X - Xvarts, X-Men, Xenophobic, Xorn Claw

Xvarts are one of those oft forgotten creatures that were brought to us by our brothers across the pond. From what I was able to discover they first appeared in White Dwarf #9 but were taken onto the big scene with their inclusion into the too often maligned Fiend Folio. I know that some of the creatures in that book were off but they were taken from reader submissions to an early RPG publication from a culture that though very close to our is different enough to be different. This is the second in a series of three adventures. I picked up all three on eBay back when the last one was released. Reading over it they were very well done and interesting enough. Today they could probably be marketed better, done via print on demand and be wildly popular. If you get a chance to pick these up I think you will not be disappointed. Thank you for giving us this adventure Ben Burns.

Movie:

X-Men came out over 10 years ago. I find that almost impossible to believe. This movie sports what was an even more all star cast back then and was released as one of those super hyped summer fares. It had a better than average chance of being The Hulk #1 before the Hulk was but luckily it had Bryan Singer at the helm. Coming from the man that gave us Keyser Soze how could it fail. This really is no news for anyone running  a super hero based game but I needed an "X" so I used it. It is too bad that The Specials or better yet The Watchmen did not start with X. The former for being one most people may not have seen and the latter for being a better movie.

Plot:

Xenophobic messages have been found magically written on non human victims over the course of the last few weeks. The victims have all been found in the early morning hours naked and with derisive messages about their particular race. They do not recall how they arrived where they were or how the messages have gotten there. The subject material can be left up to the DM and can be either mild to horrific as appropriate for the game or audience though the messages seem to be escalating in severity. The population of the town should have a large enough demi-human population where this is getting to be an issue and it is having an effect on cross race relations. The question is what group amongst the human population profits from this as it would seem that there is nothing for them to gain since all this can do is make things better for the other races....

Magic:

Xorn's Claws are exactly what the name suggests. These will be mummified claws from a Xorn that was slain on the Prime Material plane. The claw will serve both as a magical weapon and a magic item of usefulness to those who explore caves and caverns. The claw will be treated as a mace as far as attach speed and weapon damage. It will most often have a dweomer that will allow it to affect creature hit by only magic weapons of any level though it has no bonuses to hit or damage.  The other benefits are that four times per day the owner can have the claw cast a Dig spell as it the owner were a 12th level caster. The claw can also cast a Passwall and Move Earth spell once per day again as if cast by a 12th level caster. If the claw ever comes within 900' of a living Xorn it will immediately draw the attention and ire of the the living Xorn.