Holy District of Shadelport

Bells, chanting, rattles, drums all kinds of music can be heard and smells of incense and wine fill the streets. Paradise Hills smells sweet and fragrant and great choirs and orchestras can sometimes be heard. Celestial point smells more spicy and narcotic with chanting and insane gibbering of cults. Shriner's End smells of poverty, livestock and cheap and faded incense and sounds like a marketplace. Sacred Gardens smells of flowers and vegetation with a hint of exotic spice and fruits. Garden is the quietest area with sounds of the chattering of birds and monkeys broken occasionally by chants or screams

1 Paradise Hills

Monumental famous holy places 
Richest, most popular, holiest and greatest temples are here that interact most often with the government and receive to most donations. Several sprawling cathedral complexes are here rivalling any in the world. Templars patrol the street and guide pilgrims and keep order. Various churches provide clerics for this but several specialise 

2 Celestial Point

Esoteric, foreign & new temples
These are the more new and esoteric religions from foreign lands that are successful but not established or supported by the state. Many are cults and some are more philosophical even sorcerer personality cults. Some streets have blocks for rows of proselytisers where common folk can choose a religion. Vigils are initiated performing labours to church, amateur but zealous

3 Shriner's End

Petty gods & temples for commoners

Were shrines and temples of commoners are found in the thousands, Streets of idols in walls and even alleyways have shrines. Poorer peoples welcome here otherwise require official pilgrims permit to visit nicer areas. Petty gods often visit here but meeting them is mostly trouble. Priests here are more down to earth and practical with charity. Many stalls sell relics and souvenirs. City militia act as law here and treat everybody poorly and are unimpressed by unpopular cults

4 Sacred Gardens

Rambling gardens & run down ancient temples

This area is full of parks and gardens, temples here are older and some prehuman ruins. Many abandoned and overgrown buildings where scorpions, monkeys and snakes scurry about. Crumbling ziggurats, worn pyramids and vast mausoleums are here. Some are painted. Temples here are quieter and less popular, many old religions here have been forgotten in other places. Druidic priests and other older religions manage a presence here. Nonhumans operate many holy places here. The quieter streets here have attracted cult kidnappings and local temples tend to secure their own immediate streets with city militia sweeping streets by night looking out for monsters, murder cults or squatters

White Plume Mountain Funhouse Dungeon

White Plume Mountain Funhouse Dungeon
This and Ghost tower are both extremely short gonzo funhouses. We are assured wizards could make this crazy stuff up but not with rules given but a few wishes a day would help. I've seldom made mad wizard dungeons this crazy and maybe I should. ASE1-3 my favourite OSR-ish thing Is also a funhouse dungeon and fitted my planet Psychon quite well. I'm going to continue to do my thing of running old modules into Psychon adventures and I could literally just ad some control panels here and maybe cyborg or mutate a few inhabitants. But really not much. This literally is the best funhouse dungeon. Even the rotating stripe patterned tunnel with lube leading to an ambush is as on genre as you can get.

Mad wizards justify anything. The artefacts you loot here for the patron are too cool for NPCs. Id say having those weapons are part of a prophecy that warns the world making everybody give party attention and dread some apocalypse. The patron will send assassins and adventurers. Some cults will pursue them. Kings will be unhappy. Taking these Items will be a huge burden. Say the black sword will destroy the universe when it's true owner gets in back. Have party find book illustrating the heroes with weapons destroying civilisation. Perhaps they get to kill a king on a battlefield and cause a domino effect of chaos. Could be big fun. Having party rivals they met in a pub go in first and not return and have them inside the dungeon. Having a character has a personal grudge against sir Bluto might be good drama too. The ancient evil wizard is pretty flexible and could easily be a demon or a god or a self aware complex.

The classic area map is great and implies an interesting adventure. That Dragthoa guy is possibly less of a setup but might be a good powerful lair to raid later. One of the newer maps even has a Tolkien style and fans have redrawn the dungeon map too. The above classic recreation shows off some of the interesting features and the sideways maps are good too. Its quite video gamish level of puzzle solving game with plenty of combat and interesting environments. the reverse ziggurat room is amazing. The weird magic river is very strange i guess wizard liked kayaking. Maybe more dungeons should have features requiring wishes or hobbies. I mean if your immortal and cast wish you can make some crazy stuff especially if you are a nerd wizard or a lich with thousands of years.

I will probably give this a go and won't change much really. If the characters want to be the centrepoint of a continent wide war killing tens of thousands let them keep those awesome items. Sounds cool to me.

Has great art of era illustrating some of the crazier rooms which is good. The npcs with personality are fine and easy to run. The layout is interesting and not on all one plane and the puzzles are not really too awful but can avoid fights which is ok. It is slim but has lots of content and art and is pretty inspiring. Later adventures where you explore ruins of this place as a spin off was kind sad to look in what was once a cool dungeon room. Perhaps some more trashed magic rooms destroyed already should be a thing. The poem and history are quite fun too. I wonder what happened to the evil gnomes mentioned as wizards minions. A gnome stronghold or secret maintenance sub level might be cool. Perhaps the induction section Nix and Nox take you too could be added to the map. I get impression wizard might still be alive or sleeping or busy..

Would make a good vol to do as one of those hardcovers.

City States of the Elder Wastes

So for my new Eldrich age setting of wizards and barbarians I need city generators to create Bronze age style middle eastern city states. These are for typical cities. A few cities might be bigger. Towns from 150-1000 people are either capitols of barbarians or huge nomad camps or outposts of bigger cities. Villages up to 150 people are often surrounding a city in it's territory but also their are nomad and barbarian settlements. Nomads might camp in place for several years transporting houses folded up on animal backs or waggons. Barbarians might last for years and many will have log or earth walls. Civilized people have brick and stone walls and possibly moat works and canals and built forts. Simpler civilizations mostly have villages but might seasonally accumulate in temporary towns

Population Centres
Village 25-150 people
Town 150-750 people
City State d10 x 10000 family

Caste system
10% Temple class
10% Warrior class
10% Merchant class
40% Farmer class
20% Slaves
10% prisoners of war

d10 City Cult Structures (Main Ziggurat) 
1 Ancestral funerary cult with special prominence to the first ancestors
2 Ancestor god from time when city was tribal
3 City god  ziggurat dedicated to founding god of city
4 City god and partner share ziggurat
5 City god and partner and child share ziggurat
6 City god ziggurat with collection of lesser shrines
7 City god  ziggurat with temples of allied city gods
8 City god  ziggurat with shrines of family members
9 Twin ziggurat of city god and partner
10 City god ziggurat with two lesser ziggurats
11 City god ziggurat and shrine sanctuary recognising every god they discover
12 City god ziggurat and holy pricinct with many shrines and small temples

d12 Religion Cults
1 Fire 
2 Earth
3 Water
4 Air
5 Sun
6 Moon
7 Love
8 War
9 Fertility
10 Underworld
11 Sky
12 Vegetation
13 Beasts
14 Stars
15 Ruler
16 Healing
17 Death
18 Dragons
19 Demons
20 Darkness

d12 Other Architectural Features
1 Extended wall beyond city protecting countryside
2 Garden complex sanctuary with running water
3 Huge statue of divinity
4 Great library collection of scrolls and scribe school
5 Great observatory for astrologers
6 Great alchemist school 
7 Great forging complex
8 Huge granary complex
9 Sprawling funeral complex
10 Huge brewery complex
11 Huge theater entertainment complex
12 Famous oracle complex

d12 Rulership
1 Ruled by high priest or priestess
2 Ruled by assembly of elders over 50
3 Ruled by assembly of wisest and holiest
4 Ruled by assembly of richest land own
5 Ruled by assembly priesthood
6 Assembly selects king* in time of crisis
7 Temple assembly appoints king* in time of crisis
8 Temple assembly appoints a king* who rules for one year
9 Temple assembly appoints a king* for 7 years then sacrifices them
10 Temple assembly appoints Priest king* or Queen as a figurehead  
11 Temple assembly appoints Priest king* and Queen as a figurehead  
12 Hereditary monarch took over old regime in a coup or conquest
*Some cults prefer queens or select most talented

d20 Other Important Persons
1 Head Astrologer
2 Court Wizard
3 Arch Druid (Gardener)
4 Great Sage
5 Tax Collector
6 General
7 Seer or soothsayer
8 Spy Master
9 Irrigation Inspector
10 Chief magistrate
11 Building Inspector
12 Court Bard
13 High Holy Healer
14 Foreign Minister
15 Granary Keeper
16 Royal Master
17 Trade Minister
18 Historian
19 Philosopher
20 City champion

d10 Quick City Troubles
01 Unrest
02 Economic
03 Agricultural
04 Military
05 Religious
06 Territorial
07 Wizards
08 Barbarians
09 Cults
10 Supernatural

d100 City Problems

01 Slaves are disgruntled and higher ups unsure if need to be charitable or cruel
02 Prisoners of war working in mines plan to revolt and take over
03 Criminal guilds have emerged undermining the economy
04 Courtiers are plotting to overthrow the leader
05 Ruler is trying to increase legal powers
06 Poor are demanding food
07 Commoners demanding more housing
08 Commoners concerned about insult from rival city
09 Commoners want barbarians on borders dealt with
10 Heretic has aroused an angry mob
11 Metal has become in short supply and state is stockpiling for essential purposes
12 Silver mine has started running out worrying those who know about it
13 Foreign gold has become popular and is devaluing local goods
14 Extra tithes are being made to repair the great monuments and walls
15 Barbarians have been attacking trade routes
16 Shortage of fuel for fire has become a problem
17 Grain stockpiles have become dangerously low
18 Rival cities have made economic alliance damaging the city trade income
19 A shortage of skilled craftsmen has caused some problems
20 Treasury has had corrupt officials pilfering wealth
21 Shepherds are feuding with farmers for land and water 
22 Farmers are demanding better water management and more rights
23 Crops have been performing poorly
24 Enemies have been raiding herds and killing shepherds
25 Feuds over irrigation rights with other growing cities have caused tension
26 Droughts have been making farming tough
27 Farmers want to try some new crops but priests are conservative
28 Someone tries to bring farming innovation but locals angry about change
29 Monster in water has bothered irrigation workers
30 Beastmen or monster raiding herds
31 Military plotting to over throw the current rulers
32 Preparing for war with rival city
33 Military demand improved privileges
34 Military made a secret treasonous deal with barbarians to take over
35 Enemy army has been on maneuvers on the border lands
36 Building a strategic outpost to watch for invaders on frontier
37 A rival city has made several improvements in weapons 
38 Someone has been stealing stockpiled weapons
39 A new martial cult has become popular among the troops
40 The city champion has become arrogant and is bothering the rulers
41 Dangerous cult has emerged and is bothering the official church
42 A rival god of another city has been provoking war
43 A idol of a vassal god is held in the city and it's home city want it back
44 Priests are negotiating a sacred marriage with a foreign city to forge an alliance
45 A popular sect among commoners wants to upgrade their shrine into a small temple
46 A vile omen has the clergy concerned, the gods need atonement
47 Priests are looking for a unblemished virgin to take up a important ceremonial role
48 The gods need a pilgrim to visit gods shrine in a foreign city to make a delivery
49 Pilgrims from other cities are visiting local shrines and sharing new ideas
50 Sacred tablets have been stolen
51 Governor of a colony town wants to join territory of rival city
52 Important delegation sent to create alliance vs enemies
53 Youths demand a new colony is established
54 Nomads want to join city as herders but some upset
55 Diplomats plan a alliance with several cities to dominate region
56 Several evil cities have united under blasphemous schemes of demon cults
57 An enemy city is stockpiling new lighter two man chariots
58 A rival city has developed new military tactics that has locals worried
59 A distant city has proclaimed all cities should be their vassals in a new empire
60 Military caste are hoping for extended emergency powers
61 A wizard in the wilderness has been carving out a territory
62 The city has ordained a new wizard to serve the temple but some are suspiscious
63 Wizard on the frontier has been creating monsters for some reason
64 Unlawful sorcerers and wizards have been burned and drowned recently
65 A wizard has started a frontier cult with fanatic followers against the gods
66 A black mesa from the dark age of wizard kings has become active again
67 A wizard has threatened the city for refusing to hand over valuables
68 An undead wizard king has been rebuilding a ruined city from the age of black magic
69 Someone has been recruiting best and brightest scribes for a secret wizard school
70 Wizards have been operating from a secret black school hidden somewhere
71 A barbarian horde has assembled to destroy a allied city
72 Barbarians have been uniting under a king and has city states wary
73 A barbarian warband has been demanding wives from the city
74 Barbarians have destroyed a former allied city
75 Barbarians have conquered a allied city and are preparing for more more war
76 A barbarian tribe have been worshiping chaos and denouncing the gods
77 Barbarians have been claiming the grazing lands are traditionally theirs
78 A military leader wants city to bribe a barbarian tribe to attack enemies
79 A wizard has begun advising a barbarian tribe and all are concerned
80 A missionary visiting barbarian tribes and some pilgrims now wish to visit city temples
81 Robed heretics are hiding in the country side or even the city
82 Some say a cult has important civic leaders under it's thrall to ruin the city
83 A cult has been digging up buried tablets from the forbidden ruins
84 Cultists have been seen digging up ancient graves and crypts
85 Cultists have murdering and kidnapping borderlands farmers
86 Several priests has been murdered recently some blame forbidden cults
87 Shepherds have been gossiping about strange haunting in some lonely ruins
88 A village has been reporting witchcraft and many are outraged
89 Terrible weather has been ruining crops and locals blame witch cults
90 Robed cultists and strange beasts have been seen in the wastelands
91 Undead have been seen in the graveyards
92 A wizard was seen being chased by demons who dragged him to hell
93 Shepherds have seen a strange naked wild goddess in the hill country
94 Bad spirits have been menacing common folk and villagers
95 Strange omens have been seen and have everyone gossiping
96 Odd constellations have astrologers concerned
97 An evil wind has brought plague to some villages and many are on edge
98 Many commoners report strange dreams warning them of disaster
99 A strange new animal has been seen, many believe it is supernatural
100 A prophet reports they were spoken to by a terrible fiery being in the mountains

Barbarian Tribes of the Elder Wastes

These are for my new setting. Fluff for barbarian tribes and some notes of races and stuff.

Just to give some proportions of peoples in the world.
That show humans are not no1
That civilized humans are a minority
Influences of animal and elemental and humanoid cults

d100 Races of the Wastes
01-30 Human
31-35 Halfling
36-40 Gnome
41-50 Dwarf
51-60 Elf
61-70 Orc
71-72 Troll
73-77 Ogre
78-80 Giant
81-90 Goblinoids
91-87 Beastmen Abhumans
98-99 Elemental Abhumans
00 Spiritfolk Changelings

In this setting humans are expanding territory and clashing with other races who are doing  the same. Since the fall of two magical empires ruling for most of history, huge frontiers are being opened. City states, wizard kingdoms and barbarians all hate each other. The city states are theocracies and local wizards have to be affiliated with a temple.

Humans Types
01-10 Cavemen Tribes, barely vocal, worship beasts and giants
11-60 Barbarian Great Tribes, kingdoms of clan chieftains one of the great tribes
61-70 Wizard kingdoms subjugated by wizard overlords
71-90 Warlord Kingdoms, mostly based around a fort and a major settlement
91-100 City States, each with a patron god, bronze age, massive army proof walls

d100 Great Tribes
01-05 Bright Kingdom
6-10 Shadow Kingdom

11-25 Spirit Kingdom Tribes
26-35 Death Kingdom Tribes
36-39 Dragon Land Tribes
40-60 Beast Tribes (Any)
61-65 Plant Tribes
66-72 Ancestral Tribes
73-77 Earth Tribes
78-82 Air Tribes
83-87 Fire Tribes
98-92 Water Tribes
93-95 Hell Kingdom
96-98 Abyssal Kingdom
99-90 Tribes of Paradise

91-93 Arcadian Tribes
94-86 Nightmare Kingdom
87-90 Dream Kingdom
91-95 Tribes of Chaos
96-00 Tribes of Law

1 Bright Kingdom Tribes (Lawful Good) Land of Light

Clans d4 1=Lords of Radience 2=Bright Ones 3=Shadow Breakers 4=Dawn Tribes
Custom d4 1=Chastity 2=Never lie 3=Obey Marriage Vows 4=Don't Start a Fight
Worship a pantheon of sun and light gods obsessed with purity and hunting the wicked
Descended from the gods to wage war on darkness and evil
Kingdoms are herdsmen with a fortress palaces built by nobility, use chariots

2 Shadow Kingdom Tribes (Lawful Evil) Darklands

Clans d4 1=Shadow Ones 2=The Moon Children 3=Night Lords 4=
Custom d4 1=Kleptomania 2=Curious 3=Prankster 4=Twist the truth
Worship a pantheon of mysterious nocturnal powers of darkness and the night
Descended from the gods to elude and evade bad destinies
Kingdoms are rainy cold mountains where mining, weapons and assassination

3 Spirit Kingdom Tribes (Any) Spirit Clans
Clans d4 1=Ghost Speakers 2=Ancestral Sons/Daughters 3=Lords of Limbo 4=Spirit Lords
Custom d4 1=praise local spirits 2=talk to dead 3=enter trances 4=talk to local spirits
Worship spirits of local land or dead or nature for advice and help
Descended from the spirits of nature and local petty divinities
Great misty lands of herdsmen and hunters deal in furs and horn and amber

4 Death Kingdom Tribes (Any) Doombringers
Clans d4 1=Doom Lords 2=Slayers 3=Death Hammers 4=Grimfangs
Custom d4 1=execute the wicked 2=bury the dead 3=protect graves 4=kill necromancers
Worship the grim reaper and objects to unnatural powers interfering with death
Kingdom of ancient necromancer ruins planning to destroy all who don't worship death

5 Dragon Land Tribes (Any) Dragon Kings

Clans based on draconic colours and linked to climate eg d4 1=white 2=red 3=black 4=blue
Customs d4 1=feed dragons 2=protect dragons 3=kill dragon foes 4=give dragons gifts
Worship a local dragon probably for many generations
Descended from dragons, dragon beast men and other creatures
Remnants of a draconian empire that flourished at the end of the age of darkness

6 Beast Tribes (Any) Beast Lords

Clans based on species in area eg d6 1=fish 2=lion 3=wolf 4=horse 5=hyena 6=ox
Customs d4 1=eat humans 2=give gifts to beastmen 3=aid injured animals 4=shun cities
Worship a animal type and various magical forms, spirits and related humanoid hybrids
Descended from the totem animals allied with magical beasts and beastmen
Actually one on the most widespread and common tribes allied to various local animals

7 Plant Tribes (Any) Tree Lords

Clans based on plant species eg 1=Oak Tree 2=Grass or grain 3=flower 4=Mushroom
Customs d4 1=avoid harming trees 2=only eat plants 3=avoid fire 4=plant seeds
Worship the great cosmic world tree that holds up the sky and supports all kinds of beings
Descended from a totem plant spirits of grass, trees, seaweed and other plant types
Live off land in wilderness areas richly seeded in fruit and animal attracting plants

8 Ancestral Tribes (Any) The cults of man
Worship ancestral humanoids d6 1=dwarfs 2=giants 3=elves 4=titans 5=trolls 6=gods 

Custom d4 1=boast superiority 2=brotherly to humanoids 3=shun iron 4=always know best
Worship the original proper humanoid ancestor who parented your race
Descended from a prehistoric supernatural humanoid race worshiped as ancestors
Many of these tribes live near ruins of previous ancestors they worship

9 Earth Tribes (Any) Lords of the Eastern Mountains

Clans d4 1=Cave kin 2=Mountain Kin 3=Stone kin 4=Crystal Kin
Customs d4 1=don't defile soil 2=plant trees 3=collect rocks 4=crafting
Worship all manner of minerals, land formations, the cosmic mountain, the source of life
Descended from Subterranean earth and mineral abhumans in deep caverns
Agrarian tribes in great mountain chain with huge hill forts and cattleherds

10 Air Tribes (Any) Lords on the Frozen North

Clans d4 1=Sky Clan 2-Storm Clan 3=Wind Clan 4=Lightning Clan
Custom d4 1=scream madly at foes 2=hurl wicked into pits 3=sing often 4=use perfume
Worship all manner of atmospheric and sky gods and the gulfs between things
Descended from peoples who came from kingdoms of the sky
Tribes of the frozen lands who sail by ship and sled and raid the southern civilizations

11 Fire Tribes (Any) Lords of the Burning South

Clans d4 1=Sacred Flame 2=Burning Embers 3=Blessed Hearth 4=Flaming Blades
Customs 1=burn the wicked 2=burn sacrifices 3=burn incense 4=burn the dead
Worship all kinds of fires and flaming spirits including salamanders and elementals
Descended from peoples who came from the fiery hearts of mountains in the depths
Tribes of the great desert wasted who raid the river valley cities and farmers

12 Water Tribes (Any) Lords of the Western Ocean

Clans d4 1=Sea People 2=Lake People 3=River People 4=Marsh People
Customs d4 1=drown the wicked 2=bathe often 3=dont pollute water 4=throw first fish back
Worship marine and water creatures and gods and spirits
Descended from water spirits, fish folk and other species who came to fight on the surface
Tribes of the great oceans and lakes of the west, great fishermen and traders

13 Hell Kingdom Tribes (LE) Devilspawn

Clans d4 1=Devils Legion 2=Hell Lords 3=Hounds of Hell 4=The Fallen
Customs d4 1=praise devils 2=give tithe to devils 3=give blood to hell 4=obey contracts
Worship devils and the nobility of hell who govern and torment the dead
Descended from devils called from hell to end the last age of chaos
Live in ruins of hellish fortifications, scheming to control neighbors with trade and war

14 Abyssal Kingdom Tribes (CE) Demonspawn

Clans d4 1=Screaming Swarm 2=Madmen Horde 3=Lords of the Abyss 4=Demon Brothers
Customs d4 1=grab for power 2=kill the weak 3=torture prisoners 4=always lie and deceive
Worship demons and their nobility and evil alied gods who dwell in the shattered realms
Descended from demons, failed hell spawn and slaves brought from the abyss
Survivors of chaos warbands who live in the foulest places others dare not

15 Tribes of Paradise (LG) Heavenly Hosts

Clans d4 1=Golden Legion 2=Fire from Heaven 3=Celestial Horde 4=Heavens Guard
Customs d4 1=never lie 2=punish the wicked 3=help the poor 4=give tithe to the gods
Worship the gods and spirits who maintain the celestial city at the centre of creation
Descended from angels and minions of heavens who were sent to save creation
Survivors of the hosts of heaven who married mortals and guard ancient relics from evil

16 Arcadian Tribes (CG) The Mistlands

Clans d4 1=Eternal Feasters 2=Guards of Unearthly Delight 3=Victory Horde 4=Revellers
Customs d4 1=celebrate with feasts 2=accept gambles 3=attend orgies 4=get drunk lots
Worship the gods, spirits and animals in the gardens, forests and feast halls of the heavens
Descended from guardians and virtuous dead returned to help the living long ago
Hedonistic who folk who tolerate mixing of all kinds of wild beings celebrating life together

17 Nightmare Kingdom Tribes (CE) 

Clans d4 1=Laughing Maniacs 2=Nightmare Lords 3=The Null Horde 4=The Gloom Guard
Customs d4 1=dress creepily 2=stalk victims 3=gloomy 4=moody
Live in fear of nightmare realm beings haunting them, entities feed from your fear
Descendants from people ruled by nightmare beings and spirits and demons
A kingdom of warring kingdoms that produces a surplus of heartless mercenaries

18 Dream Kingdom Tribes (CG)

Clans d4 1=Phantasmal Horde 2=Dream Lords 3=Somnambulists 4=Spectral Legion
Customs d4 1=tell wild stories 2=reward the worthy 3=pretend to be happy 4=hide things
Live in contact with illusionary dream lands where anything imaginative can happen
Descended from people that came from dreamlands to re settle the barren earth
A Idyllic kingdom of wonders where magic is tolerated, feared by neighboring kingdoms

19 Tribes of Chaos (C) The Hordes of Disorder

Clans d4 1=Cosmic Cancers 2=Lords of Entropy 3=Primal Spawn 4=Old Ones
Customs d4 1=break things 2=burn books 3=respect nothing 4=anarchic
Worship the bubbling mass of primal chaos and holy disorder
Descended from chaos warbands unleashed on the world ocasionaly raise a hoa

20 Tribes of Law (L) The Infinite Legions

Clans d4 1=Singularity Horde 2=Lords of Order 3=Unitarians 4=Eternal Stasis
Customs d4 1=document everything 2=lots of meetings 3=keep schedules 4=never lie
Worship the brilliant arrow of time and stop time unfolding in eternal stasis
Descended from champions of law that came to earth to fight

Clothing

Default is woven grass sandals and skimpy loincloth
Roll once on each of these

Headgear

01 Huge beards and moustaches, well cared for
02 Headband of leather, cloth or metal denoting rank
03 Torc of metal and ornate, denotes status
04 Collar, neck bands, locked manacle ring, necklaces
05 Facial scarification, tattoos or facial pant for various occasions
06 Cover face with cloth especially in public
07 Cap helm with totem symbol, beast or horns
08 Ornate tribal hat identifying your tribe, all peoples have a distinctive hat
09 Mask often fearsome but possibly different ones for occasions
10 Full helmet often decorated with face of beast, creature or skull

Arm Gear
01 Rings on fingers 
02 Metal arm bands or bracers
03 Arm rings or bracelets
04 Gloves hands or up to forearms
05 Leather armbands with hidden small knife or stash
06 Tattoos or scaring on arms
07 Long sleeves
08 Spiked or edged arm bands
09 Armbands with pouches or dagger
10 Wristband with compass design for navigation and telling the time

Leg Gear
01 Strap on chaps or legging
02 Armoured greaves
03 Dagger strapped to leg or thigh
04 Sandals woven from grass or hair
05 Leather moccasins or shoes
06 Knee high boots or thigh high boots
07 Tattoos or ritual scarification
08 Strap on spurs or spiked boots
09 Pouches strapped to legs
10 Trousers

Body Gear
01 Hero harness straps across chest with pouches and weapons
02 Breastplate, ornate or moulded to muscle tone or with face or beast design
03 Tattoos or scarification
04 Cloth or hide or woven coat or jacket +1AC
05 Cloak light or heavy furs +1AC
06 Belt with pouches, weapons and equipment
07 Backpack loaded with equipment
08 Chainmail shirt +3AC
09 Light cloth or woven shirt
10 Large ornate necklaces of trophies like ears, fingers, teeth, coins

d20 Weapons Materials
1-10 Most weapons are stone or animal teeth with wooden hafts and break on a roll of 1, can be magic up to +111-14 Obsidian weapons break like stone but can be magic up to +2
15-17 City people use bronze and can be magic up to +2
18-19 Wizards use Iron, it harms some supernatural creatures and can be  magic up to +2
20 Steel comes from star stones and can be magic up to +3
Only semiprecious stones can be cut by most people but ancients had better gems
Most hafts made or wood or bone, good wood is rare in the wasteland

d10 Best Primary Weapon
01 Pole Axe d10 2H
02 Great Sword d10 2H
03 Battle Axe d8
05 Sword d8
06 Spear d8
07 Composite Bow d8
08 Lance d10 from mounted or 2H on foot
09 Mace d8
10 Maul or Great Hammer d10 2H

d10 Secondary Weapon 
01 Shortsword d6 1in6 chance you have x2
02 Handaxe d6 1in6 chance you have x2
03 Sling d4 or staff sling d8
04 Javelin d6 4 or Darts d3 x2d4
05 Shortbow d6 x20 shots
06 Lasso or Net or Whip or bolo
07 Knives d3 x2d3 or Dagger d4
08 War Club d6 or sticks d4 xd4
09 Hammer d6 or War Hammer d8 or flail d6 or warflail 2d4
10 Shuriken d3 xd4 or Chakra d6

d10 Best Tribal Armour
1 Leather suit AC+1
2 Hide suit and cap AC+3
3 Naked with heavy cloak, cap and shield +3
4 Naked with shield, leg greaves and cap +3
5 Boiled Leather chest plate and cap and shield+3
6 Scale, Studded or Scale vest with cap and shield +5
7 Scale shirt, full hem, shield +5
8 Boiled leather suit and shield and cap +5
9 Naked with greaves, bracers, cap, chest plate, shield +6
10 Chain Shirt, full hem, shield +6

d10 Customs
01 Forbid an animal they will not touch or eat or risk impurity
02 Have a traditional enemy they are obligated to kill
03 Have a traditional sacred beast they will not harrm
04 Killing wizards is the greatest honour
05 Killing monsters is the most heroic deed
06 Leading a army to pillage and destroy is best
07 The strong must conquer and enslave the weak
08 Magic is always dangerous and suspicious
09 Shun gods and those who worship their cults
10 Must always welcome travellers with hospitality

d10 Magical Thing
01 Magic hand weapon +1 with name and a gory history
02 Bundle of 12 arrows or sling stones +1
03 Potion of Strength 1d4 uses +d4 STR for one hour
04 Potion of Healing 1d4 uses 2d4 HP
05 Ancestral Fetish Idol +1 Saving throws
06 Magical piercing +d3 HP
07 Potion of Shapeshifting into tribal totem animal species for one hour
08 Magic flint ignites fires first try
09 Pelt of Animal Totem (one species) speech for ten minutes a day
10 Ancestral fragment, once a month can ask ancestor spirit a question in a ritual

d10 Favorite Trophy
01 Totem figurine of the tribe proving your divine chieftain bloodline
02 Satchel with survival kit, water skin, week dry food, knife, flints
03 Pet animal like a mount or pack beast or guard as bonus follower
04 Follower like a slave, lover, friend or vassal as a bonus follower
05 Exorcist set of ancient holy symbol, holy water, garlic, wolvesbane, silver knife
06 Ancient hide showing where a guarded treasure buried
07 Shirt made of wizard beards collected over generations
08 Stone head from a statue seized by a grandparent sacking a city
09 Ancient crown of your clan wanted by enemies worth 500gp, was hidden in a tomb
10 Iron Sword or axe 2d4 damage, in ancient style of your clan (magic with no +)

New Setting in the Works

This has been in the works since the 80s. I'm inspired a bit by:
-Review I read for element masters RPG in 80s Dragon
-Clark Ashton Smith and Brian Lumley lost worlds and wizards
-My dnd setting ancient history (pre flood) time travel might happen
-some heavy metal covers (zebra girl one if you remember)

Will accompany my Xor, Psychon and Shadelport settings

No name yet but something like Kalax or Kargon  or Lost Age
(thinking of something like KODAK - short easily remembered meaningless word)

My current Shadelport setting will be the modern era 5000 years later
This setting is in the distant past in a new era of freedom
12 generations after the fall of the Necromancer kings
80 generations before that the world was ruled by the monster empire
There are still enclaves of necromancers and monster kings
Mighty wizards rule some areas from great towers
Elemental priest kings rule walled city states from mighty ziggurats
Barbarian hordes saved the world from the monster and necromancer kings
Barbarians see civilization, wizards and priests as despicable, decadent and weak
Barbarian tribes are kin to abhumans descended from beasts, trees and elements
Demihumans mostly hid for aeons but are now claiming wilderness areas
The world is mostly a wasteland, elves and nature spirits are repairing it
The seas were kept at bay by ancient magic which might one day fail
Great ruined monuments and forts built by wizardry remain
Elemental and beast symbols are commonplace
Symbols of death and demons are universally despised as evil
Dragons have taken over some cities
Bronze age with steel a secret of ancients or meteoric rarity
Stone is common with barbarians and crude cold iron is rare and thought of as magic

Barbarian Tribes are descended from Abhumans possibly created by the monster empire breeding experiments. Their own myths deny this possibility. Many have skin colours and patterns not found in civilised peoples. In a sense barbarian are abhumans but human looking. They regard their beastmen and abhuman kin as sacred ancestors, some by magic even revert to their ancient forms. Barbarian tribes with no connections to beast or elements are common also but looked down on as too close to civilised humans by the other tribes.

Elemental Tribes
Fire or Sun Tribes have red orange and yellow skin, hair and eyes
Water or Sea Tribe have green or deep blue  skin, hair and eyes
Air or Sky Tribe have white or cyan skin, hair and eyes
Earth or Rock Tribe have brown or green skin, hair and eyes

Other Tribes
Zebra Tribe have black and white striped fur and white hair
-horse tribe are often chestnut, sand coloured or piebald
Tiger Tribe have orange fur with black stripes and orange hair
-lion, cheetah, panther, jaguar, lynx, leopard and sabretooth
Lizard tribe have scaled skin and various colour schemes, some are kin to dinosaurs
Deer, Goat and Cattle tribes have various fur colours
Wolf, dog and jackal tribes have various fur colours
Bird Tribe have feathers instead of hair

Even if they look human barbarians are all abhumans and shun normal humans and character classes. Wizards are for killing and all barbarians hate them. Priests are not much better. Druids are fine but barbarian druids will have several levels of abhuman first.

Most humans will come from the city states each worshipping a single city god, some great cities will acknowledge other gods or have a triad, especially if they have absorbed smaller cities. Some cities are allied in loose trade configurations and acknowledge each others gods as kin. Soon a leader will arise to found a new empire and create the first pantheon to unite several cities. That's something that can happen in game. Siege weapons are forgotten so walls mostly keep out barbarians who don't have patience for a siege. Barbarians rely on surprise mostly. Dwarves and the monster empire do have siege warfare.

Dragonlords are cities where a dragon has taken over. In some cases the dragons might also support a elemental cult if it suits their needs. Some cities have fallen to evil cults and worship demons, devils, evil elemental lords and evil gods. Some cities pretend to be outwardly elemental but keep interests in necromancy or evil in secret.

In the frozen north from the city state river valleys there are necromancer kings in mountain forts who require corpses and souls for their black magic.

In isolated places remains of monster king surviving since their empire but now they are no longer united and fight amongst each other. They are often served by abhumans and evil barbarian tribes akin to the monster kings beast types.

Every decade a barbarian horde is assembles often unified with several tribes will assault a city state or necromancer king fort or a monster king fort. At least once a century barbarians take a city. Often the barbarians are assimilated and become one with their subjects and turn on the barbarian kin. There are usually the more human looking barbarians. The more non human looking barbarians are more likely to destroy the city and might enslave the people or kill them all. Those who keep civilised slaves often dilute their bloodlines and become more human.

A human barbarian might tolerate a priest or wizard for a time to kill more wizards and might lose their hatred of magic over time or at least tolerate some.

The elemental gods vary. In some places they will be great elemental nobles. In other places they have become more human and have come to resemble humans more. In some places taken by barbarians in the past beast lords are erected as gods and these too become humanised. Roughly the city state gods resemble Egyptian and Babylonian gods (but are mostly superficially). Priest of the humanoid gods destroy undead and the end of necromancy spread their human-centric religion ever since. Some elemental cults regard human looking gods as heretics.

Wizards are mostly elementalists in cities. Necromancers are hated and have harmed the reputations of all wizards. Summoners are also unpopular for dealing with demons and devils and are associated with monster kings. All wizardry and necromancy was learned from the monster empire or dragons at the end of the monster empire. Necromancers went on to replace the monster empire using legions of undead.

Civilised warriors use more armour and rely on finesse and missile weapons and chariots more than barbarians. Only a few barbarian tribes ride mounts. Cities use chariots and some don't even have wheels. All use pack animals and plough beasts.

Nomads are a new phenomena. Coming from fallen cities they have domestic beasts and some civilised arts like wheels. They are not like barbarians, wearing more clothes and using better technology but many are becoming more wild by generations. Nomads are tough and mostly move to void conflict. Occasionally they conquers a city and are assimilated to civilization.

Demihumans are rivals but did ally with humans against the Monster Kings and just Avoided the Necromancer kings. Dwarves live under mountains, gnomes under hills and elves in forests. Forests are expanding under the care of elves and spirit folk. Some spirit folk are infiltrating humans to guide their civilization thy have hope for.

Necromancers are hiding on the most extreme cold and desert regions where the living struggle. Monster kings hold pocket empires in ancient jungles and some forts in deserts. Deserts and tundra keep civilization and many barbarians away. Occasionally a barbarian horde risk it and exterminate them. Necromancer and monster kings only dream of returning power but this is the dawn of the age of Man. Many great wastelands will be flooded at the end of this age when ancient spells keeping back the oceans break.

Dinosaurs and Pleistocene animals are commonplace but in some areas near civilization have been exterminated or tamed. Some cities have dinosaur headed gods or sacred beasts. Dinosaur barbarian tribes are pretty intimidating.

The old gods from before the monster empire are distant and forgotten, the links to heaven shattered by evil who also over ran the underworld. When this age ends the new gods will flood the world and establish the ninefold alignment path and restructure the multiverse.

Alignment might be simpler in this setting with no alignment language. Law and Chaos are only just developing cults. Good and evil are more abstract. Neutrality is more common encompassing nature, beast or primal element cults. Dragonlords are neutral even if the dragons have more precise language.

Common is the slave tongue of old
Each barbarian tribe speaks a beast or elemental tongue
Skelos is the necromancer lord tongue
Each of the four elements has a language
Ancient is the monster empire language

Climate and Terrain
Most of the moist and forest lands are higher altitude. Most of the wastes and deserts are former seabeds cleared by the monster kings with black magic.

d10 Basic Terrain Types
1 Tundra - broken frozen waste and permafrost dominated by necromancers
2 Mountains - cold craggy impassable mountain barriers dominated by dwarves
3 Hills - hill country often barren but some with grass and forests dominated by gnomes
4 Broken - blasted broken rocky canyons, some volcanic, occupied by barbarians
5 Wasteland - rough rubble strewn hills and plains, occupied by barbarians
6 Desert - parched sandy mostly lifeless, with remains of ancient evil empires
7 Salt flats - dried plains of salt, some more boggy and marshy
8 Grassland - great grasslands of herds and barbarians, river valleys with cities
9 Forest - thick forests, many are new and dominated by elves
10 Jungle - thick dinosaur filled and ruled by monsters

d100 Terrain frequency
01-05 Tundra
06-15 Mountains
16-25 Hills
26-35 Broken 
36-60 Wasteland  
61-70 Desert 
71-80 Salt flats
80-90 Grassland  
91-95 Forest 
96-100 Jungle

City Cult
1 Single Elemental, hate other elements
2 Single Elemental, acknowledge other elements
3 All elements
4 Para or quasi elemental
5 Beast cult god
6 Elemental god
7 Triad of gods
8 Prime god plus loose coalition of allied city gods
9 Dragon lords
10 Nature or druidic
11 Faux cult (roll d6) secretly ruled evil cult as per 12* 
12 Demon, devil, necromantic, evil god or monster cult*
*Only powerful cities worship evil openly or barbarians and other cities attack

Project for this Setting
Gods and elemental cults and spells
City and cult generators
Expanded terrain tables
Priest variants (some turn elementals or demons)
Maps, replace sea with mostly land
Monster Empire and the old gods
-many demons deified beings from monster empire

d100 Remnants of the lost Empires

older item on this

Remnants are scrap monuments from ancient times, mostly prehuman times when men were wild animals. Sprinkling these around can give clues about ancient civilizations in the area, That stone wall in the store with funny writing is actually a talking point and good for dropping clues about the area. I like to make it obvious the local planetary crust is thick with dungeons.

The Seven Monster Empire Races
1 Arachnid Empire of the nefarious Spider folk
2 Amphibian Empire of the croaking Frog folk

3 Ichthyoid Empire of the underwater Fish folk

4 Reptilian Empire of the cosmic Serpent

5 Cephalapod Empire of the vile Squid folk

6 Carrion Empire of the fiendish Vulture folk
7 Chiroptera Empire of the horrible Bat folk

d12 Elder Empires of the Dawn Ages

1 Arachnid Empire of the nefarious Spider folk
-scorpion, centipede, segmented worms, solifuge and ticks servitors
2 Amphibian Empire of the croaking Frog folk

-Newts, salamanders, frogs, toads, axolotls and olm servitors
3 Ichthyoid Empire of the underwater Fish folk

-Eel, shark,catfish, barracuda, lamprey, ray, various fish folk servitors
4 Reptilian Empire of the cosmic Serpent

-Serpent, lizard, dinosaur and draconian folk servitors
5 Cephalapod Empire of the vile Squid folk

-squid, octopus, cuttlefish, nautilus, ammonite crab, lobster,  folk servitors

6 Carrion Empire of the fiendish Vulture folk

-vulture, hyena, crow, condor, jackal and stork folk servitors
7 Chiroptera Empire of the horrible Bat Folk

-vampire, ghost and common varieties of bat folk servitors

8 Fallen Empire of the Insect Swarms

-ants, bees, wasps, mantids, beetles, dragonflies and other servitors
9 Fallen Empire of the Walking Worm Folk
-slugs, snails, worms
10 Draconic Empire of Tiamat

-wyverns, drakes, various types of dragons

11 Jotun Empire of the Giant Folk

-ogres through to titans and jotuns the foes of the gods
12 Elemental Hordes
-sometimes unites sometimes separate tribes of abhumans and cultists and monsters

d12 New Age Empires since the Dawn Age

1 Elven Empires-Various tribes and races, plant beings, faerie folk, goblinoids, lycanthropes, changelings
2 Dwarven Empires-Various tribes and races, animal friends, automatons,
3 Gnome Kingdoms-Various tribes and races, animal friends, tree folk, automatons
4 Halfling Clans-Various tribes and races, animal friends
5 Goblinoid Empires

-kobolds, goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, nilbogs, norkers
6 Troll Empires

-hedge trolls, cave trolls, hill trolls, chaos trolls, arcane trolls
7 Orc Hordes-various tribes, often lead by a wizard or warlord, will have many vassal monster races
8 Demonic War Bands

-various cults for each demon noble or alliance, favoured beastmen, mutants and monsters
9 Diabolic Empire

-various cults for each duke or noble of hell, orcs, humans, monsters, damned souls
10 Strange Elder Cults 

-various cults for each elder god, beastmen, mutants,
11 Necromancer Empire

- makers of undead and death magic, the first human civilisation
12 Beast Lord Hordes
-elder beast spirits, lycanthropes, beast men, cavemen, barbarians, nomads

d10 Common Monuments per hex

1 Old shrine in hidden dark place
2 Carved border stone
3 Remains of deceleration carved in cliff possibly vandalised
4 Old stone well with carvings opens into a built cistern below
5 Large stone block used in the market place or years
6 Jumbled up carved stones of destroyed building
7 Remains of broken statue
8 Foundation slab and some walls intact ruins
9 Foundation slab and some walls intact rest more recent in other style
10 Ancient headstone remains

d100 Remnants of the long ago Monster Empire

01 Stone slab depicting lizard king executing tiny humans on knees
02 Broken black column with centipede patterns
03 Giant stone bat head cracked open on side
04 Rows of horned goat statues  
05 Black glassy pit left where wizards battled once
06 Stone snake head half buried in ground
07 Worn sphynx or shedu statue
08 Ruined ornamental archways with pattern
09 Crumbled but functional remains of a bridge
10 Foundations of an ancient manor house
11 Entrance to basement of old manor house
12 Long abandoned tomb with hieroglyph carvings full of garbage
13 Ornate water trough for beast of burden with dinosaur carvings
14 Trickling ancient fountain covered in slime decorated with snakes
15 Stone beehive like structure sometimes used as shelter
16 Stone bull headed statue carved into rock outcrop
17 Reclining serpantman 100 foot long statue along rivers edge
18 Stone cliff full of marine fossils with carvings of fishmen priests
19 Huge vulture god statue in cliff face
20 Carving of a horrible giant eating thrall humans
21 Carving of a beastman holding a struggling human in each hand
22 Crude carved monolith of a squid headed demon gold of the olden times
23 Sacrificial altar worn by thousands of years use
24 Vaulted crypt stuffed with non human mummies locals fear
25 Stone circle with sigils of the great monster empires and their gods
26 Arachnid carvings on ancient stone cliff face
27 Border stone with web and arachnid writing
28 Stone of scorpion man king eating someone with alien writing
29 Black squat toad idol worn with millennium of worship
30 Row of ancient pillars with remaining patterns
31 Carving depicting ancient pact to feed virgins to dragons made long ago
32 Carving in rock of men fighting a headless giant with a mouth in it's chest
33 Depiction of giants flinging humans into a volcano in carving
34 Carving of One eyed formarian god king smiting all with his eye 
35 Draconian troops paying homage to Tiamat
36 Huge skull carved into hill top 
37 Dragon carved into turf of hill where dragon was killed in final battle long ago
38 Crumbling boggy mud patch with reeds once was a ziggarutt
39 Broken and ancient small pyramid tomb 1in6 looted long ago
40 Row of several small broken pyramid mostly looted long ago
41 Huge stone spheres, 1in6 cracked open by failed treasure hunters
42 Row of frog statues where water once flowed
43 Giant stone frog fountain in good working order
44 Art depicting parasitic worms being implanted by priests
45 Carving of worm father in the underworld feasting on corpses
46 Statue of a troll carved into hill face
47 Carving of trolls leading humans by chain into the underland 
48 Huge rocks were once giants or trolls
49 Hill known to have been where a giant buried
50 Boulders chewed into troll faces by a gnawing troll
51 Huge Stone sea creature carved in rock
52 Hundreds of fish symbols etched into rock
53 Thousands of loose broken bricks with squiggly marks on them
54 Statue of serpantman with hidden speaking tube for a priest to talk through
55 Carvings of plant creatures and the cosmic tree
56 Carvings of prehistoric animals 
57 Crumbling and vandalised code of occupation from some forgotten empire
58 Huge ruined fire altar where bodies were burned for thousands of years
59 Huge stone bows with lilies and a naga statue and shrine
60 Great stone cube with stairs to top
61 Crumbling ziggarrat with badly worn upper layers
62 Eroded hill half exposed remains of a ziggarutt
63 Stone chamber under a hill with carved scenes of humans paying tribute to seven monster kings who came by ship
64 Creepy old cave with paintings of monsters and humanoids fighting
65 Ancient dirty pit where sacrifices thrown for aeons but now mostly garbage
66 Pond where swords and bodies thrown for millennium
67 Carving of world tree holding constellations in branches
68 Huge relief carving of dwarvern warrior
69 Carvings in hillside stone of faerie orgy
70 Carving of hill gnomes meeting with forest gnomes with pets making friends
71 Carving of the goblinoid gods being carried by worshippers on thrones
72 Carving of great orc king on the stinking throne of a pile of human heads and skulls
73 Amphitheatre with carvings of reptilians and dinosaurs eating apes
74 Huge stone plaza with arachnid designs before a collapsed tunnel entrance
75 Sinkhole opens into cavern temple of the bat goddess ans sacrificial altar
76 Vandalised statue of a crowned lizardman eating a baby whole, looking happy in rich robes
77 Ruined ant castle mound with twisted tunnels and mounds of dirt
78 Carving of fire newt men champion in regalia of long lost empire
79 Carving of humanoids 
80 Huge stone legs on a plinth rest of statue missing
81 Mounds that were once fortified mudbrick walls  around a settlement
82 Great stone steps carved showing primitive humans and others bringing tribute to a monster king
83 Remains of three giant mill houses that would have made flour for a city
84 Strange ruin of great building with copper boilers and metal pipes people come for scrap
85 Strange iron structure and huge chunks of a once giant glass disc that once was here
86 Huge riveted iron frame building and tonnes of shattered glass
87 Huge mound of rubble and remains of tower at base carved in prehuman script
88 Rows of carved rat beastmen statues holding urns of unholy filth
89 Rows of statues of undead from remains of necromancers ruin
90 Vandalised carvings of a gaggle of chaos mutants in a cliff face
91 Carving of a ancient demon who menaced this area made too look very powerful
92 Huge circles carving for summoning ritual in ground
93 Huge drawings on ground from high up illustrate great monster kings
94 Great rune carved into mountainside often demon or devil symbol
95 Carvings of ancient halflings execute human prisoners with some decapitating apparatus
96 Painting under cover or cave of ancient wizards who first wrote on walls
97 Drystone low walls in strange patterns over large area
98 Elemental god symbols on ancient borderstone
99 Ancient stone where beastmen and barbarian kings were crowned long ago
100 Great circular tiled building where once there were inter planar gates built by the elemental heretic wizards ages ago