HYPERBOREA / Advice on the Black Gulf

**Posted by Tikon2000** 2/23/2025 5:06 pm

My players want to try and cross the Black Gulf and land on the Floating Island. Any advice on how to handle that? I am thinking of some encounters with Nightgaunts at least.
They would take a ship to the edge of the dangerous waters. Then try and fly their Amazon Skyship over the falls. Before that I was thinking an encounter with a shipwreck city stuck at the edge. The volcano islands at the edge. and then crossing the rift itself.

**Posted by BlackKnight** 2/23/2025 6:37 pm

I'd say that the only way across was the Skyship, and for encounters, could be anything from Night Gaunts to other flight capable evil creatures that could have a place in the forever darkness of the gulf. I like the idea of the shipwrecks at the edge of the Gulf, Could inhabit it with undead...

**Posted by rhialto** 2/24/2025 6:15 am

I like to mix in some sword-and-planet themes to my Hyperborea games, so encounters with sky ships from Mars and Venus would be on my list. Ancient Atlanteans may have developed sky ships too.

**Posted by Tikon2000** 3/02/2025 6:15 pm

I have looked into using the Buck Rogers XXV game to mine for Atlantean technology. And also for higher lever space/time adventures for my PCs. Like the best way to beat the Nazi invasion of Hyperborea would be to go to Mars and steal some ships

**Posted by measuredrums** 3/06/2025 9:14 pm

Short of physically attempting to reach the island ... magical portal from mainland Hyperborea to the island?

**Posted by Tikon2000** 3/07/2025 4:48 pm

I wanted to use the portal in the new Oblation Slab adventure. As a surprise side quest to the floating island. But it looks like the one player really just wants to try flying there. An NPC that is now a PC is from there as well. Andromeda from the pre generated character supplement. I could also add a portal stone in Cape Valencia, if they go to the Thousands Eyes adventure.

**Posted by grodog** 3/12/2025 9:29 pm

Tikon2000 wrote:
My players want to try and cross the Black Gulf and land on the Floating Island. Any advice on how to handle that?

Hmmm. How far is it?

Tikon2000 wrote:
The volcano islands at the edge. and then crossing the rift itself.

What kinds of strange volcanoes might exist there?—perhaps their eruptions are what power the Boreas itself?

rhialto wrote:
I like to mix in some sword-and-planet themes to my Hyperborea games, so encounters with sky ships from Mars and Venus would be on my list. Ancient Atlanteans may have developed sky ships too.

In addition to Yes artwork from Roger Dean (Fragile, Close to the Edge, Yessongs, and Drama in particular), you might check out SpellJammer and Upwind for cool ship designs. I like Upwind a lot, it’s from Biohazard Games (who did Blue Planet, too): https://www.biohazardgamespublishing.com/upwind

I think Milby’s maps has some too, come to think of it: https://www.milbysmaps.com/map-gallery/ and http://www.milbysmaps.com/megaprojects/

Allan.

**Posted by Tikon2000** 3/22/2025 1:42 pm

Thanks for the maps! Especially the flying castles, submarines, and spelljammer ships. Those will be most useful. The giant ship is also awesome. Could have started a campaign around that. Sort of like the Alternity Lighthouse. A mobile city that goes from port to port.

**Posted by Tikon2000** 3/22/2025 2:01 pm

The distance from the mainland to the Floating Island? Looks like around a hundred miles. So I'll try and make that a tension filled experience. Floating in the blackness of space, afraid to fall off into the dark.
On the Island itself I'm trying to find sources and inspiration. So of course I go to 1950's B movies, and the classic Amazon Women on the Moon parody movie. Should I leanin to the cheese?
So it's supposed to be an adnaced civilization. How do i portray it. A beautiful idealic city? How haughty should i make it's citizens? Treat male characters?
For them returning to the mainland I thought I'd have them strike a deal with the rulers. Go back on a carrack sized skyship.