OSR Campaign Commentary - The Spark of Mystara Divinity M2 Vengeance of Alphaks (Basic) By Skip Williams & Some OSR Hi Jinks

"Divine heroes in a broken world, men and women who have seized the tools that have slipped from an absent God's hands. Bound by seeming chance to the Words of Creation, these new-forged titans face a world ravaged by the mad ambitions of men and the cruel legacy of human folly. Their foes are many: the jealous parasite gods that suck at the wounds of the world, the furious Angelic Host that once held Heaven against the armies of men, and the endless legions of sorcerers, god-monsters, mortal tyrants, and eldritch relics that scourge the shattered realms. The Godbound stand against these horrors, determined to forge a better world from the fragments of the old. Still, not all these newborn divinities have a hero's soul, and some nurture red dreams of glory and unfettered rule. Will you be a merciful god to your people, or will you make them dread your holy name?" 



So for the last couple of days I was asked to take a look at putting together a

Godbound: A Game of Divine Heroes (Deluxe Edition) Rpg By Kevin Crawford 

 campaign based around original Dungeons & Dragons and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons adventure themes & ideas. I'm not using Godbound default setting for this but a more contemporary grounded Earth 1985 theme for this campaign. I've been doing reading, research, & rationalization on this. Kevin Crawford's strong suit when it comes to his games are the adventure & campaign tool box approach. Back in 2016 & 2017 when Godbound seemed to be on everyone's lips I had an interesting idea.


What happens if the throne of Heaven became empty & the other Earthly  pantheons decided to fill it?! Let's take this thought exercise further, 'What happens if in 1960 an adventurer succeed in stealing on the Platonic solids that acts as the perfect structure of Heaven'. All of space time begins to fragment from the cracks & tears across the world's local space time continuum. In 1980 a US government program breaches the barrier between world as one of these cracks is found out in California. All personnel on the US military base out in California are taken elsewhere. In 1985 some of the survivors of the incident return to the world changed forever. I'm thinking that these folks have been to a D&D style world for a few centuries while in our world only five years have passed. They comeback as D&D style adventurers with a divine spark in them.
I'm on the fence about including the horror rpg by Sine Nomine Publishing Silent Legions or not. I've got another adventure  idea that I'm holding in my back pocket. But what I'm sure of is using many of the monsters found in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition monster books & manuals. 

I'm thinking of dusting off some old notes for Skip Williams M2  Vengeance of Alphaks (Basic). Let's get the basic history outta the way first; "M2: "Vengeance of Alphaks" (1986), by Skip Williams, is the second Master-level adventure for Basic D&D. It was published in April 1986."
 Yeah its another master level companion Dungeons & Dragons adventure that I've had some experience with. Plenty of Mystara action & ideas in this adventure as the war between  between Alphatia and Thyatis kicks into high gear. This war has been brewing since  CM1: "Test of the Warlords" (1984) but things are really heating up.



Who are the PC's? Could they be mercenary forces that have been created by the Mystara Immortals as some sort of divine cannon fodder? Are they divinities that have come about as a result of exposure to energies of  the awakening of the despotic Alphaks, ruler of Alphatia, was banished to another world?

1. The module had a so so reception at the time of release so its primed to be DM'ed into something for your home campaign. 
2. The  warfare between Norwold and Qeodhar from M1: "Into the Maelstrom" (1986) is the perfect opportunity to show case the PC's. 
3. The Godbound are a few steps below the Immortals of Mystara they are going to have to watch their steps. 
4. The PC's are in a prime position to really have their behinds handed to them if the DM is using Frank Mentzer's Immortal rules. 
5. PC's can play a key roles in Norwold  gaining its independence as a nation DM's should consider this themselves when running this. 
6. The revelation of Mystara as another dimensional location for a contemporary alternative plane prime calls back to IM1: "The Immortal Storm" (1986), by Frank Mentzer. 
7. Could there be a deeper Dave Arneseon Blackmoor plot at work cooking in the background I wonder? 
8. D&D monsters are rife with possibilities as horror movie style adventures ala classic Eighties monster flicks or contemporary Strange Things shows. 
9. Mystara has yet to be fully exploited as an OSR setting & the clash of religion vs modern reality has endless possibilities. 
10. A high level campaign can be very tricky but I can see back tying this into yesterday's blog entry on OSR Monster Tactics With Kuntz & Ward's Gods, Demi - Gods, & Heroes for original Dungeons & Dragons