1-off C: Ten Kings in the Triangle

12 Oscow 2218

Introduction

"For over 2000 years the Gods have had the people of Nine Alignments at each others' throats. But if we could only ignore Them; if we could work together, just imagine what we could achieve."

(King Bjørn II, in his invitations to the Summoning)

By the Year 2218 The Art of Binding had reached its zenith in Anarea. For it was in that year that the greatest Summoning by mortals yet recorded took place. The nine greatest Binders in the World; the most experienced of each Alignment, came together, at the invitation of King Bjørn II of the North, the greatest of them all, and said indeed to have been the greatest Binder ever, to perform what is generally considered to be the supreme feat of Demon Summoning: the Binding in one session of all nine Demon Kings:

• LUCIFUGE ROFOCALE, King of Good Law
• SATANACHIA, King of Good Neutrality
• BELIAL, King of Good Chaos
• AGALIAREPT, King of Neutral Law
• TARCHIMACHE, King of Neutrality
• FLEURETY, King of Neutral Chaos
• SARGATANAS, King of Evil Law
• NEBIROS, King of Evil Neutrality, and
• ABBADON, King of Evil Chaos

The nine Binders, whose identities Bjørn had discovered by Summoning were:

• For Good Law; Duraxil, of the Icemen, hermit and philosopher
• For Good Neutrality; Bjørn himself, called "the Demon King", son and heir of the popular liberator of the North from the religious austerity of the Church of ESCUS
• For Good Chaos; Aiello of the High Elves, famed for his lavish orgies
• For Neutral Law; a Valdrean who, understandably, wished to remain anonymous
• For Neutrality; Thrainson Brimstone-Drinker, Royal Binder to the Court of the King of All Dwarves
• For Neutral Chaos; Hamblin the Unready, the self-styled "luckiest man in the World"
• For Evil Law; 43, "Balrogs' Bane", of the Palaces of Hell
• For Evil Neutrality; Chemzor of Tehmor, of the Cult of the Twin-headed Cobra, a HAERIM-worshipping sect currently in the ascendant amongst the Nineteen Factions that hold that city in their thrall, and
• For Evil Chaos; Kobalen of Kuntax, a formerly model citizen, now believed to be Possessed, because of his excesses, and driven from his home following an attempt to ravish and sacrifice seventy-seven virgins

Bjørn's plan went far beyond the prestige of the Summoning. In his ceaseless quest for knowledge, he now intended to use the Demon Kings to seize the ultimate prize: the Nine Books of OMERRON, Demigod of Knowledge. In these Artefacts, one for each Alignment are written the sum total of All Knowledge...

P.R. Wild, 16 August 1985

DM's Note

"Ten Kings" was my most controversial 1-off. Indeed, it was the most controversial Anarea run ever. Most of the players felt they had been tricked, and that it was not a proper game, although they admired the cleverness of the trick and did not regret taking part. My response was essentially that the 1-off was a chance to experiment with their preconceptions of what constituted a role-playing game, and if they let such meta considerations influence their in-character play, then they deserved all they got.

Pete Flowers, as Bjørn II, was the only one in on the trick. After the Nine Kings had been Summoned, and had brought the Nine Books (as yet unread), Bjørn stepped into the Triangle (making the Tenth King), thus breaking the Ritual and forfeiting everyone's immortal soul (except possibly his own). Game over.

Why did Bjørn do this? A possible answer is to be found in his Journal...

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