The Great Rift of the Aztragal Frenith - Layer One

 

Primordial forces ripped an enormous trench in the face of Yngarr - revealing layers of prehistoric ruins and secret places...

1. THE SILENT VOID
Hidden in a vault beneath the peaks of Pnok is a shimmering hole, a mile wide, and silently spinning. Some say that this was one of the original inter-dimensional gates that was created by the Zundite (A haunted shrine to Atigo can be found nearby.) Anyone who dares to enter, or even touch the darkness, will be flung into another dimension.

2. HALL OF XORITH
An immense cavern corridor that ends at a howling pit that leads into the realm of Xorith. The cavern has become home to swarms of hungry behemoth worms and their blind masters.

3. unexplored

4. FUNGAL CITY OF XORITH
Lit by the floating luminescent spores, the vast city of Xorith rises from the expanse of fungus. The city's mighty pyramids and towering obelisks are covered in iridescent lichens and fungus.

5. DEAD CITY OF SHARN
Once, this thriving city of artisans, brewers, and priests stood high above a crystalline sea. Now it is silent. The silent tower still stands and has become a place for necromancers and fell wizards to study the foulest of magics.

6. THE BRIDGE
A treacherous bridge over the abyss.

7. THE DOME OF FIRE
Surrounded by unyielding fires, this domed metal structure is sealed by powerful magic. Within the dome is said to be the heart and eye of an ancient Star Wyrm.

8. LORTHOX JIMM'S SKY COFFIN
Suspended on a pulley system, the "Sky Coffin" is a pod made from clay and wood. It's control box is on the outskirts of Xorith. The pod's destination chamber is at the top of the Starry Tower in Cerestan.

9. RUINS OF THE STARRY RUNE
The ruins of the ancient star-vessel "The Starry Rune" lay here. The ship was made from silver and clay, but most of the silver machinery and filigree has long since been plundered.

10. THE FLOATING SEA
A vast ocean rings the planet, floating in the lower atmosphere. Most of this mysterious sea is unexplored.

11. THE STAR CITY OF CERESTAN
The Cerestanites came to Yngarr when the planet was young. Their star-vessel crashed and they built this grand city on the shores of the ancient shallow sea. The city has resisted the eons of decay and entropy, yet it lay empty as the Cerestanites could no longer support their corporeal forms...


 

THIS IS YNGARR - Opening Crawl

 

In the earliest memories of the cosmos, there was Yngarr – a colossal planet that slowly orbited a green sun. Yngarr was ruled by powerful denizens called the ZUNDITE. The Zundite took creatures from other worlds and separate dimensions so that they could have slaves and consorts. The Zundite became their gods and goddesses. After thousands of years, the slaves and consorts had developed their own culture, and worshiped new gods, and soon, they rose up against the Zundite and imprisoned them. However, some of the Zundite escaped. In exchange for their freedom, the sisters Xyglia and Atigo agreed to share their knowledge of cosmic sorcery.

Whether by accident or by treacherous design (most likely the latter), Xyglia let a monstrous star demon through the dimension gate - VORYCHH - THE SUN-EATER, as great and terrible as the vastness of space, devoured the green star at the center of Yngarr's solar system and the planet was flung from orbit and hurled into deep space. For eons it drifted. Silent, black, and frozen.

In a ring of planets around a pale, red star, Yngarr found a new home. The rogue ball of black ice smashed into an unwary planet and the resulting cataclysm spilled Yngarr's molten core over the frozen surface, creating vast oceans, clouds, and storms. Dense jungles and fungal forests arose on the re-born planet. The debris of the crash created a system of seven moons and rings of cosmic dust.

Deep beneath the surface of the planet, the remains of the once mighty kingdom of the Zundite still sleeps as it has for billions of years. Cities, temples, and towers, still bearing the impossible star treasures and secrets of their lost masters...

Lost Island of the Necrite - Part Two: COASTAL ENCOUNTERS

00.01 - As the party's vessel approaches the north eastern coast of the island, the water becomes increasingly shallow. There is a 60% chance that the craft will run aground, leaving the party with no choice but walk through the shallows (4 feet maximum) 1d6 bull sharks swim these waters.

00.02 - As the party's vessel approaches the island, the water becomes increasingly shallow. A reef separates the ship from the island for the last mile of the voyage. The reef is jagged and slippery, so player movement is at half. Observant players will notice that the reef is devoid of any life. There are no fish, no crabs, or any other sea creatures. At every hour of travel, each player must make a dexterity save or else slip and fall onto the jagged reef - 1d4 damage.

00.03 - The remains of an old triple-masted sailing ship rots in the shallow water. Aboard the ship is an undead pirate crew -

1d20 Skeletons

1d10 Zombies

1d8 Lacedons

1d6 Ghasts

1 captain - a 4 HD vampire

00.04 - 1d4 Sea Hags haunt the marshy coastline here. They have a hidden cave where they have hidden a cache of treasure (various items collectively worth around 700 g.p.) and weapons.

00.05 - The immense carcass of a giant whale lays in the shallows here. The wounds along its body suggests a shark attack. Inside the carcass, trapped in it's belly, a crazed sailor screams for escape. The sailor is naked, blind, and half-crazed. His skin and hair are bleached bone white. If given food and water, he will remember that his name is 'William' and his last memory is of his ship being caught in a terrible storm. 'William' will demand that the party either take him with them or return him to their vessel. In combat situations, 'William' will cower and flee. After food and rest, his eyesight will return, but he will try to convince the party otherwise. 'William' was actually a ship's captain who was thrown overboard by his crew. He thinks the party were part of the mutiny and will try to assassinate them while their guard is down. Treat 'William' as a 4th level fighter.

00.06 - As the party's vessel approaches the island, the water becomes increasingly shallow. A reef separates the ship from the island for the last mile of the voyage. The reef is jagged and slippery, so player movement is at half. Observant players will notice that the reef is devoid of any life. There are no fish, no crabs, or any other sea creatures. At every hour of travel, each player must make a dexterity save or else slip and fall onto the jagged reef - 1d4 damage.

00.07 - The remains of a huge statue lay silently beneath the surface of the shallow water. The vessel will be unable to get any closer to the island, so the party can traverse the length of the statue to the shore. The statue is of an enormous naked woman with no face. When it was still erect, it stood over 100' tall.

00.08 - A fog overtakes the ship for 1d12 hours, making visibility nil. There is a 70% chance that the vessel may crash onto the rocks or run aground in the shallows.

00.09 - A small rowboat of 1d6 brigands circles the south western corner of the island. They will attack the party's vessel on sight with crossbows. Brigands are 3rd level fighters, but one of them will be a 5th level fighter/3rd level thief captain.

01.00 - Jagged rocks rise above the surface of the water. The remains of dozens of shipwrecked boats also rise above the waves. Hiding in the shipwrecks are barnacled zombies (1d20). Treat as regular zombies, but with AC 2 due to their barnacle coverings.  

01.05 - In a concealed cove, the ruins of an old harbor town lay crumbling in the water. Within the ruins there are

1d10 zombies

1d10 skeletons

1d6 aquatic ghouls

1d6 undead sharks

01.07 - This cove is filled with shallow, stagnant water. The ruins of an old watchtower are here - piles of black stone and moldy wooden beams. In a clear pool within the rubble is a large treasure chest. It is actually in the center of a large (10' x 10') gelatinous cube.

01.09 - A group of Ixitxachitl (1d8) swim the shallow waters. They guard a patch of garnet coral - worth 100 gp per ounce. There is approximately 11 ounces of the stuff that grows from the sandy bottom of the reef. Harvesting the coral will require an extremely sharp saw or serrated knife. The coral is covered with razor-like spines and can only be handled with leather or chainmail gloves. If a player mishandles the coral, they will suffer 1d4 hp of damage and save vs. poison and take half damage.

02.00 - This rocky coast is lashed by waves and wind. A narrow cave is clearly visible in the face of the cliff. The cave is 8' high by 3' wide at it's mouth. The cave leads to a passage into the mountains. See 02.01

02.09 - As the party's vessel approaches the island, the water becomes increasingly shallow. A reef separates the ship from the island for the last mile of the voyage. The reef is jagged and slippery, so player movement is at half. Observant players will notice that the reef is devoid of any life. There are no fish, no crabs, or any other sea creatures. At every hour of travel, each player must make a dexterity save or else slip and fall onto the jagged reef - 1d4 damage.

03.09 - The crumbling ruins of an ancient stone wharf. A wooden pier juts out into the shallow water where it ends abruptly in a pile of desiccated timber. The pier is extremely damaged and players will fall through the boards. Beneath the harbor is a mutated kraken with twelve tentacles. It was created in one of Lord Necrite's experiments.

04.09 - The water becomes increasingly shallow and leads to a salt marsh where a tribe of Lizardfolk (1d20) and Bullywugs (1d12) await trespassers.

05.09 - A wrecked funeral barge is moored here to a pier leading to a system of raised paths and platforms into the marsh. Aboard the funeral barge are Ghouls (1d6) and Barnacled Zombies (1d10 - treat as regular zombies but with AC 2 due to their barnacle coverings)

06.00 - A thick fog makes visibility nearly zero. Around the boat, a group of mermaids will call to the party and promise to guide them safely through the fog. The party will see red and yellow lights twinkling through the fog. In reality, the ship will crash into the rocks along the shore. The mermaids are actually vampiric mermaids (1d4) and they will lurk in the water, waiting for the players to make their way ashore.

06.09 - The water becomes increasingly shallow and leads to a salt marsh where a tribe of Lizardfolk (1d20) and Bullywugs (1d12) await trespassers.

07.00 - Jagged rocks rise above the surface of the water. The remains of dozens of shipwrecked boats also rise above the waves. Hiding in the shipwrecks are 1d4 Sea Hags who will appear as beautiful maidens to the party. They will plead with the party for help.

08.01 - The water here is covered with large deposits of salt. Like ice floes, they bob in the water. The salt covers the shore like white stones leading to the marshy land. Rising up from the water are (1d10) zombies of drowned sailors. The salt has sucked the moisture out of their bodies so they appear as strange black skeletons. Their very appearance is so startling that they gain a +4 to initiative.

08.02 - A shallow lagoon. A waterfall cascades down from the tall jagged cliffs above. Behind the waterfall, carved into the black rock is a cave leading into the mountain. See 07.02

08.07 - A group of Ixitxachitl (1d8) swim the shallow waters.

08.08 - The ruins of a sunken temple can be seen, rising above the water. A group of Sahaugin (1d12) will readily attack anyone who disturbs this holy site.

08.09 - An enormous mass of tarry ooze covers the face of the water. It is roughly 30' x 30' in area. If it comes into contact with any organic matter, it will become permanently stuck to it and begin to eat away at it with a powerful acid. A normal-sized human including armor and gear can be eaten away in less than ten rounds. The ooze is impervious to weapons, but can be affected by magical attacks. A high level (8+) cleric can also defeat the ooze with a cure disease spell. Oil and fire can also be effective - doing 1d12 worth of damage per turn. The ooze has 74 hit points.

09.02 - The water becomes increasingly shallow and leads to a salt marsh where a tribe of Lizardfolk (1d20) and Bullywugs (1d12) await trespassers.

09.03 - A young man lays on the rocks here, he appears emaciated and delirious. If the party offers assistance, he will reveal himself to be a wererat and will summon giant rats (2d10) to attack the party. Additionally, the party's vessel will be swarmed with thousands of rats from within the hull.

09.04 - A fog overtakes the ship for 1d12 hours, making visibility nil. There is a 70% chance that the vessel may crash onto the rocks or run aground in the shallows.

09.05 - Merrows (1d4) live here in the muddy waters along the shore. They're hungry.

09.06 - There is a stone lighthouse here. It rises up 70' into the air. The light has been extinguished long ago and the door to the staircase within is covered by the tide. A closer look reveals that chained to the sides of the tower are the skeletal remains of dozens upon dozens of sailors and explorers. They click their jaws and rattle their chains to warn anyone who comes to the island...

Next up - Secrets of the Island Revealed! 

30 Days of D&D ~ 2015 Edition "How You Got Started..."

It was the early 80s, I was obsessed with the Lord of the Rings, Conan, the Dragon's Lair video game. Dungeons & Dragons was played by my friends' older brothers who listened to Iron Maiden and drove Chevettes. It seemed like a good path to take. The books were huge and filled with awesome art, monsters, and the occasional tit...

I played D&D and AD&D with my friends until my adolescent self-consciousness made me quit cold turkey. However, I still indulged myself in Michael Moorcock, HP Lovecraft, Fritz Leiber, those Thieves World anthologies, and the occasional terrible D&D tie-in book. As I left my teenage years behind, the scope of my reading expanded into William S. Burroughs, Robert Anton Wilson, and the like.

My friends got me hooked on those Magic The Gathering cards and a lot of my classmates in college were way into the White Wolf books. I actually got really into M:tG and actually did a lot of play testing for Fallen Empires and the Ice Age expansion, as well as that V:tM card game - Jihad, which, I'm convinced, no one really knew how to play. I even won a Jihad tournament at a local comic book store, however, I was doing lots of drugs back then. That's probably why I soon started playing Palladium Fantasy Role Playing and Changeling: The Dreaming with friends on and off the Internet.

I started preferring to buy cigarettes over booster packs of Magic cards, so I quit my brief addiction to the cardboard. A few years later, the much-maligned third edition of D&D came out. It was shiny and glossy and hey, it was fun to play. That CD Rom did all the work for you. Better still, since it was new, there was always a game happening somewhere. I drove all over the Bay Area, playing D&D with strangers in the back rooms of comic stores, in McMansion living rooms, in hotel ballrooms for the new Living Greyhawk series. I was hooked again. I was in my mid-twenties, in a band, working a useless job, and pretending to be an elf just made sense at the time.

As D&D III hobbled out of sight, and 3.5 (which suddenly made me think of RPGs as operating systems rather than an extremely involved parlor game) rolled in, I was no longer in a band, struggling to pay my bills, and pretending to be an elf no longer fit in...

...until my first mid-life crisis, when I suddenly drew in everything that I had loved when I was twelve - heavy metal, punk rock, comic books, Elric novels, Lovecraft, and D&D via the great Labyrinth Lord and OSRIC. I even started a blog about it. Holy shit.

Of course, this 30 day challenge thing is complete bollocks and I'll probably just post a few entries about the prompts that I actually find interest in writing about.

FORGOTTEN DEITIES & DEMIGODS part one

Lost Island of the Necrite - Part One: ENCOUNTERS AT SEA

ENCOUNTERS AT SEA roll 1d10 per 5 mile hex

(00.00, 08.00, 09.00, 09.01, 09.07, 09.08, 09.09)

If duplicate encounters are rolled, the DM can roll again, or let the party travel on without incident.

01 Sudden storm conditions for 2d6 hours - Party loses direction for 2d6 hours of travel. The party's vessel has a 20% chance of becoming damaged each hour during the length of the storm.

02 Pirates!

(1d20 first level fighters, 1d10 second level fighters, 1d6 third level fighters, 1 Captain Jareth Koel - treat as fifth level fighter)

The pirates will demand that the party hand over whatever treasure and valuables that they have on board. If there is nothing of any value over 500gp, the pirates will demand that the party give up their ship and try to board the craft.

If the captain's HP are reduced by half, he will call off his crew and will concede by giving the party a (cursed) rapier with a jewel-studded hilt and scabbard. The pirates own vessel is filled with various treasure and stolen goods, mostly cursed.

03 Giant Squid - 10% chance that it is sleeping and the party's craft passes undetected.

04 Giant Sea Turtles (1d4)

05 Wind stops. All sailing progress ceases for 1d20 hours.

06 Burning shipwreck

A large sailing ship, engulfed by flames. 3 survivors are in a small rowboat. They beg for food and water. After receiving food and drink, they will refuse to travel with the party to "The Dead Island" They will attempt to sabotage the boat and/or fight to the death to halt the party's progress. Treat the survivors as 3^rd level fighters.

07 Sunken Monolith / Ruined Temple

A colossal monolith of black rock rises from the sea, 60 feet into the air. Mysterious inscriptions can be seen upon it. Surrounding it are the ruined suggestions of a once-mighty temple - columns and walls just visible below the face of the water. There is a 20' stone walkway covered in ropes of kelp. If a member of the party attempts to cross it to inspect the monolith, they will need to complete a dexterity save. The inscriptions are in a strange language that are impossible to decipher. For every turn spent examining the monolith, there is a 5% chance that they may permanently forget a spell. After 6 turns, the monolith and the ruins will begin to tremble and sink back beneath the waves. Another dexterity save will be needed to get back into the boat safely.
NOTE: These ruins can and will appear in various places in the sea. If the party wishes to return to explore the ruins, they will not be where they were initially found.

08 Giant Carnivorous Whales (1d4)

09 Mermaids (1d6)

They will speak openly of a terrible undersea conflict to the south, and warn of "water devils" and the vast treasure taken from a magnificent sunken city. They will also warn of the "old sea witches" who can drown a man just with only their gaze. If asked about the island, they will vanish beneath the water.

10 Hobgoblin War Barge

(20 Hobgoblins, 30 Goblins, 40 Norkers, 6 Varag, 1 Ogre task master)

This sleek warship is rowed by a team of goblins and norkers. The ship is fitted with catapults and harpoon ballistae. Their ship is able to launch ceramic jugs of oil, followed by flaming pitch in order to set enemy vessels ablaze. The captain of the ship has an uneasy truce with Jareth Koel – a pirate who sails these waters. The hobgoblins have assisted Koel on many raids, yet there is still great mistrust between the two.

Thoth Tarot