It's been another bizzaro month of 2020 but I return with another possible story to follow up on! At the moment it's between Apotheosis Seized from the TWWC universe, Pawn from the Material Differences universe, and this one from a totally new universe straight from my exhaustion riddled brain! Let me know which you like most! As always I hope you enjoy my latest!
Debtless!
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“It is known then that the universe is made up of three categories under which all else falls. Quintessence, which conjoins light and dark. For even luminous and ink are both forms of Quintessence greatly deviant though they may be. It is across Quintessence we travel on, the currents of which are felt at all times. Then there is of course Terrestrial which brings us the mantles, earth, minerals, and biomes which bring us life, wealth, and creation. Precious as the terrestrial is, finite and limited we then come on the third force. Debt. Debt binds the other two together, achieving order out of chaos to form a system neither real or unreal, yet ideal. For it is a category of thought and ideas pure and putrid as determined by the consciousness observing and understanding it. But for existence to prevail Debt must be upheld and maintained. It is a force more powerful than any other as it is unbound by friction or limit and can even grow in compound form. This then is the nature of the universe and its three categories which must all be observed and understood.” - Quilmar the first Observer, founder of the Law, creator of the Lexicon, Architect of Order, Surveyor of the Currenseas, and the first Supreme Creditor.
“Listen, I’ll take the air and the dirt. But you can fucking keep the debt bud.” - Dron the first debtless.
Nick carefully reread his letter for perhaps the fifth time, pencil twirling between his fingers as he tried to think if he wanted to change anything, or remove anything. “Human, if you’re not ready to send the letter, decide swiftly. The courier ship leaves shortly.” Nick glanced up at the six armed Ruvea dangling from the ceiling and finally folded his letter to stuff it in an envelope.
“I’m ready.” He insisted, more to himself than to the lanky postmaster.
“Wax color?” The Ruvea asked next as he held out several steaming bowls with multiple colors.
“Cheapest.” Nick replied and waited for the postmaster to pour out a small dollop of grey wax before he carefully pressed his signet to the wax to seal it. Once that was done he let out a heavy sigh and relaxed his shoulders feeling a weight lifting off of him.
“Debt code?” The Ruvea asked next as it picked up the letter, gently wafting it over an ice tube to help the wax cool faster.
“None.” Nick’s comment made the Ruvea pause and inspect him a bit more carefully. Though he wasn’t troubled by the mag carbine connected to his rig. Being armed wasn’t unusual. But he doubted the Ruvea knew much of the intricacies of the artwork spread across his pressure suit telling of his life. No, the postmaster’s eyes were looking for much more obvious signs of something else. Marks of piracy. Nick answered early to save him time. “Just a Debtless. How many spools?” He asked next, pulling a pouch off the belt of his rig.
“One silver spool, or a quarter gold.” The Ruvea held out a delicate long fingered hand as Nick tugged a gossamer silver spool free of his pouch to hand off. “Favorable journeys to you Debtless.” The Ruvea nodded and then began to move back into the post office, his tails pulling him from rung to rung along the ceiling. With that done Nick turned to head out of the post office and into the main avenue of the city. Luminet City was one of the Minted cities, and by far the largest city Nick had ever been to. It was also the gateway to the Casian Traverse, which is probably the only reason it was Minted in the first place. Plenty of trade came through here, but it was far from stable. Financially that is. The Terrestrial chunk it was built on was stable even if a bit smaller than most Mint Cities had.
The street was full of all manner of species, from massive purple fleshed Potamgerly waddling around head and shoulders above everyone else, to cyan, magenta, or yellow furred Coretchkin scurrying around the edges of the traffic. Plus every size and shape in between it seemed. Even with the street cars rumbling along the central rails the mass of bodies would just open or close around their passing. He even saw a land roller up the street before it turned off towards the Credit Governor’s Palace.
The palace towered over everything else in the city, and rightfully so considering it housed both the mint in the lower levels, and the sector’s treasury. Gleaming metal flying buttresses extended off its tiered structure, stretching out at the top for a host of individual towers, and observatories. In the light of the local star a rainbow of color was cast by its vibrant stained glass windows. Nick bet most of those came from human master glassworkers. He couldn’t be sure if it was his people specifically but the Vulkoa were known for glass making so he wouldn’t be surprised.
What did surprise him however was how few ships were currently docked with it. Usually Governor’s palaces would be teeming with ships tending to all manner of daily routine. From depositing spools to be worked in the mints, or distributing debt markers to be updated along the semaphore lines. Yet, for now he only spotted a cluster to one side. Ship types he wasn’t familiar with either which was unusual for him. They sported gold and blue paint with pearl trim. He’d have to ask his brother if he knew about them.
His brother! Nick grinned as he shook himself from his contemplative position before the post office and quickly joined the heavy foot traffic along the street as he made for the hangar quarter. The sound of the city enveloped him swiftly enough as he walked. The rumble of the street cars, the distant clang of factory forges, the hiss of steam vents, all competing with the general cacophony of speech going on all around him. The city was too big for the market stalls and bazaars that he was used to but that didn’t mean people were much quieter calling out advertisements to try and lure customers into stores.
Thankfully the post office wasn’t too far from the hangar quarter, and soon the foot traffic began to thin out. The sky grew a bit darker on this side of the rock though, now that he was downwind of the factory stacks and the smoke they let off. Industrial skiffs were ever present in the sky, their forms casting countless shadows across the city below as they zipped through the sky. He missed the flocks of manu-o-Ku flying through the sky instead of skiffs. But he doubted many birds would do well in a city like this.
Soon enough he was at the central hub of the hangar quarter as dozens of landing strips, public, and private hangars stretched out around him. Massive elevators carrying ships up or down as they needed, while still more rumbling escalators were spread out to get people up, or down into the subterrestrial hangars. Nick had to stop at one of the clackboards as he looked for the hangar code his brother had given him. While he watched various numbers and names would change with the telltale clacking of the mechanical signs. Truthfully he was surprised the ship even fit in a hangar, and didn’t need a dock at the edge of the rock. Carriers were massive ships after all. He was curious to see how his brother had made this work.
Looking around a moment he saw a team of Mutheki organizing crates to haul onto a skiff and waved at the bug eyed laborers. “Hey! I’m looking for hangar H 22. Any help?”
The nearest Mutheki looked his way, or… at least angled his head so one of his eyes was facing Nick. The Mutheki always reminded Nick of mothmen. Just without the wings. Especially since they had those bug eyes, little tufts of fur along their torso, and long thin feet which never looked like they could support the rest of their body. But the bug people were always friendly so he never asked if they chased fires around. Even if he wondered… “H is that line.” The Mutheki gestures up pretty much straight the way Nick was going. “The clackboards are always updated so just find the escalator for 22.”
“Thanks. Is 22 a big one?” Nick asked next, still curious about the carrier.
“Subterrestrial hangars are adjustable. It’s out near the edge so… maybe.” The Mutheki gave a shrug.
“Thanks again.” Nick nodded and started to follow the line out just like he’d been told. While he was walking he saw a flight of Quarwi barges being lifted up from a hangar elevator as they all began to lift off and make for the nearest buoy marker as they appeared to be heading straight for the Casian Vortex to take them into the Currensea. It was an odd sight for him since he knew they typically avoided such reckless speed. They were known to be much more careful and precise as a people. Were they running from something?
He pushed the thought from his mind however as he saw the clackboard ahead marking H-22. His brother was close! Grinning wide he hopped on the escalator and started walking down even as it rumbled and carried him into the depths of the hangar. He could see various belts and conveyors hanging from the ceiling as they carried crates, and other cargo between the divided hangar sections. It did marvel him a bit at times just how much activity had to be going on in a city of this size at all times.
As he neared the bottom of the escalator he could see a security checkpoint. This must mark the beginning of armed hangar bays then. From what it looked like the guards were mostly Joss, a typical choice considering their stocky powerful builds and typically aggressive nature. Of course, how useful they were varied wildly since they might be as lazy as they were aggressive. Usually depended on the local tribe. Nick also didn’t like dealing with them simply because their oblong sideways pupils honestly creeped him out. Thankfully this group just kept chatting, or sharpening their horns while he passed so he didn’t have to deal with them. They were loaded for trouble though if it came to it. Minted plate, and mag carbines made it clear these city guards were well equipped if nothing else.
Nick had been so focused on the Joss that he nearly walked right past the open hangar he was looking for. It was also… smaller than he figured it would be so that didn’t help. Did he have the right place? H-22. He confirmed on the wall. There was a single ship inside at the far end, near the closed exterior hangar bay door. It wasn’t small… but it wasn’t a carrier. Not even close. Was this the right place? Nick kept looking the ship over as he walked closer.
Considering the dull orange lavaplate construction, and overall design it looked like a Vulkoa ship, but not one he’d seen in the fleet. Lavaplate was finicky even if incredibly durable. Usually reserved for special ships and was mostly phased out of standardized fleet designs. It had forward swept wings set just before the central bridge, twin stabilizer fins extending out from a boxy engine bay, and... he wasn’t sure about the flat part just under and ahead of the bridge between the forward wings. Torpedo bay? Something about it tickled the back of his brain… one of those old paintings in the history books...
“Nick!” His eyes flicked from the orange and brass ship to a figure in a large pressure suit walking down the ramp. His concerns with the ship were immediately replaced as he grinned wide and opened his arms.
“Nate!” As he approached Nate opened the silver faceplate of his suit and they embraced, hugging each other tight for a moment. “Damn good to see you!”
“You too! Look at the paint!” Nate tapped a hand at Nick’s shoulder and the new intricate designs painted on. “The war hero!”
“Psh.” Nick immediately shook his head and waved it off. “They just had some left over from the real heroes and slapped some around. Besides you’re not looking too shabby either!” Nick leaned back as he looked over the paint on Nick’s suit as he pointed to a few designs. “Engineer first class, cartographer first class, academy graduate! Gotta be proud of all that!”
“Please, the last thing I need is you claiming any of this is difficult compared to what you were doing. My life wasn’t in danger at the academy… Alcohol poisoning maybe.” He shrugged and they both laughed a moment, neither wanting to take credit for their paint even if they’d earned it. “Was it bad at the end? I read your letters and heard the wireless.”
“It… wasn’t pretty.” Nick’s happy attitude faded a bit as Nate asked. “But, it was all worth it in the end right? Hazard pay!” He tried to shift the topic back. “Debtless! And we have a ship! Though… I’m thinking this is… an escort of some kind? To take us to the carrier?”
“What? No. This is it.” Nate took a step back and looked at the ship behind them.
“You said you bought us a carrier. This isn’t a carrier.” Nick waved at it.
“Yes, it is.” Nate insisted. “Did you think I meant a fleet carrier? How much money did you think I made? Or you? Do you have any idea how many decades of hazard pay it would take for us to buy a fleet carrier and pay off our debt in the meantime? It’s an escort carrier! Don’t you recognize it?”
Now Nick really tried to think as he looked up at the ship. What was it? Alright… around… 500 feet long… central bridge but not a true flight tower… sealed midsection so it could land in water… Slowly he shook his head trying to think. “I…” It was so close to something… “I can’t place it… It’s like… I almost know it. The wings look like the old storm crow design… but the ship is much bigger… Also the engines look heavily modified. I just… I don’t know.”
“Well you’re on the right track. It is based on the storm crow hull.” Nate started, but Nick cut in.
“Hull? As in this is based on an actual storm crow?! Nate! Storm Crows are like… over a hundred years old!” Nick gasped out.
“Meaning it’s a well tested design. But more specifically this was custom built. I mean you obviously noted the lava plating. It’s… hard to miss… Because this is. The Lava Crow!” Nate held up his arms as if to show off something incredible but Nick was just staring at him. “Nick. Nick it’s the Lava Crow. The Lava Crow… As in… The Lava Expedition!”
That did make Nick blink and look back up at it. “You mean the Lost Expedition? The one grandad disappeared trying to find? Where the fuck did you even find this? How is this not huge news?”
Nate shrugged a moment. “Well, see, I can’t prove it’s like… the exact same one from the lost fleet. Obviously there’s no paperwork. I found this with that Quarwi salvage fleet on my last tour. They wanted to scrap it for the lava plate since they were concerned about resale value what with all the bloodstains-”
“Bloodstains?” Nick tried to cut in but Nate ignored him.
“So I actually got a very good deal buying it out from under them. Like I was saying it was custom built for the expedition and was heavily modified since then. Even I don’t know what some of it does. There’s a whole… workshop aft of the hangar bay. This thing is a real steal. Worth way more than what I actually paid for it. You should be thanking me for my bargain hunting skills. No one will have any idea what they’re up against when they see this thing.” Nate crossed his arms and gave a confident nod at his assessment.
“How many light craft can it hold?” Nick asked, wondering if his brother was right.
“Uh… four.” Nate confessed.
“It’s not a carrier!” Nick immediately growled once more. “Four is nothing!”
“It is a carrier! It carries other craft! Hence a carrier! What were you honestly expecting? Do you have any idea how many crew it takes to staff a fleet carrier like you imagined?” Nate growled back.
“Around two thousand.” Nick replied without missing a beat.
“Uh… Well… yeah. But that’s my point! We can’t afford a crew of that size! We can’t afford a crew at all! This!” He waved a hand at the vessel. “Is perfect for Debtless! It can run, it can hide, it can carry our own personal craft, and it only needs a tiny crew! The fact they modified it for the expedition is also perfect! Better fuel efficiency, lots of redundant systems for longevity, and minimal crew requirements!”
“I can’t believe you took all my money to pay for half of a piece of junk haunted ship that’s over a century old.” Nick slowly shook his head as he looked up at it.
“First of all, it’s not haunted. The bloodstains were totally mundane.” Nate began to count off on his fingers. “Second of all since it was outfitted for the expedition that means it’s 98 years old. Third, you heard all of grandpa’s stories about the expedition and those ships! It’s worth it! Fourth, I uh…” Nate stopped counting off on his fingers and coughed. “Your money is only a third of what I had to work with.”
Nick frowned at that. “A third? Did you make literally double what I did? I know the military doesn’t pay the best but… with all my hazard pay I figured I’d do better than that…”
“Ah, no I didn’t. I made about what you made. But there’s a third investor.” Nick arched a brow as he got a sinking feeling in his gut. “A… racing champion-”
“No.” Nick immediately cut his brother off. “Nooo. No, no no. Nooooope. Neeewp! You better be fucking joking right now!”
“Nick!” A feminine voice rang out from behind him and he froze up. Then he heard the sound of boots running fast across the deck and turned at the last moment to see a form jumping off the ground and rushing right for him. He had just a moment to react as instinct cut in and he braced himself, arms out to grab the assailant. “NICK!”
He gasped as his sister impacted into him hard, nearly knocking him over as she squeezed him tight, legs wrapped around his ribs as if trying to crush the air out of him. Yet, his reinforced rig and training enabled him to quickly turn and throw her off of him. However, she was also used to this and rolled as she hit the ground, jumping back up to her feet, arms raised. “Nora…” He growled out.
“Nova!” She corrected. “Nova Velocity Vanders!” Then she stuck her fingers up. “Pew pew pew pew! Normally I have my confetti guns-”
“Your what?” Nick blinked.
“But I need to get more confetti. So fucking great to see you! I’ve missed the hell out of you! Both of you! I was ecstatic to hear Nate’s plan! Isn’t this fucking awesome? The Lava Crow! A legendary ship for a legendary racer ace! The perfect start to the next chapter of my adventure! Oooouurrr adventure! To find grandpa! Woo!” Nick was glaring at Nate now.
“She won the circuit. Made a lot of money… More in fact than I actually got from her.” Nate pointedly mentioned.
“Listen I had to throw that fan appreciation party! It was for the fans! There’s rules! And pay back my crew’s debts. I told them I would! And Nova Vander is true to her word!” She announced and struck a pose as she set her hands on her hips. This was when Nick looked her over once more and pointed.
“Why the fuck do you have a sword?” He demanded to know.
“This is my dueling cutlass Cainani. For dueling. I am a duelist. On top of being an ace racer that is.” She announced and gave her other hip a pat to point out her revolver. “This is my dueling revolver Wahinani. Also I normally keep six magma pistols on my chest. They also have names but I like to keep them secret until I pull them out.” With that she drew both her weapons and an orange field flashed to life around her pressure suit.
“Seriously? You’ve got a shield?” Nick asked.
“It’s standard in racer rigs. More for crashes than anything else. But that’s why I also had to learn to duel. Shitbags didn’t take kindly to your little sister being this fucking awesome!” Nora spun her revolver around on a finger and took a few steps forward as she demonstrated her skill with the sword. Nick honestly wasn’t sure if her form was any good. The military didn’t actually sword fight anymore. Which was why he had his mag carbine.
“Also did you seriously name your sword and gun after the demigods of beauty and handsomeness?” If anyone had the nerve to commit such sacrilege he figured it would of course be Nora.
“Fuck yeah I did! The only names fitting for a legend like me!” She grinned wide as Nick just glared at Nate.
“I can’t believe you’ve done this to me.” He let out an angry growl.
“What? Did you not tell him?” Nora looked to Nate as she holstered her sword and pistol. “You specifically told him he was on board with your plan!”
“Yes… Because he was. He just… didn’t know the part of my plan that involved bringing you in on it as well.” Nate confessed before focusing on Nick. “Nick, look, we're family. I know it’s a dick move to get you here without telling you ahead of time. But, then you might not have come! And we needed her money! This is an entire family effort! Any one of us couldn’t afford this on our own. Are you really still that mad at her?”
“He’s mad at me still? Nick! I’m sorry! If you tell me why you’re mad I’ll apologize much more specifically!” Nora insisted.
Nick looked between the two of them and then just let out a heavy sigh as he reached up to rub his face for a little. “How much do we have left?”
“Spools?” Nate asked. “Nothing. Or… Nor-Nova how much is left after you bought food?”
“Twenty gold spools.” She pulled her spool pouch from her rig to toss to Nate.
“We have twenty gold spools.” Nate answered.
“How the fuck can we start our lives as debtless if we’ve only got twenty fucking spools?” Nick asked.
“Because I got us a job already.” Nate revealed. “Real simple. Painfully simple. No combat or anything even. We have to take a single passenger from here to Radius in the Traverse. A Lavvine at that. We’ve got the fuel, and can grab more food on the way if we have to. For a full ten thousand spools.”
“One Lavvine? Here to Radius? What’s the catch?” Nick asked.
“Apparently she’s a pain in the butt or something? I dunno. The other Debtless didn’t want her. Also she said she expects discretion. Afterall why pay a crew of Debtless ten thousand instead of just hiring a shuttle right? But we can do discrete. Right?” Nate looked around.
“Yes we can! Super discrete!” Nora gave a big thumbs up.
“Right.” Nate nodded, despite Nora’s answer being the opposite of her own words. “Easy. Plus it’ll give me time to keep working on the Lava Crow. Ah!” Nate raised a hand. “Not because it isn’t ready. Just so I can keep improving upon it.”
“Hmph…” Nick crossed his arms. “Did you even get me a proper fighter? Or are you expecting me to fly a century old dirigible skiff? Oh, or is this thing designed for parasite planes only?”
“I’ve got you a Raptor. Just like you’re used to.” Nate replied. “I have my Armadillo and Nova has-”
“The Comet! Nothing else like it in the sky as it tears through… the sky! No wait… Nothing else lights up the sky like the Comet tearing by! Yeah.” She nodded confidently now.
“A Raptor just like I’m used to? You do know those went out of service halfway through the war right? We’re flying P-19s now.” Nick just let out a sigh and reached into his helmet to run a hand through his hair a moment. “Fine… But I’m Captain.”
“What? I’m the one with the name recognition! Like anyone else could be the face of this crew! I’m the Captain!” Nora growled out as she and Nick glared at each other.
“Neither of you is Captain. Neither of you would accept it. We’re a family. We do this democratically. Three siblings. Three votes. And before either of you says we need a captain just like a pirate ship just for combat we’re not going to be pirates we’re Debtless we go with whoever knows the situation best. Deal?” Nick and Nora now both focused their gaze on Nate instead who kept a steady gaze right back.
“Well… we can do some piracy if we really need to right?” Nora asked, as it was time for Nate and Nick to now give her a surprised look.
“What? No. No piracy.” Nick insisted.
“But what about stealing from bad people? Like other pirates? That’s totally part of what Debtless can do. Right?” Nora checked.
“You mean be… pirate hunters?” Nate asked.
“Yeah…” She rubbed her chin. “Yeah that’s it… The only thing cooler than being a regular pirate. Hunting other pirates… Yeah that could work.” She nodded slowly as if having decided that suited whatever wild story was going on in her head. Which prompted Nick to give Nate another glare.
“Family.” Nate kept using the word like a shield. “And Nick I know you never saw her race in the big leagues but… she is a really good pilot. She did win the circuit.”
“First independent to win the circuit since they established the big five teams.” Nora stood up tall and grinned wide at them.
“We have a chance to find grandpa. And still be Debtless just like mom and dad always wanted.” Nate was still pressing the hard sell.
“Is my kit bag onboard?” Nick asked.
“Yes, plus it’s a nice big room like we all get. I made sure to modify them a little so none of our rooms is bigger than any other. Nova already checked and couldn’t find anything to complain about.” Nora shrugged as if to admit it. “Better than you ever got in the military I’m sure.” Nate smiled.
“Fuck it. Fine. I’m still in.” Nick nodded.
“Wooo! I am sorry again! For whatever you’re mad at me about.” Nova added, but her wide grin didn’t really help things. “But we’re ready to adventure!”
“I hope you’re ready to complete your contract you mean.” Nora jumped a little, as did Nick and he spun to face the sudden appearance of a new figure. The Lavvine, a race of furred humanoids that had long ears, and longer tails. They were also widely regarded by other species as being a bunch of smartasses.
This one made for an interesting figure as she seemed to be in a pressure suit as well, except she had a white coat on over it, with a high collar that covered the lower part of her face, and had thick goggles on over her eyes. Considering their long ears the Lavvine usually preferred air masks instead of full helmets. This one’s ears looked to be golden brown on the backs, though the inside tufts were white. Which were both different from her bright blue hair. Though Nick was never sure why some species with fur also had… hair? Her tail was long and white, with light blue… speckles? Or sort of… spots? Either way she had it wrapped around her leg, and kept close.
“You’re the passenger I assume?” Nick ventured. He looked past her and saw a team of Joss carrying a set of massive trunks behind them. The one Lavvine had a baggage train bigger than some regiments! “I’m Nick, this is Nate, and that’s Nora.”
“Nova! Nooovaaa!” Nora growled out. “Nova Velocity Vanders! At your service! Perhaps you’ve heard of me?” She struck another pose, hands on her hips.
“I haven’t. No.” Nova seemed to deflate a little as the Lavvine said that. “Now, I’m not well versed on human naming conventions. Mostly because you humans have too many culture groups. Are you all related in some fashion?”
“Siblings.” Nate waved at the others.
“So, presuming the family name is secondary that means you are all Nick, Nate, and Nora-”
“Nova! Nova!”
“Nova Vanders… Is keeping the same initials customary in the culture?” The Lavvine smoothly adjusted after Nora’s interruption and looked around at them for a moment.
“No.” Nick shook his head.
“And… who named you? Is it by paternal or maternal order in your culture?” She asked next.
“It’s really whoever. But since you’re curious our father is Norm Vanders.” Nick answered.
“Norm, Nick, Nate, and Nova Vanders… Does it make it easier to get your initials marked on everything?” The Lavvine looked between them.
“Yeah. Now about your stuff?” Nick waved at all the trunks. “Is all this necessary?”
“Yes, take it on board. Drop it off inside as close to the entry as possible. Do not tarry.” The Lavvine ordered the Joss laborers who grumbled but began to haul the chests up the ramp into the ship.
“Uh, we should probably get those stored properly.” Nate began but the Lavvine held up a hand.
“I need a moment to speak with you all privately.” Nick gave a worried glance over at his sibling who all looked around at each other a moment in concern. “Now then, I believe I spoke with Nate about this?” She asked and Nate nodded to confirm. “I must inform you that your negotiating skills need work. You failed to determine just why I was offering such an exorbitant amount of spools for a simple transport job. You see, I am being hunted by a notoriously wealthy and powerful maniac who wants me dead.”
“Yes!” Nova pumped a fist in the air. “Legendary adventure! Called it!”
Nick however was just glaring at Nate. “Shit. That’s why no one else wanted the contract?” He asked. “I hate negotiating. I’m so bad at it.”
“How?” Nick asked. “You’ve been on salvage fleets for years!”
“Yeah, as a salvager, not a barter guy!” Nate defensively huffed.
“You told me you got a great deal on the ship!” Nick waved at the Lava Crow behind them.
“Because they thought it was haunted!” Nate reminded him.
“You told me it wasn’t!” Nick growled.
“Interesting. I haven’t witnessed human specters before. That might be interesting.” The Lavvine mused.
“Okay…” Nick sighed. “Why does this maniac want you dead?”
“He thinks I’ll ruin his grand prophecy. Which I know nothing about. Just that he wants me killed. So I was forced to liquidate nearly all my assets to pay off my debt so I can’t be tracked by a debt code, and in fact become Debtless like all of you. I’m unsure how long we have, but I think he might be nearing the city so I would suggest we move quickly.” The Lavvine insisted which triggered Nick’s memory.
“This maniac… do they use gold and blue paint with pearl trim?” He thought back to the ships on the Credit Governor’s palace.
“Yes. Have you seen them?” The moment she asked that they heard a siren go off for a moment from the city’s public announcement speakers. “Ah. He has already begun his hostile takeover of the Governor’s position then. He will shortly announce an extremely large bounty on my head, and a lesser bounty on the heads of anyone who protects me. I suggest you get the hangar doors open and we leave immediately.”
“Why? Why are we taking this deal?” Nick immediately asked. “Why get involved?”
“I have done nothing wrong. Committed no crime. Yet, still he wants me dead.” The Lavvine explained. “Oh, also, his prophecy has something to do with the end of existence. If you’re comfortable with that then by all means turn me over. You’ll be quite rich for however long existence lasts. If he doesn’t betray you.”
“Attention all citizens of Luminet city!” A scratchy voice echoed out around the hangar over the speakers now. “A hostile takeover of the Governor’s position has been completed! All city employees now have a new Creditor! Failure to comply with new protocols will be met with triple debt penalties!”
“Nick this guy sounds like a total tool.” Nora said.
“All Debtless are to immediately renounce their ways and proceed to the nearest credit station to initiate a new line of credit with the Governor’s palace immediately or face severe consequences.” The voice continued.
“Yeah, fuck this. I’m going to spin up the engines.” Nate immediately turned and began to run up the ramp into the ship.
“What’s your name?” Nick asked the Lavvine.
“Tessa Wilde.” She extended a hand out to him.
“We’ll get you to Radius.” Nick gave her hand a firm shake as Nora grinned wide and clapped her hands. Nick looked around a moment examining the hangar doors at the far side while the voice on the speakers kept rattling on about adjusted city overtime rates and calling up all guards and militia forces immediately. There was no way they’d get permission from the Hangar Master to open up. “That’s got to be the motor for the door. We need to get it going. But…” He looked up along the ceiling. “Those have to be the counter weights… we need to disable the locks.”
“I can manage the motor.” Tessa offered.
“I got that lock!” Nora was already running off to one side of the hangar. Nick just turned and began to run towards a ladder heading up to the lock he was not in charge of. It was near the main door leading out into the hangar’s central hallway and he could see the Joss guards from earlier now all looking up at the speakers, obviously confused.
“Furthermore-” The voice kept on. “I seek to obtain a particular Lavvine of interest to me by the name of Tessa Wilde. I am setting a bounty on her. Alive only. For one hundred thousand gold spools.” Nick grabbed hold of the ladder leading up to the counter weight and began to dash up it as fast as he could manage. “Any individuals found protecting her will receive a bounty of twenty five thousand gold spools brought in dead or alive.”
“This guy isn’t fucking around…” Nick muttered as he reached the weight. He could see where the mechanical lock was engaged and quickly smashed open the emergency release lever as the weight began to drop down. Grabbing the sides of the ladder he then slid down it back to the hangar floor. While he was doing this he heard the grinding of the motor begin and the hangar doors on the far side started to slowly open. This caught the attention three Joss however who started to peel off from the rest of the group and head his way.
“Hey! Human! Your hangar has no debt code. Are you Debtless? Did you have a Lavvine head in here earlier?” One asked as they began to fan out a little.
“Nope! Got us mistaken! You’re thinking of the hangar behind you!” He called out and kept facing them, even as he was backing up towards the ship.
“Any individuals killed in the process of acquiring this Lavvine will have their wrongful death fees paid off in full and will not count towards the bounty offered. To ensure a smooth transition of power between Governor credit lines all guards killed during the takeover shall have their debts purged, and family shall have an additional five hundred gold spool bereavement payout.” The voice kept going. Nick heard some other commotion behind him at the ship even as the engines began to spin up and fill the hangar bay with a steadily growing rumble.
“That’s a Lavvine over there!” One of the guards insisted. They hadn’t grabbed their guns yet, but their hands were close… Nick started to slowly reach for his carbine, but didn’t want to grab it just yet.
“Hey man, I’m Debtless there’s no wrongful death fee. It’s just straight up murder if you do anything.” This did make the guards pause. Would that be enough?
“If he’s willing to pay off the rest… I think he’ll ignored a light bit of murder…” One offered. Nick looked between the three, and prepared to grab his gun.
“Hey assholes!” Nick and the three Joss guards stopped and looked over at Nora standing to their side. Her face shield was down, hiding her face but he could picture her grin. “Do any of you know who I am?”
“No?” The guards glanced at each other in confusion.
“Well… If you knew who I was you’d know what I’d do if you try anything stupid!” She growled.
“Maybe… But we don’t know who you are.” The Joss replied with a shrug.
“Well, I tried.” In a flash Nora drew her revolver and fired twice. Nick was already yanking his carbine from his rig as he saw one of the Joss’ horns go flying off his head while a crimson bubble of blood erupted from the top of his head. The other guards were turning to Nora as they drew their weapons but Nick was already firing a burst into the one on the far right. The first bullet struck him in the chest, which was absorbed by the armor yet started to knock him back. The second bullet caught him in the collar bone, and the third hit right in the throat above his armor.
Now the middle guard was stuck between the two and hesitated for just a moment, which was all Nora needed as she lunged forward, driving her sword straight through his chest as if the armor was made of paper. Nick could see the surprised look on the Joss’ face for a moment before Nora reared back and kicked him in the chest so she could yank her sword free as his body tumbled to the floor. Now the other Joss were crying out and heading their way however and Nick turned to sprint for the ship. “RUN!”
Focused on the ship now he sprinted for the ramp even as he saw the Joss laborers from before clustered around it. They likely were considering a change of career as Tessa approached. But to Nick’s surprise she reached out her hand and a fan of lightning arced out from it at the laborers. With that they scattered and ran, providing a clear path up the ramp for Tessa to run up. From behind him the Joss began to fire his way and Nick did his best to shoot over his shoulder to try and keep them from aiming too carefully.
Even as he ran towards the ramp he heard the crackling of bullets bouncing off a shield. “MOVE YOUR ASS NICK!” He felt a hand press on his back as he realized Nora was running behind him to use her shield to protect them both.
“I’M RUNNING!” He yelled back at her as they quickly rushed up the boarding ramp while bullets pinged off the hull around them. His first introduction into the actual interior of the ship was a short hallway opening into a hab area of some kind. But before he could really inspect it his foot struck hard against a trunk left behind he hadn’t spotted and he fell face forward over it hard, tumbling to the deck in a heap.
“NATE! GO!” He heard Nora scream and the deck below them started to rumble as the ship started to move. More bullets were hitting the side as he tried to roll over and pull himself up to his feet. A set of hands took hold of his arm to help pull him up as he stood face to face with Tessa for a moment.
“I know you had little choice but I do appreciate your taking the contract.” She mentioned.
“That’s just how I am baby! Cause I’m fucking legendary!” Nora howled out with a laugh. “Now Nick, help my crank up the ramp.”
“This thing has a fucking crank ramp?!” Nick gasped out, and stepped over the trunk on the ground to help her crank the ramp up into place as he watched the hangar bay move past then the underside of the city came into view, with the air rushing past as they got the ramp up and the door sealed.
“Welcome to the life of the Debtless Nick!” Nora laughed and slapped his shoulder. “It’s going to be a ton of fun!” One thing Nick was certain about in a now very uncertain world, is that it wasn’t going to be fun.

Staring off into the distance and takes in the cool night sky from his hotel room balcony, Thaddeus Hemmingway, listens to his television playing in the background, as the Carnage Night 3 post show recaps the show highlights, and the breaking news that James Scott has won the Lifeline Classic and is the new no. 1 contender for Thad’s World Heavyweight Championship. Thad walks back into his room, takes off his suit jacket, pulls out a bottle of champagne and a single glass for himself to drink.
So it looks like you and I are going to do this little dance one more time. James Scott. My old buddy. Firstly, please allow me to congratulate you on winning the Lifeline Classic tournament. Not an easy task by any measure and you were up against some of FBE’s finest. Desmond Caid. Inferno. My good friend Capital STEEZ. Each of them was a former World Champion in their own right and you were the heavy underdog heading into the tournament. Despite all the odds stacked against you, it was Mr. One By One who came out on top. All I can say to that is bravo and kudos to you, sir.
Thad pours himself a glass of champagne and toasts it to the camera.
Now that the formalities are out of the way, I think it is time we have a brief recap of our shared history James, shall we? If my memory is correct, it was way back in August at BTE II that you and I had our first… shall we say “infamous” encounter. Myself, the Intercontinental Champion, and you, the former Junior Heavyweight Champion utilizing option C and cashing in your title for a shot at mine. At the time, I was the only other man to have walked that route and I was admittedly happy to see another walk the same trail I blazed. But as I told you then, this is my time, and I’m nowhere close to being ready to give it all up. Our match ended on, let's say less than ideal terms. You had to head to the back with an injury and I bravely threw out an open challenge to the world, faced off against another challenger and became the first men EVER to win two matches at BTE in the same night.
After that night, we all watched as you deteriorated mentally. You called yourself my “parasitic nemesis”. You became obsessed with little old me. You swore every hardship on God’s earth on Thaddeus Hemmingway and were determined to take me down and take away my title, the one thing in this world I loved, as a means of retribution. For your sake, and for Jennifer’s sake, I’m glad you recovered and managed to move past all of that. Our rematch came and went, and like so many of my opponents beforehand, it ended with you laying flat on the mat staring up at that lights and with me holding gold high above my head. After that night, I recall recommending you form a tag team and try you luck in that division. I always saw talent in you James, even if you failed to… but I’ll be completely honest, I never thought I would see you in the main event scene with me again any time soon.
Our last meeting came approximately 3 months ago and in that time frame, I have risen to highs unseen in FBE. I ran a nearly 7 month undefeated streak in singles competition. I rose to my rightful place at the top of the card in FBE and thanks to a “presidential decree”, I became the first man ever in FBE to hold the World Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships simultaneously.
Thad reaches towards his front table and lifts his World Heavyweight Title Belt onto his shoulder
You’ve had some big matches and stacked up quite a few wins for yourself in the few months since our last encounter. Don’t let anyone take that away from you. But what have you really achieved since then. No titles to show for it. Infact, this is your first taste at single’s gold since you stood across me in the ring. In a way, it’s almost kind of poetic. Ever since you made the jump to the heavyweight division of FBE, every time you have tried to get to that next level, to win yourself a championship and prove that you belong here, it's always been Thaddeus Hemmingway standing in your way. Ever since BTE, you haven’t been able to live with your own failure, and where did that bring you? Back to me.
Thad pours himself another glass of champagne and takes a sip
There is an old saying that people like to throw around that “history is destined to repeat itself.” By that logic, seeing as I have beaten you twice in the past in title matches, it would mean that I’m destined to beat you a third time and retain my World Heavyweight Championship, however, that it a misquote, and I am not ignorant enough to believe I am stepping in the ring with the same James Scott. The exact quote is “those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it”, and by the looks of your recent record, you are an excellent student of history. In just 3 months, you went from an afterthought, a blimp on the radar, to one of the hottest rising stars in the business, and now have a shot at the FBE World Champion. Maybe after getting the shit kicked out of you by me twice taught you how to be resilient and how to get up and keep fighting no matter the odds. I’ve shocked the wrestling world more than once in my career and you yourself just made history tonight. I bet there are a lot of gamblers in Vegas right now pissed they bet against James Scott.
You are a different competitor now than you were in our first encounter. Hell, you're twice the fighter you were when we faced off just 3 months ago. Caid. Inferno. STEEZ. I’ve been in the ring with all of them multiple times. I know how hard they are to beat and the face that of the four of you, you climbed the mountain first is damn impressive. You are different… but so am I. I’ve got the top prize. I’ve got a Hall of Famer in Aperigone in my corner, and I’ve got the 2020 Booker of the Year award sitting in my trophy case at home. People have been warning me not to take you lightly and I surely am not, but I want to warn you not to let your head get too big before our match. As you already know, becoming no. 1 contender isn’t the same as winning the damn title. Not even close.
A long time ago, I asked you if you could hang in the big leagues, and clearly, the answer is yes. But now I ask, do you have what it takes to climb to the top. This World Heavyweight Championship. I damn near killed myself trying to get it, and if you think that I’m gonna lay down and let you take it without putting up a fight, you’ve got another thing coming mate. You once said that throughout our old “rivalry”, you went through a series of emotions. Respect, regret, hatred, remorse… but not satisfaction. You couldn’t find any at BTE. You didn’t get your satisfaction at Highly Suspect either, so why should our third encounter at New Beginning be any different.
Thad finishes off his glass of champagne
I’ve been proven wrong before. Maybe the third time’s the charm for James Scott. Maybe at New Beginning you’ll defy the odds and beat me for the World Title, just like you defied the odds in the Lifeline Classic. I won’t deny that isn't a possibility. But none of the men you faced, as great as they all are, are the World Champion. Only one person can say that, and that’s me. And do you know why I hold this title? Why I’m called the Franchise? Because on any given night, I am the most dangerous man anyone dare step across in the ring. I wish you good fortune in our match James. Truely, I do. But this title is everything to me. I stand to lose everything in this match. You claim to be a changed man. A more dangerous opponent. You have never stepped foot in the ring with a man on the same level as me. You may think you know my game after our first two matches, but you’ve never been faced with an animal like me. At New Beginning, you’ll be taking your shot at the king and you best not miss, because you’re only going to get one and I don’t take prisoners.
All roads in FBE go through Hemmingway. Benediximus, Mr. Scott.

Key Facts

Round: 9 of 38
Referee: Chris Kavanagh

• Average Reds: 0.10
• Average Yellows: 3.59

Location: Anfield
Time: 1915GMT/UTC+0, 22/11/20
Channels (UK): Sky Sports Main Event/Premier League
(Out / Unlikely / Suspended )

Team News

Leicester:

1. Soyuncu
2. Ndidi
3. Ricardo
4. Castagne
5. Amarety

Liverpool:

1. Salah
2. Firmino
3. Van Dijk
4. Henderson
5. Gomez
6. Oxlade-Chamberlain
7. Fabinho
8. Alexander-Arnold
9. Thiago
10. Tsimikas

Betting Odds

Accurate as of 0823GMT 19/11/20 (Decimal, lower is more likely):
Leicester Win: 3.60
Draw: 4.00
Liverpool Win: 1.90

Fun Facts

• Liverpool are unbeaten in their last nine home league matches against us (W7 D2), having lost three in a row against them at Anfield between 1997 to 2000
• We have won just two of our past 16 league matches with Liverpool (D3 L11), and are without a win in six against them since the 3-1 victory at Filbert Way in February 2017
• Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 63 Premier League home games, their joint-longest such run without defeat at home in the top-flight. Their previous run between February 1978 to December 1980 was eventually ended with defeat to us.
• Liverpool have kept just one clean sheet in their last 13 league games (2-0 at Chelsea), conceding in each of their last six at home in the PL. Indeed, only promoted sides Leeds and West Brom (17 each) have conceded more goals than the reigning champions so far this term (16).
• We have won six our last eight league matches this season (L2), as many as we had in our final 22 games last season (W6 D6 L10). This will be our first Premier League game with us starting the day top of the table since the final game of our 2015/16 title triumph.

As per usual, expect these things to change by the start of the new season, especially if a new forward is signed. As a guide, (?) means that the player is in the Manchester City squad but not in the game and (??) means that the player is a rumored signing for the Sky Blues.
TLDR: De Bruyne and maybe Foden if you are feeling spicy.
Goalkeepers:
Ederson (£6.0): Although the city stopper claimed his first golden glove for the club since Joe Hart, he still returned his lowest amount of FPL points last season. At 6.0, He is still a premium goalkeeper who will likely still face problems getting points unless a player like Koulibaly is signed. Key errors in games such as the Manchester United and Lyon illustrate that Ederson is not 100% trustworthy. However, a more direct approach from Guardiola can benefit Ederson in terms of potential assists.
Verdict: .5 too much, avoid for now but keep an eye out for him
Bravo (£4.5): Not sure why he is still in the game, he's going to be off in the summer
Verdict: Avoid
Steffen (£?): The U.S.A. international is set to return from his loan spell in the Bundesliga. Although he impressed throughout the season, Steffen will surely be #2 to Ederson in the pecking order throughout the season. He will likely be priced at around 4.5 as well but he will only have value if Ederson goes down with an injury
Verdict: Only viable if Ederson gets a long term injury
Defenders:
Walker (£6.0): Oh Kyle Walker. A great footballer in real life but provides questionable value regardless that he scored miles ahead of any other city defender. His spot in the starting 11 should be the most nailed on amongst outfield players next season. If City strengthens their defense, he will provide additional value with his clean sheets. A true lack of contribution in the final third hampers Walker's potential, but he will likely rank amongst the top-scoring defenders at City next season.
Verdict: Too expensive for his value due to his lack of end product. Avoid
Otamendi (£5.0): I bet most Manchester City fans already thought he left the club. Although he was the 2nd highest FPL scoring defender for City last year, expect him to put up a fat 0 points this season.
Verdict: Avoid!!!
Ake (£5.5) After Laporte's less than impressive game against Lyon in the Champions League, Ake has become a more intriguing prospect. That being said, the odds of him beating out the Frenchman to the starting left center-back position is unlikely, especially at the start of the new season. If Laporte happens to go down again with another injury, Ake would be a great player. It is also worth noting that Guardiola may deploy Ake at left-back and defensive midfielder throughout the season, but he will largely only serve a rotational purpose.
Verdict: Avoid for now
Mendy (£6.0): Perhaps one of the most overpriced players in the game. He recently lost his place in the starting 11 to an out of position Joao Cancelo. Mendy will likely only be a rotational left-back this season, splitting time with both Cancelo and Ake. Adding into account his injury risks and lack of consistency just makes this problem worse. Unless Mendy has a true breakout season, 6.0 is far too expensive for the leader of the Shark Team.
Verdict: Mostly likely avoid all season
Laporte (£6.0): The heart of our defense. Although he has a few bad games a season, he is by far the best defender at the club at this moment. An early injury ruled him out for several months and took away the possibility for a great season. This season, however, Laporte could prove to be an effective choice in the Man City backline. This is largely dependent on who will partner him come the start of the new season.
Verdict: Only for those with lots of faith in City's defending.
Fernandinho (£5.5): The ever-present Brazilian in the Manchester City lineup for the past few seasons may be taking a step back this season as additional competition complied with his aging limbs will likely deem Dinho fantasy irrelevant. The same price as Ake, I expect Dinho to play fewer minutes than his new teammate this season, although a greater proportion of them may be in midfield. For FPL, Dinho has never been a viable option. This season, I expect the trend to continue
Verdict: Only a lunatic would pick him.
Zinchenko (£5.5): Things do not look good for the Ukrainian rapper. Not only did he lose his spot to both Mendy and Cancelo, but additional competition in Ake (and in theory Angelino) will only help plummet Zinchenko's stock. As a traditional midfielder, Zinchenko may prove to have value if he gets loaned out to another team should they choose to play him further up the pitch. As for now, I wouldn't place my bets on Zinchenko to have value this season.
Verdict: Look out for a potential loan.
Cancelo (£5.5): Joao Cancelo. The right-back turned left-back that only recently has proven to be trusted by Pep Guardiola. Not trusted enough, however, to avoid extra competition with the signing of Ake. I expect Cancelo to start the season for Manchester City at left-back barring any new left-back signings, but I am skeptical of his ability to put up points for our fantasy teams.
Verdict: Risky and expensive differential
Garcia (£5.0): Before the news broke out that Garcia has desires to go back to Barcelona, I believed that the future looked bright for the young Spaniard. Garcia started in most of Manchester City's games following the resumption of the league and although he had to be babysat by Laporte in those games, he showed enough for me (and Pep) to rate him over Stones, Otamendi, and Dinho at that position. Should City fail to sign another center-back, they will likely refuse to sell him to Barcelona this transfer window. If so, he would have great potential at 5.0.
Verdict: Solid investment if City keep him + Don't buy Koulibaly/Other CB
Stones (£5.0): I won't go too in-depth on this one. Stones' City career is likely coming to an end unless they decide to sell Garcia and keep Stones as their 4th center back. Even so, he wouldn't produce much value. If Stones goes to another top half team in England, he could have some potential. A loan move to Arsenal could be best for both the Gunners and the Sky Blues.
Verdict: Only viable if he gets a move to another top half Prem side.
Angelino (£?): Quick special mention to Angelino, who will likely leave the club this summer.
Verdict: Avoid
Koulibaly (£??): Technically not a City player, but after City's disappointing loss to Lyon, he should surely be a Sky Blue this transfer window. If so, he could provide value along-side Laporte. At 6.0 Koulibaly would stabilize City's defense and probably play more minutes than Laporte next season. As a result, he would likely be one of City's highest-scoring defenders.
Verdict: Depends on transfer and price
Midfielders:
De Bruyne: (£11.5): The first name on my FPL team. De Bruyne scored the most points amongst all players last season and is still priced less than some of them. The Belgian midfielder has been wonderful in his time at the Etihad and his attacking returns should only continue to be magnificent next season. With more determination than ever, and possibly another striker to assist, De Bruyne should offer amazing value next season. If you can only find room for one City player, make it KDB.
Verdict: Immense value, easy pick.
Sterling (£11.5): Sterling, if he could stay consistent, would have been the highest-scoring play in FPL last year. After an amazing start to the season, Sterling lost his form. Now with Sane gone and only a young Ferran Torres in to replace him, Sterling has more responsibility on his shoulders than ever before. His recent form and insane miss against Lyon may raise some red flags about the Englishman, but he should still provide the 2nd move value amongst City midfielders next season.
Verdict: Less value for money than KDB, but keep an eye out for how he starts the season
Mahrez (£8.5): Another player who gets trapped in Pep Roulette. Mahrez played brilliantly last season but with the emergence of Phil Foden (who likes to play out wide) and the signing of Ferran Torres, Mahrez may see another significant cut into his minutes next season. Should he start the season strong, however, he may be able to nail down a spot in Guardiola's team for the first few game weeks.
Verdict: Risky differential
Bernardo (£7.5): After his breakout season in 2018/19, hopes were high for Bernardo Silva. This season, however, he failed to impress and was largely omitted from the starting 11 for the games following the resumption of the league, including crucial Champions League games. With his desire to stay at Manchester City made public, Bernardo can offer amazing value-for-money if he can hit the ground running next season. The absence of David Silva now opens up the possibility of Bernardo playing centrally more often, which can only benefit the Portuguese international.
Verdict: Great potential but Pep doesn't seem to trust him in big games
Rodrigo (£5.5): Defensive midfielders never really provide great value in FPL.
Verdict: Avoid
Foden (£6.5): The English wonderkid that took the Premier League by storm following the resumption of the league looks set to fight for his chance to play consistent minutes. His start in the crucial second leg against Real Madrid further proves that Pep has confidence in the young man. If he can nail down a spot, either centrally or out on the wings, Foden can easily be the best asset to own given his price. Ambitious managers looking for a differential may look Foden's way, but that largely depends on what happens between now and the start of the season.
Verdict: Could be the gem of the season, although he could also largely spend time on the bench.
Gundogan (£5.5): See Rodrigo
Doyle (£4.5): Tommy Doyle is an exciting young prospect but he is a few seasons away from a real impact on the first team.
Verdict: Avoid
Torres (£7.0): Although he has been priced relatively cheaply for a City winger, I would urge caution with it comes to the Spaniard. Guardiola will most likely use the same approach he did when bringing Sane to the squad in that he will only really fully integrate the player after the end of the 2020/2021 season. If there was no redraft every year, Torres would be a good pick, but for this upcoming season, he shouldn't have much value.
Verdict: Wait for 2021/22 season
Braaf (£?): Braaf may be implemented into the game later this season, but he will likely fail to have any value once he is in. Along with Torres and Doyle, Braaf is one to watch out for a few seasons down the line.
Verdict: Wait a few seasons
Forwards:
Jesus (£9.5): A whole million cheaper than Aguero, Jesus offers a potential entryway into the City attack. However, I believe that there are better options given his price tag and his rotational with Aguero (or another striker) will likely hinder any breakout season for the Brazilian. If Jesus can improve on his end product, he will have value. As for now, however, it seems too risky to pick him given all the transfer rumors surrounding a new city striker.
Verdict: Keep an eye on him, but avoid for now.
Aguero (£10.5): Every year, Aguero scores an absurd number of goals given his fitness problems and rotation with Jesus. That being said, Aguero may face additional competition if City sign another forward. With 12 months left on the Argentine's contract, this may be the last season we have the forward in the game. In my opinion, his pricing makes him a huge risk this season, although I'm sure he would love to prove me wrong!
Verdict: Club favorite, but may not be an elite FPL option anymore for that price.
Messi (£??): Just kidding. Unless...
Thanks for taking the time to look at my guide, I will be updating it over time throughout pre-season. I would greatly appreciate it if you could either upvote or leave a comment with some feedback as this is my first ever preseason guide. If you disagree with any of my comments, send me a message as I would love another viewpoint on this.

What this is:

This is a weekly, curated listing of Kickstarter board game projects that are either:

• newly posted in the past 7 days, or
• ending in the next 7 days (starting Mar 16) and have at least a fighting chance of being funded.

All board game projects meeting those criteria will automatically be included, no need to ask. (The occasional non-board game project may also sneak in!)
Expect new lists each Sunday sometime between midnight and noon PST.

Ending Soon

Project Info	Players	Backers	Min / Avg Pledge	Ends	Comments
Dumpster Fire A fun and fast-paced card game of full of political scandals, treachery, conspiracy, and comeuppance! // Has raised $5,521 of $2,500 so far. (~220%) ☑	3 - 8	158	$18 / $35	Mar 16	kicktraq bgg
Amazing Jungle Run Game Clever strategy game played with three dice and cards. Challenging and replayable fun for ages 12 and up. // Has raised $4,721 of $4,500 so far. (~104%) ☑	1 - 4	74	$19 / $64	Mar 16	kicktraq bgg
VERDUN: STEEL INFERNO VERDUN: STEEL INFERNO: A fast playing card driven game on the epic battle of 1916. Illustrated by the famous WW1 cartoonist TARDI // Has raised €57,368 of €7,000 so far. (~819%) ☑	2 - 2	577	$75 / €99	Mar 16	kicktraq bgg
The Ming Voyages and The March of Progress The Ming Voyages: A Game of Treasure and Conquest for 1 or 2 players. The March of Progress: A 2-player Strategic Micro-wargame // Has raised €23,542 of €12,500 so far. (~188%) ☑	2 - 2	678	$20 / €35	Mar 16	kicktraq bgg
Astroforce: The Dice Game A solo and cooperative board game // Has raised £12,480 of £5,000 so far. (~249%) ☑	1 - 2	281	$45 / £44	Mar 16	kicktraq bgg
Ghost Hunting! the Card Game A Card Game on SouthEast Asian Ghost Culture. // Has raised $2,974 of $2,500 so far. (~118%) ☑	3 - 7	63	$22 / $47	Mar 17	kicktraq
PYRAMID QUARTET From the creators of Fluxx: 4 beautifully abstract standalone games that also expand Pyramid Arcade! // Has raised $60,905 of $20,000 so far. (~304%) ☑	? - ?	1201	$20 / $51	Mar 17	kicktraq bgg
Hades Trap Hero Crawler game where you explore and outsmart other players ! Legacy campaign add-on available. Intégralement en Français et Anglais // Has raised €13,161 of €4,500 so far. (~292%) ☑	2 - 4	418	$24 / €31	Mar 17	kicktraq bgg
Meeple Circus Giant Run Away to the Circus! Assemble your acrobats, circus animals and guest stars into a show-stopping performance. // Has raised $72,131 of $16,000 so far. (~450%) ☑	2 - 5	540	$99 / $134	Mar 17	kicktraq bgg
JamSumo It's a flickin' dexterity game. Handmade, limited edition, wooden board game. // Has raised £13,136 of £500 so far. (~2627%) ☑	2 - 4	202	$60 / £65	Mar 18	kicktraq bgg
Dr Mike's Times Table Board Game A Board Game to help make times tables practice fun! // Has raised $2,200 AUD of $1,250 AUD so far. (~176%) ☑	? - ?	25	$34 / $88 AUD	Mar 18	kicktraq
La Résistance! La Résistance! is an dice & card game that recreates leading a band of partisans during the World War II German occupation of France. // Has raised $9,604 of $6,000 so far. (~160%) ☑	3 - 5	294	$20 / $33	Mar 18	kicktraq bgg
Rival Restaurants: Back for Seconds A board game about competitive restaurant owning. Use your chef's power, cook recipes, and lead your restaurant to gastronomical glory. // Has raised $237,988 of $15,000 so far. (~1586%) ☑	2 - 8	4199	$20 / $57	Mar 18	kicktraq bgg #expansion #reprint
By Stealth and Sea A solitaire and cooperative game about the Italian human torpedo attacks during the Second World War. // Has raised $28,714 of $20,000 so far. (~143%) ☑	1 - 3	518	$50 / $55	Mar 18	kicktraq bgg
Goetia: Nine Kings of Solomon A dark euro game where players will be contacting, conjuring and worshiping Demons! // Has raised kr180,405 SEK of kr166,000 SEK so far. (~108%) ☑	2 - 4	424	$49 / kr425 SEK	Mar 19	kicktraq bgg
Viscounts of the West Kingdom + Tomesaga Increase your influence across the kingdom in this unique deckbuilding-powered rondel strategy game for 1-4 players. // Has raised $1,005,025 NZD of $23,000 NZD so far. (~4369%) ☑	1 - 4	6508	$53 / $154 NZD	Mar 19	kicktraq bgg #dicetowerpick
The Last Bottle of Rum Raise your anchor and embark on a treasure hunt board game for 2 to 5 pirates. // Has raised €53,863 of €15,000 so far. (~359%) ☑	2 - 5	1304	$47 / €41	Mar 19	kicktraq bgg
Gladius An award-winning board game about betting on and rigging the gladiatorial games. // Has raised $73,183 of $8,000 so far. (~914%) ☑	2 - 5	2552	$25 / $29	Mar 19	kicktraq bgg
Ark Worlds: MOBA Card Game Choose your heroes wisely. Ark Worlds is a 2 player, MOBA card game of tactics and resource management that sets up in minutes. // Has raised $3,827 of $500 so far. (~765%) ☑	2 - 2	139	$24 / $28	Mar 19	kicktraq bgg
Knight Tales A clever genre-mix for 1-4 knights cooperatively or semi-cooperatively standing against the hordes of evil. // Has raised €71,045 of €25,000 so far. (~284%) ☑	1 - 4	1046	$50 / €68	Mar 19	kicktraq bgg
ERUNE Erune is a board game based on the classic dungeon crawler to which it adds a modern technology: a voice assistant (Artificial Intelligence). // Has raised €129,356 of €45,000 so far. (~287%) ☑	2 - 5	1076	$99 / €120	Mar 19	kicktraq bgg
Forest Fighters Squirrels harvesting acorns for the winter and the resulting woodland mayhem that prospect causes! // Has raised $1,127 of $500 so far. (~225%) ☑	2 - 5	30	$30 / $38	Mar 20	kicktraq #take2
Crazier Eights: Olympus A gateway fantasy card game featuring Greek mythology. // Has raised $2,444 of $500 so far. (~488%) ☑	2 - 4	70	$15 / $35	Mar 20	kicktraq bgg
Dirty Politics A Game of Logical Deduction for Illogical Politicians! // Has raised $298 of $500 so far. (~59%)	5 - 10	18	$15 / $17	Mar 20	kicktraq
ANCHORMAN: THE GAME The official party game of Ron Burgundy and the Channel 4 news team. // Has raised $45,015 of $35,000 so far. (~128%) ☑	2 - 8	985	$26 / $46	Mar 20	kicktraq
TopPick: A Party Card Game A party card game that allows players to hire each other for odd jobs, while the applicants sabotage each other with negative traits // Has raised $824 of $150 so far. (~549%) ☑	? - ?	27	$25 / $31	Mar 20	kicktraq
ROBA Champion Edition The MOBA-inspired strategy card game returns with two expansions and a complete collected edition. 18 Heroes, over 800 Teams. // Has raised €17,116 of €15,400 so far. (~111%) ☑	2 - 2	314	$31 / €55	Mar 20	kicktraq bgg #newedition #expansion
Public Market Catch, arrange and sell fish in this puzzly tile-laying game with beautiful art by Beth Sobel! // Has raised $21,186 of $8,000 so far. (~264%) ☑	2 - 4	454	$39 / $47	Mar 20	kicktraq bgg
FINGERS, language independant edition the first game in the world to be played with fingers // Has raised €1,332 of €1,400 so far. (~95%)	2 - 6	61	$20 / €22	Mar 21	kicktraq bgg
WARCASTER: Neo-Mechanika The Supercharged Miniatures Wargame // Has raised $360,702 of $100,000 so far. (~360%) ☑	2 - 2	1822	$70 / $198	Mar 21	kicktraq bgg
Hooch Stooges pledge for cartoon episodes and get the deck building game featuring all your favorite cartoon stooges // Has raised $1,299 of $2,000 so far. (~64%)	2 - 6	17	$24 / $76	Mar 22	kicktraq bgg
Ruins: Death Binder A Cooperative Deck Deconstruction Game For 1-2 Players set in the World of Ruins // Has raised $27,812 of $19,999 so far. (~139%) ☑	1 - 2	750	$45 / $37	Mar 22	kicktraq bgg
The Digital Agency Game Run your own agency in this easy to pick up card game featuring over 100 unique cards. // Has raised £1,129 of £1,700 so far. (~66%)	2 - 6	52	$20 / £22	Mar 22	kicktraq bgg
Revenge of the Dodos An expansion of vengeful coopetition for the Beasts: Edge of Extinction tabletop game. // Has raised $581 of $200 so far. (~290%) ☑	3 - 6	35	$9 / $17	Mar 22	kicktraq bgg #expansion #reprint

New This Week

Project Info	Players	Backers	Min / Avg Pledge	Ends	Comments
Arena Legends A tabletop board game modeled after a PvP arena style combat system. Games are intended to be turn based, fast paced and sub 15 minutes // Has raised $56 of $500 so far. (~11%)	2 - ?	2	$25 / $28	May 01
Brotherhood & Unity A card driven war-game which depicts the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992-1995 // Has raised $7,415 of $2,000 so far. (~370%) ☑	2 - 3	97	$56 / $76	Apr 09	bgg
Carrot Bunny Den A card game with big carrots, horny bunnies and sexy dens. Easy to learn but hard to master ! (ages 18+) // Has raised €484 of €5,000 so far. (~9%)	? - ?	25	$21 / €19	Apr 09	#nsfw
Cleocatra A clever light puzzle game for 2 to 4 players brought to you by the creative team of Cat Rescue and Cat Sudoku. // Has raised $4,854 of $3,000 so far. (~161%) ☑	2 - 4	133	$12 / $36	Apr 11	bgg
Crass Humor A free-to-print board game. 1-4 player cooperative wargame that fits on 11 pages. // Has raised kr19 SEK of kr26,000 SEK so far. (~0%)	1 - 4	3	$83 / kr6 SEK	Apr 13
Endless Skies Trading Card Game The new TCG Made in Germany! // Has raised €411 of €28,000 so far. (~1%)	2 - ?	14	$12 / €29	Apr 12
GALAXY DICE An Award-Winning Arcade Shooter Dice Game! // Has raised $6,155 of $4,000 so far. (~153%) ☑	1 - 4	169	$23 / $36	Apr 09	bgg
Horseshoes and Hand Grenades Dexterity Card Game A card flipping game of immortal cartoon soldiers in comic bomb-and-bunker warfare. // Has raised $2,356 of $12,500 so far. (~18%)	2 - 4	25	$20 / $94	Apr 08
Juroku Musashi A stimulating and ancient Japanese board game from the Edo Era. // Has raised $70 of $26,000 so far. (~0%)	2 - 2	10	$25 / $7	Apr 13
Kingdoms: The Tabletop Game A resource-management, kingdom-building board game. // Has raised £68 of £15,000 so far. (~0%)	1 - 4	4	$68 / £17	Apr 13
Lie Detect Dare The game of Truth or Dare with a REAL working Lie Detector. We added structure and new game mechanics to the classic party game. // Has raised $1,860 of $17,800 so far. (~10%)	? - ?	29	$60 / $64	Apr 09
Lions of Lydia Curate a bag of meeples in this engine-building game by designer Jonny Pac about the dawn of currency in ancient Lydia. // Has raised $21,626 of $20,000 so far. (~108%) ☑	2 - 4	388	$39 / $56	Apr 09	bgg
Monuments Play as one of 4 ancient civilizations and build your -3D- Monument faster than your rivals! // Has raised €5,651 of €20,000 so far. (~28%)	2 - 4	93	$77 / €61	Mar 27	bgg
Outta Our Shells The new super casual card game from Greg Johnson that helps people relax, laugh, and get to know each other better. // Has raised $17,042 of $10,000 so far. (~170%) ☑	2 - ?	403	$20 / $42	Apr 09
Pax Pamir A second printing of the critically acclaimed game about power and politics in nineteenth century Afghanistan. // Has raised $223,789 of $10,000 so far. (~2237%) ☑	1 - 5	4110	$70 / $54	Mar 27	bgg #reprint
PEACOCK BLOCK A hilarious 3-to-5-player "Take That" board game where players assume the role of peacocks at a raging party. // Has raised $2,122 of $7,250 so far. (~29%)	3 - 5	64	$20 / $33	Apr 10	bgg #take2
Project U A highly engaging remote team building activity described in a short book accompanied by slides, exercise handouts, and training plans // Has raised $781 AUD of $200 AUD so far. (~390%) ☑	? - ?	27	$12 / $29 AUD	Apr 07
Relax And Cats The best board game in the world or not. check it, check pls. // Has raised €2 of €22,300 so far. (~0%)	? - ?	2	$55 / €1	Mar 15	#lolwut
Robot Fight Club A game of card-fuelled customisable arena combat from the designers of Hellboy: the Board Game, League of Infamy and Blitz Bowl. // Has raised £5,006 of £20,000 so far. (~25%)	2 - 2	110	$37 / £46	Mar 31	bgg
Royal Ransack A cute dungeon building and pillaging card game for 1-4 players! // Has raised $723 of $12,100 so far. (~5%)	1 - 4	22	$20 / $33	Apr 08
Ruination Ruination is a 2-4 player game of post-apocalyptic conquest. Only the most resourceful horde will rule beside the Khan! // Has raised $31,781 of $45,000 so far. (~70%)	2 - 4	475	$70 / $67	Mar 26	bgg
Rumbbell FatDragon Invasion Rumbbell FatDragon Invasion is a deck building board game about Exercise and Fitness! // Has raised HK$7,680 of HK$233,125 so far. (~3%)	2 - 4	26	$51 / HK$295	Apr 01	bgg
Salt & Sail Follow the rumors, fend off pirates, and navigate through storms--all in the hopes of beating your opponents to fame and fortune. // Has raised $15,100 of $26,500 so far. (~56%)	2 - 4	184	$49 / $82	Apr 10	bgg
Stick Figure Melee A 3d printable game with quick set up, quick play, and lots of fun built right into it. // Has raised $57 of $100 so far. (~56%)	2 - 2	14	$3 / $4	Apr 08
Theurgy Take on the role of a half-forgotten god and compete for reverence in this deeply immersive area control game. // Has raised £7,603 of £32,700 so far. (~23%)	2 - 6	133	$73 / £57	Mar 31	bgg
Trepidation Horror Card Game // Has raised $739 of $800 so far. (~92%)	2 - 5	20	$25 / $37	Apr 13
Vampire: The Masquerade - Vendetta A competitive card game where you fight to conquer the role of Prince of Chicago as one of the vampire Clans of the Camarilla! // Has raised €101,407 of €40,000 so far. (~253%) ☑	3 - 5	2209	$34 / €46	Mar 25	bgg
Victim: The Cursed Forest In the cursed forest, you and your friends have to find a way to survive from the evil that will possess anybody in your group. // Has raised $13,628 of $30,000 so far. (~45%)	1 - 6	95	$69 / $143	Apr 12	bgg

Need moar Kickstarter goodness?

Check out...

• My Calendar of Announced Kickstarters (Also available in iCal flavor)
• My interactive AirTable view of all active board game kickstarter campaigns.
• BoardGameGeek's variety of Kickstarter-oriented Geeklists
• Kicktraq's data-driven views

Footnotes

• #hmm means that something about the project seems a little off. Buyer beware kinda thing.
• #lolwut is reserved for projects that seem like copycat games or campaigns put together with little thought. Check 'em out for amusement.
• #take tags are for projects that have been restarted for some reason, with the number indicating what iteration we're currently on.
• Did I miss something? Particularly something new in the last 7 days or ending in the next 7 days? Let me know in the comments and I'll add it in.

Tip Jar

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The year is 2017. Top scientists have finally cracked the ability to stop ageing, and the world rejoices. The discovery prompts an immediate FIFA investigation into exactly what this means for world football from now on. How will the careers come and go when every team can just preserve their best stars? How will the next Messi break through? The Qatar FA suggest restricting it to only Qatari players, a motion that's only narrowly defeated. In unrelated news, a bunch of mysterious Qatari bank accounts are seized the day before the vote. Eventually, a compromise is decided upon between. Only those players who’ve proven themselves to be in it for the sport, and their team, can use it. The players who have stuck with their team through thick and thin, who’ve turned down bigger money offers to stay where they are. One-Club Men. However, should their loyalty ever waiver, and they choose to leave, those players will lose their right to an everlasting career, and have to face the advance years once again. Who will remain loyal the longest? Who will ride out the lowest of lows to stay at their lifelong club?
Unfortunately for those of you hoping I’ve found a secret miracle, that’s just the best nonsense I could come up with to frame this scenario. In less dramatic terms, using FM 2017, I'm going to select 50 one-club men from the top 5 leagues and de-age them to around 22. Every 5 years I'll de-age them down to 22 again, unless they abandon their loyalty. I'll also be adjusting everyone's contract to expire in 2020 to make it equal, and undoing international retirements where necessary. Nothing overly complicated, but I’m expecting this one to run a long long time if I’m going to have everyone leave, so I’m good with it not being too complicated.
^{Reddit side note! It's me again. Some may remember my experiments from ages ago. I'm back and writing again, but as you can probably tell, with a new name and website. If you want to see this post with much better formatting, all the images, and everyone's profile at the end, go here to read it in full: link You can stay here if you prefer though!}
So who actually qualifies for this? I've restricted it to players from the Top 5 leagues of England, Italy, Spain, Germany and France, and only included those that have been at their clubs the longest. As well as the genuine candidates like Messi and Totti, loaned out players like Lahm qualify, as do those like Iniesta who haven't left in FM 2017, and even those that have left in-game, but are known for their careers at one club. Buffon is a good example of the latter. I've included a link to an image with all 5 players here: link
With all this loyalty around, I wanted to mix it up a bit by adding in one final player. Someone completely opposite to everyone picked so far, the anti-one-club man, the journeyman of all journeymen. And after some research, I came up with the perfect candidate. Sebastián Abreu, a man who in his career has played at an impressive 29 different teams in 11 different countries, setting a Guinness world record along the way. Abreu will receive the same treatment as the loyal players, except it won’t stop when he moves team. I want him to move around more, spread his wings, see how many teams he can collect over an illustrious career.
That’s enough explaining for now. Should be pretty clear what’s going on, just a bunch of footballers never getting old. Time to get things rolling and see who eliminates themselves. Who can stick it out the longest, who will become THE one-club man?

2016/17

With our younger one club men unleashed on the world, many of them attract instant attention from new clubs. For a while it stays quiet and looks like the first transfer window may pass without incident. Only a few loans crop up... until Javi López because the first man to fall. With Espanyol not meeting his standards, he makes a £2.4M trip down the coast to join Valencia. He proves to be the only summer casualty by the time the window slams shut.
January brings the winter window, and the Premier League clubs start to sniff around, ready to throw bags of cash at unsuspecting players. It doesn’t take long before the next two players are reeled in by money and lose their eternal youth. First Marcel Schmelzer in a £20.5M move to Liverpool, followed by Bruno joining moneybags Man City. By the end of the window, Nacho also heads to the north of England, joining rivals Man United. I’m not sure if any of them have realised how damn cold it is up there. That window swiftly ends, settling the bottom 4 finishers in the competition.
Returning to the world of actual football results briefly, and there aren’t many shocks to be seen. Man City finish 6th, Everton get relegated and Borussia Mönchengladbach reach the Champions League Semi-Finals. A few players see their team relegated, as Werder Bremen, Caen and Freiburg go down, so there could be a few casualties once that disappointment has set in. But all in all, the footballing world has coped just fine.
Loyal Players Remaining: 46
Abreu Club Count: 23 clubs in 10 countries
Odd Winners: None

2017/18

With everyone’s transfer budgets warmed up, it doesn’t take long for the action to get back underway. The previous season has barely finished before Chris Solly trades in his morals for a Premier League move to Norwich. Sergio Álvarez joins him in England, making the slightly odd move to Bournemouth before a big £52M move sees Koke trade loyalty for a big move to Man City. That’s the most surprising move so far, as I expected many of the players at top clubs to stick around. The final two transfers of the window take us to sunny Spain, where both Xabi Prieto and Mario become massive glory hunters, trading in their life long clubs for Atletico Madrid and Barcelona respectively. Javi López, having left Espanyol to join Valencia last year, immediately realises his mistake and rejoins Espanyol. It’s too little too late though, his status as a one-club man is already ruined.
The winter window comes and goes without even a hint of action, so things may already be starting to quieten down. Over in Brazil, Sebastián Abreu has his contract with Bangu come to an end after a good season but fails to attract any new suitors before the European season ends.
Around the world, things keep ticking on relatively normally. Watford take a surprising FA Cup win despite finishing rock bottom of the league, meaning they’ll have European nights alongside their Championship campaign. The loyalty of Seube, Höfler and Bargfrede is rewarded, as Caen, Bremen and Freiburg are immediately promoted back to the top tier. Las Palmas head in the opposite direction, which causes David García to hand in an immediate transfer request. The Spaniard could very well be the next player to go.
Loyal Players Remaining: 41
Abreu Club Count: 23 clubs in 10 countries
Odd Winners: Watford (FA Cup)

2018/19

My suggestion that things may be quietening down is immediately disproved by the biggest move so far. Bayern Munich legend Philipp Lahm makes a huge £82M transfer to Manchester City, throwing away all he’d built up at Bayern so far. But it doesn't end there, as 2 more huge transfers are finalised right after. First Claudio Marchisio drops Juventus, clearly not happy with them losing the title to AC Milan, and moves to Real Madrid. Then Daniele De Rossi trades in Roma for Barcelona. Whilst both have moved in real life, I didn’t expect either to fall so early in this, being icons at such huge clubs. A little later, David García makes his predicted move away from relegated Las Palmas, opting to stay in Spain with Osasuna. And then on the final day of the window, one last move. David Zurutuza decides the Premier League is more to his taste and joins Noble at West Ham. Javi López continues his tour of Spain, realising rejoining Espanyol doesn’t earn him back everlasting youth, and so heads to Sevilla instead. Currently, he’s moved around more than the specific journeyman player I chose to actually move around. Talking of, Abreu does find a new contract, heading back to Uruguay to join River Plate Montevideo.
The winter transfer window is again mostly quiet, with very little potential action. There are still some transfers though, as Robin Knoche becomes the 15th person out, heading to Borussia Dortmund. Then a legend moves on, as Iker Casillas decides that barely getting any game time behind Keylor Navas isn’t worth it, and so joins Monaco for a mere £11M. I guess you can't escape the real world after all.
The summer of 2018 means a World Cup, a tournament which regularly creates bizarre results in Football Manager. This year is no exception, as the likes of Italy, Belgium and Argentina fall in the group stages, before South Korea beat both Germany and France in the knockouts. The final between Brazil and Croatia proves 100% less heartbreaking than the real 2018 final for the Croatians, as they become champions of the world. In domestic football, Man United take all the English trophies on offer in a Quadruple, whilst Freiburg find themselves relegated yet again, as do Montpellier.
Loyal Players Remaining: 34
Abreu Club Count: 24 clubs in 10 countries
Odd Winners: Croatia (World Cup)

2019/20

Another season, another transfer window, another set of swirling rumours around our one-club men. Borussia Dortmund manage to steal away another of our competitors from a German rival, taking Timo Horn early in the window. Having been relegated yet again last season, Nicolas Höfler decides enough is enough and leaves Freiburg for Hertha Berlin. Over in Italy, and Chievo Legend Sergio Pellissier finally caves, leaving his relegation-threatened lifelong team for European battlers Fiorentina. But that's all the entertainment I can offer, no big signings this time around I’m afraid. Let's go see what Javi López is up to instead. His merry-go-round of clubs continues yet again, moving over to Deportivo de La Coruña in the latest of his ever-decreasing value of transfers.
January retains its typical bleak and dull atmosphere, with no sign of action whatsoever until the final day of the window. Hugo Mallo decides to try and add to his trophy cabinet and heads to Man United. Not the worst career move to throw away eternal life for considering their dominance right now. And with his departure, the total number of players that we've lost hits a nice round 20.
In the Premier League, Man United claim their 4th title in a row, exerting total dominance over everyone. But where one dominance rises, another falls, with Dortmund claiming the Bundesliga to knock Bayern off their perch. The shock of the season comes in the Coupe de France, where 3rd tier LB Châteauroux knock out Lyon, Auxerre and PSG before falling to Caen in the semi-finals. With Monaco having fallen to 4th tier SA Spinalien, Caen beat an easier opposition of RC Lens in the final, leading to Seube lifting the teams first-ever Coupe de France. Not bad for a player I expected to never lift a trophy. On a less joyous note, Höfler having left relegated Freiburg, sees his new team Hertha relegated immediately too. It seems there is no escaping the 2. Bundesliga!
On the record front, Gianluigi Buffon sets a huge benchmark, breaking the 200 cap mark for Italy. With no-one else close to him, he’ll stay the leader for a long time. Messi also breaks a boundary, climbing through 400 league goals during his career at Barcelona. Like Buffon, he’s way clear of any competitor, and unless a miracle happens that sees him abandon Barcelona, I can’t see anyone catching him soon.
Loyal Players Remaining: 30
Abreu Club Count: 24 clubs in 10 countries
Odd Winners: Caen (Coupe de France)

2020/21

2020 arrives, and with it, two important points arrive too. Firstly, everyone gets de-aged for the first time in this experiment. The 20 that have left get to watch from a distance thinking about what could have been. Second, the initial contracts are set to expire, so anyone that hasn’t re-signed will out the door. Which is exactly what happens to Víctor Valdés. Having barely appeared for Barcelona since his return, he leaves the club on a free and heads to the southern French coast to join Marseille. A day later and someone else leaves France, as Romain Danzé who decides one de-ageing is enough and moves to Schalke. Tony Hibbert also struggled for games at Everton despite his new youthful look, and so he walks out the door. He opts for Aston Villa, who to my great surprise have sunk to a mid-table League 1 team. Feeling left out, Spain joins in, with Oier Sanjurjo departing Osasuna and moving to Villarreal. The window is then capped by a bizarre final free transfer. Despite appearing regularly, Xavi isn’t offered a new contract by Barcelona. Man City can’t quite believe their luck and snap up the Spanish wizard a few days before the window shuts.
Winter brings with it just one transfer in its usual action-heavy way. Roberto Torres leaves Osasuna, making a £35.5M switch to Atletico. I’m not sure whether Atletico thought they were getting a different de-aged Torres because that can only be described as an overpayment. Either way, that means we've now lost over half the competitors.
Euro 2020 passes, and Croatia prove their World Cup victory was no fluke, becoming both champions of the World, and champions of Europe. On the Continental front, things have been fairly predictable so far, at least until this years Europa League. Hoffenheim escape a tough group and go all the way to win the entire thing. Not bad for a team that barely qualified in the first place. Oh, and Messi wins a little thing called the Ballon d’Or for the 10th time. I think he’s only just getting started.
Loyal Players Remaining: 24
Abreu Club Count: 24 clubs in 10 countries
Odd Winners: Hoffenheim (Europa League)

2021/22

The 21/22 season begins with two transfers on the first day. Loïc Perrin makes his way to the Premier League to join Leicester. But that's a minor splash compared to the other move, as after 768 appearances and 302 goals, Francesco Totti leaves Roma. It seems wrong to see it, but he’ll now be wearing a Man United kit. Dortmund continue their run of stealing loyalty, this time bringing Tony Jantschke into the fold. Another contract is run to the end, forcing Álex Bergantiños out of Deportivo without much choice, before being picked up by Cagliari. Mikel González opts to end his time at Real Sociedad, joining Pellissier over at Fiorentina. And as August comes to a close, it looks like Totti may be the only big departure. That is until Gianluigi Buffon decides to call time on his Juventus career. It’s an odd move, with the legend going sorta sideways from a regular starting Juventus spot to Bayern Munich. But there’s no going back now, as his 636 league appearance career with the Italians comes to a close. Two legends down in one window.
No season is complete without a single winter signing to warrant an entire separate paragraph, and this season is no different. Sergi Roberto moves away from Barcelona, in a £24M move to French giants PSG. A good way to guarantee yourself plenty of titles I guess. Abreu also makes a winter move, adding Guarani in the Brasilian second tier to his collection.
Roberto’s decision proves to be a good one, as PSG go on to claim their 10th one in a row. Not many surprises elsewhere, although Real Oviedo get close to pulling off a shock in the Copa del Rey. The second tier team beat Osasuna, Barcelona and Sevilla on the way to the final, but ultimately Real Madrid prove a step too far. Elsewhere everything is won by a team you’d probably expect. Exciting stuff.
Loyal Players Remaining: 17
Abreu Club Count: 25 clubs in 10 countries
Odd Winners: None

2022/23

With the pool of players rapidly decreasing, very few of the crew are even wanted by other clubs anymore. Perhaps deterred by their steadfast loyalty? A few moves do still happen though, so we’re not dead yet. Firstly Anthony Lopes gets fed up of PSG dominating his league and moves to AC Milan for a better shot at a trophy. It’s not long before that story is forgotten, as the biggest transfer fee in the competition so far is dropped. Andrés Iniesta is stolen away from Barcelona, in a huge £86M move to Man United. The midfield maestro fell 2 appearances short of 600 league games for Barcelona, but with his new £300K per-week contract it’s not hard to guess why. That proves to be all the action for the summer window, with no-one willing to top that huge move.
After half a season of hearing their noisy neighbours gloating about their star signing, Man City snap. And if there’s one thing City are good at, it’s splashing the cash. In probably the easiest negotiation over fee Barcelona has ever had, Sergio Busquets makes a £95M move to the sky blues. Yeh, that’ll show United. Once again no-one wants to get in the middle of the awkward Manchester squabble, and the winter transfer closes with a whimper.
The second World Cup of this experiment comes and goes. This time all the giants make it safely through the Group Stages, but it’s Africa that really excels. Morocco make the knockouts, Egypt battle through to the Quarter Finals, but Nigeria come out best. They beat South Korea and Argentina before falling valiantly to France in the Semi-Finals. A 1-0 victory of Italy does see them finish in an impressive 3rd place, becoming the first African team to finish in the top 3 of the World Cup. France win the title on penalties after a deceivingly action-filled 0-0 draw with Spain. The domestic scene follows that with a similar lack of real shocks. In the Carabao Cup, Bournemouth beat Arsenal, Chelsea and Man United on the way to lifting the trophy. But it’s the lesser Cup, so outside of Bournemouth no-one really cares. PSG finally have their grip on the Ligue 1 broken, as Casillas leads Monaco to a fantastic title. Otherwise, all the league titles and cups fall to teams you’d expect them too. Another thrilling year.
Loyal Players Remaining: 14
Abreu Club Count: 25 clubs in 10 countries
Odd Winners: Bournemouth (Carabao Cup)

2023/24

Literally nothing happens. Thomas Kessler decides that no team can ignore his existence for 20 seasons in a row and get away with it, leaving Köln to join Trabzonspor. So as I said, literally nothing happens. Even Javi López moving to yet another club would be more interesting than that.
The same applies to the footballing season. Asides from Casillas captaining Monaco to a Champions League title, or Atletico winning the title again, exactly 10 years after their last win, everything is frustratingly normal. And even those two events are hardly shocks.
Before I start to lose hope, there are a few interesting moves over the last few years from the losing group that are worth highlighting. First season mover Bruno didn’t make the impact he hoped and found himself moving to the lovely Stoke. Robin Knoche barely received any playtime at Dortmund and found himself cast out to Dinamo Zagreb. Even in League 1, Tony Hibbert could barely get any game time at Villa and so moved on the Scunthorpe in League 2. But the winner of the oddest move has to be Zurutuza, who somehow manage to pull off a move to Liverpool after West Ham found themselves relegated, only make a few disappointing performances, before being released on a free to join Al-Arabi in Qatar. Not quite the career he was anticipating when joining the Premier League I bet.
Loyal Players Remaining: 13
Abreu Club Count: 25 clubs in 10 countries
Odd Winners: None

2024/25

The summer transfer window arrives for another season, and with it finally comes a huge deal! Javi López has found yet another club! Hooray! As for actual competitors, absolutely no movement whatsoever. Even from Abreu, who’s been at Guarani for 2.5 years now. Manceau, Lewington and Seube complain to their managers about playing time or relegation, but none of them actually make a move anywhere. So our final 13 will add another 5 years onto their career length.
There are some fun statistics from our 51 worth mentioning at this point. Buffon leads the way with both total league appearances (935) and international caps (259). His caps are at a point where they’re too high for the game to display, as the value is stored as an unsigned 8-bit integer, and so has rolled over to just show 3. Most appearances for a single club goes to Dean Lewington however, who thanks to being a regular sits at 857 league appearances for the MK Dons (or 889 if you include Wimbledon). In the goals department, the winner is obvious. With almost 500 league goals, 100 international goals and 14 Ballon d’Or awards, Messi sits on top of everyone. On the international scene, he’s run close by Müller and the fast-approaching Kane, but for league goals, it’s not even close.
2024 brings with it a Euro tournament, which doesn’t provide much in the way of surprises, but brings with it some exciting high scoring matches. All ending in a 4-3 victory for a Thomas Müller led Germany over neighbours Netherlands. Which I’m sure went down very well. The domestic scene decides to spring a few shocks though. In Serie A, Roma claim an impressive title thanks to main striker Iheanacho, their first since 2001. The German and French cups provide surprise winners, in the form of Hertha Berlin and Dijon. Both cap an impressive run by beating their respective league winners, Bayern and Monaco. Even the continental tournaments turn up too. First Monaco cement their place as a top power in football by winning their second Champions League in a row. That coming a week after the best win there could possibly be. Tottenham win the Europa League! Screw the other stuff, that last part is all I need!
Loyal Players Remaining: 13
Abreu Club Count: 25 clubs in 10 countries
Odd Winners: Dijon (Coupe de France), Hertha Berlin (DFB Pokal)

At this point though it’s fair to say that the competition results are more interesting than the movements of the players. Which is the perfect signal that things need to speed up a little bit. So from now on, updates will be every 5 years, which lines up perfectly with player age resets, letting us see who has made it to the next checkpoint.

2025-2030

Another round of de-ageing hits, and you’d think that would incite some interest in our final 13. Instead, it’s a ghost town. We do have an immediate dropout though, as Nicolas Seube finally gets fed up with his lack of playtime at Caen and heads for Panionios in Greece. A year later the situation is repeated. I’m not entirely sure what his unhappiness was about, but Iker Muniain decides he’s had enough of Athletic Club and moves to Hamburger SV. At least he left on exactly 100 goals for Athletic though, a nice round number. With 11 left, a standoff to reach the top 10 ensues. For 3 years no-one budges in their show of loyalty, until in 2029… Dean Lewington leaves for Derby County on a free. It’s a huge move, with Lewington becoming the first man to break through 1000 league appearances for a single club before leaving. But he’s moved on now, and it won’t be long before that record is broken. That move means we’re left with our final 10 contestants. Terry, Iraola, Messi, Susaeta, Noble, Jourdren, Müller, Kane, Manceau and Bargfrede have secured a top 10 spot, and now all that’s left to do is fight it out for number 1.
Over in Brazil, our anti-one-club man continues his journey, although it remains in Brazil for the moment. Only 2 clubs are added to his count, with a long stay at Atletico Goianiense followed by a £2M move to top tier Coritiba. I’m kind of hoping he starts to make enough waves in the Brazilian league to move to Europe and add some new countries to his history.
Those that fell before the first de-ageing are retiring, finishing off their magnificent, or in some cases very un-magnificent, careers (as losers). Javi López finishes his fine anti-loyalty tour around Spain with 7 transfers to his name. Schmelzer, Nacho, Solly, Álvarez, Koke, Mario, Prieto, Marchisio, De Rossi, David García, Zurutuza, Knoche, Höfler, Pellissier, Mallo, Horn and Hibbert end their careers. Many, such as Nacho, Horn and De Rossi stay just as committed to their new clubs as they did their old, finishing out their careers after just a single transfer. Of the pensioners, Sergio Pellissier manages to rack up the most career league appearances and goals, at 894 and 246, although that’s largely thanks to a huge head start. De Rossi dominates on the international scene, earning a whopping 197 caps over his 30-year career. Naturally, all those records will be blown out the water once the next group start retiring, but it’s nice to have some benchmarks.
Around the world, plenty has gone on worth hearing about. The Netherlands claim their first-ever World Cup win, beating Brazil in the final, whilst in the Euro’s Germany win their second tournament in a row. The Gold Cup throws up a few interesting results too, as first, the Mexico B team win it, with their A team tied up in the Confederations Cup. Then 4 years later Canada take the title, only the second time in their history. Over in Italy, Lazio find themselves relegated as the league starts to shake itself up a bit. But other than that, domestic football remains relatively unspectacular. Oh except… TOTTENHAM WINNING THE LEAGUE. Didn’t even have to reset it and we won it before Arsenal did. North London is very much Lilywhite now, suck it Gooners!
Loyal Players Remaining: 10
Abreu Club Count: 27 clubs in 10 countries
Odd Winners: Tottenham (Premier League)

2030-2035

Another 5 years pass and to start with it looks like the top 10 are going to hold firm. Eventually though, the temptation of money proves too much for one man. That man is Geoffrey Jourdren who trades in his starting slot at Montpellier for a cosy backup contract at PSG. Then comes… dead silence. Not even a rumour, or an unhappy player. No-one even hints at leaving for the next 4 years, which means we end the period with nine players on the books. The real waiting game has begun. Even our journeyman Abreu is moving in a very slow way, as a five year Coritiba stint finishes with a free transfer to Red Bull Brasil. I think my hopes for a European move have died.
At least there are a lot of retirements to run through. Bruno, Lahm, Casillas, Valdés, Danzé, Oier, Xavi, Torres, Perrin, Jantschke, Bergantiños, González, Roberto, Iniesta and Busquets hang up their playing boots. That does leave us without some noted legends, with Lahm, Casillas, Iniesta and Busquets reaching 200 caps for their country. You’d think Spain would have won more with that golden generation. Casillas and Xavi also both hit 1000 league appearances thanks to a strong head start before the experiment. But it’s Andrés Iniesta who is the most loyal of the bunch, racking up nearly 600 appearances for his original club before departing.
Five years leaves plenty of time for interesting results once again. England take a World Cup win, which is always a sign of the apocalypse, only made more bizarre by Scotland making the semi-finals in the same competition. Portugal take the other title in that period, whilst the Euros also see a surprise winner in Switzerland. France provides the biggest shock at club level, as Lille come from nowhere to win Ligue 1, and then immediately revert back to mid-table once again. Otherwise, the time belongs to Manchester City. The oil bar… sky blues take 4 out of 5 titles in both the Premier League and Champions League, with all that cash flinging finally paying off.
Loyal Players Remaining: 9
Abreu Club Count: 28 clubs in 10 countries
Odd Winners: England (World Cup), Lille (Ligue 1)

2035-40

With just nine players left, once again we get a transfer fairly early on in the period. Early as in the first transfer window, which makes me wonder why they waited so long. Anyway, Mark Noble has had his patience tested by West Ham’s yoyoing between the Premier League and Championship a bit too much and finally caves. He makes a £20M move to Burnley, who… are doing the exact same thing. Not sure that was the brightest idea. Like the previous 5 years though, one transfer is all we get. None of the others move, despite some pretty heavy unhappiness from Bargfrede and Manceau. Abreu keeps up his trail, running out his contract with Red Bull Brasil and opting for Chapecoense to reach 29 clubs in his career.
With very few moving recently, that also means less and less are retiring, as just 7 ex-competitors leave the game. Totti, Buffon, Lopes, Kessler, Seube, Muniain and Lewington call time on their football life. The fact they all stuck with it for so long means there’s so impressive stats between them. Totti racked up 1154 league appearances, with 768 at Roma. Dean Lewington, after leaving MK Dons with 1003 appearances finished with a total of 1287. Italian legend Gianluigi Buffon finished with a whopping 1307 league appearances, but perhaps more impressively, 334 international caps. But the single most surprising statistic goes to Thomas Kessler. Despite barely playing in Germany he manages to notch a grand total of 7 goals after his move to Turkey. Maybe if he’d been a striker he’d have actually played at Koln. Oh and Seube ends his career Greek. Because why not.
As per every time, a quick look around the world’s results is needed. Spain win back the World Cup titles, whilst Italy take a Euro win. Argentina, Mexico and Australia claim all their continents international trophies in the window, so no massive surprises there. The domestic world isn’t exactly littered with shocks either. Brescia win a Coppa Italia, and Nîmes Olympique grab 4 top 5 finishes in a row in France, but there’s not really much to shout about. I think it’s best to just get on with the next de-ageing.
Loyal Players Remaining: 8
Abreu Club Count: 29 clubs in 10 countries
Odd Winners: Brescia (Coppa Italia)

2040-45

Down to 8 now, so it’s getting tougher. And a lot slower, so slow in fact that not a single transfer in our group happens in five years. For a moment I was excited to see Manceau at Recreativo de Huelva, but that was just a loan. So I was back to being crushed. On the plus side, Abreu makes some huge steps. He adds not just 1, but 2 new countries to his history! The first is Portugal, in a huge step up to join Braga. As usual, it’s just until his contract ends, before he moves on to Frankfurt in the Bundesliga. He’s hardly setting Europe alight but I don’t care, he’s actually moving!
There’s only one retiree to talk about too, as pretty much everyone has already gone. Geoffrey Jourdren finishes up with 925 total league appearances. It probably could have been a bit more, if he’d not spent 10 years of his career being a backup at PSG and Bayern. On a far more interesting note, Terry breaks through 1500 career league appearances. Kane also hits 256 international goals, which results in the number resetting to 0 just like caps. So the game has him on 96 caps with 11 goals, when the actual numbers are a stunning 352 caps with 267 goals.
Having seen my disappointment last time around, the world decides to liven things up. Denmark become both Champions of the World and Champions of Europe in 2042 and 2040, although they lose the European title to Germany 4 years later. At the continental level, the Champions League stays on track, but the Europa League brings some bizarre winners into the mix. Nîmes Olympique, Real Sociedad, Leicester and Bristol City all win a trophy. It seems Mark Noble finally made a right move transferring to Bristol City, as the club is now a strong top 6 Premier League side. Manceau wins a Coupe de France at Angers, but it’s still Nîmes making waves, forming a big three with PSG and Monaco. It may not be long before either Nîmes or Bristol City win their league, which is not something I expected to be saying.
Loyal Players Remaining: 8
Abreu Club Count: 31 clubs in 12 countries
Odd Winners: Nîmes Olympique/Bristol City (Europa League), Angers (Coupe de France)

2045-50

2045 kicks off and once again Manceau deceives me. This time it’s a loan spell in Denmark with Brøndby that had me thinking he was gone. Well you know what they say, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice… I’m probably gonna fall for it. It looks like there’s going to be no moves whatsoever once again, until June 2047 arrives and I notice a contract is set to expire. Imagine my shock when Lionel Messi is not offered a contract by Barcelona and is let go. It’s made doubly worse by the fact that of all teams to pick him up, it's Atletico Madrid. Apparently, 37 Ballon d’Or awards aren’t good enough for Barcelona anymore. I don’t even care that nothing else happens. That’s enough to stun me.
Over in the retirement home, Mark Noble moves into a room. After an up and down career, the Englishman did manage some silverware with Bristol City and ended his career with 1317 league appearances. He even earned not just 1, but 90 England caps across his 44-year career.
Around the world, interesting results are still cropping up. England grab their third World Cup win beating Colombia, whilst Honduras win their first-ever Gold Cup. Much to my bitter disappointment, Arsenal win 4 of the 5 Champions Leagues on offer, as well as 3 Premier League titles. Chelsea have a period of bottom 10 finishes which deeply upsets Terry, whilst over in France, Chamois Niortais begin to try and join the top 3. Don’t worry I’ve never heard of them either.
Loyal Players Remaining: 7
Abreu Club Count: 32 clubs in 12 countries
Odd Winners: Honduras (Gold Cup)

2050-55

With the world still reeling at the fact the Messi has moved from Barcelona, everyone kinda forgets to make any moves. In fact, Messi is the first person to move yet again, leaving Atletico in a very cheap 34.5M move to Man City. Which is more in line with where I originally expected him to go. Abreu finishes one contract, at Hapoel Be’er Sheva, and moves onto the next, but it’s with Monterrey so doesn’t count. Sebastian, it has to be new clubs. John Terry is starting to get frustrated with a Chelsea team that has really fallen from grace. The Londoners barely survive relegation in 2052/53, so Terry may be the next to go. Or maybe I know nothing and it’s completely random.
No-one retires this year, so let’s take a brief look at some statistics of our remaining 7 + Messi. All our players have now reached 1000 appearances, with Bargfrede in last at 1173. Messi has crossed 1000 league goals, now a full 300 clear of the chasing pack of Abreu and Kane. On the international level, Thomas Müller becomes the first player to need a rollover of caps twice, moving on to a massive 524 international caps. But it’s Kane who still leads the international goal stat, nearly breaking 350, a full 50 ahead of the German.
Müller does, however, grab a World Cup win for Germany so I’m sure he won’t be too upset. At least until they’re deposed by Holland 4 years later. On the continental level, Bristol City win another Europa League title beating previous champions Espanyol. Middlesbrough also nearly earn a trophy, having joined Bristol as a top 6 team. But the winner of the biggest shock, although I did say this might happen, goes to Chamois Niortais, who topple the dominance of PSG and Monaco to capture a miraculous Ligue 1 title in the last season of the period.
Loyal Players Remaining: 7
Abreu Club Count: 32 clubs in 12 countries
Odd Winners: Chamois Niortais (Ligue 1), Bristol City/Espanyol (Europa League)

2055-60

The summer window of 2055 opens and as I warned may happen, there’s an almost immediate transfer. Fed up with Chelsea’s mediocre finishes, John Terry decides to move on. Unfortunately for Chelsea fans, Arsenal is his next club, which I’m sure will cause a few shudders. A year later and another move comes around, once again due to unhappiness over the club’s performance. Surprisingly it's Thomas Müller,who's annoyed by the fact that Bayern haven’t won a Bundesliga title since 2048, and so runs down his contract. Leverkusen almost earn his signature, but eventually its the glory of PSG that proves too much to resist. But we’re not done there! Another player runs down their contract, opting to move to Vitoria de Setubal in Portugal. Vincent Manceau finally makes a real move rather than constantly faking me out. So with another 3 players down, we’re left with our final 4. The race for the top 3 is hotting up now!
We do have a retirement this time thanks to the transfer window livening up. The world's best-ever player, Lionel Messi, retires from football. He ends up on a total of 1858 league appearances, scoring a massive 1068 goals in this time. 1430 appearances and 895 goals of those belonging to his 45-year career at Barcelona. On the international scene, he earned an impressive 505 caps and 276 goals. But it’s the awards where he shines. 279 individual awards, 82 team titles, 22 league titles, 6 Champions League titles, 45 Ballon d’Or awards. What makes it even crazier is 41 of those Ballon d’Or awards were in a row, as he earned every single one from 2015 to 2056. I don’t think I’ll see another player like that crop up in any save, truly the world’s best player.
Looking out on the world, I can say that it’s a Chamois Niortais player that breaks Messi’s streak, as the French team claim another two Ligue 1 titles. It’s hard to say they’re a “surprise winner” at this point. Bristol City finally make the full step up to join the big guns, winning 3 Carabao Cups, 1 FA Cup, 2 Premier League titles and even a Champions League trophy. If any Bristol City fans want this save to give themselves hope over the future, I can send it over. Internationally it's the era of Portugal, as they claim both the Euro and World Cup trophies.
Loyal Players Remaining: 4
Abreu Club Count: 32 clubs in 12 countries
Odd Winners: Bristol City (Premier League/Champions League), Lyon (Relegation)

With so few players left, now is probably a good time to speed it up once again. The final four will be tough to budge, so how about we move to 10-year intervals to try and cut down on dead years. And I'll be moving to the comments, because I've hit reddits character limit.

These are stories that were told to the PCs as children, almost everyone knowing them.
Real life examples include the Boogieman, Santa, The Tooth fairy, Krampus, Hansel and Gretel, etc.
These stories could be real and be something that your party is going up against, something completely fiction just to throw red herrings up, or something in between. That is for you (the DM/GM) to decide.

1. The Maiden in the Mist - A female figure that appears in the shadows of the mist, said to pull children into the Shadowfell or the Feywilds. People say that she was a widow who lost her children in a fog, and know mistakes wandering children for her own.
2. The Umbral Man - A man who is said to be able to walk through walls, the world's greatest killer. He strikes from the Abyss, retreating when his jobs is done.
3. Nadite, The Lady of the Green Star - A lady who watches from a bright green star that appears in the sky very rarely. When it appears, people say that the Feywilds are opening, Nadite protecting the portal from outside invaders.
4. Krokra, The Brave Bird - A Kenku who stopped a Abberation from destroying a town with only the words of the people Krokra had as friends, sending the Abberation back to the Far Realms.
5. Gedis, The Halfling Prince - A Halfling who had been forced out of his own kingdom by a greedy Dragon, only to return after befriending a Solar named Irher who help Gedis force out the Dragon.
6. ( u/OwenMcCauley )James the Wanderer - Adventurer, world traveler, and unabashed debtor. James may have been a real figure at some point but his story grew well beyond reality over the years. A book, titled The Musings of James the Wanderer is a collection of helpful aphorism by the legendary figure himself. James was wise in his way but also kind of a dolt. Some examples are, "A road of gold is both loud and slippery" and "If all else fails, kick them in the fork"
7. (u/JustDndFantasyThing**)**When the fog comes in from the sea to our little port town beware the white witch who walks upon the water, she comes to steal your our daughters. The only thing to stop her is the blood of our fathers.
8. ( u/PantsIsDown )The current main plot line in my campaign revolves around a kids story that the group has discovered is true.The Shadowless Rider is a story told to children in a region where the undead and other evil ghoulish powers rule the night. It’s meant to scare them in order to keep them from wandering out at night or straying away from their parents while traveling.The Shadowless Rider is a ghostly horseman clad in all black armor, cloaked in shadows, and his unseen presence is enough to spook even the mightiest of steeds. His mount is a fire eyed demon mare from hell, faster than any horse on land or by sky. He lures children away from their parents and carries them off to drown them in the lake. Anyone that even lays eyes on him and manages to get away goes stark raving mad. If he catches you on the road, he’ll run you down, trample you, crushing your bones and sucking out your soul, forcing you to join his ghostly gang of riders, enslaved for all eternity.
9. ( u/veldrinshade 9-13)The story of Rattlebag - It's a story about accepting those who are different. The protagonist is a young boy who makes fun of an old beggar man for being disfigured. The God's punish the boy by turning him into the first wererat and their kind is a constant reminder that kindness is a better path. Think the boy who cried wolf.
10. The story of Eglebert the Wise - A man overcomes the three trials of the Giants and is granted the power to shape trees. Scholars differ on whether this is meant to be the first Druid but since the ancient tree Volverent says the story is younger than him the Druids say no. But they would, wouldn't they?
11. Drory the Kind - This is actually a cautionary tale of a kindly Kobold (though the other evil races substitute their own race so that no one actually knows what the original story actually was) who was harrassed by the local villagers for simply being a Kobold no matter how nice he was. This is a warning to young Kobolds as Drory is eventually killed by a guardsman over a simple misunderstanding. Should be used by any player raised by nonstandard parents.
12. Forswood - The tale of a young man who tries ale too early in life and is turned into a frog by a mischievous fae. His adventures include befriending a badger and a stag. It ends oddly with the boy returning to find a kindly wizard who turns him back into a boy but then takes him away to train as a wizard. If this story ever had a moral it was lost long ago.
13. The story of King Plius - this story centers around a Prince and the Pauper style tale but ends with the true King killing the peasant. While King however the peasant had sequestered quite a some of gold and jewels and the true King never found them. The legend also contains a riddle for finding the stash. I leave both the riddle and potential reward up to the GM (mainly because I'm bad at making riddles).
14. ( u/Jackizback0 )Fiddlesticks, the Animated Scarecrow who feasts on the fear of little children who stay outside too late past their bedtime. He is described in thousands of ways from thousands of people, and widely considered a fable. But the families of those he’s killed warn against trusting any voice you hear at night, as fiddlesticks will use other’s last words to lure you in. Don’t let him lure you in with his lantern by making you think there is safety, because all you’ll find is teeth.(Siakre here: this is a League of Legends Champion btw)
15. ( u/BrokenBanette )The day the world goes red - It is fated that one day, when the blue and blood moons align, that an ancient being will come across to the world. Some legends say it is a peaceful goddess who brings health and prosperity, while others claim it is an unstoppable demon out for blood! Nobody knows which is true, and it's always a debate as to which one's which, but either way... the clock is ticking...
16. ( u/Arbiter1171 )Pinky and the Brain: Children all over the multiverse love to listen to the wacky hijinks of a pink flumph and an intellect devourer trying to take over the world.
17. ( u/superheltenroy )My old fighteduelist grew up hearing about Ragnar the Red.Ragnar the Red got his feather light armor and his luck blade, and slew the dragon with wit and a single lucky strike.
18. ( u/dljens )If you don't wipe your shoes before your come inside, the Terrasque gets one step closer to awakening.
19. ( u/1337d00dXD )Forthog, The Orc Slayer - A bald man with an appreciation for music travels the world, when he is met and betrayed by an orc who he also thought loved the gift of song. He wanders the world saving those in need, and slaying Orcs it with his bladed axe-lute.
20. ( u/PrinnyBaal )The Wandering Star- The story of a Cassisian who gets lost and winds up wandering from plane to plane (Story is read in the style of 'Is this my Plane?' *Parent makes whirring gear noises* 'This is the plane of law. This is not my Plane')
21. ( u/Battl3Dancer1277 )This one is CANNON in my game, from a book of the same name "Pebbles the Gargoyle". It's a story about the importance of self control. Without it, Pebbles cannot use her Gargoyle power to remain still to be indistinguishable from a statue. By the end of the story, Pebbles has mastered her Power by mastering herself.
22. ( u/thegoldsmith67 )The fable of the friendly necromancer - one day the local lich realised something that if he learned all the secrets of the world and turned the local kingdoms into undead slaves he would get incredibly bored. So he gathered his armies and marched upon the local community college to get his minions training in public works and then they marched on the city and began to take over...the repetitive and dangerous tasks such as sewer maintenance, rickshaws and farming bringing peace and unearth upon the kingdoms.
23. ( u/Flaredragoon1 )The blade sprites - Young fighters and aspiring soldiers are told stories of many a blade sundered in the battlefield and that only proper maintenance and care in practice will spare them from this fate, but legend and myth tell of fairy sprites that wander encampments and fortifications filled with weapons to behold. These tiny Craftsmen judge every blade, bow, and club, granting their verdict on the worthy or the unworthy. Poorly kept weapons are given fatal cracks and unseen spoilage or rusted to uselessness while well kept weapons are strengthened with fey magic and keen edges or other boons. The sounds of tiny hammers it's said to be heard when they ply their trade, as a warning to keep your weapons in good care.
24. ( u/MaxSizeIs )The Wooleyman: Eats children and turns them into dustbunnies, leaving them as warnings to other children who don't sweep under thier bed and keep thier room clean.
25. ( u/Spartawolf 25-28)The Ragman - "Come home before dark or the Ragman will come, he comes out at night, I hope you can run..." A frightening figure used by parents to scare their children not to go out too late. Based on a serial murderer who plagued a large metropolis with a series of gruesome child killings. May or may not have been caught....
26. Dan Daringnose - A Gnome Bard hero with many tales of heroics told to young children revolving around resolving disputes among the other races peacefully using his big Gnomish brain.
27. Bork Bumblebeard - A foolhardy protagonist of dwarvern tales, who's funny legendary mishaps serve as a reminder to dwarf children to pay attention to detail. Sometimes makes an appearance in other dwarvern tales as a friendly foil to a hero or just as comic relief. Sometimes older storytellers may insert one of Bork's antics into their story no matter how improbable as a way of playing a practical joke on the listener, similar to a Rickroll!
28. Elaine Everheart - An elven adventurer who always saves the day by working in harmony with sentient plants and animals, some becoming regular characters in future stories!
29. ( u/GuySingingMrBlueSky 29-31)The Red Jester - a man who performs for traveling groups of people, he juggles dismembered heads, plays a bagpipe made from human skin and sings songs of his previous victims. He spares you if you laugh along with his jokes and clap at his macabre displays, but if you don’t, you become part of his act.
30. The Evil Werewolf - because werewolves become their opposite nature when they turn, there was a man who was truly evil but became good whenever the full moon came out, doing charity for the poor and helping people before barricading himself to stop the human side of himself from wreaking havoc. An inverse of the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story.
31. The Cursed Lovers - in the beginning, the only beings in the universe were Light and Darkness. They immediately fell for each other, but because of their nature, they couldn’t come close to each other without Light hurting Darkness (as Darkness is simply the absence of Light). One day, they decided to try anyway, and upon their kiss, Darkness disappeared, causing Light to scream so loud and primally that the universe came into existence, erasing herself in the process. Though the two beings are gone now, their domains are still in existence, forever forced to stay separate.
32. ( u/medicalsnowninja )The Clinging Vines - A tale of a wandering princess/maiden/bard that usually gets saved from some variation of an Entangle spell(local plant type, goblinoid druid, or such) by a passing RangePaladin/Folk Hero background type. Reminiscent of Little Red Riding Hood, in that the bulk of the tale is split between how she ended up in the vines and her experience in the vines. Most variants in which the damsel is rescued rather than freeing herself or perishing result in stereotypical instant love/happily-ever-after type endings.Numerous variations of this story occur across the land, but they all stem from one of the original anti-magic propaganda campaigns put on by an early religion vying for dominance in a bygone civilization. For as long as there are still records of the story, however, it has been used mainly as an allegory as to why you never wander alone(i.e. split the party).
33. ( u/memebiiigforehead )Boonhammer- A sailofishermen turned adventurer, who used a war hammer to kill a massive kraken.
34. ( u/ApostleO )Never look at a mirror in the dark. A mirror in darkness becomes a portal to another realm, where doppelgangers can reach through to strangle you and take your place in this world.
35. ( u/NocturnalBeing )Den'tal: A small humanoid that steals children's teeth. The story is told to those who refuse to eat the food served to them.
36. ( u/Minititan1010 )Bul'tar the Immortal King - As tale told to all small children of the barbarian tribes of the north to teach them humility. Bul'tar once was the mightiest of the ancient Barbarians and was revered far and wide as the strongest living being. He had wrestled Storm Giants to the ground, broken the neck of the great red wyrm Ixenvhir with his bare hands and sundered mountains with his greataxe. One day, the powerful Lich Acererak took notice of Bul'tar and made a bet with him. If Bul'tar could defeat all of his minions, Acererak would grant him unimaginable riches and treasure if not, Bul'tar would join his army of undead and guard Acereraks tomb for eternity. Bul'tar, confident in his might, agreed. Acererak then continued to summon his minions to fight the barbarian in a battle that would last an entire month and change the landscape forever. Mountains shattered, Earth became barren and everything within hundreds of miles was ground to dust. Bul'tar fought with every ounce of his almost inexhaustible strenght but alas, at the end he was overrun by the endless stream of undead and died, standing in a field filled with streams of his blood and the white powdered bones of millions of undead. Acererak, having won the bet, was nontheless impressed by this display of strenght and fashioned a Statue of Bul'tar out of the undead he had slain and his blood at the place he stood, before taking the corpse away and using it to create one of the mightiest protectors of his true tomb. The Immortal King is still remembered to this day, even if no flesh coils around his adamantine-like bones and his greataxe has set the rust of millenia.
37. ( u/LordsOfJoop 37-42)The Trenchmire Tales: stories told to young, inexperienced potential soldiers about the dangers of siege warfare. It's a cautionary tale regarding common illnesses and afflictions that befall entrenched soldiers and through the use of metaphor, how to treat them successfully .
38. Alatat of the Hoard: an old story told while camping on the roads, it's designed to keep its listeners awake through fear and youthful paranoia; highlights of it include staying silent and observant, obeying parental figures and the value of never talking to strangers
39. Ten Times Ten Storms: a delightful ballad sang to sleepless children of several races, designed to be whispered quieter and quieter as the verses progress.
40. Stirring Bread: a nonsensical tune about preparing baked goods, containing a given family recipe for a specific type of bread; every family has at least one variant of the song memorized and it tends to follow the same general theme from family to family.
41. Swords of My Father, Spears of My Mother: a song about being cautious when discussing war and military life with strangers and older family members; could be construed as a way to cope with PTSD for returning veterans - every version has a happy ending ... though the original reportedly does not.
42. Quieter Than Sand: a marching song for nomadic tribes of the desert, it's a hummed ditty with only a few spoken words, each one spaced approximately a half hour apart; it instills a sense of time and cadence into young tribe members, a lesson that can sometimes be discerned later in life.
43. ( u/arteest29 ) The Step Worm: When little boys and girls get out of their beds at night, the step worm is underground and can hear the footsteps and little pitter patters. They creep up and burrow in their feet and their feet need to be cut off.
44. ( u/MrMage88 44-46) Auntie Agatha: In a part of my world, there was an old Hag who called herself Auntie Agatha, who would go around at night or in dark/hard to see parts of the woods and whistle to attract children. As the children got close to her, she’d enter her full size and put them into a big woven backpack and carry them back to her lair to do as she pleases. One party that I ran for killed her after noticing her kidnap a child that had been playing in a field.
45. Kindness: This is more of a common set of myths of Gods coming down to the Material Plane and disguising themselves as random (often poor, crazy, or sick folks) people or animals in order to get to know people first hand. If people mistreat them, then they curse them or damn them. If they are treated well, they give Boons to the people, maybe by giving them special treatment in the afterlife, leaving gold and other gifts in places for them to “find”, making them just lucky or flat out intervening on their behalf. The God May also get more personally involved, designating that person and their bloodline as destined for greatness (maybe making them Aasimar, or a like of Clerics, Paladins, Sorcerers, and Warlocks). The stories vary by God, culture, region, etc. but they typically have the same common moral of being kind to random strangers (and really just everyone, including animals) in order to appease the Gods. This also actually happens, so sometimes a random villager may find a pot of gold after sharing bread, ale, and food stories with a weary traveler, or a party member may find themselves blessed after tossing a pouch of the dragon’s gold to that homeless child.
46. The Forgotten Heroine: Long ago, an immense titan of Elemental Earth was corrupted by the Hells to be an infernal war machine, a hellish continent that would be the start of Hell on Earth. It’s presence would corrupt the nearby lands with Hell’s influence, but a group of strangers, divided by creed, occupation, background, and just about everything else, worked together to stop them. Their names have been lost to history, but their actions remembered. The strongest among them cleaved valleys in the Titans. The magician bound the titan in place, as if it were a continent. Both of them gave their lives in the process. But finally, the titan had to be subdued, the infection of the Hells driven from its vessel, so the bravest of the heroes, a mortal touched by the divine (though some scholars think her some once divine being fallen from grace), who plunged her blade into the titan and used it as a conduit to channel all of the divinity her mortal vessel could handle and through her and her blade the power flowed into the titan, destroying it and the Hellish infection and leaving behind a now barren continent. The Heroine herself was destroyed. In destroying the titan, she channeled so much of the power of the Gods that she became one with it (sort of akin to the Flash losing himself in the Speed Force should he go to fast), and she is now dispersed throughout the Positive Energy plane, living on as immortal divine power. The last of the strangers, a wise man attuned to the Natural World, took care of the continent and nourished it, allowing it to grow and flourish. No one remembers which of the continents it was, but legend says that a mortal, pure and brave of heart like the heroine of old, may find her blade still buried in the Earth, it’s hilt sticking out and beckoning them like a beacon.