Building a City with His Majesty the Worm

Last week, I was in Italy for our planned vacation and, as fate would have it, Josh McCrowell published his years-in-the-making game His Majesty the Worm via the folks from Exalted Funeral, which conveniently arrived at our doorstep on the day of our departure.

His Majesty the What?

“His Majesty the Worm is a new-school game with old-school sensibilities: the classic megadungeon experience given fresh life through a focus on the mundanities and small moments of daily life inside the dungeon.”

I’ll say upfront that I was really excited for this game release, as I’ve been reading Josh’s blog for a long time and his ideas and comments on game design resonate with my own.
I managed to read a good chunk of the 411-page tome between eating pizza and drinking coffee, and got curious to try and build a City and Underworld with the procedures laid out in the book.

Because doing it all by myself is boring, and it is a fun exercise in worldbuilding, I’ve decided to document the process in this post and take you, dear reader, along for the ride!

So buckle up, because all that we need are the book (or pdf), a deck of tarot cards and something to write on:
Start

How to build a city using tarot cards

The city generation procedure has us drawing cards from the minor arcana to determine the core districts and surrounding areas. If the first card is a numbered card, we get the currently ruling power determined by its suit (i.e. The Tyrant Emperor for Pentacles or The Cult of Mythrys for Cups); if we draw a face card instead, it’s going to be a little more specific (we get into that in detail later on because I initially drew a face card).

We start in the middle with the ruling power, work our way outside from there and add three constant institutions (a river, catacombs and a market) at the end, leaving us with a unique city and a layout like this:
Layout

Let’s break it down and follow the procedure Josh calls “reverse archaeology”:

1. The Central Power

The first card I drew was the Page of Pentacles. According to the description, this face card represents The Colonies, an ethnic enclave of the City’s minority underfolk (the games term for dwarves, halflings and trolls) population, a place where their folkways are practiced and a diplomatic entity within the City is located.
Now, if this card is drawn while mapping the City, a special procedure tells us to draw again and place that district directly above the Colonies. My second card, thus, was The King of Wands, another face card.

The King of Wands represents The Court of Wands, an institution to control sorcerers and the impact of magic on the citizenry. According to the descrition the court is a city-within-a-city, mainly populated by sorcerers and rarely visited by others.

Both disctricts together leave us with an interesting setup with lots of potential for conflict and drama, with licensed and rogue sorcerers, witch hunts and the pitfalls of magocentric bureaucracy.

I imagine the Court as a kind of Mont-Saint-Michel-esque location: A central hill upon which the old town was build by the underfolk, with a walled-off, spire laden keep at its top. This double-district also presents us with a form of city government, a House of Lords and Commons like situation, consisting of both sorcerers and magic-critical folk.

2. The Core Districts

Next up, we draw four cards and lay them around the central card. I got the following:

North: 2 of Pentacles, representing the Orphanarium, a district populated by gangs of unsupervised children.
South: Ace of Pentacles, representing the Licehouse, the poorest district of the City.
East: Queen of Pentacles, representing the Street of Beggars, another district full of lepers, orphans and beggars.
West: 7 of Wands, representing the Sidereal House, a tower on a high hill, home to astronomers and philosophers.

Oof, this city is awful. Apparently, a lot of poor people live around the central district, while the people with money are moving literally above them. Sounds like our central hill is located next to an even bigger hill, with the natural moat being a literal gutter.

3. The Sprawl

To further map out the City, I drew another eight cards and spread them around the core districts:

North-East: 9 of Swords, representing the Grey Docks, a nest of pirates and scoundrels and the only entrance to the nearby river, The Grey.
East-East: 6 of Swords, representing the Bridge of Mourning, a giant bridge over The Grey, crowded with buildings like the Ponte Vecchio in Florence and one of the main city exits. Maybe it’s even trying to close itself off, like the Kowloon Walled City.
South-East: 10 of Cups, representing the Alchemists Hall, a district full of laboratories ruled by the Order of Alchemists.
South-South: 2 of Swords, representing the Temple of Strength, a gymnasium for sports and games (I imagine it like the Colosseum in Rome).
South-West: 7 of Swords, representing the Shrine of Teeth, a defunct district of healing houses.
West-West: Page of Swords, representing the Court Martial, where trials by combat are fought out.
North-West: 6 of Cups, representing the Madrasa of Maiden Wisdom, the local public institution of learning, offering free education.
North-North: King of Cups, representing the Court of the Grail, a temple district and seat of the Cult of Mythrys, the local religion.

This third drawing further solidifies the idea of a hill-by-the-hill topography and gives us new information about the different power players in the City.

It also adds a new and interesting question: If there’s an institution offering free education to anyone regardless of standing, why are there so many poor people seemingly left to their fate? With the Court of the Grail nearby, maybe they flock to the church for a number of reasons. Maybe they’re all of a single kith and being suppressed, like the Dalish elves from Dragon Age? This could very well develop to be a key point of a campaign.

4. Constants

Last, we place the three constant locations:

The Grey: Considering we already have the Grey Docks and the Bridge of Mourning in the northeast and east, this makes placing the river easy.
The Ossuary: The ancient catacomb beneath the City, leading down into the Underworld. I think it makes sense if we place this location beneath the Shrine of Teeth.
The Omphalic Market: The City’s center of commerce. Considering the nature of the other locations, we place it between the Temple of Strength and the Alchemist hall.

Thus, we have the following city layout:
One hill for education, law and learning;
Another hill for commerce and healthcare;
A third hill representing a governmental island;
And the gutter surrounding it, bordering The Grey.
Eldheim

Factions

Let’s take a look at the different groups of interest we’ve established by drawing our districts.

The Court of Wands, the governing body of the City, consisting of sorcerers and underfolk alike. Paranoid of magical mishaps, they rule from their ivory tower.
The Queen of Beggars, the democratically elected representative of the City’s smallfolk.
The Bridgertons, a small group trying to establish the Bridge of Mourning as an independent entity within the City, by force if necessary.
The Order of Alchemists, trying to consolidate their hold over mercantile power.
The Cult of Mythrys, the local church; benevolent and selfless, but pursuing their own interests.
The Astronomers of Sidereal House have foreseen the stirring of the Worm, but nobody listens to them.
The Madrasa of Maiden Wisdom provides free education to all. But have they ulterior motives?

Some of these are as likely to cooperate with others, as they are to compete with another. Sounds like we inadvertently build ourselves a powder keg with lots of potential contracts for an interested (or desperate?) guild.

What’s in a name?

Every good City needs a name, and this one is no different. I’ll jump slightly ahead at this point: When following the procedure to build the megadungeon beneath the City, we choose the origin of the Underworld and with it, a theme that we can go back to when fleshing out its contents.

With our central power, The Court of Wands, we established a general theme of “fear of magic” for this City. I picked one of the suggested origins in the book that speaks of “a heaven usurped by ancient sorcerers”, further cementing the theme, even into the depths of the earth below.

Thus, the City shall be called Eldheim, seat of conquered Sorcerer-Gods.

Next, we build the Underworld!

August 4, 2024 2024 Theory Worldbuilding

Tales of Escia

TALES OF ESCIA: Running an OSE Hexcrawl 06

Player Characters

Melora Kriss - Human Druid
Myr’tacae Malenia - Elf Fighter

The Premise

As explained in my previous article, we’re running a modified version of Old-School Essentials in a minimalist romantic fantasy setting, which will be fleshed out as we play.
We began with our first session of B2 - Keep on the Borderlands and decided on a bi-weekly rhythm every second wednesday evening, playing for 2 hours.

For the play report of the previous session, click here.

Session 06 - Unintended Consequences

TL’DR: This session had the party return to the keep to negotiate a ransom and get their well-earned level up. They also unintentionally made matters worse for the local group of merry outlaws.

Hobgoblin relations

Picking up the game where we last left our party, they were approached by a female hobgoblin, urging them to come talk out of sight if their caves’ entry. After introducing herself as Makkad, it turned out she is one of the hobgoblin chieftains four wives and is hoping they could help her solve the current problems of the clan, as they are currently in a stalemate.
Their leadership has been problematic since the chieftain took his newest wife, because he is just a figurehead and now there are two wives who are pushing for pacifist and mercantile relations with Margrave Keep and two who are pushing for a return of the clan’s old ways of pillaging and raiding. The clan had been living a comfortable life in the encampment, but now it is starting to break up into the two camps, straining their internal relations. To top everything up, the agressive faction is now holding six hostages, which they plan to ransom back to the Keep for 100gp per hostage. According to Makkads description, one of the hostages is the missing halfling merchant’s wife.
A small party was sent to Margrave Keep to negotiate the ransom, but they haven’t returned yet. Makkad hopes the party could convince the chieftain to abstain from the return to the old ways, but doing so would most certainly require them to prevent at least one of the aggressive wives from attending the meeting, so the vote for the future course could more easily be swayed to her favor.
Makkad had to return to the hobgoblin camp at this point, and the party decided to return to Margrave Keep for the time being, hoping to get their hands on some narcotics and possibly the money required to buy the hostages’ freedom.

Back to the Keep

The return trip to Margrave Keep was uneventful, and the party arrived after two days to the still ongoing celebrations of Duke Albann’s firstborn son. New to the Keeps’ scenery were a couple of covered horsewagons which were clearly not mercantile carts.
The party proceeded to meet the halfling merchant Cori, providing him with a much-expected update on his wives’ whereabouts. He asked them to accompany him to the Guild House, where he procured the gold for her ransom and entrusted it to Melora and Myr’tacae.
Before seeking out Commander Margrave, Myr’tacae went to the blacksmith and invited Gobbli to accompany them, as she had requested.

Hostage negotiations

Inside the keep, they only found the elven advisor Woken-Too-Early, who proceeded to fetch the absent commander. In the meantime, Melora entertained Myr’tacae and Gobbli with bee facts, describing how they used “hot bee balls” to defend themselves. Gobbli seemed disturbingly interested if this could also be used against humanoid creatures, claiming she had a list of people she’d try it on.
Once Commander Margrave arrived, she bid the party accompany her to her office to talk. Melora explained the recent happenings, including the claims of the hobgoblins that the peaceful relations haven’t been ended by the demihumans, but by the keeps’ personnel, first.
Considering the conflicting point of views of the conflicts’ origin, Margrave agreed that there’s a possibility of everything being a grave misunderstanding, but as of now she is inclined to believe her guards’ reports, unless other incriminating evidence was provided.
Myr’tacae added that a third party could also be involved, showing her new shield with the exiled House Addercapper’s coat of arms on it, intended as an example for her claim, but not accusing them. Commander Margrave didn’t take it as only an example though, instead showing open hostility for the exiles and ordering Woken-Too-Early to increase patrols and round up the outlaws, as she feared she had been too indifferent about their continuing presence in the area.
The party and Gobbli were dismissed at this point, and they took some time talking about their next moves. Gobbli voiced her disappointment in the escalating development, she only wished to see the Commander lose their cool instead. She left Melora and Myr’tacae, claiming to make some calls to prevent bad things from happening. The party decided to head to the chapel to petition for money for the rest of the ransom, after Cori hinted at the local priest possibly being willing to help people out, earlier.

Scrounging up more money

At the chapel, they met father Arfred, an overly friendly man of the cloth and local human priest, as well as one of his acolytes, the breggle Amshred Barbicant, both clad in silver-white robes, the traditional garments of the church of St. Marcia.
Hearing of the hostages’ plight, father Arfred agreed to pay at least some of the ransom money, assuring them that the church always helps their sheep in need. Regrettably, he could only offer 300gp at the time, leaving the party with 200gp left to procure otherwise or pay themselves, if they so choose.
Afterwards, the party headed to the inn to spend the night, which is where we ended our session.

Closing thoughts

This session was mostly in-character roleplay, with the PCs reporting on information they gathered in the last few sessions. Up until now, the players encountered several conflicting viewpoints of the ongoing conflict, realizing there is a lot of misunderstanding between the different factions, but likely no simple solution.
The conversation with Commander Margrave surprised me the most, as Myr’tacae unintentionally added more fuel to the fire: The soldiers at the keep now have a new goal “Round up the Outlaws”, and I changed some random encounter table entries for the area, to reflect the Knights of the Blue Shield now actively looking for them. The outlaws now also have a new goal “Evade the Knights”, and I’m looking forward to which faction wins this one and how it plays out in the end.
Unexpected, but fun. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, after all. >:)
The new horsewagons in the keep are refugees from the village of Orlane to the south, adding a possible hook for future adventures. In hindsight, I regret forgetting to have them show up inside the keep looking for Commander Margrave or even in the chapel, pleading for help with the priest. I’m going to add that for a future session.

See you next time. =)

June 20, 2024 2024 Play Reports Tales of Escia B:X

Tales of Escia

TALES OF ESCIA: Running an OSE Hexcrawl 05

Player Characters

Melora Kriss - Human Druid
Myr’tacae Malenia - Elf Fighter

The Premise

Session 05 - Goblin BBBQ (the extra B is for BYOBB)

TL’DR: Beagle-Kobolds! A Cooking Mini game! Goblins and Kobolds bonding over food! This session had it all.

BBQ preparation

We decided to turn back time a little and start the session a short while after the battle in the goblin caves, instead of the next morning, to play out the baboon BBQ.
As the food still took a good while to prepare, the party decided to pay the kobold caves on the opposite side of the ravine a visit, to possibly get more information about the goings-on at the demihuman encampment and the whereabouts of the halfling merchant’s wife.

Kobold Birthday Party

Dandelion led them to the entry of the kobold caves, where they found some small wooden signs with “Kep owt” and the like written on them, but no guards to greet them.
Heading deeper into the dark and narrow cave, which barely allowed the human-sized PCs to walk upright, they soon heard celebratory noises from deeper within. They followed the sounds to the camps’ common room, where the light of their torch revealed a gathering of 17 dog-like humanoids sitting around a table, with an eighteenth sitting on a chair placed on top of it.
Although nearly blinded by the torchlight, my reaction roll was in favor of the party, so I had the head-kobold, a beagle-like fellow with silver fur approach them. The celebratory mood clearly being an advantage for the party, he asked them if they came to also celebrate Snoots (the kobold on the chair) birthday. Smitten by their doglike appearance, Myr’tacae and Melora played along and joined the celebrating kobolds, which were just about to start howling a birthday song for Snoot, who was shifting in her chair - visibly uncomfortable, as one does in such situations - waiting for her ordeal to be over.
Melora and Myr’tacae awkwardly joined in the “song”, both characters’ successful Charisma checks preventing them from making fools of themselves. Afterwards, they talked at length with Ukba, the silver furred kobold about what happened at the goblin den and proposed the kobolds could join in the feast, building a bond between the two as-of-yet indifferent to each other clans. Ukba meanwhile complained about the kobolds’ relationship with the orcs living right above them, their newfound agression towards each other and smaller races being the reason for the kobolds’ seclusion in their cave. He could confirm the sighting of the hooded man, adding that he never saw him arrive or leave and another kobold chimed in to report his sighting of white clothes, possibly a robe, and a symbol resembling a sun, star or moon underneath the wide black coat.
All the while, Myr’tacae was distracted by the kobolds’ cuteness and proceeded in petting a few of them, and Melora could hardly hide her excitement as well. Snoot asked Ukba to join the goblins feast as a birthday present, a wish he couldn’t decline. After filling a big sack with ingredients from their own storage, Snoot, Ukba and nine other kobolds joined the party in returning to the goblins cave.

A Bonding Moment

Once they arrived back at the goblin camp, the goblins and kobold quickly bonded over their mutual interest in food and the goblin king Redwing, ever the opportunist, quickly seized the moment to officially invite the kobolds to join the feast to celebrate the victory over the baboons and their newfound common ground.
While preparing the food, Melora and Myr’tacae joined the cooking crew to help and make sure they definitely got something edible on their plates. This prompted a quick cooking mini-game inspired by Prismatic Wastelands recent blog post.
The player characters succeeded in cooking something surprisingly tasty, using mostly ingredients from their own rations and the kobolds supply, and as little baboon meat as possible.
The celebrations went on for a long time this evening and Melory and Myr’tacae, along with most of the kobolds, fell asleep among their newfound goblin friends.

Scouting the Hill

Come morning, the party decided to get a better picture of the lay of the land. Moving around the ravine and its surrouding hill, they made note of the different cave entrances, before heading to the main entrance to the hobgoblin lair to continue their investigation for Pearl’s whereabouts.
Their scouting efforts seemingly didn’t go unnoticed, because they found a female hobgoblin waiting for them at the entrance. Inticing them to follow her, she went on to a spot hidden from the entrance’s view, waiting for the party to follow.

Closing thoughts

After last sessions’ chaos, this one was more on the calm side. The kobold birthday party was a welcome surprise and helped to bring them and the goblin clan closer together. The players have now unlocked both of their races as available choices for future character creation.
Escian kobolds are the dog-variant, while escian orcs are the pig-variant, because I like their appearance in Dungeon Meshi, and it reminded me of my childhood, especially Zelda’s Moblins in the animated series and older games. Plus, I am a dog owner, and it’s fun to have the kobolds behave just as silly as my beloved Leia. :D

Behold, my own personal Kobold.
Leia sitting Leia watching

While planning the campaign, I knew I wanted the players to have the possibility to cook with different ingredients. As written in my post about alternate starting equipment, I am using Skerples Monster Menu-All for descriptions and food effects.
I originally planned to use the Dungeon Gourmand supplement by occultesque.com mentioned by Skerples, but the site has since been taken offline and after reading Prismatic Wastelands aforementioned blog post, I found the Yahtzee mini-game more fun to use. I did change it to all kind of ingredients using the same d6 size though, so the players have a higher propability to actually trigger the positive effects. I like the idea of a growing dice pool by using more ingredients to increase the chances of, or even enabling beneficial dice combinations in the first place. The players liked it too, so I’m sure it won’t be the last time I used it.

See you next time. =)

June 6, 2024 2024 Play Reports Tales of Escia B:X

Tales of Escia

TALES OF ESCIA: Running an OSE Hexcrawl 04

Player Characters

Melora Kriss - Human Druid
Myr’tacae Malenia - Elf Fighter

The Premise

Session 04 - Tonight, we dine like kings!

TL’DR: The players arrived at the Caves of Chaos, only to find the goblins attacked by the harem of baboons they scattered a few days prior. A bloody battle ensued, that saw the bloody birth of “Baboon Butcher” Dandelion, the first goblin barbarian.

On the road again

After learning were the demihuman encampment is located last session, the party met up with Dandelion and headed west. The dice indicated the foreshadowing of a random encounter for this day, and that result was: baboons, again. I reasoned this made sense in the fiction, as they spend the day travelling through the same hex were they encoutered the harem and Dandelion a few days prior.
The group found what was supposedly the harems’ latest night camp, with leeftover food, feces and the like. The rest of the day was uneventful and they arrived at their destination in the next day’s afternoon.

Baboon Raid

Since foreshadowing a random encounter means predefining what the next encounter is going to be, I knew that they would see the baboons on the day of their arrival at the encampment. Rolling up how many there were this time and how they would react, the dice told me 30 and hostile. This led to being the same harem they scattered on their previous encounter, now being extremely pissed.
Since we were near the encampment full of malnourished goblins and monkeys being the assholes that they are, I ruled that the harem was there, in the goblin cave, raiding it for food and monkey-knows-what.

Into the Caves!

Visibly distressed after being mobbed by the baboons before, Dandelion feared for his clan, urging Melora and Myr’Tacae to help them. Before they entered the cave, Myr’Tacae gave Dandelion her Battle Axe for self-defense, and equipped her new sword and repaired shield. Together they entered, already hearing the shrieking sounds of the baboons and goblins alike, from deeper within.

A glorious Slaughter

Inside the cave was chaos. The baboons apparently were on their way to the storage chamber, attacking the weakened goblins left and right. The party first encountered a smaller group of six baboons, engaged with an equal group of goblins. Myr’Tacae felled the biggest baboon in one fell swoop, causing the other 5 to lose their morale and run for their lives through a hole in the wall. Relieved at seeing Dandelion return with bigger and stronger help, the goblins told them about the heading of the harem and ran of after them.
In the common room they found another 10 baboons in battle with goblins and the clans’ hired ogre bodyguard, defending a group of female goblins and their young. This battle took a little longer as the baboons succeded their morale checks and needed to be put down first, before moving on. Having no weapons on her, Melora started to collect stones in a blanket, ready to set it on fire and throw at the monkeys.
Until this point I forgot about usind Dandelion in the initiative order, declaring he needed to built up courage to act. Little did I know what the little guy had in store.

The first goblin Barbarian

Bolstered by more goblins and an ogre, the party made their way to the storage chamber, were they found the remaining 14 baboons engaged with the goblin king and his entourage. Outnumbered in the relatively small room and flanked from both sides, the baboons lost their morale check after the first casualty, but found themselves unable to escape.
Glad for the reinforcements and seeing the opportunity to restock the storage with baboon meat, the goblin king rallied his servants, promising them “Tonight, we feast like kings!” When it was Dandelions turn, something wonderful happened: he rolled a natural 20 and enough damage to kill two baboons with his attack. In contrast, Meloras plan to hurl her burning sack of stones was graced by a natural 1, misjudging her momentum and throwing it behind her.
The rest of the round saw many more monkeys slain, with they themselves having little to no effect on their enemies. When it was Dandelions turn again, emboldened by his last attack he rolled another natural 20, killing two more baboons, and proceeding to decapitate and present the heads of his four victims in triumph, covered in their blood.
After Myr’Tacae finished off the last of the monkeys, the other goblins cheered at Dandelions show of force, who took some time to cool off, due to all the adrenaline coursing in his body.
Meanwhile, Melora and Myr’Tacae conversed with the goblin king, learning valuable informations about the state of things at the demihuman encampment, including a possible location of the halfling merchants wife. There’s a chance she’s being held by the hobgoblin clan living in the caves right above the goblins.
Myr searched the storage chamber and discovered a secret door that wasn’t usable from inside, hinting at the way the food thieves could enter and leave without the goblins noticing. After he calmed down, Dandelion thanked the group and voiced his interest in joining them for more adventure, as the goblin king ordered the promised feast to be prepared.
That night, they truly dined like (goblin) kings.

Closing thoughts

What. a. BLAST! I had some thoughts about how the group may encounter the goblin clan this session and what they could do to earn their trust. But all of this went out of the window the moment I rolled up the baboon spoor. At first I thought “meh, again?”, but when I rolled up the exact same number and their attitude, I knew it had to be the harem from before, out for vengeance. I love how sometimes it’s so easy to interpret random table results in context of what happened before, leading to a coherent narrative.
I also love how Dandelion critted two times in a row, leading to the surrounding characters and even the players and myself cheering the little guy on. Without much planning or negotiating, they got themselves a trusty and loyal hireling. Here’s hoping he’ll live long and can bring much honor to his clan!

See you next time. =)

May 23, 2024 2024 Play Reports Tales of Escia B:X

The Azure Archipelago - A LEGO hexcrawl.

This is an submission to DIY&dragons’ Summer LEGO RPG Setting Jam.
Now, this was a fun exercise. I didn’t imagine I’d ever write a Pirates of the Caribbean x Secret of Blue Water mashup, but here we are!

The azure archipelago has long been a haven for fortune seekers and other freeminded folk.
In recent years, the imperial navy has established a foothold in the area and outlawed piracy in the name of the emperor, come to mine arcane crystals and search for the legendary fountain of youth.
Unbeknownst to many, an advanced civilization lives below the sea, trying to preserve the delicate balance of the ecosystem.
Lately, the archipelago seems cursed, as anyone who dies at sea is brought back as a ghost.

Archipelago
Map made with Hex Kit and Nate Tremes cartography set.

Campaign Seeds

Since much of the archipelago is only accessible by way of water, player characters are best advised to procure a seaworthy vessel themselves or join one of the factions to gain access to the seas.

Here are some hooks to reel in your players (pun intended) and get the campaign started. Any one of them has the potential to lead to a unique game:

You found a treasure map that speaks of an impossibly large blue pearl on Skull Island. Find it, and you’re set for life. All you need is a ship and a crew to get there.
Your ship sank after a pirate attack. They spared you, but took all your belongings. You find yourselves adrift at sea in a lifeboat, with no food or water. Was that a shark fin you just saw?
A moment ago you were captives of the Imperial Navy. Now the ship you’re being transported on is under attack, and you managed to escape the brig in the chaos. Just hope you don’t run into anyone who remembers your faces.
You grew up as free pirates. Your first assignment should have been the Sea Vulture, but you were too drunk and overslept her departure. Now the ship is reported missing. Maybe you’ve dodged a bullet.
You’re members of the Imperial Navy. The latest assignment has you arriving at Fort Sabre. You’re to find the mystical Fountain of Youth for his majesty. Is it a fools‘ errand or your way to rise in the ranks?
You don’t know how it happened, but you died. You awoke as ghosts on the Dark Shark, surrounded by bloodthirsty pirate ghosts, eager to conquer the peninsula. Do you join them?

Factions

The archipelago is home to a variety of factions. Their individual territories, goals and resources are listed below.

Territories

Faction territories
Teal: Imperial Navy
Red: Pirates
Purple: Atlanteans
Grey: Ghosts

Imperial Navy

Stationed in the archipelago to mine arcane crystals for the emperor and search for the legendary Fountain of Youth to ensure his reign for eternity. Little do they know this spells their doom.
Superstitious about steel whales destroying navy ships.

Goals:

Mine arcane crystals. (3)
Discover the secret of the steel whales. (4)
Find the Fountain of Youth. (8)

Resources:

0101, 0105, 0303
HMS Sea Lion
Sea Hawk

Pirates

A group consisting of fortune seekers, swashbucklers and even ex-navy members.
They elect their leaders democratically, and every one of them is willing to die for this freedom.

Goals:

Disrupt Navy activity. (3)
Retake Port Royal. (6)
Drive the imperial navy from the archipelago. (10)

Resources:

0103, 0204, 0304, 0502
Black Skull

Atlanteans

Nautical humanoids who have perfected the building of submarine ships, called Garfish. The imperial navy calls them steel whales.
They know the mining of arcane crystals is weakening the ecosystem, but not to what extent.

Goals:

Attack Navy ships. (3)
Find a replacement for arcane crystals to power the Garfish. (8)
Find a way to prevent the volcano from erupting. (10)

Resources:

0302, 0404, 0505, 0602
Nautilus

Ghosts

Undead sailors all, indiscriminate of origin. You die at sea, you become part of their crew.
They know about the cause of the curse and seek to spread its blessing to all.

Goals:

Bolster crew numbers. (4)
Get rid of the guardian of the deep. (6)
Provoke the skull island volcano to eruption. (10)

Resources:

0604, 0606
Dark Shark

Random encounter tables

2d6 Random Encounters (Sea)

An atlantean miner with engine troubles. (Set: 7984: Deep Sea Raider) (Atlanteans)
The Nautilus from 0505, scouting the surface. (Set: 6190: Shark’s Crystal Cave) (Atlanteans)
The Black Skull from 0502, looking for booty. Preferably, something to be ransomed. (Set: 6286: Skull’s Eye Schooner) (Pirates)
3d6 daring pirates on a raft. They will attempt to seize any ship greater than their raft. (Set: 6261: Raft Raiders) (Pirates)
3d6 castaways. They’ve been adrift for two weeks now. (Set: 6257: Castaway’s Raft) (Neutral)
2d6 pirates on a raft attacked by octopi. The octopi are winning. (Set: 6240: Kraken Attackin’) (Neutral)
A lone imperial sailor, lost at sea. (Set: 6245: Harbour Sentry) (Imperials)
The Sea Hawk from 0101 looking for survivors of a recent battle. (Set: 6274: Caribbean Clipper) (Imperials)
The HMS Sea Lion from 0105, on the hunt for pirate ships. (Set: 6271: Imperial Flagship) (Imperials)
The Dark Shark from 0606, surrounded by thick fog. (Set: 6285: Black Seas Barracuda) (Ghosts)
Big Fin from 0306, basking on the surface. (Set: 8058: Guardian of the Deep) (Neutral)

1d6 Random Encounters (0204, 0302, 0303, 0304, 0305, 0403)

A lone treasure chest emerges from the sand. It contains a skeleton holding a blank map with inscriptions in invisible ink. (Set: 1747: Treasure Surprise)
2d6 pirates run from 2d10 imperial soldiers. They just escaped from a brig. (Set: 6204: Buccaneers) (Pirates vs. Imperials)
2d6 imperials hunt 1d4 pirates for sport. With cannons. (Set: 6239: Cannon Battle) (Pirates vs. Imperials)
A smugglers’ hideout. 2-in-6 chance no one is at home. (Set: 6258: Smugglers Shanty) (Pirates)
A makeshift gaol holding 1d6 pirates captive. 2d6 imperials are guarding them, reinforcements arrive in 1d4 hours to escort them to Fort Sabre in 0105.(Set: 6259: Broadside’s Brig) (Imperials)
A wounded atlantean scout, barely able to fight off a giant crab. (Set: 8056: Monster Crab Clash) (Atlanteans)

Hex contents:

0101 Port Royal

Imperial settlement
6277: Imperial Trading Post

Former pirate outpost, now officially imperial. Being a Trading Post, as neutral as it gets.
A seaworthy vessel can always be found for the right price.
Home port of Sea Hawk (2-in-6 chance of being in port).

Notable NPCs

Lieutenant de Martinet (Married to rum. Easily bribed.)
Bo’sun Will (Shady merchant, will sell you your own mother if given the chance. The quality of his wares speaks is worth it, though.)
Captain Barbossa (Imprisoned pirate captain. Thinks the navy isn’t so bad after all.)

Quests

Gather arcane crystals (0305 or 0403).
Find out what causes ships to sink in hex 0503.
Rescue the imperial spy ‚Fishwife’ William from 0502.

0102 Empty

Imperial territory
2-in-6 chance of encountering the Sea Hawk or HMS Sea Lion.
If the hex encounter happens and the dice indicate a random encounter of a neutral or opposing faction, both encounters are happening simultaneously.

0103 Vultures Nest

Pirate Settlement
6296: Shipwreck Island

Newly established hideout on the Sea Vulture, a derelict ship that ran aground on a sandbank in shallow waters.
Despite the constant threat of being eaten by salt water crocodiles, ‚Pirate Queen‘ Chess stands by her bold decision to establish an outpost in imperial territory.

Notable NPCs

‚Pirate Queen‘ Chess (Ambitious, thinks Captain Redbeard should step down. Could be convinced of making a move to relieve him of his duty.)
Captain Ironhook (Ex-Atlantean. Was rescued by Chess when adrift at sea.)
‚No Knees‘ Gibbs (Former navy sailor. Couldn’t abide by their expansionist methods anymore.)

Quests

Track down the Pirate Queens’ daughter (0304) and reunite her with her mother.
Establish a safe trade route between the hideout and Ile-a-Vache (0502).
Verify the fate of Captain Ironhooks crew at 0201.

0104 Empty

0105 Fort Sabre

Imperial settlement
6276: Eldorado Fortress

The imperial foothold in the azure archipelago stands proud, overlooking a cliff. Always a huge presence of soldiers. Always 2d8 pirates in custody, eager to escape.
Home port of HMS Sea Lion (2-in-6 chance of being in port).

Notable NPCs

Governor Broadside (Loyal to the emperor. A man of his word.)
Admiral Woodhouse (Secretly wants the Fountain of Youth for himself. )
Lieutenant Lesaro (Lost his family to pirates, hates the lot.)

Quests

Capture the legendary Pirate Queen (0103).
Get rid of the giant squid, Shamos (0205).
Track down the steel whale (0505).

0106 Stone Cobra Statue

Imperial territory
7325: Cursed Cobra Statue

A statue of a giant snake embraces an ancient stone obelisk at a cliff overlooking the sea.
Although cut from solid stone, it looks eerily lifelike and ready to move in a moment’s notice.

0201 Destroyed Hideout

Imperial territory
6254: Rocky Reef
6254: Rocky Reef
A former pirate hideout, abandoned after the imperial troops took control of Port Royal. The skeletal remains of killed pirates are the only inhabitants left.
Rumor has it some treasure might be left, although it’s not easily given up by its former owners.

0202 Empty

0203 Empty

0204 Vane Bay

Pirate settlement
6281: Pirates Perilous Pitfall

A newly established outpost, chock-full with traps to keep intruders away. Its inhabitants are armed to the teeth.
Sister settlement to Port Graff (0304). Connected with a secret tunnel.

Notable NPCs

Jack Raines (Naive youngling, glorifies pirate life.)
‚Tide Turner‘ Helena (Retired pirate captain. Wants to live out the rest of her days in peace.)
Clara Lancaster (Escaped from her drunk of a husband in Fort Sabre.)

Quests

Help get rid of the Navy presence on the island (0303).
Clara is sick. Find the Guardian of the Deep and petition for an ointment (0306).
Help reinforce the defenses of Vane Bay.

0205 Big Blue Hole

Imperial territory
8061: Gateway of the Squid

Shallow waters hide a deep blue hole. The remains of countless ships adorn its bottom, deliberately placed by a giant squid sailors call Shamos.
A docile pet to its squid-man master, it collects treasure from the vessels it has sunk.

3-in-6 chance a vessel traveling the hex is attacked by the Shamos.
If the hex encounter happens and the dice indicate a random encounter of a neutral or opposing faction, both encounters are happening simultaneously.

0206 Empty

Pirate territory
2-in-6 chance of encountering the Black Skull.
If the hex encounter happens and the dice indicate a random encounter of a neutral or opposing faction, both encounters are happening simultaneously.

0301 Empty

0302 Stone Arch

Atlantean territory
8078: Portal of Atlantis

An inconspicuous cliff hides the entrance to a cave that holds a magic portal to Atlantis ind 0505. Skeletal remains of a battle between atlanteans and some squid-people scatter the floor.
1-in-6 chance of accidentally reactivating the portal. Anyone of atlantean descendant should know how to get it working again.

0303 Imperial Outpost

Imperial settlement
6263: Imperial Outpost

Recently established foothold on the island. Understaffed, but eager to prove themselves to their superiors.

Notable NPCs

Officer Swift (Secretly in love with Officer Magda.)
Officer Santos (Critical of the navy’s methods in the archipelago. Easily swayed.)
Officer Magda (Wants to impress Lieutenant Lesaro in Fort Sabre.)

Quests

Gather arcane crystals (0305 or 0403).
Kidnap the Pirate known as ‚Sealegs’ (0304).
Verify the location of the main pirate hideout (0502).

0304 Port Graff

Pirate Settlement
6273: Rock Island Refuge

A reinforced fortress built into the cliffside. Its location is known by the imperial navy, but every attempt to seize it has been thwarted by the resourceful residents, until now.
Sister settlement to Vane Bay (0204). Connected with a secret tunnel.

Notable NPCs

Captain Brickbeard (The pirates’ second in command, hates the navy.)
‚Sealegs‘ Nadia, Pirate Princess (Enjoys her freedom, will not be bound again.)
Philipp Swift (Ex-navy sailor.)

Quests

Establish trade relations with the Atlanteans (0505)
Find the origin of the mysterious fog that appears at sea (0606).
Disable the flagship of the imperial navy (0105).

0305 Empty

Pirate territory
A deposit of arcane crystals can be found in the crags of these hills. Almost exhausted, but solid and easy to handle.

0306 Deep Sea Lair

Atlantean territory
8058: Guardian of the Deep

An underwater cave located in a deep sea trench, hidden by kelp and protected by groups of sharks. Home of a dragon-sized Oarfish called Big Fin. The atlanteans travel here to ask for its blessing on special occasions and know a ritual to placate the sharks.

3-in-6 Chance a vessel traveling the hex is attacked by Big Fin, the guardian of the deep.
If the hex encounter happens and the dice indicate a random encounter of a neutral or opposing faction, both encounters are happening simultaneously.

0401 Cave Lair

Pirate territory
8076: Deep Sea Striker

A rocky reef hides a deep cave. Easily navigable if one knows the way.
Anyone coming to close is immediately attacked by Snappo, the giant sea scorpion.

3-in-6 Chance a vessel traveling the hex is attacked by Snappo.
If the hex encounter happens and the dice indicate a random encounter of a neutral or opposing faction, both encounters are happening simultaneously.

0402 Empty

0403 Empty

Pirate territory
A large, as yet undiscovered deposit of arcane crystals. The volatile sort, prone to exploding if handled wrong. Difficult to tell the difference, though.

0404 Garfish Wharf

Atlantean settlement
6199: Hydro Crystalation Station

The Garfish submarines are built here, in a large glass dome. Biggest source of arcane crystals in atlantean territory.
Garfish submarines from Atlantis (0505) and the geothermal research lab (0602) come and go regularly.

Notable NPCs

Jean Rocque (Upstart engineer, wants to be recognized.)
King (Captain of the watch, a man of few words.)
‚Two-Finger‘ Sanson, ex-Pirate (Almost drowned, rescued by Jean. Deeply loyal.)

Quests

Salvage a crystal pearl guarded by Snappo, the giant sea scorpion (0401).
Intercept a shipment of arcane crystals to 0101.
Find a way to reactivate the ancient giant snake statue in 0106 to destroy Port Sabres defenses.

0405 Empty

Atlantean territory
2-in-6 chance of encountering the Nautilus.
If the hex encounter happens and the dice indicate a random encounter of a neutral or opposing faction, both encounters are happening simultaneously.

0406 Fountain of Youth

Atlantean territory
4192: Fountain of Youth
4192: Fountain of Youth
Once every month, when the moon reaches its pinnacle, a small volcanic island rises from the depths of the sea.
The fountain it holds grants eternal youth, but at a terrible price: anyone who dies in the archipelago is raised as an undead. The Atlanteans know this. King Nemo used it last, three moons back.
The imperials search for it, ignorant of its side effects.

0501 Empty

Pirate territory
2-in-6 chance of encountering the Black Skull.
If the hex encounter happens and the dice indicate a random encounter of a neutral of opposing faction, both encounters are happening simultaneously.

0502 Ile-a-Vache

Pirate Settlement
6270: Forbidden Island

A rag-tag shantytown and the biggest pirate haven in the archipelago. A daring crew can always be found here for the right price.
An imperial spy is currently held captive and eager to escape.
Home Port of the Black Skull (2-in-6 chance of being in port).

Notable NPCs

Captain Redbeard (Elected leader of the pirates. Some say he’s getting too old, but never to his face.)
‚No Smile‘ Angelica (The pirate’s weapons’ master. Lost her edge when her brother disappeared at sea.)
‚Fishwife‘ William (Captured imperial spy, would promise anything to be free again. Empty promises, all.)

Quests

Free Captain Barbossa from 0101.
Find out what happened to the Sea Vulture (0103).
Discover the fate of Angelicas brother, Bullette Bill (0606).

0503 Underwater Lair

Pirate territory
7978: Angler Attack

At night, a bright light shines seductively under the surface of the sea. During the day, nothing seems out of the ordinary.
At the bottom of the sea, Luminee has amassed treasures of unwary travelers lured into the depths.

At night, 3-in-6 Chance a vessel traveling the hex is attacked by Luminee, the giant angler fish.
If the hex encounter happens and the dice indicate a random encounter of a neutral or opposing faction, both encounters are happening simultaneously.

0504 Empty

0505 Atlantis

Atlantean settlement
7985: City of Atlantis

A magical bubble houses an ancient underwater city made from solid white marble, its buildings adorned with golden statues of ancient kings. A giant silo serves as an underwater port for the Garfish submarines.
Home port of the Nautilus (2-in-6 chance of being in port).

Notable NPCs

Nemo (King of Atlantis. The latest Atlantean blessed with eternally youth, but old and tired inside.)
Grandis (King consort, runs the day-to-day business. Seeks to free her beloved from his mixed blessing.)
Eiko (Master of logistics, has a crush on Electra in the geothermal research lab.)

Quests

Help the Nautilus to destroy the navy flagship HMS Sea Lion (0105).
Find out what happened to the man known as Ironhook (0103).
Destroy the cause of undeath in the archipelago (0406).

0506 Empty

Ghost territory
2-in-6 chance of encountering the Dark Shark.
If the hex encounter happens and the dice indicate a random encounter of a neutral or opposing faction, both encounters are happening simultaneously.

0601 Empty

0602 Geothermal research lab

Atlantean settlement
6195: Neptune Discovery Lab

An atlantean base to observe geothermal activities sits at the edge of a deep trench. Research garfish arrive and leave on a regular basis.
From the bottom of the trench, a horde of undead begins their long climb up. They arrive in 1d6 days.

Notable NPCs

Electra (Chief engineer, worried about the archipelago.)
Hanson (Captain of the guard, not very good at his job.)
Ayrton (Rookie engineer, has a crush on Hanson.)

Quests

Fend off the undead attacks.
Help find the origin of the increased geothermal activity (0604).
Recover a shipment of arcane crystals from 0503.

0603 Empty

0604 Skull Island

Ghost territory
6279: Skull Island

An active volcano with a cove resembling a giant stone skull at its base. A giant blue pearl lies at its heart, guarded by countless ghostly pirate that once tried to claim it.

0605 Empty

0606 The Dark Shark

Ghost settlement
6285: Black Seas Barracuda
6285: Black Seas Barracuda
Once the biggest pirate flagship to sail the archipelago, the Dark Shark now houses only lost souls.
A thick sea of fog surrounds the ghost ship, further hiding its silent approach. It can always be found here.

Notable NPCs

Davy Jane (Legendary pirate, now a ghost. Dreams of her glory days.)
Gargoyle (Known as the Butcher, his bloodlust persists even in undeath.)
Bulette Bill (Unfortunate pirate, drowned at sea. Would rather be elsewhere.)

Quests

Locate the home of the Nautilus (0505) and destroy it.
Kill Big Fin, the guardian of the deep (0306).
Defend Skull Island from the Atlanteans. When the volcano erupts, the crew will gain many new members (0604).

May 22, 2024 2024 Game Design Community Jams

Tales of Escia

TALES OF ESCIA: Running an OSE Hexcrawl 03

Player Characters

Melora Kriss - Human Druid
Myr’tacae Malenia - Elf Fighter

The Premise

Session 03 - Of Baboons and Celebrations

TL’DR: The party decided to return to Margrave Keep to restock on supplies and find way to store the unexpectedly heavy treasure chest they found. They rescued a malnourished goblin from a hoard of baboons and found the keep in a state of week-long celebration: Duke Albanns heir had been born the day before.

Monkey Business

After the group found a heavy chest full of coin in an abandoned Thieves Guild hideout, they decided to return to Margrave Keep for the time being, to resupply and store their newfound wealth.
The dice indicated a random encounters for the day and my table result was ‘Troop of 10×1d4 baboons. Might grab and run.’. The d4 came up a 3, so 30 baboons - a whole harem.
The day before play, I realized that my prepwork offered the players no real opportunity to find the demihuman settlement yet, which is a hex’s secret location and requires third-party knowledge to discover. In light of that realization, I decided to use the baboon encounter to make up for that, and had the baboons harass a malnourished goblin by playing piggy in the middle with a loaf of bread.
The PCs were sympathetic with the goblin, but the prospect of having to fight 30 baboons was daunting. Melora came up with an idea of holding the monkeys with her Entagle spell, grabbing the goblin and making a run for it. Since all of the baboons were standing in a circle around the goblin, I ruled that the spell would be able to affect all of them, including the goblin.
With their focus being solely on the ppor goblin, the baboons were surprised by the sudden plant growth and only 10 out of 30 made the save. Being generally cowardly creatures with a morale rating of 5, I found it reasonable to have them check for morale right away, and all of them failed, causing the non-entangled baboons to run away and the entangled ones too scared to act, as Myr’tacae walked right up to the goblin and carried it to safety.

Dandelion

Shaking with fear but to weak to put up a fight, the goblin surrendered to its fate immediately. After being offered some honey and rations, it revealed its name, Dandelion, and told Merlora and Myr’tacae about the goblins plight at the demihuman settlemend: their storage had been plundered and they haven’t been able to find the culprit, leaving the whole clan hungry and desperate. He asked if the party might want to help him out and would offer the location of the settlement if they agreed and procured some food for his clan.
As they were being on their way to restock supplies anyway, the party agreed and took Dandelion with them to the keep, asking him to hide somewhere nearby and wait for them to return.

Party All Day Long

Arriving at the keeps gate, the party was held up by an obviously drunk guard. He explained that news of Duke Albanns newborn son had arrived at the keep the day before and a ten day long celebration had been ordered in light of this joyful event.
Much of the keep had been decorated and several bands were filling the streets with music, with nary a resident being sober.
Melora and Myr stopped by the provisioner first and found Cori to be an exception, voicing his concern about the keeps apparent vulnerability during the celebration. He offered his wares and suggested the party hire some help to carry their equipment and deposit some of their money at the Guild Houses bank to keep it safe. Stocked up with extra rations for the goblin clan, they went to the blacksmith next to have the shield repaired.<br The smith, a female dwarf called Gobbli Frother, agreed to have the repairs done by the morning of the next day.

Guild Advertising

At the Guild House, the party met the local guild master, a male halfling called Cassyon Button, who explained the basics of depositing gold at the bank and how guilds worked in the earldom.
Cassyon asked if the player characters might want to join one and become subject to all the advantages of being a guild member, we talked about Meloras background as a beekeper and established that she was technically a member of the Saltmarsh beekepers guild, now on the run.

Off to new adventures

With their gold safely deposited, the party decided to call it a day and went to the inn.
The next morning, Myr picked up her order at the blacksmith and they met up with Dandelion, who told them the location of the demihuman settlement.
Or, as the residents of Margrave Keep would call it: the CAVES OF CHAOS.

Closing thoughts

I love random encounter tables. The whole session could have gone totally different if I had gotten another result.
Whether its ol’ reliable 2d6 goblins or something like the 107 mountain dwarves encounter from Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, random encounters make the world feel alive, especially if they’re not designed with combat as the default solution. Combine them with activity and reaction tables, you’ve got the potential to fill a whole session and lay the groundwork for future adventures.

I’ve come to structure of my random encounter tables based on Papers and Pencils blog post, where 2 is always a dragon and 12 is always a wizard and gave it an Escia-specific spin by adding a potential demigod encounter to the list:

Dragon
Territory
Territory
Territory
Territory
Recurring Character
Universal Threat
Universal Threat
Universal Threat
Demigod or their Avatar
Wizard

For every type environment there’s a day- and a nighttime table, with entries 3-6 containing encounters depending on the environment and hex contents (we’re in hillside territory right now) and 8-10 containing mainly encounters with local factions like the Knights of the Blue Shield, the Knights of the Golden Promise and others.
Encounters not rooted in hex contents or factions were filled with entries from Skerples brilliant Monster Overhaul.
Adding a demigod encounter to the list felt right after I read Rise Up Comus’ article about greek gods just being high level PCs. So in every random encounter there’s a chance of engaging with one of the 9 demigods or their avatar, possibly gaining their favor or pissing them off.

So for example, my daytime hillside table looks like this:

Dragon (Sruthkin form XXXX)
The Manticore from XXXX, looking for prey. (hex content)
2d6 starving Lions stalk 1 Elephant. Might switch to easier prey or remember assistance. (Monster Overhaul)
4d6 Addercapper Raiders from 0902, looking for easy money. (hex content)
Troop of 10×1d4 Baboons. Might grab and run. (Monster Overhaul)
Recurring Character (separate table)
1 Griffon surrounded by 10×1d10 Knights of the Blue Shield, hoping to capture and tame it. (faction)
3d10 Knights of the Waving Banner, patroling the road. (faction)
2d6 Bandits, harassing a merchant and his cart.(universal threat)
Demigod or their Avatar (separate table)
Wizard (Stepladder Burke from XXXX and his pet lion)

See you next time. =)

April 28, 2024 2024 Play Reports Tales of Escia B:X

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