This is where our Half-Blood Picts of the woods around serve as a buffer. Basically the idea here is that Orcust itself is orc country, and that the orcs are ravaging the forest around, but also contained by the Half-Blood Picts who are defending it as well as their primeval ways against all odds. So there's internal strife within Orcust itself (cf. AS&SH vol. 6), there's conflict between Orcust and the shadowy Picts around hiding in the forests, and there is 100 miles of rugged terrain that separates the orcs from the mountains first, and then 75 miles of Chaotic swamps beyond, swamps haunted by various manners of creatures, some of which are not of this world, and both Half-Bloods and worshippers of Kthulhu going at each others' throats. 

Good luck, orcs.

All that said, it is very possible that the orcs did try before, but did not come back...

Last edited by Benoist (7/05/2014 6:08 pm)

mabon5127 wrote:

Without doubt the mighty Mag Nor Demon Pict without equal and devourer of his enemy's flesh could make it happen!!!

Morgan
 

Sounds like a campaign event waiting to happen, to me! The campaign could become real epic, real fast!

Fantastic thread, Benoist. I'm delighted to read about your work with Ernie, and how it can conceivably mesh with a Hyperborea campaign. This is an absolute pleasure.

Chainsaw wrote:

Very cool, Ben. Thanks for posting!

Ghul wrote:

Fantastic thread, Benoist. I'm delighted to read about your work with Ernie, and how it can conceivably mesh with a Hyperborea campaign. This is an absolute pleasure.

Thanks guys! It is my pleasure also! Hold on, more to come.

Handy Haversack wrote:

Thanks, Ben! This is great.

I have not bought any Gygax mags yet only because my FLGS can't seem to get them in. Do you have any plans to distribute to the Compleat Strategist in NYC? It's been fighting the good fight in the shadow of the Empire State Building for more than thirty years. I've talked to them, and they would love to carry the magazine.

Thanks mate! I'm not a representative of TSR, who publishes Gygax Magazine, Ernest and my venture, GP Adventures, being a separate publishing entity. That said, I think I can point you in the right direction for Gygax Mag enquiries. Will PM you in a moment.

Fascinating post. What if the "Stone-Cutters" were actually Kimmerians, of the sort that build subterranean cities, like those of Krimmea? They would be catacomb people, as it were. Just a thought...

One of my favorite developments in literature these past 10 years has been the authentic issue of Robert E. Howard's stories, unsullied by the hands of De Camp and Carter. The end notes of each these volumes contain essays about REH, and among the more fascinating treatments has been the Picts in Howard's fiction. As Benoist alludes to above, Howard had an evolving viewpoint of this culture, based in part on history and myth. In some tales we see a sort of mystical "little people" that might be more akin to fey folk, and as the author's thought process evolved, so too did the Picts "devolve" to a more primitive and savage state -- like the kind we see more famously in Beyond the Black River. They do take on a more Native American feel.

I digress. I love what you're doing here, Ben, and it really provides strong insights on as to how your work can port to a Hyperborea campaign.
 

Ghul wrote:

Fascinating post. What if the "Stone-Cutters" were actually Kimmerians, of the sort that build subterranean cities, like those of Krimmea? They would be catacomb people, as it were. Just a thought...

That's a possibility, for sure. I went the other way, started with thinking about making them full Kelts to replicate the opposition between giants and dwarves in the Classic game, and drifted to Kimmeri-Kelt thinking of Howard's Cimmerians and how that would mix well with the wandering roots of the Stone-cutters and their crafting gifts. It could be that this specific strain of Kimmeri-Kelts descends from those troglodytic Krimmeans who built catacombs and underground settlements in ages past?

Ghul wrote:

One of my favorite developments in literature these past 10 years has been the authentic issue of Robert E. Howard's stories, unsullied by the hands of De Camp and Carter. The end notes of each these volumes contain essays about REH, and among the more fascinating treatments has been the Picts in Howard's fiction. As Benoist alludes to above, Howard had an evolving viewpoint of this culture, based in part on history and myth. In some tales we see a sort of mystical "little people" that might be more akin to fey folk, and as the author's thought process evolved, so too did the Picts "devolve" to a more primitive and savage state -- like the kind we see more famously in Beyond the Black River. They do take on a more Native American feel.

I like the different aspects of the fictional Picts Howard pieced together over the years. It is something I really intend to take full advantage of, as a source of inspiration, for this series of advice and example of conversion to AS&SH. Around this Skarag Coast we have now the orcs long descended from those Tlinglit Picts who were subsumed by the Sons of Kusu (to allude to another work of mine), the pig daemons that spawned the race of the orc. We have those half-blood Picts who resisted and now hide on top of the mountains and in the forest around Orcust, all the way down to the swamps surrounding Caer Caeladon. Lastly, we have those Picts who listen to the deep songs of the earth and came to serve Gol-goroth. This is going to be useful later on.

Ghul wrote:

I digress. I love what you're doing here, Ben, and it really provides strong insights on as to how your work can port to a Hyperborea campaign. 

My pleasure. 

Icetower wrote:

Love this thread! Thank you!

Thank you for popping up on the board! Glad you like the stuff!

WILDERNESS AROUND THE TOMB

The Marmoreal Tomb as it appeared in Gygax Magazine #3 can be found here in Print, and here in Digital format. It describes a full level of the complex, with the possibility to expand it further, up to and including a full megadungeon complex apart of the Hobby Shop Dungeon, if the referee is so inclined. 

Module DU1 Marmoreal Tomb of Garn Pat'uul which is to be published by GP Adventures will include in the information appearing in Gygax Magazine, along with new art, an additional level underneath the ruined dwarven settlement, information pertaining to what is around the ruined settlement, and more. You can catch a glimpse of the maps of the full module on this photo taken some time ago by friend of the HSD Alex Kammer: 



Now we come to the description of the Tomb itself. Before we get down to business on that part of the adventure, I'd like to talk a little bit about the wilderness around it. It is assumed that the Tomb is at the foot of a mountain range known around the Duinnsmere as the Bitter Peaks. In the context of the AS&SH game, this is the mountain range stretching in between the swamps around Wold Phellora to the south and Orcust to the north.

The area around the mountain range is scarcely inhabited. It is known that the mountains themselves are not safe to travel: many people have lost their lives trying to make it through the many passes winding narrowly between the peaks, not to mention the various tribes of men, near-men, animals and worse known to inhabit them.  

Encounters around the Marmoreal Tomb should be checked every 6 turns, and follow the procedure indicated in The Encounter section of AS&SH vol. 3 (page 203; Player's Manual). Not every encounter should result in an outright bloodbath – this is actually contrary to the players' agency that is sought by using such random methods. It is advised to check for Reactions as well when encounters do occur, and the party is inclined to parley. 

When an encounter occurs, roll 2d8 on the following table: 

2) Cyclops on the Hunt or Choose Mountain Encounter per AS&SH (vol 4, page 115)
3) Cave Men from the Marmoreal Tomb
4) Bear (Black or Brown)
5) Wolves
6) Cave Men Not from the Marmoreal Tomb
7) Bandits (Men)
8) Ape Men (with Alpha, 30% chance)
9) Half-Blood Picts
10) Orc Party
11) Giant Ticks
12) Lizard Men Party
13) Albino Ape (Four-armed) 
14) Harpies
15) Bird-Men from the Marmoreal Tomb
16) Undead risen from the Devilish influence of the Tomb or Choose Hills Encounter per AS&SH (vol. 4, page 113)

If an encounter indicated by the dice already occurred, the referee may choose this is a different animal, party, or determine a completely different encounter instead, choosing from the Hills and Mountains tables in AS&SH itself, or rolling again on this table. Unless the number encountered is indicated (as in the single individuals like the Cyclops or Albino Ape), it is assumed they reflect the defaults indicated in vol. 4 of the AS&SH game (when a choice in number is offered, generally between a small wandering party and a fully populated lair, choose the former, not the latter). Use your common sense at all times.

The Cyclops on the Hunt is particularly blind, and actually wears a large translucent kite shield as a bizarre monocle. The shield is Atlantean, and magical (+2). If encountered, the Cyclops will be pursuing some kind of prey (most likely a bear or similar large wild animal big enough for him to sink a few rotten teeth into). His blindness will prevent him from spotting the party, unless they engage in some deliberate action to draw his attention. This would be particularly dangerous, assuming the party's relative inexperience. 

The Cave-Men from the Marmoreal Tomb serve Grosh the Great. We will talk about them more later on, with the key itself. 

The various parties of intelligent creatures and men are left to the referee's improvisation. The Half-Blood Picts might be bargained with and might know something of the Tomb's ill reputation (it is considered cursed and to be avoided at all costs); the orc party might or might not come from Orcust, and might or might not hunt or be hunted by something or someone else; the Bandits might or might not be in the employ of the fabled Beggar King who manages a network of spies and smugglers along the Skarag Coast (whose lair will be described in GP Adventures module DU2 Haunted Halls of the Beggar King, a large chunk of which can already be purchased here). The name of the game is role-playing: interpret whatever result you get on the go, and improvise to the best effect. You never know where this might lead the game, and this in itself is a fun thing.

The Undead risen from the Devilish influence of the Tomb assumes that evil spread forth from the Tomb after Krassus attacked it and slaughtered everyone inside. This is not the default scenario assumed by the original module, but this is one that mixes well with a translation of the Tomb to an AS&SH context, a twist on the contents of the dungeon that will be elaborated on in DU1 as well. 

The creatures encountered in the wilderness around the Tomb generally have lairs of their own. These are not described, and left to the referee's imagination to detail. Isolated caves, holes in the ground, ruins of ancient watchtowers (perhaps of orcish origins, perhaps not) are always possibilities, as are shipwrecks perched on the mountains for no apparent reason, as are weirder locations, including crashed saucers built of meteoric metal and the like. Who knows what strange things came out of the ground, or fell from the skies in aeons past? 

The referee may or may not decide that Bandits or Picts or other men have some type of settlement in the Tomb's vicinity. This would greatly help the party but would skip on part of the fun and danger of having to travel back and forth, to and from the Tomb to replenish supplies, hire more men, or whatever else the adventurers might fancy in-between delves. 

The module assumes it is pretty hard to leave the Tomb in order to concentrate on the exploration part of the game and serve as an introduction to concepts like dungeon mapping and the like. It is an introduction module which, in its most basic form, off the page, involves encounters that are spaced out in order to leave breathing room and tactical choices open to the party. It would not be hard to add another layer of zones of interests, traps and inhabitants to the place, and this is done on purpose, for the referee to play with at his own leisure. 

For the sake of this example, we will make very little actual changes to the tomb. We will switch types of protagonists and creatures encounters, where they can be found perhaps in some occasion, but keep the actual structure of the module intact. This will be the subject of our next post, as we explore the possibilities offered by the map's key for our AS&SH game. 

Last edited by Benoist (7/11/2014 12:47 pm)

Benoist, this is a great read. Your work is always imaginative and inspiring! Thank you for sharing!