Showing posts with label Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea rpg System. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 3, 2021

Updating Old Mars - A Warriors of The Red Planet & Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea Hybrid Campaign

So let's begin with why I'm doing this thought exercise? My co dungeon master wanted to play a Hyperborean PC but was a bit disappointed that Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea didn't have a psionic system. So why not use Richard Le Blanc's PX1 Basic Psionics Handbook? It didn't have cinematic feel that we're looking for. PX1 Basic Psionics Handbook is one of the best books on the OSR market for its classic old school mind reading niche. No, I'm looking for something slightly different here more in line with the classic sword & sorcery mentalists & mind readers. So it started bothering me for some days & so I let it go & shelved the minor OSR quibble at the back of my mind. Then I started thinking about Clark Aston Smith's Martian Cycle.

Smith's Martian cycle starts with a story many consider not part of the Mars cycle at all ;“The Vaults of Yoh-Vombis”Completed August 1931. First published in Weird Tales, May 1932. Next comes “The Dweller in the Gulf” Completed August 1932. First published in edited form as “Dweller in Martian Depths” in Wonder Stories, March 1933. Unedited version first published in The Abominations of Yondo, Arkham House 1960. Finally we get to “Vulthoom”Completed February 1933. First published in Weird Tales, September 1935.
This is an old and very dangerous world hoary with age, horror, and alien Lovecraftian gods dwelling in its underworld.

So then I started thinking about the Warriors of the Red Planet rpg, & I grabbed my copy of the book from the stacks & quickly started thumbing through it. I looked specifically at the mentalist PC class. The game book on the back has a blurb that caught my eye.And with use with other 'old school' retroclones. Hmm

If we look at the classes in Warriors of the Red Planet, Fighting Men, Scoundrels, Mentalists, & Scientists its easy to see their D&D equivalents. The Fighting Man is Fighter, Scoundrels are Thieves, Mentalists are clerics sort of, & Scientists are Magic Users or Wizards. So it would stand to reason that we could easily port the bare bones of the WRP's PC classes over to another game or a back bone system as I call it. In this case Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. In fact with a little bit of work because of the separation of race & class it wouldn't be too hard to take the races of Warriors of the Red Planet and use them as the base races for the classes of AS&SH. But why do this? One word Mars!

Since AS&SH take place in the far future then it might be simply a step away from the Hyperborea through the Borea Winds onto the world of Mars. But is this the Mars of pulp future or more specifically a post Colonial Mars of Burroughs, the Northwest Smith stories (1933–1936) by C. L. Moore & the Mars stories published between 1940 and 1964 by Leigh Brackett. This is a gritty, down, and dirty Mars with all of the trappings of sword & planet mixed with sword & sorcery.
This is a world that has seen cycles of empire for millions of years going all the way back to its Lovecraftian roots. "Brackett's The Sword of Rhiannon (1953) shows an oceanic Mars of the distant past, and comes close to pure fantasy."

The Mars of Clark Aston Smith lays below the surface in the underworld, sleeping and dreaming. It waits for the unwary & foolish stumble upon its secrets they wait in their low land caves and caverns waiting. Ancient cults, Martian alien organizations, and clans keep these ancient forbidden traditions alive. For running such a campaign a mix of the pulpy AS&SH monsters and WRP's creatures are suggested.

This is a world where mankind has made his mark & then stumbled into the fires of his own nuclear fall from grace. There are space ports here and there, a few human city states but the Martian races have re emerged on Mars from hidden valleys & scattered colonies across the face of Mars. There are ancient Lovecraftian horrors & gods that rule as they have for billions of years scattered in certain countries across the face of this world. This is world where the sword is king & you need to keep your radium side arm handy. Mutants, ancient evils, and worse await you in the red night.

The Works Of Clark Aston
Smith Can Be Read HERE

Note that this is for personal use only and is not an attempt to violate the copyright or trademark of The Warriors of the Red Planet rpg or The Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. Neither is this an attempt to violate the trademarks nor copyrights of the authors named. Sword and Stitchery would like to thank the Elder Dark Website for their continued work on the behalf of Clark Aston Smith. All material herein comes under the heading of fair use.

Ideas & opinions to follow are the copyright & trademark of the author & Dark Corner Productions

Monday, January 4, 2021

Using Classic TSR Era D&D B/X Adventures For An Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea Campaign Path Plus Free OSR Adventure Resources

So I've been thinking about running PC's through some basic adventures for Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea but I need some old school options to get the player's juices going. Fortunately I've got several real world friends who have run several player groups through classic TSR era adventures and modules.

I've been talking with some folks in the real world about Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea; customizing the sword & sorcery setting to fit into a more pulp 'on the edge' of the dangerous wilderness & wanton ruins sort of mode. So I started to dig back through old notes & blog posts of adapting 1st edition AD&D & B/X D&D modules for an adventure path that emulates the sort of a feel that I'm going for. This adventure path might include the following classic TSR era ones& beyond :
B2 Keep on the Borderlands but then I'd take a left at Judge's Guild & use Frontier Forts of Kelnor create more ruined forts along the borders of Hyperborea left vacate by the Green Death.
Then I'd run the PC's through the free OSR adventures of RC Pinnel aka Thorkhammer's XS1: Luln &

XS1A: The Ward of Wereskalot both of which contain OD&D & adventure elements that echo the Keep On The Bordlerlands ethos. So some assembly is required for AS&SH. This is going to get players ready for
X1 Isle of Dread which could include a lot of the Free Threshold Issue 3: The Sea of Dread & Issue 4: The Sea of Dread material but a lot of adaption is required here.

Some of the material found in those two issues could lead the PC's across the face of Hyperborea into the desert regions which takes them into the classic B4 The Lost City. The Lost City is vast & could be used as another Hyperborean lost colony deep within the desert interior of Hyperborea itself. It could contain vast dangers to the outside world that if not dealt with could be very dangerous to the continued existence of mankind on the face of Hyperborea.

There's more then enough room to include the Iron Ring of B10 as a subfraction of the weird remains of the Elemental Evil cult of The Lost City. The humanoid races of the Lost City are actually degenerate Hyperboreans warped by the presence of the evils of the cult of the demon god Zargon. Finally the Lost City adventure location leads deeper into the Hyperborean countryside which resembles the a weird Russian interior ala B10. Why B10?

There is a lot that can be done with 'The Lost City' module especially by taking Hyperborean adventurers deeper into the Lower Catacomb's dungeons and mysteries. This could raise AS&SH adventurers beyond the limits of the game's PC's levels.

B10 Night's Dark Terror is a good module to expand the PC's horizon's deep into AS&SH's adventure domains & possibly into extensions of Hyperborean politics and domain play.

"B10 Nights Dark Terror - The module begins in a beleaguered farmstead. The PCs then explore more than 20,000 square miles (52,000 km²) of wilderness, with eighteen locations, including a number of mini-dungeons, a ruined city, a riverside village, a frontier town, and a lost valley, with the minions of the Iron Ring waiting for the PCs at every step."

By dropping out the usual D&D races & trappings then just concentrating on the Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea PC gaming & setting elements B10 goes into a pulpy adventure module with tons of campaign play.

I've been thinking of the usual humanoid and goblinoid races which could be all that remains of the Hyperboreans, degenerate and dangerous beastly things mixed with traces of alien demonic blooded horrors from beyond the pale of Hyperborea.

Because these modules are now available on Drivethrurpg & Rpgnow with a print option its not hard to figure that they'd make excellent fodder for a sword & sorcery campaign. Especially B10 would can easily be customized as the dungeon master needs or wants.

Monday, July 20, 2020

Even Deeper In The Paw Prints Of The Coeurl - A Different Twist On A Classic Monster For Your Old School Campaigns

Today we're going to be talking about The Coeurl, and its ilk, if you don't like combining science fiction & science fantasy with sword & sorcery this might not be your cup of tea. For the rest of us its time to dive into the deep end of these alien monsters! Special thanks A paladin in Citadel blog who talked about the displace beasts origin way back in 2011

Tonight I cracked open my Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea rpg & just started thumbing through it to get the essence of the game back into my reptile brain. Its something I do every time I'm starting a new gaming cycle. I just let the Lovecraftian, Howardian, Smithian vibes flow through me for awhile but not tonight instead I happened upon AS&SH's version of the Displacer Beast, the so called Tentacular Horror. Which is sort of a really twisted version of John Carpenter's Thing From Another World & something straight out Lovecraft's wet dream. You really have to read this thing to appreciate the sheer weirdness & ick factor of it. As you can see this monster resembles more of an other worldly alien infection then a dungeon dwelling monster of traditional D&D or does it? For that we've got to dig deep into the origins of this beast's ancestry.

The classic Displacer Beast from Advanced Dungeons & Dragons doesn't appear on Hyperborea at all but that being said there are several parallels between the two species of old school style monsters. The tentacles with their thorny edges and dangerous protrusions appear on both species & the lack of even classic animal intelligence is another factor. Here's our classic Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition Monster Manual Displacer Beast entry.

These two monsters are similar but vastly different yet share the common link of the enmity & hatred of the Blink Dog. Phase Tigers from Labyrinth Lord have similar abilities, temperament, and a role to play as they also appear in Adventurer, Conqueror, King.
We all know the real reasons because following monsters are considered "Product Identity" by Wizards of the Coast and are therefore not part of the SRD:

beholder
gauth
carrion crawler
displacer beast
githyanki
githzerai
kuo-toa
mind flayer
slaad
umber hulk
yuan-ti

But that's alright, because for years now various D20 writers & designers have been making other versions of these creatures with completely different names, backstories, and origins. But if we go back into the fictional history & backstory of the tentacular beasts we see mention of the blink dog again. These are the natural enemies of both the displacer beast & tentacular beast. Why? Well if we suppose that these two appear across a wide variety of prime material plane locations then it points to a common origin source. That origin point is the Coeurl which was created by A. E. van Vogt (1912–2000) and featured in his first published short story Black Destroyer (1939), later incorporated in the novel The Voyage of the Space Beagle (1950).

Wiki has a very good break down of the Coeurl race;"The species' appearance is comparable to a large cat, except in that its forelegs are twice as long as its hind legs, and it possesses tentacles attached to its shoulders that terminate in suction cups. Its skin coloration is not mentioned but is depicted as black in the cover art for its original magazine appearance.^[1] It sustains itself by feeding upon a substance it calls the Id of other beings.
The species appears indifferent to environment and can survive in different atmospheres. It can manipulate EM radiation (referred to as "electric vibrations" in the story) at will and seems to communicate via that method."
Black Destroyer describes the species as near immortal which has caused the extinction of every living thing on its planet. Coeurl ( the character's name and species as well) is wandering around its hunting grounds which used to be its home world. The alien is looking for ID which essentially is the organically bound phosphorus similar to that in its victim's bones but later on it was changed to from phosphorus to potassium.
Just before it completely starves to death, the Space Beagle touches down. This is the site of the former Coeurl empire now in ruins.
According to wiki;"When Black Destroyer was incorporated into The Voyage of the Space Beagle, several changes were made in Coeurl's anatomy and physiology—for example, Coeurl's tentacles originally ended in tentacled fingers, but were changed in the novel to suction cups, and the dietary chemical was changed from phosphorus to potassium. In the novel, it is theorized that the members of Coeurl's race were pets or servants of the original inhabitants of the planet."
These changes will become important later on in this blog post because of the monster's alien empire.

I said empire because the story describes this location as being one world among many in the form of an ancient minor stellar empire that is speculated about by the Space Beagle crew. In fact the original novel of the 'Voyage of the Space Beagle' is supposedly the inspiration for Star Trek along with several other science fiction television series & films. There's another very interesting aspect of the 'Voyage of the Space Beagle' almost every single alien encountered in the novel is already ancient by the time the crew encounters them. These are entities that have been around for millions of years. Its got a very Prometheus vibe running through it.

"The book was republished in 1952 under the title Mission: Interplanetary.

A huge globular spaceship, manned by a chemically castrated all-male crew of nearly a thousand, who are on an extended scientific mission to explore intergalactic space, encounters several, mostly hostile, aliens and alien civilizations. On board the spaceship during its journey, both political and scientific revolutions take place." This isn't the good star ship Enterprise because the power struggles aboard result in some interesting chess moves aboard the Beagle but I digress. I think that the Coeurl have been been around for a very long time and preying on mankind from the shadows for eons. There's a very good break down of the Coeurl's abilities here.

I assert that Coeurl's had an empire millions of years before mankind had even made it into space. But had encounters with & use to hunt humans in the form of Hyperboreans. The various alien Coeurl like species encountered were their former servants & tools. How can I assert this? Well another monster in AD&D 1st edition points to it, the blink dog is the perfect answer to the Coeurl problem. " In The Geeks' Guide to World Domination, Garth Sundem describes the blink dog as "one of fantasy's signature creatures"." with good reason. All across the planes where the Hyperboreans & mankind spread the blink dog his ever present guardians were there.

These guys are an artificial species genetically bred to sense the Coeurl & all of their creations. They will do exactly what they were bred to do which is seek out the Coeurl, hunt them, & exterminate them with extreme prejudice. This is exactly how their portrayed in AS&SH. But what about the various the Coeurl's depictions? With a naught immortal species that has spread across the stars millions of years ago this isn't a problem. Your looking at various subspecies of the monster.

Here's the classic EERIE #139 LAST ISSUE of the Warren Magazine Science Fiction with artwork by Kelly Freas & Luis Bermejo depicting The Voyage Of The Space Beagle by Van Vogt

This brings up a very interesting question, if the Coeurl was something's pet then the owners might have indeed been very scary!?! Once again if we used Voyage of the Space Beagle as the basis for a hypothesis then the Anabis, a galaxy-spanning consciousness encountered in the last section of the book might offer us a clue. Once again according to Wiki ;" In the last section, Anabis, a galaxy-spanning consciousness, is encountered. Once again, it is both malevolent, starving and aggressive, and under all circumstances must be prevented from following the ship back to any other galaxy. Anabis, which is essentially a galaxy-size will-o'-the-wisp, feeds off the death of living organisms, and has destroyed all intelligent life in its galaxy. It transforms all planets it can find into jungle planets through terraforming, since it is these kind of worlds that produce most life. The crew of the Space Beagle lures the intelligence to chase the ship into deep space, causing it to starve to death." There has been fan speculation among both myself & friends that this entity might have been one of the inspirations for the classic Galactus by Jack Kirby. There are many similarities between the two. But this god level of power, intelligence, and technology is probably going to be the only style of being that could handle the Coeurl & its ilk. I also don't think that the Coeurl's cat like appearance is a mistake but it brings to mind the question what sort of 'mice' do these monsters hunt?

Surely there are no old school stats for the Coeurl? Well actually there are! In the OSRIC retroclone system there is a complete write up for them after the publishers asked the Van Vogt estate permission to use the aliens. But be warned I've used the Coeurl with its full abilities from Black Destoryer with a group of jaded & very experienced AD&D players. It wiped the floor with them. The monster isn't to be taken lightly at all.

One never knows where one might encounter these dangerous predators or their ilk. Keep em rolling folks.

All artwork, concepts,etc. related to the Coeurl are the trademark & copyright of their various holders. Black Destroyer & Voyage of the Space Beagle copyright & trade mark belong to the various publishers and the Van Vogt estate. The opinions & speculation are my own and in no way reflect the various rpg system copyright & trade mark holders. This blog post is intended for entertainment & educational purposes, the fan speculation here in is copyrighted to me the writer.
Please note that the origin of the displacer beast was first talked about all of the way back in 2011 by A paladin in Citadel

Friday, July 17, 2020

1d6 Random Ancient Minor Treasures of Clark Aston Smith's Tomb's & Necrotic Vaults Table For Your Old School Campaigns

Some treasures get passed from hand to hand along the path of adventurers going along the path of travelers. These items are too valuable to lose but sometimes move in odd ways from place to place. Hands hold them for a time and sometimes they acquire an aura of magick & mysticism. An aura that comes down from legend or made up on the spot by some fool. These items are not the stuff of legend but instead the minor treasures of a thousand adventures. Past around in taverns to pay gambling debts, given to pawn brokers for the debt to a flop house or brothel. These items not the less maybe far more then they appear.

Image from here http://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/image/V0019210.html

There are minor treasures that have been left behind in the wake of ages past in the vaults & tombs of ancient & vastly dangerous peoples. These items are tinged with the irony of ages past & wreathed in the mystique of forbidden history.
“Stern and white as a tomb, older than the memory of the dead, and built by men or devils beyond the recording of myth, is the mansion in which we dwell.”
― Clark Ashton Smith, The Return of the Sorcerer

Balkis feeds
Topaz grain and ruby seeds
To an uncouth fledgeling roc.

Untold Arabian Fable by Clark Ashton Smith

These treasures & relics will be worth at least 200 to 2000 gold pieces or more depending up if these items are found in an urban or country setting. There will be 1d6 NPC's who might latch on to the aura of value that these items or relics carry with them.

1d6 Random Ancient Minor Treasures of
Clark Aston Smith's Tomb's & Necrotic Vaults Table

A dagger of mother of pearl, with a emerald like stone set into the hilt. The blade is wrought with all kinds of 'mystical writing'. It is actually a story dagger of Hyperborean make that tells the story of a wizard & his treasure including locations, monsters,etc. Worth 700 gold pieces.
A wrought golden pitch for exotic wines & strange syrups that turns many colours when the vintage or material is poured into it. The thing turns black if poison is poured into it. Worth five hundred gold pieces it has the name of an infamous wizard hammered around the outside of it
This silver seal of some noble ancient king that was used to seal important documents & royal decrees. It can also be used to seal a demon inside a pentacle with a Hyperborean symbol of command in an emergency. Worth 300 gold pieces to a wizard of the white school or the lawful.
A fist sized stone of cut crystal that is actually a decoration from a wizard's tower that shows its owner their heart's desire. Worth 600 gold pieces to the right collector.
Rod of crystal from a dead world made to fit an inhuman hand, this rod can be used to point to the nearest treasure or valuable when the command word is spoken in the new moonlight. The word is writ on the side of the rod in high Hyperborean. Worth 500 gold pieces
A skull of a wizard with a ruby in the right eye socket, the thing is wrought with springs and muscles of metal. The lower jaw bone has been replaced by gold and silver. It is worth 500 gold pieces for it carries with it a legend of horror and greed. The thing will recite a poem of the dead under the new moon and cast two second level black magic spells at a target within twenty feet.

Austerest Beauty, terrible, sublime,
Has claimed my lips with solemn kiss of snow;
Now through my harp the tremors come and go
Of things not stirred with urgencies of Time.
Now must I tread the snows of lonely moons;
Pale rigors of dead planets desert-girt
Enthrall my dreams--solicitous, alert
To keenest colours of supernal moons.

The Unmerciful Mistress by Clark Ashton Smith

Sunday, June 21, 2020

Retro Review N3 Destiny of Kings By Stephen Bourne For Advanced Dungeons & Dragons First Edition And Your Old School Campaigns

"When Treason Walks the Land...

Trouble stirs in Dunador! The King lies dead of a wound received during a hunting expedition. His brother, Lord Edrin, challenges the rightful Crown Prince, a half-trained young man named Edmund, for possession of the throne while Edmund travels on a pilgrimage to the holy shrine of Nevron. Forces throughout the kingdom vie for control of the realm. Can the player characters find the Crown Prince and protect him from the treacherous forces at large in Dunador?"
Given the almost Hamlet style of sword and sorcery politics N3 Destiny of Kings isn't the first choice that leaps to mind. But there are reasons why this Advanced Dungeons and Dragons module is a perfect fit besides cross compatible old school systems. Stephen Bourne wrote this module back in '86 and we were well on our way towards far more villina corporate D&D back then. N3 out of the 'N' series is one of the best of the bunch, this is a module I've had some experience with as both a player and DM. This is the third in the novice series and one of the better adventures for PC's on the one through fourth levels, that being said this is an adventure for the more experienced players. Basically this adventure takes the PC's out of the dungeon and places them into the back end of a royal plot of assassination and intrigue with monsters.

GRAB IT HERE

This module can be thought of as one part hamlet, two parts AD&D, and a whole ton of intrigue revolving around plot. The PC's must find the prince of Dunador and return him home safely. Elements of investigation and detective work with a light smattering of wilderness adventure make this a solid AD&D module but it can be easily customized to suit a sword and sorcery campaign such as Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea. Marvel Conan from the Seventies has a tradition of using King Conan for a great deal of its plots and political maneuverings. We saw this in the Seventies, Eighties, and Nineties. By using this as a base Destiny of Kings can easily be back slotted into any number of game campaigns. The maps alone are worth the price of entry. Given the plot this module could be placed right within the central parts of Hyperborea.

Given the Byzantine structure of politics in Dark Albion and Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Destiny of Kings has some very dark points behind it that can easily be adapted into the frame work of a Shakespearean adventure. It has an excellent castle ambush within its frame work. It is however like many Eighties adventures from the late Eighties heavy on plot. Not that this has ever stopped me at all from gutting using and folding its systems to suit my needs. This module gets the PC's out of the dungeon into the back end of deep court politics and it's crappy to prepare, and not a very good story, unless you spice it up. Once this is done then the module shines through. I've taken Destiny of Kings routed out its back plot and transported it into Romanian and Russian setting where it worked as advertised. Given the backstabbing, murdering, poisoning, and other political frame work that surrounds Hyperborean politics, Destiny is a good mirror to use when creating a structure for your royal families in AS&SH. There are several reasons why this toybox should be used for working through old school campaigns. One this is believe it or not a good primer and introduction for 1st AD&D edition domain play to PC's and the importance of dealing with royals throughout a sword and sorcery campaign. Because of the investigation and dealing with wilderness outside of the dungeon the central heart of this module is one part Arthurian mini campaign and two parts Hamlet style adventure in the heart of the royal politic.
"King Halfred of Dunador has died in a mysterious accident. As the heir has disappeared, the wicked Lord Edrin intends to seize the throne. Hollend, head of the Royal Council, asks the player characters to seek out the missing Prince. The characters must contend with scheming Dukes, raiders and corpses as they trace the pilgrimage the Prince took before the King's death. They must uncover and rectify ignoble deeds, bringing traitors to justice" Basically plots within pulpy plots. Which brings this image to mind.

Not only are your PC's in the middle of all of royal political intrigue their center stage and in Destiny of Kings the protection that a domain offers is made really evident because of a party's numbers game. The PC's as they raise in levels suddenly becomes a far more creditable threat and a danger to other minor royals around them. Thus Destiny of Kings can actually serve as a stepping stone within a sword and sorcery campaign as a leg up onto the road of domain play. This makes this a module that can be used for an Adventurer, Conqueror, King style of play within an old school gaming system or retroclone rpg.

Here's a bit from Wiki on the contents; "N3 Destiny of Kings was published by TSR in 1986, as a 32-page booklet with an outer folder.^[1] The module was written by Stephen Bourne, with cover art by Keith Parkinson and interior art by James Roslof.^[3]
The module includes a fold-out cover including a color area map.^[2]"^{Because of the fact that its not that well known the module is easily available on ebay and other outlets and can pack a punch to surprise players. Spoilers ahead so consider yourselves warned. Here's a quick wiki overview "}^{In Destiny of Kings, an assassin kills the King of Andevar, and the King's brother seizes power. A loyal retainer hires the player characters to find the missing prince, who is held by agents of the usurper. They are charged with bringing him back to claim the throne.The module includes descriptions of a citadel, a castle, an abbey and an inn." This is not a well known module and its one that can be sprung on players, it is in my mind in line with some of the material of Marvel Conan style play by default but with a bit of work can work with other old school systems.}

Friday, March 6, 2020

The OSR Campaign Cycle of X4: "Master of the Desert Nomads" (1983), by David "Zeb" Cook & Clark Ashton Smith's Zothique

"To arms! To arms! The battle lines are drawn as desert men and inhuman tribes wait poised to strike on the fertile and rich lands of the east. The call has gone out through the civilized lands. The armies have been raised to match the invading foes from the west. Nobles and peasants have joined swords to greet the foes.

But Fate or Chance has decreed another role for a small few. No glorious banners will wave on their march. No squadrons of knights will charge at their word. Instead, they will fight the war through stealth, secrecy, and cunning. The risks they will take are great, but the fates of both armies lie with them.

It begins one night for your party far from the fighting. Suddenly you are entrusted with the most dangerous missions of the war. Can you cross the Sind Desert, occupied now by enemy armies, to find the Great Pass? Can you find the one known only as The Master? What will you do if your do find him? "

I just got home at about five A.M. or so, because of the nature of my job I don't have a choice but to deal with what comes down the pike as far as circumstances. So I've been thinking of X4: "Master of the Desert Nomads" & Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea 2nd edition again. Just in case you don't know the history of X4 here's the basics in a nutshell;" X4: "Master of the Desert Nomads" (1983), by David "Zeb" Cook, is the fourth adventure in the Expert series for Basic D&D and the first adventure in the Desert Nomads duology. It was published in 1983. X4 is the first module of a two-part adventure that can be concluded in the exciting "Temple of Death" or played entirely on its own. X4 is for character levels 6-9."

Now I've written about X4 before but when it comes to AS&SH & X4 Master of The Desert Nomads there are few connections & ideas that I've recently had. Lets start with the fact that X4 is easily one of David "Zeb" Cook's most Swords & Sorcery adventures of the X series. The whole set up is straight out of something that Robert Howard or Edgar Rice Burroughs may have written but in my opinion its actually Clark Ashton Smith that's the real Appendix N influence here. Well let's start with the fact that the Diamond Desert of Hyperborea is a region of highly unstable magical energies & they might connect to the far future world of Zothique. Now let's say that the characters are 1st level PC's & that they need to investigate some weird goings on out in the deserts for the crown heads of the dismal City-State of Khromarium. Now let's assume they need to get up to ninth level to really be one of the movers & shakers out in the desert.
Now this is where B4"The Lost City" (1982) By Tom Moldvay comes in very handy. If we design parts of the 'lost city' to intersect with X4 where the Master's men have uncovered a Hyperborean relic or wonder weapon then things start getting very interesting.

The imprisoned the Lovecraftian demon lord Zargon has been nursing his cults & feeding the 'Master' from B4 bits & pieces of information. The next step is the fact that Zargon knows a bit about the skeletal remains of Ymir’s Serpent, a legendary Viking longship & the crew of Sigtrygg Forkbeard who led his company into the pages of history in Ghost Ship of the Desert Dunes. Zargon knows a lot & its been sprinkling seeds of strife into the mix but this takes the PC's deeper into the desert & up the latter of advancement from 1st possibly through third or forth level.

That doesn't matter because the cult of the master is already onto the ancient occult city, Xambaala, clinging to the edge of the Zakath Desert. Dangerous forces might take the PC's out & its in Xambaala that the PC's learn more of the 'Master's' plans & of his lust for the secrets of a dangerous ruins & deeper dungeons. The Anthropophagi of Xambaala By Corey R. Walden (author) has some great PC set ups for a campaign run in AS&SH.

Corey Walden does an excellent job of really set up the occult desert city of Xambaala as a viable adventure location. But its really a solid place to set up an adventurer's base of operations in such a dangerous location. All of this of course depends up the PC's survival. We are not talking light weight adventure here.

The 'master' of course wants the lost secrets of The Beasts of Kraggoth Manor by Tim Callahan (author). Because by this time Zargon's cult forces may have realized the extent of the 'Master's' ambitions. See here's the thing about The Beasts of Kraggoth Manor & The Anthropophagi of Xambaala are ideally suited to expand into a Hyperborea campaign with classic Dungeons & Dragons modules at their core.

Part of this goes back into B4 The Lost City & exploiting the cult factions of the module to my advantage. Part of this involves using the various peoples and factions from within the module itself. Thanks to the Vaults of Pandius website most of the hard work was done for me.

Let's face facts that AS&SH feels like Zothique & its fine because the rpg encompasses many of the same themes, ideas extra as Clark Ashton Smith's creation. In fact bits & pieces of B4 could be used with Empire of the Necromancers to show the fall out of a competing faction of NPC's working for the 'Master'. Zothique is a mini plane in my games from the far future of an alternative Earth or the current Earth accessible through Earth's Dreamlands. The world of Hyperborea sometimes silently merges with this plane in my games. Give the sheer breath of Clark Ashton Smith's Zothique this is quite understandable;

Black Abbot of Puthuum, The (1936)
Charnel God, The (1934)
Dark Eidolon, The (1935)
Dead will Cuckold You, The (1950)
Death of Ilalotha, The (1937)
Empire of the Necromancers, The (1932)
Garden of Adompha, The (1938)
In the Book of Vergama (1934)
Isle of the Torturers, The (1933)
Last Hieroglyph, The (1935)
Mandor's Enemy (1989)
Master of the Crabs, The (1948)
Morthylla (1953)
Necromancy in Naat (1937)
Shapes of Adamant (1935)
Tomb-Spawn, The (1934)
Voyage of King Euvoran, The (1931) [Illustration "Quest of the Gazolba" By Boris Dolgov]
Weaver in the Vault, The (1934)[CAS Illustration]
Witchcraft of Ulua, The (1934)
Xeethra (1934 [CAS Illustration]
<Zothique (1951)

How does all of this fit together with the final leg of X4: "Master of the Desert Nomads" (1983), by David "Zeb" Cook second module? Well you'll have to tune in tomorrow.

In The Paw Prints Of The Coeurl - A Different Twist On A Classic Monster For Your Old School Campaigns

Tonight I cracked open my Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea Referee's Guide & just started thumbing through it to get the essence of the game back into my reptile brain. Its something I do every time I'm starting a new gaming cycle. I just let the Lovecraftian, Howardian, Smithian vibes flow through me for awhile but not tonight instead I happened upon AS&SH's version of the Displacer Beast, the so called Tentacular Horror. Which is sort of a really twisted version of John Carpenter's Thing From Another World & something straight out Lovecraft's wet dream. You really have to read this thing to appreciate the sheer weirdness & ick factor of it. As you can see this monster resembles more of an other worldly alien infection then a dungeon dwelling monster of traditional D&D or does it? For that we've got to dig deep into the origins of this beast's ancestry.