The Genocide of Commoriom - More Cha'alt/Godbound Campaign Notes - The Thirteen Realms & S1-4 Realms of Horror by Gary Gygax, & Lawrence Schick.

In Commoriom  the capital city of the Hyperboreans beyond the snowy Riphean Mountains there is a midnight slaughter! An army of Drow from the lowest depths of the Earth slaughters every Hyperborean within sight! The heads of warriors, every man, woman, & child is arrayed on pikes! The Drow will have their reckoning! 

The timeline events of my Cha'alt/Godbound campaign have moved forward a bit as several phone calls & virtual meetings that took place today. So today I decided to take the ancient feud of the Drow with Hyperboreans & bring it to its natural conclusion in the campaign historical time table. 

 

If your still looking to grab the hardback contact Venger Satanis right here.

I'm going to be  running S1-4 Realms of Horror by  Gary Gygax, &  Lawrence Schick.  S1-4 Realms of Horror  is a super module collection that came out way back in Eight Seven. S1-4 Realms of Horror collects & connects  Tomb of Horrors, White Plume Mountain, Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, and The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth as one gigantic campaign. For this I'm going to be using a combination of Adventurer, Conqueror, King & Castles & Crusades. 

I'm going to be using this with 'Thirteen Realms' set against the events of Cha'alt in my home campaign game. Things have been moving apace but with the recent acquisition of 'The Tsathoggua Cycle: Terror Tales of the Toad God (Call of Cthulhu Fiction)'. So I thought it was time to move things up a bit. 



The influence of the black pyramid continues to be felt across the world as things heat up in Greenland. The Drow have taken over in Greenland & California falls under the influence of Cha'alt's in human masters. Hyperborea itself has disappeared from the skies completely but that was to be expected. So now the Drow have taken over Greenland & only  Olathoe, in the Land of Lomar remains as a pocket of resistance for now. 

Cha'alt/Godbound Campaign Notes - The Thirteen Realms & S1-4 Realms of Horror by Gary Gygax, & Lawrence Schick.

So over the last two days I've been refining campaign notes, writing up NPC's, & going over the timeline events of my Cha'alt/Godbound campaign. Fleshing out bits & pieces of the world plus cannibalizing several years of other OSR campaign notes. Several monster species are being pulled out of the AD&D  Monster Manual, the Creature Catalog,etc.



The PC's were god bound heroes summoned to this Earth & things have been getting steadily nastier as time goes on. The war rages on but the Lovcraftian gods of Cha'alt are starting to stir & grow restless. The lamia queens of Cha'alt have begun to move across the desert landscape with their caravans bringing with them the corruption & horror of their influence.


If your still looking to grab the hardback contact Venger Satanis right here.


The Cha'alt wave rages across the world & the thirteen realms are starting to replace their normal dimensional Earth counter parts. The thirteen  realms are starting to move into their place shifting Earth normality away. These thirteen  realms are as follows : 

1. Europe - Wasteland ruins ruled over by barbarian warlords and the occasional Nazi wizard. Some pockets of weird technology created by said wizards. OD&D monsters and mutants roam through through this landscape. 
2. Greenland and Iceland  - Realm of Dark Elven warriors/wizards among the volcanoes and green rolling hills. Drawn from Scandinavian mythology and cheesy fantasy movies. Greenland is the seat of the Hyperborean empire on Earth. 
3. The UK - Gothic Sunset a world of Gothic horror & violence. Monsters of classic horror stalk the landscape. 
4. USSR - The Shattered  Realms - Barbarian warlords,wizards, green skin humanoid tribes all drawn from Grind House Fantasy 80's movies. 
5. Canada - "The Inner Earth Invades" Realm - Paleo terror tears through the ruins of Canadian cities while Sasquatch mutants roam the wilderness. Some pockets of high inner Earth tech! 
6. United States -  A. East Coast - This Is Lovecraft country  - This is the pulp realm of New England. B. The West Coast -  A "Road Nomads style world" think 80's television like Airwolf, The Highway man, etc. with lots of Post Apocalyptic goodness! Here Cha'alt's desert nature has taken dire hold. 
7. Mexico and South America - Lovecraftian Technological Nightmare realms - Forbidden gods, weird cults, and mythological nightmares 
8. China and India - Zombie Realms - Filled with Dark Magic, forbidden rites, and ancient wizards! This realm of zombie horror is one of the most dangerous. 
9. Australia - Dinoverse - A world where the dinosaurs evolved into humanoid forms. 80's and 90's technology with humanoid dinosaurs and awesomeness 
10. Japan and Indonesia - The Ancient Space Gods Return Realm - Where the ancient gods of space and time have returned to terrorize mankind! The rule of the saucer has begun 
11. Africa- The Realms of Interzone - The Realms of Naked Lunch and Pulp Africa 
12. Antarctica  - The "At The Mountains of Madness" Realms - Lovecraftian masters return to claim what is rightfully theirs. 
13. Glanauaethan - The Fallen Utopia - A realm of shattered high technology and decadence, this reality of survivors, mutant tribes, androids, and former space travelers  are strangers in a strange land. Drawn from countless PD science fictional movies . This group of rag tag survivors has come from an alternative Earth where a cosmic plague has ravaged most of humanity. This group of time traveling refugees uses its know of a possible future to recruit adventurers from across the realms to advance its own mysterious and some would say twisted agenda.
    

So basically the realms are going to connect up with various night roads that lead into some of these realms. Amid  this dimensional shifting I was thinking of running S1-4 Realms of Horror by  Gary Gygax, &  Lawrence Schick.  S1-4 Realms of Horror  is a super module collection that came out way back in Eight Seven. S1-4 Realms of Horror collects & connects  Tomb of Horrors, White Plume Mountain, Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, and The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth as one gigantic campaign


We are talking literal years of game play here to even get this loose campaign off the ground. Cha'alt keeps on using its influence on my brain as a sort of weird quisi Gamma World/Rifts rpg influence.

Adapting Dungeons of Dread For Old School Sword & Sorcery Campaign Play

"Dungeons of Dread is a collection of four classic, stand-alone Advanced Dungeons & Dragons adventure modules -- S1: Tomb of Horrors, S2: White Plume Mountain, S3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, and S4: The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth -- complete with original black-and-white interior art."


Stay in a hobby long enough & you might witness your own play as you go at the table top coming back to haunt you. This is the case with Dungeons of Dread by Gary Gygax & Lawrence Schick. I was challenged today to create a campaign that uses the Astonishing Swordmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea and this cycle of adventures. Yes this has been done before with Realms of Horror . But Realms of Horror has some very weird choices in editing & content when it comes to actually running that super module as a campaign. But add to this the idea of running these as a Hyperborean campaign & things get even more interesting. But I've got some ideas for actually running these adventures as an adventure cycle on AS&SH's Hyperborea.


Let's start off here with the idea of S1: Tomb of Horrors (1978) by Gary Gygax  & what the original killar dungeon is doing on Hyperborea. The idea is rather simple really not unlike Clark Ashton Smith's Empire of the Necromancer's story. Our demi lich has deep connnections to the royal bloodlines of Hyperborea especially within the capital & he's now challenging the best of the best adventurers of the land. Why?! Well to eliminate the competition of course. Our Demi lich awakens after the Green Death & goes about testing the best of the land.


If the characters survive their little vacation within S1: Tomb of Horrors (1978) by Gary Gygax then something that they've done within the tomb activates the original fun house of horrors Lawrence Schick's S2: White Plume Mountain (1979).  This little bit of menace has been the product of its returning lunatic wizard whose now testing & killing adventurers by the score not to mention the reappearance of one of the original 'swords of power'. This is a sign that some prophecy of Hyperborea has been fulfilled & now the objects of power are hearkening a dark harbinger from space heading for favorite Sword & Sorcery setting. 

This sets up Gary Gygax's S3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks (1980) which is the original science fantasy crossover module. Here Pre Green Death era space craft has crashed into the Hyperborean mountains & is creating havoc as the monsters ravage the local countryside. 

The entire module doesn't really have to change at all to suit AS&SH's Hyperborea. The space craft is intact but totally insane as factions & monsters fight for dominance over the various inhabitants of the space craft. The robots are still dumping the alien monsters   into the countryside but there's the brave adventurers to take them on. I suggest using this adventure in a temperate zone of hyperborea because of the distribution of the monsters. My suggestion is to locate  Gary Gygax's S3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks at the base of the spiral mountains so to easy the PC's into the thick of things. 


While dealing with S3 the PC's find a lead onto an ancient hoard of Hyperborean treasures beyond compare. The player's PC's must find the  The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth & deal with the blow back from this classic module by Gary Gygax. The spiral mountains make a very tempting target once word gets out about  The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth. S4 The  Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth By Gary Gygax is a classic & this module is easily adaptable to your old school campaigns. 



Adventurers by the score descend upon this location & turn up dead or not at all. The reputation of the caverns grows with each telling and the players are gonna have to deal with rival NPC adventuring parities. They'll also have to deal with the tons of monsters that serve a behind the throne toadies. All in all these are classic modules and highly adaptable to any dungeon master's old school or OSR needs. 

In The Barbarian Warlords of Greyhawk Campaign Setting The War Against The Slavers Concludes With A4 In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords By Lawrence Schick

Trapped in the dungeons of the Slave Lords! The hardy adventurers must find a way out, with only their wits and courage to help them. But can they do it before everything is destroyed by the dreaded Earth Dragon?


So what happens if the PC lose against the slavers and their minions? Well I found that out in the Summer of '82 when our Dungeon master almost but not quite had a TPK on his hands. I heard so rumblings from the peanut gallery that A4 In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords wouldn't be easy to adapt to the Barbarian Warlords of Greyhawk campaign setting.
Let's get some perspective on the quick backgroud history of this module according to Wiki;"In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords, the final module in the series, was published by TSR in 1981 as a thirty-two page booklet with an outer folder, and was written by Lawrence Schick.^[7] The cover artwork by Erol Otus features a drawing of a group of myconid (fungus men) fighting a party of adventurers. The interior art was done Otus, Roslof, Willingham, Steve Sullivan, David C. Sutherland III, and Jean Wells."

So this module is wall to wall tournament adventure written all over it which means it can be easily modified to  fit the dungeon master's needs. The PC's have been captured & left to die in the tunnel & cave systems beneath the slave lord's lairs. Gone are their fancy magical weapons & their spells so their going to have to think their way out. For a a Barbarian Warlords of Greyhawk campaign there's an almost Edgar Rice Burroughs twist to A4 making this bit more of a struggle for survival. If the PC's have left behind hirelings, tribesmen, etc. to man the various locations used as adventure locations then this module is going to be a kick in the teeth.  The party is going to be coming face to face with the true children of the demoness Zuggtmoy.


After the destruction of the Horde of Elemental Evil everything seemed nice & quiet but the human forces had already retreated back to their volcanic island retreat. To lick their wounds & plan for a profitable slaving operation to fund the next rise of the cult. Warfare doesn't come cheap.
"In 569 CY, a combined force was sent to destroy the Temple and put an end to the marauding. This allied army clashed with a horde of evil men and humanoids, including orcs, ogres and gnolls, at the Battle of Emridy Meadows. Men-at-arms from Furyondy and Veluna united with dwarves from the Lortmils, gnomes from the Kron Hills, and an army of elven archers to face the threat of the Horde of Elemental Evil, consisting largely of savage humanoids such as orcs, ogres, and gnolls. The arrival of the elves from the shadows of the Gnarley Forest turned the tide of battle, trapping the savage humanoids against a bend in the Velverdyva where they were routed and slaughtered.
At some point in this battle, Serten, cleric of Saint Cuthbert and member of the Citadel of Eight, was slain. The Citadel was notable for its absence at this pivotal moment in the history of the Flanaess, and their failure to take part in the Battle of Emridy Meadows contributed to the group's decline and eventual disbandment.
After dispersing the Horde of Elemental Evil, the allied forces laid siege to the Temple of Elemental Evil itself, defeating it within a fortnight. Spellcasters loyal to the goodly army cooperated on a spell of sealing that bound the demoness Zuggtmoy (a major instigator in the Horde of Elemental Evil) to some of the deepest chambers in the castle's dungeons.

The site itself remained, however, and over the following decade rumors of evil presence there persisted. The Viscount of Verbobonc and the Archcleric of Veluna became increasingly concerned, and cooperated to build a small castle outside the Village of Hommlet to guard against the possibility of the Temple rising again."
Meanwhile the PC's have their hands full trying to survive against the Gygaxian monster dungeon ecological system of A4. Which the various caverns & caves inhabitants would like to make them a part of.


If you think that all is lost for the PC's carving out their own kingdom from the ashes of the Slave Lords corpses. Think again!? The PC's have a chance to defeat the slave lords, grab volcanic island lair,& then learn 'the hidden truth' of the Earth Dragon of  A4 In The Dungeons of The Slave Lords. I'm modifying the module to fit more in line with some of the systems presented in the Heroic Fantasy Handbook for ACK's.
Occultist and Dread Wraith, Jeff Binder

Deep beneath the island locked in a prison of volcanic glass & obsidian is another piece of the the demoness Zuggtmoy (a major instigator in the Horde of Elemental Evil)remember. So the PC's inherit a sacred duty to watch over the prison but a kick ass volcanic base to begin to expand their own empire of plunder and pillage. This way it loops back around into T1 The Temple of Elemental Evil giving weight to the whole series and a satisfying conclusion.

There are few things to consider before venturing on a whole hog endeavor of running the Scourge of the Slave Lords series with a Barbarian Warlords of Greyhawk campaign. The entire face of Greyhawk is going to be altered. The technological levels are going to be late Roman Empire to Viking era. There are some definitive things to consider here:

1. This isn't simply adventure running but empire building in one of the more well known old school settings and its going to require shoehorning here & there.
2. Sacred cows NPC's are going to die and their not coming back. 
3. PC's are going to be shifting the balance of the campaign setting as movers & shakers. 
4. Not everything is going to go according the definitions of good & evil. There's going to be more then a few innocents killed before this campaign ends. So be prepared. 
5. Wargaming might be called for during some of the passages of these adventures. 
6. Have more then a few PC's as backup for one or more of them will be killed during the course of the Slave Lord series. 
7. Don't be stingy with the treasure because war costs money and lots of it. 
8. ACK's is designed for exactly this sort of a campaign. 
9. Don't forget to modify or edit these modules as needed for your needs as both players & DM's. 
10. This places a whole different spin on Greyhawk but remember there are countless alternative Greyhawks in the planes.

Retro - Review & Commentary On S2 White Plume Mountain By Lawrence Schick For Advanced Dungeons & Dragons And Your Old School Campaigns

 Well our adventurers have been contacted and contracted to bring back three notoriously dangerous magical artifacts. A trident, a war hammer and a sword, each possessing its own intelligence and incredibly dangerous in their own right. Do you have what it takes to complete the journey to White Plume Mountain?

Welcome back my dear readers, we've survived the latest arctic blast of snow and terrible weather here in Connecticut, an adventure has occupied my thoughts as of late. White Plume Mountain by Lawrence Schick has always been one of those modules and adventures that has both intimidated the hell out of me and has been a blast to run.Tonight I'm going to speak about White Plume Mountain. This module is devious, devilish, and twisted in its old school style for an Advanced Dungeons and Dragons adventure.The adventure centers itself around a exploration of a vast mega dungeon according to Wiki"the adventure is a dungeon crawl where the players' characters are hired to retrieve three "notorious" magical weapons: a trident, a war hammer and a sword, each possessing its own intelligence.The weapons' former owners each received a copy of a taunting poem, instructing them that the weapons are located in White Plume Mountain. The poem is signed by the wizard Keraptis, who thirteen hundred years ago descended into the volcanic mountain with a company of gnomes and disappeared."

 Here's what a minor breakdown of the module looks like once again according to Wiki "The adventure is divided into 27 encounters across a 16-page module. Encounters are varied and each presents its own challenges. Encounter seven necessitates characters jumping from platform to platform above a sea of hot mud whilst evading erupting geysers; this in turn leads to encounter eight and a room of permanent darkness where a vampire guards Whelm. Encounter 17 occurs in a giant but fragile bubble located above a boiling lake, with the players needing to defeat a giant crab and retrieve Wave without damaging the bubble. Encounter 26 involves negotiating a magical ziggurat populated by various monsters (including sea lions, giant crayfish, giant scorpions, and manticores) before encounter 28, a battle against an ogre mage who possesses Blackrazor. A final challenge on departing is an encounter with two to four efreet if the characters have succeeded in taking two or three of the magical weapons."
This review and commentary concerns the original incarnation of the fun house dungeon to end all. This is a very well done module that will challenge even the most die hard AD&D or retroclone gamer. This is a challenging sword and sorcery module with a pretty nice little plot to back up its craziness and old school weirdness.

 One thing about White Plume Mountain it is only very lightly tied into Greyhawk, with a bit of work the environs of S2 could be transplanted over to your own campaign world or setting.But given its weird and strange nature I personally would move it over to Hyperborea in the volcanic regions of of that setting. Because of the nature of Keraptis and his weird obsessions in the module I could see him moving the entire mountain ala the Stormbringer novels across the planes where and when  he wills it. The entire purpose of this module is to keep Keraptis entertained and in that capacity it excels at it.

 There is something incredibly appealing about S2 and the way it handles its NPC and plot is rather brilliant. if you looking for a fun house dungeon. This is the ultimate expression of the dungeon as both s puzzle heavy dungeon and intimating monster encounters;. Make no mistake this is one hell of a deadly old school module with plenty of opportunities for players to make a series of bad rolls that could result in a total party wipe out if the DM isn't careful. Because the adventure is only lightly connect to Greyhawk. There's plenty for DYI AD&D customization on the DM's part. The DM shouldn't worry about the standard AD&D style monsters if he or she wishes to use these with their favorite sword and sorcery retroclone system. Wizards collect unique monsters and often times have very dangerous specimens especially wizard's of this module's level.

This is not so much a module as it is a mini campaign with lots of opportunities for expansion, plenty of sword and sorcery action, and it can easily be dropped right into your own campaigns with little problem. This one is a favorite of mine because the Great Swamp, White Plume Mountain, and Castle Mukos didn't match up with anything else within Greyhawk though the text of the adventure clearly places White Plume Mountain in the Shield Lands, near the Great Rift. It can easily be moved where the DM needs it go. I've even seen a customization or two place White Plume within a fantasy version of Iceland and Greenland for a game of Lamentations of the Flame Princess. I could also see using White Plume as a part of a very gritty and dangerous Dark Albion campaign.

Sometimes classic is classic for a reason and White Plume Mountain By Lawrence Schick  falls within this category. The module is iconic, dangerous, very deadly but gosh darn it if this isn't a fun module