[Known Realms] Map of the Northlands for Dungeon Crawl Classics

Back in early 2018 I started working on a campaign for the Known Realms of Aereth, the campaign setting for the original 3E Dungeon Crawl Classics line. Being me, of course, the first thing I had to do was set up a Hexographer map of the Northlands; nine maps, each hex 25 miles across, covering pretty much the entire Northlands except for the northernmost wastelands and Punjar (which really is part of the Lostlands, anyway).

 

As is normal with my life, other things got in the way of completion, and I moved on to other campaigns. However, the maps have still been sitting there, not complete but mostly complete, and now and again I've been thinking of them and what I can do with them.

 

Would anyone be interested in seeing these maps completed? Along with a Wilderlands-style run-down of major cities, towns, castles, citadels, ruins, islands, and lairs? Each of the nine maps would be sold separately with a gazetteer (under license from Goodman Games, of course).

 

Below is a small, stitched-together version of the first draft of the nine maps. Each of the nine has since been worked over more, with more details and corrections between the stitching areas, so this is merely a rough draft.

 

Click here to get a larger version from of my Google Drive.

 

Let me know what you think...

Click to embiggen

[Advanced Labyrinth Lord] Ransoming Player Characters

One factor in adventuring that has long been forgotten in Dungeons & Dragons, even through to Labyrinth Lord, is the possibility of ransoming captured characters. While the idea of ransoming captives is an old one in gaming, likely originated in and used to this day in RuneQuest, it was apparently only mentioned briefly by Gary Gygax in D&D in the module B2: The Keep on the Borderlands. There, he mentioned that, “Organized  tribes can optionally be allowed to take player characters prisoner, freeing one to return to the KEEP to bring a ransom back to free the captives. Set the sums low – 10 to 100 gold pieces (or a magic item which the ransoming monsters would find useful) per prisoner.”

Ransoms are actually part of the original DNA of the game. In OD&D, brigands, bandits, nomads, pirates, and buccaneers all kept prisoners for ransom (or to sell as slaves). Historically, ransoms were actually the way many such groups – as well as nobles – got cold, hard cash to add to their treasuries. And so, ransoms – or at least, the potential for them – are going to be added back into campaign. This enables player characters to have a third “out,” so that combat does not always end in death or retreat.
 

Of course, not all creatures are willing or even able to take on prisoners with the hope of gaining a ransom. Most humanoids have long come to the understanding that in exchange for taking a pass at a fine dinner of man-flesh they may earn themselves a significant treasure – but not all have learned this, nor do all care. Under no circumstances will a humanoid or monster take prisoners for ransom if the player characters have slaughtered their young or elderly, defaced their places of worship, or otherwise caused such pain and consternation that the treasure gained would never outweigh the desire for revenge. Also, humanoids never take their ancient racial enemies prisoner for anything less than torture and sacrifice – goblins never give quarter to dwarves, nor orcs to elves, nor kobolds to gnomes, except as  ruse to capture them for torment and worse.

Human scum – bandits brigands, nomads, pirates, and buccaneers especially – are always interested in taking prisoners for ransom. They have no desire to battle to the death, and they find it a very lucrative trade. Nobles usually only take other nobles or wealthy merchants for ransom; others are enslaved or killed out of hand. Slavers are more likely to take prisoners to sell, unless the captive is very wealthy, while berserkers and cavemen take captives only to torture and/or eat. Pilgrims generally turn dangerous adventurers over to local authorities (if Lawful) or keep them to sacrifice at their unholy shrines (if Chaotic). Druids keep interlopers prisoner until it is time to light the Wicker Man; dervishes release their enemies back into the desert, though without equipment or even clothing, to let the wastelands be judge, jury, and if needful, executioner.

Other monsters and monstrous races may take prisoners to keep for ransom if they are intelligent, capable and willing to work with two-leg creatures, and greedy for treasure. Vampires, medusae, manticores, dragons, lycanthropes, satyrs, and centaurs are all likely to take prisoners for ransom. Most other monsters are either too inimical to humans and demi-humans, too hungry, too disorganized, or just too stupid to recognize the possibilities to taking prisoners for ransom (these others are more likely to take prisoners for their larder or for torment).

Creatures of lesser intelligence and non-discerning temperament such as humanoids will usually ransom anyone for 10 to 100 gp, regardless of social class or station (they will keep all equipment and treasure found on the character, of course). But be sure that the messenger they send back to civilization hurries – they are not known for their patience, and sometimes their lust for entertainment or hunger will get the better of them!
 

Humans and intelligent monsters are more likely to try to suss out their prisoners and find out just how much they are worth – a noble is obviously worth more than a mere peasant, a 5th level son of a duke is worth far more than a 5th level mercenary, and magic-users and clerics are often worth as much as a noble to their guild or temple! In such cases they will usually set the ransom at 100 gp per level of the character, more if of noble family or wealthy connections, less if of poor or modest means.

Failure to pay the ransom in the demanded amount of time ensures the wrath of the captor. Humanoids and monsters either eat or enslave the offenders, while humans are more likely to kill or sell their captives into slavery. And of course, in the case of captors of thoroughly Chaotic sort, there is no guarantee they will honor the deal even if they are paid the ransom!

On the player character’s part, in order to even take advantage of the opportunity for ransom, they must set up a ransom with someone back in civilization – someone close and readily accessible, someone that they can trust to pay the ransom when demanded. Player characters with families can usually count on them to pay a ransom if it is within their means, or even if they have to borrow heavily to do so – provided the character is on good terms with their family. Black sheep need not apply.

Characters who belong to guilds or similar organizations – temples, mercenary guilds, wizard guilds, thieves’ guilds, and the like – can count on these organizations to come to their aid, again, provided their fees are up to date and they are in good standing. Ion any case, the character, unless he has the fund on deposit, will be required to pay back the ransom paid, with interest, and is beholden to the family or organization even moreso until it is paid.

So, as players, please remember this third option! Not all battles need to be to the death. You now have the option of living to fight another day – and seeking revenge on those who captured you and ransomed you! 

[Advanced Labyrinth Lord] Half-Elf Race and the Half-Elf Racial Class [Minstrel]

HALF-ELF RACE
Requirements: None
Ability Modifiers: None
Ability Min/Max: STR 3/18 (17), DEX 6/18, CON 6/18, INT 4/18, WIS 3/18, CHA 3/18

 

Half-elves are the result of the union of human and elf, and as such they seldom fit into either society. They often inherit a love of nature from their elven parent and a vibrant curiosity and ambitiousness from their human parent. In some lands there are settlements of half-elves, where elves and humans mingled for long centuries.

 

The child of a half-elf with a half-elf, elf, or human is a half-elf. Half-elves and half-orcs can have children; however, only 1 in 4 survives birth, and such children are always human (perhaps with slightly pointed ears, enlarged canine teeth, elvish or orcish eyes, or other remnant of their other-than-human heritage).

 

Half-elves have pointed ears like elves and are slighter of build than humans of the same height. Half-elves average 5½ feet tall and typically weigh 140 pounds. Half-elves typically live for 250 to 350 years. Half-elf skin, hair, and high color are highly variable, depending on the nature of their human and elven parents.

 

Male half-elves have a base height of 5’6”, females 5’3”. To this (d10) 1-2 Subtract 1d6”, 2-5 Subtract 1d4”, 6-8 Add 1d4”, 9-10 Add 1d6”.

 

Male half-elves have a base weight of 140 pounds, females 110 pounds. To this (d6) 1-2 Subtract 2d6 pounds, 3-5 Subtract 1d8 pounds, 6-8 Add 1d8 pounds, 9-10 Add 2d6 pounds.

 

Half-elves start out at the following ages based on class: Assassin 20+5d4, Cleric 30+3d4, Half-Elf 35+12d4, Fighter 20+4d4, Magic-User 35+3d4, and Thief 20+5d4. When multiclassing, take the highest base age and add modifiers from all classes.

 

Age provides the following modifiers to 1st level characters:
• Adolescent (24 to 44) -1 to Wisdom and +1 to Constitution.
• Adult (45 to 99)  +1 to Strength and +1 to Constitution.
• Middle-Aged (100 to 179) +1 to Intelligence and +1 to Wisdom.
• Elderly (180 to 249) -2 to Strength, -1 to Dexterity, -1 to Constitution, +1 to Intelligence, and +2 to Wisdom.
• Venerable (250 to 350) -3 to Strength, -2 to Dexterity, -2 to Constitution, +2 to Intelligence, and +3 to Wisdom.
These numbers include all cumulative adjustments.

 

To determine skin, hair, and eye coloration, choose from the elf and human lists, or roll d6 for each category separately, 1-3 as per human parent, 4-6 as per elven parent. Use similarly for elf/half-elf, half-elf/half-elf, half-elf/half-orc, and human/half-elf mixes.

 

Half-elves have 60’ Infravision.

 

If actively searching, half-elves can detect hidden and secret doors with a roll of 1-2 on 1d6.

 

Half-elves have inherited a resistance to the paralyzing effect of ghouls, receiving a +4 to saving throws against this effect.

 

As a strange side effect of the merger of elf and human blood, half-elves have a significant chance of possessing psychic abilities. This chance is equal to the sum of their Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores as a percentage, rolled once at character creation. Psychic half-elves can use the message spell once per day per level. At 3rd level they gain the ability to use ESP once per day per three levels. At 5th level they gain the ability to use clairaudience/clairvoyance once per day. Non-psychic half-elves gain a +2 bonus to save against any mind-affecting spells or other such effects.

 

Half-elves speak their alignment language, Common, Elvish, Gnoll, Hobgoblin, and Orcish.

 

Half-elves may select from the following classes, with the indicated level limits:

 

 

Half-elves have the widest range of multi-class possibilities among the demi-human races. Combinations include assassin/cleric, assassin/fighter, assassin/magic-user, assassin/minstrel, cleric/fighter, cleric/fighter/magic-user, cleric/magic-user, cleric/magic-user/ranger, cleric/minstrel, cleric/ranger, druid/magic-user, druid/magic-user/ranger, druid/minstrel, druid/ranger, fighter/magic-user, fighter/magic-user/thief, fighter/minstrel, fighter/thief, magic-user/minstrel,  magic-user/ranger, magic-user/thief, minstrel/ranger, minstrel/thief, and ranger/thief. Assassin/minstrels and minstrel/thieves gain an additional +5% bonus to their climb walls, hide in shadows, and pick pockets abilities.

 

Half-elf assassins, minstrels, and thieves receive the following bonuses to thief abilities:

 

HALF-ELF RACIAL CLASS [MINSTREL]
Requirements: Dexterity 12, Intelligence 12, Charisma 12
Prime Requisite: Intelligence and Charisma
Hit Die Type: d6 (d8 Advanced Option)
Racial Level Restrictions: Half-Elf 12

 

HD at 1st Level: 1d6 (1d8 Advanced Option)
XP Needed to Attain 2nd Level: 2,735
Attacks: As Thieves, THAC0 19.
Saving Throws: As Elves: Breath Attack 15, Poison or Death 12, Petrify or Paralyze 13, Wands 13, Spells or Spell-Like Devices 15.
Allowed Armor: Minstrels may wear padded, leather, studded leather, ring mail, and chain mail armors.
Allowed Weapons: Minstrels may wield the long bow, short bow, club, light crossbow, dagger, dart, javelin, quarterstaff, scimitar, sling, spear, bastard sword, long sword, and short sword.
Alignment: Minstrels are usually Neutral, but some are either Lawful or Chaotic. All are dedicated first and foremost to their art.

 

MINSTREL CLASS ABILITIES
Musical Instruments: At 1st level a minstrel must choose three musical instruments in which she is expertly skilled, which she uses with most of her minstrel abilities (those marked with an asterisk (*)). She may choose an additional instrument at 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 12th levels. Whenever using an instrument in which she is not expertly skilled, the minstrel halves her base chance, rounded down.

 

Cunning Linguist: A minstrel learns one additional language every odd level, including 1st level. A minstrel can learn Thieves Cant and the secret languages of druids and illusionists if she can find a teacher. Due to the minstrel’s extensive travel and interaction with strange folk, she can also attempt to communicate in a strange language, read unusual writing or runes, or read a magic-user scroll. Cunning Linguist skill starts at 20% chance at 1st level.

 

Charm*: Once per day per level, the minstrel can attempt to use her musical talents to charm an individual or small group of beings. The song requires two rounds, plus one round per target beyond the first. At the end of the song, the minstrel rolls against her chance to charm roll. If successful, the targets must make a saving throw against spells, or are charmed as per the 1st level magic-user spell, charm person. At 3rd level, this ability can be used to charm mammal, as per the 2nd level druid spell. At 5th level, this ability can be used to make a suggestion, as per the 3rd level magic-user spell. At 7th level, this ability can be used to charm monster, as per the 4th level magic-user spell. A minstrel may try to charm any one target only once per day. Charm skill starts at 35% chance at 1st level.

 

Counter-Song*: A minstrel can use a song to counter the ill-effects of hostile sounds, whether the sounds are songs, chants, wails, or even commands and suggestions from magical spells. Only one such attempt may be made per effect. Increase the chance of success by 5% every level the minstrel has greater than the level/HD of the opponent; similarly, decrease the chance by 5% for every level/HD the opponent has on the minstrel. If successful, the minstrel must continue singing as long as the opponent uses the effect. Counter-Song skill starts at 35% chance at 1st level.

 

Influence*: This is the minstrel’s base chance to alter the reaction of a group, favorably or otherwise, to the minstrel and her group or toward others. Success means the targets are influenced one step toward friendship or one step toward hostility, depending on the results desired by the minstrel. An attempt requires three rounds of uninterrupted song. Failure indicates the group is unaffected; a 96-100 on the roll means the opposite of the desired effect occurs. A minstrel may continue to influence any group until failure occurs. Influence skill starts at 40% chance at 1st level.

Inspire*: The minstrel may sing a rousing song or emote a heroic couplet for two rounds, then roll to see if she succeeds at inspiring her allies. Success increases morale of allied NPCs by +1 and grants all allies a +1 bonus to hit and to saving throws. Inspiration lasts for one minute per level. When the duration ends, or even before, the minstrel can attempt to inspire allies again. Failure indicates the minstrel cannot again inspire her allies again during this battle. Inspire skill starts at 50% chance at 1st level.

 

Lore: Minstrels learn a little about everything in their travels and interactions with others. Lore represents the ability to know something about local history, politics, society, heraldry, the underworld, and gossip; the higher a successful roll, the more the minstrel knows about that person/place/thing/event. Lore is also the chance for a minstrel to recognize a named, unique magic item, relic, or artifact, and know some or all its abilities, potentially including command words and curses. Lore skill starts out at a 15% at 1st level.

 

Perfect Pitch: Minstrels have a +2 bonus to save against any form of sonic, sound, and/or music-based attacks.

 

Perform*: This is the minstrel’s base ability to perform, singing and playing her instrument to entertain crowds. Success indicates the crowd is entertained; the higher the successful roll, the better. A performance requires a full turn (10 minutes) at base chance. Rolling 96-100 is always a failure. If successful, divide the final roll by 10 (round up) and roll that many six-sided dice to determine the coins that the crowd gives the minstrel; low class is in cp, middle class is in sp, and upper class is in gp. Failing by 20 or more means rotten tomatoes and other vegetables are thrown at the minstrel, at the very least. Perform skill starts at 60% chance at 1st level.

 

Repartee: A minstrel can utter a witticism, jest, or jibe of such potency, that it can stun, paralyze, render unconscious, or even kill those who hear it. Utterance of a witticism requires one round, and it can only affect intelligent creatures who can hear and understand the language in which it was spoken. A successful witticism requires those who hear it to make a saving throw versus Death. Those of low Intelligence are at an advantage; apply any Intelligence modifier as a penalty to the saving throw (thus, a penalty becomes a bonus, a bonus becomes a penalty). At 1st level, a successful witticism stuns for 1d4 rounds; at 4th level, it paralyzes for 1d4 rounds; at 8th level, it renders victims unconscious for 1d4 rounds; and at 12th level, it kills. A minstrel must make a saving throw against her own repartee, though she gets a +4 bonus to the saving throw.

 

Stealthy: Minstrels can climb walls, hide in shadows, and pick pockets as a thief of the same level.

 

STARTING EQUIPMENT [MINSTREL]
Armor: Studded Leather Armor (AC 7).
Weapons: Quarterstaff, Scimitar, Long Sword, or Short Sword; 2 Daggers; Short Bow and 20 Arrows or Long Bow and 20 Arrows.
Special: Three musical instruments (the same three in which the minstrel is expertly skilled at 1st level).
Special: 1 Adoring Groupies (1d3), 2 Book of Limericks (targets save at -1 to Repartee), 3 Fine Riding Horse with Saddle and Tack, 4 Magical Musical Instrument (+5% to all skill checks), 5 Map to a Random Treasure, 6 Satyr/Satyress “Companion.”
Fast Pack: Choose one: Dungeoneer’s Pack, Mercenary’s Pack, Traveler’s Pack, or Wilderness Pack.
Clothing: Three suits of Commoner, Courtier, Fancy, Fine, Minstrel, Rustic and/or Stealth clothing, plus hat and full-body cloak with hood.
Wealth: 1d10 each of gold, silver, and copper pieces. You have a chance equal to three times your Charisma score as a percentage of having an additional d100 each of copper, silver, and gold pieces from recent successful performances.

[Advanced Labyrinth Lord] Class Level Title Redux -- Emendations and Additions

After a thorough going over, I have made some changes to the 10 existing class level titles and added six new class level title listings.

I changed the druid listing, for various reasons; that is the major change to the existing tables:

I have also added six new listings, for the three racial classes I have enhanced and the three racial classes I have added to my class list. These six are:

Halfling Bounder
Dwarf Delveguard
Elf Fey Knight
Gnome Korrigan
Half-Elf Minstrel
Half-Orc Reiver

All six are going to be released in a product through James Mishler Games once I finish it... hopefully sooner than later. A preview will be forthcoming later this week.

Click here to download the PDF.

[Advanced Labyrinth Lord] Class Level Titles

First of all, Legendaria is still ongoing, however, it is no longer an Advanced Labyrinth Lord project. I am going to be developing it using the Four Color/FASERIP system, which fits the campaign concept much better than trying to integrate all the themes into Labyrinth Lord.

 

So that will go on, but right now, I'm working on some things for ALL. Not that I'm going to mention those yet; I won't be in a place to really talk about those projects until after Gary Con (if we make it, hoping the weather holds).

 

For now, here is a list of Class Level Titles I have generated for use in my ALL campaigns. I always kind of liked these, and recent re-reading of the classic Rythlondar Campaign materials has got me really wanting to use them again. But they are a bit of a mess in some ways, so I have cleaned and altered them to better fit my campaign.

 

I hope you find these useful and perhaps inspirational!

As usual, click to embiggen!

[LEGENDARIA] Southern Regions of Legendaria

Region 07: The Sea of Skies and the Kingdom of Aeryth
The southwestern corner of this region is the major geographical feature that defines it: The Sea of Skies, a vast airy valley where once stood a great sea of fresh water. During the war that precipitated the fall of the Last Galactic Empire the Sweet Sea (as it was then known) and the area around it were subject to a terrible attack – the Elemental Inversion, a terrible force of technomancy that caused the very elements themselves to mutate and transmogrify, usually without rhyme or reason.

 

Aeryth Archipelago of Floating Islands

The waters of the Sweet Sea were transformed into air. Most of the sea life that was not outright killed by the mutative energies were transformed into a kind of life that would thrive in air; thus, fish grew wings, as did merfolk and other sea life, and today the Sea of Skies is one of the oddest wonders of Legendaria. Note that, due to ancient genetic manipulation, though a fresh-water sea, there also lived therein species of sharks, dolphins, octopi, and other aquatic life forms that normally would be found in salt water. As the air that fills the Sea of Skies is the same as any other air, these new species have spread far and wide, though they are still rare outside the environs of the Sea of Skies (which includes the entirety of the region to the southwest, the Great Airy Deeps, and parts of each region adjacent).

 

Elsewhere in the region, stranger, and no less spectacular, changes were happening, most notably that the stone and rock of certain mountains were also transformed into air. Many mountain peaks, on the verge of the transmogrifying energies, were only partially-transformed, and are now made of “airy-stone,” forming archipelagos of floating islands high in the skies of the region. Most of these remain stabilized in space, rooted to their original locale through some strange mystic tie. Others, the “Wandering Isles,” follow the winds or other strange currents, though these too remain within the nine regions in which is found the Sea of Skies.

 

Smaller regions also experienced strange elemental inversions. The Forest of Fire, the Great Glacial Rift, the Rocky River, the Mountain Invisible, the Great Acid Lake; all these and more also were formed in the Great Elemental Inversion and remain to this day of great interest to magic-users and scientists alike.

 

Sky Ship

As with the sea life of the Sweet Sea, most creatures in the region perished; others were mutated, some adapted to their new environs, others in more terrible and blasphemous fashion. Thus, the region around the Sea of Skies is home to some of the strangest life forms on Legendaria. These include the Chimans (aka Chimeras), a mutant race where each individual is a composite of two or more creatures, and no child ever resembles their parent; the Meborum (or Psyborbears), a race of psychic cyborg bear-kin; and the Tavala (or Octopoids), a race of mutant barbarian octopi.

 

In addition to the many different strange and unusual mutant races of local sort, humans, demi-humans, and manimals have returned to the region in the centuries since the Great Elemental Inversion, settlers from Greymoor, the Glittering Towns, and the Patchwork Lands. They have built numerous petty kingdoms, the most significant of which is the Kingdom of Aeryth, founded upon the Aeryth Archipelago of floating islands. The kingdom also rules swaths of lands on the mainland, below. Great traders and explorers, the people of Aeryth get around with pegasi, griffons, flying ships (magical and technological), and other aerial creatures and contraptions.

 

Aeryth is ruled by Princess Aeryn (Lawful Human Magic-user (Enchantress)), the 18-year-old daughter of King Aeros and Queen Aurora, missing for the last five years. Princess Aeryn just recently gained her majority and the rule of the kingdom after five years of rule under the Regent, her uncle, Duke Maelstrom, who remains her closest advisor. There was talk of a marriage between Princess Aeryn and Prince Caine of Greymoor before her parents disappeared. He thinks she is snooty and boring, she thinks he is a child and a good-for-nothing ne’er do well.

 

Defender of the Tower of Stars

For the last two years the Kingdom of Aeryth and most of the lands of the region (and a bit to the north and south) have been protected by Astra Magna, the Star-Queen, the leader of the Defenders of the Tower of the Stars, an ancient citadel found on a floating island high above the Aeryth Archipelago. The Star-Queen is a mighty warrior who wields the Star-Blade, a powerful artifact, and rides upon a great winged lion, known as Leocorus, the Star-Cat. The Star-Queen and the Lord of Legends are stalwart allies, as are the Defenders of the Tower of the Stars and the Champions of Castle Blackhawk.

 

There are also clans and tribes of goblinoids and mutants that have moved into the region, usually nomads from the Silver Steppes that have settled down in the mountains, hills, and wastes of the region. These, together with the growing Great Horde of the Abhumans on the Silver Steppes, are a growing threat to the goodly folk of the various kingdoms of the region. There are also the Air-Pirates of the Sea of Skies, who operate out of the region to the southwest; in the past they have been a mere nuisance, but of late they are growing bolder and more powerful.

 

Region 08: Kingdom of Greymoor and Castle Blackhawk
The lands south of the Crystal Peaks are the most fertile of the nine regions described herein, with wide bands of rich farmland along merry streams; fertile meadows dotted with ranches and sheepcotes; and well-tended orchards, vineyards, and shrublands. The Crystal Peaks run along the northern border of the region, averaging 50 miles wide, from the Quartz Hills in the west and then far into the east. These mountains, as their name implies, are replete with gemstones, gold, silver, and other precious metals, and are the home to numerous dwarf and gnome settlements.

 

Gnome Grotto in the Crystal Peaks

Of course, the Crystal Peaks are most notable for being the site of Castle Blackhawk, the ancient and mysterious citadel which for the past two years has been protected by Magnus Maximus, the Lord of Legend, and the Champions of Castle Blackhawk. These valiant heroes and super-heroes defend not only the castle, but also the ways of Law, for which the castle stands. They use their skills, talents, expertise, experience, and prowess to protect all innocent and goodly beings from the ways of Chaos, especially the depredations of the Banemasters of Demonfang Citadel.

 

The Lord of Legends and the Champions of Castle Blackhawk are inextricably allied with the Kingdom of Greymoor, which stands in the heart of the region amidst the rolling fields that the super-science of Castle Blackhawk transformed from barren moor to fertile farmlands. Greymoor is ruled by the elderly King Adan of the House of Palatinus and his wife, Queen Evelyn of the House of Medeis. Their only son, Prince Caine, is kind and generous, but otherwise a dissolute ne’er do well, though the court wizard, High Councilor Gaxx, and the Ghost of Bishop Paxx, are doing everything they can to help him grow into the king he needs to be.

 

Royal Palace of Greymoor

Greymoor was, once upon a time, a far more powerful realm than it is today; it was the heart of the Third Empire of Legendaria since the Fall of the Last Galactic Empire, but has been in decline for two centuries, and now rules over only its small territory and holds loose hegemony over the settlements of the local region. With the loss of much of the power, prestige, and wealth of their realm, the Galaethans, the people of Greymoor, have fallen into decadence, with no few staring into the abyss of depravity, despite the best efforts of the royal court and the Champions of Castle Blackhawk. The forces of Chaos nest like a viper in Greymoor City, where cults of the Demons of the Outer Dark and other gods of Chaos hide in the shadowy alleys and deep ruins of ancient cities that stand beneath the cellars of the city.

 

The region otherwise is heavily populated compared to the other regions, with numerous hamlets, villages, and towns of a disparate selection of races among the fertile lands. Humans, demi-humans, and manimals of all sorts are found in the region; most hamlets and villages are of one or maybe two races, while the towns in the regions are generally cosmopolitan. No matter how civilized the region may be, though, as elsewhere the fertile lands are separated by wide swaths of wilderness, wild and deep, filled with goblinoids, mutants, monsters, and ruins.

 

Royal Guards of the Kingdom of Greymoor

The small but professional army of Greymoor and the Champions of Castle Blackhawk patrol the entire region. In the north they have to deal with incursions from the Banemasters of Demonfang Citadel; in the east they have to deal with raiders and slavers from the Cities of Smoke and along the sliver of coastland in the east they have to deal with all manner of pirates and monstrous raiders. The lands to the south are wild and mostly unknown, but fortunately are not home to any organized band dedicated to Chaos, though strange goblinoid and mutant have, of times, raided from the south. Most recently small bands of barbarians of human and near-human sort have been encountered coming from the south; they claim they were pushed out of their lands in the cold plains far to the south by a quickly-growing glacier and various cold, ice, and snow-related monsters and abhumans.

 

Region 09: The Sea of Storms and the Cities of Smoke
The Scintillating Peninsula is a wide wedge of land that strikes out into the Sea of Storms like a blade. On the northern border of the region, the Crystal Peaks, which continue unbroken from the west to the east, save for the Great Glowing Valley, out of which debouches the Great Glittering River (south of the Glowing Wastes also known as the Grimy Glow), which terminates in the vast delta of the Great Radiant Rust Swamps. Once a rich, fertile land, the Scintillating Peninsula today is a patchwork of mutant forests, festering marshes, rocky moors, and stinking swamps. As though the fetid waters of the Grimy Glow were not enough, the Modern-Futuristic Cities of Smoke that rule these lands, with their great factories, pay the local ecology no heed – they pour noxious liquid wastes into the water, blow toxic fumes into the air, and dump lethal solid wastes hither and yon.

 

City of Smoke

The Cities of Smoke broke away from the Third Empire of Legendaria and the Kingdom of Greymoor in the time of King Adan’s grandfather, and since then have taken a very unpleasant turn. The once fine cities of shining marble and silver towers have been transformed into piles of brick smokestacks and rusting steel-girt skyscrapers, each ruled by a rich and powerful oligarchy, with the common laborers living in abject poverty groaning under terrible oppression (though heavily propagandized to believe that their miseries are the fault of the other cities and their peoples). War crosses the land with great frequency, as each of the Cities of Smoke seeks to gain the upper hand on the others, eventually to unify them all under the rule of one oligarchy. However, whenever any one city gains advantage, the other cities gang up on that one to restore the balance…

 

The region is home primarily to humans, goblinoids, and mutants; the mass of commoners and the elite oligarchs are human (some of the oligarchs are cyborgs or secretly mutants), the core cadre of the armies are goblinoids (with commoner human militias for fodder), and the wilds outside the cities and their guarded farming fields are home to all manner of mutants. Demi-humans are found only among the slave class, members of which are taken from neighboring regions, or from lands across the Sea of Storms. The Scintillating Lands (known elsewhere as the Blighted Realm) are a place where joy and hope have been carefully ground out of the hearts of the common folk; it is a Dickensian Dystopia of industrial proportions. Even the small middle class of upper-level craftsmen and professionals who serve the oligarchs have little joy, save for their slightly better living conditions.

 

Toxic Wastelands of the Blighted Realm

But not all hope is lost for the peoples of the Cities of Smoke, as a band of heroes has formed under the auspices of the very world of Legendaria itself, which cried out for relief. Operating from a hidden fortress, the Grand Circle of Life, the Defenders of Legendaria, was called together from disparate groups of druids, elementalists, rangers, and others from distant regions. Together, when needed, these heroes can even summon the avatar of Legendaria herself, the Eternal Earth Mother – though her power is fleeting, and so they loathe to summon her too often. But they have lately struck a major blow against the Oligarchs, destroying a major fortress that served as a base for slaving operations.

 

In addition to the Cities of Smoke slaving operations, each also operates a fleet of pirates (under letters of marque of course, so one man’s pirate is another man’s privateer). These swarm the Sea of Storms attacking any ships not of their city’s flag and raiding the seacoast hamlets, villages, and towns held under other city’s hegemony. There are also islands in the Sea of Storms that are home to independent pirates – escaped slaves and commoners who seek to gain vengeance on the Oligarchs and their vicious crews of slavers and pirates.

 

Pirates/Privateers of the Cities of Smoke

 

[LEGENDARIA] Central Regions of Legendaria

Region 04: The Silver Steppes and the Abhuman Hordes
These vast desolate steppes are an expansion of the meadows and wastelands from the north. They are broken here and there by long rolling hills running west to east, the hills dry and riddled with canyons, chasms, and hidden valleys. The river valleys are verdant and green, sometimes swampy when not defined by nearby hills and ridges.

 

Here and there are small rocky wastelands, each still glowing to a greater or lesser extent from atomic bombardment that predated the rise of the Last Galactic Empire. The Great Glittering River flows west to east across the middle of the land, with the Rugged Rapids and the Blackstone Escarpment at the easternmost edge of the region demarking the steppes from the more fertile Patchwork Lands of the east.

 

Abhuman Nomad

The Great Glittering River and its major tributaries are home to the only civilization in the region, a series of riverine towns, villages, and hamlets generally of Neo-Medieval sort, the famous “Glittering Towns,” which trade along the rivers, especially the silver that is found in large lodes, together with a variety of gemstones, in the nearby hills. There is also a brisk trade in the artifacts found in the ruins; each town and major village has a scientist or three in residence for evaluation of said artifacts. There has been some trade with the Offworlder Towns of the Burning Wastes (usually for silver and gemstones), so most town leaders have access to a handful of hydrocarbon ground vehicles and Modern or even Futuristic weaponry. Most of the towns in the region are relatively cosmopolitan, being founded by prospectors, miners, farmers, ranchers, and other immigrants from the Patchwork Lands to the east.

 

Glittering River Town

The Silver Steppes are the home of the Abhuman Hordes, a mélange of Savage and Neo-Medieval clans of Manimal, Goblinoid, and Mutant peoples, usually inimical to each other due to ancient feuds unless united under a powerful leader. Such a leader has recently arisen in the western reaches and is slowly building his power and bringing other clans under his banner. The last time this occurred the Glittering Towns and the Patchwork Lands were overwhelmed by the united clans and many hamlets, villages, towns, and even whole peoples were exterminated or forced to flee.

 

Offworlder Raider

No single major group dedicated to Chaos or Law resides in the region. The Banemasters (Map 02) send out raiding parties from time to time, as do the Outworlder Tyrants (Map 01); these are sometimes countered by the forces of the Star-Queen and the Defender of the Tower of the Stars from the Kingdom of Aeryth, to the south (Map 07), less commonly by the Champions of Castle Blackhawk (Map 08). More rarely, and usually only in the case of incursions by the Offworlder Tyrants, Marshal Lance Starstrider (Map 01) and his posse will follow the raiders from the Burning Wastes to mete out Galactic Justice.

 

Region 05: The Patchwork Lands and the Fallen Kingdoms
This region is hemmed in between realms dedicated to Chaos to the north and Law to the south, by savage hordes of Abhumans to the west and the mutant armies of the Glowing Wastes to the east. Here of old stood fabulous kingdoms and magnificent cities, all long ago fallen to ruin, even their myths and legend forgotten to time. Today it is a patchwork of glowing wastelands and verdant meadows, mutant-ridden forests and fey-haunted hills, eldritch lakes and irradiated swamps, where tiny one-village kingdoms are the rule, separated by monster-haunted wilderness filled with ancient ruins and long-lost secrets.

 

Patchwork Lands Castle of the King of Yore

This is the region where the player characters usually would begin, arriving by crashed starship, mis-spelled magical gate, mystical amusement park ride, or some other one-way ticket to Legendaria.

 

The Champions of Castle Blackhawk and the Banemasters of Demonfang Citadel are both active in this region; the former seeking to protect the locals from the depredations of the latter. The Mutant Armies of the Tower of Techno-Terror and the Abhuman Hordes of the Silver Steppes also raid into the region, while other villains and heroes of more distant origins can also be found here from time to time, as their various quests might take them.

 

Patchwork Lands Fair Hill Country

Geographically the Patchwork Lands are defined by the Shadow Peaks in the region to the north and the Crystal Peaks in the region to the south, both major east-west ranges of mountains, the lands between being a large, generally rectangular plateau. Weather is highly variable, not only due to geography but also because of malfunctioning ancient weather control systems and wild elemental and faerie forces. The land is divided in twain north and south by the Great Glittering River, which flows out of the far west across the Silver Steppes, across the Patchwork Lands, then east into the Glowing Wastes.

 

The three largest towns in the region are New Albosia (Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, Gnomes), Tradetown (Cosmopolitan), and Boltburg (Robosophonts). New Albosia in the west is often harassed by the Abhuman Hordes, Tradetown by the Banemasters, and Boltburg by the Mutant Armies of the Tower of Techno-Terror. Dozens of other villages, hamlets, castles, and towers are scattered across the region, each independent or allying with one another only long enough to fight off the latest threat. All enjoy the protection of the Champions of Castle Blackhawk from time to time, but fear calling on them too much lest they lose their independence to the Kingdom of Greymoor, as most of the other realms south of the Crystal Peaks have done (though they are all better off thereby).

 

Robosophont Town of Boltburg

In this situation a new group of heroes – not beholden to any one local group or kingdom – will at first be carefully watched but ultimately most welcome… except by the villains who prey on the local realms!

 

Region 06: The Glowing Wastes and the Tower of Techno-Terror
The Glowing Wastes dominate the western portion of this region, one of the larger reminders of the terrible end of the Last Galactic Empire. A parched, rocky and sandy wasteland, the ruins of a vast complex of urban arcology-style residences, gargantuan mega-factories, and lakes of glowing sludge dot the landscape amidst the neon-glowing mesas, buttes, and cinder cones.

 

The Glowing Wastes

The Glowing Wastes and the mutant denizens thereof are ruled by Murdreth the Techno-Mage from his Tower of Techno-Terror. Murdreth is a powerful magic-user (Techno-mage) of Chaotic and insane sort. Some say that his vast number of interchangeable super-science cybernetic enhancements drove him crazy; others say he was always so. He has an army of mutants at his disposal, as well as no few dumbot warriors and other servants, not to mention his coven of techno-mage apprentices/cultists. Rumors hold that Typhon, the Grand Master of the Banemasters, was once his apprentice; if true, it might explain the utter hatred and enmity they hold for one another.

 

The lands to the east are much like the Patchwork Lands, though more heavily tilted toward the kind of population found in the Faerie Forest, to the north (i.e., halflings, elves, dwarves, gnomes, and manimals), all organized in independent villages and hamlets. This region was regularly raided, and its peoples oppressed by the armies of the Techno-Mage, but then the power balance shifted a year ago with the arrival of the Royal Pack of the Star Wolves.

 

Cultist of the Techno-Tower Summoning a Techno-Demon

The Royal Pack are exiles/refugees from the homeworld of the Star Wolves, the world of Canosia, a planet where Wolf-Folk and Wolf-Kin and related canid demi-human and manimal races live. General Dyr-Ulf usurped the crown of the realm (the fate of King Canos is unknown); Prince Ly-Kos (Wolf-Folk Fighter (Swordsman)), the son of King Canos, fled with his loyal followers in seven starships and have settled on Legendaria to gather allies to retake their world.

 

General Dyr-Ulf leads W.O.R.G., his party/organization dedicated to world conquest, and is too busy conquering other worlds to deal with hunting the young prince himself (nor to dedicate much manpower). Thus, they are being hunted by his minion, Major Fen-Ryz, and his Hyena-Folk/Kin mercenaries. Major Fen-Ryz has allied with Murdreth and his mutants to rid the world of the Royal Pack.

 

Prince Ly-Kos Confronting a W.O.R.G. Bounty Hunter

Having settled on Legendaria a year ago, the Royal Pack of the Star Wolves almost immediately fell afoul of Murdreth and his armies, for the Royal Pack cleave to the old values of the Star Wolves – Community, Loyalty, Honesty, and Righteousness – which they believe applies to all peoples. And so, the Royal Pack have become the defenders of the innocent in the region, protecting the hamlets and villages of other goodly peoples in the name of Law. The Wolves’ Den, their Futuristic citadel, has become a beacon of justice and hope to all peoples in the region – and a focus of the wrath and power of Murdreth and his evil minions.

[LEGENDARIA] Northern Regions of Legendaria

Region 01: The Burning Wastes and the Cities of Steel
This region is dominated by rocky, sandy, and muddy wastes punctuated by verdant meadows, the few rivers meandering from the north to the south to merge with the Great Glittering River on the Silver Steppes (Map 04). The eastern border is punctuated by the north-west spur of the Shadow Peaks, which here trails off into canyon-riddled hills, plateaus, and buttes occupied by strange and terrible monsters.

 

The wastelands are home to strange clans of various races each of which claims a ruined city of crystal and steel as a holy taboo. The plains are home to small clans of nomads who follow herds of wild beasts, on foot or riding various other four or more-legged beasts. All the various clans hate each other with a passion, but they unite as needed against the Abhuman Hordes to the south and against the Offworlders.

 

Here and there amidst the savage clans are found small walled towns, each built around and amidst a series of hydrocarbon wells and/or rare mineral mines. These towns are a mix of Modern and Futuristic technologies, having been founded in the last decade or two by the Offworlder Tyrants, small, independent off-world entrepreneurs, who have settled here for resource extraction with little concern for the locals or the ecology.

 

Offworlder Colony

These Offworlders are generally an evil and despicable lot, though there are no few who are here merely to seek a living. But as a rule, the settlements are each controlled by a group of self-serving criminal types who use misery and tyranny to control the settlers and squeeze every last credit from them that they can. As none of the settlements are legally registered with the Reserve Galactic Authority – what passes for the law in this sector of the Galaxy – whatever rules the Offworlder Tyrants make are the law, including slavery, theft, gambling, murder, and other worse vices.

 

Fortunately for the natives of the region, the various leaders of each settlement generally loathe each other, each wanting to be the “big man” in power, and none willing to give an inch of their own power to any others. Against all this is a small group of rebels, led by Marshal Lance Starstrider of the RGA. He and his posse do not have the resources to take the Offworlders on directly, so they work to try to unite the locals, assist the oppressed slaves and workers, and pit the various Offworlder Tyrants against each other to bring the whole ramshackle colony down.

 

Region 02: The Shadow Peaks and Demonfang Citadel
The great Shadow Peaks are home to the Banemasters of Demonfang Citadel. The Banemasters do not generally rule over the villages and hamlets of the region so much as they simply raid and oppress them at will, generally unopposed by any other factions, save irregular raids by the Champions of Castle Blackhawk. As such, the towns, villages, and hamlets of the region are poor, the peoples thereof mightily oppressed and downtrodden, and the coffers of the Banemasters fill with the treasure won with the blood, sweat, and tears of their slaves.

 

The larger settlements are loosely ruled by a governor of the Banemasters, the others kept in line by the regular raids and patrols sent through the region. Patrols consist of a Banemaster, a handful of minions, and a troop of Demonfang Citadel Dumbot Warriors. By this point, most are used to dealing with well-trod-upon peasants and slaves and are not at all prepared to deal with strong, independent hero-types who might actually fight back. At any sign of the Champions of Castle Blackhawk, their standing orders are to fall back and call in a strike team of Masters and more experienced minions (and swarms of Dumbot Warriors).

 

The Shadow Peaks

The Shadow Peaks are a narrow range of very tall conical mountains that run east to west, from the Fairy Forest to the Burning Wastes. Demonfang Citadel stands atop the tallest peak near the center of the range, its four demon faces facing the four cardinal points of the compass. The grav-bikes and grav-sleds of the Banemasters and their flying Dumbot Warriors swarm in and out of the mouths on their evil errands. Other than the handful of minions who remain in the larger towns and those who are on patrol, most Banemasters, their minions, and the dumbot warriors remain in citadel, ready to deploy for action wherever their Grand Master dictates.

 

The Grand Master of the Banemasters of Demonfang Citadel is the Sorcerer-King Typhon, a mighty magic-user (Sorcerer). The founder of the Banemasters, he wears purple robes, a golden mask with a horned demon face (which moves as would a living face, often with a sneer or a frown), and wields a magical black staff capped with a golden demon skull. He is always accompanied by Zahak, his pet purple dragon/familiar/steed, which can change from cat-sized to horse-sized.

 

The mountain range is no wider than 50 miles at any one point, and runs along the southern border of the region, spilling at times into the Patchwork Lands. Settlements in the mountains are found in the narrow valleys amongst the peaks. The midlands are rolling forested hills, with finger ranges of hills reaching north and dividing the deep jungles and swamps of the riverine lowlands. Rivers mostly flow north from the mountains, though some flow south into the Great Glittering River.

 

The rivers and the swamps of the northern part of the region are home to alien dinosaurs, giant serpents, giant frogs, and giant leeches. These swamps are also home to serpent-folk, lizard-folk, and frog-folk; half their settlements are dominated by the Banemasters, the other half by a mysterious force from the north known only as the Order of the Almighty Anura, said to be led by the Priest-King Xenopus.

 

Region 03: The Fairy Forest and the Foul Fens
This region is wild and fey; the power of magic is strong here, and high technology is rare and foreign. The “Fair Folk” – predominantly halflings, but also including elves, dwarves, gnomes, near-humans, amazons, changelings, and other demi-humans of goodly magical sort – are the dominant races, with the majority of other races generally being manimals (who live in peace with the demi-humans). These races dominate the wide swath of forest and meadow in the center of the region, the whole known as the Fairy Forest

 

The goodly demi-humans and manimals are balanced in power by the “Unfair Folk,” vile goblinoids and mutants that dwell in the Shadow Peaks and the Hidden Hills, the valleys and hills of which are covered in the shadowy, unpleasant “Dread Wood,” counterpart to the bright Fairy Forest. The Unfair Folk are generally independent from the Banemasters, though all have served them at time of need or in fear of their powers when called upon to do so. The goblinoids generally live in the ancient system of tunnels and caverns that riddle the mountains and forested hills; the surface lands of the mountains and hilly forests are usually home to the mutants and all manner of strange unique mutant monsters created by the energies of the Glowing Waste, the native warped Chaos Magic of the region, and the experiments of the Banemasters to the west.

 

The Fairy Forest

The Fairy Forest and the Fair Folk are protected by Jack Redcloud, the Champion Fair, a most puissant human of another world who arrived here by mischance some years ago. He wields the Seelie Sword, a mighty magical artifact that grants him great power (though not as great as the Lord of Legends of Castle Blackhawk). He and his allied heroes strike against the raids and other depredations of the Dread Overlord, a mighty mutant cyborg who seeks to conquer the region. The Dread Overlord wields the Unseelie Sword, the counterpart of the Seelie Sword, and is served by mysterious black-cloaked magic-users (said to be of the ancient Unseelie race) and mutant techno-priests of Chaotic sort. The Dread Overlord is a sometimes ally of the Banemasters but seeks to retain his independence; it is said that he once served the Techno-Mage of the Tower of Techno-Terror (Map 06), and thus he and his minions have access to Futuristic and Super-Science technology and technomancy.

 

The swamps, marshes, fens, and mudflats to the north, the Foul Fens, are inhabited by the same mix of serpent, lizard, and frog folk and kin native to the similar lands to the west (Map 02). These, however, are more independent, and only a few are beholden to the Order of the Almighty Anura (generally the frog-folk and kin, as the serpent and lizard folk and kin unite against the batrachian overlords).

 

The region is home to numerous ancient ruins, many predating the rise of the Last Galactic Empire, and all of fey and mystical sort (though some of the tunnels under the Shadow Peaks and the ruins in the valleys thereof, especially those abutting the Glowing Wastes to the south, are of Futuristic or Super-Science sort).

[LEGENDARIA] Technology in Legendaria

TECHNOLOGY varies from settlement to settlement in LEGENDARIA. The Tech-Levels in order of “advancement” are: Stone-Age Savagery, Neo-Medieval, Modern, Futuristic, and Super Science.

A settlement and its dependencies and colonies will mostly conform to the listed Tech Level, though certain groups and individuals may have access to a significantly higher technology, while lower-class and underclass beings might subsist at a lower Tech Level.

 

For example, while the Kingdom of Greymoor and the City of Greymoor have a Modern Tech Level, the Royal Family and their associates have limited access to Futuristic and even Super-Science weapons, armor, and tools through their alliance with the Champions of Castle Blackhawk. The citizens of Greymoor City have a solid Modern level of technology, while the village and hamlet-dwellers of the countryside generally have a mix of Neo-Medieval and Modern technology.

 

In the case of Greymoor, technological devices of Futuristic and Super-Science nature are not generally available for sale, save from the odd adventurer or merchant who has found something in the wilderness. The Royal Family and the Champions of Castle Blackhawk are certainly not going to sell any of their high-tech weapons or devices, though they might trade for an unusual item of interest.

 

STONE-AGE SAVAGERY includes Neo-Savages who live in post-apocalyptic squalor – the classic shield made of a STOP sign with a mace made of a parking meter.

 

Typical savage weapons include stone-tipped weapons such as spears, axes, and hammers; missile weapons include short bows and slings. Armor is limited to furs, chitin, bark, bone, wicker, and other natural plant and animal materials. Tools are made of similar materials, while shelters are constructed of wood, furs, large bones (such as mammoth or dinosaur bones), stones, and bricks.

 

Neo-Savages living in post-apocalyptic regions scrounge tattered remnants of old higher-tech items to create makeshift weapons and armor, such as saw blades, parking meters, plastic tubes, glass shards, and other detritus; while armor can be stitched together from old sports gear, rubber tires, signs, appliances, and other flotsam of the ruins. Tools are made of similar materials, while shelters are constructed of large chunks of ruined buildings (stones, bricks, large sheet metal, old I-beams) and disabled vehicles.

 

NEO-MEDIEVAL includes Renaissance, so is highly variable; some settlements have black-powder weapons, others do not. The vast majority of Legendarians live in Neo-Medieval towns, villages, and hamlets, rarely seeing and never owning any sort of advanced technology.

 

 

The primary common philosophy of the day is similar to the beliefs of the Luddites. Most folk do not trust technology, as it too readily fails; is expensive in time and resources to maintain when far simpler technology suffices; and causes all manners of dislocations in society. That said, Neo-Medieval folk are generally not ignorant; their knowledge of science and medicine is generally as good as Modern settlements, they simply reject most higher forms of technology.

 

Most simple melee, thrown, and missiles weapons are of the Neo-Medieval sort – swords, maces, throwing axes, crossbows, etc. Neo-Medieval versions of Savage weapons such as spears, slings, axes, and such, are of superior quality, made of iron or steel, and so forth, and so are qualitatively better in most ways than stone-tipped spears, axes, and hammers.

 

Buildings are made of wood frames with wattle-and-daub walls, thatched roofs, or in the case of the wealthy, fired bricks or dressed stone. Land vehicles include carts, wagons, and carriages; drawn by horses or similar creatures. Water vehicles include sailing boats and ships. Air vehicles at best include rudimentary balloons and gliders, often backward-engineered from Modern vehicles.

 

MODERN covers Steam to Interplanetary; a handful of locales on the planet (and none in the starting campaign region) have access to this technology. Most of these are decadent tyrannies ruled by depraved despots.

 

 

Modern weapons include slug-throwing pistols, rifles, shotguns, and grenades, as well as primitive tanks, propeller and jet airplanes, and missiles. Primitive and messy nuclear weapons are counted among these but are very rare.

 

FUTURISTIC covers Interstellar – think Star Wars/Star Trek. The Lords of Legend and the Banemasters have access to this level of technology, though only the leaders and greatest heroes and villains are able to command its regular use. Most of the minions of the Banemasters are robots (non-sophont “dumb-bots”), sometimes led by Robosophonts (usually unique creations at the Futuristic level). Ruins and relics of Futuristic sort are strewn across the wilderness amidst ancient and recent ruins. Ruins typically consist of twisted hulks of steel frames and melted or shattered glass, reinforced concrete and simple ceramic structures.

 

 

SUPER-SCIENCE is everything beyond Futuristic, including Intergalactic/Interdimensional/Time Travel, etc., in which science and magic are all but indistinguishable even to a Futuristic scientist. The ruins and artifacts of Super-Science level civilizations can be found in the deeper, darker wilderness of LEGENDARIA, amidst savage squalor and monster-haunted lands.

 

 

TECHNOLOGY INTERACTION
The nature of technological development in most cases is, especially when dealing with weaponry and armor, the more advanced technology is going to have a significant advantage over the less advanced technology. In such cases, the active technology either gains a bonus or penalty against the defensive technology; primitive has a penalty against advanced, advanced has a bonus against primitive.

 

The table below provides the basic bonuses and penalties when two disparate technologies interact. For example, a character wielding a techno-sword (a Futuristic weapon) against a target wearing Neo-Medieval armor gains a bonus of +4 to hit. A warrior wielding a Neo-Medieval crossbow suffers a -2 penalty to hit against a target wearing Futuristic combat armor.

 

In cases where the technology is impaired, mostly non-functional, or essentially non-existent, halve the bonus or penalty. If a tribesman wielding a Savage stone-tipped spear attacks a target wearing powered-down Super-Science armor the penalty is only -4, not -8. A scientist using a Super-Science Life Detector to find a Savage band of warriors only gains a +4 bonus to use of the device, as there are no Savage-technology level devices capable of disguising life signature.

 

Recall that regardless of bonuses or penalties, a Natural 1 is always a failure when rolling high, and a Natural 20 is always a success when rolling high (and vice-versa for rolling low).

 

When dealing with percentile skills or abilities multiply the bonus or penalty by 5 (thus +/- 10%, 20%, or 40%)

 

INTERPRETING TECHNOLOGICAL DEVICES
All sorts of technological devices of all Tech Levels have a native Difficulty to figure out how to use them.

 

In many cases, no check is needed to interpret an item when its form is very similar to that of another device of the same type; such as, to use a modern example, determining the basic use an AK-47 when one is already familiar with an M-16. However, such simple use does not include how to properly disassemble, clean, modify, or otherwise manipulate the device beyond the most basic, common function.

 

Unlike most technological interaction, the difference between Tech Levels of the device and interpreter is always a penalty; often those brought up in a Super-Science civilization will be bewildered by even the simplest Savage-level item! Penalties are expressed as a plus, not a minus, added to the Difficulty rating.

 

Modify the Difficulty first by subtracting the interpreter’s Intelligence modifier, then by the difference in Tech Level, and then by any other pertinent modifiers (usually based on race or class). Roll a d20; if the total is equal to or greater than the Difficulty, the character properly interprets the item; if less, the target fails to interpret the item. On a roll of Natural 1, Something Bad happens at the Judge’s whim.

Time to interpret is listed with the item; for subsequent attempts, increase the time based on this range (starting with the left-most when a time range is included multiple times): one round, one round, one minute, one minute, one turn, one turn, one turn, one hour, one hour, one hour, two hours, four hours, eight hours, one day, one day, one day, and finally one week (check each week thereafter).

 

POWER BATTERIES AND DRAIN
Most Modern, Futuristic, and Super-Science devices, from weapons to vehicles, are powered by batteries.

 

Thanks to the trickle-down of rudimentary Super-Science techniques, batteries are generally very long lasting, whatever the tech level, and there is no need to keep track of charges as such. Instead, in LEGENDARIA there is the Drain mechanic. Whenever a battery-powered device is used there is a chance that it has been drained its last bit of power.

 

The current battery level is measured in Drain, a number from 5 to 99. If when a battery-powered device is used a Natural 1 is rolled, in addition to whatever other malfunction/fumble occurs, add 1 point to the Drain score and roll percentile dice. If the percentile roll is equal to or less than the Drain, the battery has died and the use in question fails.

 

If the Drain is currently above 50, the Drain roll occurs on a 1 or 2; if above 75, on a 1-3, though a normal fumble/malfunction still only occurs on a 1.

 

Modern batteries have a lowest Drain of 25, Futuristic of 15, and Super-Science of 5.

 

There are other instances that might cause Drain, such as certain magic spells, psychic abilities, Futuristic and Super-Science devices, strange weather, etc.