My Thoughts On The Passing of James M. Ward - A Legacy of Writing and Mentoring

 

James Ward (1952 to 2024) has passed on late last night. And I'm still trying to wrap my head around his passing. Personally, I can't even begin to process this passing. Jim was instrumental in the creation of OD&D's "Gods, Demigods, and Heroes" with Robert Kuntz. Mr. Ward's contribution to Dungeons & Dragons was huge. From the updated and expanded  "Deities & Demigods," for first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragona to a boat load of NPC's. Not to mention his contribution to the AD&D first edition campaign setting of Greyhawk 'Greyhawk Adventures'. The impact of this book can't be overstated on the Greyhawk campaign setting. 

Jim's contributation to the world was his creation of  the amazing "Metamorphosis Alpha"  the first science-fantasy role-playing game, and co-created “Gamma World,” which pioneered the post-apocalyptic subgenre in TTRPGs. Back in '08 "Metamorphosis Alpha" hit me right square between the eyes. His promotion of his MA game was key to us communicating and Jim was the guy who really pulled me into Castles & Crusades. Mr.Ward was knowledgable, outgoing, and very vocal about his game design & writing. 

We emailed & Facebook messaged back and forth. Jim had no problem answering questions or chatting about games. He was someone who wanted you to play his games. Yes, he was a giant in the hobby but he was a geniunely nice guy. He will be missed. So I'm really trying to process this loss to our hobby, the world, and even the Ward family. 
James Ward was a geniunely nice guy and a giant of the hobby. His presence in the world made it a better place, his writng and design work made this hobby incredible for some many of us kids, and his passing has been felt by everyone whom had interaction with. My respects & condolences to the Ward family, his many fans,  his friends, and collegues. 

Will the Real 'Set' stand up?! Set & His Minions in Gods, Demi Gods, & Heroes & Dieties & Demigods by Robert Kuntz & James Ward

 It's been a bit of a hectic three days or so but last night I put down the keyboard and went back to original Dungeon & Dragon's Gods, Demigods, & Heroes by Robert Kuntz and James Ward. Mostly to cleanse my own palette of the never ending 'scree' about whatever topic the hobby is upset about this time.

 And thumbing through the book I noticed something really interesting about original Dungeons & Dragons version of the Egyptian god Set. It's not the god  Set of Egyptian mythology who according to his Wiki entry; "Set (/sɛt/; Egyptological: Sutekh - swtẖ ~ stẖ^[a] or Greek: Seth /sɛθ/) is a god of deserts, storms, disorder, violence, and foreigners in ancient Egyptian religion.^[4]: 269 In Ancient Greek, the god's name is given as Sēth (Σήθ). Set had a positive role where he accompanies Ra on his barque to repel Apep, the serpent of Chaos.^[4]: 269 Set had a vital role as a reconciled combatant.^[4]: 269 He was lord of the Red Land (desert), where he was the balance to Horus' role as lord of the Black Land (fertile land)" 
The God of Evil and the Night is straight up nasty in original Dungeons & Dragons. Check this out from original Dungeon & Dragon's Gods, Demigods, & Heroes by Robert Kuntz and James Ward;"SET GOD OF EVIL AND THE NIGHT Armor Class — 4 Magic Ability: (See Below) Move: 18" Fighter Ability: 17th Level Hit Points: 275 Psionic Ability: Class 6 Set is a scaled humanoid with the head of a fierce jackal. He is totally dedicated to the spreading of evil and has attributes to match. He can change any being's alignment from neutral and lawful to evil (saving throw applicable) these changed beings becoming Minions of Set. He can shapechange, make all light turn to darkness, and call on 2-200 Minions of Set. He enters battle with a Javelin of Darkness. This night black shaft has a plus 4 hitting ability and does 9-90 points of damage. There is a 5% chance that Set is watching when a being does a highly evil act (judge's option) and if he is he will give the being 2-20 Minions of Set with no strings attached being confident that the being will only do evil with them. MINIONS OF SET Armor Class — 2 Magic Ability: (See Below) Move: 12" Fighter Ability: 10th Level Hit Points: 25 Psionic Ability: Class 6 Minions are able to transform themselves into giant snakes. They also fight as 10th level lords. They appear in plate armor and use a broadsword. They are fully intelligent and often act as gobetween for Set and man. These beings never check morale. " 

And we get this version of Set repeated in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition Gods & Demigods ;"SET (god of evil and the night) Greater god ARMOR CLASS: -4 MOVE: 78" HIT POINTS: 378 NO. OF ATTACKS: 2 DAMAGE/ATTACK: 7-70 SPECIAL ATTACKS: Alignment change SPECIAL DEFENSES: Poison skin; + 3 or better weapon to hit MAGIC RESISTANCE: 59% SIZE: M (7') ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil WORSHIPER'S ALIGN: Evil beings SYMBOL: Coiled cobra PLANE: Nine Hells CLERIC/DRUID: 75th level cleric FIGHTER: 77th level fighter MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: 30th level illusionist THIEF/ASSASSIN: 75th level assassin MONK/BARD: Nil PSIONIC ABILITY: II S: 74 I: 25 W: 23 D: 20 C: 25 CH:-2"
"Set is a scaled humanoid with the head of a fierce jackal. He is totally dedicated to the spreading of evil and has attributes to match. He can change any being's alignment from neutral or good to lawful evil with a touch (saving throw applicable); these changed beings become Minions of Set (see below). He uses a Spear of Darkness that is a jet black + 4 spear that hits for 7-70 points of damage. His skin is also deadly poisonous to the touch. There is a 5% chance that Set may be watching when one of his worshipers does a highly evil act, and if so, Set will lend that being 2-20 Minions of Set for 12 weeks. Set is the implacable enemy of Osiris and Horus, ond will attempt to thwart them through others whenever possible" 
And the Minions of Set are a force to be reckoned with 
"Minions of Set FREQUENCY: Uncommon NO. APPEARING: 1-20 ARMOR CLASS: -2 MOVE: 12" HIT DICE/POINTS: 25 hp % IN LAIR: 0% TREASURE TYPE: Nil NO. OF ATTACKS: 3/2 DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-12 (bite), by weapon type, or by form SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below SPECIAL DEFENSES: Save as 10th level fighters MAGIC RESISTANCE: 10% INTELLIGENCE: High ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil SIZE: M (6W) PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil Attack/Defense Modes: Nil LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: V/500 Minions are able to polymorph themselves into giant snakes that bite for 1- 12 points of damage. They fight and save as 10th level fighters. They appear in black scaly plate mail and use broadswords. They are fully intelligent and act as go-betweens for Set and mankind. These beings never need to check morale. Some minions are also able to polymorph themselves into cave bears, giant crocodiles, or giant scorpions" 

This isn't just another snake cult but this is a full on Lawful Evil god with a base within the Nine Hells. And a growing cult that has minions to spare for anyone who can further his evil influence upon the planes prime. For an OSR Sword & Sorcery game 'Set's a perfectly suited antagonist ready to go. The real question is, who the Hell is 'Set' really?! My suspisions are that he's an arch devil whose been using the guise of 'Set' for eons now. 

And this makes him a perfect antagonist for a Sword & Sorcery game. He's methodical, nasty, and dangerous. And he's been around right under the noses of the rest of the Egyptian pantheon and thier followers. The cult of 'Set' might not be simply another cult of snake worshippers but instead be the growing root of methodical evil within a campaign. 

OSR Thoughts on YOG·SOTHOTH (the key and guardian of the gate) From Advanced Dungeons & Dragons First Edition's Dieties & Demigod By Robert J. Kuntz & James M. Ward

 "Yog-Sothoth knows the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the key and guardian of the gate. Past, present, future, all are one in Yog-Sothoth. He knows where the Old Ones broke through of old, and where They shall break through again. He knows where They have trod earth's fields, and where They still tread them, and why no one can behold Them as They tread."

The Dunwich Horror  By H.P. Lovecraft 


The other night we DM's got together for a beer & to discuss another leg of our upcoming campaign. And Kuntz & Ward's Dieties & Demigods especially the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition's version of YOG·SOTHOTH (the key and guardian of the gate) avitar. This blog entry picks right up from here. 

Hyperborea has it's own version of the children of YOG·SOTHOTH. We went back and looked at the old AD&D classic version. That version of the Outer God is nasty; "Greater god ARMOR CLASS: -2 MOVE: 18" HIT POINTS: 400 NO. OF ATTACKS: 12 DAMAGE/AnACK: 1-8 SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below SPECIAL DEFENSES: Immune to charm MAGIC RESISTANCE: 50% SIZE: L ( 50' diameter) ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil WORSHIPER'S ALIGN: Chaotic evil SYMBOL: Y rune PLANE: Astral Plane CLERIC/DRUID: Nil FIGHTER: As 16+ HD monster MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: 15th level magic-user THIEF/ASSASSIN: Nil MONK/BARD: Nil PSIONIC ABILITY: S:25(+7,+14) 1:25 W:23 D:20 C:25 CH:-7" 

Classic Erol Otis artwork of a child of Yog Shoggoth
  from Dieties & Demigods Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 

The description of the Greater God Yog Shoggoth is mind bending; "Yog-Sothoth exists on the astral plane. He has the ability to enter the universe at any point in space and any point in time. His astral shape appear  as a congeries of iridescent globes like giant soap bubbles. When he takes shape on the Prime Material Plane he is partly material and partly astral and appears as a gigantic mass of feelers, legs, and stalked organs. In this shape he will mate with human beings, producing the Spawn of YogSothoth (see "The Dunwich Horror", by H. P. Lovecraft). He is highly intelligent and extremely chaotic and unpredictable. He can gate in and out of time and space any of the Spawn or subject races of the Old Ones, one per melee round. Yog-Sothoth is not subject to the laws of space and time and can, for example, appear at vorious parts of the universe simultaneously" 

According to various sources including the  The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana Yog Shoggoth is one of the main Greater Gods of the Mythos. Which means that he has diminion over the Lovecraftian entities & greater races then at first it appears. It also means that it ( the greater god) could theoritically be encountered anywhere. Talk about a random encounter. 

According to our discussions there are very few if anyplaces within the planes where you could theoritically get away from this version of YOG·SOTHOTH (the key and guardian of the gate) From Advanced Dungeons & Dragons First Edition's Dieties & Demigod By Robert J. Kuntz & James M. Ward! 
Digging in deeper according to the H.P. Lovecraft wiki all of those irdescient globes have names & perhaps meaning; "He is composed of iridescent globes (HPL: "The Horror in the Museum", AWD: "The Lurker at the Threshold") of which there are thirteen (EXP: Hay Necronomicon):

1. Gomory
2. Zagan
3. Sytry
4. Eligor
5. Durson
6. Vual
7. Scor
8. Algor
9. Sefon
10. Partas
11. Gamor
12. Umbra
13. Anaboth

Deeper that one peers into the madness & occult insanity  of YOG·SOTHOTH the more one sees why dark wizards would entreat with such an entity. Please bare in mind that all of this is fiction created by a writer from Providence, Rhode Island. 

OSR Thoughts on Shub-Niggurath From Advanced Dungeons & Dragons First Edition's Dieties & Demigod By Robert J. Kuntz & James M. Ward

 This blog post picks right up from the other day & what does does 1st Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons  Dieties & Demigods have to do with it?! Well a bit of everything. 


"This fountain of uncleanliness is a huge pool of gray matter, 100 feet across, in the caverns beneath Mount Voormithadreth. It is constantly bubbling and putting forth mouths, limbs, pseudopods and whole creatures. 1-100 small monsters are created from the pool each round, and they go crowling, flopping, or flying away into the caverns above. Some fall bock into the pool, which then grows mouths and devours them." 
Kuntz & Ward's Dieties & Demigods Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition 

So over the last couple of weeks there's been several pieces of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition material that has sparked our DM's & player's imaginations. Tonight's the Kuntz & Ward's Dieties & Demigods Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition tonight for the upcoming Hyperborea rpg campaign. This avitar of Shub-Niggurath is incredibly dangerous & could be the source of any Lovecraftian monsters in thier area of Hyperborea especially around the Mount Voormithadreth. 
"SHUB·NIGGURATH (black goat of the woods with a thousand young) Lesser god ARMOR CLASS: 4 MOVE: None HIT POINTS: 400 NO. OF An Attacks : DAMAGE/AnACK: See below SPECIAL ATTACKS: Monster creation SPECIAL DEFENSES: + 2 or better weapon to hit MAGIC RESISTANCE: 95% SIZE: L (100' in diameter) ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil WORSHIPER'S ALIGN: Chaotic evil SYMBOL: Black goat PLANE: Prime Material Plane CLERIC/DRUID: Nil FIGHTER: As 16+ HD monster MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: Nil THIEF/ASSASSIN: Nil MONK/BARD: Nil PSIONIC ABILITY: I S:24(+6, +12) 1:25 W:20 D: 19 C:25 CH:--4"

This version of Shub Niggurth is the source all many of the horrors of Hyperborea (or at least in our home campaign it might be) & this is answered in the second part of the entry; 

"This fountain of uncleanliness is a huge pool of gray matter, 100 feet across, in the caverns beneath Mount Voormithadreth. It is constantly bubbling and putting forth mouths, limbs, pseudopods and whole creatures. 1-100 small monsters are created from the pool each round, and they go crowling, flopping, or flying away into the caverns above. Some fall bock into the pool, which then grows mouths and devours them. ShubNiggurath is intelligent and telepathically sensitive. When it senses the approach of enemies (range 1,000') it will begin creating monsters to defend itself, one per melee round. These will be random according to the following table (d6): 1. Byakhee; 2. Deep One; 3. Great Race; 4. Mi-Go; 5. Primordial One; 6. Shoggoth.
 If any enemy is so foolish as to approach to within 30' of the being, the pool will lash out with a huge powerful tentacle; if it hits, it will pull the unfortunate victim into the pool, where he or she will immediately become part of the evil swirling protoplasm. Any creature struck has a percentage chance of not being pulled into the pool equal to his or her strength. Shub-Niggurath strikes only once per turn in this way and can simultaneously create monsters. Though its body is trapped deep in the caverns, Shub-Niggurath travels the Prime Material Plane in astral form, using its psionic powers to do evil and aid its worshipers" Let's pick this up from the H.P. Lovecraft wiki's Shub Niggurath entry on the diety's cults; "Of all the mythos deities, Shub-Niggurath is probably the most extensively worshipped. Her worshippers include the Hyperboreans, the Muvians, T'yog of K'naa, and the people of Sarnath, as well as any number of druidic and barbaric cults. She is also worshipped by the non-human species of the mythos, such as the "Fungi from Yuggoth" (the Mi-Go) and the Nug-Soth of Yaddith. (EXP: The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana)" 

 So this ShubNiggurath avitar is psionic active & I believe the Outer god is actually spread through out planes. And this is also true of our own home version of Hyperborea. 

OSR Commentary - Greyhawk Adventures By James M. Ward's Greyhawk Dragons For Your Old School Campaigns

 As an independant & OSR theorist it stands to reason that occasionally one has to get back to basics. And I'm a huge fan of James M.Ward's writing & design. One of my favorite TSR classic era books is the  Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Greyhawk Adventures. This was one of the last hard backs that TSR did back in September 1988. You can read a whole history on the book on the Grehawk Wiki here. 

 Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Greyhawk Adventures book is a transition book between the original Advanced Dungeons & Dragons system & 2nd edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. And there were so many great additions from the gods, clerics, and the role of religon plus lots more. 
But it's the new monsters that have my attention especially the Greyhawk Dragons. The entry on Greyhawk dragon has the following; "Dragon, Greyhawk ClimatelTerrain: Temperate cities; rarely, temperate hills, barrens or forested hills Frequency: Very rare Organization: Solitary Active Times: Any Diet: Omnivore Intelligence: Supra-genius (19-20) Treasure: U Alignment: Lawful neutral (good tendencies) Reaction Modifier: + 2 Number Appearing: 1 ArmorClass: 0 Movement: 12"/24" (MC:E) Hit Dice: 11 THACO 10 Number of Attacks: 2 claws, 1 bite Damage per Attack: 1-10 (claw) x 2, 3-30 (bite) Special Attacks: Breath weapon, magic use Special Defenses: Spell immunity Magic Resistance: 75% Size: Huge (25 feet long) Morale: Fanatical (20) Experience Value: 6200 + 20hp Greyhawk dragons love the companionship of humankind, and prefer to live in cities. They are highly magical and intellectual. Physical Appearance: Although considerably smaller than many of its kin, the Greyhawk dragon shares the strength and robustness typical of other dragons. Its scales are a rich metallic grey reminiscent of brushed steel, ranging to a darker hue-almost like blued gunmetal-on the creature's underside and towards its tail. The membranes of its wings have the sheen of fine silk. Combat: At heart a peaceful creature, the Greyhawk dragon avoids combat where it can. If conflict is inevitable, however, it fights with great intelligence and lethality. In addition to its clawlclawhite attack routine, three times per day it can exhale a highly toxic gas (save vs. poison at -4 or die). The maximum amount it can exhale would fill a cube 30 feet on a side; however, the dragon can carefully meter the amount. The gas is quickly absorbed through the skin, and is just as lethal as if breathed. Partial protection can be gained through coating all exposed skin with lard or other grease, as this attenuates the effect of the poison (the save is now made at - 2). The toxicity is very short-livedwithin two minutes of exposure to oxygen, the gas becomes inert. In preference to any physical attack, the dragon is likely to use magic. At the very young age, it has four 1st level spells. Thereafter, it gains four spells of progressively higher level at each new age bracket (thus at old age, it has four spells of each level 1st through 6th). From birth, it can also polymorph self five times per day. Unlike the regular magic-user spell, this ability has an unlimited duration. The Greyhawk dragon is immune to magic user spells of 1st through 4th level. Against all other magical effects, it has a magic resistance of 75%. It can use all magical items permitted to the magic-user class. "
"Habitat/Society: Because of its love for and fascination with humanity, the Greyhawk dragon usually lives polymorphed into human form. Its favored habitat is a large city, where it typically owns a large house, and where it’s often the center of artistic and intellectual gatheringspoetry readings, discussion groups, etc. In their human identities, Greyhawk dragons are often well-known among the intelligentsia and patrons of the arts. They keep their true nature inviolably secret. Food is usually the creature’s biggest problem: Although it might take the form of a man or woman, it must eat enough to maintain its true bulk. Every two weeks or so, it drops out of sight and travels to nearby wilderness areas (where it might claim to own a hunting lodge). Here it hunts, making up for its enforced fast (at least, by dragon terms) in the city. Like other dragons, the Greyhawk variety is omnivorous, but prefers fresh meat. It never eats domesticated herds, preying instead on wild animals-particularly those baneful to man. Greyhawk dragons are very rare creatures: even the largest city might have only one or two living (secretly) in its midst. Although they take stringent precautions to prevent their true nature from being discovered, one Greyhawk dragon can recognize another on sight. Dragons in the same city are usually cordial to each other, though they don’t usually seek each other’s company. Every twelve years, however, the dragon seeks a mate, often from another city. When it has found one, the couple retires to the wilderness, where they raise a single offspring. Once the youngster is old enough to fend for itself-about 24 months-the parents separate and return to their individual lives. The creatures very rarely select the same mate twice. Greyhawk dragons speak their own language and the languages of most humans, demihumans and humanoids. They can be found-if they wish to be found-in any large town or city. There are reputed to be no fewer then five Greyhawk dragons in the city whose name they bear! . . . although nobody-least of all the dragons themselves seems willing or able to substantiate this. Niche: Greyhawk dragons are at the top of the food chain, with no natural enemies. In cities, they rarely work as artisans, preferring to act as collectors and disseminators of information (like sages). "

So what does all this mean?! Well for dragons on Greyhawk an incredible amount! Greyhawk Dragons can effectively be rulers, kings, wizards, & sages all able to not only rule a country. But they could join a party of adventurers as an NPC without the players ever knowing it. This could be especially true if the dragon wakes after a long sleep & wants to catch up with the direction that the world has taken. Given the grim, gritty, & downright dangerous place that is Greyhawk there may be far more to this then as it first appears! 

Given the treasures of a dragon any city that bares their purview is going to be incredibly lucky. But this may depend upon how one looks at it. The adventurers may become the playthings of a sagely Greyhawk dragon whose motives may not be completely trustworthy. Given their greed for knowledge, artifacts, relics, collectables, etc. The adventurers may find themselves doing more then simply stepping & fetching for a highly motivated creature of magic.  
They may become the pawns of political intrigue, rapid delivery service or more. The change of tone that the dragons of Greyhawk took in Greyhawk Adventures is down to James Ward's imagination.  And these creatures have a lot more creative spark then one finds in the run of the mill monsters for the time of Greyhawk Adventures release. 

Could a party find themselves in the wilds of Greyhawk with a hungry & ravanous Greyhawk dragon!?! Certainly & it might just be that farmer Brown's favorite buffalo or Mastadon  is on the menu! Dragons can be incredibly dangerous & geniunely alien in their thinking even if they seem like creatures or monsters that we are somewhat familiar with them. 

The Greyhawk Dragon's entry makes the 'monster' sound far more like royalty then an actual monster. A creature both a party to the royal court as much as the back rooms of dungeons. 

Tombs & Crypts - The Dungeon Alternative or Grave Robbing For Fun & Profit

 Today was one of those days where reaching back into the stacks & archives looking across the early Dragon magazines especially issue The Dragon Magazine, Issue 9 Single Issue Magazine - January 1, 1977. 
And the reason for this quick run through is 'Tombs & Crypts' by James M. Ward; " The mystery, challenge and pleasure of any wargamer in discovering and opening a tomb of some unknown being is well known to those that have done it. The creation of these tombs can be a very drawn out, head scratching process for the judge"

'Tombs & Crypts' presents a random generator for creating your own random tombs & crypts. And theres are several reasons that these are important. 'Tombs & Crypts' are not dungeons they present a rather interesting dungeon alternative to the larger dungeons. They can be easily trapped, they could have guardians, & could belong to an older order of beings then the PC's. Tombs & Crypts are also offer an interesting alternative to the ususal dungeons. And even the crypt's wiki definition offers even more insight into crypt itself; "A crypt (from Latin crypta "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics.

Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a church, such as at the Abbey of Saint-Germain en Auxerre, but were later located beneath chancel, naves and transepts as well. Occasionally churches were raised high to accommodate a crypt at the ground level, such as St Michael's Church in Hildesheim, Germany." 

Visigothic crypt of Saint Antoninus Palencia Cathedral (Spain) 
Photo by Valdavia 

Tombs & Crypts were once the old school alternative to dungeons for several reasons: 

1. These adventure locations can be played in a few sesssions
2. There are logical reasons for treasures & artifacts connected with the dead 
3. Monster guardians can easily be connected with modern or ancient religions allowing the PC's to get themselves in scads of trouble. 
4. Cults & religions are going to mantain these tombs & crypts allowing many NPC's to be on the PC's trail. 
5. Tombs & crypts could pop up just about anywhere from country grave yards to full on urban cityscapes. 
6. Tombs & crypts are the bread & butter of grave robbers. And they present a new opportunity for PC's. 

The grand daddy of all old school tombs is of course Gary Gygax's s1 'Tomb of Horrors '.  This adventure module is the exception & not the rule. The design goal here being the death of any high level PC that runs across it. But the village of Hommlet itself is equally important as it presents an adventure frame work & support for S1's tomb. 

 The tomb itself is a grand grave or it can be according to the tomb wiki entry; "A tomb (Greek: τύμβος tumbos^[1]) is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called immurement, and is a method of final disposition, as an alternative to cremation or burial." 
So there are all kinds of places of burial that can be used by the dungeon master to screw with their player's minds. 

Even primitive tombs can be the remains of far more then the players bargained for as ancient sorceries & magicks remain able to create all manner of havoc on the PC's. And if we look back into 'Tombs & Crypts' by James M. Ward then the DM can present all manner of randomly generated tombs & crypts in ancient grave yards, or even mantained graveyards where the tomb of a rich wizard presents a very tempting target for PC's on the look out for loot. 

More OSR Resources Aboard The Warden - B2 Keep on The Borderlands By Gary Gygax - The Castles & Crusades Rpg Aligned With The Star Ship Warden Rpg book

Henri The Hurricane caused lots of mayhem for me as a DM this past weekend. It turned out to be a mild storm with an attitude. If one listened to the newscasters it was supposed to be the 'storm of the century'. And said newscasters almost but not quite seem geniunely diappointed when there wasn't any real destruction unlike Hurricane Sandy which barrelled through New England in 2012. We cancelled four game sessions this weekend . Fortunely my current B2 Keep of the Borderlands by Gary Gygax  kept my mind busy. 


 B2 Keep on the Bordlerands set aboard the Warden or a simlar starship has gotten me thinking about another older campaign  idea. Adventurer, Coqueror, King rpg's The Sinister Stone of Sakkara by Matthew Skail & , Alexander Macris works very well as a bridge gap between B2 & some of the weirdness aboard the Warden. A quisi Indo European adventure location with the advanced beastmen & their growing numbers aboard the Starship Warden works. 

There's already a Science Fantasy background baked into many of the ACK's adventures & the ACK's theme could continue with using  AX3: Capital of the Borderlands  to expand upon the quisi Late Roman Empire feel of this style of adventure.  AX3: Capital of the Borderlands  could provide a true base of operations within such a campaign. The AX3: Capital of the Borderlands book has more then enough material in it to add & drop it into an existing campaign or it could alternatively be used to bridge gap the classic B2 Keep on the Borderlands as a campaign extension for the Starship Warden.

AX3: Capital of the Borderlands  could easily serve
as the home base for the PC's. 

  The late Roman Empire asthestic of AX3: Capital of the Borderlands  could help to explain some of the weirdness of why the fortresses have been established along the borderlands. The campaign is going to walk a fine line between the dark Pulp fantasy of ACK's & the grittiness of 'The Star Ship Warden'. There's more then enough room to stick in other OSR influences here. The ACK's influence could allow the campaign setting to take on an almost ancient Alexandra style with traces of the Silk Road exoticism thrown in with more then enough Thundarr The Barbanian moments. 

The Starship Warden has more then enough traces of  actual Earth history within it to allow the DM to do both gonzo & serious in equal turns. 
The Warden has many influencs within its pages & its possible that the PC's  might find one of the multiple houses on their travels across the campaign lands. This means that the PC's could stumble upon one of the many ruined homes scattered across the landscape of the Warden.

This very situation actually goes back to one of the early Metamorphis Alpha Rpg first edition adventures. The excellent 'Metamorphosis Alpha: The House On The Hill' by Craig J. Brain, Bonus Content by James M. Ward could be slipped between B2 Keep on the Borderland & some of the other Starship Warden encounters. Even though this adventure is first edition MA its easily adaptable with very little work by the DM to the Starship Warden. 

The houses featured in the adventure are both familar & yet very dangerous highlighting the entire feel of the Metamorphis Alpha game going back to its beginnings. 
The Warden takes its weirdness on its own terms & this is something that extends a great deal to the Amazing Adventures version of the Starship Warden. Familiar & yet utterly alien in equal turns. 
Make no mistake that  'Metamorphosis Alpha: The House On The Hill'  is absolutely deadly unto itself. Stupid actions are going to equal dead PC's. Read through the entire adventure & don't convert this one on the fly. This is the voice of experince here. Read through, take notes, and convert monsters as needed. 
These house could contain very valuable information about the actual state of the Warden. The predicament that the PC's find themselves in & the current state of the Warden. Could this mini adventure be linked into the cult of Chaos?! Its very possible as the PC's stumble across a group of cultists messsing with a bungalow aboard the Warden for valuable artifacts or possible weapons. The PC's coming into the middle of such a raid? And then dealing with the fall out from it.  There's also the fact that currently there's a  9.95 the Metamorphosis Alpha Bundle  which snags you Metamorphosis Alpha 1E, 3 Metamorphosis Alpha sourcebooks, and Death Ziggurat & Warden Adventures. Erok Tankard has far more details on this bundle here. 
These resources would have to be converted over to Starship Warden rules as the DM & players see fit. 

One Thing Leads Back From Another - - B2 Keep on the Borderlands & T1 The Village of Hommlet By Gary Gygax - The Castles & Crusades Rpg Aligned With The Star Ship Warden Rpg book Session Report

 The mask fell off during last night's session of our usual Amazing Adventures/Castles & Crusades game an old player of ours came back into the game campaign. Now on a Sunday night this wasn't a problem but this was one of last year's players. Let's call him Charlie, now charlie was playing with us when DM Steve & myself were doing a lot & I do mean a lot with Judge's Guild's The Wilderlands of High Fantasy. Now before we go any further let me clarify that we've got nothing to do with the luntic fringe of current JG owners's political views at all! And that debacle belongs to them. That being said, we got called on the carpet for changing up from the Wilderlands to Greyhawk. 'What do mean that it was Luz the whole time!?!' 'No @#R$@#ing way! I don't believe it!' 
'Nope I don't believe it at all!' 'No way it would be Luz!' 'What are you guys trying to pull here time out!' 'We need to have a meeting!' 

Ten minutes later Charlie & the rest of the players were back at the table top! We know that you've got something else planned! Back into game session! 
 'All of the humanoids are gone from the caves of chaos right except for a few guards left behind?'
'We've recovered a few of the items the cult left behind right?? 'Yes absolutely.' 
'We're going to camp here tonight & examine those plus come up wth a game plan before we go tackling a humanoid army' That night the party finds that the artifacts have strange almost but not quite Egyptian style  on them. They want to sell the artifacts ASAP.  Now this plays right into DM Steve & myself's hands because the party has unfinished business with another serpant cult. And  this cult has been known to pass itself off as other evil religions. The cult operates in both Greyhawk & the Wilderlands. 
But this is going to complicate the campaign tremendously but then Elven scouts in the party that night decided to check the woods around the party's camp. They came face to face with a lone hobgoblin scout & managed to capture him. Tied up & questioned by the party he was wearing desert light scout armor. There was also a symbol of the god Seth on around his left wrist tied. His swords bore serpent symbols in the hilts. He wanted to know if our party of adventurers were associated with the town of Mitra's Fist?! This completely bewildered the players except for Charlie where the penny dropped! He remembered his Elven scout's 'Jac In The Rose' time in Jennell Jaquays, formerly Paul  Jaquays, Dark Tower last year. The adventure remains unfinished by this group of players! Jack in the Rose raced back to tell the rest of the party & this is where we ended for this week! 

DM Steve & myself decided to drop the players into a generation ship. Is this the Warden?! We don't actually know yet. Are the humanoids getting ready to attack the town of Mitra's Fist? Its on our agenda & this might possibly lead back to the Wilderlands or we'll bring even more Wilderlands elements coming up soon. Where?! Hommlet remains mostly unexplored by the party at this point. The zombies remain within the moat house at this point. There's an excellent overview of JG88 Dark Tower over on the OSR Grimoire blog here. 

It Was Luz the Evil All Along - B2 Keep on the Borderlands & T1 The Village of Hommlet By Gary Gygax - The Castles & Crusades Rpg Aligned With The Star Ship Warden Rpg book

 

Who could be responsible for the cults of evil in In B2 The Keep on the Borderlands by Gary Gygax?! The list of evil dieties comes down all of the way to one bastard son of a cambion that I can think of. And that's Luz  The Evil! That's right I said it! The three greatest evils to face the Flanaess are Iuz, the Scarlet Brotherhood (representing Tharizdun), & of course Vecna. But only Luz has the experience to know what the Spaceship Warden is & what it represents to the planes. 
The cult gets aboard the Warden when a chunk of Greyhawk is teleported over to the Warden or its attendent spacecraft. The Caves of Chaos however are still in deep contact with their master. The old Hermit is actually an unfrozen passenger or officier aboard the ship that's been 'converted' to Luz's cause. The Warden itself is a huge prize & Luz represents a danger to every living thing aboard the Warden. The Carl Sargent  sourcebook/adventure from '93 'Luz The Evil'  is perfect for this set up. Why this book?! JH's review on Amazon goes into the 'why' perfectly; "If you get a chance to buy this book, jump on it. This is the best Greyhawk sourcebook I have seen. Iuz the Evil details the holdings of Iuz, the evil demigod of the flanaess, just after the signing of The Pact of Greyhawk where the Greyhawk Wars ended. The sourcebook begins giving an excellent history of Iuz, from his birth to the end of the Greyhawk Wars. It explains Iuz's fears and aspirations for the future. Iuz's priesthood is examined and new spells and magic items are added for his faithful. All of Iuz's lands are detailed including the howling hills, Dorakaa (the city of skulls)and the rest of the Land of Iuz as well as the occupied territories (Horned Society, Shield Lands, Bandit Kingdoms, and the Land of Tenh). Included are the stats for Iuz's Armies and all the key players good and evil (mostly evil) including the dreaded members of the Boneheart. The sourcebook also gives adventure ideas for low levels all the way to the highest of levels. Another note of interest is that the areas described are the location for several previous adventures including The City of Skulls, White Plume Mountain, The Return to White Plume Mountain, and several others." 
Luz this whole time has been 'raising' an army of humanoids aboard the Warden. Hell the clone vats aboard the Warden have been churning them out all this time. Luz's has been excercing his control over the humaniods through his magicks. Is this anything new?! 

Nope. He's known as the god of pain for God sake. And creating a host of humanoids & undead to take over other decks is just his style. You got to understand that Luz's armies are solidly detailed. And they very much fit the Greyhawk mold of the humanoid horde. Sure there's Luz's inner circle but all in all this is a god that seems a bit linear in his thinking. But why not raise an army of humanoids to do your evil bidding. 
Luz being behind the evils of B2 isn't all that surprising. But bringing his brand of evil to the Warden is sorta. And this is because the bastard god of evil knows he's got competition. There are literally hundreds of evil wolfoids aboard the Warden. These creatures & perhaps their shaman's may know of the evil powers behind some of the misery aboard the Warden. the question really is, 'Can anyone spoilt the 'fun' of Luz & co.? 
This is where the party comes in. The adventurers are going to be that unknown quality in the works. And this brings up a very interesting point. Can  adventurers really ruin the god of evil's plans?! If everything goes to plan?! Yes would be the answer. 
Why?! The keep of course! The keep is one constant's in the module & it offers a safe haven in a sea of chaos that the Warden may become. Hommlet is going to become a casulty straight off. The horde takes out the village unless extreme measures on the part of the PC's is done. 

If the humanoids vanish & its Luz wanting to take another deck onboard the Warden then what happens?! Why?! What's his plan & are there other dieties aware of the driving force behind such an action?! There's some excellent reasons for this. One Luz has the idea of using the Warden;s armies & clone vats  as a piece of a planar holdings. Two the Warden represents a possible conquering army for Greyhawk or another such setting. Three the Warden needs to be tamed & its an amusment to Luz fitting his own twisted evil. But there's far more going on here below mere material conquest.