OSR Commentary On Sabre River (CM3) By Douglas Niles Along With Bruce Nesmith & Adventurer Conqueror, King 1st edition Rpg

 "You are a guest of the count, one of your allies and the strongest man in the region. Your sojourn has been pleasant, a nice change after weeks of battle. Suddenly the courtyard below your window is filled with the noise of galloping horses. More guests?"

"You yawn as you look out. But these people arriving look more like tax collectors than guests. You decide to give your attention to something more interesting, like dinner."

"Relax while you can, friend, because these new arrivals are about to lead you to a crimson sailor, a cozy Tower of Terror, and a river with an aching heart."

Sabre River (CM3) By Douglas Niles Along With  Bruce Nesmith hit the stands in Eighty Four. And there's something interesting going on with CM3 that makes it perfect for Adventurer,Conqueror, King Rpg. Especially given the fact that this module has something something that not only ties in with the dungeon crawls of this module but makes it incredibly necessary. And that's the horrible 'Curse of Sabre River.' 
CM3 Sabre River is a high level module with Conqueror to King level encounters we're talking table X (10) encounters. And the then there's the fact that the players can be challenged  to high level  wrastling matches. And there's a good chance that one or more of the party will die. And did I mention the dungeon crawls are cleverly woven into this one. 
If there was ever a module that cleverly worked it's Mystara and high level end encounters it's CM3. 

And if there's a single adventure that could benefit from the Adventurer, Conqueror, King Heroic Fantasy Handbook Sabre River CM3 is it! From the adventure setting curse, to the wrastling encouters, to the meaty NPC villagers, to higher caliber monsters CM3 is ripe for the Heroic Fantasy Handbook treatment. The player's PCs definitely have the chance to carve out thier own legendary domains while threading through the epic upper levels 18-22 of PC's. This is base level of eight and above for ACK's. 

CM3 if picked up and taken place right after the events of CM1 which we cover here on the blog. Allows the PCs to carve out thier own little piece of Mystara and expand thier influence all of the while solving a supernatural dilema that affects the whole region and looking like heroes while they do it. That is if they survive the experience. 

OSR Commentary On CM2 Death's Ride By Garry Spiegle & Adventurer Conqueror, King 1st edition Rpg

 "A cloud of death hangs over the land, as an unlikely trio of evildoers orchestrates a reign of terror over the tiny Barony of Twolakes Vale. Because of these fiends' actions, hordes of undead have escaped through a gateway from the Sphere of Death, laying the peaceful lands of the barony to waste and terrorizing its citizens. Can the undead be stopped?"

Right so let's pick this  right where we left off from yesterday with CM2 Death's Ride by Garry Spiegle, with cover and interior art by Jeff Easley. Let's get some history on this one from the CM2 Wiki entry;"Death's Ride (ISBN 978-0-88038-117-8) is a 1984 adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. Its associated code is CM2. The module was designed by Garry Spiegle, with cover and interior art by Jeff Easley." The main reason that we got involved with CM2 Death's Ride is because of the incredibly iconic Jeff Easiey cover. But the module has solid footing as the PC's pick right up from CM1; "The barony, which is ruled by Baron Sir Maltus Fharo, has sent no taxes, caravans, or messages in several months. A small body of troops sent by the king to investigate has not returned. At this time, Ericall doesn't have the resources to send a large body of troops, so he is asking the characters to go to the barony, find out what's wrong, and if possible, restore contact. The king gives the characters a royal warrant and permission to act in his name." 
Right so the situation is far worse then the king even remotely suspects with three NPC  villains combining thier strengths; "Wazor an "Atlantean Mage", Ulslime a cleric of "Death" and  Korbundar the huge blue dragon who have opened a gateway into the literal sphere of Death'.  There is a huge horde of undead bearing down on the PC's. If we look at CM2's plot from the perspective of the Wiki entry here's the PC's break adventure plot breakdown;"A strange black cloud hangs over the Norworld barony of Two Lake Vale, which is cut off from the rest of the world. As the player characters move to investigate, they encounter armies of the living dead and other vile creatures besieging the last pockets of human resistance. The only relief is to find and destroy the dreadful Deathstone, which is responsible for the black cloud, thereby facing the united forces of an evil sorcerer, a powerful priest, and a mighty dragon' 
CM2 Death's Ride by Garry Spiegle is a perfect module to couple with the  Adventurer,Conqueror, King rpg! This is especially true for an epic or heroic level mini campaign. 

For Adventurer, Conqureor, King rpg CM2 is going to be run with PC's on the Conqueror's level. And that is from 7th level and up. And I'd say on the upperside of the ACK's level because this is such an epic module. CM2 for ACK's is one that could be run using ACK's Heroic Fantasy Handbook. All of the adventure elements are here within CM2 Death's Ride. From the kingdom details of the  Barony of Twolakes Vale, to the external threat presented by the undead horde and the three vile villains responsible.What is there within CM2 for the ACK's player's PC in CM2? Well besides an entire kingdom up for grabs and hordes of literal undead. There's plenty of twists and turns to keep the PC's interested. And besides t the Barony of Twolakes Vale is a perfect spot for the PC's to take over. 

OSR Commentary On CM1 Test of the Warlords by Douglas Niles & Adventurer Conqueror, King 1st edition Rpg

 "The king requests your presence in the honorable kingdom of Norwold. If you're worthy, you may be appointed lord of a dominion filled with friendly villages, sturdy fortresses, and raging band of monsters."

"Raging bands of monsters?

Well, yes, and you may have to lead your forces into a war or two. But you'll be ready for the challenge. You'll be ready for treacherous spies who conspire to steal you land. You'll be ready for a foul band of giants that raids your dominions. And you'll be ready for the inevitable clash of empires, the outcome of which may alter the fate of millions. You'll be ready! Won't you?'

CM1 Test of the Warlords by Douglas Niles takes the PC's from 15th and above PC levels into the world of managing kingoms, retaking lands, and literally magaging a whole cloth domain.And it's even in the module's set up; "With the fall of the Black Eagle Barony and its allied forces, the settled lands of the continent are now peaceful. Most of the land's dungeons have been plundered, and monsters have been driven from all but a few of the civilized dominions. Prosperity reigns throughout the land now, which is just how the rulers want it. The government is stable, and day-to-day life is routine. Prospects for adventure, however, are minimal. Then comes word from the north: the empire of Alphatia has claimed the vast lands of Norwold, and has appointed a king to rule over those lands. This monarch is in need of steadfast characters to administer the many dominions that may be carved from the wilderness of Norwold!" Anyone worth thier salt knows that this is BECMI's fabled Mystara. But how could CM1 Test of the Warlords by Douglas Niles be used with the modern clones such as Adventurer,Conqueror, King rpg?!Because CM1 was written for the Dungeons & Dragons Champion Box set then we're fading into ACK's Conqueror phase of PC level requirements. 

 This basically means that the forces of  the empire of Alphatia & all of it's allies are going to be on the middle end of the ACK's scale so between 7th level and upward. The PC's are going to have to deal with all of the problems that surround the world of the wilderness of Norwold! And that's no joke. The encounters of CM1 Test of the Warlords by Douglas Niles are going to test and could easily kill a party of ACK's PC's. This is especially true in the 'Conqueror' phase of an ACK's campaign. Mystara in CM1 is an untamed land & the the empire of Alphatia are seriously expanding it's borders. 

And there's are five reasons why CM1 Test of the Warlords works: 

1. The CM1 campaign module allows the DM to show and demonstrate through actual play how to run and maintain a domain against external and internal threats.
2. CM1 takes the player's PC's through actual dangerous encounters where PC death is an all too real reality. 
3. The Test of the Warlords tasks the PC's to become royal vassels and to have them bare the burden of leadership. 
4. CM1 introduces another aspect of Mystara into the world of Dungeons & Dragons and it can do the same for ACK's. 
5. The module is a classic from another era before WoTC. 

The Reach of Magic Tienne d'Ambreville's Influence - Mystara's 'Mark of Amber' and The Castles and Crusades Rpg

“A land of darkness, where all the enemies defeated by the Prophet brood. Yet, these heathens possess a disturbing degree of knowledge in the science of nature and magic. No doubt, a knowledge derived from the gifts of demons.” Hakim ibn Yezeed al Nisr, Dream of the Desert Garden University, Ylaruam
The Mystara Wiki Glantri entry here. 


  If we have look deeper into the after events from after the  'Mark of Amber' then we have a wholly other timeline for Clark Ashton Smith's Province of Averoigne & the Glantri. Because 'Mark of Amber' allows the return of one of the most powerful immortals changing the landscape of Mystara. 

Mark of Amber presents a very strong Glantri alternative timeline & into this is going to step one of the most powerful of the Mystara Immortals. And here's where the Castles & Crusades Gods & Immortals is going to come in handy. Why?! Because this immortal is right on the cusp of gods of magick and wisdom. 

These alternative timeline witches, wizards, and magi are going to be some of the most dangerous foes that Castles & Crusades players can face. Why? Well Glantri isn't to be taken lightly and converting over a few NPC's into Castles and Crusades who want to hire or even murder the PC's could be the way to go to get the PC's to realize just how dangerous Mystara's nation of wizards is. What does this have to do with Clark Ashton Smith's Province of Averoigne? Quite a bit as the alternative timeline power of Glantri is going to be embolded to begin expanding it's power base in spades. PCs could begin running into Glantrian agents in very unexpected places?! 
Over the years we've mentioned running into Glantrian agents as hirelings but this is really the tip of the iceberg once 'Mark of Amber''s timeline kicks in. You could see Glantrian wizard and witch hitsquads, adventurers, and more on opposite ends of dungeons. And they could begin questing for various Province of Averoigne artifacts, spell books, and more. Some of these have been lost to the winds of time and the sticky fingers of other adventurers. And this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Glantrian interests aboard and across the planes as we shall see. 

Tienne d'Ambreville's Resurrection - Mark of Amber & Castles & Crusades rpg

 "Tienne d'Ambreville, the most powerful wizard in all Glantri, is missing and presumed dead. There are some who would like to keep it that way. Only by entering the dreams of a dying Immortal can player characters discover the truth."

"Meanwhile, a sinister killer stalks the d'Ambreville family, murdering them one by one. Can the heroes identify the killer and solve the mystery before it's too late?"

 Mark of Amber came out in '96 and it hit the stands in a very big way for us as Mystara players. The history of Mark of Amber goes something like this;""Mark of Amber" (1995), by Aaron Allston, Jeff Grubb, and John D. Rateliff, is the third and final adventure for the AD&D Mystara line. It was published in June 1995." And what set it appart from other Mystara rpg products is the fact in two different directions one the incredibly strong potraits of the  d'Ambreville family, & two it's the direct sequel to X2: "Castle Amber" (1981). Three it directly supports the mad mages of Glantri. And don't go grabbing Mark of Amber from Drivethrurpg as one of the purchasers points out;"Audio CD components are NOT included in the Softcover version of the book. If you want the audio files you will need to purchase the Digital or the Print + Digital combo option. [AND, at the time I write this, there is NO "digital or print plus digital" option, which makes this entire sale pretty much useless.]As Harald H points out below, this module is completely unplayable without the CD! Mr. Welch also explains why in his youtube video."

What we've done with Mark of Amber in the past is to pad out and fill in many of the gaps of X2 Castle Amber. Why?! Because of the super strong connections to Clark Ashton Smith's Province of Averoigne. And one of the things that makes Averiogne so dangerous is it's providence for Lovecraftian monsters. According to the HP Lovecraft wiki entry; ", Smith populates Averoigne with malign and dangerous creatures like vampires ("Rendezvous in Averoigne"), lamias ("The End of the Story", possibly "The Enchantress of Sylaire"), and satyrs ("The Satyr")." Mark of Amber changes the entire landscape of Mystara in many ways and events within X2 Castle Amber come back around to haunt the player's PC's.  For Castles & Crusades's player's PC's Mark of Amber is going to be a big jump into a very large Mystara pond. Played wrong and Mark of Amber could in point of fact see player's PC's time stranded within Averoigne from Mystara. 
Mark of Amber presents a very strong Glantri alternative timeline & into this is going to step one of the most powerful of the Mystara Immortals. And here's where the Castles & Crusades Gods & Immortals is going to come in handy. 

Mark of Amber is going to create a Glantri heavy alternative timeline for Mystara and this might be the point. Glantri wizards & witches recruit the PC's as hirelings to ensure that this timeline comes about. But looking over Mark of Amber isn't going to be a low level campaign level module to go through.  
Mark of Amber is going to create an alternative timeline for the already  convoluted Mystera timeline. Many of the resources for Glantri can come straight from this entry on the Vaults of Pandius.. 

OSR Commentary On G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief By Gary Gygax For Advanced Dungeons & Dragons First Edition

 "Giants have been raiding the lands of men in large bands, with giants of different sorts in these marauding groups. Death and destruction have been laid heavily upon every place these monsters have visited. A party of the bravest and most powerful adventurers has been assembled and given the charge to punish the miscreant giants." 

When it comes to iconic Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief By Gary Gygax  comes to my mind. And there's a reason for this, the module is perfect for bringing the PC's into a Sword & Sorcery campaign. G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief By Gary Gygax  has the feel of a first part of a mythological campaign with Sword & Sorcery shade to it. 

The inspiration for this blog post is actually this blog entry from 2010 from Delta's D&D Hotspot blog here. And one of his observations brings home why I pull out G1 from time to time; "In the past I assumed that everyone who's played D&D for any amount time will be intimately familiar with every detail of the classic modules, but I was thrilled to realize a few years back that that wasn't the case. To players just a few years younger than myself, the adventures are novel, so I get an opportunity to DM them all over again." This is one of the reasons why the classic AD&D modules still have impact today. And we can even bring this into Mystara quite easily using the Vaults of Pandius article "Setting module G1-2-3/Against the Giants in the Northern Reaches" By  Demos Sachlas using the following; I'm back with another look at a classic AD&D 1e module - this time, the iconic G1-2-3. I'm actually in the middle of running this right now (my players have made it all the way to G3 - you can check out our campaign journal over on Dragonsfoot here) so I've been contemplating where these adventures might work best on Mystara.

The G series, by Gygax himself, kicked off the practice of publishing tournament scenarios as modules. In this case, the adventures debuted at the Origins tournament in 1978, recounted in Dragon #19 (October 1978). The original setting seemed generic (these were the first modules ever published by TSR), but later established to be Greyhawk when the Folio came out (1980). The series in general and G1 in particular was inspired by "The Roaring Trumpet" by Fletcher Pratt and L. Sprague deCamp (and is recommended reading for anyone running these).

With its strong nordic connection, the Northern Reaches are a natural setting for these modules in Mystara ." And this makes it perfect for Gazetteer Northern Reaches! 

This brings into sharp contrast the fact that the PC's may be Vikings dealing with the machinations of the giant races. These could even be left over from the affairs of Ragnorok easily! Ward & Kuntz's classic AD&D first edition  Dieties & Demigods has the entire cast of gods that can easily influence your game campaigns. 

G1 has the advantage of being not only a tourament module but the first of a series to bring in the PC's into the fold of a world changing module by introducing the Drow into the mix of your campaign. These rare manipulators may have far more influence then at first it seems. And this can translate into running G1 with really old school OD&D rules once again we turn to Delta's blog here; "Although published for AD&D, I ran this using OD&D rules (with my usual house rules; see OED sidebar to the right). The past few years I ran sessions of S1 using AD&D itself (much of it being dependent on AD&D clerical spells like find traps and true seeing and commune that I felt obliged in that way). Due to the nature of this adventure, I felt totally comfortable running G1 with OD&D rules and deleting clerics (albeit giving the party a few jugs of healing potion), as usual. I'm more-or-less done with AD&D, and my tuned OD&D feels so "right" in play (finally!) that I really don't have the appetite to run anything else. I translated hit points by just subtracting a monster's Hit Dice (i.e., translating d8's to d6's on average), or else just rolling everything on the fly (more comments on that further down)."

Not only have we got the reduction going on but the re balancing of encounters and such. What this means is that G1 could theoritcially be run with your favorite OSR rpg  system if you as the DM are willing to put in the time. If we go back in time to Feb. 12 2019 then we've got Jason Vey's Grey Elf Age of Conan here on the blog. This makes G1 easily to convert over into  OD&D Sword & Sorcery style games. 

G1 closes in on the Robert E.Howard's The Frost Giant's Daughter turf with the giants growing far more restless because of the machinations of the Drow. 

Review & Commentary On an English translation of the Free Hyboria Gazetteer By Omnibius Translated By Colin Wilson For Mystara

 "Hyboria, in Northern Brun is one of the least known areas of Mystara and there is very little information available in more-or-less official accessories or on the web.  The Hyboria Gazetteer By Omnibius covers the vast stretch of icy Sword & Sorcery wasteland & its environs. "


Sometimes one finds Sword & Sorcery goodness in some most unexpected places. Case in point tonight we stumbled upon a Free English translation of the Italian fans of Mystara's Hyboria region on the Piazza website & forum. So tonight between game sessions the printer was going burr getting this lovely piece of Mystara goodness into our greedy little hands. 

Now I can already hear the bitching. What another Gazetter guide book for Mystara?! And its a fan one!? Who cares?! We'll lots of folks actually care & this section of Mystara is almost unknown outside of many of the Mystara fan forums. The Hyboria Gazetteer clocks in at twenty pages of crammed regional goodness information with several key sources of information drawn into its sections. The whole cloth book feels very professionally done, with some solid cartography, goodlay out & some smoking sections of Mystara goodness. 

We get the low down on the region straight out of the gateway here; "Area: 9,554,680 km2 (approximately as much as Canada and Alaska) of which 1,097,140 km2 is frozen surface water and 8,457,140 km2 island. Total population: 2,489,932. The territory and the population of Hyborea varies greatly depending on the climatic conditions, which are dictated by the proximity of the pole. There are four well-defined zones that follow one another away from the far north: • Glaciers – occupy an area of 3.137.252 km2 with a population density of 0.027 per km2 , for a total of 84.706. • Tundra – occupies an area of 3,660,127 km2 with a population density of 0.1 per km2 , for a total of 366,013. • Taiga – occupies an area of 2,614,377 km2 with a population density of 0.5 per km2 , for a total of 1,307,188. • Steppe – occupies an area of 1,045,751 km2 with a population density of 0.7 per km2 , for a total of 732,025. Hyborea is an immense territory, located in the extreme north west of the Brun continent. " This is a densely packed book full of information covering trade, commerice, population background, And even monster placement. The book is very much oriented to the Mystara fan and catters to the region break down, adventure hooks, & has an overall feel of Mystara meets Conan in a dark alley. 

Everything is provided for the DM wanting to use the Hyboria region within their own game of Dungeons & Dragons including several adventure hooks with each section. Each of the regions detailed has the loving attention that they deserve within the pages of this book. 

So is the Hyboria Gazetteer worth the trouble to down load it?! In a word yes! The reason for me saying this is that in twenty pages the Hyboria Gazetteer manages to squeeze out every Sword & Sorcery goodness & regional secret that we need for this area of icy Mystara.





You've got each of the regions of Hyboria broked down & explained including how these regions interact, make war, devide the burden of this area among the clans & families and much more. In twenty pages you get just about everything you need to start adventuring within Hyboria. 

Grab
The English translation of the Free  Hyboria Gazetteer
By Omnibius Translated By Colin Wilson Here 

Cha'alt Three Kickstarter 'Dancing in the Streets' or Saving Cha'alt - Cha'alt/Godbound Campaign Update

 So there hasn't been a lot of movement on the Cha'alt/Godbound campaign front for a few weeks now. Mostly because of scheduling & Covid related player issues. Then a barrage of emais came in from players, 'Have you seen Venger's new Cha'alt kickstarter?' or 'Did you know about what's happening to Cha'alt?' 
Cha'alt has been a major NPC player in my campaigns ever since the first book came out last year & now DM Greg emailed me the following; " The first adventure is titled Six Hours To Save Cha'alt.  It's about a meteor on a collision course with the planet.  Only the PCs can avert disaster.  They have to venture inside a sleeping spawn of an Old One in order to find the tech that can save Cha'alt."  'We can do this!'


When the Cha'alt wave hit the multiverse there was a ripple effect causing chaos of all kinds & alerting the gods. And this has been on going campaign to kill lots of the cults crossing over into Earth from Cha'alt. 

This gets into the idea of several bands of Swords & Wizardry light  PC's mixing it up with Ruins of Arduin rpg NPC parties & this includes deodanth bounty hunter blood parties out to end several party members. Ruins of Arduin is this sixty five page OSR book that ports over much of the Arduin awesomeness over to Swords & Wizardry. You can still get it for free right here.  The Deodanths are in the employ of a crime lord from Cha'alt 

The Deodanths would like nothing more then to eat the heart of a godbound or two but their real target is a renegade  Mystara immortal whose been helping the PC's from the side lines. Its highly unlikely they will achieve this goal. But the guidelines from The Vaults of Panduis Guide to the Immortals available right here. 

Let's face facts here the Mystara Immortals are the busy bodies of the multiverse & stick their noses into everything. Their entire ethos is opposed to everything Cha'alt stands for. So its game on between the rivals. When & where this game campaign will pick up again is still anyone's guess because of Covid at the moment but we'll keep you posted. 

Black BASIC Dungeons & Dragons Thunder Rift Setting & A Trail of Murder - Campaign Commentary

"The Shady Dragon Inn is a set of pre-generated characters for use with the Dungeons & Dragons game. This player's aid comes in two parts: each character appears first in a section devoted to his or her character class. They appear again in the second section as members of a party. As a DM or as a player, you may use either or both sections; over a hundred characters await you!

Each character has a brief biography that will help you to create backgrounds for PCs or NPCs as needed. Also included is a rough physical description, and a list of items owned by each character.

The Shady Dragon Inn also contains the D&D statistics for those special characters who are presented by figures in the D&D and AD&D toy line, and provides a tavern setting from which players may start adventures or gather party members."0

Take a classic era TSR product & you can find some very interesting little tid bits in the hidden gems of another era. Take for instance 'AC1  The Shady Dragon Inn' by Carl Sargent filled with over 100 pregenerated NPC characters.. Now for quite while now I've been needing an NPC to help fill an NPC murder niche.
Before I continue this particular NPC is inspired by the fact its for Mike Stewart's Victorious rpg  And the fact that the Thunder Rift campaign setting for Black Basic Dungeons & Dragons has a lovely little adventure called Escape Thunder Rift which expertly places this setting in Mystara.

Thunder Rift on occasion crosses into the world of Fairyland in my 1870' alternative history version of New York City & also  'AC1  The Shady Dragon Inn' by Carl Sargent which quietly appears on a side alley in the city . This brings me to mad, evil, & highly dangerous NPC that crosses over from the inn into New York with murderous intent. My version of the Shady Dragon Inn is taken from The Vaults of Pandius here.. 
I'm speaking about Zarak the Evil Half-Orc Assassin whose going on a job. And if you think that he's not someone to wreck havoc think again. 


My use of Zarak is inspired by the pint sized assassin the BCC's exceptional '87 adaptation of 'Sherlock Holmes' 'The Sign of the Four'.  There's a cursed treasure from Mystara that's crossing hands & causing murders in my campaign. 


The 1892 cloth-bound cover of The Sign of Four after it was compiled as a single book

Someone's hired   to recover that treasure and now the bodies are starting to pile up. But no Venger isn't on the other end of Zarak. Instead someone far more personal to our player characters is.. My use of Thunder Rift isn't an accident because it goes all of the way back to '94 when I took the self contained book for a spin. Thunder Rift is small. .You've got self-contained little setting in a valley about thirty miles long. All of the familiar Basic Dungeons & Dragons monsters are in here including a dragon, elves, dwarves, goblins, & lots of human settlements.
The quality of the Thunder Rift's setting & adventures are exceptional. They make excellent OSR campaign adaptions & their not well known to the experienced & jaded AD&D or D&D players. They can be used in very unexpected ways to suit a dungeon master's taste. 

OSR Commentary Castles, Crusaders, & Deeper Clark Ashton Smith Zothique Dreams With X2 Castle Amber By Tom Moldvay

Last night I sat down with a group of fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons players & it was an interesting walk through about their game campaigns. Their dungeon master is going on vacation & asked me to step in. Whoa.. I took a very large step back from this. I'm already engaged with an on going OSR  campaign which has been running for a very long while. So I'm putting the breaks on stepping in & taking on another commitment. Why?? Because I don't think that I can give my full attention to stepping into another friend's campaign.
In the meantime I've been rereading & going over my copies of Castles & Crusades books & materials for my on going weekly game. I already talked about doubling down on the OSR resources the other day. 



One of the books that I really like is the Castles & Crusades Arms & Armors book, this is a solid resource with some great weapons of the ancients in it. I started thinking about Clark Ashton Smith's Zothique. So I started looking into expanding the free D20 Zothique booklet into a fully functioning campaign world. This was a process that I started about six or so months ago. There are a few isolated towns & villages that have had some contact with other  worlders. Various legends within the Zothique Pulp setting that hint at this. And in fact when Clark Ashton Smith describes his world setting its interesting from the Wiki entry; "Clark Ashton Smith himself described the Zothique cycle in a letter to L. Sprague de Camp, dated November 3, 1953:

Zothique, vaguely suggested by Theosophic theories about past and future continents, is the last inhabited continent of earth. The continents of our present cycle have sunken, perhaps several times. Some have remained submerged; others have re-risen, partially, and re-arranged themselves. Zothique, as I conceive it, comprises Asia Minor, Arabia, Persia, India, parts of northern and eastern Africa, and much of the Indonesian archipelago. A new Australia exists somewhere to the south. To the west, there are only a few known islands, such as Naat, in which the black cannibals survive. To the north, are immense unexplored deserts; to the east, an immense unvoyaged sea. The peoples are mainly of Aryan or Semitic descent; but there is a negro kingdom (Ilcar) in the north-west; and scattered blacks are found throughout the other countries, mainly in palace-harems. In the southern islands survive vestiges of Indonesian or Malayan races. The science and machinery of our present civilization have long been forgotten, together with our present religions. But many gods are worshipped; and sorcery and demonism prevail again as in ancient days. Oars and sails alone are used by mariners. There are no fire-arms—only the bows, arrows, swords, javelins, etc. of antiquity. The chief language spoken (of which I have provided examples in an unpublished drama) is based on Indo-European roots and is highly inflected, like Sanskrit, Greek and Latin.

Darrell Schweitzer suggests the idea of writing about a far future land may have come from William Hope Hodgson's novel The Night Land, noting that Smith was an admirer of Hodgson's work.^[2] However, this theory was conclusively disproven by Scott Conner’s "Dust and Atoms: The Influence of William Hope Hodgson on Clark Ashton Smith" in Sargasso#2 (2016), the scholarly journal devoted to Hodgson."

Zothique is not Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea rpg' Hyperborea  but a separate time space continuum millions of years in a plane Prime's alternative future. This means that there are millions cultures that have come & gone to this Earth's dust. Basically this means that I can take the Castles & Crusades Mythos Bundle & use it too fill out the settings gaps as needed.
Take a look at this map of Zothique by Miihkali  its his own work, based on a map by Crates it gives an idea of the scale & just how far into Earth's future we're talking.

Map of Zothique by Miihkali  its his own work, based on a map by Crates 

Now Africa, all of Eurasia, have come to form the backbone of this world. Its old, fickle, demonic, & very dangerous. The type of place that will devour adventurers & its just the sort of a place that one might find explorers of the Unconquered Sun's Albion  trying to stake a claim to the deserts of Zothique. 

When the start of the Rose War begins it throws empire of Albion into full chaos. This is going to leave any explorers isolated & perhaps vulnerable. I've already written about the wizard-noble Stephen Amber (Etienne d'Amberville)'s interests on Zothique. But things get much more harry then that X2 Castle Amber  places several Mystara resources at the feet of the Amber family. Their roots run very deep indeed into the sands of Zothique as they do on Mystara.

The Castles & Crusades Keeper's Guide has several magical options built into it. Allowing the dungeon master to potray on the whole spectrum of wild & woolly Zothique magicks. This is especially true if the DM marries it with the Dungeon Crawl Classics rpg.



But why would the wizard-noble Stephen Amber (Etienne d'Amberville) be so interested in Zothique? Two things immortality & possibly averting his on coming death curse that he can't seem to escape. He's angry, desperate, but not stupid or reckless. But where does all of this lead? We'll get into that next time.