SPOILER ALERT! Players in my Mystamyr game should avoid this article.

When I first wrote “The Terror of Ettinmarsh“ for Classic Fantasy it was too long. Consequently, I had to cut lots of material and even slice the module in two. Murdering one’s darlings is tough… but I did it.

Well, almost.

One of the characters I really like is Relgan Lothbeer, the Dwarven proprietor of the Slaughtered Ettin Inn. In the module, he is characterised as…

‘well-renowned for his tall stories of adventures from his famed “early days” as an adventurer. In fact, Relgan is a congenital liar who merrily steals tales from actual adventurers and adapts them to his own narrative. This makes him an outstanding story-teller.’

In the first draft, Relgan came with a quick table of example tall stories. The idea is that, as Game Master, you have some seeds from which to roleplay Relgan’s most commonly told tall tales. The table had to be sacrificed in the editing process, but I couldn’t murder it outright.

Instead, I saved it for you. The veracity of Relgan’s claims I leave up to you…

Relgan’s Outrageous Tales

Roll 1d6 and consult the following table:

1d6	“Relgan and…”
1	“…the Desperate Ettin.” How Relgan was approached by an Ettin desperate to hire a sword hand to protect its treasure horde; Relgan took the job and then robbed the Ettin in the night.
2	“…the Ever-Playing Lute.” How Relgan discovered the location of the magical Elven lute that plays music at the Inn. He took it from the lair of a dragon living deep in Mystamyr Forest, tricking the beast in a riddle game.
3	“…the Blood Axe.” How Relgan took the Blood Axe from the claws of a powerful Orog chieftain up in the Thunder Peaks. He had to best the creature in a dwarf-to-orog duel and took the blade as his trophy.
4	“…the Unrequited Love.” How Relgan met and fell in love with a beautiful Dwarven Princess from Zirazund, winning her heart through his bold exploits. A witch charmed the Princess’ father, however, and the old King cursed Relgan so he would never agree to his daughter’s marriage. Mortified, the Princess jumped from the highest peak rather than lose her love for Relgan.
5	“…the Griffon of Hellspike.” How Relgan’s party of adventurers were ambushed upon the slopes of far-off Hellspike Mountain in the depths of winter. Although he and his companions all suffered grievous wounds, Relgan was able to muster the strength to throw his axe at the head of beast a fell it. From there, Relgan led the party through the storm to a cave where they rested for 40 days and 40 nights.
6	“…the Secret of Springmead.” How Relgan acquired the recipe for his famous Springmead from an Elven maiden who was grateful for her rescue from an abusive suitor. Relgan was the one who revealed the suitor’s true nature as an evil demon and banished the creature with a single swing of his mighty axe.

While I have been updating the details on Anminster, set five years after the events in the module, I couldn’t resist reviving this old piece of lore and including it in my game. I hope it amuses you too.

Game on!

This post was originally shared via my old blog, UbiquitousRat.net, on May 7th, 2017. I’ve imported it here so that it doesn’t get lost but I also slightly tweaked things to bring it into 2021. I hope you don’t mind.