Sunday, March 25, 2012

The Hag

After reading the Wikipedia article on D&D Hags, I got to thinking: How about instead of giving one of the pieces of The Tome to the Ogres on Hot Springs Isle, we put it with The Hag in the caves below the Southern Lighthouse.

Baba Yaga by Matthew Starbuck
The Hag could use a number of ogres (frequently polymorphed) as minions, and since Hags hunger for humanoid flesh, she could have a minion (human or otherwise) in Swordfish Bay who sends adventurers to meet their death in her domain. Could make for a nice "people are missing" plot in which everyone is traced back to a particular series of assignments from a particular person in town, and they've all been eaten by The Hag. "Hag's Eyes" also sound like a fun toy to incorporate into things, and it could be The Hag's agent that sends people out looking for pieces of The Tome in the first place. She could also be actively using the piece she has (for maximum fun!).

Below are the interesting bits from the Wikipedia article on D&D Hags.


Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Relevant Kickstarter Info

This guy did a kickstarter for a tabletop board game, and then did a nice blog post breakdown of all the costs he's incurred etc. Hooray for transparency!



The Journal of Quandrilian Fylfayne

The only surviving page, stuck to the front cover but the wear and tear show that this was never the first page.

"Geraldia will pay for burning my crop.  I have set powder kegs all over the temple and by nightfall I will shatter her stone god and claim this island."

The temple of Wist was erected around what the ancient natives of SFI believed was a statue of a winged snake lord.  Whenever offerings had been brought to the statue good tidings were returned.  At first it was a circle of rocks around the statue, then as time and science advanced the ability to build proper structures saw a spacious adobe den, statue proudly placed in the exact center.  The dimensions of this adobe structure were kept for the main statue chamber when the construction turned to rough stone, the marble floors that followed soon ushered in polished limestone walls with intricate images of the man blessings the statue had brought to the people.

with every yin there is a yang and as science provided more grandiose structures it also brought about unintended uses for plants.  The ancient, peaceful, creatures (not unlike gnomes but far from dwarves)became aggressive as they battled over a newly discovered use for a common weed.  As time progressed the plants use garnered more attention than did the so called "deity" their culture was built around.  While some claimed the plant was a gift, the few remaining spiritual leaders knew differently.  With much planning, coordination and luck massive fires were lit upon the surface of SFI, at the end few structures stood and much of the life had been irradiated but the spiritual leaders stood tall on the steps of the temple, welcoming the fiending addicts into their treacherous arms.

Quickly it was noticed the good tidings from the statue were no longer occurring.  The fire had eradicated the sipopa from the island and w/ the new hardships brought on by the betrayal of their deity the addicts overcame the shamans.  Each generation of twisted creature bore fewer of them until there were but a dozen.  A number easily done away with as the next SFI tenants came ashore.

A wizened old (3K) elven wizard had a dream of a creatures whose sadness had returned as life disappeared.  It took near 100 years to gather the elves needed to populate and explore a new island but she was glad to accept the cost and responsibility.  For generations the elves flourished, choosing to not love in the expansive temple but to build their own nation and leave the temple as a sacred place.  New etchings were created throughout the statue chamber and its outward walls.  A declaration (loosely translated) of "For those sated by experience" is most prominent near the "doors".  Additional magic was added to permanently close the doors.  As the new kingdom grew the temple was never neglected but rarely visited.  It was treated more as a neighbor than a asset.

This changed when the Councilry vi Arcanus lost control of the kingdom to new type of political movement.  The great but small kingdom became more segmented but beyond a twist in perspective culturally not much changed.  The flags were the same, the soldiers wore the same uniforms, just those doling out commands had changed in experience and goal.  more minerals were took from the land, construction on the wall began.  Numerous docks were erected wherever a valuable resource could be quickly shipped off.  Money came flowing in, the temple was still ignored for purpose but was again being noticed for its beauty.  A wealthy elf retired from ruling the lands into the temple, bought it from himself before he relinquished control of his leadership.  After a year his servants had all left, rumors of an evil feeling emanating from their master filled the towns.  A year after that the family of 17 were slain at the retired rulers hand, madness had struck hold.  It was another few hundred years before a new priesthood grew up around the statue.

The land had become more decadent at this time and a new use for an old plant was discovered.  It was far from popular, the dedication to commerce and complicated social structures did not allow for that type of mind numbing feeling...yet. Within a handful of generations it was as common as tobacco, a few more as common as wine.  The Elven culture had undergone another shift, again a extreme one.  The deliberate nature of previous generations was mocked openly by a slower paced, more relaxed populace.  Decadence was common, as was murder.  This was the culture that saw the island shatter.

Classic 4chan misadventures


Sunday, March 18, 2012

Off Topic But...

I came across this contest today and thought it would be a good "creativity squeezer" for everyone:


Create a dungeon that fits completely on a single sheet of 8.5"x11" paper. Map, description, monsters, traps, tricks, everything... one sheet.

We Need A Name

We need a name for our group.

Ideally something simple, short, and available as a domain in some fashion.

Thoughts?

Friday, March 16, 2012

Map of Islands with Labels

Map of the Islands. Now with Island labels and some crap descriptive prose that has become outdated.

The Islands, Their Inhabitants and Their "Gods"

The Shimmering Jungle (E, D, J)
  • Large Constrictor Snakes
  • Giant Displacer Beast
  • Stirges
  • Assassin Vine
  • Tri-Flower Frond
  • Apes
  • Dire Apes
  • Dart and Crystal Frogs
  • Big Cats (Panthers)
  • Fungus - Hallucinogenic Spore Clouds

The Northern Lighthouse (J)
  • Shadows
  • Sipopa Sludge
  • Obsidian Elementals (small/tiny)
  • Green Lizardmen Tribe
  • Frilled Lizards
  • Giant Centipedes
  • Singing Golems
  • Rakshasa

Hot Springs Isle (J)
  • Obsidian Elementals (small)
  • Fire Mephits
  • Fire Elementals (small)
  • Ogre Tribe (and Oni)
  • Shadows
  • Sipopa Sludge
  • Large Flame Hydra
  • Obsidian Giants (as Stone Giants)
  • Singing Golems
  • Purple Worm (traverses between Hot Springs and Swordfish Bay)

The Northern Ruins (D)
  • Shadows
  • Sipopa Sludge
  • Rat Swarms
  • Centipedes
  • Frilled Lizards
  • Giant Frilled Lizard
  • Small poisonous snakes
  • Assassin Vine
  • Singing Golems
  • Stirges
  • Dart and Crystal Frogs

Temple of Wyst (E)
  • Shadows

The Isle of Marlo the Magnificent (E)
  • Dart and Crystal Frogs
  • Assassin Vine
  • Tri-Flower Frond
  • Water Elementals (small, assist the mermen)
  • Large Salt Water Croc
  • Salt Water Crocs
  • Crabs

 The Southern Lighthouse (J)
  • Blue Lizardmen Tribe
  • Assassin Vine
  • Triflower Frond
  • Hydras
  • Crabs
  • Apes
  • Dart and Crystal Frogs
  • Bloodfish
  • Ettercaps (incursion)
  • Sea Hag (caves)
  • Stirges

The Southern Ruins (D)
  • Shadows
  • Sipopa Sludge
  • Rat Swarms
  • Centipedes
  • Frilled Lizards
  • Small Poisonous Snakes
  • Assassin Vines
  • Singing Golems
  • Ettercaps (incursion)
  • Dart and Crystal Frogs
  • Stirges

Ettercap Island (D)
  • Ettercaps (I envision this and this)
  • Assassin Vine
  • Nasty Traps
  • Tri-Flower Frond
  • Some disgusting rot plant
  • Giant Spiders
  • Singing Golem (perhaps in pieces in the webs)
  • Crystal Frogs (numerous)
  • Stirges
  • Constrictor snakes

Dryad Grove (E)
  • The Gardener - The three dryads each put a piece of their energy into this construction made of luminous coral, earth, and wood, to help them tend the area. Since it has a piece of the energy of each sister, it presents itself in a specific (different) manner to each sister. Now that one dryad has gone mad/corrupt, so too has The Gardener. It has begun ripping up plants, encouraging rot, fertilizing with salt etc. But never in front of the other two sisters. This creature may, or may not utilize tiny animated bits of dead vegetation to help it spread rot/destruction.

Swordfish Bay (E, D, J)
  • Shadows
  • Sipopa Sludge
  • Big Horn Sheep
  • Centipedes
  • Fire Mephits
  • Obsidian Elementals (tiny)
  • Crabs
  • Salt Water Crocs
  • Water Elementals (small)
  • Dart and Crystal Frogs
  • Purple Worm (same worm found on Hot Springs Isle)
  • Constrictor Snakes
  • Wild hogs
  • Dire Boar(s)



Are RPGs Self Destructive For Their Creators?


Came across this link today. Thought it was worth the read.

Howling Tower - Dysfunctional and Co-Dependent

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Session Notes - 03/14/12


Philosophy discussed:

All items that could be a good idea should be documented.  the more material we have at the end the better, we can redpen whatever we need to in editting.

not a campaign setting but a general setting, adventure setting, campaign builder, general template sort of gig.  keep it open.


details -


box -

player book
-in game knowledge
-map of town
-items of legends
-jobs to pull to island
-rumors of island
-all above based by race

resource for town - not how to get here
guild members, job postings (no details)
island shops & NPC (no details)


DM book

plot elements, hooks, npc details, monsters of

beastiary
map book
random table screen

11 chapters
1 per island

plot / circumstances section

old island chapter

DM book intro
-telling of a story from someone in the temple during the final raid of sipopa addicts and the tearing apart of the island.  narrated by who?

evans must do's----


plot line surrounding the eyes.

40 years ago a pirate came to the islands lookin for a treasure that was being shown to him by a set of magical eyes.

the pirate who has them
the treasure it was leading too
how they work
the path the pirate took to get to the temple
details about the island where he took slaves and commisioned boats
rumor of him in the lizard culture
how he navigated the sunken temple to get to the chamber.
what is the creature at the end of the line? Quatle
how does the containment via shadows work?
chimes open doors, lizard cheiftan (green) has the temple door chime.


dryads hold the silly glowing town and can tell the story about the fall of the temple and the creature of good inside.  the sister is crazy - death or cure? (gardener built of all three dryads powers and unique to all three so 2 never see its bad side as the sister goes crazy)

the mermen help the dryads and live happily w/ new ruins to live in.  they mostly avoid the sipopa but a small branch of them use it, like a drug, the ere is a group of them attacking the drug makers stuff because they are very opposed to sipopa and driven by a distorted cult like devotion to the quatle.  mermen view sipopa as taboo but not a hazard as its effects are mitigated in the mermen physiology.  this is why only 1 band of mermen attack the grower.

grower is drunk all the time and not profitable he wants adventurers to help him stop the attacks on his gear.