Barbarian Warlords of Greyhawk Part 15 - " The Eye Is Opening." AX5 Eyrie of the Dread Eye By Courtney Campbell Commentary On The Lands of Greyhawk

Now let's pick this up where we left off on the blog the other day on the blog here.  The player's PC's have meet the enemies of "Five Shall Be One" & brought the multi tribal mess of Greyhawk into a focussed series of united armies. Has Chaos been idle?! The answer is no because the Chaos worshipping Elves have been on the move & sacrificing various pawns & knights in their chess game on the chess board of Greyhawk. And this is because events of  T1-4 Temple of Elemental Evil have already taken place! And the PC's have secured the Keep from B2 Keep on the Borderlands & put down the forces of the village of Hommlet. 

And this proceeds the coming of the main event 'The Eye Opening!' Because this follows on the heels of AX5 Eyrie of the Dread Eye; " The Eye Is Opening."

"Thousands of years ago, living gods named Khepri wielded powers beyond understanding. Their bizarre magics rived a rent in reality itself. This portal—the Oculus—led to the deepest realms of Chthonic Darkness, but it was not yet fully open. Malign forces, opposed to all life, infested the Oculus, and waited. The Khepri kept vigil over the Oculus till time moved her hand. When the Khepri vanished in the Day Without Night, their Elven epigones took up the watch. In time, the Elves were conquered by the diabolic Thrassian race, and they in turn were subjugated by the Zaharans. Through the millennia, the caretakers of the Oculus studied, waited, and watched."

"Now the Awakening is near, the Spheres are coming into alignment, and the Oculus is beginning to open. The dark power is reaching out and for the first time in an age the Eyrie of the Dread Eye is accessible again. As the Eye opens, reality itself comes under further and further  strain. And as rumors of a new valley containing an underground forgotten city filled with untold riches spread out from the Dark Wall, the Oculus continues to open ever wider. " That's right the  living gods named Khepri are coming to call once again on Greyhawk! The events of T1 Village of Hommlet were only the start! The awakening of the Elemental Evil cult has lead to one of the other forces behind the cult  the living gods named Khepri!  These Khepri living gods are served by armies of sword wraiths so devoted to thier alien masters that even in undeath they continue to serve thier alien masters! 

We get hints of all of all this in Matthew Skail,  & Alexander Macris's AX1 The Sinister Stone of Sakkara as well as the first hints located within B2 Keep of the Borderlands By Gary Gygax.              

These two modules are key to keeping the borderlands secure & the PCs are by now witnin the 'conqueror' or 'king' level allowing them to take the leadership roles in the Greyhawk military that they were meant to be. And remember Greyhawk's Suloise barbarians are key to saving the Borderlands themselves. And PC's being a part of the marshalling of them is a key pivot point within this campaign. The return of the Khepri was hinted at within the AX2 The Secrets of the Nethercity & those were only some of the living god royals. AX5 is one of the main shows then in the Barbarian Warlords of Greyhawk campaign but it's not the only one! 

Barbarian Warlords of Greyhawk Part 14 -WGS1 Five Shall Be One By Carl Sargent OSR Commentary On The Lands of Greyhawk

 Let's pick right back up from yesterday on the blog here.  The forces of Law are trying to rouse themselves as blow after blow has been rained by Chaos in the Borderlands. And here's where we pick up on Carl Sargent's 'The Five Shall Be One'. According to the Greyhawk wiki entry; "Five Shall Be One is an adventure module for the World of Greyhawk campaign setting. The module bears the code WGS1 and was published by TSR, Inc. in 1991 for the second edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules"

Now I realize that this is a second edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons module but it's the first of three Greyhawk modules in the WGS series; "The adventure was written by Carl Sargent with cover art by Jeff Starlind and interior art by Ken Frank. It was originally intended as the first of three modules in the "World of Greyhawk Swords" (WGS) trilogy. It therefore precedes the second "Swords" module, WGS2 - Howl from the North. The third module in the series (which would have been coded WGS3) was never produced. Instead, the material originally intended for WGS3 was reworked and incorporated into the board game Greyhawk Wars."

"The title of the module refers to the Five Blades of Corusk, ancient magical swords which, according to the legends of Greyhawk's Suloise barbarians, can be brought together to be made even more powerful."  These are the blades that can literally turn the tide of the war with Chaos if A. They don't destroy it first & B. if they don't destroy the PC's in the long run. And this is no idle boast! Why!? Beccause according to the Canonfire website; "Blades such as Blackrazor, the Pillars of Heaven and Druniazth the Claw of Tharizdun could fill sheets of vellum in the halls of loremasters." 
Yes, yes, these were the blades that kicked off the Greyhawk Wars. We're not talking about that. We're talking about the fact that these legends bring together  Greyhawk's Suloise barbarians! Greyhawk's Suloise barbarians are key to saving the Borderlands themselves. 

The myths & legends that surround,' blades such as Blackrazor, the Pillars of Heaven and Druniazth the Claw of Tharizdun' are the glue that will unite the Flanaess. More over it's this united front that will in theory destroy the backbone of Chaos. And here's where the PC's are going to be on point to help with this by gaining their own tribe of barbarians. 

And yes I'm playing very fast & loose with the chronolgy of Greyhawk. Bare with me there's a reason for this. Part of this is  Garel Enkdal, an underground city of orcs in the Griff Mountains of the northeastern Flanaess.Originally Garel Enkdal belonged to the Chaos worshipping Elves we been seeing within Secrets of the Nethercity. 

'

Garel Enkdal has many of the same traits as the mini dungeons of Secrets & it's going to require a massive effort on the part of the PC's to clear it out later on! But the PC's are first going to need to complete WGS1 Five Shall Be One By Carl Sargent too start the process of uniting the barbarian tribes!  This is going to happen after the events of GDQ0 House of the Brothers.
 But what there's more to come! 

Barbarian Warlords of Greyhawk Part 13- GDQ0 House of the Brothers OSR Commentary On The Lands of Greyhawk

 "The House of the Brothers is an AD&D® game scenario for 3-6 characters of levels 6-10. Parties composed of less experienced players should have higher levels, while seasoned players may be able to handle this adventure with lower-level characters."

:This scenario s designed to fit into the WORLD OF GREYHAWK^TM Fantasy Setting. It takes place in hex M5-127 on the WORLD OF GREYHAWK  boxed-set maps three hexes north of Loftwick in the Yeomanry, on the border of the Jotens mountain range. "
We've talked about the scattering of Greyhawk's relics & treasures here & the role that Cyfandir plays in the Barbarian Warlords of Greyhawk campaign here. What if there was a module or adventure that could segway into the Giant series of modules?! What happens if Luz's return is just the signal that the giants have been waiting for?! House of the Brothers from Dungeon magazine just be that adventure according to the Greyhawk wiki entry on this adventure; "House of the Brothers is a Dungeon Magazine Module for 1st Edition Ad&D, for 3-6 character of levels 6-10, but is a considerable challenge for most players at that level. It's designed to expand the GDQ1-7 Queen of the Spiders super module, but could also be used to expand the G 'Giant' Series as well."
If the dragona of Cyfandir have returned then this could be the sign that the forces of Chaos have been waiting for because it may mark the return of the one of the gods of destruction for the orges & the trolls. These are two of the backbone forces of Chaos;'Worship of Vaprak, god of destruction worshipped by ogres and trolls. The module describes a small, horrifi idol with the words 'MIGHTY IS THE POWER OF THE CLAWED ONE. GREAT IS HIS FURY. DARK IS THE HOUR OF HIS RETURN.' engraved on it's pedestal. "Vaprak, god of destruction just might be one of the side gods of evil that unites the humanoids within B2 Keep on the Borderlands. 
Remember the forces of Chaos within Adventurer.Coqueror, King are all based around the evil humanoids of old school gaming. And in the Giant series of modules it's the Drow who are stirring the pot. And it might be the evil Chaos worshipping Elves who have called a temporary truce with the Drow to further the plot of the cult of elemental evil. And it could be the Drow who have furthered the corruption of Hommlet. 

The village of Hommlet & the Keep must both be secure by the player's PC's in order to run House of the Brothers! Why? A letter to Dungeon magazine addresses this; " House of the Brother's had two letters addressing the difficulty challenge of he module:

Dear Editor: I have some worries about the level you are assigning adventures. The range in toughness for the same strength party seems pretty wide. Take "White Death" and "House of the Brothers" (issue #6). In "White Death" 4-8 players of 4th-7th level (a party averaging 33 levels) takes on 36 hp of dragon. In "Brothers", 3-6 players of 6th-1th level (36 levels) take on 200hp of Giants plus 61 hp of hell hounds. To make matters worse, "Brothers" is heavily trapped, and the PCs don't know what they are facing until probably too late, while he PCs in "White Death" know from the star they are after a white dragon and may well meet him when they are at full power.   

So, we have one adventure where the party is an easy winner, and another where the party is going to be lucky to survive. Consistent bias is easily handled by the DM but this erratic evaluation is worse than useless. The party will get bored with easy wins and even more distressed by disasters. Hopefully, you don't have this problem too often. David Carl Argall (Dungeon Magazine #9, p.3)"

And David is right and the follow up letter addresses this; " Adventure Levels: I was very interested to read David Carl Argall’s comments in issue #9 on the levels assigned to adventures. As the designer of “House of the Brothers” (issue #6), I think I have some comments which may prove useful to him.

When you are considering whether to use a given adventure in your campaign, you must consider more than just the recommended level range. The level range for “House of the Brothers” was 3-6 characters of 6th-10th level, an average of 36 levels to take on two fog giants, two hellhounds, and some dangerous traps. David says this is too tough for the players. You might be surprised to learn, then, that when I playtested this scenario, my own players were running characters from 3rd-7th level, with the average character being 5th level.

Instead of considering only the level of your players, you should also consider the relative skill of your players. In some worlds, a single giant would be deadly for a whole party of mid-level characters. In my campaign, a single hill giant wouldn’t last two rounds against even 1st-level characters. This reflects the relative experience and skill of my players, not the statistics of their characters. I routinely use modules designed for 4th-7th level characters, with only slight modifications, when my own party is at 1st level."

The ACK's player's PC's are going to have to be an appropriate level in order to tackle the pitfalls & perils of GDQ0 House of the brothers. And we can see this in the secondary response to David's letter;"During playtesting, none of the fiendish traps set by Erdol and Karzahk worked on my party. A mid-level thief who checks for traps every time should be able to negate most traps on chests and coffers. Failing this, my players have devised a number of ingenious methods for avoiding traps (which I will not share here to save you from having the same problem). They know me . . . they expect to find fiendish traps. Thus, they have learned to take the elementary precautions that will avoid them. (Consequently, I was quite shocked when they did not immediately suspect that the statue in room 5 was a stone golem!)

Finally, the real responsibility for assigning levels to adventures lies with the Dungeon Master. You know your players and your campaign’s needs better than anyone, even if they live in Lake Geneva. Frequently, AD&D players expect TSR to hand feed them, balancing every campaign and clarifying every rule. This is an impossible responsibility. Think for yourself. Mark R. Shipley Bremerton, Washington (Dungeon Magazine #11, p.2)"

This brings into sharp focus the roll that the upper levels of ACKs play in sorting out the intricities of stitching together a prequel to the G series within a  Barbarian Warlords of Greyhawk campaign.

Barbarian Warlords of Greyhawk Part 12- The Legacy of the ruins of Cyfandir OSR Commentary On The Lands of Greyhawk

Yesterday we discussed the balance of power on Greyhawk or as it seems with Chaos on the ascent or it seems. In point of fact that there are far older forces that have seized power long ago from the busom of the Elves & the ancient peoples of Greyhawk as related by James M. Ward's Greyhawk Adventures. The Great Dragon Aisoth the spawn of Necrozyte assaulted the Borderlands Elven capital of Cyfandir. The Lizardmen tribes who fled in her & her armys wake settled around the swamps near B2 The Keep of the Borderlands By Gary Gygax. 

Once again the Great Dragon Aisoth will awaken with the coming of Chaos & destruction. Her own tribes of Lizardmen troops will flock to her side to take out any remaining resistance around a two hundred mile  radius. Unless the PC's are of a level to take out the Great Dragon Aisoth?  The fromer Elven capital of Cyfandir would require a small army of adventurers & hirelings to take out the Lizardmen & the other monsters. The elven capital of Cyfandir holds many terrors itself. 

" Two hundred years ago, the elven capital of Cyfandir fell to the savage assault of the Great Dragon Aisoth, self-proclaimed goddess and sovereign of the lizardmen who followed in her wake. The elves, occupied with the Argollëan War, were unprepared for the attack and the city fell swiftly. The elven residents fled, many dying at the claws and teeth of the lizardmen who waited in ambush in the forest."

"Now the city lies in ruins, its walls crumbled and alabaster towers fallen to rubble, and  the forest is crawling across its streets. Ivy and moss cover the walls of once-pristine  buildings, and piles of rubble mark the passage of the dragon. Only the majestic and imposing Great Hall still carries its ancient grandeur. It is there that the Great Dragon makes her lair, sleeping atop the a treasure trove of elven coins, jewels, and artifacts."

"Only the bravest adventurers will dare to plunder the ruins of Cyfandir…"

Could the cult of elmemental evil have a peace treaty with the Great dragon enabling her to spread her own minor projeny into the wilds of Greyhawk in 20,000 mile radius? Thus enabling the Great Dragon Aisoth to later on betray Luz  & the elemental humanoid forces to carve out her own kingdom on Greyhawk?! All of this might not come to pass with her defeat within the dungeons of Cyfandir! 

Cynfandir itself would be on the edges of the  Yeomanry, thus enabling the ancient Elven capital to have such an impact on events surrounding the Keep. 

Review & Commentary On AX4: Ruined City of Cyfandir by Simon Forster, & AX6: Sepulcher of the Sorceress-Queen (SoSQ) crowd funding effort by Autarch For The Adventurer,Conqueror, King Rpg

"Two hundred years ago, the elven capital of Cyfandir fell to the savage assault of the Great Dragon Aisoth, self-proclaimed goddess and sovereign of the lizardmen who followed in her wake. The elves, occupied with the Argollëan War, were unprepared for the attack and the city fell swiftly. The elven residents fled, many dying at the claws and teeth of the lizardmen who waited in ambush in the forest.

Now the city lies in ruins, its walls crumbled and alabaster towers fallen to rubble, and  the forest is crawling across its streets. Ivy and moss cover the walls of once-pristine  buildings, and piles of rubble mark the passage of the dragon. Only the majestic and imposing Great Hall still carries its ancient grandeur. It is there that the Great Dragon makes her lair, sleeping atop the a treasure trove of elven coins, jewels, and artifacts.

Only the bravest adventurers will dare to plunder the ruins of Cyfandir…"
Last night I bought my own pdf copy of AX4: Ruined City of Cyfandir by
Simon Forster, creator of the Book of Lairs and the popular OSR blog Sky Full of Dust, comes a new adventure for characters levels 5-7. Over the years I've said it before but I'll say it again the Adventurer,Conqueror, King rpg is a very different beast from many OSR retroclones & while it is a solid system. It takes the right group of players to actually make the game system come alive. Its not a hard system but its very nuanced compared with another retroclone like Swords & Wizardry. So why play ACK's as its known?  Well that's gonna take me back to AX4: Ruined City of Cyfandir (ROC). All of the AX series of modules plug into ACK's world setting & the fallen kingdoms of elves. There are not enough fallen Elven kingdoms & empires in the OSR for my taste.  The vast ruined city of Cyfandir ties directly into the empire building of the ACK's system. Designer and cartographer Simon Forster takes AX4: Ruined City of Cyfandir solidly molding it into a seamless whole of the late Roman Empire style Sword & Sorcery setting of  AX1: The Sinister Stone of Sakkara, AX2: Secrets of the Nethercity, and AX3: Capital of the Borderlands. 



AX4: Ruined City of Cyfandir heart & soul is the ruined city's NPC inhabitants, encounters, & the clever way the thirty page mid level adventure plays with the PC's. The ruins are a deadly swirl of monsters & mayhem. The whole adventure  works very well because of the maps & cartography tying together everything in AX4: Ruined City of Cyfandir into a uniformed whole adventure package. This is one of the design & writing  approaches that Autarch sets itself apart from other OSR publishers. I'm not gushing here make no mistake AX4: Ruined City of Cyfandir is a deadly beast of an adventure. Do I think you should buy it? In a word? Yes absolutely.

That brings me to AX6: Sepulcher of the Sorceress-Queen (SoSQ) crowd funding effort by Autarch. This crowd funded adventure ties into the whole cloth world setting of Auran empire of ACK's; "Over a millenium ago, the Zaharan Sorcerer-Queen Semiramis reigned over a court notorious for its decadent arts and lavish opulence. The hidebound nobles of Zahar were troubled by the ascendance of the kingdom’s first female monarch. Semiramis was beset by over one hundred suitors, each one demanding that she marry him so that the kingdom might have a king. Many of these suitors were powerful spellcasters who wove enchantments upon her, but to no avail: The Sorceress-Queen wore the Ring of the Queen’s Heart, a legendary magic item gifted to her by the goddess Nasga that made her immune to her suitors' charms.

As beautiful and cruel as her goddess, Semiramis instead seduced her perfidious suitors into swearing eternal love to her – then had them slain. The Sorceress-Queen mummified and interred all one hundred suitors in her own majestic sepulcher, where they would serve her as loyally in death as they ought to have in life.

For over a thousand years the sepulcher of the sorceress-queen has lain hidden and undisturbed, its undead inhabitants slumbering in torpor until the prophesied time of the Awakening. But now a reckless warband of lizardmen has broken open the ancient tomb and disturbed evils not seen in centuries…"

AX6: Sepulcher of the Sorceress-Queen  brings whole cloth to the table is factions & new additional adventure possibilities. This is something that we see time & again in ACK's products  AX2: Secrets of the Nethercity, and AX3: Capital of the Borderlands. AX6: Sepulcher of the Sorceress-Queen  adds to this with its own adventure elements: 

• A fully-stocked dungeon with 66 rooms filled with creepy undead, murderous lizardmen, diabolic traps, and more.
• A faction of NPCs (Thrassian lizardmen) within the dungeon that can be allies, enemies...or bait.
• A unique set of noise mechanics that determines whether and when the undead are roused from their slumber based on how well the adventurers maintain stealth and quiet.
• A unique set of reaction mechanics that enable adventurers to distract, parley with, or even recruit the confused undead that have just been aroused from a millennium of slumber.
• A legendary ring of power, the Ring of the Queen's Heart, that protects the ringbearer from charms.
• A legendary weapon, the Harrower, a dread blade whose gift of death can never be undone.
• A new spell, animate drowned corpse.
• A pair of never-before-seen monsters, the Drowned Zombie and Skeletal Slayer.

This is the same style of Sword & Sorcery tie in that we've seen over & over again with other ACK's products. And that's not a bad thing. Because it serves to link & bind the over all  Auran empire of ACK's. Do I think that AX6: Sepulcher of the Sorceress-Queen  is worth your time & coin? In a word? Yes. Mine's there! Can't wait for AX6: Sepulcher of the Sorceress-Queen .