ADVENTURE IN A CRIMSON WORLD

BY KEVIN CRAWFORD
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

A Rising Tide ................................................................................................4

A Crimson Past ............................................................................................5
People of the Isles ....................................................................................12
The Lay of the Land ..................................................................................19
State and Society ......................................................................................27
Heroes of the Isles ...................................................................................44
Red Sorcery ...............................................................................................51
A Bestiary of the Isles ..............................................................................70
The Houses of The Lost............................................................................80
Secrets of the Mists ...............................................................................136
Game Resources .......................................................................................142
Index .........................................................................................................169

© 2011, Sine Nomine Publications.

ISBN 978-1-936673-07-0
Written by Kevin Crawford.
Art by Cerberus Illustration, Eky Chan, Jeremy Mohler, Standard Stock Art by Empty Room Studios Publishing, Joseph Wigfield, Justin
Hernandez, Katana, Kimagu, Louis Porter, Jr. Design, Maciej Zagorski, Michael Syrigos, Pawel Dobosz, Rick Hershey, Shaman’s Stockart,
Tamas Baranya, The Forge Studios, and V Shane.
Some artwork in this book is ©2007 Reality Deviant Publications, used with permission.
Some artwork copyright William McAusland, used with permission.
Some maps produced with Hexographer, http://www.hexographer.com/
Labyrinth Lord™ is copyright 2007-2011, Daniel Proctor. Labyrinth Lord™ and Advanced Labyrinth Lord™ are trademarks of Daniel
Proctor. These trademarks are used under the Labyrinth Lord™ Trademark License 1.2, available at www.goblinoidgames.com.
 A Rising Tide

The world has drowned in crimson. And all the while, a hundred miles from the wave-washed shores,
the Red Tide waits in wailing mists. Its whispers infect the dreams
Here in the harsh wilderness of the Sunset Isles, the last remnants of the weak and send them praying to red purposes. The Shou take
of a ruined world have gathered for shelter against the Red Tide. counsel in the western mountains, and the Hell Kings’ hunger
The walls of crimson mist and demons have consumed the rest of burns brighter each year. It is an hour for heroes to rise against the
the world, and it was by a seer’s vision alone that the few survivors Tide and all the ruin that awaits- for without them, this reprieve
reached the Isles. The ancient lodes of black godbone keep back the from destruction will come to a bloody end.
red mist and the demons within, but who is to say how long this
reprieve will last? How To Use This Setting
Red Tide is intended to provide a Labyrinth Lord with all the tools
In the three centuries since the world’s ruin, the refugees have made necessary to run a campaign of sandbox adventure in the wild
a home in this unfriendly land. The savage Shou tribes of the interior Sunset Isles. While this book can be used as a conventional cam-
ravage the western borderlands constantly, and have even dashed paign sourcebook, it is intended to give you the resources necessary
their howling hordes against the very walls of Xian, the greatest of to support a free-form sandbox game in a way that doesn’t chain a
the cities of the Isles. If they ever cease their tribal squabbling the referee to the design desk for hours before each session.
cities of men will not long survive their rage.
You will find information inside on the numerous peoples and poli-
Despite this constant struggle, the refugees have forged polities and ties of the Isles, along with extensive tools for the quick generation
city-states out of the steaming jungles and jagged hills. The Man- of political intrigue, urban adventures, threatened borderland out-
darinate of Xian dominates the eastern end of the great isle of Ektau posts, and crumbling ruins. Resource lists at the back of the book
with its wealth and hardened legions. To their north, the demonic can be used for the fast generation of names, NPCs, businesses, and
Shogunate hungers for land and souls for their Hell King masters, room dressing for the lairs you construct.
having traded the hope of paradise for strength in the living world.
Decadent Tien Lung squats like a toad on the southern coast, its The resources also include several unkeyed maps for quick integra-
necromancers and reckless sorcerers daring enchantments that no tion with the site generators, allowing a GM to produce a fully-
wise wizard would attempt. And in the northwest, hard against the furnished ruin or dungeon in minutes. These tools do not replace
Shou-infested mountains, the city of Hohnberg stands as a grim the kind of intricate hand-design that many referees find to be
shield against the tribes. enjoyable, but they allow for the quick creation of basic outlines
and one-off sites that can support an evening’s adventure when the
In their deep mountain delves the dwarves of Altgrimmr seek gold to players suddenly decide to charge off in an unexpected direction.
gild their warring afterlife, while colonies of elven refugees struggle
to maintain the ancient Creeds that have guided their people for Finally, the new classes, spells, magic items, and site creation
ages unnumbered. Wilder breeds lurk in the jungles and hills and resources can all be easily transplanted to your own home games,
lush forests of the Isles, often with little love for the interlopers and taking selected pieces from Red Tide to help your existing campaign
their land-hungry ways. On isles far from Ektau, the crumbled run more smoothly and enjoyably.
remains of former colonies and mad exiles stand as monuments to
the dangers of the Isles, and invitations to those brave enough to
seek the treasures of a dead past.

4
 A CRimson PAsT

Three hundred years ago, the world ended. dermost. Ships fled before the rolling Tide and it was Lammach’s art
alone that guided his fleet to find them and bring them together. In
There was no warning to the nations. The omens were silent about six months, the Tide had rolled over every known land in the world
the doom that was at hand, the seers blind to what was to come. save for a single broad island chain in the middle of the Western
One man alone saw the rising of the Red Tide, and his fellows Sea.
thought him mad. Archmage Lammach, First Seer of the Ninefold
Celestial Empire saw what was approaching his world, but none The Landing
would listen. Would not such an end give signs to other diviners? Lammach had foreseen what would be needed, and the great,
Lammach’s wild talk could only disturb the serenity of the Empire fat-bellied grain barges of the Empire had fed those that the fisher-
and embolden its enemies, and the Emperor himself warned him to men could not supply. Yet the exile fleet was huge, more than a
keep his silence. hundred thousand men and women clinging to every rotten scow
and raddled fishing boat that could float. The ceaseless efforts of the
Lammach prepared for what was to come. His visions had shown surviving sorcerers and demoralized priests of the fleet were able to
him a place of refuge, an isolated archipelago beloved of pirates, keep the ships intact and the weather fair, but they had to make
outlaws, and exiles. It was a savage land without law or security, landfall soon. It was time to tack for the Sunset Isles.
but it would be a haven for those that fled in time. The archmage’s
gold bought half the timber afloat in the Empire’s western ports, The Isles were a vast archipelago deep within the Western Sea, a
and men could only shrug at the madness of seers. A few heard stormy land balanced between the great cold currents of the north
the whispers that the archmage’s warnings had started before the and the humid heat of the great Southern Gyre. A few empires of
imposition of silence, and a handful among those thought carefully old had made efforts to claim the land, but the inhabitants were too
on what the future might hold. savage and the distances too great for success. For ages, the Sunset
Isles had served as a place of exile and wild dreaming for those souls
The Red Tide made landfall in the east, three years to the day after cast out by their people or seeking a new life far from the haunts
Lammach had received his visions. A wall of red mist taller than of men. Most had left their bones there to be gnawed by the savage
a city’s wall billowed in from the silent sea, consuming all before Shou.
it in a silence broken only by the screams of those who could not
flee in time. Things walked from the creeping mist that had no The Shou were like men in most ways. Indeed, were it not for the
place in the world of men, and they harvested all they found. The piercings of beaten gold they wore, and the ritual scarification,
Emperor received word from his eastern mandarins, and he knew and the ferocious patterns inked into their skin, and the tendency
that Lammach had been right. to sharpen their teeth with pieces of rough sandstone, they were
difficult to distinguish from humans. A few small pockets of their
The last command that Lammach received from his lord was an kind could be found in other lands, but in the Isles, they were a tide
order to take the Tablet of Heaven and the treasures of the Empire of howling fury that dashed to pieces any interlopers upon their
and flee with his fleet. The realm’s greatest sorcerers were marshaled ancient lands.
to fight the Tide, but a few of them were dispatched to wing the pre-
cious relics to the western ports. They arrived in time to see the fleet But the Sunset Isles were the only place of refuge in all the world.
groaning under the weight of its refugees, half the cities of the west Only there would the exiles be safe from the Red Tide. Deep beneath
emptying out to fill the hulls of the creaking armada. Lammach led the stones of the Isles were great veins of glossy black stone that the
them, and by his sorceries and his sight he gathered in the ragged Shou called “godbone”, stone that Archmage Lammach had seen
remains of a dozen other fleets that had fled the approaching doom. in his visions. Something about this stone was hateful to the Tide,
and it would keep back the red mist that threatened to devour the
The Red Tide was universal. It was encroaching upon every land, world. Archmage Lammach ordered the fleet to make for the Isles,
devouring all that it touched and sending the wretched populace and the ships turned their groaning prows to the west.
into headlong flight. No magic seemed capable of penetrating its
veil or halting its advance. Contact had already been lost with the They made landfall at the head of Refuge Bay, at the mouth of the
elven Creeds of the House of Peace and the dwarf-lords of the Un- Sungari River on the great southern island of Ektau. Some ancient
5
people had labored to raise a city there in time long past remember- Perhaps the most important of these settlements was Nordheim,
ing, and Archmage Lammach and the other sorcerous heroes of the on the far opposite end of the archipelago. The small population
fleet wielded their magic to raise a refuge there for the exhausted of Skandr who had kept the rocky outpost as a waystation for their
exiles. Great towers of seamless stone burst skyward from the ruins trade ships had learned much of the Isles, and they were willing to
of old, the ancient city buried beneath the rising cobbles of the new. share their knowledge with the newcomers. It was difficult to reach
In three months the sorcerers raised a refuge from the stones, the them, however; the meeting of the hot and cold currents in the
heart of the city that they named Xian. From that point on, dates on Isles created a savage belt of storms across the middle reach of the
the Isle were counted from that day of arrival, and years were named archipelago. Ships had to sail perilously close to the roiling red walls
as “After Landing”. of the Tide in order to circumvent it. A few bold ships managed
to make it through, however, and a tenuous trade in knowledge
The lands surrounding the city were crowded with bands of Shou, bolstered the refugees in their first years.
hunting the wild game of the semi-tropical plains and forests and
fighting with each other in their old, well-practiced hates. Their This knowledge was vital in driving back the Shou. The savages
numbers would have crushed a colonizing expedition, but the were uncoordinated, each tribe hating the other with a fury even
hundred thousand refugees of the exile fleet were a force fueled by greater than their hatred of the human interlopers. Each tribe was
burning desperation. They fought with their backs to the sea, and convinced that they were the chosen favored of their god Shakun,
they drove the Shou tribes further west. The demoralized remnants the Skybreaker, the Shaker of Mountains. All other Shou tribes
of the tribes were enslaved by their stronger brethren or killed out were meant to serve as slaves to their glory, and any truce or pact
of hand. was observed only until it became a burden for one of the tribes so
involved.
The refugees poured into the opened lands, desperate to start new
lives and salvage what they could of the past. So much had been lost This disunity was all that saved the initial refugees. The Shou
in the flight from the Red Tide. It was the will of the refugees to were ferocious fighters and their witch-priestesses had powers that
hold to what little they had left. shocked the arcanists of the fleet. The greatest among the Shou had
abilities that challenged even Archmage Lammach, and if the Shou
The Clearing Wars hadn’t spent most of their time trying to kill each other, the story
The land did not welcome the refugees. The Isles were wild and of the exiles would have been a brief one. Lammach’s divinations
terrible, Shou merely the worst threat out of uncounted others. revealed the fault lines within each temporary alliance and grudging
Terrible beasts, strange hot-land plagues, crops that did not grow in truce, and the exiles were able to strike exactly where they could do
the native soil, and an array of floods, tempests, and the occasional the most damage. Crippled tribes were torn apart by their erstwhile
earthquake all taxed the new colonists. Many died in the early years. allies, covenants abandoned at the first scent of blood.
The survivors learned, gaining much from the few small colonies of
outsiders that had managed to eke out an existence. These native- These “Clearing Wars” went on for decades. They were dirty, ugly
born were able to teach the newcomers vital truths about surviving battles fought in the green shadows of the tropical forests and in
this new land. bloody clearings of the high plains. The Shou outnumbered the
intruders and outclassed his common soldiers, but Lammach’s fore-

6
sight and their own quarreling forced them to slowly give ground
to the invaders. Within thirty years after the Landing, the humans
had pushed all the way into the western mountains of Ektau. The
eastern tribes were broken and scattered.

This victory did not come cheaply. It was at the end of the Clearing
Wars when the last surviving witch-priestesses of the eastern tribes
banded together. In a furious, suicidal assault on Xian they man-
aged to reach Archmage Lammach and burn him down with sorcer-
ies that banished him utterly from the world. The few remaining
hierarchs powerful enough to call back the dead could do nothing
for him, and it was with the tears of a city that he was sent to his
rest. His son was appointed in his place, the first Mandarin of Xian
in a line that has continued unbroken to the present day.

This loss blunted the human advance. Too many of the great mages
and high priests had died in the fighting, and there had been no
time to train apprentices to follow after. The great magics of the
Ninefold Celestial Empire and the potent priestcraft of the old
world was no longer to be had, and the humans already had seized
more land than they could comfortably work. The Shou were left to
brood in the western mountains, and the people of the Isles settled
down to build anew.

The First Respite

The seventy years that followed the end of the Clearing Wars
amounted to a kind of golden age for the refugees. They still had
many of the elders that remembered life before the Tide and could face of the Shou could only lead to catastrophe, and the early Man-
teach their children the arts and customs of lands now lost beneath darins were wise enough not to press the Hohnbergers.
the red mist. The Shou were cowed in the western mountains, and
the many refugee warriors that remained could hold the savage To the southwest, amid the thick jungles of the southern coast, came
beasts of the Isles in check. There was once again time to build farms the amber city of Tien Lung. With the threat of the Shou fading and
and towns and cities to echo what they had lost. the decimation of the arcanists and priests among the exiles, a few of
the most powerful remaining spellworkers found it necessary to have
Starting around 30 AL, three great cities were built on Ektau to a mind for the future. Tien Lung started as a magical college safely
keep company with Xian. In the north, the Kueh people among remote from inhabited lands, but it rapidly drew so many colonists
the refugees raised the graceful walls of Kitaminato, a refuge for eager for the protection of the wizards that it became a city in short
their people and a place where the old ways of their kind could order. The verdant hillsides around Tien Lung proved superb for the
be preserved. Much of it was more a creation of imagination than cultivation of crops and assorted medical and recreational plants,
truth; the survivors of the exile had not often been great nobles or and the Enlightened Sage that ruled Tien Lung swiftly grew to rival
blue-blooded aristocrats, but poor fishermen who had boats and the Mandarin himself in his influence. The Sage and the scholars of
the wit to sail them. This distinction soon evaporated as the proud the Academy of Refulgent Wisdom had their own ideas about how
rulers of Kitaminato conjured up pedigrees of impeccable quality. the society of the Isles should be more properly ordered, and not all
The ruler of Kitaminato was the great Archmage Rai, an arcanist of were content to obey.
the Kueh who was content to obey the Mandarin in Xian so long
as his pronouncements did not unduly interfere with the Kueh of Among these four great cities many lesser towns and settlements
Kitaminato. sprang up to fill the newly-claimed lands between. The broad
stretch of wilderness stretching along the western foothills between
In the northwest, in the shadow of the mountains and hard against Tien Lung and Hohnberg became known as the Westmark, after
the sea, there rose the gray-walled city of Hohnberg. The Eiren- the Eirengarder word for the rugged borderland. A vast tide of exiles
garder people who built it had a marrow-deep mistrust of the Shou and their kindred migrated from the more crowded east to take up
to the west, and Hohnberg was intended as a bulwark against them. farms and trades in the shadow of the Shou-haunted mountains.
Bands of the famed Eirengarder pikemen were trained in Hohnberg The last of the great magi of the exile worked to help construct the
and the glorious House of the Maker there vied with the Temple new cities, laboring beside the dwarven masons of the Altgrimmr
of the Nine Immortals in Xian for beauty and divine serenity. The range to fashion new homes for the refugee peoples.
Thusundi of Hohnberg bowed his head to the Mandarin in Xian,
but his allegiance was always of a practical variety. Disunity in the For a long time, they prospered.

7
The Ravaging Land that had been settled and secure for generations was trans-
In the mountains of the west, the Shou brooded. They fought formed overnight into a wasteland of ruins and char. In the north,
and they struggled amongst each other, quarreling over the richer the pikemen of Hohnberg formed a wall of steel around their homes
western lowlands while the losers were forced up into the moun- and drove back the undisciplined Shou- but only for a time. There
tains, up against the humans to the east. They were a danger to the were ten mountain Shou for every pikeman, and men died because
interlopers, but never a great one. There were too many humans, they were too weary to lift their weapons in defense. The horde drew
too well-organized and ready to repel anything larger than a raiding back from Hohnberg eventually, but only because there were other,
band. easier places to take first.

That ended in 120 AL. The Witch Queen Agrahti led a powerful In the south, Tien Lung’s sorcerers conjured forbidden powers and
western lowland tribe, the force of her magic compelling obedience wielded magics they had secretly developed in their dark Academy.
from the quarreling Shou chieftains. Rather than spend her war- Thousands of wretched commoners died on Tien Lung’s raised
riors uselessly against her neighbors, she commanded the broken stone summoning circles to fuel the magic necessary to repel the
fragments of the mountain tribes to join her banner and make war Shou, but the savages were in the end driven back. Scholar say that
upon the hated humans. The remnants despised each other, but though the walls of Tien Lung were never breached, only one in
they feared Agrahti more. They joined, and together they swept three citizens still lived by the time the defense was complete. The
down on the east like a storm. need to enlist laborers to work in the cursed city thereafter led to the
practices of slavery now so common to that blighted place.
The exiles had grown complacent with almost a hundred years of
peace. Their great sorcerers and high priests were almost all long In the northeast, Archmage Rai of Kitaminato was among the
dead, and the wizards remaining to them had only a fraction of last of the great arcanists of the Empire, clinging to life through
the strength of old. Their heroes were only names, their legions alchemical means and sinister research. When the horde crashed
ill-equipped and practiced only in hunting raiding bands. The on Kitaminato’s walls, it seemed certain that the Kueh would be
Shou horde smashed the Westmark and roared east into the Xianese butchered in their homes and their gilded culture lost forever in the
heartland. bellies of ravening Shou. Rai did not have the power to save them,
but he could strike bargains with those who could. That night,
in a terrible ritual worked with all the great families of the city,

8
the arcanist made a pact with the Hell Kings. A legion of demons Still, there was growth and recovery in the decades that followed
erupted from the earth about Kitaminato and ravaged the Shou the Ravaging. Xian strengthened its ties with the Skandr colony of
army until it was forced to turn back. The price that the Hell Kings Nordheim at the far end of the archipelago, and the settled lands of
charged was predictable. There are no gods in Kitaminato now save the east grew more densely stitched by roads and villages and market
the fanged idols of the city’s masters, and the undying Shogun Rai towns. A hundred miles west of Xian one could almost imagine it a
sends sacrifices to his infernal lords to ensure their favorable regard piece of the Empire reborn, peaceful and bucolic.
for his people.
A hundred miles more would put a traveller into the heart of the
But it was in the east that the Witch Queen and her horde drove Westmark, where things were very different. Hard bordermen
deepest, the great mass of Shou hammering against Xian and the and prospectors eked out an existence in the shadow of the Shou,
terrified refugees huddled within the city. The army was scattered clustering around fortified hamlets and the few military outposts
in the west, struggling to contain the bone picker tribes of Shou placed there by the land’s aspiring masters. Every season’s survival
that flowed into the void the horde had made and unable to join up was in question, but men came for the free land and the hope of
with the defenders of Xian. The dwarves were barricaded within the something better.
Altgrimmr peaks, too hard-pressed to break out and cut through the
sea of Shou that surrounded the human capital. City wizards even Within Memory
went so far as to call up legions of the city’s dead to march against In the past century the human numbers have recovered from the
the Shou, but there were just too many of them and the wizards scourge of the Ravaging. The population of the city-states and their
were dying from the strain of their black sorceries. supporting towns has swollen almost beyond the ability of the farms
and seas to support them. Ever-greater numbers of poor men and
It was then that a ragged band of tomb-robbers, ruin-plunderers, women are pressing into the Westmark, goading the Shou tribes
and renegade arcanists accomplished what all the serried ranks there and sparking short, savage raids on human settlements.
of Xianese defenders could not. Sages cannot agree who exactly
numbered among this band; a dozen different names are commonly Within the past ten years, the Shogun Rai has abandoned his policy
given and commonly disputed. All agree that they alone were able to of subtle corruption and embraced more open hostilities. Xianese
infiltrate the Shou camp, cut their way through the Witch Queen’s border patrols have been attacked, and hidden agents of the Shogun
guards, and slay the sorceress at the very heart of the horde. None are cropping up throughout Ektau’s cities. Some say that it is a war
survived their act of heroism, but with the Witch Queen dead the in all but name, but for now the armies die by the patrol rather than
horde swiftly collapsed into a welter of blood and ancient quarrels. the regiment.
With the help of forces for Hohnberg and Tien Lung, the horde Perhaps more alarming still, increasing numbers of Tide Cults have
was driven back from the eastern lands, once more pushed into the been discovered within the cities and villages. These congregations
ravaged provinces of the Westmark. But with many dead and so are led by dreams and visions, terrible images that terrify and entice
many Shou, there was no hope of reclaiming the lost lands. After the worshippers. Those who serve the Tide are granted potent magic
the Ravaging, the Westmark was a haunted land of empty cities and and uncanny blessings, but extended service always twists and
desolate plains, pinpricked by those few settlers daring to live under bends the devotees until they are scarcely recognizable as human.
the eyes of the angry Shou. These cults are rarely as actively malevolent as the servants of the
Hell Kings. Their masters seem to wish only a poisonous worship,
The Lessened Age but their blandishments entice more and more people into their
Xian could do nothing to help the other great cities during the forbidden rites.
Ravaging. Indeed, it had been Hohnberg and Tien Lung that had
saved it in the end with the steel of pikes and the fires of unclean The rise of the Tide gnaws at the peace of the cities. It seems that
sorcery. The Mandarin was still the greatest of Ektau’s nobility, but any soul can be tempted by these red dreams, from peasant to
the Thusundi and the Enlightened Sage now paid him no more highest prince. The Tide is unable to approach the Isles but it can
than lip service, and sometimes were notably disinterested in Xian’s approach its people, and its people can open a way for an unfinished
best interests when dealing with border disputes. In the north, apocalypse. For now, men pray, or roister, or work to put their
Shogun Rai brooded in his bone-walled city and did as his masters minds from the shadow. And if sweet red dreams should come to
demanded. Their demands were rarely pleasing to anyone, least of them in the night, promising them every delight for just a simple
all the Mandarin. little ritual, they do what they can to forget them.

The Ravaging had cut a scar through the heart of the human prov-
inces. The Westmark still crawled with Shou bands and the beasts
and other dangers of the wilds were no longer kept in check by the
Xianese army. Relations between the great cities grew colder and
more strained as each tried to make the best of what had been left
behind. And always there was the fear that the Shou would come
again, and that some new warlord or witch would bind them to-
gether into a weapon that would succeed where Agrahti had failed.

9
A TIMELINE OF EVENTS
Date Event Date Event
A thriving dwarven civilization exists in the Lammach sets sail from the western coast of the
remote archipelago of the Sunset Isles, centered on Empire, forming the exile fleet out of his own
the mountains of the Altgrimmr range on Ektau. ships and countless other small boats that are
0 AL
-2000? AL A very few surviving documents make mention fleeing from both the Empire and other Tide-
of them, but details are tantalizingly scarce. The wracked nations. After six months, the exile fleet
civilization appears to have vanished by -1500 AL, makes landfall on the island of Ektau.
for reasons that remain unclear. The desperate refugees drive the disorganized
Rogues, criminals, exiles, explorers, and aspiring Shou tribes away from their landing site. With
colonists all make their way to the Sunset Isles at the sorceries of the surviving magi, the walls of a
various points in history. Small groups can some- 1 AL new city are raised on the site of an ancient ruin.
-1500 to 0
times avoid too much notice by the native Shou, Dubbed “Xian” by the Archmage Lammach, it
AL
but all known major attempts at colonization ul- serves as the center of early human settlement on
timately end in failure. The Isles gain a traditional Ektau.
reputation as a desperate land for desperate men. Human scouts contact the beleaguered dwarven
Skandr merchant-reavers establish the waysta- colony in the Altgrimmr mountains of the south-
4 AL
tion of Nordheim on the cold northern island of east. Dwarven smith-mistresses provide vital arms
Aktau. Comparatively few Shou dwell on its rocky to the human refugees.
-350 AL and bleak coasts, and Skandr fortifications prove The Clearing Wars. Organized human military
sufficient to hold them back. Skandr ships use forces and the mighty sorcerers that survived in
this settlement to resupply on their long journeys the exile fleet drive back the quarreling, leaderless
across the Western Sea. 4-30 AL Shou into the western Godbarrow mountains.
Attracted by the Skandr tales of the ancient The Shou are unaccustomed to dealing with such
dwarven ruins, several ambitious dwarf clans huge numbers of human interlopers, and are too
attempt to recolonize the ancient delves. Some fractious to work together against the humans.
take up residence in the Angrimmr range on the The Bright Years. Humans found major cities in
-320 AL northern island of Aktau, while others attempt Kitaminato in the north, Hohnberg in the north-
to reclaim the halls in the Altgrimmr ranges of west, and Tien Lung in the southwest. These cities
the semitropical southern island of Ektau. Both prosper under their lords, though all maintain at
experience severe challenges and find themselves 30-120 AL
least nominal allegiance to the Mandarin of Xian.
struggling for survival. Human settlement pushes up to the very base
Archmage Lammach of the Ninefold Celestial of the Godbarrow mountains, with the furthest
Empire receives a vision of the impending destruc- reaches known as the Westmark.
-3 AL tion of the world, drowned beneath the Red Tide. The Ravaging. The Witch Queen Agrahti rises
The only land spared the destruction will be the to power among the Shou. Instead of turning her
remote and savage archipelago of the Sunset Isles. attention to the fertile western end of the island,
Lammach is forced to silence by the Emperor, 120 AL she forcibly recruits the ragged mountain tribes
who does not believe his warnings. This does not and turns them against the humans. Under her
-3-0 AL prevent him from buying up most of the floating leadership the Westmark is razed and the human
timber on the western coast of the Empire, and cities are besieged.
laying in supplies for a long voyage. Tien Lung forces the Shou to lift their siege by use
The Red Tide rises. Looming walls of red mist of dark sorceries fueled by the lives of its citizens.
boil in off the eastern ocean and begin to cover Hohnberg breaks the attacking Shou against its
the land. Any trapped within die in terrible ways, high walls and the expert pikemen of its military
and demons stride from the mist to claim human 121 AL forces. Archmage Rai of Kitaminato agrees to offer
0 AL prey for hideous transformations. All attempts his city and soul to the Hell Kings in exchange
to drive back the Tide prove futile. The Emperor for their aid. The ensuing flood of demons drives
entrusts Lammach with the Imperial regalia and away the Shou, but the Shogunate of Kitaminato
commands him to save who he can. The Emperor is born with the dark lord Rai at its head.
himself remains behind to die with his people.

10
 Date Event Date Event
The main body of Shou forces strikes Xian. Stirred by the human incursions into the West-
Legions of the dead are raised by the surviving mark, the Shou become more active in their raids
Xianese wizards to fight the Shou, but their num- and depredations. Many border communities are
bers are not enough, and the strain of the rituals scourged or destroyed by the raiders. Food scarcity
kills many wizards. All seems lost until a band of begins to strike the cities, and many commoners
122 AL
adventurers successfully infiltrates the Shou horde 275-300 AL find themselves forced to choose between landless
and strikes down the Witch Queen. None survive, hunger and likely death in the Westmark. Grow-
but the horde falls swiftly to infighting. The arrival ing numbers begin to turn toward forbidden Tide
of reinforcements from Hohnberg and Tien Lung Cults or worship of the Hell Kings, willing to
put the Shou to flight. sacrifice the hope of eternity for the sake of pres-
The void left by the disintegrating horde is filled ent power.
by tribal remnants. Bloody fighting reclaims much The Shogun abandons his former policy of me-
of the eastern end of Ektau, but the lands of the thodical corrosion and becomes openly hostile
123 AL Westmark remain a desolate region of gutted cities to Xian. The Mandarin’s long-standing ban on
and crumbling towns. Xian claims nominal ruler- Hell King worship is used as an excuse for open
ship of the waste, but practical authority extends 290-300 AL skirmishing on the border and the dispatch of
no further than the point of a soldier’s spear. special agents to Xian and its market towns. Some
The Lesser Times. Embittered by Xian’s inability Xianese daifus are willing to take Shogunate gold
to aid them, Hohnberg and Tien Lung become for “considerations”. A few even adopt the infernal
effectively independent of the Mandarin. To the faith for the sake of its very tangible blessings.
north, Shogun Rai does not even give the pretense Ektau seethes with tensions between and within
of obedience, turning his attention toward trans- the city-states. The Shogunate is on the brink
125-225 AL
forming his city-state into something suitable to of outright war with Xian, while Hohnberg at-
his new masters. The four city-states engage in tempts to ignore the outside world and Tien Lung
constant low-level struggles over control of the conducts ever-more dangerous experiments with
rich east-central plains. Human population begins bloody forms of ritual magic. The dwarves have
to recover from the Ravaging. a tenuous alliance with Hohnberg and Xian, but
300 AL
Farmland is at a premium. The secure central are doing their best to stay clear of human infight-
plains are crowded with poor sharecroppers and ing. In the west, the Shou grow more restive by
hired laborers on great plantations. Tien Lung the year, and Tide Cults are cropping up with
makes substantial use of slave labor, while Xian increasing regularity. The worship of strange gods
makes lesser use of convicted criminals. Brave or fills the temple-streets of market towns and cities,
225-300 AL and men and women wonder what is to become
desperate colonists start to form settlements in the
borderlands of the Westmark, daring Shou raiders of the Isles.
and wild beasts for the sake of free land for the 300 AL The Red Tide begins to move again.
taking. Xian, Tien Lung, and Hohnberg begin to
take more interest in control of the Westmark.

11
 PeoPle of The
isles
The exile fleet that landed on Ektau’s shores was composed of the Ever since then, the dwarves have been a Godless people, revering
scrapings of every nation on the globe. Some ships were crewed by only the spirits of their ancestors. When they die, their spirits are
men and women of a single nationality, while others were crammed hunted by the furious shards of the Mother Below, and only their
to the rails with whichever port-town denizens had been lucky fellow spirits can protect them. Dwarven elders speak of great delves
enough to crawl aboard before the ship cast off. While the sons in the land of the dead, filled with innumerable ghosts of dead
and daughters of the Ninefold Celestial Empire were by far the dwarves who are forever at war with the raging fragments of their
most common among the fleet, the Imperials were also joined by forsaken goddess. Yet they are together, these elders teach, and their
contingents from Eirengard, the Gadaal mountains, the Eshkanti courage and love for each other is enough to sustain them even in
city-states, and even some Skandr longships set out from their sea- that eternal night.
lapped citadels.
Their courage, their love, and their gold. Even in death the goddess
In the centuries since, this melange of peoples has blended in most cannot resist the shining metal, and the shades of the dead forge it
places into a cosmopolitan type. The average citizen of the great city into tools and weapons against the angry shards. Living dwarves
of Xian is a blend of many different ethnicities cast into an Impe- will spend their centuries striving constantly to accumulate a great
rial cultural mold, though pockets of different traditions remain trove to be buried with them, so they may take it with them into
in courtyards and neighborhoods of the old city. More remote the next world. Once the spirit has “moved on” with the essence of
settlements might be more inclined to a single isolated culture, and the gold, usually in a few years, the metal may be removed. Some
there are still some holdouts who seek to preserve the “purity” of dwarven spirits never move on, too frightened of the next world
their blood for reasons of custom or fear of cultural loss. Many of or too attached to this one, and robbing them of their trove is an
the kindreds who cluster in small fishing villages or remote farm invitation to terrible vengeance.
hamlets are fully aware that they are the last of their kind in all the
world, and they dread the loss that might come from taking up Dwarven families all owe allegiance to a larger clan, with each clan
different ways. In the harsh environment of the Sunset Isles, such possessing its own delve. In great underground cities, each clan lives
clannishness can prove lethal when outside aid is required.

Dwarves
Dwarves are a stern and brooding people, oppressed by the weight
of their history and the grim afterlife that awaits them. Yet this stoic
fatalism is colored by a fierce and unbending pride, and a willing-
ness to defy the gods themselves before bowing their necks to a
tyrant. A dwarf would rather die than be enslaved, and they are
willing to take their tormentors with them.

The dwarves were once a race of humans, a people enslaved by a cold

and malevolent goddess at the dawn of the world, a being they call
the Mother Below. The goddess desired slaves to build her palace
deep beneath the earth and to bring her the gold she loved more
than any worshipper. For unnumbered years the dwarves toiled
as slaves and servants in her underground kingdom, shaped and
altered by their work, until a council of courageous elders rose up
in revolt and made war upon the goddess. Though she had legions
of her misshapen creations to serve her, the sudden defiance of her
slaves shocked her, and the dwarves slew her and tore her divine
corpse into ten thousand pieces.

12
in a separate part of the delving, with central areas reserved for com- Eirengarders are notorious for the countless peculiar taboos of the
merce and government. Dwarven social roles are strictly segregated Law of their faith. Different sects of Makerites insist on different
by sex; males mine, build, and fight, and females craft, trade, and restrictions and demands, but daily prayer, refusal to eat pork,
perform all the other duties of society. Clans are ruled by the eldest and ritual purification after the shedding of blood are all common
members, and groups of clans are brought under the authority of a requirements. While these points may seem trivial to outsiders,
king or queen from the strongest clan among them. devout Makerites have been known to prefer death to willful viola-
tion of their Law.
Dwarves had a settlement in the southern reaches of the Isles, the
ancient delve of Altgrimmr that some say was the first place where This Law has remarkably little to say about mercenary work, but
they burrowed up from the world below. It was abandoned count- supplementary Sayings have been preserved from famous Eiren-
less centuries ago for a cause that no dwarf living can name and no garder mercenary captains. These Sayings usually forbid the abuse
ancestor-spirit will answer to explain. In more recent centuries a of civilians and insist on a degree of discipline and mercy unusual in
second settlement of Angrimmr was founded on the northern isle mercenaries. Some bands have rejected the Sayings, claiming them
of Aktau, where the dwarves presently trade with the Skandr of unnecessary supplements to the Law and a needless interference to
Nordheim. Many clans among the northern dwarves are wearied their trade.
by the hard life on that rocky isle, and in recent years have come
south to reclaim the lost delves and holdings that once belonged to Eirengarder family life has been shaped by the demands of the mer-
vanished Altgrimmr. cenary bands and the harsh losses of the battlefield. An Eirengarder
man takes only one wife for himself, but the eldest son of a family
Dwarven adventurers are very often driven by the aim of gaining also obligated to accept the widows of any of his brothers until and
gold for their tombs. This is especially common among young males unless they are able to remarry. An Eirengarder woman can decline
who lack any good mining prospects but are forbidden by social this arrangement, but she can expect little aid from her family unless
custom from trade or craftwork. Their only prospect of advance- the husband in question is too poor or too cruel to be acceptable.
ment is through the sword and axe. Dwarven women might also
take up a warhammer if their clan is shattered or their mind is Some young women who are either disinclined to marry or widowed
sufficiently determined. Such trespass against custom assures that early set off on lives of adventure, taking posts with the bands or
they will never marry or be honored as an elder in the clan, but for falling in with freebooters. The strongest of them serve in the pike
those who are kinless or resolved, it is a price they are willing to pay. line, while others serve as archers or slingers. While in camp, the
Both might seek for allies and friends in the south as well, the better women work at fletching, mending harness, and tending animals.
to help rebuild the ancient delves of Altgrimmr. By custom, traditional women’s work such as cooking or cleaning
is considered an insult to such warriors while they are under arms.
Eirengarders More than one adventurer has earned a mailed gauntlet against his
Eirengarders are a big, blonde, pale people renowned for a piety ear for innocently suggesting to his Eirengarder companion that it
unusual in the Isles. Most of them remain steadfast believers in their was her turn to do the camp’s cooking.
god, the Maker, and are convinced that the world’s present misery is
either caused by human sin or by the Maker’s wisdom in testing His Eirengarder adventurers might be young women shunning mar-
creation. Their grim war-priests continue to hand down the sacred riage or wife-inheritance in favor of the excitement and potential
writings of the Law and the teachings of the Iron Prophets and the profit of the freebooter’s life, or they may be young men laboring
common folk continue in their humble services. to earn enough to afford a marriage of their own. Grim-handed
Makerite priests and holy warriors find their own quests on the
The pikes of Eirengard were the dread of nations in the days before road, bringing the truth of their god to the needy and his burning
the Tide. The dry, cold scrub of the Eirengard plains was bad land hammer to the wicked. The occasional survivor of a shattered mer-
for farming, and the Eshkanti raiders to the south harried the Eiren cenary band can be found as well, scarred and dark with memories,
towns. In the ancient days the Iron Prophets formed the bands of and perhaps with a score to settle.
warriors that became the famed pike legions, teaching them the arts
of war so that the Maker’s beloved could withstand their enemies. Elves
When the Eshkanti were turned from their adventures, these pike In the dawning ages of the world, the human forebears of the elves
bands hired out their service to foreign princes, fighting far from turned from the gods of men. Their philosopher-kings taught that
home to bring back gold to their poor land. the deities were simply a greater order of creature, one that mortals
could aspire to join through the correct rites and ambitions. By
Even today, Eirengarders are as often soldiers as they are farmers or joining the immortal substance of their souls to the carnal fabric of
fishermen, and it is considered a proud thing to carry a spear in one their flesh, they too could ascend to the level of the divine.
of the surviving bands. Most that remain are in permanent service
to Xian, with a few renting out their services to Westmark border In a great rite performed together as a people, their lords drew down
lords, the better to clear out goblins or drive back orcish warbands. the fire of their immortal souls and forced it into the base matter of
The mountain city-state of Hohnberg is populated largely by Ei- their living flesh. For all their ambition, the rite was not the success
rengarders, and the House of the Maker there is one of the most they had imagined. The people who were to become the elves did
beautiful shrines in all the Isles.

13
not become gods, but they became something very much more than
human.

There are precisely one hundred thousand elven souls in the world,
every one bound to the circles of the earth. When an elf dies, his
soul awaits sleeping until an elven child is conceived to house his
wayward spirit. Elves do not enter the afterlife of other races, nor
can their souls be touched by mortal magic. Their spirits are tangible
in their living flesh, granting an immortality of a different order.

Elves do not die save by violence or disease. They are invariably

beautiful and well-formed, touched by a subtle sheen of idealized
grace. They appear in every shape and hue found among humans,
but they often seem just a little bit better in every way that mat-
ters. Yet elves are denied the very hope of transcendence that their
soul-ancestors aspired to have, and some are bitterly envious of the
immortality unique to humankind.

Every elf is touched by memories of their past incarnations. These

echoes are rarely complete or controllable, but this sense of shared
memory binds the elves together in a strange sort of communion.
They have all known each other before and they will all know each
other again. Grudges can be played out over the span of a dozen
lifetimes and debts are repaid from millennia lost. No enemy is ever
truly defeated- just delayed.

This sense of recurrence leads elves to live ferociously passionate,

hard-driven lives. Even death is but a temporary setback, and elven
disputes can become spectacularly bloody as disagreements are
settled by sorcery and bare steel. Denied the hope of heaven and the
dread of hell, elves struggle to leave behind some legacy greater than
their temporary lives, some great deed or perfect creation that will
stand as a mark in time.

Like-minded elves draw together in circles known as Creeds. These

paths are all dedicated to some great work of self-improvement or
glorious accomplishment. Every member of the Creed is expected
to strive constantly to further the cause or perfect their own nature
in the way the Creed teaches. Elves who no longer can share that
passion leave to join a different Creed; some with simple regret at
parting, and others with six inches of steel through their “traitor”
born with an elven degree of awareness in a human child’s form.
hearts. Not all Creeds aspire to benevolent ends.
They grow, live, age, and die as men do, but the interplay of an
elf ’s maimed soul-self with the unshaped energies of a human soul
A few elves dream of breaking the shackles of their eternal recur-
creates a flux of strange, eldritch power around the Scion. It is im-
rence. They work alone or with like-minded Creeds to master the
possible to channel mortal sorcery through that sparking interface
arts necessary to escape the circles of the world, completing the great
of elven soul and human flesh, but the Scions demonstrate certain
ritual that their soul-selves participated in so long ago. These elves
strange powers of their own, powers that echo a little of the divinity
are known as Apotheons, and elven legend claims that the greatest
their ancestors sought.
of them become like the gods that their ancestors had intended to
become. The noblest or most driven among them commit ritual
Elven adventurers are almost always part of some high-minded
suicide in order for their soul-selves to await their people’s future
Creed, aspiring to some glorious deed or noble calling. Elves are
call, waiting to be called back from the grave to aid their kindred in
very rare in the Isles, and known as notorious crusaders for causes
some hour of terrible need.
only they truly understand. The sorcery innate to elven adepts is
limited by their inability to use their souls as a lens for channeling
Elves are no longer cross-fertile with humans, but sometimes, very
geomantic energy, but many of them compensate with a degree of
rarely, an elven soul goes astray in its reincarnation and is born
mystical understanding honed over uncounted lives.
within a human infant’s body. These “half-elves” or “Scions” are

14
Eshkanti
The golden city of Eshkant was the mercantile nexus of the world, a
mighty metropolis settled at the narrow waist of land that separated
the Western Sea from the Sea of Pearls. Traders from across the
world were forced to portage their goods across the narrow neck
until the Sultan of Eshkant decreed the carving of a canal fifty miles
long, to pass beneath the shadow of the city’s walls. The seven locks
that balanced the differences in elevation were necklaced with dens
of vice and trade, the Seven Gardens of Paradise beloved by sailors
and merchants alike.

Such trade was necessary, for Eshkant had little else. The southern
mountains shielded the land from the moist south winds, and
Eshkant was equal parts rocky desert and dry steppe. The Sultan
was usually strong enough to keep the desert tribes from raiding the the darkness. Their eyes are often jewel-toned in colors strange to
canal, and so they were forced to turn their attention northward to other men, especially in those who show natural gifts in astromancy
the Eirengarders and outward to trade of their own. Many of the or divination. They are a little taller than Imperials or Eshkanti on
hard-bitten desert clans of one generation became the fat merchants the average, with slim, muscular builds for the men and ripe curves
of the next, spreading outward until there was hardly a town in among the women.
the world that did not have at least one Eshkanti trading family.
This diaspora and the many merchant ships they owned gave an The Gadaal were always a poor people by the standards of outsiders,
uncommon number of Eshkanti a chance for survival when the Red more so even than the Eirengarders on their dry plains. The moun-
Tide rose. tains and rough hills of their homeland were poor for farming, and
their herds of goats and mountain sheep were never large. A few
In the Isles, many Eshkanti follow their old traditions, trading gem mines provided what little wealth the nation had to its name.
among the villages and towns. Some thirst for adventure, occasion-
ally convincing their families to back some trade expedition to find Their true wealth was in their knowledge. The Gadaal astromancers
a new market or new source of goods. Others are content to work who dwelled high on the crowns of their greatest mountains were
as peasants and rice-farmers, accepting a wealthier family as patrons some of the finest diviners in the world, superior even to the arch-
and protectors of their humble farms. mages of the Ninefold Celestial Empire. The astromancers could
not foretell all things, but what conclusions they drew were almost
The Eshkanti people are dark-skinned in the main, with dark hair invariably both clear and correct. If mortal will did not interfere
and eyes to match. While not so large as Eirengarders or Skandr, with events, that which they prophesied would always come to pass.
both men and women are sturdily knit and often graceful. Eshkanti
home life revolves around wealth and prestige. A spouse who brings The Gadaal clan-chiefs who led their people to the Sunset Isles
no dowry, famous name, bride-gift or income of their own into a were not able to preserve all of this celestial knowledge. Archmage
family may be loved, but their opinion is not consulted on matters Lammach had no time to properly train apprentices, and much pre-
of importance. cious knowledge were lost in the early years after the Landing. Still,
enough remained to keep Gadaal astromancy alive in the hotter
Eshkanti adventurers are often young men and women from poor climes of the Isles, and many aspiring diviners seek out Gadaal
families, ones with no prospect of esteem in their society unless they teachers for the sake of this tradition.
can get gold and fame from their deeds. Others are the offspring of
hard-pressed merchant houses, ones in desperate need of funds to The Gadaal in the Sunset Isles keep largely to their traditional ways,
stave off hungry creditors and the prospect of bankruptcy or worse. families banding together in extended clans that sometimes cooper-
Some simply hunger to find new prospects for trade, or wish the ate and sometimes feud with their neighbors. They are herdsmen
freedom of the open road in place of a stale life in a trader’s shop. and small farmers, hunters in the wild places and sturdy mountain-
eers amid the peaks. It is a free life but a poor one, and many sons
and daughters are forced to make their own way in the world.
Gadaal
The dark mountain-folk of the southern lands were also numbered Gadaal adventurers are often bordermen, natives of the raw,
among the exile fleet. Archmage Lammach himself was a Gadaal rough land that stands between the settled eastern end of Ektau and
who took service with the Ninefold Celestial Empire, and many of the Shou-infested wilds of the west. Rangers, mountaineers, and
his people listened to his warnings when the Imperials still counted hard-handed peasant sons can all be found looking for their fortune
them no more than a false prophet’s ravings. Had the stony southern in the lost places of the wild, along with those ambitious young
lands possessed more ships, still more would have lived. men and women who have mastered the essentials of the enigmatic
astromantic arts of their people.
The Gadaal have always been worshippers of the night sky and the
stars that watch above it. They are a dark folk, ebon-hued and black-
haired with the occasional speckling of white not unlike stars amid

15
Halflings Imperials
Far more halflings survived the Red Tide than their peaceful, bu- The descendants of those men and women who fled the fall of the
colic ways would suggest. The small-folk have always lived among Ninefold Celestial Empire are commonly called “Imperials” and
humans, following their own customs but paying tribute to the local form the dominant human culture on the southern isle of Ektau.
lord for protection and the benefit of law against human interlop- Both men and women tend to slenderness, with dark golden skin,
ers. They are famously talented farmers and herdsmen, and few have dark almond eyes, and straight black hair. The other humans of
any ambition of leaving their modest villages. They live and they Ektau tend to be taller by a few inches, but generations of intermar-
prosper beneath the notice of more ambitious races. riage have evened out the height to some extent.

At least, until those races decide to have sport with the small folk. The Ninefold Celestial Empire was a magocracy, one supported by
It usually only takes one such attempt before their tormentors learn numerous mighty Imperial Archmages who maintained the magi-
the better of it. Halflings are almost constitutionally incapable of cal marvels that made the Empire the foremost human nation in
being intimidated. They are aware of threats and respect dangers, the world. Every Imperial family dreamed of having one of their
but they never permit such things to cloud their calm judgment. children ascend the exalted heights of sorcery, and the intellectual
Even the rawest halfling militia never panics on the field or routs pursuits of reading, writing, and devoted study were greatly hon-
in disarray, every last one of the little folk either retreating in close ored by Imperial culture.
order or dying where they stand.
Even in their exile, the Imperials have maintained this love of learn-
Facing a crisis, entire villages are capable of calmly resolving to ing. Parents view the need to teach their children their letters to
courses of action that ensure that most of them will die in order that be equal with the need to feed and clothe them, and this love for
some might live. Tyrants who try to exact too much from their short literacy has rubbed off to a large extent on many of the other ethnic
subjects find half the small folk in their domain turned assassin, groups on Ektau. Insulting an Imperial’s education is considered an
each willing to die if only they can get close enough to kill their per- offense on par with questioning the virtue of his mother.
secutor. This clear-headed, methodical, relentless violence will not
stop until their tormentor either eases his exactions or exterminates Imperial families are close-knit, with households led by the eldest
every halfling in his domain. adult. It is expected that the first-born son or daughter and their
spouse should remain in the parents’ household to look after them,
It is said that the halflings were humans, once, who long ago turned while the other children are expected to contribute to their keep if
from the gods. They did not fight as the dwarves did or seek to they do not share the same house. Imperials prize filial obedience,
surpass them as the elves did, but instead simply turned away from and directly disobeying a parent is considered a grave offense against
the quarrels of the divine and chose an inward peace. Some among decency.
the pious claim that the halflings were cursed with their short stat-
ure by the angry deities, who declared that if the halflings refused Imperials keep only one spouse, and adultery is grounds for divorce
to fear gods, they would be given reason to fear mortals. Whatever among the common class of people. The very wealthy and power-
the truth of matters, the gods seem strangely disinclined to interfere ful might keep concubines or male lovers, but the aristocracy are
with halflings, neither blessing them nor cursing them, but simply permitted many such foibles so long as they do not flaunt them
leaving them to live as they choose. before the public.

Traditional halfling customs are known as “the Quiet Way”, and Imperials usually give desultory reverence to the Nine Immortals,
inform every aspect of halfling life with their sober, rustic wisdom. the ancient divinities of the Empire. Religion of any kind has suf-
Those who follow its strictures are promised a peaceful life and a fered much since the coming of the Red Tide. Priests are few among
dreaming afterlife of family and comfort. Those unfortunates who the Imperials and their labor is largely restricted to birth-blessings,
are cut loose from the community by need or their own misdeeds marriages, and funerals.
are in consequence a reckless, heedless lot, and it is a folk saying on
the Isles that there is no one so trustworthy as a “village” halfling, Imperial adventurers are often poor young men and women who
and none so thieving as a “wild” one. dream of acquiring the wealth and fame they need to move up into
the land-owning class, or even the nobility. The cleverest and most
Halfling adventurers are usually young men or women forced to fortunate of these often wrangle their way into one of the numerous
leave their village by some disaster or hardship. When the settle- small magical schools found wherever Imperials settle, but many
ment hasn’t enough food or land to support a new generation, some of them find their funds running out before their education is
are obliged to leave and seek a different home. Most die on the road, complete. These half-finished magic-users are obliged to join their
but a few become wealthy enough to found their own new villages, less scholarly brethren on the road, digging up from the past what
or else find themselves acquiring a positive taste for the excitement the present declines to teach them.
of a wandering life. Halflings can always find good wages as merce-
naries, as “a cowardly halfling” is a byword for a beast that doesn’t
exist.

16
Kueh their station permits. Most Kueh are humble farmers or fishermen,
The Kueh were once a minority ethnicity within the Ninefold Ce- though some continue to practice the ancient arts of the samurai
lestial Empire, a race of famed warriors and nature-sages conquered and the yamabushi.
after long struggle by the sorcerous legions of the Empire. Such was
the ferocious resistance offered by the Kueh that the Emperor found Kueh Adventurers tend to be a hard-bitten lot. Those who have
it wisest to treat gently with his new subjects, and commanded that successfully escaped the Shogunate are often toughened by their
the mandarins appointed to lead them marry into the foremost ordeal and those from families fortunate enough to have evaded
Kueh families to blend the lordly classes together. Over long centu- Shogun Rai’s grasp usually owe it to a tradition of martial or mysti-
ries of unity the sense of separation the Kueh once cherished faded, cal prowess. Kueh samurai can often be found seeking a worthy
and they joined into the vigorous Imperial culture. lord to serve, and yamabushi roam widely in search of lost frag-
ments of their venerable lore. Kueh outside the Shogunate are often
Kueh samurai proudly served Imperial mandarins as trusted retain- fired by a bitter loathing for their decadent brethren, and many
ers, and Kueh yamabushi cultivated their ancient earth magics in Kueh adventurers make a point of scourging the devil-worshippers
the arcane academies of the Empire. Kueh generals led Imperial le- whenever possible.
gions, and even their tradition-bound thieves and scoundrels found
places in the underworld beyond the wild northern coasts of home.
But much of this unity was an affair of the rich and important.
Shou
As far as any scholar can tell, the Shou are the native inhabitants
The humble Kueh fisherfolk of the northern coasts lived much as
of the Sunset Isles, with records of their existence reaching back
they always did, one master the same as another and all of them
to the first mainland explorers and renegades to make landfall on
indifferent to the ways of common peasants.
the Isles. There is no doubt that they remain masters of much of
the archipelago still, and are a constant threat to the fragile human
This humble existence saved most of the Kueh who managed to
civilization that remains.
survive the Tide. Flotillas of little village fishing boats set out to
rendezvous with the exile fleet, and gilded nobles died in their
The Shou are broken up into varying tribes, commonly called after
palaces while their lessers fought wind and wave to reach safety. Few
the Eirengarder words for their kind- “orcs”, “goblins”, “bugbears”,
among the great survived the Tide, but whole villages of common
and “hobgoblins”. These beast-men had been known in other lands,
folk won through to the Isles.
but never in such overwhelming numbers as were found in the Isles-
and never with such terrible power. Their witches were a match for
One of those who survived was the Archmage Rai, a renegade
the mightiest sorcerers to arrive with the exile fleet, and their war
yamabushi who rejected the traditional arts of his people for darker
chiefs cut a red road through the heroes of men.
researchers into planar sorceries and the forging of otherworldly
pacts. He rapidly came to influence many of those Kueh who
survived, drawing them to his cause through a mixture of intimida-
tion and protection. Archmage Lammach never trusted the sinister
binder, and Rai soon withdrew from Xian with his followers. The
Kueh in his service founded the city of Kitaminato in the north,
and it became a hub for those ambitious young men and women
who had conceived dreams of restoring the ancient independence
of the Kueh.

When the Shou retaliated against the interlopers during the Ravag-
ing two centuries ago, it looked as if Kitaminato would never get
the chance to be the capital of any living land. It was during the
darkest hours of the fighting that Archmage Rai used his unholy
arts to forge a pact with the Hell Kings in order to save his city. A
flood of demons swept away the attacking Shou- but at a terrible
price. From that day onward, Archmage Rai was the Shogun of
Kitaminato, and his people were consecrated to the service of Hell.

Most Kueh outside the Shogunate are refugees from the grim
daimyos of that land, and bitterly opposed to the monstrous ways
that have come to be commonplace there. Imperials sometimes
mistrust Kueh, thinking them hidden servants of the Shogun. Most
come to understand otherwise after seeing the ferocity with which
these men and women root out the followers of the Hell Kings.

Thanks to centuries of mingled blood, Kueh tend to resemble

Imperials in physical appearance. The men tend to be slightly
taller, however, and both sexes cultivate an aristocratic pallor when
17
The Shou would almost certainly have crushed the refugees in short Skandr
order had they not been even more hostile to each other than to the Sons and daughters of the cold northern coasts, the Skandr have
humans. Every clan was against every other, each one convinced been in the Sunset Isles for almost seven hundred years. The north-
that they were the “true sons” of their god Shakun and that the ern isle of Aktau served as a useful way station on their long trade
other tribes were fit only for slaves and concubines. Archmage journeys between their home coasts and the western continents,
Lammach and his fellows cunningly played one tribe off against and a small settlement remained there for ages before the coming of
the other until they were so bloodied that the weaker humans were the Tide. When it first billowed up from the south, many Skandr
able to drive them out of the eastern end of Ektau entirely. In the took flight in their longships and were guided by Lammach to the
north, the Skandr were able to make a home on rocky Aktau where safety of the Isles. Those that did not look to their kinsmen on
the great hordes of Shou could not live, for the savages have always Aktau made landfall in the south with the rest of the fleet.
had a great dread of the ocean and will not willingly go on ships.
The Skandr are a black-haired folk, pale of skin and eye and given to
This respite has held with some interruptions for three hundred big frames. They are famous stonemasons, traders, and sea-raiders,
years. The Shou almost came together to smash the humans on as often at war with their neighbors as bringing them the wealth
Ektau two hundred years ago in the march known as the Ravaging, of far countries in their holds. Numerous raids of reprisal were
and indeed went so far as to depopulate the province of what is now launched against the cold shores of Skandrheim in the years before
the Westmark. A band of courageous adventurers managed to slay the Tide, but they always came to nothing. The bleak gray walls of
their dread Witch-Queen Agrahti at the very walls of Xian, and the the north were too high and too strong for the invading forces to
horde collapsed into squabbling tribes that were eventually driven ever dislodge their masters.
back west. Many ruins from this era remain lost in the western hills.
It is said that the Skandr were slaves to the dwarves in ancient
The Shou look almost identical to humans, though each with small days, though the Skandr say that there was simply great friendship
differences in skin color and facial features. Orcs tend to have dark between them and the lords of Undermost. It was from the dwarves
skin, though not as dark as Gadaal, while bugbears are hairy and that the Skandr learned their arts of stonecrafting and metalwork,
pale, and hobgoblins and goblins are dusky or greenish. All prefer and while the dwarf-mothers would say that Skandr walls are good
to sharpen their teeth and perform ritual scarifications, brands, and “for human work”, there is no question that the northmen are the
piercings to indicate their clan and achievements. Orcs are the size best among men at the building. The Imperials say that if you leave
of Eirengarders, if broader in the shoulders, while hobgoblins tend a Skandr on a rocky shore for a night, he’ll have built himself a wall
to lean wiriness. Bugbears are as much as a foot taller and power- of stones, and if you leave him for a month, he will have claimed
fully built, while few goblins pass five feet in height. Devoid of their the land with a tower.
terrifying ornaments and brands, the Shou males are considered
almost handsome by human standards- and the females very much And if you leave him for a year, they say, his cousin will have come to
so. The relentless bloodshed between humans and Shou leaves little knock it down. The Skandr are prone to feuding and grim vendettas
opportunity for peaceful engagement, but the races are interfertile. between matrilineal clans. They are fiercely loyal to their lineage and
their shipmates, and an offense to one is an invitation to a general
The hatred between humans and Shou is incandescent in its purity. melee. They are valued masons and sailors in the Isles, though their
The humans are constantly pushing Shou clans further west into employers occasionally have cause for distress when some Skandr
the mountains in order to clear enough new land for their growing captain forgets that he is a merchant and not a pirate.
population, and the Shou respond with constant raids and the oc-
casional full-dress invasion of a border province. It is an existential The Skandr have blended in well with the other humans on the
struggle for both races; without more land, the humans will watch Isles, and outside their ancestral fastness in the far north they can be
their children starve, and a Shou clan driven back against its rivals found mixed in with most sizable populations. A few of the more
can expect only death or enslavement. If the Shou were ever able to clannish bands remain in isolated fishing villages or on rocky isles,
put aside their internecine strife, they might be able to exterminate maintaining their old ways and firm in the worship of their ancient
the humans yet. The harder they are pushed, the more likely this is gods.
to come to pass.
Skandr adventurers might be following the ancient traditions of
Shou adventurers are almost unknown. Those that refrain from their people, a youthful roaming in search of trade and plunder.
sharpening their teeth or accepting clan brands can pass as human, While the more civilized areas of Ektau frown on the latter, there
though the green-tinted clans or those of even more unusual colors are never any shortage of bandit crews, Shou raiding parties, or ren-
are not so fortunate. A known Shou can expect immediate mob egade lords to exercise their swords. Other Skandr find themselves
violence from any humans in the vicinity. Shou-human halfbreeds driven by an unquenchable lust for journeying, a questing need to
are not unknown in human societies, however, though the Shou kill roam both earth and sea. Few of these restless souls ever find peace,
any infant of “impure blood”. These half-castes face almost uniform but many do deeds worthy of remembering before they die.
rejection and scorn from other humans, and many find themselves
forced into a wandering life simply to avoid becoming a convenient
scapegoat for whatever notorious crime was last committed in their
vicinity. Many seek homes far from their birthplace, the better to
pass as wholly human.
18
 The lAy of The lAnd

The archipelago known as the Sunset Isles is a vast sprawl of islands Sub-tropical zones have two seasons, wet and dry, corresponding to
deep within the Western Sea. While intrepid explorers and storm- the more temperate seasons of summer/fall, and winter/spring. The
tossed merchants have managed to map out much of the archipela- torrential rains of the wet season can make travel very difficult and
go’s coastline, many of the islands remain all but unexplored within occasionally imperil villages with floods and mud slides. Still, the
recorded memory. The northern island of Aktau hosts the modest earth in these regions can give forth three or even four harvests a
city-state of Nordheim and the dwarven holding of Angrimmr, year with careful husbandry.
while the southern island of Ektau is large and fertile enough to
accommodate several contentious powers. Still, the wave-wracked Travel
islands between are often home to mysteries unknown to all save the Roads in the Sunset Isles are primitive at best, usually no more
bravest explorers and most intrepid adventurers. than muddy tracks or the occasional desultory wooden bridge.
The exception is in the mountains of Altgrimmr and Angrimmr,
Climate where ancient dwarf-roads often cut through entire mountainsides
The Isles are located between two massive oceanic counter-currents. without so curving so much as a handspan in a mile’s distance. Even
The Great Northern Flow has carried generations of Skandr thousands of years after their construction, these roadways and
merchants and raiders across the Western Sea, but the icy waters bridges still endure.
render the northern end of the archipelago snowy and unfriendly
to plant life beyond the tough evergreens and scrub brush that mat Most travelers make do with horses, wagons, or foot porters when
the northern islands. In the south, the Southern Gyre brings hot, an inland journey is necessary. Most of the limited roadwork done
humid air to blanket much of Ektau and leave the rest warm and in the Isles is done to facilitate the movement of food from the
welcoming to agriculture. inland villages to the great cities of the coast, and those towns and
villages that do not send much trade to the coasts might not have
There are four main climate bands in the Isles. From north to more than a weathered footpath to connect them with the rest of
south, they are sub-arctic, cool temperate, warm temperate, and civilization.
sub-tropical. The oceanic currents dominate the climate of the Isles,
and the interior of the land masses can actually be more temperate A unburdened traveler crossing grasslands can make as much as
than the coastlines. The mixing of hot and cold air also gives rise to twenty-five miles a day if he’s fortunate. A swift rider on a blooded
the terrible storms that wrack the central region of the archipelago, steed might travel twice that. Most of those who journey are not so
making travel between the north and south a perilous affair for fortunate, and navigating the rough roads and winding jungle trails
ships. can cut speeds in half, or even to a quarter in the worst terrain.

The sub-arctic regions of the Isles have long, snowy winters and brief The sea is the main road between the great coastal cities, swifter
growing seasons. The Skandr of Nordheim largely rely on fishing and often safer than inland travel. A fast ship can make as much as
to feed their numbers, along with limited agriculture. The dwarves a hundred miles in a day, and carry passengers in far more ease and
of Angrimmr have vast fungus-farms underground that keep them comfort than an unruly horse or mud-bogged wagon. Still, pirates
adequately supplied, supplemented with herds of meatbeetles and a are known to pounce on unwary coasters, and there always remains
few surface ranches stocked with long-horned ice aurochs that fear the threat of some storm hurling a ship into the roiling Red Tide
few predators. that prowls a hundred miles from shore.

The cool temperate regions have four sharply-delineated seasons Travel between the northern and southern ends of the archipelago
and are better-suited to agriculture. The more abundant plant and is highly dangerous. The central zone where the cold and warm cur-
animal life make control of these regions hotly contested among rents of the Isles meet is thick with ferocious storms and ship-killing
tribes of Shou and other intelligent beings. The warm temperate winds. These tempests are worst in the middle of the archipelago,
zones also have seasonal variation, but their winters tend more to so most travel skirts the eastern or western edges of the archipelago,
rain than snow, though the latter is relatively common at higher gambling that a good captain can pass the storms without being
altitudes. driven into the hungry mists of the Red Tide.

19
SUB-ARCTIC

COOL
TEMPERATE

WARM
TEMPERATE

SUB-TROPICAL
 Wilderness Encounters
Even in the heart of the human-settled lands of the Isles, the empty The following tables list some of the more likely wilderness encoun-
spaces between cities and villages are not entirely safe. The wild ters in the Isles, keyed to terrain type. Some of these foes will be far
verdancy of the jungles and mountains gives birth to many strange more than any low-level group can expect to handle in combat, so
and terrible beasts, and there are always some prowling closer to the referee should give such parties an honest chance to avoid the
human habitations for the sake of easy prey. encounter. Spoor, claw-marks, evidence of burnt farmsteads, and
other indicia can be used to hint that a different route is advisable.
Aside from the hazards of the natural world, bandits, outlaws, and
raiding Shou bands are a constant danger. The worst of these ruf- Encounter frequencies should be adjusted based on the degree of
fians do not long survive in the closely-guarded lands near the great civilization and the proximity of human settlement. Next to Xian,
cities, but in the Westmark and along the borders of the polities there might only be a 1 in 20 chance of encountering any trouble,
they can infest the land unhindered. and such trouble is almost certainly human. In a hex deep in the
Godbarrows, there might be no more than a 1 in 6 chance of not
Even in the settled lands, most travelers prefer to journey in groups encountering some kind of Shou presence in a given hex. For most
of four or five, and in the Westmark and other wild lands men Westmark hexes or border zones, a 1 in 4 chance of encountering
count travelers fools if they haven’t a half-dozen skilled warriors some peril in a hex is appropriate.
among them.

WILDERNESS ENCOUNTER TABLES

1D12 TEMPERATE FORESTS JUNGLES HILLS MOUNTAINS PLAINS

1 Bear, Black Ant, Giant Cat, Mountain Lion Cat, Mountain Lion Ant, Giant
2 Bear, Cave Ape, Albino Cat, Sabre-Tooth Tiger Chimera Boar
3 Bee, Giant Killer Baboon, Higher Dwarf Dwarf Cat, Lion
4 Ferret, Giant Cat, Tiger Giant, Hill Giant, Hill Hippogriff
5 Lizard, Draco Fly, Giant Carnivorous Kobold Giant, Stone Kobolds
6 Men, Brigand Gnoll Men, Brigand Griffon Men, Brigand
7 Ogre, Isle Insect Swarm Ogre, Isle Hawk, Giant Ogre, Isle
8 Owl Bear Lizardfolk, Isle Shou, Bugbear Morlock Shou, Goblin
9 Shou, Goblin Men, Brigand Shou, Goblin Scorpion, Giant Shou, Orc
10 Spider, Black Widow Phase Tiger Shou, Orc Shou, Bugbear Snake, Giant Rattler
11 Stirge Scorpion, Giant Shrew, Giant Shou, Goblin Troll
12 Wolf Shou, Goblin Wolf, Dire Shou, Orc Wolf

1D12 SUB-ARCTIC SEA ROAD SCRUBLAND

1 Bear, Polar Eel, Sea Dwarf Fly, Giant Carnivorous
2 Cat, Tiger Ghoul Elf Ghoul
3 Giant, Hill Hawk, Giant Ghoul Giant, Hill
4 Gnoll Hydra, Aquatic Halfling Gnoll
5 Griffon Lizardfolk, Isle Men, Brigand Kobold
6 Hawk, Giant Men, Merchant Men, Merchant Lizardfolk, Isle
7 Men, Brigand Men, Pirate Ogre, Isle Shou, Goblin
8 Ogre, Isle Octopus, Giant Shou, Bugbear Shou, Orc
9 Rhinoceros, Woolly Sea Serpent Shou, Goblin Spider, Black Widow
10 Shou, Bugbear Shark Shou, Orc Stirge
11 Shou, Orc Squid, Giant Wolf Toad, Giant
12 Wolf, Winter Whale Zombie Troll

21
 THE SUNSET ISLES
Coldthrone

ns
n tai
ou
mrM
g rim AKTAU
G An
F IN
YL Skandr Rock
SC
Keelhaven

Nightward
Skerries
THE WRACK
Isle of White
Teeth

d
an
Isl
er
gg
Da
Ems North Neck
R iver Bul
EKTAU war
k Isle
er
h Riv
Sheshan out
ountains

Island nM
Iro
Landfall
Godbarrow M

The Westmark

The G
reen ari
wash Sung
River
Bl
ac
k Ri
ve
r

22
 Places of Importance in the Isles Greenwash, The: A river running through the Shou-held jungles of
Many of the islands and sandspits in the Sunset Isles have no com- western Xian. The few brave explorers who have dared to navigate
monly-agreed names. Much of the central zone of the archipelago is it report several massive ruin complexes flanking its length, most
too storm-wracked and dangerous for explorers to linger, and those thickly overgrown with jungle life. The ferocious Shou tribes in the
few who manage to survey the land often fail to escape with their vicinity have prevented any more detailed exploration.
lives. Some of the more familiar- or at least agreed-upon- locations
are described in this section. Hohnberg: Capital of the Hohnberg Pact under the Thusundi
Amalric Gram and home to 8,000 men and women. Most of the
Aktau: The largest of the northern islands in the Sunset Isles. Rela- inhabitants of Hohnberg are of Eirengarder descent, and the wor-
tively few Shou bands inhabit Aktau due to the cold climate and ship of their god, the Maker, is by far the most common in the
sparser food supplies. The Skandr of Nordheim have the advantage city. Hohnbergers stand constantly vigilant for raids by Shou bands
of their fishing boats, while the Shou dread the sea and can only fish coming down from the western mountains.
the often-iced rivers and streams. The dwarven colony of Angrimmr
regularly trades with the Skandr, in between periodic outbreaks of Iron Mouth River: Named for the rich deposits of iron ore around
Shou violence. the river mouth, the Iron Mouth is lined with numerous Shou
tribes who often fight over the deposits. A few captured Shou claim
Altgrimmr: Capital and chief delve of the Altgrimmr dwarves. that the headwaters of the river high in the mountains spring from
Roughly 2,500 dwarves make their home in the delve under the a great smithy once worked by their god Shakun.
leadership of Underking Pyotr.
Isle of White Teeth: Travel to and from this island is made danger-
Angrimmr Mountains: A harsh, jagged spine of volcanic mountains ous by the sharp reefs that ring it. Only an expert sailor or a very
along the length of Aktau in the north. Some of Angrimmr’s peaks small boat can make it over the reefs to land, and this additional
are not entirely devoid of life, and the local dwarves are obliged to measure of privacy has encouraged many outlaws and renegades
dig carefully. from Ektau to flee there. The small village of Whiteport is the only
settlement with significant trade with the outside world, though
Black River: Washing down from the hills around Tien Lung, the rumors persist that a band of Kueh renegades plot the downfall of
Black River’s dark waters are tainted by traces of godbone leeched the Shogunate somewhere in the island’s interior.
from the rich soil of the hill country. The bitter taste is unpleasant
to most locals, who prefer well water, but some Stitched Path magi Keelhaven: The tall pines of this island make for good keels and
drink it in the belief that it strengthens their magical powers. shipbuilding timber, which is not always easy to get in the cold,
scrubby lands of the northern archipelago. Skandr sailors from
Coldthrone: A small island off the north coast of Aktau, Coldthrone nearby Nordheim are reluctant to linger overlong on the island,
is said to be the home of a powerful and malevolent wizard who however, as they say that there are “green devils” there that harvest
relies upon the perpetually icy clime to preserve his undying flesh. and cut men the way that men cut trees.
Mariners who have dared to approach the island have reported the
sight of high towers inland, and seemingly deserted coastal settle- Kitaminato: Capital of the Shogunate of the North under the
ments of white stone and sculpted ice. Shogun Rai, and inhabited by 10,000 people of largely Kueh extrac-
tion. Kitaminato’s master bought his people’s salvation in exchange
Dagger Island: Once the home of a thriving colony planted by for the worship of the Hell Kings. Beautiful temples of natural grace
some long-forgotten people, some disaster seems to have driven the and harmony conceal fanged idols and hideous rites of propitiation.
locals underground. Mazes of deeply buried tunnels thread beneath Outsiders are advised not to offer anything resembling worship to
the ruins of their ancient settlements. any other gods while in the city, on pain of sacrifice.

Ektau: The largest body of land in the Sunset Isles and the chief Landfall: The first patch of land spotted by the exiles when they
home of humanity in the archipelago. All of the known major arrived in the Sunset Isles, Landfall is dotted with shrines raised in
human polities are on Ektau, with the exception of the Skandr gratitude. Most have been deserted by their keepers for generations,
colony of Nordheim. Still, other islands might yet hold substantial but some still contain lore and artifacts long since lost on Ektau.
populations unknown to the inhabitants of Ektau. Unfortunately, those that retain their wealth are usually guarded by
deathless protectors, or located in the heart of a Shou tribe’s lands.
Ems River: A clean and swift-flowing river that descends from the
northern Godbarrow mountains to wash the walls of Hohnberg. Nightward Skerries: These small spits of land would have little to
remark them were it not for the springs of fresh water there that are
Godbarrows: The tallest and most rugged mountains in the island often used by ships making the dangerous western passage between
chain, forming a spine down the center of the island of Ektau. The Aktau and Ektau. Many ships shattered by the Wrack have their
Shou claim that the Godbarrow range was formed from the flesh wreckage spun outward to pile on the shores of the Skerries, and
of their god Shakun when he sacrificed himself for his people. The mariners speak of a small ruined town perched on the coast that ap-
richest veins of the black rock known as “godbone” are found in the pears to have once been inhabited by humans. Those that investigate
high reaches here. too closely tend not to return, however, so most mariners stay clear.

23
 Nordheim: A Skandr settlement on the southern shore of Aktau, turers who dare to venture onto the mainland. Jing Hao is ruled
ruled by Konung Hrothgar and a council of wealthy ship-owners. by its Magistrate, and while his great-grandfather pledged loyalty
Eight thousand Skandr and others live within the city’s massive to Xian no local takes any mainland authority seriously any more.
stone walls. Outlying villages provide such agricultural produce as
can be grown on cold Aktau, but most such settlements rely just as Skandr Rock: Once a home for Skandr exiled from the clans of
much on their fishing boats. Nordheim has friendly relations with Nordheim, Skandr Rock is now haunted by the sullen remnants of
Xian, though it is dangerous and difficult to cross the stormy waters their huts and the small stone settlements they built.
between them.
Sungari River: A great river that flows into Refuge Bay, providing
North Neck: A rolling, hilly country under the rule of the Shogunate the city of Xian and its farmlands with needed water.
of the North. The terraced hills are dotted with picturesque villages,
but also the haunted ruins of many small towns and fortifications Tien Lung: Amber city of sorcerers, Tien Lung is ruled by the
shattered by the Shou invaders during the Ravaging. Outsiders are Enlightened Sage and is home to 11,000 people. Its wizards are the
advised to stay well away from Shogunate patrols, who consider unquestioned masters of the city and a commoner who dares defy
foreigners without travel papers to be free occasions for amusement. them will be lucky to die quickly rather than being taken for use in
the hideous rites of the Stitched Path.
Scylfing: A large, mountainous island west of Aktau, even colder
and less clement due to the icy waters of the Great Northern Flow. Westmark, The: A province of blasted cities and ruined villages
Skandr tales claim that it was warmer once, centuries ago, and that destroyed during the Ravaging of 120 AL. A few brave colonists
the first Skandr settlements on the Isles were built there. The skalds try to reclaim the rich land for humanity, but border perils claim
claim that the Skandr there even found cities inhabited by Shou many of them.
before the ice came, though many scoff at the idea of nomadic Shou
ever settling into cities, let alone building them. Wrack, The: A band of ferocious currents and fierce storms spins
at the center of the archipelago. Few captains can navigate their
Sheshan Island: An outpost of human civilization in the west, dangers.
Sheshan relies on the fact that Shou hate water travel to keep itself
alive against the teeming hordes of savages that infest western Xian: Greatest known city of the Sunset Isles and capital of its
Ektau. A few fishing villages dot the island, along with the market polity, ruled by the Mandarin Sei-Wen MacLammach. 14,000
town of Jing Hao, which does a side business in supplying adven- inhabitants call the city home, many of them of Imperial extraction.

24
 sTATe And soCieTy

In the three hundred years since the Landing the humans of Ektau The Shou remain active in the west, a steady stream of vengeful
have splintered into several major polities, all born from the first tribes creeping over the spine of the Godbarrow mountain range to
settlement at Xian. The land has always been too rough for quick strike against the hated human invaders. Hohnberg and Tien Lung
communications, and the seas too perilous for easy trade. Provincial fight a constant battle against these raiders, and Xianese troops meet
trade cities grew more and more distant from their nominal overlord them at the border of the old Westmark to defend the lands beyond.
at Xian, and in the end the pretense was abandoned entirely. Some
of the other polities of Ektau may still have a degree of deference to The Westmark itself remains largely empty, much as it has since the
Xianese wishes, but they are their own masters now. Ravaging almost two centuries past. Dead cities and ashen villages
stand in silent memorial of that great overthrow, waiting for those
Humans are not the only intelligent inhabitants of Ektau. The souls brave enough to reclaim what their ancestors lost in fire and
dwarves of Altgrimmr maintain their own counsel in their name- screams. There is no law in the Westmark beyond the strength of a
sake mountains, cautiously allied with the Hohnberg Pact and the man’s sword arm, and the empty land attracts many who desire a
Mandarinate against the detestable practices of Tien Lung and the new life, or the opportunity to prey on those who do.
Shogunate of the North.

27
 ALTGRIMMR Altgrimmr dwarves revere the shades of their ancestors, and indeed,
Population 23,000 overall, 2,500 in Deep Altgrimmr. most of a dwarf ’s life is given over towards accumulating the tomb-
gold they will need in the afterlife. When a dwarf dies, his soul
Ruler Underking Pyotr is cast into the underworld without the good offices of a god to
protect him. All that stands between him and the broken shards of
The dwarves of the Altgrimmr range have been here for long before the ravening Mother Below is the aid of his dead ancestors and the
the arrival of the humans. In the deep fastnesses of their ancestors, power of the spirit-gold he brings with him. The metal has fantastic
they held back the Shou and made a hard-pressed home on the ritual virtues in the underworld, and spirit-weapons and armor
Isles. Since the coming of the exile fleet and the establishment of forged from the essence of the buried gold allow the dead dwarves
the human polities, the dwarves of Altgrimmr have been much less to hold their own against the hungry legions of the Mother Below.
troubled by the Shou and have been able to grow their numbers in
a way impossible before. Still, even with so many young dwarves Tomb-gold must be buried with a dwarf, but as soon as the de-
now coming up, no more than a fifth of the ancient delves in the ceased’s spirit has journeyed to the afterlife the gold can be removed
Altgrimmr range have even been cleared, let alone reoccupied. without loss. Some dwarven wraiths are too frightened to leave,
however, and must be encouraged or driven onward by ancestor
The Underking weighs his alliances carefully, and is loathe to send cultists. The tomb-gold is considered their fair pay for such labor.
his people to fight the wars of men. Still, he recognizes the threat
that Tien Lung presents, and while he has a strong dwarven distaste Some dwarves turn away from the ancestors, however, and go
for the judicial slavery practiced in Xian, he is better-disposed to crawling back to the Mother Below in an appeal for her mercy and
them than the red sorcerers of the west. The land most congenial to forgiveness. The scattered fragments of the goddess grant these “Re-
his people is the Hohnberg Pact in the northwest, as both polities penters” a kind of forbearance, but only so long as they demonstrate
share an intense distaste for slavery. The Makerite zeal of his human appropriate repentance for their crimes. These demonstrations take
allies grates at times, but their sober, stern cultures share much in the place of ritual scarification and self-torture- and the methodical
common. capture and torment of their wayward brethren. In exchange for
these services, Repenters are promised a glorious role in the afterlife
For now, the Underking does what he can to shepherd his people’s as captains of the Mother Below’s spectral legions and safety from
strength for the hard times to come. It is only a matter of time before the unending torment she will bring upon dwarvenkind in time.
the Shou come again, and he means the dwarves of Altgrimmr to be
ready for them. In the meanwhile, many among the restless young
find their attention turn to the human lands, and the prospect of Altgrimmr Laws
the tomb-gold and glory that is hard to find in the wary tunnels of Laws among the dwarves are strict and unbending. Most clans do
home. not have laws as humans understand them so much as they have
customs of unbreakable force. Life underground is dangerous and
demanding, and the sort of carelessness or personal liberty humans
Altgrimmr Society and Government cherish is an expense few holdings can afford. Dwarves are expected
Altgrimmr is made up overwhelmingly of dwarves, with only a to do their duties no matter the cost, and those who fail in them can
handful of other races living among them as artisans and foreign expect harsh punishment. Dwarves do not kill dwarves, however,
merchants. As such, their way of life is unusually uniform among and even the worst criminal is simply exiled to the surface. This
the polyglot nations of Ektau. The dwarves make no great point of loathing for kinstrife is sometimes abandoned in convulsive wars
this, secure in their knowledge that their way is the best. beneath the earth when tight confines and unquenchable disputes
erupt into frantic bloodshed.
Altgrimmr is divided up into clans, each clan generally holding an
entire delving. In the capital of Deep Altgrimmr, the clans each
have their own branch of tunnels and are responsible for repair Altgrimmr Clothing and Cuisine
and extension. Marriages are by custom made between clans, and Altgrimmr trades much worked steel and iron for human crops, as
most delvings are affiliated with their neighbors in a complex web the mountains are poor farmland. Vast underground caverns pro-
of matrimony. vide staple fungi and meatbeetle breeding pens for those holdings
without these ties, and while the food and drink acquired in this
Social roles are divided sharply between males and females. Males way are not overly palatable, they can support a delving.
are responsible for mining, building, and war, while females conduct
all the other business of society, including crafting and administra- Dwarven clothing is largely fashioned of metal and fungus-leather,
tive work. The Underking is traditionally the male leader of the with surfacer cloth being a luxury for the wealthy. The heat of
strongest clan in Deep Altgrimmr, but the leaders of the crafting the forges and geothermally-active mines leaves many dwarves
guilds are all female. The leaders of the ancestor cults may be of in little more than a work harness, while others in colder pits or
either gender, having risen to their authority through their own doing surface work are bundled up thickly against the chill and the
insight and wisdom rather than being formally apprenticed to the uncomfortably alien sun.
role. Elderly female lorekeepers might know much of the ancestors,
but a true bond with them must be demonstrated by action and
perfect emulation of their virtues.
28
 THE HOHNBERG PACT Hohnberg is thus the most isolated of the great cities of Ektau, and
Population 93,000 overall, and 8,000 in Hohnberg itself. this lack of trade leaves them poorer than their natural resources
might suggest. More than one young pikeman has been forced to
Ruler Thusundi Amalric Gram seek his fortune in foreign employ.
The grim gray walls of Hohnberg stand on a high coastal promon-
tory, looking west toward the looming peaks of the Godbarrow Hohnberger Society
mountain range. Its men and women are largely Eirengarder in The social organization of Hohnberg is still faintly redolent of the
extraction, and their faith in the Maker is an uncommon point of military traditions once common to the Eirengarders. Social status
fierce belief among the largely disinterested peoples of Ektau. The is pinned largely to wealth and military accomplishment, and suf-
Eirengarders have their Law and their Iron Prophets to guide them, ficient amounts of either can make up for a lack of the other. Those
and they stand fast against the western Shou with the strength of rich enough to own real estate, whether peasant or townsman, are
their famed pikemen and ferocious Makerite warpriests. “Landser” and entitled to vote on questions put before them by
their leaders. Those without the money to afford land but with a
Hohnberg’s prosperity comes largely from the coastal grasslands sterling military reputation can usually parlay the latter into a grant
that surround the city and the rich soil they provide. The dwarves of land from a wealthier Landser in exchange for service in war.
make better steel, but enough small gold and silver mines exist in
the western foothills to make Hohnberg a little coin, and iron is Almost all Hohnbergers have membership in a “Company”, a group
sufficient for local use. dedicated to mutual help and assistance in much the same way as
the tongs of Xian and Tien Lung. These Companies exact modest
Trade with the other cities is very difficult for Hohnberg. The sea dues in exchange for ensuring that their members are decently
route to Xian requires either a dangerous western circumnavigation buried and those widows and orphans without a male relative to
of the entire isle of Ektau or else a daring captain willing to run the take them are given some subsistence. Companies also offer a
hostile coasts of the Shogunate and the dire tempests of the central chance to socialize between the richer and poorer members of the
archipelago. Only renegade Hohnbergers will trade with Kitami- city, as membership cuts across all social classes. In times of crisis,
nato, for the Makerites hate and despise the devil-worshippers of these Companies are marshalled as additional militia units for the
the Shogunate. The inland paths are sufficient for individual travel- defense of the city.
ers to reach other cities, but by the time a heavy wagon of coastal
wheat traveled the 300 overland miles to Xian, its carters would Beyond membership in a Company, most Hohnbergers also are
have eaten half of it. affiliated with a particular Makerite church. The Makerite belief is

29
substantially more demanding than most faiths on the isles. Indi- Most subject settlements are ruled by a village council and an
vidual churches interpret their inherited Law in different ways, but elected Burgomeister. Individual settlements have their own rights
most agree on the essentials. Makerites are forbidden from eating of justice, but a death sentence is automatically appealed to the
pork, must pray at least three times daily, must spend at least one justice of Hohnberg’s magistrates.
day a week in prayer and rest, and must purify themselves with
water and prayer after killing. Makerites are also forbidden from Hohnberger Laws
lying, adultery, theft, murder, and the worship of other gods. The laws of Hohnberg are much the same as in Xian, except that
The laws against murder and theft are suspended during war, but slavery is forbidden in Hohnberg. Any slave brought onto land
some Makerite fundamentalists argue that the “exemption of self- claimed by a settlement of the Pact is automatically considered a
defense” is drawn far too generously in the modern age, and that the free man or woman, and the locals will often prove willing to fight
Iron Prophets only ever intended it to apply to immediate personal over the point. The condition is widely considered blasphemy to
defense rather than mercenary fighting. the Maker, and slavers venture to Hohnberg at peril of their lives.
Many Hohnbergers make their wealth on mercenary work, hiring Where Xianese laws might prescribe slavery, the Hohnbergers
out to Xian and to Westmarker settlements as defenders and hire- instead require execution. Their justice is harsh by the standards
spears. Some mercenary bands have existed since long before the of the Isles, unforgiving of error and ungenerous to the accused.
coming of the Tide, and these proud units cherish their long tradi- Judges are appointed by the Thusundi, and carry out their duties
tion of valor. Most Hohnberger mercenary units are substantially with the aid of a city watch. The defendant has the right to a lawyer,
more civilized and disciplined than other military units, but there and a serious crime allows him to ask for a jury, but there is no
are a few who are little more than devils in human skin, guilty of presumption of innocence. Custom requires that judge, jury, and
terrible atrocities wherever they go. defendant do not belong to the same Companies.

Hohnberger Government While on active duty in the military or serving in a mercenary band,
The city is ruled by a Thusundi, chosen by Landser vote on the judicial procedure is even more abbreviated. A unit’s commander
death of the former lord. If the Thusundi dies during wartime, the can order the summary execution of anyone in the ranks, and
vote is suspended until the end of hostilities and his second-in- sub-commanders can order beatings, fines, and other punishment.
command steps in to fill the position. Beneath the Thusundi are Discipline is considered of utmost importance, and any failures
the Obersts chosen by the Companies, each one in charge of a city of it will invariably bring punishment, whether or not mitigating
department or service. The Obersts then employ men and women circumstances are involved.
drawn from Landser families in other city posts. It is not impossible
for a commoner without Landser status to receive an official post, Hohnberg has a few additional laws related to their Makerite beliefs
but it is uncommon. that sometimes take outsiders by surprise. Work and mercantile
affairs are forbidden on the seventh day of every week, which is
The High Priest of the Maker has a strong voice in city government, generally given over to prayer and public worship. Pork is forbid-
albeit an indirect one. While numerous Makerite churches exist den within Hohnberg’s walls, and many Eirengarder villages of the
in Hohnberg, and not all agree on the specific details of doctrine, Pact have prohibitions against it as well. While worship of most
the High Priest of the House of the Maker is invariably the most gods is tolerated within the city, open reverence of the Hell Kings is
powerful divine spellcaster in the city. If he speaks out against a man considered a crime that earns a fine and a beating at the least, and
or woman, it is highly unlikely that they will find an auspicious execution if the culprit is actually a priestly servitor of those powers.
political future.
Hohnberger Clothing and Cuisine
Religious governance is strictly in the hands of the individual Hohnberg has a cooler climate than Xian or Tien Lung, and tunics
church, whether Makerite or a foreign god. Each church is owned and leggings of wool or linen are common to its citizens. The
by the clergy as a whole, and any disputes over internal organiza- grasslands around the city make for good grazing for sheep, and
tion must be settled without recourse to city law. Exceptionally the wool is often dyed in elaborate patterns of bright color to suit
intractable arguments sometimes are referred to the High Priest, the Hohnberger tastes. Some mercenary bands have more elaborate
though most other churches are jealous of their independence, and uniforms still. They favor bright colors that are easily spotted in the
reluctant to draw in clerical outsiders. Private citizens are sometimes roil of battle, particularly since their armor is so often austere.
engaged to sort out such affairs.
Rice plays less of a role in Hohnberger cuisine than in the southern
The Hohnberger polity is known as the “Pact” because of its re- cities, as the climate around the city is better suited to wheat, barley
lationship with the villages and market towns that owe allegiance and root crops. Hohnbergers have an especial love for wheat and
to it. These subject settlements are allowed to govern themselves barley beers, and each Company has a few brewers specially favored
as they please in exchange for paying tribute to Hohnberg. If the by their membership. Seafood is not uncommon in Hohnberg, but
tribute is interrupted, the settlement loses the benefit of Hohnberg’s the rough waters of the central archipelago discourage the sort of
protection and law. While the city will not attack such recalcitrant fishing that is common in the other great cities.
villages, they will do nothing to defend them, either, and their
neighbors often take prompt advantage of the opportunity.

30
 THE MAGOCRACY OF TIEN LUNG
Population 128,000 overall, and 11,000 in Tien Lung itself.
Ruler Enlightened Sage Hou-Wei bin Taleer

The sullen city of Tien Lung squats on the southern coast of Ektau,
beside the murky, godbone-stained waters of the Black River. Its
Academy of Refulgent Wisdom is one of the greatest schools of
arcane knowledge in all the Sunset Isles, but the terrible price it
exacts of its students has left more than one apprentice fleeing the
power that it promises.

Tien Lung’s wealth comes largely from its vast rice paddies and drug
plantations. Most of the recreational and medicinal herbs on Ektau
were grown on a Tien Lungan plantation, and slave labor is used
to harvest tons of rice and other edibles. As close to the Shou lands
as Tien Lung remains, many such slaves are lost to raiders or the
hazards of the wild. The masters of the city are largely indifferent to
this cost, so long as fresh stock is easily obtained.

Both Xian and Tien Lung have always respected the powers of
sorcery, but Tien Lung’s rulers have given over all sense of restraint
or humanity in their pursuit of occult power. Originally, such steps
were considered necessary to drive back the constant threat of the
Shou. In more recent decades, the sheer intoxicating pleasure of the
power so gained has moved many wizards to conduct experiments
that would shock and horrify the arcanists of Xian. simple ability to cast a spell elevates a man or woman above the
common class, and entitles them to certain privileges not granted
Most Tien Lungan sorcery is “Stitched Path” magic. Shunned by to their lessers.
the ancient magi of the Ninefold Celestial Empire, it ultimately
corrupts and limits its practitioners. Yet for those wizards willing to The city magistrates will not hear a commoner’s complaints against
make the bloody sacrifices it demands, it offers a swift and glorious the misbehavior of the Learned. A wizard can kill, steal, and mis-
ascent to such powers as a less gifted mage might never taste at treat commoners with legal impunity. Yet by the same token, the
all. The Stitched Path is fundamentally about theft- theft of life, magistrates recognize self-defense as a legitimate defense against
of magic, of the quintessential forces that surround a wizard. Such accusations of murder, and so a peasant who manages to put a knife
thieving gives quick power, but the scars it leaves on a sorcerer’s soul into a rampaging sorcerer faces no punishment for his deed. By the
hinder a Stitched Path magus from reaching the elevated heights of standards of the magistrates, any Learned who lets a commoner kill
arcane mastery. him was plainly incompetent to hold his title. Of course, any peas-
ant who attacks a Learned without sufficient justification can expect
Tien Lungan Society and Government a short and interesting life as a subject for magical experimentation
Tien Lung has a narrow majority of Imperials living within its walls, or Stitched Path vivisection at the Academy.
and their habits and customs have strongly influenced Tien Lung
and its outlying villages and market towns. Many things would be Disputes between the Learned are strictly outside the magistrate’s
familiar to a stranger from Xian, if all subtly tainted by the city’s remit. Two wizards can duel in the streets without incurring official
obsession with occult power. legal displeasure. In practice, the Academy maintains a number of
legbreakers to take care of those wizards who fail to demonstrate
Tien Lung is a strange blend of tyranny and anarchy within its walls, due restraint, and making a politically unsupported move against a
a settlement where might is the first and last concern of the law. The rival wizard can be a terminal error in judgment.
Academy of Refulgent Wisdom is the ruling order of the city, and
its leader, the Enlightened Sage, is the unquestioned despot. He is In consequence of these customs, most commoners avoid the
deposed only by main force and treachery, and keeps his position Learned whenever humanly possible. A few braver or more desper-
by deft manipulation of the other great wizards of the city. The ate than the others might seek to attach themselves as servants or
Enlightened Sage is not always the most powerful sorcerer in Tien minions to a powerful wizard, however, accepting the risk of being
Lung, but he is invariably the most diabolically cunning. used for some experiment in exchange for the wealth and borrowed
authority that comes from serving the Learned.
Civil society in Tien Lung is divided between the Learned and the
commoners. The Learned are those humans who have accrued some In the villages and market towns associated with Tien Lung, the
degree of magical power, whether arcane or divine in nature. The magistrate is invariably one of the Learned, and exerts an author-
31
ity over the populace tempered only by the threat of open revolt. Stitched Path Magic
Most such magistrates are willing to give carte blanche to outsiders
provided a sufficient supply of bribes is forthcoming. PC magic-users are presumed to be “High Path” mages, reliant on
the cleaner and safer magical practices of the Ninefold Celestial
Tien Lungan Laws Empire or similar traditions from other lands. This breed of magic
Tien Lung shares the same corpus of laws that Xian inherited, but is difficult and demanding, and only a rare few High Path practi-
they tend to apply only to exchanges between commoners. Slavery tioners will ever amount to anything more than a caster of petty
is a much more common punishment in Tien Lung than in Xian, sorceries.
often inflicted for the most trivial offenses. These slaves are then
sold to wealthy Learned or rich merchants, or else employed in The Stitched Path offers quick power to its devotees at the cost of
one of the numerous lethal magical experiments conducted by the permanent damage to their souls. By spiritually grafting fragments
Academy. of the souls of other intelligent beings to their own spirits, they
render themselves capable of wielding powers that would otherwise
Unlike Xian, however, magic use of any kind is permitted within be far beyond their capacity.
Tien Lung. Scryings, detections, mind-reading, mental influence...
all these things are permitted and accepted under the law. In A Stitched Path magic-user can fill any spell memorization slot
practice, openly using any of them against a Learned is considered with a spell one level higher than it could otherwise hold. Thus, for
grounds for a vendetta. example, a 1st level Stitched Path wizard could memorize Web as
his initial spell, or a 3rd level wizard memorize Fireball in a second-
Tien Lungan Clothing and Cuisine level spell slot. These spells are cast with an effective caster level
Tien Lung is even hotter and more humid than Xian, and most of equal to the magic-user’s true level, so that Fireball would do 3d6
the commoners go about in as little as modesty permits- or less, damage. Stitched Path magic-users can add any found or taught
depending on their employment. The Learned prefer to go about in magic-user spells to their spellbook that they are capable of casting.
heavy and ornate robes, remaining cool through assorted cantrips
and petty charms. Their ability to defy the climate is considered just This power requires fuel. A Stitched Path magic-user must ritually
one of the more practical signs of their natural superiority over their vivisect the soul of an intelligent being of his own species in order
less enlightened brethren. to graft the most magically powerful fragments onto his own soul.
The tattered remnants continue on to the afterlife, while what
Members of the Academy of Refulgent Wisdom will wear the remains fuels the magic-user’s powers. These spiritual grafts wither
insignia and colors of their particular school or faction, warning and rot away within one week. The Stitched Path magus must
onlookers of the strength of their allies and the dangers inherent in sacrifice a total number of hit dice worth of victims equal to the
crossing them. Outsiders often have a difficult time reading such highest level of spell he means to cast. Therefore, a human Stitched
insignia, and run the risk of offending some powerful mage without Path magus who wants to cast 5th level spells during the next week
realizing their trespass. must sacrifice 5 HD worth of humans.

Food and drink in Tien Lung turn heavily toward rice and fish, along A Stitched Path sorcerer who fails to sacrifice any victims at all
with numerous jungle fruits and the produce of the slave-worked during a week loses this benefit, and also loses the use of one spell
plantations. The spices of the hot lands around the city are cheap slot per level known. Thus, a 1st level Stitched Path sorcerer who
and used liberally in Tien Lungan cooking, occasionally augmented fails to sacrifice cannot cast any spells until he does so, while a 5th
by some of the recreational drugs that are so easily grown around level magic-user has only 2 1st and 1 2nd level spell slot while his
the city. These drugs are not always harmless, and Tien Lungan scalpels are unbloodied.
poisoners are notorious for their ability to slip some lethal herb past
the attentions of a food taster. These spiritual scars permanently hinder the wizard’s arcane de-
velopment. No Stitched Path magus can advance beyond 9th level
without an extraordinary volume of blood sacrifice. Because elven
souls are inextricably bound to their material bodies, they cannot
practice Stitched Path magic.

32
 ever tries to proffer a case against a princely one- they’d be lucky to
THE MANDARINATE OF XIAN escape with their lives for such insolence.
Population 162,000 overall, and 14,000 in Xian itself.
The scholarly class, or the “daifus”, composes a little less than two
Ruler Mandarin Sei-Wen MacLammach percent of the populace, with the status awarded to the scholar,
his or her spouse, children, and parents. Grandchildren return to
The Mandarinate of Xian is the strongest human polity in the Sunset commoner status unless they or their parents acquit themselves
Isles. With the city of Xian nestled in the security of Ektau’s Refuge fittingly. A daifu may not necessarily have anything to do with
Bay, its venerable capital is the chief trade center for the Isles. It was scholarly education, and instead have acquired the rank through
at Xian that Archmage Lammach led the exile fleet to anchor, and public service or prowess in war. They alone are permitted to wear
it was the magic of those Imperial firstcomers that raised the city jade ornaments at their belt, and this sign is invariably flaunted lest
atop the crumbled ruins of a long-forgotten prehuman settlement. a commoner mistake them for their own kind.
Much as with its neighboring powers, the Mandarinate is centered No more than one hundred people in Xian bear the august rank of
around its capital city. Xian holds the great majority of the Man- “princely one”, or “zhuhou”- the ministerial “Junzi”, and the leaders
darinate’s wealth and power, and the smaller towns and villages of the army, navy, and city watch. They and their immediate fami-
scattered throughout its territory are little more than agricultural lies alone are permitted to wear the blue-buttoned cap of a zhuhou.
outposts and market towns to feed Xian’s hunger. Many ambitious Commoners tend to avoid them at all cost, as their will is utterly
young peasant dream of finding their fortune in the great city, away unquestionable by one of so lowly an estate. Very rarely, a great
from the rice paddies and fishing nets. hero will be elevated to this estate, though this has only happened
a dozen times since the founding of the city. The status of zhuhou
The polity is led by the Mandarin Sei-Wen MacLammach, the sev- is restricted to the deserving bearer only- his or her spouse, parents,
enteenth Mandarin to descend in an unbroken line from Archmage and children to the third generation are treated as daifus.
Lammach himself. His word is law and his loyal officials carry it
out diligently, but he has given them few orders to obey of late.
The Mandarin’s attention has been absorbed in studying the records Xianese Government
of his glorious ancestor and plotting strange ambitions to retrieve Xian is ruled by the Mandarin, a descendant of Archmage Lammach
much of the magical lore that was lost in the chaotic years after the and the regent of the Emperor of the Ninefold Celestial Empire. No
Landing. one seriously imagines that the Empire has survived, but the custom
remains as a reminder of glories now lost. The Mandarin rules until
The officials begin to grow uneasy. While the Mandarin wed death or abdication, whereupon his chosen heir is appointed to the
a princess of Tien Lung five years ago, there has been no sign of place. When an heir is not to be found, other branches of the family
progeny, and it is commonplace knowledge that he has always taken may step forward in an ugly succession struggle that can last for
far more interest in the handsome young guardsmen of his seraglio years.
than the women within. While the practices of the great are beyond
questioning by Xian’s lower orders, the lack of an heir is threatening Beneath the Mandarin are the Junzi, the ministerial overseers of the
to destabilize the polity into a welter of competing relations should various ministries of Xian and its domain. The ministries of Interior
the Mandarin suffer an untimely end. Certain of his less loving Affairs, Foreign Relations, the Upright Law, the Army, the Navy,
kinsmen are rumored to contemplate eventuating such misfortunes. the Treasury, and Arcane Learning all have Junzi overseers. Each is
of the zhuhou class, and their will is not to be disputed. Numerous
daifus and commoners are employed in each ministry to carry out
Xianese Society the necessary works of the city.
Civil society in Xian is divided into three large groups- the com-
moners, the “daifu” scholars, and the “zhuhou” princely ones. The Beneath the Ministry of the Upright Law are the “Hundred Magis-
divisions are deep and very clearly marked, and anyone who spends trates”, the daifus appointed to hear disputes and resolve legal cases
any time in the city will be expected to be acquainted with them. according to the laws of the polity. Their precise number fluctuates
with need, as Xian claims dozens and every significant market town
Commoners comprise roughly 98% of the citizens of Xian and or major farming village in the hinterlands requires a magistrate to
its settlements. They are foreigners, peasants, fishermen, artisans, oversee it. Rural postings are viewed as punishments by most daifu,
and other lesser folk who have not distinguished themselves in the an exile from the delights of Xian to some grim backwater infested
service of the city-state. Adventurers are generally considered to be with Shou raiders and surly peasants.
of the commoner class unless they are of exceptional distinction,
in which case promotion into the daifu class is a possibility. Com- The Ministry of Interior Affairs oversees the city watch and its nu-
moners can generally expect a reasonably fair hearing when pressing merous watchman guards. While the Hundred Magistrates give out
a case against another commoner, and most magistrates won’t take the law, the city watch is expected to enforce it and to apprehend
bribes against them unless it’s a very good bribe. Attempting to get evildoers. While watchmen have no special rights beyond any other
justice against one of higher station is generally a lost cause unless commoner, their testimony tends to be viewed very favorably by
the offending scholar is greatly disliked or the victim can move the magistrates, and some find it more profitable to ‘encourage
the magistrate to sentimental pity. No commoner with any sense donations’ from wrongdoers than to rely on their modest city pay.

33
Xianese Laws unable to pay, they may be enslaved by the city or suffer mutilation,
Law in Xian is derived from the old legal code of the Ninefold depending on the magistrate’s inclination. Assault of a commoner
Celestial Empire, enforced by the Mandarin by means of his chosen is fined, assault of a daifu is punished with enslavement, and as-
magistrates. When the city watch finds an offender, the culprit can sault of the princely class results in execution in the unlikely case
expect to be left to cool in a cell until the next magistrate is available the offender is still alive. Rape is punished on the same scale, with
to hear his case. He is allowed to hire a pleader to speak for him repeat offenders being gelded. Murder is punished with enslave-
if he wishes. When called to the court, the facts of the accusation ment, should the victim be a commoner, execution if the victim is
are presented by an official accuser, the pleader or accused gives his a scholar, and execution after torture if the victim is of the princely
defense, and the magistrate then makes his decision and sentence. class.
Petty crimes are disposed of in five to ten minutes, while grave ones
might consume as much as an hour. Citizens of the daifu class may Insulting behavior towards a daifu is fined, and insults towards
demand a jury of seven of their peers, the jury in question being the zhuhou are punished with fines and whipping. Impersonation
those currently appointed to the duty. The princely class of zhuhous of a city official or a class above one’s own is met with slavery or
can be judged only by the Mandarin, and they are effectively death. Disturbing the peace or creating a public hazard results in
immune from all prosecutions relating to crimes against those of fines, with slavery for those who cannot pay. Sufficiently obnoxious
less than scholarly class. Only the most egregious and public sins behavior of any other kind may be treated as criminal, depending
against a commoner can leave a zhuhou in the dock. on the charm and importance of the accused and the irascibility of
the magistrate.
Punishments are fines, beatings, mutilation, enslavement by the
city, or execution. Long-term imprisonment is almost unknown Magic is an acknowledged and expected part of Xianese law. Magical
in the Isles, as few cities are wealthy enough to afford the keep of testimony, such as that gained by scrying or divination, is accepted
useless criminal mouths. Some slight parallel does exist in enforced as evidence on the magistrate’s discretion. Most will decline it, as
rustication, when some misbehaving magistrate or questionable easy as it is to fake magical evidence, though a spellcasting magis-
high official is banished to a wretched post in the hinterlands, there trate may resort to it himself. Crimes committed by magic are rare,
to stew on his misdeeds- and often as not, to make the peasants but severely punished when proven. Magic used in execution of an
beneath him miserable. ordinary crime is punished by execution in all but the smallest of
crimes, as renegade magic-users are greatly feared in Xian. “Lucky”
Crimes are traditional and much as might be expected. Theft or defendants are sometimes sentenced to “community service” in
fraud is punished by sevenfold restitution. Should the thief be some near-suicidal mission. There are few formally outlawed forms

34
of magic- even necromancy is not technically forbidden. In prac- being enslaved as an impostor. Otherwise, these daifu tend to favor
tice, there is no family however humble that wouldn’t bring suit flowing robes in bright linen, with pen-cases dangling at their sides
against a necromancer who defiled the corpse of a kinsman, and even among the illiterate. Foreigners are allowed more extravagance
no magistrate who wouldn’t award them a heavy fine. City-owned in their clothing than locals, but only so long as they remain obvi-
slaves and other kinless sorts can sometimes end up as fodder for ous foreigners.
necromancers, but all such activities are conducted very quietly or
under the auspices of a very discreet church. In times of crisis, this The wealthiest scholars and the princely ones of the city almost
social rule has been known to be temporarily overlooked for the require attendants to help them with their costumes, so elaborate
sake of a few regiments of tireless, fearless corpse-warriors, though is the gold-thread brocade and sweeping train that they favor. Tall
no one in the modern day is thought to have power enough to call platform shoes are popular among both men and women, and the
such a force from the grave. haughtier zhuhou will go so far as to have a magnificently-garbed
attendant at his side and require all address to him to pass through
A few crimes only exist in magical form. Mind-influencing spells are his servant. Even the most austerely dressed of the princely ones can
rarely prosecuted, as difficult as it is to prove that a particular choice be identified by the blue-buttoned cap they wear. The sight of such
was made under a spell, but the wealthy and powerful often have a hat is enough to send most commoners discreetly fleeing lest they
wards and protections against such influence. Still, if a magistrate prove an object of unwelcome interest to the great one.
can be convinced that a particular enchanter is guilty of bewitching
someone, death or “community service” is not at all uncommon. Xianese Cuisine
It is also against the law to employ magical means to scry upon or Cuisine in Xian tends heavily towards rice and seafood, those two
otherwise divine the particulars of another person, unless employed foodstuffs being most common in the city. Locals tend to eat better
by the city in that capacity. City officials have absolutely no com- than do most in the Isles, as much of the food traded in the archi-
punction about scrying on dangerous sorts, but other spellcasters pelago passes through Xian’s harbor. Even the poorer craftsmen can
are well advised to keep their detection spells and scrying concealed expect a bowl of rice porridge at the end of a day’s work, and the
lest they be fined or enslaved. wealthy have tables groaning under delicate viands.
Almost any variety of religion is permissible in Xian, provided its Porridges and gruels are common fare among the poor, thickened
rites do not involve violation of the polity’s laws. One exception by whatever vegetables and protein is at hand. Cakes of sticky rice
is reverence offered to the Hell Kings. Worship of these demonic take the place of bread in most cases, though some wheat, barley,
powers is considered proof of treacherous allegiance to the Shogu- and millet is grown in the drier hills. The common drink is rice
nate and its devil-serving lord. Prayers and obedience to the Tide, of beer, with the wealthier commoners being able to afford potent rice
course, are utterly proscribed, and when such worship is discovered spirits. Food is eaten with chopsticks or spoons and knives, depend-
the culprits rarely survive their neighbors’ anger long enough for the ing on the customs of the diner.
magistrate to condemn them.
The wealthier citizens can afford fish as a regular matter, with the
Outside of Xian, in the provincial villages and towns, law generally occasional addition of a chicken or chunk of pork to the fare. Grill-
remains the same. Most major villages and towns are under the rule ing, stir-frying, and steaming are popular methods of food prepara-
of a magistrate expected to enforce the laws, though humbler settle- tion. The nouveau riche often make a point of serving “traditional
ments make do with an appointed headman who reserves the judg- Imperial cuisine” at their table, no matter how impractical it may
ment for serious crimes to the decision of the nearest magistrate. be or how vague the ingredients. Of some gourmands, it’s said that
they’d serve soup with chopsticks if that’s what the old recipe said.
Xianese Clothing
The weather is warm in Xian, and the climate is almost sub-tropical The elite of the city are known for the decadent abundance of their
at times. As such, clothing tends to be light and minimal among tables, with countless dishes presented, all spiced and flavored with
the lower classes. Most laborers go about their duties in little more condiments brought from all over the Isles. Many of these meals are
than a loincloth and sandals, while few housewives wear more than scarce tasted before they’re sent away. Many estates of the wealthy
a light, brightly-hued sari when doing their daily shopping. When have particular rooms set aside in the kitchen for “jewelers” to come
dressed more formally, the laborer might wear a patterned sarong and pay the head cook to pick through the meal leavings, fashioning
with a sleeveless shirt, while the housewife might choose a gauzy meals from the leftovers that they later sell in the market. At the
wrap to put over her shoulders and extra jewelry to adorn her. In all center of town even a respectable scholar would not turn up his
cases, plain and practical trews and tunic are popular among foreign nose at the remains of a princely one’s meal, so splendid are the
visitors. offerings, while the further the meal travels, the cheaper and less
savory it becomes. At the outskirts of the rice fields, old crones sell
Even the wealthy take care not to overstep their sumptuary bounds, flyblown rice cakes and leathery scraps of nameless meat for half a
however, and the sight of jade ornaments on a belt are a sure indica- copper coin.
tion that the wearer is of the scholarly class- or is willing to risk

35
 Adventurers and other wanderers are outside the Shogunate caste
THE SHOGUNATE OF THE NORTH system entirely, and are largely outside the law. Anyone can mistreat
Population 116,000 overall, 10,000 in Kitaminato. and abuse them, and unless they have the patronage of a more
powerful protector, many will take advantage of the opportunity.
Ruler Shogun Rai, Most Favored of Hell Outsiders will not be heard by the magistrates of the Shogunate,
and their complaints will fall on deaf ears.
The Shogunate is a rich land, but one shadowed by its master and
a pact made long ago. The people prosper in material wealth, but Since the dark pact was forged by Shogun Rai in 121 AL, Sho-
from greatest to least, they live with the haunting fear of what is to gunate society has been remorselessly twisted by its service to the
become of them after their final breath. Hell Kings. All the traditional cardinal sins are celebrated by the
Hell Kings, as the practice of these evils make a soul all the more
The Shogunate is marrow-deep in its devotion to the powers of the certain to descend into the grip of Hell. Those who induce these
Hell Kings. These infernal masters demand service and sacrifice sins in others win merit with the Hell Kings, and might hope to be
from the populace in exchange for the blessings they grant, and granted a position of less painful servitude in the life to come. The
the Shogun brooks no competitors to their faith. Open worship of greatest corruptors are promised a jeweled afterlife in glorious sin
foreign gods can expect to be met with the frantic denunciations for their labors. Some may doubt in the wisdom of having faith in
of some commoner desperate to improve his standing with the a Hell King’s pledge, but those who have questions are wise enough
devil-priests, and other faiths are forced to meet by midnight or in to keep silent on them.
desolate places.
Shogunate society is a web of lies, treachery, blood, and avarice
At present, the Shogunate is engaged in a low-level border war beneath a polished exterior of grace. The Hell Kings insist that the
with Xian, with Shogunate junks attacking Xianese shipping traditional laws be enforced, as the executions and punishments
and “bandits” launching repeated, disciplined raids into Xianese hasten souls to their care. Shogunate citizens are very careful to
land. The Mandarin seems uncertain as to how to deal with these appear upright and noble in their comportment, as such deep and
provocations, and many nobles of Xian fear an open war against the polished deceit is considered a tribute to the Hell Kings in itself,
Shogunate while Tien Lung waits eagerly for an opening to press but when given the opportunity there is almost no depth to which
their own claims on Xianese land. a dedicated believer will not sink. These crimes may never be suf-
ficiently proven, but they are invariably celebrated by the cultists of
Some daifus in the Ministry of Internal Affairs are beginning to the Hell Kings.
encourage the hiring of “bandits” of their own, mercenaries and
sellswords willing to make strategic strikes on Shogunate leaders and Not all citizens of the Shogunate are such willing followers of
devil-priests. Some entertain the idea that many in the Shogunate damnation, however. Some are grimly defiant, worshipping better
are eager for a change in leadership, and would leap at the chance gods in secret and defying the Hell Kings by upright and noble
to see the Shogun dead and safely in Hell. Others are not so certain. behavior. Such acts are often excused as merely elaborate lures and
It may be that the rot has sunk too deep in Shogunate society, and credibility-building, but they genuinely believe in the good that
its people are too willing to barter what they cannot see for things they do. These heretics are despised by the devil-priests and hunted
very real to the touch. down whenever their true motives are revealed.

Shogunate Society Shogunate society celebrates the customs and traditions of the Kueh.
The Shogunate is largely made up of ethnic Kueh, and most of Indeed, Shogun Rai initially founded its capital city of Kitaminato
the social organization is based on the traditions of that people. in the hopes of restoring the imagined glorious past of his people,
Families are associated in clans of shared descent, with most vil- and it was his desperate wish to save them that drove him to make
lages composed of the families of one extended clan. Marriages are the bargain he made. Despite this, the actual truth of the Shogunate
engaged with the residents of neighboring villages, or in the case of is that of hideously distortion, a domain that makes a grotesque
noble or wealthy families, with those candidates most suitable for parody of the beliefs and customs of its founders. The Shogun saved
political alliance. the bodies of his people, but the very ways and traditions he wanted
to rescue are now found in pure forms only outside the Shogunate’s
Merchants are the lowest strata of Shogunate society, as they are borders. The locals do not appreciate being reminded of this.
forbidden to own land and must rent their premises from samurai
families. Farmers rank somewhat above merchants as they at least Shogunate Government
can hope to own some plot of rich earth, and above them the samu- The Shogun Rai is the undying ruler of his domain, his existence
rai families provide the swords and officials for the service of the fueled by dark sorceries and the favor of his masters. Before the
daimyos, who compose the town governors and district chieftains Ravaging and the desperate pact he struck to save his city, he was
beneath the Shogun himself. Women can hope to marry upward a remarkably powerful summoner and a skilled Archmage of the
in station, but only a desperate family would consider giving a Ninefold Celestial Empire. His magical abilities have not deserted
daughter to a lesser-ranked man, and then only for substantial him since his pact, and he commands a number of demonic entities
considerations. lent to him by the Hell Kings.

36
While useful for slaughtering potential rivals, these particular
demons lack the necessary adroitness to manage a bureaucracy. The
Shogun has appointed the most powerful and influential men and
women of the Shogunate as daimyos, rulers of the major market
towns and districts of the domain. These dozen men and women are
all pledged to the Hell Kings body and soul, and the atrocities they
celebrate within their gilded mansions defy description.

Beneath them, samurai families carry out the will of the daimyo and
form much of the devil-priesthood and magistracy. Every village,
however humble, has at least one samurai family to help keep the
locals in line. The lesser castes have no rights whatsoever against
their betters; a daimyo or the samurai families in his service may
do whatever they please to their inferiors, and the most that might
come of it is a complaint from another daimyo over the destruction
of his “property”.

Most Shogunate citizens are bound to the village or town where

they were born, and it requires special permission to move about.
Travelers found on the roads had best have a license obtained from
a border guard or port official, or else the patrol that finds them
is apt to consider them a free morsel of entertainment sent by the
Hell Kings.

Shogunate Law
Law in the Shogunate of the North is a perverse thing, a set of
restrictions and punishments designed to keep the society function-
ing even under the strain of the Hell Kings’ corruptions. The mag-
istrates and the people have no special respect for the law, but view Shogunate Clothing and Cuisine
it only as a necessary organizing tool to prevent the entire domain The Shogunate is a rich land materially. The blessings of the
from collapsing into bloody anarchy. For the sake of expanding devil-priests fill the nets of Shogunate fishermen and swell the rice
their rule and prolonging their control, the Hell Kings require that fields and vegetable gardens with abundance. Even a poor man in
the law be enforced. Kitaminato rarely goes to bed with an empty belly, and a village
samurai family often lives with an opulence greater than that of a
The law and the magistrates do not serve to prevent evil so much Xianese daifu.
as they force it to take more subtle and unprovable forms. Murder,
theft, assault, fraud and every other species of wrongdoing are ap- This tradition of cuisine also emphasizes the sins of gluttony and
plauded by the devil-priests, but their enactors can expect a linger- avarice, with such table games as “snatch”; a diner watches care-
ing death all the same if their crimes can be proven. It’s true that the fully to see what morsel most pleases his table mate, only to snatch
world is thereby deprived of a criminal that might otherwise inflict it from their chopsticks or bowl at the last moment. Truly expert
much suffering on the world, but at least the Hell Kings are almost practitioners can pluck a dainty from a victim halfway down the
assured of receiving the perpetrator’s soul in recompense. Other table. Those who have incurred the displeasure of a superior are
malefactors are taught to keep their oblations discreet enough to occasionally invited to feasts wherein they are given plates of ashes,
avoid provable fault. filth, or other noisome material and required to eat it without
complaint as their lord dines on succulent morsels. Inventiveness in
The daimyos, of course, are entirely above the law, as are those such cruelty is considered a credit.
acting on their behalf. The magistrates also sometimes spare petty
criminals with no prior record; these souls are unlikely to have ac- Clothing tends toward silk and linen kimonos for the well-to-do,
crued the grave moral faults that would ensure their damnation, while laborers make do with tunics and loincloths when the weather
and so executing them runs the risk of depriving the Hell Kings. is cool, or breechcloths alone during the hot summer season. The
They are released with a caution, the better to let them ripen in their wealthy favor elaborately brocaded and patterned cloth, often
evil before they finally overstep their mark. adorned with disturbing scenes or blasphemous characters. Beauty
is cherished in every aspect of Shogunate architecture and couture,
but it is beauty in the service of the selfish and base. Ancient graces
have been corrupted in this land, and not even the Shogun is per-
mitted beauty for its sake alone.

37
 do the work. Farming and herding is “slave work” to the Shou, and
THE SHOU LANDS unthinkable for a proud Shou tribal. Those humans who survive
Population Unknown, but at least a half-million. Shou captivity for any length of time are often sold to these tribes
as laborers.
Ruler None at present, fortunately.
Shou pride themselves on the purity of their blood, and view their
From the first records of the explorers that discovered the Sunset tribe as exemplars of the virtues of Shakun, their god. The witch-
Isles, the Shou have been a scourge on any interloping colonists priestesses swear that some day Shakun will return and elevate the
that dared land. While pockets of these beings were known in other best of his children to rule the skies beside him, and every tribe
land, nowhere else did they form such enormous hordes. The tribes struggles to prove themselves the best and strongest of all their
of the Shou once held the entire island of Ektau for their own, brethren. This feuding is a religious imperative, and the division it
quarreling and fighting amongst themselves, just one swarm among sows is all that has saved the human settlements from destruction.
many that were scattered among the Isles.
Deep in the Shou lands, evidence lingers that the Shou were not
The landing of the exile fleet changed that as the desperate colonists always the tribals they are now. Great cities and glorious works of
drove back the Shou into the western end of the island. Despite the masonry have been reported by the handful of intrepid scouts who
near-destruction of human civilization during the Ravaging of 120 have made it into the western interior. These works would normally
AL, the Shou have never been able to unite long enough to break be waved away as legacies of some long-forgotten human empire,
free of the western lands. There they remain to this day, tribes of but the symbols marked on the stone match the clan-markings of
savage warriors and ineffable witch-women who thirst for revenge some of the oldest of the western tribes. The true nature and origins
upon the human invaders. If they ever come to hate men more than of the Shou remain a mystery, but most humans are content to
they hate each other, the human polities will not be long for this simply hate them.
world.

Shou Law
Shou Society and Government The Shou have few formal laws, recognizing custom and tradition
The Shou are divided up into three major breeds- orcs, bugbears, and instead. A Shou who violates these traditions is judged by the
goblins. Among the goblins, some tribes are favored with unusually chieftain, though a crime meriting death must be judged by all the
strong and savage warriors; these “hobgoblins” are often leaders of strongest males of the tribe. Females who commit serious crimes
their smaller brethren. Otherwise the breeds do not generally mix are judged by the tribe’s witch-priestess. In the rare case that the
except as masters and slaves. chieftain or the witch-priestess commits a trespass, the tribe itself
will often rise against them and kill or drive them out.
In theory, the Shou are divided into tribes, each with its own range in
which they hunt and gather. The strongest male is the chieftain of a Almost all Shou tribes have a burning hatred of humans, and refuse
tribe, aided by other powerful males who might serve to replace him to deal with them in any way. Even half-humans sired by human
if he grows weak or elderly. When a chieftain fails due to wounds soldiers are exposed at birth. A tribe’s peaceful negotiation with a
or age, the transfer of power is generally peaceful. When an aspirant human settlement is one of the few ways to unite the local Shou
seeks to take power from a more vigorous chief, more surreptitious in a shared ambition to destroy their traitorous brethren, though a
means of regime change are necessary. Openly challenging a chief is few are cunning enough to trade with amoral human smugglers for
suicidal, unless the challenger can call upon the support of sufficient goods their raiders cannot bring them. “Shou-traders” are hated by
allies to win the ensuing battle. This is unlikely, as most allies would humans even more ferociously than Tide Cultists.
consider such blatant defiance to be unforgivably stupid; a real
leader would poison or murder the chieftain without giving him a
chance to fight back. Shou Clothing and Cuisine
Shou invariably favor barbaric tattoos and piercings, and relish out-
In practice, much of Shou society is controlled by their witch- landish clothing and sharpened teeth. Without these adjustments,
priestesses, who carefully manage the males of the tribe with a a Shou might well pass for a human, save for those tribes that have
combination of blandishments, religious demands, and sorcery. Ex- clearly unnatural skin colors such as orange, green, or blue. Half-
ceptionally powerful witch-priestesses abandon even this pretense Shou are often considered quite handsome by their fellow humans,
and rule directly over the tribe. Other females are not so fortunate, though this appreciation often turns to horror should their true
and are treated as little more than chattel to be traded among the nature be revealed. Half-humans are bitterly hated by the Shou,
males. A female who births many strong sons is prized, while those who consider them abominations against the purity of divine
who are barren or give only girls are scorned as worthless mouths. Shakun’s blood.

Shou males hunt, war, and raid, while the females tend the other Shou eat wild game and gathered fruits and vegetables in the main,
domestic duties around the camp and gather wild produce under along with whatever human produce they can steal or plunder. A
the protection of males too young and untried to be trusted in raids. few settled tribes have slaves to work agricultural plantations for
Most tribes are forced to travel constantly around their territory in them, but these tribes are rare in the borderlands, and are found
order to support their numbers. A few settle down in ruins to an most often deeper into the wilds of the Shou lands.
agricultural existence, but only when they can get enough slaves to
38
 THE WESTMARK Westmark Law
Population Roughly 20,000. There is no law in the Westmark outside a settlement’s wall or
Ruler None universally recognized. beyond the point of a soldier’s spear. What does exist is a rough
and ready justice that has few graduations between fines, exile, and
Once a thriving province of the Mandarinate, the Westmark is execution.
now a broken borderland of hardscrabble villages, isolated military
outposts, and cities gutted by time and Shou. The Ravaging that Westmark Clothing and Cuisine
swept over these lands in 120 AL destroyed almost a hundred years The climate of the Westmark is warm and temperate, and the
of prosperity in a few short months of rampant Shou pillaging and clothing of the locals will usually reflect that in whatever idiom
slaughter. The few survivors fled for safety in the neighboring lands, they brought from their former home. Leather, linen, and wool are
seeking shelter in Hohnberg, Tien Lung, or Xian. Even after the common fabrics, usually dyed with the rustic colors provided by
great horde was broken at the walls of Xian, lesser tribes had already the plants found near the settlement. Now and then some more
filled the vacuum behind them and left the Westmark infested with elaborate dress can be found, usually some cherished memento of
ruthless Shou warriors. more civilized lands.

For almost two centuries after the Ravaging, the depleted number Bordermen usually eat well. There’s as much good land ready for the
of human survivors were hard-pressed simply to hold to what they taking as a man can manage to work, and the land is rich in game
had left. There was ample fertile land remaining closer to the great and natural produce. Gathering any of it can be fatal, however,
cities, and it took time for the population to slowly recuperate to fill with the Shou tribes and other raiders that infest the Westmark.
it. But in the past thirty years, the population pressure has finally Most settlements live on what they can grow in their immediate
started to force more and more hopeful young commoners into the surroundings, and few fields extend far from the wooden palisades
wilderness of the Westmark, there to attempt to forge a new life for of a village.
themselves in the shadow of the past destruction.

For all the dangers that infest the isolated land, the soil remains rich
and the ruins still contain much wealth unplundered by the Shou,
who cared far less for gold and precious ornaments than men did.
Every season, fresh bands of ambitious adventurers head westward
to relieve the gutted cities of their last bright trinkets. Far fewer ever
return.

Westmark Society and Government

The bordermen of Westmark are a wildly disparate lot, with every
polity on Ektau sending their own contingent of ne’er-do-wells and
poor dreamers to recolonize the land. Two villages not ten miles
apart may be completely different in their customs and society, and
might view each other as bitter enemies or trusted allies. There is no
greater organization in the Westmark than what is found within a
single settlement or hardscrabble market town.

The surrounding polities would like very much to cure this condi-
tion, and Hohnberg, Tien Lung, and Xian all have military outposts
within the Westmark. Open conflict is rare, but each commander
strives to bring more and more of the local settlements under the
authority of his masters. Many settlements are reluctant to pledge
this fealty; the great polities cannot afford to spare the troops they
would need to actually protect these remote settlements, and so
most prefer to remain unallied with any but their closer neighbors,
who might actually be of use in a crisis.

Many bandit kings and renegade lords make their homes in the
Westmark, though few of them have more than a salvaged tower
or crumbling keep to their name. Some manage to seize control of
a farming village to support their men, while others rely on what
their “army” can steal from the locals. A few are actually idealists
who dream of forging a new nation from the scattered fragments
of the west. To date, none have had any success worth mentioning.
39
 profit, and refuse to inflict slavery on their own wrongdoers, exiling
INSTITUTIONS IN THE ISLES them at most.

Slavery Dwarves have a burning, marrow-deep hatred of slavery. Their

Xian, Tien Lung, and the Shogunate all practice the institution of relations with the exiles of Xian were severely strained until they
slavery, albeit in different degrees. In Xian, slavery is reserved as a grudgingly allowed that the slaves of that polity were really criminals
judicial punishment for criminal wrongdoing or inability to pay put to forced labor rather than possessions, and to the present day
fines or taxes. Such thralls are owned by the city, and might eventu- the Underking in Altgrimmr refuses to have anything to do with
ally hope for liberation if they serve Xian well. Any offspring born the Shogunate or Tien Lung. The idea of owning another being
to such slaves are nominally free, but if no family member steps in as property reminds them too much of their ancient thralldom to
to support the child, the infant is raised as a ward of the city and the Mother Below, and anything reminiscent of it is hideous to
expected to pay off their debt on reaching adulthood. Some such them. The only dwarves that will own slaves are those traitorous
slave-born commoners must work for as long as a decade to clear souls known as the Repentants, who have turned back to worship
their accounts, though they remain technically free. of the Mother Below. A dwarven slave is all but unknown in the
Isles. Even the meekest dwarf will usually prefer to die rather than
Slaves in Xian are not treated gently, but they are valuable sources become property.
of labor and not abused senselessly by the city officials. The shame
of the felony that brought them to this end lingers about their The Makerites and the dwarves form a strong current of abolition-
station, but the city is jealous of its prerogatives with them, and ism in the Isles, and Xian’s employment of slave labor has slowly
any outside abuse of a slave runs the risk of leaving the offender in decreased over time. Most of what holds it in place presently is the
the coffle as well. Most slaves are indistinguishable from any other vested interest of the city in having free labor available. Tien Lung
commoner, though they are tattooed on hand or cheek with a few and the Shogunate have only grown harder and more obdurate in
words relevant to their crime to prevent them from blending in too their ways, however, seeing such “rabble-rousing” as the invitation
well with the free. Slaves are commonly kept in groups, the better to to slave uprisings that some abolitionists would very much like to
work together on heavy labors and to be guarded by their keepers. lead.

Tien Lung has much harsher standards of slavery. People may be Money
bought and sold like cattle in its decadent markets, and the off- Coined wealth in the Sunset Isles is most often found in the city-
spring of a female slave is as much the property of her owner as she state of Xian’s three major coins. The copper “stalk” is the smallest
is. Most such slaves are put to work in the drug fields and processing coin of exchange, named for the rice shoot crudely stamped on one
houses of the city, aside from those reserved for personal service by face, the other being embossed with the name and year of the cur-
the rich and powerful rulers of the city. Almost any soul without a rent Mandarin. A copper stalk will buy a fist-sized cake of dubious
strong patron or fearsome personal prowess runs the risk of being rice in the market, or a mug of bad beer at a shabby tavern.
snatched by prowling gangs of pressmen, a few clumsy stabs of a
tattooing-needle marking them out as new field-slaves for some The silver “wheel” is stamped with the Wheel of Rebirth on one
cruel wizard-lord. The least fortunate are sometimes used in the side, and the image of the current Mandarin and his regnant year
sinister sorcerous experiments favored in that decaying city. on the other. One silver coin is worth ten copper, and can buy a
day’s good prepared food in the market, the work of a dock laborer
The least fortunate thralls of all inhabit the Shogunate. Entire for a day, or the work of a cheap harlot for a night. Most common
villages are composed of the human property of some Shogunate workers earn this much for a day’s labor, and a housewife’s art often
daimyo, and the difference in treatment between them and other lies in making it stretch beyond its usual measure.
commoners is often negligible. In a very real sense, a daimyo views
all his subjects as his personal property, and no one questions the Ten silver coins make one gold “koku”, a coin carefully marked with
uses to which he might put them. Outsiders sometimes say that the a basket of rice on one side and an intricate pattern on the other.
Shogunate does not practice slavery so much as it fails to practice The tools used to fashion these coins leave a milled, ridged edge
freedom. around its rim. Should a clipper try to shave the edges, the milling
will be worn down. When it is no longer possible to tell one ridge
The Makerites of Hohnberg flatly refuse to have anything to do from the next, the coin is no longer valid as currency, and must be
with slavery. A few sub-sects of the belief have countenanced it turned in to the Xianese treasury to be re-minted. Those fortunate
in the past, but most Makerite churches view it as a blasphemous enough to be in possession of a koku can afford an excellent harlot’s
insult to a divinely-created soul. Where other polities might enslave attentions for an evening, the rental of a simple room for two weeks,
wrongdoers, Makerites prefer to execute them. Hohnberg natives or a day’s steady drinking in a good wine house.
traveling through other lands are often obliged to tolerate its prac-
tice, but only their renegades ever actually own human beings. Other states rarely mint their own coins, lacking either the pre-
cious metal or the expertise. Most use a mixture of coins from Xian,
Elves vary in attitudes toward slavery based on their Creed, but most Nordheim and the dwarven holds. For most purposes, these coins
of them find it as detestable as the Makerites do. Halflings have a are treated as equivalent, though merchants will tend to prefer
hard time even understanding the idea of working for another’s sole meticulously-pure dwarven currency over Xian’s, and Xian’s over

40
that of Nordheim. The dwarves occasionally mint platinum coins have been several female Mandarins over the course of history, and
that are accepted as worth ten gold, but few ever have occasions the Magistracy inevitably is well-numbered with ambitious female
to see them. Most trade above ten gold takes place in merchants’ courtiers who aspire for lasting wealth and glory for their children.
ledgers, with some amount of goods traded against another com- People of the uncustomary sexes may have a somewhat higher bar-
modity. rier to entry into certain professions, but once they’ve demonstrated
their competence the people of the Isles are much more interested
Sometimes ancient coins are found in long-lost caches, treasure in their results than their plumbing.
brought to the Isles by colonists or exiles long dead. These coins
are usually accepted at par with modern currency, though some Among the nonhuman races, responsibilities tend to break down
exceptional money is worth even more than its face value due to its along similar lines. The Elves are even more egalitarian, and while
exquisite beauty or greater weight of metal. the halflings tend to more strongly prefer the traditional roles, it’s
more a matter of habit and custom than any clearly-articulated
Gender Roles ideal. The only allied race with very firm contrary opinions are the
Human society on the Isles is a hodgepodge of countless different Dwarves, who are highly reluctant to confirm males in the tradi-
ethnicities and cultural mores. Yet all of these cultures share the tional female roles of crafting, manufacture or scholarship, or grant
same experience of the hostile and dangerous land which their fore- females leave to take up male employment as warriors, builders, or
bears came to inhabit. While traditions back in the “old country” miners. Still, a vocal minority of dwarvish male rights enthusiasts
may have varied widely, simple force of circumstance has produced have been making increasing demands to be permitted wider access
a fairly consistent understanding of male and female roles in the to the crafting professions, insisting that male dwarves are every bit
Sunset Isles- at least, among the refugee humans and settler villages. as capable as females of superior craftsmanship. Despite widespread
skepticism over the quality of ‘mannish’ goods, a few male dwarven
The default condition for women is as mothers and homemakers, crafters have emerged among those willing to accept the social os-
with poor women often adding small manufacturing work or hand- tracism involved. The enthusiasm among female dwarves for access
icraft piecework that can be done in the home. Men are generally to the soldiering profession has not been as widely reciprocated,
expected to work outside the home, and to serve as in the military though there is still the rare dwarven female who proves herself in
forces and other martial branches of society. Leadership roles tend battle alongside her brothers, even if she thereby dooms her chances
to be ambiguous, but the fact that most of them in the Isles are for a respectable marriage.
based on meritocratic principles means that they’re oft as likely to
be filled by a woman as a man. By Imperial tradition, unmarried
women are expected to remain at home under the custodianship of
Religion
Countless gods and spirits are worshipped by the natives and refu-
their father or an elder male relation until being transferred into the gees of the Sunset Isles. Most of the traditional theology surrounding
custody of their husband. Such customs tend not to hold in modern these entities has been garbled by the trauma of the Red Tide and
Xian unless it proves politically convenient for a rival powerful
enough to enforce that role on an unwilling woman, and even then
it tends to last no longer than the magistrate who confirmed it can
be kept bribed.

In practice, these customs and traditions are no more than vague

ideas to most citizens of Xian and the surrounding towns. The
simple necessities of daily life make cloistered women a luxury that
the society cannot afford. Only the most hidebound and traditional
Imperial would ever want to raise so decorative a daughter, quite
aside from the wealth required to keep such an effectively ornamen-
tal family member. Most families have the sense to make as much
use of all their members as they can wring from them. Sons may be
put to martial training or seamanship apprenticing more commonly
than daughters, but daughters are most often simply put into dif-
ferent practical topics of education. The great majority of soldiers,
sailors, watchmen, miners, and woodsmen are male around Xian,
but an equal proportion of accountants, brewers, weavers, cobblers,
lawyers and architects are women. Arcane and clerical professions
tend to be fairly equally represented by sex.

As Isle society is essentially meritocratic, any member that shows ad-

equate drive, talent, and competence in a field is apt to be accepted
into it. The famous Xianese admiral Ten Fires Carp is a woman, and
the Xianese army maintains separate military units of female war-
riors that are employed in precisely the same fashion as males. There

41
the death of so many trained priests, and so the cults that remain power. The devils enact the more negative, chastising aspects of the
tend to be very simple faiths with little concern over contradictions divinity, while the tulpas act to succor and maintain. The devils of
or paradoxes. Two priests of the same god can honestly hold to very Fa Chia scourge lawbreakers and hypocrites, punishing them for
different interpretations of his divine nature, and these arguments their failings, while the tulpas enlighten judges and reveal the right
occasionally become violent when the interpretations are deeply paths to those who faithfully seek them. In a similar vein, the devils
opposed. Despite this, most locals are more interested in what the of Tendai corrupt and confuse, seeking to cause pain and suffering
gods can do for them than in any duty to the divine. through twisted words and customs, while his tulpas bring innova-
tions and revelations of new possibility to the worthy. This attitude
The gods have been singularly distant towards the world since the is to be contrasted with the devils and demons of the Hells, whose
Red Tide arrived. While Commune spells and other forms of divine Hell Kings have no sense of proportion or limit and desire only to
communication still function to give practical information, the swell their stock of tormented souls.
gods seem very reluctant to say anything about the Tide, or clarify
the doctrinal confusion among their worshippers. Before the last of The Skandr Gods
them succumbed to age or battle, the great hierarchs that survived The Skandr were never a terribly pious folk, and their descendants
the flight from the Tide found themselves deeply frustrated by these in Nordheim are no different. Small temples remain to the three
divine silences. The gods no longer plainly spoke their will, and major Skandr gods, but their worship is a thing honored chiefly in
even great priests and sages could not agree on the right way to the breach. Still, merchants and raiders both pause to pour beer for
serve them. Sifr, the lord of the waves. Farming villages around Nordheim itself
are careful to propitiate Anghad, the mistress of the mountains, in
The Nine Immortals trust that she will permit the rocky land to bring forth food. And
The traditional gods of the Ninefold Celestial Empire, the Nine almost all Nordheimers have reason to sooner or later seek the favor
Immortals are the most widespread deities among the Sunset Isles. of red-handed Hjal, the god of battle.
Popular as they are, most devotions are no more sophisticated
than quick prayers for good luck or pinches of rice tossed into the For the most part, Skandr religious observances are longer on words
kitchen fire as a sacrifice. The most complex rituals that most folk than actions. Beer might be poured out in honor of a deity, but
ever take part in are the elaborate funerary rites intended to prevent most worship simply consists of an oath to a particular god to give
devils from stealing away the souls of the recently dead. Even in that him so much beer, so many burnt sacrifices, or so many foemen’s
case, the poor or confident often make do with no more than a few heads if the god will help accomplish the task at hand. Due to this
prayers uttered over the body and the waving of an incense-stick very practical attitude towards divine help, Skandr tend to pick up
or two. whatever gods seem most useful for the moment- and are quick to
drop them when they prove ineffectual.
The nine deities are composite in nature, having absorbed many
sub-aspects of local gods and goddesses and often receiving worship Other Gods
in ways orthodox to the particular location they are found in. The The other ethnic groupings that arrived in bulk on the Sunset Isles
Imperials tended to simply aggregate any foreign gods into which- left most of their gods behind them. The Gadaal never had the sort
ever of the Nine Immortals most closely matched their portfolio, of pantheon that other nations had, instead preferring to worship
often representing them as powerful devil-avatars or kindly tulpas rather impersonal conceptions of destiny and free will in a subtle,
of the god. The yamabushi of the ancient Kueh empire resisted this complex way that was almost completely lost in the exodus. Now
impulse by attempting to develop a more sophisticated theology it usually serves as no more than a simple folk creed, with Gadaal
that still had room for native Kueh nature-spirit worship, and their peasants praying that Destiny might spare them from evil fates and
theological handbooks and scriptures are still highly respected as Liberty might let them attain greatness.
being “pure” understandings of the Immortals.
Eirengarders hold to a monotheism that is peculiar by the standards
The Nine Immortals are represented by traditional colors and at- of their neighbors, revering a Maker thought to have created all
tributes. Kusha, the Red Goddess, represents warfare and struggle. that was good in the world out of a chaos of formless evil. This
Fa Chia, the Yellow God, embodies the concept of law and integrity. cosmogony was not much appreciated by the worshippers of other
Mimamsa, the Blue Goddess, represents learning and intellect. gods, who found the idea to be laughably arrogant, but Eirengarder
Sankhya, the Gray God, is a mystical deity revolving around warpriests were responsible for some of the most impressive battle-
being-as-such. Shinrai, the White God, is the principle of ending field miracles recorded in the world before the Tide. Eirengarders
and negation. Kega, the Green Goddess, is the deity of becoming adhere to a sacred Law supposedly handed down by the Maker
and transformation. Tendai, the Black God, oversees distortions Himself, with interpretations and elaborations of the text given
and corruptions. Hesika, the Vermillion Goddess, keeps charge of by the ancient Iron Prophets who taught the Eirengarders how
sensation and perception. Lastly, Inren the Purple God is the god of to defend themselves from their hostile neighbors and their own
that-which-is-overlooked and the blank spaces within any theologi- barbaric ignorance. Makerite churches tend to disagree on details
cal schema. Unsurprisingly, Inren does not have many clergy. of the faith, but most of them are able to deal in civil fashion with
their brethren even when they cannot agree on specifics. Makerite
Each of these gods is reputed to be served by legions of devils believers are adjured to follow numerous strange, detailed taboos,
and armies of benign “tulpas”, celestial emanations of their divine

42
often including demands for daily prayer, shunning pork, ritual and even their most loyal and effective tools are guaranteed only
purification after bloodshed, and other details of behavior. a more cleverly-disguised damnation in the world to come. Still,
there are always those believers willing to imagine that they will be
The Eshkanti did not lack for gods, and indeed, collected them as specially spared- or those desperate enough for aid that they do not
other traders collected souvenirs. Merchants would bring back little care what the price may be.
shrines and tokens for their god-niches, and a clan would boast
of how many deities it served and how mighty the blessings they The Godless Races
received from all their divine patrons. Even today, small Eshkanti Dwarves, elves, and halflings all share a certain indifference to the
clans can often be found venerating gods completely forgotten to gods. The dwarves remember well their enslavement at the hands of
the rest of the Isles. The exact details and nature of these gods varies the Mother Below, and revere only the spirits of their own ancestors.
almost from family to family, hinging largely on how much of their Halflings have simply never been interested in the gods or what they
belief the Eshkanti managed to remember in the chaos of the exile. could offer. The Quiet Way is sufficient for their spiritual needs
and altogether less inclined to lead them to the wild excesses that
The Kueh had ceased to exist as a clear ethnic grouping centuries religion seems to provoke in others. The elves refuse to worship the
before the Red Tide struck. Their ancient traditions of nature-spirit gods, instead seeking to equal them through their Creeds and their
worship and isolated meditation still existed in the northwestern strange, sorcerous rites.
corner of the Empire, but they were practiced by men and women
who considered themselves as Imperial as any mountain heartland- This refusal to revere the gods has its price in the afterlife, of course.
ers. Their yamabushi had acquired an honored place as spiritual The dwarven shades are forced to fight the scattered fragments of
sages and hierarchs, but the tradition was seen as an Imperial one the dead Mother Below, wielding mighty weapons of spirit-gold in
by most moderns rather than as the special province of the Kueh. the company of their honored ancestors. The halfling dead seem
strangely impervious to the threat of the Hell Kings, ignoring their
The Hell Kings authority much as they ignore everything else about the gods. The
The hungry lords of the Hells are eager for worshippers, though ancestors of the elves were too proud to rely upon the gods for
their veneration is forbidden in Xian and Hohnberg and mistrusted mercy in death. Their eternal reincarnation leaves them no afterlife,
most other places. The Shogunate of the North is the greatest center but only an unending cycle of rebirth for their earthbound souls.
of Hell King worship in the Isles, and indeed, any other faith is
forbidden open practice there. The Shogun Rai has his masters, and These races may not possess clerical magic, but the miracles of the
they will brook no competitors. divine will work on them as well as on any human. The power of
the gods can restore them to life, heal their injuries, and wash away
The Hell Kings teach their followers that the whole world is ulti- their afflictions. Most clerics have little love for the Godless, but
mately damned to the torments of the Hells. Those that escape their the gods have largely commanded their clergy to treat them as any
grasp after death are only spared for a little while, their souls given human, the better to show that the power of the divine reaches even
temporary refuge in the paradises of the kinder gods. In time, those those who reject its source.
redoubts will fall to Hell and its occupants will be fed to the fire like
all the rest. Only those who submit utterly to the will of Hell will be Very rarely, a Godless nonhuman will turn to divine worship. While
spared the general torment, and have some hope of being rewarded their nature is such that they can never share in the clerical powers
with a place of security and power. that are sometimes granted to a human, many gods are as willing to
accept nonhumans as earnest worshippers as any other.
The Hell Kings are generous with bestowing clerical power upon
their servants, but they demand utmost obedience. Corruption, Strange Faiths
malice, and sin are to be spread among the inhabitants of the Almost any deity of any particulars can be found somewhere among
world so as to ensure they end up all the sooner in the Hell Kings’ the worshippers of the Isles if a long enough look is taken. While
grasp. Those worshippers who harvest the greatest crop of souls can the gods noted above are the most commonly known and revered
be assured of the greatest place below, and the dreaded Red Jade in Xian, hardly a year goes by without some new divinity being
Templars of the Shogunate assist the fainter-hearted believers in proclaimed as the saviour of all who shall worship and believe. The
remembering their duties. locals are notably resistant to such appeals- if the new gods are so
mighty, they reasonably ask, then where were they during the Red
Of course, the Hell Kings have no intention of sparing their servi- Tide’s advance?
tors. They speak of pacts and promises, but it is the delusion of the
theurgists to imagine that the Hell Kings can be bound by their
promises or compelled by sacred words. Their hunger is insatiable,

43
 heRoes of The
isles
The Sunset Isles are rife with dangers that require a calm mind and trated ambitions, they take up the adventurer’s pack and set forth
a strong sword arm to overcome. Every borderman in the Westmark to find gold and glory in the borderlands. Most of them die terrible
knows that sooner or later he must expect to fight for his life, and and unmourned deaths, of course, but the few that survive can
the gutter-runners of Tien Lung’s slums can hardly go a night with- become powerful and time-tested warriors in defense of human
out facing some peril to their poxy skins. Only in the most peaceful civilization. If a gutter urchin manages to accomplish great deeds
and bucolic of civilized lands is there any real safety, and even that and stuff his vaults with ancient gold, few practical nobles in the
is a tenuous and temporary state of affairs. Isles would deny that he deserves a place among them.

Many of the defenders of the civilized lands are simple soldiers and Adventurers that manage to survive the perils of the early profes-
border rangers, men and women sworn to defend their people or sion often form the driving force behind expeditions to reclaim lost
die trying. These soldiers are often hard-pressed to keep back the human territory or colonization attempts amid the ruins of past
Shou raiding parties, bandit chieftains, and nameless jungle horrors glory. Most of the hardscrabble border villages of the Westmark owe
that lurk deep within the untamed wilderness, but they can usually their survival to the leaven of grizzled former adventurers among
contain the worst of the perils. Their lives are hard, dangerous, and the peasantry and their practiced familiarity with the ugly, brutal
respected by the common folk. warfare that scorches the western borders of Ektau. The wealthy
merchants and jeweled magistrates who often back these colonies
Not everyone with an appetite for danger is cut out for a guards- may not care to dine with the rough characters that man them,
man’s work, however, and there are always those bold young men but they know better than to send out colonists without a proper
and women who seek something more from their days than quiet number of hardened bordermen to protect them. Some of these
labor and unremarkable living. The Isles have always been rich in retired hireswords eventually find themselves village headmen or
opportunities for these souls, and the following chapter discusses captains of lonely border outposts.
the ways in which each common character class functions within
the social context of the Isles. Until then, however, adventurers are generally viewed as violent,
untrustworthy, lawless figures who are to be lauded for their useful-
The Role of the Adventurer ness in times of danger and sent on their way during other seasons.
The polities of Ektau are no stranger to adventurers, and some basic Everyone rejoices in a hard vagabond’s sword hand when a Shou
social expectations have gradually built up around the role. Adven- raid is impending, but afterwards they tend to encourage such men
turers serve as human society’s early warning network. They form to find further adventures elsewhere. If an adventurer perseveres
a ceaseless stream of sellswords and tomb-robbers who are always through this quiet scorn, however, they may yet manage the deeds
plunging into the wilderness or voyaging to far islands, and if a great that will turn them first into a folk hero and then into a legend to
danger is brewing in the unknown, they’re likely the first to discover light the annals of the Isles.
it. News brought back by adventurers has often provided the critical
margin of warning for the defense of a town or an outlying village.

Adventurers also serve as cheap, disposable hireswords for those un-

fortunate tasks that military officials and wealthy nobles want done
but don’t care to expend trustworthy men in accomplishing. There
is rarely anyone of importance to complain about an adventurer’s
death, and if they never come back from the task, well, who is to
miss them? Most novice adventurers are also poor and gold-hungry
enough to take coin for jobs that more temperate warriors would
never dare attempt.

Adventurers also serve as a societal release valve for the pressure

of the most ambitious, driven young men and women in a polity.
Rather than staying at home and causing trouble with their frus-
44
 CLERICS
Clerics capable of spellcasting are rare in the Sunset Isles. Most
priests are simply religious experts versed in the correct rites and
beliefs of the faith, and indeed, when men and women speak of
a “priest”, they speak of these ungifted souls. A true cleric, on the
other hand, is prized by a faith as proof of their god’s strength and
usefulness to humanity. True clerics often rise to preeminence in a
temple, but this rise is often accompanied by numerous difficult
and dangerous missions. Great things are expected of them.

Among the major races of the Isles, only humans and Shou worship
gods in a way that humans would recognize, and the Shou clergy
take the form of the sinister, sorcerous witches of their god Shakun
rather than clerical devotees. Halflings practice the Quiet Way for
their spiritual needs, dwarves venerate the spirits of their dead an-
cestors, and elves prefer their Creeds for philosophical consolation.

The greatest daily challenge for most clerics is simply convincing

ordinary men and women that the gods have not forsaken them.
While the services of a priest are always desired for births, funerals,
and weddings, day-to-day piety is a rare thing in the Sunset Isles.
The catastrophe of the Tide has forced deep cracks in the spiritual
confidence of the populace, and many await the miracles that will
prove the gods have not forgotten men.

DWARVES
Adventuring dwarves have often been driven forth from their homes
under the mountains by the destruction of their clan or some un- ELVES
endurable personal shame. Some are males or females who wish to Elves are by far the rarest of the demihuman classes, with no more
reject their traditional gender roles as warriors or crafters, others are than four or five thousand spread among all the Isles. When among
the last ragged remnants of a destroyed delving, and a few are poor their own kind, they tend to live in remote and hidden enclaves
young dwarves who have a burning need for the gold that will gild where they can study the Creed that guides them and live peace-
their afterlife. Dwarves leave their people for a purpose, and they fully with their own kind. Elves who venture out into the world are
are not inclined to let anything get in their way of accomplishing almost always questing souls, ambitious to fulfill some great pur-
that end. pose and ready to run grave risks to attain it. Even death is simply
a temporary setback, as each has vivid, uncontrolled memories of
Dwarven ancestor-priests do not have clerical powers, but they interludes in their own past incarnations.
are familiar with the necessary details of tomb-carving, burial, and
funerary adornment necessary to ensure that the dead are ushered Most elves use the standard Labyrinth Lord rules for their class.
safely to the ghost-cities of the ancestors. These priests occasionally Some elves, however, are reborn in the bodies of human infants
leave their homes in order to seek out the restless dwarven dead when the transmigration of their soul somehow goes awry. These
who are too fearful to venture into the land of the ancestors. Once “Scions” have the memories of elven lifetimes in the skin of human
found, the priests either reason the cowardly shade into moving children, and they often are objects of fear and mistrust by others,
on or banish it in more forcible fashion. The tomb-gold of these “changelings” bewitched somehow or born of demonic congress.
unfortunates is considered fit payment for the priests’ services. The ferocious spiritual energy thrown off by the interface of a mani-
fested elven soul in a human body creates far too much interference
Dwarves in general are not too concerned about the propriety of for these Scions to ever master arcane spells the way that other elves
“reclaiming” the gold of their own dead ancestors or fallen delves. do, but they are compensated somewhat by special powers known
The spirit is thought to have moved on after a year or two, and the as “wyrds”.
gold may then be brought forth and returned to the use of the clan.
They are, however, extremely sensitive about strangers plundering These wyrds are the result of the interplay of their elven soul with
the tombs of their ancestors. Those who would rifle a lost tomb or their human form, manifestations that relate to subtle alterations
delve had best either have a dwarf of the appropriate clan with them of the basic fabric of reality around them. Just as elven enchanters
or else ensure that word of it never reaches the true heirs. often suspend or distort physical laws when creating their magical
craftwork, Scions are living exceptions to the laws of mundane
Dwarves of the Sunset Isles use the normal rules for their class as reality. The solid substance of the world melts and runs around a
given in the Labyrinth Lord core rulebook.

45
powerful Scion, and events collapse into existence in accordance sent forth to find their own way in the world. Many die, but those
with the Scion’s will. that live often accumulate enough wealth and fame to establish
their own village. Others lose the taste for a peaceful life entirely,
Wyrds are divided into levels, much the same as spells, and a Scion and dream of an existence of excitement and gold unknown in the
can master a certain number of wyrds based on their level. A Scion serene world of the Quiet Way.
can master any wyrd of an available level without a teacher or other
object of study, but once a wyrd is mastered it cannot be unlearned. Halflings use the rules given for their race in the Labyrinth Lord core
Each wyrd given in the sorcery chapter lists the number of times rulebook. The halflings of the Sunset Isles are notoriously coura-
it can be used per day. To refresh any expended wyrds, the Scion geous, however, and are immune to non-magical sources of fear.
needs at least eight hours of rest. Scions cannot learn or use magic- They also gain a +4 on saving throws versus magical fear effects. This
user spells and cannot use scrolls or other items normally specific to immunity does not result in blind contempt for a threat, but allows
magic-users. the halfling to respond calmly and rationally to danger, no matter
how sudden or severe.
In all other regards, Scions are treated as elves and have all other
elven abilities save for the use of magic-user spells.
MAGIC-USERS
Tide Cultists, demon worshippers, necromantic experimenters,
SCION WYRD PROGRESSION Imperial academy graduates- all these and more can be described
Class Wyrd Level by the abilities of the magic-user. The great mysteries and awesome
Level 1 2 3 4 5 arcana of the world before the Tide may be lost, but the humbler
1 1 - - - - sorceries of the present day are still to be feared. It is the hope of
mastering these powers that brings so many to the study of the
2 1 - - - -
occult arts, or to seal bargains with powers that a wise man would
3 2 - - - - not choose as allies.
4 2 1 - - -
5 2 2 - - - Magic-users are rare but not unknown in the Isles. The Ninefold
Celestial Empire that gave so many people to the initial refugee
6 2 2 1 - -
7 2 2 2 - -
8 2 2 2 1 -
9 3 2 2 2 -
10 3 2 2 2 1

FIGHTERS
A vast range of warriors in the Sunset Isles fall within the scope
of the fighter class. Kueh samurai, Eirengarder spearmen, Eshkanti
knife-fighters, and simple slum brawlers can all be described with
the class abilities of the fighter. Any man or woman with the grit
and resolution to make their way in the world through the force of
arms can fall under this class heading.

Skilled fighters tend to be highly esteemed in human society on

the Isles. The perpetual threat of the Shou and the dangers of the
untamed wild make a strong sword hand vital in holding on to the
existing human lands. Few societies have yet grown so decadent
and self-absorbed as to scorn the abilities of a trained warrior, and a
fighter of skill and resolve can often find their fortune as an honored
landowner or border noble- assuming they survive.

Fighters in the Sunset Isles use the standard Labyrinth Lord rules for
their class, but the weak are winnowed early by their hard life. They
may reroll any hit die that rolls less than 4 hit points.

HALFLINGS
Halfling adventurers are almost always driven forth from their vil-
lages by the press of necessity. In times of crisis and privation, many
among the younger and more promising inhabitants of a village are
46
population was a magocracy, and the Imperials still pride themselves
Shou Witch
on the power and elegance of their magic. Gadaal astromancers also
made the journey, as did the yamabushi of the Kueh and the wise Requirements Must be at least half-Shou
among the elves. Still, despite these many traditions, there remain Prime Requisite Wisdom
few who have the natural aptitude and intelligence necessary to Hit Dice 1d6
channel the powers of the arcane.
Maximum Level None
Petty magic is almost unknown on the isles. The countless little Weapons Dagger, Bow, Sling, Quarterstaff, Spear
sorcerous baubles and minor enchantments that made life so sweet Armor Leather or Studded Leather, and no shields.
in the Ninefold Celestial Empire are unknown in the Sunset Isles, Attack Table As per cleric
and most rural peasants go their entire lives without more than
hearing stories about wizards. Despite this, most cities have at least Saving Throws As per cleric
one magical academy to train the more promising candidates, and
a pupil with genuine magical talent is almost never denied train- Shou Witches channel the ancient magic of their people to protect,
ing due to a simple lack of coin. The city expects a return on its guide, and strengthen their tribe against its enemies. Every tribe’s
investment, however, and such young magi are often dispatched lineage of Witches teaches its daughters that they can become the
on missions for the local government, working off their debt in the true heirs to the power of divine Shakun, but only by wisdom and
coin of service. strength can they rise to their rightful place among the tribes. If
they are weak and foolish, they will never be blessed by the mandate
Magic-users on the Sunset Isles use the normal rules for their class. of the god.
Many of the local academies have copies of the new magic-user
spells provided in the magic chapter of this supplement, though a Shou Witches guard their lore jealously. Much of their training is
few of them are rare enough that they require special effort or luck self-directed and intuitive in nature; once the essential mysteries are
to locate. taught and the Witch is initiated, they can pursue their own growth
through meditation, questing, and personal sacrifice. The myster-
ies of new spells come to them in visions and are grasped at an
SHOU intuitive level that cannot be taught. A few human magic-users have
A Shou player character is profoundly unlikely in most games, attempted to wring the secrets of the witches from mind-ensorceled
unless they manage to completely conceal their origins. Half-breeds subjects, but all attempts to date have been vain. Only a willing
are much more likely, and these social outcasts often find the ad- witch can initiate another.
venturing life to be one of their few possible routes to wealth, if
not societal acceptance. Whether part-human or not, Shou can take Shou Witches can cast a certain number of spells each day, with
any class available to humans, including fighter, magic-user, cleric, the number determined by their experience level. They may cast
or thief. Tribal chieftains are often fighters or thieves of some ac- any spell they know of the appropriate level, and have no need to
complishment, but tribal Shou culture has no tradition of training prepare specific spells beforehand. A Shou Witch knows as many
as magic-users or clerics. Instead, the enigmatic Shou witches serve spells of a given level as they can cast, with a maximum of four spells
as the magical experts and religious leaders of the clans. known of each level. Thus, a tenth level Shou Witch knows 4 first
level spells, 4 second level spells, 3 third level spells, 3 fourth level
All Shou and Shou-blooded humans share an almost instinctive spells, and 2 fifth level spells. So long as she has an unexpended spell
antipathy for the Tide and all its servants. All Shou gain +4 to hit of the appropriate level, she can cast any of the spells she knows.
against Tidespawn or Tide cultists and +4 on any saving throws Refreshing her magic requires half an hour of meditation and a
versus magic employed by Tide-touched entities. This bonus applies
to both spells and supernatural abilities that involve a saving throw.
SHOU WITCH PROGRESSION
Shou cannot be permanently corrupted by the Tide. Any power
or spell cast by a Tide-touched being which creates a permanent Level Hit Dice XP
mental or physical change in the Shou lasts no more than 1d4 min- 1 1d6 0
utes. The Shou will still take normal damage from Tide-cast spells, 2 2d6 1,510
but it is impossible to keep them enchanted for long. Any being 3 3d6 3,020
of at least one-half Shou extraction shares this natural aptitude for
fighting the Tide. 4 4d6 6,020
5 5d6 12,040
Shou females sometimes demonstrate magical talent, and these rare 6 6d6 25,080
figures are initiated into the mysteries of the Shou Witch. A very
7 7d6 50,160
few males occasionally exhibit these same talents, but so strong is
the taboo in most Shou tribes that they are considered ritually and 8 8d6 100,320
socially female as soon as they complete their initiation. In theory, 9 9d6 200,640
the occult practices and disciplines involved in becoming a Shou 10 9d6+1 300,640
Witch need not be exclusive to females, but customs are strong in
11+ +1 HP per level +100,001 per level
the Shou clans and the females are jealous of their privileges.
47
mind rested by at least eight hours of sleep. Spells can be refreshed
only once per day. SHOU WITCH SPELL PROGRESSION
Class Spell Level
Shou Witches cannot learn new spells from scrolls or teachers. They Level 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
can only acquire them as they rise in experience level. Whenever
1 1 - - - - - -
they learn a new spell for a level in this way, they can choose from
any of the spells given on the Shou Witch spell list for that level. 2 2 - - - - - -
Shou Witches cannot teach their spells to other casters, and any 3 2 1 - - - - -
magical scrolls they might make can only be understood and used 4 3 2 - - - - -
by other Shou Witches. They may develop new spells in the same
5 3 2 1 - - - -
way as other spellcasters, but such research replaces an existing
known spell rather than adding to the total known. 6 3 3 2 - - - -
7 4 3 2 1 - - -
So long as the Shou Witch has at least one uncast spell left, she can 8 4 3 3 2 - - -
hurl bolts of eldritch energy commonly called witchfire at a target.
Using witchfire does not consume her magic, as the power simply 9 4 4 3 2 1 - -
requires that she have some arcane reserves remaining to her. The 10 5 4 3 3 2 - -
precise appearance of this witchfire varies with the caster, usually 11 5 4 4 3 2 1 -
reflecting their personality in some regard- steely gray bolts from
12 5 5 4 3 3 2 -
a particularly strong-willed witch, for example, or coruscating red
flames from a passionate soul. The bolts have a short range of 50’, 13 6 5 4 4 3 2 1
a medium range of 100’, and a long range of 150’. Their hit roll is 14 6 5 5 4 3 3 2
modified by DEX and the bolt does 1d6 points of magical force 15 7 6 5 4 4 3 2
damage, rising to 2d6 damage at level 7. Witchfire is treated as a
16 7 6 5 5 4 3 3
missile attack rather than a spell, but has the unique property of
never harming anyone the Shou Witch does not intend to harm. 17 8 7 6 5 4 3 3
Witchfire can thus can be fired into a melee with impunity. 18 8 7 6 5 4 4 3
19 8 7 6 5 5 4 3
Shou Witches can wield daggers, bows, quarterstaves, slings, and
spears, but they can wear no armor heavier than studded leather and 20 8 7 6 6 5 5 4
cannot use shields. Shou Witches are treated as clerics for the pur-
poses of class-based effects and rules. Shou Witches can use clerical
scrolls, including scrolls of spells not normally on the Shou Witch
spell list, along with any other magic item usable by the cleric class.

THIEVES
The thieves of the Sunset Isle come in every shape and from every
extraction, each culture giving over its share of those men and
women who prefer an easier life than work can get them. Whether
golden-tongued charlatans with pocketed cloaks full of tricks or
grimy street urchins, they have ways of getting to what they want
and dealing with those who try to stop them.

In one sense, the thief ’s arts are commonplace. Any adventurer can
try to climb a wall or hide in a darkened corner, and many can
manage a quiet footfall around enemies. Thieves, however, have
an almost supernatural talent for such stealthy pursuits. The best
of them are capable of scaling planes of smooth glass or vanishing
into a shadow no wider than a man’s hand. Some practice ancient
traditions and delve into secrets of stealth, such as the ninja clans of
The law in the Isles is not gentle, and many thieves die young on the
the Kueh or the assassins of certain venerable tongs. Others simply
gallows or find their career cut short by the loss of important limbs.
possess an uncanny intuition for the work. Whatever the source,
Still, the utility of a gifted skulker in dealing with Shou war parties
the unique arts of the thief seem reserved for humankind, for even
and ancient ruins is acknowledged by the powers of the Isles, and
the stealthiest of elves or the most unobtrusive of halflings never
an adventuring thief can usually expect to be left in peace so long as
seem to develop the same unnatural skill as the most adept human
he restricts his larcenous urges to enemies.
thieves.

48
 Vowed belong to specific schools of martial expertise, and learn the
VOWED style associated with their school. At first level, they pick one of
Many faiths maintain secret disciplines and austerities that promise three styles based on their school’s tradition: Iron Tempest, Water
to bring the practitioner into closer communion with the perfec- Hand, or Ninjitsu. They immediately gain the novice benefit from
tion of their god. By harsh mortification of the flesh, stern practice, that style. At fourth level they gain the student benefit from the
and a rigorous mental discipline, even the humblest petitioner may style, and at eighth level they gain the master benefit from the style.
become a mighty exemplar of physical and spiritual excellence. In At ninth level they may choose to learn the novice level of a second
the years since the exile, many of these techniques have become style, and rise in ability according to the class ability table.
lost or confused, and some masters now teach the arts without the
spiritual content that was once so important to their transmission. Vowed also learn unique abilities as part of their program of spiritual
These Vowed now often gain their abilities through simple train- and physical discipline. At second level, they may pick one ability
ing, experience, and discipline rather than as part of an organized from the Novice Art list. At fifth level, they may pick a Student
faith. Certain insular ninja clans practice the way of the Vowed with Art, and at eighth level they may pick a Master Art. Truly legendary
traditional familial arts that owe nothing to conventional piety. Vowed may learn additional Arts as they rise in expertise.

Still, even the vaguest and most philosophical schools retain a At twentieth level, the Vowed attains to the perfection of the radiant
slender thread of connection to the divine, and so the Godless races master ability, and may make two attacks per round, roll twice on
cannot master the arts of the Vowed. Elves dwarves, and halflings any saving throws, and obtain immunity to level drain, magical
may become impressive brawlers and fistic artists, but the super- aging, paralysis, slow, and instant death effects.
natural gifts of the Vowed are forever denied to them. Shou can
become Vowed if any can be found to train them.
Vowed Martial Styles
Vowed Iron Tempest Style
Requirements None
Novice Add +2 to unarmed attack damage.
Prime Requisite Wisdom
Student The student can strike inanimate objects with great
Hit Dice 1d6 focus and ferocity. Double any unarmed damage rolls
Maximum Level None against a stationary object.
Weapons Dagger, Quarterstaff, Club, Dart, Short Master Add +4 to unarmed attack damage. This does not stack
Sword, Flail with the Novice style benefit.
Armor None, and no shields.
Attack Table As per fighter Water Hand Style
Saving Throws As per cleric Novice All unarmed damage can be treated as subdual damage.
A living creature reduced to 0 HP by subdual damage
Vowed rely on their particular style of unarmed combat for defensive is optionally either unconscious for one turn or help-
purposes, and are forbidden the use of armor and shields. While the lessly pinned by the Vowed, depending on choice and
chief weapon of a Vowed is their own unarmed fighting prowess, practicality. Subdual damage vanishes one hour after
most novices are also taught the handling of daggers, flails, darts, infliction. Subdual damage is useless against undead
quarterstaves, short swords, and clubs for those times when fists and and constructs.
feet are not the best tools for the task at hand. Vowed can otherwise Student The Vowed may strike to throw a target of human size
use any magical item allowed to fighters and are treated as fighters or smaller; on a successful hit, no damage is done, but
for the purpose of any special effect or rule based on class. the victim must make a saving throw versus Paralysis
or be thrown to the ground at a location of the Vowed’s
Vowed unarmed attacks strike for increasing amounts of damage as choice within five feet. Prone characters fight at -2 to
their class level rises. Vowed can make unarmed attacks so long as at hit, grant melee opponents +2 to hit them, and must
least one limb is free, and their training allows them to avoid injury spend a round’s movement allowance to stand up.
when striking otherwise hazardous objects such as fire elementals, Master The master’s control over vital force is so subtle that he
iron golems, or other such entities. At third level, their unarmed can inflict subdual damage without even alerting the
attacks count as silver weapons for the purpose of injuring super- victim of the attack. The master must touch the target,
natural beings, and at seventh level they count as magical weapons even in a fashion as innocent as a handclasp, a brush
of whatever “plus” value is necessary to hurt a target. of fingers, or resting a hand on the target’s forearm.
For each round in which the master does so, normal
Vowed learn to dodge enemies with almost supernatural agility, and unarmed subdual damage is done. The victim is un-
their armor class progressively improves as they rise in level. This aware of this damage until they either fall unconscious
armor class is improved by natural DEX bonuses as is normal. at zero hit points or are struck for normal damage and
recognize their sudden lassitude and weakness.

49
 Ninjitsu Style Master Arts
Harmonious Path: The master is in such perfect harmony with
Novice The novice may Move Silently, Hide in Shadows, and his surroundings that twice per day, he may move completely
Climb Walls as per a thief of one level lower, to a mini- unimpeded by non-magical walls, earth, and barriers. He may pass
mum of level 1 skills. Such focus takes away time from through such obstructions without leaving a trace, and will not
efforts otherwise spent on physical conditioning, and be injured by contact with them even if the barriers are composed
a practitioner of this style rolls only 1d4 for hit dice of otherwise dangerous substances. This freedom of motion lasts
instead of 1d6. If this style is learned as a second style for one round per level of the Vowed. If the effect ends while still
at ninth level, the Vowed must reroll their hit dice. immured within a solid barrier, he is immediately ejected into the
Student The student is an artful wielder of poisons. He knows nearest empty space able to contain him and is stunned and helpless
how to keep a toxin fresh and useful, and a weapon for 1d4 rounds.
he poisons will remain effectively envenomed until
it successfully hits a target. Victims suffer a -2 saving Celestial Wisdom: While the gods are not inclined to speak directly
throw penalty against any poisons used by the student, to mortals in this fallen age, the master has an intuitive grasp of
whether ingested or on an envenomed blade. The the correct path. Once per week, they may gain the benefits of a
student also becomes immune to poisons. Commune spell, gaining an instinctive sense of the answers to three
Master The master is not seen unless he chooses to reveal him- yes-or-no questions. Using this ability too often or for trivial ends
self. Twice per day, the master may become Invisible as tends to cloud the master’s harmonious intuition and render the
per the magic-user spell, with the effect lasting up to ability useless for a month or more.
one turn per level. A master cannot attack on the same
round he becomes invisible. Inexorable Fist: Once per day, the master may focus his inner
strength to unleash an overwhelming assault on a luckless foe. In-
voking this power allows the master to treat an attack as if a natural
Vowed Arts 20 had been rolled to hit. This attack does double the maximum
Novice Arts damage possible for the strike. This power must be used before the
Spirit Breath: The Vowed respires through the spiritual light of master attacks. It cannot be invoked after the dice are rolled to hit.
his discipline. Each day, he can hold his breath for one turn per
level, divided as necessary. He gains a permanent +2
saving throw bonus on saves against gaseous attacks, VOWED PROGRESSION AND ABILITIES
even those that do not require inhalation to take effect. Level Hit Dice AC Damage Powers XP
1 1d6 7 1d4+1 Novice Style 0
River Reed Bridge: For one round per level per day,
2 2d6 7 1d4+1 Novice Art 2,005
the Vowed can walk or run across a liquid or muddy
surface as if it were solid ground. The Vowed may take 3 3d6 5 1d6+1 Silver Fists 4,010
damage if the liquid is dangerous to touch. 4 4d6 5 1d6+1 Student Style 8,020
5 5d6 5 1d6+1 Student Art 16,040
Cherry Blossom Stair: The Vowed makes himself
light as a feather for a brief instant as he falls, reducing 6 6d6 4 1d6+3 Magical Fists 32,080
the damage from the plunge. When determining fall 7 7d6 4 1d6+3 Master Style 64,160
damage for the Vowed, subtract ten feet per level from 8 8d6 3 1d6+3 Master Art 128,320
the total distance fallen.
9 9d6 3 1d8+3 Second Novice Style 250,640
10 9d6+1 3 1d8+3 370,000
Student Arts
A Boil With Nine Openings: The Vowed’s body 11 9d6+2 2 1d8+3 Second Novice Art 490,640
rejects all impurity. The Vowed becomes immune to 12 9d6+3 2 1d10+3 Second Student Style 610,640
both normal and magical diseases, and gains +4 on all 13 9d6+4 1 1d10+3 730,640
saving throws versus poison.
14 9d6+5 1 1d10+3 Second Student Art 850,640
Uttering Noble Truths: The Vowed’s words can be 15 9d6+6 1 1d10+5 Second Master Style 970,640
understood by any intelligent creature, and any speech 16 9d6+7 0 1d10+5 1,090,640
heard by the Vowed can be understood regardless of
17 9d6+8 0 1d10+5 Second Master Art 1,210,640
language.
18 9d6+9 0 1d12+5 1,330,640
Summer Snow, Winter Fire: The Vowed’s body be- 19 9d6+10 -1 1d12+5 1,450,640
comes resistant to extremes of heat and cold, ignoring 20 9d6+11 -1 1d12+7 Radiant Master 1,570,640
all natural extremes of climate and causing any open
flames or icy assaults to do only half normal damage.

50
 Red soRCeRy

The Sunset Isles seethe with magic deep under the earth. A slow tide good and noble lives can hope to be saved by kindly deities even if
of sorcery flows through innumerable geomantic lines, and deposits they never specifically pledged obedience to a god, but those who
of glistening black godbone hide strange virtues from all but the are wicked and faithless must journey forever in the gray, perpetually
learned. The people of the Isles come from cultures that have long at risk of being snatched up by the Hell Kings to swell their ranks of
acknowledged the power and mystery of magic. Though few have tormented souls. Funerary rites protect the dead, and shield them
the natural aptitude for the art, those that have the gift can expect to from the grasp of the Hell Kings.
find instruction from others who recognize their value.
Those who die without them must trust to their own faith and good
The following chapter discusses the nature of magic in the Sunset heart to rescue them, and many spirits are too frightened to risk
Isles, and gives new spells for magic-users, clerics, and the new Shou the gray road without help. They linger in the world of the living,
witch class. At the end of the section is a selection of some of the becoming twisted by their fear and envy until they are left to ani-
magical items unique to the arcanists of the Isles, and a discussion mate dead flesh or manifest as spectral monstrosities. These “hungry
of how to personalize the magical blades and implements in your ghosts” must be forced onward by violence, by due funerary rites, or
campaign to fit particular cultures. by the comforting power of a cleric.

A Question of Soul Demihumans have no gods, and meet death differently. A dwarf is
At the heart of things there are as many different theories of magic laid in a tomb filled with gold, and he takes the spirit of the metal
as there are wizards and priests to argue them. Every spellcaster with him into the afterlife. There, he dwells with his dead ancestors
experiences the flow of eldritch power in their own way and with in great gray tomb-delves, wielding mighty weapons of spirit-gold
their own understanding, shaped by the idioms and traditions of against the raving hordes of the Mother Below. It is a grim afterlife,
their teachers. A Gadaal mage raised among Imperial High Path but dwarves have the comfort of their families and ancestors to
sorcerers would understand his magic as being an inexorable conflu- uphold them, and there is joy even in that gray place. For halflings,
ence of mystically potent words, signs, and substances, while an the gray road leads to places unknown to men. Neither gods nor
Eshkanti girl taught by the astromancers of the Gadaal would feel Hell Kings can bar their way. Elves have no afterlife at all. Their
the alignment of the skies above opening the hidden doors of the souls linger for a time in the world before being reborn in the flesh
world of light. The effects of their spells would be identical save for of an elven infant. A powerful cleric can summon life back into the
small details of manifestation, but the experience would be very husk that remains if they do so before the elf ’s next incarnation, but
different between them. there is no fragment that continues to an existence separate from
their bodies.
Most spellcasters would agree, however, that magic is ultimately a
confluence of effect between geomantic power and the caster’s soul. Such an immortal nature within a human gives them power over
The earth and natural world around the caster provides the raw the geomantic force around them, and allows them to perform
force for the enchantment, while the strength of the mage’s soul what men know as magic. Elves share a little in this power, but
provides the necessary shaping and control to render the raw force because their souls are permanently embedded in their corporeal
into specific magical effects. Different magical traditions provide forms they are forever limited in the amount and strength of the
different means of strengthening the caster’s soul or improving geomantic energy they can control. Old legends speak of elves who
their ability to tap the surrounding geomantic power, but all the have learned to overcome this limit, either through black sorceries
myriad techniques revolve around manipulating these two essential such as those practiced by the Wearers of the Mantle, or through a
elements. strange sort of self-transcendence achieved by the elven Apotheons.
Dwarves and halflings seem to be barred from the use of magic as
The soul is something deathless in a human, dwarf, or halfling. It men understand it. Some say it is a curse from the gods for their
is the immortal fragment of their identity, the portion of their self disobedience, while others suggest simply that the magic of dwarves
that contains their mind, memories, and will. Upon death, the soul and halflings is something different by nature.
is freed from the body. Those reconciled to their passing or urged on
by funerary rites vanish into the gray expanse of the afterlife, there
to be gathered into the paradise of their god. Those who have led
51
The Many Schools
There are several major traditions of magic in the Sunset Isles,
each with their own schools and academies. Schools for sorcery
are not common in the Isles, but every great city has at least one,
and most market towns have at least one wizened scholar willing
to take on an apprentice or three. Even remote villages might
have a teacher available, perhaps one educated by some bored
and frustrated magistrate exiled far from home for his failure at
the courtly game of politics.

The traditional Imperial school of magic is the High Path, taught

by the arcanists of the Ninefold Celestial Empire and practiced
by their mighty Archmages. Much of its lore was lost in the chaos
of the exile, and more still died with arcanists who were too hard-
pressed to take apprentices in the frantic years after the Landing.
Still, the organized, literary nature of the High Path made it
comparatively easy to write down in grimoires and silk-corded
tomes. Most of the wizards of the modern Isles practice some
form of High Path magic.
the Stitched Path beckons. Just as it is a strong soul that channels
greater magic, so the Stitched Path wizards study esoteric means of
The High Path relies on carefully-developed magical incantations,
spiritual vivisection. Their golden scalpels and red brass tweezers
somatic gestures, and the occasional use of symbolic ritual ingre-
cut apart the souls of living humans in order to extract the most
dients. The symbol is the crucial thing, so these ingredients are
magically-important parts. These intangible fragments are then
rarely costly or exotic, and most can be substituted with anything
mystically sewn to the Stitched Path wizard’s own soul, temporarily
else that serves to form a material symbol of the purpose desired.
borrowing the innate force of the victim’s spirit. While these grafts
A truly hard-pressed High Path magus can cast many spells with
inevitably wither and fade away into the afterlife within a week,
no material components whatsoever, though the strain of visual-
while they remain “fresh” the Stitched Path wizard has power far
izing the necessary symbols can be difficult to maintain in battle.
beyond what his natural expertise would suggest. For the actual
High Path magic is intellectually demanding and requires extensive
exertion of their magic, they most often borrow the spells and
strengthening of the soul through meditation, ritual incantations,
techniques of the High Path.
and focused repetition. For those magi who can bear up under the
demands, it offers a wealth of clearly-formulated spells.
Stitched Path magic is loathsome to the wizards of civilized lands,
but it is the common practice of the city of Tien Lung and its
The Gadaal often prefer a different path, relying instead on their
tributary settlements. This horror is not simply humanitarian in
traditional astromancy. The Gadaal draw their power not from
nature; Stitched Path magic permanently disfigures the souls of
the geomantic forces of the soil, but from the conjunctions of the
those wizards who practice it. The scars and suture-wounds that
heavens. By intoning the correct harmonic sounds and assuming
pucker their spiritual aspect hinder them from ever attaining the
the correct postures, the astromancer briefly transforms himself into
exalted heights of mastery that a High Path mage could achieve.
a connection between the heavens and the earth, manifesting the
For most of them this is a small sacrifice, as they never would have
power in a tangible form to accomplish a spell. As with the High
attained such power in the first place. The Enlightened Sage who
Path, this use of the mage’s own soul as a conduit is very taxing, and
rules Tien Lung is said to be experimenting with ways to overcome
novice astromancers can rarely manage more than one spell before
this disability, and the cost in the lives of slaves has driven the price
they need to rest and recuperate. Masters of the celestial arts can
up by thirty gold koku a head in the flesh markets of Tien Lung.
wield power as deftly as any High Path magus, however, effortlessly
assuming the postures and intoning the strange, wailing chants that
Clerical magic is not so much a formal arcane school as it is a gift
resonate with the cold stars above.
from the gods. The most ignorant and foolish of peasants can be
granted the might of a hierarch if his deity so wills, and the use of
Some say that the Gadaal are the finest diviners in the world, for
these powers is very little more complicated than gesturing toward
their astromancy seems particularly well-suited to divining the
the target of an enchantment and then praying that the deity will
future in a clear and precise way. The Archmage Lammach himself
send the miracle. In a very real sense, the cleric himself does not
practiced astromancy rather than the traditional Imperial High
cast the spell; he simply asks the god to send the desired effect. The
Path, and it was his astromancy that foretold the Tide. Many of
chief difference between clerics and ordinary priests is that the god
these secrets have been lost in the centuries since, however, and
will actually listen to the cleric when he asks. The flare of power in
modern astromancers struggle in vain to find their ancestors’ sacred
a cleric’s mind leaves them vulnerable while casting, however, and
stone books and jeweled astrolabes.
a stiff blow to the miracle-worker can leave the prayer fizzling out
uselessly and the deity’s favor expended to no effect.
Not every wizard is content to spend the kind of effort and dedica-
tion necessary to rise in power as an astromancer or a High Path
wizard. Some want an easier route to power, and for these wizards
52
Elves have their own way of channeling magic. Many of them fears to face the
NPC SPELLCASTING COSTS
never learn- or relearn- the specific arts of spellcasting at all, and afterlife without the
are content to simply live in the refined bodies that their ancestors security of a proper Spell
Magic-User Cleric
bestowed on them. Others choose to make use of these half-divine burial, and the Level
forms, and learn to channel power through their flesh as other wiz- proven divine favor 1 10 gp 10 gp
ards direct it through their souls. This is invariably harder and more that a cleric wields 2 25 gp 30 gp
dangerous to the caster than a more spiritual means of invocation, makes them highly
3 50 gp 100 gp
and there is a limit to the amount of power any elf can channel in demand for such
before his flesh simply explodes into metaphysical flames. Even work. Some clerics 4 200 gp 500 gp
lesser enchantments can leave white spirit-flames licking along the also are consulted 5 500 gp 1,000 gp
caster’s limbs in an excruciating but otherwise harmless display of for healing and for 6* 1,000 gp 5,000 gp
magical overload. luck blessings. Any
cleric powerful 7* 5,000 gp 10,000 gp
Some elves have sought ways to overcome this limit. The Wearers enough to master 8* 10,000 gp -
of the Mantle have taken Stitched Path sorcery even farther than the Cure Disease 9* 25,000 gp -
human magi have dared. They cut apart the souls of men and spell can make a fat
* Spellcasters this powerful require an
stitch them together to wear them like a cloak, adding new souls living off the fears
adventure just to locate, let alone hire them.
as old ones wither away into the afterlife. The greatest are said to of rich and sickly
be capable of fixing a soul forever in place, and wear unseen but petitioners.
hideous cloaks fashioned of a thousand tormented human souls.
Others speak of the elven Apotheons and their rites of half-divinity A rare handful of the most powerful clerics are even able to call
that burn away all that is mortal in them. Whatever the talk, few back the dead. Most such clerics are stern holy men and women
elves in the Isles ever live to even test their limits, let along concern who dwell in the wilderness or in remote border monasteries, away
themselves with passing beyond them. from the worldly blandishments of the cities. Some of them are suf-
ficiently flexible to wield such mighty miracles for mere pecuniary
Magic and Life in the Isles recompense, but others demand favors from petitioners before they
While almost every educated dweller in the Isles understands will consider using such potent prayers.
that magic exists, few lives are immediately touched by this fact.
Most villages have at least one “wise woman” or “cunning man” Unfortunately for most of the dead, the clerical powers of resurrec-
who knows a little hedge sorcery and can mix up herbs to ease a tion function only on those who have not yet been snared by the
childbirth and throw charms against hungry ghosts, but genuine Hell Kings or received by the paradise of their god. In the former
magic-users and divinely-empowered clerics are rare. Perhaps only case, the Hell Kings refuse to release their lawful prey, and in the
one in five hundred humans have the right mix of talent and intel- latter, the soul is too transfixed by the delights of paradise to return
lect to succeed as a wizard, and no more than the same number are to the pains of life. Adventurers are usually stubborn enough to
blessed with the favor of the gods. The great cities attract most of linger before the gates of the afterlife, but many others are not so
the aspiring wizards from the hinterlands, drawing them with the slow to meet their reward.
prospect of libraries and the society of their own kind.
Among elves, those who choose to pursue the magical arts are
Most wizards are minor mages, few ever reaching beyond the third respected for their dedication and willingness to endure the intense
or fourth rank of expertise. Most of their daily income comes from pain of channeling the geomantic power through their own flesh.
feng shui consultations, astrological foretellings, petty charms These elves can often be identified by the dark patterns that etch
against evil, and the occasional Detect Magic spell to assure a fright- their limbs, the blackened marks of soul-flesh burnt by the chan-
ened daifu that their latest costly acquisition has not been cursed neling of sorcerous power. Some elves have enough of a memory
by a rival. The worst showmen among such wizards are sometimes of their past lives to simply recollect the lore they need, but most
forced to accept mere coppers for their labors, but the most im- must piece together their past echoes with more immediate study in
pressive and suitably mercantile can charge vast sums to grateful their current life. Some can get teaching from their brethren, while
clientele. Adventurers tend to get the stiff rates. others are forced to turn to human institutions to obtain what they
require.
Clerics are most often called upon to sanctify births and perform
funerary rites. Even the largely indifferent populace of the Isles

53
 NEW CLERIC SPELLS
While all the cleric spells on the Labyrinth Lord spell list are available
to all clerics regardless of faith, some creeds have mastered unique
prayers specific to their faith. All of the new spells listed below exist
in one form or another for every god’s followers, but they remain
carefully-guarded secrets by those who know the correct invocations
and suitable prayers for obtaining them. A cleric cannot prepare any
of these new spells until they have been taught the prayer by a cleric
of the same faith who already possesses the knowledge. Certain rare
prayer books might also contain the secrets of these miracles.

ABJURATION OF LIGHT
Level 3
Duration Instant
Range 120’
Even the malevolent gods have always been enemies of the Hell
Kings and their insatiable lust for the souls of the dead. This
incantation summons a brilliant eruption of light in a 20’ radius
within the spell’s range, inflicting 1d6 damage per two full caster
levels on all undead, infernal demons, and Hell King cultists
within the area of effect.

LAMP OF THE NINE IMMORTALS MARTYR’S FURY

Level 4
Level 2
Duration 1 round/level
Duration 1 turn/level
Range Self
Range Self
This spell is very rarely taught to clerics, as the blessing it confers
While referred to as a “Lamp”, the faint glowing lens created by
upon a priest can be granted only once and comes with a terrible
this spell casts only a very subtle radiance little brighter than a
cost. Unlike most spells, a cleric familiar with the invocation of
candle flame. A cleric who looks through the lens can see the
the Martyr’s Fury can cast it even if he has not prepared it that
presence of magic as if using a Detect Magic spell. If undead have
day, and even if he lacks any unexpended spell slots. However,
been present in the area within the past week, signs of their pres-
this spell will only function when the cleric is fighting on behalf
ence will also be clear to the caster, with more recent unliving
of his faith, or for some ideal of his beliefs.
intruders leaving brighter signs. These indicia are too vague to
allow for successful tracking, however.
This prayer sheaths a willing caster in a mantle of burning radi-
ance, imbuing him with incredible resilience and prowess. Every
MAKER’S PEACE attack the cleric launches while this spell is in effect will auto-
Level 1 matically hit and do maximum damage. The cleric can cast any
spell known to him regardless of whether or not he has prepared
Duration Instant it. The cleric will succeed on every saving throw and cannot be
Range 60’ killed, though enemies can throw up barriers against the priest.
While this spell was first used by Makerite warpriests, versions of The spell will persist to its full duration and cannot be ended early
it have shown up in the liturgies of numerous other faiths. When or dispelled.
the prayer is invoked, a single undead target within range takes
1d6+1 damage for every four levels of the cleric, rounded up. If At the end of the spell’s duration, however, the force of the divine
the undead has been created within the past two weeks, the surge power channeled through the cleric reduces their body to a fine,
of divine power has a chance of breaking the fresh bonds of un- glittering ash. Their equipment remains, but the cleric himself is
quiet magic- the undead must save versus Spells or be destroyed drawn directly into the presence of his deity and cannot be resur-
if it has fewer hit dice than the cleric has levels. rected, cloned, reincarnated, or otherwise returned to life by any
mortal magic. If the referee allows players to rejoin campaigns
with characters of roughly the same level as the ones they have
lost, it is recommended that this spell not be given to such a new
cleric until the new character has ceased to become disposable.

54
 SCION WYRDS
The uncanny abilities of elven Scions derive from their unnatural
birth. As elven souls incarnated in human flesh, the crackling inter-
BAD OMEN
play of power between their materially-infused souls and a human Level 2
body meant for a more immaterial essence grants them a strange An icy chill grips the bowels of the Scion’s enemies as a sense of
aptitude for molding the world around them to fit their own will. inexorable doom washes over them. All enemies within sixty feet
The following wyrds are those that most commonly manifest in a of the Scion suffer a -1 morale penalty and a -1 to their attack and
Scion, though stranger powers are not unknown in some rare cases. damage rolls as their weapons twist in their hands and bad luck
dogs their strokes. Foes afflicted by this blight remain cursed for
ALL POSSIBLE KNIVES 6 turns, but the effect is instantaneous, and new creatures moving
close to the Scion are not affected after the power is triggered. This
Level 1 wyrd can be used once per day per every three levels, rounded up.
The Scion’s personal belongings begin to flicker in and out of
existence as his attention shifts among them, shuffling the lines of
possibility in which he does or does not possess an item. Any of
DREAM LOGIC
the Scion’s worn or carried items can be instantly banished from Level 2
reality, returning only when the Scion dies, goes unconscious, A brief exertion of will allows a Scion to force a group of vic-
or wills it. The items can be called back with equal alacrity, im- tims to perceive the Scion's actions as rational, reasonable, and
mediately appearing on the Scion in the same pouch, hand, or justified, no matter how excessive they may be. The Scion can
arrangement in which they vanished. Time passes normally for trigger this wyrd as part of a single round's action. The onlooker
items that have been banished, and all items count against the with the best save versus Spell can then roll a saving throw; if
Scion’s encumbrance limit whether or not they’re tangible to he or she succeeds, the wyrd fails to take effect, while otherwise
anyone else. A Scion cannot banish animate creatures or items all subjects present are affected. Those affected by the wyrd will
larger than a suit of armor. This wyrd can be used any number of view the Scion's action as reasonable and justified for up to one
times per day and functions instantaneously. hour or until confronted on the point by someone not affected
by the wyrd. If the action is an attack or other hostile activity, the
ALREADY THERE targets may defend themselves normally, but will not consider
that round's attack to be cause for umbrage. This wyrd can be
Level 3 used once per day for every four levels of the Scion, rounded up.
With a brief moment's concentration and the movement of no
less than fifteen feet in a straight line, the Scion can transport
himself to the side of any living creature whom he has seen with
FALSE REMEMBERED FACES
his own unaided vision within the past half hour. The Scion is not Level 2
automatically aware of the location of their target, but can choose The Scion may alter their physical appearance and the appearance
where to appear so long as it is within ten feet of the subject. of their clothing and equipment to that of any human, elven,
Onlookers will assume that the Scion has always been present dwarven, or halfling subject whom they have seen before. This
with the target unless such a circumstance would be greatly illusionary alteration lasts until the Scion abandons it, but any
implausible. Wards that prevent teleportation will bar this ability, person who touches the Scion may make a saving throw versus
but it will function even across planar barriers. This wyrd can be Spells to break the wyrd's enchantment. A person who fails their
used once per day, or twice per day at tenth level. save perceives the form as real and cannot attempt to pierce the
illusion again for one hour. This ability can be used only once per
day, but may be maintained for as long as desired.

SCION WYRD LIST

Wyrd Level
1 2 3 4 5
1 Not My Time All Possible Knives Already There Inexorable Step Foreordained
2 Solipsistic Forge Bad Omen Ghostwalker One Shadow Left Hand Road
3 Twice Seen Blade Dream Logic Roll The Bones The Other Way Undestined
4 Walker In Dreams False Remembered Faces Speed of Nightmare - -
55
FOREORDAINED ONE SHADOW
Level 5 Level 4
The Scion exerts a ruthless control over someone else's destiny. For a single round, the Scion's presence blurs and coalesces
Once per day, they may simply declare the outcome of a par- into two separate beings. Each copy of the Scion has the same
ticular die roll made by a person within 120' of the Scion. If the equipment, hit points, and physical condition, though neither
Scion is affecting an attack roll or saving throw, the victim may can use wyrds or use charged magic items. Each copy can act
make a save versus Spells to resist the effect. If the declaration is independently, but at the end of the round, one of the two copies
used to aid an ally by improving their dice, the target of the attack vanishes along with all their equipment. If either copy is killed
or damage can make a saving throw versus Spell to instead take during the round, the other suffers 3d6 hit points of damage.
the original roll. The Scion may wait until after the subject rolls This wyrd can be triggered once per day.
to ordain the new result.
ROLL THE BONES
GHOSTWALKER Level 3
Level 3 The will of the Scion begins to bleed over into the mundane
The Scion and his allies become briefly invisible to the senses of world, with random events now subtly conforming to his wishes.
other creatures. This wyrd has much same effect as the magic- Invoking this wyrd allows the Scion to control one essentially
user spell Invisibility 10' Radius, but also conceals sounds, smells, random event, such as a roll of dice, a round of cards, or the indif-
and unintentional physical alterations of the landscape such as ferent selection of victims for a mad sorcerer's experiments. The
footprints in mud or smears in dust. This ability can be used once Scion must be able to perceive the event or the person making
per day. the choice, and intelligent creatures gain a saving throw versus
spell to resist the effect. The Scion can sense the presence of these
nodes of randomness. They can tell whether a given choice or
INEXORABLE STEP event is purposeful or essentially random, and so can determine
Level 4 whether or not the wyrd would be helpful. This wyrd can also be
The Scion can no longer be hindered by rough terrain, heavy triggered to grant the Scion or an ally within sight a reroll on a
encumbrance, or liquid surfaces. He moves at his full normal failed saving throw. This ability can be invoked once per day.
movement rate regardless of the weight he carries or the condition
of the terrain, and can cross liquids as if they were solid ground.
Any solid or liquid surface can bear his weight, no matter how
SOLIPSISTIC FORGE
fragile it may be. This wyrd does not grant the Scion the ability to Level 1
carry more than his normal encumbrance maximum. The Scion brings a piece of his own inner world into the outer
one. He can instantly conjure any non-magical object no larger
than a suit of armor. He can only conjure replicas of specific items
LEFT HAND ROAD if he has carefully examined such items before, such as particular
Level 5 keys or book pages. These items last for six turns and serve the
The Scion gathers his allies and walks with them through twisted Scion as a normal item of their type, but they appear as a ghostly,
veils of space, arriving at a far distant location in mere minutes. intangible image to any other living or animate creature. A Scion
This spell functions as does the Teleport spell, except it can affect could pull a rope and grappling hook from their own imagination
up to ten allied creatures and requires that the Scion and his and use it to climb a wall, but any onlooker would be unable
companions be able to move at least three hundred feet in a to touch the rope. An unseen pickaxe would chop holes in a
straight line. If the result of the teleport table check is "high" wooden door, but be completely intangible to an earth elemental
the group appears 1d6 miles away from the target, while a "low" or puzzled miner. The Scion can summon two items each day for
result means that the group ends up 2d20 miles away. Travelers each experience level he possesses.
appear on solid ground if such is available at their destination.
This wyrd can be triggered once per day.
SPEED OF NIGHTMARE
Level 3
NOT MY TIME The Scion moves with impossible speed, defying the ordinary
Level 1 bonds of motion with incredibly swift movement. This wyrd has
The Scion instinctively rebels against a future in which he is an effect equivalent to that of a Haste spell lasting three turns, but
gravely wounded, unconsciously forcing the lines of possibility it affects only the Scion. Only one wyrd can be used per round
to bend away from that outcome. Once per day, when struck while under the effect, and this ability can be triggered once per
by an enemy’s weapon or spell, the Scion can trigger this wyrd day. As a side-effect of mastering this wyrd, the Scion becomes
after seeing the damage roll; the damage immediately becomes permanently immune to Slow and paralysis effects, whether
the minimum possible for the attack. mundane or induced by Hold spells.

56
THE OTHER WAY UNDESTINED
Level 4 Level 5
The Scion's control over probability and the subtle aspects of The Scion becomes enormously difficult to affect with mind-
reality sharpens and intensifies. Once per day, the Scion can controlling spells and enchantments which inflict permanent
"take back" an action he has performed within the prior round, mental or physical changes. The Scion now fails saving throws
reverting the state of reality around him to the condition it was against mind-affecting magic or powers which induce permanent
in before he acted. It is as if the Scion never performed the action changes only on a natural 1. Once per day, the Scion may touch
at all, but simply stood still for a round. This wyrd can be trig- a subject and grant them a saving throw versus any compulsions
gered even if the choice made during the round resulted in the or enchantments which have been laid on them; this saving throw
Scion's death, but it cannot be used to avert deaths that came is successful on anything except a natural 1. If the saving throw
about from another creature's choices, such as that of an attack or fails, this wyrd cannot be applied again to the same conditions.
spell, unless the attack was directly resulting from a choice made
that prior round.
WALKER IN DREAMS
Level 1
TWICE SEEN BLADE The Scion briefly vanishes into nothingness, letting go of his
Level 1 identity for a brief moment before remembering himself in a
The Scion bends the strands of possibility, forcing an outcome location within 25 feet. The Scion must be able to see the tar-
that leaves a foe nudged into the path of his blade. After missing geted location, and use of this power takes the place of his normal
an attack roll, the Scion can invoke this power to gain a reroll on movement allotment. This wyrd can be used safely twice per day;
the attack. This wyrd can be used once per day at first level, twice every use after the second requires a saving throw versus Spells
at fifth, and three times a day at tenth. or the Scion is lost forever within the void. Such unfortunates
cannot be revived by anything short of a Wish.

57
 SHOU WITCH SPELLS
A Shou witch has access to a limited number of spells, each enchant-
ment coalescing within her mind when she achieves the necessary
CLEANSE THE EARTH
degree of insight to cast it. The following are some of the new spells Level 7
available to these sinister priestesses of Shakun. The other spells Duration Instant
given on the table below function identically to the clerical spells Range 120’
of the same level.
The witch summons the powers of the earth to rise up and scour
foreign magic from the sorceress’ foes. A 20’ radius zone within
BIND CHAMPION the range of the spell is suddenly struck as if with a Dispel Magic
Level 1 spell cast by a cleric of the witch’s level. Any non-Shou spellcaster
Duration 24 hours within the zone must also save versus Spells or suffer 1d6 damage
per level of the witch, taking half damage on a successful save. For
Range 120’ this purpose, “spellcasters” include any entity capable of casting
This enchantment binds the witch to a willing champion, al- a spell, including magic-users, elves, clerics, and monsters that
lowing the two of them to share each other’s strength. During have spell-like powers. Tidespawn and Tide cultists get no saving
any one round, the two may shift up to 3 points per witch level throw versus this spell, and the Dispel Magic effect is always suc-
of incoming damage from one subject to the other. A 2nd level cessful against their sorceries.
witch hit for 8 points of damage can thus transfer 6 points to
her champion. If struck again during the same round, no further
injury can be shared. The witch decides how damage will be ap-
EARTHEN GUIDE
portioned, and can deliver fatal injuries to the champion if she Level 3
so chooses. The champion must be within 120’ in order to share Duration 1 hour/level
wounds. Range 1 mile/level
Spirits of the earth direct the witch to a particular natural feature,
BLIGHTING CLOUD provided the feature exists within the spell’s range. The spell
Level 3 grants the witch an unerring sense of the feature’s direction, but
Duration Instant no hint as to how far it may be. Natural features such as springs,
particular trees, a specific rock outcropping, or an exposed lode of
Range 120’ ore may all be found with this spell, but two feet of earth covering
The witch summons a burst of corrosive geomantic power, with a feature will block the spell’s effect. This spell can also be used to
the shock filling a 20’ radius sphere within range. This sorcer- find normal varieties of game animals.
ous assault does 1d8 damage plus the witch’s level to all living
creatures within the area except those whom the witch considers
allies. Undead and constructs are not affected. Targets can make a
saving throw versus Spells to take only half damage.

SHOU WITCH SPELL LIST

Spell Level
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Conjure Cleanse the
1 Bind Champion Bless Animate Dead Charm Monster Conjure Animals
Elemental Earth
Create Food and Cure Critical
2 Charm Person ESP Blighting Cloud Control Weather Earthquake
Water Wounds
Cure Light Cure Serious
3 Hold Person Cure Disease Flame Strike Heal Mass Invisibility
Wounds Wounds
4 Detect Magic Invisibility Dispel Magic Plant Growth Raise Dead Move Earth Restoration
Phantasmal
5 Remove Fear Earthen Guide Polymorph Self Spirit Warband Stone Tell Reverse Gravity
Force
Wrath of the
6 Shakun’s Law Scent Intruder Lightning Bolt Shakun’s Scourge Wall of Stone Wind Walk
Mountains
Speak With Protection from
7 Shield
Animal Normal Missiles
8 Sleep Spirit Guardian Remove Curse

58
 SHAKUN’S SCOURGE
Level 4
Duration Instant
Range 240’
A lash of geomantic energy erupts from the witch to scourge a
single target. The victim suffers 1d6 points of damage per level
of the witch, up to 10d6 maximum. A target can save versus
Spells for half damage, though Tidespawn and Tide-worshipping
cultists get no saving throw versus this effect, and suffer 1d6+1
damage per caster level.

SPIRIT GUARDIAN
Level 2
Duration 1 turn/level
Range 30’
The witch invokes the spirit of a slain member of her tribe to
protect and serve her. The spirit summoned is tangible and has
statistics equivalent to a normal warrior of the witch’s tribe but is
undead, and immune to sleep, hold, and charm effects. The spirit
has no memory of its prior life and does nothing without being
commanded by the witch, but will obey even self-destructive
commands.

SCENT INTRUDER SPIRIT WARBAND

Level 5
Level 2
Duration 1 turn/level
Duration Instant
Range 120’
Range 1 mile/level
The witch calls for the shades of dead tribesmen to serve her. This
The witch gains a brief impression of the presence of any intel-
spell functions much like the second-level Shou Witch spell Spirit
ligent beings within the spell's range who are actively intending
Guardian, except that one spirit is summoned for every level of
harm to her or her allies. The witch can detect numbers and a
the witch, or one for every two levels if the witch is a bugbear.
vague sense of direction, but not distance.
These spirits remember nothing of their former lives, but will
obey the witch’s commands unflinchingly.
SHAKUN’S LAW
Level 1 WRATH OF THE MOUNTAINS
Duration 1 hour Level 6
Range 120’ Duration 1d4+1 rounds
This spell is equivalent to Charm Person, but affects up to 3d6 Range Self
Shou within the area of effect. Creatures lacking at least one-half
This spell fills the witch with a brief surge of overwhelming fury,
Shou blood are unaffected. While under the influence of the
goading her to fight on even after suffering mortal wounds. For
spell, the affected Shou will have an overwhelming urge to obey
the duration of this spell, the witch cannot be reduced below 1
the orders of the witch, and will do so as long as the outcome
hit point, though she may be killed by poisons or other effects
does not appear suicidal. Targets may make a saving throw versus
that produce instant death. If the witch has been reduced to 1 hit
Spells to resist the effect.
point by the time the spell ends, she immediate falls unconscious
for 1d4 rounds.

59
 NEW MAGIC-USER SPELLS
The grimoires of the wizards of the Isles are laden with numerous
relic-spells saved from the Red Tide’s depredations, but many more
JADE-WHEELED CHARIOT
have been lost to the relentless press of time. A few of these old Level 4
spells survive in the crabbed writings of isolated hermits and brood- Duration 1 hour/level
ing sorcerer-lords, but still more exist only in forgotten books and Range Special
inscriptions in places long since lost to Shou and time.
This sorcery calls forth a large chariot of luminous white jade,
drawn by a pair of half-translucent steeds. The chariot will
AUSPICIOUS WARD OF COMITY move as the caster commands over even the roughest and most
Level 3 intractable terrain, moving at a rate of 5 miles an hour regardless
Duration 1 turn/level of the terrain type. The chariot can hold up to eight occupants
and will keep them warm, dry, and comfortable regardless of the
Range Six allies climate outside. The chariot can even travel over water, though
There are times when a wizard cannot afford to be too finicky strong waves or storms may swamp it. The chariot and horses
over the placement of his spells. The Auspicious Ward of Comity are considered AC 6 for purposes of resisting attacks, and have a
allows a caster to protect up to six allies from the consequences number of HP equal to twice the caster’s level. If reduced to 0 HP
of their spellcasting. For the duration of the Ward, those affected or dispelled, the chariot instantly vanishes.
will take no damage from the wizard’s spells and will automati-
cally save against any of his other spell effects. Those protected
can suppress this effect in order to gain the benefit of an aiding
JIE TOU’S WISE ELEGANCE
spell. Each subject protected by the ward must be anointed with Level 1
a costly unguent worth 50 gp per person to be protected. Duration 24 hours
Range Touch
BECKONING THE BONES A favored enchantment of the elite of Xian’s nobility and the
Level 4 decadent sorcerers of Tien Lung, this spell allows a single target
Duration Permanent and their worn or carried possessions to remain neat, clean, and
dry regardless of their surroundings for the next 24 hours. This
Range 60’ spell will not protect against caustic liquids, but it will prevent
Most mortal remains are nothing more than the husk of their them from adhering for more than one round, and will keep car-
original owner, devoid of spirit or soul. Yet the marks of life ried objects dry even while submerged.
are still subtly present in the bones of the dead, and a skilled
necromancer can evoke these faint memories to call up aid when
the purpose is pleasing to the dead. This spell functions identi-
LITTLE HOUSE OF SERENE JOY
cally to the 3rd level cleric spell Animate Dead, except the undead Level 5
can only be animated for a purpose that they would have found Duration Permanent
acceptable in life. If commanded to act in a way inimical to their Range Special
earthly lives, they will collapse back into a pile of inanimate bone
and flesh. Sometimes the dead can be persuaded to serve for less This variant form of the Wall of Stone spell was devised in the
immediately compelling ends by the offering of gold or other Ninefold Celestial Empire to help support their elaborate build-
valuables that they would have prized in life. ing programs. While only the most powerful sorcerers are capable
of casting it, it can produce large edifices far more quickly than a
standard Wall of Stone spell. By coaxing up bedrock from beneath
BROAD BACK OF THE TIRELESS LABORER the soil, the caster may form up to 1,000 cubic feet of stone per
Level 2 level into any structure desired. The spell takes ten minutes to
Duration 1 hour/level cast for every thousand cubic feet of stone shaped, and the detail
produced by the spell is very basic- doorways and windows can be
Range Touch formed, but not engravings or sculptures. The stone summoned
The ancient Imperial wizard who developed this spell used it to is whatever rock lies beneath the topsoil, so some areas may
ensure that his assistants never flagged in their labors. The spell not have serviceable rock to utilize. Because the rock is entirely
affects one willing subject of human size or smaller. For the spell’s natural, it cannot be eliminated by a Dispel Magic spell or other
duration, the subject grows no hungrier, thirstier, or more weary forms of countermagic.
no matter how great their exertions. Maintaining this spell for
more than a day at a time can be hazardous, however; if the spell
is maintained for more than 18 hours out of every 24, the subject
must save versus Poison or fall unconscious for 1d6 hours from
the strain on their system.

60
REFULGENCE OF SAGACITY TEUTOHARD’S INKED APPREHENSION
Level 1 Level 2
Duration 2 turns/level Duration 1 hour/level
Range 20’ Range Sight
The light of the sorcerer’s wisdom gleams forth in a nimbus of The wandering sorcerer Teutohard had a fervent urge to bring
steady golden radiance, illuminating the area within 20’ of the the sights of his far explorations back home to Hohnberg, but his
caster. This refulgence cannot be doused without ending the lack of one eye rendered his artistic efforts somewhat lacking. He
spell. It can be intensified into a brief burst of scorching energy, developed this spell to compensate. By holding a sheet of parch-
however, and will do 1d4 fire damage to everything within 20’ ment and focusing upon a particular subject, the caster can cause
save the caster, with a saving throw versus Spells to avoid the a colored ink image of the subject to appear on the parchment,
injury. Once the spell is discharged in this fashion, it ends. done in a very accurate if somewhat pedestrian style. The subject
can be as large as can fit in the caster’s visual range, but the detail
of the drawing is limited by the size of the parchment. A large
SEJADI’S CORUSCATION subject rendered onto a small sheet is likely to be unrecognizable.
Level 3 An image takes one minute to form, and the caster must remain
Duration 2 turns/level focused on the subject while the spell works.
Range 30’
Copies of this spell are in common circulation in many magical
An improved version of the Refulgence of Sagacity, the Archmage circles. Most wizards claim that it is indispensable in perfectly
Sejadi found it useful for dealing with troublesome assassination capturing the details of any ancient inscriptions or fragile gri-
attempts. The glow produced by the Coruscation illuminates up moire pages they may discover, but some murmur quietly of
to 30’ around the caster, and can be discharged to do 2d6 damage wealthy nobles being given near-instantaneous portraits of their
to all others within range, with a save versus Spells to ignore the kindred, servants, and the occasional house pet.
damage. If the caster is struck by a physical attack while the
Coruscation is still in effect, they may focus the light into a small,
tangible shield to lessen the impact of the blow. This discharges
the Coruscation, but reduces the incoming damage by 2d6 points.

61
THE EMPEROR’S ROAD THE PANDECT OF INIMITABLE VERITY
Level 7 Level 6
Duration Special Duration 1 hour/level
Range Special Range Special
This rare and powerful spell is rumored to survive in a few long- The Pandect of Inimitable Verity is the product of late-era thauma-
lost spellbooks maintained by the most powerful of the magi who turgical research in Xian, the fruits of some of the last work done
made the journey to the Sunset Isles. It functions in a fashion by Archmage Rai before he finally broke with Lammach. That
identical to that of an ordinary Teleport spell, but it allows the masterful summoner utilized a number of captured Tidespawn
caster to carry along up to ten human-sized companions. The to develop a formula that served to repulse both them and other
spell also never plants the caster off-target; on a roll of "High" or extra-planar beings. By an unfortunate irony, there are very few
"Low" on the teleport table, the spell simply fails. magi left in the Isles with the strength to cast the Pandect.

The Pandect requires the drawing or inlay of an elaborate pat-

THE GOLDEN NEEDLES OF ENTHRALLMENT tern to center the enchantment. Drawing a quick temporary
Level 2 pattern requires one round and rare gem dust worth 500 gold
Duration Special pieces, while inlaying a permanent one requires 5,000 gold pieces
Range Special worth of materials. Temporary patterns serve only one use of the
Pandect, while inlaid ones can be used repeatedly as long as they
This “improved” version of Charm Person was developed in the remain mostly intact. Once cast, the Pandect bubbles an area
sinister city of Tien Lung in order to assist the invidious Stitched up to 50’ in radius around the pattern in a zone of protection
Path sorcerers there in preparing their servants for use. A subject against Tidespawn and extra-planar entities such as demons or
under the influence of this spell is utterly obedient to the caster, tulpas. The zone also effects Tide Cultists, as their senses have
and will accept even suicidal commands. Victims may save to been fatally compromised by their masters.
throw off this spell only once per month. This remarkably effec-
tive charm requires that the victim be carefully prepared before- Creatures affected by the Pandect cannot enter the protected area
hand by means of golden needles that cost 100 gp to fabricate. under any circumstances, either by teleportation or mundane
The needles must be left embedded in the victim, though they travel. They cannot perceive the interior of the warded area either,
can be reused on new servants when the old expire. The prepara- whether by scrying or ordinary sight. Indeed, they are unable to
tion process requires several undisturbed hours and permanently even notice the warded area and its occupants unless it is pointed
reduces the victim’s Intelligence by 2 points. It also destroys any out by some other being or they are attacked from within the
spellcasting capacity in the victim. This damage can be remedied wards. Once an affected subject has been attacked from inside the
only by a Cure Disease spell or other enchantments of similar Pandect, the spell collapses.
strength.

THE SUMMONS UPON THE WAY

Level 5
Duration Special
Range Special
This spell is common only to expert elven sorcerers, as it contains
the secrets for calling a dead elf back into his physical form.
Only elven souls that have chosen to defer reincarnation can be
beckoned by this enchantment, and the soul can choose whether
or not to answer the petitioner. This spell is most often used to
call back a long-dead Apotheon who has consented to linger in
this world in order to return and aid his brethren at some hour of
need. The spell will function on any such soul, regardless of the
amount of time they have spent dead.

Unlike the Raise Dead spell, this spell does not require the physi-
cal remains of the dead elf, though possessing them does make
it easier. Without the remains, the caster must be able to recite
the name not only of the subject, but the names of his prior five
incarnations as well. Many mighty Apotheons are likely to wait
forever, as much of this lore was lost in the chaos of the exile and
now exists only in the echoed memories of certain elves, or in
texts long since lost to mortal knowledge.

62
 MAGICAL ITEMS AND ESOTERIC MATERIALS
Gadaal Astrolabe: One of the rare and precious jeweled astrolabes
brought over by the Gadaal astromancers during the exile, this
artifact is very useful for diviners. Provided it is used by someone
who has been instructed in its operation by a Gadaal astromancer,
the astrolabe improves the operation of a Contact Other Plane spell
cast by the user. Beings contacted through the astrolabe never
lie, though they may not know the answer to a question, and the
“insanity” result is reduced to “inauspicious stars”, inflicting a -2
penalty on the caster’s saving throws for the duration of the effect.

Creed Blade: These blades are crafted by magesmiths of the elven

Creeds, each one intended to echo the profound truths and glori-
ous ambitions of the elves that wield them. Creed blades are com-
monly found in the form of a sword or dagger, always of at least
+1 enchantment bonus. They have a special virtue in the hands of
an elf, granting the bearer a second saving throw versus any mind-
compelling charm or spell if the first save is failed. While the elf
carries the weapon, however, the principles of his or her Creed are
limned in faint lines of white fire on the blade of the sword, allow-
ing any observer able to read the elven inscription to get an excellent
idea of their true motivations.

Godbone: Few substances on the Isles are as strange and little-

understood as the glossy black stone called “godbone” by the native
Shou. Their witch-women insist that the rock is the solidified
remains of their god Shakun, who sacrificed himself in this world to
save his chosen people. The jagged black shards of the stone can be
used to open a channel to the sleeping god’s power by those versed
in the ancient secrets. matically functions at its most powerful, with all random effects
maximized. If the spell involves rolling on a random table, such
The Shou witches share these secrets with no one but their appren- as Reincarnation or Teleport, the caster may roll three times and
tices, and certainly not with the hated human invaders. Captured take the preferred result. Shou witches are aware of this quality of
Shou witches have been interrogated by human sorcerers, but even godbone, and the most powerful are not reluctant to use it against
under the influence of spells of charming and domination, the the hated humans.
instructions they provide make no sense. Some magi have theorized
that the secrets are only comprehensible to a Shou who has under- Godbone is exceedingly expensive on the open market, with Tien
gone the initiations required of a witch. Lungan sorcerers often making a point of purchasing or confiscat-
ing every scrap they can lay hands on. A pound of raw godbone will
“Raw” godbone is the crude black stone itself, chipped from veins easily fetch as much as a thousand gold koku in the marketplaces of
deep in the mountains or unearthed from scraped hillsides. The rock Xian or Hohnberg.
is rare, with the veins less common than gold and each one guarded
with savage fervor by any Shou that find it. Most are crowded with Godbone Armor: This armor is equivalent to either leather, splint
local tribes, each one waiting for their chance to seize the sacred mail, or very rarely plate mail, depending on its manner of con-
stone from its current keepers. struction. Countless tiny stone plates of godbone are painstakingly
drilled and bound with leather thongs and backing into suits of
In its raw form, the godbone has powerful warding effects against enchanted armor. This armor always has at least a +1 bonus. While
the Red Tide and all its creations. A person bearing at least a pound wearing the armor, the possessor gains the benefit of a Protection
of raw godbone on his person gains the benefit of a Protection from from Evil spell applicable only to Tidespawn. Godbone armor gives
Evil spell against the attacks or influences of Tidespawn. Such a -4 hit penalty to the attack rolls of any extra-planar creature at-
creatures cannot touch a person bearing godbone unless the bearer tacking the wearer, including Tidespawn.
attacks them first, though they may use ranged attacks and spells.
Under the arts of certain elder witches, the raw stone can be shaped Godbone Weaponry: This weapon is invariably of at least +1 en-
and formed into sharp weaponry and tough armor. chantment, and usually takes the form of a club, mace, spear, or
dagger. While carrying the weapon, the wielder gains the benefit
Godbone can also be used to fuel magical spells with its innate of a Protection from Evil spell that applies only against Tidespawn.
geomantic power. One pound of raw godbone is required per level While godbone weaponry appears to be made from that brittle,
of the spell to be augmented. When so employed, the spell auto-
63
jagged black stone, nothing short of powerful magic or the thews and their infernal masters. When the blade is drawn, the possessor
of a giant can damage such a weapon. Godbone weaponry is always automatically senses the presence of infernal demons within 60’,
able to injure extra-planar beings, including Tidespawn, regardless and any attack rolls made with the blade against infernal demons or
of their normal weapon immunities. Hell King worshipers may be rolled twice, with the better roll used
to determine a hit. The blade will twist to bite a wielder who serves
Jade Seal of August Rank: This thumb-sized seal is carved with the Hell Kings; such a bearer suffers 1d6 damage every round they
intricate Imperial characters and a distinctive flowing pattern along use the sword in a life-or-death battle.
one face. A hole at one end allows for its wear on a silken cord
or thong. Non-magical versions of this seal are common among Ring of the Mountain Sage: This enchanted ring grants the wearer
Xianese daifu and other nobility, but in the glorious days of the a certain lighthearted indifference to the external world, and a
Ninefold Celestial Empire, most magistrates possessed one of these carelessness about grave concerns of life and death. The ring allows
enchanted versions. While carried by a possessor, the magic of the the wearer to choose to ignore one source of harm for one round; a
seal leaves the bearer as pristine as the jade; clean, dry, and neatly- specific enemy’s blade becomes useless against the wearer, a plunge
appointed regardless of their environment. The effects are identical off a cliff does no harm, a stroll through a bonfire does not scorch,
to that of the first level magic-user spell Jie Tou’s Wise Elegance. If the and so forth. The wearer must then immediately abandon the ring
jade is stained or dirtied this virtue is lost, and is not regained until and can never benefit from another Ring of the Mountain Sage again.
the jade has been clean and dry for an hour. The open wearing of Until the wearer discards the ring, they suffer a -4 penalty on all
jade belt ornaments is forbidden in Xian save to the nobility, so pos- saving throws as it weights them down with misfortune in rebuke
sessors are advised to keep the Jade Seal of August Rank concealed of their grasping nature.
while in use.
Skull of the Longfathers: When a dwarven master craftswoman’s
Prayer-Wheel Hammer: This war hammer +1 has a small prayer husband perishes in battle, his skull is sometimes preserved as a
wheel crafted into its head, one designed to spin swiftly every time memorial to his courage, jeweled and inlaid with gold by his wife.
the hammer is swung. Each successful hit with the hammer accrues At times, the grief of the crafter creates a mystical bond between
spiritual merit to the wielder and emboldens them in battle. After the skull and the shade of the dwarven warrior. When the skull is
a hit, the wielder regains 1 lost hit point. Smiting allies or harmless clasped tightly in one hand, the possessor gains a pool of additional
beings is an act of impurity, and inflicts 1 hit point of damage on hit points equal to half the maximum hit points of the deceased
the impious wielder. dwarven warrior- usually 15, though the skulls of great dwarven
heroes might have as many as 30. Any injury done to the wielder
Red Debt Katana: This bastard sword is always at least of +1 en- is taken from those hit points first, with the jewels and gold of the
chantment and Kueh manufacture, and is usually inscribed with the skull progressively cracking and dulling until the whole skull col-
mon crest of a samurai family. Many brave samurai were slaughtered lapses to dust when the last bonus hit point is lost. These skulls
by the Shogun Rai when they refused to bow to the Hell Kings, cannot be repaired.
and this blade possesses an almost sentient hatred for the demons

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 STYLING MAGIC ITEMS AND EQUIPMENT
It’s a common complaint that experienced characters often end up
1D20 ITEM CREATORS
with caddies full of magical weapons that can be distinguished only
by their relative plus totals. Many referees would like to make the 1-7 Imperials
discovery of magical items more flavorful, but it can be difficult to 8-10 Eirengarders
think of some way to specially distinguish one potion of healing from 11-12 Kueh
another, or some way to set off a sword +1 from a more ordinary
13-14 Shou
blade. The following tables can help jump-start a referee’s creativity
and give an easier path to individualizing magical finds. 15-16 Dwarves
17 Eshkanti
The first question to answer is “Who made this item?” Magical 18 Gadaal
items are notoriously durable, and can survive centuries of neglect
without so much as a rust stain. Still, most magical items in the Isles 19 Prehistoric entities
were either created by the refugees from the Red Tide or imported 20 Elves
from the homelands of the exiles and colonists who came here Once you’ve determined the original makers of the item, you can
earlier. In some cases, a particular villain or patron associated with decorate it with styles and elements appropriate to those people.
an adventure might be powerful enough to make their own magic Each section below includes some common traits and characteristics
items, but usually your best bet is to roll or pick off the chart. of magical items created by the group.

Imperial Items
Weaponry: Favored Imperial weapons are crossbows, spears, long
swords, short swords, battle axes, and hand axes. The weapons are
fashioned of high-quality steel and usually decorated in elaborate
fashion, with textured grips, inscribed hilts, and auspicious Impe-
rial characters worked into the metal promising long life or good
fortune in battle to the wielder. Gold and silver fittings are common
on fine weaponry, along with brightly-colored silk cording for grips
or tassels. Red is the most common color for fittings, but blue and
green enameling is sometimes used, or yellow for the equipment of
high officials.

Armor: Most Imperial magical armor is either leather, chain mail,

scale mail, or splint mail. Magical shields are known but uncom-
mon. The decoration on such armor is similar to that of weaponry,
except for armor crafted for the expert Xianese Scouts, elite rangers
skilled in the deep infiltration of Shou-held lands. Their armor is Scrolls: Imperials usually ink their magical texts on thin strips of
aggressively inconspicuous, with muted jungle colors. hard white wood, with a winding of silk through the strips to bind
them together into a single page. When the spell is cast or copied
Potions: Individual potions vary widely in smell, texture, and ap- from the scroll, the discharge of energy reduces the wood and silk
pearance, but traditional Imperial High Path mages prefer to use to a fine dusting of ash.
thumb-sized vials of treated jade to hold their creations. The exterior
of these bottles is always fashioned in shapes easy to distinguish by Wands, Staves, and Rods: Jade is always a favored element of
touch- some bulbous, some cylindrical, some square in shape, the Imperial magical working, and most wands, staves, and rods have at
better to prevent disastrous errors in the heat of the moment. Most least a little of that magical mineral involved in their creation. Some
mages etch Imperial characters on the surface of the bottle to help of the more paranoid magi avoid inscribing command words on the
indicate the contents. item itself, but there is almost always a sheath or case somewhere
nearby with the command word either on it plainly or encrypted in
some code or allusion that the original creator would understand.
Some Imperial wands take the form of fans, triggered by waving the
fan toward a target while speaking the command words.

65
 Eirengarder Items
Weaponry: Eirengarders love spears and pole arms, and exert the
kind of care in crafting these weapons that other people take with
tempered blades. Makerite paladins favor long swords and two-
handed swords when in the line of battle, or war hammers as a
symbol of their deity. Eirengarder weapons are usually very austere
and devoid of decoration, but exquisitely balanced and durable.
What little decoration is used revolves around Makerite prayers and Scrolls: Magical Eirengarder scrolls are easily recognized by the
the holy hammer symbol. intricate lacework cuttings trimmed into the sides of the parch-
ment. Magic-users cut the patterns to help contain and channel the
Armor: Eirengarders tend to shun light armor for those warriors energy of the scroll, while Eirengarder warpriests elaborate them to
who operate away from the pike line, and most magical armor they do homage to the artistry of the Maker. The actual inscriptions are
craft is no lighter than splint mail or plate mail. Heavy Eirengarder of eye-watering intricacy, and in the case of Makerite prayer scrolls,
plate is second only to dwarven armor for thickness and weight, and usually illuminated with gold leaf and colored inks.
some of the more elaborate sets would be unusable by a human were
it not for the enchantments on it. Eirengarder armor is almost never Wands, Staves, and Rods: Most Eirengarder staves and rods are
enameled or decorated in any way save with memorial inscriptions fashioned with a cruciform head reminiscent of a stylized hammer,
dedicated to prior owners who died while wearing it. The ancestral while wands and some staves tend to have a pointed, spear-like
war plate of the Thusundi of Hohnberg is so thickly covered with head. Many Eirengarder artifacts are cut with puzzle-lines, patterns
these inscriptions that hardly an inch of metal is left bare. that depict some stylized logic puzzle derived from the Makerite
Law. Before the item can be used, the puzzle must be solved and the
Potions: Eirengarder warpriests sometimes fabricate blessed un- patterns touched in the correct order. Most of the modern artifacts
guents for their warriors, encasing the liquids in small glass tablets use patterns that can easily be solved in a day or two at most, but
etched with a prayer appropriate to the contents. To use these ancient Eirengarder items might draw on materials that did not
“potions”, the user must recite the last lines of the prayer before survive the exile or that have since been lost in some long-forgotten
smashing the tablet and anointing himself with the potion. borderland temple.

Kueh Items
Weaponry: Kueh weaponry tends to spears, pole arms, daggers, effect. To gain the benefits of these blooms, the user must utter
bows, short swords, and two-handed swords. The famed Kueh a brief prayer of propitiation to the flower’s spirit before crushing
katana is a form of bastard sword, and is often paired with the waki- it. Priests of certain religions are forbidden from using these spirit
zashi short sword. Kueh blades tend to be of high quality, though flowers, as it constitutes a form of impermissible worship.
blades that predate the exile vary widely. Some of the most ancient
swords actually appear to be of battered and poor quality, but have Scrolls: Kueh scrolls often take the form of ofudas, strips of cloth
acquired powerful magical virtue after all the feats of heroism they or paper inscribed with mystically significant sigils. Once used or
helped perform. Most Kueh blades have silk-wrapped wooden hilts copied into a spellbook, they vanish in a puff of flame. Ofudas for
with small round metal guards, often inscribed with the mon crest spells which require the caster to touch a subject usually involve
of the samurai family that first received the blade. It is considered placing the scroll in contact with the subject as part of the triggering
exceedingly unlucky to replace this guard should the blade come process.
into different hands.
Wands, Staves, and Rods: Kueh enchanters have always preferred
Armor: Magical Kueh armor is almost always chain, splint or very natural, unworked appearances for their magical implements,
banded mail, based on traditional Kueh designs from their iron- attaining beauty by the careful selection of striking natural products
poor homeland. Some versions created after the exile take advantage or juxtaposition of two graceful elements from nature. The magic
of the more abundant ores of Ektau to create intricate coats of inter- inherent in most Kueh wands, staves, and rods comes from the
laced metal plates that are equivalent to plate mail in function. Most elaborate purification rites that imbue the artifact with its power. As
Kueh armor is enameled; often black, but sometimes in brighter each charge is used, the item becomes more and more weathered,
colors. Most full suits also come with a stylized metal mask known until it finally disintegrates into natural decay when fully dis-
as a mempo, usually depicting the Hell King patron of the creator. charged. Such artifacts can often be easy to overlook, as ordinary as
they seem, but an expert sorcerer familiar with Kueh aesthetics can
Potions: Small bamboo flasks contain conventional Kueh potions, usually pick them out by the subtly auspicious lines of the objects.
but some yamabushi traditionalists continue their practice of fash-
ioning magical flower blossoms imbued with a particular potion’s

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 Shou Items
Weaponry: Shou are capable of rudimentary metalworking, but Scrolls: The Shou do have a written language, though few outside
those tribes forced to make their own weapons rarely have access to the witch-priestesses ever have cause to learn it. For many of them,
the necessary infrastructure. Shou-made weapons are usually stone, it is more a secret lexicon of symbols, marks of power able to anchor
bone, or wood: clubs, spears, bows, daggers, maces, morningstars, a spell to some wooden stick or slat of polished wood. The priest-
axes, and darts. Enchanted examples of the art might look only a ess thumbs the symbols on the spell-stick as she incants the final
little more refined to outside eyes, but a little experimentation shows portion of the prayer, and the power manifests through her as the
them to be more durable and better-balanced than tempered steel. stick crumbles to ash. Shou magic-users are very rare, but when
they manufacture scrolls, they tend to borrow the techniques of
Armor: The lack of metal leaves most Shou using leather or the witch-priestesses. Human priests are usually highly reluctant
bone-studded leather armor, save for those fortunate enough to to use Shou spell-sticks, but necessity obliges at times. Makerite
have plundered metal equipment. Armor enchanted by the witch- warpriests, however, will not use them under any circumstances.
priestesses is usually intricately stitched, embossed, and ornamented
with teeth and feathers. The fact that none of these adornments can Wands, Staves, and Rods: Shou witch-staves are usually adorned
be torn away or easily effaced is quick proof of the enchantment. with skulls, feathers, the bones of enemies, and the occasional frag-
ment of godbone embedded in the wood. Many such staves are
Potions: Witch-priestesses brew potions that are stored in small nothing more than ornaments for the witch-priestess who bears
resin-stoppered gourds, usually painted with a symbol to suggest its them, but some have genuine power. Shou wands, staves, and rods
use. The potions can have a spectacularly unpleasant taste, but the almost never have the command word inscribed on them, and their
deep Shou familiarity with local plants and mineral extracts allows former owners are rarely in a condition to reveal it. Most often it is
Shou witch-priestesses to fabricate enchanted elixirs far more easily necessary to consult an urban sage to divine the correct word.
than the alchemists and arcanists of the human cities.

Dwarven Items
Weaponry: The usual run of dwarven weaponry is without ques-
tion the finest steel in the Isles. The work of dwarven craftswomen
is incredibly tough and resistant to corrosion; a warrior can use a
dwarven sword as a crowbar without damaging the metal, and a
dwarven war pick can be used to hack through six feet of limestone
without losing its edge. Dwarven weapons of quality are always
adorned with gold, and usually built in broad-bladed, angular styles.
Most weapons are engraved with the name of their crafter and their
relationship with the warrior first meant to bear it. Dwarves make
many kinds of weapons, but almost never fashion bows, flails, two-
handed swords, or pole arms.

Armor: Dwarven armor is designed for the geometry of the

Other Magical Items: Dwarves do not have spellcasters as other
dwarven body, and thus is usually not serviceable for humans, elves,
races recognize them, so dwarven-made scrolls, wands, staves, and
or halflings. Magical dwarven armor always adjusts itself to fit the
rods are not normally found. The dwarven soul focuses geomantic
wearer flawlessly, however. Non-metallic dwarven armor is almost
power in more subtle ways, and sometimes a master craftswoman
unknown, and dwarven armor of quality always has at least a little
manages to forge some strange power into a masterwork. Deep
gold involved in its manufacture. This gold is often hidden on a
passions are most conducive to producing these artifacts. Hatred,
surface unseen to others, in hopes that a dwarf slain and unrecov-
sorrow, obsession, and love can all give forth strange wonders from
ered by his kinsmen might go unlooted long enough for his spirit to
beneath a dwarfess’ hammer.
enter the afterlife with the essence of the gold in his armor.
Male miners and builders can have the same subtle influence on their
Potions: Dwarven alchemists occasionally manufacture oils and
work, with the roaring currents of geomantic energy deep below
powders that function much as other potions. These substances
the earth focused by the communal effort of groups of dwarven
must be liberally splashed on a target in order to affect them, and
laborers. Stonework and architecture that defy ordinary physical
are usually stored in small stone flasks with cunningly-threaded
laws can be constructed in this way, with wonders impossible to
stoppers. Substances that are intended to be used against enemies
surfacer builder fabricated with nothing more than determination
are sealed into globes of green glass, the surfaces banded with other
and the dream of some beautiful expression in stone.
colors to indicate the nature of their contents.

67
 Eshkanti Items
Weaponry: Traditional Eshkanti weaponry lends itself to such
weapons as can be used on their famously swift horses, even though
such steeds are far rarer on Ektau. Scimitars, shortbows, daggers,
spears, javelins, and lances are all characteristic of Eshkanti work.
Elegant curves and intricate inlay characterize fine Eshkanti manu-
facture, along with numerous invocations and holy symbols from
the clan gods of the crafter. Makerites dislike using such weapons,
but others find them beautifully balanced and fluid.

Armor: Eshkanti commonly prefer lighter armor, such as leather, Scrolls: Eshkanti practice elaborate calligraphic traditions, and their
studded leather, padded, scale mail, and chain. Shields are rarely scrolls are often a meshwork of beautiful but seemingly random
used, with the off hand occupied with a parrying dagger instead. lines and arcs. A suitably educated magus can find the beginning
Eshkanti magical armor is very light- indeed, some examples seem of the text in the decoration and read the pattern embedded there.
unreasonably scanty at first glance and gain their protection from
the powerful interplay of luck charms and auspicious purifications. Wands, Staves, and Rods: Eshkanti sorcerers rarely create tradi-
Many warriors prefer Eshkanti armor designs when dealing with tional wands, staves, and rods, finding them a little too obvious in
hot jungle patrols. their function. Instead, they prefer to enchant seemingly unrelated
objects such as jewels, small idols, crystal balls, lamps, and other
Potions: Eshkanti produce potions of familiar types, but also hand-held objects to serve the same purpose as a magical item. The
produce magical perfumes that induce their effect on those who command words for such devices are often carefully etched on an
breathe deeply of their scent. Once the “potion” takes effect, the interior surface.
remaining perfume loses its magic, if not its pleasing scent.

Gadaal Items
Weaponry: The Gadaal are not a naturally warlike people, but The pastries remain nominally fresh indefinitely, and release their
the occasional clan feud has always demanded the proper tools effects with the first bite taken by the user.
for mountain fighting. Spears, bows, short swords, daggers, and
picks are favored traditional Gadaal weapons, and many of them Scrolls: The astromancers of the Gadaal favor permanent things for
find modern use on the borders of human civilization in the Isles. recording their wisdom. While their most important books take the
Gadaal weapons tend to be rustic and simple in manufacture. Their form of thin plates of etched granite, even temporary enchantments
enchanters empower magical blades not with superior craftsman- are often cut into paper-thin sheets of copper. When held up to the
ship, but with astrologically auspicious materials and crafting light, the cuttings form a mandala that a suitably educated magus
circumstances. can use to focus the geomantic energy of the surrounding area into
a spell effect. The copper crumbles into flecks of verdigris once
Armor: The Gadaal have never favored heavy armor, finding it too expended.
cumbersome in the craggy peaks they called home, and too noisy in
the perilous green borderlands of Ektau. Metal armors are not often Wands, Staves, and Rods: Gadaal walking sticks are not always
enchanted by Gadaal sorcerers. Instead, they use intricate patterns simply walking sticks in the hands of an astromancer. Their tools
of bone chips, precious stones, embroidery, or flecks of astrally- are rarely so ostentatious as the staves of other wizards, but some are
significant metal to create sympathetic star charts on the armor of adorned with polished gemstones of fabulous size and clarity taken
their champions, drawing good fortune down on the wearers. One from their mountain homes. Others are carefully studded with a
such “suit of armor” consisted of a single pair of goatskin boots so small constellation of lesser gems, creating a sympathetic bond
powerfully sorceled that the wearer was as hard to injure as a man between the night sky and the artifact that allows its sorcery to pour
wearing Eirengard plate. into the world. Some go so far as to enchant large quartz crystals
with charges of power. It is said that the common crystal ball of the
Potions: Gadaal rarely create potions in the same way as other diviners originally derived from these crude quartz crystals, yet true
people, instead fashioning small, hard pastries of barley flour and astromancers shun them as being unacceptably tainted by human
“ingredients”. The astromancers are always quite vague about what workings.
the “ingredients” are, and most Gadaal are wise enough not to ask.

68
 Prehistoric Items
Weaponry: Many peoples and races have called the Sunset Isles Potions: Consuming potions created by some long-vanished race
home over the centuries, and many more have vanished into the is always a dangerous prospect. Most potions serve to trigger static
mists of an uncertain past. All that remains are their magical ar- magical phenomena, regardless of the race of the user. Some potions
tifices, the blades and bulwarks they crafted that are still immune rely more heavily on amplifying a specific species’ biology, however,
to the march of days. Almost any weapon can be found from their and these potions can have unpleasant and unpredictable effects
hands, yet these blades are often strangely balanced or shaped, as if on beings not biologically equipped to process them. One form of
designed for hands that were never human. Some of the most pow- ancient potion intended to cause spikes to sprout from a lizardman’s
erful artifacts have clean, gleaming lines and exquisite metallurgy, scales has been known to cause hideous death in reckless adventur-
but are adorned with sigils that have a disquieting resemblance to ers as their very bones erupt with barbed spurs.
Shou witch-writing. Most scoff at the idea that the Shou could ever
create anything so sophisticated. Scrolls: Most ancient scrolls create effects broadly identical to the
spells of the modern day, as each race ultimately discovers the same
Armor: Much prehistoric armor would be useless to humans were it underlying patterns of phenomena that provide magical results. It
not normal for such equipment to shift to fit the wearer. Even then, can require extensive research, however, before some carved stone
there is often a subtle distortion to the plates and hides that leaves cylinder or clay tablet can even be recognized as a spell “scroll”.
it to rest uncomfortably on human shoulders. Some such armor
is enameled in strange, noisome colors, while others are inscribed Wands, Staves, and Rods: Wands, staves, and rods rarely appear
with script that even magic cannot identify. Certain suits of heavy in a straightforward fashion in prehistoric ruins. Curved lengths
armor have been discovered that are remarkably light and strong- of bone, metallic rattles or bells, horns, chimes, fans, whisks, long
and marked with the same sort of Shou characters found on other cords of knotted and decorated leather, and almost any other object
artifact weapons. that can be held in one hand and brandished toward a target might
be some prehistoric race’s idea of a proper Wand of Cold. These
items can usually be distinguished from their mundane equivalents
by how well-preserved they are, with organic materials persisting
undamaged for millennia even amid rot and decay.

Elven Items
Weaponry: Not all elves beg to catch a swordstroke, and even less serviceable shapes pre-
are of a naturally martial dominate. Yet such is the strange magic of the elves that this armor
inclination, but all of them always serves perfectly well, as if it forced attacking blades to accept
retain the memories of war it on its own terms rather than by the common measure of reality.
held by their long-recurrant
souls. As such, elves tend to Potions: Some elven Creeds make a study of alchemy, and produce
prefer weaponry intended delicate glass vials or twists of braided plant matter that produce the
for trained individual com- effect when broken. Different vials or twists are usually distinguish-
batants rather than simple able by the texturing of the glass or the knot pattern of the braid.
tools for mass peasant levies.
Bows, swords, and daggers are Scrolls: Elven “scrolls” most often take the form of tightly-woven
almost universally favored. spheres of a black, rubbery substance. When the caster tightly grips
Enchanted elven weapons the sphere, it snaps open to wrap an intricate pattern of black mark-
tend to casually violate some ings around their forearm. By correctly focusing on the patterns, the
physical principle in their magus can channel the magic of the “scroll” through the markings
manufacture. A sword blade and ignite the spell. The process is invariably painful, but inflicts
might be composed of a no lasting damage. Releasing the sphere without triggering the spell
dozen disjointed fragments causes it to fold back up into a ball.
of steel, each one holding its
place with no visible support, while a bow might appear to be fash- Wands, Staves, and Rods: Elven wands, staves, and rods are
ioned entirely of glass. Elven enchanters do not so much augment similar to their weaponry in the way they defy physical laws in their
the power of existing materials as they change the basic physical manufacture. Humans can trigger their use without pain, but elves
laws around them to something more serviceable to their ends. suffer the usual brief excruciation from activating the artifacts as
the magic is forced to burn a path through their soul-infused flesh.
Armor: Mundane elven armor tends to be light chain or heavier
scale armor suitable for hard use and field repair. Enchanted armor
often appears to be violently impractical. Armor of colored glass,
intricate wire meshwork, angled and spired plates that practically
69
 A BesTiARy of
The isles

Constructs independent thought. The Men of Clay and Jade were originally
In the old days before the Tide, certain expert sorcerers and master mass-produced for agricultural labor and simple, repetitive tasks.
enchanters experimented with the creation of new life out of inani- Their earthenware bodies were animated through several carefully-
mate matter. Some powerful nations such as the Ninefold Celestial positioned pieces of embedded jade, with the precious stone crum-
Empire even went so far as to fashion small armies of these beings, bling to dust with the “death” of the Man of Clay and Jade. These
the better to undertake work too tedious or dangerous for human constructs are stupid by human standards, but can reason through
labor. Still, after the first rush of creation, many of the vital ingredi- basic obstacles to the completion of their tasks. Most speak only the
ents necessary for imbuing dead matter with life became scarce and language of their creators.
difficult to acquire, and eventually it became cheaper to simply hire
more ordinary men to do the work. Porcelain Servitors have the appearance of beautiful maidens or
handsome young men, and a subtle enchantment to give their fired
The remaining constructs were gradually forgotten, used only occa- porcelain shells the texture and appearance of living flesh. Porcelain
sionally by those mandarins or powerful magi who wished to make Servitors were intended for more sophisticated house service requir-
a point of their wealth and power. Some were consigned to guard ing delicacy and diplomatic nuance, and the intelligence required
structures and places of no present interest to human wardens, for such duties makes them among the constructs most likely to
while others were dispatched to aid Imperial colonization missions find holes in the their master’s commands. Some Porcelain Servi-
at the far corners of the earth. Many of those that still survive are tors have actually developed something akin to free will over the
stubbornly bound by commands that admit of no free will, but a centuries since their creation.
few were last given orders that they have successfully subverted or
reinterpreted into greater liberty than they were ever intended to Both Men of Clay and Jade and Porcelain Servitors are capable of
possess. using armor or weaponry if given such by their creators, though
Men of Clay and Jade have difficulty maintaining armor in service-
All constructs are immune to sleep, hold, and charm effects, and able condition.
need not breath, eat, drink, or sleep.
Constructs, War
Ancient War Golem Black Jade Juggernaut
Constructs, Servitor No. Enc. 1 1
Man of Clay and Jade Porcelain Servitor Alignment Neutral Neutral
No. Enc. 1 1 Movement 120’ (40’) 180’ (60’)
Alignment Neutral Neutral Armor Class 2 4
Movement 120’ (40’) 120’ (40’) Hit Dice 8 10
Armor Class 7 5 Attacks 2 (blade and fist) 3 (2 blades, 1 bolt)
Hit Dice 2+2 1+1 Damage 1d12/1d12 2d6/2d6/2d10
Attacks 1 fist or weapon 1 fist or weapon Save F4 F5
Damage 1d6 or weapon 1d4 or weapon Morale 12 8
Save F2 F2 Hoard Class None None
Morale 12 8 XP 2,065 3,100
Hoard Class None None
XP 47 21 Whereas servitor constructs were intended for flexible employ-
ment as laborers and house servants, war constructs were only ever
Servitor constructs were designed with significantly more intel- intended for killing. Their intelligence is quite limited compared
ligence than ordinary golems, and some were capable of actual to that of a Man of Clay and Jade, let alone a Porcelain Servitor,

70
but they are quite capable of navigating difficult terrain and over-
coming physical obstacles in their efforts to kill their appointed Some demons can yet be found in old forgotten places, locked there
targets. Many were originally designed to launch the initial attacks by wizards long dead or trapped by some holy man. These demons
on fortified positions and break open a path for human soldiers to are usually frantic with a mixture of bloodlust denied and terror at
follow. Those that survive to the present day are usually guardians of the prospect of facing their masters after so long away from their
some long-abandoned outpost or wardens to a place that has been post. Some that escape will hide away in desolate places, hoping to
desolate for centuries. avoid the summons of the iron bell below which will call them to
their punishment.
Ancient war golems are usually fashioned in the shape of monstrous
ogres wrought of bronze and polished steel. They cannot speak, Infernal demons all share certain powers appropriate to their station.
but they can understand commands given in the language of their They can speak and understand all languages and have infravision
creator. With their original masters unable to authorize new owners, out to a 90’ distance. They can use the powers of Detect Magic and
they are often locked into their old commands until someone Detect Invisible at will, using one per round. Even the least of them
should come along with the correct keywords or override wands to has strength equivalent to that of a hill giant and they need neither
shut them down. breathe, eat, drink, nor sleep. They are immune to all damage from
fire, and take only half damage from cold or electrical attacks.
Black Jade Juggernauts are not only possessed of multiple scyth- They cannot be poisoned save by certain special, blessed toxins and
ing blades on their humanoid frames, but also a large black jade they are immune to disease. Infernal demons cannot be injured by
globe embedded in their chest that enables them to spray bolts of unenchanted weapons.
geomantic force at targets within 300’. The bolt attack can hit any
number of targets within a 10’ radius of the target point, with a All demons are highly intelligent, but prone to underestimating
separate attack roll against each. the threat that stout-hearted heroes can pose to them. Many are
also subject to distraction, losing precious time in the corruption of
Both Black Jade Juggernauts and ancient war golems are immune innocents and torment of victims while their plans would otherwise
to non-magical weaponry. They also take half damage from all fire, profit from more direct attention. Demons crave elaborate rites of
electrical, cold, or acid attacks, and are immune to mind-affecting worship directed toward them, and the more perfectly such ceremo-
spells. nies ape the worship of the gods, the more pleasing they find them.

Demon, Infernal Infernal Demon, Hell King

The Hells have always burned beneath the bottom of the world, No. Enc. 1
and the Hell Kings have always ruled amid the flames. Priests and
sages argue over the origins of these places of damnation, and half Alignment Chaotic
a hundred theories and legends have been advanced to explain the Movement 120’ (40’)
reason for the existence of such a terrible place. None have been Fly: 150’ (50’)
conclusive, but no sage worth his writing brush would deny that the Teleport: 150’ (50’)
Hell Kings exist, and that they hunger for human souls. Armor Class -3
Hit Dice 20 (99 hit points)
Enemies of the gods from the dawn of the world, the Hell Kings
rule their own burning realms beneath, insatiably hungry for the Attacks 1 (1 gaze)
souls of men. Torment and despair are their meat and drink, and Damage 2d20
they draw down the souls of the dead who are weighted by the sins Save Special
of their mortal lives. Hatred, bloodlust, avarice, treachery, deceit,
Morale 9
and other vices make a soul vulnerable to the claws of demons,
and even upright men and women dread the thought of death Hoard Class Xx4
without the benefit of protective funerary rites offered by a trained XP 7,500
priest. Even these rituals are sometimes not enough to save a soul
sufficiently damned by its conduct in life. The everlasting lords of damnation, the Hell Kings include thirteen
of the greatest princes of Hell. Their names vary with the cultures
Infernal demons are rarely summoned up into the living world. It and cults that hate or revere them, but names that crop up regularly
requires an expert cleric of the Hell Kings and a cult with devotion are Yinjian, Huokang, Kishin, Zugen, Charun, Kontilanak, Neqael,
fierce and depraved enough to form a beacon to the powers below. Shemyaza, Xaphan, Rangda, Raiju, Namahage, and Hannya. These
The more powerful the demon, the more elaborate the rites that demonic powers formerly never dared to enter the mundane world
must be conducted to open a way for it. The cult activity necessary lest the gods be given an opportunity to strike at them. But in these
even to summon a lesser infernal demon is normally such as can fading centuries when worship of the gods is so weakened, some
only be conducted in hidden places in the wilderness, or in domains Hell Kings are said to consider making a new domain of the upper
that embrace public worship of the powers of night below. Even lands, and their servants are preparing the way for their ultimate
then, the sacrifices required for such propitiation discourage all but arrival.
the most zealous worshippers.

71
The Hell Kings are said to appear as beautiful human figures, male
or female as their whim suggests. They are inevitably clad in the
impossibly elaborate raiment of their rank, and their simple disap-
proving gaze can strike down all but the strongest foes with a single
glance, forcing the victim’s sins to manifest as vermin-like creatures
that erupt from the subject’s bleeding flesh. Genuinely sinless
creatures are said to be immune to the gaze of the Hell Kings, but
their common pursuits rarely place them in a position to encounter
such beings.

The Hell Kings are immune to any weapon of less than +3 magical
enhancement and fail saving throws only on a roll of 1 or 2. They
regenerate 5 hit points every round and can cast any cleric or magic-
user spell they choose once per round as a spell-like ability, with the
exception of Wish, which they cannot manifest.

Infernal Demon, Lesser

No. Enc. 1 (1d3)
Alignment Chaotic
Movement 120’ (40’)
Armor Class 0
Hit Dice 8
Attacks 3 (2 claws, 1 scourging)
Damage 1d6/1d6/1d10
Save F8 tible to distraction when summoned into the living world. Such a
Morale 11 wealth of living souls to torment can delay a demon’s obedience to
its orders, even though such tardiness will surely be punished when
Hoard Class XXI
they must finally return to the Hells.
XP 2,060
Lesser demons can appeal to their masters for arcane knowledge,
The lesser servitors of the Hell Kings are fashioned from those gaining the ability to cast a specific cleric or magic-user spell of third
mortals “fortunate” enough to have impressed those lords of the level or lower once before needing to petition a second time. Such
damned with the quality and quantity of their corruption and petitions usually require extensive human sacrifice. The demon may
wrongdoing in life. After untold hideous torments, these favored optionally choose to teach this spell to an allied magic-user if given
souls are shaped and molded into beings capable of carrying out the suitable inducement.
Hell Kings’ will among lesser entities. Most retain some memory of
their former life, but any strength to defy their masters is usually
long lost under the lash of unspeakable agonies.
Infernal Demon, Mandarin
Lesser infernal demons are capable of disguising themselves as No. Enc. 1
they appeared in life, but in their natural form they are invariably Alignment Chaotic
hulking, twisted parodies of their natural shape, bound about head
to foot with shackles of red-hot iron or piercings of stygian ice. Movement 120’ (40’)
The particular torments visible on a lesser demon’s body are usually Fly: 150’ (50’)
characteristic of the tastes of its Hell King master, and the demon Armor Class -1
always takes full damage from attacks of that same type. Hot iron Hit Dice 12
shackles render the demon vulnerable to flame, icy needles leave it
Attacks 3 (2 fists, 1 curse)
susceptible to cold, cruel piercings of black bronze leave it vulner-
able to edged weapons, and so forth. If not specially susceptible to Damage 1d8/1d8/1d12
a type of weapon, infernal demons can be harmed only by magical Save F12
weaponry. Morale 11
Hoard Class XVIII
Aside from their cruel claws and their ability to scourge a foe with
their own smoking bindings, lesser infernal demons can use all the XP 5,200
standard demonic spell-like powers. Most such demons are substan-
tially more intelligent than the average human, but they are suscep- As the servitors of the Hell Kings advance in their obedience, some
special few are elevated from the ranks of lesser servants and are
72
accorded the title of demonic mandarins. The chains and violations
of their flesh are removed and they are granted wings fashioned
of defiled prayer flags and blasphemous ofudas. In their natural
form, their faces are always those of the human they were in life,
though the rest of their body remains huge and scarred with the
marks of their former physical torment. Certain hierarchs insist that
these demons are tortured even more horrifically than their lesser
brethren, because the torments they suffer are those of the heart and
mind rather than mere flesh. They are cursed with a more perfect
understanding of the Hell Kings’ purpose and their own contribu-
tion to its ultimate victory.

Where lesser demons are sent to enforce the will of the Hell Kings
and serve as leaders to important infernal temples, the demon
mandarins are charged with more subtle, sophisticated work. They
operate in conjunction with secret cells of worshippers hidden even
from other infernal cultists, as the purposes they have for their less
enlightened brethren are not always the sort that are survivable.
They spin plans and purposes of diabolical cunning and explain
nothing to their servants save the next step they must complete.

The huge fists of these demons can smash most mortal foes, and
the dreadful curses they utter can strike down enemies 300’ distant. twisted black jade that blind all who look on them with a cloud of
Aside from the usual supernatural powers of demons, the infernal horrible and unnatural images.
mandarins can also use spells of The Emperor’s Road, Charm Monster,
and Geas each once per day. Granted a full day in which to petition The devils may use any clerical spell as a spell-like ability once
their masters, they can cast any spell of seventh level or less once per round. They may also Teleport without possible error and are
before needing a new petition. Only magical weapons of +2 power immune to ordinary injury by weapons or physical matter, even
or greater can injure a demon mandarin. magical varieties. Only a weapon specially consecrated to the kill-
ing of divine things can injure them. As part of their godslaying
heritage, any dwarven hero of 8th level can injure a celestial devil
Devil, Celestial with any weapon he wields, and any fighter of 16th level or greater
No. Enc. 1 can do the same by virtue of their legendary prowess in war.
Alignment Chaotic
Movement 120’ (40’) Lizardfolk, Isle
Fly: 150’ (50’) Warrior Old Sleeper
Armor Class -1 No. Enc. 2d4 (6d6) 1
Hit Dice 15 Alignment Neutral Neutral
Attacks 3 (2 wing buffets, 1 weapon) Movement 60’ (20’) 90’ (30’)
Damage 1d6/1d6/1d12 Swim: 120’ (40’) Swim: 120’ (40’)
Save F15 Armor Class 5 5
Morale 12 Hit Dice 2+1 7
Hoard Class X, IX Attacks 1 bite or 1 weapon 1 weapon
XP 6,400 Damage 1d6+1 or weapon +1 By weapon
Save F2 MU7
The gods have their agents of punishment and correction, and celes- Morale 12 10
tial devils serve that purpose well. These beings represent the nega-
tive and destructive aspect of their deity and punish those beings Hoard Class XIX XVIII
that have defied the law. Such is their hunger to harm that even XP 47 1,140
those who have committed no crime against their god’s principles
are at risk of a swift and terrible end. The lizardfolk of the Isles are a cold, serpentine race of beings some-
where between men and snakes. They dwell in jungles, swamps,
Celestial devils appear in many forms, most commonly that of and along warm sea-coasts, and generally keep away from human
a ragged-winged figure wielding a great weapon. Other aspects settlements. They are capable of interbreeding with humans, and
suggest the nature of the god, such as Sifr’s tormentors of black some tribes strive to mix their kindred accordingly for reasons that
foam and white-clawed brine or the Immortal Tendai’s enforcers of are clear only to them.

73
 Some appear like crimes with them, the spirit finds an opening to infuse them with
walking snakes their own power and transform them into depraved monsters.
with legs and
arms, while others Ogres are hideous creatures with massive limbs and bodies stained
have only serpen- by the gruesome marks of their depravities, but they can disguise
tine hindquarters themselves as the human being they once were with a round’s con-
and a man’s torso. centration. This illusion is perfect in sound and appearance, but if
Some appear the ogre is touched by a child the false seeming will vanish.
almost wholly
human save for Ogres commonly lair with a cabal of their own kind in the wilderness
some little trait not too far from human habitation. They crave a constant supply
like a forked of victims to slake their unholy desires and can even be driven to
tongue or unusual attack each other when the supply vanishes for too long. When not
hairlessness. All too frustrated, however, ogres can demonstrate a diabolical cunning
are ferociously in luring and betraying innocents into the grasp of their fellows.
strong, and do +1
damage with their
weapons, or their bite if they have a serpentine head. Shou
The Shou of the Isles have hated humans from their first arrival in
Most lizardfolk are content to live reclusive lives in their swamps the archipelago, fighting savagely to repel the intruders. Few colo-
and jungles, tending their egg-clutches and living by hunting and nies lasted so much as a decade under the steady, grinding attrition
fishing. They are not friends of men, but they will rarely outright of Shou raids, and even now the exiles of the east are hard-pressed
attack humans unless strangers trespass on their holy ground or they to hold back the tribes from their ancestral lands.
are goaded to attack by some charismatic chieftain or priest of the
Old Sleepers. Shou live in hunter-gatherer tribes of their own kind, led by a chief-
tain who acquires his position by being the biggest, fiercest, most
The Old Sleepers are said to be great heroes of a forgotten lizardfolk cunning member of the tribe. The witch-priestesses of the Shou
empire that ruled “before the stars marched”. These heroes fell into act as advisors to the chieftain, and many of them are the actual
a deep slumber to await a time of need, and now their discovery powers behind the steady succession of expendable male chiefs.
can drive a lizardfolk tribe into dreams of red conquest. These Old Lesser females are often treated as chattel, with the most beautiful
Sleepers are manlike, and while they are not as physically power- taken by the chief and the others seized by whatever males can keep
ful as their descendants they have the arcane powers of a 7th level them. Shou children grow quickly, and by their tenth year have
magic-user. Whatever the true nature of their past may be, the Old their full adult size. Shou remain strong and unmarked by age until
Sleepers can rarely remember anything more than vague images of somewhere around the age of fifty, after which they rapidly decline
cities of cyclopean stones and a burning hatred for the hairy mam- and die. Few Shou ever live long enough to concern themselves with
mals that usurped their people. such things.

Shou witch-priestesses teach that at the dawning of the world, their

Ogre, Isle god Shakun sacrificed himself to preserve his children from a great
No. Enc. 1d6 (2d6) evil that threatened the world. It is the duty of the Shou to fight and
Alignment Chaotic become strong, that the strongest and greatest of the tribes should
be ready to lead the others in a world-conquering horde when their
Movement 90’ (30’)
god Shakun returns from the grave. The tribes have taken these
Armor Class 5 teachings to heart, and it’s rare that two Shou clans can stand to
Hit Dice 4+1 have civil dealings with each other. Females and children are regu-
Attacks 1 fist or 1 weapon larly stolen in raids, and when two tribes clash decisively the males
of the losing side can expect nothing better than death or slavery.
Damage 1d8 or by weapon + 2 Were it not for this relentless intercine fighting, the Shou almost
Save F4 certainly would have wiped out the human refugees long ago.
Morale 9
There are four kinds of Shou found in the Isles. By their Eirengarder
Hoard Class XX
names, they are known more particularly as bugbears, goblins, orcs,
XP 270 and hobgoblins. The first three varieties breed true in their own
tribes, while hobgoblins are rarer sub-breeds of goblins that can
The ogres of the Isles are hulking, misshapen brutes that are born suddenly crop up in any goblin tribe. They have an uncanny degree
not from their own species, but from the hates and unclean cravings of charisma and magnetism and often lead the goblin tribes that
of human beings. Occasionally, some man or woman of hideous ap- birthed them.
petites and brutal nature attracts the attention of evil spirits. If the
human continues in his appetites, committing greater and greater

74
Shou tribes prefer to live by hunting and gathering, scorning
agriculture and husbandry as “slave work”. This does not prevent
them from taking prisoners from other tribes and human lands in
order to conduct such labor if they find a good site for a settlement.
These Shou villages are rare, and most often are found in ancient
ruins built by long-lost peoples. They are prime targets not only
for human attackers but for fellow Shou as well, and so only the
strongest or most foolhardy tribes attempt such a settled existence.

Shou adorn themselves with elaborate brands, tattoos, piercings,

ear-clippings and ornaments. Were it not for these savage markings,
they might easily be taken for well-favored humans, save for the
tribes that have unusual skin colors such as green or deep orange.
They rarely have any metalwork that isn’t stolen, but their natural
ornaments are of bone, teeth, polished stones, and carved wood.

Shou are cross-fertile with each other and with humans. “Impure
blood” is hated by the Shou, and any halfbreeds are commonly
killed out of hand at birth. Among humans, those born of Shou
depredations are often feared and scorned by other humans in the
cities and market towns. Those who dwell in the borderlands, how-
ever, tend to be marginally more accepting of the Shou-blooded, as
these rough folk know that the Shou hate them even more than they
hate ordinary humans. There are even rumors of half-breed witches
who wield the powers of Shou sorcery against their own kindred.

Shou, Bugbear ancient lore of their people, and some scholars of the Shou say that
No. Enc. 2d4 (5d4) bugbear witch-priestesses are privy to secrets long since lost to any
other tribe.
Alignment Chaotic
Movement 90’ (30’)
Shou, Goblin
Armor Class 5
No. Enc. 2d4 (6d10)
Hit Dice 3+1
Alignment Chaotic
Attacks 1 weapon
Movement 60’ (20’)
Damage 1d8 or by weapon +1
Armor Class 6
Save F3
Hit Dice 1-1
Morale 9
Attacks 1 weapon
Hoard Class XXI
Damage 1d2 or by weapon
XP 100
Save 0 level human
Bugbears are the biggest of the Shou tribes, often reaching as Morale 7
much as seven feet in height. They tend to hairiness and pallor, Hoard Class III (XX)
with blonde, green, red or white hair common among them. Their XP 5
physical strength is enormous, and even the females among them
can crush an ordinary man with one blow of their fist. Bugbears are Smallest of the Shou tribes, goblins rarely clear five feet in height.
expert sneaks and hill stalkers, and gain a 50% chance of surprising They are slender, nimble folk that are most likely of the tribes to be
targets when in hill country or forests. born with exotic skin colorings such as green, blue, or deep orange.
They are consummate survivors, able to subsist on far less food and
Bugbears are less fertile than other tribes of Shou, and are often the water than humans and having few qualms about where they get
most reluctant to go raiding- not out of any innate peacefulness, but it. Goblins are found almost everywhere in the Isles, with even the
because they can seldom afford to lose the hunters that a bad raid harshest and most inhospitable lands giving up sustenance enough
would cost them. Their great size and physical power often provoke for at least one spindly tribe.
fear in other Shou tribes, and few will raid bugbear encampments
unless they are confident that they vastly outnumber their hulk- Goblins are even more nomadic than the usual run of Shou, often
ing foes. This unusual equilibrium of relative peace has left many forced by more fearsome enemies to move on before their tribe suf-
bugbear tribes in better condition to maintain and hand down the fers unacceptable losses. They are also least inclined of all the tribes
75
to stand and fight in the face of a direct assault, and many tribes will like that of the bugbears to skin only a little paler than a full-blooded
prefer to give up even rich hunting grounds rather than be forced to Gadaal. Orc females are often quite handsome by human measure,
defend it with their blood. beneath their fearsome tribal markings.

Orcs are among the most numerous of the Shou, as they are the
Shou, Hobgoblin most likely to settle down in human ruins or abandoned places and
No. Enc. 1d6 (4d6) compel slave tribes to perform agricultural and herding work for
Alignment Chaotic them. Some of these orcish domains can grow to hundreds of skilled
Movement 90’ (30’) warriors keeping watch over a helot population of other Shou and
human slaves. Fortunately for the other exiles, the more powerful a
Armor Class 5 single orcish tribe becomes, the less inclined their neighbors are to
Hit Dice 1+1 maintain any kind of peace with it.
Attacks 1 weapon
Damage 1d2 or by weapon Tidespawn
Save F1 The red mist roils a hundred miles off the shores of the Sunset Isles,
keeping its distance from the godbone-infused earth of the islands.
Morale 11
Still, there are times when long arms of red fog creep in at night
Hoard Class XIX to touch distant shores, and in hidden places petitioners send up
XP 15 prayers to powers they cannot name. The Tide’s reach is long, and
sometimes it reaches into the houses of men.
Every so often, a tribe of goblins will inexplicably begin to birth
children of unusual height and strength. Hobgoblins are man-high, The Tidespawn are denizens formed within the red mist, usually
whipcord-lean and muscular compared to their smaller brethren. fashioned out of the men, women, and children caught within the
Even branded and savage as they are, hobgoblins are invariably creeping Tide or captured by its devils. They are not undead as men
strikingly handsome or beautiful in their Shou fashion, and have recognize the name, but living creatures infused with hideous magic
an almost instinctive grasp of leadership principles and small unit and a consuming, maddening purpose. Most have only ragged
tactics. In the absence of strong leadership, young hobgoblins will shreds of awareness left to them, and none are capable of resisting
often fight and kill each other, but under a strong chieftain they the urges woven into them by their new masters.
become superb unit leaders. The birthing phenomenon is sporadic,
however, and goblin tribes never seem to have more than two or Tidespawn can be found not only where tenuous fingers of mist
three years of hobgoblin births every twenty years. Hobgoblins born reach to touch the Isles’ shores, but also deeper inland, where some
to different goblin tribes hate each other just as vigorously as they reckless Tide Cult has opened a way for their masters. Most such
hate all other outsiders. cultists rapidly become prey to the mists, but some are occasionally
permitted to retain their human identity, the better to gather in
Hobgoblins leading fellow goblins of their own tribe increase their further prey. Tide Cultists that have metastasized to such a stage are
effective morale to 9 and substantially improve their combat tactics. rarely capable of functioning in human society any more, however,
Small groups of hobgoblins are occasionally found operating sepa- and so such dire infestations are most common in the wilderness
rately from the tribe, usually on some sort of commando operation and borderlands where they can fester unconstrained.
or the targeted assassination of a troublesome human leader.
Perversely, the best defense against the Tide Cults of the wilderness
are the tribes of the Shou. Shou have an instinctual and overpower-
Shou, Orc ing hatred for the Red Tide and all its creations, and are remarkably
No. Enc. 2d4 (1d6 x 10) resistant to the blandishments of the mist. As given in the Heroes of
Alignment Chaotic the Isles chapter, all Shou have substantial bonuses towards killing
Movement 120’ (40’) Tidespawn and Tide cultists and resisting corruption by the Tide.
By another odd coincidence, Tidespawn are never found in close
Armor Class 6 association with undead.
Hit Dice 1
Attacks 1 weapon In the days of the ancestors, Tidespawn were so rare as to be little
more than a terrible old story. But in the past ten or twenty years,
Damage 1d2 or by weapon
the number of Tide Cults has steadily increased as more and more
Save F1 weak-willed men and women are tempted into red worship by poi-
Morale 8 sonous dreams. These visions promise safety, hope, and abundance
Hoard Class XIX for those who perform small and trifling reverences, and the initial
obeisances of such cultists are rewarded with a steadily-growing and
XP 10
delusive sense of happiness and good fortune. Even as the cultists
begin to collapse into madness, the joy of the Tide within them
Shou orcs are man-sized, with the males built heavily and broad
keeps them faithful while their bodies twist and distort under the
across the shoulders. Skin and hair color varies widely, from a pallor
76
caress of the Tide. The lucky ones are caught and executed before
the final stages of transformation, and the sanity-shattering realiza-
tion of what they finally have become.

Tidespawn, Creeper
No. Enc. 2d4 (6d10)
Alignment Chaotic
Movement 60’ (20’)
Armor Class 7
Hit Dice 1d4 hit points
Attacks 1 weapon
Damage 1d2 or by weapon -1
Save 0 level human
Morale 12
Hoard Class I (XIII)
XP 5

These short, hideously misshapen creatures are the remains of

children, halflings, and smaller humans who have fallen prey to
the mists of the Red Tide. They possess a few shreds of intelligence
barely superior to that of an animal, fighting in mad packs that
swarm any living thing not tainted by the Tide. They are all but
incapable of any tactics more sophisticated than a spear thrust or
the swing of a club. Their simple proximity produces a dizzying
distortion of thought and will in normal creatures; anyone in melee
with a Creeper suffers a -1 penalty to hit rolls and a +1 penalty
to Armor Class as they are forced to ignore creeping visions and
strange urges. This penalty applies only once, regardless of how
many Creepers surround a warrior.

one of these beings in their twisted palace, entire nations might be

Tidespawn, Dream Lord freed from the Red Tide at a stroke.
No. Enc. 1
Alignment Chaotic Aside from their incredibly resilient exterior forms and their
Movement 180’ (60’) funhouse-mirror distortions of the land’s last ruler before the Tide,
Teleport: 360’ (120’) Dream Lords have almost complete control over the environment
in their presence. Reality warps and twists to suit their unguessable
Armor Class -3 whim, and only groups equipped with True Seeing enchantments
Hit Dice 25 (125 hit points) are capable of avoiding near-instantaneous obliteration.
Attacks 1 vision
Even if the group is able to avoid destruction beneath some suddenly-
Damage 1d20 plus save versus Spells or die
conjured devastation, they must render the Dream Lord vulnerable
Save F25 by proving that it is not, in fact, the real ruler of the domain. Some
Morale 12 sort of token must be presented to prove that the true lord of the
Hoard Class VIII, IX, XII land opposes them. In the case of the false Emperor of the Ninefold
Celestial Empire, this might be the Tablet of Heaven that Archmage
XP 15,000
Lammach spirited away to the Isles during the exile. Unfortunately,
the Tablet was lost during the chaos of the Ravaging, and has yet to
The Dream Lords are not so much individual entities as they are
be rediscovered. Other, similar regalia or ritual consecrations may
animate nodes of the Red Tide. Dream Lords manifest as dark
be necessary to confer rulership of other conquered lands to some
echoes of a great nation’s last ruler, focal points for the dread and
appointed champion.
panic of its countless Tidespawn-taken victims. They do not con-
sciously act to expand the Tide, but simply emanate it by virtue of
Once a Dream Lord has been robbed of its authority over the
their presence. If some band of heroes were somehow able to cut
land, it can still fight back with terrible, killing visions hurled at its
through the countless leagues of mist-wracked overland to beard
enemies and the ability to cast any spell it chooses once per round.

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 Tidespawn, Magistrate of Ashes
No. Enc. 1
Alignment Chaotic
Movement 120’ (40’)
Teleport: 120’ (40’)
Armor Class 0
Hit Dice 10
Attacks 3 (2 burning claws, 1 flame strike)
Damage 1d6/1d6/2d6
Save F10
Morale 12
Hoard Class XIX x 2, XVIII
XP 2,400

The Magistrate of Ashes is rarely seen by humans- or at least, few live

to report any sightings. The figure bears a vague, distorted resem-
blance to an Imperial magistrate, yet it is wreathed in a perpetual
cloud of burning embers and smoke. It speaks but rarely, and is
always perfectly understood by those who hear it. What few reports
exist of this creature suggests that it serves as a sort of intermediary
between the Dream Lords of the Tide and their misshapen servitors,
planning and organizing incursions into the Isles.

When it is forced into personal battle, it flickers like a malevolent comes from exhaling shards of burning meat and bone and sharing
will-o-wisp among its enemies, teleporting away from them and the torment with those not graced by the Tide. The burning breath
towards safety and leaving clouds of smoke and flame to scorch its of a Red Apostle is a cone 10’ long and 10’ wide at the far end. All
foes. Any creature adjacent to it when it teleports takes 1d4 points within it must save versus Breath Weapon or take 1d6 damage.
of fire damage. Aside from its blazing claws, it can also call down
a bolt of flame on a single target within 60’. It is uncommonly Most Red Apostles retain a surprising amount of human awareness,
vulnerable to the ice and snow of sorcerous cold, and takes double and they are some of the more effective low-level leadership of the
damage from such attacks. swarms. They can even share some of their agony with a “fortu-
nate” subordinate, goading it on to slaughter the weak; a fellow
Tidespawn with fewer hit dice immediately takes 1d6 damage but
Tidespawn, Red Apostle gains +4 to hit for the remainder of the combat.
No. Enc. 1
Alignment Chaotic Tidespawn, Stretched One
Movement 90’ (30’) No. Enc. 2 (1d8 x 2)
Armor Class 2 Alignment Chaotic
Hit Dice 6 Movement 120’ (40’)
Attacks 3 (2 claws, 1 Burning Breath) Armor Class 6
Damage 1d4/1d4/1d6 Hit Dice 1
Save F6 Attacks 2 or 1 (2 claws or vertebral lash)
Morale 12 Damage 1d4/1d4 or 1d8
Hoard Class XVIII Save F1
XP 820 Morale 12
Hoard Class XIX
The Red Apostle is the husk of a wretched devotee of one of the
Tide cults that have been forming with increasing frequency in the XP 10
Isles. Some devotees of the Tide prove unsuitable for the incom-
prehensible purposes of their masters, and rather than permitting The Stretched Ones were probably humans or demihumans at one
them to be transformed into a mere Stretched One or Creeper by point, until the forces of the Tide elongated their limbs and torsos to
the mists, they are infested with a burning disease that racks them grotesque lengths. While hulking and powerful, their musculature
with unending pain. The only possible cessation of this suffering is not enough to support this great height, and they shamble and

78
creep at great speed in a hunched posture save when they rear up to
rend a foe. They fight with claws or chains of vertebrae and sinew
Tidespawn, Wormwalker
and love to work in pairs, flanking a victim and letting one force an No. Enc. 1 (2d4)
opening that the other exploits to grab the luckless prey. They rarely Alignment Chaotic
show tactics more sophisticated than that, but their intelligence Movement 90’ (30’)
is almost humanlike, and they can usually deduce who the most
“interesting” enemy to stretch might be. Armor Class 5
Hit Dice 3
Tidespawn, White Chanter Attacks 3 (worm tendrils)
No. Enc. 1 (1d4) Damage 1d4/1d4/1d4
Alignment Chaotic Save F3
Movement 90’ (30’) Morale 12
Armor Class 7 Hoard Class XIV
Hit Dice 4 XP 80
Attacks 1 (shriek, 60’ range attack) The Wormwalker was once a man-sized creature, but its true size
Damage 1d8 is sometimes difficult to discern under the halo of writhing, pallid
Save F7 worms that slide constantly through the creature’s body. The entity
Morale 12 is not undead, but appears to be some sort of symbiont process gone
horribly wrong. Occasionally the husk of the Wormwalker retains
Hoard Class XIV some consciousness of what and who it once was, but it is helpless
XP 135 to resist the will of the alien worms that infest it. Rumor has it that
the humans captured by the Stretched Ones are often brought to a
The White Chanters are a rarity among the Tidespawn in that they Wormwalker to be converted.
appear to maintain their native intelligence. While they almost
never communicate with non-Tidespawn in any comprehensible The worms break down any ordinary flesh that comes too close,
manner, their combat tactics are effective and practical. While they and are driven into an especial frenzy by the scent of fresh blood.
do not command or lead other Tidespawn, they are most effective A wounded foe that gets too close to a Wormwalker is likely to
at helping their more intellectually limited brethren achieve their be attacked by dozens of thirsting worms lunging for their open
ends of destruction. wounds, and automatically is attacked at the start of each round for
1d4 damage on a successful hit. The first time a wounded enemy
The haze of delirium around White Chanters is stronger than comes adjacent to a Wormwalker, an exceptionally large worm
around most other Tidespawn, and they can produce murderously will erupt in an attempt to impale them. On a successful hit, 1d6
lethal delusions in their victims. Anyone standing adjacent to a damage is done each round until someone spends a round’s action
White Chanter must save versus Spells or become disoriented; each tearing the worm away. Damage done by this worm will not kill a
round they must roll 4+ on 1d6 or else they can do nothing but victim, but any humanoid brought to 0 hit points by it will become
defend themselves. This disorientation lasts as long as the Chanter a Wormwalker within an hour. There is no cure for this fate if a Cure
is standing beside them. Disease is not applied before the transformation is complete.

Those few who get a good look at the White Chanter and live to tell
of it describe a gaunt, fever-thin creature twisted into strange angles.
It drones a steady mutter of gibberish that can injure the reason of
those that listen too closely.

79
 The houses of
The losT

This chapter is intended to provide the Labyrinth Lord with the The third element of the sandbox campaign is that it is alive. Things
tools he or she needs to fit the Sunset Isles out as a proper sandbox happen even when the PCs aren’t there to see them. Actions have
for the freebooting adventures of the player group. Still, players reactions and choices have logical consequences. If the PCs finally
should feel free to read over the information in this section, if only murder the noble and escape the vengeful guard, his domain will
to get a better grasp on the kind of information a Labyrinth Lord is probably collapse into chaos as numerous rivals struggle to take
likely to need in order to make the best game possible. As in every control. If they left the noble’s daughter breathing, they might just
sandbox campaign, both the players and the Labyrinth Lord need get a visit six months later from the assassins she and her newly-
to do their own share of the work to bring out all the fun that the ennobled husband have sent to settle the score. The players regularly
game can provide. experience the consequences of their past choices, good and bad,
and also see those choices play out on the world around them. NPCs
What is a Sandbox? act as their goals dictate, and the only limit on how sophisticated
“Sandbox gaming” is one of those imprecise phrases that implies a and independent these actions are is the amount of attention the
great many things to a great many people. This supplement does Labyrinth Lord can afford to spare for them.
not pretend to define the term past argument, but for the benefit of
those referees who aren’t familiar with the idea, it’s necessary to lay These three elements combine to form the essence of a sandbox
out some of the more common elements associated with a sandbox game. The PCs are in a world that can go on without them, but one
campaign. that is also ready to change and respond to the actions they take.
The only limits on what they can achieve are those dictated by their
The first and most important element of a sandbox campaign is own wit, cunning, and luck.
something that isn’t there- namely, an overarching plot. The Laby-
rinth Lord does not sit down and create a storyline and then carve it Preparing the Battlefield
into adventures for the PCs to run through. There is no foreordained The first thing a Labyrinth Lord needs to do when creating a sand-
commitment to any particular end state for any particular event. If box campaign is to talk to the players involved and make sure that
there is any point during an evening’s play at which a PC can “do everyone understands the idea and is keen on playing in such a
the wrong thing for the story” or “lose the plot”, then what’s being game. Sandbox campaigns can be remarkably accessible fun, but
played isn’t a pure-strain sandbox game. This is not necessarily a bad they’re also susceptible to going down in flames if some of the
thing, and the popularity of storyline games is evidence of the great participants don’t quite understand what is expected from them.
fun they can be, but the tools and mindset that help a Labyrinth
Lord run a great storyline game are not going to be as helpful when Players need to understand that the motive force of the campaign
trying to run a sandbox campaign. has to come from them. The Labyrinth Lord will provide plenty
of hooks and interesting situations for them to encounter, but the
The second element of a sandbox game is that it is about what the players need to be the ones driving the campaign. Every PC needs
players do. If the players fixate on a particular corrupt noble of to have a goal, and needs to be ready to take action to achieve that
Xian and decide that they’re going to bring him down one way or goal. Even ambitions as simple as “fight evil”, “acquire a noble
another, then that is what the game is about. If they suffer a terrible rank”, or “become ludicrously wealthy” are sufficient, so long as
reverse two sessions later, decide that the noble is just too much for the PC actually works toward that goal. Players should not expect
them right now, and then head west to try and rally a Westmark to be pushed in any particular direction. If they see an opportunity
border settlement to their cause in order to overthrow the noble, to advance their purposes, they should grab it with both hands and
then that’s what the story becomes. And if four sessions later they’ve no prompting.
completely forgotten about the noble in a desperate attempt to
hold a borderman militia together against the savage onslaught of a Players also need to understand that the world is not gated to their
horde of mountain Shou, then that’s the story in turn. The focus of experience level. If an enemy or situation looks lethally dangerous,
the players is the center of the campaign, and everything else in it it’s probably because it’s going to kill them if they jump into it. They
simply exists to give them meaningful choices and interesting things need to exercise informed judgment about what sort of challenges
to catch their attention. they are capable of handling, and that while the Labyrinth Lord
will not shove them into any no-win situations, he’ll let them get
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themselves killed if they insist on ignoring warnings and prudent Finally, the Labyrinth Lord has an obligation to prepare the sandbox
caution. Because there is no grand overarching plot in a sandbox for the players beforehand. Some people are so sublimely talented
game, none of the PC participants can rely on “plot armor” to save at improvisational running that they can whip up a coherent and
them from their own bad judgment. interesting world with minimal prep, and keep it going without any
kind of structured means of tracking events. Those people are to be
Of course, the Labyrinth Lord has a set of duties specific to a sand- commended, but for most of us, building an interesting and excit-
box campaign, too. While the players are responsible for driving the ing world is not a trivial undertaking, and keeping it coherent and
campaign, the Labyrinth Lord has to make their decisions count. well-understood after a half-dozen sessions of typical PC insanity
Actions need to provoke reactions, and the players need to be able is not something to be taken lightly. This chapter will provide the
to see the consequences of the choices they make. A Labyrinth Lord referee with a number of techniques for building a useful version of
does not have the convenience of a pre-designed plot to fall back the Isles and keeping it in motion with a minimum of stress.
on, or some base storyline towards which they can steer events.
Every session is going to require a steady stream of judgment calls Campaign Folders and You
from the Labyrinth Lord, and he or she needs to be able to make The first thing you’re going to need is a good folder, preferably one
them with minimal hesitation. The may not be perfect, but they with several internal pockets. A three-ring binder can work too, if
don’t need to be perfect. They just need to come fast and reasonable you’ve got a convenient hole punch. While not exactly redolent of
enough to keep the PCs from dangling in helplessness or confusion. mythic heroism and blood-curdling peril, having a well-organized
campaign folder can often spell the difference between a smooth
The Labyrinth Lord needs to provide opportunities for the ambi- and quick-moving game and a campaign that gets bogged down in
tions of the players. This doesn’t mean that they need to provided confusion and indirection. Being a good sandbox referee is a skill
with a royal road to the attainment of all their dreams, but if their like any other, and a good campaign folder is a useful tool for the
burning ambition is to depose a noble, the Labyrinth Lord needs job.
to be able to tell them something interesting or useful in response
to their investigations. It may be that their investigations reveal that Divide the folder into sections. For purposes of this example, split it
the noble would crush them like lac beetles, in which case they up into “People”, “Places”, “Encounters”, “Chronicle”, and “Maps”.
should also be given some leads on different ways in which they For any page you put in the folder, write its section and page
could increase their personal power and influence. The Labyrinth number at the top to help keep things in order after a busy night of
Lord’s answer to their efforts doesn’t always have to be “yes”, but it shuffled pages. A few words at the top giving a quick summary of
should always point to something useful the PCs can do. the contents can be useful, too, if the pages are tucked into a pocket
that doesn’t let you see the whole page at once. It can otherwise be

81
tough to find just the right encounter sheet out of a thick sheaf The Creation and Use of Sites
without pulling them all out and rifling through them. Included in this chapter are guidelines on creating sites. Sites are
simply places of interest, locations that have something worth an
For the “People” section, write down the particulars of every NPC adventurer’s time. They help a Labyrinth Lord focus his or her
the PCs interact with. This doesn’t need to be more than a name, creative energy on something specific rather than trying to simply
a defining characteristic, and a progressive series of notes about the make a hex worth of land “interesting” somehow. They’re not in-
PCs’ interaction with them- something like “Daifu Wen Hou-Li. tended to be a universal replacement for a referee’s good judgment
Rabbity-faced magistrate of Yellow Toad Well village. PCs set his and creativity, but they do greatly simplify a Labyrinth Lord’s life
barn on fire while driving off a Shou attack.” After every significant when it comes to fleshing out a sandbox campaign.
interaction with the daifu, you can scratch a quick note at the end
of his entry. To make room for such, leave a few inches of space The sites listed here come in four kinds: court sites, urban sites,
between names when writing them down. For initial organization borderland sites, and ruin sites. Each one is meant to cover a par-
purposes, it can be handy to devote one page to each letter of the ticular type of place that often presents something interesting or
alphabet, and organize the NPCs accordingly. worthwhile to an adventurer. They serve as convenient shorthand
for a referee, and keep things wrapped together in a way that allows
“Places” provide brief write-ups for consequential villages, towns, for easy reskinning and swapping of unused sites. This is important,
monasteries, country estates, or any other locations of importance because one of the most vital skills for a sandbox referee is the ability
to the PCs. Each page is devoted to a particular location, with pro- to repurpose content that would otherwise go unused. You want to
gressive notes on any important merchants, NPCs, or events located waste nothing of your work, and sites help you ensure that.
there. This section may also include ruins or dungeon areas, with
encounter keys paperclipped to the maps. You should take care to Court sites represent social situations more than they do physical
note down any important acts the PCs perform in an area, as they places. They’re noble courts, important businesses, temple hierar-
may come back to haunt them the next time they come through. chies, magic academy faculties, tong halls, and other loci of social,
It can be helpful to run off a very lightly-printed map of the Isles financial, and political power. If you want to emulate a place where
or Ektau itself and stick it in the front, and then key the places to political or social intrigue is most important and the players need to
locations you’ve marked off on the map. manipulate the relationships between important people, then you’ll
want to create it as a court site.
“Encounters” are sheets of pre-generated NPC and monster sta-
tistics, preferably organized alphabetically for easy reference. Each Urban sites are either cities or neighborhoods within cities. City
encounter write up should include the full statistics for the enemies, maps can be lovely and inspirational, but in a game like Labyrinth
the number of foes encountered, and a general idea of their likely Lord exact spatial relationships are not quite so important in urban
wealth and important possessions. After you use an encounter, don’t settings as are vivid hooks, local flavor, and interesting events going
throw it away- save it for later and “reskin” it as something compa- on in the streets. Urban sites might serve as “home bases” for an
rable that happens to have the same statistics. The statistical grain adventuring group, providing vital services to them in between their
of the game is coarse enough that most players honestly won’t even expeditions or political games, or they might be a different kind of
notice, especially if you mix things up a little by changing enemy dungeon, one where ruffianly hireswords navigate the treacherous
spell selections, weapon choices, or combat tactics. waters of a corruption-poisoned neighborhood or brutal slum.

The “Chronicle” of a campaign is something you take care of after Borderland sites are loci of human or demihuman settlement in
the end of each session. Write down a brief summary of the events rough, untamed land. They’re the mining camps, farming villages,
of the game and any important consequences on NPCs or places country estates, dwarf delves, military outposts, and other isolated
the PCs have been. It can be difficult to remember exactly what oases of civilization in a land teeming with Shou and dangerous
a group did a month ago, and it’s vital to have a consistent record beasts. Adventurers often seen out borderlands sites as home bases
of a sandbox campaign if you want to be able to leverage past PC during wilderness exploration, but it’s also important to make
actions into future PC adventures. A well-developed chronicle is a these sites vivid and interesting in of themselves. Even if the play-
perpetual wellspring of adventure ideas and gives heft and coher- ers choose not to get involved in the local troubles, the outcome
ency to the game world. of events can shape the future of the site. Ignoring the situation
can result in the PCs suddenly finding themselves stranded in the
“Maps” are useful for any location, but they’re especially important middle of the Westmark, with their home base collapsing in a welter
for places in which PCs are likely to fight. The exact dimensions and of infighting and disaster.
layout of a hardscrabble border village are just not important to most
players if all they’re doing there is talking to the locals and conduct- Ruins sites are classical dungeons, wizard’s towers, abandoned
ing a little business. They become vital when they need to defend dwarven delves, mysterious prehuman ruins, and other traditional
the village from an oncoming horde of Shou or need to infiltrate it places where bad things dwell. For PCs who just want to do some
after a bandit chief suddenly rides in and takes the locals prisoner. old-fashioned dungeon crawling, a ruin site is exactly what the
If you’re expecting a brawl in some location, you’re probably going doctor ordered. Handily enough, ruin sites are very easy to insert
to need a map of it, even if it’s just a quick diagram sketch of where elsewhere in a campaign if the PCs happen to overlook it or ignore
walls or natural hazards are located. Maps of specific locations can it the first time around. If they’ve never visited the ruined Ravaging-
be taken out and clipped to the appropriate Places sheet. era town of High Rock, they’ll never realize that the cyclopean black
82
stones of the ancient prehuman city they found just happen to share Once you’ve got your city established, now you want to cook up a
the same map and contents. border settlement for those players who want to start closer to the
ruins. You can turn to the site-building chapter of this book and run
The following material will show you how to quickly and easily through the process to create a Borderland Site. As with your urban
generate these sites, the better to fill out your campaign folder with home base, keep this write up on hand even if your PCs decide to
the support material necessary for a sandbox campaign. start their game in an urban setting. Once they venture out into the
Westmark or other back-country places, you can drop your border
Stocking the Campaign Folder settlement in seamlessly.
Once you’ve got your folder, you’re going to need to stock it. As time
goes on, your campaign folder is going to swell with accumulated Once your potential home bases are complete, you’ll want to start
resources, until eventually you’ll be able to respond to the plans of generating additional sites of interest. Both the borderlands site and
the players by just pulling out a few relevant sheets, and get all the the city site should each have a court and a ruin attached to them, to
inspiration you need for new adventures by checking the campaign provide PCs with both social and exploratory play options. If you’re
chronicle for loose ends the PCs have left behind. At the beginning, strapped for time, try to pick ruins or court sites that could just as
though, you’re going to be investing some time in filling out your easily be used for either home base. Simply swapping the hooks and
campaign with the resources for your first session. switching the skins can let you turn a moldy cavern complex full of
bandits who have kidnapped the village headman’s daughter into a
The first thing you’re going to need is a home base for the PCs. cracked Xianese sewer system occupied by tough tong thugs who
At this point, your players probably haven’t even rolled up their have stolen away the neighborhood magistrate’s youngest son.
characters, so it’s unlikely you’re going to know just what their plans
might be. You don’t want to overcommit yourself by building an Playing the First Session
elaborate home base that turns out to be totally unsuitable for what Finally, you should generate an initial adventure for the group.
the players want to do- a hardscrabble Westmark mining camp, for Normally, you’re going to be relying on the players to decide where
example, when it turns out the players want to play sophisticated they intend to seek adventure; they’ll tell you at the end of each
Xianese urbanites. In some cases the players will let you know be- session where they want to go or what they want to do for the next
forehand about the sort of place they want to use as a home base, one. But for the very first session of the game you’re going to have
but it’s often just as convenient to have different options available to take a more active role in the process. You need something to get
at the start of the game- whatever you don’t use as a home base you the PCs working together and situated in their home base.
can recycle the first time the PCs venture outward. Therefore, you’re
going to need to make at least two potential home bases and you Pick one of the adventure outlines off the list given here or generate
don’t want to burn yourself out in detailing either. your own. Whatever outline you choose, it should be one that gets
the players together quickly, directs them at a clear goal that is in
For your first base, pick a city. Xian is always a good choice, and their own mutual best interests, and should have room to easily
Hohnberg can be convenient as well. Tien Lung and Kitaminato insert new characters should some PC catch an unlucky roll early
tend to be a little grim for home bases for most PCs, though if in the session. The conclusion of the adventure should leave the
your group likes a darker campaign they might serve. Write down PCs free to choose their next goal, and should not lock them into a
the details of the important services a group of PCs might need, specific course of action. If the end of the adventure is going to leave
and who it is that provides them. You can use the NPC naming the PCs forced to deal with a specific villain or overcome a specific
and creation tables in the back of the book to generate merchants challenge before they can do anything else, it’s probably not suitable
and local color. You should have some idea of where the PCs can for an initial adventure.
get drinks, equipment, magical healing, sage services, and jobs. You
should have a name for a local magistrate or city watch captain After the adventure is complete and the players have come out the
in the likely case that the PCs get on the wrong side of the law. other side of whatever trouble they’ve gotten into, you should get
You should also generate three or four NPCs for bit use- urchins, a clear statement from them about their next intended course of
fishwives, harlots, street astrologers, or the like. Finally, write down action. With this information, you can use the resources in this
three or four pieces of local color- sights and sounds that are charac- book to generate enough content to stay one session ahead of the
teristic to the city and help place events specifically there rather than players at all times. If you get a fit of inspiration or just really enjoy
in some generic urban zone. generating a particular ruin or village or mysterious wilderland
range, you should feel free to make it up, but try to keep usability
In this and any other stocking work, respect the value of a well-done in mind with everything you make. Even a ruin that has nothing to
reskin. Your write up of Xian can be transformed into a write up of do with the players’ current goals can prove useful five sessions from
Hohnberg just by changing NPC names and slotting different local now when you suddenly need a dungeon for one reason or another.
color. Your time and creative energy is precious, and you should
never waste the work you do just because it’s not labeled correctly. At the end of the session or very shortly afterwards, write down a
Whichever of the home bases the players don’t use, for example, can brief entry in the campaign folder’s Chronicle section indicating
be saved and recycled for when they finally do make it to the big city what happened and giving a few notes about effects on important
or venture out into the borderlands. NPCs or locales. Check the rest of the relevant pages in your folder
and make sure you’ve updated your notes in the Places and People

83
sections accordingly. This may seem a trivial bit of busywork, but The Golden Rule of Sandbox Preparation
a week later it can be extremely hard to remember exactly what
happened last week, and it can damage the feel of a campaign when One of the greatest threats to any sandbox game is referee burnout.
details keep shifting around from session to session. It is far too easy for an enthusiastic Labyrinth Lord to spend hours
generating reams of material; first content that he finds exciting
Between Sessions and interesting, and then content that he finds necessary for com-
In between sessions, use the information the players have given you pleteness and finally content that is blisteringly tedious but seems
to generate the next piece of content you’re going to need. If they like the sort of thing he really should establish. This is not good.
decide to pay a visit to an important Xianese nobleman to get his
aid in deposing a tyrannical border magistrate, generate a court site Don’t prepare it unless it is fun to make it or you expect to need
for the nobleman’s home and think about the kind of challenges it for the next session.
they’re going to face in getting an audience with such an important
figure. You don’t need to plan for every contingency, but you should Are you going to need this material for the next session? No?
work to make sure you have at least a session’s worth of material Then are you having a good time making it up? No? Then don’t
completed. do it. The more the game becomes a burden and a load of tedious
paperwork to you, the more likely it’s going to burn you out. If you
There are times when the players choose to do something that aren’t going to need it for your next session and you’re not enjoying
you know won’t give them a session’s worth of action- either it’s its creation, then just put it aside. Your game won’t suffer for it.
something they’re actually going to accomplish very quickly or else
they’ll find it’s not practical at the moment. Think past that im- of influence? Make a note of the three or four most important
mediate goal and try to think about what they’ll want to do next consequences that have emerged from their recent activities, and
in order to flesh that out as well. It may be that they’ll throw you a try to make sure the PCs see them all in the next session. It could
curveball and hare off in a completely different direction, but that’s something as simple as getting a wedding invitation from the young
why you’ve got a campaign folder- pull something out of it that woman they saved from the bandits, or it might be a notice that
they haven’t seen yet and throw it in their path to buy yourself some they’re all now wanted outlaws after an unsuccessful attempt on a
time for the next session. If you keep enough write ups in your tyrannical magistrate’s life.
folder, you’ll eventually reach a point where you’ll have something
for virtually every occasion if you just tweak a few details and shift This callback to prior choices is an extremely important part of
some local color around. sandbox gaming. The players need to see the consequences of their
actions in the world, or else it starts to feel like a simple backdrop
Once you’ve generated material for the next session’s activity, go to their activities, without life or substance of its own. When they
back to your campaign folder’s Chronicle section and look over see the world reacting to the choices they make, it helps them feel
the past few entries. Are there any actions the PCs took that really engaged with the campaign and makes their choices seem all the
need to earn a reaction? Did they disrupt some local power bal- more significant. What they do matters, and what they choose will
ance or eliminate an obstacle that was holding back a local figure have effects far beyond their own individual lives.

84
 Court SiteS
Court sites include not only the Byzantine households of impor-
tant rulers and nobles, but any sort of site where the fundamental
interest lies in the relationships between several actors. Extended
families caught in a quarrel, villages in the throes of choosing a new
headman, temples negotiating the rise of a new dogma among their
ranks- all of these sites revolve around the relatively non-violent
engagement of multiple NPCs. The preparations necessary for
detailing a court site tend to be substantially different from those
necessary for creating a ruin or a borderland site, but there’s nothing
that prevents a referee from blending these together. An abandoned
dwarven delve occupied in part by a contentious family of refugees
can require the engagement both of political talents and an adven-
turer’s sharp sword.

Choose the Court

The first step lies in determining the particular type of court that
exists on the site. In most cases this will be obvious, or you will
have a clear idea of the kind of site you want to establish. If you’ve
no such specifics in mind, you can roll or select from the following
chart. Each court type is further described on the following pages.

1D6 COURT SITE TYPE

1 Noble Court
2 Extended family Determine Details and Power Sources
After this, you should assign details to each of the people, giving
3 Business
them names and a few particulars of appearance. Each person
4 School should also be assigned a power source, indicating the nature of
5 Temple their authority and the reason that the rest of the court is obliged to
6 Tong respect their wishes.

Each type of court on the following pages provides some potential

Define People of Importance
power sources for its people of importance. You might decide that
Once you’ve decided on the type of court, you need to determine
some important people have relatively obvious sources of authority,
the number of important people within it. These people reflect
but all of the residents of consequence should have some resource
those participants who are too important or influential to be ig-
which compels the others to consider their wishes.
nored. Their will must be acknowledged by others, as they have
control of some power source that the rest of the court is bound to
respect. You should usually restrain these numbers to no more than Identify Conflicts
three, as more than that can make it difficult to keep track of the The next step consists of choosing one or more conflicts, prefer-
dynamics of the court. You can choose these personages from the ably placing at least one for each person of importance. At least
suggested list for each type of court site, assuming the details aren’t one of these conflicts should be obvious or easily learned by the
already clear to you. PCs. A court site in serene harmony and with all its membership
well-contented with their lot is not a court site that is going to hold
much interest for your players.
1D6 PERSONS OF IMPORTANCE
1 One person These conflicts should be of a kind that can be resolved with the
2-3 Two people help of the party, and the persons of importance should be ready to
enlist them to help. The purpose of the site is to draw the players
4-6 Three people
into the conflict, and a problem that they can neither influence
nor find themselves recruited to resolve is unlikely to hold their
People of importance should be obvious to outside observers like
attention. Take a moment to think about how the PCs might be
the PCs, or else discernible with only a little investigation. A secret
drawn into each of the conflicts, and what sort of hooks you can
manipulator can be an interesting participant in a court, but you
present to catch their attention.
should reserve such figures for specific purposes and schemes. A
personage whom the players never have cause to consider is a person
Conflicts should generally exist between people of importance. The
unlikely to be terribly involved in the game.
struggle of two or more important figures in a court provides action
and dynamism to the situation, and allows more openings for the
85
players to affect the outcome. A noble lord with a bitter grudge An Example Court
against a stable boy is unlikely to require the help of the PCs to get In preparing a few adventures around the Westmark market town
his revenge. of Hulun Bir, the referee decides that it would be wise to lay out
some facts about the local temple. Adventurers are always getting
Still, there are times when less significant figure at court is useful, into scrapes, and it’s likely that sooner or later they’re going to want
such as the subject of an unacceptable love or the instigator of a a favor from the priests.
questionable affinity. In that case, you can roll on the “Other NPCs”
list given for each type of court site. The referee already knows he wants a temple, so skips rolling for
the site type. Since Hulun Bir is mostly Imperial in character, it’s a
1D10 CONFLICTS temple to the Imperial gods, the Nine Immortals. To find out how
many important people are involved in the temple’s operation, the
Adultery. One of the people is engaged in an adulter-
1 referee rolls 1d6 and gets 4- according to the table, that means 3
ous liaison.
important people reside in the temple.
Treachery. One of the people is actually in the service
2
of an enemy, and wants the court ruined. Turning to the “Temple” site entry, the referee rolls 1d10 three
Illegitimacy. One of the people is actually not the times, looking up the results on the list. A brief detour to the NPC
3
legitimate holder of their wealth or title. name tables provided in the back of the book shows us that we have
Theft. One of the people has stolen something Lu Hao, the aged temple guard chief, Greta Feng, an enthusiastic
4 visionary, and old Brother Kenjiro, a reclusive ascetic.
important and hidden his involvement in the theft.
Ambition. One of the people has extravagant and
5 Since it’s very likely that the PCs are going to need clerical help
dangerous plans for expansion.
sooner or later, the referee decides that Brother Kenjiro’s power
Madness. One of the people is mentally ill, and source is his impressive breadth of clerical magic. He hates to be
6
convinced of certain things that are not true. bothered by worldly concerns, but he has powerful magic when
Love. One of the people is passionately in love with induced to aid others. Lacking specific ideas about the other, the
7 referee rolls 1d10 twice to determine the power sources for the other
one who does not requite their devotion.
Need. One of the people desperately needs an object two. Lu Hao, while an old guardsman, is a master of doctrine and
8 orthodoxy. He evidently views his role in the temple as not merely
or land owned by another.
the guardianship of its physical site, but also of its theological purity.
Folly. One of the people is making a terrible hash of Greta Feng has no real clerical abilities, but the local magistrate is
9
their duties but will not give it up. convinced that her prayers cured his sick daughter after Brother
Affinity. One of the people is deeply attached to Kenjiro angrily refused to be drawn from his meditations. As such,
10
someone inappropriate to their station. it is Greta’s good offices that are keeping the magistrate from retali-
ating against the temple.
Tie Up Loose Ends
Once you’ve established the conflicts between the participants, you Now a conflict is required for each, and 1d10 is rolled three times.
should take a few moments to decide what is going to happen should The first roll is Treachery. It looks like old Lu Hao is convinced
the conflict be resolved for or against a given person of importance. that the temple is being irrevocably drawn from the right path, and
Some idea of the kind of rewards offered to helpful PCs should be he’s looking for the opportunity to turn it over to a faith more to
noted down, as well as any important outcomes in the site’s dynam- his theological liking. And if the current priests get hurt, well, the
ics or leadership. Having proven the adulterous entanglements of gods do make demands, no? Greta Feng has Madness; she’s actually
Lady Wu with the dwarven warrior Hargrim, the players are apt to convinced she really does have clerical powers, and any attempt
expect some sort of highly visible consequence to follow from their to persuade her otherwise sets her off in a fury. Brother Kenjiro’s
actions, and these outcomes are handy elements for later inclusion powers gnaw at her, and she spends a great deal of time rationalizing
in adventures that call back to their earlier acts. why she cannot perform the same visible miracles. Brother Kenjiro,
on his part, is secretly engaged in an adulterous liaison with... and
Finally, you should sketch a few peripheral characters and servants here the referee rolls on the “Other NPC” table, and comes up with
to flesh out the site, as it’s not unlikely that the PCs will be spending 10, “a seller of religious supplies”. He would be doubly disgraced
more time dealing with the servants of some important personage were his unchaste activities ever to come to light.
than with the great man himself. It can also be useful to have their
statistics on hand should the PCs decide that the woes of the court Finally, the referee takes a moment to think about how the PCs
are best remedied with steel. might interact with the situation. Lu Hao might seek to use them
to “purge the rot” from the temple, only to turn it over to some
Unlike some other sites, it’s not generally necessary to provide a harsher, darker faith. Greta might enlist them to spy on Brother
map of court sites. If you anticipate that a running battle might Kenjiro to prove the demonic pacts he must be using to gain his
break out inside the estate walls, however, you may wish to pull unnatural powers. Finally, Brother Kenjiro’s lover might be an NPC
together a few notes, just in case. they save from some disaster, one who recklessly tells them that his
or her lover can repay the favor they have done.

86
Court Types
The following tables provide brief descriptions of various possible
types of court sites. Each one includes a list of important people
appropriate to the site, power sources that might justify their im-
portance, and a selection of other NPCs commonly encountered in
such a place.

The Labyrinth Lord should feel free to take these tables as simple
suggestions for their own creativity. If a seemingly illogical result is
rolled, something more appropriate can be picked. It can occasion-
ally prove interesting to go with these unusual rolls, however, and
think of a reason that justifies such a connection. The results that
follow can be surprising to both referee and players.

Business
The great cities of the Sunset Isles are all built on trade and the exchange of peasant produce for the handicrafts of skilled artisans. Even
the smaller towns can expect to have a few of the more ubiquitous trades represented among its businesses. This business is more than
just a village smithy or small-town rice exchange. Great wealth flows through its account books, and many crave control of its wide
holdings and deep coffers. Spice traders, rice brokers, shipwrights, mining concerns, plantation owners... all such great concerns have
their share of woes.

1D10 IMPORTANT PEOPLE POWER SOURCES OTHER NPCS

1 Founder Owns title to the business’ facilities Hard-working laborer
2 Chief accountant Knows the secret methods for the business’ success Worker kept on as a favor
3 Head salesman Has proof of past lawbreaking by the business Aged assistant
4 Top foreman Close ties with the business’ suppliers Innovative researcher
5 Chief buyer Due to inherit control of the business Enthusiastic artisan
6 Owner Has the right to buy the business for a fixed sum Owner’s lover
7 Owner’s spouse Friend to the local ruler whose approval is needed Querulous buyer
8 Owner’s child Business owes them a large amount of money Spy for another business
9 Largest creditor Workers greatly love and respect the person Thief casing the business
10 Biggest customer Only one who fully understands the business’ finances Business shareholder

Extended Family
The ties of kinship are strong in the Sunset Isles, and in many places the only souls one can really trust are those united by ties of blood.
Such closeness has its price in tensions, treachery, and ambitions thwarted for the good of the clan. This extended family has significant
wealth or local standing, but its members are often at each others’ throats beneath the seeming of filial comity.

1D10 IMPORTANT PEOPLE POWER SOURCES OTHER NPCS

1 Grandmother Family lands are titled to them Foster child from a cadet branch
2 Grandfather Knows the secrets of the family business Maidservant
3 Mother Great personal wealth Field hand
4 Father Has blackmail material on relatives Aged invalid
5 Son Holds the authority of age and experience Child back from school
6 Daughter Sacrificed marriage to tend to elders Widowed relation
7 Aunt Related to a powerful family that will brook no insult Crippled relation
8 Uncle Has good relations with the local ruler Black sheep wanderer
9 Cousin Universally loved in the household Prodigal offspring who has returned
10 Nephew Will eventually inherit the family house or estate Newly-arrived spouse

87
Noble Court
Whether the exalted court of the Mandarin of Xian or the humble house of a small-town magistrate, noble courts are hotbeds of
intrigue and deceit. Fabulous wealth awaits those who can attain favor with important nobility, and forgiveness of legal irregularities and
commercial missteps can drive men and women into making all manner of bargains with the powers that be. Most noble courts revolve
around the person of the noble him or herself, though occasionally a spouse of equal inherited rank has his or her own ideas about how
the court should be run.

Every noble court has its share of hangers-on and petitioners, and it can often be difficult for adventurers of humble station to get
through to the master or mistress of the house. The very fact that adventurers are such social outsiders can occasionally make them very
attractive to nobles who need to get certain activities accomplished by people who are not famously fastidious about trivial legal niceties.
And if in the end, these tools should prove to have outlived their worth... well, who is to doubt that whatever might befall them is not
perfectly just and deserved?

1D10 IMPORTANT PEOPLE POWER SOURCES OTHER NPCS

1 Noble Family lands are titled to them Poor relation
2 Spouse Great personal prowess or past glory Guard
3 Chamberlain Great personal wealth Clerk
4 Spymaster Has blackmail material on people House servant
5 Concubine Inherited noble title Hostage from a rival family
6 Merchant Partner Others are sworn vassals to them House priest
7 Guard Captain Related to a powerful family that will brook no insult Desperate petitioner
8 Old Family Servant Someone owes them a great deal of money Assassin
9 Noble’s Parent Universally loved in the household Tutor
10 Noble’s Child Will eventually inherit wealth or title Tax collector for the fief

School
Scores of small schools of magic dot the Sunset Isles, most of them heir to the Ninefold Celestial Empire’s magocratic reverence for the
study of the arcane arts. Others maintain the customs and arcana of other cultures, often jealously aware of the dwindling interest in such
things in the face of Imperial ways. Few formal schools in the Isles are without some instructors in the arcane arts, even if these teach
only the most basic and rudimentary of spells. Even the fashionable finishing schools for young nobles strive to impart at least some
theoretical grasp of the arts along with the literacy, court etiquette, and management skills expected of a noble of the Isles. Schools often
include adult scholars among their students, ones willing either to pay for access to instruction or to give some of their own knowledge
to the other students in turn.

Some adventurers of a more scholarly bent or noble upbringing might owe some of their education to such a school, or find an old
teacher employed by a new establishment. Imperial culture has always prized deference to one’s teachers, and sometimes an educator in
a grim bind bethinks himself of a promising pupil who could be of great help in his hour of need.

1D10 IMPORTANT PEOPLE POWER SOURCES OTHER NPCS

1 Headmaster Powerful magic-user Sullen house servant
2 Eldest teacher Favorite among wealthy alumni Student’s personal servant
3 Ambitious young scholar Beloved by the students Guard
4 Treasurer Family owns the school estate Kitchen urchin
5 Master of Admittance Has knowledge of others’ forbidden research Bookseller
6 Librarian Forges documents for the local nobility Weathered traveler
7 Favorite pupil Provides magical assistance to the local ruler Maidservant
8 Chief servant Famous instructor in an important topic Older student’s spouse
9 Groundskeeper Family provides substantial funding to the school Faculty spouse
10 Head Cook Has unique, closely-guarded skill or expertise Bored, indifferent student

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Temple
The shrines and holy places of the Sunset Isles are rarely extravagant. The people of the Isles have lost much of their faith in the gods
since the Red Tide rolled up from the sea, and the largest temples these days rely more on their lands and sharecroppers than on the
steady tithes of the faithful. Still, these temples often retain the last vestiges of the miraculous to be had in the Isles, and the few men and
women capable of bringing the power of the gods down among humanity. Control of a powerful temple provides not only the income
from their farms and resident artisans, but access to powers of healing and divination unavailable elsewhere.

Temples can be located even in the most remote portions of the isles. Most of them rely on their own peasants for food and handicrafts,
and sometimes entire small villages can sprout up in the shadow of a strong temple. It is the custom of some nobles to retire from public
life at the end of their lives, handing over their titles to their heir and retreating to the sanctity of a monk’s cell. Such pious withdrawal
ensures a favorable afterlife to the noble and a sizeable donation to the temple. Then again, some nobles find religion under the strenuous
urgings of others, and some troublesome young women and men find themselves fitted for a very closely-guarded life of piety.

1D10 IMPORTANT PEOPLE POWER SOURCES OTHER NPCS

1 High priest Actually has clerical powers Cook
2 Noble turned monk Unimpeachable priestly lineage Maidservant
3 Temple guard chief Has visions widely reputed to be genuine signs Inept acolyte
4 Temple treasurer Family lends the title to much of the temple’s land Grumbling peasant
5 Farm tenant leader Beloved by the temple’s peasants and servants Desperately hopeful petitioner
6 Somewhat heretical priest Comes from an important noble family Curious scholar
7 Wealthy believer Exquisite mastery of doctrine and church law Largely-ignored reformer
8 Popular evangelist Friends in other temples of the faith Crippled mendicant
9 Reclusive monastic Many of the believers will follow his or her lead Temple virgin
10 Enthusiastic visionary The local lord is convinced he or she provided a miracle Seller of religious supplies

Tong
Tongs are brotherly fellowships at heart, groups of otherwise unrelated men- and occasionally women- who band together in mutual
defense against the depredations of the wealthy and powerful. The more upright tongs take on the character of mutual aid societies,
providing for the widows and orphans among their numbers and ensuring that their dead are accorded a decent burial. Those of a more
venal stripe often maintain a regular commerce in thievery, extortion, vice, and other criminal pursuits along with their charitable work.
Disputes over territory and revenge for insults often result in street fighting between rival tongs.

Civic tongs are organized loosely, with a Grandfather presiding over a circle of Fathers composed of the wealthiest or most influential
tong members. Beneath them are the Elder Brothers who have contributed substantially to the tong’s goals, and the Younger Brothers
who have yet to prove their value to the organization. One of the Fathers is customarily counted the Master of Rites, charged with
conducting the initiation ceremonies and sacred festivals of the tong, while the Stern Master oversees discipline within the tong- and in
criminal organizations, oversees the enforcing of the tong’s will on outsiders. The Honored Sage manages administrative and financial
matters, while the Favorite Uncle aids in negotiating disputes between fellow tong members.

1D10 IMPORTANT PEOPLE POWER SOURCES OTHER NPCS

1 Grandfather Eldest descendant of the tong’s founder Tong enforcer
2 Father Tong property title is in his name Prostitute
3 Elder brother Extremely popular among the Younger Brothers Widow of a tong member
4 Master of Rites Related to most of the Fathers Orphaned child of a tong member
5 Honored Sage Has well-placed child widely desired in marriage Caretaker of the tong meeting hall
6 Favorite Uncle Greatly feared by local extortion targets Shopkeeper asking for forbearance
7 Spouse of a member Notoriously tough and dangerous person Aspiring membership candidate
8 Allied merchant Financed many tong projects Elderly invalid member
9 Associated noble Lends substantial respectability by their own reputation Peasant come to seek justice
10 Stern Master Possesses abilities as a magic-user or cleric Spy from a rival tong

89
 Borderland SiteS
Civilization’s grip on the Sunset Isles has always been tenuous. Even
three hundred years after the Landing, humans and their allies find
their existence hemmed in by the savage tribes of native Shou and
the perils of the untamed islands. Close to the great cities such
as Xian, Hohnberg, and Tien Lung, the lands might be peaceful
and bucolic, but the further away from these strongholds of men a
traveler goes, the more wild and dangerous the land becomes.

Borderland sites are those places that stand between the settled lands
of men and the wild ranges of the Shou and other untamed dangers.
Hard-bitten mining settlements on the edge of Shou territory,
farming villages planting rice on terraced western hillsides, temples
raised during the first flush of expansion that still stubbornly hold
to their place- all these places are borderland sites. They stand close
enough to civilized lands to maintain a modicum of order but they
must face dangers unknown to the snug citizens of Xian.

Borderland sites are often visited by adventurers, as they’re usually

the last outposts of human civilization before entering the untamed
wilderness. A friendly face and a willing merchant in a remote
trading post can make a world of difference to a battered band of
adventurers fresh from a dangerous foray into the wild. Yet any who
choose to live so far from the security of civilization are apt to face
their own problems, and these troubles are often of the sort that
can be best solved by a brave soul with a trustworthy blade in hand.
sometimes be persuaded to buy loot at only moderately thieving
Choose a Borderland Site prices. Few borderland estates have fewer than a dozen men-at-arms
In many cases, you will already know what kind of settlement you in residence, and about twice as many servants and peasant laborers.
wish to make. In others, however, a little initial inspiration can be
useful. When in doubt, you can roll on the table below to get a hint Dwarven delves are cut into mountains or hillsides, burrowed by
on an appropriate settlement type. To get a name for the place, you preference into solid rock. Some delves on Ektau are ancient, dating
can resort to the place name tables provided in the back of the book. from the lost dwarven civilization that predated the more modern
dwarven colonists that first arrived five hundred years ago. Delves
1D10 BORDERLAND SITE TYPES are always built to withstand siege, and only the most powerful and
1 Country Estate determined Shou tribes dare launch a serious attack against these
settlements. Interior water supplies, stocks of dried grains, and grim
2 Dwarven Delve determination force sieges to drag longer than most Shou tribes
3 Elven Enclave can tolerate, and forcing an entrance is often lethal when it is not
4 Farming Village outright impossible. Yet where outside enemies cannot reach, inter-
5 Fortified Outpost nal quarrels can strike. More delves have fallen to clan squabbling
and the machinations of desperate Repenter heretics than have gone
6 Mining Hamlet under the edge of Shou spears. The dwarves are not a populous race,
7 New Colony and even the largest border delves rarely house more than eighty
8 Reclaimed Ruin adult dwarves and half as many children.
9 Remote Temple
Elven enclaves are very rare, as uncommon as elves are in the Isles.
10 Trading Post They tend to be remote and well-hidden from casual discovery.
Elves rarely have the numbers to withstand serious attacks by Shou
Country Estates are usually fortified manor buildings owned by or outsiders, and so prefer to leave a place rather than win a ruinous
nobles or wealthy merchants. Their masters may be addicted to victory in defending it. Most elven settlements are small enough
dangerous wilderness hunts, or they may have important business to be supported by hunting and gathering, though a few cultivate
holdings in the area which occasionally require their personal crops if the land is rich enough. There are rarely more than fifty or
oversight. Country estates on the borderlands are cautious about sixty elves in an enclave. Each enclave tends to be dominated by
strangers, but suitably civilized-sounding visitors can often hope a single Creed, with every elf in the group sharing in the beliefs
to be put up in the outbuildings for a few nights in exchange for and philosophical perspective. Most Creeds are somewhat esoteric
news from more settled land, and the steward of the estate can

90
and harmlessly peculiar by human measure, but a few are positively No more than one or two hundred people usually call an old ruin
malevolent towards outsiders. home.

Farming villages are usually composed of hard-working peasants Remote temples are usually relics of the early years of human settle-
who are no stranger to the perils of the land. In the more dangerous ment after the Landing, when triumphant armies of refugees and
reaches, men tend their fields with a spear propped atop their plows, their mighty heroes drove back the disorganized Shou and took
and gongs and alarm horns stand ready to call the militia together great swaths of the Isles. When the furious natives struck back
at any hour. The inhabitants endure these dangers for the sake of during the Ravaging many settlements were destroyed as the border
the land. Serviceable farmland is ruinously expensive in the safe, was pushed back far from its high-water mark. Temples such as
civilized portion of the Isles, so those who would make a better life these are often remnants of those days, stubbornly holding on amid
for themselves and their children are forced to dare the perils of the a wilderness that was once a peaceful and civilized district. Many
borderland. Many arrive unprepared for the dangers, but those who farmers and peasants from those dark days sought refuge around
remain learn quickly or perish. Most borderland farming villages the fortified temples, and most still have a modest village worth of
number one or two hundred souls, and tend to be closely built lay servants and temple-sworn peasants to serve them. The temple
around a village center. Farms too distant from the hamlet’s clay itself rarely has more than thirty or forty priests and servitors, but
and timber walls are often tempting to raiders. the outworks can number as many as two hundred more farmers
and artisans.
Fortified outposts represent the limited effort that the greater powers
of the Isles can make toward holding the border safe. Sponsored by Trading posts are fortified inns or camps where traders meet the
whatever great power is nearest to this patch of borderland, these wild bordermen for liquor and bargaining. Furs, rare herbs, and the
outposts are staffed by hard-bitten veterans and rough wilderness plunder of lost settlements all can be sold here with few questions
scouts. A stone tower and a wooden palisade form the heart of the asked and few laws respected. Most trading posts rarely number
outpost, with a few small farms and trade buildings clinging close more than twenty or thirty merchants and their guards.
to their skirts. Strangers can expect a wary but tolerant reception,
and many outpost commanders can find work for strangers as Select Tags For the Site
capable- and expendable- as adventurers. Few outposts have more Once you’ve determined the type of borderland site, you should
than twenty or thirty men assigned to them. take a moment to determine what qualities make it interesting. It’s
well enough to simply have a random mining hamlet near a ruin
Mining hamlets are built up around some lode of valuable ore. of interest to the PCs, but it’s more satisfying if there’s something
Iron, lead, tin, or even the precious metals of copper, silver, and about that hamlet which catches the players’ attention. Every site
gold can all attract the reckless miners willing to risk their neck for should have something about it that sets it apart from the other
the sake of a good strike. Some hamlets on the borderland are old, places the PCs have been.
long-standing pits and pipes with stone walls to guard them and
wary watchmen at their gates. Others are little more than clusters For this purpose, borderland sites have “tags”. Tags are brief labels
of tents and a few rough timber buildings where merchants trade that point to a particular quality or situation of interest about
supplies and women for gold dust at ruinous rates. Strangers are the site, such as “Bad Water” or “Tyrannical Leader”. Tags aren’t
rarely noticed in mining hamlets, though some of the more watch- intended to cover all the potential points of interest about a place,
ful inhabitants might find adventurers useful in clearing out some but they do give a referee a few quick, easy elements to hang on the
Shou-infested claim or “clarifying” matters with a rival. Young character of a settlement.
mining hamlets rarely have more than two hundred inhabitants.
This section lists forty potential tags. Each tag includes a brief
New colonies are freshly-founded settlements in the wilderness, description of what it entails, and five additional categories of ele-
hamlets that have yet to get in crops or sink mines. They’re usually ments: enemies, friends, complications, things, and places.
settled on some worthwhile patch of terrain, but without experi-
enced bordermen to work them, raw eastern civilians are unlikely Enemies are simply those NPCs that might have reason to have
to survive their first Shou raid. These settlements usually have a an antagonistic relationship with the PCs. For the “Cheating
wealthy backer willing to pay well for assistance in ironing out the Merchant” tag, for example, the head bully of the merchant’s goon
inevitable difficulties of a new settlement. Most such colonies have squad might well take umbrage at the PCs expectation of fair deal-
no more than two hundred brave souls to build them. ing for the fruits of their adventuring. If you need an antagonistic
figure to start off an adventure or provide a hook, you can select
Reclaimed ruins are sites that were once dangerous piles of crum- someone from this list and then detail them with the NPC resources
bling masonry or noisome holes in the earth. Some brave band of given in the back of the book.
settlers decided to reclaim the place, and now they make a living
farming the surrounding land or digging out precious valuables Friends, by the same token, are those NPCs that might have a reason
from the guts of the ruin. In both cases the work tends to be to be friendly toward the PCs, or seek them out for help. The PCs
hazardous, and some such colonies end up digging up more than can usually provide something they need, so they can also serve as
they can handle. Adventurers are a common sight in these places, hooks for an adventure reliant more on the PCs’ cooperation rather
always willing to press into peril for the sake of what can be found. than the animosity of an Enemy.

91
Complications are additional twists that you can throw
1d4 1d10 Tag 1d4 1d10 Tag
in to spice up the situation. There’s no obligation to
throw in a complication, but it can be useful to do so 1 Bad Neighbors 1 Master Artisan
when things might look a little too pat and straightfor- 2 Bad Water 2 Motherlode
ward to be interesting. 3 Bungling Leadership 3 Natural Fortifications

Things are objects of monetary worth or importance to 4 Buried Evil 4 Pacifistic Folk
the situation. Conflicts in the settlement might revolve 5 Cheating Merchants 5 Powerful Local
1 3
around possession of these things, or recovering them 6 Class Tensions 6 Pre-Exile Site
from some outside enemy.
7 Corvee Demand 7 Raiders
Places are those locations characteristic of the tag. 8 Crop Failure 8 Rebels
They’re places that underline the themes and qualities of 9 Crop Theft 9 Recurring Disease
the trait and help emphasize the particular uniqueness 10 Dangerously Naive 10 Religious Tension
of the site.
1 Dwarven Outcasts 1 Rich Land
To determine the tags for a site, roll on the tag table 2 Ethnic Tensions 2 Secret Recipe
one or two times, using 1d4 and 1d10 to produce a 3 Exiled Magistrate 3 Shou Blood
result. If you decide to use two tags, consider blending 4 Faded Glory 4 Sinister Alliance
them together into a single situation. Too many tags
or complications can turn out muddy and difficult for 5 Feng Shui 5 Tide Cult
2 4
players to follow, while blending two tags together can 6 Faded Glory 6 Toxic Environment
result in situations that are more interesting than a single 7 Grasping Noble 7 Tyrannical Leader
straight-up trope. For example, the results of “Dwarven
8 Hell King Cultists 8 Uncertain Title
Outcasts” and “Faded Glory” might be blended together,
giving a settlement dominated by the inbred remnants 9 Heretical Strife 9 Wanted Outlaw
of a once-mighty dwarven clan that still holds jealous 10 Malevolent Creed 10 Xenophobia
control over the settlement through their inherited
weapons and dwarf-forged armor. Provide Statistics, Maps, and Hooks
Finally, take a moment to give statistics to those NPCs that are most
likely to need them. This is especially important for tagged Enemies
Determine Services and Available Funds
and other antagonists, as PCs tend to make a habit of applying
Borderland sites usually serve as bases and resting places for adven-
sharp metal to these kinds of troublemakers.
turers, and it’s likely to be important to know what kind of services
are available. Most borderlands sites will have a blacksmith capable
Most borderland settlements don’t require precise maps that lay
of basic armor and weapon repair and the crafting of simple gear
out the exact location of the village blacksmith and the town rice
such as leather armor, spears, and daggers. Foodstuffs, torches, lamp
paddies. A simple sketch is usually more than sufficient, indicating
oil, and other adventuring staples can be bought in almost any
the general outline of the settlement and its relationship to any
village-sized settlement, though prices are usually double normal
important local features. You may choose to draw a more specific
as the locals take advantage of outsider gold. Most villages have a
map if you anticipate fighting in the area. It can be useful to have a
priest or two to tend to funeral rites and other important religious
more detailed layout if the PCs might be expected to lead a band of
services, but only 20% of such priests have even a minimum of
rebels on an attack against the corrupt magistrate’s country estate,
actual clerical powers, and only 10% of villages have a first level
for example.
magic-user present as a hedge witch or local wise man.
As a finishing touch, take a moment to write down a hook or two
Most villages can usually afford to buy up to five gold pieces worth
for the settlement, some small event or overheard observation that
of adventuring plunder for every inhabitant. Major sales normally
will give the players a reason to take a closer look at the settlement.
require the wealth of a city. This same fund is available for rewards
The most finely-crafted border village is useless if the players never
for services rendered, though settlements backed by a powerful
have any cause to take in the local atmosphere. Give them a hint
patron might be able to offer substantially more.
about the local tags and potential adventure. Even if they don’t give
it any immediate interest, you can call back to it later with future
Once the PCs gain a few levels and can afford to enlist powerful
events, giving it all an air of foreshadowing and giving them the
clerical aid, you should take a moment to consider the location of
option of going back to investigate what they originally passed over.
the nearest cleric capable of such adventuring staples as Cure Disease,
Remove Curse, and Raise Dead. Many of the most powerful clerics in
the Isles tend to prefer life as isolated hermits or abbots of remote
monasteries, so it’s not impossible that such a hierarch might be
found in some humble farming village or little-visited temple.

92
Borderland Site Tags

BAD NEIGHBORS
The settlement has a grudge against one or more of its neighbors, and a steady low-level conflict is going on between them. This
antagonism may be the product of old wrongs long since lost in the mists of self-serving memory, or it might be the result of some fresh
ambition on the part of the settlement or its neighbors.
Enemies Local who thinks the PCs are friends of the rival settlement, Local who wants to use them against the enemy
Friends Aspiring peacemaker, Agent of the other settlement who sees the PCs as useful
Complications The settlement is actually completely at fault in the feud, The quarrel was started by a manipulative third party who
wants both settlements weakened, The quarrel is the result of a ridiculous misunderstanding
Things Proof of the guilt of one of the sites involved, A precious relic of legitimacy, The object the sites are fighting over
Places Ambush site, Disputed fields, Funeral of someone slain by the rivals

BAD WATER
There are problems with the local water supply, either because the current source is no longer serviceable, or because some outside power
is interfering with the free flow of water. Peasants might be fighting over irrigation rights to the local streams and rivulets, old wells might
be running dry, or some malefactor might be poisoning the locals’ water supply at the source.
Enemies Hidden poisoner, Aspiring water baron, Desperate neighboring farmer
Friends Water diviner, Local negotiator, Investigating magistrate
Complications The locals need to move as the land can no longer support their crops, Some vital local industry is poisoning the
waters, A curse has fallen on the water due to some local crime
Things Location of hidden spring, Ancient dwarven dam controls, Deed of water rights
Places Parched field, Local irrigation dam, Bottom of a dry well

BUNGLING LEADERSHIP
The settlement’s leader is hopelessly incompetent. Such leaders are usually new to their posts, as they rarely last long amid the dangers of
the borderlands. While they persist, however, they can cause dramatic damage to a settlement until their people either force a replace-
ment or fall prey to their blind bungling.
Enemies The fumbling leader, Secret power behind the throne, Blindly devoted servant
Friends Grizzled elder who sees the problem, Relative who wants to save the leader from himself, Itinerant magistrate
Complications The incompetent is the only acceptable leader by local customs, The incompetent is personally powerful, The
incompetent would be a splendid leader if he were not being misled
Things Relic that gives the possessor’s rule legitimacy, Proof that someone else was meant to be leader, Proof that the
leader’s advisors are corrupt
Places Confused and riotous audience hall, Decaying and unrepaired wall, Untended farm field

BURIED EVIL
Something dark and terrible lurks beneath the buildings of the settlement, lost in some entombed ruin or simply waiting in the dark
of the earth. It may be some malevolent spirit entombed by people long-dead, or it might be a cyst of some noxious life or poisonous
material. Whatever its nature, someone among the locals threatens to unearth it.
Enemies Greedy treasure-hunter, Deluded seeker, Person enslaved by the evil’s influence
Friends Wary elder who remembers old stories, Roaming historian, Itinerant ghost hunter
Complications The evil can influence people at a distance, The evil appears as some remarkably valuable object, The evil is
contagious in its effects.
Things The key to unlock the evil, The precious object in which the evil was bound, The ancient tome that warns of the
evil’s nature.
Places Forgotten and long-buried ruin, Disordered house of someone in the evil’s thrall, Building’s basement that twists
and warps under the influence of the evil.
93
CHEATING MERCHANTS
Some important local merchant is a grasping knave who cheats those who deal with him, yet is protected from the consequences by his
power and servants. Something he sells is vital to the inhabitants, and they have no other source for the necessary commodity.
Enemies Head bully of the merchant’s guard, Corrupt magistrate, Quisling local
Friends Local who has been cheated, Merchant who wants to break the monopoly, Former employee of the merchant
Complications The merchant cheats because he can make no money selling the commodity otherwise, The locals abused the
merchant in the past, The merchant sells vital adventuring equipage
Things Proof of the merchant’s chicanery, Information on a new source of the commodity, The merchant’s hidden trove
Places Quarrelsome and impotent magistrate’s court, Sullen trading post, Tavern dominated by the merchant’s thugs

CLASS TENSIONS
The social classes of the settlement are at each others’ throats. Peasants might hate landlords, soldiers might hate officers, lay folk might
hate priests, or any other conceivable fissure between the powerful and the less-powerful. Such anger is usually fueled by some recent
event that serves to catalyze years of resentment.
Enemies Tyrannical member of the overclass, Bloodthirsty agitator of the underclass, Outsider who profits from the hate
Friends Someone with ties to both classes, Peacemaking local elder, Local seeking aid for their side of the conflict
Complications The overclass is actually innocent of wrongdoing and the underclass is moved largely by greed and envy, The
overclass provides some vital service the underclass needs, The tensions are about to break into open fighting
Things Relic of a martyred victim of the other class, Proof that one side was at fault in the event that touched matters off,
The ill-gotten treasure of the overclass
Places Burnt homestead, Pillaged estate, Poisonously tense local festival

CORVEE DEMAND
The settlement’s ruling authority demands that the locals perform some sort of labor for their rulers, providing their own food and shelter
while at work. Most credit old customary laws requiring such service, but the laws may have fallen into disuse or be fabrications. Peasants
hate corvee labor, as it takes them from their fields, and other settlements often resent the demand for their unpaid work.
Enemies Grasping local official, Cruel corvee taskmaster, Greedy merchant who misdirects the labor to his own profit
Friends Angry peasant elder, Historian who remembers the old laws, Magistrate who feels the labor is being misused
Complications The corvee is actually a legitimate demand, The corvee is being used to build some vital infrastructure, The corvee
was supposed to be paid work
Things The pay that was supposed to be given to the workers, Proof of the demand’s falsification, Evidence of corrupt
redirection of the corvee labor
Places Sullen labor site, Empty fields, Tavern with knots of angry men

CROP FAILURE
The community has recently suffered a failure of its crops. For those settlements that don’t grow their own food, the surrounding villages
that normally supply them have suffered bad harvests and cannot sell what is left. Crop failures can range from an unpleasant season of
hardship to village-destroying famines.
Enemies Desperate local who thinks the PCs have riches, Local convinced the PCs are to blame for stirring up curses, Local
witch convinced that human sacrifice will propitiate the gods
Friends Local priest trying to help the villagers, Itinerant magistrate offering aid, Merchant trying to move in food to sell
Complications The crop failure is caused by a curse, The crop failure is a contagious plant disease and what little food remains
must be burnt before it spreads, The crops were destroyed in the field by enemies
Things Hidden cache of grain, The settlement’s chest of emergency funds
Places Empty storehouse where people have plucked rice grains from between the boards, Barren market, Tavern that
offers nothing but water

94
CROP THEFT
Someone or something has stolen much of the settlement’s food supply. In most cases, this will be a large amount of food to move, so
whoever accomplished it must have access to wagons or numerous strong backs. Herding settlements might face rustlers, robbing their
food on the hoof. In some cases the theft might have come under color of law, as some noble or magistrate empties their storehouses
through some manipulation of the law.
Enemies Grasping noble, Aspiring bandit warlord, Desperate leader of a famine-struck neighboring village
Friends Settlement leader in need of aid, Local merchant who needs crop surplus to sell, Plundered farmer
Complications The thieves stole because they will starve otherwise, The food hasn’t been preserved yet and will spoil soon if not
reclaimed, The thieves took even the seed grain for the next crop
Things Map to the food’s hiding place, Proof that the requisition was unlawful, Newly-discovered food source
Places Barren field, Crude infirmary filled with those injured in the raid, Quarrelsome courtroom

DANGEROUSLY NAIVE
The locals are convinced of the safety and security of their settlement, despite clear evidence to the contrary. They may be a band of
fresh colonists from the settled east, ignorant of the dangers of their new home. They might be converts to a charismatic religious leader
who promises them peace and security under his god’s protection. They may be blindly overconfident thanks to new weaponry and a
blustering new militia leader. Whatever the cause, these men and women fail to respect the danger that surrounds them.
Enemies Charismatic leader who brooks no doomsaying, Conniving land salesman, Amused bandit chieftain
Friends Wise old elder, Clear-sighted young local, Grizzled warrior who knows what’s out there
Complications The leader really does have supernatural powers, The evil is waiting to harvest the village, The villagers punish
those who spread “fearful talk”
Things Cache of weapons, Proof of the leader’s folly, Evidence of the plans of the surrounding enemies
Places Unguarded wall, Remote and undefended farm, Elaborate ceremony of praise for the leader’s wisdom

DWARVEN OUTCASTS
Some dwarves are forced from their homes by threats from Below or dissention within. The settlement has a group of these outcasts
living within it, likely focused overwhelmingly on gold with which to earn safety in the afterlife. Some outcasts might be renegades from
dwarven tradition, such as male smiths or female warriors. Others might just be so vicious that their clan could stand them no longer.
Enemies Ferociously greedy outcaste robber, Dwarven Repentant cultist, Visiting dwarf who despises these outcasts
Friends Earnest young dwarven idealist, Dwarf seeking vengeance on those who cast him out, Dwarf craving gold
Complications The outcasts were justified in their dissent, The outcasts hold true title to their former home, The outcasts are
secretly a band of Repentants.
Things Ancient clan relic, Location of a sizeable vein of gold, Token of hereditary leadership from their former clan
Places War-scarred dwarven delve, Makeshift burrows in a hillside, Half-gilded dwarven tomb

ETHNIC TENSIONS
Most of the varying ethnicities of the exiled have made peace with each other over the centuries since the Landing. Dissention is an open
invitation to the predators of the Isles, and a community that cannot pull together rarely lasts long. Still, the fear of cultural dissolution
and the loss of precious history goads some groups into resentment of others, while others grow embittered that their obvious superiority
is not better recognized. Those settlements with strongly-distinct ethnic groups can fall to such squabbling disputes and resentments.
Enemies Cultural supremacist who scorns outsiders, Enemy of the settlement who profits by the tension
Friends Local of a mixed ethnicity, Village elder trying to make peace, Zealot who thinks the PCs are on their side
Complications The blame for the tension can really be placed largely on one side, One of the groups is the last known enclave of
that ethnicity in the isles, One or both of the groups has repugnant traditions or customs
Things Ancient history records of a Tide-lost nation, Precious relic of the old world
Places Building elaborately adorned by ethnic decorations, Local shrine defiled by opponents, Multi-ethnic wedding rife
with suppressed violence

95
EXILED MAGISTRATE
Court politics can be an ugly business, and some magistrates or other nobles are invariably on the losing end. Officials who come out on
the raw end of political entanglements are often exiled to remote borderland settlements, there to rusticate as overseers for nonexistent
projects and judges for courts that are never called into session. Many burn with resentment at their lot, and will do whatever they must
to return to “civilization”.
Enemies Enemy who wants the magistrate dead and not just exiled, Resentful local displaced by the magistrate
Friends Magistrate who sees the PCs as a tool, Upright magistrate trying to do an impossible task, Sympathetic local
Complications The magistrate is a hopeless bungler, The magistrate wants to remain in exile despite his family’s pleas, The settle-
ment wants the magistrate to remain
Things Exquisite poetry or art done in exile, Proof of the injustice of the exile, The magistrate’s uncollected pay
Places Rustic country estate, Humble peasant hovel, Unworked project site

FADED GLORY
The site was once a famous or powerful settlement, perhaps with the remains of grand buildings falling into disrepair. Something hap-
pened to cast down the glory, whether it was an incursion of Shou in years past, the changing of a river’s bed, or some noisome plague.
Enemies Arrogant local lord who demands undue reverence, Greedy treasure-hunter, Lord seeking dominion over the site
Friends Curious antiquarian, Proud local son, Ambitious dreamer seeking to restore the settlement
Complications Several outside powers seek to control the settlement, The locals are divided over looking to the past or seeking a
better future, A sudden rush of outsiders pours in as some lost treasure is found
Things Ancient treasure, Long-lost relics of some glorious event, The charter granting lordship of the site to a noble clan
Places Decaying but still-splendid building, Huts in the shadow of a masonry hulk, Structure fashioned from strange
ancient building material

FENG SHUI
Something about the site of the settlement has potent geomantic significance. Strange things are more likely to occur in and around
the settlement, and some sites might provoke exceptionally bad or good fortune for those who live there. Such places often attract the
attention of magic-users and seekers after occult power, along with beasts that thrive in places of mystical power.
Enemies Magical beast, Ambitious magic-user who wishes to rule the settlement, Mistrustful local convinced that the PCs
have come to make trouble
Friends Curious magic-user from distant lands, “Benevolent” creature drawn by the power
Complications The site’s energy is subtle but invariably malevolent and harmful, The local luck becomes worse and worse as the
site is tapped by others, The geomantic significance is new after a recent earthquake or riverbed change
Things Delicate geomantic measuring tools, Wealth unearthed by unsettled earth, The notes of a long-dead scholar
Places Remarkably fortunate kitchen where everything always goes well, Fields left withered and feeble by the dark
geomantic energy, Ritual site prepared in secret to draw on the local power

FEUDING
Two or more families or affiliations have somehow managed to bitterly offend each other, and a feud has racked the settlement. Others
are pressured to fall in with one side or the other, and the conflict can range in intensity from dirty looks and cuts direct to murder in the
streets. Some feuds last for generations, with the original causes lost beneath generations of bloodshed and ambush.
Enemies Patriarch of a feuding clan convinced that the PCs are with their enemies, Someone who mistakes a PC for a
member of the enemy clan, Someone prospering from the violence and discord.
Friends Young scion of one house in love with someone in the other, Peacemaking elder, Ghost of a murder victim
Complications A clan’s leadership now depends on the fighting to legitimate their rule, Clans that stop feuding will turn on the
rest of the settlement, A cold tension is about to turn into a hot war if a recent crime is assigned to one clan
Things Plunder taken from ambush victims, Stolen livestock, Proof that the original slight was a fabrication
Places Graveyard with segregated monuments, Fortified homestead, Ambush site outside the village

96
GRASPING NOBLE
Whether magistrate, chieftain, or some other person of note, a grasping noble seeks to seize control of the settlement against the wishes
of its occupants. The noble might aim to steal the land through legal chicanery, or call in fabricated or real debts to take control. Some
might simply resort to hired “bandits” who make life intolerable for the occupants.
Enemies Ruthless lieutenant of the noble, The noble him or herself, A local secretly in the pay of the lord
Friends Plucky farmer, Resolute village elder, Scholar familiar with the real legal history of the land
Complications The noble’s claim is actually legitimate in the eyes of the law, The settlement is divided over the question, The
settlement is being run badly and the noble might be an improvement
Things Proof of the settlement’s liberty, The hidden treasure the noble seeks to seize, Relic precious to the noble’s clan
Places Raucous courtroom, Meeting-hall filled with worried villagers, Farm seized by the noble’s men

HELL KING CULTISTS

The Hell Kings are practical demons, and those mortals who pledge their souls to their infernal service are often rewarded. The hard
life of a border village can make such bargains tempting, with each petitioner deluding himself into thinking that he will be among the
precious few spared from an eternity of damnation and torment. In some lands the worship of the Hell Kings is permitted, but in places
ruled by Xian such service is considered treachery and a sure sign of fealty to the demonic Shogunate lords.
Enemies Priest of the Hell Kings, Local desirous of a human sacrifice, Sorcerer gone half-mad with degenerate needs
Friends Secret traitor to the cult, Cleric of a nobler pantheon, Local enemy of the cult’s spread
Complications The cultists try to restrict their depredations and demanded cruelties to outsiders, The settlement needs the Hell
Kings’ magic to survive, The cultists hide their service in the guise of a local god
Things Precious sacrificial offerings, Property from dead victims, Gifts granted the faithful by the Hell Kings
Places Secret blood-stained shrine, Abandoned temple to a kinder god, Frantic communal rite of devotion

HERETICAL STRIFE
A faction of believers in a local deity has become convinced of a strange and heretical body of doctrine. This innovation may involve
sacrifices, stern austerities, or actual violence against non-believers. More traditional faithful now quarrel with the new zealots.
Enemies Clerically-empowered heretic priest, Corrupt traditionalist priest, Cold-blooded opportunist seeking profit
Friends Moderate from one of the factions, Venerable local theologian, Local seeking help for a newly-zealous relative
Complications The traditional faith is corrupted and enfeebled, The new faith is morally upright but very harsh, The new faith
has seized much of the older tradition’s property
Things Jeweled holy relics, Transcription of a new prophet’s visions, Magical artifact empowered by local faith
Places Poisonously divided temple, Isolated shrine outside the settlement, Secret meeting of believers

MALEVOLENT CREED
Elves seek spiritual fulfillment through “Creeds”, particular philosophical schools that provide structure and meaning to their lives. Most
elven Creeds are relatively peaceful, but a few espouse beliefs that leave them poorly-suited to cooperating with others. The settlement is
likely completely composed of followers of this Creed, because it’s unlikely they could get along with anyone else. Such Creeds espouse
ideas such as elven superiority, amoral hedonism, brutal ambitions for conquest, or a soulless regard for non-believers as mere cattle.
Enemies Megalomaniacal elven philosopher, Brainwashed zealot, Sinister being summoned up by the Creed
Friends Elven crusader of a different Creed, Aspiring reformer, Oppressed local minion
Complications The Creed has degenerated from a nobler past, The Creed includes many who would like to leave it if they dared,
The Creed has access to rites and formulae that strengthen true believers
Things Plunder taken from outsiders, Relics of a more glorious past, Exquisite works of art
Places Ceremonial chambers, Slave-built structures, Worn and decayed buildings inherited from the ancestors

97
MASTER ARTISAN
Someone living in this settlement is possessed of remarkable skills at a particular craft or discipline. A master alchemist, a peerless
armorer, a sage renowned throughout the land- this person can do something very useful for adventurers. The artisan may be dwelling on
the borderlands in order to be closer to some vital raw material, or they might simply resent the constant importunings of others. Often
their services cannot be bought, but must be earned by favors.
Enemies Rival artist who wishes to use the PCs, Angry petitioner turned down by the master, Rapacious tax collector
Friends Apprentice of the master, Grateful past client, Supplier in need of collectors for a valuable material
Complications The artisan is unbelievably obnoxious to work with, The artisan’s abilities have faded with age or dissipation, The
artisan has been forbidden to work for outsiders by the local lord
Things Fruits of the artisan’s craft, Payment offered for goods, Valuable raw materials
Places Age-worn workshop, Bustling auction hall, Tavern serving aspiring customers

MOTHERLODE
The locals have struck a vein of something precious, most often a vein of gold or a rich lode of gemstones. Mining settlements will be
in an uproar, while less geologically-inclined sites will be struggling with a sudden influx of hopeful miners. Local officials will rush to
ensure that the appropriate taxes are paid- and some that are rather less appropriate, if possible.
Enemies Gold-crazed prospector, Greedy local lord, Local spirit guardian of the lode
Friends Cheerfully hopeful miner, Local merchant serving the newcomers, Mine foreman needing help with troubles
Complications The lode is a hoax, The lode is a trap and has been salted to draw people into the reach of some dark power, The
lode is intermingled with some dangerous material
Things The lode itself, Refined materials, Land deeds for the lode site itself
Places Grubby open pit mine, Despoiled stream poisoned by mine tailings, Tavern roaring with miners and their gold

NATURAL FORTIFICATIONS
The site is located somewhere even more well-protected than is normal for a site of its kind. A farming village might be located in the
bend of a fast-flowing and rocky-banked river on a raised spit of land. A dwarven delve might be burrowed into a needle of rock jutting
amid steep crevasses. Whatever the specifics, the site has substantial military value in its location, and such advantages can sometimes
make the locals a little impetuous about taking advantage of their good fortune.
Enemies Ambitious settlement ruler, Advisor murmuring dreams of conquest, Agent of a suspicious neighboring site
Friends Peaceful captain of the local militia, Chief mason for the new walls, Visiting military observer
Complications The settlement has been forbidden to fortify itself further but is under threat of attack, The settlement’s leadership
dreams of local dominance, A neighboring power wants to seize the site for its own fortress
Things Valuables kept in a place of security, Money gathered to build new walls, A storehouse of supplies against a siege.
Places A view overlooking the site’s defenses, A guarded bridge over a moat or crevasse, Atop a high wall

PACIFISTIC FOLK
For one reason or another, a significant number of people in the settlement refuse to fight. They recognize the dangers that surround the
community but insist that a peaceful, pacifistic existence is preferable to resisting them with violence. Such pacifists are often motivated
by charismatic religious leaders or an esoteric cultural demand. Whatever their motivation, they are a heavy burden to bear for a com-
munity surrounded by the dangers of the wild.
Enemies Eager bandit chieftain, Zealous religious leader, Local leader embittered at the pacifists
Friends Earnest pacifist, Frustrated settlement leader, Scout warning of impending danger
Complications The other locals have effectively enslaved the pacifists, The pacifists would be superb warriors if they chose to fight,
The pacifists are allowed to fight only under very specific conditions
Things Handicrafts fashioned by the pacifists, Earthly wealth they have eschewed, Taxes levied harshly on the pacifists
Places Serene pacifist farmhold, Tavern full of locals angry at the “cowards”, Shrine kept by religious leader

98
POWERFUL LOCAL
One of the locals has unusual personal power. They may be a retired master swordsman, rusticating adept of wizardry, reclusive holy man,
or former master thief. The locals may or may not recognize the prowess of this man or woman, but it is very likely that old enemies have
taken an interest in the current doings of their former nemesis.
Enemies Old foe seeking to even the score, Young gun looking to make a name for himself, Local leader embittered by the
powerful person’s refusal to do more for the settlement
Friends Servant of the powerful person, Local spouse or child of the person, Petitioner come to ask the hero for help
Complications The hero’s abilities have crumbled since retirement, The hero is embittered and declines to help others, The hero
feels too much self-doubt to act at a time of need
Things Trophies gathered by the hero, Money gathered to try to hire him, Valuables brought by old enemies
Places Rustic country house decorated with mementos, Town meeting of pleading locals, Grave site of the hero’s spouse

PRE-EXILE SITE
This site has existed here long before the exile that brought the refugee fleet to the Isles. Some such sites date back thousands of years, long
before human record of the Isles, while others are simply the crumbled remains of some foolish colony or over-ambitious explorer’s dream
of their own private kingdom. The buildings remain sturdy enough to invite occupation, but more than buildings might still remain.
Enemies A beast long-buried, A local leader wishing to conceal an ancient treasure, Outsider claiming rule of the site
Friends Curious archaeologist, Avid treasure-hunter, Local in need of help in dealing with a local danger
Complications Portions of the site are taboo, An outside power claims legal rights to the site, A tax collector vigilantly collects
extortionate taxes on any wealth acquired from the ruins.
Things Buried treasure, Ancient relics that have modern use, Tome of forgotten lore in an alien tongue
Places Cyclopean stone structures, Farm field amid strange stones, Human household in a building built for others

RAIDERS
A nearby ruin provides a base for raiders that scourge the community. The band is not strong enough to take the settlement by storm, but
they can make life miserable for the locals. A referee may wish to consult the ruin site section to determine what kind of raiders torment
the settlement and the nature of their base of operations.
Enemies Raider chieftain, Bandit taking advantage of the chaos caused by the raiders, Local leader preaching appeasement
Friends Local militia commander, Escaped raider slave, Reformed bandit that settled in the site
Complications The raiders are actually exiles from the community, The raiders are secretly in the pay of a rival local leader, The
raiders were originally greatly wronged by the locals
Things Raider plunder, Treasure buried to keep the raiders from getting it, Bribes to encourage the raiders to depart
Places The ruins from which the raiders operate, Burnt farmstead, Infirmary with victims of the raids

REBELS
Some members of the community are rebels against the authority that claims rule over them. Whether Xianese noble or dwarven lord,
these rebels denounce their suzerain as a tyrant and a brute, and work to overthrow him with varying degrees of directness. The rest of
the community may or may not agree with the rebels, but they likely have at least some measure of sympathy for them or else they would
soon be uncovered to agents of the lord.
Enemies Ruthless agent of the lord, Pitiless rebel leader who will sacrifice innocents for the cause, Greedy traitor to a cause
Friends Wretched peasant caught between warring sides, Righteous official seeking the truth of matters, Local leader
seeking freedom from both rebels and lord
Complications The lord is just and honorable despite the rebels’ accusations, The rebels are in cooperation with bandits in the
nearby wilds, The rebels are actually a covert cult in service to the Tide or the Hell Kings.
Things Plundered tax collection money, A trophy stolen from a noble’s official, Proof of the noble’s lawless demands
Places Hidden camp in the wilds, Interrogation chamber in the settlement, Tavern full of low mutterings

99
 RECURRING DISEASE
The land the settlement occupies is not good, and bad air or unfortunate feng shui has left the inhabitants prey to some recurring
outbreak of disease. Leprosy, the Pale Cough, dengue fever, malaria, or some other insistent illness often strikes the occupants. Many
who still live there do so because it’s the only land nearby that no one is trying to take from them. Others might linger for the sake of
rich soil or some precious local resource. Merchants tend to come, trade, and go quickly.
Enemies Villager resentful of healthy outsiders, Demented scholar convinced he can cure the sickness with sufficient
‘experiments’, Cruel lord who forces the occupants to remain and work the land for him
Friends Local healer seeking help, Sick local needing aid for his family, Brave and curious physician investigating the area
Complications The sickness comes from a lingering curse due to some long-lost crime gone unrevealed, Visitors to the settlement
are shunned by others who know of the trip, The sickness lies dormant for a long while before erupting suddenly
Things A cure for the illness, A scholar’s notes on how to remedy the bad air, Funerary goods for the dead
Places Pest-house full of the ill, Market where business is conducted at arm’s length, Fields full of thin laborers

RELIGIOUS TENSIONS
While most inhabitants of the Sunset Isles tend to have a tepid regard for religion, the latter days have driven some into desperate
zealotry- and some faiths have always had difficulty in getting along with their neighbors. This settlement is plagued by such a division,
perhaps between two rival faiths, perhaps between believers and a group of Godless demihumans. Hard words come often, and things
may yet come to open violence.
Enemies Bitter zealot, Fanatic convinced the PCs are angering the god, Cold-blooded priest who means to use the PCs
Friends Temperate-minded local, Frustrated village elder, Priest attempting to contain his flock’s bigotry
Complications The two faiths both claim the same temple in the settlement, The one faith forbids what the other requires, The
quarrel’s leading figures are actually unbelievers interested only in profit
Things Religious relic precious to one or both factions, Jeweled idol of a deity, List of “apostates” to be punished
Places Ranting religious meeting, Aftermath of a riot, Schoolhouse where students are taught the divine truth

RICH LAND
The soil around this settlement is rich and fertile, and the crops come easily. Even settlements not normally dedicated to agriculture can
expect to have peasants relocating to work the land. Of course, such agricultural wealth brings its own share of attention.
Enemies Rapacious leader of a neighboring settlement, Merchant trying to gain monopoly rights on local grain, Bandit
chieftain looking for supplies
Friends Ambitious young farmer, Priest of a fertility deity, Elder attempting to defend the site’s legal claim to the land
Complications The farming is rapidly ruining the land, The fertility comes from dark sacrifices, The fertility comes from jealously
guarded agricultural techniques
Things This year’s harvest, Deed to the land, Ornate idol of the local fertility deity
Places Luxuriantly ripe fields, Village feast, Bustling market day

SECRET RECIPE
The locals build or brew something that cannot be found elsewhere, a native product that is in some way valuable or useful to an
adventurer. Exquisite liquors, rare medicines, superb armaments, or magically-useful ingredients are all possibilities.
Enemies Outsider seeking to steal the secret recipe, Competitor merchant seeking to put them out of business, Tax collector
seeking to squeeze further exactions
Friends Master artisan in need of ingredients, Curious scholar seeking the secret, Young crafter struggling to set up a shop
Complications The goods are dangerous or toxic to the users, The goods require some morally-dubious ingredient, The true
source of the goods is actually some malevolent group using the site as a front
Things The precious good itself, Payment for a shipment, Valuable raw ingredients
Places Hushed workshop, Hard-bargaining auction hall, Hidden glen where the vital ingredient is grown

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 SHOU BLOOD
The Shou leave more than ashes in the wake of their raids. Many such children are left to die of exposure, but this settlement has a
substantial population of Shou-blooded occupants. In some villages, these people may be little more than slaves, mistreated and used
for hard labor. In others, they are accepted equals, and in some they form almost the whole of the population. Outsiders fear and
distrust such villages, rumoring them dens of terrible crimes. In truth, however, Tide Cults never seem to form in any settlement with a
significant number of Shou-blooded occupants.
Enemies Zealous racial purist, Angry neighbor blaming the Shou-blooded for his troubles, Shou chieftain who loathes the
“impure mongrels” of the settlement
Friends Naive Shou-blooded local, Obstinate visionary of racial peace, Parent of a Shou-blooded child
Complications A local agitator is trying to provoke strife, A local Shou tribe is actually willing to deal peacefully with the settle-
ment, Neighbors accuse the locals of participating in Shou raids
Things Trophy taken from raiders, Lineage tablets proving a Shou-blood is a noble heir, Potent Shou fetish
Places Hardscrabble farmstead, Market with segregated stalls, Merchant’s camp outside the settlement

SINISTER ALLIANCE
The locals have struck a secret bargain with some malevolent power. Whether bandit warlord, open-minded Shou warchief, Tide Cult
leader, foul necromancer, or some other brand of villain, the settlement has agreed to cooperate with their intentions in exchange for
aid and plunder. Some settlements do so out of desperation. Others agree simply out of greed and indifference to the lives of outsiders.
Enemies Elder who fears the secret will come out, Agent of the dark power, Local who sees the PCs as convenient marks
Friends Investigating magistrate, Conscience-wracked local, Native of neighboring settlement looking for answers
Complications The settlement was forced to cooperate or be destroyed, Most of the locals don’t know about the pact, A powerful
noble is covering for the settlement
Things Plunder taken from victims, Valuable trophy of the dark power, Proof of the alliance
Places Secret meeting place outside the settlement, Hidden prison for kidnap victims, Concealed shrine to dark powers

TIDE CULT
The Tide infects the minds of some weak or desperate enough to imagine it a saviour. It promises everything its prey could desire, and
rewards them with both power and delusion. Some settlements become plagued with such dreamers, and fall under their dark sway.
Enemies Tide priest, Deluded local convinced the PCs must die as sacrifices, Corrupt local lord that profits from the cult
Friends Elder in desperate need of help, Tidehunter from the city, Outsider seeking a vanished friend
Complications The cult masks itself as a harmless faith, The cult is needed for the settlement to survive, The cult has allies in the
local nobles
Things Offerings to the Tide, Wealth taken from victims, Treasures summoned from the red mist
Places Mist-wreathed sacrificial site, Defiled temple, Houses full of sleepers

TOXIC ENVIRONMENT
The settlement is located on poisoned ground, prey to some environmental toxin that leaves the residents sickly and short-lived. It
may be the product of foul gases that seep up from volcanic fissures or steaming marshes, or it might be the accumulated tailings of a
mining enterprise leaching into the water. It may even be some exceptionally bad feng shui filling the settlement with poisonous magical
emanations.
Enemies Rapacious mine owner, Ruthless noble demanding the locals work the land, Careless sorcerer
Friends Sickly local in need of help, Eager engineer with a way to clean the land, Assassin wanting concentrated toxins
Complications The poison is inextricably tied to the settlement’s livelihood, The poison can be refined into something precious,
The poison gives unusual abilities to its victims
Things A cure for the toxin, A container of refined poison, Geomantically powerful field marker
Places A site of a toxin eruption, House full of sickly residents, Work-site amid poisoned fields

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 TYRANNICAL LEADER
Some brutal master lords over the settlement, crushing any hint of resistance and demanding extravagant service from the locals. Such
overlords rarely take well to troublesome strangers, but sometimes find them useful for enforcing their will on the more recalcitrant
residents. Most such leaders have at least some thin veneer of legitimacy, leaving their victims to fear not only their own retaliation, but
the consequences of defying their masters.
Enemies Corrupt magistrate, Brutal headman, Jungle-crazed military officer
Friends Secretive rebel, Embittered victim, Rival tyrant
Complications The tyrant’s skills or prowess are needed for the settlement to survive, The tyrant is all that’s holding off an even
worse master, The rebel leader plots to replace the tyrant
Things List of rebels, Extorted plunder, Magical artifact the tyrant uses to keep control
Places Gallows hill, Hushed taproom, Opulent estate

UNCERTAIN TITLE
The settlement’s occupants have a less certain claim on their land than they would like. If in the wilderness, a powerful lord or local
chieftain claims the land as their property. If closer to civilization, a complex web of legal suits might make their tenancy uncertain.
Impatient landowners might send thugs to ‘encourage’ the occupants to move.
Enemies Impatient merchant, Ambitious noble, Tribal chieftain
Friends Young farmer striving to make a farmstead, Upright magistrate, Start-up merchant trying to begin a business
Complications The outsider really does have legal title to the land, The outsider doesn’t want the land, but instead wants what’s
beneath it, The outsider is being pressured by a more nefarious power to get the land- or else
Things Title deed, Land payment, Map proving the settler’s case
Places Tumbled boundary stone, Fortified farmhouse, Angry courtroom

WANTED OUTLAW
Some nefarious outlaw has made his home in or near the settlement, and the locals feel obligated to protect him for some reason. It may
be that he’s a local Robin Hood to the poor, or that they fear the retaliation of his men, or the magistrate who seeks to have him arrested
is especially hated. Outsiders are likely to face suspicions of bounty hunting.
Enemies The outlaw himself, The settlement’s headman, Corrupt noble in alliance with the outlaw
Friends Investigating magistrate, Secret village informer, Embittered former minion of the outlaw
Complications The outlaw is actually innocent, The outlaw is singled out for his attacks on a corrupt noble, The outlaw is an
exiled nobleman
Things The outlaw’s plunder, The bounty on his head, Map to the outlaw’s buried treasure
Places Forest glade, Hidden room, Mustering-ground for pursuing guardsmen

XENOPHOBIA
The locals fear and mistrust outsiders. This may be due to reclusive religious principles, an ethnocentric pride in their heritage, or the
simple fact that outsiders have repeatedly victimized them. Strangers are ‘encouraged’ to move along, and services are offered only
grudgingly. It may be possible to win their trust in time, but they have been primed to think the worst of outsiders.
Enemies Village headman, Town tough, Suspicious wise woman
Friends Curious youth, Fellow stranger in town, Local who returned after years away
Complications The outlaw is actually innocent, The outlaw is singled out for his attacks on a corrupt noble, The outlaw is an
exiled nobleman
Things The outlaw’s plunder, The bounty on his head, Map to the outlaw’s buried treasure
Places Forest glade, Hidden room, Mustering-ground for pursuing guardsmen

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An Example Borderland Site Over the decades, their hopes guttered and died. Piece by piece, the
The referee has a spare half-hour one afternoon and decides that family lands were sold in order to pay for the bribes necessary to
it would be useful to have a spare borderland settlement in his have each new generation elevated to the scholar-nobility. Without
campaign folder, just to be sure of having something available to such recurring ennoblement, the laws of the city would have the
drop in if the players suddenly decide to hare off into the Westmark. Tanakas as mere commoners within two generations. Tanaka Rei’s
He can’t necessarily predict the kind of terrain the settlement will be grandmother spent the last of their money. Tanaka Rei’s mother
located in, so it should be the sort of site that he can plant almost made bargains she should not have sealed.
anywhere.
Tanaka Rei is wed to a beast of a man, one of the peasants that
The first step is to determine the kind of settlement it will be. serve the country estate. She has been damned from girlhood, and
Having no preferences, the referee rolls 1d10 and comes up with her husband was chosen for his biddable and obedient nature. He
“Country Estate”. Evidently, it’s a remote, fortified manor owned has willingly participated in the infernal rites of the Hell Kings.
by a rich merchant or powerful noble. Tanaka Maiko knows little of the affair, having been raised on the
estate and isolated from the outside world and its customs. If her
With that established, the referee decides to roll twice on the site mother instructed her to cooperate in the rituals, she would almost
tags table to see what qualities make this manor all that interesting certainly obey. She is a good-hearted and trusting girl, and adept
to adventurers. The results are “Faded Glory” and “Hell King Cult- with a huntswoman’s bow, but she trusts her mother too much.
ists”. Well, now. It looks like this humble country seat may not be
the safest waystation for the PCs. Her mother is looking for alternatives, though she dares not admit
this even to herself. If she can scrape together the five thousand gold
The referee turns to the site tag list and reads over the elements koku her contacts require to arrange for Maiko’s ennoblement, she
associated with each tag. After some reflection, he decides that the will not be forced to bring her into the family faith and join her to
country seat won’t seem to be dangerous at first glance. Whatever’s her mother’s damnation. The Hell Kings will doubtless torment her
going on at the estate is subtle enough that wayfarers won’t be soul spectacularly for this treachery in the world to come, but she
instantly attacked as potential sacrifices. loves her daughter dearly, and wants to save her from the choice she
made.
Since the country manor is a little like a noble court, he rolls on
the Court Site tables to get the roles of the three most important With this backstory in mind, the referee decides that Daifu Rei
people at the estate. According to the dice, the three big names there will impress the PCs as a greedy, driven woman with an insatiable
are the Noble, the Spouse, and the Noble’s Child. A roll on the hunger for gold. She’ll give them leads on likely ruins and possibly
random NPC tables in the back of the book shows that the Noble is even use her infernal contacts to set up opportunities for the PCs.
a woman and the Child is a daughter. Recourse to the random name All she will demand for her help is a cut of the money. She might
tables give their names as the noble Daifu Tanaka Rei, her husband even come to be an ally of sorts to the PCs, as long as they seem to
Tanaka Hengest, and their daughter, Tanaka Maiko. be a useful tool for getting her daughter ennobled.

Now the referee looks back at the tags and decides to start creating Of course, if the PCs come to realize just what sort of woman she is,
adventure hooks. The Tanaka family was once a trusted Kueh samu- things may get messy. The referee pulls the statistics for a Red Jade
rai clan, one faithful to their service to the Mandarin of Xian. One Templar from the Hell King Cultist section of the ruin encounter to
hundred years ago, however, one of their ancestors committed a use for Tanaka Hengest’s statistics, and an Infernal Priest for Tanaka
great treachery on behalf of the Shogun. The ancestor was executed Rei. Their daughter Maiko has the abilities of a level 1 thief. The
and his family was permanently exiled from the city, forced to dwell estate has a dozen ordinary men-at-arms, some of which are privy to
on a remote country estate. Their scions were barred from return- the truth of matters, and two dozen peasants who know little except
ing until they had performed a service of suitable expiation- yet that it is very unhealthy to inquire after private family business.
their enemies delighted in spoiling their every attempt to win the Should the PCs slay the cultists and plunder the estate, the referee
Mandarin’s forgiveness. decides that only about 1,000 gold pieces worth of coinage and
portable valuables will be found; if Tanaka Rei were a rich noble-
woman, she wouldn’t have ended up as she did.

103
 City SiteS
Building a city site is simple in some ways. A city is a city, after all,
and a referee isn’t often faced with a wild multiplicity of forms.
By the same token, however, it can sometimes be a little more dif-
ficult to present PCs with immediate adventure opportunities when
they’re so closely enfolded in the civilized surroundings of a large
human city. Direct and violent solutions aren’t always practical in
a city, and the kind of social maneuvering that is often necessary
can be difficult for players who aren’t completely confident in their
grasp of the setting and its social mores.

When running adventures in a city site, don’t make this unfamiliar-

ity a bigger handicap than it has to be. If the players make some
mildly erroneous assumption about how the city works, don’t
contradict it unless it’s important to the adventure. Let it ride, play
along with it, and note it down in the campaign folder on the Places
sheet for the city. Every time you correct a player about the setting,
you emphasize both their ignorance and the setting’s strangeness.
Too much of it and it tends to spoil the sense of immersion in the
game and turns the setting into a puzzle to be solved rather than a
context to be enjoyed.

The four great cities of the Isles are Xian, Hohnberg, Tien Lung,
and Kitaminato, but there is no reason that these guidelines can’t
be used to create somewhat lesser towns. Aside from the great cities
of Ektau, there’s also no telling what awaits brave explorers on the
storm-wracked isles of the central archipelago, or what hidden
jewels might be found in the heart of the Shou-infested western
lands.

Building the Physical City

Cities in the Sunset Isles are small by the standards of the modern own distinct culture and flavor, with like professions, social ranks,
world. Xian itself has no more than 12,000 people within its walls, and ethnicities often clustering together.
and the other major cities of Ektau are even smaller. Still, these
teeming thousands make up the largest and most sophisticated Cities are colorful. The Imperials who arrived in the exile loved
settlements on the island, and they support a society of far more brightly-colored buildings and ornaments, and brilliant painted
wealth than is found in the hardscrabble borderlands. hues and vivid tilework are often present on structures. This is most
pronounced in Xian, while Hohnberg tends to be the most subdued
If you prefer a genuine megalopolis for your adventures, you can city in its coloring, with gray granite buildings unadorned and
multiply the populations in the Isles by a factor of 10. The existing plain. Tien Lung favors arcane symbols and auspicious seals painted
numbers were chosen based on a realistic and plausible reading of over its buildings and vulgar displays of wealth and ostentation in
how many peasants and city folk could be supported by the land its structures. Kitaminato enjoys impeccably refined taste and subtle
and techniques available to the natives of Ektau. Unless your players interplays of pastels and natural colors, a beautiful veneer over the
are hard-core realism fiends who count hexes and calculate available darkness within.
farmland, they’re unlikely to even notice the difference.
Cities usually have rivers flowing through them, or some other large-
Cities in the Isles are invariably walled. The history of violence is too scale source of water for drinking and industry. In Xian, this is the
recent and too pressing for any polity to feel comfortable without Sungari coming down from the northern hills. In Hohnberg, this
thick stone between them and the dangerous outside world. Even is the Ems that flows down from the Godbarrows to the west. Tien
country villas and farming villages usually have at least a log palisade Lung is watered by the Black River, tainted dark by the black hill
as a defense. soil and traces of gleaming godbone. Most natives get their drinking
water from wells when they can, though some of the Stitched Path
Cities are often broken up into specific districts and neighborhoods, sorcerers of the city imagine that they augment their powers by
often divided by internal walls. Originally, these measures were drinking the river’s dark water. Kitaminato is supplied by deep wells
enacted to improve the city’s fortifications and make it harder for into a large underground aquifer and a few smaller streams coming
an invader who breaches the walls or takes a gate to spread out down from the central hills of the isthmus.
through the city. In modern days, it tends to give each district its
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Cities stink. Xian and Hohnberg have good sewer systems but the
1D20 CITY SITE TAGS
masses of people in close proximity and the fish processing and in-
dustrial work inside the walls can’t help but add a particular piscine 1 Corrupt Officials
miasma to the air. Kitaminato is more aggressive about maintaining 2 Crackdown
clean air, though its sewer systems are said to be infested with ter- 3 Enemy Polity
rible things spawned from demonic sires. Tien Lung has the most
4 Ethnic Unrest
desultory systems for disposing of waste, and their streets are often
rancid in the worst parts of the city, where the serfs and foreigners 5 Forced Evictions
live. 6 Geomantic Flaw
7 Hell Cult
Building the Social City 8 Important Temple
Cities have contours of legal authority. It’s unfortunately likely that
9 Incompetent Ruler
the PCs are going to eventually cross the law in a city, or else deal
with others who have. You’ll want to have some idea of how the 10 Magical School
local city watch operates and what sort of process an offender is 11 Malignant Slum
likely to face. Adventurers who commit relatively minor crimes can 12 Pirates
expect to be put to “public service” in dealing with some dangerous
13 Plague
task rather than being fined or beaten. Serious crimes might require
severe fines in conjunction with the completion of some important 14 Precarious Food Supply
and potentially lethal mission for the city. Geas or Quest spells might 15 Rival Families
be involved for powerful adventurers, or the simple threat of a noose 16 Ruins Beneath
for those who do not merit the employment of such impressive
magic. Characters can always skip out on these jobs, but they’d 17 Slave Uprising
better not be caught in that polity’s territory again. 18 Tide Cult
19 Tong War
Cities have conflicts between professions, classes, ethnicities, and
20 Zealous Builder
religions. The refugees of the exile fleet have been thrown together
for three centuries, and in that time many of the sharp edges and the city needs to resolve, such as Ethnic Unrest or a Slave Uprising.
disagreements between peoples have been ground down by the Transient tags will tend to change based on the progress of events
press of necessity. Every so often, however, some group sparks up and the interference of the PCs.
in a fit of anger or resentment, and the consequences can be ugly.
The increasing costs of food and the rising danger of the Shou, the You shouldn’t feel obligated to detail the adventure hooks of an
Hell Kings, and the resurgent Tide have all put people on edge, and entire city at once. It’s perfectly acceptable to simply scratch down
disputes that might have been glossed over a few decades ago can the particulars of just one district or neighborhood, and bill the
now birth torch-bearing mobs. others as requiring guard passes for foreign visitors that will take a
while to get. If the players conceive of a burning urge to visit one
Novice adventurers are very much members of the city’s underclass. of these other neighborhoods, you can simply generate it for the
They’re not quite as disreputable as actual criminals, but nobles and next session. As always, be parsimonious with your effort, and don’t
the wealthy are unlikely to wish to be seen socializing with them, sweat over making what you don’t expect to need in the near future.
even if they often find use for their special talents. After adventurers
have accomplished suitably impressive feats of arms in service to the Site tags for a city can also be restricted to specific neighborhoods,
people of the Isles, they might expect to be toasted by the elite, and and reflect the particular traits or events of a given district rather
possibly even offered titles of their own. The societies of the Isles than the city as a whole. You can also dragoon many of the border-
are too pressed by outside threats to ignore the value of a proven lands site tags into service, simply changing the contexts to apply to
hero, and dreams of a daifu’s jade ornaments often drive on gutter a city rather than a border settlement.
orphans and peasant youths in their often-fatal pursuit of glory.
As in any use of site tags, you should take care to make the events
accessible to the players. You should have at least one rumor or
Building the Adventurer’s City event to serve as a hook for the tags, and you should be ready to
Details of a city’s structure and lines of authority are useful in order introduce them into other events if it seems reasonable that they
to handle the kind of on-the-spot schemes that PCs often develop, should be involved. A developed tag that the PCs can neither influ-
but finding interest in a city often requires a more active set of events ence nor involve themselves in is not a terribly useful asset to a
to engage the PCs. Cities can have site tags much as borderland sandbox referee.
settlements can, and they can be used in much the same way. Some
tags relate to persistent features of a city, such as a Magical School,
or Ruins Beneath, while others involve immediate situations that

105
 City Site Tags
CORRUPT OFFICIALS
Corrupt city officials are targeting a friend or associate of the PCs, or a business that is important to their current activities. The associate
might be squeezed for protection money, framed up for a crime in order to expropriate their belongings, or targeted for “corrective
adjustment” because of a personal grudge. If nothing is done to help them, the corrupt official will very likely prevail.
Enemies Crooked city watch captain, Corrupt magistrate, Sinister court wizard
Friends Relative of a PC, Only seller of a vital good or service, Mentor of a PC
Complications Both official and victim are corrupt, A clean local magistrate wants the PCs to gather information for him, The
corrupt official offers the victim's goods or services at a cheaper rate
Things Bribe money, Evidence of corruption, Remains of the last person to tell the official "No".
Places Smoke-filled room, Ransacked shop, Sickroom with badly-beaten victim

CRACKDOWN
The locals have had enough of lawless misbehavior and felonious outsiders. Troublemakers like adventurers are obliged to watch their
behavior scrupulously lest eagle-eyed citizens report them for breaking one of a hundred petty regulations. Optionally, the locals might
happen to have incurred some special loathing for a demihuman race or human ethnicity because of recent events, and persecute PCs of
that variety for the sins of others.
Enemies Zealous watch captain, Local snoop, Ranting demagogue blaming "outsiders".
Friends Fellow outsider trapped in the city, Local thieves' guild chief, Tong being persecuted by wealthy do-gooders
Complications The locals are getting frustrated with all the new enforcement too, The numerous new petty regulations are
actually part of a huge and sinister ritual, The new legalism is part of a zealous religious revival.
Things A universal pardon for crimes committed, Confiscated goods, Contraband forbidden by the new laws
Places Crowded jail cell, Hushed plaza where no one dares say anything, Mass meeting denouncing foreign troublemakers

ENEMY POLITY
The city has a number of active agents of an enemy polity. Their foe may or may not be in open warfare with them, but the bad blood
is deep enough to provoke constant low-level espionage activities. On Ektau, there’s fierce enmity between Xian and the Shogunate,
while no polity has better than frosty relationships with Tien Lung. Hohnberg has a strong detestation of both the Shogunate and Tien
Lung, while the dwarven underhome of Altgrimmr is friendly with Hohnberg and despises the slavers of Tien Lung and the Shogunate.
Enemies A secret agent of the rival, A zealous investigator, A murderous saboteur
Friends Agent who wishes to defect, Local watch captain, Local victimized by enemy agents
Complications Enemy agents strike at a secret program that really is detestable and vile. An old ally of the PCs is an agent. An old
ally of the PCs is framed as an agent.
Things Stolen ciphers, Bribe money for local officials, Proof of a noble’s treacherous allegiance
Places Darkened alleyway, Top-secret project’s meeting room, Mob roused by accusations of treachery

ETHNIC UNREST
Most ethnicities get along peacefully on Ektau, and intermarriage is common in most towns and cities. Every so often, however, the
hot sparks of resentment or imagined offense light off a short, sharp bout of ethnic unrest. Imperials often get the worst of this. Some
agitators complain that the heirs of the Ninefold Celestial Empire are plotting to intentionally erase the remaining cultures that survived
the Red Tide, and that violent action is necessary to maintain the “pure culture” of their ancestors.
Enemies Racist demagogue, Cold-blooded opportunist, Pure culture zealot
Friends Young inter-ethnic married couple, Magistrate trying to keep the peace, Vigilante defenders
Complications The local magistrate ignores minor crimes against an unpopular group, The unrest is being driven by Hell Cultists,
The unrest is being manufactured by agitators who plan to profit from the ensuing pogroms
Things Relic of earlier days of friendship, Land registry proving the local claims, Treasured cultural artifact
Places Aggressively mono-ethnic tavern, Plaza between two ethnic neighborhoods, Gate of a walled ghetto

106
 FORCED EVICTIONS
Some locals are planted on valuable land, either because it's the last scrap of territory inside the walls that hasn't been extensively
developed, or because it has access to good water, or perhaps it lies on some auspicious geomantic nexus. Others want them gone, and
they're ready to use both fair means and foul to evict the troublesome locals.
Enemies Heartless merchant, Arcanist needing a particular site, Dweller beneath the streets
Friends Poor local merchant, Family that has lived there for time out of mind, Relative of the PCs
Complications The PCs own land there, The locals are holding down some dark evil, Treasure is buried on the land
Things Title deed to the land, Precious geomantic crystal, Lost land payment
Places Ancestral home, Ruined house, Stretch of newly-barren land

GEOMANTIC FLAW
The city or some neighborhood within it is located on a geographically appealing location- but one that is tainted with dark geomantic
forces. Something about the particular arrangement of terrain or some buried artifacts of darkness has cast a gloom of misfortune and
dark magic upon the place, leaving it prone to undead infestations, remarkable bad luck, and sour manifestations of magic. It may be the
flaw is a recent event caused by some evil sorcery or a dark cult fouling the geomantic environment with their rites.
Enemies Malevolent arcanist, Magic-spawned monster, Cultist of dark powers
Friends Curious scholar, Desperate local, Former ally of the PCs who has accidentally bought land there
Complications Magic holds down an ancient peril, A lizardfolk temple lies beneath the earth, Undead rampage in the streets
Things Crystallized shards of raw geomantic power, Belongings of dead locals, Mundane items transmuted to crystal
Places Courtyard of remarkable misfortune, Crack in the earth, Cave blackened and rotted with sour magic

HELL CULT
Cults devoted to the Hell Kings worship openly in cities such as Tien Lung, but it is in the Shogunate that the infernal masters are
strongest. There they are the subject of the only permissible faith, and all outsiders must keep their gods hidden or suffer for it. In Xian
and Hohnberg such worship is considered an open declaration of disloyalty to the state, but that does not prevent wealthy or desperate
people from meeting in hidden rooms to offer worship and adoration to gods that promise them good things in this world and forbear-
ance in the life to come. Even small Hell Cults often have at least one member blessed with clerical powers, for the lords of Hell are
generous in their blessings to those greedy or needful enough to worship them.
Enemies Hell Cult priest, Deluded local convinced that only the cult can help him, Zealot convinced the PCs are cultists
Friends Renegade cult member seeking redemption, Xianese inquisitor, Local seeking help for a relative
Complications The local magistrate belongs to the cult, The cult’s outer circle is disguised as an innocuous faith, The cult will soon
be strong enough to summon a lesser infernal demon
Things Jeweled religious implements, Hell-granted gold, Wealth offered by worshippers
Places Hidden ritual chamber, Salon of decadent pleasures, Deathbed of a sick and terrified cultist

IMPORTANT TEMPLE
There is a powerful temple in the city or neighborhood, and the locals are obliged to respect the wishes of its high clergy. Most such
temples have powerful clerical magic available to them, and the nobility and the wealthy are reluctant to anger them and lose access to the
life-saving miracles they offer. Some of these temples become little more than ornate extortion outfits, ruthlessly oppressing the common
folk while the powerful avert their eyes. Others become problematic to the nobility as they press for requirements or prohibitions
appealing to their faith.
Enemies Tyrannical high priest, Zealous sectarian, Noble who wants to make sure no one else profits from temple magic
Friends Benevolent cleric, Worried lay worshipper, Local who owes the temple a debt
Complications The temple has only mundane power and no true clerics, The temple has recently suffered a schism in its ranks,
The temple is preparing to revolt against the city authorities
Things Holy relic, Temple offerings, Lost tome of potent clerical prayers
Places Temple courtyard, Chamber filled with sick petitioners, Private chapel for the use of wealthy patrons

107
 INCOMPETENT RULER
The ruler of the city or the local magistrate is hopelessly incompetent. Few people rise to high station in the Isles without possessing some
rudiments of intelligence, but the ruler’s bad judgment, addiction to pleasure, obligation to other masters, or sheer relentless bad luck is
driving the city or neighborhood into near revolt.
Enemies The leader’s remaining allies, An outside agent who wants to take advantage of the folly, An enraged local noble
Friends Last victim of the ruler’s bungling, City patriot seeking improvement, Magistrate sent to investigate
Complications The incompetence isn’t really the ruler’s fault, The ruler is as great a military leader as he is incompetent as a civic
one, The leader is a puppet for sinister masters
Things Regalia of leadership, Written proof of the ruler’s unfitness, Ruler’s vast store of private wealth
Places Chaotic audience chamber, Overstuffed seraglio, Important civic ritual that the ruler fails to attend

MAGICAL SCHOOL
Schools of the arcane arts are not common on Ektau, but neither are they unknown. Particularly in Xian, the Imperial heritage of sorcery
has been maintained as best as the harsh conditions of the Isles allow, and several small magical academies with one or two dozen students
can be found sprinkled throughout the neighborhoods. The famed Academy of Refulgent Wisdom in Tien Lung actually rules the city,
while smaller market towns and isolated lyceums in the countryside teach small handfuls of talented students the arts that will make them
famous or make them damned- and occasionally both.
Enemies Head of a rival school, Headmaster conducting forbidden research, Megalomaniacal young prodigy
Friends Concerned new instructor, Adventurer-idolizing student, Scholar wanting “field researcher” help
Complications The school was once far more powerful and is filled with half-sour old magics, The local magistrate has a grudge
against the school for expelling his son, The school has a bad reputation from a student turned necromancer
Things Tome of forbidden lore, Questions for the final examination, Powerful artifact long since forgotten
Places Hushed classroom, Ozone-scented practice chamber, Austere dormitory

MALIGNANT SLUM
Every city has its poor quarters, but most ordinary urban slums are still inhabited by hard-working men and women who keep a certain
order amid the squalor and who would bristle at being thought in any way less civilized than their high-quarter neighbors. That is not
the case here. This slum is a cess of misery, depravity, and brutal violence, where the strong dominate the weak and the only recourse is a
sharp blade. The local magistrates may be unable to maintain order here, or they may simply consider it unworthy of the effort.
Enemies Gang boss, Depraved tong leader, Supernatural entity responsible for the corruption and decay
Friends Local who wants to escape the slum, Fallen hero who has sunk into it, Local desperate for help against the tongs
Complications The local nobility find the slum useful, Sorcerers use the slum denizens for experiments, The slum’s condition is
due to a sinister cult among them
Things Forgotten relic of better days, Gang boss’ stash, Tawdry finery of a tong elder
Places Stinking street shin-deep in mud, House about to fall over, Filthy brothel with diseased inmates

PIRATES
Most large-scale trade on Ektau takes place along the coasts, with flat-bottomed coastal runners making regular trips to gather in the
produce of shore villages and the collection points for inland farming hamlets. It’s only natural that pirates should come to prey on such
traders, and there are times when they can become as great a scourge as Shou. The Xianese navy is strong, but there are too many small
islands ready to receive a pirate junk, and too many coastal towns and villages where foreign cargo can be sold with no questions asked.
This city has something to do with pirates, either as a waystation for them or as a victim of their depredations.
Enemies Pirate captain, Landside fence for their cargo, Corrupt magistrate in cahoots with the pirates
Friends Honest sea captain, Merchant facing ruin, Local desperate to rescue a pirate prisoner
Complications The “pirates” are actually commissioned warships of a rival power, The pirates are vengeful undead, The pirates
mean to subvert the entire city’s government to their service
Things Pirate booty, Stolen cargo, Map to buried treasure
Places The heaving deck of a storm-tossed junk, A sandy desert island, A roistering pirate settlement

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 PLAGUE
There are always small outbreaks of poxes and coughs and fevers going on in any major city, but recently a truly savage affliction has
wracked the place. The few true clerics capable of magical healing can name their prices to the local nobility and quacks and hedge
menders of every description are thick on the ground. Some neighborhoods may be quarantined, or entire cities sealed until the sickness
burns through the population. Those with money or connections elsewhere will seek to flee this place of death.
Enemies Adepts of a plague-worshipping cult, Quack selling vain nostrums, Noble who wants to control magical healing
Friends Local cleric striving against the plague, Magistrate trying to keep order, Local who wants help escaping
Complications The plague is magical in nature, The plague drives some victims violently mad with delirium, The PCs are accused
of bringing the plague from some long-lost ruin
Things Cure for the plague, Dead man’s valuables left behind, Bribe offered to quarantine officials
Places Crowded infirmary, More crowded corpse-burning yard, Temple full of fervent worshippers praying for health

PRECARIOUS FOOD SUPPLY

Every city requires an elaborate network of farming villages and fishing hamlets to keep it fed, often at least ten farmers to support one
townsman. When something happens to disrupt this supply, whether Shou raids or bad harvests or pirate attacks on the rice transports,
the consequences show up rapidly in the city markets. City rulers fear the ensuing mobs of hungry commoners.
Enemies Enemy power bent on starving the city, Grasping grain merchant, Mob leader who demands control of the food
Friends Farming village headman trying to get food in, Philanthropic nobleman, Brave sea captain
Complications The food stocks are infected with hallucinatory fungi, Rebels are secretly destroying food stocks to worsen the
crisis, Pirates are holding the rice transports for ransom
Things Cache of food, Ship full of rice, Extravagant payment for food
Places Market full of empty stalls, Tavern without food to sell, Rice riot in the streets

RIVAL FAMILIES
Two or more families are locked in a struggle to control the neighborhood or city. The factions have too many supporters to be easily
contained by the local magistrates, and the magistrates themselves might be in the pay of the families. Outsiders will be recruited swiftly
to serve as armed help and expendable minions.
Enemies Ambitious family patriarch or matriarch, Paranoid family loyalist, Arrogant favored child of a great family
Friends Local struggling to survive the fighting, Magistrate trying to contain the rivalry, Priest trying to make peace
Complications One or more families are having recourse to dark sorcery, Foreign agents are getting involved to back different
sides, The families are crippling the city’s law enforcement and criminals are taking over
Things Treasured family relic, The keys to the city treasury, Bribes paid to powerful local supporters
Places Riotous street brawl between partisans, Tavern where neutrals are unwelcome, Venomously polite meeting

RUINS BENEATH
A good place for a city is much the same in any age, and many modern towns and cities are built on sites that knew inhabitants in former
years. These low mounds are full of ruined buildings and passages lost beneath yards of soil, but sometimes dark things can be found
creeping up from forgotten fanes. Criminals and the most bitterly impoverished sometimes use these ruins for shelter, or for scavenging
the lost treasures of the ancients. Sometimes they find things that follow them back into the light.
Enemies Thing from Below, Criminal lord of the undertown, Cult leader who uses the undertown for privacy
Friends Urchin explorer, Scholarly archaeologist, City sewer engineer
Complications The ruins are contaminated with toxic geomantic energy and dangerous mutations, The ruins are forbidden by
local authorities, The ruin entrances are in buildings owned by a dangerous tong
Things Ancient treasure, The belongings of an unfortunate explorer, An accurate map of the undertown
Places Forgotten temple, Buried house set as if its residents will soon return, Dirty burrow inhabited by slum dwellers

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 SLAVE UPRISING
Tien Lung and the Shogunate have open slavery, and Xian enslaves criminals for public work. In any place where forced labor exists, it
is necessary to guard the slaves- and sometimes those guards aren’t sufficient. Slave uprisings are savage and bloody affairs often marked
out by massacres on both sides as the slaves try to escape or avenge themselves on their captors. In places without significant populations
of slaves, it may be that poor laborers rebel with similar ferocity against tyrannical lords and grasping merchant princes.
Enemies Ruthless slave owner, Bloodthirsty uprising leader, Stitched Path sorcerer who wants the slaves for sacrifice
Friends Slave leader seeking freedom for his fellows, Dwarven abolitionist, Secret Tien Lungan or Shogunate abolitionist
Complications The Xianese slaves are all violent criminals, The slaves want to avenge themselves on their captor’s women and
children, The captors are willing to let the rank and file rebels live if they hand over their leadership and the PCs
Things A map to a remote settlement that can take in the slaves, The slaves’ purchase price, A precious relic of their past
Places A field empty of laborers, A gallows festooned with guards, A training field full of slaves with improvised weapons

TIDE CULT
The ranks of the Tide Cults swell with each passing year as more and more weak-willed or fearful humans are beckoned by the red dreams
of safety and power that the Tide offers them. Their petty rituals grow into more elaborate rites as the Tide fills them with confidence and
eldritch power. In the end, they are less than human, but until that final condition they and their fellows can open the door to things
that otherwise could never have defiled the earth of the Isles.
Enemies Cultist magistrate, Old ally who has turned cultist, Cultist employer who wants the PCs dead
Friends Azure Ministry agent, Local witch-hunter, Servant fearful of the strange goings-on in his master’s house
Complications Hard proof of cult involvement is unavailable, The cultist is widely loved by others, The cultists are responsible for
some vital civic duty and only they know how to perform it
Things Poisonous yet precious artifact of the Tide, Wealth gifted by the mist, Property offered by the cultists
Places Chamber of dreaming cultists, Cell for cultist too deformed to show publicly, Shrine inscribed with dark images

TONG WAR
Some tongs are honest brotherhoods pledged to tend to each others’ widows and orphans and ensure that their members receive an
honorable burial. Their work to ensure that their members are not trampled by the great sometimes becomes an occasion to do some of
their own trampling. Protection money, fencing, prostitution, blackmail, and smuggling come easily to these corrupt tongs, though they
often maintain a veneer of humble righteousness even as they fight in the streets over control of the local underworld.
Enemies Tong Grandfather, Ambitious Elder Brother who wants to make a point, Tong Father who mistakes the PCs as
minions of their rivals
Friends Honest merchant seeking help, An escapee from a tong-run brothel, A tong member furious at the corruption
Complications The local nobles would savage the commoners were it not for the tong, The tong uses assassins against its enemies,
The tong has bought off most of the local law enforcement
Things Tong protection payments, Shrine relics of the tong hall, Cache of smuggled contraband
Places Incense-fragrant tong meeting hall, Frightened merchant’s shop, Street brawl with no witnesses willing to speak

ZEALOUS BUILDER
A noble is bent on constructing some costly and elaborate structure, whether a higher tier of city walls, an ornate temple, or a bigger
palace. The exactions are impoverishing the locals, and some are being impressed as corvee labor on the work. Adventurers might well
face unanticipated “taxes” that amount to rank confiscation.
Enemies The driven noble who tolerates no protest, A master builder who wants to keep the project as expensive as possible,
The secret occult puppet master who is compelling the noble to build the structure
Friends A merchant driven to ruin, An impressed local, An owner of land to be seized by the noble for the structure
Complications The structure is actually a giant geomantic focusing array, The construction is actually intended to unearth a
buried ruin, The construction of fortifications is part of the noble’s eventual plan to rebel against his masters
Things Unearthed treasure, Pay for the builders, Precious materials for the structure’s adornment
Places Massive building site, Camp with exhausted laborers, Market empty of men of working age

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An Example City Site city sites tag list and once on the borderland sites tag list. He gets
Having earlier created the temple in the Westmark border town of “Precarious Food Supply” and “Toxic Environment”.
Hulun Bir, the referee decides that it would be worth his while to
flesh out the town itself a little further. It’s a bit large for a conven- Clearly, Hulun Bir is a mining town, and the delvings in the
tional borderlands site, so he decides to use the city site process to nearby hills have been going on for generations. They must have
define it. progressively poisoned a number of streams and rivers around the
city with their toxic tailings, and now the citizens of Hulun Bir are
The first step is to decide on its physical parameters. The referee often afflicted with coughs, trembling hands, and progressive nerve
chooses to make Hulun Bir the biggest market town in its section damage.
of the Westmark, so it’s probably got about 2,000 residents. Its
markets and buyers can absorb up to 10,000 gp worth of loot sold On consideration, the referee decides that the magistrate of the
by adventurers, and that same pool can be used to pay out for jobs town is a man named Chen Jie, dispatched to this unlovely town
that the city leaders need accomplished. If the adventurers soak up after a drastic political misstep back in Xian. Hulun Bir has always
those ready funds, it’ll be a few months before they refresh. been a punishment post, but Chen Jie is driven to distraction with
worry over his daughter Chen Lanying. He doesn’t dare leave her
The referee has already fleshed out the temple to the Nine Immortals where his political enemies can get at her, but the water of Hulun
in the city, but he’s going to need to cover the other services com- Bir is making her very sick. The prayers of Sister Gretta Feng at the
monly needed by adventurers. Turning to the Resources section and temple have saved her once, the magistrate believes, but it is only
its NPC generation tools, he produces a list of merchants: Zafira a matter of time before she succumbs. He nurses a savage grudge
bint-Tamir the Eshkanti expedition supplier, Wen Ku the smith, against Brother Kenjiro at the temple, convinced that the holy man
One-Eyed Hrothgar the innkeeper, Black Head Tou the fence, and could purify all the water that his daughter needed if only chose to
Goto Arisa the young scholar-scribe who can serve as a cut-rate do so.
sage. For most cities as small as Hulun Bir, there probably aren’t
a lot of other merchants serving these same niches, so the PCs are For less exalted figures, sacred purification of the water is not an
advised to stay on good terms with them. option. Local legend claims that beer lessens the poisons, but mostly
what it does is get the locals drunk enough to tolerate their hungry,
The referee then takes a blank sheet of paper in hand and crudely hard-working lives. The city is abundant in metal goods, and most
sketches out the general shape of Hulun Bir, marking out the such wares can be had for book prices, but food costs double what
relationship between the city walls, the river that waters the city, it does in Xian.
and the various important buildings inside the city. A detailed and
elaborate map might look more appealing, but it’s a waste of effort The referee then sits back for a moment and thinks about ways the
at this stage. All that’s really important is that the referee be able to PCs could deal with this situation. There should always be some-
convey general relationships between major points of interest in the thing the PCs can do to alter a site’s dynamics. On consideration,
city. Later, if he expects to have a pitched battle roll through the the referee decides that the worst of the poisons are leeching from
city streets he can take the time to draw up or download a more an abandoned mining site dating back before the Ravaging. Exotic
precise map. pre-Tide magical artifices were used there to extract the ore, but
since they were left abandoned, they’ve begun to geomantically
If the referee knew exactly where Hulun Bir was going to be located poison the water. If the PCs can get in and remove certain vital
in the Westmark, this is the point where he’d pull the island map magical components of the equipment, they will become inert and
out of the Places section of his campaign folder and mark it down. harmless. Goto Arisa the scholar-scribe has unearthed these particu-
Since the city’s simply being kept in reserve should it prove useful lars from the town’s archive, and she’s eager to help adventurers find
later, he omits that stage. He can drop it in later as necessary. the old mining site and render it harmless. Unfortunately, the site is
now inhabited by more than old memories, but that complication
Next, the referee needs to establish the social relationships and the referee leaves for another time....
power structures in the city. He knows the temple is going to be a
major player, but to get some more inspiration, he rolls once on the

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 ruin SiteS
Most ruin sites are intended to provide exploration and combat
opportunities for the PCs. While social negotiations are by no
means impossible with many ruin inhabitants, most players will
expect to find trouble when picking over the stones of some ancient
keep or long-buried dwarven delve. When building a ruin site, it’s
important to establish those details that will give players the sort of
adventure they’re likely to be seeking.

Choose the Ruin Type

Different sorts of architectural remains will have different kinds of
inhabitants. In some cases, the type of ruin will be obvious based on
the plans you have for a site. In other cases, you may not be certain
what kind of crumbling relic to stock. If you’re in search of inspira-
tion, you can roll on the ruin site type table provided in this section.

Determine How It Became Ruined

Having established what sort of structure it once was, you now need
to decide how it became a ruin. One of the simplest ways is to
just roll on the borderland site tag table once or twice and then
extrapolate the tag out into ruination. A Crop Failure tag suggests
that the inhabitants fled starvation, for example, or a Raiders tag
lethal traps. If more than one group of intelligent occupants dwells
implies that it was put to the torch.
in the ruin, they either have a friendly truce or they both have
defensible home areas that discourage attempts to drive them out.
If that option is more work than you want to worry about, you can
roll on the types of destruction table in this section. You should also
Empty rooms are not a bad thing. You should not feel obligated to
decide when this destruction took place, and whether the ruin was
fill every room with something interesting or dangerous. When in
a relic of some pre-Landing settlement established by reckless colo-
doubt, one “interesting” room for two “boring” rooms is usually a
nists or embittered exiles, or if it was a ruin lost to a Shou incursion
safe ratio, unless the ruin is so small that necessary activity areas eat
or to overambitious human expansion after the exodus fleet landed.
up all the available space.

Choose Inhabitants Valuables may be guarded, but combat should not be inevitable. If
In some cases, you’ll have the inspiration and the time to hand-stock every bent copper in the ruin is clutched in the wary paw of a guard-
the ruin’s inhabitants. You can select specific NPCs and monsters ian beast, you discourage players from thinking of alternate ways
appropriate to the site and adjust things for the purpose the site to get at plunder and leave the thieves in the party less than useful.
is intended to serve. In other cases, you’ll want some inspirational Some treasure in the ruin should be accessible simply to those smart
assistance in sorting that out. or skillful enough to locate and retrieve it,

For that, you can roll one or more times on the ruin inhabitants
Give It Life
table to see what nefarious entities have made the ruin their home.
Having established the ruin, its occupants, and their plunder, the
Most such groups tend to get along poorly with strangers, so any
last step is to breathe a little life into the place. You should give some
ruin with multiple groups of inhabitants should be large enough
thought to how the occupants live out their days and what sort of
to give living room for all without forcing them into close contact.
schedules they maintain. You should also think about how they’re
Once you’ve established the main occupants of the ruin, you can fill
going to react to adventurer attacks, and how it will affect their
it out with trimmings of wild animals and lone monsters.
guard patterns and long-term tenancy of the place.

Stock the Ruin Adventurers are scary people, and some groups may find it the better
Once you have an idea of the occupants and their belongings, you part of valor to simply pick up and leave after a particularly brutal
can split them up among the various locations in the ruin. For this assault. The occupants of a ruin are not going to simply sit there
purpose you can use a map of your own devising or pull one of the and wait to be slaughtered by interlopers. After every incursion by
example maps from the back of the book. A few factors should be the PCs, you should take a moment to stop and think about events
kept in mind when stocking a ruin. from the perspective of the occupants. What is the most rational
course for them to take? For some it will be to heighten their guard
Intelligent occupants will need places to sleep, eat, and defecate. patrols. For others, it will involve rapidly decamping form the area.
They will have storerooms for their provisions and areas dedicated For a few, it might involve sending some messages to their friends
to whatever pursuits are important and necessary to them. These in the city, the better to arrange a little welcome at home for the
areas should be fairly easy to get to, and should not be bristling with conquering heroes.
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 Diagram Dungeons
The classic old-school ruin map involves an 8.5 x 11 sheet of graph distances; you can note that down in the room description later.
paper, 30’ x 30’ square rooms, and careful mapping of corridors, Just use the diagram to establish the general relationship between
doorways, and walls. Creative and artful cartographers spice this rooms. For multi-level dungeons, you can draw a crooked staircase
up with interesting architecture and plausible layout, but the basic up from the corner of one room connecting to the corner of another
recipe has been around since 1974. This is a perfectly good and group.
serviceable model to take for your mapping, and most Labyrinth
Lord players will have no problem adapting to it. Once you’ve sketched out the rooms, stock the ruin key as normal.
The rooms are numbered based on their position in the grid, from
It can, however, be overkill for what you need. In many cases, you’ll A1 in the top left corner to G7 at the bottom right. Write down the
be dealing with a basic ruin, cavern, palace, or other structure that room’s name on the key below the diagram and expand as necessary
has several interesting rooms or locations within it and a set of cor- on additional sheets of paper.
ridors and connecting passages that just aren’t all that important.
For these situations, you may wish to use a diagram dungeon When it comes time to actually run the dungeon, make sure the
instead. It’s much faster and easier to construct one than to draw players understand that you’ll be glossing over those parts of the
out a conventional old-school map, and the trade-offs in accuracy structure that don’t really matter. If they head down a corridor to
might well be worth it for your group. a crumbling ballroom that dates back before the Ravaging, you’re
not going to give them the exact measurements of the corridor or
You’ll find a diagram dungeon record sheet in the Resources section put anything interesting or relevant within it. If for some reason
of the book, but it amounts to a 7 x 7 grid of empty squares spaced the dimensions of the corridor become important, just make a spot
evenly a little distance apart from each other, with rows labeled A decision and write it down on the diagram.
through G and columns labeled 1 through 7. Each square represents
a room or location of importance. Corridors or connections are Diagram dungeons work best for places with a set of discrete inter-
represented by drawing a line from one room to another connecting esting locations, as opposed to a wide-open area with few internal
the appropriate walls. If two rooms are side-by-side, for example, barriers. They’re a good choice for a cavern complex, ruin interior,
with a short corridor running east-west between them, you would or decadent magistrate’s country estate, but not optimal for laying
draw a line from the eastern side of one square to the western side out a village or a stretch of jungle trails. You should also think twice
of the other. about using them if you expect the entire structure to become a
unified battlefield, with the exact positions of multiple groups of
You can sketch in or around each square to give an idea of the combatants becoming an issue.
general shape of the room. Don’t worry about indicating precise

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Types of Ruin Sites remote temples havens of civilization in the howling wilderness,
When a referee has no special ideas about what manner of ruin a site and colonists both pious and otherwise often arrived to work the
should represent, the table below can provide a starting idea. temple land and serve its needs. Many such temples grew to be
surrounded by small farming villages.
1D6 RUIN SITE TYPE Not all of them succeeded, however, and even those that managed
1 Ancient Colony to form some manner of home in the wilderness were sometimes
2 Dwarven Delve devoured by its perils. Shou raiders, bandits, heretical infighting, or
3 Lost Temple or Monastery crop failure could all conspire to empty out a temple and disperse
its lay brethren. Many treasures might yet linger for those brave
4 Non-Human Construction enough to venture into their long-neglected halls.
5 Ruined Settlement
6 Wizard’s Tower Non-Human Construction
Scattered among the more isolated regions of the Isles stand great
Ancient Colony edifices of dark stone and strange lines. These ruins defy any easy
Exiles and renegades and dreamers have been making their way to recognition, showing no special traits of dwarven or elven construc-
the Sunset Isles for time beyond memory. Skandr merchants and tion, and no easy match to any human styles, either. The doorways
raiders brought word of the Isles and their unspoilt beauty to every are proportioned strangely and the furnishings within seem shaped
land beneath the sky, and for many desperate or ambitious souls it to bodies not wholly akin to those of humanity. Some might be
sounded to be the perfect place to set up a new home or a colony the work of ancient lizardfolk, while others have the cruder lines of
of the mother empire. True, the Skandr warned of the savages of troll-work or the massive labors of giants. Most have no clear build-
the island, but what trouble could a rabble of Shou tribes give a ers at all and no way to tell how old they might be. Few modern
properly-prepared expedition? inhabitants relish the idea of living in such places, but necessity
or the lust for the treasures of the unknown past move some to
Most of these colonies learned the truth eventually, and some even overcome the uncanny air that lingers over many of the sites.
managed to send a few survivors back to civilization to tell of the
tides of furious Shou and their diabolical witch-priestesses. Other Ruined Settlement
colonies were consumed by jungle plagues, or starvation when their Even with their long experience in settling the land, the refugee
native crops did not grow, or disaster when a volcano erupted close humans do not always succeed in planting a new village or main-
by or a great wave washed them from the land. Now all that remains taining a market town. During the early years of the second century
of their ambitions are the ruins of their stone construction and the of settlement, overconfidence spread a mesh of towns and farming
occasional crumbling keep or tower raised against enemies they villages deep into the borderlands. These fate was to be wiped out
could not hope to defeat. by a tide of savage mountain Shou who were goaded to unity by
this intrusion so near to their lands. Many of these settlements were
Dwarven Delve overwhelmed before the occupants had any chance to escape.
The Sunset Islands have numerous ancient dwarven holdings buried
beneath the stones of the mountains and hillsides. The Altgrimmr Other ruined settlements are of more recent vintage, prey to ban-
mountain range is thick with these long-forgotten delves. Tens of dits, Shou, plague, or simple bitter quarreling among the occupants.
thousands of the sturdy folk once lived among the peaks, but the These settlements might still have claimants to ownership of the
halls of old Altgrimmr had been empty for millennia when the first land or remaining buildings, and not all of them take well to “loot-
dwarven colonists came over the sea some five hundred years ago. ers” helping themselves to the contents.

This still leaves hundreds of unexplored delvings in the isles, each Wizard’s Tower
one the legacy of some long-forgotten dwarven clan and their Magic-users have always gravitated toward towers, estates, and
patient labors. Many have been plundered in the thousands of years fortified manors far away from the bustle of busy cities. While it is
since their makers vanished, but others remain sealed to this day, substantially more tedious to bring in equipment and servants, the
with ancient tomb-gold and lost dwarven artifices still waiting in privacy is precious to any wizard engaged in such work as would
silent vaults. No living clan claims kinship with these lost ones, and inspire the concern of city officials. In the wilderness, runaway con-
the dwarves of the Isles will grudgingly tolerate the “salvaging” of jured beasts, explosions at unseemly hours, noises, stenches, eldritch
the gold and other precious artifacts from the ancient holds. Still, lights and the occasional embrace of systematic human sacrifice can
“salvagers” would do well to maintain a suitably respectful attitude all be comfortably concealed by distance and isolation.
toward the dead and their works.
Unfortunately, when things go very badly wrong at such a tower,
Lost Temple or Monastery there is also no way to call for aid. Surviving apprentices and ser-
Organized religion has never been powerful in the Isles, and many vants generally flee without lingering to provide awkward answers
clergy who desired to have land of their own were forced to take to any investigating officials, and what locals dwell in the area are
up residence in very marginal and isolated places. Determination, usually clever enough to stay clear of the tower. Adventurers often
ascetic living, and a little help from divine magic often made these lack such protective aversion.

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Types of Destruction
The ruin was brought to its present condition by some manner of
disaster. If the referee is uncertain what doom best fits the site, the
following table can provide inspiration.

1D8 DESTRUCTION OF THE SITE

1-3 Invasion or Infighting
4-5 Pestilence
6 Famine
7 Migration
8 Natural Disaster

Invasion or Infighting
Sites destroyed by invasion and internal warfare will almost always
be marked by a thick layer of char, with most of the flammable
surface structures reduced to ashes and rubble. Sites overwhelmed
by an exceptionally disciplined foe might escape this fate, but even
then, all it takes is one toppled lamp to start a blaze that no one has
time to quench.

Beast-gnawed bones, shattered weapons, and the signs of sack and

pillage will characterize most of the visible remains. Those treasures
that have gone unplundered will most often be found buried or
hidden well out of sight. More recent occupants of the site might
have gone to the trouble of finding some of these caches and bring-
ing them together in more easily-located hoards.

Pestilence
The verdant jungles of the Isles give birth to an extravagant profu-
Migration
Sites do not always collapse overnight in the face of some sudden,
sion of sicknesses. The mix of folk from all over the world make a
cataclysmic disaster. Some of them die by inches, suffering a slow
rich cauldron of plague and disease, and every so often some new
trickle of departures by those who found the life too hard and
pestilence bubbles up to erase some luckless village or isolated town.
unrewarding to endure. Such depopulation is often the result of a
Clerical blessings can often serve to save the wealthy and noble-
constant, low-level strain of hunger, Shou raids, internal fighting,
born, but in the fallen present day even the greatest holy men of the
and the occasional epidemic.
Isles cannot turn back a full-fledged plague.
These sites tend to be large, but with the periphery substantially
Plague-struck ruins will tend to feature living quarters sealed shut
more crumbled and decayed than the more central portions. As the
in quarantine, shrines thick with desperate offerings, and much of
population shrank, the people drew inward, until the last either left
their former owner’s belongings intact and present. Looters fear old
or died in their last redoubt. Their treasures may yet survive where
pest-ruins, dreading a sudden reawakening of the plague that burnt
their home did not.
out the original dwellers. Still, some with stronger stomachs or less
interest in the consequences can still be found to search among the
poxy dead. Natural Disaster
The death of a site can be slow, or it can happen in instants. Volcanic
eruptions, earthquakes, mud slides, floods, forest fires, or tsunamis
Famine
can all spell a sudden and complete end to a site’s inhabitation.
Much of the Isles consists of rich volcanic soil and well-watered
Whatever manner of destruction ruined the site must not have been
earth, but the depredations of Shou or other dangers can ruin a
too complete if any remains should linger, but whatever it was must
harvest before it can be gathered in. Worse still, their raids can make
have been complete enough to kill or disperse the population.
it impossible to farm the land around a site, forcing its inhabitants
to flee or face creeping starvation.
The exact condition of the site will vary depending on the specific
disaster that annihilated it. Unlike most other causes of ruination,
Famine sites are among the most orderly, furnishings and buildings
however, much of the site’s wealth will be intact beneath whatever
often standing much as their original owners left them. Many of
layers of ash, mud, silt, or rubble might bury it. Despite this conve-
the valuables possessed by the builders will have gone with them,
nience, sites ruined by natural disaster are often haunted by unusual
though forgotten caches owned by men and women who did not
numbers of restless dead, with so many killed so quickly and with
live to flee can sometimes be found among the hollow homes.
so few given the comforting rites of burial.
115
Ruin Inhabitants 1D20 RUIN INHABITANTS
For those situations when a referee needs a ready-made group of
1 Ancient Constructs
foes for their intrepid players, the following table will provide some
options for quick inhabitant selection. 2 Dwarven Outcasts
3 Exiled Noble
The ruin inhabitants overviews provided in this section give sum- 4 Hell Cultists
maries of statistics and encounter groups appropriate for a given
5 Hermit Wizards
type of inhabitant. Sample monster statistics are provided, along
with common weapons and parenthetical THAC0. Each type of oc- 6 Kobold Clan
cupant is shown in three different encounter groups- weak groups, 7 Lizardfolk Clan
suitable for challenging a party of levels 1-3, average groups, which 8 Malign Elven Creed
can test a party of levels 4-6, and strong groups, who are worthwhile
adversaries for parties of level 7-9. 9 Necromancers
10 Ogre Cabal
These groups are not intended to be all clumped up in one large 11 Outlaws
room, but are meant to be split up and sprinkled around the ruin
12 Remnants
in appropriate groupings. Bunching too many of them together
runs the risk of either trivializing the encounter when a magic-user 13 Restless Dead
hurls his Fireball spell or else slaughtering a party when two dozen 14 Shou Bugbears
enemies all launch attacks at once. 15 Shou Goblins
16 Shou Orcs
Each group is also shown with a sample treasure breakdown. This
wealth rarely exists in neat piles of gold coins, but is often split up 17 Squatters
in copper, silver, or cumbersome objects of art. Magic items will 18 Tide Cultists
naturally be used by enemies aware of their properties. If you have 19 Tong Base
the time and inclination, you may prefer to roll randomly for an
encounter based on the creature’s standard Hoard Class. 20 Zealots

Finally, each type of encounter is listed with 6-10 twists that can be
used when additional flavor is wanted for a group. In some cases,
you will already know everything you need to know about the mo-
tivations of a particular group inhabiting a ruin, but for those situ-
ations when you want to add spice to an otherwise unremarkable
den of wickedness, you can use these twists to complicate matters.

116
 ANCIENT CONSTRUCTS
Porcelain Servitor
HD: 1+1 AC: 5 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 8
Atk: 1d8/Sword (18) Save As: Fighter 2 XP: 21

Man of Jade and Clay

HD: 2+2 AC: 7 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 12
Atk: 1d6/Fist (17) Save As: Fighter 2 XP: 47

Ancient War Golem

HD: 8 AC: 2 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 12
Atk: 1d12/1d12 (11) Save As: Fighter 4 XP: 2,065

Black Jade Juggernaut

HD: 10 AC: 4 Move: 180’ (60’) Morale: 12
Atk: 2d6/2d6/2d10 (9) Save As: Fighter 5 XP: 3,100
Note: Immune to normal weapons.

The ancient Imperials were just one of several cultures that made
use of automatons. The Men of Jade and Clay were faithful servants
to the ancient Imperial wizards, but over time specific forms of jade
and the exotic clays required for their manufacture became more and
more difficult to find. Still, even in the latter days more elaborate
artificial servants were created for purposes more sophisticated and
specialized than those served by the Men of Jade and Clay. Other 1D6 TWISTS
peoples occasionally were known to make false men as well, though
The automatons are Men of Jade and Clay, left here by
these efforts were rare and localized. The effort and expense required
1 an ancient Imperial wizard to guard the ruins against
to make even the simplest automaton was so great that it was almost
intruders.
invariably easier to enlist humans made in a more ordinary way.
Some ruins still have caches of these ancient automatons awaiting The automatons are Porcelain Servitors, once charged
the circumstances that will trigger them to live once more. with serving the inhabitants of the ruin. A few may
have developed independent will during the long years
2 of stillness, but the rest are dangerously inclined to
flip back and forth between interpreting adventurers
Ancient Construct Encounters as honored guests and seeing them as intruders to be
Weak: 6 Porcelain Servitors. These constructs may be the decayed repelled with lethal force.
servitors of some long-abandoned noble’s dwelling. They will pro- The automatons are nonhuman in nature, ancient servi-
tect their dead master’s possessions fiercely. tors of some alien race. Perhaps the ruin’s original owner
Treasure: None of their own. 3
discovered them and mastered their use, or they may
have been here for ages unnumbered.
Average: 15 Men of Jade and Clay, 5 Porcelain Servitors. In this
The automatons were largely destroyed at some time
group, the Porcelain Servitors act to guide their duller cousins to
in the past by invaders or adventurers. The surviving
accomplish their purpose. If the Porcelain Servitors are destroyed or 4
automatons will be singularly disinclined to parley, even
separated from their charges, the Men of Jade and Clay may become
if otherwise capable of doing so.
confused or aimless.
Treasure: None of their own. The automatons have gone rogue, developing in strange
ways. They may imagine themselves human, or con-
5
Strong: 5 Porcelain Servitors, 2 Ancient War Golems, 1 Black Jade ceive a burning hatred for their makers, or have become
Juggernaut. The Porcelain Servitors are tenders to the bulk of their twisted by old, soured magics.
warlike companions, and will not hesitate to unleash them on those The automatons are inert at present, but someone or
who trespass on forbidden ground. 6 some group is active in the ruins and attempting to
Treasure: None of their own. seize control of them.

117
 DWARVEN OUTCASTS
Dwarven Outcast
HD: 1 AC: 5 Move: 90’ (30’) Morale: 8
Atk: 1d6/Warhammer (19) Save As: Dwarf 1 XP: 10

Dwarven Elder
HD: 2 AC: 3 Move: 90’ (30’) Morale: 9
Atk: 1d8/Heavy Pick (19) Save As: Dwarf 2 XP: 50

Dwarven Chieftain
HD: 5 AC: 3 Move: 90’ (30’) Morale: 10
Atk: 1d8/Battleaxe (16) Save As: Dwarf 5 XP: 200

1D8 TWISTS
The dwarves are Repenters, led by a traitor-priest. They
especially seek to capture and sacrifice dwarves to their
1
goddess’ ghostly remains, but will make do with any
sentient being.
The dwarves were driven from their delving by enemies
Some dwarves driven from their holdings by war, hunger, or kin- from below, and have come to the ruins in search of
strife make new lives for themselves in human lands. Others fall 2
shelter. Some are desperate enough to murder strangers,
to less scrupulous ends, and become a scourge on the land as grim but others are willing to ask for help.
as any Shou raiding band. Some turn Repenter, offering worship
The dwarves are convinced that the ruins belonged to
to the shade of their tormentor-goddess in exchange for magical
their ancestors, or in cases where that is patently impos-
power and the hope of salvation in an afterlife that will not require
3 sible, that a dwarven holding was buried beneath them.
tomb-gold or the help of ancestors. Others try to fashion tombs of
They may or may not be correct, but will fight fiercely
their own, and are willing to kill whomever they must to get the
to repel “trespassers”.
gold their restless spirits will require.
The dwarves were forced out of their holding by the rest
of their kindred for their treacherous and troublesome
Dwarven Outcast Encounters 4 ways. They’ve turned robber since, but might be willing
Weak: 6 Dwarven Outcasts. A group this small is likely a pack of
to try to negotiate with those who might help them
bandits or thieves, cast out from their brethren for their plundering
avenge their exile.
ways.
Treasure: 2d6 x 10 gold pieces worth of coinage and crafts. The dwarves are social outcasts from their holdings,
having left rather than endure further humiliation and
Average: 25 Dwarven Outcasts, 5 Dwarven Elders. This number scorn. They may include males who wish to be craft-
of outcasts suggests a losing faction in a delve power struggle, or 5 ers and artisans, and females who wish to be warriors
a small delve that has withdrawn from the society of their peers. or builders. They will be unfriendly toward outsiders,
Many such groups will have noncombatant females and children being accustomed to scorn from others, but not neces-
equal to their number. sarily violent out of hand.
Treasure: 2d6 x 1,000 gold pieces, 1-3 gems, 1-3 piece of jewelry, The dwarves are infected with a creeping fungal plague
one magic weapon, 25% chance of magic armor and two potions. and were driven from their homes before they infected
6
the others. The plague will kill them eventually, but in
Strong: 40 Dwarven Outcasts, 10 Dwarven Elders, 1 Dwarven the meanwhile they are hungry and desperate.
Chieftain. A strong force of dwarves such as this is likely intending The dwarves are the tattered remnants of a mercenary
to found their own delve, or else seize one from a weaker clan. Some band or adventuring group that found only failure.
such groups are Repenters, and may have dwarves with clerical 7
Embittered, they are inclined to take what they wish
powers and an unholy appetite for tormenting their fellows and any from strangers.
interlopers they can capture.
Treasure: 4d6 x 1,000 gold pieces, 2d6+2 gems, 2d4+1 pieces of The dwarves seek to build a new holding here, having
jewelry, one magic weapon, one suit of magic armor, plus a 50% 8 split off from their parent clan over numerous points of
chance of two more magic items. dispute. They guard “their” new land jealously.
118
 EXILED NOBLE
Faithful Minion
HD: 1 AC: 7 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 8
Atk: 1d6/Spear (19) Save As: Fighter 1 XP: 10

Veteran Bodyguard
HD: 2 AC: 5 Move: 90’ (30’) Morale: 9
Atk: 1d8/Sword (18) Save As: Fighter 2 XP: 20

Skilled Noble
HD: 5 AC: 3 Move: 90’ (30’) Morale: 9
Atk: 1d8/Sword (15) Save As: Fighter 5 XP: 200

Renegade Sorcerer
HD: 7 (d4) AC: 9 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 9
Atk: 1d4/Dagger (18) Save As: MU 7 XP: 1,140
Spells: 1st: Sleep, Charm Person, Detect Magic
2nd: Invisibility, Web
3rd: Hold Person, Fireball
4th: Confusion

1D8 TWISTS
The wrong end of a political dispute can be very sharp in the Isles, The noble was forced to flee Xian after the regalia of
and some nobles find it necessary to avoid long conversations with Hell King worship was found in his estate. He may have
1
judicial torturers. Few are content to rusticate in peace, and most simply been a dabbler, or he might possess real clerical
nurse elaborate plans of revenge against the enemies real and imag- powers.
ined who put them in this awkward circumstance. The noble was framed for treachery by a backstabbing
2 relation, and is actually innocent of the crimes imputed
to him or her.
The noble nurses wild dreams of forging a new polity
3 in the wilderness, and will attempt to recruit others to
Exiled Noble Encounters this ambition.
Weak: 5 Faithful Minions and a noble with the statistics of a Veteran The noble is hiding from assassins sent by a relation
Bodyguard. These few are likely some unfortunate nobleman and 4 impatient for his or her death, and is apt to mistake
his handful of remaining retainers, fleeing ahead of the magistrates adventurers for such hired thugs.
for some dire crime. The noble has committed crimes so awful that even their
Treasure: 1d6 x 100 gold pieces worth of coins. high rank cannot shield them from the consequence.
5
Addicted to the evil, they view the wilderness as a free
Average: 20 Faithful Minions, 10 Veteran Bodyguards, 1 Skilled range for their sins.
Noble. This collection is a full noble household transplanted into
the wilds, its members evidently loyal enough to their master to The noble is convinced the ruins belong to them.
endure this privation without complaint. Whether or not they have evidence to that effect, they
6
Treasure: 2d4 x 1,000 gold pieces, 1d4+1 gems, 1d4 pieces of will fiercely fight any “plunderers” as they search the
jewelry, 50% chance of two potions and one magic item. rubble for plunder.
The noble was driven from their estates by Shou or
Strong: 40 Faithful Minions 20 Veteran Bodyguards, 1 Skilled other assailants, and have been forced back into the
7
Noble, 1 Renegade Sorcerer. A noble with this many retainers is ruins for temporary shelter. They are eager to return to
forging a real base of power out in the wilderness, and likely has at their home and drive out the invaders.
least one village in thrall to supply so many servitors. The noble keeps a number of troublesome people
Treasure: 2d6 x 1,000 gold pieces, 1d6 gems, 1d4 pieces of jewelry, imprisoned in the ruin, using it as a private dungeon.
two magic items plus a 50% chance of one more magic item and 8
He or she makes regular trips to the ruin to “converse”
two potions. with the victims.

119
 HELL CULTISTS
The Hell Kings promise in-
Infernal Devotee
numerable gifts to their loyal
servants, and the Shogunate HD: 1 AC: 9 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 9
has enshrined their worship as Atk: 1d4/Dagger (19) Save As: Fighter 1 XP: 10
the state religion. Xian and its
associated polities shun these Infernal Priest
believers, and open worship of HD: 2 (d6) AC: 5 Move: 90’ (30’) Morale: 10
the Hell Kings is considered Atk: 1d6/Mace (19) Save As: Cleric 2 XP: 100
tantamount to a declaration of
Note: Can cast Cause Light Wounds twice per day.
disloyalty. Still, the Hell Kings
are much more generous with Red Jade Templar
divine blessings than most
HD: 5 AC: 3 Move: 90’ (30’) Morale: 10
other gods, and those in dire
need of aid are often willing Atk: 1d8/Sword (14) Save As: Fighter 5 XP: 200
to pledge what the Hell Kings
demand. Many Hell cultists are Infernal Demon
in direct coordination with the HD: 11 AC: -1 Move: 90’ (30’) Morale: 10
Shogunate’s External Director- Atk: 1d4/1d4/2d4 (9) Save As: Fighter 11 XP: 4,400
ate. These agents work to chip Note: Immune to normal weapons. Can use Darkness 10’
away at the strength of Xian and Radius, Dispel Magic, Fear, Levitate, Polymorph Self and
its neighboring states in order Phantasmal Force at will, once per round. Takes half
to soften them for eventual sub- damage from fire, cold, electricity. Can communicate
mission to the demonic masters with any intelligent creature.
of the Shogun Rai.

Many of the most dangerous Hell King cults are disguised as

some less offensive faith, luring in the fearful and yearning with
demonstrations of demonic power. Souls cannot be bargained
away accidentally, however, and sooner or later the initiate must be
brought before an idol of brass and black stone and invited to seal
his devotion. Those who think better of it do not leave the temple
alive.

1D6 TWISTS
The cultists are led by a Shogunate devil-priest and are
Hell King Cult Encounters 1 charged with weakening surrounding settlements by
Weak: 5 Infernal Devotees, 1 Infernal Priest. This cabal might be sabotage and raiding.
the fruit of a newly-converted servitor of the Hell Kings, or it might The cultists are locals, lured to the service of the Hell
be an agent of the Shogunate and his support staff. 2 Kings by the promise of divine miracles and glory in
Treasure: 3d6 x 10 gold pieces worth of coins and possessions. the afterlife.
The cultists were drawn into worship of the Hell Kings
Average: 15 Infernal Devotees, 2 Infernal Priests, 1 Red Jade Tem- by desperation, needing their aid to overcome some
plar. This sect is under the guidance of one of the dreaded Red Jade 3
local disaster, and they now dread the consequences of
Templars, the zealot enforcers of Shogunate orthodoxy. disappointing their devil-priests.
Treasure: 1d4 x 1,000 gold pieces, 1-2 gems, 1-2 piece of jewelry,
The cultists are renegade members of some other faith
50% chance of two potions and one magic item.
4 who have cast aside their old gods for the divine magic
offered by the Hell Kings.
Strong: 20 Infernal Devotees, 5 Infernal Priests, 2 Red Jade
Templars, 1 Infernal Demon. This dread congregation is under the The cultists are learned theurgists convinced that they
personal oversight of one of the demonic servitors of the Hell Kings. can control the Hell Kings and their envoys with rites
Such unholy cults can rarely hide within cities, and must seek the 5 and ceremonies, and that their magic will yet redeem
privacy of long-desolate ruins and remote peaks- yet not so remote their souls before death. As far as anyone can tell, the
that their members cannot find the sacrifices their lords require. Hell Kings find that absolutely hilarious.
Treasure: 2d4 x 1,000 gold pieces, 2d4 gems, 1d8 pieces of jewelry, The cultists are led by a genuine demon, and are des-
two magic items plus a 50% chance of one more magic item and 6 perate to appease its demands lest they end up as the
two potions. sacrifices of choice.

120
 HERMIT WIZARDS
Loyal Servitor
HD: 1 AC: 8 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 7
Atk: 1d8/Sword (19) Save As: Fighter 1 XP: 10

Veteran Assistant
HD: 3 AC: 5 Move: 90’ (30’) Morale: 8
Atk: 1d8/Sword (17) Save As: Fighter 3 XP: 50

Apprentice Scholar
HD: 1 (d4) AC: 9 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 8
Atk: 1d4/Dagger (19) Save As: MU 1 XP: 15
Spells: 1st level: Sleep

Adept Wizard
HD: 4 (d4) AC: 9 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 8
Atk: 1d4/Dagger (19) Save As: MU 4 XP: 140
Spells: 1st level: Sleep, Charm Person
2nd level: Invisibility, Web

Learned Hermit
HD: 7 (d4) AC: 9 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 9
Atk: 1d4/Dagger (18) Save As: MU 7 XP: 1,140
Imperial culture has always highly esteemed the arts of magic, and Spells: 1st: Sleep, Charm Person, Detect Magic
many other societies on the Isle have found much to commend its 2nd: Invisibility, Web
study. Not every aspiring wizard cares to remain within the accepted 3rd: Hold Person, Fireball
boundaries of the art, however, and some prefer to reach for the 4th: Confusion
quick power of forbidden studies. These seekers after forbidden
lore can often be found laired in ruins where they can find relative
comfort and security for carrying out their rites.

Hermit Wizard Encounters

Weak: 4 Loyal Servitors, 1 Apprentice Scholar. Any wizard this far
from civilization is likely up to unsuitable ends, but only the most
megalomaniacal apprentice will risk conflict on anything but his
own terms.
Treasure: 2d6 x 10 gold pieces worth of coinage. 1D6 TWISTS
The wizard seeks power through pacts formed with
1
Average: 10 Loyal Servitors, 5 Veteran Assistants, 2 Apprentice extraplanar powers. Strange familiars haunt the ruin.
Scholars, 1 Adept Wizard. This small cabal is likely sharing in some The wizard is convinced that the ruin is a place of power
project of sinister wizardry, one that likely has side effects or neces- 2
that can be tapped to augment his abilities.
sary ingredients too unpleasant for the confines of civilization. The wizard has gathered a circle of henchmen and min-
Treasure: 1d8 x 1,000 gold pieces, 1-3 gems, 1-3 piece of jewelry, 3 ions to assist him in performing elaborate and bloody
two scrolls plus a 50% chance of two potions or scrolls and one ceremonies to strengthen his magic.
magic item.
The wizard believes that ancient magical texts can be
4
Strong: 15 Loyal Servitors, 10 Veteran Assistants, 4 Apprentice found in the ruins.
Scholars, 2 Adept Wizards, 1 Learned Hermit. This convocation is The wizard is hiding from a rival from whom he has
as large as some small schools of magic, and its master may have a stolen a precious text or item. If the rival learns of
5
sinister fame for teaching certain forms of magic that less decadent the object’s resurfacing, he is apt to come reclaim his
cities do not permit. property.
Treasure: 2d6 x 1,000 gold pieces, 1d6+2 gems, 1d4+1 pieces of The wizard is working in conjunction with a renegade
jewelry, three scrolls and one magic item plus a 50% chance of one 6 cleric in an attempt to plumb the secrets of divine
more magic item and two potions or scrolls. magic.
121
 LIZARDFOLK CLAN
The lizardfolk are a
Lizard Warrior
reclusive race, cold-
blooded, meditative, and HD: 2+1 AC: 5 Move: 60’ (20’) Morale: 12
indifferent to the wishes Swim 120’
of men. They sometimes Atk: 1d6+1/Spear (17) Save As: Fighter 4 XP: 47
find it useful to inhabit
the ruins that others have Lizard Warchief
left behind, and fight HD: 4+1 AC: 5 Move: 90’ (30’) Morale: 12
fiercely against those who Swim 120’
would try to dislodge Atk: 1d6+2/Spear (15) Save As: Fighter 6 XP: 215
them. Humans and other
sentient beings are but Lizard Shaman
animals to them, to be HD: 4+1 AC: 5 Move: 90’ (30’) Morale: 12
harvested for food and Swim 120’
cleared away from holy
Atk: 1d6+1/Spear (15) Save As: Cleric 4 XP: 290
ground. As numerous
as these unscaled meat- Spells: 1st level: Cure Light Wounds, Cause Light Wounds
beings are, however, 2nd level: Hold Person, Snake Charm
some tribes find it wisest
to deal peacefully with Old Sleeper
the cattle lest their small HD: 8+2 AC: 3 Move: 90’ (30’) Morale: 12
tribes be overwhelmed. A Swim 120’
few have even interbred Atk: 1d6+1/Spear (12) Save As: Cleric 8 XP: 1,220
with human settlers, Spells: 1st level: Cure Light Wounds x2, Cause Light Wounds x2
though the half-reptilian 2nd level: Hold Person, Snake Charm, Speak with Animal
children that result are 3rd level: Animal Growth, Striking, Dispel Magic
often viewed with more 4th level: Lower Water, Sticks to Snakes
human horror than their
full-blooded brethren.

1D6 TWISTS
Lizardfolk Clan Encounters The lizardfolk have chosen the ruin as a nesting site, and
Weak: 5 Lizard Warriors. This small band is likely out raiding for
are guarding a large cache of eggs. If given time to hatch
food or plunder, or guarding some sacred site distant from their 1
and mature, the clan will be forced to raid neighbors
home nest.
for food.
Treasure: 1d8 x 10 gold pieces worth of baubles and coins.
The lizardfolk are led by a powerful shaman who has
Average: 15 Lizard Warriors, 1 Lizard Warchief, 1 Lizard Shaman. 2 ambitions of enslaving nearby human communities for
These combatants might represent the full fighting strength of a food and agricultural slaves.
small lizardfolk tribe, or they may be a powerful raiding band sent The lizardfolk have discerned omens and signs which
to plunder nearby human settlements or dig up old ruins for holy 3 indicate that the ruins are holy ground. They will fight
relics. to the death to retain control of it.
Treasure: 1d8 x 1,000 gold pieces, 1-6 gems, 1-4 piece of jewelry. The lizardfolk are of a tribe that has interbred with
humanity; some may be willing to negotiate a peaceful
Strong: 30 Lizard Warriors, 5 Lizard Warchiefs, 2 Lizard Shamans, 4
coexistence, and others may simply have added human
1 Old Sleeper. This tribe has been fortunate enough to awaken one savagery to their implacable reptilian hunger.
of the Old Sleepers, the ancient lords of their kind. Freed from the
The lizardfolk have been driven from their custom-
cursed slumber which entombed them, the Old Sleeper is eager to
ary lands by a more powerful source, and many are
reclaim the world from the hot-blooded and hairy beasts that have 5
wounded or crippled. They will fight desperately to
since overrun it.
hold to what little they have left.
Treasure: 2d6 x 1,000 gold pieces, 1d6+1 gems, 1d4 pieces of
jewelry, 50% chance of two magic items and two potions or scrolls. An Old Sleeper is buried somewhere near the ruins, and
6 is either sought or has actually arisen from its slumber.
The clan seeks to serve it and exalt it as a god.

122
 KOBOLD CLAN
Wretched, degenerate little
Kobold Spearman
humanoids, kobolds are
born, live, and die in vary- HD: 1d4 hp AC: 7 Move: 60’ (20’) Morale: 6
ing shades of misery. While Atk: 1d6-1/Spear (20) Save As: Human 0 XP: 5
rather comical with their
yipping speech and their Kobold Alpha
scrabbling gait, most kobolds HD: 1-1 AC: 7 Move: 60’ (20’) Morale: 7
nurse a deeply sadistic nature. Atk: 1d6/Spear (19) Save As: Fighter 1 XP: 10
They have a passionate love
for tormenting those even Kobold King
weaker than they, and some HD: 3 AC: 5 Move: 60’ (20’) Morale: 9
exceptionally brutal lords
Atk: 1d6/Spear (17) Save As: Fighter 3 XP: 50
keep kobolds as something of
a combination of pet, jester, Kobold Witch
and torturer. Kobolds are
miserable cowards, and their HD: 3 AC: 6 Move: 60’ (20’) Morale: 7
society is based on a hierar- Atk: 1d6/Mace (17) Save As: Cleric 3 XP: 65
chy of fear and intimidation. Spells: 1st level: Cause Light Wounds x2
They can readily be forced to 2nd level: Bless
serve more terrible beings,
but they have a tendency
to flee when not directly
supervised.
1D8 TWISTS
The kobolds are fleeing an even more fearsome foe, such
as a band of Shou raiders or an ogre cabal. The little
1
dog-men have stolen something important and the
original owners pursue them to take it back.
The kobolds are hiring out their services to some local
2 thug or corrupt noble in order to attack his enemies.
They aren’t terribly courageous, but they work cheaply.
The kobolds have become infected with a rabies-like
3 illness that is driving them to uncontrollable violence
toward outsiders, banishing their usual cowardice.
Kobold Encounters Some powerful renegade priest or sinister wizard has
Weak: 8 Kobold Spearmen, 1 Kobold Alpha. This scrawny pack is 4 taken control of the tribe, and forces it to assist- much
likely sniffing for lone wanderers and other vulnerable prey. to the bitter resentment of its alphas and king.
Treasure: 1d20 gold pieces worth of coins and petty plunder. The kobolds have been enslaved by another power and
are being used to dig the ruins for buried treasure or lost
5
Average: 30 Kobold Spearmen, 3 Kobold Alphas, 1 Kobold Witch. artifacts. They hate their masters even more than they
This pack is likely the better part of an entire kobold clan, and may hate adventurers.
have been living in the ruins for some time. Kobolds breed quickly, The kobolds seek vengeance for some recent attack
but they’re also the favored meal of many monstrous creatures. by humans. Of course, the kobolds were planning on
Treasure: 1d2 x 1,000 gold pieces, 1-2 gems, 1-2 piece of jewelry, 6
eating their children, but they hadn’t nerved themselves
50% chance of two potions or scrolls. to attack yet.
A sorcerer is conducting dangerous experiments in ko-
Strong: 50 Kobold Spearmen, 5 Kobold Alphas, 2 Kobold Witches,
7 bolds, mutating them into dangerous warriors, freakish
1 Kobold King. This tribe is mighty (by kobold standards) and is
aberrations, and the occasional living bomb.
nominally united under the paw of the kobold king, a remarkably
large and aggressive example of his kind. Such kings readily draw The kobolds have unearthed some magical artifact,
the obedience of lesser kobolds, but their ambition often makes for and are filled with a possibly unfounded confidence in
8
short and exciting reigns. their newfound prowess. They intend to use the artifact
Treasure: 1d4 x 1,000 gold pieces, 1-4 gems, 1-2 pieces of jewelry, against their enemies at the first available opportunity.
one magic item plus a 25% chance of one more magic item and
two potions.
123
 MALIGN ELVEN CREED
Elven Fanatic
HD: 1 (d6) AC: 5 Move: 90’ (30’) Morale: 8
Atk: 1d8/Sword (19) Save As: Elf 1 XP: 10

Elven Veteran
HD: 2 (d6) AC: 3 Move: 90’ (30’) Morale: 9
Atk: 1d8/Sword (19) Save As: Elf 2 XP: 50

Elven Magus
HD: 4 (d6) AC: 3 Move: 90’ (30’) Morale: 10
Atk: 1d8/Sword (17) Save As: Elf 4 XP: 190
Spells: 1st level: Sleep, Charm Person
2nd level: Invisibility, Web

Aspiring Apotheon
HD: 7 (d6) AC: 3 Move: 90’ (30’) Morale: 11
Atk: 1d8/Sword (14) Save As: Elf 7 XP: 1,140
Spells: 1st: Sleep, Charm Person, Detect Magic
Most of the Creeds followed by the elves of the Isles are peaceful 2nd: Invisibility, Web
philosophies. Some of them may be peculiar in the demands they 3rd: Hold Person, Fireball
place on their followers, but their devotees are capable of dealing 4th: Confusion
peacefully with those outside the faith. A few Creeds, however,
are so toxic in their principles that non-elves are in danger simply
by their presence. Some of these malevolent zealots have beliefs
so murderous that even elves that do not belong to their faith are
considered prey. The rank and file of most malign creeds have not 1D8 TWISTS
undertaken the training necessary to channel their natural talent The Creed is murderously apotheonic; the elves are
into sorcerous spellcasting, but their leaders are often potent casters. 1 convinced that they can extract divinity from human
sacrifices.
The Creed is exaltationist; the elves are convinced that
Malign Creed Encounters 2 they can remake society into ordered perfection, and
Weak: 6 Elven Fanatics. This little band is likely the product of a strangers are enslaved in order to help build this utopia.
charismatic elven philosopher or one of the shattered remnants of a
The Creed is deophobic; the elves despise all but the
Creed that made too many enemies.
3 Godless races, and ritually torment and slay any others
Treasure: 2d6 x 10 gold pieces worth of coinage.
they can capture.
Average: 15 Elven Fanatics, 5 Elven Veterans, 2 Elven Magi. This The Creed is amorally hedonistic, rejecting the concept
Creed might have settled down with their spouses and children, of morality and seeking personal pleasure at all costs.
4
keeping a reclusive distance from the intolerable ways of their Fellow believers are useful for providing enjoyment, but
lessers. They might be a fragment of a more tolerant creed, turned strangers can be used with less concern for damage.
harshly extreme by a demagogue or crisis. The Creed is essentialist; the elves view their own nature
Treasure: 1d6 x 1,000 gold pieces, 1-3 gems, 1-3 piece of jewelry, as essentially superior to that of all other sentient life.
5
one scroll plus 50% chance of two potions or scrolls and one magic Other beings may be treated as wayward children- or as
item. mere cattle.
In addition to whatever philosophical traits they may
Strong: 30 Elven Fanatics, 10 Elven Veterans, 4 Elven Magi, 1 6 have, the Creed is being hunted by elves from an enemy
Aspiring Apotheon. This Creed is strong enough to seize control Creed or vengeful locals.
of a village or other modest settlement, and may well have plans of
The Creed believes an elven Apotheon of their Creed is
doing so in the near future. Its leader likely dreams of future glory
7 buried somewhere within the ruins, and seeks to revive
as an Apotheon, and what few strictures a malign Creed has can
him to further their cause.
end up bent beyond recognition if they interfere with this ambition.
Treasure: 2d6 x 1,000 gold pieces, 1d6+2 gems, 1d4+1 pieces of The Creed is brutal, but not so much as to ignore the
jewelry, two magic items and a scroll plus a 50% chance of one 8 possibility of diplomacy. They seek to use the ruins as a
more magic item and two potions or scrolls. base for eventual control of the region.

124
 NECROMANCERS
Servitor Drudge
HD: 1 AC: 7 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 8
Atk: 1d4/Dagger (19) Save As: Fighter 1 XP: 10

Zombie Minion
HD: 2 AC: 8 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 12
Atk: 1d8/Claws (18) Save As: Fighter 2 XP: 29
Note: Always loses initiative each round.

Minor Necromancer
HD: 3 (d4) AC: 9 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 9
Atk: 1d4/Dagger (19) Save As: MU 3 XP: 100
Spells: Knows Magic Missile, Shield, and Web. Can cast each
spell once per day.
Necromancy is despised by most of the cultures in the Isles, especially Master Necromancer
the ancestor-venerating Imperials of Xian. Its dark arts can be used HD: 7 (d4) AC: 9 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 10
to disturb the eternal peace of the afterlife, with the lesser sorceries
merely defiling the bones of the dead and the greatest pulling an Atk: 1d4/Dagger (18) Save As: MU 7 XP: 500
unprotected soul from the serene stillness of death. Some necro- Spells: 1st: Sleep, Charm Person, Shield
mancy can be used to protect against such unquiet souls or facilitate 2nd: Invisibility, Web
their journey to the afterlife, but most necromancers embrace the 3rd: Hold Person, Protection from Good 10’
art for the power it gives them over the helpless dead. Ruins provide 4th: Charm Monster
them not only with a useful supply of parts, but the privacy neces- Can cast 3/2/2/1 spells per day.
sary for their research. Few necromancers are powerful enough to
use such potent spells as Animate Dead, and so they are forced to
manufacture their servitors with longer and more tedious rites that
often require the aid of amoral, degenerate human servants.

1D6 TWISTS
A necromancer has some personal tie with the ruins,
as someone of importance to them died here. The
1
necromancer seeks to locate their remains, nursing mad
Necromancer Encounters dreams of contact or revivification.
Weak: 2 Servitor Drudges, 4 Zombie Minions, 1 Minor Necro- The remains are filled with well-preserved tombs or
mancer. Such little cabals are often the result of a young magic-user burial sites from which many faithful servants can be
seeking privacy and fresh corpses for his studies. 2 crafted and much useful research conducted. One or
Treasure: 1d6 x 100 gold pieces worth of coins and valuable ingre- more necromancers have moved in to make use of the
dients and books. supplies.
A powerful necromancer once dwelled in the ruins, and
Average: 6 Servitor Drudges, 15 Zombie Minions, 3 Minor Nec- 3
the new occupants seek to uncover his forgotten lore.
romancers. These necromancers have clearly been working together
for some time, and may form a sinister secret society based out of The site is close enough to civilization for the necro-
a suitable ruin. mancers and their minions to “recruit” living subjects
4
Treasure: 3,000 gold pieces, 1-2 gems, 1-2 piece of jewelry, 50% for their study of the narrow boundary between life and
chance of two potions and one magic item. death.
A wealthy patron has commissioned the necromancers
Strong: 15 Servitor Drudges, 30 Zombie Minions, 4 Minor Necro- to study means of prolonging life in the aged, and has
5
mancers, and 1 Master Necromancer. This cabal is led by a mage of supplied them with research subjects culled from his
rare skill and power, one that has attracted several apprentices and slaves or servants.
colleagues to assist in plumbing unholy lore. The necromancers are actually a branch of the Com-
Treasure: 6,000 gold pieces, 3-4 gems, 3-4 pieces of jewelry, two panions of Silence, come to put down an eruption of
magic items plus a 50% chance of one more magic item and two 6
unquiet dead in the ruins. They fear themselves too
potions. weak to accomplish the necessary work.

125
 OGRE CABAL
Ogre Degenerate
HD: 4+1 AC: 5 Move: 90’ (30’) Morale: 8
Atk: 1d10/Club (15) Save As: Fighter 4 XP: 215
Note: Can shapeshift into a human form at will.

Ogre Tyrant
HD: 6+1 AC: 5 Move: 90’ (30’) Morale: 9
Atk: 1d12/Club (13) Save As: Fighter 6 XP: 380
Note: Can shapeshift into a human form at will.

Ogre Witch
HD: 7 AC: 5 Move: 90’ (30’) Morale: 9
Atk: 1d12/Club (13) Save As: MU 7 XP: 790
Note: Can shapeshift into a human form at will. Can cast
Charm Person, Sleep, Invisibility, Fly, and Dimension
Door once each per day as a 7th level magic-user.

The ogres of the Sunset Isles are the result of human malice and
depraved craving. When a man or woman is gives themselves utterly
to some cruel and sordid desire, they leave their souls vulnerable
to the attentions of certain dark powers. These malevolent spirits
infest the mortal’s frame, twisting and strengthening it even as they
inflame the mortal’s unholy passions. Soon the subject becomes
incapable of dwelling among more wholesome folk, and they are
forced into the wilderness to dwell with other ogres. The same
spirits that infest them guide them to others of their kind, where
their particular foul craving can be accommodated with kidnapped
victims and weaker creatures. Ogres are constantly hunting for new 1D6 TWISTS
prey lest denial leave them so frantic with need that they turn on
The cabal is plotting some spectacular atrocity, and have
each other.
1 captured dozens of victims. If they not rescued soon,
there will be little left to save.
Ogre Cabal Encounters
Weak: 2 Ogre Degenerates. This little band has likely recently split The ogres mimic a group of squatters, adventurers, or
off from a larger group, in hope of finding some village or settle- other human wilderness dwellers. They seek to lure
2
ment they can “enjoy” without need to share their victims. victims into lowering their guard before striking from
Treasure: 1d6 x 100 gold pieces worth of coinage. ambush.
The ogres have captured the son or daughter of a local
Average: 4 Ogre Degenerates, 2 Ogre Tyrants. This small tribe noble. They know that they must dispose of their
preys on nearby settlements, but the degenerates often fume at the 3 victim quickly before a rescue party comes, but they
unfair share of the victims taken by the tyrants. Such cabals are held argue amongst each other over whose particular awful
together largely by hate and fear. appetites are to be sated by their prey.
Treasure: 1d8 x 1,000 gold pieces, 1-6+2 gems, 1-4 piece of jewelry. The ogres are led by an ogre sorcerer, who has prepared
4 numerous elaborate traps to torment and slaughter
Strong: 10 Ogre Degenerates, 5 Ogre Tyrants, 1 Ogre Witch. Such intruders.
a large cabal of ogres must remain in close proximity to some large
An important local has been “kidnapped” by the ogres.
source of victims, or else frustration and need will drive them to
5 In actuality, he or she is a newly-developed ogre and has
splinter into smaller groups of hunters. The witch that leads them
willingly gone to join the others.
will go to great lengths to ensure his or her “loyal” minions are not
forced to such steps. One of the ogres in the cabal has been cooperating with
Treasure: 2d6 x 1,000 gold pieces, 1d6+3 gems, 1d4+2 pieces of 6 an important local in a series of hideous depravities.
jewelry, 25% chance of one magic item and two potions or scrolls. Evidence of the connection can be found in the ruins.

126
 OUTLAWS
Outlaw Bandit
HD: 1 AC: 8 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 7
Atk: 1d6/Spear (19) Save As: Fighter 1 XP: 10

Outlaw Archer
HD: 1 AC: 8 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 7
Atk: 1d6/Shortbow (19) Save As: Fighter 1 XP: 10

Outlaw Chief
HD: 3 AC: 6 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 9
Atk: 1d8/Sword (16) Save As: Fighter 3 XP: 50

Outlaw Magic-User
HD: 3 (d4) AC: 9 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 9
Atk: 1d4/Dagger (19) Save As: MU 3 XP: 100
Spells: Knows Sleep, Charm Person, and Invisibility. Can cast
each spell once per day.

1D8 TWISTS
These outlaws are victims of some grave crime commit-
ted by a magistrate or daifu, having been driven from
Life is harsh in the Isles, and some men and women find it easier
1 their land or oppressed beyond endurance. They still
to get their daily rice in ways that the law cannot countenance.
think of themselves as decent people but will show no
Murderers, robbers, smugglers, and even hated Shou-traders can be
mercy to agents of their tormentor.
found lairing in the ruins of the wilderness. The larger cities of the
Isles have some care for proper legal forms and measured justice, These outlaws are starving, and will launch attacks on
but in the borderlands such outlaws can expect only a noose at dusk 2 any likely food supply, even in the face of losing odds.
and a few mumbled funerary prayers against their return as angry They will cooperate with anyone who can feed them.
ghosts. Most village headmen and town magistrates care nothing for The outlaws are a band of deserters who fled their com-
what happens to likely criminals in the wild, so long as it does not pany after a defeat at the hands of enemy humans or
involve any of their people. 3 Shou. They have much better discipline and equipment
than ordinary bandits, but may be hunted by their
former comrades or enemies.
Outlaw Encounters
Weak: 4 Outlaw Bandits and 2 Outlaw Archers. They may have a The outlaws are a band of slaves escaped from the own-
kidnap victim, but they are unlikely to have any other hangers-on. ership of a Shogunate or Tien Lung noble. They cannot
4
Treasure: 1d4 x 10 gold pieces, the value often in the form of hope to live peacefully until the noble abandons his
plundered commodities rather than coins. claim to them or they pass completely out of his reach.
The outlaws are smugglers, working to facilitate a trade
Average: 15 Outlaw Bandits, 5 Outlaw Archers, 1 Outlaw Chief. A in untaxed or forbidden goods. Drugs, necromantic
group this size usually has three or four noncombatant camp follow- 5 ingredients, liquor, spices, and other relatively low-
ers who may be kidnapped victims or may be willingly cooperating weight, high-value cargo are most often favored. Some
with the outlaws. might even trade with Shou.
Treasure: 600 gold pieces, 1 gem, 1 piece of jewelry, 15% chance of The outlaws are the remnants of a destroyed farming
two potions and one magic item. village or mining hamlet. Privation and need have
6
driven them to this life, and they are resolved to survive
Strong: 40 Outlaw Bandits, 20 Outlaw Archers, 1 Outlaw Magic- at any cost.
User, 3 Outlaw Chiefs, and one Outlaw Captain with 5 hit dice,
The outlaws are degenerate cannibals, driven to such
AC 3, and +2 to hit and damage over a normal chief. A bandit
7 behavior by the dark influences of the Tide or their own
enclave of this size usually requires a village worth of followers and
desperate hunger. They hunt for flesh as much as gold.
helpers to support it, or else regular infusions of food from tributar-
ies or allies. The outlaws are failed adventurers, those without the
Treasure: 5,000 gold pieces, 3-4 gems, 3-4 pieces of jewelry, one luck or courage to make much of their trade. Rather
8
magic item plus a 50% chance of one more magic item and two than plunder the enemies of their people, they find it
potions. easier and safer to prey upon their own kind.

127
 REMNANTS
These remnants linger
Remnant Warrior
from the original
settlement of the HD: 1 AC: 7 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 8
ruins. They’ve man- Atk: 1d6/Spear (19) Save As: Fighter 1 XP: 10
aged to eke out a
harsh existence here, Remnant War Leader
possibly predating the HD: 2 AC: 6 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 9
arrival of the refugee Atk: 1d8/Sword (18) Save As: Fighter 2 XP: 50
fleet. Most such tribes
view all outsiders Remnant Chief
as mortal threats, HD: 4 AC: 4 Move: 90’ (30’) Morale: 10
having accustomed
Atk: 1d8/Sword (15) Save As: Fighter 4 XP: 200
themselves to such
dangers as recurring Remnant Shaman
Shou raids present.
Fragments of their HD: 3 (d6) AC: 6 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 10
old culture and skills Atk: 1d6/Mace (17) Save As: Cleric 3 XP: 200
might linger, though Spells: 1st level: Cure Light Wounds, Cause Light Wounds
advanced magic and 2nd level: Bless
technological skills
such as metalworking
may well have col-
lapsed. Outsiders can
negotiate with some 1D8 TWISTS
of these tribes, but
The remnants actually date from a relatively recent
past experience has
failed colonization attempt of the ruins. The survivors
taught most of them 1
are convinced that strangers have been sent to “steal
to attack strangers on
their land”, and are very difficult to persuade otherwise.
sight.
The remnants have embraced abhorrent practices to
2 survive, becoming cannibals or worse in order to endure
the dangers that surround them.
The remnants have been enslaved by a more powerful
3 being that both protects them and demands their wor-
Remnant Encounters ship or service.
Weak: 5 Remnant Warriors, 1 Remnant War Leader. So small a
group is likely a raiding party send off from a larger settlement, or The remnants nurse strange beliefs about the outside
the wretched handful left from an older settlement. The latter will world, such as imagining that other humans are simply
4
have noncombatant women and children equal to their number. new forms of Shou, or thinking that the rest of the
Treasure: 1d6 x 10 gold pieces worth of old coins and crafts. world is inhabited solely by monsters.
The remnants have preserved a few fragments of
Average: 20 Remnant Warriors, 5 Remnant War Leaders, 1 Rem- 5 powerful magic or exotic technology from their former
nant Chief, 1 Remnant Shaman. A group this size likely consists culture, and they use them against intruders.
of all the combat-capable men and women of a small remnant The remnants welcome new blood from outsiders- but
settlement. Noncombatants will be present equal to their number. have no intention of permitting any of them to leave,
Treasure: 2d4 x 1,000 gold pieces, 1-3 gems, 1-3 piece of jewelry, 6
and plan to eventually cripple them in order to ensure
50% chance of two potions or scrolls and one magic item. they remain.
Strong: 40 Remnant Warriors, 10 Remnant War Leaders, 1 Rem- The remnants have retained much of their former so-
nant Chief, 2 Remnant Shamans. This powerful force likely consists phistication, but view outsiders as primitive barbarians
7
of the military of a relatively strong remnant settlement, one that to be driven off, away from the sanctity of their ancient
has somehow managed to survive with a hundred or more of its home.
noncombatant population intact. Such a band might still preserve The remnants are divided, some wishing to rejoin
some of the more sophisticated skills of sorcery and artisanship. the outer world. The leadership remains convinced
8
Treasure: 2d6 x 1,000 gold pieces, 1d6+2 gems, 1d4+1 pieces of that outside contact can only result in their eventual
jewelry, two magic items plus a 50% chance of one more magic destruction.
item and two potions.
128
 RESTLESS DEAD
Skeleton
HD: 1 AC: 7 Move: 60’ (20’) Morale: 12
Atk: 1d6/Claws (19) Save As: Fighter 1 XP: 10

Animate Corpse
HD: 2 AC: 8 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 12
Atk: 1d8/Claws (18) Save As: Fighter 2 XP: 29
Note: Always loses initiative each round.

Hungry Ghoul
HD: 2 AC: 6 Move: 90’ (30’) Morale: 12
Atk: 1d3/1d3/1d3 (18) Save As: Fighter 2 XP: 47
Note: Turns as 3 HD. Successful hits force save vs. Paralyze for
2d4 turns. Elves are immune to this paralysis.

Restless Specter
HD: 6 AC: 2 Move: 150’ (50’) Morale: 12
Fly 300’
Atk: 1d8+drain (13) Save As: Fighter 6 XP: 1,070
Note: A successful hit drains 2 levels. Immune to normal
A corpse left without funerary rites leaves its owner’s soul naked to
weapons.
the hunger of the Hell Kings in the afterlife. Good and pious souls
can hope for the intercession of the kindly gods and their protection
for their wayward soul, but less noble spirits have no such guarantee.
Some are too frightened to leave this world, and so linger as fearful
ghosts who nurse an unthinking hatred for the living who left them
unshriven. It requires either a blessed servant of the gods or a stout
weapon to force them onward into the afterlife. Places where great
numbers of people died without the care of priests or funerary rites
often serve as nests for groups of angry, frightened undead. Due
to their lack of souls elves can never become undead, but dwarves
and halflings sometimes experience the same terror of the world to
come.

Restless Dead Encounters

Weak: 3 Skeletons, 2 Animate Corpses. Little cysts of undead such
as this often form by chance when one corpse rises to slay others 1D6 TWISTS
who also fear the afterlife.
The dead are composed largely of the original inhabit-
Treasure: 1d6 x 10 gold pieces worth of scattered possessions.
1 ants of the site, many of which were killed when the
ruins were destroyed.
Average: 10 Skeletons, 10 Animate Corpses, 5 Hungry Ghouls.
The sweet flesh of the living eases the pain of death for the ghouls The dead are adventurers who have perished here with
2
that haunt this place. Their victims join their kind if not consumed none to tend their bones.
entirely, or if not so badly chewed as to rise as confused, angry The dead are colonists who tried to establish a new
zombies. 3 community in the ruins, only to be wiped out by some
Treasure: 1d4 x 1,000 gold pieces worth of coins, 1-3 gems, 1-3 peril.
piece of jewelry. The dead are the results of a necromancer’s unholy med-
4
dling. The dark sorcerer may still be present.
Strong: 30 Skeletons, 20 Animate Corpses, 10 Hungry Ghouls, 1
The dead are soldiers who fought a great battle here,
Restless Specter. This major infestation is likely the work of some 5
perhaps as part of the ruin’s destruction.
unholy massacre or dark rite.
Treasure: 1d8 x 1,000 gold pieces worth of coins, 1-4 gems, 1-4 The dead are ancient, having boiled upward after some
pieces of jewelry, one magic item, 25% chance of two more potions 6 even older edifice was disturbed by the ruin’s original
or scrolls. inhabitants.
129
 SHOU
The Shou have despised
Shou Orc Warrior
humans since the weak
interlopers first landed HD: 1 AC: 6 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 8
on the shores of the Atk: 1d6/Spear (19) Save As: Fighter 1 XP: 10
Sunset Isles. The invad-
ers spread like a plague, Shou Orc Leader
eagerly embracing the HD: 1 (8 hp) AC: 6 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 8
slave-work of farming Atk: 1d6+1/Spear (19) Save As: Fighter 1 XP: 15
and building, proving
their natural purpose as Shou Orc Witch
thralls to the stronger HD: 3 AC: 7 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 9
Shou. Tribes can be
Atk: 1d6/Witchfire (16) Save As: Cleric 3 XP: 100
found throughout
the Isles, squabbling Spells: 1st level: Cure Light Wounds, Remove Fear
and warring with 2nd level: Bless
each other. The orcs Can cast 2 first and 1 second level spell per day.
prefer mountains and Witchfire has range 50’/100’/150’ and never hits allies.
hills, the bugbears
favor rocky hills and
deep jungles, and the
goblins roam wherever
sufficient prey can be
found. Wild tribes 1D10 TWISTS
subsist by hunting and The surrounding land has been hunted out, and the
gathering, while those fortunate enough to enslave other Shou 1 neighboring tribes or humans are too strong to push
or humans practice agriculture- or cannibalism. With all Shou, them from their territory. The Shou face starvation.
farming and the raising of livestock is considered “slave work”, and A powerful witch has commanded her tribe to seize the
intolerable to warriors. The statistics given here are for orcs, but the 2
ruins as a base for further expansion.
same model can work just as well for other breeds of Shou.
Human renegades are trading with the Shou, and the
3
ruins serve as a market between them.
Shou Encounters More than one tribe has settled here to maintain it
Weak: 5 Shou Orc Warriors and 1 Shou Orc Leader. Groups as neutral ground for the trade of goods, females and
this small are almost always raiding parties and do not take along 4 slaves. While the witches of each tribe agree that the
females or children. A few are the tattered remnants of a tribe others are “pure”, the warriors strongly mistrust each
that’s lost many members, and they may have an equal number of other.
noncombatants with them.
A witch has received visions of a potent magical artifact
Treasure: 1d6 x 10 gold pieces, the value often in the form of
5 hidden somewhere in the ruins, and her tribe works to
plundered commodities rather than coins.
find it.
Average: 20 Shou Orc Warriors, 2 Shou Orc Leaders, 1 Shou A Tide Cult is active in the ruins or surrounding area,
6
Orc Witch, and a Chief with 3 hit dice and +3 to hit and damage and a Shou witch has brought her tribe to destroy it.
compared to an average warrior. This is either a strong raiding A more powerful tribe has driven the Shou out of their
party or a small tribe. If the latter, it will have an equal number of 7 old grounds, and the survivors have regrouped in the
noncombatant females and children. ruins.
Treasure: 2,500 gold pieces, 1-2 gems, 1-2 pieces of jewelry, 15% The Shou have lived in the ruins for time out of mind.
chance of any 2 magic items and 2 potions. If the site is close to human habitation, either the
8
humans are new arrivals or the Shou feel too weak to
Strong: 60 Shou Orc Warriors, 6 Shou Orc Leaders, 3 Shou Orc confront them.
Witches, one under-chief with 3 hit dice and +3 to hit and damage,
The Shou have been enslaved by some greater power
and a Great Chief with 5 hit dice, AC 3, +5 to hit, and +3 damage
they disturbed in the ruins. This power may simply
compared to an average warrior. This encounter represents a 9
want its privacy, or it may aspire to reach out and seize
powerful Shou tribe with an equal number of females and children
nearby settlements.
somewhere within the lair.
Treasure: 5,000 gold pieces, 3-4 gems, 3-4 pieces of jewelry, one The Shou have moved in to enslave another group that
magic item plus a 50% chance of one more magic item and two 10 once dwelled in the ruins, and now use them as farming
potions. slaves and occasional meals.
130
 SQUATTERS
Squatter Militiaman
HD: 1 AC: 7 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 8
Atk: 1d6/Spear (19) Save As: Fighter 1 XP: 10

Squatter Veteran
HD: 2 AC: 6 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 9
Atk: 1d8/Sword (18) Save As: Fighter 2 XP: 50

Squatter Headman
HD: 4 AC: 4 Move: 90’ (30’) Morale: 10
Atk: 1d8/Sword (15) Save As: Fighter 4 XP: 200

Squatter Priest
HD: 3 (d6) AC: 6 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 10
Atk: 1d6/Mace (17) Save As: Cleric 3 XP: 200
Spells: 1st level: Cure Light Wounds x2
2nd level: Bless

Squatters differ from ordinary bandits and outlaws by their desire

to make a lasting home of the ruins. Occasionally the depredations
of Shou raiders or the oppression of a ruthless magistrate can drive a 1D8 TWISTS
community into the wilderness, and these wretched souls often find The squatters have awoken some ancient evil which
themselves inhabiting the sites of ruins for much the same reasons 1
now preys on them from within the ruins.
that drew the first occupants. These squatters take what shelter
they can find in the wreckage, and are usually prepared to fight in The squatters have uncovered a treasure, and the pros-
defense of their new home. For those ruins deep enough into the 2 pect of such wealth threatens to tear the group apart in
borderlands to escape any official ownership, squatters sometimes the struggle to possess it.
nurse ambitions of becoming the formally-recognized owners of the The squatters are still being hunted by some high of-
land. A mixture of desperation and hope mingle to give them the ficial for unpaid taxes, damages from their departure, or
courage to stand against interlopers- and the recklessness to meddle 3 their harboring of runaway slaves. They will pay much
with old things that ought not to be touched. to anyone able to convince their tormentor to leave off
pursuit.
Squatter Encounters The squatters have failed wretchedly in making a new
Weak: 5 Squatter Militiamen, 1 Squatter Veteran. Almost all squat-
4 community in the ruins, and have been driven by
ter communities will have women and children equal in number
hunger to cannibalism and worse.
to the arms-bearing population, and they may attempt to fight in
desperate circumstances. The squatters have come at the urgings of an ostensible
Treasure: 1d6 x 10 gold pieces worth of old coins and crafts. holy man who may or may not actually possess any
5 clerical powers. Roll 1d6; on an odd number, the holy
Average: 20 Squatter Militiamen, 5 Squatter Veterans, 1 Squatter man is a malevolent schemer, and on an even number,
Headman, 1 Squatter Priest. The ruins likely have some valuable he is a hopelessly impractical visionary.
plunder, good construction, or important location to have attracted The squatters are lepers or other sufferers of some con-
a band with this many combatants. 6 tagious, detestable disease. They have been forced to live
Treasure: 1d4 x 1,000 gold pieces, 1-2 gems, 1-2 piece of jewelry, in the ruins by the fear and loathing of others.
50% chance of two potions or scrolls and one magic item. The squatters are a band of escaped slaves masquerading
as peasants from a distant district. They live in terror of
Strong: 40 Squatter Militiamen 10 Squatter Veterans, 1 Squatter 7
discovery, and will try to kill those who unearth their
Headman, 2 Squatter Priests. This many combat-capable vagabonds secret.
implies that more than one band of squatters has joined together at
this site in order to make a home here. They may or may not get The squatters formerly belonged to a nearby village or
along as smoothly as their leaders hope. town until an accusation of some great conspiracy of
Treasure: 1d6 x 1,000 gold pieces, 1d6 gems, 1d4 pieces of jewelry, 8 malice or witchcraft was leveled against them. They
two magic items plus a 50% chance of one more magic item and maintain their innocence; on a roll of 4+ on 1d6, they
two potions. actually are innocent.
131
 TIDE CULTISTS
Cult Wretch
HD: 1 AC: 9 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 9
Atk: 1d4/Dagger (19) Save As: Fighter 1 XP: 10

Cult Myrmidon
HD: 2 AC: 5 Move: 90’ (30’) Morale: 10
Atk: 1d8/Sword (18) Save As: Fighter 2 XP: 20

Cult Sorcerer
HD: 3 (d4) AC: 9 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 9
Atk: 1d4/Dagger (19) Save As: MU 3 XP: 100
Spells: Knows Magic Missile, Sleep, and Web. Can cast each
spell once per day.

Cult Magus
HD: 7 (d4) AC: 9 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 10
Atk: 1d4/Dagger (19) Save As: MU 7 XP: 500
Spells 1st: Sleep, Charm Person, Shield
The dark blandishments of the Tide seep into the skulls of the 2nd: Invisibility, Web
unfortunate. Borne on infectious dreams, these images fill the head 3rd: Hold Person, Protection from Good 10’
of a susceptible man or woman, promising safety and security for 4th: Charm Monster
them and those they love. Most touched by such dreams refuse Can cast 3/2/2/1 spells per day.
them, shutting away the haunting images and promises they repre-
Tidespawned Demon
sent until they fade and do not return. Weaker souls submit. They
perform the small rites or petty sacrifices to the red mist that open HD: 9 AC: -2 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 12
wider the door. Each new submission brings a new gift from the Atk: 1d3/1d3/1d4 (11) Save As: Fighter 9 XP: 3,100
mist, a new favor or help for their needs. Eventually, the demands Note: Immune to normal weapons. Can use Darkness 10’
of the mist grow too great for them to conceal, and they must flee Radius, Fear, Levitate, and Sleep at will, once per round.
with their fellow cultists into the wild. Hated by Shou and human Takes half damage from fire, cold, electricity. Can
alike, these Tide cultists are hard-pressed to capture enough victims communicate with any intelligent creature.
for the hideous rites their twisted, deformed priests demand.

Tide Cult Encounters

Weak: 5 Cult Wretches, 1 Cult Myrmidon. These little cults often
come about when some charismatic man or woman leads the rest
of their family into dark practices. Their insular ways make them 1D6 TWISTS
difficult to root out. The cultists are a noble and his wretched entourage,
Treasure: 2d6 x 10 gold pieces worth of coins and possessions. 1 forced to flee his former home before his crimes were
discovered.
Average: 15 Cult Wretches, 5 Cult Myrmidons, 1 Cult Sorcerer.
The cultists are simple villagers, driven out by furious
These cults prosper under the guise of innocent shrines or private 2
neighbors.
businesses, drawing in Tide-touched worshippers discreetly.
Treasure: 1d4 x 1,000 gold pieces, 1-2 gems, 1-2 piece of jewelry, The cultists include one or more magic-users, a cabal of
3
50% chance of two potions and one magic item. sorcerers who sought the wrong kind of secrets.
The cultists are a degenerate tong infected by the con-
4
Strong: 20 Cult Wretches, 15 Cult Myrmidons, 3 Cult Sorcerers, version of their leadership.
1 Cult Magus, and 1 Tidespawned Demon. A cult as powerful as The cultists proselytize aggressively, sending out covert
this one has managed to call forth one of the demons of the Tide, 5 agents to nearby villages and towns to lure potential
who now leads the cult in its dark worship. Such a powerful cabal converts back to the ruins.
is unlikely to be able to hide within a city, and so usually occupies a
distant and secure ruin. The cult leadership has masked its true nature, and
Treasure: 2d4 x 1,000 gold pieces, 2d4 gems, 1d8 pieces of jewelry, much of the rank and file is convinced that they serve
6
two magic items plus a 50% chance of one more magic item and completely different spiritual masters. This facade rarely
two potions. lasts long, but it can be effective in the short term.

132
 TONG BASE
Tong Highbinder
HD: 1 AC: 8 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 8
Atk: 1d6/Hand Axe (19) Save As: Fighter 1 XP: 10

Tong Hatchetman
HD: 2 AC: 8 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 9
Atk: 1d6/Hand Axe (18) Save As: Fighter 2 XP: 50

Stern Master
HD: 8 (d4) AC: 7 Move: 120’ (30’) Morale: 10
Atk: 1d10/2H Swd (17) Save As: Thief 8 XP: 1,060
Note: Can backstab for x2 damage. Thief abilities PL 65%,
FRT: 63%, PP: 63%, MS: 63%, CW: 94%, HS: 57%

Tong Sorcerer
HD: 5 (d4) AC: 9 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 9
Atk: 1d4/Dagger (18) Save As: MU 5 XP: 350
Spells: 1st level: Sleep, Charm Person, Shield
2nd level: Web, Invisibility
3rd level: Fireball

Some tongs are simply fraternal brotherhoods of poor commoners,

sworn to rely on each other to endure the hardships of life and the
sudden reverses of fate. Others, however, are sophisticated criminal
organizations that run extortion, vice, and fencing operations for a
membership indistinguishable from any other thieves’ guild. Some 1D8 TWISTS
of these criminal tongs require remote bases for storing hot goods The tong uses the ruin as a storehouse for goods too
and wanted members. The leadership of the tong rarely resides so hot to move openly in the city. They’ve recently stolen
1
far from the city, but many of their most bloodthirsty lieutenants something very important, and its original owner wants
find themselves rusticating there in order to avoid awkward conver- it back.
sations with the local magistracy. The tong members resident in the ruins are plotting to
seize control of the tong and eliminate the leader in the
Tong Encounters 2
city. The leader may be inclined to send trouble their
Weak: 5 Tong Highbinders, 1 Tong Hatchetman. This little band way.
is either lying low in the wake of some crime or guarding a cache
A sinister cult has formed in the ruins and the tong
kept by the tong.
3 there are gradually spreading it among the rest of the
Treasure: 1d6 x 100 gold pieces worth of pay or plunder.
organization.
Average: 25 Tong Highbinders, 5 Tong Hatchetmen, 1 Tong Sor- The tong leadership nurses dreams of a fortified strong-
cerer. This is a tightly-held tong stronghold under the oversight of 4 hold in the ruins, and are working to make the site an
the tong’s Master of Rites. actual fortification rather than a simple hideout.
Treasure: 1d4 x 1,000 gold pieces, 1-2 gems, 1-2 piece of jewelry, The ruin site is actually owned by a rich merchant, who
50% chance of two potions or scrolls and one magic item. 5 wants the tong gone but doesn’t dare appear openly
responsible for any ejection of the roughs.
Strong: 30 Tong Highbinders, 15 Tong Hatchetmen, 1 Stern The tong is actually descended from the original inhab-
Master, 2 Tong Sorcerers. This site is practically an entire tong’s 6 itants of the ruin, and they jealously guard the land as
worth of highbinders and thugs, under the command of the tong’s their ancestral property.
Stern Master. It may be a training site for a very large and important
tong, or it may be the whole of a tong recently driven out of their Something dark and vile is going on in the ruins, and its
former domain in a city. 7 orchestrators are simply enlisting the tong as cover and
Treasure: 2d4 x 1,000 gold pieces, 1d6 gems, 1d4 pieces of jewelry, guardians while they carry out their purposes.
two magic items plus a 50% chance of one more magic item and The “tong” is actually an intelligence agency operated
8
two potions. by some power inimical to the nearest government.
133
 ZEALOTS
With the general decay
Zealot Commoner
of organized religion
in the Sunset Isles, not HD: 1 AC: 9 Move: 120’ (40’) Morale: 10
many zealots are actu- Atk: 1d4/Dagger (19) Save As: Fighter 1 XP: 10
ally inspired by burning
religious fervor. Instead, Zealot Priest
these men and women HD: 2 (d6) AC: 5 Move: 90’ (30’) Morale: 12
adhere to some set of Atk: 1d6/Mace (19) Save As: Cleric 2 XP: 100
beliefs which make
Note: Can cast Cause Light Wounds twice per day.
them incapable of living
peacefully among others. Zealot Templar
Some are fired by faith,
HD: 4 AC: 3 Move: 90’ (30’) Morale: 12
convinced that their
truth alone will save Atk: 1d8/Sword (15) Save As: Fighter 4 XP: 200
them from the Tide and
the Hell Kings and that Zealot Prophet
all outsiders must be HD: 7 (d6) AC: 2 Move: 90’ (30’) Morale: 12
converted by the sword. Atk: 1d6/Mace (17) Save As: Fighter 11 XP: 1,140
Others are simply con- Spells: 1st level: Cure Light Wounds*2, Cause Light Wounds*2
vinced that their particu- 2nd level: Hold Person, Bless, Know Alignment
lar culture or ethnicity 3rd level: Animate Dead, Striking
is unjustly oppressed or 4th level: Sticks to Snakes
denied its rightful place
of superiority by the 1D8 TWISTS
villains of the Isles. A few
The zealots are convinced that their holy men and
communities are bound
1 women are sinless, and that anything they command or
together by exotic social ideologies that grant their adepts the right
desire must be theirs by divine right.
to take what others have made whenever a need is felt. Such groups
are usually soon forced out of the communities of the isles, and The zealots despise others not of their race or culture,
often take refuge in abandoned places where they can nurse their convinced that the other peoples of the Isles are savage
2
bitterness at the denial of their obvious enlightenment. brutes who constantly seek the destruction of their
culture and “pure blood”.
The zealots loathe those not of their own kind, embit-
Zealot Encounters 3 tered by the failure of others to recognize their manifest
Weak: 5 Zealot Commoners, 1 Zealot Priest. This may be a small
racial and cultural superiority.
band of enthusiasts seeking to fight for their “just cause” from a
remote wilderness base or from within a secret cell in a city or vil- The zealots are moved by religious fervor, ‘inviting’
lage. Most such cults cannot escape notice for long. others to partake of their shared truth and obedience
4
Treasure: 2d6 x 10 gold pieces worth of coins and possessions. to their priests. Those who decline must be persuaded
by the sword.
Average: 10 Zealot Commoners, 2 Zealot Priests, 3 Zealot Tem- The zealots are members of a radical political group,
plars. This cult has found a handful of expert warriors to take up convinced that a particular local government is com-
their cause, either for devotion to the faith or the gleam of gold. 5 posed of savage tyrants. Any sacrifice is acceptable in
Templars hired out with the offerings of the faithful may not have order to overthrow the brutes, whether or not those
the unshakable morale of their more pious brethren. sacrificed approve.
Treasure: 1d4 x 1,000 gold pieces, 1-2 gems, 1-2 piece of jewelry, The zealots have laid claim to the ruins as their own
50% chance of two potions and one magic item. tiny sovereign domain, and will treat any intruders
6
who fail to recognize their authority as invaders to be
Strong: 30 Zealot Commoners, 3 Zealot Priests, 5 Zealot Templars, dispatched.
1 Zealot Prophet. A cabal this strong is possibly the militant arm of
The zealots have been enslaved by sorcery or methodical
an entire village of faithful believers, led by a holy man consecrated
7 application of certain rare drugs, and serve their sinister
to the cause. A force this powerful compels respect and occasional
master with helpless enthusiasm.
reverence from those sympathetic to their cause, and dread from
those nearby communities that are counted enemies. 8: The zealots have recently lost their leader, and have
Treasure: 1d8 x 1,000 gold pieces, 1d6 gems, 1d4 pieces of jewelry, fractured into multiple factions, each one struggling
8
two magic items plus a 50% chance of one more magic item and to impose its interpretation of their beliefs upon the
two potions. others.
134
An Example Ruins Site the immediate goal is just to have a description to give any players
Another evening finds the referee with a little more time on his who stumble on the site.
hands, and he decides it would be a good idea to flesh out the old
mining site that’s poisoning the land around the town of Hulun Next the referee prints out the sample cavern map in the Resources
Bir. If the players never get near the Westmark market town, he can section and selectively blocks off a few of the passages. Even if the
still repurpose the ruin later, and let them stumble across it when players prefer to map their ruins, they won’t necessarily realize that
the situation recommends. They might end up fixing Hulun Bir’s the referee simply reuses this map when necessary by blocking dif-
problem without even realizing what they’ve done. ferent passageways and sketching in different cavern shapes.

The referee already knows what kind of ruin site he’s going to be Next, he keys the individual cavern rooms, keeping in mind that
building. Its going to be an abandoned underground mine, possibly the necromancers, at least, will need the usual human facilities for
with a few open pit scrapings and tailing piles on the surface. He eating, sleeping, defecating, and working. The Resources section
also knows how it ended up abandoned- it was overrun during the provides ideas on room dressing. Once he’s established that, he
Ravaging in 120 AL, and it’s too deep into Shou territory to be plants three or four pre-Exile digging devices in among the rooms.
reclaimed. A few bands of adventurers have come out to pick over Pulling out their geomantic cores will render them harmless and
the leavings, but most of them were wiped out by the hazards of halt the poisoning effect of the environment. The necromancers
the place. simply never realized this was possible, as their arcane studies aimed
rather more to death than life. Also, the referee decides that at least
The referee decides that there should be something interesting one of the digging engines is guarded by the angriest and strongest
about the mine environment, to keep it from being a simple hole of the restless dead.
in the ground with monsters in it. On consideration, he decides
that the geomantic poison leaking from the old pre-Exile mining The referee then looks to the inhabitants entry for necromancers
equipment has fouled the air and land around the mines. Every and restless dead, and decides what groups to use. Since the referee
3 hours spent around the mines will force a saving throw versus expects a mid-level group to eventually discover the mines, he uses
Poison. On a failure, the PC will lose 1d4 points of Constitution the mid-range packages of enemies. He sprinkles the necromancers
from nausea and exhaustion. A PC brought below Constitution 3 among their section of the caves and places the treasure he rolled
will fall unconscious, and one brought below 1 will die. The lost accordingly. He also takes a moment to jot down notes about how
Constitution will recover at the rate of 1 point per day spent away they’ll react to intruders, since they’re fully intelligent enough to
from the mines. respond sensibly to bloodthirsty adventurer incursions.

Of course, whatever dangers inhabit the mine should either be The restless dead are less intelligent, and the referee puts them in
adapted or immune to this geomantic fouling. Just to get a few ideas, appropriate groups in the less inhabited section of the mines, saving
the referee rolls twice on the Ruin Inhabitants table, getting “Rest- the fiercest for the half-dug chamber where the last digging engine
less Dead” and “Necromancers”. Well, this seems clear enough- a is. The best treasure the restless dead possess, however, is hidden in
cabal of necromancers has come here to the mines to harvest the the miners’ living quarters. The referee knows not to put everything
supply of unburied dead. Some of the old bones have animated on of importance behind something fangy and dangerous, or else the
their own, driven by the restless spirits of miners slain and left with- players won’t have a chance to be rewarded for avoiding unnecessary
out proper burial. The dead naturally don’t need to worry about the combat.
geomantic poisons, and the necromancers use alchemical extracts
to resist the toxins. Just as a tie-in to Hulun Bir, the referee decides As a final touch, the referee takes a moment to sketch in a few
that the necromancers get their herbs and ingredients from Zafira natural hazards on the mine map, perhaps marking a patch of loose
bint-Tamir back in town, who might know more than she ought to rocks or bad air or a spongy slide of dirt concealing a half-dozen
about their activities in the mines. The referee makes a note to make skeletal miners. He takes care not to put any of these where the
sure some sort of note or invoice is present at the mines to reveal necromancers would have to navigate them on a daily basis.
the connection- a tie that the PCs have no chance of discovering
isn’t terribly useful. As it is, the mines are done now- all except for a name to help
organize them in his folder. A brief musing leads him to dub it “The
Having gotten a general idea of the ruin’s occupants, the referee Scar of Red Water”, after the ruddy tint that the geomantic poison
takes a blank sheet of paper and sketches out the mine’s surface. leaves on the local water. If he intended the ruin for near-term use
Circles and squiggles mark out the pit scrapings and tailing piles, he’d want to decide on how to make sure the players become aware
and the entrance to the mine proper. A few sketched boxes show the of it, but for now he is content to simply slide it into his files. The
foundations of the old mine smelter, and the stone structure might next time he needs a ruin in the middle of nowhere, he can pull it
still be partially roofed. It’s possible that the referee will put some out with minimal fuss and be sure of a session’s worth of entertain-
monsters in there later to give a hint about what’s down below, but ment from it.

135
 seCReTs of The
misTs
This chapter is intended to cover a few of the secret truths and lost Gods are rarely a difficulty for the Tide. The consumption of a world
verities that a Labyrinth Lord is likely to need before running a is often so quickly accomplished that the gods have no time to sort
campaign in the world of the Red Tide. Players may want to avert out their squabbles and disputes and unite as a whole against the
their eyes from this section, but none of the information in this invader. Even when deities do manage to put aside their disputes
chapter will really spoil them. As always, Labyrinth Lords should and strike back against the Tide, the very impersonal, formless
feel free to remix or alter the facts revealed in this chapter to suit nature of the assault makes it difficult to stop. The gods may as well
their own taste. decree an end to light, or gravity, or age as try to take apart the laws
that empower the Red Tide. Once the mist has a solid foothold on a
The Nature of the Red Tide world, it also creates a further shell of metaphysical resistance which
There are predators at every point on the scale of creation. Insects makes contact with human worshippers even more difficult. The
are preyed upon by larger insects, and beasts are eaten by larger transcendent thrones of the gods are blocked from their creation
beasts. Everything has something that exists to prey upon it, and until the mist finally passes, only to leave nothing left but a world
worlds are no exception to this rule. The Red Tide is a predator of scoured clean of every thinking creature.
realities.
Once the Tide has become anchored in a world, it builds most
It is not a sentient, self-aware thing, at least not as humans would thickly on areas of heavy human habitation. Even after the inhabit-
understand it. If the Tide could be said to have wants, they would be ants have been digested by the Tide and reduced to puppets of their
wants for consumption, absorption, and destruction of all sentient own terrors, the residue of human lives creates a more elaborate
life on the face of a world. It is a cancerous dream, a metastasizing structure for the Tide to inhabit, like a crab in a nautilus shell.
physical law as inexorable as gravity with a grudge. It is incredibly Populous nations produce Dream Lords in parody of their rulers,
subtle, complex, and responsive, but it does not think the way that and serried ranks of monsters serving as officials and vassals. These
human beings think. Tidespawn rarely have active purposes. Most often, they simply
exist, a shadow and echo of the people that once dwelled in that
It is impossible to be certain just how the Red Tide evolved, whether land.
it was some ineffably vast magical ritual that went awry and gained
an awful purpose, or if it was simply the consequence of some Rarely, the inhabitants of a world are somehow able to check the
brute conjunction of circumstances and physical law. Whatever its Tide, to hold it back from its steady and remorseless expansion. If
origins, it has eaten many, many worlds before it came to this one. the steady march of the mist walls does not suffice to devour a world,
It bleeds through the thin points between worlds, entering through the Tide begins to cast out feelers into the protected areas, sneaking
the weakest points in the barriers between realities. In the case of the faint, almost imperceptible tendrils of influence into the heads of
Tide, this is most often somewhere deep within the seas, without the inhabitants. Most creatures don’t even notice the Tide’s emana-
the walls of mundane human existence to thicken the barrier. tions, but a few weak-willed or mystically sensitive souls experience
the contact as a series of vivid dreams in which the performance of
The Tide’s usual mode of operation is simple. It bleeds through a some simple, trifling rite is rewarded with luck and good fortune.
planar nexus into a world and expands, the red mist seizing on the
innermost dreads and horrors of those trapped within and then Most creatures realize the danger of listening to such sendings, but
echoing them back in the form of demons. The inhabitants of the there are always a few desperate or foolish enough to do as the vi-
world generate their own means of destruction. Their dreams, their sions ask. The “harmless” ritual actually opens wider the channel of
fears, their yearnings all react with the Tide to catalyze unspeak- influence that the Tide has upon them. The Tide is able to influ-
able horrors. Animals and plants lack the sophistication necessary ence their emotional state, making them feel fortunate, optimistic,
to trigger this generation of horrors, and thinking creatures that powerful, and successful. Things start to go well with them, as even
are not alive are somehow indigestible to the Tide. Constructs and disastrous personal reverses start to feel like auspicious beginnings.
undead are usually completely ignored by Tidespawn unless they do The more elaborate the rites that these subjects perform, the wider
something to interfere with the expansion of the mist. the hole they make for the Tide to reach them.

136
Eventually, a dedicated worshipper can create such a powerful
channel that the Tide begins to bestow tangible blessings upon him.
Minor magical powers, valuables, and sustenance begin to appear
as rewards for his service. Because the Tide is so deeply influenced
by the mind that perceives it, these rewards are always precisely
what the worshipper desires, always those gifts that they want most
dearly. Few are ever able to recover from this stage as the Tide begins
to give them all they ever really wanted to have.

As the influence progresses, the power of the Tide begins to warp

the worshipper. The changes are mental at first, as the devotee starts
to see things that aren’t there and experience vivid, pleasing delu-
sions. Their magical powers may increase, but the true rewards of
the Tide are most often hallucinatory in nature. After the subject’s
mind has been completely enthralled to the Tide, the physical
changes begin as their body is shaped to more perfectly amplify the
Tide’s influence through them. Elevated priests of a Tide cult are
rarely recognizable as human beings, either physically or mentally. The Role of the Tide
For a Labyrinth Lord, the Tide is intended to serve as a constant
Eventually, of course, the worshipper either dies under the strain background threat. It’s not something that needs to crop up in every
of the transformation or experiences the utter horror of clarity as adventure or an element that every session needs to acknowledge,
the Tide no longer requires them in order to reach their corner but it’s a constant red shadow in the background coloring every
of the earth. Bereft of the direct control of the Tide, they can fi- possible future for the inhabitants of the Isles. It’s the world-eating
nally understand the monster that they have become, and yet they abomination that might eventually force the warring peoples of the
remain helpless to resist the mindless purposes of the Tide. Many Isles to work together for mutual survival, or it might be the agent
are rendered down into physical portals for the entry of Tidespawn that tolls the death knell for all sentient life on this world.
into their protected enclaves, and others simply become one more
implement for the expansion of the Tide into their homelands. The Tide also serves as a long-term enemy in the campaign. It’s very
likely that a group of powerful PC heroes is going to take an interest
Tide cults invariably seek to grow in numbers, as each additional in striking back against the Tide, and they may well seek to salvage
devotee is one more path into the protected lands. Until the Tide lore and precious relics left behind in the human lands when the
can directly push through the barrier that guards them, their living exiles were forced to flee for the Isles. When a group of PCs grow
bodies serve as channels for the Tide’s power. Once their services too powerful for the Isles to hold them, the Tide presents a red land
are no longer necessary, they can expect to be transformed and fed big and fearsome enough to keep them occupied.
upon like all the rest.
For Labyrinth Lords who prefer a note of Lovecraftian horror in
Once the Tide has completely overcome the inhabitants of a world, their campaigns, the Tide also serves as the alien, implacable out-
there is a slow period of digestion and absorption as the last agonized side force that is constant pressure on the portals of human sanity.
fragments of the former inhabitants’ minds are degraded down to The Tide is not something with intentions and desires as humans
their component flickers of ego-identity. This meal serves to give the understand them, but a being more on the order of a natural law.
Tide the energy it needs to probe its way through another planar Struggling against the Tide should have much the same flavor as
weak point, while simultaneously eroding the barriers between fighting some Great Old One, a being that can and will erase an
worlds as no more sentient life exists to harden the planar walls. unwary human in pursuit of purposes that only incidentally involve
Eventually, the last tormented puppet collapses and the last Dream the destruction of all life on the planet.
Lord loses coherency in his empty palace, and it is time for the Tide
to move on to the next world. For those who prefer more of a pulp feel to their cosmic horrors,
Tide cultists are useful as gnawing fifth-columnists in human
For many ages, this has been a process without flaw or difficulty. society, maddened devotees who practice hideous rites in hidden
But the world before this one gave the tide an unexpected setback, places and who are richly deserving of all the righteous steel that
and now this world fights back with a vigor and effectiveness that the PCs bring against them. Depending on the degree to which
the Tide has never before experienced. The rest of the world’s intel- you emphasize the power of the Tide’s blandishments, you can
ligent life is being steadily digested, but the intelligent holdouts in change the tenor of these encounters from the two-fisted punish-
the Sunset Isles are maintaining the strength of the barrier between ment of willful, slavering traitors to humanity to the awful culling
worlds. If the Tide cannot break down their defenses and consume of wretched, deluded half-innocents who never really understood
them soon, it may find itself too weak to break through the planar what they were getting into.
walls in pursuit of new prey. It needs to infest and erase the Sunset
Isles if it is to have the energy and the environment necessary to Whatever use you make of the Tide, you should be careful to take
reach fresh prey. your cues from the players. When using cosmic horrors on the scale
of the Tide, it’s all too easy to transform a campaign into a steady
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sequence of desperate struggles and vital clashes, to the point where inroads of the Tide and scattered its otherworldly energies. The
a PC group can hardly do anything else without being haunted with Tidespawn were sluggish and confused before Shou blades, and
worry over what they’re leaving undone. While this can be a fun sort their magic could not take a firm hold on these new Shou. Tide
of campaign to have, it can trample on some of the freedom that cults could not form, Tidespawn could not be made of them, and
makes many players want to play a sandbox game in the first place. even the noncombatants among them could do terrible injury to a
If your players don’t want the campaign to be about the constant Tidespawn with their bare hands. They were a perfect warrior race
struggle against the Tide, you should take care that you don’t force against the Tide.
the point with them.
Unfortunately, they came too late. There just wasn’t enough time
The Shou left, and there were only a few tens of thousands of new Shou bred
In truth, neither the Shou nor the Sunset Isles are native to this by the time the containment zones finally fell. It appeared as if all
world. Both they and their entire archipelago are fragments re- the labor and devotion of the Shou would be for naught, and their
maining from the last world consumed by the Tide, cast forth to a world would be just one more victim to the alien hunger of the
temporary refuge in this world by the sacrifice of their god. Tide.

Long, long ago, before the humans of this world had built great It was in that dark hour that Shakun called his hierarchs to him and
nations, when lizardfolk princes ruled cities of sun-warmed black commanded that most of the new Shou be brought together on a
stone, the Red Tide was occupied in consuming the native world of large island archipelago that stood as one of the last redoubts of
the Shou. Their world was an old one, and over long millennia the their race. While the remaining Shou stood behind in a courageous
struggles of the gods had played out until only one deity remained- last stand to buy their brethren time, the last of them congregated
Shakun, Lord of the Pillars of the Sky. The Shou worshipped him in the Isles, each unit coming ashore at the first scrap of land they
and him alone, and so when the Red Tide first crashed in on their could reach.
reality, Shakun had both the strength and the focus to fight back
immediately. The last lines of defense were crumbling when Shakun made his
final divine act. He sacrificed his celestial essence, burning away
Aided by a world’s worth of believers, Shakun and the Shou slowed all that was left of his divinity in order to hurl the entire island
the march of the Tide, containing it within limited zones of infec- archipelago to safety on a different world, one free of the scourge of
tion. The manipulations of reality necessary to contain this cancer- the Tide. The titanic magical forces unleashed in the act left charred
ous set of physical laws started to degrade the rest of the world, streaks of his godhood embedded in the very rocks of the Isles, the
however, like fabric left frayed and tearing from too much strain on godbone that Shou still revere as the tangible flesh of their fallen
the threads. Shou arcanists and fleshmolders worked in conjunc- deity.
tion with the priestesses of Shakun to develop warriors capable of
banishing the Tide once and for all. If only the Tidespawn could be The primitive humans of the new world were in no position to
exterminated, they reasoned, the Tide would “starve” from lack of realize that their local geography had just drastically changed,
sustenance. The Tidespawn were the mouths that fed the Tide on and the lizardfolk lords of the planet were already deep into their
terror, pain, and fear, and their euthanization would deprive the final decline. The Shou had a free hand in the Isles, but they were
mist of what it needed to exist. crippled by their own nature. They had been bred and taught
to fight, and very little else. There had been no time to “waste”
It took centuries to perfect the new bloodlines, centuries in which new Shou warriors in more pacific pursuits, or teach them more
the Shou were slowly but inexorably pushed back. Too many war- than they needed to know in order to fight the Tide. They were
riors were taken by the Tide, too many cults sprang up outside the surrounded by the ruined cities of their people and the detritus of
containment zones. Time was running out. an advanced civilization, but they lacked the tools to make use of
it. A few “civilian” Shou had been carried along with the divine
But the fleshmolders succeeded in the end. The new breed of Shou translocation, but most of the non-combatant inhabitants had been
was perfect. The powerful orcs were fecund and ferocious, able to long since evacuated. The Shou were alone on their new world with
endure hardship fearlessly and readily accept orders from their of- nothing but their swords.
ficers. Bugbears were harder to breed, but their stealth and massive
thews could strike to destroy Tidespawn leaders and cast the hordes The collapse was inevitable. Without the Tide to fight, without a
into confusion before the legions of the orcs. Goblins were scouts god to lead them, without more than the barest understanding of
and skirmishers, able to go in after Tidespawn no matter where how to support themselves, the Shou rapidly devolved into savage
they hid and provide archery support for the orcish legions. The tribal barbarism. Their glorious past and heroic purpose were both
hobgoblins came last- perfected officers for their Shou brethren, subordinated to the simple need to find something to eat. They
imbued from birth with an instinctive knowledge of how to lead could not leave; the seas around the Isles were infested with the ter-
and how to fight. rible lizard-fish of the age of lizardfolk princes. They were trapped
on the Isles, even if they had possessed the skills necessary to make
Yet these martial virtues meant little in comparison with the subtle ships capable of crossing the Western Sea.
blessings and potent virtues woven into the flesh of the new Shou
race. These thaumic nodes and sculpted soul-channels baffled the Over time, the Shou culture adapted to their environment. They
became skilled hunters and gatherers, and even learned something
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of agriculture from the few lizardfolk or early humans to make their course, but the Sunset Isles inarguably belonged to the Shou and
way to the Isles. Always they fought, always they struggled to prove there was no question that a lot of Shou were going to have to die if
their worthiness and their readiness for Shakun’s eventual return. humanity meant to survive. Just because the humans had no choice
Some day he would come back, and lead them forth to conquer the in the matter doesn’t mean that their arrival and invasion need to
world and drive away all evil with their spears and sorcery. be treated as morally innocent actions. Some players will enjoy
feeling out the ramifications of that, and of dealing with the bal-
The Isles had known small and indifferent colonization attempts ance between Shou possession of their ancestral lands and human
before, but the arrival of the exiles was a thunderbolt to Shou cul- subsistence in the face of growing population pressure.
ture. They had never before faced such a tide of desperate humans
with advanced military organization and powerful sorcerers. They It’s likely that many players will have some interest in the idea of
were hurled back in confusion and even now the tribes are not com- building diplomatic relations with Shou tribes, especially if they ever
pletely certain how to drive off the hated invaders. Some say that come to understand the effectiveness of the Shou as warriors against
the humans were the ones who brought the red doom with them, the Tide. If the players exhibit a genuine interest in accomplishing
the evil that so infuriates the Shou and fills them with inexplicable this, you shouldn’t shut it down out of hand. For some players, the
rage and loathing. idea of finally brokering a peace between Shou and humankind can
be a real driving goal in a campaign, and goals like that should never
A few tribes, however, are beginning to wonder. To voice their be dismissed in a sandbox setting. You can make it hard to start, and
thoughts would ensure their destruction at the hands of their en- you can make it difficult to progress, but you should let the players
raged neighbors, of course, but some chieftains and witch-priestesses at least have the chance of success if that’s what they want to do with
are starting to wonder if the humans are perhaps not responsible for their campaign.
the red doom. If perhaps they could be allies against it, or tools to
prove once and for all their tribe’s right to be counted the greatest Shou player characters are also likely sooner or later, either as full-
before their god. None of this can be admitted, of course, and it blooded Shou or as half-Shou. The Azure Ministry detailed later
is only whispered talk among the most temperate and thoughtful in this section provides one way of justifying half-Shou PCs, or
of the Shou. But still, there are whispers, and thoughts grow large such folk might be vagabonds and wanderers trying to make their
beneath deep forest boughs. way in a world that fears and mistrusts them. Even full-blooded
Shou might pass for a half-blood if they avoid the markings of their
Using the Shou in Your Game tribe. A player who wants to play a Shou PC is likely interested in
On one level, the Shou provide that vital staple of old-school adven- exploring the tension of being an adventurous protector of human-
turing; humanoids that can be fought with few moral qualms. The ity while enduring the scorn in which his wards hold him. You
Shou are brutal, violent, savage in their pillaging and vigorous in should give the player the chance to sample that, but take care that
their atrocities against humanity. They almost never negotiate with you don’t make the game unplayable for the PC, or leave them cut
humans and they rejoice in slavery and cannibalistic consumption off from too many activities. It’s enough for locals to sneer at the
of the PC races. If you want to run them as classic fantasy orcs, you half-Shou and mutter curses behind his back. It’s not necessary to
have all the tools and justification you need for doing so. leave them standing outside every time the PCs want to have a civil
conversation with someone.
With some groups, this is exactly the angle you’ll want to use.
Applying a deeper, more nuanced take to the Shou might be aes- The Gods Above, the Hells Below
thetically appealing from an artistic standpoint, but if your group Both gods and Hell Kings are largely incapable of directly combating
simply wants to have morally acceptable targets, they’re not going to the Tide. To reach down into creation and banish it would require
thank you for making them choose what to do with a little six-year unraveling the essential fabric of reality, like cutting out a tumor by
old Shou girl with big teary eyes after they’ve stabbed her father to carving away the person around it. Not only are the gods unable
death. to directly combat the Tide, but the red mist weakens the bonds
between the deities and their worshippers, making it very difficult
If you really want to play up the humanity of the Shou while giving to communicate with the faithful or manifest miracles for them.
players old-fashioned acceptable targets, you’ll need to make allow-
ances for these situations and give the players some morally accept- Both gods and Hell Kings have ample reason to hate and fear the
able options for what to do with noncombatant Shou and those Tide. If unchecked, it will consume both the worshippers of the
who surrender. Perhaps there are tribes that retain truces with the gods and the natural prey of the Hell Kings, leaving them bereft of
humans, and prisoners can be handed over to them. It could be that fresh souls for their paradises or personal damnations. Eventually,
other Shou tribes take in the noncombatants of destroyed bands as they may be left to rule over an empty domain and shrivel away to
new members. Whatever you choose, you need to give the players mere names and withered memories.
options that don’t leave them feeling like every ruin expedition is an
occasion for them to star in their own psycho slasher movie. Gods in a Red Tide campaign are not intended to play a major
role in the events that play out in the Sunset Isles. They have their
Some players will prefer a grittier, more morally ambiguous feel servitors and their temples and their cults, but if the world is to be
for their gaming. The humans are, after all, invaders in the Sunset saved, it must be saved by its mortal inhabitants. Gods are distant,
Isles. They were facing certain destruction if they stayed behind, of vast-minded beings with wills that are difficult for mere created

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beings to understand, and even such exalted servitors as the celestial
devils and holy tulpas do not completely comprehend the goals of
their masters. Doctrinal disputes and vowed prophecies must be
worked out by humans. There is no convenient voice from on high
to resolve such uncertainty.

This is not to say that you should never insert a miracle into your
game, or that clerics should be allowed to do whatever they like
without repercussions on their divine powers. It’s intended as a
caution to avoid letting the vast, otherworldly menace of the Tide
be neatly answered by the vast, otherworldly aid of the gods. Gods
have their uses, but in a sandbox campaign, the locus of action and
choice should ultimately be in the hands of the players rather than
the will of the heavens.

The Azure Ministry

The flyspeck island of Qincheng juts near the coast of eastern
Ektau, no more than five miles square and shunned by pirates and
merchants alike. Its forested hills are home to the dread House of
Unnumbered Tears, where the venerable Azure Ministry conducts
hideous experiments upon captured Shou and criminal half-breeds.
The yellow-sailed ships that carry the hooded condemned are
counted as signs of ill omen, and captains steer wide of their dark
wakes.

According to the chroniclers, the House was established not long

after Xian itself as a prison for Shou awaiting “questioning” by
adept Xianese torturers. Even today, half-breed Shou and prisoners
of war are hooded and dispatched there aboard yellow-sailed ships been executed after being drained of every detail of her treachery.
to answer the questions of the interrogators. It is said that none ever Later, her very existence was blotted from the chronicles lest the
return. name of great Lammach be tainted by detestable association.

In truth, the nature of the House is somewhat different, and its In truth, the new Mandarin knew his father had loved Ilahti dearly,
origins are long buried in shame and disgust. When the Archmage and that she had done no treachery. Qincheng was to be her refuge
Lammach first led his people ashore, it was thought that the Shou rather than her prison. He could not protect her from his enraged
would see reason after their first few crushing defeats. Once they people in Xian, but on Qincheng she and his half-siblings could
were broken upon the steel of the refugee legions, they could be have something of a life. The House of Unnumbered Tears was
assimilated as a respected subject people, much as the Kueh were raised there to shelter her family, and the Azure Ministry was set
so long ago. As a token of this anticipation, Lammach himself took in place to guard them. The Mandarin let it be known that the
a captured Shou priestess among his diplomatically-chosen wives. Ministry was in charge of dire torments, but the handpicked war-
Her name was Ilahti. dens knew their true duties. In time, some of them even wed the
half-blooded sons and daughters of Ilahti after such long familiarity
The truth of the Shou became clear in time. They would not bow on the small island.
to the human invaders, and they would not cease their war. The
initial enmity of the refugees hardened into burning hatred, and It was not twenty years later that the role of the Ministry changed.
Lammach was pressed to be rid of his Shou bride. Yet by this time Ilahti had taught the ways of Shou witchcraft to her daughters, shar-
the archmage and the priestess had come to a strange sort of under- ing the knowledge with them even if their own children would be
standing- to real love despite the circumstances. Lammach refused too thin-blooded to be initiated into the secret ways. But it was not
to be rid of Ilahti. She was with him until the night of his death, until one of the young priestesses first discovered and then ruthlessly
and she avenged his murder on his Shou assassins with her burning crushed a Tide Cult initiated by one of the newest Ministry wardens
sorceries. that Ilahti realized what potential her family had. They could still
serve the Isles as warriors against the Tide, even if Shou and human
Lammach’s heir knew that Ilahti would be blamed in the matter, alike scorned them.
accused of treacherously conspiring with her brethren and killed- or
worse. He immediately declared that she would be “questioned” The Azure Ministry was in no position to protest. The shame of
with full vigor and that she and her half-blooded children would be being infiltrated by the Tide was too fresh, and they agreed to help
seen in Xian no more. The island of Qincheng was appointed for Ilahti in her purpose. Their grizzled drillmasters taught Ilahti’s chil-
their prison, and the populace assumed first that Ilahti must have dren well, and brought in carefully-chosen half-blood Shou from

140
elsewhere in the Isles to round out the tiny corps of agents. For all truth about Qincheng Island and the Azure Ministry. The Ministry
the bitterness that many half-breeds felt against the humans of the rescues its agents when it can, but its people are expected to protect
Isles, it was an opportunity to have a place, a home where they were their families with the silence of death, if need be.
important and did noble and honored work. Even if the outside
world could never know the truth of the Azure Ministry, they had Currently, the Ministry is hard-pressed by the rise in Tide Cults,
family and loved ones on Qincheng whom they could protect with and many agents are scrambling to contain the threat. If the humans
their strength and valor. of the Isles ever come to realize just how common Tide Cults are
in their communities, whole cities might end up convulsed in
The Azure Ministry started slowly, carefully infiltrating half- mindless witch-hunts. The situation is so bleak that some agents
blooded agents into the market towns and backwoods villages of the are even starting to hire adventurers and sellswords to aid in their
Mandarinate. Scorned and ignored by “decent” people, the agents work, using them to investigate suspicious regions or “accidentally”
were able to pick up on dozens of Tide Cults that had successfully stumble across cells in need of purging.
avoided the attention of human inquisitors. Their natural Shou gifts
against the Tide made the least of them a fearsome enemy against Within the Azure Ministry, the half-blooded Shou remain grimly
the cults and their Tidespawn allies, and there were many early dedicated to their work. Even those who care little for the humans
successes. who scorn them recognize that the Tide will not spare them or their
families. Some of the agents who were recruited from beyond Qin-
There were also failures; almost a dozen of that first generation of cheng have shown distinct disinterest in the number of collateral
agents were eventually caught and executed for the “senseless mur- losses inflicted in expunging a Tide Cult, while others nurse dreams
ders” of “innocent human families”. The Ministry could not afford of someday letting the humans realize just who- and what- has
to let their association with Shou be known, or to let the common been protecting them for the past three hundred years. For now,
people of the Isles realize just how pervasive and deep-rooted the the leadership of the Azure Ministry is holding fast in its silence.
Tide Cults were in their own towns and villages. To this day, most The rising Tide may not permit them their secrets for much longer.
young agents are bound with marrow-deep sorcery not to reveal the

141
 gAme ResouRCes

The following tables include a number of resources for the con- Some referees may find it useful to download the free PDF for the
venience of the Labyrinth Lord, including naming tables for all sci-fi RPG Stars Without Number from Sine Nomine Publishing to
the major ethnicities and demihuman races in the Isles, business get some additional name tables and referee resources. Many of the
listings for cities, towns, and villages, quick NPC creation tables, offerings provided in that book can also be used in a fantasy setting.
several pages of unkeyed maps, and a sample diagram dungeon to
demonstrate the use of the included sheet.

Quick Cult Creation

Need a congregation of blasphemous believers in a hurry? Just roll
1D8 AN AGENT AMONG THE PUBLIC
on one or more of the following tables to give yourself some sacri-
legious fundamentals. Not all of these cults may be strictly illegal in 1 Crazed but carefully attentive local beggar
the more tolerant lands, but all tend to be highly malevolent. 2 Sinister and reclusive magic-user
3 Madame of a brothel reserved for the elite
1D12 OBJECT OF WORSHIP 4 Local business leader
1 A twisted version of the Maker 5 Mole placed within another temple’s hierarchy
2 The Red Tide 6 Local tong Grandfather
3 One of the Hell Kings 7 Seemingly benevolent local philanthropist
4 A negative aspect of one of the Nine Immortals 8 Local noble or magistrate
5 A wizard seeking divinity through worship
6 A maddened clerical prophet of future doom 1D12 TRAITS AND RITES
7 An ancient, magical prehuman relic 1 All go hooded or masked in the shrine
8 A half-feral God Beast, shard of a forgotten divinity 2 Human sacrifice is required on days of high ritual
9 A coldly manipulative human with no special gifts 3 All devotees have a special tattoo or brand
10 A hungry shard of the dwarven Mother Below 4 The devotees have a special language
11 A power-mad elf aspiring to become an Apotheon 5 Only the inner circle knows the true god of the cult
12 A natural beast that scarcely recognizes their worship 6 Only one race or ethnicity is allowed to join the cult
7 The cult conducts terrible feasts of unholy viands
1D6 SOURCE OF INFLUENCE 8 The cult reads omens in the chaos their acts cause
1 Wealthy supporters 9 The devotees become more- or less- than human
2 Magical powers of the leadership 10 The cult has animate servitors of bone or stone
3 Secret popular support 11 The cultists are forbidden some common act
4 Membership among the nobility 12 The cult has an obsession with a color or symbol
5 Brutal cult enforcers
6 Traditional fear and obedience from others
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 1D100 MALE FEMALE CLAN NAME 1D100 PLACE ADJECTIVE 1D100 PLACE NOUN
1-4 Aleksandr Aglaya Bellowgust 1-4 Black 1-4 Axe
5-8 Arkadi Agnessa Blackshaft 5-8 Brass 5-8 Barrow
9-12 Bogatir Anastasiya Boundstone 9-12 Bright 9-12 Brand
13-16 Boris Anja Brassfist 13-16 Bronze 13-16 Cleft
17-20 Dimitry Borbala Breakblade 17-20 Copper 17-20 Crest
21-24 Feodor Esfir Bronzewrought 21-24 Deep 21-24 Crown
25-28 Fyodor Irina Chimerock 25-28 Earthen 25-28 Delve
29-32 Gennadi Isidora Claywheel 29-32 Far 29-32 Door
33-36 Gorya Karina Copperhew 33-36 Gold 33-36 Faith
37-40 Ilarion Katja Deepcart 37-40 Gray 37-40 Hall
41-44 Ilya Kira Deepcleft 41-44 Great 41-44 Hammer
45-48 Ivan Nadezda Godbreaker 45-48 Heavy 45-48 Hearth
49-52 Kazimir Nastasia Greathammer 49-52 Held 49-52 Hill
53-56 Kiril Natasha Grindstone 53-56 Hewn 53-56 Mine
57-60 Koldan Oksana Heavypick 57-60 High 57-60 Mountain
61-64 Leonid Olga Hewnspire 61-64 Iron 61-64 Pact
65-68 Nikita Raisa Highdoor 65-68 Long 65-68 Peak
69-72 Pyotr Sonya Ironbender 69-72 Nickel 69-72 Pick
73-76 Semyon Svetlana Longburrow 73-76 Old 73-76 Pit
77-80 Timur Tatyana Nickelpate 77-80 Red 77-80 Shield
81-84 Vasily Valeriya Orefinder 81-84 Silver 81-84 Stone
85-88 Yakov Varinka Silverlode 85-88 Steel 85-88 Sword
89-92 Yevgeny Yelena Tallhelm 89-92 Tall 89-92 Throne
93-96 Yosif Yulia Tinspike 93-96 Tin 93-96 Tunnel
97-100 Yuri Zoya Undercord 97-100 True 97-100 Vow

Dwarven Names Dwarven Clothing

Dwarves distinguish between use-names and blood-names, the Dwarven clothing is fashioned for hard wear in the mines and
former being the form used in common conversation and records, forges of their people. Most delves make do with tunics, gloves, and
while the latter is the ritual form used in funerary rites and occa- trews fashioned of thick leather bought from surface traders. The
sions of high ceremony. richest and most important dwarves wear clothing woven of gold-
shot silver fashioned into cloth-fine sheets of woven wire. Dwarven
Most dwarven use-names are formed of a personal name followed cloth-of-gold actually is gold, yet soft to the touch as Tien Lungan
by a clan name, the latter usually rendered in the Imperial language silk.
to outsiders. Those dwellers below who are forced to leave their
kindred sometimes abandon their clan name entirely, replacing it Male dwarves favor elaborate geometric daubings of phosphores-
with an epithet fitting their deeds. cent clays or glowing, colored stitchwork in order to stand out in
the darkness of a mine beyond the range of dwarven infravision.
Blood-names include a list of the dwarf ’s same-sex ancestors back Females favor much the same sort of tunic and trews, often with
as many generations as family records allow. Most dwarves can go finely-tooled aprons for those who work as crafters. Dwarves do not
back forty generations without difficulty, and the lists of “son of...” wear dresses or robes, finding such things to be impractical, unsafe
or “daughter of...” are monotonous to outsiders. Still, blood-names human frippery.
are vitally important to dwarves, as they give the bearer knowledge
of which spirits to seek out in the afterlife for protection and succor. Dwarven Cuisine
A dwarf without a blood-name has no idea where safety is to be Most delves are close enough to the surface to conduct some agri-
found in the afterlife, and must rely on the charity of the elder dead culture and animal husbandry. Those burrowing deep raise docile,
for aid. sheep-sized meatbeetles and fungus farms that provide feedstock
for beer and bread alike. While such foods are traditional dwarven
Place names are commonly transliterated into Imperial, with one staples, all but the most hidebound dwarves greatly prefer surface
part adjective and the other noun- “Redshield”, “Truebarrow”, etc. food and grain-brewed beer when they can get it.
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 1D100 MALE FEMALE SURNAME 1D100 PLACE NAME 1D100 PLACE NAME
1-4 Adalbrecht Adabel Adler 1-2 Aescesdun 51-52 Hamtun
5-8 Adalric Adala Altmann 3-4 Aethelinga 53-54 Haslau
9-12 Amalric Athala Bergmann 5-6 Basingas 55-56 Hertford
13-16 Ariaric Bertine Brandt 7-8 Bedaford 57-58 Hinxwal
17-20 Beremud Brunhild Diederich 9-10 Butlinge 59-60 Hoflas
21-24 Beringar Clotilda Eberhardt 11-12 Caegines 61-62 Hreopedun
25-28 Donar Dagma Frey 13-14 Ceodre 63-64 Hythe
29-32 Eberhard Elfrida Gottlieb 15-16 Cippen 65-66 Kelheim
33-36 Egon Ermintrude Himmelreich 17-18 Cirencaster 67-68 Kolm
37-40 Fritigern Ferika Knecht 19-20 Cruland 69-70 Lindisse
41-44 Gothard Fleta Kruger 21-22 Culmbach 71-72 Lintich
45-48 Hadabern Greta Lang 23-24 Darghun 73-74 Lundenwick
49-52 Heilgar Haldisa Maurer 25-26 Defenas 75-76 Meredune
53-56 Hilderic Henka Neustadt 27-28 Dirscham 77-78 Mulessen
57-60 Hilt Hildegard Osterhagen 29-30 Egerlandt 79-80 Nornberg
61-64 Hlodovic Irmenhild Reiniger 31-32 Elbogen 81-82 Oberlosa
65-68 Hrolf Isold Ritter 33-34 Englafeld 83-84 Rehaw
69-72 Ivo Kirsa Schmidt 35-36 Eoforwic 85-86 Rosenow
73-76 Reginhard Malasintha Strauss 37-38 Ethandun 87-88 Rugi
77-80 Safrac Marelde Traugott 39-40 Exancaster 89-90 Tanna
81-84 Sigmar Methtilde Unger 41-42 Freiberg 91-92 Thirsheim
85-88 Tancred Rohesia Vogel 43-44 Gautar 93-94 Wedmor
89-92 Thiudoreik Thora Volkerode 45-46 Gota 95-96 Wildenfels
93-96 Thuruar Vigdis Waechter 47-48 Grambow 97-98 Witancaster
97-100 Wigo Walburga Wulf 49-50 Greutungi 99-100 Zellenrode

Eirengard Names Eirengard Clothing

Eirengarders have both a personal name and a familial surname, Eirengarders prefer tunics and trews, practical clothing that grants
with the firstborn taking the father’s surname, the second taking some concession to fashion by the bright colors and fine stitching
the mother’s, and children alternating thereafter. The harsh life of they favor. Makerite clergy tend to wear dull or dark colors as a sign
a pikeman encourages the spreading of familial names as widely as of their distance from the pleasures of the world, but the ceremonial
possible, as many bold youths may not last to carry on the family raiment of their high rituals is brilliantly elaborate in its white silk
name. Eirengarder women do not take their husband’s surname on and golden needlework.
marriage, but retain their own. If their husband dies before children
are born, some wives will take a surname as a memorial. Eirengard Cuisine
Fish and rice are eaten in Hohnberg, just as elsewhere in the Isles,
Eirengarders who belong to the clergy of the Maker often abandon but the Eirengarder fishermen have a more difficult time with
their surnames, simply using the titles “Brother”, “Father”, “Sister”, their catches in the tempestuous waters of the central archipelago.
or “Mother” depending on their rank within their church. Excep- In consequence, more use is made of livestock and upland wheat.
tional piety and wisdom have their own credit within Makerite Sausages, beer, bread puddings, pasta, and other sturdy staples are
churches, and humble old “Sister Magrethe” might actually be the commonly found on Eirengarder tables.
temple’s chief leader if she has the wisdom and influence required.

144
 1D100 MALE FEMALE CREED NAME 1D100 PLACE ADJECTIVE 1D100 PLACE NOUN
1-4 Chakkal Aimati Amber Sky 1-4 Beloved 1-4 Birth
5-8 Chamant Barahti Bitter Moon 5-8 Bloody 5-8 Building
9-12 Chohelek Binnah Bright Name 9-12 Despised 9-12 Coming
13-16 Chontak Calai Broken Stone 13-16 Devout 13-16 Death
17-20 Daktan Chael Clean Book 17-20 Faithful 17-20 Defilement
21-24 Gendai Chalani Empty Hand 21-24 False 21-24 Eating
25-28 Getak Dalah Five Names 25-28 Fervent 25-28 Embrace
29-32 Hechkai Eshana Golden Crane 29-32 Final 29-32 Enlightenment
33-36 Jeddak Ganna Great Wall 33-36 First 33-36 Forgetting
37-40 Kishgadan Halai Great Winds 37-40 Foolish 37-40 Hate
41-44 Kom Heshkentai Noble Light 41-44 Gentle 41-44 Joining
45-48 Lachdan Indesha Other Hand 45-48 Ignoble 45-48 Laughter
49-52 Maganak Jemai Proven Road 49-52 Impure 49-52 Learning
53-56 Mahach Jhael Red Way 53-56 Joyous 53-56 Leaving
57-60 Mhek Kalmi Righteous Fire 57-60 Last 57-60 Rage
61-64 Nomelach Kesanta Sea Blue 61-64 Mistaken 61-64 Rebuke
65-68 Rendak Kishani Seven Ways Out 65-68 Pitiless 65-68 Refusing
69-72 Ruel Komai Shade In Summer 69-72 Prideful 69-72 Remembrance
73-76 Shekkad Lachada Still Water 73-76 Refuted 73-76 Slaying
77-80 Shindai Liana Tenfold Faith 77-80 Schismatic 77-80 Stand
81-84 Shom Mora That Within 81-84 Second 81-84 Sundering
85-88 Shudun Nindai That Without 85-88 Sorrowful 85-88 Teaching
89-92 Tlachtul Renda Unfettered 89-92 Treacherous 89-92 Tears
93-96 Ulrach Shilmati Upright Word 93-96 True 93-96 Wait
97-100 Veddak Sillai Without Number 97-100 Wise 97-100 Wedding

Elven Names Elven Clothing

Elves are raddled with names, their own and the ones carried by Elves tend to wear whatever the situation recommends, whether
their prior incarnations. Each elf commonly identifies him or herself moss-dyed leathers in the wilderness or silken robes in the streets
by a personal name and the name of their chosen Creed. Those who of Kitaminato. When left to their own devices, however, they often
identify most strongly with their Creed will place its name first, dress in outlandish and archaic fashions long since forgotten among
while others will place it after. When greater specificity is required, others, blending them together in a strange and striking unity. The
an elf will include the personal names of the past five incarnations subtle elven aura of perfection allows them to carry off the most
that he or she can remember- which may or may not be the last exotic ensembles with an ease to make an Imperial society matron
five lives they have led. Most elves avoid casually discussing such snap her fan in envy.
name-lists among strangers, as there is always the risk of discovering
some unavenged slight or unanswered murder from an incarnation Elves almost always wear some token of their Creed in a way that
three deaths back. leaves it plain to onlookers. Admittedly, many Creeds are so small
or esoteric that only another of their kind would have any hope of
Elven place names rarely refer to geographical traits or natural recognizing the insignia or its meaning.
scenery, but instead most often mention some particular event of
importance that took place there, often with the name of the chief Elven Cuisine
figure in events added in. The elven name for Xian, for example, is Elven cuisine tends to partake of the same eclectic tastes as their
“Lammach Came Ashore”, while the name for their own ancestral couture. The results can sometimes be rather difficult for those who
homeland translates out as “House of Peace”. have not had the requisite number of lifetimes to acquire all the
tastes involved. Elven banquets tend to partake equally of magnifi-
cently exotic flavors and indescribably unpleasant tastes.

145
 1D100 MALE FEMALE SURNAME 1D100 PLACE NAME 1D100 PLACE NAME
1-4 Abdun Abdah Adami 1-2 Ahsa 51-52 Magrit
5-8 Ali Aminah Aliyya 3-4 Andalus 53-54 Manarah
9-12 Anas Asiya Asamm 5-6 Asmara 55-56 Manzil
13-16 Bakir Chiklah Aswari 7-8 Asqlan 57-58 Masqat
17-20 Bishur Durra Bahili 9-10 Ayyub 59-60 Maydan
21-24 Habib Fazila Buzjani 11-12 Baqubah 61-62 Qalat
25-28 Hakim Hakima Ghallabi 13-14 Basit 63-64 Qantarah
29-32 Hasan Hala Halabi 15-16 Baysan 65-66 Qasr
33-36 Hisham Ijliyah Halali 17-18 Baytlahm 67-68 Sharbah
37-40 Jabir Jaida Jaludi 19-20 Burj 69-70 Sharqia
41-44 Jafar Jamila Kalbi 21-22 Bursaid 71-72 Suffah
45-48 Khalil Jumana Karmani 23-24 Dawhah 73-74 Sur
49-52 Mansur Khalida Misri 25-26 Gibuti 75-76 Tabuk
53-56 Muadh Leila Muzani 27-28 Giddah 77-78 Taifah
57-60 Rahim Maridah Naqit 29-30 Hajarah 79-80 Tangah
61-64 Saad Maysun Qattan 31-32 Hamara 81-82 Tarifah
65-68 Salim Munisa Raqashi 33-34 Harmah 83-84 Tariq
69-72 Sayf Rabia Razi 35-36 Hibah 85-86 Tisit
73-76 Shahib Rayya Rumi 37-38 Hims 87-88 Uman
77-80 Sinan Raziya Saffar 39-40 Hubar 89-90 Urdunn
81-84 Umar Sabiha Sakhawi 41-42 Jabal 91-92 Wasqah
85-88 Yamin Shaima Shaybani 43-44 Jayyan 93-94 Yaburah
89-92 Yazid Thana Tabari 45-46 Karbala 95-96 Yadh
93-96 Yusuf Zainab Tamimi 47-48 Khanat 97-98 Yaman
97-100 Zayd Zuleika Zuhri 49-50 Kut 99-100 Zulayj

Eshkanti Names Eshkanti Clothing

The Eshkanti give their children a personal name, but the surname For daily wear, the Eshkanti prefer tunic and trousers, with field-
is one the child chooses for him or herself upon reaching adulthood. hands wearing as little as possible in the southern heat and traders
Surnames are prefixed by “al-” and tend to refer to some trait in the and artisans allowing themselves more elaborate couture. The tradi-
Eshkanti tongue that the child aspires to possess. To lessen ambigu- tional long robes and cloth headdresses of their forebears are largely
ity while trading abroad, many also adopt a place-name related to reserved for ceremonial and festive wear in the usual climates of the
their home, such as “al-Adani” or “al-Yamani”. Some from wealthy Isles, but both males and females favor large amounts of jewelry and
or illustrious lineages reference their ancestors as well, in the form adornment when their circumstances allow. By custom, men do not
of “bin-” or “bint-” for men or women. “Ali al-Jaludi al--Bursaidi wear golden ornaments, but the wealthy obviate that stricture by
bin-Sinan”, for example, is the man Ali al-Jaludi from the village of wearing platinum instead.
Bursaid, son of the village headman Sinan.
Eshkanti Cuisine
Roasts form the center of Eshkanti cookery, whether roast fish, roast
game, or roast livestock. Eshkanti barbeques are day-long affairs
and cause for hot rivalries between families. The abundant spices
of the Isles allow for richly fragrant dishes, with even the humblest
bowl of rice spiced with yellow false-saffron and a scrape or two of
cinnamon bark. A few Eshkanti families are required by custom
to eschew meat, and these clans have developed quite remarkable
culinary talents in compensation. Many of the more ascetic, meat-
denying temples quietly arrange for their cooks to be chosen from
these clans.

146
 1D100 MALE FEMALE SURNAME 1D100 PLACE NAME 1D100 PLACE NAME
1-4 Adair Annis Achmuty 1-2 Annishadder 51-52 Garrafad
5-8 Aidan Bradana Bannatyne 3-4 Ardmore 53-54 Harrapool
9-12 Alastair Coira Chisholm 5-6 Armadale 55-56 Hartacorry
13-16 Callum Daracha Dalmahoy 7-8 Arnisort 57-58 Hinnisdale
17-20 Cameron Eamhair Fairholm 9-10 Ashaig 59-60 Holmisdale
21-24 Cormac Fiona Fordoun 11-12 Auchtertyre 61-62 Horneval
25-28 Diarmad Glenna Grimond 13-14 Balmacara 63-64 Inverarish
29-32 Domnall Ina Haldane 15-16 Beinn Na 65-66 Kilmore
33-36 Eanraig Iona Imrie 17-18 Brochel 67-68 Kyleakin
37-40 Gavin Jinty Jarvie 19-20 Brogaig 69-70 Lorgill
41-44 Goraidh Keita Keir 21-22 Bruach 71-72 Olach
45-48 Ian Lachina Kinloch 23-24 Calligarry 73-74 Ramasaig
49-52 Jock Mae Lindoch 25-26 Caolas 75-76 Reisaburg
53-56 Lachlan Mhairi Lyall 27-28 Clachan 77-78 Rudha
57-60 Lammach Morag Mar 29-30 Clachnay 79-80 Sallachy
61-64 Logan Moyna Nairn 31-32 Claigean 81-82 Scudda
65-68 Morgan Muriel Niven 33-34 Coire 83-84 Sithean
69-72 Muireach Osla Ord 35-36 Conon 85-86 Sligachan
73-76 Murdoch Rona Pire 37-38 Conordon 87-88 Stenscholl
77-80 Parthalan Scathach Quinn 39-40 Cuillin 89-90 Suardal
81-84 Sawney Senga Reith 41-42 Cullaidh 91-92 Tocavaig
85-88 Tamhas Shona Shaw 43-44 Drochaid 93-94 Toravaig
89-92 Tearlach Tavie Tassie 45-46 Dungeary 95-96 Treaslane
93-96 Torquil Tira Veitch 47-48 Dunliath 97-98 Tulm
97-100 Valan Una Walker 49-50 Fiurnean 99-100 Unish

Gadaal Names Gadaal Clothing

Gadaal men and women commonly name themselves by luck- Gadaal traditionally prefer snug-fitting clothing unlikely to catch
filiations, taking a personal name followed by a surname appointed on mountain rocks or scraggly brush. Wool from their flocks or
by the astrologer who casts their first horoscope. As such, names leather from their herds makes up much of their customary dress,
may vary widely from generation to generation. When among though in the hot climes of southern Ektau this has given over to
strangers, the Gadaal often add the name of their extended family’s leather loincloths and chest wraps. Many Gadaal are bordermen
chief residence, prefixed by “Mac”. A boy of the Gadaal might be still, living on the rough, wild edges of civilization and wearing few
named Tearlach by his parents, for example, and receive the luck- ornaments or colors that they cannot produce themselves.
name of Lyall from the astrologer. Around his home village of Coire
he would be called “Tearlach Lyall”, and when venturing abroad he Gadaal Cuisine
would identify himself as “Tearlach Lyall MacCoire”. Gadaal are not great seafarers and few settle on the coasts. Some
remain as farmers ekeing out holdings in places too dangerous
A few Gadaal retain the names of mighty ancestors as their place- for most, while others live as hunters and trappers. Grain, game,
names. The Mandarin of Xian, for example, still goes by “MacLam- and garden produce form the bulk of the Gadaal diet, along with
mach” to emphasize his descent from the saviour of the refugee numerous enigmatic hashes compiled from foodstuffs that are sup-
fleet, even though the remaining Gadaal blood in his lineage is very posed to be lucky to the eater. It’s commonly thought that a Gadaal
thin indeed. will eat anything if there is sufficient luck in it, and some are wont
to observe that it is a justifiable custom. After a Gadaal breakfast,
they point out, nothing worse will happen all the day long.

147
 1D100 MALE FEMALE SURNAME 1D100 PLACE NAME 1D100 PLACE NAME
1-4 Adam Abigale Atwater 1-2 Alethorp 51-52 Lindon
5-8 Albert Ada Baldwin 3-4 Appleby 53-54 Linking
9-12 Alfred Adelaide Barleycorn 5-6 Bacstone 55-56 Ludington
13-16 Benedict Amelia Blackwood 7-8 Banton 57-58 Lunderthorp
17-20 Edward Bess Curley 9-10 Burwell 59-60 Maringhill
21-24 Edwin Caroline Dalton 11-12 Carlton 61-62 Mortown
25-28 George Eleanor Forrester 13-14 Claypool 63-64 Navenby
29-32 Hiram Elizabeth Goodwin 15-16 Denton 65-66 Norton
33-36 Jack Flora Grasswidow 17-18 Dunesby 67-68 Offinton
37-40 James Georgia Hurley 19-20 Eastdeep 69-70 Ownsby
41-44 John Hannah Kerslake 21-22 Edenham 71-72 Radburn
45-48 Martin Helen Macklin 23-24 Eldingby 73-74 Rossby
49-52 Nathan Hortense Mouldsdale 25-26 Franton 75-76 Roxbury
53-56 Ned Jane Muggins 27-28 Fulctonby 77-78 Scalthorp
57-60 Oswald Julia Noonan 29-30 Gainsburg 79-80 Strakerthorp
61-64 Percival Lucy Patternson 31-32 Greatford 81-82 Talinton
65-68 Phillip Margaret Polmear 33-34 Holswell 83-84 Torsby
69-72 Raymond Mary Quickstep 35-36 Holtham 85-86 Ulstanton
73-76 Silas Mercy Runciman 37-38 Howe 87-88 Ulvesby
77-80 Simon Nancy Simcocks 39-40 Hundington 89-90 Wellby
81-84 Steven Nora Thompson 41-42 Isleby 91-92 Wenfleet
85-88 Theodore Sally Toprail 43-44 Iswitch 93-94 Westdeep
89-92 Thomas Sarah Walker 45-46 Iverdown 95-96 Willingham
93-96 Warren Sofie Wilkes 47-48 Leaham 97-98 Wrothby
97-100 William Vivian Wright 49-50 Lindeep 99-100 Yorkton

Halfling Names Halfling Clothing

Halflings have both a given and a surname, carried down through The Quiet Way teaches modesty and practicality in dress, though
either the male or female line depending on the particular tradi- practicality often wins in the hot south. Halfling weavers are as
tions of the family. As closely-knit as most halfling villages are, expert in their trade as are halflings in all the domestic arts, and their
there’s rarely any need for naming more distinct than this, though fine, sturdy cloth is valued in every market. Halflings manufacture
a halfling far from home might provide his home village name as a much of the finest patterned silk to be had in Xian’s market. Despite
middle name to strangers- thus, “Jane Holtham Runciman”. this, the silk is despised in the Shogunate, for the Hell Kings nurse
a grudge against halflings for their untouchable souls.
Halflings exiled from their home village by hunger or necessity
go without a village name, though if they manage to eventually Halfling Cuisine
accumulate the wealth and standing necessary to found a new vil- Halfling cookery is legendary, as the arts of the kitchen are as close
lage, they may title themselves simply as “the” village. Thus, if Jane to a religious rite as halflings appear to possess. Halflings excel at
Holtham Runciman is forced to leave her village by hunger and taking simple, homely ingredients and creating marvelous meals
want, she becomes Jane Runciman. If she eventually founds the through the application of skill and discerning taste. Pies, roasts,
new village of Iverdown, she may be expect to be called simply “the stews, soups, pastries, breads, and other peasant fare become almost
Iverdown” by her people. transcendant in the hands of an expert halfling cook. By custom,
females tend to focus on baked goods, pastries, and soups, while
Halfling village leaders who perform deeds equal to that of a males pride themselves on their roasts, steaks, and stews.
founder may find themselves called the same way, but most suc-
cessors simply take the title of “Sheriff” over the village. In halfling
villages, such honors can only be granted by the agreement of their
neighbors and so the post is rarely inherited.

148
 1D100 MALE FEMALE SURNAME 1D100 PLACE NAME 1D100 PLACE NAME
1-4 Aiguo Bilai Bai 1-2 Baijia 51-52 Malian
5-8 Bai Daiyu Chang 3-4 Baiwang 53-54 Manba
9-12 Chao Hui Gong 5-6 Benmiao 55-56 Nancha
13-16 Dai Jia Guo 7-8 Bincaowa 57-58 Nanshan
17-20 Enlai Lian Hong 9-10 Changgu 59-60 Naozishan
21-24 Feng Lihwa Hou 11-12 Daiwan 61-62 Panpo
25-28 Guang Mei Kang 13-14 Dalu 63-64 Qingdao
29-32 Heng Miahua Kong 15-16 Datanli 65-66 Shangshapo
33-36 Jian Mingxia Lai 17-18 Dawaju 67-68 Sigou
37-40 Jing Nuwa Lei 19-20 Ebao 69-70 Sujiasi
41-44 Kang Peijing Liao 21-22 Feicheng 71-72 Taian
45-48 Liu Qianru Niu 23-24 Fengsi 73-74 Tengzhou
49-52 Minghua Rou Pan 25-26 Guanghe 75-76 Tianshih
53-56 Nianzu Song Quan 27-28 Guantan 77-78 Tongren
57-60 On Sulin Shao 29-30 Haliang 79-80 Weifang
61-64 Peng Sya Shi 31-32 Heishan 81-82 Xigou
65-68 Qiang Ting Song 33-34 Jianqiao 83-84 Xishan
69-72 Renshu Ushi Tang 35-36 Jiawan 85-86 Xunhua
73-76 Shan Xia Wan 37-38 Jinan 87-88 Yanzhou
77-80 Tung Xiulan Wu 39-40 Kengwoli 89-90 Yaowan
81-84 Wang Xiuli Xiong 41-42 Linjiaping 91-92 Yaping
85-88 Wencheng Ya Yan 43-44 Lintao 93-94 Yenchou
89-92 Xue Yanmei Ye 45-46 Liuchan 95-96 Yingwu
93-96 Yusheng Yuke Yin 47-48 Machuan 97-98 Youfu
97-100 Zixin Zhilan Zhong 49-50 Majia 99-100 Zhangping

Imperial Names Imperial Clothing

Imperial names are customarily used with the surname preceding Most Imperials make their living as farmers or fisherfolk, and dress
the given name- so Xiulan of the Wu family is “Wu Xiulan”. In accordingly. The well-off wear tunics and trousers, skirts or sarongs
the melange of cultures that make up the Sunset Isles, it’s not to keep the sun off their skin, while workers are swiftly sun-dark in
uncommon for a person to mix elements of Imperial naming with loincloths and chest wraps for the women. When dressed for social-
those of another culture, resulting in names like “Lachlan Tang”, or izing, flowing, wide-sleeved robes are favored for both sexes, with
“Zhong Anna”. When addressing a person with an Imperial name, women sometimes donning snug-fitting dresses or closely-drawn
it is common to use both elements of his or her name, rather than saris.
simply using their given name.
Imperials greatly favor bright colors in their dress and ornamenta-
Imperial pronunciation can be tricky. As a quick reference, here are tion. In the ancient days, red was considered a particularly auspi-
only some of the larger differences from standard English: cious color. In the present hour blue is rather more preferred.

C is pronounced with a sharp ts as in spats. Imperial Cuisine

G is pronounced in most of the worlds above as if it were a k as in Imperial cuisine varies widely with available comestibles, but rice
skill. is the staple grain and is used in the fashioning of noodles, buns,
Q somewhat resembles the sound of ch in cheek. dumplings, fermented drinks, and other foodstuffs. Tofu is some-
X is pronounced with a sh sound, similar to that of she. times found in place of meat, and rice wine and tea are common
ZH is pronounced in a somewhat similar fashion to ch as in choke. drinks. Stir-frying is a common preparation technique for many
foods, and the copious amount of fish eaten by most coastal folk is
often grilled and seasoned with ingenious use of local spices.

149
 1D100 MALE FEMALE SURNAME 1D100 PLACE NAME 1D100 PLACE NAME
1-4 Akira Aina Asai 1-2 Akita 51-52 Kiryu
5-8 Arata Akiko Asakuma 3-4 Ashiya 53-54 Kishiwada
9-12 Daichi Asami Aso 5-6 Atsugi 55-56 Kofu
13-16 Daisuke Asuka Endo 7-8 Beppu 57-58 Kure
17-20 Goro Chikako Fujiwara 9-10 Chigasaki 59-60 Kusatsu
21-24 Hachiro Emi Hayashi 11-12 Chitose 61-62 Machida
25-28 Hayate Hana Inoue 13-14 Chofu 63-64 Matsu
29-32 Hideyoshi Haruko Ishikawa 15-16 Daito 65-66 Miyazaki
33-36 Ichiro Hina Ito 17-18 Fuchu 67-68 Nagaoka
37-40 Jiro Izumi Kamei 19-20 Fujioka 69-70 Naha
41-44 Katsuo Junko Kawaramono 21-22 Furano 71-72 Ogaki
45-48 Keisuke Kaori Kimura 23-24 Gifu 73-74 Okazaki
49-52 Kiyoshi Kasumi Kitano 25-26 Goshogawara 75-76 Otaru
53-56 Masaru Kimiko Matsudaira 27-28 Hachioji 77-78 Sakai
57-60 Minoru Mariko Matsumoto 29-30 Hiratsuku 79-80 Shimizu
61-64 Noboru Mayumi Nakagami 31-32 Hirosaki 81-82 Takamatsu
65-68 Nobu Midori Nakatomi 33-34 Ibaraki 83-84 Takasaki
69-72 Osamu Mika Nonaka 35-36 Ibusuki 85-86 Unzen
73-76 Ren Noriko Sato 37-38 Ichinomiya 87-88 Urawa
77-80 Saburo Sachiko Shimizu 39-40 Ikoma 89-90 Wakkanai
81-84 Shiro Sakura Suzuki 41-42 Imabari 91-92 Yamagata
85-88 Takashi Suzume Takahashi 43-44 Imari 93-94 Yokkaichi
89-92 Tetsuya Ume Tanaka 45-46 Izumo 95-96 Yonago
93-96 Yoshi Yumi Watanabe 47-48 Kagoshima 97-98 Yuzawa
97-100 Yudai Yuzuki Yoshida 49-50 Kasugai 99-100 Zushi

Kueh Names Kueh Clothing

The Kueh share the Imperial tradition of placing family surnames Traditional Kueh clothing tends toward lustrous kimonos, with
before personal names. Thus, Yumi of the Watanabe family would male fashions preferring dark solid colors and female dress favor-
introduce herself as “Watanabe Yumi”. In the Shogunate, priestly ing elaborate prints and patterns, often with a light solid-colored
devotees of the Hell Kings replace their family names with that of over-robe atop multiple layers of harmonious patterned silks. Noble
their patron devil to better represent their single-minded devotion families tend to be fastidious about such things, some keenly aware
to the glory of their infernal lord. When Kueh marry, the children of their humble fisherfolk ancestors and others sharply denying
commonly bear the family name of the father, but the parents’ such modest roots.
names are unchanged.
Kueh laborers favor light short-legged trousers and tunics, with
headbands against the sweat of the sun.

Kueh Cuisine
The common folk of the Shogunate subsist on rice, when they can
get it, and barley and millet when they cannot. Some of the more
enthusiastic worshippers of the Hell Kings practice cannibalism
amid hideous feasts, while others spare no suffering to enjoy the
most exotic morsels that their servants can bring them.

Kueh elsewhere in the Isles despise such polished savagery, and

cultivate a simple palate that emphasizes fish, vegetables, and rice.
Kueh banquets are rarely as ornate as the feasts of an Imperial table,
but they bespeak the same refined elegance and temperate good
taste as the rest of their arts.

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 1D100 MALE FEMALE LINE NAME 1D100 PLACE NAME 1D100 PLACE NAME
1-4 Ahunwakar Abisimti Adad 1-2 Adab 51-52 Ishmedagan
5-8 Askur Agrahti Akshak 3-4 Agadeh 53-54 Kabtalamasi
9-12 Eluti Ahassunu Anunit 5-6 Albanti 55-56 Kalamdug
13-16 Ibal Ahati Badtib 7-8 Amarsin 57-58 Kisnugal
17-20 Inbusha Ahuna Damgalnuna 9-10 Balatu 59-60 Lidinam
21-24 Liblut Alittu Dumash 11-12 Baragsi 61-62 Mashkan
25-28 Lubau Arwia Ekur 13-14 Cuthah 63-64 Mesanepada
29-32 Malgum Belessunu Kalama 15-16 Dilbah 65-66 Meskalam
33-36 Mattaki Eslamassi Karkar 17-18 Dingirkaba 67-68 Nepada
37-40 Munawirtum Gamela Kildigir 19-20 Durilu 69-70 Ninlugal
41-44 Mutubisir Humusi Larak 21-22 Ebabbar 71-72 Nisaba
45-48 Nawirum Hunaba Larsa 23-24 Ebarra 73-74 Nugalla
49-52 Puzur Ilahti Malkat 25-26 Egalmach 75-76 Shulg
53-56 Sagilzimu Iltani Ninazu 27-28 Emish 77-78 Silissa
57-60 Seskalla Ilusha Ninbanda 29-30 Enzuasa 79-80 Silizi
61-64 Shamashazir Kammani Ningirsu 31-32 Ereshk 81-82 Sinmubal
65-68 Shubnalu Kuaya Ninkarak 33-34 Esagil 83-84 Sinremeni
69-72 Sillashu Nakurta Nintu 35-36 Eshidlam 85-86 Sippara
73-76 Taklaku Nindada Shidlam 37-38 Girsu 87-88 Tagunu
77-80 Taribat Rabiat Sumula 39-40 Gishirgal 89-90 Tanuri
81-84 Ubarsun Sharrat Tutul 41-42 Gismi 91-92 Tinisaba
85-88 Warad Shiptu Udkib 43-44 Harsag 93-94 Umma
89-92 Yaggitlim Tabni Urash 45-46 Ilidinam 95-96 Urmani
93-96 Yashub Ummi Urnammu 47-48 Ilumkabta 97-98 Utusipad
97-100 Zummabu Yadida Zarpanit 49-50 Ishin 99-100 Zamama

Shou Names Shou Clothing

The warring Shou commonly live together in small tribes that Shou wear little when hunting or in camp, as most of them dwell in
have little need for much distinction between the names of their the hotter southern reaches of the archipelago. At war or when on
members. Most receive only a given name, though each can usually a raiding party, they favor thick hides and furs, sometimes boiled
trace descent from some noble hero or cunning witch-priestess of for stiffness or stitched with countless small teeth or stone chips to
earlier days. These “line names” are spread among many different better deflect weaponry. Shou witches prefer elaborate headdresses
tribes, and Shou of the same line are somewhat more likely to deal of feathers and bright stones and rarely wear much more than that.
peacefully with each other. Most of the limited peaceful exchange
in goods and mates that goes on between Shou tribes takes place The bugbears and orcs of the high mountain peaks are often obliged
between members of the same line name. A Shou has his or her to dress in goatskins and other hides, sometimes ornamented with
choice of which parents’ line name to take, but once chosen, they baubles of hammered raw copper or gold. Most Shou scorn human
must remain faithful to the name. clothing, even that captured in war. They dress their slaves in it, or
cut it up for use in their own styles.
Shou tribes are commonly named after some tribal totem or token
of past glory. They shift slowly with the years as old deeds become Shou Cuisine
myth and new ones take greater prominence. This drift is one Shou are hunters and gatherers by custom, and most live off the
reason why it is occasionally difficult to determine the history of a natural produce of their territory- and fight with predictable feroc-
given tribe- the human records may well refer to them by a name ity to maintain it against invaders. They are not ignorant of the idea
no longer current. of farming or herding, but they consider it slave work fit only for
subjects and thralls, and tribes without such will rely on the bow
and spear for their food. Some Shou fish the coasts and rivers as
well, but they have a great dread of the ocean as a general matter,
and will not set out on ships unless compelled.

151
 1D100 MALE FEMALE SURNAME 1D100 PLACE NAME 1D100 PLACE NAME
1-4 Ageirr Askatla Alsgaard 1-2 Aebeltoft 51-52 Kalbaek
5-8 Bergfin Birla Birkeland 3-4 Aeblegarden 53-54 Kallekot
9-12 Bjorn Dagmar Bjornstad 5-6 Borgarey 55-56 Laugarbrekka
13-16 Dagr Disa Eide 7-8 Bregentved 57-58 Lervik
17-20 Eider Eydis Folkow 9-10 Breivik 59-60 Lund
21-24 Erik Finna Garborg 11-12 Brettabister 61-62 Meretun
25-28 Fastulf Gudrun Gunnestad 13-14 Budir 63-64 Ravndal
29-32 Geirbjorn Hallabera Halvorsen 15-16 Dalkey 65-66 Sandvik
33-36 Haruk Inga Hanevold 17-18 Dalstad 67-68 Selvik
37-40 Ingimarr Jutta Ingstad 19-20 Dumazbakki 69-70 Seterby
41-44 Jatmund Katla Kaland 21-22 Dursey 71-72 Shieling
45-48 Kolbrand Luta Leirfall 23-24 Egilsey 73-74 Sida
49-52 Lofrik Maeva Lindahl 25-26 Erikstad 75-76 Skellig
53-56 Munolf Nauma Malmstrom 27-28 Essetofte 77-78 Stenhus
57-60 Njall Otkatla Ramsfjell 29-30 Eyinhelga 79-80 Sundheim
61-64 Ogmund Ranka Riseth 31-32 Fjellheim 81-82 Swarthoull
65-68 Ormulf Runa Skarsgard 33-34 Gareksey 83-84 Thirsk
69-72 Ornolf Signy Svasand 35-36 Grunasound 85-86 Thormanby
73-76 Ragnbjorn Spana Tangvik 37-38 Haraldssun 87-88 Thusater
77-80 Ringulf Thordis Thorsen 39-40 Healfdanby 89-90 Torsby
81-84 Sigdan Thyrna Thules 41-42 Helgistad 91-92 Torstvedt
85-88 Tumar Toka Ulstein 43-44 Hjalpandisey 93-94 Tresta
89-92 Tyrfing Ursula Ulving 45-46 Holbaek 95-96 Vestrey
93-96 Ulfkell Valka Veitberg 47-48 Hrolfsay 97-98 Wicklow
97-100 Vigthorn Yrsa Wikborg 49-50 Hulgade 99-100 Wirchall

Skandr Names Skandr Clothing

The Skandr use a personal name and a surname much as many Many Skandr are fisherfolk or sailors, and can be expected to wear
other peoples do, but the surname can vary somewhat. Some fami- the short-trewed outfit of tunic and sun-wrap when in southern
lies hold to a single surname down through the generations, while climes. Their homeland favored more in the way of furs and heavy
others have the custom of adopting a father or mother’s name and wool against the northern ice, but few Skandr on Ektau have much
suffixing it with “-son” or “-dottir”. Thus, Signy the daughter of call for that dress any more.
Toka might introduce herself as “Signy Tokadottir”.
Skandr Cuisine
It is not uncommon for Skandr freebooters to take a “raid name”, The Skandr are a roving people, and their food bespeaks a life aboard
the better to conceal their identity. Such attempts are not always ship. Fresh and salted fish, dried grains, and cask meat combine
successful, and Skandr memory burns nearly so long as the Gadaal in arrangements that are extremely portable, if not always terribly
for the reckoning of old debts. appealing. Skandr have a profound love of alcoholic beverages in
all their forms, and their distillers often show remarkable creativity
in finding new things to render down into at least a semi-drinkable
liquid.

152
 Businesses
A Labyrinth Lord occasionally needs to know whether or not a
particular business can be found in a village, town, or city. There are
also times when it is convenient to be able to pick out a business for
a particular Court site, or as an element of some larger adventure.
The following table gives a list of businesses, the smallest population
center capable of supporting them, and a brief description of their
function.

A glance at the table will show that the average village supports very
few businesses. The surplus from a farming village usually goes to
the nearest market town to support the artisans there, and few of
them actually do business in a humble rice-growing village. Those
few business folk that actually do conduct their trade in a hamlet are
almost all at least partially occupied in farming or livestock raising
as well. The village herbalist might have a wide variety of plants and
extracts for sale, but most of the time she’s going to be minding the
chickens out back and seeing how her garden is coming on.

BUSINESS SIZE NOTES BUSINESS SIZE NOTES

A country tinker might be able to Can often make leather and
Armorsmiths Town manage leather armor and shields, but Leatherworkers Town studded leather armor, some-
finer work requires an armorsmith. times of exotic hides.
Bakers Town Livestock Merchants Town
Blacksmiths Town Can fashion small metal weapons. Magic Schools City 20 students or fewer, usually.
Booksellers City Binds, sells, and commissions books. Magistrates Town Provides government documents.
Brewers Town Produces commercial amounts of beer. Masons Town
Butchers Town Millers Village Grinds wheat, sorts rice.
Carpenters Town Physicians Town Sometimes magically gifted.
Chandlers Town Sells adventuring supplies. Sages City
Farmers Village Shipwrights City
Fine Artists City Sculptors, painters, poets, etc. Spice Merchants Town
Fishmongers Town Tailors Town
Goldsmiths City Also stores wealth, for a fee. Tanners Town
Harlots Town Tavernkeepers Village Often rents a room in the house.
Herbalists Village Usually the village healer, too. Tinkers Village Can mend metal goods.
Innkeepers Town Vintners Village
Jewelers City Weaponsmiths Town
Most village households weave
Lawyers Town Relatively few are required on Ektau. Weavers Village
their own cloth.

153
 Quick NPC Creation
A Labyrinth Lord can expect to require a small army of NPCs for
1D12 ALIGNMENT
his or her campaign by the time all is said and done, and it can
sometimes be a little exhausting generating all the people you need 1 Lawful, upright and noble-minded.
to flesh out a game. The following tables are intended to simplify 2-3 Lawful, essentially decent and reliable
life for a busy referee. Just roll once on any of the relevant tables, 4-5 Neutral, self-interested but prone to kindness
skipping over any that are unsuitable for your purposes. Names can
6-9 Neutral, will generally only help their own kindred
be drawn from the lists provided earlier in this section.
10-11 Chaotic, selfish and indifferent to the hurt caused
12 Chaotic, amorally ruthless and devoid of pity

1D4 GENDER 1D12 JOB MOTIVATION

1-2 Male 1 Greed, because nothing else they can do pays better
3-4 Female 2 Idealistic about the job
3 Sense of social duty
1D6 AGE 4 Force of habit takes them through the day
1-2 Young 5 Seeks to please another
3-4 Middle-aged 6 Feels inadequate as anything else
5-6 Old 7 Family tradition
8 Religious obligation or vow
1D100 ETHNICITY OR RACE 9 Nothing better to do, and they need the money
1-30 Imperial 10 They’re quitting at the first good opportunity
31-40 Eirengarder 11 It’s a stepping stone to better things
41-50 Gadaal 12 Spite against an enemy discomfited by the work
51-60 Eshkanti
61-70 Skandr 1D20 NOTICEABLE QUIRKS
71-80 Kueh 1 Bald
81-85 Half-Shou 2 Terrible taste in clothing
86-92 Dwarf 3 Very thin
93-96 Halfling 4 Powerful build
97-100 Elf 5 Bad eyesight and perpetually squinting
6 Carries work tools constantly
1D12 PROBLEMS 7 Long hair
1 Has the enmity of local officials 8 Bearded, if male. Ankle-length hair if female.
2 Enmity of local criminal figure or thug 9 Scars all over hands
3 Afflicted with misfortune due to past error 10 Missing digits or an ear
4 Has a chronic illness 11 Smells like their work
5 Their children or siblings are in trouble with the law 12 Repeats himself constantly
6 Haunted by dreams of the Red Tide 13 Incorrigible gossip
7 Deeply in debt 14 Booming voice
8 In unrequited love above his or her station 15 Vocal dislike of a random ethnicity
9 Addicted to a recreational drug 16 Always snuffling
10 Spouse or parents are wastrels or abusive 17 Missing teeth
11 Their job is threatened by recent events 18 Fastidiously neat
12 Secretly half-Shou 19 Wears religious emblems
20 Speaks as little as possible

154
 Room Dressing
It’s occasionally tricky to dress a structure’s rooms in an interest- cooking facilities, an idea of where they get their drinking water, and
ing fashion. Each room on the list below provides a few specific some kind of latrine or lavatory. If the ruin has been abandoned for
possibilities and an idea of what sort of treasures might reasonably a long while, simply “age” any dressing, turning cold-house beeves
be found in such a place. If you’re building a site inhabited by intel- into piles of rot, bamboo floors into mushy pulp, and so forth.
ligent creatures, don’t forget to include some place for the to sleep,

1d6 1d10 1d6 1d10 1d6 1d10

1 Alchemy Lab 1 Crypt 1 Pantry
2 Armory 2 Dining Room 2 Prison Cell
3 Audience Chamber 3 Garden 3 Salon
4 Ballroom 4 Great Hall 4 Shrine
5 Barracks 5 Kennel 5 Sparring Room
1-2 3-4 5-6
6 Bath Chamber 6 Kitchen 6 Storeroom
7 Bedroom 7 Laboratory 7 Torture Chamber
8 Cellar 8 Library 8 Unfinished Room
9 Cold Storage 9 Mortuary 9 Vault
10 Council Chamber 10 Nursery 10 Vestibule

ALCHEMY LAB AUDIENCE CHAMBER

1 An unstable experiment that will explode if touched. 1 An elevated seat from which to hear petitioners.
2 Something small and wretched living in a glass jar. Elaborate wall hangings depicting the past glories of the
2
An acrid, gritty gray powder that has decomposed into occupants.
3
something that will explode if jostled. Discreet nooks in which servants might remain unobtru-
3
One or more magical potions that have gone off slightly, sively.
4 with a 10% chance to do no more than make the imbiber A pierced screen behind which a noble may sit to listen to
4
violently sick for a round. petitions.
Large, elaborate glass distillation equipment that collapses 5 Cabinets full of scrolls containing records and accounts.
5
with the slightest touch. 6 Censers to sweeten the air of the room.
Flasks containing a billowing stench that clings to anyone Treasures: A jeweled throne, precious liquors, secret records.
6
who opens them.
Treasures: Alchemical texts, delicate glassware, small ingots
of precious metal, precision laboratory equipment,
BALLROOM
rare experimental ingredients that may require a 1 Polished bamboo flooring.
magic-user or other arcanely-educated person to 2 Drapes of richly-brocaded silk hanging on the walls.
recognize. The musicians' dais with seats and perhaps an instrument
3
propped there.
ARMORY
4 The walls are frescoed with garden images.
1 A pile of armor and weapons worn to little more than scrap.
5 Lanterns of colored paper hang from the ceiling.
2 Stacks of hard leather breastplates piled one atop the other.
Large tables of mahogany hold tasty morsels on one side of
High-quality harness that bears the markings of a local 6
3 the room.
noble family.
Treasures: Jewelry lost in a floor crack, elaborate silk couture
Jugs full of oil for maintaining gear, along with small
4 folded away in a cabinet, precious musical instru-
hammers and armorer's tools.
ment stored by the musician’s dais.
Fragments of strangely-shaped armor taken from some
5
non-human foe.
Anvil and forge for making new equipment and repairing
6
badly damaged pieces.
Treasures: Jeweled or gilded armor and weaponry, ingots
of precious metal for adorning weapons, loose
gemstones.

155
 BARRACKS COUNCIL CHAMBER
1 Rows of double-bunked beds and footlockers. A round mahogany table scarred by drinks and vigorous
1
2 Vulgar graffiti carved onto a wall. disputes.
3 Lines of crude cabinets along one wall. 2 Maps of the surrounding area.
Storage nets hung from the ceiling that threaten to give 3 Portraits of important past leaders hanging on the walls.
4
way. 4 A raised dais for a speaker surrounded by benches.
Acrid chamberpots behind a draped curtain run around a 5 Small statues of past leaders inset in wall niches.
5
corner of the room. 6 Dice, oracle bones, and other tools of crude divination.
6 Brightly-hued wall paintings of martial scenes Treasures: Jeweled statuettes, remarkably accurate maps, the
Treasures: Soldiers' pay in the footlockers, items of hidden contents of a well-stocked liquor cabinet.
plunder, jeweled weaponry or armor.

BATH CHAMBER
CRYPT
1 Great copper tanks for heating water.
1 The dead resting in wall niches.
2 A natural hot spring feeding a steaming pool.
2 Prayers for a peaceful afterlife inscribed on the ceiling.
Intricate tile-work on the floor and walls showing sea-side
3 A prayer wheel meant to be spun by any who enter the
images. 3
crypt.
4 Splintery wooden tubs and coarse-bristled brushes.
4 Sarcophagi arranged in tight rows.
5 Cakes of harsh yellow soap
5 Urn burials, with corpses folded into large clay vessels.
6 Wet clothes hung up from recent laundry.
6 Perfectly preserved corpses standing or seated as if in life.
Treasures: Precious garments hung up from washing, valuable
perfumes in locked cabinets, beautifully-worked Treasures: Grave goods, offerings left for the spirits of the
decorative statuette. bereaved, precious adornments of the tomb.

CELLAR DINING ROOM

1 Wooden bins full of potatoes and turnips. 1 Elaborate table service of porcelain and silver.
Sacks full of onions and dried peppers hanging from the 2 Lacquered trays and a brightly-glazed teapot.
2
ceiling. Low Kueh-style tables for diners who sit or kneel on the
3
3 A dark mat of vermin seething on the floor. floor.
4 Casks of rough red wine or beer Brass braziers set around the room to keep food hot and the
4
air warm.
5 Thick blooms of mold on the walls.
Wall screens for hiding servants, each intricately stitched
6 A dry floor of bare earth. 5
and embroidered.
Treasures: Wealth buried in a corner, a cask of a precious vin- 6 Smaller plates and utensils for the use of a food taster.
tage of wine, well-preserved seeds of a crop variety
lost since the exile Treasures: Tableware worked in precious metals, exquisite
porcelain service, thirty-armed silver epergne.

COLD STORAGE
GARDEN
1 Thick walls of earth or masonry to keep in the chill.
Kueh-style sand garden with raked patterns and a few
2 Boxes filled with expensive ice. 1
aesthetic stones.
Slabs of beef or pork hanging from the ceiling, blocking the 2 Worn stone benches carved with characteristic patterns.
3
interior view.
Flowers grown unwholesomely thick and vigorous in the
4 Casks of chilled liquor. 3
soil.
5 A corpse being preserved until the funerary rites. 4 A fountain carved with fanciful beasts.
6 Sliced meat being cold-cured with salt and spices 5 A small hut for storing necessary gardening implements.
Treasures: A precious slab of pre-exile jade that has been Some poisonous or otherwise dangerous plant growing
enchanted to remain icily cold, a trove of valuable 6
unnoticed.
cured exotic meat, a rare cask of liquor
Treasures: Rare and precious flower, exquisite statuette, plants
that can be processed into valuable drugs

156
 GREAT HALL LIBRARY
1 A roaring fire at the far end of the hall. 1 Shelves stacked with nonhuman writing on tablets of clay.
The ceiling rises to a second floor above the hall, ringed 2 Heavy books chained to mahogany reading stands.
2
with living quarters. 3 Mirrored lamps hung in windowless rooms.
3 Pillars carved with artful designs. 4 Rules, planes, quills, brushes, and other tools of writing.
4 Side rooms filled with spare furniture and other lumber. 5 Scrolls sheathed in cloth wrappings.
5 Long tables served on either sides by benches. Old-fashioned Imperial books made of thin bamboo slats
6
Trophies and banners hanging down from the pillars and tied with silk.
6
upper floor. Treasures: Books in precious bindings, Long-lost tomes, Sup-
Treasures: A valuable old trophy, plunder hidden inside a side plies of small jewels and gold leaf for binding.
room, a lord's jeweled chair.
MORTUARY
KENNEL 1 Stone slabs for preparing the dead.
Deeply-driven wooden posts with rope or metal chains 2 Jars full of noxious embalming liquids.
1
attached to them.
3 A shelf of books and religious icons for embalming rites.
2 Troughs for slopping and watering the animals.
4 A tub for washing corpses.
3 Wooden shelters against rain and sun.
Cabinet full of surgical tools for stitching up mangled
4 Fenced-in enclosures to let the animals move freely. 5
bodies.
5 Fighting pit for gambling on the beasts. A supply of coffins and shrouds stacked on one side of the
6
6 Shed for tack and harness for the animals. room.
Treasures: A beast of exquisite bloodline and appearance, jew- Treasures: Perfume for anointing the dead, Valuable incense
eled or golden collars, valuable furs taken from the cones, Jeweled religious icons.
animals.
NURSERY
KITCHEN 1 Rows of simple wooden cradles.
1 Blazing cook-fire with a heavy iron spit. 2 Toys fashioned of wood and bone.
2 Waist-high metal cauldrons filled with boiling liquid. 3 Bright, simple paintings in fresco or paint on the walls.
3 Heavy wooden tables scarred with knifemarks and burns. 4 Cloth dolls stuffed with straw or coconut husk.
4 Pots and pans dangling from ceiling racks. 5 Wooden slabs carved with letters and pictures.
5 Iron griddles left smoking-hot. Cabinets with infant swaddling and clothing for small
6
6 Great wooden barrels full of rice, flour, and other staples. children.
Treasures: Jeweled serving dishes, treasure bricked into the Treasures: A noble infant's jeweled baubles, a precious object
fireplace, sacks of valuable spices. left behind by a caretaker

LABORATORY PANTRY
1 Stacks of scrolls and codices on dusty shelves. 1 Sacks of rice and wheat.
2 Intricate devices of inexplicable purpose. 2 Tight casks filled with preserved meat.
3 Diagrams carved into the floor and work tables. 3 Large tubs filled with pickled vegetables.
4 Stuffed animals hanging from the ceiling. 4 Small barrels of sea-salt.
5 Vivisection table with straps and clamps. 5 Strings of dried peppers and garlic.
6 Slates covered with obscure chalkings. 6 Jars of honey and cones of sugar.
Treasures: Small ingots of precious metal, rare or richly-bound Treasures: A cabinet full of rare spices, Small vials and con-
books, expensive laboratory equipment tainers of precious metal, Satchets of after-dinner
recreational drugs.

157
 PRISON CELL TORTURE CHAMBER
1 Iron staples sunk into the floor, walls, or ceiling. 1 A stained but well-oiled rack.
2 Filthy straw ticks. 2 Braziers that smoke and stink of charred meat.
3 Noisome buckets. 3 Books filled with carefully-recorded confessions.
4 Crawling vermin. 4 Chains welded to staples in the wall.
5 Walls scratched with prayers, curses, and day-hashes. 5 Hoists dangling from the ceiling.
6 Walls with mortar chipped from around the stones. A cabinet containing bandages, sutures, and other medical
6
Treasures: Small precious objects 'hidden' by a prisoner and equipment.
concealed behind loose stones. Treasures: A written confession with blackmail potential,
belongings of the victims
SALON
1 Furniture fashioned of assorted tropical woods. UNFINISHED ROOM
2 Cabinets of liquors and wines. 1 Wooden paneling stacked on the floor.
3 Tables scarred by knives and tankards. 2 Floor tiles piled in heaps.
4 Gaming boards marked off for play. 3 A half-finished relief or painting on one wall.
5 Braziers to warm the room and toast food. 4 Tubs of mortar or daub.
6 Wall hangings or paintings. 5 Skeletal interior walls with only the bare studs raised.
Treasures: Gambling wagers, fine liquors, exquisite paintings. 6 A floor grooved with channels for hot air from a central fire.
SHRINE Treasures: Valuable raw building materials such as gold leaf or
precious mosaic tiles.
1 Gilded idol on an altar.
2 Holy book spread open on a lectern.
3 Censers hanging from the ceiling.
VAULT
1 Chests bolted or chained to the floor.
4 Religious icons painted on the walls.
2 Rows of labeled pigeonholes for documents.
5 Padded kneelers placed before the altar.
3 Iron-barred display cases.
6 Locked cabinets filled with religious paraphernalia.
4 Coffers with interior padding for delicate valuables.
Treasures: Jeweled idols, precious relics, valuable offerings
5 Armor racks with loops of chain to fasten the display.
SPARRING ROOM 6 Verdigrised bronze coffers with no visible keyholes.
1 Sweaty garments piled in a heap. Treasures: Virtually anything.
2 Battered training dummies standing against a wall.
3 A floor padded with a thickly-woven straw mat. VESTIBULE
4 Bars and exercise weights scattered about the room. 1 Cabinets for outerwear.
Fighting stances and encouraging imprecations painted on 2 Racks for hanging cloaks and overmantles.
5
the walls.
3 Boot-scrapers and stained rugs.
6 Racks full of bamboo weapons and defensive padding.
4 Braziers to warm the outside air.
Treasures: Venerable manual of secret combat techniques, pre-
5 Intricate carving over the doorways to frighten evil spirits.
cious relic of a mighty warrior of the exile
6 Trophies and indicia of the status of the occupants.
STOREROOM Treasures: Valuable clothing left here, precious trophies.
1 Sealed crates full of cloth or other dry goods.
2 Large glazed jugs full of lamp oil.
3 Stacks of unused furniture.
4 Clothing folded away with aromatic wood chips.
5 Vermin scuttling around, ignoring the wood chips.
6 Piles of empty barrels and jugs.
Treasures: Exquisite furniture presently out of style, family
heirlooms, a cache of wealth hidden beneath a
floorboard.

158
 Maps and Mapping
The following pages include a selection of generic maps that a referee be recycled half a dozen times without players being any the wiser,
can use to quickly construct adventure sites. In the PDF version of so long as you change a few details and alter the orientation.
this supplement, you can use the layer controls in your PDF reading
program to selectively blank the upper or lower portion of a map There are some maps in the gaming world that are beautiful and
page, or filter the terrain features on overland maps. inspiring works, evocative of distant realms and sure to spark the
creativity of referees who make use of them. Such creations are
At the back of the section, you’ll also find a blank form for noting wonderful maps, but they are not the sort of thing you necessarily
down the details of a diagram dungeon, as explained in the site need in your campaign folder.
creation chapter. A sample ruin created as a diagram dungeon is
provided as an example of the form. The maps in your campaign folder should be ruthlessly functional
schematics that tell you exactly what you need to know to use them
The scale of the maps and the direction of due north are to the at the table. If it gives you pleasure to draw out beautiful and in-
referee’s taste. The village map should likely have 1 square = 25 feet, tricate maps, then by all means, you should do so. But for actual
while the building maps may function more perfectly at 10 or 5 feet table use, the key necessity is a map that tells you what a Labyrinth
per square, depending on the grandeur of the structure. Lord needs to know. Don’t sweat and groan over an architecturally-
perfect drawing unless the creation itself gives you pleasure.
You should be willing to get your maps dirty. The whitespace on
them was put there to encourage you to scratch your own notes In any case, the odds are that your maps will end up as snack-
and modifications on the sheets, and you can always print more as smeared, beer-stained tissues scrawled with cryptic shorthand and
needed. Change interior layouts, draw in furnishings, add or remove hit point tally scratches. Such relics are splendid trophies of success-
doors, and otherwise muck with the defaults. Most of the maps can ful gaming sessions, and you should not fear to help them along the
way with a few more scribblings when usefulness suggests it.

BORDER VILLAGE

159
UNDERGROUND
TEMPLE

PAGODA SHRINE
BURIED PASSAGES

BORDER OUTPOST

Top Floor

Ground Floor

Cellar
DEEP BURROW

HILLSIDE CAVES
WALLED
ESTATE

Cellar Upper Floor

SURFACE
RUINS

RUINED
KEEP

Ground Floor Cellar

SITE NAME: LAST USED:

A B C D E F G

7
 Pantry

Entrance

Captain’s Room Prison Cells

Lab
Kitchen

Dining Hall

Festering
Altar Room
Library

High Priest’s
Chamber Secret Passage

Hidden Vault

Washroom
Guard Barracks Priests’
Cells

167
The cruel priests of Liltu, the Eater of First Breaths, once scourged the village with their savage exactions.
They demanded newborn infants to feed the hunger of their goddess, and dark sorceries and hireswords
kept them secure in their rule. Decades ago, a band of adventurers led the villagers in a ferocious attack
on the fane that slew the priests and their henchmen. The adventurers perished in the fighting, and the
peasants left the accursed place with the bodies of their heroes. Who is to say what remains undiscovered?

Entrance: The door was smashed from its hinges when the fane was overthrown by the peasants. Inside the doorway is a
D1 relatively fresh corpse, a young female Imperial clad in cracked leather armor, an adventurer’s cheap cleaver fallen at her
side. Her mouth is crusted over with yellowish fungus, a mark of her recent death from the mold of the Festering Room (E3)
Pantry: Grain sacks have all gone moldy here, and big earthen jars are full of vinegar and rot. Hidden beneath one sack
covered in yellow fungus is a small bronze box containing two vials of still-potent jatji extract. If consumed in food or drink,
F1 the victim must save versus Poison or die of heart failure in 1d4 rounds. A thief or magic-user may recognize the viscid,
milky substance. A fence might buy the vials for 100 gp apiece, but it is illegal anywhere outside of Tien Lung.
Laboratory: Five infant skeletons are curled up on the central table here. The largest is still possessed by the shade of its
owner, and will animate 1d4 rounds after the room is entered. The skeleton will rush past the PCs to D3, where it will
claw uselessly at the hidden vault door if not destroyed before then. It will continue to paw at the door until it is opened,
A2 whereupon the spirits within and the child’s shade will both fade away peacefully. The lab contains a half-dozen legible
scrolls recording useful medical knowledge from the experiments on the children. A mage or healer with few scruples might
pay 500 gold for them.
Guard Captain’s Room: The captain’s dog’s corpse has become colonized by the fungus at E3. He waits here by his master’s
B2 rotting bones, a half-aware pile of fungus and teeth. He attacks intruders instantly. HD 2+2, hp 12, Dmg 1d4, AC 6
Prison Cells: Three of the cells were forced open when the temple was overrun. One remains locked, the bones of something
C2 huge and misshapen within. The lock is rusted shut, but if pried open the remains can be searched to find the snapped chain
of a delicate woman’s bracelet. The gold and garnet jewelry is worth 200 gp.
E2 Kitchen: The hearth is long cold here. Tendrils of festering rot flow through the southern doorway.
Dining Hall: The tables are broken and the benches overturned. The walls are gouged from the fighting here, and six sets of
F2 bones lie on the floor, still clad in the rags of priests.
High Priest’s Chamber: Opulent silks have fallen to dust here. A tarnished copper idol squats atop a small iron box here,
resting atop a decaying writing desk. If the idol is touched or manipulated without first kneeling before it in obeisance, the
A3 infidel is struck with a Curse that will force them to automatically fail their next saving throw. Within the box is the key
to the hidden vault door at D3.
Altar: A rotting wooden idol sheathed in verdigrised copper rises up here, the goddess holding an infant in one hand and
a knife in the other. Carved on the altar before her are images of priests kneeling in obeisance. The walls are draped in
D3 rotting silks, and if the silks behind the idol are investigated, a hidden vault door will be found. The lock can be picked, or
the key from A3 used.
Festering Room: The floor here is ankle-deep in dry, papery yellow fungus. If disturbed, the spore cloud attacks all adjacent
who haven’t covered their faces with wet cloth. Those who fail a save versus Poison will initially feel no negative effects,
but every two turns thereafter they will lose 3 points of Constitution as the fungus swells in their lungs. At less than 3
E3 Constitution, they choke to death on the fungal growths. A Cure Disease spell can save them, as can the forcible inhalation
of a substantial amount of vinegar. Water can damp the fungus and eliminate its ability to throw up the spore cloud. Lost
Constitution returns at the rate of 1 point per day of bed rest.
Library: Most of the scrolls here are illegible, but a small selection of botanical texts survive. One is bookmarked to a
F3 description of Yellow Cough Stalk, the fungus that carpets the festering room. The vinegar cure for inhalation is mentioned.
Guard Barracks: Eight yellowed skeletons are heaped at the far end of this room where they died fighting. One wears a
B4 shirt of dwarven-made chain mail sized to fit a human; it remains impervious to tarnishing, and the gold fittings make it
worth 300 gp.
Priests’ Cells: These six small, stark cells once housed the temple priests. Each contains a cot and a writing desk beneath the
C4 high window of each. A young boy’s corpse remains hidden under the sixth cell’s bed, his enraged spirit animating it as a
ghoul to attack any living creatures who look beneath the bed: HD 2, hp 7, Dmg 1d3/1d3/1d3 plus save vs. Paralysis, AC 6.
Hidden Vault: The temple’s wealth was stored here. Seventy-eight tiny infant skulls have been gilded with paper-thin gold
leaf; an amoral buyer might pay 5 gold apiece for the metal of each. A prehuman ritual knife of chipped black obsidian is
decorated with serpent motifs along the wrapped silk of the hilt, and serves as a dagger +1. A locked chest contains 500 gp
worth of gold leaf, two dozen small semiprecious gems, each worth 25 gold, and some perfectly-preserved ritual vestments
decorated with the knife symbol of the cult. While soft as silk, the vestments serve as leather armor to a wearer. Geomantic
dissonances in the weaving prevent magic-users from casting spells while wearing them, but elves can function normally.
D4
When the vault is first opened, six spectral infants will manifest and begin a furious wailing. They can be Turned as skeletons
by a cleric, and if Turned will vanish permanently. Lullabies will also soothe them, as will droplets of milk. If not calmed
within 4 rounds, the spirits will animate six of the gilded skulls and attack, vanishing only after the skulls are destroyed:
HD 1-1, hp 1, Dmg 1d3, AC 5. If the skeleton from room A2 is present when the vault is opened, the skeleton’s spirit will
gather up the infants and guide all of them to their final rest.
Washroom: A trickle of muddy water from a wall spout steadily fills a large copper washtub. Ancient lavatory seats line the
E4 other wall. Drains in the floor carry away the sluggish fountain’s spillage.
 index

A F
Adventurers 44 Fighters 46
Adventure Sites 80–135 First Respite, The 7
Borderland Sites 90–103
Borderland Site Tags 93–102 G
City Sites 104–111 Gadaal 15
City Site Tags 106–111 Gender Roles 41
Court Sites 85–89
Diagram Dungeons 113 H
Ruin Sites 112–135
The Golden Rule 84 Halflings 16, 46
Agrahti, Witch Queen 8 Hell Kings 43, 139–140
Aktau 23 Hohnberg 7, 23, 29
Altgrimmr 7, 23, 28
Azure Ministry, The 140–141 I
Imperials 16
B
Bestiary K
Constructs 70 Kitaminato 7
Demon, Infernal 71–73 Kueh 17
Devil, Celestial 73
Lizardfolk, Isle 73 L
Ogre, Isle 74
Shou 74–76 Lammach, Archmage 5
Businesses 153 Death 7

C M
Campaign Folders 81–83 Magic
Clearing Wars, The 6 Cleric Spells 54
Clerics 45 Daily Life 53
Cults Magic-User Spells 60–62
Hell Kings 9, 43 Scion Wyrds 55–57
Tide 9 Shou Witch Spells 58–59
Spellcasting Costs 53
D Magic Items 63–64
Cultural Styles 65–69
Diagram Dungeons 113 Magic-Users 46
Dwarves 12, 45 Maps and Mapping 159–166
Money 40
E
Eirengarders 13 N
Ektau 5, 23 Name Lists 143–152
Elves 13, 45 Ninefold Celestial Empire 5, 7, 16
Scions 45–46 Nordheim 6
Eshkanti 15
169
Q Shou Witch 47–48
Skandr 18
Quick Cult Creation 142 Slavery 40
Quick NPC Creation 154 Stitched Path Magic 32
Sungari River 5
R Sunset Isles 5
Rai, Shogun 7, 17, 36 Climate 19
Ravaging, The 8 Maps 22, 24–25
Red Tide 5, 136–138 Political Map 27
Refuge Bay 5 Travel 19
Religion 41 Wilderness Encounters 21
Afterlives 51
Anghad 42 T
Godless Races 43 Tablet of Heaven 5
Hjal 42 Thieves 48
Maker, The 42 Tidespawn 76–79
Nine Immortals, The 42 Tien Lung 7, 31–32
Sifr 42
Room Dressing 155–158 V
Ruins of the Red Fane 168
Vowed 49–50
S
W
Shakun 6
Shogunate of the North 36–37 Westmark 7, 24, 39
Shou 5, 17, 47, 138–139
X
Half-bloods 18
Monster Statistics 74–76 Xian 6, 24, 33–35
Shou Lands 38

170
 THE PACTS OF THE WISE
PROMISES IN THE DARK
The eldritch arts of the Crimson Pandect provide a wide range of require much of a mage’s free time but they are not so demanding
sorcerous tools and possibilities to the avid mage. Some wizards, that the wizard cannot adventure and perform other activities
however, are not satisfied with the benefits to be gained from during the month. They simply cannot perform two research
scholarly study or arcane fabrication. They are discontent with the month activities in the same span of time.
teachings of wiser mentors or the acquisition of books of occult
lore. These mages are not so foolish as to make dark pacts with the The exaction of a pact is the particular price the wizard must pay
outer gods or embrace the madness that is a sorcerous cult, but to gain advantage of the patron’s favor. Most of the time these
they are willing to perform certain small favors on behalf of less exactions take the form of regular rituals and sacrifices, though
sinister beings. These pacts grant special blessings to wizards who taboos against certain behavior are also common. Wizards who fail
are able to satisfy their occult exactions. to meet the terms of the exaction fall in default of the pact, and
immediately lose all benefits. Additional punishment inevitably
Under most circumstances, the pacts that follow may only be follows until the wizard manages to placate the angered power.
struck by magic-users and elves. At the Labyrinth Lord’s discre-
tion, some clerics or other spellcasting classes might also be able to The blessing of a pact is the special favor that the power confers
strike the otherworldly bargains described within. upon the wizard. Most often, this is a constant low-level ability
or situationally-useful power that the mage may call upon. Pacts
The following pages offer a half-dozen example pacts to of this kind do not grant remarkable power, but instead give a
demonstrate the possibilities of these occult promises. Every pact specific sort of ability that is useful in a particular kind of situa-
requires its own sorcerous invocation, and every pact involves four tion. Many wizards find such narrow blessings to be unappealing,
elements- the contact, the exaction, the blessing, and the acquittal. but those who strike pacts with the outer powers often have plans
that benefit by such aid.
Contacting an entity requires a specific spell of contact, different
for each entity that is to be invoked. These rites are treated as any Eventually, the burden of the exaction may become too much for a
other magic-user spell and must be learned and prepared in the mage, and he may desire to end the pact. Every pact’s summoning
usual way. They may be written on scrolls, but the caster must spell has the details necessary for an acquittal, a rite or action that
be learned enough to perform the necessary ancillary rituals that can be used to end the bargain without negative consequences. A
go with their use. Any magic-user may learn a contacting ritual, wizard may not perform an acquittal while he is in default of the
including those paths from the Crimson Pandect that have a more pact- he must be on good terms with the patron to be allowed to
restricted selection of spells. end it. A wizard can renew the pact later if he so chooses, but he
must perform the contact ritual all over again to do so.
Many contact rituals require what is known as a “research month”.
The full details of research months are provided in the Crimson
Pandect, but for those campaigns that do not use those rules,
simply treat it as a month worth of arcane effort. The rituals

©2012 by Kevin Crawford, art by V. Shane and Katana. Labyrinth Lord™ is copyright 2007-2012, Daniel Proctor. Labyrinth Lord™ and
Advanced Labyrinth Lord™ are trademarks of Daniel Proctor. These trademarks are used under the Labyrinth Lord™ Trademark License
1.2, available at www.goblinoidgames.com.
2
LOM, THE KEEPER OF THE AMBER TABLETS
Lom is a power of earth and stone, a brooding intelligence that
thinks thoughts in the form of crystals and dark gems. An adept
who has mastered the incantations that can attract Lom’s attention
may learn to manifest the being’s mind in the form of yellow
crystalline tablets. By inscribing a favored spell upon the tablets,
Lom’s glacially-slow cogitation effectively performs the necessary
propitiations and preparations required for the spell’s use.

Sealing the pact requires a full research month worth of incanta-

tions, strokes upon stone drums, clashing of carved rocks and
the grinding of opaque gems in certain admixtures. Even so, the
execution of the rite is not overly difficult, and any attentive novice
should be capable of enacting it. The ritual of the pact is treated as
a first level spell for research and casting purposes and requires 200
gp worth of ingredients.

Maintaining the pact requires a full research month spent each

year in placating the slow mind of Lom with soothing incantations
and the correct admixture of powdered opaque gemstones. The
more potent the wizard, the more difficult it is to keep Lom from
being distracted by his pact; ingredients for these rites cost 50 gp
per caster level. This cost is doubled for casters of more than 5th
level and quadrupled for those casters of more than 10th level. THE SIGN OF LOM
wizard may perform it prematurely if a spare research month is
The amber tablets of Lom extrude into the physical world during
available and he is willing to pay the price of it.
the course of pact-making and during the annual affirmation of
the rite. A wizard may inscribe any one spell known to him upon
If the annual maintenance of the pact is not performed, Lom’s
the tablets without any cost in gold or scribing time. So long as the
attention is drawn toward the wizard, and it grows angry at the
pact is maintained, he may use this spell in place of any memo-
disturbance of its yellow thoughts. The inscribed spell is no longer
rized spell of the same level. Thus, if he inscribes Fire Ball upon
available and gemstones of every kind will bite the wizard if he
the yellow mind of Lom, he may expend a prepared Haste spell
touches or carries them. These sorcerous wounds appear even
to instead cast the flaming sphere. The spell expended must be of
through thick gloves or heavy leather pouches, and any wizard
the correct level; greater or lesser powers will not suffice. Any spell
touching a gemstone or handling a container in which gems are
may be recorded upon the tablets, but Lom has no conception of
kept will suffer 1d4 damage per round until the offending jewel is
the powers of air and wind, and so spells that involve electricity,
dropped. The rite of affirmation must be performed to calm Lom’s
winds, or air cannot be impressed upon its mind. The spell chosen
sleep once more.
can be changed only during the yearly rite of affirmation; the
To end the pact with Lom, the wizard must perform the contact-
SHARD OF THE YELLOW MIND ing rite once more, smoothing over the amber tablets and dismiss-
ing himself from the mind of Lom. This costs the same amount of
These relics are fashioned by powerful magi from fragments
time and gold as it would to affirm the pact for another year.
of Lom’s crystalline intellect, and take the form of fist-sized
fragments of dark amber inscribed with occult sigils. A Read
Magic spell will reveal the Keeper’s pact-spell inscribed on the PLOT SEEDS
shard’s surface. A careless sorcerer has botched the summoning of Lom, and the
Keeper’s mind is roused to anger. Loose gemstones throughout the
Those who hold a Shard can change the spell inscribed on Lom’s city are congealing into crystalline beasts that are preying on the
mind with no more than a day’s patient effort. Furthermore, fleshy beings around them. The bungling wizard must be found
they can substitute any memorized spell of equal or greater level and killed before enough gemstones congregate to create a truly
to cast the inscribed spell. unstoppable golem.

Constant proximity to Lom’s glacial thoughts can make it Miners have struck upon a strange, vast deposit of amber deep
difficult for a wizard to recognize the infiltration of other alien beneath the earth, far away from the usual strata where small
minds. A person bearing a Shard of the Yellow Mind suffers a nodules of the gemstone are found. Little do they realize that it
-2 penalty on all saving throws versus spells of mind reading or is actually an extrusion of Lom’s thoughts, and its disturbance
mental influence. threatens to leave them as shard-pierced slaves to Lom’s cold mind.
Only reburial of the lode will stop the shard-slaves’ rampage.
3
 OKULA, WHO WATCHES THE SLEEPER
A strange and abstract entity, Okula is a favored ally of paranoid
wizards and those who dread ambush. The being appears to have
little awareness aside from its passionate hunger to behold the
world, and its demands are modest upon its devotees.

Forging a pact with Okula requires the sacrifice of the eyes of

four sentient creatures, each pair harvested no closer than fifty
miles from any other pair. These ingredients must be gathered
from distant points, and then the incantation of contact can be
performed. The rite itself counts as a second level spell for research
and casting purposes, and takes a full research month to perform.
Once Okula’s attention is drawn, the pact is sealed.

Maintaining the pact requires the presentation of some new and

interesting sight at least once a month. A new piece of beautiful
artwork, a new play, a stirring vista, a foreign city... Okula is not
particular, but a wizard cannot keep himself locked in his study all
month and satisfy the being. Okula also grows angry if its devotee
should be blinded, whether temporarily or permanently, and any
instance of the condition leaves the adept in default of his pact.
Merely being in a dark place or cloud of dust does not count as
blinding, but intentionally blindfolding the wizard or dazzling his
eyes will incur Okula’s wrath. THE SIGN OF OKULA
If the wizard should fall into default of his pact, either through
In exchange for this tribute of vision, Okula keeps silent watch
carelessness or being struck blind, Okula punishes the devotee with
over the wizard when he is asleep or unconscious. The wizard
an inability to recognize the sight of those around him. He cannot
may respond to dangers and sights around him as if he were
tell friend from foe, orc from human, or discern any appearance,
awake, instantly rising from his slumber should the circumstances
clothing, or held objects possessed the people around him. He
require it. Okula’s vision is so keen that it can detect even invisible
can still distinguish people by voice, smell, or other senses and he
presences. This blessing does not function when the mage is awake,
can see unintelligent beasts clearly still. This affliction lingers until
but even then, the presence of an invisible creature within fifty feet
the wizard placates Okula with a repetition of the rite of contact,
of the wizard will result in the sharp prickling sensation of Okula’s
which will take a fresh set of eyes and another research month to
agitation. It is not accurate enough to locate the invisible subject,
perform.
but it alerts the wizard to the intrusion.
Those wizards who weary of entertaining the strange power may
EYE OF PENETRATING INSIGHT end the pact through the sacrifice of certain eyeless fishes and
newts and the burning of concealing incense worth 250 gold
Certain wizards have been known to fashion small spheres of pieces.
polished white jade in ways pleasing to Okula, drawing the
entity’s power into the item and imbuing it with potent virtues
of sight and observation. The eye is used by looking through PLOT SEEDS
the pale ocular at the subject to be examined, and it does not A wealthy collector of art guards his selection of ancient jade
require that the user be pacted with Okula in order to function. miniatures jealously, but the town’s thieves torment him with their
constant attempts at theft. In truth, a local devotee of Okula seeks
For each full minute that the user gazes through the eye, his beautiful spectacles to placate the entity, and is paying the thieves
vision extends past solid objects to a depth of one foot. Thus, far more than common fence’s rate to retrieve the miniatures.
after ten minutes of staring at an iron door, the user would be
able to see ten feet into the room beyond. So potent is this sight Several of the local wizards who have pacted with Okula have been
that even lead sheeting and other conventional anti-scrying found murdered, their eyes carved from their heads. The culprits
methods are useless against the eye. are the devotees of Agwad the Unseen, a sinister power of invisibil-
ity and imperceptibility whose devotees fear the Okulites’ powers
Careless use of the eye is imprudent, however, as its employment of noticing the veiled. The cultists plan to infiltrate their invisible
severely strains the user’s eyesight. At the end of each use of the assassins into the next noble court audience, and can tolerate no
eye, there is a 25% chance that the user is struck blind for one chance of being noticed before their bloody work is accomplished.
turn for every minute they spent using the eye. Once the user
has been so blinded, they cannot use the eye for one week after.

4
IKRIKIK, THE CHIRPING GOD
A power of insects and buzzing things, Ikrikik cares little for the
affairs of men, thinking only of consumption and reproduction. It
waxes great in swarms of insects and carpets of six-legged vermin,
and its rites of propitiation are painful and disturbing. Still, many
wizards within the jungle lands find reason to seek the favor of the
Chirping God.

Sealing a pact with Ikrikik requires a research month spent

in consuming countless noxious and venomous insects while
intoning the mantras and performing the necessary ritual dances
to attain unity with the great swarm that Ikrikik favors. A wizard
must save versus Poison or be sickened during this month, losing
one hit point per level from their maximum HP and risking a
10% failure chance on any spell they may cast. The rare insects
required for this rite will cost 500 gp if not personally gathered
from a jungle in a process that may require several months.
Performing this ritual requires an experienced sorcerer, but it is not
considered overly demanding- it counts as a second level spell for
research and casting purposes.

Maintaining the pact requires the monthly sacrifice of large prey

animals to swarms of insects and the creation of pleasing breeding
areas for various forms of buzzing life. Any animal larger than a THE SIGN OF IKRIKIK
cat will suffice for the monthly sacrifice, though it must be staked
Furthermore, once per day the wizard may enlist the services of a
out near an anthill or other cluster of insects capable of killing and
fly, gnat, ant, or other small normal insect to serve as a spy. The
devouring it. The animal must be alive at the time of sacrifice, for
sorcerer enters a trance and takes control of the mite, moving it
Ikrikik feeds upon its spirit as the insects devour its flesh. For the
at a speed of up to five feet per round out to a maximum range
breeding areas, even a bowl of stagnant water will do in a pinch,
of three hundred feet. The wizard has the senses of the insect,
but every long-term residence of the mage must have some sort of
and while these strange impressions are useless for discerning
insect-spawning area established in it.
fine details, they can gain a general awareness of a surrounding
area and overhear conversations. The control lasts for as long as
While the pact with Ikrikik is kept, no insect, arachnid, or other
the trance is maintained. If the insect dies while the wizard has
verminous thing will sting, bite, or otherwise molest the wizard
control, the sorcerer is struck unconscious for 1d6 turns.
and up to a dozen companions with him. This protection is lost
for an hour if the wizard intentionally harms the insects or attacks
If the monthly sacrifice is not made, Ikrikik’s anger swarms about
their nest, though the mere trampling of ants or casual crushing
the wizard and the friendship of its spawn is lost. The mage is
of swarming things is of no importance. Even giant and magical
constantly bedeviled by crawling things that breed within small
insects will not attack unless compelled by sorcerous forces.
pustules that form upon his skin from the spirit-eggs that Ikrikik
IRIDESCENT WINGS OF THE CHIRPING GOD lays upon him. These pustules and their creeping offspring do no
damage, but the distress causes a 10% failure chance for any spell
These tiny dragonfly wings fashioned of diamond chips and the mage may cast. Furthermore, the wizard suffers a -4 penalty
silver wire are a potent fetish to attract the favor of Ikrikik. on all saving throws versus poisons or other effects induced by an
The possessor who holds them in his bare right hand may fly insect or arachnid.
slowly through the air at a movement rate of 10’ accompanied
by a loud buzzing noise, as if from a swarm of angry bees. If To end the pact with Ikrikik, the wizard must perform the
the wings are held in the bare left hand, the user may burrow contacting rite once more at the same cost in time and ingredients,
through earth or clay at the rate of five feet per round, leaving a this time conducting the dances in reverse and spewing forth the
man-sized tunnel behind him that will collapse one turn later. consumed insects in repudiation of the former bargain. Once the
pact is severed, Ikrikik’s attention and the favor of its offspring are
Ikrikik’s friendship is not acquired freely, however. Every time forever lost; this pact may not be renewed again.
the wings are used, the bearer must make a reaction check
with the normal modifiers. If the result is 7 or worse, a swollen PLOT SEED
jade-green insect grows from the iridescent wings and begins to The devotee of Ikrikik who protects the village’s fields from the
bite the bearer’s hand, sucking 1d4 hit points of blood from the seven-year locusts has vanished, and the plague will spawn soon.
user for each round he continues to use the wings. The insect Little do they know that he has been taken by vengeful spider-
withers and dies once the wings are no longer invoked. priests who seek to punish him for impeding their hunts.

5
VOLUG-MUR, THE DWELLER BETWEEN
The entity known as “Volug-Mur” does not appear to be sentient
in any way recognizable by men. Certain propitiations and careful
offerings bring benefits recognized by the ancient sorcerers, but
there is no sense of a mind to Volug-Mur in any way that a human
could understand it. Still, wizards perform their ancient rituals to
win this being’s dubious “favor” and the benefits of its eldritch aid.

Volug-Mur’s pact requires a research month spent in intricate

mathematical computations and the ritual destruction of certain
elaborate devices of gemstones and precious metal. These objects
are costly in their creation, and must be cleaved and shattered
in precisely the right ways and at the correct angles to seal the
pact with Volug-Mur. The rite itself qualifies as a third level spell
for research and casting purpose, and the devices cost 100 gp
per caster level to fabricate. At the end of the research month,
the wizard makes a prime attribute check at a -2 penalty; on a
failure, the devices were cloven incorrectly and the ritual must be
performed again.

Maintaining the pact with Volug-Mur requires the monthly

solution of increasingly-complex mathematical formulae. At the
end of the first month after the pact is sealed, the mage must make
a prime attribute check at a +4 bonus. Each month after that, the
bonus decreases by 1 until it becomes a penalty as the formulae
THE SIGN OF VOLUG-MUR
also choose to fix their location in space, suspending themselves
grow steadily more difficult. If the wizard fails an attribute check
precisely where they stand even if the ground should crumble away
he must spend a research month correcting his math, which is
beneath them. This effect is equivalent to a permanent Levitation
automatically successful; until he does so, he is considered to be in
spell, albeit without the ability to raise or lower himself unaided.
default of the pact.
Adepts of Volug-Mur always know exactly where they are in
relation to any other known point.
Devotees of Volug-Mur gain the being’s powers over spatial
locations and the fixing of uncertainty. Spells such as Teleport
If the wizard should find himself in breach of the pact, all these
will never send the caster off-target; if the roll indicates a miss,
benefits are lost. Furthermore, the wizard is prey to a great
the caster may choose to abort the spell without effect. They may
confusion of locations. He can find his way around his home or
other deeply familiar location, but he becomes instantly lost upon
THE CODEX OF VOLUG-MUR attempting to travel to any more distant point. In the wilderness
or in a city he always travels in random directions, and even
A book bound in a white leather binding made almost black spells intended to take him unerringly to a particular location
with inscribed mathematical formulae, the Codex of Volug-Mur will inevitably fail. Companions or allies can lead the wizard if
is a potent tome for all spells related to distance, space, and necessity should require it.
position.
Ending the pact with Volug-Mur requires a lengthy pilgrimage of
A wizard in possession of the tome may use it before casting at least one hundred miles, with regular brief stops to place stones
a spell involving teleportation, movement, or the divination and branches in random patterns along the way. Such a process of
of something’s location or spatial qualities. Such preparation freeing himself from the inexorable precision of Volug-Mur usually
requires one turn of mathematical calculation, after which the takes at least a month.
caster makes a prime attribute check a penalty equal to the
spell’s level. If successful, the spell is cast without vanishing from PLOT SEED
the caster’s mind. On a failure, the spell is cast normally and The extensive mathematical labors required by a devotee of
must be rememorized. Volug-Mur have wearied a decadent sorcerer, who would sooner
spend his hours more pleasantly. In consequence, he has begun
The codex does have its hazards, however. If a natural 20 is kidnapping learned scholars and adept accountants from various
rolled on the prime attribute check, the wizard’s calculations places around the city. Much to his chagrin, the formulae appear
are drastically incorrect. He immediately takes 1d6 damage per to be corrosive to the sanity of those not versed in the arcane arts,
level of the spell attempted and is fixed in location, paralyzed and so he is forced to regularly “acquire” new minds- and to run
and immobile, until a Cure Light Wounds or Dispel Magic spell is them in parallel, to ensure that their answers are correct.
used to free him.

6
TISHAB, THE SMOOTH-FACED PLAGUE
Some sages argue that Tishab is not actually a sentient entity, but
instead a virulent spiritual plague that dwells outside the circles
of the world. The difficulty of pacting with Tishab lies not in the
contact with the entity but in controlling the overwhelming vorac-
ity of its sorcerous touch. Adepts that pact with the Smooth-Faced
Plague are gifted with outward youth and resilience, but must take
care to keep the entity propitiated lest they waste away to squalling
helplessness.

The pact of Tishab qualifies as a fourth level spell for research and
casting purposes, and requires a full research month to carefully
beckon the entity’s attention and allow it to infect the caster’s
spirit with its sorcerous plague. Tishab gnaws those portions of
a wizard’s spirit that allow his body to physically age and decay,
feeding off the arcanist’s mortality. As such, elves cannot pact with
Tishab. The medicines and spiritual unguents necessary to stabilize
the infection cost 1,000 gp.

Maintaining a safe degree of control over the infection requires

that the mage remain in good health and carefully control his diet
so as to consume the right balance of mystically-significant foods.
Such provender must be acquired in towns or cities at a minimum
cost of 10 gold pieces a week. If a wizard is cut off from this
supply he must fast or default on the pact. Going more than a day
THE SIGN OF TISHAB
days in default, his new static form would be that of a 22-year-old
without food leaves the wizard weak, unable to prepare spells and
man. Mages regressed to zero years of age simply vanish, entirely
suffering a 10% failure chance on any spells cast. If the wizard fails
consumed by the Smooth-Faced Plague. This regression applies
a saving throw versus poison or is infected by disease, the delicate
only to the mage’s physical form, as it does not increase the mage’s
balance breaks and the wizard also suffers default.
lifespan or lengthen the time until his death.
While the Smooth-Faced Plague is controlled by the wizard, the
The only way to end a default is to purge oneself of all mystical
arcanist has the appearance of a man or woman in the youthful
powers and either fast or consume ritually-pure foodstuffs; the
prime of his life. He has the full vigor and vitality of a young
caster must expend all his memorized spells and remain powerless
person, and the way the plague suffuses his soul leaves it far more
and either fasting or correctly-fed for a week to restore the pact.
resistant to effects that would tear away portions of it or artificially
Time spent purifying himself does not count as time spent in
age the caster. The mage may ignore two experience levels worth of
default for aging purposes. If the wizard chooses to fast, he is
level drain each round, cannot be magically aged, and gets to reroll
utterly helpless from hunger during that time.
a failed saving throw against instant-death magic such as Finger
of Death or Destruction. The plague cannot prolong the subject’s
The infection that is Tishab may be driven from the mage’s soul
actual life, however, and they will die in their duly-appointed
if he desires to end the pact. The process requires a full research
season all the same.
month of sweating, obscure medicines, and strange foodstuffs that
sum to the cost of 1,000 gp. At the month’s end Tishab is expelled
If the caster defaults on the pact the plague will begin to expand
from the wizard’s spirit. His bodily appearance does not change,
out of control, eating more of the mage’s transient mortality
but he begins to physically age at the normal rate from that point
than living flesh can endure. The mage’s vigorous youth becomes
on. The expulsion of Tishab does place a grave strain upon the
more boyish as his body regresses, the clock turning backward
caster’s soul, however- the caster’s total lifespan is shortened by the
hastily as the plague devours his maturity. Each day spent in
amount of time they spent under Tishab’s influence. In some cases
default subtracts a year of apparent age from the mage’s form.
this may mean the mage risks instant death from old age if they
Thus, if a mage who appeared to be a vigorous 30 spent eight
break their pact with the disease.
THE CHALICE OF TISHAB
PLOT SEEDS
A cup of mottled peach and lavender jade, this relic permits one A wealthy matron has secretly possessed the Chalice of Tishab for
not versed in the arcane arts to pact with the power of Tishab. many years, but a clever servant in her employ has made away with
The summoning ritual may be performed at the listed price it. It must be recovered quickly, before the woman must drink
and the dietary taboos must be observed, but so long as the from a lesser vessel, and risk her beauty becoming first girlishness
supplicant drinks nothing from a vessel other than the chalice, and then an unnatural death.
no arcane talent is required to benefit from the pact.

7
JAGGADA, THE EATER OF NAMES
A dread power of blood and forgetting, Jaggada is an entity
favored by red-handed wizards who do not balk at human
sacrifice. Given the ubiquity of such sorcerers in the Sunset Isles,
it is fortunate that contact with the hungry power is a difficult
process amenable only to the greatest of mages. Jaggada itself
does not appear to have a personal identity as such. It is simply
a ravening pit of hunger that is insatiable in its cravings, caring
nothing for what is paid to feed it.

Pacting with Jaggada is an elaborate process that counts as a fifth

level spell for research and casting purposes. A dozen sentient
beings must be sacrificed to draw the power’s attention, each one
with their name tattooed upon them in intricate occult patterns.
Nameless sacrifices are useless to Jaggada- the mage must always
know the name of the beings he kills in the power’s service or else
the sacrifice does not serve. Any name belonging to a creature will
do so long as it is an appellation the victim will acknowledge as his
own. Aside from the sacrifices, scrolls of gold and powdered rubies
must be inscribed with one thousand names of dead sentients and
offered up to the being during the ritual. Such scrolls cost 5,000
gp to fashion.

Maintaining the pact requires the monthly killing of at least one THE SIGN OF JAGGADA
sentient being with a name known to the adept. After the subject
upon its erring devotee. The wizard immediately loses every
is dead, the caster must inscribe their name upon a little scroll
memorized spell and is unable to prepare any new ones until he
of sanctified rice paper and ritually consume it as an offering to
has slain a number of named sentients equal to his caster level
Jaggada. The rite requires a full day of effort and the ingredients
using nothing more than a dagger. If he cannot placate the angered
cost 250 gold pieces. If the caster fails to make this sacrifice or if
Jaggada within seven days, the entity devours him, affecting others
the caster sacrifices a victim under an erroneous or false name, the
as if he had been blotted from memory just as his victims once
mage falls in default of the pact.
were.
While favored by the hunger of the Eater of Names, the caster’s
Ending the pact with Jaggada is simple but costly. The arcanist
damaging spells become more voracious. Any spell that kills or
must offer up his own name to be devoured by the entity, hazing
inflicts hit point damage on a victim applies a -2 penalty to any
in the memory of his acquaintances and associates. He must adopt
saving throws to resist it. In addition, if the caster knows the name
a new name and identity, and while others may be intellectually
of the victim they slay with their sorceries, Jaggada will devour the
aware of the link between the two, only the new identity is capable
very significance of the creature’s existence. Casual acquaintances
of impressing itself upon others. The process also involves the
will immediately forget the victim, while even lovers, colleagues
inevitable loss of one level of experience which cannot be restored
and family members must save versus spells or suddenly lose
by magic.
interest in the wretched subject. Those who succumb to this will
remember his existence and his place, but they will cease to care
Most devotees of Jaggada are brutal blood sorcerers like the
about him or feel any interest in his state, indifferent even to his
Stitched Path devotees of Tien Lung or the demonic arcanists of
corpse at their feet. If the caster tries to trigger this effect but is
the Shogunate. Even so, some adventurers also revere the Eater
wrong about the subject’s name, they immediately fall into default
of Names. Given their bloodthirsty lifestyle, it is distressingly
of the pact.
easy for them to kill at least one named sentient a month almost
indefinitely.
If Jaggada is not appeased by sacrifices or the wizard falls into
default through his own carelessness, the entity’s hunger is turned
PLOT SEED
THE SCALPEL OF NAMES The PCs arrive at an important border town to find its inhabitants
in a frenzy. None of them can remember who their lord is sup-
This unassuming knife is a fearsomely potent relic consecrated posed to be, and the followers of two rival claimants are fighting in
to Jaggada. While it serves only as a dagger+1 in combat, any the streets. Which of them is the servant of Jaggada responsible for
sentient slain by the knife is affected by Jaggada’s name-eating the old lord’s hidden murder, and can proof be found before the
ability, whether or not the wielder is pacted to the entity or town tears itself apart?
knows the name of the victim.

8
 THE YELLOW BONE LEGION
SOLDIERS OF MISFORTUNE
Nine generations ago the city of Xian faced a howling doom. weight of the horde could be turned on Tien Lung, there would be
no incantation to save them.
The Witch Queen Agrahti had thundered out of the west at the
head of a numberless horde, her screaming Shou killing and In the north, the great Archmage Rai was the last of the mighty
burning all in their path. They drove the humans like cattle before sorcerers of the age before the Tide, the guardian and protector of
them and turned whole provinces into wastelands of crows and the remnants of his people. His beautiful Kueh city of Kitaminato
smoke. The other cities of men on the isle were surrounded and was a place of grace and exquisite refinement, but its walls were
embattled, but it was Xian that the horde wanted, for it was Xian scarred by the spears of the Shou, and his samurai were too few
that was the capital of humanity in the Sunset Isles. If the Man- to hold them. In desperation, he and the great families of the city
darin and his defenders could be crushed there would be nothing entered into a bargain with the Hell Kings, offering their souls and
to prevent the Shou from driving every last hated human into the their worship for the salvation of their people. The earth opened
tide. up to vomit forth the iron-nailed shapes of the damned and the
Shou were driven back for a time- but such was the flame and
The humans had been taken unawares by Agrahti’s attack. Ever destruction that half the city was torn to pieces. The hell-sworn
since their arrival on Ektau a hundred and twenty years earlier the Shogun Rai would be master of a city of corpses if the Shou did
Shou had been a rabble of primitive tribes. Their warriors were not soon retreat.
dangerous foemen but were unable to stand against a disciplined
line of Xianese spears. Their witch-priestesses were potent spell- These bastions of humanity were all that remained of mankind on
casters, but they were few, and the well-organized forces of the Ektau. The handful of mad colonists elsewhere in the archipelago
Mandarin had driven them west during years of hard, bloody and the cold Skandr halls of Nordheim were not enough for
fighting. For six generations humanity had prospered on Ektau, survival. Xian’s fall would mean the eradication of humankind, the
pushing their homes and cities west to the foothills of the Godbar- inevitable slaughter and destruction of the last hope the Red Tide
row Mountains. had left them. The legions of Xian manned the wizard-wrought
walls of their city and looked to their lords for salvation.
It had been a blessed respite for the refugees. The Archmage Lam-
mach had managed to save a hundred thousand souls from the en- LAMBS TO THE SLAUGHTER
croaching horror of the Red Tide, but as far as any sage knew that Xian had been taken unawares by Agrahti’s red crusade. Large
remnant was all that remained of humanity. The churning crimson portions of their army were cut off in the west, detachments eaten
mists that hung a hundred miles off the Sunset Isles spelled swift whole by the horde or beleaguered in border fortresses that had
and terrible death for any caught within its foggy coils. The exile been bypassed by the Shou in their frenzied charge east. Only a
fleet had fled before the rolling mists as it ate nations and seas and portion of the Mandarin’s army was close enough to reach the
all the rest of the world, but here in the Isles there was a haven. walls of Xian and man the towering stone walls against the Shou
The mist drew back, and its evil was limited to the cults of mad warriors.
dreamers it inspired.
If the Shou had possessed any true siegecraft, their sheer numbers
Now that respite was at an end. The province of the Westmarch would have ensured Xian’s swift destruction. Even so, swarms
was in flames, its scattered survivors spared only because the horde of goblin archers raked the walls as muscular orcish warriors ran
could not linger to hunt them all down. In the west, Hohnberg ladders into hails of Xianese fire. Hobgoblin captains directed the
prepared to die bravely, its Makerite warpriests blessing pikemen tribesmen with uncanny discipline, and bugbear infiltrators were
who knew they would not return. The Shou would breach its walls constantly struggling to climb any scalable inch of Xian’s fortifica-
by climbing on their dead, but the Thusundi knew he did not have tions.
enough men to hold them once Xian had fallen.
Worst of all were the witch-priestesses. The mightiest of Agrahti’s
In the south, the arcanists of Tien Lung wielded hideous sorcer- handmaidens could make the very earth tremble beneath the city’s
ies and fueled abominable spells with the lives of their subjects. walls, and the Mandarin’s sorcerers were forever rushing along the
The walls of the city were smeared black with the blood of their parapets to counter these witch-works before they could shake the
dead, their eldritch signs and killing wards sending crackling force walls from under their defenders’ feet. Even lesser priestesses could
through the Shou multitudes. The city would hold until the last whip their followers into such a frenzy as to keep fighting with a
apprentice was dead, but the Shou kept coming through thun- foot of Xianese steel in their bellies.
der and flame to hurl themselves at the amber city. Once the full

©2013 by Kevin Crawford, art by Katana. Labyrinth Lord™ is copyright 2007-2013, Daniel Proctor. Labyrinth Lord™ and Advanced Labyrinth Lord™ are trademarks of
Daniel Proctor. These trademarks are used under the Labyrinth Lord™ Trademark License 1.2, available at www.goblinoidgames.com.

1
Those wizards not charged with defending the walls were kept at Valor had its limits, and panic and hopelessness began to spread
work in the vaults of the Mandarin, drawing forth salvaged relics despite the best efforts of the Mandarin and his loyal daifus. It was
and the precious implements of their ancestors. Archmage Lam- not long before the “volunteering” became less voluntary. The dead
mach and his mighty companions were long dead but they had could not object, but the tree required fresh human blood to bring
left a legacy of magic and potent tools for their heirs. Many of forth its fruit. For every ten corpses dragged from the battlefield,
these devices had been put aside as too dangerous for any but an one living sacrifice was needed to empower the tree. Efforts were
archmage’s use, but now there was no time for such caution. made to use some of the handful of Shou prisoners who had been
taken, but their blood merely wetted the black roots. The tree re-
One such device was a man-tall rod of gnarled black wood fused to drink of them, nor did its fruit return them to the strange
wrapped in a shroud of brittle silk. The yellowed parchments half-life that it bestowed upon humankind.
wrapped with it spoke of it as a terrible artifact of necromantic
power, a trophy seized in centuries past from the dread Night The Junzi Theodred sent both his sons and his eldest daughter be-
Kings who once scourged the Ninefold Celestial Empire. Accord- neath the tree, and when his younger son would not walk he had
ing to the trembling characters of the ancient scribe, the rod could him dragged. The other junzi realized that Theodred would never
be planted by a king to grow a black tree, and with that tree’s fruit stand to have his peers pay less dearly than he, and with varying
the king could raise an army of the dead to serve him. degrees of courage and horror they sent the many of the best and
bravest of their sons and daughters to feed the tree.
The Xianese had always detested necromancy as an affront to their
beloved ancestors, a sure means of earning their anger and an The panic that had been rippling through the city began to recede.
insult to the memory of the cherished departed. Even the meanest The blasphemous horror of the tree was a thing of terror, but the
Xianese beggar family prized the tablets that commemorated their people saw the price their rulers were willing to pay. With tears
more glorious forbears and struggled to perform the yearly ances- and many clasped hands the families of the city sent their tribute
tral rites. To bind the dead to mortal service was blasphemy against to join the “Yellow Bone Legion” that was formed from those
their most treasured beliefs. freshly dead.

The Mandarin planted the rod an hour after it was discovered. He Not all of them came willingly. Some were petty criminals, as
drove it into the dry sands of the bluffs that overlooked Refuge sins that once would have passed with a few strokes of the cane
Bay, and as exhausted wizards watched it instantly erupted into a suddenly became a sentence of service in the Legion. Others were
frenzy of growth. Arm-thick roots plunged into the arid soil and those on the brink of death, so ill that the loss of a few days or
leaves like black leather sprang from thorned branches. It quiv- hours seemed to be of no account. There was no time for appeals,
ered in famished need until a few condemned prisoners had their no leisure for careful consideration- the poor, the sick, the trouble-
throats opened at its roots. Nourished by the blood of the living, some, all went beneath the boughs of the tree and returned infused
peaches the color of yellow jade swelled from its boughs. A priest with the strength of the dead and an unbending obedience to the
plucked a fruit with shaking hands, squeezing out the blood-red Mandarin. The Yellow Bone Legion took to the walls of the city
juice over the bodies of the criminals. Amid muttered prayers and and met the Shou on the parapets.
signs against evil, the dead men staggered to their feet. The could
not speak through slitted throats, so they could only kneel before They fought with the courage of the once-dead and the strength
the Mandarin and sign by gestures their obedience to his will. of the grave. Tireless, unsleeping, needing neither food nor drink,
they were ideal warriors to hold the walls against the Shou hordes.
Xian had its army, if it dared to raise it. Their living commanders shared in their control they owed the
Mandarin and ensured that the Legion did not retreat, even
WHO DARES, WINS after half of its troops were reduced to little more than heaps of
At first, there was a call for volunteers, promises of riches and mangled flesh. The Shou were too many to push back, but they
glory for the families of those who would offer their lives to the were holding the walls at a terrible price.
Black Tree. The noble Junzi Theodred, First General of Xian and
greatest warrior of the city, was the first to go beneath the branches The tainted immortality given by the Black Tree cursed its bearers
of the tree and become one of these “Walking Ghosts”. Many of with a hideous vitality. A Walking Ghost crippled too badly to
the elderly of the city followed the Junzi, bravely offering what life recover would neither heal nor die. Those so wounded were left to
they had left to the tree, sacrificing so that their children might linger on in torment, suffering without the ease of death to end
have some hope of the morrow. Still, their bodies were not of the it. Those who could not mend were given to the mercy of the fire,
best quality, and it took much of the fruit to restore them to a burnt to ashes and scattered to the winds by desperate monks.
condition fit for fighting. Young and well-knit bodies were more Those priests who were not fighting were left to pray, hands
suitable. clenched white around their beads as they asked forgiveness for
what they had done.

2
IMPERFECT ENDINGS amid the memorial stones while elderly monks nod over their tea,
In the end, it was not the Yellow Bone Legion that destroyed the and every year nine soldiers are chosen to carry bundles of black
Witch Queen Agrahti. A rag-tag band of adventurers somehow sticks in the procession honoring the city’s ancestors. These bearers
managed to evade her encircling horde, destroy her guardians, are said to be fated for both heroism and early death, though only
and overcome her mighty sorceries. Their names have long since the monks remember why- and the monks do not speak of it to
been lost to the confusion of chroniclers and popular tales, but it the soldiers.
is known that none survived their heroism. Still, with their final
sacrifice the horde was deprived of the one leader capable of hold- COMING HOME
ing them together. Despite this seeming end, the curse of the Black Tree was stronger
than the Xianese imagined. Those defiled by the red juices of its
Without Agrahti the warlords of the Shou were doomed to turn fruit were raised not merely as docile shambling corpses, but as
on each other. The ancient hatreds and unending blood-feuds that creatures of perverted immortality. Even when burnt to ashes and
had always cursed the Shou left them at bared blades in a matter scattered to the sea, sooner or later they will claw their way from
of days, the horde collapsing in a welter of slaughter. A few of the the earth beneath a dead tree’s branches and shake the soil from
warlords made a vain effort to hold their people together, and a a reformed body. Those merely mangled and left to rot will stitch
last desperate sally at the walls got so far as the bluffs above Refuge themselves together by inches after spending years in nightmarish
Bay. There they burnt the Black Tree before the Legion pushed the delirium.
last of them into the sea, dragging them down into the spray to
drown beneath the waves. Most sages believe that the tree ended In the past few years, more and more of the Yellow Bone Legion
there, but a few whisper tales of a black rod in the ashes that van- have been rising from their graves. Some have pulled themselves
ished before the dawn. from the earth where they fell and were buried as a common
corpse. Others have gasped to life from beneath a dead tree, lost
Within a week, the Shou were a scattering of tribes once more. and confused in this new world. Where they can blend with the
Their remnants would scourge the land for a generation, but the living they are taken merely as simpletons or madmen. Those
hard-pressed survivors of the human race would be strong enough recognized as undead fare less kindly.
to endure them. The Yellow Bone Legion had bought the city
the time it needed to live, but it was time to end their service. So With the death of the Mandarin who summoned them the Walk-
many familiar faces now cold and strange, so many loved ones ing Ghosts are less wholly compelled to Xian’s service. His heirs
now reproachful in their silence... the city could not endure what and their officers still have some power to command them, but it
it had created. is no longer the instant and unflinching service they gave to the
old lord.
At the end of the battle, a great pyre was built outside the city
walls for the countless dead of the siege. Their bodies were laid Many simply try to live their interrupted lives. They try to live and
out with the prayers of the city and the chants of holy monks to work and blend with their neighbors, following those pursuits they
ease their passage onward. When the fire was at its hottest, leaping loved in life and seeking the companionship of the living. Most are
half as high as the city walls, the Mandarin ordered the Yellow foiled in this. The taint of the grave hangs about them, and there
Bone Legion to march to its final muster. Dressed in their funeral is always something about them to raise the hackles of the mortals
shrouds, anointed with blessed oils, censed and chimed and sung they encounter.
to their passage, they climbed upward into the fire until nothing
remained by windblown ash. Others seek the power in death that they never had in life. As
common humans will have little to do with them, they seek out
Atop the blacked ground was raised a temple to honor the sacrifice more abnormal comrades. Shou hate them as much as they hate
of the legion. Its monks were charged with lives of prayer and any other human, but death-cultists, worshippers of Hell, necro-
propitiation to the honored dead in hopes that the spirits of these mantic arcanists, and the cold-blooded serpentfolk find no reason
Walking Ghosts might someday forgive them for their cruel neces- to shun the Walking Ghosts. These risen build cults of followers
sities. Such was the shame of the city at what they had done that and allies to gain the wealth, power, and luxuries they were denied
the Yellow Bone Legion became a name shunned in memory, first by life.
being reserved to scholars, then to priests, and then to no one at
all. The memorial temple holds many tablets to the dead of the Some are still faithful to their original charge, determined to
battle and many shrines to honor those who sacrificed their lives protect their people from the dangers that surround them. Clad
for the city, but the precise way in which they sacrificed and the in their moldering harness and wielding their ancient blades, these
exact nature of their deaths are things uttered only from one monk Walking Ghosts fight on in a war that never really ended for them.
to another in the dark of the moon. The people do not need to Whether as defenders of Xian, protectors of their descendents,
remember what they once did. or as paladins in the service of humanity as a whole, they fight
with tireless fury and the courage that is born of knowing their
To the people of the city, it is simply a temple favored by soldiers inevitable fate.
for reasons that no one quite remembers any more. Children play

3
 WALKING GHOSTS
A CLASS FOR LABYRINTH LORD
Requirements: STR 9 There is something namelessly unnatural about the Walking
Prime Requisite: STR Ghosts, and even those who have no idea of their true nature often
Hit Dice: 1d8 feel that there is something just wrong about them. It is rarely
Maximum Level: None enough to provoke outright hostility, but it prevents friendships
Saves: As Cleric or trust from any but the most clear-minded or unusual of their
Attacks: As Cleric neighbors.
Allowed Armor: Any and Shields
Allowed Weapons: Any Walking Ghosts have the same emotions, memories, and passions
as living humans do, albeit often twisted or distorted by their
Walking Ghosts are humans who have been returned to life condition. Many are abnormally violent or ruthless, though it is
through a powerful necromantic curse. While they have the out- difficult to tell how much of this can be credited to their nature
ward seeming of living human beings, they are actually a unique and how much to their past. Their senses of touch, taste, and smell
and resilient form of undead. Originally raised as soldiers in a ter- are noticeably inferior to that of the living, and are muted and
rible conflict, the long-past death of their creator leaves those who subdued in comparison. It is not unknown for Walking Ghosts to
walk the present world the freedom to choose their own path. seek out the most extreme dangers, pains and experiences simply
to feel sensations capable of reminding them of their living days.

Walking Ghosts Class Table SPECIAL TRAITS

Walking Ghosts are undead, and are treated as such for the pur-
Lvl Title XP HD
poses of all magic, poisons, and diseases. They are immune to the
1 Second Spear 0 1d8 special effects of undead attacks such as level drain or charming.
They do not need to eat, sleep, or drink, and can see clearly even
2 First Spear 1,750 2d8 in perfect darkness. They heal at the same rate as living humans,
3 Iron Fan 3,500 3d8 and cure wounds spells and magic from friendly sources will heal
them normally.
4 Bronze Sword 7,000 4d8
5 Jade Lance 14,000 5d8 Walking Ghosts may be Turned by clerics as undead of hit dice
equal to their level. On a “Turned” result they are forced to flee
6 Second Banner 28,000 6d8 for 1d6 rounds, and on a “Destroyed” result they take 1d6 damage
7 First Banner 56,000 7d8 per level of the cleric.

8 Red Scepter 115,000 8d8 Xianese military officers can command Walking Ghosts, rolling a
Turning check as if a cleric of a level equal to their hit dice. On a
9 Conquering General 230,000 9d8 “Turned” result the Walking Ghost must save versus Spell or be
10+ Heroic Deity of War +115,000 +1 charmed for one day. On a “Destroyed” result, the Walking Ghost
must save or be obedient even to the point of self-destruction for
When first raised from the grave each Walking Ghost was given a one day.
courtesy title befitting their status as honored dead. Those who re-
main active often use these titles amongst themselves to identify their As a consequence of their uncanny aura, Walking Dead suffer a -2
prowess and achievements. penalty on all reaction rolls not related to intimidation. They may
have henchmen, but cannot have normal hirelings or followers.

If reduced to zero hit points, the Walking Ghost is crippled too

APPEARANCE AND PSYCHOLOGY badly to recover normally. If their remains are placed together
Walking Ghosts appear to be perfectly normal humans. They have
they will recover in 2d6 years, with this period spent in a state of
warm skin, appear to breathe, and can eat, drink, and perform any
nightmarish delirium. A body in less cohesive condition could take
other act normal for a human. A close inspection by a physician
centuries to recover. Normal healing magic cannot revive them
will reveal their true nature, however, as they lack a living pulse
from this state, but a Raise Dead or Resurrection spell can restore
and do not bleed when cut.
them to unlife. No currently-known magic can restore true life to
While their physical appearance is normal, they cannot help but them or end their perpetual cycle of return.
provoke a clammy sensation of unease in those around them.

4
PLoT SeeDS foR WALkinG GHoSTS The Walking Ghost’s Sinister Goal
The following tables provide a few basic ideas for creating a Walk- 1d8 Ambition
ing Ghost antagonist for your campaign. These same tables could
also be used for vampires or other intelligent undead who can Avenge himself on Xian for the way it sacrificed his life
1
maintain some sort of masquerade of humanity around an unwit- to the Black Tree.
ting populace.
Exterminate the last descendents of a family that did
2
To generate a plot seed, roll one time on each table- first to some grievous wrong to his own.
discover the revenant’s dark goal, then to determine the special
Reclaim a precious possession that once belonged to
advantage that will help him attain it, and finally to find out where 3
him but has now fallen into other hands.
he has placed his base of operations.
Aid a necromancer or dark priest who has promised
If you have the Red Tide campaign sourcebook you can then pull 4
him a means of lifting his curse.
one of the blank maps out of the resources section, take one of the
premade encounter sets to stock the place, and furnish the rooms Rally his equally-vicious former squadmates into a crew
with the random stocking tables in the back of the book.Once you 5 of bandit reavers who take particular advantage of their
spend another five or ten minutes thinking about how the Ghost’s lack of any need for sleep or supply.
goals would be discovered by the PCs, you’ve got a nice little side-
trek for your party if they need something to pass the time. Kidnap a remarkably beautiful or handsome person of
6 importance who would never willingly consort with
Labyrinth Lords should keep in mind that Walking Ghosts are them.
something new to most of the Sunset Isles. The siege of Xian was
brief and shameful to its people, and the truth of the event has Unearth a dreadful necromantic relic that he believes
7
been muddied by two centuries and a great deal of official conceal- will lift his curse at the price of vast human sacrifice.
ment. Necromancers and others who study death may have heard
Bribe and blackmail the local clergy into transforming
of it, but even most scholars and arcanists are unlikely to have
8 the community’s faith into a death cult, with the Walk-
learned the truth unless they have made a study of the necroman-
ing Ghost at their head.
tic arts.

Those Labyrinth Lords running other campaigns should feel free Their Special Advantage
to simply count Walking Ghosts as an unusual type of undead,
one rare enough to surprise most non-specialists. Indeed, the PCs 1d8 Advantage
may not realize what they are until it is too late. They unearthed a long-forgotten trove of treasure and
1
can spend vastly to aid their aims.

Unlike most Walking Ghosts, they were a sorcerer in

Their Hidden Lair 2
life, and their powers still work.
1d8 Lair
Dark gods of death favor them, and they have access to
3
Caves connected by water-filled passages that they can clerical miracles.
1
navigate with unbreathing ease.
Through lies, threats, and blandishments they have sub-
2 The crumbling ruin of their former family estate. 4
verted a band of locals into a loyal death cult.
An abandoned shrine in the wilderness, once a place to They’ve gathered long-lost blackmail evidence that
3
memorialize the dead. 5 would utterly disgrace the family of the local magistrate
Sewer passages beneath the city, with certain stretches or other important official.
4
filled with toxic or explosive gases.
Their family was ruined when they were taken for the
The ruins of a remote sorcerous academy destroyed and 6 Legion; their heirs still remember, and will follow the
5
forgotten decades ago. Walking Ghost to regain their lost power.
The back rooms of the well-guarded estate or urban pal- Followers of the Hell Kings have agreed to assist them in
6
ace occupied by their heirs. 7 their sinister plan in exchange for the Walking Ghost’s
Remote mountaintop monastery devoted to the cold allegiance to the infernal.
7
powers of death.
They are both remarkably lifelike and exceedingly char-
A village of savage degenerates who find their inhuman 8 ismatic. The locals all respect and admire them, but do
8 not realize their true nature.
air quite attractive.
5
 THE BLACK TREE
The true origins of this malevolent artifact are unclear, though it is While a powerful artifact, the Black Tree is dangerous even to its
thought that it was once a tool of the dreaded Night Kings. These possessor. The Mandarin did not use it long enough to realize his
lich-princes once scourged the coast of the Ninefold Celestial peril, but if another possessor is able to find and plant the tree,
Empire in bronze-oared galleys manned by dead men, and while they might hold it long enough to be scourged by its curse. As the
they are long since gone from the world this gnarled black rod is a Labyrinth Lord, you might make up a suitably useful damnation
relic of their evil. or pick or roll from the list below.

When planted deeply in the earth the rod will instantly blossom Curses of the Black Tree
into a large, black-leafed tree. If watered with the fresh blood
of a sentient being its branches will immediately swell with ripe 1d4 Result
peaches of a color influenced by the species used to feed the tree.
For humans, the fruit is a lustrous yellow jade color. Other crea- The tree sends out underground tendrils that en-
tures will produce different fruit. tangle the roots of surrounding plant life. When these
tendrils reach a critical density, everything that dies
If a reasonably fresh, intact body is anointed with the juice of 1
after eating plants grown in that area will rise as an
the fruit it will rise as a Walking Ghost utterly subservient to the uncontrollably violent Walking Ghost. The only way
creature who planted the tree. The amount of juice necessary to to cleanse the land is to cut down the tree.
revive a corpse depends upon its original strength and vitality. One
sentient sacrifice is usually enough to produce sufficient fruit for
The tree’s thorned branches tear holes in the barrier
ten corpses of its kind. The fruit withers within minutes of being
between the living world and the restless dead. At
removed from the tree, and so it must be used on the spot- though
some point, the holes become big enough for a swarm
rumors persist of vials of specially-preserved nectar being used in 2
of bloodthirsty spirits to pour through the gaps. The
numerous sinister ways. To the living, the juice is a fearsomely
barrier can be repaired by a priest performing the cor-
potent poison.
rect funerary rites after the tree is cut down.
The Black Tree will only revive creatures of the same kind as were
first used to water it, and will take further nourishment only from The tree’s roots reach down into Hell, and at some
creatures of that species. Thus, if humans were used to plant the point the corpses stop being resurrected with their
tree, humans must be used to feed it, and only humans can be own souls and start to be animated by the souls of the
3
raised by it. Any number of subjects can be raised by the Black damned. These vicious souls are certain to be pursued
Tree so long as it is fed. by the wardens of the Hell Kings, who are jealous of
their subjects.
The Black Tree can be chopped down or burnt normally, but the
black rod will be found in the tree’s heartwood and cannot be As the tree matures and strengthens it begins to take
destroyed by any process that is not sufficient to shatter an artifact. over the minds of its creations, gradually forcing them
If lost or discarded, it will always find its way into the possession 4
to serve its own thirst for fresh sacrifices and more
of an intelligent creature, though that owner may not realize what corpses to animate as its slaves.
it is.

USING WALKING GHOSTS IN YOUR GAME

For those of you who aren’t using the Red Tide campaign setting, If you want to use the class as a “revenant” or “zombie” class for
it’s still a simple matter to convert the material in this supplement your home game, you can leave it as-is, though if the character is
to your own home game. particularly repugnant you might increase their reaction penalty
and remove their susceptibility to a certain organization’s com-
To use the same basic concept in your own game, choose some mands. Such a shambling corpse might not be able to effectively
long-ago sorcerous conflict that might have conceivably involved interact with anyone but their PC allies.
necromancy and make the Walking Ghosts heirs to that ancient
quarrel. Fresh PCs are probably newly-arisen after centuries of Optionally, their condition as Walking Ghosts might just be
disembodiment, but NPCs might have been active for decades, something that happens to them when they die in an area rich in
accruing power and sinister allies for their own ends. necromantic energies. When a PC dies, you might hand back their
character sheet with a few strategic alterations and let the player
If you want to retain their weakness to the commands of their think they’ve miraculously survived their plight. Only later will
original creators, just pick an organization in your campaign world they start to realize that they left more than some excess blood on
that might feasibly be considered such. the dungeon floor.

6
 CULTS OF RUIN
THE MEANS TO TERRIBLE ENDS
The world apportions power in certain familiar ways. Wealth, This is because the dark gods have no use for fools. While a priest’s
noble birth, great gifts of talent, or an exceptional capacity for vio- sanity may be inexorably eroded by his service and his mind
lence are all traits that promise glory and comfort to those who are eventually crushed under the black revelations he receives, he must
fortunate enough to possess them. These are the paths that society be coherent and cunning enough to spread the initial cult. It is the
recognizes and rewards. These are the keys to great happiness. pleasant delusion of most honest priests and officials that the dark
cults attract only the stupid, gullible, and useless. While some cults
Some people are denied these keys. Perhaps it is a consequence of do draw a fringe of such dross, they are more often used as ex-
their own faults, their own weakness and foolish choices that have pendable foot soldiers and sacrifice fodder. The gods want effective
brought them to their wretched estate. Perhaps it was the hatred minions, and that means they want the most capable they can get.
and scheming of others that brought them low, a blow they cannot
hope to now repay. Or it could be that they simply never had the They attract these people with help that cleaner faiths refuse to
chance at all, being born to misery and a humble estate. give. The dark gods are very generous with their magical gifts, far
more so than the more respectable deities. Whether it comes from
Some suffer quietly. They accept the harsh decree that has been their far fewer numbers of worshipers or their willingness to defy
entered against them, whether falling into mute resignation or some celestial precept, their priests are often quite powerful and
struggling to win an opportunity to change the fate they have been even their lay worshipers are touched by divine blessings.
given. They strive in ways that society has deemed acceptable, even
if few of them will ever attain their hopes. Most cults are rooted out eventually. Their horrors and atrocities
put too much pressure on their neighbors to be tolerated forever.
Others refuse to submit. They will have their desires. They will Such work is dangerous and bloody, and adventurers are often the
have the gold, the flesh, the power, or the glory that they know only ones strong and expendable enough to do it.
they deserve. They will do anything to achieve this purpose, and
most of them will dash themselves to pieces upon the uncaring THE ELEMENTS OF DAMNATION
walls of an indifferent world. Others, however, will plead with The cults listed here are given a brief overview along with details
things that listen. And sometimes, those things will answer. of the most important parts of their operation. First of these is the
cult’s particular appeal- what promises it makes and what kind of
NOW, GODS, STAND UP FOR BASTARDS people are most likely to be drawn into it. A cult’s appeal explains
The cults exampled here provide a small sampling of some of the why worshipers choose to embrace such an awful power.
most prevalent and malevolent powers that infect the Sunset Isles.
They are by no means the only ones. Wherever there is a power The cult structure section describes the basic outlines of an average
willing to listen and a petitioner willing to pay the price, there will cult of that faith, though individual cells might vary substantially.
be dark gods and red-handed worshipers to serve them. The gifts of a cult are also listed, providing the specific rewards
that a cult priest or a lay member might expect to receive. And
The heart of a cult is the pact between the devotees and the god. finally, each cult is listed with its price- the kind of hideous costs
The god demands worship and sacrifice and in return grants super- that the dark god demands for its favors. While a new cult might
natural blessings to its devoted followers. While usually a matter begin with smaller, more innocuous sacrifices, sooner or later the
of initial choice, the devotees soon learn that obedience is not deity will demand its true due- whether or not its worshipers wish
optional when dealing with their new master. Unworthy acolytes to give it.
pay a price in blood for their failures, and those that displease the
god may expect to become its next sacrifice. As a GM note, it’s often best to be vague and indistinct when
relating a cult’s foul rites or hideous sacrifices. Being too gorily spe-
There are few organized, coherent religions of this kind in the Isles. cific about what the cult is doing with the children they’ve stolen
Two cults that worship the same foul god may have completely is liable to be less than fun for a lot of players, and in point of fact,
different concepts of its nature and beliefs regarding proper sacri- anything you specify is unlikely to be as horrific as the prospects
fice- and as in most such cases, might hate each other even more their own imagination will conjure up for them.
than they despise those that hunt them.
One technique that is useful in such cases is to provide only al-
Instead, most cults bloom from a single cursed prophet, a man or lusions and half-evidences, things that speak of horror without
woman who was able to draw the god’s attention with their pleas explaining exactly what happened. Finding a child’s smashed
and with their promises of unstinting service. These prophets are lunchbox with both chopsticks bloodied halfway up their length
almost always capable men and women, often gifted in their way. makes for far more effective horror than mere diced corpses.

©2013 by Kevin Crawford, art by Katana. Labyrinth Lord™ is copyright 2007-2013, Daniel Proctor. Labyrinth Lord™ and Advanced Labyrinth Lord™ are trademarks of
Daniel Proctor. These trademarks are used under the Labyrinth Lord™ Trademark License 1.2, available at www.goblinoidgames.com.

1
 THE CULT OF THE BLACK EMPEROR
The Ninefold Celestial Empire was old and great, and as with all THE CULT STRUCTURE
such nations there was much that it wished to forget. One such Unlike most cults, those of the Black Emperor are fairly egalitar-
memory was that of the Black Emperor Yong Ji, the cruel sorcerer- ian, though the first to found the cult usually has status as the first
tyrant who sparked the great war with the Kueh some eight among equals. The rites and experiments of the creed often require
hundred years ago. After a band of heroes and loyal nobles finally learned assistants to perform them and the initial adept is often
managed to overthrow the despot, the records of the Empire were compelled to enlist other sages in order to have enough hands for
adjusted to blot out his inauspicious deeds and leave only the the work.
blandly inoffensive tale of a victorious war leader. The truth of the
Black Emperor was left for garbled folk-tales and restricted scrolls Worship of the Black Emperor requires the performance of nu-
held closely in the grasp of selected Imperial archivists. merous terrible alchemical processes and the systematic defilement
of flesh in ways pleasing to the Emperor’s cold curiosity. While the
Yet the Black Emperor and the Night Kings who were his deathless deity never communicates directly with its devotees there is a sense
servants did not perish, but were forced far from the lands of men. of expectation to the god, and those cults that fail to push forward
Some say that he performed a dark self-transcendence, ascending with the experiments sent in dreams and visions risk the sudden
to the plane of gods and spirits to persist in immortal majesty. and catastrophic failure of their own sorceries- including that of
Those who serve him and perform his obscene alchemies are said their prolonged lives and health.
to be granted life unending, along with terrible secrets of sorcery
long forgotten by mortal wizards. The special powers of the cult are often used to enlist less educated
but still-useful members, rewarding them with health, insight,
Only the most erudite sages know the truth of the Black Em- and vitality in exchange for their assistance to the cult. Once their
peror and his reign. Even well-educated scholars are content with service is at an end, they are promptly enlisted to a new use as
the corrected histories, and those who read certain allusions and components for the cult’s foul research.
strangely specific folktales know better than to pursue such secrets.
But still, there are always those who desire the things that a whole-
some forgetting would keep from them.
THE GIFTS
The Black Emperor’s gifts are powerful; adepts receive both magic-
user and clerical spellcasting ability equal to that of their hit dice
THE APPEAL or level, and maintain perfect health and disease-free vitality so
The Black Emperor is a god of scholars and sages as well as those long as their experiments continue. Once every six months, the
who live in terror of death. His cult has no patience for the adept learns a new magic-user spell, often of a kind unknown to
ignorant or unlettered, and such devotees can expect no more other sorcerers and requiring terrible acts to procure its necessary
than their eventual transformation into the reagents for some components.
foul experiment. His chosen often neglect to mention this point,
beguiling useful catspaws with talk of immortality and miraculous Those devotees that are not scholars, priests, or other learned
cures for their afflictions until they can be safely used for more souls gain no direct benefits from worshiping the Black Emperor,
profitable ends. though the adepts can be expected to use their sorcery to aid useful
lay worshipers.
Those who serve the Black Emperor learn new spells, receive
unique magical techniques, and are gifted with seemingly unend-
ing youth and vitality. Some sorcerers who fear that no funeral
THE PRICE
The Black Emperor is a more patient god than most of the dark
rites could protect their blackened souls from the hunger of the
powers, but he still insists upon inexorable progress in his worship-
Hells are eager to take up the Black Emperor’s service in order to
ers’ studies. The first experiments may be carried out upon random
postpone that day of reckoning a little longer, even if it should
vagrants and expendable adventurers, but eventually there comes a
damn them more thoroughly still.
point where more specific subjects are required.
An adept must learn the truth of the Black Emperor before he can
These subjects are often particular descendents of those heroes and
effectively invoke the deity’s power. To simply learn the historical
officials who participated in his overthrow. Many of these heirs
facts are not enough; he must learn details of the Emperor’s rule,
are connected to important daifu families in Xian or sorcerous
natality, and important reign events in order to form the astrologi-
lineages in Tien Lung, and so both these states have a particular
cal map necessary to contact the spiritual power of the god. The
vigilance against this cult’s appearance in their lands.
more of these facts he has, the more powerful his connection.
Many cult priests pose as historical researchers or innocent scholars Other experiments simply require numbers- very great numbers.
in order to salvage more truths from the wreck of ages. Dozens or even hundreds of victims may be necessary for the most
elaborate workings of the greatest cult priests, and such numbers
Tales persist that the Black Emperor may sometimes be convinced
often require the cult to retreat to some isolated wilderness strong-
to send one of his terrible Night Kings to aid a cult. These entities
hold, where their experiments can be conducted beyond the reach
sail upon barques crewed by dead men and wield great sorceries.
of any conventional law.
2
 THE CULTS OF THE GOD-BEASTS
While many gods have bestial aspects or iconography, the god- THE GIFTS
beasts are literal animals grown strong on strange magic and A god-beast can imbue up to twice its hit dice in cleric levels on
worship. Some think that they were proto-creatures devised by the any of its worshipers, though no one priest can have more effective
gods at the dawn of the world and cast aside as flawed, while oth- cleric levels than the creature’s hit dice. The gift of these cleric
ers believe that they are merely powerful beasts grown old beyond powers usually requires a number of vile rituals and abasements,
the normal limits of their kind. Whatever their origin, they offer and cannot be done quickly. Ordinary worshipers receive no direct
very tangible, physical aid to their worshipers at the cost of terrible benefits from the god-beast, though the creature will fight to de-
rites of propitiation. fend loyal devotees and its own place as ruler of its community.
God-beast cults appear when one of these beasts is found by an
isolated community, unearthed from deep beneath the ground, de- THE PRICE
scends on black-feathered wings from an ill-omened sky, or simply God-beasts are animals by nature, and demand the things that
grows from a seemingly-normal beast. They last until the god-beast intelligent animals might demand. Even god-beasts derived from
is slain by heroes or once more sealed up in its ancient tomb. herbivores have a hunger for fresh meat, however, and often prefer
manflesh over ordinary stock. A wide variety of other unclean
God-beast cults can persist only beyond the easy reach of larger hungers are taken out on their devotees, if suitable victims cannot
authority. Border villages, hidden communities deep beneath large be found to placate the beast.
cities, and isolated homesteads are the most common sites for god-
beast cults. Most devotees try to keep the existence of the beast a Some god-beasts masquerade merely as very large and impressive
secret, lest they draw the attention of heroes or worse. This secrecy examples of their species, the better to pass unnoticed by strangers,
is aided by a god-beast’s habit of killing and devouring every out- while others insist on living in a grotesquely human-like fashion,
sider it encounters. attended by slaves and minions. Such latter creatures will demand
the finest silks and most splendid furnishings and will exact a cruel
THE APPEAL price in gold from their servants.
God-beasts are usually intelligent enough to make demands of
potential worshipers, requiring sacrifices, degrading reverences, GOD-BEAST STATISTICS
and golden treasure in exchange for their aid and the continued Unlike most other dark powers, god-beasts can be slain. They are
survival of their worshipers. Few of them give their devotees any powerful foes, however, and can only be harmed by magic spells,
choice in the matter, and some god-beast cults actually hate and weapons of +2 enchantment or better, or specially-blessed imple-
loathe the deity they are forced to serve. Most come to accept their ments consecrated by a cleric of 9th level. Due to the godslaying
lot, however, especially when “encouraged” by the beast’s priest- heritage of their people, dwarves can always harm god-beasts. The
hood and the fearsome creature itself. average god-beast has 12 hit dice, though the weakest have as few
as 8 and stronger specimens exist.
The god-beast does serve very well to protect the cult community
from its enemies, and many beasts are capable of enriching fields, A common god-beast derived from a wolf or jaguar might have
siring great herds of monstrously deformed livestock, or shedding statistics of 12 HD, AC 4, 1d10 bite/1d6 claw/1d6 claw, Move
valuable body parts. The spells it grants its priests are also useful in 120’ (40’), saves as a 12th level fighter and a Morale of 12. The
aiding the community, and many eventually come to admit that treasure one possesses will depend on the wealth of its servitors.
the beast is worth the price in bloody sacrifices and depraved wor-
ship… especially when it’s their neighbors that pay the cost.
1d12 SPECIAL GOD-BEAST POWERS
THE CULT STRUCTURE 1 Noxious breath weapon that does 1d6 dmg/HD
Most god-beast cults revolve around a single high priest who serves 2 Transforms its human guards into hulking beastmen
as the mouthpiece of the god-beast. Beneath him the lesser clergy 3 Perfect command of all beasts around it
serve the immediate needs and whims of the god-beast and keep
4 Winged or capable of flight
order among sometimes-reluctant worshipers. The common folk
are expected to provide the beast with whatever it desires, and its 5 Can bewitch others as per Charm Person
desires are often foul. 6 Spiked hide that does 1d6 damage to melee attackers
7 Dazzling beauty; save vs. Spells or stunned for 1 round
Most god-beasts draw no distinction between their own believ-
ers and outsiders. If sufficient offerings cannot be gleaned from 8 Bronze hide or other toughened skin; its AC is 0
strangers, prisoners, and neighbors, then the god-beast will harvest 8 Venomous bite; save vs. Poison or die
its own. This leaves most communities in a constant state of low- 10 Damns foes; save vs. Spells or suffer the effects of Curse
level struggle with their neighbors, always seeking fresh sacrifices
from outside their own number lest they be made to give the 11 Excretes gold or precious stones; 1d10 x 100 gp/week
creature its due. 12 Breeds 2d10 gruesomely deformed cattle per week

3
 THE CULT OF THE HELL KINGS
The damnable lords of the Hells have been a scourge on the world These promises are lies, of course. The damnation that awaits
since the first dawn of its creation. They despise the gods and all them is no different than that which the Hell Kings would visit
their works, and seek to drag all existence into the flames of their on all creation, and those who are elevated as servitor demons
domain. They nurse an especial hatred for the thinking creatures of merely experience a more specific form of defilement. They excel
the world and are tireless in their efforts to despoil and blight the at concealing this fact from their mortal worshipers, however, and
souls of the living. Those spirits that fall into their grasp can expect sometimes give revelations of the glorious depravities which await
nothing but an eternity of unspeakable defilement. the faithful in Hell.

The Hell Kings have limits on their power, however. The proper THE CULT STRUCTURE
funerary rites can protect the soul of a deceased from their talons, Hell cults are led by a single high priest, usually a figure of author-
even if their crimes would otherwise merit damnation. Even those ity and importance in the community- if not originally, then
who die alone and untended can escape the Hell Kings if they have surely after the Hell Kings finish elevating him or her. The high
led a good life, earning the favor of the gods and their protection priest is served by a selection of underpriests, each of whom can be
in the world to come. While the spirits of the untended wicked are expected to seek every opportunity to overthrow their master and
at a great risk of damnation the only souls that are certain to enter take the cult for their own. These underpriests are necessary for the
the flames are those who freely pledge their service to Hell and cult rituals, however- the Hell Kings want to ensure that a useful
who are deprived of holy rites before burial. level of churn occurs in their cults, lest one of their priests delay
As a consequence, it’s not enough for the Hell Kings to cultivate their damnation.
sin in the world. They must also ensure that their devotees are Beneath the underpriests are the devotees of the cult. Most of
deprived of proper burial if they are to collect on their investment. these are either prosperous figures in the greater community or
Fortunately, the more damnable the life, the more elaborate the desperate souls who have yet to prove their devotion and earn the
rituals that are required to protect a soul. A man of ordinary sin blessings of Hell. These new recruits are used for most of the cult’s
might be kept safe by a poor but decent burial by a village priest, dirty work, as they don’t know enough to threaten their masters.
but a truly hardened monster might require the smoke of a hun- In lands where the cult is proscribed the devotees meet with masks
dred golden braziers and the fevered prayers of an arch-prelate to and assumed names, with individual members known only to the
escape his fate. A willing devotee of the Hell Kings has little hope high priest and to the underpriest who initiated him or her into
of salvation without extreme penitence and careful rites. the infernal mysteries.

THE APPEAL Disobedience to the cult is punished in various spectacular ways,

The Hell Kings work through visions, whispers, and the very rare with simple execution being one of the gentler rebukes. The fates
manifestations of servitor demons. They rarely approach aspiring of those who deeply disappoint the high priest can drag out for
devotees who have not already made significant efforts to contact months, both as punishment and as an illustration to the other
them; they have no interest in dilettante-priests, and prefer to deal faithful of the consequences of reconsidering their commitment.
with those who have already damned themselves with their sins.
They especially favor persons of power and authority who can be THE GIFTS
used to drag unsuspecting underlings into the cult as well. Hell cult priests add the Charm Person, Phantasmal Force, Charm
Monster, and Limited Wish spells to their allowed clerical spell lists
The Hell Kings offer tangible rewards of wealth and prosperity, at the same level as the original magic-user spells. The dark patrons
giving priests secret knowledge that will benefit their plans and of a cult allow them a Commune spell to be used once a month.
leading them to hidden treasures and lost artifacts. An active cult
can bless fields with rich abundance, swell mines with precious All members of a Hell cult are blessed with uncanny luck, and may
ores and gems, and grant uncanny luck to the “blessed” of Hell. reroll any one failed saving throw or ability check once per day.
They particularly offer power over other men and women, gladly
granting the sordid or vengeful desires of their priests. THE PRICE
Hell cults expect their members to all vigorously pursue the classi-
Outsiders often wonder how the Hell Kings manage to enlist their
cal sins, particularly those that objectify and degrade other people.
worshipers, when it is obvious that temporary mortal delight will
The more vigorously each devotee damns himself, the better- and
be followed by an eternity of agony. The Hell Kings teach their fol-
those who are suspected of virtue, or worse yet, of seeking aid from
lowers that those who submit to the burning lords will be spared
conventional faiths can expect a hideous punishment.
the worst of the punishment which all men deserve, and will even-
tually rule in glory over their unbelieving fellows when all human- During the group ceremonies of the cult, sacrificial victims are
ity finally falls into the grasp of Hell. The more foul and detestable subjected to the unspeakable hungers of the faithful- and those
their mortal life, the more glorious their place in Hell shall be. devotees who have proven lacking in their zeal often join them.

4
 THE CULT OF THE RED GODS
The “red gods” are a collection of bloody-handed, savage tribal Beneath the priest are the devotees, ranging from the most recent
gods that demand the sacrifice of outsiders and grant physical recruits who still retain an almost entirely human perspective to
might and bestial prowess to their chosen. Only one red god is those elevated acolytes who are barely capable of thinking more
worshiped in any given cult, as they are jealous of their followers, than a few days ahead of their present condition. The cult has a
and are as willing to sacrifice devotees of other red god cults as distinct line of authority from the alpha chief to the most wretch-
anyone else. ed omega underlings. The cruelties and debaucheries inflicted
upon the weaker members of the cult are occasionally fatal, espe-
It is unclear where the red gods originated, as the limited theologi- cially if they seem likely to break from the pack’s embrace.
cal texts that survived the Exile make no mention of them. Some
believe they were attached to idols and relics brought over in the THE GIFTS
flight from the Tide, while others think they are Shou relic-gods Red god priests have instinctive magical abilities, able to cast spells
willing to accept human sacrifice now that the Shou revere only as if a cleric of a level equal to half their hit dice, rounded up.
Shakun. A few even think that they were native place-gods awoken These spells are gained and cast reflexively, without invocations or
by the sudden surge of human inhabitants. formal preparation. Red god priests can cast a spell instantly once
Red god cults are almost unknown outside of the frontier or the per round, in addition to a normal attack or action. Priests also
worst slums, where bestial behavior and feral urges are scarcely regenerate 3 hit points per round, albeit only while alive.
noticed by others. Now and then a cult takes hold in noble quar- All devotees of the red gods gain an immunity to disease and poi-
ters where some sickly potentate suddenly regains his vitality- and son, a +1 bonus to hit and damage rolls due to their great strength,
his remarkable appetites. These cults rarely last long, but they can and the ability to survive on only a third of the food and water
inflict horrific damage upon a community with their wild hungers required by normal humans.
and thoughtless passions.
THE PRICE
THE APPEAL Devotees of the red gods are expected to abandon the refinements
The red gods make their followers strong- literally so. They harden of civilized society, degrading into a mere pack of zealots who
their believers to withstand great hunger and privation, allowing often go naked and bestially unkempt. Cannibalism is expected
them to suffer through the harshest conditions without perishing. among them, particularly of the weakest members of the group,
Their priests are mighty warriors and chieftains, gifted with an and outsiders are to be seized for bloody rites of defilement and
incredible vitality and inhumanly acute senses. consumption. Communities rapidly disintegrate under the pre-
The red gods approach desperate acolytes in starving villages, cepts of the cult, men and women becoming mere human locusts.
the beggared dwellers of urban slums, and the wasting victims of
plague-struck towns. Their priests are invariably on the very edge
of destruction through starvation, sickness, or privation, and the
1d6 KNOWN RED GODS
red gods offer them strength in exchange for their obedience. Kikkil, the Eater of Corpse-Eyes. A roach-god who
Those who refuse this offer rarely survive long enough to speak of 1 feasts upon carrion and filth, his devotees can survive
it to others. any environment and brew plagues within their bodies.
Howling Lao. Grants command over other beasts to his
Those who do serve a red god swiftly regain their strength and 2 devotees, and demands they swarm forth to devour the
health, though at a progressive cost to their more human aspects. contemptible unbelievers.
They become more and more bestial in nature, and not simply in
Igati the Lioness. A goddess of female supremacy, she
the amoral fashion of true animals. The cultists of the red gods
imbues her amazonian followers with great size and
mix all the cruelty and malevolence of human nature with the 3
strength. Often appears to female slaves and other op-
unthinking violence and rapacity of the beasts. In time, the cultists
pressed women, luring them into desperate pacts.
no longer care about what they have lost, and degenerate into a
tribe barely distinguishable from a pack of two-legged wolves. The Yilil, the Swarming One. A beetle-goddess of fecun-
wolves, at least, have less loathsome hungers. 4 dity, she makes both male and female devotees breed at
a horrific rate.
THE CULT STRUCTURE Lom of the Nine Jaws. A consuming god of hunger and
The chieftain-priest is the biggest, strongest, most vicious member famine, Lom’s devotees eat even wood and clay, devour-
5
of the cult, though he is subject to rapid replacement should he ing the crops in their neighbors’ fields and devouring
weaken. His priestly underlings are rarely sophisticated enough to even the bones of their prey.
plot against him, but if he becomes badly wounded they may turn Suam, the Burrower. Teaches its devotees to dig great
on him even in preference to attacking the foes that maimed him. 6
tunnel-traps beneath the earth and dwell in darkness.

5
 THE TIDE CULT
The most terrifying of all the damnable cults of the Isles are those Those subjects who perform the rites notice distinct good fortune
that worship the Red Tide, the encircling mists that threaten to following, small but perceptible bits of luck after each ceremony.
devour the last bastion of humanity upon this scourged world. The Fresh words and patterns seep into their dreams, and if these too
Tide churns and waits a hundred miles from the shores of the Isles, are performed the luck seems to strengthen yet more. A certain
but the cults that worship it may open a path for it to manifest blithe euphoria begins to build at this stage, a conviction that
deep within the human lands. everything that happens to them is some subtle blessing.

Tide cults are extremely unstable, swiftly building to the point This is the last stage at which it is possible to escape the Tide.
where they can open a pathway for the Tide. This madness almost Priests who persist in these rituals for more than a few months will
inevitably results in their own destruction. The Tide does not seem become utterly enthralled to the Tide. It may be that powerful
to use its cults in a rational way; it is almost as if the cult’s forma- magic could break the connection, but by the time a cult is identi-
tion is simply a natural process of psychic parasitism that ends fied it is usually far past the point of any practical intervention.
with the destruction of its own mental host.
The priest soon feels the urge to include others in this rite, often
The native Shou of the Isles never belong to Tide cults and cannot unconsciously spreading their dreams to susceptible minds in the
be affected by the blandishments of the mist. Many horrific Tide surrounding community. Outcasts, the oppressed, and the tor-
incursions deep within the wilderness are extinguished by furi- mented are most often enlisted by the priest, coming together in
ous Shou warriors, the tribes protecting the unsuspecting humans quietly sinister rites that still have no obviously horrific elements.
without their knowledge or intent. Something about the Tide Once the cult reaches a certain critical mass, their delusion starts
inspires a visceral hatred in the Shou, and they will even break off to demand atrocious cruelties and hideous rites, all of them believ-
hostilities with humans and other tribes in order to expunge the ing that they are sharing a joyous truth with the world.
stench of the alien mist from their lands.
Eventually, a Tide Cult that isn’t checked by outside forces will
The authorities of the Isles do their best to hide Tide cult out- grow strong enough to open a path for the Tide, unleashing a
breaks. The ancestral terror of the Tide threatens witch-huntings swarm of monstrous Tidespawn on the area and usually becoming
and mass panic should the people of the Isles believe that the the first victims of the monsters. These rents usually seal shut after
ruin of the world is reaching out for them. It is not unknown for disgorging a wave of abominations, but some holes last until they
authorities to hire adventurers and other expendables to go in and can be closed. Rarely, a Tide cult actually creates a stable bubble of
burn out cults, demanding only silence and utmost thoroughness. molten madness, persisting in a lasting delusion even as their bod-
ies warp and twist into monstrous shapes.
THE APPEAL
The Tide offers happiness to its acolytes. Initial believers experi- THE GIFTS
ence unusual good luck and a feeling of hope and quiet joy. As the Tide priests are gifted with strong magical powers, often acting
cult matures, however, this initial euphoria starts to divorce from as potent clerics or magic-users, ones who cast spells by instinct
reality. Even as the believer loses friends and family, even as they rather than education. Those fast in the grip of the Tide are almost
experience crushing misfortunes or actual physical transformation always mutated or deformed in some hideous way and gifted
by the Tide, they are unable to perceive it as anything but wonder- with remarkable vitality- maximum hit points for their hit dice,
ful good fortune and blessed luck. most often, with occasional regeneration or extra physical attacks
depending on the nature of their change.
Some portion of their reason remains capable of recognizing the
horror that is overtaking them, but their dominant mind remains Tide cultists of all kinds can be very difficult to root out. At early
relentlessly delighted by what is happening. Such victims eventu- stages they are not aware that they are actually worshiping the
ally become completely delusional in a shared madness with the Tide, and at later stages their altered perceptions often allow them
rest of the cult. Even as they are being devoured alive by swarms of to escape detection and lie-perceiving spells. Those belonging to
Tidespawn, the cultists will be convinced that the kisses of winged metastasized cults often share the mutations of their priest-leaders.
angels are elevating them to glory- a conviction briefly interrupted
by lucid moments of agonized horror. THE PRICE
The Tide inevitably destroys its worshipers. In most cases, this
THE CULT STRUCTURE destruction comes from the final opening of the gate, when the
Tide cults begin with strange dreams that whisper and allude. The monstrous Tidespawn that pour forth will devour the laughing,
subject awakens with strange words on his tongue and the image joyous cultists in an orgy of blood and torment.
of peculiar patterns hanging in his thoughts. These dreams may
persist for some time, but if the subject ignores them they will The less fortunate servants are permitted to live on, usually in a
eventually fade away. If he chooses to speak the words and form hideously misshapen form, one cancerous with semi-autonomous
the patterns, however, the first hooks of the Tide are buried in his tumors and wild delusions. These survivors can taint and twist
mind. These petty rituals catalyze the first of the changes. their very mundane surroundings into monstrous hellscapes.
6
 AZURE INQUISITORS
A CLASS FOR LABYRINTH LORD
Charged with the protection of the Isles from the Tide Cults and THE AZURE INQUISITOR
the other cysts of dark worship, the Azure Inquisitors are a secret
Race Any Armor Any
branch of the Xianese government. Operating out of the forbid-
den prison-island of Qincheng, they go forth alone to root out evil HD 1d6 per level Weapons Any
and protect the people of the Isles from the powers of darkness. Attack as Cleric Shield Yes
The true purpose of the Azure Ministry is unknown to all save the Saves as Cleric Alignment Any
highest echelon of Xianese government. Most know Qincheng The special training of the Azure Inquisitor can be utilized by any
only as an island of torment and exile, a place for Xian to dispatch race. If using a race-as-class game system an Azure Inquisitor loses
its Shou prisoners and human traitors, a place where they will be all the usual benefits of their racial class, as the demanding training
drained of every secret before death is permitted to them. forces them to reject their more natural traits in order to maintain
In truth, the Azure Ministry has guarded a secret for centuries. an inquisitor’s special powers.
A branch of Archmage Lammach’s own family has descended
from the Shou witch-priestess Ilahti, a wife taken in the first early CLASS ABILITIES
years of the exile, when men still imagined the Shou could be An Azure Inquisitor gains certain special abilities by virtue of their
subjugated. These secret heirs were gifted with the same powerful training and unique discipline.
talents against the Red Tide that other Shou received, and over the
• Azure Inquisitors use the saving throw and combat tables
centuries many Shou “prisoners” have actually been enlisted into
of a cleric of their same level, with one exception- they use the
their numbers and wedded into their line.
halfling tables for purposes of their saving throw versus Spells, as
Over the years other agents of other races have come to serve on they are gifted with powerful wards against hostile magic. If using
Qincheng, to accept the binding sorcery that stops their mouths a system that doesn’t have racial saving throw tables, they gain a +6
from talking of the island’s secrets and the truth of the Ministry. bonus to all saving throws versus Spells.
They are gifted with powers honed for the destruction of sinister
• Azure Inquisitors can use any weapon, any armor, and
cults and dark powers and sent forth into the world to root out
use shields. They can use magic items usable by a cleric.
evil from the hidden places in the lands.
• Azure Inquisitors cast spells as a cleric of their own level.
Azure Inquisitors have no official standing. They do not exist, as
They can choose their spells from the normal clerical spell list,
far as most Xianese officials are concerned, and masquerade most
but their special training limits their flexibility. Azure Inquisitors
often as other clerics. If they are caught killing “innocents” they
cannot use any spells that heal hit point damage, cure diseases or
can expect only a noose, and the Ministry is unlikely to be able to
poisons, or otherwise restore a subject. The reversed forms of these
give them any help. They must rely on their own cunning and the
spells that inflict damage may be still be prepared, even by Lawful
aid of their friends to seek out and break the powers of darkness.
inquisitors. If a spell repairs damage in addition to doing some
Azure Inquisitor Class Table other effect, the spell may be prepared but the curative portion of
it will not work.
Lvl Title XP HD
1 Brother/Sister 0 1d6 • Azure Inquisitors cannot be perverted from their duties
by magic or detected by supernatural means. They are immune to
2 Initiate 1,750 2d6
all magic that affects or reads their mind or divines truths about
3 Agent 3,500 3d6 them. When targeted by such a spell they become aware of the
4 Senior Agent 7,000 4d6 attempt and may dictate the results the spell returns.
5 Chief Agent 14,000 5d6 • Azure Inquisitors are enspelled to protect the secrets of
6 Post Director 28,000 6d6 the Azure Ministry. They are completely incapable of revealing the
7 Provincial Director 56,000 7d6 truth of it or their real mission to anyone not a fellow inquisitor or
cleared to know by an inquisitor of 6th level or higher. Most such
8 Regional Director 115,000 8d6 outsiders can expect to be geased to a similar silence through a
9 Chief Director 230,000 9d6 special spell that can be cast by a 10th level inquisitor.
10+ High Inquisitor +115,000 +1/lvl Those GMs who wish to use inquisitors in other settings can just
The Azure Ministry grants certain titles to expert agents. These titles as easily reskin them as zealous investigators and hierarchs of some
command respect from their own kind, but hold no authority over other watchful faith, dropping their final class trait for those faiths
other agents unless granted specifically by the Ministry. that need not hide their true allegiance.

7
 SOLO HEROES
RUNNING LABYRINTH LORD ADVENTURES WITH A SINGLE CHARACTER
Every GM faces a short player list sooner or later. It may be that Enemies don’t die quickly enough. That same party of six first
half the group calls in just before the session, or a particular game level fighters is probably throwing 6d8 damage at their foes on
can only get the attention of one or two other players. Most of a round where everyone rolls well on their attacks. Due to the
the time a GM will simply call the session or break out the card “focus-firing” habits acquired by most successful adventuring
games, but sometimes a GM is keen to play even with fewer than groups, even fearsome creatures such as ogres and minotaurs are
the usual number of players. likely to die under their blades if the monsters can’t cull enough
PCs to slow down the incoming damage.
Solo Heroes provides a set of simple rules modifications that allow
you to send just one or two heroes through a level-appropriate old- This dynamic changes if there is only a single PC doing the fight-
school adventure with some hope of success. These modifications ing. One missed hit roll means that the enemy is unscathed for the
do not require character sheet changes or module conversion. They round, and the hero often has to cut through as many as a dozen
fit in between the written adventure and the existing character or more minor foes. By the time enough hits have connected to
sheet to allow the PC to stand up to challenges and foes that chop down an ogre or mop up a goblin war party the PC has been
would normally require an entire party of adventurers. riddled by a dozen rounds of enemy attacks. Many old-school
systems have rules for multiple attacks or augmented damage for
These rules are intended for use with almost any old-school game PCs, but these are also scaled on the assumption that a party is in-
with rules more or less equivalent to those used by Labyrinth Lord. volved in the fight. They aren’t normally sufficient to make a single
Individual systems will have their quirks and additions, but these warrior capable of facing a foe meant for an entire party.
basic mechanics should fit almost all of them. Those interested in
more solo tools should look into my new game, Scarlet Heroes. Instant death and incapacitation effects can wipe out lone
heroes. Spells, poisons, monster special abilities and environmen-
PERILS OF SOLITUDE tal snares often serve to incapacitate solo adventurers in a single
There are several reasons why a solo Labyrinth Lord character isn’t die roll. When such luckless victims have four of five teammates
well-suited to bracing evil in its lair. The mechanics of the game around to save them or see to their resurrection, this danger is
and the resource depletion inherent in hit point loss and spell endurable. When a single failed saving throw is sure to consign a
expenditure are calibrated for an entire party of heroes, and the PC to a new career as a harpy’s lunch it becomes more difficult to
system makes some basic assumptions about the availability of deal with these threats.
multiple characters to deal with dangerous situations. There are
four major problems inherent in using a single hero to challenge a Lone heroes lack the wide range of skills and abilities possessed
traditional pre-written adventure. by a party. Many adventures assume that the party is going to
have healing magic, arcane discernment, skill at picking locks
Hit points deplete too quickly. The biggest issue for a solo and defeating traps, and a healthy number of burly warriors.
adventurer is hit point depletion. A party of six first level fighters Beyond this, some old-school games involve codified skills that are
has about 6d8 hit points spread out amongst its members, and en- required for success in certain types of endeavors. A single hero is
emies that go up against that group have to deplete the entire pool rarely in a position to have all these abilities to the same degree as
before the adventure is an unambiguous failure. Wounded PCs an entire party of adventurers. This can stop the hero cold when
can cycle to the back of the party, the group can choose to behave confronted by some challenge or barrier that presumes access to
more carefully when it is depleted, and the party in general has a abilities the character does not have.
certain margin of error allowed to it between the first blow and
the dying gasp. This is not so much the case when you are a single All of these challenges can be mitigated by a sufficiently clever
novice fighter with four hit points. GM and carefully-designed adventure. By tailoring challenges to
a PC and keeping them away from dangers that might kill them
Even those adventures without much in the way of direct combat in a single roll, a GM can provide fun even to a one-PC party.
have traps, environmental hazards, and other hit point-depleting Still, not every GM has the time or energy to tailor an adventure
challenges that would make short work of a lone warrior. Even if to a specific PC, and such an approach makes it very difficult to
the hero has easy access to magical healing, such measures usu- use existing classic or newly-written adventures without complete
ally take too long to execute in the middle of a swirling melee. rewrites of the material. If a GM wants to use this existing mate-
It doesn’t matter how many potions of healing you have in your rial with a single PC, whether out of scheduling necessity or the
backpack if you don’t have time to drink them before being cut simple novelty of the fun, different measures are required.
down by a mob of foes.

©2014 by Kevin Crawford, art by Katana and Stuart Robertson. Labyrinth Lord™ is copyright 2007-2013, Daniel Proctor. Labyrinth Lord™ and Advanced Labyrinth
Lord™ are trademarks of Daniel Proctor. These trademarks are used under the Labyrinth Lord™ Trademark License 1.2, available at www.goblinoidgames.com.

1
 RULES FOR SOLO ADVENTURING
THE FIRST RULE: DAMAGE DICE so it is best to use a die of some different color than the others so it
For a solo hero game, all damage dice are read in a different way. can be easily identified. Fighters roll 1d8 for their Fray die, clerics,
Instead of their full face value, each die does damage based on the thieves, and other non-strictly-martial classes roll 1d6, and magic-
roll; a roll of 1 does no damage, a roll of 2-5 does one point of users and similar sorcerous classes roll 1d4.
damage, a roll of 6-9 does two points of damage, and a roll of 10
The damage from a Fray die can only be inflicted on foes with
or more does four points of damage. If there is a modifier to the
equal or fewer hit dice than the hero- more experienced enemies
damage applied by strength or magic, the modifier can be applied
are just too canny to be maimed without a focused attack. The
to any single die in the damage roll.
exception is the Fray die of magic-users. Their eldritch bolts can
Thus, someone wielding a dread goreaxe +1 with a +1 Strength bo- harm any foe, even one of greater hit dice.
nus to damage would roll the axe’s base 2d6 damage dice and add
A hero who wishes to do something other than make an attack
2 to the die of his choice. If the final results were then 5 and 6, the
roll in a round can still roll their Fray die against any foes within
hit would do 3 points of damage in total. A magic-user with a -1
reach, representing the murder they might be wreaking incidental
Strength penalty flailing away with his dagger would roll 1d4 and
to their other activities.
subtract 1 from the total. If his net result is 0 or 1, then his blow
does no damage at all. A hero swinging a poleaxe with no modi- If enough damage is done to a monster to kill it, the PC can
fiers would roll 1d10 and have a much better chance of inflicting 2 spend the rest of the damage injuring any other foe within range
points of damage than the warrior slashing with a short sword that of equal or worse armor class. For example, an armored hobgob-
does 1d6, and might even roll a 10, and do 4 points of damage. lin priest and his bodyguard of goblin warriors sets upon a hero.
The hero swings his halberd against a goblin and hits for 2 points
These damage dice rules are used for all effects that inflict a
of damage. He also rolls his Fray die of 1d8, and which does an
random range of damage on a victim. Fireballs, falls, arrow traps,
additional point of damage that does not require a hit roll to land.
falling rocks, and anything else that rolls dice of damage will use
Goblins only have one hit die, so his flailing fray strikes down
the interpretation of those rolls given above.
one of them. The hero then spends the remaining 2 points of axe
If an effect does a flat amount of damage, then one point of dam- damage chopping up another two goblins. He cannot spend the
age is done for each four full points given in the text. Thus, if the halberd damage on the hobgoblin priest, because the priest has a
adventure states that touching a cursed bronze statue automatically better armor class than the foe he struck with his attack. Likewise,
inflicts 10 points of electrical damage on the blasphemer, only 2 if one of the goblins was perched up on a balcony or shooting
points of damage are done to the luckless hero. Caltrops that auto- from across an open field, it would be too far away from the melee
matically inflict 1 point of damage on those who cross them round to be threatened by the warrior’s halberd or Fray die.
down to zero, being too trivial a danger to threaten a lone hero.
THE THIRD RULE: HEALING
THE SECOND RULE: INFLICTING DAMAGE Healing dice and effects are treated just if they were “reversed”
Damage received by PCs is taken off their hit points as normal. If damage dice, healing as many hit dice of injury as they would
a fighter with 6 hit points is struck by an orc’s spear, the orc rolls have inflicted points of damage. Thus, a curative potion that the
1d6. If a 4 is the result, for example, then one point of damage is module indicates will heal 1d6+1 damage would be rolled as a
done and the lone fighter has 5 hit points left. “reversed” damage die, curing from 1 to 2 hit points for a hero.

Damage received by NPCs counts as a full hit die for each point. After every fight or occasion of injury, a solo hero can take five
Thus, if that same orc is hit by the fighter’s sword and a 3 is rolled minutes to bandage their cuts and catch their breath. This first aid
on the damage dice, one full hit die of damage is done to the orc. will cure up to two points of damage, though it will not heal them
Since the orc is only a 1 hit die creature to begin with, it falls dead, above their total before the combat or injury, nor will it repair
skewered by the blade of its foe. damage suffered from Defying Death.

Monster hit dice are rounded to the nearest whole number. Thus,
creatures with ½ hit dice, 1-1 hit dice, and 1+2 hit dice all count
as 1 hit die creatures. High-level NPCs are assumed to have hit
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dice equal to their levels. Like the idea of a lone hero facing the perils of a hostile world?
Try my new game Scarlet Heroes, an old-school RPG built
When fighting enemies of equal or lesser hit dice, the PC can roll both as a stand-alone game and a seamless overlay for your own
a Fray die representing their mighty hewing, punching, kicking, favorite system. Use it to play existing OSR material or classic
biting, object-hurling, and other assorted fisticuffs or short-ranged adventure modules with a single player and GM. Right now it’s
combat spells delivered toward an enemy that does not clearly being Kickstarted until March 2, 2014, and you can pick up
outclass them in skill. This is a separate die that can be rolled once the full playable low-art beta for a trifling pledge.
per round. This die always does damage regardless of the hit roll,
2
 WHAT IT ALL MEANS
The damage conversion and the Fray die ensure that the PC is roll that would inflict two or four points of damage on him. Still,
much slower to go down during combat and much more danger- it won’t take more than about four hits for him to bring down
ous toward monstrous foes. Every round, the PC will usually the brute if he can stay alive long enough to deliver them. If he
do at least 1 HD worth of damage to any enemy of equal or were to confront the beast at second level, with another 4 or 5 hit
fewer hit dice thanks to the fray die, and has a chance of doing points of his own, the odds would be much worse for the hulking
more with their regular attack. A hero with a +1 weapon or a +1 creature. A fourth-level solo hero would chop the brute down in
modifier to the damage roll is guaranteed to do at least 1 HD in two or three rounds, with his Fray die helping the monster to its
damage, and a fighter with a greatsword might even do 4 HD. well-deserved grave.

A typical novice fighter with 5 hit points and AC 4 from chain Instant-death poisons, death spells, inescapable pit traps, and
mail and a shield might run into a melee with four orcs during mind-controlling sorceries that would leave a hero helpless are
his exploration. Every round, his fray die can be expected to kill best answered by Defying Death. That particular rule is meant
one of them, with a 1-in-6 chance of killing two. With a 1d8 to take the finality out of “save or die” situations by converting a
sword in hand and a +1 Strength bonus, the fighter has an excel- failed save into damage instead. Because the number of dice scale
lent chance of delivering 2 points of damage with every hit, leav- evenly with the level of the character, there’s no level at which a
ing it possible that a lucky round might kill all four orcs at once. PC can just wave away these threats- they’re always going to eat
about one hit point for each PC level, and if doom is dodged too
Every round, the orcs can take a swing at the fighter, doing from often at the table it becomes more and more likely that the bigger
0-2 points of damage on each successful hit. It’s a dangerous dice are going to be returning two or four points of damage each.
situation for the fighter, but he needs to be hit at least three times
before he’s in peril of his life. Compared to a lone hero using the These solo rules are intended to fit PCs for classic adventure
usual rules for old-school combat, the fighter will probably win without any need to change either them or the written module. A
the engagement rather than being rapidly reduced to stewmeat by single canny 1st level thief with a good hit point roll and a little
orcish spears. caution can dare the perils of Quasqueton with a reasonable hope
of survival, and a 3rd level fighter with a stout sword arm has a
Against more fearsome foes, things get uglier for him. Against an decent chance of standing fast against the perils of the sand-swept
ogre with 4 hit dice and a 1d10 club, he can’t use his Fray die be- Lost City. If you use the Enduring Protagonist optional rule, you
cause the ogre has more hit dice than he has levels. Furthermore, can start a game with a first-level PC and still have reasonable
the ogre’s club is much more likely to result in the high damage expectations of seeing high levels with the hero.

THE FOURTH RULE: DEFYING DEATH in an alleyway is dodged, it might mean some local official is an
Any time the hero is confronted by a failed saving throw against a old friend and rides in to disperse the crowd. The GM is the final
death spell, a sleep-murdering assassin, a withering energy drain, arbiter of what can be evaded and the form that evasion takes.
an inescapable snare, a hopeless situation or an insurmountable
barrier, they may choose to Defy Death. This lucky evasion lets THE FIFTH RULE: EXPERIENCE AND HENCHMEN
them escape the effects of their calamitous situation, bypass an A lone hero earns only a quarter of the normal experience points
otherwise unavoidable condition, or get past barriers that would for their deeds, reflecting the fact that they have fewer hands to
stop them cold, though it dangerously taxes their reserves of luck. divide the treasure.

When a PC Defies Death, they suffer one damage die for every Henchmen and retainers can be employed as normal, but they
level they possess. The first time they dodge doom during a game are treated as monsters for purposes of combat damage. A minion
session, they roll 1d4 for each level. The next time, they roll 1d6, with 1 hit die is slain by one point of damage.
then 1d8, and then 1d10 for each further attempt to dodge their
fate. If the damage inflicted by this taxing of their luck would GMs should feel no particular obligation to send henchmen
reduce them to 0 hit points, they are instead left at 1 hit point and along with a solo adventurer. The extra bodies to soak up monster
whatever doom they were trying to slip affects them normally. attacks aren’t as crucial with these rules, and it can prove cumber-
some to keep track of them all. In the same vein, GMs should be
It is up to the GM to decide what situations and negative effects careful about including more than one PC in an adventure when
can be dodged. When combat is dodged, it usually means the PC using these rules- they might turn out to be far more fearsome
has successfully fled an otherwise inescapable situation. When than the adventure expected of its heroes.
some arcane barrier is overcome by a PC with no access to Dispel
magic, it might mean the hero recognizes the ward and knows how
to spoil its effect. When a furious mob that has caught the hero

3
 OPTIONAL RULES AND GUIDELINES
ENDURING PROTAGONISTS AUTOMATIC INITIATIVE
For some GMs and players, their intention is to play a single Losing initiative can take down even the mightiest warrior when
heroic PC through a number of adventures. They want to explore a dozen goblins get lucky hit rolls with their javelins. To even the
this particular hero’s tale, and aren’t interested in death or other balance, you might optionally decide to simply let the hero auto-
ruinations that would otherwise terminate the PC’s tale before matically win initiative checks. The might still be susceptible to
they were done playing him or her. For these campaigns, here’s an ambushes and other surprise attacks, but when facing foes in open
optional rule for protagonists meant to survive the worst the world battle they will always win initiative.
can dole out.
Aside from the combat value of this alacrity, it also gives a hero
An enduring protagonist always has maximum hit points for their time to flee if faced by overwhelming opposition. In a party of
class and level. Furthermore, zero hit points doesn’t mean death. standard size the monsters would usually busy themselves butcher-
Instead, they are left for dead, lost in the swirl of battle, or make a ing one or two of the less fortunate members while the others flee-
hairs-breadth escape from death by some unlikely coincidence. with only one hero, that kind of delaying action is impractical,
and so it can be necessary to give them a more overt opportunity
This good fortune comes at a price, however. The hero must retreat to run for their lives.
to lick their wounds and recover their strength. If the mission they
were attempting to accomplish is time-sensitive, they will fail as EXTRA FRAY DICE
time runs out while they regain their strength. If the task had no While perhaps not so much an optional rule as it is a game tool, a
time pressure, then they realize that they were overmatched and GM can always hand a hero extra fray dice for actions or situations
must go pursue some other adventure before they can come back that are particularly beneficial to them in combat.
and make a second try at their goal.
A thief who leaps from ambush on an unwary bandit patrol might
Protagonists who wish to make a second try at a time-sensitive get not only his backstab multiplier on his regular damage, but
goal may choose instead to be captured by their foes, or their also an extra couple of fray dice to represent the havoc she wreaks
bodies stripped of belongings while they lay in seeming death, before the bandits realize what’s happening to them. A warrior
or otherwise substantially inconvenienced in exchange for being lashing out at a pack of orcs might gain an extra die from the bril-
allowed to continue their attempt to stop events in time. Such liant sunlight that dazzles their bloodshot eyes. A halfling with a
determined heroes regain all lost hit points but must then manage knife creeping up through the undergrowth on an unwary sentry
an escape from their captors or scavenge some gear to replace their might roll another three or four fray dice to ensure the poor hu-
now forever-lost harness. GMs are advised to allow only one such man’s doom.
second chance for any given adventure.
Any bonus is the GM’s choice, to be given as the situation recom-
CONVERTING OTHER GAMES mends. As a general guide, one die should be given for a helpful
Many readers might be interested in using these rules with other but not overwhelming circumstance, two dice for a very advanta-
gaming systems, including other Sine Nomine games such as geous situation, and three or more for a perfectly-planned coup.
Other Dust or Stars Without Number. Under most circumstances, Only the best circumstance should be considered, so as to avoid
these rules should work perfectly well for any system that shares giving undue benefit to a half-dozen trivial edges.
the same basic mechanics as Labyrinth Lord.
ONE PAIR OF HANDS
Some other games give PCs substantially more hit points than the A few adventures are written so as to practically require more than
1-8 per level range common to Labyrinth Lord. For these games, one adventurer to overcome certain obstacles or challenges. A vault
Constitution bonuses or starting hit dice floors might gives a may require two keys to be turned at once, or a stretch of badlands
novice PC a dozen or more hit points even at first level. Under might be lethal to any group that fails to post a watch overnight.
those circumstances, you may want to scale the PC’s hit points
downward a little- assume 10 hit points per level for an enor- For these situations, just elide the parts of the challenge that would
mously tough fighter-type PC and 4 hit points per level as a basic otherwise require two people. Put the two keyholes adjacent to
minimum for a less martial character. one another, for example, or arbitrarily decide that the pantherish
senses of the lone heroine awaken her as some foe steals close to
Other games add additional attacks, odd damage dice for weapons, her lonely campsite. This may result in a challenge that is easier
or feat-based combat elaborations. Where these additions help a than what the adventure’s author originally expected, but the other
PC they can usually be left in place, but extra attacks are perhaps difficulties faced by a solo adventurer should be more than enough
best translated into larger fray dice or more of them rather than to compensate for the lack.
full additional attack sequences.

4
 SOLO RULES SUMMARY
INFLICTING DAMAGE HEALING
When reading damage dice, don’t count the usual totals. Instead, After every battle or source of injury, the hero can take five min-
count each die as given on the table below. If you have a bonus to utes to bind their wounds and catch their breath, healing up to
your damage roll, add it to one die of your choice before compar- 2 hit points of the damage they incurred in that battle or event.
ing it to the table. Harm from Defying Death cannot be mended this way.

DIE RESULT DAMAGE DONE Healing spells and magic acts like “reversed” damage dice, with the
totals rolled healing that many lost hit dice or hit points. Thus, a
1 or less No damage
1d6+1 healing spell will heal from 1 to 2 points of damage.
2 to 5 1 point of damage
6 to 9 2 points of damage DEFYING DEATH
10 or more 4 points of damage When the PC is hit by a save-or-die effect, caught in a snare they
cannot possibly escape alone, trapped by mobs of foes, or brain-
All damage dice are read this way, including damage done by bent by a malevolent sorcerer, they can attempt to Defy Death.
spells, traps, and environmental hazards. Thus, a 5d6 fireball Any potentially adventure-ending challenge or danger can be
would do anywhere from 0 to 10 points of damage. dodged at the GM’s discretion, though it inflicts a toll on a hero’s
luck and resilience.
TAKING DAMAGE
A PC takes damage as normal and will die at zero hit points. Mon- To Defy Deaeth, the hero rolls one d4 damage die for every level
sters and NPCs lose one hit die for each point of damage inflicted. they have, taking the damage as described above. Thus, a 3rd level
Thus, an orc would be killed by 1 point of damage, and an ogre fighter would roll 3d4 when he wanted to Defy Death. If the dam-
by 4. Hit dice are rounded to the nearest whole number. When age reduces them to 0 hit points, they retain 1 hit point but suffer
enough damage is done to kill a particular target, any left-over the full effects of the doom.
damage can be inflicted on any other victim within range with If the dodge didn’t exhaust them, they escape it through some
equal or worse armor class. means decided by the GM. It may be that they threw off the
magic at the last moment, found crumbling handholds in the wall,
THE FRAY DIE or happen to know what marks to cut to deactivate the magical
Every round, the PC can roll one die to inflict damage on any barrier around their goal.
enemies of equal or fewer hit dice, representing their martial hew-
ing and smiting or the smaller combat spells of a trained sorcerer. The more often a hero Defies Death, the harder it gets. The second
Fighters roll 1d8, magic-users roll 1d4, and all others roll 1d6. time they dodge doom during a single session, they start rolling
Magic-user Fray dice can affect any foe- even those more powerful. d6s. The next, d8s, and then finally d10s if they continue to evade
This damage is automatic and does not require a hit roll. The fray doom. As the die sizes increase, dodging doom risks inflicting even
die need not be targeted at the same enemy as the PC’s attack, and more damage on their future prospects. Sooner or later, their luck
a PC need not attack in a round in order to use their Fray die. is fated to run out.

AN EXAMPLE ENGAGEMENT
The mighty-thewed samurai Shinji Haraldsen finds himself em- He also rolls his fray die of 1d6, getting a three, for 1 point of
broiled with six goblin warriors and their savage witch-priestess. damage. He’d like to do something about that witch-priestess,
Trusting in the steel of his o-yoroi armor and the edge of his but he can only apply the fray die to equal or inferior foes. One
father’s axe, Shinji hurls himself into the fray. more goblin goes down as his backswing staves in its skull.

Shinji is a level 1 fighter with 5 hit points, a +1 Strength modi- The goblins are driven on by the priestess and refuse to flee from
fier, a hand axe+1, and AC 2 from his plate armor and shield. the terrible warrior. Instead, all three attack, and by luck two of
them hit the samurai. They roll 1 and 6 for their spears, doing
Against him stand six goblins with 1 HD each, AC 7, and spears zero and 2 points of damage. Shinji is down to 3 HP.
that do 1d6 damage. The witch-priestess has more experience,
and has 3 HD, AC 6, and a dagger that does 1d4 damage. The witch-priestess now unleashes her sorcery, striking Shinji
with a spell of inexorable Sleep. This would end Shinji’s tale on
Shinji wins initiative and decides to cull some goblins first. He the spot, so the GM allows him to Defy Death. Shinji rolls 1d4 as
rolls to hit AC 7 and succeeds. He rolls 1d6 for the hand axe’s a damage die and takes 1 damage as he shakes off the spell.
damage and gets a four; adding his Strength and the axe’s magical
bonus to that results in six, which the table shows as 2 points of Hard-pressed, Shinji fights on, this time smiting the priestess
damage to the goblins. This kills one of them outright, and the with his axe, inflicting another 2 points of damage. The witch is
excess damage spills over to kill another one within reach of his left with 1 HD left as Shinji’s Fray die slays another goblin. Will
red-stained axe. victory be his, or shall his gnawed bones yellow in the wild?

5
 THE YELLOW TOAD GOD’S WELL
A SIDE ADVENTURE FOR A 1ST LEVEL SOLO HERO
The peasants tell of the ruined village of Yellow Toad Well, up in 2. The Tunnel of Memory
the dry hills a half-day’s journey from the hamlet. There is a god in
the well, they say, a great god of bulging eyes and yellow skin, and This snaking passageway is lit by the same pale, phosphorescent
he gave the villagers crops and abundance in exchange for their slime that gives barely-sufficient illumination to the rest of the
most precious treasures. Five years ago a band of hungry mercenar- tunnels. On its wall, crude carvings of village life and adult figures
ies came through and destroyed the village, leaving only scorched can be seen, the works done with a childlike simplicity. Halfway
ruins and bones behind them. The peasants say that the god must down the passageway, four large lumps of slime will rear up from
not have been very strong to let its worshipers be slain that way, the floor to attack. These toadspawn rave of being left alone in
but still, it is best to leave its treasures untouched. It is still a god, the dark for so very long, even as they try to tear the throat from
after all, and they are still peasants. Who are they to rob a deity? any interloper. Their bodies are soft and toad-pale, with clawed,
webbed fingers and the hairless heads of children.
THE TRUTH OF THE WELL
In truth, the god of the well is nothing more than an overgrown Toadspawn (4): MV 90’ (30’), AC 8, HD 1, #AT 1, DG 1d6
toad tainted with the foul magic of the evil feng shui that troubled claws, SV F1, ML 9. One of the toadspawn still wears a tarnished
the village. For a time, it could soak up the geomantic misfortune silver necklace worth 100 gp.
and shelter the inhabitants from its consequences, but eventually
the bad luck was too much and the mercenaries came to blot out 3. The Sinking Chamber
the unhappy village. The toad has intelligence of a kind, but it was The floor of this cave is three feet deep in mud and water, halving
always singularly indifferent to its worshipers, and is now merely movement rates and eliminating any Dexterity bonus to armor
annoyed that there are none to give it fresh offerings. class. Those who cross will be attacked by the hungry ghosts of
three children, their rotting remains clawing and biting beneath
The neighboring peasants were right when they spoke of the vil-
the surface of the murky water.
lagers giving their most precious treasures to the god, but it was
not gold or silver that they offered. They gave their children to the Hungry Ghosts (3): MV 90’ (30’), AC 6, HD 1, #AT 1, DG 1d4
well, dressing them in such finery as the poor village could fashion bite, SV F1, ML 12. They can be Turned as skeletons.
before hurling them down into the water. Some the god ate, and
some it used for worse purposes. The uneasy ghosts and slime- 4. The Toadfather’s Shrine
skinned toadspawn of these children still lurk below, along with
one wild-eyed survivor who has evaded the god thus far. A limestone idol of a swollen toad dominates the far end of the
chamber, executed crudely and with little skill. Before it a vast
THE VILLAGE OF YELLOW TOAD WELL mound of rotting fish is piled in offering. A dozen small bodies
The village itself is a scavenged shambles, old ashes, crumbled are arranged in attitudes of reverent worship around the idol, their
mortar, and a few man-sized statues of toads that have been remains preserved by a thick layer of transparent slime. If the hero
broken almost beyond recognition. All that remain of its humble approaches the idol, the “corpse” nearest the icon will rise and
buildings. The few who survived the rampage of the mercenaries attack. This toadspawn constantly spews the preservative slime as
have fled far away, and there is nothing left worth stealing amid it attacks, forcing a save versus Poison each round for those who
the ruins. The well itself stands in the center of the village square, engage it in melee. A failed save inflicts 1 point of damage as it
four feet in width and framed in soft limestone slabs. It is fifty feet numbs the hero’s skin.
down to the surface of the water below.
Toadspawn Priest (1): MV 90’ (30’), AC 8, HD 3, #AT 1 +
1. The Pool of the Toad God slime, DG 1d6 claws, SV F3, ML 12.

The walls of this natural limestone hollow are slick with faintly The child-priest has nothing of value on it, but beneath the rotting
phosphorescent slime. A thief could ascend without a rope, but fish are trinkets gathered long ago by the toadspawn. These golden
less nimble souls would require some help to reach the wellshaft pins and baubles are worth roughly 500 gp.
overhead. The water is twenty feet deep at its deepest, enough to
cushion a fall. The floor of the pool is thick with small, crumbling 5. Tadpool
bones, and many blind fish flit among them.
This shallow pool has at least a dozen small skeletons in varying
Heroes in metal armor will be unable to swim, though they can states of decay lying in the clear water. Among them flit dozens of
struggle through the bones to reach the shore before they start child-faced tadpoles with sizes ranging from palm-long to a few as
to suffocate. Those that do so will feel the sensation of dozens of large as a man’s forearm. If dragged from the water they shriek like
small, unseen hands clinging to them until they leave the water, unhappy infants. Prolonged crying will bring the toad god from its
though this grip will not be enough to stop them. lair to investigate the disturbance in its nursery.
6
 6. Fei-lan’s Refuge 8. Sinkhole Room
The last sacrifice offered by the village hides here, granted a half- The standing water on the floor of this cave conceals a silty sink-
hearted immunity by the strange whims of the gods. The Immortal hole. Those too burdened to swim must save versus Paralysis when
Tendai, a god of deviation and aberrance, has blessed Fei-lan with nearing the sinkhole or slide into it. Those who can’t think of a
a measure of clerical favor. While a dubious god to most, Tendai way to keep from plunging in may Defy Death to claw out of it.
acts to break old patterns and disrupt the ways of the world. Fei-
lan invokes her spells by instinct and inspiration, and her Protec- 9. The Toad God’s Lair
tion from Evil enchantment held back the toad god long enough The toad god has a 3 in 6 chance of being asleep when first en-
for her to flee. The god largely ignores her these days, waiting countered here. Thieves can automatically backstab a sleeping god,
patiently for an opportunity to render her into the same manner while other classes can get a free hit by sneaking up on it with a
of creature as her fellow sacrifices. The toadspawn and undead will successful Dexterity check. If awake, the god will offer the hero its
not harm her, sensing in her a kindred offering. treasure if they bring it Fei-lan. It will only attack if this bargain is
refused or if it is ambushed while asleep.
Fei-lan is thirteen years old and more than half mad with the past
five years of living on cave fish and dank water. She will refuse The god is a hideously corpulent blend of man and toad, six feet
to believe the hero is real, convinced they are only a very realistic tall and covered with warts that pulse with caustic filth. If it is
hallucination provoked by her loneliness. She will aid the hero struck by an edged weapon, the attacker must save versus Paraly-
with her spells, but will not face the toad god. She will resist any sis or suffer 1 point of damage from the spray. The god will not
attempt to take her from the well- she cannot bear the thought of pursue those that flee unless it is unhurt.
hallucinating herself free, only to wake up again in her cave.
Toad God: MV 60’ (20’), AC 7, HD 4, #AT 1, DG 1d8 claws, SV
Fei-lan: MV 120’ (40’), AC 8, HD 2, #AT 1, DG 1d4 club, SV F4, ML 12.
C2, ML 8. Spells: Cure Light Wounds, Protection from Evil.
The god has piled the best of its treasure against the far wall.
Included are a potion of healing, a half-dozen semiprecious gems
7. Scraped Cave
each worth 50 gp, a pile of coins worth 400 gp, and a scroll of
The soft limestone floor is gouged by long scratches where the tal- Read Languages. A long coil of silk rope is too filthy and worn to
ons of the toad god have clawed it. Most of the traffic leads toward be worth anything, but it could be used to hook a projection on
the tunnel that winds toward its lair. the wellshaft and climb out of the pit if needed.
7
 A Quick Temple or Shrine
A One-Roll Generator
Whether in far fantastic lands or among the scattered worlds
of future humanity, the works of religion are persistent. You
can use this one-roll table to quickly generate a fane for
your campaign; just fling one of each die type and read the
tables accordingly.

D4 How Important Is It? D12 Potential Friends

1 A trivial shrine important only to locals 1 Local tradesman who deals with the priests
2 A significant temple important to nearby towns 2 Young acolyte who still thinks of leaving the clergy
3 The most important temple in the region 3 Scheming cleric who needs ignorant catspaws
4 One of the greatest fanes of the world or nation 4 Weary high priest who needs help with the problem
5 Temple guard with an interest in adventure
D6 What's its basic structure? 6 Visiting scholar eager for information
1 Single grand temple with attached quarters 7 Cleric's young relative dreaming of the wide world
2 Several smaller fanes with unattached quarters 8 Cheerful cleric seeking new converts for the faith
3 A building with many shrines and apartments 9 Temple laborer with a great fund of gossip
4 One sacred temple with unattached buildings 10 Schismatic cleric looking for support for reforms
5 Natural worship site with supporting buildings 11 Wealthy local believer with an interest in novelty
6 Many small temples in the same general vicinity 12 Beggar or indigent reliant on the shrine's charity

D8 What kind of appearance? D20 Potential Antagonists

1 Worn and battered, in poor repair from poverty 1 High priest seeing conspiracies behind strangers
2 Ancient but well-kept, though showing its age 2 Guardsman who thinks the PCs incipient thieves
3 Advanced and modern, all fashionable lines 3 Troublemaking seductress who wants a new toy
4 Ethnically-specific construction styles and colors 4 Fiery zealot witnessing unwitting PC blasphemy
5 Dominated by a single motif of color or shape 5 Temple laborer framing PCs for his own theft
6 Luxuriantly ornamented as richly as possible 6 Cleric who thinks they're agents of a rival creed
7 Rustic and simple, built from local materials 7 Cleric who absolutely refuses aid to nonbelievers
8 Gaudy and coarse in its appearance 8 Prophet who utters dark omens about the PCs
9 Charlatan who tries to bilk PCs with dark warnings
D10 What problem does it face? 10 Temple servant who gossips against PCs pettishly
1 Poverty. The believers or temple are very poor 11 Acolyte extorting help in a theft, lest he accuse
2 Malfeasance. The temple leader is misusing money 12 Delusional, violent holy man who doesn't like PCs
3 Simony. The leader is selling spiritual offices 13 Embittered local who counts outsiders as trouble
4 Avarice. The temple squeezes tenants or faithful 14 Pilgrim who thinks the PCs conspire against them
5 Decay. Vital repairs are too costly 15 Senile high priest who takes a pettish dislike to PCs
6 Fanaticism. The faith is driven to sectarian excess 16 Battleaxe abbess who expects PCs to do as told
7 Cynicism. The priests don't really believe in anything 17 Rebel priest who tries to force PCs to aid his cause
8 Peril. An outside group hates the temple bitterly 18 Sacred animal who just does not like the PCs
9 Superstition. The priests are ignorant and venal 19 Prophecy that coincidentally points to PCs as evil
10 Luxury. The priests crave only pleasures and leisure 20 Zealot seeking glory through proving PCs evil

20
 A Quick Religious Revolt
A One-Roll Generator
There are times when a minority faith or schismatic sect
can be pushed beyond its endurance by the actions of its
ostensible oppressors. This table provides the details of a
recent religious revolt, one which may or may not have been
easily justified.

D4 What Stage Is It In? D12 What is their biggest disadvantage?

1 It's just ignited and is starting to spread 1 Capricious brutality and indiscipline
2 It's a serious threat to authority in a region 2 Others detest their religious rules and strictures
3 It's actually in control in some areas 3 Venal leadership seeking personal wealth
4 It's been crushed and is being mopped up 4 Military incompetence or ignorance
5 A sense of inferiority and hopelessness
D6 What Started It? 6 Ridiculously excessive goals they take seriously
1 Brutal martyrdom of a holy person 7 Their enemies were ready for the revolt
2 A miraculous letter or sign in the heavens 8 They are divided over the wisdom of the revolt
3 A fiery demagogue or optimistic prophet 9 A neighboring nation fears their rise
4 The glorious assassination of a cruel lord 10 Religious strictures hinder their combat utility
5 A weakening of the oppressing power there 11 They expect divine aid that is not forthcoming
6 Relaxed oppression of a now-ambitious sect 12 Their neighbors hate or despise them

D8 What is their biggest advantage? D20 Interesting Figures of the Revolt

1 Large numbers of fearless zealots 1 Aged prophet who promises victory if a thing is done
2 Support from a neighboring nation 2 Aggrieved holy figure who never wanted violence
3 Great riches they either possess or seized 3 Anguished avenger who seeks death for all foes
4 Technical skills ideally suited to resistance 4 Bloodthirsty official bent on brutal suppression
5 Network of sympathizers in power 5 Concubine of the elite who serves the rebel cause
6 Sympathy from uninvolved common folk 6 Crushed soul who rose to become a great leader
7 Recently-obtained tech or war gear 7 Cynical outsider selling them weapons
8 Spies and saboteurs among the enemy 8 Discreetly-sympathetic official among their foes
9 Fought-over descendant of a famous holy figure
D10 What is the overarching goal? 10 Frustrated reformer from among the oppressors
1 Extermination of the hated oppressors 11 Hapless grandee hated by both sides
2 Conversion or death to the oppressors 12 Important convert from among their foes
3 Autonomy and independence from their rulers 13 Local leader bent on settling old scores
4 Seizure of a captive holy site or region 14 Outside technician bent on aiding one of the sides
5 Elimination of social disabilities due to their faith 15 Remarkably gifted young military strategist
6 Punishment of a specific group of oppressors 16 Ruthless slave trader profiting from the strife
7 Conquest and rule of a region by their own kind 17 Scheming merchant who plans to profit from losses
8 Freedom and recompense for their suffering 18 Secretly faithless rebel leader with their own goals
9 Replacing oppressive rulers with their own people 19 Sectarian priest scheming to seize leadership
10 Enacting of some prophesied path to utopia 20 Zealous missionary bringing the faith to bystanders

21
 What’s That Abandoned Structure?
A One-Roll Generator
There are times when a GM needs a little quick filler for You might choose to roll more than once on the dangers and
exploration. The tables below offer a quick one-roll method things worth finding, or roll multiple interesting features and
for creating an abandoned building suitable for planting in blend them together. For maps, just grab a few one-page
some untamed planetary wilderness or long-lost alien city. dungeons from the net and sub in whatever seems most
Just roll and tweak the details to fit the context. fitting for the structure.

D4 Where Are The Usable Entrances? D12 What Dangers Exist In It?
1 The front or main entrance is still passable. 1 Savage local fauna have nested in it.
2 There’s a sinkhole or tunnel to a basement level. 2 One or more dangerous humans are lairing there.
3 There are holes in the roof. 3 A roof or floor is threatening to give way.
4 A wall or window has given way. 4 Something is emitting a dangerous gas or radiation.
5 Live power lines look dead until touched.
D6 What’s Its Most Noticeable Form of Decay? 6 Violent action risks collapsing a room or area.
1 Extremely rickety; structural supports are failing. 7 A type of dangerous local plant grows inside.
2 Local vegetation has almost entombed it. 8 Security bots are still operating inside.
3 Fire has scorched large portions of it. 9 Something here is diseased and contagious.
4 External sheathing is decaying or falling away. 10 The useful thing is propping up a room’s ceiling.
5 Water has soaked it; molds, mosses, and slime. 11 Something waits to ambush those who emerge.
6 Large pieces have been blasted away or collapsed. 12 A dangerous toxin has spilled in the building.

D8 What Was Its Basic Original Use? D20 What Interesting Features Does It Have?
1 Residential. People lived in it, either as home or hotel. 1 The running water still works, and is stuck on.
2 Industrial. It was a factory, farm or workshop. 2 The building is partially buried.
3 Governmental. Local officials worked there. 3 Exiles, criminals, or social outcasts once laired here.
4 Entertainment. It was a club, theater, or dance hall. 4 The building is at a dramatic tilt.
5 Infrastructural. Sewage plant, roadwork garage, etc. 5 There was a vicious combat here at some point.
6 Fortification. It was for frontier defense or civil order. 6 An important official lies here with vital documents.
7 Culture. It was an art gallery, shrine or cultural center. 7 Secret rooms were built for the original owner.
8 Commercial. People bought and sold something here. 8 It’s heavily adorned with local religious symbolism.
9 It was built in fanciful, artistic, and impractical ways.
D10 What’s Worth Finding In It? 10 It’s all concrete and fortified angles.
1 A cache of local currency was left behind. 11 The power is still on and may mix badly with water.
2 A valuable cultural artifact or historical item. 12 It was a refuge for a hiding person at some point.
3 Interesting bank accounts, legal data, or land deeds. 13 One or more looters died to the dangers here.
4 One or more persons in desperate need of help. 14 Has a small library of prohibited or interesting texts.
5 A somewhat cumbersome but precious object. 15 Numerous crumbling pieces of art around the place.
6 A cache of weapons, armor, or other military tech. 16 Flowing fountains or water features, semi-functional.
7 A functioning vehicle of some kind. 17 Unusually deep basements or tunnels.
8 Useful equipment related to the building’s purpose. 18 Someone tried to repair or rebuild it at some point.
9 Nothing. Everything is ruined or worthless inside. 19 Part of it is perfectly preserved.
10 Roll again, but it’s actually a trap or dangerous. 20 It was actually meant for multiple purposes.

13
 A Quick Backwater Spaceport
A One-Roll Generator
Players in Stars Without Number have a habit of landing To use this page, just roll one of each type of die: d4, d6, d8,
on less-than-sophisticated worlds. Often the only part of d10, and d20. The results should give you a quick grasp of
these planets they see is the starport and its environs, so a the local flavor and at least one particular problem that might
GM sometimes needs to generate such material in a hurry. require the intervention of outsiders. Employ it as necessary
The tables offered here should give you some ideas for play. to give your players something to do on short notice.

D4 What’s So Backwater About It? D12 What’s The Nearest Popular Entertainment?
1 The PCs are the only ship in port for some time. 1 A spectacularly filthy dive bar full of criminals.
2 The port gear is dangerously outdated and worn. 2 Native animal races, sometimes with escapees.
3 The locals really dislike or mistrust offworlders. 3 Public executions of criminals and political losers.
4 They’re missing some important facility or service. 4 Animal baiting of a very dangerous native lifeform.
5 Brothel offering a morally repugnant sort of service.
D6 How Are Ships and Cargo Secured Here? 6 Club for native elite and rich offworld visitors.
1 Absolutely no security on an open field. 7 Arena for pit fights between enthusiastic natives.
2 Native longshoremen extort cash for “security”. 8 Sporting field for physically hazardous native game.
3 The local ruler “secures” cargo in his storehouses. 9 Beautiful nature site full of prostitutes and con men.
4 Ships are kept in caves until fees and taxes are paid. 10 Pleasant public park with vendors and strollers.
5 The warehouses and hangars are weather-unsafe. 11 Restaurant that serves something deeply unnerving.
6 The local military keeps very careful watch on both. 12 Public temple or shrine with some remarkable relic.

D8 What’s Wrong With The Starport Staff? D20 What’s The Problem Here?
1 The portmaster is a corrupt and greedy political hire. 1 Maintenance staff is stealing vital parts off ships.
2 Maintenance staff are totally incompetent. 2 A plague has suddenly hit the area.
3 They expect outsiders to follow odd cultural taboos. 3 A local war zone suddenly engulfs the port.
4 They are utterly torpid unless bribed or frightened. 4 Rebels scheme to seize the port and its ships.
5 Their total effort is monopolized by the local military. 5 A dangerous religious festival is underway.
6 They’re interested only in pleasing the local ruler. 6 The last outworlder did something horrible here.
7 They think outsiders are made to be bilked. 7 The local ruler wants to conscript the PCs for war.
8 Nobody important speaks the PCs’ language. 8 Another outworlder set the PCs up for trouble.
9 The local ruler won power by hating foreigners.
D10 Who Needs To Talk To Outsiders Right Now? 10 A natural disaster strikes just after the PCs land.
1 A desperate native, despised and hated locally. 11 The only people with money here are loathsome.
2 A hidden outlaw seeking passage offworld. 12 Local troublemakers are hunting for foreigners.
3 A local ruler in dire need of advanced medtech. 13 The local construction is frail and about to crumble.
4 A spouse seeking to duck out from a marriage. 14 Native weather is making take-offs very dangerous.
5 A local inventor with a plausible but terrible idea. 15 The local economy just got shocked by outsiders.
6 A local warlord who wants offworlder muscle. 16 The locals strip ships for some desperate need.
7 A con man seeking to trick the PCs out of cargo. 17 Goods bought here are often fake or counterfeit.
8 A marooned offworlder seeking passage out. 18 The local cops think the PCs are agents of a foe.
9 A failed rebel in need of rapid departure. 19 The PCs are mistaken for expected contractors.
10 An outworlder-hater who wants to harm the PCs. 20 They’re using a dangerous pretech device here.

12
 1D100 MALE FEMALE SURNAME 1D100 PLACE NAME 1D100 PLACE NAME
1-4 Aiguo Biyu Bai 1-2 Andong 51-52 Luzhou
5-8 Bohai Changying Cao 3-4 Anqing 53-54 Ningxia
9-12 Chao Daiyu Chen 5-6 Anshan 55-56 Pingxiang
13-16 Dai Huidai Cui 7-8 Chaoyang 57-58 Pizhou
17-20 Dawei Huiliang Ding 9-10 Chaozhou 59-60 Qidong
21-24 Duyi Jia Du 11-12 Chifeng 61-62 Qingdao
25-28 Fa Jingfei Fang 13-14 Dalian 63-64 Qinghai
29-32 Fu Lan Fu 15-16 Dunhuang 65-66 Rehe
33-36 Gui Liling Guo 17-18 Fengjia 67-68 Shanxi
37-40 Hong Liu Han 19-20 Fengtian 69-70 Taiyuan
41-44 Jianyu Meili Hao 21-22 Fuliang 71-72 Tengzhou
45-48 Kang Niu Huang 23-24 Fushun 73-74 Urumqi
49-52 Li Peizhi Lei 25-26 Gansu 75-76 Weifang
53-56 Niu Qiao Li 27-28 Ganzhou 77-78 Wugang
57-60 Peng Qing Liang 29-30 Guizhou 79-80 Wuxi
61-64 Quan Ruolan Liu 31-32 Hotan 81-82 Xiamen
65-68 Ru Shu Long 33-34 Hunan 83-84 Xian
69-72 Shen Suyin Song 35-36 Jinan 85-86 Xikang
73-76 Shi Ting Tan 37-38 Jingdezhen 87-88 Xining
77-80 Song Xia Tang 39-40 Jinxi 89-90 Xinjiang
81-84 Tao Xiaowen Wang 41-42 Jinzhou 91-92 Yidu
85-88 Xue Xiulan Wu 43-44 Kunming 93-94 Yingkou
89-92 Yi Ya Xing 45-46 Liaoning 95-96 Yuxi
93-96 Yuan Ying Yang 47-48 Linyi 97-98 Zigong
97-100 Zian Zhilan Zhang 49-50 Lushun 99-100 Zoige

Chinese Names Chinese Clothing

Chinese names are customarily used with the surname preceding Traditional Chinese clothing is not much in evidence in these
the given name- so Xiulan of the Wu family is “Wu Xiulan”. days, but might make a reappearance on some worlds. For men,
Depending on cultural predominance, other groups on the planet this might include the zhiju, a long robe with wide sleeves and a
may share this order with their own names- i.e., “Smith John”, lapel folded over and held closed by a sash. Also possible is a yi, a
or the name order may be inverted. When addressing a person, it narrow-sleeved tunic that runs to the knees, bound with a sash and
is common to use both elements of his or her name, rather than worn with a skirt called a chang and an length of fabric folded over
simply using their given name. it known as a bixi that goes to the knees.

The names above are given in Pinyin transliteration, which does Women might be found wearing a qipao, with older styles
not necessarily share a great deal with the pronunciation of the consisting of a high-necked, loose-fitting dress with broad sleeves.
English letters involved. As a quick reference, here are only some of More modern versions tend to be quite snug-fitting and shorten
the larger differences: the sleeves to the upper arms. More loose-fitting dress might
consist of the quju, similar to the masculine zhiju save for a left
C is pronounced with a sharp ts as in spats. lapel long enough to wrap once around the wearer’s torso before
G is pronounced in most of the worlds above as if it were a k as being sashed in place.
in skill.
Q somewhat resembles the sound of ch in cheek. Chinese Cuisine
X is pronounced with a sh sound, similar to that of she. Traditional Chinese cuisine varies widely, but rice is the staple
ZH is pronounced in a somewhat similar fashion to ch as in choke. grain and is used in the fashioning of noodles, buns, dumplings,
fermented drinks, and other comestibles. Tofu is sometimes found
The finer points are likely to be compassed only by someone who in place of meat, and rice wine and tea are common drinks. Stir-
already speaks the language, but the above should assist in adding frying is a common preparation technique for many foods.
flavor to the names.

225
 1D100 MALE FEMALE SURNAME 1D100 PLACE NAME 1D100 PLACE NAME
1-4 Amrit Amala Achari 1-2 Ahmedabad 51-52 Jaisalmer
5-8 Ashok Asha Banerjee 3-4 Alipurduar 53-54 Jharonda
9-12 Chand Chandra Bhatnagar 5-6 Alubari 55-56 Kadambur
13-16 Dinesh Devika Bose 7-8 Anjanadri 57-58 Kalasipalyam
17-20 Gobind Esha Chauhan 9-10 Ankleshwar 59-60 Karnataka
21-24 Harinder Gita Chopra 11-12 Balarika 61-62 Kutchuhery
25-28 Jagdish Indira Das 13-14 Bhanuja 63-64 Lalgola
29-32 Johar Indrani Dutta 15-16 Bhilwada 65-66 Mainaguri
33-36 Kurien Jaya Gupta 17-18 Brahmaghosa 67-68 Nainital
37-40 Lakshman Jayanti Johar 19-20 Bulandshahar 69-70 Nandidurg
41-44 Madhav Kiri Kapoor 21-22 Candrama 71-72 Narayanadri
45-48 Mahinder Lalita Mahajan 23-24 Chalisgaon 73-74 Panipat
49-52 Mohal Malati Malhotra 25-26 Chandragiri 75-76 Panjagutta
53-56 Narinder Mira Mehra 27-28 Charbagh 77-78 Pathankot
57-60 Nikhil Mohana Nehru 29-30 Chayanka 79-80 Pathardih
61-64 Omrao Neela Patil 31-32 Chittorgarh 81-82 Porbandar
65-68 Prasad Nita Rao 33-34 Dayabasti 83-84 Rajasthan
69-72 Pratap Rajani Saxena 35-36 Dikpala 85-86 Renigunta
73-76 Ranjit Sarala Sharma 37-38 Ekanga 87-88 Sewagram
77-80 Sanjay Sarika Sharma 39-40 Gandhidham 89-90 Shakurbasti
81-84 Shankar Sheela Singh 41-42 Gollaprolu 91-92 Siliguri
85-88 Thakur Sunita Trivedi 43-44 Grahisa 93-94 Sonepat
89-92 Vijay Trishna Venkatesan 45-46 Guwahati 95-96 Teliwara
93-96 Vipul Usha Verma 47-48 Haridasva 97-98 Tinpahar
97-100 Yash Vasanta Yadav 49-50 Indraprastha 99-100 Villivakkam

Indian Names Indian Clothing

Traditional Indian naming conventions vary wildly depending on Traditional women’s clothing includes a number of different styles
the region of India in question. Some areas use only a single given and pieces, perhaps the most famous being the sari, a length of
name, sometimes prefaced by the first initial of their father’s name seamless cloth carefully wrapped and draped around the wearer.
to help distinguish them. Others sometimes use a profession for a Saris are commonly worn in conjunction with a petticoat and a
surname, such as “Kiri Navigator” or “Johar Pilot”. Some regions cropped, snug-fitting blouse known as a choli. In some cases, the
favor a first name, middle name, last name construction. sari is given over in favor of a choli and a long skirt known as a
langa in a combination often worn by younger girls. The salwar
kameez is a popular combination for women of all ages, consisting
Indian Cuisine of the salwar, a pair of light, baggy leggings, and the kameez, a
Curries are a famously popular product of Indian cuisine, and long, loose shirt with long sleeves.
come in a broad range of vegetable and meat varieties. For religious
reasons, a great deal of Indian cuisine is of vegetarian character, Men occasionally wear the salwar kameez as well, though they
using rice, fruits, vegetables, various pulses, the clarified butter can also be found in the unisex kurta, a long-sleeved shirt that
known as ghee, and a broad range of spices. falls to the wearer’s knees. The dhoti is also a customary item of
male apparel, consisting of a long strip of unstitched cloth that
A form of unleavened flatbread called a chapati is often used with is wrapped around the wearer’s hips and knotted at the waist,
meals, with pieces being torn off to dip up food, or fragments of the drape falling past the wearer’s knees. A kurta and dhoti are a
the bread used as scoops for some dishes. Chapatis are often made common combination.
of wheat flour, but versions fashioned of corn, pearl barley, and
other grains are known.

227
 1D100 MALE FEMALE SURNAME 1D100 PLACE NAME 1D100 PLACE NAME
1-4 Akira Aemi Abe 1-2 Bando 51-52 Mitsukaido
5-8 Daisuke Airi Arakaki 3-4 Chikuma 53-54 Moriya
9-12 Fukashi Ako Endo 5-6 Chikusei 55-56 Nagano
13-16 Goro Ayu Fujiwara 7-8 Chino 57-58 Naka
17-20 Hiro Chikaze Goto 9-10 Hitachi 59-60 Nakano
21-24 Hiroya Eriko Ito 11-12 Hitachinaka 61-62 Ogi
25-28 Hotaka Hina Kikuchi 13-14 Hitachiomiya 63-64 Okaya
29-32 Katsu Kaori Kinjo 15-16 Hitachiota 65-66 Omachi
33-36 Katsuto Keiko Kobayashi 17-18 Iida 67-68 Ryugasaki
37-40 Keishuu Kyouka Koga 19-20 Iiyama 69-70 Saku
41-44 Kyuuto Mayumi Komatsu 21-22 Ina 71-72 Settsu
45-48 Mikiya Miho Maeda 23-24 Inashiki 73-74 Shimotsuma
49-52 Mitsunobu Namiko Nakamura 25-26 Ishioka 75-76 Shiojiri
53-56 Mitsuru Natsu Narita 27-28 Itako 77-78 Suwa
57-60 Naruhiko Nobuko Ochi 29-30 Kamisu 79-80 Suzaka
61-64 Nobu Rei Oshiro 31-32 Kasama 81-82 Takahagi
65-68 Shigeo Ririsa Saito 33-34 Kashima 83-84 Takeo
69-72 Shigeto Sakimi Sakamoto 35-36 Kasumigaura 85-86 Tomi
73-76 Shou Shihoko Sato 37-38 Kitaibaraki 87-88 Toride
77-80 Shuji Shika Suzuki 39-40 Kiyose 89-90 Tsuchiura
81-84 Takaharu Tsukiko Takahashi 41-42 Koga 91-92 Tsukuba
85-88 Teruaki Tsuzune Tanaka 43-44 Komagane 93-94 Ueda
89-92 Tetsushi Yoriko Watanabe 45-46 Komoro 95-96 Ushiku
93-96 Tsukasa Yorimi Yamamoto 47-48 Matsumoto 97-98 Yoshikawa
97-100 Yasuharu Yoshiko Yamasaki 49-50 Mito 99-100 Yuki

Japanese Names Japanese Clothing

Japanese names follow the pattern of family name-given name. The kimono is the most widely-known element of traditional
Thus Shika of the Goto family is “Goto Shika”. Depending on Japanese couture, consisting of a long silk robe that falls to the
local tradition and social stratification, commoners might lack a wearer’s ankles. Women’s kimonos can have extremely wide,
surname entirely, instead going by the place-name of their residence draping sleeves, while men’s kimonos favor more restrained cuffs.
when a surname is necessary. Kimonos are worn with a belt-like sash known as an obi, with
female obis being wider and more elaborately decorated than those
of men. Some styles of wearing involve as many as a dozen layers
Japanese Cuisine of under-robes for women in order to produce intricate layering
Japanese cuisine traditionally makes heavy use of rice and seafood, effects. The correct assembly and folding of a kimono for wear can
with substantial use of vegetables and relatively limited amounts be an exceedingly intricate endeavor.
of other meats. Grilling and steaming are popular methods for
food preparation, as are soups of chopped vegetables and assorted For less formal occasions or when work needs make such
forms of rice and wheat-based noodles. Dried and pickled food impractical, the yukata might be worn, a wide-sleeved robe in
is a common element on worlds that lack easy global transport patterned colors that is folded left over right and bound with an
for perishable foodstuffs, and even then, custom encourages obi. Wooden sandals called geta might be employed, possibly in
consumption of fresh, seasonal foods. Tea and the rice wine sake conjunction with split-toed tabi socks.
are common drinks.
Traditional clothing colors tend to the vivid and intricately
patterned, either with repeating motifs or weaves or a full-flowing
brocade or dyeing. Younger people tend to wear brighter colors and
more elaborate patterns than their elders.

228
 under-the-table surgery for wanted criminals because he feels an
Quick NPC Creation idealistic obligation to help those in need, or he might be doing it
To generate a random NPC with these tables, simply pick up one
out of sheer spite against the local law enforcement. The particular
die each for d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and d20 and throw them all at
motivations of an NPC will suggest what sort of things he or she is
once. The resultant numbers will generate a minor NPC.
willing to do in the line of duty.
The tables for gender, age, and height are self-explanatory. The table
The quirks table provide a score of minor traits that might help the
for problems gives a number of potential complications for the
PCs remember the NPC. It’s best to play up the trait during their
NPC’s life, should you decide that they could use a few troubles.
first meeting, so as to better impress on the players some quality
These problems might provoke them to approach the PCs for help,
that will help the NPC stick in their recollections.
or goad them into using the PCs to solve their problem.
Problems and quirks are optional, and you might not bother with
Job motivations suggest a reason behind the NPC’s performance
them for exceptionally minor characters that you don’t expect to
of their current career. A chop-shop medtech might be performing
ever see use again.

1D4 GENDER 1D12 JOB MOTIVATION

1-2 Male 1 Greed, because nothing else they can do pays better
3-4 Female 2 Idealistic about the job
3 Sense of social duty
1D6 AGE 4 Force of habit takes them through the day
1-2 Young 5 Seeks to please another
3-4 Middle-aged 6 Feels inadequate as anything else
5-6 Old 7 Family tradition
8 Religious obligation or vow
1D8 HEIGHT 9 Nothing better to do, and they need the money
1 Very Short 10 They’re quitting at the first good opportunity
2-3 Short 11 It’s a stepping stone to better things
4-5 Average height 12 Spite against an enemy discomfited by the work
6-7 Tall
8 Very Tall
1D20 NOTICEABLE QUIRKS
1 Bald
1D10 PROBLEMS 2 Terrible taste in clothing
1 Grudge against local authorities. 3 Very thin
2 Has a secret kept from their family. 4 Powerful build
3 Chronic illness 5 Bad eyesight, wears spectacles
4 Enmity of a local psychic 6 Carries work tools constantly
5 Has enemies at work 7 Long hair
6 Owes loan sharks 8 Bearded, if male. Ankle-length hair if female.
7 Threatened with loss of spouse, sibling, or child 9 Scars all over hands
8 Close relative in trouble with the law 10 Missing digits or an ear
9 Drug or behavioral addict 11 Smells like their work
10 Blackmailed by enemy 12 Repeats himself constantly
13 Talks about tabloid articles
14 Booming voice
15 Vocal dislike of offworlders
16 Always snuffling
17 Missing teeth
18 Fastidiously neat
19 Wears religious emblems
20 Speaks as little as possible

232
 Quick Heresies
Establishing a religion is well and good, but occasionally a GM
needs a heretical sect for an adventure. The tables below allow for
the quick creation of a sect that disagrees with its parent religion
on a few important points. GMs should roll on the tables below as
they wish, or select those items most useful to their purposes.

1D8 FOUNDER 1D10 ATTITUDE TOWARDS ORTHODOXY

Defrocked clergy: founded by a cleric outcast from the Filial: the sect honors and respects the orthodox faith,
1 1
faith. but feels it is substantially in error
Frustrated layman: founded by a layman frustrated with Anathematic: the orthodox are spiritually worse than
2 2
the faith’s decadence, rigidity, or lack of authenticity infidels, and their ways must be avoided at all costs
Renegade prophet: founded by a revered holy figure who Evangelical: the sect feels compelled to teach the
3 3
broke with the faith orthodox the better truth of their ways
High prelate: founded by an important and powerful Contemptuous: the orthodox are spiritually lost and
4 4
cleric to convey his or her beliefs ignoble
Dissatisfied minor clergy: founded by a minor cleric 5 Aversion: the sect wishes to shun and avoid the orthodox
5
frustrated with the faith’s current condition Hatred: the sect wishes the death or conversion of the
6
Outsider: founded by a member of another faith deeply orthodox
6
influenced by the parent religion Indifference: the sect has no particular animus or love
7
Academic: founded by a professor or theologian on for the orthodox
7
intellectual grounds Obedience: the sect feels obligated to obey the orthodox
8
Accidental; the founder never meant their works to be hierarchy in all matters not related to their specific faith
8
taken that way. Legitimist: the sect views itself as the “true” orthodox
9 faith and the present orthodox hierarchy as pretenders
1D12 MAJOR HERESY
to their office
Manichaeanism: the sect believes in harsh austerities
1 Purificationist: the sect’s austerities, sufferings, and
and rejection of matter as something profane and evil 10
asceticisms are necessary to purify the orthodox
Donatism: the sect believes that clergy must be
2
personally pure and holy in order to be legitimate 1D20 QUIRK
Supercessionism: the sect believes the founder or some 1 Clergy of only one gender
3
other source supercedes former scripture or tradition 2 Dietary prohibitions
Antinomianism: the sect believes that their holy persons 3 Characteristic item of clothing or jewelry
4
are above any law and may do as they will
4 Public prayer at set times or places
Universal priesthood: the sect believes that there is no
5 Forbidden to do something commonly done
5 distinction between clergy and layman and that all
functions of the faith may be performed by all members 6 Anti-intellectual, deploring secular learning
Conciliarism: the sect believes that the consensus of 7 Mystical, seeking union with God through meditation
6 believers may correct or command even the clerical 8 Lives in visibly distinct houses or districts
leadership of the faith 9 Has a language specific to the sect
Ethnocentrism: the sect believes that only a particular 10 Greatly respects learning and education
7
ethnicity or nationality can truly belong to the faith
11 Favors specific colors or symbols
Separatism: the sect believes members should shun
8 12 Has unique purification rituals
involvement with the secular world
Stringency: the sect believes that even minor sins should 13 Always armed
9 14 Forbids marriage or romance outside the sect
be punished, and major sins should be capital crimes
Syncretism: the sect has added elements of another 15 Will not eat with people outside the sect
10
native faith to their beliefs 16 Must donate labor or tithe money to the sect
Primitivism: the sect tries to recreate what they imagine 17 Special friendliness toward another faith or ethnicity
11
was the original community of faith
18 Favors certain professions for their membership
Conversion by the sword: unbelievers must be brought
12 19 Vigorous charity work among unbelievers
to obedience to the sect or be granted death
20 Forbidden the use of certain technology
237
 In many cases, a movement might lack the convenient touchstone
Quick Political Parties of despotism to motivate it. Terrorist groups, fringe political
Peasant revolts, proletariat revolutions, slave rebellions, and titanic
groups, violent separatists, and all the other riotous fauna of
popular movements are useful elements for more politically
human political history can be found recapitulated on far worlds.
unstable worlds, but it can sometimes be difficult to decide on
There is no human political structure that has not been attempted
the specifics of a movement. While it’s easy enough to understand
somewhere within human space, and there is no model so ludicrous
why people would rebel against tyranny or oppression, most such
or discredited that some number of humans are not willing to fight
movements have a rationale deeper than simple revulsion against
and die to install it. Not all such groups need to be violent or
the existing order.
rebellious, of course. The tables below can be used to get a rough
idea of the political platform of a perfectly respectable faction.

1D8 GROUP LEADERSHIP 1D12 IMPORTANT ISSUES

Social elite: the group is led by members of the planet’s 1 Poverty among the group’s membership
1
ruling class. 2 Social hostility to the group’s membership
Outcasts: the group’s leadership is filled out by members 3 Immigration and immigrants
2
of a taboo, outcast, or otherwise socially marginal group.
4 The membership’s important industries
Bourgeoisie: the group is driven by a leadership drawn
5 Religion in public life
3 from the middle class and those aspiring to join the
elite. 6 Gender roles and sexual mores
Proletariat: the working class, both agricultural and 7 Culture of the group membership
4
industrial, provides the leadership for this group. 8 Military preparedness
Urban: city-dwellers compose the leadership of the 9 Governmental reform
5
group. 10 Secession
Rural: farmers, herdsmen, small-town artisans, and 11 Foreign relations
6 other residents of the rural zones of a planet make up
the leadership of the group. 12 Wealth redistribution
Pious: clergy and devout laymen of a religion form the
7 1D20 NAME ELEMENT NAME ELEMENT
leadership.
8 Intellectuals: the movement is led by intellectuals. 1 People’s Front
2 Freedom Party
1D6 ECONOMIC POLICY
3 National Faction
Laissez-faire: minimal or no government intervention
1 4 Unified Group
in the market.
5 Democratic Element
State industry: the government should own or support
2 6 Royal Consensus
specific industries important to the group
Protectionist: the government should tax imports that 7 Social Council
3
threaten to displace the products of local manufactures 8 Progressive Banner
Autarky: the government should ensure that the world 9 Popular Union
4 can provide all of its own goods and services and forbid 10 Republican Combine
the import of foreign goods
11 (A color) Society
Socialist: the market should be harnessed to ensure a
5 12 Federal Sodality
state-determined minimal standard of living for all.
Communist: the state should control the economy, 13 Liberty Brotherhood
6 disbursing its products according to need and 14 (A local animal) Commune
determined efficiency 15 Homeland Pact
1D4 RELATIONSHIP TOWARD OUTSIDERS 16 Conservative Foundation
Xenophilia: the more immigrants the better, as they 17 (A direction) Fellowship
1
provide valuable labor and skills 18 Liberal Guild
Xenophobic: immigration is to be restricted to protect 19 Victory Federation
2
native jobs and culture 20 (A metal) Alliance
Provisional: some immigrants are to be encouraged,
3-4 others to be forbidden. Which is which depends on the
interests of the group.

238
 Quick Architecture
Sometimes it can be difficult to get a feel for the architecture of a
particular alien species or human culture. While it’s always possible
to simply use a stylized, “futuristic” style of construction or to just
transplant modern styles to the future, this can occasionally be less
than satisfying. Used too often, it can make alien ruins and living
human cities feel somewhat interchangeable.

One option is to use the tables below to pick out a half-dozen

architectural elements that are characteristic to an alien race or to
a particular human world’s culture. This can be particularly useful
when you plan to use a specific alien race on multiple worlds or for
multiple ruins; spotting characteristic architectural styles can give
players a hint as to which race authored a particular structure.

Some of the items below are architectural terms of art. A quick

internet search for images can usually give a good idea as to what
sort of structure an “inflexed arch” might be.

1D6 1D10 ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENT 1D6 1D10 ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENT

1 Sharply pointed towers 1 Flying buttresses
2 Squat towers 2 Smooth pillars
3 Square, hexagonal, or oval towers 3 Adorned pillars
4 Multi-branching towers 4 Raised embankments
5 Inverted towers, stretching underground 5 Pier buttresses
1 4
6 Bulbous towers 6 Scroll buttresses
7 Flat-topped towers 7 False, decorative buttresses
8 Multiple towers that merge into one 8 Pyramidal support piers
9 Skeletal towers 9 Squared support piers
10 Twisted towers 10 Seeming lack of supports or buttresses
1 Square foundations 1 Round arches
2 Hexagonal foundations 2 Lancet arches
3 Circular foundations 3 Oriental arches
4 Raised foundations 4 Horseshoe arches
5 Pillared foundations 5 Multifoil arches
2 5
6 Sloped foundations 6 Monumental arches
7 Entrenched foundations 7 Keyhole arches
8 Elongated rectangular foundations 8 Inflexed arches
9 Triangular foundations 9 Flat arches
10 Oval foundations 10 Corbelled arches
1 Bas-reliefs on walls 1 Canals and pools
2 Painting on walls 2 Balconies and overlooks
3 Mosaics on walls or floors 3 Subterranean structures
4 Statues inset in wall niches 4 Absence or profusion of windows
5 Tiling on surfaces 5 Walled or enclosed courtyards
3 6
6 Carvings on walls 6 Open plazas
7 Moldings on walls 7 Elevated walkways
8 Paneling on walls 8 Monoliths or standing stones
9 Geometric designs on surfaces 9 Meandering pathways
10 Featureless surfaces 10 Climbing vegetation
239
 Quick Room Dressing
Short of ideas for how to fill out an alien ruin, abandoned
compound, or forgotten pretech installation? Try picking from the
table below to flesh out the rooms or areas of a structure. It can
often be useful to roll for one room and then assign nearby locales
the sort of function they’d serve to support that area.

For example, if the random roll is “Medical clinic”, then you

might consider reasons why the structure has a medical clinic if
the answer isn’t obvious. Nearby rooms would likely be sickrooms,
perhaps with a quarantine room for contagious cases or an office
for the medtechs. In this way, a beginning random seed can be
grown out into a substantial part of the structure. or lead to further
hooks about how the place operates or operated in its heyday.

1D100 ROOM AND FEATURES 1D100 ROOM AND FEATURES

1-2 Armory: locked gun cabinets, armor racks 51-52 Lecture hall: podium, seats, holoboard
3-4 Art studio: half-finished pieces, tools 53-54 Library: scrolls, dataslabs, codices, massive folios
5-6 Balcony: flowers, climbing vines 55-56 Lumber room: spare furniture, dropcloths, dust
7-8 Ballroom: musical instruments, decorations 57-58 Maintenance closet: mops, cleaning solvents, sinks
9-10 Barracks: footlockers, stacked bunks 59-60 Medical clinic: empty sprayhypos, antiseptic smell
11-12 Bath chamber: large bathing pool, steam rooms 61-62 Monitoring center: banks of screens, darkness
13-14 Bedroom: locked cabinets, personal mementos 63-64 Mortuary: embalming tools, canopic jars
15-16 Biotech lab: unfinished experiments, toxins 65-66 Museum: display cases, plaques, audio explanations
17-18 Broadcasting stage: holocams, props 67-68 Nursery: toys, brightly-painted walls, cribs
19-20 Cellar: mold, dampness, spiderwebs on shelves 69-70 Operating theater: overhead lights, tables, scalpels
21-22 Cold storage: haunches of alien meat 71-72 Pantry: dusty cannisters, sacks of grain
23-24 Computer room: flickering servers, vent fans 73-74 Prayer room: icons, kneelers, washbasins
25-26 Council chamber: large table, mapboard, records 75-76 Prison cell: mold, vermin, peeling paint
27-28 Crypt: sarcophagi, bones, grave goods 77-78 Quarantine room: cot, bedpan, handwritten will
29-30 Dining room: long tables, epergnes, portraits 79-80 Solarium: transparent aluminum ceiling, plants
31-32 Dormitory: bunks, dividers, common baths 81-82 Sparring room: floor mats, practice weapons
33-34 Engineering workshop: parts, electricity, scrap 83-84 Storeroom: crates, bales, cabinets, chests
35-36 Game room: Table games, nets, flashing baubles 85-86 Theater: costumes, stage, secret machinery
37-38 Garden: benches, fountains, exotic foliage 87-88 Torture chamber: straps, chemicals, recording gear
39-40 Great hall: large hearth, tables, raised dais 89-90 Trophy room: xenolife body parts, plaques, chairs
41-42 Greenhouse: vegetables, irrigation systems, insects 91-92 Unfinished room: bare wiring, stacked paneling
43-44 Icon room: religious paintings, statues, kneelers 93-94 Vault: Cameras, thick doors, timed locks
45-46 Kennel: stink, fur, bones, feeding bowls 95-96 Vestibule: coat racks, shoe rests, matting
47-48 Kitchen: boiling pots, ovens, numerous knives 97-98 Wardrobe: out-of-date clothing, mirrors, shoes
49-50 Lavatory: sonic showers, nonhuman facilities 99-100 Wellhouse: water filters, tanks, heaters

240
244• one-roll nPCS

one-roll nPCs
There will be times when a GM needs an NPC on short
notice. The preceding name generators can be used in d4 Age
conjunction with these tables to quickly produce a mi- 1 Unusually young or old for their role
nor fill-in character for your adventure. Simply roll one 2 Young adult
of each type of die: d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and d20. Match
them to the tables, smooth over any rough joins, and 3 Mature prime
you have your instant NPC. 4 Middle-aged or elderly
When combat statistics are needed, just apply the
most pertinent stat line from page 195 and assume they
d12 Their Greatest Desire
have whatever weaponry, armor, or other personal
possessions might be appropriate for someone in their 1 They want a particular romantic partner
social circumstance. 2 They want money for them or a loved one
3 They want a promotion in their job
4 They want answers about a past trauma
5 They want revenge on an enemy
d6 Their Background 6 They want to help a beleaguered friend
1 The local underclass or poorest natives 7 They want an entirely different job
2 Common laborers or cube workers 8 They want protection from an enemy
3 Aspiring bourgeoise or upper class 9 They want to leave their current life
4 The elite of this society 10 They want fame and glory
5 Minority or foreigners; reroll on 1d4 11 They want power over those around them
6 Offworlders or exotics; reroll on 1d4 12 They have everything they want from life

d8 Their Role in Society d20 Most Obvious Character Trait

1 Criminal, thug, thief, swindler 1 Ambition
2 Menial, cleaner, retail worker, servant 2 Avarice
3 Unskilled heavy labor, porter, construction 3 Bitterness
4 Skilled trade, electrician, mechanic, pilot 4 Courage
5 Idea worker, programmer, writer 5 Cowardice
6 Merchant, business owner, trader, banker 6 Curiosity
7 Official, bureaucrat, courtier, clerk 7 Deceitfulness
8 Military, soldier, enforcer, law officer 8 Determination
9 Devotion to a cause
d10 Their Biggest Problem 10 Filiality
1 They have significant debt or money woes 11 Hatred
2 A loved one is in trouble; reroll for it 12 Honesty
3 Romantic failure with a desired person 13 Hopefulness
4 Drug or behavioral addiction 14 Love of a person
5 Their superior dislikes or resents them 15 Nihilism
6 They have a persistent sickness 16 Paternalism
7 They hate their job or life situation 17 Pessimism
8 Someone dangerous is targeting them 18 Protectiveness
9 They’re pursuing a disastrous purpose 19 Resentment
10 They have no problems worth mentioning 20 Shame
 one-roll PatronS •245

one-roll PaTrons
PCs often need patrons to aim them at adventures or
offer suitable recompense for semi-legal favors. In con- d4 Patron Eagerness to Hire
junction with the adjacent one-roll NPC tables, you can 1 Cautious, but can be convinced to hire
use the tools below to quickly generate a patron and 2 Willing to promise standard rates
what it is they want from the party.
One particularly convenient technique is to have 3 Eager, willing to offer a bonus
a few short filler adventures drawn up as described on 4 Desperate, might offer what they can’t pay
page 177, and then when the players suddenly need
a job or need a favor that only a cooperative patron
d12 Potential Non-Cash Rewards
could provide, use the patron to hook them up with
the filler adventure. If you lack a convenient premade 1 Government official favors owed
adventure, it’s usually most practical to have the patron 2 Property in the area
request some simple, direct, one-scene job that you feel 3 An item very valuable on another world
comfortable in running on the fly. You can consult page
178 to find appropriate pay rates for different patrons. 4 Pretech mod components
5 Useful pretech artifact
d6 Patron Trustworthiness 6 Information the PCs need
1 They intend to totally screw the PCs 7 Membership in a powerful group
2 They won’t pay unless forced to do so 8 Black market access
3 They’ll pay slowly or reluctantly 9 Use of restricted facilities or shipyards
4 They’ll pay, but discount for mistakes 10 Shares in a profitable business
5 They’ll pay without quibbling 11 Maps to a hidden or guarded treasure
6 They’ll pay more than they promised 12 Illegal but valuable weapons or gear

d8 Basic Challenge of the Job d20 Complication to the Job

1 Kill somebody who might deserve it 1 An ambush is laid somewhere
2 Kidnap someone dangerous 2 PC involvement is leaked to the enemy
3 Steal a well-guarded object 3 The patron gives faulty aid somehow
4 Arson or sabotage on a place 4 Failing would be extremely unhealthy
5 Get proof of some misdeed 5 The job IDs them as allies of a local faction
6 Protect someone from an immediate threat 6 The macguffin is physically dangerous
7 Transport someone through danger 7 An important location is hard to get into
8 Guard an object being transported 8 Succeeding would be morally distasteful
9 A supposed ally is very unhelpful or stupid
d10 Main Countervailing Force 10 The patron badly misunderstood the PCs
1 A treacherous employer or subordinate 11 The job changes suddenly partway through
2 An open and known enemy of the patron 12 An unexpected troublemaker is involved
3 Official governmental meddling 13 Critical gear will fail partway through
4 An unknown rival of the patron 14 An unrelated accident complicates things
5 The macguffin itself opposes them 15 Payment comes in a hard-to-handle form
6 Very short time frame allowed 16 Someone is turning traitor on the patron
7 The job is spectacularly illegal 17 A critical element has suddenly moved
8 A participant would profit by their failure 18 Payment is in avidly-pursued hot goods
9 The patron is badly wrong about a thing 19 The true goal is a subsidiary part of the job
10 The locals are against the patron 20 No complications; it’s just as it seems to be
246• one-roll urban enCounterS

one-roll urban enCounTers

There are inevitably times when a GM needs some-
thing to distract the PCs quickly. A quick encounter, d4 What’s the Conflict About?
whether in the urban jungles or the alien wastes, can 1 Money, extortion, payment due, debts
buy a GM the time they need to puzzle out some larger 2 Respect, submission to social authority
problem. The tables here can be used to create a simple
urban event to occupy the PCs for a little while. 3 Grudges, ethnic resentment, gang payback
The exact details of the event will have to be sup- 4 Politics, religion, or other ideology
plied by the GM in such a way as to fit the planet’s
culture and situation, but the goal of the tables is to
d12 What Antagonists are Involved?
provide a fast conflict that the PCs can interact with
meaningfully. If the PCs resist the hook, it’s a relatively 1 A local bully and their thugs
simple matter to make the avoidance of it enough of a 2 A ruthless political boss and their zealots
challenge that it buys you the time you needed in the 3 Violent criminals
first place. Don’t force the PCs to engage with it, but
let them work a little to get free. 4 Religious fanatics
5 A blisteringly obnoxious offworlder
d6 General Venue of the Event 6 Corrupt or over-strict government official
1 In the middle of the street 7 A mob of intoxicated locals
2 In a public plaza 8 A ranting demagogue and their followers
3 Down a side alley 9 A stupidly bull-headed local grandee
4 Inside a local business 10 A very capable assassin or strong-arm
5 Next to or in a public park 11 A self-centered local scion of power
6 At a mass-transit station 12 A confused foreigner or backwoodsman

d8 Why are the PCs Involved? d20 Relevant Urban Features

1 A sympathetic participant appeals to them 1 Heavy traffic running through the place
2 Ways around it are all dangerous/blocked 2 Music blaring at deafening volumes
3 It happens immediately around them 3 Two groups present that detest each other
4 A valuable thing looks snatchable amid it 4 Large delivery taking place right there
5 A participant offers a reward for help 5 Swarm of schoolkids or feral youth
6 Someone mistakenly involves the PCs in it 6 Insistent soapbox preacher here
7 The seeming way out just leads deeper in 7 Several pickpockets working the crowd
8 Responsibility is somehow pinned on them 8 A kiosk is tipping over and spilling things
9 Streetlights are out or visibility is low
d10 What’s the Nature of the Event? 10 A cop patrol is here and reluctant to act
1 A parade or festival is being disrupted 11 PC-hostile reporters are recording here
2 Innocents are being assaulted 12 Someone’s trying to sell something to PCs
3 An establishment is being robbed 13 Feral dogs or other animals crowd here
4 A disturbance over local politics happens 14 Unrelated activists are protesting here
5 Someone is being blamed for something 15 Street kids are trying to steal from the PCs
6 Fires or building collapses are happening 16 GPS maps are dangerously wrong here
7 A medical emergency is happening 17 Downed power lines are a danger here
8 Someone’s trying to cheat the PCs 18 Numerous open manholes and utility holes
9 A vehicle accident is happening 19 The street’s blockaded by something
10 A religious ceremony is being disrupted 20 Crowds so thick one can barely move
 one-roll WilderneSS enCounterS •247

one-roll WIlderness enCounTers

Building appropriate wilderness encounters will vary
greatly with the planet in question, but the tables below d4 Initial Encounter Range
assume that the wilderness is on an inhabited world 1 Visible from a long distance away
with some vague analogs to Terran terrain and veg- 2 Noticed 1d4 hundred meters away
etation. If the world is devoid of human inhabitants,
replace the features with alien relics or the remnants 3 Noticed only within 1d6 x 10 meters
of scouts or lost colonies. 4 Noticed only when adjacent to the event
The tables below provide a suggested time of day
and initial distance for the encounter, but these base-
d12 Types of Hostile Creatures
lines will vary depending on the choices and capabilities
of the PCs. Some encounters are unlikely to occur at 1 Bandits in their wilderness hideout
night, unless the parties involved are traveling or oth- 2 Dangerous locals looking for easy marks
erwise active despite the dark. Suggestions are given 3 Rabid or diseased large predator
for likely-hostile and likely-friendly creatures, but a
reaction roll will influence attitudes greatly. 4 Pack of hungry hunting beasts
5 Herd of potentially dangerous prey animals
d6 Weather and Lighting 6 Swarm of dangerous vermin
1 Takes place in daylight and clear weather 7 Criminal seeking to evade the law
2 Daylight, but fog, mist, rain or the like 8 Brutal local landowner and their men
3 Daylight, but harsh seasonal weather 9 Crazed hermit seeking enforced solitude
4 Night encounter, but clear weather 10 Friendly-seeming guide into lethal danger
5 Night, with rain or other obscuring effects 11 Harmless-looking but dangerous beast
6 Night, with terrible weather and wind 12 Confidence man seeking to gull the PCs

d8 Basic Nature of the Encounter d20 Specific Nearby Feature of Relevance

1 Attack by pack of hostiles 1 Overgrown homestead
2 Ambush by single lone hostile 2 Stream prone to flash-flooding
3 Meet people who don’t want to be met 3 Narrow bridge or beam over deep cleft
4 Encounter people in need of aid 4 Box canyon with steep sides
5 Encounter hostile creatures 5 Unstable hillside that slides if disturbed
6 Nearby feature is somehow dangerous 6 Long-lost crash site of a gravflyer
7 Nearby feature promises useful loot 7 Once-inhabited cave or tunnel
8 Meet hostiles that aren’t immediately so 8 Steep and dangerous cliff
9 Quicksand-laden swamp or dust pit
d10 Types of Friendly Creatures 10 Ruins of a ghost town or lost hamlet
1 Affable but reclusive hermit 11 Hunting cabin with necessities
2 Local herd animal let loose to graze 12 Ill-tended graveyard of a lost family stead
3 Government ranger or circuit judge 13 Narrow pass that’s easily blocked
4 Curious local animal 14 Dilapidated resort building
5 Remote homesteader and family 15 Remote government monitoring outpost
6 Working trapper or hunter 16 Illicit substance farm or processing center
7 Back-country villager or native 17 Old and forgotten battleground
8 Hiker or wilderness tourist 18 Zone overrun by dangerous plants
9 Religious recluse or holy person 19 Thick growth that lights up at a spark
10 Impoverished social exile 20 Abandoned vehicle
278• Challenging heroiC PCS

ChallengIng heroIC PCs

As a GM, your basic toolbox for challenging PCs doesn’t As a consequence, most GMs will have a strong
need too much of an overhaul to handle Heroic PCs. urge to throw major enemies at the group in combat;
The key thing to keep in mind is to make sure the group titans of war and legions of veteran soldiers, all to make
has a goal worthy of its prowess. A group of Heroic PCs the PCs genuinely sweat. To some extent, this is an
is the sort of band to bring down a sector hegemon or appropriate part of the genre; space operas usually do
win an age-old war against an implacable alien foe. If have a large supply of more-than-human warriors. A
the group’s ambition doesn’t fit well as a tag line on a GM should be careful, however, to make sure that these
space opera, they may be thinking too small. martial perils are logical and appropriate to the setting.
Aside from that, however, there are a few common If you’ve established that the city-state of Quar is po-
classes of challenges that bear special mention. liced by genetically-enhanced enforcers, then throwing
a squad of 3 hit die street cops at the heroes is perfectly
Social Challenges logical. If these grizzled veterans pop up only because
Heroic Experts with a social-oriented concept are going the PCs had too easy a time busting the heads of the
to cut through most social challenges in a hurry. If their locals two planets away, however, it becomes more
native skills and foci don’t do it, their Heroic Expert difficult to justify.
class skill will. When such a PC breaks out their class
ability, let them win if it’s at all plausible. They may not Nemesis Foes
get everything they want, and what they get may come Some enemies are special. Even the mightiest normal
with unpleasant complications, but they should never human is unlikely to have more than 10 hit dice and
feel like they’ve wasted their effort when they employ will be apt to fall swiftly under the guns of a party of
their special abilities. heroes. For true challenges and the sort of dark perils
The key with social challenges is to think past that befit a heroic campaign, the GM can use Nemeses.
the immediate situation. All right, so the Expert has A Nemesis is built just like an ordinary NPC or
the Chatelaine of the High Port eating out of his hand. alien creature, but has a few modifications made to its
She’ll gladly support the party’s expedition to the radio- usual baseline combat statistics.
active surface below the space station. The Chatelaine First, a Nemesis has hit points equal to its hit dice
obviously has enemies, however, and there are doubt- times four. The damage it takes is subtracted from
less all manner of people upset and troubled at this turn these hit points, not hit dice. A grizzled veteran with 3
of events. The PC can’t charm or bamboozle them all, HD, for example, would have 12 hit points as a Nemesis.
and the deeper he insinuates himself into local affairs, Second, all the damage a Nemesis inflicts is read
the more enemies and potential allies he’s going to en- straight, without conversion through the table. If that
counter. It’s all right for the PC to “win” the situation, Nemesis veteran shoots a PC with a 1d8 revolver, the
because there is always another situation behind it. PC takes 1d8 hit points of damage straight.
Third, the Nemesis has a Fray Die, usually 1d8,
Investigative Challenges though perhaps even higher or somewhat lower. This
Heroic PCs have the tools to beat a lot of mysteries, damage affects PCs and is inflicted straight. Thus, the
and if the Defying Doom rule is used, they might even Nemesis above could do automatically do 1d8 damage
be able to pull meaning out of an impenetrable clue if each round to a single PC within range.
it’s necessary to advance their goals. When you build Fourth, all Nemeses get a +4 bonus to hit rolls.
mystery-based adventures for them, plan on the secret A Nemesis does not have to be a high hit die foe.
being learned rapidly, and make the it more about the Even an ordinary trooper can be a Nemesis if they have
consequences of the discovery or proving it to others. some special significance, and you shouldn’t feel obli-
gated to make every Nemesis a 10 hit die, 40 hit point
Combat Challenges beast. Any adventure-significant foe could be a valid
Heroic PCs are going to mow through ordinary thugs Nemesis, so long as they have importance to the party.
and goons, especially if they have a Heroic Warrior A single Nemesis will usually defeat any PC with
among them. Large groups of enemies can still be a the same level as the Nemesis’ hit dice, though a War-
serious threat to the party, but one-on-one, common rior can sometimes pull out a victory against a low-level
humans have almost no chance of winning a fight with Nemesis with few hit points. They will probably de-
the group. The simple existence of the Fray Die means feat any two PCs of that level, and they will present a
that the group is going to take out its weight in 1 HD significant but probably-beatable challenge to groups
mooks every round, plus whoever they actually deign of three or more same-level PCs. If the Nemesis has
to shoot personally. Even when the opposition is a real multiple attacks per round, such as with an alien beast
threat, heroic damage scaling ensures that the PCs can or superlatively-skilled warrior, they’ll likely overcome
survive a few hits even at first level. one more PC for every additional attack they get.