Manscorpion / Vancian Magic

N. Manscorpion's most recent guest post. After he sent this to me, he started his own page, so let's link to that right now:

lairofthemanscorpion.blogspot.ca

In the mean time, here it is.

-HDA


*****


Make Magic Weird Again

Hey everyone, just a few disjointed thoughts and musings this time. I’m still working on the setting, and hope to have something substantive enough to run some sessions with this summer. I feel a burst of inspiration coming up, spurred by finally picking up and starting Jack Vance’s Tales of the Dying Earth, which obviously has a lot of parallels to what I’m trying to do with Xish and the Crater. I’m only a couple chapters in, but I’ve already seen a million ideas I want to steal.

What I want to talk about right now, though, is the obvious thing to talk about when Jack Vance comes up in the context of D&D: magic. I have to say, it’s been kind of surreal to see just how close to the magic system we all know and love Vance’s original iteration actually is, and also how different. What really stands out is just how weird the magic comes across, the way Vance writes it.

That stands out because, at this point, D&D magic is the banal default. It’s in a thousand officially branded books and, I’m sure, even more unofficial ones. You use it every time you sit down to play Dungeons & Dragons, regardless of what edition you’re using. When you read about it, whether in Dragonlance Chronicles or some Salvatore bullshit, there’s nothing particularly interesting about it, and it’s more often than not described in a rote way, because those authors know you already know how it works. At the gaming table, it’s pretty much taken for granted. It’s just a set of rules that define and constrain the kinds of actions your wizard can do in order to actually be useful.

But when Vance describes that shit, he never lets you forget how strange it actually is. Here’s where he gives us our first glimpse of how magic works, in the first couple pages of The Dying Earth:

The tomes which held Turjan’s sorcery lay on the long table of black steel or were thrust helter-skelter into shelves. There were volumes compiled by many wizards of the past, untidy folios collected by the Sage, leather-bound librams setting forth the syllables of a hundred powerful spells, so cogent that Turjan’s brain could know but four at a time.

Turjan found a musty portfolio, turned the heavy pages to the spell the Sage had shown him, the Call to the Violent Cloud. He stared down at the characters and they burned with an urgent power, pressing off the page as if frantic to leave the dark solitude of the book.

The way Vance describes it, a wizard never just “memorizes” spells: he “forces the space-twisting syllables into his brain.” And yet, I defy you to think back to all the D&D you’ve ever played to a moment where a wizard memorizing their spells was even narrated at all. It’s just some lines you cross out and add on a piece of paper sometime between the DM saying “You go to sleep” and “You wake up.”

Reading Vance has made me realize that, as mundane as it’s come to seem after years of playing, D&D magic, even divorced from its source, is still really weird. Think about it: in D&D land, spells are strings of words so powerful and rarefied that just reading them puts the spell into your brain, in a way that it literally takes up space in there, and it’s discharged out of your brain wholesale and manifested into the world just by you saying those words again. Shit is fucked up, for real.

But how to communicate this, as a DM? How do you make magic weird again? I think this is a problem whose potential solutions are mostly going to have to be tested in the field, so to speak, but I have a few ideas.

The most obvious one, I’ve already hinted at: actually take a second to describe what memorizing spells feels like. Make it clear that it’s not just a matter of sitting down, opening a book, having a little read, and then going to bed. Vance always makes it clear that this is a process that takes effort. One neat thing I’m thinking about ways to incorporate is that, at least so far in the story, the hardest spells for Vance’s wizards to memorize aren’t necessarily the most powerful ones, they’re the last one or two that they cram into their heads, regardless of what the spells actually are. I like this because it implies that spells aren’t supposed to be in your head at all, let alone five at a time – it’s something you have to train yourself to be able to do, because that shit ain’t natural.

I’m not quite sure how you’d effectively communicate this in game – maybe require INT rolls or something for your last couple of spell slots filled: if you fail you still have the spell, but you’re fatigued all day. I’m not entirely satisfied with that, but it’s something to mull over.

Another idea I have is a bit of a gimmick, but I think it would work. It’s illustrated nicely by citing the first couple of times Vance gives us the list of spells a wizard prepares. The first time, the spells are: the aforementioned Call to the Violent Cloud, Phandaal’s Mantle of Stealth, the Excellent Prismatic Spray, and the Spell of the Slow Hour. Later, another wizard settles down and brain-crams: Phandaal’s Gyrator, Felojun’s Second Hypnotic Spell, that Excellent Prismatic Spray again, the Charm of Untiring Nourisment, and the Spell of the Omipotent Sphere.

You see where I’m going with this, yeah? That dusty old scroll or tome your wizard just found? Instead of telling them “It’s a scroll of Sleep,” tell them it’s a mildewey parchment whose contents purport to describe the means of casting “The Fifth Bolt of Unconsciousness.” And because spells are just weird syllables that in themselves don’t indicate anything about what a spell actually does (at least, that’s how it’s coming across in Vance so far), don’t tell your player what the spell is actually called in the rulebook until the first time they cast it, or maybe only give them some cryptic remarks that the wizard who last had this book scrawled in the margins. And make them write “Fifth Bolt of Unconsciousness” on their sheet. Like I said, gimmicky, and maybe you players will hate and even if they don’t they won’t appreciate the extra work you put in (they never do), but I think it helps magic feel like a real thing in your world, and not just a set of rules for doing certain things to monsters.

Which brings us to the final thing I think you could do, also pretty obvious: don’t just say “Okay, you cast fireball,” have the player roll their dice, and then move on – take a second to tell everyone what casting a fireball actually looks and feels like. I feel like there’s a lot of room to get creative with this; mechanically, the only things that really matter about a spell are the numbers and the in-game effects, which means you make the standard spells seem completely fresh just by describing them differently. Remember that Call to the Violent Cloud, from The Dying Earth? In effect, it winds up being the equivalent of Plane Shift, i.e. a spell to enter a different dimension. In narrative terms though, what happens when it’s cast is that a sentient cloud is summoned, which the wizard then commands to take him to the dimension he needs to go to, and it heaves up and bats him around for awhile before depositing him there. How much weirder and more, well, magical does that feel then just “And then he cast Plane Shift and now he was in Baator,” or whatever?

To sum up: Vancian magic doesn’t have to be boring and routine, because in Vance, it’s fucking not. I’m not claiming to be the first person to have ever realized this. Maybe everyone reading this is just going “Well, duh,” but for me it’s been pretty eye-opening.

*****

Once again, this stupid Blogger interface won't cooperate with pictures, so you guys just get a wall of text. Now go out and be the beast you worship.

-HDA

Manscorpion / TERMINAL GODS

In case anybody was wondering: I still get to name the blog posts. Now sit down as N. Manscorpion grapples the mic once again. I really wish I could add more pictures to these posts, but the interface keeps fucking with me and it won't work. Oh well.

lairofthemanscorpion.blogspot.ca

*****

The Crater of Termination: Gods and Religion

The Chain has no shortage of gods, from the ancestor cults still popular amongst certain of the nobility of Xish, to the bloodthirsty warrior-gods, beloved of many of the wildermen tribes, whose worship is said to have gone on in one form or another since time immemorial.

But all know the true Gods, even if, out of misguided fealty to lesser deities, they deny their supremacy. Their signs, or in some cases even they themselves, can be visited and witnessed (though only the most devoted or foolhardy would go looking). But the greatest proof that they alone of all gods deserve the name lies in the power granted to certain of their worshippers, a power which none of the followers of other so-called deities can claim: sorcery.

Such magicks as these chosen few wield are even more terrifying and strange than those pursued by wizards in forbidden tomes, for they are bestowed through direct, mind-blasting contact with the god itself, and amongst the effects are unnatural power over the very forces of life and death.

Clerics must choose a god from the below list, which also includes the most common or popular cult, church, or order devoted to the worship of each. Note that these are not the only options: many smaller sects devoted to each of these gods are spread throughout the islands. A cleric need not even belong to any order – the gods bestow their favour upon few, but their motives in choosing the ones they do are inscrutable. Anyone, from the most fanatical zealot to a casual fan, might be granted the powers of a cleric, and whether or not one belongs to any kind of organized worship appears largely immaterial. Occasionally, a complete non-worshipper, or even the devoted worshipper of another (lesser) god will receive the gift, accompanied with sanity-wracking dreams of visitation, alerting the hapless beneficiary to his new fate.

Clerics are always Chaotic; all whom the gods touch are, in some way, tainted or corrupted. There is no distinction between Cleric and Anti-Cleric (as outlined in the OD&D rules) and as such no restrictions on Chaotic clerics (i.e. they can still turn undead, are able to cast all cleric spells, etc.).


Null, the Devouring Star, the Annihilation Whisperer.

The most widely-worshipped god in Xish, thanks in large part to the infamy of the Crater of Termination. Most worshippers hold that Null is literally a star: a particularly bright, red-tinged one which always appears in the same place in the sky, and can even be seen faintly during the day. A small minority believe that the star is not Null itself, but either the place where the god resides, or very close that place. Many worshippers, and even some non-worshippers, report visitations by Null in their dreams, where it always manifests as an almost physically tangible sense of hatred and contempt, accompanied by a dry, disaffected whisper. The message of Null, while often tailored to the individual recipient, is always, at core, the same: living beings’ right to exist on Null’s earth has been revoked, and they will all shortly be extinguished. Accordingly, worship of Null tends to coalesce around one of two poles: those who strive to placate the deity and thereby save life on earth, or at least themselves; and those who celebrate the imminent end of wretched existence, and venerate Null’s wisdom in choosing to bring it about.

The Cult of the Devouring Star. This group falls into the latter of the two categories, and as such predates the current vogue for apocalyptic doom cults by a number of decades. But only since the revelation of the Crater of Termination, a handful of years ago, have their ranks truly begun to swell. As such, they are one of the wealthier sects: thanks to careful investment of donations and tithes, they own all of the land around the Crater of Termination, which contains a lavish temple and various farmland, and several other estates around Xish. Many see something hypocritical or contradictory in the building up of material wealth given what worship of Null seems to entail, but the Cult themselves respond that this wealth, by its very absurdity and ephemerality in the face of the incoming extinction of humankind, is perversely pleasing to the god. Generally speaking, they are a friendly and gregarious bunch.


Mahelgog, the Mouth of Time, the Living Island.

Mahelgog makes travel through the western ocean impossible past a certain point, and while it is widely considered that this point is very close to the edge of the world, it seems unlikely that anyone has ever survived the trip through Mahelgog’s domain long enough to verify this. Those few who have seen Mahelgog and somehow managed to return (at present, only two such individuals are known to live, and both have since become high-ranking members of the Confessors of the Drowned) can only confusedly describe something like a large island, larger than any of the Chain, but which none would take for mere land: too smooth, too many wrong angles, and the unmistakable sense of a noxious, unfathomable life. Time and space are both said to show their meaninglessness in the face of Mahelgog – hence the legends of sailors returning from encounters with the god as decades older than when they set out, or reverted to drooling babies, or with memories of other men from other worlds in place of their own. Mahelgog rarely makes itself known to worshippers, and even its clerics generally only report a sense of nausea, disorientation, and (sometimes) temporary amnesia as the results of their daily communion. It is not clear why the god even empowers clerics, for it rarely makes any other sign that it acknowledges, let alone needs, worship.

The Confessors of the Drowned. Like the Cult of the Devouring Star, this group is organized around a message of imminent apocalyptic death – but, unlike the Cult, they have only become as such relatively recently. In the past, the Confessors of the Drowned led a more secretive and hermetic existence; for unknown reasons, they have become much more public and vocal, declaring to all who will listen that, any day now, the oceans will engulf all the islands of the Chain, and Mahelgog will once more have dominion over all of the earth. It is unclear from whence this new direction has arisen: all members assume, naturally enough, that it originates from a directive made by Mahelgog itself, but the sect is so large, widespread and loosely organized that no one is exactly sure who might have received the divine order. Perhaps no one did.


Akrillug, the Basilisk, the Destroyer of Ehkran.

There are still some withered old men who remember when the southernmost island of the Chain, once called Ehkran, was a verdant paradise. Now, it is a desert where nothing grows and no living creature stirs. If one actually dares to venture onto the island (and some, who one might call either brave or stupid, have), one can still visit the sites where once stood the sprawling cities and bejewelled castles of the Ehkranites. The structures are nothing but dust, but littering the spaces are millions of statues of humans with Ehkranite features, all cast in expressions of terror and anguish. At the very heart of the island, where once towered the Twin Palaces of the Two Kings, one can find statues in the likenesses of these very kings, the faces contorted with utter horror, and each standing on either side of a massive reptilian footprint. Some say that three identical footprints can be found at points far across the island, suggesting a creature large enough to straddle its entirety. The island now stands as a testament to all who would profane or anger the gods, though not a man alive, no written record, could attest as to how the Ehkranites might have done so.

The Church of the Stone that Wept. This is one of the oldest cults – perhaps the oldest, predating the destruction of Ehkran by many centuries, if their own records are to be believed. The Church, of course, holds that its god, Akrillug, is responsible for the Ehkranites’ fate, but there is disagreement over this. That a god called Akrillug exists is not in dispute: many, not just Church-members, have reported dreams or waking visions of a gargantuan, vaguely reptilian presence – in fact, similar reports are recorded in some of the oldest extant texts in the musty libraries of Xish. Yet it is not clear that Akrillug is the cause of whatever happened in Ehkran; the god itself has certainly never indicated this, given that in all known visitations, it never speaks or even seems to acknowledge the subject of the dream or vision. The Church points to the footprints, and says this is enough. All who disbelieve, so they say, will one day find themselves gazing into the eyes of the Basilisk: for, a crucial element in common between all known visions of Akrillug is that one never sees the god’s face. To do so, says the Church, is to gaze upon death itself.


Bone Jackson, the Goat-god, the Mother of Endless Blood.

The goat-men of the wild hills all worship this god, which they depict in their primitive paintings and effigies as a kind of impossible creature with countless limbs and mouths, the composition of which changes drastically across depictions except for two goat horns always protruding somewhere from the amorphous mess. The wildermen, whose tribes are sometimes enemies and sometimes allies of any the goat-men tribes, and who are the only ones who would ever bother to learn any of the goat-men’s language or customs, report that in their own vulgar language, the deity’s name translates loosely as “Mother of Endless Blood.” Because the name sounds vaguely like “Bone Jackson” in the wildermen tongue, this is what they call it, and what it has subsequently come to be widely known as. To the goat-men, it is female, and worshipped as a principle of fertility and generation: the god’s menstrual blood is held to be the very source of the goat-men themselves, and upon death their souls will return to choke in that infinite crimson river forevermore. Some wildermen have adopted the worship of the Mother, but cut most of the blood stuff out of it and worship it as a vaguely male Goat-god (generally depicted as a particularly monstrous-looking goat-man) which they continue to call Bone Jackson. The existence of wildermen clerics seems to suggest that, whatever the god might be called, it does not mind the worship, though no wildermen have ever accomplished the literal conjurings of the god which the greatest goat-man shamans of all the tribes are said to gather together to perform once every nine years, at a time and place unknown to any but themselves.

There is no single organized sect or cult of this god. Player-character clerics will generally be goat-men, who may or may not belong to (or have once belonged to) a tribe-specific, or even inter-tribe, cult. A few non-wildermen, non-goat-men worshippers can be found here and there, though they tend to be raving, flea-ridden lunatics.


I’d like to have a few more gods than these, but four is more than enough to get rolling with. Bonus points if you can guess which Cthulhu Mythos deity I had in mind when I was writing up each of these (except not really, because it should be pretty obvious).
-Manscorpion


*****


Not much more for me to say about this, except I cannot WAIT to play in this damn setting. We will have to set up some Google Hangouts or Manscorpion has to come back and visit for reading week! Now let's dance:

Manscorpion / The Crater of Termination: 20 Questions

Okay, Manscorpion hits us up again with some more about his new campaign setting. The more stuff he sends me, the more I want to play in this world. It's too bad he moved away, as it's going to be really difficult now.

lairofthemanscorpion.blogspot.ca

*****

20 questions for The Crater of Termination

1 - What is the deal with my cleric’s religion? The only viable religions for clerics (read: the ones in which worship grants spells) are the cults of the various Lovecraftian entities (not that anyone in this world thinks about them in those terms, but that’s the most economical way to describe them), the main ones in Xish being the Cult of the Devouring Star (worships Null), the Confessors of the Drowned (worships Mahelgog, the Mouth of Time), and the Church of the Stone That Wept (worships Akrillug, the Basilisk). Those from other islands (especially wildermen) may worship Bone Jackson, the Goat-god. Regardless of specific deity, there are risks associated with communicating with such entities – haven’t quite worked out the mechanical details, but if I manage to incorporate a sanity system like I mentioned before, then most likely this risk will take Clerics making Sanity rolls every morning when they receive their prayers.

2 - Where can we go to buy standard equipment? The Cult of the Devouring Star has most basic adventuring supplies, including torches and rations, and some weapons, available for list price (or cheaper, they’re open to bargaining) at their temple just outside the Crater. They will, however, refuse to sell to anyone who’s made it back out of the Crater more than a couple of times. A wider range of equipment, slightly more expensive but without any strings attached, is available in the port city of Gilk, about a week’s ride west of the Crater.

3 - Where can we go to get platemail custom fitted for this monster I just befriended? Gilk would be the nearest place. There are only one or two blacksmiths skilled enough to do such work, one of them being King Antoine’s personal armorer. It’s expensive, anywhere from 5 to 20 times list price, depending on the exact specifications.

4 - Who is the mightiest wizard in the land? Amnar Zunn, the necromancer, though it has been decades since anyone reported seeing him; presumably, he has not left his tower in the Dretch Wastes (on the southern tip of the island, technically still within the domain of Xish, not that even the King would dare to name him, aloud, one of his subjects). Some even whisper that he no longer lives, though none of the few brave enough to travel to confirm this have returned to tell one way or the other. In his absence, Malister Kemp, the Court Wizard of King Antoine, is probably the most powerful, and it is an open secret that he, not the drunken fool of a king, is the real political force in the kingdom (for whatever that’s worth).

5 - Who is the greatest warrior in the land? Once, King Antoine, but those days are long past. Hajar the Eviscerator, one of the three Bandit-Kings of Xish, probably has the best claim to this title, at least on that island. Of the other islands, tales abound in Xish of the battle prowess of Gremm, Grand Chieftain of the World-Scar Tribe of wildermen – as well as that of Gremm’s arch-foe, the goat-man War Crier, Half-Moon Cur.

6 - Who is the richest person in the land? Amnar Zunn, or so it is rumoured. With more certainty, it is said that the three Bandit-Kings, between them, possess many times the riches contained in the Royal Treasury.

7 - Where can we go to get some magical healing? The priests in the Cult temple will happily provide this, and free of charge to boot, but as with equipment above, their goodwill begins to sour toward those who don’t seem to be dying in the Crater like they’re supposed to.

8 - Where can we get cures for the following conditions: poison, disease, curse, level drain, lycanthropy, polymorph, alignment change, death, undeath? Poison, disease, and curse can be handled by the priests in the Cult temple, though not for free, and again subject to the same biases against repeated Crater-survivors. Level drain and lycanthropy can only be treated by those mystics or priests well-schooled in the lore of the undead and were-creatures, respectively – some of these may be found in Gilk, or in one of those mysterious towers or manor houses which one occasionally sees up on a cliff or jutting up out of a dark, dense forest. Polymorph and alignment change can be handled by the more erudite priests of the Church of the Stone That Wept. The Confessors of the Drowned, unlike their apocalypse-cult counterparts in the Cult of the Devouring Star, see the curing of such conditions as antithetical to ushering the inevitable annihilation of all life and matter, and don’t offer such services.

9 - Is there a magic guild my magic-user belongs to or that I can join in order to get more spells? Magic is a matter of the pursuit of forbidden, secret knowledge – an activity which does not, by nature, lend itself to sharing. Most magic-users have learned the basics of their craft from either a master sorcerer or an otherworldly entity with whom or which some bargain was struck (always something of great personal cost to the apprentice, though in the end most feel to have gotten the better end of the deal), or, in rarer cases, self-taught through sheer tenacity with books and materials acquired in one way or another. The bottom line is this: magic requires knowledge which cannot, for the most part, be obtained through conventional means. This explains why magic-users even bother to go out adventuring in the first place; that which they need to unravel greater mysteries and attain greater power is, more likely than not, out there somewhere in the secret parts of the world.

10 - Where can I find an alchemist, sage, or other expert NPC? Gilk would be the first place to start looking, if only for someone who could point one in the right direction. More often than not, such individuals are loners and hermits with a penchant for out-of-the-way places, and finding them (let alone convincing them to help) may be an adventure in itself. Beings with such knowledge might also be found within the Crater, and may even be convinced to share that knowledge, though the costs may well be steeper than mere coin.

11 - Where can I hire mercenaries? A few such types hang around the Cult temple at the Crater, which the Cult tolerates because the availability of strong hirelings encourages weaker groups or individuals to make the descent into the Crater. A wider selection can be found in Gilk, though some won’t accept the job for any amount of pay once the words “Crater of Termination” are uttered.

12 - Is there any place on the map where swords are illegal, magic is outlawed or any other notable hassles from Johnny Law? The presence and force of law anywhere except within the Royal Capital is weak, though sometimes certain sergeants or sheriffs take it upon themselves to crack down. Gilk is not one of those places, however. That said, regular folk, especially in the country, fear and hate sorcery, and more than a few fledgling magic users have found themselves on the wrong end of a mob and, ultimately, of a burning stake or a noose.

13 - Which way to the nearest tavern? The Cult of the Devouring Star allows prospective Crater-delvers the use of their dining facilities, with wine and modest meals free of charge. Mercenaries can usually be found here. In Gilk, taverns outnumber most other businesses.

14 - What monsters are terrorizing the countryside sufficiently that if I kill them I will become famous? On the land, bandits are the biggest threat; coming to a guard-barracks with the head of one of the three Bandit-Kings would probably do the trick. On the ocean, it’s a different story: a gargantuan sea-snake, held by many to be the spawn of Mahelgog (itself said to inhabit the far ocean to the West) sometimes roams the waters near Gilk, making every sea voyage a gamble with death. Slaying this creature would surely make one’s name and possibly even kickstart the kingdom’s economy (by making the port much more viable as such again), but would also earn the enmity of Mahelgog’s followers.

15 - Are there any wars brewing I could go fight? There are no other kingdoms for Xish to war with. There are always wars going on between various tribes and factions on the other islands, mostly between tribes of wildermen and goat-men with designs on the same territory.

16 - How about gladiatorial arenas complete with hard-won glory and fabulous cash prizes? Things like this go on in Gilk all the time. If you want it on a truly grand and decadent scale, though, you have to travel to the Royal Palace.

17 - Are there any secret societies with sinister agendas I could join and/or fight? Any of the various cults, apocalyptic or not. There are also cults and other groups with no name, whose purposes are their own – but you don’t go looking for those. If they want you as a member, they’ll come to you.

18 - What is there to eat around here? Food is scarce all across Xish, and is thus 2-3 times list price in most places. In the Crater, who knows?

19 - Any legendary lost treasures I could be looking for? The strange relics and precious items which have been pulled from the Crater are the stuff of more recent legend, though there are no reliably concrete tales of any specific item. Tales are also told of the many wondrous objects contained in the tower of Amnar Zunn. Some even claim that great treasure, and many items of power, are to be found in the dungeons underneath the Royal Palace, so well-hidden that even King Antoine hasn’t found them.

20 - Where is the nearest dragon or other monster with Type H treasure? Surely within the Crater, if anywhere. Successfully raiding the fortress of one of the Bandit-Kings would probably also net one such a haul – “successfully” being the key word.

*****

Now listen to this as you trudge across the blasted wastes of Xish! I'm really tired, I hope I haven't missed anything on this post.

-HDA

Enter the Manscorpion / The Crater of Termination: Premise

This is the first (hopefully of many) guest post by my friend N. Manscorpion. I have been gaming with this dude for almost a decade now, and he always has a cool idea happening. In recent years I've turned him on to Clark Ashton Smith, black and death metal, and the OSR, so I'll go ahead and take a tiny bit of credit for the wild shit that might follow:

lairofthemanscorpion.blogspot.ca

The Crater of Termination

These are the last days of the Earth. All land but a handful of islands, called simply “The Chain” by their inhabitants, has long since been swallowed by the sea. The scientific, cultural, and social achievements of humanity are long gone – not even a memory, for the past has become shrouded and dark. The world is, as in millennia gone by, one of magic and steel.

Only one of the old kingdoms remains, crumbling under the weight of its own indifferent decadence. It is called Xish, and the order within its supposed borders, constituted by the largest island of the Chain, is scarcely more than that without. The Royal Army is employed almost solely in the scattered cities and towns, to stave off the inevitable revolt of the starving, frightened populace. Most of the realm is an untamed, unguarded wilderness. Bandits and goat-men make travel outside of a select few regions a death sentence for all but the most hardy and resourceful.

Unsurprisingly for such times, apocalyptic doom faiths have proliferated. The most (in)famous of these is the Cult of the Devouring Star, and not just for being somehow even more death-obsessed than its rivals – they also control the Crater of Termination.

This vast hole in the ground, about a week’s ride from Gilk, Xish’s sole operative port, is claimed by the cult to have been made by the fiery arm of Null, the star that they worship. It leads to a vast underground complex which they claim was built in the first days of the Earth, by its first inhabitants, beings birthed in the very heart of Null itself. The star has revealed this place, surely hidden for millennia, as a boon to its followers. For all those who enter receive two gifts: the first being a glimpse of the world as it is beyond narrow human constraints, a flash of the terrible secret face of the cosmos; the second, and greatest, being certain death. In its unknowable caprice, Null has sometimes willed it that certain individuals or groups actually emerge from the Crater, laden with treasures, strange relics, and tales of bizarre locales and unfathomable creatures. But in the end it is all the same, for such people inevitably return to the depths – and none, so far as anyone can recall, have ever emerged a second time.

Cult membership is always up when one of these rare survivor-groups surfaces, and such is the case recently, as only a few weeks prior a so-called adventuring company, made up largely of barbarians and wildermen from other islands, emerged several months after months after entering, with a spectacular haul that has temporarily stimulated Gilk’s sluggish economy. Several other adventuring parties have entered, and it is rumoured more are on their way, from within Xish and elsewhere. The Cult does not begrudge such people joining their faith insincerely for a chance to plunder the treasures of the Crater, and indeed they even happily sell them equipment and resources from their temple just outside – for they know that, whatever reasons men claim for venturing into the depths, in their hearts they go because they desire Null’s precious gifts, their reception of which is ordained for them the moment their feet pass the threshold.

***

"As you can see, the basic idea is your standard weird fiction inspired old school megadungeon setting. The particular flavours of weird fiction which I’m mostly heavily cribbing from are: (1) the Zothique stories of Clark Ashton Smith (which I have my gracious host to thank for hipping me to a couple of years ago); and (2) H.P. Lovecraft at his more cosmological and mythology-creating, especially stories like “At the Mountains of Madness” and “The Shadow Out of Time,” as well as, to a lesser extent, his Dream Cycle stuff.

Major themes which emerge from these starting points are: a kind of end-of-days decadence and fatalism; human insignificance in the face of unfathomably vast cosmic etcetera; and the insanity and dread brought about by the encounter with the unknown. Nothing particularly groundbreaking as far as this kind of thing goes, but I feel like there are avenues to explore with these themes within the context of what seem to me to be the two implicit themes or premises of old-school D&D: the exploration of strange, otherworldly environments; and the nihilistic subsumption of all other possible values or motivations to the accumulation of wealth, either for its own sake or for its utility in gaining more wealth. Don’t get me wrong, I think both of those are fun in their own right, but I like the idea of a setting that works to amplify those implicit themes.

I’ve been mostly been thinking in terms of setting at this point, and not mechanics, but I’m leaning toward doing this thing in OD&D, just the three main booklets (in their slightly cleaned-up, re-released form as a single document), with house rules (mostly for things like race, and I’m pondering some sort of sanity system.

Unlike my gracious host here, I’m relatively new to this old-school D&D thing (again, something I have him to thank for getting me to look into), so developing this thing will undoubtedly be a learning experience (my previous attempt at DMing an old-school megadungeon, in Labyrinth Lord, resulted in mixed success). Here’s hoping it’s not terrible!"

-Manscorpion


Here's a little jammer I thought appropriate for this:

-HDA