Castle Xyntillan Journal - Part Nine

Before you proceed, please understand that this is an in-character record of my gaming notes. Be aware that it contains spoilers for the Castle Xyntillan mega dungeon module. Turn back now.

Start at Part One.

Learn more about the Castle Xyntillan Campaign.

Author: Martin Soulstealer

The Eighth Expedition, October 6, 2026

The time between our last foray and the next was spent hotly debating on how to handle the castle's vampire, and if the presence of an adjoining balcony meant another vampire. Ultimately, it was decided we would spend time exploring other parts of the castle so that we could hopefully lay low while we planned on how to bestow a final death upon the undead monstrosity.

While I worked on settling some last minute business, I assured the companions in my adventuring company that I wouldn't be far behind. In my stead, I sent a youngster I recently met - Stray Dog. What the young man might lack in couth and brains, he makes up for with an impetuous spirit and strong sword arm. 

Meanwhile, most of the usual suspects assembled:

• Stray Dog, a meathead of a half-orc fighter 

• Carl, one of our two beloved clerics

• Quirky, an elven fighter and my longest known companion

• Riley, the other cleric in our cherished pair

• Malachai, a human fighter and new joiner we picked up

The company spent time ensuring our new fighter was ready for threats both near and far; as well as gathering some vampire hunting supplies as a just-in-case remedy to those foul breathed monsters. 

Rumours Heard in Town

You would think that after so many adventures into the castle during this months-long campaign, stories of the ruins would dry up. But you'd be wrong, as the townspeople are only more than glad to relieve one of their coin in exchange for stories about the ancient building and its inhabitants. Here is what we learned:

"The enchanted portraits know more than they let on." Author's note: I call bunk on this tale. We have seen several magical paintings in the castle and they all seem stuck going through the motions, like a visual Magic Mouth spell.

"The Hero Roland himseslf was buried under the castle with a relic." Author's note: This story comes from a more reliable source - but just barely. However, we did find a ladder in the wine cellar which leads below the castle. Likely, it is more dangerous, but I'm nearly ready to risk it. 

The Return to the Castle

As we approached the castle, a quick survey amongst the companions resulted in us choosing the front entrance. Perhaps it is foolish, but it is a known element. Despite past encounters, no zombies were ready to greet us, and the foul statues stood silent.

With the foyer, James was present as usual. He was also miserable, as usual. If I come across a convenient way to put him to rest, I swear upon Garl's glittering beard to see it through. It is anathema to the gnomish way of life to watch such miserable bastards persist (unless they're kobolds, of course). 

Through the Chapel

For this expedition, we moved eastward, through the chapel, which was as we left it. Moving further west from this place, we could hear off-key, raucous singing, much like we heard in the northeastern hall (from the foyer) in a previous visit. It was agreed that we would join in if we came across the revelers, and we pushed through the hallway.

The Southern Door

At the end of the hall, with the singing still west to our position, we came across a door leading south. After a quick check of agreement, we forced it open to find it empty, sadly. It was completely cleaned out. 

The Northen Door

Another door was in the hallway, and leading north. This contained a staircase going down, and the room has a door to the east. It was decided to skip a descent for the time being, and instead push through the eastern door of this 10-foot square room. 

Hallway from the Eastern Door

Ten feet wide, it runs about 30-feet north/south, with a door to the east, and another to the north, also along the easter wall. Listening at the door, the sounds of smashing dishes could be heard. After a short debate, we decided to peek inside. 

What we beheld was a 30 x 30-foot chamber, with a door to the north. The source of breaking dishes was the apparition of an elderly and matronly chef with a foul disposition. Only the rolling pin in her ghostly hand appeared real. Besides this, there were all the accoutrements one would expect in a kitchen. 

Before we could know what was happening, she wheeled around and began to deliver a most terrible tongue lashing. Not wanting to fight a ghost, we backed out before more harm could be done and move to the northeast door in the hallway. 

This adjoined to the north part of the same kitchen, and we decided to make haste while the ghostly chef looked distracted. Unfortunately, she took notice of Quirky, and she was struck in the back of the head by the very real rolling pin, knocking her unconscious. 

However, we were able to grab her by the collar and drag her into the adjoining chamber, without further harassment from the cook. 

Another Kitchen

This room almost makes one wish they were dealing with the spirit in the other room! Inside, we found five four ghouls, busily and gleefully carving up a fresh cadaver. Our clerics began reciting prayers of censure, and they turned from us. One or two managed to flee while we dispatched the others.

Not much was found searching the kitchen. Carl barely avoided one guillotine trap, ensuring that Malachai was able to avoid the other. We managed to scavenge up some silverware, as well as various rations (in various states of decay). 

North from the Ghoul Kitchen

From a northern door, found an interesting chamber. Measuring a good thirty-foot square, various tapestries hung from the walls, depicting flowers. In addition, there were hanging pots with dead plants inside. The floor was sparse and bare, with an indented flagstone in the corner. 

While we were excavating the disturbed flagstone, presuming there was loot to be found, our work was interrupted. A twisted creature, with the head of a rooster and the horns and body of a goat, sauntered into our workspace. 

It was easy enough to dispatch the wretched monstrosity, but young Stray Dog made the mistake of brushing his hand against the horn while sacking up the creature to offer our local alchemist. As a result, the youth was petrified on the spot! We hauled his body over the mule, and determined we'd try to have him revived in town, should that be possible. 

This is about when Yours Truly enters the scene. We quickly got back to work and uncovered a shallow grave. The simple coffin contained the body of a young woman with bloated features. As far as we could tell, she didn't favor the Malevols. Dressed in a yellowing gown, to her chest was clutched a leather satchel. 

It was decided we would approach this corpse as we did the vampire, and hit the cadaver with everything we got, while it was pinned in place with a hafted weapon. The woman's body rose, and maggots poured out. I made ready with the torch, putting them to light, fearing rot grubs. Once the body went limp, we carefully excavated the satchel from her grasp, and used oil to ensure the restless dead was fully cremated. 

Of Note

All in all, it was a lucrative expedition! The silverware fetched a fair penny, and the satchel we retrieved was heavily laden with gems, enabling us to train up our new ally Malachai, as well as pay for Stray Dog's healing. And not to mention, the rest of our company made out quite well, enabling several debts to Quirky to be settled. 

Continue with Part Ten (circa Nov 2026)

-Daz

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The New America, 26 Years Later

It's punk-fifteen in the morning. Outside the Dillards in Cordova Mall, in the year 2000, is a record store whose name I can't remember. But I was browsing the stacks of records, CDs and cassettes, looking to spend my hard-earned cash from my lowly menial job. It was on that random March day I picked up both The New America and Recipe for Hate by Bad Religion. 

Copyright Atlantic Records

I was well already a fan, hearing them on KROQ while passing through almost a decade earlier while moving from Hawai'i to Alabama, and then later Northwest Florida (the hellhole of Pensacola, to be exact. IYKYK). During the 90s and early 2000s, Pensacola was (and might still be) a dreary tourist and military blackhole of desperation. So of course, some punk rock would make it better, right?

My initial impressions of the record were positive. It was more melodic than previous records (like the copy of Recipe for Hate I picked up at the same time). I also found the songs to be less directly political, and also positive and uplifting. I know a lot of fans like shitting on The New America for not being like most of Bad Religion's other records. But, for me, that is one thing that stood out to my ears. 

I appreciate that they've often taken risks with their music and have been open to trying new approaches, while still adhering to their roots. I guess it's a slippery slope for bands, since any deviation from The Formula can get them labeled as sellouts or plants or whatever. 

Is it one of my favorite albums? Maybe. That's hard to say. My relationship with music has changed over the years, as I'm sure it has for many of us that are middle aged. We've gone from an age where discovery happened through the radio, recommendations from friends and record store clerks, listening to tracks in the booth at the record shop, and just buying albums randomly (at least, that's how a lot of it happened for me). Nowadays, we have music on demand through the streaming platform of your choice. You can go to sites like Bandcamp and buy directly from musicians. 

What I can say is that for many years it was on heavy rotation in my collection. Partly, because of my limited access to music. Streaming was in its infancy and all of us were downloading music, movies and porn from Napster and LimeWire and other, less savory, sites. And you couldn't always trust the seeds, so you'd get viruses of course, but also incorrectly labeled media, or things that were just plain wrong. Putting money towards music meant either buying, bootlegging or stealing records. And of course, you'd pay to see bands live when you could, even with Pensacola's shitty music scene in the 90s and 2000s. 

But we're digressing from what I want to say. I was listening through the album again this morning, and it made me reflect on how my relationship with the music has changed over 26 years of listening. 

A lot of it sounds just as applicable today as it did back in 2000. "You've Got a Chance," "Long Way to the Promised Land," and "New America" still smack of that hardscrabble optimism I felt when listening to it as a young man. These tracks acknowledge that shit sucks, but what the fuck are you going to do about it? It's a challenge to get engaged and confront what you want to see change within yourself and the world. 

It's nothing new with Bad Religion, in my opinion. Maybe it's just repackaged with just a bit more hope? Or maybe it's the almond mom approach of manifestation? I feel like we've been hearing the band bang this drum with earlier songs like "Leaders and Followers," for instance. 

The other half of the tracks feel weirdly prophetic. Or maybe that's just human nature and our cyclical way of living. "I Love My Computer" meant to capture our obsession with computing through the 90s and into the New Millenium, but it could easily (EASILY) apply to the unhealthy relationship many people are creating through their use of generative AI. It's eerie how the lyrics mirror the kinds of substitute relationships people are forming with agents they treat as their "girlfriend" or "boyfriend," and the sick developers that engineer this kind of digital crack. 

"Queen of the 21st Century" is another track that mirrors this feeling. I didn't come to it until later in life since it was a bonus track on the Japanese and Euro releases. To me, it reads like a follow up to "21st Century (Digital Boy)." And both tracks make me think of how we've (Boomers, Gen X, Millennials) cultivated a lot of the perceived problems we see in Gen Z and Gen Alpha. If we want to critisize Boomers as the selfish Me Generation, we have no room to criticize today's youth for any self-indulgence, since we've paved an attractive path for them to follow. We truly are the architects of our own fate, and it's amazing to me how people like Greg Gaffin and Mike Pondsmith (of Cyberpunk TTRPG fame) have been able to look so clearly to the future and see the dangerous roads we're treading. 

To close out, my favorite track remains "It's a Long Way to the Promised Land," and "New America." It reminds me that the path to liberation and freedom for all is an on-going battle, and that we need a coalition of people to make it happen. I think we often forget, especially with despots like Trump in power, that we projected the same kind of rhetoric on figures like George W. Bush when this record was new. And nowadays, a lot of people just look at him like a goofy uncle that has some weird ideas but is mostly harmless. And it's that kind of thinking that got us to where we are today, for weal or woe. 

A final honorable mention goes to "The Hopeless Housewife," for echoing many of the same thoughts above. It contains that same kind of criticism and breakdown of just living one's life adrift while needing to do more to become more:

Damn your transcendental paralysis
We can work together and make sense of this
Don't be so sure you can chuck it all away
You've got to proceed, no matter how bad you wanna stay

-Daz

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Space Ork Warboss Tactics for 40K 2nd Edition

Unlike later editions of Warhammer 40K, many armies of the second edition era were locked into a single choice for its army commander. A few are lucky enough to have multiple choices. In second edition, Space Orks must choose a Warboss as the army general. All in all, this isn't bad. The base character choice is low in points cost, and the boss has a fairly good profile. It's a character that can go in a few directions.

Here are my thoughts on kitting up your Warboss, and where I ultimately stand on the most effective use of the character in your second edition Ork army. 

Killy Warboss

Second edition 40K and fourth edition Warhammer Fantasy are both known for being part of the "herohammer" era of tabletop games. Basically, properly tooled characters would wreck shop on the battlefield, often capable of decimating entire units through a smart selection of equipment, Wargear and so forth.

Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka

At first glance, a Warboss seems well suited for getting stuck in, and maybe they should! With a Weapon Skill of 6 and Strength 4 and Toughness 5, as well as 3 Attacks, your Warboss is a capable close combatant. 

Here is where things get complicated for you. First, the most popular armies are the various types of Space Marines. Another popular choice are Eldar. For Ork players, higher initiative opponents can turn indecisive combats into wars of attrition. 

What do I mean by this? Consider the following: Space Marines and Eldar Aspect Warriors both fight about as well as an Ork Boy, with similar Weapon Skill. Marines also have a similar Strength and Toughness, where Eldar do not. What this means, is when you fight the same, you will tie more often in close combat. And in second edition, Initiative is the tiebreaker. 

So, a Warboss who's stuck in with the ladz is going to often be fighting an uphill battle against the opponents you're likely to face down each time to take to the tabletop. Why? The Warboss has an Initiative of 5. Pretty good against regular infantry, but not great when facing down opposing characters. 

So, if you're going to prepare your boss for melee, tearing up opposing infantry is going to be a better choice than dueling enemy characters. 

Another part of the equation is cost. A Warboss starts at 65 points. Unless a mission states otherwise, your Warboss is only worth one victory point until you've spent 100 points on the character in total. That means you can spend 35 points on equipment and Wargear before they are worth one victory point. At 200 points they are worth 2 victory points, 300 points 3 victory points, and so on. 

For an Ork player, this is a crucial consideration, as most armies are going to be composed of many, many units. Often, they are fragile, and many of them can be eliminated over one or two turns from concentrated effort on the part of your opponent. A more expensive character is going to give away more victory points when killed. You will need to decide if that's worth the risk. 

Finally, the third major consideration is deployment. Space Ork infantry is slow and foot slogging by and large. Some units have upgrades available to make them faster, like Snakebites and Evil Sunz. Transports are also an option, though there is risk involved, since Ork vehicles are typically very light. An Ork Warboss can choose a Nob bike as a choice, but of course bikes are even more fragile!

Likely you'll want him with the ladz so that his high Leadership can be used. This makes personal transport options like a bike, boar or jumppack unattractive. A boss can ride a Trukk, but that's risking focused fire that will likely waste the Trukk and result in the passengers getting killed. If I'm going to transport a boss, I think a Battlewagon is the best choice. It's got high enough armor to survive most fire; only dedicating heavy weaponry is going to take it down. 

You'll be removing leadership from the horde though, but having Nobz riding with your Warboss will give him the extra punch to give you a good, killy unit that will let you tactically deploy and hunt the targets you wish. 

Personally, the cost involved makes it too rich for my blood. Good armor, Wargear and equipment is going to place the Warboss between 200-300 points. And that's a lot of victory points to give up if he's killed. 

Shooty Warboss

Along with a Weapon Skill of 6, a Warboss also has a 6 in his Ballistic Skill. This makes him a very competent shooter. His base 'to hit' roll is 1+ before modifiers apply. Not bad!

Nazdreg Ug Urdgrub 

From the base equipment list, a Warbosss can choose special weapons like the plasma gun; a very good and killy weapon in its own right. The main downside is needing to recharge between shots, so you only will get off 2-3 in a single game if you can shoot it each time it's ready to fire. 

On the other hand, Space Orks have some attractive options with their Wargear. The Kustom Blasta and Kustom Shoota are two options worth consideration. The major downside is that both use the Artillery Die for determining the strength of the shot each time you fire. The Blasta gives you a D3" template, making it good for shooting infantry. The Shoota gives you two Sustained Fire Dice, also good for infantry. 

Between the two, I prefer the Kustom Shoota for its slight edge in killing potential. Two Sustained Fire Dice are just a little more dependable when it comes to terms of raw firepower; and the math tends to favor them. One downside is that the Shoota loses a few inches of range when compared to the Blasta (32 vs. 36").

The Shoota is also 20 points, meaning you can give this to your Warboss and leaving space for you to add some 'Eavy Armour and a Refractor Field, keeping him under 100 points and denying any additional victory points should be get removed from the table. 

You can also stick him in a unit for extra protection, and backfield units can benefit from his Leadership. Also, neither the Kustom Shoota or Kustom Blasta is a heavy weapon, so you can freely choose your targets when shooting!

How I Use My Warboss

In my opinion, Orks are a fun but challenging army in second edition. Unlike Space Marines or Eldar, where your elite status, battleline options, and superior psychic phase make the game easier because your army is more effective, Orks are weak or average in comparison. This means a kunnin' Warboss is going to need to make the most of each and every unit, trick and tactic at their disposal. 

Da Kolonel

To this end, I equip my boss light. Kolonel Krump gets a power axe (7 points), frag stikkbombz (2 points), a Refractor Field (5 points), and a Buzzer Squig Stikkbomb (5 points), bringing his total cost to 84 points. So, unless the mission says otherwise, I'm only giving up a single victory point if he's killed.

With maybe the exception of Imperial Guard, most other 40k armies don't need to rely on characters as much as Orks do for maintaining morale. Da Kolonel spends games entrenched with da ladz, and will be placed in a unit, and within 12" of 3-4 units total at most times, so that I can leverage his high leadership. It's super important since everyone will be getting shot to pieces while high tailing it across the battlefield. 

The power axe gives him some punch in close combat, either gaining an attack when used one handed, or extra strength when wielded with both hands. The 'Eavy Armour and Refractor Field offer some light protection for most situations, and I don't expect him to survive for long if my opponent wants him dead. But if we meet enemy infantry or a light vehicle, he's likely to carry the day (along with da ladz, of course).

The Buzzer Squig Stikkbomb is a bit of a Hail Mary, and is there to deploy against elite units or a character, if I'm lucky. Like most Ork technology, it's swingy so I'm not sweating it should I miss. The template persists, so I might get lucky for a comeback. For five points, it's a bit of mindless fun, and suitably Orky. 

-Daz

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