[Review] The Fang and the Fountain

A Stormbringer 4th Edition Scenario written by Richard Watts

Upon a storm-wracked sliver of rock, lost for time immemorial in the chill waters of the Pale Sea, unholy blasphemies have been spawned. Driven by dream and prophecy, the heroes must embark on a mighty quest that will reveal not only madness and chaos, but the truth behind these mutant beasts and long-forgotten Dharzi magicks. Will they survive these terrors? Or are they destined to discover nothing more than a watery grave…

The Fang and the Fountain is a 15-page scenario written by Richard Watts, and appears as the third of five adventures in the Perils of the Young Kingdoms collection (released by Chaosium Inc in 1991 for Stormbringer 4th Edition).

Please note, as with all such scenario reviews on the Stormbringerrpg.com site, these commentaries are the opinion of their author only, and are rated in three simple categories – Must Run, Should Run, Might Run (see the sidebar below for more information on these ratings).

Scenario Overview

Far to the North, in the coldest oceans of the Young Kingdoms, a great evil brews. The exiled Pan Tangian Kerag Teel has reclaimed the long-lost isle of The Fang, and from within this stronghold has begun to delve deep into the ancient secrets of the Dharzi. With this knowledge revealed, the mad wizard has unleashed abominations of the sorts unseen for centuries upon the Pale Sea. Crazed and bloodthirsty creations that now roam the coast, hunting for their next victims, and it is up to the heroes to stop them… or die trying?

The Fang and the Fountain is one of those unique scenarios that acts not only as the perfect introduction to the violent, desperate world of Stormbringer, but also provides an epic tale of tragedy, loss and desire that is bound to move even the most veteran of players. At its heart is a simple enough story, with the aforementioned Kerag Teel having settled on a rocky outcropping known locally as The Fang, and, in his madness and desire for Dharzi knowledge, having created mutated spawn – horrid conglomerations of natural sea life. This, of course is pretty typical sounding Stormbringer fare, but what makes this scenario stand out is the depth of the people and environment that is brought to life in its telling.

Partly a story of social interaction, partly a travel epic, this scenario does its best to provide a range of experiences for the players, and introduces a portion of the Young Kingdoms that may well have never been previously explored (either in Moorcock’s fiction or in the RPG setting).  While not an overly challenging scenario, it isn’t against unleashing that unique brand of horror and conflict that Stormbringer alone is best known for; blubbery abominations, undead sailors and the tragic death of children all being core to the adventure’s plot.

Spit into three main acts, the plot opens with the heroes being summoned to Vornskold, a remote fishing village, located on the Tarkeshian coast. Here, the characters are thrown directly into the horrors, and will soon undertake a danger-ridden journey north to discover the truth behind the monsters that stalk these cold waters.

Highlights

I think Richard – has, as always – just about hit all the right notes with The Fang and the Fountain, bringing together the various elements of emotion, action and madness to create a ‘stew of ideas’ that any Game Master – new or old – can make their own!

• The Opening Scene  – Nothing like throwing fuel on the fire, and the opening of The Fang and the Fountain does just that. We get children in peril and the laments of those lost, while the heroes (who have hopefully driven off the threat) are celebrated. This makes for a great scene and creates the connection that elevates the core story from just another ‘monster hunt’ into something a lot more meaningful.
• The People of Skornvold – The whole first act focuses on the day-to-day life of the fishing village of Skornvold and the disruption the heroes (in both their positive and negative aspects) bring to the community. Many of the key people of Skornvold are well fleshed out in this section, providing for plenty of opportunity for the characters to become invested in the lives of more than a few (the broken engagement of Sem-Liss-Sparm and Basram-Sheth-Vadam being a real standout in this regard). All-in-all it is a bit of a shame that we don’t get to do more with these NPCs once the plot progresses onto the second act and beyond!
• The Journey North – This has the potential to be an epic journey, with plenty of opportunities for the Game Master to ramp up the tension and horror as the party travels north onboard a tiny fishing vessel in a wide, dark and cold sea. It reminds me a lot of good horror movie in the way that it develops, with the effects of Teel’s monstrosities being felt more and more as the expedition makes its way closer to the source of the terror. While plenty of other adventures might have glossed over this portion of the story (in their desire to get the party to the final confrontation sooner), Richard has gone out of his way to provide plenty of weird and dire encounters to ratchet up the game play.
• Mac’s revelation – Without wanting to go into too much detail, the final fate of one of the main NPC’s sons could (and should) be played out in a very heartrending manner, and in my opinion really reinforces the most ‘tragic’ aspects of Stormbringer; in the world of Elric, everything has a cost, and the question is always going to be whether or not such outcomes are worth the price!
• The ‘Convention’ scenario feel – As a sight aside, the overall tightness and structure of The Fang and the Fountain also lends itself to tournament-style play (in fact given its origins within the Australian contingent of Chaosium writers I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a ‘con’ game originally).  I’ve personally run The Fang and the Fountain in a variety of ways, from an intense multi-session ‘mini-campaign’, through to an online two-parter, and even as a 3-hour con game, and with little tweaks here and there they all worked out fantastically well!

Issues or Constraints

No scenario is without its issues and this one is no different, thankfully those that seem most glaringly obvious are easy enough to resolve with a bit of planning and forethought (see below for some of my suggestions).

• Exploring the Fang – As I mentioned above, the third act – the exploration of The Fang – is probably the weakness section of the entire story. It really does feel like your typical room-to-room dungeon-crawl for the majority; one that might have its fair share of frights and fights, but is a bit too weak in my opinion. Wondering out loud, I’d like to know if this was due to any word/page count considerations, or simply the constraints of creating a ‘dungeon’ in the Stormbringer setting?
• The use of the ‘Sheal’ – Okay, so I don’t have a problem with the Sheals (the half shark. half seal monsters created by Teel) as such, but whatever you do don’t mention its name to your players. On more than one occasion I’ve had the group laugh out loud at the description of this supposedly horrific beast, which, as you would correctly assume, doesn’t do much good for the overall tension and atmosphere of the scenario!
• The need for ‘Prophecy’ – I can understand why the dream/prophecy was created for The Fang and the Fountain; the northern reaches of the Tarkeshian coastline are never going to be the most regular of haunts for one’s Stormbringer heroes. Nevertheless a creative Game Master should be able to easily come up with other reasons why the party stumbles onto this plot without having to rely on ‘you have a strange dream’. I’m not advocating getting rid of the dream prophecy all together – it’s a great piece of writing and definitely adds to the menace and threat of the situation – but let’s not use it as the ‘trigger’ for the scenario, okay?

Suggestions in Play

Having both played in and run this scenario, there are a couple of things I like to suggestions to any Game Master thinking about offering this adventure up for their players…

• Bringing Vornskold to life – There is just so much going on in Vornskold, that unless you are pushed for time, I’d really suggest that you take the time as much time as you need within the village.  Richard has done a brilliant job of creating an engaging atmosphere and a core group of NPCs that all have their own motivations and goals, that it’d be a waste not to use it all to its fullest. Here you have opportunities for sadness and laughs, drama and even a bit of conflict, so why not use it!
• Slowing your ‘Row’ – Likewise the characters’ journey northwards – in their goal of discovering the source of the horrors – is another opportunity to layer on the tension and horror. Aligning the journey to the weather is a technique that I think works well here, with the drawing in of dark clouds, increasing gusts of wind. and squalls of stinging cold showers to act as foreshadowing for the dangers to come. There is plenty to discover on the trip as well, with each of the villages to the north of Vornskold having fared worse by degrees from the attentions of Teel’s abominations. Linger on these scenes and expand on them; make the players truly feel as if they journey towards their doom!
• Fleshing out the Fang – The Fang is ripe for expansion and plenty of more exporation. This is the home of a madman, one who has plumbed the arcane mysteries of the Dharzi, and it should reflect that. The use of sound, smells, strange artifacts, and weird traps should play on the heroes already fraying nerves (especially after their earlier encounter with the ‘drowned’ servants of Kerag Teel), and really I see as much opportunity for adventure inside The Fang as there was on the journey to it.

Final Notes

There’s probably not too much more to say about this scenario. Having run it myself three or four times and having played it, it will remain my favourite ‘one off’ story not only for the Stormbringer system but almost any dark fantasy RPG. While getting hold of a copy of Perils of the Young Kingdoms isn’t the easiest these days, I’m sure the most determined of you will find a way! Trust me The Fang and the Fountain (and pretty much every other gem in the collection) are worth it!