Where The Treasures Are - Rpg Pundit's Sword & Caravan From Mad Scribe Games For The Lion & Dragon rpg & Lamentations of the Flame Princess rpg

This is post is going to pick right up from here on the blog.   Part of the advantage to diving into Sword & Caravan is the fact that there's so much setting information much of it a bit on the daunting side of things. That being said the book is also perfect for Lamentations of the Flame Princess with some gaming adjustments such as level & PC stat adjustments . These are no big deal. The big deal with Sword & Caravan seems to be deciding where to place your party of PC's on the Silk Road! 

Sword & Caravan dives deeply into a world of the past that no longer exists at all. The advantage here is that while history has been written by the victors. The past is a fertile ground to place your party of adventurers. And while yesterday I spoke of using demi humans with Sword & Caravan don't over do it as my adopted uncle used to say. Basically we've gone with the Lamentations of the Flame Princess axiom that the demi humans are fading from the Earth. That doesn't mean that their going quietly or nicely about it either. 

The Silk Road could offer hope & opportunity at least that's what the players might think! The truth is that the march & boots of history is going to pave over many cities, races, and culture. There's one name that echoes through the ages for a reason & that's the Great Khane. Merchants may be the spreaders of culture but the Khanes forces are the great equalizer along the silk road. Everything from the Caspin sea to the shores of China feel his forces presence. 

Wizards, mages, and even many of the treasures of mankind are going to find their way into the Khan's vaults, & coffers. So many of the treasures of myth & legend are going to fold themselves through adventures into the Khan's hands. According to a quick History Channel snap shot here, "Genghis Khan conquered more than twice as much land as any other person in history, bringing Eastern and Western civilizations into contact in the process. His descendants, including Ogodei and Khubilai, were also prolific conquerors, taking control of Eastern Europe, the Middle East and the rest of China, among other places. The Mongols even invaded Japan and Java before their empire broke apart in the 14th century. Genghis Khan’s last ruling descendant was finally deposed in 1920."

So history basically gives the DM a wide latitude when it comes to legendary objects & treasures found along the Silk Road. 

The fact is that Sword & Caravan gives a pretty solid table of random treasures & loot major as well as minor to use within your games. The question is how many of these disappeared into the Khan's vaults never to be seen again?! 

A Sword & Caravan rpg campaign would have to be the right mix of styles & setting details with the PC's being a mix of treasure seekers & merchants. And there are several adventures that could be woven into a very dangerous mix for said adventurers especially if one was using LoFP. Zzarchov Kowolski's Pale Lady having just the right mix of Eastern as well as Western influences. And yes I know all about about Kowolski's other adventures & efforts. The Pale Lady stands out with it's other wordly & fairy tale on acid atmosphere. Why?! Because of the fact that I'm trying to stick with a bit of an LoFP theme here. 

The Pale Lady fits the Slavic & Silk Road weirdness factor in spades. The rabbit men, the Pale Lady, etc. doesn't need an explaination only to be placed & run on the Silk Road as a part of the mythic Indo European landscape. How & why?! Well get into that next time. 

OSR Thoughts On Rpg Pundit's Sword & Caravan From Mad Scribe Games For The Lion & Dragon rpg

" Sword & Caravan is an OSR setting book for playing a historically accurate fantasy campaign set in the East along the region known as "the Silk Road" at the turn of the 12th/13th Centuries. This historic campaign's timeline is set amid the turbulent era between the Third Crusade and the Mongol Invasions. This marked Europe's earliest period of post-classical interaction with the East."

 

 

"As Players, you may decide to take on the roles of crusaders, merchants, or explorers traveling to ancient and mysterious lands. Alternatively, you may choose from any number of unique character concepts native to those lands."

 "With a detailed gazetteer of every region along the Silk Road from the Crusader States and the Muslim world to China, Sword & Caravan gives you everything you need to explore the history and varied cultures of a region filled with war, intrigue, commerce, and conquests."

Rpg Pundit's Sword & Caravan supplement is a huge expansion for the Lion & Dragon rpg moving the game into the era of the Silk Road. Sword & Caravan clocks in at around almost two hundred pages of history, new classes, & much more for the  Lion & Dragon rpg.  And while it's meant for the Lion & Dragon rpg Sword & Caravan could be used with DOM Publishing's Fantastic Heroes & Witchery as well. This could be a sorta of backdoor way of going especially with those already using  Dark Albion as thier primary campaign setting. This of course would be an alternative history way of handling adventure elements. 
Sword & Caravan's 12/13th centuries are an extremely  dangerous time in Europe & Asia with entire cities being wiped off of the European map. DOM publishing's Fantastic Heroes & Witchery  would be a far more dark fantasy centered Europe with many of the tools of Dark Albion coming into play to leverage play. 

While the history within the  Sword & Caravan supplement is front & center many of these titles are also a type of tool box approach to their contents. The DM can mix & match as the adventure  situation & the player's wishes dictates for their campaigns. The biggest change within  Sword & Caravan  is the role in which social interaction, commerce, and merchants play within an OSR setting. Yes dungeon crawling is a huge part of the equation but the party is far more mobile with the exploration of strange & alien cultures being front & center. There is nothing stopping a DM from using demi human races within a Sword & Caravan campaign. And yes the human centric element is front & center. There are many DM whom I heard from who are taking the traditional approach of using Sword & Caravan with demi human or humanoid elements. Many DM's have cited Michael Moorcock's alternative historical fiction books as being an element of this sorta of a tradition old school campaign. 

The truth is that the Silk Road presents it's own unique challenges for the DM who wants to move to a 12/13th century campaign model. Sword & Caravan certainly has the right tools for the job. My own Italian merchant character who is just starting out from an upper middle class family has his own set of challenges especially navigating both the dynamics of family politics & the Islamic world of this time. 

This is a very interesting mix to say the least & lately given my propensity for getting out from behind the screen. There's going to be more then a bit of hesitation on my part. With that being said, Sword & Caravan has some excellent tools for PC generation & much more. 
With that being said could Sword & Caravan be used with other OSR rpg's or titles?! The first one that springs to mind of course is Lamentations of the Flame Princess rpg. And given the period of the Silk Road's occupation?! The short answer of course is yes! 

Sword & Caravan would be a powerful tool for a LoFP campaign given all of the weird elements, dangerous NPC factions, & much more. But there will have be some adjustment when it comes to some minor gaming or rpg mechanics. And some of these same adventure & DMing elements also come into play with Lion & Dragon as the era's completely change & move according historical motives. 

Given the amount of material in both Dark Albion & Lion & Dragon it's easy to see the pivot points for a DM looking to increase their chances of  successful Sword & Caravan campaign with the Rpg Pundit presents supplemental material. While not necessary these periodicals certainly enhance the chances of a successful campaign. The step to run a Sword & Caravan campaign is a big one given the mountain of information that is provided to the DM. This isn't a bad thing at all & the book does give more then it takes from an OSR dungeon master. Sword & Caravan is an excellent addition to the OSR DM's arsenal & an excellent book. 

Rpg Pundit's Sword & Caravan From Mad Scribe Games For The Lion & Dragon rpg Is Available Right Here 

Rose War Conflict & Crusade - Lion & Dragon rpg As Well As Dark Albion rpg Campaign Setting By Rpg Pundit From DOM Publishing

 It's been a while since the spines on Lion & Dragon as well as Dark Albion were cracked. Lion & Dragon rpg is a brilliant piece of kit, an rpg that takes the transformative historical events of the Rose War  & puts it in the hands of the PC's. 

According to the War of the Roses Wiki entry here; "The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century, fought between supporters of two rival cadet branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: Lancaster and York. The wars extinguished the male lines of the two dynasties, leading to the Tudor family inheriting the Lancastrian claim. Following the war, the Houses of Lancaster and York were united, creating a new royal dynasty, thereby resolving the rival claims. The conflict lasted for approximately thirty years, from 1455 to 1487, with various periods of greater and lesser levels of violent conflict during that period, between various rival contenders for the monarchy of England." 
So what does Lion & Dragon rpg bring to the table?! An occult & adventurer background, social stantings, and an actual historical playable campaign setting. And what's actually at stake within Lion & Dragon?! Well besides England & France is the following from Wiki again; "The conflict had its roots in the wake of the Hundred Years' War and its emergent socio-economic troubles, which weakened the prestige of the English monarchy,^[i] unfolding structural problems of bastard feudalism and the powerful duchies created by Edward III,^[8] and the mental infirmity and weak rule of Henry VI, which revived interest in the Yorkist claim to the throne by Richard of York. Historians disagree over which of these factors was the main catalyst for the wars.^[9] It was also used as a proxy War between France and the Burgundian State." The entire mainland of Europe has the potential to overflow from the Rose War. And it's all going to depending upon the actions of your PC's. 

Dark Albion is the campaign setting & it does an excellent job of presenting the campaign setting of the Rose War. There's a complete set of maps, towns, new monsters, PC classes, and much more. All of this is packed within Dark Albion allowing the DM to drop this multi faceted campaign setting into their own games. There's lots & lots of material here in Dark Albion & it leaves little background not available for the DM to add their own spin for a campaign. 

The Rose War is a very intriguing conflict to set up an OSR campaign & Dark Albion fills this niche quite nicely. The writing carries Rpg Pundit usual style & he continues to support both the Lion & Dragon rpg & Dark Albion with the 'Rpg Pundit presents" books available here. 

OSR Commentary On Dark Albion's Cults of Chaos By Rpg Pundit For OSR & Old School Campaigns

 "Dark Albion: Cults of Chaos is a gaming supplement for Dark Albion (also available on Createspace / Amazon), as well as most OSR fantasy-horror role-playing games. It will help you generate various Chaos Cults in detail (many tables are provided). It then describes the most common Chaos cults found in Albion (those worshiping demons, and others), gives advice on how running Chaos cults adventures (several tables are provided), and proposes three ready-to-use dungeons (i.e.: maps plus descriptions of contents for three dungeons that would be perfect for cultists lairs). This supplement is usable with any RPG of the OSR movement, such as Fantastic Heroes & Witchery (also available on Createspace / Amazon), Osric, Labyrinth Lord, etc."

Cults of Chaos by Rpg Pundit has been one of the most useful additions to my gaming libary over the years. Theres been plenty of times when this volume has come in very handy. 

All of the Pagan gods depicted within Dark Albion's Cults of Chaos are in some way or another touched by Chaos. A practice that over the years since Dark Albion's Cults of Chaos we've used for numerous OSR & old school campaigns. These cults are dangerous and very much not as much in the same vein as other old school games portray them. Take the Roman cult of Mithra according to Cults of Chaos it aligns with its wiki enty up to a point; "Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic mysteries or the Cult of Mithras, was a Roman mystery religion centered on the god Mithras. Although inspired by Iranian worship of the Zoroastrian divinity (yazata) Mithra, the Roman Mithras is linked to a new and distinctive imagery, with the level of continuity between Persian and Greco-Roman practice debated.^[a] The mysteries were popular among the Imperial Roman army from about the 1st to the 4th-century CE.^[2]

Worshippers of Mithras had a complex system of seven grades of initiation and communal ritual meals. Initiates called themselves syndexioi, those "united by the handshake".^[b] They met in underground temples, now called mithraea (singular mithraeum), which survive in large numbers. The cult appears to have had its center in Rome,^[3] and was popular throughout the western half of the empire, as far south as Roman Africa and Numidia, as far as Roman Dacia, as far north as Roman Britain,^{[4]: 26–27} and to a lesser extent in Roman Syria in the east." 
While it is united by it's symbols, handshakes & signs as a 'mystery cult' or secret society Mithraic mysteries and such are still seen as a cult of chaos by the Sol Invictus. And they are dealt with accordingly. The setting a  of historical fantasy world set in England during the period of the War of the Roses ie. 1453-1485 is a very unforgiving place. 

And even the old Roman gods are looked on deeply with suspition & a side glance towards blatant Chaos worship. And it's these leanings that give Dark Albion's setting both it's unique flavor & the  Lion & Dragon rpg part of it's percision as an OSR game. 

The time of  the pre War of the Roses ie. 1453-1485 was supposed to be a place of new beginnings and happenings. The War of the Roses pushses that back to the background for an almost pseudo horror feel as the edges of the map take on sinister and dangerous connotations. All of the while the threat of Chaos looms in the background waiting to take on anyone stupid enough to fall to the various cults wiles. 

And within these cracks are where adventurers of all stripes ply their trade. The further reaches of exploration both historical & edged have their place with both Dark Albion & Lion & Dragon. 

Dark Albion's Cults of Chaos By Rpg Pundit  For OSR & Old School Campaigns Is Available Right Here. 

Reviews & Commentary 'The Goat Lady' by Sílvia Clemente & Miguel Ribeiro From The Red Room For The Wretched Rpg or Other OSR Rpg Systems

 "On the Westernmost part of Kharabas, one can find the Kingdom of Baetica, a strange and eerie place inhabited by rude and superstitious folk. At the heart of the country stands the Biscaya mountains; they are ancient and mysterious, a place feared by most Baeticans. The ruler of Biscaya, lady Lydia Alvarez, seeks protection from her unruly subjects. What seemed to be an easy job for an experienced group of bastards will become trickier once the party discovers an ancient evil has been unleashed in the mountains. And it must be stopped before it is too late. A scenario inspired by an old Portuguese folk tale, The Goat-footed Lady, Richard Donner’s 1985 fantasy tale Ladyhawke and several low-budget horror movies." 

The Goat Lady by Sílvia Clemente & Miguel Ribeiro From The Red Room is a forty two page dark adventure based on Portuguese folk tales. And this adventure is very well done. Let me explain, 'The Goat Lady' presents itself as both an old school  adventure & a horror scenario. 

We get a cast of NPC's who move the adventure along after the party becomes trapped in a storm; "The party has been travelling on their way to the castle; it is a rough walk.They are following a winding and steep trail up the mountain. On one side, they have rocky and dark mountain walls and, on the other, a dark and deep abyss. Although it's still early in the afternoon, suddenly the sky turns dark.Then, a flash of lightning breaks the sky, followed by the roar of thunder; it starts to rain heavily.The characters have been caught in a bad storm." 
So 'The Goat Lady' avoids the 'you all meet in a tavern' trope right off the bat. And from here the player's PC's meet a tarot reader and a young boy who puts them on the road to the castle of Lady Lydia. And the PC's get embroiled in the political goings on of the region. The villagers hated being ruled by a royal after her husband's death. The villagers are fighting a guarilla style war against the Lady Lydia & the player's PC's are hired to root out the rebels. 
And things go from bad to worse as the party is subject to mountain of mystery. And the supernatural goings on there but things are actually centered around the castle. There's far more going on & around at the castle then meets the eye. The Goat Lady actually is an NPC driven point & dungeon crawl with lots & lots of supernatural elements within it. The NPC cast is interesting, the adventure locations dangerous, the supernatural happenings within The Goat Lady are well done. Where the adventure actually shines is when it's employed for the Wretched Bastards Rpg. 

Why does 'The  Goat Lady' work for Wretched Bastards?! Because it showcases exactly what can be done with the system & done well. Supernatural happenings, deadly encounters, compelling game play, and more are where Wretched Bastards shines when paired with 'The Goat Lady'. 
Could 'The Goat Lady' be paired with other OSR systems?! And in point of fact is can & that's where I think 'The Goat Lady' could work very well for the Lamentations of the Flame Princess rpg. You've got all of the adventure elements here for an excellent LoFP mini campaign. We've got powerfully written NPC's, weird supernatural happenings, solid political motives, & more. 

The other OSR style system that 'The Goat Lady' could handle is the Lion & Dragon  rpg. Messed up royals, political rebellion, occult horror and more are all perfectly aligned with Dark Albion's themes. And with a bit of hand waving by the dungeon master the 'Goat Lady' could work very well within a mini campaign of Lion & Dragon. 

'The Goat Lady' is an adventure that thrives on player PC play & interaction because of the fact that it's NPC driven and driven well. The Goat Lady is very well done & wouldn't be outta of place within a Ravenloft style horror campaign setting either. It's easy to squint and see the main antagonist as a Dark Lord villain. 
And this also means that 'The Goat Lady' could be used for other OSR style games such as Castles & Crusades easily. The C&C players have all read all of the rules back to front & are jaded rpg's. An adventure like 'The Goat Lady' is the perfect spanner to throw into a campaign to have them questioning the campaign narritive. 

The Goat Lady also has an unexplained aspect & that's the fact that the castle or it's lands are going to be up for grabs! Keep this in mind as 'The Goat Lady' could be a perfect horror adventure for  Adventurer, Conqueror, King rpg. Tempt the PC's with the lands haunted by supernatural horror & stay for the conquest & carnage! 

So is the 'Goat Lady' worth the download?! Yes I think that Sílvia Clemente is a far more vicious rpg writer then many folks were expecting. The author knows her horror influences & The Red Room's adventures wear them on their OSR bloody sleeves. This is a solid entry from the Red Room and I can't wait to see what they come up with next! 
'The Goat Lady' by Sílvia Clemente & Miguel Ribeiro From The Red Room For The Wretched Rpg or Other OSR Rpg Systems Is Availabe Here. 

The Lancelot Legacy - Campaign Commentary For Rpg Pundit's Lion & Dragon rpg

"Lion & Dragon is a Medieval Authentic OSR game. Until now, you only thought you were playing "medieval fantasy"!

With Lion & Dragon, the rules of the original tabletop RPG have been adapted to create a more historically authentic medieval experience, to reflect the grittier and yet more mythic world of a magical medieval Europe."



"L&D includes new rules governing social class and materials on culture to help a GM craft a world that feels closer to the world of the 100-years war or the War of the Roses. It has a grittier and more dangerous feel to reflect the cheapness of life at the time. Also included are sections on medieval economics, law & justice, and chapters with monsters and magical items based on authentic medieval legends. Finally, a completely revamped magic system is based on actual grimoire-magic as the medieval magicians really envisioned it."

 So while thumbing through the Lion & Dragon rpg tonight it occurs that more then enough attention really hasn't been given to this game on the blog lately. Its not that I still don't love the game or have had a big blow up with it at the table top. Instead conflicting schedules & a ton of unresolved player history hasn't helped. Players have moved on, gotten married, etc. since November 2017 when the Lion & Dragon  premeired on Drivethrurpg. 
So tonight reaching for my campaign note books there were a few things that I'd still love to do with Lion & Dragon. And most of these concern the Arthurian legends & mythology especially the legends of Lancelot. And there's an element of the Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion within the flawed knight of Camelot. According to his wiki;"Lancelot may have been the hero of a folk tale that was originally independent but was ultimately absorbed into the Arthurian tradition. The theft of an infant by a water fairy, the appearance of the hero at a tournament on three consecutive days in three different disguises, and the rescue of a queen or princess from an Otherworld prison are all features of a well-known and widespread tale, variants of which are found in numerous examples collected by Theodore Hersart de la Villemarqué in his Barzaz Breiz, by Emmanuel Cosquin in his Contes Lorrains, and by John Francis Campbell in his Tales of the West Highlands. As for his name, "Lancelot" may be a variant of the common name "Lancelin" (as proposed by Gaston Paris in 1881, later supported by Rachel Bromwich).^[12] It is also possibly derived from the Old French word L'Ancelot, meaning "Servant" (the hypothesis first put forward by de la Villemarqué in 1842); Lancelot's name is actually written this way in several manuscripts.^[8] It is also reminiscent of the uncommon Saxon name Wlanc, meaning "The Proud One"
Imagine if you will that the PC's find themselves locked in the same otherworldly prison that once held Lancelot. All of these centuries later right at the cusp of the War of the Roses the Twilight Realm of the Fae, begins to make it's move. Casting its net into the world of mortals as Maleagant an archenemy of Lancelot begins to plan to undermine Avalon from the inside out. Here's where RPGPundit Presents: The Old School Companion 1 From Spectre Press comes in very handy. The Twilight Realm of the Fae is both twisted & deadly.




Forget meeting in a tavern the otherworldly prison will be more then a match for even the most jaded players.  The player's PC's social standing is going to come deeply into play here. Most of the PC's should come from a simliar social background allowing them to get together later in the campaign. To escape the reverse Arcana & astrology detailed within the 'Book of Hours' may allow the PC's to escape the realm of the Fae. They will be changed by the experience but upon returning to the mortal realm they are haunted by the legends surrounding the regalia of Sir Lancelot. With the empire in turmoil given the War of the Roses the PC's may be tasked with retreaving the regalia from the realm of the Fae. A task that even the most seasoned rpg players may balk at. 

Lancelot slays the dragon of Corbenic in Arthur Rackham's illustration for Tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, abridged from Le Morte d'Arthur by Alfred W. Pollard (1917)

Fangs, Falsehood, & The Rise of the Serpents Doug Niles N1 Against the Cult of the Reptile God & The Hundred Year War Campaign

 "Who fares to find the sunset ere it fly,

Turning to light and fire the further west,
Shall have the veils of twilight for his guest,
And all the falling of an ashen sky.

On lands he shall not know, the splendor lies—
A pharos on some alienated shore,
In foam and purple lost forevermore,
Where dreams are kindled in remoter eyes."

Ashes of Sunset  (1922) 
by Clark Ashton Smith

"Terror by night! The village of Orlane is dying. Once a small and thriving community, Orlane has become a maze of locked doors and frightened faces. Strangers are shunned, trade has withered. Rumors flourish, growing wilder with each retelling. Terrified peasants flee their homes, abandoning their farms with no explanation. Others simply disappear. . .

No one seems to know the cause of the decay -- why are there no clues? Who skulks through the twisted shadows of the night? Who or what is behind the doom that has overtaken the village? It will take a brave and skillful band of adventurers to solve the dark riddle of Orlane!"

So I'm dusting of N1: "Against The Cult of the Reptile God" (1982), by Douglas Niles, for a moment as a thought excecise. My players last night were saying that their familiar with the 
 Dark Albion rpg setting, Dark Albion: Cults of Chaos, & the Lion & Dragon Rpg. The background of this rpg is the historical Rose War. But since they know of the historical events. We're going to twist things up a bit using a classic TSR module;"N1: "Against The Cult of the Reptile God" (1982), by Douglas Niles, is the first adventure in a novice-level series for AD&D. It was written in February 1982, so it was probably published in the first half of the year." 

This campaign was a thought excercise using OSR resources to run a Hundred Years War campaign in a Dark Europe. I ran this campaign from 2017 through 2019 using Dark Ablion, Cults of Chaos, & finally Lion & Dragon.
This campaign started with 

Blood, Thunder, Beer, & The Hundred Years War - Campaign Commentary Set up 

Europe was changing fast & the occult forces of Law & Chaos along with the supernatural raged in the background;"The Hundred Years' War was a series of conflicts in Western Europe from 1337 to 1453, waged between the House of Plantagenet and its cadet House of Lancaster, rulers of the Kingdom of England, and the House of Valois over the right to rule the Kingdom of France. "

Edward as a Knight of the Garter, 1453, illustration from the Bruges Garter Book, British Library

Imagine if you will that in 1343 'The Prince of Wales' faced down a threat to his throne during  the Hundred Years' War through the machinations of an inhuman threat taken on by his agents ( the adventurers) in the Welsh town of Orlane. The Black Prince acts through his agents the PC;

 "Edward of Woodstock, known to history as the Black Prince (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376),^[1][a] was the eldest son of King Edward III of England, and the heir to the English throne. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II, succeeded to the throne instead. Edward nevertheless earned distinction as one of the most successful English commanders during the Hundred Years' War, being regarded by his English contemporaries as a model of chivalry and one of the greatest knights of his age.^[2] He is on the other hand remembered in France for his well documented brutality and the massacres he ordered.^[3]

Edward was made Duke of Cornwall, the first English dukedom, in 1337. He was guardian of the kingdom in his father's absence in 1338, 1340, and 1342. He was created Prince of Wales in 1343 and knighted by his father at La Hogne in 1346."

At this point the Black Prince isn't sure if his court has been infiltrated by serpent men/liszard men shape shifting turn coats. His advisors know of some of the influence that the witch covens & former reptile cults have in the area but those are merely the prattlings of old men & the local Welsh. Right?! 

Edward of Woodstock already got his hands full in many of the fields of battle, politics, and the state of England. The black prince has heard of some of the reports of a hersey. His agents know some of this from events from Cults, Chaos, & Dungeons Design Amid War - More D1 Descent Into The Earth By Gary Gygax Commentary. 

This version of N1 Against the Cult of the Reptile God By Douglas Niles takes a good deal of its Lovecraftian thunder from Children of the Night by Robert E. Howard.

"Humans they were, of a sort, though I did not consider them so. They were short and stocky, with broad heads too large for their scrawny bodies. Their hair was snaky and stringy, their faces broad and square, with flat noses, hideously slanted eyes, a thin gash for a mouth, and pointed ears. They wore the skins of beasts, as did I, but these hides were but crudely dressed. They bore small bows and flint-tipped arrows, flint knives and cudgels. And they conversed in a speech as hideous as themselves, a hissing, reptilian speech that filled me with dread and loathing.

They are frequently described as snakes or having snake-like qualities. So are the old serpent kings rising again in the area?! The hills, standing stones, lonely moorlands that lead to the underground fairyland like world may have far more sinister connotations then the PC's realize. 

The adventure will balance out with the inclusion of a showdown in a "traditional" dungeon at the end of the module.And given the Welsh headlands around the area this is going to be quite the challenge. 



The troglodyte are an excellent minion link up between the serpent men & the lizard men of N1 Against the Cult of the Reptile God By Douglas Niles. The dimensional byways & doors used by the ancient serpent men & Elves 
 make an excellent bridge gap between a traditional Greyhawk campaign & a more modern adventure.


A better question is once N1 Against the Cult of the Reptile God By Douglas Niles ends do others in the vicinity bear the Lovecraftian taint of Children of the Night? Will the Black Prince then station the player's PC's in the area to act in his stead as a reward & will the hills remain silent? As the drone of bloodshed & war rage across England will the shadow of the serpents rise again?


But the big question comes at what happened to the the Cymric people in the Dark Albion setting if we N1: "Against The Cult of the Reptile God"? Was there far more to their wandering & displacement?! I think so. Given the idea that maybe they were attacked thousands of years ago from all sides. Imagine if you will that after the defeat of their former Elven masters in a weakened state the hated enemies the serpent folk used this opportunity to strike at them. Here's where SERPENTINE - Oldskull Serpent Folk by Kent David Kelly comes in really handy. As a displaced people even from their own homeland the Cymric are not going to stand idly by while ancient enemies dispoil their homeland. 

The french providence of  Averoigne by Clark Ashton Smith has quite a bit of experience with these serpents/reptiles. 

And this is where RPGPundit Presents: The Old School Companion 1 comes in handy to fill the gaps. This isn't the only royal though watching  the goings on of the PC's. We'll get to him soon coming up next.