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Game Campaigns. Do they End with a bang or do they end with a whimper?

So I needed to take a small break from my 2000 word blog posts, so I thought I would write some quick thoughts on campaign endings.

As a GM it’s important that a campaign, or extended adventure series end satisfactorily. From a design standpoint, some of that can be charted through a multiple act structure, but the open ended nature of gaming (and RM dice!) means that things can go astray. It can be frustrating to have the final act end with the players feeling dissatisfied, the conclusion anti-climactic or the challenge easily met.

On the other hand, it would also be too easy to manipulate dice, events and other factors to force a cinematic ending to a long game session or campaign. Acting completely neutral means that hours of hard work managing a well designed narrative could “end with a whimper”. Uhh…”So that’s it?” the players ask. That can feel very deflating for the GM.

I’ve had both in my years of gaming–some incredible finales and some now real duds. Now, spending much of time writing game hooks, modules and adventures I’m exploring the mechanics behind these conclusions. This has become critical in my “Legends of Shadow World” tourney module. At 50th lvl things better be pretty epic!!!!

  • If at 50th, death has no real meaning due to lifegiving, is their any tension in combat?
  • If a great crit roll can kill the most powerful of entities, then a lengthy combat could last mere seconds, robbing it of impact.
  • What reward provides the payoff to players? There are no new spells, probably not any artifacts they haven’t obtained and not much upside to another level up is there a real payoff?

But looking at those above, I can’t help but think they are not unlike the same questions for lower level characters.

  • “The end” provides a out of game break that can hand wave away any severe injuries. There are no “next room” or “next level” to survive with wounds. So many lower level final acts lose some of that tension as well.
  • Crits are always the wild ace in the RM game.
  • What is a commensurate reward for any level?

The mere fact that it’s the “end” creates new problems the GM has to anticipate. What has been your experience? Is just finishing reward enough?

Here are a few blog articles (of varying usefulness) on the subject. HERE and HERE

 

 

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I.C.E. Deep Dive. Loremaster Series Review pt.2: The World of Vog Mur.

For a long time, The World of Vog Mur was never my favorite Loremaster book (although still better than Shade of the Sinking Plain)! I recall talking with John Ruemmler on the phone back in 1988 or so and mentioned my “lack of enthusiasm” for Vog Mur. There was a long, awkward pause, and John said “I was the author for that….”. Oops, foot in mouth! Over time, though, I’ve grown to appreciate it–sort of the “Empire Strikes Back” effect. It’s a bit awkward but charming in it’s mixture of Rolemaster, Middle Earth elements and basic D&D. And there are great ideas and layouts that makes using the module as a drop-in side adventure easy. Shipwreck the players?

Vog Mur is a short supplement, only 34 pages, and was originally included with Gamemaster Law. The book conveys a sense of a tutorial: it has wide right margins with developer notes and space for a GM to add their own. There are many explanatory sections on how to use the material, handle NPC’s and encounters. As a section of Gamemaster Law that approach makes sense, but it feels a bit clunky as the stand-alone module.

Cover Art. First off, the cover art: it didn’t have the punch that Brian White’s Iron Wind cover had, and certainly it was no Gail McIntosh cover on Cloudlords of Tanara. But I like it now, for it’s color and realism. There is a ruined castle, an imposing black figure astride a horse and in the forefront, the gentle Vorig Kye releasing a small bird. Ha! He was cool when I first read Vog Mur but now that he has been promoted to a full Dragon Lord in Shadow World it’s much more interesting to look back and see his humble beginnings.

The Setting.  The world of “Vog Mur” (which means Death Watch) is comprised of 3 small islands: Dalov Perll, Ordye Throg and Dalla Veurd, all basically volcanic atolls situated to the north of Emer. Dalov is 14×11 miles, Ordye is 7×6 miles and Dalla 2.5×2 miles so these are small sand boxes to control player travel and maintain the adventure narrative. Again, as a introductory setting for a new GM this is a very manageable theater. Interestingly, there is no mention of Essence Flows, Navigators or Loremasters. So while this came out after Iron Wind and supposedly part of the cohesive framework, the “Loremaster Series” it seems to lie outside that framework. I’d be interested in more background on the genesis of Vog Mur. (Terry, are you reading this)?

Content and Organization. One of the frustrating aspects to Vog Mur is how information is delivered and organized.  Adding to the confusion are the naming styles: Ordye Throg, Dalla Veurd, Puirl Buirn, Oevaag Baas, Geleb Daart and Usiva Krem (and a ton of other 2 word names) don’t roll off the tongue!!!!

Inhabitants. Again, there is more confusion on how information is organized and transmitted. For example, Section 4.21 Plants has more material on geography, drops a hint about the haunted Mausoleum of Gart, then covers wolf packs, Ghouls and the Throk-Vurd. Those all should be in the other section on animals and monsters. Then, the next section 4.22 Wild Beasts and Monsters covers some other creatures that weren’t described in the Plants section. While these islands are very small, they have a very D&D like ecology. “Monsters” include intelligent baboons, a Hydra guarded and tended to by a Giant, a large squid, Firehounds, Ghouls, Trolls and even Sea Krals. (weren’t Sea Krals in Quellbourne as well?) Then you have a fisherfolk village, pirates, Half- Elven lords, and cliff dweller tribes.

Elor Once Dark. Like the Iron Wind, Vog Mur uses the writings of Elor Once Dark to transmit information and history. Here it feels very “Middle Earth”, for example:

The new King, Lembalas, married a woman of mortal blood, one Janella, who bore him two children — a boy named Tereborn and a girl called Eledrial.

Places. Vog Mur has some great maps/layouts that make for great adventuring on the islands or as drop-ins to your campaign or adventure:

Purll Cibur. This is a small town of 60 stone dwellings overlooking the cove. A few merchants and similar are described and then there are some “activities” which include brawling in the Inn & Combat contests of hand-to-hand, archery and jousting!

Encla Turic. Next we have the fortress of Encla Turic. This is a great small castle keep with mechanical functions, water tunnels, and a great library. This is the great tradition of these books and probably done by Peter and Terry. A great drop-in layout for your adventure.

The Mausoleum Gart. A old school tomb with 3 entrances that are a great dungoen crawl. Beware the undead inhabitants! Like Encla Turic, this is classic Amthor/Fenlon design and layout key with cool features, traps and treasures.

Gudd Tyl. A simple Elven manor but a nice little drop-in.

Vorig’s Manor. A simple building where the Dragonlord lives.

Last bits of stuff. At the back there is a Muri-Elven dictionary and a couple of colored maps. A simple, crudely drawn elevation style map and then on the back cover what is clearly a better version done by Fenlon with clearly marked locations of key spots.

Final thoughts. While I had to read through several sections to make sense of everything, it’s a fun little module. The islands have varied topography, there are ample places to explore and it’s small enough to control the action and give the party some “wins” without being overwhelmed with a larger world. Clearly, the module could use with a redesign and re-organization to present the material better, and maybe, just maybe, tone down or simplify some of the place names. The creatures feel very OSR and Sea Krals were never canonized by Terry, but it would easy to replace them with another race.

There has been some retro-modding to Vog Mur in later Shadow World material:

  1. Vorig Kye’s name was changed to Voriig (and he grew in power quite a bit!)
  2. Lon Lemira is now an Earthwarden construction and there were several built. btw, here is my list of the Earthwarden Golems and locations.

Yanie Steraiad, the Eog Golem.  Earthwarden temple in Vog Mur.

Arestiis Lanedri Laen Golem.  Isle of the Turning in Mythenis.

Renia Athos, Titanium Golem.  Under Nontataku in a cave

Zarin Deyroain, Kregora Golem.  Dawnswaters Edge, Mur Fostisyr.

Elezyii Ankyra, Diamond Golem  Earthwarden Ruins in NE Kelestia.

3. Dulcaborn and his 101 knights are integrated into the master timeline.

The World of Vog Mur is clearly an entry level module with it’s smaller size and scope might be a good candidate for a RMU makeover as the first introductory module.

 

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I.C.E. Deep Dive. Loremaster Series pt.1: The Iron Wind.

In a recent blog I reviewed some of the earliest ICE ads that were featured in the Dragon Magazine. Iron Crown’s two very first products were Arms Law, a drop in combat module for use in other game systems, and The Iron Wind, an expansive “generic” fantasy setting.

Later, ICE would formalize their modules into the Loremaster Series which would then morph into Shadow World.  The Loremaster series consistested of 4 modules: The Iron Wind, The World of Vog Mur, The Cloudlords of Tanara and the Shade of the Sinking Plain. Two additional modules were advertised but never published: “Cynar: the Cursed Oasis” and “The Gates of Gehaenna”.

I thought I would do a “deep dive” analysis into the 4 Loremaster modules, starting with the Iron Wind. The Iron Wind was written/published in 1980, the start of the “Golden Age” of RPG’s and is a informative marker for the trajectory of Iron Crown Enterprises, it’s creative style and future product development. There are 3 basic versions: a b&w Parchment edition, a colored cover parchment version and then the final blue/green cover edition. As of yet, Terry hasn’t expressed an interest in a new updated edition, but this may be due to authorship issues as well. (If I recall, authorship was shared by, or predominantly done by Pete Fenlon).

There are a number of traditional online reviews of the Iron Wind, but I wanted to review the original 1st edition b&w parchment, offer my thoughts and identify any material changes that occur with each edition. But first off, let me say this: in my opinion, The “final, 3rd edition” Iron Wind is one of the best RPG adventure supplements ever produced. It was a self-contained sand box with a great mix of cultures, geography, structures, cities and plot narratives. While Judges Guild, Midkemia Press and others produced third party adventure content for D&D in the same period, these were drop-in products, lacking distinct and novel cultural frameworks beyond the “re-purposed renaissance style” or “Gygaxian racial tropes”. Too me, the lack of Orcs, Goblins and “True Elves” in the Iron Wind is pretty amazing given the Middle Earth roots of Iron Crown Enterprises and industry trends at the time.

With that said, the first and second parchment editions were a VERY stripped down version of the later 3rd version. While it did include the Priests Arnak and mention of the Unlife, there was no “Loremasters”, “Flows of Essence”, Navigators” or other elements that later defined the module series and ultimately Shadow World.

Front and Back Covers. The Iron Wind was published with 3 different covers: The B&W parchment, the “red” contrast parchment and the glossy paper green cover.

The parchment cover (top left pic above) depicts a mountainous terrain and a small citadel with a perspective of looking out of a small cave. It’s initialed “RB”, so I’m assuming that is Richard Britton, one of the ICE staff. The back cover is a large size Syrkakar Warrior also initialed “RB”.

The red parchment is a more fascinating scene. A (top right pic above), horned helm warrior twirls a morning star from a cliff edge while looking over a distance city–probably Syclak. Far in the distance a volcano is spewing an ash cloud and high above a red dragon is flying. There is so much dynamism in this art and once again captures the raw, gritty nature of The Iron Wind and early Rolemaster. It’s hard to say who the author is, but in the upper right border is a faint dotted PCF, so it appears that Pete Fenlon drew that cover!! This cover art was re-used in the third edition on page 23. The back cover is a colored Fenlon map of the area–interestingly it’s not an island, but a coastal region. This goes back to the Iron Wind being placed on the northern shores of Middle Earth.

The third edition had a full color picture done by Brian White in 1984. It shows 2 “barbarian” style characters fighting a demon that has seemingly burst from the ice of a frozen lake. A cool citadel is seen in the background. While I don’t like the Demon’s facial appearance, I think this is a great picture and I used it for inspiration in my game hook, Gauntlet on the Ice.

Maps. So let’s talk about maps. There is a definite progression of maps in these 3 products. Of course, Pete Fenlon’s map skills won ICE the Middle Earth license, and ME and Loremaster maps are some of the best ever published. The hand drawn “relief” style maps with key symbols are the GM’s best friend. Unfortunately, the 1st and 2nd  parchment edition of The Iron Wind lacked the more polished Fenlon elevation maps found in the later Loremaster modules. The two color regional map that was included was for a whole different coastal geography! In the first two parchment editions, the Mur Fostisyr wasn’t even an island. Instead, the area is a coastal region. (I believe it was meant to be a northern coastal area of Middle Earth).

Content. Both parchment editions have the same material, which again, is quite sparse compared to the final 3rd version. Basically these two versions detail 6 locations, a section on the Iron Wind and 4 cultures. There are a few maps in the middle of the book and some scattered supplementary info:  a weather chart on page 37, 2 small tables of herbs and poisons on page 43, food and lodging prices on page 47, and a  “master military chart” on page 55 called “Basic Warriors of the Mur Fostisyr”. So right there you can see the primal DNA of future ICE modules, both ME and SW.

Narrative. Almost all of the books narrative is given via a storytelling device by Elor Once Dark. While those parts were included in the 3rd edition, in the 1st & 2nd it’s the entire “voice” of the product. This gives the product a more distinct and raw feeling. It reminds me of the voice over narration found in Conan the Barbarian–but that movie came out in 1982 and this product is dated to 1980.

Languages. One thought on “naming conventions”. The Iron Wind  established a naming convention using word construction and consonant use that  lends itself to setting depth. Check out these place names found in the Iron Wind : A-Arnaar, Uda Tyygk, Aalk Gaath, Taurkytadl.  A mouthful certainly, but conveys a a sense of history and realism. We are used to this type of naming conventions from Terry’s subsequent work in Shadow World, but in 1980 it was unusual to see place names that were different from D&D standards: i.e. Greyhawk, Black Keep, Cross Fell, Hommlet etc.

In the first two parchment editions there is a small section on the Ky’taari. The third edition adds language notes on Syrkakar and expands the Ky’taari dictionary.  Later Loremaster and SW modules continued building upon this foundation with language notes on Iruaraic, Kugor and others.

Citadels and Cities. Let’s get to the “meat” of the module–cool floor plans of amazing citadels. This is an area where Terry really shines and the Iron Wind is no exception.  A couple of thoughts. First, all of the floor plans are “grid-less” (no grid paper background)–a significant different from D&D modules. This might be a subtle change, but lends a certain authenticity to the floor plans. Second, the Iron Wind established a more minimalist approach to room description. There are no “narrative boxes” and many of the room descriptions can be quite terse. For example: 16, 18. Offices. Of the chief librarian. Chairs? Desks? Luxurious? Who is to say! So while you have cool structures and floor plans, they leave a lot of unknowns for the GM to work out. Last thought–each citadel has a exterior drawing which is a great GM tool and helps with understanding the spatial aspects of a building or city.  It’s nice to see a exterior view actually match the floor plan!

The parchment editions had 6 citadels/cities, plus a map of Syclax. The 3rd edition had the 6 citadels, a newly designed Fenlon map of Syclax plus Tharg Jironak (Tower of the Astrologer).

A-Arnaar. The High Temple of the Ky’taari. Parchment editions only had the lower hall layout. 3rd edition added the “upper hall”. There is a short narrative in the parchments that is expanded upon in the 3rd edition. Interestingly, both refer to the “master orb of the seeing stones of the Ryaani). Not sure if I missed who/what the Ryaani are, but this sounds like the basis for the Ilsari Seeing Stones established in later SW canon. Both had an exterior of the building, but I can’t tell who did the drawing.

Kaldaraak-Vaar (Dawnwaters Edge). Interestingly, both parchments and 3rd edition refer to the “master orb of the seeing stones of the Ryaani. Not sure if I missed who/what the Ryaani are, but this sounds like the basis for the Ilsari Seeing Stones established in later SW canon.

Uda Tyygk. One of my favorite RPG fortresses of all time! Not only is it a very “Bond Villian” style mountain lairs, it’s the home of the Udahir who fly giant birds. The floorplans were cleaned up from the parchment versions to the 3rd edition but none of them came with any floor plan key; instead the major areas were labeled on the map. The parchment versions did include one extra drawing of the “water entrance to the Uda Tyygk” that was left out of the final version.

Taurkytaal. This is the fortress of the Demon-Lord Astaur. This is a great stand-alone fortress with clever features: teleport thrones, retractable bridges and a “elven seeing stone” and cool magic items. There was some small changes to the layout from the parchment to the 3rd edition; basically rooms #28 & #28 vaults were relocated. There is mentions of Ryykaar the Mage and Darath but no stats in the parchment editions but they are stat’ed in the 3rd edition NPC section.

One last item of note. At the end of the section there is a small  passage, “The Texts of Arduvaal of Vraniis”. It describes: “…and of four Pales were demons made, the first being the most strong and fierce, and the fourth the least in might”. For those familiar with RM, this was flipped with the 1st Pale being the weakest. This was changed for the 3rd edition.

Aalk Gaath. Home of the “Dragon Lord”. Here, we have a major deviation between the parchments and 3rd edition. In the parchments this citadel is the Fortress of Dread and home to Muul Chort, the White Dragon. Obviously the Dragon Lord was changed to Oran Jatar in the later edition (and Shadow World. Confusingly, room #6 was left as “the forges of Muul Chort” in the 3rd edition. An oversight I presume. This is also the home to the Priest Arnak of Gaath and Athimurl so a pretty dangerous place!!!

Var Ukaak. Let’s see, a Dragon Lords citadel, a Demon-Lords citadel and now a tower of the Susymog an Ordainer!!! This Mur Fostisyr sure is a dangerous place! There was additional rooms added in 3rd ed. and the treasury gold was reduced from 50,000 gp to 5,000!!! Oh, and that skull at the top of the tower?…glows with a red light that can be seen for miles.

Tharg Jironak. This citadel was NOT included in the parchment editions and is the home of a ex-navigator. This is a very interesting place, with many “Lords of Essence” features like laen doors/panels, exotic marbles, mirror mazes, glass tubes that hold people in suspended animation. The tower is “ancient” and made using powdered stone and “huge molds and forms” and glazed giving it a obsidian appearance. The whole thing is odd, whimsical and very cool.

Art Work. The 3rd ed. is a much more complete and polished version of the original parchments and for the most part, contains everything in the earlier editions and expands upon it. There are however, a few pieces of art that never made it to the final version:

 

So there you have it! Certainly the 3rd final version of the Iron Wind is superior in every way. It’s more professional, expanded with full stats, it has Fenlon’s colored elevation maps and a cool section of magic items in the back. However, the parchment editions have their own charm. The fortresses and layouts are among the best of their time, the cultures are unique and interesting and the bones of Shadow World are clear to see.

There is a ton of usable material in any edition. pdf’s are available to purchase at rpgnow.com HERE. A great value for $5.

Next deep dive…the “unusual” World of Vog Mur…

 

 

 

 

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Shadow World Speculation. Who are The Xiosians?

One of the more dense and information rich sections of the Shadow World Master Atlas is the timeline. By the 3rd Edition of the Master Atlas, the timeline has reached 25 pages and would be much longer if it incorporated all the local and regional timeline material found in other SW books. Plus, the timeline is growing: since the original release of the SW Master Atlas Boxed set I believe the timeline has increased by at least 9-10 years (6045 to 6054 TE).

My recent posts about a definitive, final Master Atlas proposes that the dated timeline be removed to another channel. A few years back, my brother Matt (Vroomfogle) started the Nomikos Library; an online database that collected all the timelines and had various search filters.

In any event, the timeline is a rich resource for a GM, not only offering unlimited adventure hooks but providing endless opportunities to explore Kulthea in different times. Sprinkled throughout the time though are many unanswered questions, cool hints and vague references that Terry has yet to explain or explore in detail. One of my favorite:  the Xiosians.

The Xiosians were first mentioned in the original Master Atlas: Warrior-Priests that were servants of the Masters of Emer and rode flying magical chariots. In Emer I we got a few more pieces of the puzzle with several mentions:

Warrior-mages on huge steeds begin purging the wilds in central Emer, driving out the ubiquitous Gark and Lugrôki hordes. These knights are harbingers of thecoming of the Masters.

They rule through an order of warrior-mages (the Xiosians)

It is believed that the Changramai are disenchanted Xiosians who left
the service of the Titans (In fact, some are

Corruption spreads through the Xiosians as well.

I was always fascinated by these references and decided to flesh out a background for the Xiosians myself. So putting what few clues I had together…

  1. Warrior servants of God like beings
  2. Flying magical conveyances

…I thought this sounds like another group of mysterious warriors that fly on magical steeds and purge the wilderness: The Cloudlords of Tanara. I wanted to tie together a number of loose ends: the origins of the Changramai martial culture, ancient militant orders with ties to the Althans/Ka’ta’viir, mysterious warrior cults and the genetic origins of special warriors like the Cal-chah and Guarlu. I had an idea that tied them all back to the 1st Era.

The Althans and the Ka’ta’viir are primarily an advanced intergalactic imperial society. But there is also a strong oligarchy element of immensely wealthy merchant families. It’s not a leap to assume that both leaders and powerful “Houses” would have their own security force to provide defense, corporate espionage and personal protection. This is not an original idea. The Romans had their “Praetorian Guards“, the Emperor had his Royal Guard, and in Dune: every Major House had it’s own army, formally independent from the Emperor‘s own military forces. (the Dune setting fit’s well with the Althan/Spacemaster/Kulthea dynamic).

As an highly advanced society, these personal guards would be genetically and biologically enhanced with superior speed, strength, healing etc. Ka’ta’viir and various Houses would want to customize their soldiers to their own aesthetic and design whims; perhaps based on distant racial lineage, or for practical purposes. These super-soldiers were mostly destroyed or scattered at the end of the 1st Era along with their Althan and Ka’ta’viir masters but remnants of them still remain. Some advanced genetic traits were passed down from individual survivors on Kulthea; operational bases were discovered with Xiosian equipment, fighting skills were passed down through many generations.

For me this was a good solution. Again, it ties up loose ends, fits well into canon for the most part and feels right. Here is a my material on the various “Xio Cadres” that ties into the Xiosians mentioned in the MA, Cloudlords, Changramai as well as others:

Xiosans

Obviously, playing a pure Xio warrior or even a partially full blooded Xio could be unbalancing. But I incorporated 2 significant drawbacks for Xio: behavioral inhibitors against Ka’ta’viir and the inability to use Essence/increase succeptibility to Essence effects. Of course, a player with only a small amount of Xio ancestry would have less inhibitors but conversely would have less genetic benefits as well.

Finally, since Priest-King of Shade is languishing in development limbo I thought I would share three vignettes from the book. They deal with the Tor’lan, a race descended from the ancient Xio warrior caste.

Of the Tor’lan

…apparently the Kinn have traded with them for generations, but little is known of the Tor’lan, the Giants of the Sullen Mountains. Brutish and uncivilized barbarians they are called, and they seem to have little interest in lands or conquest—they are rarely seen, content in their high mountain retreats.

We were heading south along the Ember Road, an ancient trade route that winds precariously through the mountains. Our caravan must have been watched, for just a few moments after we made camp, figures stepped from the shadowed edge of the jungle. All three were imposing specimens: tall, broad and heavily muscled—their size reminiscent of the Zor or Myri of Jamain but their skin was dusky and their facial features seemed cruder. Dressed in furs and dark leathers, they were adorned with a variety of crude fetishes: skin inks, bone jewelry and metal armlets. Tokens were woven into their long black hair. As they approached our camp site I realized the scale of the trees behind them had skewed my perception: these men were giants, much larger than the Zor and perhaps approaching 8’ in height and weighing over 250 pounds. They stopped 10’ away, and I swallowed a brief feeling of unease. The three stood confident and relaxed, and while their hands were loose at their sides and far from the grips of the huge swords strapped to their backs, I had no doubts that they would draw swiftly with little provocation. After examining us for but a moment, one stepped forward and spoke a clear greeting in Korsi, the trade tongue common to these western lands. I had made contact with the Tor’lan.

The Journals of Arand de’Mel

Loremaster Field Report. 5898 TE.Excerpt p. 131

 

On my third day with the Tor’lan I was allowed to travel upland into the mountains escorted by several other warriors. The air was still humid but cooler under the jungle canopy and we moved swiftly and with few rests. I still had not learned much about these imposing warriors, but we had established rudimentary communication through Korsi, the trade language common along the Storm Seas. I was always a quick study and their tongue bore a strong resemblance to higher, loftier languages, reinforcing my suspicion that their culture was a remnant of something far more ancient.

We maintained a strong pace as our path steepened and got rockier—I was feeling pressed keeping up with my companions, but they barely seemed winded. At times our trail climbed almost vertically—without guidance I would have been challenged to navigate the route. After several hours of strenuous climbing we reached the edge of a broad plateau high in the Sullen Mountains. While the lip of the plateau was broken and worn, I could see that the plateau was dressed with enormous smooth paving stones. Some were cracked, broken or tilted, but their craftsmanship was unmistakable: this was the work of the Althans.

Loremaster Field Report. 5898 T.E. Excerpt p. 147

 

I sat in preparation on a warm paving stone of the plateau. Around me a dozen Tor’lan stood forming a wide circle, large powerful barbaric figures, seemingly elemental in their strength and stillness that they projected. I thought back to the simple instructions from my guide:  Prepare. Fight. Honor. The words seem ritualistic and I could only guess at their deeper intent and meaning. My opponent would be a youth, not yet a clan warrior but with some battle training. I secretly felt that they underestimated me, for they had not yet seen me fight. I had trained with the Bikal Sword Masters in Sel-Kai and learned the two weapon attack forms of the Duranaki. I had traveled with Changramai Monks and witnessed the battle forms of a Void Knight. I had been tested in combat numerous times. While physically imposing and intimidating, the Tor’lan seemed crude in their manner and styles. I was determined to be a gracious guest and fight at whatever my opponent’s skill.

The far side of the circle parted and a warrior stepped into the circle. Taller and lean from youth rather than heavily muscled, his tanned skin also had fewer tattoos than the warriors I had traveled with. His hair was braided into numerous shoulder-length tails and he wore only a simple grey hide breastplate and leggings. He held a long heavy bladed sword, though not as large as the back-sheathed swords the other massive warriors wielded. He was taller than I, perhaps by a hand but not overly so. His reach would be comparable and though he moved confidently, I felt my speed and skills would quickly overwhelm his slight advantages in size and strength.

I looked down at my weapons. I wielded a longsword in my right hand and a Loari parrying knife in my left. In fairness I thought I should drop the knife, but the young warrior’s heavier weapon would still be an advantage against my two blades.

I rose to my feet and walked slowly to the circle’s center while my opponent watched with dark eyes, his face expressionless and bland. Were he in the city streets of Sel-kai his only notable feature would be his unusual height. He nodded slightly and raised his sword high and to the side, an unusual guarding position for a long blade. Crossing my weapons I returned the nod. Without further delay I stepped forward and lunged with both blades, hoping to reach inside is guard. Before my lead foot had touched the ground, a precise blow to the side of my head knocked me sideways onto the ground. I hadn’t seen the warrior move but he must have struck with the pommel of his sword. I shook my head, pushed off the stone and considered the barbarian. He still stood as if he hadn’t moved while my own head was still ringing and my footing felt less sure. Crossing my blades, again I approached just outside of his reach. Wary of his speed, I would not make the same mistake twice. I spun, both blades turned in a flat arc, my longer blade carving a path toward his left side while my shorter blade was held higher to block any movement of the opposing sword. I was half way through my attack and I saw the warrior move—almost quicker than I could fathom. Stepping back and to the side, just avoiding the tip of my longsword, his left hand dropped from his sword grip and tapped my left shoulder. I felt a shock run through my arm and my hand involuntarily dropped the dagger as my fingers went numb. I was exposed, but the warrior made no counter-attack. My mind reeled for I had seen a similar move practiced by the Changramai elite!  After this there is not much to relate. The remainder of the battle was a blur: every one of my attacks was blocked or avoided, seemingly without effort. My movements seemed clumsy and slow compared to the graceful barbarian. For perhaps two or three minute we fought and finally, when I was covered in sweat and aching from carefully placed strikes, I stepped away from the center.

The circle was quiet and the surrounding warriors watched me: their expressions were inscrutable but I felt I had failed some test. Much later I learned the truth: the warrior I dueled was just a young student; his training had been measured in only a few years.

Not long after, I witnessed the full battle skills of an adult Tor’lan warrior…pray that they never have reason to go forth in anger or war…

Loremaster Field Report. 5898 TE. Excerpt p. 204

So can you incorporate Xiosians into your campaign? They may be a better alternative than having a player with Ka’ta’viir heritage, or may give a boost to a non-spell user fighter if they have some limited Xio ancestry. Or you can build a campaign around uncovering the Xio heritage that is imprinted in any number of cultures or organizations around Kulthea.

Certainly, the players could encounter an original Xio warrior; perhaps they were in chronogenic suspension. They might make a great ally against a Ka’ta’viir–they would be able to provide advice and assistance but couldn’t directly fight the Lord of Essence due to the genetic conditioning. Xio Cadres had both high tech equipment as well as ceremonial garb (like the Cloudlords kit) but many of the cadres consisted of very large warriors, so keep in mind that much of the equipment would not fit a smaller size player. It’s cool when they find 1st Era Battle Armor…only to realize they can’t work the neural interface and it’s just too large!

 

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The compelling fantasy art of JB Clark.

One of the obstacles in creating high quality RPG supplements is access or affordability of quality artwork. Consignment artists may be too pricey for a small publisher or individual and clip art may not give your product the polish that you’d like to create. Some publishers revert to using “open domain” art–oftentimes older art no longer protected by copyright.

During a recent search for cool, older artwork I came across some sketches by JB Clark. At first I thought this was fairly recent artwork, but incredibly, much of it is dated to the 1890’s! JB collaborated with William Strang and together they illustrated the Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Ali Baba and Sinbad. Of course these were all fantasy/fantastic adventures and their illustrations captured that classic fantasy feel we often call OSR art style. JB is particular compelling and did some great illustrations for translations of some writings of Lucian of Samosata.  One of Lucians more known works is True Story. This was meant to be a tongue and cheek work of science fiction and fantasy. It deals with outer space, interplanetary lifeforms and interplanetary warfare! Not bad imagination for a writer in c. 150 AD! Reading through it I realized it would make a crazy and highly stylized fantasy campaign.

I find this art so similar to the pen/pencil line art common in early RPGs. They feature “action” or “movement”, the characters are often armed and it features strange, fantastic creatures.

Check out the art above…is the top figure reaching for a sword stuck in blood? Is he prodding the liquid? It looks like the other two figures are calling to him to stop!  This feels like an image out of an old D&D module doesn’t it?

How about the picture below. A ship is in the background and it looks like the crew has disturbed a Roc nest!

Here is one more–pretty self-explanatory!

Do you know of any older artwork from the 19th century or earlier that would work in modern fantasy RPGs?

 

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I.C.E. and early Dragon Magazine Ads

Like many of you, my first exposure to Iron Crown Enterprises was through advertising in Dragon Magazine. Looking back at the ads, they seem simplistic and perhaps crude in their execution, but then they were strangely compelling. A combination of ad copy and art effectively conveyed the “gritty” and “realistic” feel of Rolemaster.

I thought it would be interesting to go through some of the very first ads in Dragon and explore how they changed and progressed over time. One thing to note–ICE had page #3 for all of their ads so it was one of the first things readers saw. That probably helped alot.

August 1980. #40

Iron Crown Enterprises very first ad was in Dragon Magazine #40 from mid 1980. I don’t recall this one as my very first Dragon was #46. Obviously hand drawn and colored using the runic script that ICE had in their early product versions (arms law, spell law, iron wind). Interestingly,  this ad featured both Arm’s Law and the Iron Wind. Two things of note: this is only 1 of 2 ads that incorporated color and this first ad did not have their Iron Crown graphic.

September 1980. #41

This ad is just awesome! The large warrior, the hawk in the background, a spear and wooden shield. It’s very similar to the Syrkakar warrior in the Iron Wind and I’m guessing it’s the same artist. This ad adopts the bleak black/white aesthetic that ICE maintains for almost all their Dragon advertising. Just cut out the order form, include a check and mail it off! Those were the good old days. Still no Crown Logo though…

October 1980. #42

And there it is…the Iron Crown logo!!! This is mostly the same ad copy as the previous month. I find the ad a bit bland but you start to see the logo and company name style being established. Notice the talons on the hands holding the logo.

November 1980. #43

This is a slight variation on the previous month but it starts to highlight some RM rule differentiation. But first, it’s the first use of the Arms Law tag line (below the crown, may be hard to read):

“Because a mace is not an arrow or a scimitar, there is …”

December 1980. #44

So this is only the second ad that uses color in Dragon Magazine. This is notable because it features Pete Fenlons cartography style and evokes the topographical Tolkien style map. A huge leap from the cartoonish hex maps being used in D&D. Notice that they dropped the Iron Crown graphic.

January 1981. #45

Similar to the previous month, but shows the growing professionalism in ICE’s ad design. The monolith border frames the ad and eliminates the blank margins and the copy is mostly done in typeset fonts rather than script style. This ad does not include the Iron Crown graphic.

March 1981. #47

This feels like a step back. Although the stone borders evoke the early Arms Law cover it’s all copy and no real graphic. It seems like ICE wanted more space dedicated to explaining and describing their rules and setting. A lot to read!  2 Iron Crowns though!

April 1981. #48

Ughh…what happened here? This seems like someone just wrote some stuff with a typewriter and mailed to Dragon. No graphics, art, logos… Terry, if you read this do you remember how ad design decisions were made? Why not just repeat a previous ad?

September 1981. #53

After several months of repeating past ads, ICE used this ad for the introduction of Spell Law.  OVER 2000 spells!!!!!! I know that caught my eye back then. This was the first of a series of ads that used white lettering and dense combat vignettes on a deep black background for contrast. Love this art–anybody know who did them?

December 1981. #56

The next month a similar ad with slightly different art. I like this because it shows the character on the right casting a spell onto the other figures sword! Simple but implies so much about the RM spell system.

March 1982. #59

Updated. 1/12/2020.

Not sure how I missed this, but what a curious, non I.C.E. advertisement. Looking at subsequent Dragon editions, this appears to be a filler ad for space above the 2/3 page for Hobby Game Distributors. My guess is that Claw Law was being introduced but they didn’t have a full page ad ready yet. The staff at Dragon put this together using the line drawing “cartoon aesthetic” common at the time.

May 1982. #61

For me, this was one of I.C.E.’s most iconic ads. Again the sharp white on black background contrast. A single warrior against a pretty formidable looking foe. The large moon in the background. Of note is that like many of ICE’s artwork the warriors presented seem rather under-equipped. No platemail armor, huge swords, glowing magic items. Mostly spears and wooden shields. I thought that also implied a lot about the game mechanics and really intrigued me before I started playing RM.

August 1982. #64

The last piece of the Rolemaster system: Character Law! Plus this ad is the permanent return of the Iron Crown logo. This artwork feels very “D&D”: a more traditional armored warrior with a shield and a funny looking monster. hmm.

So that’s a quick look at some early ICE advertising in Dragon Magazine over a 2 year period. Later ads introduced MERP modules, and the Loremaster series. The Loremaster ads was interesting because it announced Cloudlords of Tanara as the first module in the “new line” with upcoming modules being the Iron Wind, Vog Mur and Shade despite the Iron Wind having been one of ICE’s first products.

What’s your favorite I.C.E. ad?

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A Definitive Shadow World Master Atlas. What should it contain? Pt. 3

From the earliest days of the 1980 World of Greyhawk Folio, it’s been expected that comprehensive fantasy settings include a “Master Atlas” or a “Gazetteer” to set the tone and include fundamental information about the world. Nine years late, ICE introduced Shadow World: Master Atlas Boxed Set.

The first Master Atlas set the stage for the new Shadow World line–an expansion of the original Loremaster Series published between 1980-1984.  SW was now a professionally published product with a glossy presentation. The original boxed set included to books: the World Guide & Inhabitants Guide plus a poster size color map of the hemisphere. It was a great start to world building, but it never felt complete until combined with Jaiman: Land of Twilight and Emer: The Great Continent. Between those 3 products (all written by Terry Amthor) a GM could piece together a coherent and in depth profile of Shadow World augmented by the original Loremaster books (Iron Wind, Cloudlords of Tanara & Vog Mur). Since then, Terry has expanded SW Canon with 3 Emer regional books, Powers of Light and Darkness, 2 city books (Haalkitaine & Eidolon) plus Xa’ar in NW Jaiman. In the queue are Wurilis (NE Jaiman) the final Emer regional book and a re-write of Jaiman. Once those are completed, GM’s and gamers have an extremely robust overview of the two “main” continents: Jaiman and Emer.

It’s difficult to say if Terry will ever be able to tackle a third (or more) continent in such a comprehensive way with multiple books, but no one could argue that there isn’t enough material for years or even decades of game play with existing Shadow World material. And even with all the current SW books, both Emer and Jaiman have plenty of room for new material, short adventures, city books  and smaller regional supplements.

However, despite 4 editions of the SW Master Atlas, these books are hardly comprehensive. “World” level information is often found scattered throughout the other regional SW books, important cultural information is left unaddressed and various topics could use more campaign level information. In Pt. 2 and Pt. 3 I covered a number of these items that could be included, but I thought I would print off the Table of Contents for my own “Master Atlas” to show what could be in new version. I actually have 40-50 more pages that I haven’t incorporated into the master file, but this one is 281 pages.

Click below to download my own “Definitive Master Atlas Table of Contents” :

DMA ToC

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Shadow World. What would a definitive Master Atlas look like? Pt. 2

There has been endless speculation about adapting Shadow World to the RMU ruleset, but every year that goes by only makes the task of converting all the Shadow World books into the new format less and less likely. On top of that Terry is methodically going through older source books and updating them and adding new content still using the RM2 ruleset. A third iteration of that process seems hard to imagine.

So where does that leave a new, revised Master Atlas? Last spring I wrote a blog post on this subject, but now with the Rolemasterblog having new readers and another year gone by in the RMU development process I thought I would revisit this topic.

To me, it seems unlikely  that SW will ever have a comprehensive reformat to fit the RMU rule set–that would be over a dozen books? But that doesn’t mean that there can’t be a final Master Atlas that creates a definitive baseline for Shadow World and any or all future projects. In my mind, the DMA (Definitive Master Atlas) would set SW Canon, tackle a lot of the unaddressed issues and become the road map for any third party books (if that ever occurs). Of course, as egdcltd commented, you could also make the DMA system agnostic. To me, that’s a very interesting idea!!!

If you’ve followed my “Misc SW Material” thread on the RM Forums, you may realize that many of those partial files are part of a much larger document–our own, in house, DMA we’ve been adding to for 30+ years. Our own book is around 350 pages and that doesn’t include charts, illustrations/art, graphics or any Flora/Fauna material. A strong pass-through edit and I’m fairly confident that a DMA could be 500 pages. Is that possible to publish or print in hard copy format? I personally have no idea, so please weigh in on that.

Ok, so what would a DMA include? There should be guidelines on what material qualifies as “world spanning”, “canon” or appropriate for a Master Atlas and not just a regional source book. Should it incorporate some of the material found in the original Gamemaster Law? The Shadow World Players Guide was well received: although it was mostly collated content, the presentation, art and production value were topnotch. A definitive Master Atlas might only need 100-200 pages of new material, culling of 50-100 pages (timeline removed?) and the addition of 100 or so pages of material found in other source books that are better suited for a MA. I think much of the Powers could be incorporated into the DMA while information on the Iron Wind, Raven Queen or Silver Dawn should be more regional in nature.

What would be on your list for a Definitive Master Atlas?

  1. Should the ever changing timeline be removed and handled elsewhere?
  2.  Should there be a final Essence Flow & Greater Foci map of the hemisphere?
  3. What organizations  or content are “world-spanning” and what is “regional”.
  4. Is there any material in other SW books (canonical) that should be moved to a DMA?
  5. What topics or material should be included or expanded upon?
  6. Should a DMA be all encompassing or should it be a multi-book endeavor. For instance, it could be 3 parts: a MA, a Flora/Fauna supplement and a Gazetteer with a variety of maps and keys  that expands upon the geographical chapter in the current MA?
  7. A box set with hardcovers?
  8. A map supplement that has every map every printed for SW–new detailed maps of all the continents with key locations, some poster maps. Some enlarged city maps?
  9. Could this be a Kickstarter project to fund great artwork, mapmaking, a wiki  and project management?

Yes, there are already 4 versions of the Master Atlas, so is this even possible or worth discussing? I think the only issue is new content that would need to be written or approved by Terry. The rest, much like the Players Guide, would be editorial and organizational.

Any thoughts?

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Shadow World Overview: The Messengers of the Iron Wind.

One of the bedrocks of the Shadow World setting are the detailed organizations that Terry has created: Loremasters, Navigators, the 8 Emerian Orders,  and the Dragonlords, just to name a few. These groups drive the plot and can be aids or foils for the players and be used throughout a lengthy Shadow World campaign.

One of the very first of these groups is The Iron Wind detailed in I.C.E.’s first publication. An order of Dark Priests (of High Imla Arna – “The Evil High Priests”), they were the secret tentacles of the Unlife that insinuated themselves into local cultures.  There were Six Orders described in the Iron Wind, along with a order of assassins known as Messengers of Syrkakang. This became the kernel that Terry expanded upon in subsequent books.

Jaiman, Land of Twilight expanded on the material in the Iron Wind with more information on the Priests of Yarthraak. At this point the Messengers were still “of Yarthraak”, but later were changed to “Gorath”. Frustratingly, the Messengers were only hinted at, and the only additional details were found in the adventure “Living Prison” and not the “Legacy of the Sea Drake”.  It wasn’t until Powers of Light and Darkness that Terry fully fleshed out the Six orders of Arnak, both Priests and Messengers.

Terry is fantastic at writing organizations with flavor and cool equipment, and in my opinion, the Messengers are some of the best for the PC’s to encounter. The Messengers can be seen as the militant arm of each of the six Orders of the Priests and have their own style and abilities. In my own campaign I treat the Messengers as semi-spell users; each has their own unique spell list to augment their inherent power and adds atmosphere to the encounters.

Why do the Messengers work so well?

  1. The Messengers are 9th-10th lvl, which is a good power level for most PC’s and that can scale by adding or reducing to the # encountered.
  2. Anonymous, frightening with cool gear and armor, the Messengers lack higher level agency, so they make a great “mindless” foes.
  3. They evoke a number of familiar tropes found in movies and literature. That makes them both familiar and alien if introduced properly.

So let’s review the various Messengers, where they can be found in books or perhaps how to introduce them into your Shadow World campaign.

Messengers of Al-athuul (Lyak)

Description. The Messengers and their birds (both familiars and
mounts) reside in a great roost in the eaves of the Lyak
Tower, ready to serve the Priestess at a thought. The Messengers wear light green quilted cloth armor, blue cloaks of feather fall and wield swords and light crossbows.

My thoughts. As presented, Al-athuul are perhaps the least interesting of the 6 Messenger types, but would make great foes in Tanara and Urulan. Especially as combatants against the players hooking up with the Cloudlords–aerial battles anyone!!!! I added “Raptor Masks” to their kit to bring a more chilling appearance  similar to the other orders.

Where to find them. Messengers of Al-athuul can be found in the revised edition of Cloudlords of Tanara. They appear in the timeline in a few descriptions and as a possible encounter for medium level (6-10th) players. Messengers of Al-athuul would be great for a “cat and mouse” pursuit with the players on foot and the Messengers flying high overhead. This could create a fantastic tension as the group tries to escape or evade the Messengers with an occasional divebomb attack. Like the Stukas @ Dunkirk!

Spell List. My BASiL list for Lyak (the Priests get the list as well) was predicated on the concept of a “hunting bird” with spells that added more innate dread to the players (they are prey!). The combination of spells “Hunting Cry”, “Keen Eye” and “Dive Attack” allow the Messengers to circle high above on their mounts searching for targets. Then, when they find the players, they can cast their “Hunting Cry” and leap from their bird for an attack!

Lyak

Messengers of Gorath (Yarthraak)

The Messengers of Gorath are outfitted with weapons
designed of materials that do not rust or warp if
wet, as they are often charged with errands that require
them to operate on or in the sea. Their clothing is of a
seal-hide that repels water and keeps them warm on
land or under sea. Their helms are fashioned like great
nautilus shells and allow them to breathe water as well
as air, and the armor of the Messengers is a lightweight
scale-mail made up of thousands of shimmering scales
of black mother-of pearl. Their gloves are covered with
shark’s teeth spikes. On land the messengers ride grey stallions, while at sea their mounts are killer whales they control with
special whistles. Each has a black seagull as a familiar.

My thoughts.  Their nautilus helm, possible water environments and the shimmering scale armor gives them a great presence. It reminds me of an old 70’s movie that had warriors from Atlantis emerging from the Sea.

Where to find them. The prominence of the Jaiman source book makes Yarthraak one of the better known Arnak orders. In addition they are featured in short adventure the “Watchtowers of U-Lyshak“. With so many adventure opportunities in South and Southwest Jaiman, the use of these Messengers is very flexible. If you have the players travelling by boat, an encounter with the Messengers would be pretty cool.

Spell List. My BASiL list for Yarthraak focused more on underwater environments where spells would be needed for the Messenger to act.

Yarthraak

Messengers of Syrkakang (Gaath)

Description. The messengers’ helms are in the shape of a dragon’s
head and allow them to become invisible 3x per day.
Their white leather and steel gauntlets allow them to
strike with their fists as hammers, and their armor is of
white Wyvern hide.

My thoughts.  Who doesn’t love “Dragon Warriors” wearing white leather and having armored fists!

Where to find them. These Messengers should be featured in any adventuring in the Mur-Fostisyr. They are found in The Iron Wind and Xa’ar books.

Spell List. I wanted this list to be pure “Dragon Man” style magic.

Gaath

Messengers of Kulag (Athimurl)

Description. Masters of snow and ice, the Messengers of Kulag
are at home in the worst arctic storms. They come upon
the unwary to fulfill the directives of the cruel priesthood.
Each is armed with a baw and wears armor made
from the hide of white Wyverns. They have reversible
white/brown cloaks, and gauntlets with retractable
claws—useful in combat and for climbing ice-walls.
Their boots are also equipped with cleats that allow
them to run on ice and packed snow with the same
ease as dry land. The Messengers ride great white Snow-
Cats and their familiar is a Snowy Owl.

My thoughts.  Kulag shares much of the same Northern Jaiman territory as Syrkakang so it’s important to differentiate the two. In Powers, Terry explains that Athimurl is more subtle and secretive, but that may be a bit lost on the players. While Gaath is also “snow aspected” I play up the Dragonman aspect of Gaath and allow Kulag to be the real “Snow Warriors”.

Where to find them. These Messengers should be featured in any adventuring in the Mur-Fostisyr, northern Jaiman and should be included in the upcoming Wuliris supplement Terry has been working on. They are also included in the Xa’ar sourcebook.

Spell List. I used this list to emphasize the Messengers ability to travel fast over snow and ice terrain. Powerwise, it might be one of the weaker lists for offensive spells, but Kulag have Snow Cats as mounts and should be formidable fighters.

Athimurl

Messengers of Ulkaya (Dansart)

Description. Often accompanied by several large hyena-like dogs,
the Messengers go muffled against the dusty air of the
wastes. They have clawed gauntlets that allow them to
strike with the power of a great cat. Their helms are
fashioned to resemble dog-heads, with lenses in the eyes
to not only protect against dust but also allow the wearer
to see at night as if it were full day. Their armor is reinforced
leather, and each carries the deadly bola-like
weapon know as the gé.

My thoughts.  I love this faction. Wastelands, ruined cities, deserts, scavengers. It all has a very post-apocalyptic, Mad Max, feel to it that works great in Shadow World.

Where to find them. Messengers of Ulkaya are mentioned in Haalkitaine, but are featured prominently in The Grand Campaign. In fact, the Zorian Wastes (Part VII of the Grand Campaign) can (and should!) be inserted into any ongoing Shadow World campaign.

Spell List. My goal was to expand upon the feral feel that Terry has established. I was inspired by the feral dog/hyena aspect.

Dansart

Messengers of Shaynar (Thargonaak)

Description. Like the other Messengers, they ride through the
night on missions to bring fear to the indigenous peoples.
Their familiar is a huge black Bat and their steed is a
black stallion. More stealthy than most, they have voluminous
black cloaks like batwings, belts which allow
them to become Invisible, and helms fashioned like
frightening bat-heads which render them undetectable
by magic. In some regions these terrifying warriors are
called the Messengers of Kynagaax.

My thoughts. There is some confusion about the name of these Messengers. In Powers, they are known by Shaynar or Kynagaax. In Xa’ar they are named Kynagaax in the text, but labelled Chyna’ak in the Index. Certainly, they may go by different names by different cultures. Either way–these guys are evil batmans!!! I could add a ton of cool gear to their utility belts.

Where to find them. Messengers of Shaynar are mentioned in Haalkitaine, but haven’t really been highlighted in any works so far. The leader of Thargonaak is the Pale Man so Terry may have more in the upcoming Jaiman sourcebook. In my campaign, I have introduced these Messengers as enemies of Priests of Reann. They make a great nighttime encounter for the group.

Spell List. Ok, I was inspired by the Dark Knight for this list!

Thargondaak

If you haven’t used Messengers in your Shadow World campaign, give it a try! And, if you want to punch up their powers add the spell lists above for more interesting powers. Have fun!