Finally, a little actual play, with a new setting thrown in...

So, got together with a few of the old crowd, and played the introduction of what may be a new campaign.

Set in the Kingdom of Kendarthen Valley, or the Old Fairy Lands, which may be the setting I've done the most work on, but not posted anything about. Yet.

It's an isolated valley, and a bit of a sandbox, too. Mountains to the north, west and east, with only a long, dry pass through to the deserts further east. To the south is the one route linking the Southern Cities, but it passes through swamp, moor and wasteland.  It was first settled by humans 1022 years ago,when the first king, the warlord and explorer Kendarthen arrived, with his mercenary company. He assisted the already present Fey kingdom in their battle against the minions of the Skull King, and then, when the battle was won, turned on his allies and forced them into the Shadow Realms. His people, refugees and displaced humans, settled the lands.

He was lost on the third anniversary of the Fey withdrawal, when, while alone at his newly completed castle in the King's Forest, the surrounding vegetation sprouted huge toxic thorns and enveloped the building. None have entered the castle since, and although not confirmed dead, the name of the king is used as a warning to children of the risks of consorting with the Fey.

Since then, the Royal Line continued, despite enough accidents, disasters and misfortunes to cause whispers of a curse to surface. However, three generations ago the Royal Family were crossing the lake next to the Capital, Senaris, when an unseasonable gale blew up, capsizing the royal barge. The bodies of all the royal family except one were found over the next week. As the only body not discovered was that of a 6-month old baby, it was assumed that he could not have survived.

The Castellans, the hereditary keepers of the castle in Senaris, assumed the rulership as a temporary measure, but are still caretaker rulers to this day. In the Great Hall, the royal thrones stand empty on their dais, and the Regent presides from a simple chair placed on the lowest step, wearing no ornamentation, only black leather.

Away from Senaris, there are four Duchies - Darkstone, Moonstone, White Jade and Ghostwind, each with their own resources, risks and politics, as well as various Fey and magical effects and locations.

Our play took place in the north-eastern Duchy, White Jade, named after the river and the beautiful stone mined and quarried at its headwaters. The Duke is a dark, foreboding man, tall and lean, who leads a fractious and divided family in vicious political manoeuvring with the other factions and families of the Province. It makes Game of Thrones look homely and settled, as although there is little open violence, the plots and betrayals, coupled with the various mages and mystics that each would-be player employs, can kill as easily as a dagger.

White jade, as great stone blocks for building, or delicate intricate carvings for decoration or jewellery, copper and iron ingots, root vegetables and orchard fruits, and snake leather are the mainstay exports to the other Duchies.

The main points of interest are; to the west, the White Jade and Moonstone Rivers form the main boundary, flowing down through several lakes to Senaris; to the north, the Red Fox Mountains; to the east, a very long way to the isolated coastal cities of the Desert of Legions, across almost a months journey of goblin infested wasteland and semi-desert; and to the south, the low range of eroded canyons, badlands and pinnacles called the Snake Badlands, then the haunted ruins on the shores of the Shadow Lake.

But our three travellers are in the northern lands, east of the White Jade, in the series of villages and towns on the trade route south of the mines. We have Imaghan, nephew of the Duke, but very removed from Court or politics, a ranger/barbarian, and Fey-touched already; Tamailus, a Knight and past hereditary defender of a recently destroyed border tower, now following Imaghan on his mission; and Sarialin, an apprentice mage the two warriors assisted to escape from his master, or, more specifically, the depredations of his fellow apprentices.

They (well, Imaghan) has been guided and fed subtle ideas by Malrous, his uncle's (the Duke) chief ranger and (secretly) chief intelligence agent, concerning outside threats to the Realm - goblins, rogue sorcerers, witch covens, foreign spies, magical curses and prophecies, etc. As you can see, Ralph Finnes from Camelot cuts the right foreboding and ruthless figure for this subtle manipulation.

But, as first level characters, nothing too strenuous to start. Malrous suggested the party travel to the town of Nehem, an important copper and iron smelting centre. Two days short of their destination, travelling safely along the patrolled main road, they stopped at the village of Dhath (population ~90) for the night.

Talking to the surprisingly young and intelligent owner of the only general goods store, they found a mission worthy of a few days straying. Kereth, the owner and proprietor of the store since her grandfather passed away three years ago, is about the same age as the three youths (early twenties, I guess). Her ward, a brain addled boy named Sreth, has disappeared again. He is at none of his normal hides, and Kereth thinks he may have stayed into one of the three local ruins, that all locals avoid due to their fell reputations. Thinking of both finally testing their steel and wits, and impressing a young merchant, they agreed, setting out an hour after dawn the next morning.

Heading two hours walk east of the town, the boys soon found Ghar's Farrow, a strange name for a small series of crypts of the ancient pre-Fey humans that occupied the land millennia ago. Built into the wall of a red sandstone cliff, they soon descended the steps into the crypts.

They explored a partially flooded room, but found only destroyed, empty sarcophagi. They found a spear trap in the corridor. The first two passed over it, but the mage, going last, noticed the click of the pressure plate depressing. He stopped and called out, leading the other two to stop, so Tamailus was in the way. Forewarned, though, he managed to partially parry it, and only took one health point damage.

The tomb to the left, past the trap, contained a wrinkled and mummified body behind a glowing blue dome. There was also a ghoul on a ledge behind the door, but fire and steel slew it with no serious (or infected) wounds. As the ghoul died, the mummy rose and presented all three with a vision of ... well, something they can't remember now, but it involved things being opened and fire and ice...

Leaving the mummy undisturbed, they returned past the trap, remembering not to set it off again, and turned left again at the next intersection, found a room piled with rubble and junk, with a stone throne in a clearing. After dealing, with some difficulty, with the mass of giant rats that assaulted them upon entry, Sarialin was the only one to sit in the throne, and he found a secret catch that he immediately triggered. A low door opened in the back of the throne, and a skeleton rolled out. It stayed dead, thankfully, and Sarialin determined it was likely a woman's skeleton, and relieved it of two rings from its right hand.

Taking the other branch, they stumbled over a low step into a tidy room, with only a small coffer and an open sarcophagus present. They were not surprised when the tall, dessicated warrior rose, with ornate bronze mail and spear. The fight was rather epic, with the warriors being over-matched until they separated and started flanking the undead. Even the mage planted a mighty blow to the head with his wooden staff, but was then hit straight back for the loss of 2/3 of his total health. Finally Imaghan buried his hand axe in its head, shattering both in the process.

The coffer contained 20 strange, heavy silver coins, and Imaghan claimed the spear. The mail vest was too heavy and damaged to take, and they left it on the body when they burnt it.

So, one four-room dungeon cleared, damage taken and dished out by all, but boy not found. Two more ruins to check, and someone should check out the rings...

River sloth is robbing your bags...

A family or clan of strange goblin-like creatures roam a shaded and forested stretch of the Ne-Ban River, in the southern reaches of the Empire, where jungle takes over from temperate forest.  This stretch would be little travelled, if it were not for constant rumours of the Golden Treasures of the Third Dynasty of the Kyghan secreted somewhere in the eroding spires and citadels clustered above the vast waterfalls named The Tears of the Princess Almesha (by the Imperial Loyalists) and Dead Hag Falls by all others.  These falls are only reachable by boat up the Ne-Ban, as no roads cut through the thick, boggy growth for at least fifty kilometres in any direction.

Every decade or so the chance find of a jewelled diadem or platinum pectoral amongst the dangerously narrow, rubble filled galleries or walkways that are constantly washed by the spray of the waterfalls, sets off another rush of Imperial Tax Collectors, treasure seekers, mages (for what reasons, only they know) and other scoundrels of the Empire and surrounding Realms.

Although they do not know it, as they rent, hire, buy or steal boats and barges, and use slaves, hired sailors or strange magics to speed them upriver against the changeable currents, their most dangerous challenge (at least, from a financial viewpoint) comes even before they hear the falls.

After they pass several days of boulder-strewn rapids in a deep, narrow canyon, boats reach a secluded section of river.  Here, most parties rest in exhaustion, at least, those that didn't drown, get crushed under shifting house-sized boulders or trapped in the nets of the water fey.  Usually at night, but sooner if all are sleeping or distracted, the inhabitants of these waters slowly and quietly slip on board and head straight for the luggage.

Using razor sharp claws, they slice and slit packs and bags, seemingly searching exclusively for ornaments, jewellery and potions, which they drink, adorn themselves, or attempt to wear, as the case may be.  If discovered, they dive over the edge and swim away to their beaver-like underwater lodge, or, if unable to, can strike out with their razor sharp claws.

If spoken to, they seem to understand simple common, although they do not speak. They gesture accordingly, and can be bargained with, taking potions, especially those of healing or effective against poison or disease, in exchange for either items stolen and worn (usually from the bargainer) or simple directions to the network of caves that give access to the Upper Falls.

If tolerated or dealt with non-violently (or destructively, given the use of base magics amongst these sorts of travellers) the Ne-Ban Goblins are a comic annoyance.  If harmed, however, they can make the life of intruders into their waters very difficult, puncturing boats, stealing weapons and magical implements, and their nimbleness and inherent magic resistance assists with this.

 The true reason for the need for healing magics is the (natural) poor health of their young, who do not grow fur or learn to swim until their 5th year, leaving them subject to many of the pests and diseases of the lodge.

The Seven Lakes, Part 2

Busy renovating the bathroom of our first house - when we moved in, we knew it had to happen, as the shower not working and the salmon pinky/orange & pale blue colours made it difficult to love.

But at we prepare to paint it all tomorrow (so the electrican can connect the lights and I can go biking in the weekend) here's something I found lurking in my drafts, following on, presumably, from an earlier post on the Seven Lakes region. It didn't get much use, but here's some flotsam from the streets of the city;

Things you might find on the streets of Rotogawa;

1. A rabble of goblins, wearing cast-offs and heavily modified human clothing, often with metal coins sewn into it.  These are usually found at the few major intersections, and they will politely (for a goblin) inquire if they can assist passers by with luggage, directions or running errands.  The price is always "a coin".  Any metal, make or design.  In fact, due to their protective value when sewn into clothing, copper and iron coins are more highly sought than gold or silver.

 The goblins of the Lake have been well and truly seduced by civilisation.  Their dirt warrens run alongside the garbage pile, of which the goblins revel in reclaiming and recycling any and all items discarded by other inhabitants.  They are even more docile and stupid than normal goblins too, which can generally be attributed to the brewings of Ezenal Thrump, a human Alchemist of little skill.  He has a large vat in his yard, though, which is fed by an ingenious rainwater collection pipe.  Into this, he piles all the dead vermin, cut hair, and venomous fungi he can collect.  The foetid, rank product is drained from the base of the vat into small clay flasks, that he sells (under the cover of darkness) to any goblin with a silver or richer coin.  If drunk by a human, it would induce unconsciousness, permanent nausea, and a dimming of all metal facilities.  Apparently, it does the same to goblins, but they enjoy the sensation.

2. Town Guards.  The most visible two are Tial and Shem, both born and raised locally, although their deep copper skin marks them as having family origins in the far side of the Empire.  Tial is slightly taller than average, well muscled but carrying some fat, with messy black hair and pretensions of facial hair. Shem is half a foot shorter and the same broader across the shoulders, and is much woollier.  They are scruffy, disreputable and streetsmart, and can take all the usual issues of the City in their stride.  Anything else is usually dealt with by them both disappearing to a local bar, and returning 15 minutes later, well liquored and ready to face anything.  They are usually on night shift, having annoyed their Captain, and will gladly spend their free, and working, time associating with sell-swords, hedge wizards, and thieves.

3. Hanazor Machin, a representative example of the local class of Alchemists.  Originally from one of the Islands in the Storm Reach, he arrived here 10 years ago on the trail of a fungus that could replace the need for honey in healing salves.  He found, instead, coloured clay that added extra potency to enhancement potions, frog eggs that altered the eater's voice, and a vast collection of mosses and ferns that he is still experimenting on.  For any alchemist in the City, roll a few times on a random potion chart and use modified versions of these as their unique 'specialities'.

Hanazor also found a local wife in the form of a younger daughter of an exiled Empire family, and now spends a lot of time exploring the local area, avoiding family feuding and complaining about historical actions.  He has located a cave below the surface of one of the smaller lakes, which leads to an airfilled chamber that contains an armoured skeleton sitting on a rock throne, holding a gleaming two-handed sword. Although he visits often to catch the larva of a particular mayfly (essential for a complicated and expensive light-green cordial that allows the drinker an untroubled nights sleep, regardless of curses, hauntings, or disease), he is terrified of disturbing the dead warrior.  He also has an agreement with a few goblins, to lead obviously rich travellers to his small but efficient shop. This has led to a few problems in the past, given the mental state of the average local goblin...

Average Gleaner

4. Gleaners; a viable profession in this area, at least for those who dislike normal work but thrive on danger, carefulness and risk (i.e those that would be petty thieves in most other cities).  As the community is rather close-knit, and the penalty of being caught stealing is having your hands cut off and being handed to the Lake Folk for their sacrifices to the Lake Gods, alternate options to get rich quick were sought.

The ruins of the Los Mehno produce little rich and exotic treasure without an equivalent amount of danger and effort, and these men and women possess little talent or stomach for hard, risky work. However, they have found that following along behind groups of armed treasure seekers as they spring or disarm traps, slay (or are slain by) undead or golem  guardians and solve tricky magical puzzles can produce some rewards to the cautious.

 The broken pottery vases containing a few coppers, chipped pewter plates, dented armour, strange bones or even tattooed skin cut from the hide of undead goblins that lurk in some sections. These are passed over by tomb robbers and treasure hunters, but can be stuffed (quietly) into a sack, and carried back, to sell to alchemists, tourists, minor gentry and the like, for a few coppers.

Occasionally something more exotic, expensive, or downright dangerous can be 'gleaned'. One example is the time Grazos the Mute, somewhat hopeless at everything in life except running away from things, discovered, in a little travelled and dusty chamber, a secret room. It was bare, except for the skeleton of a slain Swordswoman from the South, and a headless skeleton holding a glowing wand made of some crystal. Of course, a beggar, carrying a wand that fired glowing bolts at random, pursued by both the corpse of the Swordswoman and the skeleton (carrying it's elongated head under it's arm), caused a commotion or two, and even five years on, is a favoured tale in some of the less formal taverns.

Magic, or at least one part of it...

Been pondering a few parts of PG games that I've avoided for a long time...

Material components for magic spells is one that I've never really cared for - not starting off in D&D, when I did come across it (at the AD&D stage) the (possibly optional) things you needed to cast spells were complicated and also rather humorous. And it makes for rather insane book-keeping too. Except if you're in a computer game... I assume now most people either hand waved it or ignored it completely, which is rather a bad sign for something explaining how magic might work.

I'm also rather lazy and enjoy it when players design parts of the campaign. At least, when I ask them to, and within certain constraints - in my experience, players concepts for my games tend to revolve around their characters material possessions and attractiveness to NPCs of the opposite sex.

And, based on a concept from the Wizard of Firetop Mountain, I have come up with an idea that I will test, soonish.

Rumours concerning the titular wizard suggested that his power came from a deck of cards, or gloves, or a spell book. But only one was true, and I get the feeling that was only true if you decided to take a certain action which was almost cheating (hint - burn the deck of cards - but if it was the basis of all his magical power, why leave it lying around where the hero can grab it?).

Putting all these random thoughts together, here's a brief list of things that may be required for magic to be ... expressed?

- Spoken words/phrases
- Material components - specialised and separate for each spell type
- Items of power - your staff, wand, glove, sock puppet...
- Somatic - funky hand movements
- Singing
- Dancing - think shamanic magical concepts
- Natural forces - sun/moonlight, water, fire, soil, rock, etc.
- Draining life - yours, or others (a la Dark Sun)
- Runes - big, solid things carved on stone tablets you have to either visit or cart around, or something you carve on the spot.
- Ley lines or big conduits of energy under the ground. Very immovable.

So there's a lot of concepts - I will add more as I uncover more off-beat interweb sites and pulp fantasy novels - but that will do as a start.

You've rolled up a new character, decided that a spell caster of some type will suit it well, and ask me. I pass you the list, and tell you to pick two of them, but make them not too difficult to do together. And that is how you will cast spells.

Simple is somatic and verbal, and we can all imagine a mage speaking the rhymes and waving his arms around. It does leave you subject to either being bound or silenced, though, which is a drawback. Longer sequences for more powerful spells.

Rune and an item (staff); cast the spells by drawing runes on the ground with your staff. Really easy if there's sand or snow, a trifle more challenging if you're on sheer rock (unless you have a steel spike on the staff), and impossible if you're floating in the air.

Material components and a natural force - say fire. This is more challenging to picture; try small, loose bound linen bundles containing powders that must be cast into a fire, magma, etc and consumed. The bundles can be abstracted a bit - say each spell requires a different mix, which takes one hour per spell level to prepare with the right tools and ingredients. And the ingredients are reasonably to acquire at low levels, and at high levels there is one challenging ingredient, along with several more common ones. Make the challenging ingredient thematic too - a wind spell needs a griffin's feather, a 'kill everyone with fire' spell needs a dragon's scale (but only a red one will do).

If we changed the above to material components and earth, you have to bury the bundles to cast the spell. But you can pre-bury the resin balls you make, and 'cast' the spell instantly providing you remember the place.

And of course, singing and dancing! The powerful magic of the Unearthly Bee-Gees is feared and respected in the Tropical North Eastern Isles. But they are a little weird up there...

That's all. Some combinations are nasty and won't be fun, others too easy. As in all things, moderation...

Random Post

So, I've gone through all my RPG papers in the wardrobe, and found my printed copy of An Echo Resounding. With the important pages up to page 39 (setting up a campaign area) missing, as they are sitting, somewhere, with the stuff I was working on when we moved. That only leaves the shed, and there are dark things buried there. Like my wife's excess baking equipment...

And so the post today is of some very random notes. Amongst a pile of loose papers (mostly single photocopied pages from old Dragon magazines and sourcebooks) I found a handwritten page (my handwriting - no disturbing horror stories, yet) with two things, possible related, possibly not.

I think the first one was prep for an adventure I was planning, but never actually ran. Perhaps one day.

Idea 1 - Evil Dark Lord has kidnapped the Princess of the Elven City, and demands an artifact of great potential power (and destruction) for her life. He holds her in his great castle, which towers over a desolate hillside. There is a single record of a knight who entered this castle some 50 years ago, through secret underground corridors, but it is likely that they were found and trapped following this escapade. A suicide mission, but any boon will be granted by the Elven King. And boy, can Elves grant boons.

I think I was going to use this to sell the adventure to the players. They were either rather powerful or somewhat gung-ho.

Idea 2 - Bounty Hunters Mission

1. Sent to help party member
2. Sent to kill party member
3. Guarding a treasure
4. Has heard of party's mission and will assist for 10% share
5. Sent to capture party member
6 Sent by wizard to inform party of location of magic item.

I have no idea how this fits in to the mission, unless there are bounty hunters on the wandering monster list. On the other hand, having roaming NPCs with randomly determined agendas sounds like something useful.

Perhaps I'll work on it...

Two thoughts...

Well, EVERYTHING I usually do on this computer is updating or reinstalling this evening, and that fits in well with my plan to makes posts more often than monthly.

Two things that have sprung to mind;

1. THIS.  Dwarf, Vampire, Dinosaur. The natural world is far more amazing than anything we can imagine, and this is definitely a cute little, vampiritic beast that shall be a real pain in some isolated areas.

My version will be slightly larger than the fossil version - about large dog size, some 60 cm (2 ft) high at the shoulder, mostly walking on all fours. It's covered liberally in spines - long, flexible but sharp and penetrating spines, and it has large, slicing canines for eating plants, carrion and any small animals it can catch. Larger targets are gently bitten, and a reasonable amount of blood is sucked out through the bottom hollow teeth. They are nocturnal.

Not aggressive, unless you're wounded and there's a lot of them, but they are curious and a sleeping human body is a prime target for a little drinking. And even if they only get into the party's food supply, who's going to throw out an excited toothed porcupine-like thing?

Stat them like slightly weaker wolves, but remember the spines, the stealth, the bloodsucking and the general creepiness of these beasts. Waking up to something like that standing next to your bed, with your blood staining it's jaw...

2. For Hernshire, I'm working on the towns. I've worked out the towns on the western side of the river are vaguely English, or at least more normal medieval fantasy like. They are likely the settled descendants of an invading force a millennia or so ago. On the eastern side, a more Celtic-French-Nordic flavour, with a bit more variety and strange (to outsiders) customs, and a lot more inter-family feuding, cattle rustling and general nuisance making.

The smaller eastern city has a Prince. No one quite remembers what he (or she, on occasion) is actually Prince of, as there is a Board of Guildmasters who make financial and relationship decisions, and none of the surrounding lands recognise the Prince as their ruler. They are considered important for some ceremonial reason, but no-one is really sure exactly what it is. Most likely a remnant of a time when a strong ruler was needed, for as long as anyone living can remember, the line of Princes have lived in an ornate, but somewhat draughty and run-down stone villa near the main park, and they are given a small stipend so that they can live and employ a small staff to maintain them. Each successive Prince has seemed slightly blander than the one before, and they have long sunk from public regard, though of more as a kindly but senile old gentleman than anything else

Interestingly, the other main city maintains the Prince's Summer Palace, a slightly smaller but brighter stone building in much the same condition as their other home. It is maintained by a married couple who are paid (little) by the City's treasury, so they commonly sublet rooms or run some business from the premises. Should the Prince ever decide to visit (an event occurring on average, once a decade), a troop of guards will escort him southward, the Palace will be cleaned and unauthorised uses and inhabitants evicted, and the Prince will mooch around a different city before deciding to head back.

No real reason for this, but a Prince of little public importance and most probably a big, important secret one seems appropriate.

The new setting, again...

Although we are slowly getting furniture for the new house, it's much smaller than our last flat, so a lot of stuff, including most of my RPG papers, are somewhere in boxes in the garage.

This has caused a little problem, as when I want to look up something, I know it's an hour long job to uncover it, and I'll probably be distracted along the way with something else I find that's equally interesting. And the new job involves a lot more travel, and the inspiration levels are suffering as a result. Still....

Anyhow, I'm working on a small scale 'starting' area, where I can test out various rule settings and blood up new characters until they decide to venture out somewhere more exciting. The first map I drew went though the washing machine in a pocket, and my recreation a few days ago is a little more defined, I think.

The ideas of the last post (August???) still stand, this area being a crossroads between places far more fantastic, inviting and dangerous. There are still many dangers and risks here, though, but they are not so apparent and require far more digging to uncover.  Most of the adventure hooks are minor, and character and NPC connections will be more important, hopefully. Here's the map of a place I have decided to call Hernshire.

No doubt, if you can read it, you are interested in the details of the Grel Swamp, the Ghostwood, and the Ruins of Tharl, but they don't exist quite yet, and may not until someone wanders into them. For today, I give you the concepts of the places off the map - the shinier, more exciting and more fabulous places the young PC's will want to head to, once they are confident enough.

These places are, from the writing near the top left, heading clockwise;

The Storm Cities

Walled cities of wondrous architecture that lie atop rocky crags and desolate islands in a rocky archipelago, they are ruled one and all by mighty sorcerers and master wizards, who constantly war and battle through elemental storms, trade embargoes and astoundingly brilliant spy networks. The cities are large, remarkably cosmopolitan and busy, with diverse populations.  This little corner of the world has the fantasy setting cranked a little higher than other parts.

The Empire of Tarmis

This is the Empire on the Plateau to the North I referred to last post, but now the Empire has moved off map, and the plateau is more famed for the haunted ruins of Tharl, and the dozens of  abandoned castles, towers and watchtowers that dot the southern plateau.

Tarmis is the Empire of Soldiers in Black Armour that Steal Babies. A dark religion that involves some human sacrifice, an underclass of slaves, and mighty and pointless architectural efforts, it is where the PC's go under cover, to infiltrate and assassinate or rescue someone or something. But any daring deeds accomplished here may direct the Empress's attention towards the wilds of Hernshire...

A place for dark and depraved ideas...

The City of Bones

The road that leads east along the base of the plateau takes one to the City of Bones, a high walled city surrounded by waving wheat fields, worked by starved slaves guarded by armed skeletons. The ruler is an undead creature, the bones of a past ruler that rose to overthrow his depraved descendant, and then decided to stay and do a proper job of things. The populace is reasonably content, secure and well policed by the steel armoured skeletal guards that patrol the streets day and night. The streets are clean and free of beggars and thieves, as these, and other law breakers are either enslaved or killed and their clean bones reused as another guard.

It's a clean, safe, sterile and over controlled environment, and trade is constant, although outsiders who offend an inhabitant may go missing... Any PC's will find themselves skirting the shadows, contacting the resistance and finding out the necromantic secrets of the rulers...

The Peasant Cities

Almost due east, these cities occupy a fertile basin surrounded by mountains. About 120 years ago, the peasants revolted and executed all the nobles and their advisers, and quite a few others. Many onlookers, traders and nearby nobles, waited for the cities to fall and order to crumble. Strangely, this lack of nobles hasn't hurt them much, and the population has become more egalitarian since then. They rule through a strange system of representation, and food and goods are abundant and high quality.

They do have a lack of bloodthirsty, armed individualists, though, which causes concern when goblins, trolls and wolves gather in the depth of winter. That's when the PC's come in useful, as the cities hire scouts and raiders to monitor and disrupt any powers that arise in the surrounding mountains.

The Jewelled Islands

Travelling to the south-south-west, along the coastline, brings one eventually to an archipelago of small, steep cliffed islands, all with scenic pastoral white walled villages nesting in green, lush pastures. Happy people with strange, multiple horned goat-sheep type herd animals, they seem content. Especially as each island appears to have a secret source of gems, and excel in the craft of cutting, polishing and mounting them on jewellery, arms and armour. Each island only produces a single type of gemstone, and their crafters have a distinct style of ornamentation. Many rich and vain nobles (and PC's) will chance the voyage to get their favoured items inset with these gems.

The Desert Kingdoms (and Inshilbad)

To the west, past the hills littered with barrows, ruins, ancient battle sites and towers of countless armies and conquerors, lie the sunbaked sands and rocks of the Endless Desert. Within this lie many small kingdoms of robed, isolationist warriors and mystics, that shun outsiders. They compete and jostle for control of oases and underground watercourses, but never through bloodshed. It takes a lot for foreigners to be admitted to this culture, and if so, leaving is out of the question.

The City of Inshilbad, however, is similar, but a lot closer, and has almost none of the resistance to outsiders of their cousins. It is a strange place, however. High walls of pink granite shelter a people that wear white robes fringed with feathers, and white featureless masks in public. They are alternately outgoing and friendly, and withdrawn and depressed, which confuses visitors but is a part of the 'life's rich pageant' that these people believe in.

Study up on your surrealist painters and ideas, as dealing with this city is like stepping into a Dali painting, as their personalities and magic reflect a strange concept of reality. A place to throw the weird and bizarre at any PCs.

That's it - hopefully more on what's actually IN the map next time, and an idea of what I'm going to do with it. I think throwing ACK's system at it might help things...