New Map

I spent Sunday of this week re-designing the map of the imperial hinterlands and frontier from Spelldancer.

This map was the first part of the Elizium setting I ever mapped, back when I was at 6th form college.  My then girlfriend would be the first person to ever play in Elzium with her Elf mage who would later lend her name to the game - Pandora Spelldancer.  That version was done by hand.

When I got my first copy of Campaign Cartographer by Profantasy Software I remade the map with that.  At the time it seemed great but technology - and expectations - have come a long way since then.  The version in the current edition of Spelldancer was remade using Campaign Cartographer 2 and again, how great it looked when I made it but once again the state of the art has moved on since then.

This version was made with CC3+ by Profantasy Software.  How far things have come since the pencil drawn then inked version on an artists pad!

STOP right there, Dragon DROP villages have just landed, ROLL on over to http://www.rpgnow.com/browse.php?discount=9b3355be72 To get the first one for just $1, but hurry!  the offer only lasts until December the 15th. 

Have you ever been halfway through a campaign and had to take an enforced break as your players decided to take a detour into a village that's just a name on a map in your adventure?

Or do you need a village as a base for your adventuring party, or just as a backdrop for them to visit?

Well, no more trying to think up and map an entire village – we have designed Dragon Drop Villages with exactly this situation in mind!

Simply take one of our range of villages, drag it over, and drop it in to your campaign notes! A ready-made village, with buildings, NPCs and even scenario ideas, all ready to be used. Just bolt on your gaming system, stat anyone you think might need it, and you're ready to go.

The village is described in detail, with each building on the beautiful full-colour map given its own entry.  Who lives there, what they do, their personality and how they related to the other villagers.  Not Only that but the economy, rumours and lie in the village are all explained and we include a section of adventure ideas as well.

Our first village is a small but important one, with a population of approximately 20 families, a tavern, smith, and a pawn shop which is ideal for adventurers looking to sell the strange items they have accumulated. All mapped out with full GM notes, the Farmer's Market Town is surrounded by crofts and farms and provides a regular market for the farmers to sell their produce, craftspeople and the forces of law and order in the shape of the Burgomaster, Sheriff and Bailiff.

Use THIS LINK  before December 15th to get Dragon Drop Village #1: Farmer's Market Town for just $1 

The Dragon Drop Villages range is system neutral, designed to be used with whatever rules system you use.

Missed the $1 sale?  Don't worry, you can still buy Farmer's Market Town for just $2 for another week before it goe's up to its full price.  Just use THIS LINK to go directly to the products page on RPG.Now

(Spelldacner) New Creature! Morindiar (aka; mace tail)

Morindiar (aka; mace tail)
STR          SIZ           AGL        PER          LUC         WIP
40-80        60-70        5-15        10-25        10-30        10-30
Armour;-     7 point underbelly, 14 point everywhere else
Attacks; -    Headbutt    20-45%    KP; 29                   Stomp        10-25%     KP; = half creatures SIZ
                   Tail Lash    25-45%     KP; 32
Description; - These large, powerful herbivores have 4 short legs, circular in cross section and with four short toes on each foot.
  The creatures have broad bodies covered in tough, gnarly hide, softest on the underbelly where it is smooth.
  They have muscular tails with dense, oval, keratinous growths at the end which can be swung like a mace.
The animals wide, broad head have large mouths, filled with flat teeth.  They have small, round eyes, sunken into their heads for protection, and they have two short, broad, horns sprouting from above the eyes at a slight angle.

Habitat; - Temperate shrub lands, fens and forests across Eroon, although they are more common in the east than the west of the continent.

Behaviour; - Passive herd dwellers, they live in herds numbering between 30 and 90 individuals, for protection from predators.
They are generally quite passive, unless attacked, in which case they will lash out with their tails, head butt their attackers or stomp on anything that is smaller or closer to the ground than they are.
Seismic activity of any kind makes the creatures jittery and nervous since one of their most common predators are the tunnelling terrors.

(Spelldancer) New Creature!

Dronith
STR          SIZ            AGL         PER          LUC        WIP
40-80        40-70        10-25        10-40        10-40        10-40
Armour;-     2 point hide, 4 point wool
Attacks;-      Head butt    20-45%    KP; 13
                     Stomp          10-55%    KP; = half creatures SIZ
Description; - Dronith are large quadrupeds with short, forward-curving horns.  The creatures have large heads with wide, round eyes and large, drooping ears which they can prick up and swivel 240 degrees.  Their bodies are covered with a thick wool in the colder seasons, which they shed in the warmer seasons.
Their skins are dark brown, and the wool of the females is white whilst the wool of the males is black.

Habitat; - The natural habitat of the Dronith is fertile, temperate hills, fens and grassland, and they can be found across Eroon.  They are commonly domesticated by beast men as draft animals, sources of wool and sources of milk.  Since their meat is quite bitter, they are not commonly farmed for food, at least not where Carsen can be reared.
Behaviour; - These large herbivores are placid to the point of being docile.  With no natural predators, they have little sense of danger, and will often stand and watch dumbly as danger thunders towards them.

They are prone to parasites, especially Sanguiphage Larvae, although they are also often found in the presence of Sornth birds, which feed upon the Sanguiphage larvae and live in symbiotic relationship with the Dronith.

Dronith feeds on grass and root vegetables.

(Spelldancer) New Creature! Thanikol

Thanikol
STR        SIZ         AGL          PER          LUC        WIP
5-10        5-10        20-50        30-70        10-30        10-30
Armour; -     None
Attacks; -    Bite    30-65%    KP; 8
                     Talons    40-80%    KP; 8
Description; - Thanikol are large birds with rusty brown feathers covering their bodies and wings.  Their tail feathers are black, and their heads, which are bare of feathers, are a brown-pink in colour. They have long, and wickedly sharp beaks, wich they use to strip flesh from cadavers.

Habitat; - Found all over Eroon and D’grathia, especially in warm climates.

Behaviour; - Thanikol can usually be found in flocks of 10-20 and are carrion feeders.  They are attracted to freshly killed, warm-blooded animals, and as such can be found where one may expect to find freshly killed warm blooded animals. (Usually in the hunting territory of other carnivores).  They will usually only descend to feed on a kill once the predator that has brought the kill down has fed and left, so they tend to eat other animals leftovers.  However, they will attack the sick, injured and dying.

Since the animals are carrion feeders, they tend to carry horrible diseases on their beaks and talons, a wound by these creatures has a +30% chance of becoming infected.

Hit Location;-
Roll Nit location
91-00 Head
70-90 Left Wing (Limb)
 51-70 Right wing (Limb)
21-50 Body  11-20 Tail (Limb)
06-10 Left leg
01-05 Right leg

(Spelldancer) New Creatue! Sornth Bird

Sornth Bird
STR       SIZ       AGL        PER           LUC         WIP
1-2        2-4        20-50        10-40        10-30        10-30
Armour; -     None
Attacks; -    Peck    30-65%    KP; 5
Description; - These yellow birds are about the size of a small domestic cat.
Habitat; - Found wherever one finds Dronith.
Behaviour; - Sornth lives near Dronith herds, and feed upon the Sanguifage larvae that live on the larger animals.  By feeding on the larvae the birds perform a symbiotic function for the Dronith.
The birds generally live in mated pairs and are only territorial if food is scarce, so if a large number of Sornth are seen with a Dronith herd, it is a good indication that the herd is seriously infected with Sanguifage larvae.
The birds are not commonly aggressive but may peck if they feel threatened.

Hit Location;-
Roll Nit location
91-00 Head
70-90 Left Wing (Limb)
51-70 Right wing (Limb)
11-50 Body
06-10 Left leg
01-05 Right leg

(Spelldancer) New Creature! The Flying Shroud

Flying Shroud
STR           SIZ           AGL        PER           LUC        WIP
10-25        10-20        30-50        40-85        10-30        10-30
Armour;-     1 point hide on head and body
Attacks;-    Bite    30-65%    KP; 20 + Poison
                   Grapple 55-75%    Pin
Description; - These giant brown creatures can grow to a considerable size, the largest examples have a wingspan of well over 10 feet.  Their ears are large and funnel-shaped, and they have large, round eyes, above oval sensor pits that allow them to see into the infrared.  Their large mouths have two long, needle sharp fangs.

Habitat; - Flying shrouds initially evolved in the eastern, temperate, regions of Eroon.  Since then they have expanded west and can be found in temperate areas and sub-tropical forest regions of places like the kingdom of Aarr.  They avoid arid regions, such as Thule and the southern Steppes.

Behaviour; - Flying shrouds live in dark areas, such as caverns or under dense forest canopies, and in colonies of between 10 and 50.  They hunt at night and are carnivorous, hunting warm-blooded animals.  On their own, these animals will not attack anything larger than themselves, however, in groups, they will happily attack much larger prey, and there are many stores of small parties of humans or other beast men being attacked by a flock of these creatures.

 When attacking, they will swoop down on prey and attach themselves to their victim.  Only the first bite is poisonous, as their poison sacks only contain enough poison for one dose every 24 hours.
Once they have bitten a victim they will remain attached to their prey, usually trying to wrap their wings about the victim (treat as a wrestling hold) whilst they try to worry at the wound (giving them +15 to hit, and resulting in each wound after the first being to the same location).

Special abilities; -  As mentioned, the first bite of the flying shroud injects a toxin with a POT equal to the creatures SIZ.  The poison takes effect in 1-4 Cr.

Result Effect
W The toxin has no effect on the victim

L The toxin causes sluggishness in the victim for a period of 1-10 minutes. The victims AGL and IL fall to three-quarters of their usual level during this time.

M The toxin causes intense sluggishness in the victim for a period of 2-20 minutes. The victims AGL and IL fall to three-quarters of their usual level during this time.

H The toxin causes intense sluggishness in the victim for a period of 2-20 minutes. The victims AGL and IL fall to half of their usual level during this time.

S The toxin causes the victim to become completely immobile for the period of 1-5 Combat rounds.  During this time the victim is conscious but unable to move any muscle.

C The toxin causes the victim to become completely immobile for the period of 1-10 combat rounds.  During this time the victim is conscious but unable to move any muscle.

F The toxin causes the victim to become completely immobile for the period of 2-20 combat rounds.  During this time the victim is conscious but unable to move any muscle.

Hit Location;-
Roll Nit location
 91-00 Head
70-90 Left Wing (Limb)
51-70 Right wing (Limb)
21-50 Body
11-20 Tail (Limb)
06-10 Left leg
01-05 Right leg

Spring Fantasy Sale!

It is now officially spring here in the UK and you know what they say, in the spring a gamer's fancy turns to Fantasy!
Well okay, by 'They' I mean'I' and by 'Say' I mean, 'I've just made this up this instant', but still.  IT's certainly true that for me as the days grow liter I find myself turning towards Fantasy as my genre of choice.  Not sure how I acquired that association but anyway, I'm waffling now, so back to the point!

For 1 Week only I am selling all the PDFs in my fantasy range - 'Spelldancer' at an incredible knock down price of between $1 and $2 each with the following special codes.

Simply add the code at check out OR purchase the product through the URL given which will automatically add the discount.

Hurry though, the sale only lasts till April 27th (The fact my mortgage payments are due on the 28th is totally coincidental, obvs). ;)

So snap up a bargain now!

Here are the Deals:-

Rules

Spelldancer Revised Rules for $2
Use Code 96593a1737
Or visit  http://www.rpgnow.com/browse.php?discount=96593a1737


Adventure Modules

Born In Flames: Book 1 for £2

An adventure for starting characters
Use Code 9661362555
Or visit http://www.rpgnow.com/browse.php?discount=9661362555

Secret of Serpents Tor for £1

Adventure scenario.  An ancient evil walks the land after curious farmers accidentally uncover a long sealed cavern in the earth.  Can the PCs drive the Serpent-men back into their ancient prison?

Use Code 966b7393ad

Or visit http://www.rpgnow.com/browse.php?discount=966b7393ad

Sulphur pits of Nathezda for £1

Forgotten since the Mage wars the ancient demon Nathezda harbors many of his own secrets.  Now, tired of hiding and grown bold that his old enemies are no longer a match for him the demon begins to stir once more.

In this adventure the heroic PCs may face more than they bargained for and may even learn the fate of one of the lost lords of the Malmori.
A scenario for experienced and powerful PCs

Use Code 967a5b29a5

Or visit http://www.rpgnow.com/browse.php?discount=967a5b29a5

Trouble at the Troubadour's Rest for $1

Horror meets fantasy in this dark adventure for the Spelldancer RPG which can easily be modified for use with other systems.

The party and a few bedraggled fellow travelers seek shelter at a travelers inn somewhere in the Twin Kingdoms when they blunder into something far more dangerous than a bowl of broth and a bed for the night.

Use Code 96854839d9

Or Visit http://www.rpgnow.com/browse.php?discount=96854839d9

Source Books and Gazateers

City Book 1: The City of Vor-Laran for $1

Compatible with any fantasy RPG the city book describes the vibrant urban environment of Vor-Laran, first capitol of the Empire in detail with adventure and plot ideas, notable NPCs, places of note in the city and much more.

Use Code 967f183c24

Or Visit http://www.rpgnow.com/browse.php?discount=967f183c24

City Book 2: Port Apek for $1

Compatible with any fantasy RPG the city book describes the vibrant urban environment of Port Apek in detail with adventure and plot ideas, notable NPCs, places of note in the city and much more.
Use Code 966660e175
Or visit http://www.rpgnow.com/browse.php?discount=966660e175

Secrets of the Sea Kingdoms £1

The mysterious Sea Kingdoms have have perhaps more of an impact upon the world of Elizium than any other nation of comparable size.  Their constant raids along the Eroon coast lead to the foundation of the Gothman alliance which became the Empire.  There contact with the Felixiads of D'Grathia resulted in the freeing of human slaves there.

Their raids against the Western Isles lead the islanders to seek defense by becoming an Imperial protectorate.

Where other lands shun magic, in the Sea Kingdoms it is the core of their religion.

Even today the sales of Sea Kingdom warships strike fear into all but the strongest of hearts.

'Secrets of the Sea Kingdoms' details the culture, magic, religion, geography and unique creatures of the region in great detail and includes rules for sea going adventure.

Use Code 9675bd013b

Or Visit http://www.rpgnow.com/browse.php?discount=9675bd013b

GMs Map #9 The Catacombs released

Places where the dead are interred have long been a staple of RPGs. What party of adventurers has not either looted a long forgotten tomb for fabulous treasure or ventured within to put an end to some vile undead menace? Such places can be useful for other genres too, from Gothic horror to SF or post apocalyptic survival games. A catacomb may prove a useful place to hide from the splatter punks, mutated creatures and bandits of the surface world!

Catacombs are subterranean networks of tunnels and chambers into which the dead are placed. They range from large ossuaries (places were the bones of the dead are stored) to complex networks of burial chambers. The most famous of these are probably the Paris catacombs where millions of bones are stored, however many other catacombs exist across the world and not all of those are fully explored!

Presented here is a medium sized catacomb for you to use in your campaigns as you see fit. The map was inspired by various real world catacombs but was not directly copied from any of them. Some of the inspirations include the Mazar-i Sharif of Afganistan and the catacombs of Kom el-Shuqafa in Egypt.

Available now for just $1 on RPGNow

Small Tombs

In late 2016 Gethsemane Games launched our 'GMs Maps' range of short supplements, consisting of a map in various formats and a short text accompaniment to go with it, giving some ideas of ways you may use the map in your games or some background on the type of building depicted.

The range was an instant success.

Each map was inspired by real world examples of the building in question.  The range so far includes castles, Victorian houses, an Asylum, fall out shelters and bunkers, temples and other religious buildings.  It is ever expanding and I keep a list of the sort of maps I want to add to the range.  Currently I am expanding the range at an average of 1 map every week or so.

However, there are some maps that, although they would certainly be of interest to GMs, are a little small to charge money for.  These smaller maps may only be a dozen or so chambers and take me around half an hour to draw. I will be releasing these maps free of charge tot he blog readers, right here on Whispers fro the Other-Verse.  Like our large, more in depth maps which are for sale in the 'GMs Maps' range which you can find HERE these maps are all inspired by real world examples but may include a little artistic licence on my part.

Unlike the GMs Maps paid range, these freebies will not be supplied in multiple file formats, but should be easy enough for you to print or even copy and use in your games.

Without further ado then, here is the first, a small tomb.  This one is based upon the tomb of Ramesses VI, uncovered in 1922 by British Egyptologist Howard Carter and his patron excavator and collector the Earl of Carnarvon.
The tomb may be useful for Horror or modern genre games as well as in Fantasy.  Imaginative GMs may even find  use for it in SF and Post Apocalyptic scenarios!

1. Surface Entrance.  Blocked by a plaster or carved stone panel
2. Descending stair case with a painted plaster wall at the bottom.  Cunning GMs may trap this or add a curse or other magical protection.
3. Passage.  Both ends caped by plaster walls, probably painted.  the passage may slope downward and may or may not be trapped or even guarded by some magical beast.
4. Antechamber with decorated walls.  Again, a good place for traps, guardians or magical effects.
5. Annex.  Hidden behind a plaster wall that is probably painted and/or sculpted to look like the stone wall around it.  The contents may include mundane goods buried with the tomb's occupant or more traps and dangers.  Of course, both is also a possibility.
6. Burial Chamber. Hidden behind another false wall. What dangers may or may not lurk here, along with the sarcophagus of the tomb's occupant is a matter for the GM!
7. Treasure Chamber, leading off the the burial chamber is a room containing the more valuable treasure buried with the tombs occupant.  Along, or course, with whatever other dangers the GM sees fit.

The Second Small Tomb is inspired by the chambers under the Pyramid of Unus, but i have applied a little artistic licence (adjusting scale, adding chamber #10 and changing the shape of chambers #8 and #9 a little).

1. Surface entrance
2. Long downward sloped passage
3. Vestibule.  A good place for a guardian or trap
4. Mid passage.  this may also be trapped guarded and or sloped
5. Camber.  In the original material there are 3 gates or portcullises here.  A GM may add any form of obstetrical, trap or guardian (s)he sees fit. 
6. Long passage
7. Antechamber
8. Tomb-Chapel
9. Burial Camber
10. Treasure Chamber.

I hope you enjoyed this article and get some use from it.  Keep an eye on the blog for more free mini-maps.  In the mean time why not check out our range of GMs maps at RPGNow for lager, more complex maps and plans, a bargain at just $1 to $2 in price!