call of Cthulhu.

The characters in this Call of Cthulhu scenario were all high school students who were being flown out to stage their production of The Tempest as part of the Alberta Shakespeare Festival. On the way, their plane went down over the Canadian Rockies. The players' characters survived the crash, but perhaps it would have been better if they hadn't...

Characters

Kyle Paquette, the Nerd

Brendan Donner, the Jock

Johnny Quint, the Delinquent

Gary Brown, the Redneck

Annabeth McMasters, the Artist

Jane Beerbaum, the Weirdo

Events

The survivors' first order of business was to scavenge the wreckage of their flight looking for food, clothing, and any items that would help them last in woods until their rescue. (Most noteworthy: each of them found a stout stick to arm themselves with "just in case.") Unfortunately, this also meant having to encounter the mangled corpses of their fellow students, teachers, and the flight crew--such as a pilot they found impaled on the steering apparatus in the cockpit. They also tried to get the lay of the land: heavy boot prints were found heading north from their location, Kyle and Annabeth foraged for berries in the south and found a "rock obelisk," and Jane climbed a tree and spotted a clearing in the distance dotted with strange "mounds."

They spent the night in a section of the plane, but were awoken by the sound of glass breaking in the cockpit. When they investigated, they discovered that someone had broken the glass at the front of the plane (!!!) and dragged the pilot's body away into the trees. They hoped this was the work of an animal, like a bear, but the bloody fingerprint they found was very clearly human.

In the morning, they decided to try to find water, so they headed west. They spotted an area where the trees thinned; beyond that, they could see metal structures that proved to be an abandoned training ground for the 1988 Winter Olympics. They traversed the rusty buildings and found a fast-running stream--unfortunately, the stream was choked with dead fish and the water was blood red. 

As if that wasn't bad enough, they also encountered an old man wearing overalls (and no shirt underneath) who called himself Prospero. Prospero also wore a star-shaped stone amulet on a leather cord and had found a copy of their play in the wreckage of the plane. He was not exactly helpful and did not exactly seem sane. He was prone to quoting lines from The Tempest to them--lines that hinted that he had had something to do with their plane falling from the sky. In fact, his bizarre banter caused them to suddenly break away and run for the road leading south.

After a distance, the broken asphalt of the road grew overgrown with woods again and the group found themselves lost among the thick threes. They encountered the "rock obelisk" again, but now it was audibly humming. A rock was thrown at it--and when struck it made a metallic ping sound. It wasn't a rock obelisk at all; rather, it was made of metal disguised to look like rock. They then got badly off course and emerged at the rocky outcroppings at the foot of a mountain. However, they did find the entrance to a cave. After fashioning some torches, they entered the darkness. 

Within the cave system, they could hear running water, so they followed the sound. Their route took them into a cavern where what seemed to be a massive dead tree loomed against a cave wall. Although the group really did not want to approach this "tree," they eventually did examine it--and they discovered that instead of roots the tree was perched upon three massive hooves. Bypassing the "tree" (it wasn't a tree), they found a ratty, filthy sleeping bag (and another star-shaped stone amulet), as well as a freshwater spring and were able to fill a number of plastic bottles.

They explored another tunnel and found some wooden cages (complete with fingernail scrape marks from whoever was inside trying to escape) and a list of places where the human residents had disappeared or had to leave (Great Zimbabwe, Tikal, Roanoke, Pripyat, Cahokia). Unfortunately, they again encountered Old Man Prospero, but this time he had a revolver. Panicked at the thought that he meant them harm, Gary shot at the old man with the flare gun he had found in the airplane's cockpit--but he missed. The man returned fire and killed Kyle outright. His mind pushed to the limit, Johnny became catatonic. The rest of the group descended on Prospero with their heavy sticks and bashed his brains in. 

It was with heavy hearts that they continued to explore the cave system. They found what they assumed to be a section used as a "graveyard" for infants and a rifle. After leaving the caves, they found another clearing with ornately carved stakes pounded into the ground (that they did NOT examine), as well as a number of rotten sleeping bags and used condoms. 

They next ventured to the clearing that Jane had spotted the day before. The "mounds" proved to be huts surrounding a well. As they investigated the well, five tongueless and eyeless humans, clad in an amalgamation of torn clothing and furs, emerged from the huts and began to crawl toward them. Already spooked, the group opened fire on the people, killing most of them easily. Brendan's sanity momentarily snapped and he beat one of them to death with his bare hands--and he kept punching even after it was dead. One of them managed to latch onto Johnny's arm, dealing him a grievous wound. 

They then searched the huts and found a Lisa Frank journal with an entry that ranted about "the Dark Mother" and her "Thousand Young." They also found a key card with a magnetic strip. It was otherwise not labeled. However, they figured it must have something to do with the not-stone obelisk, so they returned to that clearing. 

Annabeth was able to discover the hidden slot in the obelisk that the key card could be fitted to. It caused an opening into the obelisk to appear in an unnatural way. The group then heard something massive coming through the trees into the clearing. Gary pushed everyone out of the way and entered the obelisk; it shut closed behind him and could not be opened again. The rest of the group stood there in horror as a monster--with a thick, fleshy trunk, three legs that ended in massive hooves, and a number of thick, muscular tentacles--charged into the clearing. The monster grabbed Brendan with its tentacles and tore him in half. Johnny fell to the ground, weeping and rocking manically. He was, nevertheless, spared from destruction because he was wearing a stone star amulet. Jane and Annabeth were not so lucky; they were trampled underfoot by the Dark Young. 

Did the now-insane Johnny survive? What happened to Gary within the mysterious obelisk? Perhaps there will be hints as to their fates as this season of Halloween horror rpgs continues throughout October.

The Gobkin Ritual

Our Krevborna campaign continued with a slightly diminished party, but that certainly didn't stop them from getting in over their heads.

Characters

Dario Diego Durant, swashbuckling swordsman

Varro, a young snow elf bearing a magical sword

Johanna, lycan bard and fallen noble 

Imperious, a cambion adolescent with a big sword

Doctor Anastasia Nadya Strahov, a gun-priest

Events

The party woke up in darkness with no memory of where they were and how they got there. They quickly determined that they were locked within three iron cages, and that their gear was missing. Varro, in particular felt the loss of his magical sword--which he has a dependance on. Whoever had imprisoned them had missed a bottle of perfume in Johanna's pocket; she had a memory of Raenessa giving her the perfume for the upcoming dinner with Wyatt and his "friend."

Varro was able to bend the bars of his cage enough for him and Anastasia to slip out. However, he couldn't break the bars of the other two cages. A woman's voice came out of the darkness; it was somewhat familiar, but none of them could quite place her. She offered to fetch the keys for the cages for the price of a kiss. Varro very reluctantly agreed. After the kiss, a few moments passed and then they heard high-pitched screams. A few moments more and the mysterious woman in the darkness returned and pressed the key into Varro's hand. 

Hugging the wall, the group found a room lit by torches. Four dead gobkin lay on the floor. At first, they assumed the woman had killed them, but on further examination it was determined that the gobkin had slain one another. The group took the gobkins' daggers and torches, then left to explore. 

Following a curving circular tunnel, they found a cavern where twelve gobkin stood chanting around a large, thorny flower that was giving off a pulsating crimson light. A goat-headed fey creature stood watching, an axe in his hands. A sickly sweet smell hung in the air. The group decided they wanted no part of whatever was happening in that cavern and moved along without drawing attention to themselves. 

As they continued along the curving corridor, they began to smell rotten meat. Anastasia had a sudden flashback of finding a murdered miner in an another cave, and then a cannister hissing with gas rolling into their midst. Now they had a sense of how they had been knocked out and had come to be imprisoned in the iron cages.

Johanna scouted ahead into the next cavern and saw that the floor was dominated by a shallow depression filled with syrupy viscera and other gore. At the center of the pool stood a totemic pillar made of bone and rotting meat. Several gobkin cavorted within the grotesque muck, gorging themselves on the rotten filth. She also spotted their weapons, armor, and other belongings leaning against the totem.  

Varro and Dario entered the cavern and drew the gobkin out of the pool to the back of the cave wall, while the others snuck in to retrieve their equipment. The knife-wielding gobkin managed to score some pretty grievous wounds on Dario and Varro, but Imp flew their swords to them, which helped even the score. The group managed to slay the gobkins, but Varro and Dario both required medical attention after the fight. 

Imp attempted to sneak into the next cavernous chamber they found, but was noticed by its occupants--not that it mattered, as they were all in the throes of madness anyway. A well surrounded by slick-looking cobblestones was encircled by three goat-headed statues. A cacophony of voices came from the depths of the well. A number of gobkin stared into the well, drooling mindlessly. One of them bashed its head over and over on the stones of the well. The party decided to avoid this chamber as well. 

In the next chamber along the path, they saw that the gobkin had crafted an enclosed arena from wooden pallets and ladders stolen from the mines above. A platform stood overlooking the arena; atop the platform were six gobkin onlookers. Another gobkin in a strange conglomeration of hats was climbing up the ladder. Within the arena, two large, furry gobkin squared off against each other; they wore cobbled-together gladiator armor and wielded swords. Above the arena was hung a cage containing a scared-looking miner. 

The group waited until after one of the furry gobkin had killed the other and the hat-wearing gobkin began to lower the cage into the arena before striking. An attempt to knock the gobkin from the platform failed, but good, old-fashioned violence carried the day. The miner was released from the cage and given a dagger for protection. He followed the party to a central chamber within the mine--where an enclosed stone stairway lead up to the silver mines above.

Inside the chamber was a stone ziggurat. Upon it was an altar, its cracked surface emitting a purple glow. Upon the altar lay a human man who was--inexplicably pregnant and quite possibly in the process of giving birth. Beside the altar stood a fey creature with moth wings and a scorpion tail; the fey was playing an eerie melody on a set of wooden pipes. 

As he stared at the scene before him, Imp had a vague memory of his sister Embrelle telling him to be careful, but if things got weird "he knew what to do." If only he could remember that part!

Anastasia immediately shot the man on the altar from the base of the ziggurat. The dead man "gave birth" to an oily shadow monster. Imp attacked the shadow thing, wounding it, but it also latched onto him and crept up his arm, sapping his strength. Varro and Anastasia teamed up to kill the thing.

Meanwhile, Dario and Johanna joined forces to fight the fey creature, who drew its rapier and unleashed a flurry of deadly attacks. Johanna was badly wounded and went into a berserk rage. Dario was actually felled by the fey, but as he lay bleeding out on atop the ziggurat a strange voice offered him the "gift" of continued life. When he accepted, his blood turned black and--retracted into his body. Staggering forward, he impaled the fey with a sharp-tipped shadow tentacle that sprang from his palm. Johanna carved into the fey as well. Varro joined them and was able to pin the fey through its center like a mounted butterfly. 

After a bit more recuperation, they looted the scene and escorted the miner out of the mines. At the mine's entrance, they were met by the Thorn--who had initially hired them to clear the mines of whatever was killing the miners. They informed her that a few gobkin still remained below, but that their ritual had been stopped--which is what she was most concerned with. It seems that the Thorn may have been employing them to thwart a rival cult dedicated to Krusikal. In any event, she paid them very well and said that she hoped they could do further business in the future.

Judge Dredd Complete Case Files Vol 01

Bad Books for Bad People, Episode 96: Judge Dredd Complete Case Files Vol 01

There’s no debate that Judge Dredd, a character created by John Wagner, Carlos Ezquerra, and Pat Mills for 2000 AD, is one of the most influential sci-fi figures of the late 20th Century. That makes it incredibly weird that this podcast episode marks the first time Kate and Jack read any comics featuring the scowling scion of justice. Join our hosts as they venture to Mega-City One and encounter Dredd’s very first adventures in Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 01.

Robots: threat or simply a menace? Which Judge Dredd movie comes closest to the vibes we got from the comics? Did Rob Schneider and Jimmy Fallon make the same deal with the same devil? And when the hell do we get to see Judge Death? All these questions and more will be explored on this episode of the podcast.

Summer of Southern Gothic

That sultry summer sweat was in full effect over at the Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque Discord server because I put on a little "Summer of Southern Gothic" film series for my pals and fellow travelers. Every Wednesday, we convened and watched a movie that fit under the broad theme of "the Southern Gothic." Recording what we watched for posterity:

The Devil's Rejects

Winter's Bone

The Reflecting Skin

Wild at Heart

The Beguiled

Deliverance

Black Snake Moan

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

First Seasoned Advance

We had one of our level-up sessions where the players take advances for their characters, take an advance for the Kaul House, and do a little roleplaying about town. 

Here's what the characters picked up:

Ulu took the Artificer edge

Morwenna increased her Spellcasting and Persuasion skills to a d6 each

Varro took the Block edge

Anastasia took the Power Points edge

Dario took the Counterattack edge

Imperious increased his Strength to a d10

Johanna increased her Fighting and Athletics skills to a d8 each

As for the Kaul House upgrade: they decided that it was time to recruit some troops of their own to counter Brother Jacob's soldiers. More on that at the end of this post.

In the Kaul House, Varro gathered the Hounds (except for Ulu) and told them that on the next day Raenessa was throwing a "Vaunkaeli" for the urska--a traditional cave elf celebration of a beloved matriarch. The expectation would be that the Hounds would show up for a lunch cooked by Raenessa, dress up a bit, say nice things about Ulu, and generally be on their best behavior. Which--for them--was a tall order.

As far as things that went on about town, Johanna paid a visit to Arabella at the bank. During their private conversation, Johanna learned that Arabella wasn't happy with Brother Jacob and the Thorn's takeover of Braelin. Arabella couldn't add any forces to the burgeoning resistance movement, but--she did offer clandestine funding.

Leaving the bank, Johanna ran into Wyatt. He reminded her of the invitation to dinner at the Kaul House she had extended, and they set a date for the meal. Wyatt also asked if he could bring a woman who would be visiting him at the fort. Johanna is a little apprehensive about who this woman might be, but we'll find out more in a session to come.

Anastasia and Morwenna paid a visit to Kole, the cauldronborn blacksmith. He was generally unbothered by Brother Jacob's men--they weren't asking for him to make them weapons and he had no interest in their religion. Nevertheless, Kole did not like that Embrelle's tavern had been burnt down. Anastasia extended an offer to Kole: if he ever needed to seek sanctuary, he could do so within the walls of Kaul House.

Ulu paid a visit to Doctor Ilsa about the possibility of using her laboratory for her artificing until she had a crafting place of her own. Doctor Ilsa took her to a ramshackle barn behind the Honeypot. The interior was pristine--it had surgical facilities, a forge, and an alchemical lab. Ilsa gave Ulu a key to the building and hoped she could be of assistance in Ulu's projects. Ulu also asked Ilsa to use her criminal contacts to track down Raenessa's son Anduin in Veil.

Dario, Varro, and then (later) the rest of the group descended upon Crispin Telimov's tailor shop for new clothes for the Vaunkaeli. Crispin was cutting in his remarks on the clothing made by Varro and Dario, but ultimately he settled on making Varro a severe, crisp, and militaristic dress shirt in dark gray, Dario a shirt with long, button-lined cuffs that would be worn buttoned up at the throat (in ALPINE WHITE), an ivory dress with split sleeves and a neck ruff for Anastasia, a wine-colored dress with a fur neck for Johanna, an ornate falcon hood piece for Morwenna. It was a lot of work to take on, but somehow he got it done before the Vaunkaeli and had it all sent to the Kaul House.

On the day of the Vaunkaeli, Raenessa went to Ulu's room and asked her for help--but what Raenessa really did was lead Ulu to where a meal had been set and the decked-out Hounds were waiting. They ate, drank, and celebrated their friend and unofficial mother. Ulu proclaimed it "the best day ever."

In the meantime, knowing that the Hounds needed more troops to address the current situation, Embrelle wrote to Serafina and Nightsong to tell them that that her tavern had been burned to the ground. In the old days, Serafina and Nightsong would have ridden to Braelin, bringing Hell with them, to deal with Brother Jacob personally, but as mothers that wasn't an option. However, that doesn't mean they were powerless to offer aid. Serafina contacted her compatriots in Boneyard, Inc., the group of soldiers and assassins formerly under her command, and sent them to Braelin.

On the day of their arrival, D'Orleac informed the Hounds that "a number of black-clad miscreants" were on their front lawn. When Anastasia opened the door, she saw that the miscreants had brought arms, their battle standard, and materials to build themselves a barracks. Their commander, a tall, gaunt man, introduced himself, "I'm Scav, and this is Boneyard, Inc. Death is our business."

The Elves of Krevborna

Are you even playing a fantasy game if there aren't a million different kinds of elves running around? 

The current campaign has no less than three different elf characters in it, so the time has come to roll up my sleeves and give elves some thought.

There are many ways to taxonomize the various flavors of elf: habitat, social caste, skin color/morality (uh oh), but for Krevborna I wanted to lean into the fantastical a little–so instead of elves choosing habitat that suits them, I wanted to play with the idea that the land itself changes the elves who live there, and that a “type” of elven existence may not be a permanent or fixed state. 

I also wanted to do away with the notion of there being a single “bad” type of elf by both distributing “drow-ish” traits among several kinds of Krevborna elf (also known as the aelvani) and by letting the potential for any elf be gray-to-evil be obvious.

The Aelvani

All creatures are influenced by their environments, but none more so than the elves. The aelvani retain the infinitely changeable nature of their fey ancestors, but it manifests as a peculiar propensity for taking on the native character of the places where they live. As such, the elves found in Krevborna can be grouped into basic types depending on where they’ve chosen to reside.

An elf who moves from one environment to live in another may find themselves altering into a different kind of elf with time—but this is certainly not a given. The amount of time it takes for an aelvani’s demeanor, ways of thinking, and their physical body to alter themselves to match their new home is extremely individual. For some, it may happen quickly. For others who hold on to a fixed sense of identity, it may not happen at all.

The following types of aelvani are the most common in Krevborna, but other categories of elf certainly exist in the wider Mortal World. (All stats for Savage Worlds, since that's the system we're using in our campaign.)

Bog Elves

Bog elves live in desolate swamps and alongside isolated cranberry bogs. Even among other aelvani, they have a dark reputation for duplicity and viciousness. Their druids also pursue horrid necromantic magics that allow them to bind lost spirits to wicker men to make ambulatory servants. 

Bog elves have sickly green skin, with hair that ranges from wine red to the light color of candy floss. 

    • Bloodthirsty (-2): Bog elves never take prisoners unless under the direct supervision of a superior. Their viciousness causes enemies to respond in kind, often costs vital information, and creates constant enemies.

    • Bog Dweller (1): Bog elves can hold their breath for 15 minutes before checking for drowning.

    • Deceptive (2): Bog elves may make foe resist with Smarts or Spirit when making a Smarts or Spirit-based Test.

    • Haughty (-1): The thin-skinned bog elves subtract 2 when resisting Taunt attacks

    • Immune Poison and Disease (2): Bog elves are immune to poison and disease.

    • Outsider (-1): Bog elves subtract 2 from Persuasion rolls made to influence those who aren’t of their own kind.

    • Ruthless (-1): Bog elves will do anything to accomplish their goals, stopping short of true harm to anyone except those who directly oppose them.

    • Survivalists (2): Bog elves start with a d6 in the Stealth skill and d4 in the Survival skill. Their maximums of those skills increases to d12+1.

Cave Elves

The cave elves are descended from aelvani who fled the wars between the elves and mankind for the safety of their subterranean domains. Because of their retreat from the world, other aelvani sometimes disparagingly refer to them as “coward elves.”

Cave elves are generally gray skinned, with mossy green hair and bright eyes adapted to the darkness of the world’s deep places.

    • Erudite (2): Descended from aelvani scholars, cave elves start with a d6 in Smarts instead of a d4. This increases maximum Smarts to d12+1.

    • Low Light Vision (1): Cave elves ignore penalties for Dim and Dark Illumination.

    • Outsider (-1): Cave elves subtract 2 from Persuasion rolls made to influence those who aren’t pomenysh. 

    • Recreant Glamour (2): The magical glamour of the cave elves add +2 to Stealth rolls in any environment (+4 if completely motionless).

    • Timid (-2): Cave elves subtract 2 from Fear checks and when resisting Intimidation.

Forest Elves

The most numerous of the aelvani, forest elves live deep within Krevborna’s oldest woods. They are isolationist by nature, and fervently defend their secret enclaves.

Forest elves are usually tall, have a bar-like texture to their skin, and sport wild hair the color of autumnal leaves. 

    • Agile (2): Forest elves start with a d6 in Agility instead of a d4. This increases maximum Agility to d12+1.

    • All Thumbs (-1): Forest elves have an inherent dislike of mechanical objects in traditional fantasy settings, giving them a −2 penalty when using mechanical devices. If they roll a Critical Failure while using such a device, it’s broken.

    • Outsider (-1): Forest elves subtract 2 from Persuasion rolls made to influence those who aren’t pomenysh. 

    • Ruthless (-1): Forest elves will do anything to accomplish their goals, stopping short of true harm to anyone except those who directly oppose them.

    • Woodskilled (3): Forest elves start with a d6 in Notice and Stealth, and a d4 in Shooting. The maximum for those skills increases to d12+1.

Snow Elves

During the aelvani diaspora, the people who would become the snow elves ventured into the frozen north to find the strength necessary to protect themselves from the scourge of mankind. They found the might they sought, but in the process became as cold and cruel as the environment they now call home.

Snow elves invariably have white skin and pale hair. Their eyes, however, range widely—from the color of rime to a vivid violet.

    • Arrogant (-2): Winning isn’t enough for a snow elf. They want to dominate their opponents and prove there’s no one better. Arrogant individuals look for the greatest threat in battle, hacking their way through lesser minions only because they’re in the way.

    • Born to the Cold (1): Snow elves receive a +4 bonus to resist cold. Damage from cold is also reduced by 4.

    • Environmental Weakness (-1): Snow elves suffer a –4 penalty to resist heat. The penalty also acts as a bonus to damage.

    • Outsider (-1): Snow elves are distrusted by most residents of Krevborna. They subtract 2 from Persuasion rolls made to influence those who aren’t pomenysh.

    • Low Light Vision (1): Snow elf eyes amplify light. They ignore penalties for Dim and Dark Illumination.

    • Tough (2): Snow elves are toughened by the harsh clime in which they live. They start with a d6 in Vigor instead of a d4. This increases maximum Vigor to d12+1.

    • Warlike (2): Snow elves start with a d6 in either the Fighting or Shooting skills due to their culture's emphasis on martial training.

Spire Elves

The spire elves are the aelvani who have been changed by the time in the pomenysh city of Aeldentree. In the eyes of their “wilder” kin, they have become decadent and estranged from the world, though they still maintain a powerful connection to the magic of the fey—most notably through their powers of personal glamour.

Spire elves tend to be frail and beautiful. Many of their number are tall, possessing blonde or red hair, high cheekbones, and a certain undeniable allure.

    • Aelvani Melancholy (-2): Due to their pronounced sadness over the fate of their people, spire elves have a -1 penalty to Spirit rolls.

    • Attractive (2): Spire elves add +1 to Performance and Persuasion rolls if the target is attracted to their general type (gender, sex, species, etc.).

    • Fey Glamour (4): The innate magic of the spire elves gives them a +2 bonus to Persuasion and Intimidation rolls.

    • Frail (-1): Spire elves have a -1 penalty to their Toughness.

    • Thin Blooded (-1): Spire elves are particularly susceptible to fatigue. They subtract 2 from Vigor rolls made to resist Fatigue

Town Elves

Town elves are those who have chosen to live side by side with mankind, residing in human-dominated villages, towns, and cities. More militant aelvani regard town elves as traitors to their people.

Though they often retain a few markers of their elven heritage, such as pointed ears and willowy forms, the act in much the same way as their neighbors and often find that their lives shorten to a more human-like span. 

    • Adaptable (2): Town elves begin play with any Novice Edge of their choosing. They must meet its Requirements as usual.

Sidebar: The Diminishing

Alevani can have incredibly long lifespans, but when an aelvani falls in love with someone not of their ancestry they may experience a phenomenon known as “the Diminishing.” An elf subject to the Diminishing finds that their lifespan shortens to match the natural time allotted to the ancestry of their beloved. 

Additionally, elves who live in proximity to a loved one not of their ancestry sometimes take on physical traits associated with their partner’s ancestry. For example, an aelvani who lives with her cambion lover may eventually have horns or a tail of her own!

The Diminishing is the subject of many romantic ballads, but as with all things related to matters of the heart the reality is almost always far more tragic than it appears in art.