Attronarch's Athenaeum

Campaign journals, reviews of TTRPG stuff, and musings on D&D.

Adventurers

Character Class Description
Tarkus the Promising Cleric level 4 Follower of Bachontoi, God of Red Wisdom.
Beorg the Gravedigger Fighter level 3 Inspired to adventure after burying several adventurers.
Thorm Dwarf level 2 Ashen hair, beard, and eyes. Left his own clan due to financial trouble.
Dalkanarion Fighter level 4 A youthful specimen in full strength, full of purpose, bluster, and eagerness to prove himself.
Ambros Cleric level 6 Follower of Aniu, Lord of Time.
Ignaeus Elf level 4 A slightly weathered looking elf with dull blonde hair and chiseled features. Seeks wealth and knowledge.
Foxglove Thief level 5 A willowy human, long hair ties in a pony tail, looks a bit dangerous and dainty at the same time.

Dewsnap 3rd, Earthday

High Priest of Forseti watched as his army marched towards Cedarwade keep. Knight Marlon val Brookwood led the charge with his five most trusted warrior. Tarkus accompanied them, providing blessings. Marlon led the charge on foot, after being convinced to do so by Ambros. “He must be testing my faith and devotion.” Marlon thought to himself.

Behind Marlon marched four squads of heavy footmen, led by Dalkanarion, Ignaeus, Beorg, and Thorm respectively. Jace, stone-cold leader of mounted crossbowmen, led six lances. Three were with her, while other three approached the keep from south. She rejected Ambros's advice to dismount.

“You do realise you are a bigger target when on horse?” Ambros implored in frustration.

“Am I now? Observe.” Jace replied.

Vicar Arlon led two squads of heavy footmen, while four squads followed Ambros himself. Three squads and a lance of heavy horsemen were left behind to guard the camp. Four lances of heavy horsemen were ordered to wait to the east and west of the keep—-in order to clean up any stragglers or fleeing monsters.

Beastmen holding the keep were prepared. So much was confirmed by Thorm whom had drunk the potion of gaseous form in order to scout the fortification. Two hobgoblins were stationed at each of the four towers, armed with heavy crossbows. Carts filled with oil-soaked rags blocked the gatehouse, while half dozen of hobgoblins laid in ambush, prepared to set the attackers on fire.

In the very first missile exchange Jace's units eliminated half of the defenders on towers. Hobgoblins missed again, and again. Ambros prayed and then fell into deep concentration. A great swarm of insects gathered on the castle wall, forcing those caught in it to flee for their life.

Mounted crossbowmen rained hell upon the keep, killing all beastmen stupid enough to poke their ugly faces over the crenelations.

“Charge! Onwards!” Marlon roared. Protected by constant barrage from the crossbowmen, as well as High Priest's insect swarm, heavy footmen reached the gatehouse without any casualties whatsoever. They rolled the carts out of the way and spilled into the courtyard, ready for some violence.

“Where are they? Show yourself!” Marlon roared in frustration.

Squads split and begun going through the keep. Dalkanarion broke into the stables, where he dispatched large gelatinous cube. Beorg led a squad up the gatehouse and then cleaned each of the towers. Ignaeus and his squad swept the barracks—-now devoid of life, but full of filth left behind by its foul inhabitants. Thorm led a squad straight into the chamber where he had seen a leader of these monsters. There they ransacked the room—-and dwarf found out a possible secret door.

“Die in the name of LAW!”

Tarkus heard Marlon yelling. They had just entered the largest building in the keep—-mess hall by all accounts. Cleric rushed west, after Marlon, only to find him wipe his bloodied sword after slaying four pathetic creatures.

“These are no hobgoblins. Some slave servants. Goblins maybe?”

Dalkanarion and his squad entered the mess hall. Mighty warrior stared at the staircase leading down, into the dungeon. Adventurers readied themselves for the descent.

Have the defenders truly fled? Or is the real battle about to begin?

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Adventurers

Character Class Description
Balarus Fighter level 4 An ex-woodsman, quite a crackshot with his bow.
Bragi Twinefinger Halfling level 2 A stout strong halfling. As a devotee of the Great Tailor he is always smartly dressed (under his armour) and overly fond of multiple breakfasts.
Ambros Cleric level 6 Follower of Aniu, Lord of Time.
Ignaeus Elf level 4 A slightly weathered looking elf with dull blonde hair and chiseled features. Seeks wealth and knowledge.
Foxglove Thief level 5 A willowy human, long hair ties in a pony tail, looks a bit dangerous and dainty at the same time.
Dalkanarion Fighter level 4 A youthful specimen in full strength, full of purpose, bluster, and eagerness to prove himself.
Thorm Dwarf level 2 Ashen hair, beard, and eyes. Left his own clan due to financial trouble.

Dewsnap 1st, Airday

“What is the meaning of this?!” young Lord Kyle yelled at Ambros and his retinue.

Ambros was flanked by two heroes—Dalkanarion and Balarus respectively—as well as master dwarf Thorm. Behind them an army of holy warriors on a crusade.

By end of Gloomfrost some two hundred seasoned soldiers accompanied by another hundred non-combatants—families of the most dedicated—arrived at Hara. They carried banners sporting head of a bearded man—holy symbol of Forseti—and have arrived to serve the new High Priest, Ambros Ap Mortain. Their travel was long and difficult. They left their homes forever, a sacrifice for the great god of peace.

Knight Marlon val Brookwood, a minor noble, leads a squadron of heavy horsemen. Jace, a tall woman with long blonde hair tied in a braided pony-tail, leads a squadron of mounted crossbowmen. Men tremble in her presence. Vicar Arlon, leads a throng of heavy footmen. These soldiers are incredibly brave and dedicated to their cause. All pledged their allegiance to Ambros, the Justice Supreme of Hara. And they are very, very enthusiastic about peace and justice.

Expensive too.

Eager to find a reliable source of income for his new personal army, Ambros remembered young Lord Kyle and his plea to help him retake Cedarwade keep. He also carried a bloodied note recovered from Graylock's lair, which had Kyle's signature on it.

Justice Supreme was about to find out if Kyle had been smuggling goods past Hara. That would be most unfortunate for the young lord.

“We are here to reclaim the Cedarwade keep!”

“Is that so?! Then I invite you to my humble home!”

Soldiers erected a sizable tent-camp just north of Midway, while Ambros, Ignaeus, Balarus, Dalkanarion, Thorm, Marlon, and Arlon went to lord's manor.

Prior to setting out, Ambros spent weeks rummaging through temple records. Many were in poor shape, making it difficult to make out the details. There are at least seven different organisation systems, hence it is a huge pain to reference and cross reference reports. Three most recent records Ambros was able to find about Lord Kyle—-and most readable because they are the only intact ones—-had shown that Kyle family has accrued great debt with Imrael family. In fact, the latest document concludes that Kyle has refused to hand over his estate and fief to Imrael, as well as refused to show up in Hara at the Temple for the hearing. Therefore, Imrael is allowed to take what he is owed by force.

Foxglove did an investigation of his own as well, hanging out at all the usual places. He learned that Midway Red is the most valuable wine in the region. Historically, its shipments have often been raided and then smuggled for great profit. Kyle family owns the vineyards close to Midway and oversees the production. Kyle Senior died in one of the raiding ambushes, opting to sink the barges with wine instead of handing them over. His young son, whom had inherited the manor and fief, has been nothing but trouble for thieves and smugglers. Luckily, he is too weak and commands virtually no force, so the business flows better than ever.

The dinner began cordial and pleasant. Lord Kyle was curious as ever. Dalkanarion regaled him with his adventuring tales. Balarus are in silence, bemused. Nervous in the presence of such awesome warriors, young lord had a drink too much, and was taken completely unaware when Ambros raised his concerns.

“Don't speak of justice to me! I have suffered nothing but injustice and indignity at your temple!” Kyle Junior spoke with liquid courage. Dalkanarion's snarl and Ambros's cold gaze calmed him in a moment. Everything took a much darker turn as Ambros pressed on with his interrogation.

“I can't do what you are asking of me! You are handing me the rope to hang myself with!” young lord pleaded as adventurers goaded him to stop paying protection money to Hara and pay them instead. They wanted to know how much does he have, how much can he pay them, they wanted to know it all.

But when Ambros took out the bloodied note all fell silent. Lord Kyle went pale as a ghost. When High Priest passed him the note, young man cupped his face and broke into tears. “Come now young lord, this is very unlordy of you. What will your men think?” Dalkanarion attempted to console him.

Painfully aware of his pathetic position, Lord Kyle did the best he could. He answered all the questions, allowed adventurers entry into the manor library, and finally, reached an agreement that they were happy with.

“Secure my lands. Reclaim my keep. Clear my name. In return, I will grant land your holy soldiers. Ambros, I will erect a temple to Forseti. Dalkanarion, I will name you castellan of Cedarwade keep. Balarus, I will grant you 600 acres to raise a manor of your own. Thorm, I will appoint you as Overseer of a mine.”

The land in question is east of Hara, across the river, and south-east of Castle of the Wode. It is rich, fertile soil. It is also dangerous land, infested with beasts, wildlife, and all kinds of scum. Nothing that worries this brave band—they were already dreaming a kingdom of their own.

Dewsnap 2nd, Waterday

Ambros and his army reached Cedarwade an hour or so before the nightfall. It was the last month of winter and days were still short. Ignaeus volunteered to scout the keep as night falls. Thorm and Dalkanarion joined him. The trio rode as far as the trees provided cover.

There she stood, a rectangular little fort with a tower on each corner and broken gatehouse. No signs of life were visible. Ignaeus dismounted and crawled over the clearance. Dalkanarion and Thorm remained mounted at the edge of woods, watching the walls closely. Elf disappeared from their sight, much die to lack of sunlight and his crawling skills.

Ignaeus proceeded on his belly, inching towards the south-east fort tower. Then he felt the land under him give in, and he tumbled into a ten feet deep ditch. Looking left and right revealed a long ditch, covered with tarps and soil. Strong enough to withstand some weight, but would immediately give in under a mass of armed soldiers.

“Look!” Thorm pointed alarmingly at a group of figures exiting the fort. There was six of them, humanoid, and with long shafted weapons. They approached the hole created by Ignaeus. The elf, oblivious to what is happening above, continued exploring the ditch.

Dalkanarion and Thorm fired at the figures, missing. Then they rode towards where they believed Ignaeus should be, yelling. Dalkanarion led Ignaeus's horse by the reins. The figures retreated into the keep.

Upon hearing the commotion above, the elf attempted to climb up the ditch. Alas! He lost footing and fell down! A volley of arrows whooshed past two brave warriors above. Their horses were wounded. Success! Ignaeus climbed up! Tragedy! Dalkanarion flying through the air, his horse slain!

“Go! Run for the trees!”

The trio fled, surviving several volleys.

“The keep was not abandoned. It was occupied, and its defenders were ready for war...” Thorm informed Ambros and others.

A long night was ahead of them.

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Brink of Calamity by Trent Smith is now available from DriveThruRPG:

As of about 15 minutes ago Brink of Calamity is finally live for sale at DriveThruRPG in both (softcover) print and pdf versions. Note that DriveThruRPG is increasingly their print costs substantially on April 1st and the price of the print version of this book will go up by $3 to compensate (from $22 to $25), so if you're planning to buy the print version and want to save $3 you should place your order today, tomorrow, or Monday at the latest.

Since the adventure assumes you're using the rules and content from The Heroic Legendarium anyone who doesn't already have that should consider buying the pdf bundle that includes both titles at a substantial discount over buying them separately.

This book has been long in gestation and I had doubts at several points whether I would ever get it across the finish line (and I suspect some of you readers did as well) but I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out and hope people who read about the Perlammo Salt Mines on Prince of Nothing's blog way back in September 2022 will consider it to have been worth the wait.

Also, while I'm here, I wanted to note for posterity that at some point last fall The Heroic Legendarium became a Gold bestseller at DriveThruRPG (meaning over 500 paid sales on their platform), which is pretty nice. I'm surprised by how it continues to sell, and actually sells as many or more copies per month now as it was 2 years ago, which I can only assume is coming 100% from positive word of mouth because I'm certainly not doing anything to promote it.

I greatly enjoyed reading Trent's Heroic Legendarium and consider it one of the best modern AD&D 1e supplements. Trent's writing is clear and to the point, based on many years of gaming experience. That he is a nice guy is just a bonus on top. Brink of Calamity looks great after cursory skim. It is a genuine old-school sandbox module with locales and dungeons to explore. It reminds me a bit of L-code modules for AD&D, but much better developed and presented. Looking forward to studying it closer!

#News #OSR #OSRIC #ADnD

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There are currently two Greyhawk specific bundles on DriveThruRPG:

  • Exploring the World of Greyhawk (7 books): World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting, The City of Greyhawk, WGR4 The Marklands, From the Ashes, Greyhawk Wars, Greyhawk: The Adventure Begins, and WG7 Castle Greyhawk
  • Adventures in Greyhawk (7 adventures): T1-4 Temple of Elemental Evil, T1 The Village of Hommlet, S1 Tomb of Horrors, WGA4 Vecna Lives!, Crypt of Lyzandred the Mad, WG5 Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure, WG9 Gargoyle

Total discount for each bundle is around 36%. I am not sure how long will the bundles be available for.

#Sale #Greyhawk

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The Northlands Saga Complete is a compilation of ten adventures set in stereotypical cold north. Probably enough for several years of gaming. Tenfootpole has reviewed first four adventures back in the day (NS1, NS2, NS3, NS4). Swords & Wizardry versions were collated in 2015 and published in the big omnibus titled Northlands Saga Complete:

Almost a decade later few more adventures were published, one for Swords & Wizardry, and two plus player's guide for Old-School Essentials:

The above are currently discounted for 75%, and the sale lasts until March 31st. Great deal if you need Scandinavian themed adventures and locales!

P.S. Just a few days before DTRPG massively increases its print cost, which in turn will be reflected on POD products. Make your orders in time.

#Sale #FGG #OSR #SW #OSE

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Adventurers

Character Class Description
Centuria Elf level 2 An academic elf fond of teasing those of lower status.
Tu'Fles Elf level 1 Massive dork for dragons.
Balarus Fighter level 4 An ex-woodsman, quite a crackshot with his bow.
Bragi Twinefinger Halfling level 2 A stout strong halfling. As a devotee of the Great Tailor he is always smartly dressed (under his armour) and overly fond of multiple breakfasts.
Ignaeus Elf level 4 A slightly weathered looking elf with dull blonde hair and chiseled features. Seeks wealth and knowledge.
Foxglove Thief level 4 A willowy human, long hair ties in a pony tail, looks a bit dangerous and dainty at the same time.

Gloomfrost 15th, Spiritday

Seven adventurers rode back to the bandit lair of Flaming Eye. Crosonus, Balarus's retainer remained outside to guard the horses, while the chosen six triggered shriekers and descended down the vertical shaft.

Illustration by IdleDoodler.

Orc corpses were missing. Stench of death lingered. Unsure what to make of this, the party moved left, through the doors. Then they turned right at the junction and investigated the doors. While elf and thief listened, Balarus felt something was off. He turned around, only to see four pig-faced corpses approaching them from behind. Adventurers rapidly fell in fighting order. Orcs were not walking—they were slowly floating through air!

Illustration by IdleDoodler.

Transparent liquid spurted left and right as adventures' weapons cut through the bestial remains. All four corpses dropped to the ground, even though they hacked only one of them. Unsure what to make of it, they resumed their exploration. Chamber they broke into was empty, sans nice stacks of silver coins. Foxglove took a look at them, found no traps, and thus, promptly put them in his backpack.

Exiting south led them to a weirdly shaped junction. East corridor was at an angle and led to locked doors, something Foxglove dealt with. He failed to pick the lock, so he hammered it into submission. Bragi explored east corridor, but fled back after seeing a swarm of giant centipedes crawling about. While the thief hammered the lock, Balarus forced the south doors open. A three feet beet charged him in return.

Illustration by IdleDoodler.

It was brief but nasty battle. The beetle tried to bite several adventurers, but they all luckily dodged. Then it squirted some foul liquid and Braggi, but little fella' rolled out of the way in time.

Pressing on south led to yet another junction. Further south were doors underneath which light could be seen. Listening confirmed there was someone beyond—a number of voices speaking in unfamiliar tongue. Party burst through. Neither side was surprised.

Large man dressed in plate mail stepped forth to block the adventurers from spilling into the chamber, while two thugs backed up and prepared oil flasks. The warrior was armed with a long sword and shield—which sported the flaming eye symbol similar to those that orcs by the entrance had. Adventurers got a taste of their own medicine as burning oil flasks broke on their front rank.

“This is just the beginning, you pathetic worms!” the plated warrior laughed. He spat at Balarus and mocked him viciously. Thugs fled backwards, into the darkness, while plated warrior fought on the defensive. Adventurers hit him well, but he refused to go down.

One of the characters threw a coin with continual light down the corridor, illuminating a T-shaped junction, and two thugs holding doors open. The warrior turned around and fled, as they slammed the doors shut.

Illustration by IdleDoodler.

Everyone but Foxglove pursued—the thief was focused on inspecting large chest left behind by the warrior—charging into an empty room! Few empty bedrolls and a fountain with rank, stagnant water. Dolphin head was a nice touch, but other than that the fountain was completely unremarkable.

Illustration by IdleDoodler.

“There must be some sort of secret passageway here!”

“Agreed!”

“Here! A flagstone that stands out!”

Ignaeus pushed the flagstone, and Balarus pushed to wall forward. A long dark corridor prostrated in front of them. Blood drops were visible. They charged forth, unaware of secret doors slamming shut behind them.

Foxglove was too busy counting thousands of coins to notice two cloaked figures sneaking up on him. In a wild turn of events, they both failed to backstab him! The thief parried and blocked. Sneaky duo backed off and fled north, through the doors the part had came through.

Illustration by IdleDoodler.

Foxglove rushed south, only to find he was alone! Meanwhile five pursuing adventurers had to give up. Their prey escaped. Imagine their surprise when they couldn't open one way secret doors! Luckily the thief on the other side was able to find the hidden flagstone, and the party was reunited once more.

Investigating the chamber where they found bandits hadn't revealed what they were looking for—bolts of silk from merchant that Braggi agreed to help.

“This dead end is a bit suspicious...”

Ignaeus had found yet another flagstone! With a little bit of trickery, the party managed to open these doors too! Success! Before them was a chamber filled to the brim with barrels and crates containing various supplies, spices, and yes, bolts of silk.

Foxglove the Trouble Magnet spotted a very nice looking fountain in the corner of the room. It was made of salmon-coloured marble and resembled a lotus flower with two basins beneath it. Water was crystal clears. Where it might be coming from was not clear. There were few coins in each basin. Foxglove flipped a gold coin in the right basin. Then most wondrous thing happened.

The basins folded over the lotus flower, fountain spun in place, and then vanished into ether. “Make a wish and it will come true.” “I wish for old age, wealth, and experience.” Indeed, Foxglove had found himself more experienced.

Satisfied with their discovery, the party had completely abandoned prospects of chasing the bandits. They focused on getting the barrels out and then returning for the rest. Ignaeus had cast Wizard Lock on the secret doors, and party got to rolling. But how do you take a heavy barrel thirty feet up the iron rungs?

“Wasn't there some sort of pulley rig above? Let's use that!”

A brilliant plan.

Balarus climbed. The trapdoor were heavier than usual. It took him significant effort to force them open. As soon as he did so burning pieces of wood and debris fell down the chute. The hut above them was burning! Without many options left, the party focused on consolidating the treasure and preparing it for extraction.

On the following day they attempted to break out once again. It took them three hours to get out proper. Hut had completely burned down. Mushrooms were sliced to pieces. Crosonus hung upside down from a tree, his eyes gouged out and his belly cut wide open. Horses were nowhere to be found.

Judging they don't have sufficient daylight left to haul the treasure back to Hara, adventurers decided to spend another night in the dungeon. Prior to that they lifted all the barrels and prepared them for the long haul. They arrived to Hara on the evening of Gloomfrost 17th, Waterday.

Illustration by IdleDoodler.

There they informed all their colleagues about great wealth left behind. Counting twenty one man strong, they returned and extracted every last coin, returning back to Hara just in time to celebrate the New Year.

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My latest order from DriveThruRPG—before their upcoming dramatic price increase—has just arrived:

Dwellers in Dark Places:

Hoard of Delusion:

Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay (Special Edition):

Guidebook to the Duchy of Valnwall (Special Edition):

#Postbox #OSR #OSRIC #LL #Dolmvay

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Adventurers

Character Class Description
Thorm Dwarf level 2 Ashen hair, beard, and eyes. Left his own clan due to financial trouble.
Thorin Whiteheart Cleric level 1 Wide-eyed and innocent goodie-two-shoes.
Centuria Elf level 1 An academic elf fond of teasing those of lower status.
Tu'Fles Elf level 1 Massive dork for dragons.

Gloomfrost 14th, Fireday

“And where excatly is this bandit lair full of treasure?” Centuria inquired Balarus. “Shrieking purple mushrooms, orcs with flaming eyes on their shield, white apes, bandits, yes, anything else?”

A humble party of four led by Thorm the dwarf rode to the the bandit lair that Balarus, Bragi, Ignaeus, and Foxglove had just returned from. They wanted to maintain the momentum and prevent bandits from regrouping.

Thorm was joined by Thorin, follower of Umannah, and two bookish elves, namely Centuria and Tu'Fles. They passed the shrooms and descended down the trapdoor into the bandit lair. Eight pig-faced beastmen corpses greeted them, just as Balarus had described.

Illustration by IdleDoodler.

They turned south, then west, forced doors open, then forced south doors, followed the corridor to the junction, turned east, and marched into the chamber.

Thorin failed to see, smell, or hear two large hairy brutes hiding just around the corner. He barely survived the initial onslaught. Beastmen had weird bestial faces—as if someone had flattened a tiger's face by repeatedly hitting it with a shovel. Standing just over seven feet tall, and armed with battle axes, they were no laughing matter. Both focused on Thorm and hacked him to death in less than ten seconds.

Illustration by IdleDoodler.

Centuria and Tu'Fles fell back into the corridor so Thorin could withdraw. Acolyte of Radiant Death poured oil on the ground. Beasts pursued, despite one of them already being on fire! That caused exact result adventurers were hpoing for—both monsters caught fire.

Stench of burnt hair and flesh permeatted tha hallway. Beasts swung wildly as they burned to death. Thorin did not escape their mighty blows, and his light extinguished forever.

Once the flames subsumed the elves recovered one hundred fifty four platinum pieces from the beastmen. Then they decided to haul Thorm's corpse back to Hara. There Centuria kindly requested Ambros ap Mortain to perform a miracle.

Illustration by IdleDoodler.

“Would you please raise Thorm from his sliced up death? We were prepared for the orcs, white apes and bandits, but the adventurer's scouting party had made no mention of there being bugbears!”

Ambros performed another miracle—Balarus being his first one—and brought Thorm back to life.

“Clean out that den of thieves in the name of justice.”

Thorm uttered “Ambros be praised!” with great difficulty, experience of death still fresh in his mind and body.

“Don't forget that you both have to clean the place out...”

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Tome of Worldbuilding and The Nomicon, companion volumes to the Tome of Adventure Design, have just landed on the DriveThruRPG. The former is more of a guidebook with random tables, while the latter is entirely random tables for generating names.

Tome of Worldbuilding has 350 pages, 15 chapters, and 401 tables:

Companion volume to the Tome of Adventure Design and The Nomicon, Tome of Worldbuilding is a system-neutral tool for designing fantasy worlds for TTPRG gaming. The book contains hundreds of random generation tables and other resources!

The Tome of World Building is written by ENNIE-award winning author Matt Finch, author of the critically-acclaimed Tome of Adventure Design. Using the Tome of World Building, you can create fantasy worlds quickly and fill them out with a wealth of detail from the random-generation tables in this book.

Tome of Worldbuilding is a guidebook in the style of How to Make a Fantasy Sandbox and World Builder's Guidebook. It offers direct guidance, with examples, supplemented by random tables to roll on for inspiration.

Here is the table of contents:

  1. Introduction
  2. Cosmic Matters
  3. The World
  4. Broad Brushstroke Details for the “Other” Continents
  5. Cultural Basins of the “Home” Continent
  6. Countries
  7. Terrain and Borders
  8. Illuminarchies
  9. Legendary Locations
  10. Cities and Settlements
  11. Deities and Religions
  12. Personalities
  13. Mythical Items and Places
  14. Monstrous Leaders
  15. Useful Facts

The Nomicon has 351 pages, 29 chapters and 231 tables:

A system-neutral book of tables for generating fantasy names for people and places! This book is a companion volume to the Tome of Worldbuilding and the Tome of Adventure Design.

As it says on the lid, The Nomicon contains tables for generating names. Some tables have full names (e.g. Atafa or Ianizzo) while others have multiple parts that you combine (e.g. Curiondio or Mbadiwothi). Names are divided into chapters by either their intended use (e.g. divine names) or how they sound like (e.g. Anglish or Nörslik). The latter are based on how real-world names sound like but do not replicate them entirely (for historical names I recommend Treasury of Archaic Names and The Everyone Everywhere List).

Here is the table of contents:

  1. Introduction
  2. Primordial and Divine Names
  3. Continent Names
  4. Anglish
  5. Arabish
  6. Britonnian
  7. Celtigaulic
  8. Dwarven
  9. East-Asiantic
  10. Elderweirdish
  11. Elven
  12. Espannic
  13. Eurovesian
  14. Hellenica
  15. Italican
  16. Metallik
  17. Nanskrit
  18. Nörslik
  19. Russlavik
  20. Sequatorial
  21. Stygian/Egyptic
  22. Teutonnic
  23. Trobadoric
  24. Names for Legendary Places
  25. City and Settlement Names
  26. Monster Names
  27. Titles
  28. Personal Epithets
  29. Miscellaneous Tables

Offset print copies should be available on the Mythmere Games website once the backers receive them.

#News #OSR #MythmereGames

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Troll Lord Games just launched a crowdfunding campaign for the legendary megadungeon by Gary Gygax:

This is the first of two crowdfunding campaigns. With your help, we hope to return to shelves worldwide Gary Gygax's Castle Zagyg. It is a monstrous project; one with with an incredible legacy! We hope to see all the material in Castle Zagyg released in 5 full color, hardcover volumes, each in its own box with relevant game maps.

There will be five box sets, and this campaign is for the first three:

  • Castle Zagyg Vol. 1 The Citadel (the town of Yggsburgh)
  • Castle Zagyg Vol. 2 The Ruins (the castle, East Mark, Mouths of Madness, and dungeon level 1)
  • Castle Zagyg Vol. 3 The Cellars (dungeon levels 2, 3, 3a, 4, 4a, 5 and 5a)
  • Castle Zagyg Vol. 4 The Dungeons (dungeon levels 6-9 and sub-levels)
  • Castle Zagyg Vol. 5 The Caverns (dungeon levels 10-17 and sub-levels)

Castle Zagyg Vol. 1 The Citadel box set will contain:

  • A full setting guide for Yggsburgh and the Outs neighborhood
  • A Map of the Town of Yggsburgh
  • Nine Interior Maps of Points of Interest
  • 600+ Non-Player Characters
  • 30+ Random Encounter and Event Tables
  • 50+ Random Encounters, offering hundreds of potential adventure venues
  • Orders of Battle for everything from Goblins to Knights
  • Crime and Punishment in Yggsburgh

Castle Zagyg Vol. 2 The Ruins box set will contain:

  • A detailed setting guide for East Mark, including 60 geographic locales and the town of Garham
  • A complete setting guide for the ruins of Castle Zagyg, including the Upper Works, Castle Fortress, Tower Walls, Manse, and Mouths of Madness
  • A Map of the East Mark region and its surrounding Environs; over 1,500 square miles of adventuring terrain!
  • A Map of the Castle Zagyg and its structures
  • A Map of the Mouths of Madness and dungeon level 1: The Storerooms
  • 100+ Encounter Areas in the Castle
  • 120+ Encounter Areas in Caverns and Storerooms

Castle Zagyg Vol. 3 The Cellars box set will contain:

  • 7 Maps: one for each dungeon level
  • The Deep Cellars
  • The Dungeons
  • Arena of Death
  • Arcane Workshops
  • Black Reservoir
  • Eternity Galleries
  • The Catacombs
  • 300+ Encounter Areas and Rooms

Most of the content is based on Gary's notes:

Who is Writing It? Volume 1, The Citadel is written by Gary Gygax. This is the content some of you have in Yggsburgh, previously published by Troll Lord Games in 2004; it will contain updated art on the cover and interior, plus new maps.

Volume 2, The Castle is written by Jeffrey Talanian. This originally appeared in Upper Works, published by Troll Lord Games in 2008. It will also feature an updated cover and new interior art, as well as new maps for more seamless play.

Volume 3, The Cellars includes one level written by Jeffrey Talanian (the 1st). The rest is being written by Michael Stewart. Mike has written and published a number of adventures through Troll Lord Games, and his writing style fits Castle Zagyg perfectly. Couple that with his work on Yggsburgh alongside Gary Gygax, and he is the perfect candidate for the task. He is back on board to pore over Gary's original notes and maps and to create the dungeon that many of us have longed for, and many more never knew they wanted.

Castle Zagyg will be published for the TLG's Castles & Crusades system, meaning it is broadly compatible with TSR's D&D editions and other popular retroclones.

Read more about the campaign at Backerkit.

#News #Crowdfunding #OSR #TLG

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