Advanced Edition SWCL + Mutants

As I was meditating on an “Advanced” version of SWCL and looking through some of my old gaming notes, it occurred to me that Goblinoid Games produced Mutant Future before it produced Advanced Edition Companion for LL. I also noted that I have endeavored a couple of times to create a Thundarr the Barbarian-esque take on D&D. Therefore, the beginning of idea began forming in my head: what if “Advanced” SWCL was a mash-up of stuff from SWCL, the stuff I’ve done with MMII and FF as well as elements from a Mutant Future/Gamma World-type setting?

Here is how I would do it:

Rather than the classic trope of a nuclear holocaust leading to the kinds of mutations one expects out of MF/GW, I would steer in the direction of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. In other words, the thing that destroys civilization as we know it isn’t a nuclear conflagration, but rather the attempt to avoid such an event through genetic manipulation to create the perfect soldier. Thus, the end of the world comes with a "Gene War" rather than a nuclear one.

This scenario justifies the existence of elves, dwarves, halflings, beastmen and even mutants. All of these are attempts at super soldiers. It even justifies all kinds of cosmetic weirdness in human characters. What to play a blue-skinned warrior with a pink mohawk? Sure. Chalk it up to instability in the over-manufactured human genome.

An intro might look something like this:

Sometime in the future, the human race embarks on a journey to transform themselves by playing with their own genetic makeup. This coincided with the expansion of humanity into space. Inevitably, war happened. What the exact reason for fighting or who fought who is lost to time. In fact, no one rally even knows if they are over or still ongoing. Due to the genetic quest to find the perfect soldier, the conflicts that arose came to be known as the Gene Wars.

The planet that is now know as Ur is the site of a major space battle took place during the Gene Wars. Scores of damaged ships crash landed on Ur, bringing with them humanity, technology, and a menagerie of genetically engineered monsters. The space battle look place generations ago, and its significance is lost on all those who have descended from the survivors. However, the crash sites remain and there are still technologies and treasures of a much more advanced society still riddling the landscape.

Ur is now a planet of many races and monsters. Individuals from each generation rise up to brave the wilderness to find treasures and monsters at crash sites of the spaceships damaged from that long-forgotten battle.

I already have a collection of monsters I would deem MF/GW-worthy organized into three broad categories: Machine, Mutant and Alien. I would need to stat up some more classes/races: Mutants, Clones and Purebred Humans.

Thus, the final project in all this would include:

• Humans
• Dwarves
• Elves
• Halflings
• MMII Elves
• MMII Dwarves
• Mongrelmen
• Ursani
• Tengi
• Tabaxi
• Mutants
• Clones
• Purebred Humans

In addition, it would contain all the monsters from SWCL, Swords & Shapeshifters, Fiends & Falchions as well as 30 more that fit in the MF/GW mold.

I can even imagine future/alien technology being described in terms of extant magic items from SWCL. For example:

Plasma Gun: Functions as a Magic Wand (Magic Missile usable 3 x a day); however, rather than being limited to the Magic-user class, it is usable by anyone but requires a Save to activate. 

Grenades: Function as a Scroll, but (again) usable by anyone but requires a Save to activate. Thus, you could have a Stun Grenade (Hold Person spell).

Or, should I just do up another Alternate Version of SWCL that just encompasses MF/GW and let folks mix and match as they wish?

OKW: Half-orcs

This post is going to be a bit convoluted, but bear with me it will eventually make sense.

One of the major challenges of doing a campaign in OKW Cezavy (at least as I have conceived it) is that Thyatis isn’t really available as a source of ancient ruins. In my normal background scheme of Ancient, Old and Present, the Thyatis Empire really only becomes relevant in the present, even though it no longer exists.

Thus, in order to make any kind of dungeon-delve interesting via a multi-layered backstory (especially a center-piece dungeon), I’ve had to wrack my brain for other possible ancient civilizations that could litter the high steppes of Cezavy with ruins. Again, I have to credit Matt Lynch and his Tome of Adventure Design, because rolling on the various random tables found there-in gave me a very interesting idea with several ramifications for the campaign.

Since it is already established that Tharks roam the southwestern regions of the OKW, I figure that it is plausible that other barsoomian races happened to find their way to the OKW as well. My first choice would be the Lotharians due to their decadence and mental powers. This decadence would have lead to their downfall and possible extinction.

It also introduces the possibility that the various ruins that dot the Cezavy landscape have incubators and other reproductive devices, since all the various humanoid races of barsoom reproduce by laying eggs. This also allows me to put a twist on the reproductive antics of the Quastogs. According to Lawrence Schick, the Quastogs suffer from a curse that results in a very high rate of still births. This necessitates raids far and wide of other races to kidnap children to bolster their ranks.

Given the amount of risk and effort such an endeavor would entail, I postulate that the Quastogs would leap at other reproductive options. One of these could very well be a birthing chamber used by the Lotharians before they passed into the mists of forgotten history. The problem with using such a device is that orcs are not egg layers like the Lotharians. Thus, their use of the device tends to end in various mutations; however, these are successful births and the mutation rate is far less than the stillbirth rate.

Mutations, however, are still seen as a stigma and most are culled in infancy. Some do survive, however. Either rescued by their mothers (who may have been kidnapped in their youth) or their mutation didn’t manifest until they were able to escape on their own, these “half-orcs” can occasionally be found on the fringes of Cezavy civilization.

In order to represent the various mutations exhibited by these half-orcs, I decided to take the Replicant class from Mutant Future and run it through the custom class creation system found in the ACKS Players Companion. Here is what I came up with:

Half-Orc

Prime Requisite: STR
Hit Dice: 1d6
Damage Die: 1d8
Maximum Level: 14

Half-orcs are the mutated off-spring of the Quastog orc clans. Rejected by their own people, they live on the fringes of civilization.

Upon creation, the player rolls on the following table until three mutations (or the equivalent) are rolled. Duplicates may be re-rolled or stacked, depending upon player/Referee desire. The mutations are expressed as a mechanic. An example of how that mechanic might be expressed in game play is given; however, players are encouraged to create their own “special effect” for each mutation, thus making their character unique.

Mutations (d20):

1. Cast Scare 1/8hrs (Xenomorphism)
2. All saving throws at +2 (Extra Organs)
3. Cast Invisible 1/hr takes 1 turn to cast (Chameleon Epidermis)
4. Equivalent of Infravision: 30’ (counts as 1 mutation); 60’ (counts as 2 mutations) (Echolocation/Nightvision/Thermal Vision/Ultraviolet Vision)
5. Lay on Hands — heal 2hp per experience level once per day (Epidermal Photosynthesis)
6. +1 damage w/TH weapons; may use w/shield (Gigantism)
7. +1 surprise and initiative (Prehensile Tail)
8. 1d2-1/1d2-1/1d4-1 (counts as 2 mutations); 1d3-1/1d3-1/1d6-1 (counts as 3 mutations) (Spiny Growth/Natural Weapon)
9. Flesh Runes — When not wearing armor, the character receives +2 AC and reduces damage from non-magical attacks by 1 hp per die; this increases to +4 AC and 2hp per die at 7th level and +6 AC and 3 hp per die at 13th level; damage from creatures of 5HD or more are considered magical attacks (counts as 3 mutations) (Energy Retaining Cell Structure)
10. Glamorous Aura — +2 to reaction rolls to impress and/or intimidate; if the result is 12+ the subject acts as if charmed (Fragrance Development)
11. Climb Walls as a Thief (Increased Balance)
12. Cast Strength 1/hr takes 1 turn to cast (Increased Physical Attribute)
13. Cast Jump 1/hr (Increased Physical Attribute)
14. Cast Resist Fire 1/8hrs (Increased Physical Attribute)
15. Detect Traps — may detect traps, false walls, hidden construction, and notice if passages are sloped with a roll of 1-4 on a d6 (Increased Sense)
16. +1 AC (Natural Armor)
17. Cast Blindness 1/8hrs (Optic Emissions)
18. Cast Deafness 1/8hrs (Shriek)
19. Cast Magic Missile 1/hr (Toxic Weapon)
20. Arcane Dabbling — 15% chance of being able to use Magic-User-only-type magic items (like wands); increases by 10% each level to a max of 90%. Failure may have unindented consequence if Referee so desires (Mystic Sense)

Half-orcs fight and save as fighters and may use any weapon and any armor.

Reaching 9th: At 9th level, a replicant may build a stronghold.

XP         Level
1700         2
3400         3
6800         4
13600       5
27200       6
55000       7
110000     8
230000     9
350000   10
470000   11
590000   12
710000   13
830000   14

Saintly Saturday: The Consecration of Constantinople

Today the Orthodox Church commemorates the consecration of the city of Constantinople, which gives me a chance to do things a little differently this Saturday. Normally, I would go through the story of a saint’s life and pull something interesting or inspiring to apply to RPGs. This (hopefully) demonstrates how useful it is to plum the history of Christianity and how truly rich that history is.

Today, I am going start with an RPG concept and see how the story of Constantinople fits that concept. When designing an RPG environment, especially those that PCs are going to explore — the dungeon, the wilderness or a urban area — it is useful to have multiple layers of history to that area. These multiple layers give the DM/GM/Ref/Judge/LL/etc. a rich tapestry from which to improvise information about a specific area.

If I know that a particular area now occupied by orcs was once used as a temple by elves and before that was a nursery for metallic dragons, I can give a variety of interesting details that clue the PCs into the history of what this place once was:

• Skulls of various humanoids for orcs.
• Leaf designs and the image of a great tree (protected by a dragon?) on the stone work (possibly de-faced by orcs) for the elves.
• A strange pattern of circles in bas relief in the floor for the dragons.

Knowing these two larger details (the elven temple and dragon nursery) lead to a far more interesting and cohesive set of smaller details, which can then spin off into adventure hooks or interesting NPCs interactions (say an elf or a dragon looking for evidence that these places still exist).

The city of Constantinople is an historical example of how to add these layers and how these layers affect what comes later:

• Byzantium was a Greek colony founded in 657 B.C. and named after a king of great renown by the name of Byzas.
• St. Andrew the Apostle preached in Byzantium in the first century A.D., setting up a Christian community and ordaining St. Stachys of the Seventy as bishop.
• The city sided with Pescennius Niger, an usurper to the Roman thrown. The city was besieged by roman forces and heavily damaged in A.D. 196.
• St. Constantine, the first Christian emperor, chose to make the city the new capital of the Christian Roman Empire, renaming it Constantinople. It was consecrated today in A.D. 330.
• Despite many attempts, the city stood firm and ruled over the Roman Empire for 1000 years.
• It was finally conquered by the Ottomans in A.D. 1453.
• The city was renamed Istanbul (which is really a mutation of a Greek phrase meaning to the City).
• Churches were subsequently taken over and turned into mosques or torn down (Hagia Sophia, for example — shown above in an image from Wikimedia Commons).
• The term Byzantine Empire was coined by a Frenchmen in the 16th century.
• Today, the Patriarch of Constantinople still has the title Ecumenical Patriarch due to its historic association with the capital of the Roman Empire and he traces his Apostolic Succession to St. Andrew.

Thus, in a Mutant Future campaign where modern Istanbul lays in ruins and is crawling with irradiated monsters, there is a rich tapestry of historical clues one can give PCs along with a great hook for adventures: the remnant Christian church is hoping to find relics from when the city was still occupied by humans.

Do We Still Need Labyrinth Lord?

Now that both Moldvay’s Basic Edition and Cook’s Expert Edition are available as .pdfs from WotC, one can legitimately ask the question: Do we still need Labyrinth Lord?

I would answer that question with an unequivocal YES for two very important reasons:

1. LL is an established brand with a license that hobbyists like myself and small publishers can easily and legally publish under with full knowledge that whatever we produce can be used by those who want to do the B/X thing with virtually no conversion at all.
2. More importantly to me, LL has a library of compatible games that are specifically designed to be modular. Original Edition Characters, Advanced Edition Companion, Mutant Future, Realms of Crawling Chaos and Starships and Spacemen 2e are all specifically designed to be able to be integrated together to create all kinds of cool homebrew campaign worlds without having to house rule. In addition, Dan Proctor has provided several free .txt documents for us hobbyists to do exactly that.

Despite the fact that I gleefully grabbed up the .pdfs of B/X (and was very pleased to see how well they are bookmarked) I still plan to use LL as my default ruleset precisely because of the versatility it provides me as a hobbyist. There are still many things within the LL library that await to be exploited to go places where B/X on its own can’t go without a lot of work that has already been covered by the LL library.

Thus, while I am very happy about what WotC is doing for the hobby and they deserve my gratitude and thanks, Dan Proctor also needs to be thanked because his work has greatly expanded the awesomeness of B/X and taken it to places it never went on its own.

Gamer ADD: Fiend Folio Part 2.5

Optional Race-as-class

For those who want to embrace the science fantasy/mutant future weirdness that I suggested in Part 2 for the generic D&D world of a Basic edition that uses the FF for its monster section, I offer this alternate race-as-class:

Qullan

This is a bit of a stretch, which is why I didn’t include it in Part 2. Normally, I would dismiss Qullan out of hand because they would make horrible PCs — they emanate confusion and immediately attack, without question, all strangers. However, their use of individualized war paint of wildly contrasting colors and their insanity suggest that they might be clones — the insanity is a result of genetic degradation over time and the war paint is a means by which to identify themselves as individuals.

Making this assumption allows the use of the Replicant class from Section 9: Mutants & Mazes in Mutant Future. For those that aren’t familiar, they are clones that exhibit various mutations, which might result in some wonderfully weird looking PCs. I have always assumed that such a race might very well be obsessed with cleansing these mutations from their genetic code. The Qullan could therefore represent what happens every time the Replicants have tried to remove those mutations from the genetic material they use to reproduce. This also gives PCs a good reason for adventuring — they are seeking out ancient technologies that can help them do genetic experiments without resulting in Qullan (whether or not this is even possible may very well be a central theme of a campaign).

Meditating on Greyhawk

I have a bit of a confession to make. I have never played in a Greyhawk campaign. In fact, it wasn't until well into the 90s that I even read any material about the Greyhawk campaign world. Certainly, I have played with modules written for Greyhawk, but they either were one-offs or removed from their original background in order to be reset into our home-brew campaign worlds.

Recently, I have come to really enjoy much of the research done by folks in the OSR about Greyhawk, Castle Greyhawk, etc. However, this hasn't affected the fact that I have never really had any desire to play in a Greyhawk Campaign or to go explore the Mad Archmage's Castle. Personally, I am more of a Judges Guild type of guy, because it has always seemed to me that the Wilderlands invited and encouraged a DIY attitude, whereas Greyhawk always felt like someone else's property. In fact, all of the attempts at finding a mythically historic version of Castle Greyhawk demonstrates that I am not the only one who feels this way.

Something funny happened on the way to the gaming table, however. After playing Labyrinth Lord for a year and a half while listening to me wax poetic about the old days of the hobby, some of my players have gone out and found old copies of modules, maps and rules. Not only that, but they have voiced a real desire to play them. As a result, I am faced with the very real possibility of running my very first Greyhawk campaign whether I like it or not.

To that end, I have been doing some thinking about how I could make a campaign set in Greyhawk interesting for me to play as a Referee. In other words, give it the same kind of treatment I feel entirely justified doing to my own version of the Wilderlands.

Source Material

Greyhawk 1st edition only. I don't much care for the later editions because they go into too much fiddly stuff and take the world in a direction I am not much interested in. The 1st edition is wonderfully short on detail, but overflowing with things that inspire. In other words, I can much more easily tailor the world to my liking and still stay true to the original material.

As far as maps go, I plan on using only this:

As much as it pains me to ignore so much of a beautiful map, limiting the campaign area greatly reduces the amount of information I have to process and be responsible for. It also places the Free City of Greyhawk in a backwater at the edge of the wilderness instead of being smack-dab in the middle of civilization. This allows me to have much greater freedom in representing what is off map. The corrupt Great Kingdom and the mysterious Scarlet Brotherhood can exert a much greater influence on the region because the geography need no longer get in the way.

Due to the reality that I don't want to spend an extraordinary amount of time on this project, I don't plan on using much in the way of home-brew adventures. In addition, this whole effort comes out of my players' desire to play through some of the original modules (specifically A1-A4). Thus, I plan to lean heavily on this material. Of course, one glaring hole in this plan is Castle Greyhawk. Though there are plenty of resources out there to emulate what the famous castle may have been, I'm not particularly interested.

I plan on taking a very different tack. The Mad Archmage will still be part of the world. He still built Castle Greyhawk only to disappear, and his influence can be felt far and wide, but the reasons the ruins of his castle are a magnet for adventuring types has very little to do with his original creation. Rather, at the height of the corrupt power of the Great Kingdom, the Overking used the ruins of Castle Greyhawk as a prison. While there are some who remember its original name and its original purpose, most now know Castle Greyhawk as Stonehell.

Ruleset

For reasons that will become obvious, I would use Labyrinth Lord as my ruleset. Not only because I have become a big fan, but also because I want to take full advantage of LL's modularity. This will be specifically manifest in the available character classes and races:

• Elves use the OEC rules.
• Dwarves, Halflings, and Magic Users use LL core rules.
• Clerics, Fighters, Illusionists, Monks, Rangers and Thieves use the AEC rules.
• Gnomes, Half-Elves and Half-Orcs will also be available as characters races using the AEC rules.
• In addition (as a way to allow the Mad Archmage to affect the campaign world), Replicants as found in Section 9 of Mutant Future will be available as a character class.
• Assassins and Druids are definite NPC classes only, because they both essentially function as monsters. As far as Paladins go, I am of the opinion that Clerics are Paladins and having a separate class just confuses the issue.

I have become a big fan of race-as-class. I didn't use to be until I started playing with it. I have come to really appreciate how it mechanically expresses the alienness of the non-human races. This has a way of sneaking into the way my players play them. I have become particularly interested in seeing how Elves from the OEC play.

Gnomes, Half-Elves and Half-orcs don't come with a race-as-class, however. Since the latter two are half-human, this can simply be explained by their humanness. Given this explanation, Gnomes can be understood as Dwarves who have come under undue influence of humans (dare I credit the Mad Archmage with creating a kind of Half-Dwarf?).

Magic Users begin with the LL core rules because I want to differentiate between the LL and AEC spell lists. The former will be more common spells, with the latter being much more rare, expensive to get a hold of and difficult to find.

Replicants are the result of one of the many bizarre experiments made by the Mad Archmage. Little is known as to who the original human being was that became the template for an entire race. Over time, however, as the Replicants continue to procreate, their ability to produce exact copies has deteriorated to the point where strange mutations have been popping up in recent generations. The closer one gets to the original, the more stable and mutation free one gets. Of note, though, Replicants have became fashionable bodyguards and soldiers among the elite within The Free City. Given the overall same-ness of the Replicants, they have a tendency to use tattoos as a means to express their individuality. Often, this takes the form of some kind of symbol tattooed on the face — this makes for easy identification.

Shape of the Campaign

The Free City has an economy entirely based around mercenaries and adventurers. It functions as the place where civilization and the Wild Coast meet to do business. The city works very hard at making an environment where outside feuds and conflicts are not welcome — they are bad for business. As a result, several mercenary companies have their headquarters inside the city and those interested in hiring them travel from all over the world to do business. This has resulted in a thriving economy based on accommodating nobility, merchants and travelers of all kinds.

Stonehell/Castle Greyhawk functions as a proving ground. Individuals who wish to join a mercenary company, adventuring guild or attract a patron are encouraged/expected to venture into the dungeon in order to demonstrate their worth. As a result, there is little interest in clearing out the dungeon or in finding out why it seems to be in constant flux and perpetually full of monsters. In fact, having it continually fester is good for business.

Slavery and the slave trade will be part of the background noise. While there is no slave market in the Free City, many of those who do business there own slaves.

Thus the basic trajectory of the campaign might very well be the party spending time in Stonehell in order to gain enough notoriety to gain a patron. Available patrons would be those that aggressively oppose slavery or have had family members kidnapped by slavers. The party will then be sent on a mission which will result in pulling out A1-A4.

Miscellanea

The one thing that I do truly appreciate about the Greyhawk world is the Scarlett Brotherhood. Any group that has racial supremacy as a central tenet makes for great villains. Nationalism is so very seductive and sexy. It also has the tendency to corrupt and turn very ugly. Thus, those who adhere to it can justify all kinds of heinous acts because they are the hero of their own story. In other words, every member of the Scarlett Brotherhood has a very real motivation that makes for great villainy. There is no doubt that I will take full advantage of this.

Magic Item: Mask of Cyn

Mask of Cyn

These powerful artifacts are a result of the war between the Sons of Cyn and the Brain Lashers (see Mutant Future). They are metallic masks that cover the entire head, each portraying an expression corresponding to the sin they represent. Once put on, it can only be taken off with Remove Curse spell. Once worn, the user is immune to the mental powers of the Brain Lasher and the Brain Lasher cannot eat the wearer's brain. There are six types of masks. Each type corresponds to a particular characteristic and sin:

Strength (Wrath): Shocking Grasp 3/day for 3d6 damage

Intelligence (Pride): Mind Thrust. Range 50' damage 1,2 or 3d6. Power must recharge for one round per d6 used in the last attack. Please note: anyone wearing a Mask of Cyn gets a save vs. spell to negate this damage.

Wisdom (Avarice/Gluttony): Mental Phantasm. The user is capable of creating a realistic, illusory environment in the mind of another conscious creature. These visions are realistic to all senses but touch. Once the target tries to make physical contact with any element of the phantasm it dissolves into reality.

Dexterity (Despair): Haste 3/day. This only affects the user who must rest for double the duration of the spell or suffer damage equal to half her HP.

Constitution (Weakness): Body Adjustment. The user can heal all of their HP once every 24 hours. In addition, if in a life or death situation the user can double their STR, DEX and CON. This latter power can be used 1d4 times per week.

Charisma (Lust): Charm Person 3/day.

When the mask is first put on, a type of contest of wills begins. The character must make a save vs. spells. If the character saves, the mask is inert and functions as a great helm (though it still can only be removed with a Remove Curse spell). If the character fails, the mask activates and lets the character know all the powers of the mask and how to use it. Once the mask is active, the character must make a save vs. spells in order to subject themselves to the Remove Curse spell to remove the mask. A failed save means the character refuses to take the mask off. Any time the character is in a situation that would warrant the use of the helmet (or whenever the player voices the desire to use it) the character must make a save vs. spell. If the save fails, the character either activates the mask (if it was inert) or must use the power of the mask (if active).

Every time the power of the mask is used, the character must make a save vs. spells. If the save fails, the characteristic associated with the mask is reduced by 1. The next time the power of the mask is used, the characteristic goes back to its original score; however, the next time the save is failed, the score is reduced by the number of times the save has been failed. Thus a character with a STR of 15 who has failed the save for the third time now has a STR of 12. Once the characteristic is reduced to 0 the contest of wills is over and the mask takes control. The character is now an NPC and handed over to the Referee.

If the mask is removed after any characteristic loss, that loss is permanent until a Remove Curse spell is cast for each characteristic point lost.

Active masks will fill characters with visions of a great civilization from some lost past. The characters will be compelled to rebuild/recover this civilization primarily using the sin associated with the mask.

Monster: Sons of Cyn

Sons of Cyn

Armor Class: Variable
Hit Dice: Variable
Attacks: Variable
Saving Throw: Variable
Special: Mask of Cyn
Move: Variable
Morale: 10
Challenge Level/XP: Variable

Somewhere in the distant past the Brain Lashers (see Mutant Future) conquered a race of evil humans and enslaved them. Bread for food and a cheap workforce, over time and exposure to the pure chaos that fueled the Brain Lasher's machines, the humans mutated. Today they appear as emanciated albinos wearing metallic masks that cover the whole head. Underneath their masks, they have long, gaunt features and pointed ears. Given that many of their masks are identical, they sport individualizing tatoos. Over the centuries of their enslavement, they cultivated a deep resentment and kept alive myths of their great and glorious past before the coming of the Brain Lashers. For centuries they could not summon up sufficient strength to free themselves. Gradually, in secret, they developed magics that could counter the Brain Lashers power over them. Finally, under the leadership of a man named Cyn, they rebelled against their captors. After a long and bloody struggle, they succeeded in gaining their freedom; however, the very magic that allowed them to break from their yoke drove them insane. The unity they forged under the leadership of Cyn was shattered. In the chaos of the infighting, Cyn himself disappeared.

Currently, there are six factions who all claim to be the true Sons of Cyn: Cynthimos, Cynpothos, Cynlypi, Cynadunami, Cynperifani, Cynaplusti. As each faction tries to build its version of the race's glorious past, they wage war and make tenuous treaties with each other and with the Brain Lashers. Normally, these vicious and violent conflicts occur deep within the earth. Occasionally, however, they do spill out onto the surface. Death and destruction always follow.

The masks that the Sons of Cyn wear are called Masks of Syn. They make the wearer immune to the mental attacks of the Brain Lasher and make it impossible for them to feed on the wearer's brain. Each faction wears its own version of the mask, each of which grants the wearer one of the following powers:

Cynthimos: Shocking Grasp 3/day for 3d6 damage

Cynpothos: Charm Person 3/day.

Cynlypi: Haste 3/day. This only affects the user who must rest for double the duration of the spell or suffer damage equal to half her HP.

Cynadunami: Body Adjustment. The user can heal all of their HP once every 24 hours. In addition, if in a life or death situation the user can double their STR, DEX and CON. This latter power can be used 1d4 times per week.

Cynperifani: Mind Thrust. Range 50' damage 1,2 or 3d6. Power must recharge for one round per d6 used in the last attack. Please note: anyone wearing a Mask of Cyn get a save vs. spell to negate this damage.

Cynaplusti: Mental Phantasm. The user is capable of creating a realistic, illusory environment in the mind of another conscious creature. These visions are realistic to all senses but touch. Once the target tries to make physical contact with any element of the phantasm it dissolves into reality.

Each faction is ruled by an undying wizard-king and can be distinguished by both their masks and their dress. Sons of Cyn will rarely be encountered outside their lair in parties greater than 4. A typical party consists of two trainees (1st or 2nd level fighter or magic user) one fighter of level 3-5 and a leader who functions as a 5th level elf. Sons of Cyn have normal human chances for possession of magic items.

More Maps

These are maps of the tombs, the tower and the gatehouse found in the Southern Ruins.

Gatehouse

G.1 Both doors in this room are locked, wooden and reinforced gates. The gate on the eastern side is also sealed shut. Even if the gate is unlocked, it will not open without knocking the gate down. If care is not taken, anyone knocking the gate in will find themselves on the other side of the gate where there is a 20 foot spiked pit. At one time there was a ramp that spanned the pit, but that has long since rotted away. Anyone who wishes to get past the pit will have to rig some kind of bridge or climb the steep rock face on either side of the pit.
G.2 Sleeping Area. A total of 8-12 Chiata will be in the Gatehouse at any given time. Half of them will be in this room sleeping.
G.3 Guardroom. 1 or 2 Chiata will be here at any given time. They are armed with crossbows and one will be a shadow caster with Darkness 30' radius which they will cast the moment any combat appears likely. This will make targeting the Chiata from outside the gatehouse extremely difficult. Note: this spell will affect the adjacent room G.4 as well.
G.4 Guardroom. 1 Chiata armed with a crossbow is here at any given time.
G.5 The stairs go down to Room 1 on Map Level 1C.

Tower

Please note: Tower Level 1 is the ground level.
T.1 The exterior door is unlocked and recessed into the wall, creating a small ledge large enough to ge a toe hold. The ledge is a pressure plate that arms a trap triggered when the door is opened. A springloaded blade will cut across the opening in front of the door, dislodging or cutting any climbing devise attached to the ledge. Anyone in the doorway must make two saves. One to reduce the d8 damage of the blade in half, the other to avoid being knocked off the ledge.
T.5 This room is open to the sky. The parapets around the room are about 4 feet high. Off towards the north, just over the hills, a strange energy can be seen. It is barely visible during the day, especially the noon hours. However, at night it is impossible to miss. In the middle of the room is a giant glass lens held fast on a stand so that it faces the energy field. Carved into the interior of the lens is the visage of a tentacled flying eye. The stand is fixed to the floor and lens weighs far more than it ought to. The whole area radiates magic. At sunset (and/or any other predetermined or random times the Referee sees fit), the lens somehow focuses the energy field in the north to spot on the southern side of the room. Anyone standing within that beam must make a save or take 2d6 points of damage. A successful save results in a mutation. This can either be determined randomly (using tables from Mutant Future) or by Referee fiat.
T.8 The stairs lead down to Room 24 on Map Level 1B. The stairs are protected by an illusion. Instead of stairs, there appears to be a solid floor and at the end of the room there appears to be a niche in the wall containing a golden statue of some cthuloid being. Anyone who moves forward toward the statue will fall into Room 24 below, which is protected by a permanent Silence spell.
The rest of the rooms I leave for the Referee to leave empty or fill with whatever they desire.

Tomb 1

1.1 Trash Heap. This room is filled with refuse. The Xeraphi who occupy the tombs use this to dispose of their waste.
1.1a Grafitti. Carved into the wall of this alcove are the words: Yog-Sothoth knows the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the key and guardian of the gate.
1.2 Ooze Lair. A pool of Grey Ooze has been lured here by the refuse that the Xeraphi deposit in 1.1.

Tomb 2

2.1 Guard Room. A pair of Hyenas guard this area.
2.2 Sleeping area. Up to twelve Xeraphi will be sleeping or resting here.

Tomb 3

3.1 Guard Room. Four Hyenas guard this area.
3.2 Lieutenant's Room. The lieutenant of the Xeraphi war band sleeps here. He has four Skeletons as bodyguards.
3.2a Treasure. Three locked chests containing a total of 3487 cp and 589 sp and 62 gp has been shoved into this alcove. Two Zombies stand guard and will attack anyone besides the chief who touches the chests.

Tomb 4

4.1 Entry.
4.2 Guard Room. Four Xeraphi will ambush adventurers entering 4.1.
4.3 Zombie Room. A pair of Zombies await in the alcoves to attack any one other than the Necromancer.
4.4 Necromancer's Lair. The Xeraphi Necromancer (3HD) can summon 1d4-1 Skeletons per round. She also has a scroll with Protection from Good and Curse.
4.4a There is an obsidian statue of a clawed humanoid with a multi-eyed, tentacled head. Six 50 gp gems are stored in a secret compartment inside the statue.
4.5 Stairs. The stairs go down to Room 1 of Level 1A.
4.5a A pair of Skeletons stand guard.
4.5b A Zombie rings a gong when adventures enter this room, warning those at the bottom of the stair.

Map of the Western & Eastern Caves

This is a map for the caves from the Southern Ruins for the Erimia campaign. Please note: Glue Flowers and Ant Horrors can both be found in Mutant Future and Ranine are the creation of James Maliszewski.

Western Caves

1. A patch of rather large, phosphorescent Glue Flowers [7] (HP 14, 13, 11, 9, 9, 9, 6; #AT: 1 (glue); D: special; AC 9; Morale: n/a; MV: none) grow here. Adventurers must take great care to avoid the flowers or be attacked.

2. This cavern has a slight upward incline and is covered with a snot-like substance. While being completely disgusting, the substance is seemingly harmless when touched, tasted, or otherwise interacted with. However, the slime produces a tasteless and odorless poisonous gas. After 1d10 rounds of continually being in the cavern, adventurers must save vs. poison every round or lose a point of Constitution. These losses may be recovered by leaving the cavern and breathing non-poisonous air continuously for an hour. If an adventurer's Constitution reaches 0, they fall unconscious. If they are not removed from the poisonous gas for a number of rounds equal to their Constitution, they will die.

3. Within the walls of this cave is a rich vein of precious stones. Each stone takes 1d6 turns to extract and is worth 1d10x10 gp. However, the poisonous gas from Area 2 pools here. All saves vs. poison are at -2.

4. Empty cavern.

5. This cavern has a slight upward slope and is covered in the same slime as Area 2. However, the floor of this cavern is very thin. Any adventurer who steps into the cavern will fall through the floor, falling 10 ft. Note:The whole floor will not give way —it only breaks where an adventurer steps.

6. This is the web-covered lair of a pair of Giant Crab Spiders [2] (HP 10, 8; #AT: 1 (bite); D: 1b8, poison; AC 7; Morale: 7; MV: 120(40)). There are several desiccated corpses which were former victims of the spiders. One has a large sack with 200 sp.

7. Empty Cavern

8-10. These caverns are a teeming colony of Giant Rats [d10] (HP 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1; #AT: 1 (bite); D: 1b3, disease; AC 7; Morale: 8; MV: 120(40)). Each cavern will always have rats in them, no matter how many times the adventurers clear them out. For each encounter, there is a 1 in 6 chance that the rats have a Minor Chaotic Trait.

11. This is the lair of an Ant Horror [1] (HP 22; #AT: 2 (bites) or 1 (tail); D: 2d8/2d8 or 1d10+poison; AC 3; Morale: 7; MV: 150(50)).

12. The entrance of this cavern is partially blocked. Human-sized creatures can squeeze past, but the Ant Horror cannot. In the cave is the body of a Ipolian soldier. He wears platmail armor, a shield, a spear, short sword and silver dagger all in good condition. within the remains of a sack are 5 gems worth 100 gp each. He also wears a jeweled badge of rank worth 300 gp. Note: these items will be easily recognized by the citizens of Gate and difficult to sell there.

Eastern Caves

1. This is the lair of a Chaos Beast [1] (HP 19; #AT: 1 (bite) + gaze; D: 1d10; AC 3; Morale: 9; MV: 90(30)). This emaciated, beaked, serpentine horror is perpetually hungry and will attack anyone in the vicinity of the caves. Its gaze causes a breakdown of a person's ability to make sense out of reality. Adventurers who meet the beast's gaze must save vs. petrification or lose 1 Int. Adventurers who wish to completely avoid the gaze cannot attack. Any attack made trying to avoid the gaze is at -4 to hit and still has a 1 in 6 chance of meeting the gaze. Normally attacking will result in meeting the gaze on a 1-3 on a d6. Seeing the creature from afar has a 4 in 6 chance of meeting the gaze. All Int loss is regained after an hour. Anyone who is reduced to 0 Int becomes mindless and is unable to do anything. The Chaos Beast will not attack mindless adventurers, rather, at the first opportunity will drag them into Area 2.

2. This is a birthing chamber for the Ranine. Mindless victims are are chained to rock columns, seeded with eggs, and serve as the first meal for the Ranine young. The Chaos Beast feasts on the weakest Ranine, leaving the strongest to join the Ranines in Areas 11-15. At any one time, there are 2d6-2 mindless chained to various columns throughout the cavern.

3. Chaos energy has created a soft spot in space here. Anytime adventurers enter this cavern, there is a 1 in 6 chance that they are teleported to anyplace the DM wants.

4. This is a trash heap where the Ranine throw the bones that remain from the victims of the Chaos Beast. Thousands of bones are here, all tainted by Chaos. Any time adventurers enter this cavern 3d4 misshapen and mismatched skeletons will animate to take revenge on the living (HP 6 ea.; #AT: 1; D: 1d6; AC 7; Morale: 12; MV: 60(20)). Scattered throughout the bones are 1500 cp, 200 sp, and a potion of healing.

5. On each of the two rock columns in the middle of this cavern are carved a mockery of a mouth. When asked a question, they answer. One will always tell the truth, the other will always tell a lie. However, which one does which is determined at every question by a die roll.

6. Empty Cavern.

7. A number of chain and cuffs hang from the back wall of this cavern. The Ranine will go on hunting parties to capture victims for the Chaos Beast. Their prisoners are chained here, awaiting the Chaos Beat to eat them or render them mindless. At any time there are 1d4-1 creatures chained to the wall here.

8. This is the lair of a Ghoul [1] (HP 12; #AT: 3 (2 claws, bite); D: 1d3/1d3/1d3+paralysis; AC 6; Morale: 9; MV: 90(30)). It wears a bracelet and a necklace each worth 400 gp.

9. There is a carving in the wall of this cavern that depicts a star that falls from the sky and is now buried beneath a mountain.

10. Empty Cavern.

[Caverns 11-15 are extremely humid]

11. Ranine [4] (HP 21, 13, 5, 4; #AT: 3 (2 claws, bite); D: 1d6/1d6/1d4+paralysis; AC 4; Morale: 8; MV: 90(30)). The largest (21 hp) is a 4 HD creature and the one with 13 hp regenerates 1d4 HP per round.

12. Ranine [2] (HP 9, 9; #AT: 3 (2 claws, bite); D: 1d6/1d6/1d4+paralysis; AC 4; Morale: 8; MV: 90(30)).

13. Ranine [2] (HP 9, 8; #AT: 3 (2 claws, bite); D: 1d6/1d6/1d4+paralysis; AC 4; Morale: 8; MV: 90(30)).

14. Ranine [2] (HP 10, 7; #AT: 3 (2 claws, bite); D: 1d6/1d6/1d4+paralysis; AC 4; Morale: 8; MV: 90(30)).

15. Ranine [4] (HP 9, 7, 5, 3; #AT: 3 (2 claws, bite); D: 1d6/1d6/1d4+paralysis; AC 4; Morale: 8; MV: 90(30)). The largest (9 hp) may cast darkness (30' r.) at will and wields a magic short sword. It functions as a +1 magic weapon, but when wielded in combat it makes micro tears in the fabric of space and time. This has two side-effects: 1) All monsters and henchmen sense that something is terribly wrong and are -2 morale; 2) Every time a 20 is rolled when attacking with the weapon, a larger tear is made and there is a 1 in 20 chance that something horrible crawls through. If a know alignment spell is cast on the blade, it will register Chaotic. There is a well here from which can be heard the sound of rushing water. This can be an entrance into a sub-level or a lower level of the dungeon below. There is a locked chest wedged into a recess in the wall. It contains 1000 gp. and 200 pp.

Erimia Campaign

I have been working on a campaign that satisfies a desire to pay homage to three influences — Pulp Fantasy, Christianity, and the Retro-Clone. I want to share some of my thinking on this campaign, and briefly outline how it interacts with its influences.

Pulp Fantasy

Alternate World: This campaign takes place on an alternate earth that shares the same basic timeline as our own up until the fall of Rome. At this point our paths diverge.

Battle in Space: The Fall of Rome coincides with a battle between two Chaotic factions of inter-galactic/inter-dimensional beings within the solar system. Several ships fall to earth as casualties in the battle.

The Great Cataclysm: During the battle, a device is used in the proximity of earth that causes a violent reaction in its crust and its energy fields. Immense earthquakes, flooding and volcanic activity devastate the planet as the crust shifts almost 90 degrees. Civilization collapses, whole environments change over night, life as we know it is forever changed. An energy field surrounds the world, flowing in constantly changing rivers of energy and pooling in more permanent energy nodes. This energy, when tapped, allows survivors to use what we call magic. The nodes provide beneficial magic, and survivors flock to the few that exist. The rivers are forces of chaos. They sweep across the earth, transforming the natural world and causing all kinds of mutations. The world is now a very dangerous place.

Alien Survivors: The ships that crashed to earth had survivors. Most of their technology is lost, and they are stranded here on earth. So, they make the best of it, and begin burrowing deep within the earth. Sometimes they wait, sometimes they conquer, sometimes they cooperate with each other, sometimes they wage the same war that brought them to earth. They are always alien, and always hate their terrestrial prison. At least one of the factions will be inspired by H.P. Lovecraft. I also love the idea that one of the aliens used to look like this.

Human Survivors: What remains of humanity lives around the few energy nodes that exist. They have built great walled cities to protect themselves from the chaos that reigns in the world outside. However, the journey through the chaos to the energy nodes has left its mark. There have been many mutations, and humanity is much more diverse than it used to be.

We are in the Future: It has taken a couple thousand years to recover from the Great Cataclysm. The technology available is akin to Medieval Europe. This allows for a fantasy setting within a classic pulp fantasy future when compared to our own earth time-line. It also ensures that all of the various elements surrounding the Great Cataclysm are distant memories, the stuff of legend, and ancient.

Christianity

The Geography of Eden: For the land of Eden, the Book of Genesis gives us a basic geography of concentric circles. At the center is the Tree of Life. Around that is a fenced garden. Around that is the plain of Eden. Beyond Eden is the the land of Nod, also known as the Wilderness, where demons live.

Metaphoric Geography: The campaign world is modeled after the concentric circles of Eden. At the center is the energy node, which gives life to those in its proximity. Around the node is the City, a walled metropolis ever watchful for attacks from the outside world. Around the City is a plain, kept open and free by the soldiers of the City to enable a clear view of any invading monsters that crawl out of the Wilderness. This Wilderness, where monsters, demons, and creatures of chaos live, lies beyond the plain.

Monasticism: The name of the campaign, Erimia, is derived from the Greek for wilderness or desert. It is also the origin of the word hermit. In the Christian tradition, the first monastics were hermits who wandered out into the desert in order to combat demons where they lived. To carry the metaphoric geography to the PCs, they become these hermits — they are the first adventurers who seek to confront the monsters where they live.

St. Basil the Great: At the time of the Fall of Rome, the liturgy of St. Basil was commonplace in Eastern Christendom. The Anaphora of St. Basil makes this statement:

Through Him the Holy Spirit was manifested, the spirit of truth the gift of Sonship, the pledge of our future inheritance, the first fruits of eternal blessings, the life giving power, the source of sanctification through whom every rational and spiritual creature is made capable of worshiping You and giving You eternal glorification, for all things are subject to You.

I wish to highlight the words every rational and spiritual creature. This demonstrates that Christianity is easily adaptable to include beings that are non-human into its fold and is immune to destruction in the face of intelligent life from another planet. Thus, as humanity mutates, Christians are the most likely to welcome those who are different. Historically this is demonstrable. When plagues hit major population centers in the ancient world, pagans with the means to do so fled, leaving the poor and sick to die. When the plague ran its course, they returned. In contrast, Christians stayed and nursed the sick no matter the race, color or creed.

Thus, it is the Christians who come out of the Great Cataclysm in the best shape. It is Christianity that forms the foundation upon which the City is built. It is Christianity that has allowed humanity to survive in all its mutated diversity.

Retro-Clones

Mutant Future: This campaign is in many ways inspired by Section 9 of Mutant Future. The controlled gonzo effect of this attempt at making it possible to place Mutant Future characters in the middle of a fantasy setting is very much the tone I want for this campaign. Both Mutant Humans and Replicants will be available as PC classes, and Mutant Future's rules on exposure to radiation can be easily adapted for use with exposure to the chaotic energy rivers of the Wilderness. Additionally, with all of the various mental mutations available, Mutant Future makes it easy to create Psionic special effects without having to come up with or use a Psionic system.

Labyrinth Lord: Although I prefer the simplicity of Swords & Wizardry, which invites the use of house rules, for this campaign I will use the Labyrinth Lord rule-set. Mutant Future was built upon these rules. Thus, using large chunks of Mutant Future material will require little or no conversion.

Sandbox: This campaign is designed very specifically to be a classic hex and dungeon crawl. The Wilderness is vast and ready to explore. Housed within the Wilderness are dungeons — ruins from past civilizations, abandoned outposts of alien survivors, and dwelling places of things dark and evil. In order that the metaphor of monasticism and Eden be consistent, the City must remain a safe haven without conflict or adventure possibilities. There are no politics to be had, no plots to uncover, no puppet master pulling strings. The adventure is always out in the Wilderness. The adventurer is always fighting the monsters where they live.

Expedition to the Barrier Peaks: This is one pf my favorite modules of all time. The way this module blends genres is exactly the pulp feel I want for this campaign. The retro-clone movement allows me to ask the question, what if this kind of adventure was more popular or common in the D&D universe? Though not representative of every dungeon that lies in the wilderness beyond the City, there will be more than one opportunity to encounter the remnants of the space battle that created this age.