OSR Atomic Campaign Commentary - A Most Dangerous NPC Count Zaroff Amazing Adventures Build Part II

 Count Zaroff is a menacing methodical hunter who hunts only the greatest of prey mutant, mutant animal, or human. Zaroff is a master hunter starting with bow & arrow, then moving on to modern firearms, and finally unleashing his pack of mutant hunting dogs to chase down his prey. He is merciless, quick witted, and highly dangerous. And this blog post picks up straight from here. 

Count Zaroff 

Class/Level: Hunter 6/Archer 5 

Alignment: Lawful Evil 

Abilities: Str 13, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 16, Wis 10 Cha 13, 

Prims: Str, Dex, Int

AC:19 

BTH: +5 

Costume: Black outfit, gloves, tunic,boot, hunter's sash all in varying shades of black depending upon area of hunt 

Hit Dice 5d8 

Hit Point: 35 

Class Abilites: Master Archer, Eagle Eye, Unstable Shoot, Master Bowyer,Blinding Speed, Rapid Shot, Dead Eye Shot, 

Fate Points: 8d8

Backgrounds:* High Society, Military, 

Languages/Knowledges: Russian, French, Latin, Classic Literature, Russian & International  Military Forces & Weapons 

Traits: Arrogant, Suspicious, Aggressive  

Gear: Compound Recurve Bow embedded with South American charms, Score of normal hunting arrows, Score of explosive arrows for during military operations (-2 to hit, but explode to deal +2d6 impact damage to a 5' radius; Dex save for half), Hunting Rifle

Count Zaroff hunts only the most dangerous prey regardless of mutant,human,or mutant animal. Zaroff is one of the most obessive hunters on planet Earth. Count Zaroff has a castle abode & retreat on 'Shipwreck island' where he often has his mutant tribal minions set up ships for wreck. The crews & passengers of these wrecks then become his prey for his hunts. Because Zaroff is retired Russian military he has extensive access to arms & armorments. Zaroff  he has an undergound vault & trophy room below his island. Zaroff's island is covered in rough & dangerous mutant animal infested jungle. Because he is independently wealthy & belongs to one of the most influencial families in Russia he not for want of money. Count Zaroff  has vast resources with  a landing strip,motor pool, and facilities for his island. 

Count Zaroff often farms out his services to many communities across the world where mutants & mutant  animals have become a problem. He will hunt these menaces for free with the understanding that his methods nor the hunt can be hindered or questioned. 

OSR Atomic Campaign Commentary - A Most Dangerous NPC Count Zaroff Background Part I

 So as we once fold back into the Siege Engine mode play there's an mini campaign idea that came about because of consolidating campaign ideas. The 1960's Atomic War dimensional plane has been a mini planar branch that our Amazing Adventures PC's sometime found themselves upon. You can read about that mini campaign in part I here & part II here. 
And upon this planar wasteland Earth there's a mighty hunter of human & mutantkind Russian Count Zaroff, & his faithful mutant servant Ivan. World War III is long over and 'Shipwreck island' has become a hazard to shipping routes throughout the South American Coast off of what was once Chile. 

Fall Out has become a real hazard as it sweeps across the globe periodically wiping out entire communties and regions as it sweeps down from the Earth's atmosphere. The world of mankind has been reduced back to the technological level of the 1920's & 1930's. Mutation has made the wilds of Earth all at much more dangerous. 

And 'Shipwreck island' is a small dot owned by the Russian Cossiack oligarch Count Zaroff. Zaroff survived World War III with the rank of general and claimed the island with it's chateau & underground fallout shelter. 'Shipwreck Island' has a reputation of death, it's impentrible jungles holding only the deadliest of beasts, mutant animals, & worse. 
Count Zaroff hunts only the deadliest mutants & humans across his island & beyond pitting his prowess, abilities, and equipment against the best this world has to offer. Zaroff only keeps the most expressive parts of his prey the head. 
Zaroff is incredibly dangerous having a vast array of weaponry of Korean War & World War II era in prime condition in a motor pool  as well as mini airport on his island. Because Zaroff employs his own tribe of mutant henchmen everything is ready to move at a moment's notice. Count Zaroff has retired to his island but keeps his ear to the pavement for any 'exceptional prey' human or mutant. 

Count Zaroff may become an NPC ally or enemy for the players as he hunts mutant menaces for wasteland  communities for the thrill of it. 

Count Zaroff & co. are anti heroes & complete heels mysteriously helping a wasteland community only to disappear back to 'Shipwreck island' in time for a banquet fit for a king or at the very least a count. Count Zaroff is taken from a 1932 American pre-Code horror film 'The Most Dangerous Game' , directed by Irving Pichel and Ernest B. Schoedsack, starring Joel McCrea, Fay Wray and Leslie Banks.
Next time we'll get deep into building Count Zaroff in Amazing Adventures. 

Review & Commentary For Warlords of Atlantis By Paul Elliot From Zozer Games For the Barbaric! rpg, Sword of Cepheus, & Cepheus Engine rpg's

 "A new BARBARIC setting! Battle Atlantean spearmen, Greek pirates, lionmen and mammoth-riding archers! Welcome to an antediluvian world, where Atlantis in all its decadence has not got long to live. It is epic and dark, full of demonologists, Ice Age tribes and pyramids. Conflict is everywhere ... your swords are needed. 

Beyond the known ages of Man, the great kingdoms of Atlantis fight to retain their supremacy against an uprising of new cities and new people. Their powerful civilisation depends on raw materials from within the Inner Sea, but the rise of Greek states there, troublesome, quarrelsome and belligerent, is pushing the Atlantean warlords to the brink of war".

So awhile back Paul Elliot announced that Warlords of Atlantis for the Barbaric rpg rules was going to hit the rpg market like a shot. So being a huge fan of both Cepheus Engine & Paul's rpg efforts I grabbed a copy when it hit the stands! Warlords of Atlantis is both Sword & Sorcery as well as pure Pulp as we see from the intro;  

"Back beyond the known ages of Man, to the lost beginnings of civilisation, there was a time of war and conflict. The great kingdoms of Atlantis were fighting to retain their supremacy against an uprising of new cities and new people. Their powerful civilisation depended on raw materials from within the Inner Sea, but the rise of Greek states there, troublesome, quarrelsome and belligerent, has pushed the Atlantean warlords to the brink of war. Player characters in Warlords of Atlantis can make their fortunes exploring this world. They can fight as mercenaries or pirates for kingdoms willing to pay, seek out lost treasures and items of fabulous power, they can create grand schemes of conquest, or perhaps engage in thievery and brigandage - as their morals or ambitions dictate."  So essentially this is a perfect little campaign setting add on for running an Atlantian campaign with Barbaric! or the Cepheus Engine rules this includes Sword of Cepheus of course. 
Warlords of Atlantis excels at creating a sand box setting within fifty five pages and bringing the Atlanteans right into focus for Sword & Sorcery action! You get Greeks, Voluscians, Thalangarians, the Kythians, Sokarians, & more each of which has certain traits, professions, & skills. These represent actual cultural impacts on your PC's that tie into the regions religions, peoples, history, and more. This Warlords of Atlantis's campaign sand box setting is a tinder box of violence ready to explode into full blown war!  And this Sword & Sorcery setting has both your Conan & Lovecraftian vibes in spades but its gotta a far more Sword & Sorcery setting balanced on the edge. Add to this a tinderbox setting and things could go South fast for those visiting from the 1930's! And it brings into focus the idea that Atlanteans are the inheritors of some pretty damn fouls magicks and more. 
And all of this is geared for a Barbaric! rpg campaign but there's a lot more here under the hood then one might seem. Barbaric! is brutal, short, and dangerous cousin of Sword of Cepheus & this relative fits right into this side of the Cepheus Engine rpg family. The expanding universe of Barbaric!  & Sword of Cepheus rpg setting books means that you can run what you want as the DM. And it shows the versitility of the 2d6 rpg system. 

What Warlords of Atlantis does is take the Barbaric! rpg & give it spurs for being turned into a lost land or an inner Earth game campaign easily. But if one was to add in Cepheus Atom to this mix then one can do even more weirdness with Warlords of Atlantis. Do you want to do a full on Pulp Science Fantasy campaign with magick, Tolkein fantasy, mixed with Lovecraftian goodness?! Then add in Sword of  Cepheus rpg for even more fantasy action! 

 Warlords is solid fifty five pages of Pulp action madness that works well & is an excellent addition to the Cepheus Engine rpg lines. The book has a bit of everything for an Atlantean rpg campaign easy to understand history, interesting peoples,  more PC options, Lovecraftian magicks, strange gods, weird monsters, Sword & Sorcery themes and more. To me as a DM Warlords of Atlantis is an excellent addition to the Barbaric! rpg line. 

Warlords of Atlantis By Paul Elliot From Zozer Games Is Available Right Here

Friday Mail Call - Troll Lords & Frog God Games In The House!

 Jason Vey's Amazing Adventures fifth edition has been on my brain now for some days going into a Lovecraftian campaign coming up. Got to say that  its very different then let's say Fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. 

Amazing Adventures handles the Pulp & Modern elements better then 5 edition. 

Horror has consequences in this game. 

AA can do D&D adventures without the bad issues of the fifth edition system. 

Thanks to the Frog God Games Humble bundle some months ago there's additional Lovecraftian material available to run with. 

 

And now onwards with the Frog God Games adventures! The gentleman who had to part with these was really upset after his wife approached me about buying them on the cheap! There's months & months of goodness here but its gonna be a question of working this stuff into the on going campaign! 

A Gathering Storm - Frank Mentzer's IM1 Immortals Storm, Immortals Set, & Moorcockian Mythology

""The storm-stuff is not matter as we know it, and beyond Immortal control," the Hierarch sighs, "I fear we are doomed."

It appeared only a few weeks ago — a swirling gray mass of incalculable size. And in its center, an eye. A humanoid eye. Now the storm threatens the very era of Immortal rule.

The growing maelstrom emits a message to the Hierarchs. But what does it mean? Can it help save this realm of existence? Is there time to save this realm?

This first Immortal adventure pits your party against the multiverse in a desperate struggle to find the essence of life. This adventure is nothing like you've ever played before."



 So since the beginning of the year sale is on at Drivethrurpg again. DM Steve decided to get me an early 'New Year' present, brand new copy of the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia. And of course the players wanted in on the action?! But thumbing through it has brought up immortals again?! 

Never let it be said that we don't have a wicked sense of humor, & recently when DM Steve decided to get me Christmas gift of D&D Rules Cyclopedia (Basic) then things came around for us. Now one of the things to know about D&D Rules Cyclopedia (Basic)  is the fact that it has a very basic introduction to the immortal's path from  BECMI Dungeons & Dragons.  But if you know about Frank Mentzer's Immortals Box set then you know exactly what the immortals are actually capable of. 

See unlike other folks I believe that the Mystara & other planes immortals are the biggest 'cosmic pain's in the arse' in the entire multiverse & planes. The reason that I say this is reading through Frank Mentzer's IM1 Immortals Storm & Tim Brannan's Immortals set commentary here.  IM1 Immortals Storm uses an alternative Earth  New York & Chicago respectively as part of the adventure plot. And as a DM I had a group of young & inexperienced immortals show up on this Earth to 'fix' the storm. The PC's at the time were 'gods of Earth' & high level adventurers turned gods ala Primal Order rpg book. We can see immortals barging into the local time space continuum to solve an ongoing problem. And this is after we get the immortals having a 'grand tour' of  the elemental plane of fire, the home plane of the tonals, the home plane of the notions, and the elemental plane of earth. 
This was prior to the fact that the PC's had encountered the young upstart immortals before & within DM Steve's campaign. And they were thrown out of that region of the edges of Mystara's planes. The PC's returned the favor by banishing the immortals from their Earth. But what happened to the campaign events of IM1?! Now two years  before starting my Cha'alt Godbound game DM Steve left me up to my neck in it here. Recently there's been a bit of a Strombringer rpg boom  that's been on going at our collective table top. And last night DM Steve brought up this unresolved game?! And another question that's been bothering me. If evil cosmic artifacts such as the Black Sword exist within both BECMI & AD&D first edition are any immortals or gods ever safe?! Why is this question immortant?! Because of the nature of the Black Sword entity or is it entities according to the Michael Moorcock Multiverse Wiki; "The Black Sword is a cosmic archetype, able to exist in any universe in almost any form. It is the weapon of the Eternal Champion, but it is not always borne by him or her. As the name suggests, it most often takes the form of a massive black runesword. The Black Sword is alive, fully sentient and malevolent. It has a will of its own and will often disobey the wishes of its wielder.

The Black Sword devours the souls of its victims, and can even kill gods. It exists in the Higher Realms as creatures of Chaos, and can partially manifest as black-bladed swords or other weapons (such as Jerry Cornelius' Needle Gun or the Banning Gun) on the material plane.

The Black Sword has been called by many names in its different manifestations across the Multiverse, including Stormbringer, Mournblade/Ravenbrand, Kanajana, the Cold Sword, the Dragon Sword, and Murakamo-No-Tsurugi (Japanese for Sword of the Gathering Clouds).

Though the Black Sword is a being of Chaos, it seems to be an instrument of the Balance, akin to the Runestaff and the Horn of Fate. This is likely because in some cryptic way, the Black Sword and the Eternal Champion are one.

Lucifer has also claimed to be one with the Black Sword."

So is any god or immortal really safe?! Somehow I don't think so because we have various magic swords & artifacts floating around the multiverse not to mention the fact that Elric himself appears in AD&D 1st edition of Dieties & Demigods. 

It means that there are assasins out on the planes with the equilvent of loaded guns capable of killing gods. Let that sink in for a moment, & at any moment the entire works of a universe could comedown around the ears of the immortals or gods. Allowing both the lords of Entropy & Chaos to take on far more terrority then they originally were allowed. And yes I know that Frank Mentzer is going to contact me & give me a tongue lashing about the fact that he had specifically had separated BECMI, B/X, & OD&D from his immortals. But even the all powerful can fall to the minions & agents of evil. But what happens when even they need help?! And is that the sound of distant thunder?!  

1d20 Sword & Sorcery Treasures & Relics Left Behind By Adventurers On Their Copses Table For Your Old School Campaigns

 "His eyes tried to focus on the bloody burnt  heap that had once been a man. The wounds stunk of sulfur, acid, & something not of Earth. It was hard to believe that this mess was once Bran's grandfather King Hul.

'Grandfather what did this to you ?!'
From under one sulfur & acid burnt eye lid an eye of brilliant blue semi focused on the young warrior before him. But fear crawled up the spine of the young warrior.
The voice was the the sound of burnt lungs & rotting  tissue that had no right to be alive right now but spoke anyway. The corpse's words were mere echoes of the king who had taken his retainers & grand sons into the dungeon  entrance to the Underworld. "The hounds of Hades are coming back, I've hidden the treasure in the old gnarled trees below.'
'Take my armor, my sword, & the maps before the pack comes back. Be sure to take he signet ring of your ancestors. Now leave me to die.'
'Go & claim your birthright from below!'
That's when Bran first heard the baying of the pack & he had to hurry! "


Many are the times when adventurers will find the corpses & remains of those who have journeyed into the dungeons before them. Many times these remains have valuables, relics, & treasure upon them left by monsters as mere lures for the foolish & unwary. Sword & Sorcery literature is rife with these sorts of incidents on the trails of fortune & glory. But beware the pathways of fame & fortune are often the road to the coldest of Hell & the Underworld itself. Here then are 1d20 Sword & Sorcery treasures & relics left behind by adventurers who came before you!



There is a 40 % chance that the body is merely bait for some group of deranged warriors waiting in the wings. There is also a 60% chance of encountering some wandering monster that has been attracted by the scent of human terror & suffering. These monsters will attack to defend their food at all costs. Meals in the dungeons & ruins are a precious thing.

1d20 Random Sword & Sorcery Treasures
& Relics Left Behind By Adventurers On Their Corpses Table

1.  A half baked & burnt warrior's corpse has his mail shirt split up the center with the broken & gory remains of his chest hanging out. Nearby a +1 sword has been dropped & a scabbard sits off to one side as the leather belt that held it has been ripped to shreds. Three torches & flint plus iron rations are scattered about. A careful search reveals a shuttered lantern of superior quality. There is an emerald ring worth 100 gold & an earring with 20 gold pieces because of the clan emblem on it. 
2. This woman warrior's corpse is a bloody mess of gore. The armor gone beyond repair but within a sachet at her side is a red gold cup worth 100 gold but her sword has been broken in three pieces. Near the side of the corpse a shattered shield of wood & bronze now so much kindling. 
3. A wizard corpse has been torn in half, his face a blighted mess of gore. The fine robes he wore are shredded beyond all reason. His bag of 50 gold coins lay scattered among the magic powders & chemicals strewn across the floor. His staff has been broken in two but in his robes is a scroll of cure light wounds a serviceable dagger two foot long. Its sheath is on the grown. Weird lights come from a wand of magic missiles that has been dipped in a glowing fungus. 
4.  Half the corpse of a thief whose twin ichor covered daggers lay near by. He has a fine cloak worth fifty gold & a bag containing 50 gold pieces worth of gold dust. Plus there is a very fine amulet of unknown magical quality.
5. The bloody & bruised corpse of a cleric & her assistant that has three bags full of 100 silver pieces, plus several holy books worth 200 to the right order. There is also a good & serviceable mace slick with the brains of some monster. 
6. A  single warrior whose bloody mess of a head is missing but he has a complete work up of light Dark Ages style  armor worth 80 gold pieces plus a +1 sword able to wound creatures of a supernatural. Nearby is the corpse of an orc whose head has been sliced clean through he had several gold & silver rings plus a torc worth 40 gold pieces. 
7. The head of a thief with a nose ring worth 22 gold pieces, an earring in the left ear that acts as protect from evil spell, and a tongue ring of magic missiles. The rest of body has been dragged off down the hall evident by the bloody trail of gore & rotting mess.
8.  The hand of a thief who was a well known cannabal evident by the elaborate tattoo on the hand. There are several rings including a copper ring of passage to a local house of ill repute, a ring of protection along with its slave bracelet. 
9. The fully crushed & mashed corpse of an armored knight of the temple of Light. The corpse contains three jewels, the golden hand of a witch idol, and a bag containing 20 gold pieces. 
10. The zombied & pulped corpse of a strange wizened green humanoid creature that has the robes of a priest, a knarled walking stick, 30 gold pieces, & a map to the lower level of this dungeon. Should anyone get too close the thing's head  will bite for 1d4 points of damage & spread zombie rot disease. 
11.  The bloated & distended body of a warrior that will explode for 1d6 points of damage & 1d8 strange violet fungus will erupt from the thing's stomach. There in the center of the gore is a golden dagger of weird aspect worth 50 gold pieces to a collector of the artifacts of the spores, molds, & fungus goddess. 
12. A wizard's corpse has been hung on a nearby hook, his magical paraphernalia is scattered around including his spell book, staff, short dagger, and two magic rings. The corpse will come to life but can't get down from the hook and simply dangle there menacingly. 
13. Two warriors including one with a strange sword have stabbed each other with lots of minor weapons scattered around. There is a magical dagger of protection from evil as well as 1d6 minor weapons around the pierce corpses. Zombie rot is starting to settle in & each round there is a 10% chance of them coming to life. There are 10 gold pieces of broken jewelry scattered around the melee area. 
14. Three broken & battered corpses belonging to some sword men & duelists have been neatly stacked a top one another. Their swords worth 60 gold pieces each have been placed near by. All loot has been taken from the bodies already. 
15. The broken & torn body of a thief has been ripped apart. The guts lay scattered around & the face has been gnawed off. His tools have been broken and lay scattered around but there is a golden crown that has been secreted within the hidden folds of the corpse's cloak. 
16. The single head of a cleric has been left on the floor, a careful search of the head reveals that there is something in the thing's mouth?! A flawless diamond worth a fortune has been secreted in the thing's mouth but it contains more. The angry ghost of the cleric is now attached to the jewel & each night it will torment the party. The jewel is worth 600 gold pieces but is cursed! Only the temple of light can remove the curse and put to rest the spirit. 
17. The corpse of a broken female acrobat lays splayed out with bloody hand prints all over it. The thing has 1d10 striges nesting on its back & they will attack but our acrobat has hidden a bag of 30 silver pieces nearby. 
18.  A  box lays on the side of the dungeon with the unliving head of a wizard inside. The thing will try to curse anyone foolish enough to open the box. But he has a strange jewel worth a hundred gold pieces on its head. The thing can also cast a chain lighting spell every three or so rounds. The box contains in a hidden compartment the  jewels to a minor royal family worth a 1000 gold pieces. 
19. Several bags lay atop ten pools of blood, these bags contain the remains of a warrior who ran afoul of a necromancer. The necromancer killed the warrior but has not been back to claim his foul prize. There is a bag containing 200 gold pieces worth of loot belonging to the former warrior. There is also a nasty phantom laying in wait for the party fifty feet away.
20. A giant monster's head lays in the center of the dungeon hallway. The thing is animated & hates adventurers with every fiber of its being. It will hover and move 20" feet per round. The thing will hurl insults as it tries to bite for 1d10 points of damage or hurl its tongue for 1d6 points of barbed damage. The thing is protecting a nearby tomb of a forgotten prince that contains two minor artifacts of power. The lich in the tomb turned the poor bastard adventurer into this thing. 

1d10 Random Strange Caravans & Weird Merchants From Beyond Table For Your Old School Campaigns

 In a lost land, that only dreams have known,

Where flaming suns walk naked and alone;
Among horizons bright as molten brass,
And glowing heavens like furnaces of glass,
It rears with dome and tower manifold,
Rich as a dawn of amarant and gold,
Or gorgeous as the Phoenix, born of fire,
And soaring from an opalescent pyre
Sheer to the zenith. Like some anademe
Of Titan jewels turned to flame and dream
The city crowns the far horizon-light
Over the flowered meads of damassin ....
A desert isle of madreperl ! wherein
The thurifer and opal-fruited palm
And heaven-thronging minarets becalm
The seas of azure wind....

(Note: These lines were remembered out of a dream, and are given verbatim.)

The City in the Desert  (1922)
by Clark Ashton Smith


They come from out of the wasteland sands on alien creatures changing & metamorphosing to fit the local time & space. There are so many names but they all have come to sell their wares. The merchant princes, the queens of the road, the travelers, & many others. They come from all walks of life & places unknown. The folk are an amalgam of many of the exotic, the alien, the unwanted, & the list goes on. But they are also the dreamers & the dream. There are powerful half blooded Elven princes among their ranks & dreamers of the first order. Assassins of 2nd level guarding the wiles of  alien escorts of the most dangerous & erotic aspect.
When these caravans come to call the merchant princes will come to call on the rulers & authorities of the local cities. Ancient contracts promising horrid curses are sited & pacts made every two hundred years are shook over a small pile of gold pieces.

He is not what he appears to be

Ilusionists are some of the most valuable members of these mysterious caravans providing cover, creating distractions, & providing shows that attract people by the hundreds. This in turn provides the caravan marketplace with lots of customers. Wares are traded, soul pacts are made, & hundreds of pieces of dreams flow into the golden vessels of the caravans. The ancient powers of the Elves continue to ply their trade as they do in the modern day.
Going to a caravan market place may provide a party with a key book, occult treatise or other rare supernatural item forty percent of the time. There are certain forbidden tents where the erotic & exotic arts perform. But there are one or two 'special tents' that have late night or early morning performances at 'the hour of the soul.' These performances will drain one point of wisdom per customer & are by invitation only.
The merchant princes use these pieces of the human soul to perform black miracles back in their own lands far beyond the realms of dream.



There are often opportunities for adventurers to hire on to such caravans are paramount with them offering one  gold piece a day for grunt work &  six pieces for guard, military, & cargo duties. But there often powerful spirits & other supernatural predators among the 'acts' of these merchant princes. Those who hire on can be seen as potential fuel as well & should regard their tenure among these caravans as temporary at best. But there are valuable 'fairy gold' to be had & many an adventurer has been tempted by rumors of it. There is only death waiting for them however unless they are very careful. There will be a 20,000 to 2,000 gold piece treasury used by the caravan but there will be a efreet or genie guarding it of the most vile aspect. These 'treasures' will often turn to leaves or other debris when the characters exit the holding wagons. Changelings are often exchanged for strong human children who are considered a valuable treasure in their own right.
The various princes are often huldra ("hidden being") Elven blooded beings able to exist in the human world while powerful Elven wizards equip their caravans from Fairyland. These are seen as investments by their masters for the power of pure human souls is a value among the supernatural powers of incredible occult potential.
These caravans move across time, space, & dreams taking the relics from a million worlds but they are seldom what they appear to be.


1d20 Random Strange Caravans & Weird Merchants From Beyond Table 

1. Prince Albrus & his cohorts are a merchant train of incredible potential that is looking for a heir to a throne in Fairyland. His ties to the court of Hell allow him to sell medical miracles & occult secrets from across the planes. He is sardonic & very vein however & this can be used to the advantage of adventurers but his wraith is very dangerous. 
2. The Princess Truse & Prince Rous The Justice are two of the most devious & dangerous of the merchant princes. Their caravan is the cover for a Fey thieves & assassins guild of the most vile kind. Every two hundred years they follow a route that allows them to snatch & grab human babies for  changelings. Assassinate heads of state & then for good measure steal candy from children. These two however sell a wide array of occult components & artifacts to royalty from Fairyland. 
3. The Caravan of Wonders - This traveling troupe of magicians & performers is actually the cover for a lawfully aligned group of Fey & Elves who are hunting down the pawns of Hell & Chaos. They have many among their ranks who act as illusionists & wizards while their knights & paladins move across the land. There are twelve ranks of thieves who spy & steal from the wealthy patrons of cults & temples of depravity. 
4. Deacons of Depravity & Malice this caravan offers many different medical cures & a wide array of pleasures of the flesh. But in fact they have among their ranks some of the most dangerous necromancers ever to walk out of Fairyland. They seek the souls of the unwary and trade them for magick and illusionary treasures.
5. Trades of Nature is a group of traveling druidic priests & priestesses who help farmers & the like with crop issues & problems all the while being a cover for Fey. These spirits of the Earth actually are looking for an ancient temple of theirs across the planes but help farmers. Occasionally they trade for the soul of a child to help restore a particularly bad area.  They use the miracle of the Wicker man to restore the land.
6. Those Who Restore The Balance - This large caravan trades minor occult miracles, shows, & odd relics as they repair farm implements, address crowds with minor farming information, sell seeds, & are greatly regarded. These merchants are looking for a minor chaos cult whose sins have caused a disruption in the fabric of time. They have made a deal with an Elven wizard to sell his wares for the right of murder when they find them. That was two hundred years ago & they continue to travel. 
7. The Seekers of Lom - A troupe of traveling druids & seekers of wisdom who often come to predict the coming harvests & crop rotations. These traders are actually monster hunters and seek the abominations of Chaos to root out & destroy. They trade in information & seeds for their services while providing cover to seek out the destroyers of their master Lom. Occasionally they will take on an apprentice & use a changeling his or her place. 
8. The Caravan of Ull - This troupe of Elves is one of the most prolific in Europe & uses a wide variety of circus & faires to cover their activities. They serve the ancient Greek Muses & are often used to seek out aspiring artists to take with them back to Fairyland & the Underworld. 
9. The Tattered Ones - A Fall troupe of traders & acrobats whose performances hide the activities of one of the most dangerous occult witch hunters seen from Fairyland. Their hatred of covens & other pagan cults is widely known but their agenda is not. They leave a tattered doll after a hunt & murder of a coven at the site of a grove. There are rumors of twelve assassins guilds offering them up a child or two for apprenticeship every seven years. 
10. The Dark Ones in Shelter - This Spring group of Dark Elves comes to trade with human settlements in the most remotest corners of the world. They offer wisdom, food, farming advice, medical help, & worship. They are actually dark Elven paladins & knights who travel among humanity searching for the Devil's cults to murder & after centuries have gotten very good at it.

Old School Sword & Sorcery Commentary On X1 The Isle of Dread For Your Old School Campaigns

"Hundreds of miles from the mainland, surrounded by dangerous waters, lies an island known only as the Isle of Dread. Dark jungles and treacherous swamps await those who are brave enough to travel inland in search of the lost plateau, where the ruins of a once mighty civilization hold many treasures - and many secrets!"
If there's an adventure module that seems to be ever elastic & adaptable its X1 The Isle of Dread. This module seems to be one of the most easily adaptable of many old school modules. Recently I've been on a bit of a science fantasy kick & some friends suggested X1 for adapting to this campaign/thought exercise.


X1 has all of the makings of an experimentation or staging area of some ancient's laboratory. Many dungeon masters have added in science fantasy elements and much of it seems very reminiscent of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Who along with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Lost World books seems to be a major influences on Isle of Dread. As the official Wizards of the Coast entry on the adventure describes,' Historically, we think of the 70s and early 80s as a time of dungeon crawls, but Cook and Moldvay both frequently pushed another aesthetic: pulp adventure.' This is one of the strengths of X1 Isle of Dread in that it frequently seems to get pulled into may folks 'lost world' adventure locations.

"Cook specifically describes "Isle" as having a "Lost World/Skull Island feel." It was one of two pulpy adventures he wrote at the time, the other being I1: "Dwellers of the Forbidden City" (1981), which centered on a lost city in the jungle. He'd later author two pulpy RPGs for TSR: The Adventures of Indiana Jones RPG (1984) and the Conan Role-Playing Game (1985).

Moldvay also had plenty of other pulpy experience. James Maliszewski thus identifies "Isle" as the first book in Tom Moldvay's Pulp Fantasy Trilogy. It's a pretty apt name, as "Isle" contains a dinosaur-filled island, X2: "Castle Amber" (1981) directly references the pulp writings of Clark Ashton Smith, and B4: "The Lost City" (1982) features a city beneath the desert sands.

The adventure's "Skull Island feel" means that it also also owed something to King Kong (1933). TSR would even more explicitly return to this inspiration with WG6: "Isle of the Ape" (1985)."

This brings up the point that while fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons placed the Island of Dread on the plane of Water, does this make the island a stable point as a planar nexus? I believe answer is yes because the entire island is an artificial ecology put in place long ago. The multi dimensional dimensional nature of the island is perfect link to the plane of water making this a great & highly abundant resource. This makes it perfect fodder for one of the original Lovecraftian races 'The Elder Things'. None of the monster combinations really makes sense except in a Moldvay/Cook ecological nice way. Making this a perfect adventure location for ancient ruins of the 'Elder Things' in a Dungeons & Dragons setting.

The Kopru, dreaming the restoration of their lost Empire might have been one of the ancient enemies of the 'Things' left behind after the destruction of their own empire. Dinosaurs & worse prehistoric monsters could be food stock let loose on the island having now established their own ecological niches. The various other races of the island could be simply castaways now having carved out their own factions.
But why has X1 been placed on the Plane of Water? Well there's a great article on On the placement of the Isle of Dread  Posted by Stelio  which actually has quite a few useful ideas for adventure fodder.  There's also the  The history of the Isle of Dread  for a few ideas about old school referencing and more for X1. Threshold issue #3 Sea of Dread contains a boat load of  adventure & campaign ideas for incorporating the Seas of Dread into an old school campaign. The Sea of Dread articles in issue four of Threshold magazine concentrate on traders and those navigating the horrid waters which surround the Isle and its environs. This was the former empire of the Kopru and now the waters are home to a myriad of underwater ruins of these horrors. There could still be many super science artifacts & relics there making this a very useful resource to an Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea dungeon master.  Threshold issue four is available right over here

A mid-Expert campaign in the Sea of Dread by Giampaolo Agosta has some great ideas for a sword & sorcery style adventure campaign. These are great for a mid level group of players and PC's because they should keep things moving right along during table top play. X1 The Isle of Dread is balanced for Expert Dungeons & Dragons making this adventure perfect for mid tier retroclones such as Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea or Adventurer, Conqueror, King, Labyrinth Lord or even Swords & Wizardry. 

Monsters, lost treasure,etc from a thousand planes are liable to have been washed up on the shores of X1. This makes it perfect for DYIing in your own twist on this classic module. In fact this makes X1 The Isle of Dread a perfect counter point to AS&SH's Forgotten Fane of the Coiled Goddess.  The island could be another dimensional remanent that has been lost to the far future that caused the events of 'Old Earth. An idea toyed with ages ago making X1 a meet up point where the PC's are washed a shore by the dimensional tides. 

Set Up, Back Stage, & Lovecraftian Maintenance For Dungeons With Adventurer,Conqueror, King, Arduin, OSR, & Classic Old School Flavors

The concept of the kilodungeon goes back further then most folks realize & pops up in places that dungeon master's least expect it. All the way back to T1 The Village of Hommlet By Gary Gygax. Hommlet's moat house is the perfect metaphor or preview of coming attractions for PC's before they get to the main event.



Everything about Hommlet is the perfect PC base that mirrors many of the elements later found in the the rest of the Temple of Elemental Evil. That is once its been cleared of any & all resistance by the player characters. The dive into the moat house is a dive into the evil of the Underworld infecting the rest of the campaign world. That is to say that its a boil on the face of world & its not one to be taken lightly. This is a mini dungeon setting with plenty of 'shoot from the hip encounters'. The second the PC's enter this place is the second that they're taking on Chaos in all of its glory! Chaos in Advanced or Basic Dungeons & Dragons has always been there as soon as the player or dungeon master has read his first monster alignment that says 'Chaotic' or 'Chaotic Evil'.



Oh and if you don't think that the occult forces of Law & Chaos are just as important in OSR games such as Adventurer,Conqueror, King? Well let me let you feast your eyes on the Kickstarter for Secrets of The Undercity;
"The adventure takes place in the Auran Empire campaign setting, the default setting for ACKS. The eponymous Nethercity lies below the city of Cyfaraun, just fifty miles northwest of Türos Tem, making it a perfect sequel to our introductory adventure The Sinister Stone of Sakkara. But if you don't play in the Auran Empire, don't worry - a special appendix in the book offers advice on how to adapt the adventure for use with our Kanahu setting or with your own favorite campaign world. The Nethercity can be placed under any long-inhabited urban settlement that's changed hands between law and chaos over the centuries."
The really important bit here is,"The Nethercity can be placed under any long-inhabited urban settlement that's changed hands between law and chaos over the centuries."This is exactly what we see in T1 The Temple of Elemental Evil By Gary Gygax & Frank Mentzer. The moat house of Village of Hommlet is the set up for the bigger & nastier temple which we got a taste of.

The Auran Empire campaign setting,has had its major bush fires with Chaos before & destroyed it outright time & again. But Chaos is a festering disease that breeds in the hearts & minds of the campaign setting. The results can be & are catastrophic for a world. Don't believe me? Just take a look at Barsoom whose Green Martians consumed the entire world of Mars & whose presence is found all over early Dungeons & Dragons adventures encounter tables. Edgar Rice Burroughs creations are some of the most destructive warriors your party is ever likely to encounter. And they are the symptom of a much larger disease. The death of your campaign world should the forces of Chaos get the upper hand.


For world of Dave A Hargrave's Arduin there's one dungeon that consumes the heart of chaos & comes back for more that's Death Heart. This living & breathing chaos magnet lays at the core of a tractless wilderness. The place is pure evil, simple & quick to understand as an adventure location. Its a horrid place that deals in pure chaos and should not be placed too close to a civilized area. There's no warm up dungeon location for Death Heart merely a lone sentinel of evil & choke point for the forces of chaos in Arduin.


 Now I've talked about Lovecraft's Dream cycle & I'm going to again. The Underworld of the Dreamlands represents what happens after the battles have been lost & one. There was an apocalyptic battle in the Dreamlands, the cost was horrid for the gods of Earth. A deal was struck & the role of the gods of Earth was reduced to a mere shadow. Then you might ask where are the forces that fought in this apocalyptic event? Does the Vale of Pnath contain them? Yes it does but these of Chaos forces are right where they were when they were banished! The ghouls & ghasts are some of the most common inhabitants of HP Lovecraft's Underworld. But its in the Gugs of HP Lovecraft's The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath (1926) that we get our answers about this apocalypse.
The Gugs were partially responsible for this apocalyptic event, "The gugs were banished to the underworld by the earth’s gods, the Great Ones, for an unnamed blasphemy. Now they reside in a terrifying, underground city, dwelling in lofty, round, cyclopean towers. Nearby, colossal monoliths mark the cemetery of the gugs."

Whose responsible for what happened during all of these events? Well the answer is writ large all over the events of the background of The Dream-quest of Unknown Kadath & its easily Nyarlathotep.

 He holds the keys & the ruination of mankind. Chaos was given a stale mate  but the cost was terrible to the dreams of mankind. There are more hints about it in the writings of Zothique by Clark Ashton Smith.

 The real question for Secrets of the Nethercity what's the mega dungeon that Secrets is warming the characters up for? After the events of the adventure location for Adventurer, Conqueror, King what comes next. This is only taste of what's to come & we get a similar vein of adventure in T1 Village of Hommlet.
Secrets of the Nethercity's Cyfaraun might be the PC's base of operations for connecting the kilodungeons of the Nethercity with some of the upper levels of ACK's Dwimmmermount. Many of the hoards described in this product have direct corroborations with Labyrinth Lord's treasure & horde tables.

Chaos never sleeps & sooner or later the PC's are going to be confronting it again. This is where Dark Albion comes in very handy. Cults of Chaos for Dark Albion goes down exactly the same route as Barbarian Conquerors of Kanahu . Lovecraft's mythos forces are chaos unbound in all their glory & they're dangerous as Hell itself.
This is the same treatment that we see of the Mythos from the Arduin books where Lovecraft's creations jump from one civilized world to another destroying wantonly and dangerously again & again.

Most folks don't know that the Arduin books don't have this take in the main rule books but in the adventures themselves as a part of the monsters & NPC forces of the dungeons of Dave A. Hargrave. These forces though are left overs from apocalyptic events of Arduin's campaign setting.
Here are six rules for bringing the pain of the Mythos to your favorite science fantasy game setting: 

1. Its not always about Cthulhu, there are literally legions of Great Old Ones & Outer Gods to use in adventure settings. 
2. Alien artifacts & treasure can convey far more then miles of exposition during an adventure leading to rolls to help figure out the item 
3. Make up stuff on your own, got a Lovecraft scholar among your ranks than create your own Old One or Outer god for fun & profit during adventures. 
4. Don't get bound by the scale & BS of the Mythos. If you need a god or other thing to be certain way for an adventure then change it. There are so many contradictions in the Weird Tales literature. 
5. Make the Mythos your own & let it work to enrich & not hinder your campaign world. 
6. Earn treasure & items as needed during adventures especially with a cult or mythos flavor.