Commentary On Dark Albion + Eighties Cult Classic Movie Krull For An Old School Campaign Jump Off Point

Alright fine, I've been challenged tonight to come up with a way of combining three of my favorite things into a viable campaign. So here goes Dark Albion The Rose War & Dark Albion's Cults of Chaos  plus 1983's Krull film combined with Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea equals out to a fully formed interstellar swords & sorcery campaign setting.

At first it doesn't seem as through a cheesy Eighties cult film has anything to do with the historical backdrop of  Dark Albion but as we shall see there's more here then simply nostalgia.  A prophecy regarding "a girl of ancient name that shall become queen", which says "that she shall choose a king, and that together they shall rule their world, and that their son shall rule the galaxy".
Down comes the Black Fortress on to Krull or should I say the world of Albion. The kingdoms have been a mess since the Hundred Years War.  The House of Lancaster (associated with a red rose), and the House of York (whose symbol was a white rose) have gone to war after the coming of the Beast's Black Fortress. Both Prince Colwyn &  Princess Lyssa are but minor players in this grand stage of interstellar battle.

The slayers are the least of the problems as the Frogmen are about to invade Albion & wreck everything. There has been on and off conflict with them but the weakness of the Hundred Years war has left them an opening. Here the Beast is a chaos infested demonic power once disposed member of Albion's royal linage. He's gone out into the stars to create a demonic army & has returned to wreck havoc on the houses of the Lancastrian kings. This is a time of change as the interstellar map is rapidly changing.


The planet of Albion was once the playground of the Elves whose cults have infiltrated every level of society & whose alliance with the Beast has caused great concern among the mystics, rulers, & the inquisition of Albion. There are rumors of Prince Colwyn seeking the Elven infernal device among the wastelands with a rag tag group of mercenaries but this may be House of York propaganda. There is also evidence of the Prince consorting the former head of a shadowy chaos cult known as the "Widow of the Web". These claims have yet to be substantiated but there are dark rumors circling about since the First Battle of St Albans.


Even as the Beast's Black Fortress moves across the face of Albion the houses are at each other's throats. There are rumors that  Henry VI's queen, Margaret of Anjou is stirring the pot & bringing events to a boil behind the scenes with her spies and net work of Frog cults. She is a dark and sinister power behind the throne & PC's must be vary careful to avoid her at all costs.



Other rumors & innuendo put forth in certain circles are that the Elves are using the civil war to make a grab for power from the humans, the old god's worship has returned to certain Albion control areas. These claims can't be substantiated because the empire's resources  have  been stretched to the breaking point. A fact well known by the forces of Chaos and their cults. The war's future is uncertain, the interstellar picture in the Albion system is very dangerous, & the events between  The House of Lancaster &  The House of York 

have erupted into full blown civil war. The presence of the Beast only complicates these events all of the more.


So how does this sort of a campaign work? Well this campaign set up still follows the real world history of the War of the Roses of Dark Albion but we add in the material from Dark Albion's Cults of Chaos for good measure & then use Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea for a rules set to add in that dynamic sword and sorcery adventure elements as needed. Because there's the odd science fictional bit in AS&SH this should make the transference of old school and retroclone elements a snap. This campaign plays out as one part Game of Thrones, two part Frank Herbert's Dune, mixed with elements of Krull all set into a blender on the high setting. This is a campaign setting where the PC's have the chance to carve themselves out a domain of their own amidst the chaos of the civil war itself.
I've only barely scratched the surface of this campaign but things could have a much darker turn if events follow  history of the War of the Roses


This is a campaign with the potential for years of adventure where the forces of the Beast & its cults of chaos have been on Albion for years sewing the seeds of death & destruction only waiting to cause havoc on all levels of society.


Note that this is not an attempt to violate the copyright nor trade mark of the film Krull nor Dark Albion or Cults of Chaos or Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperboorea. Neither of these OSR games is responsible for any of the content of this blog. This is merely the product of a deranged Krull fan's mind. All other ideas are copyrighted to Dark Corner productions.