Sickly Purple Death Ray

Interesting Places: Tomb of Yekelil

2011-04-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Today's map is dedicated to all my Internet friends who hate blue maps.

This map revisits last year's map of the Tomb of Yekelil, one of the many levels within the megadungeon known as The Tombs. The basics remain the same, but the level is greatly expanded and somewhat more vertically interesting. Have fun keying this one!

The Fine Print: I am sharing this map under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create.

Nothing New Under the Sun

2011-03-30T08:30:00.000-07:00

Inspiration is interesting, particularly when you recognize it in hindsight. I had previously thought that I had been channeling Richard Corben and Vaughn Bodé when I illustrated The Tombs.

I read Moebius' Arzach (from Heavy Metal #1) while flying to Chicago to go to Gary Con III. What do I see on the first page of Moebius's 1977 masterpiece? None other than The Tombs.

I never set out to rip off Moebius. In fact, until that flight I had never even had the pleasure of viewing Arzach. I guess my mind just inhabits some of the same spaces as Moebius. What's really weird, though, is that I signed my name in pretty much the same place that Moebius signed his. Coincidence? Synchronicity? Whatever you want to call it, it's cool by me.

Gary Con III

2011-03-28T11:22:00.000-07:00

Gary Con III was fantastic this year, as expected. I played for five-and-a-half hours in Grodog's Greyhawk Castle. We explored a seriously nice homage to EGG's Black Reservoir. Of the classic creatures documented from that sub-level, we encountered and slew pteranadons and giant albino crabs (which happened to be of the spell-turning variety). We also met and dispatched giant spiders (save or die!) and a mess of thouls, lacedons and zagedons (aquatic ghasts). We made a brief excursion off-level, ran into a giant colony of brown mold (literally) and fled back to the safe murk of the Black Reservoir. We managed to see quite a bit of the place in the time we played, but never managed to achieve my two personal goals: combat with the sea monster therein and access to the black tower on Sorcerer's Isle. Perhaps next time... or not, as I'm also interested in Gro's other Greyhawk jaunts: the heretical temple of Wee Jas and the quest for Kuroth's Quill. In any case, the crew held up well and we had a blast. Good times.

My other primary Gary Con activity this year was playing Metamorphosis Alpha with James Ward. This is always an almost-excessive amount of fun. Jim is quite the amazing referee, always keeping the action moving and ensuring maximal paranoia. This time we were space marines on an adventure before the Time of Darkness. We were dispatched from the Warden via scout ship to recon Terraforming Outpost Alpha One, from which all communication had ceased. We docked with the outpost and managed to get onboard. The AI was apparently on the fritz, as an alien spacecraft had crashed into the outpost, releasing a deadly microbial fungus onboard. Amazingly, we experienced minimal death until the final five minutes, at which time the AI executed everybody HAL-9000 style. Overall, it was a fast-paced game and everybody had fun. Most telling was the fact that our table out-laughed the entire local vicinity for the duration of play. Awesome. It's great to see Jim doing well and killing players. Things are right in the universe.

As always, there was the uncovering of dim mysteries from our hobby's past. This time the one that sticks out is the origins of Villains and Vigilantes. As it turns out, Jeff Dee and Jack Herman were having an argument about who would win in a fight: Spider-Man or the Human Torch. To settle matters, they used TSR's 1975 EPT for stats and combat mechanics and fought it out. I don't recall who won, but the long and short of it is that EPT served as the vehicle behind the V&V proof-of-concept. Once Jeff and Jack saw it working, they sequestered themselves and wrote the actual rules we see today. EPT behind V&V. How crazy is that?

As per usual, there were lots of celebrity sightings. Luke and Ernie Gygax, James Ward, Tim Kask, and Frank Mentzer were in attendance as expected. I also saw Tom Wham, Jean Wells, Jeff Dee, Bill Willingham, Jon Pickens, and many more. It was great to meet so many people that I speak with online, all gathered together for some serious fun. I can't wait until Gary Con IV!

Interesting Places: Beneath the Cemetery

2011-03-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody. I'm too swamped to write anything, so I'll let the map speak for itself.

Various mausoleums from the cemetery have stairs descending to a series of musty catacombs. Luckily for our adventurers, these catacombs are connected to some tasty ghoul warrens. Fantastic.

The Fine Print: I am sharing this map under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create.

Interesting Places: Ruins of the Undertemple

2011-03-14T08:30:00.000-07:00

I recently absconded with my wife's Wacom Intuos graphics tablet. If that wasn't bad enough, I put a serious dent in the color ink cartridge supply as I spent my free time over the next several days drawing and printing map after map. Here is the latest experiment: the ruined chambers beneath an ancient temple, done in the early TSR no repro blue style. Enjoy!

No backstory here—you figure it out!

The Fine Print: I am sharing this map under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create.

Uncommon Art

2011-03-04T08:30:00.000-08:00

I've never said it before, but I have always been a huge fan of the artwork of DCS III. Overshadowed by later artists, DCS III was instrumental in setting the tone of D&D. The early work he did for TSR remains inspirational to me to this day. Later, when I got heavily involved with M.A.R. Barker's Empire of the Petal Throne, I was thrilled to discover that DCS III was there, too.

Cue to present day. I recently sold off the uncool half of my RPG collection, so all that remains are items that I truly cherish. I have been reorganizing the remaining collection into a new web app for easy perusal. As I was cataloging the EPT section, I came across Legions of the Petal Throne: Fantasy Miniatures Wargame Rules for the World of Tékumel (1977). Now there have been a lot of miniatures rules for Tékumel, including Missúm! (1978) and Qadardalikoi (1983), but what's cool about Legions is that it was written by DCS III and M.A.R. Barker. Unfortunately, Legions is long out of print. Until recently, Tita's House of Games carried a reprint of the TSR original, but it, too, is out of print. In any case, Legions is filled with awesome DCS III combat imagery, as typified by these two selections:

(I'm rooting for that Shén to plant his axe in the face of that pesky human fighting-man.)

But Legions has something else inside which is, oh I don't know, pretty dang rare: Tékumel art by none other than DAT. Here are two selections for your edification:

How cool is that? I love the detail that Tramp put into these illustrations. Aside from the armor detail, check out the plants. When Tramp does plants—even the most mundane plants—they always end up looking so very cool and otherworldly.

Interesting Places: Sinister Sub-Level

2011-02-28T08:30:00.000-08:00

I'm still operating in an overloaded state—it's amazing that I even find the time to sketch out these little maps. In any case, here's a quick one for you: the Sinister Sub-Level.

The place is lost, located within that hideous ruin. A single staircase, conveniently cloaked in a perpetual mist, descends to an apparent dead end. Beyond, if one can locate the secret doors, lies a great treasure… a great treasure guarded by a host of terrible things.

The Fine Print: I am sharing this map under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create.

Interesting Places: Evil Temple

2011-02-07T08:30:00.000-08:00

I'm spread far too thin to spend much time on the blog these days. Bear with me, it won't last forever. In the meantime, enjoy a map of an evil temple. This place is hidden deep within some caves in a lesser-traveled region of one of your dungeon levels.

The approach is guarded by a contingent of humanoids of the most vile and disgusting sort. Fed sacrificial remains by the evil priests, they are as loyal as they are bloodthirsty. They will attack en masse, fighting to a particularly gruesome death, for their masters know no mercy. In addition to being wicked and cruel, these monsters are thoroughly diseased.

The passage from their cavernous antechamber to the temple is awash in a sea of alien glyphs. Covering every conceivable surface, the spidery glyphs swim in the torchlight. Suddenly, the glyphs are leaping off the walls in droves! It would be a comical sight if it weren't for the animated glyphs exploding in your faces. Each bursts with unique energies, forcing terrible mayhem upon all.

The true evil of the place manifests once the temple is breached. Dark sorceries swirl in chaos and fire. Braziers, lit one moment, swim in blood the next. Blood weirds leap to the attack while sinewy wights emerge from the shadows, their undead flesh smoking in the dim light. A strangely hypnotic voice intones a sickening chant that weaves between your thoughts. You realize that you might not make it out of here alive.

The Fine Print: I am sharing this map under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create.

Interesting Places: An Experiment

2011-01-31T08:00:00.000-08:00

In early 2010, when I was just getting the interesting places series of maps started, a reader commented that, "I still have this problem with how to describe such an environment without just draw out the intricate twists on a battlemap." (This was in reference to the Caves of Madness map.) Having drawn some caves recently, I have been revisiting this very problem.

I mentioned this to Z and she recommended that I look into bubble diagrams, a spatial organization technique used by designers to establish relationships between rooms and areas in a house or building. First, what a great way to spec out the flow of a map before setting down to draw it. Second, it reminded me of the kinds of maps we used to make while trying to figure out how to navigate through Zork back in the day. Without any further thought, I quickly sketched out a flow:

If you look closely, you can see that this sketch corresponds to the cave map up top that I eventually drew. I didn't follow any of the conventions associated with bubble diagrams. In fact, owing to my computer science background, this sketch turned out to be closer to a graph than a bubble diagram. Nevertheless, it's good enough for our purposes. The next step was to translate the graph into a series of twisty caves. I pulled out the trusty light box and turned this out in about five minutes:

Although this map is closer to reality, it is still just a guide. The main thing to note is that the edges are now no longer straight. Now admittedly, this is a nothing more than a quick and dirty example. I didn't spend a lot of time trying to make this map beautiful. Other than a couple of dead end caves, there aren't any dead end passages. Aside from a few ledges and terraces, there are no vertical challenges detailed anywhere. This map is simply an experiment to illustrate one method of describing a subterranean trek.

How would you use these maps in play? For those of you into production, you could turn the graph into a transparency and overlay the actual map. I'm lazy, however, and would be happy to use both maps simultaneously. When describing the location of passages and general directions, and perhaps even for looking up the key, I would use the graph. For everything else, including calculating distances and areas, I would use the detailed map. Your mileage may vary.

The Fine Print: I am sharing this map under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create.

Interesting Places: Caves of the Hruk-chang

2011-01-19T08:30:00.000-08:00

This map started out as a doodle on a small note pad of graph paper. I spent maybe 40 minutes sketching out the passages. Then I digitally tweaked the image to its final form. I never think too hard about these maps while I draw them. As a result, it's always fun for me to look at the shapes which emerge. (I'd liken it to automatic-mapping, but there's nothing supernatural about it.)

There's not a lot of back story associated with this particular map. (In truth, I created it to test out a new monster.) The caves are themselves somewhat generic. Within, a number of passages are collapsed or otherwise sealed. This is by design. I also left off the scale so you can decide for yourself how big this place actually is. Twenty feet seems about right for my tastes, but don't let that stop you from making this the colossal, 100-foot-to-the-square, abode of some hideous, techno-giant for your sword & planet game.

You might place these caves along a vine-covered cliff deep within the rotting jungles of some forgotten world or in a northern wasteland of ice and snow. The caves could also be attached to a gargantuan cavern, just another detour amongst many in some dismal underworld. It's really up to you to decide how to interpret and use this map. As for the namesake of the place, that too is left as an exercise. I know what my Hruk-chang are. What are yours?

The Fine Print: I am sharing this map under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create.

Interesting Places: The Sunken Temple

2011-01-05T08:30:00.000-08:00

Ages past, when the worship of centuries-forgotten gods was still commonplace, there stood a magnificent temple. Raised by the priests of Omanan, god of cool air, the place was an opulent edifice of stone and marble. People came from miles around to worship within its cavernous halls, marveling at its resplendent wealth.

Over time, the high priest became obsessed with wealth and power. Mundane statues were replaced with golden obelisks and the people were made to pay for the privilege of worship. Exorbitant tithes, collected under his baleful watch, sent worshipers headlong into debt and slavery. Temple priests congratulated themselves behind drawn curtains even as a web of shadow and delusion overtook them. Sinister rites replaced the chants of Omanan; temple halls, once perfumed, now reeked of pungent incense; and altars were blackened with the blood of sacrifice.

Dismayed by the decline and abuse, Omanan sent omens to the priesthood. Unheedful, the heartless priests continued to worship their new demoniac lords. Betrayed, Omanan visited inexorable divine retribution upon them. Spectral rays rained down upon the priests from the heavens like infernal light emanating from some distant star. The priests were slain instantly, only to be raised anew as soulless, gibbering, dead things. The temple became a crypt.

The people of the surrounding lands read the signs, picked up and moved on. Rivers changed course over the intervening years and the once fertile lands dried up. The temple disappeared beneath shifting sands, its undead inhabitants destined to the languor of the crypt. Travelers dread the arid wasteland, for scarcely an oasis can be found within its emptiness. Worse, the chill winds of night carry eerie cries from beyond the grave.

The Fine Print: I am sharing this map under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create.

Paris!

2011-01-03T14:46:00.000-08:00

Hello all. I'm not dead or banished to another dimension, just busy. The wife and I recently returned from a honeymoon in Paris, and the day job remains hectic as ever. Work continues apace on the first Calific product.

In the meantime, Paris! We stayed in a nice hotel in the Marais district, an area once frequented by the Knights Templar. The place was brimming with historical architecture and Z and I had quite the time. In addition to all the usual stuff—Musée du Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, and the Eiffel Tower—we did our own brand of fun stuff, including checking out St. Gervais et St. Protais Church, Église Saint-Sulpice, and Pierre Hermé. The medieval churches were very cool. The first was used by Templars in the middle ages and is home to an urban monastic order today. The second was featured in The Da Vinci Code. As for Pierre Hermé, you haven't lived until you have consumed one too many macarons!

While walking what seemed like hundreds and hundreds of kilometers, I managed to steer us into a couple of game shops. Z picked up a new set of dice at StarPlayer: pink and black, her favorite color combination. It did not hurt that these were official Call of Cthulhu dice, and therefore covered with snaking tentacles (something she really can't get enough of):

I tried to find something to buy at StarPlayer, but all I found was mainstream stuff: lots of Games Workshop, Pathfinder®, miniatures, etc. I couldn't even find any special dice. This should not be construed as a diss on StarPlayer, for they were easily the best game shop we experienced in Paris. I just wish they had a shelf of more eclectic offerings hidden in a niche in the far back. A little later in the day we stopped in at Descartes Ecoles, where I finally managed to find the right sort of purple dice to round out my sickly purple dice collection.

Happy New Years!

2011-01-01T13:51:00.000-08:00

If you're going to be run through with a sword this year, then I hope it's this guy that does you in.

Speaking of New Years… resolutions. I'm not making any this year. Last year I said I was going to read 100 books. Ha! I managed to squeeze in a whole, earth-shattering twenty. With the day job, Calific, and the software side projects, well, there's just not as much time for reading as I'd like. I'm going to keep slipping in books wherever I can, but I'm not going to commit to an unreasonable number this time around.

Happy 2011, everybody.

15 Games in 15 minutes Meme

2010-10-18T19:34:00.000-07:00

Taking a cue from Jeff Grubb, here are fifteen games, in no particular order, that influenced the hell out of me and will always be with me:

Although this list is oriented towards pen & paper RPGs, I definitely count myself a video game enthusiast. (I would have stuck Ultima II & III on the list if I had more room. The same goes for The Morrow Project.)

RPG Art: Tegel Manor

2010-10-14T11:17:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've been sprucing up the Calific office, hanging things that inspire me. One of my favorite haunted ruins from yesteryear is Judges Guild's Tegel Manor. There are so many things that I love about this product. Whatever you may think about Judges Guild, they definitely had a major impact on the hobby.

Recently, Bob Bledsaw's original map of Tegel Manor was reproduced and sold through Cafe Press by none other than Bob, Jr. I picked one up and had it framed. The result just came in and it's quite nice looking.

Whenever I see this I will definitely gravitate towards thinking about complex arrangements of rooms, rich detail, and color. What really piques my interest about this map is the quantity of information packed into it. Aside from the room labels, themselves, there are suggestive images, written details of sounds and other dressing, use of various colors, and so forth. It would be an interesting experiment to eschew the key and run the whole adventure from just the map (with a suitable collection of beasties, of course).

More Russ Nicholson Art

2010-09-15T22:58:00.000-07:00

Russ Nicholson has put up a new post where he relates some of the events from the Mon du Jeu convention that recently happened in Paris. He shares some pictures that, for various reasons, didn't make it into his presentation. Among the pictures are this blog's banner and the back cover illustration for MAROONED ACROSS SPACE AND TIME. Depicted is a band of ragtag adventurers, including a chitinous man, fighting off the hostile advance of a mutant strangler. Good times!

What's extra cool to me is that the picture immediately following is a reworking of the Githyanki and Githzerai, originally made famous in the Fiend Folio. The denizens of Yezmyr are in good company, to be sure.

Interesting Places: Day of the Otyugh

2010-09-08T18:03:00.000-07:00

This is my final take on the Otyugh Trough.

I like this version the best. I've totally lost the contemporary "over-Photoshopped" look, accentuated the hand drawn nature, and simplified visual interpretation. The muck is easy to see, there are no grid lines where you don't need them, etc. At this point I am done with this subject, but I will continue to experiment with this style.

The Fine Print: I am sharing this map under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create.

Interesting Places: Otyugh Trough Redux

2010-09-08T09:20:00.000-07:00

I'm not one for the "dungeon tile" look championed by producers of the 3E/4E eras, nor am I down with "excessive Photoshop." I hear a lot of "I like hand drawn maps," and I can appreciate that. At the same time, however, there's a lot of awful hand drawn maps out there. (And lest you think I'm sitting on some sort of high horse, I too have drawn any number of awful maps.)

I got no comments on the recent Otyugh Trough post, which is too bad, because I was hoping to get some discussion of sewer maps going. There are a lot of really crappy sewer maps out there. (Bad pun intended.) HUGE RUINED PILE recently posted a sewer map from a 3rd party producer that, while curvaceous, was way too bland looking. (Not so humble opinion alert.) That map served as my (negative) inspiration to draw up the Otyugh Trough.

I tried to go for a cross between old and new with the Otyugh Trough map. It was hand drawn, but I used Photoshop to add detail. In addition, on that particular map I experimented with a texture fill to represent the nasty, swirling muck. Maybe that doesn't work so well? As an experiment, I am posting a less refined version. This is how it looked before I used any fills or textures. Now you can actually see where I used the brush along the periphery of the walls.

This version reminds me somewhat of the maps of the dungeons beneath Tegel Manor. Specifically, the fine detail of the terraced ledges. In the previous rendition they were lost amidst the textured muck. Now they are clear as rows of sharp teeth. The peripheral brush strokes remind me of Mythmere's map of the first level of Tomb of the Iron God. Although less "contemporary" looking, this map excites my eye much more than the previous. The only thing I am really left wondering about is whether I should fill in the interior earth areas or not. Should I let the grid extend outside of the tunnels and chambers or not? Opinions? Also, I tend to back my maps with black instead of "no repro blue." Does anyone really give a damn? I mean, really? Just wondering…

The Fine Print: I am sharing this map under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create.

A New Publishing Endeavor

2010-09-04T02:11:00.000-07:00

Russ Nicholson put up a nice post on his blog yesterday that mentioned an email exchange we had recently. In addition to being uproariously funny, it reminded me that I hadn't launched the new Calific™ website. Well, the cat's out of the bag now. I kicked the site screaming into the world a few hours ago and I'm terrifically excited about it.

Calific™ is my new gaming company. Its focus is on science fantasy, one of my chief loves. I've been sick to death of elves, dwarfs, and hobbits for the longest time. I want to mix things up. To that end, I'm aiming to channel some serious Brian Aldiss and Richard Corben. It's high time that the fringe got some fresh exposure. I'm going to start with some modules.

There are tons of adventures out there in the world, but to this day I've not found the breed of science fantasy module that I crave. Calific™ will start by changing that. An initial series of three modules is planned, starting with Y1 MAROONED ACROSS SPACE AND TIME. I'll spare you the details, as you can read about it at the company's website.

There's still a metric ton of work to be done before Y1 sees the light of day. The good news is that 90% of the art assignments are in. The bad news is that I'm not finished with the writing. Moreover, there are still the matters of editing, layout, and printing to be dealt with. If all that's not crazy enough, we've only just begun to scratch the surface with play testing. There really is a ton of stuff to do. Luckily, I've got lots of help.

I'll speak more on this endeavor in due course. For now, I want to keep my energies focused on the work at hand. That necessarily means continuing with the light posting schedule. I do plan to keep posting on this blog, however. The Creative Commons maps, while they may be few and far between, are definitely not going away. I love sharing my experiments with you.

Interesting Places: Otyugh Trough

2010-09-02T01:12:00.000-07:00

Deep within the bowels of the City of Splendor, in the sub-sewers beneath the Domain of the Demon Rats, is the Otyugh Trough. So named because of the many otyugh that dwell within, this is a nightmarish place. The upper sewers from the city drain here through a complex network of miasmic tunnels. The air is befouled by noxious fumes wafting from the rivers of offal and muck that ooze throughout. These tunnels are extremely dangerous. If the vile creatures inhabiting the bubbling waste don't do you in, the horrible diseases you will catch most certainly will. And where there is solid ground, it is covered with refuse and garbage from ages past. In addition to ferocious otyugh, slimes and molds are a common threat.

This particular map was fun to draw. Some points, in no particular order:

✸ Although you probably can't tell, this was my first experiment with the PITT big brush. I've had one for a while, but I didn't know how I should use it. Well, I said screw it and drew this map. Although I'm not using it to its potential, I am at least cured of my trepidation.

✸ I listened to Dark Angel the entire time I drew, which was a welcome blast from the past. (GENE HOGLAAAAAAAN!)

✸ Otyugh are 8 feet wide. so they might not be able to comfortably make it down all of the gnarly corridors of this place.

✸ I believe those stairs in the southwest mark the beginning of the Thousand Steps, which ultimately wind their way to a lesser traveled area of the Domain of the Demon Rats (which I plan to eventually detail).

All the rest is to be determined by your imagination.

The Fine Print: I am sharing this map under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create.

An Update to the Death Ray

2010-08-25T21:31:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the new look of the blog. Check out the killer picture by Russ Nicholson. I love the detail in this image. Just look at those alien reliefs on the wall through the archway. And of course, the EHP wasting that pesky adventurer with the sickly purple death ray is de rigueur.

Russ has been working with me on projects for Calific, my new gaming company. The company's web site will launch next week. I'll post more about this later.

System Change

2010-08-25T09:30:00.000-07:00

I can't seem to stick with any particular set of rules for very long. The current campaign started out with OD&D, got house ruled, and eventually sidelined for a heavily modified Holmes, which I named Holmes YX. Now I've gone and switched to Swords & Wizardry Core Rules. There are a lot of reasons behind this move. Publicly, I'll just say that now there's a vehicle for making available some of those YX rules I spent so much time developing.

I've also been doing a fair amount of work designing a new pantheon of deities for an update to the Yezmyr campaign. I'm quite pleased with the results thus far, and that really gives me pause, I had dropped clerics from play earlier in the year. Now I am reconsidering that move. Primarily, there is the fact that three of my players really run with the strange gods I tend to create. Why should I take that away from them. Moreover, S&W Core supports clerics and I really want to keep my S&W Core support full and clean.

Dyerevshpil

2010-08-13T21:29:00.000-07:00

I'm swamped with writing tasks at the moment, so here's another old map from the pile. This one is a medieval Russian fantasy map of the environs of Dyerevshpil (which should translate to "Woodspire"), a covenant of magi located deep within the heart of Kievan Rus'.

We gamed with this map back in 1993. An acquaintance who was studying Russian at the time provided me with all the translations for the place names. I've since lost the original list of place names and associated translations. It matters not, as you don't need to be able to read Russian to understand the threat of this map. There are undoubtedly trolls, dragons, hostile villagers, monks, and witches depicted thereupon. (And for the record, I didn't once think of Baba Yaga while working on this particular map.)

The Eyrie of Eirik the Elder

2010-08-10T00:02:00.000-07:00

Copyright © 2010, Ramsey Dow. All Rights Reserved.

Here's a map I drew maybe eighteen years ago. It's the tower of an old spell caster of mine, Eirik the Elder. Eirik specialized in controlling the winds.

What's most interesting to me about this map is that I can really see the level of influence Terry K. Amthor had on me in earlier years. No doubt it was all those wonderful Middle Earth adventures put out by Iron Crown Enterprises back in the day. Those things were filled with TKA's maps. I didn't play MERP all that much, but I sure read the hell out of all those old ICE adventures. In any case, I still really enjoy this style of map. It draws a stark contrast to the curtain wall approach employed by the upper level geomorphs of TSR.

Looking at this map I realize that I never actually keyed it up. Alas, most of the details regarding the place have been lost to the vestiges of time. Still, seeing this again after so many years makes me want to redraw it and key it up, this time perhaps as the tower of some fell wizard.

Spotted on a shopping trip to Harajuku

2010-07-29T13:37:00.000-07:00

Insert obligatory Vecna joke here…

(From a post on Boing Boing.)

LotFP Weird Fantasy RPG pics posted on Dragonsfoot

2010-07-22T18:30:00.000-07:00

Jim Raggi mailed out comp copies of his new RPG earlier this week and they have begun to land. A gamer in Scotland received a copy and posted a number of pictures in a thread on Dragonsfoot. Of all the pictures posted, my favorite is of the wilderness map I drew:

This map is from the Weird New World module included in the boxed set. At 24 miles to the hex, it covers quite an area.

It literally took days to draw and color this map. There were two back-to-back all-nighters involved because of the scope of the work and the inflexible deadline. Afterward, my right hand ached for several days. Nevertheless, I'm quite pleased with how this map turned out. It is big, detailed, and vibrant.

Update: Additional pictures of my maps for Weird Fantasy Role-Playing can be seen here and here.

Interesting Places: Dismal Catacombs

2010-07-16T04:11:00.000-07:00

I know I've been M.I.A. for a while now. During my time away from the blog I've been busy doing maps for James Raggi's new Weird Fantasy Role-Playing Game and its attendant adventures. Now that I've had a couple of days to relax, I felt like it was time to get back in the swing of things. I blew off some steam and cranked this sucker out this evening.

What is this place? I don't know—you tell me. Perhaps it is the lair of an extended family of Fomorian giants. The place could be magically windy, with all manner of strange flying creatures inhabiting its odd passages. Alternately, you could make each square represent 100 feet, transforming the place into an ancient draconian burial system.

This could be a hunting grounds, periodically swept by organized predators from both above and below. Along similar lines, perhaps these are halls of blood and carnage, where rival humanoid factions come together to fight in an ages old conflict. It could also be a long-forgotten magical forge gone awry, haunted by scores of autonomous dancing blades.

If none of the aforementioned ideas are to your liking then you could get even more extreme. Consider flooding the entire level, requiring intrepid adventurers to be in possession of magical air breathing equipment should they want to explore it. Personally, however, I like to imagine that this place is nothing more than one of the deeper levels of The Tombs.

Some notes:

There are no less than ten passages leading off-map. Moreover, there is at least one set of stairs and multiple shafts and sinkholes—all leading who knows where. Thus, this map makes an excellent candidate for a junction. You can never really have enough junctions in your megadungeon.
There are quite a few long corridors throughout. These might be covered with hideous glyphs, or they might be choked with mold and other filth.
See that huge round chamber? What if it is not a chamber, but rather an enormous shaft descending for a half mile? See that small, inaccessible cave in the southwest? Perhaps it, too, is a shaft. Better yet, it is a cyst or geode.

I was doubly inspired while drawing this map. First, it was definitely influenced by the Parisian Catacombs. I watched a segment on that very subject in a documentary on urban exploration earlier in the week. In addition, while drawing I kept thinking of a particularly classic D&D picture. Perhaps you know the one I am talking about: that fantastic DAT illustration of the magic mouth at the top of the stairway descending into infinite darkness. Inspirational stuff!

Enjoy! There will be more in the same vein in the future.

The Fine Print: I am sharing this map under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create.

Interesting Places: Hall of Fiery Death

2010-07-12T22:52:00.000-07:00

We were fugitives to a man, escaped slaves. While crossing the eastern Aurora Badlands our caravan had the misfortune of disturbing a large nest of Tlaké beetles. Those flesh-eating insects swarmed the caravan, consuming flesh in rapturous delight. Only a few of us survived. We fled deeper into that sun-drenched wasteland. We would have surely died had it not been for Old Whitan's discovery of the cave. Damn that cave! We got so lost within its depths that to this day I still don't know fer how long we were down there. It musta been weeks. But I'm not complaining, see, 'cause we were free, and there was plenty of water.

Startin' out, the cave was easy to navigate. We made good time as we passed through a number of huge caverns. Eventually, ease gave way to vertical drops, perilously narrow passages, and raging torrents. Our pace slowed to a crawl. It was a hellish place, I tell you. It was very nearly always wet and everyone was constantly on edge. The oppressive darkness was beginning to take a toll on us all.

After yet another treacherous descent, we emerged into a ragged tunnel. The way ahead was lit by a dim reddish glow. That's when Old Whitan went batshit and took off, runnin' straight into that glow. I remember it like it was yesterday. He was a hootin' and hollerin' like a crazed one! We ran after him, but were too late. The reddish glow came from a swift, open-faced lava flow. Old Whitan musta lost his footing, as he fell straight on in. He didn't get much of a chance to scream. Sometimes the darkness will make a man go crazy, know?

Anyways, the lava flow provided much needed light and we were mighty pleased by it. Lookin' around, it was apparent this place had received a chiselin' hand. The walls, although rough, had obviously been tooled and rose up in a great curved arch. Who woulda thunk to discover something like this so deep within a cave? We kept moving.

Eventually we emerged into a vast chamber. It musta been a hundred feet long, if not a day. Huge pillars of rock rose into the darkness above. This place was definitely fashioned by some intelligence. The very rock of the place was old and seemed to be decaying, turning into chalky, white dust. And the floor… it was a mess of metal bits, bones, and other strange scraps. There was a very unwholesome feel to this place.

Chills went down all our spines when the whirring and clacking sounds started up. At first we were scared and confused, but all became clear. We were beset by man-machines of death. They were corrupt, decayed beyond years, and belching foul smoke and acid. There was nowhere to run. The men were butchered and mauled by those death machines. I only escaped because I twisted my ankle and fell headlong into a sinkhole. Luckily, I broke no bones and managed to crawl off into sweet darkness. In time I managed to win back freedom from the darkness. That was a long time ago.

The Fine Print: I am sharing this map under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create.

Where's Yesmar?

2010-06-28T13:21:00.000-07:00

I haven't abandoned this blog, I've just been inordinately busy as of late:

I bought a new house.
Z and I got moved in and squared away in record time.
I created two home offices this time: the usual one for security consulting and one for the new RPG business.
The future mother-in-law came for a visit.
I'm exiting the freelance cartography business with a bang, doing all the maps for the next several LotFP releases: Hammers of the God, Tower of the Stargazer, and the LotFP Weird Fantasy Role-Playing boxed set.

So yeah, it's been busy around here. The LotFP work is winding down this week and I've got a couple of new posts in development. Expect something later this week.

Joesky Keys the Forgotten Chambers

2010-04-11T20:25:00.000-07:00

Now this is what I'm talking about. Awesome!

Update: Joesky has posted Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of his key to the Forgotten Chambers. Good stuff!

Interesting Places: Forgotten Chambers

2010-04-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

A series of crumbling chambers, lost deep beneath the surface, awaiting your key.

This will be the last map for a while, as I need to get some projects completed. I'll be back later.

Edit: I left out a door on the previously posted map. I've corrected it in this map. I've also added a fifth sarcophagus because you can never have enough sarcophagi. <grin/>

The Fine Print: I am sharing this map under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create.

Interesting Places: Secrets

2010-04-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

There's no interesting history for today's map. It's simply the result of a five-minute doodle I made the other day. (Isn't it amazing how technology can be used to clean up a hasty sketch?) What I like about this map is that it is easy to navigate between the three exits. To get just about anywhere else requires detecting one or more secret doors, yielding plenty of places to hide things…

In one area there is a 20-foot square obsidian cube surrounded by twenty skeletons. I am sure that they will animate and menace the player characters in Ray Harryhausen fashion. How and when, of course, is up to you. Do they animate on the approach? Perhaps, when a daft character touches the cube? I really have no idea—you figure it out.

In another area is a pool of blood. It's on the ceiling, not the floor. The player characters will probably notice it by the periodic dripping of blood. The statue in the room is looking up and has its hands thrust into the crimson pool. What's the deal with this pool? More importantly, what is living in it?

So many questions, O creative DM.

The Fine Print: I am sharing this map under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create.

Interesting Places: Temple of the Ratgod

2010-03-31T07:00:00.000-07:00

Deep beneath the Citadel of the Sorcerer-King, in dungeons long forgotten, lies the Temple of the Ratgod. Sequestered behind hidden doors are the temple chambers. The whole area is ruined, with walls and ceiling looking like they might collapse at any moment. The place is strewn with great piles of refuse. Rot grubs and disease are a continual danger in this dismal place.

The Ratgod is ever-hungry for sacrifice. His slavering minions swarm the labyrinthine dungeons, skittering as they search for fresh victims. Those unlucky enough to be captured are brought back to the hidden temple where they are flayed alive, their skin cured and used for temple writings. Their flesh is shared by all in a sumptuous carnivorous feast, and their bones cast aside into blackened pits, forgotten by all but the marrow-sucking Tlaké beetles. They, too, shall have their feast.

The Fine Print: I am sharing this map under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create.

Interesting Places: Death Descent

2010-03-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

At long last you have found a means to access the lower levels! The secret door opens upon a great hall, its floor comprised of broad steps descending into the gloom. Possibly fashioned for giants, these steps have risers that are two or three feet high—quite unsuitable for the likes of your legs. The steps themselves are fashioned from great slabs of sandstone. They are decorated with naturally occurring bands of earthly tones.

Great columns, haphazardly placed, rise into the shadows. None of these columns are alike. Each is carved in a chaotic mess of reliefs of skulls and body parts and cryptic symbols, none of which have any apparent meaning. Curiouser are the deep sluiceways which bisect the steps, disappearing into the murkiness beyond the extent of your torches. The further you descend, the more you begin to take notice of the russet splotches staining the steps. You have a bad feeling about this…

Your descent is interrupted by a loud clanging to the rear! Whirling, you realize that a portcullis has dropped behind you, barring the way. Turning back around, you are greeted by a volley of flechettes. Screams arise as some of your companions drop. The sound of stone grating upon stone startles you. You quickly note that the walls to the left and right have shifted, revealing yawning black portals.

After what seems like long moments, two hulking forms emerge. You are flanked by enormous bronze golems. Their maddening gaze glows like the hot fires of hell. Then they are upon you, their fists flying in a flurry of crushing blows. Another rain of flechettes descends upon you. Then another. As you lay on the ground, crimson gushing between clenched fingers, you realize the purpose of the sluiceways.

The Fine Print: I am sharing this map under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create.

Interesting Places: Moldy Halls

2010-03-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted a map. Blame Gary Con II. In any case, I've got a huge mapping project ahead of me and I'm still not happy with my current style. This map is another one of my experiments, drawn in an attempt to evolve to something more appealing. I like it better than the previous experiment. It's closer to the look that I'm after. Frankly, I'm sick of clinical-looking maps, hence the rough edges evident on this map.

The Moldy Halls are ancient, lost deep within some labyrinthine delve, far beneath the sunlit world. Their original purpose is unknown. Today they form the home to a vast colony of purple mold. How this mold came to be is unknown. It covers everything in the areas where it has taken hold, growing over stone, debris, and refuse alike. The nature of this unusual colony of mold is left to the discerning dungeon master. Some points of interest:

There is a teleporter in an alcove in the room just north of the map compass. Where does this lead to?
There is a statue in the large, oddly-shaped chamber that is free of mold. Why? Is there something magical going on here?
The pools in the same chamber are choked with floating chunks of mold. They are clearly unsafe to drink or otherwise frolic in.
The spiral stairs leading to a lower level are choked with purple mold. How much of the lower expanse has been colonized by this mold?
Why are some corridors and rooms lined—but not choked—with mold? What force is keeping the colony at bay? Alternatively, was it destroyed in the past and only now beginning to reclaim the lost area?
Is there anything unusual about that spring on the eastern side of the map?
Where does that secret passage in the southwest corner of the map lead to?

The Fine Print: I am sharing this map under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create.

City of Splendor

2010-03-28T00:09:00.000-07:00

Dangerous Journeys Redux?

2010-03-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

After TSR, Gary Gygax created Dangerous Journeys. As a system, Dangerous Journeys addressed many issues with AD&D. Whereas AD&D's mechanics were based on rules imported from wargaming, Dangerous Journeys was designed to enable the telling of stories. Unfortunately, the game was sued into oblivion by TSR before it ever had a chance to take off.

Dangerous Journeys enjoys a small, faithful following today. I got a chance to see some of the key players playing Dangerous Journeys at Gary Con II. See that fat, black binder on the table? It contains the rules for Unhallowed, the never published supernatural expansion to Dangerous Journeys. There are interesting rumors surrounding the current fate of Dangerous Journeys. Although it's too early to say anything else, I've got my fingers crossed.

Black Box with Frank Mentzer

2010-03-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

While sitting around waiting for a Gamma World game to materialize, Frank Mentzer asked if I'd like to check out a game. Now I'm a sucker for games, so I was like, "Yeah!" Frank proceeded to explain the rules of Black Box, a board game released by Parker Brothers in 1978.

According to Frank, Parker Brothers released the game at Gen Con instead of directly to the mass market because it is a 'head game.' As it turned out, only some gamers are into head games, so Black Box wasn't a huge success.

Frank has a real knack for explaining rules and I picked up the game fairly quickly. In a nutshell, the game has a black box with 32 ports. Within the black box are situated four atoms, placed by one player. (Of course, these atoms are not actually placed on the board; rather, they are marked on a sheet.) The other player spends his time firing lasers into the black box through the ports. The results of these shots are indicated by placing various markers along the sides of the black box. It's not really all that complicated. We played a couple of times. Here's what the board looked like when Frank finally identified the locations of the atoms I had placed:

Of all the board games I have played, this one really stimulated me mentally. I'm definitely going to track down a copy. In addition, I wonder what a 3D expansion would play like? Better yet, how about a 4D version where atoms shift in and out of phase? Madness!

Wasted by a Wolfoid

2010-03-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday night was the highlight of Gary Con II for me. Z and I got to sit at Jim Ward's table for a game of Metamorphosis Alpha. In all, there were fourteen players. It was quite the experience watching Jim run the game. His refereeing style was commanding and he kept the action hot for the entire four-hour session.

I loved how he said up front that player characters with names longer than one syllable had a higher chance of dying. Everyone thus selected one-syllable names—except for that one guy that purposefully chose a two-syllable name. (As a result, he lost his Luck Charge immediately.) I named my character, "Arl." Jim looked me square and asked, "Arrr-rrrrrl?" I was like, "No! One syllable: Arrrrl." "Arrrrr-rrrrrrllllll." "Nonono! Arrrrrrl." This interplay persisted throughout the session. Brilliant.

Just behind us raged the battle of the moathouse. I would have taken more pictures of that event, but I was busy exploring The Warden. The game was hilarious—death and dismemberment were altogether too common. In truth, we were foolish players, touching irradiated things (ahem, purple grass) that would better have been left alone. We also did other stupid things involving barrels of explosive liquid, laser gun wielding androids, disintegration chambers, and more. The crazy antics of the game actually reminded me of Paranoia somewhat, although without the luxury of clones.

Jim would oftentimes veer off into a short side story about one the characters, explaining how they had come to possess some sort of item (usually footwear) or shard of knowledge. He would also frequently make editorial comments regarding various character statistics. For example,"What's your radiation resistance?" "19" "That's a verrrry good radiation resistance. You should be proud of that score." This sort of exchange indicated that the character was getting irradiated. Lovely.

The game was brutal and ended up in a 14-player TPK. Everyone didn't die at once, of course, but the first kill did occur about three minutes into the game. I managed to survive for three hours before my character bought it. I violated a primary rule: don't engage in combat unnecessarily. I threw my "bone" spear at a wolfoid instead of attempting to parley. I missed and it subsequently fragged me with a grenade. I mused to Jim that I hoped it was the mutation-inducing kind of grenade. In true form, Jim replied, "Wouldn't it be nice to mutate? That'd be the cool thing." Then he held out his hand and took my character sheet.

I'd like to take this opportunity to brag on Z. I introduced her to role playing games just one year ago. Now, at her very first con, she outlived me by forty-five minutes at Jim Ward's table. She was second to last to die. Outstanding. I couldn't be more pleased.

Woe vs. Weal: Chaos Wins Again!

2010-03-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

Gary Con II is over and I had a lot of fun. People are starting to post pictures of the con. Instead of posting the same sorts of pictures as everyone else, I'll instead share some snaps I made of the moathouse.

This, of course, is the infamous battle at the moathouse, played at various Lake Geneva, WI, gatherings. The battle is played out by the Forces of Woe and Weal using the Chainmail rules.

I always like looking at the less common approach. In this particular case, we have the uncool side of the moathouse. (Apologies for the glare from the far windows; it snowed the morning I took these initial pictures.)

Looking in on the moathouse we can see the Forces of Woe getting ready for the coming battle.

Here's a closeup of the chaos leadership.

Here are the Forces of Weal in pre-game disarray—a fateful forshadowing?

On Saturday night the Forces of Weal engaged the chaos-held fortification. The fight was underway.

While it may look like the Forces of Woe took a beating, in truth, they kicked Weal's collective ass.

According to Paul Stormberg, this is the third year running that chaos won. Let's hear it for chaos!

I spoke with one of the chaos players and he said the game started at about 5:30 and ran until about half past midnight. Twenty-one turns elapsed, taking about 20 minutes each. He said that it was a close game and that Weal could have won up until the last three turns.

I picked up a nice copy of Chainmail this weekend. I'm seriously considering getting in on this action next year. The question is, which side will I support? Woe or Weal? Sacking the moathouse looks like an awful lot of fun as evidenced by some of these pictures.

The Howling Emptiness

2010-03-18T10:05:00.000-07:00

The latest issue of Fight On! is upon us. I'm pleased to report that it contains an adventure by yours truly. Somewhat tongue-in-cheek, it is named The Howling Emptiness. It's a wilderness hex crawl through a deadly desert environment—I hope you brought some extra water!

It's strictly a sword & sorcery affair—there are no phasic swords or blaster pistols to be had. Nevertheless, it should be a fun romp. I showed an early draft to Erol Otus and he made some suggestions which made it into the final version. Fitting for the Erol Otus issue of Fight On!, don't you think? <grin/>

Support Fight On! and pick up issue #8. It's a good cause, don't you know!

More on Holmes YX

2010-03-16T07:30:00.000-07:00

I'm still futzing around with Holmes YX. This time I am considering wholesale changes to several areas, including armor & armor class, experience points, and alignment. Of these, I'm simply going to drop alignment. It serves no purpose for me or my players and seems artificial in any case. I'm also considering mechanics for spell success (based on spell complexity) and spell countering. Why shouldn't that evil sorcerer be able to put those magic missiles right back in your face? Finally, I'm going to be dropping Holmes from the name since these rules no longer resemble anything remotely approaching Holmes Basic. Why false advertise? <grin/>

In other news, I've been reading Gary Rudolph's excellent Missúm mass combat rules for Tékumel. There are tons of mass combat systems out there, but this one is cool because it's compact, has interesting rule selections, and, hello, it was created for Tékumel back in the day. (Actually, Missúm is the second set of mass combat rules for Tékumel—it came out the year after TSR's Legions of the Petal Throne.) Anyway, it's proving to be quite the interesting read and is really firing me up in the inspiration department.

Inspiration for the World of Yezmyr

2010-03-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

Sometimes what you are not influenced by is interesting. I've long been a fan of weird fiction, but in creating Yezmyr I have purposefully eschewed HPL and CAS. I like bubbly pools of tentacular madness as much as anyone else, but I'm tired of it—like I'm tired of Tolkien. Yezmyr demands fresh horrors! (For what it's worth, if I were going to focus on horror, I'd look to Thomas Ligotti for inspiration.)

Similarly, I have a deep and abiding love of sword and sorcery fiction. REH's Conan yarns effectively created the genre. However, I'm tired of Conan. I prefer the revelations of ancient ruins in those stories. There's nothing like an ominous ruin to chill the blood. In any case, swords and spells alone just don't cut it for me any more. I want space, technology, chaos, and madness. I need it all.

The underpinnings of the World of Yezmyr owe an extreme debt of gratitude to a handful of talented writers and illustrators: Arthur C. Clarke, A.E. van Vogt, Rudy Rucker, Ray Kurzweil, Brian Aldiss, Harlan Ellison, Russ Nicholson, and Richard Corben. You should check out the work of each and every one of these people.

I Love My Players

2010-03-14T14:21:00.000-07:00

What's the first thing the thief wants to do after having his mind propelled 23,000,000 years into the future?

Precisely.

Happy Birthday World of Yezmyr

2010-03-14T07:30:00.000-07:00

One year ago today six of us got together and started the World of Yezmyr D&D campaign. Back then the crew set out to explore the foreboding ruins of Alak Chutak. The game was strictly sword & sorcery. Today, the crew has grown to eight and the campaign has switched to a science fantasy focus. Oh yeah, and they've managed to get themselves marooned 23,000,000 years into the future. Good times.

Happy birthday, World of Yezmyr.

Playtest Session 4

2010-03-13T21:40:00.000-08:00

Every session I run with my crew reminds me of why I largely gave up computer gaming. Computer games lack the uproarious levity of a roomful of brains. To wit, three amusing events from today's play testing session:

I had decided that the native language spoken by Earth Men was Terran. My players decided otherwise. The language of the Earth Men is actually called Murrican.

The player characters are a motley assortment of low men, high men, earth men, and chitinous men. Of course the pair of seven-foot tall chitinous men stick out like sore thumbs. The humans have taken to referring to them as chits (pronounced, 'kites'). Racism comes to the World of Yezmyr.

Have any of your players ever killed shriekers… and then asked what they taste like? I was nonplussed. Bemt the Cringer then proceeded to tear off a chunk from the purple and white mushroom and started eating. I was like, ehrm… I quickly grabbed my random hallucination tables and started rolling. As it turned out, the hallucinogenic alkaloids of the psychoactive shriekers were quite potent. Bemt was tripping within minutes, and before long he was running around like a PMSing cat. Candela cast hold person on him and the rest of the crew tied him up. Bemt tripped for two days straight. That's what happens when you eat shriekers.

Interesting Places: Chamber of Slime

2010-03-13T00:19:00.000-08:00

I was in an experimental mood this evening and decided to try out some new techniques. I'm not sold on them, but I had fun—and I think the end result is at least interesting.

There's no fluffy descriptive text for you today, alas. All of my writing energies are focused on "The Project," which continues at a good pace. The fourth play test session happens later today. I'm excited because the players have finally made it to "the good stuff."

The Fine Print: I am sharing this map under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create.

You Know You Love It

2010-03-11T11:51:00.000-08:00

More loving derision from our friends at Something Awful: WTF, D&D?! - The Original Dungeons & Dragons. Go read it. Love it.

Ziqquratu Ziyaret: A Cross-Section

2010-03-11T06:30:00.000-08:00

Copyright © 2010, Ramsey Dow. All Rights Reserved.

Today, I present a partial cross-section of Ziqquratu Ziyaret. This map depicts the long and arduous route to the Treacherous Heart and the Vaults of Cryptic Gloom. Therein lies Ruined Shibolaanth, the dead city of the therapsidians. Woe be to those who venture to this accursed place.

Please note that this map is exceptionally incomplete. Not depicted are virtually miles upon miles of unlit passages, broad halls, and cavernous vaults. One could spend a lifetime exploring the labyrinthine ways of Ziqquratu Ziyaret. Alas, it would most likely be a short lifetime, for the fauna of this place are particularly unwholesome.

Keep Calm and Roll To Hit

2010-03-10T22:10:00.000-08:00

Here's my take on that famous British WWII poster:

Goodbye Spell Books

2010-03-05T12:41:00.000-08:00

A part of the excitement of Holmes YX is that the magic isn't Vancian any more. In Yezmyr sorcerers don't use spell books. The very environment is deeply imbued with the essence of magic. Sorcerers bring forth magical effects through complex vocalizations and gestures. (There are no material spell components.) Spells are learned behavior, passed on through a long standing oral tradition between master and apprentice. While it is possible that a given sorcerer will make notes of an arcane nature, one does not learn the process of tying shoes by reading a treatise. No, spells are taught.

Scrolls are also a relic of the past on Yezmyr. Vancian systems use scrolls as a means of finding spells as treasure items. Moreover, these systems use scrolls as enablers: they provide for the invoking of spells which the caster either does not know or does not have memorized. Holmes YX uses a spell point system for sorcery. Spells are not memorized. Instead, they are invoked directly from the magical fabric of reality. This takes time, however, especially as spells become more complex. In order to counter this, sorcerers developed spell containers.

Spell containers are magical devices that are capable of holding live spells. These devices come in a near endless variety of forms—from gems and rings to daggers and swords. In addition to spell containment, some of these items also function as spell point adders or even multipliers. Most containers can be used only by sorcerers, but there are some that can be used by anyone. This latter class serves dutifully as 'scrolls of protection.' A layman can utter the command word and make the necessary gestures in order to invoke the protective magic imbued within the container. Such general purpose spell containers are always 'used up' once invoked.

Spell containers are very powerful items in the hands of a capable sorcerer. In effect, they are reusable scrolls. Containers can store a preset number of spell points worth of live magic, varying from container to container. The storing of spells is equivalent to casting, so spell points are subtracted from the caster's pool while he is loading up the container. When cast, the contained spells go off instantaneously. Moreover, casting contained spells does not draw from the caster's spell point reserve. Lesser spell containers are used up after several (or even one) use, depending on the quality of the container. Greater spell containers can be reused indefinitely.

Stored spells may also be 'consumed.' Instead of casting the spell, it is transferred directly into the sorcerer's mind. A contained spell used in this manner is effectively learned, making this an alternate means of spell acquisition. This process is still subject to the rule governing the chance to know a given spell, however. If the consumer is not capable of knowing the spell, then the spell will remain in a contained state.

It is with this move that I make the final blows against Vancian magic in my campaign. Magic in the World of Yezmyr is now its own thing. I am excited to see how this unfolds in play.

Ziqquratu Ziyaret

2010-03-05T00:40:00.000-08:00

Copyright © 2010, Ramsey Dow. All Rights Reserved.

The western part of the Pillar of Shagraath is dominated by the dusty Plains of Sahak, where ferocious pit lions prey upon the weak. Within this desolate wasteland broods the black pile of rock known as Ziqquratu Ziyaret.

The approach is littered with obelisks decorated with reliefs and inscriptions in Zhasuu. The reliefs depict orgies of reptilian sex and death. The inscriptions recount the conquests and glories of the fallen empire of the reptilians. The place gives off an air of great antiquity, and at the same time, one of dread.

Broad avenues of steps ascend to platforms where yawning black portals lead to the pile's interior. Within lies a seemingly endless array of unlit vaults and passageways. Deep within the cryptic gloom lies a dead city. According to the Tablets of Urutau, the place is haunted by the degenerate remnants of the once great therapsidians. The tablets also speak of a nexus of gateways located deep within that lead to the manifold dimensions.

Stocking Tables and Probabilities

2010-03-04T17:34:00.000-08:00

I was rereading Metamorphosis Alpha the other day (the 1976 version, in case you were wondering) and I came across a little table in the "Distribution of Monsters (Mutations) and Treasure" section. It was a simple stocking table, requiring a roll of 1d6 in order to determine the contents of a given room/chamber/area.

I've been spending a lot of time running probabilities over at AnyDice 2 lately. As such, Ward's probabilities looked a little sketchy to me. The table had 4 entries, giving two entries at 33.34% and two at 16.67%. I suppose that's fine, but I could see it having a little more granularity. Here's my take on Ward's table:

d10 Stocking Table
1-5 monster only
6-7 monster and small treasure
8-9 monster and good treasure
10 very strong monster and good treasure

Fifty-fifty seems like good odds for there being any sort of treasure at all. Of course, this particular table discounts the possibility of treasures occurring without monsters. In my estimation that's not really a bad thing.

MPK, or: I Love My Players

2010-03-02T07:00:00.000-08:00

I'm slammed writing at the moment, so forgive the quick post this morning. I'll try and wrangle up some longer content soon. In the meantime, enjoy this little snippet…

One of my players said something to me in private a couple of weeks ago that still has me grinning. I'm paraphrasing, but he said something along the lines of, "I'm not worried about a TPK. I'm worried about an MPK." I was like, "What's an MPK?" He replied, "Most of the Party Killed."

That's a new acronym for the books.

Interesting Places: The Tombs

2010-03-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

I'm channeling some sort of mutant combination of Richard Corben and Vaughn Bodé today…

Out in the Aurora Badlands, beyond the safety of civilization, is a great pillar of igneous rock. Thrust high into the colorful sky, this place is known only as The Tombs. It is an ancient burial site, abandoned for millennia. Riddled with twisty catacombs and secret burial vaults, the Tombs are said to be the province of the undead. Sane men won't set foot anywhere near the place.

The Tombs are said to glow with a spectral light in the dark hours. It is unknown whether this is due to the unhallowed nature of the place or some weird source of radiation. In any case, The Tombs are located in the middle of radioactive badlands. Caution must be exercised in the approach, for in addition to radiation and inclement weather, this region is beset by countless irradiated horrors.

Dungeon Masters take note: this place is one of those sprawling dungeon complexes you often read about. It has been carved out, layer upon layer, over long ages. Its network of charnel vaults and catacombs, constructed without rhyme or reason, twists deep into the pillar of rock.

This is but one "level" of The Tombs. Hundreds of similar areas are situated throughout the pillar. This particular area is accessible only by a series of portals located on a ledge 730 feet above the ground on the pillar's southern face. There are no doors in this place, although some ways are blocked, either by bars or pits. Who or what is interned within is up to you. Whatever it is, I expect that it is grotesque in the extreme. GOOD LORD! *CHOKE*

The Fine Print: I am sharing this map under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create.

Holmes YX

2010-02-26T07:00:00.000-08:00

My gaming group has been playing OD&D for the past year. The experience has been fun, but not as cohesive as I desire. As a DM I've 'smoothed out' more wrinkles this year than I care to admit. I understand that is part of the job, but for once I'd like the system to match and work with my conceptions. The campaign is currently undergoing a transformation from sword & sorcery into science fantasy due in no small part to the current play testing effort. As such, this is the best possible time for me to revisit system choice.

Even though OD&D is rules light compared to later editions, it still has too much stuff that I don't want and not enough stuff that I do want. As a group, we're all familiar with classic D&D, so the replacement system must remain in that vein. However, the mechanics need to be light and cohesive. I love AD&D, but it's got way too many knobs. I am not partial to Moldvay/Cook, and anything after 1982 is a non-starter. That leaves Holmes.

I have fond memories of Holmes Basic. It's what I started with back in 1977. It's like comfortable shoes. Make no mistake, however. This choice was not made out of misplaced feelings of nostalgia. I needed a cohesive, light base from which to remix, and Holmes provided that in spades. After looking at all the Holmes expansions out there (Meepo's and Delve's, among others) I decided that I'd rather have a go at it myself. While there was nothing specifically wrong with any of the expansions I looked at, none won me over. In the end, it was simply a matter of personal taste.

Four months later, Holmes YX is nearing completion. Calling this an expansion is somewhat of a misnomer. What I really did was apply Microsoft's Embrace & Extend strategy (leaving out the bit about extermination). The end result is neither Holmes Basic nor OD&D. It's really a bastard, mutant creation of my own devising—but it's still D&D. I am not trying to appeal to anyone. This is my set of rules and it is shamelessly geared towards the variety of science fantasy gaming that I am interested in. Its utility lies in the fact that it is mated at the hip/brain with the new World of Yezmyr.

Following are some highlights of the system. There's probably something in here to piss off just about everyone in this insular community of ours. In no particular order:

Only humans exist, but there are six types for variety. (Well okay, Chitinous Men aren't really humans.)
I ditched the Wisdom attribute.
I added the Radiation Resistance attribute from Metamorphosis Alpha.
I'm using attribute bonuses as per Supplement I.
Magic-Users and Clerics have been transformed into Sorcerers.
I'm keeping Fighting-Men, but ditching Thieves, Paladins, etc.
Progression has been expanded to a soft limit of 14th level for both classes. (I'm looking back to OD&D 3LBB and Supplement I for guidance.)
The character creation section has been reorganized.
I merged in some supplementary material from the various editions of B1 In Search of the Unknown.
I'm using the threefold alignment system.
Undead cannot be turned.
Initiative is based on a d10 roll, the result indicating which 6-second segment your attack occurs in.
All weapons strike once per round.
I'm using variable weapon damage as per Supplement I.
Sorcerers have greatly expanded spell lists.
Magic missiles don't require a roll "to hit."
I am including some monsters from OD&D (specifically from M&T and Supplement I).
I am including some of the "new monsters" from The Strategic Review.
I am including random Demon generation from The Dragon, but with a number of refinements.
I am including details on the Carnivorous Ape, Giant Beetle, Groaning Spirit, Hell Hound, Giant Leech, Lich, Lion, Brown Mold, Yellow Mold, Ogre Mage, Rot Grub, Giant Scorpion, Violet Fungi, Yeti, Wind Walker, and varieties of Wolves from the Monster Manual.
I created over 50 new monsters specific to the World of Yezmyr.
I left out countless "traditional" monsters that I felt were either boring, played out, or simply didn't fit the new world as conceptualized.
Dragons are all Eastern-style.
I replaced the toned down dragon subdual rules with the original subdual rules from OD&D.
I am including most of the new magical items from The Strategic Review.
I am including some (but not all) of the magic items from OD&D (cherry-picked from the 3LBB and supplements).
I added the tables for creating artifacts from EW, but no artifacts themselves—I'll create those later.
I jettisoned Vancian magic, opting for spell point mechanics instead.
I replaced the muddled psionic rules from Eldritch Wizardry with rules from Classic Traveller.
I am using the disease rules from Supplement II along with a handful of diseases unique to the World of Yezmyr.
I am using mutation rules inspired by Planet Algol, although greatly expanded.
I am using a fusion of radiation rules from Metamorphosis Alpha and Gamma World, 1st ed.
I am using weapon types and damage from AD&D, 1st ed., along with strength and dexterity requirements from Planet Algol.

So there you have it. HOLMES YX. Fighting-Men and Sorcerers. 147 spells. 185 monsters. Weird gods, spaceships, and radiation. It's D&D. No, it's Metamorphosis Alpha. No, it's Traveller. No. It's all of those, combined. Sounds good to me. Carry on!

For those of you wondering, I am not releasing this. This rules compilation is a walking copyright violation. In any case, the world does not need yet another D&D clone. We've got umpteen too many of those already. This is quite simply my science fantasy D&D remix. It's weird, streamlined, and compatible with Classic Traveller FTW!

100% Tolkien Free

2010-02-25T07:00:00.000-08:00

This is one of those "flogging a dead horse" topics, but I want to write something about it regardless. It's no secret that I do like some Tolkien. The Hobbit, for instance, is a perennial favorite. Other works by Tolkien leave me cold. It's an opinion, so take it or leave it. You can argue that EGG & D&D were not influenced by Tolkien, saying that everyone robbed from the same mythologies, but then you have things like Balrogs.

My appreciation of The Hobbit aside, I'm not really keen on using Tolkien's material in my own world. As a matter of fact, I'm bored to tears of orcs, goblins, ents, dwarves, hobbits, balrogs, and the like. Haven't we been experiencing this stuff pretty much continually for our entire lives? I need a vacation from this stuff. That's why I'm happy to say that the World of Yezmyr is 100% Tolkien free.

Yes, it's true. There are no elves, or dwarves, or hobbits. There are no orcs, goblins, ents, or balrogs. There are dragons, but they are eastern worms, not western drakes, and hence not really like Tolkien's dragons. (Secretly, I was tempted to allow a little GW influence and have space orcs armed with plasma bolters, but I thought better of it in the end.)

Now, instead of traditional tropes, I am spending more time conceptualizing the myriad alien horrors that stalk the dusty surface of Yezmyr. The creatures are more horrific and, because they are new, more interesting to myself and the players. Truth be told, I should have made this move a long, long time ago.

Level Titles are Dumb or: I'm a 4th level Thermador?

2010-02-24T08:12:00.000-08:00

I'm back with a short opinion piece. I'm hard at work on "the project," which I'll discuss sometime in the future. In the meantime, I want to talk about level titles. I loathe level titles. They're a hodge podge of names, oftentimes only tenuously related. I'm not sure what EGG was thinking when he created them. Personally, I think he was having fun with the thesaurus.

I've never used level titles when I've been a player. What am I going to do? I could say something like, "Don't mess with me—I'm a bad ass thaumaturgist!" However, that just sounds silly to me. As a player I frequently found myself wanting to possess either a title from a previous level or something altogether different.

Level titles do not work for me as a DM, either. I've never really used level titles in the games I've run. It seems that the canonical usage would be something along the lines of, "You are beset upon by footpads. They club you and abscond with all your stuff! Muahahaha!" I've never done that. I prefer to call a spade a spade.

So what good are level titles, then? I suppose they give you something to look forward to. That seems artificial, though. Why not simply adjust your thinking as your character gains levels, expanding the persona as you go? "I just made a level! Now I am a Raucous Warrior! Beware, scoundrels!" That seems a lot more interesting to me—both as a player and as a DM. Be creative. It's your character/game/whatever.

I've dispensed with level titles in the World of Yezmyr campaign. In my game people are normals, fighting-men, or sorcerers. It is fine if a character—player or otherwise—wants to add some color through the use of titles and so forth. I encourage that sort of creativity. A character is free to be whatever they want to be. Gone are the days of pigeon holed titles based on accrued XP. Good bye level titles—and good riddance!

Medallion of the Priests of Achlatea

2010-02-23T07:00:00.000-08:00

Copyright © 2009, Ramsey Dow. All Rights Reserved.

Known as "The Eyes of Achlatea," this medallion is worn by the priests of the spider god. It is fashioned from six oval discs connected by a fine, silver chain. The discs are metal, the rims a wide band of silver with the center obsidian. Wearing this necklace confers enhanced senses: 1) sight — larger area of perception, range, and detail; 2) sound — greater range, finer sensitivity; and 3) touch — can feel vibrations much more distinctly. These enhanced senses combine to reduce the likelihood of the wearer being surprised to 1 in 6 while worn.

This item is cursed by Achlatea so that the user will slowly go mad—the enhanced senses are perceived as if by a spider. This seriously messes with human minds. There is a base 5% chance of insanity + 1d4% per week. These percentages are cumulative, so it is not unreasonable to expect a 9-21% chance of going permanently insane after use for a month. Once a player character goes insane, they will immediately attain non-player status. Their madness will compel them to slink away in the dark to find a secluded place, where they will commit suicide. From their remains will be born a thousand spiders.

The item is cold to the touch—not vastly so, just a few degrees less than one might expect such an object to be in present environmental conditions. Under drastic conditions (such as in rain or a snow storm) it is next to impossible to note the object's coolness.

Interesting Places: The Junction

2010-02-22T07:00:00.000-08:00

I'm swamped writing, so this is a simple post. I drew this map several months ago. For various reasons I dropped the project it was associated with. You might find it useful, so I am adding it to the Interesting Places series. There's no interesting history for you this time. This is simply a dungeon area that wants to be keyed and explored.

This map is called "The Junction" because it connects various parts of a larger dungeon complex together. This would be a good place for some competing factions to come together for a fight. Alternately, this might be the 'back route' through a humanoid controlled area, so sneaking might be the order of the day. It's really up to you to decide what the nature of this place is. Figuring out where all those off-shoots lead should be terrifically fun.

There's no legend for this map, but it should be fairly easy to read. Here's a list of things visible: stalagmites (with x's), stalactites (with dots), stairs up, stairs down, doors, double doors, secret doors, secret trapdoors, subfloor passages, rubble, statues, columns, circular pits, water, terraces, burial niches with skeletal remains, and sinkholes. Oh yeah, I almost forgot the brazier in the room with the secret trapdoor. That's it. (By the way, those aren't false or one-way doors in front of the rubble—those are actual doors, but they are fully blocked by the rubble.)

The Fine Print: I am sharing this map under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create.

Elf Storage

2010-02-21T17:16:00.000-08:00

While we were walking around downtown Seattle this weekend, Z took this photo:

Got too many elves? No problem!

The Many Tongues of Yezmyr (Part 3 of 3)

2010-02-19T07:00:00.000-08:00

Copyright © 2010, Ramsey Dow. All Rights Reserved.

This is the third and final post in which I detail the languages I use in the World of Yezmyr, my science fantasy setting. The language family I will be discussing today is that of the unusual languages. The World of Yezmyr has its fair share of unusual and esoteric languages. Some of these come from Yezmyr, itself, while others originate on other worlds and planes of existence.

Cyclopean: This was the language spoken by the titans before their downfall eons ago. Although not spoken by anyone on Yezmyr, there are ancient sealed tombs that contain writing in this tongue. It is also possible that a number of titans survive in the outer planes. If encountered, they would likely speak this tongue.

Dead: Countless dead languages can be found within the ruins that litter the surface of Yezmyr. Dead scripts are almost a dime a dozen. Perhaps the most "famous" is the indecipherable geometric script of the long dead Precursors. No one has ever managed to put these glyphs into any sort of coherent context. Some sages argue that their language is meaningless, while others claim it is the tongue of madness.

Extraplanar: There are as many extraplanar languages as there are beings from hailing from the far planes. Their varieties and forms are nearly endless.

Null: Only the terrible creatures of the Nullity speak this dark and evil language. It is the primary tongue of demons.

Offworld: There are innumerable extraterrestrial races (who presumably visit Yezmyr in order to "take samples"). Their languages are many and varied. Some are pronounceable by human vocal chords, while others are not.

Ph'nglui: This is the tongue of the Ichthyans, a blasphemous race of advanced fish men that dwell deep within the subterranean vaults of water that lace the crust of Yezmyr.

The Many Tongues of Yezmyr (Part 2 of 3)

2010-02-18T07:00:00.000-08:00

Copyright © 2010, Ramsey Dow. All Rights Reserved.

This is the second post of three in which I detail the languages I use in the World of Yezmyr, my science fantasy setting. The language family I will be discussing today is that of the monsters. This family is comprised of all the various languages spoken by sentient monsters throughout Yezmyr.

Balachakan: Interestingly, both djinn and efreet share this language, although they do have distinct dialects. The language is simultaneously singsong and guttural. Its script is spidery in appearance.

Brahak: This is the language of the hrusk. It is loud and violent, even when whispered. It has no written form.

Buryaam: This is the esoteric language of dopplegangers. Little is known about it, for dopplegangers of Yezmyr hide their existence. The written form resembles Hittite cuneiform.

Chaktai: Ogres and ogre magi speak this harsh tongue. Its written form is simple and consists of intricately aligned gouges.

Ghu'ur: This is the language of trolls. Although its written form consists of simple glyph combinations, its spoken form is unusually rich and expressive.

Go'at: Although it simply sounds like the bleating of goats, this is the language of the goat men. It has no written form.

Hraksang: Although repulsive creatures, the language of the troglodytes is surprisingly beautiful. Its written form consists of fluid glyphs, flowing from top to bottom.

Ilquan: This is the language of medusas. Its written form is serpentine like their hair.

Khalka: This is the language of the gargoyles. It is harsh and and spoken in screechlike tones.

Kharana: This is the mewling tongue of the khar'ool. Its written form consists of complex sequences of circles and scratches, occasionally punctuated by dots.

Khitzai: The language of the rat men sounds like squeaks and looks like the gnawing marks found upon chewed bones.

Nikudhari: This is the tongue of the vampires. It has a sinister timbre. Its written form consists of sharp, angular glyphs that make use of a number of peculiar diacriticals.

Olmon: This is the strange tongue of the amorphos. It sounds like a droning monotony. It has verbal and mental components. Although non-psionic humans cannot master the mental component, its verbal components can be mastered with study. This language has no written form.

Ornaathian: This is the language of the ornaath. It consists of sequences of gentle, high-pitched neighs punctuated by hoof stamping. It has no written form.

Shas'rhaksa: This is the obscure language of the rakshasas. Spoken in harsh whispering tones, it sounds evil. Its glyphs appear as if constructed by claw marks.

Siril: This is the language of dragon-kind. It sounds strangely similar to the chirping of birds. Its runic script is both complex and beautiful.

S'ss: This is the hissing tongue of the serpent men. Its written form consists of coil-shaped glyphs punctuated by triangular forms.

Yaakhu: This is the howling tongue of the hyena men. It has no written form.

Zhasuu: This is the primitive language of the therapsids. It sounds like guttural hissing and is obviously not meant for human vocal chords. Its written form consists of sequences of primitive, geometric glyphs.

Zx'kath: This is the obscene, screeching language of the winged blighters. Its written form consists of vertical sequences of angular glyphs that read from the bottom up.

The Many Tongues of Yezmyr (Part 1 of 3)

2010-02-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

Copyright © 2010, Ramsey Dow. All Rights Reserved.

The World of Yezmyr is one of many tongues, both living and dead. This is the first post of three in which I will detail the languages I use in my science fantasy setting.

One of the things I've appreciated in immersive worlds, such as Middle Earth and Tékumel is the lavish attention paid to language. Now I'm no philologist, so there won't be any actual language development from me, but I certainly can fake it. To that end I have detailed the three basic language families extant on the world: the "native" tongues of mankind, the monster languages, and languages which are esoteric or otherwise unusual. These families each contain a number of related languages.

I don't get very detailed with any of these languages, nor do I make up grammars or vocabularies or the like. I simply make sure that I know the name of the language, who speaks it, whether it has a written form or not, and a handful of interesting observations about it—color, if you will. It's the latter item that will help jog my memory down the road when player characters find themselves confronted with strange glyphs and I've got to make up something on the spot.

All humans know the "common tongue," the trade language spoken by mankind throughout the known world. All other monsters that can speak have their own language. Some monsters can even speak common, although this is far from the norm. As per usual, characters have a capacity to learn additional languages based on their intelligence score.

The first language family I will discuss is the "native" family. This family consists of the eight languages of mankind. Although not all of these languages originate from humanity, all of these tongues are associated with the lawful civilizations of men.

Adhari: This is the guttural speech of the Low Men. It is a fairly simple language. It has no written standard, although a common orthography has been devised for use among the various tribes.

Chitin: This is the strange clicking and tapping language spoken by the Chitinous Men. Humans have a very difficult time speaking this tongue, as it was clearly not created for use with human vocal chords—or bodies. Moreover, its written form is obscenely complex. Most have difficulty grasping the language it its totality. Nevertheless, with patience and study, it is possible to master enough of the rhythms of this language to be able to communicate with Chitinous Men in their native tongue. Hand clickers are frequently employed to simulate tapping on chitinous plates.

Common: This language is both simple to learn and politically neutral. It is the language of trade used throughout the city-states of mankind. It is used by nearly everyone capable of speech. A percentage of monsters have mastered and are capable of using the Common Tongue of Mankind.

Dwovish: This is the language of the High Men of Dwo. It is guttural and resembles Hochdeutsch in both sound and construction. It is a very precise tongue. Nouns with many syllables are constructed to give exact meaning to concepts. Its written form consists of a succinct family of glyphs that can be used to construct any spoken concept or idea.

Mengwese: This is the language of the High Men of Mengwu. It sounds like Mandarin Chinese and is written in vertical sequences of glyphs, reading from top to bottom. Like Chinese, Mengwese has a bewildering array of glyphs representing concepts. Complex ideas and concepts are related by constructing sequences of glyphs that build upon one another.

Mutie: Not so much a language as a cant, this is the universal slang of mutants. Although many mutants are able to communicate telepathically, some lack the proper faculties and must resort to vocalized speech. Thieves along the borders of the various wastelands frequently speak a pidgin form of Mutie for 'trade' purposes.

Synth: This 'language' is actually a high-frequency communications protocol employed by synthetics for purposes of data communication. The sounds of this language occur above 20,000 Hz and are thus imperceptible to most humans, although some young people sense the sounds. In addition to vocalization, this language can also be spoken as packets across networks, both wired and wireless.

Murrican: This is the language of the Earth Men. It is standard American English. Its written form uses the Latin alphabet. It sounds just like it does on Stargate SG-1.

Interesting Places: Monuments of Ghiz

2010-02-16T07:00:00.000-08:00

Deep within the Desert of Sighs, far beyond where the caravans trek, broods a demon-haunted ruin. Crowded with obelisks, broken and askew, the place radiates an unwholesome sense of despair. From the side it has the look of a giant skeletal hand, upturned and clenching as sands eternal run through its bony digits. Long shadows fall as the lonesomeness of day gives way to the chill of night and strange creatures stalk the sandy wastes.

It is said that the monuments are all that remain of ancient Llar, a desert-trading outpost from millennia past. Legends relate that the Hakusan, ancient invaders from the dim north, destroyed it during one of their many incursions. As the citadel convulsed in its death throes, the fabled sorcerers of Llar unleashed their final fury: the opening a gateway to the Nullity. The ensuing chaos saw everyone—the Hasukan and the sorcerers—destroyed by the demonic host. The citadel and its fate faded from memory, swallowed by the sands…

The obelisks that remain standing are covered in ancient glyphs, their edges worn smooth by the relentless pummeling of desert grit. The glyphs are of no known or recognizable language and all efforts at translation have been met with futility. As if the impenetrable nature of the glyphs weren't warning enough, the place bristles with unseen energy, causing the hairs on one's nape to prickle.

At the center of the ruin, just beneath the surface of the shifting sands, is a huge slab of stone, measuring over 50 feet from end to end. Every square inch of the slab’s surface is covered in yet more incomprehensible glyphs. The titanic slab radiates strongly with primeval magic and resists opening by normal means. It is unknown what is imprisoned beneath its unyielding bulk.

The Fine Print: I am sharing this map under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create.

Voyage Into the Future

2010-02-13T20:25:00.000-08:00

The first part of "the project" has been play tested. The players played smart and their characters fought hard. In the end, they won access to the Black Chamber of Crystal Skulls. Alas, the potent sorcery of the place ensnared them and they found their minds propelled 23,000,000 years into the future.

In time, the characters awoke to their new reality. They retained their memories, but found themselves in new, unfamiliar bodies. Emerging from vertical glass tubes, the characters stared in amazement at themselves: a motley crew consisting of two chitinous men, a high man, two low men, and three earthmen.

The earthmen are all fine representatives of pulp adventurers, right down to the ragged remnants of their clothing. Although the memories of the vessels are unknown to the characters, the players themselves are keenly aware that they have been through terrific experiences, including being sucked into a wormhole while parachuting and surviving a hectic storm while flying across the Bermuda Triangle in a Learjet.

The low men are stout and stand with poor posture. Their skin is bronze, and they have ruddy complexions and coarse features. As much as you might loathe the phrase, "noble savage," this is precisely what they are. They are hirsute and wear loose fitting tunics, leggings, and sandals.

The group's sole high man has bronze skin and refined, even noble, features. Interestingly, he happens to be completely hairless right down to his eyebrows. He wears a white, wrap-around kilt, felt cloak, and leather soled sandals laced up his calves. A mystic-looking tattoo surrounds his right eye, but its meaning is lost upon all.

The pair of chitinous men are clearly the most visually arresting of the bunch. They are unusually pale and emaciated bipedal insectoids standing seven feet tall! Their skin is a tough, semi translucent, bone-white horny material and forms a partial exoskeleton. They have no hair to speak of, although they do have some fuzz around their various joints. Their bug eyes are practically bulging out of their heads. These two have apparently engraved arabesques and sacred designs into their chitinous plates and filled the grooves with platinum. Because chitinous men have no lips they are unable to make the 'b' and 'p' sounds, leading to humorous statements such as, "Look! My 'ody is covered in 'latinum!"

The characters, while dressed, have no weapons, armor, or equipment of any sort. Other than their distinctive body decorations, the chitinous men are apparently nude. This doesn't seem to pose any problem, since no one knows how to tell a chitinous male from a chitinous female. The two characters aren't even sure as to the genders of their respective vessels. Speaking of gender, fully half of the characters' minds are encased in bodies of an opposing gender. Truly, these are interesting times for our adventurers.

The characters soon discover that they are all capable of speaking their respective native tongues as well as a "common tongue," which happens to be shared by all. Moreover, the characters have retained their respective class, level, and intelligence and wisdom scores. Everything else was rerolled due to their new bodies.

The party's spell casters remember previously memorized spells, but the magic-users are separated from their precious spell books. Praying, the clerics find their gods distant, resulting in access only to spells from the lower levels. With their resources thus constrained, the characters stand on the brink of their greatest adventure yet, for they are Marooned Across Space and Time.

Technology and Magic

2010-02-12T07:00:00.000-08:00

Technology and magic are like chocolate and peanut butter to me. Mixing the two only makes them better. (Hello, Reese's!) Nonetheless, this is one of those topics that people have strong opinions about. It's like politics or religion in the real world, or vi versus Emacs in the UNIX world. You likely have an opinion already. Personally, I don't see a problem arming robots with +1 magic swords. Likewise, I don't have any issue with a sorcerer taking out said robots with a scroll of heap overflow.

Fairy Child: Where's Daddy? What's he doing?
Fairy: He is guarding our home, son.
Fairy: There has been a war, and this land is lost.
Fairy Child: Why can't we fight and win, Mommy?
Fairy: Because they have weapons and technology. We just have love.

Ralph Bakshi's Wizards has been a major influence when it comes to mixing technology and magic. More recently, I have rediscovered Richard Corben's planetary romance, Den. If Wizards set the stage, Den crystallized everything for me. I had to do something in a similar vein.

The science fantasy World of Yezmyr (not to be confused with its strictly sword & sorcery predecessor) is my latest experiment. It involves integrating D&D with Classic Traveller in a unified setting. Rejiggering magic and psionics so that they work together seamlessly across systems was a primary motivation. The solution turned out to be a lot easier than I had originally imagined. I'm going to take a cue from M.A.R. Barker and keep the details under wraps. It's enigmas like these that keep campaign settings interesting.

Leng Tch'e

2010-02-11T07:00:00.000-08:00

Torture and slavery are extremely common on Yezmyr. The city-states of man practice many forms of torture, both in private and in public. When it comes to public exhibitions, however, nothing captures the imagination of the people like the slicing death of a thousand cuts.

The victim is tied to a great wooden frame, stained deeply by years of sustained bloodletting. Slowly, over a period of days, he is cut with knives. Opiates are administered when the pain becomes intolerable. The torturers see to it that the transgressor remains conscious throughout the process. He stares ecstatically into space, blissfully unaware that his internal organs are being removed. Through this ritual the victim is relieved of his life. His body, irreversibly defiled, crumples in ignominious death as his spirit passes on to the Nullity for eternal punishment.

The torturers in the City-States of the Sorcerer Kings are crueler than most. It is said that they lace their opiates with psi-drugs acquired from the minions of the sorcerer kings, themselves. These drugs have the effect of bringing extraplanar horrors into the mind of the victim while he is being subjected to the knife. The terror is said to be exquisite. Scrying parlors located throughout the gloomier districts of these cities sell access to the dying episodes. The experience is said to be "life changing."

If this post hasn't been disturbing enough, check out Naked City's exploration of Leng Tch'e. That is the sound of the Plaza of Souls on a creepy Sunday morning in the degenerate northern city of Keramis.

Yezmyr

2010-02-10T07:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I cut a line dealing with the cold gulfs of interstellar space from my post about Yezmyr and its relation to the infinite latticework of planar realities. That act bothered me all day long, so I am following it up with a post about the the campaign world's relation to interstellar space. Whereas M.A.R. Barker's Tékumel is safely(?) sequestered within a pocket dimension, the World of Yezmyr openly hangs within the fabric of Known Space in the Classic Traveller universe.

The World of Yezmyr is located within Iakr Sector (known as Foreven Sector in the Imperium). Situated at the edge of the Zhodani Consulate, within Anika Subsector, Yezmyr is a claimed world. It is not, however, absorbed into the Consulate. It is classified as a Forbidden World (equivalent to an Imperial Red Zone), and access to it is strictly forbidden. It is possible that the system is host to a secret Consular research station.

Owing to Iakr Sector's backwater status, there is no permanent military blockade stationed at Yezmyr. The Zhodani Consulate does maintain an automated hunter-killer satellite array in system, however. Unauthorized vessels that enter the Yezmyr system will be tracked, engaged, and destroyed by these satellites.

Yezmyr (known to the Impirium as Yesmar's World) is the fourth planet of seven that orbit the star, Yrn. Yrn is an F-type main sequence star with a spectral classification of F5V. Although a yellow-white dwarf, Yrn has 1.4 times more mass, is nearly twice the diameter, and is 7.5 times more luminous than Earth's Sun. A single moon, Zeroun, orbits Yezmyr. Where Yrn is associated with life, Zeroun is associated with sorcery and death.

Name: Yezmyr
Hex: 0917
Stats: X840670-1
Starport: None
Planetary Size: Medium (12,878 kilometers in diameter)
Atmosphere: Thin, Tainted (0.61 atmospheres)
Hydrosphere: Desert World (2.5% surface water)
Population: Moderate (1,000,000)
Government: Balkanization (no central ruling authority exists)
Law Level: No Law, no prohibitions
Tech Level: Medieval (circa 600 AD)
Base Code: None
Trade Classifications: Desert World, Ice-Capped
Extended Stats: R 111
Travel Zone: Red (severe danger)
Population Multiplier: 1 → 1 × 10^6;
Planetoid Belts: 1
Gas Giants: 1
Allegiance Code: Zh (Zhodani Consulate)

Refer to the UWP entry on the Traveller Wiki for additional details on Yezmyr's profile.

An Infinite Latticework of Planar Realities

2010-02-09T07:00:00.000-08:00

I have never been a fan of EGG's arrangement of planes. They have always seemed overwrought to me. I find M.A.R. Barker's "infinite latticework" much more to my liking. I recently reread Flamesong and loved the seemingly random arrangement of planes. One misstep in the latticework and you can find yourself with some serious problems!

When designing the World of Yezmyr I decided to chuck EGG's 'classical' planes right out the window. Well, I did keep the Astral Plane, and the Prime Material Plane is pretty much the same as it ever was. Beyond that, however, I made liberal changes. For instance, I don't use the Ethereal Plane. Instead, one accesses other planes by following the appropriate path. Stepping in different places and crossing various 'lines' leads to different realities. In addition to not using the Ethereal Plane, I likewise don't support the concepts of the Positive and Negative energy planes, nor do I have much use for the Concordant Opposition.

Following the Astral Plane and the Prime Material Plane are the Plane of Shadow and the Nullity. The Plane of Shadow is my general purpose home for all manner of preternatural spookiness. It is associated with both the undead and negative energy in general. The Nullity, on the other hand, is where demons come from. (As an aside, none of the demons found in D&D exist in the cosmology of Yezmyr. My demons are all custom, but I'll save those details for a future series of posts.) In any case, if you were to ask me offhand what the Nullity is like, I'd tell you that it's like dereferencing a NULL pointer: therein lies only madness and death.

These planes are followed by an infinite procession of smaller planes and demi-planes. The idea is that I should be able to create these quickly and naturally, with each ideally suited for a specific adventure—or mini-adventure. In fact, I've done just that and created a score of planes for use in future 'unusual' adventures. In addition to custom creations, I have felt free to reference some of my favorite literary realms, including, among others, Jorge Luis Borges' Library of Babel and Brian Aldiss' Hothouse, Non-Stop, and Pile/Elip. That's the beauty of the infinite latticework: there's room for everything—even stuff I decide to like in the future. I'll never run out of room.

It is important to note that there is no 'engineered' organization to these planes. There is no overarching cosmological diagram. These planes simply exist and are multiply interconnected, and that is that. Looking deeply into the details is the province of starry-eyed sorcerers. Suffice it to say that those who are armed with the appropriate knowledge (and psi-drugs) will be able to go far in the dimensional web surrounding the World of Yezmyr. But as with M.A.R. Barker's infinite latticework, one must exercise great caution, for a single misstep can lead to imprisonment, among even worse fates.

Interesting Places: Lost Underground Galleries

2010-02-08T07:00:00.000-08:00

Far below the sunlit surface is a world of dark and twisting caves. Within this world is a particularly dangerous delve known as the Lost Underground Galleries. These caves might exist by themselves or they might be part of a larger whole. They might even comprise a sinister sub-level situated off of the main core of an inordinately large dungeon complex. It's up to you to figure out how to place this locale within your campaign.

There are two ways into these galleries, each denoted on the map by a dotted circle. Where these access points lead is up to you. Perhaps they connect to the surface. Then again, they might lead to yet deeper caves—or even to the fabled caverns which are said to honeycomb the crust of the world.

Who or what dwells (or dwelled?) within these dark caverns? There has obviously been some sort of intelligence in this fell place due to the presence of several unusually large statues. Are the builders still here or did they move on centuries ago? Is anything crawling out of all those sinkholes? Where do they lead?

If you look closely you will note that there are a number of cysts and vaults that are inaccessible from the main series of caves. This is by design. Note that these cysts each have their own individual access points. Again, whether these access points lead upwards or downwards is up to you. Perhaps they all interconnect via some sort of arrangement of hidden passages. There are many possibilities.

The Fine Print: I am sharing this map under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create.

Interesting Places: Broken Fang

2010-02-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

In the foothills of the Witchfire Mountains lies a narrow, wooded ravine. A pitted track leads into its tangled expanse from the valleys below. Before the avalanche, it served as the main conduit to Howling Wolf Pass. But with the way now permanently closed by rock fall, man has quit the place. Long years passed and the watchtower that once protected the ravine fell to ruin. Today, the ravine is overgrown with vegetation. The ground slopes upward from the base of the ravine at a 25° angle and a fast moving stream cuts across the floor during the rainy season. The top of the ravine is choked with impassable rubble.

The ruined watchtower is located mid-way up the west side of the ravine. It is octagonal and stands 30 feet wide and 60 feet tall. Fashioned from large blocks of grayish blue stone, the tower is a shade of its former self. Its upper floors are completely collapsed and the structure is dangerously unsound. A single battered door provides entrance to the place, while numerous arrow loops and dim windows stare from above. No one knows what fate has befallen this place.

Inside, narrow spiral stairs connect the floors. The floor of the 4th level is rotten and its ceiling is open to the sky. The stairs ascending from this place are rubble-choked and impassible. Similarly, the stairs descending from the 1st level are obstructed by an impenetrable gloom. Where they lead is left up to you.

The Fine Print: I am sharing this map under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create.

Interesting Places: An Update

2010-01-29T07:00:00.000-08:00

The series is underway and I am quite pleased with the direction it is taking. The write-ups have been slowly taking on a life of their own. Places once nameless are now beginning to take form. I plan to continue posting these maps, but intend to tie them together with more details. As always, you are free to disregard everything and just use the map. It's really just about the map; everything else is just icing on the cake.

Sometime in the future I will post a map that ties together all of these disparate places. At that time I will unveil a little more of the overall view of this land. Skeletal in nature, it will provide a nice backdrop against which you may leverage any number of sword & sorcery actions. In truth, it doesn't matter what game system you use. You could play Gamma World here just as easily as D&D. You could do weirder. I for one intend to set a Traveller S-type scout ship down on the surface at some point.

Character Portrait: Yazmine

2010-01-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

Check out the portrait Kevin Mayle did of Z's character, Yazmine. She's the World of Yezmyr's first elf and magic-user. Kevin worked from a description provided by Z. He did an amazing job of interpreting her wishes, from her head piece right down to the skull buckles on her boots. She looks pretty bad ass, no?

You might recall a previous post where Z's penchant for magical pink glitter and evil flying unicorns was revealed. Lo and behold, if Kevin painted it, it must be true! Z asked especially for "snort mist" to make the flying unicorn appear malevolent. I think it works.

Interesting Places: Howling Wolf Pass

2010-01-26T21:16:00.000-08:00

North of the Esvarian Escarpment and across the windswept Rhor Uplands lie the Witchfire Mountains. Their snowy peaks are said to be impenetrable, the province of yeti and other fell creatures. This is not the case, however, for there is Howling Wolf Pass: a solitary route that leads through the mountains to the Sunken Lands, beyond. The pass cuts across the mountains at their narrowest point, between two impossibly huge peaks. Known as the Fangs of Yilthak, these sharp peaks cast a long shadow over the pass.

Those traveling this route would do well to take care, for the going is both treacherous and steep. Travelers will be under constant threat of attack, as there is a seemingly endless supply of savage hillmen and wolves in these lonesome peaks. Accordingly, a series of fortified watch towers has been constructed along the route to protect the vital caravans that travel to and from the Sunken Lands. Garrisoned by stalwart soldiers, these towers provide some recompense from the savagery of the region. Alas, not all towers are manned year round, especially during the long winter months. Worse still, it is during these times that the pass frequently becomes impassable due to heavy snowfall.

The Fine Print: I am sharing this map under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create.

Quote for Today's Game

2010-01-23T13:07:00.000-08:00

Perversity

"The human thirst for self torture."

– E. A. Poe

20 Encounters with Men of Yezmyr

2010-01-19T07:00:00.000-08:00

If you've been wondering where the new posts are, well, I've been busy writing—but not blog posts! <grin/> Good posting intentions aside, I don't have any exciting new content for the blog at the moment. To keep you tide over, here's something I posted over on Fin's ODD74 a couple of weeks ago: 20 Encounters with Men of Yezmyr. (Regrets if you've already seen it.)

The story is that these encounters were diced up from my new Random Men Encounter Charts. I developed these tables for my science-fantasy setting. Rolling these encounters up and sharing them constitutes play testing of a sort... In any case, I was pleasantly surprised by the encounters. I hope you enjoy them, too.

A horde of chaotic High Men infected with the plague is rampaging through the area. They were driven from their city because they are sick and contagious. Wracked with fever, they are maniacs to a man and not rational.

A band of neutral Low Men on a pilgrimage to a far city in quest of unusual medicines. They have a number of heretical prisoners in tow with them. They plan to sell these heretics into slavery at their destination in order to fund the purchase of the required medicines.

A large band of lawful Chitinous Men have fallen on hard times. No one believes in them, so no further funding for their expeditions is forthcoming. They have resorted to thievery in order to acquire funding. They will find the Vortex Manipulator in those ruins if it's the last thing they do!

A large noble hunting expedition comprised of lawful Chitinous Men and their mercenaries. They are hunting the most dangerous game: criminals released from captivity into the wild. This hunt is a part of their city's yearly religious festival.

A small party of lawful Chitinous Men and their slaves. These highwaymen are the bored sons of noblemen, out in the world, engaged in the adventure of holding wayfarers up.

A small party of chaotic Earth Men. They are scavenging ruins with murderous intent. Somewhere within the rubble is the thief that stole their map!

A single Low Man in possession of a slave girl of high descent. He is a dervish on a religious mission: he is to smuggle the slave girl back into the city states of the noble savages. She is to be the central figure in a secret sacrificial ceremony, long since outlawed.

A large band of neutral Chitinous Men and their henchmen. They have all recently become infected with the beserking virus and will attack at the slightest provocation. They are seeking out a sorcerer who might be able to reverse the blood disease that is affecting them.

A small party of chaotic Earth Men slavers. They, along with their treacherous hirelings, are driving a bunch of slaves across the trackless wastes to the next city state in hopes of turning some coin.

A small party of lawful Chitinous Men is passing by. They are returning from the far city states where they acquired a number of new slaves. Unfortunately, these slaves are afflicted with the dread beserking virus. For whatever reason, they have chosen this moment to attack!

A band of neutral Low Men pilgrims attended to by their apprentices. They have left their monastery in search of adventure. They are headed towards the far wastes.

A large band of neutral Chitinous Men sorcerers are roving the lands in search of certain rare crystals that dot the landscape. These crystals form in the dark, twilight hours, only to shatter in the dawning sunlight. As such, the sorcerers are in a hurry.

A small party of chaotic Chitinous Men. These are slavers and they, along with their henchmen, are hunting for new slaves to capture and sell. Those who are weak, unarmed, or outnumbered had better watch out!

A medium-sized band of chaotic Low Men and their apprentices. Infected to a man with the berserking virus, they are likely to go mad with battle lust at the sight of interlopers.

A large party of neutral Low Men traveling with a number of men-at-arms. They are hunting the landscape for the various hallucinogenic plants they require for their yearly religious ceremonies.

A band of neutral Earth Men buccaneers traveling with a large number of pack bearers. They are headed into the city states in order to fence their spoils.

A small party of chaotic Earth Men pirates. Armed to the teeth and mounted on vulture dogs, they will attack, swooping down on any and all. They are after healing medicines to help their wounded comrades.

A band of chaotic High Men, cultists of the Eyeless Gods. They are traveling with a number of their apprentices to one of the far cities in order to acquire drugs for their obscene ceremonies.

A band of neutral mutant savages traveling with a number of psydogs. They are insane from spending too much time in the forbidden badlands and will attack any who happen to cross their path.

A small party of chaotic Chitinous Men scavenging a ruinous pile for rare crystals and minerals. They have a small number of prisoners bound at their camp, destined for eventual sale on the slave market.

Cartographic Inspiration

2010-01-13T07:00:00.000-08:00

B1 In Search of the Unknown was the first D&D map I ever saw. I still love that adventure to this day. Mike Carr exploited an incredible number of design tricks in creating the levels that make up Quasqueton. I find those maps inspirational to this day. As good as they are, however, I have always longed for more.

Beyond B1, I find maps from the following TSR modules to be inspirational for various reasons: C1 The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan, D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Toa, G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief, G2 The Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl, G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King, and S1 Tomb of Horrors. In addition to modules, I still look at the Dungeon Geomorphs from time to time. As a matter of fact, I stared long and hard at them prior to drawing the maps for Pied Piper Publishing's DUNGEON SETS. Those geomorphs are crazy hectic and illustrate a lot of the dungeon design mores of their time.

Judges Guild appeared on the scene around the same time I got into TSR. Now I was never a Wilderlands person, but I do fondly remember pouring over the maps from Tegel Manor. The mansion was tremendous, but it was the dungeons that really fueled my imagination… Although I thought that the dungeon levels were too few (still think that), I found them awesome to behold. The claustrophobic tunnels winding throughout Level 1 and the intricate arrangement of rooms and passages on Levels 3 and 4 are equally inspiring. I continue to love the hatching style that was employed on these maps.

The same style can be seen in the maps of Castle Blackmoor, re-rendered for inclusion in the First Fantasy Campaign from 1980. Dave Arneson's designs are interesting. In particular, Level 5 opened up the possibilities of really crazy big levels—something which I have only experimented with in private.

Also worthy of inclusion are the maps from the early Middle Earth releases from Iron Crown Enterprises. Released in the early 1980s, these maps have proven to be very inspirational to me. I'm not speaking of the amazing color wilderness maps by Pete Fenlon. While works of art, to be sure, it is the black & white maps by Terry K. Amthor that have left their mark upon me. In particular, maps from Angmar, The Court of Ardor, and Moria all deeply influenced me. Even today I detect his influence in my maps. You know what? I'd have it no other way!

Other maps that I have seen over the years include various levels from both Castles Greyhawk and El Raja Key, all drawn by RJK, as well as facsimiles of various maps by EGG from the ill-fated Castle Zagyg line. As someone who "grew up on modules" (for better or for worse), it has been extremely satisfying to see and be influenced by these old works. The reason being that they simply don't resemble modules in the slightest.

In closing, I have to give my final nod to Tékumel and its vast underworlds. What can I say of these? Amazingly huge, that's what. I've seen a part of the Jakallan Underworld and all I can say is that it is an impressive maze, punctuated throughout by strange chambers and richly evil temples. This place is incredibly detailed. Alas, I've never seen a key for this, and the details I do have remain sketchy at best, so I can only imagine the myriad horrors that dwell within this dim place. (Actually, not having the key makes this map fragment that much more cool!)

World of Yezmyr House Rules

2010-01-12T07:00:00.000-08:00

The World of Yezmyr is my nontraditional fantasy campaign world. Right now we are playing in the world's grim sword & sorcery past. The world has multiple futures, however, and they touch on both SF and science-fantasy. (I posted about the genesis of the science-fantasy setting last year.) The world is a custom creation, although it is clearly influenced by things that I like.

We are playing a modified 1974 D&D. We use all of Supplement I and select rules cherry picked from Supplements II and III. We are not using Supplement IV, as I have written my own in similar style. (I posted descriptions of the Pantheon of Yezmyr last Sunday—how apropos.) Moreover, I have back ported all my favorite monsters from the Monster Manual, Fiend Folio, and Monster Manual II. In addition, I've added a bunch of my own devising. (One can never have enough monsters.) In the end, I suppose you could say that we are playing proto-AD&D.

The D&D rules as presented cover the majority of our needs. From combat to advancement, it's all there—and if it's not, we either role play it out or house rule it. We don't have a lot of house rules, though. After almost a year of play we only have nine:

Ability scores are rolled the best 3 out of 4d6 and scores are arranged to taste.
There are no illusionists, rangers, or druids.
Characters get their full die of h.p. at 1st level.
There are no alignment languages.
Everyone picks a patron deity.
Clerics don't need spellbooks; they pray for their spells.
A spellcaster who is hit prior to getting a spell off loses the spell.
To acquire new spells, magic-users must find scrolls, spellbooks, or a friendly higher-level caster who will let them copy spells.
Characters are dead at 0 h.p.

I don't want to overdo it with house rules. I don't want us to get to a point where we find ourselves trapped in a baroque prison of our own construction. To that end, we've kept the house rules to a minimum and it's worked out well thus far.

Interesting Places: Chapel of Ghouls

2010-01-11T07:00:00.000-08:00

Situated on the eastern edge of the dusty desert steppes are the remains of an old chapel. Constructed in centuries past by an unknown sect of men, it stands today in abject ruin. Well off the beaten track traveled by desert caravans, the ruin is scarcely known. All the better, for the place is unwholesome. An unbearable stench hangs over the ruin and its nights are pierced by wild, inhuman screams.

Brooding megaliths guard the approach to the chapel. Standing askew, they lend an otherworldly air to the place. Among the stones are a number of cairns. At their center is a large statue. Ostensibly a man praying to the heavens, the statue has been worn down and pitted by the harsh desert winds.

The walls of the ruin are windswept and riddled with holes, and the roof has collapsed. The great statue that stood next to the porch is now a jumble of rock. Narrow slits peer out from the remains of the chapel’s singular tower. Only the lower level still stands, the upper floors having collapsed long ago. Choked with rubble, the place hides a secret trapdoor beneath the paving stones of its ancient floor.

Within the chapel, broken statues line the nave, defaced by countless claw marks. Of the altar, there is no trace, but amidst the rubble of the chancel is a yawning black pit. Deeply gouged steps descend into the darkness. Who or what dwells in the depths beneath this accursed place?

The Fine Print: I am sharing this map under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create.

The Gods of Yezmyr

2010-01-10T16:52:00.000-08:00

Copyright © 2010, Ramsey Dow. All Rights Reserved.

The religions of Yezmyr are varied and strange. Weird cults worship obscene gods while high priests enact ancient rituals deep within their vast temples. Spiritual battles are commonplace as the forces of law, neutrality, and chaos struggle for superiority. Mortals are but pawns in these eternal games of conflict. This is how it has always been.

Xagyr/Yagg — Lawful Goddess of Light/God of Life
Ruler of light and life—and the spiritual leader of the gods of law—this deity is worshiped in both its female and male aspects. She is known as Xagyr (Zah-GEER, the Light) on the continent of Azea. On Anhara, he is Yagg (YOG, the Life). Although this deity takes no physical form, its worshipers present it as a perfectly formed human being. Her symbol is the ray of eternal light, his an endless circle representing the continuity of life. Xagyr/Yagg represents a duality: she/he can be nurturing, generative, and benevolent or she/he can be aggrieved, possessive, and devouring.

Jyall Paquus — Lawful God of War
Favored by warriors and berserkers, Jyall Paquus (JIE-all Pah-COUS) prefers worshipers who deign to cleanse themselves after battle. He takes one of three forms: the powerful authority before the battle, the berserker mad with lust during the battle, and the Crow after the battle has been fought. Different sects focus on different aspects, but all worship the same deity. His symbol is alternately a helm (authority), a bloody axe (battle lust), or a black crow. The latter is frequently depicted plucking an eyeball from the grim eye socket of a corpse.

Jwas Medar — Lawful God of Magic
The god of magic, elvenkind, and lawful dragons, Jwas Medar (JWOSS Med-harr) is worshipped in two forms: a cosmically beautiful elf and a snake-headed dragon. His symbol is Zeroun (Tseh-ROON), the sorcerous moon of Yezmyr. Seen only through the haze of one's pineal gland, Jwas Medar is the Prince of Mysteries.

Vass Tehmer — Neutral God of Nature
Worshiped by farmers and hunters alike, Vass Tehmer (VAHSS Tim-err) is the Lord of the Forests and protector of the natural realm. He wards the fields against wild incursions from nature and protects the wild plants and animals that are important to hunters. He is the patron of hobbits and personifies male beauty.

Edde Woenorg — Neutral God of Fertility
The god of fertility, Edde Woenorg (Edda WOE-norg) is a cosmic hermaphrodite. Although possessed of all genders, none is preferred over any of the others. It is likely that this god will shift gender from moment to moment. It is equally likely that this god will be copulating with itself while interacting with you. Such is the nature of Edde Woenorg. This god is known as Omurbek (Om-UR-beck) in Anhara. This deity uses as its symbol any of the various sexual organs.

Berrn Kottuz — Neutral God of Mischief (The Trickster)
The offspring of titans, Berrn Kottuz (BAIRN Kott-huz) is the god of tricksters, dwarfs, and giants, alike. He is a shape shifter, assuming any form he desires at will. Berrn Kottuz controls the crossroads. He allows the crossing of bad luck, deliberate destruction, misfortune, and injustice. It is prophesied that Berrn Kottuz will, through his mischievous and malicious tricks, bring about the downfall and ultimate destruction of the pantheon of Yezmyr.

Erool'tsu — Chaotic God of Darkness and Death
The spiritual leader of the gods of chaos, Erool'tsu (Erool TSOO) is the god of darkness and death. In Azea, this god is worshiped as a purely spiritual being: there is no male or female, but only the stench of death in darkness eternal. In Anhara, this god is worshiped in its female aspect, Khorazma (Khor-AHZ-mah), a fifteen foot tall, hairless, ebon-skinned female with three breasts. This god counts among its worshipers the death cults of men and humanoids, as well as chaotic dragons. The skull is this deity's favored symbol, and it is not uncommon to see worms emerging from its eye sockets.

Babbdelwos — Chaotic God of Madness and the Sea
Formed when the sacs of the primeval octopus burst, Babbdelwos (BAB-del-wohss) is the god of madness and the sea. He rules fish and all the creatures of the sea from his manse within the Further Depths. His echo reaches as far as the sea's infinite caress. His messenger is the sea serpent Orthanc, who is both unknown and unknowable. (It is said that to see Orthanc is to invite dementia.) His symbol is the conch, and sometimes the tentacle.

Raan Venedos — Chaotic God of Disease
Ruling from the Foetid Pits of Asherak, deep within the Nullity, Raan Venedos (RAHN Venneh-dose) is the supreme lord of all that is sickly and diseased. A cohort of the most powerful plague demons, each more horrid than the last, attends him constantly. He loves nothing more than casting wave after wave of sickness upon the living, reveling in their decay. His symbol is the paramecium.

Dice Rolling and Death

2010-01-09T20:22:00.000-08:00

Excitement was in the air this evening as we had a new player at the table—and by new player, I mean someone who has never played before. Lured in by her boyfriend (the party's trusty(?) thief), J. rolled up an elven magic-user, a popular combination for new players in this campaign. (For point of reference, Z also plays an elven magic-user.) With this addition of fresh blood, the group now consists of seven players, represented by eight player characters and a henchman. Joining the fray this evening:

Yazmine, elven magic-user
Candela Shadowslayer, human cleric
Bemt the Cringer, human cleric
Drawde, human assassin
Trebor Yenoomi, human fighting-man
Datos, elven thief
Plume, elven magic-user
Kalton, human paladin
Manny the Tragic, human fighting-man (henchman)

The party had discovered a treasure map in their most recent adventure. Today, that map was deciphered and the tomb was achieved. The surface ruins were explored and a certain patch of deadly weed, interspersed with skeletons, was put to the torch. I then got to enjoy one of those moments where the players freak out a little bit due to the atmosphere. After much excited talk, they got their act together and descended into the dungeon, proper.

It's been a while since we last got together to play, so everyone was a little rusty. I solved that problem by running a combat right away. Our intrepid heroes were beset upon by a trio of giant scorpions. Blows were exchanged until ultimately all of the scorpions lay dead and twitching. Alas, Manny the Tragic was stung through and through. He failed his saving throw, turned purple, and shortly keeled over dead. Our new player asked, "Do we hold a funeral?" In unison, the other players were like, "Naah." I couldn't help but chuckle.

The adventurers delved deeper, poking and prodding the ruin as they went. Strange glyphs were deciphered, bas-reliefs were examined, and warnings went unheeded. Ultimately, a nasty combination of traps was triggered. No one died, but the clerics did wind up using all of their cure light wounds spells. I couldn't complain.

By the time we broke, the players had made good progress into the dungeon. The place feels unique and the players seem to have enjoyed themselves. I'm happy with the level of intensity of the encounters and traps thus far. Best of all, my deadliness as a DM continues with yet another death. (I believe there have been only 2 or 3 sessions so far where someone didn't die.) What can I say? Our group digs peril.

I can't wait for us to get together again. I'm really interested in seeing how the further challenges of this ancient ruin are addressed by the players. They play smart, and that keeps me on my toes. I've never had so much fun running games! But best of all, our new player seems to have genuinely enjoyed herself. Awesome.

Under the Influence

2010-01-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

Authors: Jorge Luis Borges, A.E. Van Vogt, Robert E. Howard, Rudy Rucker, Brian Aldiss, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Gene Wolfe, Thomas Ligotti, Clark Ashton Smith, H.P. Lovecraft, and R.H. Barlow.

Musicians: Naked City, John Zorn, Painkiller, Morbid Angel, Bolt Thrower, Brujeria, Six Feet Under, and Fantômas.

Films: La Planète sauvage, Gandahar, Heavy Metal, Wizards, From Beyond, Cannibal Holocaust, Begotten, and Liquid Sky.

Thank god for these.

Adventure Inspiration

2010-01-07T08:25:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I get stumped for creative ideas. Usually that means I am not reading enough. The obvious solution, therefore, is to go read a book! Alas, sometimes life gets in the way, preventing proper reading time. When that happens I turn to my "secret" source for zany inspiration: Pravda.

Yes, you read that right: Pravda. The Russian newspaper. It has wonderfully wacky articles in its science section, filed away under the mysteries category. There's almost always something weird in there that inspires an adventure. It's kinda like the tabloids, but better.

Z's Descent Into Dungeons & Dragons

2010-01-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

Z's comment about the Something Awful spoof of Dungeon Module S3 got me to thinking about how I turned her into a D&D player. Yes, it's true. Before me, Z didn't play D&D.

Initially, I talked about D&D to her a lot. She would listen patiently and then tell me that she didn't have a clue what I was talking about. You know, "Blah blah hit points blahbity blah blah." This continued for some months. "I don't get it," she would always say.

Eventually, I broke down and bought her Confessions of a Part-time Sorceress: A Girl's Guide to the D&D Game. I read it aloud to her over a couple of nights. (The book is focused on 3rd ed. and we're a 1974 D&D household, so I needed to be able to edit appropriately.) This book really helped nail some of the basic concepts for Z. The fact that she found a set of pink glittery dice to play with didn't hurt, either. Next thing you know, she's blogging about getting ready to play D&D! (Want to know the funny part? She lost readers as a result of that post! Hahahaha.)

So eventually, we get everyone over and I spun up World of Yezmyr for the very first time. The group had a good mix: some seasoned players, one who had never played, and a couple that haven't played since college. Just because I like it, I decided that they all met up in a tavern. Secretly, I was hoping for an all-out bar brawl. Instead, we got some choice role-playing action. Unfortunately, Z was not prepared for this and had a secret little internal panic attack. She had always said she didn't want to have to do what she calls medieval speak. In fact, that was the closer. I promised Z she wouldn't have to do any Renaissance Faire type crap. She basically stayed quiet during the whole episode. Luckily, things progressed quickly and the party headed out into the wilderness. I could swear she was having fun later when she cast magic missile at that giant ant! Her competitive streak had come out.

One day, months later, she cornered me and informed me that demi-human level limits were the suck and that they weren't fair and that she would like to advance beyond 8th level, pretty please. Holy cow! I had created a monster! I was like, "Ummm, no." Dagger eyes.

Now, even later, Z is an integral part of the gaming group. She's got a firm grasp of strategy and tactics and is a very smart player. I'm impressed that she's doing so well and still having fun. One thing she laughs about a lot is how she is continually amazed at some of the stupidity that goes on at our table. Here's Z, in her own words, to tell you about the Bugbear poop incident. Yes, you read that correctly. Bugbear poop.

The first to declare that they should look through the poop was Trebor. I and others were like, "No way, dude!" Trebor carried on that there may be treasure in the poop. Kalton agreed, "Yes, sometimes there are jewels in poop." I was disgusted by all the crazy boys I have to play with. I kept telling them how friggin' nuts they were. But the thought of treasure started to give the rest a fever. A fever that would not be shaken within Trebor, making him NEED to check that poop. I declared that I didn't want to have to pay to resurrect his ass again, and having a charmed bugbear within my control said, "FINE! You want to check the friggin' poop, let's sacrifice the bugbear, then you will see that you need to listen to me. Yesmar would not put anything good in poop, I'm just saying. Just like you guys always fall for the dang scantily clad chick chained up. Yo! I'm not trying to get killed, suckas!"

Sure enough, my bugbear was burrowed through by rot grubs. Plus, guess what? NO TREASURE and now no more bugbear at our disposal. Trebor was totally in awe and thanked me for having the wits to keep him out of the poop. Meanwhile Yesmar was just totally amazed that the insignificant poop had caused such chaos and hilarity. It still gets Trebor a healthy reminder from me when he tries to rush into certain death. [tisk]

Ahhh yes, the continual maiden trickery I pull. When will my friends learn not to attempt to rescue the scantily clad chick chained to the wall? Ummmm, never! Hahahaha. (Last time she turned into a Huecuva.)

Anyway, Z's been playing for about eight months now and her character is on the cusp of 6th level. She's well into it and I think that's great. She continually comes up with good plans at the table. She does want some strange things, however. You know, stuff like magical pink glitter and evil flying unicorns and continually insists that her stiletto boots are a weapon. I suppose I'll cave in at some point, but you can bet these game creations will have interesting side effects. We shall see.

Remembering Expedition to the Barrier Peaks

2010-01-05T04:24:00.001-08:00

I just love this.

Interesting Places: Caves of Madness

2010-01-04T02:34:00.000-08:00

In the spirit of tackling my resolutions head on, I present to you the latest in my Interesting Places series: the Caves of Madness.

Amidst the rocky uplands, north of the steppes, can be found the Caves of Madness. Six blackened mouths yawn against the backdrop of the windswept southern escarpment. Just outside, a trio of grotesque statues perch upon a rocky terrace, casting their baleful gaze across the approach. The statues appear to be demons of some sort, but it is hard to say, for they have been disfigured by the winds of countless years. The vaults concealed within are said to cause madness to those foolish enough to venture within. It is just a legend, though, as none who have ventured forth have ever returned!

None but you know why the caves are said to induce madness. Perhaps the passages have been warped by the strong phantasmagorical magic of an alien wizard. Alternately, the presence of the rare radioisotope YZ-23 in the caves might be the cause. Perhaps it is all a lie—a ruse perpetrated by the cannibalistic death cult that uses the caves for their own sick purposes. Regardless, your players should be afraid of what lurks within.

The Fine Print: I am sharing this map under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create.

DUNGEON SETS™ Reviews

2010-01-03T16:31:00.000-08:00

For the curious, the first review of the work I did for Pied Piper Publishing has been posted over at The Acaeum. Guy Fullerton's two-post review starts around post #17 in the thread. Just so you know, things like paper weight, etc., were out of my control. The design of the levels, however, is all me. If you have any questions as to why something is designed the way it is, feel free to leave a comment or send an email.

I'll update this post in the future when I discover more reviews out there. (And if you see any, kindly send a link my way. My email address is visible in my profile.)

A Belated New Year...

2010-01-02T01:47:00.000-08:00

The new year is upon us, and none too soon, I say! The year end has been hectic around here and I'm glad to see it go. I'm looking forward to meeting 2010 head on. I've got a bunch of goals that I would like to to see through to completion.

First, I want to grow this blog. It's new and I've been slow at making posts. I'm looking to pick up the pace in 2010 with some new series, especially a couple involving new maps that I've been working on. I'm excited about the possibilities...

I've been doing a lot of reading lately, but I want to do more. I'm setting a personal goal of reading 100 books in 2010. Although I don't have a list compiled as yet, I do know that A.E. Van Vogt, Cormac McCarthy, Gene Wolfe, and Robert E. Howard figure prominently in this pile.

Going hand in hand with more reading is more writing. I've got a number of projects in development at the moment. I'm going to complete them and get them out into the world in 2010. The first one is slated for play test later this month.

Speaking of play testing, I would be remiss if I didn't mention my D&D campaign. The World of Yezmyr, just shy of a year old, has been limping along sadly for the past couple of months due to other projects taking priority. So it gives me great pleasure to bring it fully back into the fold...

The crew's got some play testing on the horizon. I can't wait to see how it goes!

And speaking of playing, I'd like to actually do some! I don't get a chance to play all that often. Usually when I do, it's a pick up game at some nameless con somewhere—and I don't manage to get out to cons all that often. So imagine my surprise at getting an invite to the table at Planet Algol. Very cool! I'll definitely be making the drive up to Vancouver in the future.

So here's to 2010!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T22:42:00.000-08:00

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday, no matter where you are. Here's hoping you got that MANMELTER 3600ZX Sub-Atomic Disintegrator Pistol (or whatever else it was) that you were wanting.

Interesting Places: Mysterious Island

2009-12-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

There's been some discussion of sailing craft in the blogosphere of late. The discussion has mainly been focused on ships, and that's cool, but what I am really interested in is where you are going. If you don't know, then might I suggest Mysterious Island? It's a wonderful place, chock full to the brim with horrible monsters, nasty vermin, and perhaps a band of Cthulhu-worshiping pirates. It is a fine place for a vacation, I daresay.

Mysterious Island marks the first in an occasional series of posts about interesting places to send your player characters. Periodically, I will post a map along with a few comments. As is my custom, I will refrain from keying these maps, or providing too much in the way of detail, preferring that you do that yourself. I don't promise that these posts will follow any sort of regular schedule, or be about any particular type of locale, but I do expect that they will at least be on par with what you see here.

Nobody ever likes The Fine Print, but it is a necessary evil. As such, let's get it out of the way forthwith. Like other maps that I post here from time to time, I am sharing this under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create. With that out of the way, I present Mysterious Island...

Mysterious Island is a small island, just over 1½ miles wide. It exists wherever you want it to, so long as it can rest in a deep, blue body of water. Stick it in an ocean, on a lake, or even on its own demiplane. Although small, it has a variety of terrain types and should prove a fun, if brief, romp for player characters.

There is a small, rocky beach to the north and a larger, sandy beach at the top of the island's only navigable lagoon. The remainder of the coast is either scrub, low-lying salt marsh, or steep, treacherous cliff. At high tide the ocean rushes forth to fill the island's lowest land. This creates a huge tide pool, dividing the island in twain.

To the east of the tide pool is a salt marsh. The soggy land is almost uniformly covered with a variety of cordgrasses. To the south, the land rises to a promontory. The terrain is grassy, rocky, and occasionally choked with scub. The headland is separated from the remainder of the island by a steep gorge filled with crashing sea water. On the far side of this gorge squats a hideous tower, brooding on the cliffside.

To the north lies a thick, virgin woodland followed by steep hills. Although dense, the wood quickly turns into shrub land as one ascends the hills. The lands immediately before the cliffs are covered with grass, punctuated by large rocks. Many of the rocks have been stained white by the presence of innumerable birds.

Who or what lives on this island is, of course, up to you. If your players are a-sailing, then perhaps they will bump into this place. Otherwise, might they receive a nudge via an old map or a well-placed rumor? Who can tell! But if you need a map of a mysterious island with a dark secret, then this might just be the ticket. Some DM assembly required.

I'd like to give a big, special thanks to Creative Coquette for selecting the colors and drawing the sea monster. Everything needs a sea monster.

The Mind's Ear of Yezmyr

2009-12-14T20:04:00.000-08:00

If there was a single song that expressed how I feel when I think of the World of Yezmyr, it would surely be Leng Tch'e by Naked City. Luckily, there's a whole bunch of other songs that collectively paint a picture of Yezmyr in my mind's ear. To that end, I've put together a soundtrack for the next gaming session. It's atmospheric, otherworldly, and more than a little creepy. I'm putting it out there because I suspect other people find these sorts of things interesting. I know I certainly do.

Catacombs, Heretic (Naked City, 1992)
Une Correspondance, Absinthe (Naked City, 1993)
Back Through the Looking Glass, Heretic (Naked City, 1992)
Three Preludes Op. 74 — Tres Lent, Contemplaif, Grand Guignol (Naked City, 1992)
Fleurs du Mal, Absinthe (Naked City, 1993)
Leng Tch'e, Black Box (Naked City, 1990)
Grand Guignol, Grand Guignol (Naked City, 1992)
Notre Dame de L'Oubli (For Olivier Messiaen), Absinthe (Naked City, 1993)
White and Lazy (Homecoming), Filmworks 1986-1990 (John Zorn, 1997)
The Golden Boat (Turntable Mix), Filmworks 1986-1990 (John Zorn, 1997)
Yoga Dollar, Nani Nani (John Zorn, 1995)
The Golden Boat (Theme), Filmworks 1986-1990 (John Zorn, 1997)
New Jersey Scum Swamp, Black Box (Naked City, 1990)
The Toll, Buried Secrets (Painkiller, 1991)
Gob of Spit, Black Box (Naked City, 1990)

Finding all of these songs might prove troublesome—my musical tastes are more than a little esoteric. Luckily, you can get most of them from Tzadik, John Zorn's record label. (Confirmed: I just checked the Tzadik catalog. While not all of the releases are still available individually, all of the songs can be obtained from the various available collections.)

The RJK Level

2009-12-09T23:28:00.000-08:00

Not all that long ago I was on the phone with RJK. He was telling me the events surrounding EGG's running of Sturmgeschutz and Sorcery. Following that, Rob moved into a descriptive history of Burmania, accounts of the fabled Supplement V: Kalibruhn, the orcs of the Greyhawk Castle dungeons, and so much more. I can't begin to recount what was said, but I can share the map that I drew while Rob was conveying some of the earliest histories of D&D to me.

The map started out as a doodle. I had the thought that it would be cool to draw a dungeon while listening to the history of D&D as told by someone who had really seen it from the inside out. I didn't tell Rob what I was doing. I just sketched freely as he talked. By the time the call was over I had a rough level mapped out. In the following days I fleshed it out in my customary style. I didn't plan this out. It just sort of happened—and I ran with it. Overall, I'm really pleased with the results. I hope you like it, too.

If you need a map, take it and use it. I'm sharing it under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. If you follow that link you will be able to read about the conditions that apply to this work. In a nutshell: (a) you can't use it commercially, (b) you must attribute it to me, and (c) you must share any derivative works that you create. Now that that's out of the way, I'll divulge a little about the design of this level.

Typically, I use all available space when transliterating my brain waves into dungeon maps. In this case, for whatever reason, I left some space at the bottom of the page. The RJK Level runs 310 feet from east to west and 320 feet from north to south. This makes it slightly larger than the well-known one-page dungeon format that is popular with some. This is accidental, but will no doubt please certain intrepid DMs. In any case, as RJK continued weaving tales, I decided that I would use the free space for the map's legend.

At another point during the conversation, Rob told me of one level he drew in which he used a wide ranging corridor to whip adventurers from one side of the map to the other. That technique resonated with me, so I decided to give it a try on this map. I also made a conscious effort to incorporate other elements which I sometimes neglect, like shifting blocks, underfloor passages, etc.

So there you have it: a new, unkeyed map. I want you to take it, print it out, key it up, run it, and share it! I have purposefully avoided discussing areas of the map that have meaning to me. What I really want is for you to take this map and make it your own. When you do, drop me a line. I'd love to hear how you use it.

If you like this map then you really ought to check out Pied Piper Publishing's DUNGEON SETS™ product line. Each set contains six full-sized dungeon levels, interconnected and unkeyed, just like the one above. (Full disclosure: those maps come from the same pen as the one above.)

A Brief Introduction to the World of Yezmyr

2009-12-02T00:40:00.000-08:00

Copyright © 2009, Ramsey Dow. All Rights Reserved.

Yezmyr was a dying world. The civilization of the Precursors laid smoking in ruins, their fate sealed by the Great Cataclysm. Oceans boiled and evaporated even as the atmosphere thinned dangerously, sucked out into space. Continents buckled as tectonic plates clashed. Souls fled with unerring trajectory into the stratosphere and the Planes Beyond as everyone died. The world transformed into swirling chaos. When the chaos finally subsided, all that remained was a planetary sea of silicate sand. Eons passed.

Without precedent, the twin primordial beings, Islou and Onettetian, arose from the sands of chaos. They created the Lands Above, gigantic pillars of stone capped with earth. Not quite continents, the Lands Above are gigantic mesas. Colloquially known as the Pillars, they alone break the monotony of the boundless wastes that cover the remainder of the world. Although varying in shape and area, the smallest could easily best the size of Texas. There are ten such Pillars, clustered together like islands. They are known as the Spires of Yezmyr. It is there that the Twins chose to rekindle life, ushering Yezmyr into a strange, new era.

The tops of the Pillars are swathed in mountains, twisted forests, steppes, and deserts. Water, although present, is rare. Large bodies, where they exist, are typically salty, with spring-fed streams being the most common source of fresh water. Rivers are unheard of. Five of the Pillars are desolate, demon haunted places. They remain unexplored and enigmatic, although tales of fabulous, lost wealth abound. The remaining Pillars comprise the Five Kingdoms, where the disparate, warring tribes of man make their home. Travel between the Pillars, while possible, is uncommon, requiring aerial steeds or magic.

Endless sky lies above and to all sides of the Pillars. For all its beauty, the sky is a desert. The atmosphere of Yezmyr is unnaturally thin and dangerous to breathe for long periods. The Twins, in their beneficence, created Atmosphere Plants, which produce prodigious amounts of oxygen locally. These plants are liberally scattered throughout the realms of man. Breathable air abounds wherever these plants flourish. The further one travels from the civilized realms the less likely one is to find this plant. Traveling in areas not populated by Atmosphere Plants is dangerous and ill advised unless appropriate precautions have been taken.

Traditional air-breathing creatures are found all across the surface of the Pillars. In other regions, particularly where the atmosphere thins and turns foul, the creatures become stranger yet. Thousands of feet below the edges of the Pillars stretch a thick, seemingly endless expanse of clouds. This cloud cover, known as The Between, separates the Lands Above from the Chaos Below. This place is haunted by all manner of terrifying creatures, the most common being huge, man-eating birds.

Several miles below The Between lies the wasted surface of Yezmyr. Known as the Unending Chaos, it is all that remains of the former world. Corrupted, decayed, and disintegrated, it is a perpetual wasteland of deep and suffocating silicate sand. The cloud cover of The Between is thick, expansive, and permanent, rendering the wasted surface overcast and eternally hot. Sands swirl wildly in the hot winds that constantly sweep the planet's surface. Primordial horrors haunt the wastes and travel there is thought impossible. Journeying to the Unending Chaos is considered suicidal.

This is the World of Yezmyr, a non-traditional setting of high fantasy, lowly sword swinging, and wild, violent sorcery. This is not an age of romance, but an age of peril. The sentient races fight tooth and nail for their survival, while the low creatures menacingly stalk prey in an endless cycle of life and death.

Pied Piper Publishing announces DUNGEON SETS™

2009-11-14T20:29:00.000-08:00

Well, it's official. The first batch of maps I was commissioned to draw for Rob Kuntz go on sale at Pied Piper Publishing tomorrow. DUNGEON SETS #1 (Levels 1-6) and DUNGEON SETS #2 (Levels 7-12) will become available at 12:00 noon CST. I'm pretty excited about these maps, because I got to design them as well as draw them. I've seen enough uninspired maps in recent years to have a vested interest in getting some real maps out there into the RPG marketplace. Here's a sample section from Level 8 showing a part of "The Cistern":

What's great about these maps is that they are fully drawn, but un-keyed. Virtually nothing is documented about them (other than a cross section and map legend, of course). What this means is that you, the referee, get to create everything about this place! One person's Level 1 will be wholly different than someone else's. I can't wait to see what people do with these levels. (I should note that there is nothing preventing you from using any game system you want—D&D, GAMMA WORLD, Empire of the Petal Throne, GURPS, etc.—with these levels.)

You can read more about DUNGEON SETS here, here, and here.

I am already hard at work mapping out DUNGEON SETS #3 (Levels 13-18) and DUNGEON SETS #4 (Levels 19-24), which will become available in the new year. There will also be some special DUNGEON SETS releases in the future, so keep your eyes peeled.

Are You Gonna Go My Way?

2009-11-10T18:39:00.000-08:00

I love role-playing games, but I hardly ever play them. Don't get me wrong, I run games as often as I can, but I'm always refereeing. I love being the DM. It's the act of creation that serves as the draw for me. When it comes to role-playing, I love nothing more than creating deadly circumstances and watching how the players work their way out of it. Sometimes this goes according to my plan; other times, not so much.

I'm going to share two instances of this from my current D&D campaign, The World of Yezmyr. The first anecdote is about a time when things went my way, and the second—surprise, surprise—is about a time when they didn't. Now, I'm not the most sadistic DM out there, but I do tend to have fun at my players' expense. My dungeons are weird places. I wouldn't say that they're fun houses or anything, but they definitely have a malevolent edge.

Not too long ago the party was working their way through one of the levels beneath a particularly nasty ancient ruin. One of their number, Trebor the fighting-man, played by R, had recently died, having fallen into a deep and narrow pit. The other party members managed to haul his broken body out of the pit. They carried it for a while, but the burden became too great. The player characters unceremoniously dumped Trebor's body into an otherwise empty room. "We'll come back later and get the body," they said. Right.

Fast forward a half an hour or so. The party found a secret door that opened up a slew of heretofore undiscovered rooms. The players' excitement level increased as they began to explore afresh. In time they came across a large, pillared hall. "What do you want to do," I asked. "We enter the hall," they said. I threw some dice and informed them that Yazmine, Z's elven magic-user, had been encircled by a bright, penetrating, white light. A number of magic mouths then appeared on the hall's various walls and pillars. Before anyone could react, the magic mouths intoned, "O GREAT ADVENTURER, WHAT BE THY WISH?"

There were exhortations from the other players to "Wish for gold," to "Wish for health for all," and to "Wish for health and gold for everyone." I had to be very careful while all this was going on. My players know me well and they constantly analyze me, looking for telltale signs that they can use to their benefit. I didn't want to give anything away, so I did my damnedest to remain aloof. You see, there was a trick at play here. There was indeed a wish in effect, but the reverse of what was asked for would happen. I had no idea what the players would wish for when I keyed this room, but that didn't matter. Playing through this encounter would be fun, regardless. So here they were, caught up within its effect. In time, Z wished for "Trebor to be brought back to life." In unison, the magic mouths intoned, "OS TI LLAHS EB."

If Z had just followed the urgings of the other players then everyone would have taken damage and been slapped with the medieval equivalent of mountains of credit card debt. I suppose that's what I half expected to happen. As it turned out, I still got what I wanted. Z's request for Trebor to be brought back to life got translated by the warped enchantment of the place into a mandate for permanent death for Trebor.

To satisfy the reverse wish—and ensure that the body would be useless if presented to high level clerics back in town—I had it consumed by a carrion crawler. There was a nest of the foul creatures located not far from where the the party had dumped Trebor's body. Up until that point I had been rolling dice periodically to determine whether a carrion crawler in the vicinity had sniffed out a tasty treat. However, given the current situation, it was clear that a carrion crawler not only found Trebor's corpse, but was consuming it—from the head down!

I wish I had a picture of the players' collective faces when they finally managed to make it back to the room where they had left Trebor's body. It was slack jaws and wide eyes all the way around the table as I described the horrid scene. The carrion crawler had managed to work its way from the head down to the gut. It was clear that there would be no resurrection for this corpse. In the end, the player characters wasted the carrion crawler, Trebor's player, R, rolled up a new character, and the game continued. Best of all, there's still an occasional mention of Trebor's glorious corpse.

The second anecdote is about a time when things didn't really go my way. It's not nearly as lengthy a story, so I will be brief. The player characters had managed to fight their way down to an evil temple deep beneath the sunlit surface. They had hacked their way through what seemed like an endless horde of undead temple guardians, and made it to the final hall, a sunken affair with an obsidian floor. Surely the EHP and his minions would be found at the end of this accursed place. "Forward to death," I encouraged everyone with a smile.

The players noted the unsual floor with trepidation and refused to set foot on it, much to my chagrin. I had at least expected a tentative foot so that I could roll the dice for damage: the floor was magicked to shock those who were not of chaotic alignment. Perhaps a cliche ploy, but seemed valid since this was a chaos temple. My players, however, were not biting. Instead of running across the floor, which I surmised would have removed a reasonable number of hit points from them, they instead threw zombie carcasses out onto the floor. In this manner they formed a path as they went, ultimately traversing the obsidian obstacle without taking a single point of damage. I was admittedly nonplussed. I shouldn't have been—my players are quite smart; I shouldn't have expected anything less from them. In this particular case Z noticed that I was aggro and called me on it. Touche! In the end, the player characters slew the EHP and his minions and escaped from the dungeons with their lives intact. Oh yeah, they got some treasure, too.

Sometimes the action goes the way I want it to and sometimes it doesn't. I can try and influence the direction that play takes, but in the end it's the players who are the ones driving. Regardless of where we all end up, we always manage to have a good time. My players tell me that the game is fun, and they keep coming back, so that's all that really matters.

The Look Complete

2009-11-08T16:46:00.000-08:00

I'd like to give a special thanks to Kevin Mayle for the fantastic new artwork gracing the top of the blog. Kevin has managed to capture the evocative mood that I was going after. That's a bona fide TPK happening right there. Just look at those foolish adventurers gasping in shock as they meet their doom at the hand of the Nameless EHP of the Vault. I especially love the unearthly pallor cast across the cave by the death ray.

I would be remiss for not thanking my fiancée, Creative Coquette, for her excellent color choices. Without her assistance in color selection, this blog would not look nearly so cool and collected.

Thank you!

Welcome

2009-11-08T05:24:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my new blog. It is all about role-playing games, specifically my lifetime love of Dungeons & Dragons. The name is inspired from the Finger of Death, one of those wonderful spells that evil high priests use to slay unwary adventurers. I have always envisioned such rays as being sickly in hue, much like the cover of The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun. Doesn't that color make you feel ill? Hell yes it does.

I am a long time gamer. I started with Holmes Basic back in '78. I quickly graduated to AD&D and stayed there until 2006, when I gave OD&D a try. I stayed with OD&D until I scratched the itch and rolled my own Holmes expansion.

I'm mainly going to discuss aspects from my current campaign here: things that interest me, amusing player experiences, information about the campaign world, etc. Alas, life is hectic at the moment and lots of projects are vying for my attention. As such, I expect things to be somewhat sparse around here for the next month or so. Things will pick up in December when the next game is scheduled. In the meantime I'll post some small maps and other tidbits in the coming days and weeks to keep things going.