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Scentia, Besieged From Within and Without

Design & Development: Seamus T. Conneely

Editing: Chris Brown & Brian A. Liberge

Consulting Editor: Jim White

Layout: Brian A. Liberge

Cover Art: Marsh Hopper Phalanx by Khairul Hisham

Interior Art: Chateau d’Anjony ”Towertown Tower” by Olivier

Bacquet, Kobold Leader “Gang Boss” and Kobold With Sword

“Bandit” by Bruno Balixia, “Mariana of the Many Faces” by Amy

Clare, Firodelisa “Soral” and Sedille “Sergeant Oakgrove” by

Jenna Fowler, Bullywug “Old Marsh Hopper” by Wesley K Hall,

Marsh Hopper Phalanx by Khairul Hisham , Boggard Warrior

“Marsh Hoper Guard” by Forest Imel, Scython Unbound “Scentian

Marsh Dragon” by Lee Anthony Moton , High Sorcerer “Blue-

Eyed Wizard”, Lead to Gold “Duncan”, Merchant, Smuggler and

Trading Port by Kaitlynn Peavler and Cheeky Mountain Parrot

Games, created for Conquering Corsairs, Frogman Cleric “Marsh

Hopper Priest” by Ryan Rhodes, Young Knight “Noelle” by John

W Sheldon and Otyugh by Jaydot Sloane.

Pulp! Logo Design: Kaitlynn Peavler

Gamer Assembly Logo Design: Kaitlynn Peavler

Shattered Seas Setting: The Gamer Assembly

GamerAssembly.net

Pulp! The RPG: Brian A Liberge

BeerStarGames.com

Playtesters: Brian A Liberge, Natalya Waye, Mike Gentile, Brianna

Molter Gentile, Adam Marchetti, D.J.I.C. Curran, Matt Kern,

Brandon McSweeney

Dedicated to the Desian Mercenary Corps, the Magnificent Seven,

and the Iron City Samurai for every new adventure. Here's the next

one.

Published by

Beer Star Games

In Association with

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Table of C0ntents

SCENTIA, BESIEGED FROM WITHIN AND

WITHOUT! 4

INTRODUCTION 4

BACKGROUND 5

THE CHARTER CONFEDERACY 5

THE EMPIRE OF ILLUSION 5

SCENTIA 5

SALTY LUTES 5

BLUE-EYED WIZARDS 5

THE HOOK 6

ADDITIONAL HOOKS 6

ADVENTURE: BESIEGED FROM WITHIN AND WITHOUT 7

GETTING STARTED 7

E1. WELCOME PARTY 7

E2. MEETING WITH THE MAYOR 8

E3. MARSH HOPPER SCAVENGERS 9

E4. FAST FOOD 9

E5. NOW YOU HAVE TO CROSS IT. 10

E6. JUST WALK IN THE FRONT DOOR . . . 10

E6-1. . . GET TO KNOW THE LOCALS . . . 11

E6-2. . .AND EXCHANGE CULTURAL ANECDOTES. 11

E7. INTO THE SEWERS 11

E7-1. UNPLEASANT SURPRISE 12

E7-2. SOMETHING OF A STICKY SITUATION 12

E8. RIVALS IN THE BUSINESS 12

WRAPPING UP 13

FUTURE ADVENTURES 13

PLAYER CHARACTERS 14

BESTIARY 15

MARSH HOPPER TRIBE 15

MARSH HOPPER WORKER 15

MARSH HOPPER GUARD 15

MARSH HOPPER PATROLLER 15

MARSH HOPPER WARRIOR 15

MARSH HOPPER PRIEST 15

OLD MARSH HOPPER 15

MARSH HOPPER CHIEFTAIN 15

MARSH HOPPER PHALANX 15

RESIDENTS OF FARVIEW 16

MUGGER 16

SMUGGLER 16

MERCHANT 16

BODYGUARD 16

URBAN WIZARD 16

FARVIEW GUARD 17

TOWERTOWN GUARD 17

SERGEANT OAKGROVE 17

SALTY LUTE AGENT 17

SHADOW WOLF MAGE 17

MONSTERS OF SCENTIA 18

STIRGE 18

KOBOLD BANDIT 18

KOBOLD ALCHEMIST 18

KOBOLD GANG BOSS 18

SCENTIAN MARSH DRAGON 18

GELATINOUS HORROR 18

MANTICORE 19

OTYUGH 19

TERROR BIRD 19

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Scentia, Besieged From Within and Without!

Introduction I was there at the start of all this, when Pulp! was nothing more than a page of rules and some characters on index cards that Brian

Liberge had handed to myself and the rest of the usual suspects. It was an easy-to-pick-up, high-stakes, cinematic breed of chaos that

we put through its paces. Now we bring it all to you. Thanks for joining us!

Scentia is an island that is defined by its borders. There’s a border between the towns of the island, Farview and Towertown, and the

wilderness that isolates them from one another. There’s a wavering border between lawful order and anarchy within the civilized areas

themselves. And Scentia itself is one of the outermost islands of the Charter Confederacy, the last speck of land before you reach the

continent of Iziz and the Empire that resides there. And when some or all of those borders are crossed, well . . .

“Scentia, Besieged From Within and Without!” is a continuation of the Pulp! Fantasy line, and like other Pulp! products it is

published under a Creative Commons License. Which means, of course, that you can download and share it for free. All of us at Beer

Star want Pulp! to be played and enjoyed, the more the merrier. If you’ve gotten it for free and like what you’ve acquired for that

choicest of prices consider stopping by BeerStarGames.com and making a purchase. Everything that costs dollars is nice and

affordable, even the ones in dead tree format, and more purchases equals more Pulp! in the future.

Because even if your heroes survive Scentia, there’s a lot more Pulp! Fantasy to be explored. And that’s just the start of what we’d

like to do.

Seamus T. Conneely

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Background

The Charter Confederacy

The Charter Confederacy is spread out over a dense island

chain off the coast of Northern Iziz. Those who have settled

here come from many different walks of life and often have

little in common. It’s only the looming nations of Iziz that

keeps this nation united. The ocean itself serves as a defense

and a distinct hazard to travel and exploration. It constantly

radiates an anti-magic aura shutting down arcane effects or

twisting them in strange ways.

The Empire of Illusion

Situated along a coast of the continent of Iziz is a nation ruled

by a loose collection of secretive wizards. There’s minimal

imperial oversight at the local level, with petty crime and

corruption rampant, but organized crime and revolutionaries

are quickly eliminated by the feared secret police, the Wolves

of Shadow.

The Wolves of Shadow maintain a network of several hundred

adventurers for much of their dirty work. Each adventurer in

this network receives a magical ring that calls when the

Wolves have a need.

The Empire is ever looking to expand, particularly to sate their

appetite for artifacts and ruins from the times of the Old Gods

and the ascendant dragons.

Scentia

A small island in the Charter Confederacy, consisting mostly

of marshes dotted with rocky plateaus. As essentially the last

stop before leaving Confederacy territory, Scentia functions as

the island version of a border town. It is a land of great

commerce, yet serves as the front line of the Confederacy’s

defense. Reflecting this, there are two settlements on the

island: Farview, the trade hub, and Towertown, a fortress built

on the bones of an ancient settlement.

Salty Lutes

This Bardic Guild makes their home base in White Port, but

their members can be found throughout the three empires.

Nearly each island within the Charter Confederacy has a Salty

Lute in their court, making the guild the largest information

unit in the nation.

There is a growing faction within the Lutes, led by the elf

Luskanne, which is pushing the organization to favor the

Empire of Illusion. They see an alliance with the larger empire

as the only way to ensure their power. Older members don't

trust these ideas, and Grand Master Olvier Trout stifled any

such whispers thus far.

Blue-Eyed Wizards

This loose guild of arcanists make their homes on ships

scattered amongst the Confederacy’s islands. They are

particularly interested in the sea’s ability to dampen magical

abilities and they often seek out artifacts or power sources that

might assist them in their studies. Recently acquired

information points to Scentia as the resting place of one such

artifact, drawing the Wizards’ eyes.

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The Hook

Word has spread via the shipping lanes of the southern islands

of the Confederacy that the Mayor of Farview, a town on

Scentia, has put out an urgent call for adventurers. According

to rumors the other settlement on Scentia, Towertown, has

fallen to an attack by the island’s native Marsh Hoppers.

These refugees have poured into Farview on the north side of

Scentia.

The exact nature of the job the Mayor is offering isn’t clear,

although the likelihood of combat seems high, but the offered

payment is substantial and there’s no small amount of prestige

to be won here: Scentia is viewed as an important stop for

trade, and key to the Confederacy’s defense. Whoever helps

stabilize it will attract many potential employers.

Additional Hooks

* Scattered they may be, but the Blue-Eyed Wizards have

become adept at gathering information and lore in their quest

to master the arcane on the dampening seas. A recently

uncovered piece of such lore has led the Wizards to believe

that a Master’s Tear might have found a resting place on

Scentia. Relics of the Old Gods left behind when they were

killed in the War of Claw and Fire, the exact nature of the

Tears is still elusive, but their acquisition is often connected to

stories of great and newly acquired power up to and including

the ascension of several of the New Gods. Perhaps the

Wizards are paying for confirmation of the Tear’s existence

and location, or maybe a player character wants it for

themselves.

* Although Grand Master Trout has largely succeeded in

keeping the bards of the Salty Lutes out of international

politics he has not been successful in every case. Sometimes

those who agree with Luskanne are a little too vocal to be

silenced with private talks and “friendly advice”, and Trout

has had to take stricter measures. This usually means either

stripping a bard of guild membership or effectively exiling

them from the Confederacy. Sometimes both. Mariana of the

Many Faces was one such Salty Lute, last seen sailing for Iziz

never to return to the Confederacy where she might imperil

the Charter’s existence with her whispers. But a recent report

has landed on Trout’s desk reporting a possible sighting on a

ship to Scentia some months back. It would be extremely bold

of her to return to the Confederacy: if she has, Trout wants to

know why.

* While much of the island remains as savage marshland and

sparsely patrolled roads, the civilized population is actually

quite large, with several hundred living in Towertown and

close to a thousand in Farview. Choices of career on the island

are generally limited to soldier, fisherman, sailor, or trader, but

if one gets the idea to become an adventurer it’s an easy place

to leave with all the ships coming and going. But what

happens to an adventurer when called home to find the very

adventure they were seeking? One or more of the player

characters is from Scentia and hears that their hometown has

either fallen or is being threatened, depending on which

settlement they came from. Maybe it has been years, or maybe

they just left home recently, but either way it’s time to take

their experience back to the old homestead.

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