Blood Queens Beyond Oz To Wonderland - Wee Warriors Palace of The Vampire By Peter Kerestan, & Judy Kerestan

"For three centuries, the peasants of the Dwarvish island of Baylor have feared the raids of the Vampire Queen and her minions. Sweeping down at night from the palace in the shrouded peaks of the island, they range ever farther in their search for blood. The most recent victim was the Princess of Baylor, daughter of King Arman, who was taken in a midnight raid. King Arman has offered fabulous riches and land holdings with titles to the person or persons who can brave the stronghold of the Vampire Queen and return his daughter to him alive and well. "
Once again I've been speaking with my players & several of my dungeon master friends about my Castles & Crusades/Victorious rpg hybrid campaign that's been an ongoing & very dynamic affair. 


Ages ago PrecisIntermedia sent me a copy of Wee Warriors Palace of the Vampire Queen on pdf. Never let it be said that I ever ran a 'quiet' campaign & let's get right into New York City of War 1870. The city is gripped by riots & civil unrest of the highest order. But why?! What if my dimensional traveling Tegel Manor was drawn to the city by events taking place else such as the fantasy version of New York city that is part an upside down version of city reachable through fairy rings.  So let's dip back into the history of Dungeons & Dragons specifically Palace of the Vampire Queen; 
"Palace of the Vampire Queen is a Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game adventure published by Wee Warriors in 1976. It is notable for being the first stand-alone role-playing adventure."
I've already spoken about using both Flying Buffalo's  "Catalyst" system books & the Thieves Guild box set  to give the whole affair campaign legs. 

This goes into an idea that I've had brewing for awhile now that some of the  kingdoms of Fairyland's America  may actually be the kingdoms of Oz. The Dwarvish island of Baylor & its attendant kingdoms are actually a part of the Oz machinery in my campaigns. 


What dangerous royal bloodline does the vampire queen belong to?! Well back about 1845–1847 the 'penny dreadful' of Varney the Vampire; or, the Feast of Blood appeared & one of his brides might be perfect for the umm progenitor of Varney. Our vampire queen's origin goes much further back then any guess. She was a precipitant in the Elf/Dwarf wars of Fairy ages ago. 


This ties in with some of the dungeons & idea that I've had about using Gary Gygax's EX1 Dungeonland modules in this campaign. Credit goes to DM Steve who was on the phone with me last night. The idea that the vampire royals are trying to spark off a new OZ/Wonderland war. 


The Red Queen & the Queen of Hearts might be set up to be at war  with the newly installed Princess Ozmas & this ties back into the party's recent quisi elemental wizard encounter a few games sessions ago.


 All of this ties back into the events centered around  Gary Gygax's EX2 The Land Behind The Magic Mirror.  


 But I don't want to get into too much here but there's lots of queens & chess pieces being moved across America via  Oz, Greyhak, & Wonderland. Part of the inspiration here comes from an interview that DM Mike & Liz Stewart gave ages ago. And my recent purchase of the Tunnels & Trolls Alice in Weirdland solo dungeon. But that's another blog review coming up! 


New York City is going to be a very busy place coming up. The Vampire Queen is definitely going to be a boss based fight though. Her evil might be a very subtle & sinister thing coming up echoing through the campaign as deals are cut with the Rumps, undeath spreads, cracks begin to appear, and things go North & South fast.. So what could the wicked witches do about it?! 
I might end up adding in a sister Vampire Queen from Mark Taormino's Dark Wizard's #1 The Hanging Coffins of the Vampire Queen.