OSR Commentary On Clark Ashton Smith’s 'The Charnel God' & Castles & Crusades rpg campagning.

 "Mordiggian is the god of Zul-Bha-Sair," said the innkeeper with unctuous solemnity. "He has been the god from years that are lost to man's memory in shadow deeper than the subterranes of his black temple. There is no other god in Zul-Bha-Sair. And all who die within the walls of the city are sacred to Mordiggian. Even the kings and the optimates, at death, are delivered into the hands of his muffled priests. It is the law and the custom. A little while, and the priests will come for your bride."

"The Charnel God" is a short story by American author Clark Ashton Smith as part of his Zothique cycle, and first published in the March 1934 issue of Weird Tales." according to 'The Charnel God's wiki entry. The god of Zul-Bha-Sair, Mordiggian. Mordiggian devours all the dead in the kingdom and his reach is not to be questioned. 
This is something that my player's PC's found out while visiting the kingdom of Zul-Bha-Sair last year. In the story the young doctor braves everything to save his bride who has been taken by Mordiggan & his bronze masked and stone  faced priests. He ends up saving her our PC's were not so fortunate. They were seeking to have one of thier own resurrected & this was taken as an insult by Mordiggan's dangerous priests. "All who die in Zul-Bha-Sair are the property of Mordiggian," insisted the taverner sententiously. "Outlanders are not exempt. The dark maw of his temple yawns eternally, and no man, no child, no woman, throughout the years, has evaded its yawning. All mortal flesh must become, in due time, the provender of the god." according to the CAS story and they mean it. This reach of the priests of Mordiggan extends unto the surrounding kingdoms around Zul-Bhar-Sair. These kingdoms are riddled with man made tunnels from which the priests of Mordiggan come and go. Major spoilers ahead. 

These minor kingdoms along with Zul-Bhar-Sair border the Wastes of Celotian a trackless expanse of sand and horror only dotted with a few temples dedicated to Mordiggan himself. The area is also home to a very elaborate and well defined society of ghouls. These ghouls are former humanity who have evolved into highly intelligent beings and dangerous clerics of Mordiggan.

These priests have infilitrated every level of Zothique society within thier kingdoms. Why? Because they can keep plagues and thier economy stable all based on the feasts of the dead.  
For adventurers these kingdoms are a no go for dungeon crawling however  the Wastes of Celotian are open season. Why?! These extensive wastelands are the demon haunted home of tons of ruins and dungeons. These wastelands are also home to tones of demons, powerful undead, and even vampire lords. All of these are on the menu for Mordiggan and his priests. There may be some cooperation and treaties between these powerful forces. 
The dungeons in these areas can be prime material for dungeon masters using Castles & Crusades Engineering Dungeons & Castles. 

 The DM has full reign to create mega dungeons, full on temple complexes and more. These places are millions of years in the future and there's no holding back in Zothique. The cemetary world is perfect for those who want extensive ruins and mini dungeons run rampid. The monsters here in the wastes surrounding the Zul-Bhar-Sair border area  the Wastes of Celotian are home to major & minor demons, hybrid tribes of lamia, genii, undead, and worse. 

OSR Commentary On Clark Ashton Smith’s “The Black Abbot of Puthuum” & Castles & Crusades rpg campagning.

" Let the grape yield for us its purple flame, And rosy love put off its maidenhood:

"By blackening moons, in lands without a name,
We slew the Incubus and all his brood.
     -- Song of King Hoaraph's Bowmen"

 

Cover page spread of Clark Ashton Smith’s “The Black Abbot of Puthuum” as it appeared in Weird Tales March 1936.

"Zobal the archer and Cushara the pikebearer had poured many a libation to their friendship in the sanguine liquors of Yoros and the blood of the kingdom's enemies. In that long and lusty amity, broken only by such passing quarrels as concerned the division of a wine-skin or the apportioning of a wench, they had served amid the soldiery of King Hoaraph for a strenuous decade. "

 Clark Ashton Smith’s “The Black Abbot of Puthuum” is a classic yarn of Sword & Sorcery. There are a few incredible details that it classic for use in old school or Sword & Sorcery OSR play. Let's get the story's history outta of the way; "According to Emperor of Dreams: A Clark Ashton Smith Bibliography (1978) by Donald Sidney-Fryer, "The Black Abbot of Puthuum" was first published in the March 1936 issue of Weird Tales. It was included in the books Genius Loci and Other Tales (1948) and Zothique (1970)."

This blog entry picks right up from the Zothique play report on the blog here. 

 The plot is comes straight from the 'The Black Abbot of Putluum wiki entry; "In Yoros, Zobal the archer and Cushara the pike-bearer are assigned by king Hoaraph to retrieve the maiden Rubalsa from Izdrel for the king's harem. They are accompanied by the eunuch Simban." 
Spoilers ahead, first of all you've got the mysterious Black Abbot of Puthuum which in our own campaign has relocated to the capital because of the infestation of lamia and demons. You've got  Ujuk, who is an abbot for the monastery Puthuum & invites the adventurers to a feast. The Zobal the archer and Cushara the pike-bearer remain skeptical to say the least. Ujuk is the spawn of a lamia and then there's the benevolent mummy of the former monk Uldor. And at the story's conclusion the ruins of the Abbot of Puthuum are still there on Zothique. And these ruins  are  still lamia and demon haunted! Sure they disappeared but we get no confirmation that they were destoryed! 

 The Abbot of Putluum could well be a repository of ancient wisdom and occult knowledge. And this might be the deciding factor for adventurers to seek it out. 
Zothique is demon haunted and lamia are nasty. They are masters of illusion and magic. The fact that they are haunting Putluum says that there are other people living in the area. The lamia have been breeding and bringing hybrid humanoids in the area. These lamia hybrids secure others as a food source. Here's another reason for adventurers to journey to  Putluum. For the  Castles & Crusades rpg this story presents a great bridge point for an encounter with demons or lamia on Zothique. The ruins of the abbot are waiting for PC's. According to the wiki entry on 'The Black Abbot of Puthuum; "In the 1988 book Fantasy: The 100 Best Books, James Cawthorn and Michael Moorcock noted the stories "Necromancy in Naat", "The Witchcraft of Ulua", and "The Black Abbot of Puthuum" on the theme of love and lust." These themes are perfect framing an adventure using C&C's Tome of the Unclean.