The Tunnels of Tonivar - Design Notes

Amongst my left over notes from the Tunnels of Tonivar game was a little section on the Kalar-Wi and their motives.

Group Leader Tur’vak Hrak’lar (the leader of the Kalar-Wi party) is the son of Senior Group Leader Gir’kla Hrak’lar who served in the Kalar-Wi Ground Force which occupied part of Tonivar during the war. Tur'vak's father was killed, allegedly after the Kalar-Wi surrender, at the end of the war. Tur’vak has organised a covert mission to recover his father’s personal Honour Chest as well as the Honour Chest of the 1st Groupment of the 12th Regiment in which Group Leader Hrak’lar served.

Accompanied by five of his unit brothers and with two veterans of the 1st Groupment as guides, Tur’vak has also brought 12 Kiang retainers as muscle and extra security. He has also managed to gain the use of a 200 ton armed freighter for a brief amount of time, as well as two sealed G-vans for local transport.

I think that when I started writing this, and the other material on the Kalar-Wi, they stopped being the remorseless evil bad guys of old and became - to me - people. Inspired, in part, by accounts of the relatives of World War II Japanese soldiers and airmen seeking to find just an item of equipment or clothing of their lost relative, it made me think a bit more about the Kalar-Wi, about their society, and how they might act and react.

While it's a pity I wasn't able to reveal this piece to the players, the discussion with the Antiquarian Ghorman Holk about the nature of the Kalar-Wi Honour Chest, and its importance in Kalar-Wi society did give the players a little insight into what motivates the Kalar-Wi.