B/X D&D Month XV: The Burning Dust

We go off the map and west of the Sullen Sea for the next couple of entries...

The Burning Dust – a terrible atmospheric effect that makes the Southern Wastes uninhabitable. On the great southern continent of Phelar there is only death and the choking madness caused by the Burning Dust. No one knows its origins, only that it is pervasive and delineates the habitable lands from the desolation of the south; even the hardiest explorers can penetrate no more than a hundred miles in before succumbing, for the dust poisons both the lungs and the flesh through mere contact. Still, some try, and a few have uncovered vast subterranean realms below the desert where chaoskin dwell in multitudes. The effort is worth it for many, for hidden in the vastness of the Burning Dust are completely intact, ancient cities full of lost magic and technology.

There is the Great Obelisk, around which rests a vast network of tiny structures that suggest a population of men no taller than a half-foot in height.

There is the Rusted Necropolis, a city as great as Phantomax itself, its streets patrolled by immense dragons which exude the Burning Dust with every breath and seem to thrive on it. The city streets are teaming with undead who carry on with their business as if the city had never perished.

There is the distant southern port of Fallen Grace, so named because it is said that the city was, like Phantomax, occupied by men and to be turned into a great bastion of human power, but the Enkanneth named Sartovas studied too deeply of the primordial secrets within and became mad, slaying all of his flock and then possibly casting the spell that coated the Southern Wastes in the Burning Dust.

North of the Burning Dust lies the great city of Phantomax…

B/X D&D Month XIV: Terragia, the Witch of Galitath

Terragia, the witch of Galitath

Some call her the Bramble Queen, for she is said to haunt the thick, spiny woods along the foothills of the Askofar Mountains. Others call her the Lady of Sar, for she seems to have an uncanny familiarity with the mechanical golems of the ancients, the so-called meks. Those men of the Barbarian Lands who claim to have met her in person say she is at once cunning and mad, and surrounded....always surrounded....by the hideous brambles that spring up wherever she walks.

On one occasion, the regional hero known as Arabast the Cleaver said he met Terragia on a dark night, under the harvest moon after a particularly gruesome battle against a horde of orcs. She was sifting through the hundreds of corpses that had piled high in the battle when she came upon Arabast, wounded and recovering from a rattling blow to the temple. She offered Arabast a choice: to suffer his wounds, but in so doing, if he healed, he would be stronger than he could imagine. Or she could heal him and insure his health, but in exchange he must give of her a portion of his spirit, his katra, as the Galitath call it, a concept similar to but not quite the same as a soul.

Arabast considered her offer and decided he would have none of her withccraft. She left him to his own means, as her hulking mechanical giants carried off dozens of corpses. A year later he found himself ruler of the entire Northrender clan, ten thousand warriors under his banner. "She knew my destiny," he once said to his young wife Ezeta, "and she let me choose it. I could have been fodder for her machines....I think she steals the katras of men, and that the meks she commands are powered by those fragments of our spirits."

The truth about Terragia remains a mystery, but there are a few other facts worth mentioning:

She is a friend to the efreet that dwell in subterranean cities beneath the silt deposits on the coastal plains

Terragia is visited once a year along the coast by a contingent of priests and nobles from the Great City Phantomax to the distant west, often bearing strange concotions and tomes of eldritch lore in exchange for some of her fabulous meks

Terragia is shunned by the orcs, and her mere presence at an engagement is enough to send them routing

At least a few priestesses of Suliversa in Tordalis claim that Terragia is the bastard daughter of their goddess, from a tryst with Tokandros

Terragia
Armor Class: -2 (can only be hit by magic weapons and attacks)
Hit Dice: 12+12*** (M)
Move: 120' (40')
Attacks: staff or magic
Damage: 2D6+3 plus special
No. Appearing: unique, but usually has 1D4 Meks (RC pg. 192) with her
Save As: MU12
Morale: 11
Treasure Type: F (but see below)
Intelligence: 19
Alignment: Chaotic
XP Value: 4,200
Creature Type: humanoid (enchanted, immortal)
Terrain: any area in the Barbarian Lands of Galitath

Staff Special: A +3 Staff of Power (8D6 damage fireball, lightning bolt, cone of cold, plus telekinesis, continual light; RC pg. 237)

Helm of Technomancy: Terragia's decorative helm contains ancient technomagical secrets which let her speak with and control the meks who serve her so willingly. Her helm also allows her to ethereally cut a portion of the katra of willing target away, and implant it in the ether engine of a mek to power it. An unwilling target of this effect (which she can do once per day) must make a save vs. petrification. The target loses 1 point of a mental attribute of choice but gains XP equal to their current level times 5,000. The experience diminishes the spirit but the immateial bond with the mek proves an enlightening experience. Once one's katra has been bonded to a mek that mek will always behave as a friend to the donor (so long as he/she lives).

Immortality: Like all demiurges, Terragia has a form of immortality, and can only be harmed by enchanted weapons and spells, and regenerates 2 hit points of damage per round. To slay her requires dismembering and burning her body. She will resurrect 1D6 months after being slain, appearing somewhere in the bramblewood of her homeland. The myths say that she can only be slain if one finds the exact crop of bramblewood and burns them down, then salts the earth.

Sorceress: Terragia is a gifted sorceress and commands all spells of 1st through 6th level as a 12th level magic user.

B/X D&D Month XIII: The Barbarian Lands of Galitath

The Barbarian Lands of Galitath

The barbarians of Galitath are a proud, honorable and violent people. They are a cluster of tribes dwelling in one of the deadliest corners of the world of Pergerron, faced with the endless hordes of orcs and troglodytes from the Askofar Mountains, the supernatural evils of the countless ruins of Sar, especially the haunted walls of Rutana and Sagastor, and a vast, jagged coast where the Sullen Sea lies, which has only two states: violent and stormy or dead calm. The dead calm is the worst; those of Galitath who seek sustenance from the sea who get caught in the dead calms are often never seen again, as the burning sun tortures them while creatures from below the water rise to seize easy prey.

Travelers who come to Galitath realize that most of the locals live in small temporary tent cities. The Galitath are nomadic, but not by nature; they tend to settle in for weeks or even months, and pick up and move when things get too tough, or the local commodity of game or grain has been worn out. On occasion, when the vast hordes of the orcs, troglodytes or worse emerge from the mountains then they will move with great pace, sometimes abandoning their location with great haste, leaving only wicker frames and the occasional animal hide behind for the hordes to find.

Galitath is littered with the relics of he lost age. Ancient monuments will jut up from the dirt, suggesting a much larger structure or even an entire community buried beneath the earth. Evidence of catastrophicsm abounds; the seasonal storms off the Sullen Sea are devastating to the coast, in sharp contrast with the oddly calm waters the rest of the year, and tidal flooding can stretch deep inland at times. Earthquakes are frequent in this region, and can be felt for hundreds of miles. Often these earthquakes rock the coast and cause a violent tsunami, flooding for miles inland. The Galitath say it is the primordial Trigaril, chained beneath the sea, attempting to thrash about in his slumber induced by the Enkanneth to keep him from escaping.

The Galitath are a noble but exotic people. The women adorn themselves with heavy but flowing garb that remains comfortable year round. The men are obsessive in their dedication to their horses and the art of war, and there is no rule of law in the land other than the right of combat to resolve all disputes. The Galitath are the closest the region has to a truly egalitarian --if violent-- society.

In terms of religious practice the Galitath are formidable in their indifference. Only women tend to become priestesses, for the men as a culture feel that attending to matters greater than the flesh is a valueless cause. Men who worship other gods or seek out the practice of magic are branded heretics and exiled or killed. Women however are usually the community leaders and given much leeway to attend to more practical and spiritual matters. The high priestess of a large community is known as the Cha'nirka and her proclamations and visions often drive the direction and focus of the tribe.

Vosgathar and Zul'sin

Threats in the region are numerous, but the two greatest are the orcs of Vosgathar, where the demiurge Palagor Harad is believed to rule. The orcs of Vosgathar are the most organized and dangerous of all the orc kingdoms in the region (and there are many), and they regularly ride to war in the dead of night against the Galitath; it is regarded as a mark of honor and a passage to adulthood in the eyes of the Vosgathari orcs to slay a Galitath warrior in battle.

The other great threat is one which causes problems for orc and barbarian alike. The troglodytes of Zul'sin are a teeming horde which has grown so vast that the immensity of the underworld where they rule is severely overpopulated and the ecology of the underworld caverns cannot hope to sustain the fast-breeding beasts anymore. The troglodyte king, called Rapask, has decreed that their multitudinous numbers is a sign that they are destined for conquest, and he has been sending waves of his horde against all adjacent enemies, but most especially Vosgathar territory and the Galithath lands.

Other Encounters

Efreet appear randomly in this region and no one know why. A few hardy tribes of lupin and wood elves make the region their home. The elves call themselves the Kinaeth, and live in a horse-rider culture similar to the Galitath, though they worship the Enkanneth more vigorously and avoid combat when possible. The Galitath call them the "fair folk." The lupin however try to avoid everyone and keep to themselves.

Plot Ideas:

The Blanket Merchant: The merchant lord Kalithus of Samoskar has heard that the woven blankets of Galitath are of impressive quality. He needs mercenaries willing to travel with him to the harsh land to aid in securing a large haul for sale back home. However Kallithus is a poor planner and picks the worst time to travel to the Barbarian Lands: during the storm season, and during a new rise in raids from Zul'sin.

The Sullen Voyage: The adventurers are on a ship that has just sailed through the southern straights of Sydaren to the south into the Sullen Sea on the way to the distant Great City of Phantomax when the ship is caught in one of the notoriously unnerving deadly calms. The ship suddenly falls under attack of opportunistic shark-kin led by a trio of devious kopru.

The Secrets of Vodros: An elven scholar and antiquarian of Samoskar named Moden Raes has learned of the site of a hitherto unknown city buried beneath great silt deposits off the coast of the Barbarian Lands. He hires the adventurers to escort him there, to seek out the landmarks of great statues jutting haphazardly from the earth. On arrival, it turns out the statues are dormant meks still protecting the city beneath the silt, readily awoken once dug free of the earth. The city itself still has vast tunnelworks in a subterranean realm called Vodros, where a colony of efreet dwell. Unknown to everyone, Moden Raes is older than he looks, and remembers when Vodros was still an elven city in the lost empire of Sar...and he knows ancient, powerful magic items that could help him seek to restore that empire may yet exist.

B/X D&D Month XII: The Mad Monk Astrahun, a crazed desert dervish with a deadly flock

To mix up the medley of gazetteer entries, monster entries and magic item stuff I've done so far I am going to include occasional one-shot random encounter ideas. First up: The Mad Monk Astrahun, a crazed desert dervish with a deadly flock...

Astrahun and his Flock

The mad monk was human, once. When Astrahun was a young servant of the enkanneth he wandered the streets of Samoskar preaching for the pious way and begging those who listened to seek forgiveness in the eyes of the Enkanneth for their failure to live up to the gifts the gods had stolen for man from the primordials. Astrahun was in his mid-twenties when he fell in with a rough crowd of flagellants who also partook of the seductively powerful and sometimes deadly hallucinogenic properties of the blue lotus, which grows along the length of the River Anansis. It was shortly after this that the monk began to hear the voices. It was these voices which commanded him to leave the safety of Samoskar, to begin a daring pilgrimage.

Astrahun traveled  nearly 600 miles with hsi enclave of lotus-addicted followers. He visited the ruined necropolis of Rutana, on a pilgrimage to follow the will of the sultry voice which bade him enter the wastelands of Sar, where he would receive true enlightenment. The story, as it goes, is that this spectral woman who would appear in dreams and whisper in his ear claimed to be the lost empress of the old empire of Sar, and Astrahun in his states of delusion would believe her, despite the fact that the oldest records of that time suggest Sar was ruled by a monstrous female gorgon called Euramiskas.

When Astrahun arrived in Rutana something terrible happened. His flock was destroyed or transformed and he gained a new flock as a result. He was scarred horribly, but gained a terrible new power that made him almost immortal. His eyes were opened to hidden truths within the ruins of Rutana, and now the voice commanded him toward a new direction: to wander the lands of Pergerron bringing the truth to its people.

Astrahun's flock has been visiting towns, villages and sometimes even cities for decades now. When they appear, assuming a large brawl does not ensue they will make themselves unwelcome guests as they proselytize while at the same time tearing up the town. His most benign cult followers are simple acolytes, while his more monstrous dedicates wait at the edge of civilization for the call to assault the place once the monk finds it unworthy of his preachings.

So who, then, does Astrahun preach of and pray to now? He calls her the Mistress of Queriaule, a mystical place said to be a dominion in the elemental Outworld where the Enkanneth and the Primordials struggled in their great war. Queriaule is mentioned on occasion as a great city of obelisks, in which rest the ghosts of all mages and witches who would seek magical knowledge and die unfulfilled in their quest. The Mistress of Queriaule is believed by those who have taken an interest in the monk to be one such vengeful spirit, perhaps a lich queen of some sort who for reasons unknown gains great benefit by sending the mad monk on his rampages.

Astrahun, the Mad Monk
Human Cleric level 11, Chaotic
ST 16 DX 12 CN 15 IN 14 WS 18 CH 18 (but -4 for appearance related checks)
HP 72, AC 6 (toughened skin)
Attacks: Heavy Mace+2 of confusion (1D8+3) plus special-anyone hit by Astrahun's mace or touch must make a save vs. spells or become subject to the effects of a Confusion Spell for 12 rounds
Spells Prepared:
1st Level: cause fear X2, cause light wounds, protection from good
2nd Level: hold person X2, know alignment, silence 15' radius
3rd Level: cause disease, speak with dead, striking
4th Level: animate dead X2, cause serious wonds
5th Level: insect plague X2
Special Trait: Astrahun has the touch of the Mistress of Queriaule upon him. Whenever he perishes he will regenerate 1D12 days later in the streets of the Outworld Necropolis of Queriaule, near the portal which opens in the heart of the ruins of Rutana.
Magic Items: heavy mace +2 of confusion, 2 potions of ethereality, 1 potion of undead control, ring of regeneration, ring of survival
XP Value: 3,875

The Flock: 

Astrahun's flock consists of several unusual creatures, the number of which can vary at any given time:
4D12 cultists (Level 1 clerics)
3D4 acolytes (level 2 clerics)
1D6 elder monks (level 1D4+2 clerics)
Saragon the Thoul bodyguard - this hideous mixture of hobgoblin, ghoul and troll was one of the denizens of Rutana compelled by he Mistress of Queriaule to serve and protect Astrahun. He does so with a +2 flaming longsword  (a tougher than normal thoul with HP 56, RC pg. 210)
4D12 goblins (loyal camp followers)
4D6 hobgoblins (servants and soldiers serving under Saragon)
2D4 lesser thouls
1D6 bargda who are just mercenaries looking to raid and loot

Plot Ideas:

Astrahun is terrorizing the local village with his zealotry....the town is treating him with kid's gloves because they know his monstrous followers lurk nearby, but need someone to kick him out of town...

The PCs encounter him while roving the land with his followers; he takes a keen interest in converting them to the way of his dark mistress.

Astrahun recently suffered a setback, and he is encountered while alone and traveling across the Wastelands of Sar in an effort to rebuild his flock.

Astrahun gained a potent convert: the orcish warlord Faragosh of the Dreshani Woods. He suddenly has a loyal army at his command, and Eskallin and Tordalis are so close....ready for conversion by sword and fire!

B/X D&D Month V: the Rusalka

On Friday's entry I mentioned the graveyard of ships beneath the waters of the harbor at Samaskar. Hundreds of old long ships, barges and sailboats once part of a great naval engagement, sunk when the void magic of the lich Xamorthas of Shatan aided in the destruction of Samaskar's enemies. This encounter lead me to the realization that there aren't really any aquatic undead in the Basic, Expert, Rules Compendium or Creature Catalog, so I figure it's time to add a few....first up is the Rusalka. 

Rusalka

Rusalka
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 5** (M)
Move: 120' (40')
Attacks: two claws or special
Damage: 1D6/1D6 by claw or special
No. Appearing: 1D4 (2D6)
Save As: E5
Morale: 12
Treasure Type: E
Intelligence: 13
Alignment: Chaotic
XP Value: 425
Creature Type: undead
Terrain: any pool of water in which the rusalka was drowned

Rusalka are undead created when a woman perishes before her time, either from suicide, grief, woe or violence. Rusalka are usually tied to a watery death, by drowning, and take on an aspect of the pool in which they were murdered or committed suicide. When they rise from their watery graves they look like pale but beautiful women with wet green hair.

The rusalka is usually wronged by a man for numerous reasons, and their unique undead abilities work against men best (women and elves get a +2 bonus to the save to resist their songs). All rusalka can sing a woeful song which any targets in listening distance must immediately make a save vs. Spell to resist. If the save fails then the listeners are charmed by her spell. The rusalka will lure her target into the nearest body of water to drown him; each round the charmed target is being drowned he may make a new save vs. spells against the charm effect to snap out of his reverie, otherwise he takes 1D6 damage per round until drowned. A drowned victim of the rusalka will rise as a drowned zombie 24 hours later.

About 20% of rusalka look more gregarious, lively and alive than normal. These rusalka can masquerade as dryads or nymphs, or sometimes exotic elven women. They can sing the song, but are also gifted with a lilting, melodic laugh that is terminal to those listening; anyone in earshot of her laugh must make a save vs. death ray or suffer 1 negative level drain. This continues per round until the rusalka is injured, which will interrupt her laugh for 1 round.

A rusalka who is injured and manages to get to a pool of water will begin healing 1 hit point per round while immersed.

Weaknesses: A rusalka's hair and skin are always wet, though prolonged separation from water can lead to a risk of drying out. If the rusalka begins to dry out, she will take 1 point of damage until she immerses herself in water again. For many rusalka this is not a problem, as they carry special combs which, so long as they stroke their hair, creates water to keep them wet. Because of this weakness, rusalka are susceptible to fire damage, which always deals 1D6 additional points of damage to them per fire attack that affects them.

B/X Dungeons & Dragons Month III: A Map of the River Kingdoms of Anansis

Here's the map....took a fairly crude sketch and doctored it up in Paint (basic, I know) but alas I am still too color shy to try and make it more than black and white:

You can upload a copy here as well for easier printing/use.

Here's one with a blue hex overlay, where 1 hex = 100 miles

This region of Pergerron focuses entirely on the River Kingdoms of Anansis, a fertile riverine cluster of city states centered in a vast sea of ancient and forgotten empires, relics from the old era when the primordials were cast down by the Enkannu, who destroyed the beast lords and chaos kin of old and made man the ruler of the world. This region of the world is roughly 1,000 miles across and covers a vast territory of desert wasteland with the wild, lush central forests surrounding the life-giving Anansis rivers.

In the region of Anansis there are three distinct "types" of locale to visit:

Towns, cities and fortresses: These bastions of civilization, recognized as diamonds on the map, are where mankind and his demihuman allies have clustered in safety as they struggle against the untamed wilds, the lost monsters of dozens of fallen cities and kingdoms, and the hideous cults of the primordials. On this map there are only a handful of notable cities, but there are dozens of smaller towns and villages clustered around each major point of civilization. Samaskar, Eskallin, Tordalis and Ethruna comprise the four bastions of civilization and together comprise the totality of the River Kingdoms. Apart from them and standing strong despite the many dangers of the Salt Sea is the dwarven empire of Sartoris to the north.

Ancient Ruins: there are dozens of ancient ruins across the region, especially in the westerlands known as the Wastelands of Sar and in the northeast in the Starry Wastes. The men of old lived and died by the sword and spell, and it shows; the ruins are inhospitable dominions and only monsters and subterranean beasts dare to inhabit this crumbling necropoli. Of all the ruins, only Gatana, along the coast, holds a semblance of life as the hutaakan Followers of Kord have worked hard in recent decades to found a new port along the once ruined coast, and now seek to reclaim the ruins from its denizens, which include the servants of Sibitsen Muukol.

Bastions of Darkness: These are "civilized" regions after a fashion, but are where the cults of the primordials, the intelligent beasts and chaoskin gather to engage in their own mockery of civlization while plotting to overthrow mankind, to sieze the precious life waters of the Rivers Anansis for their own. Gorgon's Rest towers over the valley below, ruled by the cruel demigoddess Abeitha, queen of the gorgons. Meanwhile, in the south there is the Riven Tower atop Mt. Gol, where the dark followers of Kalabar Drethos gather, seeking to plunder and destroy the caravans that would dare travel overland to Vothrace in the south.

There are other bastions beneath the earth, of course. Rumors that the Askofar Mountains are home to the orcish kingdom of Vosgathar, where Palagor Harad rules, are affirmed by the Galitath barbarians of those same mountains, who regularly fight with orc raiders. The Salt Sea is rumored to be the home to Astrea Vespis and her ophidian minions.

Each day one of these markers on the map will be discussed in great detail, enough so that a prospective DM will know what to do when the adventurers decide to wander on over. Up next: we'll start with Samaskar, the most powerful city-state of Anansis.

B/X D&D Month II: The Gods of Pergerron

Part II of the Basic/Expert/RC Dungeons & Dragons Special for April: this is the second part of the introduction to the world of Pergerron, on which all subsequent entries this month will hang. You could use Pergerron for almost any edition of D&D at its core, but the intent here is to make this special to the unique flavor and allowances of classic B/X style D&D, with some RC edition enhancements thrown in. Now for the gods of Pergerron....

The Pantheon of the Enkanneth

There are many Enkanneth, which are formally described in the Sacred Codex of Enamoratu as the First Men of the world. There are two conflicting myth-tales about the origins of the First Men. One is that they were dwellers in the stars (said to have come from the planet Surdat, farthest and most peculiar o the sky-wanderers). A second tale that is less popular but embodies the Cult of the Risen Kings states that the First Men were an accident of creation, formed in error by the Primordials, destined to rise up and destroy their masters.

Regardless of the origin of the First Men, both sects agree that they rose to power, saw the Primordials for the formless and evil entities they were, and stole the divine secret of godhood from them. With this power they destroyed the primordials or drove them into the dark recesses of the world, and elevated their own people to the dominant kindred of the world over beast and monster alike.

The Temples of the Enkanneth can be found throughout the River Kingdoms, and you must journey to the remote lands of Asparta, Vothrace, Esmonar and Mesutin before finding significantly different deities and methods of worship. The people of the River Kingdoms tend to assume that these other foreign gods are just more Enkanneth, but worshipped in foreign lands…except, of course, when they see evidence of primordial worship. Such worship must be stamped out, destroyed, no matter the cost.

In the Kingdoms of Anansis there are nine prominent Enkanneth and several dozen lesser Enkanneth that are worshipped. The nine principle deities and associated spouses are:

Katas – The god of kings, said to have been the deity who led the charge against the Primordials, and to have slain its greatest leader, Sarpoxas.  His contribution to the land is the fabled Rule of Law, which is etched upon the sacred stones at the entrance to Katas’ temple in the capitol of Ulimpor.

Suliversa – the goddess of lore and wife to Katas, sometimes also seen as the mother of all men and women. Suliversa is the patron goddess of the Temple of Lorein Ulimpor and other cities, and is said to have taught mankind the principles of civilization.

Vornen – the god of sustenance and the hunt, who taught man how to craft spear and blade and bring down the beasts and monsters of the wild. He is also believed to be the god of the elves, having imparted to them his special gifts of sight and understanding, and that the elves disdain civilization as men see it to honor their creator. His wife is Medrea, who is regarded by the elves as a principle fertility goddess and given more import than her husband.

Sakhar – The god of metal, forges, and smiths. Sakuar is regarded as the progenitor of such lore, and it was with his teachings that mankind mastered the crafting of copper, brass and bronze implements and weapons. Sakhar is also regarded as the creator of dwarves, along with his wife Indraka.

Tekastei – God of the harvest. Tekastei is seen as the one who created the seasons, to allow mankind to grow food and predict the weather; the elements are seen as a creation of the primordials, but it is Tekastei who forces the elements to behave (sometimes). In myth Tekastei is seen as a stout Halfling, sometimes remiss in his duties, thus explaining the problem of actually predicting the weather. Tekastei is seen as the creator of Halflings, too, along with his less divine wife Immerta.

Skuurn – The tamer of beasts and lord of shepherds. Skuurn sought to teach man how to tame the beasts of the wild, and also sought to make such beasts friendlier to humanity. Though he failed against those beings too monstrous, his contribution is normally regarded as pivotal to the mastery of pastoral living in civilized lands. Skuurn is regarded as the creator of boar-kin, centaurs and minotaurs though those races may dispute this as a “human thing.”

Velos – God of war, Velos is the patron of warriors everywhere. His aspect is battle and it is said he forged the armies which marched behind Katas against the forces of the primordials, smiting them all. Velos is said tohave once married Tartessa, the goddess of death, and it is from the souls of the dead that he harvests new warriors for his armies in the sky. Most commoners look to the sky and believe the stars reflect the campfires of the soldiers of Velos, standing fast against the primordials that lurk in the Darkness beyond the dome of the sky. Velos is also said to be married to Marnica, goddess of tranquility and beauty. The dichotomy is deliberate, and Marnica’s temples are just as prominent as those of Velos, and usually maintained by a dedicated crowd of priestess artisans.

Tokandros – Among the gods it is said that Tokandros is the mischief-maker, the one who betrayed them or will betray them, through whose actions the primordial will rise again. He is said to be half-brother to Katas, and that he is half-primordial, his mother being the terrifying dragon goddess Druusa herself. Tokandros as outcast god has been regarded as an important foil and reflection on the hubris of the other gods, while officially being the god of opposites; when Velos offers mercy, Tokandros will offer none. When Katas offers justice, Tokandros offers none. As such, he has officially become patron god to criminals and thieves in the land. His cult, which remains secretive, believes that Tokandros is married to his sister, Abeitha, the spiteful Queen of Gorgons who is one of the Ten.

Abia – The goddess of Light and destiny. Abia is said to have been the one that awoke the First Men to the realities of the Primordials, and showed Katas the secret gate to the power of divinity. Abia’s aspects are a dichotomy, being secret knowledge contrasted with blinding, inescapable light. Her cult is small but dedicated, and her priests are renowned as great seers and oracles. She is unmarried, though it is said that she still bore children in the form of the first rakasta and some other more enigmatic immortal races. There is a secret elvish cult that believes Abia is the true mother of the elves, though they decry the notion that she at some point lay with Sahambla and birthed the rakasta.

Tartessa – the powerful goddess of the dead, Tartessa is supreme ruler of Zhol’Dran, and the harvester of souls. Her designs are enigmatic, and she pays a toll in potent souls to her former husband, Velos. Tartessa is said to have a keen hatred for the living, and openly despises the other gods, biding her time until the primordials return so that she may reap the harvest of souls that such an apocalypse will entail.

The Primordials

The ancient primordials are a mystery. A modern anthropologist might see this ancient pantheon as a fallen religion, trampled and absorbed by a younger usurper culture into their own myths, but the people of Pergerron know better, for the fabulous, mysterious and deadly ruins of the old era of the primordials dot the wilderness, tempting adventurers with treasure and doom. Old temples to these gods still abound, and the monsters of the world still seek to worship these lost gods. Even the current religion of the River Kingdoms acknowledges the power of the primordials, attributing the creation of the world and the elements to them.

There were ten great primordials and a host of unknown lesser primordials, but today all that exists to indicate their lost power outside of relics and ruins are the Servants of the Ten, a host of monstrous entities who claim to have been the last true children of the old gods, and who were destined to ascend to divinity before the Enkanneth stole the power away from them.

 There is little known of the old primordials, but their names are recorded as:

Sarpoxas – the god of chaos and lord of primordial. Depicted as a great red dragon with seven heads in most old images.

Druunas – the queen of all dragons and creator of the night sky. Depicted as a many colored dragoness with five heads. Certain ancient texts call her “Tiamat” by her primordial name.

Verethax – lord of fire. Depicted as an infernal giant wreathed in flame.

Sambador – creator of earth. Depicted as a greath earthen mass made of soil, worm and bone.

Vos Kar – the primordial of air and wind. Depicted as a great tornado filled with gargoyles that form an immense humanoid shape.

Yoka Vataras – goddess of the quintessence of magic, depicted as a being of pure darkness.

Trigaril – goddess of the waters of creation. Depicted as a great leviathan of the sea who sometimes manifests as a beautiful woman to lure sailors to their doom.

Pulsagral – old god of the dead, the lord of Hazata. Depicted as a pulsing mass of undead flesh that shifts form constantly.

Hox Nagor – the god of the ophidians and serpents, depicted as an immense snake, larger than the river Anansis itself.

Sahambla  – the destroyer, the reaver of all. Depicted as a storm of blades with two burning eyes.

The Servants of the Ten

Each of the servants are a beastly incarnate of their kind, powerful beyond measure and very nearly immortal, or so the stories claim. These are paragons of their species and noteworthy for being the driving force behind the hatred of humanity by monstrous kind. Whether or not some of these beings are truly sons and daughters of the primordials as they claim is an unverified belief, but what matters in the end is that their monstrous followers believe it to be true. Some of them, such as Sekulos and Palagor Harad, are clear that they are either direct or spiritual successors, the latest in a long line of the Servants of the Ten, elected or chosen by a means unknown to hold their station.

Abeitha – queen of the gorgons, daughter of Yoka Varatas

Samadar Phorain – lord of the minotaurs, successor to Vos Kar

Sekulos the Cunning – lord of goblins, successor to Verethrax

Palagor Harad – king of orcs, successor to Sambador

Sibitsen Muukol – king of the nagpa, successor to Sarpoxas

Skag – King of the manticores, successor to Verethrax

Kalabar Drethos – king of dragonkin, son of Druunas

Shuutol – king of the bargda, successor to Pulsagral

Astrea Vespis – queen of the ophidians, gatormen and lizardmen, daughter or Hox Nagor

Habatar Kasgardan – king of the beastkin and rakasta, son of Sahambla and Abia

B/X D&D Month I: Pergerron and the River Kingdoms of Anansis

To kick off my April full of D&D I'm laying out the ground rules and setting: everything is going to tie to a new realm, called Pergerron, which I'll detail in the first few days and then use as a springboard for everything else to come. Without further adieu, I introduce the world of Pergerron, land of the River Kingdoms of Anansis...(note one pic below is a bit NSFW).

Here's how it's going to work: today is a brief overview of the land and its history. Next will be a summary of the gods and mythology of the world. On day three there will be a map and brief gazetteer or the region. Then, each day thereafter I will pick one or two regions on the map (which will be divided into sectors) and discuss the adventures, encounters, NPCs and monsters that can be found within. I'll see how many of these I can get in for April....I thought I'd manage one a day, but the truth is that sounds tough to pull off, so we'll see....

Now...it's time for an old fashioned hexcrawl! And to do a hexcrawl, we need a place to visit...

The Lands of Pergerron – The River Kingdoms

Background

The world of Pergerron revolves around a civilized region called the River Kingdoms  (sometimes also called the Kingdoms of Anansis), a collection of polities and city-states that rely on the seasonal flood waters of the River Anansis, a bountiful region which has allowed human civilization to flourish. Pergerron is a largely barbaric land outside of the civilized center of the world, though the people of the kingdoms have found trade partners with other pockets of civilization to the distant eat in the Kingdom of Asparta, and far to the west in the Isles of Esmonar. The southlands, called Vothrace, are a vast an untamed wilderness though some hearty explorers claim to have found a vast empire known as Mesutin beyond its untamable reaches, where ancient sorcerer kings rule.

Pergerron exists in a time shortly after the dawn of creation, and monstrosities are a product of the Primordials, a race of ancient god-like beings which were cast down by the First Men, called the Enkanneth, who in turn took the power of the primordials themselves and became gods as well. The Enkanneth are the principle pantheon of the Fertile Kingdoms, and worship of the old Primordials is regarded as a profane heresy.

Pergerron is dominated by more than humans, however, for it is a land of many ancient and mystical races as well as many cursed beings and monsters. Many of the monsters and cursed races are part of the old kindred, the beings which ruled the world and were created by the primordials before the Enkanneth came and shattered their dominion. Other races were born in the likeness of the Enkanneth, made after their patron gods to carry on as their servants in the world. Such races include humanity, the elves, dwarves, Halflings, gnomes hutaakan, lupins, chameleon men, tortles, pachydermions, and centaurs. Other races which remain prolific mark their creation from the time before, at the hands of the primordials. These races are regarded as cursed, and include the goblinkin, giantkin, orcs, ophidians, nagpa, kobolds, manscorpions, bargda, lizard men, gatormen, gorgons, minotaurs, harpies, gnolls, rakasta, chaos-kin, dragons and more. The races of old and the races of new rarely live in peace. Furthermore, this distinction of “old and new” races is somewhat arbitrary; hutaakans, for example, are regarded as one of the oldest races even though they are regarded as friendly and trustworthy by men. In the end, the distinction is best considered a reflection of those races who are inimical or hateful toward mankind, and those who are not.

Pergerron’s principle population in the River Kingdoms is mankind, though halflings and other races can be found in fair numbers in certain areas. The wilderlands beyond the safe harbor of the river kingdoms are rife with nonhumans and monsters, so travel through this rough and often uninhabited lands is always done with guard and escort. The ancient ruins of the primordial cities dot the landscape, as do the occasional monuments and landmarks that indicate where a great battle took place or a god fell in battle.

Outside of the roads and fortress towns between the major points of civilization, occasional temples will arise in the wilderness at the dictate of the enigmatic Enkanneth, those who were once men then stole divinity from the gods. Those who forge deep into no-man’s land will on occasion come across temples to the old primordials, sustained by the worship of foul monsters. Such locations, when found, are usually targeted for eradication by the templars of the Enkanneth.

Guiding Principles of Pergerron

Pergerron has the following ten key concepts and themes built in to it:

Dawn of Civlization – Pergerron is a young world, although the primordials crafted a long and ancient history that can be found in the mysterious and inhuman ruins of the wilderness. Mankind and the sister races are young, having been formed from the clay of the River Anansis by the Enkanneth less than five thousand years ago, and taught the principles of civilization by the great teacher, the goddess named Suliversa.

Bastions of Civilization in a Sea of Wilderness and barbarism – Pergerron is mostly a world of uninhabited wilderland punctuated by moments of civilization. Outside of the River Kingdoms there isn’t much call for warfare in this day and age amongst the human kingdoms, for they are separated by a remote vastness. Populations are small; a large city rarely has more than 15-20,000 citizens, and most communities are much smaller. When war comes, it is with the barbarian tribes and monsters of the wilderness.

Bronze Age Technology – The technology of Pergerron is akin to that of the middle bronze age of Sumeria circa 1700 B.C.; copper is still in use though bronze has superseded it as a more reliable metal. Iron and steel are still largely unknown and relic weapons of the primordial era are the only reliable source of such ancient metals at this time. Science and technology is in its infancy, and most civilizations fret about the basics of commerce and agriculture, the foundation of language and the rule of law.

No Divine Intervention – The gods exist, or so any native would assert, and they work in mysterious ways. The reality is that the gods do not manifest or intervene in any way easily identifiable to any other than the priests, but the miracles granted to priests are more than sufficient to prove the existence of the divine to most people. Cult members can experience profound visions revealing the secrets of the Enkanneth, but outside of these hallucinogenically induced visions the gods only work in ways akin to nature. The primordials are likewise absent, though their handiwork can be seen in the mysterious relics, monstrous kin and ancient ruins of the wilderness.

Man is the Driving Force of Pergerron – The men of Pergerron, amongst humanity and the other races, is the force behind change, for better or worse. No divinities manifest to make change, though a leader might swear that his god speak to him in dreams.

Magic is Real but Largely Mysterious – Magic exists, yes, but it is a mysterious tool at best, and there is currently no industry built up around it, nor any regular resource for the production and sale of goods or services based on magic outside of the most elemental fundamentals. Most mages are hucksters and charlatans; real magic is feared and readily misunderstood, as well as coveted by those who do not have talent for it. Most artifacts and magical devices are actually ancient relics from the primordial era, and often the use of such is regarded as heresy by the cults of the Enkanneth. 

Other Realms Exist but are Misunderstood – There are other domains into which mages can tap, and these are the realms from which spirits and entities such as demons and seraph may come, but little is understood about these realms. Hazata is the term used to describe the hellish realm of the demons; Harisku is the domain of the spirits, and Nezumei is the domain of the seraph. These are understood by some practitioners to be other worlds, though whether they are planets in the sky (and indeed all three are identified as planetary bodies) or simply convenient place names for something else entirely is unknown.

The Afterworld is Called Zhol’Dran – and it is a feared dominion, where all of the dead assemble to await a time when the Enkanneth will call upon the fallen warriors of many ages to once again strike down the primordials. The myths of the dead in Pergerron speak of a time when the primordials will rise again, and it is the harvest of human and humanoid souls by the Enkanneth that breeds the army that will defend the world from this next incursion. Or so the legend goes. Mages and priests of the land know only that sufficient strength of will can allow for a spell which restores life to the dead (and can also create undead), but such resurrections always require a heavy toll to the one who benefits….a life for a life.

Major Foes Are the Servants of the Ten – it is said that there were ten great primordials and a host of lesser primordials when they were destroyed by the Enkanneth. The primordials each had a destined successor, and these were called the Servants of the Ten. The Ten were each great and powerful beings from the time before man, who survived the fall of their creators but were stripped of divinity by the Enkanneth who stole the force of godhood from the primordials. The Servants of the Ten are still believed to exist in the deep, unexplored regions of the world plotting their revenge against the new, young gods.

Ancient Mysteries – Everything described as myth, legend and history as above is filtered through the eyes of men who struggle to learn about their past and their world. All of it could very well be false, but it is the record of ancient legends carried down through the ages by the priests and loremasters of Pergerron that assert some validity to these tales, as well as the existence of monsters and mysterious ruins of old. 

Core Rules Assumptions:

This setting will use the B/X D&D rules, with the following additional rules from the D&D Rules Cylcopedia:

1. Demihuman classes use the optional leveling rules in the RC (they don't cap).

2. The RC skill system will be assumed in stat blocks.

3. Optional combat rules from the RC (such as two weapon fighting) are in place. I'll be using individual initiative rules from the Basic book as a default for whatever I run, but obviously that's personal choice.

4. Any racial classes you have access to which allow one to play hutaakans or other demihuman races are allowed.

5. Again my preference but I let everyone start with max HP at level 1.

Tomorrow: The gods of Pergerron

Preamble: Useful Posts for Basic/Expert Dungeons & Dragons

Before I start my April posting on Basic/Expert D&D (I've settled on a methodology that will work well, I think) here are a list of useful rules and ideas scattered on the internet that I will take advantage of, but not repeat because the sources are already good enough:

Gnomes as playable Racial Class - done extremely well by Tim Brannan at The Other Side Blog.

Minotaurs as a playable Racial Class - done right here by me.

Orcs as playable characters - right here, also by me, but also available in the Orcs of Thar Gazetteer (not yet in PDF format, alas)

The Grey Matter Bestiary - written by Leonaru, this is the single greatest free bestiary on the internet and works great with B/X D&D.

Paladins, Rangers, Monks, Druids and other Advanced Labyrinth Lord Fun - The Advanced Edition Companion to Labyrinth Lord makes these all perfectly functional optional races in D&D B/X, so you don't need to wait till you're high level to be a paladin or druid, for example. I won't assume these are classes in the April event, but as a DM I would allow them as options to interested players if pressed upon.

Things I'd like but can't find evidence of, so may have to design on my own:

Hutaakans as playable characters - I seem to recall these existed as a thing at one time, possibly in the Hollow World setting. Does anyone know if proper hutaakan racial classes were ever presented?

Elven Thief racial class - a vital requisite to playing wood elves, in my opinion. I will construct a specific racial class for this purpose at some point if I find the time.

Lupins, Tortles and possibly even kobodls deserve racial classes, too....