[Coming Soon] The Heart of Albion, a Hexcrawl Campaign for Castles & Crusades

The Heart of Albion Hexcrawl Campaign Setting

By James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler

The year is 1400 AUC, as the world has fallen into the cold-hearted grasp of Fimbul Winter.

 

Summer is as autumn, spring is as winter, and winter? Winter is as some cold slice of the Hells. Glaciers are rolling out of the mountains; new lands rise as waters retreat; and the very earth cracks under the weight of the Wrath of Eldisor.

 

The Great Northern Isle of Skandza has shattered into a thousand isles under the weight of these glaciers, and the survivors struggle to survive amidst the ruins as the Old Gods fight for their survival. Elsewhere, the remnants of the old Tyrrhenian Empire are being swept away by waves of barbarians and savagery…

 

The peninsular realm of Albion, far in the northwest and forgotten by Tyrrhenia and Skandza alike, is undergoing similar convulsions.

 

The native Kymrae and Brigantian tribes, Tyrrhenized and free, are threatened by the invasion of the barbaric Reichlanders from the east and the Caledonians from the north.

 

The native demi-humans and fairies are caught in between, and also drawn into the internecine battles between the various families of the Old Gods of Albion and the Reichlands, and even those from further afield, in their struggles with one another and with the rise of the new faith, the Holy Temple of Law.

 

And here and there still stand a few settlements and strongholds of Jordvann and Tyrrhenia, where the Jordvanner seek to rebuild civilization and the Tyrrhenians seek to conquer its remnants amongst those dimming points of light.

 

Follow the development of this classic Hexcrawl Campaign, The Heart of Albion, and explore the history behind the Continental Realms of the current Isle of Eldisor setting.

 

The development of this new Castles & Crusades setting will be featured on my blog, Adventures in Gaming v2, to edify those who wish to learn how to develop their own campaign settings in the classic Hexcrawl Sandbox fashion.

 

For fans of Labyrinth Lord, never fear; Castles & Crusades is readily adaptable to Labyrinth Lord (just as Labyrinth Lord is readily adaptable to Castles & Crusades).

 

Further Labyrinth Lord development of the Isle of Eldisor in the current era will follow the completion of The Heart of Albion, notably the northern half of Eldisor, The Northlands.

Follow developments on these pages!

[Now Available] The Demon Tower of Valdig Fel

The Demon Tower of Valdig Fel

By James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler

Cartography by Dyson Logos

 

The Demon Tower of Valdig Fel is the first adventure specifically set in the Isle of Eldisor Hexcrawl Campaign Setting. Designed for use with Labyrinth Lord, it is easily adapted to any OSR-Style Role-Playing Game.

 

The Demon Tower of Valdig Fel is an ancient, much-storied flying citadel in the shape of a demon’s head. Since the death of its creator during the Wars of Succession following the Fall of Eldisor, it has passed through the hands of countless villains, who have used the flying tower to raid, pillage, and enslave the peoples of the Ivory Plains and beyond. Terrible tales of wizards, demons, and dragons follow in its wake.

 

And now it has drifted into a tree-lined ridge near Wulf’s Ferry… right in your own backyard!

 

What are the inhabitants up to? Are they here to raid or to trade?

 

What of the rumors of centuries of treasure hidden within?

 

Are you brave or foolish enough to find out?

 

The Demon Tower of Valdig Fel is designed for use with Labyrinth Lord and other OSR-Style Role-Playing Games. Designed for use for a party of 4 to 6 adventurers of 5^th to 7^th level, its dangers can easily be increased or decreased for more powerful or less experienced parties.

 

24-page booklet, 19 pages of adventure. $3

Buy it now on DriveThruRPG!

Isle of Eldisor: A Realm of Crawling Chaos

The Isle of Eldisor comes across in most ways as an Epic High Fantasy campaign setting, but, in truth, it has more than a dash of Lovecraftian Cosmic Horror lurking beneath the surface. Literally – beneath the surface of the land and sea.

Thus, if you are running an Eldisor campaign you should check out Goblinoid Games’ Realms of Crawling Chaos, a guide to using Lovecraftian elements in your Labyrinth Lord or OSR RPG campaigns.

If you are running Eldisor using 5E, then I would suggest checking out Sandy Petersen's Cthulhu Mythos for 5E. It is an amazing, in-depth, and novel treatment of the Mythos for use with 5E by a past-master of the Mythos Horror RPG genre.

First and most prominently, of course, are the Morlocks, which are not Lovecraftian per se, being an invention of H. G. Wells, though even then they have more than a touch of body horror and cosmic horror about them. In Eldisor, they are a full-blown Lovecraftian fusion, as they worship the Old Ones, notably Abhoth, Atlach-Nacha, and Tsathoggua. They are the bogeymen who haunt the nightmares of the Tribesmen and the colonists. Orcs and goblins are monstrous, but Morlocks? These are monsters that are supposedly men…

Then there are the Cavemen, which would on the surface seem to be normal, everyday Neanderthals. However, many of the Cavemen clans are corrupted by Chaos, and for all intents and purposes these should be treated as Voormis… Dreadful Secret: true Voormis are found on Eldisor, in the Northlands. More on that some other time… But if you want to give a corrupted clan a bit of a boost, check out the options available via various Mythos magics and abilities. The Subhuman race from Crawling Chaos is a possible player character race for extended OSR Eldisor campaigns.

Then there are those that dwell beneath the surface of the deep waters… the Deep Ones. These monstrous fish-folk are ever at their age-old schemes to try to take over the surface world for the greater glory of Cthulhu, Father Dagon, and Mother Hydra. Fortunately, they are mostly limited to the waters and coasts of the Twilight Ocean, though they continually seek to make inroads into the waters and coasts of the Merrow Sea. There are minor hamlets of Sea-Bloods scattered across both coasts, with all the dangers and potential treasures they offer. The Sea-Blood race from Crawling Chaos is a possible player character race for extended OSR Eldisor campaigns.

Note: For the Deep Ones, if you do not have a proper source for their game stats, you can use Sahuagin in their place, or if using official 5E, you can use Kuo-Toa.

There are other Mythos elements at work in Eldisor. Humans are hardly the only ones corruptible by the Old Ones and their minions. Giants, dragons, trolls, ogres, orcs, and goblins can all be corrupted by True Chaos. Such creatures should possess strange, unusual, and terrifying powers. If using Realms of Crawling Chaos, Sandy Petersen's Cthulhu Mythos for 5E, or another Mythos source, you should also feel free to add in more proper Mythos creatures, though do so lightly, if you wish to maintain the High Fantasy veneer on the setting.

And then there are the Cults, which bring corruption on a societal as well as individual basis. Rare among the Continentals, these cults are de rigueur among the Morlocks, far too common among the Cavemen, Gray Folk, and Trolls, and only moderately less so among the Tribesmen and Kruski. Such cults often disguise themselves as cults of the King of Hell, much as the cults of the King of Hell disguise themselves as the cults of other gods. Only at the last are they revealed to be far more than a mere Hell-bound cult, providing the players a glimpse into the cosmic horror of the Realms of Crawling Chaos…

[Now Available] Isle of Eldisor Hexcrawl Campaign Cyclopedia & Gazetteer

Isle of Eldisor Hexcrawl Campaign Cyclopedia & Gazetteer

By James Mishler & Jodi Moran-Mishler

Designed for use with Labyrinth Lord

 

The Isle of Eldisor Hexcrawl Campaign Cyclopedia & Gazetteer is a 76-page campaign guide describing the Southlands of the Isle of Eldisor.

 

Jordvann was once a land dedicated to Law and Good, until the rise of Eldisor, the Devil’s-Son, who together with his hordes of giants, dragons, trolls, ogres, orcs, and goblins conquered the land, reduced the people to slavery, and brought down Fimbul Winter, which caused empires to fall world-wide. Eldisor ruled for 400 years, until he was slain or brought low during a rebellion of his captains, the Old Evils. Fimbul Winter ended, and civilization rose again elsewhere, while the survivors on the Isle of Eldisor sought to stay alive between the warring Old Evils.

 

Now, descendants (or claimed descendants) of exiled Jordvanner have settled the southern verge of the southern portion of the island, building colonies and rebuilding civilization among the monstrous and savage peoples of the isle. Little is known of the Isle of Eldisor, and what little is known is merely myth, legend, and rumor. The adventurers can partake of the return to the Isle of Eldisor in many ways – find and recover the lost treasures of the ancient civilization; discover, ally, and trade with the savage descendants of the Jordvanner; battle the remaining hordes of evil giants, dragons, trolls, ogres, orcs, and goblins; or seek to re-establish the lost realm of Jordvann and protect the native peoples from the inroads of the colonial factors.

 

The setting is presented as a Hexcrawl sandbox, and includes the following details:

• History of the Isle of Eldisor.
• Details on the Colonial Powers.
• Geographical information, including specific regional encounter options.
• The Jordvanner (including the four descendant peoples – the wild Cavemen, the sorcerous Gray Folk, the monstrous Morlocks, and the savage Tribesmen, as well as their cousins, the barbaric Kruski berserkers and vikings).
• 13 Gods, Demi-Gods, and Demons of the Isle of Eldisor and the Continent.
• 36 Myths, Legends, and Rumors.
• Complete Campaign Notes on making the Isle of Eldisor experience more immersive and unique.
• Details on the Weather on the Isle of Eldisor, still recovering from Fimbul Winter.
• A complete Hexcrawl Exploration Procedure to determine encounters and the discovery of minor ruins and settlements.
• A gazetteer detailing 156 major settlements, strongholds, ruins, and lairs.
• New monsters, including the Mammoth, Northern Titan, Giant Troll, and Multi-Headed Troll.
• An Appendix N detailing literature inspirational to the campaign.
• The map is 52 hexes east-west by 34 hexes north-south; each hex is 6 miles across, providing more than 50,000 square miles of adventure!
• The map (also available as a separate file), is provided in the book, divided into eight sections for easy reading.

The Isle of Eldisor Hexcrawl Campaign can provide a Judge and their players with years of adventure!

Designed for use with Labyrinth Lord, easily adaptable to any Old-School RPG or even Fifth Edition!

76 Pages (70 pages of content), PDF format with PNG Map, $15.

Click here to buy the Isle of Eldisor!

The map is also available separately PWYW!